Gathering Water (17 page)

March 2nd, 1969

Dear Journal,

Renie just left. As promised, she has been trying to read the cards to glean more information about the future troubles that I have Read in the elements. She told me that there will be soul mates torn apart, and from their union an immeasurable power will be born. There will be change and trials and death. Our hope, or destruction, lies with this power. From my own Readings, I believe the power will be a child. I believe one of the lovers will be of my family and the other, well the other will be Elfennol. The Elfennol have long forbidden such a union and their reaction to such a thing would be dire. I hope that I am wrong, and if I’m not then I hope that the Elfennol never discover the truth. They will see a child of such mixed heritage as a weapon to be used, or eliminated. Their reaction could easily backfire and turn our salvation into our damnation.

I opened my eyes to see six grey orbs hovering over me. I blinked and rubbed my eyes, then looked again. The orbs were staring out of the faces of three Neale men standing above me. Derek was about ten feet off, looking as if he were guarding our impromptu family gathering.

“Are you okay?” I asked Cash, who was the closest to me, and had a small trail of blood coming from his hairline.

“I’ve got a headache, but at least I didn’t faint.” And he grabbed my elbow to help me sit up.

“No, you were only knocked unconscious. How long was I out?”

“Only a minute, we had just reached you when you started opening your eyes,” Uncle Connor answered.

“I believe that we have seen enough. Richard, Etta, do you agree?” Derek said, while making his way back to the table to speak with his fellow council members.

“I do,” Etta said, and Richard nodded his assent.

A few moments filled with angry gestures, unsmiling looks, and one pointed hand-slam on the table by Derek, and it seemed the council finally came to a decision. They stood up and walked in our direction, stopping at the halfway point between where we stood (or sat, in my case) and the table. Etta started to speak.

“In recent years, the threat from the Clades seems to have decreased to a remarkable level. We’ve had fewer skirmishes, fewer sightings and fewer threats. We’ve had less of everything involving them. We assumed this was a result of our own diligence and strength. We were wrong. It seems that recent years have merely been the calm before the storm.” She seemed to be speaking to the entire stadium, not just us, when she finished.

Richard continued on for her, speaking for the first time with a rich baritone voice. “We have intelligence that the Clades are preparing for a battle unlike any we have seen for millennia. We do not have time to Test you the way that your father’s fathers and mother’s mothers have been tested. We need strong allies, capable of protecting themselves and their companions in battle. We need to be sure those aligned with us are worthy to be our brothers and sisters-in-arms.” The man had a hypnotizing voice, and if Etta hadn’t gained the crowd’s attention, Richard certainly had with his words, though I wasn’t exactly sure what they were leading up to.

“Today we have tested you, perhaps in an unconventional way, but it has served its purpose,” Derek continued for Richard. “What we have seen was unexpected, but the Council believes that you both would be a welcome addition to our war. We would be honored to have you fighting by our sides.”

The relief that flooded through me was a surprise since I hadn’t realized I was so invested in their approval.

Etta walked closer to me, her eyes so icy blue I fought the urge to shiver when she looked at me. “Della Deare, there is a stipulation where you are concerned.” Etta was speaking quietly enough that only the few people on the floor would be able to hear us. The rest of the council came up and flanked her on either side, while Cash and Connor did the same for me, before she continued. “Your testing has shown us abilities you shouldn’t possess. Our lack of knowledge concerning your parentage, coupled with the circumstances surrounding your birth, has us wary. After much discussion we have come to an agreement regarding this situation.” She paused for a moment with her brow furrowed, as if she were unhappy with what she was saying. “In two weeks you shall return here with your father. We expect a full explanation from him on how your existence came to be. If you are unable to meet these terms, we will have to come up with an alternate plan to ensure your loyalty to our cause or else sever our ties with you. Do you accept our terms?”

“What? Of course I don’t…” I felt a squeeze to my shoulder, cutting off my words, and a glance back confirmed that the hand belonged to Toby.

“She accepts. It will be done,” Toby said.

Etta and Richard turned to leave, followed by Derek after he gave a nod in our direction.

“What the hell, Toby? How am I supposed to come up with a father in two weeks?” I kept my voice low, not wanting to cause any more of a scene while the Elfennol were still in attendance.

“Word will spread. It is likely that
he
will come to
you
in the next two weeks. If not, then he is a traitor and I’ll see that his existence is ended.”

“Dad, do you know who he is?” Connor’s face was pale, he had read more into the situation than I had.

“Wait, what do you mean that he’ll come to me? A traitor? Why do they care who my dad is?” I was seriously wishing I had a Babel fish that could explain what the heck everyone was talking about. Again.

My uncle looked down at me, and in his eyes I saw just a hint of the fear I’d seen before. “Della, it seems that the Council is under the impression that your father is one of their people.”

“Or maybe a Clade, that’s what you meant by traitor, right Granddad? It makes sense.” Cash was just taking this in stride.

“No, it doesn’t. Gabby knew it was forbidden. Christ, that’s probably why she left.” Connor’s face was pale and he looked like he could have been blown over by a leaf.

“You guys must have misunderstood. Right? I mean, my dad would have to be human. Right? Toby?” I couldn’t wait for the day when a family conversation wasn’t one that would completely destroy my understanding of the world. I was about three seconds from a full-blown freak out, very ill-timed since Alexander and another Elfennol I didn’t recognize were walking towards us.

“This isn’t a good time. They’re coming to get us,” Toby said instead of answering my plea.

“Dux Neale, Lionel will direct you and your father and son to your quarters for the night where you may get ready. Duxa Deare, you may follow me to your room.”

