Axium

CHAPTER 6

She emerged from the rift at the bottom of a long splendors set of stairs leading up to the court yard of a large castle like mansion.

Verin was already at the top of the stairs and she felt him use his magic to pull open the large gate barring his way into the courtyard.

Thousands of magical alarms sounded and XRenia dashed up the stairs as Verin flew in. She reached the top just in time to see hundreds of magical projectiles rain down on him but the shield that she had put on him easily deflected them as if they were no more than gnats.

This was it. There was going to be war and it was all her fault. Verin glided to the middle the courtyard and stopped as if he was waiting for something.

Maybe if I grab him and pulled him out of here the situation might be salvageable. She thought. It was a vain hope she knew but she had to try. She charged him but just as she passed through the gates the Duke and his guard arrived flying into the courtyard wielding swords made out of pure blue flames.

At once the Duke recognized XRenia and shouted, "I knew this day would come. I tried warning the Council but none of them would listen."

"She's not here for you. She's here from me," Verin declared his voice magically enhanced shook the gates and the surrounding walls.

"Who are you?" The Duke demanded

"Do you not recognize me?" Verin said as he floated up to eye level with the Duke.

The Duke stared at him for a long time but he obviously didn't in the least recognize him at least not until Verin used an illusion to clothes himself in his shepherd garb and project a shepherds rod in his hand.

"The shepherd boy?"

"You don't even know my name do you?"

The Duke floated lightly back and XRenia could see that he too had realized that him and all of his men stood no chance against the man in front of him. His only hope of survival was somehow to appease Verin's wrath.

"Of course I do I know the names of all my servants. And yours started with a V."

"Verin?" Verin asked.

"Yes that's it."

XRenia felt Verin rolled his eyes and then she to remembered that wasn't actually his name.

The allusion of the shepherd's staff disappeared and XRenia fully expected Verin to produce a magic weapon and skewer the Duke but instead he reached into her dimensional inventory and pulled out two gold coins and handed them out to the Duke.

The Duke frowned in confusion.

"For the price you paid for me." Verin said and dropped the coins. They clattered down to the courtyard below. He reached back into XRenia's dimensional inventory and pulled out a platinum sheaf worth two thousand five hundred gold coins. "And this is the standard price for a powerful mage like myself to be released from servitude.

Verin pushed it at the Duke and he with wide eyes took it.

"As for the missing sheep. I believe we both know they had nothing to do with me."

The Duke swallowed hard.

"I have paid my debt to you in full and I am now a free man."

The Duke wasn't about to argue.

Verin nodded at the Duke floated down to the courtyard and walked past XRenia and out the gate.

XRenia give a slight bow towards the Duke. "Your Grace." Then and ran after Verin.

She caught up with him halfway down the stairs. "I thought you were going to kill him."

"I know, I felt all of your thoughts. But I am not you. You, I am sad to say, are not much better than the Duke. In fact your selfishness is on par with, if not greater than his."

XRenia stopped in her tracks at his harsh words.

Verin walked to the bottom of the steps where her magic could punch a hole through the Duke's protective spells and opened a rift.

"Where you going?" She asked.

"I owe your grandfather two thousand five hundred and two gold coins and I intend to pay it back." He answered then disappeared through the rift.

XRenia dashed down the stairs but he closed the rift before she could follow him.

She immediately reached out through their bond to try and find out where he went but he somehow blocked her from reading his mind. She quickly formed a scrying but as she try to focus on him a sheet of his white magic was all she could see.

He had dumped her!

She stood there in complete disbelief until she felt the Duke watching her from the courtyard wall.

XRenia pushed against the fabric of reality and opened her own rift. She stepped through coming out to rolling acres of green pasture.

She mopingly walked up the bluff and collapsed at the base of the giant oak.

Verin was probably the best man she'd ever meet and he hated her. And she couldn't blame him.

A tear trickled down her face. And what was even worse Verin wasn't his real name and she couldn't for the life of her remember what it actually was.

She started to sob. How could she be so dumb?

Hours later XRenia's mother found her where she had cried herself to sleep.

"Are you okay sweetie?" Her mother asked rubbing her lightly on the back.

XRenia stirred and looked up at her mother.

At once her mother realized that she had been crying. "Oh, sweetie what's wrong?"

She threw herself and her mother's arms. "Oh, mom Verin hates me!"

Her mother wrapped her arms around her. "What happened?"

She told her mom what had happened after she had left them, how Verin had tried to kill himself and then realized he had almost thrown his life away for nothing because she had no intention of fixing Ley lines or creating her own kingdom. How he had vehemently declared that he would never be her servant and that from now on he was going to do his own thing. Then how he had shoved his memory of the Duke at her and teleported away and she had followed him.

