The Empath : The Alterealm Series Book 3

I sat in my favorite chair by the window and looked at the five large men standing near my door, I couldn’t even see the door at this point. They weren’t dressed for battle, but they still had some weapons, and their stance said they were prepared for anything. Glancing to Clairee, I gave her a blank look and then back to the men. “You could sit, or at least clear a path to the door, so I can find it when they get here.”

Sith was the only one that looked amused.

I turned back to Clairee, I liked her. She seemed quiet, but there was something about her that led me to believe she wasn’t a woman to be messed with. I picked up a trace of emotions, but nothing I couldn’t handle. “So, you’ve done something to prevent magic here?”

She shrugged. “Not prevent mine, but anyone else’s, yes.”

“On the building or just my place?” I knew nothing of magic.

“I placed a few short-term enchantments in the area first,” she smiled, “if they are using something, we can’t have it suddenly cut off at your door step—it defeats the purpose of having them not know the location.”

“Very smart.”

She grinned. “Thank you.”

“So, you’ve done all this and you’re still planning to check Ellis?”

“Mmm, yes, after what the mages did to Crissy, I’m not taking any chances.”

“Crissy attempted to explain that, but I didn’t quite grasp what she meant.”

Clairee smirked, “That’s not surprising, keeping up with her on a slow day is hard enough. I don’t know how, or even what they did, but even after I thought we’d cleansed her, they managed to track her.” I picked up anger. “The pain they caused her…” She shook her head. “We had to tattoo over it to block it for good.”

“And how does one avoid such things? In case I’m ever allowed to go out again.” I glanced over to where Chase stood.

She looked at the men for a moment, then turned back to me. “Best advice I have for you is, if you encounter anyone with purple eyes, go the other way as quickly as possible.”

“So, your eyes?”

“Go purple.” Clairee grinned.

“Ah, well then, so pleased you’re on our side.” I looked back to the men once more for a second, they all stood by the door, still. Sighing, I gave her a wide-eyed look. “Would you like coffee, tea?”

“Tea would be great.”

Chase cut me off when I reached the kitchen.

I waved him aside.

“This isn’t a time for tea.” He said looking annoyed.

When I went to go around him, he stepped in front of me again, his eyes now bordering on yellow. “Get your emotion suckers out of my face.” I gently pushed his face away with my hand.

He gave me a startled look. “This is serious…”

“You need to stop preparing for a fight.”

“We don’t know anything about him.” He crossed his arms over his chest.

“As he knows nothing about you.” I put the kettle on and got the tea pot out. I’d always kept a tea pot, and never once had the chance to use it until now. That was something I needed to think about, I have people around me more now than ever. I turned back to see Chase standing there with his arms crossed, looking large and on edge.

I sighed. “Have you never done something and realized it wasn’t right before?” I heard a chuckle and turned to see Arius leaning against the wall. Chase didn’t look impressed. “He’s your nephew, one that you’ve never met, give me the benefit of a doubt?’

I watched him take a deep breath and turned to the guards. “Spread out around the room.”

I smiled when he looked back at me. “Tea?”

“No. I could handle a coffee though.”

“I’ll put some on.”

Chase moved over to stand in the sitting area. I gave Arius an inquiring look. “I suppose it’s a normal thing to have a nephew the same age as you.”

He smiled. “It happens. The average age of most adults is around eight hundred, that’s a lot of time to have children.”

I laughed. “When I met all of you, I thought your mother must have been both brave and insane to have eight male children.”

“She may have been a little of both.” He shrugged.

“I always wanted children, then that hope died when I realized I wasn’t normal.”

“I guess normal depends on which realm you’re in.” The kettle whistled, so I turned back to deal with it and give myself a moment to think. Setting the teapot and cups on a tray, I carried it out. Chase stood watching Sith as he stood over the puzzle with a focused expression on his face.

“What have you done to my guard?”

I set the tray down and motioned to it for Clairee to help herself. “I haven’t done anything to your guard, it happens to be a very complicated and challenging puzzle.”

Chase shook his head and went back to the kitchen.

I had just sat down when he came out and waved his phone. “They’ll be here in a minute.

