by MJ Schutte
Brighton was horrified.
‘By taking your energy he saves your life? And this has been going on for three thousand years? That’s cruel beyond comprehension,’ he spat.
Suddenly he knew what Evangeline said to him just as he left her to return to his body.
‘Take me to him, please,’ he said softly.
Michaela led the way, Brighton and Lilian followed.
When they got to the door, Michaela took a key from a hook on the wall and opened the door. The man inside didn’t look up. He was sitting on a small bed.
He softly said, ‘I’m sorry to do this to you, child. If I don’t they will kill you.’
He stuck out his hand.
‘Come closer I need to touch you,’ he said without looking up.
Brighton stepped in and took Robert’s hand. Seeing a big male hand when he expected a small female one made him look up. He had the face of a man at least ninety years old.
‘Who are you?’ he asked.
‘I am Brighton, this is Lilian and Michaela,’ Brighton said.
Robert looked from face to face. He pointed to Michaela.
‘Is this the young girl I am to torture next?’ he asked.
‘No, that will never happen again,’ Brighton said softly.
‘Then what are you doing here?’ Robert said with a frown.
‘I’ve come to help you,’ Brighton replied.
‘Nobody can help me,’ the old man sighed.
‘I’ve spoken to Evangeline. She wants you to go to her,’ Brighton replied.
‘Evangeline, my love,’ the old man said to himself.
‘Do you want to go to her?’ Brighton asked.
‘I saw her die many years ago, I can’t remember how many. How can I be with my love again?’ Robert asked.
‘I can help you. Do you want to go to her?’ Brighton asked again.
‘I would give anything just to spend a few moments with her again,’ the old man said, tears streaming freely down his face.
‘Lie down and close your eyes,’ Brighton said gently.
Robert did as Brighton said. Brighton turned to Lilian and Michaela.
‘Please wait outside,’ he said.
Wordlessly they left, Lilian closing the door behind her. She understood what Brighton was going to do. There was no cruelty in it but rather an act of mercy.
Brighton put his hand on Robert’s forehead. He felt the old man’s frail energy. He knew Robert only took tiny amounts from the servants. Perhaps he was hoping to die of old age soon. Brighton closed his eyes and summoned his talent.
Robert’s breathing stopped immediately. He was dead.
‘Now you can be with your love again,’ he said softly to the corpse.
He thought he heard Evangeline and Robert’s voices say ‘Thank you.’
Brighton exited the room and closed the door behind him.
Lilian hugged him tenderly. She knew that must have been a very hard thing to do. Brighton looked around the hallway. He needed some fresh air and to feel the sun on his skin again.
‘Michaela, please go get my things. Meet us outside. Be quick about it,’ he said to the young girl.
‘Show me the way out please,’ he said softly to Lilian.
Lilian took his hand and led him to the entrance of the caves.
Chapter 14
OUTSIDE HE USED his sense to make sure nobody was in the caves anymore.
‘Nobody will ever live here again,’ he said as he gathered energy from the trees and bushes around him.
He sent a huge bolt of white light through the massive doors. It destroyed everything in its path until it reached the middle of the hill where it exploded. All the passageways collapsed.
Brighton looked around. Everybody was gone except for three young girls still standing there. Adri, Michaela and little Hannah.
Hannah’s hands were balled into tiny fists, her eyes glaring at Brighton.
‘You monster! You killed my father and destroyed my home,’ she shouted at Brighton.
She picked up a rock and threw it at him. Brighton easily dodged the flying rock.
‘Hannah, wait,’ he tried to calm her down. ‘I didn’t kill your father!’ was all he could think to say.
‘Your pet demon did. It’s the same,’ she shouted picking up another rock.
Lilian tried to talk to the little girl.
‘Hannah, please calm down,’ she pleaded.
‘And you’re a witch!’ Hannah turned her anger towards Lilian.
‘If you just did as Father told you he could have spent more time with me! I’ll make sure you’re all sorry for this,’ she said and lifted her hand. Brighton snapped a link to Lilian. Hannah’s energy link could not penetrate the protective barrier Brighton had put around them. Again and again she tried. Brighton and Lilian kept trying to calm her down but nothing worked.
‘Fine, if I can’t kill you, I’ll kill them,’ she screamed turning towards the other two girls clinging on to each other.
Her hand lifted towards the scared girls.
‘Hannah. No!’ Brighton shouted.
He shot a bolt of white light. The bolt entered Hannah’s head on the side just above her ear and went straight through. It hit a tree, setting it alight. Brighton felt the energy of the fire. He concentrated on it and slowly it died.
‘How did you do that?’ Lilian asked in amazement.
Before he could answer, Adri and Michaela rushed towards him. They grabbed him around the waist and hugged him so tight he thought they would never let go again. Adri mumbled something while crying uncontrollably.
Brighton thought it sounded like ‘Thank you,’ but couldn’t be sure. He put an arm around each of them and gave them a soft squeeze.
‘You’re safe now,’ he said to them.
He wriggled out of their vice-like hugs and went over to Hannah’s lifeless body.
