Legend of the Touched (16 page)

Darien let out a heavy sigh. "I don't have control
over that. For whatever reason, he was chosen by God to be my guide
from the other side. Jealousy and rivalry are kind of stupid
reasons to ignore it don't you think?"

"Yes, you're right. My bad. So what did he say?"

"He said: Four is one, one is four. The Touched shall
bring the change. No clue what it means, but while we're there I
want to get as many of the books about the Touched as possible from
the library and start a big research project." He let out a soft
groan. "More homework. Fun right?"

"You can drop out of school you know."

"No, I can't. I'm not leaving Tai alone there." He
paused. "There's another man lusting after her."

"So? Guys lust after women. I catch a lot of them at
Katelyn's office doing it all the time. It means you have good
taste in women. She's yours."

"Sometimes I think she does it back." Darien glanced
at his brother.

Lance chomped down on his lower lip, and was quiet
for a minute. "Lust is usually a physical desire. Even girls have
eyes that wander on occasion. It's not like you've never looked at
another woman before."

"I don't
lust
after them though." He glared at
Lance. "Yes, I see girls and think they're attractive. What I don't
do is stare at them and contemplate how I'm going to bed them. Nor
do I daydream about them as if they were mine to daydream over. I
wouldn't even want to. I only dream about my wife."

"Because you're a good man. Father raised us all to
be like that. It's a good thing. Not all of the humans are good
men. My point is, are you sure Tai is dreaming about him? Or is she
thinking about him and wishing it were you?" Lance shrugged
innocently.

Darien scowled. "I still don't feel comfortable with
leaving her there alone. Not yet. I'll think about it over the
winter break."

"I don't want to see you go crazy."

"I've been feeling that way for a while, sorry." He
rolled his eyes.

For some reason, Lance laughed. "Try to relax. I'll
help you with your massive research project. I've been looking for
something more to do anyway now that Katelyn is doing everything
with the clothing line. She said she doesn't need me anymore. Can
you believe it?"

"She did want her own project," Darien pointed
out.

"I know. She's come a long way. I love her
drive."

"Yeah." Darien looked off to the side. He loved his
brother, and Lance's relationship with his wife was inspiring. The
two were head over heels for one another from day one. At the same
time, they were so sweetly devoted to one another it was
disheartening. Darien didn't think he'd ever have the same kind of
shmoopy lovesick relationship as his brother. If that was what love
was supposed to be like, then he failed.

I'll get back in the game when we return.

Chapter Thirty-Six

The Inero

Another council meeting to attend, and Matt was
excited for this one. He tended to enjoy them all, but this one
especially had him tingling with anticipation. By nature, Matt was
a people watcher. It's what he did best at the meetings. While he
took notes on the topics, he also studied the reactions of the
Lords and their people. Not as many of the lesser lords would be in
attendance this time. These kinds of meetings weren't held often,
but at the last one over the summer the Great Lords decided to have
one last follow up to see how the young Oceina Lord was faring
before having things return to normal. Generous, but unnecessary in
Matt's eyes.

He settled into his seat in the front row of the
meeting, pulled out his notebook, and got ready to take notes. The
subject of this study wasn't going to have anything to do with the
discussions. All he was going to do was study the Oceina Lord and
see what made this man tick.

The Great Lords entered with their First Council
members. Everyone in the audience stood and waited for the Great
Lords to sit before returning to their seats as well. The Aero Lord
took his usual relaxed position, head resting in a hand and
slightly hunched. He didn't ever look interested in what happened.
Unless it involved him, or seemed fairly dramatic, his mind went
elsewhere. The Terran Lord sat straight as an arrow, eager and
attentive to everything going on around him. His father, Lynx, sat
and casually crossed his legs, folding his hands in front of him.
The young Oceina Lord also crossed his legs; he tapped his knees
with his hands and he looked around the room as if he too were
trying to watch everyone around him.

