‘I need to know more about this spell.’
Korzak nodded. ‘I will need to go home and discuss what I know with another.’
Alex stood. ‘Then this brief but important meeting should come to a close as we should get ready for a celebration.’
~~~~
House took Korzak to the largest building in the city on the Goblin World, where another wearing a robe greeted him.
‘Brother,’ said Zakora, ‘it is good to see you again.’
‘And you, too.’
Zakora looked like his brother, but had smaller ears. ‘How goes it with the humans?’
‘Very well, and I enjoy being there, but they have a problem.’
‘What problem would that be?’
‘They believe Dagur is on a Dark World and maybe able to open the portal for good.’
Zakora put a hand to his face. ‘That would be bad for all of us. I thought you were good with portals.’
‘I have to see it first. Do you remember anything of the Dark Worlds?’
‘The vilest of creatures were put in them.’
‘What about the portals?’
‘They were sealed with spells.’
‘Yes, I know, and I even read them once.’
‘They were in the Book of Elders.’
‘Where is it now?’
‘In the chest with all our other valuables.’
‘Oh, that is not good,’ said Korzak, ‘not good at all.’
~~~~
They all dressed in their finest for the ceremony and celebrations. The six great ladies all stood in a line, they didn’t wear robes but long white dresses. Adair escorted Livvy and Donna over to them. They each had braids in their hair, with two tied in a circle around their heads, and two hanging down either side of their faces.
Luella put her hands out. ‘I want to thank you all for coming as this is a very special time for us.’
Daralis followed suit. ‘We hope you will all join in as we welcome two more to our family.’
Livvy and Donna walked in front of them, as they took their hands. ‘Welcome dear sister,’ they each said. Aileen didn’t just hold their hands but embraced them.
The ceremony for those watching was short. It was not over for the white witches as Adair led them into the woods on the Elf World, where they found a clearing and sat in a circle all holding hands. They sat in silence for an hour, so the new witches could bond with them.
~~~~
Claire sat at a table. ‘Where have they buggered off to? We’re here for them.’
‘They will be back soon,’ said Torgon.
Alex picked up a drink. ‘I thought they were going to wear robes.’
‘I thought so, too,’ said Paige, ‘but Luella said dresses, and they do look stunning.’
Alex smiled and nodded. ‘I can’t believe how different Livvy and Donna look from when they first moved in.’
Blaze glanced up at him. ‘You have to take the blame for it.’
‘It’s their talent which has got them where they are now.’
‘You took us to the mansion, and their talents would have gone unnoticed.’
Alex smiled at her. ‘I only took those you had got together as a group, so you have to take some of the blame.’
‘That’s true,’ said Claire.
Blaze shrugged. ‘Then you have to take the blame too, as you brought Livvy to see me.’
‘As did Paige and Carrie.’
‘We had no choice,’ said Paige, ‘she was sixteen and had been kicked out for being gay.’
‘How old is she now?’ Thalion asked.
‘Eighteen,’ said Blaze.
‘That’s amazing to get to where she is now.’
‘That’s because she is amazing, as is Donna,’ said Alex.
Carrie smiled playfully. ‘Am I amazing, too?’
‘Yeah, you are, as were everyone else who went on that patrol to wherever you ended up.’
Carrie wrinkled her nose and pouted. ‘So, I wasn’t amazing before that?’
‘You’ve always been amazing,’ said Alex, not sure what else to say.
‘That was so lame,’ said Claire.
‘I have heard better,’ said Thalion.
‘It’s true, the first time I met Carrie she hugged me, and that was amazing, well at least it felt like it,’ said Alex a little embarrassed.
‘That did surprise me,’ said Blaze.
‘I had to after what he did for Tia,’ said Carrie quickly.
James grinned. ‘So, is Livvy your daughter still, or your sister or auntie?’
Alex raised a brow. ‘Daughter, and that’s all I have to say on the subject.’
Asima pushed a braid behind her ear. ‘What’s wrong with Korzak?’
‘How do you mean?’
Asima indicated with a tilt of her head. ‘He starts to come over here, stops, and turns back. He looks worried about something.’
‘Well spotted,’ said James. ‘It looks like he wants to tell us something but is uneasy about it.’
Alex turned to see the goblin with a hand over his mouth, as he walked towards them and turned back. ‘Korzak, come over here.’
The goblin turned towards them again. ‘My lord, is there something wrong?’
‘No, my friend, but I think there’s something on your mind.’
‘I think I have been remiss on a few things, and may have made a big mistake.’
‘In what way have you done that?’
Korzak sat opposite. ‘I had forgotten things, as there was an accident a long time ago.’
‘We all do that, so will you stop worrying and just tell us?’
‘It was the Elder Goblins that sealed up the Dark World.’
Torgon rubbed his chin. ‘I heard about them, but never met one.’
‘They were said to be very intelligent and kind, not like the goblins we met,’ said Thalion. ‘Not until we met you of course.’
‘Are you one of the Elders?’ Alex asked.
‘No, sadly,’ said Korzak. ‘They were dying, an illness went through our kind and many died, those that survived became almost unintelligent savages.’
‘But not you?’
