Chapter Four
Ted stood and watered the plants that Arden had pointed out while wearing the gardener’s face. Hrinian came through the door with two friends, and he looked at her with a sneer in his expression.
“Barely enough power to be worth it.”
Ted turned and looked at him. “What? Who are you?”
Hrinian looked chalky under the grey colouring of his skin. “You don’t need to know that.”
“Why not, Hrinian?” She looked at him and took on her normal appearance. “You were so proud when you did this to me six years ago.”
His eyes bugged, and his companions said, “What’s wrong?”
Ted let her skin glitter and eyes glow. “Oh, I am just the one who got away. Now, I want all three of you outside this greenhouse.”
Hrinian frowned. “Why?”
“I don’t want to leave a mess. Go.”
She wrapped power around them, lifted them, and shoved them back through the door.
Ted smiled and followed them out.
“You know, Hrinian, you bound my energy before it really manifested. The power you were getting was a sick trickle compared to what would happen a few months later.” She snorted.
“Too bad you corked it. Well, now that I can control things a little better, I am just going to retrieve what is left of what you have stolen.” She looked at him and saw the traces of her energy swirling around.
She focused and pulled her energy back, tucking it in with its friends. He slumped and jerked.
“And now, you have six sources of energy in you, and your friends have nine and eight respectively. That is stealing. So, let’s just fix that.”
She sorted, gathered, and sent the power back to the people it was stolen from.
They were screaming. Of course they were. She sighed, and Arden came up behind her. “Are you done with them?”
“Arden? I think so. They seem to be fading. What do you have in mind?”
Arden smiled, and under the shadows, vines shot up and wrapped around them, pulling them flat against the grass, dragging them up against a pile of soil. “Nice. I have a project I want to use them for.”
The men flailed but were pulled into the soil until their bodies turned to dust. The screams went quiet, and silence covered the area.
Arden smiled. “I will let Estelle know that that soil is to be saved for special projects. The herbalist is going to be able to put them to good use.”
Ted was stunned. “Have you done this before?”
Arden smiled. “Once or twice. You never mess with Mother Nature.”
One red djinn and two orcs stood up from the other side of the mound of dirt. Nemia waved. “Hey. So that was terrifying.”
Ted chuckled. “Apparently, we have a lot of rage.”
Arden shrugged. “Not me. They take from others; now they will heal and nourish others. Very circle of life.”
Nemia blinked. “Very tooth and claw.”
Arden grinned. “That, too.”
Ted looked around. “Why are you here alone?”
“Oh, I work here part time and spend the rest of my life in an office working on business plans. This was my final visit with the seedlings before I go to the islands for an interview.”
Ted blinked. “For what?”
“They are looking for an officiant for their bonding ceremonies. Someone who can live on site and keep to themselves. A friend put me forward for an interview, but I have to head out tonight and get my ass there to try and prove I am a good candidate to help people in love find balance.” Arden grinned. “I love a challenge.”
Ted looked at her, really looked at her. “You are more than you show.”
Arden grinned. “You are very perceptive.”
Mik said, “She’s a grower, not a shower.”
Arden snickered. “Yes.”
Mik smiled. “Can we see you?”
“No. I don’t think it is necessary.”
Ted nodded. “I understand.”
“But if you give me your number, I will send you a selfie if I get the job as the powered-up me. I just don’t want to do it now because I have to get on a plane.”
Ted blinked. “Oh, you have a slow switchback.”
Arden tapped her nose. “Correct.”
Mik smiled and reached out. “Can you hold this for a minute?”
Arden caught the USB stick, and her eyes flicked from brown to green to silver in rapid succession. She smirked and handed the item back. “That’s interesting. I found a few new ones.”
Mik grinned. “Good. Are you good here if we dip?”
Arden laughed. “Yes. I will talk to Estelle and let her know about anything growing out of that soil, and then I have to head to the airport. I literally have nothing to wear for warm weather.”
Mik said, “Do you have enough to buy stuff when you arrive?”
“Yes.”
“Then go and buy new stuff. I have been to Emerald once, and it is spectacular. Enjoy the views even if you don’t get the job.”
“I am going to be on the Wonder Islands.”
“Wow. Way better views.” Mik grinned. “I didn’t partake, but it is quite the local population.”
Arven smiled and looked at Ted. “Was that your ex?”
“No, just a weird guy from one of my university classes a few years ago. He got one of those marks on me before I was all pretty and sparkly. Six years of slow draining ended today, and he was the first thing on my to-do list.”
Arden nodded. “Well done.”
“Uh, thanks for turning them into compost.”
