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Jarol felt the moment when she fell asleep. The distant mountains had gotten closer, and he felt fine. He carefully eased away from her, picked her up, and grunted under the weight. She was right. The stones were weighing her down.
This wasn’t the most effective way to carry her, but she was able to rest as he kept walking. They were a match. He could feel it.
He walked until he staggered, and then he looked around for a place to rest. There was a pile of rock with shadows, and he staggered over to them, settling her down carefully.
She sighed and relaxed against the cool stone.
He slumped next to her and tried not to stare at her. She was pale, but there was a gold cast to her skin. Her hair was in a braid that made her features look sharp, but when it was loose, it softened everything.
Jarol looked at the artifacts that all the women of his family had worn during this particular time, as far back in history as the rift had been letting the army through. His first ancestors had fought to keep their family alive and managed to destroy the invaders and lock the space between the worlds. They lost their lives but provided weapons for the next generations. With every rift, the arsenal grew. Haley was wearing them all.
He frowned. He thought she was wearing them all, but she said there were more. He was uncertain of which ones he had missed in his inventory. His parents had never bothered to look at the artifacts, so he hadn’t been sure what had been in the set until they began to work on preparing for the incursion.
Jarol looked around at the space where they were trapped. It was endless. There was no wind. Everything was unnaturally still, and yet it was nature in the raw.
He sat next to her and idly held her hand. The urge to touch her was new. His father had said that it came as a slow wave. One moment, he had been talking to Jarol’s mother, and the next, he said he had been head over heels, and she had given him a shy smile.
Jarol didn’t think Haley was the shy-smile type, but he wanted to put himself between her and the military elite that were roaming his house.
She sighed, and her eyes fluttered. She saw him and smiled. “Hey, how long was I out?”
“A few hours.”
She sat up and looked around. “How did we get here?”
“I carried you. We are much closer to the mountains. It’s almost like they are coming to us.”
She blinked. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, I am surprisingly wiry. Are you ready to continue?”
“Are you?”
“I am good. Plenty of stamina.” He smiled.
She blushed. “Good to know.”
His eyes widened, and he helped her up. They stood close, and her blush increased. He felt a heavy protective urge swell up in an area that had previously been devoted to his studies.
They began walking toward the mountains, and now they could see a series of flickering lights in the distance.
Jarol looked at her and squeezed her hand. He hadn’t even realized he was holding it. “I think those lights are for us.”
She nodded. “I think you are right. Let’s go.”
He nodded, and they headed out at a good pace, and when she got tired, he offered to carry her on his back. It was a lot easier, and they could cover more ground.
When they arrived and faced the shadows, they understood the assignment. The elders smiled, gave them some encouragement, and sent them back to their bodies.
Chapter Five
Haley gasped as she was suddenly back in the lab, holding Jarol’s hands. She stared up at him, and he smiled slowly. “I thought that was what it was.” He leaned in and kissed her.
She went up on her toes to firm the light contact. When he lifted his head, she said, “I have to get them.”
He nodded, and she turned to the polished wood box that was the last unused artifact. It was about fourteen inches long and wide while being six inches high.
She held her hands over the wood, seeking the trigger. When she felt it, she pressed down, the grain of the wood silky smooth under her finger. The box popped open.
