Soul Mates: Rose (Soul Mates #6): A Paranormal Romance Page 2

  "For you, Hunter, Sapientia and Aqua." He smiled.

  "Wisdom and water?" he asked, looking up from the swords.

  Auberon nodded. "You have a quick mind, hence Sapientia. And water is the element you control."

  He set one of them down as Ronny had done and unsheathed the other, looking at the double edged blade. "Thank you, Auberon, and Faerie, I will wear them and work with them in honor."

  Auberon nodded and turned to me. "Ah, my little ferocious jaguar, I have a feeling I know what Faerie has for you." He once more reached into the sky, but this time with both hands and brought down two very different blades. One was long and slightly curved, the other was short, about dagger size. Both had red decorative handles and sheaths. Auberon smiled. "Ah yes, I was right. Furore and Flammae."

  "Fury and Flames?" I said, frowning. I knew I had a temper, but I wasn't sure what it meant that Faerie was arming me with these two particular blades.

  Auberon held the longer blade out toward me. "Flammae, my dear Rose, because you control the element of fire. Faerie has gifted you this because, of the three of you, you burn hot and bright. You will need that fire, the flames of Flammae in the coming weeks. I do not like it, but it is what Faerie and the Oracle has seen for your future. Take it, my dear, it is your legacy."

  Nervously, I reached for it with both hands.

  "Unsheathe it, and say its name, my dear."

  I took the sword out of its protective cover and set it aside. "Flammae." The sword lit up with flames that glowed red. I could feel the heat being generated by the sword and nearly dropped it. "Auberon, how do I make it go out?" I asked, trying not to panic.

  "Deflammo," he replied.

  I nodded and repeated, "Deflammo!" The blade's flames were squelched, and I could no longer feel any kind of heat from it. Tentatively, I moved my hand up from the handle to the metal and touched it. It was cool. "Wow."

  "Auberon, why does Faerie and the Oracle think Rose is going to need these in the coming weeks?" Hunter asked.

  "I cannot say, Hunter. They did not make me privy to that information. Merely that it was time to give each of you your legacies and to have you train to use them properly."

  "Do Mom and Dad know about the Oracle's vision?" Ronny asked.

  "No, nor should they be made aware. I do not ask you lightly to keep this from them, but it is imperative that Rose continue on with the journey she has chosen. Her legacy will protect her and those who need protection, she merely needs time to learn how to use them."

  "But I leave tomorrow, Auberon, how am I to learn how to use them before then?" I asked.

  He shook his head. "Child, you forget, this is Faerie, time is not always the same as it is in the modern world. You will stay here until we deem you are ready, and when you leave, it will be tomorrow."

  "How are you going to get Dad to agree to that?" Hunter wisely asked.

  "He has an ally," Abbey said from the door and we all swivelled to look at her.

  "You know?" I asked.

  "As Auberon's heir, I know quite a bit. My brother is over-protective, and rightly so, it's a dangerous world if you choose to go down this path, but you have already put things into motion by joining this class trip. You are headed into the Dark, but you will be a Light in that Darkness, Rose."

  I gulped. "You'll help me train?" I asked.

  Abbey nodded. "I will. So will others, I think it may be wise to bring in James to our secret. If he can keep his mouth shut until you're gone."

  "James keep his mouth shut? Unlikely!" I laughed.

  "May I continue? I have yet to give her, Furore, Princess." Auberon held up the dagger.

  "Carry on, but we only have a moment or two, I was sent to collect you all for dinner."

  I re-sheathed Flammae and set it down.

  Auberon nodded. "Here my dear, Furore." He laid it in my hand.

  It was lightweight, and when I pulled it from its protective cover, I felt an overwhelming desire to stab something. I quickly re-sheathed it and breathed out. "This blade carries a fierceness to it," I whispered.

  Abbey took the blade from me and pulled it. She weighted it in her hand and then moved to a practice dummy that she magicked out of the air. She gripped the blade and slashed and stabbed at the dummy, spinning and twisting, in a matter of seconds. After another moment, she stepped back, re-sheathed it, and nodded. "It is a vicious little dagger, isn't it?" She grinned.

