The Time of the Hidden

Turning off the Safety

Theo raised his eyebrows slightly in surprise, then joined her in smiling. Both Theo and Mariah shared a knowing gaze while I sat there in the dark.

"Found another what?" I asked in confusion.

"Another Arikan." Mariah's gaze moved from Theo to me. My brows also arched in surprise, and a light smile traced my lips. I couldn't help but feel excited.

"Where are they?" Theo said, beating me to the question. "Are they here? In Almera?"

"Not exactly." Mariah's eyes slid down before popping up again. "It is less of we've found him and more of we've spotted him."

"Him?" I asked. "So it's guy?" Mariah gave me an amused smile.

"Yes, it is a guy."

"Wait, what do you mean by spotted?" Theo said, pulling us back in topic. Mariah's smile faded slightly.

"Well, a colleague of mine spotted him in a tavern in a city by the name of Mendrick. The world he's in is that of Yaris." Theo frowned at her words.

"Yeris?" He asked, not for clarification, but in hopes he was mistaken.

Mariah let out a hefty sigh.

"I'm afraid so." She said. Theo closed his eyes and rubbed the bridge of his nose.

"What's wrong with Yeris?" I asked, Once again in the dark. Theo opened his eyes again, and caught mine.

"Yeris is one of the worlds Derkon has the biggest grip on. It is crawling with his minions. It's one of the most dangerous places for us to go." He sighed, then let out a laugh that completely lacked humor. "And that happens to be were we're going." Theo caught my still confused gaze, and before I could get the words past my lips, he answered my question. "We are going to be the ones to travel to Yeris, and find the other Arikan." Theo has had enough experience with my ignorance the past month, that he could practically read my mind when it came to obvious questions.

"So where is this other Arikan? Would he still be in Mendrick?" I asked.

"I don't know." Mariah replied. " He could be, but there is the possibility that he has already left the town."

"Then how we going to find him?"

"We'll have track him." Theo answered this time. He then turned his attention to Mariah. "When do you want us to leave?"

"As soon as possible." She replied without hesitation. "We want to get to him, if he's traveling away from the city, before he gets to far. The only thing that I know about him is he has black, white tipped hair, and he goes by the name of Flynn. Now, get together anything you'll need for the trip and head out, just... be careful." She gave us a sad smile before Theo turned, and walked out, and I quickly followed.

We entered the long hall way walking silently. I took this as a golden opportunity to reflect on the conversation that just took place.

The idea of us leaving Almera made my stomach churn slightly. The idea began to become real. I was on the verge of leaving a safe haven in turn for a unknown world that could only be filled with dangers. Over the past month, Almera had become my second home, and I was about to walk out of its protections.

I went from thinking of my second home, and to my first. My real home. A small lump emerged in my throat as I though back, picturing the layout of my old house, and the faint smell of cinnamon that was entangled in its objects. The memory encrusted times I had with my dad over our Friday night take-outs.

Then the image of Jennifer floated into plain sight. She was the person that always knew what I needed, even if I didn't get know for myself. Leaving my dad and her was easily the most difficult shift.