Hi, Readers!! So excited to get this chapter up for you. As promised, there is a video (at the end) made to go exclusively with this chapter too! As always, love to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and edits. Hugs, XoXo -Amber

(Wren Speaking)

I'm pretty sure when I told Gran about my planned night out with Jaxon, if I mentioned it was going to include a trip to Preston, she would not have approved. Preston was the nearest thing to city life as one could get, complete with great shopping, restaurants, and nightlife. I had only been there a couple of times, as the closest we'd ever lived to it was an hour away by car. I don't think Gran ever understood my fascination with making the trip.

"Uh, Jaxon? Where are you taking us?" I asked, looking at the tall buildings as we drove by them.

"We're celebrating, and I'm keeping this part of our night a surprise."

"I know where we are," Sage piped up like she had just figured it out his secret. She was practically strumming with excitement, barreling out the car door the second we stopped. She was already standing on the sidewalk, waving at the rest of us to hurry up and we hadn't even undone our seat belts yet.

After seeing her excitement, I couldn't help but look at Jax for more information. "What am I missing? I don't get it?" He just shook his head and grinned. There was no way I was getting him to spill his plans to me.

"Come on, you two. I can't hold her back for much longer." Robin laughed as Sage dragged him across the street by his arm. "I think she's excited."

"You're going to love this." Jax reached for my hand and wove his fingers between mine. Then we stepped off the curb, jogged across the street and walked about a block down to stand in front of a bricked up doorway with the words, Touch of Home imprinted in the middle of them. With the weeds growing through the sidewalk and green paint peeling off the building, it looked like the place hadn't been used in years.

"Touch of home," I read the words aloud. "I'm sure glad my house doesn't look like this. It doesn't look very homey."

Sage laughed as removed her necklace and wrapped it around her hand. "Touch," she pointed out, "has more of a literal meaning here." She wiggled her fingers, then placed her hand over the letters on the door. The sign's letters lit up and changed from a dull black to bright purple color. The bricks that filled in the doorway shimmered and sparkled, then dissipated like dust. As soon as our group had made it through the archway, the bricks magically reformed behind us, leaving us in a room that appeared to have no other exit.

I felt like I had just entered the most unusual shop, I'd ever seen. It was filled with odds and ends that were stacked, piled and tossed in every available space the room had to offer. The wall closest to us contained shelves of hundreds of small jars, with their contents labeled on the front of them. I walked over and picked one up and thought they looked like they might be intended for use in potions. I ran my finger over the names of a row of salts, Red Sea, Celtic Sea, large flake, fleur de sel, and Himalayan pure. There had to be twenty different types of salt alone. I couldn't help but look at the magical sounding items on the shelf below. Eye of newt, ground bat wings, glowing moonlight lavender, deadly black mamba venom, dried spider legs, spiced yarrow and hundreds of other glass jars and tins containing something even more unusual than the container before it.

Just beyond a table filled with tarot cards, candles, and scented oils, there was a young woman standing behind a glass case containing an array of Acklemarian stones.

"Ooh, this is a treat. It's nice to see you again Your Highness. The Fire Circle's attendance here is always welcome," she said, recognizing Jaxon. "We haven't seen you stop by for some time, though. You've brought friends too—Forest Mage," she smiled and nodded, like she had met Robin before. "A healer—and my, my, a weaver is in our midst, you do keep unique company don't you?"

"How on earth does she know that? How do you, how do you know that?" I demanded, feeling a little surprised by her more than insightful accuracy.

"So sad. You haven't told your princess of us yet, Second?" she pouted. Not quite understanding what she meant by that statement, I looked over at Jax trying figure out what exactly she was suggesting. Then she giggled, seeing my reaction, "No, we're not involved that way." She smiled and glanced back at Jaxon. "Just business I'm afraid. My sisters and I are Travelers, but we are more well-known for our other unique abilities."

"Yeah, Nebula is not only recognized for her abilities as a seer, but she is also remembered for her somewhat creepy introductions," Robin chimed in.

"Nice to see you too, Robin."

"Hey, just telling ya."

"Yeah, sort of eerie but I like it," Sage replied, looking up from the glass orb she was holding. She placed it back in the basket on the table with the others. "Hi, I'm Sage," she waved. "Cool place by the way."

She nodded and turned to Jaxon, "So, Your Highness, how can I help you today?" She asked running her hands along the counter.

"Hmm, why, don't you tell me? It's not like you don't know."

