To the Falls

by Heather Renee

  “This is the softest fur I’ve ever felt.” He snuggled into my neck and purred loudly like a cat. “Can I keep him?”

  “While he is adorable and sweet now, they make horrible house pets,” Lucas said. “People years ago tried that, but their houses were torn apart. Chincattas need open spaces or they go stir crazy. You can usually always find one looking to play, just listen for the loud growling,” Lucas said with a laugh.

  “Still not cool what you did, but he is adorable.” I leaned in closer to the chincatta. “Next time, you really should bite him,” I said before letting him go back into the bushes.

  “Now that wasn’t nice. If he bit me, you would have to take care of me.” Lucas paused as he thought about that. “On second thought, it wouldn’t be so bad after all.”

  I turned and kept walking toward town while he laughed behind me. Lucas was lucky I already loved him or I might have left him in the forest to stay with his new friend.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “Quit pacing,” Jordan said to me. “You’re making me dizzy.”

  “I can’t help it,” I stopped pacing but started twisting my hands around. “How are you not nervous right now? This is a pretty big deal.”

  We were waiting in the Elder room at the town hall to meet with the Elders about our training and a blessing ceremony that would bind us as Elders in training. My whole body was jittery with nerves.

  “I am nervous, but that doesn’t mean I have to act like a crazy person,” Jordan said with an eye roll.

  I picked up a pillow from the couch I had been pacing in front of and threw it at Jordan’s head. Unfortunately, Jordan ducked at the last moment and the pillow whizzed past her.

  “You’re so lucky that didn’t mess with my hair or I’d have to retaliate,” Jordan said with a huff. “Kane, I think we should wait outside before crazy over there decides to throw anything else.”

  Kane shrugged his shoulders and followed Jordan outside. Better of him not to disagree when we were all tense.

  “I’m with you, Kali,” Lela said. “I haven’t been able to eat anything all day. My stomach is in knots.”

  “It’s going to be fine,” Lucas said to everyone. “We’re just meeting with the Elders and having a private ceremony so we can start training. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  I rolled my eyes at Lucas. Nothing was that big of a deal to him. He’d been around so long, it was hard for anything to make him nervous. I probably shouldn’t have such an old boyfriend.

  “Why did we get here so early?” Jordan asked as her and Kane walked back in a few minutes later.

  “Just try to relax in here until the Elders are ready for us.” Lucas gave me and Jordan a pointed look and added. “Try to minimize the antagonizing of each other for the short time we have to wait.”

  “Why are you staring at me?” Jordan asked innocently. “Your woman is the one who threw a pillow at my head earlier.”

  “Because you called me a crazy person. If I’m going to be accused of being crazy,” I grinned at Jordan, “I might as well act like it.”

  “If I didn’t already know you were best friends,” Ryan said, “I’d think you hate each other.”

  Jordan and I had been friends so long that there wasn’t much we couldn’t say to each other. That’s why I loved her so much. Tiana and Lela were growing on us, too. I wasn’t sure how’d we all get along at first, but it’s been great so far.

  “We just need more shopping therapy like yesterday,” Jordan said.

  “Besides people gawking at us and talking to us non-stop, it was a lot of fun,” Tiana said. “It had been a long time since I had a girl’s day.”

  “Don’t worry, Tiana,” I said. “We’ll have plenty of those types of days from now on.” I pointed to Jordan. “That one can’t go very long without buying something.”

  Jordan was about to make a retort, but the Elders walked in and thankfully she kept whatever she was about to say to herself. The Elders all wore the same steel gray robes that reminded me of a judge’s robe. I hoped we wouldn’t be required to wear those. Jordan would freak out.

  “Thank you for getting here early,” Mathias said as he took his seat. “Hope you weren’t waiting too long.”

  “Not at all,” Lucas said. “We’re excited to get started.”

  Jordan grunted and all eyes turned to her. She started to cough in a feeble attempt to cover up the grunt and I had to work really hard not to laugh.

  “Glad to hear that,” Mathias said. “This won’t take long today. We will make a schedule and assign each of you an Elder to train with. Since there are seven of us and eight of you, Kaliah and Lucas will train with me. The rest of you will have one on one time with an Elder.”

  I was glad to hear I would be with Lucas during training. Definitely made me feel less nervous about the whole thing.

  “The Fates have given us the blessing to allow you Elder knowledge and power,” Mathias continued. “Your powers will be enhanced from the Fates fully when you become Elders, but you’ll receive a partial enhancement for training purposes.”

  I wasn’t sure I wanted more power. Between my regular Guardian magic, Arelia abilities and water affinity, some days my body felt like it was on overload. Lucas reached under the table and put his hand on my leg. I hadn’t even realized it was bouncing up and down.

  “Kaliah, you were already given the needed magic from the Fates when you became the Arelia,” Mathias said. “So your blessing ceremony won’t be quite the same as the others, but still very similar.”

  Things kept looking up for me during this meeting. Training with Lucas and no added magic to my body. I could breathe a little easier now. I simply nodded at Mathias and let him continue.

  “Everyone please stand up and move over to the wall,” Mathias pointed to left. “Your assigned Elders will perform your blessings.”

