“Enough. She’s something, Mark.”
“That she is. May I?”
Tyrin gave a subtle nod of his head. “By all means.”
As he watched Tyrin replay the session, Markus grinned at her. “When I think I’ve seen the limit of your talent, you surprise me again.”
“I do my best. I hope you don’t mind; we’ve invited ourselves for lunch.”
“Not at all!” he said, surprised. “Have you brought your visit forward a day?”
“I thought we may as well since I was here. Dane’s gone for Callan and the kids.”
“And you, Dagda?”
“If it’s no trouble,” he asked, brows raised in surprise at the invitation.
“Of course not,” Markus said before vanishing.
“You’re unbelievable,” Fern said quietly. “Who walks into a castle and tells the king they’re coming to stay?”
Izak laughed and said, “Mark has his favourites. He’d tolerate just about anything from this one.” Then he turned to fully face her, met her eyes, and said, “Please, don’t fear him. He can be intimidating but…well, you’ll see.”
Callan and Dane arrived shortly afterwards, followed by Markus. He smiled, noting that everyone was present. “Lunch will be served in the family dining room shortly. Then, may I suggest a session in the gardens with Enya and Zander?”
The children beamed, bolting for the door.
“Hang on! You don’t even know where you’re going!” Charlotte laughed, following them.
Eight
As they finished lunch, Dane asked, “What do you usually do for your birthday, Lottie?”
She’d tried so hard to avoid having to do anything, unused and unwilling to have them all fussing over her. She groaned inwardly. “Usually a spa morning with Ferne and a pizza for tea. Sometimes I push the boat out and have a bottle of wine. Given that I now have a bottle of wine most days, the castle doesn’t have a take away, and I have a spa bath in my bedroom at home, I don’t suppose I’ll be doing anything this year.”
“Told you,” Callan muttered as Dane scowled.
“Can we go now, Mummy?” Zander asked impatiently.
“Yes. Yes, we can,” she said, giving Dane a tight smile, grateful for an excuse to leave the topic of her birthday behind.
She excused herself and made her way back to their suite to retrieve coats and gloves, Zander and Enya skipping ahead.
“What will we be learning today?” Zander asked as she closed the door.
“I don’t know, baby; I don’t make those decisions. Whatever it is, I’m sure it’ll be fun. Markus wants to see how much you’ve learned,” she said. “Enya, Tyrin wields water like you. He might have some new tricks to show you. Go and play for five minutes.”
Enya ran to their room grinning, Zander close behind her. With a few minutes to herself, Charlotte sat down on the sofa, tipping her head back onto the cushions.
Wonder why they make such a fuss about birthdays? Must get boring after all their years. It doesn’t make sense.
“It’s because, Lottie, we like to make a fuss of our friends and relatives and it’s the perfect opportunity,” Dane said from behind the sofa, clearly irritated.
She jumped, a sharp intake of breath catching in her throat. “Stop doing that!”
Dane laughed softly and sat beside her, pulling her into his arms. “Why do you hate your birthday?”
She sighed, glancing to the children’s bedroom door before explaining. “Mum was killed the Monday after my birthday. I’d been home. We always did something special like a meal out or weekend away,” she said quietly, recounting the harrowing event. “I’d gone back to uni, was hauled out of a lecture and told she was dead, and was then taken home by the police. Worst day of my life. Then I met Callan, and he disappeared; the year after that I was busy with two babies. I stopped being important enough for birthdays. They just bring bad memories anyway.”
He kissed the side of her head and sighed. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I shouldn’t have pushed.”
Enya and Zander came bounding from their room, coats and hats bundled in their arms.
Clearing her throat, Charlotte painted on a smile. “Okay, get wrapped up and we’ll see what you’re learning today.”
Dane helped zip their coats and went on ahead with them while she composed herself.
Callan found her as she made her way down to the gardens. With a gentle kiss, he said, “They’ve gone to the clearing again. More space.”
“I’ve already trashed that once today,” she laughed, taking his hand.
