Alec the Wanderer: Generations of Eredwynn #4

by Daniel B. Harris

  Davie nodded and replied, “I’d be happy to, and I hope that I get the chance to examine your Consorts myself. The centaurs would be very interested in studying them, too, if you find yourself in southern No Man’s Land.”

  I laughed. “I’ll have to check with Carol to find out what my next travel plans are. That’s something that I didn’t know would happen when I got married; I knew there would be changes, but didn’t know that my wandering would be directed!”

  Alba and Davie laughed and I turned back to the ladies. “Carol, let’s fly the girls back to our room. You and I can see if they can mind-link and learn that way. It would really help and would shorten our stay, and you know how I feel about staying in one place.”

  Carol smiled and nodded. “I do know and I’m getting to be as bad about that as you. I want to go back to Vegas and see if we can help some more girls. I don’t think that we’d take any more Consorts, because these two were a special situation and I fell in love with them quickly. But we could put girls on buses or help them find new homes.”

  I chuckled. “So Tabitha is going to save all the girls in this realm and you’re going to save the girls from Father’s. Sounds like a worthwhile plan and now that we know what the place is like, it won’t be as scary. Besides, we’ll have tour guides with us next time.”

  We flew back to the room and we all sat on the bed in a circle. I explained what we were going to attempt and we joined hands. I felt my consciousness meet with Amanda’s and then with Barbara. I found Carol and our four minds joined as one. The girls were understandably nervous and giddy when they felt others in their minds, but Carol and I calmed them quickly. We showed them their minds, and were happy to learn that their magic was similar to Carol’s. She could teach them all the basics with ease, in a way that I couldn’t even understand. They had a fiery section, similar to Carol’s cloudy mist, in their minds and there was a section of knowledge that we couldn’t even touch. The purity of that part of their minds made us back off. They were taught the basics such as shield, fly and healing. They taught themselves to use telekinesis without the heat, which I thought was a very good idea. We each retreated back to our own minds and I opened my eyes.

  Aunt Della and Lia were standing by the door, waiting for us to unlink. When Della saw that I was myself again, she commented, “You do realize that your Aunt Alba has sworn off testing any more young ladies that you might bring to her. The shock of you bringing three elemental users in barely a month has her shaken. Now, as the oldest elemental user in the family, I should be introduced!”

  Barbara giggled. “She’s so cute! And the ‘oldest’ at that! Come here, sweetie, and sit by me. I’ll introduce my sister and me to you.”

  Della grinned and looked at me for support. “Barbara, this is my Aunt Della. She is a Naiad, or a water sprite. She has a son that is quite close to my age, and rumor has it she’s pushing a hundred years old, but a gentleman would never ask her age.”

  Barbara looked at Della then back at me. When it dawned on her that we were telling the truth and not joking with her, she buried her face in her hands and started crying. “Alec, it’s getting to me again! I don’t know how I’m going to get used to the strangeness of this place or quit making a fool of myself.”

  Carol hugged and comforted her while Della climbed on the bed and then took over the comforting. She told Barbara, “You shouldn’t feel foolish, hun. You were being very kind to someone that you thought was younger than you. That shows you have a good heart, fitting for someone of the fire element. Carol, I told you that your element stood for intellect. The girls’ element represents purity and cleansing. Once they learn their powers and can operate on their own, they should easily rival Chloe as healers. I’ll bet that even in the short time that you’ve known them, you’ve discovered that they feel emotions deeply. When you think of a fire, you see the flames flicker and the wind blows it whatever way it chooses. When a fire is let loose, it can create its own wind and direction. Alec, your job and Carol’s job will be to help them find the right direction and not let anyone else blow them from the course they choose for themselves. Do you understand?”

  “You’re as cryptic as always, my dear Aunt, but I usually find out what you mean. Carol and I have both fallen in love with these young ladies and will do our very best by them. If there is anything that you think that you could teach them, they can link.”

