by LK Kelley
“No, I am stating facts! We sent Jaxxon on a specific mission, and nothing has happened in the last five years! And, on top of that, he is nowhere to be found! So, where is he, Kulana?” demanded an enraged Eloran. “I know you know, so answer the Council!”
Eloran slammed his hands down on the flat surface, leaned forward in a threatening stance, and gestured with his right hand toward a hologram that rose above the table in front of them.
“How should I know? He will report back when he has something concrete!” Kulana said as she slammed her fist down on the opposite side of the table. “For the Creator's sake, Eloran! You know Jaxx! You know how he works!”
“And, your point would be...what?” he asked in a snide voice while throwing his arms out in a sweeping motion. “That Onaerris bastard has been nothing but elusive! Jaxx has been gone for almost five years, and we have heard nothing! Do you hear me? Nothing!” Eloran yelled back at her, as he slammed his balled fists onto the table, again.
“You know as much as I. He has narrowed the place to a region in Colorado, in case you have missed the HG in front of your face! I have told you over and over that it's going to take a lot time!” Kulana breathed deeply, and rubbed his neck in frustration. Eloran had been fighting him as long as he had been leading the Council. And, it didn't matter about what! Just anything and nothing! And, Kulana was really getting pissed about it! No matter what, he had to delay for Jaxxon as long as possible, but he feared that his time was just about gone. Hell! He needed a new tactic. “Eloran, you knew this from day one, so you have no reason whatsoever to whine!”
“Whine? Whine?” he yelled in disbelief, as he stood up straight. “That's what you think I'm doing? Whining about a bunch of bullshit? After 5 damn years?? Well, five years is five years too long, and I'll wager the rest of our colleagues would agree with me, not you!” he yelled. Turning to address the Council, he shouted, “I demand a vote – now!”
Kulana shook his head, and uttered an oath underneath his breath. But, there was nothing he could do. When a council member called for a vote, it had to be done. Kulana glared at Eloran for a long time, before finally looking at the Council. If only he could find some way to stall for time, but there was no more time. He turned to look at Faerron, hoping that she would have an answer. A simple nod told him he didn't. Both of them had been desperately trying to hold onto the leadership of the Council, while they had kept them in the dark about the additional job that had been assigned to Jaxxon by Kulana. He almost shook his head, because neither of them ever understood why Jaxx had always been adamant about taking a human name, but maybe it had been a smart move. Probably what was keeping Eloran from zeroing in on him. Neither of them had heard from Jaxx in the last week, and that was very troubling. Something had to have happened to keep him from contacting them. He was always right on the money, and reported without fail. Kulana had no idea why he hadn't. Right now, with Eloran calling for a vote, neither of them had a choice.
After one last glance at Kulana, Faerron lost it. Was he ever glad that she did!
“That is enough!” She looked around at all the council members who served with them. “I am the elected keeper of records, and the records were specific to the mission to which Jaxxon was directed. It was unanimous, and it has not been forgotten!” She turned. “Eloran, we will not vote. We agreed to give five years, and three months. That was the original vote that we all agreed would stand. That leaves him at least two more months to complete his mission! And, he will be given that two months whether or not you like it! The rules stipulated that if any vote be unanimous, that vote would stand for the entire time agreed upon by every member of the Council!”
“You are a fool, Faerron! Just because we all voted to give him the task with that time frame, does not mean that we should hold ourselves to it! We are the Council of Ages, and as such, we have all the rights to change the terms if we so choose!”
Those words pushed Kulana beyond his patience, and he answered with a booming voice.
“HOLD!” he declared, using his given power to freeze anyone around him. “It does not matter what our 'rights' might be, Eloran! Since we all agreed, that does not apply. Faerron is right. And, since the time frame has not yet ended, then the terms cannot change – even by a new vote! You should know this! Or is your desire to seize power more important?”
