Alina's Crossing: Guardians of Terrin (5 page)

“Yes, but now they are almost
into our realm where the Shadow will be at full strength!”
my mother countered.

“Once they get into our realm,
they will go to their protected hideout. That will be the end of us stopping
them!”
I countered back, making sure she
remembered that specific detail.

“We can try again, Shael. We
just have to adjust our offense. I will simply infuse the Shadow with more
power and send it out while they are still in the 1st Realm.”
She said.

“Can you do that?”
I asked.
“I hadn’t realized that was an
option.”

 
 
“I can,
but not often, as it drains me. But, for a special occasion, and for the
protection of my beloved son, I will suffer the drain.”
She said lovingly.

“Has the Shadow returned?”
she inquired.

I looked at my mother, my stormy eyes swirling and nodded.

I had no other options at this point.

I didn't like the idea of my mother having to suffer for me,
but I would willingly do it for her if I had to.

She took my hand and led me to the center of the room,
instructing me to kneel before her. Usually, I was the one having people kneel
in front of me, not the other way around.

Since the Shadow lived in my eyes, I knew I must keep them
open while I looked up to her. I saw her inhale sharply, gathering her strength
and preparing herself for the power transfer.

She closed her eyes and held up her hands before her,
pointing her fingers his stiffly in my direction. She then slowly closed her
hands slowly, drawing out the Shadow from its home within me. I could see my
eyes reflected through hers, the whirlpool slowly replaced by enlarged and
darkening depths.

At first it was just a slow swirl, like water draining from
a bath, the colors curling around each other, then, as she exerted more power,
the whirlpool sped up so fast that the grey and black swirls were just a tight
knot of grey amongst a backdrop of black.

She finished the extraction of the Shadow. It was a painfully
slow process meant to not hurt myself or damage the Shadow, which communicated
telepathically while it resided within me. It was aware of what was about to
happen.

When it was out of me completely, mother told me to rise and
go to the other corner of the room. Hesitantly I agreed, but not before looking
back at her standing before this large dark mass of evil. It was constantly in
motion, its dark grey and black matter with the silver catching the light with
each movement it made.

Once my mother was assured of my safety, she threw her hands
up in the air, shooting a bright stream of light from her hands. The Shadow
started to convulse but didn't try to move away. Instead it grew larger, and
the smoke that made up its consistency grew denser and blacker. The stream of
light continued to be hurled at the Shadow by my mother's steady hand. The sheer
size it was growing to was becoming immense.

You could see through it before, like peering through the
fog.

It now blocked all light and objects.

I could see the lightning becoming dimmer from my mother’s
hand, an indication that she was becoming weaker. I moved from the corner to go
towards her but she sensed my movement. Just as a bright light encased her
whole body, she turned her head towards her me.

“No! Stay where you are!”
she yelled harshly.

Her hair was blowing wildly and her blue eyes now glowed
brilliant white. Her voice sounded like two people were talking instead of one.

I obeyed her orders, moving back into the corner of the room
I had been using as my vantage point. She knew what she was doing, and I knew
that she would not go overboard.

She would not kill herself for this.

The light encompassing my mother got brighter, turning into
a brilliant blue ball. The bubble of blue light then slowly rose off the floor,
hovering in mid-air. The light shooting from her hands intensified after that.
The Shadow reacted to the influx of the power stream by convulsing again,
appearing to enjoy the intake of strength, still growing larger. The ball of
light was making it almost impossible for me to see my mother’s condition and I
worried after her, but I stayed put.

The blue ball of light surrounding my mother got impossibly
brighter. She was still encased within this light, still feeding the Shadow
with a steady stream, injecting it with more power than even I knew existed
within her.

Just as quickly as it started it was over.

In an explosion of light that seemed to radiate out from the
center of the room and spread outwards, everything suddenly got dark again. The
light burned out around her and she fell from the ceiling, laying crumpled on
the floor and unconscious.

I ran over to her, checking to see if she was still alive.

She had a weak pulse.

I called out to my guards who were posted outside and they
came in immediately at the sound of my harsh call. They stopped short however
when they saw the gigantic Shadow hovering before them. Their scared faces and
nervous body language would have been humorous if my mother hadn’t been
clinging to life.

‘This would work.’
I decided.

My mother had just saved me.

