Zora's Dawn (Defender Book 1) (10 page)

Zora
thought about it, trying to set aside the effects of the visions. She had felt
the hairs rise on her neck and arms, she had felt a sense of dread – no not
dread, so much as evil. She had sensed evil. She wasn’t sure if that was the
correct word choice but it was the best fit. And of course there had been that
wind that came from nowhere, and apparently her skin and eyes glowed. But Axel
was talking about feelings.

“I sensed
an evil presence, or malevolent perhaps. Is that what you mean?”

“Partly,
yes. And your pendant, what was your pendant doing?”

Her hands
automatically went to her pendant, cold as was usual now since she was
surrounded by supernaturals. She thought back, trying to remember how it felt.
It had burned she remembered, but not the cold burn she was feeling right now.

“It was
hot! It felt like it was branding me, instead of being cold.”

Axel
smiled in satisfaction. “Exactly little Zora. In the presence of a rogue
werewolf your pendant will always burn hot, and in the presence of a friendly
one it will burn cold.”

Zora gave
herself a mental uppercut as she remembered she had felt it warm the first time
she and Powers went to the scene and then her eyes widened as she made the
leap. “Does the werewolf combust, or does the pendant cause the fire?”

Axel
smiled again in approval. “Such a clever girl you are. You are partially
correct. The pendant is part of the spell that enables you to combust a rogue.
It will always burn hot in the presence of one and no other type of
supernatural. You must never take it off, your ability will be severely
hampered without it.”

Severely
hampered, that seemed like a pretty big understatement to Zora but before she
could make a snarky comment that was no doubt totally inappropriate to say to
royalty anyway Axel had risen out of his chair and reached out a hand to her.
“Come little Zora, it is time for some physical education. You have consumed
far too much cake today, even with your extra requirements.”

Zora
baulked, “The dishes, I should at least take them into the kitchen.”

Axel
raised an eyebrow, “Excuses. Certainly, take the dishes into the kitchen. And
then come back here. You have five minutes and I am timing you.” With that Axel
checked his watch, and crossed his arms across his impressive chest. Zora
gulped and hurried to comply. She really didn’t want to know what an irritated
fairy prince would do to discipline a wayward defender. She began to gather up
dishes and resigned herself to exercise in her near future.

An hour
later Zora was cursing her own disinclination for exercise. She was hot,
sweaty, and ached all over. Axel however was relaxed and not even sweating. Of
course it was entirely possible that fairies did not sweat and since he was
magical probably he didn’t even have to exert himself to do all this work – no
doubt there was some neat fairy spell that made it possible without tiring him
out at all. Although there was the fact of those impressive muscles which
certainly didn’t look to be only the product of a spell, but who was she to
know?

“Zora!
Focus! In a real situation you can’t drift off like this.”

“Well in a
real situation I would not be totally outclassed by a great big fairy with huge
muscles who is probably doing all this by spellwork anyway!” As soon as the
words were out Zora gulped and wished she could sink right into the ground. It
was a rude thing to say even to a human, let alone to a magical royal fairy and
Zora was never rude (well except to Powers but he deserved it).

Axel
stared at her in shock, but to her intense relief instead of turning her into a
frog, or (she shuddered) a snake, he erupted into a huge belly laugh. This of
course brought Powers to his feet which was the first time she realised he had
been sitting on the veranda watching them sparring.

“Oh little
Zora, I do like you!” Picking up his shirt from the ground where he had
carelessly thrown it when they began Axel pulled it over his head. Zora felt a
small pang of regret as that magnificent chest was covered but quickly erased
the thought as she remembered her ever present mind guest. Too late though she
saw as Powers frowned darkly and stared at her in extreme disapproval.

“Oh come
on Powers, I can admire a lovely work or art without wanting to own it!”
Miffed, Zora spoke without thinking, her only thought that it was none of
Powers’ business what she thought about Axel’s chest. Another laugh from Axel
had her blushing in mortification.

