Ellida (45 page)

Eamon stopped in the middle of the sentence
as a commotion in the narrow driveway caught his attention. He
walked to the window and parted the lace curtains. “Wow, two
Mercedes. A black CL-600s, and a C-350 red cutie. … They’re not
from Red Cliffs, and for sure not from here. Two men are coming out
of the black Mercedes. A woman and a young girl from the C-5350…
Are you expecting a foreign delegation, Astrid?”

Lily and I peered through the curtains.

Thanks to Gerard and Dinah’s description, I
immediately recognized my visitor. “Ellida Ariel, from Winston, I
believe,” I said, taking in a tall, slender girl, with a rare and
stunning combination of long, smooth, blond hair and bright,
golden-brown eyes.

I OPENED the door.

“They told me I’d find you here, Ellida
Astrid,” Ariel said in a resonant, young voice as she and her
people walked in. She smiled and bowed slightly.

“Ellida Ariel,” I said, bowing back. “I’m
honored to see you. Thank you and Einhamir Bessim very much for
sending your warriors to fight with us.”

The fair girl smiled. “You’re welcome,
Ellida. We honor our ancient alliances. I’ve heard our people
fought well.”

“They fought bravely,” I said, amused by our
ceremonial language and gestures.

Ariel turned to her escorts. “Ellida, may I
introduce you to my friends, and my impromptu bodyguards. Einhamir
Bessim didn’t want me to travel on my own.” She first motioned
toward the tall, blond man at her left. “Azem Nimmani, Einhamir
Bessim’s son.” Then she introduced the couple to her right as Jason
and Harriet Killian.

“Nice to meet you all, and thank you for
coming,” I said as we shook hands. “Mr. Nimmani, I heard you’re a
lawyer. My grandfather mentioned you worked together on several
human rights acts. He has a very high opinion of your
abilities.”

“It was the greatest honor to have Master
Arnaldur as my mentor,” he said.

“Let me introduce you to Lily Falconer and my
cousin Eamon Mohegan,” I said.

I couldn’t help but smile at Eamon’s stiff
expression when it was his turn to shake hands with Ariel, whose
honey-golden eyes, open and curious, scanned over him.

“I’ve heard about you, Eamon,” she said.

Clearing his throat, Eamon lifted his eyes
and bravely met Ariel’s gaze. He squared his broad shoulders and I
couldn’t help but notice what a handsome young man my cousin had
become.

“I’m honored to meet you, Ellida Ariel” he
said. “I’ve heard about you, too. Now if you would excuse me. I
really need to go.” And with that, he steered a wide path around
Ariel and strode out of the kitchen.

Ariel’s eyes followed him, adopting the same
faraway expression I’d seen on Morgaine’s face many times before.
“It’s a perfect match,” the girl murmured and smiled, before she
shrugged and turned to the three Winstonians looking at her with
amusement.

“Azem, would you go find Dinah and Gerard and
tell them to meet me in half an hour?” she said. “You and I are
staying in Copper Ridge. Jason and Harriet, you’ll need to go back
tonight, but in the meantime, see how you can help before you
leave.”

“I saw Gerard and Dinah with Master Arnaldur
in the City Hall,” Lily said. “I can take you there.”

Once they were alone, I asked Ariel about the
werewolves who had saved my mother and me earlier today. “I want to
thank them,” I said. “Who are they?”

For a moment Ariel kept her golden gaze on
mine. “The bravest men I’ve ever known. Sort of refugees. Long ago,
Winston offered them sanctuary. They stay in their wolf form all
the time—”

“What are their names?”

Ariel shook her head. “I can’t tell you more
than that. I’m sworn to protect their identity. They need to go
back to Winston tonight. Einhamir Bessim needs them there. And he
also hopes to see Lord Robert and Lady Arwen in Winston soon.”

“Oh, Jack mentioned they had friends in
Canada,” I said. “I didn’t make the connection.”

“They are the Einhamir and his wife’s old
friends, yes. They visit each other often. Let me ask you something
else. How old is your cousin?”

“Seventeen. Why?”

“Ah, that explains it. He’s too young to feel
the bond.”

