Chapter 271

Chapter 271 Soulstone

Despite the brave face that Lexi had put on, she had still needed a couple of days to recover as her

energy levels were incredibly low. She had fallen asleep a few times when they had all been sat

discussing how best to proceed and then been furious with herself afterwards.

One thing had been certain though, she was going to find Greyson whether Allen wanted her to or not.

They had come to a silent agreement about it, that neither one of them would mention it outright, but

they would both participate in planning the expedition out there to take care of the sites.

Lord Brarthroroz would go with them, along with a handful of specialists from the Enclave, and a few of

Lord Brarthroroz’s commanders would accompany them, for back up if needed.

Ann would stay behind with Adam and work on having the plans for the portal room in the Enclave

approved by the council with Bartholomew’s help, and take a closer look at the finances required to get

their military force up to scratch, so that they would be able to respond effectively if ever situations like

this occurred again in the future.

When Felix’s men returned with the rest of their forces, they would restock their provisions and put

together a new squad to liaise with Allen, Lexi and Lord Brarthroroz, and continue forward once the

barriers were destroyed.

The following day they gathered in the same hallway that they had bid farewell to Greyson, Felix and

Adam only a few weeks earlier as they left on their respective missions. Except this time, it was Ann,

Adam and Bartholomew that stood solemnly in the hallway, waiting for their friends to appear.

Lord Brarthroroz sauntered casually through the doorway into the hall and grinned broadly at them as

he approached.

“Seems like a nice morning for a quick jaunt into the woods and destroying some souls.” He quipped as

he dug through his pockets, seemingly looking for something.

“It’s nice to see you haven’t lost your sense of humor even in dire circumstances such as these.”

Bartholomew chuckled as Lord Brarthroroz produced a large chunk of a midnight blue rock from inside

his jacket pocket with an almost triumphant smirk on his face.

“Well, look at it this way Bartholomew. In all the centuries that I have lived through, I can’t think of a

single one where I haven’t had to intervene in one of my brother’s ill thought out plans or schemes in

one way or another.” He sighed with a rueful smile as he handed the large chunk of rock to Ann, who

took it with a confused look.

“Erm, thank you, Lord Brarthroroz. I… er… love it!” Ann improvised quickly, seeing his expectant look.

“Not that I don’t appreciate Daemon Lords gifting my wife and my mate obscure rocks,” Adam said

tersely, “But is there a reason that you’re presenting her with this?”

“Maybe he’s imitating a penguin’s courtship ritual.” Maeve sniggered as Ann tried desperately not to roll

her eyes.

“Sure, because Lexi’s father would suddenly be under the impression that gifting rocks to his daughters

best friend would be an appropriate way to begin a completely inappropriate, and pretty f*****g weird

dating scenario.” Ann snapped.

“I mean… you know what they say about males enjoying getting their rocks off…” she smirked coyly,

“Perhaps this is his interpretation of it..”

“Shut up Maeve.” Ann hissed as she tried to keep a straight face and push away all the intrusive

thoughts that now seemed to flood her mind about Lexi’s father.

“Relax pup.” Lord Brarthroroz grinned, “It’s a soulstone. You’re going to need one about that size for

each portal you want installed at the base and at the crest of the archway, and an additional five at

specific points which we can discuss later.” He waved dismissively as Bartholomew seemed to perk up

at this information.

“Ah of course! So, seven soulstones in total for each portal? I hadn’t realized that we would require so

many just for one portal!” He breathed in awe as he took the rock from Ann’s hand and examined it

closely.

“If you want them to remain accessible and functional whenever they might be required, then yes,

seven stones total.” Lord Brarthroroz answered with a shrug.

“Wouldn’t that leave them open to misuse by anyone though?” Bartholomew asked as he turned the

stone over in his hands.

“You don’t trust me Bartholomew?” Lord Brarthroroz frowned as he folded his arms in front of him

defensively.

“I don’t think he meant that in a bad way,” Ann intervened quickly, seeing the look of dismay on

Bartholomew’s face, “I know for sure that when I bring up the possibility of a permanent portal hub

within the Enclave at the Elder Council meetings, the first thing they will do is fight against it because of

their concerns for security. Worst case scenario, I’ll just have Eva help me work on plans for an

extension to the palace and create a brand new site just for your convenience.” She grinned brightly,

hoping that it would diffuse the inadvertent insult.

Lord Brarthroroz looked at Bartholomew through narrowed eyes for a moment before focusing his

attention back on Ann.

“If it helps put their shriveled little minds at ease, the use of the portals can be attuned to activate only

for certain people. Steve can see to the finer points of attunement. It’s a lot of work and will take a long

time but he’s not going anywhere,” Lord Brarthroroz shrugged before his face took on a thoughtful look

and he scratched his beard thoughtfully, “A change of scenery might even do him good.”

“Steve in the Enclave? He’ll fit right in here with the crusty old bastards, don’t you think?” Lexi’s voice

snorted from the other side of the hall, “No offense Barty-boy.”

“None taken.” Bartholomew shrugged and sighed in resignation “Are we all set then?” She asked

brightly, shrugging a backpack higher up on her shoulder as she looked around expectantly at them.

“Unless you need anything else…?” Ann left the question hanging in the air as Lexi’s attention turned to

her, the corners of her mouth curling up slightly.

“The only thing I need is for you to stay out of trouble while I’m gone, okay? I don’t want to have to be

raining down bloody vengeance on anyone else when I get back, okay Queenie?” Lexi grinned as she

pulled her into a tight hug.

“Don’t you do anything stupid Lexi, do you hear me?” Ann whispered softly, fighting back the emotions

that threatened to overwhelm her.

“I’ll be fine, Ann. Papa is with me… do you really think he’s going to let anything terrible happen to

me?”

“I’m simply going along for decoration then am I?” Alien’s sarcastic voice cut across them as Lexi rolled

her eyes.

“Don’t be so sensitive, furball. There’s only so much you can do against potentially a horde of dark

witches, right? You can’t growl them to death, as impressive as your bulging muscles and tempting

physique are in both forms. Papa can smooth them with his eyes closed if it comes to that.” Lexi

continued unabashedly as the sullen look on Alien’s face only grew larger.

“Okay kids, enough chit chat. The hellhounds are waiting and they’ll make short work of the metal your

flimsy little trucks are made of.” Lord Brarthroroz announced as he clapped his hands together and

headed towards the doors.

Ann and Lexi exchanged one last hug as Allen and Adam clasped their forearms in farewell, before

they turned and followed Lord Brarthroroz out of the doors, leaving Ann, Adam and Bartholomew alone

in the hall