Page 71 of Threads of Fate

“Fine. Have fun, see you when you get back.” She turns on her heel and stomps back out of the house. I sigh and rub a hand down my face. When will she get it? Fuck. It’s getting really old. After I felt the bond with Dana I told Jonie I was done. Dana was fifteen when it happened. That was way too young for her. Here it’s different, if a bond manifests that early the parents make sure the pair can see each other but with chaperones. Until one or both are of age.

I swing the bag over my shoulder and head to grab my keys. I double check the windows and doors as I head out the front. I make my way down the streets to the city hall, under it are the portals. I hook my keys on a loop in my bag so they don't get lost. When I get to city hall I push open the doors and it’s bustling. City hall always has people coming and going. I find my way to the stairs, accidently bumping into a few people along the way. I jog down the stairs and find my portal. There are many guards I pass on my way. Portals are watched all day and night, with warning bells for intruders. There are many portals, the underground portal station is vast. There are a few that go to Earth but there’s only one place that is always causing trouble.

Plains has many intersecting ley lines. Making it easier for them to make portals and many other things that hopefully, they haven’t figured out yet. I step into the portal, just like I have a hundred times. I close my eyes waiting for the portal to suck me through. When I materialize in Dana’s basement I hear lots of clattering behind me.

“Fuck!” I whip around and lay my eyes on the idiot of the hour.

“What are you doing?” I ask and step out of the portal.

“Finding a way to my girlfriend. What are you doing here?” I sneer at him. This pompous asshole.

“You,” I pointed my finger at him, “I think, lost that particular privilege when you left her here by herself with men you hardly knew. That she hardly knew! Kreed had to live with her crying and screaming while I had to go back to Aelore to make arrangements to be able to stay with her. To make sure she was well and taken care of because of you and your weak confidence.” He at least has the decency to nod his head.

“I know. I’m a fucking moron. I need to get to her. I have to fix it.” He goes back to his book flipping through the pages. I put my bag down.

“None of that will help you. At least I don’t think so. Pack a bag and I can take you with me.” Noah’s head snaps up.

“Really?” I nod my head and motion to my bag. “I’m going tomorrow morning. As long as you can suffer through shadowing you can come. I don't really want to drive and then have to take a boat to the island. So you're going to need to suck it up.”

“I can do that. I already have a bag packed. I’ve been staying here.” He walks toward the hole in the wall. “Do you want something to eat? I was going to make a sandwich.” I follow him through and up the stairs.

“That sounds fine. How long have you been here?”

“Just last night. I’ve been going through the books since Dana…came to me. In a dream or not a dream because I was walking through my door bringing in firewood.” Came to him? We walk into the kitchen and I sit at the table. “What do you mean she came to you?”

He rummages through the cupboards and fridge. He takes his time to tell me what the hell he meant. I am about to say something when he starts talking.

“I mean,” he says looking up at me finally, “I was coming in from getting firewood and she was standing inside, in a shirt looking very confused. When she realized it was me coming through the door she punched me.”

“Good. I hope it hurts and by the bruising I’m going to guess it was a solid hit.”

I nodded. “Then she told me how much of a shit person I was. I agreed to everything she said. Then she told me her mother saw me as her soul mate–”

“Kreed said as much.” I say angrily.

“I know! I know I fucked up. No one knows that more than me. Not only do I know I fucked up by not just leaving her but I also left her with people who could have been lying. I’m the lowest of scum. I know.” He braces his arms on the counter and sighs. “She told me to figure out what I want and I realized before she even showed up that I can not live without her. I need her, more than she will ever need me. I have been in love with this woman since I was a kid. I handled this all poorly. Feeling sorry for myself. I should have stood by her even when you all professed your bonds.” He finishes up making the sandwiches and throws the knife in the sink. He puts the ingredients away and marches my sandwich to me.

“At least you know you're an asshole. That’s more progress than most.” I take my sandwich and we sit in silence while we eat.

“When do you want to leave?” Noah asks after we clear the crumbs and Noah throws the dishes in the dishwasher.

“When I wake up. I was going to leave tonight but if I’m taking you I’ll need to rest up.” I walk into the living room and sit in the chair I have claimed as mine. Noah follows in after me and sits on the couch. There’s silence but when I look at Noah I can see he is mulling something around in that dense brain of his.

“How well did you know Otto Turner?”

“How do you know that name?” I glare at him.

“It’s my great great…great? Grandfather. I got a blow by blow of how your people used to stay with my grandfather. Is it true?”

Otto Turner. The man who changed my mind about humans. He was a decent man and loving husband. He showed me that I couldn’t lump all humans together in one group. I thank him for that. I try to keep his memory in mind when I have had enough of having to run interference.

“Yeah. He helped me out when I needed it and whenever I came to Earth I always went to his ranch to stay in one of the cabins on the property. Usually the one that was a ways down from the main house. I could still see the house in the distance from the porch. He was a wonderful man and a great friend. I was sad when he passed. I still miss him.” I sit back and think about all the drinks we had shared. “I told him many things and he wrote it all in a journal. I told him that people were going to think he was crazy.”

“Why did you stop coming to stay?”

I shrug and lean my elbows on my knees. “Things were changing. Humans weren’t trying as hard to enter our realm. We hadn’t heard nor seen anything in years. Then it was less work, we didn’t have to spend days scouring the United states and several other countries every night, infiltrating bases and government store rooms. Honestly, it’s like they forgot all about it and judging by all the books and maps in this basement, I would go out on a limb and assume they did. Anyways, Dana’s father disappeared and so I spent years trying to find him.”

“Hold on.” Noah gets up and goes upstairs.

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