Chapter Twenty-Three #2
“You will NOT reassign another team. You and all your knowledge should know that these two teams were meant to be the ones that do this. Any other won’t succeed.” Everyone in the room winced at Sperwa’s screeching in their ears and Marcus raised a hand in surrender.
“I was teasing. I would never reassign this to anyone else. I can already see the connections that this team have with you and Bréagha,” placated Marcus. Sperwa flew in front of his eye and gave him a good stare down, then nodded and settled back on Bréagha’s shoulder.
“Now that’s settled, we need to work on figuring out where the Garden flower and secret grove are,” Isadora said. “We do have a few choices, but I feel like the ones that are too easy are probably not the right ones.”
“I agree, won’t be somewhere any of us gather on the regular. We know that Silvanemus’ is in the Deep Dark where absolutely no one in their right mind would go, or at least suspect that’s where the flower is,” added Lily. Marcus and Donegal nodded.
“I may have a suggestion for the flower,” spoke up Kat from the back of the room where she sat with a pile of books.
“I do a lot of gathering of herbs for my healing potions and things. There’s an area on the north side of the Garden.
It’s a gated garden protected by a heavy lock.
I tried to climb over the wall but it’s impossible to see what’s in there, it’s covered with thick vines that have thorns and roses.
They grow so densely it's impossible to cut a path through them.” She selected one of the books from the pile in front of her and carried it to the table.
She laid it flat so everyone could see it was a map of the Garden.
“I didn’t even know there was a map of the Garden,” exclaimed Donegal. “This is awesome.”
Kat pointed to an area on the top of the map. “It would be around there. This just shows a forest, but in the middle of that wooded area, in a clearing is the walled in area.”
“You didn’t try to use your magic and blast the lock?” inquired Drago as he came up and looked at the map as well.
“Um. Of course I did. Didn’t work. Almost shot myself in the foot when my magic bounced off and shot back at me,” admitted Kat, chagrined.
Drago chuckled and ruffled her hair which made her squeal and shoot her magic at his face, her gold magic hit him in a burst of sparkles and settled in his hair and beard.
It looked like he was hit with a glitter bomb.
Bréagha and Roz died laughing, rolling into each other as they succumbed to their mirth. This was way better than any movie night, even though they were discussing what seemed like an almost impossible task.
“Might as well check it out. My team, Bréagha and Sperwa will head out that way tomorrow. Jaxx and his team can work on finding the Secret Grove,” commanded Killian.
“What if what you find is the Secret Grove? And we’ll need to be finding the flower?” asked Jaxx.
“Well, then you can stay here and work on both just in case,” answered his brother with a grin.
“I hope Bréagha shoots her magic at that lock, and it bounces off and ruins your pretty face,” threatened Jaxx.
Killian caught his younger brother in a head lock and knuckled his scalp until Jaxx got in a good shot to his gut which made him loosen his hold.
The entire room was silent as they watched the two brothers wrestling in the middle of the library.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen those two do that,” whispered Colin who had walked up next to Bréagha. She turned away from the two Sentinels acting like 12-year-old boys and looked at Colin.
“Not even when they were little?” she asked, astonished. She grew up with plenty of boys, and they were constantly pushing each other around. Colin shook his head.
“I feel I may have been a bit stern with Killian as he was growing up. His mom died shortly after Jaxx was born and the shadow of Lucien was still coloring things even hundreds of years later. Killian looks like him the most and I feel like I may have been too harsh. He never played like other kids or joked around.” He turned to her and gave her a speculative look.
“That is until you started coming around. He seems to have softened a little since you got here.”
“I tend to have that effect on people,” grinned Bréagha. “I’m like a festering boil; you just have to accept that I’m not going anywhere. It’s acceptance or death.” Colin threw his head back and laughed causing his boys to finally break apart.
“Okay everyone, it seems like tomorrow will be a long day. Everyone to bed!” commanded Marcus.
He even shut his own notebooks and gathered up the flower images carrying them to the table where Lily sat.
“These scrolls and books will be here tomorrow. Let’s all get some good rest and come back to it in the morning.
” He walked everyone out, waving his hand, causing the fires in the fireplaces to go out and the lights to go off.
He then shut the large door with images depicting the Garden behind him.
Roz walked everyone out of the library and then opened a portal for the Sentinels and Bréagha while Mary used her purple magic to create one for each of the Elders.
“Good luck tomorrow. Holler if you need us!” yelled Donegal before he stepped through his.
Colin hugged both of his sons and Bréagha before walking through his own, Drago following him.
Lily and Isadora both waved as they stepped through theirs, as did Mary and Kat.
Leaving Marcus who lived in a small cottage next to the library.
He too gave Bréagha and Roz both hugs before heading to his own home.
Bréagha waited for the Sentinels to walk through their portal, along with their familiars who had been waiting patiently during their meeting.
She felt they were standing at the beginning of something far bigger than any of them realized.
Her life had been turned completely upside down, but she felt safe, like she belonged.
Now, they had a direction to move, and she wasn’t sure what the next few days, weeks, or months would bring.
Roz held the portal open for her friend, her patience quiet and unwavering.
Bréagha took a deep breath and stepped into the portal, toward whatever waited for them next.