by D P Rowell
CHAPTER TEN
Implications
Proceeding the catastrophe, many things took place. Sebastian and George spent the next few hours convincing Ihana not to shoot Ace and Kareena and commanded the other hunters to return to their posts. Rumors of riots in the city floated around the castle and Sebastian arranged to address the public midday and assure them the city was safe. Meanwhile, Tharuach took Kareena and Ace to the conference room and let them have it.
“By the Light! I should have you locked away in your room for the rest of your teenage years!” The tall fae said. Kareena leaned back in the hover chair and lowered her head. Her father towered over her and bent close to her face. “You just can’t be patient, can you? I told you to wait and you insisted on taking matters into your own hands!”
“I’m sorry, Father,” Kareena said, avoiding eye contact. “I just thought we were running out of time. I wanted to take advantage of an opportunity.”
Tharuach’s eyes popped from their sockets. “What opportunity was that? You truly thought blasting an army of hunters with the elyr would be helpful? Sebastian was on his way to discuss matters with the boy and I, and you’ve just set back the possibility of him trusting us by the size of the seven realms!”
“But, Father, Shywater brought Ace and I together. We made the plan together and when we left, it brought us to Headquarters. Emery was communicating to us.”
Tharuach sighed and rubbed his hands over his face. “That’s not how Shywater works, dear. If Shywater brought you two together, it was because your struggles were aligned. You leave Shywater where your own heart takes you. The Light brings Shywater to you. He speaks to you, and where you go and what you do with it after that is up to you.”
Kareena sunk in her chair. Her eyes shimmered from the ceiling lights. When a few seconds passed with no exchange of words, Tharuach turned to Ace.
“Kareena,” Tharuach said, eyes fixed steadily on the boy, “I need you to leave us for a moment.”
“Father, please,” Kareena said, “it wasn’t his fault. He tried to convince me not to do it even.”
Tharuach shot his daughter a look of stone. “I said leave us.”
Kareena looked at Ace with a long face. Ace looked back at her with a similar expression. She gestured with a slant of her mouth as if to apologize without words. She stood, glanced at her father, then left the room. Once the door shut, Tharuach pulled a chair from the conference table and hovered it in front of Ace. He sat in front of the boy. His curling tattoos under his eyes drew a new meaning for Ace. They circled the tall fae’s dark eyes with power and spoke of the fear they struck in his enemies. And Ace had just become one of them.
Tharuach spoke soft, but firm. “I should hope you understand as well as anyone how important my daughter’s safety is to me.”
Ace nodded with a slight shake. “Yes, sir.”
“She has been especially rebellious and ambitious ever since she met you. Running back into a city under attack by witches to help you, and now attacking Indie Castle. Who knows what she’ll do next.”
Ace’s chest caved as if he’d jumped into a pool of cold water.
Tharuach leaned back and stroked the conference table. He rubbed his fingers together and flicked away a piece of dust. He eyed the boy once again with a penetrating stare. “I want to thank you.”
Ace’s eyebrows twitched. He scooched back in his chair, scratched his ear, and squinted at the tall fae. “You want to what?”
“Listen,” Tharuach said, “Kareena has always been one to run off and do . . . well . . . crazy things, honestly.” He chuckled, “I remember when she was just a little girl and her sister had just been born. One of the boys in our village told her a fib that Alia will get nightmares and grow up wicked unless she finds the Fae Dream Elder and receives her blessing. (It’s a common myth among fae culture). Anyway, she somehow found a way to get to Unth Illiaroch and spent the next day or so searching for the Fae Dream Elder. Clahala and I nearly had ourselves a heart attack. It took us two days to find her. There is no Fae Dream Elder.
“The point is, if she’s convinced something is the right thing to do, she’ll do it without permission from anyone else. This is her greatest strength as well as weakness. Recently, however, at the turn of events in Yutara, she’s lost much of her fire. That spark in her eye I remember seeing when she was so worried for her sister that she’d travel the largest city in Breen as a little girl to help her, it had all but faded . . . Until you showed up.”
