Chapter 16

“You didn’t know?” Daxx glanced over her shoulder.

“I knew.” Crissy nodded and kept going.

“You knew Reagan was Quinton’s mate?” Daxx paused and looked behind us.

Crissy nodded again, “who else could it be with the prophecy?” She shrugged and started walking again.

“Prophecy?” I stumbled over a lip in the walkway, “the nine sons?”

“It still irks me that you know all of this.” Alona said quietly.

“Yes. That one.” Crissy stopped and closed her eyes, “For our loyal brother filled with the deepest sadness, he will find the touch of his woman will renew his heart and she is the only one that will be able to heal him inside.” She opened and eyes and looked at me, “I knew it was you.”

“Wow, no pressure there.” Bethany said with a smirk.

“Deepest sadness? He’s the grumpiest.” Paisley mused.

I shrugged and looked down the small street in the village. “I didn’t know.” I shrugged, “I always thought with mates there was uncontrollable…”

Autumn held up her hand, “don’t go there.” She titled her head and looked at me, “our stories with mates weren’t all easy.”

Bethany chortled, “that’s putting it mildly.”

“I’m drawn to him, intrigued if you like, but I didn’t know that’s why.” I checked the other direction, then looked behind us to where our large entourage of guards followed. We weren’t exactly moving through these towns and villages under the radar. I paused, trying to decide on a direction, everyone froze and watched me. I had to wonder if the prophecy was a metaphor or if I could really help with the illness he wanted to hide. I shrugged it off and turned to go down the one street. “he said something peculiar earlier.”

“Quinton?” Bethany asked.

I nodded.

“They all say and do stupid things.” Alona stated.

“Or rage.” Crissy added.

“All the raging.” Paisley laughed.

“What did he say?” Autumn stopped and looked back at the guards. “They’re standing out.”

Daxx looked behind us and nodded. “Yeah, I’m working on a plan for that.” She turned to me, “so what did he say?”

“That he’d always wondered.” I paused and looked to the outskirts of the village. “What’s that way?”

“So, he knew you were his mate.” Bethany glanced back at her guard and motioned for him to come.

“And then he said too bad it’s too late.” I continued to look out at the countryside at the end of the street.

“Too late?” Paisley shook her head, “for what?” She smirked, “as far as I know mates don’t expire.”

Alona laughed, “like spoiled milk.”

I watched Bethany talk to Mac, who was shaking his head.

“Could it have something to do with how he suffered before Daxx,” I pushed my hair back from my face, “cured him?”

A thoughtful look appeared on Daxx’s face. “I don’t see how.”

“We’ll find someone who knows, later.” Autumn, motioned to Mac going back to the other guards, then looked at Beth.

“He said beyond this field is the wasteland.” Bethany pulled her hair up into a ponytail.

“What are the wastelands exactly?” Paisley asked.

Dax snorted, “a burnt-out place. It felt soulless when I was dropped there.”

“Nothingness.” Crissy said excitedly.

“Yeah, a whole lot of nothingness, Criss.” Daxx nodded.

“No. No, I mean it’s the blank, the nothingness I’ve been seeing.” She turned and looked across the field. “It has to be.”

“Those people that ran from the market headed to the wasteland.” Alona stated.

Daxx spun around and looked at me. “It can’t be a coincidence.” She looked at Alona for a moment, “the witch drops the prophesized huntress in the wasteland,” she motioned to me, “then Reagan comes along and can see the magic or whatever,” she turned to Bethany, “they don’t even patrol the wasteland, other than the borders.”

“You missed many steps in that summary, but yes,” Alona nodded, “I agree.” She motioned for her guard to come over. “Sith, you and the others need to get to the yard and get horses and send patrols to check the wasteland. All of the wastelands.”

He hesitated, then looked at Daxx for a moment before back to Alona, “my queen…”

Alona shook her head, “there’s something in the wasteland. We’re sure of it.”

One of the other guards came over, “we’ll take you back…”

Crissy shook her head, “no, Bronx, Reagan has to be there to see it.”

“We’ll wait here, bring horses back.” Autumn looked at her guard, “Woods, port back to the yard and tell Ira.” She motioned to the field, “it’s out there.”

“In the wastelands?” He asked with a skeptical look on his face.

“Do you know a better place to hide, then the place no one willingly goes?” Bethany asked him.

“Why are they wastelands?” I asked, having no idea.

“I don’t understand all the details, but I’ve nodded off a few times when Chase explains it’s farming ground that has died off from overuse.” Alona shrugged, “they rotate crops surrounding it and have three years rest or something, but it’s still spreading.”

“Yeah it’s like the life has been sucked out of it.” Autumn shrugged, “Michael was mumbling about it over the phone a few weeks ago.”

Crissy darted toward the field, then stopped just as abruptly, she spun back and dashed over to Bronx. “I need a mage. Now.” She tapped her head, “it was here all along and I didn’t see it.”

Bronx frowned, but pulled out his phone.

“See what, Crissy?” Bethany asked her.

“That mage.” Crissy nodded, “Arwan, no one knew how he was living so long…” she shook her head, “it has to be.” She pulled out her phone and waved it around, “I don’t know who to call first,” she stopped when Bronx held out his phone to her. “Oh.” She took it and smiled as she spoke into it, “can a mage draw power from something else to do things?” She nodded enthusiastically, “so the larger the living thing the stronger the power?” She shrieked, “yes.” Nodding, she handed the phone back to her guard. “Arwan is why the wastelands are nothingness.” She smiled.

