The Emerald Staff (16 page)

“You will be safe here while I go and scout
the area.”

Faedra nodded.

Faen turned to leave, his wings starting to
beat as he did so.

“Faen.” Her voice sounded strangled,
although, that was not her intention.

Still on the ground, he stopped beating his
wings and turned to look at her. A worried expression was
scrunching her eyebrows together.

“Be careful,” Faedra whispered.

He took a step to stand in front of her and
cupped her face in his hands, tilting her head up to meet his gaze.
He leaned down, brushing his lips over hers. The softness of them
making his eyes close. He lingered there for a moment, the kiss
soft but full of meaning, before drawing back and opening his eyes.
Faedra opened hers a second later and met his intense gaze.

“I will be quite safe. I will return shortly.
Stay right here.”

Faen brushed his thumb over her cheek before
turning. He beat his wings and took off straight up through the
trees.

Faedra slumped her body back against the big
gnarly tree behind her, thankful for its support. After a few
moments she lowered herself to the ground and sat cross-legged in
the soft moss surrounding the tree. She kept her eyes and ears
alert for any unusual sounds, and waited with bated breath for her
Guardian to return.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Faedra had been sitting for what seemed like
eternity. The light was gradually fading, and, as it did, the
thicket became alive with the noise of nighttime creatures. Her
eyes were doing a pretty good job of adjusting as the light dimmed
but she was now becoming acutely aware that it was so dark she
could hardly see her hand in front of her face; the moon was not
high enough in the sky to make a difference just yet. There was a
rustle in the trees, and an uneasy feeling washed over the young
Custodian. She stood up, senses on full alert. A light breeze was
ruffling the leaves in the surrounding trees of the dense woodland
copse. Her ears had grown somewhat attuned to the sounds of the
thicket but the noise she just heard was something different.

Her heart quickened and she spun around,
obeying what her instincts were telling her to do. Her eyes were
straining to focus in the intense blackness that now felt like it
was threatening to strangle her where she stood. Ever since being
attacked by a redcap behind the hotel on her birthday, she hated
the dark. Before that fateful day, she would never have dreamed
she’d be standing, scared to death in a dark forest in another
realm, waiting somewhat impatiently for a fairy to come and get her
so she could tackle more evil creatures in the pursuit of trying to
rescue her kidnapped father.

A little sigh of resignation escaped through
pouted lips. At times like this she longed to be seventeen again
and blissfully unaware of anything more scary than a hamster.

There was another rustle and her heart
threatened to hammer its way out of her chest. She allowed herself
to take a shallow breath, hardly daring to breathe, lest she give
herself away. But she had a feeling whoever was near, knew all too
well she was there. Now she knew what a rabbit felt like when being
stalked by a fox.

Her mind scrambled to make a sensible
decision out of the myriad ideas flashing through her brain.

She thought for one fleeting moment it could
be Faen. Maybe he just got turned around when it got dark. Maybe
she should be calling out to him so he would know where she was.
Who was she kidding? If she called out, she’d be leading whomever
it was straight to her, and she had a very good feeling it wasn’t
her Guardian.

She could light the area with an energy orb,
but again that would be tantamount to having a flashing neon arrow
pointing at her head saying ‘Here I am, come and get me.’ She
extinguished that idea, too. Maybe she should have an energy ball
at the ready, just in case. If it were just an animal shuffling
about in the undergrowth, it might bring attention to her if
someone was nearby and not yet aware that she was there. So far,
she hadn’t seen any glowing yellow eyes, so that was a bonus.

She could feel her palms getting clammy with
the stress of her indecision, and the icy prickle of fear snaked
down her back.

Where are you, Faen?

The rustle in the bushes got louder as the
perpetrator got closer. Faedra held her breath, her pulse pounding
like timpani in her ears.

“Allo, my lovely. To what do I owe the
pleasure of your sweet little arse in my forest?”

