FanStory.com - Setting Out For Concorde Valleyby davisr (Rhonda)

Background
Years after a fire took her parents lives and devastated her home, Echo works at a small town newspaper as an investigative reporter. Her past and present intermingle as she tries to escape danger.

End of last chapter:

Georgios patted her foot and looked with affection. "Fly, little sparrow. I'll see you on the other side. Theo will see you sooner." Then, the mail clad warrior slipped off into the mist.

With the sounds of war in the background, Echo did what her strange, new friend asked. She flew from branch to branch by what moonlight managed to filter through the great trees of the ancient forest. Carefully, she listened for signs of friend or foe as she sought to distance herself from the battle. Theo, she knew, would be along soon. When she felt safe enough, she and Sunny would sit and wait.

New Chapter Begins:

Echo's senses adjusted to her environment more quickly than she had imagined possible. She wasn't sure if it was a natural process or whether adrenaline played a factor, but was grateful for the awareness it afforded.

She could hear the sounds of night birds hunting, insects chirping, and even the movement of leaves and branches in the brisk air. In spite of her situation, she felt a sense of peace in the midst of undisturbed nature.

So in tune was she with her surroundings, she wasn't taken offguard when she heard movement in the branches beside her. She halted on a sturdy limb and listened. The movement stopped, but a familiar scent gave her pursuer away.

"Theo," she said, more a statement than a question.

Another rustle of branches and the one person she most wanted to see stood on the thick limb beside her. It was Theo, her Theo, his dark features dirty and blood stained, but Theo all the same. Soulful eyes drooped from fatigue, tender features illuminated with a smile. He reached one hand and stroked her cheek, and with the other, took her backpack and carefully placed it around his shoulders. He felt Sunny shift in response, then settle.

Echo stroked her cat through the coarse fabric of the pack until she heard a reassuring mew.

"Is the fighting over?" she asked. Her dark blue eyes betrayed concern, her short hair glowed amber in the moonlight. An ever curious head tilted to one side as though searching for meaning beyond spoken words.

"Yeah, it mostly broke up as soon as you left."

"I'll bet the news media will have a field day with the mess y'all left."

Theo shook his head. "There's nothing for them to find. We know how to clean up after ourselves. Even the Specters have need for stealth and anonymity."

"So they helped?" Echo's voice came out a bit as a squeak. It was certainly surprise news to her. From her experience with Specters, they didn't seem capable of doing anything cooperative.

"In their own way. We each took care of our own."

"What about security cameras?" she asked. "I know there had to be some outside the apartment building recording everything. Did you magic those away?"

Theo let out an explosive laugh, as though needing the release of tension. Sunny meowed in protest from his nest inside the backpack, and Echo crossed her arms in a bit of a pout. She had been serious.

"We didn't magic anything away," he said. He tapped his forehead against hers affectionately, "and cameras can't penetrate my green mist."

"Yeah, speaking of the green mist, that was way cool. Can you explain, please?"

"At this moment, I'd rather not. You deserve better than a quick explanation in the dark. I will say it had the added benefit of blocking anyone trying to take videos on their phones."

"Well, that covers the next question I was going to ask. Did anyone call the police while you were there?"

"Yeah, and they showed up, but not before the cleanup. I explained there was some sort of gang violence and it had dispersed."

"Did they believe you?"

"For the most part. People usually believe what they expect. If I had told them the truth, they would've had me checked for a head wound."

"Looking at you right now, they would have believed it possible. You're a mess."

"Thank you so much, and I think you're lovely, too. They did offer to call me an ambulance, but I told them I could drive myself."

"Which you didn't do because your car wasn't even there."

"Exactly, but they didn't seem to notice. While they were interviewing witnesses, I slipped off into the woods, and here I am."

Echo smiled and patted her cat again. She was infinitely glad he had found her, and wasn't even going to ask him how he had done it, but she did have another question. "What will we do when your story falls apart and they come looking for us?"

"Under the circumstances, we can't do anything but distance ourselves from the conflict. In spite of my people's unique abilities to conceal our presence, there are just some things that either have to work themselves out, or remain a mystery."

"I understand, or at least I do in part, but my grandparents need to be told something. I wasn't able to call them from my apartment."

Theo reached into an inner pocket of his police jacket and pulled out his personal cell phone. "Make a quick call, then drop the phone on the forest floor so they can't locate us past this point. We're about to head in a different direction."

"What do you think I should say to them?"

"What were you going to tell them at your apartment?"

"That I was with you and safe."

"Then say that. Tell them I'll reunite you as soon as I can."

Echo nodded. Considering their plight, it would have to do for the present. For whatever reason great danger had found her, she knew she must let go of her dogged nature and trust. The time for answers would come later, for her and for her grandparents.

She made her call, one of the most difficult she'd ever made, then dropped the phone to the forest floor. She looked at Theo, who nodded approval. He leaned his shoulder against the tree and looked at her somberly. In spite of everything, her heart skipped a beat.

"Are you still fearless?" he asked.

Echo squinted and put her hands on her hips. "I'm not quite sure how to answer that."

"Do you remember your response long ago when I asked if you wanted to learn to climb a tree?"

Echo couldn't help but grin. That day was etched in her mind forever. "I remember," she said. "I told you I wasn't afraid of anything, but I've become a bit jaded since then. Still, I'm an investigative reporter and we're a pretty brave bunch."

"Just more paranoid?"

"If you're referring to me thinking you were the serial killer," Echo said, "remember I was being stalked at the time. The only description anyone had of a possible assailant fit you."

"But now you've seen the Specters, you know why."

"I only know that you look like them," Echo said, "not why."

"They share Greek roots with me."

"And a mysterious nature?"

"I'm not a mystery anymore, am I?"

"Let me consult my list of things you won't talk to me about and get back to you on that one," Echo said. She wasn't going to let that comment go by without challenge.

Theo gave a slight bow. "That's fair. Please be patient for a little longer. As I said, you deserve a proper explanation, and for now, we've got to get going. We need to distance ourselves from this phone and head for Concorde Valley. Destiny awaits."

Echo looked him square in the face. "That's a bit dramatic." Theo winked back, then gestured with his hand towards the trees ahead. It was time to go.