Essentia (17 page)

    We walk into the main room where we find Thegan and Aiden sipping on what smells like coffee. "Mmmm that smell delicious," I say without thinking.

    "Go sit My Lady, I will make you some" Enre says.  He heads off to the kitchen, and I have a seat with the others.  We talk a little bit about last night's dreams, and I tell them about the condition of the tree.  Enre returns with two cups of sweet smelling coffee, he hands one to me and sits down beside me.

    "Thank you," I say to him.  He just grins at me.  While I sit there drinking my cup of coffee, I can't help but think of all that I have been through in the last few days. It's hard to believe that I am still alive.  To be honest, I have never felt this alive in my life. I mean it has had its downsides, but the rest has been amazing.  I know that there will be more hard times but, in my heart, I know I will be all right as long as I am with Enre, Thegan, and Aiden.

    "My lady, would you like some more?" Aiden asks, holding out his hand for my empty cup.

    "Oh, no thank you Aiden" I grin at him, and he takes my cup and nods at me.     "We will be leaving for Norpool Soon My lady" Thegan says to me. I nod my head to him. Wondering what the day is going to bring.

    Thegan rides with Aiden and I ride with Enre on the way to Norpool.  During our trip, I try to concentrate on my emotions to make sure I don't grow flowers in Enre's car.  Enre starts snickering at me and says "Why so serious My lady?"

    "Well I didn't think it wise to grow a garden in your beautiful car while we were going down the road, so I have been concentrating," I say to him.  It's getting easier to control since the Haruspex gave me some pointer on how to do it.

    "Ahh, I see.  A couple flowers wouldn't hurt," he says. Then he puts his hand on my thigh.  He is trying to get me flustered. 'Well watch this pretty boy' I say to myself.  I start to try and heat my body up.  Not enough to hurt him, just enough to startle him. "Oww, hey now," Enre says jerking his hand away. "I guess I deserved that huh" he adds, laughing.

    I laugh with him then say "I am learning how to control them."  And I am glad. I would hate to hurt him. Even if it was an accident.

    "I can see that. That's really good Princess," He says to me, flashing a huge smile. Butterflies flutter around in my stomach when he looks at me like that.

    We pull up in front of Norpool, and there were a lot of guards standing at the entrance. One of the Guards opened my door and bows to me and says "This way My Lady." I get out of the car, and Enre joins me. We are escorted into the building. Everyone that works there bows to Enre and me as we pass by them.  It feels weird being bowed to, But I guess it is their custom. There is no one at the club but workers being it is still early in the morning.

    "Over here My Lady, My Lord" Aiden says from across the room. When we get over to where Aiden, Thegan and a hoard of guards are standing, I see a man about my age tied to a chair.

    I look at Enre and say “Is that one of the guys that destroyed my house?" and killed my poor Le'ander.

    "Yes, he was with them," Enre says. I instantly start to get mad, and I can feel my skin getting hot. It is getting harder to control my temper. It never uses to be this bad. My other emotions, I have in check. Anger not being one of them.

    Thegan looks at Enre and tells him in a loud voice "You need to calm her down.  We don't want her killing him before we can talk to him".  I guess that was meant for the prisoner to hear.  Thegan then moves in front of me, blocking my view of the evil man in the chair who's eyes have gone wide.

    "My Princess, please calm down.  We need him for answers.  I promise, after we are done, you can talk to him ok." He says.  I know he is just saying that to calm me down and scare the prisoner.  Somehow his words get through to me. I take a deep breath to calm myself down.  He takes his hand and cups my cheek "Well done". Winking at me, he turns back to the prisoner and says “Unless you want her to roast you like a suckling pig, I suggest that you cooperate with us." The prisoner does nothing but stares at us.

    Thegan asks him "How did you know where to find us?" The prisoner looks at him and says nothing. The guys ask the prisoner many questions but never got one answer.  A thought popped into my head, I don't know whether it is mine or if it was put there by another.  'Ask him' is what the voice said.  What could it hurt? 