“There were several super-fast bonds here
today,” I said, puzzled by the sudden turn of our conversation.
“Eamon’s terrified he would end up bonded to someone before the end
of the day. He worries needlessly. As you say, he’s too young for
bonding.”

Ariel laughed softly. “There’ll be more
bonding here, for sure. I saw several pairs of perfectly fitting
outlines. Those people are bond-mates, some of them already bonded,
some of them will be soon.”

“You can see who’s bonded and who will bond?”
I said, confused. “How does it work?”

“As you know, many werewolves can see other
people’s auras, but I can see more.” She tilted her head, assessing
me. “You can’t see auras, can you?”

I shook my head. “No. I know Jack can see the
auras, but not bonds. I didn’t know bonds can be seen.”

“It’s similar to auras, and it’s different.
Seeing auras is like having infra-red vision. We see the outline of
body heat through a solid barrier. If a person is in our visual
field, we don’t see auras. It would be redundant, right? But I can
see them always, not only through the barrier.”

“Uh… Isn’t it distracting to see it all the
time?”

“I don’t need to see it all the time. I can
switch it off, but today I was deliberately checking it.” She took
a step closer to me and lowered her voice. “You know, I was always
curious who my bond mate would be.”

“How do you see it?”

“The auras of a bonded couple are the same,
regardless of the differences in their body size. They are a
perfect match, always. Like yours and Jack’s. Yours is bluish-red,
like mine, because we’re both a wizard and a werewolf. Jack’s is
crimson red, but they overlap one hundred percent.”

She turned toward the window, her eyes
focused again at some point in the distance. “Aha, there it is…
Your mother and Dr. Demmir’s. You know that already, don’t you?”
Her eyebrows suddenly arched. “Now
that’s
interesting,” she
said. “Eamon’s parents, James and Betty.”

“They’ve been married for twenty-something
years,” I said. “But they aren’t bond mates.”

Ariel smiled. “Yes, they are, Astrid. They
still don’t feel it, but they will soon, in a day or two. See,
sometimes bonding
develops
, rather than
happens
, and
for sure it’s never a random process.”

I smiled. “I’ve figured out that much. It’s a
gift, not a lottery draw. You’d probably enjoy talking to my friend
Tristan. He has some interesting bonding theories. What about you?
You said, ‘I
was
curious’, not ‘I
am
curious’ Has
your curiosity been satisfied, then?”

“It has… Tell me first about you. Each Ellida
has her unique set of skills. Among other things, I can see
bonding. What did you get?”

“I’m good with swords, and bow and arrows.
I’m good in human combat techniques. I can bring up my wolf, or
rather, she can come when I need her. Sometimes I see light and
colors associated with a person or an event. Not now, of course,
because I’m pregnant.”

“These are wonderful gifts!”

“Can you tell me who your bond-mate is?”

Ariel ran her fingers through her silky hair,
still looking through the window. “His aura is blurry, it still
needs a year or so to firm up. But I felt it when I touched him…
I’m older; I didn’t expect that.”

My jaw dropped. “Eamon?”

She nodded and let out a deep sigh,
refocusing her eyes on me. “It’s better if he doesn’t know it for
now. He’s too young to understand it. Trust me, I’m shaken enough
for both of us. Don’t say a word to him, please.”

“I won’t, don’t worry. Are you sure?”

“Our auras overlap, and although his isn’t
fully developed yet, it is a perfect match to mine.”

“You said you felt it. A warm current
spreading throughout your body, right?”

“That’s how a bond is usually described,
although there are some variations. Yes, it was something like
that, only in a very gentle form. I can’t experience it fully until
he’s ready to feel it.”

“Are you going to be okay? It must’ve been a
complete shock.”

Ariel lifted her shoulders in a delicate
shrug. “Naturally. Ah, I should’ve listen to my mother and put
flowers under my pillow on Midsummer Eve to see my future husband
in my dreams. To prepare myself for this, sort of.”

“So, you accept it, just like this? No
questions, no doubts?”

“You see, very early I learned not to
question bonding. And I’d decided not to fight it if it ever
happens to me. If Eamon Mohegan is going to be my husband one
day—and he will—I know we’ll love each other deeply. I’m not ready
to get married, neither is he. But in due course, everything will
fit together. I don’t need to fret about it now. Only, he’s three
years younger. It’s not that much, is it? What do you think?”

