“Mother,” said Morgan. “Wait outside.”
“Yes, dear.” Her mother scurried off and shut the door behind her as she left the room.
“Father,” Morgan yelled. Monroe looked up at her and smiled.
“Yes, pumpkin?”
“Did you hear about what happened in the arena today?”
“I heard something about it, yes.”
“And why haven’t you done anything about it?” Morgan asked.
“What would you have me do?” said Monroe.
“I want you to get rid of that girl, Lyla. Banish her, or do whatever you have to do.” Morgan was pacing back and forth in front of his desk.
“On what grounds?”
“Did you not see what she did to my arm and my face?” said Morgan as she turned so he could get a better look. She touched the bruise on her forehead and winced. “She is dangerous, and ever since she came around, Thomas doesn’t like me anymore. I hate her.”
“I can’t just banish whoever I want to,” Monroe laughed. “There are rules that I must abide by.”
“Why? You are the head of the council, you should be able to do whatever you want.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t.” Morgan placed her unbroken hand on the desk and leaned in just inches away from his face.
“You will do what I ask or I will make sure everyone knows what you have been up to. They will finally see you for what you truly are.”
“Unbelievable,” said Monroe. “I’m being blackmailed by my own daughter.”
“It’s a cruel, cruel world, pops,” said Morgan as she headed for the door. “If you want to make it to the top, you have to be willing to do whatever it takes. Do as I say and I won’t breathe a word.” When Morgan left, Monroe banged his fists down against the top of his desk.
“Marla,” Monroe yelled. She rushed into the room and stood at his side. “Send for Mr. Langston, immediately. I need to have a word with him.”
William sat in Monroe’s office once again. A desk was sitting in front of him with an empty chair behind it. Book shelves were placed all around and a large rug lay at his feet.
He turned as the door to his left opened. Inside, stepped the head council, Monroe. His hair was disheveled ,and he looked distressed. “Thank you for meeting me on such short notice, William.”
“Of course,” he said dryly.
“I am not one to sugarcoat things, so let’s get down to business. With the recent activity your daughter Lyla has shown, I believe it best that she leaves first thing in the morning.”
“Excuse me?” William said in surprise, as if his ears were deceiving him.
“She has to go.”
“You can’t make her leave,” he shouted. “She belongs here just as much as everyone else. Monroe, why are you doing this? No one has been banished from Armoria in ages. She is my daughter; she is not a bad person.”
“I understand you are upset, but she is a danger to others and herself, and I will not have her here hurting Armorian citizens. With what happened in the arena, I’m surprised no one was killed. Sixteen people were injured, including my daughter. I’m sorry, William, but you will make her leave. Any retaliation from you or anyone in your family will call for immediate banishment.”
“What about the other board members?” said William.
“Already informed.”
William’s fingernails were digging into his hands. He knew the next words that came out of his mouth would not be pleasant, so he dismissed himself from the room without another word.
Lyla woke up in her bed. The last thing she remembered was Morgan cutting her arm. She lifted her arm up to see the damage, but someone had already wrapped it and most likely re-stitched it.
“There’s nothing we can do,” she heard someone yell from the hall. What were they talking about? Who was out there?
William and Thomas came into the room. They both looked tired and extremely frustrated. She hoped it wasn’t because of her, but she knew by the look on their faces that it had to be.
She could only remember bits and pieces of what had happened during her battle with Morgan. She remembered why they were fighting: for Thomas. She remembered Morgan’s persistent intensity of trying to kill her, and the way she’d cut her arm without any restraint at all. By the end of it all, punches were being thrown back and forth between the two of them. After that, she remembered nothing. Did she faint? Did she black out when Morgan hit her? How embarrassing that would have been in front of everyone.
“Where’s Lilly?” she asked. She pulled her hand to her forehead as she felt the massive headache that was surrounding her entire skull. The pain was unfathomable.
“She will be here momentarily with Giselle. It took us a while to track them down,” William said. Lyla heard the unnerving tone in his voice.
Lyla remembered that Lilly had went to meet up with Giselle when she went to the arena, but she had no idea where they would have gone.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. She remained lying in bed, fearing that the pain would only develop even further, if that was even possible. William hesitated before finally speaking.
“Monroe called me to his office. He said because of what happened in the arena…he wants you to leave Armoria first thing in the morning.”
Lyla didn’t understand. Morgan had started it, and now she was being banished because of it?
“Why? Is it because I hit Morgan in the face?”
William and Thomas exchanged glances before looking back at her.
“Do you not remember what happened?” Thomas asked.
“I fought Morgan because she…” Lyla looked at Thomas. She remembered Morgan kissing him and that is why they had the fight to begin with. “We had a battle for Thomas. I hit her then she cut my arm. After that I blacked out.” Lyla sat for a moment trying to remember. “Oh, no!” Lyla pulled her knees to her chest and hugged her legs. “I lost the battle and now she wants me to leave so I can never see you again.” She looked at Thomas with worry and disappointment all over her face.
