Once I learned who Ric was, I was making him the biggest batch of cookies known to man or giant. It all made sense now as I looked over all my notes from my visions over the last few weeks. The frost on the commander team was right. It was all connected. 

Later that night, Alana, Moreno, Ashton, Ezra, and I locked ourselves in the commander's office on yet another video call. Doc wasn't able to join us, so we only had the advice of Bryan Station, Tyler Meager, and Lyssa Johnson. It wasn't a bad group for a war council, but I wished that my great-aunt could be here to advise us.

"So, based on all the information you've gathered, you believe that Ellenora and her followers have Carisma at the camp that sieges Snowdon." Lyssa ran a hand down her frosty skin. "That won't be an easy place to get in or out, young ones."

"We know," Alana said. "But we have something that they want."

"Under no circumstances can you hand Miss Oakeley over to the giant rebels," Tyler said. "No matter what the king says, we are supposed to protect our own. That includes Carisma and Terri."

"We won't lose either of them," Ashton said. "Ezra knows the area around Snowdon well and he's familiar with the siege. If the five of us go as a strike team, we can retrieve Carisma. We cause a diversion at the gate and the others go and get Carisma."

The commanders all nodded except Bryan. The older half-giant seemed more cautious as he stared at us with a two-toned piercing glare that I hadn't recognized before. One of his eyes was silver, and the other was brown, marking him as a halfant with abilities like me. 

"This is dangerous," he said. "And if it weren't one of our own, I'd advise against this entirely. We're going against direct orders and the consequences for that won't be pretty."

"The consequences at this point we can deal with," Lyssa said. "We've done it before. We can deal with it again. We shouldn't let Tytan push us around as much as we do. We are autonomous because we aren't citizens of either realm. He isn't our boss."

"But he can make our life difficult," Tyler said. "We can't forget that. Do this as quickly and discreetly as you can."

"Get rest first," Bryan said. "You all look exhausted." 

"Can I ask what we're doing with Gayle?" Ashton said. "Have you made a decision?"

"We'll need a full military tribunal," Lyssa said. "It will probably come to a vote after Doc decides the charges and punishment. Leave her in that cell, but don't interrogate her anymore. Treat her like a standard giant who has broken Jontun's law."

Ashton nodded. I had no idea how halfants dealt out discipline. A full military tribunal didn't sound good. I almost felt bad for Gayle. 

The meeting ended quickly, and the screens went black. I looked around at my companions. Bryan was right. We all looked like we were seconds away from dropping. 

"When was the last time we had a military tribunal?" Moreno asked. 

Ezra sighed. "Six years ago, when Evans was accused of gross negligence when disciplining giants. We don't do these often. Discipline is usually only brought down by the commander. A full vote might mean she's expelled from Jontun."

"Who votes?" I asked. 

"Every active halfant who's served their full ten-year term," Ezra said. "Anyone can testify in the trial either for or in defense of the accused. The trials sometimes last days and then, after all the evidence is presented, the commanders and senior leaders decide a verdict and most often a sentence. Then, the assembly votes on the verdict, and the sentence will be carried out. We only do this in our most extreme cases. The most famous was when Drake Pennal was removed from his command post at Redwood."

"You'd know all about that," Moreno said. "Family history and all."

"Drake's cruel streak got my grandmother killed and left my mom motherless," Ezra said. "Other cases have been mostly repeating offenses of cruelty towards giants. Once we called a tribunal twenty years ago for a halfant who refused to do their duties, but that's rare. Tribunals mean somebody has seriously or irrevocably messed up."

"Tribunals usually either mean casting someone out of the giant world or sentencing them to Gorgon's Keep," Ashton said. "I'll be curious to see what Doc decides. Personally, I'm going to tell Lyssa when I get back that Gayle has little remorse for her actions. She still hasn't even apologized once, and she thinks what she did was justified."

"I know," Alana said. "But for now, we're on a mandatory rest break. Then we're leaving for Snowdon to get Carisma back."

I'd been briefed on halfant mandatory rest breaks by Moreno when we trained. At a minimum, halfants were required to sleep six and a half hours and if they didn't sleep enough in a three-day period, they could be removed from duty. They were allotted nine to sleep and recuperate a day. 

I went back with Moreno to his room. We both stripped the bulk of our hard gear and he crashed almost as soon as we crawled into the bed. I envied that he seemed to be able to fall asleep immediately. It took me much longer to drift off and once I was asleep, I was back in that strange state between dreaming and seeing the future. 

