‘It won’t be for a few days, as I’m going away.’
‘Are you coming to my party tonight?’
‘I couldn’t stay long, I have an early flight, and I don’t think the wife would be happy if I partied here without her.’
Alex nodded, and smiled as an idea came to him. ‘You’ve heard about the vase?’
‘Yes, have you got something in mind?’
‘We could go and get your wife, and you can leave from here in the morning.’
They made their way back to the mansion, and ten minutes later they were standing in a lounge with a startled looking Mrs Stevens.
‘Sorry, Grace, I didn’t mean to frighten you,’ said Ron, as he threw her a smile. ‘This is Alex.’
‘My Lord, I wasn’t expecting you to come here,’ said Grace Stevens, an average size woman, with long brown hair, and a pleasant smile.
‘Just call me Alex, please, I’m no lord.’
‘Well, Alex, this is a nice surprise. I’ve heard a lot about you.’
Ron put his arm around his wife. ‘We are invited to Alex’s birthday party, and can leave from there in the morning.’
Blaze was the only other person Alex told about the paintball, as she had a list of everyone’s sizes. Joseph and George already knew as they were there at the time.
The party as usual went well, and Alex even got a birthday kiss off Carrie. Not a long one, just a peck on the lips, and a taste he did not want to lose.
The following day Alex sat on a sofa contemplating on what to do.
George glanced over at him. ‘Something on your mind?’
Alex leant forward. ‘I was thinking of visiting the Order.’
George smiled. ‘That is good news, when were you thinking of going?’
‘Today, I’m just wondering about the best way to arrive.’
James grinned. ‘Just appear with that glowing thing you do, and frighten the hell out of them.’
‘And you’re a member,’ Alex snorted. ‘I was thinking about appearing outside and knocking the front door.’
‘Don’t be disrespectful to them dear,’ said Luella. ‘They’ve been very helpful to you.’
George clasped his hands together. ‘They have been waiting a very long time.’
Alex nodded. ‘Ok, I’ll appear in their main hall with my bodyguards, once you’ve informed them we’re coming.’
‘And who are your bodyguards?’ said James.
‘You of course, Asima, Rho and Chi,’ said Alex, and the wolves moved over to them.
‘What about me?’ said Carrie, somewhat injured.
Alex rubbed his chin. ‘I thought you could stand next to me for moral support.’
Carries eyes grew big. ‘Well then, I must accept your offer if I’ll be of help.’
Jodie sat next to Carrie. ‘I’d like to come too . . . I’ve never been to a castle.’
‘We best come,’ Claire told him. ‘Not as bodyguards, but we’ll need to keep an eye on you.’
Alex shrugged. ‘Is there anyone who doesn’t want to go?’
‘It has been such a long time since I went,’ said Joseph, ‘and it would be nice to see the place again.’
‘Why did you never go back?’
‘I did not want to leave the shop for too long.’
James scratched his head. ‘But you’re never there anymore.’
‘I sold it, and put it up for sale when Alex collected his items.’ Joseph smiled. ‘I thought it was time for a holiday.’
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘You haven’t had a holiday.’
‘My young friend, this has been nothing but a holiday for me.’
Alex glanced around the hall with everyone staring at him. ‘OK, we’ll all go.’
CHAPTER TWO
The Order of Siphon
Formed in 1874 the Order of Siphon is no religious cult as the five founding members all had different faiths. The Order was formed after they had met the mysterious stranger who brought the group together and gave them tasks. His promise to them for fulfilling their part of the bargain was success for their families, and although none of them harboured any desire for money, most of them would become wealthy. Chizoba of the Vrede tribe in Africa had no interest in wealth, just the protection of his people. He had only one task and returned home to organise it, but a few of his people would join the Order. Edward Castor had three tasks which could only be done in England. He would only be able to do two of the tasks, as the other would be for a descendant yet to be born.
