The House of Bells: The Essences Saga - Book #1

House: Chapter 12

Twelve

"It cannot be done this way," She said, not looking at the man that appeared beside Her. "I must be solid to fix it. I am still too young. Her soul is too complex." She never liked the enclosed spaces of the forest, but this place was perfect for Her task.

"You came alone?" the man asked, His blonde hair falling over His bright blue eyes. If he was upset with Her failure, He hid it well.

"If you are referring to Cat, then yes, I am alone. She was given another task to keep busy."

"Good," He said. "We will find another way." She expected Him to dissipate, go about His business, but He stared down the hillside to where the woman and her party rode out of sight. She never met the woman before, and couldn't think of her as anything but a human. A new Essence of Need fulfilled those duties.

The Min woman was quite lovely, and She could understand why Her brother was so obsessed with her. She smiled sweetly, taking in the fierce love that rolled off Him. It was not a pure love. Anger, resentment, and intense jealousy mingled with the emotion, but the love was there.

She thought about the human man. She read his soul in an instant, and ached for him. That man desired love, needed the love from the woman more fervently than Her companion did. There were so many aspects of love - She knew them all because She was Love - and the man, Silas, yearned for all of them. As She faded from this world, She sent a silent prayer to the human couple. For the woman, Be aware. Your have been chosen. For the man, There is a way. Find it.



"I feel like I've been spanked with a battering ram," Ashley moaned, rubbing her backside. Amber and Tia were smoothing theirs as well. Melissa refused to acknowledge the throbbing in her rear, but she walked stiffly and ramrod straight with a grimace. The rest of Silas' group was familiar with the soreness.

He welcomed it; it took his mind away from other pains.

Thy stopped at a fast food restaurant on the drive back and grabbed some burgers and milkshakes. Back at the cabin, everyone scarped down the food, and Silas passed around a bottle of ibuprofen. He smirked, watching Min sternly watching the girls take only two pills each. She was a natural mother, and again that question raced through his thoughts about why she didn't have any children.

He played a few games of cards with Ashley and Mae as Min lounged on the sofa with her eyes closed. He didn't know if she napped, or was only listening to everyone joking and laughing at the funnier parts of the day. A tiny smile on her lips grabbed his attention and he lost the hand.

"Blackjack!" Ashley shouted, jerking his eyes back to the game.

"That's the third time in a row," Mae griped. "I should have never taught you this game. Hey! Silas! Your deal." Min's eyes crinkled in the corners, and her cheeks rounded in a tight-lipped grin.

By eight o'clock, the girls finally decided that it was late enough to go to bed. Silas followed them - his teasing exhausted for the day -- but Min stayed behind to clean up some of the mess.

Once the house settled, he hoped to have a private word with Min. He crept out to the upstairs landing to watch her from the shadows. She leaned against the back windows, her head pressed against the glass and gazing up at the bright moon. She never heard his quiet footsteps behind her.

"Min? Can I speak with you?"

She remained against the window, and if she had not tiredly closed her eyes, he thought she might not have heard him. He touched her shoulder, brushing the hair back from her neck, and she shrugged away from him.