Alina's Crossing: Guardians of Terrin (18 page)

“So, if you are Queen, then
that makes me...” I couldn't finish the sentence.

Jeb said it for me. “You are a
princess and one day the rightful Queen of this land. Shael and his mother
forcefully took this land and now you must get it back.”

I couldn't think, couldn't
speak.

One day I am trying to become
an archaeologist and the next I am dragged into an alternate realm, chased by
evil magic smoke monsters, then learn I am a princess and a future Queen.

 
“Ok, so what exactly do I need to do? How do I
trap the Shadow?” I asked.

 
I needed guidance.

“We practice.” said my mother.

****************

Over the next couple of days,
my life became only about my magic and trying to trigger it when I needed it. I
was told that it was an innate part of me and all I had to do was learn how to
channel it. It was about visualizing the outcome and making the magic do what I
needed it to. I didn't have just one specific power, I was all powerful.

Anything I needed to do, I
could do, I just had to visualize it.

Apparently, all I had to do to
get the box to trap the Shadow was to visualize it being dragged into the box
and my magic would make it happen. The box was fortified with an ancient protection
spell. Once the Shadow was inside, it prevented any escape.

I was practicing manipulating
the elements on the ground without any luck.

“Concentrate Alina!” said Jeb,
frustrated.

He raked his hands through his
hair, throwing them down roughly in frustration. I had been trying to move dirt
on the ground but was only making small puffs.

“I am trying to concentrate and
you yelling at me all the time is not helping me!” I shrieked back to Jeb.

I threw my arms up in defeat,
plopping myself onto the ground with great dramatic flourish. “This is
hopeless! My mother said I was all powerful but I have no power!”

I placed my arms over my face
in an attempt to hide myself from the world.

Jeb grabbed my hand and tried
to pull me up, but I went limp, not allowing him to drag me up. I was acting
like a spoiled child and I knew it but I couldn't help it. I had been trying to
move the dirt, make it swirl like a tornado for days but I just couldn't do it.

I wasn't capable.

“Get up Alina. Stop acting like
a brat and get ahold of yourself. Remember, the longer it takes you to learn
how to use your magic, the longer your mother must suffer the drain of protecting
the island.” Jeb said, taking a cheap shot to my emotional gut.

I sighed in frustration,
shooting him an ugly look, but I stuck my hand up to him, allowing him to drag
me back up to continue my failed attempts at using my magic.

He stayed behind me, putting
his hands on my shoulders, squaring them.

“Close your eyes and take a
deep breath.” he instructed softly.

I closed my eyes, inhaling and
exhaling several times slowly. Having him so close to me was a major
distraction and the only thing I could focus on which was the one thing I
wasn't supposed to be focusing on.

I liked having him right next
to me.

The thought thrilled and
excited me, which scared me all at the same time.

“Now, picture the ground. Can
you see it?” directed Jeb, bringing my attention swiftly back to where it
should be focused on.

I nodded that I could.

“Now, picture the dirt. It's
brown, it's grainy, and when the wind blows, the dirt gets swept up in the wind
with it. Can you see that?” prompted Jeb.

“Yes.” I said.

I could see that perfectly.

It occurred to me that maybe I
was going at this all wrong. Maybe I didn't need to manipulate the ground at
all. Maybe what I needed to do was manipulate the air and bring the dirt with
it.

I raised my hands up in front
of me, keeping my eyes closed.

I saw the dirt and the air,
this time as two separate entities. I wiggled my fingers, attacking only the
air, making it swirl over the dirt, but not attacking the dirt itself. The air
would capture the dirt and take it with it.

I concentrated on the swirling,
slow at first, then faster and faster.

I heard Jeb take a sharp inhale
of breath and I opened my eyes.

There was a small tornado of
dirt, swirling around and around, all on its own.

“Am I doing that?” I whispered.

Jeb, still behind me, nodded.
“I believe so.” he said, his voice filled with awe.

“Now, can you stop the wind?”
asked Jeb. “Can you control what you did and return it to its natural state?”

‘Hmmm...How would I do that?’
I wondered.

He was right to ask because I
did need to learn to control the magic I created. That was all part of
learning.

I closed my eyes again, this
time concentrating on making the swirling air stop swirling. I waved my hands
in a small ceasing gesture, re-opening them to find the swirling little tornado
had dissipated at my command, leaving only a cloud of dirt blowing back down to
the ground.

For several hours after that, I
practiced producing the swirl of dirt and stopping the swirl of dirt, making
the elements do my bidding. I even moved onto other objects like leaves and
twigs, making them swirl in beautiful dance of my own creation.

Riff was happily chasing all
the tornadoes, trying to attack them or pounce on them. The sight was
hysterical and everyone laughed at Riff's playfulness. Jasser and Helix even
smiled, which was totally worth all the frustration I had experienced.

 I was giddy with
happiness. It was the most remarkable experience I had ever had and the more I
practiced the easier it became. I started testing the limits of my abilities
but there were limits to my power.

There was a large boulder at
the edges of the clearing that I tried to move but it didn't budge an inch. I
wasn't going to give up on it. One day I would move that boulder.

It would just take time.

My mother was quiet and patient
with me, much different than Jeb's approach. I was usually a fast learner in
most things, however magic seemed to come to me with more difficulty.

At the end of the sixth day of
my training, we received news from the island. Gio had walked up to the cottage,
looking forlorn and ashen.

Jeb ran up to him, worry all
over his face. “What is it Gio? The girls?”

