“She’s in the Mariana Trench.”
Tammer’s gaze whipped back to me. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
“She was so close!” Tammer exclaimed. “We were in Australia and she was just north of us!”
“What does this have to do with me?” Lars interrupted.
“It was Raif who told her where I was.” I tried to gauge his reaction.
He sat glued to the spot, not wanting to believe his best friend had betrayed him. No one said a word and Lars didn’t even blink. After a good minute, Aletheia rubbed his shoulder.
“Lars?”
“How do you know this?” His voice was but a whisper.
“Raif is Herra’s spy. He became your friend in university when he found out you were destined to meet The Link. He’s just been waiting around until you found me.”
Lars’ face drained of color. Aletheia took his hand in hers, but he didn’t notice.
“That can’t be,” he refused to believe.
“He’s with her right now. Raif is in love with her, Lars.”
“I don’t understand this,”
“Why do you think he left McCall so quickly?” Thayde asked. “He returned to Portland the minute he saw Morgan had The Look. He knew! He knew right then and there you’d found The Link.”
“I’ve known Raif for years!” He exclaimed.
“Things change.” I said, feeling the temperature in Lars’ body rise along with his temper. “Raif has changed.”
“That’s impossible. I know the man!”
“You knew the man,”
“He’s far too old for her. He wouldn’t fall for a girl that young!”
The conversation was going nowhere fast. Instead of arguing anymore, I threw the memory to him. It flew from my hand in a small gold and red ball toward him at lightning speed, hitting him in the head and dissipating down his neck. His body shuddered as it took in the information.
There was a collective gasp among the group as they watched. Thayde sighed heavily in disapproval and leaned back into the couch.
“Do you believe me now?” I demanded, searching everyone’s faces as I spoke. “We are running out of time. Naira is dying. Herra is starting a war. If anyone else wants to doubt what I say, feel free to leave. I don’t have the time to try and convince everyone what is and what is not. You either believe me or you don’t. If you don’t, I advise you to be very sure you’re on the right side.”
The group watched me stand.
“I’m going to talk to Naira. I don’t want any of you in the room with me. Do you understand?” As if on cue, everyone nodded.
I left them and made my way to my parent’s room. Naira’s bedroom was only accessible through theirs, and as I reached for her door, I felt my heart skip a beat. Here I was, The Link, and I was nervous about approaching my little sister. Grasping the handle, I turned it and stepped through.
Shirley sat in a rocking chair at the edge of Naira’s bed, knitting an orange sweater. As I walked in, she smiled faintly, raising a finger to her lips for me to be quiet.
Naira resembled a spider – her arms and legs too long for her torso. Her hair had grown past her knees and Shirley had formed it into a lovely braid.
I stood at the foot of her sunk-in bed and crossed my arms. What in the world am I going to do? My head began to pound.
“Shirley,” I whispered, “will you make sure no one comes into the room or touches us?”
She nodded.
“Don’t touch us either, do you understand?” I stressed.
“Yes,” she said.
“Thank you,” I slipped off my shoes and crawled alongside Naira. Lying down beside her, I laced my fingers over my stomach. Her bed was comfortable, apart from the fact that she must have been running a temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit. I ran a scan. Oh, 107. Nice.
Tired, my eyes closed and I fought the urge to drift to sleep. I’m so tired, I’d love to sleep. Now was not the time. Focus on limbo and bringing Naira. I concentrated on my breathing, slowing it down, pulling in long, deep breaths. My energy circled me and focused on the others in the room. It was different than last time – their presence was amplified. Shirley and Naira were obviously there, but for a moment, there was someone else. Who was that?
The outline of something large hovered by the bed, but as soon as I saw it, it was gone. Its presence was distracting, but helping Naira outweighed everything.
It took me several minutes, but eventually, the ringing began in my ears and blackness overtook me. Within seconds, I began to float and I stepped over my body and stood at the end of the bed. What I saw almost made me scream.