Valleron (Book 2)

  The Children

  of When

  Book 2: Valleron

  Jennifer Redmile

  Smashwords Edition

  ©2016, Jennifer Redmile

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. This book contains material protected under International and Federal Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this book, including the cover and photos, may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the author. All rights reserved.

  Any resemblance to persons, places living or dead is purely coincidental. This is a work of fiction.

  This one’s for you…

  Table of Contents

  Start of The Children of When: Valleron

  Other books by Jennifer Redmile

  About Jennifer

  Connect with Jennifer

  Chapter One

  -Changes-

  Raff sat in the meadow behind the Fey Academy, playing with his pocket-knife and wishing something – anything – exciting would happen. He’d walked out of today’s history lesson with Mr Kafoops in disgust, before he’d given in to his overwhelming desire to throw something at the man for being so boring.

  He groaned, and rolled onto his back to stare up at the clear blue sky. Unbelievable! There weren’t even any clouds he could use to create wild stories from. Seriously… why did everything always have to be so boring?

  Life had been peaceful at the Fey Academy for the four months since they’d returned from the Forever Forest. But unfortunately, peaceful also meant boring.

  Okay… so maybe he didn’t quite need the excitement level of running from someone trying to kill them again. He thought back to the horrors he, Leah and Belle had survived in the cave and shuddered. He’d definitely had enough of that kind of excitement to last him a lifetime. He even remembered saying he never wanted to go on another adventure as long as he lived. Yet here he was wishing for exactly that. What an idiot!

  That’s when he saw Leah hurrying across the meadow towards him. He grinned and sat up, his heart skipping a beat as it always did when he saw her.

  O… kay? So why was she out of class? Not that he was complaining or anything; spending time with Leah was always a bonus. But seriously, she never skipped lessons. He jumped to his feet when he saw the worried frown and haunted look in her eyes. He hadn’t seen that look for a while. Not since they’d returned from the Forever Forest.

  “Hey, what’s up? You look like you just lost your best friend?” he asked, hurrying towards her.

  Leah shrugged. “We’ve been summoned to Madame Persimmons’ office. In the middle of a lesson! I have a bad feeling about this…”

  Raff tried to hide the thrill that rippled through him. Maybe this meant something exciting was finally going to happen! He knew Madame Persimmons wouldn’t call them out of a lesson unless it was urgent.

  “Well, we’d best not keep her waiting then. So where’s Belle?”

  Leah punched him in the arm. “I knew you’d be happy about this. The slightest hint of adventure, and your eyes start to go all glazed and googly!”

  Raff tried to feign an innocent expression. “Whadya mean my eyes go googly? That was totally a look of concern.”

  Leah laughed. “Yeah right, of course it was. Well, Belle’s already gone to the office. Hopefully, we won’t have to explain to Madame Persimmons why we’re late. You know how she feels about you ditching class.”

  He shrugged and threw his arm around her shoulder. “Guess we’ll just have to hope she doesn’t find out then. Come on I’ll race you… last one there’s a coblynau!”

  * * *

  Luckily, Madame Persimmons hadn’t arrived when they reached her office. Unable to sit still, Raff paced the floor, his eyes focused on the door as though he could will Madame Persimmons to appear.

  Leah frowned at him, grabbing his T-shirt as he passed. “Will you please just sit down? You’re making me nervous.”

  He flopped down into the chair next to her and squeezed her hand. “Sorry. You know I’m not exactly the most patient person in the world.”

  Leah smiled and shook her head. “Ya think!”

  Raff nodded past her to the fourth chair pulled up in front of the desk and raised an eyebrow. “So what’s with the fourth chair? Should we be expecting anyone?”

  Leah shrugged. “Who knows?”

  He stiffened at the sound of the door behind them opening, followed by the familiar tapping of Madame Persimmons’ slippers against the tiles as she crossed the room. Raff waited for the thudding of Dominic’s boots that always followed Madame Persimmons’ arrival, surprised instead to hear the whisper-soft footfalls of someone else.

  Intrigued, Raff turned, grinning at the sight of Lyricus, their elven friend from the Forever Forest. Now he knew something exciting was about to happen. They hadn’t seen Lyricus since they left the Forever Forest, and Raff knew the elf had been posted in Ellissidil for the past few months, working with the Oracle and the new Council.

  He heard Belle’s gasp as she turned and saw Lyricus, and chuckled. These two had developed a mutual crush during their short time in the Forever Forest, and Belle had been pining away from not seeing him ever since. The elf slipped quietly into the chair beside Belle, who grinned like a four-year-old in a lolly shop, blossoming under his warm smile and the intensity in his eyes. Raff caught Leah’s eye and they both grinned. It was good to see Belle looking so happy.

  Madame Persimmons cleared her throat and smiled. “Good morning. Thank you for coming on such short notice. I’m sorry I interrupted your history lesson, but I’m afraid the news Lyricus brings from the Florisian Council in Ellissidil couldn’t wait. It seems Florisia is in need of your particular Gifts yet again.”

  That was it… they couldn’t stay silent another minute! Everyone started talking at once.

  “What news?”

  “What’s happened?”

