Aletta opened her eyes to find that she was laying on the floor next to Lirim. Setting aside the orb that was now glowing gently, she pushed herself up and crawled over to him. But before she could start crying again, she saw his chest rise slightly. Reaching out shakily, she frantically felt for a pulse. It took a minute for her to find it, it was faint and slow, but it was there.
Realizing that this is what they had been talking about, she sobbed, “Thank you, thank you.” Trying to staunch the bleeding she screamed, “I need a healer! Someone, anyone!” Hearing the sound of running feet, she knew that someone had run for help.
Lacing her fingers through his, she muttered, “Come on, lend me your magic. I’m tapped out and I know that we’re compatible. You don’t get to kiss me and then die. You better have one good explanation for your actions.” She felt a faint thread of Lirim’s magic reach for her and she seized it gratefully. “Thank you.”
She worked slowly, her fatigue making her less deft than she would like. But she refused to give up and gradually the bleeding eased and then stopped. She shuddered when the bullets were pushed out and clinked against the floor. She counted five clinks and wanted to weep when she thought of how close she had come to losing him. She wanted to remove all traces of the shooting from him but the last traces of her magic flickered and died out.
Letting her hands drop, she slumped, praying that she had done enough. Checking his pulse, she thought that it was stronger than it had been. She didn’t know how long she sat there drifting in and out of consciousness when she heard someone running towards them. She was trying to get up when she realized that it was Kane shouting their names. “Lirim! Aletta! Answer me! Where are you?”
Before she could muster up the energy to reply, he ran into the room scanning frantically for them. It took him a moment to find them slumped at the base of the pedestal and the cry that ripped from him was filled with agony. He ran over and fell to his knees but almost seemed afraid to touch them.
Aletta croaked out, “We’re not dead, but he’s been shot. We need to get him help quickly.”
He whipped his head around, seeming to realize that she was awake for the first time. He lunged forward and hugged her. “You’re alive. Thank God!” Pulling back, he glanced back and forth between Lirim and her. “You’re a healer, can’t you help him?”
She held her hands up helplessly, “I’m actually a Sheridan, not that it matters. I’m tapped out, completely empty. I’ve done what I can, but he needs a healer as quickly as possible.”
Kane tucked her closer to him, “They’re right behind me, they should be here anytime now. What about you? Are you hurt?”
Fighting against the temptation to let her eyelids droop shut, she shook her head, “Just drained.” Digging deep, she managed to find enough strength to get to her feet. Making her way over, she bent over to pick up the orb.
Kane cried, “No! Don’t touch that!”
Aletta smiled and picked it up. “It’s ok, it won’t hurt me.” Settling it gently back on the pedestal, she whispered, “Thank you.” It might have been her imagination, but she thought that the orb’s glow brightened briefly in response to her thanks. Shuffling back over, she sat right as the first of the healers arrived.
Epilogue
Aletta sat quietly in the chair in a room in the healer’s guild, watching the steady rise and fall of Lirim’s chest. His torso was heavily bandaged but Aletta was too grateful over the fact that he was alive to be bothered by it. His family had just left and Aletta was thankful for the quiet. She needed to order her thoughts desperately.
It had been such a whirlwind day. After the healers had appeared, the rest of Lirim’s family had shown up. They were horrified that Lirim had nearly died but instead of pushing Aletta aside, they had surrounded her, just as worried about her. Once they had established that she hadn’t been hurt, Alan wanted to take her back to the manor but Rose insisted that she accompany them to the guild to wait. Aletta was grateful for her understanding her unspoken plea.
While the healers were working on Lirim, Aletta discovered that when Fergus and his crew had tried to take the orb, several other groups had set fires as distractions. It had been chaos and no one knew what to make of it. That hadn’t been the weirdest part though. People were fighting and trying to put out the fire when a sparkling wind blew across the Glade. The fires had spluttered and died and several people collapsed weeping unrestrainedly. But the oddest part was that several of the antagonists just, dissolved. They were there one minute and then they were just gone.
Rose had broken down when Aletta had told them that Fergus was the one behind everything. People don’t want to believe that family is capable of such terrible atrocities but Aletta refused to lie to them. However, she did omit the fact that he had been the one to order Lirim shot. The man was gone, there was no need to torment them with his ultimate betrayal.
It had taken several hours, but Lirim had finally been declared out of danger. Aletta was feeling steadier on her feet, having catnapped while they waited. They all crowded into his room as soon as the healers allowed them. They were informed that he would likely sleep the rest of the night and maybe the next day, but he was out of danger. After several minutes, the healers insisted that everyone leave. It had taken a lot of negotiation and every ounce of diplomacy that Aletta and Kane possessed, but they eventually agreed to allow one person to stay.
Rose had wanted to be the one to stay, but Kane took her aside and persuaded her to let Aletta be the one. She didn’t know what he had said, but she was grateful nonetheless. Which lead to Aletta sitting here, watching him breath.
She shifted slightly and winced as her dress crackled from where it was covered in Lirim’s dried blood. It had seemed inconsequential while they were waiting for news, but now she wished she had taken the time to change. Sighing, she pushed it from her mind. Rubbing her arms absently, she tried to figure out what was bothering her.
