Calm Before the Storm

by Cara Lake

  “Having control of the previous Esseni of War enabled them to do this. But now he is dead and we are left with a legacy of an unprecedented number of conflicts and territorial disputes which have been simmering over the last few centuries, not just on Earth, but on Lyra, Ophiuchus, Eridanus and many other realms in this galaxy. At any moment we could be faced with an explosion of these tensions from which the fallout would be a catastrophe. You two are our chance to redress The Balance, ensure that there are opportunities for stability and resolution.”

  Irina, sitting in between Tani and Cassi as she listened, stole a glance at Tyr from under her lashes, wondering what he was thinking. She knew what Merak was about to tell them would be momentous, affecting her relationship with Tyr, which was currently about as confused as it could be.

  How he had made her burn when they emerged from the vortex!If that had been a minor arousal as Cassi had suggested, she was too scared to think what major one must be! The fire inside her had flamed as hot as the core of a planet! It had been agony and bliss but it had also scared her so much that she had consciously avoided him for the last number of days. His eyes turned to meet hers and she flushed, struggling to forget the still-present imprint of his lips against hers and regain focus on what Merak was saying.

  “As most of you know, our universe is held in place by thousands of threads of yin and yang, the forces which intrinsically connect us and ensure the delicate state of balance.”

  “What exactly are yin and yang?” asked Irina, grateful to be able to interrupt and draw her thoughts away from Tyr, the force of his presence still tightening a fist around her heart.

  “Yin and yang are the positive and negative elements of all things. One cannot exist without the other. Just as there is no light without darkness, no day without night, no earth without sky.” Merak nodded toward Terra and Tellurus before continuing. “There is no war without peace. War is sometimes necessary. When tyranny takes over you have to fight for freedom, truth and justice, but without peace the potential for forgiveness, a truce or a cessation of hostilities is lost. War then becomes an endless never-ending conflict that fuels hate, darkness, death, sorrow.”

  His words were heavy with regret as he spoke again. “On your planet alone there are countless territorial disputes that continue to escalate. Europe is fracturing. The Middle East is a war zone and has been for the last hundred years. The Americas are in collision over numerous economic decisions and that is just Earth.”

  “Every planet in our galaxy is currently unstable with conflicts rising daily,” Cassi carried on. “War and Peace must be unified, bonded so that The Balance can be reset. This will ensure that opportunities are created for discussion and for new treaties to be forged.”

  “And for that to happen, as War and Peace, we have to…as you call it…Realign?” said Tyr, ever direct.

  “Yes.”

  “How?” they asked in unison.

  “Perhaps Terra can explain this part,” said Merak. “Terra and Tellurus were Esseni just as you, over three thousand years ago. They held the essence of Earth and Sky.” Irina’s jaw dropped at that. Cassi’s mother was over three thousand years old! Terra smiled as Irina gaped at her. “Do you still hold Earth and Sky?” she asked.

  “Yes.” Terra’s smile flicked to Tellurus for a brief second and as she turned back, Irina could almost touch the heat that flowed between them it was so tangible. “We completed all three stages of the bonding process and continue to renew that bonding every eight hundred years.”

  “Explain the stages to them, please,” said Cassi.

  “There are three stages to the bonding process,” said Terra. “The first stage is identification. Many potentials are identified but not all manifest as Esseni, just as not every potential pairing connects. Some may they live their whole life without ever realizing what they were or could have been. You can be identified initially by your unique Esseni signature, a faint aura that surrounds you from birth. But to actually manifest, you have to cross each other’s path and make a connection with each other. If the connection is strong, the pairing will usually become…friendly, shall we say. They may share a kiss, which will cause the unique Taijitu mark, the symbol of yin and yang, to become apparent on your skin. Mine is on my right palm, Tellurus’s on his left. Because we are fully bonded ours show as the completed design, unlike yours.”

  She held up her hand to show the same symbol now embedded on Irina and Tyr’s shoulders, except the black and white colors were there, rather than just an outline. Irina found herself squirming a little at this point. Yes okay, so they had kissed. And done a whole lot more. But did everyone need to know?

