Luckily, they hadn’t forgotten about the game face comment, their expressions quickly blanking as they released their death grips on me and their Vizoacs.
I waved a hand at King Collins, when he continued gripping my arm.
“Step back for a moment.” I shooed them all away. “All of you.”
I placed Isolde on the sand by my feet.
As one, they stepped back, instantly moving into the roles they had been afforded, doing as I bid without me having to ask twice, which I was eternally grateful for with the powerful Guardians watching. Inhaling heavily much needed oxygen, I let my head tip back, keeping my Core open and lifted my arms…and the brilliance of the stars shone down on me, all my Lajaks eyes instantly glowing, some shading their eyes as the pure rightness of the stars filled my Core to overfilling, revitalizing it, instead of depleting it dangerously from my body. Sighing heavily, I shut it down, relinquishing the stars gift, my Core closing, and I stopped glowing. I was still tired, but it wasn’t draining on me anymore. Cracking my neck, I ran a hand through my hair, and tilted my head to the stairs. “Let’s go.”
As I moved forward, Elder Merrick and Elder Farrar were instantly on either side of me, Sin and Elder Bridges directly behind, the other four walking side-by-side behind them, and I watched as the Guardians instantly dipped to one knee as I started to move past. I faltered for a moment, never having experienced that before, but I quickly put my feet back into motion, and took the steps, dipping to pick Isolde up when she had trouble.
Leric smiled when we reached the top, stating softly, formally, “Welcome, Elders, Kings, and friend, now Lajaks.” He tilted his head forward, saying even more quietly, “Remember to pass through the entrance at the same time as my Chosen.” He straightened, and held his hand out to me. “Ready?”
I inhaled, and nodded, and accepted his hand, allowing him to pull me beside him. “What are we going to do first?”
“We’ll go to my study for a meeting.”
“Alright.” I moved slowly letting my Lajaks quickly spread out, their pace even with mine. I hovered a foot right before the entrance, and they followed suit, mimicking my motion, stepping over the boundary, the entrance to the Temple, safely before they quickly pulled back into rank, Elder Merrick standing directly on my left now, Elder Farrar next to him with Leric taking his spot, their impressive eagles behaving and resting on their shoulders. Walking over the white tiles of the first foyer, the sanded walls brilliant with the spattering of stars fire, I knew my Lajaks were having to keep their expressions wiped clean…especially when they saw all of the spirits milling about in their scantily clad beautiful white attire, probably more in this one large foyer than they had seen in their entire lives, the soft music of the fountains our backdrop.
All conversation stopped inside the room, heads swinging toward us. The spirits didn’t mask their shock, though, their fear and confusion clear. Their eyes widened enormously as they watched us move, their jaws gaping the barest bit. Hell, I even saw a kid run behind his mom’s skirt and hide, plus, it sounded like someone dropped their drink, glass shattering somewhere on the left, and I muttered under my breath, “That’s about the norm.”
Leric’s shoulders shook the barest bit, but they stopped a moment later, muttering under his breath, “Hope you’re ready for that French silk pie.”
Mrs Damon pushed through the crowd of gawkers and smiled beamingly at us before rushing forward. “Finally, you’re home.” I hadn’t seen her since Leric had used the Primal Diamond and been shot to hell, so I was sure she was excited, but she came at us in a flourish, both of us stopping. She hugged her son fiercely, then turned that all-encompassing hug on me, and I actually felt my Lajaks shifting closer, even felt the brush of Shithead’s wings on my shoulder, but I only hugged her one armed, Leric not releasing my hand.
And then, she let go…and dipped down on one knee, head bowed before me, murmuring respectfully, “Chosen.”
It was like the gong was sounded, or some other wacked out shit, because instantly, everyone’s eyes widened even further, and they all dropped to one knee, bowing their heads, an instant, resounding hushed, “Chosen.”
I stared, just as wide-eyed as they had been, squeezing Leric’s hand brutally, hastily asking through our connection, “What the hell do I do?”
“Tell them to arise.”
I stalled. “Arise or rise?”
His shoulders shook. “Either.”
“Not funny.” I cleared my throat, and stated clearly, letting my tone carry steel I wasn’t feeling, blanking my expression, “You may arise.”
Thank God, they did.
“It’s good to see you again, Mrs Damon,” I stated softly, now peering into her twinkling eyes.
She winked, and whispered, “Always enter with fanfare, Chosen.” Her brown gaze went to her son, and she stated clearly, “Don’t keep your father waiting.” And with another head dip in my direction, she left with the same type of pizzazz she had entered with, clapping her hands at the boy hiding behind his mom’s skirt, lifting him into her arms, talking to him quietly.
