The Emerald Staff (4 page)

“That’s exactly what I want to find out, but
everyone clams up when those two words are mentioned.” Faedra
explained, exasperated.

A moment more passed in silence, so much so,
you could hear a pin drop. It was as though no one even dared
breathe.

“You’re not going to tell me, are you?”
Faedra asked the party at large.

Silence followed.

“I will find out, you mark my words. I will
find out what it means if it’s the last thing I do.”

Faen let out a resigned sigh at his charge’s
declaration but said nothing at her outburst.

“If you know it is Princess Vivianna who is
attacking you, why do you not explain to the king and have her
stopped?” Todmus asked, as if it were only that simple.

“The king knows,” Faedra retorted.

Faen broke his silence upon seeing Todmus’
confused expression. “It is not that simple, my friend. Vivianna
has acquired the ruby staff.”

Todmus sucked in breath.

“Precisely,” Faen continued, “no one knows
where she is. She could be anywhere at any time.”

“Where…” Todmus began to say.

“We do not know where she got it. To
everyone’s knowledge it had been destroyed thousands of years ago,”
Faen interrupted him.

Todmus’ brows pinched together, then his eyes
grew wide with fear as he remembered something he had long since
pushed to the back of his mind. “No, it cannot be.”

“What can’t?” Faedra asked her small statured
friend. She didn’t like his expression one bit, and an icy tickle
ran down her spine in anticipation of his answer.

There was a moment of silence again.

“Todmus?” Faen encouraged. “What do you
know?”

Todmus raised his eyes to meet Faen’s. “The
ruby staff belongs to Savu,” Todmus declared with a shudder.

Jocelyn gasped.

“Who?” Faedra asked at the same time Faen
responded.

“
Belonged
, my friend, past tense. Savu
was destroyed along with it.”

“Who’s Savu?” Faedra asked again.

“No, Sir. Savu was not destroyed. Legend says
that he was to appease everyone’s fears, but I read some ancient
texts many years ago,” Todmus lowered his gaze, “texts that I had
no business in reading, I admit. But they stated that Savu was too
powerful to destroy, no one back in those days had greater power
than him and only someone with more power could destroy him. So the
leaders of the seven realms gathered, and together they were strong
enough to find a way to incarcerate him for all eternity.”

“Excuse me, will someone
please
tell
me who Savu is?” Faedra pleaded, as Faen’s expression grew
dark.

“Believe me, Faedra. You would rather not
know.” Faen replied.

The candle had burned itself out and the four
cohorts moved themselves to sit around Todmus’ diminutive table.
Although, Faedra had to admit it was no more comfortable than
sitting on the floor. The only consolation was that they looked
comical with their knees almost to their chests as they sat on the
compact chairs that surrounded it. Faedra had to stifle a giggle as
she looked at her Guardian trying his hardest to look dignified but
failing miserably. He would not be amused if he thought she was
laughing at him. Todmus insisted that he make them all a cup of
tea, and none of them were willing to offend him, especially after
what he had just done for Faedra.

Faedra brought the subject back to the person
called Savu. “If he’s connected with Vivianna, and she seems intent
on making my life a living hell, I think I have every right to know
who this Savu character is,” Faedra insisted, not willing to let
the matter drop.

“
Was
,” Faen corrected. “He has long
since been wiped from our memories. Two millennia have passed since
he walked the seven realms. For most, he is nothing more than a
legend, a ghost of the past. In fact, I know very little about him
other than he spread terror wherever he roamed.”

“So how would Vivianna have gotten her hands
on the ruby staff if she’s not colluding with this, this… legend?”
Faedra’s hands motioned along with her words in their own
expressive dance.

“Maybe she stumbled upon it by accident,”
Faen said in a half-hearted attempt at an explanation.

“Yeah, and maybe I’m the next queen of
Azran,” Faedra retorted, sarcastically.

All three looked at her, their expressions
unreadable.

“What? That was a joke.”

