Levels of Ascension BoxSet

by Amy Proebstel

  As if on cue, Valentina said, “It’s getting late, and my feet are killing me. I think we should probably call it a night and head home.”

  Juila agreed wholeheartedly. She had not wished the evening would end on such a note, but she was also tired. She flagged the waitress down and asked for the bill. This time, when the bill was presented, Juila told each boy the amount he would have to pay so they could get going as soon as possible.

  The limo dropped off Behn, Valentina, and Jon first as their house was the closest to the diner. Behn had leaned in and kissed Juila swiftly before he got out. Juila had not been expecting it, but she could still feel the tingle on her lips from where his had touched hers. Her fingers rose to her lips as she sat in wonder at her first kiss.

  A few minutes later, the limo stopped again, this time in front of Luke’s house. Luke kissed Jena on the cheek and told her he would see her at school on Monday. Ryan got out as well since he had driven over to Luke’s house and his car was still there. Ryan said goodbye to everyone left since his date had already been dropped off.

  The next stop was at Sofia’s house. The girls had never been to her house and were excited to see where she lived. From what they could see in the dark, the house was quite small, and the neighborhood was not all that decent.

  “We’ll see you Monday,” Jena and Juila yelled out at the same time as Sofia walked up her walkway just before the driver shut the door. The girls refrained from speaking until the driver opened the door for them at their own house.

  “Thank you,” Juila told the driver as she exited the vehicle. “I’m sorry we kept you so long.”

  “No problem. Your father expected as much.” He smiled and tipped his hat at the girls. He walked around the front of the limo and drove away.

  The girls watched him go and then turned to go into the house. Their parents had left the porch light on and the door unlocked. They expected to walk into a quiet house, but their parents had waited up and were sitting in the living room.

  “How did it go?” Riccan yelled across the distance.

  Juila jumped since she had not anticipated the question and then turned away from the staircase to go into the living room instead. She pulled off her high heels as she walked through the foyer and sighed with relief at finally being free of the terrible contraptions. It was beyond her comprehension why women would choose to wear the torture devices for more than special occasions.

  “We had so much fun,” she said as she dropped wearily onto the couch. She watched her sister’s slower progress into the living room.

  “How about you, Jena? Did you have fun?” Amanda asked her other daughter. She could tell the two girls had had different experiences at the same event.

  “It was fine. Remind me never to wear new shoes to a dance. I think I have at least three blisters on each foot,” Jena said as she took small, careful steps over to sit on the couch between her sister and her father.

  “Here, let me take a look,” Riccan said as he held his hand out for Jena’s foot. He leaned forward and inspected the red blisters and tender skin around them. In an instant, he used the elemy to sooth the irritations until they were again smooth, perfect skin.

  “Oh, that’s wonderful,” Jena sighed with relief as she exchanged her other injured foot for the freshly healed one. Mere moments later she was able to relax in comfort on the couch. It was strange that she had not even considered healing herself. Since they had been on Earth, their usage of their crystal powers had curtailed to almost nil.

  Juila had watched the scene unfold next to her. When her sister was sitting comfortably again, she stretched her leg across her sister’s lap toward her father and asked, “Can you do mine, too?”

  Riccan laughed and performed the same service for both of Juila’s feet. Hers were not nearly as badly wounded as Jena’s had been. He asked, “Did you not dance as much as Jena?”

  Juila laughed as she brought her legs back under herself on the couch, “I’m sure I danced more. My shoes just fit better, I guess.”

  The girls spent the next few minutes sharing their stories of the evening with their parents. Jena seemed more reserved about the event, and Amanda wanted to know what was going on.

  “You seem sad, Jena. What’s wrong?”

  Jena looked away as though she were embarrassed.

  Juila answered for her. “She’s decided she likes Luke. Since she’s betrothed to Willian, she feels guilty for having had a good time.”

  “It’s just not fair of me to do this to Willian,” Jena defended herself snippily.

  Riccan could understand the feelings of both of his girls. He spoke quietly, “Jena, a betrothal is a contract for a future relationship. It doesn’t mean you’re not allowed to experience other relationships until the time comes for you to honor the contract.”

  “See! That’s what I said,” Juila stared accusingly at her sister.

  “That’s not exactly what you said. You’re hoping I’ll break the betrothal and not marry Willian at all,” Jena accused.

  Riccan was startled by this allegation. He asked, “Is that true, Juila?”

  Juila had the grace to look embarrassed and looked away as she answered quietly, “Yes.”

  “Why wouldn’t you want your sister to marry Willian? The betrothal was sanctified by Jehoban. It’s quite an honor.”

  “It may be an honor, but Willian’s not the right person for Jena. He’s jealous of her abilities, and she caters to all of his insecurities. It’s disgusting to watch them together. Jena dotes on him, and he takes advantage of her skills. I hate Willian!” Juila finished loudly.

  “Is Juila right, Jena? Do you think Willian is jealous of you?” Riccan asked softly. This could be a serious matter into which he would need to look. If the two people involved in the betrothal did not like one another, then it was not a blessing to keep them bound to the contract.