‘No, my brothers and I were immune from the illness, and the Elders gave us their powers so we could help our kind survive.’
Torgon picked up a tankard. ‘You must be proud at what you’ve accomplished.’
‘We were until Dagur appeared and set us back again.’
Blaze poured herself a drink from a jug on the table. ‘I think he helped more than hindered there, as you have many friends now.’
‘Yes, that’s true, my lady.’
‘So,’ said Alex. ‘I take it you have something else to tell us.’
‘Yes, it was a spell which sealed up the portal before.’ Korzak’s nose twitched and his ears wiggled as he looked embarrassed. ‘I even read it once, but had forgotten about it until earlier.’
‘It happens, but where did you read it?’
‘From the Book of Elders, but we lost it a long time ago.’
Alex sighed. ‘That’s a shame.’
‘Maybe Dagur has it,’ said Torgon, ‘and is trying to reverse the spell.’
Korzak shook his head. ‘No, my lord, he does not have it as I know where it is.’
‘You said it was lost,’ said Thalion.
‘Yes, my lord, I know where it is, but it is lost.’
Torgon rubbed his eyes. ‘Will you stop calling us lords, and tell us what you know?’
‘It was lost a long time ago, as someone took it over the great lake when the boat sank.’
James coughed. ‘With that dragon in the water it’s as good as lost.’
Alex considered it. ‘Being under water for so long would have destroyed it anyway.’
‘No,’ said Korzak, ‘the chest is enchanted, and the contents will be no different to when they went in.’
Henrik glanced across the table. ‘We have certain weapons to take care of the
dragon.’
Korzak’s eyes grew big as he shook his head. ‘It is against all our beliefs to harm it.’
‘No one will harm it,’ said Alex, ‘but we will get the chest out.’
‘I thought it had eaten goblins in the past,’ said James.
‘So the stories go, but none has ever seen it happen,’ said Korzak. ‘Some said it dragged a troll under which was chasing a small group of goblins along the edge of the lake.’
Alex scratched his head. ‘How sure are you it’s in there?’
‘Very sure, my brother Birkaz, who went to the new world with us, told me so. He saw it sink himself, and not long after he disappeared, some believe he was killed trying to retrieve it.’
‘Was it the dragon that sunk the boat?’ James asked.
‘We don’t know, as the Dragon had never been seen before it happened.’
Alex rubbed his chin. ‘Could you cast the spell again to seal up the portal to the Dark World if we found the chest?’
‘Yes, I believe I could make it stronger, and Dagur’s spell would not open it up again.’
‘Thank you, we will talk more about this tomorrow as the ladies are now returning.’
Livvy and Donna ran straight over, and they were mobbed before Alex could get to them. It was twenty minutes before he got to see Livvy.
‘Did you expect this, Papa?’ she said mockingly.
Alex smiled. ‘No, not really, I just remember a goth giving me daggers.’
‘Yet, you still put us in charge of your gardens.’
‘I thought it would be better if you were outside the mansion.’
Donna folded her arms. ‘Are you being horrible to two powerful witches?’
‘I would never do that,’ said Alex and put his arm around her.
‘So,’ said Livvy, ‘what were you talking about before we came over?’
‘You two of course.’
‘And the other stuff, we want to know all about that.’
Well,’ said Alex, ‘the most important task is to locate a portal to a Dark World.’
Donna tugged on a braid that hung down the side of her face. ‘Why would you want to go there?’
‘We don’t, we just want to stop anything else coming out of it.’
‘We will help you,’ said Livvy.
‘Do you have any ideas on how?’ James asked.
She shook her head. ‘Not yet, but we will think of something.’
~~~~
Alex was already in bed when Carrie entered his room. She didn’t turn the light on just took her dressing gown off and climbed in bed. She lay in her favourite position with her head on his chest. There were other positions he thought she could have got in, but pushed them quickly to the back of his mind. Alex as usual put his arm over and felt skin, too much skin. She’s in her bloody underwear, he thought and shivered, but there was no way he was moving his arm.
~~~~
Carrie felt him shiver and smiled, she had hoped the light would have still been on just to see his face when she took her dressing gown off. She knew being there made things worse, but she couldn’t help herself. ‘You don’t feel like I’m using you?’
‘Using me for what?’ said Alex.
‘Company, when I feel lonely.’
‘Well if that’s the case you can use me anytime, and I love your company.’
‘Just remember you said that.’
‘Well I did say you smell lovely.’
‘That’s nicer than what men have called me in the past.’
‘How could anyone call you names?’
‘You’d be surprised, there were a few cursed words usually attached to lesbian or lesbo, every time I turned them down.’
~~~~
Alex woke the following morning before Carrie, but as usual she stirred seconds later. A realisation came to him, mainly due to his hand being on her back. Should he let her get up first, as she was only in her underwear? He remembered what she said about the other men, who had insulted her. To him it meant do not try anything, not that he would have, and was happy enough to have her in his arms. He also remembered his dream and decided it would be best if he got up first.
Carrie lifted her head off his chest and lay back on the pillow. Good morning.’
