‘I know, what’s your name soldier?’
‘I’m Captain Petrov, my lord.’
‘Then, Captain, we can dispense with the apologies,’ said Alex, as the soldiers were now gaining conscious thanks to Adair and the elves.
Henrik helped a soldier stand. ‘Alex, what has happened to them?’
Alex almost smiled at the major for using his name, and would’ve if he wasn’t so angry. ‘Dark magic possessed them.’
‘It will not possess them again,’ said Adair, and placed his hand on the Majors head. ‘He will never possess you now.’
‘This is the great wizard, Adair, my uncle,’ said Alex.
Henrik bowed. ‘My lord, we have heard so much about you.’
‘And these are elf lords, Torgon, Thalion and Martein,’ Alex added.
All the soldiers bowed. ‘We are honoured,’ said Henrik.
‘How is it that you’re here?’ said Alex.
‘After George told us of the portal, we made a base here to keep a watch on it.’
‘Good idea, but we must leave you now. I’ll be in touch with you very soon, whether it’s here or at the castle.’
‘We will look forward to that indeed,’ said Henrik.
~~~~
Carrie wiped her eyes. ‘I don’t understand how I could’ve thought the mansion was full of demons.’
‘He is a powerful enchanter,’ said Luella, ‘and could make you believe or do anything.’
Carrie shivered. ‘Then I didn’t spend three nights with him.’
Daralis shook her head. ‘No, he just wanted you to think that to help confuse you.’
‘Why did he choose me?’
‘He must have seen you with Alex, and thought you were together.’
‘Why do I feel light-headed, and tired?’ said Carrie, as she leant on Blazes’s shoulder.
‘The magic was strong, as was the countercharm I had to use,’ Luella told her. ‘You will sleep soon, but you’ll feel much better afterwards.’
‘I don’t think I’ll ever feel better.’
~~~~
Alex returned to the mansion, Carrie wasn’t there, just many worried looking faces. ‘Where is she?’
‘Paige and Claire took her upstairs,’ said Daralis.
‘Did you find him?’ Blaze asked.
Alex nodded. ‘Yeah, but he vanished before I got to him.’
Torgon glanced at Alex, he also looked angry. It was obvious to everyone the fact it was an elf who tried to harm their new friends, and saviours, upset and somewhat shamed him. ‘You said you knew how he managed to return to our world.’
‘I thought I knew, but now I know.’
‘What has happened since going after him?’
‘He vanished before I could do anything, just like the witches did before,’ said Alex. ‘What kind of power do you need to do that?’
‘It would take great power,’ said Adair. ‘If you don’t have a talisman like you do.’
‘But the witches could do it quite easily.’
Adair shook his head. ‘It wasn’t them, but some demon that would be there now and then, he would usually appear with the warlock.’
‘Like the demon that got in your way before you could kill them at the cave?’
Adair shook his head. ‘No, I killed the demon, but I saw a hooded figure behind the witches.’
‘It wasn’t a demon was it? It was some enchanter with dark magic, and I did wonder why the witches didn’t try to leave before you killed them.’
Torgon rubbed his chin. ‘I don’t understand what the witches have to do with it.’
‘James has told you everything that has happened. The witches vanished when they were in trouble, but they couldn’t when Adair attacked and killed them.’
Adair sat on a sofa. ‘So he helped the witches get to the elf world after telling them the elves no longer used their power, and decided not to help when they needed to escape.’
‘If I’m right,’ said Alex. ‘He used them to get to the elf world, and when he did, what ever happened to the witches he didn’t care.’
Thalion scratched his head. ‘If he did arrive with them, how is it that we did not find out about it until today?’
‘I don’t think for one minute that he thought the witches would fail in taking your world, but they did. He had to hide, and because of that he went for one of those I love.’
‘Dagur told them of our world and the spell to enter,’ said Torgon, ‘and when they finally managed to get through, he left them.’
