Keeper's Knowledge (Balancer's Soul cycle) (62 page)

“Is that
all your going to say to me?” Connor
nodded and
Mark
said “It looks like there is going to be a big day tomorrow. We had both better get some rest or we won’t be at our peaks for this plan of yours.”
And
he
sighed heavily. He most likely began to make up a story for later.

He turned and Connor
followed him back to the
lodge.
They
didn’t say another word because there wasn’t anything else to say. Liz said “Welcome back.” and
they
said goodnight before heading down the hall. He looked at
Connor
one last time before going into his room.
Mark
gave
him
a single nod and disappeared.

Connor
entered
his
room and slid
between
the sheets. Sarah didn’t move and she continued to snore softly. It
i
s one of her cuter qualities. As
he
made
him
self comfortable in the bed again
,
she turned over. She rolled int
o her usual cuddling position. Sh
e wrapped her
left leg over his
and he
r
arm rested across
his bare
abdomen. She squeezed herself closer and found her comfort spot.

Her scent did
him
in and
was a
sleep in moments.

When
they
got up early in the morning
they
slid on
their
gear and clothes. Mark and Kara were out in th
e hallway waiting for them
. They were both human and looked refreshed. Mark’s face didn’t reveal anything as
their eyes met
.
Mark
looked like himself
and his voice sounded normal
.
He was doing a great job
acting oblivious
. Jillian and Jack showed up a few minutes later.

They
met up with Veronica for breakfast and
all
had a hearty meal
in good company
.
They
left together to go get
their
seats for the meeting
not long after
.
By that time both Mark and Kara were already in their Fwen forms.

When they all came in and sat down Damian began today’s meeting.
“Good morning, everyone. You may all sit back down. Today is the meeting for the Balancers.”
He nodded to his right.

Head
Elder
’s
Amphrite and Poseidon stood together while holding hands. His voice carried throughout the entire room. “Today we will listen to what you have to say and will deliberate on your requests. We will do all of you
r pertinent
requests first and then we will
allow the new members to come up
later
. Now will all petitioners come forward to stand in front of the staircase
,
in a single line.”

Connor
figured
he
had to wait for
awhile and that didn’t bother him
.

He
looked around to see sixty pairs of petitioners rise and make their way down the steps. They all filed up in pairs, but in a straight line. Their requests were mostly superficial, but quite a few of them requested for new identification papers. Every person who asked for new id’s got them without mu
ch deliberation by the Elders. Connor
also saw that they each bowed to the three Head’s before they spoke. It
was all about proper etiquette
and respect
. Pair after pair made their way up
to the dark
er
marble
center
to speak. He
ha
d
also
been paying
close
attention to the
unique language
of the Elders
and learned much
.

It took about two and a half hours before the last two Balancers made their way down the steps. Once they sa
t
down in their row
,
H
ead
Elder Amphrite stood and her voice also carried in the
vast
room. “All newco
mers and children may make your
way down to the staircase.

Here we go.
He thought to himself and stood up. Connor
helped Sarah to her feet.
They
then started making
their
way through the platform
and
glanced over
his
shoulde
r once he
heard Mark’s animalistic voice.
Mark
waited until Sarah couldn’t hear
this
, but
Connor
could. “Hey guys
listen to this
,” Kara, Jillian and Jack
turned to look at him. “Last night Connor and I had a chat. Apparently he said he couldn’t help but remember, little Maggie. Remember the little girl w
ho got lost in the woods? Well J
ack do you remember how she was stuck up that tree and Connor killed the boar
. Well Connor said
Maggie
reminded him of Sarah. Well right now he said we need to be that protective tree for Sarah in a little while. He’s on to something big and he’s keeping his lips tight.”

Connor
held Sarah’s hand as
they walked down together. He
could see thei
r confused expressions out of his
peripheral vision. Jack was the first t
o understand the code and
the blood in his face drain away. Jillian whispered in his ear
and he whispered back. Her expression also
drained as she looked at
her daughter and mate
. Kara was
still
confused and all she did was shrug.

