Shadow of Hope(Book 2)

Chapter 10

Chapter 10

I let out a groan as I lie on the floor in pain, Rift 2.0 on the floor next to me in bow mode while Sam stood over me looking unimpressed. " You gonna get up, or continue to lie there like bambino?" She questioned, and I made a face up at her before sitting up with a wince. Sam rolled her eyes before appearing on the other side of the room. I studied how she just appeared, as if the shadows were a part of her. " How do you do that?" I asked after a moment, and she frowned in confusion.

" Do what?"

" Just appear like that? Aria does it to, but more dusty." I stated, and she shrugged. " Aria has her own way, I have shadow travel."

" Shadow travel?" I said, even more confused and she muttered something under her breath with a sigh before she was suddenly in front of me again, a chill running down my spine when the temperature of the room seemed to drop in seconds. " Something you should understand. Aria? Me? We aren't normal people, Alice."

" I know that." I admitted. " Your both from other worlds. Other versions of reality. Like my mom and grandmother."

" Exactly." She confirmed, nodding, her hands in the pockets of the dark denim leather jacket she always wore. " But, my world, though it looks a lot more like yours then the ones you've visited, its still different from yours. In my world, myths are real, and your lucky if you make it passed your teens without dying a horrible death."

As she spoke, I began to realize just how young Sam was. What had she gone through in her life that made her look older, more mature then she was? Who, and what, had she lost to make her grow up so fast? It was clear that Sam was a survivor, but did I really want to know what her made one?

" Come on, get up." Sam called out turning away. " If your going to be prepared for your next fight, there can be no hesitation in your teleporting. Il tuo obietto deve essere vero!" She declared walking away.

" I have no idea what you just said." I called out.

" Peccato." She responded, and I let out a sigh before scrambling to my feet, firing off several arrows as apples began to appear around the room. " Sam." I cried as one nearly hit me in the head, the sound of echoing laughter soon following from the shadows

Several weeks later, I was sitting in my room reading when Sam appeared on the bed next to me. I glanced at her in confusion as she motioned toward the balcony, before disappearing. I frowned closing my book, before stepping outside just in time to watch the bifrost turn on. " Incredible, isn't it." Sam said appearing on the railing to my right, her feet hanging over the side.

" You asked me to come here for a reason. How am I supposed to figure out what that is, if Odin sends me home?" I questioned, and Sam smirked. " If only you weren't just a random human. If only there was a reason you could stay." She said before vanishing. I let out a groan, leaning forward to press my forehead into the stone railing.

I understood what she was trying to say, but was I ready for what had to be done. In Middle Earth, I hadn't had a choice, but here...

***********

The skirt of my dress brushed across the floor as I stepped into the throne room where Odin was talking with Thor and Frigga. The dress was A-line illusion neckline, with floor length tulle over lace beading; the op of the dress was white while the skirt of the dress was a dark blue." Miss Stevens, the bifrost has been fixed, you should be packing to return to Midgard." Odin said, barely glancing at me as I approached. 

" I was hoping to have a word before I left." I said, swallowing the lump in my throat.

" There is a war to stop, I'm afraid it'll have to wait." Odin said, waving me away as if I were an annoying bug in his face.

" It can't." I told him, and his eye narrowed, before he nodded motioning me forward, but instead of walking, I used my powers and teleported over to stand next to Thor, who frowned at me in confusion. " I was annoyed when I first arrived here, and I didn't understand until recently, your own view when it came to my identity." I said, and Odin frowned. " Miss Stevens-"

" Please, allow me to finish." I pleaded. " I asked if there was anything I could do to help you put a stop to your war, and you said that there wasn't, addressing me as just another human from Earth. You did this because I failed to properly address myself. My name is Alicia Stevens, my father was Jacob Stevens," I said, noticing out of the corner of my eye that a look of realization had crossed Frigga's face.

" my mother and grandmother, were Melody and Edith Rowins. And I have come to help stop your war. "