  “This full manifestation ignites the Esseni auras’ intensity, which means that at this point it becomes a homing beacon for the Eunomi to locate them.”

  “I guess that also means the Discordants can see them,” said Tyr, ever the strategist.

  “Yes. Their soul aim is to create discord and conflict, so preventing Esseni bonding is essential to their cause. It is imperative that we keep Esseni safe, so when we identify them regardless of which stage they’re at, we send in protectors and warriors to monitor their safety.”

  “So what’s the next stage?”

  “Well now it becomes more complex. Every Esseni pairing is different but the next stage involves the fusion of the essences. As a child, each Esseni is given a token, a vessel of some description, often jewelery that represents in physical form the manifestation of their essence. Merak, I believe you have kept Irina’s pendant for her.”

  Merak drew his hand from his pocket and held out to Irina a necklace she had a vague memory of as a child. The pendant itself was a small crystal sphere, colored blue on one side. “I remember that!” she cried. “My mother gave it to me on my tenth birthday, just before…” She trailed off as she drew it into her hand.

  “Yes,” replied Merak quietly. “They passed it on to me at the orphanage when I found you. It’s one of the reasons we suspected you were of Lyrani descent.”

  Tellurus turned to Tyr. “We know you are also an orphan. Do you have anything like this in your possession?”

  “I did once. But it was stolen from me when I was on the streets,” he replied. “Now Abrasax has it. When he broke me out of jail he showed it to me.”

  “He must have identified you early on,” Tellurus remarked. “Did he make no mention of Esseni and the Realignment to you?”

  “Only recently,” said Tyr. “He didn’t say that much about it and then I escaped with Irina.” His expression was guarded and Irina could tell that Tyr was uncomfortable being the focus of their questions.

  Tellurus turned to Cassi and Borealis. “We will need to send some warriors in to retrieve it.”

  “Do you know much about your parents, Tyr?” asked Terra curiously. “The fact that you had the pendant indicates some Lyrani or Eunomi involvement in your life.”

  Tyr shrugged. “My father and my mother both died when I was four. I went to live with my father’s brother. He was an abusive alcoholic. I seriously doubt he was Lyrani.”

  “Perhaps your mother, then, what was her name?” asked Tani.

  Tyr swallowed hard before speaking. “Carita. Her name was Carita.” His voice was so low that Irina could feel how even just saying his mother’s name filled him with a storm of conflicting emotions. His pain, the threads of his sorrow reached out to her, the urge to comfort him so strong that the barricades she had erected almost began to fall.

  His statement made Tani gasp. “There was a Carita who was the Esseni of Love at the last Realignment!”

  Tyr’s brows drew together in a deep frown and Irina’s jaw dropped again. “How can that be?” she asked. Tani paused as if trying to decide how best to explain. “The Esseni pairing of Love and Hate also failed to connect at the last Realignment. She was betrayed by him to the Discordants but managed to escape their clutches and after…she disappeared. We never knew where she went. She had never been to Earth
so I don’t think she was looked for there. I wonder how she made it to Earth. No portal travelers reported her leaving.” Everyone stared between Tyr and Tani as the realization dawned.

  “Carita was a relation of mine, Tyr,” Tani continued, “a distant cousin, and a very strong saevici. She had a wolf spirit residing within her. I was told her heart was broken and that she wasted away. The wolf in her must also have been devastated as wolves mate for life. To lose one’s mate is usually a catastrophe. Somehow it seems she survived it all and met your father.”

  Irina found that she could imagine the devastation of losing the love of your life. Her eyes flickered to Tyr. He appeared utterly stunned by the revelations. Her heart ached for him and she felt an overwhelming compulsion again to draw him into her arms and soothe away the anguish in his eyes. But something held her back. He was still staring at Tani. “I guess that means we’re related,” he finally said.

  Merak broke the tension that had descended over all of them. “I think we should give Tyr some space. We can discuss this further tomorrow and plan our operation to retrieve the pendant.”