The members named the Order after the stranger who gave them a castle to use. Three members moved their families in and set up work, and their tasks were the wealth. They believed Siphon immediately, as he appeared with two large wolves who they could communicate with. It was the reason they were all chosen, as they had psychic abilities. Over one hundred and forty years later a few of their descendants were in a large room with windows which looked down over a forest. Six sat at a large round wooden table, an idea one had from the Arthurian legend, all worried.
Leif Larson a tall blonde haired man leaned forward. ‘How many more of these meetings will we be having?’
Gudrid Melberg, a middle-aged woman shrugged. ‘Will we have to leave here?’
‘That will be up to our lord,’ said Leif.
‘Our task is nearly over, and he will have no need for us,’ said Victor Vasov, a middle-aged man with glasses.
‘And what will we do then?’ Maria Vasov his wife asked.
Leif frowned. ‘Go our separate ways I guess.’
‘That’s a bit extreme,’ said Sarah Larson. ‘Why not let us hear what my father has to say first?’
Leif leant back in his chair. ‘That’s what I intend to do.’
Victor waved his hand out in front of him. ‘What difference does it make? We have completed our tasks. We took care of the money, and he doesn’t need us anymore . . . that’s why he hasn’t come here.’
‘Where does all this bitterness come from?’ said Malek Singh.
Victor sighed. ‘It’s not bitterness, my friend, it’s sadness. Our task has always been about the money, and when it’s over the only thing left will be his castle.’
Malek nodded. ‘Yes, but we have plenty of money, and can carry on somewhere else.’
Sarah smiled. ‘Yes, we could do that, and never have to split up.’
‘I know,’ said Victor, trying to smile, ‘but this has always been our home.’
‘It’s still our home,’ said Malek. ‘The Order is very wealthy, and we could set up anywhere around here.’
‘There’s no way we would end the Order, too much work has gone in to get where we are now,’ said Leif, as a stocky man about six-foot tall and a woman of average size entered the room.
‘MOM . . . DAD . . .’ Sarah shouted, and ran to them.
‘Hey, honey,’ said Ron Stevens, and hugged his daughter.
‘Ron, what’s our lord like?’ said Victor.
Ron sat down. ‘Alex you mean.’
‘You mean, Lord Alex,’ Leif argued.
Ron shook his head. ‘No, just Alex, and you better get used to it as he doesn’t like being called lord.’
Gudrid smiled. ‘Just like Siphon.’
‘So what’s Alex like?’ said Victor.
‘He’s a very likeable fella.’
Maria put her fingers through her hair. ‘I believe Victor wants to know if he really is the one.’
‘Oh yes, I knew straight away as did George and Joseph. You can just sense his power, and don’t forget he saved his daughters.’
‘And he killed the warlock and lots of demons,’ Sarah added.
‘They killed them,’ said Ron. ‘They fight as a group, not all of them fight, as they have other talents.’
Leif raised an eyebrow. ‘George told us a couple of them can float.’
‘They can do many things from what I understand, and are quite talented.’
‘What are the pucas and pixies like?’ said Sarah.
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‘You will love them, they’re very cute.’
Victor glanced across the table at them. ‘Will he be coming here?’
‘I’m sure he will soon,’ said Ron. ‘He had the warlock problem when he found out about us, and now has the witch problem.’
‘Many of us are worried he will close us down,’ said Malek.
Ron raised both eyebrows. ‘Why on earth would he do that?’
‘Our tasks are nearly over,’ said Maria, ‘and this is his castle after all.’
‘I don’t think he has any interest in it.’
‘He could sell the place,’ said Victor.
‘And you could buy it.’
‘I don’t know if that feels right with me,’ said Leif. ‘Can we really carry on without him?’
‘Whether it feels right or not, it keeps you together.’
Malek nodded. ‘I agree . . . we would be lost without the castle.’
‘Then let us wait until he gets here,’ said Victor, when Ron’s phone rang.
‘Hello,’ he said, and put his hand up, and the room went quiet for a couple of minutes. ‘OK, I’ll tell them.’
‘Who was that?’ said Sarah.
