Yes! Yes!
I nodded.
Kissing it, he smiled. “Good.”
~ * ~
...My teardrop crystal was gripped in my hand, the ocean still lay dark...
“Take it with you,” the waves sang.
~ * ~
“Saydi?”
“Huh!”
“Is everything all right?”
“Sorry, yeah.”
“Are you sure? You looked a little lost.”
“Yeah, just thinking too hard, I guess.”
“It’s worrisome seeing you so far away.”
He’s so wonderful!
“Sorry.”
Though he seemed to be fooling around, something in his eyes told me different. “I only say that because...” he took a peek at me. “I think maybe you’re daydreaming about some other guy.”
“No!”
Oh, that didn’t come out too fast. Stupid!
He smiled. “Where is it that you go? That is, if you don’t mind me asking?”
There was no way I was going to say anything about my over active imagination that took me off to some unknown place. He would definitely think me a loon. “Nowhere in particular. I’m just thinking about how quickly things can change.”
He raised one eyebrow. “Oh?” Then he let a little crooked smile out and started to dig for information. “For worse or better?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know yet, still scoping out the territory.”
“Oh-ho-ho!” He laughed. “I do believe I was just slammed.”
“Maybe,” I giggled.
Nodding quickly, he bantered, “Okay, okay, I got this. You just got yourself a little contest going, Missy.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You think so? You haven’t got a chance.”
Kissing my hand, he eyed me. “Prepare to meet your doom. Mwaa-ha-ha-ha.”
That attempt at being sinister made me burst out laughing.
Shaking his head, he asked, “Oh that was bad, wasn’t it?”
“Yup.”
He threw his hand up to his heart and theatrically rested his head on the back of his seat. “Please...Please, don’t sugar-coat it. Tell me the honest truth!”
“Oh, stop it!”
He chuckled, snatching my hand back up into his.
We were silent for a few minutes, until something occurred to me. “You never did tell me where you work.”
“Really?”
“Yeah really.”
“Hmm. I work in the oil industry. Father is high up in the ranks. I’m the mere peon learning the ropes.”
“There certainly aren’t any jobs in this town like that. You must commute to the city.”
“Mm-hm.”
“Why? Why would you want to drive an hour both ways every day? Why wouldn’t you just move to the city, instead of this one horse town?”
He glanced out his window and shrugged. “Father simply liked the house and town.”
The reaction was a little strange just from the way he said it. It was almost sad and there was definitely more to it. “Do Job and Joshua work with you, too?”
Whatever touched him the second before was cleared away, and his mood lightened. “No, they’re glorified bums. They’ll help once in a while when they need cash, but otherwise, they don’t do too much.”
“Oh...I’m sorry about Todd today.” I had no idea where it came from, but it was something that needed to be said.
He grunted. “You don’t have to apologize for him.”
“Well, I think I do. He is my friend and he wasn’t very nice...in more ways than one.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, I think Todd did something at your party with Norma, and if he did, I’m going to kill him. Norma’s had a crush on him for years, and if he took advantage of that, I’ll kill him.”
“As for the Norma thing, I’ll see what I can find out. But I’m not sure I’ll tell you...I don’t think you would look good in prison garb,” he kidded and without giving me a chance to react, it changed to being serious. “Now back to Todd and you.”
“There is no Todd and me!” The words burst out, inducing immediate regret for how defensive it sounded.
There was nothing about him to indicate he noticed. “Nonetheless, Saydi. I don’t blame him for the way he acted today.”
“Why not? I sure do. He was being a baby.”
Licking his lips, he explained, “First of all, he’s had you all to himself for years and he’s madly in love with you, everyone can see that. Then some new guy comes along and takes you away.” He smirked. “At least that’s what I hope is happening.”
It was getting to the point, and possibly already too late, not to fall for him. With every word he spoke, it was virtually impossible to resist the ease with which he managed to sneak into my heart. “It is,” I casually admitted.
There was a shy smirk on his part. “Good. Anyway, I’m waiting for him to call me out back.”
A little afraid for Todd, I said, “You wouldn’t take him up on the offer, would you?”
“In a heartbeat.” He was serious.
“Nathanael, he wouldn’t stand a chance!”
“Saydi, it’s the golden rule. If you get called out, you fight.” A poisonous grin crossed his face when he shot a glance at me. “Especially when it comes to the honor of a lady, even to the death, if we must.”
“You would not!” I wasn’t sure if he was kidding or not.
His face cleared. “Well, let’s hope he doesn’t chance it.”
“Let’s.” What could I say to that?
When we pulled up to my house, he threw the car in park and turned a bit in his seat, draping his arm over the steering wheel. “You know what I like about you, Saydi?”
I shook my head.
“I can tell you have passion for your friends and the people around you. Not too many people have that anymore and it’s something I’d like to examine a little closer.”
There he goes again, turning up the heat monitor in my face
.
Before he stepped out of the car, he tilted his head to one side, putting his chin to his chest. “I do love that color on you.”
At first I didn’t want him to walk me to the door for fear Mom would come barging out and bust up our moment. But there was no need to worry. He again made me feel calm, and everything was right with the world.
He looked at his watch and sighed. “Well, I have some work things to attend to before I go in tomorrow. Keeping up with Father is proving to be quite time consuming.”
I rested my back against the door with my hands behind my back, gazing up at him.
A puzzled look fixed on his face as he rubbed his chin. “Am I forgetting something?”