When Emil and a tall blond man walked in, I felt like I should apologize for the hovering giants standing there staring at them.

Ellis, despite being Emil’s child, was not a child. He was most definitely a man. His hair was the same pale blonde as Chase’s and there was no questioning the family genes when I looked into grey eyes like his father and Uncle Arius.

I stood back and watched Clairee wave a stone around in her hand, as she walked around him slowly.

His emotions weren’t hard to pick up even without my ability, the uncertainty in his eyes said it all. “She’s checking to see if they’re tracking you.” I offered when no one seemed to be saying anything to him.

His eyebrows went up. “They’d do that?”

“And more.” Chase said in a low tone.

Ellis lifted both his arms and watched Clairee with a look of concern on his face. “I left that watch thing and my phone at Dad’s.” He glanced to Chase and then back to me. “I didn’t stop to think they could do more than that.”

Clairee lowered her hand and looked to Chase. “I sense nothing.” She looked up at Ellis. “Have you had any burns or burning sensations?”

He shook his head no.

Chase went toward him, but stopped a few feet from him. Ellis wasn’t as large as the brothers, but he wasn’t a small man either. “We’ll be taking you somewhere they can’t find you until this is over.”

Ellis rubbed a hand over the back of his neck and nodded. “That would be good. I don’t know what they’re planning, but I’m pretty sure it’s not what they told me.”

I motioned to the sitting area. “Come and sit down.” I sent Chase a quick look, everyone standing around him a foot inside the door was ridiculous. “I’m sure you can answer questions there just as easily as here surrounded by guards.”

Ellis gave Sith and Bronx a hesitant look, then noticed Arius leaning against the wall by the hallway. “I always wondered what you’d look like with long hair, dad.”

Emil shrugged. “It wouldn’t help me go unnoticed, would it?”

“Guess not.” Ellis moved cautiously toward the sitting area and sat in the chair where his back wasn’t turned on anyone else present. “So, who are the uncles and who are the guards?” He motioned to Arius, “except Dad’s look alike, of course.”

“I’m going back now.” Clairee said.

Chase nodded. “Tim will go back with you. Thank you.”

She smiled. “It’s not a problem. I love getting out of the temple, and your family keeps it interesting.”

He snorted. “I could do with a little bit of dull from time to time.”

Tim stepped to the door and Clairee touched him. He pushed the button on his transporter and they were gone.

“Damn. Seeing that never gets old.” Ellis said quietly. “Although I can do without almost tossing my cookies on the landing part.” He looked at me and then to Arius. “What is that about anyway?”

Arius smirked.

“I agree with that completely.” I told him, then I motioned to Chase. “This is your uncle Chase, who also happens to be one of Alterealm’s kings.” I waited for a reaction, he wasn’t surprised.

“Yeah, I didn’t get much of the history from those guys I was with, other than you’re supposed to be some overbearing, slave master. The whole royal family is…”

Chase snorted. “That would be your family.”

Ellis’s mouth opened, then he closed it and frowned. “I guess it is.” He turned to his father. “Rena’s going to love that, being part of a royal family.”

Emil sighed. “I haven’t contacted her yet to explain any of this.”

“Yeah, just leave her on that mountain for now. Have you talked to Abe?”

“Abraham and I spoke last week, he’s away right now on business, so I’ll call him when he’s back.” Emil rubbed a hand over his jaw, a contemplative look on his face.

Chase heaved out a breath and sat on the arm of the chair I’d sat in. I noted he placed himself between Ellis and I. “We need to know everything you know about any locations they might be in, what they’re trying to do has to be stopped or many—on both sides of the realms will die when they try to breach the barrier.”

Ellis’ eyebrows shot up. “That part I know nothing about. I was just a grunt, because I’m a half blood.” He rolled his eyes.

“You were on our side doing what?” Chase asked, not commenting on what he’d said.

“The purple eyed freak… and I don’t call him that because of his eyes, it’s more his personality…”

“What’s his name?” Chase looked to Arius briefly.

“Herman—I know he’s a mage or whatever, but there’s something wrong with him, like serious brain flaw, kind of wrong with him.”

