Fire - Betrayal (18 page)

Confident that we knew the answer to opening the portal, we prepared to enter the portal, coming close to it to enter as soon as I was there with the oval shaped opal seeds.

Jack entered first, followed by the three women and two other men. 
I would go last, as I was the one holding the portal open with the opal eggs.

Then it was
Cate’s turn.

“Come on
Cate, let’s go, “I encouraged.

“No Ben, I cannot.  I am not of your world.  I would be an intruder.  I would not fit in.  I will have to say goodbye to you here,”
she said, pain showing on her face.

I
stood staring at her, shaking my head.

“
Cate, I have just found you alive after thinking that you were dead.  Do you really think that I am going to part with you again?” I said annoyed.

“Ben, it is forbidden for me to enter.  I must not go with you,”
she pointed out to me, agonised emotion in her voice.

I
muttered something unintelligible under my breath, and then briskly walked over to her, and picked her up and put her over my shoulder, then walked us both through the portal.

***

I was furious.  He had gone against my wishes. I wriggled and fought and beat on Ben’s back.

Finally, h
e put me down.

“Ben, I must return to
the Earth.  I have lived the last few years being totally loyal to your parallel world, keeping information from others, protecting Une Autre Terre, even to the point of being willing to give my life so that the existence of Une Autre Terre would remain a secret. Please understand why I cannot go there.  I don’t belong in your world. I would be betraying them,” I pleaded.

Ben looked into
my eyes, full of compassion.

“
Cate, that’s exactly why you will be welcome there.  I need to return the seeds of The Magnificent Tree to Une Autre Terre.  Then we will be able to return to the Earth.  There were men who had discovered some of the amazing properties of the fruits, and greed had entered their hearts.  They would have taken advantage of the Tree for their own evil purposes, destroying its purity and truthfulness. I cannot let that happen. I too have loyalty to my parallel world.  And, most importantly, I can’t be separated from you Cate.  Where I go, you must come…I love you,” he said softly, full of emotion.

I
held Ben’s hands and looked into his eyes.  I could still see the pain from the recent events that had affected him, and decided, for his sake, to go with him to Une Autre Terre.  At least it would give us some time to be away from the complications that had developed back home.  If I had been officially declared dead, how would I then explain my reappearance from the grave?

I closed my eyes and
kissed Ben’s lips lightly, then looked into his cerulean eyes.

“I’m scared Ben, please help me through this in your world!”
I said nervously.

“I am here for you
Cate, for always,” he replied.

We
followed the others through the tunnel, and then turned left when we got to a T junction.  It continued along for some time in the blackness until we reached the area of the portal beneath Grandy’s drawing room.

A cold shiver ran down
my spine as we passed the old mine shaft that led to my house, which was now totally unrecognizable, destroyed.  Yet we kept on in the pitch blackness, heading toward Une Autre Terre.  I felt that this journey was familiar, yet I had never been here before, except in my Grandy’s memories.

I
recognized the green-blue glow worms, which Grandy had thought to be stars when she was eleven.  I heard the running water of the stream, and climbed down the roped ladder to the water, drinking of it as Grandy had once done.

I
turned my head to see the faint light shining through the entrance to Une Autre Terre, as Grandy had.  Everything was exactly as I had seen it in Grandy’s memory when I was connected to the memory storage rock. But, although I had inside information, it did not ease my nerves.  This journey was very difficult for me.

The Last Piece

The opening to Une Autre Terre was glorious
.  It started off looking like some ordinary dark musty cave dwelling, but once I took one step into the perceived cave, the whole world of Une Autre Terre opened up with the most spectacular view of blue sky, green hues in the mountains and rainforests, and gentle running creeks flowing into the amazing teal serene lake, picturesque waterfalls giving off a magical mist, and colour everywhere from the flowers, leaves, fruits and animals.

Immediately as
we had taken that step into the parallel world, the Terrean hunters were there, prepared to welcome, or restrain the intruders. Upon seeing their own kind, they visibly relaxed, and warmly welcomed them with mind communication, their eyes darting to each other in acknowledgement, until, their eyes met mine.

At once
, the expression on the hunter’s faces changed from joyous to serious, and alert.  I was unexpected, and an alien in their world. They did not know whether I was to be trusted, or not.

Ben
perceived the look of bewilderment on the faces of the hunters.  He stepped forward and placed his hand on the chief hunter’s shoulder, explaining my presence, and my loyalty to their world through mind communication.

Their eyes found
mine again, and hesitated at my unusual brown eye colour. The chief hunter looked to Ben and nodded ever so quickly, indicating that I may enter Une Autre Terre with them.

The natural earth
en pathway meandered through thick rainforests, between large black boulders and over little trickling streams.  The peacefulness was uplifting and calming.

My
eyes darted this way and that, taking in as much of the unique and beautiful scenery as I could. It was so breathtaking in its harmony to everything that surrounded it.

But then s
uddenly, we all came to an abrupt stop.  The Terreans that I had saved, and Ben were allowed to continue on, but I was not.  I knew there was a problem.  I knew I should not have come with Ben.

Then without warning,
I felt the blackness surrounding me.  I was losing consciousness, and fell to the ground.

