Finding Whisperia
POV: Derek
We made our apologies to the Befents for leaving sooner than we all had anticipated and packed up our belongings. Talon and I met Vanessa outside where we had left her so that we could all take the portal back to Blackwood. The Befents were understandable in our desire to hurry back to Blackwood and told us to give their best to their son. Vanessa opened the portal and we stepped through to the front of Blackwood Manor. Talon opened the door and ushered us all in. Alexandra had just left the dining room and was startled to see me, “Derek?! Didn’t you just leave a few hours ago? What are you doing back so quickly?” Talon spoke up, “We did an investigation on Tyleesh’s disappearance and found out a little bit of what happened to him. I need to go see Darren right away though.” Vanessa placed her back on a chair in the foyer and said, “I would like to see him too if it isn’t too much.” Alexandra nodded, “I think he may be eating dinner but we can check in on him.” She started to climb the stairs and looked over her shoulder at me, “Are you going to come too, Derek?” I nodded and placed my back on the floor by Vanessa’s bag, “Coming.” We all climbed the stairs behind Alexandra and followed her to the end of the west wing where the ornate door stood. She knocked and poked her head in, “Gramps, are you able to receive visitors?” I heard him say, “I was just finishing dinner but I’m okay. Let them in.”
She shoved the door open and we all walked into the room. Vanessa gasped at the sight of the frail man in front of her. She rushed over and hugged him, “Darren, I rushed back as soon as I found out you were sick.” He stroked her head as she sobbed into his chest, “It’s okay, my dear. I have lived a wonderful life and I am not afraid to cross over into the next life. I just need to know what happened to my ward.” Talon sighed, “On that note, I think we need to tell you what we found so far.” Darren nodded, “I had wondered why young Derek was back so soon.” Talon looked down, “Well, first, I think I owe you an apology.” Darren looked rather confused, “What do you mean?” I stepped forward and spoke, “I will first tell you my initial findings. I found that Tyleesh had interacted with a mysterious man. I questioned the Befents first when I got to Befent Estate. They spoke of a hooded man that whom he interacted with. That is when I ran into Talon in the hallway at Befent Estate.” Talon interceded in the conversation, “I asked Derek to join the investigation since this was going to be for you. We went down to the stables and asked the stable boy about any distinctive features. He…he said that the hooded man had a phoenix tattoo on his arm.” Talon held out his arm and rolled up his sleeve to reveal his forearm, “Though I don’t remember any of my interactions with Tyleesh. I believe that he was abducted by me. For that…I…I am…so very sorry.” Talon looked down and buried his face in his hands. Darren sighed, “Talon, you know very well that you cannot be to blame for your actions when you were known as Zero. What matters now, in this case, is that you try to help Tyleesh come home.”
Darren looked up at me, “So now that we know The Order took him, what are the next steps?” I looked over at Talon, “We need to jog Talon’s memory to figure out where they brought him and what for. That will help us to locate him and free him with some covert operations.” Talon looked at Darren, “I’m hoping that Whisperia might be able to help me to remember what happened specifically. Darren looked at Alexandra, “Child, might you send out Jess or your bodyguard to fetch Whisperia?” She looked over at me, “I think it would be best to send Jess and Derek. If I were to send Toby over, she may not come. She’s very guarded as you well know. She will go with Jess but I think it’s best if Derek goes with her just in case there’s someone out there lurking to kidnap more of my family. Er…sorry Uncle Talon.” He shook his head at her, “No, you’re quite right to be guarded given recent events. How are you doing by the way?” She looked down where her wound was, “I’m better than I should be considering how severe the wound was. But enough about me, we need to get Tyleesh well and rescued so he can come home to his family.” She looked over at Darren who looked up at me, “Might you be willing to escort Jess to the center of the woods where Whisperia resides.” I nodded, “As long as someone has any idea where she chooses to hide away, that shouldn’t be an issue.” Alexandra giggled, “Jess will know, she visits her once a week. She looked at the wall nearby, “As a matter of fact, she is due for another visit today.” I nodded, “Okay, I will go to fetch her so we can get going before the sun goes down.” Vanessa stood up from her spot next to Darren’s bed, “I will open a portal for you both to Dorothea’s house, she lives nearby so it will get you close enough so you won’t have to fight with the sunset. Just come and get me when you’ve fetched Jess.” I nodded at her, “Will do Ms. Tannen. I will go get her now.”