And, there it was...out in the open! Faerron stood straight with her arms folded, and smirked at Eloran. Her mate was the leader for a reason, and seeing Kulana exercising his powers over even Eloran was giving her great pleasure! Eloran stared at Faerron, his eyes raking down her perfectly proportioned, five-foot seven-inch tall body, black hair, and red eyes with ill-conceived lust.
“Fuck you!” yelled Mallorick, an Onaerris Council member who could not move because of Kulana’s power, but still had the use of his mouth. “I demand that you let us go, now!”
“Only if you proceed in the correct manner!” Kulana commanded.
There was not a word said after his declaration. As he looked at each Council member, he finally nodded his head once. No answer was tantamount to an agreement, so he unfroze them as he raised his hands, but he still kept their feet solidly frozen.
Eloran shook his arms, and turned his head to look at Kulana. Anger roiled from him, and he didn't try to hold it back. He was angry!
“I do not have to bow to your insolen...” Eloran began, only to be silenced by Kulana.
“SILENCE!” he roared.
Kulana walked around the table along with Faerron who took his hand. They stared at each Council member. Because he was Anaerris and she was Onaerris, their bond and their powers were much stronger than any of the others. Except for two others, none had a mate. Luckily, those two were mated Anaerris, Lenoria and Baerra, and they were on their side. They turned to grin at Eloran. None of them wanted him here, but he had been elected fairly. It gave them sheer happiness that he had been put in his place!
“Two months. These last two months were given to Jaxx, and that was the Council's agreement. And, in case you don’t remember,” Kulana warned him.
“And, if that two months goes by without hearing from him?” Eloran demanded. He wanted a firm vote on this, but he knew he was not going to get one.
“Then, we will take action. But, not until then!” Faerron stared at the other members. “What say you? Eloran called for a vote. You all know the rules, or will you go against them? Will you give the two months agreed upon over five years ago?”
Lenoria and Baerra answered immediately, and together.
“Parrinea,” they said.
“Parrinea,” the other two from Anaerra stood to agree.
“Sarran,” Eloran loudly exclaimed.
“Sarran!” voted Delinear who was the Anaerris mated to Eloran
“I vote Parrinea,” Faerron said..
“I also vote Parrinea,” said Kulana.
“Sarran!” came the loud voice from Imaerra with Quazer adding his own thumbs down vote.
The same vote of five to five stayed the same – always. All ties ended with the yes votes winning in every case! Idiotic, to be sure, but that’s the way it had always been. Eloran was trying to find a way around the rules, and if he kept on like this, it probably would change at some point in the future.
“Not so fast! What of the Jewel of Anaerris?” asked Delinear, not giving the two on the Dais a chance to respond.
Faerron turned to her with a frown that even the bravest would have dared not dispute.
“Delinear, it was not his task to find a mythological being that does not exist! You are not a human who is so easily swayed by such idiocy! His task was to find the codex, and bring it to us. We did not give him the task of of finding the Jewel of Anaerris – even if the Jewel was real. This, you all know.”
Looking around, and no one else speaking, Kulana declared, “Now that we are all in agreement, we will meet here in two months. You are all dismissed!”
There was a rustling a
s all Council stood, and one by one left the room leaving Faerron, Kulana, Lenoria, and Barrae. Just as Eloran walked out the door, he turned on Kulana, his red eyes flashing hatred.
“You have overstepped your power, Kulana. You are warned. Your leadership has become precarious. Watch your back, because you just might find yourself without a position...or...your life!” he added, before he slammed the door behind him.
When the door slammed, Faerron turned to the others.
“Jaxx must be warned that the Council is teetering on takeover. We've known this was coming for a long time.”
“You think Eloran would try to mount a coup?” Lenoria asked.
“Of that, I have no doubt,” Faerron told her without hesitation.
“Then, contact Jaxx immediately. He must be warned,” Kulana said, and they left the room.
The five Council Members who had defied Kulana, gathered together later that day.
“OK. We have to find a way to get to Jaxx before Kulana does. Either Kulana knows where the Terraforming crystal is, or he considers it immaterial. We need to get it back! How Jaxx managed to hide it from me….”
