Daughter of Earth (Tales of the Guardian) (31 page)

“I was there, upon a large hill, leading our defenses because Damarus had fallen. The only one of the Governing Five who remained was Aldara and she’d been badly wounded with no one to take her back to safety within the walls of Eden.” He looked at each of them, his eyes begging for forgiveness as if he had just passed a judgment condemning them all to death.

“And then, I turned to survey the massacre around me and I saw Emily. She was fighting as one with us in defending Eden’s gates.”

Emily held her breath in anticipation of what she worried was to come next. He looked at her with the same plea, one asking for exemption from his words.

“Emily fought bravely and with much strength, but then I watched as an Ancient One...” Alexander could hardly speak and so his words came out as a whisper, “ran his blade through her chest…I stood only three feet from her, yet I did nothing. I did nothing because I had received no vision to do so and therefore was rendered incapable to stand in the way.”

At this point he collapsed into a mournful sob but tried to push on to finish expressing the horrific vision.

“I had no choice but to watch helplessly and let her die. I had no choice,” he repeated. “I was bound by my code to only interfere when prompted and no such prompting came.”

There was a tomb-like silence in the room and the only sound heard was teardrops splattering on the table. Many came from Alexander, but also from each member sitting around the gathering spot.

Finally, Mathaius spoke, with solemnity. “Surely, all of this is not true. We all know an Ancient One’s vision does not take full merit in terms of reliability. Alexander, take hope, this is not a firm or solid prediction of our future, only a partial glimpse through an obscure and distorted glass.” His words did not sound as convincing as needed.

“Mathaius is right,” Aldara wiped her face, reinstating her composure and confidence. “Ancient Ones have never given visions which result in complete fulfillment, they are not prophecies, and only The Seer can offer that claim.”

“Then we must speak with him immediately. There is no sense in contemplating a falsification that only torments and persecutes the mind,” Damarus stood to give emphasis to his words.

Alexander had not wanted to gaze upon Emily’s face for fear he would see her terror but he could not avert his eyes any longer.

Instead of a tear-streaked face twisted with panic and fright, her shoulders were poised, straight. Her features, outwardly, looked calm and controlled. Her stare was vacant but one indicating her mind was busy rolling over the information.

“You need to know I don’t believe the vision, I do not think you will die.” It was all he could say, even if it was not true.

 “No, I think you do,” a sign of a reassuring smile resided in the corner of her mouth beginning at her faint dimple. She was not mad, nor was she alarmed. “But we will figure things out and then your mind can be at ease. Then you can believe.”

The assurance and coolness Emily showed in the moment was only a front. An appeasing play she put on so her audience would not see the terror and disbelief running amuck behind the curtain of her eyes.

But if any of them looked hard enough they might have spotted the quiver in her lips, or noticed the pulsing rhythm of her heart now spreading throughout each of her nerves clear to her fingertips.

If Alexander’s vision was accurate, her heartbeat was set to end much sooner than any of them expected.

Chapter 20

“Do you remember what I said to you? Do you think I do not hold to my promises?” Ambrose growled only inches from Sandros’ face.

The two stood toe to toe and neither would be intimidated by the other.

“I have not, yet you seem to forget what I promised the last time we spoke,” Sandros replied, delivering each word as sadistic slap.

“I remember with exactness you said you would not fail.” Ambrose gripped his cloak, snapped it behind him as he spun around, and climbed the few steps to his throne-like chair.

Its blackened branches weaved together to form the lumpy and intricate back he now rested against.

Once he was situated he continued with his thought, hissing it out like a serpent before it strikes.

“The venom you were so sure of has been detected and extracted. It does not yield fruit to us. There is to be no harvest.” His eyes were beady and dark and though he could make them appear friendly, he never attempted to when he expressed anger or disgust. His friendly eyes were reserved for when he persuaded and coerced.

Sandros’ stare was equally frightening as he sent daggers directly at the one claiming to be his superior.

“My Lord cannot reap a harvest before it’s time. Just because one crop has failed does not render the garden a loss. There are still seeds that thrive and grow and will yield an even greater abundance.”

“Words!” Ambrose barked, “You are only words! You dare to think you can lead me on with smooth speech and vows left unfulfilled? You walk a very treacherous line, so I advise you to make your next words count, or they will be your last.”

Sandros did not shrivel back or take a moment to think over what he would say. He did not fear Ambrose and certainly would not allow him to think otherwise.

“You would be a fool to discard me. I am your only link to obtaining Eden from the inside. If you think someone else could take my place then it will be your assumption which will deliver defeat. I did not promise Alexander would turn; I promised I would prove they are not as strong as you think. I promised I would not fail and I do not intend to. Just because one prong on a three headed spear breaks, it does not dull the point of the other tips which still stand strong. If you want to take Eden, if you want to take the world, then you will need me and you will need my plan. Challenge this and your fate is sealed… not mine.”

There was a deafening silence for a moment or two but then an odd noise began to grow. It originated in the pit of Ambrose’s chest as a low rumble, sounding much like flames being fed a constant stream of oxygen.