“Quickly, take my mother to her
chambers. Call the doctor and tell her maid that if she leaves my mother's side
for
anything
it will be the last
thing she ever does. You are to tell her to use whatever resources and people
she needs.
 
My mother is not to be left
alone for anything. Make that clear. Go. Now!”
I barked.

My guards hesitantly sprang into action at the sound of my
anger, doing as they were told, but not without first keeping an eye on the
fierce blob still hovering before them. One of them gently scooped her up,
carrying her and slamming the door shut quickly behind them.

I turned slowly towards the Shadow.

It was waiting patiently for me.

Hovering in the air, its mist was swirling in peaceful and
calm ripples, different from the agitated state it had been in during the power
transfer. I surveyed my new and improved weapon, walking around it, my hands
clasped calmly behind my back.

The Shadow had tripled in size.

The black, smoke-like consistency it once had now looked
almost like black pudding. It was thick and more solid. I noticed that the
flecks that used to be silver now shown bright red. Flickering’s of this red
light radiated out of it with every ray of light it encountered. I continued inspection,
completely in awe of what my mother had done.

I took a deep breath and steadied myself.

 
“Bodik ghant.” I said
the words that allowed the Shadow to enter my body.

The Shadow, recognizing its command, eagerly swirled into
action, forming itself into a tight coil, and flew towards me, entering my
eyes.

I almost fell back from the sheer force of the Shadow’s
entrance, my body tense from the influx of power.

It also took longer to get its tripled length fully completely
inside of me.

I could feel the surge of power coursing through my veins.

I flexed my arm and closed my eyes, relishing the boost. My
body was alive with energy and my head was clearer.

Everything was sharper.

Colors were more vivid and things were more defined.

Thoughts were running though my head ferociously, plans and
possibilities that I had never thought of.

I suddenly knew what to do, when moments before, I was
confused.

I communicated with the Shadow telepathically once it was
inside me, laying out a plan to attack Jeb and Alina on the other side. 

There was one final thing to do. I strode over to the mirror
on the wall.

‘I need to see my eyes.’
I thought.

I was not prepared for what they would like.

They were wider and held a larger swirl of storms inside
them than they did before. The hurricane in my eyes now displayed black and
red. The significant color change made my face take on a more sinister
appearance. 

I smiled a slow and evil smile.

Opening the window, I started round two.

CHAPTER
4

ESCAPE

“Jaffee Island.” Jeb yelled
over the boat engines.

“What?” I yelled back.

“That's where we're going.
Jaffee Island.” said Jeb, louder this time.

“Oh, never heard of it.” I said,
turning my head back to look at the water.

I was still mad at him for what
he did to my shoes. The skirt was a necessary sacrifice, but the shoes...they
could still have been saved.

I saw Jeb laugh at me, which in
turn, made me madder.

“What’s so funny?” I asked
hotly. I didn't enjoy being laughed at, especially by someone I barely knew.

“Well, of course you haven’t
heard of it, it’s in the 2nd Realm outside of the Terrin border.” yelled Jeb.

“And you think this is where I
am from?” I asked.

I still had my doubts, but I
couldn't exactly argue my point with any expectations to win.

Not after today.

I had no choice but to believe him.
I wasn't going to tell him that though.

“Yes, well, not Jaffee
specifically, but the 2nd Realm, yes. Terrin specifically. Your grandmother is
from there as well.” said Jeb methodically, knowing that a mention of my
grandmother would trigger a response from me.

“My grandmother? How do you
know about her?” I snapped.

“You know the necklace you
wear? Do you know the name of the stone?” he asked.

He was avoiding the question
indirectly by turning my attention onto something else. I automatically placed
my hand around the cool, pale pink stone with the bright white star emblazoned
on it.

It was lying innocently around
my neck, but I knew what it could do now. I had never been conscious of it when
I wore it. It was always just there and had always been there since my
grandmother had given it to me.

The necklace was different to
me now.

It had always represented a
special gift that I received from my grandmother and now it was something more
mysterious.

“It's called a Trell Stone. That
stone is only found in the 2nd Realm and is very rare. The star in the stone is
a natural occurrence and is not found often. The stone has become a talisman
for royalty, but every now and then a piece makes it to the normal folks.”
explained Jeb.

I was having a hard time hearing
him from the back of the boat, so I crept up closer to him.

