Igniting Spirit (Gathering Water Book 3) Page 15

  “Absolutely.”

  She grinned, reached over, and hugged me. “Good,” she said softly into my ear. When she pulled back, she reached a hand out to Ezra and quickly introduced herself, apologizing for not doing so immediately.

  Ezra relaxed beside me at her obvious approval, and it made me realize how stiff he’d been. I didn’t comment, though. It’s better to be a little uptight than too at ease in situations like this.

  “I’m assuming the table is for the Council? How is this going to work? It seems a little big for just the Council.” Looking around showed only the one table, not nearly large enough to fit everyone in attendance, but too large for just the Council, my father and I. Of course, it had no chairs, so I couldn’t tell how many people the table was intended for. That wasn’t unusual, the custom in Eurybis being that it was so easy to grow your own chair, it was pointless to have them hanging around taking up space, so you just built one when you needed one.

  Laurel turned and looked at the large oval table that filled up an entire chunk of the space of what was obviously a campsite. “Lord Derek thought it best to have a larger table so there is extra room between the council and you. He thinks the extra space will make them realize that he stands with you no matter what.” She looked around, and stepped even closer and dropped her voice. “I think he’s planning to leavethe Elfennol and wants the other two council members to know that he is by your side no matter what.”

  We stood quietly for a few seconds. I knew my father was prepared to do that, or at least I knew he said he was prepared to do that. But faced with the possibility made my head spin, and I was almost swallowed up with the burden of causing such a thing. Then I remembered why and instead of feeling that weight on my shoulders, I felt pride that my father was the type of man willing to do something because it was the right thing to do, even if it was the uncomfortable thing. That he was willing to stand by me and the rest of the Clades despite being raised to believe they were the epitome of evil — that he was willing to trust my word — well, I was honored to be his child. Humbled by it.

  “Where is everyone else going to be?” I asked her, finally.

  “You, of course, will be sitting to Lord Derek’s right, as his heir. Dux Neale will be on his left, with Ezra beside him. Your Grandfather, the former Dux Neale, will be on your right. I believe the Clade Elders will be on either side of your uncle and grandfather. Alexander, of course, will be standing behind you and Lord Derek,” she answered.

  We started walking towards the table, where my father was standing and speaking to Ian. The two men looked uneasy in each other’s presence, but it was good to see that they were already trying to move past several thousand years of bad blood between their peoples.

  “Why does Ezra need to sit on the other side of Uncle Connor. “ I really wanted to ask why he couldn’t just sit by me, but that sounded beyond clingy.

  “I was told that if you two are seated close together, the Council will assume that your human half has allowed you to be manipulated by Ezra. But now I think it has just as much to do with not letting them see what happens when the two of you touch,” she answered, just as we came to a halt in front of my father.

  “So you’ve seen it, Laurel?” Derek asked, as he and Ian adjusted their positions to include the three of us. I turned and looked for Connor and Toby, and was surprised to see that they were talking with another group of humans. I recognized a few of them as cousins from Thanksgiving and, as I watched, Steven and Heather Balint joined them. I almost forgot that there were humans besides my immediate family joined in this alliance. Ezra’s arm brushed mine, bringing me back to the conversation and merging our auras together. He’d been so quiet, I almost thought he’d wandered off somewhere. But he was just doing a great impression of Alexander instead.

  “How could I not?” She gave a pointed look in our direction. “Do you know what it means?” she asked him.

  “No, and until I find out, I’d rather not have the Council see it first hand,” Derek answered, looking at me and Ezra with a heavy gaze.

  “Excuse me,” Ezra’s voice was low, but firm as he addressed my father. “I’ve just gotten word that the other two council members will be here within five minutes. Our scouts say that there are about two dozen armed people with them.”

  Well, that explained why Ezra had been so quiet — he’d been communicating with his, ahem, our people. His aura was flaming wildly and I knew there was something wrong.