‘Yes, and I think I upset him quite a lot. He most likely waited for us to leave, but it was too late as you got your powers back, and he took it out on Carrie,’ said Alex. ‘Is she OK?’
Daralis nodded. ‘She’s fine, just let her sleep.’
Alex felt his mood getting darker, and his anger building. ‘I will find him, and he’ll have nowhere to run, he’ll answer for everything he has done.’
Torgon put a comforting hand on Alex’s shoulder. ‘You will not be alone, as I shall be there alongside you.’
‘As will I,’ Thalion added.
‘I am just sorry we did not stop him,’ said Martein.
‘Never be sorry for the deeds of others,’ said Alex. ‘I’d be here for a long time doing that for what my people have done.’
‘You have other soldiers, too,’ said Thalion, ‘but they did not help much.’
Alex rubbed his eyes, he was feeling irritable now, and wanted to go hunting. ‘Their intentions are very honest, but magic is something they can’t fight.’
Thalion considered it. ‘Maybe you need a few elves to work with them.’
‘Yes,’ said Adair, ‘from what I’ve heard about your Order, they would appreciate it.’
‘If you want to choose some who would like to work with them, House will take you there,’ said Alex, quietly.
‘Isn’t Carrie more important?’ said Claire, as she and Paige walked downstairs.
Alex managed to stop himself from snapping at her. ‘Yes, she is, but am I allowed to go and see her?’
‘No, not yet,’ said Claire, with some tenderness, ‘let her sleep for now.’
‘We have a few who would go,’ said Torgon. ‘And you know one of them.’
‘Yes, Rilien, I bet he would love to go.’
‘I’m happy you’ve got it all sorted,’ said Paige.
Alex shot her an angry look. ‘I’m sorry I haven’t left yet, but I wanted to see her before I go.’
‘And where do you think you’re going?’
‘Where do you think? I’m going to hunt him down, and he’ll wish he’d never heard of me when I’ve finished with him.’
‘I thought we were a team?’ said Claire.
‘We are, but he did this to Carrie because of me and that changes things.’
‘No, Nephew, you won’t be going anywhere alone,’ said Adair, as he put his hands on Alex’s shoulders. ‘You have too many friends who will not let you.’
‘This is my fight.’
‘This is our fight,’ said Torgon, ‘and I will be by your side as I already told you.’
‘As will I,’ Thalion insisted.
‘As will everyone who lives here,’ said James.
Alex went to argue further, when the children came running out of the cinema straight to him.
‘Why you sad, Papa?’ said Shaula.
‘Someone was bad to one of our friends,’ said Alex.
‘We know, but she is safe now.’
‘You’re not going to look for the bad man on your own,’ said Alhena.
‘If you did, then we would have to come with you,’ said Sarin.
‘We would protect you, Papa,’ said Adhara.
‘There’s no need, your papa will never be going anywhere alone,’ said Claire, as she picked her up. ‘We are just going to take some of our new friends on a trip to see the castle.’
‘Not the same castle from your dream?’ said Torgon.
Alex shook his
head. ‘No, this is a different one.’
George listened with interest. ‘Are you saying you’re thinking of leaving some of your people at the castle?’
‘Yes,’ said Torgon, ‘if that will be OK? I think it will be beneficial for both of us.’
‘I think it’s a wonderful idea, and so will the Order,’ said George. ‘When are we going?’
‘How much time do you need?’ Alex asked the elves.
‘No more than an hour, with House’s help,’ said Torgon.
‘We have to include Marakus and Roscoe in this,’ said Thalion.
Blaze arched an eyebrow. ‘And the ladies?’
Thalion smiled. ‘Of course, we would not dare forget them.’
Alex nodded. ‘Call it two hours, there’s no need to rush.’
George picked his phone up off the table. ‘Should I inform the Order that you will be visiting them?’
‘Yes, but not the reason we are going.’
‘I think you should get changed,’ said Paige.
‘Again.’
‘Yes, you’ve got another outfit similar to the one you wore at the festival.’
