Ethon (The Other Worlds Series Book 2) (26 page)

“Us?” She blinked.

“Do you honestly think I won’t be there, too?” He kissed her softly, letting his lips linger over hers. “Wherever you go, I go.”

Before she could reply, Will stood, pulling her up with him. “Come on, we still need to tell Zedge about how you destroyed part of your college campus.”

:  :  :  :  :

Queen Archelda sat motionless on the pale blue sofa in her chamber’s sitting room. Her face contained a blank stare as her ageless, royal blue eyes gazed into the cloudy orb in her hands. Her long, dark hair was pulled up into a tight knot at the nape of her neck. The ivory gown she wore clung to her slender form, cascading onto the floor around her feet.

For a woman nearly twice Fuladrik’s age, her appearance was stunningly elegant. Even for an Eve, she looked extraordinarily youthful. Her beauty should have begun to fade generations ago, but only now did she show signs of wrinkles around her eyes. To the average Saerd, the queen would be mistaken to be in her early forties.

Across from Archelda, Fuladrik and King Yrond stood by the doors to the queen’s personal balcony. Fuladrik and the king had ridden for the Crystal Castle immediately following his confession to the loss of the heirs. They arrived moments before requesting an emergency private audience with the queen. Had Archelda not been at the Crystal Castle, no formal inquiry would have been necessary. However, her presence in the capital demanded it.

“I cannot find the twins,” she said, without looking up from her Vrylaen Stone. “Not even in Sivean.”

Yrond nodded absently as he began to pace the area in front of the doors. “What of young Legann?”

“I am searching for him now,” she replied.

Fuladrik observed the king silently. Unlike his wife, Yrond had already started to age. His long black hair, which was tied behind his head by a leather band, held silver streaks throughout, and crow’s feet lined the corners of his deep blue eyes. Many believed him to be Archelda’s senior, but this was not true. The queen was almost four generations older than her husband.

“Zedgry,” Archelda breathed.

Yrond whirled. “What is it?”

The queen lifted her eyes. “Zedgry is in Evedon.”

“Where?” Yrond blurted.

“When did the Lantz return?” Fuladrik frowned.

“Perhaps I can help you with the answer to that.”

Fuladrik turned. Just beyond the balcony doors, the Lantz Zedgry stood, dressed in strange apparel. Fuladrik raised an eyebrow, wondering how the Lantz could have gotten onto the balcony unnoticed. Just then, he caught a glimpse of a shimmer stone dangling from Zedgry’s neck.

“Zedgry!” Archelda exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

The Lantz bowed at the waist. “Am I intruding?”

“Of course not.” Yrond waved him inside with one hand. “Where have you come from?”

“Willowvale,” he stepped past Fuladrik to his grandfather, “but Arynn told me you were here, so I opened a portal onto the balcony.”

“May I ask where you were before Willowvale, Lord Zedgry?” Fuladrik inquired with a small bow of his own.

He let out a short laugh. “I was in Ethon. Olinia and Will are still there.”

:  :  :  :  :

Porter was feeling fairly confused and slightly guilty as he rolled into the gravel driveway to DS. The week had proven itself a successful one, from the viewpoint of a Seeker. When he went after Olinia earlier that morning with the prospect of bringing another person with telekinesis to the DS family, he’d had no idea she would turn out to be so much more gifted than he’d originally anticipated.

She was a gift goldmine! She could cast fire through her pores and create earthquakes from her fingertips. He’d never heard of someone being able to cause the ground to shake. Thanks to Porter’s discovering her, the director had even noticed him. Perhaps that much-coveted teacher’s position wasn’t above his reach after all. He possibly wouldn’t have to be a Seeker forever.

To be a Seeker required a great deal of charm. Porter wasn’t oblivious to the fact that one day he’d grow out of his good looks. Seekers weren’t Seekers for extensive periods of time. He’d already served as one for three years. The longest any Seeker Porter had heard of lasting was seven years.

Now, true, life as a Seeker was a blast, but it wasn’t really a long-term occupation. Even though it was thrilling to discover the lonely and internally chaotic gifted kids of the eastern half of the United States, the traveling became tedious after a while, and the pay wasn’t stupendous. Porter needed to look to his future. However, he preferred that it have something to do with the gifted.

The only reason Porter really took the assignment as Seeker in the first place was because he had previously been one of the kids he searched for. In middle school, Porter was always the odd guy out. Before then, he was a normal little boy – giftless. When he hit puberty, his skin changed. He became much more sensitive to someone’s touch – to the point that cool fingertips would make his muscles twitch. Then came the day when his mom brushed his arm and he witnessed his own face through her eyes. He never wore short-sleeved shirts again, even in the summer.

Because of his gift, he tried to avoid all human contact. His ability scared him. When he wastouched, the person would unknowingly show him their past five minutes. It wasn’t always pleasant. He’d mostly flinch away, causing him to be a public victim of ridicule. His classmates would bully him about his behavior toward anyone coming near him. He would’ve continued in this sad life if he’d never found DS – or rather DS found him.

When a Seeker approached him near the end of his eighth grade year, she’d offered him a place where he could be at home with others like himself – the gifted. Although he hadn’t been very eager to join DS due to fear of rejection, he’d since grown to admire the institution. The DS instructors had helped him train his gift to see back as far as twenty-four hours and have private conversations within someone’s head just by touch. DS had given Porter an amazing opportunity.

At first, Porter had had the desire to share what really was happening at his new school with his family, but each time he’d even think about it, he’d be so overcome with anxiety he’d make himself sick. He would feel like his lungs were squeezing shut. DS had warned him on his first day that it would be terrible should anyone find out about his gifts – that his family and friends would shun him completely. Over time, Porter lost his wish to speak of his gifts with anyone but the gifted. It was a special bond he held with those like himself.

