Alora Page 12

  Why am I so weak that I still need Laethan’s help?

  He handed her the small wooden figurine, distracting her from her inner berating. Swinging her feet down to the plank floor, she studied the distorted chunk of whittled wood.

  “It’s... uhhh... it’s a really cool... uhhh... horse?”

  “Why, thank you. Though... I was attempting to carve a cat.”

  “I’m sorry. Of course it’s a cat. What was I thinking?” She felt her cheeks get hot.

  “I suppose you were thinking I’m not a talented carver, and you would be correct. No matter. I whittle to maintain my concentration.” He smiled.

  “You know, Laethan, I’ve hardly ever seen you smile before, and you’ve done it several times today.” She left her implied question hanging in the air.

  The smile broadened. “I suppose I did not recognize how my responsibilities have weighed heavy upon my soul. But now that I am relieved of my duties...”

  “Relieved of your duties? They won’t let you be the chief healer any more? That’s so unfair!”

  “I relieved myself of my duties. I’ve passed the chief healer position on to Estaelia. She’s more than qualified.”

  “But why? You’re the best, and everyone knows it.”

  “I did not wish to put my good friend, Graely, in a position to choose between his loyalty to me and his duty to uphold the law of the land.”

  “But what will you do now?” She hoped he didn’t intend to sell his carvings, because he might starve to death.

  “Remember this, Alora... one must never find life’s meaning in one’s occupation or gifts or talents, for that will inevitably pass away. I do not need the chief healer position or the power it holds in order to find happiness. In fact, I’m happily anticipating my freedom.” He paused, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, his bushy eyebrows dancing up and down. “I believe I may do some traveling.”

  “Traveling, huh?” Alora grinned back at him. “I hear Serenshire is beautiful this time of year.”

  “Alas,” he spoke with an exaggerated tone like he was in a high school play. “I fear the council would never invite me to join the expedition.”

  “Really? Not even if the bearer, who was an integral part of the traveling group, needed you to help with her overloaded empathy?”

  “What a singular idea!” He winked. “I believe the council might be persuaded to accept.”

  On impulse, Alora leaped forward and threw her arms around his neck. “Thank you, Laethan. I think you’re saving my life... again.”

  He cleared his throat as he gave her an awkward pat on the back. “No gratitude is necessary, child.”

  Straightening, she watched him push his furry brows into their customary gruff position on his uncustomary blushing face.

  “Now, if you’ll allow me to monitor and help when necessary, I believe you can eliminate a significant amount of stored pain before Kaevin returns, demanding to contribute.”

  He took the piece of wood from her fingers and returned to carving away at the poor disfigured cat.

  ~11~

  Sweat dripped off his forehead as Charles mucked the stalls, but the exercise felt good to his stiff muscles. Two weeks in Laegenshire meant two weeks without the hard physical labor that kept his aging muscles in prime condition. At times like this, he might be slightly jealous of the folks in Laegenshire with gifting in strength that never seemed to fade with age.

  No gifts for me. I have to work for it.

  A muffled tune alerted him to his ringing cell phone. Charles tugged off his tough leather work gloves, tucking them under his arm as he dug in his shirt pocket. The chestnut mare eyed him from her stall warily, her ears perking at the noisome intrusion into her meal.

  He didn’t recognize the caller, but answered anyway. “Hello?”

  “Charles. This is Doc.”

  “Hey, Doc. I’m working in the stables right now. Can I call you back?”

  Doc’s reply was peppered with irritation. “That idiot reporter is hanging around the hospital again, determined to find a story. I just wanted to warn you, because he might come out to the ranch looking for Alora.”

  “Well, he can’t get through the front gate without a code, so we should be safe. I certainly hope so, because I’m here with Markaeus, and I haven’t even made up a good story for him.”

  “That’s one of the things I’m worried about. He’s determined to find something for his Unseen Secrets show. I watched an episode, and it’s all bogus. But all he needs is a few weird discrepancies, and he builds an entire case for how someone is hiding a crime or a mystery or an alien from outer space.”

