Champions of Serenity: Destiny Fulfilled
Chapter Thirteen

Chapter 13

“Does anyone know where Tris and Airidon disappeared to?” Tyra asked, sitting down to breakfast the next morning. She cut a piece of the roasted venison from the bone where it hung over a corner of the fire. Dropping it onto a plate and spooning some fire roasted roots next to it, Tyra picked up her dagger and a fork to eat. Smiling, she took a mug of tea from Fini and looked around at the others.

Jehro took a sudden interest in his plate, cutting his meat even smaller than it was. Korol looked up at the question and frowned.

“I haven’t given it much thought. But I guess they have been missing since yesterday afternoon. Tris came here looking for Airidon and they left together heading northwest. I suppose if there was trouble though, Tris would know about it and be here in a thought.” Fini said, shrugging and setting his plate to one side. He stretched out his legs in front of him and crossed his feet at the ankles, taking out a pipe and packing it with smoke weed; he lit it and gave it some more thought.

Meckin shrugged as well and took his plate to the pile that needed to be washed. “How much do we really know about Tris? I mean, we all follow her and we’ve spent a couple of months living with her, but we haven’t even known each other a full year yet. Who’s to say this isn’t some bizarre thing she does from time to time? Noshtra’s pups are filled with stories about strange things that Tris does from time to time.” He offered.

Jehro started cutting his fired roots into tiny bite sized pieces, keeping his eyes on his plate. Shrina just shrugged and took more meat, saying only they were all adults here and if Tris and Airidon wanted a little privacy, more power to them. Jehro bit his lips to keep from making any sound and kept his dagger and fork busy so his hands couldn’t betray him either.

“You’re awfully quiet this morning, Jehro.” Korol said softly from just behind the Chameling. Everyone stopped what they were doing to stare at Jehro as his plate went flying into the fire with the simple question.

“Sorry, I didn’t sleep well last night. I kept having strange dreams about Handsome. I have no idea where Tris and Airidon are.” Jehro offered with a half-smile and retrieved his plate and got a little more food.

Shaking his head, Korol wouldn’t let it drop. “No, Jehro, I don’t buy it. You came home last night with your thoughts a million miles away and until Tyra asked her question about our esteemed leaders, you were having quite the conversation with Shrina about rabbit hunting. Then you just shut up and took more interest in your plate than in what was being said. We all know you have shared thoughts with Tris, what do you know that we don’t?”

“That’s an opened ended question, Korol. I happen to know a lot that you don’t, just as you know things I don’t. I see you are pretty quick to point a finger at me, but you are the one who was up walking the shadows all night. Maybe you know where they are and are just trying to keep suspicion away from yourself.” Jehro countered, sitting down calmly and sighing as he felt everyone’s eyes on the two of them.

Korol chuckled and spread his hands wide. “The difference between us, Jehro, is that if I knew where they were, I would delight in letting everyone know so we could tease the hell out of them when they got back. Whereas you wouldn’t tell anyone because you wouldn’t want to embarrass our leaders.”

Looking up from his plate, Jehro set down his dagger and fork and turned to face Korol. “Just because I respect what I know from the thoughts and emotions I learn from each of you without you even realizing you are letting me know them, doesn’t mean I’m not up for a prank when it’s called for, Korol. I do know that Tris and Airidon are together and I know they aren’t in any trouble. What else I know isn’t important so I don’t care to share it. Now, can I please eat my breakfast with some peace?”

Korol mumbled under his breath and left the cave. He felt there were far too many secrets being kept and he wanted some answers. All he knew was that wherever Tris and Airidon were, it was sunlit because he wasn’t reading any shadows anywhere with their presence in them.

“Do you know where they are, Jehro? You don’t have to tell us, but it would be nice to know someone knew where to replace them if there was trouble.” Tyra asked, finishing her meal.

“Not exactly, Tyra. I know they are still in the forest and I know they are okay, but other than that, I really don’t know where they are.” Jehro answered and set aside his second plate, unable to eat anymore. “I’m going to take a walk. I need to clear my head, there are too many thoughts flying around this morning.”

