Date: Mon, 10 Nov 2014 07:10:33 +0400
From: Nell Bas <helledon12@gmail.com>
Subject: the last feres/ the feri circle 12

Happy reading!

  				 The Feri Circle
  				    Chapter 12

   The silvery moonbeams illuminated the camp grounds as I exited the infirmary.
For such a late hour, people were still roaming all over the place. Lit bonfires,
warming intimate groups of people in front of makeshift tents, littered the grassy
training fields. It was a deplorable situation yet a small boy was having fun chasing
two others around the tents under the watchful gaze of the laughing adults. I
smiled at the sight. People never cease to amaze me. Even in time of hardship they
still find ways to let happiness in their hearts.

   'Over here,' Farren called out to me. I followed the sound of his voice nearby
where he was leaning against a small boulder. He had been carving a piece of wood
to pass the time. I saw him brushing the flakes off his pants as he holstered a
dagger. Hauling himself away from the boulder he strolled towards me.

   'Have you seen the others?'

   'Wren and your uncle are still in the lodge. Helen, Amegra and a few other
women are distributing blankets they brought from the citadel. Nick was here
talking to his mother earlier but I haven't seen him or your other friends since.'
   I yawned loudly. God, I need some shut eye. I called for some feri-lights but
they never came. Exhaustion was doing a number on my concentration.

   'What's wrong?' Farren asked with concern.

   'I don't think I will be able to teleport us home. I'm too tired.'

   'Let me fly you home then. The shallow pool is on the other side of camp and
I don't think you'll want to navigate the sea of people to get there.'

   He pocketed the carving he made and he effortlessly lifted me off the ground.
I suddenly felt like a child but I didn't protest. I hooked an arm around his neck as
wings sprang from his back. They glowed in the moonlight. Facing upward Farren
kicked off and took to the air. It took him mere seconds to reach the desired
heights.

   I shuddered as we cut through the frigidly cold night air. Farren felt it and
tucked me further against his chest. Too worn out to enjoy the moonlit panoramic
view of the forested landscape, I buried my face in the crook of his neck, closed
my eyes and drifted quietly into the darkness.

   Something woke me from my sleep.

   In a panic I opened my eyes to find myself on a beach instead of in my bed.
Instantly, I got to my feet. I wondered where I was.

   Heart racing, I looked around for Farren. The beach was tiny, sheltered by a
sheer, jagged rock cliff but my Neornite friend was nowhere to be seen.

   Girlish laughter further down the beach drew my attention. A bunch of naked
girls were frolicking at the waters' edge. There were seven of them, and they were
the living embodiment of female beauty. Glistening in the moonlight like
diamonds, they all had silvery hair, well, except for one. She stood out because she
had dark hair and she had clothes on. She looked familiar but even with the moon
at its zenith, I couldn't make out her face.

   I sauntered towards them. The dark haired girl saw me first. Her face broke
into a smile when she recognized me. She frantically waved at me.

   'Elle!' I shouted.

   The naked young women stopped their fun to look at me. I was taken aback
when they shrieked and dove into the ocean as if they just saw a hungry predator.
They came up only when they were a safe distance from the shore. Wait! I thought
I saw a tail.

   'Come back,' Elle shouted to them, 'this is my friend Rye. He's gentle and kind,
he won't harm you.' They didn't reply, nor did they stick around. One by one I
watched as their heads disappeared under the water.

   'They are Nereii, aren't they?'

   'Yes. They are shy and secretive but they are my friends.'

   Elle turned to stare at me.

   'Where have you been?' She asked. 'I waited for you to come and tell me more
stories but you never came.'

   'I'm sorry Elle,' I said sitting on the sand gazing at the water lapping
nonchalantly at the shore. Elle plopped down beside me. I told her about growing
up in the human realm, about arriving in Targeten, Wren, Nick, Mirk-Knoll, Belen
and Morak Tal. She listened with enthusiasm. She interrupted me once with a
question but otherwise remained quiet.

   'You have an interesting life. Compared to yours, mine is uneventful. If it
wasn't for the Nereii I never would experience much.'

   I gazed at her for a while. She was an enigma waiting to be unraveled. 'What
are you doing here, Elle? I don't just mean here on the beach but here in this place.
What's with the tower you live in?'

   She giggled. 'My father said I am special and that people in the outside world
are devious and corrupted. He is protecting me from them. I do admit that I get
bored sometimes but I try to keep myself entertained with books he brings back
from his trips. He travels a lot. Sometimes he is gone for weeks at a time.'

   'Isn't there anyone else you could talk to apart from the Nereii?'

   'The castle is empty, save for the man father kept locked up in the dungeon. I
visit him even though father forbade me to. Cole is wise and he has had many
adventures.'

   Cole. Where have I heard that name before?

   'Tell me more about this Cole person.'

