The Rift in the Domain- The Auranos Stories Book 2

Chapter 43 - The Next Great Adventure

I opened my eyes and sat bolt upright.

I was leaving.

I brushed my teeth, put my contacts in, got dressed, and I was halfway out the door before I paused, catching my reflection in a decorative mirror. I looked different.

Out of curiosity, I fished my old Earth cell phone out of one of my bags and found an old picture of me. And I was right. I did look different.

It had been four months since I'd fallen through the Rip. Four months ago, my hair fell in crooked waves. I'd since seen a salon, which fixed the crooked part, but now wavy brown strands hung down in front of my ears, broken from endless ponytails. I was skinnier, too, from eating camp food and spending months traveling. I'd put on a little more weight after getting settled in New Moon, but I was hardly tipping the scales. My cheekbones and collarbones were more prominent especially.

Some things were the same- that scar on my elbow wasn't going away any time soon, for instance, and my eyebrows were still scraggly and disobedient. I never really cared much about that. But something was weird about my eyes. I could chalk it up to environmental differences; maybe I had a vitamin deficiency or something, or being out in the open air had something to do with it. I don't know. But I swear my eyes had an eclectic kind of fire to them that wasn't there before. Mind you, my eyes are hazel, the most boring eye color there is, but something seemed to glow inside them now.

Mmm, Jalakoro said in my brain. His and all the other talismans were in an ornate bowl just outside in the hallway. Standing in your foyer. What a wonderful way to waste your time.

"Time you enjoy wasting isn't time wasted," I said, quoting something I saw on a meme once.

Aren't you the clever one?

"You're the one who had negative comments about my life choices," I grinned, locking the door behind me.

We're leaving New Moon today, Jalakoro. Can't you be productive once? Yraak sounded irritated.

"Speaking of which," I said, taking Yraak's coin from the bowl. "Jal, are you coming along with us?"

Nope, he replied. I'd rather stick around here, actually. I'm sick of your endless wandering and panicking and-

"Aw, c'mon, Jal," I said, grinning. Despite his attitude, or maybe because of it, I wanted him to come along with us. "Should be a fun trip, right?"

Not really, he laughed.

"I really hoped you'd come," I said, feeling very sincere. I lifted his pin out of the bowl delicately. "Don't you want to meet Lyte?"

Eh, he replied. What the heck. I'll tag along.

Lucky us, Yraak gave me the impression of an exasperated eye-roll.

Hey! Jal snapped. Spirits tended to be better at sarcasm than their Lagokian friends. I grinned and let them bicker as I went down to the main floor.

Comet and Thunder were standing together in the foyer, greeting the guards who would accompany us on the trip.

"Hello, Madam Vera," a woman with curly, short hair stepped up to me. She had immediately striking blue eyes- very bright for a Dominion- and at least three scars marking her face. "I'm Park, and I'll be the head guard for the trip." Her voice was loud and energetic, laced with a slight Domain accent.

"Nice to meet you, Park," I grinned, shaking her rough hand. Her grip sent a jolt of pain up my arm, and I had to hide a wince behind my smile.

"The other guards are just outside," she added. "But we'll have time for introductions later, I'd assume."

"You're right," I nodded. "We ought to move out before dawn, if at all possible."

"Absolutely," she replied, walking back towards the door. "We're ready to go when you are."

I paused in the threshold, glancing through the window at the guards and friends assembled outside. I was the last one. They were ready to go.

Will I ever really be ready to leave this? I wondered suddenly, thinking of all the achievements I'd made in New Moon. It was the biggest undertaking of my whole life- like nothing I'd ever imagined in my wildest dreams. And, hey! I had a knack for politics- who would have predicted that?

But now I had to go- off into the wilderness where it was entirely possible that I'd never be back to my city again. I laughed a little. My city. It wasn't mine now- it was the rebellion's. Still...

"Hey! Wait up!" Matt shouted, barreling through the tunnel from the city into the foyer. He was riding a dark grey panther, laden with bags of supplies.

"What are you doing here, Carter?" I asked, though I had a pretty good idea.

"I want to come along," he said, breathing heavily. "Is- is that okay? I brought my own supplies and stuff- and, I just-" he stopped, shrugging. "I mean, you're the only person on Auranos I have a shot at having a normal conversation with, I guess."

"I was kind of hoping you'd decide to tag along," I smiled, turning for the door, but Matt was frozen at the top of the stairs.

"What about the others?" he asked nervously. "What if they don't want me to come?"

"Don't worry about them," I shrugged. Then I grinned wider. "That's always been my strategy."

Matt came hesitantly down the stairs, and I happily punched his shoulder.

"We're going to seriously shake things up, kid," I told him.

"We're Earthlings. That's what we do," he replied with a grin showing honest, genuine confidence for the first time since I'd met him.

We opened the door and walked out into the sun, into our next adventure.