Chase sighed and looked to his brother. “I think we need to talk to Romulus and find out how many of his are missing.”

Arius nodded. “One we can deal with, more than that and,” he huffed out a breath, “unless we can cripple them so they can’t move their hands, we’re in trouble.”

Chase rubbed the bridge of his nose and then nodded. “Yeah, we need to get the magic community working on that.” He turned back to Ellis. “What were you helping this mage do?”

“He was making some kind of barrier, or perimeter, around a house.”

“For what?” Chase leaned forward.

Ellis shrugged. “I don’t know, he just said it had to be secure for a V.I.P.”

The brothers exchanged a look. “Maybe a meeting?” Arius came over and stood behind the sofa.

Chase gave Ellis a curious look. “A perimeter to keep someone in or out? Or an alarm?”

Ellis shook his head. “I have no idea. The vague answers I got is one of the reasons why I called Dad, there’s a lot they’re not saying.” He shrugged. “I don’t share either, but I’m not some organization recruiting people for a cause.”

“Do they know about your father or siblings?” I asked, not caring if it was my place or not.

“No. I didn’t tell them anything about my personal life.” He smirked. “You get used to keeping certain facts to yourself, if you know what I mean.”

I smiled. “I understand completely.”

Chase gave him a hard look and leaned closer to me.

“So, you are like us?” He looked from one uncle to the other. “I was beginning to think my sister was a rare female or something.” He shrugged, “a few of the others said there were lots of women, half-blood and true-blood, but I was never anywhere they were.”

I sat straighter. “Do you know where the women are?”

He frowned. “None of the places I was, but the guys talked about some island.”

I looked at Chase, judging by the way his jaw was clenched, I knew they were going to figure out a way to get on that island.

“If we showed you a map can you show us where you were on our side?” Arius asked him.

Ellis made an odd face. “I can try.”

“Do you know locations on this side? Arius crossed his arms over his chest and stood there.

“I’ve been to a few, and I know some others where they go to recruit.”

Chase and Arius’s expression both hardened. Ellis had given them new targets.

“So,” he looked between his uncles, “they know where I live, I can’t go back there.”

“No, you can’t.” Emil said. “Your uncles will keep you safe on their side until this is resolved.”

Ellis nodded. “I still can’t believe I have uncles… a whole royal family.” He looked at me and then to Chase. “Do I have Aunts?”

Chase smirked. “A few, but I’m pretty sure if you call any of them aunt you may get stabbed, well, by one of them at least.”

Ellis sat back and blew out a breath before turning to his father. “It’s just so weird. We’re not some genetic fluke at all.”

Emil nodded slowly. “I’m still coming to terms with all of it myself. The fact that I have eight brothers is just… shocking.”

Arius made a sound of annoyance and turned to glare at Chase. “Will you please call Troy.” He rubbed his forehead. “When did he get strong enough to invade my head this way?”

Chase pulled out his phone and started typing on it. “Is that what that noise is?” He smirked and glanced at his younger sibling. “I thought I was just getting a headache.”

Emil and Ellis both look confused. “The brothers are able to communicate with each other by silent means…” I stopped, not knowing more to explain it.

Arius chortled. “It’s not very silent when it’s like he’s standing inside your head, screaming.”

“That…” Emil lifted a hand and then dropped it, “is beyond my comprehension.”

I nodded. “I don’t understand it either, well, much of it. I’ve known of this for a few days more than you have.”

Chase stood up. “Okay. They’re waiting for you at the guard training facility.” He gave Ellis a brief nod, “no one will get near you there.” Looking at Emil, he tilted his head in question, “are you going back with him?”

Emil stood up. “If that’s all right, I wouldn’t mind.” He looked to Arius. “Small doses, and eventually it might all sink in.”

Arius grinned at him. “Some days it’s better to be clueless.”

Chase chuckled. “We’re not discussing your dating choices, brother.”

Rolling his eyes, Arius gave me a polite nod. “Are you coming back with us, sister?”

“We’ll be along shortly.” Chase told him, not giving me a chance to speak.