  “Good idea,” said Cassi ushering everyone out of the room until only she, Tyr, Irina and Tani remained.

  “Tani,” gulped Irina trying to dissipate some of the pain emanating from Tyr and give him a distraction. “I know you are also an Esseni but which one?”

  Tani turned her gaze from Tyr. “I am like Carita,” she said. “I am the Esseni of Love.”

  Even more stunned, Irina asked, “Does it always run in families?”

  “No, not always. I think because of what happened to Carita the essence has remained within my family until someone can resolve it.” Tyr flinched at that. “Are you saying the failure was my mother’s fault?”

  “No, Tyr… It was Hate. The last Esseni of Hate tricked her, played on her emotions. The Discordants captured her and tried to extract the essence but she escaped. She must have been incredibly strong to carry on living on Earth the way she did. And to eventually have you…” Her voice trailed off. “I’m impressed and very proud of her,” she whispered.

  “So the Discordants don’t need both essences?” asked Irina, noticing that Tyr had gone very quiet.

  “Controlling one Esseni can still cause enough damage to skew The Balance to a degree. To have total control of a duality, you need to harness both essences and the Discordants will go to any lengths to achieve that, which as you can imagine would not be good for the universe.”

  “So, this Realignment, you have to connect with the new Hate,” continued Irina, realizing the implications for Tani. “Have you met him yet?”

  “No. But we know where he is and I am soon to travel there to find him.”

  Irina was shocked at the calmness in her tone. Tani was going to seek out a man who could potentially betray her and give her up to the Discordants. But then so could Tyr.

  “Why go then?” she asked. “If he turns out like the last one…this Hate could do the same to you.”

  Tani simply shrugged. “It’s my duty.” She turned back to Tyr laying a hand on his arm, acknowledging the blood relationship between them. “I will leave you now, but if you wish to talk later…” The invitation floated in the air as Tani left.

  Irina stole another glance at Tyr. His black eyes were stormy with an internal battle she ached to calm. “Cassi,” she finally said, voicing the question that had been burning on the tip of her tongue for days. “What exactly is the third stage, the one that keeps The Balance in perfect harmony? What do you need us to do?”

  Cassi lifted her head, glancing at both of them as if debating the best way to phrase her reply. “We just need you to love each other.”

  Irina’s heart lurched on hearing the words out loud and she immediately felt electrical pinpricks buzzing insistently across her skin as her pulse jackhammered to a riot. Just love him. The magnetic pull toward Tyr compelled her eyes to seek out his face which was now expressing a level of shock and fury that did nothing but increase her agitation. “What happens if we don’t…love each other?” she finally managed to whisper.

  “As with Carita, The Balance will be chaotic and the Discordants will constantly pursue you to steal your essence.”

  Tyr’s deep voice cut in. “So basically…if we don’t love each other we’re screwed.”

  “Pretty much.”

  “Well that sucks,” he continued, his voice thick with emotion. “You can’t force us to love each other, Cassi,” he said.

  Irina felt all the air expelling from her lungs. “I…I need some air,” she gasped and headed for the door. Tyr made a movement as if to block her exit but Cassi held his arm. “Let her go,” she said. “Give her some space. It’s a lot to take in.”

  Irina disappeared, leaving Tyr alone with Cassi. With Irina’s absence and obvious distress came the sensation that half his soul had withered and died. All he wanted to do was love her. She clearly had no such feelings for him. For a brief second when he realized the extent of their bond and what it truly meant, he had experienced such elation. He could be with her, should be with her. Was meant to be with her.

  Her expression at the revelation had washed ice water over that joy. She hadn’t appeared elated but rather repulsed, so much so that she couldn’t wait to get away from him. He looked up to see Cassi eyeing him warily. She still hadn’t fully given him her trust.

  “I guess you need to go and make peace with Peace,” she said. He cringed. “Ha, ha, Cassi, that’s not particularly helpful. I expected more from a three-thousand-year-old immortal. You must have been in situations like this before.”