Playfully, I fluttered my eyelashes.
One of his arms crossed over his chest, the other rested on it while he continued to cup his chin. He looked to the ground, shaking his head slightly. “No, no, I paid the bill at lunch.” Then he looked at me from the corner of his eyes with a crooked grin. “Is it...maybe...” He pointed at me. “You. Are you waiting for something?”
I bit on my lower lip and shrugged.
Pulling me into his arms, he asked, “Is this it?” The aroma of his skin advanced quickly, cloaking my senses. He kissed me with such tenderness, allowing our tongues to lightly touch, and linger there, prompting me to want more before he released. “I have to go.” His voice was grainy as he rested his lips on my forehead and kissed it.
“Okay.”
“Do you have your keys?”
“Yeah.”
Stepping back, he held out his hand. I gave him the keys and he opened the door. “Have a good day,” he said.
“You too.”
The house was empty. Mom was more than likely visiting with some of her friends or being counseled by Father Lacombe about the horrible daughter she had for wanting to read a book. The thought made me excited to get right to it, Mom’s reaction long out of my mind.
I curled up into the corner of the couch and opened the cover, quickly flipping through the pages I’d already read. I loved the way the letters swirled and crossed into one another—it seemed romantic in a way. The next chapters grabbed my attention immediately.
~ * ~
It was well known across all realms that the Tov (gods) controlled and guarded the spirit chamber and in that chamber held all Spirit Lights that would help to guide all souls.
The Pyre (demons) spent many years trying to possess a spark from the chamber, believing if they destroyed the light of each of the souls, it would be easy to manipulate them and take them for their own. They never had any misconceptions that they would be able to control all souls, but even a spark held the light of hundreds if not, thousands, and it would give them an upper hand.
Eventually, the demons found a perfect ally in a god who they were able to temp with pleasures he desired. No name was given in the book, but that god was able to work his way up the ranks, becoming council to the spirit chamber. When an opportunity presented itself, he stole a spark, handing it over to Adramel, a high-ranking demon.
It was Adramel’s plan to simply lay in wait until the time came, and when it did, he plotted to snuff out the Spirit Light within the souls he possessed and swap them for the souls the mortals were given. Without their Spirit Light to guide them, the demons could pick and choose who they wanted, whether it be leaders or mere peasants. Then one by one, the temptations and whispers in the ears of each would eventually bring them to do the demon’s bidding.
However, until that time came, Adramel had to perform rituals to conceal it from prying eyes, and each time he did, he noticed that a portion of the Spirit Light would fall away and be replaced with the darkness from the ritual being performed. Adramel was extremely excited with his discovery, as it was going to change everything. With the evil already planted within the Spirit Light, the suggestions and enticements would be accepted immediately. Just as swiftly would the mortals be willing to do their bidding.
As he worked, his creation began to grow and even more excitement reigned in his realm. For they also discovered it wouldn’t be necessary to work one by one on the mortals, as his creation had the ability to take thousands, if not millions of Spirit Lights at once, giving no choice to the mortals...abolishing free will. He called it the Rondure.
The power of the Rondure was directly linked to the strength of the Spirit Lights it held. As it was, it was much too weak to achieve their goal; it was incomplete and would require the brightest of the Spirit Lights, the most powerful of them all. To obtain it, they once again commissioned the spy. Unfortunately for them, the gods already had their suspicions.
~ * ~
“Saydi?” Mom walked in.
Feeling guilty, I thrust the book behind my back. “In here.”
“Hi honey, did you have some supper?”
The book had me so enraptured I didn’t even notice the time, and somewhere along the way I had turned a light on. Creepy. “No, but I’m not hungry. I’m just going to go to my room.”
Mom sighed deeply. “I’m sorry for the way I acted yesterday.”
“Me too. Good night.”
“Good night,” she said quietly.
Flipping on my light, I laid down on my stomach and continued.
~ * ~
The gods discovered the spy while he was trying to take a specific Spirit Light, and in an effort to save his own life, he told them everything they needed to know, including which Spirit Light the demons were seeking. Knowing what the demons controlled, the gods had no choice but to attack. The war started.
~ * ~
The book continued to explain that all gods and all demons were recruited to fight, along with all the powers of the elements like earth, wind, fire, water, ice, etc.. Some brought with them mind reading, some the ability to change into other creatures, and some had the ability to transport themselves from one place to another. Others could will their powers to work just by closing their eyes. Though all had many powers, they only possessed one to three that were very strong—the ones they were known for.
Throughout the book, only two names of the gods were mentioned, and they were the most powerful of the war. Helios: His weapon of choice was the sun. Aeolus: He commanded the wind. They both intrigued me, probably because they were the only ones identified. Yet the thought of being able to control something your enemy couldn’t see, like the wind, sounded fun, especially with the explicit detail the book gave as to how they used the powers—their mind, hands and body movements were the key.
My eyes started getting weepy from exhaustion, but I couldn’t put it down.
The war continued for years and years and each side started to feel the effects, losing thousands and thousands of warriors. When the two thousandth year anniversary was upon them, it was looking dire for the gods. The demons began rejoicing in victory.
Aeolus, knowing the demons were also weak, had one last trick up his sleeve. With the help of an ally on the other side, he sent out the wind. It flowed through every inch of the demons’ realm looking for the Rondure, even though he knew that if he was caught, they could turn his wind on him and kill him.