“You see?!
This is why I don’t exercise, my brain/mouth filter frizzles out.”

Zora
stomped bad temperedly onto the veranda and collapsed with relief into the
nearest chair. It felt good to be out of the sun. And what was that sparkling
with promise on the table?

“Lemon
juice with mint, I figured you would be thirsty.” Powers poured some into a tall
chilled glass. The ice in the glass tinkled and cracked as the juice ran over
it. Zora thought it was the most heavenly sound and reached eagerly for the
glass, murmuring her thanks to Powers as he handed it to her. He smiled
slightly and then turned to pouring another one for Axel.

“So how
was the training Axel? Zora going to be up for it?” While his tone was light,
there was an underlying current of seriousness that reminded Zora exactly what
it was they were facing. She studied Axel’s face carefully as the fairy
finished his drink in one large gulp. Wow, maybe he was hot after all.

“She will
do well Powers, do not worry.” Holding out his glass for a refill Axel
continued, “She has all the abilities, and she is strong. She could use some
regular exercise but when it is required of her she will manage. However you
must stay close to her at all times, she will need your strength. This is not a
suggestion Powers, make sure you are always close to her once we leave here.”

Powers met
Axel’s eyes and something unspoken and masculine passed between them. They
nodded to each other and the subject was dropped. Zora, watching this byplay,
was unsure whether to feel insulted or reassured. She decided to just ignore it
as in practical terms it was going to be impossible anyway.

As she sat
sipping her juice Zora’s attention was taken by a slight rippling effect in the
corner of her eye. She turned her head to see more clearly. There it was, like
a disturbance in the air. If you could see wind blowing Zora would have said it
was that. Zora squinted, there seemed to be faint colours swirling and slowly
intensifying. Her attention completely on what she was seeing Zora didn’t
notice that both men had stopped talking and were watching her, Powers in
confusion and Axel with amusement.

The
colours were becoming easier to see, and began to separate into five distinct groups.
She was looking at five rainbows, swirling and thickening. They were not all
the same colours though. All had the same main colour of gold, with sprinkles
of silver. Two of the five swirled with green, one with red, one with blue and
one shifting shades of aqua that made her think of the colours of the Red Sea,
or the waters off Mauritius. She really needed to take a holiday.

As she
watched the five rainbows took form, and solidified into figures. Zora blinked,
and on opening her eyes she saw five people standing there, three men and two
women. The fairy guard she assumed. Axel strode forward while Powers moved to
stand closer to Zora.

“You saw
them materialise I’m guessing?”

Zora
smiled at his resigned tone and replied quietly, “Yes, five rainbows that
turned into these people. They are the fairy guard?” Although really that qualified
as a superfluous question. The newcomers were all dressed in navy blue close
fitting pants and shirts. Each uniform, for that was what they were, had piping
in a rich dark gold. Each fairy looked rather lethal, even without any visible
evidence of weaponry.

Axel
finished greeting the guard and turned to Zora and Powers. “Little Zora,
Powers, these are members of my mother the Queen’s personal guard.” Pointing to
each one in turn he said, “This is Cameron, James, Arthur, Clare and Samantha.”

All five
raised a hand in greeting, and then came forward to where Zora stood. To her
astonishment they bowed before standing with their right hands on their hearts.
The tallest one, a slender man with black hair and eyes spoke first. “Ma’am, I
am Cameron, it is an honour to protect you.” One by one the others followed
suit and Zora learned that the man with red hair and blue eyes was James, and
the last man who had striking white blonde hair and ice blue eyes was Arthur.
The two women were Clare (long straight auburn hair and unusual blue-green
eyes) and Samantha (long, shiny black ringlets, pale brown eyes).