‘Are you coming, too?’
‘No, I want to watch out for Carrie.’
‘How long will she sleep for?’ said James.
Luella shrugged. ‘Could be an hour, or even as much as eight.’
‘Let’s hope it’s just the hour,’ said Alex. ‘It would be nice if she came with us.’
Claire raised an eyebrow. ‘I don’t think she will be in the mood to go with you.’
‘You’re probably right,’ said Alex, feeling very miserable. ‘I just hate the thought of her waking up to find that we’ve left her here.’
‘She will understand.’
~~~~
Alex climbed the stairs an hour later leaving a few of the others wondering about his relationship with Carrie.
Adair scratched his chin. ‘I don’t like to intrude on my nephews feelings, but how can they love each other so much as they do, and are only friends.’
‘Quite easily,’ said Paige. ‘Alex is the most loving man I’ve ever known, he doesn’t take any sign of affection as a come on.’
‘And Paige should know,’ James quipped.
Blaze gave him a hard look. ‘Shouldn’t you be getting changed, too.’
‘I thought it would be really nice living in a house full of women, until most decided to become my mother,’ James sulked, and climbed the stairs.
Paige smiled, as she watched him go. ‘James is correct, as I do know more about Alex than most. He’s very complicated when it comes to love, and you could share his bed as I did many a time, and it meant nothing.’
‘Not in the way you’re thinking,’ said Blaze, as she saw the wizard almost blush.
‘No, it was never like that, Alex sees love differently to most people. It doesn’t matter how much affection Carrie shows him, he will see it as friendship.’
Luella and Daralis however saw it different, but never said anything.
‘Has he ever been in love with someone?’ said Blaze.
‘Not in a romantic way, in fact, the only two women I knew he loved before he came here was Luella and I.’
~~~~
Carrie woke, she had only slept an hour but didn’t feel tired anymore. She climbed out of bed and showered. The thought of the Enchanter touching her, even if it was only holding her, made her feel dirty and needed to wash it off. Carrie hated the feeling of being vulnerable and weak from what the elf did. She knew it was her love for Alex that put her in that position, and if House had been somewhere else she might have even killed him. She dressed in the new outfit which had been put on her bed and stepped into the upstairs hall as Alex came out of his room.
‘Hey, are you feeling any better?’ said Alex, as he put his arm around her.
Carrie pulled away from him. ‘No, I feel like crap.’
‘I’m sorry.’
‘I can’t do this anymore,’ she said, as she just looked at the floor.
‘Can’t do what?’
‘It doesn’t matter,’ said Carrie, and even though the elf could never do it to her again, it still hurt.
‘I should have protected you.’
‘What? Are you going to spend every minute of the day looking after me?’
‘If that’s what it takes, then yes.’
Carrie looked at him, and into his deep sparkling blue eyes which looked sad. Something changed inside her, she didn’t feel ill anymore, and the next moment she was in his arms.
‘I love your new outfit,’ said Alex, after a few moments, it was not much different to the one she wore at the festival, the tunic was a little shorter and was a much tighter fit and low-cut.
‘You don’t look too bad in yours, are we going somewhere?’
‘We’re going to visit the Order, if you’re up for it.’
‘Yes, I think that would be nice,’ she said suddenly realising that whatever the Enchanter did was just to her mind, and the fact he appeared as Alex told her how much she loved him.
‘You two look smart,’ said James, messing with his new jacket. ‘How do I look?’
‘Very nice,’ said Carrie, and pulled part of his collar out.
They walked downstairs where eight elf leaders were waiting, as were sixteen others hoping to go.
‘You’ll have to wait for us to get changed now,’ said Paige, as she hugged Carrie before dragging a reluctant Claire upstairs.
‘We have brought sixteen with us,’ said Torgon, ‘as we were not sure how many.’
‘I think half that many,’ said Alex, and a few of the hopeful elves lowered their heads. ‘We’ll all go today of course, but only half should stay for a month, and swap with the other eight every month.’
