First thing we did was pack all of our new clothes into suitcases large enough to fit every piece of clothing, but light enough to feel like five pounds. I was driver. Pete was next to me and Lona next to him. Pam and Mick sitting in the back and to the right and Val was right behind me in the backseat.
"We will be traveling 912.3 miles. We should take a plane. It will only take us 15 hours to get there." Val said putting her fingers to her temples.
"Alright. But that's going to cost big bucks to find a plane like that."
"Hey. Let me mention my dad again. He is famous all over the United States. He used to be an air pilot for the Navy. Now he has an industry in building planes for them. Even though he is with the Creatures, he can't lose his job because of them. At work he pretends to hate them like everyone else." Pam finally admitted. "Oh, and he was in the Marines for a little while and he was very good at mechanics for them." She revealed his past to us finally. That was surprising because he was so laid back.
"Oh." I said. We were all shocked, to say the least.
"Yeah. So, let's go." Pam said trying to ignore the fact that she told us secret information that she wasn't allowed to tell us.

"We won't tell anyone." Lona said. I drove to the nearest airport. We talked to a lot of people, but finally got to the right guy. He said he was once friends with "Buck". We loaded our car into the plane and they strapped it down. There was a little space where we could sit with seats and seatbelts. It was early in the morning, still, when we took off. I grabbed a few hours of sleep. When I woke, someone was standing in front of me.
"Hello." She said putting out her hand.
"Nice to meet you?" I said while shaking her hand.
"I'm Theresa Alko." She pronounced her last name like All-co.
"I'm Nicki Prentue." I said introducing myself.
"I'm your new guide. Looks like Petey came with you. Doesn't matter." Theresa said.
"Theresa?" I started but...
"No, no. Call me Resa for short."
"Okay, Resa. Where will you take us?" I asked, standing up to stretch and to see how tall she was. She had to be at least 4 feet 11 inches. She had short, spiky, brown hair with bright, blue eyes.
"Oh, that's the surprise! Isn't it?" She had an Australian accent. Cool.
"Alright." I said. "Grab a seat and wait for the ride." I gestured toward an empty seat.
"Thank you. I hope you'll introduce me to your friends." I was about to say they were asleep, but they started waking up.
"Hey, guys." I said to get their attention. "This is Theresa Alko. She will be our guide in Jackson."
"Call me Resa." She said while shaking everyone's hand. When she got to Pete, he stood up and hugged her so hard I thought he was going to crush her. Then he kissed her on the cheek and sat back down.
"How you doin', kiddo?" He said casually.
"Gettin' along, mate."
"Ya didn't come and visit often."
"Too much to do. The counsel has had it with my parties." What counsel? Why aren't they helping?
"Ah, that dumb counsel. Never really wanted to be one myself, but..." I looked at Pete. He gave me a look that said, 'I'll tell you everything later.' Fine. Later he's going to have to tell me everything, even about Shorty here. We sat in silence until Lona started shaking again. Crazy thought here, what if she started shaking when she was very old and we thought she was making a prediction, but really she was having a seizure? Crazy thought...

"The counsel will not take your claims." She said in an echo of her own voice, "But they will accept a magical duel. No rules. Pick two people to fight. No guides help." She stopped there. Magical duel? What?
"Geez." Pete sighed. He put his head in his hands.
"What's that?" I asked after telling Lona everything she said.
"A magical duel is when four people, two to each side, fight until both people on one side go down. Either knocked unconscious or dead." Val said in a matter-of-factly tone.
"So, since we aren't allowed guides and only ourselves, who do we pick?" Pam asked.
"Definitely Val." Lona said.
"Oh, thanks." Val said. The last part didn't sound too good, until their dead. Whew shivers down my spine.
"I'll go."
"Yeah, since you are more powerful than all of us." They still couldn't get over that. But they said I should go with Val. Lona was afraid she might stop and make a prediction and get blown to bits and Pam couldn't handle the stress that might come up, or so she said. Well, we had another three hours to go. We had lost so much money for this trip. 1,400 bucks, plus money for the credit card Pam had. I hoped her father understood. But then Pete came along and said he had a big inheritance of five million dollars.
"Wait. Five MILLION? Wow." Lona said. I didn't say anything. I was feeling guilty for the thoughts I was thinking. What if we stayed together? Until we married? It will look like I was just in it for the money. I couldn't ask him for any during this trip, because I couldn't pay him back. This just got complicated for me and him. I thought everything was going so well. Dumb inheritance. I wouldn't meet his gaze. I was keeping up some idle chatter with Pam and Val. Lona was talking to Resa.
"Can I talk to you, Nicki?" Pete said breaking into our conversation. Everyone looked at him.
"Yeah, alright." We walked off out of hearing range.
"What's wrong?" He asked.
"Nothing." I said too quickly.
"Something's up." He pushed.
"Well, your inheritance will make everything awkward. I couldn't ask you for money because I couldn't pay you back. And if I stay with you, it looks like I'm in it for the money." I said still not meeting his gaze. If I did, I would blush from my neck to the roots of my hair.
"I don't care about it. I don't even touch it. I will give it to you for your traveling expenses. I don't need it."
"Don't say that. Of course you're gonna need it." I didn't want to have this conversation.
"Well, yes I do. I need it for you four. And five if you count Resa, but she's a different story."
"That's a story I want to hear. Now." I demanded bossily.
"Okay. Let's see, we went to wizard and witching school together. That's where we learned complicated magic. She is Earth. I'm Air. We had one class together. Lunch. We talked about going into the counsel together. I didn't get in. I got to be a guide. I had to wait for you four. Every ten years there is a new prophecy from some witch in the counsel. I was picked for Miami, since I live there. Resa was picked for Jackson, because she guards the counsel and is a guide. The counsel moves a lot, but now they wait for this war to be over. You don't want to cross her. I did once, but that was before she was a guard. She was bad back then, but now... So anyway, we are just old friends. Nothing more." Pete said a bit out of breath.
"Okay. I wasn't accusing you."
"You thought it."
"Did not."
"Did to."
"Not."
"To."
"Not."
"To."
"Ugh!" I threw up my hands and walked away back to my seat. He was laughing when he came back.
"You're such a girl." He said. All five of us girls looked at him.
"Um, sorry." He looked away. I smiled. We can still over power him. Go girls! I'm such a sexist. Meaning, I like woman to have their rightful rights. Men are okay, but totally taking over our lives! Gosh. We played cards to kill time. Resa came with them. Thank her. I was so bored. We played War and Slap Jack and Rumee 500 (rum-E). That took long enough for the plane ride to be over. I hadn't ever gone on a plane before. I was thankful that I didn't barf, but all that puking before. Ech!