by Sharon Hinck
She hurried through the tale of their harrowing hike out of the tunnel, across the Pebbled Desert, around the clay pits of Shamgar, and finally back to Lyric. Some of the Rendor clan were skilled enough hunters to get them a little food. One of the banished members knew the path through the dangerous clay pits. Afternoon rain gave them much-needed water, which they sucked from their tunics until they reached a stream.
The lines in her face hinted at all the things she wasn’t saying. I determined to get more of the story from her later.
The refugees were taken in and cared for with all the hospitality the city used to be famous for. My own declaration that I was the new Restorer was almost anticlimactic.
My mom left to get some food and rest while the Council wrangled in their incomprehensible way, working out details for how to restore order to the clans. I stuck around, sprawled in a chair in the Rendor balcony, determined to ensure that they started making things right.
The best part of the day was the hurriedly arranged worship gathering in the tower. After the rains, the call went out for everyone to gather. Music filled the huge room. For the first time in several seasons, a cloud of mist coalesced above the worshiper’s heads and settled on us all like a benediction. I fell to my knees as images from the past days galloped through my mind. I’d been terrified when I found myself alone in the grove by the portal. So much had happened since then: journeys, intrigue, battles, betrayal. And I’d lost count of my injuries and how many times I’d died and recovered.
I’d been craving this adventure—bursting with reckless determination to make a difference. I hadn’t had a clue how hard serving the One could be. Well, serving Him wasn’t so bad. It was the people. Serving them, leading them. That’s the part that was really rough.
An invisible hand rested on my shoulder. Well done. The voice of the One was familiar and warm, the words simple.
But they stirred inside like a gust of wind kicking up fall leaves. He was happy with me. That knowledge was all I needed.
At some point, the music and singing faded to holy quiet, but the stirring inside me built. I stood and looked up through the mist, toward the windows towering far above. The song I’d begun composing on my first day through the portal welled up from a place deep inside my marrow:
In the morning light, alone
May this tower always stand,
A tribute to Your guidance
And the comfort of Your hand.
I’ll take the path You show me
Though it’s dark beneath my feet.
Give me strength to walk this trail
’Til Your purpose is complete.
When the journey trips and cripples,
I give my wounds to You.
Lead me back to where Your songs
Drown the voices yet untrue.
Hope is born to find the way
Though early dreams grow hollow;
Your light will guide me forward,
Whenever faith will follow.
One of the songkeepers repeated the last verse after me. As he sang it again, the whole gathering joined, and I felt the power of the One’s love draw a response of deep commitment from each soul in the tower.
After the notes faded, another songkeeper called out a last prayer, and people began trailing out through the eight arching entryways. My mom was still kneeling on the floor. She had her hands over her face, and when she moved them away, her skin was wet with tears. Man, she cried a lot. I helped her to her feet, and she grabbed me in a tight hug. I patted her back awkwardly, not knowing what to say.
The songkeepers made their way down from the dais, and a slim blonde form caught my eye. “Linette!” I broke away from Mom and headed toward her.
Linette turned, and her face glowed as I stumbled to a clumsy halt near her. She threw her arms around me, and my ears grew hot. “Jake, it’s wonderful to see you. I heard that the Council officially recognized you as the new Restorer.” She pulled away and looked past me, smile equally wide. “Susan, how are you?”
My mom hugged her. “I thought you were helping Kieran in Sidian.”
She nodded. “I am. I just came to bring Tara the news. Tristan and Kendra had the baby.” Her voice went up in pitch, the way girls’ voices do when they talk about babies. “It’s a girl, Emmi, and she is so amazing. She has Kendra’s dark hair but Tristan’s jaw. And the sweetest little nose.”
Mom and Linette jabbered some more. Women sure get excited about babies.
Linette’s giggle was an even more amazing sound than her singing. I stood nearby, hoping she’d do it again.
“Is Tara here in Lyric?” Mom asked.
“No. After I brought her the news, Lukyan asked me to come here to meet with the songkeepers. He thought they might need a little encouragement to take up their role again.” Her face sobered. “They feel a lot of shame for letting things get as far as they did.”
My mom smiled at me. “But things are back on track now.” She reached up to smooth my hair, and I ducked aside. It made her laugh. “Well, Jake and I need to be going now. I want to get back to the portal before it gets dark. Mark must be worried sick.”
I froze. I’d been dreading this moment. “Mom, we need to talk.” I glanced apologetically at Linette. She gave Mom one last hug and promised to convey her love to everyone when she headed back to Hazor. Then she walked away to greet Wade. They strolled from the tower, arm in arm, and a wave of irritation swept over me.
My mom touched my arm. “Jake?”
Dark circles ringed Mom’s eyes, and even with a good meal and a nap, she looked frail. This was going to be hard. “Mom, I’m not going back home with you. Not right now.”