An air of relief surrounded her three
friends; it was subtle, but Faedra could sense it. She was
particularly sensitive to energy, especially after gaining her
power. Now, even a subtle shift in the emotions of those around her
felt like they were being slammed into her. As with everything, she
was learning to control that, too. She found that it did come in
handy sometimes, though. Faedra’s brow creased at her friends’ odd
reaction. Maybe fairies just didn’t have a sense of humor. She
shrugged it off and opened her mouth to speak but Faen cut her
off.

“Come, we should be getting you home. I
believe you are assisting your father this evening,” Faen said
changing the subject.

“Oh, of course.” Faedra remembered. “I
offered to help him shop for Halloween decorations for the party
next week. Thanks for reminding me.”

“Ooh, can I come?” Jocelyn asked. “That
sounds like fun.”

“Sure, I don’t see why not. The more the
merrier.”

They all stood up and one by one thanked
Todmus for his help and the cup of tea. He walked with them until
they got to the ornate archway that led to Faedra’s homeland. Once
there, Faedra turned and crouched down so she was the same height
as Todmus and wrapped her arms around him in an appreciative
hug.

“Thank you,” she whispered in his ear.

Todmus blushed at the show of affection and
awkwardly patted her on the shoulder.

“It was nothing, Miss. You are very
welcome.”

Faedra straightened and turned toward her
friends.

“Come back and visit me whenever you want,”
Todmus said as they walked through the portal. Faen clasped
Faedra’s hand as they took the first step. She looked at their
hands and then to his face. He gave her a warm smile, which she
reciprocated. She knew he had to hold her hand or she would be
appearing out of thin air on the other side. This way, she was
covered by his glamour. She enjoyed the feeling of his fingers
entwined with hers and secretly wished she could find more excuses
to hold his hand.

With the next step she felt the crunch of
gravel under her feet and they were standing once more on the
pathway behind the church. Faedra flinched and closed her eyes, it
was a sudden unconscious reaction that took her quite by surprise.
She froze on the spot unable to move, terror flooding her veins
like ice water. Her hand had tightened to a vice-like grip around
Faen’s to the extent that her knuckles were white. After a moment,
she felt a warm hand caress her cheek. It only took her Guardian a
few heartbeats to realize what was happening.

“Faedra, there is nothing here. You are quite
safe.”

Faedra held her breath and opened one eye by
a slit just big enough to see through. Faen was standing in front
of her blocking her view. She opened her eyes a little wider but
all she could see were the contours of his chiseled muscles hidden
beneath his t-shirt. She leaned to one side to peek around his arm
and puffed out a breath, closing her eyes in relief. Faedra then
opened them to look up at Faen as she relaxed her iron grip on his
hand.

“You can’t even begin to imagine what it’s
like having to watch someone you love beaten to within an inch of
their life, and being powerless to stop it.”

“You are right, I have been lucky that no one
I love has ever had that fate bestowed upon them. I came close
once, but that person fought back and won,” Faen confessed.

“Who?” Faedra asked, intrigued. Faen never
mentioned loving anyone before but he was about two hundred years
old, so it was inevitable that he had probably loved someone in his
past. She wondered what happened to that person or fairy and if
he’d been taken away from them to look after her. An odd twinge
twisted in her gut, a mixture of guilt and envy.

Faen’s eyes shuttered. “Maybe one day I will
tell you.”

He turned away and led her down the gravel
path back to her car, and Faedra sensed that was as much as he was
going to say on the subject. Jocelyn trotted along behind them,
excitement bubbling from every pore over their imminent shopping
trip.

“Hey Dad,” Faedra called down the aisle in
the Halloween store they were rummaging through. “How about these?”
She held up a pack of Jack O’Lantern cutouts for his approval.

“Oh, yes, we should definitely get some of
those,” her father replied.

“Ooh, these are cute, too,” Jocelyn, stated,
holding up a pack of cutouts of a black cat with its hackles
raised.

“Yes, we’ll have a pack of those, too,” Henry
agreed.

“This is so much fun,” Jocelyn squealed with
excitement as she trawled through all the Halloween decorations and
accessories. “We don’t ‘celebrate’ evil beings in Azran.” She
clapped her hand over her mouth at her faux pas, her eyes startled
by the mistake.

