by R N Skye
Leslie turned to Ari who deflected her question before she could ask. “I hate to abandon you in your moment of discovery, Mon Cher, but I need to meet with Shew and Roger. We have a group of Infin spies that need eliminating as well as a mad king that needs a little uncertainty in his life. If I leave right now I’ll only have to listen to Shew complain about me being only almost late,” he added laughing. With a hug and a kiss Ari opened the pantry door and with a quick few taps on his portal artifact he was gone.
Ava leaned in and gave her aunt a hug and a kiss on each cheek. “I’m so happy for you Aunt Leslie. Glyph and Lumen magic are so amazing you are going to have an awesome experience. Remember what I said, go find mother and have some fun; tomorrow is the beginning of a journey that will soon make you wish for more hours in the day.” Ava pulled out her portal device and opened a threshold in the middle of the kitchen and stepped through to her office in Yllyan.
As Ava’s portal winked shut Louisa walked into the kitchen. “I thought I heard voices,” she commented to Leslie as she entered the room; depositing an armful of vegetables from the root celler into the sink for cleaning. Looking around; noting the tepid teapot she picked it up and began rinsing it out.
“You did,” replied Leslie, “You just missed Ava and Ari.”
“Those two dart from project to project like bees from flower to flower,” Louisa said with emphasis. “I’ll never get to be a mother-in-law let alone a grandmother at this rate.”
“What do you have scheduled this afternoon,” asked Leslie, anxious to change the subject so that she could segue tactfully to her morning’s adventure.
“The way people keep dropping by to eat lately I was planning on running to market and do some extra food shopping.”
“Splendid,” Leslie smiled clasping her hands, “Let’s go together. I know a perfect spot in Yllyan but first I want to show you something.”
Chapter V
Kaysee tossed and turned; caught between an uncomfortable sleep and a restless dream that bordered on a nightmare. The last weeks sleep had been interrupted several times by dreams of events and places that were dark and frightening. She often found herself face to face with a man called Pechor who often referred to her as someone name Brenner. Although she had never been to the kings residence she felt that the place that she often found herself in her dreams was the Royal Palace of Jehhet. The dreams seemed to hold her down and she had to struggle for her identity. It often felt that someone was trying to control her; everything would turn red and she would wake up screaming.
Looking out her window and seeing that darkness was still dominating the early morning, she looked at her clock and decided that she may as well get up rather than risk another nightmare. As she readied herself for the day it seemed that the redness was still there; as if the dream had not entirely faded.
Leaving early Kaysee quickly caught a trolley that happened to be passing her small cottage; making a quick leap to the steps as it pulled away before it could get up to speed she climbed aboard. A few minutes later she was within walking distance of the ‘Lab’, as Leo and everyone else called it. Walking briskly she hurried up to the building; it seemed to be the only place that the redness or dreams didn’t intrude upon her mind. Touching the proper combination of glyphs that opened the door she was soon inside the building. As the door closed she suddenly grew dizzy and her head felt like it was going to burst causing her to double over in pain at the intensity. Just as quickly it was over; the head ache and dizziness were gone and she felt as if a weight was suddenly lifted from her shoulders; the redness was gone. Was she ill? Was there something wrong with her? She needed to talk to Laura; she would know what to do.
Gathering herself she walked toward the stairs that led up to Leo’s office, intent on getting a head start on setting up his calendar for the day. Reaching the stairs she saw Shane Chason descending the stairs. Wondering briefly what he was doing here this early she noted his always happy expression as he whistled his way down the stairs. He and possibly Ava were the only people that seemed to work more than Leo. Sometimes she wondered if he ever slept. Stepping back and to the side she waited for him to reach the bottom to avoid crowding past him on the way up.
“Good morning Mademoiselle Lenore. You’re up bright and early,” Shane greeted cheerfully.
“I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” Kaysee replied more brightly than she felt, “So I decided to start the day early and get a jump on Leo’s calendar.”
“Well don’t make a habit of it or I’ll be forced to blame the professor for being a bad influence on you,” Shane smiled. “Have a nice day,” Shane waved and then disappeared down a hallway that led to the workroom that he frequently used.
Kaysee watched him leave, impressed at the way he always seemed to be doing something; he reminded her of his mother – someone that she had come to greatly admire since she had met her.
A little bit worried on what Laura would think she wondered if Shane had seen the episode of the attack of pain that he had just endured. She doubted it, although she wondered; his eyes seemed to look right through her as if reading her mind. She wondered if he missed anything. Leo constantly talked about how intelligent he was. Given how smart Leo was that was saying a lot. It was no wonder that everyone listened to what he said. It wasn’t just his magic it was something else she couldn’t quite name. Come to think of it Ava was the same way if not to the quite the same degree. No wonder they hit it off so well; she had to agree that they made a good couple.
Kaysee was placing several letters and note books on Leo’s desk when he entered the office. She heard his footstep behind her and turned towards the sound. Seeing who it was she smiled, Ever since meeting the former professor she felt attracted to the whimsical academic; balding hair and all. This was unfamiliar territory for her. Unable to help herself she found herself flirting for the first time since school. Something about him made her feel safe and comfortable and more than a little bit feminine; she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed being near him.