As we moved through multiple different atriums, down thin hallways, twisting then going straight, and curving again, the response was the same in each opened area…because I quickly realized Leric had strategically placed a lone individual in each room to greet us, then bow before me, announcing who I was as if we were old friends, so I made damn sure to hold my head up when I entered into the third atrium.
Finally, after a half hour of walking, we reached his study, but unfortunately, the show didn’t stop there. It didn’t just hold his father as I had assumed, but was crammed with spirits who wore white flowing pants and white ribbed vests over their bare chests or ribbed strips for the women tied around their chests, each with a small black tattoo of a tiger on their right arm, all moving with a grace that was almost frightening, and as one, they all bowed when we entered, murmuring, “Chosen. One.”
I swallowed, and let Leric tell them to “arise” that time, since they had mentioned him too.
Leric’s voice entered my mind. “They’re the elite Guardians of the realms.”
“Oh,” I responded a bit grumpily, “That’s good to know…now.”
Mr. Damon greeted me kindly, putting my fears to rest as I watched the spirits who were so obviously deadly move to take their seats at the table. I took my duffle off, dumping it on the couch in front of his darkened window, my Lajaks doing the same, the items cumbersome, their Vizoacs moving eerily to sit around the room, while they themselves took up stances almost the same. Elder Merrick and Elder Farrar stood directly behind me when I sat at the table next to Leric, our hands still clasped and resting on top of the table for all to see…which they did glance at covertly.
Leric wasted no time, demanding, “Bring us up to date.”
Mr. Damon took the lead. “It’s Cullo and Jeria.” He glanced about the table. “The two cities have been having riots, and Eski and Nosa are on the verge of the same.” His brows puckered. “Where the hell is the remote? I just had it.”
All seated glanced at the table, even peering under it.
My lips pinched, trying to keep them from trembling. “Check in the cushions of your chairs.” I had wondered what the hell that remote went to the last time I was here.
They blinked at me for a moment, my first words to them, but they did turn in their chairs, doing as I had asked. I didn’t bother, since there wasn’t a lump in my white leather chair this time.
The man seated four chairs down on my left, cleared his throat, and pulled the remote from his chair’s depths. “Got it.” His eyes scanned my face. “You’ve been here before?”
“Of course,” I stated evenly, apparently he not having heard about my entrance here not too long ago in the Royal Hall.
His brows quirked, glancing down to my hot pink top, swinging to Leric’s and my joined hands, then back to my eyes. “You should stay longer this time.”
My lips lifted. “I’ll be here any time my One, or my people, need me.”
He held my gaze for a long moment, gauging me, before he dipped his head in a respectful manner, then handed the remote to Mr. Damon.
Leric’s voice in my mind. “Nicely played. And worded.”
Back at him. “Thank you.”
Mr. Damon hit a button on the remote, and I tried not to gape as an enormous thin computer screen descended behind the table, Elder Samson and King Zeller moving fluidly as it lowered from above them, easily repositioning themselves. Another button pressed and the screen lit with a map of the Temple, which looked nothing like Earth now. I knew this would confuse my Lajaks, so I would have to explain later we were in…a spirit space…within the ether. It was Earth, but like a smaller version, and Pangaea, when the continents were one, a step above, or even turned, depending on how you viewed it, a Mystical safe location reserved for the fifth Element, the spirit.
Little red dots showed on the map, and Mr. Damon stated again, “As I said, Cullo and Jeria,” names lit by the dots on the east coastline, “are rioting while Eski and Nosa,” two more dots lit, heading south down the coast with their names listed, “are on the verge.” He clicked the remote, and pictures of towns that reminded me of Greece were shown, except for the destruction and chaos pictured with spirits rioting, signs and graffiti left behind with the word “Chosen” written with slashes or daggers or even what appeared to be blood splashed over it. “The elite Guardians in those realms are dead, the cities completely overtaken, and the ones on Eski and Nosa are barely keeping things civil.”
When the screen went blank, I continued staring, having seen spirits dead on the street, my heart beating a crazy rhythm. “What is their true issue with me?”
Setting the remote down, Mr. Damon stated bluntly, “They believe you are the tie that will break the balance, since you have forsaken the Temple.”
I stared wide-eyed. “They cannot truly believe that.”
He nodded once. “They do.”
I ran a hand over my face, utter disbelief making my hands shake, Leric’s grip tightening on mine supportively, but letting me speak. “It would kill all of us. Including myself. How in the hell do they believe this?” I barely even noticed the instant quietness in my Lajaks around the room, the way every single one went predatory still.
