Gale Season

Chapter Nine

Aerolus and Alandra stood in the kitchen over the centre island, sipping coffee and making plans as if the day was like any other in Seattle.

For a moment Alandra wished it were. How novel to imagine that she and Aerolus were xiantopes, a couple preparing for a day’s work, chatting about mundane matters. Groceries, errands, who would cook dinner and what would they do that night.

Aerolus stared at her strangely.

“What?” she asked defensively, hoping she hadn’t been obvious in her daydreaming.

“Is it me, or is your glow completely gone, and you’re three inches taller?”

She smiled. She’d toned down her skin’s brilliance in hopes of fitting in with the inhabitants of this world. But the height stemmed from Aerolus’ gift that morning. Now standing, she could stare at his throat instead of the middle of his chest. “I’m taller!” Whirling around on a pair of black leather Nine West boots, she posed for him. “Do you like them? They’re really me, aren’t they?”

“Where did they come from?” He looked puzzled. “I set out a pair of jeans, sneakers and a sweater for you on the bed.”

She rolled her eyes. “Thanks for conjuring me some of the ugliest clothes a woman could possibly wear. I just did a little fiddling.”

He scowled, surprising her. More and more he lost his control around her, showing her what he felt instead of masking his expressions. Excitement surged within her at her mage’s temper. Storm Lords were an intimidating lot, and Aerolus’ grey eyes snapped like lightning when he was irritated, as he was now.

“Change back.”

“What?”

“I said, change back. I like the way you look, the real you. Now change back.”

She grumbled to contain the smile that threatened to spill. Imagine that. Aerolus Storm liked the way she looked, short stature and all. With a shimmer she reverted to herself.

“Well, here I am, in all my ‘off the rack’ glory.”

He sighed but lost the scowl. After planting a quick kiss on top of her head, he stepped back and drained the rest of his coffee. “Purie, I forgot something. Wait right here and I’ll be back.” With a silent stealth she admired, he flashed out of sight before her eyes.

The Mir stone made a popping noise when the Aellei teleported. At the thought, she frowned, reminding herself to demand he return the charm. Without it, she couldn’t skip worlds at all.

“Must be nice to have teleportation at the tips of your fingers,” she murmured. “Control freak.”

“I heard that,” he whispered in her ear and nuzzled her cheek, half scaring her to death. “And no, you can’t have it back until I’m sure.”

“Sure?” she breathed, clutching her chest.

“Sure that you won’t leave until we can talk, really talk,” he said quietly.

An undercurrent of unease rumbled through her, and a feeling not unlike that she’d experienced when the wraith had invaded struck her.

“Thank the Shadow,” she murmured. She wanted to delay the conversation, hoping they could avoid it altogether until she returned home. She didn’t want to hear all the reasons why they’d never work as a couple. Talking about it would only depress her.

A shudder grabbed her, refocusing her concern. “Something’s coming.”

Without hesitation he thrust her behind him and erected a shield of frothing wind in seconds.

“I can’t see,” she complained.

“Alandra,” he growled. “Stop being a pain in the ass and stay the hell back.”

“Nice language. I bet you wouldn’t say that to your affai, now would you?”

Silence met her taunt, and she wanted to kick herself for blurting what she’d just managed to avoid. Wasn’t it enough she’d been dwelling on his affai all night? So what that they didn’t have a future? They had right now, and reminders that Aerolus had an unknown bride waiting for him somewhere weren’t conducive to hot, heavy sex.

He held up a hand. “Not another word.”

Thankfully— how desperate am I to view a threatening intrusion as a thankful delay?—a dark void appeared on the far wall of the living room. Keeping the kitchen island and the wall of wind between them, Aerolus pressed Alandra back until only the dishwasher stood between her and the wall.

“Aerolus, I can’t breathe,” she huffed, only slightly appeased when he gave her half an inch.

Peering to his side, she watched as Arim stepped through the black hole in the wall, followed closely by two more Storm brothers. They looked hearty and healthy, and intimidating as all get-out. But Arim, she swallowed nervously, Arim looked like he’d fought the hounds of the Next and barely survived the victor.

Tanselm’s legendary sorcerer had blue marks of the Dark upon his cheeks, burn holes in his tattered clothing, and blood streaking his forehead. His hair was mussed, clumps of black strands stuck to the dried blood on his face. But his eyes, Shadow’s bend, his eyes were swirling with colour the way they’d been when he attacked her.