Ron grinned. ‘George Mizar, he told me Alex will be here within the hour, in fact they’re all coming.’
Silence filled the room until Gudrid spoke. ‘We need more medallions for his friends.’
‘We have plenty,’ said Leif, as they quickly exited the room.
~~~~
Alex dressed in a pair of dark jean and a light blue short-sleeved shirt, which Carrie bought him.
She looked him up and down. ‘You look smart.’
‘And you have taste.’
‘You got the boxers on, too?’ Carrie grinned, and Alex turned red.
‘How long will we be?’ said Summer. ‘I have a dinner to cook.’
‘You will not need to cook today, dear lady,’ said George. ‘The Order will take care of it.’
Summer shrugged. ‘I can live with that.’
George had them stand in one large group with Alex and Carrie in the centre. The children, wolves, pucas and pixies were in front of them. Alex held the vase, and George thought of the castle which was in Norway so House could take the image from his mind and place it in Alex’s. The hall they appeared in was larger than the one in the mansion. It looked like everyone in the castle had come to greet them, including many security guards which looked like a small army.
To Alex’s dismay, most of them bowed or curtsied and a couple of them even prostrated on the floor. ‘No, no, that will not do,’ he sighed. ‘Do get up, bowing is bad enough, but that’s just wrong.’
‘I’m sorry, my lord,’ said a young guard.
‘There’s no need for apologies, and my name is Alex, just Alex.’ He guessed they would call him lord, but didn’t understand why, apart from the fact it was his Order . . . not that he knew why that was either. Alex hoped by visiting the castle he would get the answers he wanted. Why the Order belonged to him? Why had Siphon chosen him? He knew now, and accepted that those answers would not be coming soon.
‘Sorry, Lord Alex,’ said another man.
James grinned. ‘This is gonna be a long day.’
‘Alex, let me introduce you to everyone,’ said Ron, stepping in quickly. The introductions were quite lengthy and the castle residents were very excited to see the pixies and pucas.
‘I should ask you more questions, as it might have saved you a flight.’
‘Yes,’ said Ron, ‘and I could’ve had a few more drinks at your party.’
Victor clasped his hands together interlocking his fingers. ‘Alex, we have waited so long I don’t know what to say.’
‘I apologise, I would’ve been sooner but I was busy.’
‘No, my lord . . . erm . . . I mean, Alex, we have waited for many years and now I’m stuck for words.’
Alex nodded. ‘Give us a tour of the castle . . . I’m sure the questions will come to you.’
‘Yes, very good,’ said Victor. ‘Follow me.’
‘Not just yet, I have to give out these medallions,’ said Gudrid, and walked over to them with Sarah who was carrying a box.
‘What’s this for?’ said Carrie, as Gudrid put one around her neck.
Alex gave her a coy smile. ‘You’ve just become a member of the Order of Siphon.’
‘Sound’s cool, what’s it about?’
‘That you’ll find out when we have the tour,’ said Alex, and wondered what they will say when they realise they are part of his Order.
Sarin frowned. ‘Don’t we get one?’
Gudrid turned to Alex who nodded. ‘You don’t need one of course, but they’re such nice necklaces and you shouldn’t miss out.’
Victor led the way and they followed. Alex carried Flax as she was nervous of the surroundings. Kaeya sat on his shoulder. None of the pucas or pixies received a medallion as they were now under the protection of the Order. The castle might look old and gothic from the outside, but the inside was all modern. The first room they entered was a library twice the size of the one in the mansion, and it also contained many computers.
James glanced around at the many bookshelves. ‘Someone likes reading.’
‘This is no ordinary library,’ Victor told them. ‘The only fictional books are old and rare at the other end of the room, the rest of the books are for reference, and mostly about myths and legends from around the world. It’s just a hobby that most of us like, but it seemed important.’
‘Sounds interesting,’ said Alex. ‘Have you found anything yet?’
‘Just a couple, an ogre, and one we believed was a vampire.’