  I looked at the dummy which now sported fourteen gashes from the blade, all looked deadly. "Can you teach me to do that?" I asked.

  "Definitely." She looked at Auberon and said, "Two months I think."

  "Two months?" I asked. "Is that how long I'll be here training?"

  She nodded. "Yes, I think so. If we work daily, we should have you pretty comfortable with them. It will be a lot of work, but I know you're up for it."

  I nodded feeling a little bit excited, but also apprehensive. I had always wanted to train and now I was getting my wish.

  "One more thing," Auberon said moving toward Ronny. He took the pair of blades from him, pulled a holster from the sky, and affixed it to Ronny's back and then adjusted it. He put the blades in and the whole thing disappeared. "There you go. Now Hunter."

  "I can't even feel them anymore," Ronny said. "One minute there was a weight to them, and now it's gone, did they go off into Faerie?"

  "No, child, they are there, merely think their names and reach for the one you want, right hand to left side, left hand to right side. Faerie has asked them, and they have agreed to appear to their English names for you, so merely think Artistry or Air and it will appear in your hand."

  "And before you ask, no, they are not animated, but objects from Faerie have substance, they have to agree to whoever handles them. Had Furore not allowed me to use it, it would not have come to me. My hand would have gone through it and it would have stayed in Rose's hand," Abbey answered. "In this regard, your weapons can never be taken from you. They are yours."

  Auberon finished giving Hunter his holster and moved toward me. He pulled two holsters from the sky. One he attached to my back and the other to my thigh. He slid Flammae into the holster on my back and I felt it move down my spine and then disappear. Furore he slid into the one on my thigh.

  "Auberon, do we need to remove them when we change clothes?" I asked, not sure how this worked.

  "No, while it appears I've placed them over your clothing, they are actually on your person. The holsters are pockets of Faerie. They will be with you always."

  "Now, we had better get in to dinner before Tatiana decides to start without us!" Abbey said, ushering us all toward the door.

  ***

  "Sweetheart, are you sure you wish to spend you last night before leaving here?" my dad asked, looking at me with a frown.

  "Oui, Abs and I are going to watch some movies and stuff." I smiled, but it quickly turned to a glare when Ronny and Hunter snickered.

  "I'll have her back home well before she needs to leave tomorrow morning," Abbey said.

  I hugged Mom and Dad. "See you in the morning," I murmured.

  "Alright, chère," Mom said, hugging me back.

  James, Mara, and the boys had left before Mom and Dad and I wondered if Abbey'd had time to ask if he'd help us. Once everyone was gone, I asked her. "Is James coming back? Did you ask him?"

  "I did and he totally agreed, he'll be back in a bit, just has to tell Mara, who I bet isn't thrilled, so they are probably arguing about it, but you know James. You're like his favorite person other than Mara and the boys."

  I laughed with her as we stood in the hallway. "So how do we make Faerie set the time for us?" I asked.

  "We have to wait till James gets here, but then we'll go see Taban and have him fix it. He and Faerie have an agreement." Abbey grinned. "He can make special watches for us or he can convince Faerie to adjust time, so that here time will pass differently than in the mortal world. Like one hour equals one week, or something. It's more complicated
than that, but you'd have to ask Taban. We just tell him how long we need, and he arranges it."

  "Great." I nodded. "What do we do until James arrives? I'm not really up for starting learning to use these tonight." I tap my thigh where I know Furore sat.

  "Yeah, it's been a long day. Tatiana Rose passed out before dinner. Why don't we go put a movie in?"

  "Sure." I followed her back to the suite she and Daire had in the mound. They lived here fulltime because they were the heirs. When Auberon and Tatiana decided to give up the throne sometime in the next hundred years or so, Abbey and Daire would take their places as well as their names. It's going to be weird referring to them as Auberon and Tatiana. I shook my head, pushing the thoughts away. Too many other things were in need of my attention.

  "What should we watch?" she asked, settling down on her sofa.

  "How about Annabelle?"

  "The creepy doll movie?" Abbey looked unsure.

  "Oh, come on, it can't be that creepy."

  "Yes, it totally can." She laughed. "Fine, but I'm getting Daire in here to watch too."

