Chapter 50 – Playing Hero

She watched him stow Glader back into the paper sheath, and a slow smile spread across Casey's features. "I feel sort of peaceful right now. I don't want to move." She closed her eyes tiredly.

"Don't think I didn't notice you ate some of my food," he commented a moment later, sorting through his supplies and shoving various items into his pockets.

"I told you I was hungry." Her voice was groggy.

He took a bite out of the oval-shaped fruit in his hand after asking, "Do you want to use the rest of the Zource or can I pour it out?"

Casey's eyes fluttered open. "Don't pour it out! That's such a waste. You know, Zyri's in trouble for the bag going missing. The pixies have been looking for you." She told him all that Zbori had said.

"It sounds to me like the sooner I get rid of it, the better, then," he observed, tossing the inedible pieces of his repast over his shoulder to consume the remaining portion.

"Well, you could do with a good Zource wash," she observed.

"You forget, I'm going to be paying Kapyn a little visit. I don't want to smell like fresh Ivan."

Casey giggled lazily. "Fresh Ivan. Funny."

"Go to sleep. You're getting giddy."

"Giddy," she repeated, still giggling as she closed her eyes again.

She felt his hand reach for the bag, and she tightened her grip around it. "No. Don't pour it out."

"Your options are to use it now or I'm getting rid of it." His hand was over hers, but he didn't try to take the container away. She began to pull the bag toward her, her eyes closed.

"Don't," she pouted.

"I've got to have the bag. What are you…?" She opened her eyes, hearing the tone in his voice change.

"Casey, I need the bag." He spoke it firmly, but there was bewilderment written across his face.

"No." She held onto the container, but knew she wasn't doing it solely to save the Zource. Without understanding why, she didn't want him to leave.

He pulled his hand away and scanned her face quizzically. "What's wrong with you?"

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?"

"I asked you first."

Casey couldn't meet his eyes. "You're acting differently, and it's making me act differently."

"You look different. You're like… like a kid, all washed up like that. I know you're you, and you're going to annoy me, but it's like you're different," he finished lamely.

"Well, thanks, I think."

"I don't think it has anything to do with you, though. I think it's because of that Zource. You're completely… young - innocent. It's hard to explain."

"Innocent?" Casey scoffed. "You know, I thought about killing you once. You really do make me mad, Ivan-,"

"That feeling is mutual, I assure you."

"-but, after drinking the Zource, I just didn't like how it felt knowing I'd thought that; and I don't want to feel that way again."

"Yeah. I thought about killing you a bit-,"

"A bit?"

"Yeah, I thought about trying to wrap you up in dead rodents that first morning to see if Thon might eat you. It was kinda funny at the time. But that wasn't one of the things that came to me when - when the Zource hit. Guess I wasn't really serious about that."

"What were you really serious about?"

"I'm not telling you," he replied defensively.

"Why not?"

"Look, I'm not saying you didn't feel the same way when you drank the Zource, but it doesn't seem to have affected you as much. I mean, the fact that you still want to keep it… Well, I can't imagine touching the stuff, much less washing with it. I only hope it's not harmful. Looking at you, though," he raised his eyebrows as though he was surprised, "it doesn't seem to have done anything detrimental."

She hesitated before admitting, "Part of me wants to drink the rest of it, even if it does show me what I don't want to know."

On hearing this, Ivan's expression changed sharply. "You're too naïve, I think that's why. That's the difference between us. You've had a few thoughts you're ashamed of, and you think everyone is like you. You have no idea what's in other people's heads or what they've been through."

"But I want to understand."

"No, you don't. Trust me."

"You make it sound like I'm stupid or something."

"Well, in a way, you are. You haven't learned to guard yourself. That's what I meant when I said you're naïve. It would be easy for someone to mess with you. It's a good thing I'm here."

"Why? Because you'll protect me?" She laughed derisively; her feelings were hurt by his impressions of her. His words had hit too close to home.

"Yeah, I will."

"I thought we were quits."

"We were, but now-,"

"Now that you know it's the yucky water that kills people, and Oliver is real – you see I'm not crazy – you want to play hero again? Thanks, but I'm going with Oliver when he comes for me." Casey crossed her arms. "You don't believe what anyone tells you anyway - even me - because you're such a tough guy, experienced in life and everything. So, there's no use telling you there's a better way to get home." The last sentence was spoken with all the condescension she could muster. It felt good to flaunt that she knew something he didn't know.