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘You weren’t sure?’
Victor shook his head. ‘No, he had killed two people by the time our soldiers got there and had to stop him, but it was bullets that killed him.’
‘That don’t sound like a vampire to me,’ said Claire.
Victor shook his head again. ‘No, it killed like one, but it was bullets which finished it. I would’ve worried we had made a mistake if its body hadn’t burst into flames and disappeared.’
‘Could it have been a demon playing at being a vampire?’ said James.
‘Or that they’re demons in the first place,’ said Alex. ‘What about the ogre?’
Victor showed them a computer screen with a rough image of the creature. It wore ragged clothing around its waist, and had large arms.
Alex noticed it had what looked like tusks sticking up from its lower jaw. ‘How many were there?’
‘Just the one,’ said Victor. ‘We had to destroy it as it had already killed five people.’
‘Where did you find the thing?’
‘Up in the mountains . . . not too far from here.’
‘We check out all rumours we hear of, however strange,’ said Leif, ‘but never knew about the pucas and pixies until you found them.
‘Alex is a magnet for strange things,’ said Claire.
Alex smiled at her. ‘That’s so true.’
Claire shook her head. ‘It doesn’t faze you in the slightest they found an ogre and a vampire. Did you know they existed?’
‘You fought demons with us, we have pixies and pucas, my mother is older than history. No, I didn’t know they existed, but I expect we’ll discover many more.’
The next room they were shown contained more computers, and one wall full of screens with more security men monitoring them. Most of the images they could see were of the castle, but others had images of forests and lakes.
‘Lord Alex,’ said one of the security men, ‘and I will call you lord as being a soldier dictates that I should. I am Major Henrik Melberg.’
‘But, Major, I’m not a soldier,’ said Alex.
‘You’re the leader of the Order, so you outrank me,’ said Henrik, he was a tall stocky man with short brown hair. ‘You might not be a soldier, but you are a warrior.’
‘He has you there,’ said Paige.
‘Then, Major, I take it this is a surveillance room,’ said Alex.
‘Yes, my lord, some are for the castles security and the others are of where there have been sightings.’
Alex arched an eyebrow. ‘Sightings?’
‘Yes, of anything strange, we like to keep a check on everything.’
James stared at the screens. ‘You’ve got some technology here.’
‘Yes, all the latest,’ said Leif, ‘and some the public doesn’t know about.’
Luella glanced around the room. ‘You’re very well organised here.’
Victor nodded. ‘We have been here a long time since Syphon let the Order use the Castle.’
Luella looked somewhat forlorn. ‘He never said anything to me, and it might have been fun coming here all those years ago.’
‘He probably didn’t want you side-tracked,’ said Daralis.
‘True,’ said Luella. ‘He was very meticulous in what he did.’
Victor raised both eyebrows. ‘You’ve met him?’
‘Yes, if it was the man I worked for all those years ago, many times.’
‘I thought I told you,’ said George.
‘Well the lady is Alex’s mother,’ said Malek, ‘so I guess she would have met him.’
‘He wasn’t my father, if that’s what you believe,’ said Alex.
Marek put a hand to his mouth. ‘No, my lord, I was not trying to presume anything.’
‘I know, it’s confusing, and there are many answers we all want.’
Victor showed them into a gym, also bigger than the one at the mansion. The canteen looked much like the party room, and the social room as they called it was much like the hall at the mansion, with the sofas and a bigger fireplace. The last room contained a firing range where most of them had an attempt. To her surprise, as she never held a real gun before, Jodie never missed. After the tour they split into smaller groups, with Luella and Daralis taking a lot of interest in Sarah. Alex found himself sitting at the large round table where Kaeya thought it would be fun to run across and jump on Joseph who sat opposite.
He didn’t seem to mind.
‘We were talking before you arrived about the Order being closed down,’ said Maria, as she watched the pixie. ‘Our tasks are almost complete, and we will not be needed anymore.’
Other Worlds: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Two - Fantasy Page 2