Roscoe arched an eyebrow. ‘Is there a problem?’
‘Hopefully not, I just worry if living here permanently might have some effect on them, as none of you has aged since you lived on your world.’
‘An interesting notion,’ said Marakus. ‘Something we never considered. ‘You first eight will be guinea pigs.’
‘I don’t mind being first,’ said Rilien.
‘I somehow thought you might say that,’ said Alex. ‘I guess it wouldn’t hurt the younger ones as you do live a long time anyway. ‘House, could you see if Henrik could spare the time to join us?’
Of course, the spirit replied.
‘My Lady Carrie,’ said Thalion, ‘I hope us being here does not upset you.’
Carrie gave him a gentle smile. ‘Of course not, he was really ugly, and only certain features made me realise he was an elf.’
‘He was not always like that,’ said Ellinor.
‘Well he is now, and I say ugly, but I think evil would be more appropriate. He had a long scar down his face, his eyes were small black dots, and his skin was grey and very creased,’ said Carrie, shivering, and was grateful to have Alex’s arm around her.
‘Playing with dark magic has that affect,’ said Adair, as Henrik appeared.
James rubbed his chin. ‘How come she saw him as Alex, but now remembers him as Dagur?’
‘Because I broke the enchantment, and now Carrie remembers him as he actually was,’ Luella answered.
‘Oh,’ said James, looking even more confused.
‘My lords and ladies,’ said Henrik, and bowed.
‘Henrik,’ said Alex, ‘will it be OK for you to leave your soldiers and come to the castle with us?’
‘That will be no problem, as I was only visiting them. Captain Petrov’s in charge of your soldiers,’ said Henrik, emphasising the “your”.
‘We will go when the ladies come back down,’ said Alex, which gave Carrie a chance to thank Luella with a hug.
‘You’re happier than I expected.’
‘He has that effect on me,’ said Carrie.
~~~~
Paige and Claire came down a few minutes later and they were soon in the castle. The children decided they wanted to
explore before all the boring introductions, where the security followed making sure they stayed safe.
Victor greeted them and bowed. He smiled as he watched the children run off. ‘My lord, you honour us with your presence, and you have brought so many distinguished guests.’
Alex sighed, and introduced the newcomers to the residents of the castle.
James grinned. ‘They seem to have forgotten about calling you lord.’
‘That might be my fault,’ said George. ‘I told them about the introductions with the elves.’
A tall blonde man approached them. ‘My lord, this is a most unexpected visit.’
‘Yes, Leif, and it’s not just a social call,’ said Alex. ‘Lord Torgon, would you tell them of your proposal.’
The elf bowed his head slightly. ‘We would like to leave some of our kind here to learn from you, and in return they will teach you all about us.’
‘What a splendid idea,’ said Victor, sounding very English.
The newcomers were given a tour of the castle, and the firing range received the most attention. Alex for the most part was left relatively alone as the elves and Adair answered all the questions. James regaled those from the Order with the story of the last battle outside the portal.
Claire shook her head. ‘How does he make a five-minute fight last so long when he talks about it?’
Alex smiled. ‘He’s probably telling them how good you were.’
‘More like how good he was,’ said Claire, as James approached them.
‘No, I told them how good we all were,’ he said. ‘They were very impressed, but more interested in how Alex and Adair could chase away three hundred demons.’
They returned minus eight elves a few hours later, and went to the elf world to have dinner, with many from the mansion already there. The other great ladies spent as much time there with the gnomes and pucas as they could, as they knew they would have to return to their own forests soon. Livvy, Donna, Kristina and Millie spent most of the times in the trees. Millie and Kristina were mainly testing out their shields by jumping out of the trees seeing if they could catch each other, which frightened many elves until they saw them float back up. Amy and Lucy spent as much time in their own stables as they did in the ones on the elf world.
Other Worlds: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Two - Fantasy Page 36
