CHAPTER 53: LONA BAY

Gaya arrived as soon as she could, but the team was shocked that she didn’t come with an ambulance or any medical personnel. She only had Bruno and Kellan with her, and they got Alrik into the car, and left.

"Don’t call Eliza. S..she has enough t..to deal with already." Alrik muttered.

His headache was less now, but it still felt like a nail was being pierced into his skull as he leaned back on the car seat. He had a small bag of ice pressed against his forehead, probably why the pain was lessened.

"We haven’t called her yet. You already gave us instructions not to bother her even if anything happened today. But you know she’ll be fucking pissed when she returns home and discovers we kept her in the dark throughout the day." Bruno said, and Alrik sighed.

"She’ll forgive me, especially w..when she sees I’m okay. J..just let her be."

"Stop talking, and just rest. You have a migraine." Gaya said, and he closed his eyes.

They arrived at home several minutes later, and they helped him to his bedroom. He lay on the bed and drifted off to sleep shortly after. But as soon as his eyes closed, he separated from his body again.

"I’m sorry, Alrik. The pain comes because we haven’t bonded yet. There’s nothing I can do to stop it till you find me."

"It’s okay, Zee. I know it’s not your fault, but why the migraine though. I can’t even remember what I was seeing because I was more focused on the pain." Alrik said.

"You’re beginning to have accurate premonitions, instead of just vague visions of a possible future. That ability isn’t supposed to even be developed yet. The fact that it’s started so early means we’re running out of time. It’s about to begin."

"What is about to begin?" He asked.

"I can’t tell you this without first explaining the history of my presence in your world. Find me, Alrik. As soon as possible. I have taken away your pain for now, but I’m not so sure you’d be able to remember what you saw. Go back now, so they don’t panic. It’s already late and your wife will be home very soon."

"That can’t be right. It was still early afternoon when I was brought back home."

"Time moves differently in the soul plane. Sometimes slower than the waking world, sometimes faster. Sometimes it skips entirely. You’ll get the hang of it soon, but I can’t teach you anything unless we’re bonded." Zee responded.

"Don’t worry. I was able to narrow down your location. It might take a day or two, but I promise, I’m coming for you. Hang tight."

Alrik gasped, and sat up on the bed.

"Finally! This soul walking thing is so freaky. You looked dead for real this time." Mira said as he opened his eyes.

Mira, ansa, and Kellan were standing beside him.

"We were worried because Eliza is on her way home, and we had no idea how to even begin explaining. Not telling her about the migraine was one thing, but if she had come home to see you looking dead again, she may have just had a heart attack."

"It’s okay, I’m fine now. I just had a short chat with Zee."

"Short? You’ve been like this for hours. It’s almost dinner time." Kellan said incredulously.

"Time apparently moves differently in the soul plane. I swear I only spoke to Zee for five minutes max. Don’t worry, this will all be over as soon as I find Zee. We need to bond so I can learn how to master my abilities. THe migraine is also gone, though I can’t remember the damn vision that gave me the migraine in the first place." He sighed.

"Gaya might be able to help with that. She got a report from the team of most of what you were mumbling before we arrived to bring you home. Come downstairs and ask her. Then you can welcome your wife home, and explain this yourself. I’m not risking her tossing a shoe at my face. That would be a loss for the ladies who need my face to get by daily." Kellan smirked and Mira rolled her eyes.

"You wish."

Alrik was waiting for her when she stepped into the house, and as soon as she saw his smile, she paused.

"What did you do?"

He was coming close to hug her, but he also paused.

"Why are you so sure I did something wrong?" He asked, and she gave him a knowing look.

"Because I’m your wife, and I know you. You’re smiling, but there’s guilt written all over you. Spill it. Better to get it out of the way right now."

"At least come hug your husband first, and accept his kiss." He came closer, and embraced her.

"First of all, no need to panic, I’m fine. But I had a migraine at work, and had to be brought home early. But good news, the sword’s location has been found, and now we’re waiting on information from the spies on Valderran soil, before we plan a retrieval."

She put a hand on his forehead to check his temperature, and next, his eyes.

"Are you sure you’re okay? Tell me the truth. I won’t be mad. I’m just glad you’re okay."

"I promise I’m better now. I just had a weird time loop because I slipped into the soul plane for longer than I realised. The others are waiting, let’s join them for dinner."

When they got to the dining room though, Eliza refused to sit on the chair Alrik pulled out for her. She glared at all of them with arms folded.

"Whose idea was it to keep me in the dark when he had a migraine severe enough to have him brought back home?" She asked, and there was silence for several seconds, but everyone turned to look at Alrik.

"Remember you said you’re just glad I’m okay. That means you can’t be mad at me anymore. I just told them not to call you if anything actually happened. I didn’t want you to leave work for nothing." Alrik responded with a smile, and she sighed.

"You’re lucky I love you." She huffed and sat down, before he took his seat.

"I’d rather leave work and stay by your side if anything happens. But if that would make you keep leaving me out just to be considerate, then I will compromise. I want to be informed when anything happens, in exchange, I will not leave unless it’s a severe situation. I promise."

"We have a deal then, wife."

They ate in relative silence, then Alrik began to talk of his progress with the team. Next, Eliza spoke about the two lawsuits her family filed against her and Alrik.

"Do you think they could have a hidden sponsor? That is the only way to explain why they’re so bold with these accusations. We might have to look into this before the trial. Maybe they already have the judges in their pockets or something." Ren said.

"That’s a possibility. But even a corrupt judge will not be able to back them in a publicised trial, as long as we have enough evidence. If they try to be biased, the same public opinion they were hoping to use against us would work against them."

Next, Gaya spoke. "Alrik, I know you didn’t ask, but we need to discuss this regardless. None of you have seen the news yet, but I have. A portal opened today."

"That’s not right. The portal countdown puts the time around next week."

"Yes. This was unexpected for that reason, and the fact that it opened too close to a residential area and not in the outskirts as usual. Luckily, it was a small one, which is another oddity, Portals have usually been fairly the same size, and lets in a large number of beasts. This portal opened in Lona bay, and only ten beasts crossed over this time."

She paused and stared at Alrik, hoping he would be able to recall, but when Alrik just stared back with a blank expression, she sighed.

"When you had a migraine, Lona bay, and ten were part of the words you spoke. And I checked the time of the news report. The portal opened just a few minutes after your migraine started."

"What happened after the portal opened?"

"Luckily, there was an inn close by where soldiers stayed over on their way into town. There were three soldiers at the time. They were able to slay all ten beasts. But eight people died, and twelve more have severe injuries from the attack. I don’t know how the rest of the words you mumbled fit, but it’s too much of a coincidence to ignore. I think you actually predicted a portal, Alrik."

They were all stunned by this news. "I don’t know if this is a good sign, or a bad sign. This proves that you’re connected to the portals, and the beasts somehow."