The Cloud of Darkness (The Ingenairii Series Book 11) (15 page)

And then would come the appearance of John Mark.

Alec looked around expectantly as Kecil stood in front of the window.  The saint was due to appear, to congratulate the girl, to offer his blessing and to reinforce the desire for faith in Jesus.

“It is not so easy for me to make an appearance at the moment,” Alec heard John Mark’s voice weakly pronounce, as it spoke in thin air, without any materialization of the saint himself.  “There is a great evil afoot in the world, and my powers are diverted to protecting those that I can.  I apologize to your friend Alec, that I cannot be there to greet her, for it is a precious delight to see a member of her race come to this shrine.”

Chapter 10

“Whose voice was that?” Kecil asked, reluctantly turning partially away from the view out the window to look at Alec.

“My lord,” Alec spoke beseechingly to John Mark.  “What evil can be a challenge to your powers?  Is it Hellmann, arisen again?” Alec asked, panic starting to make his stomach twist with distress.

“No, Alec, it is not the child of true evil, Hellmann, but it is perhaps the grandchild,” John Mark spoke.  “And it is not quite your time to worry about this, although your time will come soon.  And time will affect you much throughout this adventure.

“Know and prepare yourself to be a hero once again, and know that your success will rely on craftiness as much as energy and ability,” John Mark’s bodiless voice warned.

“Put all of that aside though, and tell your friend about the love of Christ and the joy of faith.  Remember the lessons for yourself as well, then lead her out into the world so that she may make her blessing a testament to the love that God has for his flock.”

There was silence, and Alec knew that the presence of the saint was no longer with them.

“What was that all about evil, Alec?  Did I do something wrong?” the girl asked Alec after moments of silence.

“No Kecil, you’ve done nothing wrong.  John Mark said that you are welcome here, and you will have the blessing of Healing power.  He told me I need to tell you about Jesus and salvation and serving others out of love and faith,” Alec gathered himself together, rattled though he was, and focused on offering some positive comments to the girl who had just begun the evolution towards being an ingenaire.

“But he told me there are some big problems somewhere in the world, and that I would see those problems sometime in the future,” Alec said carefully.

“Is that your job?  Does your god turn big problems over to you to fix?” Kecil asked in an awe-filled voice.  “Are you some type of great hero?”

Alec gave a wan smile.  “No, it’s not like that.  I just happen to have faced troubles at times in the past.

“But right now, we are here for you, not to talk about me.  Let’s leave the cave, and go spend the night at my home, since we’re fairly close to it,” he spontaneously decided.

“Your home?  Your real home, not our attic with the sisters?” Kecil asked.

“Exactly,” Alec confirmed, as he walked back to the doorway, and motioned for Kecil to precede him back out to the staircase.

She looked out the window wistfully, then turned and exited with him, as they paused at the top of the staircase before beginning their long descent.

“When did all of this get here?” Kecil asked in wonder after just a few steps, as she stopped and placed her fingertips atop the formulas that covered the wall.

“It was always there,” Alec answered.  “You just didn’t have the ability to see it before.”

“I understand it all,” she said softly.  She gazed around for a moment more, then began descending again.

They walked for hours.  The view out the window from the miraculous chamber at the top of the stairs had shown an early afternoon vision of the Pale Mountains.  By the time they finished the much faster descent down the stairs, Alec guessed that early evening would be upon them.  And then he would take Kecil with him to the palace at the healing spring, where he would astonish his staff with his lacerta guest, and they would spend the evening in comfort.

And he would be reminded of Andi all over again, as he slept in the bed he had shared with his beloved wife.

When they did reach the bottom of the stairs, they passed through the cleansing shower, and stepped through the doorway threshold, leaving the world of the sacred sealed away while they returned to the world of the ordinary.  Alec picked up his sword and his knife, then spoke to Kecil.