In her youth her life had been normal. She had grown up as an only child to parents that had loved her. She was raised in a nice neighborhood in the small township of D’wire in northern Infin; then her life changed with the devastating news of her parent’s death. While she was away at university in her final year the, dean of Magetech Studies had called her to his office to share the awful news of the fire that had claimed her parent’s lives. In her grief the years that had followed had been a lonely blur and she had withdrawn into herself and lost herself into her work as a low level magetech.
Recently everything had changed. It all began several months ago as she had been walking home from her work one evening; her path crossed that of three brigands recently ejected from a tavern for their unruly behavior. Intoxicated and in an ornery disposition, upon seeing an attractive woman alone, the three grabbed her and dragged her kicking and screaming into an ally where they attempted to take advantage. Fighting with everything she had she was able to keep free of their intentions. Her screaming for help and the success of her clawing, slapping, punching, and running, provided brief escape from the aggression of the brutes; but also seemed to anger them more. Her victories were short lived however as the men had the advantage of size and numbers. Soon she was backed into a dark corner crouched into a ball forced to endure the brutality of their kicking and attempts to subdue her.
Suddenly the pummeling ceased and the noise of drunken yells was replaced by silence then a ringing in her ears. With a peek through swollen eyes blurred with blood from the lacerations in her forehead she braved a glimpse of the cause of the abrupt absence of the attack. A light suddenly illuminated the alley and a tall man in blue trousers a cream colored shirt and a brown vest was standing over her, all sign of her attackers had vanished.
The man knelt down and looked her over. She shrank back in fear not knowing if the man was a new threat or her rescue. “Careful there little one,” the man soot
hed as if talking to a small child; “You’re hurt worse than you might feel at the moment. Let’s get you somewhere safe where we can get you cleaned up and give you some medical attention. Do you think you can stand up?”
Kaysee nodded and slowly unfolded herself falling on her side as the broken arm that she had tried to steady herself with folded under the weight. With a gasp she rolled onto her back and began to shake, feeling weak and dizzy. She closed her eyes trying hard to remain awake. As consciousness finally eluded her she thought she saw moving glyphs glowing in the air above her.
When she woke she was in an unfamiliar bed with clean sheets that smelled of lilac. She felt slightly bruised but her eyes were no longer swollen shut and her arm no longer hurt. Sitting up she turned and sat on the edge of the bed; in front of her on a low dresser was a large vanity. Seeing her reflection she saw that her face was clean and whole with no sign of the bruising and cuts from the night before. Realizing that she was still fully dressed in the same clothes that she had worn the day before, she carefully assessed herself. Although her face and hands were clean and her shoes had been removed she was silently grateful that her dignity had been considered and no one had attempted to remove her clothes. As she wondered at her rescue and the obvious miraculous healing there came a knock from the closed door from across the room.
“May I come in?” asked the voice of the man that had apparently saved her life.
A little nervous and with not a little bit if trepidation her curiosity won out; after all if the man had wanted to harm her or take advantage he already would have. “Ok, I guess,” she stammered.
The door opened and a very tall man entered. Dressed the same way as the night before, he stepped into the room; his larger frame briefly filling the doorway. “You look a lot better this morning,” he said as he deposited a parcel onto the dresser. “Here are some clean clothes for you. There is a bathroom down the hall where you can clean up. This house is yours to live in as long as you need a place to stay. There is food in the pantry and the cooler in the kitchen. If you find that you need anything else, the Ordiman’s live a couple of houses down the street to the east of here, they will help you with whatever you need.”
That was how she first met Soaris. He had seemed worried and concerned for her like a long lost daughter, and had somehow both rescued and healed her as well as provided her with a sanctuary for her to gather herself, other than that he left her alone. He would show up from time to time with food or clothing but their conversations were always the same. “Hi, how are you doing, is there anything you need? I’ll check back in a few days.”
It wasn’t until a few months later when Soaris brought Laura to Yllyan that Kaysee finally understood. Laura had explained that Soaris while a very caring man, was somewhat of a loner and that he only had one son and he just plain did not have a clue on how to raise a daughter. “He just doesn’t have a clue about women, “Laura had explained. “I had to practically chase that man across the universe before he figured out that we should get married,” The way she had said it almost made Kaysee think that she actually had crossed the universe; the woman was either serious or quite eccentric. That was one of the many attributes of Laura that endeared the older woman to her. She had a way of speaking the most outlandish things as if they were fact. Laura also projected a persona of a matronly, confidant; her appearance though was closer to that of an older sister.
Laura had taken Kaysee under her wing and before long she slowly and gradually she began to feel her old self. Soon she was exploring the old Elios city and traveling to Valee station as often as she could just for the fun of riding the amazing overland.
Snapping out of her daydream she saw a concerned look on Leo’s face.
“Are you okay Kaysee?” Leo asked as he reached to her forehead; gently checking for a fever. “You look exhausted.
