He smiled. “That’s exactly my point. This is
the reason divorce is unheard of in our society. It’s natural for
us to encourage our partners. Their happiness brings the other
happiness. There’s nothing more I want for you than to live up to
your full potential.”
After hours of talking, they
unenthusiastically agreed it was to time go to bed. The bedroom was
as perfect as the rest of the house. Keegan was amazed by the
bathtub. It was like a humungous wooden bowl with pebbles around
the edging. She couldn’t resist, and made the water as hot as she
could stand and then she slowly lowered herself into the hot water
until she felt her body relax. Her muscles needed it after the
trek. Leaning her head against the back, she closed her eyes and
played the day over in her mind.
K
eegan woke to the smell of bacon which brought a
smile to her face. Rolling out of bed, she reached her arms in the
air for a good stretch. She was still tired but she looked over at
the clock and noticed it was already 9:00 am. She’d gotten about
six hours of sleep. She rubbed her eyes and debated taking a shower
and changing, then decided against it. Instead, she went downstairs
with her hair a mess and wearing her fuzzy dolphin PJ’s.
Rourk looked up when she entered the room.
“You are the most beautiful creature I have ever laid eyes on.”
A quick glance told her that he was not
joking, and suddenly her face felt hot. She’d been told her whole
life that she was beautiful, but it wasn’t until that moment that
she believed it to be true.
Changing the subject, she asked where her
parents were. He said they headed out a while ago, and they
wouldn’t be back until much later. A mischievous grin crossed her
face.
Rourk laughed, “Now I see why your mother
warned me. Go sit down, and I’ll bring your breakfast. How does an
omelet with cheese sound?”
“Perfect.”
A few minutes later he brought her a plate
with an omelet and some toast. Keegan smiled up at him. “Thank you,
you’re so sweet.”
They ate in silence and savored each other’s
company, stealing glances across the table at each other and
smiling when they got caught. When they finished eating, Rourk
said, “Why don’t you get ready and we’ll go off in search of the
waterfall?”
She ran over to kiss him and then skipped up
the stairs. She came back down about 45 minutes later ready to head
out, and noticed Rourk had packed a lunch for them. His
thoughtfulness made her glow.
It took about an hour to reach the waterfall.
It was incredible and must have been over 200 feet high. Water
cascaded at a rapid pace down the rocks. Lush green foliage
surrounded the falls, making them stand out even more. Keegan felt
like they’d found their own slice of paradise; it had a magical
feel to it, and she understood why her parents had not wanted to
share their special place with anyone. She quickly got lost in her
camera.
***
The weekend went by in a blur. It was the
happiest time in her life. Keegan felt so grateful to her parents
for allowing them to be together even though it was prohibited.
The journey home did not feel as joyful.
Keegan couldn’t imagine being without Rourk again. She knew it
wasn’t for long, but even a little time away would seem like a
lifetime to her.
As if he could read her thoughts, Rourk
leaned over and whispered, “This will all be over soon, and we will
be able to be together. Instead of focusing on the negative, be
thankful for the time we shared. When you feel lonely, just
remember this weekend.”
She smiled knowing he was right.
They arrived at his house, and there was no
skipping up the path this time. They walked slowly and each dreaded
reaching the door.
***
Rourk tenderly moved a strand of hair from
Keegan’s face. She willed herself not to cry. She had to be strong.
He pulled her close to him. Placing his hand under her chin, he
tilted her head towards his and softly kissed her on the lips.
Releasing her, he smiled. “See you in Ireland.” He opened the door
and closed it behind him.
Rourk didn’t dare allow himself to look out
the window when she left, and he was glad his father was not there.
He didn’t feel like talking to anyone. He went to his room and lay
on his bed. Staring at the ceiling, he recalled the weekend as if
he were watching a movie, and eventually the deep sadness cleared.
He needed to compartmentalize and put his focus on the battle. The
sooner they got this over with, the sooner he could get her back.
That was now his primary goal.
