The Laws Of Elios (Book 2) (15 page)

Sitting back down this time opposite of Ari, Shane tugged at his ear, “Ava Desmond,” he said aloud.

After a moment he spoke as if talking to himself.  “Hi beautiful… Do you have some time?  Great, where are you… No, I’ll bring you to me… not a problem… go stand in your mom’s kitchen pantry and close the door… okay close your eyes.  Are your eyes closed… no peeking…”

Suddenly Ava was standing next to the galley table.  “Ok you can open them,” said Shane.

Ava appeared in front of the table with her eyes closed.  Responding to Shane’s command she opened her eyes.  With a brief smile she took in the new surroundings.  “So this is this the famous Sloop?” She asked in her heavy Luion accent.

“Hi uncle Ari,” she greeted smiling as she sat down next to Shane.  “What’s going on?”

“The reason I asked for both you and Ari to be here is because I need your help,” began Shane.  “You and Ari are the most advanced mages on Eliom next to me and I’ve developed a unique glyph that will help us defeat the wristbands that the king is using to control and enslave the people of Infin.  The problem is it takes an enormous amount of lumen to create and the first couple of times you make one it will make you feel like you have been up for two days straight.  In fact it is likely going to wipe you out.  The good news is that the more you make the stronger it makes you and it increases your lumen capacity as well. Care to give it a try?”

“I’m game,” shrugged Ari.

“Me too,” echoed Ava

“The only issue is if you have the capacity,” Shane said with a hopeful doubt.  “I’ve shared the glyph with my instructor and it is now available
via the instructor network as a Lumen Mage enchantment; only a Lumen Mage can create it.  It can only be taught in dream mode due to its nature so query your instructors.  If you are capable it will let you know and schedule the dream when you tell it to.  My only caution is that when you are ready plan on taking a day off to recover from the first one.”

Ava responded almost immediately having queried her instructor mentally.  “My instructor says that I am capable and I’ve scheduled the instruction.  Although it did warn me that I would be at my limits and recommended that I rest well prior to the attempt.”

“Same here,” Ari added, “I got the same warning.  How soon do you want us to start on this?  I have an operation that needs my presence later today and I have to finish up with the new ships with the navy and I want to go with Shew and the kid if they scout out the mage-works in Jehhet.”

“I’d like to finish up with the new route for the monorail
which could take a day or two. At least if I can’t find a way get over that small valley that is blocking the original path to Coh Y Nord,” Ava explained.  “I didn’t have anything planned on Samedi or Dima so that would work perfectly for me; allowing me to do the first one first thing in the morning and recover all day Samedi and then try a second attempt on Dima morning as well.”

“I can try that as well,” sighed Ari, “but I’m not sure if I will be able to give you Samedi as I don’t know how much effort is going to be involved infiltrating the mage-works yet.”

Shane thought a moment, “Do the best you can, comm me if you have any problems.  I need to head out.  I’m going to spend a little time and make a few more of these things myself.  Unless I miss my guess we are going to need almost a million of them.”  Shane stood.

“Where are you off to?” asked Ava.

“I’m going to see if I can find out what Allion is doing with all the Lumen he is stealing and then I’m going to see about setting up a ball game.” He said enthusiastically.

Bending down he kissed his fiancé on the forehead saying, “I’ll see you
this evening maybe we can go eat at one of the new restaurants in Valee; I understand that there is one that has amazing piastazzi pie.  Oh, I almost forgot, Leo said he is almost finished with your monorail disks.  They may even be done by now.”  Noting Ari’s look of concern he smiled his most carefree smile.  “I’ll comm you if I find anything dangerous, Ari, and
I’ll
be careful if you promise the same.”  At the older man’s nod Shane winked out of sight.

“I can’t wait until I can do that,” Ava said to the empty space where he had stood a moment before. 

“You and me both,” agreed Ari with a grimace.  “He makes it look so easy.  It’s everything I can do to learn all of my defensive enchantments using glyph mastery and he is already beginning to use lumen mastery.  I was at my limit when he had me create the glyph mastery we used to heal Leslie from her Allyant poisoning and here he is creating original glyphs.”

“He seems to think we can do it,” Ava said in return.

“True,” nodded Ari as he took a sip from his cooling mug.  “I know you love him Ava but you should consider something about your fiancé.  He’s not normal,” Ari chuckled

“That’s not a very nice thing to say,” Ava frowned.

