Free The Torn Guardian by J.D. Wilde Page B

against the wall again, and the path to the shore appears when the vines are done disconnecting.
    “Of course,” Grace simply responds. I roll my eyes at both of them, though neither notice. These two really are not going to make this a smooth process. We walk out with Grace in front, me in the center, and Adira behind.
    “It’s going to get worse no matter what, isn’t it?” Adira whispers in my ear because she does not want Grace to know she is worried.
    “Everything is going to be all right, Adira. I promise,” I comfort in a hushed tone. My words seem to have worked as Adira slightly smiles and relaxes at bit more as we continue walking. I’m glad they came out much stronger than I thought they would, so at least one of us feels better. I have in reality made myself more nervous than before. I made my first ever promise; I only hope I can keep it.
    Before we leave the beach, Grace turns to me and asks what the plan is. Adira also voices her curiosity about what exactly I have in mind, and boy are they both about to be disappointed. I don’t have a plan.
    Getting the two of them to work together is my plan, and since they both agreed to, I’m stuck on how we shall proceed. Neither of the two are pleased to hear this, and for the first time since I’ve met them, they both agree on something. Neither Grace nor Adira are leaving the island till we have something in place that we all agree on.
    Their agreeableness with each other does not last long. Both are yelling and screaming about how the other one’s plan won’t work. Their constant bickering is getting us nowhere, so I ask Adira why we can’t use some of the stone from the cave. After she shows hesitation to tell us, Grace asks nicely claiming she just wants to understand what the big deal is. Adira relents and finally tells us the reason.
    The stone, or Viroca as it called by her people, is not a lifeless rock. It is a living creature directly connected to the island through its water, soil, and sand. Every living being on the island whether it plant or animal is connected to it. To mine the stone and take it away is killing a piece of the island.
    It’s interesting and farfetched. I’m not the only one who is not convinced; the explanation is not enough for Grace either. She continues to question Adira with her voice full of skepticism, so Adira elaborates. The Viroca is connected to the island through its water and soil. Both the animals and human drink the water and eat the plants grown in this ground. Over time the Viroca becomes a part of them, and connects the living beings around one common core. This connection is how the islanders tamed the large jungle cats I saw on the beach.
    I get it, but Grace is still sporting a confused look. She asks how a merchant got a piece of it to sell as jewelry if it is so sacred and important, which causes Adira’s facial expression to match Grace’s. Adira claims until Grace showed up, no one touched the Viroca making it either very old or not from the island. She is leaning towards not from the island, since the Viroca cannot live for a long period of time without being connected to its large host where the nutrients are stored.
    Grace does not buy it and pressures further insisting the man stated the stone came from here, but Adira does not budge. She stands strong as she hisses back that either the man or merchant is lying then. I break up their fight yet again with a plan of our next move in my mind. We are going to find the merchant in Oriare.
    Grace feigns deafness and asks me to speak up because she cannot believe I want them to sneak into a locked down country to find a jeweler. Her attitude is going to get annoying very quickly, but I keep myself composed. I calmly ask if she has any better ideas, knowing full well she does not.
    While I personally side with Grace and doubt the rock is as important as Adira claims, we need to respect her customs if she is going to willingly work with us. This jeweler