Unconsciously, she clung like a burr to Aerolus’ back. She knew Arim wouldn’t harm his nephew, but her last interaction with the Light Bringer had been decidedly deadly. A new worry hit her hard. What if he’d somehow learned what she hadn’t yet had a chance to tell Aerolus?

“I take it your brother hasn’t returned?” Arim said quietly, his voice reverberating throughout the room.

She felt Aerolus tense, but his shield remained strong. “No.” She peeked around him, annoyed at not being able to see anything.

Arim stared, Darius and Marcus behind him exchanging long, thoughtful looks. Then Arim took a deep breath and closed his eyes. “You can release your shield, Aerolus. I’m not going to hurt her.”

“Not until you calm down.” Aerolus spoke soothingly, his wind stirring warmth through the room. Pressed against him and sharing his aura, she could feel his magic touching the cold on Arim’s face and healing the ravages of Dark violence.

“Good, you heal him. He wouldn’t let us help him,” Darius growled, his red eyes burning like flame. “So how’s it going, Aerolus? I see you have a woman with you.”

Marcus grinned. “It’s a miracle, truly.”

Darius nodded. “Gotta watch the quiet ones.”

“Enough, you two,” Arim snapped. “I’m calm, damn it. Now lower the shield.” He still sounded aggravated, but his eyes slowly returned to a shiny black.

Aerolus waved his hand, and the air in the room settled. “What happened, Uncle?”

“Uncle?” Alandra stepped around Aerolus and stared in shock from him and his brothers to Arim, seeing for the first time what had always been there. “It’s not just an affectation. He really is your uncle. Wow. It’s obvious, now that I see you all together, standing so close. I can’t believe I was observing you for so long and never picked up that juicy tidbit.”

“’Juicy tidbit?’” Aerolus raised a brow, acting very much like Marcus just then.

She shrugged. “While you were sleeping, I peeked at the Soap Channel early this morning. I was surprised it didn’t wake you.”

Darius elbowed Marcus, who promptly told him to grow up.

Arim rubbed his neck tiredly and sighed. “I appear to be the only one concerned about Cadmus. Will you three shut up and listen?”

“Don’t you mean four?” Alandra added, trying to be helpful.

The brothers chuckled, and Aerolus placed an arm around her shoulders, hugging her tight. She wasn’t sure how she felt about that. Arim stared with speculation, and she wondered if he planned to share with Aerolus one of those ‘don’t buy the bee if you can get the honey for free’ references Sava tended to make when eager Aellein males bugged him about marrying her.

As if I would try to trap a Storm Lord in marriage.

As soon as the thought surfaced, the intrigue and trickery required to make such a thing happen grabbed hold of her mind and refused to let go.

“I keep telling him that if Cadmus were hurt we’d know.” Darius glared at his uncle.

“But can you sense his thoughts?” Arim asked.

“No, and I never could.” Darius’ eyes blazed, and the coffee cups she and Aerolus had left on the counter suddenly steamed. “Aerolus, you tell him.”

“I tried. The Djinn presence in Cadmus’ aura is protective, not to mention female. It’s odd, but not in the least harmful. She’s actually increased his strength, and if Cadmus weren’t so busy feeling sorry for himself, he might sense it.”

Alandra nodded absently, scheming at a dizzying rate to trap a royal Storm Lord in matrimony. It would be the coup of a lifetime. Not to mention unspeakably romantic to marry for love, her heart clamoured.

“Alandra?” Aerolus asked softly.

She felt nervous enough, only to note three other pairs of eyes on her as well. Alandra forced a smile and tried to put them all at ease. “Ellie would no more hurt him than she would herself.”

The sudden stillness in the room told her she’d said something wrong.

“I never said her name.” Arim’s eyes were intent as he focused his will on her mental walls.

“You didn’t have to,” she snorted, thinking rapidly to cover her blunder. “I’ve watched your Tetrarch ever since they stepped foot in this plane, remember?”

“What’s she talking about?” Darius frowned.

“What do you mean?” Marcus’ smile faded, and his glare grew cold.

“Alandra.” Aerolus pulled her to face him, staring her squarely in the eye with that charged silver gaze that made her heart flutter. “Tell us the truth, please.”

