by Nixon, Diana
“This is a very strong relationship; it can’t be destroyed in an instant. Even if someone tries to break it, remember that some things are beyond any influence, son. And this is something that you should never forget.”
Chapter 26. Dinner-party (Eileen)
I was waiting for Evan at the appointed place. I wondered why he had decided to have classes in the educational building. Could this be another test for me? We didn’t have practical training in a long time. Recently we have focused our attention on the history of Dever and old legends; studied the origin of power and energy along with ways of how to manage and keep them. Evan tried to put so much new information in my head that sometimes I felt like my brain was slowly melting from its overload. Day after day I came back to my room with a headache.
“Ready for a new lecture?” Evan asked, approaching me.
“Another lecture? Again?” I asked disappointed. “And here I hoped for something more interesting.”
“Ask and you shall receive. Okay, let’s give you a small break today. How about practicing a little magic?” Evan smiled mysteriously.
“Really? Are you going to teach me magic?” I asked happily.
“Not really. But the magic will be involved.”
“This sounds better than learning anymore history.”
Evan laughed.
“Are you already tired of my lectures?”
“A little bit,” honestly I replied. “By the way, with the absence of Alexis has anyone mentioned when I will be attending my classes?” I wondered.
“Not yet,” Evan shook his head. “But Patrick, being her temporary deputy, said that our lessons should continue. At least until the time they decide otherwise.”
“How long time does it usually take for candidates to pass tests in order for them to assume the presidency of Dever?”
“It’s always different. But this time it will take two days. As unforeseen events happened at the beginning of the academic year, Dever can’t be without a leader for too long. There will be only two tests. But no one knows what tests they will prepare. The League of Keepers always devises them and announces them on the first day.”
“Do you know who will participate besides Patrick?”
“Lavender Wilson, she is one of my teachers of magic spells and Caroline O'Brien, who is the head of the Faculty of Ventura.”
“Wouldn’t she know in advance what tests are being prepared and who will win?”
“It's not that simple. The tests are prepared a half an hour before they actually start, so that no one is able to prepare for them ahead of time. Furthermore, the decision of the winner is taken by the vote. This happens in the presence of all the candidates after the first test. That is a future that has not been decided, so it’s impossible to predict anything.”
“Right,” I nodded thoughtfully.
While I was listening to Evan, I didn’t notice we had come to the entrance of a completely dark room.
“Where are we?”
“This is a special auditorium for those who practice magic. It's dark in here, because there are no windows. The absence of windows is due to the need to hide what is going on in here from foreign eyes,” Evan replied, turning on the light in the room. Although it was quite difficult to call it “light” when in fact, there was only one small lamp, which barely illuminated the entrance to the auditorium itself.
“Well,” said Evan, closing the door behind us. “Now I’ll create two things with the help of magic spells. Then, after you have had a chance to study them and get a feeling for each, you can tell me in a few words what you feel and think about both.”
“Okay.”
Evan turned his back to me, made a few almost imperceptible movements and then he turned to face me. There were two shining identical-looking balls one in each hand.
“Come closer,” he said. “Concentrate and try to tell me as much as possible about these two things.”
As he requested, I came closer rising my hands to both sources of light.
“This one,” I said, pointing to an object in his right hand, “seems quite pleasant. To describe my feelings, then this light brings joy, and even the desire to smile. And this one... is on the contrary. This one makes me feel emptiness, darkness and cold.”
“Good. And now look at this.”
Evan again made some movements with his hands and balls of light disappeared. In their places were two apples now. One - a very beautiful and deep red. The other one – it was small, withered and almost entirely covered with black spots.
“By appearances, this one is what I would like to eat,” I said pointing to the big apple. “But then again the one that is not attractive seems somehow like it would be the most delicious. And yet... from this eye appealing apple comes the same cold, as from the ball, which you showed me before.”
Evan nodded. Without saying a word, he threw up both apples and they scattered into many pieces. Then, falling on the floor they formed two handfuls, one gold and glowing, and one dark and dull.
“Which one would you choose?” Evan asked.
It seemed strange, but I couldn’t give him a definite answer to his question.
“I want to take a little of each. May I?”
Evan nodded again. I leaned over to one that was dark and took several pieces. I didn’t want to take all of them. Then I turned to another one and did the same.
“Here,” I said, holding out all those pieces to Evan. “I like these.”
“Well done, Eileen,” he said, looking at my choices. “You did everything right.”
“Okay, so what's the point, Evan?”
“The idea is that you were able to determine where dark magic is, and where the white one is. I deliberately didn’t give you clear clues and deliberately shuffled the pieces intermixing them. But you didn’t just choose the ones that were bright and beautiful; you were absolutely right and realized that those were not good.”
“All is not gold that glitters,” I said.
“Right,” Evan agreed. “I have a reason and a purpose that I chose to start these experiments. It is very important that you know the difference between black and white magic.”
And then he told me about the note that Christian got. I really didn’t quite understand the part where he told me that a supposedly random passer-by, whom they met in the town, gave Christian that note. Either way, that part, actually, worried me the least.