  “Surely no one takes him seriously, right? Even his name is ridiculous—Sergeant Justice.”

  “It turns out that Justice nutcase has half a million crazed followers. Every time he does a show, the fanatics come out of the woodwork.”

  “He has to get permission, though. And Alora’s under age. Wouldn’t that be highly illegal?”

  “He’ll use images posted publicly, like ones from Facebook and yearbooks.”

  “I’ve kept her off Facebook, but there are probably photos somewhere.” Charles chewed on his lip.

  “Justice gets sued all the time, but that just gains him publicity, so he doesn’t give a flip.”

  Charles couldn’t find a single drop of saliva to swallow. “All because we had to convince the nurse that Alora hadn’t been in the room that day we took her through the portal.”

  “That nurse is in psychiatric counseling now, because no one would believe her. She swore someone had killed Alora and hidden the body, all the way up until Alora walked in here yesterday. By the way, thanks for bringing her to the hospital, or I might be the focus of a murder investigation.” Doc laughed.

  “Are you in danger of losing your privileges at the hospital?” How he can he be so flippant about it? “I don’t know what excuse you made for Alora disappearing there without being discharged.”

  “I can talk bull, and I did. Our saving grace was that Steven Franks is a computer genius who hacked into the computer system and retro-recorded her discharge. After that, I just defended the record.”

  “Since Alora showed up at the hospital alive and well yesterday, what is Justice trying to prove? She obviously wasn’t murdered.”

  “Honestly, I think he’s really good at reading people. He knows I’m hiding something, and he’s determined to figure it out.”

  “Maybe we need to give him something to discover before he finds out the truth.”

  “My thoughts exactly. Can you come over to the house tonight? We could eat dinner and put our heads together.”

  Charles paused, watching Markaeus hard at work mucking the first stall while Bozeman supervised. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, so it would need to be a late supper.”

  “No problem. I’ll let Janice know.”

  “Hey, are you sure Sergeant hasn’t bugged your cell phone or something?”

  “I already thought of that. Bought a second phone yesterday, one of those pay-as-you-go things.”

  “Okay. See you tonight.”

  Charles hung up, inspecting a new blister on his thumb before re-donning his gloves.

  Life might be simpler if we all just moved to Tenavae.

  **************

  “Is that what I think it is?” Alora’s mouth watered at the sight of a bulging zip lock bag in Beth’s hand. Her latest session under Laethan’s watchful eye left her ravenous, even after consuming a hefty dinner, the evidence of which still littered the table in Graely’s home.

  The room was rustic, like a scene out of one of those old John Wayne movies Uncle Charles was so fond of, with a table constructed of heavy hand-hewn wood. A bench provided seating on one side and three chairs lined the other. Stacked stone lined the fireplace, currently swept clean, prepared for the first fire of winter. Sporting her jeans and t-shirt, Alora appeared strangely out-of-place.

  I guess if I move here, I’ll
have to start dressing like everyone else. But I don’t know if I can ever give up blue jeans altogether.

  Beth stretched her arm out, holding the enticing cookies in front of Alora’s eyes. “Yep. I brought chocolate chip cookies—gooey, just the way you like them. Luckily, they transport just fine, since Markaeus sealed up the portal.”

  Before she could open the bag, Jireo snatched it from her hand. “I should eat these for you and leave you to a more salubrious fare to help you recover from your weakness.”

  “Salubrious?” Beth asked.

  “Just ignore him,” Alora said, jumping to reach the cookies Jireo held just out of reach. “He likes to taunt me with big words he learned from some app Wesley has on his phone.”

  “So I hear they now think Vindrake didn’t make the portals.” Beth took two steps toward Jireo and stomped on the toe of his boot.

  “Ow!”

  As Jireo bent over, Beth grabbed the cookies from his surprised grasp, passing them to Alora.

  “I baked these for Alora, so they’re hers to keep or share. But I might bring you some of your own when I come tomorrow, Jireo, if you ask me nicely.” Her voice sounded just like their second grade teacher, Ms. Mumley, a prim woman with a gray bee-hive hairdo and perpetually pursed lips.