She swallowed loudly, wondering if she should have mentioned this to him earlier. But he hadn’t seemed too anxious about his brother’s disappearance, and frankly she’d been too concerned with other things to talk about her newest friend, Ellie.

“Okay,” she said slowly, gauging the distance to the nearest exit. The window wasn’t open, but the front door would do. If she had her damned Mir charm she could have already been gone.

Aerolus saw her finger her throat, and his expression darkened. He grabbed her firmly by the arm and waited.

“Relax, he’s fine if he’s with her.” She tried to edge away from his hold, but at a glance at his relatives, figured she was safer where she stood. Aerolus, thankfully, released her when he realised she had no intention to escape.

“Please explain.”

“Yeah, explain why you know about a Djinn in this world, and why you’re starting to glow,” Darius growled.

“Not one step closer,” Aerolus said quietly to his brother. A sudden impenetrable shield surrounded her.

“What the hell?” Marcus narrowed his eyes.

“Your telekinesis won’t work, Marcus, nor will your attempts at stealing into her thoughts, Arim. If you give her a minute, Alandra will tell us what we wish to know.”

She simply stared at him, her heart pounding as she watched him protect her from his family, men he loved, men he would die for. She stared at the flow of magic between them, consumed by tenderness for him, and had to blink at the strange moisture welling in her eyes.

“Alandra?”

“Sorry, something in my eye.” She looked down to compose herself and cleared her throat, knowing now was as good a time as any to unburden herself. Maybe if she played it right, she’d get the help she needed to save not only the Storm Lords and Tanselm, but Aelle as well.

She glanced up, staring each Storm Lord in the eye. Fascinated by the differences in the identical brothers, she couldn’t help seeing their auras as quite separate. Aerolus’, she noted clearly and with no small amount of satisfaction, was mixed with hers.

“Okay, let’s get this over with,” she said with a sigh and allowed herself to be overcome with latent magic. She glowed a bright white, her hair and skin shinier, more alluring, her features beyond pretty to an unearthly beauty. “I’m Alandra le Aelle, an Aellei currently out of favour with the royal court and the queen, my aunt,” she said with apology to Aerolus. He simply nodded, not surprised. How very like him, all-knowing and unflustered. Irritation washed through her. She felt nervous, why couldn’t he for a change?

“I openly disagreed with my aunt over the matter of conquering Tanselm, an act that resulted in my being here.”

“She banished you to the very place the Storm Lords had gone?” Aerolus stared thoughtfully.

“Ah, no. Actually, the queen had planned on torturing me in Aelle in a manner I really don’t want to think about, let alone describe.” She shuddered at the thought. “I overheard their conversation about you four, and that ‘Sin Garu meant to follow you here.”

“Wait, wait,” Marcus interrupted. “Explain the part about the Aellei wanting Tanselm. Until today I thought the Aellei had all but vanished.”

“We had—vanished from Tanselm that is.” Alandra sighed and leant back against the counter. “Over a thousand years ago, when the Dark Tribes split, the Aellei, the Djinn and the Dark Lords still occupied portions of Tanselm. Though Dark Lord control was steadily waning as the Light Bringers fought to regain the land, there was enough darkness in Tanselm’s soil to sustain us all. There still is,” she added quietly.

She glanced at Aerolus to see if he caught what she was subtly implying. His gaze sharpened, and he nodded for her to continue.

“You know the history. The tribes split, the Light Bringers, Storm Lords in particular, routed the Dark Lords and every other Dark or Shadowy race from Tanselm. Since then, the Djinn found refuge in Foreia, the Aellei in Aelle, and the Dark Lords in Malern and the Isle of Frigia, where they met their best buddies, the ice wraiths.”

“No, the ice wraiths were created by the Dark Lords,” Arim stated.

“No, they weren’t.” The intellectual banter lessened her worry and increased her pleasure in the discourse. “Despite what the Dark Lords would have you believe, the wraiths existed prior to Dark Lord intervention. Now, I will agree the Dark Lords have shaped the wraiths into their own powerful tool, but make no mistake, the wraiths were once something quite different from what they are today.”

“How can you know this?” Arim asked suspiciously. “I sense you are little more than a century old, if that.”

“They have a Great Hall full of altee scrolls,” Aerolus answered, pride in his voice as if the scrolls belonged to him.

Darius and Marcus stared, open-mouthed. Even Arim looked stunned. “Really?” he asked in a low voice.

