The Realm Protectors

Chapter 41 - Faris

The air smells like sand and dirt as I walk back towards the line of cars. The Otherworld side of the Dunia gateway opens up into the middle of African, between two plateaus; far from the nearest civilization. The plateaus themselves broke from the force of the explosion, causing horrific rock slides into the valley between them. The scar from the gateway isn't even visible under all the rubble. The sun beats down on my face and neck, sweat dripping down my back. Someone put up a tent between two cars, offering some shade.

"There you are," Someone runs out to greet me, pulling me into the shade of the tent.

"Mom, I can walk by myself." I tell my mother. She rolls her eyes.

"I'm aware." She says, before pulling me into a hug. "You seem so stressed, honey."

"I am," I sigh. My mom rubs my back in soothing circles, her head a good few inches below my eye level. She likes to joke that my birth father must have been a string bean, with the way I grow. I always laugh it off, saying that we'll never truly know for sure.

"I know you're worried about the Realm." Mom leans back to look at me.

"So many people have died," I tell her. "It's only a matter of time before someone dies here in the Otherworld too."

"I'm sure you guys are doing everything you can." Mom assures me. Her eyes lift to my face, tracing around my eyes. "Your tattoos are coming in."

"It's from coming here every week when another gateway collapses," I sigh, removing myself from her embrace. I almost regret it after; until these past couple months, I hadn't been able to hug my mom since I left the Otherworld my first sect year.

"You guys will catch Gray," Mom assures me. She goes to the cooler in the corner and grabs a bottle of cold water. She tosses it to me. "It just takes time to catch criminals like that. Besides, didn't you guys find a list of all his next plans?"

"Yeah, Avani managed to salvage it from the cabin." I say, remembering the piece of paper she showed us only a few hours ago. She and Nikolina were both covered in gateway dust and limping slightly as they walked into our massive room in the Serikali. Ciana had demanded to know what happened right away. Avani told us that they had visited a cabin in the woods where Gray had apparently been staying. Senator Aita had stayed at the gateway, and when they discovered that it was being attacked, it was too late. There wasn't anything left around the gateway. Nile and Enya questioned them intensely, asking why Avani hadn't told them about the cabin before they left. Avani said that she hadn't thought anything would happen. Nikolina promised to make sure everyone was notified about big news like this in the future.

"Then it should be easy to track him down," My mom says, pulling me from my thoughts.

"He'll probably change the plans now." I argue. "I bet he noticed his secret little cabin got ransacked."

"I'm sure you'll figure it out." Mom sighs. She stands next to where I sit in the dirt and ruffles my hair. "You always do."

"How can you be so optimistic?" I ask her.

"You were chosen for a reason, Faris." She says to me. "I believe in you and your friends."

Someone enters the tent, a man in Stellune tunneler robes. "It's time to go." The man says.

I stand up and brush the dirt off my pants. "Let's go then." Mom grabs my hand and gives it one last squeeze as the tunneler chops his hand through the air, opening a tunnel back to Dunia.

"Believe in yourself, Faris." She tells me. I nod and let go, stepping through the tunnel. Space, stars, and planets swirl around us in a sickening display before we're spit out in front of the Serikali. I thank the tunneler before heading inside, saying hello to Kathe. He mumbles a hello back, pivoting back and forth between his many computer screens at the front desk. I climb the stairs quickly, going all the way up to the top floor. Our rooms are in the canopy of the forest, allowing us the peace and quiet that comes with distance from people. Ciana's not a huge fan of it – she peered out the window when we first got brought up here earlier and stumbled away.