At the mention of the Duke her mother went rigid and pushed her away so she could look in her eyes. "You two didn't kill the Duke did you?"

XRenia use the back of her hand to wipe at her eyes and shook her head. "No. I thought he was going to but instead he paid him for his freedom."

Relief flooded her mother's face. "Where's Verin now?"

At remembering Verin's harsh words tears started flowing again. "He. . . He told me I was just as bad as the Duke then disappeared through a rift."

"So you don't know where he's at?"

XRenia shook her head. "Somehow he's hiding his thoughts for me."

Her mother sighed and leaned against the tree as she combed her daughter's hair with her fingers.

She laid on her mother's chest trying not to cry. "He can't break the bond can he mom?"

"No sweetie he can't. For lesser people it's possible, with the help of three or four mages skilled in such matters. For our family though such a thing impossible."

"Then how come I can't feel him?"

"Men seem to be able to do that. Your father can sometimes block me out as well."

XRenia drew back. "He can?"

Her mother nodded.

"Can you block him out?"

"No." Her mother took a deep breath, rested her head against the tree and looked up at the sun coming through the tree's leaves. "It's not from lack of trying though. Believe me there's been times when I really tried but he's always been able to read exactly what I am thinking. I even asked your grandfather about it once and he told me it was because 'women are emotional basket cases that wear their emotions on their sleeves while men naturally try to hide their emotions all their life.'" A smile spread across her face. "Your grandmother gave him a tongue lashing for that statement but I believe there's some truth to it. When I was really mad at your father and tried to hide my feelings from him there was always a part of me that wanted him to know exactly how I felt so he did."

XRenia scooted closer to her mother, laid her head against hers and looked up at the leaves as well.

They sat there in companionable silence as her mom lovingly stroked the side of her face with her right hand.

Eventually her mom said, "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know." She sat up and crossed her arms. "What can I do he thinks I'm a selfish dog."

"Are you?"

"I don't think I am," she said slouching back against the tree.

"Then prove to him that you not."

"How?"

"I don't know sweetie that. . ." Her mom trailed off.

"Mom?"

Her mom reached out and brushed XRenia hair away from her forehead. "I have to go sweetie. Your father wants to make sure that yours and Verin's little excursion doesn't turn into a national affair."

XRenia nodded.

"You two didn't hurt anyone or cause any property damage right?"

She shook her head. "Verin did open the courtyard gates a little forcefully. But that's it."

"Okay." Her mother stood up and opened a rift. "I love you sweetie. And I know you can make it right with Verin. Just show him you know how to put other's first," she said and walked through the rift.

XRenia sat there for a moment in silence. Show him she knew how to put others first? How was she supposed to do that? What did that even mean?

She stood up and walked around the tree. Didn't she do that all the time? She was always very kind and nice to her people. She had even given the pastry shop dude two gold coins for his dumplings.

"That's not putting other people first. It cost you nothing to do that. Being selfless means putting others first at the cost of your own comfort or well-being," Verin's voice said in her mind.

She jumped and her magic carried her straight up until her head bounced off of one of the oak trees branches. "Ow!" She moaned and rubbed her bruised head vigorously. "Verin?"

He didn't answer. She crossed her arms angrily. Oh great she could not sense him or hear his thoughts but he could apparently hear hers. She floated back to the ground and then landed heavily. This was just so not fair!

Immediately embarrassment flooded her as she realized he probably seen her cry. She felt like the size of an ant.

Then she punched the oak tree. "So what if he seen me. He's the one that caused it!"

Green leaves floated down and she plopped angrily to the ground. She sat there fuming until her eyes happened to trail up and see the dent she had put in the tree. At once she realized she had just thrown temper tantrum.

"Great now he probably thinks I'm a spoiled rotten brat as well as selfish." More embarrassment flooded her but she quickly channeled it into her anger. Well she didn't care what he thought of her. She stood up. "You hear that Verin I don't care what you think of me!"

But that wasn't true. Her anger vanished. That wasn't true at all. She didn't know why but for some reason she deeply cared what he thought. She had only met him earlier that day but for some reason he was now the only thing she could think about.

And the thought that he could hear everything she was thinking only made it worse. She felt like crying again.

She leapt into the sky and was about to fly as fast as she could when a rift blossom in front of her and her grandfather came out of it.

She pulled back slightly. "Grandfather? I thought you. ."

"Malthus and Keira are taking care of it. I've come to talk to you." The rift he came through closed and another one appeared off to the side of him.

A shield appeared around her and her grandfather said, "follow me." And flew through the new rift.

She didn't know what was going on but after earlier that day she didn't dare disobey him so she quickly followed.