A World Apart The Jake Thomas Trilogy - By Steven A. Tolle Page 0,95

in her eyes. She simply came over to Jake and pulled him into a strong embrace. Glancing over her shoulder, Jake could see Norlan looking at him; he gave Jake a smile and nod of his head as if to say "That was just the right thing to say."

...

"Jake."

Jake was so focused on his work project that he missed Norlan calling his name. He was at the smithy, pounding away at the heated metal of what he hoped would eventually be a passable shovel head. He really wanted to show Norlan that he had retained the lessons from the last several weeks. He was trying to finish a section before he had to set it aside for lunch, while keeping even and steady strokes of his hammer, as Helman had instructed him.

"BOY!" Dominic's voice boomed out, startling Jake so much that he almost lost his grip on the hammer.

Jake spun to see Dominic standing next to Norlan at the entrance to the yard, watching him. Jake also noticed that all of the normal sounds of the smithy had faded away. He could see that Almos and Dern had stopped working and were staring at awe at Dominic. That was, of course, until Helman noticed and got them working again.

Norlan waved at Jake, telling him to finish and come over; Dominic just stood there with his arms crossed. Jake quickly set aside his project and put away his tools, then went over to where they were standing.

"Change of plans today, boy." Dominic said without preamble. "Go get on your gear. We will eat at the Temple. Jonas wants to talk to you."

Jake quickly changed out of his work equipment and put on his armor and sword. He came back over to where the men were waiting. He was a bit surprised to see Norlan go over to Helman and give him some coins for lunch and join Jake as he followed Dominic out of the gate. Jake gave him a questioning look.

"Apparently, Brother Jonas has asked that I come as well." Norlan said, shrugging.

When they reached the Temple, an apprentice met them and led them to Jonas' quarters. Jonas had some food set out on the table when they arrived.

"It is good to see you, Norlan." Jonas said, shaking his hand in greeting while nodding at Jake. "I apologize for taking you away from the smithy. Please have something to eat."

After they all had eaten, an apprentice took away the dishes and they sat down at the table to talk.

"There are two things we need to speak about. First, I wanted to let you know that I have heard back from Tomaris." Jonas said, showing them a piece of parchment. Jake perked up, hope shining in his eyes. "He is intrigued by your story, but says that he does not know how you could have been brought here, Jake, or how to return you to your home."

He noticed Jake's crestfallen look and reached over to grasp his arm. "I'm sorry, Jake. We all wished for better news, but don't lose hope. Tomaris says that he would continue to research it. As I mentioned before, he has the most extensive library I know of. We will not rest until we get you home."

"I know that you are doing what you can, Jonas." Jake said sadly. Jonas had been so confident in this Tomaris that Jake assumed that any answer would be positive. His voice quivered slightly. "I'm grateful to you all, but I don't think I will ever get home..."

"Stop that moping, boy." Dominic said sharply, his deep voice cutting Jake off. "I understand your disappointment, but life is not fair nor does it always go as we plan. You simply have to take things as they are, not how you want them. The sooner you learn that, the more content you will be." His voice softened slightly. "Remember, you are not in this alone. You have friends here; we will help you as we can."

Jake, stung a bit by Dominic's tone, glared at him. Dominic simply cocked an eyebrow and met Jake's gaze, waiting. The seconds stretched out, as Jonas and Norlan sat silent, not wanting to interfere, before Jake took a deep breath and looked away. As much as he hated to admit it, Dominic was right.

"I understand that, Dominic." He said quietly. "I do appreciate your help." He looked over at Jonas. "You said we had two things to discuss?"

Jonas cleared his throat. "The other thing is more pleasant,