A Storm in the Making

Chapter 27--The Agreement

Julius entered the room cautiously and spotting me, walked straight over to my chair like a compass needle finding true north.   His father brought him a chair and he sat down next to me, clasped my hand in his and rested it on his knee.   Then we waited in silence.

I Hope I haven’t gotten you into anything you’ll regret, I told him with my thoughts.

My father gave me the choice before I ever entered this room, he whispered into my mind.  How could you think I would not want to be with you, given that choice?  I have been in agony out there with worry; not knowing what they were telling you in here.

Do you know what they want with me?

I can guess.

Why didn’t you warn me?

It was not my secret to tell.

“Enough,” Varak blurted clamping his hands over his ears;  his dried apple face going scarlet.  “We concede that you have the closeness for the bond.  Please spare us any further demonstrations of your juvenile love affair.”

My eyes flashed to William Helm in the corner, but he had lost the Cheshire cat grin and had gone back to his brooding watchfulness.

Julius stiffened and looked towards the corner.  He growled low in his throat.

Oh, God, I thought, could this get any worse?  I was so embarrassed.  I felt my face burning.  I had gotten so caught up in my mental conversation with Julius that once again I had forgotten others could hear me, maybe even William Helm too.

You knew they were listening?  Do you know why William Helm is here?

Julius just squeezed my hand and winked at me. But he didn’t leave my mind. I could feel him there. He was in no mood for apologies. It seemed he was well aware of the contempt Varak, Vorst, and Natos had for him, too. He simply ignored William Helm.

“Julius, do you know why you are here?” Vorst was as cold and abrupt with Julius as he had been kind and gentle to me.

“What do you require of me?”

“For the present, she merely needs guarded.” Varak spoke first. I looked back over at William Helm but his look gave away nothing. They were giving Julius a bogus job to pacify me, I thought, then caught my breath when William Helm gave me a sudden wink.

I was right about those manipulative old wizards, and William Helm could read my mind, I realized.

Can’t you, Black knight, I demanded, glaring at him.

William Helm turned away without answering me. Oh yeah. That bastard had been reading my mind the whole time.

 “Defend her with your life.” Vorst commanded, drawing my attention back to them. 

“I need no orders to defend her from anyone—even you, if necessary,” Julius retorted.

“On her life, hangs all of ours, Lithian,” Vorst snarled back.  “Much more than a potential mate, she is. It is The First Born, you are being commanded to guard.”

I looked over at William Helm and saw he was stunned.  Surprise, I thought at him and grinned when he looked directly at me. The Hermits hadn’t told him then. I wondered if they had forgotten for the moment that he was listening.

Julius saying, “That, too, I know,” tore my attention away from William Helm. So, Julius knew I was this “First Born”.   Hm-m? Had that influenced his sudden, passionate interest in me?