“I didn’t mean it in an unkind way, Ava.  You are a both bit alike; you’re not quite normal either.  Perhaps that is why you two hit it off so well.” As Ava seemed about to object Ari held up a hand to forestall her brimming argument.  “Think about it, you both study like maniacs, you both are constantly coming up with new ideas, and you both understand things nearly instantly the minute you read them.  Most of us have to ponder and practice for a while.”

“
You’re one to talk uncle Ari; the more I learn of your past the more I think that you are a lot brighter than you want people to realize.  And what’s wrong with studying, I like learning things,” retorted Ava.  “Besides, Shane is much more of what you said than I am.”

“That’s my point,” Ari replied.  “
Let me explain it this way.  The entire time we were out looking for you; when we thought you were being held prisoner on the island? He was constantly doing something; the man can’t sit still?  When Roger and I left him on the boat while we went for supplies he took a practically derelict craft that was filthy, barely seaworthy and barely habitable and had it completely cleaned up.  We were gone maybe eight hours and he had developed a propulsion system, a navigation system, and a levitation system; this was less than a week after he had created his instructor.

Ava
, I’m a bright guy; I’ll not deny it, and you my dear niece are brilliant, your folks always thought you were ahead of your peers with all of your talents.  We always knew you would go far because of how smart you are and the natural magetech talent that you had.  But Shane is something else.  He is a prodigy; someone who comes along once in a hundred or a thousand years.  He seems to think like me when he plans, but he doesn’t do it by planning its more by instinct.  He decides instantly and acts immediately.  He’s moving all the time and I’ve never seen him slow down; I’m worried he is going to burn out.”

Ava frowned.  She had to agree with her uncle. 
Now that she thought about it, ever since they had met she had never known him to slow down.  She just assumed he was busy because of his workload with classes, the warball team, and the research group.  “He’s just one of those energetic people, have you not met his mother; she could wear out puppies.”

“I hope you’re right.  I just have grown to like the guy and I’m looking forward to seeing you two getting married.  Enfer, I must be getting old…
I’m probably worrying too much,” Ari conceded.  “Do your best to take care of him, Ava, you’re probably the only kick in the pants he’ll listen to.”

Standing Ava
began opening cupboards.  “I’m starved; don’t you guys keep any food around here?”

Ari laughed
at Ava’s change of the subject, “Shew and the kid keep a few items but I think that they eat out most of the time,” explained her uncle.  You’re probably better off going to your moms and grabbing something there.  In fact I’ll join you I’m feeling a little peckish myself,” he said as he stood up from the small galley table.  “Chin up, Ava,” he said as he gave his niece a hug. “If he is able to take the afternoon and distract himself with a few games of warball that might be the diversion he needs to take his mind off things and relax for a while.”

Ava reached for her portal device and Ari beckoned for her to follow him down below the galley deck to the storeroom.  “No need for that, there is a way to the lab from here and we can go to your house from the lab.”

A few moments later they were walking through a portal into the main entry way of the lab just in time to see a flushed Leslie run through the front door behind them.

“Ava, Ari, am I glad to see you, you’re never going to believe this.”

Ari and Leslie embraced and Leslie grabbed his arm affectionately and possessively and with a smooth motion was at his side. With the excitement and wonder of a child, her eyes shone with enthusiasm as she launched into her description of the days earlier events.  When she paused for breath Ari quickly interjected. “Come with us to Gerard and Louisa’s we were just going to grab something to eat.”

An hour later their appetites
satisfied Leslie finished her tale with a question.  “What should I do now?”

Ari looked at Ava and shrugged, “You and Shane are more expert at this than I am.  What do you think?”

Ava thought for a moment and answered with a surety, “Aunt Leslie, you need to call it a day. Go do something to take your mind off of what you learned today.  Work in the garden, go shopping, with mother, do something to keep your mind off glyphs for the rest of the day.  I know it will be hard but the best thing for you to do right now is to let your mind rest.  Take it from someone that has spent many a long hour using mental interface with her instructor; it catches up on you and it totally exhausts you if you aren’t careful.  If you decide to spend the afternoon trying to figure out your instructor you won’t get very far and when you wake up in the morning you will realize that all the time you spent was a waste.  Get a good night sleep.  You won’t regret it.”

Leslie sighed with undecided resignation.  “Ava, would you like to go somewhere with your mother and I?”  She asked her niece
; latching onto the suggestion.

“I’d love to Au
nt Leslie,” Ava said with a polite decline, “I need to start installing monorail plates and see if I can open up the access to Coh Y Nord.  I’m already behind schedule and it will be after dark before I get back, and Shane wants Ari and I to attempt some very powerful glyph mastery that borders on pure lumen magic - I don’t know if I’m even up to it yet - let alone know where I’m going to get the time.  But you and mother have a great time - you two haven’t done anything together in quite a while; it’ll be fun.

