Sacrifice
A Sequel to Quietly into the Night
Conventional Couples
Rating: PG-13

Chapter Thirty-Three

Antar – Outside Capitol City

The group sat around the table, tossing out ideas, trying to formulate a plan. Kyle and Michael had to physically restrain Max at one point; so strong was his desire to head down the mountain and rescue the rebels.
"Maxwell, will you think with your head just this one time!" urged Michael. "We can't go rushing down there without a plan. The only thing that will do is get all of us killed. Is that what you want?"
"It so scares me when Michael is logic boy," said Maria. "But he's right girlfriend. You go rushing down there, and you'll be signing our death warrants, and personally, I still have a lot of living left to do."
"Why does she call Max girlfriend?" Saranara whispered to Liz.
"It's confusing, and a long story. I'll fill you in later."
"It is kind of scary," said Kyle, agreeing with Maria. "But Max, Michael's right. We need to calm down, and look inward to find our answers."
"Kyle, keep the Buddha crap to yourself. We don't have time for it," snapped Max.
"Max!" said Liz in shock.
"Damn, I'm sorry Kyle. I just hate the thought of anybody else suffering because of us."
"Don't worry about it. I'll just kick your ass after we get back home."
The group laughed, and some of the tension fled the room.

"Oh," said Saranara. "I have an idea. The feast of DoubleMoon happens tomorrow night. Thousands of people will enter Capitol City to celebrate. It is a very important festival in our culture. All the single women come to the city offer a sacrifice to their deity in the hopes of finding a husband."
"And of course, where the women go, the men follow," said Jereon. "Saranara, that's excellent. We can sneak back into the city and blend in with the crowds."
"Okay, we've found a way into the city unnoticed, now we just have to figure out where they are holding those people, and how to get them out," said Liz.
"And we have to act fast, DoubleMoon is fast approaching," said Saranara. "We don't have much time."
"You are right daughter. We will have to leave within the day to get down there in time," said Naloch.
"Will Isabelle be able to do it?" asked Maria worriedly. "She's totally wiped out. She didn't even stir when I went in to check on the kids."
"Isabelle is far stronger than any of you imagine," said Jereon. "She will manage quite well.

Liz and Maria exchanged smiles with Max, Michael and Kyle. Obviously, Isabelle's power over men wasn't limited strictly to Earth.
"We still need a way to get back home," said Liz. "Naloch, how is that coming?"
"Not as well as I would like Liz," he admitted. "Jereon left word with several people telling them what we need, but he wasn't able to locate anyone who could help us."
"What do we need?" asked Maria. "I must be out of the loop on this one?"
"I need another set of orbs," said Naloch. "The ones I had were destroyed when my shop was destroyed. I have the schematics to manipulate them, but without the orbs, the information is useless."
"Um, well, I have a question then," said Maria. "The orbs that Max had, would they work?"
"Yes, those would be perfect. I had manipulated those to correspond with the orbs I had in my shop. I did that to ensure that when you transported back to Antar you would come directly to the shop."
"But you don't need to have two sets of the orbs to make it work?" asked Maria.
"No, not at all."

Maria left the table and went to the room that she and Michael had used to sleep in and returned with her backpack.
"Here," she said reaching inside the bag. "Maybe this will help." She removed the orbs and placed them on the table.
"Maria, have I told you lately how much I love you?" asked Kyle with a smile.
"Watch it Buddha boy," said Michael with a grin. "She's all mine! Maria, why didn't you tell us you brought them with you?"
"I didn't think about it," she admitted. "I never let them go when they started to work, and when I got here, I just shoved them in my bag. Before I had a chance to even think, Kyle was grabbing me and dragging me away. I guess I just forgot about them until now."
"It doesn't matter," said Max. "We have a way to get the kids out of here."
"Maria, you're going with them," said Michael. "I don't want any arguments either. Our daughter needs you."
Maria opened her mouth to argue, but shut it quickly. She realized her husband was right.
"Maria, will you watch out for Lexie and Kam?" asked Liz. "Lexie loves you like a mother already, and Kam will grow to love you just as much if we don't make it back."
"Oh no Chica, don't talk like that!" said Maria. "You know I'll do anything for you and for those two little babies of yours, but you come home. I know it!"

"Liz, can I talk to you for a second," said Max.
"Sure Max, what is it?"
"Not here," he said. "Come outside and walk with me for a while."
The two left the table and went outside. Once they were away from the house, Max turned to Liz.
"I want you to go back with the kids, Liz."
"I want to too, but I can't," she answered. "I have to stay and fight. You know it too. My place is beside you Max. If I live or die, it will be by your side."
Max wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly. "I love you so much Elizabeth Parker Evans. You are my world. The entire time you were gone, I existed, but I didn't live. I need you beside me to make me whole."
"Oh Max," she whispered. "I love you so much."
He leaned down and kissed her passionately. "And I love you Liz. We'll get through this, and then we'll go home and with our children and have a wonderful life."

The two stood outside talking and looking at the stars for quite a while before they returned inside. Once inside the lodge, they found Naloch working with the orbs while Michael, Maria, Kyle, Saranara and Jereon continued to plan their infiltration of the city.
"Maxwell, Jereon thinks he may have an idea of where they are holding the rebels. But he needs to talk to Isabelle before he can be sure. I told him to go and wake her but he keeps insisting that she needs to rest. Will you try and explain to him just how royally pissed your sister is going to be if she thinks she's being babied. And Jereon," he said turning to the Antarian. "When I say royally pissed, I don't mean that in a nice gentle princess type of pissed."
"He's right, Jereon," added Kyle. "Isabelle hates to be babied. Well, she doesn't hate to be babied, but she doesn't like to be sheltered. Trust me, go wake her up."
Jereon turned to Max who nodded.
"Very well, but I still think she needs to rest some more."

Jereon walked into the room where Isabelle was sleeping. He stood in the doorway for several minutes and stared. Her beauty was mesmerizing. He knew then that once she left his planet to return to her own, his life would be over. He would never again find a woman who affected his heart in such a way. He stepped into the room and moved quietly to her bedside.
"Isabelle," he whispered, touching her arm softly. "Isabelle, I need to talk to you."
"Jesse," she said in her sleep. The name drove a spike through his heart.
"Princess, wake up," he said more curtly. "Princess, I need your help."
"Jereon, is that you?" she asked, her mind fogged by sleep. "I was having such a strange dream. Jesse was here, he was saying,"
"We don't have time for that," said Jereon interrupting her. "I need to talk to you about the conversation you overheard. Are you sure you told me everything?"

Isabelle sat up in bed; hurt by the way Jereon had cut her off.
"No, of course I only told you part of the conversation. I thought it would be so much more fun if you tried to fill in the blanks all by yourself!"
"That's not what I meant Princess and you know it," he snapped. "No, I may have an idea, but I need for you to tell me everything you can possibly remember."
"Fine," said Isabelle, and she began to recount the conversation.
Jereon listened intently until she was finished.
"Are you sure you didn't hear the word Viskrada at all?" he asked.
"I don't know," she admitted. "It was hard, they were talking so fast. Say it again for me."
" Viskrada," he said slowly and clearly.
"Yes!" Isabelle cried. " Viskrada elcha Drenta. What does it mean?"
"It means you are perhaps the most incredible woman I have ever met," said Jereon grabbing her and pulling her close. "I think I know where they are holding our people!"