They walked quietly through the castle for a few minutes until she said, “Dane came asking about my birthday.”
“I know. I told him if he really wanted to know, to come and ask you. Are you okay?”
“Think he regrets it now,” she murmured. “I’m fine. It doesn’t bother me like it used to.”
Callan squeezed her hand. “Ready to go?”
She smiled, brushing off the emotion. “Yeah, I think Tyrin needs supervising with Enya. He could be a bad influence.”
Markus had changed into jeans, trainers, and a sweater, and was sitting on the ground talking to Zander and Enya when they arrived. Taken aback, she murmured to Callan, “He looks so much more relaxed out of that suit.”
“We all take time off, Charlotte,” he said with a low chuckle.
They stopped a few feet away and let Markus finish what he was saying to Enya before he looked up and smiled. “I’d like you to sit this one out, Charlotte.”
“Okay,” she said, confused. “Why?”
“Because you had your training session before lunch.” Getting to his feet, he took the children by their hands and led them further into the field.
The fresh, dry grass providing somewhere to sit, Ferne settled herself to watch. Dagda sat beside her and said, “We’ll stay here with Izak until he’s needed.”
Tyrin hoisted Enya onto his shoulders and ran to the far tree line. Charlotte shook her head, smiling at her shrieks of laughter as he sped away.
“Don’t worry,” Dane said from her other side. “They’ll look after them.”
“I know,” she said, trying to sound relaxed and positive.
Callan laughed. “Don’t worry about them. Worry about Tyrin. If he gets on her wrong side, there’ll be a deluge.”
They walked along the forest edge, Charlotte’s attention flicking from Zander to Enya. Zander brought a column of rock up from the ground and appeared to be warding it under Markus’ supervision. She stopped to watch as Markus held out a hand, thick shadow forming beneath his palm. Zander knelt at the base of the rock, placing both hands against it as Markus attempted to undo his wards. The high-pitched whine of tension within the rock pierced her ears and she winced, expecting it to shatter under the pressure. Markus glanced her way and offered a reassuring smile as he pressed harder. Zander was visibly shaking as he fought against Markus’ power, keeping his structure complete, his wards in place. Markus murmured instructions as they worked, as Blair usually did, and Zander nodded once and took a deep breath. Markus pushed against his wards and the earth shook as Zander countered his attack.
“What are they doing?” she murmured.
“Working on ward defence,” Dane explained in a low voice so as not to distract. “Father is taking his wards apart. Zander is repairing them and building new ones to keep his structure secure. It’s to help behind the scenes should a portal come under attack.”
“What’s that?” she asked as the earth shook again.
“He’s drawing magic from the earth, imbuing the column with that power as well as his own. His is incredibly resilient, but the earth holds its own, purer magic. If Zander can learn to draw that, bind it to his wards, they’ll never come down.”
“Like when we tap extra power?”
“No, what Zander can access is far more powerful.”
As she nodded, there was a pulse of energy from Zander that threw Markus off b
alance. Withdrawing his shadow, Markus dropped to one knee at his side. The pride and love in his expression as he praised the boy brought stinging tears to her eyes. With a smile, she turned away and continued walking towards the rear of the clearing.
Tyrin and Enya stood side by side, facing the trees. Enya had her head turned, looking intently up at Tyrin as he spoke to her. Her knees bent, then one leg moved back slightly for balance. From this angle, Charlotte couldn’t see what they were doing with their hands. They turned, her feet moving slowly, gracefully, maintaining the stance, and she pulled her arms back, palms facing outward.
“I didn’t realise this was a tai chi lesson,” she muttered to Callan.
“She won’t need to use the hand movements as she builds more control. This is just a guide. Watch,” he said, smiling down at her.
Charlotte quickened her pace to get a better view.
Mimicking Tyrin’s movements, Enya moved her hands slowly out in front of her before bringing them to her chest, palms still facing outwards. With a steady breath, she pushed her palms swiftly outward, not quite straightening her arms.
Tyrin praised her, gave more instructions, and they began again.