He
slowed
his
stride to
match Sarah’s once they
hit the level floor.
He
saw a pair of new mated Balancers and a family of three
right behind them. Connor
recognized the little girl from before the start of the meeting. She was a
s
cute as a button and
highly intelligent
.
He
asked
the child
questions and she answered them like
that of
an average adult. Both of her parents were the same height
and
the
y
looked around twenty years old, but their hair was different. The mother had long golden hair and her mate had short brown hair.

Sarah and Connor casually
took the end and no one else was new besides the seven of
them
. “The first pair is allowed to enter.”

The first two went up and he introduced himself
as a new mate. They asked what his affinity i
s and then they left. Sarah and
Connor
stepped to the side as they walked down the steps and made their way
back
to their seats. “Next!” the two H
ead
Elders said as one.

The parents of the little girl went up. While they spoke
Connor
felt Sarah’s emotions.
He
whispered in her ear. “Don’t worry
so much. Don’t forget I’m
here.” She straightened up and he
felt her emotions shift to confidence. Her green eyes were set and just as confident.

They
moved
over
as the family exited the stage and
went
back to th
eir seats. “Next!” They said
simultaneously again.
Connor
nodd
ed to Firon once he looked at him
. He nodded back and returned to his towering stance.

Together Sarah and
Connor
took the large and long steps up to marble stage.
They made it to the top and he
finally received a closer view of the flooring.
Not even
a single blemish
was
on the floor, not even in the thin and dark veins.
This had to be the purest stone in all the world.
It was perfectly level as
they
began
their
walk to the c
enter.
They held hands as they approached
. Sarah’s steps were lig
ht, but not completely silent. He
raised
his
chin and also
walked confidently. The stage they
were on was mu
ch larger from this new angle. He
counted sixty one steps until
they reached the center. He
judged the distance
they
traveled, the placement of the Guard and the layout of the room.
Connor
had spent over a week preparing just for this
one
moment.

S
arah
squeezed
his
hand one last time before
letting
go.
They
first look
ed
at Head Elder Damian and she bowed in respect.
They
turned and bowed
together
to the Head Changer and
finally bowed to
their
Head Elders. When
Connor raised back up he
glanced at Elder Adela and she was waving at
them
with a smile, but she hid the gesture so that only
they
could
possibly
se
e it. To the right of the Head E
lders were another
pair of Elders writing on a
large
scroll.

Head Elder Amphrite l
eaned forward to look down at them. She spoke to Connor
and asked in a
casual
voice “What is your name and age, Child?”
Evenly he
said “My name is Connor May and I just
turned twenty, two days ago, Head
Elder Amphrite.”
She nodded and he
looked to see the other Elders scribbling
his name. He
recognized the pen strok
es. She looked and waited for his
mate
’
s answer. Sarah spoke with clarity and courage. “I am Sarah Branderson, but I have changed my
maid
en name to May. I am just over t
hree hundred years old.”

The two opened the scroll even more as they searched for her name.
T
hey found i
t and handed it over to the Head
Elder
s
along with the pen. She looked at it with her seaweed green eyes. “Ah her
e you are Sarah. Let me just…” S
he mumbled as she made some corrections to the paper.

“Umm
, Head
Elder?” Connor
looked to see Sarah as she spoke.

“What
is it, young one?” It was then he
managed to estimate her age once her eyes became deeper. She was around
one
million
years old.

“Could you please add another name under mine and Con
nor’s. Please add the name
Pearl May.” He
saw a twitch of a smile hit the corners of her lips.
He
knew she was finally glad to be rid of that secret.

“SARAH!”
Their
attention
turned to Elder Adela. She stood up and was holding onto the railing. “You’re with child?”

“I am.” Sarah said proudly.

“So that was why you always ordered apples
with
e
very meal.”
Then they
heard Head
Elder Amphrite clear her throat in annoyance. Elder Adela realized s
he had interrupted her boss. Adela’s expression
reminded
Connor
of Kara
’s
when their mom
would scold her. “Please forgive my interruption Amphrite, I was suddenly caught off guard at the wonderful news.”