A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,116

was still unconscious. She reached down and pinched him on the arm, squeezing softly at first, then increasing the pressure. He did not react at first, concerning her, but his eyes started to flutter, then opened up, staring at her.

"Hailyn?!" He said, surprised to see her. He sat up, but felt confused, shaking his head. "What happened? The last thing I remember was fighting the half-man, then a flash of blinding light." His eyes suddenly went wide as he regained his bearings and he swiveled his head to and fro, looking around. "Cherise!" He shouted.

"Here, boy." Dominic's voice came from behind him.

Jake twisted to look behind, relief flooding through him when he saw Cherise being held by Dominic. He slowly stood up, Hailyn's hand protectively on his arm, and turned to face them. Once he was on his feet, Dominic gently extricated Cherise from her embrace and turned her to face Jake.

Jake could see from her face that Hailyn had healed her, though her clothes were still stained with blood. For a moment, when she first looked at him, Jake thought she flinched and appeared to be afraid of him. That shocked and hurt him deeply, wondering what caused her to recoil from him. He did not know what to say, feeling suddenly lost. Then, with a soft cry, she ran to him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his shoulder, weeping.

Jake held her tightly for a few moments, whispering reassurances to her as she cried. He glanced over at Hailyn and saw that her eyes were full of tears as she watched them.

Dominic had gone over to look through the half-men's clothes, seeking any information or clues. After he had gone through them, he retrieved Jake's sword, wiping the blood off before he handed it back to him.

"We need to go." Dominic said, his eyes moving, watching the shadows beyond the torchlight. "We are exposed" was all he said, clearly not wanting to frighten Cherise more.

"What happened?" Jake asked again. "I still don't know what happened to the last half-man."

"We'll discuss it back in the city, boy." Dominic replied, exchanging a look with Hailyn. "We should get the girl back to her parents. Take her to the horses; I will be right there." Dominic headed off into the woods.

With Hailyn's help, Jake was able to get Cherise to let go, even though she clung to his arm as they made their way back to the horses. Once there, Jake climbed into Dontas' saddle, then pulled Cherise up, allowing her to sit in front of him while he wrapped his arms around her.

Hailyn stood next to Dontas, her hand resting on Jake's leg. She looked up at him, concern on her face. "How are you feeling, Jake?"

"Fine, I guess." Jake replied, shifting slightly when Cherise moved. "I just feel a little off. Must be all of the stress from the night."

"Let me look at you again." Hailyn said, as she embraced her power. Jake felt the familiar warmth spread through his body. She seemed to be troubled by something, but before Jake could ask, she released her power and gave Jake a reassuring smile, which he returned. She did not remove her hand, though.

After several minutes, Dominic appeared, leading three horses. He handed to reins of one to Hailyn and helped her onto its back. He tied off the reins of another to his saddle and had Jake do the same with the last one. He pulled himself into his saddle and led their small band back towards the city.

Jake was a little surprised that they kept the horses at a slow pace, Dominic apparently not feeling the need to press them. It took them nearly half an hour at that pace to reach the city gates. When they reached them, there was a line of soldiers blocking the open gate, large torches burning to light the area. Dominic rode up to them, then stopped when they did not move out of his way.

"What is going on?" Dominic demanded to the solder who appeared to be in charge, face calm, but a tone of anger in his voice. "Let us through."

"I am sorry, Dominic, but I have orders not to allow anyone entrance until daylight." The young officer said, looking a bit pale as he faced Dominic.

"I'm sure those orders were not meant to prevent a cleric and a young hostage rescued from the half-men from the safety of the city walls." Dominic growled, eyes boring