Chapter 3
When Aaron and Sandra came in from their smoking break, the salads were on the table, and Nathan was attached to his drink. Lucas, for his own safety, was huddled in the corner of the booth across from Nathan.
“Nathan, what on earth is that?” Sandra asked, sitting next to Lucas.
“My drink.” He winked at Lucas and blew a kiss.
“But it’s blue.”
“Yep.”
“It’s blue, Nathan. Drinks shouldn’t be that shade of blue.”
“‘Alcohol, my permanent accessory…’ Oh, Aaron, you ah, missed a spot.” Nathan pointed at a corner of his mouth.
“Sorry.” Aaron wiped the bit of blood off.
“So, what did you want to discuss with us?” Lucas emerged from his corner, deeming it safe now that others were here.
“Oh that. Well, the four of us are going to be fighting against an evil wizard who wants to destroy the city and take over the world.” Sandra replied, taking a bite of her salad.
Lucas and Nathan stared at her.
“Hey, this isn’t half bad.” Aaron said, munching on a piece of bread soaked in salad dressing.
“You should eat real food more often.” Sandra advised.
“Probably.”
Lucas broke in. “Excuse me, back up a few sentences. We’re going to be doing WHAT?”
Sandra blinked. “Wow, I did not know the male voice could get that high.”
“He, um…” Nathan cleared his throat. “He’s got a valid question, Sandy. What are you expecting us to do?”
“Defeat an evil wizard and save the world.”
“Why us?” Lucas asked.
“We have the ability.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Tell the story.” Aaron broke in.
“Alright, the short, short, short version. A very long time ago this wizard attacked, trying to destroy the world. Four people stood up against him, and defeated him. Well, he’s back, and we’re the ones who can defeat him.”
“How did he come back if they defeated him the first time?” Lucas asked.
Sandra and Aaron exchanged a look.
“Their names were Shayne, Aerie, Corrin and Deallia.” Aaron spoke. “At the final battle, this wizard made a final attempt to kill them. He cursed Corrin, causing the spell to be not as powerful. It ended up sealing him away instead of killing him. Thus, he finally managed to come back.”
“Curiously enough,” added Sandra. “Lucas is the descendent of Shayne and Aerie. Cool, huh?”
“What was the curse?” Nathan asked.
Again, a look passed between Sandra and Aaron.
“He killed Corrin.” Sandra spoke quietly. “Not only were the four of them anchored to the spell, but they were using each other as anchors. Shayne and Aerie had each other, but when Corrin fell, Deallia lost her focus.”
“Half the spell was gone.” Aaron filled in. “Aerie managed to change the spell to lock the wizard away, something her and Shayne could manage when drawing Deallia’s power. However, it would only be temporary.”
“So how do we stop that from happening now?” Lucas asked. “How do we prevent him from taking one of us out?”
Sandra coughed. “Well, there once was a plan that involved soul mates. When Nathan was first turned, visions of it were sent to the future so we would be able to recognize his soul mate. Unfortunately, his soul mate turned out to be Lucas.”
“I don’t think that’s bad.” Nathan winked at Lucas, who shrank back into the booth.
They were silent as the waitress came with their entrees and refilled their drinks. After a few moments of eating, Sandra spoke again.
“While having Lucas for your soul mate is wonderful, and I’m sure you’ll be happy together…”
“Never!” whispered Lucas.
“However,” Sandra glared at Lucas. “That means that we can’t use soul mates as groundings anymore.” She waved a hand before anyone could ask. “It’s complicated, I really don’t want to explain it.”
“Essentially, we need a new plan.” Nathan said.
“I’m out of ideas. Suggestions?”
“Give me a few days.” Aaron remarked.
“In the meantime, Lucas, I have some papers for you to study. Hopefully they’ll help you focus your powers.”
“But Sandra, I don’t have any powers.”
“Yes you do, you just haven’t been able to focus and access them yet. Don’t worry, we have more than enough time to get used to working together, and lay the foundations for what we need to do later.”
Nathan grinned. “And more than enough time for me to seduce my soul mate!”
Lucas whimpered and curled into a tiny ball.
“Eat Lucas, he won’t touch you here.” Sandra assured him, and focused her attention on her meal.
Another moment of silence fell before Lucas spoke. “Hey, you said I’m a descendant of Shayne and Aerie, right?”
Sandra stared at her plate. “Yeah.”
“So they got married and had children, and all that good stuff.”
“Essentially.”
“And Corrin was killed by the wizard.”
“Yes.” She stopped moving.
“What happened to Deallia?”
There was silence.
They all stared at Sandra, who looked like she wasn’t breathing. Finally, she drew in a long breath, straightening up to stare at the ceiling. She spoke in a low, soft voice. “It was a few months after Corrin’s funeral, after everything was over. Deallia had gained most of her strength back, so everyone was hopeful that she would be fine.”
She paused, and looked down, staring at Aaron. “They forgot that Deallia and Corrin had linked themselves together. She couldn’t live without him. They found her on his grave. She had slit her throat.”
“She killed herself?” Lucas asked.
“She tried.” This time it was Nathan that spoke. “I remember now. When I was turned, it was Lady Deallia who helped me get used to who I was. Deallia didn’t die, she became immortal.”
“Mmm.” Sandra nodded. “In essence. There’s a long story behind it, the whys and wherefores. No one knows the real truth, I think. Essentially, she watches over destinies. She’s the one that sent me here to help you fight this man. This is my destiny.”
“Can we just turn back time?” Lucas asked. “I think I liked yesterday a hell of a lot better than today.”
