The Cypher Wheel (21 page)

“I said I was sorry,” Faedra shouted after her. “What
more do you want? Blood?”

The lady gave her an uneasy sideways glance and
picked up her pace.

“Faedra!”

Faen's reproving tone caused the Custodian to turn
and wrinkle her eyebrows at him. “What?”

“I have never heard you talk to anyone like that
before,” Faen said, concern etched on his face.

“Yeah, well, she gave me a dirty look,” Faedra
countered, dismissing his words with a swipe of her hand.

“Because you nearly knocked her into the street.”

Faedra gave him a thoughtful look for a moment.
“Whatever. Come on, we need to get to the church and find
Todmus.”

Faen took his charge by the shoulders and gave her a
little shake. “Faedra, you need to fight it. Do not let Savu's
essence overtake you. You are stronger than that.”

“Who says I am, Faen? I have been fighting it with
every fiber of my being for months and I'm tired. I'm so flippin'
tired.” Faedra closed her eyes and let her shoulders sag. “I don't
know how much longer I can keep fighting it. I have all these mean
thoughts, all of the time. I'm finding it harder and harder to keep
them confined to my head.”

Faen leaned down and scooped Faedra into his arms,
taking her by surprise and earning him a squeal for his
efforts.

“Put me down. We're in the middle of a busy
street.”

Faen gave the Custodian a knowing smile. Faedra
narrowed her eyes at him and looked around her. No one was paying
them any heed. People were passing by the couple as though they
weren't even there. Then Faedra realized. To the passersby they
weren't really there. Faen had hidden them with glamour.

“Well, it's about time,” Faedra snapped.

Faen's eyebrows rose prompting Faedra to drop her
gaze. “Sorry, I'm doing it again, aren't I?”

Faen gave her a little nod.

“Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut from now on,
coz it's obvious nothing nice is going to come out.”

Faen turned and started walking down the street,
enjoying the feel of his Custodian in his arms.

“Faedra, everything will work out just fine, you will
see. As for right now, we should make our way to the church.”

“Well, what are you waiting...?” Faedra stopped
herself and closed her mouth tight, making a sign with her hand
like she was zipping her lips closed.

Faen smiled as his wings started to beat and they
rose above the path.

They flew over the castle and past the cathedral.

“Faen, my car is down there.” Faedra pointed at the
car park next to the pub they had started the treasure hunt from.
She didn't even want to hazard a guess as to how much the parking
ticket was going to be now.

“It is much quicker to fly, Faedra, and time is of
the essence.”

Faedra agreed. The roads around the city were snarled
up with traffic. The way to the church, as the crow flies,
certainly was a much quicker option.

They continued on over shops and offices, then
apartments and houses. Eventually concrete and brick gave way to
trees and fields. The sun was starting to set, painting the sky
with hues of pink and orange. It wouldn't be long before they
reached their destination. They were almost to the church when Faen
felt his charge stiffen in his arms. He looked down, eyebrows
wrinkled.

“We need to make a quick detour,” Faedra said. “I
just realized my dad doesn't know what happened, and he'll start to
worry. We have to let him know we're okay. I'm not sure what kind
of time distortion Drofoz has. We could have been gone for
days.”

“But what about Todmus?”

“Todmus can wait a few more minutes. He has no idea
what's going on anyway. Five minutes is not going to disrupt our
plans.”

“As you wish,” Faen said as he changed direction and
headed to the Bennett cottage.

Henry Bennett was sitting in his arm chair next to
the fireplace in the cozy living room of the quaint country cottage
Faedra loved to call home. He looked up when he heard the latch on
the door chink and his daughter and her Guardian walked in. A smile
almost split his face in two.

“There you are, darling. I was starting to worry,” he
said.

Faedra turned to look up at Faen. “See, I told
you.”

Faedra turned back and smiled at her father.

“Hi, Dad.”

“Did you have fun at the treasure hunt?” Henry asked.
“Did you win the car?”

Faedra took hold of Faen's hand and led him to the
sofa where she plonked herself down and blew a breath upwards that
fanned the fringe on her forehead. Faen took a seat beside her.

“No, Dad. Didn't win the car, got kidnapped
instead.”

