Spirit Animals - The Ten Keepers: The Lost Talisman of Ursala [Book Two]

Chapter Nine - Trust Me

Jef's POV

"Now what?" Jef asked.

They were at the Evertree with Lenori and some of the healers.

"Greenhaven has fallen," he wen on, "Zerif's got most of the Great Beasts under his control and here we are in the Evertree, hiding like a bunch of cowards instead of doing our job!"

"We need to go to the Hundred Isles and get the talisman," Irene said.

"But we don't have much proof-" Riley started but Irene cut her off.

"I know we don't have much proof," Irene insisted, "But we're running out of time. We need to at least try to find the talisman. We can't keep on going to libraries because we're running out of time. Who knows which Great Beast Zerif will capture next, we need to get the talismans."

Riley hesitated while the others exchanged uncertain glances.

"I agree with Irene," Zoey said, "We both are facing the same enemy now. We need to work together again if we're going to defeat the same enemy. We need to trust each other now because if we don't, is there hope for Erdas at all?"

"Yes, they're right," Ivan said, "We need to at least try."

"Yeah, i'm still having a hard time trusting Eilene but we don't have much time," Jef agreed.

Riley sighed then finally nodded, "Okay then. We'll go to the Hundred Isles."

John's POV

The first time he met the other Keepers, he had a bit of a crush on Riley and he could tell she did too but he realized that it wasn't her. When he met Eilene, he promised himself to hate her but that clearly failed because what he felt for Eilene was the opposite hate. Especially since that night on the ship. The night before the day she betrayed them all. Their last night together before it turned to chaos.

When he thought that she had died, he didn't know what to do anymore and it had shaken him really badly more than her betrayal that he stopped being a Greencloak for a while. He should've hated her because she betrayed them all but when they met again in the war, he still saw the Eilene he knew, the Eilene he thought he knew. He wanted to believe her but he didn't know what to believe anymore.

Now here they were again. Traveling together, fighting together, saving Erdas, working together but it wasn't Eilene but Lin now. He didn't know if he could trust her at all because she wasn't the Eilene he knew. Back when she said that it was all an act and that she never meant anything she said, it stung him but when he thought back to that night, it felt so real. Now, he's wondering which is the real lie. That she cared for him or that she never meant anything she said.

Is Eilene really dead or not? he thought

John glanced at Eilene or Lin, who seemed nervous which surprised him. Eilene was usually so calm and sometimes he didn't know what she was really feeling because she was that good at hiding her true emotions. But ever since they entered the caves, he would see flashes of fear and every step she took, she seemed to get nervous, her eyes darting around. When they first encountered the Many, he had never seen her so scared that her mind seemed to have shut down.

He was feeling worried, worried for her and he tried to shake the feeling away but it stayed there. He knew that he still liked Eilene and he still cared for her, even though she betrayed them all. Only his trust for Eilene had wavered.

"Uh, hey," John asked, "Are you okay?"

Eilene jumped when she heard her voice and quickly replied, "Of course i'm fine."

John sighed. They both know the real answer. He didn't understand why Eilene would keep lying that she was fine when she's not. One of the reasons they fight is because Eilene kept on insisting that she was fine when she wasn't and it frustrated him.

Before he could say anything else, Haley said, "We're here."

They had explained everything on what happened to the Evertree and why the Wyrm has spread. Haley seemed to have already known, probably because Conor, Meilin, and Takoda told them. They decided to stop by in Phos Astos to see if anyone were still alive.

They stopped in front of a dark chasm.

"This is Phos Astos?" George asked in disbelief.

"Of course not," Haley said, "You have to go down to see it."

"What do you mean by go down?" Lin asked, fear growing in her voice.

Haley just smiled and said, "Watch."

Then she jumped into the dark chasm and just like that, she was swept away. When they looked down, John felt a rush of air.

"Amazing," George said in wonder, "Wish me luck."

"George, what are you-" John started but he had already jumped into the void.

"You guys have got to try this," they heard George's voice, "It's amazing!"

"See you guys later," Hope said and she too disappeared, her laugh echoing.

"Wait for me," Zoron said and disappeared after her.

Only Lin and John were left. He looked over at Lin who was looking at the chasm in fear.

She hesitated, "I-I don't know..."

"Hey," John reassured her, "You can do it."

"I..." her voice trailed off.

"If you can jump off a high waterfall, if you can climb up a high mast of a ship, if you can face a huge, ferocious mountain lion, you can do this," John said, looking at her.

At first, she refused to look back but then she slowly met his gaze. That's when he saw Eilene again, the old Eilene. She seemed to have calmed down a bit and she nodded hesitantly. She looked down at the chasm, still nervous and uncertain but before John could think, he took her hand and felt her flinching at his touch.

"If you want i'll jump with you," John offered.

Eilene hesitated then John added, "I need you to trust me."

A certain memory came into John's mind. He remembered Eilene saying the same thing when they were about to jump off a waterfall. By the look in her eyes, she seemed to have remembered it as well.

"You have to trust me right now."

Eilene took a deep breath then nodded. When they were ready, they jumped off the chasm together. At first, they were falling but as soon as he let his arms wide, he was gliding.

"Woah, this is fun," John exclaimed.

Eilene didn't say anything but she didn't look as nervous as before. She actually looked like she was having a bit of fun. Just then, they hit something that felt like a net and hands grabbed them and pulled them all the way to the side of the net.

"That was awesome," John exclaimed.

"It actually wasn't...that bad," Eilene admitted, "But that's probably the last time i'm doing that."

"Admit it, you enjoyed it," John said.

A small smile form on her lips, "Maybe, but i'm still not doing that any time soon."

He smiled back a bit.

"Hey you two," George said, "Look down."

They both looked down and John's eyes widened in surprise. There were huge glowing mushrooms, as huge as trees. The mushrooms glowed with different colors.

"Welcome to Phos Astos," Haley said, "Or...what's left of it."

Did you guys like that sweet John and Eilene moment? Please vote and leave a comment on what you guys think. Stay tuned for the next chapter!