“No, I guess not,” I said. “He’ll catch up
with you anyway.”

“You’re right. He might even age a little bit
more,” she said with a broad smile, serene and composed again. “Now
tell me, how can I help here today?”

WITHIN THE hours after the battle, an air
bridge between Red Cliffs and Copper Ridge was organized. The
seriously wounded were taken to Red Cliffs Clinic and supplies and
food were delivered to Copper Ridge. Several doctors and nurses
came to help the local medical personnel with the injured.

The Copper Ridge Medical Center was located
in a crumbling old building. The offices and exam rooms were cold,
furnished with sparse ancient furniture. Surprisingly, the medical
equipment, although only essential, was in solid condition, and
supply cabinets and storage rooms were stocked with basic
pharmaceuticals. The grim, shabby building was exceptionally tidy
and smelled clean, which spoke volumes about the medical personnel
who worked there.

Astrid, Ingmar and Dr. Ben Lurrie, the Center
director, conducted a quick inventory, and one hour later the most
urgent medical supplies started arriving from Red Cliffs.

“The overall condition of the hospital was
far better than anyone would expect,” Ingmar said. “Ella says the
children are healthy and well-nourished, and every single one has
been immunized up to date.”

“Unfortunately, there are only a handful of
them for a town of this size,” Dr. Lurrie said. “The birthrate had
been extremely low, but we hope it’s going to change soon.”

“I’m truly impressed that you managed to
provide decent health care in such circumstances,” Astrid said.

“Thanks to Lady Rowena and her circle of
women, Darius, our medical workers and financial support from Red
Cliffs and Winston, “Dr. Lurie said. “Our diaspora helped too, as
well as our people here, until we ran out of money. We survived
thanks to a black market. Lady Rowena and Arina organized a steady
supply of food, clothes, vaccines and prescription drugs. They
often paid for the goods with their own money. Our children have
had as normal a childhood as possible under the circumstances.
Darius, for example, donated to the hospital the entire inheritance
he got from his mother. Everything had to be done in great secrecy,
though, otherwise heads would’ve rolled.” He shook his head.
“Yesterday I didn’t believe there was any future for us. Today, for
the first time in years I can see it.”

THE FIRST trucks loaded with food, clothes,
hardware, appliances, home and garden furniture, as well as
electrical equipment and tents started arriving in the early
afternoon. A big celebration was planned for the evening.

The Winston warriors unfastened their swords,
took off their shiny helmets and took over the party preparations.
They erected tents and set up the folding tables and chairs. Chefs
Stammerman and Herzog helped the local cooks and bakers to prepare
the feast.

Red Cliffers kept pouring into Copper Ridge,
bringing their children with them.

“Did anybody stay in Red Cliffs?” Jack said,
laughing, as he watched a long convoy of cars and trucks arriving
in Copper Ridge.

Youngsters always made friends quickly and
easily, and the children of Copper Ridge and Red Cliffs were no
exception. Soon they were playing together, interrupting their
games only to eat and to watch, fascinated, Livia’s Tel-Urughs.
Once the battle was over, the fearsome creatures that had fought
Seth’s guards so fiercely turned into quite a tame bunch. One of
them went to his car and pulled a soccer ball from the trunk, and
soon two groups of eleven members of mixed origins and ages were
engaged in the first soccer match in recent Copper Ridge
history.

Livia and several of Darius’s men cleaned the
battlefield. Seth’s body and the corpses of his mercenaries were
kept in the castle chapel. They would be burned later that
afternoon. The captured soldiers were fed, tended and locked in the
numerous prison cells in the castle, where they’d stay until the
trial.

IN THE presence of Arnaldur, Robert and
several members of the High Council, Darius, Jack and James opened
Seth an underground vault where Seth had kept his treasure. Except
for a few gold bars and some money, it was empty.

“And with this I’m supposed to rebuild the
town?” Darius said and rubbed his eyes. “Make an inventory of what
is left,” he ordered his men.

“Red Cliffs will give you a boost, Darius,”
Jack said. “And Winston, too, I’m sure.”

“You’ve been helping us for years.”

“And we’ll continue. Look at the state of the
town—no schools, no infrastructure, no jobs. You have to start from
scratch.”