Soulmates by Mindy Kincade Page B

she rose from the bed. She staggered into the kitchen and Paulette threw her a piece of bread.
    “I’m not hungry,” said Presley.
    “You need to eat,” insisted Paulette. “We have a long journey ahead and you’ll need your strength."
    There was a knock at the door and Jesse walked inside. He had a book under his right arm. Without even a glance in Presley’s direction, he hastily walked to the kitchen table and opened the book.
    “There are several maps. See?” Jesse said as he flipped through the pages. “But this page here. This is where we’ll find Manna. It reads, The Castle of The Panacea of Gnostic .
    “Panacea of Gnostic?” Presley repeated. Jesse nodded.
    “See here?” he pointed to the written description at the bottom of the page. “Yeah, it means universe of knowledge. Hmm… manna apparently holds a wealth of wisdom about the universe. I believe this is where we need to go-to the castle,” he concluded.
    “How long will we have to travel?” asked Paulette. Jesse shrugged his shoulders, still not making eye contact with either of the girls.
    “At least two days, maybe three,” he said shortly.
    “I’m ready to go,” stated Presley.
    Jesse shook his head and took a deep breath as he firmly said, “I need you both to understand just how dangerous this is going to be. Fiend and the other spirits will find us. We have to stay together at all times,” Jesse demanded. Jesse pulled three small bright white stones out of a bag.
    “What are those?” asked Presley.
    “Crystals,” Jesse replied. “The Book of Codes shows us that the crystals will protect us. They keep the evil spirits away somehow, I think.” He flipped through more pages. “Here’s a picture of Gracie. The book illustrates the layers of rich black soil mixed with crystals.” He turned the page, “Now, this page I don’t really understand.
    It was a drawing of frightening demons with red eyes, each with a large black X drawn through them.
    “That must be how Gracie can protect us. The crystals are what makes Gracie special,” Jesse shook his head, “I don’t know how this all works. Manna is the only one who truly knows,” he said.
    “The Book of Codes was left here to help us figure out how to live here. It warns us of the evil that lurks outside of our town,” Paulette said, as she pointed to the page opposite of the illustrated demons. “See, the picture of the crystals here? There’s a line drawn to the crossed out demons.”
    “So, the crystals must kill the demons-somehow,” Presley deducted.
    “The crystals have a direct effect on Gracie and this land. This much we do know,” said Jesse. “My theory is that Manna knew that humans would come to this planet and he wanted to help protect us from Fiend. Without the crystals on this land we wouldn’t have been able to live here safely for all these years. We’d all be dead. I don’t know exactly how much power these three crystals hold, or exactly what they do, but I do know that we need to take them with us. When I discovered this book, these crystals were lying next to it.”
    “We need to have plenty of food and water, enough for a three day trip. I’ll be back. Get ready to go! Oh, and Presley’s clothes are ready. They’re out on the line. Hurry up!” he snapped. Jesse walked out of the cabin, the door slamming behind him. Startled by the loud noise, Paulette’s eyes grew big as she looked toward Presley.
    “Wonder what’s wrong with him. He barely even looked at you,” Paulette whispered.
    “I know what’s wrong with him. He asked me to stay here with him and I told him no,” Presley said as she rolled her eyes. “That sounds even dumber when I say it out loud.”
    “He asked you to stay? What’s he thinking? He must have it bad for you!” Presley chuckled.
    “I guess so. I don’t understand his intentions, though. He acts as if he likes me, but then he goes on and on about how Emily was his one true love. Anyway, I have a