“Are they having sex?” Shrina called as Jehro walked out and then laughed when his step checked a moment and he kept on walking. “Yeah, they are having sex somewhere. We probably won’t see them for a couple of days.” Shrina said and chuckled as she went about her morning chores.

Chaos chuckled as he watched over the group this morning. He wasn’t sure himself where Tris and Airidon were because the magic protecting the glade shielded it from his view as well, but from Jehro’s reaction and Shrina’s words, he was pretty sure Shrina was right. Which posed another question and he turned his attention to the other group.

“What is wrong with you this morning, Deb?” Karen asked as she threw away the burnt scrambled eggs and toast. The past couple of weeks, Karen had really enjoyed getting to know Debra and was sorry she didn’t take the chance sooner. But her roommate’s behavior this morning was so not like Debra Karen was worried.

Debra shrugged, tossed the dirty dishes into the dishwasher and went back to her room. She was still in her sleeping t-shirt and really didn’t want to put on anything else. But she had promised Phil she would do some work at the university today in regards to his latest interest. Why was it so infernally hot here?

Stepping into the shower, Debra allowed the cool water to caress her skin and was surprised at how lover like it felt. She frowned. Where did that come from? Having a lover right now in her life was the last thing she wanted or needed, it was far too complicated at the moment.

In her room, she went through her closet and discarded several outfit ideas. She wouldn’t have to go into the office today, so she didn’t have to dress for it, but she did have to go to campus and she didn’t want to look too much like a student. Then the heat got to her again and she chose a pair of khaki shorts and a white off the shoulder blouse.

“Karen is it always this hot this time of year?” Debra asked, coming from her room and pulling her hair into a ponytail.

Karen looked Debra over and then looked out the window. “Uh, Debra, its only 82 degrees right now and there is a cooling breeze coming from the Pacific so it won’t get much past 90 all day. That isn’t that hot. It was hotter in Coeur d’Alene last month than it is here. Are you feeling okay?” Karen noticed a fine sheen of sweat on Debra already and she had just stepped out of a cool shower. Something was definitely wrong here and Karen didn’t have any idea. She thought about calling Jared and asking him to read Debra, but he was in New York this week promoting his fall line. As Debra left the apartment, Karen did call Phil and tell him that something was definitely going on with Debra and to be a little careful today.

Phil hung up the phone after talking to Karen and frowned. Why would Karen be warning him about Debra’s strange behavior? It wasn’t like they had any plans to meet today, he was working in the office and she was going to be doing research at the university. He looked at his schedule and decided that maybe he could get out of the office for lunch and go see Debra.

Debra walked along with the summer students on campus, heading to the library. She couldn’t help but notice a few of the young men looking very nice in their shorts and with their surfing tans. “What is going on with me?” She asked herself, stopping at a drinking fountain under a tree. She splashed a little of the cold water on the back of her neck and took a few calming breaths. “This is so not like me, what is wrong?”

“Having a little trouble this morning, beautiful?” Jared said in Debra’s ear. He had watched her splash the water on her neck and look around in confusion.

“Jared? I thought you were in New York? When did you get back?” Debra asked, giving him a hug. She drew back suddenly as her body responded to him in a way that it never had before. Her thoughts blazed with ideas of what they could do together if they had a little privacy.

“Hey, are you okay?” Jared’s hand on her elbow steadied her as she reeled back from the strong urges flowing through her body. “What’s wrong, Debra, you don’t look so good.” The concern in his voice played tiny arpeggios along her spine and his hand on her arm was more tender than friendly.

“I don’t…..I don’t know, Jared.” She pulled her arm from his grasp and took a few steps back until she was leaning against a tree. “It’s like….I don’t know. It is so hot right now….”

Frowning, Jared walked over to Debra and wrapped his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against him. “Actually, Debra, it isn’t that hot at all. Let’s get you to a doctor and see if you are okay.”

