It wasn’t working. He’d been trying for the last few hours and continued to get nothing. For some reason the link he’d always taken for granted was closed to him. The harder he tried he felt a loss in his being, like the Council had just abandoned him and his team. Closing his eyes, Tristan focused again and sent out the mental message to the Council. It was like hitting a brick wall. Either they had closed down the portal or the link was no longer in use. He’d have to try again later.
Frustrated, he rose from the cross legged position he’d been sitting in on the floor. He stretched his muscles, doing a few warrior poses he’d learned from watching the TV. The sinew on his naked chest and arms flexed and relaxed in tandem. It usually took all his strength to contact the Council. The life source that ran through his veins was strong enough to withstand the lives of five men and was one of the reasons he’d been chosen at birth by the Light Warriors to be a leader. He was stronger, smarter and more calculating than the above average Arinthian. Pulling the shirt back over his head, Tristan opened the door to his office and smirked. Each one of his warriors sat in the main hall just outside his door, sleeping. Hunter and Julius sat on the second stair with their legs stretched before them, booted feet crossed. Mendax, Technik and Vectio lay stretched out just to the side of the banister that sat just below the arc of the staircase. They looked ridiculous. He wasn’t sure why they didn’t just go and sleep in their rooms.
Walking over to Mendax, Tristan crouched at his feet. He held out a hand and touched his fingers to Mendax’s chest. He felt the life source flowing through him but it was slower than normal. Closing his eyes, Tristan separated a small amount of his own life source, from his soul, and released it into Mendax’s body. The process was painful as he felt like a few years just disappeared from his life. He didn’t mind, pressing his lips together tightly, they’d live for centuries and have before. What were a few years for his team? He finished transferring the life source and waited a few more moments until he felt the flow of power streamed stronger through Mendax’s body.
Opening his eyes, Tristan was only slightly surprised to find Mendax’s eyes open and trained on his face. He showed no signs of acknowledgement for the gratitude he saw there but rose from his crouched position and turned. They’d all awaken while he’d been in the trance. They stood at his back, protecting him. None of them spoke as they watched Mendax roll to his feet. He lost his guise and they could see he was still a little pale. The dark circles had disappeared and the redness of his eyes had dissipated. He smiled out at them, his personality as playful as normal.
“Thanks, leader. I appreciate it.” He’d raised a hand to clamp Tristan on the shoulder but instantly lowered it. An awkward silence circled the group and Vectio grunted, shifting his feet.
“Come, let’s eat.” Tristan was the first to lead the way into the kitchen. It broke the ice and they all began to move towards the kitchen. They stopped dead as the scene in the kitchen surprised them all. Adrian was bent over, just at the waist, pulling a deep dish from the oven. She wobbled as the pot was heavier than she thought it to be, her bottom waved in the air. The men were completely oblivious to Arinth’s return to the kitchen. She’d come in from outside via the door tucked into the corner of the kitchen that lead out to her garden. She stopped silently looking down at the vegetables in her basket. She wasn’t entirely sure what they’d say to her and stood waiting for them to acknowledge her.
Adrian wobbled again with the pan and gasped as one side almost slipped through her fingers. The hairs on the back of her neck began to stand up just as she felt warmth reach her just to the left.
“Let me get that,” Hunter said. His deep voice was low and rough as he bent just beside her and grasped the pan.
“Wait! Don’t burn…” Adrian warned but stopped as he hefted the pan onto the top of the stove bare handed. He then chuckled as she grabbed his hands to take him over to the sink. Turning them over, Hunter showed her the bubbled and calloused skin just on the undersides of his fingers. His hands were scarred but not from the pan. “Ugh…aliens.” Hunter burst into laughter as irritation flickered across her face. Of course they wouldn’t burn, they were basically immortal warriors, she thought.
“Cook! Are you done yet? I have an appetite that needs to be fed. Please, feed it.” Mendax, who’d spent most of his time in the kitchen flirting with Cook when he wasn’t on a mission, walked over and smacked a kiss right to the center of her forehead. She smiled and giggled like a young girl before walking over to the boiling pot on the second stove. She felt relieved that they didn’t disown her but she knew she’d have to tell them her secrets eventually, most of them at least. Now that the awkward moment had passed, Arinth, or Cook, spun into action.
“I’ll give you want you want alright!” She brushed her hands off and washed them in the sink. She then shook them in his direction sprinkling his shirt with small bullets of cold water. After drying them, Arinth pulled a tray of silverware out of a large drawer. She glanced over them before spotting Vectio creeping around her plate of peanut butter cookies. “Hey! I see you. Come here, big silent warrior! You know your job!” She beamed as she held the basket of silverware out to him. He barely smirked at her but took it and turned to leave the kitchen. “One day he is going to say something to me.”
“He speaks to Adrian.” Julius spoke. Everyone else in the kitchen went silent and turned to stare at her. She looked down at her hands that were still covered in the oven mitts. She shrugged her shoulders and walked over to the table to remove her apron. She’d helped finish making the meal of gumbo, mixed vegetables and rice. They also had a gigantic pot of Arinth’s beloved mashed potatoes and made-from-scratch gravy. The men took one item each and left the room to set the dining hall table. As soon as they’d gone, Arinth turned towards Adrian and gasped.
“Vectio speaks to you?” She exclaimed.
“Yes? Well, he told me not to be afraid the night I first met him. He also spoke a few more words than a grunt when he’d ‘babysat’ me but that’s all.” She blushed.
“I’ve been here for five years, for the last two I’ve at least been able to get a grunt or a half smirk but that’s all!” It seemed to be incredulous to all of them that Vectio was speaking, let alone to her. She didn’t know it was that big of a deal. Maybe, they all just had their undies in a bunch because they had someone new in their home. She untied Arinth’s apron from around her waist and the two headed towards the door.
“You know, I can’t wait for you to tell me about the guys!” Adrian spoke in a soft tone.
“I know I know, later! Well, there isn’t much to tell, for the most part, what you see is what you get with them!”
“Except with Mendax!” Adrian said.
“Ahhh, yes, except with Mendax,” Arinth whispered back to her as they entered the dining hall.
"The only way to be a writer is to write, write and write. The only way...is to write." -Jade Elyzabeth
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