Force of Nature (An Alex Warren Novel)

by Shawna Logue

  Looking closer at the building itself, I noticed it was not stone, but instead an ancient, grey, petrified wood. I searched for seams as I got closer, but it appeared that the building was carved from one solid piece: an enormous tree trunk. That was impossible, right? Though I suppose with a little magic, architecture has no limits. I made a mental note to ask Connor about that when I got home.

  “Ugh,” I groaned, remembering I was still furious at him for his deception with the glasses.

  Jachai turned to me, again looking curious. “Are you alright?” he asked, uncertain of what else to say.

  I hadn't realized I had groaned out loud. My face burned with embarrassment, and for a brief moment I thought I saw my stoic host smile.

  “I'm fine,” I answered hurriedly, though my voice was still weak and shaky. I searched for a subject change. “So, where are we, anyway?”

  “This,” he said, gesturing to the castle just as we reached the doors, is the home of King Fallon.” He glanced back at me with a gentle smile; I assumed he was trying to gage my reaction.

  I know I should have felt impressed, but I still was confused. “That wasn't what I meant,” I admitted sheepishly. “I meant, where are we… physically?” I pointed at the ground for emphasis.

  He thought about that for a moment before answering, “I believe you would refer to this place as Cathedral Grove.” His hands swept back to the forest behind us.

  Cathedral Grove? We were back on the island? Not only that, we were now farther away from home than before. Cathedral Grove was a four-hour drive from Victoria, where Vancouver was a short ferry ride and an even shorter commute, three hours tops.

  He must have read my confusion, because he added, “We'll get you back home as soon possible. Don't worry… Alex, was it?”

  I nodded.

  “Jachai,” he said, sticking out his slender hand. His fingers were long and thin, like those of a piano player, and the nails looked professionally manicured, but for some reason I knew that they weren’t. I stuck my own clumsy, bandaged hand out to shake his, and was shocked when he twisted it around and kissed it gently, with an air of formality I had only seen in movies. “You can call me Jack,” he added with a slight grin. I flushed.

  Inside, we made our way through the massive entryway (which overflowed with plants), to a winding staircase that led to the second floor. I was still in awe that with the exception of the uniquely carved doors, the castle had no flaws or no hard edges. Tentatively, I reached one hand out, tracing the wall as we climbed the staircase. I had expected a rough, dry texture, but the wood was smooth, cold and flawless. It felt like marble.

  “You can stay here tonight,” Jack said, opening a door at the end of the hallway. The room was modest, but beautiful. A large, four-poster bed dominated the space, the spindles intricately carved with an ancient design. There was a small table beside the bed, but no lamp. Light streamed in from a large open window, and though it was still technically winter, it was not cold.

  “I'm afraid we don't often have guests,” he said, and I detected a note of embarrassment in his voice. “Just Maria.”

  “No, it's perfect,” I said, perching on the side of the bed. I had noticed how he said “we” though, and though it probably broke some rule of etiquette, I still wanted to pry. “Do you live here too?”

  “I do.”

  I wasn't sure if his answer was bemused or purposefully short because he didn't want to divulge anything else, but I continued anyway. “So, are you… royalty?” It felt awkward to say the question out loud.

  He chuckled at this, which made me relieved. If I had made some sort of faux pas, he clearly didn't care. “I suppose you could call it that, in a sense.”

  “I don't understand.”

  “King Fallon is my father, Lahela and Justin are my siblings. But we are not royalty in the sense that we rule the elves if that is what you mean.”

  “What is he king of then?” My question came out ruder than I had intended, so I amended, “If I may ask, I mean.”

  He chuckled again. “Please don't feel any need for pretence around me, Alex. Around my father, perhaps, but I do not prescribe to be royal.” He chuckled at his use of the word, and then looked at me. He must have seen my confused face. “My father is the king of this land, but we are the only Elves here. He mostly rules over the other creatures that reside in the forest and partake in its magic; in truth, they don't cause much trouble. There isn't really much to rule over. Think of my father as more of a figurehead. He still answers to the High Council of Elves. They control everything, and could take away this land just as easily as they bestowed it.” He was sitting on the bed now, legs folded beneath him comfortably as he spoke. It was weird hearing this story and feeling that it was normal that there was a High Council of Elves.

