Morwitch - Breaking the Rules (Complete)

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Yvette gently pulled Jayce and Ellie away from the Tree and teleported them all back to the secluded farmhouse. The group sat quietly around the table; Jasper and Isabel stunned as they absorbed what had transpired. A heavy silence fell over the group as they each contemplated the enormity of the task the two had been set.

Jasper frowned. "I've heard of this Living Lake you need to find, and I don't think you're going to be too happy to hear where it's supposed to be."

Ellie sighed and leaned against Jayce. "Of course it's going to be somewhere no one in their right mind would ever go. The Tree did say it would be an ordeal. So tell us what you know Jasper."

Jasper stood up from the table and pulled a piece of paper and a pencil from the drawer. He laid the paper on the table and began to draw what appeared to be a map.

"Okay, so here is the Dragon Realm, and over here is the Witch Realm," he said, drawing two large circles on the far left and far right of the page. "As we all know, there has never been any love lost between the inhabitants of the two realms. So whenever a meeting between the ruling Councils becomes necessary, they need to have somewhere that's neutral territory in which to hold it."

"This," he drew another circle below and between the two realms, "is where those meetings are held. It's a world called Brevis, and it can only be accessed when there is a need for it. Legend has it that the Living Lake can be found there."

Jayce frowned at the old man. "So how does this Brevis know what someone needs and when they need it?"

Jasper drew a long tube that linked the Dragon Realm to Brevis, and an identical one from Brevis to the Witch Realm. "You have to travel using the Aqueous Flow, the entrance to which is inside each of the Council's meeting halls." He looked up at Ellie and Jayce. "It gets worse... only a dragon can use the dragon's entrance, and a witch the witch's entrance. Which means you'll have to get to the entrances without each other's help, and travel separately."

Jayce felt as though he'd been kicked in the guts. Separation from Ellie had never been part of the plan. "There's no way I'm going to expose Ellie to that kind of danger without me being there to protect her. There has to be another way?"

Jasper shook his head. "I'm sorry son, but this is the only way to get on and off Brevis."

"If it helps," Yvette said from the other end of the table, "I'll go with Ellie and make sure she gets to the entrance safely. I'm more concerned about how you're going to get into the Dragon Council's meeting hall Jayce. Any ideas about how you could possibly manage that?"

Jayce looked at the faces of his friends and was convinced they'd all lost their minds. Surely they didn't expect him to agree to this plan? It was unthinkable.

Isabel cleared her throat and stood up from the table. She collected the empty coffee cups and gave Jayce a sympathetic look. "Well, I know time is something we don't have enough of to waste, but it's been a big day, and we're all struggling to process this new information. I'm going to prepare a quick meal, and then we'll discuss the plan. Jayce, why don't you and Ellie go have a shower and freshen up."

Jayce gave Isabel a grateful smile and stood up as well. "Awesome idea Isabel, thanks. You're right, processing this is definitely going to take a while."

***

ELLIE FLOPPED down onto the lounge and looked up into Jayce's smouldering eyes. "You know we're going to have to do this, right? There's no other way. The Tree of Life did say it wasn't going to be easy."

Jayce ran his hands through his hair and dropped down next to her. "But she also said we needed to do it together," he growled.

Ellie leaned against him and sighed. "We will be doing it together. It's just the 'getting there' part we have to do alone. I'm sure it'll be fine, and we'll only be apart for a couple of hours max."

Jayce groaned, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. "Only a couple of hours? Which will feel like a lifetime!"

"I know baby, but we really don't have a choice. We need to get this water for the Tree of Life, so whatever it takes we have to do it. So let's start dealing with the reality of what we need to do. Like how you're going to get inside the dragon meeting hall. It's not like you can just fly into the Dragon Realm and then walk into the Dragon Council's meeting hall."

Jayce tightened his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. "Will you stop worrying about me and start thinking about yourself for a change? I'm sick to the stomach just at the thought of letting you do this without me being there. I don't even want to think about all the things that could go wrong with this plan."

Ellie tilted her head back and sighed. He was right about one thing, the thought of separating, even if only for a short time, had her stomach in knots too. She took a deep breath and pushed the thought aside. She needed to focus on how to get to this Brevis place.

"I'm thinking maybe Yvette could take you to the Dragon Realm like she did last time, then come back for me. Your glamour should disguise you well enough while you're in human form, and as long as you don't get too close to anyone you know, your scent should go unnoticed as well. What do you think?"

Jayce blew out a long, slow breath and nodded. "I don't like it, but you're right... it has to be done. If Yvette can teleport me in, I'm sure I'll find a way to get to the Council chambers."

Ellie grinned and slid her hands through his hair. "Great, then it's all settled. So... we still have about an hour to kill before we have to meet back at the house. Any suggestions about what we can do to fill the time?"

Jayce chuckled. "Do you really need to ask?"

"Well, I have some board games back home in my room I could fetch. Unless you have..."

She squealed as Jayce stood up and threw her over his shoulder, cutting her off mid-sentence.

"If I'm going to have to survive for hours away from you, I'll need to create some new memories to keep me going. And we definitely won't be needing boards for the games I have in mind."