“That is your opinion, but-” Talos politely begins.
“Just look at what happened with Kalam and Isaiah,” Magella snaps, her voice furious and sharp. “There was no need for Luke to get involved in their fight, but he refused to think beyond his bravery and he was killed. It would have been permanent if not for his friends and dumb luck. You encourage him every time you tell him to be brave in the face of danger. He still translates that to mean that he should never retreat and he should tempt death at every turn.”
“You give his common sense too little credit. You would know him better if you weren’t gallivanting around Windemere. At your age, you should be settled down with your husband,” Talos says with a hint of longing in his voice. The emotion is nothing more than a tremble in his throat that disappears with a stiff cough. “Before you go on about your research and life’s work, I would like to point out that I wish to spend the final years of my life with the woman I love. It’s hard to do that when she is nothing more than a scent on the wind.”
“That’s a very sweet sentiment, but you know I still have another year before I can even consider retiring. My charges are still defenseless and their parents are still in deep slumber,” the old elf maiden sadly explains. “You have to understand that the future environments of Windemere depend on me keeping these babies alive. Please, don’t make me feel guilty.”
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that,” the old forest tracker apologizes. “Your work is important to everyone and I shouldn’t be selfish.”
“We will discuss this when we are definitely alone,” Magella whispers with a slight nod toward the window.
Talos shrugs and flashes an amused smile. “The girl isn’t very subtle even when she tries.”
“I just hope we didn’t wake the poor thing. I was hoping that she would be as exhausted as the priest I saw on the couch,” Magella says. She glances at the window where she sees a quick movement. “Maybe we should go upstairs and apologize.”
“The girl is a tough, little firestorm. Reminds me of you when you were her age. She has your love of magic and she surpasses your ingenuity,” Talos claims, ignoring the hurt look on his wife’s face. “Sadly, this girl doesn’t come close to reaching your level of self-control and restraint. I doubt she ever will.” Talos looks up at the window. “Do you disagree with me, apprentice of Rainbow Tower?”
“I’m working on it, sir!” Nyx replies, nervously peeking above the windowsill.
Magella crosses her arms before magically projecting her voice to Nyx. “At your age, it is normal to have little restraint, but you must always be careful not to injure those around you. Buildings can be replaced, but living things are irreplaceable. Don’t let this resurrection of my grandson fool you into thinking otherwise. He was lucky that Queen Ionia came along and that Mister Karwyn was willing to push himself to his limits. Anyone else would have been doomed to remain as a wandering spirit.”
“I understand!” Nyx hollers, ducking out of view.
“Then, you can see why I don’t want him to be in Haven when Kalam arrives for battle,” Magella says with a nod of victory. Talos leans against the side of the house with an amused smile that his wife finds intriguing. The only answer that he gives to her silent question is a slow point to the high window.
“I don’t understand why you want Luke to stay away from the battle,” Nyx admits after a few seconds of quiet.
“To be honest, I wish for you to be away from the battle as well. It will not be a place for children,” Magella claims with a hint of annoyance in her voice.
Nyx crosses her arms on the windowsill and looks down at the elves. “Luke and I have been through too much to consider ourselves children. Aside from our adventures, both of us drink and have interest in the opposite gender. Very few children have such interests.”
Talos covers his mouth while he chuckles. “I think she has you on a technicality, dear.”
“You are still a child in terms of age and maturity,” Magella retorts, her lavender eyes locked with Nyx’s defiant stare. “Both of you act before you think and you lack the experience to know when you should be cautious. The battle with Kalam will be too much for you.”
“So, will you be joining in the fight?” Nyx asks.
“No. I must return to my duties within the hour. If I can return in time for the battle then it will only be in my projected form,” the old caster answers defensively. “Sadly, my husband has made me promise not to get involved.”
“In that case, I don’t have a choice, but to get involved,” the half-elf says with pride. “We need a caster to contend with Kalam. I’m the only one in the area now that Isaiah and Ionia have left and you are about to leave. As always, Luke and Aedyn have my back if things begin to go wrong.”
“My grandson is not your plaything,” Magella furiously snaps. “Do not depend on him to keep you alive all the time. At some point, you have to be able to depend on your own hands to see you through danger.”
Nyx is slightly taken aback by the angry tone of the elderly caster. She slowly takes a deep breath in an attempt to let her temper fade away. After taking several breaths, she silently decides that her fury is far too potent to be undone by simple meditation.
Nyx stands up defiantly and loudly rants. “Luke is my friend and we promised that we would protect each other. I stand by my promise and I have no doubt that your grandson will stand by his. You talk about sacrifice as a waste of one’s life while you sacrifice everything for your work. I’m assuming that you were chosen to watch over a clutch of dragon chicks while their parents are in a nourishment slumber. That is a job that one must put all of their time and energy into, which is what you have done.” Nyx pauses to allow her temper to fuel her courage. “My apologies for what I’m about to say, elder caster, but you are nothing more than a hypocrite who has no idea what her grandson is thinking. Well, let me enlighten you. Luke chooses to put himself in danger to help his friends because he knows we would do the same for him. That is why Aedyn, Nimby, Fritz, and Fizzle followed him from the academy. That is why I went into Kalam’s lair for the spell to bring Luke back. He’s the little brother that I never had and he is the closest thing to a real family that I might ever know. I don’t plan on letting him go without a fight.”