She shivered when she remembered Fergus’s eyes. There had been a hungry madness shining in them, one that reminded her eerily of Elizabetta at the end. Something inside her insisted that the two were connected. But that wasn’t all. Her instincts were screaming at her that Elizabetta and Fergus had just been pawns. They had been under the control of someone higher up, most likely the same person who had been in charge of Druery as well.
Aletta frowned, feeling dread creep over her as she realized that she had gotten in over her head. She had stopped him three times now. Three times she had managed to get in the way of whatever it was he wanted. There was no possible way that he couldn’t know about her. And given the way that she’d been using her powers, there was no way that he didn’t know she was a Sheridan. This led her to the conclusion that she had been trying so hard to avoid.
He would be hunting her now. She had taken what was his, so it was only fair that he’d make her get him what he wanted. As long as she stayed, she was putting everyone around her in danger. And Fergus proved that you could never be sure who was an agent of his. The only choice she had to protect those she loved was to get as far away from them as she could.
She allowed herself one sob before forcing the rest down. She could do this. She would do anything to keep them safe. She’d been willing to give up her life earlier, what made exile any harder?
Rising, she crossed over to the side of the bed. Smoothing a strand of hair from his face, she greedily drank in Lirim’s sleeping face, trying to memorize it. She whispered fiercely, “I will find out who is behind this and when I do, I’ll come back to you. No matter what you hear, I promise you that I will come back! Nothing on this earth can stop me from getting back to you. You still owe me an explanation and I fully intend to collect. Please, please take care of yourself.”
Bending over, she gently pressed her lips to his. Straightening, she murmured again, “I will come back.”
Tearing herself away, she took a step and teleported to the train station. She was in luck and the train to Isento
n was just about to depart. She scrambled to get a ticket and board. She just barely made it and moments later the train departed. Entering the compartment that she had reserved, she could’ve sworn that she heard Lirim cry her name, his voice filled with anguish. It proved to be her undoing and she collapsed to the floor, weeping uncontrollably.
Glossary
Anthea – Flowerlike
Awena – Seer
Battle of Norwick - The final decisive battle in the century long war known as the Time of Terror
Bosk – A small copse of trees
Centrum Magia - A person's magical core, source of their magic
Chase - A hero of the Battle of Norwick, a brownie
Chimas - Originally thought to be a mutation of a chimera, thus the shortening of their name to chimas. They resemble nothing more than a rabid fox sized creature, but tend to migrate in packs like lemmings. Both the males and females are poisonous. The males bite causing excruciating pain that often sends the victims into shock ending in death. This is a defensive mechanism to keep dangers away from their territory. The females bite causes numbness and paralysis. This is so the can bring live prey back to their dens so that the pups can learn how to hunt.
Dryad – A nymph inhabiting a forest or a tree
Fae – A blanket term for most supernaturals, excluding Lycans and other shapeshifters.
Gealltanas – Gaelic, means assurance, promise, pledge
Glade (the) - One of several sanctuaries that the fae retreated to after the Time of Terror. The Glade is home to the Orb, a fae artifact created when Chase and Richard sacrificed themselves to help turn the tide in the Battle of Norwick
Hesperides – 3 dryads whom guarded the golden apples
Leta – Joy, gladness
Lirim – Guardian
Lycan – Short for Lycanthrope. A type of shapeshifter that turns into wolves. They typically run in packs.
Malus – Part of the Latin name for the apple tree family
Meliades – Apple dryads
Nymph – A spirit of nature inhabiting rivers, woods, or other locations
Obiecta – Latin, object
Omnes – Latin, all
Orb (the) - An artifact created when Chase and Richard sacrificed themselves to turn the Battle of Norwick. Chase was a brownie and as such had access to simple magics to tend hearth and home. Chase had the idea to use a cleansing spell to sweep the darkness from the battle field. They managed to succeed, but the task cost them their lives. The Orb managed to contain the darkness, not get rid of it. Whenever a person with a healing gift touches it, it will drain them dry of their magic, often sending them into shock and killing them. Aletta manages to heal the Orb, only to discover that Richard and Chase were trapped in the Orb along with the darkness. Freed from the darkness, they decided to remain at the Glade as Guardian Spirits.
Outlander War - A vicious conflict where a small group of fae tried to recreate the time of terror. Lirim fought in it for three years until the end of it where the fae where overthrown and peace restored to the region.
Populus – Latin, people
Richard - A hero of the Battle of Norwick. Human
Shapeshifters – Supernaturals that can shift their form, either into an animal or into a different appearance.
Sheridan – Seeker
Tala – Sioux, wolf
Time of Terror - A time in history where a portion of fae tried to enslave humans. The remaining fae and humans banded together in a group called the Brotherhood of the Light to oppose them. The conflict lasted for a century and was finally ended with the help of a fae and human named Chase and Ricard sacrificed themselves to contain the evil. After this, the remain fae withdrew into sanctuaries for three generations until all of those who had been alive at the time of war had passed away.
Viam – Latin, path
In Search of High Society Page 19