  “Where are we going and when do we leave?”

  This last was from Raff, unable to contain his eager excitement. He shrugged, knowing the heat spreading up his neck would result in what he called his ‘pumpkin-head’ look.

  Madame Persimmons raised her hand and laughed. “Please, I’ll explain everything if you’ll give me a minute!”

  She took a deep breath and continued. “As you know, the Council has abolished many of the laws introduced by the Guardians in Florisia during their rule. Parents are once again able to raise their own children, and all those found in the dungeons have been released. However, there are still many unanswered questions regarding the origins of the kitsunes, and whether Tyranius acted alone, or answered to a hierarchy.”

  “And of course, there are the questions surrounding the appearance and disappearance of the beast that attacked you on the road from Fey Village. Since the report of your attack, others have come forward and admitted to sightings of these beasts in the past. So the question is: where did they come from, and how did they get here?”

  “Now, here’s where you come into it. Since the veils were erected so long ago, we have no idea what has transpired in the other two worlds over the last thousand years. The Council have asked that you go to Ellissidil, to use the amulet in an attempt to penetrate the veils separating the worlds. Their plan is to send scouts into Valleron and Dragardia, who will assess the situation and bring back their findings. No one knows whether it will work or not, but they feel it’s worth a try. So what do you think? It means you’ll need to leave for Ellissidil today, and fly back with Lyricus.”

  For once, Raff was speechless. Gee, let’s see… stay here at the bori
ng Fey Academy or fly to Ellissidil and check out the veil? The answer was a no brainer as far as he was concerned!

  Leah frowned, a hint of fear lurking in her eyes. “I can’t believe I was actually stupid enough to think we were finished with all that adventure stuff.” She sighed, then smiled and squeezed his hand. “Yeah okay, I’m in. What about you Belle?”

  Belle turned from whispering with Lyricus, a huge grin on her face. “What do we need to pack, and how long until we leave?”

  * * *

  Raff was so excited he was ready to burst. They’d left Madame Persimmons office in a whirlwind of excitement, and were now on their way back to their rooms to pack what they needed. He just wished Leah felt the same way; her glum face made him feel guilty.

  “Are you sure you’re okay with this?”

  “I don’t have much choice do I. The Council have asked for our help, what am I gonna say? Ummm… sorry, I’ve had enough of life threatening stuff for this year, so yeah, thanks but no thanks?” She shrugged. “Bottom line… they need our Gifts, so we have to go!”

  He stopped walking and turned her to face him. “C’mon Leah, it might actually turn out to be fun. Even you have to admit life’s been boring lately. All we ever do is practice using our Gifts, sit through boring history lessons, and go riding to break the monotony. Besides, this time we already know how to use our Gifts, and what we can do with them. What can go wrong?”

  Leah shuddered. “Famous last words! They’re talking about us using the amulet to access worlds that’ve been cut off from this one for over a thousand years. No one has any idea what they’ll find on the other side of the veils.”

  “Well, it’s not like we’ll be going through. They only want to see if we can open the veil long enough for the scouts to go through. Hey, at least we’ll get the chance to see Ellissidil, and a bit more of Florisia. Maybe you could think of it as like… a school excursion. We’ll probably be done and back here for school by Monday, although I think they should at least let us have a couple of day’s holiday in Ellissidil.” He winked, and was rewarded by a smile.

  “Yeah right. Okay. Holiday in Ellissidil here we come.”

  Chapter Two

  -To Ellissidil-

  “I can’t believe you’re here!” Belle said breathily, smiling shyly up into Lyricus’ eyes. He really was every bit as gorgeous as she remembered. Tall and slender, he looked awesome in his traditional Elven Guard uniform. His long honey blonde hair was tied back, revealing his pointy elven ears, and his beautiful green eyes were looking straight into hers.

  He returned her smile, lifting her hand to his lips. “I’m sorry I wasn't able to come and visit sooner. Who'd have thought I’d be stuck in Ellissidil for almost four months? When I heard the Council wanted you to come to Ellissidil, I immediately volunteered to bring the message. The Oracle graciously allowed me to come.” He blushed and his smile was sheepish. “In fact, he seemed to think it was an excellent idea.”

  Belle’s face burned, her mouth struggling to form words as Lyricus continued to hold her hand. “Well, ummm… r-remind me to th-thank the Oracle personally. So how long do you think we’ll be in Ellissidil?”

  “The Oracle was unsure how long you’ll be needed. But however long it takes, at least we’ll be able to spend some time together.” His blush deepened, his eyes suddenly uncertain. “If that’s what you’d like to do, of course?”

  “That’d be awesome,” Belle answered, her smile broadening at the news that he still wanted to spend time with her.

  Lyricus’ hypnotic eyes lit up, a smile matching her own splitting his handsome face. “Then I will do everything in my power to ensure many opportunities to spend time together arise.”

  He sighed, and a frown marred his perfect features. “But right now, much as I wish it were otherwise, you need to go and pack. We need to be on our way as soon as possible. I’ll be waiting in the meadow with the horses.” He sighed and reluctantly released her hand.

