Read The Crystals of Tlalli: Awakened Affinities Page 2

been drained from them or it killed them out right.

  When the Council of Magi heard of his experiment failures they demanded he stop. The graduates he had come to depend on were no longer sent to him, and the ones that were there were removed at Council insistence. Jarath was forced to find research help elsewhere. He found it in magi who were unemployed or who had been expelled from school. He offered them a place to stay, food to eat, and clothing to wear in exchange for their help. Most accepted this as some of them were on the wrong side of the law and needed a place to hide anyway.

  To Jarath’s surprise help came from an unexpected source, his wife. She wanted to be able to use the portals again she said so she spoke to her parents and they agreed to send the ‘less fortunate’ offspring of the people of their land. Their orphanages were filling with un-gifted lately. The country was not a rich one so this seemed to be a way to ease the strain. At first Jarath was frustrated about the ‘help’. He needed gifted people not these waifs. He didn’t have magi lining up at the door to be experimented on so he grudgingly accepted the influx of new ‘test subjects’ as he called them so he didn’t have to think about the children’s lives he was potentially ruining. He tested their DNA and found they too had the enhanced chromosomes. Maybe they would have been gifted with the affinities that were not working now. Yes he could use them. Maybe he could find a way to fix the crystals using these new test subjects.

  Jarath’s research now focused on putting affinities into those that had none. Four out of ten subjects lived through the process. The Twelve of Ahaya (Eastern Lands) were not pleased however. When they heard about the death toll he was cut off.

  Jarath raged. “Don’t they know I’m trying to save them?” It had become his favorite saying.

  His boy, Quentin, was nearly a man now, and had finally taken an interest in his fathers work. Maybe Jarath could work his son so much he would stop going out causing mayhem and trouble at every turn. Some of the magi who had stayed loyal to him had started a hunting group to bring in potential test subjects. Jarath put his boy in charge of it. That would keep him busy.

  Then the world dropped out from under Jarath. His wife told him why she had been sent to him. Jarath was angry. He sent his hunters to the southern kingdoms to find out the details. They returned with information that excited him and angered him more than anything else had. His wife had been in communication with Prince Ataulfo Lamar. He had just been crowned Prince of the Principality of Alastrina after his father had died and was coming to get his love. Couldn’t he have just moved on? He wouldn’t take his wife from him. The hunters also told him about the baby the two lovers had had together, a girl, a gifted girl. He didn’t believe the hunter when he told him that she had a rare affinity to all ten crystals! That had only happened once in history. Then Jarath had an idea, wouldn’t it be wonderful if he could find her and transfer her gifts to him? Then he would have his revenge on his wife and her lover and save the world at the same time. But where was she?

  He questioned his wife and after many days of interrogation found out the baby had been taken to another world using a master of the violet affinity and a portal with a special rune. That was the only way a portal could be used these days. He had to find a rune like that. He searched and found one his father had in the vault. He took it from him. The only one Jarath trusted with such an important task as finding the girl was his son. He sent him to Earth to find her. His wife was out of her mind now oh well; she didn’t love him anyway. He put her in her room and locked the door. He assigned a maid to watch and feed her. What a waste was his last thought of her.

  1 – Ulrica

  Rica lay in bed; sweat beaded her brow and dampened her hair. The room was dark; the only illumination came from a small clock on a bedside table. Rica turned over clutching her pillow a small sound escaped her lips.

  “Ulrica.” A man’s voice said clearly. The sound of the voice was rich and deep; it lingered in Rica’s consciousness as though it had been said within her mind and not from the room at all. Rica gasped and sat up, her eyes wide. She turned on her lamp and looked around the room clutching the covers in shaking hands at her chest.

  “Who’s there?” She said in a shaky voice. Taking a deep breath then letting it out she pushed the covers away and stood up. Rica was slim with long hair of a dark red color; her skin was creamy white in the soft glow of the lamp.

  “Dad?” she called then opened the door and looked into the hall. “Mom?” The house was still and dark.