  We walked and stood against the wall as instructed and I peered over at the others. The guys all had good poker faces on but us girls weren’t doing so well. I was glad I wasn’t the only nervous one. Even Jordan finally looked a little shaken as she bit on her manicured finger tips.

  The Elders stood in front of us with small wooden bowls of water. They dipped their fingers in the water and put drops of water on our foreheads. The bead of water ran down my forehead and off the tip of my nose.

  “You will need to repeat after me. Once the oaths have been made and accepted then we can give you your Elder magic.” Mathias glanced between Lucas and me before beginning the oath.

  “As an Elder of Arvata, I pledge to always do what is right for the people of Arvata. I will act with respect and integrity. I will not abuse my power for personal gain and I will never use it for dark magic. By acknowledging this today, I give my solemn promise to always give Arvata my all and protect it against all threats.”

  We all repeated after Mathias at the same time and when we were done, I could feel the energy of magic buzzing through the room. It moved around my body and called to me on a deeper level than the magic I was getting used to.

  “Very well,” Mathias said. “Each Elder will now say a few words to each of you and finalize the blessing.”

  Mathias stood in front of me first. I felt like a deer in the headlights. I wasn’t sure what to do, but then Mathias took my hands and began. I was happy to let him lead.

  “Kaliah Atwater, Arelia of Arvata and keeper of Strix. With your strength, it will be your responsibility to lead the other Elders and our people one day without our assistance. While all Elders are equal in responsibility, there is always one who can make the final decision on things if need be. That will be you. Do you accept this duty?”

  I took a deep breath and nodded. “I accept.”

  With our hands still joined, Mathias looked me in the eyes before proceeding. I nodded once more for him to begin the blessing. I had no idea what to expect, but definitely not what happened.

  Mathias closed his eyes and mist surrounded us. When I felt h
is power first enter me, I too closed my eyes and just let it happen. I had been certain that it was going to be painful or something was going to go wrong. This was completely opposite, it was joyous.

  Accepting Mathias’s blessing was the easiest thing I had done since learning about Arvata.

  The blessing only lasted moments, but it felt like time stood still and I was now a completely different person. I looked over at Lucas, gave him a reassuring smile, and I saw him let out the breath he’d been holding. I knew he had been more worried than he let on earlier.

  Mathias bowed to me. “Congratulations Kaliah. You are now an Elder in training of Arvata.”

  He moved on to Lucas and repeated a similar process. The mist surrounded Lucas and Mathias and had a golden glow I hadn’t noticed around me. It lasted about thirty seconds before the mist dissipated and Lucas glanced down at me.

  The smile he sent my way was swoon-worthy with his dimples showing and I knew he felt exactly what I did. Not only was the power transfer euphoric, but the fact that nothing went wrong was enough to make us overjoyed.

  One by one, each of us went through the same thing and everything went according to plan for once.

  “Congratulations to you all,” Mathias said as everyone finished. “There is much to learn but you have plenty of time, so do not fret. Like I said earlier, we are all here for you when you have questions or need us. The Fates will also be there for each of you. They will continue to help guide you in the most difficult situations.”

  “Thank you, Mathias,” Lucas said. “We appreciate everything you have done for us.”

  “I wish it had been more,” Mathias said solemnly. “Go enjoy the rest of your evening and we will get you settled into your new roles tomorrow.”

  I turned to look at everyone and decided we needed to celebrate considering everything we had been through in the last week.

  “Party at my house?” I asked.

  “I will never say no to a party,” Kane said. “But we need to go home and get out of these stuffy clothes first.”

  I laughed and had to agree with Kane. We wore nicer clothes for the blessing ceremony and I was ready for my jeans and t-shirt.

  “Let’s meet at Kali’s after you’ve changed and we will have a BBQ,” Lucas said.

  We ported home and Strix flew to me and landed on my shoulder as soon as Lucas and I appeared. I had missed him so much in the short time he was away.

  “I’m sorry I missed the blessing ceremony,” Strix said mentally. “I arrived back too late to join you during the ceremony.”

  “That’s okay. I knew you had important things to do,” I said. “You don’t have to leave again now that Damien is gone, right?”

  I hoped he’d be around for a long time. The bond we created linked us for life and when he was gone, there was a part of me missing as well.

  “I will be here most of the time, but there will be times when I am called away for certain things that I cannot explain. I’ll always try to tell you before I leave,” Strix said. “Maybe Lorelle can help us figure out a way to keep the bond intact when we are on different worlds. I did not enjoy the feeling when I had to go to Earth.”

  “Neither did I and that’s a good idea.” I rubbed my hand down his silky white feathers. “Lorelle had to leave, but we will ask her when she gets back. She did tell me to work with you more while she was gone, so I am glad you are staying.”

  I gave him a small squeeze and noticed Lucas was staring at me.

  “What?” I asked curiously.

  “I like watching you when you talk with Strix,” Lucas said. “You get this look of deep concentration on your face and it’s adorable.”

  I stuck my tongue out at him and kept walking. “Let’s get ready. You can stare at my adorable face later.”