Interesting. Behavior is much different than the
last time I observed. Subject is more composed, though slightly on
edge. He knows not to trust just anyone.
Matt jotted quickly in
his notebook. He wrote in a special code so no one would be able to
read it but him. At the last meeting, the young Lord had been
seething with anger as well as unsure and afraid. A whole mix of
emotions that made him seem like more of a boy than a man. It'd
been disgusting. The new attitude created an interesting twist in
Matt's plans.

I'd been hoping he'd grow a back bone; become more
aggressive and sure. It'll make it more fun for him to fall. I
can't wait for our rematch.
Matt licked his lips with
anticipation. The night Matt had killed the Great Dragon Lord
Orion, his son had been there to witness the whole thing.
Originally, Matt had planned to kill, or at the very least hurt
him, in order to send a clearer message to the Oceina people. The
young man had protected himself using a strong blue fire. Matt had
never seen anything like it before, not from an Oceina dragon. Matt
wanted a real fight.

"Lord Oceina, how are you faring?" the Terran Lord
asked with more politeness than Matt had expected. For someone who
was about to turn on the entire nation, the man sure seemed to care
a lot. Matt wasn't sure what to think of Taylor in general, though.
Weakness had been present when they'd met in his father's office.
It was hard to tell if the Terran Lord was going along with Lynx's
scheme because he believed it, or because the previous Lord had
already made the arrangement and he didn't know how to get out of
it. Lord Kinsley had invested a lot of his people into the Inero's
cause, something Matt was grateful for. It made the planning stages
of his job go much easier. He'd have to watch the new Terran Lord
in action.

The young Oceina Lord looked across at the Terran
Lord, and put on what appeared to be a genuine smile. "Things have
been going smoothly. Thank you for your concern. My staff has been
able to catch me up on everything that's been happening." The young
man's body then tensed slightly and he glanced over at Lynx.

Matt's pen scribbled across the paper.
He knows
something is happening. How much, is hard to say, but he's not as
naive as I thought.

"Is there anything you would like to discuss?" the
Terran Lord asked.

"No, I think I understand what's going on fully." The
young Oceina Lord gave a small smirk that caused the Terran Lord to
shift in his seat.

Taking his pen, Matt scratched out the last two
sentences he'd just written.
He knows everything.

"I have something I'd like to discuss," the Aero Lord
said.

"And that would be what, Lord Patlih?" Lynx asked,
raising an eyebrow. He was the only Great Lord to ever address the
others by their first names. A bold move on his part. It could be
perceived as disrespectful, but Matt himself thought it a nice
personal touch. Though his father might not like the gesture if
returned.

The Aero Lord leaned forward, his black almond shaped
eyes narrowed. "Why did you close your borders between the nation
of Inero and Oceina?"

"Would you like to answer, or should I?" the young
Lord Oceina said with a cocky grin. Matt wanted to punch it off of
his face.

"I cannot take care of surplus individuals. My nation
needs to focus on its own people," Lynx said.

"Understandable," the Aero Lord paused. "So then why
have you not closed your borders between your nation and the Terran
for the same reasons? Further, wouldn't the increase of visitors
encourage trade as well as help your economy?"

He watched his father blink as though startled.
Why didn't you prepare for that question?
Matt shook his
head. Usually Lynx was much more on top of things than this.

The Inero Lord regained his confidence quickly,
sitting straighter than before. The Terran Lord shifted his weight
in his chair, and did not look at anyone.

"We do not have as much crossover. Nor do we share a
large land border like I do with the Oceina. A handful of islands
at most. The relationship at the border is drastically different,
and it hadn't crossed my mind to have need for it. As far as it
helping my economy, the issue in my nation is not one of money. We
have great monetary wealth. The problem is supply and demand. As
stated at our previous meeting, the produce in my country is not
edible. How am I to feed my people as well as visitors? And since
the Oceina Lord has decided to not help aide my people, I can't
supply the needs of his and my own," Lynx said smoothly.

"I said I needed to look at the needs of my own
people first before deciding what I could provide to yours," the
Oceina Lord said with a lot more calm than Matt had expected.
Especially given how tightly the man clenched his fists over his
legs.

