Chapter Fifteen
Truths Revealed
Alex had grown tired of repeating herself. She had spent most of the evening explaining what had happened with Adaro. Evangeline and Ryhan had helped to fill in the details of events that happened before she had met up with them. Alta seemed concerned and willing to help, but Alex got the feeling that she believed there was more than what she was telling her.
She felt agitated, which was unlike her. That thought made her wonder what they had done with Thad. She had not seen him since they had arrived in Ferrentri.
“Where is Thad being kept?” Alex asked curiously.
“He is still being questioned for information. We have learned a great deal from him, but there is still more that he is withholding. He is not being harmed, if that is your concern.” Alta answered curtly.
It was the first time Alex had heard her speak that wasn’t polite or controlled. She just nodded in response. Thad really was not her concern, she mostly just wanted someone to blame for her miserable attitude. Evangeline and Alta spoke quietly to themselves while she paced the room. It wasn’t as large and decorative as the main entry room, but it had a flair of its own.
A large bookshelf spanned an entire wall from floor to ceiling. It was crammed full. Not one space available for anything new. She imagined an elderly elf taking care of the books, deciding which volumes to pull down in order put something new in its stead. Running her fingertips along the spines as she marched back and forth was comforting.
Suddenly a cold shiver ran through her and as quickly as it came, it was gone again. She stopped at the end of the wall and admired a large painting that depicted some sort of flowering willow tree in bold sunset colors. Every time she stopped at the painting, she noticed something new. That time it was a small animal of some kind, perhaps a squirrel, peeking out through the branches.
Turning around and walking back the other way, casually running her fingers down the line of books, she felt a sudden chill come and dissipate again. She briefly heard Alta say something about dream walking as she continued her slow methodical pace. It made her feel better to do something with her body. She knew that Alta wanted her to reveal a detail that would connect everything.
Something that would make more sense, but she was not hiding anything. It was clear from the moment that Alex had met Adaro he desired her. Even before he exposed his true nature to her, he had expressed his interest. She was grateful that the king of Aurora had never consented to any of Adaro’s marriage proposals.
They would not have forced the marriage, but to disagree with the king would have made living in Aurora very difficult. Also, Adaro’s interest in her did not explain why he had went into Ryhan’s dreams. No longer lost in her own thoughts, Alex felt the chilling sensation again.
Pausing, she glanced at the book she was currently touching. Pulling her hand away the cold left her. Touching the book again made her shiver hard. It felt like ice rubbed up and down her spine. She pulled it off the shelf. It was old and tattered and looked as if several of the pages had fallen out and been randomly stuffed back in.
The longer she held the book the less cold she felt. In fact, she was starting to feel quite warm. Written in another language, she could not read the title. She opened it anyway and flipped to a page randomly. It was an illustration of a beautiful elf woman. She was lying on a bed made of grass. Her head thrown and her back arched in passion.
There was a man kneeling over her, only the drawing of him was not solid, you could see through him. Alex assumed that he was some sort of spirit or projection. She flipped farther in to the book and found another illustration. The same woman was kneeling before another group of elves, tears shown on her face and it looked as if she were pleading with the others.
The ghostly man was in the corner of the room, unseen by anyone. He looked angry. Alex flipped again, the woman was in her bed again, that time in pain, and she was giving birth. The man was standing by, looking at the baby eagerly. The pictures did not sit right with her. They felt wrong in some way.
“That is the story of Lelona. It is a very sad tale.” Alta said quietly.
“What happened to her?” Alex asked.
“She was seduced by a man, who broke her heart.” Alta responded sadly.
Alex said nothing, only thought of the pictures she had seen. It didn’t seem like a simple broken heart. She opened to the page of the man looking at the baby.
“Who is this man?” She asked.
“He was an incubus. His name was Abeteth.” Alta hesitated when she said his name.
Motioning to the books still in their place, she went on, “There are a great many tragic tales on these shelves. It is interesting that you would pick that book you hold in your hands now.”
“Why?” Alex asked.
“Lelona fell in love with Abeteth, bore a child to him, without ever being in his presence physically.” Alta explained.
“I’m not sure that I understand.” Alex said confused.
“He was an incubus. They feed off your desire and longing and eventually devour your soul. However, they have no real body. They cannot exist in our realm the way that we do.” Alta said.
“So then how did she have his child?” Alex asked.
“He would come to her…in her dreams.” Alta said.
