Hidden Temples

(4) Trip to Hidden Temples

                             (Rue)
The next morning, I wake up, and remembered I had school.

I curse myself under my breath.
Then quickly, I pull on a white t-shirt and black tights, then I drape on my dark green sweater, and head downstairs. Once again I forgot to get groceries, so I skip breakfast all together.
I grab my keys and fling my bag over my shoulder. I check my watch, 8:15.
I walk outside, the cool breeze whips my hair, sending it flying into my face.

No wonder I've always loved the wind.

I take the bus, and quickly I walk down the street to my school, as I approached the fence, a hand grabs my wrist, and pulls me in between two buildings.
I yelp as the person pins me to the wall.

Jack.

"You know, you can't just grab someone unexpectedly like that?" I say staring into his greenish blue eyes.
He chuckles, then let go of my wrist.
"You ready?" He asks.
"We're going now?" I ask.
"I have school, you can't make me miss school."
"What's the point, you'll never come back here anyways."
"Good point, but I still have to get some stuff at my house."
"Okay, but make it quick." He says.

"How are we going to get to my house fast enough?" I ask.
"What's your address?" He says.
"Why?"
"Do you want to get there fast enough?" He asks.
I tell him my address, then he holds out his hand.
I hesitate before taking it. He pulls me closer so we're centimetres apart.
"What are you doing?" I ask.
"We have to be close, in order to travel with the wind."
"Travel with the wind?"
"Yes."
He whispered a command in a language I somehow understand.
"Come," he hisses.
Then he whisperes another command, and the wind wraps around us, pulling me even closer to him, so close, I can feel his warm breath against my cheek.

Suddenly everything around us is a blur, Jack whispers my address to the wind, and everything starts spinning, until I start to feel sick.
The wind drops us, and we land in my backyard.
I clutch my stomach.
"I've got to get used to that if we're going to do that more often." I say.
He chuckles.
"It does take some getting used to,"

"How did you say, come, and the wind just came to you?" I ask.
"Wait you understood me?"
His jaw drops, he turned pale, and nervous.

"Ya, was I not supposed to?" I say getting scared.
"Well, it is the language of the wind, it takes practice to master and understand it."
"Language of the wind?"
"Yep, that's one of the things you'll learn. You'd better get your stuff,"
"Ya."
I open my back door, and rush upstairs, I grab my back pack, and turn around to see Jack leaning against my door.
"Am I intruding?" Jack asks.
"No, it's fine." I say.
I grab my notebooks and anything else that I'd actually be able to use when I'm there.

"Ready?"
"Ya."
I take one more look at the bedroom I've had for 18 years.
Jack takes my hand, making me jump. Then he leads me out my room and back into my backyard.

Jack calls the wind, making it coil around us, the force of the gust, pushes me even closer to Jack.
"Oh, sorry."

Jeez stupid winds.

Everything goes blurry, and starts spinning.

We land on a beach, the waves swish calmly against the shores, and the gentle breeze licks my face.

"Where are we?" I ask.
"No idea, but I will once we get on the water."
"Wait we're going by boat?"
"Ya what else."
He pauses.

"They put the entrance in the middle of the water. You need to know how to get there to come in, no one can just come across it. That's why the winds can't carry us directly there."
"But there's no boat," I tell him.

"The winds can make us a boat, you just need to know what to tell them."
He hisses a word, and drafts come sweeping past us. Jack hisses a sentence, and the winds merge together and create a barley visible boat.
"Merge and create?" I repeat.
"Oh, you can translate that to."
"Is that bad?" I ask.
"No, like I said, just, strange."
I look away from him to avoid his intense stare.
"Right, after you," Jack says, pointing to the boat.
"What a gentleman." I say smiling when he chuckles.
I climb in the wind boat, boat made of wind? I don't know what to call it.

Wind boat?
Boat made of wind?
Windy boat?

Jack jumps in after me, then he hisses another command, and the wind under us makes a calm rumbling noise, and starts to move.

We both gaze into the distance, not sure what to say. Before it got any awkward I spoke,
"So how'd you get to the temples and back that fast, if it takes a while to get there?"
"You can easily use the wind to get out of there, but only skilled people can use the wind to get back in, I'm just using this way so the winds will be able to recognize you."
We stay silent for a little longer, before he says.

"I know that your wondering if you actually came from your family. Every Lith does.
I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out.
How did he know?

"You did come from your family, every Lith does. But you'd have to have at least one other Lith in your family tree. That's why you have blue eyes and your parents don't."
"Oh," I say, not sure what else to.

"Though their more grey than anything. Can I," he says.
I nod.
He moves his hand, and gently lifts my chin. He stares intensely into my eyes.

I rip my gaze away from his, and he slowly drops his hand to his side.
He continues.
"All Liths are born with blue or green eyes, nothing else."

We ride in silence the rest of the way, occasionally me asking him if we're there yet.

Finally we reach a spot were gold erupts from the fluffy white clouds in the sky, the water seems more clear, crystal clear.

Jack hisses again, but it's longer this time, I listen.

"It's in the temple, that we remember who we really are, and see with clarity who we really can become."
The wind around us swirled, creating a small, and calm tornado like vortex. The tornado started to slowly sink into the water, disappearing. When the last of the vortex was gone, in its path it left a large rock, with a small red gazebo type thing. It looks ancient, and has pictures and runes carved into the top of it.

"This is the gateway?" I ask.
"Ya."
Jack climbs out of the wind boat, and offered his hand.
"I got myself," I say jumping out of the boat.
Jack grins.
"What?" I question.
"Nothing," he says.
He says nothing a lot, and it's starting to get to me.
"So how do we, get there from here?" I ask.
"Just stand inside, and state your name, it'll pick up if your a Lith or not, it also knows if your lying."
We walk into the small gazebo, and Jack states his full name.

Suddenly the floor we're standing on starts to open slowly.
I sep back.
"I understand if your scared, it's a pretty big jump," Jack says.
"Are you kidding? That looks awesome."
And with one step forward, I push myself off the edge.