Trying to write 3 books at once (all are competing for my attention) is just not going to work for me, so Im tying two of them up with pretty little ribbons and will open them again at a later date. Back to focusing on this one until its complete: A table sat at the front of the room. Behind it, four men and two women, dressed in black robes, similar to ours. An empty chair at the center was soon filled by a third woman, who by looks, appeared no older than thirty. Her violet robe instantly gave away her identity. Her features were similar to her daughter’s, only with thinner lips and dark hair cropped short in a pixie cut. “You can leave us now,” she told Stephenie, her voice sharp and unemotional. I could already imagine Stephenie rolling her eyes as she marched back up the stairs. It was odd to think of them as mother and daughter when they looked so close in age. “Now,” she began again, her eyes scanning the four of us, one at a time. Her gaze fell back on me. “Before we begin, I’d like to personally thank you, my dear, for your bravery and for returning the forbidden scroll. I see a bright future ahead of you and would like to talk to you more about that later.” She scooted her chair closer to the table and rested her forearms. “It’s been brought to my attention that you have remained a resident of Earth. In fact,” she darted her eyes back and forth between us all again, “I hear that all of you have been living away.” Her lips pursed. “I’ll let you know that I don’t approve of any of our people traveling back and forth. It puts you at risk, but I worry more about the risk it puts on our realm.” “I think it’s necessary and we are very cautious when we travel to and from here,” I said, my cheeks prickling with a sudden rush of heat. Already, I’d broken rule number one of not speaking unless it was at the request of the council. Kayla grabbed my hand and squeezed it, not in comfort, but agitation. I gulped. “Necessary?” The head of the council’s eyes narrowed as she tilted her head. “How so, Kali?” My inhale was shaky and I tried my best to relax. “Well, there’s a lot going on between the realms. Odraus won’t stop until he gets what he wants, and I don’t think my visions alone would be enough to save us from him if he figured out how to breech our borders. We’ve made some very important connections and are more aware of what lies ahead than we’d be if we stayed here.” “And what exactly do you believe lies ahead, my dear?” I swallowed forcibly, drawing in another breath. “With all due respect, Ms . . .” “Chloe.” I stifled my giggle at the mental picture of America’s most famous scam psychic. “With all due respect, Ms. Chloe-“ “Just Chloe.” It took everything in me not to roll my eyes at having to start over again. “Okay. Well, it’s not a matter of what we believe will happen. It will. And soon. There will be a war, and according to my vision, it will be fought in Muldre, right beside our borders. That makes me uneasy. But what really concerns me is the clear advantage Odraus’s army has over ours . . . er, the Muldre’s. The Muldre have lost everything and only want their land and freedom back. If they lose, it only gets Odraus one step closer. If we don’t have people on the outside, gaining access to critical information, staying in the loop, my visions will only give us enough warning for a last minute defense tactic. We’ll fail against a force of that size.” Shifting my feet, I forced myself to maintain eye contact. I needed to prove confidence in my words. “We’re very adamant about protecting the secrecy of Nelsia, and with Lorri’s gift, we’re able to travel through even Muldre unseen.” “Are you insinuating that we fight in this war between Muldre and Sulta?” She sounded irritated. “Think about it, Ms… er… Chloe. This isn’t a war just between them. Above all, this is our war. Muldre is no more than a stepping stone for complete domination in Odraus’s mind. What he really wants is the power Nelsia’s destroyed borders could provide. Muldre may be fighting for freedom and for their land back, but it’s our war more so than theirs. It is our duty to protect these borders. It is our job to preserve the balance of all the realms. And if we sit back and hide away, eventually he will find a way in. “I’m suggesting we form an alliance and gain an upper hand. We have some people from Muldre we consider trustworthy. But we can put them through a test of honesty using Carissa’s gift. We never have to show them where our borders are, but an alliance is probably our best chance at defeating Odraus.” My heart pounded as the room fell silent. Chloe stared back at me, perturbed, but she did look as though she was considering my words. Finally she held out her hand, palm up, and spoke. “Bring me the letter. This is not how these meetings are usually conducted.”
Posted on: Tue, 29 Jul 2014 18:02:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015