~ Chapter Fourteen ~
R egan continued scanning the grove—no one appeared yet.
At least he wasn’t bound and gagged. But what would happen to Lutin with him vanishing?
Unsure if anyone was going to come, Regan resumed pleading his case.
“Please, I need your help. Lutin’s in danger.
” He took several steps forward and turned, unsure which direction to address.
“Can’t you please put your frustration with me to the side and help me save Lutin?
He doesn’t deserve what is happening to him. ”
A rustling caught his ear from along the tree line.
Emerging from the forest, two grown adults moved in tandem, approaching him.
The one with blond hair and blue eyes was now a full head taller than the one with dark hair and dark eyes.
However, despite the lack of height, the dark-haired twin appeared broader and thicker than the blond twin.
“Volrent? Corcess?” Regan asked. “You’ve grown up. You look so different.”
The two young faces he once knew had matured; the Twins now had to be in their early twenties.
Hints of the children he knew still peeked out from around their eyes and around their mouths.
Volrent’s eyes still sparked with electricity and Corcess’s eyes still managed to reflect waves of the ocean.
Volrent’s movements were harsher whereas Corcess’s flowed like a gentle stream.
“That happens,” Volrent quipped, sparks dancing around their head. “We’ve missed you—” Corcess frowned in Regan’s direction. “I’ve missed you,” Volrent amended, not looking at their twin.
“I know you’re upset with me,” Regan started.
“I don’t blame you, but Lutin’s in trouble.
A couple of Trolls have him and are beating the shit out of him.
They have him bound in some kind of magic binding or spell.
I’m worried they’re going to kill him. I think these are the same Trolls he dealt with in D.C. ”
“We know,” Volrent offered.
“Then why haven’t you helped?” The words came out harder than they should’ve.
He needed their assistance and didn’t want to piss them off any further, but if they knew what was happening, why weren’t they helping?
They could be mad at him all they wanted, but this wasn’t funny. They were playing with life and death.
“We’ve been debating helping.” Volrent’s eyes were wide and they had no smile on their face. They weren’t angry, but serious. The look from Volrent wasn’t one he was used to. “We weren’t done when you pushed in.”
“You’re debating helping?” Regan snapped.
“What the absolute hell?” He moved forward as heat filled his neck and cheeks.
There wasn’t time to play games—god only knew what was happening to Lutin.
“Hate me all you want, and I’m sorry for what happened the other day.
I pushed too hard and I crossed a line, I understand that, but you’ve got to help?—”
“We don’t have to do anything!” Corcess’s voice boomed like thunder across the grove as drops of rain began to fall.
Their voice was deep, like the ocean and from the tone just as deadly.
Regan looked at the sky; a storm was brewing in the distance.
He couldn’t afford dealing with a storm created by Corcess.
I need to calm down. This isn’t helping.
Corcess continued before Regan could speak.
“You don’t control us—we’re not at your beck-and-call.
We shared our gifts with you, believing you would be worthy and grow into someone who could make a difference in this world, nothing more.
And when you threaten to cause harm or pain, our responsibility is to stop you.
” They raised a hand as if to potentially attack.
The clouds in the sky grew darker, blocking out the light of the sun.
“Corcess, please.” Volrent’s words were calm, much softer than Regan expected. They reached out and rested a hand on their twin’s arm. Corcess glanced at Volrent and lowered their raised hand, releasing a breath.
“Yes, you’re right.” Regan inhaled as much air as his lungs would allow.
“All I’ve ever wanted was to matter. To make a difference in my life and have some kind of positive impact on the world.
” He didn’t often share these thoughts—he doubted he even said such things to Max—but there was no point hiding from the Twins.
“Please, I’m worried about Lutin and I don’t know what to do. Please will you help me?”
The Twins faced each other as a conversation ensued. There were no words but their facial reactions spoke volumes. Volrent wanted to help but Corcess was still angry, or upset and clearly felt that Regan couldn’t be trusted.
Regan wanted to jump in and plead and beg, but he kept quiet, hoping and praying they wouldn’t turn their backs on him.
He couldn’t stand the idea of being alone.
He couldn’t lose Lutin. He just got him in his life and he wanted to see where their budding relationship went.