Ace held a look of uncertainty as Tharuach stared him down with conviction.
The fae spoke again, “It’s very clear what’s happening here, young Evelander. You are bringing hope back into the world. You’ve brought hope back to my daughter. For this, I owe you my gratitude.”
Ace opened his mouth, unsure of how to respond. Luckily, Tharuach raised up a finger to suggest he wasn’t finished, freeing Ace of his previous conviction to speak.
“However, this does not come without responsibilities. You’re the Elyrian the faes have waited for centuries to come to Yutara. That title comes with strong implications. The weight of Yutara is resting on you right now. My generation is long gone and forgotten now. Your generation is going to be the one to change everything, and, for some reason I cannot understand, Emery has blended your path with my daughter’s. Unfortunately, you’re going to have to do a lot of growing up much earlier than most. It’s not fair to you, it’s just the way things are. How you handle the task the Light has given you will tell of Yutara’s future.” Tharuach leaned close with dark eyes. “This should be enough to motivate you. But, if it’s not, you should know something else. Because my daughter is a part of this with you, the implications of your title weigh much heavier. Now I’m a part of this too. I’ve been trying to convince Kareena of the pitfalls of her bulldozing methods before, but she won’t listen to me. She seems to have a lot of trust in you. Maybe you will have better luck convincing her. But if you don’t, I’m trusting you to protect her. Save Yutara and return the world to peace, yes . . . But you have another task in which I’m determined to help you understand. Keeping my daughter safe.”
Ace stared at the fae with his mouth sealed shut. He slowly nodded. Tharuach half grinned and stood from his seat. “I’m glad we understand each other.” He brushed his robe and headed towards the door. “Now, let me try and talk with the elite and see if we can sort out this whole mess.” Tharuach left the room and shut the door. Ace felt as if he'd just escaped certain death.
Kareena slowly entered the conference room with puppy dog eyes and a lag in her step. She shut the door and took the seat next to Ace. The boy had been sitting calmly, pondering over the things Tharuach had spoken to him. He wasn’t sure whether to be angry, concerned, or have a sense of inadequacy. So, he just did all three.
Kareena hovered a bit closer once she sat down. “I’m sorry. He wasn’t harsh on you, was he?”
Ace looked at her with the kind of look you give someone you’re trying to lie to when you’re not very good at lying. “Not really?”
“Are you asking me or telling me?”
“ . . . I haven’t decided.”
Kareena sighed and propped her head up with her elbow on the table. “I’m so sorry. All of this is my fault.”
Ace wanted to contest her. But he was bad at lying.
“I had no idea Sebastian would try to come and talk with us,” Kareena said.
“No one could’ve known.”
“What did my dad say to you?”
Ace scratched his head. “He just wants you to be safe.”
One side of Kareena’s smile squished against the hand she pressed against her cheek. “Yeah, I know he does. I just don’t want to watch the world crumble and it’s hard to feel like doing nothing is the right answer.”
“Well, I don’t think your dad was suggesting we do nothing. Waiting and doing nothing aren’t exactly the same thing.”
Kareena lifted her head and raised
an eyebrow. “You sound just like him. It's kinda weird.”
“Well,” Ace said. “I mean, if I recall correctly, patience was actually the first thing you taught me about the elyr.”
The fae grinned and placed her hands in her lap. “Really?”
“Yeah, remember?” Ace said. “You told me something along the lines of, ‘patience is one thing that seperates the elyr from witchcraft. Magic promises everything you want right then and there, the elyr takes time and a continual living to better yourself’.”
Kareena smiled and patted his hand. “Look at you, teaching me things about the elyr.”
Ace grinned lightly. Tharuach entered the room and Kareena jumped and turned around to face the conference door.
“Good news . . . I think,” Tharuach said. “The elite have invited us to dinner.”
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Dinner with the Elite
Cameron and Trilo arrived shortly after things had settled in Indie Castle and joined Kareena and Ace in the conference room after Tharuach had left.