“No, the girls are fine.”
assured Gio, and I saw Jeb's face visibly relax.

“What is going on then? Why are
you here?” Jeb asked with concern.

“It's Joe. He snuck onto the
island and has captured several of the children. He is holding them hostage
until Alina returns. He is supposed to take Alina to Shael. That has been his
only demand. I was sent to fetch you Alina and bring you to him.” he said, looking
at me sullenly.

“Shael isn't on the island, is
he?” asked Jeb quickly, his voice filled with panic.

“No, it's just Joe. But he told
us that Shael now knows the approximate location of the island and is working
with his mother to uncover it.”

Joe had betrayed us all again.

I looked at Jeb, who looked
back at me, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

I wasn't ready to face Shael,
not yet, and definitely not alone.

My mother had come out of the
cottage and she too looked worried. She must have overheard the conversation.
So much for others having confidence in my abilities.

“I will go back to the island.”
I stated bravely.

“No Alina, you cannot face
Shael yet! You aren't anywhere near ready for that. I will go back and see if I
can talk to Joe, maybe I could buy you some more training time.” said Jeb.

“No Jeb, you heard Gio. He
wants only me. There are children being held against their will because of me.
You will go back with me and make the exchange. The children for me. Then, you
will follow me. There are no options here. I will not let those children suffer
a moment longer because I am scared.” I said the words that needed to be said
but, even I had my doubts about my abilities.

Sure, I was better than when I
first came to Terrin, but I don't think I could protect myself with my magic
yet.

I had no other options though.
I couldn't let children be pawns in Shael's game. We had to rescue them and if
it meant turning myself in, then so be it.

The group was quiet.

They did not argue with me
because they all knew I was right. They didn't like it, but they knew there
were no other choices available to us at the moment.

I walked over to my mother who
had pain in her eyes. I grabbed one of her hands in mine, squeezing it lightly.

“I can do this and I will come
back to you.” I said, partly to reassure her and partly to reassure myself.

“I know you can and I know you
will. Remember, it's not about killing Shael, not yet anyway. It's about
trapping the Shadow. Take the power from him and he will be weaker. Then he can
be defeated.” urged my mother.

“I will.” I whispered, my eyes
welling up with tears.

I hugged my mother, the person
that people knew only as the Enok. She hugged me back, tightly. “Thank you
mother.” I whispered.

She smiled back at me, touching
my hair lightly. She then opened my hand, putting a stone in it, closing my
hand around it.

 “Keep this with you. It
will help channel your power.” She said.

She closed her hand around my
hand and her gift, giving me one last reassuring squeeze.

I opened my hand, revealing the
stone she placed in there.

It looked like a crystal or a
diamond but wasn't either of those things. It was clear and had a tubular
shape, but it was bumpy, like it was made of millions of little bubbles. It was
smooth to the touch, no rough edges on it anywhere. Either way it was beautiful
and now suddenly the most precious item I have ever been given.

I touched the necklace around
my throat and clutched the stone in my hand. Items from the two most important
women in my life, clinging to them as if my life depended on it.

I tucked Riff into my jacket
and we departed after everyone said goodbye. The sad, little group we made,
turned away from the cottage. It felt wrong to leave her all alone and I kept
looking back as we walked away, until I could no longer see her or her home.

I practiced calling my magic
all the way down the mountain, using any opportunity available to keep
exercising my powers.

I was about to face Shael
alone. I needed the practice.

I found that the farther we got
down the mountain and every minute we spent here, far away from them, was more
time the children were being held hostage for me.

I couldn't stop thinking about
that.

It would take four days to get
back to the island and that was entirely too long. The worry I was feeling for
the children was getting harder to bear. I decided it was time to follow my gut
and my gut said I needed to open a portal back to the island.

“Jeb, I'm going to open a
portal and get us back faster.” I said.

“Alina the risk-” he started to
argue with me but I interrupted him.

I knew the risks involved and it
didn't matter. Not now.

“Jeb, Shael knows where we are.
I can feel him watching us right now. He wants me and wants Joe to bring me to
him. I am going to open a portal to the island and not let those kids have to
wait one more second to be saved.” I said.

Jeb knew I was right and moved
aside, allowing me room.

I walked close to the edge of
the mountain side and closed my eyes, concentrating on my newly acquired
ability of control. I clutched my trell stone around my neck and within
seconds, a portal opened. I had focused on the location of the island I wanted
the other end to open at and I hoped and prayed it would work.

Everyone jumped in and I was
last to enter.

When we got to the other side
it was exactly where I thought it would be, right in the middle of the village.

Gio pointed to the Great Hall,
to where Joe was holding up with all the children, waiting for me.

CHAPTER
13

TRADE

There was a palpable silence on
the island when we arrived. No doubt it was because the others finally learned
that Joe had betrayed them and they were scared for the innocent children who
were being held as hostages. The terror they had run from now infiltrated their
peaceful, secluded home.

The island had been a sanctuary
for all of them and now it was tainted with the evil they had been fervently
trying to escape.

We walked quickly and quietly
past everyone, trying to offer reassurance by remaining calm. One of the
mothers on the island had a child trapped inside the Great Hall. When we
reached her, she was standing with the others, away from the building, but
still in eyesight. Her face was riddled with distress. Jeb hugged her and
whispered in her ear. She smiled a small smile, mouthing ‘Thank you’ to me.

I braced myself for what was
about happen.

I wasn't scared.

I was worried.

Motherly instinct had been
awakened, overriding any thoughts of my safety. The only thing I could think
about was getting those children safe.