Leslie turned to Ari who deflected her question before she could ask.  “I hate to abandon you in your moment of discovery, Mon Cher, but I
need to meet with Shew and Roger.   We have a group of Infin spies that need eliminating as well as a mad king that needs a little uncertainty in his life.  If I leave right now I’ll only have to listen to Shew complain about me being only
almost
late,” he added laughing.  With a hug and a kiss Ari opened the pantry door and with a quick few taps on his portal artifact he was gone.

Ava leaned in and gave her aunt a hug and a kiss on each cheek.  “I’m so happy for you Aunt Leslie.  Glyph and Lumen magic are so amazing you are going to have an awesome experience.  Remember what I said
, go find mother and have some fun; tomorrow is the beginning of a journey that will soon make you wish for more hours in the day.”  Ava pulled out her portal device and opened a threshold in the middle of the kitchen and stepped through to her office in Yllyan.

As
Ava’s portal winked shut Louisa walked into the kitchen.  “I thought I heard voices,” she commented to Leslie as she entered the room; depositing an armful of vegetables from the root celler into the sink for cleaning. Looking around; noting the tepid teapot she picked it up and began rinsing it out.

“You did,” replied Leslie
, “You just missed Ava and Ari.”

“Those two dart from project to project like bees from flower to flower,” Louisa said with emphasis.  “I’ll never get to be a mother-in-law let alone a grandmother at this rate.”

“What do you have scheduled this afternoon,” asked Leslie, anxious to change the subject so that she could segue tactfully to her morning’s adventure.

“The way people keep dropping by to eat lately I was planning on running to market and do some extra food shopping.”

“Splendid,” Leslie smiled clasping her hands, “Let’s go together.  I know a perfect spot in Yllyan but first I want to show you something.”

Kaysee tossed and turned; caught between an uncomfortable sleep and a restless dream that bordered on a nightmare.  The last weeks sleep had been interrupted several times by dreams of events and places that were dark and frightening.  She often found herself face to face with a man called Pechor who often referred to her as someone name Brenner.  Although she had never been to the kings residence she felt that the place that she often found herself in her dreams was the Royal Palace of Jehhet.  The dreams seemed to hold her down and she had to struggle for her identity.  It often felt that someone was trying to control her; everything would turn red and she would wake up screaming.

Looking out her window and seeing
that darkness was still dominating the early morning, she looked at her clock and decided that she may as well get up rather than risk another nightmare.  As she readied herself for the day it seemed that the redness was still there; as if the dream had not entirely faded.

Leaving early
Kaysee quickly caught a trolley that happened to be passing her small cottage; making a quick leap to the steps as it pulled away before it could get up to speed she climbed aboard.  A few minutes later she was within walking distance of the ‘Lab’, as Leo and everyone else called it.  Walking briskly she hurried up to the building; it seemed to be the only place that the redness or dreams didn’t intrude upon her mind.  Touching the proper combination of glyphs that opened the door she was soon inside the building. As the door closed she suddenly grew dizzy and her head felt like it was going to burst causing her to double over in pain at the intensity.  Just as quickly it was over; the head ache and dizziness were gone and she felt as if a weight was suddenly lifted from her shoulders; the redness was gone.  Was she ill?  Was there something wrong with her?  She needed to talk to Laura; she would know what to do.

Gathering herself she walked toward the stairs that led
up to Leo’s office, intent on getting a head start on setting up his calendar for the day.  Reaching the stairs she saw Shane Chason descending the stairs. Wondering briefly what he was doing here this early she noted his always happy expression as he whistled his way down the stairs.  He and possibly Ava were the only people that seemed to work more than Leo.  Sometimes she wondered if he ever slept.  Stepping back and to the side she waited for him to reach the bottom to avoid crowding past him on the way up.

“Good morning Mademoiselle Lenore.  You’re up bright and early,” Shane greeted cheerfully.

“I woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep,” Kaysee replied more brightly than she felt, “So I decided to start the day early and get a jump on Leo’s calendar.”

“Well don’t make a habit of it or I’ll be forced to blame the professor for being a bad influence on you,” Shane smiled.  “Have a nice day,” Shane waved and then disappeared
down a hallway that led to the workroom that he frequently used.

Kaysee watched him leave
, impressed at the way he always seemed to be doing something; he reminded her of his mother – someone that she had come to greatly admire since she had met her. 

