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.It is not like any other kiss that we have shared, it’s a promise.It tells me that he believes in me and regardless of what we will be facing, he will be there for me.I throw myself around him, squeezing him as tight as I possibly can.“I am so sorry for everything, Keagan” I whisper.When I glance up into his face I can see the surprise written across it.“Wow Trish! I never thought that I would ever hear those words leave them stubborn lips of yours!”“Well, now is the time to leave the past behind us.After all of this is over I want to really sit down and talk with you, talk about our future.” I look around and I am somewhat embarrassed to realize that everyone had just witnessed this moment between Keagan and I.Even Sam, I try to catch his eyes, but he signals his contempt by turning his head away from us both.Choosing instead to tie his already fastened shoelace and fiddle with his socks.Tisiphone chooses this moment to speak, inadvertently breaking the tension.Thank you Aunt Tisi! Clapping to get everyone’s attention she waits for quiet before speaking.“Right, everyone.We should start heading out; Maximus has made all of the necessary travel arrangements for us.”When my Mom, Helen and Marcus get up to leave with the rest of us Tisiphone turns to the three of them.“You three need to stay here.We need people at base camp to care for the wounded.Besides, none of you have received any combat training.” All three of them protest at once, but are cut short when Tisiphone effortlessly floats into the air, looks at them with white eyes and shouts“Enough! You will respect my decision.” This silences the protests.I guess even Furies can be stressed.Riley and Keagan turn to their parents to say their goodbyes and I head over to my beloved Mom.I guess I’ll have to do this without her.“I’ll see you soon enough Mom.I love you.” I know how my Mom is; there is nothing that makes me more uncomfortable than seeing her start to cry.To my surprise she holds it together and just gives me a crushing hug.“I love you too, Trish.I know you can do it.Show Allecto you mean business.” She whispers in my ear.I can hear a tremble in her voice.She releases me and wipes underneath her eyes before turning to Riley to give her a squeeze too.And then Keagan.“Take care of my girl, you two.”“Oh, we will.I promise!” He tells her very confidently, and then gives her a quick hug.“I’ll try my best!” adds Riley, cheerily.I turn to their parents and give them hugs; both of them squeeze me tightly and tell me to take good care of myself.After saying our goodbyes it is time to leave.We are all dressed ready for action.Each of us are sporting either black or dark blue.Keagan is dressed in black leather pants and a dark blue long sleeved shirt, his dark hair has been cropped short.Sam, just like Keagan, had his hair trimmed short too and keeps running his fingers through his none-existent hair.All of us have swords, either strapped to our waist or across our back, except for Kia.She does not feel comfortable with a weapon as she has not had real practice using one.I figure she has other weapons at her disposal like I do, but I want a sword, as a failsafe.You know, just in case.I look expectantly to Tisiphone figuring that she will lead the way to some kind of vehicle, but instead she takes one of my hands and calls everyone else over to us, instructing them to simply touch one of us.Keagan places his hands on mine; Riley puts her hands on top of her brother’s.Sam and Kia join our pile; it feels like we are all doing a team cheer after a soccer practice.We all just look at each other.None of us have a clue as to what is happening.She closes her eyes, so we all follow suit.After no more than a few seconds my stomach feels funny and I am overcome by lightheadedness.Thankfully, it’s over almost as soon as it had begun.When I open my eyes I am staring at the Golden Gate Bridge.Tisiphone had transported us right into the parking lot on the city side of the bridge.Luckily, I don’t think any of the people around us had noticed us just appear out of thin air.Instead, they were too busy snapping photographs and looking at the bridge.Which I understand, the bridge is very impressive, I got to see it the last time that I was in San Francisco with Chelsey.It is just as striking as the first time I saw it.Its giant orange colored structures and wires make it easy to see why it was known as ‘The 35 million dollar Steel Harp’ when it was first built in 1937.It is extremely wide, with several lanes of traffic on both sides and a pedestrian walkway, which is constantly used by tourists and locals of San Francisco alike.I cannot believe that this is where the war for humanity will be taking place shortly, but I guess at the same time I get it.Such an important landmark for such an important moment.I just hope that I can keep the death toll to less than the 11 men that died building the bridge.I look to the sky; there is no sign of an eclipse yet.The legendary San Francisco bay mist has cleared, uncovering a bright blue sky and blindingly bright sun.It is still high in the sky, telling me that it must be around noon, from what I have heard from Tisiphone and Maximus the eclipse is supposed to happen at around 1:00pm.“So what is the plan exactly? How are we going to both save Chelsey and make sure that Allecto does not get her hands on my powers?” I ask as we all look to Tisiphone, hoping for answers.“You all are probably not going to like our plan of action, Trish.First of all Riley and Sam will be look outs, our backup.They’ll need to blend in as best they can, try not to look out of place.Keagan, you will be staying right here with Maximus, under the cover of the building, out of sight.”“What do you mean that you want us to stay here?” Surprisingly, this comes from Maximus.“Trish has to be protected dear, since she and Keagan have such a connection that needs him to be safe in order to keep her safe I need to make sure that he will not be hurt while he helps Trish’s defenses.That’s where you come in dear; you will be Keagan’s bodyguard.His protector, you’re the best man for the job.” She takes his hand in hers and he nods approvingly of his wife’s reasoning.I know Keagan is disappointed too; he was so looking forward to wielding the sword currently strapped to his back.Her words bring a sense of panic to me, it’s as if my body has just realized that this is all real and not just a horrible nightmare.I feel like everything is crashing in around me, the panic starts in my stomach and works its way up to my chest.Tightness’ settles there and I feel like I can’t breathe.My stomach is beyond queasy and my hands begin to tremble slightly.I try to take deep breaths to calm myself as I really don’t want everyone around me to notice just how nervous and scared I am.Although, I bet they’re all feeling just the same.“So what exactly are we trying to accomplish here?” I ask Aunt Tisi as I fidget nervously with the white gold ring that sits on my right index finger.It is small and delicate, with a green gemstone laid out in the shape of a triangle in its center.The ring was a gift from Chelsey.She said that the green color of the emerald reminded her of my eyes; therefore she just had to get it for me.Thinking of Chelsey makes the panic subside just a little, she is one of the main reasons that I am here.I have to get her back to Dalton Academy safely.She has already been through so much because of me.“Trish, we have to ensure that Allecto does not follow through with her plan.You, Kia and I will meet Allecto and your Sister on the bridge at exactly three o’clock, as the eclipse is supposed to begin.Everyone else is going to remain hidden.If any of us notice A Collector then I need them taken care of immediately
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