The Drifting (7 page)

Ka smiles, “Obviously not all, but now you do.”

“No,” answered Tolan stubbornly.  He prided himself in knowing everything about the Ancients
and
actually knowing each of them personally.  “Nedleid
is the eldest of the six.  In all the conversation we shared during my tutelage under him
,
not once were either of you mentioned.”

“That’s a nasty family trait you have there,” replies Ka.  He points his finger at Tolan in a scolding manner, “Just because stubbornness runs deep in your family, doesn’t make you, your father, your grandfather, and his father’s father right.   It just makes you a bunch of stubborn fools.”

Tolan remains silent, still trying to wrap
his mind around
there
being
two other Ancients in Velesi.  I watch as my brother takes in the old man before us as if seeing him for the first time.  Leaning in, he asks, “Where did you come from?  Are you from one of the clans to
the
east, or from the north…from Eirrell?”

“Don’t test me, P
rince.  You know as well as I that Velesi is cut
off from Eirrell,” replies Ka quietly.  After a moment, he
adds
, “But not for long.”

I catch Tolan’s eye briefly, staring back at Ka I ask, “What are you saying?  The doorway to Eirrell has been closed to the Sidhe since Kalinest severed the realm
s.
”

Shaking his head, Ka looks at Tolan with disapproval.  “Obviously, Nedl
ei
d has kept
secrets from you.  Either that,
or he has forgotten about the prophecy in his old age.”

Tolan leans closer
, his interest peaked.
“What prophecy?”

“An heir from the land of man and Sidhe will be born to the line of the true healers.  The
virgin queen
will bring death to Eirrell
’s door
and Velesi will be no more.”

Silence follows as we take in Ka’s words.  A prophecy that has never been heard of will bring death to Eirrell’s door destroying Velesi.  I glare at the old man knowing exactly what he’s implying.  Keeping my emotions under control
I say, “Lily. 
Lily is the
virgin queen
of prophecy
– is what
you’re
saying
?”

“Yes, Prince Tharin
, that
is what I’m saying.  And if you continue to lose
control
every time you’re near her, you will
get her killed
before she is able to open the doorway to Eirrell.”

“You’re kidding me
, right
?” I
ask in disbelief. 

“Does our father know of this prophecy
?
”
interrupts
Tolan.

Sitting back Ka rubs at his bearded chin, “I’m sure he may have heard something of it when he was a boy.  But, then again, it was prophesied at the dawn of the Velesi realm,
more than
six thousand years ago.”

“You have to let me go, old man,” I demand quietly.  Knowing now
that Lily’s
the key to Eirrell
,
the depth
Eathos
would
go
to get
his hands on her
hits me solidly in the gut.

Ka looks me over for a moment before
answering
, “No.”

I struggle against my invisible bind
ing
s, no longer holding my anger back, “Release me!”

Tolan stands, towering over Ka who looks undisturbed by our actions.

“Tharin is right,” states Tolan.  “You must let us go to Lily.  Tharin is the best protection she has.”

Anger replaces Ka’s calm façade and he leans in towa
rd
my brother, “Best protection?”  He shifts his eyes on me, locking
me in his glare
.  “Three times you’ve put her in danger because you couldn’t control your own emotions over her.  You took it upon yourself to meet her alone, two days
after
her birthday.  Two days that Falsad could have taken her.  Two days filled
not
of planning and strategizing of an impending war, or even on how to retrieve her.  No.  You spent those two days mooning over another woman who has no business with you.  If it weren’t for Sema summoning the protection of trees that surrounded
Lily’s
area
,
the Ange would have found her on her birthday.  Two days, Prince Tharin.  Where was your concern for her then?”  I lose some of the anger as I sit and listen, guilt taking over.

“Once you had her, instead of having everyone there to escort her immediately from her house, you decide
d
to take a long stroll.  A stroll so you could let her know that she meant nothing to you.  Your arrogance that night alm
ost killed her at the convenience
store.  Your
Greaneth
showed up, yes, but not until after she was hit by an assassin’s glick.  Where was your concern for her
then?”  I cast my eyes downward, trying
to pull up the anger, but
find
that I
can’t
.

