Star Crossed In Time

Xia appears back in the same open field as before but the skies were now dark with heavy black clouds and Eli was no longer basking on the large rock. The wind in the open field wipes around her long white dress and long dark hair but her face was in a mask of worry and fear as she thinks about what to tell Eli. As she walks past the magic barrier, a wave of dark power washes over her making her shiver. The entrance to the cave is dark and empty but she can feel Eli's presence like a cold breath on the back of her neck. She pauses for a moment and takes a deep calming voice when she suddenly hears "What happened?"

She quickly turns to find Eli's ice-cold blue eyes watching her from the darkness, instantly making her heart jump as she says "I... I was discovered by a strange woman. I believe she came from your old world... she told the others, including Nova, that I was with you." She instantly feels his anger suċkɨnġ out all the air in the dark cave, making it difficult to breathe as he steps closer. "She told Nova that you were with me? She told her we slept together?" He asks, voice so low and dangerous that the very air shivered in fear.

Xia falls to her knees and quickly says "She was strange... she even looked like Nova a little but she said she could.... smell me. I didn't tell them! I promise!" Eli's anger spikes as he yells "Silence!" The command snaps at her like a whip causing her entire body to sting like she'd been slapped but she knew it was his power. He was so angry that it was literally stinging her skin like a million wasps attacking her. He was so angry... She has never seen him this angry before!

"Eli... please! It wasn't my fault! I was being careful! It was all that woman's fault!" Xia says with fear and panic. Eli suddenly appears before her and kicks her. Xia flies back several feet before hitting the other side of the cave wall. The air is instantly knocked out of her as she feels a few ribs crack at the impact. She falls to the ground and coughs up a mouthful of blood. Eli is before her again but this time he slowly kneels down before her and grabs her chin, forcing her to look at him as he asks "Who is this woman you speak of?"

Xia struggles to breathe as she says "Her name... she said her name was Eris." Eli frowns at her and ċȯċks his head to the side as he says "I don't know anyone by that name. Neither does Nova. What else can you tell me about this woman?" Xia grits her teeth in anger but when Eli tightens his grip on her chin, she quickly begins telling him everything she knows. After a while, Eli releases Xia's chin and stands up with a thoughtful expression. Xia uses her powers to heal her ribs

as she sits up and wipes the blood from her mouth with anger.

Eli wipes his hand like he touched something dirty, instantly making Xia's heart clench. He then turns to her and says "This time you've truly screwed up. You'll be punished for your failure." Xia's heart instantly soars in excitement at the thought of being punished by him again but what he does next has her blood running cold. He lifts a hand and hits her with a powerful blast, nearly knocking her out. She tries to wrap her powers around her in a protective manner but nothing happens.

Her heart races in fear as she tries again but when nothing happens, she looks at Eli with large, scared eyes and asks "What have you done?"

His smile slowly creeps across his face as he says "Do you think I didn't know how much you enjoyed my punishments? Tsk, I thought you were smarter than that. I took your powers and I will give you to my pets for the night. If you survive until the morning, I'll pull you out." Xia's heart nearly stops as she thinks about his "pets". She crawls across the floor and tries to grab his leg as she begs "Please don't! Please! I beg you!! I won't make another mistake! I promise!!! I'll bring her to you, I'll bring her!!"

Eli easily kicks her off and says "You'll have a chance to make it up to me once your punishment is over." He grabs her by the hair and begins dragging her towards the back of the cave. Xia screams for mercy and begs for him to spare her but Eli ignores her with an evil smile. Eli drags her over to a large grate covering a large dark hole. He easily pulls the metal grate up and tosses Xia down into the dark hole with a satisfied smile.