   'He is from a place called Sear. Father brought him to the castle when I was
little. Cole told me he had a mate, a witch called Heller or Heden I think.'

   'You mean Helen,' I said trying to suppress the excitement in my voice. I didn't
want to alarm Elle. Though she was naïve in some ways, she was an intelligent
person.

   'Yes. That's it. How did you know? Have you met her?'

   'If it's the same woman I'm thinking of, yeah maybe. But I have to talk to him
to know for sure.'

   'I can take you to him if you like. Father won't be back till next week.'

   'Sure, why not,' I coolly said.

   After waiting for her to dust the sand from her clothes and hands, I followed
Elle to a small cave entrance that I would never have guessed was there. We
climbed nearly a hundred steps before we reached a small courtyard by an
abandoned greenhouse. Through a small wooden door, Elle guided me through a
maze of hallways until we arrived at a flight of stairs leading down to the dungeon.

   On a tiny bed in a large torch lit cell by the back wall, I saw a lanky man laying
flat on his back with his eyes closed. He perked up when he heard Elle call out his
name.

   'Cole. I brought you a visitor. I think he knows your mate Helen.'

   Cole jumped off the bed. Sadness, resignation and excitement crossed his
handsome face as he laid eyes on me.

   'Have you really met her?'

   'If her name is Helen Faraday, then yes I've met her.'

   His eyes lit up when I said that. He padded to the bars and held on to them in
a tight grip. 'Do you really know her or are you just pulling my leg?'

   'I've known her for a while now. Her nephew Nickolas is my best friend.
Actually, Helen, Nick and her sisters moved in with me since they left the human
realm.'

   Cole smiled. His eyes swelled with tears. 'Tell me, how is she?'

   'She's doing okay I guess but she misses you. She never stopped searching for
you even if there wasn't much she could find.' I paused as I stared at Cole. The
man didn't look dirty. He had clean clothes on, a shaven face and well kept short
hair. 'Why are you here? Who has you prisoner?'

   Cole glanced at Elle. The look told me that he had grown fond of the young
woman. He wouldn't say anything that would hurt her in any way.

   'Helledon has me. I don't know what he's planning to do with me but I guess
it has something to do with my abilities.'

   'What kind of abilities are we talking about?'

   'I'm a phoenix shifter. One of the few of my kind that stayed behind when the
others migrated to a realm called Nubia before the Feres king put up the barrier.'

   'I've never heard of phoenix shifters before. Do Helen and the others know
about you?'

   'Helen, yes but we agreed not to tell the others. Besides being able to
manipulate fire I easily passed for a warlock.'

   'Wow!'

   I looked at Elle. She really didn't have any idea who her father really was. He
treated her with kindness and in some weird way love so I didn't dare upset her by
saying something mean about Helledon in front of her. But I have to save her. She
and Cole. But how?

   'Do you know where here is?'

   'Unfortunately no, I was out cold when I was brought here,' Cole miserably
said.

   'I think I've heard father talking to someone a while back,' Elle offered. 'He
said something about being in the veil yet the Nereii says I'm on an island called
Feri Court. I am not sure who to believe.'

   My heart skipped a beat when she mentioned Feri Court Island. That's a start,
I thought.

   'How did you get to this place?' Cole asked me. 'I've never seen anyone here
apart from Elle and Helledon.'

   'It's complicated. Actually, I'm not really here, so to speak. My body is back in
Notwitt. What you're seeing is my astral self.'

   'Great Feri! You're a feres?'

   'The Feres, yeah. To my friends and family, I'm Rye but to the people of
Targeten I'm High King Riley.'

   Cole let out a sound of relief. 'Then there may still be hope for me.' He glanced
at Elle who gave him a blank stare. 'I mean there may still be hope for us.'

   Suddenly I felt something warm wash through me. It was like I was being
zapped by an electrical charge or was it just pleasant tickles.  Somewhere someone
was caressing my body. As I began to get turned on, my astral self began to fade.

   'Sorry guys. I have to leave you now. I'm being summoned back.'

   'So soon,' Elle pouted.

   'Sorry Elle. I would like to tell you more stories but maybe another time. I
promise.'

   She was quick to perk up. 'Okay. Bye Rye.'

   'Tell Helen I love her will you. Tell her I miss her too. She's all I think about
day and night...' He said something else but by then I was already gone from
Helledon's dungeon.

   'Welcome back to the land of the living,' I recognized Nick's raunchy voice
straight away. He was spooning me from behind. What was more he had his
fingers wrapped around my cock while his hard cock was burning hot against my
ass cheek.

   I smirked. 'Someone is horny?' I said and almost cringed when my voice came
out too raspy. He kissed me on the cheek and on the ear. A warm fuzzy feeling
created ripples over my skin. I inwardly begged for more. 'You seemed to be in a
good mood.'