The sharp musk of Jared’s body mixed with the spicy aftershave he preferred filled Debra’s nose and she trembled. He wasn’t holding her as he would hold Karen, but just the casual touches enflamed Debra’s blood. She could feel the pressure of his fingertips against her arm and the weight of his arm along her neck and desire made her weak in the knees. But it was Jared! Her mind screamed at her, rebelling at the hormones sudden control over her impulses.

“I have a better idea, let’s skip work and such today and have a picnic on the beach. I haven’t done that yet and I think it’s time I played hooky for the first time.” She couldn’t believe her own ears, she was never this irresponsible and if she didn’t get control over herself, the other thoughts going through her mind would probably be acted upon and she would hate herself forever for it.

Her heart almost failed her when she heard Jared’s deliciously sensual voice agree to the plan. Together they went to a nearby store and picked up a few items for lunch, threw them into a foam ice box and headed to the beach. Jared drove past the more public beaches and found a nice secluded spot north of the city surrounded by a natural wall and some trees.

“Grant and I like to come here when we are ditching the world. It’s like our own private resort.” Jared commented as he helped Debra down the tricky path to the beach.

The sand burned against Debra’s bare feet when she took off her shoes to walk to the water’s edge. It gave her a little relief from the throbbing in her thighs and the pounding of her head. When she reached the wet sand, she buried her toes in it and sighed. Cool Pacific water washed up and over her feet and she felt more relief.

“What do you think of our little beach, Debra?” Jared whispered in her ear. His hands were at her waist and she could feel his chest pressing against her back.

She closed her eyes and leaned back against him; giving into the desires that over whelmed her body and shut off her mind. Debra turned easily in his arms and returned his questing kiss with a passion that surprised them both. His hands tightened against her waist, pulling her into him as he deepened the kiss.

He couldn’t believe she was melting into his advances so easily, she must be further gone than he thought. He wasn’t complaining; this was so much better than he had ever imagined, for a second he was jealous of what Phil would have in the future. But for the moment, he was going to take as much as she would give and treasure it always.

The sun rose high in the sky, caressing their bodies in a gentle heat. Debra lifted her head from Jared’s shoulder and sighed softly. “What is it, Debra?”

“I really should rinse off in the ocean and then get back to work. I promised Phil I would have those stats on his desk first thing in the morning. Thank you, Jared, for a wonderful morning.” She kissed him again, tenderly, passionately, and then jumped up and ran into the ocean for a quick swim.

Jared watched her go, marveling at how very generous and loving she had been. When the dark days came, and he knew they would, he would treasure this memory. He dressed while he watched her and cleaned up what little mess there was and when she came out; he dried her off with a towel he had found in the trunk of his car. When she was dressed, he took her back to campus and left her at the library steps.

Debra started up them and then stopped halfway up when she saw Phil standing there watching her. He had a funny look on his face and didn’t smile when she walked up to meet him.

“Jared took me to lunch; we met up here this morning. Is something wrong, Phil?” Debra asked, much more herself after this morning’s activities.

“I came here thinking I might take you to lunch, Debra. I guess I just missed you and Jared leaving. Why is your hair wet?” He hadn’t really wanted to believe what he thought he saw in the kiss on the cheek she had given him. He wanted to believe it was as innocent as Debra said and it would be like any of the Circle to meet up and decide to have lunch together. So maybe it was just like she said. Maybe.

Debra lifted her ponytail and chuckled. “Well, I was so hot; Jared thought it would be funny….” She pointed to sprinklers in the distance between the library and the parking lot.

Phil chuckled and nodded, understanding. “I get it, still a boy at heart. I’ll see you tomorrow morning then, Debra. And thank you for getting those stats for me, they will mean the difference between success and failure where this new company is concerned.” He kissed the top of her head and went to his own car and returned to the office. When he sat down at his desk, he frowned. Her hair had been wet, but her clothing hadn’t and her hair tasted salty, like the ocean. Frowning he puzzled over the whole story again, wondering what was really going on.

