The Emerald Staff (14 page)

“We do not know for sure, but we are guessing
several hundred. I do not believe that there are even thousands of
those creatures left. Although, for centuries now, we have not seen
such a large concentration of them in one place.”

“Well, that’s just bloody great!” Faedra
exclaimed, starting to let her frustration get the better of her.
She looked at the others who were staring at her with a mixture of
concern and disapproval. She knew why, and it wasn’t just because
of her outburst. She could feel her skin tingling with electric
energy. Her hair was probably starting to fly around her head
because of the static building up; a sure giveaway that she was not
controlling her power. Faedra felt her cheeks flush. She closed her
eyes and pushed her power back with all her might. If she didn’t
rein it in at the very first sign, she may as well go and power up
the nearest appliance, only they didn’t have them in this
realm.

“Sorry,” she mumbled with a sheepish look,
after successfully getting herself under control again.

“Young lady, if you do not release that, it
will eat you alive.”

Faedra’s eyebrows shot up at Janessa’s
surprising comment. She was right, though. Although Faedra had
managed to rein it for now, it was starting to hurt keeping it so
contained.

“Come with me, my dear. There is a dead tree
in the gardens that needs to come down. We have been meaning to do
it for some time, but now you can save us the job.” Janessa gave
her son a not so subtle wink as she rose and took Faedra’s
hand.

Faedra followed her out of the room and into
the gardens. It didn’t take her long to fell the dead tree and she
felt a whole lot better for it.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Faedra straightened up from the position she
held leaning on both elbows over the map on the table and looked at
her Guardian.

Faen was also bent over the table next to
her, studying the map spread out in front of them with studious
attention. Her movement distracted his thoughts and he turned his
head to look up at her. Her features were cloaked with both concern
and appreciation. He pushed himself off his elbows, straightened
and turned to face his charge.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice whisper
quiet; the two words laden with emotion.

“What for?” he asked, a slight crease forming
between his eyebrows.

“For this.” Faedra gestured to the map spread
across the sturdy oak table with a sweeping motion of her arm. “For
being willing to help me find my dad, and for standing up to yours
on my behalf. You didn’t have to do that, you know. I don’t want
you to fall out with your father because of me.”

Faen rubbed a thumb over his charge’s cheek.
Her eyes closed as she leaned into his caress. The feeling of
trepidation was her constant companion now and his touch helped
ease it for just a moment. Faen moved his hand, taking her chin
between thumb and forefinger, and encouraged her head to tilt
upwards. She opened her eyes at the movement and looked into the
deep liquid pools of blue that belonged to the most incredible
person she had ever met. A small curve crept across her lips, and
she felt almost reticent in his presence at that moment.

“I would follow you to the ends of the earth,
or any other realm you decided to journey to.” Faen said. “You
still do not realize, do you?”

A look of confusion flashed across her eyes.
“Realize what?”

Faen took a breath to reply but was
interrupted by the sharp sound of a throat clearing. He turned to
see his father standing in the doorway. Faedra didn’t need to look,
she knew who would be standing there. She stepped back from Faen’s
grip, releasing herself with as much subtlety as she could muster,
and turned her attention to the map, and her back to Rowan. She
knew exactly how he felt about his son’s feelings towards her and
the idea of what they were about to attempt. She just couldn’t
handle witnessing that disapproval on his face anymore. She felt
bad enough putting his son at risk in the first place, because she
knew he would indeed follow her to the ends of the earth, a fact
she was selfishly taking advantage of and felt horrible about.

“Have you decided which route you will take
to the mountains?” Rowan asked on his way across the room towards
the table. Faedra moved to one side giving Faen’s father enough
room to join them at the table, but that was the only
acknowledgement she gave him, pretending to be focused on something
else as an excuse to keep her eyes averted.

