Draiks and Angels: Rescued

30 - Retranslate

Khloe flew to Alex's apartment and retrieved Cona's satchel with the last ring piece still inside. Cona put it in the safe with the rest of them and prepared to call Peter and Daniel. Michael had never used a telephone before, but insisted on listening in, so Cona had to find one of the other lines in the house that had multiple phones attached to it. She finally determined the phone in the kitchen and the phone in the exercise room shared a line.

Cona sat on a stool in the kitchen with Khloe, Mara and Alex hanging around the table to at least hear her side of the conversation. Michael sat on a stool they carried in from the den, in the far corner of the exercise room. Cona dialed Peter's number and waited while it rang.

"Professor Peter Ertenmiter's office, this is Daniel, what can I do for you?"

"Hi Daniel, this is Cona and Michael on the same line," Cona started.

"Oh, hey! How'd it go, getting the last piece?" Daniel asked brightly.

"Well, let's just say we got it," Cona hedged. "We want to know how you want us to get them to you?"

There was silence for a moment, "Let me get Peter, hang on."

After a few minutes, there were some thumps, some clicks, and Peter spoke, "Hello, Miss Honeycut, Daniel and I are both on the line now. He said you are wondering how to give us the pieces to the ring?"

Cona nodded and realizing he couldn't see her said, "That's right."

"My dear, I'm afraid you are misunderstanding. We might have been the ones to set you on your journey, but we are no one of import. We do not hold the power to protect those artifacts from the very real evil that you have encountered. The safest place for them is with you."

"What?! How can I protect them?!"

"You've been doing a wonderful job so far, it seems."

"That's because of the ward my father placed! He was human like you!"

Peter hummed, "Utilizing all your resources is part of how you are protecting the pieces. It is because of that ward that I gave your father the crystal so many years ago. But I must warn you, when your father told me of the ward he had created, he gave a caveat that a strong enough power could still break it. You may need a backup plan."

"That's not helpful at all!" Cona cried, frustrated.

"Cona, calm down!" Michael cut in, "The ward is still standing. They are obviously not strong enough to break it."

"Those are just the minions, though! What if the Leader himself shows up?!" Cona was starting to panic.

"If he could've broken the ward by coming here, he would have done it already," Michael reasoned.

There were some thumps on the line and a female voice said, "We're sorry, Cona's taking a break, please hold."

"Khloe?!" Michael asked, confused, "What happened to Cona?"

"She's just having a little bit of a panic attack. It'll be fine in a bit," and the line went quiet.

Before Michael could drop the phone and rush to the kitchen, Peter quickly interrupted, "Mr. Michael! Please, could you tell us what you are referring to?"

Michael was torn between being polite and getting to Cona as quickly as possible. "I'm not sure how much you have heard, but the evil is basically a Shadow being that looks like a man. I'm pretty sure all the other Shadows we have seen are appendages to him. He was the one who attacked Cona before I met Daniel on the Bell Tower. After we found the last piece of the ring, the Leader, that Shadow man, kidnapped Cona in an effort to get me to agree to be his prisoner. Mara, Khloe, Alex and I infiltrated his castle and... rescued Cona. We returned to her house. Not long after, Shadow minions, basically blobs, surrounded the house just outside the ward's perimeter. They have been unable to enter and will get destroyed if they try."