The Girl with an Owl

Chapter 49

They were close to the portal when Wallace stopped them.

"Okay, here is where we will meet my friend, Jeremiah," Wallace said.

It was the perfect place for the exchange since they couldn't do it in the Inbetween, the elves would probably spot them the moment they stepped out of the portal.

"What's happening? Why don't you just get it over with? Why the delay?" Kieran asked dejectedly.

"Doesn't he know?" Ajana asked.

"No. I told you, the less everyone else knows, the better," Wallace said.

"Wallace, it's his life we are talking about, he deserves to know," Ajana said.

The determination of a girl who didn't care about strategies or tactics was obvious in her eyes. All she cared about was healing. In this case, her priority was to heal Kieran's soul from suffering.

"Very well, you can provide him with the short version of the plan," Wallace said.

As she did what she was told, Kieran's expressions started changing so quickly that she could no longer determine his mood. There was confusion, relief, annoyance, but the most prevailing emotion was one of anger.

To Ajana, it made no sense that he was angrier now than when he thought that he would die. However, she knew how complex human emotions could be, so it made sense that the same was true for the elves as well.

"That feathery manipulator! I made my peace with dying, I was ready." Kieran mumbled under his breath.

Luckily, Wallace didn't hear him since he flew off looking for his friend.

Ajana didn't want to know how Wallace would have reacted if he had heard Kieran's grumblings because she felt it would show his strict side that she preferred to stay in slumber.

"I think I understand now, but there is one thing I don't get. What are you doing here? We could've said goodbye back at the house." Kieran said.

"Wallace wanted me to come along. He thought I could help." Ajana lied.

Although her father had always warned her against lying, she was too embarrassed to tell him the truth. There was a chance that Kieran would misinterpret it and things could become awkward.

"Don't get offended, but how can you help? You can't even control your powers yet." He said.

Ajana tried not to get offended since he was only telling her the obvious truth, but she still felt awful. His words were burning a hole through her heart as well as her self-confidence.

She was saved having to answer the question by Wallace's return.

He flew in with his friend Jeremiah trailing behind him. It seemed as if he was shocked to see animals instead of an ordinary elf. Ajana guessed that Wallace didn't have the time for small things like explaining why instead of an elf he would be handing over a wolf.

"They are expecting an elf, not an animal, Wallace. How am I supposed to explain this to them?" Jeremiah asked.

Ajana was surprised by his grumpiness. While Wallace was always trying to be kind and collected, Jeremiah seemed to be quite the opposite, always in a foul mood.

"They can recognize they own, no matter their current shape, don't worry. Just follow the plan. They won't care which shape he is in as long as they get him." Wallace said.

"What about the girl?" Jeremiah asked.

"She is my concern, don't worry about her. You just do what we agreed. Can you still watch over Mag while I am gone, like we agreed?" Wallace asked.

"Yes, I am an owl of my word. Still, I must say that if I didn't owe you so much, I would have never agreed to this insanity. Why are you even doing this? Weren't you the one who said that the will of the people is your will as well?" Jeremiah asked.

"My friend, I do regret having to ask this of you. I know how much you loathe the responsibility, but I am out of options. As for the will of the people, what I meant was that I have to respect their will, but that doesn't stop me from interfering afterward.

I am doing what they demanded to be done, I am handing Kieran over to the elves. What I do after that is no one's business but my own." Wallace said.

"All right, I shall not interfere with what I do not understand. Let us do what we are here to do." Jeremiah said.

Although some of them were annoyed and at the end of their teether, they proceeded towards the portal. No matter what the future held, they wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

When they were in front of the portal, Wallace gestured for them to stop.

As they did so, he sprinkled some of his special magic over Ajana making both of them invisible.

Then, they all stepped through the portal, but when they reached the Inbetween, all the waiting elves could see were an owl and a wolf.

They paid no attention to the owl, their only focus was Kieran. They were making sure that behind the wolf face was the elf they were looking for.

Once their magic gave them a satisfactory answer, they glanced at the owl. He wasn't what they were expecting, but they didn't pay much attention to him.

"Everything alright? Do we still have a deal? We give you Kieran, and you don't try to step a foot in Mag." Jeremiah asked.

"You must be the infamous Wallace. Yes, we are elves of our word. Your little world of cowards is safe." The oldest one among the elves said.

"I wonder if the same could be said for people who justify murdering children as justice," Jeremiah mumbled.

Moments later, he received a harsh nudge from the invisible Wallace. It was a much-needed warning to keep his beak shut.

"Did you say something to me?" The elf asked.

"No, no, just talking to myself, it's all," Jeremiah said.

"Anyway, since everything is in order, I will be off now." He added.

The elf only nodded his head absently as Jeremiah went back through the portal without any trouble.

"Let's go, boy. We have been ordered to bring you back alive, but if you give us any trouble we are allowed to torture you." The younger elf in the group said.

"Yeah, yeah. I got it, I am at your mercy. Ouch!" Kieran said.

Wallace's beak warned Kieran not to antagonize his captors and then he was off flying among the elves, invisibly judging the mood.

"What was that?" He asked.

"Just imagining the pain you have in store for me hurts so much," Kieran said.

"Alright, let's go!" The elf said.

They all proceeded to the farthest and darkest corner of the Inbetween where the portal they needed was situated.

Unbeknownst to the elves, Wallace and Ajana followed suit, still invisible and as quiet as mice.

Once they were in the lush greenery of the world Kieran had left behind in search of help to save it, the forest came alive.

That was when all hell broke loose.