Coexist: Keegan's Chronicles

Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Keegan walked through the school doors with a smile on her face. She laughed when she saw Spencer run up behind Donald and smack the back of his head. Donald took off chasing him down the hall. It was nice to see things were back to normal.

Lauren walked up beside her and tossed an arm around her shoulder in a hug. She had her curly hair pulled into a sleek ponytail. “You are glowing, Keegan, what has you in such a good mood?”

Keegan flushed, thinking of Rourk. She wished she could tell Lauren about him and the weekend; on the other hand, it felt like a magnificent secret she didn’t want to share. “I’m not sure, I just feel happy to be alive. I know that sounds stupid.”

“No, it doesn’t. I’m just glad to see you’re out of your funk. It’s not as much fun when you are mopey.”

“Sorry about that,” Keegan said as they drew near to her locker. “I’m not sure what got into me.”

“It doesn’t matter as long as you’re happy now.”

***

The days before the battle passed quickly and before she knew it, Keegan’s birthday was only a few days away. The family started preparing for their trip to Ireland.

Keegan began to wonder how all the soldiers were going to get to Ireland with all their gear. So she asked her mother, who just laughed. “Keegan, what good is our magic if we can’t use it once in a while? You know how you can watch someone with your mind’s eye? Well, there are some who can do that with their bodies, which is called teleportation. The really strong ones are able to bring others with them. We have enough with the gift that getting the soldiers anywhere unseen is not an issue.”

Keegan crinkled her nose. “Then why do we have to take the long overseas flight?”

Her mom grinned. “Your father likes to get frequent flyer points.”

***

Thaddeus lounged against the brick wall of the building. The camp was alive with chatter as the men waited for his father to arrive. They all had a feeling they were not going on a training mission, that they were headed to the great battle that was prophesied. It was a moment many of them had dreamed of since childhood.

A hush settled over the crowd as Richard approached the podium. He was dressed no different from the rest of them: faded green camouflage fatigues and a tan worn baseball cap imprinted with a skull on his head. There was nothing at all to pinpoint that he was the commander; it wasn’t needed. The respect for him went beyond that.

“You’ve all worked hard to get ready for this moment. Hell, you’ve been training for this your whole life.” He paused, his face stern. “The battle is upon us. We go to Ireland, not for a training mission, but to fight the enemy. The dark elves want to remove us from existence. We will not allow that to happen.” Cheers filled the field, and he gave them a moment to die down. “I will lead you during the Great Battle—it’s my honor to do so. I want you all to remember, even though you follow me into battle you are fighting for yourself, for your family, for our very existence.”

When he finished, the ground shook from the roars of the men.

Preparations continued; they were to leave at nightfall. Magic obviously had its perks. It wouldn’t take long before they were all in place. They were arriving a week early to get the lay of the land and have everything set up before the harvest moon.

When the time came, Thaddeus teleported alongside his father and a couple other men. The elf held out his arm so they could all grab hold and Thaddeus’ stomach fell as the ground disappeared. It was a dizzying sensation. Streaks of color blurred in his vision and he felt as if he were on a rollercoaster, hanging on to the other elf’s arm tightly. In less than a few seconds, it was over.