"Tomorrow is always fresh, with no mistakes in it."
~Lucy Maud Montgomery
Chapter Seventeen
Alistair lowered her hover board to the ground and she let Landon jump down first. Then she got off and turned the hover board off. Her team had already gotten to the ground safely. Now they just had to wait for the others.
This was considered a kind of safe place. A place where the entire army could meet up and talk about plans, strategies, and, as Alistair would have to speak about, intelligence about the Destines.
Kellan pulled Alistair to the side. "I need to talk to you."
"Can you make it fast? If I leave Landon out there when the others get here, they're going to try to kill him." Alistair rolled her eyes.
"What's so special about this Destine that you had to rescue him?" Kellan asked. "Why did you choose this guy to ask to join us?"
"I don't know. He's the first Destine I've ever really looked at. All the others were just random faces. He seemed nice. And so far, he's been nothing but helpful. He told me about how the Destines plan to draw us into battle. Maybe he could even lead us to their headquarters. Then we could take out their leader. This could all end so soon. I can see all the possibilities, Kellan." Alistair smiled hopefully.
"I see them, too, Alistair. But I see the bad ones as well. I see this as a possible trap, where this Destine is leading us to our death. Why would he help us?" Kellan asked.
Alistair frowned, her hope quickly deteriorating. "You'll never get it until you see it with your own eyes. Just wait until he's fighting alongside us in battle, maybe then you'll see that he's on our side. Landon is not a pawn. Just wait." She walked away. "Are you hungry, Landon?"
He nodded. "When are the others supposed to be here?"
"I can't say for sure. I can't make contact with anyone." Alistair touched the earpiece. "I'll go get us something to eat. It may be a while."
•••
"Let's just not worry about him right now." Zayne drew an arrow back and shot at a tree. "Tomorrow, we'll be fighting the Destines. Probably an army of them. We should train a bit. Get our shots and swings as accurate as Alistair's."
Kellan sighed. "You can do that. I'll just sit here and watch."
"By the way, I'm sorry about shooting an arrow towards you." Zayne apologized.
"What?" Kellan looked at him, surprised.
"I'm sorry." Zayne repeated.
"Really? Uh, I'm sorry about threatening to kill you then. I was really upset." Kellan replied.
"Dude, you almost shot me in the chest." Zayne raised an eyebrow at him.
Kellan shrugged, "I'm sorry."
Alistair was sitting in a nearby tree, watching and listening to them. She smiled at the two on the ground.
Light footsteps caught Alistair's attention and she rose up to her feet. She stared in the direction of the noise and spotted a mass of people. "I think the others are here." She yelled down to her team. "But prepare for battle in case they're Destines. Use trees as cover, but don't attack until I say so." She told them and did as she said.
She and Landon climbed down to the ground and waited as the crowd of people came into the area. Johnson was leading the group and Alistair smiled wide as she saw them all. "It's safe!" She shouted to her team.
Johnson approached her. "It's good to see you still on our side and alive." He grinned. He looked behind her and spotted the Destine. "Why isn't this one dead?" He drew his sword and Landon looked to Alistair.
Alistair stepped between Landon and Johnson. "He's on our side, sir." She informed him.
"He's a Destine." Johnson looked at the girl. "Are you going to betray us, Alistair?"
Alistair eyes became outlined with gold. She glared at Johnson. "Don't you dare accuse me of becoming a traitor. I know what I'm doing." She growled in a low, intimidating voice.
Johnson swallowed and took a step back. Alistair couldn't help but smirk at his reaction. She glanced back at Landon. "He's proved to be very helpful, actually." She turned back to Johnson, her eyes green again. "He told me that when we fly over the area where the Destines plan to ambush us, our boards will fall from the sky. And we can't walk so don't suggest that." Alistair paused, waiting for him to say something. "Also, he will fight for us." she turned to Landon. "And I'm assuming you will enroll into one of our training schools, perhaps?"
Landon nodded. "Sure," he grinned.
Alistair turned to Johnson for approval and he nodded. "But I just have one question for you, Johnson." She told him.
"What's that?" Johnson asked.
"Where are Winston and his groups?" She inquired, looking behind him.
"Right here," Winston called from Alistair's right. She turned to see him and his groups walking towards them. "I see you've proved to be an excellent leader." He smiled.
Alistair frowned at him. "Why wasn't your earpiece working?"
"I think it was the area we were in. Or maybe I messed it up. I don't know, but we're communicating now so we'll just catch up." Winston answered.
"Okay, Johnson, could you fill Winston and his teams in on the Destines plans. And no one touches this former Destine. Or I will kill you." She glared at the teams behind Winston. "Once Johnson is done explaining, everyone eat and get plenty of rest. We have a big day ahead of us." Alistair turned and walked away.
Winston looked after her. "She's in charge now?" He looked at Johnson.
Johnson shrugged. "That's how she acts. She did get valuable information about the Destines and she's been through the most. She probably just needs to keep control. Let's let her have it." He suggested.
"That's fine by me." Winston smiled.
•••
Alistair approached Zayne once the sun had fallen and the sky was dark. He was alone, sitting at the fire. "Hey," she sat next to him.
"Hey," Zayne looked up at her. "Where's Landon?" He asked.
"Asleep," she answered, looking back over her shoulder. "Do you trust him now?"
"I'm... trying to." Zayne replied.
"I guess that's good. I knew it would be difficult, but I really believe he won't try to deceive me." Alistair sighed. "It's stupid to just trust him, but I think it was for the best."
"I trust your instincts, Alistair, as if they were my own." Zayne stood up to leave. He started walking away, but Alistair caught his arm. He looked at her, confused.
"Where are you going?" She asked him.
"To bed," he answered. "Well, to that tree up there, but I'm considering it a bed."
"I know you're upset with me." She stared into his eyes.
"Why do you think that?" Zayne sighed.
"Because you really don't trust him. You don't like him. You don't want him here. If I weren't so protective of him, you would have killed him by now. You wouldn't even care about consequences." She answered.
"You're right." He agreed simply.
"Can we talk about this?" She let his arm go.
"What do you want me to say Alistair?" He asked. "I won't be able to trust him until he proves that he's on our side."
"Then tomorrow you should get your revelation." Alistair replied.
"And I'll be happy to get it." Zayne retorted.
Alistair stared at him. His face sympathetic yet hard as stone. She took a deep breath, opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out.
"Look, I'm sorry, okay," he pulled her into a hug.
"It's fine. Go ahead and get some rest. We've got a big day ahead of us tomorrow." Alistair pulled away.
"All right, and you get yourself some sleep, too." He kissed her on the cheek and smiled, "Night." He walked away. She smiled and walked to the tree she would sleep in.