    I motion for Enre to come over and when he does I tell him "Let me try and ask him." Not mentioning the voice yet. It is still kinda freaking me out.

    "No, he is dangerous My Lady," He says to me.  I understand he is only saying that for my protection.

    "You will be right there; I have a feeling that I can get some answers from him." I try to persuade him to let me. He looks at me worriedly.

    But he nods his head and says “Only if I am beside you and you listen to me if I say to stop."

    "Anything you say, my Prince," I say to him with a smile.  He just shakes his head at me and grins.

    "Thegan, Aiden, let her try," he says to them.  But I can tell by the look on their faces, they are not happy about it.  They reluctantly back away from him.  I concentrate as much on controlling my powers as I step closer to the prisoner. Enre pulls me a chair over to sit in. When I sit down the man looks at me with a blank expression.  I keep saying over and over in my mind ‘, Please let him answer me.'

    I ask the man "What is your name?" Trying to push persuasion on him. Praying that this works.

     He tilts his head as if he is thinking and says in a quiet scratchy voice "Barnos."  He answered.  Enre and the others eyes went wide.

    I continued asking Barnos questions "Who sent you after me Barnos?". This time, he didn't hesitate.

    "Morven, Ivar’s first" Ivar’s first. What does that mean? 

    I look up at Enre, and he says "It means the head of Ivar’s men under him." As if reading my mind.  

    I nod and push on with my questions. "Why did this Morven send you guys after me?"

    Barnos replies "Because he gave you the book."  I look at Enre, and his face has gone ashen in color. He thinks it is his fault by the look on his face.

    I grab his hand and say to him "Don't, it was meant for me to be here. Therefore, it is not your fault." I know he feels bad, but I have to keep getting answers from Barnos, so I ask him "What are they planning on doing?" Barnos was slow to respond this time, but he eventually does.

    "He plans to kill you all and free Ivar so he can rule Aelmere." He can't do that; we can't let that happen. I can feel my temper rising. My skin getting hot.

    "That cannot happen, Aelmere will cease to exist if we die. Where are Morven and his men staying?" I ask. getting angrier by the minute. I can't calm down, this time, I can see the fear in Barnos's eyes. The men have stepped back knowing what's about to happen.

    Barnos says "In Aelmere at the southern base of the Asilion Mountains outside of a large abandoned cave system. Where they are keeping the prisoners." Good now we can get them.

    "That's enough Princess," Enre says in a calm tone.

    "One more," I say to him. I want to know why they had to kill my cat. I turn and ask Barnos almost yelling, my temper getting the best of me. "Why did you guys have to kill my pet?"  He hesitates, and I yell at him "Answer me!"

    "He was a guardian and attacked us."   I really didn't pay no attention at the time to his reply.  I was so furious I couldn't concentrate.  I got up and stepped closer to the man.  I heard Enre hollering at me to stop, but I couldn't.  I got closer and reached my hand out and touched the man's cheek.  The next instant there was a pile of smoldering dust in the spot he was sitting.

    "What have I done?" I say as I drop to my knees.  I just killed the man.  He disintegrated into a pile of ash at my touch.  I start crying.  Cupping my hands over my eyes, I sat there on the floor. 

    Enre came and sat beside me being careful not to touch me yet.  He says "My Princess, it will be ok. He was an evil man. What you did was just." Just he says.

    "I didn't mean to kill him.  I couldn't stop myself, it's as if the urge to destroy him overtook me." I say to him, tears blurring my vision.

    "He would have died anyways, My dear.  If not by your hands, the men he works for would have tortured him to death because he talked.  You saved him from all that pain My Lady."  It does not make me feel much better, but he is right. They would have killed him their self for defying them.  My body has cooled down enough for me to lean on Enre. He wraps his arms around me tight. The warmth in his arms calms me down quite a bit. "You are a formidable force My lady, remind me to not ever make you mad,” Enre says as he kisses my forehead. That makes me giggle. 

    After a few moments pass, I turn and ask the guys "Did I get enough information out of him." Hoping that I hadn't messed up by killing him too early.

    Thegan smiles and says "More than enough, you done very well."  I am relieved that I at least got what they needed.

