Fractured Worlds (Worlds Away #1)

Brela Chapter 34: Stories

Justin and I stopped telling our story when a knock echoed on the meeting room's door. All the leaders of the units looked at it. A head poked in.

"I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to speak with Wayne," the man, who I recognized as Wayne's assistant, said.

Mae nodded her head, and so the man entered, quickly going over to Wayne and exchanging some hushed words. Wayne's brow furrowed at one part, then he rose, his chair scraping against the ground.

"I'm sorry but I have to deal with this. Continue without me." Wayne left no room for discussion when he left. The door latched, and everyone looked back to Justin and me.

"Please, continue," Mae gestured to the recorder in the centre of the table.

I swallowed before I did. "After I got Igniatus to agree to wait for a bit, Justin and I sat down for a talk..."

༺❀༻

My trainer and I sat on the floor of our hiding place, having moved here after my decision of staying put for a few minutes.

"I thought that anyone under the age of fifteen couldn't go on missions?" I said, unable to bear the silence any longer.

Justin looked over to me. I could see the worry in his eyes, but it was quickly gone. He was afraid for his sister, and within all rights. I felt bad for telling him and Igniatus to stay, but waiting was probably our best course of action. Plus, I had a feeling that if Igniatus went back out as he was, slightly angry and guilty, he wouldn't be able to think rationally. We would probably end up losing him too.

"Verra's not as young as she looks," Justin simply said, looking back over to Igniatus and Verra talking. She was smiling at whatever he had just said. They could have passed as siblings due to the relationship they had. "Even if she does have the child innocence and atmosphere about her, she's older then both you and I put together.

"Verra is what's known on her world as a Chosen. Every couple hundred years a new one is picked. There's over a dozen of these people, all selected by dragons. Due to this, Verra doesn't age like the rest of us and looks as old as she did when she bonded with Kheno, her dragon."

"You're saying that a huge, fire-breathing dragon is just walking around somewhere?"

"Not quite," Justin said. "Your world's stories and myths about dragons are vastly different from the actual thing on Verra's world. Dragons are small creatures and don't want to bring on humanity's downfall, rather they only want to help them. They give powers to their Chosen so that they can better the world."

"Where is Kheno now?"

"If she's not on Verra's shoulder or near her, then she's sleeping," Justin said. "Somewhere." he added after looking around the small room.

"I'm still new to this whole, multiverse thing, but it seems to be weird," I said. Justin chuckled at my comment. "A practically immortal girl with a pet dragon, and a man who can create fire out of nothing. That goes against my world's physics."

"That's what sets all the worlds apart. And Igniatus can't craft fire out of nothing," Justin said. "He has a gauntlet on his wrist with a flint and steel on it, courtesy of Wayne. You saw him touch his fingers to the base of his hand?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah."

"That's him striking the flint and steel. It creates a spark and then he manipulates it into a flame."
"He can manipulate fire?" I asked. I couldn't help the surprise.

"Yes, and only fire. He's very powerful amongst his family, since all he needs is a spark to do it. Igniatus and Wynn are from the same home world."

"But Wynn can manipulate ice, right?"

"Yes. Igniatus' family, the Drakesons, and Wynn's family, the Serpentsons, are both very powerful families. On their home world, the families are the rulers, and only the royal family can manipulate their respective elements."

"Igniatus and Wynn are princes?" I asked. "Mae told me that MEPA doesn't like to recruit well known individuals or people of authority."

"Igniatus and Wynn are both one of many princes. They're not known by many, and if they were their disappearances weren't noticeable. The royal families want to extend their bloodlines so more of their people can manipulate fire or ice. Normally, the people are just resistant to their element, so having them able to manipulate the element is much more beneficial to the war effort.

"The two families have been at war for centuries, and when Igniatus and Wynn befriended each other, they both were cast into exile for "betraying" their people. That was why Mae approached the both of them," Justin explained.

"That's intense," I muttered. "How do you know so much about everyone's home worlds, including the stories?" I asked.

"I study more than just languages," was all Justin said.

We fell into a silence, watching Verra laugh at something Igniatus had said. At the sound, a small white head poked out of a stone pile beside me.

"Ah, there she is," Justin said, looking over to the white dragon as she yawned a squeaky yawn. "That's Kheno."

At her name, Kheno looked at Justin, her bright, sleepy, blue eyes focusing on him. They weren't the typical dragon eye with the pupil slit, but were round, not unlike a cat's. With a small head and petite body, Kheno was adorable.

Her eyes switched to me, studying me with a keen curiosity.

"This is Brela Prenott. She's new to MEPA," Justin said, motioning to me with his head. Kheno seemed to understand Justin, almost looking like she nodded.

With a cat stretch, Kheno flew lazily over to Verra and settled on her shoulder, curling up once more. Absent-mindedly, Verra reached up and stroked her dragon. The white creature fell back asleep, the rises and falls of her side slipping back into a rhythmic pattern.

"Don't belittle Kheno; she's as smart as us, even if we can't understand her," Justin said, noticing my silence.

"I wasn't," I assured. "I just didn't really know how to react." We both returned to just watching the other group.

"They have quite a connection." I nodded over towards Verra and Igniatus chatting.

"Verra and Igniatus or Verra and Kheno?" Justin asked, looking back at me.

"Igniatus and Verra."

"Igniatus has a skill like that. Everyone he meets he leaves an impression on. Every person I have talked to in MEPA loves him; he connects well with others. For Verra, she used to be very insecure when she first joined MEPA. Igniatus was the one who helped her learn to trust herself. He supports her with everything she does and is always there for her."

"Another example that MEPA is a family?"

"The best one," Justin said softly, smiling. After a second of silence between us, Justin spoke up again. "Brela, I promise you, everyday isn't like this," he said, turning his body to look at me. "We don't always have to fight for our lives and suffer."

"I don't know if I would be able to keep up if it was," I joked, "It wouldn't really be my kind of life."

All Justin did was smile. "Mine neither."

I smiled back. I wasn't a fighter, not much of one anyways, but knowing that not everything was death and fighting took a weight off of my shoulders. This job wasn't about fighting and taking down the bad guy, but about protecting others and keeping everyone safe. That was a cause I could follow. One that I could support.

"Okay, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm tired of sitting around," Igniatus said, abruptly standing up. I snapped out of my thoughts as I looked at the fire wielder. "I need to get out there. Sitting around chatting isn't helping Celia, Gloria, or Wynn."

"The half-eternals probably figure we're long gone," Justin said, standing up. I followed his lead.

"Then what's the plan?"