  We were about halfway into it when James showed up, knocking at the door, and coming in. "Hey, munchkin, whatcha watchin'?"

  "Oh thank, Goddess." Abbey clicked the remote and shut the movie down.

  "It wasn't that scary," I said giggling. "We were watching Annabelle."

  "Yeah? Princess of Spoiled Rottenness didn't like it?" James grinned.

  Abbey threw a couch cushion at him "Shut it, James."

  Daire laughed. "I didn't mind it, but I think Abbey would prefer not to watch this kind of thing."

  "You fight far scarier things pretty much on a daily basis, how can that scare you?" James asked.

  "If I had my way, I would leave the dark and scary outside my home, thanks. It's because I fight the scary things that I'd rather not watch it for entertainment."

  "I get that." I nodded. "Sorry, next time we'll watch Pitch Perfect."

  "Oh, I've been wanting to watch those," Abbey replied.

  "So, what's the plan for the munchkin and am I the only one helping?"

  "We'll start with basics tomorrow and then move on to actual fighting probably the day after. Best way to learn is to spar for real."

  "As for who's helping, that'd be me, Daire, you, Gideon, Thomas and Elu, Cale, Ferein and Felicia as well as Gareth. I had to use a boon to get him here, but he's coming."

  "I'm going to fight the Goblin King?" I asked, blinking up at her, suddenly terrified.

  "Not right away, he will come when I signal for him. Thomas is going to keep a look out."

  "They're coming through the Never Never?" I asked. "I thought it was dangerous right now." I glared at her.

  Abbey shrugged. "It is, for you. Not so much for a pair of dragons and the Goblin King. He'll probably bring Lindsay. She rarely leaves his side. It's funny how jealous she gets." Abbey laughed.

  "Okay."

  "We should all get some sleep, training is going to start early," Daire said, stretching.

  "Cool, I'll see you all bright and early," James replied, heading back out the door.

  "I'm going to go talk to Taban and then I'll be back in. Rose, go on ahead and get a shower and take the guest room." She started for the door, but Daire grabbed her around the waist.

  "Mo ghrá ach, I'm going to check on Tia and then I'll join you in our room." He kissed her cheek and let her go.

  I smiled and headed off to the guest room.

  Chapter Three

  "But it's so early," I said with a yawn.

  "Get used to it, Rosie posey, for the next two months it's up at the butt crack of dawn, breakfast, then off to the training arena so I can kick your ass." He grinned.

  I glared at James. "I need coffee. Strong and sweet if you want me to function at all before nine!"

  Abbey chuckled coming into the room with two Starbucks cans. "Already got it," she said, handing me the delicious drink.

  I grabbed the drink, popped the top and took a whiff. "Mmmm, sweet deliciousness, thanks, Abs," I murmured and took a sip. Feeling much happier, I smiled. "So, you said something about breakfast?"

  "Trinia is whipping up a batch of waffles as we speak." Abbey grinned.

  "She is awesome," I replied as I snapped myself into a pair of jeans and a tee shirt.

  "Yeah, that's not going to work," Abbey commented looking at my clothes.

  I looked down at the tee shirt and jeans and frowned. "Why not?"

  "You need more flexibility for training than the jeans will provide."

  "So, what? Yoga pants?" I arched a brow.

  "Allow me?" she asked.

  "Whatever, go for it, I trust your judgement."

  With a snap of her fingers I was dressed in tight, but flexible pants that weren't made of any sort of manmade material. It looked and felt like leather, but softer and stretchy. The top was made of the same material and fitted to my skin perfectly. Both were black. On my feet were spiked heel boots with silver tips. "Seriously? You want me to train in these?" I lifted my feet. "Can't I just wear my Converse?"

  Abbey shook her head. "No. The boots are added protection, the Fae-made pants and top are very hard to cut through, like Kevlar kind of, the boots are manticore hide. Also, very tough. This is what I wear when I go into battle, and a version of what I wear when I'm in the ring fighting."

  "Have you seen her fight in the ring with Gareth?" James asked.

  "No, Dad wouldn't let me go watch. The boys haven't been either."