Max was never coming back and Regan didn’t want to be alone anymore.
Maybe things wouldn’t work with Lutin, but he wanted to make the attempt.
He needed to try and he couldn’t do that if Lutin died.
Please, won’t you help me? I can’t bear another loss.
The Twins turned back to Regan. Had they heard him? Corcess stepped forward, their gaze narrowing on him. “Do you love him?”
“What? Lutin?” Regan stepped back at the question.
“You said you can’t bear another loss. Do you love him?”
Regan’s cheeks heated and sweat broke out across his brow. His heart sank. “I… I don’t know. I barely know him.”
“You fell in love with Maxum the day you met at his mother’s house. He annoyed you, but you loved him the moment you met,” Volrent’s said gently. “We didn’t understand at the time, but we do now.”
Regan thought back to that day and remembered how obnoxious Maxum was.
He remembered thinking how insufferable the guy had been, but he also remembered how his heart came to life as they spoke.
Was that when he first knew? He never thought about it, but now in this moment he guessed so.
“I don’t know Lutin well. He is so different from Max.
They are nothing alike.” A soft chuckle escaped his lips.
“I can tell you, I believe I do care for him and I see a potential future with him.”
Volrent and Corcess turned toward each other again and Volrent nodded. A sigh escaped Corcess’s lips and they faced Regan. “We’ll teach you what you need to know to save him.”
“But this is all happening now—I don’t have time to learn.” Regan reached out. “Who knows what they are doing to Lutin right now, especially since I’ve vanished.”
For the first time, Corcess’s face broke, revealing a partial smile. “You’re in our realm. We have all the time in the world to train you.” Their head tilted. “For all intents and purposes, we have taken you out of time.”
“So, Lutin’s okay? They don’t know I’ve vanished?”
“No,” Volrent answered. “When you return to your body, only seconds will have passed.”
“Lutin mentioned something about time being different here.”
The Twins nodded.
“Let’s get to work.” Corcess gestured toward the center of the field.
With thud after thud, the ground was hard and his clothes were wet, then dry, then wet again.
Regan was sure he had never been zapped this much in his life.
To say the training was hard had to be the biggest understatement of the year.
More than once Regan wanted to give up, but he knew what and who he was fighting for.
The Twins were not easy on him and what felt like days passed as they trained.
They took time for meals and rest, but little more.
It was strange that they never slept. Was this part of how time here worked?
Was it possible they could bring Max back?
Regan didn’t ask this question—he understood nothing could bring Max back, and given all he had been through, the idea didn’t seem as important to him anymore.
As the training continued, Regan questioned the Twins only to ask for clarification and to understand what they wanted from him.
The lessons continued and Regan grew more and more confident in his abilities.
After one particularly grueling session, Corcess came over and sat next to him on the grass.
“I know you understand we can’t bring Max back and I’m sorry.” They rested their hand on Regan’s. “I believe you’ve finally realized why this is so.”
“I do.” Regan took a shaky breath. “Simply put, it’s the butterfly affect.”
Corcess’s head tilted, then they nodded. “Simple but accurate.”
“I have to move on, and I think that’s why Max put Lutin in my path.” He huffed out a laugh. “And for the first time I think I’m there. I think I can finally continue my life. I’ve been in a holding pattern for so long, but now…”
“Life and the universe have a way of working things out.” Corcess beamed. “I can’t explain it any better than that.”
“Should we get back to training?” Regan stood, dusting off the grass and what little dirt there was on him.
This place was unique—he felt everything, even pain, thirst, and hunger, but he never grew tired, and despite all the times he landed on his ass, he wasn’t sore or overly dirty.
“I know things in my realm have paused, or slowed down, but I don’t want to spend any more time here in your realm than I have to. ”
Corcess reached out their hand. “I believe a few more sessions here and you’ll be ready to help Lutin and take care of the Trolls.”
“I don’t want to kill them. I want to stop them and save Lutin, nothing more. It’s not my place to enact judgement on them.”
“I know. That’s why I agreed.” They raked a hand through their floppy blond hair. “The day we blocked you, you were hurt and angry. Your emotions were volatile. I was unsure of what you would do. I wasn’t yet mature enough to fully understand, and I don’t think you were either.”