  “I like Willian,” Jena said quietly. Before she would have said she loved him, but after her evening with Luke, she was not so sure she knew what it was to be loved by someone. Luke had treated her gently and with respect, more so than Willian ever had. Willian had never even tried to be romantic with her. He was always so consumed with his role in society and making sure he did everything so properly. Jena did not feel treasured and protected like she had with Luke.

  “Liking someone is a far cry from loving him. At your age, I’d think you’d know if you wanted to marry Willian. Has he ever talked about the two of you getting married?” Amanda asked. She was not sure how this whole betrothal thing usually unfolded, but she had seen Alena’s children, and they had admired one another from the time they were little. If Jena were not feeling that same connection, then she would have to look into getting the contract vacated, if that were even a possibility.

  “Sure, he’s talked about me being his wife.” Jena started out certain with what she was saying until she really thought about the talks she and Willian had actually had. His exact wording had been when Jena was his wife; then she would have to be sure to curtail her inner dialogue with her sister. He would not have Juila interfering with their relationship.

  “Hah!” Juila cried out as she read her sister’s mind. She had not known about that particular conversation until just this moment. “Tell them the truth, Jena, or I will!”

  Reluctantly Jena talked. She looked down at her folded hands as she realized her whole life had been devoted to someone who did not appreciate who she was as a person. Willian was only interested in her power and how it would elevate his status. She felt tears slipping down her cheeks and dripping onto the satin fabric of her dress.

  Riccan pulled her into his lap as though she were a small child. He wrapped his arms around her and whispered into her hair, “Don’t worry, honey. We’ll get this mess fixed. I’m sorry I wasn’t around to take care of you when you were little. If we’d known about you, then we might have kept you from all of this trouble.” He was not certain this would have been true. He could not imagine
too many people who would turn down the offer of a betrothal with the child of an Elder.

  Amanda felt terrible for the pain her daughter had endured. She was glad she had her sister to lean on in times of trouble. She looked over and saw Juila was crying the same as her sister. They were very close, and what one felt, the other did also. Both of her children had been hurt by this unfortunate union. Hopefully, they could resolve the issue without creating an enemy from either the Elder or his son.

  Amanda patted Jena’s arm, and she said, “I don’t want you to feel bad for having feelings for Luke. If the two of you are meant to be, then we’ll take it from there. I don’t ever want you to deny your feelings just because you feel an obligation toward someone else. Love is a powerful emotion which has been gifted to us by Jehoban. Never deny yourself love out of obligation. It’s not fair to you or your partner.”

  Jena sniffed the snot back up into her nose and swallowed. She pushed the wet streams of tears off of her cheeks, and she moved off of her father’s lap. The crying had released a lot of pent-up tension she had not realized she had been harboring. She felt better already.

  Her parents were wise, and they would know what to do. Jena no longer felt alone in the betrothal. Juila had always done her part to help her, but Jena always knew Juila was powerless to really do anything about it. Juila would always be viewed as the jealous sister. Her parents could make a difference.

  “It’s late, girls,” Amanda said. She stood up and walked over to stand in front of her children. She held out a hand to each of them and helped them up from the couch. Amanda hugged the two of them at the same time and said, “I love you both. You can always talk to us about anything. We want both of you to be happy, no matter what!” She gave them a last squeeze and then released them. She took a step back and smiled at them.

  In unison, the girls said, “We love you, Mom.”

  “Hey, don’t leave me out of this!” Riccan hastily stood up to include himself in the family hugs. He stretched out his arms and hugged the girls tightly as they rushed to him and hugged him around the middle. They were the same height as their mother, but they seemed so much smaller because of their vulnerability. He could not imagine his life getting any better than right at that moment.

  Jena reached up and pulled his head down. Jena kissed one of his cheeks while Juila kissed the other. “We love you, too, Dad!” they spoke together and laughed.

  The girls pulled away and started to leave the living room before Juila turned back around and announced, “We’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Not too early,” Amanda moaned as she realized it was almost two o’clock in the morning. “Sleep in!” she yelled at their hastily retreating backs. They raced up the stairs and into their rooms. Their loud footsteps on the floor let both of their parents know where they were in the process of getting to bed.

  Amanda turned to Riccan and asked, “Is there anything we can do about this betrothal?”

  “I don’t know right now, but you can bet I’ll be talking to my dad about it. If Juila is right and Willian is just using Jena, then obviously we’re going to have to put a stop to it before it goes any further.”

  “What a mess,” Amanda sighed as she leaned into her husband’s side. She loved it when his arms wrapped around her and made her feel safe and secure. She wanted this same feeling for both of their children.

  “We’ll work this out together,” Riccan promised. He took his wife’s hand and led her up to bed. Even though they had spent the evening home alone, they had worried for their girls. It had been a long day, and they were both ready to get some sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  OVER THE NEXT two days, Behn and Valentina kept their heads together trying to figure out how Juila and Jena had the same type of necklaces which they had. They knew the two of them and Jon had been adopted when they were eight years old. Other than that, they had no idea where their birth family had been from or where to look to find them.

  The last memory they had was their mother crying and walking them through the woods in the dark. Jon had been very sick and yet there had been no help for him. Their mother had pleaded for the people in their town to help them, but they had been turned away.