***

I felt the pull on my hand as she went down.  I was at her side immediately, and placed my hand onto her head, reading her life signs. I was panicking. I couldn’t lose her now.  Not after everything we had been through.

My beautiful, beautiful Cate
.

To my relief, life was still with her, but her energy levels were extremely low, she was exhausted.  I scooped her up into my arms and carried her to the receiving tent, disobeying the orders of the chief hunter.

I
placed her on the white bed, and knelt by her side, holding her hands in mine, my head bowed.

The chief hunter ordered
me to move on to the village, but I politely refused to go on with the others, and requested with respect that I stay with her.

Surprisingly,
my request was granted.

I
waited patiently with her. I was anxious for her well-being. I placed my lips just above her ear and kissed her. She responded a little, but still lay with her eyes closed on the bed of the receiving tent.

Then
I tensed up. I felt the presence of a Terrean enter the tent.

It was Jacinta.

I moved away from Cate the moment Jacinta entered the receiving tent. I nodded my head ever so slightly in greeting to her.

Jacinta nodded her head also, but her head was tilted a little to one side. 
She looked into my eyes, but not as a first introduction, but as one of old acquaintances.

Jacinta, it is good to see you again.  This is my Cate. Please do a mind and health reading on her at once
, I mind communicated with her. Then I motioned to her, urging her to read Cate’s mind and body immediately. Jacinta nodded once to me.

She
quietly and gently walked over to Cate.  She placed her hands upon Cate’s head and closed her eyes, reading her mind, her heart and her body.

Slowly she removed her hands
from Cate’s head, keeping her eyes closed, but then moved her right hand and placed it over Cate’s heart.

I
watched closely, worried that there was a problem.

Jacinta’s usually peaceful face showed concern and sympathy.

But then, her face again became peaceful, and she smiled, and removed her hand.  Calmly, Jacinta turned and looked at me.

I
spoke not, but waited for Jacinta to speak first.

“
Ben, Cate’s mind and emotional well-being are in a very good state, as is the health of her body.  You have been very successful in healing her.  I moved my hand to her heart because of a concern that alerted me. I could see that her heart had been damaged.  I did not know to what extent though until I connected with her heart.  Then I saw the horrors that she had been through. You returned to her just in time.  Cate did not have much life left in her you know.  Her heart had been shattered into a thousand pieces. I must commend you on the patience and guidance in the process that you worked through.  You managed to replace every shattered piece of her heart again – almost as if new- except – for one piece.”

I
knew that my love and my gifts had been healing Cate.  And I knew that there was one piece still missing.  I had read her mind, emotions and body with my Terrean gifts that I had inherited from the Une Autre Terreans, but my gifts were not as refined or as finely tuned as Jacinta’s.

“
I will go and get the fruits from the magnificent tree that will give her back her energy.  She is unconscious because of physical exhaustion.  I will get the santé fruit.  She will recover in no time,”
said Jacinta compassionately.

Jacinta nodded to
me and left the tent.

“
Jacinta, before you leave, how do I heal the final piece of Cate’s heart?  I must know
…” I said, eager for the information.

Jacinta looked to the ground. She folded her forearms upon themselves.  She contemplated answering
my question.

She again looked up into
my eyes, and reached out her hand to briefly touch me.

“
I must seek the wisdom of the elders before I can answer your question Ben,” she replied aloud.

Jacinta had purposefully not communicated mind to mind with
me, because then, I would instantly know the answer to his question.

I
sat beside Cate and held her hand, and then brought it to my lips to kiss.  I moved my right hand to her heart, but, could not read it.  I noted that I must further refine my gifts while I was here in Une Autre Terre.

Silently, Jacinta entered the tent once again.  She was holding the
red-yellow santé fruit.  Her face was serious, and then she spoke.

“
Ben, I have spoken to the elders. They have agreed for me to give you the information you need, only if you promise not to tell Cate what you have learned from me. You have a choice, what do you desire?
” asked Jacinta.

“
My desire is for you to tell me what you know Jacinta.  I promise not to tell Cate what it is that you will tell me,”
I answered.

“
Very well then…  The reason that you could not read the final piece missing from Cate’s heart Ben was, because you are not a woman.
” Jacinta took a deep breath.  The next part of information seemed to be hard for her to say.

“
The remaining piece of Cate’s heart can only be healed by one thing – a baby, your baby Ben.”

Then Jacinta hesitated before she delivered the next part of the answer.

“
Ben, your union with Cate is forbidden. It cannot, and must not happen
,” she warned. Then she silently turned and left the receiving tent.

I
dropped my eyes from Jacinta, and stared at the flowers.  Now I understood why I could not read the final piece of Cate’s shattered heart.

I was suddenly
flooded with an amazing deep love for Cate.  Nothing would please me more than the creation of one from the two of us – the ultimate expression of love.  That would make my life complete.  I placed both of my hands on my head, and breathed out slowly, and turned to look out at the beautiful teal lake.

The I
became burdened with a heaviness.  The words of Jacinta repeated themselves in my head. “
Ben, your union with Cate….your union with Cate is forbidden
…”

My heart
ached, and then I felt a defiance of The Rule.