A little bit worried on what Laura would think s
he wondered if Shane had seen the episode of the attack of pain that he had just endured.  She doubted it, although she wondered; his eyes seemed to look right through her as if reading her mind.  She wondered if he missed anything.  Leo constantly talked about how intelligent he was.  Given how smart Leo was that was saying a lot.  It was no wonder that everyone listened to what he said.  It wasn’t just his magic it was something else she couldn’t quite name.  Come to think of it Ava was the same way if not to the quite the same degree.  No wonder they hit it off so well; she had to agree that they made a good couple.

Kaysee was placing several letters and note books on Leo’s desk when he entered the office.  She heard his footstep behind her and turned towards the sound.  Seeing who it was she smiled, Ever since meeting the
former professor she felt attracted to the whimsical academic; balding hair and all.  This was unfamiliar territory for her.  Unable to help herself she found herself flirting for the first time since school. Something about him made her feel safe and comfortable and more than a little bit feminine; she couldn’t deny that she enjoyed being near him. 

In her youth her life had been normal. 
She had grown up as an only child to parents that had loved her.  She was raised in a nice neighborhood in the small township of D’wire in northern Infin; then her life changed with the devastating news of her parent’s death.  While she was away at university in her final year the, dean of Magetech Studies had called her to his office to share the awful news of the fire that had claimed her parent’s lives. In her grief the years that had followed had been a lonely blur and she had withdrawn into herself and lost herself into her work as a low level magetech. 

Recently everything
had changed.  It all began several months ago as she had been walking home from her work one evening; her path crossed that of three brigands recently ejected from a tavern for their unruly behavior.  Intoxicated and in an ornery disposition, upon seeing an attractive woman alone, the three grabbed her and dragged her kicking and screaming into an ally where they attempted to take advantage.  Fighting with everything she had she was able to keep free of their intentions.  Her screaming for help and the success of her clawing, slapping, punching, and running, provided brief escape from the aggression of the brutes; but also seemed to anger them more.  Her victories were short lived however as the men had the advantage of size and numbers.  Soon she was backed into a dark corner crouched into a ball forced to endure the brutality of their kicking and attempts to subdue her.

Suddenly the pummeling ceased and the noise of drunken yells was replaced by
silence then a ringing in her ears.  With a peek through swollen eyes blurred with blood from the lacerations in her forehead she braved a glimpse of the cause of the abrupt absence of the attack.  A light suddenly illuminated the alley and a tall man in blue trousers a cream colored shirt and a brown vest was standing over her, all sign of her attackers had vanished.

The man knelt down and looked her over.
  She shrank back in fear not knowing if the man was a new threat or her rescue.   “Careful there little one,” the man soothed as if talking to a small child; “You’re hurt worse than you might feel at the moment.  Let’s get you somewhere safe where we can get you cleaned up and give you some medical attention.  Do you think you can stand up?”

Kaysee nodded and slowly unfolded herself falling on her side as the broken arm that she had tried to steady herself with folded under the weight.  With a gasp she rolled onto her back and began to shake
, feeling weak and dizzy.  She closed her eyes trying hard to remain awake.  As consciousness finally eluded her she thought she saw moving glyphs glowing in the air above her.

When she woke she was in an unfamiliar bed with clean sheets that smelled of lilac.  She felt
slightly bruised but her eyes were no longer swollen shut and her arm no longer hurt.  Sitting up she turned and sat on the edge of the bed; in front of her on a low dresser was a large vanity.  Seeing her reflection she saw that her face was clean and whole with no sign of the bruising and cuts from the night before.  Realizing that she was still fully dressed in the same clothes that she had worn the day before, she carefully assessed herself.  Although her face and hands were clean and her shoes had been removed she was silently grateful that her dignity had been considered and no one had attempted to remove her clothes.  As she wondered at her rescue and the obvious miraculous healing there came a knock from the closed door from across the room.

“May I come in?” asked the voice of the man that had apparently saved her life.

A little nervous and with not a little bit if trepidation her curiosity won out; after all if the man had wanted to harm her or take advantage he already would have.  “Ok, I guess,” she stammered.

The door opened and a very tall man entered.  Dressed the same way as the night before, he stepped into the room
; his larger frame briefly filling the doorway.  “You look a lot better this morning,” he said as he deposited a parcel onto the dresser.  “Here are some clean clothes for you.  There is a bathroom down the hall where you can clean up.  This house is yours to live in as long as you need a place to stay.  There is food in the pantry and the cooler in the kitchen.  If you find that you need anything else, the Ordiman’s live a couple of houses down the street to the east of here, they will help you with whatever you need.” 