She nodded. “Open for all to see in the Gray Keep. I’ve seen every battle and scrape related to the Tribe Division, and the magic that encapsulated those records is completely impartial to anything but truth. No Aellein, Dark Lord, or Light Bringer magic taints those accounts.”

“I would greatly like to see that of what you speak.” Arim was quiet, his tone no longer hostile, but still not completely friendly.

“If I can arrange it, I will. But like I said, I’m not exactly welcome in Aelle right now.”

“Tell them about ‘Sin Garu and Lidra,” Aerolus prodded.

“I’m getting there.” She frowned at him to be patient and turned back to his brothers and Arim with a huff. “I spied a Dark Lord and my aunt plotting and planning together. It’s a funny thing though. ‘Sin Garu is the Dark Lord I saw a year ago. But yesterday I had a vision of sorts, and I saw another Dark Lord. One very like ‘Sin Garu, but not him.”

“Two of them?” Darius asked.

“Three,” Arim said grimly. He muttered under his breath, and his clothing suddenly went to rights, his bruises and bloodied skin fading into the picture of perfect health. He seemed as if steadying himself for something coming. “’Sin Garu, his brother B’alen and his sister are all involved, it seems.”

“A real family affair,” Alandra said with an exasperated groan. “Great. You Light Bringers really know how to piss off everyone you meet. You’ve got Djinn, Aellei, Dark Lords and wraiths on your collective asses.”

“Tell us something we don’t know,” Darius growled. “Like how involved you are in all this.”

“Well, fire-breather, I can tell you that in addition to the Dark Lords, you’re fighting only a handful of Aellei and Djinn set on reclaiming Tanselm. The majority of Aellei are ignorant of what the queen plots. And if they knew what I do, make that when they know, there’ll be insurrection in Aelle.”

“So you say.” Marcus stared at her with a strange kind of curiosity, his gaze shifting from Aerolus’ still-protective stance to Alandra.

“So I know.” She stood with her arms across her chest, glaring at Aerolus’ irritating brothers to be quiet. Shadows, but as much as she actually admired them for their closeness, they could be an irritating lot.

She turned to Arim, the one person besides Aerolus she definitely needed to convince. “I know my people, and I know the Djinn who is helping Cadmus. I’ve been watching Aerolus—ah, you all—for a year in this plane. And in that time, a small faction of Djinn have been aiding your cause. Yes, aiding. One Djinn took ‘Sin Garu between, possibly at the cost of his own life. And Ellie Markham, the woman Cadmus can’t keep his hands off of, has been shielding and empowering him ever since Darius left.” Though Alandra had a feeling Ellie didn’t exactly know how much she was really helping Cadmus.

“Ellie Markham? Outpour Ellie?” Darius sounded dumbfounded. “But she’s so normal.”

“What, Djinn can’t be normal?” Aggravated at his bias, she glared and shook her finger at him. “You Light Bringers are so narrow-minded! Just because a being lives in Shadow or Dark, you immediately associate her with evil. Well, that’s just wrong.

“My kind live in Shadow, in both Light and Dark, and we aren’t at all evil. Ellie and the Djinn are Dark, not immoral, yet because they cannot live in the Light, you condemn them in the same breath you use to denounce the Dark Lords. Without Dark there can be no Light, did you ever think of that?”

She was breathing rapidly, anger making her want to break something, namely a few Storm Lord skulls. Without thinking about it, she stirred a thickening air in the room.

“Alandra?” Arim said quietly. “You might want to rethink your attack.”

“Attack?” She didn’t understand until she glanced behind him at the swirling mass of magazines and throw pillows decking the living room. Once again wondering how she was able to tap into Aerolus’ elemental power, she glanced at him and saw him take back control.

He subtly closed his fingers over his palm, and the air settled everything gently back to its place.

“Nice,” he murmured, making her blush. “I think you made your point.”

“How the hell?” Darius stared.

“You’re kidding me.” Marcus gaped at her, then looked to Arim who nodded. “And you complained about Tessa. At least she’s human.”

“Excuse me?” Alandra still couldn’t think past the feel of wind surging through her body.

“Not now, Marcus.” Aerolus shook his head.

Arim chuckled, startling everyone into staring at him. “You know, Aerolus, I seem to recall you saying something about not making the same mistakes as your brothers. That you were smarter, yet you still have not claimed your affai.”

