Soul Catcher (24 page)

She smiled at his attempt. “I want to return before Father Giloth wonders where I am and comes searching for me. Can you imagine how awkward that would be?”

“I think the news would please him,” he said.

She shook her head. “He definitely wouldn’t be pleased with you.”

“Not if I truly cared for you, respected you, and loved you, which I do—all the above,” he said. “The idea of the two people he loves most finding happiness in each other after the hell they’ve been through would make him happy, Accacia.”

Accacia was mute to his words.

“Besides, he is going to find out anyway,” he said.

She flashed him a look of anger. “You wouldn’t dare,” she snapped.

Aleco laughed at her venom. Even in her anger, she was adorable. “I wouldn’t tell him anything, Accacia, but you are forgetting an important aspect of Father Giloth. As a Nature Priest, he knows everything that happens in his grounds—
everything.
”
Accacia covered her blushing face with her hands, and Aleco laughed at the attempt to hide her shame. “The forest will tell him of the lovemaking and where it came from. He can piece it together,” he said.

“Why didn’t you say something?” she asked.

“I thought you knew.” He laughed. “Accacia, you are a grown woman, and a stunning one at that. He isn’t going to judge you for fulfilling your biological needs. You are no different than the creatures of this forest.”

“This can’t be happening,” she said into the pillow. “That means he’s going to know—about— stuff.” Her face turned a deeper shade of red.

“Such as?” he teased her.

“The way you made me—feel,” she whispered.

“That I made you orgasm—twice?”

She hit him in the face with a pillow, and he laughed at the childish gesture. They were having an amateur pillow fight while discussing an adult euphoria. It made him smile. “There isn’t a thing you can do about it now, so just let it go,” he said. “You may as well stay.”

“Well, it can’t happen again, anyway.”

“Why?”

“I don’t want him to know about that as well,” she said.

“Accacia, he isn’t going to know how many times we did it,” he said. “Just that it happened. How can doing it again make you feel any more shame?”

“You just want to make love again,” she accused him.

He dropped his smile, and his eyes turned serious. “Yes, I do.”

He rolled on top of her and began kissing her. Initially her body was stiff and uncooperative, her mind focused on Father Giloth, he knew. So he changed the subject of her thoughts, by touching her in all the places he knew she loved. Eventually, she was panting for him. She rolled her body astride his and straddled his hips, riding him until she reached her climax. Aleco followed her immediately afterwards, gripping her hips for the entire ride.

Aleco woke the moment she moved from his arms. She got up and searched for the clothes that had been flung all over the room the night before. Aleco watched in misery as she dressed, wishing she wouldn’t go. The sun hadn’t even risen yet. “Stay for breakfast,” he encouraged. “I’ll cook.”

She made a disgusted look at his offer.

“I’m not that bad.” He laughed.

She giggled and it was the most beautiful sound he ever heard. He rose from the bed and kissed her
passionately, enjoying the last moment he could claim her as his own. She returned his embrace with equal intensity then pulled away. Aleco sighed and got dressed, then walked her to the door.

He opened the door for her and silently begged her not to walk through it. As soon as she did, his fantasy would be over. She saw the hurt on his face and she hugged him, kissing his lips and cheeks. He wanted to confess the depth of his feelings, but decided against it. It would only make her uncomfortable. “I’ll go with you,” he offered. “I haven’t been to the house in so long.”

She stopped him. “Perhaps that isn’t the best idea,” she said. “After last night, I don’t know how he’ll react.”

“Damn, Accacia, we aren’t children,” he said. “I think it’s better to get it over with together.”

She sighed. “Okay.”

Asylinth House

29

They strolled across the grass until they approached the secret doorway for Aleco’s personal use. He opened the door for her, allowing her to walk through first. They entered the study and found Father Giloth sipping his morning tea. Topography graphs of the forest covered his desk along with farming reports from the Naturalists. They detailed the life expectancy of the various plants and the elemental composition of the soil in certain areas, allowing Father Giloth to determine which soil patches were more fertile for plant life. He looked up from his tea. “Good morning to both of you, and a good morning it is,” he said. “Can I get you some tea?”

“Yes, please,”
Accacia replied.

“I will take some as well, thank you,” Aleco said.

Father Giloth stared at him in astonishment. The only drink he accepted was brandy, unless something better was on hand, and his polite manners were unparalleled. Aleco smiled at his surprised expression.

Father Giloth gathered two additional cups and filled them with tea. The Nature Priest knew Accacia hadn’t returned all evening. She still wore the same clothes as the night before, and her hair was still in disarray. Even if the Loriuen Tree hadn’t notified Father Giloth of the intimate interaction, he would have suspected it. It was obvious. The Nature Priest was a bit uncomfortable by the revelation, but not surprised. “You both slept well, I can see.”

Accacia’s face blushed crimson.

Aleco smiled like a giddy idiot. “Yes, we did,”
Aleco answered.

“I am very happy for both of you,” Father Giloth said.