Following high school, Porter was asked to stay on as a tutor with one of his favorite instructors. A few months later, he was promoted to Seeker – an occupation not everyone could do. To be a Seeker, one had to be skilled with the power of persuasion. Most gifted were distrusting of strangers. It was the Seeker’s job to make the potential DS addition comfortable with the concept of being a part of a school that really was meant just for them.

Porter was typically quite a good Seeker. Usually, after he finished his spiel on why DS was the place to be, kids and young adults would agree to at least check out the plantation. Even if it took a few weeks, his marks would eventually join. Charisma was not something he lacked. Never had anyone publicly outright refused him by using gifts against him, until today.

Releasing his breath out in a rush, Porter parked his bike on the gravel pad at the rear of DS. Even though Olinia was too old to become an official student, she was still welcome at DS. As one of the gifted, she would be permitted to use the practice facilities and DS library, which were both beneficial for the improvement of gifts.

Many former students returned each week to DS. It was home for them – a place separate from the world of the Normals, the name DS kids gave the ungifted. Olinia could have been a part of this. Porter could only imagine how those deep dark eyes of hers would light up with pure bliss when she discovered just how far her gifts would go. At DS, she could be completely happy. Why had she denied his invitation? He thought she’d warmed up to him.

Olinia confused him. She was more than just a little unique. He was still worried she might have left a scar on his hand from their earlier encounter. It was disconcerting that she’d detected their conversation was in her head all along. That was a first. It was almost as if she had in fact had training, but if that were true then who had given it to her? As far as Porter knew, DS was the only school for the gifted on the planet.

Yet, she was a brilliantly gifted woman, there was no doubting that. It didn’t hurt that she was gorgeous, either. With very little instruction, she could easily become a Seeker. But she didn’t seem to want to have anything to do with DS, to the point of becoming violent. Why?

The only reason Porter could come up with for her fighting him was that he must have scared her. Why else would she risk her gifts being discovered by so many? If Porter hadn’t had his partner – Saundra – there to help him, then he most likely would have been further injured by Olinia’s foolish panic. There was no need for Olinia to be afraid of him or DS.

As required of all Seekers, following the incident, Porter had returned to the plantation to report to his assigned instructor what had occurred. Oddly enough, the director just happened to be present in his instructor’s office when he gave his account. For the most part, she remained silent until Porter mentioned Olinia’s name.

Out of habit, Porter adjusted the black Seeker Watch on his wrist before dismounting his bike. It was the symbol of his position at DS, and he secretly enjoyed showing it off to the younger kids. It made him feel like he was someone they should aspire to become. While his feet crunched over the gravel on his way to DS’s back entrance, his mind drifted back to his earlier conversation with the director.

The director’s sea green eyes were wide. “Can you describe this Olinia to me?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Porter nodded, surprised by her sudden enthusiasm. “She’s dark haired with large brown eyes. Slender. High cheekbones. Pretty face.” He paused. “I guess one detail that really stands out is her silver tattoo that she calls a birthmark.”

“A silver birthmark?” The director blinked.

“I know, it’s an obvious lie, but that’s just what she told me.”

“What does the birthmark look like?” She blurted. “Did you get a good enough look to recognize it again?”

Porter raised an eyebrow. The director had completely ignored his reservations about it actually being a birthmark. He frowned. “Yeah, it’s a round symbol, sort of looks like an ancient European engraving.” He quickly scanned the room for his instructor’s book. It was sitting beneath a pile of papers. Porter picked the book up and extended it to the director. “This is the symbol she has on her left shoulder.”

The director jumped to her feet, her fingers running over the soft leather cover of the book. “Does she have any family with her?”

“A little brother.”

“Her twin?”

“No,” Porter shook his head slowly, “I don’t think she has a twin. He’s still in high school.”

“Another brother,” the director mused. To Porter, she asked, “What is his name?”

“Legann.”

The director turned to Porter’s instructor. “This is tremendous news.” She glanced at Porter. “Do you know where we could find Olinia?”

“I know where she lives, yes.”

“Excellent.” She grinned. “You shall be my escort. I believe I should pay a personal visit to Olinia and her brother.”

Unfortunately, he’d had no idea that the director would bring an army of hired guns to capture Olinia and her two friends. Where she managed to find those men on such short notice was beyond Porter. Normal citizens didn’t know mercenaries. Why the need to bring them along anyway? Porter felt like the director had kidnapped Olinia, handcuffing her and all. A part of him wanted to tell the cops. And then, what about Legann? The director had mentioned meeting with him too, but she’d either gone without Porter or not at all. Did she nab him against his will as well?

The entire instance with Olinia made him feel uncomfortable. Something seemed off, like he was missing a very important detail. This was the reason why he’d come back to the plantation that day. He wanted to confront his instructor concerning the matter.

As Porter stepped down to the basement level, a sick feeling crept through his gut. Would Olinia’s kidnapping get him in trouble with the law? Prison wasn’t really his sort of scene. He didn’t like being lied to either, and he had the growing suspicion that he’d just been used by the director in capturing someone he’d thought she only wanted to influence to join DS.

Porter approached his instructor’s office and hesitated to knock. Down the hall from him, he noticed the director’s office door ajar. Raised voices echoed down to him in a language he’d overheard the instructors speak with each other before. The sick feeling was getting stronger. He moved closer to the door slowly, trying to get a better look inside.

The sound of two gunshots and a nauseating thud stopped him dead in his tracks. Without really thinking it through, Porter ran toward the director’s office. Just as he reached the door and was able to look inside, he glimpsed a black hole open up inside the office. Porter gaped. He almost missed Olinia’s brother being dragged through by a one-armed man. Before he had the chance to take a closer look, the black hole collapsed in on itself, leaving behind the wall of books.