Alandra glared. “Is this really the time to be bringing that up?” Did she need to hear about Mrs. Wind Mage just now, when she was still spitting mad over their obvious prejudice against her kind? It was like a huge slap in the face that she and Aerolus never would be together. He might not mind those not of the Light, but his family didn’t share his sentiments.

Darius chuckled with his uncle. “This is priceless. After all that tripe you spouted to me, to Marcus, and you’re afraid of a little spitfire who—”

“That’s enough,” Aerolus warned, wind taking the words from Darius’ lips. “I’m warning you that now is not the time.” He glanced at Alandra and his eyes softened. “We’ve sidetracked, purie.” The apology in his voice soothed a part of her and she nodded, albeit stiffly.

At least he had a sense of propriety. She felt slightly better that maybe he didn’t like hearing about an affai either, that maybe he wanted their time to last as long as it possibly could, as she did.

“You know, I’ve watched you two flounder to get home for some time,” she directed at Darius and Marcus. “And just when Cadmus finally has a chance to return, you’d—”

“What are you saying?” Arim asked with an intensity that took her aback.

“I’m saying that Ellie is trying to help Cadmus return home to expose the Djinn threat there, but in order to get to Tanselm in one piece, he’s going to need power, a lot of power.”

“But a Djinn can’t cross the shields,” Arim said, clearly alarmed. “Surely even he knows that.”

“Yes,” she said slowly. Was she the only one able to read between the lines? Maybe if they distrusted the Djinn less, they’d be able to appreciate Ellie’s cunning. “But Cadmus isn’t Djinn. Despite the sheen of Djinn flame, he’s a Light Bringer at heart. And Ellie’s not exactly a Djinn, either.”

“You just said she was.” Darius frowned.

“Now I’m confused.” Marcus rubbed his eyes, and she wanted to grin at the headache she was causing.

“She said ‘not exactly’, which for an Aellei means pay attention,” Aerolus drawled. “My guess is that Ellie is part Djinn, and part something else.”

“At least one of you has the brains to go with the looks,” she muttered, pleased to see identical scowls on Darius’ and Marcus’ faces.

“Even so, she won’t be able to penetrate the shields,” Arim said thoughtfully.

“Sure she will. She and Cadmus are sharing energies, at least for now. And the Djinn have had someone on the inside for quite some time, tampering with Tanselm’s protective spells. How do you think ‘Sin Garu breached the shield in the first place?

“The only question is, does your Djinn traitor know where Ellie’s true allegiance lies, and if so, what do you think he’ll do about it when he finds out?”

“We have to let Cadmus know the truth.” Arim began to pace.

“He already knows.” Alandra recalled her last conversation with the frustrated Ellie. “He may be infuriating, but he’s quick to have answers. Besides, from what Ellie told me, she’s been trying to delay Cadmus’ return for some time.”

“Why?” Arim stared hard at her.

“Because she sensed something not right with her father’s contact there weeks ago. I’m thinking she already knows to be wary of your traitor. Ellie wants the Storm Lords to maintain leadership over the land, and she’s been tasked with keeping Cadmus in one piece by a rebel band of Djinn. You see, Arim, not all the Djinn want the Dark Lords in power over Tanselm. ‘Sin Garu will not only kill as many Light Bringers as he can, but all those who oppose his rule.”

“Yeah, if the asshole’s even still alive,” Darius muttered, running his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Oh, he’s alive,” Arim said with assurance. “The question is, where is he, and how do we handle this new Dark Lord threat?”

Alandra glanced at Aerolus, uneasy at the intent look he was giving her. She dimly recalled she had something important to tell him, but the intense focus of his stare shook the important worry from her mind.

“I have some thoughts about where we should go.” Everyone turned to Aerolus, who kept his gaze on Alandra. “I say we take Alandra back to Aelle and get the answers from those that know.” Before she could stammer a firm refusal, he latched onto her arm. “Meet me back here in three hours,” he told his brothers and uncle. “There’s something we need to do before then.”

He teleported with Alandra out of the kitchen before anyone could speak, Alandra included. When next she could catch her breath, she found herself in the most beautiful shadow she’d ever seen in her life.

Rich with vibrant colour and magic, the grey cloak of shade fell from a mountain of rock so full of energy she had to blink to make sure it was real. Aerolus gave her a small smile and brought her hand to the smooth surface of stone.

“Welcome to Tanselm, Alandra.”