I left the room and quickly walked over to Jess’s door and knocked. She came to the door and her eyes widened when she saw, “Derek! I thought you were going to be gone for a while. What happened?” Walk with me to Darren’s room and I will fill you in, “Darren needs a favor from you.” She nodded, “Okay. I would love to hear why your trip was cut short.” She closed the door behind her and we took the walk over to Darren’s room as I explained what happened. She looked at me sadly, “Poor Talon, he must feel so guilty. So what is it that they need me for then? I very much doubt that I can help Talon regain his memories.” I smiled at her appreciatively, “They need you to help fetch Whisperia. You know how guarded she is so we can’t just send anyone. Lex thought that you would be the best person to go and she wanted me to go with you as backup in case someone gets any funny ideas.” She nodded, “Yes, I am best suited for this task since Whisperia has now adopted me as a pseudo-niece of sorts. She has actually been teaching me wind magic but I’m afraid I don’t have some of the spells she might be able to do to help regain Talon’s memory. Why are we going to Darren’s room though? Shouldn’t we get going before the sun sets?” I put my arm around her shoulders and hugged her, “Vanessa said she will open a portal to Dorothea’s house.” Jess nodded, “Oh yes, Vanessa would know exactly where Dorothea lives. We’ve gone a few times to that area together. Whisperia lives in a hollow tree nearby.” We got to Darren’s door, knocked, and stepped in, “I have brought Jess.” She smiled at Darren, “Feeling better today, Grandfather?” He smiled at her kindly, “There’s just something about being surrounded by those you love that just helps me to feel better. I would love to have all of my family here to talk to.” She nodded at him, “I will help however I can. I have been filled in on what is going on by Derek.” She looked over at Talon, “Talon, don’t beat yourself up. You were Zero back then and brainwashed. You were not yourself.” Vanessa stood up and came over and hugged Jess. She whispered, “Thank you, sweet girl.” She pulled away from her and cast the spell to open the portal, “There you go. Whisperia should be able to get you back.” Jess smiled, “Thanks, Vanessa. We shall make haste.” She grabbed my hand and stepped through the portal, dragging me along with her.
We stepped out into the clearing in front of Dorothea’s cottage. She happened to be outside potting a medicinal plant. She whistled at me, “Hey hunky. What’re you two doing here?” I sighed, “We came to fetch Whisperia. Talon needs her to jog his memory on something he did when he was Zero.” She wiped her hands on her apron, “Oh, that should be interesting. So you have a mission to do with The Order?” I nodded, “Yes. Do you know of Tyleesh by any chance?” She nodded, “I never got to meet him but I had heard he was a magic virtuoso. He could pick up any magic quickly and was proficient in all magic but his strong suit was earth and water. He also mentored The Befent, who is my best student. Oh but don’t get jealous, hunky, you’re the close second.” I approached her, “That’s okay Ms. Dorothea. Anyhow, we know now that he was abducted by The Order.” She furrowed her brow, “With his magical abilities, this can’t be good. They likely are threatening him with something to keep him working for them. That is what they did to me for a long time. They threatened my sister Evelyn and then my sister Zeb after. Finally, I knew that Zeb was pretty well protected and powerful in her own right and left. Time is of the essence if that is the case. Go on then. If you need me, I’m here.” We walked off to the west of Dorothea’s house a short distance where a large gnarly tree stood. Jess looked up at me, “I think it is best that you stay back here. She might be a little upset that you are here. She doesn’t like uninvited guests. It’s nothing personal, she’s just not much into other people. It is why she chooses to isolate herself in Blackwood.” I sighed, “It’s okay, I think I understand. Lex has sort of explained her personality to me. I know that she has her reasons that she may not like strangers or other beings. I will keep my distance to respect her space.” She nodded, “In truth, I probably should have left you with Dorothea but I know we are in a time crunch here. Any time we can save would be best.” Jess walked up to Jess tapped on the bark of the tree in a certain spot and stepped back. A portal opened up at the spot she knocked and Whisperia stepped out. The woman’s red eyes looked at her then up at me and narrowed, “What is young Chalshin doing here?” Jess stepped forward, “Sorry Whisperia, I know you don’t like unexpected visitors but this is important and has to do with your father.” She whipped her head from looking at me then to Jess, “What’s going on? Did he get worse?” Jess shook her head, “No, we need your help finding Tyleesh.” She nodded, “Nephew Tyleesh, I miss that boy. I was quite upset when he disappeared. I enjoyed his visits with me when he brought me those delicious cookies that he would bake for me. What must I do?” Jess said, “We need you to help Talon regain some memories. He thinks he may have kidnapped him on behalf of The Order. We should find him for your father before…well… you know.” Whisperia sighed, “You don’t need to speak of that painful inevitability. I hated when my mother died but my father was the one who really raised us in truth. His illness is hard on me. I’m afraid that I alone cannot help you. This will take the talents of Zeb and Panshad as well. You will need to summon them from Mesha before I can assist you.”