  Jireo exaggerated a limp to the bench beside the table, as if one leg were twelve inches shorter than the other. Lifting his deep green puppy-dog eyes, he peered at Alora through his thick blond lashes. “I believe my toe may be broken. If only I had a small bite of cookie to ease my pain...”

  Alora matched Beth’s eye roll, opening the bag to take a cookie for herself and handing one to Jireo. Devouring the delicious treat in two bites, she licked the crumbs from her fingers.

  “Yeah, they figure Vindrake wouldn’t be able to make a portal between Laegenshire and the hospital in Montana, without being at one place or the other,” said Alora, between licks. “Nordamen thinks Markaeus made the portals somehow, but Markaeus doesn’t remember doing anything. No one has ever heard of someone who can make portals.”

  “It seems he can only make a portal to another gressor,” Jireo added, holding out his hand for a second cookie, which he received. “I believe we should make every attempt to rescue his grandfather before Markaeus inadvertently creates another one to Portshire.”

  Beth sat down across from Jireo, elbows on the table, propping her chin in her hands. “That sounds pretty dangerous. Wouldn’t it be better to just figure out how Markaeus is making the portals so he doesn’t do it by accident? Couldn’t he practice with Arista somehow?”

  Jireo nodded. “Nordamen’s plan, as well. Markaeus and my sister have done nothing else for at least a seven-day, with no results.”

  “Maybe he can only make them from Montana to here,” Beth suggested, idly wiping the crumbs from the table into her palm and dumping them on an empty plate.

  “Perhaps,” Jireo agreed. “If that’s true, we should be doubly alert, since Charles and Markaeus returned to Montana yesterday.”

  “It kind of makes sense,” said Alora. “Aren’t all portals between one realm and another?”

  Jireo reached for another cookie, but Alora frowned at him.

  “Two is enough for now. I’m saving some for Kaevin.” She looked at Beth. “I’m glad your mom’s letting you come for a visit every night.”

  “I’m good at begging, I guess. But if my progress report comes back with any incompletes, I’ll be stuck in Montana for the foreseeable future.”

  “Better turn in those papers.” Alora winked, knowing Beth’s habit of losing her homework.

  “At least you’re finally strong enough to transport again.” Beth poured herself a mug of water and took a long swallow. “Since your uncle and Markaeus are back at the ranch, why don’t you and Kaevin spend your days here and your nights in Montana?”

  “We thought about it, but I’m still having a lot of trouble with my empathy, since I used it wrong for such a long time. We think I’m safer over here where Laethan can get to me if I have an accident.” And I seem to have a lot of accidents.

  “I guess that makes sense, but it’s awkward sending messages through your uncle. We really need to work something out where we can talk, like you and your uncle do.”

  “Uncle Charles wears a stainless steel belt all the time, so I can talk to him without transporting him anywhere. It might not be fashionable, but you could probably get one from Amazon, like he did. Better reception than a cell phone.”

  “Only I have to wait until you call me. What if I need to talk to you?”

  Beth’s eyes cut toward Jireo and back, so quickly Alora thought she might have imagined it. But she felt her friend’s anxiety.

  I bet she wants to talk to me without Jireo or Kaevin around. Probably something about Daegreth.

  “Maybe I could ask your mom if you can come and stay for the day this coming Saturday. We could have a little girl-time before we all leave on the expedition to Serenshire.”

  Her eyes brightened. “That would be awesome! You can ask her about it when you take me back.”

  Alora sighed out loud. “This would be so much easier with a cell phone. I think I miss having a phone more than any of the other modern conveniences.”

  “Really?” Beth scrunched up her nose. “Even more than flushing toilets?”

  “Ha! Okay, I miss cell phones the second most.”

  “Will your mom still be okay with you coming every day? Even when we go on our expedition to Serenshire?”

  Beth’s shoulders lifted and fell. “Mom doesn’t have to know when you go somewhere different. I just asked if I could visit you every night for thirty minutes or so in Tenavae. So as long as you stay in Tenavae, I’m technically not disobeying.”

