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Voices had danced around in my head, but I’d been too miserable to care about anything other than just making it to the next second. I no longer considered myself afraid of the little Witch. Instead, I aimed to take her head off.
When I couldn’t delay my return any longer, I rose from the floor, washed my hands, rinsed out my mouth, and splashed water on my face. This was going to be a horrible day.
“Well, that finishes introductions,” Lady Life said as I walked in. They’d only just finished the introductions? What had they been saying?
I raised my eyebrows at Dalton, who stood beside me with the Demons.
Borgman decided a half-hour lecture on his qualifications served as a good introduction.
Of course he did.
Aunt Mercy continued to speak, “Thank you all, again, for making the journey to be here. Many of you, if not all, have heard of the Mindolin.”
Nods were seen around the table. Councilwoman Nash held up her hand.
“Silvia Nash,” Lady Life acknowledged the other woman.
“The Council has heard of the Mindolin, but we have seen no evidence of him.”
“Lord Life and Water.” Aunt Mercy indicated Carmon with a tilt of her head.
My brother stepped forward behind Jonas, Councilwoman Nash, and Councilman Ernest Borgman. There were nine men and women on the Council, but each group had only been allowed two representatives. Jonas came along because he was in training and no other group had minded his attendance since he was Sylee’s father and another ally. “The Mindolin has taken over Bard’s Forest. We saw him ourselves. Lord Chris carries scars from his doing. The Mindolin is the only being alive that I know of who can scar an Elemental like that.”
“May we see the scars you talk of? No offense, Lord Carmon, but seeing is believing.” Ernest Borgman was my least favorite person on the Council. I wanted to think he was the traitor, but I couldn’t put that sort of blame on a person just because they were annoying and I didn’t like them.
“That is up to the Elemental who carries them,” Carmon answered simply.
All eyes looked to Chris, and I did not envy my brother. Sophie still held a lot of guilt for not being able to fully heal him. I shared that guilt. At least she was able to help my brother heal his emotional wounds. I couldn’t do that, nor could I take away the scars he held.
Chris looked at Sophie, who gave his hand a squeeze and offered a small, encouraging smile. He was still sensitive about the scars, recalling too many memories of pain and anguish at the sight of them. To show them to the world, even this small portion of it, took courage I knew I didn’t have.
When revealed, the scars did not look as horrible as one might think. They were only a few white lines on his chest with more on his back.
“I’m sorry, but they don’t look like much,” Councilwoman Nash stated, and my brothers and I bristled at her bluntness.
Jonas cleared his throat, and the two members of the Council looked to him, as did the others in the room. I swore Borgman wanted to tell Carmon’s father-in-law to shut up. “The Mindolin did not just harm Lord Chris that day, but also Lord Dalton as well. I know because they brought him to my home to heal him. Lord Chris had been lost in the forest, so he was no longer with his team. The effort it took for Lord Jeff to heal Lord Dalton, I’ve never seen. It is only because of Lord Jeff’s Elemental heritage, and that Lord Jeff was readily available to heal immediately, that Lord Dalton holds no scars.”
Saber cleared his throat when Jonas had finished speaking. “If I may add, I saw Lord Chris’ wounds before an Elemental healer could touch them. I’ve never seen such wounds. Also, the Mindolin made it nearly impossible for some of the Dark’s best healers to heal even the smallest wounds on Lord Chris.”
“I have also seen the Mindolin in action,” Nate declared to the room, “when Lady Water’s sons took down the previous Warlock, who was trying to help the being escape. It was a rather creepy experience, one I do not wish to repeat.”
Lady Life stepped back into the conversation. “I’m afraid we are past that point, Warlock. You see, the Mindolin will be free thanks to many different people from all the races. The question is, how long do we have to prepare before he escapes, and what do we do with that time?”
“You have all been introduced to the Accords, the ancient treaty that was written but never enacted, when you met my nephews.” Lord Healing stepped up to stand by his sister. “The basis of that agreement still stands, but we must also see if it is the best way to handle things now. It is an old document, and probably a bit outdated as more discord has happened since it was first drafted.”
Discord that none of them, the Elementals, had attempted to stop in their millennia of life. They had a lot of nerve stepping in now when my brothers and I had gotten things all ready for them, like a present with a nice, big bow on top.
“The biggest question is, and I think we all agree, are the Accords worth it? Will the people go for it?” Borgman asked.
Victor raised his hand. “If I may, Councilman, I believe all of our people are ready to walk out their door and not fear they will not make it back home. Yes, there will always be evil. There will always be people in each race who think their race is superior and that they shouldn’t mingle with others. Overall, though, I believe the people are desperately looking to find peace.”
“Not only that,” Damian added. “We must be unified to stop the Mindolin. We will fall if we are not.”
“How do you know that?” Borgman was the first to throw an attitude around. I’d expected nothing less from him.
“King Damian is correct,” Lady Life said, cutting off more argument. “The races of this world, along with the Elementals, must work together. We, the Elementals, imprisoned him last time. However, we have not received all of our strength back to do it again, and it’s been thousands of years. He has had time to grow in strength and power by his usage of different people in this world.”
My eyebrows weren’t the only ones to rise. My brothers looked about as shocked as I was. The others at the table didn’t appreciate the gravity of her statement as much as we did. They hadn’t received all their strength back yet? How?
