Calm Before the Storm (16 page)

For the last two weeks Tyr had seen very
little of Irina and when they had crossed paths at the house, she remained
aloof and detached, relating excerpts from her day but taking care never to be
alone with him. He had fought several battles with himself and won. It had been
a struggle but he had managed to resist knocking on her door again, nor would
he. Tyr was playing a waiting game. Let her come to him. The thread that bound
them together was still there, fizzing with muted energy, a perpetual hum of
noise in the background. The ache in his sternum a steady throb that housed a
growing darkness but he was playing to win.

Tyr had other aches and pains to contend
with, resulting injuries from intense training bouts with an elite warrior
named Borealis, a huge hulking beast of a man, six foot eight, as broad as he
was tall. Borealis had introduced him to swords, particularly the chemon, a
broad blade straight out of myth and legend, forged from the metallic
properties of a chemosh shell, one of hardest substances in the universe.
Although inexperienced with weapons, Tyr had held his own, his innate fighting
prowess coming to the fore. He had quickly grasped the mechanics and the
subtleties of the art and was making excellent progress, according to Borealis.

The Eunomi warriors he trained with had
initially been suspicious, particularly as they knew he had been involved with
Aamon Abrasax. It seemed that Abrasax was well known to them as a Discordant
commander and many of the Eunomi had been pitted against him before. Gradually
they began to respect his abilities but Tyr knew it would be a long time before
they trusted his loyalties. He couldn’t blame them for their suspicions,
particularly knowing that his mission on Lyra was being manipulated by the
hidden agenda instigated by Abrasax and his own need to locate Sal’s girls.

Endless drills and exercises in
hand-to-hand combat, sparring bouts from which he emerged victorious hadn’t
proved to be a complete distraction from his quarry. Irina was at the top of
his campaign list and although he knew his mission for Abrasax was also a
priority, he continually found himself watching her interactions with others,
the craving for her touch an irrevocable burn, the loss of her warmth
exacerbating the ache in his chest.

In the meantime, Tyr responded to every
challenge they threw his way, his determination to win every battle gaining him
admirers but none he could call friend. Borealis seemed to enjoy thrusting Tyr
into the deep end with seasoned campaigners.

One named Antares, eyed him with particularly
antagonistic venom. “So,” he drawled as they faced each other during a training
bout. “You are the current Esseni of war. A mere Earthani.” Antares’ dark-brown
eyes seethed with hostile intent. Tyr bristled at his tone but remained calm.
“What do you have against Earthani?” he asked, their swords clashing together
at the start of their workout.

“Nothing in particular,” spat Antares,
“save they are weak. But you are an Esseni and the essence you hold offends
me.” Antares was driving him back with a steady stream of well-aimed lunges
that Tyr barely managed to block. “As a warrior I would have thought my essence
one that you revered,” he managed to counter.

“The essence itself is not the problem, but
the individuals who hold them. Esseni always seem to have pliable minds, easily
corruptible. The last War was such a one, easily turned from his duty by the
lies and false promises of the Discordants. Do you expect me to believe that
you are any different?”

“You can believe what you like.”

“What I believe is that you are a danger to
us all and in particular to that innocent girl. If you hurt one single hair on
her head you will have me to answer to.”

“She is not your concern.” Tyr growled,
irritated at Antares’ reference to Irina. He would never hurt her. But then, he
was going to have to, wasn’t he? By doing Abrasax’s bidding. His anger
increased, directed mostly at his predicament rather than Antares, but if he
couldn’t lash out at Abrasax then Antares would do.

Tyr swung his sword wildly, failing to hold
on to his usual cool demeanor, and consequently left himself open to Antares’
slashing response. His blade sliced the fabric of Tyr’s shirt and drew blood.

“Antares!” Borealis’ loud shout thundered
across the training pit. Tyr froze as the tip of Antares’ sword hovered against
his skin a whisper away from his heart. “Antares, Tani has need of your advice
for the mission she is planning. Go now!” Borealis loomed over them, Tyr’s eyes
remaining fixed on Antares’ brown ones. He saw indecision there as Antares
inched the blade deeper, a crimson drop of blood trailing down the center of
his sternum. Hesitating for a second, Antares finally dropped the blade,
turning around in disgust, throwing his sword to the ground.