“Okay,” Trilo said after sitting across from Ace and Kareena, “first off, I have to give credit where credit is due. You guys really made an entrance and it was gutsy. Secondly. What. In. Eathelyn. Summers. Were. You. Thinking?”
Ace and Kareena looked at each other, then back to Trilo. They had no response.
Trilo gestured with his hand toward Ace. “You should especially know better. You know how seriously the hunters take magic. They believe the elyr is magic for Mid Summer's sake!”
“Ace had nothing to do with it,” Kareena said. “He tried to talk me out of it, but I persisted.”
“Yeah, about that,” Trilo said. “How are you not in the cellar right
now?”
Cameron jumped in the conversation and leaned over the table. “Alright, Trilo, calm down. They messed up.”
“They more than messed up!” Trilo said. His eyes went between Ace and Kareena as he spoke. “The whole city is panicking right now. Even after Sebastian addressed the public. And now they’re spreading rumors about tattooed faes being in Headquarters without being arrested for sorcery!”
“I want to address something you said earlier,” Ace said. Everyone went quiet and looked at the Elyrian. “You asked why they hadn’t thrown Kareena in the cellar yet. In fact, they’ve done more than just not punished us. They’ve invited us to dinner.”
Trilo looked dazed.
Ace rested his arms on the table and folded his hands together. “I think this goes to show that Kareena was right about something. Maybe our methods were a little off, but if anything, they prove her point.”
Cameron stood straight and crossed his arms. “And what point would that be?”
Ace looked at Kareena. The fae held a gaze of anticipation. “Sebastian doesn’t believe I’m a sorcerer.”
Cameron and Trilo were invited to the Dining Hall for dinner. They sat next to each other, across from Ace, Tharuach, and Kareena. Sebastian sat at the head of the table and George and Ihana sat on either side in front of him. The elite served fried trunkfish and oal grains with herb spreads for dinner and Ace had his plate cleaned not but a few minutes after they set it before him. After inhaling his greasy, salty trunkfish, he looked around to notice everyone avoiding eye contact.
“I’m sorry, Ace,” Sebastian said, breaking the after-meal silence, “I have no good reason to trust you after all that’s happened.”
Ihana dropped her fork on her plate. “You don’t have good reason to trust him, so you feed him and his friends a home-cooked meal?”
Sebastian looked at Ihana. His gritting teeth could be seen from out of his skin.
Ace interjected their staring contest, “Do you believe that I’m Marty’s grand kid?”
Sebastian looked at Ace. “Why should I?”
George leaned his head over the table to better be seen. “I find it hard to believe Marty’s grandchild would be practicing magic with faes. There was no one more against witchcraft than the Halder himself.”
Ihana nodded at George and sharply added, “Not only that, but Marty never rattled on about having any family. Then, out of nowhere, one of our elite just shows up with him by his side and claims that he’s gonna take everything over?”
Cameron chimed in next, “Speaking of which, when was the last time you heard from Rio? Do you know where he is?”
Sebastian, George, and Ihana glanced at one another. Sebastian finally said, “The last time we heard from him, he was taking the other two witches to—”
“They aren’t witches.” Cameron said with tight lips, “They’re our family.”
“Watch how you speak to the Halder,” George said.
Trilo chuckled. “Please. I think Ace here has done enough to prove he’s the actual Halder. How ‘bout the fact that his name is ACE HALDER.”
Ihana stood abruptly. “I will not have these disrespectful children in our Great Hall, rattling to our leader this way!” She turned to Sebastian, “I still don’t trust them, Sebastian. They must have a relationship with the council in some manner.”
Sebastian waved his hand downward. “Everyone settle.” Ihana looked at Ace with wicked eyes as she slowly returned to her seat.
After a moment of quiet, a memory popped into Ace’s head. He shot up and turned to his right. “George,” Ace said. The dark man glanced Ace’s way. “You mentioned that you find it hard to believe Marty’s grandchild would be so close with the faes. If I was told correctly, you all had a meeting, similar to this one, about whether or not faes should be trusted or even allowed in Gathara. Am I right?”