Alex’s heart dropped into her stomach. She tried hard to swallow the huge lump forming in her throat. It could not be possible. How could it be possible? She vaguely remembered the picture of the baby. Had it been a boy?
She shook the thought out of her head. Jumping to conclusions would not help her keep a level head. She needed to focus and be sure, what she was thinking was real.
“What happened to the baby?” She asked.
“Lelona left us when the child was barely a year old. The clans of our people thought that raising a child of his nature would end badly for us. So they sent him away.” Alta said sadly.
“Where did they send him?” Alex asked a little more eagerly than she had meant to.
“To live with a distant relative of his mothers. She was married to a merrowman.” Alta said as if she were confessing it.
“That baby, what was his name?” Alex asked, still hoping she was wrong.
Alta hesitated, “I’m afraid that you already know his name. Adaro.”
Alex thought she might be sick. Feeling the bile rise up and burn her throat, she swallowed it down quickly. She had heard of incubi before, but had never heard of them having children. Everything that was wrong with Adaro made sense to her now. So many questions ran through her head.
Is this what Alta had been trying to get at the whole time. Why had she not just told them about him? How could they even protect themselves from someone like him? What was his connection with Axiom? She sat down on an oversized cushion positioned near the table they had been sitting at before.
Half incubus, half elf. There was no telling what kind of power he probably had. It did not surprise her that Axiom would want someone like Adaro doing favors for him.
Giving Alta a pleading look, she asked, “What can we do?”
Pursing her lips Alta appeared to be giving the question great thought.
She finally answered, “It is unclear to me right now, there are a great many things happening right now, I am torn and unable to focus properly.”
Evangeline placed her hand on Alta’s shoulder to comfort her, “Please Alta, tell us what is going on.”
Alta motioned for them to join her at the table once again. They obliged, with anxiety written over all their faces. Alex realized she was still clutching the dilapidated book and placed it on the table in front of her. Unsure why, she felt the need to keep it close, as if it may yet have secrets it would reveal to her. She folded her arms over one another and waited quite impatiently for Alta to begin.
Alta‘s smooth and enchanting voice began, “Many months ago, we sent several of our best scouts out into the world, hoping they would be able to gat
her information on Axiom and his plans. It had been becoming abundantly clear that he has been using dark magic.
“It has taken its toll on the world around us, especially closest to where he resides. Yet we still don’t know what he is doing, why he is using that magic. The only information we have gathered is the movement of his armies. Ships patrol the coast of every island now. Several legions of his centermerge soldiers are on all three islands.
“We fear the worst, that the Great War that was prophesized is about to be fulfilled. There are smaller parties of soldiers that seem to be looking for someone. I think it’s safe to say that we all know who that would be.”
Alta paused for a moment and looked at each of them with sadness in her eyes, then continued on, “I do not think it will be safe for you to travel far from here without getting caught.”
Alex was surprised when Evangeline interrupted. “We can’t leave without Lillian.”
“That is the other matter at hand.” Alta said worried.
They sat in silence waiting for her to continue.
“Lillian should have returned by now. I didn’t want to worry you when you arrived, but now I fear something may have happened to them.” She said.
It was impossible to tell from Alta’s manner of speaking just how worried they should be. Or what they should be worried about most for that matter. Alex had asked what they were supposed to do with all the information they received, and Alta had suggested they take some time to eat and rest. When they stepped outside the first light of morning was starting to come up over the trees.
Chill from the night still lingered and Alex wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm. It wasn’t until she sat down on her bed that she realized she had brought the book with her. Someone had obviously spent a lot of time with the book, or else it would not been in such a dire condition she thought. Running her hands over the cover, she desperately wished she could read the strange language.
There was something in it. She felt it in her gut, some sort of clue that could help fight against Adaro. Alta was far too busy to help translate. Perhaps Fello would be interested in helping her. She yawned and placed the book under her pillow. Taking extra care to center and put up mental guards to protect herself, she silently wished for a dreamless sleep.
Her head hurt thinking about the many unanswered questions. They still had a long way to go to reach Bastriean and they were not even sure what their role was going to be in the events that were unfolding. When Alex thought about all the power that Adaro and Axiom must possess, it made her feel small and insignificant. Her last thought before sleep finally took her, was that she hoped the council was not as clueless as the three of them were.
Fated Volition: The Sapphire Star Saga Page 16
