The King's Challenge #294 and #295

TKC 294 and 295

Damin clasps his fingers over my hand, shaking his head emphatically. I frown. Why am I not to use the orb? When Gennerin also shakes in negative, I am left wondering what they have understood and I cannot yet comprehend.

Enris, Damin mouths, using his hands to signify shortening of distance.

Enris is near? I form in silence.

He nods and points in a direction diagonal to us.

Enris will have sensed the presence of the orb, indeed. Thus we wait. Together, Enris and I will be better able to create a shield. I nod my understanding.

Siri swallows convulsively and so does Ross. Those two are about to collapse from tension, but there is little anyone can do to change it for them. Truth is, I feel weak all over as well.

Damin jerks his head and sidles to the left, beginning a bizarre weave as he shifts through the maze of pipes. He means for us to follow. We do, and I pray the inadvertent sounds we make do not reveal us.

In a small space entirely overlooked by banks of blinking lights on the one side and a host of thin tubes on the other, Damin halts, motioning us in. Finger to his lips, he points. Shadows move amid the pipes in the direction opposite to the one we employed to reach this point. In the next instant, Enris steps out, sporting a massive grin. Mirlin is behind him, watching every shadow.

Enris enfolds me into his arms. Into my ear, on the edge of hearing, he whispers, “I have seen our father. He is alive.”

I tighten my hold on him in response. Thank all the stars in the universe.

Enris then looks up … and sees Leffandir. His face stiffens into alabaster. He is about to say something, for his mouth opens. He will reveal us and I wave my hands, shaking my head, hoping to silence him. Damin steps in behind my brother and clamps a hand over his mouth, to my everlasting relief. Enris struggles at first, and then realises the danger. He nods his head under Damin’s hold and ceases moving. Damin releases him. Enris instantly reaches out to haul Leffandir in, glaring into her eyes. I do not know if it is hatred or fury or a combination, but Leffandir flinches hard. She does not fight the grip; she merely stares. I notice how her hands tremble. Well. Clearly love was once present between them for this kind of reaction after long ages apart; an intense attraction.

Releasing the Glonu Empress, Enris shifts to me, the question obvious in his gaze. I cannot tell him here and thus sign for him to remain patient. Eventually he inclines his head and puts his back to Leffandir. She rakes him from behind, a hungry gaze, and her fingers twitch as if she desires to run her hands over him. Intense attraction indeed; it remains even now.

I glance at Damin to find him watching me. He begins to sense our past was much like what lies between Enris and his Empress. Heat races over my skin, shortening my breath. Digging my nails into my palms, I force myself to look away.

Enris is on the move and we follow swiftly. He leads us to a small hidden door; a length of twisted metal keeps it open. He enters, and Mirlin motions at us to go in also, closing the door when we are beyond. A light comes on in a confines space.

“No one uses this,” Mirlin states. “It is soundproof also.”

Enris pulls Leffandir to him. “Why are you here?”