Many in the room averted their eyes. The sheer thought of witnessing Ambrose take his true form frightened everyone , everyone except Sandros. He stood firm and fixed, no hint of doubt. He was a stone that felt nothing and feared nothing. His destruction would bring about a damage which could not be averted and there was an overpowering command in that knowledge.

The minutes felt like hours for all present, but soon the flame-like roar quieted and the coals burning in Ambrose’s eyes cooled.

“You seek my throne. I can feel the very fibers of your blackened soul clawing for it. Destruction is too easy for someone who threatens me in such a way.” The creases around his eyes were the only hint of the anger lying behind them. “I will wait to dispose of you so you may obtain the full punishment you earn with each passing day. Only through success in your plan will you find safety from my wrath.”

“Only through my success will you gain your goal. I threaten your throne because it begs to be taken. The very earth beneath your feet slowly crawls to caress the tips of mine. When this is finished we will all see who stands and who finds himself within the everlasting pits of torment.”

Sandros sharply turned, exposing his back to Ambrose, a gesture an Ancient One had never dared to do. His steps clicked down the long stone hall, echoing off the walls like the loud applause of thousands.

Chapter 21

Doubt, frustration, grief, any or all could have been present, but they were not. A silent but stronger presence reigned supreme, and that was hope. Hope stood unscarred and untouched by the events of the day.

Emily and Alexander waited in a comfortable silence, occasionally interrupted by small spurts of chatter, yet none of the talk revolved around what was revealed just hours before in the Great Hall.

Damarus and Aldara had left immediately to seek out The Seer and his counsel, with a promise they would find everyone and relay his words to them as soon as they could.

Emily almost wished they wouldn’t. She’d convinced herself she would rather just live everyday as though the vision would come true, while silently praying it would not. It seemed like a reasonable solution to her, but she failed to take into account the recent tumultuous events and confessions which were still toying with her emotions.  Any logic of hers could quickly be discredited at this point.

Alexander traced the outline of her fingers with his own as his head rested comfortably in the crook of her lap. He had never experienced such difficulty holding back his emotions and feelings of panic as he had now and in these past few hours. Unbeknownst to anyone else, while the dark venom had been fully removed from his body, it left a deep and throbbing scar inside of him. Only he knew what had truly happened inside him and the doubts it created seemed just as harmful to his soul as the venom had been.  He would forever be different. He was not sure at this point exactly what the difference was. All he knew was it was there and it was very real.

“I need to tell you something, even though we promised not to talk about it. I think you need to know about when I was infected,” Alexander said in a hushed tone.

“If you need to talk about it, I’m here. I just wanted you to know I would never hang it over your head,” she shrugged, willing to give him the listening ear he needed. “It wasn’t you, it was the poison.”

He nervously rolled his tongue over his teeth, and then between his full lips. “That’s just it.” He abruptly sat up but kept his eyes on the ground, too humiliated to meet her gaze.

 “Even though the poison made me act differently,” he steamed ahead not hesitating or introducing his thought, for he feared he would back down if he didn’t confess immediately. “The truth was, every thought originated with me. The poison only heightened my feelings and prohibited my self -control.” He took a few deep breaths and glanced up to look at Emily.

Her face remained still, so he continued.

“All of my actions were because they first were my thoughts. I really did have issues with trusting the Governing Five. It might have only been a tiny glimmer but the fact was, it wasn’t a thought that the poison manifested in my mind, the poison only magnified it….and it was the same with that night in your room. My desire was there, but my self-control could no longer block it. And Rob…” Alexander looked out past the treetops into the sky, he did not want to see Emily’s eyes.

“There was the smallest sliver of relief when I first found out he died. I was relieved because I felt if anyone could take your love away from me it was him.”

His last sentence felt like a punch in the gut. Rob’s death was still quite tender for her and to think that Alexander had taken even the slightest joy in the event was hard to believe. She searched his eyes, hoping to see something which would indicate he was taking too much blame for something he had no control over. Just as she had done with Rob’s murder.

All she found was complete sincerity. Alexander had truly lusted after her and he had truly taken some amount of relief in her friend’s death. She bit her lip, not sure what to say, not sure what she even thought of this confession. This other side of Alexander was hard to imagine. But the moment of doubt was very brief and then she could hear it, the council given from her father just before her dinner with Rob.

It was like a soothing balm sliding over each and every wound which had just been reopened by Alexander’s dark admission. ‘No one is perfect, it’s an unfair standard’. The council repeated in her mind and she soon had no doubt how she felt or how to respond.

“You’re not perfect, Alexander. I don’t expect you to be, nor do I want you to be,” she sighed. “It’s been unfair of me to think you don’t get those same doubts or have the same desires or jealousies humans are confronted with. It’s just easy to think you don’t because you always exhibit such amazing self-control.”

Relief washed over him as he saw the acceptance and genuine forgiveness in her face. “I just don’t want you to think all the evil that radiated from me was entirely the poison. I still feel like a part of me will never be the same. I don’t want you to be disappointed if you see a different side of me here and there. I don’t think I’ll be anything like I was these past few months, but I don’t expect to be fully like my old self, either. I have always prided myself on self-control but I would be lying if I said I didn’t feel like that characteristic hadn’t been chipped away at.”