Smoke was all around me, deep and thick. I could feel eyes on me, but I didn't try to summon any visions. I didn't want Ellenora or the king to try to get a leg up on my plans. Instead, I looked into the darkness and I called out a name. 

"Ric?"

An incorporeal figure appeared before me. This time there was more detail and color in his figure. He was the same height as me and a mixture of lavender, blue, and black smoke. The figure shook his head. 

"I told you coming back here was dangerous, Ree," he said. 

"Why do you call me that?" I asked. "You know who I am."

"I'm trying not to attract the wrong attention in here," he said. "And I've always called you Ree. Both your given name and your chosen nickname are notorious among those who swim in the spring. Maybe I'm trying to keep you safe, Ree, and you seem to be hell-bent on disobeying me."

I crossed my arms. "Maybe I don't like taking orders from strangers."

He chuckled. "I suppose that's what we are. Funny how that works. We shared so much at one time, only to be torn asunder, exiled, and winding back here, the very place we were never supposed to inherit."

"Do you ever say anything that makes sense?" I asked.

"The secrecy is necessary," Ric said. "Both of us want to keep our heads. Trust me, you have it much easier than I do, or have you not figured that out yet, Ree?"

I thought about all my visions of Ric. He always seemed to be locked up some place. My gut told me he was a prisoner. 

"Where is Tytan holding you?" I asked. 

"Oh, Ree," he said. "You can't focus on that yet. You need to help Moreno get his sister back."

"How do you know Moreno?" 

"It was a long time ago," Ric said. "And unimportant. He probably doesn't remember me. His sister, though, doesn't deserve to be with Ellenora. I'd get her myself, but my hands are tied. That leaves you, Ree. Horus Ethesis is not someone to be trifled with. Get Carisma away from his followers and bring her home. Then we can work on getting you on safer terms with the rest of the Nikones."

Ric was being willingly obtuse. For one reason or another, he wouldn't reveal his identify. Still, every fiber of my being trusted him. That seemed dangerous.

"Does that include you?" 

Ric laughed. "I've left you enough clues, Ree. Even if you can't figure it out, you don't need me. I'm not even a player in the game and that's for the best. Just consider me your guardian angel."

I sighed. "Why reach out to me if it all has to be so secretive?" 

"You came into the realm," he said. "And I never thought that would happen. Plus, I like talking to you. It's not like I get a lot of attention. I'll always be here for you, in your corner, Ree."

Someone shook my shoulder, and I looked around. When I opened my eyes, I was sitting in Moreno's bed. He was next to me with an alarmed expression on his face. 

"What were you dreaming about?" He asked. 

"I think it was some kind of vision," I said. "I keep seeing this dude who calls himself Ric. I've been seeing him in my visions a lot now. It's so strange, but this time we just talked without seeing any visions."

"It wasn't the future?" Moreno's frown deepened. "Is that even possible, Terri?"

"I don't know," Terri said. "But he knows me and I don't know why, but I trust him. He's helped me stay away from the other members of my family using power. He's good."

"And you're sure his name is Ric?" Moreno asked. 

"Well no," I said. "He calls me Ree, and he said that my name was dangerous. Maybe his is too? He wants us to rescue Carisma. I think... I don't know how, but he's mentioned you by name twice now."

Moreno pulled a hair tie off his nightstand and pulled his hair back into a messy bun. "I don't know anyone named Ric, Terri. I don't like that you're talking to some mystery dude, but if he can help us get my sister back, I think I can live with it."

I leaned forward and kissed him. "There's no contest, Jordan. I love you."

"I know," he murmured against my temple. "I don't know how I got so lucky."

A knock on the door interrupted his kisses. Alana pushed open the door dressed in full halfant tactical gear. Her hair was impeccably spiked, and she'd even lined her purple eyes with their customary white liner. 

"I see you two are ready," she crossed her arms. "Meet me in the kitchen in five and don't forget your shirt, Moreno."

Looking at Moreno's bare chest and boxers, I blushed. Alana shut the door and Moreno rolled off the bed to find his clothes. He tossed me my gear top, and I allowed him to secure the straps that fit it over my tank top. We both pulled on our pants and I tracked down my socks and shoes from various ends of the room. 

I dashed into his bathroom and pulled my hair back. There were shadows under my eyes, but I didn't want to bother with makeup. Then I splashed water on my face and took a deep breath. 

"Are you ready?" Moreno asked. 

"Yeah," I said. "Let's do this."

Hey friends!! It's time to face some giants! Let me know what you think of this chapter. There's more coming soon. What do you think will happen when Terri and Moreno find Carima? What will happen the next time Terri meets her mother? What vision will come true next? Until next time!