by Sasha Parker
She giggled to herself as the thought went through her mind. They wouldn't believe her. Anything was believable there, at the Council, as she had found during her time there. Magical creatures were everywhere and anything could happen at any time. She had been coming out of her room, going down the stairs, when an explosion had occurred on the ground floor. She was surprised when no one really reacted, they just kept going about their business. Kira was stunned and headed to where she thought the explosion had taken place to see if anyone was hurt.
There she found Kai, one of the Council members, scolding a young man. "Jacob, you knew better than to try that indoors. You must learn discipline."
The young man hung his head. "I'm sorry, Kai. I will do better."
"Good. Now come, let's go out into the proper atmosphere and try again," Kai said as he put his arm around the young man and they headed toward the end of the hall.
Kira shook her head and turned to see Tobin smiling at her. They had become fast friends and he approached her saying, "Jacob is too eager but once he learns patience, he will be a great warlock." He must have seen Kira's confusing look as he added, "Kai holds classes to teach the young warlocks. They all try to impress him too fast."
Kira laughed. "The things you see on a daily basis, Tobin. It's a wonder you aren't jumpy all the time."
Tobin grinned. "I used to be when I was first welcomed by the Council. Now it is just a way of life. You forget that I grew up knowing magick."
They had had many a chat about their different upbringings when it came to magick and had several debates over the challenges. Tobin told her of growing up with a Wiccan mother and a warlock father, knowing about magick. She told him about her family and how their grandmother had told her and her sisters. He had been sympathetic but then teased her, telling her that even though she had been told of magick late in life, she was still more powerful than he would ever be.
Kira really cared for Tobin like a little brother. Ronan and Brendan had been a little jealous at first but then once they realized that she truly thought of Tobin as family, they too brought him into their circle. Kira smiled thinking about her men. They had taken care of her, loving her with affection and making sure she ate regularly. They had even gone to the library with her on several occasions, helping her search through the books for answers.
"You are thinking too hard again," Tobin's voice broke through her thoughts.
Kira stuck her tongue out at him. "I am not."
"Oh yes you are. Your brow is furrowed again. You are going to get wrinkles," Tobin said teasingly. "I came to tell you it's lunch time."
Kira sat back in one of the chairs and said, "Oh man, already? I still haven't found anything. We are getting nowhere with this."
"I know you are frustrated but I really feel the answers are here somewhere and so does Vesta." Tobin tried to reassure her.
Kira shrugged. "Maybe I'm just tired. I didn't sleep well last night."
"Anything you want to talk about?" Tobin asked.
"No, I will be okay, thanks," Kira said as she stood and set the book aside. "I'm going to go to lunch and then maybe take a nap. I think I am done in here for today."
Tobin followed Kira out and locked the door to the ancient room. As they headed out into the hallway, Kira saw a couple of men carrying suitcases up the main stairs. "Tobin, what's going on? Someone else come to visit?"
Tobin nodded. "Yes, one of the warlocks has come to visit his nephew who is training with Kai."
"How nice," Kira said as they continued to walk to the dining hall. When they arrived, they saw that Kira's Guardians and their uncle had already gotten food and settled at a table. Tobin led Kira into the line for food and then they went to join them. As they sat down, Ronan seemed to be upset about something and was grumbling.
"What's going on?" Kira asked as she sat down between her men.
Brendan leaned over and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I missed you, sweet," he murmured in her ear.
She gave him a small smile and asked her question again, not letting him deter her. "It's nothing, luv," Ronan answered as he kissed her too. "I just saw someone I don't care for."
Donald's laugh boomed out over the table. "Don't care for? Hell, son, no one cares for him. He's a snake."
"Who are we talking about?" Kira asked, trying to keep her patience.
"It's a warlock we know from long ago. He isn't right somehow. We have never fully trusted him," Brendan said. "He just showed up here and just the sight of him irritates Ronan."
"Okay." Kira thought over what they said and was now curious to see this warlock.