Daxx held up her hand, “you think this older than time,” she made quotes in the air, “mage is sucking the life out of the ground to power up?”

Crissy nodded. “Yes.” She sobered, “someone should tell the brothers.” She turned to Bronx. “Go tell them.” She gave him a wide-eyed look. “Now.”

He hesitated, looked, then he nodded, then turned back to talk to the other guards.

Alona turned toward the field and held her hands over her cheeks. “Oh my god, I think she’s right.” Clapping her hands together she turned back to the other guards. “Sith, you and Bart get to the yards, and tell Rafael and Ira.” She waved at him, then turned to Daxx’s guard, “Tim, you and Woods go get us horses,” she looked behind her at the field again, “and our weapons.” She turned to Crissy’s guard, “Bronx, take Felix and Mac with you, get the men back here, quickly.”

“One of us should stay with you.” Sith told her.

She turned and looked around. “We’re perfectly fine, right here. Go. Hurry back.”

“Don’t make me use my ruler voice.” Daxx said, a serious look on her face.

Tim blew out a breath, “please, stay here.” He pleaded.

She nodded.

One by one the guards used their porters and vanished.

Daxx turned and looked back at the field. “We could walk across it and just take a peek.”

Autumn nodded, “no harm in looking.”

“I’m just happy to have company for the walk this time.” Bethany said.

~

“Do you still see it?”

I glanced over my shoulder at Daxx. “Yes.”

“Should we call the men?” Alona paused and looked at the dust on her boots. She made a hissing noise. “We’re nowhere near where we said we would be.”

“And tell them we’re wandering across the wasteland without our guards?” Kara shook her head. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Let’s follow it a bit longer and see if it turns into anything.” Paisley held her phone out in front of her. “I can’t see the haze, even using the camera.”

“Do we get reception out here?” Bethany glanced at Paisley, who nodded. “Okay. If they’re concerned, they’d call.” She looked behind us, “they’ll be shouting orders and beating their chests.”

Crissy laughed, then sobered and looked at me. “It must be part of her ability.” Crissy looked completely animated. “I’m so glad it was the strange fog I’ve been seeing.” She looked at me, “it wasn’t green.”

“I’m glad it’s real too, I thought something was wrong with my eyes.”

“These boots are ruined.” Alona sighed in a dramatic way.

Daxx growled softly, “I feel naked without my katanas.” She looked back the way we’d come. “There’s no landmarks out here, so I can’t pop over to get them and find my way back.”

“Aside from Autumn, the only one of us that is armed is Kara.” Paisley looked behind us.

“I was just heading to practice.” Kara shifted the case on her shoulder. “When you guys decided we should check more villages.”

Autumn snorted, “if we find anyone, I have enough pent-up aggression I will manage.”

Bethany grinned, “I hear that. Being under house arrest is starting to get on my nerves.” She shook her head, “I’m almost tired of watching movies.”

Daxx laughed, “that’s bad.”

Beth nodded.

I stopped and looked around. “It’s getting thicker.” I motioned even though they couldn’t see it, “now it looks like actual fog, only it’s green.” I was still shocked that much of the wastelands had the haze over them, but some areas were thicker than others.

“Shh.” Autumn crouched down.

Everyone reacted immediately and hunched closer to the dusty ground.

“Look.”

I followed the direction she pointed. There was a stonework arch in the middle of this nothingness. Standing beside it were four men.

“Shit, don’t move a muscle.” Daxx whispered. “We have no cover here.”

“Now do we call the guys?” Bethany whispered.

“Not yet.” Paisley answered.

“Can you freeze all of them?” Alona leaned over closer to her.

Paisley shook her head. “They’re too spread out.”

“How is that here?” Crissy asked quietly, “in the middle of,” her eyes went wide, “nothingness.”

Everyone looked at her suddenly.

“The nothingness that is linked to the fog,” Daxx looked at me, “that’s linked to Reagan?”

Crissy nodded very enthusiastically. “The climax is close.” She pointed to the arch, “it has to be the portal that we can’t find. I bet it’s not always visible.”

“Even if it was, most would think it’s just an old ruin.” Daxx turned to Bethany. “Can you cloak us?”

Beth bit her lip. “Only if we don’t move. I can’t do movement yet.”

Daxx nodded. “Good enough.”

Beth got to her knees and took a deep breath; she closed her eyes and her lips began moving. As she moved her hand around us, she opened them. “That’s the best I can do. We just have to stay in this small area we’re in. Don’t talk too loudly either.”

Daxx knelt and looked back at the tree. “Is it green by them?”

“Yes. Very thick, bright green.” I continued to watch it, waiting for it to disappear. Part of me wanted to giggle, just knowing that I wasn’t seeing things and it was real. Well, at least to me it was. One of the men stepped into the densest green haze and then stepped under the arch and disappeared.

“Oh, fraggle, it is a portal.” Kara whispered.

Another one of the men stepped into it and was gone.

“Okay,” Daxx reached behind her and pulled out a curved knife, “Reagan, you keep your eyes on that portal, shout if your green haze fades.” She glanced to Alona, “You and Crissy stay here, call the guys and then port them here.” She stood up as the last man entered it. “We’re going to see where it comes out.” She started running toward it.

“Now we’re talking.” Autumn got up and followed her.

“We’ll need you, Reagan.” Bethany and Paisley got up at the same time.

“There better not be snow.” Kara took off after them.

I started running after them. Later, much later I would have to seriously question my sanity. I was running into a magical portal without knowing what was on the other side.