“Oh, they are going to turn into magical plants and herbs.”
Mik said slowly, “So not the first time you have done that.”
“Nope. I had to learn somehow, and when I am out in the open, they just come toward me. Sometimes they follow a friend of mine, but that is on purpose. We have a lot of magical soil.”
Mik laughed. “Excellent. I knew I liked you on sight, and I am grateful I didn’t just grab you to hide you.”
“Oh, yeah, that would have been unwise.”
Mik cackled. “Instincts for the win!”
Arden nodded. “Okay, you guys can go, and I will deal with the owner of the greenhouse. She and her mates and their son are pulling up. Hm. They will need to dispose of the car that the twats arrived in.”
An SUV was pulling up, and the orcs and Nemia disappeared. Mik looked at Ted. “Shall we?”
“Oh, yes. I think we shall.” They held hands and returned to the new palace. Mission accomplished.
* * * *
Arden smiled. “Hey, Estelle. I have more fancy soil for experimental herbs.”
“Uh, great. I will get my gloves. Suggestions?” Estelle looked at the pile warily. She knew what it contained.
“Plant trees in it. They will be phenomenal.”
Tobin smiled. “More bad men?”
“Yes, but this time, there were other people like me here who helped take care of them.”
Estelle blinked. “More like you?”
“Yes. And a woman who looks stunning in red.”
“Clothing?”
“Skin, with double pointed ears.” Arden chuckled.
Ekhart paled. “There are red djinn here?”
“At least one. She was hanging out with two green orcs.”
Ekhart’s eyes bugged out, and he looked at the other dark elf. “I think I need to speak to the king.”
Estelle grinned. “Go ahead. I need to get the briefing from Arden, and by the time that’s done, you should be back.”
Arden cleared her throat. “Can you dispose of this car? The owners are elsewhere. Forever.”
Estelle’s third smiled and nodded. “Keep an eye on Tobin. He’s poking the creepy dirt.”
Estelle moved to coax Tobin away.
When that was done, Arden, Tobin, and Estelle were alone on the property.
“Are you really leaving?”
“I am trying something new. Serin put my name forward, and frankly, officiating weddings and growing plants is right up my alley. If I am not here, the shadows should stop showing up.”
Estelle sighed. “I will miss you.”
“You can come on vacation, and I can put a flower crown on you and yours and ask the earth for her blessing.”
“Is it really a female presence?”
“No, it has the feel of any creature living, moving to survival. It is testing what will and what won’t work to get itself stronger and more able to thrive.
The sky is not a male and the soil isn’t female.
They are both composites of energy moving with the purpose of maintaining life and movement. Progress is the driving force.”
“Why did the elites come first?”
“Well, first, the world was betas, but then there was power to be distributed, so the elite came to become the next phase of our population, but they went sour and destroyed their females. The females needed the power to have their children safely, but the elders decided that they had power, and they were keeping it.”
Estelle blinked. “So we were a stopped evolution?”
“You are the restarted evolution. If the elite are the wolves of the population, the djinn are the dire wolves.”
“And you mages?”
“We are the Siberian tigers of the situation. Rare, independent, and dangerous. Some of us are gathering as we activate, but we can and do live alone as our powers don’t really play that well together.
The dark elite are behaving; the shadow mages keep outing themselves from this side of the door.
We are here to watch and act if action is called for. ”
“How do you know that?”
“It came with the activation. Now, when are you going for your embiggening?”
Estelle sighed. “Soon.”
Arden pulled out a card. “Go here. Tell Udelle that I sent you and say you are about to have a growth spurt. She will give you a bottle that you take right before they begin working on you. It will make the pain far more benign.”
Estelle blinked. “Magic?”
“Sort of. Herbalism. The herbs have an agenda as well, and she is the one using the fun and interesting plants. They contain more magic than their little cousins, but it makes the herbs stronger, not magical.”
Estelle asked, “Can I try it?”
“She will give you a bottle. Put in a toothpick and lick it, wait a count of ten, and poke your hand with the toothpick. That will be your answer. Growing pains are not great.”
Estelle smiled. “How much will it be?”
“Free. It is a teashop, and she keeps special mixes in the back. She’s a beta and very good at healing with plants.”
“Wait. A beta?”
“Yup. Not anything else. No extras that we have been able to find. She is a woman who knows what plants can do and mixes them for the best result. She’s completely non-threatening and excellent at what she does. When she needs an order, she sends it through Sam, and Sam knows how to use the dirt.”
Estelle shuddered. “Good. While I love the effect, the method freaks me out.”