“Finally, you allowed an inexperience
d
girl
to
dri
ft
while still in a hostile situation.  If Lily’s natural instincts to survive didn’t kick in and scream when she did, the Demlok would have had
her at the football field. 
Tell me, Prince…where was your concern
for
her safety then?  Did you even stop to think that you would be putting her in danger?”  When I don’t respond, Ka sits back in his chair sighing heavily.  “You have done enough.  Sit down
,
Prince Tolan, please.  You will not be leaving here to retrieve Lily, but to return to the
Oak
Tower
.”

Tolan does as he’s told.  Quietly, he’s words enter my thoughts, “
Let’s hear him out, brother.  See where this is going.”
  Without looking at him, I give a small nod.

“And what?” asks Tolan.  “We are to leave Lily in Ziri’s hands?”

“Yes, and in the hands of Sema.  For the weeks
the princess
will be in hiding
,
Sema will teach her how to use her mother’s gifts.  Ziri will train her how to protect herself.”

“
Weeks
?” I
can feel my hackles rising
.

“
Until the Seating.  F
our weeks
from today
,” he replies.

“No
,
” I counter.

“You have no choice,
P
rince.  If you don’t return to the
Oak
Tower
today as planned, the search for the princess by every bounty hunter, assassin and who knows what will continue.  Eathos
has to
believe that Lily is no longer with us
, just until the Seating
.”

“No longer with us?” repeats Tolan.

“We need him
to believe
Lily is dead.  The search for Lily will stop, at least for the moment.  Not only that, but he will be forced to find another key to open the doorway to Eirrell.”

“Harlu,” I sneer.

“Exactly.  He will have no choice but to make Harlu aware that he is Lily’s true brother and the next heir to the
Willow
throne.  Harlu is dangerous
and arrogant.  He will try and take the helm from Falsad, who will not give up his tenuous position under his
l
ord.  It will caus
e a conflict within the ranks.
”

“With Lily out of the picture, it will be their chance to take the
Willow
throne,
” comments Tolan, catching on to Ka’s plans.

“Yes. 
The throne to the Willow Clan will choose the next true heir.  Eathos can only hope after the chair accepts Harlu that the doorway will open for him, too
.”

Four weeks.  I will be without Lily for four w
eeks and trust her to this Sema
and to Ziri.  I think through Ka’s plan trying to find holes in it, to find any reason to convince Ka that Lily would be safer
with me
.  I’m unable to find any.  He’s right.  At least for now
,
Lily would be safe.  Reluctantly, I nod at Ka.

“
All right, one
month.  But if things don’t go as plan
ned
, I will find Lily.  And if she’s hurt…”

“Yes, yes…you’ll kill us all,” replies Ka annoyingly.

“There’s one thing I don’t understand,” says Tolan thoughtfully.  “The night that we went for Lily, why did Lucas…I mean, Falsad
,
try to kill her if she’s the key?  I would think he would have wanted to take her alive.”

“When Falsad discovered Lily was still in
San Diego
he assumed
Thilthen had lost Lily.  Thinking she was alone and unprotected
,
he aimed to retrieve her
personally for Eathos
.  It wasn’t until he
laid eyes on
her that he wanted her for his own.  I don’t know how he would have convinced Eathos to let him
keep
her, but he was confident enough to make his move that night. 
W
hen Tharin showed up at the last minute
, jealousy and lust got the better of him.  H
e decided he would rather have her dead
than let
Tharin
take her
.  Good for him that Tharin was there.  When Eathos discovered what had happened, he pulled Falsad out of Lucas’ body and left him to the Demlok for a short period of time.  Eathos needs Lily alive
, and as far as I know, he’s the only one besides Sema and me who knows of the prophecy
.  Needless to say,
after his time with the Demlok,
Falsad is even more twisted than before. 
His mind is warped and w
e need to keep
Lily away
from him at all cost
s
.”