Des'Tai: Book Two

73: Tyron

"Hold up," Rune held his hands up in front of him. "So...couple things. First, Knox knows about Faye? Secondly, Shorty's going home!?"

I was trying to remain as still as possible; my expression neutral and unwavering, but my heart was pounding like a drum inside my chest, every muscle in my body tight with tension.

This wasn't a total surprise. Faye had mentioned it to me last month and I'd always known she'd want to go home eventually – but I hadn't expected the reality of it to hit me quite so hard. Faye wouldn't be anywhere on Siofra anymore, she'd be a whole world away, miles gone from the safety of my arms. For a week!

"I told Knox," My Malanai said quietly. "It came out by accident."

Artie cleared his throat. "I have discovered troubling news in regards to the humans and Faye is the perfect candidate to find out more. You see, when our world shifted last month, Earth felt it too – not in the magnitude that Siofra did, but in the form of storms and to those who looked to the skies...images."

"Images?" Senna asked.

"The storms were triggered by the veil between our worlds becoming too thin and unstable. Images of our world could be seen within the clouds when lightning struck, if someone was paying close enough attention."

My anxiety spiked. "So you're sending Faye to Earth to do what exactly?"

"Because Chicago is Faye's home, that's where the visions appeared. Just like how those in Amethyst Falls saw more than anyone else, Chicago was the same," Artemis reached into one of his pockets and pulled out a small silk bag. "I need you to seek out those who saw the images in the storm, Faye, to expel the fire as best you can. I found from past experiences, that if left uncheck, these matters can fester into something a lot more sinister. Then there are these..." He dropped the contents of the bag into his hand. Three medium sized crystals rolled into his palm, two clear and the other a light blue. "I need to you place these in separate locations around Chicago, at least three miles apart. One in stone, one in earth and the other in water; they will act as a separate barrier between our worlds, a second veil should the other become too thin again. I would have done it myself years ago but..."

Artemis trailed off, dropping the crystals back into the silk bag. Three burn marks marred his palm. "...They do not take kindly to elves handling them."

"And how do you know they aren't going to do the same to her?" I asked, my irritation at this whole situation was one another level.

"Because I've handled them before," Faye answered for them. "I've seen them in Luna's workshop. We did a whole experiment on them last week." She looked at me. "They didn't hurt me and I was moving them around the table all afternoon."

Well, wasn't this fucking perfect? Luna had been testing her before any of us knew what was even going on. Usual for the Difoda's; using us as their own personal little pawns.

I gritted my teeth and looked away towards the window of the library, my eyes locked onto the skies.

"It's quite simple, my marara," Artie continued. "You place them in your chosen locations, say the words and they'll evaporate. No-one will ever know they are there and you must not tell anyone from Earth what you have done."

"Will she be safe?" Senna asked, her hands wringing together. "None of us will be there to help her, should she need it."

"I will be going to Earth and staying for the duration, so if she is in need of me, I will be there to assist her. I have jobs of my own I need to complete – moving the Helath from the shop for one. Do not fret," He looked around, finishing with me. "We cannot forget that Faye is from Earth, Chicago is her home and she knows the ways of that world better than any of us ever will. She will be safer there, with her family, than she is here."

A deep frown tugged at my brows, but Senna got her reply in before I could. "But...we're her family, aren't we?"

"And Chicago isn't her home anymore." I gritted out, my arms folded tightly across my chest.

"And I think she's safer with us," Rune spoke up casually, his shoulders shrugging. "Humans have proven they can be just as dangerous as elves."

Faye looked from each of us, an emotion flickering across her face that I hadn't seen before.

"When will this be, Artemis?"

"Two days from now. The Helath Orb is a day away from being back to full power. One more day of recovery will be all it needs, then I must go."

Rune rubbed thoughtfully at his chin. "And what about us? What's our mission?"

Artemis looked to his wife, where they exchanged a fleeting but knowing look. Luna nodded at him. "To retrieve the other Orbs from around Siofra."

I looked away from the window. What? The four other Helath Orbs were hidden away, protected by their own Elders, in various cities dotted across the world. Years ago, when war had raged between the Four Kings, the Elders had separated the Siofra Kingdoms and locked them away into Orbs, ours included, with each Kingdom being the holder of one that wasn't its own. Any threats to smash them had been quickly diminished by one factor; if one Orb broke, they all did. Without them, the Helath Orb was the only way to get to each part of that world.

They'd been separated for a reason and they were better off staying that way.

"I'm sorry, what?" Rune asked.

"That's impossible," I spoke up. "The only one in our lands is locked away in King Oren's palace, protected by an Elder."

"An Elder that is no longer fit to protect something as important as a World Orb; nor is King Oren for that matter. They would be safest here, under my watchful eye, within my walls."

"In case you didn't notice, Artemis, these walls aren't always the safest," My Malanai chimed in, her hand once more locking onto my arm. "My son nearly died protecting this place and that was without World Orbs inside!"

Artemis sighed. "They will be buried beneath us, in caverns here long before this building was. I have prepared myself thoroughly for this next move and the safety of my home and my family within is paramount to me, do not think otherwise, Maya."

"You want us to go to Seran, don't you?" I asked, feeling my anxiety grow.

"It's where the Orb is, so yes, Tyron, I do."

Rune looked at me nervously. He knew what that place was to me, knew that I'd never wanted to go there after what had happened to my Iasa.

"I could go alone, Artie," He suggested. "I don't mind."

"No, the job is too big for only one of you. You'll be caught and killed."

"Oh, that's a pleasant thought." Rune mumbled, mostly to himself.

I shuffled from one foot to the other, my gaze dropping to the ground. "I'll go. But I need you to answer one question first."

"Of course, what is it?"

"Why is the Elder or Oren no longer fit to protect it?"

Even as I asked the question, a voice at the back of my mind told me I already knew the answer.

Luna stepped forward, her face grave. "Out of the ten remaining Elders, only four of them still hold their essence. Of the Four Kings and Queens of the separated lands of Siofra, only one."

My Malanai gasped beside me.

"And I'm going to take a guess that the one isn't Oren..."

Luna shook her head at me. "No, is it not our King. Oren is without his essence, without an Elder and holding a World Orb that he can no longer shield."