The Elementals - The Ice Princess

Chapter 30

I stand up and walk over to Laney, err me. She stands still and lets me study what she has become. She looks identical to me, right down to the small mole that I have on my left earlobe.

"So the plan is to have Alexander jump us to various places away from here and get as visible as we can. I, make that, you, are going to be on as many cameras as possible with the hopes of leading any kind of scouts and trackers away from this place."

"But he can't jump."

"I know his jumps are limited and that long jumps have a big impact on him. We're not going to be jumping very much, just enough to get visible and then to get back. Neither one of us, think that leaving you for a long period of time is a good idea."

Jared seems to take offense to this. "Hey! I am sitting right here and can hold my own."

Laney, as me, turns to Jared. "You have no idea what these things can do. Holding your own, means that they take a little more time to peel your bones apart and devour your very existence. Oh, and not just yours, but your friends and family as well."

Jared takes a deep breath and then swallows hard.

"I am sure that you will have some part to play in all of this, if you choose to remain. But know the risk that you are running by staying. It's not too late for you to back out and leave this to us."

Jared doesn't even seem to think about this at all and quickly responds. "There is no way that I am leaving. This sounds way too important to miss and I want to make sure that Eira is safe."

I think I see Jared's face get a little flush and he turns his face away so we can't make eye contact.

Laney, who has now switched back to her regular form either doesn't notice, or doesn't seem to care. "Good! We're going to need you to do important things like gather supplies and help with Eira's training when we're off running distractions."

"Cool, when are we going to start?"

"We already have..."

Alexander walks over to the square kitchen table and lays out a map of Ohio. He takes a black magic marker and places a quick streak through Felton.

"The black lines are where we know for sure that the Achlys are or have been. These black circles are going to be target areas for Laney and I to run our distractions. We are going to stick to larger populated areas so that it is more ground to cover for the Achlys. The hope is to get them going south for the next little bit, which moves us from Columbus to Cincinnati and then into Kentucky."

As Alexander says the names of the cities, he places big circles around them. He then checks the scale at the bottom of the map and begins to calculate the distances that he has to travel, probably trying to calculate how many miles it is per city to know if he can jump safely or not and how long it will take before he can jump again. Personally, I don't really want him gone all that long. I am not sure if it's because I feel safer when he's around, or because he's a great defensive asset in case we're in trouble, or because I simply may miss him.

Laney produces a set of keys from her pocket and throws them towards Jared. She also grabs a piece of hotel stationery and quickly jots something down. When she finishes she walks over to Jared who is sitting on the couch watching everything transpire. I wonder if he feels as useless as I do right now. It seems that Laney and Alexander are in full on strategy beast mode and that Jared and I are just spectators in this.

"These are some of the supplies that we are going to need. I've given you my car and Alexander has made you new id's, he's also created a couple of credit cards with your name on it."