Power of the Fae (16 page)

I
t’s been
a long exhausting week since I returned to Faery. It’s been non-stop training since I’ve been back. My father made arrangements with an elder elf from the town of Eshora named Eldrin Von Luthe. Eldrin is older than my father. He is a tall, lanky man with long stringy grey hair. My days with Eldrin are extremely long. According to Eldrin, everything can be turned into a lesson. In between training with Eldrin, I try to get some combat training in. As a Guardian, I have to make sure I’m in shape and my fighting skills are superb.

Since returning to Faery, I’ve been avoiding Christian. He’s texted, called and left messages for me to call him. I don’t have time for him now. The fate of both the human and Faery realms is heavily weighing my little shoulders down. Eventually, I will have to tell him about Colin. It shouldn’t be hard. We’ve been broken up for months now. I’m sure he has moved on.

While working with Eldrin, he has me focusing on a different element each day. Since I have already mastered the wind element, I now need to focus on the fire, earth and water elements. Today we are working on the fire element. We are outside the palace in a private meadow. It’s a beautiful day in Faery. The sky is a bright royal blue with not a cloud in the sky. The human realm pales in comparison to Faery’s bright colorful backdrop.

A small group of wood Fairies fly past, all waving in excitement to see royalty. I return the wave with a smile. They’re giggling and curtsying to me before entering the woods with excited chatter. They are the tiniest of Faery’s creatures. A wood Fairy could stand in the palm of my hand.

There are two palace guards with us who keep a little distance from us. Since returning to Faery my father has not wanted me to go anywhere without guards. Knowing my father, he probably has not just these two with me, but also a few additional guards out of sight. Eldrin has set up straw-stuffed dummies tied to posts at different distances away from me. We are sitting down facing each other.

“Have you used your new fire power yet?” he asks, demonstrating by creating a fireball in his hand. The small yellow ball hovers in his hand before he closes his hand putting it out.

“When I was attacked, I was able to make a demon self-combust into flames,” I answer, thinking of the demon attack when we were in the vampire club.

“Good, my child. However, it’s harder to create and control a flame versus just making something blow up. When creating fire, it will take more concentration. Now hold out your hand.” I hold my hand out palm up. “Focus on your hand and think of heat and a flame. Push the power to your hand.”

I do as he instructs but nothing happens. I shake my hand out and hold it back out again. This time the tip of my finger lights up with a small flame like a candle. I smile, but I know I can do better than that. The amulet warms. I feel a small rush of energy travel to my hands and before I know it my whole hand is engulfed in a soft light blue flame.

“Great! Now push that energy into a ball in your hand,” he calmly instructs. I follow his instructions and the flame moves to a ball that hovers above my palm. “Now close your hand and withdraw your power and it should go out.” I again follow his instructions and the fire goes out.

“Try to create the flame again. This time create only a ball of fire. No finger tips,” Eldrin instructs.

I try and I’m able to get the ball immediately. Eldrin nods in approval. I close my hand and it goes out. “Come my child, let’s try throwing fire balls. Kids usually love this activity.” He smiles slightly as he stands. For someone who is almost a thousand years old, he moves like someone much younger. He is a wonderful teacher, his patience and the way he instructs makes him the best. No wonder my father brought him to me.

He has the traditional Elfen elder clothes on; long flowing robes with a long tunic underneath, with wide leg pants that match his robe and sandals on his feet. His once blond hair, now gray, and is pulled back in a low ponytail with the hair flowing down his back. We walk over to the first dummy that is tied to a wooden post.

“You’re going to build the flame and this time I just want you to toss it. Let’s start off close and we’ll move to full-blown throwing at further targets.” The next few hours we work on controlling the fireballs and throwing them. It is not as easy as I thought. I would throw some of the balls and the fires would go out mid-throw or some balls would go the opposite directions I would throw them. Once I was able to control throwing the balls, he had me running, ducking and dodging while throwing them.