  The door creaked open and Kaevin appeared, his fatigue emphasized by dark circles under his eyes.

  “Hey Kaevin,” Alora said. “Is Serenshire in Tenavae?”

  “We don’t truly know the location of Serenshire.” Kaevin trudged over, collapsing onto a chair and closing his eyes as if he’d just completed a marathon. “Wesley didn’t come along tonight?”

  “It’s his dad’s birthday, so they’re having a family dinner,” said Beth. “Actually, they invited my folks and Uncle Charles to dinner, too. So you can just take me there, and I’ll ride home with my parents. That way you can see Wesley and Daegreth, and Uncle Charles, too.”

  “That sounds good to me,” said Alora.

  “You know Wesley’s planning to go with you to Serenshire,” Beth added. “His parents are all about finding a solution to Daegreth’s bloodbond.”

  “Why would they believe the answer to Daegreth’s bloodbond lies in Serenshire?” Kaevin opened one eye and glared at Alora like an angry pirate. “What promises have you made to Wesley’s family?”

  “I didn’t promise them anything except that we would try to find a way to get rid of it,” she defended, with a nervous glance at Beth. Her friend crossed her arms over her chest, looking menacing despite the fact that Alora towered over her by eight inches. “But down deep, I believe any place where the citizens have learned to live in complete peace with one another is filled with really smart people. They have to know the answer.”

  Jireo commented, “I’m not convinced there’s no conflict in Serenshire. That seems improbable as long as people are involved. If one simply desired a land of peace, one could move to Water Clan, where the citizens have lost the ability to fight against Vindrake’s wishes. No will. No fighting. Peace.”

  Everyone gave a collective shudder at that thought.

  “But they have to be really smart to stay hidden all these years, right?” Alora insisted.

  “If Serenshire is real, it holds some incredible secrets—that much is certain,” Kaevin remarked, pushing himself up from the chair as his stomach let out a rumble.

  He moved to the bench beside Jireo, piling a plate high with meat and bread and stuffing his mouth full. Alora joined him, loading another plate of her own
for a second dinner.

  Kaevin’s eyes widened at her appetite, but he grinned. “Now this is as it should be. Using your gift correctly should make you hungry rather than making you ill. I believe Laethan’s lessons are finally working.”

  “It was a long hard session today, but I accomplished a lot.”

  No sooner had her words left her mouth, than she wished them back.

  Kaevin scowled, slamming his mug down with a thump that splashed water and shook the table. “And it could have been half as long and half as painful if you’d allowed me to help.”

  Resisting the urge to calm him with her gift, she touched his hand. “You have more important things to do right now. We each have our roles to play, right? Isn’t that what Laethan said?”

  Tearing off a hunk of dried meat with his teeth, Kaevin chewed like an angry trash compactor. “What-ev-er.”

  At a muffled snicker behind her, Alora turned to find Beth with her hand over her mouth. Kaevin’s “whatever” was one of the few colloquialisms he’d adopted from his time in Montana, and it was funny to see some US culture rubbing off on him.

  “I’m surprised the council doesn’t object to having Wesley on the trip,” Beth remarked. “I mean, isn’t he a liability, since he’s not gifted?”

  “Morvaen and Nordamen advocated including both Wesley and Brian,” Jireo answered. “People from your realm were able to see through magickal cloaking. Remember?”

  Alora recalled all too well that terrifying night when Laegenshire was attacked by cloaked wendts and Kaevin injured with a poisoned blade in the hand of a cloaked warrior. Both she and Kaevin would be dead if it hadn’t been for Uncle Charles, Wesley and his father, Brian.

  Jireo continued, “Nordamen has pronounced the ability to be a gifting and intends to name it and enter it in the records at the Craedenza, unless Raelene finds it previously listed in the ancient scrolls.”

  Kaevin spoke around a large piece of bread in his mouth, obviously glad to be free of Montana’s constraints about proper eating etiquette. “I don’t believe we should consider it a gifting when, as best we know, anyone from the Montana realm has the ability, but I cannot quash Nordamen’s enthusiasm.”