  “Why do you live here then? I mean, isn’t it hard to be away from other elves?”

  “At times. After living here for so many centuries, it is not something I think about. I haven’t ever known a time where we lived with others of our kind. Lahela and Justin are different. Justin had often felt a desire to leave this place and live with other elves, until he met Maria. Maria is his life now, and I don’t think you could beg him to leave now.”

  “But he doesn’t live here anymore?” I asked it as a question, even though I knew the answer. Maria and Justin moved in together a month ago, and lived about eight blocks away from me. I had been there once so far, to help Maria unpack.

  “They come back here often. Think of it as a time share.” He seemed to find this amusing. “Justin is the first of our family to “go urban” as it were.”

  “Go urban?”

  “Our people don’t like the city. We prefer nature. Don’t you know anything about elves?” He laughed a tinkling laugh.

  “To be honest, I’m not sure what I know these days.” My voice was more solemn than I had meant it to be, and his laughter cut off sharply. To lighten the mood, I added, “So what are elves like then? Something out of Lord of the Rings? Should I be searching for the One Ring?”

  He laughed again, though it did not have the same light behind it. “Tolkien was a very intuitive man. He got a lot right. But no, there isn’t a ring.”

  “Just checking,” I smiled. I thought about what he had told me. “You never mentioned how your sister likes living here?”

  He sighed. “Lahela struggles every day. She’s the oldest of us, and spent nearly a century living amongst other elves before my father was given this land. She has never adjusted to living here, so secluded.”

  “Why doesn’t she go back?”

  “She can’t. When our mother passed away, she became the maternal link to the land. She can only leave the forest for short periods of time. Leaving for anything longer than that would not only disgrace my father, but also the land itself, and that is something that is just not acceptable in our culture.” He sighed again, looking down. I got the sense he felt ashamed to continue speaking. “She suffers more now that Maria is in the picture.”

  I didn’t understand. “Why?”

  “If Justin married an elf, she’d be free from her obligation to the land. Justin is the heir to this kingdom, and his wife, the future queen, would become the mother to the land.”

  “And Maria’s not an elf, so Lahela isn’t free from her responsibility?”

  He nodded. “It’s complicated.”

  My stomach growled, preventing what I was sure was going to be an awkward silence. My face burned as I tried to hide the noise with my hands. I was unsuccessful. Jack sprang up lightly, his faced washed of the seriousness of our discussion.

  “Let's get you something to eat.”

  He led me downstairs to a large dining room. The table was big enough to seat twenty people around it. Jack sat me at the head of the table before disappearing behind another door, presumably the kitchen. After a moment he returned with a plate of food. He placed it in front of me and sat down to my left.

  The Elven diet le
ft something to be desired, but I was grateful for the nourishment. My meal was essentially a glorified salad, but I couldn’t recognize a single vegetable in it, aside from lettuce. Elves didn’t use salad dressing either, or at least, Jack didn’t offer any to me. I tried not to think about the bland mystery food, and just focused on chewing.

  Jack did not have a plate for himself, which made me feel a bit weird eating by myself. Still, I couldn’t deny how hungry I was.

  His presence was comfortable and uncomfortable at the same time. Comfortable, because I knew I would have felt awkward being alone in the castle. I hadn’t seen anyone else since we left the gazebo in the woods. Uncomfortable because he kept staring at me, yet never quite focusing on me completely. His face, though serenely smooth, seemed to be concentrating. I tried to ignore it.

  When I was finished, he scooped up my dish in a lightning fast movement that I almost missed. Had I been eating that slowly? Was he waiting for me to finish? He was back in seconds though, having put my dirty dish away somewhere unseen.