“How do you know about this?” I
said, holding the stone up to him. “My grandmother, I mean, and how she gave it
to me?” I asked.

I was more than curious to hear
how he would answer that question.

“Well,” Jeb said with
hesitation, “that is a longer story than we have time for at the moment. There
are ears and eyes everywhere and the information I have could be dangerous if
it fell into the wrong hands.”

“So this Terrin place, in the
2nd Realm, where exactly is it?” I asked.

“Well, it's in...the 2nd
Realm.”

“Yes, I got that part, but
where is it? Do we have to go into the portal again?” I asked eagerly.

“No, we don't. We just have to
crossover and then...we are just there.” explained Jeb.

“So, you said it's parallel to
this realm. What does that mean? Why do you call it the 2nd Realm?” I asked, pelting
Jeb with questions.

“Well, it means that it exists
in the same space, but on a totally different plane, in a totally different
time and in a totally different realm. There are several spots in both this
world and my world where you can crossover in between the realms. Not everyone
can do it and you have to know what you are looking for and where to look for
it. Sometimes, you accidentally find it and crossovers happen whether you
intended it to or not. If your world is missing any boats or those flying
machines...what do you call them...airplanes? They are probably in the 2nd
Realm. As far as its name goes, I have no idea why this side is called the 1st
Realm and my side is called the 2nd Realm. It just is.” Jeb said.

That was interesting to say the
least, to think that there were 'windows' or 'doorways' into other realms out
there.

“So, is it set up like this
world? Are there mountains and lakes and different countries and stuff?” I asked,
eager for any information he could give me about this place.

“It does have mountains and
lakes but no separate countries like you have here. There are different regions
though. We call them provinces and there are four. Terrin is the smallest of
the four regions and also the oldest settled region. It encompasses only four
quarcets.” He said.

“What is a quarcet?” I asked.

“It's a measurement of an area
of land. How do you describe a size of an area of land in your world?” asked
Jeb.

“Well, in America we use miles.
Like the distance from my home to the museum is just under three miles. Five
thousand, two hundred and eighty feet make up one mile.” I said.

“Feet?” Jeb questioned, and
looked down at his own.

 
I laughed when he did this, but I didn't mean
to. Jeb shot me a knowing look and I offered him a smile as an apology for
laughing at him.

“In the 2nd Realm we use
quarcets, parcets and katronds. Which is way too hard to describe so we will
just show you when we get to Jaffee.” said Jeb with a laugh. “The other three
regions are Gulvern, Taag, and Kilderin.”

“So only four regions for an
entire world? There are fifty states just in my country. Each one has their own
leader.” I said.

“Well then, I guess that is a
similarity to our world. There is one ruler of Terrin. Our King is Shael.” He
said.

“Shael? The madman who is
supposedly after me is also the King? You forgot one very big chapter in the
welcome packet Jeb!” I scolded.

How could he have forgotten to
tell me about that? I understand he was in a rush and there was some sort of
smoke monster after us, but seriously, he might have mentioned some crazy
madman king was the person after me.

“Why does it matter if he is
the King? He is still after us!” Jeb countered.

“I don't know why it matters it
just does!” I said stubbornly. Irritated once again, I turned my head away from
him.

“If there is one thing I am
absolutely sure of is that women are the same no matter what Realm they are
from!” Jeb said in frustration, turning back around to better concentrate on
driving the boat to our intended destination, increasing the throttle of the
boat with great force.

“And that creature you called
the Shadow? What was that thing?” I asked.

I wasn't going to stop pelting
him with questions just because they were frustrating him.

I saw Jeb take a cleansing
breath before he spoke.

“That is Shael's weapon. It is
a concentrated cloud of evil magic, but it's also cognitive and aware. It takes
instructions and does what it's told. It hurts people.” He said.

 
“Can you tell me what the weapon is that I am
supposed to find and what it is supposed to protect?” I asked after several
silent moments.

Jeb frowned a bit.

He had to know I needed
answers, but I realized that I wasn't going to be getting anything else out of
him until he deemed us safe. I resigned myself to having to be content with
that.

“Soon.” was all he said.

I rolled my eyes at him,
turning my attention back onto the water.

It was a short reprieve though.

 
“Why is it that everything I need to know, you
know, but can’t share with me?” I asked, frustrated.