  Della nodded and turned to the girls. “Would you two mind holding hands with a little girl for a few minutes?”

  Barbara blushed and took one hand and Amanda took the other. Their eyes took on the glazed appearance of the link, and we waited.

  After a short time, their eyes cleared and they both hugged Della, thanking her repeatedly for whatever information she’d passed on to them. They didn’t realize the honor that they’d been given by linking with the Naiad; she rarely did that with anyone.

  Della hopped down from the bed, excused herself and ported with Lia back to the castle. Carol and the sisters took off for the tailor’s so they could dress for dinner and I laid back, wondering about life’s strange twists. Carol wanted to go back to Vegas and we could do that tomorrow. I’d be recharged enough by then and the open desert would be a good place for the girls to learn magic. I’d take gold again and leave the cash for someone that didn’t know the ropes. If Amanda came to my room tonight and was even half as exciting as her sister had been, my magic would most certainly be charged.

  I got up and laid out our packs. I checked our dried rations, bedrolls and tents. I considered only taking the four-man, but decided to take them both. If we found girls that needed shelter, we wouldn’t want to be that crowded. I looked forward to another trip to that realm, but would veto the idea of taking more Consorts. I was ‘the wanderer’, and not some family man that was going to settle down with a wife and a bunch of Consorts, like my brothers had. Well, at least not in the near future. Someday I might want to have children, and they would need a stable environment. I decided to be more faithful in my usage of the birth control spell, as I always had been with the working girls I’d visited in the past.

  The girls returned while I was finishing packing and grinned when they saw what I was doing. Carol came over and put her hand on my shoulder. “So, are you going to let me go back to Vegas and see who else will accept help?”

  I laughed. “Am I going to ‘let you’ go? I’d never keep you from doing anything that wouldn’t hurt you. Yes, I thought that we could go back tomorrow morning. Let’s dress and go do this dinner thing. Then we can come back here and I’ll go back to James’ room and see if any company shows up.”

  I winked at Amanda, who blushed. “Carol is already expecting me to go to James’ room, too. I wouldn’t want to crowd her and Barbara, so you’ll have to scoot over to make room.”

  “Well, since you’re twisting my arm like that, I guess we can fit both of us in that bed. But dinner will be starting soon and its bad manners for the guest of honor to be late.”

  The girls quickly disappeared in the direction of the water closet with their packages from the tailor’s. The giggling commenced, and I knew dressing was underway. I dressed in my least road weary clothes and was content. I was sure that if I ever dressed up like a noble that no one would recognize me! I’d been wearing the same style of clothing for as long as I could remember.

  The girls came out wearing matching light blue dresses that were suited to a fancy occasion. We fell in line and trooped up to the roof of the dorm. I turned and smiled to the sisters. “We taught your minds how to fly, but you’ve never tried any spells other than telekinesis. Would you like to fly down to the courtyard? Carol and I can coach you and catch you if something were to go wrong.”

  The girls nodded nervously and joined hands. I began my beginners’ flying speech about getting light and moving by thought when they both rose gently from the roof. They held a position three feet off the solid surface and managed to hold their focus through their laughter. I grinned a
t them. “Now follow us down, but come down slowly. I wouldn’t want your dresses over your heads! Well, at least not in public.”

  All three girls rolled their eyes, then Carol and I led the way to the courtyard. The sisters landed with a bit more of a bump than I knew they would when they got the hang of it, but other than that, things went smoothly. Carol and I hugged them and officially welcomed them into the ranks of the magic users of Eredwynn. They were wearing huge smiles and you could see them swell with pride. It was an emotion that I’d never seen on them before, and it looked good!

  We made our way to the great hall and were escorted to a table near the front. I looked around at the crowd that had gathered and felt sorry for the kitchen staff. But Wizard’s Castle had the most competent, and best paid, staff in the kingdom.