By the time Eldrin was satisfied with my progress with the fire, I was drenched in sweat. My t-shirt is sticking to me; I am out of breath like it is my first time working out. Tod, one of the guards, brings me a large water bottle. I nod my appreciation, grab it and take a long pull from it. Creating and controlling fire all day has me dying of thirst.

“That’s enough practicing with fire for now. Go get some lunch, my child. You need to keep up your strength. Make sure that you are eating and drinking enough. We will meet after lunch to work on some mind exercises.” He ambles away down the stone path that will take him back towards the palace. I hurry back to the palace with my two guards trailing me. I’m anxious to get to my cell phone. Since I’m not back in the human realm, the only way I have to communicate with anyone there is the telephone. During practice, Eldrin does not allow telephones because they are a distraction.

I run up to my room and grab my phone. There was a missed call from Keegan and a text message from him. The message says for me to call him as soon as I get back from training. Father must have told him whom I was training with.

“Do you need me to get you anything?” I look over and see Tillie peeking her head through my door. I missed her so much when I was in the human realm. We have to find some time to get together but with my training, I barely have time to sleep.

“Yes! Please have some lunch sent up here, I’m not picky, and something cold to drink. Thanks!” I blow a kiss to the door as she shuts it. I tap Keegan’s name on my phone. He answers on the second ring.

“What’s up, Keegan?” I say when he answers.

“Lina, how’s the training going?”

“Eldrin is nice, but he can give any general in an army a run for their money! It has been non-stop training since I got home!”

“Well, speaking of you going home, please call your wolf. He is driving everyone crazy. That’s all I’m going to say on that matter. The other thing I called to tell you was that there was another demon attack.” He pauses, barks a few orders and comes back to the phone.

“What? Where?” I sit on the side of my bed.

“Colin’s tech guy, Nick, is a genius. He was able to use all the past locations where the demons showed up to create a program that will predict the next location the demons may appear. They showed up at a large pharmaceutical factory and broke in at night when there weren’t that many employees there. They were raiding the factory and killed everyone that was there. We were able to get there not too long after the demons showed up. We don’t know what they were looking for. They are starting to get bold.”

“What do you mean?” I feel totally out of the loop being all the way back in Faery. I know I’m here for a reason, but I should be with the Guardians helping protect the human realm.

“The demons are showing up in glamour around cities and towns now. Now that the Legion nationwide is getting involved, they have been reporting the locations of the demons. Dorian and his vampires have spotted them too. I think they sense you are not in this realm and are looking for you.”

“But what would they want at a pharmaceutical factory? Looking for drugs?” What the hell are the demons up to? What could Melomouzor need from a pharmacy factory?

“We don’t know. Think about it, it’s where drugs are made so there are chemicals, drugs, supplies that they may need to help Melomouzor with his experimentations or even his return. We just don’t know yet. Since the Vamps and Wolves are working on the demons, the Guardians are going to focus on what was taken. That might help us figure out what the hell Melomouzor has been up to. We think at least one demon was able to get away.” I can feel Keegan’s frustration through the phone.

“What are you going to do?”

“Colin is having his wolves track down the one that got away. They think more demons are hiding out in the city. Dorian is having the Vampires help at night so that the Legion is not spread too thin. If they
are
looking for you, which I suspect they are, then we are at least a step ahead of them now.”

“Melomouzor could be getting ready to make his way to Earth. I may not be able to master all of my powers by then, Keegan. We need to figure out who is helping to open the portals to the Underworld! Do you think the Dark Fae could be helping?”

“The Dark Fae? I don’t think they are that stupid. Azura is going to look into the witches who she knows practice dark magic. We need you to work as fast as you can, Lina. You may not have the time to master the powers, but at least know how to call on them and use them.”

“I know! I’m working hard on it. I am learning quickly.” I’m starting to feel the pressure. We may not have much time and I refuse to let Melomouzor destroy the human realm.

