Sierra did not appear to have any such patience and she was apparently nearing her wits end, as along with looking or Jarred, she had spent just as much of the day avoiding Elora herself. It was obvious that she did not want to come to her to ask if she had seen him, so the fact that she was here, proved just how desperate she had become.
Elora was sitting on a large outcropping of rock, which provided a breathtaking view of the surrounding mountains. Sierra came to stand at its base and stared out at the expansive scene, not speaking. When it was obvious she was not going to speak first, Elora did.
“I haven’t seen him.”
Sierra just nodded. “He didn’t tell you where he was going?”
“No.”
“What about yesterday?” she continued to press, still not making any eye contact with her. “Did he say anything about what he and Orna had talked about?”
“He didn’t tell me anything,” Elora answered. “He may
not
tell me anything. That’s his choice. If he has something to tell us, he’ll do it when he’s ready.”
Sierra let out a snort. “I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”
“And what don’t I understand?”
Sierra finally turned to face her. “A lot of things, I’m sure. No offense, but
our
situation here is a little beyond your scope.”
Elora felt herself grow immediately hostile and stood up to tower over the woman. “What exactly is that supposed to mean?”
Sierra actually smirked, which only angered Elora more.
“I didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just that . . . well, the Dominion, firefights, skyway chases . . . these are things I deal with on the regular. You ended up in this situation by accident, as a ride along. You don’t really have a stake in any of this.”
Elora’s blood suddenly began to run cold and she could tell from the look on her face that Sierra immediately regretted what she had said.
“I don’t have a
stake
in this?” she almost spat, stepping down onto the ground to face Sierra. “My brother is . . . I can’t even imagine what he’s going through right now, if he’s even still alive. And it’s because of this great important
mission
of yours. It’s because of
you
.
You
made us leave him behind. So don’t tell me I don’t have a stake in this. Everything I
have
is in this.”
“I’m sorry,” Sierra apologized. “I didn’t mean it like that. I know you’re afraid for your brother . . . and I’m sorry about what happened to him. I truly am. It’s just that . . . I hate not knowing what’s going on. You’re right. This
is
my mission and it’s
my
responsibility to get Orna safely back to my people. If there’s some kind of connection between Jarred and Orna, something that could conflict with that mission, I need to know about it. A lot of lives have been lost to bring her this far already. I don’t want it all to have been in vain.”
Elora let out a calming breath and let her anger fade with it. Unleashing her fury on this woman might feel good, but it wasn’t going to solve anything
or
get her brother back.
“She seems . . .
interested
in him,” she said, finally.
“Who does?” Sierra asked, looking confused.
“Orna,” Elora clarified.
“How do you mean?”
“It’s hard to explain. Since meeting her, it’s just seemed almost . . . almost as though she
knows
him. Or at least
of
him.”
Sierra’s brow furrowed. “How could she possibly know him?”
“I don’t know, but . . . there are
things
about Jarred. He’s not like other people.”
Sierra remained silent for her to continue. She wasn’t sure if she should, but considering she had already broached the subject, it was a bit late to turn back now.
“He has . . . abilities,” she continued. “He can do things I’ve never seen anyone do before. Things I didn’t even know were possible.”
“Like surviving a volley of super heated energy to the chest?” Sierra said.
“And he can heal
others
,” Elora blurted excitedly, as she tended to do when she was nervous. “I was injured. He touched my leg and . . . there was this bright light . . . and then my wound was gone. Healed. Like it was never there.”
Sierra seemed to take everything she said in. “What does all of this have to do with Orna?”
“I’m not sure,” Elora answered, honestly. “But, she seems to know what he is. She called him something before when they first met. Something that upset him.”
“What?” Sierra asked.
“Hybrid.”
Sierra mouthed the word to herself. “Do you know what it means?”
“No,” Elora admonished, shaking her head. “I thought maybe
you
would.”
“I have no idea.”
The two of them stood in silence for a few moments before Elora finally spoke again.
“Why don’t you just ask Orna what they were talking about?”
Sierra smirked. “Believe me, I tried. Asking Orna a question is a good way to give yourself a headache.”
Elora laughed. “I know exactly what you mean.”
Chapter 23
Jarred felt as though he was negotiating a labyrinth of sorts, but one he unconsciously knew the answer to. The original passage he had chosen to take had branched off several times into additional tunnels and, each time, he had felt drawn in a certain direction. Though the directive feeling was itself strange, more vague inkling than clear suggestion, he was becoming increasingly more comfortable and confident with each occurrence.
The
voice
, as he was coming to think of it, was not like that of a living being’s, nor was it similar to when he had heard Orna’s unspoken words in his mind. The presence did not feel conscious to him, at least not on a level that he understood consciousness to be, but it did seem to have a will. As he grew closer to it, or at least he felt he was getting closer, the voice became stronger, urging him forward. It almost felt excited, or perhaps that was what he was feeling.