Alex turned to face her, his eyes almost popped out as the duvet had ridden down. Luckily she was rubbing her eyes, and didn’t see his expression. ‘Hey . . . you OK?’
Carrie glanced at him, as he was now smiling at the ceiling. ‘I’m good, so you gonna make me get up first?’
Alex turned back to her. ‘Does it matter?’
Carrie looked down, and noticed the duvet had slipped off her. ‘Oh, I see what you mean.’
‘Isn’t it uncomfortable wearing a bra in bed?’
‘Yeah, it can be.’ Carrie put her arm over his chest, and whispered in his ear. ‘Should I take it off?’
Alex’s mind raced. The dream, the temptation was almost too much. ‘Erm . . . probably not as the children could come in any second.’
Carrie giggled and kissed his cheek. ‘I best get up.’
‘What’s the rush?’
‘You have a portal to find remember?’
‘Yeah, I guess you’re right.’
Carrie got out of bed, and looked at him. ‘You’re not embarrassed anymore?’
Alex shook his head. ‘No, just admiring your taste in underwear.’
~~~~
As those from the kitchen enjoyed themselves well into the night, everyone decided on a late breakfast on the Elf World. Alex and Carrie took the children. Livvy and Donna insisted on carrying one even if they did not want to be carried, but neither Shaula nor Alhena minded. They went to the Brightstone tavern as it was the largest there. They were not alone as many had the same idea.
James was eating a chicken flavoured parsnip. ‘So what’s first, the portal or the chest?’
Alex sat opposite. ‘It would be nice to find the portal before it shows itself, but it’s probably more important getting the chest so Korzak can do his spell at a moment’s notice.’
Donna leant on the table. ‘Foxglove.’
Livvy’s eyes grew big. ‘Yes, that’s the answer.’
James scratched his head. ‘Foxglove to you, too.’
‘What do you mean, ladies?’ said Luella, as she gave James a stern look, and he went back to eating his breakfast.’
‘We can find the portal,’ said Livvy, quite excited.
‘How does the foxglove help?’ said Daralis.
‘Because it shouldn’t be there, just like the portals.’
‘If we visit the one in Ireland,’ said Donna, ‘we should see the mark it has made on the plant life.’
Luella raised a brow. ‘So, you think the plants near the portal will be affected.’
‘Yeah, there must be some disturbance.’
‘It could actually work,’ said Daralis.
Luella smiled. ‘I have no doubt it will and I’m very impressed.’
Aileen put her arm around Livvy. ‘You put us to shame.’
‘Not really, we’ve only just done the test so it’s fresh in our minds.’
‘OK, the eight of us will go looking,’ said Luella.
James glanced up at them. ‘I hope it can wait until I’ve finished my breakfast.’
‘Why would we need to wait for that?’
‘You don’t think we’re going to let you go alone.’
‘We can look after ourselves.’
James shrugged. ‘That’s as maybe, but you will not be going alone?’
Luella shook her head. ‘Alex, just who’s in charge here?’
‘James by the looks of it,’ he said, quite amused.
‘He is right,’ said Asima, ‘we will not let you go alone.’
‘No chance of that happening,’ said Fergal.
Luella folded her arms and stared at Alex. ‘You’re supposed to be the leader, and yet you let others dictate.’
‘Isn’t it what everyone
keeps telling me, that it’s not always my fight?’
‘This is different.’
Alex stood and walked over to her. ‘Is it really that different, Mother? I will make a deal with you.’
‘And what deal is that?’
‘You healers go without protection . . . I’ll enter the Dark World on my own, and drag Dagur back here.’
‘What ever happened to my sweet little boy,’ said Luella, as she wrapped her arms around him. ‘We will take protection with us.’
‘We don’t need any of you in Ireland,’ said Daralis. ‘It must be safe enough over there.’
‘Maybe,’ said James, ‘but a few will come with you.’
‘Keep it to a few as we will be looking in daylight.’
‘Don’t worry as the Order will be already there,’ said Alex.
Torgon smiled at the conversation. ‘I can take you there myself, it is not far.’
Luella shook her head. ‘I don’t think it will help us looking on this side as your plants have a habit of healing very quickly, we need to look on the other side without the portal being opened, so we don’t know where it is.’
‘But we know where it is,’ said James.
‘We don’t, and it will give us an idea what to look for when we search for the other portal.’
The searchers searched and the protectors watched. Alex wondered about what they were looking for, and although the ladies had only seen the portal through the crystal ball, it was not long before they found it.
‘Here,’ said Luella, as she walked alongside it.
‘How can you tell?’ Alex asked.
‘Right here,’ said Livvy, ‘you can see a straight line.’
Alex dropped to one knee, and as hard as he tried he couldn’t see anything. ‘I’ll have to take your word for it.’
‘Nothing has grown there, it’s only thin and other plants are leaning over it, or have been trampled over it making it harder to find.
The search for the other portal took most of the day. It was a much bigger area as the soldiers had trampled over everything. It was very boring for those that were watching. For Donna and Livvy, patience was something they learnt during their tasks, plus they were enjoying themselves. It was Briana who found it, as she started moving grass and plants out of the way.
The Final Destiny: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Three - Fantasy Page 9