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“What exactly are Wardens?” Macey asked and Malan’s stern glance turned to the guys.
“You’ve not told her?”
“Ehm, we don’t know a lot ourselves,” Jared defended himself.
“There are seven of you, one for each element. Some generations of Wardens don’t have to do much except existing to keep the balance. But sometimes, like in your case, you have to come together to heal the worlds. So no pressure.” He grinned. “Next question.”
“Who is hurting the Staran?” Cam asked and Malan sighed again.
“Wrong question. Next.”
Cam looked confused. “Why are they hurting them?”
“Wrong.”
Macey grimaced. “Are the Staran actually being hurt?”
“Clever girl.” Malan’s head bobbed around in approval, giving her a slight sense of vertigo. She still wanted to find out why he only had a head. Even ghosts deserved a full body.
He didn’t seem to be in the mood to expand, so she frowned, trying to figure out what he was not telling them. “If the Staran are not being hurt and are deteriorating nonetheless, they must either be ill or hurting themselves.” She paused. “I’m talking about it like it’s a living thing... is that correct?”
Malan did something that looked like a smile. “They’re not hurting themselves.”
“Then they’re ill. What is making them ill?” She was starting to feel a little silly now. Was she going to ask next whether the mist was suffering from the flu? Maybe a chest infection? Waves, this was weird.
“I can’t tell you that.”
“Because you don’t want to?” Cam barged in, more annoyance lacing his voice than Macey would have liked.
“Because I do not know. I can tell you what’s wrong with them, but not what is causing it. That is the Wardens’ task to find out.”
“And how the hell are we supposed to do that?” Macey put her hand on Cam’s arm, trying to calm him down a little. Not that she wasn’t asking the same questions in her head. Just... his anger was making Malan’s head more translucent. She had a feeling that he could disappear whenever he wanted. And they needed answers before he did that.
“First, you need to find the other Wardens. You are only strong when you’re all together. Seven elements, seven Wardens, seven problems. The Staran are strong, they couldn’t be hurt by just one thing. It’s a multitude of factors coming together and combined they are stronger than they would be on their own. There is not much time left. Soon, nobody will be able to travel on the Staran, and the worlds will drift apart. We can’t let that happen.”
“We? I thought it was us who had to do all the work?” Jared quipped, a smirk on his lips. Much better than Cam’s anger, Macey decided. She was going to reward him with a kiss later on.
“I won’t be coming with you, little incubus. I’m bound to this place, but I will be able to monitor you from afar. The Mahoun isn’t the only one who’s got eyes and ears everywhere. And just because I don’t enter your pretty head, doesn’t mean that I can’t.”
“The Mahoun? Entering my head? What?” Macey was confused.
“It’s what he calls himself. The devil. Don’t think that’s what he is, but his past and future are shrouded in mist. All I can see is the present, and he is preparing. He wants the Staran to fail. He knows the Wardens will be the only ones who can thwart him, so he’s hunting you, even now. One of you is already in his clutches, and another one will be soon.”
“Oh, you mean the Voice?” Macey exclaimed, her head hurting at the memory. It all started to make sense now. Well, a little bit, at least.
Malan chuckled. “He wouldn’t like that name. He’s used to be called the Terrifying, the Monster, the Devil, not the Voice. Bit boring, if you ask me.”
Macey grimaced. “He hurt me.”
Malan turned serious. “He did. And he will do it again. He’s doing it to one of the Seven just now. But before you can go find the others, you four need to bond. You need to be strong together or you will be torn apart. You need your magic, Macey, or you won’t have a chance. And you know how to unlock it.”
He actually winked. Macey shuddered a little. That was creepy. He knew that she was going to have to have sex with the remaining two guys. And while she didn’t have a problem with the actual act - waves, she was feeling the arousal coming even at this moment - but this weird ghost head knowing... yuck. Who knew how detailed his visions were. Did that make him a pervert?
Flint noticed her unease and put an arm around her shoulders. She leaned against him, savouring the warmth of his body.
“Where shall we go now? If we can’t find the others yet and don’t know how to heal the Staran, what is our task?”
Besides having sex, Macey added in her mind. She didn’t think that was the only thing they could do. That was tempting, but quite unproductive.