“It’s late in the day,” he told her, with a gesture to the deepening color of the blue sky overhead.  “I’ll take us to my home, and we can spend the night there, then we’ll return to the sisters’ mission tomorrow, and we’ll resume our lives.  You can practice and learn how to use your Healing energy; there will be lots of patients happy to have you work on them!”

He opened his arms wide to invite her into his embrace, and she came with a simple step, comfortable and trusting in him after the extraordinary experience in the cave.  With a firm embrace, he began the process of using his powers, and they endured a brief span of gray seconds, then arrived in the empty study that was his designated room for returning from Travels.

“Welcome to my home, Kecil,” Alec said warmly, as he released his hold on the girl and stepped back.  “Come, let me show you something,” he urged, stepping over to a tall glass door and opening it so that they could step out onto a patio.  The sun was higher in the sky, showing mid-afternoon in the more westerly location.

“See than tall stone fountain,” he pointed at the source of the healing water.

“Don’t tell me – you created it and the water has magical properties,” Kecil guessed.

“Healing properties,” Alec agreed.  “One of the very first things I did that truly used my powers was to accidentally create that monolith, and its waters have been helping to heal people ever since.”

“All of this is yours?” Kecil questioned, turning to look at the face of the building they had arrived at.

“It is,” Alec confirmed.  “It’s a nice home.  We moved here so that my wife would be close to the healing water as she grew older.  It helped her quite a bit in her later years.”

He re-entered the study, then passed through to a hallway, with Kecil trailing behind.

“Sire!” a servant exclaimed as he came around a corner, unprepared to find the master of the palace at home.

“My lord!  There’s a lacerta behind you!” he exclaimed a fraction of a second later, as his attention shifted from Alec to Kecil.

“This is my friend, Bungacantik,” Alec spoke immediately.  “But I call her Kecil.   She and I will spend the night here, before we depart tomorrow.  Farden, would you call the staff together, so that I may introduce her to everyone at once?” he requested.

“Certainly, your majesty,” the man agreed.  He bowed and hastily retreated from the scene, filled with anticipation of the opportunity to announce the return of the king, and his surprising guest.

“He called you ‘sire’ and ‘majesty’,” Kecil commented, as Alec prepared to lead her away.

“Didn’t I mention that I’m the king of the land?” Alec asked with a wide grin.

“You were serious?  You’re truly a king?  And your palace is out here in the middle of this small settlement?  Is your kingdom small?” she asked, hurrying along at his shoulder and asking her questions.

“No, the kingdom is very large, perhaps as large at the lacerta lands, and the true palace is in a very great city far away.  But I lived here with Andi, and as you know, for me the distance of travel from one place to another is not a great barrier,” he explained, as they descended a staircase.

They reached the entry hall, and Alec halted halfway down the stairs, waiting for the servants to gather as they arrived in twos and threes and stood gaping at the unlikely sight of the lacerta who stood upon the steps next to their king.

“Hello everyone,” Alec spoke as he saw Farden accompany the last of the cooks into the hall.

“I have a friend, a lacerta I met while I was in the Avonellene empire.  She is my guest, and we are traveling together through the eastern lands to return her to her home.  But tonight we’ve decided to enjoy the comfort, and the hospitality, and the food of home here,” he smiled at them all.

“So I ask that you prepare a suitable meal, and you show her to a comfortable room for the evening.  And Jennings,” he looked at the steward, “if there are any important messages or matters I should attend to, please bring them.”

The steward bowed and nodded, while the other servants scattered to their duties, and a maid came up the stairs to lead Kecil to a room.

“Kecil, you follow her to your room and relax,” Alec directed.  “I’ll come fetch you for dinner,” he patted her shoulder kindly, then descended to visit with Jennings.

“How have you been, and what news do you have?” he asked as they shook hands.

“I’ve been well sire. We’re so happy to see you return.  Will you be staying with us long?” the man asked keenly.

“Only for the evening,” Alec replied.  “We’re on an unusual adventure, and we have obligations back in Avonellene that we must return to,” he explained.

“We’ll be sorry to see you go.  The house has felt so empty with both you and the queen departed,” the man said.  “And have you been feeling well?” he asked delicately.