Faedra spun around upon hearing the heavily
accented voice. Was that a Cockney accent? What was someone with a
Cockney accent doing in the middle of a forest in Azran? The
thought distracted her for a split second before instinct kicked in
and she summoned a couple of energy balls that were now bobbing
above her palms lighting the area around her.

“Don’t come any closer,” she demanded, in
what she hoped was an authoritative tone, but she had a feeling it
probably sounded more of a pathetic squeak than the sound of
someone to be reckoned with. She gulped when she saw to whom the
voice belonged.

The man was easily taller than Faen and built
like a house. A long dark coat hung from broad square shoulders and
his muscular build could be determined even under the dark clothing
he wore. His features were rugged and there was a definitive angle
to his jaw that was set rigid. A stubbly overgrowth shadowed the
lower half of his face but, even underneath all that, Faedra could
tell this man was rakishly handsome. For some reason, that fact
made her even more nervous. The light from her energy balls
reflected in his bright green eyes adding an eerie glow to his
already foreboding features. His alert stance was held steady by
heavy leather boots that were planted firm in the dirt. There was
nothing soft and rounded about this man, everything about him
screamed proficient predator. Faedra’s throat dried up, but she
stood her ground even though the more sane part of her brain was
yelling at her to run.

She could feel the blood drain from her face
as the man’s gaze raked her up, down, then up again. The corner of
his mouth upturned in a calculating smile, eyeing Faedra as if she
was his favorite dessert and he was about to take his first
bite.

“An energy manipulator, eh? Now that’s very
interesting. Bin a while since I sin one ‘o your kind.”

“What’s interesting?” Faedra asked, trying to
keep the man talking until she could think of a way out of the
situation.

He took a step forward, ignoring her
question. “Well, then, lil’ lady, you gonna tell me what you doin’
in my forest or am I gonna have to squeeze if from yer?”

“I’m warning you, don’t come any closer.”
Faedra’s voice quavered a little as she held her palms up in what
she hoped was a threatening manner.

“Or you’ll do what exactly?” The man taunted
widening his calculating smile to reveal a row of immaculate white
teeth. He took another menacing step closer, stalking towards her
with the finesse of a big cat.

“This.” She threw her balls of energy at the
man and let her jaw drop when he disappeared a split second before
they would have hit him. Carrying on their journey until they
exploded into the nearest tree. Splinters of bark went flying every
which way.

She spun around but he was nowhere to be
seen. She stood in silence for a moment listening for any sound
that might betray the stranger. When she didn’t hear any, she
relaxed her shoulders, let her orbs fizzle, and puffed out a sigh
of relief. Then something struck her as odd. She looked down at her
ring, it hadn’t given her any warning that she was in danger. She
frowned at it and gave it a tap as if it were faulty.

“Now that weren’t very friendly was it?”

The menacing voice that was smooth as silk
whispered in her ear, so close she could feel his warm breath on
her neck. She froze. How had he managed to get so close to her
without her seeing him or hearing him even move? Before she came to
her senses and could react, the man had taken hold of her hands. He
put them palms facing together and held them above her head with
one of his massive hands. He knew what he was doing; she couldn’t
use her powers with her hands bound in that position. He had his
other hand in the small of her back, pushing her against his body
then he kicked her feet apart and stood between her legs so she
couldn’t knee him in the groin either.

Faedra struggled hard, she couldn’t even use
her head to butt him because it only came to his chest and that was
rock solid, it would do her more harm than him. The more she
struggled, the harder he pressed her body to his. Her heart sank,
she felt completely powerless against this strapping goliath of a
man. Standing head-to-chest, leg-to-leg, he was forcing every part
of her body against his.

“It’s interestin’ coz you are a very rare
breed. Not many inherit that power, so just who are you lil’ lady
and what are you doin’ out here on your own?”

“Let me go,” Faedra demanded, “I’m not alone,
and if you don’t let me go you’ll be sorry.”

The man chuckled at her empty words, and she
could feel his chest move against her forehead.

“Funny, coz I don’t see no one comin’ to yer
aid right now. I’d say it’s just you an’ me, all nice an’ cozy
like.”

