THE JOURNEY HOME

BLOCK (CONTINUED)

.....
Mrs. Rose's visit left old Ann in no small measure of shock. Block, another powerful gift right here, in their little town.

'Are you sure of this?' The elderly woman asked, hoping, wishing that Mrs. Rose had made some sort of mistake.

'Pearl told me.' That cleared all doubts.

'And there's one more thing. We don't know the identity of the block user because his ability transcends time' Mrs. Rose added, sinking the elderly librarian into deeper depths of despair.

'If someone has the ability of block here, then we're not safe. Who knows how many enemy forces may have infiltrated the town now, and we would be completely unaware. Block completely erases their presence. Even Pearl would not know immediately' Mrs Harry ranted, her demeanour finally cracked. She crumbled on her bed, looking ever the pitiful elderly woman.

'The council, they must pardon my faults. I cannot be expected to defend my territory in this weakened state' she half sobbed.

'You can write an official plea to the council. Given the circumstances, they might reconsider' Mrs. Rose suggested.

'There's the bureaucracy, iIt will take too long for them to approve my request.' She suddenly stopped, looking lost in thought. Then her face lit up.

'I have an idea'

Mrs Rose's brows furrowed at the sound of that.
'I hope it's not what I think it is'

'There's no other way. I have to hand over my position to someone else. I need a successor and I already have the perfect person for the job'

'Who?' Mrs Rose asked.

'It's Benjamin. He's worked here since he was a child. He is unaware of it now, but he is one of our kind. He's young and strong, he can handle responsibility. Beyond that, the portal lord's punishment inflicted on me won't be transferred to him'

'Are you sure you can trust him with this responsibility? And at such a critical moment too. It isn't fair to decide for him. He has to choose to be a portal Lord for himself'.

'Of course. He might refuse' a dark cloud of doubt covered Mrs. Harry's face as she contemplated the possibility.
'But I'm sure he won't, not when he knows what's at stake. He, his family and friends could all be in grave danger if he doesn't step up and accept this role. I won't be able to do much otherwise. I'm too weak' Despair seeped through her words. Her voice barely a whisper when she uttered the word 'weak'.

Mrs Rose was completely against the idea but decided not to dash old Ann's hopes. Instead, she started making preparations to appeal to the council of Portal Lords. To see if they might change their minds about Mrs. Harry's verdict.

.......
Amber settled down in her favourite spot and was about to delve into another book specifically recommended by Suzy when the chessboard came out. Suzy had gotten one earlier for the library.

'Amber, let's play' she called. Suzy had sufficiently dominated Benjamin in chess to the extent that he never wanted to play against her again. The difference in skill was huge. So she moved on to new competitors or 'fresh meat' as she would call them when she was in the mood. She was competitive to a fault with a tendency to thrash talk when she was winning. Otherwise, she would stare at the board with a concentration that was almost scary. Needless to say Amber didn't want to play against her, but as there was no one else and Benjamin was still sore from the last beating he had taken, she stepped up.

'Alright' Amber braced herself to match Suzy's intensity. Amber was a very different kind of player. She felt more at ease when everyone took things easy and she could hold a conversation while playing, no matter how intense the game.