“You mean us, don't you, Eloran?” Delinear frowned at him. After all, it was she who had designed and built it.
“What? Oh. Right.” Whew! He almost blew it! “You are right, my mate. As I was saying, we need to get that crystal back! Since we lost Anaerris, this planet will have to do. We can change Earth to our tolerance. Once we have eliminated the human vermin, we will branch outward, and eventually, rule the universe!” Eloran paused. “So, anyone have any ideas?”
“I do, Eloran,” Delinear said.
“And?” Eloran was impatient.
“You see, Jaxx and I had an, um, previous arrangement, which you all know. What you do not know is that he gave me permission to enter though any ward he might cast! What if he forgot to remove that permission?” Delinear revealed to them.
Eloran's right eyebrow went up, and his upper lip lifted in a sneer.
“Oh, really?”
“Oh, yes! Jaxx could never turn my advances away – just as you cannot, my mate. He and I have a 'connection', you could say. I don’t know why I hadn’t thought of this before now,” she lied. Oh, she had thought of it, but was just waiting for the right time to throw it out there.
“You think that you can get us past his wards?”
“Isn't that what I just said? He could never get enough of my, um, body!” she grinned wickedly.
“Well, done, my mate!”
“What about the storms I created to find him. The ones that led us to his location?” asked Mallorick. “Should we not continue them?”
Eloran shook his head.
“We already found the little abomination by using them. Cease them. He does not scare easily, and probably has already figured out that we sent them. We don’t need to push our luck, and he never has een scared. And, it is obvious that while your storms have succeeded in finding him, they did nothing at all to find out what he has discovered,” Delinear told him. Then, added, “If he has discovered anything in the first place!”
“What?” Eloran was irritated.
“Well, I have been monitoring that tiny bitch, as you know. Since Kulana does not know I found him, this could be an advantage.”
“Well? Go on! I haven't got all day!” Eloran was exasperated.
“There's a woman..,” Imaerra barely said the words.
“A woman?” Delinear was truly surprised.
“Yes. Human. The storms are how I follow the little bitch who is always with her, and I've seen him with her on a consistent basis only recently.”
Eloran's brows drew together. “Mate?”
“I don't know, but it's obvious that he cares about her. However, I have seen no evidence of their being mates,” Imaerra told him.
“Well, that's too bad. If she were his mate, we could really force him to do our bidding. Be that as it may, if we can't convince him,” he stopped as an idea came to him. He rubbed the back of his head, then said, “Imaerra, prepare to kidnap the girl, and take her to the island. Bring her to me immediately upon your arrival,” Eloran ordered.
“As you order, my lord,” Imaerra answered, and the four faded out of sight.
“Gem? How…?” he said in disbelief, as Jaxx watched her eyes fly open.
Consciousness suddenly grabbed her. Of course, she didn’t hear him. She was locked inside her body in tremendous pain. What the hell had happened?
“SHIT!” she thought to herself. “My chest is on fire!”
She began thrashing and screaming. Someone was holding her down, but she still almost threw herself from where she was laying.
Jaxx was astounded at her strength! He had to use a great deal of his own to keep her from flinging her body into the floor. For a minute, he had to wonder what kind of mate had he been handed?
For over two hours, he held her as still as he could until, finally, her body stopped shaking, and only jerked now and then. He had heard bones crack as they rearranged her ribcage to normal, and squishy sounds as her insides were being repaired, but at least, now, her cries had ceased.
Finally, when she was completely still, and she appeared to have blacked-out again, he inspected her wound. Surprise gripped him! It almost totally healed. Except for a large, red, and angry scar, it had healed well enough for him to put her in the shower. Her clothing was bloodied, and torn beyond repair. He carried her to his bathroom, and stripped off her t-shirt. Quickly divesting himself of his own clothing, he carried her into his large shower, which had multiple heads positioned in every angle.
