The Drifting (36 page)

Sighing heavily, Alorn takes hold of my hand and nods down the tunnel to Ziri.  Immediately, Ziri takes the lead with Glynnis at his side.  Alorn and I are next, followed by Mellis and Milina. 

I notice Milina giving Alorn another hard look.  When she catches my eye, she casts her own at her feet.  Thinking that she’s sensing something we should know, I pull away from Alorn, stopping him.

“What’s wrong,” I whisper to Milina.

She looks at me, throws another look at Alorn and says, “Nothing, my princess.”

Alorn notices Milina’s disgruntled look and steps to her.  “You have a problem with me?”

Milina blinks at him, but then the scowl
returns
.  Stepping up to him, she whispers softly, “Yeah, I do.  Tharin left me in charge to watch over the princess, not you.”

“Tharin isn’t here now, so that leaves me in charge,” he whispers back.

“No, I’m supposed to watch the princess,” pipes in Mellis pretending to be offended.

“No, I am,” calls Ziri in a loud whisper from where he and Glynnis wait.

Then everyone is whispering above each other claiming that Tharin left him or her in charge of protecting me.

I shake my head, not believing what I’m hearing.  Forgetting where I’m at, I say out loud, “He did what?”  Everyone shuts up, stopping in mid-sentence turning as one to look at me.

I take a patient breath and turn from them without another word.  Milina follows immediately coming to a halt when I turn on her
, “
I don’t need a babysitter.” 

She lowers her head, hands folded before her, “Yes, my princess.”

I move past Ziri and Glynnis as I make my way down the tunnel toward the opening.  I hear shuffling of feet and know the sisters have moved directly behind me but are keeping their distance.  Looks like Tharin and I have a lot to talk about still. 

I hear Milina ask Mellis, “How much longer?”

“Another two miles and we’ll be out,” whispers back.

I’m not surprise when Alorn is back at my side.  I give him a look and tap at my temple.

“Yes, Lily.”

“I know that Tharin connected with you before he left.  What really happened?”

“He ran into a demon,”
he replies.

“Falsad?  Was it Falsad?”
I ask eagerly, thinking of Lucas.

Alorn gives me a sideway glance,
“No, Lily, it wasn’t Falsad.”
  He pauses then asks,
“Why the interest in Falsad?  I didn’t realize that you even knew about him.”

“He has Lucas’ body.  I want it back,”
I answer.  The thought of Lucas being stuck in purgatory nags at me once again.  Tharin told me once you can’t kill a demon, only send it back to the UnderRealm.  I haven’t figured out how to do that yet, but maybe he’ll let me borrow his fire sword.  Yeah, okay…next plan. 

“So what kind of demon this time?”
I ask, changing the subject.

Alorn replies without hesitating,
“Kabba.  The bad kind.”

~
* ~

Chapter
Twenty-Six

~
Tharin
~

I found my father in the Hall of Thirteen.  Here is where the thrones for the Seating of each clan sit.  At the center and on a two-foot high dais is the throne of the Oak Clan.  One day I will be walking down this aisle to accept the crown as king of the Oak Clan and ruler of the Thirteen Clans of Velesi.  I hope that the day will be long in coming and my father remains ruler until the day we return to Eirrell.  I cast my eyes to the throne at the right, the throne of the Willow Clan, and pride fills me knowing that in only a matter of days Lily will sit upon it as queen.  Sema was right to call for Lily at this time, she will have much to prepare for and learn before ascending the throne.

I’ve been standing a few rows from the first set of benches where my father now sits alone.  When I was a boy, he was always larger than life in my eyes.  The first day he took me from the nursery was the first day of my lessons in war strategy.  Although my uncle Colsea was responsible for my training, there would be days that my father would come out and give me a workout.  When he wasn’t with me, he was with Tolan and Ziri.  He always had time for my cousins, either throwing Alorn in with me during our training or yelling after Mellis for some prank or another that he played on a royal relative.  But standing here now, watching him, he seems old and frail.

I had come here to see him about the demon Mellis and I ran into at the tunnels, but now I take my time as I approach, sitting down next to him quietly.

Without looking at me, he says, “I remember the day I met your mother for the first time.  I thought she was beautiful, but at the time I was in love with someone else.  At least, I thought I was.”

“Ziri’s mother,” I reply.

He nods, “Yes, Kali.  She was beautiful, fierce and very much the woman.  I was young and brash thinking I knew what I wanted, but it wasn’t until I was married to your mother that I realized how wrong I was.  My Lea’ith was my true love, my one and only…and I miss her terribly, Tharin.”

I reach out for his hand and he grabs hold.  I had forgotten what this day was, the anniversary of my mother’s death, E’leiana’s birthday.  I think of Lily and now wish I had stayed behind with her.  News of the demon can wait I decide.  I sit quietly next to my father while he mourns for his wife and only daughter.

An hour later, and after leaving my father in the care of his faithful valet, Walem, I’m in search of Ka.  He’s still using the disguise of a helpless old man in public and has been taking advantage of the kindness of the young maidens around the tower.  It will be interesting to see what Sema will do when she arrives and finds out what her husband’s been up to.  As I round a corner, I run into young Cili. 

He comes to a sudden stop, startled as he bumps into me.  “My prince, I’m sorry, I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

“No need for apologies, Cili.  I was lost in thought as well.  Have you seen Ka?”

He looks at me puzzled, “Ka, my prince?”