"Ah, you do take all the fun out of asking. All right, I trust you three can find your way around once you're there?" she said, pointing at Jax, Robin, and Sage.

"Three? You can plainly see it's four," Jaxon responded, with a little more heat behind his words as he took my hand.

"I see three Acklemarians and one Weaver. You know the rules as well as I do. I must admit all Acklemarians, wizards, and witches. Even by our introductions, you've already admitted she's none of these."

I could feel the tension roll off Jaxon in waves like she had just crossed the line and she was about to pay for it.

I tugged on his hand. "Jax, it's all right. I'm happy to do whatever tonight, it's not that big of a deal."

"I'm not a someone you want to make angry, Nebula," he said ignoring me.

"Neither am I." She waved her hand like she dismissed him, and the three of them disappeared before my eyes leaving me standing there all by myself. "That one has a temper, so impatient, never waiting to hear the full answer. Now, if he just heard me out, which I knew he wouldn't, he would have known I can't send someone who has the ability within themselves to travel. But I have a feeling that wasn't something you were quite ready to have him know yet."

Wow, she was good. "How on Earth? What did you do to my friends? You better tell me right now where they are." I demanded, crossing my arms, trying to ignore how much she knew already knew about me.

"Relax, they're fine. I've sent them to The Plasma Lounge. Sending anyone further than that requires moon alignment, timing, and, at least, one more Traveler to open a portal," she stated calmly. "How on earth..." she mumbled, "there is nothing earthly about a Traveler's ability, that's for sure." She leaned on the counter and smiled. "I've been looking forward to talking to you for some time. Come, I already have a pot of hot water boiling for our visit. How about I try and answer some questions for you over a cup of tea?" When she saw that I wasn't budging from the spot I was standing in, she sighed. "I promise you they're fine. The Plasma Lounge is an interstellar gathering place of sorts. Once the impact of their transport has worn off, they can come back."

She motioned me over to a small round table with two chairs at it. I took a seat and watched her pour the hot water from an electric kettle into a china teapot, then picked up two cups and saucers and placed them in the center of the table. She reached over to the sideboard and plucked a tin and a teaspoon off the top. After measuring out a scoop of tea into each cup, she slowly poured the water over the leaves letting them brew.

"You can't send me?"

"I don't need to do what you can do for yourself. But to answer your question, no, I can't."

"Well, it's not like I know how it works. Every time I've traveled, it was unintentional."

She nodded like she understood. "Your skills are different than an Acklemarian's, a combination of the two worlds you come from. Why don't you tell me about the few times you have traveled and maybe I can help?" she suggested, as she picked up her teacup and began to swirl the leaves in a clockwise direction a few times.

I looked at her, trying to figure out if I should say anything about Kellan, but then again with my luck, she could probably see what I was thinking anyway. "Sure, why not." Then I filled her in with some of the details.

"It seems that this Kellan has a way of getting to you. He wouldn't happen to be the Kellan from the Water Circle?" she inquired, looking casually up from her cup.

"If there's more than one, God help me." I picked up my tea and swirled twice. I was about to take a sip when she motioned I should swirl it another time.

"While you can travel without the restrictions that I might have, it seems, like most Acklemarians, your emotions play into how well you can use your abilities."

"Well, I was pretty mad at Kellan both times I traveled, so that explains a lot," I said taking a sip.

"You should be able to focus any intense emotion to connect with the circle, and then draw the power needed to make a leap. That, and a strong desire to be in a particular place."

"I remember wanting to yell at Kellan in person for the verbal torment he was spewing in my head, so I guess that makes sense." I took another sip from the cup not quite finishing it off. When I placed it back on the table, she had a look inside, then picked it up and turned it over onto the saucer, letting the remainder of the tea drain off.

"So, of all the places in the universe to end up, why Earth?" I asked.

"All Travelers, are stationed somewhere. The portals home, need a keeper to allow who comes and goes."

"Ah, but where does that leave me then?"

"Good question. I'm glad you understand the Traveler Guild's interest in you," she said turning over the cup cradling it in her hands. "Hmm, you have quite the decision to make," she laughed, point to what looked like a stick with a fork in it that started from two separate directions. "Your future after that rests entirely on that decision. See?" When she titled the cup, I got what she was saying. The stick looked like it had pushed into a round globe, where all the tea leaves had muddled together.

I guess I wasn't getting any easy answers here to Jaxon's impending proposal deadline. "I thought you are a seer? Can't you see everything?"