  It was getting late now, and I forced back an involuntary yawn, but he caught it.

  “I guess you probably need some sleep. Your backpack is upstairs in your room. Can you find the way? I have to speak with my father.” I nodded, though I felt apprehensive walking the halls alone. Jack didn’t seem to catch my tension, as he nodded back and swiftly disappeared out the door.

  It wasn’t that hard to find my room again. Despite the size of the castle, the layout was unusually simple. As I approached the end of the hallway, a door creaked open.

  “Alex?” It was Maria. I found myself dumbstruck for a moment as I wondered what to say to her. It felt like an eternity since I had last seen her.

  “Hi,” I mumbled, feeling foolish at my less than enthusiastic greeting.

  She slipped out of her room and followed me to mine. It was only a short distance away, and neither of us spoke. There seemed to be a growing tension between us, something that I had never felt with Maria before. I felt a lump form in my throat in response.

  I closed the door behind us, noting the careful movements she made as she slid herself to the center of the bed, her long legs outstretched in front of her. It was darker now, and I had a hard time making out anything beside the moon lit bed, even with my excellent vision. I searched for a lamp or even a candle, but couldn’t find anything.

  “They don’t need light. They can see in the dark,” she said, a note of jealousy panging her voice.

  “Oh.” I felt foolish for looking. Silently, I climbed on to the bed to face her. Neither of us spoke for a long moment, each studying the other’s face intently.

  Then Maria looked away, down toward her toes. I thought I caught a small reflection as a tear trickled down her cheek. “Alex, you’ve been lying to me.”

  I felt the shock on my face. She was accusing me of lying? Wasn’t she the one who was about to marry an elf and had never told me? I had thought she came here to apologize for hiding it from me. I was hurt. “Lying?” I choked out. “I’m not the one about to marry out of my species, Maria!” I was defensive, agitated.

  She nodded, never looking up. “That wasn’t my secret to tell, Alex.” She seemed truly sad about this, and I forced myself to calm down. “You, however, are something…” She struggled for the right word. “Else?” She looked up at me, and I could see the Maria who I grew up with, the curious little girl who helped me catch slugs in the backyard, no matter how much they grossed her out. The girl who only ever wanted to be my best friend from the moment we met. And I had wanted to be her best friend too. But she was right. I had lied to her, and as far as I knew, there was no rule binding me to keep my ability a secret.

  Why hadn’t I ever told her? Because I still didn’t understand it myself? That was true. Because I was worried she wouldn’t believe me? Also true. Maybe because in her disbelief, I was afraid our friendship would dissolve. I certainly had thought that a possibility.

  But here she was, sitting next to me, in an Elven castle of all places, and she was the one who seemed to know more about this world than I did. She would understand. Or at least, she could understand. She could relate.

  “I…” my voice stumbled as I began, “I’m not sure… what I am.”

  She didn’t respond. She looked to be waiting for me to find the words.

  “I can see-” How was I going to explain this? I took a deep breath and forced myself to say it out loud. “Magic. I can store it inside of me. I’m not sure how, and I’m not sure why, but I can. And as far as anyone seems to know, I’m the only person who can do this.”

  “As far as anyone knows? Who else knows?” Her voice seemed relieved, not accusatory, and that calmed me.

  “Connor, and mostly everyone I work with.”

  She raised an eyebrow at me. “Your coworkers knew? And I didn’t?”

  I told her the story of what had happened over the past couple months. I told her how I had come to work for Mobius, and how Casper had tried to use me to get back into the sky. I left out the part about the Philosopher’s Stone, for that was a secret I was bound to keep. I told her that I hadn’t really gone to Europe, as she had believed, but instead I spent that time fighting for my life. Finally, I told her about how I had transferred my power to Connor in order to swing the final battle in my favour. It made me emotional to repeat the story, and she seemed to understand, or at least empathize.

  After a moment of silence, she shook her head. “Connor. It figures,” she said, seemingly amused.

