Galena

Jace received a telegram from Maggie right before curfew. He knew from Emma that she went out, but he didn’t expect such a late response from her. He told Emma they would open the bakery late and walked her home. Emma reassured him that Maggie would be fine, knowing he would be thinking the worst.

Seven in the morning came faster than he expected, and he sat up, rubbing his face. He took in a deep breath and could smell eggs and fried tomatoes cooking. Which meant Maggie was home. He got up and hurried downstairs to find his sister finishing her meal.

“You didn’t need to close the shop,” Maggie said, surprised to see him. She shoved another spoonful of egg into her mouth.

“Emma and I were going in at noon,” Jace responded. “You had me worried last night.”

“You got my message.”

“Doesn’t mean I didn’t worry,” he said, looking over at her. “I didn’t think you knew Diana like that.”

Maggie put her plate in the sink. She crossed her arms and looked back at her brother. “When I was fifteen, after you and dad left, Diana helped me with stuff I was going through.” She then added, “For the last few weeks she’s been taking care of her nieces and I’ve been helping.”

Jace was surprised that his sister opened up to him like this. But little by little, she was beginning to tell him things she wouldn’t have said two years earlier. “Well, now that I know you’re safe- stay home today. Emma and I will run the shop.”

“What? Why?” she looked back at him.

“Because you look like crap.”

Maggie’s eyebrows scrunched down. “You don’t look so hot yourself.”

“I blame you. Now go back to bed,” he playfully scolded her.

Maggie kept her eyes locked on him for a moment. She finished cleaning the dishes she had in the sink then took the advice and went upstairs.

Jace left for the bakery soon after Maggie went upstairs. Passing the other stores, he saw that another shop was taken over by the Garzil. Leaving only the Creed’s bakery and two other shops open for business. He stopped to look in one of the windows, but it was blacked out. He stepped back and looked up at the sign that still read “Coco’s Chocolates”. He shook his head and continued to the bakery. That chocolate store had been around since Vivian opened her bakery.

Seeing another store gone made him wonder if the Garzil were doing this to congest the people into the market within Central Galena. They could control the crowd better if everyone was in one place and not scattered around Galena.

Mondays were becoming the slowest day of the week. They were lucky to even get one customer. Jace prepped the register like Maggie would and began rearranging items in the display case. As he finished the last shelf, Emma came in carrying a paper bag. She greeted him and put the bag on the counter, telling him that Marie made them lunch.

“When am I going to meet her?” Jace asked, opening the bag to look inside. The smell of the pork made him salivate.

“How about after work?”

Jace’s eyebrow rose, “Yeah?”

“Yeah,” she smiled, “She’s been asking to meet you.”

Jace agreed to meeting her and ate lunch with Emma. They waited for a customer for three hours before Jace told Emma they were going to close for the day.

Ten minutes later, they were leaving the gates of Galena.

“So where does Marie live?” Jace asked, noticing Emma was taking him down the path to her apartment.

“It’s complicated,” Emma answered, “Only way for me to explain it, is to show you.” She was becoming nervous with what she was about to show him. She pushed the main door open and Jace followed her upstairs. They continued down the hall and stopped at the second door to the right. ”Avataa,” Emma whispered to the door, then looked back at Jace. She gave him a tight smile and pushed the door open. She stood to the side, so he could enter.

Jace walked into a cream-colored hallway and continued walking, looking at the door at the end. He could see a yard through the window and stopped at the door, realizing he wasn’t in an apartment, but in a house. He looked to the sides, looking at the kitchen and living room, then turned back to Emma, “Did we go through a portal?”

Emma nodded. “This is where I live,” she walked up to him and pointed at the house across the yard, “And that’s where Marie lives.”

Jace looked at the small house then back at Emma, asking, “Where are we?”

“Vorik, it’s about ten miles from Galena,” Emma answered.

“How did you get a portal in Kent without the Garzil finding out?” he asked, amused by the thought.

“Marie helped me build it. There are a dozen portals throughout Len, but only mine comes to Vorik.”