"I can only see one of many paths for an individual. But with you, I get what's immediately on the surface. You're a Weaver, and you're still trying to figure out your abilities, but as for your future?" She tipped the cup, so the leafy blob faced me, "This is all I get."

"How much longer do you think they are going to be?" I commented, changing the subject. She sat the cup back on the table and I noticed the pattern in the leaves had changed. "Hey, look the blob sort of resembles the shape of a heart now."

"So, it does," she said glancing down at the leaves again. "But going back to your question, why don't you go to them? In this room, the power of the gate is all around us. It's relatively easy to use traveling abilities here if you want to learn. I bet you can do it with a little direction."

"Really? You'll help me?"

"There isn't any rule saying I can't. I'm game if you are."

"Sure. What do I do?"

"Think of Jaxon and one moment that you felt completely connected to him. When you have that in your head, then simply wish deep down in your core to be with him. We better get you there soon too. Apparently, my sending him on without you has set him off, and he's giving my partner a hard time."

"How do you know that?"

"My ring partner is the Traveler manning the lounge right now," she replied, tapping her head.

"Oh, I should go before he starts burning the place down." I cringed and took a deep breath. "Okay, here goes nothing." It only took me a second to see my hand drag over his sweep, feeling the connection to him, letting the warmth of the memory wash over me. I wanted nothing more than to stand next to him feeling so intimately close. Then a moment later, my ears were ringing with a loud thumping the music playing around me. When I opened my eyes, I was looking at a packed dance floor, standing next to Jaxon.

"Thank the Circle!" He threw his arms around me kissing my forehead. "I was going out of my mind when they told me we couldn't go back yet. Something about a waiting period before traveling again."

"I just was told— You are here!" Sage exclaimed, noticing my arrival. "I was trying to figure out how to get back to the shop when the Traveler at the door told me you were on your way."

"I'm going to kill Nebula, next time I see her."

"Jax. It's not her fault. Anyway, I'm here now. What did I miss?"

"Not much. We figured we had to wait a bit, so, Jax just ordered us some drinks. Now that the crisis is averted, I'm going to use the ladies room. Back in a minute. Don't step on that dance floor without me."

"Okay, promise."

Robin nudged me, "This one is for you," he said, passing me a martini glass. I just stared at the clear drink. Nestled in the center of the glass was a flame glowing inside the liquid. I gawked at it in amazement, wondering how was possible to have a flame inside a drink. He then waved at the server and asked for one more.

"The bartender called it a Fiesty Fire Bomb. He said it's usually only served on very special occasions, so I thought, why not? Cheers?" Jax held up his glass.

"Cheers." Robin picked up his flaming drink and held it in the air.

"Cheers." I watched the guys down their drinks in a couple of gulps.

"Hey, you need to shoot that drink. No sipping." Robin encouraged me, staring at my glass while he licked the spilled drink from his fingertips.

"Okay, okay. Bottoms up." I tipped the glass back and downed the contents, letting its sticky sweet taste warm my throat.

When I turned around, Sage was looking at the fire drink sitting on the counter. "Please say you didn't drink one of those."

"Nope, I guzzled it," I giggled. Within ten seconds of downing the clear liquid, the room began to spin. I felt completely overwhelmed with intense desire to be near Jaxon, to have him hold me and press his body against mine. "Sage? Sage, I want to dance. Let's dance!" I pleaded, leaning against her. She wasn't listening. Boo. She was fuming mad and arguing about something with the bartender. Whoo, stay away from angry girl, I thought.

I wandered onto the dance floor, thinking maybe I'll just dance for awhile. Then some strange guy with a beautiful face wrapped his arms around my waist. He had pretty eyes. Hazel with flecks of gold. Not my type, though. I squirmed out of his grip.

Where is fire boy? I wanted a kiss like the one we had earlier. Yeah.

That drink was so yummy. I felt warm and tingly all over. Where was Jaxon? I could see Sage, still freaking out texting something into her phone. She needed to relax and have one of those fire drinkies.

"Looking for me?" Jax asked, wrapping his arms around me.

"Yup, how did you know?" I flirted and pulled him in for a long kiss. It was a good thing he was holding me upright. My brain started flashing random image after image through my head at high speed. Streaming lights and sounds all were distorted. The words listen, listen kept repeating through my head.

You need to listen to me. Wren? I thought I heard a voice say.

When I opened my eyes, I realized Jaxon hadn't said anything. It was the Kellan hotline ringing in my head again.

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