Mirror Lake 2 The Journey to Save the Magic

After the excitement of releasing all the water creatures from their prison had worn off we were able to make it back to the ferry with no fuss. I was still hyped up about it a bit and Nate took the time to tell me about all the creatures we had let loose.

He told me the difference between the sirens and the mermaids. I had no idea that sirens were shapeshifters and could take human form. Both the mermaids and sirens have a tendency to lure men to their deaths, but that is just part of their nature.

So are water nymphs… Not that they try to lure men to their deaths, but the nature for them to be very sensual creatures, not to mention promiscuous!

Nate said that everything was all balanced out. Everything has its own place in the world. Even the little water sprites that went skipping along the water. They kinda looked like waterbugs, but they glowed blue. Their job was to take care of the tiny creatures, including the bugs and little sea urchins. It was kinda fun to watch.

We only stayed a few minutes to make sure all the creatures were okay.

The water dragon, Levi, came and thanked us and told us if we ever needed anything to let him know, before he took off. He was so awesome! He turned into a big blue beast with shiny scales.

Nate mentioned some water demons that were normally found around Japan… I was glad I hadn’t seen those. But he said they wouldn’t be in this dome, but one somewhere else…

Gee, thanks Nate! Now I get to look forward to finding out what Kappas really look like!

Sometimes I forget that Nate is over one hundred years old, but he only looks twenty. He is brave and very mature, which is probably a good thing. We need someone to balance out the crazy of Lissa, and me on a lesser level. I would say I am more mature than my sister is, or at the very least not as spontaneous as she is. I like to think things through, were as she just does whatever pops into her mind!

And that, my friends, is where Nate comes in and has to reign her back in. I’m glad it’s him and not me anymore! He seems to have infinite patients with her, where I tend to get frustrated with her quite fast!

Speaking of Lissa, I miss her and Becky. We’ve been driving for about three days and I just want to go home and lay in my bed and cuddle up with Becky in my arms.

“What’cha thinkin’?” Nate suddenly asks.

We’d been quite for about an hour and I hadn’t realized it was getting dark. The sun was starting to set and all the beautiful colors made me miss home in Wyoming.

“I’m just missing the girls,” I admit.

“Me too. I miss us all being a family together, eating our meals together and just laughing with each other. That wasn’t something I could ever do when I was stuck with Jack,” Nate lemants.

“What was it like?” I suddenly realize the poor dude must have been through a lot.

He takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly while he focuses on the road.

“It was lonely most of the time. My buddy, Ron tried to keep my spirits up, but he was allowed in and out of the bubble, where I was trapped. I kept watch over the children Jack lured to the camp, but in the end there wasn’t much I could do to protect them,” he mumbles.

“When you and Mel showed up, it was like a ray of sunlight brightening the whole place. I know you couldn’t see it, and I know Mel felt like the place was sucking her soul from her, which was mostly true, but your spirits were so bright. It’s not just that you were royals, because most of the kids there had no clue, but it was your personality that brought people around you. It’s how I fell in love with your sister, when I was actually supposed to be guarding her,” he chuckles.

I laugh.

This guy puts his responsibilities first before everything else, except when it comes to Lissa.

“That first day I saw you, I knew you were a good guy,” I admit. “I told Lissa not to mess with you, but she wouldn’t listen. She was head over heels at first sight.”

“I remember showing up and Ben had his filthy hands all over her, I’d never been so angry before! I’ve seen him flirt for years with girls and even getting them alone to mess around with them, but I have never before wanted to strangle him like that. It wasn’t even just jealousy, I mean I was completely jealous of him at that moment, but that wasn’t all it was. I felt so protective of her, and the way she was panicking let me know that wasn’t something she wanted, and if she didn’t want it then there was no way he was touching her!” he growled out the last half of his sentence.

I smile over at him. He really is a good guy and he is perfect for my sister. And the best part is, he makes an awesome brother-in-law! He can teach me all the cool tricks he knows and he doesn’t even complain about it! He is so chill and laid back. He has this warm vibe that makes even me feel safe… I know I’m a guy and not supposed to admit to stuff like this, but there had to be a reason he was chosen as a Guardian, and I have a feeling this is it!