Faedra’s eyes widened at her friend’s slip up
and she looked over to where her father was, to see if he noticed.
His attention was focused on some ugly looking masks oblivious to
the fact that Jocelyn just said something that would have sounded
strange to most humans. She continued her gaze around the store. No
one seemed to have paid any attention, so Faedra puffed out a
breath in relief and eyed her fairy friend again. “You need to be
more careful what you say around us,” she whispered, a slight smile
curving her lips so that she didn’t look like she was reprimanding
the young fairy too harshly.

“Sorry,” Jocelyn said, a blush creeping
across her cheeks. “I forget where I am sometimes.”

Spooky music was playing in the background,
which added instant atmosphere to the decked out temporary shop
that was only there for about six weeks before Halloween.

“I love this music, Dad. It really adds a
great creepy feel.”

“We sell that, too,” a Goth-dressed sales
assistant interrupted. “Over there on that shelf there’s a whole
load of them. Although, if you ask me, if you’ve heard one, you’ve
heard ‘em all.” The nonchalance in his voice was undeniable, but
Faedra had to admit he looked like he belonged there. He was
wearing black from his head to his toes. His hair was dyed jet
black, thick kohl eyeliner encircled his eyes, black lipstick
covered his lips, and even his fingernails were painted black.

“Thanks,” she responded. “Hey, Dad, how about
some of this creepy music?”

The Goth rolled his eyes as he slouched his
way back to the counter. Faedra ignored him. It was quite obvious
this wasn’t his dream job, but she was not about to let some
insipid guy dull her good mood this evening.

After about an hour of looking through all
the fun Halloween treasures, the trio’s baskets were filled with
decorations and other goodies, and they were rendezvousing at the
cash register.

“You guys having a party or something?” the
Goth drawled, as he scanned each of the items and put them into
bags.

“Yes we are,” Henry replied, a hint of
excitement evident in his voice, which made Faedra warm to her
toes. She was over the moon to see her dad so happy.

Ever since he mentioned his new girlfriend,
Anna, Faedra was convinced he was almost floating around the house
on a cloud. She had not seen him act this way since her mother was
alive and that memory was very faded now. She was only six when her
mother died, but she knew her parents had loved each other very
much. It had been a tangible presence in the house that she could
sense, even at her young age. She often missed that feeling. The
house still held a lot of love, her father loved her beyond measure
but it wasn’t the same. She hoped with all her heart that this new
woman in his life would cherish him the way her mother had.
Anything less would not be worthy of him.

“Come on then, let’s get these bags back to
the car and I’ll take you both out to dinner.” Henry held his
bag-laden hands up and pointed them in the direction of the exit.
Faedra and Jocelyn grabbed the rest of the bags and followed out
behind him.

With bags safely locked in the trunk of the
car, the three of them wandered toward one of the city’s many
restaurants. Shopping could work up an appetite and Faedra, for
one, was now ravenous.

As they were entering the restaurant, she
heard a familiar voice calling her name and all three turned in its
direction.

“Hey, Frederick,” she responded with what
she hoped sounded like pleasant surprise. “Fancy seeing you
here.”

Of course, she had planned this spot for him
to meet up with them, and then she would persuade her father to let
him join them for dinner.

“Dad, you don’t mind if Frederick joins us
for dinner, do you?”

Her father narrowed his eyes for just a
second. He knew when he was being set up. He hesitated for just a
heartbeat, and then conceded defeat, knowing it would be futile.
The glimmer in his daughter’s eyes told him that much. “Of course,
not, darling.”

It wasn’t as though he didn’t like Frederick.
In fact, he couldn’t fault the young man at all, even though he had
tried on more than one occasion to find something, anything, he
could hold against him. No, it wasn’t Frederick who was the
problem. It was that Henry was unwilling to admit his little girl
had, almost overnight it seemed, turned into a young lady. And the
fact she was now interested in young men was par for the course.
Henry was just having a hard time dealing with it, that was
all.