"His name is Jordan." Adam sat at the table, looking tired and worn. Lark pressed a cup of tea into his hands (both she and Rosethorn had been awakened upon their return to the cottage) and, thanking her, he took a long sip before continuing. "I met him at the docks. Long story short: I was sent there for a crime I didn't commit." Briar snorted at this but Adam ignored him. "He told me that he'd get me out of there if I did him a favor. I had to kill two children in Emelan. Well, I would die on the docks if I didn't do it so I figured this couldn't be any worse. I might even get out of the dismal fate I was headed towards. He only told me that these children had water magic. No identities or other information until I absolutely needed to have it. Well, the time came when I did need it. I found out the two mages were Elizabeth and Dan." He glanced at them, shamefaced. "Anyway, his plan was to 'divide and conquer', as he put it. Take them down one at a time. He told me to go for 'Liz here first." He said, calling Elizabeth by the nickname he'd started using for her. He paused in his story to collect himself. "But I couldn't." Adam slammed his fist down on the table on the word ''couldn't'' for emphasis. "I thought I could…after all, what did I have to lose? I would've died on the docks if I hadn't and I would die now if I tried to back out. But I just couldn't do it."
"So you made a desperate attempt to save her, only it was too late in the game. If we hadn't come along, you both would've died." Sandry filled in, in more of a matter-of-fact way than a gloating we-just-saved-your-asses way. Adam nodded in affirmation. There was silence for several moments until Dan spoke.
"Why? Why did he want us…gone" he finished, unable to bring himself to say "dead". Adam shook his head.
"I don't know. Like I said, he had me on a need-to-know basis. I didn't need to know why, I just had to do it." He paused for a moment, then looked at Elizabeth and Dan. "I'm so sorry. I hope you can forgive me, but if you can't I understand." He waited for a response, but when he didn't get one he nodded and finished his tea in one gulp. Getting up, he excused himself to his room if there weren't anymore questions. There weren't and so he left, and the others soon followed suit.
Elizabeth lay in bed for a long time. She couldn't sleep. There were too many things weighing on her mind. How could she have trusted him? And why didn't she see the truth when he decided to drag her through the woods at TWO-OH-FREAKIN-CLOCK IN THE MORNING?!?! (A/N: I spelled out the "o" in o'clock phonetically so I could add the "FREAKIN" to it.) Finally she gave up trying to figure it out and forced herself not to think of Adam. Unfortunately, this brought the deadly face of Jordan up before her closed eyelids. Great. Now I'm not only totally confused, but I'm terrified. And the day just keeps getting better and better! Practically crying with her frustration added to everything she'd been through in the past few hours, she walked to Dan's room. She didn't care what the Dedicates would think if they found them there together in the morning, she just knew she couldn't sleep alone tonight. Elizabeth crossed to Dan's big bed and smiled to herself. He always seemed to press himself against the wall on the far side. She climbed in beside him, trying not to wake him. She lay down. She was confident she hadn't disturbed his slumber, until he put his arms around her. She smiled again, enjoying the familiar, comforting feeling of being safely enfolded in his grasp, and fell asleep.
Author's Note: *Author runs as readers throw millions of sharp objects at her for going back to short chapters* Sorry! I swear though, I'm going somewhere with this…at least I think I am. Review please and if you have any ideas, I'd really love to hear them and use them. You can e-mail them to me at KTK3C@aol.com or write them in a review. Next chapter I'll start thanking you again if you review, I've just been in an "I have to write this NOW or it isn't going to get written" mood lately. Love you all, buh-bye!