Elder (20 page)

Chapter 32

Eirik wavered by the hour about whether or not to kill Metis. He didn’t believe her excuses in the least. As Deimos, she could have teleported back to the library after she realized she wouldn’t be able to recapture Ariana and Tate. Her flimsy excuse of fearing capture by the Waresti near the library didn’t convince him. She knew exactly where she was supposed to meet him to take him back to the females, but she hadn’t done so. Her other story of trying to capture Clara Kate in an attempt to bring her to him as a bargaining chip was just as questionable.

He eyed her now as she sat bound and gagged against a huge boulder. Just feet away, the ocean lapped along the shore. Moonlight shone on the water and created shadows beneath the rocky overhang serving as their temporary shelter. Wind howled as it touched the nooks and crevices etched into the stone.

“Are you any closer to breaking through her mental barriers?” he asked the male Mercesti standing next to him.

“No, my lord. In truth, I may not succeed. Her mental signature is unlike any I have ever intercepted. She is even more difficult to read than the Kynzesti was.”

That was bad news. Eirik knew that if his mentally-skilled Mercesti succumbed to exhaustion before Metis did, it would leave many of them susceptible to her Orculesti abilities. He wasn’t sure how powerful she would be outside of the influence of a dampener. Although he was confident that he could resist her, he knew many of those Mercesti currently with him would not be able to do so.

More of his followers were on the way. He had held them off for days as he awaited word that he neared his goal. Not even an hour ago, his informant revealed that the other Estilorians expected to reach the location of the scroll piece the following day. Upon receiving the news, he sent Friedrich to rally the others. He expected their arrival before morning.

The last thing he needed was a complication.

Drawing one of his krises from its sheath, he stalked over to Metis. Lowering to one knee, he used the blade to remove her gag, scoring her cheek in the process. She glared at him, but didn’t flinch as he held the weapon against her pulse.

“Give me one reason why I should spare your life,” he growled.

She lifted an eyebrow. Then she said in a low voice, “The male whose mental abilities you are trusting is a monumental liar.”

He stiffened, never expecting the response. Knowing better than to look at the male in question since he was surely observing the exchange, he returned, “Why should I believe you?”

“I have been deliberately projecting thoughts his way ever since I entered your camp. Which of those thoughts has he shared with you?”

Clenching his jaw, Eirik fought the urge to plunge his kris through her neck. If she was telling the truth, the male Mercesti was, indeed, a liar. The real question was how he could possibly determine who was telling the truth.

“You killed the Mercesti who was delivering you information about the other Estilorians,” she said, turning his attention.

“I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You did so out of sight and sound of the others, wanting to keep your actions a secret.” Metis said in conversational tones. “She projected a great deal of pain before she died. Those with mental abilities tend to do that, I understand. I sensed her conflict over her choice to feed you information even as she spoke to you. I imagine she realized she had been right to question her decision as you ran her through. Now…how much of that do you suppose your ‘loyal’ Mercesti mind-reader picked up?”

Getting slowly to his feet, Eirik turned from Metis and approached the male he had entrusted to protect him and his followers from mental intrusions. Seeing his approach, the male looked at the kris in Eirik’s hand and stood straighter.

“Norman, are you in communication with the Mercesti traveling with Friedrich?” Eirik asked.

“You know I am, my lord,” Norman replied, his gaze moving to Metis and then back to Eirik. He moistened his lips and added, “They are not far. What has the manipulative female told you?”

“Which one?” Eirik asked. “Metis? Or the female I killed earlier whose dying thoughts you surely received?”

Norman’s eyes widened. “I did not believe you wanted anyone to know about that, my lord.”

“I am certain. Yet it troubles me that you made no mention of it, even to me. Why is it you did not question my motives? Why did you not ask whether this was part of the plan?”

“B-because I know better than to question you, my lord. My loyalty is absolute. Whatever that female told you—”

“You surely already know,” Eirik said. “She has been sending you thoughts since she arrived.”

