Veiled Shadows (The Age of Alandria: Book Two) (12 page)

With another infusion of magical energy released from Hunter, he began again with greater power than the first. “Kaeleighnna iliathe´yll Sayaelílth of Lithnaí and of the Orchaedia, I name you as such in the rite of becoming. You have been chosen and marked as the last of The Orchids. You have been restored to your true and former self, forsaking the glamour of the human kind you have believed yourself to be. Un-warded you may be, however, you must still find who you are becoming. The depth of your power is still bound. That power lies with another. Becoming the
you
you are created to be is in the journey before you. Believe in who you are. Believe in the truth of your heart. You are strong. You are fierce. You are intended to lead this people back into peace.”

The magic began to calm as the wind surrounding Hunter also did. The light in his eyes faded to his normal green though Kaeleigh could see more of the magic spark than she believed she was supposed to. Caught off guard she barely had a second to acknowledge the slight flicker and shift of his image before it settled back to being Hunter as she had known him to be.
Interesting... a glamour? Well, I guess that makes sense, he is in hiding.
Suddenly, Hunter looked weakened and she gripped his elbow, guiding him down to the log next to her. Kaeleigh realized she was shaking. When Hunter looked back at her, his eyes were filled with love and pride. Something in Kaeleigh broke. She fell into his arms and began to sob.

“I don’t know what I am supposed to do. I’m not from this world. I don’t know anything about it. How can I care enough about somewhere I don’t remember to do remotely what it sounds like everyone keeps telling me is expected of me from some ancient prophecy?” She couldn’t even look at him. Kaeleigh felt like she had somehow disappointed him. Once again Hunter lifted her chin to look at him.

“This is a great burden upon you. If I could take it from you, I would. Kaeleighnna, you are created for this. You will grow into it and yourself. One breath at a time. One step at a time. You may not remember this world, but you are of it—it is a part of you. Your heritage lies here. If you listen, you will hear the heartbeat of the land... she is connected to you. Your future lies here.” He spoke with a slight twinkle in his eyes.

What if I don’t want it to?

He looked at her with slight hurt in his eyes as if he heard her thoughts. “It is your choice. You will have to decide if it is worth it.” He gave her a slight smile as he stood extending his hand to her to take.

“Now what?”

“You take the first step. Your friends are waiting.”

⚔⚔⚔

“Finally! I thought you decided to ditch us here,” Chel said with a wink as she looped her arm through Kaeleigh’s after she and Hunter walked into his cottage that really was too small for them all to fit comfortably in.

“Never.” Kaeleigh smiled at her friend, remembering why they were there in the first place and the sacrifices her friends had willingly made to be there with her.

Daegan stood with his arms crossed in the back of the kitchen, Finn leaned against the fireplace poking at embers attempting to revive whatever life could still be ignited, and all eyes were expectantly on Kaeleigh.
No pressure. Right.

“Say the word and you know I’d take you home, no questions asked,” Finn said with false hope. Then he sighed, pausing long enough from the embers to gauge the strength of her resolve. Running one of his hands through his hair he relented, “What’s the plan, Kae?”

She stood up straight, looking each of them in the eye. “There is a lot at work here and I know I have a part to play even though I’m not sure how exactly. I believe that each of you have a significant place in all this too but this is my decision alone. Darkness must be pushed back and light needs to shine here once again.” She stopped and looked down at her feet, taking a deep breath. As she worried the necklace that had become a part of her, gaining strength in her words, she continued on, “I can’t ask this of you, but I must continue on. I know I’m not ready... not near it, but Daegan and Hunter both have already agreed to help train me in not only my magic but also with my sword.” Nervously, she flicked a glance up at Finn, who was deep in thought, his face etched with great concern.

“Kaeleigh, I don’t know what I could do to help you, but I’m not going anywhere. You know that,” Chel jumped in. Kaeleigh nodded her acceptance.

Finn. Kaeleigh, of course, didn’t want him to leave her, but she also didn’t want to put him at further risk being here. She didn’t know what would be done to him if he was caught here in this realm where he had been essentially kicked out of his home with consequences upon his return. When she lifted her eyes to his after several moments of silence, he was watching her. She felt exposed and uncomfortable with him staring at her like that, especially in front of an audience. A slight blush crept up her neck. His intensity suddenly softened.