  As everyone was seated, Father stood at a podium on the dais at the front of the room. Quiet descended quickly as everyone waited to learn the reason for the gathering. He amplified his voice to carry through the large room and began to speak, “You all are wondering, I’m sure, why I called this impromptu gathering. There may have been rumors that my son, Alec, has married. Well, the truth is, believe it or not, he has!” There was quiet laughter through the room. “And even more astonishingly, he has taken two Consorts as well!” This news was met with a shocked murmuring. Father continued, “Since everyone is now a little stunned with the news so far, I’ll tell you that his wife is a user of the air elemental magic. She would be known to the centaurs as a Sorceress.” Once again there were murmurings though the assembly. “This afternoon there was a mis-targeted spell on the target range. An expert student accidently lost her focus and targeted the spectators with meteor swarm.”

  Gasps and muttering instantly ruled the room. Father let it go for a few moments, then raised his hand to bring the crowd to order. “Our new member, Carol, used a lightning spell that we’d never even heard of, to shatter the spell’s stones and protected everyone. An event that could have been a tragedy turned into the most impressive display of magic we’ve seen, without Davie being here.”

  Applause broke out and Father motioned for Carol to stand. Blushing profusely, she stood and curtsied, then sat again rather hastily.

  Father bowed to her and then took the floor again. “Later on, Alec brought his Consorts to be tested by Alba. They are sisters from the same realm that I came from. Alec’s compassionate wife saved them from a bad situation and invited them to Eredwynn. They fell in love with the family and requested to be Consorts. Now what I have to tell is a secondhand account, but Alba was the one who told me what happened. During the test nothing was happening, until the girls joined hands. Then the test stones floated and turned red hot.”

  Murmurs and whispers interrupted again and Father signaled once again for quiet. “I’m sure that most of you here heard Alba’s reaction to that!” There was scattered laughter and chuckles. “Davie arrived instantly at his mother’s call, as we all know he would, and had the girls repeat the test. Our obscure magic expert has deemed the sisters ‘pyromancers’, or users of the fire elemental magic. With Alec’s talent of finding elemental magic users, Alba has informed me that Lia will be conducting any tests for girls that Alec brings to test. Now, everyone enjoy your meal and welcome the new members of the family, as you get the chance.” Father sat and the staff started filing in with plates and platters.

  As soon as we were served, Father joined us at our table. He began talking to Barbara and Amanda about life in the other realm. When the sisters finally relaxed enough to talk to the King, they had a good time. There were so many references to things that I’d never heard of that I couldn’t keep up. I listened the best I could, because some of the information might come in handy when we got back.

  Amanda started talking about castles and her passion for the ‘middle ages’. She said that our world was like a dream come true for her. Actually having a meal with a King in a castle was something she’d always wished for.

  Father tried to change her mind a bit. “You know that in the middle ages there was a plague that killed over half the population in Europe. That is something that people don’t always remember when they think of those times. The ‘Black Death’ was a horrible thing.”

  Amanda nodded and suggested, “But if they would have had access to modern doctors, or even the healing magic of Eredwynn, at least some of the people could have been saved.”

  Father agreed with a shrug. “My entire force of Wizards wouldn’t have been able to save the entire country. But a few with healing skills could have saved a town. I’m just happy that this land has never been tested like that. Anyway, after you sisters have a chance to work on your magic, I’d like for you to return to the castle here. I’d like to see fire magic in use. And you too, Carol; even though it seems like you’ve got a good grip on your skills, I’d like to see it. I know better than to set a date to return, since you’re with Alec. He rarely knows day from night, let alone the day of the week.”

  The girls laughed at my expense and so did I. I knew what he said was true, and I was happy with it that way. We excused ourselves and mingled with the family. The sisters were quickly confused by how many times I said ‘sister’ and ‘aunt’ during introductions, but they had a good time.

