“You said that already,” I say spitefullybecause his ambitions have angered me. “But I can never love you,Selell. You are too evil.”
His eyes expand. He looks insane before hesmashes his lips against mine and forces his tongue in my mouth.His mouth refuses to release mine and I’m forced to kiss him backuntil he stops.
“None of your folks are going to survive,not Fawn or Clarity or Chex,” he growls. “You want to knowwhy?”
My eyes narrow to slits and my lips clamptogether tightly. I will not let him kiss me again.
His eyes blaze with insanity. “Because theOlligark are coming!” He sings, pushing his man part against mygroin. “And so am I,” he breathes and then snickers. What a wickedsound he makes.
Suddenly we are both distracted by sparks oflight hitting the room’s entrance. It’s Chex, throwing himselfagainst an invisible shield keeping him out. The light that sparksupon impact reveals his tortured face. Lario Exgesis looks evenmore pleased with himself. I must act.
The Selell gazes down at me and before hecan say another word, I press my lips to his. We’re kissing andhe’s too consumed by me to realize what I’m doing to him. I shovethe i’lek’u from the depths of my belly and into his mouth. It’sjust not any light - it’s the light of recovery.
Lario Exgesis rolls off of me to curl into atight ball. The light is paining him because it’s attacking.
Adore! Where are you! a desperatevoice says in my consciousness as I leap up to stand on my feet andrace toward the Scepter of Gant.
“Cl’auta!” I call out loud as I desperatelygrasp the rod with my hands.
She appears on the opposite side of me. I’mextremely relieved to see her. She has encased me and she’s notalone - the Selell Baron Ze Feldis now stands beside her. They bothglare at Lario Exgesis who’s scooting toward us, still fighting theagony.
“Are you on Earth?” I quickly ask her.
“Yes, we are but where are we now?” Cl’autareplies; she looks terribly confused.
“This is Ol. And has the sun returned toEarth?” I ask in a rush.
“Yes, it has.”
I’m gripped by a grave feeling. Suddenly thefloor shakes violently under my feet. I lift off the ground. I amstill unable to hear any sound outside of this room but I can seeNa’ta, Telman and even Chex still fighting.
“The dark has fallen again. We’ll never makeit out of here without your help. Pan’a’tua, is she still withyou?”
Cl’auta hurriedly takes me by the shoulders,looks deep into my eyes and says, “Show me what you need?”
***
Adore
I stand on the surface of shimmering, clearwater. It’s a tranquil sea that stretches into infinity. There areno mountains or valleys or lively forests in sight. The Scepter isstill in my hands. Clarity did exactly as I asked. Lario Exgesis ishere with me. Telman, Na’ta, and Chex are on Earth with her. I mustdo this without them. Also, Na’ta wants the Scepter of Gant forherself. Even if it does belong to the daughters of Benel, it mustbe given to us by the rightful owner, and that is the Mtknv.
Lario Exgesis is woozy as he rises to standon his feet. His constricted eyes shift from the Scepter to myface. He looks as if he’s on the verge of striking me until, all ofa sudden, he tenses up.
“What have you done to me?” He asks.
“I have broken our bond.”
His hands fly up and he squeezes his headand shuts his eyes tight. “Where is it?” He asks when he opens hiseyes.
“I’ve taken the light away from you.”
He leaps toward me but my palm is alreadylifted and I douse him with the light. Lario Exgesis slumps overand drops on top of the water just as the liquid begins to stirunder us. The Mtknv are rising, molding themselves into form fromout of its depths.
There are an uncountable number of liquidcreatures surrounding us. Ktkl has taken a position between LarioExgesis and me.
His huge eyes fall over the Scepter in myhand. He pulls his eyebrows together while belting out a loud soundof crashing waves.
Another Mtknv creature takes form on theopposite side of him. It’s a female. Her clear bare breasts andwavy watery hair distinguish her from the male. Unlike Ktkl who isgirded in a shendyt skirt that grazes his knees, her skirt is longand hides her feet. And like Ktkl, she’s peering at the Scepter ofGant in my hand.
“This is not the agreement,” Ktkl finallysays to me.
“But it was stolen from you by him,” I sayglancing at Lario Exgesis.
“It was,” he concurs.
“Isn’t it the reason he has to stand trial?”I ask.
The female lets out a loud sound. She’scommunicating with Ktkl and he is listening. He says something backto her in their language, which appears to anger her as she setsher enraged eyes on Lario Exgesis.
“He cannot stand trial now,” Ktkl says, asif he’s accusing of me of wrongfully changing Lario Exgesis’ fate.“The elder cannot pronounce judgment on the vampire because youhave atoned for his crime by returning The Scepter of Gant.”
“What if I keep it?” I ask him because myfather did say that it must remain with us. Father must have knownthat I could never take it without permission. Na’ta may be apilferer but I am certainly not.
The female elder, who understands what I’vejust said, bellows out another series of noises.
“You are the lifeblood,” he says, repeatingher words. “Then our fates are intertwined.” He gazes at the objectin my hand. “If you ask for it, then we must give it.”
“And what if I had stolen it?” I ask tosatisfy my curiosity and confirm that I have done what was intendedfor me to do.
“May I?” Ktkl asks, holding out his openhand to receive the Scepter.
I give it to him without hesitation. Hehands it to the elder.
“Open your mouth,” he says to me.
Like before, I lift my chin and open mymouth.
This time the elder puts her finger on mytongue. When she removes her