“Oh, well, better luck next time,” Henry said.

Faedra counted in her head.
One one-thousand, two
one-thousand.

Henry's eyes grew wide. “What? What do you mean
kidnapped?”

There was something endearing about the way it always
took her dad a couple of seconds for the penny to drop.

“Don't worry, Dad. It's all good. I just wanted to
let you know we were okay before we go and tell Todmus we rescued
his wife, who, it turns out, isn't actually his wife. It's
Vivianna. So we'll be back when we can, and don't worry about us,
okay?”

She got up, Faen followed.

Henry's jaw dropped. “Princess Vivianna is Todmus's
wife?”

She knew as soon as she said it, that she shouldn't
have.
Until I get this power under control I really must learn
to keep my mouth shut.
Faedra thought, then said out loud
“Well, kinda sorta.”

“Darling, you're not explaining yourself very
well.”

She sat down again. Faen followed, again.

“Well, you see. It's like this, Dad. We got
transported with the cypher wheel to the realm where Todmus, it
turns out, used to rule. But it got taken over by an evil tyrant
sorcerer, called Arawn, who was going to kill Todmus. Todmus
escaped, but Arawn captured his wife and daughter and kept them
prisoner. We rescued Allora and Skylar and were going to take them
to Todmus. But it turns out that Arawn somehow switched Vivianna
and Allora. So now Allora is in the dungeons in Azran, Vivianna is
in a cave in Drofoz and we're about to go and warn Todmus that his
wife isn't really his wife and that it's all a trap.”

Henry opened his mouth to say something, thought
better of it, and closed it again.

“Got it?” Faedra asked.

“Not really, darling. But I'm sure you have it all
under control.”

In my dreams,
Faedra thought. She gave her dad
a reassuring smile, nonetheless. “So, we best be off; got to go
save another realm, and all that.” Faedra got up off the sofa and
wandered over to her dad. She leaned over and gave him a quick hug.
“We'll see you soon. Don't worry about us, we'll be fine.”

“I know you will, darling. Thanks for stopping in and
letting me know what's going on.”

Faen was holding the living room door open for her
when she got there. She was about to walk through it in front of
her Guardian when she had another thought. She turned to her
dad.

“Oh, and Faen asked me to marry him.”

Henry's jaw dropped for the umpteenth time in their
five minute visit. He directed a wide-eyed stare of shock and
surprise at the Guardian.

Faen gave him a sheepish grin.

“See you later, Dad,” Faedra called over her shoulder
as she exited the room. Faen followed in haste and closed the door
behind him, leaving Henry doing an impression of a fish out of
water with his mouth.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

“I am not so sure that was a very nice thing to do,
Faedra,” Faen said, as he scooped her up in his arms and rose above
the driveway.

“Oh, he'll be fine. It's good to keep him on his
toes.”

“Stop right there!” Henry's voice boomed down the
driveway.

Faen stopped flying, hovered in midair for a few
seconds, before turning around and lowering himself and his charge
to the ground.

“Told you,” Faen said with a smirk. Faedra elbowed
him in the ribs for his effort.

Henry hurried up the driveway towards them.

“You, young lady, cannot drop a bombshell like that
on me and just leave,” Henry reprimanded, his face a little
flushed.

“Mr. Bennett,” Faen interrupted. “I am very sorry. It
was my intention to ask for your blessing, but it just, well,
happened rather suddenly.”

“Faen, how many times do I have to tell you? It's
Henry. Call me Henry.”

“Yes, Sir,” Faen said as he lowered Faedra's legs so
she could stand.

“Are you telling me, Faen,” Henry continued, “that
you actually did something spontaneous?”

“Um, yes, Sir.”

Henry slapped him on the back, a big smile curving
his lips. “Well, my boy, there's hope for you yet.”

Faen gave Faedra a questioning look.

“That was a compliment, Faen.”

Faen smiled and inclined his head in his usual
gracious manner.

“Come here, you two.” Henry stepped forward, opening
his arms wide. He pulled Faen and his daughter into an embrace. “My
little girl getting married,” he said with a wistful air. “This
calls for a hug. When you've saved this other planet...”

“They're realms, Dad,” Faedra corrected.

