Scornful Sadie (Dark Sorceress Trilogy Book 1) (18 page)

She blushed and lowered her gaze. “Right, of course.”

“Sorry, it’s just weird for me to be here.”

“I know of your history,” she said. She spoke so properly and clearly, but she couldn’t be that much older than I was.

“Tell me about you, Allison. Since you know so much about me,” I said kindly.

“I’ve been with the council since I was sixteen. I was here when Harlow was in charge, and she often made me do things I wasn’t comfortable with. She killed my mother when I was young, and they kept me with them for years. The day your grandmother took over was the best day of my life,” she said sadly. “I was twenty-three at the time, but it was the first time I felt cared for in years.”

Her words hit me hard, creating a sinking in my gut. “I’m so sorry.”

She continued down the hall, turning and starting down a staircase. “It’s not your fault,” she said promptly. “You will do great things, just like your grandmother.”

“We’ll see,” I said mostly under my breath.

She stopped abruptly. “We have arrived.”

I exhaled deeply as she turned the knob. Here went nothing.

It was like something out of a fairytale. The walls were actual bookshelves, and they were full. From floor to ceiling, books filled every case in the room. The open floor was wide and spacious with long tables in the middle and a bunch of smaller ones surrounding them. It reminded me of a college campus.

The middle tables were full, and I noticed Mark right away. He was arguing with, or lecturing, a group at the large table, but he raised his hand in recognition when I walked in.

Allison started left. “This way,” she instructed. She walked quickly and with purpose to the middle shelf on the longest wall. She chose three of the books, turned to the closest table, and claimed it. “We’re ready.”

“That’s all you have?” I asked. I thought there would be more. Many more.

“There isn’t much information on Clorva, unfortunately. Mark will bring anything they find about it while looking through the Sorcerer Wars information to us, but this is it.”

Sighing, I slumped in the chair and scooted to the table. “Then let’s start.”

She opened the first of the tomes, a thick book with an old, torn binding. “Clorva, the sorcery realm. This book was scribed from the year two hundred a.d. to the year two hundred thirty-seven a.d. The information within is only about Clorva.”

I nodded for her to continue.

“Clorva was created not long after the first three of six sorcerers came to power in the year thirty seven. Their victims joined together, and realizing their powers grew in the presence of others, combined forces and created Clorva. It was originally a safe place for sorcerers, who were often burned and staked for being different, to retreat to once someone learned of their differences. With trees the color of the most violet of purples, and grass that changed colors with the season, Clorva was unlike anything anyone had ever seen before. Mountains enclosed the realm, which was filled with majestic animals no one knew the name of and sorcerers on the run.”

Purple trees and color-changing grass? Sounded like a mood ring.

“When the last of the original sorcerers came to power, The Six combined forces and created an additional realm called Cloona. The combined powers were too great for Cloona, and when each of the six attempted to claim it as their own, it collapsed and ceased to exist. Realizing Clorva was the only realm they would have power over, they took control and created the Sorcerer Wars to rid the world of sorcerers they deemed weak and unworthy. With their combined knowledge, The Six created a force field that sucked the powers from dying Sorcerer Wars competitors and transferred them to one of the six.”

She skimmed a few pages, muttering, “Blah blah blah.”

“Oh,” she said suddenly. “Here. Clorva survived for one hundred and fifty years. The six sorcerers spent the years torturing and tormenting the sorcerers of the land, until finally they turned on one another. The six were defeated by their own greed and hunger for power, and it was then the Harmonious Gathering was created, to ensure sorcerers were not defeated by their own in any nefarious ways.”

“I thought the council was created to keep mixing of supernatural beings from happening?”

“That’s a separate division,” she said. “Most parents don’t tell their children the true reason it was created. The Sorcerer Wars were a dark time in our history, and most people wish to forget they ever happened. Everyone who was alive during the time, and those who survived, are long gone by now, but they told their families’ stories. It’s not something one forgets.”

Deflated, I sat in silence. The horrid things my ancestors must have gone through…it was a lot to take in. I took the book and pulled it to me, flipping back to the pages she skipped. “What are these?”

“It tells of Clorva, the plant and animal life, and different aspects. You can read it if you want, but I don’t know why you’d need to,” Allison said.

“Because I’m the key to opening it,” I responded. “Bram wants me to send them all back there, including me. He wants the Sorcerer Wars to begin again.”

Stunned, she leaned back in her chair and stared at me. “You open Clorva?”

I shrugged. “Supposedly.”

“Oh my god,” she whispered. “What are we going to do?”

“You mean what am I going to do,” I pointed out. No one else really had anything to do. It was all on my shoulders.

“We have to protect you,” she countered. “You’re the dark sorceress. The one who defeats Bram and his followers.”

While I trusted she wasn’t harmful, I knew if I told her my plan, she’d run to Grandma and spill. “I can protect myself. No need to worry about it. Can I take this book to my room?”

