"I called you a warrior because I was proud of what you had done. I wanted you to know that your actions were noble and that your family's shame was not your own." She cuffed him upside the head. "Had I known the gods gave me a genius artist I would have bought you every medium under the sun and called you my 'little artist'," she said, before kissing his arm.
"I'm not giving up being a unit warrior," he said stubbornly.
"Good," she heard Aiden mutter under his breath.
The queen turned to Thane. "About that crystal."
*****
They were still looking over pictures when Portia entered. "Your Majesty, Cristo and Stefan Bolivar," she announced, holding the door open. Two dark-haired men hurried into the room. "Brennus, I found it!" The taller one called out.
"Cristo, I'd be more excited for you if I knew what 'it' was," Brennus said flatly.
Cristo held up a square, wooden box and looked like he was about to answer when he turned to the Ashleigh brothers and Kendrick. "The strongest soundproofing spell the four of you can manage please."
Kendrick exchanged shocked expressions with the brothers and the four of them extended their right hands forward until their fists were touching. When they released the spell Izzy's ears popped and she felt like she was going to puke. She didn't know a thing about magic, but she knew without a shadow of a doubt, that she just experienced the strongest soundproofing spell ever cast.
"Whoa," Meryn exclaimed, swaying in her chair. Both Aiden and Ryuu helped to keep her upright. Izzy was interested to see that where Ryuu's hand rested on Meryn's shoulder, a blue light glowed.
The queen clutched at her chest. "The next time you release enough magic to stall the sun, could we get a little warning." She eyed the door. "I assume a barrier is up as well."
Kendrick winked at her. "Of course."
She opened her mouth repeatedly as if to pop her ears. "I hope none of the servants need us until you take that thing down." She shuddered. "It's almost like a living breathing entity."
Meryn looked at the door, her eyes ablaze with curiosity. "Cool!"
Cristo placed the box on the table. "We were looking for Eamon's communication spheres!"
"What's a communication sphere?" Izzy asked.
Thane ground his teeth together. "Eamon created a magic that allowed him to basically record a video in a sphere and send them home. He used them for reports that were too sensitive to trust to paper. The sphere would simply appear here in Éire Danu and could only be opened by Brennus."
Izzy thought Brennus was going to be ill and not because the super witches' had cast the soundproofing bubble.
Cristo looked around. "Good! Doran and Celyn are here as well."
Brennus stared at the box. "Why would you possibly need them? They've gone untouched for nearly forty years."
"Because, I think I can finally open them," Cristo announced.
"Cristo, I have never wanted to punch you more than I do at this moment," Thane threatened as he stalked forward. "How dare you rip open a wound that has long since healed."
"Justice, Law, leash the maniac for the time being," Cristo ordered, completely unfazed by Thane's threat.
Law and Justice each grabbed their brother by the shoulder. Thane stared at them. "Since when do the two of you take orders from someone and against me?"
Law and Justice each pointed with the hand that wasn't restraining their brother. "It's Cristo," they said together. Thane simply growled but stopped his forward march.
"What do they mean, 'It's Cristo'?" Izzy asked.
"Yeah, what she said," Meryn echoed.
"What they mean, is I am Thane's Vanguard squad leader," Cristo explained.
"We're not Vanguard," Thane protested.
Cristo turned to him and held up his fingers in air quotes. "Fine, we're 'Guardians'. Happy now?" He immediately turned back to the box.