Coming around a bend in the current tunnel he was in, he heard a faint noise. A gentle, constant rustling in the distance. Freezing in place, he listened. It took a moment for the noise to finally register. Water. It was running water. Moving quickly down the passageway, he could begin to see an opening. Light from outside the tunnel danced across the walls of the opening, being reflected through a partial curtain of falling water. Reaching the tunnel’s end, he stepped up to its sheer drop edge and peered through the thin streams of falling water, some splashing over his head and face, down into what was another large open cavern, similar to, but a fraction the size of the one he had first entered with the Toguai. A centralized pool of water took up most of the chamber, kept full by the constant flow of water that leaked through the cave ceiling in several spots, also resulting in more of the elaborate rock formations he had seen earlier.
Jarred’s eyes were finally drawn to the chamber’s far end where he was astonished to find what looked like a monument or temple of some kind, appearing to have been constructed from the stone cavern itself. A wide set of steps led from the edge of the pool up to a large flattened surface upon which rows of elaborately designed stone pillars stood, rising from the smoothed floor to high ceiling. Centered between the lines of tall pillars, a massive, rounded protrusion, metallic in appearance, sat nestled in the rock wall, almost as though it was on display. The focal point of all of the surrounding architecture. That was it, whatever
it
in fact was. It was what had been calling to him. It shone in his perception now like a bright beacon, beckoning him towards it.
He looked around for a way down from the tunnel opening, which hung a good twenty meters up from the large pool of water below. He wasn’t so concerned with the drop, as the water looked deep enough. The trouble was, once he got down there, he wasn’t quite sure how he would make it back up. In the end, it didn’t really matter. He was going down there regardless, and would just have to find a way out when he came to that point.
Stepping off the ledge, Jarred dropped down into the pool, plunging deep into the freezing cold water. He resurfaced, the breath catching in his chest from the shock of the frigid water, and immediately swam the distance to where the ground level rose and he could stand and walk up the monument steps. Ascending the short stairway, he made his way through the rows of stone pillars that led him towards the far wall of the chamber, and the large circular object protruding from it, though as he grew nearer his focus was drawn away from the object itself to the ground before it. Unintentionally, his hand drifted up to touch the spot on the back of his neck, which bore the marking;
The Mark of the Hybrid
, as Orna had called it; that was as much a mystery to him as was his past. Though many times the size, it was unmistakably the same symbol he saw etched into the stone floor at his feet.
It could not be a simple coincidence. He hand never seen the symbol replicated in any fashion anywhere in the system. Finding it here was a confirmation of so much of what Orna had told him. That he was
meant
to come here. That it held answers to who he was. He could hardly deny it now, though the skeptic in him still wanted to find another explanation. He couldn’t think of one though. He couldn’t think of much at all, his mind unable to focus on anything but moving forward. The marking on the floor,
his
marking, was as good as an invitation. One that was for him and him alone.
Jarred stepped forward to stand before the orb-like object in the wall, finally returning his attention to it. It was twice his own height with an equal width, and seemed to be embedded in the cave wall, as opposed to being built or mounted over it. Its surface appeared smooth and untarnished, which was remarkable, considering how long it may have been here. He couldn’t be sure, but he felt, intuitively somehow, that it was an ancient thing. An artifact from a time long past. Reaching out a hand, he placed it on the object and immediately felt a jolt. Stepping back, he pulled his hand away to examine it, but almost immediately realized that he hadn’t actually felt the physical jolt himself. The strange feeling had come from the object itself. He had felt it, much like he had felt the summoning presence before. It had
reacted
to him.
Jarred took another step back as the object seemed to come to life before his eyes. A set of wide set eyes appeared to open from nowhere in the metallic surface, glowing red orbs, which he instinctively knew were weapons of some kind. He kept himself perfectly still as they seemed to watch him for a long moment and he wondered if the object was preparing to attack. When none came immediately, he allowed himself to breath again. Between the two red eyes the object began to move as if it were liquid, a shape extending outward like an arm, reaching towards him. He moved to take another step back, but thought better of it, glancing at the set of watchful orbs. The thick, metallic arm came to a stop in front of him at waist height. The head of the object continued to morph, a shape taking form on its surface. Jarred watched in amazement as the outline of a human hand materialized before his eyes.
The object was then still.
Sensing what it wanted him to do, Jarred took a step forward, hesitating a moment before placing his hand into the imprint at the end of the extended arm. When nothing immediately happened, he glanced up at the set of glowing eyes, not sure if he should be expecting some sort of reaction from them. His attention was quickly drawn back to the arm of the object as it began to quickly morph again, forming a seal around his hand, trapping him. Startled, he attempted to pull himself free, without success, his eyes darting again to the watchful orbs that he was certain were preparing to blast him with some kind of vaporizing ray.
The blast never came. He was not vaporized. And after a moment, his hand was released, the arm being drawn back into the central mass of the object, its eyes also closing and vanishing into the metallic surface as if they had never been there.
The object was still again.
The seconds seemed to pass like hours and Jarred began to wonder if the object’s strange interaction with him had been the extent of the display. He realized that it had not been as its metallic surface began to stir again, giving off the appearance of a murky liquid. Surprisingly, the bizarre alloy, if that’s what it was, began to part, a circular portal forming in its central mass and growing until it had pulled back beyond the cave wall surrounding it. Inside was another chamber.