“Aiden Rivers can’t see it,” she said, scrunching her brows together. “Anna said so.”

“I won’t let him look,” I promised. “I don’t want him hurt, trust me.”

She looked unsure, but nodded anyway. “Do you want the others?”

Closing the book, I held it up. “This one is good for now. Can you direct me to where my room is?”

“Follow me,” she said, and smiled.

She led me up a staircase and through a short hallway, stopping in front of a normal looking door. I kept expecting extravagant and elegant furnishings and fixtures, but Grandma really did make the interior as normal and natural as possible. “Here you go. Everything you need is inside, including a bathroom, and Aiden should be there.”

“Thank you, Allison,” I said. Slipping the book under my elbow, I turned the knob and stepped inside.

Aiden was stretched out on the bed watching TV. He turned when I entered, his blue eyes smoldering as they devoured my appearance. He clicked the remote without looking and hopped to his feet. “Hey.”

“Hey,” I said lamely. Why did my heart speed up every time he looked at me like that? Like I was the only thing in the world to make him smile or something.

“You ok?”

I nodded. “Mmhmm.”

“We’re sharing a room?” he asked. Way to get to the point, Aiden.

“Mmhmm,” I said again.

He laughed. “Fine with me,” he said with a grin. His face was slightly hidden behind his stubble, but it was sexy. I hoped he kept it.

“I gotta tell you something,” I admitted. Tossing the book to the table beside the bed, I sat cross-legged in front of him.

He joined me, looking concerned. “What now?”

“So…apparently because you’re an elite and because you were a vessel, magical beings can manipulate you with magic.”

He blinked several times as he processed my words. “Huh.”

“Yeah,” I said.

We really had this conversation thing down.

“I insisted we share a room so no one can get to you while you sleep,” I told him.

He grinned foolishly. “You wanna protect me, Sade?”

Rolling my eyes dramatically, I joked, “Who else will? You can’t take care of yourself. That Amy chick proved that.”

He laughed loudly, throwing his head back. “Sade, I dunno when you got so hilarious, but I really like it.”

I grinned. “I try.”

He looked at me suggestively. “I have no objections to sharing a room with you, babe.”

“Don’t call me babe,” I quipped.

“Why not, sugar?” he teased.

“Stop,” I said firmly.

“Come on, baby,” he said. His grin grew wider with each one.

“Aiden.”

“Sweetie.”

“You infuriate me,” I growled.

“I know, honey,” he replied. “Always have.”

“Got that right,” I grumbled. Moving away from him and his cheesy pet names, I grabbed the book and settled into the loveseat below the TV. Flipping through the pages, I found the one on the specifications of Clorva.

Purple-trunked trees populate the forests. Color-changing grass ranges from deep blue to yellow, depending on the weather. Green for warm, spring-like days, brown for cold, winter-like days, light blue for cool, fall-like days, and yellow for hot, summer-like days. There was no rhyme or reason behind the color changes, they simply were. There are no flowers in Clorva, or plants that create foods. The trees are simply for oxygen, as The Six could not create a synthetic version. A variety of animals populate the realm, most of them mammals. Leozards, Tions, and Tizorns are the most common found in the forests of Clorva. The animals were created for the realm based off animals The Six found in the Ceeva realm. The Six built and shaped Clorva on the knowledge gained from living in Ceeva, but improved the aspects they found disappointing. The animals were simply for hunting purposes, and most were not pleasant to look at. They feasted on grass and tree leaves for nourishment. The sorcerers on Clorva must depend on their powers to nourish their own bodies. The magical realm was free of disease and sickness.

Hidden within the forests were huts and homes of sorcerers who escaped the Sorcerer Wars. Many sorcerers called to the games fought and lost their lives, but the occasional few managed to escape and formed a life in the depths of Clorva Forest. Entry to the realm was destroyed, and along with it, the ability to rescue those trapped inside. Time did not pass as it did in Ceeva, so it is unknown what year it is there, or how old the lost ones would be as this book was scribed.

There were people living in Clorva! Or there had been. My gut fell in pity for them. How horrible it must have been to be sent there, escape, and then left behind. Had anyone survived? And the time…exactly how long had it been there? It’d been hundreds of years here, in Ceeva, but this said time passed differently.

Could there be people still alive there?

Aiden lifted my feet and sat down, laying them in his lap. “Sade?”

“Hmm?” I kept my eyes on the book.

“Sorry I called you cutesy names.”

I shrugged. “It’s ok.”

“You mad?”

Peering over the book, I made eye contact. “No,” I chuckled. “What a silly thing to be mad about.”

His shoulders relaxed and he leaned back. “Good. Now, whatcha reading?”

“A book.”

“Sade,” he said. “Is it about that place?”

I gave him a look that screamed yes. “I’m not supposed to tell you since you’re easily manipulated.”