The Steele Wolf (Iron Butterfly #2)(41)

Joss laughed again. “And miss seeing the scared look on your face, not a chance.” When he settled down he gave me a sad look and motioned for us to follow him. “Come on, it’s time to meet my family.”

Kael, Hemi and I followed Joss through the floating city. Darren had disappeared among the mass of brightly dressed people. Hemi surprised me with his continuous slew of questions regarding the city and Denai. I had forgotten that this was his first experience in a Denai city other than his one trip to Citadel.

“How does it stay up in the sky?” he asked as he looked over the stone fence that surrounded the city.

“It’s what’s under the city. It is a certain mineral that the earliest Denai, or as we call them the great ones, stumbled on hundreds of years ago. They experimented with it and came across a huge deposit here at the bottom of the waterfalls. Using their gifts, they were able to pull the rock out of the ground and set it to floating in the air. I’m not sure exactly what the mineral is, but I can tell you that there isn’t another deposit this big anywhere in Calandry.” Joss was bursting with tidbits of information and continued to fill us in.

“The first Denai were strong enough to send whole objects and people from place to place instantaneously. So it wasn’t anything for them to make a giant rock float in the air. Today there isn’t a single Denai alive in Skyfell that is powerful enough to do what the first ones did. We’ve adapted our lifestyle since then and many of us can only mimic what the old ones used to do. But we have since added and control the misty veil that hides our home from outsiders.”

Joss words weighed upon my heart. He had saved me by grabbing me as I went over the waterfall and sending me back to the top using his Denai power. But the effort left him drained and sick. It was too much for even a descendent of the great ones. That has been a problem throughout every clan in Calandry. The Denai were slowly becoming extinct. There were fewer and fewer people born each year with the Denai gifts.

I remembered what Adept Lorna said about Joss and his first day at the Citadel. How Joss had great potential and could reach High Adept, as long as I discouraged his advances. I was a distraction to his studies. I felt a hint of shame that I was seeing Joss and possibly ruining his future. After all, I wasn’t a pureblood.

“And that’s how our clan got our name.” Joss interrupted my melancholy thoughts and I snapped back to attention to catch the last bit of information. “Those that weren’t Denai thought that a piece of the sky fell from the heavens and that’s why it floats. So we’ve adapted the name: Skyfell.”

The streets and houses were on many levels, built into the towering pieces of light rock and towers. We were walking down the street and stopped in front of a banner that waved softly in front of a flight of spiral steps. Joss cleared his throat nervously and sadness shadowed his face. “Ahem, we’re here.”

I followed behind Joss as we followed the winding steps upward. Some parts of the stairs were open to the view of the city and then we would turn and wind through a tower. Finally the steps ended inside an enormous round room with a mosaic domed glass ceiling. The room was spacious and airy, with wide windows that overlooked the city and the veil of mists which muted the thunderous waterfalls. There were stools and couches with brightly colored pillows on the floor and scattered throughout the whole room.

A silent girl came in with a tray of drinks and offered us refreshments. I took the drink and sniffed it thoughtfully before tasting the most heavenly concoction. The drink was served warm, with a hint of cocoa and milk and cinnamon. Hemi took a sip and then chugged the rest of the drink down greedily, milky foam covering his beard and upper lip. He held out his cup to the girl who smiled softly and offered him a refill. Kael refused the drink and stood on the outskirts of the room in a relaxed position facing all the entrances and exits. I knew that even though he looked at ease he was ready to do battle at a moment’s notice.

With no one else in the room to greet us, I took the chance to observe the girl. She was about my age, with brown hair and hazel eyes. A small beauty mark was present above her lip. She looked exotic like the drink she served.

“Mona.” Joss asked quietly when she brought him a drink. “How’s my mother?” She looked away sadly before answering.

“Not well, Joss. She was on the mend and then your sister disappeared and it seems she has taken it badly.”

Joss nodded and then went to a window and waited. Mona picked up her tray and left as silently as she appeared. It was only a moment before a large blonde haired man came down the steps and entered the room.

“Joss! I’m glad you came home,” The blonde man said and walked over to embrace Joss in a hug. The resemblance between the two was obvious; the man was a relative. “We are at our wits’ end and are no closer to finding Tenya than we were a few weeks ago. Your mother has fallen into despair. Her illness isn’t getting better and this is only affecting her worse. I wish we had news to give her; any news at all.”

Joss grasped the man’s arms and shook his head. “I know. That’s why I have come home and I’ve brought help.” Joss gestured to Kael, Hemi and me. “This is Thalia, Hemi and Kael. They have come to help locate Tenya. And this,” Joss pointed to the blonde man next to him. “This is my father, Nero Jesai. Lord of Skyfell.”





Chapter 19