“
Y
ou’re doing good
. I couldn’t access your thoughts or mind,” Eldrin said looking satisfied. He sits back in his high-back chair. This part of the lesson for this evening is focusing on mind control and blocking. We have been in the study in the palace for a couple of hours now. I’m starting to feel slightly tired; all of this mind concentration, building walls and bridges in my mind, is taking its toll on me. The other day we worked on me accessing someone’s mind and it was just as tiring.

“How can I prevent someone from entering my dreams?” I think back to the night that Melomouzor entered my dream.

“That’s a good question. When you are asleep your subconscious is in control. When you dream and wake up, you know that everything that happened was not real.” He crosses his legs and creates a steeple with his hands.

“But if someone was to enter my dream and, let’s say, mark me, then I wake up and the mark is really there? Then what? How do I prevent that?” He pauses and looks at me and doesn’t say anything, his foot tapping the floor.

“That person would have to be a very strong dream walker,” he begins. “At this stage in your lessons, I don’t think you can prevent them from entering your dream but you can break their control and end the dream. Again, your subconscious takes control once you are asleep so, you must plant something like a kill-safe, in your mind.” I must have looked confused. “You must plant something in your subconscious that will be a part of all of your dreams. When that person or someone shows up in your dream, you use the kill safe to break their control of your dream and you wake up.” I nod my head in understanding.

“And how would I do that? Plant something in my subconscious?” I need to know this. Melomouzor
cannot
come back into my dreams. “Can you help me?” I’m almost desperate. What happened the last time he showed up in my dream has me scared! I shudder at the thought of losing complete control of myself.

“Yes I can, my child. Now what would you want to implant in your subconscious so when it shows up in your dream, you will wake?” He motions me over to the couch to lie down.

“Music.”

“Excellent, any particular song?”

“No, it would be too hard to make a particular song play if it’s not going my way. I think for now, any music will do.” He nods. He places his hands on my head and speaks in an ancient dialect that I don’t understand. I feel a tingling sensation in my brain and I drift off to unconsciousness.

“
H
ow is your training coming
, my dear?” My father asks from behind his desk as I walk into his office. It’s a little after midnight and I’m not surprised that he is still working. I had just showered and put my pajamas on when my bedroom phone rang with my father asking me to meet him in his office. With all that is going on in the human realm, my father is taking this as a warning to make sure that Faery is well protected.

“It’s brutal!” I plop down on his leather couch, rubbing my temples. After the session with Eldrin implanting the kill-safe in my subconscious, I have felt extremely tired and even nauseated a little. Eldrin assured me that these symptoms were normal after something as intense as our session and that it will take my brain a few hours to calm down after a subconscious implantation.

My father’s eyes soften and he smiles tenderly at me. “Never in my wildest dreams would I have thought that my little Lina would grow up to be the woman you are today.” He comes and sits next to me on the couch and tucks me under his arm. I snuggle in close like I used to when I was a child.

“When you were born, I was ecstatic that I got my baby girl. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy that Keegan was born but there is nothing like having a little girl, someone who will look to you for love and protection. Even when Keegan was ten years old and first held you, he said that he would protect you forever and always. In my mind, I imagined that you would grow up being a girlie girl, running around with dresses, hair bows and dolls. Not dresses, hair bows and a sword. When you came to me demanding to train for a Guardian, how could I say no?” He looks down and smiles at me as I punch him in the shoulder. I’m choked up with emotion as I wipe the tears from my eyes. I love my father so much and I just wish my mother were here. His face turns serious as he looks down at me.

“I’ve lost your mother, Lina. I can’t lose you too. You have to take the lessons seriously and work at mastering them as quickly as you can. Let us help you. Let your brother and me protect you to the best of our ability. And if you’re serious about that wolf, Colin, let him protect you too. I’ve seen the way he looks at you. I believe you are his mate. You know wolves mate for life and will protect their mates at all cost. He’s a strong Alpha. Please don’t argue with us because we want to protect you.” I’m too choked up now to say anything, so I nod and bury my head in his chest as he squeezes me tight.