Fire - Betrayal (28 page)

Nic looked into
my eyes.

“You’re welcome
Cate.  Thank-
you
for going along with our crazy plan.” And then he looked down and smiled.

“I’ll have to get going
Cate, I have a race meet tomorrow – early.  I should have been in bed and asleep hours ago!”

“Will I see you again?”
I couldn’t believe that I had asked him that question.  It was very unlike me to be so forward when it came to relationships.

Nic looked at
me, and smiled.

“I’d like that, but I can’t tell you when at the moment,” he replied honestly, and smiled at
me again.

He
slowly turned and started to walk along the path to the car.  He only made it a little of the way before he turned and walked back to me.  He looked deeply into my eyes, and then gently placed his hands at the side of my face, and kissed me lightly on the lips.  Then he turned and made his way to the car, and left.

Destiny

Ben stood at the double door of the Breakfast Hall
, hesitating as eyes turned to him, and mind communications silenced. He hated this.  He hated that the Terreans thought of him as a superior being. He ignored their stares, their adoration and continued on to sit with his biological family.

They greeted him warmly as he joined them
, connecting minds and hands, his brothers and sisters goofed around with him until they met the eyes of disapproval from others. And then they settled, thoroughly enjoying the company of their big brother. They were all close in age.  But Ben stood out from them.  He was by far the most striking with his looks.  He was the tallest, and had wisdom that exceeded them, probably from his earth upbringing.

And they were a good distraction, from his Warrior status, and from the agonizing loss of the love of his life. His beautiful, beautiful Cate…

The day was picture perfect.  The clear blue sky went on for miles, meeting the teal lake on the slightly curved horizon.  A gentle breeze wafted off from the sea, giving the air the faint smell of salt, as Ben now sat on the golden sand watching the gentle waves running up onto the shore.

Though, h
e could only sit there for a short while.  He could feel the ache in his heart for Cate surfacing again.  He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, drawing his inner strength to help suppress the agony that he felt.

Then, a
hand gently rested on his shoulder.  He looked up and saw Jacinta standing next to him.  She smiled at him before sitting closely next to him.

“Hi,” she said gently.

“Hi!” Ben replied.

“
Come to the flower farm with me Ben.  I need someone to carry the basket for me as I choose flowers for the dinner tables tonight,”
Jacinta said trying to look into his eyes.

Ben did not make eye contact with her.  He nodded in agreement, and then stood up to go with her.

Jacinta walked closely to him, and after a short while placed her hand into his, gently entwining her fingers with his. She felt her heart beat faster. She was totally smitten with him.  He was the one for her.

They stopped at the Moonlight Inn to collect the basket for the flowers.  Ben carried it
for her in one hand, walking silently, his head on the ground ahead. Jacinta walked closely to Ben again, eager to put her hand back into his, but Ben did not want that.  He pulled his hand away from her.  He felt nothing for her.

He
opened the gate to the quaint flower farm.  Colourful flowers grew prolifically everywhere, all in different stages of flowering.  Jacinta weaved her way in and out of the flower beds as if she were floating, while Ben followed her with the basket.  She frequently looked at Ben and tried to mind communicate with him, but Ben had closed his mind to her.  He wanted nothing but friendship with her.

As Jacinta placed the last of the flowers into the basket, she touched the side of Ben’s face tenderly, and looked deeply into his eyes. She was trying to reach into the centre of his being.

She held Ben’s hand again and led him back to the Moonlight Inn to place the flowers into the water in the cold room, before she led him back to the beach.

Together they slowly walked along the golden sand, Jacinta taking every opportunity to touch Ben – his hands, his shoulders, his back, the back of his neck.

Then she stopped in front of him and gently placed her hands on his chest, and slowly brought her lips to his, kissing him.  Ben let her kiss him, but he did not kiss her back.

“
Ben, I am The Chosen One for you.  You and I were promised to each other at our births.  It is expected that you and I seal our love, that The Warrior and his wife create a baby.  It is The Rule.  It must happen.”

Ben looked into Jacinta’s eyes, then took her hand and placed it over his heart.

“Jacinta, my heart does not beat for you.  I can love no other as I love Cate. She is my life.  If I can’t have her, I choose to remain as I am now – without a partner.  I feel nothing for you.  When you touch me, it is like my sister touching me.  When you kissed me then, I felt nothing.  When Cate kisses me, everything stirs within me, and I feel a powerful love between us, but with you, there is nothing – I’m sorry.  I don’t care for The Rule.  People should marry for love, not a prearranged marriage to someone that you have no attraction to – I cannot love you Jacinta.  The Marriage Rule between you and I is broken.  It will not take place – under any circumstances,”
explained Ben.

Jacinta continued looking into Ben’s eyes.  He was speaking the truth.  She knew that he would never love her like he loved
Cate, and he would never seal with her.  A single tear trickled down her face.

“I am sorry Jacinta,”
Ben said tenderly,
“You are beautiful.  I know many of the men here would love you dearly.  You should choose one.”

“I already did Ben, and I chose you,
The Warrior,”
replied Jacinta.

“
You can’t have me Jacinta.  My heart belongs to Cate,”
Ben asserted.

Jacinta
lowered her head and placed her hands over her heart, then silently walked away from Ben.  His love
was
bonded with Cate, which could not be broken.  She had felt the immense power of their love when they were in the receiving tent, before Cate had left.  She had seen them kissing passionately, and witnessed the unbreakable energy connection between them.