“So, if Eric still manages to get to me, it won’t be fun for me at all,” I pointed.
“We won’t let that happen,” replied Evan. We were finally back outside, and the sun was shining beautifully everything around us. It seemed like we had spent forever in the darkness, and though the absence of light didn’t affect my ability to see, to be outside felt so much better.
“Don’t you think bringing Eric to Dever is rather risky? What if he tries to use one of the Embry students to restore his powers?”
“We will all be watching for him, Eileen. You may not know this, but there is a special place in Dever for those, who can’t control their abilities. He will be kept there until we find out where he has hidden the Cup and take him to the Council. The one thing you must not forget - is that you need to be constantly close to one of us.”
“Ah, Evan, please! You don’t need to keep reminding me of that. I’m already under someone's protection every single moment of every day! Do you have any idea how irritating it is? Thank God, you don’t follow me to the bathroom!”
He hardly gulped another chuckle.
“You look stunning when you are pissed, by the way.”
“Wait a minute, it's not as accidental as it seems, right?” I guessed.
“Eileen, you don’t seem to understand how we are all worried about you.”
“Damn it, Evan! I feel like a five-year baby!”
“Don’t get angry. It won’t help,” he said, grinning.
“Well, thanks a lot!”
I knew that they were taking all the security mea
sures for my safety. But that understanding didn’t diminish my anger. Of course, I liked to be with all of them, but not when everyone acted as my bodyguard. I used to think that Christian’s constant supervision was too much, and now I had to agree to 24/7 security. Geez, I felt like a criminal! Unfortunately there was nothing I could do about it, so, I guess, I had to arm myself with patience.
“Do you know where Christian is?” I asked Evan.
“Are you going to take your anger out on him?”
“No way! I just wanted to talk to him.”
“The last time I saw him he was at Patrick’s apartment. Maybe he's still there. As far as I know, he didn’t have much practice today.”
“Okay, take me to my room then, Amanda will come up there to take your place. If you meet him, tell him to come to see me.”
As I expected, my friend had already returned from classes. To my surprise, Lucas wasn’t there with her. Amanda stood in front of the bed, where, as it seemed, was laying her entire wardrobe.
“I can’t decide what to wear for today’s dinner,” she complained.
“Your parents will recognize you in everything,” I pointed, sitting on the empty edge of her bed.
“I know, but there will be other guests too. What about these pants and this shirt?”
“Put on some nice dress instead. Less formally, but not less elegant.”
“You're right. Maybe this one?” asked my friend, showing me a maroon chiffon dress. It was strapless and freely flowed down to the knees.
“Just what you need,” I smiled approvingly. “Would you help me to pick something out too? Though, it’s not necessary to turn out my closet. Don’t want to put it all back later.”
“You know I always do that. It’s better to see all the options,” Amanda said, coming to my wardrobe.
I couldn’t help remembering how when we were going every time to the party, while living in Norfield, she dragged most of her clothes to my place. We were deciding for a long time what to put on, then dumped the whole lot of this back in her bags and left it for tomorrow. And sometimes - for the day after tomorrow. When Amanda remembered about the clothes she left out, it all depended on her mood after the party. If that was successful, she could stop by to see me the next morning to discuss the events, clothes and gossips of the last night. If, however, she remained dissatisfied with the party, the next day I had to listen to her complaints. Sometimes, late in the afternoon, Amanda decided that it was time to cheer up, and we went to have dinner at our favorite cafe called Apard. A good dinner and desert rescued any bad situation.
It’s a pity that those days now seem like a distant past...
“Hello!” called Amanda. “Are you still here?”
“Oh, sorry, I just run back over something.”
“So I thought,” she said, taking a soft pink dress.
“It's your gift, remember?”
“Of course, I do. Particularly the fact that I had to literally fight for it with some blonde, who was clearly wrong about the size.”
I smiled. Amanda’s fanatic passion for shopping didn’t surprise me anymore. She just couldn’t pass by anything she liked very much, even if to buy it, she had to wait in a line for hours.
“Those shoes that I bought before Christmas would go perfectly with it,” I said, approving her choice.
There was still a lot of time before dinner, so we went to the dining room to have some snacks, then we walked around campus a little, reminiscing about all sorts of funny stories from our past life.
“Seems as it was so long ago,” as if reading my mind, Amanda said.
“Yes. Very, very long ago,” I nodded.
“Do you miss home?” she asked.
“Every day,” honestly I said. “Even though it always seemed too big and too empty, I felt good there. But most of all I miss the beauty of the local sky. Here, of course, it’s also nice, but I can’t relax and enjoy its view.”
“Neither do I,” Amanda agreed. “Even when I spend the evening together with Lucas, the anxiety never leaves me.”
“I would give anything to go in time for a few minutes in Norfield. Stephanie is at home now, probably making something delicious for dinner.”
“I'd also be happy to go home. You know they say, that the brightest stars are shining in the place of your childhood... Maybe we just haven’t grown up enough to forget about it?”