    Thinking back on what Barnos said about Le'ander I ask Enre "What did Barnos mean when he said Le'ander was a guardian?"

    He looked at me with a faint grin and said "Guardians are creatures that protect the gods and goddesses, they can transform from small animals like your Le'ander to large, fierce creatures when their owners are threatened. But that is all I know about them.  There may be more information on them in the books back in Aelmere My Dear.  Maybe after all of this is over we can look into it for you." I had gotten Le'ander when he was tiny, but come to think about it I do not remember the day that I actually got him. I wonder if my mother gave him to me.  Poor Le'ander. 'I am sorry my friend' I say to myself.

    Thegan walks up to us and asks me "How did you get him to talk my lady?" Honestly, I really don't know.

    I reply to him "It is going to sound crazy but, I heard a voice telling me to ask him."  It sounds worse saying it out loud.

    He just looks as though he is thinking and then says "The Goddess's are on your side, My Lady." Then he winks and walks away. This is going to take some getting use too. Powers, voices and this Goddess thing.  Before all of this started my life was pretty boring.  Typical at best.  I use to long for the kind of adventures that I read about in books.  Now I am living my own adventure.  Full of magic, villains, different realms and don't forget the very hot Royals.  I almost let a giggle out while I was thinking, but I quickly recover.

    After putting my Crown in Aiden's vault, we all sit and talk about what we are going to do next.  Enre says "If we are to go to Aelmere, my lady here is going to need new clothes. The ones she has will stick out too much.  And I believe that we will need some supplies as well Brother".

    Thegan scratches his chin and says "Your right Brother.  We shall go this evening to get what we need."  Enre nods his head and looks over at me and winks. Why does he have to be so damn good looking?  It's very distracting.  He could melt butter with the looks he gives me.  It stirs up all these feeling I never really thought I had. While the guys are talking, I can't help but reflect on what my life is going to be like from here on out.  Dating a prince of a different realm that will one day be king. What will happen if we fail to save Aelmere?  Will he still want to be with me, if we survive at all?  It is very concerning. I have always known what my life was going to be like until now. Until he came into my little shop. Now nothing is certain. It's a scary feeling, but on the other hand, it is a bit exciting not knowing what's going to happen next.

    Apparently, Enre had been trying to get my attention while I was spaced out thinking.  Because the next thing I knew he was standing in front of me looking at me all concerned. "Umm. sorry, I was lost in thought." I say to him.

    "Everything alright Princess?" He asks me. Always attentive to me.

    "Yes. yes, everything is fine, I was just thinking, that's all."  I flash a big smile at him.  He does the same in return.

    "We are leaving now if you are ready My Dear" I nod my head and stand up. He places his hand in mine, and we head outside to where the car is waiting.

    Heading down the road, I ask Enre if we can go to my bookshop, just to check on it. He agrees a little hesitantly. When we get there, he tells me to stay in the car while he checks it out first, just to be on the safe side. Everything looks fine from here in the car, but I guess with everything going on that it is better to be safe than sorry. When Enre walks back to the car and gets in, I ask him "Is there something wrong inside?"

    He nods his head yes and tells me "Someone has been in there, nothing is torn up like at your house, but it felt off. I would feel better if you didn't go in My Lady." If it is worrying him, then I am going to go with his decision.

    "Alright I trust you, I won't go in," I say to him. A small grin appears on his face while he pulls away from the shop.

    "Oh here, these were laying on the floor by the door." He hands me a small stack of envelopes, bills probably.  As I sort through them, there is the utility bill, invoices from orders and some junk mail.  But there also was a letter from Abby. Huh, I wonder why she left me a note. I open it and try to read her messy handwriting.  Basically, the entire contents of the letter were her griping at me for not being there and not answering my phone.  It also says that Jeremy has been acting strange since I left.  Always asking who I was with over and over.  That is odd of him to ask her about me that much, he must just be worried.  I mean it's not like me to just run off like I did.  Oh well.  I guess I need to text Abby so she won't worry so much.  I will do that when we get back to the loft.