“They are frantic with worry,” a lean, beautiful spirit woman stated simply, leaning forward at the far end of the table. “You are an unknown to them. All they have heard is that you are the Prodigy Elemental when you never should have been. You deny the Temple, live outside where it is safe for you, so many think you clinically insane. How far a stretch do you think it is they would think you the one to doom us all?”
My lips pinched into a thin line. “I am not the only spirit Elemental living outside the Temple, surely they are intelligent enough to reason that out.”
“But,” she flicked a finger at me, “they are not one of our Rulers.”
“So they’re angry, not just frightened.”
She nodded once, sitting back on her chair. “A dangerous combination.”
Leric’s free hand’s fingers tapped. “Do we know who took their fear and flamed it into violence?”
Mr. Damon shook his head. “We believe the elite Guardian overseeing Jeria was close to the truth, but she was killed before she was able to communicate with us.”
“Her friends. Her family. Anyone left alive in that area I want questioned immediately,” Leric stated simply, and instantly notes were being taken by his elite Guardian. “Dad, you’ll lead this investigation and report back to me directly.” His thumb tapped on the table. “I want two other elite Guardians named from the ranks. Send one to Eski, the other to Nosa, to assist the other two, their destinations eventually Cullo and Jeria.” More thumb tapping, and he growled quietly in his throat, a tiger sound, everyone freezing at the table, since this was proof positive I was exactly who I said I was. “And send in two damn troops of Guardians into Cullo and Jeria. I’m officially naming those two cities Dead Zones.” I was pretty sure no one at the table breathed. “The Guardians have my permission to use lethal force without charging. Anyone who is deemed a threat, are to be taken out.”
I swallowed, and asked through our connection, “Isn’t that a little…extreme?”
An instant growling push back. “Not if they are killing innocents on the fucking streets.”
Oh. My mind had been a bit pre-occupied still about their unbelievable issue with me. “How will you handle the press of this?”
“Shit…” He ran a hand over his face, and started speaking aloud, “And ideas for the press on this?” No one spoke, still appearing a bit shell-shocked about him calling a “Dead Zone”, and I made a mental note to look that up and see what it really meant. “Come on, people. Snap the hell out of it and give me your thoughts.”
The man to my left’s hands flexed then fisted, and he peered around me, stating, “Broadcast it through the papers.” Yeah, no television here, exactly why I had been surprised about the remote control. “Let them see what happens when they turn against their own kind like rapid animals.”
“I don’t agree,” another man on my right stated quickly, clearing his throat and running a hand through his hair. “For those who don’t know about it, it could only create an issue where none exists. And, for those who do know, they may believe the Chosen has…inflicted…the One with her,” he glanced at me nervously, his gaze apologetic before turning his eyes back to the man he was speaking with, “less than ideal views, since she does live in a harsh world she shouldn’t.”
I…let that one pass, because I agreed with his other points.
Leric didn’t, stating instantly, “It is her choice, just as we all have that choice.”
“And almost everyone thinks it’s crazy to choose as she did,” the man with the point I liked stated, gaining his confidence back. “She will have a lot of ground to gain, even in the cities not fighting.” He shook his head. “Word is spreading fast, so we do need to stop it some way.” His gaze raked over me. “Possibly change her appearance, then start making regular stops in the cities together, but in those cities where word has already spread, it’s like a poison that will simmer until it’s boiled again in their veins, and I don’t believe broadcasting it to the other cities,” a flicked narrowed gaze to the man next to me, then back to Leric, “is the wisest choice currently.”
Leric stated, “I agree.”
This produced a quiet smug expression from the man with a semi-valid argument.
“Is there anything else we need to know about right now?” Leric asked.
When shakes of heads were given, the lean woman at the end of the table flicked her hand, stating, “I don’t have any news to give you, but I do have a question that I’m sure we’re all wondering.” When Leric dipped his head for her to continue, she leaned forward, spoke calmly, and bluntly, “I don’t believe the rioters’ views to be completely unwarranted. Somehow, the Chosen slipped under your radar for protection against becoming a ruler. Her views are unconventional, even if she does appear sane, but if she should go insane, and she does become pregnant with a Commoner by rape, or lust, then how will you know this, if she’s escaped you once already?”
I had to hand it my Lajaks. Not one of them even flinched at that bomb. And it was the biggest, the one I couldn’t even speak on, magic tying a Mystical outside the Temple for that information. Instead, they stood utterly still, and stayed silent, even as I knew their minds were flying, trying to reason that out.
