The Fire and The Storm - The Nexus of Kellaran #2 novel Chapter 24

Part 5

“Oh, I don’t know.” Talia responded with a mischievous little smile for her father. “Your grandfather is First Wizard and First Battle Wizard among the elves, First Commander of all the militaries of Kellaran, and a veteran of dozens of wars and thousands of battles. Such a mighty elf as he would be hard to scare, I think.”

“I bet I could still scare him!” Helemia laughed.

“Well forewarned is forearmed, and I admit I’m curious.” Yazadril chuckled. “Give it your best, and we’ll see.”

Helemia stood and glared at him, and her face took on an expression of incredible viciousness. “You may be mighty, Grandfather, and I am only four and a half months old, but you are already helpless before me. Feel THAT.”

Yazadril winced.

“If I wanted to, I could shred your psionic Shields like paper and crush your mind like a bug under my foot, and leave you screaming in agony for thousands of years.” Helemia continued as she slowly stepped closer, her psionic voice a menacing growl. Since she didn’t have to speak with her mouth, there was no interruption in the ever-increasing malevolence of her facial expression. Suddenly she ran two steps and grasped the edge of the kitchen table, which was as high as she could reach, and swung herself up onto it. She landed in the center of it facing Yazadril in a perfect martial arts low stance, crouched on one knee with her fists cocked. Her baby face seemed a barely-controlled mask of rage, and she almost reeked of danger and menace.

“When I am six years old, I will have the power to destroy cities!” the tiny baby psionicly yelled as she suddenly cupped her hands and a ball of red and orange fire appeared in them with a loud crack of sound like a small explosion.

“When I’m sixteen, the ability to lay waste to entire continents will be within my grasp!” she yelled with increasing volume as she seemed to squeeze the fireball in her hands. As it compressed it brightened and shifted in color to bright yellow, then blue, and its crackle became a roar that grew in volume with her ‘voice’.

“You don’t know if I will enslave the entire world in my iron fist, because you don’t know what I’m thinking, and you lack the power to even scratch my psionic shields, let alone break them!!!” she yelled, and the fireball became a tiny, white-hot inferno between her hands, it’s roar a deafening shriek.

“You don’t even know if I’m going to tear your throat out with my teeth right NOW!!!”

As she said the last sentence her mouth opened in a snarl that revealed many sharply-pointed and rapidly-growing teeth, and with the last word the fireball exploded with staggering force as she leaped at Yazadril.

“GODS!” he cried as he involuntarily brought his arms up to defend himself, but she was already between them, her hands at his neck.

In that fraction of a moment, it took every last vestige of his self-control to not blast her to dust with all his power.

She hugged him as she kissed him on the cheek, and giggled. “You were easy, Grandfather. Easier than Father even. I got you good and you know it. You can’t hide it from me.”

Yazadril tried to calm his racing heart and recapture control of his facial expression. It took an act of will to do it, but he gently hugged the child. Reggie and Alilia were laughing openly, while Mark and Talia were at least trying to hide it a bit.

“But how did you do all that?!” he asked in exasperation. “You were obviously trying to Move the pebble when I arrived, the first lesson in elven magic! And unsuccessfully!”

“The fireball wasn’t real, Grandfather, it wasn’t even magic.” Helemia giggled. “It was just psionic. I only made you think you saw and heard it. Same with the teeth, although I do have some now, I have five growing in the front, see?”

“Ah, I see, that’s very good!” Yazadril told her, trying to muster some enthusiasm while feeling off-balance at the sudden change of subject.

“Feeling somewhat disconcerted, Yazadril?” Alilia asked with a smile. “They’re a disconcerting pair to be sure, though once you get used to them, they’re even more adorable!

“Aren’t you Reggie, you cuddly little thing!” she added as she scooped the baby up and hugged him.

“We sure are, Auntie Alilia!” Reggie giggled, with no humility at all.

“Anyway, the other kids don’t want to play with them, and we’re not going to force the issue.” Mark stated. “They’re not particularly bothered by it, so we’re not either.”