“The old
elf
who came with us on the night
we arrived
.”

“Oh, that’s his name,” he answers thoughtfully.  “I’m sorry,
every
time I ask
ed
, he distracts me with ramblings of days gone by and whatever else comes into his head.  I haven’t seen him all day.”

“Put the word out that I’m looking for him.  I’ll be in the war room.” 

Cili gives me a worried look, “Is everything all right, my prince?”

“Yes, thank you.  Just have Ka sent to me if you run into him.”  He bows his departure and heads off to whatever task awaits him.

I enter the war room and walk over to the seating area off to the side.  I call on the sphere next to my father’s chair and a threefold screen appears giving me news of what’s going on in the realm.   A side panel opens and three servers come in with drinks and a platter of fruit, bread and meat.  One of the servers catches my eye and I watch her carefully.  Lily had told me the girl Ziri is supposedly in love with is blind.  I watch the redhead go about her business quietly and if it weren’t for the way she reaches with her hand before placing the platter down, you wouldn’t know she’s blind.  As they move to leave, I call out to her.  “Wait, are you Nameth?”

The other two servers turn toward the girl I’m addressing before bowing out and leaving the room.  She stands nervously, before answering, “Yes, my prince, I am.”  She gives me a shy smile.  According to Lily, Ziri states that “his” Nameth is beautiful.  She is very attractive, but doesn’t hold a candle next to Glynnis with her dark exotic looks.

I’m curious about the girl before me and the years of angry silence I received from my brother because of her.  I try to remember any time I’ve spoken to her.  It takes me a minute until it finally hits me.  She’s one of Ziri’s few friends.  She would follow him everywhere he went, except I didn’t know she was blind.  If I remember correctly, she was tall and skinny, about the tallest girl in his group.  I don’t think I’ve said more than a handful of words to her in all the years she’s known Ziri.

When my silent assessment becomes uncomfortable for her, she nervously ask, “Is there something I can do for you, my prince?”

“I understand you know my brother?”

She nods, smiling sweetly, her eyes just off to the right of my shoulder.  “Yes, my prince, I know Prince Tolan.  We just served him drinks about an hour ago.”

I don’t like the sound of that.  Tolan hasn’t been himself since we arrived.  Julia has become obsessed with her training, using it to stay away from Tolan.  With her room only a suite away from his, I would find him leaning against the wall opposite her door just staring at it.  The drinking is new, but nothing to worry about…yet. 

“No,” I answer, coming back to the moment.  “I’m talking of my brother Ziri.  I understand you were friends as children.”

She folds her hand before her and casts her eyes downward.  I find it interesting that there’s a slight scowl on her face.  Shaking her head, she replies, “Yes, my prince, we were.  But that was a long time ago.  I haven’t spoken with Ziri since he left us some seasons back.  And…even before then, after all, he is Lithi.”

I find myself glad she can’t see my expression of disapproval.  I didn’t know who she was then and I don’t really want to know her now.  “That will be all.”  I turn away, knowing she’ll sense the change and know a dismissal when she hears one.  She starts toward the panel slowly but turns when she reaches it.

“My prince
,
is there anything else that you need?  That I can do for you?  Perhaps you would like some company?” she asks shyly, but bold enough.  Maybe this is the opportunity she’s been waiting for.

“No.  Leave.”  It’s as if I can’t get her out of the room
fast
enough.  However, she still hesitates. 

“Is it because I’m blind?” she asks boldly stepping forward.

I’m in a state of stunned disbelief and I feel my anger rising, “You seem to think using your blindness to somehow gain favor with me will change my mind about you leaving.  Let me assure you, it doesn’t.  I want you to leave because you can’t ‘see’ the goodness in people – and you don’t need eyes for that.  Now leave, or I’ll have you removed from the tower.”

Shocked, she stands for a moment with an open mouth.  Finally realizing her situation, she turns red with embarrassment and quickly runs out of the room through the service panel. 
She
is the reason that Ziri has hated me all these years?  I said it before and I’ll say it again…I’m kicking his ass the first chance I get.

“Well, that was interesting,” says Tolan from behind me.

I turn to him, “Do you know who she is?”

He shakes his head at me, “No.  Am I supposed to?  There are more than four thousand Sidhe, humans, orcs, trolls, ogres and several other races who work or live in the tower, Tharin.  How am I supposed to know everyone?”  Good, I don’t feel so bad now.  “Wait…is that Nameth?  I didn’t know she worked here.  She used to hang out with Ziri, one of the few friends he had.  Come to think of it, I think she was the only girl besides Kalis who talked to him.  Wow, she looks different.”  Okay, back to feeling bad for not knowing who she was or noticing her at all.

He walks over and sits in Father’s chair.  “Where’s Lily?” he asks anxiously.  I know what he’s thinking, that maybe Lily can find out why Julia has stopped talking to him.

“She’ll be here with the others,”
I answer a bit distracted, still looking at the service panel.

Tolan sits up, “Wait.  She’s not with you?  What happened?”

“While we were in the tunnels, I sent Mellis up ahead to scout out the tunnel from the cavern at
Cini
Falls
.  I got antsy and couldn’t shake the feeling that something or someone from the UnderRealm was in the tunnels with us.  The feeling of uneasiness came strongest from the direction Mellis took, so I went after him.  I knew that Lily would be okay with Alorn and the others.  But by the time I reached Mellis, he was in it deep with a Cirie.”