Keira looked at her friends. Their clothes were torn and a few of them were bleeding, but they were all there and looked at her with respect and trust.
“I am the High Priestess of the Guardians of the Akasha. I speak for the Council. We find you guilty as charged. You are hereby banished to the Void, never to return.”
A blinding flash of white light erupted from the circle, leaving only an echo of Daemon’s scream of rage, nothing else.
It was over.
The Draaken warriors were laughing, clapping each other on the back and rushing to congratulate Keira. But she had eyes only for Marco as he pulled her closer and enveloped her in his arms.
“I love you,” she said, her eyes closed as she leaned into his strength.
“I love you.” He stroked her dark hair, his fingers entwined in the long shock of silver-grey streaking down the left side of her face.
*****
Two days later the castle reverberated with the happy noises of laughter and renovation work being done in the Great Hall. A huge bonfire roared in the courtyard and children from the village danced as Daemon’s family crest went up in flames.
Keira stood by a car with Sammy and Alison.
“I am really sorry I can’t go back with you now,” Keira said. “There is just so much to be done here….”
“Don’t worry about it,” Alison said and hugged Keira goodbye.
“And you should probably expect a visit from my parents, too,” Keira apologized again.
“Hey, we’ll smooth things over in London. You take your time and come see us when you’re ready,” Sammy said and hugged Keira as well.
“It won’t be too long,” Keira promised. “There are lawyers…and stuff…that need to be sorted.”
“Well, we’ll keep your room in the apartment ready. You know, in case you get bored having this huge castle all to yourself,” Alison laughed.
The three women smiled and stood in silence for a while. They wanted to prolong the last goodbye.
“Keep an eye on Adam for me,” Sammy said and tried to wipe a tear away unseen.
“Oh?” Keira asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Yes, he said he’ll come visit in London as soon as he’s taken care of his Family’s business. So make sure he doesn’t get distracted by any cute little magickal…thingies!”
“Okay, okay!” Keira laughed as her friends got into the car. She kept on waving until they had gone over the drawbridge and disappeared down the drive, on their way to the private plane—her private plane—that would whisk them back to London.
She walked past the fountain where Justin and Amber were helping her father clear dead leaves out of the fountainheads.
“Should have it going again in a few minutes, Miss Keira,” the old man called.
Keira gave him a friendly wave, smiled at the children, and skipped up the steps into the Great Hall. There she watched as the embroidered Wilde Family crest was rehung above the fireplace.
Strong arms caught her from behind and she jumped with fright. “All is as it should be,” Marco whispered in her ear and she relaxed with a laugh.
“Almost,” she agreed and then led him to the reception room just off the Great Hall where the Draaken waited for them.
The room fell silent as they entered. Eyes glistened with unshed emotion as everyone got ready to take their leave.
Keira had to clear the tightness in her throat before she could speak.
“I thank you all, with every cell in my body, for what you have done. I joined you as a complete stranger, and now you are my family. You have saved my life time and again, and never asked why.”
The tears were now freely flowing; Adam gave a sniff and pretended to blow his nose and even Yoshibumi stared down at the floor.
“You are no longer the Draaken, but full members of Council. I believe that each one of you will lead with honor, dignity, and truth. Before you all go back to your homes and settle your affairs, I ask one more thing of you. We have to elect a new Leader of Council and I would like to propose Marco.”
“Keira,” Marco protested.
“Please, Marco. I know the tradition—that Victoria expected us to do this together. But I don’t have the background and, for now, I have to concentrate on learning my duties as High Priestess. I will be better able to fulfil those duties if I know that you are there to lead the Council,” Keira said.
Marco bowed his head in acknowledgement.
“Agreed,” Rafael said. The word echoed around the room.
“Thank you,” Marco said. “I am honored and I accept. My first instruction to you would be to identify new initiates from your Families and send them here. We have to reopen the School as soon as possible; training for new Draaken members has to resume as well. I expect we’ll have a few issues from renegade Families, especially those aligned most closely to Daemon. It means that there are a busy few months ahead, and our resources will be spread thin.”
“Agreed,” Chetan said and everyone nodded.
Then, one by one, the friends took leave of each other and left the castle in a cavalcade of cars and motorbikes. Soon only Keira and Marco remained, standing by the front door, waving to the last of their friends driving down the road.
They stood for a long time, their arms around each other, until Justin called, “Come on, you two!”, and sent a swirling funnel of water in their direction.
“Oh, yeah? You’re on!” Keira cried and ran towards them, followed by a laughing Marco. She lifted her hands and all the water in the fountain rose ten feet into the air only to come pouring back down on Justin and Amber’s heads.
“Woohoo, that is so cool!” Amber laughed and winked out of sight.
“Wow,” Justin said, staring at Amber as she reappeared. “You are a Shadow Walker! No wonder I could never find you when we played hide-and-seek. No fair!”
*****
Far away, atop a hill, Julius trained his binoculars on the castle. He watched as the last car left; watched through the open gate as the figures splashed and played in the fountain.
“Have your fun,” he muttered. “My time will come.”
THE END
Acknowledgements
I’d like to thank my husband and children for their unending patience and support. Thanks for giving me the time I needed to finish this. Here’s to the next one!
Thanks to my parents, for feeding my reading addiction.
Every writer needs a beta reader. Thanks to Jennifer Smith for being mine, and sorry for making you read all those drafts.
Every writer also needs a group of friends who will drag her out of the house on a regular basis, ply her with copious amounts of alcohol and remind her there is a world outside of her own imagination. Thanks to my Beijing Wine and Whine péngyou’s for doing that and so much more.
To editor extraordinaire, Shawn MacKenzie, you are a dragon among mortals. Thanks for making me look better than I am.
To formatting genius, Heather Adkins. Thanks for doing your magic and rescuing me from the alien world of computer-speak.
To talented designer, Stephanie Mooney. Thanks for the beautiful cover (I am restraining myself from gushing…). I didn’t know what I wanted when I contacted you, and you got it right anyway.
About the Author
At the time of publishing, I lived with my family in Beijing, China. After getting over a slight case of culture shock, I decided to give in to the voices in my head and write what I like to read. Thanks for taking the time to read this novel; I would love to hear from you.
[email protected]
www.africa2asia.wordpress.com
http://www.facebook.com/celia.stander
http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/7787319-celia-stander
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
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br /> Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Guardians of the Akasha Page 25