George nodded with a dazed look.
“You were split among each other about whether or not the faes could be trusted. Who, of all the elite, was most in favor of the faes?”
George’s mouth slanted a little. He exchanged eyes with the other elite before turning back to Ace. “Marty was.”
Ace’s face lit up. He was concerned that wasn’t the answer because he didn’t know for sure. He’d been told about it by Rio when he first arrived to Gathara. Wasn’t sure if the drake had lied to him, either. Ace leaned forward over the table with a sly look in his eye, “And who was most against the faes?”
“Rio,” Sebastian said without hesitation.
Ace nodded at the pale elite. “Exactly. Rio.”
Sebastian leaned back in his chair with a smirk. “Alright, Ace. You bring up a decent point.”
Ihana rattled her tongue furiously. It sounded like meat sizzling on a hot grill. “Sebastian, you’re not really considering this, are you?”
“I want to hear,” Sebastian said, ignoring the water drake, “tell me exactly what’s happened between you and Rio. How did you end up in this mess with him betraying you and all of us? There’s clearly a lot we don’t know.” Sebastian moved forward and leaned over the table, “And don’t keep anything from me. If you want me to trust you, that’s not the way to do it.”
Ace’s spirits rose a little. He looked at Tharuach from across the table. The tall fae nodded with a smile. Ace turned back to Sebastian. “It all began when my grandfather, Marty Halder, gave me a stone . . .”
Ace proceeded to tell the elite everything from the day Ace received the stone to the moment Rio betrayed him. During the story, the others chimed in and affirmed their parts when the times arose. When time had come for him to mention how he’d learned the elyr and discovered he was the Elyrian, Kareena jumped in and left out the part of the Tree Kingdom. He didn’t contest her on this. Convincing the elite the elyr wasn’t evil was a hard enough task. No need to make it more difficult by adding talking tree people into the equation. He finished the story on a low note, having to explain how the drake had taken his family, his stone, and his dignity. The entire time Sebastian’s eyes fought between confusion, interest, and disbelief.
“Sebastian,” Ace said. “I have no good reason to lie to you about this. What can I do to have you trust me?”
Sebastian shook hi
s head. “I don’t know.” He dropped his fork and it clanged against his plate. “None of this makes sense to me. Ever since the news of Marty’s passing . . . And now? The Emerson Stone?” Sebastian’s face shriveled like a raisin when he spoke of the stone. “I mean, now all of a sudden fairy tales are real?”
“It’s funny,” Cameron said, “I was brought up to believe witches were fairy tales too.” Cameron and Sebastian swapped eyes. “You know how hard the council has fought to keep their existence hidden. Should it surprise you the Emerson Stone is real?”
Sebastian leaned towards Cameron. “I’ve seen what witches can do with my own two eyes, kid. But this stone, can you produce it? Kind of convenient how Rio stole it from you, so you can’t provide evidence, don’t you think?”
Trilo scoffed. “Was the fact that one of your elite openly admitted that she was a witch not good enough for you?”
Sebastian furrowed his brow. He clenched his fist and rubbed it in his hand.
“Sebastian,” Ace said. “The elyr burns the flesh of a sorcerer. Though it’s a powerful force, it will not burn the flesh of an innocent person. This is something the council is trying to hide. Rio didn’t want faes here because he knows they’re the biggest threat to his agenda.”
“Call Rio,” Trilo said. “See what he says. See where he is.”
“No,” Tharuach said, “Bad idea.”
“Why should I take orders from you?” Sebastian said.
“You shouldn’t,” Ihana said.
“This isn’t about who gives and takes orders!” Ace said. He looked to Sebastian, “This is about defeating the council.” Ace saw the worry and confusion in the eyes of the Indie leader. “We can’t let them divide us. We have the same enemy.”
Sebastian folded his arms and leaned back in his chair. “Say I buy into all this . . . and you are some sort of ‘light bender’ . . . what would you need the Indies for? Why would you risk coming back here to Gathara when you could've just gone to find Rio and your cousins?”