I looked desperately at Cash and Connor, not wanting to be anywhere alone with these people. Cash grabbed my hand and gave it a squeeze in reassurance before following Lionel out of the stadium. I looked at Alexander and plucked up my nerves before following him.

“Why am I not staying with the rest of my family?” I asked, needing some sort of conversation to take my mind off things.

“Since my Lord’s own testing with the humans, we have had a generous room in reserve for the Duxa Deare. You will be the first to enjoy the accommodations.”

“Oh, because he swore loyalty to my family?”

“Yes, the Deare family. My family and yours are allies, and now that you have been accepted by our council, you get all the advantages of being aligned with us.”

“Alexander, may I ask you a question?” There I was, always with the questions.

“Of course,” he replied in a monotonous voice.

“Was the testing really that unusual?”

“Yes, it was.” Well, that wasn’t the long explanation I’d been hoping for.

I settled myself into walking silently until we reached our destination and went over all the things I knew about me, my mother, and whether there was a possibility of my being some sort of Elfennol-human mutt. I’d known that my abilities were a result of a mixed heritage, magically speaking, but had no idea what Elfennol abilities I must have displayed for them to make such a claim.

We walked all the way to what I would have considered the back of the cave, a trek that took about fifteen minutes. In front of us was another doorway with runes etched on the top.

“What does it say?” I asked, as he put his hand on the symbol in the center and opened to doorway to another, smaller, cave structure.

“Leoht. It’s our family name. This is where we stay while in this area, our home away from home. Each family has a similar section. Richard Heorot’s family is on the south wall,” he pointed to the left, “and Etta Strang’s family is on the north wall.” He then pointed to the right before leading us inside.

It was like walking into a house. Well, kind of. You definitely couldn’t tell that we were in a cave, and the size of it reminded me of the interiors of the big mansions that you see in movies, if the mansions were made up of nature.

The walls were made up of dark green twisted vines, so tightly woven that I thought it was just a textured wall at first, but when I reached out to touch it I could feel the life underneath my fingers. Like the giant space we’d left behind, the ceiling was lit with runes, making it seem like natural light when it was anything but. The layout seemed similar to a house, as well, though it didn’t hold the warmth that most houses had.

Alexander, as he had before, gave me a brief tour on the way to my room, and after seeing most of the rooms it started to sink in that this place was really more of a military base than a home for these people. I was shown the “practice room”, which was covered with thick moss on the floor and walls and had two people fighting in such fluid movement they looked like they were dancing. There were two rooms filled with ‘bunks’ for people to sleep in. Of course, these bunks were a mix between hammocks and canopy beds, made out of the same vines that covered the walls in most of the places. They granted full privacy, and looked way more comfortable than most of the regular beds I’d slept in during my life.

“Why are some of the bunks larger than others? Are they for the officers or something?” I asked when I noticed a few such beds.

“No, those are beds for those of us who are paired together. Couples.” Well. That was certainly different from human military practices.

He showed me the War Room, with its big table and beautifully drawn maps, the kitchens and the dining hall, then finally the area reserved for the private rooms.

“This room is for your use any time that you are here. My Lord has taken the liberty of having an appropriate outfit picked out for you for tonight’s celebration. Your token is here, as well.”

“What’s happening tonight? And what token?”

“It is customary for us to have a feast in honor of the initiates completing their testing. The token is a gesture of friendship from the Council, and is proof to any of our brethren that you are our allies. Someone will be here in about thirty minutes to show you the way.” He opened the door for me, just a normal one this time, and left me to explore it by myself. I was hit by the smell of flowers; the walls in the room were covered with honeysuckle instead of the vines that had covered most of the other walls I’d seen. I didn’t give myself much time to look around before I opened the door back up and poked my head out.

“Alexander!” I was so relieved that he hadn’t disappeared down the hallway.

“Yes, Duxa?” He stopped and turned towards me without coming any closer.

“Um, where’s the bathroom?” I was hoping no one else was close by.

“There is one in your room,” he answered, then half turned to continue on his way before I stopped him again.

“Wait! Uh, how does it work? I mean, I know how a toilet works, just does it work the same here?” I could feel my cheeks heat from the blush I was sure adorned them.

“It works the same way as it does everywhere else, Lady. We are not without modern conveniences down here. There is a shower as well, if you wish to bathe.” Nothing he said was out of the norm, and his voice was perfectly respectful, but something about the glow in his eyes, and the half smile on his mouth, gave me the feeling that he was teasing me a little. Or at least found my inquiry funny.

“Thanks Alex.” I nicknamed him in retaliation. He dipped his head at me in response, and waited there until I went back in my room and closed the door, probably to make sure I didn’t have any other stupid questions to ask.

After going to the restroom, I took a quick look around before getting ready. The room was smallish, certainly no bigger than my space at Connor and Ellis’s, but was still impressive. The bed looked similar to the ones I had seen in the barrack rooms, but prettier and less like a hammock. The only furniture in the room, other than the bed, was a bureau against the wall. It was the most normal thing in the room, but still had unusual craftsmanship, looking as if it had grown into its current shape since there were no seams in the wood. There was also a small fireplace in the wall closest to the bed and I lit it with a quick flick of my powers.

Lying on the bureau were my clothes for the night. Well, I guessed they were my clothes even though I had absolutely no idea how to put them on. There was a ridiculously long swath of a shimmery blue fabric with silver embroidered holes on the edges, and different lengths of silver corded rope. There was also a small leather case with three metal cylindrical thingys with a point on either end of them. Etched in the center of each one was the same symbol on my key, the family insignia or whatever. I thought that it must have been the Token from the council, but instead of spending time figuring out what the heck it was I went ahead and took a shower.