“When you have saved this other
realm,
we will
have to celebrate properly. Invite your Uncle and Nicki, and your
friends over for dinner. But, for now, come here, you two, and give
me another hug.”

Henry wrapped an arm around his daughter and future
son-in-law and squeezed them within an inch of their lives.

“Thanks, Dad.”

When Henry pulled back, Faedra could see her dad's
eyes glisten. He noticed that she'd noticed and quickly pulled
himself together.

“Off you go, then,” he said, shooing them away with
his hand. “Go save a planet...sorry, realm.”

Faedra gave her dad a warm smile and pulled him in
for another hug. “You're the best, Dad. Love you.”

“Love you, too, darling,” he sniffed.

Faen scooped Faedra up once again and rose above the
driveway.

“Be careful,” Henry called out, as he watched them
disappear from view. Faen having cloaked them with glamour.

“We will.” Faedra's voice rang out through the
darkness.

***

“Well, that's odd,” Faedra said, as she looked
around. “Todmus is usually here to greet us by now.”

“Yes, something is not right here,” Faen agreed.

Faedra took a step forward and heard the familiar
scraping of metal on metal. She loved that noise and knew
instinctively that Faen now had his sword held in front of him.

They were almost to the bushes when she heard it. A
disgruntled muttering coming towards them.

“Well, that's just bloody typical; sit down to eat my
dinner and someone decides now would be a good time to visit. When
am I ever going to get to eat a meal in peace around here?” The
gruff voice grumbled in time with his stunted footsteps that
crunched through the leaves.

A second later, a grumpy little man with a pronounced
limp plowed his way through the bushes, head down and head on,
forcing Faedra to take a step back, lest she be mown down.

“You're not Todmus,” Faedra stated in surprise when
the little man came to a stop and leveled her with a hard
stare.

“Very perceptive of you,” he said, voice laced with
sarcasm. He turned his heavy stare on Faen. “And, you can put that
thing away. Do I look like I'm dangerous? Now, what do you want? My
dinner's going cold.”

Faen hesitated a moment before putting his sword
safely back in its sheath. “Where is Todmus?” he asked.

“I dunno, do I? He just disappeared one day and I got
lumbered with the gig.”

“What do you mean he just disappeared one day?”
Faedra asked.

The little man rolled his eyes and huffed out a sigh.
“It ain't brain surgery, lady. One day he was here, the next he
wasn't.”

Faedra felt the hairs on the back of her neck bristle
at his rudeness and held out an arm to stop Faen, who she could
sense was growing angry at the way they were being treated.

“Where did he go?” Faedra continued.

“How should I know? Do I look psychic?”

Faedra closed her eyes and took a deep breath,
expelling it as she leaned over the little man. The amulet freed
itself from her clothing and dangled from her neck as she bent
over, swinging like a hypnotic pendulum right in front of the
grouchy newcomer's eyes.

“No, you look like a rude and nasty little man with
whom I am quickly losing my patience,” Faedra said, using a page
out of her half-sister's book, although, she hated to admit it. Her
voice was smooth as silk with deadly undertones.

The little man's attention fell from the Custodian's
face to the amulet that was still swaying gracefully from its
chain. His eyes widened a split second before he bowed his
head.

“Please forgive me, my lady,” the man said to the
floor, not daring to look up from his low bow. “I did not know it
was you.”

“That's no excuse,” Faedra said, “You shouldn't talk
to anyone like that.”

“Yes, my lady. You are indeed correct, my lady,” the
little man said, his face getting pinker by the second.

Faedra rolled her eyes. “Oh, for goodness sake. Stop
with the 'my lady's', will you?”

The little man, still bowing, looked up at her
through his eyelashes, uncertain what to say next.

Realizing that she now had the upper hand, Faedra's
mouth curled up to one side. “What's your name?”

The little man brought his head up and swallowed.
“It's Aberthol, my lady.”

“Look, Aberthol. I won't mention your rudeness to my
father if you can give us any idea where Todmus may have gone.”

Aberthol stood up, emitting a wave of relief as he
did. “I honestly don't know where he went, my lady. But he did
leave his cottage in a mess. There were papers and stuff
everywhere. It took me ages to clean it up so I could use the
furniture.”