Squatting next to the corpse he said, ‘Any Dark One who opposes me will get the same treatment. There will be no more senseless killing, the days of the Dark Ones are over.’
Lilian spoke softly behind him.
‘I’m a Dark One.’
‘No, you’re not. You have the talent; this does not make you a Dark One. It’s how a person uses the talent that counts, not simply that they have it,’ he replied.
Lilian nodded. She looked at the slightly blackened tree again.
‘Bri, how did you put out that fire?’ she asked.
Brighton got up and faced her.
‘When I was with Evangeline in the spirit world she showed me how to use my talent properly. I am in complete control of it now; it does not work purely on instinct anymore. Fire has energy. I simply removed the energy from the fire and channelled it into the ground. Soil doesn’t burn so the energy simply dissipated. If you feel the ground I was standing on it should still be warm.’
Adri and Michaela reached down and put their hands on the ground. Excited shouts of confirmation came from them both.
‘I can control and manipulate all forms of energy, even temporary energy like a fire or an arrow in flight,’ Brighton continued.
Lilian’s eyes were wide as she said, ‘That means you’re stronger than the Supremes. You’re the most powerful man that ever lived.’
‘True,’ Brighton answered. ‘But I also have my limits. Seven Supremes and six Dark Ones were too much for me. Mischief showed up just at the right time.’
Brighton looked into Lilian’s eyes.
‘Do you still love me, now that you know all of this?’ he asked carefully.
Lilian stepped closer and gave him a tender kiss.
‘I loved you before we even knew about this talent business and I will continue to love you forever,’ she said softly, looking into his eyes.
Brighton smiled with relief.
‘In that case I will have to ask you soon to marry me,’ he said.
Lilian frowned.
‘We can’t.’ she said.
‘The Supremes’ rule i
s over, their laws don’t apply anymore,’ Brighton argued.
‘Yes, I know that, but the Supremes appointed Dark Ones to oversee the marriage ceremony. Only the chosen ones or a Supreme can marry two people. That’s how they made sure two talented people never got married. All of that is gone now. Who is going to perform the ceremony for us?’ Lilian pointed out.
Brighton thought for a moment and said, ‘It will have to be one of the duties of the new People’s Council. Their representatives will perform the ceremony of marriage.’
Lilian clapped her hands.
‘Yes, that’s a good idea,’ she said excitedly.
‘Well, I guess we better get started with this People’s Council thing so that we can get married,’ Brighton said as he picked up his bow, quiver and rucksack where Michaela had dropped it.
‘Or find one of the two remaining Supremes to do it for us. Somehow I don’t think either of them will be very helpful.’
Lilian turned around and with her back to Brighton, she winked at the two girls.
‘But you haven’t asked me yet. How do you know I will say yes?’ she teased.
‘I just assumed…’ Brighton started.
Still smiling and winking at Adri and Michaela she continued, ‘I saw the way you hugged these two young girls just now.’
Adri decided to play along.
‘Yes, he hugged me real tight, it was so nice,’ she said putting her arms around herself imitating the hug, while elbowing Michaela in the ribs.
‘Uh…yes, yes, me too,’ Michaela managed to squeak out. She was less comfortable with this line of conversation.
Brighton couldn’t find words fast enough.
‘I was just…they were…had to comfort…’
He stepped in front of Lilian.
She had her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing.
‘You’re teasing me,’ Brighton said with relief.
Lilian and Adri doubled over with laughter, Michaela was still nervous but couldn’t help laughing a little.
‘…have to… sit… down,’ Lilian managed breathlessly between laughing fits.
Brighton put his hands on his hips and looking from face to face he said, ‘You three are horrible, I’m going to spank all of you.’
It immediately looked like Michaela was about to cry.
Lilian noticed and said to her, ‘He’s joking.’
Brighton gave her a little tap on the bottom and said, ‘Really?’
‘Yes, really’ Lilian assured Michaela.
Brighton looked at the sun. It was past midday.
‘You three find a place to make camp for the night. I’m going to find us some food,’ he said.
Walking past Michaela and Adri, he swatted their bottoms lightly with the bow.
‘And when I get back I’m spanking all three of you,’ he said watching Michaela carefully.
She stiffened a little but relaxed when Lilian smiled at her.
Brighton used his sense to track down a deer. He slowly crept forward. As soon as he saw the deer, he nocked an arrow and took aim. The arrow flew true and found its target. Brighton could have used his talent to kill the deer but he loved shooting the bow so he used that instead.
He got a knife from the rucksack and cut four chunks of meat.
‘Mischief!’ he called.
The cat came out of the bushes.
‘You can have the rest; it’s too much for us. But don’t get used to this, next time you do the hunting,’ he told the big cat.
Brighton quickly returned to the women using his sense to pick up where they were. When he got to the camp he saw that they had already built a lean-to and made a bed from leaves and grass. They were desperately trying to get a fire going.
‘Stand back,’ he said.
A small bolt of light jumped from his finger setting the dry wood alight.
Lilian smiled at him.
‘Now that’s the best use of your talent I’ve seen so far,’ she said.
Michaela and Adri came over to take the meat from Brighton but he held on to it.