"Enough of this talk," Ronan said as he put his arm around Kira. "You look tired, luv. How is the search?"
"At a dead end," Kira said frustrated, all thoughts of the visiting warlock gone for the time being. The men watched as she didn't really eat, she just pushed her food around her plate.
Brendan looked over at Tobin, who shrugged and looked concerned. 'Brother, I think that our woman needs some rest and reassurance.'
'She does seem to be getting more dejected. Did you see she didn't even push for more information on the visitor? This bothers me,' Ronan said concerned.
'I agree. She could be homesick, although she spoke to them all just last night,' Brendan said.
'Let's take her upstairs for a nap. She was restless last night,' Ronan answered.
Brendan and Ronan both stood from the table. "If you will excuse us, we are going to take Kira upstairs for a little while," Ronan said to Tobin and Donald who nodded.
The men helped Kira up and then both put their arms around her to lead her up the stairs to their suite. She wordlessly allowed them to undress her and lay her down in the center of the bed. Once in bed, they cuddled her in between them and caressed her into sleep.
Chapter Twenty
"Where exactly are we going?" Ronan asked Kira as they began to hike through the woods.
Kira turned to him and smiled. "I am taking you guys somewhere special."
Brendan frowned. "How would you know about a special place back here if you haven't been back here before? Because if you had, you would have told us right?"
Kira cringed. Now she was going to face the music, she just hoped it wouldn't be too bad. Then she got angry, what right did they have to tell her what to do? She was a grown woman. "I have been back here a time or two. Just wait, you are going to like it."
"Kira, you broke our agreement," Ronan growled.
"Ronan, I am a grown woman and can go where I want," Kira growled back.
Brendan shook his head as they continued to follow Kira into the woods. "Sweetling, you are in trouble now."
Kira barked out a nervous laugh. She knew she would pay for deceiving them, but once they met the Green Man, maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Yeah, yeah. Well, like I said, I do what I want. You two are not my father nor my husbands and I don't answer to you," she said with false bravado.
Ronan growled again. "We will see about that when we return to our room."
"Yes, we will," Brendan said. When Kira turned to look at him, she saw a touch of hurt in his blue eyes and felt a pang of sadness that she had put it there.
She pushed all that to the back of her mind as they came to the small circle of trees and turned to both men. "Look, for now just come and meet my friends."
Surprise came over both their faces. "Not only did you come out here without telling us, but now you have made friends too?" Brendan asked shocked and angry.
Kira laid a hand on each of their chests. "Guys, come on. Let's be calm. Take a deep breath, please. You are going to like this." She looked into both their eyes and pleaded. "Please."
Both men looked at each other, she knew they were having one of their silent conversations again, then they looked back at her. Both smiled softly at her, which made her nervous. "Okay, Kira, let's go meet your friends," Ronan said calmly.
Kira hugged them both, showing them her thanks and kissed each on the lips a
s she then turned to the trees. "Breena, are you there?"
Breena popped out from behind the large Oak and flew up to hover beside of Kira. She executed a small in flight curtsey and said, "Welcome, Guardians, we are honored."
Kira giggled as Ronan and Brendan looked surprised at her new friend. Then they bowed to Breena with their fists over their hearts, "It is our honor to be in your presence, Breena," Ronan answered.
Breena giggled and turned to Kira. "He has been waiting and eager to meet your men."
Kira smiled. "Then let's call him."
Ronan and Brendan watched as Kira took a seat at the base of the large Oak in the middle of the circle of trees. Breena then flitted over by Kira and said, "I call to you now, spirit of the nature, strong and free, come and teach us. We honor you, celebrate your gifts, reveal yourself, Green Man. Weave your magic and come to us."
The trunk began to shimmer and then the Green Man appeared, smiling down at Kira. "Good to see you again, child. I see you have brought your men to see me."
