"Who knows what lies he's already told her! We can't just sit here!" Will stared down at the map of portals, trying not to take heed of what Cornelia said. That was what Caleb had whispered in her ear. 'Just ignore her. She would've made plenty more mistakes.'
"What else can we do?"
"So we just sit here! Again!" It was hard. Getting harder. Will knew Caleb was behind her, and the girls were all around her. If she broke now everyone would know. "Oh, that's brilliant!"
If Will couldn't break, she'd have to do something. She just wanted Cornelia to stop. Because Cornelia was right. "Look, we can't do anything until there's a portal."
...
Prince Phobos grimaced as the girl snuck a look at him again. It was so improper for the girl o admire her blood in such a way. Commoners would rekin blood. Phobos would never dream of doing so with this sister of his. "And these are the maps of the kingdom. Your kingdom."
"It's all so wonderful! Just like Cedric said!" She was naive. A child too occupied by herself that she couldn't see the world around him. He didn't even have to hide anything yet. Thanks to Cedric, she believed him to be in mourning of her absence. So, so naive. "I just wonder why they would hide this all from me.."
"Elyon, the world can be selfish. That is why we have the Veil. To split evil from good." The world. It was too easy to pour deceit over this girl. She didn't ask which world. Her assumption was Earth.
Elyon scowled and Phobos wished she wouldn't pucker her plain face. It made her uglier. "It makes me so mad to think I could've been here all along!"
"You shouldn't be angry. You must release the fury." Phobos knew that anger would be useful in fact, but as much as anger helped her power grow, he didn't want to be there to see it. "I'd like for you to try something."
"Huh?"
"A meditation of sorts," Phobos explained. Elyon nodded and smiled in a way he assumed she intended to be sweet. It was despicable. Phobos touched her temples and placed the image of a tank into her mind. A tarantula lay out of view, ready to attack with the most poisonous of venoms. "Touch your palm against the map. Imagine the picture I have shown you."
Elyon was knew to magic, Phobos knew, and a subtle hypnotism allowed him to give her directions to follow without question. Phobos did not hone the power to open a portal. But the light of Meridian did. Especially easily while she was fluctuating.
...
"Will..?" Will's eyelids looked heavy as they drooped over glazed eyes. The girls were down stairs and Caleb could still hear Cornelia's ranting from a distance. It was awful to watch Will; her shaking was now a quiver and she kept jerking when she realized that she was falling asleep again. He realized though, how sore her arm must be - standing from her unplastered elbow, with the Heart dangling from her hand: the band of material from which it hung tangled between and around her pale fingers. He'd almost forgotten how restful she was when she slept. Caleb leaned forward over the back of a chair as he took and pressed a band-aid onto her skin. A cool initial reaction, with the intense heat to follow. It was like an explosion at his fingertips, he'd decided. That's what it was to touch the keeper's skin.
Caleb jumped as Will's elbow tensed and she blinked her eyes open and shut a few times, "Caleb?"
"You're bleeding." It was a poor excuse, and Caleb half expected her to stand up and slap him for his close proximity. But that wouldn't be Will.. It was far too anticipated for her to slap him now. No, she'd do it later when he'd nothing wrong. "I was just putting a plaster.."
He trailed off as he became fixated on such a simple action. A yawn. A stretch. Will lay her head back on the table and smiled, her eyes closed. Ready to fall back into a dream. He wondered if she'd ever dreampt about him. Her words spoke through another yawn, "You scared me for a second there.."
Her elbow hit the table too lightly to form a sound; the Heart dangling again. But then it moved. The map shone up in a red cross. Caleb knew Will was aware, her eyes opening unwillingly to the dim orangey glow. "I'll get the others for you."