Page 47 of Torn Between Two Worlds

The conversation continued on in that fashion for almost four hours. Finally, he stopped questioning her, stopped fighting for the marriage he wanted. They'd both agreed that it was best to cancel the trip and put her on a plane. They agreed not to talk to each other anymore, and he put her in a cab to get to the airport. It stung, but she had expected as much after the misunderstanding.

It was over, and if she could just get Stryder to answer her, she would be the happiest girl alive. The idea of Stryder coming back, of being able to tell him she was his and to stop being grumbly because she wouldn't ever pull away, made her giddy. She knew the only proposal she would want was Stryder's and was fairly sure the whole mate thing meant one would come when they had more time to learn one another. Two weeks together and three apart, but she didn't care. Of course, they would need to discuss how they would handle themselves until she was able to fully free him, but they were going to pull it off just fine.

A tap on her shoulder made her turn her head and frown.

“Ciara it would be wise if you would go to the bathroom and come through the doorway I'll open. No, this isn't optional, and if you refuse, I can just as easily freeze time. I don't like interfering that way, and you have time before your flight.” The man in the trench coat didn't wait for her to answer. Just turned and walked into the women's restroom.

“Hmm…wonder how many times he's used that little trick to spy on people.” Rounding the corner, she was grateful the restroom was empty during the evening hours at such a busy airport. Seeing the shimmering doorway, she stepped into it, shocked that there was nothing on the inside, just shimmering colors and the man who seemed to be some sort of god.

“What's going on? How did you know I could do that now?”

He laughed and smiled at her. “Ciara Miller, there is nothing I do not know. Should I choose to, I can see it all where my Word Speakers are concerned.” He waved his hand, and more doorways opened, showing more people.

“I don't know whether to be increasingly disturbed by you or in awe that there are so many of us.” She reached out to touch, to stick her hand through one, and he smacked it down.

“Absolutely not.”

She scowled at him, but he ignored it.

“There are a few hundred of you, yes. I would hardly call that a lot with the ratio of people in the world. We normally don't like you all to meet. No real reason, other than, it could cause a rush of characters to enter the world, and we have no idea what that would cause. I bet you don't realize the records I alter when a character is released. I do need the soldiers, but I don't need to test fate and wind up having a ghost in the system. Which would lead to me worrying when one of them would be caught and put in jail because they were technically never born.”

She was quiet as she listened and squared her shoulders. “I don't know why I'm here, but I want to know something. If you won't answer, I can promise I'll try my hardest to get through these doorways no matter what you think could happen.”

He looked displeased but nodded. “Fair enough. Ask two questions, and then we must discuss why I wanted to see you.”

“What is the deal behind all of this? How do I know this world, where I live, is real?”

His laughter was genuine again, and she was intrigued to see the smile touch his eyes as he laughed. “I have no proof to give you. Except that, when this was all explained to me, it was simply asserted as a given that we were real and the creations in books were merely that, creations. Could we be pawns as well? Well, my dear, I don't see why not. But I personally do not believe so, and I am quite powerful, as I'm sure you could guess.”

The idea of being most definitely real set aside some of the fear she'd had. She'd wanted to ask him that since she was fourteen. Better late than never. “Good. What's the point in me,” she gestured at the doorways, “in all of us, is it really just to fight in a war?”

He sighed and, rather than talking, he projected images onto the swirling walls. “This is a future.”

The images changed, and she flinched at what appeared to be utter destruction.

“This is another. According to the god that told me these rules, a Mayan God, before you ask, either of these futures is possible and only because of people with your powers. How he knew? What the reason is behind your abilities? I don't know. All I know is he came to us when we still used pictures to tell stories, and it was hundreds of years before words and Word Speakers arrived. He assigned my brother and me to watch over you, to make sure that those summoned from books, those given the gift of life, would remain in balance until these futures begin because sooner or later, one will.”

She knew she was staring blankly at him. He was confusing her, but she thought she was following. “Okay, so I get the rest. I can summon good or evil when I turn twenty-seven, but I only get to choose which once. Do people really chose evil?”

“Ciara, that is three questions. But, yes. There are plenty of control hungry people out there who enjoy destruction and evil. It is not my place to judge them, but I do. I want the first future I showed you. Thus, I work with the Word Speakers who chose to walk the path I have chosen. My brother takes the rest. Now can we move to my point?”

She nodded, and he smiled. It was weird, she liked seeing him smile. “There is a Word Speaker near you in California. He's twenty-six and is straddling the line. He has called forth both the good and bad from books. As you can imagine, bad is relative, and sometimes, he just picks a drug dealer to help him get a fix.”

“And?”

His smile grew wider. “And I want you to help him decide to pick the other path. It is sometimes done, and I do not think it’s an issue for Word Speakers to meet, from time to time. Though this does not mean it is common. You share a bloodline after all to some extent. Do you agree?”

“Why now? Is he almost twenty-seven?”

“Yes, in mere months. He was with his last Guardian for two years. An ex-con with a penchant for pain, but overall reformed. Now he has one strictly from my side of the fence, so to speak, and he frightens her. He is weak compared to you, and his decision will not sway the future much, but each person counts. So you go help him, and he can show you some things. Maybe explain any other questions, and it will take your mind off Stryder. Who by the way is alive, but fighting for his life, so don't give up on him.”

She breathed a sigh of relief. Her heart was lighter with the knowledge Stryder was alive, but she still feared for his life. “When will he be back? How much longer, can I pull him away?”

“No. He is bound to the rules of his world. As all Guardians are, but your case is all messed to hell because of so many years with a Guardian that fought to stay, and you subconsciously struggled to keep. Now, we don't have any more time for questions. Do you agree or not?”

“Yes.” He took her by the elbow and pointed at a doorway. “Go on through, his name is Dale, and he's expecting you.” With that, the man was gone. Just like he always was.

“Okay, Ciara, let's go make a friend.”

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