“So, how’s it feel to know you’re gonna be a dad soon?” I ask.

It wasn’t something we had brought up after his full blown panic attack. Poor guy! There really wasn’t much I could do for him, as his whole world just got flipped… But in a good way. I knew he was happy, just completely overwhelmed.

The big grin on his face confirmed what I already knew.

“I have never been so happy,” he admits.

I can feel the truth of his words through my whole body. He just radiates joy and contentment.

“I think you are gonna be a great dad!” I smile.

“I hope so. I hope I can be half the father mine was. I miss my family, and to be honest, I have no idea if they are still alive or not. All I know, is they were the best, and I will do everything in my power to be a father like mine was. He was honest and loyal, but always took time out of his busy schedule to spend time with his family. He was always there with a listening ear when something was bothering me, and he took time to show me my magic and how to produce it properly. He was one of the guards, but not chosen as Guardian. But he was so proud of me when I was,” he whispered.

I see a tear falling down his face.

I never cared about my parents because it felt like they didn’t love me, and mostly like I was being used… Now I know why. I listened to them more than Lissa did because I didn’t feel like being grounded my entire life. I guess you could say I didn’t have the fighting spirit Lissa has, but that’s okay.

I know she got sick of me being the “good child” and I don’t blame her. She is just too stubborn to change. And to be honest, I wouldn’t change that about her. I like her sticking up for what she believed in. Even if it was just punching some chick in the nose for making fun of the way she dressed.

We’d been driving for hours following the compass and finally made it to the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. Man those roads are nuts! Not to mention long!

We'd been switching drivers every couple hours so one of us could catch some shuteye while the other ate up the miles on the road. It's taken us about 22 hours to get here and more than a few pit stops.

We pulled up to a hotel and man, I couldn’t get out of the car fast enough! I had to stretch my legs, my back, my arms, my neck, and even my feet! To be absolutely honest, I am completely sick of driving, and we haven’t even made it halfway through our trip! This was gonna be hell!

I swear when I get home I am never going on a road trip again! I shoulda just bought a freakin’ jet, or even a helicopter… Those are cool! I bet we’d be halfway home by now… Or not.

We slunk our way into the main office and asked for a room for the night. Thankfully they had one with two beds and I pulled out my card and paid, too tired to care about what the actual price was. The nice lady handed us our keys and we took the elevator up to the second floor and we dragged our sorry backsides into our room.

I sunk down onto my bed and pulled out my phone. Before either of us would close our eyes, we needed to check on the girls.

I dial Becky and she picked up on the first ring.

“How are you?” she rushes out.

“Hey, beautiful. I’m okay, how are you and Miss Cranky-Pants?” I chuckle.

Becky giggles at that.

“I miss you like crazy,” she whispers. “We’ve been worrying about you two. Where are you, anyway?”

“We are in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado. We went over some wicked roadways here, but we decided we needed to rest for the night,” I informed her.

“I’m glad you guys are safe. Melissa has been missing you also. She keeps fussing over you saying you will get into trouble without her,” she giggles.

I laugh out loud!

“She said that?” I ask.

“Yeah, I know. She insisted you wouldn’t know what to do with yourself is she isn’t there to help you out,” she murmurs.

“Is she feeling okay? I’ve been worried about her… I’ve never been around a pregnant woman before,” I say.

“Well, she has been sick whenever something with a strong smell hits her, and other than that she has been throwing up morning, noon, and night, but she has been able to have soup and crackers,” she informs me.

“Well, that’s something. How is Sam’s cooking?” I ask.

“She is amazing! I love her!” she insists.

“Hey, watch it, or I may get jealous,” I tease.

“I love you, too,” she promises me.

“And I love you. I’ll call you in the morning. But I gotta get some sleep, cupcake,” I say.

“Okay, g’night!”

“Good night, sweetheart,” I say and hang up the phone.

Before I shut my eyes, I look over at Nate, who is still on his phone talking to Lissa. He has a contented smile on his face, so I will take that as a good sign.

I just nod at him and he nods back, then I finally get to close my eyes.