Charlotte watched as they repeated the movements, ribbons of water appearing around Enya’s arms, down her wrists, and weaving between her fingers. As her hands moved through the air, the ribbons left her hands and wove themselves into an intricate knot. Enya grinned at her handiwork as she pushed sharply outward, the knot shooting forward and into the forest. Charlotte gasped as the trees buckled and fell beneath the force. Enya turned one hand over, palm up, and jerked it back, her elbow tucked in at her side. The knot of water instantly returned to her, shrinking and settling in her palm before popping like a water balloon.
Tyrin high-fived her and met Charlotte’s surprised gaze. He winked before turning his back. He nodded to Markus as he gave Enya more instructions, demonstrating with his hands. Enya beamed and took off to the centre of the field where Zander waited.
“Izak’s turn,” Callan said quietly.
She caught the hint of trepidation in his tone. “What?”
“Nothing. Just, well, water and electricity,” he said with a nervous laugh.
Her stomach clenched with anxiety as she looked to Izak and considered asking him to be gentle with them.
Dane lay a hand on her shoulder and murmured reassuringly, “Father has them shielded. They’re fine.”
Zander said something to Enya that made her face light up, then she took a defensive stance. A shield of water domed over them as Izak strode away from Dagda and Ferne.
Enya’s dome began to move, the water turning like a top around them. Izak grinned and summoned electricity, accepting her challenge. It crackled and flashed in his palms, a tiny lightning storm at his fingertips. He struck the first blow, forks of lightning striking the water dome.
Zander gripped Enya by the shoulders as she worked to hold her shield, then stamped a foot to the ground. The earth split in all directions, the newly grown lawn torn and uneven. Izak laughed, setting the ground at their feet alight. Enya nodded her head in response to something Zander had muttered behind her as she effortlessly extinguished the flames. She murmured something in reply and he gripped her shoulders harder, squeezing his eyes shut.
Enya winced at the tightness of his grip, but held steady as Zander filled her with raw power from the earth.
“What the fuck is he doing?” Charlotte hissed, tugging on Callan’s hand. Callan didn’t respond, watching Enya closely as Zander fuelled her power.
“Just watch,” Dane said, his voice low and full of awe.
Whatever Zander was doing, she realised it had Izak on the back foot. He cast a glance to Markus, who simply shrugged and turned to join Dagda and Ferne.
“They better be shielded, Dane,” she warned, then gasped as Enya’s shield seemed to solidify.
Without provocation, Enya shattered her dome, shards like broken glass spraying in all directions. Izak wasn’t ready; dodging too late, only narrowly avoiding a laceration to the face as the shards whizzed past. He retaliated with bolts of lightning.
Zander dropped, hands flat to the ground as Enya went on the offensive. With each hand covered by a small disc of water, she gave a small push from her right. The disc shot towards Izak, changing shape as it moved. From a flat disc to a spinning torpedo, it flew at him. Not waiting for it to hit its target, she formed ribbons in the same hand that twisted together, forming an elaborate whip; the shield disk remained in her left. Zander reached up and touched the shield with a finger, turning it from liquid to solid, and Enya walked forward.
Having gathered his senses, Izak snarled, leaning slightly to his right and watching the torpedo whizz by.
Enya pulled back her hand, the water whip coiling behind her. Izak responded to her threat with a ring of flames around her feet. Suddenly, she shot skyward, supported by a column of rock. Dirt raining down over him, Izak turned his attention to Zander.
Sensing the threat, Zander walled himself in, a water shield snapping down around his protective bunker as Enya realised he was exposed. As Izak strode towards Zander, another column of rock shot up, half the height of the first and close enough for Enya to jump to. Her whip coiled around her arm, she took a huge leap, only briefly steadying herself on the new column before landing gracefully on the ground. Without a pause, she sprang to her feet and ran at Izak with surprising speed given her tiny frame.