“Do you swear by your words, child?” Magella sternly asks.
Nyx locks her gaze with Magella’s challenging glare. “I swear by every letter.”
“Then, I will hold you to that oath,” Magella promises, flashing the girl a cruel smile. “I expect you to be his best friend, his sister, and his defender all in one. If you fail then I will come for you.”
“Don’t make empty threats, dear. You aren’t the type to kill or torture,” Talos states before turning his attention to Nyx. “Get yourself dressed, Nyx, and enjoy the day. Luke and your gypsy friend returned from the forest early this morning. He is at my home where his parents are talking to him. Luke and Ilan wish to settle things, so they will be busy for several hours. I believe the gypsy is wandering around the main street. You might want to check in on her and make sure she doesn’t get herself into any trouble.”
“I’ll come by your home this evening,” Nyx says, a shiver running up her spine. “Tell your grandson that he better put some time aside to talk to me.”
“I will. Now, you better get dressed before a passerby gets an eyeful,” the old forest tracker mentions.
Nyx suddenly remembers her state of undress and squeals in embarrassment. She ducks out of view, the sound of her rushed footsteps clearly heard from outside. The house is silent until Nyx’s voice erupts in an unexpected outburst of anger and surprise. An echoing punch can barely be heard before Aedyn’s confused, and pain-ridden, voice cuts through the air. The last thing that Talos and Magella can hear is the front door opening and closing with a loud slam. They barely catch a glimpse of Nyx sprinting toward the far end of town. The old elves stare at each other with broad smiles before breaking out into youthful l
aughter.
“You didn’t have to tell her that I was bluffing,” Magella whispers after she catches her breath.
Talos walks up to her and hugs her tightly. “You put too much pressure on people when it comes to Luke. It’s time we let him live his life without our meddling.”
“I guess you’re right. It’s time for me to drop my scrying spells and ease up on my worrying. It has been too painful to watch him and know that I could not go to him when he needed help. He would have never forgiven me if I had interfered with his growth as a man,” Magella says, her voice sad and defeated. “I still think you might be wrong about letting him join in this battle, but that is an argument that I have to give up. You have spent more time with him, so you probably know best . . . this time. Would you care to join me for a walk through the woods, my aging knight?”
“It would be my honor, my timeless caster,” Talos swears with a low bow that touches his forehead to his knees.
The forest tracker happily hooks his arm through the crook of his wife’s elbow and gently takes her hand in his. A small kiss is all they share before strolling toward the privacy of the fog-licked forest. They are dream-like in their elegant movements and any passerby would think that they are nothing more than phantoms within the shadows of the trees.
*****
The chair crashes against the wall with enough force to snap off two of its legs and split its back down the middle. Vixen quickly moves to clean up the broken chair, but Ilan swiftly puts his arm in her way. His emerald eyes are filled with calm disapproval while he stares at his angry son. A minute passes in silence before Vixen loses her patience and shoves Ilan out of her way. She tends to the broken chair, wiping at her watery eyes and struggling to ignore the brewing fight.
“I refuse to stay here,” Luke growls.
“I wasn’t giving you a choice! You are staying in Haven where it is safe!” Ilan forcefully yells.
“I’m not a child, dad!” Luke shouts, matching his father’s volume. “You don’t have control over my actions!”
“I have to take control because you obviously can’t make the right decisions,” Ilan argues, leaning on his cane and rubbing his bad leg. “The fact that you are planning to continue being an adventuring hero proves that you need me to step in. Anyone with a trace of common sense would see having their aura ejected from their body as a sign that something has to change.”
“If everybody, who nearly died, gave up then Windemere would never have any heroes,” Luke declares in frustration. He reaches back to grab his chair and sit down, but quickly remembers that he threw it against the wall.
“I don’t care about everybody else, Luke. You are my son, so you are the only one in this world that I care about,” his father says, trying to let his anger dispel. “Please consider other paths besides facing danger and tempting death.”
“What paths?” Luke asks, laughing at the ridiculous request. “I’m skilled in tracking, wilderness survival, handling animals, and swordsmanship. I would have nothing to do in Haven.”
“There are many paths. You just have to find them,” Ilan calmly contends.
Luke rolls his eyes and leans against the table. “That’s great, dad. You want me to stay in Haven, but you don’t even know what I could do here. I can’t train warriors like grandpa who is fifty times better than me due to his . . . listen carefully, dad . . . experience! Do you understand? I would need to gain experience as an adventurer to teach students.”
“Maybe your grandfather can take you on as an assistant teacher,” Vixen suggests. She goes back to her chair and pours a cup of warm tea.
“Father retired from teaching two years ago. Besides, that would only continue this dangerous cycle,” Ilan claims with a hint of bitterness in his voice. “You have to put the swords away, Luke. To this day, I don’t know what possessed me to make those damned things. I should have made you a goblet or a hammer instead.”
“They were my coming of age gift and they will always be with me. You can’t take them back,” the half-elf proudly declares.