Xia lands hard and cries out again. She quickly scrambles to her feet and screams "Eli!! Please!! I'm begging you not to do this!! Please!!" Eli watches her with a knowing smile as he says "You seem to like pain so I feel like you'll fit in just right down there. If you pŀėȧsurė them well enough, they'll let you live." With his parting words, he slams the metal grate back down and walks away, completely ignoring Xia's screams. It seems like he will be meeting Nova sooner than he originally thought. His smile grows as he thinks about their meeting.

~~~~~~~~~~~

After Xia disappears, Eris turns to look at me and slightly scratches the side of her neck as she asks "Do you need help with this man?" I give her a warm, grateful smile as I shake my head no and say "As much as I would enjoy watching you grow flowers out his buŧŧ, this is a battle I must fight myself. I have to do this or I won't ever be free." She gives me a knowing smile with a twinkle in her beautiful eyes and says "And you will, mark my words. If you ever need me again, you know how to call me." She looks down at the ground and says a few words under her breath.

The ground under us lights up again in a white light as she looks up and says "It was a pŀėȧsurė meeting all of you and I look forward to seeing you all again." Her long white hair begins to lift and float in the air as her eyes begin to glow again. She looks at me with a knowing smile as she gives me a wink and says "Own your light and watch everything fall into place." She suddenly disappears and leaves nothing but a soft floral smell behind. Bai Lei holds my hand and when I turn back to him I see him watching me with a smile as he says "I actually like her."

I chuckle and nod my head as I say "That makes two of us." Suddenly, Guozhi drops to his knees and cries out "She didn't even tell me bye!!! How cruel!! She steals my heart and then throws it to the side like it's nothing! How could she!? Are all the women from your world so cruel!? Is this normal!??" I look at him with a perplexed look and say "Well... She didn't seem interested... you know?" Guozhi looks like he's about to cry so I quickly say "It's probably because she was working. The women from my world are very professional. When we're working, we like to stay on task. She was probably too shy to tell you bye..."

Guozhi looks a little better as he takes my words to heart and begins nodding his head in understanding. Bai Lei bites his inner cheek to keep from smiling but I can still see the side of his mouth twitching so I quickly elbow him and say "Let's head back." The two agree and we all tell the old bald man bye. He's left with the basket of herbs Eris was supposed to take but didn't but otherwise, he looks like he's on cloud nine. I guess in a way, he met an idol of sorts when Eris showed up. I giggle at the thought and quickly leave with the rest. It does make me think though... there are witches in my old world? Really? How had I not known?

But if I were to really think about it, with the power Eris has, it wouldn't be hard for her to hide from humans. I nod my head and turn to find Bai Lei watching me with a small smile. "Done?" He asks with a knowing smile. I chuckle and nod my head and say "I just found it crazy to know that Eris came from my world but I had no idea witches were actually real. I didn't know my world actually had magic." Bai Lei frowns and says "You told me everything was magic in your world..." I choke and lightly laugh as I say "To be honest, none of that was actually magic. I only said that because it was entirely too complicated to explain otherwise. Even if I told you how each and every one of those worked, you still wouldn't understand."

Bai Lei watches me carefully and slowly nods his head but he doesn't seem to happy about me treating him like a child. I lean over and place a small kiss on his cheek as I say "I'm sorry if I upset you, I can explain everything if you want." He turns his head and quickly catches my lips and says "No, I don't care how anything from your world works, except for you." My lips tug up at his words as I lightly kiss him again and say "I can tell you anything you'd like to know." His smile turns dark as he slides his hands along my sides saying "Instead of you telling me, I'd rather discover them one by one myself."

Suddenly, there's a large explosion that rocks the entire palace. Bai Lei curses under his breath as we rush to the front gates. The others were gathering there as well when we walk up. Bun leaps onto my shoulder and tucks himself under my hair, next to my neck as we step closer. There in front of the golden gates is the body of a severely beaten man, curled up on his side and not moving. I frown and look around but no one's near the gates. When I hear the man mȯȧn, I look down and freeze. "Ren!?" I call out and go running to him but Bai Lei quickly catches me and says "Stay back! No one touch him! He's been infected."