“It hasn’t been easy,” Alec admitted, as they began to walk to the office on the ground floor.  “She was such a part of my heart.  But taking care of Kecil has kept me busy.  I had to rescue her from torture, and we’ve had some adventures.

“How have things been here?” he asked.

“You received several urgent messages from the regent, Olivia,” Jennings replied.  He gestured towards the stack of papers on the desk.

"What do you know about Olivia's problems?" Alec asked Jennings.

"Very little, sire," the steward replied.  "There seem to be some problems on the northern frontier," Jennings said.  "I'm sure the notes explain the issue."

"I'll go over them in a moment.  Is there anything here to discuss?"

"Some of the staff are anxious to know if you'll maintain this as your home, my lord," Jennings said delicately.  "There's no need for an answer now, but if you'll not be residing here, some wish to return to their families in the Dominion.

"As long as you or the queen were here, we all felt the honor of serving you, I hope you understand my lord. But without the royal family present, it's a remote location...," his voice trailed off.

Alec pursed his lips.  "Let me think about the best answer; it's a fair question," he acknowledged.

"I'll go over Olivia's letters," he decided to dismiss the steward.   Alec wanted privacy to think about the question of the palace's future, a matter he hadn't considered from the staff's perspective, a fair one, he conceded.

He opened the letter on the top of the stack, the most recent one to be received, and began to peruse its contents.  More disappearances were being reported by settlers moving into the northern lands, to the point that local militias were forming, and some settlers were abandoning their farms and cabins.

The news was surprising to Alec, something that made no sense at all.  He had visited a part of the north only weeks before.  Though he had heard a vague rumor of disappearances, his brief stop had shown an idyllic countryside, not a place of warfare or

kidnapping.   Of course, he had only visited a single spot, he told himself.

Alec looked out the window at the position of the sun.  It was still afternoon at Oyster Bay, and he could receive a personal report on the matter to gather fuller information more quickly.  He felt

fresh enough; despite traveling across the vast continent that day, the visit to John Mark's cave had removed his weariness.  He stood, his mind made up, and engaged his Travelers energy then disappeared from the Healing Spring palace and journeyed to the throne room of the Oyster Bay palace, a room that was sure to be empty.

Except that it was not, and Alec was aware of gasps of surprise from the gathered audience as he suddenly appeared on the stage, interrupting a ceremonial recognition of a retiring officer of the Palace Guard.

“My Lord,” Olivia gasped, and she reflexively knelt to Alec, even as she held a ribbon she had been about to place around the man’s neck.

“I apologize for the interruption,” Alec stammered.  He felt terrible for having stolen the limelight from the retiring man, a member of the Guard who Alec remembered as a young recruit, four decades prior.  He’d been a good man, and a good fighter, who’d been a top challenger on the practice mats in the armory.

“Zayton deserves to be honored.  He’s been with us for a long time.  I remember when he arrived as a young sapling with peach fuzz on his cheeks and no idea of what he was getting into,” Alec offered an extemporaneous praise.  “Thank you for your service,” he said.

“It’s been an honor to serve you and your family, sire,” the man said as he also knelt.

“Olivia, I’ll let you carry on, and we’ll talk when you’re done here,” Alec said in a lower voice as he walked across the stage to address the two.  “Zayton, good luck, and stay out from under your wife’s feet,” he recommended as he shook the man’s hand, then walked off the stage to a round of spontaneous applause from the crowd.

Alec stood in the wings and watched as Olivia smoothly resumed the ceremony to honor Zayton, then allowed the gray beard to speak to the audience.  When his comments ended and he left the stage, Olivia, strolled casually from the stage, then immediately picked up her pace as she moved out of sight of the audience, and called out loudly, “Where is the King?  Someone direct me to him, or heads are going to roll!” she bellowed in a commanding voice that Alec found reassuring.

“He’s right here,” Alec said as he stepped out from behind a curtain, directly in her path and only a few feet in front of her.