At a
complete loss Zora smiled uncertainly at them all, intensely relieved when
Powers offered coffee which was accepted with alacrity. She wondered how tiring
it was to become a hazy rainbow and then reform as a person, or to turn into an
animal for that matter. Of course Axel was hundreds of years old and she had
yet to see him look tired. Zora shook her head, impatient with herself – they
were supernatural beings, they had strengths and abilities that she knew
nothing about. Changing skin or turning to mist was part of their nature so of
course it wouldn’t tire them.

Abandoning
the pointless line of thought she tuned in to the conversation that had
continued without her. Dinner plans she soon realised. Looking about her Zora
saw that the short northern dusk was setting in. The ocean was turning into a
dark mysterious shadow, made even darker by the white sand beach still glowing
under the setting sun. Zora knew that soon it too would fade as the sun set
behind the house. She had come out here onto the veranda last night, listening
to the waves she could not see in the darkness and staring at the stars. She
liked where she lived, close to a body of water called The Gooseponds, but it
was really nice to be here so close to the beach. Not that she would ever admit
that to Powers.

The man in
question had come back out to the veranda with coffee for the newcomers. Axel
cheerfully accepted a refill but Zora felt rather awash with coffee and tea and
refused. Powers studied her carefully in the fading light. “You look pretty
washed out Zora, it’s been a big day. Go inside and take a bath, you’ll feel
better.”

“You don’t
have a bath Powers.” But a shower sounded like a pretty good second best. Zora
was suddenly reminded that she had recently been doing some intense exercise
and probably did not smell the freshest. She reached casually behind her neck
to scratch an imaginary itch and sniffed the air experimentally. Oh boy, she
was ripe. “But I think I will take a shower.”

Powers
stood as she did. “Actually, I do have a bath, in my ensuite. You can use that,
soak out any muscle aches.”

Zora
hesitated, on the one hand a bath sounded heavenly but on the other his
ensuite? Way too intimate.

“No, it’s
ok Powers, I’ll take a hot shower.”

Powers
smiled as he led her inside. “It’s just a bath Zora. I won’t stay in the room,
and you can even lock the door. I promise to keep my hands off you.”

Zora
sniffed, as though he would be able to touch her anyway.

“Oh if I
wanted to I could my girl, despite your new strength. Remember I am a guardian,
I have abilities of my own.”

Zora was
sufficiently intrigued by that to follow him to his bathroom without further
argument. Powers had abilities too? What sort of abilities? Did he mean his
shapeshifter thing, or something else? She forgot to ask exactly what as they
reached his bedroom and she was brought back to her surroundings by the sight
of his bed. It actually was very tasteful. It was a big bed yes, but Powers’
taste was simple and almost plain. He had a wooden bed with an intricate carved
detail on the head. It was neatly made, with a quilt in earth tones pulled up
to plump pillows. Turning her eyes away from the bed Zora entered the bathroom
where Powers was busy drawing a bath for her. As she watched he reached for a
packet of bath salts and poured a generous amount into the steamy water. The
air filled with the scent of lavender, a scent completely incongruous in a
bachelor bathroom.

“Lavender?
Really?” Putting the box back on the shelf Powers replied, “Yes, lavender, it’s
very good for relieving stress and anxiety. Used in the bath it helps to relax
sore muscles. It also happens to be the scent of the salts I use after a
workout.” Seeing her expression he added, “At the gym I mean.”

Zora
pasted an innocent expression on her face. “Well of course the gym, what else would
I be thinking?”

Sighing in
a long suffering way Powers turned off the taps. “Well the bath is ready, you’d
better go get some clothes to change into unless you plan to arrange yourself
on my bed naked?”

Zora
snorted, “In your dreams mate.” She flounced off, annoyed that she had bitten
when she heard his laughter following her to her room. Rummaging around in her
case Zora pulled out some comfortable shorts, a purple t-shirt and clean
underwear before returning to the steamy bathroom. Even though the summer evening
was hot, her muscles were almost crying out for a hot bath and after making
sure the door was locked Zora stripped off and sank gratefully into the water.
Powers had made it exactly right which was quite exasperating, but her muscles
didn’t care what she thought.