Regan chuckled at the thought. He couldn’t say he disagreed, but having a twenty-something-year-old point such things out to him felt odd.
But things were relative and he still wasn’t sure he fully understood the rules of the realm he now occupied.
Were the Twins really only in their twenties or was that how they were presenting?
He wasn’t sure, and in the grand scheme of things, it didn’t matter what or how they looked; what mattered was on their insides and their abilities.
Without additional conversation, they returned to their training.
Regan blocked with a wave of his hand, creating a push of water he pulled from the air, then followed up his block with an energy pulse.
He parried a second incoming attack and deflected the bolt of electricity, taking the opportunity to fire off a blast of ice.
The attack landed square in Volrent’s chest, knocking them to the ground.
He wrapped Volrent in ice, keeping them from moving any part of their body except for their head. That only left Corcess.
With a thud, Regan got pushed by a wave of water, but he managed to blast the ground with an energy pulse, pushing him off the grass and into the air.
His maneuvering was sloppy but the block and the push gave him time to scan the area and find Corcess.
He landed and, with a wave of his hand, he tried something different.
He reached out and pulled all the water from the environment.
He started with the area around Corcess, cutting off their access to the liquid, then expanded his reach, pushing the fluid as far out of Corcess’s reach as possible.
His hope was to dry them out and then zap them with an energy bolt.
He saw Corcess drop to one knee, and he knew his time was now.
With both hands, he pulled all the electrical charge he could summon and swung toward Corcess.
The blast filled the glen with a bright white light, and he saw Corcess go from the ground, into the air, and drop with a thud. They stopped moving.
“Fuck!” Regan shouted and ran to Corcess. He kneeled down and turned Corcess over on their back, shaking them. “Corcess!” he called. “Corcess, say something. I didn’t think the blast was that much. Oh god.”
A hand rested on Regan’s shoulder—Volrent had worked themself free and made their way over to their twin.
“Corcess, you can get up now,” Volrent demanded, almost bored.
Corcess’s eyes opened as a smile bloomed across their face. They sat up. “Well done.” They stood. “I didn’t see your attack coming. You managed to cut me off from my element—not an easy task.”
“Ass,” Regan said. “I thought I really hurt you.”
“You did.”
“Both of us,” Volrent added.
“You can’t kill us here. This is a location for training. You can’t really harm us, as we cannot truly harm you.”
Regan thought a moment. “Well, that explains that.” He rubbed his neck. “I wish you would have told me that sooner.”
“No, you needed to learn how to fight and fight well.” Corcess bent over, taking a deep breath. “We wanted you to give your lessons your all. If you thought there were no stakes, then you might have held back and that won’t help you.”
“Well, after we rest up, we should go again. I want to try my attack again. I still think my blocking needs work and I wasn’t happy with how high I went when I blasted the ground.” He huffed. “I need a lot more practice.”
“No.” Corcess shook their head.
“What?”
“You’re ready,” Volrent offered. “You’ve been ready for a while now.”
“You’ve bested us several times in a row now and your blocks and attacks have improved tremendously.” Corcess reached out and placed a hand on Regan’s shoulder. “You’ve passed with flying colors.”
“But I… I don’t?—”
“There is only so much you can practice.” Volrent’s expression was soft. “We’ve taught you all we can—now it’s up to you.”
“But what if I fail? I don’t think I’m strong enough,” Regan countered.
“You won’t fail, and even if you don’t think you’re strong enough, we both know you are.” Corcess beamed.
“We have faith in you.” Volrent’s lips grew in a smile.
Regan’s heart thumped like a drum and his palms grew sweaty. Sparring with the Twins was one thing, but taking on two Trolls was something else entirely. “But the Trolls?—”
“Will be no match for you.” Corcess took both of Regan’s shoulders in their hands and focused on Regan’s face. “You can do this, Regan Miguel Cruz. We’ve known you your whole life. You’ve got this.”
“Okay.”
“And it’s not like you’ll be alone. We’ll be with him and you—not so much in our physical form, but we’ll be there.” Volrent’s cheeks rose and their eyes brightened. “I’m looking forward to you knocking the Trolls on their butts. Should be fun.” They sent a few sparks in the air.
Regan took a breath. “Okay, let’s do this.”