‘Tonight we will make you supper’, he said.
Both girls looked very uncomfortable with this but didn’t say anything.
Brighton waited a while for the fire to turn to embers before he started cooking the meat.
The women fashioned chairs from rocks and wood.
Brighton cut small pieces of meat and gave some to Michaela and Adri first. He and Lilian then got some meat and they all sat down to eat.
‘Some beans or bread would have been good with this,’ Brighton commented.
Lilian giggled a little and said, ‘We could have found some wild beans to cook but when you destroyed the palace you also buried all the pots. We have no way of cooking anything.’
‘Sorry,’ Brighton mumbled. ‘Maybe we can get a pot in town tomorrow.’
After supper they were all rather tired. The events of the day drained them physically and emotionally.
Brighton looked around but saw only one grass bed.
‘We won’t all fit on there,’ he said.
‘Michaela and Adri made that for us. They made two more behind those bushes,’ Lilian said, pointing.
‘You might need some privacy,’ Adri said with a naughty smile.
‘Yes…um…no, that’s not necessary,’ Brighton stammered, his ears going red.
Lilian laughed.
‘The most powerful man that ever lived and he still gets embarrassed! That’s funny.’
Brighton shifted uncomfortably.
‘I saw a river earlier. I’m going there for a bath,’ he said quickly.
Lilian slipped her arms around him and asked seductively, ‘Do you mind if I join you?’
Brighton felt uncomfortable with this display of affection in front of the two younger girls.
‘Let’s go,’ he said quickly to Lilian.
They walked hand in hand to the river.
‘Bri, don’t be shy in front of other people. We love each other and I want the whole world to know,’ Lilian said gently.
‘I don’t mind people knowing either but what if Adri and Michaela thought we were…you know…’ Brighton replied.
‘They already know,’ Lilian replied.
Brighton didn’t reply.
Lilian made sense; maybe it was silly that he was embarrassed about it.
They reached the river.
‘So, are you going to help me again,’ Lilian said with a sly smile.
‘Of course, my lady,’ Brighton replied with a smile.
He started unbuttoning her dress.
They returned much later to the camp. Adri and Michaela were sitting by the fire talking softly. They jumped up as soon as they saw the couple coming.
‘Sit, relax,’ Brighton said casually.
He and Lilian sat down on some makeshift chairs.
Brighton looked at the two young girls.
‘Things might get a bit rough tomorrow in town. Don’t be scared, just stay close to me,’ he instructed them.
‘You too,’ he said to Lilian.
‘If there is a Dark One or Supreme there, I will take care of them.’
Michaela spoke in a tiny voice, ‘How close should we be to you?’
‘Close enough to touch me. If a fight breaks out I can protect you as long as you touch me. Doing it over a distance is much harder,’ Brighton said.
‘Why?’ Adri asked.
‘I put a kind of barrier around the person I’m protecting. It takes a lot of my energy to maintain that barrier and a link to that person. If you touch me I don’t have to use a link,’ he explained.
Lilian asked the next question.
‘Do you use your own energy or get it from somewhere else?’
‘I can draw power from all living things around me but there is a limit to what my body can take. If too much energy flows through me I will die,’ Brighton said to her.
‘Don’t be alarmed, it will not happen, I can feel it when I’m close
to my limit. I should be able to protect all three of you and myself without too much trouble.’
‘Remember, I’m telling you this just as a precaution. In all likelihood there will not be trouble. Michaela, Adri, I should show you how I use a link to protect you, just in case. I don’t want you to panic if it does become necessary.’
The girls both looked panicky but Lilian said, ‘It does not hurt, it feels kind of warm. Don’t be frightened.’
Michaela wasn’t happy with this at all.
‘But you said we must touch you,’ she protested.
‘It feels the same,’ Lilian said.
‘And it might be necessary to use the link,’ Brighton added.
He studied their young faces.
‘Are you ready?’ he asked.
Although frightened they both nodded.
‘And you?’ he asked Lilian.
She also nodded.
Brighton snapped a link to Adri and then to Michaela. He wove a protective barrier around them both. Next, he established a link to Lilian and placed a barrier around her. Finally, he put a barrier around himself. He drew energy from the surroundings.
It felt comfortable.
Without dropping the links he said, ‘This is good, I can easily maintain all four barriers and the three links for a long time. It might get difficult if I have to fight someone though.’
He dropped the barriers and broke the links.
Adri was the first to speak.
‘It felt kind of nice. Warm, like Lilian said.’
‘That’s because the energy first has to enter your body before I can manipulate it into a barrier,’ Brighton explained.
Michaela asked in a small voice, ‘Can you take energy from us?’
‘Yes, but I prefer not to,’ Brighton replied looking her in the eyes.
She lifted her chin slightly and said, ‘If you need to take some of mine you may.’
‘Me too,’ Adri added.
Brighton smiled. He had won their trust; that was important.
‘Thank you, but it will probably never be necessary. There are numerous energy sources around us.’
Lilian put her head next to his.
‘You already take my energy, but not in that way,’ she whispered and nibbled seductively on his ear.