Jacinta
felt defeated, yet bound by The Rule.  She must go to the Council of Elders and speak to them about the matter of her future without Ben.

Ben remained alone on the beach.  He closed his eyes and listened to the soothing sound of the water as it washed up onto the golden sand. His heart
was breaking. He crossed his arms over his chest, squeezed his eyes shut and cried silently. 
His beautiful, beautiful Cate
……..

He clenched his hand into a fist and slammed it into the sand, and then
got up and sprinted into the rainforest to the deafening waterfall.  There he could let out his pain and no-one would hear him.  He was more determined than ever now to get on with the mission of the portals, and then return to the Earth to find Cate…..his Cate.  He wanted her back, forever.

His beautiful, beautiful Cate
.

Danger Zone

Inside the Council of Elders meeting room
, Ben stood before the Councilors.

“Your Highest, at the completion of this mission, I will be departing Une Autre Terre,”
informed Ben.

“Why Ben? Une Autre Terre is a beautiful place – peaceful, happy,
and in harmony with everything and everyonet.  There is no misery here like that upon the earth,”
said the Highest Councilor.

“I agree to the fullest with all that you have said, except one – misery.  I am miserable here.  Even with all of the happiness of everyone around me, and the glorious surroundings, I cannot be happy without
Cate.  I will return to the Earth to find her, and be with her.  It is only when I am with her that I am truly happy,”
explained Ben.

The female Councilor stood up from her chair and walked over to Ben and placed right her hand over his heart, and then on his head, reading his emotions
, seeking the truth.  She removed her hand slowly, and looked at him, her eyes serious, but compassionate.

The female Councilor returned to her seat in a state of shock, and then mind communicated to the rest of the members of the Council.  When she had finished communicating with them, they all turned to look at Ben
, their eyes of adoration.  He was a great man, if not the greatest.

“Ben, we
have seen into your heart and head, and see the misery that you feel at separation from Cate.  Jacinta was the one chosen for you for marriage from birth.  But we can see that you will never love her.  You are our Great Warrior.  We cannot hold you bound to the Marriage Rule when you love another so deeply.  If it is Cate that you want to seal your love with, you have our blessing,”
said the highest Councilor with affection to Ben, their Warrior.

Ben simply nodded his head and thanked them.  He left the meeting pining for
Cate, and wondering if their separation this time would be too much for her to deal with.  Maybe, she would not want him when he returned to her? Maybe, her heart had been damaged beyond repair this time?  Maybe, he could not heal her heart with his gifts as he had done before?  Then what?  What would he do with his life?

His beautiful, beautiful Cate
…..

Ben returned to his mission work that day.  He wanted to get started on the plan for the next part of the portal openings.  He prepare
d the backpacks with water, food, shovels, picks and survival kits for on the Earth.  He lined up the opal seed frames, and visualized how they would implant them on the Earth side.  He managed to visualize everything about the portals, except for what he would see on the Earth on the other side of the portal. He had no idea of the location of the seven portals.  Would they all be in one country, or different countries?  Only time would tell.

The moonless night was long, as Ben tossed and turned, eager to get started, eager to get closer to seeing
Cate again.

He met his
partisans back at the hanger at daybreak, and gave them a rundown of the plan, motivating them, and encouraging them to be precise and unquestionable about the quality of their workmanship. There were no second chances with the positioning of the portal frames, the future of Une Autre Terre depended on them.

Once again they transported the portal frames to the tunnel behind the waterfall that led to the dome where the vortexes were grouped.

In pairs, they took the portal frames into each of the vortexes and left them near the inside portal, ready to assemble as they got to them.

Meeting inside the red vortex, they assembled at the portal opening.  It would not operate yet, as it was not complete.  They needed to install the portal frame on the
Earth side, and then somehow work on the heptagonal polygon, and how to secure it to operate the portals at their will.

Ben mind communicated with his companions about the task that they were about to undertake.  He handed all of them a pair of dark sunglasses to conceal the colour of their eyes, in case a situation arose that questioned their homeland.  At least they all had experience on the
Earth, be it for a short time, but still, they would know how to interact with the Earth humans.

It was time.

They all stood facing the portal, holding hands to be attached together as a group. Julia was in the centre with the heptagonal opal slither, while Jack and Josiah held the Earth portal frame next to the Terrean portal frame.

Julia looked at each of the members of the group, fixing her eyes on Ben last to get his approval to go ahead.

Slowly, Julia raised her hand with the heptagonal opal slither in it and placed it in the middle of the two portal frames.

Immediately, a strong, loud, gush of wind started pulling them through the portal, mist swirling all around them. Then at once, they found themselves on the ground on
Earth.

It was a hot and dry land.
The Terreans were repelled by the dryness and lack of lush vegetation. Ben was up on his feet first.  He quickly looked around for other people that may have been near where they were.  They were lucky, they were alone.

Ben walked about ten metres away from where the portal lay, to get some bearings on where they were.

Immediately, he recognized one of the seven natural wonders of the world, the Paricutin Volcano – one of the youngest volcanoes on the Earth.  The ground was covered in lava, pumice and ash, but vegetation had started to grow.  There were green bushes here and there.  They were near the base of the volcano, well away from where the tourists may visit.  The portal was quite concealed, and hard to see.  It already was camouflaged well.