“I’m with you,” was all he said before he turned back toward the fire and began stirring the lifeless embers once again.

Awkward, anyone?

Right on cue, Chel jumped up filled with pent-up nervous energy, as she had been chewing her nails once again. “So now what? Do we get to train with swords?”

My thoughts exactly!
Kaeleigh’s eyes lit up with a sudden excitement at learning how to not only defend herself or others, but to feel the strength and energy that she had felt before when she had held the sword that she had magically inherited when Chel had been taken into the cave. She knew her friend needed to know she had options when it came to defending herself to not only fight the evils and darkness that they might encounter on their journey but also the ones in her mind.

“Finn, will you help us learn too?” Kaeleigh pleaded.

She glanced at Daegan, gauging his reaction. He simply nodded.

Daegan’s eyes held the slightest glimmer at the prospect of working with weaponry. Training was something he enjoyed doing when he worked with the elite guard of the Ferrishyn. Granted, he had been working with warriors that already had some skill when it came to weapons, but he was up for a challenge, he decided. He just didn’t know how much of a challenge it would turn out to be.

Finn, gliding past Kaeleigh on his way to the door, reached out, gently gripping her forearm as he responded to her question straight into her eyes. “Of course I will. I have always been there for you and I plan to stay close.” Then he went out the door, leaving her pinned where she stood.

“Well, that wasn’t awkward or anything,” Chel said, shaking her head then mumbling something about foolish timing and macho competition.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“This is so AWESOME!!” Chel yelled breathlessly as she swung her borrowed sword in a large arc only to bring it down toward her invisible opponent. She followed the choreographed movements that Daegan had designed for them to learn in order to parry. “I’m SO tired though... can we take a water break?” Chel laughed when her invisible attacker took a swing at her, which she of course just missed as she so gracefully—or not so gracefully—danced away from where the swing would have hit her.

Kaeleigh stood back, standing with Finn, trying not to laugh out loud at her friend as she watched her flailing and dancing about trying so desperately to be graceful as she practiced the steps that Daegan had shown them. Now
he
was incredibly graceful. She mused at how watching him was captivating. He moved his sword with precision and an experience that she had only seen in movies, and even then this was so much more entrancing than any of those. It was
real.
He was... no,
it
was beautiful. She could only hope that she could move closer to how he did than how Chel was right before her eyes. The thing was, she knew Chel was truly trying and believing that she was actually doing the steps just as was instructed.
If only she knew.
Kaeleigh smiled at the freedom her friend had in who she was and her carefree spirit.

“Take a break before you hurt yourself, Chel.” Daegan chuckled as he picked up a different sword than the one he had been flipping up in the air while he shouted out names of steps he wanted Chel to add into her “routine” to keep her on her toes. 

Was that a chuckle? He’s enjoying this,
Kaeleigh thought with surprise.

As Chel passed her sword off to Kaeleigh, she gave her a saucy wink and whispered, “Your turn with his sword.” She sauntered over to sit a little ways off, patting the ground beside her. “Come explain to me while I watch, Finn.” Finn grumbled something about if she had paid better attention he wouldn’t have to, but he went reluctantly and sat.

Kaeleigh gripped the sword in her hand, but it just didn’t quite feel the same. It felt heavy as she moved her hand around trying to familiarize herself with it, and the energy that radiated off of
her
sword was missing. There was, however, definitely a hum of some kind of energy that felt familiar... it felt like Daegan, his energy. She even whispered as much, causing him to give her a strange look that was slightly uncomfortable as he looked to where her hand held tightly onto his sword. Frowning, he looked back up at her, his face full of confusion.

“I’ve not heard of someone sensing the energy of another in an object before. It is most unusual.” He spoke very quietly to not make her feel more uncomfortable than he could sense she was already feeling.

“Oh,” she replied sheepishly, “well, that’s me, isn’t it?...
Most unusual
.” Kaeleigh shrugged, looking at everything around them but at Daegan himself, wanting to move on to her lesson.