Kira smiled at him and said, "Good to see you too. Yes, I brought them this time." She turned and looked at Ronan and Brendan. Again they wore twin looks of shock. She knew they had no knowledge of the Green Man and it pleased her that she could surprise them for a change. They had teased her when she had shown surprise over seeing fairies flitting about, then trolls, elves, and other magical creatures. Now it was her turn.
She put her hand out and waved the men to come over to sit beside her. The men walked up to stand on either side of her and gave the Green Man a bow as they did to Breena. "Welcome, Guardians. Come, sit and we will talk," the Green Man said.
"We are honored," Ronan said reverently.
Both men sat down on either side of Kira while Breena brought each of them flowers filled with the butterscotch liquid. Kira spoke to the Green Man, updating him on her findings from the library and the goings on inside the castle. Ronan and Brendan watched in awe as their woman chatted with the Green Man as if he were her best friend.
"So, Guardians, do you feel the evil? It is close now," the Green Man said.
Both men became tense. "Tell us. Do you know where or who it is?" Brendan asked.
The Green Man looked sad. "I am sorry, I do not. I only know that it is closer and making some of the creatures of the forest nervous. It comes this way each day and then retreats to the castle."
"Has any of these creatures seen the evil? Do any of them know where it goes?" Ronan asked.
"Sadly, no. We only know that Kira is in danger from it. I know that it comes for her. We must keep her safe. It is the reason that I allowed you to see me," the Green Man told them.
"Thank you for telling us all of this, wise one. We are honored that you allowed us to meet you," Brendan said.
"If you don't mind, we want to get Kira back to the castle before dark," Ronan said as he stood with Brendan.
"Of course. Kira, go with your men and allow them to protect you. Stay safe, my child," the Green Man smiled at Kira and then shimmered away.
Kira stood and said, "I will see you later, Breena. Be safe out here. If you need me, you know where my suite is, right?"
Breena flitted in front of Kira. "Yes, I do. Do not worry, I will be safe."
Kira smiled at her and then turned to go. The men led her back out of the woods. "You are very blessed to have him find you, Kira," Ronan told her.
"I know. Vesta told me that when I first met him," Kira answered.
"Vesta knows?" Brendan said with surprise.
"Of course. Is there anything that goes on around here she doesn't know?" Kira said with a laugh.
"I guess not," Ronan agreed. "We need to alert the Council that the evil is near."
"First let's get Kira back safely to our room," Brendan said.
Kira stopped walking as they entered the back garden from the woods. "No, I will go with you." When she saw their faces darken and knew they were going to argue, she continued, "No arguments. This threat is against my family."
Ronan opened his mouth to argue and then closed it just as quickly. 'She is right, Brendan. She has a right to be a part of this.'
'Yes, she does,' Brendan agreed. 'It also allows us to keep a close eye on our sneaky girl.'
Kira huffed. "Would you two stop having those private chats without me? I am going," she said firmly.
Both men laughed and Brendan said, "We were just thinking of your safety. Yes, you will go with us."
Ronan put his arm around her. "But you will behave now, won't you, Kira?"
Kira melted against him as he kissed behind her ear. "Yes, I will as long as you do," she said as she smacked his chest.
They all laughed together as they headed in to find Tobin. He would get them in to see the Council immediately. They all held hands as they went inside the castle knowing it may be one of the last quiet moments they had together. The battle was beginning.
*****
He watched them walk back in from the garden. His time was running short, the Council was going to get suspicious if he didn't show a more practical reason for being there. He needed to get to Kira, but she was never alone. He took his phone out and dialed.
"Thomas, I need you to distract the Guardians. I must act on this now," he ordered.
"I will take care of it, sir," Thomas assured him.
"They are going with Tobin now, I assume to see the Council. Do it as soon as they are done," he said.
"Of course, consider it done," Thomas answered.
He hung up the phone and headed to his room to prepare for his confrontation with Kira. He was going to have to orchestrate it out of prying eyes. He couldn't afford to be caught now, not when he was so close.