  I raised my brows at him, silently asking him what was up. He gave a small shake to his head and shrugged a shoulder. He wasn’t sure what was wrong.

  Alexander took that moment to rush over. “My Lord, I’ve just received word that Lady Etta and Lord Richard will be here soon. It seems that Lord Richard has brought around a score of the best fighters from his house. Lady Etta has two people with her, as is typical for traveling such a distance.”

  My father shifted the full weight of his gaze on Ezra, and I believe he was surprised that Ezra was able to relay the information before Alexander did.

  Derek finally turned around to face the table. “We should be seated when they arrive.” He then made chairs for me and him. Or thrones.

  They were made to be impressive, and I knew this was just another reminder for the rest of the council who was leader. My father’s was the largest, and at first I was a little surprised that they were the dark beige of the sand here instead of the black stone that he favored back in Eurybis until I remembered that the Ethnos could only make objects out of the available material. That meant sand, here.

  “Lord Derek, do you mind?” The title slid awkwardly from Ezra’s mouth. I don’t think the Clades referred to their Elders by any type of title. My father nodded, and I enhanced my Temper to watch, curious, to see what he was about to do. I could see Fire and Earth energy wrap around the chairs. The ribbons of energy were too thick to see what was happening clearly, so when a fast jet of Air replaced them then just as quickly dissipated, I gasped at what I saw. The loa had turned the three chairs into glass. They were thick enough that I wasn’t worried about them holding my weight, though they didn’t look remotely comfortable. They were definitely eye catching enough, however.

  “This will do nicely, Ezra.” Derek sat in his, and I followed suit while Ezra helped the rest of our party glassify their chairs as well before attending to his own and sitting.

  I craned my neck around and look at the members of my Elfennol house standing behind us, supporting us — ready to protect us if need be. Grouped to the left were representatives of the Dunamis allies of my human family. It was clear they were uncomfortable being around so many Elfennol, and I knew it had been at least a couple of generations since there had been any reason for the humans to be around so many Ethnos at once. Laurel was front and center, and she winked at me when I caught her eye. Alexander, unsurprisingly, stood behind my father and I, so close I could feel his body heat radiating on the back of my left arm. The people behind us quieted as if on cue, and I fought to not hold my breath when I saw our potential adversaries approach.

  I’d only met Etta and Richard once before at my Testing with Cash. Things had been so chaotic then that I don’t think I exchanged so much as a word with either of them. Richard didn’t have nearly as many people with him as our scouts had counted, but I assumed most of his party had spread out in the surrounding area to keep watch and report back to their leader if anything was amiss. It was smart.

  Etta seemed as if she were about to say something once they got close to the table, but Richard didn’t give her the chance.

  “Derek, having those beasts here is treason.” Richard’s voice was steady and threaded with something vaguely threatening.

  “Oh, quiet down and make a seat, Richard. I am certain that Derek has a very good reason for having Clade elders here, though I can’t imagine what they would be,” Etta told him in the same no-nonsense voice I remembered from my Testing. She then created herself a hammock-like chair,
clearly comfortable with it’s grass seat and cattail lined back. Richard, like my father, didn’t bother with comfort. He made himself a throne similar to Derek’s, except his wasn’t nifty and glass like ours were.

  “Thank you for coming so quickly,” my father told them, as if their coming a day earlier than expected was something he’d requested.

  “As if we could stay away. I see you found the Epiklayra,” Etta said, looking at me after speaking. At her side Richard shifted in his seat. I hoped his butt was falling asleep in the stupid chair. I know mine was.

  “Yes, and she brought along some friends. We were right to worry about her loyalties after all, Derek,” Richard said, and I realized we were going to have a problem.

  “I can assure you that my daughter is no traitor to our people. Their best interests lie within her heart. Which is why we are here today. With great risk to herself, Della has discovered Kaylus’s plot to open the portal home. We believe he has the means to do so, and his power is far more deadly than we previously thought.”