“I’m so sorry Leo, I didn’t get much sleep last night; I had the worst dreams. I woke early this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep so I just came into work.”
Leo put his arm around her and guided her to a large sofa. “Here,” he said gently lie down. “I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket and you catch up on your sleep.” As she started to protest he put his finger to her lips. “It’s a slow day,” he said as he hurried across the office and retrieved a pillow and a quilt from a closet. “I’ll just be here finishing up on the monorail disks for Ava,” he continued as he gently laid her down on to the soft pillow. Lifting her legs up on to the other end of the sofa he pulled her shoes off and spread the quilt lightly over her so she could snuggle but not get too warm. “I’ll be here at my desk if you need anything.”
Kaysee sighed as she snuggled into the softness of the sofa and the quilt; breathing deeply the hint of Leo’s cologne that lingered from the pillow. “Ava was right when she said that you practically lived here,” she laughed. “This couch feels wonderful.” she said stretching as she felt herself beginning to relax.
Leo walked to his desk and retrieved something from one of the drawers and returned to Kaysee. “Let me see your right hand.” Kaysee pulled her arm from beneath the quilt and held out her hand. “This is a lumen enchanted ring that Shane made. He made a couple and asked me to duplicate them down in the lab early this morning – I worry that he never sleeps. He also asked me to make sure all of the staff had them. I’m not sure all that it does but I do know that it provides shielding and protection. I imagine that with the war and all he wanted us to be protected.” Taking her hand he carefully slid the shiny silver looking ring onto her right ring finger. “There you go,” he said, tucking her hand back under the quilt and pulling it up over her shoulders. “You get some rest.”
“You’re a good man, Leo,” she said with a drowsy sigh. “Thank you.” With a smile Kaysee drifted into a wonderfully uneventful sleep,
~~~~~
The Jehhet palace was no longer the social icon that had once been - the gem of the Infin capitol – it had often been called. The central fountain that used to highlight the courtyard no longer flowed. The royal residence seemed dismal and dull in spite of its cream colored granite walls, great balconies, and blue tiled roof tops. The long brick patterned drive that normally hosted ornate carriages and fashionable ministers and their dapper courtiers, was now empty except for patrolling guards and squads of soldiers that marched in and out of the gate as messengers came and went like a human hive.
Ren D’roe strode rapidly from the entryway his thoughts a mix of anger and frustration. He had just been ordered to go and gather more citizens. Ren was a very large man he came from tall parents, tall aunts and uncles, and tall cousins all who were fishermen. Why I ever decided that I wanted to be a soldier, He thought to himself. Where is the honor and glory that is supposed to come from protecting ones nation from its enemies? The dreams of his youth were a distant fantasy; he was now determined that the cold hard truth was that Ministers were liars, Kings were bastards, and any officer above field grade was a lying bastard. It is one thing to fight bandits and smugglers but to capture and enslave the very citizens that he was supposed to protect was more than he could stand. If he could just get the blasted wrist band off. He didn’t know how but somehow it gave the king power of them. The rumors that the king had discovered some sort of ancient magic seemed to be true.
The cold wind from the approaching winter bit into his face. Ignoring the cold he called his sergeant to bring the men to attention. Like automatons the soldiers fell in line rank by rank; all seemed oblivious to the cold and stood at attention; eyes unblinking with wristbands locked straight at their sides. How Ren loathed the bands. Twice he had attempted to remove it and twice he had been overcome by a sickening redness. The first attempt he had fought the redness with a battle of wills until he had lost consciousness. The Second had been the same but instead of blacking out he had heard a haunting voice describing the individual deaths that would be inflicted upon his family – especially his wife - should he or any of his men ever attemp
ted to remove the bands again. Many times the voice had instructed him to take able civilians into his unit dress them as soldiers and attach the combat wristbands onto them. He also seemed to know if a member of his command was going to attempt removing their bands; the haunting threats of the dangers to his family forced him to never let that happen.
“Men,” he said loudly in his deep baritone that bordered on the bass. “The king has been guarding a special project that he has kept hidden within the walls of the warball stadium at the collegium. We have been instructed to gather more magetechs and civilians that are needed to continue work on a great artifact that he has contained therein. Tomorrow morning we will be marching west to the royal artifact manufacturing center to gather more wrist bands. We will then continue marching further west to gather the conscripts from all towns and cities within sixty milos to the west and set up forces in each city with the king’s wrist bands. That is all.” He turned again to his sergeant and added, “You’re all dismissed until morning. At muster there will be no formation, eat a big breakfast, then prepare field rations for a fifteen day march. We will form up for departure at three hours after normal muster.
The sergeant saluted and began barking orders as Ren walked away.
King Allion watched out the window as he heard the orders being delivered to the soldiers below. It’s too bad that such a good soldier and officer could only be controlled by the fear of the death of his family, He thought. The king in body only now – the possession of Pechor having finally disposed of the last remnants of Allion the Third - shrugged it off. It won’t be long before all of these corrupt Elios half-breeds are syphoned dry of their lumen and their lives fuel for his departure from this disgusting world.
