Across Worlds - Chapter 24 Part 2

“So that would make you Akia’s older brother.” Phillip looked pointedly at her as he said it. Hastily, she wiped away the tears that had found their way onto her face.

“Yes, Sir,” Aidan responded, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. “She’s mine. Quite the fighter, isn’t she?”

“Indeed,” Phillip responded, smiling at her. “She’s the best.” Akia couldn’t help but smile a bit. Magic was never a struggle for her. She was good and she knew it. She had no want to use it for anything except for the fight for the worlds.

There was some part of her though, that burned with pride when Phillip bragged about her. She was the best; and she always would be.

“So,” Phillip started, turning back to Aidan. “Where have you been all this time? Do you live in Lightport?”

“Uh, no, I actually don’t,” Aidan responded. “I’m… a nomad. Been wandering around worlds for years now. Had a house in Vertfay, obviously one that I shared with Akia and our family, then found my way to Sedula after the battle with Rhys. They put me to work there, didn’t even care that I was a magician. Of course I had to evacuate two years later once Rhys found his way to that world. It’s completely destroyed. Such a shame, really.”

“Wait, Sedula?” Akia asked. Sedula was the most prosperous world. It was home to the teleks, those with the power of telekinesis.

Telekinesis had always been seen as the most powerful of all the magics. Akia didn’t understand why. All teleks could do was make objects move with their mind. Seers could see the future. Magicians and mages could do anything that their magic allowed them to. Wouldn't that make them the most powerful?

“Yeah,” Aidan said sadly. “The place is destroyed, much like Vertfay is. Akia, our home world is gone. The buildings, the well, the forest. All still there, just completely flattened.”

She looked at him with empty eyes. “You’ve been back there since?” She knew the answer already, but she wanted to hear it from him.

He nodded. “It was a long trek through Vertfay to get here. It’s completely desolate. There’s nothing left.”

The words sent a pang through her heart. Vertfay, the world that had given her fourteen years of her life was gone. Just like that. Wiped off the map. Forever.

Suddenly all of the happiness built up inside of her shifted, gripped by jealousy. Why did Aidan get to visit their home world? She hadn’t been back since Rhys attacked. It wasn’t fair.

She loved her life at Lightport. Yet there was always a feeling of yearning to return to the life she had once lived. Vertfay had been the perfect home. Life couldn’t have been better. Then Rhys had to go and destroy it all.

There she went again, thinking of the past. She shook her head, desperate to dispel the memories. Vertfay was gone, over with, done. Destroyed. There was nothing she could do about it. It was something she’d have to get over. They had a job to do. And bringing back these memories was only going to hurt her.

“If you could show her the way back, Aidan,” Phillip started. “I’d appreciate it. We need her to go back.”

Akia’s heart leapt at the news, but Aidan seemed skeptical. “Why? What do you think you’ll find there? It’s a desert. There’s nothing left.”

Phillip looked passed him and locked eyes with Akia. She knew why he was sending her there before he even said anything.

“He thinks the locket is there,” she said. “It’s not a bad idea. We’ve looked everywhere else.”

Aidan looked at them both, confusion clouding his blue eyes. “The locket can’t be in Vertfay. Rhys hasn’t been back there since the battle.”

“How do you know?” Phillip asked. “He could’ve gone anywhere. No one’s been able to track him.”

Aidan opened his mouth as if he was about to say something, but quickly closed it again. Akia looked at her brother. He was acting quite strange. His gaze was fixed on the ground and he wouldn’t stop moving his fingers.

“Akia,” Phillip said sharply. “Meet me at the battle room as soon as you can. The main one. You mine as well bring Aidan with you. I’ll give you two some time to catch up, then I expect you there. Got it?”

Without even waiting for an answer, Phillip turned and headed back down the hallway. Akia waited until he disappeared before turning to Aidan.

“You’re hiding something from me,” she said certainly. “What is it?”
Aidan didn’t meet her gaze. “Not here. Follow me.” He wrapped his hand around hers and led her down the hallway.

She was surprised at how easily he maneuvered through the building. He had never been to Headquarters before. Not that she knew of at least. All those years that they were apart, he could’ve been living in Lightport for some time. Yeah, that’s it. Otherwise he wouldn’t have known his way around.

“I lived here once,” he said, as if he could read her mind. “A few years back. Think it was just after the battle. I had an apartment here a few floors up. Not the best place I’ve ever lived, but it was a place.”

Akia gaped. “You were here and you didn’t try to find me?”
“You weren’t here,” he responded. “This was a few weeks after Phillip sent you to Agathi. I actually came looking for you.”

She looked at him closely. There was a look of sadness there that she hadn’t expected to see. Never in the years they spent living together did he ever express any real interest in being a sibling. They were just two kids living under the same roof. And here he was, telling her that he went searching for her.

Could she really believe any of it? She wanted to. After years of being alone in Agathi and having to beg neighbors for favors, she wanted someone to be there for her. Aidan would be the perfect companion. It didn’t matter that he was thirteen years older than her.

They went up three flights of stairs, all the while Akia deciding whether to trust her brother or not. She didn’t pay attention to the broken, dangling ceiling lights in the stairwell or the mustard yellow paint on the walls when they reached the seventh floor. The soft carpet under her feet was far from her thoughts, as were the teenagers running in and out of rooms.

All she could do was stare at the back of Aidan’s head as he made his way down the hallway. It had been so long since she’d last seen him that she didn’t want to ever lose sight of him. He was her only comfort left.

They finally stopped at a door to the right at the very end of the hallway. Aidan let go of her hand and knocked on the door three times. It was a calculated, rhythmic knock, which made her think that it was a password.

“Who lives here?” she asked him. But he didn’t respond.

When the door opened a few minutes later, she was surprised to see that she recognized who it was. “George?” she exclaimed.

He looked her up and down before turning to Aidan. “Why’d you bring her?”

“’Cause she’s my sister,” he snapped. “Now let us in.” George nodded and stepped aside.

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For the LMS contest. Word count: 1,237