“No, I haven’t,” Yingun sneered. “Maybe it’s just a product of your ineptitude, Xylen.” His accusation was only designed to deflect his own reaction to Xylen’s observation. He had been worried it had only been his Gate’s power being affected. Never would he admit such a thing to the other Elders, however.
As Xylen stormed off, Yingun looked around the well-appointed room. He did sense more power here than in any other Gate and wondered at it. While this was the second oldest Residence, he had somehow believed the power had come from Wilken’s line and not from the location at all. Since Wilken had been disposed of, the power still remained. He glared over at Rasa, knowing she was no relation to the old relic who had finally departed from this world.
Debbon pulled on Daven’s sleeve and motioned for them to move to the side of the room, too. As soon as they were out of earshot, Debbon accused, “How dare you dissolve my son’s betrothal? Don’t you think I should have been consulted first? I had to find out today from Rasa. The poor girl was mortified to learn that I didn’t know anything about it. I was equally mortified. I’m the First Elder, don’t you think I should have known what was going on in my own household?”
Daven waited for Debbon to run out of breath before he urgently whispered his own reply. “I was left with no choice, Debbon. I’m sorry; I assumed Willian would have told you right away.”
“No choice? Really, that’s the angle you’re sticking with? There’s always a choice. Believe me; this is not the last you’ve heard about this from me. There might even be sanctions in store for you for interfering in another Elder’s District.”
“Do as you wish, but I’d suggest you talk to Willian about it first.”
“I’d thank you not to tell me how to handle my own family.”
“Debbon, it’s been almost a week. I would have expected Willian to have contacted you by now.”
“A week?!” he asked incredulously with his voice rising. “Didn’t you think it strange I hadn’t contacted you by now? If I had known, I would have been at your Residence asking questions! I can’t believe how you would betray my trust like this! I thought we were friends.”
“Debbon, please talk to Willian. I don’t want you to say anything you might regret.”
“I won’t regret any of this, Daven. You have betrayed my trust; I know this for certain. I will not forget or forgive your transgression against my family and your insult to my position. I have Rasa’s ceremony to complete. I don’t have time for you right now.”
He turned his back on his friend and cleared his throat to get everyone’s attention. “Elders, Rasa has been trained and approved by Wilken. She has also been accepted as Wilken’s successor by our majority. There is only one thing left to do which is to welcome her to our ranks as Elder Rasa.”
He put his hands on Rasa’s shoulders and said, “Please kneel, Rasa. As First Elder, I hereby appoint you the position of Elder to the citizens of Manzanit. May all of your decisions and considerations be done with the will of your people first in your mind. May Jehoban bless you in this endeavor and welcome you to our ranks.” He placed his hand on the top of her head and mumbled something under his breath.
Rasa felt the warmth of his hand and the tingling sensation returned. She felt it travel throughout her body until it seemed to coalesce at her birth crystal. When Debbon’s hand lifted from her, she looked down on her pendant to discover it now contained the circular disk denoting her status as an Elder. Jehoban was the only one who could place the new crystal, and nobody could deny it was His wish for her to become one of them.
She rose from the floor and smiled up at Debbon. Seeing his glance down at her newly bejeweled birth crystal, she said, “Thank you, First Elder Debbon. I will do my best to be an asset to the people as Jehoban’s representative.”
“Well spoken, Rasa.” He clapped her gently on the shoulder and turned to face the others in the room. “Jehoban has placed the moonstone in her birth crystal. What Jehoban has declared, we will join in the celebration of his decision.”
There were cheers of approval from many of the men and Rasa chose to ignore the glares of disapproval from those who remained silent. No longer could an argument be made against her ascension to their ranks. She was now their equal in every way.
“I’m positive there is much for you to do yet today, Rasa. As your final task, please be so kind as to begin sending us all home.”
“Certainly.” She leaned closer so only Debbon could hear and asked, “Is there a particular order?”
He shook his head and said with a wicked grin on his face, “No, but I can probably guess who’s leaving first!”
Her task did not take long, with Debbon being the last to leave. She felt physically drained and imagined the room around her did as well. With her feet dragging, she left the room and retired to her personal suite to change out of her formal attire. Morning would come all too soon; she was going to bed.
Chapter Thirty-Five
THE WINDOWS OF the car were completely fogged up as Willian and Valentina sat in the front seat and talked about their days. Valentina had driven him home over an hour before only they were reluctant to part ways. They were holding hands, but they knew if they did not have the console between them, it might easily turn into something more.
“I was so scared of the ride in the telepod,” Valentina said again.
“I know. You know, I could take the fear away for you,” Willian offered.
“No, I’ll work through it over time. Maybe it’s a good thing we’ll be traveling again tomorrow.”
“Yes, although I don’t know how well I’ll be able to instruct Gevena. If she’s afraid to use her powers, it’ll be difficult for her to learn the concepts.”
“But you’re a great teacher, Willian!”
“For you, yes; you wanted to learn and competing with your brothers fueled your desire to succeed.”
“True.”
“You know, Val, when I was coming to find you today, I was thinking about what it would be like to take you home to meet my parents. What do you think? Do you want to go?”
