Children of the Elementi by Ceri Clark Read Free Book Online Page B

his love than his wife, she is welcome to him,” she said derisively. “What did you mean that he would not live long in there?”
    “With just one source of magic, he would live a long life, indeed with our magic - a longer life than most. The Elementi use a natural source of power. They are incompatible, theirs is fighting ours, curtailing it. Every time he uses it he loses a few years.”
    “But, I haven’t seen any evidence of him using the crystal power. He doesn’t even possess a crystal.”
    “He’s been using it whether he knows it or not. Every time he unintentionally reads another’s thoughts, or even when the other boy uses his powers. They are linked. There can only be one High-King, one of the spirit.” At her blank look, he explained. “The white crystal, he instinctively draws power from the Matrix, all be it weakly. His body is not strong enough to withhold that sort of energy - as well as Magi power.
    “Aras should not exist at all, but a small part of the power resides in him nevertheless. As the other boy gets stronger, so does the Elementi power - this weakens Aras and with it our chances to rule through him.”
    Searching through his robe, Ecu pulled out an elegant ruby ring. Pressing lightly on either side, the ruby popped up on a hidden hinge. Within, she saw a small amount of white powder. “Find a way to mix this in a drink and he will fall in love with the first person he sees.”
    “You just happened to have that in your pocket?”
    He grinned, “I have a certain amount of precognition my dear. It has come in quite handy over the years.”
    Marta nodded without understanding and pushed open an ornate door with a fountain engraved on the wood. Ecu raised an enquiring brow at Marta.
    “This suite used to belong to the Water King and his consort,” she explained. “I thought if you were going to be important you should be given one of the more prestigious rooms.”
     
    In the throne room Aras realized he felt better. As he mulled over what his new adviser told him, he decided to take action. He needed to ‘eliminate’ the boy king before he got any stronger but also find that Citadel. The boy was obviously just finding out about his power or he would have got ill sooner. First, the Citadel.
    “Get the new guards,” he called.
    Within moments the new batch of mercenaries filed into the room. A few days with his generals and they made credible guards but Aras could only feel contempt for these men. Their loyalties went to the highest bidder. Fortunately for him with the Elementi treasure stolen over a hundred years ago, he was the richest bidder around - barring his Magi cousins across the water..
    Still, the men wore his uniform well, he thought with pride. There were at least a couple of hundred recruits all wearing the royal insignia. He could tell they were not comfortable with it. Aras didn’t care; he needed them to display his emblem. The more his power was visible in the streets, the better his hold of it was. The black trousers and shirts were also ideal for missions where his soldiers needed to be inconspicuous at night. For those who saw it, the silver moon and pentagrams on the back of each shirt caused disquiet among watching foe and friend alike. Another good thing about mercenaries over his own guard, he mused was that they obeyed his orders flawlessly - without question. They had no conscience and were usually brighter than the usual soldier. Stupid mercenaries didn’t last long.
    Within minutes, Aras had given his commands to the generals in the front and although the men could hear them, the generals in turn informed the mercenaries standing in line behind them. Rows of men stamped their feet on the ground and turned smartly leaving the room on their first mission. Someone out there had to know where the Citadel was.
    Task accomplished, Aras turned to the next. With trepidation he rose from the throne. It was always dangerous dealing with spirits and his command