That was how she first met Soaris.  He had seemed worried and concerned
for her like a long lost daughter, and had somehow both rescued and healed her as well as provided her with a sanctuary for her to gather herself, other than that he left her alone.  He would show up from time to time with food or clothing but their conversations were always the same. “Hi, how are you doing, is there anything you need?  I’ll check back in a few days.”

It wasn’t until a few months later when Soaris brought Laura to Yllyan that Kaysee finally understood.  Laura had explained that Soaris
while a very caring man, was somewhat of a loner and that he only had one son and he just plain did not have a clue on how to raise a daughter.  “He just doesn’t have a clue about women, “Laura had explained.  “I had to practically chase that man across the universe before he figured out that we should get married,” The way she had said it almost made Kaysee think that she actually
had
crossed the universe; the woman was either serious or quite eccentric.  That was one of the many attributes of Laura that endeared the older woman to her.  She had a way of speaking the most outlandish things as if they were fact.  Laura also projected a persona of a matronly, confidant; her appearance though was closer to that of an older sister.

Laur
a had taken Kaysee under her wing and before long she slowly and gradually she began to feel her old self.  Soon she was exploring the old Elios city and traveling to Valee station as often as she could just for the fun of riding the amazing overland.

Snapping out of her daydream she saw a concerned look on Leo’s face.

“Are you okay Kaysee?” Leo asked as he reached to her forehead; gently checking for a fever.  “You look exhausted.

“I’m
so sorry Leo, I didn’t get much sleep last night; I had the worst dreams.  I woke early this morning and couldn’t go back to sleep so I just came into work.” 

Leo put his arm around her and guided her to a large sofa.  “Here,” he said gently lie down
.  “I’ll get you a pillow and a blanket and you catch up on your sleep.”  As she started to protest he put his finger to her lips. “It’s a slow day,” he said as he hurried across the office and retrieved a pillow and a quilt from a closet. “I’ll just be here finishing up on the monorail disks for Ava,” he continued as he gently laid her down on to the soft pillow.  Lifting her legs up on to the other end of the sofa he pulled her shoes off and spread the quilt lightly over her so she could snuggle but not get too warm.  “I’ll be here at my desk if you need anything.”

Kaysee sighed as she
snuggled into the softness of the sofa and the quilt; breathing deeply the hint of Leo’s cologne that lingered from the pillow.  “Ava was right when she said that you practically lived here,” she laughed.  “This couch feels wonderful.” she said stretching as she felt herself beginning to relax.

Leo walked to his desk and retrieved something from one of the drawers and returned to Kaysee.  “Let me see your right hand.”  Kaysee pulled her arm from beneath the quilt and held out her hand.  “This
is a lumen enchanted ring that Shane made.  He made a couple and asked me to duplicate them down in the lab early this morning – I worry that he never sleeps.  He also asked me to make sure all of the staff had them.  I’m not sure all that it does but I do know that it provides shielding and protection.  I imagine that with the war and all he wanted us to be protected.”  Taking her hand he carefully slid the shiny silver looking ring onto her right ring finger.  “There you go,” he said, tucking her hand back under the quilt and pulling it up over her shoulders.  “You get some rest.”

“You’re a good man, Leo,” she said with a
drowsy sigh. “Thank you.”   With a smile Kaysee drifted into a wonderfully uneventful sleep,

~~~~~

The Jehhet palace was no longer the social icon that had once been - the gem of the Infin capitol – it had often been called.  The central fountain that used to highlight the courtyard no longer flowed.  The royal residence seemed dismal and dull in spite of its cream colored granite walls, great balconies, and blue tiled roof tops.  The long brick patterned drive that normally hosted ornate carriages and fashionable ministers and their dapper courtiers, was now empty except for patrolling guards and squads of soldiers that marched in and out of the gate as messengers came and went like a human hive. 

Ren D’roe
strode rapidly from the entryway his thoughts a mix of anger and frustration.  He had just been ordered to go and gather more citizens.  Ren was a very large man he came from tall parents, tall aunts and uncles, and tall cousins all who were fishermen. 
Why I ever decided that I wanted to be a soldier,
He thought to himself. 
Where is the honor and glory that is supposed to come from protecting ones nation from its enemies
?  The dreams of his youth were a distant fantasy; he was now determined that the cold hard truth was that Ministers were liars, Kings were bastards, and any officer above field grade was a lying bastard.  It is one thing to fight bandits and smugglers but to capture and enslave the very citizens that he was supposed to protect was more than he could stand.  If he could just get the blasted wrist band off.  He didn’t know how but somehow it gave the king power of them.  The rumors that the king had discovered some sort of ancient magic seemed to be true.