Shadow of Hope(Book 2)

Chapter 30

Chapter 30

" Your to easy on her. I think its time I had some fun."

I sat with my back against the wall, my eyes closed as I tried to focus and will my power to send me back to Kamar-Taj. Ben had fallen asleep on the other side of the fire about an hour ago, so the only sound aside from the crackling fire was the roaring wind of storm outside.

The Ancient One had said that everyone is blocked by something, and that until I could push through it, I would remain blocked. So, what blocked me?

Regret. What did I regret? Being the cause of that women's death? Sure, I had come back to fix it, but there was still a version of her that had died because of me. Leaving Middle Earth without saying goodbye? What life might I have had if I had stayed? It hurt to think that Thranduil was waiting for me. But why? Why would he wait?

I had left because I still had a life to live back in my world. Would that be a lie? Would it be to say that I couldn't be selfish, and spend the rest of my days with him? In the end, was it because I was afraid?

Fear. What was I afraid of? In my time in Middle Earth I had found clues of the person my mother really was. The hero, people claimed her to be. I had learned of the battles she led, and the legacy she left behind. I had seen it after I learned the truth, in the eyes of everyone who looked at me. They wanted me to be just like her. A hero to save them, and to show them the way.

But I wasn't my mother. I wasn't the hero they needed, and could never be. Maybe that's what drove me away. Becoming the women I had despised for most of my life.

Anger. Why was I angry? More like at who. The image I had of my mother was of a coward who couldn't bother to stick around. Who left without so much as a goodbye to the man she loved, or to the daughter she would never know. Then again, didn't I do the same thing? Left without saying goodbye?

Was I really angry at my mother? Or was it me? 

Sam had said once that a connection to my world kept me grounded, and that until I learned to let go of that connection, I would never be able to fully use my powers. So, what connected me to my world? What couldn't I let go?

Why was this so difficult?

I was pulled from my thoughts when Ben sat up quickly, dust raining down on us as the cavern shook. " Seems we're not safe here anymore." He said, getting to his feet, and I frowned." What's going on?"

" Something I thought had abandoned this place has awoken." He muttered. " Quickly, we must go." He told me, dousing the fire and gathering things from the floor.

" Go? What about the storm?" I questioned, when he started toward the exit, hurrying after him. " We must hope that it has calmed enough to traverse." He responded pulling up the hood of his robe, and handing me the other end of a rope he had tied around his waist. " Quickly, tie this around your waist, or you'll be lost to the storm." He advised.

*********

The wind and sand slammed into us as we stumbled blindly forward, me occasionally nearly losing my footing and dragging Ben down with me, but before I would fall I would feel something pulling me back up, like a gentle shove on my back. It was only after about the fourth time that I realized what it was.

" We must keep going." Ben would call out. " Dont stop moving."

" Where are we even going?" I questioned

" There is another place nearby that we might take shelter in."

" How do you know that we're even going in the right direction?" I demanded, and he glanced back at me with a knowing look. " I just do. Now, have faith Alice, and mind your steps."

I didn't want to question him, but I couldn't help but think that we were lost, and that he had no idea where we were. " I can understand your hesitance, Alice. You do not seem like one to follow blindly. A good trait to have." I heard him laugh as I frowned, before looking down. My eyes widened in realization, but he continued before I could say anything. This storm, it doesn't seem natural does it." He questioned.

My head shot up at the tone in his voice, only to find a young girl now standing in his place. Her hair was blonde and fell just below her ears, and when she turned her brown eyes stared through me as if I weren't even there. " Who..." I trailed off taking a step back and she smiled before raising her out toward me. The roaring wind around us seemed to change direction, and I raised my arms to block my face, before suddenly finding myself flying backwards. I rolled and flipped as I hit the ground, my face smacking into the sand when I finally came to a stop. I coughed wiping at the sand on my face, confusion crossing my face when I realized the wind had stopped despite the swirling sand in the air.

I stood up slowly as I looked around, waving my hand through the frozen dust particles. What was going on?

I took a couple steps forward, before spinning around at the sound of rumbling to find that the sand had started to move again, falling straight down as if to bury me alive. I took off running, nearly losing my footing as I fled, still blind and with no sense of where I was running to. I, however, slid to a stop when the sound of rumbling came from the opposite direction as well. My eyes widened in horror as the sand poured down around me, and I threw my hands over my head, bracing myself for the impact.

In that moment, a face flickered through my mind, his face scrunched up in laughter at his newest tale as Spiderman. The fear melted away, being quickly replaced by a warmth in my chest, and a familar lurching in my gut. I felt myself falling as I opened my eyes, just seconds before I went flying into the back of Stephen Strange, knocking him to the ground at the feet of the Ancient One and Mordu.

" Welcome back." She said, and I grinned in response while Stephen let out a groan of pain.