Through Space and Time

Thirteen

"No!" Raegan shrieked as Miguel fell out of sight.

The desperation racing through her almost crushed her organs. She couldn't lose him, not now. She leapt, jumping higher than she knew she could, grabbing on to whatever she could on the way down.

What the...?

She had something clutched tightly between her fingers as she tumbled hard and fast through the exit hole. It wasn't Miguel since he'd gone, but she held onto it as if it was. Even when it jerked violently between her fingertips, trying to get away, she held on tight.

"Oof."

Raegan hit the ground hard, causing a burning ache all over her, but that barely mattered. Her first priority was to check that Miguel had landed in the same place as her. She wasn't sure how rapidly these things could change, and if he was somewhere else...well, she just didn't know what she would do.

"Who...who?"

Oh, Miguel was there alright, but he wasn't alone. A beautiful woman had her arms wrapped around him like he was precious and delicate. It was almost impossible for Raegan to swallow down the thick snake of bitter jealousy coiling through her throat.

"Who are you?"

The woman smiled ethereally at her. "You know me. You brought me here with you."

"I did?"

This is my fault? She thought angrily. That's just damn perfect.

"Yes. Through the glowing hole."

"Oh!" It hit Raegan hard. "You're the light. The light who saved us."

"I was then, but now I'm just me. This is my natural state."

Miguel stirred and flickered his eyes upwards, looking at the witch like she was a dream. And she was, Raegan knew that. She was absolutely stunning. No way she could compete. The snake grew thicker and consumed more of her veins. She wasn't getting rid of it anytime soon.

"Who...who are you?" he asked, his fingers reaching up to touch the woman's face. But he stopped himself at the last moment, thinking better of it. This could be danger. He'd been fooled before. The last thing he wanted was to make that same mistake again.

"You do not need to worry, Raegan brought me with her..."

"Raegan!" He bolted upright and grinned with relief as he spotted her. "I thought...well, I thought you might not be with me. I was so...so scared. You have no idea..."

He jumped off the witch and wrapped his arms around her. Relief flooded Raegan. Even in this woman's incredible presence, he chose her. He liked her still. She could feel it in his arms.

"I chased you. I didn't want to lose you either," she whispered quietly to him.

Her eyes fell closed and she simply enjoyed the embrace for a couple of seconds, before the next challenge would arise and threaten to tear them apart all over again.

"You brought this witch with you?" Miguel asked, causing them both to turn around, to focus on her again.

"Yes, yes I did." Raegan suddenly jolted with a memory. "Oh! Were you hit by something on the way down? It felt like you were jerking or something."

"I think that was my world, trying to pull me back. But your willpower kept me with you."

"Right...I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to tear you away."

The witch moved towards Raegan, looking like she was floating rather than walking. She really did have a Siren state, making it impossible for either of them to drag their eyes away.

"I wanted to leave," she replied while resting her hand on Raegan's shoulder. Her touch was surprisingly ice cold for someone with such a warm personality. "I have wanted to go for a long time. That planet was never for me, but we were not allowed to go."

"So...maybe I did a good thing then."

"You did. Oh, and by the way, my name is Hali. It feels very rude to me to have your names in my mind when you do not have a clue what mine is."

"Hali." Raegan grinned at Hali, suddenly feeling so much better about her. Now that she'd finally let someone in, and really in, not just for a while, maybe it would be better to grow her group. And having someone who knew magic couldn't hurt. "Well, it's good to have you."

"So, where are we?" Hali asked. "And what do we do now?"

"Do you not have a plan?" Miguel enquired.

"I never thought that I would escape, so no, I don't." She giggled. "I guess that is something I will have to figure out as we go along. But you must have a plan."

"Well, we want to eventually get back to Earth," Raegan told her. "And I want to find my father as well. Although I don't know where this is, it's seems safe. We could rest?"

Miguel and Hali nodded eagerly, both desperate for sleep after their unexpected little adventure on that planet. Raegan hoped that no other humans needed to go through what they had. Especially not her father...although he might be able to handle it better than she had. Who knew? She hoped to find out someday soon.

She could have taken the moment to ask Miguel for more information about how he was now, but it didn't feel like the time or place. Not with Hali here.

"Okay, rest it is then. Sounds good. Let's find somewhere comfortable."

All of a sudden, Raegan regretted so easily assuming that it would be better if Hali stayed with them. In seconds, the dynamic was already different, and she wasn't sure she liked it. Even when she continually pushed Miguel away, there was a part of her that still had a piece of him. But with someone else for him to focus on, that could slip away.

Even if he still liked her now, that could fade. It probably would fade one day.

She could be about to lose him forever, and she wouldn't have anyone to blame but herself.