“I know what to do with you. You will become my apprentice,” Ilan proposes with a stern, yet hopeful, look in his eyes. “Your skills are mediocre, but I’m sure I can make a decent blacksmith out of you. In a few years, you should be able to forge swords just like your sabers. This way, you can remain around swords and stay out of danger”
“You’re not being rational!” Luke desperately exclaims.
“You are the one who insists on returning to a life that got you killed,” counters Ilan. He begins to let his frustration slip onto his face.
“Again I ask you, what would I do in Haven?” Luke asks. His courage soars when he sees his father’s calm shell crack. “There are no more wealthy girls for you to marry me off to, so I can’t make you happy that way.”
Ilan’s eye twitches and the tips of his ears turn red. “You are starting to cross a line, son.”
“Why is that?” Luke inquires, refusing to back off. “That was your original plan for me when you set up my marriage to Alyssa.”
“I only wanted you to be happy. You could have become the new mayor or a merchant with Alyssa by your side. In fact, you still have those opportunities with your new fiancée,” Ilan explains, constantly clenching and unclenching his right fist. “I am sure it would be on a grander scale than if you had married Alyssa. The Grasdon family has influence in several markets, so you could involve yourself in almost any field like arms sales or the herb trade. I’ve heard that the Grasdons are interested in wildlife studies, so you can put your wilderness experience to use. These are all ideas that you should strongly consider instead of getting yourself killed and leaving your fiancée heartbroken. She would probably agree that it is time for you to put away your childish desire of heroism.”
“I’m not with Kira because of her family. She loves me for the person I am, which is a heroic adventurer,” Luke passionately claims. “I could lose her if I try to become something that I’m not. The boredom of a merchant’s life would twist me into a miserable person.” Luke pauses and runs a hand through his hair. “You know, just stay out of my love life, dad. You screwed it up enough when I was younger.”
Luke is stunned when his father leaps the eight feet between them and strikes him across the face. Ilan is equally shocked when Luke retaliates with a punch to the chest. The elf awkwardly reels back, but he is still able to trip Luke with a strong sweep of his cane. They crash to the ground and quickly flip back to their feet. Ilan makes an unsteady landing, which gives Luke a chance to rush at him. They are about to hit each other again when Vixen steps between them, gently spinning a quarterstaff in her hands. Her furious, tear-dripping eyes make their blood run cold and their faces fill with shame.
Vixen waits for them to sit down before talking with a hoarse voice. “Will both of you grow up and look at each other?”
“Sorry, mom,” Luke sheepishly apologizes.
“All I see is a child who has no path to follow except a foolish one of death and danger,” Ilan growls in defiance.
“Both of you are stubborn mules who have been fighting over this for years. As much as I agree with you, dear, we have to let Luke live his life. You risk losing him if he leaves, but you also risk losing him if you force him to stay,” Vixen says, staring calmly at her husband. The moment he turns away, she sets her sapphire eyes on Luke. “I know that I can’t convince you to stay, Luke. All I ask is that you think of what you will do when you are done adventuring. Before you leave Haven, I want to know that my son has thought about his future and that you have honestly considered what we’ve said. Do you promise to think about your future while you’re here and tell us what you have decided?” As her voice trails off, she lets the quarterstaff slide through her hand and hit the floor with a threatening thud.
“I promise,” Luke swears with his hand over his heart.
“I guess this means you will be here for a few more years. You never could make up your mind,” Ilan
points out in a low voice.
Vixen whirls to face her husband. “You will make peace with your son before he leaves! Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, ma’am,” says Ilan, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat.
“Good. So, what do you have planned for the day, dear?” Vixen inquires, turning to Luke again.
A guttural voice stops Luke from answering. “Your son will be with me. I have a lot of work to do with him and very little time.”
Vixen feels a lump catch in her throat when she turns to see a large wolf standing in the open doorway. The predator scans the room thoughtfully before taking a calm step forward. Luke immediately recognizes the missing ear and the fire-like fur. The wolf grins, giving it an eerily human look, when it sees Luke smile in child-like wonder. A few sweeps with its tail cleans the dust and dirt off the ground where the beast sits on its hindquarters.
“I had a feeling that there was something strange about you,” Luke admits, hiding his proud smile with a cough.
“Your instincts are strong. I can see that Uli chose a talented faithful for her blessing,” the wolf states, using its hind leg to scratch behind its ears. “Although, you still lack some refinement in your skills. You should have been able to discern that I was more than a lone wolf upon our first meeting.”
“He did say that he had a feeling,” Vixen quietly interjects.
“Very true, milady, but a feeling is of little use unless one can pinpoint the cause of the feeling,” the wolf politely says. “All your son knew was that something about me made him feel slightly uneasy.”
“Actually, I felt more at ease than I would with a real rogue wolf,” Luke mentions matter-of-factly.
“Really? Why is that?” the beast inquires with its ear curiously perked up in the air.
“Well, there was something about you that made me believe that you were not going to attack,” Luke answers, carefully trying to explain himself. “I didn’t know why, but I felt that you weren’t a threat.”
Legends of Windemere: 03 - Allure of the Gypsies Page 37
