Caught in the Crossfire

Chapter 4

The room spins, and I start to collapse but Drake catches me before I hit the floor. I stare at Lucas, but then I realize it isn't Lucas, or Logan for that matter. The nose is too small, lips too wide, and I don't know whether to be dismayed or relieved.

"What the hell are you doing here?!" Drake whispers, not to the Logan/Lucas look-a-like, but to the scarily tall man I didn't notice until now standing next to him.

Now when I say this man is tall, I do in fact mean TALL. His 6' 7" height dwarfs everyone in the room, especially me at 5'6". Seriously, how do you NOT notice a guy that freaking tall?

His raven black hair hangs to his chin, and piercing electric blue eyes seem to stare straight through you. A diamond stud the size of my pinky nail pokes through his right earlobe. He's dressed in a black knee-length coat, blood red dress pants, and shiny black shoes. Nice dresser, no matter how scary.

"It is not what I am doing here, but what you are doing here. There is no time for this... foolishness." He says in a deep voice, starring Drake down.

"Kane, you can't control me!

"Wait, what is it? What's going on? Have the seers found out what's happening?" Drake hisses, upset, and I can tell he's nervous.

"Oh, but I can control you. It's in the job description." Kane retaliates, a smirk on his thin, pale lips. But then his face becomes grave. "It's the Silver Sword. They're coming. They know where we are. We're going to have to fight. No more running."

Wait, a fight? Who are these Silver Sword people and why do they pose such a threat? Goodness, I'm so confused... yet curious. I wonder if this information is what he's been so worked up over... I stand a little behind Drake, choosing not to speak up.

"Putting off one day to have time for myself, with my friends, my girlfriend, is not going to make or break us. We've beat them before." Drake takes on a cocky attitude. I look up at him, wondering how he could be so nonchalant about whatever has got this Kane guy so worked up, but he doesn't look down.

The first man whose name had not been mentioned arches his eyebrow. "Girlfriend?" He says, taking me by surprise. He even sounds like them.

"Hmmm... It seems our young guardian has become too involved." Kane smirks, momentarily distracted from the issue at hand. "Whatever will her brothers think of this new development?"

My heart drops out of my chest, and my mouth flops open. Did they know my brothers? Where are they? A guardian? What's he guarding? Who are these men? How does Drake know them? What the hell are they talking about? I want some answers. Before I can get a word out, though, Drake squeezes my hand and I close my mouth. Not the time to ask questions.

"Drake, I do not believe you understand the severity of our situation." Kane says, getting back to the pressing matter at hand.

"Master, I think it would be best if we leave well enough alone now and continue this conversation some other time." Defiance turns to pleading. Drake's eyes flick around the room, taking in all the wary and frightened faces.

Kane looks around too, probably not noticing their un-welcomed audience until now. He turns back to Drake, a thoughtful look on his face, but then suddenly those icy eyes turn on me. I look back steadily, not allowing this man to know how much he scares me.

"Your brothers would be so proud if they could see you right now Janie. You're so much like them." I just stare, not able to say anything.

Kane turns back to Drake. "Later then. Goodnight." He nods his head in our direction, turns on his heel and sweeps out the door, the other man following on his heel.

Quite anti-climatic, I would say. But that one little conversation had my mind whirling with so many questions, and no answers.

Everyone is quiet, and then they turn back to their friends and dates, whispering silently and with gusto. Good thing they had no idea what these men were saying, or else it would be all over school. Kane's appearance is going to be dry brush for the gossip wildfire anyway.

Drake breathes a sigh of relief, then, reluctantly, he slowly turns to face me. I continue to stare at the door the mysterious men had passed out of, but I come to my senses and glare at Drake. Now it's question time.

"Who the hell were they, what's the Silver Sword, and how in the hell do they know me, you, and my still missing brothers? What are you keeping from me, Drake? And when you and Lance were arguing, that... your teeth... and... Oh God..." I start to feel faint again, and press the heels of my hands to my temples.

"First, Jan, I need you to calm down for a second-"

"No, I will not calm down! Those... people know my brothers and how to contact them and the fact that they are alive is killing me and-"

"Janie!" it was his turn to interrupt me. "Let's go somewhere else, okay?" He begs, looking at all the people who had turned back to witness my tantrum. I realize he's right, that I shouldn't be screaming in the middle of my best friend's house like a little kid, and nod. He turns and walks down the hallway to a huge pair of glass double doors that open out into the garden.

We go down the steps and walk to about the middle of the garden before I stop and say, "Alright, enough procrastinating. Tell me what's going on."

Drake turns and sighs. "I can't."

"What do you mean, 'You can't?'"

"Exactly that. I can't tell you."

"You can't expect me to just not know and be okay with that. I am NOT okay with this." I repeat for extra emphasis.

He sighs heavily and pushes his hair back. "Janie, what this is, the things that are going on, you can't know. And you can't know because knowing could get you hurt. Badly. And I will not have you hurt. It's my role as a guardian."

"What does that even mean, 'guardian'? Are you guarding something? Guarding me? Who told you to? Kane? My brothers? Don't look at me like that, with your face all frowny and determined. Tell me what's going on. I deserve to know."

"Jan, you have no idea what you're dealing with here. You can't know. I'm sorry."

I'm getting exasperated by now. "Have you forgotten what you told me when we first started dating? You told me that you would never lie to me. Where's that Drake. Where's my boyfriend?"

"He's standing right in front of you. And this isn't his secret to tell. I'm sorry Janie."

I can feel the tears welling in my eyes. "I can't believe you. You know something about them, the only thing that I have wanted for the past 2 years, and you won't tell me. You sicken me." I spit, rage and tears spilling over. How dare he? How dare he hold back something like this from me?

He just stares at me, his grey eyes sad and regretful. I know he's going to blame himself for what I said.

"Jan..." He whispers, pleading with his eyes.

But I can't forgive him.

I just can't.

"Just go Drake." I turn away, not wanting to look at the sad man standing in the garden, with his hands stuffed in his pockets, and wrap my arms around my torso, trying to hold myself together.

Without another word spoken, I hear his shoes clip briskly as he walks away.

When I can hear them no longer, I sob loudly and fall to the ground where I curl up behind a rose bush and cry myself into a dark abyss.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Alright guys, I'm sorry it took freakin forever for this to come. You know, school starting and what not. XD

But seriously, that was probably the worst case of writers block i have ever had. A whole freaking month of not being able to write. But i warned you guys.

- Wolfe