  “I’ll be as quick as I can,” she said, missing the warmth of his hand. The look in his eyes made her legs feel like jelly as she forced herself to turn and head towards her room.

  She could feel his eyes following her as she walked down the path to the dorms, a warm glow settling into the pit of her stomach.

  Who cares what the Council want us to do? I’m going to Ellissidil with Lyricus! She knew she should be concerned about what the Council wanted them to do though. They still had no idea how the amulet really worked, or what it could do. But she pushed all such thoughts and fears into a tiny corner of her mind. Lyricus was here, and that meant there were much more important things to think about.

  * * *

  Still floating on a cloud of euphoria, Belle quickly packed what she thought she’d need into her backpack. If she hurried, she’d have time to chat to Lyricus before the trip to Ellissidil. Satisfied she had everything she needed, she pulled her backpack onto her shoulder and scanned the room, feeling like she was forgetting something.

  Her eyes landed on the little book without any words sitting on the bookshelf. There’d been a time when she’d carried it everywhere with her, but since it had revealed its secrets in the form of Serena’s diary four months ago, she hadn’t thought of it again. But it had been like her security blanket for such a long time. On a whim, she snatched it from the shelf and stuffed it into her backpack. It wasn’t like it took up much room, and she felt better having it with her again.

  Suddenly feeling silly for making such a big deal of being gone for a few days, she shook her head, opened the door, stepped out into the hallway and closed it behind her. She took a deep breath and thought about Lyricus waiting in the meadow for her, fighting the incredible urge to run all the way there.

  “Hey, all packed and ready to go?” She turned to find Raff leaning against the wall outside Leah's room, his ankles crossed and his backpack slung over his shoulder.

  “Yep, where’s Leah?”

  “Still packing. You wanna see if you can hurry her up? You might have better luck than me.”

  Belle sighed and swallowed her impatience. She knocked on Leah’s door, hoping the other girl would step out and say she was ready to go. “Hey Leah, it’s me. Need any help?”

  Leah opened the door and Belle’s jaw dropped. The room was totally trashed. She walked in, closing the door behind her, and followed Leah to where she slumped down onto the bed.

  “O… kay. What’s up?”

  “I honestly don’t know. I just have a really bad feeling about all of this. And of course, Raff is so excited I want to slap him. I know we have to go, but my gut keeps telling me to climb back into bed and pull the covers over my head. Sorry, I must sound like a total whinger.”

  Belle sighed, putting her arm around her friend's shoulders. “Don’t be silly. Of course you don’t sound like a whinger. To be honest, I haven’t given what the Council wants us to do in Ellissidil much thought. I’ve been too busy thinking about how awesome it’ll be to spend some time with Lyricus. But I’m sure it’ll be fine. I mean, at least we’re flying to Ellissidil. Last time I checked, giant spiders, pool monsters and wolf-beasts couldn’t fly. Seriously, what’s gonna be able to attack us when we’re up in the sky?”

  “You’re right, I’m being stupid!” Leah blushed, then chuckled as she looked around at the state of her room. “Ummm, I think I may have been a tad out of control for a while there.”

  “Ya think?” Belle jumped up from the bed and pulled her friend to her feet. “Well, I’ll help you fix it while you throw some stuff together. Actually, I’m sorta in a hurry to get going...?”

  “Oh Belle, I’m so sorry. I’ve been so busy wallowing in my own personal pity-party that I forgot to even ask about Lyricus. So…?”

  Belle chuckled nervously, reluctant to discuss her feelings for Lyricus. “Well, he’s… Oh Leah, he’s so formal! He actually kissed my hand!”

  “Ooooooh, how romantic! Well, it sounds like you’ll just have to teach him to be le
ss formal then, won’t you!” Leah laughed, nudging her playfully.

  “Well, maybe if we ever get out of this room I’ll be able to start trying! So hurry up already!”

  They both laughed as they launched into getting Leah’s room straightened and her bag packed. Finally organised, Belle nodded at Leah, opened the door and informed Raff they were ready to go.

  * * *

  Belle found Lyricus standing in the meadow holding a pretty chestnut mare. Beside them, her own magnificent Adonian stallion, Midnight, casually cropped the lush grass.

  I like this elf more every time I meet him. Midnight’s voice popped into her mind as she headed towards them.

  Why? Because he brought a pretty little mare to visit? Belle sent back, a grin spreading across her face.

  That may have something to do with it! Midnight snorted and threw his head up and down as if laughing.

  Laughing and shaking her head at Midnight’s usual frankness, Belle moved to stand beside Lyricus, rubbing the velvety soft nose of the pretty mare. “Oh, she’s gorgeous. What’s her name?”

  “Fleet. And it’s very appropriate. Somehow I think I must have communicated my eagerness to get here, and she certainly granted my wish,” he said, chuckling softly. “She’s a Greyneth, the same breed as Rogue, so speed is her specialty.”

  “Well Midnight is certainly impressed with her… and with you for bringing her.” She laughed at the shocked look on Lyricus’ face.

  “You discuss that sort of thing with your horse?”

  “Of course… we discuss everything. Hey, I might even tell you what he thinks of us one day.”

  “He… what?”