  The evening finally drew to a close and we bowed out. Back in the courtyard, the sisters joined hands and were on the roof of the dorm before Carol and I could leave the ground. Just like my wife, my Consorts loved to fly. It’s quite understandable, because most people dream of flying at one time or another. I couldn’t wait until I could show them how fast they were able to go. But that would have to wait until after our trip, or maybe the open desert would be a good place to fly.

  As the girls got ready for bed, I went over to James’ room, undressed and slid under the covers. It had been a very long and eventful day and tomorrow might be the same. Maybe I’d ask the girls to take their time getting to Vegas and we could unwind in the quiet desert. I wasn’t much of a people person and tonight had been exhausting and stressful.

  The normal din and hubbub of the dorm settled down as night took control of the castle. The excitement of the day had had everyone more worked up than normal and I’d begun to wonder if it would ever become peaceful. I lay on the bed thinking about the conversation that Amanda and Father had about the ‘middle ages’ and the fleas spreading a plague through the land. It was a horrible image when I thought of the suffering it had caused those poor people. I couldn’t seem to shake it, until I heard a soft knock on the door.

  Amanda came in wearing one of my robes from my room. She was blushing before the door had even closed behind her. She walked over to the bed. “You did want me to come to you tonight, I hope?”

  I smiled at her and at her shyness. A ‘lady of the night’ made bashful by love. “Yes, and I’m very glad you did. Of course, I was expecting a young lady from Vegas, but I’m sure a powerful pyromancer will be gentle with me.”

  She laughed. “I’m only half a pyromancer right now. I can feel it in my head, but I can’t seem to use any of the abilities without Barb there with me. I bought something a while back and never had a reason to wear it. I wore it for you tonight, if you’d like to see it.”

  Her ears were even starting to turn pink, so I nodded comfortingly. “You have my full attention, lovely lady. I’d love to see what you’re wearing under that robe.”

  Slowly and shyly she slid the robe off and laid it on the foot of the bed. She was wearing a top that had beautiful lace straps that came over the shoulders and it was made of a semi-transparent material the likes of which I’d never seen before. It was pure white and I could tell she was almost naked beneath it. Barely covering her womanhood was a white triangle of the same type of material. When she turned to the side, I could see that nothing at all, except for the top, covered her bottom. And a very cute bottom it was! Almost being able to see her teased me to instant attention.

  I flipped back the covers. “Would you like to join me
? It’s a bit warmer and those incredibly sexy clothes can’t be warm. If my eyes will go through them, the air must also.”

  She giggled. “It is a bit chilly and it makes parts stick out more. I didn’t think you’d mind that at all.” She crawled up beside me and gave me an inviting look.

  I slid to her and kissed her firmly, then had a thought that was more like a memory of something I’d been told. “What have you liked the best about your magic so far?”

  “Flying! That is the greatest thing that has happened today, so far.”

  “Then let’s go flying! Since we’re missing the other half of your powers, I’ll have to do it, but we’ll still be in the air. I can warm the shields and we won’t get cold.”

  She looked at me like I’d lost my mind and whispered, “I can’t go outside dressed like this!”

  I chuckled. “I know. It’s a shame, but I think that it would be better if you went outside without your sleepwear. Perhaps you could dress to match me.”

  “Wandering around outside naked, not knowing who we’re going to run into, isn’t what I’d call exciting or romantic!”

  I laughed. “You’ve trusted me to do all kinds of things to this point; trust me now!”

  We got out of the bed and she quickly and sheepishly undressed completely. She then came to me and wrapped her arms around me. I put a warm shield on us and ported us to the forest west of the castle. She was giddy and shy about being outside and nude, but held me close as I cast a levitation bubble around us and zipped us up to three thousand feet.

  I looked at her and her eyes were closed so tightly they crinkled. “Open your eyes, beautiful lady. I’m sure you’ve never seen this in Vegas.” I pulled us back so she was laying on my arm and we were looking skyward. The pitch black of the night made the moon and stars seem closer than was possible.