Chapter 1568 - Vortexes And Cores (Part 2)

"Even my aura is dangerous, let alone my touch." She just leaned on the Headmaster's desk, crushing it as if it had been made of paper. "I'll stay here until I can at least restrain my new powers. Once I master them, I can finally start my war!"

***

Blood Desert, night time.

Contrary to Lith's hopes, by dinner time Tista had yet to recover. The moment their parents noticed her absence they demanded and obtained an explanation.

"I can't believe you two have been so stupid as to endanger her life!" It wasn't the first time that Raaz scolded Lith, but for Salaark it was a new experience. "You are supposed to be her wise brother and guide Tista, not to use her as a test subject!

"As for you, what kind of a Guardian can't even protect her own blood? You brought us here boasting about how much you care for my children and look what you've done!"

Salaark would have liked the reply that it had been Tista's idea and that all she had done was to act as a lifeline, but as a parent, she knew that there was no logic good enough to justify what had happened.

"I'm really sorry, Dad. I know that I have no excuses. Tista and I now share the same problem. We are the only two members of a new race and we let it go to our head. I shouldn't have let her try something so dangerous." Lith said.

"If not for the fact that you both are taller than me and that I would likely break my hand, I would give you two a good spanking!" Elina pointed at Tista and Lith. "When can we be sure that everything is fine?"

"We already know. Everything is fine." Salaark replied.

"Unstable life forces crumble quickly whereas Tista's condition has remained stable for hours. The only precaution we must take is to make her rest for a few days until no trace of the trauma remains."

Tista stirred in her bed, trying to remember the reason why she felt as if someone had kicked her to Lutia and back.

"Gods, I'm aching even in places I didn't think they could ache." She said while using her breathing technique to check upon her body and finding it normal. "The silver lining in this mess is that what we learned today can help Nalrond.

"On top of that, if the kids ever reach the blue core, we can properly explain to them the dangers of a split life force without the risk of it looking cool. The most important thing is that Mom and Dad must never-"

The Hush spell that had let her rest undisturbed had also kept her from noticing the other people in the room.

"What were you saying, sweetie?" Raaz crossed his arms, angered by Tista's attempt to cover her mess up.

"What are you two doing here? Weren't you supposed to watch the sunset paint the dunes red or something like that?" She asked.

"We were and we did. We need to talk, young woman!" Her parents first made sure that she was really okay and then scolded Tista for her recklessness.

"First, I'm an adult and you can't tell me what I can't do anymore. Second, knowledge and risks often go hand in hand. How can I learn something about my beast half if-"

She choked on her speech as her parents played the forbidden card.

"You have no idea how scared we had been, seeing you lay motionless on the bed. We felt just like back when you were a kid and suffered from the Strangler. We were afraid of losing you forever." Elina and Raaz started to cry, holding their daughter as if she might fall dead at any moment.

At that point, all that Tista could do was to apologize and promise to be more careful in the future.

Lith and Salaark exploited the moment to sneak away.

"Do you think they are overreacting?" Lith asked.

"Kid, if our situation was reversed, I would be kicking their ass into oblivion. We got off easy." The Guardian replied. "I'll have their dinner served in Tista's room but we must dine with the others or the kids will get scared."

Once the food arrived on the table, Lith discovered to be starving. Between the scare and his experiments with the orc crystal, he had skipped lunch. The Heavenly Plume tribe was used to feeding Phoenixes so the chefs had no problem serving him a meal big enough to make up for the lost time.

During and after dinner, Lith used the Sentry he had left with his sister to check up on her from time to time.

'I guess you were right back at the gala. Not even the presence of a Guardian is enough to ease my paranoia.' Lith said via the mind link.

'Speaking of which, maybe you should make a few calls. I'm afraid that the Balkor copycat might have made another move but we don't know about it because people don't want to ruin your vacation.' She replied.

Solus hadn't thought about the Balkor cards for days until Tista's failed experiment had made her remember Lark's and Mirim's death.

Lith immediately called Vastor who reassured him that everything was okay.

"Yet I share your fears. The only reason why nothing bad has happened is that the surveillance is as tight as your wallet" The Professor said. "The Balkor copycat doesn't attack only because they lack the opportunity.

"By the way, how was your meeting with Xenagrosh? She seemed pretty happy about spending quality time with you."

"It was interesting. I still find it a bit creepy hanging with strangers that treat me like a member of their family, but I'm getting used to it." After a bit of chatting, Lith called Xenagrosh as well just to hear from her.

'I must get rid of my bad habit of forgetting about people unless I need something from them. I still can't believe that Marth didn't invite me to his wedding nor did he tell me about the baby until the gala.' He thought.

'It's not like you can blame him. Marth always called you for your birthday and whenever he was worried about you. Yet you never went to visit him even after getting your own personal Gate.' Solus replied.

At those words, Lith shapeshifted into his human form and called Marth for the first time in years.

"What can I do for you, Lith?" The Headmaster didn't even raise his hands from the paperwork on his desk, expecting it to be a business call, like always.

"Just tell me how are you doing, Duke. How long until I can meet Manohar junior?" Lith said with a chuckle, making Marth fall from his chair.

It was hard to tell if he was more surprised by the unexpected social call or by the name Lith had called the child with.

"Please, don't you ever say that again! Manohar is dead set on forcing his name upon my firstborn and Ryssa finds our quarreling so funny that she sides with him from time to time to not let the argument die!"

"You are the closest thing he has to a friend. I find it sweet that Manohar wants to be part of your life.." Lith replied.