  “Says who? The Clades flanking you, or the half Dunamis at your side? Humans are easily fooled, Derek.” Richard spit the word “Dunamis” out as if it were foul tasting.

  My father’s gaze turned icey. “You forget yourself, Lord. My daughter is above reproach.” His fisted knuckles turned white on the table, then he took two deep breaths before continuing in the same calm tone. “Her words are true, and the Clades here can attest to Kaylus’ treachery. He nearly destroyed their home, and many people have lost their lives to Kaylus’ scheme. They have even more reason to find him.” He paused to let his words sink in, then continued. “We have been fools for too long concerning our brethren, and there is a gap between us that may not be bridged because of it. However, Kaylus poses a threat to us all, and we shouldn’t turn away such strong allies.”

  “Lord Derek, are you sure that Kaylus plans to do this? I agree, this is disturbing, but the Clades have wanted to break through that portal for millennia now, and none have come close. How can Kaylus do what others have failed?” Etta asked. At least she seemed open to the threat.

  “It seems that their priorities shifted some centuries ago, my friend. It is common knowledge among most of the Clades that to go home is to bring destruction to this world, without hope for the other one.”

  “You expect us to believe that the Clades are simply misunderstood, yet you tell us that Kaylus — one of their leaders — is intent upon destroying the world.” Richard sounded incredulous.

  “He has a point, Derek. If it is true, how did they not discover the depth of Kaylus’ depravity before? That he was still Elder among the Clades after the atrocities that he has committed proves that we are right about the Clades.”

  “It cannot be worse than the atrocities that are performed behind your very walls. Our people don’t murder infants!” Lena stood. It didn’t occur to me that she might have problems being around leaders of the people who killed her child — leaders who approved and encouraged such a thing. It also didn’t occur to me that the Elders didn’t know about the string of murders Kaylus had committed against Dunamis mothers and their infants.

  There was silence around the table.

  “We are Elfennol. Innocent lives do not suffer by our hands. Taking life is something your people do.” Etta looked shocked at the accusation.

  “Elder Lena speaks from experience, Lady Etta.” Alexander’s voice was full of sympathy. “Her own babe was murdered by her kin for the sin of being half Dunamis.”

  Etta looked at Lena, then at me, with shame in her eyes. I instantly knew it was a practice that — even if she had deemed necessary in the past — she found revolting.

  “Destroying monsters is not murder. We should have been more thorough in it.” Richard also looked at me, but there was no shame in his eyes, only my death. “Kaylus, however, killed many people. Mostly Dunamis women and their children. You curse us for what we do to protect our people, yet what excuse do you have for him? Alexander, you oversaw the cleanup of these attacks, did you not? You were even tasked to discover the purpose behind them, yet you side with them knowing what they are capable of.”

  Lena turned to look at Alexander. “Is this true about Kaylus?”

  He only nodded his head. Lena, deflated, sat back down.

  On the other side of Toby, Ian leaned forward. “Clearly we were not aware of these things. Had we been, it is unlikely we would be in the situation we are currently in.” Ian, so far, had struck me as a quiet and learned man, with very little steel in him. But there was anger in his words, a strong rage directed at the people across the table from us.

  “What do you mean by that, Clade?” Etta asked. There was no venom in her tone, only curiosity.

  “He means that if we had been in communication with the Clades on this subject, rather than let age old prejudices control us, they would have taken care of Kaylus before now. But we were not, because we assumed to be Clade was to be without decency.” My father spoke for Ian.

  Etta seemed unconcerned with their ignorance. “My earlier question has yet to be answered. Why do you think Kaylus will be able to achieve his goal? It is my understanding that the ability to open the portal was lost long ago, when we first arrived to this world. How is Kaylus able to do something that should be impossible?”

  “The ability wasn’t lost, only hidden. Etta, Richard, what do you know of the Thanatos?” my father asked. Richard, for the first time, looked uncomfortable, but said nothing.