Norman’s face drained of color. “N-no. That is not true, my lord. She is attempting to deceive you. I am ever your servant. You must believe me.”

Eirik raised an eyebrow. “I must?” he repeated, reaching up and grabbing Norman’s shoulder with his left hand. “That sounds very much like an order,
servant
.”

Then he ran his kris through the male’s heart, holding him up as he died. Norman’s expression was a blend of surprise and confusion. Pulling his weapon from the male’s chest with a liquid suction sound, Eirik turned and walked back to Metis.

“Everything you said was a lie, was it not?” he asked her.

“Does it really matter?” she replied. “Despite the fact that you killed him, I am not attempting to influence you with my abilities. We need each other, Eirik. We are united in our belief that the final scroll piece must fall within our possession, not anyone else’s. If we work together, we can achieve that goal.”

She had a point. But he wasn’t a fool. He noticed that she left her proposal open-ended. She didn’t say that the scroll should be in
his
position, but
theirs
. He knew that she wanted the Elder Scroll for herself.

Well, that was perfectly fine. He was quite content using her abilities to get the scroll for himself and then disposing of her at the first possible opportunity.

Ini-herit only slept for about an hour, but it was enough for him to regain his energy. Once he awoke, he lay in the oversized cot with Clara Kate pressed against his side. He ran his fingers through her soft hair as she slept, thinking of what lay ahead.

The other elders hadn’t been involved in the creation of the various traps leading to the third scroll piece. It had been his responsibility to hide it, just as it had been Uriel and Gabriel’s responsibilities to hide the other two pieces. Where Uriel had relied on a remote location and illusion enchantment to protect his piece, Gabriel had opted to hide his within the heavily enchanted ancient Estilorian library among thousands of other scrolls. Despite this, Eirik had successfully accessed both pieces using the second powers of Ariana and Tate.

Although his memories had been repressed for the protection of everyone, Ini-herit now remembered a little about where and how he’d hidden his piece. Malukali and Knorbis tapped into his subconscious after he remembered the purpose of the medallion. They helped him recall a few details.

As Ariana led them closer to the third piece, he realized where they were headed. He remembered the moment they hit the desert sands.

“You hid a scroll piece in one of the pyramids of Giza?” Clara Kate asked when she perceived his thought.

“Actually, I think I secured it near the pyramids rather than in the tombs themselves.” He shook his head. “I should have considered it before. I was the one who designed them.”

She was silent for a long moment. He sensed her awe and intercepted a few of her thoughts as she tried to process what she had just learned. Eventually, she grinned.

“Damn,” she said. “You are
old
.”

Remembering that now, he smiled. He hadn’t bothered to mention that human historians were off on their timeline by a number of centuries. Now, he leaned down to kiss her cheek. She sighed softly and snuggled closer. While he had the chance, he reached under the covers and lifted her shirt so he could touch her abdomen. He pulled forth his power and listened to the swooshing heartbeat of their baby. The strong sound brought another smile to his face. Then he sobered as he considered the significance of what they faced.

If he could, he would send Clara Kate home to stay within the security of her homeland. He knew Gabriel would never let any harm come to her. But there was no way she would agree to that. As fate would have it, she was an integral part of this undertaking, something he couldn’t deny or control.

He also knew, though she hadn’t talked to him about it yet, that she wouldn’t have Alexius enter this likely battle without standing by his side. But he was confident in her feelings and understood her heart. He just had to have faith that everything would work out okay.

After a while, he allowed his hands to stray from her stomach to other parts of her body. Then his mouth joined in. He loved how she responded to him even in sleep. She woke up at some point, but she didn’t complain. In fact, she was rather enthusiastic about this particular wake-up call.

He wasn’t surprised when she fell back asleep afterwards. The sun was only just cresting the horizon. He got up and put his clothes back on, then moved to the tent flap to see who else was awake. As he stepped out, he saw Quincy and Zachariah facing each other in front of Tiege and Ariana’s tent. Zachariah held his black tank top in one hand and Quincy’s arms were crossed. Beside them, Nyx lay on the ground and looked on with sleepy diamond eyes.