“You told them about me already?” Valentina was amazed and wondered when he had been able to do so. “What did they say?”
Willian blushed a little as he realized Valentina had gotten ahead of him in his story. “Actually, I haven’t even told them about the betrothal yet.”
“Willian! You have to tell them. Your dad set up the betrothal when you were little; he needs to know right away. I can’t believe you’ve let it go this long!” She pulled her hands out of his with her shock and anger at his selfishness regarding his parents.
“It’s not my fault, Val. I haven’t had access to a patil. How would you suggest I let them know?”
“Oh, I hadn’t thought about it. Here on Earth, we’d just pick up the phone and call, but I guess this situation is slightly more challenging for you.”
“I’ll say! I’m afraid my mom’s feelings will be hurt and I’m fairly certain my dad will be disappointed in me.”
“It can’t be undone, Willian, you told me so yourself. You’re going to have to face them some time and it’d be better to hear the news from you than from someone else. Don’t you think?”
“I suppose. Maybe when we go to Manzanit tomorrow, I’ll use Rasa’s patil to talk to Dad.”
“Don’t you think it’d be better in person?”
“No! I’d much rather do a video call and let him rage without my neck too near to throttle.” He chuckled, but he was actually pretty serious about the situation.
“I think they’ll be happy for you when you tell them the reason behind it. I’m sure they only want you to be happy.”
“Hmmph, I hope so,” Willian answered. His thoughts turned to Valentina’s family situation. He was certain his father would not be too thrilled with him being with a woman whose family had a questionable background. It was not like he had planned to fall in love or that he even had a say in the matter.
“You don’t regret anything, do you, Willian?”
“What? No! I wouldn’t change anything. My future is with you no matter what happens. I promise to tell my father tomorrow. Then we’ll know where we stand moving forward.”
“Good.” She looked at her watch and sighed. “I should get going. Mom will have dinner almost ready and she hates it when we’re late.”
“Okay. I’ll call you tomorrow when we have things arranged for the trip.” He reached out and pulled her hand, so she was forced to lean forward. His lips met hers and the next few minutes were unaccounted for in both of their minds.
Valentina broke free and breathed deeply. “We have to be careful with that, too.” She turned on the engine of the car and turned on the window defroster. The condensation did not change. “This might take a while,” she teased. She rolled down her window in an effort to speed things along.
Willian saw the problem and accessed the elemy to clear the glass in an instant. He smiled at his success and asked, “Is that better?”
“Showoff! Someone might have seen, you know!” Valentina accused.
“I don’t care. I want you to be safe and for that, you’ll have to see out all of the windows.” He flashed her another grin at his logic and then pulled on the door handle. Once he was out of the car, he leaned down and said, “I can’t wait to see you again tomorrow. Have a great night and say hello to your brothers for me.”
“Thanks, I will. See you tomorrow.” She drove away as soon as Willian shut the door. She saw him waving in her rearview mirror and smiled in disbelief at her luck in having him find her. The fear she had withheld from Willian surfaced since she had seen the look of doubt on his face when she asked him if his parents would like her.
Jena certainly has a better pedigree than my own. After all, Jena is the grand-daughter of an Elder and had been Jehoban’s student since she was six. What do I bring to the table? Valentina asked herself. Heck, I’ve only recently found out I’m from Tuala and I barely understand how to use the elemy. Maybe I should break things off with him before I cause him more trouble than he already has.
Her lips were still tingling with the intensity of their kiss. Just the idea of never seeing him again almost made her heart stop and breathing became difficult. She felt like she was on the verge of a panic attack and had to abandon her line of thinking before she began to feel better. There’s no hope for it; he’s stuck with me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Behn came into Valentina’s bedroom after tapping lightly on her open door. “Hey, sis, do you have a minute?” When she nodded, he turned and closed the door for privacy. He could not risk their adoptive parents overhearing their conversations.
“This must be serious to warrant a closed-door meeting,” Valentina teased to lighten the mood.
“It’s not exactly serious; I just wanted to find out how today went in Manzanit. This is the first time you’ve been there. How were Rasa and Gevena?”
“And Willian?” she guessed.
“Well, of course!” Behn sat on the bed once she moved off to the side to give him room. “Are you two being careful? You’ve had a couple of outings now without one of us with you. I know how you are drawn together.”
“Behn! It’s not like we planned it! Besides, Mrs. Stel went with us to Manzanit today, so we weren’t actually alone for very long, just when I drove him home.”
“Really? Why did Mrs. Stel go with you? Did she say?”
“No, but she seemed pretty excited about discussing something with Rasa. Our guide separated us almost as soon as we got into the Residence. Behn, the place was ginormous. I’ve never been in a building which covered two city blocks before.”
She spent the next few minutes describing the building and its people. Her brother was a good listener and hardly ever interrupted. She ended with, “Willian and I are going back tomorrow to practice crystal skills with Gevena. She’s woefully behind in her studies and I think she’s embarrassed to be in the classes with much younger students. I know I would be, too.”
“Hmm, do you think I could come with you? I’d like more practice as well.”