Later that night, he picked up the phone to call Jared and ask him for what really happened. When he dialed, Grant answered and told Phil that Jared was still in New York and wouldn’t be home for another three days. Even more confused, Phil hung up and went to bed doubting his own mind.

Debra spent the rest of the day at the library and finished the work early. It was amazing how focused one could be after a morning of forbidden pleasure. When she went home, she hummed softly as she put the folders away for the next morning.

Karen watched as Debra all but danced into the apartment and into her room, humming. She frowned and followed her down the hall. “Debra?”

“Oh, hi, Karen, I didn’t see you there. How was your day?”

“Not as good as yours seems to have been. What happened?”

“Nothing much. I went to the library as planned, looked up the facts and figures Phil needed, and came home. Oh, I went to lunch with a friend and just missed Phil on the steps of the library. I guess he came over to take me to lunch but I had already left. Anyway, that’s about it. Why did you think my day was better than yours?”

Karen leaned against the doorframe and shook her head. “Either you are lying about spending all day in the library or books turn you on more than the average person. You are acting like someone who just got laid, Debra, not someone spending a day slaving over dusty books.”

Debra sat down on the end of her bed and frowned. Now that she thought about it, her morning was awfully blurry in her mind. She remembered being really hot when she woke up and being uncomfortable until she ran into….now who was it she ran into? She looked back up at Karen, confused.

“I don’t know, Karen. I don’t remember. I remember complaining about the heat and going to campus. I met someone there, at the drinking fountain near the library, but I can’t remember who. The next thing I remember is seeing Phil on the steps of the library and telling him I would see him tomorrow with all the stats he needed. Oh, and I wasn’t hot anymore, not like this morning. Gods above and below, Karen, what happened?”

Karen came forward and knelt by Debra’s feet, placing her hands on Debra’s knees. “I don’t know, Debra, but when Jared comes home from New York, he will help you remember. Until then….let’s just hope it was nothing bad.

Chaos smiled. “Oh no, Lady Debra, it was nothing bad, it was good, very, very good.” Leaning back on his cushions he awaited the return of Tris and Airidon to their Circle with a contented smile.

“I see them!” Shrina shouted, running into the cave where the others were finishing up preparing dinner. It had been two days since Tris and Airidon had vanished into the forest.

Tris and Airidon entered the cave a few minutes later, walking side by side with nothing to really tell the others where they had been or what they had been doing. Airidon left Tris’s side and went to the fire to help Fini finish hanging the venison to cook.

“Sorry to run out on you the other day, Fini. Tris had some things we had to discuss. Did we miss anything while we were gone?”

“Not really. Jehro’s been acting strange since you and Tris went off, moody and such, but other than that, things are pretty normal. Shrina is convinced you and Tris were having some kind of sex out in the forest this whole time, just to prepare you.” Fini answered calmly, accepting Airidon’s words and help with the same equanimity he always did.

Airidon just groaned and shook his head. “Well, maybe Tris can disabuse her mind.

“So, Tris, how was Airidon?” Shrina asked as Tris sat down in her customary spot around the fire.

Tris frowned and looked at Shrina. “In what way, Shrelannasha? Airidon, as usual, is enjoying his normal good health.” Tris dug into the fire and pulled out several ash encrusted potatoes that Tyra had put there earlier in the day. As she brushed off the ash and took the protective coating off the roots, she set them in a pile on a flat rock the Circle used to keep things warm.

Shrina studied Tris a moment and looked at Airidon as he helped Meckin scrap the hide from several rabbits in preparation for curing. “Well damn, I thought the two of you were off enjoying a bout of hot sex.”

Tris lifted her eyebrow. “Hot sex? Shrelannasha, where do you come up with these ideas?” Tris paused in her work and looked around the Circle. Korol was listening rather intently, Tyra wasn’t paying much attention to the conversation, and she was helping Fini with the final dinner preparations. Meckin and Airidon were working on the latest hides to be cured. Jehro was sitting on his own, carving something into a length of wood.