“I’m not going to find out that Tate’s pregnant, am I?” Quincy asked. His Australian-like accent was more pronounced, revealing his agitation.

Zachariah quirked an eyebrow as he struck the top of Tiege and Ariana’s tent twice. He responded, “You of all beings should know that there are many ways to offer a female pleasure without it resulting in pregnancy.”

Ini-herit’s eyebrows shot up. He snorted in amusement as Quincy’s face flushed.

“Why
me
of all beings?” the Corgloresti sputtered.

“I imagine he means that you have the most in-depth knowledge about anatomy of any of us,” Ini-herit explained as Tiege threw back his tent flap and emerged.

Tate’s twin eyed the other three males, his gaze settling on Zachariah. He blinked when he noticed the Mercesti was only dressed in a pair of pants.

“I need Ariana’s assistance,” Zachariah said.

“What you need is to put a shirt on,” Tiege argued. “Holy light, bro. You’ll have the females stumbling into the campfire if you walk around like that.”

Zachariah looked down at himself. Then he lifted a shoulder in a negligent shrug. He was tall and muscular, larger and more defined than any of them due to his base Gloresti form. Ini-herit thought Tiege had a point.

“I need Ariana to repair this tear,” Zachariah said, holding up the garment in his hand.

Tiege frowned and lifted an edge of the damaged fabric. “How did it get…?” He trailed off and held up a hand. “You know what? Never mind. I don’t want to know.”

He grabbed the piece of clothing and retreated back into his tent. Ini-herit exchanged a look with Quincy as a flash of lavender light illuminated the area. They both grinned. Then, when Zachariah’s tank top flew from the tent with a grumbled command from Tiege that he put it the hell on, they both burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” Sophia asked, poking her head out of her tent. Her gaze fell on Zachariah, who had to walk several feet closer to her to retrieve his repaired garment. Her eyes widened and her jaw slackened.

“Nothing,” Quincy said, moving to block her view. “We were just having a discussion about anatomy.”

“Anatomy?” she repeated in a dubious voice.

“Yep. In fact, why don’t we go inside the tent and I’ll bring you up to speed? I’ve been told I’m quite the expert on the subject.”

Chapter 33

Clara Kate didn’t want the bowl of oatmeal and fresh fruit that Ini-herit served her for breakfast, but she knew she had to eat it. She sat with her family around a small fire that Sebastian created in the center of their circle of tents. A few of them were also eating. She figured if their stomachs were as twisted into knots as hers was, they were only doing it so she didn’t feel weird. That just made her love them all the more.

“So, should we talk about the markings now?” she asked as she lifted another spoonful of food to her mouth.

Several of them instinctively twisted their right wrists to once again view the marking. Tiege and Ariana exchanged grins, which made Clara Kate smile. She had congratulated them earlier on their avowing and couldn’t be happier for them.

“Each of us has now avowed as pairs,” Quincy said. “After what Saraqael told us about our fates being tied to the scroll, I guess this isn’t really surprising.”

“Our parents all share markings on their right wrists,” Sophia added. “As most of us know, the markings formed after they made a commitment to each other. But they had to be in physical contact at the time.”

Clara Kate considered this as she scooped the last of her breakfast into her mouth. Her mother and her aunts were half-human, half-Estilorian, while their fathers were full Estilorian. Thus, their children were only one-quarter human and three-quarters Estilorian. Quincy had reasoned that the Kynzesti didn’t menstruate because there had been an evolutionary leap in their reproductive development. What if that leap extended into things like bonding with others?

“That’s exactly right,” Ini-herit said out loud, catching her gaze. “The Kynzesti class has demonstrated capabilities more advanced than other Estilorians. It’s likely that you can extend a vow of commitment—at least in part—without physically touching another being, just through strong enough emotion. Your human blood may be the key to that.”

“Sure,” Tate said, looking at Zachariah. “I was able to avow myself to Sparky in a dream.”

