The Truth

Chapter 28

-Jack-

When I wake up, we have about thirty minutes left on the train. My mind is fuzzy as I try to remember what happened. Zarathos.

"He was here!" I sit up, hitting my head on the suitcase rack above as Cindy takes her backpack down. "Ow." I mutter.

"Sorry." she says hastily as though its her fault. To my surprise, she kisses my forehead. "What do you mean 'he was here'?" she asks, looking through her backpack. I still feel dazed so I shake my head to clear it.

"Nothing, it was just a dream." I mutter, but I can still feel my cheek where he struck me. She nods. "Cindy, we need to change our plan." I say, remembering how Zarathos had known everything. I was also glad for an excuse to keep her out of danger.

"What? We're almost to the station." she says angrily.

"Please. I can't risk anything happening to you." I take her hand. "I know how to get your brother out on my own but you'll have to trust me." I beg. She bites her lip. I don't remind her of the fact that one of us is destined to die, and I'd much rather it be me. You said you weren't going to get so involved. I say to myself. That was before I fell in love. I respond.

"I'm the only one who can defeat Zarathos." she reminds me. I groan in response.

"We'll come back another time. With more help." I say. "We need to just get your brother and get out. I can't let you take him on by yourself. You don't know what he's capable of." She buries her face in her hands.

"I don't know how this happened. I wasn't ready for this. One minute I'm at the dentist's office and the next my mom is sending me away with my boyfriend to find some wizard I've never heard of after finding out I have powers I don't know how to control. I can't tell you how scared I was and still am." she sobs. I put my arm around her and let her cry for awhile.

"Your mom should have told you a long time ago." I agree. "That's why you aren't ready yet. It wasn't fair to send you on this mission totally unprepared. I promise I'll teach you everything you ever need to know about magic...after we rescue your brother and escape." I plead with her. "Please Cindy. I have to protect you." She shakes her head.

"Jack, I can't go home after all of this, knowing I sat out and let you do all the work." she sits back down next to me. "Even if we don't kill Zarathos, we need to set him back. We have to figure out what he's planning." she says. I sigh. "You can't protect me from everything. I need to do this on my own." I nod and stand up.

"You're right." I say, and break the window of the compartment.

"Jack!" she hisses.

"Blake and his crew are probably waiting for us outside. We can sneak out through the back, behind the train." I say and she bites her lip.

"Alright, hurry." We jump out and run behind the nearest building which looks like a closed store.

"We have an advantage now. They're expecting us to come in with Blake. I can sneak in and get Jason." I say.

"We can sneak in and get Jason." she corrects.

"Why don't we do this. I go get him by myself, and then when I get back outside, the two of us can go in together so that you're not alone." I suggest, although I know as soon as I free Jason thousands of alarms will go off.

"Jason can come too, that way there will be three of us." she smiles and I take her hand.

"He won't be strong enough, trust me." I say and she looks away from me. Avoiding the front of the station, we sneak around the store and come to a crowded street.

"How are we going to know where it is?" she asks.

"I remember." I respond. She looks at me strangely and I wonder what's going on in her mind.

"Lead the way."

-Cindy-

When he said he remembered which way to go, it reminded me of the dream I had of him in the dungeon. The fact that he was going to go in there again for me made my heart swell with love for him.

He leads us through the city with the mind of an expert. As he did in Washington, he describes the different buildings and places he's been. I want to ask him how he got from Chicago to D.C but I just listen to him talk. Soon we reach the outskirts of the city and I see nothing.

"Jack, are you sure..." I begin but he puts a hand up. Picking up a handful of rocks, he tosses them lightly in the air in front of us. The air ripples and the rocks richochet off of it.

"You think Zarathos is going to let some random person enter his property?" he asks.

"What happens if a normal human tries to go over there?" I ask.

"I don't know." he kisses my cheek and looks me in the eye. "Are you ready?" I nod and he tells me to close my eyes until we're in. This worries me but I do as I'm told and after what seems like forever, he tells me to open them. I gasp and look around. The landscape was exactly the same but where there was nothing but barren land was a huge metal mansion. The stainless steel glinted in the sunlight and gave me shivers despite the heat. It was intimidating and loud and I everything I expected it to be. I could feel tears forming in my eyes as fear clawed it's way through my body. I grab Jack's arm for support and he holds me steady.

"We don't have to do this. Cindy please don't make me send you in there." he begs and I realize how unfair this is to him. The fact that my fear is probably multiplied by a million for Jack. I feel his strong hands begin to shake and his breath speed up. "Please let me handle this. Hide in there." he pointed behind us and again I gasp. Instead of the faint city skyline and instead of the faint skyline and empty land, there's a forest with hundreds of trees that surround the mansion in a perfect circle.

"No, I'm not going to run and hide. We're doing this together."