“It is not always a bad thing, Kaeleigh.”

He gripped his sword in his hand, ready to begin. “First, you must become in tune with your weaponry because not only are they for you to fight with to defeat a foe, but they are there for your protection. Your sword, or whatever you choose, is an extension of you, a conduit of your energy if you so choose it. Allow your energy to be absorbed, creating a signature bound within the blade.”

That was... deep.
“How do I do what you just said, allow my energy to be absorbed?”

“Hold your sword. Envision your energy flowing into it. It is simple, but it will take some time.”

“How long did it take you?” she questioned, concerned about the answer.

He shrugged, unconcerned. “Many years. That is why we beginning training at an early age, so our energy has time to develop within the metals of the sword.”

“I’m pretty sure I don’t have that kind of time.”

“No. I don’t believe you do. All you can do is learn and try. And hope you won’t need to use it,” Daegan said with a slight lightness in his voice that made Kaeleigh believe he was being humorous.
He’s just full of surprises today.

“You seem to be in a good mood today,” Kaeleigh stated nonchalantly.

Nothing but a nod and a slight twitch of his mouth.

Good conversation.
Kaeleigh rolled her eyes but then focused on what he was doing as he began to get into a fighting stance. From their initial practice with simply the moves and no swords and then again from watching him work with Chel, Kaeleigh thought she had most of the basic footwork memorized. She began to follow his lead as they entered into a series of choreographed steps. Hers, however, didn’t feel quite as fluid as his moves seemed to be.

Frustrated but not breaking her sequence or her focus, she asked him, “Why am I not practicing with
my
sword? Isn’t that the one I should be learning to be comfortable with?”

Lead foot forward three steps. Sword arm extended out front driving his invisible enemy back. Then one step back. Block. Parry. Strike. Kaeleigh followed right along with him, awaiting his answer.

“It is good for you to learn your steps and basic knowledge of
how
to fight.”

“Okay. I know I’m new at all this, but I’m missing why can’t I use mine to learn those things.”

“Just to butt in here for a moment,” Chel started, “but I was wondering the same thing.”

Daegan stopped what he was doing to address Kaeleigh. “Hunter didn’t tell you about your sword?”

She simply shook her head in apparent confusion and then looked to Finn for any answers written on his face. But he looked too thoughtful for her comfort. Finn didn’t normally look
thoughtful
.

“Daegan, you don’t think...” Finn suddenly had a new light in his eyes. “Are you saying what I think you are about to say?” He was up and moving closer to Daegan and Kaeleigh as he asked looking around with both excitement and apprehension. “Kaeleigh, where is it—the sword?”

“Daegan told me to leave it, so it’s in Hunter’s cottage. Why?”

“It’s
the
sword, isn’t it?! I can’t believe I didn’t think about it. I mean I didn’t really take the time to study it back at the caves.” Finn suddenly flinched at mentioning the caves. He wasn’t sure how Chel was dealing with what had happened to her. Looking at her, he noticed the very slightest tensing in her person, but she rolled her shoulders and took several deep breaths.

“Sorry, Chel. You okay?” Finn asked with genuine concern.

Chel nodded and gave him a small smile. “It’s okay, Finn. I’m okay... So what’s up with this sword? Why does it sound like it’s special? I mean other than it just
appeared
to Kaeleigh—which is pretty strange.” She realized she was rambling, quite possibly trying to cover up her earlier nervousness. “Sorry.”

Kaeleigh moved to stand with her friend. Chel gave her a rueful smile and reached out for Kaeleigh’s hand. She knew Kaeleigh wasn’t so comfortable with physical contact, but she also knew Kaeleigh would be there for her however she needed. Kaeleigh squeezed her hand.

“It is understandable to have continued anxiety over what happened to you. I am truly sorry that I was unable to protect you from what you endured,” Daegan said solemnly.

With tear-filled eyes, Chel nodded her acceptance. She took a deep, cleansing breath. “Thank you, Daegan, but it was not your fault. It will just take me a little time, that is all.”