“I’ll answer that one.” I squeezed Leric’s hand, and he sat back on his chair, appearing damn lazy while I sat forward, and repeated what he had once said, “While it may be true his protection wasn’t given to me, which was of no fault to his own,” I shrugged a shoulder, “the magic of the Chosen would not have been gifted to me if I couldn’t handle it. I won’t crack under the pressure of the Barren or the Shadows. I’ve dealt with both, and although I am new to fighting in the Barren with the mass amounts of evil I did recently, my first time, I handled it far better than I believe anyone else would have. I never quit. I didn’t stop. Four hours on end. Even when I was killing a pedophile, his memories racing through my mind, I turned and sliced into a child molester, his memories condensing on top of the others, only to turn and place my back to my One’s and guard it against the serial killer about to bite into him, his memories rushing when I ended him as we faced hundreds more, all just as dark.” I raised my brows, staring steadily at the strong woman, even as the individual next to her’s face turned ashen. “That night, I actually went to sleep. It may have taken a while, but I actually slept. Peacefully.” I shrugged a shoulder, sitting back on my chair. “Like I said, the power wouldn’t have been gifted to me if I couldn’t handle it.”
She hummed quietly, tilting her head, evaluating me. “I believe you.” She sat back, eyes going to Leric. “But it’s not just us in this room you’ll have to convince.”
I kind of liked her.
Suddenly, the man’s head next to me, and half his body, was slammed onto the white marble table, the sound of what had to be ribs cracking crunched loudly as Elder Merrick held him down with a forearm against his back and a fist gripped tightly in his white hair, Elder Farrar now directly behind me, a gripping hand on my shoulder, even as Elder Merrick’s power instantaneously erupted down at the man as he began to glow, producing a pained grunt from the man, and his wolf growled loudly, even as he barked, “Drop it or I end you.”
Instantly, I felt something fall onto my lap. My heartbeat didn’t know what to do, stuttering and stopping not knowing what the hell was going on, just like my thoughts as I stared wide-eyed as Elder Merrick crushed the man even harder, yanking his head back brutally, growling, “Now get your fucking hands above the table.”
Glowing hands instantly appeared above the table as the man grunted again in pain.
“Elder Merrick…care to explain?” Leric drawled casually.
His wolf growled quietly. “Other than he was about to stab her?”
“Blade,” Elder Farrar murmured absently, watching the man Elder Merrick held down, still keeping his hand on my shoulder. “On her lap.”
I blinked slowly, then scooted my chair back a smidge, staring down…and lifted a long, wickedly curved diamond blade, and I muttered, “That would have hurt.” I liked the blade, so I quickly stashed it into my treasure trove. “Mine now.” My heart rate was slowing knowing Elder Merrick wasn’t just attacking the guy, and I tilted my head, glancing to Leric. “Thoughts?”
His lips curved the barest bit. “Yes.” Nothing more.
I stared pointedly.
Silver eyes flared the barest bit on whatever he was thinking. “I’ll save them for later.” He flicked a finger to the man who had argued with the would-be-assassin earlier, ordering him politely. “If you would, please take him to a cell and silver him. I’ll be down shortly.” All very calm words, even though he had a damn death grip on my hand.
Not wanting the guy to have a chance to escape between here and the cell, I murmured, “Elder Merrick, render him unconscious.” Instantly, Elder Merrick bashed the man’s face onto the marble table, and there was definite blood coming from some part of his head as he stopped glowing, his body going slack. “Thank you.” My gaze went to the man who was blinking out of his shock. “It should make the journey easier for you.”
He nodded once, his expression blanking. “Yes. Thank you.” He stood, quickly moving with that fluid grace all these elite Guardians did. When Elder Merrick moved back, he grabbed the man by the back of his neck, and easily pulled him back, bending to slip him over his shoulder, and carried him from the room.
I reached a hand over the table, and sent a pulse of my magic, making the blood disintegrate, glancing to Leric, smiling cheekily. “So, what’s next?”
His lips trembled. “I was thinking dinner before torture?”
I nodded approvingly. “Strong stomach…you know those entrails always smell disgusting.”
I heard a choked noise somewhere down the table, but Leric only grinned. “Yes, my Chosen. They certainly do.” He waved a hand at the table. “You’re all dismissed, but make note to find three new elite Guardians, instead of two.” It was implied where the third was going, even as they each wrote a quick note down, then bobbed their heads, quickly leaving the room. “Roselle, why don’t you show my Chosen and her Lajaks to their rooms, so they can drop their luggage off.” He stared at me with knowledge in his gaze. “And don’t feel bad about missing dinner with me.”
I nodded once, standing, I had some explaining to do with my Lajaks. “Make sure you get all the information you can out of him before you make him dead.”
“Always,” he murmured, silver eyes scanning my person slowly. “I’ll be stopping by your room afterward.”
I huffed a chuckle. “I’m sure you will.”