In absolute silence, I wait for Rikka's return. Seated cross-legged on the living room floor of my house with my eyes closed, I let the energy of nature flow through me: the droplets of water providing nourishment to every living thing, the floating particles of the earth that combined can give shelter and build strongholds, the wood chippings offering light and warmth when ignited, and finally the swarf of mental, powerful, unyielding, indestructible. A harmonious balance to calm my soul. To give me strength. To keep me sane.

With a deep breath, I open my eyes, just to catch Rikka trying to slip upstairs. I smirk. "Hello to you, too, love." Like a puppet on a string, I pull her toward the living room couch. "Why don't you sit down?"

"I'm awfully tired, Marush."

"And I wonder why that is." Pursing my lips, I cock my head and grin at her. "Could it be because you exerted your powers too much? Like when you called Andrenior behind my back to save Raynes's territory?"

I have to hand it to her, her surprise is perfectly played out. Her scrunched brows and huge eyes proclaim nothing but innocence. Only a twitching eyelid gives away her deceit. "I've no clue what you're talking about."

"Have you not?" I snort. "Don't pretend, love. I know that Andrenior saved the day not long after our departure, and that's only possible if someone called him. Not many warlocks possess this skill, and since you also conveniently tied your shoe, it's only logically to assume you released the required energy into the ground."

"But I didn't."

"Ah, don't lie." I wag my finger to show her that I'm not buying her rubbish. "You should've learned by now that I always find out if you pull a stunt like this."

"I swear it wasn't me, Marush. Maybe he was hiding nearby, or it was Raelyn. She and Andrenior are really close."

She openly holds my gaze, even though the twitching eyelid continues to betray her. Since I need her unique skill for my next interrogation, I decide to let it go. For now. Punishment will be swift when she least expects it, which will ensure that there won't be further disobedience on her part.

"Okay, let's not dwell on this for now. I want you to visit Sazith with me."

"Visit for what?"