“What’s his problem?” Tyr asked Borealis,
wiping the sweat from his brow and the blood from his chest,watching an angry
Antares stalk away.

“You.”

“I get that much but why? He doesn’t know
me.” Tyr swiveled to face Borealis.

“No. but he knew the last Esseni to hold
War. He was a close friend and in fact it was Antares who located him and
introduced him to his sister.” Borealis was still staring after Antares as he
disappeared into the changing area.

“So his friend turned bad. We’ve all had
friends who turned out to be snakes, and what’s his sister got to do with it?”

Borealis turned to face him, his eyes
regarding Tyr steadily as he spoke. “She was the last Esseni to hold Peace—like
Irina.” Enlightenment struck and Tyr understood the level of Antares’
antagonism. The last Esseni of War had betrayed Peace to the Discordants. They
had extracted her essence and in the process, Antares’ sister had died.

Tyr knew that most of the other warriors
held the same suspicions as Antares but he continued to train with them just
the same. He would not back down if they challenged him and nothing like that
had occurred again, although Tyr knew it was just a matter of time. Their trust
was not easily won.

Returning from an intense sparring session
one evening about two weeks after their arrival, Tyr found that Merak Espenson
had at last arrived on Lyra. Appearing at least twenty years younger than when
Tyr had last seen him, the aging illusion gone, Merak appeared now as a virile
male of thirty-five, his previously gray hair now a lush dark brown, his
handsome face smiling intimately at something Irina had said. The sight of
Irina curled next to him on the sofa, content in his warm familiar embrace did
nothing but provoke Tyr’s possessive instincts where she was concerned. An
irrational jealousy throbbed beneath his ribs, the dull ache in his chest
expanding. He wanted that with Irina. Needed it.

Merak’s expression turned serious when he
focused on Tyr and although he reached out a hand to shake his in greeting, Tyr
could see the distrust in his eyes. “It’s time to explain what is needed from
the two of you,” he said gravely, his gray eyes deadly serious, but then he
softened for a moment motioning to Cassi to open the door. “But first, Cassi, I
have a surprise for you.”

A bemused expression on her face, Cassi
turned the handle, opening the door and gave a small shriek as she disappeared
from view. She emerged quickly, face flushed, in the arms of a beautiful tall
blonde who looked so similar that Tyr thought it must be her sister. Behind the
woman came an even taller man, whose handsome smile lit on Cassi with softness
and warmth that caused a pang in his chest. Had anyone ever looked at him that
way? Cassi was clearly elated. “Irina!” she cried, “I want you to meet my
parents. I haven’t seen them for two hundred years!” Tyr couldn’t help smiling
at Irina’s gasp of surprise. He could have almost sworn he heard her thoughts,
so similar to his own, through the connection they shared.
Parents? No way!
The blonde is twenty-five if she’s a day and the man in his mid to late thirties!
And did she say two hundred years?

“This is my mother, Terra, and my father,
Tellurus. They are both members of the Concordia, the Eunomi alliance council
and so usually remain on Auriga.”

A few minutes of excited chatter ensued and
further introductions were made as they were joined not only by Coronae,
Borealis, Tani, and Ziad but also by Cerri, Tegid and Alcina. Merak greeted
them all as old friends and invited them to sit down.

Once they were settled and everyone was
comfortable, Merak turned to Tyr and Irina, his somber expression returning.
“Tyr and Irina, I would like to formally welcome you here as the Esseni of War
and Peace. You represent one of the most important dualities in the universe,
one that it is imperative we realign.”

He glanced around the room. “Everyone here
knows that at the last Realignment, War and Peace failed to connect, so for the
last eight hundred years, the balance of War and Peace has been skewed,
distorted by the chaos created by the Discordants.

