Neverswan

Chapter Twenty-Six | Kaylessa

Everyone panted as they raced towards the exit of the compound. Loud, thudding footsteps could be heard as Gethen and Ruy chased after them. Raverie and Kaylessa led the group towards the back exit to slip out unnoticed.

Trix was walking past the back door, rifling papers in his hands. He was whistling a merry tune that deeply contrasted his dark cloak.

"Stop!" Gethen shouted behind them and Trix looked up from reading. He spotted the large group running towards him and cursed.

He spread out his arms blocking the back door with his body as everyone skidded to a stop. Gethen and Ruy caught up to them and they were surrounded.

"What are you doing here, intruders?" Gethen asked immediately, narrowing his eyes at Raverie. "Who are you?"

Aymon audibly muttered a string of obscenities, "I knew we should have played Spin the Bottle." Kaylessa gave him a stink eye.

"I'll ask again : Who are you?" Gethen repeated. He pulled out a melder from the inner folds of his cloak and aimed it at every head in the surrounded group.

"We're the Neverswan," Viessa said shakily.

Gethen made a face, "That sounds stupid."

"Gethen! Pay attention!" Trix shouted, snapping Gethen from his moment of immaturity.

"Right. What are you doing here then?" Gethen asked. Ruy shifted nervously as he glanced from Raverie to Kaylessa with a suspicious gleam to his eye.

"Well, you see, we were playing Truth or Dare and—" Aymon started as he animatedly moved his hands. It was everyone's turn to glare at him.

"Dude!" Kieran chided. "That's not important!"

Aymon shrugged, "I'm telling them the truth. Anyway, we were playing Truth or Dare and Raverie was dared to leap us all here so . . . here we are."

"Guess who dared me," Raverie muttered darkly. Gethen ignored her, but Ruy cocked his head at her.

"Do I—never mind," Ruy started but cut himself off. He focused back on Gethen and the main conversation.

"Well, how did you find this hideout? You do realize who we are, right?" Trix asked, bringing everyone's focus to him.

"Yeah, we kind of do. If not, we could tell by those ridiculous costumes," Keryn said, glaring at them. Gethen stiffened at the outright rudeness of him.

"Too far," Kaylessa muttered to him. Keryn shrugged and mouthed, 'Whatever.'

"Answer my question!" Trix demanded as he crossed his arms, though that didn't look so intimidating with the stack of heavy papers clutched in his hands.

Raverie sighed audibly, "Your hideout isn't a secret, dummy." Kaylessa watched her expression, seeing a slight amount of doubt. She would have to sell it to make them believe it.

"Yeah, even the stupid Black Swan can find some hideouts, why can't we?" Kaylessa said, hoping her face didn't give anything away. Raverie shot her a look of gratitude.

Gethen harrumphed.

"Fine, whatever. Let's bring them to Gisela. She'll know what to do with them," Trix sneered.

"Always so dramatic," Kaylessa grumbled to herself. She spoke louder for the Neverseen members to hear, "Don't you want to know how we found your compound?" She smiled mischievously to make Gethen curious. I guess those years in the Neverseen weren't for nothing, Kaylessa thought as she watched Gethen contemplate her offer.

"Fine," Gethen grumbled. He mimicked Trix and crossed his arms.

"Well," Kaylessa started. Keryn and Viessa gave her a look of warning, but she shook her head. "We knew you had to have a base with a place that's . . . habitable." She glanced around her trying to come up with excuses.

Kaylessa slipped her hands into her pocket feeling for smooth crystal.

"And, we knew that you wanted to be alone, so you wouldn't want to be in a popular area," she continued. Ashryn shook her head in disbelief. "So, we found a place that no one wanted."

She gripped the small mineral and hid it in her palm. She pulled her hands out of her pocket and propped them on her hip as she tried to explain how she found the compound.

She caught Ruy scratching his head and Gethen's face scrunched up in concentration.

"Anyway, we made a temporary leaping crystal after scouting the area and . . . " Kaylessa trailed off as she glanced next to her. Keryn was to her right and there was a shaft of sunlight shining into the room near them.

She grimaced as she reached her free hand toward Keryn and gripped his wrist. That got his attention and he looked her way.

"So, you know how you make the crystal, right? You add the . . . powder," Kaylessa said distantly as Keryn gave her a look. "And then the, uh, crystal . . . powder."

"Right!" Raverie said, catching on. "And you . . . have the coordinates." As Raverie talked, Kaylessa nodded at Keryn.

"Yeah, and you have, uh, three coordinates you need to have," Viessa added as she gave Kaylessa a confused look.

Keryn slipped into her mind and she clenched her teeth. She quickly pushed her thoughts and memories towards the back of her mind and showed Keryn her plan.

Smart, he noted. So, what do I do?

Just hold Ashryn's hand, Kaylessa replied. Keryn nodded almost imperceptibly.

Your head is giving me a headache, Keryn complained as he left her chaotic headspace. Kaylessa rolled her eyes.

"And then, we all held hands . . . like this," Kaylessa said, finishing Viessa's thought as Keryn reached a hand for Ashryn and she jumped.

Kaylessa nodded at her as she hesitantly reached a hand for Aymon. He reached for Raverie as she reached for Kieran's hand. Kieran gripped Viessa's hand tightly and all of them were making a chain.

"And then?" Gethen asked impatiently.

"We'll get there," Kaylessa snapped. She made sure all of her friends were locking hands and placed her left hand behind her back.

The leaping crystal she was hiding was hit by direct sunlight as she slightly opened her fingers. She stepped backward, dragging her friends with her as they all leaped away.

They could see the obvious anger in Gethen's eyes when he realized he was tricked.

When they arrived at Lumenaria, Kaylessa immediately let go of Keryn's wrist. She sighed in relief and heard her friends do the same as they released a held-in breath.

"That was close," Raverie said. She glanced guiltily around them. "Sorry, though. I guess I shouldn't have done the dare." She turned a glare onto Aymon. He shrugged, but clearly realized he deserved it.

"A little too close," Keryn muttered. "They know what we look like." Kaylessa grimaced.

"Shoot, I completely forgot. Guess we're their targets now," Kaylessa said.

Raverie shrugged, "We haven't really done anything to offend them. We just broke into their hideout. The Black Swan is still their enemies."

"I guess we have to be careful," Viessa said. They all caught their breath as they each relived their almost-capture.

After a while, they all pulled out separate home crystals and individually leaped home completely forgetting about the sleepover.