Blue-Eyed Secrets

Chapter 19

                                                                                        Bryant

Stepping through the portal into the Berial realm instantly layers me with a film of sweat. I can feel the humidity everywhere, even in my throat, like I'm taking a sip of a water that's been left in the sun for two days. Grandma Sadie doesn't seem to be bothered at all by the humidity, in fact the hint of a smile is on her face.

"Is there someone you're looking forward to seeing, Grandma?"

She stares out at the path ahead of us. "Due to the circumstances, I am not looking forward to this meeting." Grandma Sadie looks back to me, with the smile back on her face. "But Gordon and I do have...history."

The way Sadie says history makes me think that Gordon may be more than an ally to her. It also makes me think of Tes, who is probably close to waking up now, about to realize that I'm not by her side anymore. A pang of guilt hits me, I should have woken her up and told her. Sadie's reasoning earlier about her needing the rest was convincing, but now I feel terrible about it.

"We should get going," Grandma Sadie says at the same time I say "I need to go back to Tes."

"No, you do not. Tes and Ron will be able to get by just fine," Sadie says sternly. "Tes needs rest."

"She could panic when she wakes up, the last time I disappeared, I almost died...She-"

Grandma Sadie puts her hand up. "Bryant, Tes and you need to learn how to be apart. Tes needs to build her emotional strength back up and that starts with taking away her crutch. She needs to be strong for what's to come and so do you."

I want to disagree and run back to Tes as fast as I can, but I can't because Sadie is right. We are leaning on each other for everything. We do need to have just as much strength apart as we do together. I hate that she's right...it makes me feel like a stupid child, like I'm incapable.

I look forward, we are about five miles away. We couldn't open a portal any closer because of the protective barrier they have around their kingdom. I can see the silhouette of the massive castle looming over the trees in front of us. I have never been here, but we are told about the other realms while growing up, it is a part of our homeschool curriculum to learn about the known realms. There are many known realms and most likely a million more that are unknown.

"You're right Grandma, we should move forward," I say reluctantly.

We trek through the jungle following an overgrown path. There are three other Stameions with us in case anything happens. This area is not what we're used to, anything can come at us, including the animals that reside here.

An hour of trekking through and nothing has bothered us. I have seen some creatures lurking, but they stay away. One of the Stameions with us nearly had a heart attack when he saw a spider, roughly the size of his head, skittering across the path. Grandma Sadie scolded him for being afraid, but it kind of scared me too. Two grown men who are going to war soon, are afraid of spiders; what could go wrong?

We make it to the kingdom shortly after the spider incident and I am paralyzed by the beauty of it. From far away it was only a shadow, but up close...it's magical. Everything looks to be made of diamond, the whole kingdom is glittering like it's alive. Gates stands in front of us, at least seventy feet tall and a wall the same height on either side. I'm assuming the wall surrounds the entire kingdom, but I'm not sure because I can't see where the walls end. The sheer enormity of this place is hitting me hard.