I read Jacob's face carefully. Concern was etched across his features. Something was wrong. I wondered why I hadn't noticed it before.
"What is it? You came here to tell me something, didn't you?" I inquired.
"Yes," he sighed. "It concerns a certain evil brother of mine . . ."
My stomach dropped. His brother, Adrian, had tried to kill me multiple times in my human life. I thought we had ended his reign of terror.
"What's going on?"
"The gates are opening. Things from the Land Below are escaping. It's starting with influence, but next thing we know, there's really going to be a monster under the bed. Every fear will come real."
"Is that all?"
"Well, the world might end."
"Yeah, I suppose there's always that. So what do we do?"
"We could try to close the gates. I guess I'm not sure how, but I'm sure we could figure something out."
"How many are there?" I inquired.
"There are five," he answered. "The nearest one is in Arizona, deep in the Grand Canyon. We could leave today if you want to."
"I really can't leave my assignment . . . and then what would I tell her mom?"
"Liz, I can't do this without you."
The way he looked me in the eyes then . . . . I knew he was telling the truth. No one could have so much depth behind a gaze like that and be lying. He really did need me. I couldn't neglect that.
"Alright. I guess I'll talk to Grace."
"Thank you."
I stood up and walked to Grace, who was sitting still on the swing.
"Grace?"
She looked somewhat surprised that I had addressed her. "I haven't been doing more drugs, I swear!"
I almost laughed. "I actually came to talk to you about something else."
She looked intensely worried. "What have I done now?"
"Nothing, actually," I admitted. "As your Guardian, I'm always watching over you. No exceptions. But something has come up and I'm in kind of a pickle here. You see, I'm not allowed to just leave you, but I really need to be somewhere else for a week or two. So . . . I need you to come with me. But I don't know how to get you away from your parents."
Grace looked at me quizzically and asked, "Do you want me to lie to my parents? Is my Guardian who wants the best for me . . . telling me to do what I was taught was the wrong thing to do?"
"I suppose so, yeah."
"Well, it doesn't matter because I'm leaving for a camp tomorrow anyway. Since I was actually going to fly there alone, we can just go to wherever you need to be instead."
"That's convenient," I said. I hadn't really expected things to be that easy. With the excitement Jacob coming back to me, I had completely forgotten that she was going to camp!
"Is your boyfriend coming with us?" she asked.
I blushed madly and squeaked out a "Yes". Apparently, she'd seen us on together. Although I had known Jacob for a long time, I never actually considered him as my boyfriend. Was he really? I still thought of him as a very close friend. Maybe that was supposed to change.
I went back to my "boyfriend" and told him what Grace had told me.
His response was, "That's convenient." He smiled when I told him that was what I'd said. We laughed together. I told him I'd meet him at the airport the next day. He agreed and we parted.
I turned invisible and followed Grace home. I felt both happy and sad on the way there. I was so thrilled to have seen Jacob again, but I was pretty bummed that we'd be leaving again so quickly. I knew I'd see him again the next day, but that seemed so far away to me.
When we got inside, I saw Grace's mom chopping vegetables in the kitchen. She set down her knife and brushed a stray brown hair out of her face. Grace and her mother shared a gentleness and refinement that was so rare those days.
"Hello, Grace," she greeted her daughter with a smile. "I hope you're in the mood for pasta and salad!"
The evening dragged on. The thought of being around Jacob again appealed to me immensely. I couldn't stop thinking about him. I wondered if he was thinking of me as well.
The rest of the night and the next morning weren't very important and weren't worth remembering. I hadn't realized how much time had gone by until Grace was packing her bags and her mom was giving her a ride to the airport.
Jacob was waiting for us at the terminal. We met up and went back and purchased new tickets for a flight to Arizona. We caught the plane and arrived later that day.
Dusk made the world glow an eerie purple. The runway was lit with lines of lights that looked like carefully arranged stars. It was a beautiful sight. The three of us left the airport swiftly and headed for the Grand Canyon. We actually walked all the way there. We were exhausted and our feet were sore by the time we stopped. I hadn't walked anywhere near that far since I walked to Mount Skelecea with Jacob.
"I don't think we've really had a proper introduction yet," I told Grace as Jacob started setting up the camp. "I'm Liz, and this is Jacob."
"You can call me Jake if you like," he added as he pulled out some blankets.
"Ok. Well, I'm Grace," she said.
"I know," Jake and I chorused. We all laughed.
We settled into our blankets and said goodnight to one another. With Jacob and my awakened eyes watching the camp, we all fell asleep quickly. It was late and the long walk had tired us out, so I wasn't exactly shocked.
