Finding Home - The Light

Chapter Eighteen - Night Prowlers

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

Night Prowlers

When Alexander returned to the others shortly after drenching Sara in her own bed and leaving her to clean up the mess, Lord Saxon was quietly speaking to Carter and Landon. Thomas was standing to the side, pretending to ignore the conversation while his friends stared furiously at Lord Saxon as he continued to whisper softly. Hoping to defuse a situation before it became violent, Alexander picked up his pace. He heard the words “stone” and “savior” before he placed his hand on Lord Saxon’s shoulder.

The short elf shrieked as he spun around to face Alexander’s intimidating stare. He mumbled his apologies before scurrying off into the night quickly, followed by his guards. Alexander watched carefully, making sure Lord Saxon was well away from Sara‘s tent in the center of their camp before turning his attention back to the elves around him.

“Would anyone like to explain what was just happening here?”

He met the angry eyes of his men with the stubborn silence that was his trademark. His efforts were rewarded when Thomas sighed and stepped into the light.

“As soon as you carted the little girl away, he started droning on and on about some stone. He claimed she was nothing but a fraud and the stone was the source of her power. I think our defensive friends here were almost ready to kill him when he tried to convince them to help him find the stone and prove she wasn’t what she was pretending to be. Alexander, what is she?”

“She is herself and that is enough. As for the stone, it is beyond anyone’s reach until she is ready for it.”

“And who decides that?” Thomas asked with narrowed eyes.

“The stone itself will be decide when it is time to be found again.”

Thomas nodded silently, satisfied with his answer. Carter and Landon were exchanging confused looks between each other.

“Alexander, what’s going on?” Carter finally asked.

Alexander sighed and turned his back to his friends before answering. He knew it was time to stop keeping secrets.

“I found the stone just before I found her. She had traveled through a portal and was wandering through the woods, heading straight for Leyden when I came across her trail. I don’t think I would have been able to find her if not for the stone in my pocket. Every time I lost her trail, it would lead me back to her.” He turned to face some of his most trusted friends. “She can only be herself, which is more than any of us ever dreamed we could be. She is an elemental, and the most powerful person I have ever encountered. She is our savior, as pure and innocent as the light itself, and I will gladly lay down my life for her.”

“An elemental?” Landon whispered.

“Yes, but she has no idea of the powers she holds in her hands. Her emotions rule her every move, making her volatile and fragile at the same time. She can defeat the Dark Prince, but she has no idea how. We have to keep her safe until she figures out how to erase the darkness from our world. She is destined to free us, but the price to be paid is unknown, and I for one am unwilling to see her sacrifice herself for our survival.”

“If you believe so strongly in her, Alexander, then I will trust you,” Landon said quietly.

Carter nodded his agreement silently. Alexander met the familiar icy blue eyes of his old friend Thomas. Alexander was surprised by the hesitation he saw on his friend’s face.

“Are you sure that her beauty isn’t clouding your judgment?”

It took less than a second for Alexander to cross the distance and slam Thomas against the sturdy trunk of the nearest tree. He struggled to control his anger as he held Thomas pinned to the tree. When his breathing slowed to an almost normal pace, he dropped Thomas to the ground.

“You can’t begin to know the extent of her beauty until you know how strong she truly is inside.”

Alexander strode into the forest, away from his friends and the safety of the camp, letting his thoughts roam to the first time he laid eyes on Sara. Her strong spirit was well hidden by her fragile and innocent looking form. He had been captivated by her from the moment her clear blue eyes raised to meet his over the small stream.

He grabbed a low hanging branch and swung his legs over it. He climbed high enough to see the camp through the branches, picking out Sara’s large tent easily in the center. The stars traveled silently across the sky as he watched the camp grow quiet.

A dark shape approached Sara’s tent, but Alexander could make out the low dark shape of Aria warning them away. It happened several more time throughout the night before Alexander descended the tree and silently snuck through the camp. He stopped in the shadows close enough to see who was attempting to see her.

Aria stepped out of the tent just before dark shape came within reach. The mystery person stopped when Aria let out a low threatening growl. He recognized Lord Saxon as he stepped back from the dark lion. Alexander opened his mouth to question him when a voice came from the shadows on the other side of her tent.

“You’ve been warned one too many times, Saxon.” Alexander could hear the fury in Thomas voice as he stepped into the light.

“This isn’t over, Thomas.” Lord Saxon huffed and hurried away in the dark.

“And what exactly are you doing here?” Alexander asked, stepping into the light.

Thomas jumped before frowning at him. “I came to find you, and ran into Saxon. He was sneaking around her tent when Aria came out growling, so I told him to leave. He has returned three times since then. And what were you doing all this time?”

Alexander shrugged, pretending nonchalance while watching Thomas shrewdly. He kept glancing from Aria to the tent flap then back to Alexander. He noticed a small tear on the knee of Thomas’s pants. He had his knife pointed for his friends throat before Thomas realized what had happened.

“And why was Aria keeping you out as well?”

His eyes widened as he took a step back, the knife following him.

“He just gave me the one warning, friend. She cried out, I thought maybe Saxon had somehow made it inside. As soon as my hand touched the tent the lion was on me.”

Alexander tucked his knife away and strode to the tent, walking in without a look back. Sara was sleeping peacefully in a large bed set in the middle of the tent. The pitcher of water he dumped over her head was on the floor next to her bed. Aria stalked past him and leapt onto the bed gracefully, not disturbing the sleeping girl at all. He lay down with his head resting comfortably next to hers. Alexander walked back to Thomas outside.

“You can leave now.”

Thomas hesitated for a second, glancing over Alexander’s shoulder at Sara’s tent, before disappearing into the shadows. Alexander sat with his back leaning against the canvas wall trying to listen to the voice Sara claimed the wind carried. A shiver ran down his spine when the wind blew hard, but it didn’t reveal the soft whisper to Alexander.

The dark bedroom was silent save for the gasping of the man on the large bed. He had awoken from her nightmare of being chased through the forest. Sharp claws had sliced through her back just as he screamed in her mind to wake up. Lying alone in his bed, his body felt as though he had run miles in reality instead of his dreams.

“What are you?” he whispered to himself.

He felt the bond he shared with her as the message was passed along. He was surprised when he heard a sleepy but happy answer.

“They say I’m elemental. I agree with the mental part.”

His mind raced with possibilities. No one had ever known that he and his brother could control the elements. To have someone else with that power was astonishing. He felt the tension leave his body as she relaxed and soon fell asleep miles away.

“Tomorrow,” he thought. “Tomorrow you will be mine.”

Several plans were being laid into place as he lay comfortable in his bed. By this time tomorrow night he would have her in his grasp at last.