Streamfield Shifters: Hide & Seek

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Exactly two days later, pandemonium reigned on the lawn in front of the farmhouse. Carriages sent by the Crown were lined up by the front gate, each pulled by two ram-horned horses. The children, elated to be returning home, ran screaming from their pavilion and up to the carriages. The horses, far more calm in this situation than I expected, subjected themselves to many small hands patting them all over their faces and sides. The soldiers assigned to convey us home had unanimous looks of despair on their faces.

At the end of the convoy was a wagon pulled by two massive draft horses with huge, twisted horns that reminded me of a kudu. When I asked Leihalani about what was in it, she said, "Reparations."

"You mean that your mother is giving the families money?" Oh, boy, that was going to open up a whole barrel full of worms. I could smell the chaos brewing from here.

"Yes. Nothing can replace time lost to them, but it is how things are done here."

People had been awarded less from our own justice system. I turned to watch the kids cavort across the trampled grass.

Not all of the children were excited to be leaving. Some of them clung, sobbing quietly, to the shirts of certain adults or teenagers who had yet completed their testimonies. As far as we knew, none of them were related, having come from all areas of the country—and to my surprise, different parts of the world. On one walk through the camp, I heard English accents, as well as Spanish, Indian, and Japanese. Leihalani had mentioned that there were Gates in the other kingdoms, ones that might lead to different continents. That made me wonder if this doomsday ring was far more widespread than initially suspected.

General Whitesword strolled up and down the lane, barking orders. As we were getting ready to mount our horses—I still hadn't given my mare a name, and to do so now would be counterproductive—Kesio emerged from the farmhouse. He strolled towards us, hands in the pockets of his waistcoat.

"I've come to wish you good journey, sister," he said, looking up at Leihalani.

"Thank you," she said, running a hand along her stallion's crested neck. "I wish you good luck with your task."

The crown prince rocked back on his booted heels and surveyed the chaos. "Never to Mother's satisfaction," he replied, frowning.

"You'd be surprised," his sister told him, giving Kesio a little wave. Clucking to her stallion, she kneed the Ságha into a walk.

Rachael practically bounded into the saddle, with only a little help from a soldier. I stood by my chestnut mare, one hand on the shoulder of the soldier assigned to me. One foot was in the stirrup, the other in the palms of the soldier's hands.

"I do not wish to part on poor terms, my lady," Kesio said, walking around to my side of the mare. I paused, gritting my teeth. This was not a conversation that I wanted to have, especially now. He rested a hand on the mare's neck, close to but not touching my bent knee. "How might I ease things between us?"

I almost laughed. You've got to be joking, I thought wryly. Although he smiled, carefree and easily, I had seen what lay beneath the charm. "A man who needs to remind others that he's a prince is no prince at all," I told him, pushing up off the soldier's laced fingers and swinging my leg over the saddle.

Kesio stepped back, silver eyes wide, jaw dropping slightly. And because I would never see him again, I threw in one more thing for good measure—the one thing that had bothered me nearly as much as his attitude: "Oh, and cut your hair."

Startled, the crown prince lifted a hand to his long brown hair. His mouth opened, but no words came out. Without waiting for his reply, I turned the chestnut mare to meet up with Rachael and Leihalani.

With the majority of kidnapping victims in tow, it took us about a week to reach the Gate. The further we traveled from Hyelion, the more animated everyone became. It dawned on the more reticent ones that everything was real and they weren't being sent to some new magic-draining camp. While Mage Móinárne had yet to uncover the secrets of the crystals, she promised that the minute anything was discovered about how to return everyone's magic, she'd send word through the Gate.

I wanted to be optimistic, but I had a funny feeling that such a task was impossible.

"You realize that you probably won't be able to use the Gate in our city anymore," I said to Leihalani one day.

"Why is that?"

"Because they'll probably station Marines there around the clock."

The Summer princess flashed me a sly smile. "The Convergence is inevitable, Alina. Well, it is now that you two uncovered the plot to blow them up."

Rachael flashed the princess a thumb's up. I was more reserved about our accomplishments. "I'm sure you would have found out about it even without us."

"Mmm, I do not know. If you hadn't been with us that day in Valderon, we might not have suspected anything until the Gates were destroyed."

I snorted. "So my kidnapping was a good thing?"

"In a way, yes."

I supposed she had a point. Although I still had flashes of nightmares about the whole incident.

When we reached the Gate, a soldier from the nearby barracks came to take my chestnut mare. As I watched her being led away, I was surprised to feel a mild pang of sadness. She was a good horse, but that still wasn't enough to convert me to full horse-crazy.

Leihalani waited by the massive obelisks, a small smile on her face. The soldiers who had traveled with us herded everyone towards the Gate, each one of the victims bearing a small pouch. I didn't know how much money was actually in there, nor did I want to ask. It really wasn't any of my business.

Actually, I was surprised that Rachael hadn't sniffed it out herself.

Rachael approached the elven princess. "Will we see you again?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Oh, I can imagine that we will."

"Good! Because I want to come back." Rachael paused, glanced back at me, then looked up at Leihalani. "We can come back, right?"

Leihalani met my eye over the top of Rachael's head. I shrugged. Who the hell knew what would await us once we crossed back over? There were a dozen scenarios that played over and over in my head on the way here, and none of them were pleasant.

"You are most certainly welcome," the Summer princess replied. "Both of you." She turned and sketched a set of runes into the stone with one finger. "Aioh úllaine."

This time, I was prepared for the deep, earth-rumbling hum that preceded the activation of the Gate. The children, teens and adults cried out and stared as an opaque film stretched between the obelisks, rising from the ground up to the top of the spires.

"Go," Leihalani ordered.

Rachael hustled through first; I stayed behind as encouragement. One by one, they shuffled into the Gate. Jimmy Grabowski was one of the last to go through. He turned to look up at me, lower lip trembling. I flashed him a thumbs' up sign. "Go on."

He took a deep breath, squared his little shoulders, and entered the Gate.

I took a step towards the Gate, but paused right before going in. Turning to Leihalani, I said, "I really can't thank you enough for what you did."

"Things started out rocky," she admitted, "but I have enjoyed my time with both you and your cousin. As I told her, we'll see each other again."

Smiling, I held out my hand. The elven princess stared at it, then shook it vigorously. "Until then," I said. Letting go of her hand, I stepped up to the Gate and looked up into its opaque film. Taking a deep breath, I stepped through.