*****
"Kira, has the Green Man been able to reveal any more to you?" Una asked.
Kira, Brendan, and Ronan were sitting once again with the Council members, although the fourth member was still absent. Vesta had told Kira a few days ago that Eragon was due to return soon. The men informed the members of the Green Man appearing to Kira and the warning he gave.
"No, he only told he that evil was coming and it was coming for me. Then today he told all three of us the evil was here. Now," Kira answered.
Vesta turned to the other members. "I have felt a shift the last few days. It can only mean that something is here and trying to hide from us."
Kai rubbed his chin in thought. "I will look into the well and see if I can find an answer. I will return." He got up and went out a side door.
Una stood and said, "I am going to call a meeting of the Fae and see if they have any answers." She walked to the same door as Kai had exited and left.
Vesta turned to Kira. "I will go and cast a spell to protect those under our protection and try to find some answers. If the evil is here, we will find it. Stay within the castle and safe until then."
"You as well," Kira said to her and smiled as she realized she was talking to not only her friend, but the Priestess of Wiccans. She sometimes forgot how powerful Vesta was.
Ronan and Brendan led Kira out of the Council room and down the hall toward the stairs. "We are going to go to our suite and call Donald. He can sit with you while we do some checking of our own," Ronan told Kira.
"What? No, I will go with you," Kira said firmly.
"Absolutely not. You will stay in our room where we will know you are safe," Brendan said just as firmly.
Once they arrived at their suite, Ronan called Donald who came immediately to their room and agreed to stay with Kira. When the men went to kiss Kira goodbye as they left, she stomped off into the bedroom, slamming the door in their faces. She heard them leave and sat on the bed, angry that they had done this to her. They had actually gotten her a babysitter. She was unbelievably pissed that one minute they treated her like their equal and the next they locked her like a princess in a tower.
She stood and began to pace the length of the room, going over what she knew of the threat. She had learned there were certain pieces
needed to do rituals. She had found out from her talks with Tobin that a revered chalice had been stolen recently from the elven community and thought this may have been the explanation for Eragon's absence.
During her studies of the grimoires, she had found the chalice was used in most of the more important rituals as it held great power. There was also an athame used in them as well. The most powerful athame known was the one that had been held by the Wiccans and it was known to be within the vault protected by the Council. Tobin said it had been on display until someone had stolen it. There was a hunt to retrieve it, Eragon had been heading the search, which explained why he had been absent when they had arrived. Kira realized she had actually learned more than she thought as she looked out over the back garden.
The third piece needed would be the Paten Disc. It was a large plate-like item that was engraved with the Triquetra, the symbol of the element of earth. It was three circles joined together, very like the sisters tattoos. Each family had a Paten Disc, Kira had called her grandmother and found the Kirkpatrick family did indeed have one. It was hidden in Mamo's greenhouse, safely tucked away.
Kira had made sure by making her grandmother take the cordless phone out to check on it. Sure enough, it had been there, just where her grandmother had said it would be. Kira had then warned her grandmother, telling her that whatever was trying to hurt them would need the Disc and to put a protection spell around it. Her grandmother had assured her they would take precautions.
Kira knew the final item would be gotten over her dead body. She had read in the original grimoire of the Blessed Five, that in order to steal away with the powers of the sisters, one would need the blood of the eldest. Not just a bit of blood, but the final drops from her body. Kira had freaked out when she read that and had called Reilly to make sure Ari was okay. She had lied and said she was just checking on everyone as being at the Council made her nervous. Reilly had seemed to buy the story and had assured her that Ari was indisposed with Lachlan at that moment. Kira didn't need any more details and had hung up on a laughing Reilly.
She knew she had to draw out this evil, the question was how. It was there, he or she was in the castle with Kira and she had to find a way to locate it. As she looked out over the garden, she saw some fairies flitting around, as if looking for something or someone. She frowned as she saw Breena coming to her window. Something was wrong. She opened the French doors that led to the balcony off the bedroom and stepped out.