A thin smile curls my lips. "You'll see."

~~~~

When we barge into his realm, Sazith sits in front of the fireplace in the old rocking chair. Not once does he turn his head, even after I bang the door. It's as if he has been expecting us. It's irritating to no end that he seems to always be a step ahead of me, yet logic cautions that he couldn't have foreseen my visit unless I buy into the cockamamie theory that Kaleidopae might have warned him. Despite Gideon confirming its truth, I still have my doubts.

I huff. "You and I have some urgent matter to discuss."

He rocks gently back and forth, ignoring me.

"And look at me when I'm talking to you."

His gaze stays on the fire and he even has the audacity to chuckle. "That's rich, coming from you, Marush. After all, you're the one showing up at my house uninvited, and now you expect me to follow your demands?"

"I know what you've been doing."

He finally locks eyes with me. "And what might that be?" His question is calm, deliberate. Not even a hint of emotion reflects in his features. His face is like a mask.

I still can't shake the feeling he is teasing me. "You've been in contact with Kaleidopae."

Coming from Gideon's mouth, the claim sounded believable. Coming from mine, it borders on absolute foolishness.

"So you finally figured it out."

I scoff. "But how is that possible?"

"Your mother came from two strong warlock bloodlines, maybe the strongest possible combination outside of procreating with a Sentinel. She wasn't just an ordinary Caomhnóir but gifted by the Moon Goddess herself with the power of spirit wandering."

"I've never heard of such a thing."

"As far as I know, she is the only one."

"You mean was. Spirit wanderer or not, she is still dead."

His smile is mild. "What makes you think that such a powerful soul like your mother's relies on something so trivial as a tangible body. Kaleidopae's powers are way above something so simple."

"Is that how she crosses over the Spirit line?"

He doesn't respond and turns his gaze back to the fire as if trying to dismiss me.

"Why is she out to destroy me?"

Silence. He rocks in his chair as if I'm no longer there.

"Sazith?"

He stops rocking and turns his head. "That would imply that you are a man worth destroying. Are you such a man?"

I shrug. Who knows what went through my mother's deranged mind. "She stole my Na Miodóg, effectively robbing me of my ability to kill others of my kind. At this point, I wouldn't put anything past her."

"Then maybe you should ask yourself why she feels that way."

Jealousy, without a doubt, after my skill level surpassed hers, although her expectations of me were always bizarre. For close to a thousand years, she tried to turn me into someone I refused to be. "What is her plan?"

His lips twitch. "What makes you think there is a plan?"

Screw this bullshit. He knows far more than what he lets on, and his counter-questions are simply annoying. "You told Gideon to time Raelyn's birth with the lunar eclipse to give her fire powers, and you also gave him the pendant with my Cloch Draíochta for safekeeping. This proves that you were in cahoots with my mother all along. What's the ultimate plan? I hope you are not delusional enough to think I could ever perish at the hands of the hybrid, no matter how strong her powers are."

"This is all a little farfetched, don't you think? Gideon was in love with Nadja. They had a child together. She happened to be born during a lunar eclipse. That's the natural cycle of life, not some big conspiracy."

"And the pendant?"

"No clue where Gideon got it. Since he's dead, we can't ask him."

Been there, done that, and your bullshit is getting on my nerves.

"I had hoped you would be reasonable, old friend, and that I wouldn't have to do this." I nod at Rikka.

Leaning against the wall by the door, she arches a brow in her best "you-gotta-be-kidding" fashion.

"The old fool leaves me no choice." My glare drills into her, telling her that this isn't up for negotiation.

She shakes her head, her eyes pleading. This is as close to a death sentence she'll ever get. Using her powers on Sazith will guarantee he'll let it slip to the other Sentinels that she is a mind wanderer. They'll hunt her down for the abomination she is.

"Trust me, I'll protect you. Now get on with it."

An empty promise, something we both know. She still takes a tentative step forward. Her fingers twitch and she balls them to fists by her side.

Sazith smiles. "It's okay, Rikka. I've known for a while and will keep your secret. It's not your fault that Marush has been using you for all these years."

How commendable. "I've never forced her to do anything."

"Sure, Marush, you are a saint. Sorry that I keep forgetting that." Sazith's smirk is like a slap to my face. He and my mother have always criticized me. No matter what, nothing I did was ever good enough for them.

I hold Rikka back before she can reach him. "Make sure it hurts. A lot." I wouldn't mind if she blows his brain apart. The old bastard deserves it.

Her hand shakes as she reaches out to him. When her palm comes to rest on his temple, he flinches. I enclose the fingertips of her other hand to ensure she is making the connection. The energy is pulsing against my skin.

"Find out what Kaleidopae's plan is."

She moves her fingers up his skull and he groans. "It's nothing there."

"It has to be."

"I swear, Marush. It's as if his mind has been wiped clean."

"Then let me see for myself." I close my eyes and let the vibrations run through my veins. All the other times I connected to someone's mind with Rikka's power, images would appear, truths exposed, memories revealed. Sazith mind is one black hole.

"He is blocking you."

"Not possible. I'm too far in."

Sazith convulses in the chair. His breath comes out in shallow waves; his heart races faster and faster as Rikka digs around in his brain.

"Marush, he's gonna have a heart attack."

Who the frick cares? It's not as if a cardiac arrest could kill him. "I see a dim light. Go deeper."

A shout drifts from his quivering lips just as an image manifests in my mind. A warlock, training in the protection of night's darkness under the watchful eye of the Moon Goddess. I can't make out the facial features, but the small frame suggests it's a young woman.

"Deeper, Rikka."

The hammering of Sazith heart echoes in my ears. Just as his body crumbles, I recognize the young warlock. It's the hybrid.

He pants on the floor, his whole face smudged with the blood from his nose, mouth, and eyes. As he strokes over his skin, the wounds heal. His breath is still heavy, but his wood powers are too strong to keep him down for long.

"Why have you been training Raelyn in secret?"

He licks over his cracked lips. "Give it up, Marush. You can't win this."

Like I haven't heard this before. "It's all part of Kaleidopae's plan, isn't it?"

I'm about to raise my hands to call on my metal powers to loosen his tongue when a shadow drives me back. I'm slammed against the wall.

What the heck!

Sazith beams at me. "It's time for you to go, Marush."

I take a step in his direction, just to be pushed back again. Extending my arm, I try to get a reading on this new energy, but my hand cuts through nothing but still air.

Rikka is crouched on the floor, her eyes wide in horror. "It's a spirit."

Kaleidopae.

"I will find a way to send you to the afterlife permanently."

I stab my finger at the cloud of dust twirling up from the floor. It wraps around me with a swoosh, cool fingers sweeping across my face. A ringing settles in my ears; it reminds me of shrill laughter.

"You will succumb to your own arrogance, Marush."

"Oh, Mother, haven't you learned anything over the years?"

I beat her once, and I can do it again. I sneer. The surprise in her eyes when I rammed her Na Miodóg into her throat was priceless. It was the one move she didn't anticipate.

"But to be honest, I have better places to be." I turn on my heel and head for the door, even if a coward like Sazith, who needs a dead spirit for protection, could misinterpret this as flight. "Rikka, let's go."

She follows me. Outside in the fresh breeze, it takes a full minute for the color in her cheeks to return. Another one to settle her trembling body. "Where to now?"

I glance back at Sazith's cabin to ensure Kaleidopae's spirit hasn't followed me. The afternoon air is buzzing, the sun peeking through the thick leafy branches of the old trees that arch like hands over the cabin's rooftop with its smoking chimney. The twitching bird's song tells me that no one is lying in wait. It's nature's balance at its finest.

"Let's find Raelyn. She has a lot of explaining to do."

~~~~

© Sally Mason 2018

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