freenovelworld Episode Two Hundred and Forty-Two: Family Ties
Episode Two Hundred and Forty-Two: Family Ties
His name slipped out as I yanked. It had to be him, it had to.The cloaked figure stumbled a little and paused, but there wasn’t a chance he’d heard me. A hand touched his chest as he turned, lowering his hood and studying the crowd while the two figures in front of him kept going.
I pushed around the edges of the fountain, but he only shook his head and turned back in the direction the others had gone.
Then I yanked again.
This time, his head snapped around. His eyes landed on me, then his face twisted as his eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. His lips formed my name as he marched in my direction.
It was him. It was actually him.
He said something over his shoulder, and one of the guys waved at him. Then he cut through the crowd to my side.
“Sable?” he asked, as he studied every inch of me, before landing on the very changed bracelet around my wrist. “What are you doing here, of all places?”
“It’s a long story,” I said, as I tried to catch my breath.
Cerulean knew about magic, and other worlds. He was actually here. For real. All of my suspicions about him having magic were just confirmed at once.
“Wait, how are you here?” I asked, as I glared at him.
He had the audacity to laugh. A full body laugh that shook his shoulders.
That was when I realized what he was wearing. Thick leather armor covered his chest, and a sword rested near his side. Two bags hung from a leather belt that held up what looked to be normal jeans. The boots were much like my own.
“That’s a long story, and one we should probably touch on soon,” he said with a smile. “You have magic, that much is clear. Mom is going to be so relieved. Dad guessed it forever ago, but there wasn’t any way to know for sure. Onyx wouldn’t comment on the subject no matter what…”
“Right now, that isn’t the biggest issue. I need to get to the Library of Lady Twilight, from the Clan of Knowledge.” I didn’t let anything he’d said distract me from my mission. Indigo had to be okay.
I ignored the fact that he didn’t seem to know anything about the trip that Onyx and my father had taken to see me after the solstice.
Cerulean frowned and drew me closer to him, glancing all around at the others in the plaza. One moment he’d been my carefree brother, the next someone I almost didn’t recognize.
“Here is not the place,” he said, with a sharp shake of his head. “Too many ears. Let’s get somewhere a little safer.”
“Safer?” I asked, now confused and trying to figure out why his mood had changed.
He grabbed my hand and started through the crowd, following in the same direction that the two guys he’d been with had gone.
We moved through the crowd a little faster than before, as people moved out of his way automatically. I’d never seen anything like it.
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Cerulean led the way out of the massive plaza and away from the crowd. He took me to a small tea shop, of all places. Small, two-person tables were scattered all around, without anyone at them.
The being behind the counter nodded at my brother, his two long, pointed ears bobbing a little due to the silver piercing the tips. Kind of like an elf, maybe, but his teeth were sharp as well.
“Jahviar, can we use your back room?” asked Cerulean, with a frown. “Wanderer business.”
The guy nodded and pointed to a narrow opening in the wall.
Something sweet filled the air, and made every bone in my body relax. As soon as we passed into the narrow hallway and into a separate room, the feeling went away. The room only had a small round table, with four chairs around it.
As soon as it closed, I realized what Cerulean had said, and I couldn’t help myself. “A Wanderer? You?”
It made sense. It really did. But still, this was my brother.
He smirked as he grabbed a chair. “Sit. How did you get here? Tell me everything.”
“I don’t have time for everything,” I said, as I sat down. “I need to get to the Library of Lady Twilight from the Clan of Knowledge. My ward is there, and she must be panicking.”
All I could picture was Indigo freaking out. Then again, how would she know that something was wrong? Still, something inside my soul warned me that Indigo was worried.
He jerked back, staring at me. “You have a ward?”
“That’s a much longer story. Do you know where a portal is to get me there?” I asked, trying to think about anything I knew about traveling between worlds. Practically nothing, it turned out, since Betty just took us where we needed to go. I’d heard some things, and read some things, but it wasn’t really enough to form a cohesive picture.
“Sable, it isn’t just as easy as stepping through a portal. Portals lead all over, and finding the ones that get you to where you want to go is an art.”
I held up a hand and cut him off. “Can you get me there, or not?”
“I can, it's just the dragons are very particular. Like, dealing with dragons is an art form. I’m not sure I can protect you if you do something wrong.” This time he leaned closer, and grabbed my hand again.
I wanted to laugh, but resisted.
“This bracelet…” his words slowly faded as he touched it, then pulled back. “What is that?”
He’d touched the petrified wood that had become part of it. The wood that might have been part of the Tree.
“Something I don’t think I can talk about,” I said. I let out a sigh, then pulled the necklace with the charms out from around my neck. “I’m friends with the dragons. My ward is a dragon. My job at the shop involved a ton of magic…” I said, trailing off myself.
“Selling magical goods doesn’t make you…”
“You aren’t listening!” This time anger seeped into my voice, but I pushed it back. I didn’t want to touch that leaf, not if it wasn’t necessary, and all I had to do was get my brother to pay attention to me. I’d only get one shot to roar like a dragon, and being upset with my brother wasn’t the time or place to go all nuclear.
“I promise that everything will be clear once you get me there. If you can’t, then I’ll tell Dad about when you broke his fishing pole to get you out of going to the beach with us.” It was the best I had. A secret I’d kept to myself. Especially since I’d treasured the chance to go alone with Dad.
“Fine, but I’m warning you,” he said with, an even deeper frown. “It will take a good amount of my magic. I don’t know if I can get us back, if something goes wrong.”
“I have some food that boosts mana production, if you want it in trade?”
He blinked a few times at me. “You have what?”
Then I pulled the boxes out from the restaurant.
His head sunk into his hands as he giggled in a weird sort of way. “Sable, what were you selling? This is expensive food, like… I can’t afford this.”
“The Shop paid for it,” I said, trying to not make a big deal out of it.
It didn’t take long for me to nibble on a bit of one of the fried rolls. Cerulean ate the other roll, and one of the slices of the sandwich. I didn’t let him have any of the custard, but he did get me a spoon from the tea shop owner.
“Now are you ready to take me to the Clan of Knowledge?” I asked, with a smile.
Cerulean nodded, but still didn’t look happy about it. “We should just head home, Sable. Everyone has so much to talk to you about…”
“Clan of Knowledge first, bro. I really need to keep my promises.”