Chapter Six
Lina stood in an old, abandoned stretch of wilderness, sprawling out from behind a suburban subdivision. It had been marked for construction years earlier, but after two long environmental lawsuits and one protest by the surrounding neighborhood, it was left to grow out into untamed forest. Grass reached up to Lina's knees, and she had to constantly swat away at pestilent mosquitoes.
The bothersome wilderness, however, only occupied part of her mind as she caressed the delicate wand in her hands. She once again admired its ornately designed, olive-colored surface, wondering what secrets it might hold. She had already spent hours thinking, remembering all the things about Lorien her cepan had taught her, but still could not decipher what this artifact might do.
It was intensely frustrating; the only thing she had succeeded in doing was giving herself a little scratch on the wand's pointed tip.
"Ugg!" she muttered in frustration. "I need to find them!"
And at that moment, the wand started to glow. Its olive surface became a fluorescent green, and it began to tug away from Lina, as if attracted by a magnetic force. It was pointing west, toward the United States.
Jumping up into the cool air, allowing herself to be taken away by the breeze, Lina smiled, following her new guide's steady aim.
"I'm coming," she whispered, the image of John Smith dancing in her mind. She would not let him die.