  “They were the most corrupt of our people. Their lines were wiped out so their destruction would not be passed down and cause the downfall of another world,” Etta answered. I wasn’t surprised that she knew something about them; it was my understanding that she was the oldest among the Council, old even by Ethnos standards.

  “Do you know why they were considered so dangerous? Were you told anything of their abilities?” Derek leaned forward, with an earnest cast to his voice. Knowledge was power, and if Etta knew anything at all, it might be more than we already had.

  “No. Only that they were capable of more harm than a hundred of our people together.”

  “That’s definitely true.” I muttered under my breath.

  “I’d say it’s an understatement,” muttered Toby on my right in response. I looked over and smirked at my grandfather.

  My father continued as if he hadn’t heard me, though he probably did. “The Thanatos have power over Death. Where we can Gather Spirit, they control its opposite. Kaylus is known to have these abilities.”

  “We Ethnos can Gather Spirit from the world around us. We can also give it to things, healing them if their Spirit energy is waning. The Thanatos can do the same with Death. It is what makes Kaylus so dangerous: he can infect people with this energy, choosing to kill them or control them under threat of death at his whim. The Clades know of no defense against this power, other than to avoid being infected with it.” Ian again spoke, more clinically than he probably felt on the subject.

  “Is this true, Derek? You are certain Kaylus is capable of this evil?” Etta was ghost white, even though her voice was firm.

  “My daughter witnessed his use of it. Della, tell them what you saw.”

  “He infected one of the Elders, Arthur. Black veins coursed through his body, destroyed all of his power gems, and killed him in a matter of seconds. It didn’t look like an easy way to go.” I remembered the fear in Arthur face, and knew it wasn’t something you had to witness first hand to understand exactly how terrible it was.

  Richard harrumphed. Yeah, harr-freaking-umphed. As in, showed his displeasure by making a disgusting phlegmy noise that made him sound like a horse with a head cold. And here I thought it was just an expression; I didn’t know people actually made that sound.

  “Derek, surely you understand if I’m wary of trusting your daughter. Do you have any other proof of this ability, perhaps a witness who doesn’t make a habit of befriending our enemies.” Richard was climbing up my li
st of “least favorite people” impressively fast. And it was a long list.

  I don’t like most people.

  “Richard, now you’re just being ornery,” Toby said, while I heard my Uncle Connor choke on a swear word. “The only people that should consider my granddaughter — the Duxa Deare, mind you — an enemy is Kaylus and his allies. And before you insult her again, and thereby all the Dunamis who choose to fight with you, we have other proof. My grandson, the future Dux, was infected by this power while fighting Kaylus’ men. The Clades at this table helped save his life, and that’s far more than any of you have ever done for my family.” This was the first time I saw a resemblance between my grandfather and Luke. He leaned against the back of his chair, body relaxed, but there was something dangerous in his eyes. Luke often had that look about him, like a caged panther. But I knew that Toby was capable of more than simple violence. He was a leader, and that brought a certain type of confidence that was missing from my great uncle.

  Grandpa was badass.

  “We did hear about the Neale heir being injured, but not to this extent,” Etta said. “Has he been cured of this taint? How, if there is no defense against it?”

  “Della went to the Clades, believing they were more likely to know how to save my son,” Uncle Connor answered, though he didn’t say anything that wasn’t already implied. He was protecting Ezra, and I agreed that it would be better to keep his abilities quiet until the Council members were a little more open to the Clades being their allies.

  Richard noticed the omission. “That doesn’t explain how, Dux Neale. But perhaps we don’t need an explanation after all. The young Clade to your left does seem to have an uncanny resemblance to Kaylus, does he not?” Richard had a sly look to his face, and I was certain that he knew exactly who Ezra was when he first sat down at the table. Ezra doesn’t look much like his father at all, except his black hair, so there was no reason for Richard to make such a comment unless he already knew.