Izak launched a lightning attack on Zander’s defences, his temper fraying as the two of them worked to wear him down. The wards were breaking; the fizz and pop of them dying away was audible over the sound of Izak’s crackling lightning. As the walls began to buckle, Enya came up behind him with a mighty swing of her whip and caught him around the legs. She turned and ran, back through the field towards the safety of Zander and his fortress. Her whip pulled taut, the force dragging her back and she landed on her back. Izak was pulled face down into the dirt, buying her time to scramble to her feet and rush to Zander.
As she drew close, Zander dropped his walls and rebuilt them around Izak, quickly warding them as Enya covered the new structure with a shield. With Izak secured, she bent over, hands on her knees, panting.
Charlotte couldn’t speak. Caught somewhere between horrified and awestruck, she gaped as Markus began to applaud them.
“Excellently done!” he called as Zander freed Izak.
Tyrin appeared beside Callan and said, “She’s her mother’s daughter, isn’t she?”
Callan smirked, but declined to answer as Charlotte shot them a contemptuous look.
“Oh, yes. You should see her angry,” Dane said.
Charlotte shook her head and went to the children.
“Did Tyrin tell you to do that?” she asked when she was close enough to be heard.
“Sort of. Did you like it, Daddy?”
“Umm, yeah,” he said cautiously, glancing to Charlotte.
“You were amazing,” she praised. “Zander, what did you do to her?”
“Gave her some extra magic to make her stronger,” he said triumphantly. “So she could jump down from the pillars and pull him over.”
“Not once have I experienced power such as theirs in anyone so young. As a team, they’re unstoppable,” Izak said quietly.
“Give them time,” Markus said, laying a hand on Zander’s shoulder and giving him a gentle squeeze. “It’s just play for now.”
“Aunty Fe, did you see?” Enya called.
Despite the face full of makeup, Ferne had visibly paled. She nodded her head and forced a brief smile, but didn’t reply. Dagda chuckled, kissing the side of her head.
“You can be the test subject next time,” Izak said to Tyrin. “I’ll give them the pointers.”
“Can we have another go now?” Zander asked eagerly, listening to Izak and Tyrin.
“No!” Callan and Charlotte said together.
Markus chuckled. “Tomorrow. We shouldn’t wear you o
ut too quickly. You have work to do this week, Zander.”
“Come on; time to go,” Callan said, taking their hands. “We’ll get you a snack, then explore the castle.”
Nine
“Happy Birthday,” Callan murmured against the hollow of her throat as he kissed her.
She smiled, blinking awake. “Thank you.”
On her bedside table sat a large bouquet of roses. She sat up and turned to admire them. Each flower had a small diamond sitting at its centre, glinting in the morning sunlight that streamed through the window. They were tied with a thick organza ribbon, studded with more tiny gems. “Callan, they’re beautiful! Thank you.”
“Since you wouldn’t allow me to celebrate Valentine’s Day, I’ve combined the two. There’s another gift, but you won’t receive that until we go home.”
“I’ve told you, I don’t need gifts,” she chided, turning to kiss him. “I only need you, and you’re here.”
“In that case, the children are out with Dagda on a training session,” he said, his eyes glinting as he pushed her back onto the pillows.
“Well I think we’re long overdue a night out,” Ferne stated, glaring around the table. “We can all go, so it isn’t like we’re sat there all damsels in distress. You haven’t done anything fun for months, Lottie!”
“I think that’s a brilliant idea,” Dane said around a mouthful of bread. “Where do you suggest?”
“Haven’t done Newcastle in a while,” she said, looking sidelong at Dagda.
He muttered something about it being up to Callan, who instantly deflected back to Charlotte.
Charlotte glared at them. “You want me to go out on the piss after last time?”
Callan cleared his throat as Enya and Zander giggled.
“Yes!” Ferne snapped. “Anyone’d think you were turning sixty, not twenty-seven! And if I can get this bunch of geriatrics to come, there’s no risk, is there?”
Callan snorted into his glass at the insult and said, “If she doesn’t want to, she doesn’t have to.”
“It’s her birthday!” Ferne pressed in exasperation, dropping her spoon. “She has to do something!”
Riftkeepers: Reckoning Page 7
