“What the hell is this?” A dark-haired human woman stepped forward, looking Alaster over with a critical gaze. Judging by her expression, she was decidedly unimpressed. “You brought one of them back with you?”
Alaster glared back at her. It wasn’t like he’d asked for his estranged sister and her nelfkin friend to kidnap him and force him to leave his home. That should be evident by the way his hands were still bound behind his back. What a disgrace, he thought, overpowered by two women and paraded around like a prisoner of war.
Then again, his other option had been to stay there with Lord Detraf and his father, who seemed perfectly happy to turn his own son over to the man. Although Alaster had never been close to his father, the betrayal still came as a surprise. All that Alaster wanted was to go back to his life before today. He’d been doing just fine, with a fiance and money and one of the finest homes in Vana Vale.
“He’s my brother,” said his witch of a sister, and she looked mortified, as though she was the one who should be ashamed of their relation. “I’m afraid we lost the book. Someone was already there, and we fought him but he was too strong. We did find this.”
She drew the necklace from her pocket and Alaster tensed when he caught sight of the red crystal. That was his, damn it! It had glowed when he touched it, and he knew that it belonged to him. He could feel it in his gut.
Although he was certain of his connection to the crystal, Alaster did not in fact know what it was. Those visions he’d had back in the library made little sense, so he was inclined to disregard them, except that they’d led him to the necklace - and the thieves who were trying to steal that spellbook.
“Blue tells me that you and Zi both have one, Artemis,” said the witch. “That they chose you? I believe the same thing happened to myself and my brother. I don’t know how much I believe in destiny, but it does seem as though this meeting was meant to be. The man who took the book was there for Alaster as well. We had to bring him to save him.”
“Did you have to leave me tied up the whole way too and do you do that to everyone you rescue?” Alaster asked with a sneer. He couldn’t believe they were really going to pretend that they’d kidnapped him for his own safety. Next to Lord Detraf, he decided, the witch and the nelfkin were his least favorite people.
The nelfkin lightly kicked his leg. “If these crystals are connected, we couldn’t risk letting part of the puzzle fall into the wrong hands. I think the man who stole the book was… Lord Detraf.”
A gasp escaped the blonde elf and she covered her mouth with her hands.
“You are certain of his identity?” The human, Artemis, looked less surprised by this news.
“Yes, it was him,” Alaster spoke up impatiently. “Now about untying me…”
“It all makes sense,” another woman spoke up, a peculiar creature with matted brown hair and a pair of dog-like ears on top of her head. “The spellbook is one thing, it has a lot of power, but the crystal must be the key to unlocking its full potential. With that much power, Detraf could rule the realm indefinitely.”
That was enough to send a shiver down Alaster’s spine. Lord Detraf was scary enough at present, he most certainly did not need to control the entire realm. He didn’t understand, however, why Detraf wanted him. There was nothing at all special about Alaster, aside from his dashing good looks and fine upbringing. But if those necklaces only glowed for certain people, maybe that had something to do with it. Maybe Detraf needed the crystals and the people that the crystals chose.
It was all making his head hurt. For one thing, it sounded too much like he’d just gotten roped into joining a quest to save the realm from Lord Detraf’s tyranny, and he wanted nothing at all to do with that. He wasn’t a warrior or a sorcerer or anything like that. He was just a guy who lived in a nice house and had a normal life and did normal things.
“Well, really, it has been so much fun, but I have got to be getting back now. If one of you fine people will just untie me, I’ll be on my way and out of your hair.”
The lot of them stared at him for a long moment before Artemis said, “Well, he’ll have to come with us then. We don’t know what the crystals do, but we do know they choose people for some reason. Leaving him behind isn’t an option.”
“It isn’t safe for him to go back anyway,” said Fae, sounding for all the world like she really cared, though Alaster couldn’t imagine why. “The best place for him is with us.”
“Excuse me, but if I get a vote, I’d bloody well like to go home,” said Alaster. “Thank you very much.”
And the nelfkin threw up her hands and swore, “Take his sorry ass back to Vana Vale for that evil lord deal with! I swear to Jill, he’s getting on my ever-lasting nerve!”
Alaster sent her a nasty look and sneered, “No one asked for your opinion, nelf!”
Before Blue could lunge at him, Fae interceded, putting herself between them. She looked at Blue with a desperate expression. “You saw what I saw back there, Blue. He’s my brother, I can’t just abandon him.”
“He needs to watch his mouth,” Blue grumbled but she backed down. She stared at him for a moment longer before she walked away.
TBC
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