“Having control of the previous Esseni of
War enabled them to do this. But now he is dead and we are left with a legacy
of an unprecedented number of conflicts and territorial disputes which have
been simmering over the last few centuries, not just on Earth, but on Lyra,
Ophiuchus, Eridanus and many other realms in this galaxy. At any moment we
could be faced with an explosion of these tensions from which the fallout would
be a catastrophe. You two are our chance to redress The Balance, ensure that
there are opportunities for stability and resolution.”

Irina, sitting in between Tani and Cassi as
she listened, stole a glance at Tyr from under her lashes, wondering what he
was thinking. She knew what Merak was about to tell them would be momentous,
affecting her relationship with Tyr, which was currently about as confused as
it could be.

How he had made her burn when they emerged
from the vortex!If that had been a minor arousal as Cassi had
suggested, she was too scared to think what major one must be! The fire inside
her had flamed as hot as the core of a planet! It had been agony and bliss but
it had also scared her so much that she had consciously avoided him for the
last number of days
.
His eyes turned to meet hers and she flushed,
struggling to forget the still-present imprint of his lips against hers and
regain focus on what Merak was saying.

“As most of you know, our universe is held
in place by thousands of threads of yin and yang, the forces which
intrinsically connect us and ensure the delicate state of balance.”

“What exactly are yin and yang?” asked
Irina, grateful to be able to interrupt and draw her thoughts away from Tyr,
the force of his presence still tightening a fist around her heart.

“Yin and yang are the positive and negative
elements of all things. One cannot exist without the other. Just as there is no
light without darkness, no day without night, no earth without sky.” Merak
nodded toward Terra and Tellurus before continuing. “There is no war without
peace. War is sometimes necessary. When tyranny takes over you have to fight
for freedom, truth and justice, but without peace the potential for
forgiveness, a truce or a cessation of hostilities is lost. War then becomes an
endless never-ending conflict that fuels hate, darkness, death, sorrow.”

His words were heavy with regret as he
spoke again. “On your planet alone there are countless territorial disputes
that continue to escalate. Europe is fracturing. The Middle East is a war zone
and has been for the last hundred years. The Americas are in collision over
numerous economic decisions and that is just Earth.”

“Every planet in our galaxy is currently
unstable with conflicts rising daily,” Cassi carried on. “War and Peace must be
unified, bonded so that The Balance can be reset. This will ensure that
opportunities are created for discussion and for new treaties to be forged.”

“And for that to happen, as War and Peace,
we have to…as you call it…Realign?” said Tyr, ever direct.

“Yes.”

“How?” they asked in unison.

“Perhaps Terra can explain this part,” said
Merak. “Terra and Tellurus were Esseni just as you, over three thousand years
ago. They held the essence of Earth and Sky.” Irina’s jaw dropped at that
.
Cassi’s
mother was over three thousand years old! Terra smiled as Irina gaped at her.
“Do you still hold Earth and Sky?” she asked.

“Yes.” Terra’s smile flicked to Tellurus
for a brief second and as she turned back, Irina could almost touch the heat
that flowed between them it was so tangible. “We completed all three stages of
the bonding process and continue to renew that bonding every eight hundred
years.”

“Explain the stages to them, please,” said
Cassi.

“There are three stages to the bonding
process,” said Terra. “The first stage is identification. Many potentials are
identified but not all manifest as Esseni, just as not every potential pairing
connects. Some may they live their whole life without ever realizing what they
were or could have been. You can be identified initially by your unique Esseni
signature, a faint aura that surrounds you from birth. But to actually
manifest, you have to cross each other’s path and make a connection with each
other. If the connection is strong, the pairing will usually become…friendly,
shall we say. They may share a kiss, which will cause the unique Taijitu mark,
the symbol of yin and yang, to become apparent on your skin. Mine is on my
right palm, Tellurus’s on his left. Because we are fully bonded ours show as
the completed design, unlike yours.”

She held up her hand to show the same
symbol now embedded on Irina and Tyr’s shoulders, except the black and white
colors were there, rather than just an outline. Irina found herself squirming a
little at this point. Yes okay, so they had kissed. And done a whole lot more.
But did everyone need to know?