 
I knew the reasons.

He had already told me, but I
couldn’t stop. Even though this question and answer session was becoming increasingly
frustrating for me because of the lack of answers, the nosy and petulant part
of my personality always seemed to squash the meeker side.

Jeb continued driving the boat
in silence.

My mouth was quiet, my brain
was not. Several times I opened my mouth with another question but had to bite
my tongue. I wasn't going to get anything out of him yet. There would be an
opportunity for all of my questions, so I filed them away, ready for the right
opportunity.

My mind was reeling from the
events of the day and I needed to be able to do some processing. It was
unbelievable what had transpired. The more I thought about what I had seen and
done, the more unreal it became.

 “What is that?" I
yelled to Jeb after a long stretch of silence between us.

A noise had grabbed my
attention.

It sounded like a tortured woman
screaming in agony, but higher pitched. I couldn't tell where it was coming
from, the noise completely encapsulating me.

"What is what?" asked
Jeb.

‘Could he not hear it?’
I
wondered.

When I found Jeb's eyes a few
seconds later, I saw the worry that he was trying to hide. He could hear the
noise, but I wasn't sure if that made me feel a little better or a little
worse.

'What now?'
I
thought. ‘
How much more could I handle?’

The noise was growing louder.

I knew it wasn't good.

Or friendly.

"It's the Shadow. Shael
must know of you." said Jeb solemnly.

"How is that possible? You
said we would be undetected. You said the Shadow didn't have time to notice
me!" I yelled.

"Well I guess I was wrong!
Come here Alina." yelled Jeb.

I was debilitated from fear.

Jeb kept one hand on the
steering wheel of the boat and stretched out to grab me from the bucket seat I
was in, yanking me over to him.

"Ouch!" I yelled in
protest, rubbing my arm in the spot he grasped.

“Alina, listen to me very
carefully. We are close to Jaffee. There is an invisible barrier out here in
the ocean where we will make the crossover into the 2nd Realm. If
something....if the Shadow manages to overtake me, keep the compass on North
and just keep going as fast as you can. Do not slow down, do not try to help
me...in fact, try to throw me overboard if you can. Do you understand me?"
he said.

‘North, fast, invisible barrier, knock him off the boat.’
I replayed his directions in my head.

 
“Yes Jeb, I understand.” I said.

I was now officially scared.

Again.

Jeb put a hand on my arm for reassurance,
but with the large and quickly advancing dark grey blob that had come into our
line of vision and was fast on our tail, nothing was going to comfort me.

“What do we do?" I asked
desperately.

"There is nothing we can
do other than make the crossover and get to Jaffee before the Shadow overtakes
us. It cannot penetrate the border in between the Realms. Shael has to create
an entry for the Shadow and that is the only way it can enter or leave. Once we
are inside the border, we will be safe from Shael and the Shadow." Jeb explained.

"What if it takes me over
instead of you? Are you going to throw me overboard to save yourself?" I
asked, worriedly.

I wasn't a strong swimmer and
the thought of being thrown off a boat that I was frightened to be on in the
first place did not pleasant.

"No, I won't. If that
situation arises, I will just have to fight you off until we reach Jaffee. If
the Shadow infects either one of us, it should be ripped from our bodies as we
pass through the border. But I don't think it will try to get you. You don't
know where the crossover line is, I do. Shael knows I am the navigator of this
little expedition and he will most likely try to stop us by trying to stop
me." He said.

"And we will arrive at
Jaffee when?" I asked. The idea of some sort of smoke monster being ripped
from my body did not sound pleasant at all.

"Soon. Not much longer."
said Jeb calmly.

‘What is soon? Three minutes, five minutes?’
I thought.

Soon was not a set amount of
time and
soon
was not helping me gage
the level of panic I needed to be properly displaying. If it is was one minute
away, I could count down and be scared, but not so scared, knowing the clock
was winding down. But twenty minutes or so was plenty of time for the Shadow to
overtake us and the proper amount of panic needed to be let out.

I was wishing I could have some
of Jeb's resolve because I was freaking out.

‘How was he so freaking calm?’
I wondered.

The Shadow was now less than a
mile away from us, and the shrill sound it was emanating was getting louder
with each approaching inch. It was flying towards us with intense speed,
swirling and twisting itself in the air.