Rourk slept for a while and then woke and
went about his normal routine. He walked to the kitchen and made
himself a protein shake. Grabbing a book and dictionary, he sat at
the table. Scanning through random pages, he found a word he wasn’t
sure of. Reading the surrounding sentences, he came up with a
definition and then checked the dictionary and moved on to another.
It was hard to find a word that stumped him, but old habits die
hard.
Rourk went into his garage, tossed his shirt
off and jumped on the rower. He rowed 5k, did 100 push-ups and 100
sit-ups and then 100 pull-ups and went back for another 5k row.
Once he hit about 3500m he smiled. Keegan was awake and thought of
him. Her thoughts no longer caused him distress. Now, he loved
knowing he had crossed her mind.
Rourk finished up his workout, showered and
headed into work. Looking around, he noticed the men were
rejuvenated after the long weekend. It was just what they had
needed. Richard knew his men well. They still had some intense
training ahead of them in preparation for the battle. Rourk could
feel the energy in the air even though no one said anything. They
all knew the time was rapidly approaching.
K
eegan walked through the school doors with a smile
on her face. She laughed when she saw Spencer run up behind Donald
and smack the back of his head. Donald took off chasing him down
the hall. It was nice to see things were back to normal.
Lauren walked up beside her and tossed an arm
around her shoulder in a hug. She had her curly hair pulled into a
sleek ponytail. “You are glowing, Keegan, what has you in such a
good mood?”
Keegan flushed, thinking of Rourk. She wished
she could tell Lauren about him and the weekend; on the other hand,
it felt like a magnificent secret she didn’t want to share. “I’m
not sure, I just feel happy to be alive. I know that sounds
stupid.”
“No, it doesn’t. I’m just glad to see you are
out of your funk. It’s not as much fun when you are mopey.”
“Sorry about that,” Keegan said as they drew
near to her locker. “I’m not sure what got into me.”
“It doesn’t matter as long as you are happy
now.”
***
The days before the battle passed quickly and
before she knew it, Keegan’s birthday was only a few days away. The
family started preparing for their trip to Ireland.
Keegan began to wonder how all the soldiers
were going to get to Ireland with all their gear. So she asked her
mother, who just laughed. “Keegan, what good is our magic if we
can’t use it once in a while? You know how you can watch someone
with your mind’s eye? Well, there are some who can do that with
their bodies, which is called teleportation. The really strong ones
are able to bring others with them. We have enough with the gift
that getting the soldiers anywhere unseen is not an issue.”
Keegan crinkled her nose. “Then why do we
have to take the long overseas flight?”
Her mom grinned. “Your father likes to get
frequent flyer points.”
***
Thaddeus looked around the camp. It was alive
with chatter as the men waited for his father to arrive. They all
had a feeling they were not going on a training mission, that they
were headed to the great battle that was prophesied. It was a
moment many of them had dreamed of since childhood.
A hush settled over the crowd as Richard
approached the podium. He was dressed no different from the rest of
them: faded green camouflage fatigues and a tan worn baseball cap
imprinted with a skull on his head. There was nothing at all to
pinpoint that he was the commander; it wasn’t needed. The respect
for him went beyond that.
“You’ve all worked hard to get ready for this
moment. Hell, you’ve been training for this your whole life.” He
paused, his face stern. “The battle is upon us. We go to Ireland,
not for a training mission, but to fight the enemy. The dark elves
want to remove us from existence. We will not allow that to
happen.” Cheers filled the field, and he gave them a moment to die
down. “I will lead you during the Great Battle—it’s my honor to do
so. I want you all to remember, even though you follow me in battle
you are fighting for yourself, for your family, for our very
existence.”
When he finished, the ground shook from the
roars of the men.
Preparations continued; they were to leave at
nightfall. Magic obviously had its perks. It would not take long
before they were all in place. They were arriving a week early to
get the lay of the land and have everything set up before the
harvest moon.