His mocking tone sent chills down Faedra’s
spine.

Faedra was losing her resolve, she couldn’t
think of a way out of the situation. He seemed to have successfully
stopped her from being able to defend herself and that thought
terrified her.

“Are- Are you going to kill me?” She asked
into his chest, not daring to look up at him. Her voice was shaky
now.

“Kill yer?” he sounded surprised at her
question. “Now, whadda I wanna be killing yer for?” His voice
softened just a fraction but it was enough for Faedra to notice and
allow her some hope.

The frightened Custodian looked up at her
captor. The moon high enough in the sky now, it bathed the forest
in an eerie silver glow. Her captor’s face was shrouded with shadow
but she could still make out his angular features in the silver
light.

“What are you going to do to me, then?” she
plucked up the courage to ask.

“Well, once yer paid the toll, I’ll let yer
pass.”

“But…” she bit her lip not sure if she should
finish the sentence or not. “I, err, don’t have any money.”

“S’not money I’m after. So that’s just as
well then, innit?”

“What are you after?” Faedra knew she
shouldn’t have said it as soon as the words passed her lips because
her captor’s smile turned roguish once again, like the cat that got
the cream.

“This,” responded the man as he planted his
lips very self assuredly on Faedra’s. She protested as best she
could but the harder she tried to pull away the more intense he
became. As scared as she was, she was also angered at his intrusion
which gave her renewed strength. She tried to pull her hands free
hoping the kiss would distract him, but he just squeezed his hands
even tighter, probably bruising the skin around her wrists with the
force. His grip around the small of her back tightened, also, and
he continued to push her into him with his other hand.

She was starting to panic now. Was this man
intending to attack her? If he was, she didn’t think she would
stand a chance against him. She was just about to do the only thing
she could think of and bite him through the lip when she heard a
sound that made her heart sing.

“Let her go!”

Faedra’s heart soared when she recognized the
voice of her Guardian.

Her captor’s body went rigid at the command,
his lips pausing on hers but holding his position steady.

“I said. Let. Her. Go!”

The man pulled his lips from Faedra’s and, in
that second, she could see there was recognition in his eyes just
before he spoke.

“I’d know that voice anywhere. Faen?” He
turned, not letting go of Faedra’s hands but bringing them down
from where he was holding them above her head.

Faedra gave the man an incredulous look.

“Faen, my man, is that you?”

She looked to Faen who took a hesitant step
forward, sword still held out in front of him, ready to attack. He
adjusted his focus to take in the features of the man who was
holding his Custodian captive. Then recognition sparked in his
eyes, too.

“Etyran?”

“Yeah, mate. It’s me, in the flesh.”

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

“Etyran, my friend.” Faen thrust his sword
back into its sheath as he strode towards Faedra and her captor.
Etyran dropped Faedra’s hands and stalked over to meet his friend.
Faedra rubbed her wrists and flexed her fingers as she watched
wide-eyed with disbelief as the two men threw their arms around
each other in a backbreaking hug and patted each other on the back
with forceful slaps.

“It’s been a long time, mate,” Etyran said as
he released his iron grip from Faen.

“It certainly has, my friend.” Faen gave his
old friend a broad smile.

“You know this… this idiot?” Faedra
questioned Faen with an incredulous glare.

Faen opened his mouth to respond but his
friend beat him to it.

“Steady on, girlie. A rogue I might be, an
idiot I ain’t. I’ll ���ave you know I had the highest intelligence of
all trainee Guardians at the Academy.”

Faen nodded his head as a sign of reiteration
when Faedra shifted her bemused gaze from Etyran to him.

“You’re a Guardian?” Faedra asked in
disbelief.

“Err, no, I ain’t.”

“Why is he talking like that?” Faedra
directed her question to her Guardian as if the other man weren’t
even present. She could still feel the tingle of his lips on hers
and wanted nothing more than to ignore him right now. Something she
was horrified to admit she was finding hard to do.