“I wish.” Aaron replied.
They ate in silence for the rest of the meal.
“Nathan, what on earth is that?” Sandra asked, sitting next to Lucas.
“My drink.” He winked at Lucas and blew a kiss.
“But it’s blue.”
“Yep.”
“It’s blue, Nathan. Drinks shouldn’t be that shade of blue.”
“‘Alcohol, my permanent accessory…’ Oh, Aaron, you ah, missed a spot.” Nathan pointed at a corner of his mouth.
“Sorry.” Aaron wiped the bit of blood off.
“So, what did you want to discuss with us?” Lucas emerged from his corner, deeming it safe now that others were here.
“Oh that. Well, the four of us are going to be fighting against an evil wizard who wants to destroy the city and take over the world.” Sandra replied, taking a bite of her salad.
Lucas and Nathan stared at her.
“Hey, this isn’t half bad.” Aaron said, munching on a piece of bread soaked in salad dressing.
“You should eat real food more often.” Sandra advised.
“Probably.”
Lucas broke in. “Excuse me, back up a few sentences. We’re going to be doing WHAT?”
Sandra blinked. “Wow, I did not know the male voice could get that high.”
“He, um…” Nathan cleared his throat. “He’s got a valid question, Sandy. What are you expecting us to do?”
“Defeat an evil wizard and save the world.”
“Why us?” Lucas asked.
“We have the ability.”
“And how do you know that?”
“Tell the story.” Aaron broke in.
“Alright, the short, short, short version. A very long time ago this wizard attacked, trying to destroy the world. Four people stood up against him, and defeated him. Well, he’s back, and we’re the ones who can defeat him.”
“How did he come back if they defeated him the first time?” Lucas asked.
Sandra and Aaron exchanged a look.
“Their names were Shayne, Aerie, Corrin and Deallia.” Aaron spoke. “At the final battle, this wizard made a final attempt to kill them. He cursed Corrin, causing the spell to be not as powerful. It ended up sealing him away instead of killing him. Thus, he finally managed to come back.”
“Curiously enough,” added Sandra. “Lucas is the descendent of Shayne and Aerie. Cool, huh?”
“What was the curse?” Nathan asked.
Again, a look passed between Sandra and Aaron.
“He killed Corrin.” Sandra spoke quietly. “Not only were the four of them anchored to the spell, but they were using each other as anchors. Shayne and Aerie had each other, but when Corrin fell, Deallia lost her focus.”
“Half the spell was gone.” Aaron filled in. “Aerie managed to change the spell to lock the wizard away, something her and Shayne could manage when drawing Deallia’s power. However, it would only be temporary.”
“So how do we stop that from happening now?” Lucas asked. “How do we prevent him from taking one of us out?”
Sandra coughed. “Well, there once was a plan that involved soul mates. When Nathan was first turned, visions of it were sent to the future so we would be able to recognize his soul mate. Unfortunately, his soul mate turned out to be Lucas.”
“I don’t think that’s bad.” Nathan winked at Lucas, who shrank back into the booth.
They were silent as the waitress came with their entrees and refilled their drinks. After a few moments of eating, Sandra spoke again.
“While having Lucas for your soul mate is wonderful, and I’m sure you’ll be happy together…”
“Never!” whispered Lucas.
“However,” Sandra glared at Lucas. “That means that we can’t use soul mates as groundings anymore.” She waved a hand before anyone could ask. “It’s complicated, I really don’t want to explain it.”
“Essentially, we need a new plan.” Nathan said.
“I’m out of ideas. Suggestions?”
“Give me a few days.” Aaron remarked.
“In the meantime, Lucas, I have some papers for you to study. Hopefully they’ll help you focus your powers.”
“But Sandra, I don’t have any powers.”
“Yes you do, you just haven’t been able to focus and access them yet. Don’t worry, we have more than enough time to get used to working together, and lay the foundations for what we need to do later.”
Nathan grinned. “And more than enough time for me to seduce my soul mate!”
Lucas whimpered and curled into a tiny ball.
“Eat Lucas, he won’t touch you here.” Sandra assured him, and focused her attention on her meal.
Another moment of silence fell before Lucas spoke. “Hey, you said I’m a descendant of Shayne and Aerie, right?”
Sandra stared at her plate. “Yeah.”
“So they got married and had children, and all that good stuff.”
“Essentially.”
“And Corrin was killed by the wizard.”
“Yes.” She stopped moving.
“What happened to Deallia?”
There was silence.
They all stared at Sandra, who looked like she wasn’t breathing. Finally, she drew in a long breath, straightening up to stare at the ceiling. She spoke in a low, soft voice. “It was a few months after Corrin’s funeral, after everything was over. Deallia had gained most of her strength back, so everyone was hopeful that she would be fine.”
She paused, and looked down, staring at Aaron. “They forgot that Deallia and Corrin had linked themselves together. She couldn’t live without him. They found her on his grave. She had slit her throat.”
“She killed herself?” Lucas asked.
“She tried.” This time it was Nathan that spoke. “I remember now. When I was turned, it was Lady Deallia who helped me get used to who I was. Deallia didn’t die, she became immortal.”
“Mmm.” Sandra nodded. “In essence. There’s a long story behind it, the whys and wherefores. No one knows the real truth, I think. Essentially, she watches over destinies. She’s the one that sent me here to help you fight this man. This is my destiny.”
“Can we just turn back time?” Lucas asked. “I think I liked yesterday a hell of a lot better than today.”
“I wish.” Aaron replied.
They ate in silence for the rest of the meal.