  “What?”

  “Do you remember when you came back? The day I was moving out with Justin?”

  “Yeah. Why?”

  “It’s just, well, Connor had helped me take those boxes downstairs, and Justin was waiting in the car. Connor saw him, nodded, and said ‘Hello, J-man.’”

  “So?”

  She laughed. “Alex! He hadn’t met Justin before! I hadn’t introduced them or anything. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, figuring that Connor must just be social, but now, thinking back, I’m sure they knew each other. It was too familiar. I had decided then that my mind must have been playing tricks or something, but now, I’m sure he and Justin have a history.”

  “Huh.” I wasn’t sure how to react to that. Connor knew Justin, and didn’t tell me. Lately, I was feeling more and more betrayed by Connor, and it made me feel sick inside.

  “Alex?” Maria asked tentatively. “No more secrets?”

  I thought about the Philosophers Stone and immediately felt guilty, knowing that was one secret I knew I could never break. “No more secrets, unless they aren’t ours to tell?” I used her words in the hope I wouldn’t hurt her feelings.

  She nodded.

  I yawned again, and she caught it, yawning in response.

  “Sleepy time,” she whispered. We bumped fists in our silly way, and I knew everything was fine between us. She jumped off the bed and slipped out the door, leaving me alone in the moonlit room.

  Chapter Seven

  The sun streamed in through the window of my room, waking me. My sleep had been a dead, dreamless sleep, the kind of sleep I always seemed to have after having a magically draining day. I made a note to myself that this would be a great way to cure insomnia, but then frowned when I knew Connor would never go for it.

  Connor. I had a lot of things I needed to talk to him about. The glasses for one, plus the fact that he knew about Justin, and also this whole business with force lines. I remembered Morgan’s words on the ferry. I did need to train. There had to be a reason for what I could do.

  I got dressed, rehearsing all the things I wanted to say to him. The problem was that I loved him so much that I hated to fight with him. But I was so fired up about things that I didn’t know what else to do. Why did I have such a strong connection to him that I even thought twice about standing up for myself? We hadn’t known each other long enough that I should feel this way about him, something my rational side reminded me of constantly. But lov
e isn’t rational, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to risk hurting the bond we had over this.

  A faint knock on my door interrupted my thoughts.

  “Come in,” I called, as I hastily threw my hair up into a knot. It was Jack.

  “Sleep well?” he asked, leaning casually in the doorway. He was dressed entirely in white linen, his shirt carelessly untied near the top, showing the slightest definition of his chest. His pants were slightly too long, despite his height, but I could still see he was barefoot.

  “Like a rock,” I replied. “This place is very serene. I listened to the wind blow through the trees, and to the waterfall, until I fell asleep.” I smiled, remembering the sounds of the previous evening.

  “Maria is going to stay here a while longer, at least until we sort out what happened yesterday. Would you like to stay too, or should I get you home?”

  How I had forgotten about yesterday? The image terrifying gargoyle made my body shudder. As I remembered, I thought about something else.

  “Why is Maria worried? Wasn’t he after me?”

  Jack raised an eyebrow at me, never moving from the doorway. “Is there a reason you would be chased by an assassin?”

  An assassin? The words chilled my blood and brought me up short. “It’s just,” I began, my words faltering slightly, “I was so full of energy, and Connor said that would draw creatures to me.” I felt ashamed that I had put Maria so close to the line of fire.

  “Alex,” he said, his voice like honey, soothing my emotions, “Zarek is an assassin. He has no use for magic. You were not his target.”

  I choked. “Maria? Why?”

  “The most likely reason is that Maria is human. Many elves do not accept her as Justin’s future wife. Maria is taking a huge risk by marrying Justin, but as she says, love is worth every risk.”

  “So someone is trying to kill her?” I gasped.

  “Most likely. That is the only reason someone like Zarek would be involved. Someone doesn’t want her to rule Elven lands.”