“I doubt we'll ever be able to forget about it,” I said, taking a deep breath to stop the tears pooling in my eyes. “I don’t want to forget about it. There are things, and even places that help you to live, help you to keep some warmth and comfort in your soul. You can always go back there, and there will always be someone waiting for you...”
“Dad promised that we can spend Christmas Eve at home. Like normal people,” Amanda rolled her eyes.
“Yes, Christian had told me about that,” I chuckled.
“Have I mentioned how glad I am to see you together with my brother?” she asked excited. “I love you and I love him, so when you get married, I won’t have to quarrel with either one of you, because I may not like your husband or his wife. So take care of my nerves, both of you, and do not quibble!” being as serious as possible Amanda added. I laughed.
“Well, I promise to do all my best! I’m not sure about Christian, he seems to enjoy every single time he gets on your nerves.”
“Oh, I’m sure, he does! But he’s my brother after all, who would blame him?”
We both burst out laughing.
We were in such a good mood, as we went back to our room and started getting ready for dinner. At exactly half past six someone knocked at the door.
“I bet that this is Lucas. He has never been late not even a single minute,” Amanda said, walking toward the door.
She was right, but only partially. Together with Lucas there was Christian, standing in the doorway. And he was, well, just awesome! His suit looked perfect on him. Amanda and Christian had been brought up to look elegant all the time. Going on a picnic or to some meeting, she never forgot about appropriate accessories and hairstyle. She carefully considered even what fabric was best for a particular event, weather and time of day.
This time, Christian chose the color of wet asphalt for his outfit, in combination with a white shirt and cufflinks. I think I stopped breathing, enjoying the view. He smiled leisurely, and I couldn’t stop myself from thinking about the taste and tenderness of his perfect lips and the way his presence and his seductive gazes made me go crazy. I was ready to die for his touch and even in the distance the waves of his warmth were making my body hot. I was burning alive. I shook my head and tried to calm down, knowing that Christian had already guessed every my though and every secret desire.
“Good evening,” Lucas greeted, smiling happily to Amanda. He had also chosen a suit to wear for dinner, only in lighter colors.
“You are both beautiful, as always,” said Christian, coming up to me. He stroked the line of my neck with his fingers and drawing closer to my ear, quietly added: “Your entire aura is shining with bright-red. If we don’t want to attract too much attention to ourselves, we’d better think about something less… passionate.”
“Then stop looking at me like this,” I whispered back. “Your eyes are stripping off all my clothes.”
One of his fingers touched my lower lip and I barely stop myself from moaning, as the waves of pleasure rushed thought my heart.
“Uh, ladies, I don’t know what we would have done without you,” he said, smiling with his amazing green eyes.
“Good Lord! I finally heard a compliment from you!” Amanda exclaimed, breaking our intimacy.
“Don’t be silly, my dear. I often give you compliments,” Christian said, stepping aside. I took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. My thoughts were totally blurred.
“I must have a hearing problem,” muttered Amanda. Christian shook his head, grinning.
“Next time, for your birthday instead of a car I will give you a big
cake, along with tons of compliments,” he said.
“No way! It’s better to have another car,” Amanda snapped.
“It’s always hard to please you, sis! Watch out, Lucas, you’ll get tired of this capricious girl,” laughing, Christian added. Lucas, in turn, gave Amanda a happy smile that was speaking for itself that he wasn’t afraid of her whims. She responded just the same way. And, I must confess, I’ve never seen her eyes shining with so much tenderness. She was definitely happy.
“Is everyone ready, so that we can go now?” Lucas asked. “It’s not polite to be late.”
“Little sister, it looks like Lucas will finally teach you how to be punctual.”
“He is just worried before a meeting with our parents, and wants to make a good impression,” Amanda whispered as we left the room.
On the occasion of the upcoming dinner, Amelia came to Dever. She didn’t spend much time here, because she didn’t like to leave her house empty. Patrick was flying to Norfield every few days, so the distance didn’t cause them any obstacles. Christian’s parents were a wonderful couple. I always admired people who, without any supernatural bonds could understand and truly love each other as much as they did.
When we got to Patrick’s apartment Evan and Darcy, also invited, were already there. Amanda introduced Lucas to her parents:
“Mom, this is Lucas Stanton.”
“Very nice to meet you, Mrs. Fairey,” he said.
“It’s my pleasure,” Amelia replied, smiling radiantly both of them.
“Dad, you have already met Lucas, right?”
“Of course. Good to see you young man,” said Patrick. They shook their hands and Patrick invited everyone to the living room.
“Girls, would you help me a little, please?” asked Amelia. Amanda, Darcy and I went into a spacious kitchen. The room was filled with pleasant aromas of cheese, mushrooms, pepper and some sweet spices. A mixture of apples and canella caught my attention. I turned my head to the right and I saw a huge pie with the very ingredients on its top.
“Here, please, take this to the table, dear,” Amelia asked Amanda. “Darcy, could you help me with fruits? I don’t like to hire a chef, when I have time and opportunity to make everything myself. Besides, I get a lot of pleasure doing it,” she smiled radiantly. “Eileen, how was your meeting with Stephanie, by the way?”
