Holy War: Two Worlds and an In- Between

Chapter 17: Trespassers

"One of you needs to tell me what the hell is going on here!" I screamed as the earth finally stopped shaking. Jack and Allioni gave each other that 'How much should we really tell her look'.

"I can't explain that, but I'm almost certain it had nothing to do with you," Allioni responded lightly.

"How certain?" I asked.

"Thirteen percent," he responded lifting a finger in the air. I chuckled a little thinking that in the grand scheme of things, that was fairly certain.

Allioni walked over to Jack holding a white rose with the stem removed. He placed it very carefully into the boy's hand and gave him a soft look. Jack seemed just as confused as I was. His eyebrows furrowed, and he frowned at the small gesture. I, on the other hand, was intrigued.

Jack gently cupped his hand around the flower and took a deep breath. He seemed to be struggling to hold the flower which was, needless to say, strange to see. His hands shook as his eyes focused on the object he held. For a moment, the flower began to blossom, changing from white to a light pink and blue. Jack seemed to even be glowing, as he worked his magic.

However, this didn't last very long. Much to Jack's dismay, the flower slowly began to turn black, withering in his hands and shriveling as it hit the floor.

As the last petal fell to the floor, Jack pursed his lips tightly and dropped his hands, "Um ... I guess I need another flower," he mumbled dropping his head a little

" 's not like we're gonna run out ..." I shrugged.

***

That evening, Jack was sitting on the steps surrounded by the ashes of six dozen dead roses. Allioni sat patiently beside him as I was sure that Jack would lose his mind soon. I sat at the bottom of the steps staring out into the field I had created. I was somewhat dazed thinking of what I had just done.

In the distance, I saw two figures trudging toward us through the field. I couldn't make out their faces from that far, but I could recognize that they were moving slowly.

"What's that?" I asked pointing into the field. Jack broke his focus from the rose and glared at the people staggering closer and closer to us.

Soon, we could see the figures of a thin man with a woman's arm wrapped over his shoulder. Needless to say, they could see us too. When the pair were close enough for me to make out his frail thin face, I began to feel the weight of the situation.

"Who are you people?" The man asked in a tired raspy voice as the woman mumbled something incoherently under her breath. His eyes kept shifting between the three of us, but neither Jack or I moved.

"I am Allioni," Allioni answered stepping down from the steps, "is there something you would like?"

The man became suddenly agitated, "What kind of question is that? This is my home!"

The woman beside him whispered incoherently, and the man groaned. They both looked starved and tired with frail faces. The woman's long dress was barely holding onto her body as she shook. The man gave her worried looks every so often but tried to maintain his hard exterior.

"Is she alright?" I asked walking over to the pair. The woman gave me a fearful look.

"Get away from my wife?" The man snarled. Jack climbed to his feet stepping behind me. I could tell that he was in defense mode, but I was praying that it was just a sense I was feeling.

I stepped forward as the man attempted to shoo me away, "I promise we won't hurt her," I reasoned, "maybe we can help."

"Help! Help? You are trespassing on my property! You need to leave!" The man yelled. He took a look around as though he was finally seeing the roses and staggered back a little, "What the hell is this?"

"They're roses," Allioni responded lifting his index finger into the air.

"I know what they are!" The man bellowed angrily, "I want to know how the hell they got here!"

The woman began to fall down. Much to the panicking man's dismay, I ran down and knelt beside her.

"Meriam!" The man called frantically.

"Allioni, get her inside," I commanded. The woman disappeared as Allioni transported her into the bedroom.

"W-where'd she go?" The man asked trying to punch Jack with his tiny fists, "Bring her back! Bring back my wife!"

"She's safe, ok?" Jack responded.

"You have to tell us what's wrong so that we can help her. Is it a sickness? Disease, blood problem? Starvation?" I asked shakily.

The man stood up pulling himself together. He whipped away a few tears and sucked in a deep breath. He looked at both Jack and me with very serious eyes.

"No," he responded, "a curse."