“I believe so, Father, but I would like your
input. I think if I fly us over this range, we can land here and
will be able to travel on foot the rest of the way. If the redcaps
are guarding the mouth of the mountains, we should be able to sneak
passed most of them. Faedra can then do her thing with the ones
guarding the cave mouth and I will back her up.” Faen was using
animated motions over the map, pointing with his finger at
different locations, giving his father a visual picture of the plan
he and Faedra had been brainstorming together.

Faedra had to admit, she was terrified about
having to come face to face with one redcap, let alone a possible
army of them. She did feel more comfortable with her power now and
was much stronger and more in control of it than she was when she
had her last encounter with the gruesome creatures. Although that
knowledge did little to quell the sickening feeling that lingered
in the pit of her stomach. She wouldn’t have the book to help this
time and she had to rely solely on her own energy, unless they were
lucky enough to have a storm just at the opportune moment. Faedra
had been tempted to coerce Faen to take her back to the castle so
she could ask her ‘new’ father if she could borrow it, or steal the
book if he refused, but decided it would be far too risky allowing
the book anywhere near the redcaps, and, thus, Vivianna and
whatever she was scheming.

They had to face the fact they had no idea
what was really going on in the mountains, but the feeling was
unanimous, it couldn’t be anything good.

Rowan interrupted her thoughts. Reluctantly
she turned to face him. “I’m sorry. Were you talking to me?”

Rowan gave her an impatient look, “I said
that Mrs. Forbes has been packing up some high energy food and
drink for you to take with you. You may want to go and see if what
she is doing will suffice. You will need to be able to use your
power to maximum effect, I feel you will only have one chance.”

Faedra tried to push the anxious knot tying
itself in her stomach to one side. The last thing she felt like
doing was eating. She had no appetite, but if their plan had any
chance of succeeding, she needed to rely on being ‘fully charged’
and would have to force the food down if need be.

“Thank you.” She turned to head out the door,
but when she got there, she realized she had no idea where the
kitchen was in this labyrinth of a house. “Err, where can I find
the kitchen?”

After Rowan gave her the necessary
directions, she headed out the door and strode off to find Mrs.
Forbes. She was actually quite relieved to be given an excuse to
leave the room, knowing Rowan was not the least bit happy with her.
Not quite the first impression she wanted to give Faen’s parents,
endangering their son for her own agenda. She sighed and picked up
her pace trying hard to shake the guilty feeling and leave it in
her wake, but it had set up camp and wasn’t about to go anywhere
anytime soon. She didn’t want to put her Guardian in danger, but
could think of no other way to get her dad back. One thing was
certain, there was no way she was giving up on her dad. So far,
this was the only way forward.

Her boots clunked with every footfall and
reverberated off the cold stone walls lining the long flagstone
corridor that led to the kitchen. In stark contrast to the décor
upstairs, this corridor was painted plain white, the flagstone
floor adding just a hint of neutral color to the otherwise sterile
environment. She could hear Faen’s mother and another woman’s voice
echo up the corridor before she reached the kitchen. They both
stopped and turned to face her when she made her appearance in the
doorway.

Instead of looks of disapproval, as she had
prepared herself for, she was greeted by two warm smiles.

“Faedra, Rowan passed on my message, I see.
Please, come sit and eat. We have to build up your energy.” Janessa
gestured to a place beside her.

Faedra’s stomach growled but it was
involuntary on her part. She had never felt less hungry in her
life, the inner workings of her digestive tract had other ideas
though. She gave them a half-hearted smile in return and wandered
in, taking a spot on one of the long benches near the two women who
were seated towards the end of the huge table that stretched almost
the length of the kitchen.

Faedra saw her backpack on the table. It had
been half-packed with different kinds of food that she recognized
as being high in energy. The rest of what would become the contents
of her backpack were still gathered around it on the table. Lots of
sugary stuff for the quick burst she often needed and others high
in carbohydrates used to sustain her energy over longer periods of
time. The two women knew their stuff, she had to give them credit
for that. How did they know what was needed to sustain the power
she possessed? She only figured it out by trial and error over the
past few months since gaining it.