“Thank you,” Aleco said with a smile.

Father Giloth stared at him in shock. He hadn’t seen a genuine smile in years. His nephew was obviously delighted by
the experience. The Nature Priest was pleased with Aleco’s good mood. He hadn’t seen him so happy since he was a child. “Since you are both here, I need to address some matters with each of you. First of all, I studied the mineral rock you gave me when you arrived, Aleco, and I found some unusual properties within the stone. It seems to be similar to your Soul Catcher, but its dimensions and material differ slightly. I suspect they have the same origins. Also, it is the same material that comprises the palace walls in Roslyn, but how the material was harvested, I have no clue.”

Aleco’s mind flashed back to the day he and Accacia traveled within Roslyn, which seemed like a lifetime ago, when they were mere strangers. Devry mentioned the mineral and the Chief’s interest in it, but he refused to elaborate further on its purpose. Aleco recalled the Chief’s offer of immortality when he was in the Vast. Somehow Aleco knew the stones were connected in the two events. “They can stop death, slow it, or prevent it in some way,” Aleco said. “I don’t know how.”

Accacia looked at him, surprised. Father Giloth stared too. “How do you know this?” Father Giloth asked.

Aleco explained the two encounters and their relationship. Accacia listened to the story without comment. Aleco saw the emerald flames extinguish in her eyes, and knew she was offended that he’d withheld the information from her. It wasn’t because he didn’t trust her. He just wanted to avoid additional questions about his conversation with the Chief, which did include information he wanted to withhold from her.

“Why would the Chief impart such important information to you if he planned to execute you?” Father Giloth asked.
              “The Chief offered to vindicate my crimes and reinstate me into the guild by enticing me with the promise of immortality,” he said. “He dangled it in front of me like I was a hungry dog waiting for a biscuit.”

“Why didn’t you take it, Aleco?” Accacia asked. “You had no idea if we were going to escape.”

Aleco was annoyed by her question. He didn’t want to answer it. “I just didn’t want to,” he said. “Let’s drop it.” Accacia stared at him, but Aleco said nothing more. She knew there was more to this story, but respected his request and bottled her curiosity. Aleco sighed at her retreat; he was expecting an argument.

Father Giloth placed his fingertips against his lips and organized his thoughts in silence. He withdrew one of the stones from his drawer and set it on the desk where they all could see it.

Accacia grabbed the stone and ran her fingertips across its surface, exploring the texture of the gem along with its cuts and dimensions. The stone felt surprisingly light in her palm, weightless, like a blank sheet of parchment. She threw it to the ground, expecting it to break, but it remained intact. The surface was completely unscathed. Amused, Aleco watched her play with the rock like a child’s block. “Can I have a different stone?” she asked as she extended her hand to Father Giloth.

He withdrew another stone and dropped it into her palm. This stone was disfigured with serrated edges and jagged surfaces, not smooth and shiny like the other one. Accacia noticed the weight of the gem; it was very heavy. The two stones were identical in size, but this one weighed as much as a pail full of water.

“Well?” Aleco asked.

Accacia ignored him and examined the heavier stone. She closed her eyes and absorbed the feel of the gem, trying to determine what set it apart from the lighter stone. She jumped when a jolt of electricity ran through her body, and gazed at the startling image of a singular eye staring back at her from the center of the stone. It disappeared as quickly as it came. She felt Aleco’s hand on her shoulder.

“Are you alright?” he asked with a voice full of concern.

“Did you see that?” she asked him.

Aleco was worried by her peculiar behavior. Perhaps she was just exhausted from their night of lovemaking. The thought pleased him. “See what?” he asked.

“There was an eye in the stone,” she said.

Aleco felt the temperature of her forehead with the back of his hand. She pushed it away. “I’m not hallucinating,” she said. “I know what I saw. It was a single blue eye and it flashed across the surface of the stone then disappeared.”

Aleco and Father Giloth exchanged worried glances.

Accacia sighed in frustration. “Here.” She handed Aleco the stone. “Just hold it for a while.” She grabbed the other stone and dropped the gem in his other palm. “Do you notice the difference?”

Aleco could see no physical anomalies other than their different shapes and varying textures. The only difference between the two stones was the weight. One was certainly heavier than the other. “They have different weights,” he observed.

“Yes,” she said. She took the lighter stone away and let him keep the other.

“Now what?” he asked.

“Just wait,” she said.

Several unremarkable minutes went by with no change. Father Giloth said nothing at the transaction and waited patiently for Accacia to make her point. Aleco was growing irritated with the charade. He thought she hit her head on something, perhaps the headboard. “Accacia, nothing is happening,” he said.

Defeated, she sighed. “You do believe me, don’t you?”

“I believe you
think
you really saw the image.”

Accacia reached for the stone to yank it out of his grasp. When her fingers touched the surface, the eye reappeared. Aleco dropped the gem in astonishment. Accacia grabbed the stone from the floorboards, but it was too late. The eye was already gone.

“Please tell me you
saw
that?”