When the time came, Thaddeus teleported
alongside his father and a couple other men. The elf held out his
arm so they could all grab hold and Thaddeus’ stomach fell as the
ground disappeared. It was a dizzying sensation. Streaks of color
blurred in his vision and he felt as if he were on a rollercoaster,
hanging on to the other elf’s arm tightly. In less than a few
seconds, it was over.
He looked around, trying to gain his bearings
with his stomach still rolling. It was daytime in Ireland, so he
took in the majestic scenery that would become such a beautiful
spot for the horrors of war. The battle would be cloaked with
magic, and they would not be visible to the human eye.
As far as he could see, the hills and valleys
swept across the land in shades of green. The sky was a clear,
brilliant blue and the clouds were picture-perfect pillows that
seemed to hang lower in the sky than they did back home. In the
distance, he saw the smoke from several farmhouses and the
tell-tale specks of white on the ground that could only be grazing
sheep.
He watched as his father began to go around,
barking out orders. He had to be a constant presence for the
soldiers. Thaddeus noticed he’d occasionally offer assistance with
erecting tents or building fires. The men were already in awe of
him, and his compassion only escalated him even more in their
eyes.
They could have used magic to set up the
tents and get everything in order, but his father knew it was
better for them to set up their own camp. It gave them something to
keep their minds busy.
Thaddeus walked up to his father and stood
beside him, and they took in the scene before them. Men were
scattered all over each doing something to bring the camp to
reality. Tents were going up, weapons were being sharpened, fires
being set, and equipment was passed around. Some of the units were
singing as they worked. From an outsider, it would look like
complete chaos. That couldn’t be further from the truth. These
elves were organized and efficient soldiers.
“What do you think son?”
“I think it’s an impressive sight.” Thaddeus
paused, and then said, “I’m slightly nervous to tell you the
truth.”
“I’d worry about you if you weren’t.”
“How long do you think it will take to
prepare the camp?”
Richard smiled at his son as he scanned the
fields of men. “We’ll be done in two days.”
“Have you sent out a scout party?” Thaddeus
asked.
“Yes. Some dark elves have arrived, just a
small reconnaissance team.” Patting his son on the shoulder he
said, “Thanks to you, we were able to get here first.”
Richard watched as his son walked away. He
could feel his blood pumping through his veins. One of his
secondary gifts was the heightened awareness of his body. It
affected all of his senses, and it gave him a significant advantage
in battle. His mind processed at an accelerated rate causing his
reaction time to be faster. The only person who knew of his gift
was his wife who figured out on her own.
Thinking of his wife, he closed his eyes to
check on her. She was reading a book to Warrick. He couldn’t
conceal his smile when he saw the title. Not even two years old and
his bedtime story was "The Illiad." Emerald glanced up and smiled.
She knew he was there. Their bond had grown stronger over the
years, and they could tell when the other was observing. They could
even talk to each other, but that took a lot of energy, so they
rarely did. Just being able to see that the other was okay made
their long separations bearable. They also had the ability to block
the other if needed which allowed them a sense of privacy.
Richard had been involved in numerous battles
in his lifetime, but none of this magnitude. During his time in the
Special Forces he was in small man teams. Even with his time spent
in the Army of the light, most of his missions were solo.
There were thousands of soldiers at the camp,
and more of the gifted arrived daily. Women and children were among
them. Some of the children’s gifts were too powerful to be left
behind. They would not engage in the battle, but there were healers
and weather manipulators which would be vital to the war.
Emerald and the rest of his family would
arrive tomorrow, the day before the battle. He was eager to see
them, but also worried. It was unfortunate enough having to put
Thaddeus in danger. The vision of Keegan dying was always in the
back of his mind.
***
Thaddeus and Rourk were together in their
tent. It was small, barely big enough for their sleeping bags and
belongings. They were lucky enough to have come during the least
rainy of the seasons in Ireland, but if they hadn’t, the canvas
tent would do well keeping them warm and dry, even if it was
old.