“Lyla something else happened after Morgan cut your arm,” Thomas said. Lyla looked at him, not sure what he was talking about. “You let off some burst of energy and knocked everyone to the floor. Then you…” He hesitated before continuing, “Your eyes were dark and you were not responding. It was like you went to another place or someone else was taking control of you.”
Lyla looked at him in horror. How could this happen and she not know? Then she realized, she knew exactly what this was. It was her worst nightmare come true.
“Have you talked to Arthur about this?”
“Yes,” said William. “He said there’s a possibility that someone could be controlling you, but there’s also a possibility that it is some unknown power within you. It could be your power growing stronger inside of you, but not being able to control it could be very dangerous.”
Lyla didn’t understand. According to Arthur there was only one person in the history of Armoria who had immense power. The power to do things that no one else could. If she did have this power how would she learn to control it? Did Lilly have the same power? Whatever it was, she didn’t want it. Learning that she was half witch was enough for her. Being able to use their symbols to their advantage was plenty, and she didn’t want everyone to become afraid of her because she had a power that she couldn’t control, but what if it really was someone doing this to her?
“If it is someone doing this to me…then I think I know who it is,” she said.
“What do you mean? You know who is doing this to you?” William asked.
“Yes, and I’m sure you have heard of him. He’s the king of Dresden, and the most vile and malicious person I know of. Damien.”
Chapter 18
William and Thomas were not sure what to think. They knew exactly who she was talking about because everyone knew who Damien was. He was the evil leader of the Demorites, but they didn’t understand how he’d done this to her. They had never act
ually met one another, and as far as they knew, he was not capable of controlling anyone.
Lyla explained her dream set in Damien’s quarters, of how he wanted something from her, and how he inflicted electrifying pain through her body with a single touch. She also mentioned what Arthur had said about the possibility of him having great powers, and how she believed he must have found a power source in the mountains to have the power he had. He somehow had put this darkness in her, most likely through the bite on her arm. It might be the reason he had sent the creature after her in the first place.
“Did you take the two vials Arthur gave you?” William asked.
“Yes.”
They were not sure how, but they needed to figure out how to cut the connection Damien had with Lyla. That could make her a danger to them all, and that is what worried Lyla the most.
“We can’t go to Arthur to fix our problems every time we come across one,” Lyla said. “Besides, we have already tried potions, and they are not working. It’s something far greater than that. We need to find out what it is he is after, and then rescue my grandfather before it is too late.”
“You’re right,” William said. “We will figure out what he wants. Once we know what it is, we can decide what to do, and where to go from there. For now, your grandfather will remain unharmed. Damien wants you to bring him something, and he will use your grandfather as leverage.”
Lyla nodded her head. “It’s settled then. In the morning, we go back to grandfather’s house. We go back home.”
Lilly and Giselle had arrived just as they were finishing their conversation. William filled them in on what they missed. Lilly was concerned about Lyla, but she was excited to be going back to her original home, even though she knew it wouldn’t be the same. They were not the same. They were stronger than ever before, not only in their skill level, but in their love for each other and the people around them.
The morning came quickly. When Lyla went to the kitchen, William had a bag on the counter that was packed with food for their journey. It wasn’t much, but it contained zucchini bread and almonds. They needed to get an early start, so he didn’t make the usual breakfast.
Lilly came down soon after, carrying everything that she’d come with, which wasn’t much. She held the same bag that Lyla had, which was the same shoulder bag they always carried.
“Now that you are both down here, I have something for you,” William said. Lyla and Lilly looked at one another, shrugged their shoulders, and followed him into his study.
Sitting on his desk were two long boxes covered in purple velvet bags. He handed one to Lilly and one to Lyla. They pulled off the velvet covering and opened the black cases. Each box contained a beautiful custom sword made just for them, along with matching knives. Their names were engraved near the tip of the blade and the hilt had gold accents that also covered part of the blade. In the center by the hilt was a pair of golden angel wings. Lyla raised her sword and admired its beauty. She had never seen a sword like it before and it was so stunning. The hilt fit perfectly in her hand, and it was light weight. William explained that they were Armorian made, so they could use them against the Demorites.
They both said thank you without looking at him. Their eyes were still glued to their new swords. William said it was the only thing he could think of to get them for their birthday. It was something he could personalize, but would be very useful to them.
William was right. It was their birthday and Lyla had almost forgot the gift she bought for Lilly. She rushed to her bag and pulled out the gift. She gave Lilly a small box and said, with a large smile, “Happy birthday.” She pulled out a gold ring with a sapphire jewel in the center and two opal stones around it. “I was told it is bad luck to purchase an opal for yourself, so I thought I would buy it as a gift for you,” said Lyla. Lilly put it on, stretching her arm out to admire it, and loved how perfectly well it fit. It looked so big on her tiny, delicate fingers, but she loved it all the same. “I love it,” said Lilly. “Thank you!”
They heard someone come downstairs so they walked back into the kitchen.