“I guess…I mean I don’t mind, and I don’t think Willian will care either. I just worry about making Gevena uncomfortable. She’s pretty shy, you know.”
“Okay, how about this, ask her about it tomorrow and then I can come the next time you go if she says yes.”
“Cool. I like it!”
“So, what was Willian doing the whole time you were visiting with Gevena?”
“He was invited to tea with Elder Wilken. I’m not sure how long he was with him, but he seemed like he was pretty excited about something when he came to get me when it was time to leave.”
“You didn’t ask him about it? What were you doing the whole time after you returned from the Stel’s house?”
“Well, I drove him back to his place and we parked out front. We just…you know…talked.”
“Oh? Like with actual words or was it something different?”
Valentina blushed and had to look away from her brother’s intense stare. When she heard him laughing, she had to laugh as well. “We did actually talk…a little.”
“Hah! I knew it. Please be careful, Val! I’m not ready to be an uncle anytime soon.”
Valentina’s eyes grew round with disbelief. Just as quickly, her fist shot out and punched him in the arm. “That’s not even funny, Behn!”
“Ouch!” he exclaimed while rubbing his arm. “Who said I was joking. I’ve actually experienced the intensity between you, remember?”
“As if I could forget, you scared me half to death. Anyway, that brings up something I’d like to ask you advice about.”
“What’s that?”
“Do you think I’m good enough for Willian?”
“Yes! Of course, you are, but sometimes I wonder if he’s good enough for you!”
“No, Behn, I’m serious. Think about it for a second from his parents’ perspective. Willian will one day become the Elder and his wife will be an important person in their society. Our background is a little…unorthodox, to say the least. Behn, we don’t even know who our father is! Compare our life to that of Jena’s. She’s accomplished in many ways and her grandfather is an Elder himself. How am I supposed to compete with her?”
“You aren’t. There’s no competition when it comes to matters of the heart.”
“Matters of the heart? Really, Behn, since when have you become so poetic?”
“Since I started falling for Juila, I guess.”
“Really? Start talking mister!”
“What’s there to say? I enjoy spending time with her. I think about her all of the time. I just worry about what’s going to happen when they decide to return home to Tuala. Will it be after high school is over or will they leave sooner? I can’t imagine leaving Mom and Dad; they deserve better.”
“I know, I’ve thought the same thing. If we continue our relationships, then we’ll both be in the same boat. Maybe Jon has it right with Sofia. She knows about us, but she isn’t pressuring him one way or another.”
“Has Willian been pressuring you?”
“No, no. It’s not like that. He did mention today he wants me to meet his parents.”
“And then you started doubting whether or not you were worthy of his special status?”
“Something like that.”
“Look, Val, it’s not like the two of you are going to run off and get married this week. You have a couple of years to discover whether or not you want to stay together. In the meantime, meet his folks, let them get to know you. Your crystal skill lessons will continue and eventually, you’ll be right up to speed with anyone else in Tuala…probably better than most. Give it time, okay?”
“I guess. I just don’t want to get in too deep if it’s the wrong thing to do.”
“As if you had a say in the matter!”
“I know, right?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
RICCAN HIRED A driv
er to take him home from the Miami Executive Airport. The different car gave him a chance to look for anyone suspicious near their home without being spotted. The tinted windows kept his identity secret from any onlookers. It was the perfect cover considering he had left the house via telepod and not in another vehicle.
Just where Jena had said, there was a car parked across the street from their property. He saw the same face as he had seen in the image he had projected from the cassette. Apparently, the spy had not received word yet from Dr. Gascon his assignment had been canceled. Riccan pulled out his phone and dialed 911.
“Yes, I’d like to report a suspicious person parked outside my property,” he told the operator. He gave the details and then smiled as he hung up his phone. One more person was not going to be harassing his family.
When the car pulled into the driveway, he used his crystal power to open the gate without the code. They drove onto the property and the driver parked in front of the house. Riccan thanked the driver and let himself out. He watched the Towncar circle the driveway and go back down the long curving road.
Riccan turned around and let himself into the house through the front door. He hardly made it through the foyer before Amanda came running toward him. He was almost knocked over by the force of her body hitting his as her arms encircled his waist.
“Are you okay? Where have you been? What took you so long? How come you came in through the front door?”
“I’m alright, honey.” He smiled down at her upturned face to reassure her. “Let’s go sit in the living room, and I’ll tell you all about my discoveries today.” His expression turned serious as he realized he would have to tell her about Elder Wilken’s death. Amanda may not have known him well, but she had just seen him earlier in the day. He was afraid it would upset her, so he wanted her to be sitting for the news.
Once his family had convened in the living room, Riccan turned to Amanda and said, “I ‘ported to Manzanit to ask for Rasa’s help with the Gate. Once I got there, I could tell there was a problem; the staff was running around, the guards outside seemed relieved to see me. I found Rasa crying in her room.” He paused as he omitted the part of the story where Rasa had been naked. “When I asked her what was wrong she told me Elder Wilken had died.”
Ascension Vision- The Levels of Ascension Box Set Page 82