  “It must have been a dream.” She murmured. Padding down to the bathroom on bare feet, the wooden floors cold and smooth. She flicked the light on and splashed cold water on her face then stood staring into the mirror trying to remember the dream she had been having before she had heard the voice. The dream had felt so real but now was almost faded away completely. Rica remembered seeing a man’s face, young and handsome with lavender eyes and wings surrounded by a kaleidoscope of colors. Now it was hard to remember what his face had looked like. The voice had shattered the dream and her sleep. The hair on the back of her neck stood up. A chill traveled down her back. She shivered the feeling of someone watching her made her glance behind her. No one there, she pulled the shower door open, no one in the shower either. Rica shivered again hugging her arms and rubbing them, they felt prickly with gooseflesh. She walked back to her room and got into bed shutting the lamp off and closed her eyes. Soon sleep found her again.

  “Ulrica!” Rica’s eyes sprang open and she covered her head with the blankets listening, her breath shallow and fast. A minute went by and no sound could be heard but the ticking of the clock. She put her head out of the covers and listened. Rica waited for what seemed like hours but by the clock was only a few minutes her eyelids heavy. Slowly she drifted back to sleep.

  “ULRICA!” The voice had a desperate quality to it now; Rica sat up in bed the morning sun was already starting to shine into her bedroom window. Her face was pale, her green eyes underlined with dark purple smudges from her lack of sleep. She looked around her room; everything was right where she had left it.

  After a shower and a breakfast of toast she forgot about the nighttime fright and hurried out to catch the bus to school. With a sinking feeling Rica watched the taillights disappear down the hill. She turned and trudged back up the long driveway to her house, her mom was just pouring a cup of coffee when she walked into the kitchen.

  “Rica?” Her mother turned to look at who had walked in the room. She was slight of stature and on the thin side.

  “I missed the dang bus.” Taking her backpack off, Rica tossed it on to the kitchen table.

  “We can drop you at school on the way to work. You look terrible.”

  “Thanks mom.” Rica said sarcastically then instantly felt bad for saying it.

  Her mother brushed a strand of Rica’s hair back from her face and looked at her tired eyes.

  “Trouble sleeping?” Her mothers voice sounded concerned.

  “Shouldn’t you be at school?” Her father said as he entered the kitchen to pour a cup of coffee. Rica’s father was tall and had broad shoulders. He spooned two teaspoons of sugar into the cup and stirred it absently.

  “Yeah. I missed the bus. I kept waking up last night. I thought I heard someone calling me but when I looked no one was there.” Rica could almost hear the voice there like an echo in her mind.

  Her parents froze for a second and glanced at each other then looked quickly away. Rica frowned.

  “The voice was a guy’s voice. You weren’t trying to play a trick on me, were you dad?” For some reason Rica felt shaken and tense now as though someone was watching still.

  Her father laughed. “No it wasn’t me princess.” But his laugh sounded strained. He looked at her mom again and she nodded. Her father sat the cup down and spun on his heel and walked out of the room.

  “I left something, be right back.” He called over his shoulder.

  “Is everything ok mom?”
a shiver went down her spine.

  “Yes dear. I’m going to be late if we don’t leave soon.” Her mother didn’t look at her.

  Her father came back with a red envelope in his hand. He laid it on the table and put his suit jacket on then put the envelope in his pocket where it stuck up like a flag. They hurried out to the garage and got into the car. Her mother sat in the passenger seat her blond hair cut into a bob, Rica sometimes wished she had her mothers thick blond hair instead of her own long dark mane. Rica looked at her parents as they drove to school and not for the first time she was thankful they had adopted her. Rica told them about her weird dream and the strange voice calling her. Her parents were silent until they pulled into the high school parking lot. Then her father took the envelope and turned to hand it to her. He had sandy blond hair and kind brown eyes, which looked worried as he looked at her.

  “We need to give this to you now. I – I want you to know that we have been so blessed to have you with us all these years. You have brightened our lives so much.” His eyes filled with moisture and he thrust the envelope into her hand then turned around. The envelope was a business sized one made out of dark red cardboard with a leather tie holding it shut and sealed with a blue wax seal stamped with an