   'You can say that. But wait until I tell you why. You know the connection we
have. Well, last night I had a talk with Amegra and she told me something that
might interest you.'

   He released my erection and ran his fingers across my flat stomach which
caused ripples of ticklish pleasure. I twisted my body until I was facing him. His
brown chocolate eyes glittered in the morning light. He looked delicious especially
when the corner of his mouth pulled his lips into an affectionate smile. He wet his
thumb before rubbing it at the corner of my mouth to get rid of something sticky
at the side of my chin. 'Mmm! Can we take care of some business first? My
morning wood is killing me.'

   'Patience, Your Majesty,' Nick teased as he playfully nibbled at my lower lip. I
sighed to which he sniggered loudly. Nickolas' hand crawled down to fondle my
balls. He was enticing me.

   'Yeah. My shifter prince is at camp playing soldier and I haven't had sex since
the night before.' He was gently squeezing my balls as I talked. The delightful little
pressure caused my dick to bounce up and down with excitement.

   I stifled a moan.

   'You're beautiful when you're horny.'

   'I am not,' I blushed.

   'Yes, you are. Now come here let me have a taste of that wood of yours,' Nick
pecked me on the lips. Awkwardly I managed to bring my crotch to his face. He
shamelessly sipped the licking pre-come off my dick before he started suckling on
it. The suction made by his skillful mouth and tongue was driving me crazy. My
own mouth watered from wanting something to suck on too.

   I pulled at Nick's hip and fumbled to get his cock out. It jumped right out
when I pulled the waist of his pants low enough. Nick shuddered when I engulfed
him with warmth. 'Yeah, baby. Suck that cock,' he said with his mouthful. We
sucked, slurped and pleasured each other with slow intended bopping. I twitched
every time my gland touched the back of his throat. His manly scent brought me
to a near frenzy. Meanwhile, he continued to play with my balls; tenderly pulling,
rubbing and squeezing them.

   'I'm going to come,' Nick gasped. He squirted four thick ropes of his seeds
down my gullet. He twitched when I sucked every last drop out of him. With
numbing lips, I glanced at his face. His pupils were dilated and his mouth was
opened in a silly grin. In his daze, Nick tightened his grip on my cock which caused
me to convulse uncontrollably as my own orgasm hit. I came hard on his face,
tunic and hand. He sniggered when he saw the state he was in after.

   'Damn! That's a lot of cum. You're trying to drown me or what?'

   I giggled in reply.

   Spent, both of us lay on our backs gazing at the ceiling. Nick gently rubbed my
inner thigh with his callous fingers. It felt good though.

   'What were you going to tell me?' I asked him.

   'I...I, shit! I don't remember.'

   I laughed out loud. And he blushed with a shameful grin.

   'Oh, yeah. I have this effect on people.' Nick gave me a playful shove.
'Speaking of effect, have you met Wain's new girlfriend by any chance?'

   Nick furrowed his forehead in thought. 'Yeah. I met her,' he simply said. I
could tell he wasn't saying everything. I have a pretty good idea what it was.

   'I felt a weird but familiar vibe coming from her, yet I can't explain what it is.
But when I saw her for the first time, I don't know, it was the same feeling I felt
for Wren - and you.'

   'Yeah,' Nick agreed. 'I felt it too. I don't know but something Amegra told me
is making me believe that she might be one of us; a feri child.'

   I propped up on an elbow. 'What?'

   'Up until yesterday I was a bit skeptical that I might be a feri child but Amegra
asked me how I felt about you and Wren.'

   'Don't tell me, it's a love at first sight feeling, right?'

   'Yeah,' Nick said, 'I had the same feeling when I met you, Wren and now Lyra
Brownwood. I don't know but I think we just met another feri child.'

   'That would certainly explain why a girl with a paternal shifter parent might
manifest a witches power.'

   'If I am to believe Wain, she might be the person the nightwalkers were
searching for in LaDem. Why else would Helledon hire those bastards if not to
find a feri child?'

   'You might be right. She's one of us.'

   Then suddenly Nick grew all perky. 'Rye. Wren. He's a feri child.'

   I had the same thought also. Although, what is preventing Wren from
manifesting any new power? I mean, Nick can manipulate fire and his empathy
was off the chart. I have power over the feri-lights, move object with a single
thought, and project my astral self across the continent. I was sure Lyra can do
some amazing things as well.

   'I'm sure there's a logical explanation,' Nick said sensing my emotions.
'Although, I sense that Amegra don't have the answer either or else she would
have told Wren he was a feri child as well already.'

   'You know. You might be right. Do you know what that means, Nick?'

   'What?'

   'There's only one feri child to find and I think I know where she is.'

   'She?'

   'Yes. Her name is Elle and I think she's my sister.'

   ........................................................

   End of chapter 12