Zachariah nodded as he met her gaze. “But our connection grew stronger after we avowed in person.”

“How so?” Tiege asked.

Tate reached out and squeezed Zachariah’s hand. “Well, before we avowed in person, we could hear each other’s thoughts and feel some of what the other felt. Now we share everything.”

Clara Kate understood that. She saw that everyone else did, too. Setting her bowl to the side, she said, “I think we should join hands and seal our connection.”

A pause followed her announcement as everyone processed the idea. Then Tate smiled and took Tiege’s hand in her free one, joining her to her twin and her avowed. Tiege nodded and took Ariana’s hand in his. She reached out to Sophia, who sat beside her. Sophia clasped Ariana’s hand and then joined her other one with Quincy’s. Since Ini-herit stood beside Quincy, he reached out and took the other male’s hand, then Clara Kate’s. She reached out to Zachariah beside her.

The Mercesti hesitated, looking at Clara Kate’s hand.

“Come on, Zachariah,” Quincy encouraged. “This will work.”

“Yeah,” Sophia agreed. “If it worked for your avowing, it’ll work for this.”

When he still didn’t move, Ariana urged, “Take C.K.’s hand, Zachariah. We need you to make this work.”

“There’s no reason we shouldn’t do this,” Ini-herit said. “It’s just going to confirm what the markings already tell us.”

“Yeah, bro,” Tiege added. “We all know how you feel about us. No need to deny it now.”

Clara Kate noticed that Tate’s gaze didn’t move from Zachariah. Her cousin was likely communicating whatever she wanted to convey through her thoughts. When she realized that Tate’s eyes glistened with tears, she suddenly understood.

“Zachariah,” Clara Kate said, not lowering her hand, “we’re all family now. None of us is perfect. We’ve all made mistakes. But we accept each other without condition. You’re only strengthening us by doing this. Don’t ever think that you’re less deserving of our love than anyone else.”

He met her gaze. Then he looked around the circle. Everyone nodded. Finally, he reached out and took her hand.

That was the last thing she registered before everything went dark.

Ini-herit had witnessed the bonding ceremonies between the daughters of Saraqael and their avoweds. Each time, all of the beings involved had lost consciousness. He’d been prepared for it…but it happened quicker this time than he’d thought. They hadn’t even spoken.

When his vision cleared, he saw the blue sky above him. As he registered the fact that he was on the ground, he remembered what they’d been trying to achieve. Then he heard an unexpected thought and knew they’d been successful.

Wake up, Beautiful
.

The voice in his head belonged to Zachariah. He felt the concern associated with the thought. Jerking into a sitting position, Ini-herit shook his head to clear it and glanced around.

Zachariah knelt beside Tate, leaning over her and touching the side of her face. His gaze moved to Ini-herit when he registered the movement.

They’ll be all right
, Ini-herit sent to Zachariah.

If the Mercesti was surprised that he could now hear Ini-herit’s thoughts, he didn’t show it. Instead, he nodded and returned his focus to Tate. Ini-herit moved closer to Clara Kate and pulled her into his arms. Her pale complexion worried him, so he brought forth his healing energy. She moaned.

Tiege sat up as Ini-herit got Clara Kate into a sitting position and then moved to Sophia and Quincy. Grasping their arms, he used more healing energy to rouse them. By the time he finished with them, Ariana and Tate had regained consciousness.

Does anyone else need healing?
he thought.

Though there were some widened eyes and raised eyebrows among the group, everyone shook their heads. He moved back to Clara Kate’s side and put his arm around her.

We’re all joined in thought now
, he sent out.
Some of us have more experience sharing thoughts than others.
He exchanged a look with Zachariah, who once shared a mental connection with his Gloresti leaders.
But we all know this is a learning process.
Don’t hold anyone accountable for a stray thought you might receive as we strengthen our mental filters
.

Guess it’s a good thing we weren’t connected earlier when Zachariah had his shirt off
, Sophia thought with a grin. She exchanged looks with the other females and grinned widely.