Fear briefly touched Ivan's features before his brows met in a cold scowl. "Let me guess, Oliver has a way for you to get home again."

"As a matter of fact-,"

"Awwww!" He leaned back, pushing his hair away from his forehead in disbelief. "Casey, he's playing you!"

"You always think that. You're wrong. You have to be swarmed by the dragonflies to go back, and they return you to the place you were taken from; and-,"

"I can't believe this!" He stared at her, flummoxed, before grabbing her shoulders in a sobering mien. "Casey. Casey! He's lying to you." She knew he could read the implacable determination in her face because he changed his tune. "Okay, okay. Suppose he's telling the truth -,"

She removed his hands from her shoulders as she added, "Which he is."

"What does he get out of sending you back?"

"Does he have to get anything out of it? Not everyone thinks like you."

"Hey! I've helped you lots of times without getting anything out of it!"

"Not willingly. Not nicely. You know you're hard to get along with."

He shook his head. "You know what? I give up. You just go be hookwinked by some weird guy who hangs out with dragonflies. He's obviously normal and trustworthy. Because it makes way more sense than listening to a guy who's hard to get along with. – NO! No, Casey. I'm telling you, you can't do this. I won't let you." He was holding her shoulders again.

She pushed his hands away and stood up. "You are always trying to control me. That's what it is, Ivan. A few minutes ago, you were being halfway pleasant. Now you're doing it again. Stop trying to make me do what you want. I'm not your puppet."

"I'm fully aware of that. I don't want you to be my puppet. I want you to be smart! I want you to have a little street savvy, and save yourself from what's going to happen to you if you listen to this guy."

"What's going to happen?" she asked, straightforwardly. "Tell me, Ivan. You know everything."

His eyes took on a dangerous glint as they looked straight into hers. "There are a million and one things that could happen. You could figure that out on your own; but since you want to play dumb, let's just see what you're afraid of."

His hand struck her against the upper arm, pushing her to the wall, his forearm acting as a brace across her collar bone. He shoved her chin up with his hand, and drew his face up to hers. But for a slight curl of his lip, there was no emotion by which she could gauge his rough actions.

Casey didn't move. Her heart felt like it had stopped, while her head hadn't had time to register what he was doing. She tried to turn away and resist him, as he shoved his face centimeters from hers; his grip was like iron. The constant sting of his elbow in her shoulder and the throbbing in the back of her head told her he was hurting her. She felt powerless in those seconds. Should she scream? Would Oliver come? Would the Greads hear it? Who would help her?

His grey eyes were lit up fiercely, watching her face intently. He spoke in a low voice. "Don't you dare yell for help."


A/N: And, the friendship fades…

Backroads: For lack of a better way to put it, she has this glowingly cherubic look about her. That's why Ivan comments that she looks 'innocent' and 'like a kid.' It affects him to react to her more considerately; then, when she refuses to respond docilely to his guidance, he's ready to teach her a thing or two. Is he jealous or faithless? Prolly both. Now he's dangerous. :o{

Lady Thorne: He called her Ethel again because it was impossible for him to acknowledge gratitude without teasing her with the old nickname. Ivan told of the gnosis story in Chapter 22. Wow, that was a long time ago, wasn't it? Look how far we've come. I think I'm ready to gather with you guys around a camp fire and sway to a moving rendition of some togetherness song. I can't think of a good one…

Iliana11: "He's really quite lovable, but in a prickly sort of way." Lol. Huggable as a porcupine. "One thing that I've learned is that there is a huge difference between prophecy and fortune-telling…" I should have mentioned, "prophecy" in the Bible does not always mean the future is being told; it just means a message which is not of man's making. Fortune-telling is unreliable; so, it's obvious it can't be from God. For someone to foretell the future in specific detail with absolute accuracy, it requires a power above the temporal sphere. Who resides outside of time? The great I AM. You have my mind ticking. Love that.

Quiet Mindreader: You are going to hunt me down to bribe me with éclair pie, ice cream, and chocolate? I don't know whether to hide or throw a party. You know I love writing this, though. Dreohan was the name of the larger mountain. I have not told the name of the southern peak yet. You have the rest of the geographic locations right. "I wonder...does that red stone by any chance emit an azure glow?" :D No. It does glow, though. There will be more about the blue stone in a few chapters.