“Actually, I did,” he said. The flashing image shook his composition. The picture itself wasn’t frightful, but it transmitted a feeling of pain and loss so deep it felt akin to losing your life’s love. He looked at Accacia. “What was that?”

“I have no idea,” she whispered. Her body still stung from the first electric spasm, and the second one caused her arm to twitch in pain. “Did you feel the shock?”

“No,” he said. “Did you feel complete and utter despair?”

“No.”

Father Giloth finally spoke. “Accacia, place the stone upon the table and walk towards me.”

Accacia did as she was told and stood next to the old man. He grasped the stone within his hand then instructed Accacia to touch it. Her fingers barely grazed the stone when the image appeared along with the shock, and Father Giloth felt the flood of depression Aleco described. He returned the stone to the counter.

“What are your thoughts, old man?” Aleco asked.

“I don’t know what to make of it,” he said as he pressed his fingertips to his lips.

Accacia returned to her seat and sipped her tea in silence, pondering the significance of the event. She thought of the eye within the image and realized it wasn’t exactly the typical eye of a human. The lines of the eye were slightly exaggerated, similar to the shape of her eyes, which were unusual for a human.

The line of electricity shocked her body, but made her feel a connection to the stone, like a handhold on your wrist from someone trying to grab your attention. The stone flooded with the color blue, deep like the middle of the ocean, and set the stone in a beautiful hue. She compared the two stones and wondered what their difference meant. It was almost like the heavier stone was alive, while the other died or was never born. It was odd. She didn’t experience the intense despair Aleco described, but the all-consuming need to attract her focus.

Father Giloth’s words shattered her focus. “I will research this. I don’t understand the meaning of this, but I assure you, I will find the answer,” he said. “Aleco, does the guild know of your association with either me or the forest?”

“No, not at all,” he said.

“Good,” he said. “I’m certain they are displeased with your actions. They will hunt you for a very long time, Aleco. The
elemental power of the forest will conceal the stones within the border and protect its existence from those who should have no knowledge of it.” The Nature Priest knew the mysterious gems would be safe as long as no one entered the forest. When Drake found out the guild lost his precious stones, he would be furious. He would never stop searching for both Accacia and the stones until they were found. “Let’s hope Drake doesn’t suspect their hiding place.”

“That could complicate things,” Aleco said.

The Nature Priest nodded. “Drake is already incredibly powerful; his influence is stretching to every realm. It won’t be long until the Continent is unified under one leader, under one king, and I have a feeling there is only one candidate for the position.”

“An alliance where Drake is the sole king and sovereign is a nation I would recede from,” Aleco spat. “I would enlist as a Naturalist and hide under your protection.”

“Unfortunately, if these events come to pass there will be no forest to find escape in.”

“What do you mean, ‘no forest?’
” Accacia asked.

“Drake will burn it to the ground,” he said. “With me included. That’s why he is waiting to gather the allegiance of all the armies of the Continent before he challenges me. I cannot possibly protect the entire forest against two hundred thousand soldiers.”

“Why would he do such a thing? We can’t let that happen,” she cried. “There must be something we can do. It’s not just about the protection of the forest, but the people of the entire Continent. When he comes into power, he’ll behead someone simply because they are breathing the same air as he.”

Father Giloth didn’t respond to Accacia’s emotional words. He couldn’t tell her the truth; that Drake wanted to punish him for his opposition, both in retrieving Accacia and the crown to the Continent. He wished he could comfort her, but found no words that could be strung together without being a lie. They were doomed. The once flourishing Continent would be trampled
under that man’s boot.

Father Giloth knew he was running out of time. There were many things he hid from his adopted daughter, and he knew it was time to confide in her. Now that Aleco was by her side, as her friend and partner, he knew it was right. “There is something you need to know, Accacia. I have waited a very long time to speak of this to you, mostly because this information will only hurt you, but I can’t wait any longer,” the old man said.

Accacia looked at him and nodded. She already knew what Father Giloth was going to reveal. She hoped she would survive the tale.

“Do you mind if Aleco is present? Personally, I prefer that he is.”

She nodded again and braced herself for the impact. Accacia wanted to tell Father Giloth she would rather not know, but she steeled her resolve and said nothing. She had to know the truth.

Father Giloth stared at her for a moment before he spoke. He knew this information would haunt her nightmares for the rest of her life. “Your mother and father were traveling past my border, carrying a very powerful weapon, toward the center of the Continent when they were killed. They were invited to these lands under the establishment of peace, but they were betrayed,” he said. “Rather than honoring the agreement of a non-violent transgression, the ambassadors and their small army were annihilated—you were the only survivor.”

Accacia closed her eyes and forced the tears back. She wished she wasn’t the only survivor—she wished she hadn’t survived at all. She spent most of her life as a slave to a lunatic—a life not worth living anyway. After Accacia filtered through her emotions of their deaths, she focused on Father Giloth’s words.
They were invited to these lands
. She didn’t have a clue what that meant.