Tate laughed. Clara Kate and Ariana looked intrigued, turning their gazes to Zachariah, who shook his head. Ini-herit strengthened his hold on Clara Kate in a chastising way, but couldn’t prevent a smile. He knew Sophia had deliberately sent the thought to lighten the moment, and sensed everyone else did, too.

“Okay,” he said out loud. “We all know how strong our bond is. Now let’s go put it to the test.”

Ariana was asked to once again take the lead in identifying the location of the final scroll piece. Although Ini-herit believed he knew where it was, he couldn’t be absolutely certain. Her second power, on the other hand, was consistent and reliable.

The trails she perceived that led to the other two scroll pieces continued to be behind them, telling her Eirik was still following them. It was a concern, but she couldn’t worry about that on top of everything else. She had to believe Harold and Derian would find him before he reached them…and if they didn’t, that she was prepared to defend herself and those she loved.

For the first time, she wasn’t afraid to be the guide on this quest. She no longer felt alone. She had a family, something she’d never dreamed possible. Just as importantly, she had the full support of that family behind her. Whenever doubt or fear crept into her mind, they bolstered her with their thoughts.

The previous night had been the most amazing night of her entire existence. Considering that spanned more than two centuries of being, it said a lot. She wasn’t about to lose a lifetime of nights like that because of Eirik’s power-hungry ambition.

Damn straight
, Tiege mentally agreed.

She looked at him and smiled, unwilling to be embarrassed that he had intercepted her thought. He already knew how she felt. Love for him flooded her.

We’re getting close
, Ini-herit thought.

Ariana returned her focus to her second power.
Yes
, she responded.
The pull is very strong
.

Within minutes, a series of pyramids and buildings came into view. Her mouth opened as she absorbed their grandeur. She hadn’t ever seen anything like this.

Then her gaze shifted to another structure, something that didn’t resemble a pyramid at all. Her second power pulled her right to it.

What is that?
she thought.

It’s the Great Sphinx
, Clara Kate conveyed with awe.

Actually,
Ini-herit clarified,
back when it was constructed, we called it a
Ssp-anx.

Bless you
, Tiege offered.

There was a round of laughter at that. Ini-herit grinned.

How is it possible that these things exist both here and on the human plane?
Tate wondered.

We recreated them on this plane
, Ini-herit answered.
We initially thought everyone would live on the mainland, so we began building here. Obviously, that plan changed when Volarius was killed. We created Central instead, but left the structures on the mainland
.

Ariana looked at Uriel and said out loud, “We’re headed to that statue with the head of a male and the body of a large feline.”

The elder nodded. The Waresti fanned out and began creating a perimeter around the area. It was a little disheartening, Ariana thought, to see that their numbers didn’t measure up to much in the vast desert. It was a lot of territory to cover.

This Sphinx is more intact than the human version
, Clara Kate observed as she studied their goal.
It still has the nose and beard
.

This version is protected from the elements,
Ini-herit explained.

I thought the Sphinx was just a huge statue
, Tate thought as they neared it.
I don’t remember learning about any chambers or anything inside or underneath it. Is the scroll piece hidden inside one of the stones or something?

The Estilorian version of this statue has many mysteries
, Ini-herit responded.
It’s larger and more complex. Let’s hope the medallion and my spotty memory can help us
.

Ariana took a deep breath as she considered his words. The unpopulated landscape and enormous size of the surrounding pyramids made the enigmatic statue rather intimidating. She guided them to land in front of the structure. As she extinguished her wings, she found herself unable to look up at it. For some reason, she feared what she would see if she looked into the sculpture’s all-too-real eyes.

It’s enchanted to make beings uncomfortable
, Ini-herit thought.
That’s one of the reasons I chose to hide the scroll piece here
.

Tiege took Ariana’s hand. She caught his gaze and gratefully allowed him to pull her into a hug.

“We’re here,” Jabari said in grave tones. “Now we must decide how to proceed to accomplish our goals and keep Eirik from achieving his.”