"And have you?" Lynx asked, now turning his gaze to
the young water lord.

"Enough to know we have a surplus in grains that I'd
be willing to give to your people." The young man stared across the
room at the Inero Lord, his blue eyes shining as the light hit
them. Another surprise, because
if
the Oceina Lord did know
of the plans Matt's father had, why would he help the Inero nation?
None of it was making sense. Things got more interesting by the
second.

The Great Inero Lord must have also been surprised,
because for a minute he didn't say anything. "Your generosity is
touching, but it is not needed. We are getting by now. Should
things change, I will revisit your offer."

The entire room grew quiet now. Every so often Matt
heard a shifting of feet, or a cough from someone in the audience
to fill the empty space.

"The truth is, I'm not sure I want your help," Lynx
continued. Matt sat up straighter, a bit surprised by the
bluntness. He didn't remember this being part of the plan. His
father leaned forward and pointed to the young water lord. "For a
long time I have sat by and watched your people live on the land
that was once claimed by my family. I grow tired of it. My father
tolerated it, as did his, but not me. I had hoped to maybe find
some sort of understanding with your father, but he wouldn't hear
it. Now I seek this understanding with you."

The young Oceina Lord sat in his seat, his eyes
narrowing slightly. He too leaned forward. "And what exactly would
you like me to understand? I'm not sure I see the problem, first of
all, but if it is a land dispute I don't know of a solution that
will work out for everyone. As much as I would love to just give
you what you want, what about the people who live in my country?
Are they to relocate? Or would they simply be forced to adapt to
your way of life? Neither one of those options seems particularly
fair to me."

For not having any previous experience in politics,
the young man had a way with words, and a natural charisma about
him. Matt had often wondered why of all the sons, the old water
lord had chosen this one. Through his research, Matt had found that
the young man was Touched. That had to be part of the decision, but
he was the youngest son of the family. Wouldn't one of the elder
brothers make more sense? They'd have more life experience and more
visits to the council meetings.

The Oceina custom was for the Lord to choose one of
his own sons to be his replacement. One family line, passed from
generation to generation almost like a kingship. The Inero did
things similarly, but could add in cousins or brothers to the mix.
One rule was the new Lord had to be over the age of thirty-five.
Matt hoped his father chose him next once he was of age to take on
the position. Hopefully the man wouldn't pass before that time. If
needed however, Matt would overtake the other chosen lord when the
time came. That was also allowed, so long as he could get enough of
his kin to back up the coup. Not something he needed to worry or
think about now. His father was the healthiest person he'd ever
met. There was lots of time.

Matt sat on the edge of his seat, curious about what
his father was going to do next.

Lynx continued to sit coolly in his chair. "Not any
more fair than when the land was taken from us to begin with, no. I
didn't think you'd give it over willingly. I'm not a fool."

The Oceina Lord's jaw tightened, his lips closed as
though he were forcing himself to keep them that way. Matt really
wanted to know what the young man wanted to say then.

"I was wondering when you were going to do this," the
young lord said at last. "You had my father killed because he was
going to expose you. Now you've decided to do it yourself. You're
pretty sure of yourself, aren't you?"

"My people have favor. Please know, it's not anything
personal against you per se. Your kin have sewn a crop full of
nothing but evil. It is time to reap your reward for this
corruption. Unfortunately, a bad harvest is useless and burned, and
that is exactly what shall happen to anyone who opposes me. If you
were to comply, I'm sure we could come up with some kind of an
agreement that would be suitable for us all."

"Fat chance," the Oceina Lord spat. "I don't trust
you any more than I could throw you."

Lynx let out a heavy sigh. "This was the answer I was
expecting. I do not fault you for it. You believe you are doing
what is best for your people. I see it will take drastic measures
to convince you of the wrongdoing your people have caused. Which is
a shame. I would hate to have to kill anyone else, or enslave your
young, beautiful wives."