Blood ran down the her drain from both of them, and he could see her wound much better. It was, indeed, almost healed. A few more hours probably. Most likely by morning her skin would be perfect once again. He cleansed her body gently with soap. She moaned as if she was being soothed by the warm water. He laid her down on the soft mat that he had in the bottom, and cleaned himself as well. More “happy” moans came from her. After he had them both clean, he turned off the shower, and wrapped her in warm towels from the towel warmer he kept in his bathroom. The warmth drew a deep sigh of relief from her lips, and she fell into a welcome sleep. He used his tremendous speed to change the sheets on his bed, and placed her on them. He pulled on a pair of briefs, and grabbed one of his black t-shirts, which he drew over her head. It was so long, it fell past her hips, and almost to her knees.
He climbed in next to her, and pulled her into his arms to hold her. A deep sigh came from her, again, and he held her the rest of the night just feeling her chest move up and down, while her cool breath drifted across his face as soft as a sigh. He closed his eyes, and began to meditate for the first time in thousands of years.
Brilliant moonlight was shining into Jaxx’s bedroom. Gem moaned a bit, and carefully opened her eyes. Well, actually, she had to fight to do so, because she really, really didn’t want to open them. But, forcing them open was her only choice, and when she did, her gaze focused onto a ceiling that was obviously hand-carved. It was beautiful, but the light from the window was really hurting her eyes! She could see every little indentation and shadow. Blinking against the brightness, Gem tilted her head sideways on the pillow, then turned her head toward the window noticing the light from the moon. It was still night? But, how could she see as if it were daytime? She felt her heart speed up, then began to calm in the next second. Whatever was going on, she would deal with it in the morning. Gem was unbelievably tired. Sighing, she snuggled deeper into the soft, satin sheets. She turned on her side, closed her eyes, then felt arms around her that were giving her warm and wonderful ideas. She yawned, and cuddled even closer. Her eyes closed, then flew wide open as she realized that Jaxx was holding her against him – in bed! Gem whipped her head around to see him, and to give him a piece of her mind, but words died on her lips when she saw that Jaxx's eyes were closed, and he was breathing lightly. Must be asleep. That’s when the events of last night came barreling across h
er memory like a pyroclastic cloud after a volcanic eruption! Quickly, she pulled up her black t-shirt to look at her chest. There was a circular area that was slightly pink as if it was new skin, but that was all. She had to have been out for weeks! She even dreamed that she was dead! And, that dream had been wonderful! She’d met her parents! Her real parents! They were kind, but a bit unusual. Both of them had red eyes like she had at the library, and her Mother had red hair just like Gem’s! Now, she knew they had spoken to her! But, as hard as she struggled to remember what they said, she couldn’t remember a thing! The dream had been strange, to be sure, but now that she was awake, she found it hard to keep and capture the dream. In fact, it had already faded away.
Gem sighed, and decided she wanted to take a shower. It was obvious that Jaxx had already bathed her, since no blood was on her. Her cheeks heated up at the thought he had seen her naked! But, then, he had seen her mostly naked in the truck when they had almost had sex. Slowly, so as not to disturb Jaxx, she moved to get out of the bed, when she felt his arms tighten around her like a vice! Her head jerked toward Jaxx only to find his incredible dark brown eyes staring at her. Her breath quickened.
“And, where do you think you’re going?” Jaxx teased.
“Huh? Oh, well, I-I was going to take a shower,” she muttered.
“Nope.”
“Excuse me?” she answered him irritatingly.
“I said, nope. You are not getting out of this bed, nor out of my arms, until I have thoroughly fucked you,” he told her.
Her mouth dropped in surprise. Did he just say fuck? Oh, damn! Just the word made her wet between her thighs! Not just wet! In seconds, she was soaked!
“W-what did you s-say?” she stuttered.
“You heard me. I’m going to fuck you, now. We didn’t get to do it in the truck, but you are in my bed, and that is what we are going to do,” he explained, then tightened his grip on her. His eyes softened. “Gem. You died.”