“How are you faring, my dear?” Janessa asked,
placing a hand on Faedra’s forearm that was now resting on the
table. Her voice was full of compassion. Faedra wondered how this
woman could be compassionate towards the person who was about to
put her son in mortal danger for her own selfish reasons.

“As well as can be expected under the
circumstances, I suppose.”

“Here, drink this. It will make you feel
better.” Mrs. Forbes placed a mug of steaming brew in front of her,
the twisting curls of vapor rose up to waft a pleasant flowery
scent under her nose.

Faedra took a couple of deep sniffs, letting
the aroma envelope her like a warm blanket. “What is it?”

“It’s herbal. Go on take a sip, it will make
you feel better,” Janessa encouraged.

Faedra did as she was instructed. The flavor
was unusual but not unpleasant. She took another, sip then another.
With each one the feeling of trepidation that had her wrapped in
its tendrils, slowly receded. Calmness washed over her and she let
out a deep relaxed sigh.

The two women looked at each other and
exchanged knowing smiles.

“Wow, this is good. I’m starting to feel
relaxed for the first time since the party. What is in this?”
Faedra asked.

“Ah, now that would be telling. It is Mrs.
Forbes secret recipe, not even I know the ingredients.” Janessa
said.

“Thank you,” Faedra said to Mrs. Forbes, who
acknowledged her with an incline of her head.

“How do you know so much about the foods I
need to eat?”

“You are not the first energy manipulator I
have come across.” Mrs. Forbes replied.

“Really?” Faedra asked, wanting to know
more.

“Really.” Mrs. Forbes responded but did not
divulge any more than that. “Besides, if you are to be of any use
to Master Faen, you need to be calm, clear-headed and fully
charged. It is my job to oversee the well being of all those who
are under this roof.”

“I do not know what I would do without her.”
Janessa said in response to Faedra’s raised eyebrows. The guilty
feeling surged back into Faedra’s gut. They were being so nice to
her, and she didn’t deserve it. She averted her eyes and stared
into her mug.

“I’m sorry I dragged your son into this. If
there was any other way…”

Janessa put her hand up to silence Faedra.
“My dear Faedra, my son is a grown man, he is also a Guardian. Just
like his father before him. Believe me, in the days of Savu I was
scared for Rowan’s life every minute of every day, but it is
something you have to accept when married to a Guardian. It is no
different as a mother. Faen knows what he is doing.”

“It doesn’t make me feel any better though,”
Faedra lifted her gaze to face Janessa, needing for Faen’s mother
to see the sincerity in her eyes.

“He cares for you, you know. More than he
should as a your Guardian.”

“Yes, I know. And I know that makes things
complicated for him, too.”

“He is like his father, noble to the core. I
can see history repeating itself there, but that is another story
for another day. Do not feel guilty, Faedra, you have no reason
to.” Janessa gave Faedra a reassuring smile. “Now, please go and
tell my husband and son to come and join us, we will be dining here
tonight. You both need to eat and rest before your journey tomorrow
and I feel a less formal atmosphere would be appropriate under the
circumstances. I always did feel more relaxed here in the kitchen
than in the dining room.”

Janessa patted Faedra’s arm when the young
Custodian gave her an unspoken thank you.

Faedra looked down at her plate a while later
and a pang of guilt shot through her. Mrs. Forbes cooked an
unbelievable meal for them and Faedra had done little more than
push the contents of it around for the past half hour.

“Faen, Faedra can have Jocelyn’s room,”
Janessa said when everyone was finished with their dinner. “It is
made up and I am sure Jocelyn would not mind.”

Faedra looked down at the table, ashamed. She
wasn’t sure about that statement, considering what she’d done to
her friend the last time she’d seen her.

“Thank you, Mother.” Faen stood up and held
his hand out for Faedra. She dare not glance around the table
before she took it, she couldn’t handle another disapproving look.
Instead, she looked up into the unfaltering eyes of her Guardian
and smiled. He was her island in a stormy sea.