Thomas was standing by the counter examining the food William had packed into a bag. He saw the swords as the light coming in from the window bounced off the blades and into his face.
“Nice swords,” he said, shielding his eyes with his hand. Lyla looked apologetic as she handed her sword to him so he could examine it.
“Thank you,” said Lyla. “It was a birthday gift from William.” Thomas’s eyes widened. Lyla saw the panic on his face and giggled. “Don’t worry, I never told you about it, so I don’t have to yell at you for forgetting it.” She slid her sword and knives into her weapons belt.
“In that case, happy birthday, and to you as well, Lilly.”
Lilly showed her gratitude as she tightened her belt around her waist, admiring her new weapons. William stepped out from his office and into the kitchen.
“Thomas, may I have a word with you?” said William.
“Sure,” said Thomas as he shrugged his shoulders and followed William into his office. “So, what’s this about?” Thomas sat in one of the chairs in front of William’s desk and propped his feet up. William sat at the edge of his desk and pushed Thomas’s feet away.
“I don’t want you to come with us,” said William. “I think it would be best if you stayed here.”
“What?” Thomas said. “I can’t do that. I want to go with you so I can protect Lyla.”
“You being there would only put her in more danger.”
“How can you say that? I wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her.”
“I know you wouldn’t,” said William. “But you are a major distraction to her and if she can’t defend herself because you are around then she will be killed.”
“During the tournament we worked together just fine.”
“The only reason she made it that far in the tournament is because of me,” said William.
“Because of you?” Thomas stared at him, not quite sure what William meant.
“The first round of the competition she didn’t hit her mark because she saw you and that cost her. I had to bump someone out just so she could advance, otherwise she never would have made it past the first round. Don’t you see? She isn’t fully focused around you, so you have to stay here.”
Thomas got up and ran his fingers through his hair. He had no idea that he had cost her so much and that William had done that for her. She would have been heartbroken if she hadn’t moved on to the next round. He wanted to pick something up and throw it against the wall.
“What am I supposed to tell her?” Thomas said. “She will expect me to go with her.”
“Tell her you are staying here to take my place if anyone should need me. She will understand.”
“Will she?”
William and Thomas walked out of his office and back into the kitchen. Lyla and Lilly were laughing with each other because of something Lilly had said.
“Are we all ready to go?” William asked. The girls nodded and walked toward the door. Lyla looked back when she realized Thomas wasn’t following them.
“Are you coming?” Lyla asked.
Thomas glanced at William who was staring at him, waiting for him to tell Lyla what they had talked about in the office.
Thomas cleared his throat before speaking. “I’m going to stay here, actually.”
“What? Why?” Lyla asked.
“I’m staying to take William’s place.”
“William’s place?” Lyla walked into the kitchen in front of Thomas, and looked from William to Thomas. “Is that what you were discussing in the office?”
Thomas could tell that she knew something was going on that she didn’t quite understand. He had to say something, even if it hurt her.
“You didn’t expect me to go with you, did you?” said Thomas.
“I don’t understand, I just thought…”
“There’s nothing to understand, Lyla. I don’t want to g
o and I’m staying here.” Thomas could see the hurt in her eyes, and it pained him more than anything to know that he had caused it, even though it was at William’s request.
“Okay,” said Lyla quietly. “I guess that’s it then. Goodbye, Thomas.” She turned and walked to the door. Lilly shook her head at him and put her arm around her sister as they walked outside.
“It’s for the best,” said William. Thomas turned in anger.
“Is it?” He walked up the stairs and into his room. He was mad at William for what he’d made him do, and he didn’t want to talk to him or see him a second longer.
Lyla, Lilly, William, and Giselle had arrived back on earth through the gateway. After they left the house, they had met Giselle in the courtyard. She wanted to make sure she had said goodbye to Joseph before they left. Lilly was surprised to see Charles waiting for her by the gateway as well. He had heard that Lyla was being forced to leave, and knew Lilly would follow. He wanted to say one last goodbye to her before she left, not knowing if she would return or not. He gave her a small Armorian coin to remember him by. Lilly thought it was a nice gesture, and found Charles to be a great man, but she was not sure how she really felt about him.
William led them back toward their grandfather’s house. They brought their horses with them, so it would only take them one day of riding to get there.
When dusk came, they found an area to camp for the night. It was an open area surrounded by trees. William and Giselle went into the forest to find more firewood, and Lilly sat with Lyla on a log that they had pulled close to the fire. Lilly knew her sister was hurting and wanted nothing more than to cheer her up, but Lyla had barely spoken since they left Armoria.
Lyla told Lilly she was going to go into the woods to collect some water, and Lilly wanted to join her, but Lyla insisted she stay by the fire. Lyla picked up two empty canteens and walked into the woods. She didn’t know where she was going, but there had to be a stream close by. She knew these woods, but in the dark it was hard to tell where she was, despite the moon shining from above.
Aftermath_The Armorian Chronicles Page 17