“Can you show me around?”

Emma shook her head, “Technically I’m not allowed to bring anyone here, but Marie wanted to meet you, so she gave me permission.”

“Fair enough,” Jace smiled and asked her to lead the way.

They walked out the front door and across the yard to Marie’s. As they reached her house, Jace watched an older woman in pants walking out of the house to sit in one of the rocking chairs. She had her salt and pepper hair tied up in a bun on the top of her head and wore an eyepatch over her right eye. As they stepped closer, Marie looked up and smiled at them.

“Marie,” Emma said, standing at the fence, “This is Jace.”

“My you’ve grown up to be a handsome young man,” Marie said, going to hug Jace. She pulled away to look at him, trying to ignore what she was sensing from him. “I met you when you were a small boy. Vivian brought you here to visit,” she answered, seeing the look Jace was giving her. “Please sit!” she added, sitting in her chair.

Jace didn’t remember coming here as a child and his mother never said anything about the village Vorik when he got older. His attention turned to Emma who stated she was going in to get some peach tea and offered him a glass. He accepted the offer and took a seat on one of the rocking chairs.

Marie looked over at him. “You have strong magic on you.”

Jace was taken aback to hear her say this. “So I’ve been told,” he let out.

“And someone’s worked with you?”

He wasn’t sure if he should tell her who, so instead he just answered, “Yes. But I still can’t remember certain things.”

“I could help you if you’d like.”

“Thank you, but I might be a hopeless case.”

Marie waved his comment away, “If I can cloak a village to look like a mountain, I can remove that block.”

Jace’s eyebrow raised. “This village is a mountain?” he asked, taking the drink from Emma.

“Sure is, and only locals know how to get inside. I took every precaution to keep Vorik safe and since then it’s become a haven for casters and magical ware,” Marie answered. “Your mother actually stayed here when I first cloaked the village. She stayed for two years before moving into Kent to start the rebellion,” she continued, as she looked over at Jace. “Having you and your sister didn’t slow her down either,” she added, chuckling. “She was a wonderful woman. She did many good things for the people of Galena.”

Jace smiled at Marie, listening to her talk. He sat with Marie and Emma for a while, listening to Marie’s stories until Emma asked if he wanted to see the waterfall behind her house.

“It’s one of my favorite places,” she added.

Jace agreed with the idea and nodded to Marie, thanking her for his lunch and that it was nice to meet her. Emma held out her hand to him and led him to the gathering of trees behind her house.

Once through the trees, the land opened to reveal a large pond. From the mountain side came a small waterfall that streamed into the body of water. Emma bent down and picked up a few stones. She handed some to Jace and began to skip hers.

“Marie has a lot of stories,” Emma said, throwing another stone. “She could talk your ear off all day if you let her.”

Jace let out a laugh and skipped a rock with her, telling her he noticed that. As he threw another rock, he thought about the possibility of his mother standing at this pond and doing the same thing many years before. “Did you know my mother came here?” he asked, turning back to Emma after another rock.

Emma shook her head, telling him no. “Were you thinking about her skipping rocks?” she asked, facing Jace and giving him a small smile.

Jace let out a laugh. “You read minds too?” he asked, pulling her into his arms.

Emma laughed and rest her head on his chest, looking over the water. “We’ve all been connected some way or another,” she let out. “I thought Yhden sent me to the bakery by chance, but I don’t think that’s the case anymore.” She looked up at him, asking, “Do you think our parents knew each other?”

“They were part of the rebellion, so yes – I believe they did,” he answered. “Yhden always has a way of doing things, right?”

Emma nodded. “I’m glad they sent me to you,” she let out, holding his gaze.

Jace gave her a small smile and cupped her face, leaning in to gently kiss her.

When they pulled away, they stayed near the pond for a little while longer, before going back to the house. Jace stayed with Emma until it became dark and Marie invited him back to Vorik for dinner. Jace thanked her and shared another kiss with Emma before leaving to go home.