  They had fleeting memories of an older man who seemed to be the leader of their community. He was a mean man who took pleasure in scaring the children whenever they came near him. He had told them if they were bad then they would be left out in the woods to be eaten by the animals. To this day they did not like being out in the dark alone.

  They argued over whether or not to talk to Jena and Juila about their past. Behn was all for telling them about it, whereas Valentina was ashamed of being adopted and did not want to have anyone look at them with pity as they had in their last school. She was glad they had moved and were able to get a fresh start where nobody knew their history.

  They did not even bother to ask Jon about his opinion on the matter. He had absolutely no memories of their life before their adoptive family. He had been so delirious with fever for so long it had burned the recollections from his mind. In a way, Jon had an easier time adjusting because of it, but he also felt left out when his siblings talked about the ‘time before.’

  “Come on, Val, I swear it’ll be different this time,” Behn pled.

  “Why, because Juila is cute and you have a crush on her? What happens if you two decide to break up and she tells everyone how pathetic we are?” Valentina asked snidely.

  “First of all, Juila and I aren’t even going out. It’d be kind of hard to break up, don’t you think?” he smiled winningly.

  “You know what I mean, Behn! I want to stay free of the stigma which has followed us our whole lives!”

  “We’re older now. What if Juila or Jena can tell us about the necklaces? They are the only things we have left from our mother. What if we could find our mother? Isn’t that something you’ve said you’ve wanted to do?” Behn tried to reason with his sister.

  Valentina lifted the leather strap out of her t-shirt and held the fiery orange crystal in her palm. She looked down at it and felt a sort of peace come over her. It might have been a memory or a dream, but Valentina could remember the crystal glowing with power. She imagined that power helping her through troubling times.

  With a frustrated sigh, she dropped the crystal so that it swung just above her cleavage and she said, “Fine! We can talk to them, but only if Jon is not around.”

  Behn smiled. He knew he had won when Valentina had held her crystal. For some reason, whenever she had a difficult decision to make she held her crystal. Behn seldom even thought about the leather thong suspending his smoky gray crystal.

  “And don’t even give me that crap about you and Juila not going out. After the dance, I saw you kissed her on the lips. I also saw her expression after you got out of the limo,” Valentina accused.

  “You did?” Behn asked with sudden interest. “What do you think she was thinking?”

  “Duh! She’s fallen for you,” Valentina smirked and stood up to leave the room. She liked it when she knew something, and he did not. She would draw this out as long as she could. She walked to Behn’s bedroom door and opened it.

  “Val, you can’t just leave now. You have to tell me everything. What did you girls talk about when you were getting ready?” Behn asked.

  “Girls’ code, Behn. I can’t share that with you,” she said over her shoulder as she left the room and closed the door behind her. She could hear a shoe hitting the other side as Behn had become frustrated and thrown the closest object he could reach. She smiled as she walked back to her own room.

  Maybe she should think about going out with Ryan again. He had certainly been more attentive than she had expected during the dance. She actually had fun, even though she had only agreed to go to keep her brothers out of trouble.

  ~~~~~~~~~~~~

  Monday morning proved to be awkward at school. Juila could not forget about Behn’s kiss and wondered if it had meant
he wanted to go out with her, or if he only wanted to kiss her goodnight. She did not know how to act around him and ended up making a fool of herself.

  Behn only smiled at Juila’s silliness. He really did like Juila, and he was going to ask her to be his girlfriend. With the way she was acting, he was not sure she wanted the same thing from him even though his sister had insisted it was true. Behn had thought to ask her at lunch, but she sat between two girls and kept averting her eyes from him. There never seemed to be a time where he could get her alone, and he found it very frustrating.

  When the first bell rang letting them know they had ten minutes until their next class, Behn cornered Juila alone at her locker. Suddenly, he was at a loss for what he wanted to say.

  “I had fun at the dance with you,” he said lamely. He was so mortified he wished he had just kept walking and not opened his big mouth.

  Juila looked up through her eyelashes as she admitted quietly, “I did, too.”

  With renewed hope that his statement had not sounded too ridiculous, Behn continued with, “I was wondering if you’d want to go out with me again sometime?”

  Juila tilted her head up and looked at him straight in the eyes as she replied, “I’d love to.”

  “Really?” he exclaimed before he cleared his throat and continued more calmly, “How about a movie tomorrow night?”

  “Sure. Do you want to make it a double date? Maybe you could have Luke ask Jena. I’d hate to leave her home alone. You know what I mean, right?” Juila asked. She really did not care about leaving Jena alone since her mental link would keep her in touch. She just wanted Luke to see Jena again so she would quit obsessing over her non-existent relationship with Willian. A date would be a perfect distraction.

  “Yeah, I can probably arrange that. I’ll let you know after the next class,” he said as they started walking toward their classrooms.

  When they got to the hallway where they would have to part ways, Behn took the liberty of kissing Juila on the cheek before he turned and hurried away. Juila stared after him until she realized several students were watching her and smiling. She blushed furiously and ducked into her Algebra class where she immediately sat down in her seat.