“I don’t know, it’s just what I would do if I took a good looking man off into the forest for almost three days. I know you and Airidon are sharing blankets so….”

“So you assumed he and I were off taking pleasure in each other and there was no other possible thing we could be doing. That is a fair assumption, but false.” Tris watched as Jehro lifted his head and shot a mental question her way.

“You mean you didn’t….celebrate spring….with your…stuffy little dwarf?” Jehro asked. His face split in a grin at the slight blush that colored Tris’s face. “I thought so. Don’t worry, I didn’t tell anyone.”

“What are you two thinking at each other? Damn, this is so not fair!” Shrina said. “Why do you two always switch to mental conversation when things get interesting?”

Korol chuckled and tossed a couple pieces of wood on the fire. “Because, Shrina, you were right and Tris was trying to pull the wool over our eyes and Jehro is just confirming it.”

“Since when did you pick up the gift of sharing thoughts, Korolwyn?” Tris asked in a controlled voice. “Or are you, like Shrelannasha, assuming from fact pulled together from your personal experience rather than fact about who you are applying the assumption about?”

“Huh?” Korol asked, not completely following Tris’s words.

“She means, Korol, that just because that is what you would do doesn’t mean Jehro would.” Tyra offered, looking up from the pot of seasoned fruit and nuts she was stirring. She winked at Tris and went back to her work.

“Okay….if that isn’t what you were doing, then what did you do?” Korol asked.

“Jehro reminded me about something I had forgotten. My heart sister, Drianne, came back to her tree and she wants to meet all of you.” Tris said simply and finished her task. She pulled a well-known pouch from her cloak and started to make the evening tea.

Shrina looked confused. “I thought all the Dryads were forbidden to return until this war with Handsome was over.”

Tris nodded, finishing her measurement of the tea blend. Then she added the water and set it over the fire to heat and steep. “They are, well, except for Drianne. She is needed in the final battle so she was sent back. Which brings me to what we must do next. Our season of peace is over and it’s time to get back into the battle.”

Every head turned toward her as a silence filled the cave. Airidon nodded to her and stood, leaving Meckin’s side and joining Tris’s. Meeting everyone’s eye, Tris looked to Airidon last and nodded. Airidon’s rich voice filled the cave.

“As Shrina noted a couple of days past, the stitches are fading and if you look, they are now gone. The earth itself has been calling out to those of us who know how to speak to it, groaning from the pain of Handsome’s deprecations. The others will be joining us soon and we will be leaving the forest.”

“Where will we be going?” Jehro asked.

“Wherever we are needed first, Jehrones. I have a feeling that before the week is out; we will know where we are going. Until that time, we each need to spend some time with Drianne; she has brought with her much counsel from those who have been watching.” Tris answered.

“Didn’t you and Airidon already draw up battle plans, Leader Tris?” Korol asked, still trying to get a feel for where his leaders had been the past couple of days.

Tris lifted her eyebrow at the Shadow and then her eyes became hard and unforgiving. “Keep your curiosity to the elements you know, Korolwyn, and stop prying into my personal life.” She spoke in Shadow so only Korol knew what she said, but from the blanching of his dusky skin, the others knew it wasn’t pleasant. “I’m going to speak with Drianne tonight; just so you won’t think I’m keeping any secrets from you.” Tris announced to the Circle as a whole and then wrapped her magic around her and vanished.

“I didn’t mean anything by the question except what I said.” Korol said softly. “I just thought that the two of you would have spoken about strategies and such.” Korol waved to Airidon and tried to make himself small in the growing shadows of night.

“We did, Korol. But we haven’t planned yet where to start. Tris is still waiting for something to decide that.” Airidon shrugged and gave his friend a smile. “Don’t worry, she’s been a little moody lately, something to do with her heart sister returning.”

Korol nodded and felt a little better. He made a promise to himself to do his best to not make Tris angry with him again. He didn’t like being made to feel so small under the weight of her glare.