Enemies Lurking

After talking with the Li family for several hours, the siblings walk with me back to the room I stayed in before. "The Li family has put out a bounty on those men. It'll only be a matter of time before they're found and killed. Hmph, who asked them to mess with us!" Li Mei says with conviction.

I smirk, silently walking with them before Li Jie comes to a stop and asks, "Little Mei, can I talk to Lyra in private?" I come to a stop, turning to look at Li Jie with curious eyes as Li Mei smirks and says, "Sure, sure. I'm heading to bed! You two... talk."

I turn, narrowing my eyes at her as she takes off running. Li Jie clears his throat, causing me to turn back to him. His dark eyes reflect the setting sun as he says, "We were all worried about you when you just up and left."

I give him a small smile as we slowly make our way over to the small pound towards the back of the estate. I struggle to find the right words before saying, "I'm emotionally stunted. I don't do well with goodbyes or really anything involving feelings. I'm sorry that I caused you all to worry, that wasn't my intention."

Li Jie gives me a small smile as he walks next to me and says, "We know, little Mei told us all about you leaving so we figured you just didn't want to say goodbye. It's just that little Mei slept for almost an entire day before waking up and telling us."

I lightly chuckle, knowing that she was up late with me the night before so it was understandable that she would sleep so long the next day. His smile grows when he hears my chuckle. When we reach the small pound, we come to a stop.

The setting sun shines against the still water, looking like glass. Fall was in full swing, making everything much cooler and for the leaves to start changing colors. Even the number of bugs had dwindled significantly. A few fireflies were peeking out of the bushes lining the back of the pond but that was it.

It was beautiful... My mind instantly thinks of Bolin, and I find myself frowning. He disappeared last night and hasn't been back since. Whatever, it's none of my business. "Little Mei said you were trying to find a way back to your... world?"

I blink, looking up and over at him with clear eyes. I nod and say, "That's right. I don't belong in this world. As soon as I find a way back, I will have to leave." Li Jie's jaw tenses a little as he quickly looks back to the pond. After another few moments of silence, he says, "You could always stay here with us."

Surprise flickers through me before I look back over at him. I slowly smile as my eyes soften and say, "I never grew up with parents or a family like this. The warmth and love here is... wholesome. It made me realize all the things I didn't have growing up. All the things I missed out on."

Li Jie seems to be struggling to find the right words, not meaning for things to take this turn but I save him as I say, "This will forever be my second home. My second but complete family. Even though I have to return, I will create a bridge between this world and mine so that I can always come and visit."

Li Jie smiles when he hears that, relief floods through him as he says, "Good, that's good."

The last rays of the sun were barely showing now, and the temperature had dropped quickly. As if feeling his restlessness, I turn to find Li Jie struggling to say something else. I arch a dark brow and ask, "What?"

He frowns, sighs, and asks, "What's the relationship between you and that man Bolin?" Surprised by his sudden question, I blank for a moment. I blink a few times before quickly looking away and saying, "Honestly, I don't really know. I was just using him to find a way back to my world but..."

Li Jie frowns and asks, "But what? What changed that?"

Suddenly, Bolin appears behind us. We both turn and watch as he walks over and says, "Me, I changed that." He takes off his large black cloak, swings it around, and drapes it over my shoulders as he says, "It's cold, you'll get sick."

The thing swallows me, nearly dragging the ground but it was warm and smelt just like him. I didn't dislike it. Li Jie frowns and says, "You always have the worst timing..." Bolin doesn't miss a beat as he turns and says, "Or the best, depending on how you look at it."

Li Jie's face darkens but before he can say anything else, we all turn to see a spot next to the pond warp. A rip is seen before a familiar form steps through, followed by a few others. My eyes widen in surprise before a large smile takes over my entire face.

I start off walking and it quickly turns into a sprint. Bolin's cloak falls from my shoulders as I lift my arms. Vanir's eyes burn with unshed tears as he lifts his arms. I crash into him, hugging him tightly. My own tears threaten to fall as I embrace the old man who had become like a second grandfather to me.

Vanir hugs me close as he says, "You're safe Hun, you're safe." I chuckle a little before pulling back to look up at him. He looked as if he's aged since the last time I saw him! He gives me a knowing smile as he says, "Are you ready to go home?"

A strong force is felt behind us, causing everyone to look. Bolin had picked up the cloak, shook it off, and walked over. He slips it back over my shoulders as he says, "She can't leave yet. She needs to collect all the pieces of the Artifact, or it will consume her soul."

Vanir looks this man over with hesitation but suddenly he freezes. His eyes grow large as he asks, "Artifact?" He turns and looks at me with a million questions burning in his light blue eyes. I nod my head and say, "Dade and a few of his lackeys are here. They brought an Artifact and activated it. I'm currently doing damage control."

She leaves out everything else, not trusting the other council members. Alaister, Balcom, Sullivan, and Lolan all step closer with wide eyes.

"Dade's here?"

"How does he have an Artifact?"

"How long has he been here? We just figured out how to get here..."

"That's right, every time we got close to following your magical trail, something kept blocking it."

I lift my hand as I say, "Dade isn't the only one here, Aiya and a few others are here as well." Shock and confusion ensue. Alaister steps forward and asks, "Why is she here? Wait, that's not as important as knowing what happened. Child, what happened that night? Who did this?"

I slowly tell them everything that took place that night, carefully watching their expressions but nothing seemed amiss. They all seemed genuinely shocked and surprised that Aiya had done such a thing.

Vanir grumbles and says, "I don't think she acted alone, she's not smart enough to orchestrate the entire thing by herself." Lolan, the only other female council member speaks up and says, "You think her parents had something to do with this?"

The other council members all glance at each other, silently agreeing. Vanir huffs and says, "We will get to the bottom of this but for now, I think it's best that you return. We've already established a bridge between the two worlds, so it won't be difficult for you to hop back and forth."

I nod and as soon as I say, "Okay, that works." Bolin's entire body freezes along with the air around us.