  Abbey laughed and snapped her fingers, changing her own clothes. She looked similar to me, but her top instead of being long sleeved and covering her entire torso, had capped sleeves, and was fitted to just under her breasts. The pants too had several slits, showing off her skin. "When fighting the Goblin King, I need to have my skin showing as much as possible. One it's a distraction, two, I have to show it if he lands a blow that bleeds."

  "Don't believe that, she just likes to dress like a more badass Xena Warrior Princess," James replied.

  Abbey rolled her eyes at him. "Come on, Trinia will have the waffles ready by now."

  "Is Daire and Tia coming?" I asked, looking around the room.

  "They've already eaten. Daire and Auberon are working with Tia to hone her magic."

  "Cool," I answered as we reached the dining room.

  We all ate and then headed out to the training ring. Gideon was there, waiting for us.

  "About time you three showed up!"

  "Gideon," Abbey said warmly, greeting him. "Thank you for coming, I know it was last minute, but I thought perhaps you might know a bit more about how to teach Rose to use her Katana? I'm good with the tantō, but I've not used a Katana."

  "May I see it?" Gideon asked, approaching me.

  I nodded and reached for the weapon with both hands, pulling it, along with its sheath from the holster so I could show Gideon without looking aggressive. I knew if I needed to be aggressive with it, I could pull it without the sheath, it was just something I felt instinctually. I settled the blade crossways across my palms and held it out to him.

  "Ah, yes. Very nice." He pulled Flammae from its sheath and looked at the blade. "Does it have a name?" he asked.

  "Yes, Flammae."

  He smiled. "Only you, young one, can draw the flames to this particular weapon and I have a feeling it is already bonded to you. Use of it should be fairly instinctual, but we shall see, won't we. Let us give you a test, first with a wooden Katana, I think." He returned Flammae to me.

  I put the blade away and he handed me a wooden one. I held it with both hands and looked at him for instruction. Abbey and James backed up as Gideon picked up another wooden Katana.

  "There are four different postures for the Katana. Gedan, lower level," he said, showing me the position. "You use this for striking and blocking. Next, Chudan, mid-level." He moved toward the center of the body. "Jodan, upper level." He changed positions again, showing that the strike would happen in the temple are
a. "And last, Hasso, side level." He adjusted again. "These set up your defense and striking positions. When using the Katana, you must remember, it is thin, do not strike in hard areas such as the skull, go for the arteries, jugular, femoral, carotid, when fighting Humanoid Dark Fae," he explained. "Other creatures will have different points to hit, of course, so look for the softer areas to score hits on."

  I nodded and followed along, making the moves as he did them. We practiced for hours and finally Abbey brought us lunch. We took about thirty minutes to eat and then we were back at it, this time though, I was practicing cleaning my blade of blood by flicking the blade in a particular manner. Gideon taught me two ways, one was sort of a swoop over my head and down, and then the other was off to the side. He used a Japanese word, chiburi, I thought was what he called it, but I couldn't be sure. Once I had that down, he moved a dummy in front of me and had me practice the strikes over and over and over again.

  He positioned me, shifted my stance, and showed me how to turn the blade, and angle it to get the cuts I was after until it all became second nature. As it turned to dusk, he finally ended our lesson. "That is enough for today. Tomorrow we will run through these again, and then you will spar with Cale."

  "Oh, that will be fun," Abbey said snarkily.

  I frowned. "Why will that be fun?"

  "You'll see, Cale is… an acquired taste," she answered.

  "You did well today, Rosie posey." James slung his arm around my shoulders. "Come on, let's get dinner and then we can play pool or basketball or something."

  I looked up at him and sighed. "Wolfie, I'm exhausted. I think I'm going to eat and go to bed."

  "You'll feel better after you eat," he answered with a grin.

  We headed in and ate, but he was wrong. Every muscle in my body was sore. I just wanted to find my bed and fall asleep. Yawning, I gave them all a wave and headed to my room. I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.

  The next day, Abbey woke me and handed me another can of Starbucks coffee and once I'd drank half, I dressed and headed in to breakfast. "Thanks, Trinia," I said when she placed a plate of pancakes in front of me.