  He started to say something else, but I ported up to my room before he could finish. I made it to my bathroom door before he appeared and snagged me from behind.

  “You know it’s rude to disappear on someone while you’re having a conversation?” He whispered in my ear.

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I didn’t realize you were still saying something,” I said sweetly.

  “Uh huh, sure. I’ll see you in a bit after I change,” Lucas said before giving me a quick kiss and porting to his house.

  Within the hour, everyone was settled in my parent’s backyard. Various meats were being cooked on the grill by my dad and it smelled divine. Others had brought their own favorite dishes and we were ready to have a feast.

  I was sitting with Jordan, Tiana and Lela at the table discussing Jordan’s wedding. I still couldn’t believe how quickly she had planned everything. It all seemed to be coming together perfectly for her and Kane.

  “Even though we don’t have bridesmaids here,” Jordan said. “I still want you ladies to be a part of the wedding. I want group pictures and all the normal stuff. We’ll go dress shopping this week. I need you all there to help me pick out my dress.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it as long as you don’t put us in pink frilly dresses.” Tiana shuddered. “I cross the line at pink frilly dresses. Well, actually any big and loud dresses. I was forced to wear one to my friend’s wedding a couple years ago and swore I never would again.”

  Poor Tiana actually looked traumatized by the event. The other three of us couldn’t help, but laugh.

  “Laugh it up now,” Tiana said. “You won’t be later if Jordan decides to torture us.”

  “Jordan has been playing dress up on me for years,” I said with my own shudder. “While I don’t particularly enjoy it, she does have good taste usually. We should be safe in this instance.”

  “Jordan, just remember if you don’t pick something for us that we like, then we will have a chance at payback when it comes time for our bonding ceremonies,” Lela said with a smirk.

  “Now, now girls. No need to get your panties in a bunch. Everyone is going to look fabulous. I wouldn’t want to be seen with you if you didn’t,” Jordan said with a wink.

  We continued to laugh and carried on with the wedding talk until the guys finished with the food on the grill. We settled around the fire pit my dad had made and dug in.

  “This is the best steak I have ever had,” I said with a moan.

  This place was going to make me fat. Everything here tasted better.

  “Why thank you, Kali. I marinated the steak.” Kane said with his head held high.

  “No more comments about the steak. We don’t want Kane’s head getting too big and him floating away,” Tiana teased.

  “Everything is delicious,” Lela said. “I’ve never had food as good as the food here.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing,” I said. “I can never get enough.”

  “I can never get enough of you,” Lucas leaned over and whispered in my ear.

  “I love you,” I whispered back.

  Lucas pulled me into his lap and I was content to sit there for the rest of the evening.

  Conversations continued well into the evening and I had hoped this night would never end. I still sat in Lucas’s lap and looked around at the others. Everyone had smiles on their faces and we were all enjoying the beautiful night.

  It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. I may not know what to expect out of this new life yet, but I was surrounded by those I loved most and I couldn’t be happier. I was ready for the journey of a lifetime with them.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  It had been six months since we defeated Damien and watched Abram be stripped of memories and magic. Six months since we were appointed as Elders in training. It was the longest six months of my life and I knew the others agreed.

  Originally, I had been extremely nervous about becoming an Elder, but so far it hadn’t been bad. I’ve enjoyed learning about Arvata and the people who lived here.

  I worked with Strix on channeling my Arelia abilities since Lorelle had yet to surface from wherever she went right after Abram’s punishment. The other Elders didn’t kno
w where she was either.

  During the last six months, Lucas had asked me over and over again about our bonding ceremony and when we might have one. I pushed him off until I felt I was ready and the day had finally come. I couldn’t be more ready now. I’m glad we waited because there were no second thoughts for me today.

  Jordan was helping me get ready for the bonding ceremony. She and Kane had completed theirs first, followed by Tiana and Oliver, then Lela and Ryan. We had the bonding ceremony planning down now. Jordan even joked about starting her own event planning business.

  While I had been front and center for all of the other bonding ceremonies, it still had not prepared me for the nerves I would feel today. I wasn’t nervous about being bonded with Lucas, just that something was going to go wrong. While things had been pretty quiet lately, I was still on guard.

  “Quit thinking or you’re going to get wrinkles and with as slow as we age, that would be a really bad thing,” Jordan teased. “You’ll look as old as your soon to be husband.”

  I laughed so hard, because even though Lucas was two hundred years old, he didn’t look a day over twenty. Thankfully, I didn’t think too much about our age difference or it would creep me out. It was weird enough to know I would live for that long.

  On the plus side, that meant many more years I would spend with Lucas by my side. After today, our lives would be connected and that made me happier than anything had in a long time.

  “I recall my best friend being a bridezilla when she got bonded so you have no room to talk,” I said. “At least I am stressing quietly and not yelling at every one in my sight.”

  “Touché, but because I was a bridezilla, everything went exactly the way I wanted, so it was worth it. I made sure everything was perfect for you today, so you don’t need to stress.”

  I had no doubt that Jordan had scarred people for life while making sure everything was perfect for us today. I wouldn’t have made it through the last six months without her. I was thankful for her every day, even when she was yelling at everyone in sight.