Statera - The Balanced One

Chapter Twenty-Two

I woke at five in the morning to Samantha and Eugene milling around in the next room. I knew they were up early so Samantha could take him to the local airport to catch his family jet to New York. Since plans had changed and everyone would leave within two hours for Branson, I got up to prepare for the day. Climbing out of bed, I grabbed some clothes and quietly stepped into the hallway. I was crossing to the bathroom when the sound of Samantha crying made me stop and look toward Eugene's door.

"I'm going to miss you!" I heard Samantha say.

I shook my head and continued to the bathroom to take a shower. Their love was new, and they hadn't had enough time with each other. I knew Samantha would be out of sorts for most of the day.

My shower was quick but warm, relaxing, and quiet. I hadn't slept well. Dreams and thoughts of doom plagued me through the night. I was more than just worried about our mission—I was terrified. There was a real chance of some, if not all of us, dying, and the thought made my stomach roll. I pushed the idea from my mind, got dressed, and stepped out of the bathroom in just enough time to wish Eugene good luck and tell a misty-eyed Samantha I would see her later.

I walked into Keitan's room to find him exactly where I'd left him—sleeping. I almost felt bad about having to wake him. Almost, but not so much I could resist the urge to jump into his side, elbow first. I never passed up an opportunity to get the best of him because that opportunity rarely knocked.

He exhaled with a whoosh of air and simultaneously made sounds of shock and anger. That was my cue to run.

Unfortunately, I wasn't fast enough—I was never fast enough. Before I could make it two steps toward the door, Keitan grabbed me by the waist and pulled me back to the bed. As I giggled, he held me steadfast against him. I was hopelessly overpowered. My struggle lasted a moment before I went limp and sighed in resignation.

"Okay, Okay, you got me. Let me go, please," I told him.

His laugh reverberated through his chest, and I laughed with him.

"Seriously though, Keitan, we need to get up and start preparing for the trip."

He released me, rolling off the opposite side of the bed, and fetched some clothes. Once he'd finished dressing, we headed downstairs to wait for the others.

Everyone was up and milling around by six thirty. Samantha had returned from the airport, more than ready to get started and be done with it. So we hit the road rather than stand around, burning precious time. Quinn sat up front with Keitan because he was ridiculously tall like every other O'Connell male. They dwarfed Josh, who was lucky if he stood five feet, eight inches.

"So, let me get this straight, Quinn. You believe as long as I have a barrier in place before we enter the caves, the wrought will bounce right off?" Josh asked, his tone skeptical.

"Yes! Absolutely! Think about it. Your barriers keep aggressive elements from touching you or someone else. Why would wrought be any different?"

I had to admit his logic was sound, so I needed to reassure Josh.

"If you remember, I bounced right off one of your barriers not so long ago, not just once but twice! That was a physical aspect being held at bay. However, you also effectively kept Eric's mind safe from the countless voices of the dead that flooded in when I opened myself to them. That was not a physical assailant, so to speak, but the result was the same; no penetration of the barrier."

"The barrier I placed around Eric's mind was difficult to form in the first place and even harder to hold. That was the first time I'd ever put a barrier around something in that manner. So, if fending off wrought is that hard, I don't know if I can maintain a barrier for an extended amount of time. I won't be sure how hard until the first bounce occurs."