  A dark shadow crossed her eyes. “Yes,” she replied. “But no two Esseni are ever the same. I think Irina just doesn’t like the idea of losing her free will. She had no control the night her family died. She was helpless. After that, she had no choice but to do as she was told by the caregivers in the foster home. No one hurt her, but she couldn’t make her own decisions and when Merak and I found her, we always made sure that she had a say in her future. Loss of control is what scares her.” Tyr was in despair as Cassi’s words penetrated. The circumstances of their connection negated any control. They were in the midst of a storm that was propelling them forward, two boats tossed at sea with no anchor and no safe harbor. He could understand Irina’s fear and his heart sank with the knowledge of what he was compelled to do. “What about you, Tyr? What scares you?” She scanned him intently, waiting for his answer.

  His answer came quickly. “Losing Irina,” he said. Cassi tipped her head sideways as if she could see right through to his soul and at that moment, he was hiding nothing. He had stated a truth.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Abrasax twiddled his thumbs. He was waiting for Choronzon, having answered his summons for a conference call, but as usual, Choronzon clearly was in no rush. He liked to play games with his food. He so hoped he wasn’t food.He didn’t think so because right now the situation was under control.

  Tyr Bellor had escaped. Yes, but only because they had let him. He was now with the Eunomi and in a position to appropriate the other pendant and draw in the other Esseni. His most trusted spy had reported back that Merak had arrived with Irina’s pendant and they were planning to head for Abrasax Tower to go after Tyr’s. A smug grin played across his lips. Let them come. It would be too late. He had no doubt that Tyr would very shortly have the second pendant in his possession and that he would bring it to Abrasax in exchange for Sal’s daughters. Earthani were so gullible. He had other plans for the lovely Melanie and Delora.

  Rusalka intruded upon his happy place by reclining suggestively across his lap. “Abra, baby,” she whined, “I need fresh meat. Those two girls you let me play with are no fun anymore. One’s catatonic and the other just curls up into a ball and whimpers. I need a challenge. When’s the luscious, sexy War coming back? You know I’d love to sink my fangs into him.” She rubbed a hand suggestively over his crotch.

  Abrasax pushed her away roughly.
“Not now my sweet,” he said placatingly. “Choronzon is coming online. Try for a little sense of decorum will you! And have patience. I suspect we will be entertaining a lot more visitors for you to play with when War returns.”

  The screen blinked to life. Abrasax smoothed himself down, not wanting to appear either too relaxed or too on edge in front of Choronzon. His master’s face appeared, the full glory of his beast form filling the screen, wide mouth in motion, sucking and tearing flesh off what appeared to be animal bones. Abrasax knew better.

  Choronzon licked his fingers lazily. “Hey, Abrasax. I do so love a family bucket. This particular family, mum, dad and two itty bitty popcorn babies, taste so claw-lickin’ good! Remind me to ask the colonel for the recipe.” He chucked away what looked like an Earthani femur onto the pile of remains behind him. Abrasax waited, knowing not to make a comment. It was always best to let Choronzon do the talking. “So, Abra, tell me good news.”

  “Yes, oh Lord of the Abyss.” Abrasax clenched his fists every time had to call him that. “I have heard from my personal informant on Lyra that the Esseni vessel is within reach and it should only be a few days before it is in my charge.”

  “This informant is reliable?” asked Choronzon, picking bits of flesh from his nails.

  “Totally, they have been of great service in the past, when we almost caught Peace ten years ago and in our identification of War.”

  There was a gleam in Choronzon’s eyes. “What about the capture of Peace? We will need to extract her essence if she won’t turn to our cause.”

  “My informant assures me that we will have no problems taking her. As usual these Earthani follow their hearts rather than their heads.”

  “Well,” Choronzon remarked, “let us hope that War is all brain then, without a heart to speak of. Otherwise I will have to take yours instead. Heads make good balls for my balauri pets to play with and they love squeezing the blood out of hearts and using it to make beautiful paintings. You should have seen the one little Chomper made for me yesterday…a picture of me and him, holding hands.” He held his gnarled claws against his chest with a sigh. “It was a real heartbreak moment!”