She stiffened and turned a more transparent shade of white. “Jake, you can’t be serious. You don’t belong here. It’s got to be some of Medea’s control in your thoughts. Remember? It happened before. She and Cameron wanted you to stay here, so it can’t be the right thing to do.”
She was talking faster and faster, as if by sheer weight of words she could change my mind.
I took her hand and waited for her to slow down. “Mom, I understand why you’d think that, but I made a promise to Arland.”
She held my hand in a death grip as she listened.
“When I came here, Arland was leading the guardians. They were all confused and angry. Even though you and Kieran had each saved the clans when you were the Restorer, they felt forsaken. Arland said they need a Restorer to stick around for more than one battle.”
“But Jake—”
I patted her hand and made a hushing sound. “Let me finish.”
My eyes pleaded with her to listen. When I was growing up, she’d always been pretty good at letting me have my say before pronouncing her answer of “no.” The memory made me smile gently. I didn’t want to hurt her. I had to get her to understand.
“After Arland died, I asked the One what He was going to do about giving the people a leader.” How to explain what I had heard that night outside our campsite? I shifted gears. “Mom, have you ever heard the One tell you something? I mean, heard Him in your heart?”
Her eyes were wide and red-rimmed, but she nodded. “Of course. But Jake, you have to be careful about that.”
“I know, I know. It would be easy for me to convince myself that eating pizza all day long was a great plan and that God told me to do it.”
I was rewarded with a tight smile from her. She sniffed and rubbed her eyes.
“But this isn’t like that. Mom, I heard Him. It’s the clearest thing I’ve ever known in my life. It’s not a delusion. It’s what the One asked me to do. He wants me to serve Him here.”
Watching her face was like rifling pages of a book. She tried on the thought, fought it, tested it again. When she closed her eyes, I knew she was asking the One to confirm it in her own heart.
&
nbsp; When her shoulders drooped, I knew He had.
Her eyes popped open and she dropped my hand to grab my shoulders. “But you can’t just disappear from our world! How will we explain it?” She was talking fast again, but with less conviction.
“I was going off to college anyway. You can just let people think that’s where I am.”
“Are you crazy? What about Christmas? What will I tell your grandma? Or your friends who call wanting to get your phone number?”
I’d already gone over these objections with the One, during the hours of hiking toward Lyric.
“It’s going to be okay. The time passes differently anyway. I could stay here a few seasons and come back to find out only a day has gone by for you guys. And you can come through anytime you want to check on me—if the portal lets you.”
I scratched my head. I still wasn’t sure how the thing worked.
She turned away, her arms wrapped around her waist. I almost missed her quiet words. “What will I tell your dad?”
I didn’t know what to do.
God, help me comfort her. Help her know this is a good thing.
I stepped closer and put one arm around her shoulders. “You know how Dad is all intense about how he deserted his people by staying in our world?”
She nodded, her face softening the way it did when she thought of him.
“Well, I think maybe this will feel like the right thing to him. Kind of a balance. He can’t come back anymore, but he can give his son to the clans.”
“But we don’t understand everything about the portal.” Her words were coming more slowly now. She gave a deep sigh. “What if I can’t come back through? What if you can’t get back to us when you’re ready to?”
“Mom, there’s a lot we’ll never understand about the portal, but that’s not what we’re putting our trust in. If the One wants me here right now, He’ll take care of me. If He wants me to go home, He’ll make a way. That’s who we need to trust.”
Listen to me—preaching to my mom. I expected her to roll her eyes.
Instead, she gave me a teary smile. She pulled my head closer and rested her forehead against mine. “Go with the One,” she whispered.
Now my own eyes filled, and I let the tears fall. “I will.”
We walked slowly out to the courtyard. Mom’s gaze drank in the surroundings with the sense of someone saying her good-byes. Wade hadn’t gone far, as he was reluctant to let me out of his sight. He gave a deep belly laugh in answer to something Linette was telling him. I frowned.
They saw us and hurried over. My mom started asking Wade to look out for me. She was winding up for a long lecture, so I took the opportunity to pull Linette aside.
“Do you have to go back to Hazor?” I blurted out.
She blinked a few times. “Why?”
I swallowed and rubbed sweaty palms along my pant legs. “The One has asked me to stay—to lead the people here in Lyric. I just thought . . . well, I could use your help.”
She tilted her head, her eyes warm. “Oh, Jake, I’m so glad you’ll be staying here. Kieran will be so relieved that there’s a Restorer keeping the clans safe. It’s been driving him crazy, not being able to come and fix things.”
Her enthusiasm for my calling flooded me with hope.
Then she smiled gently. “But I can’t stay. I promised to help Kieran. He needs me.”
“But he’s not the Restorer anymore.” Great, Jake. That sounded like a whiny kid.
Her eyes clouded. “I know. But it’s where I belong.”
I wasn’t sure exactly what she meant by that. Did she mean as a songkeeper, or something more? My stomach twisted as I tried to sort that out, and she turned away. She gave my mom one last hug and then disappeared down a side street. Wade and I watched her leave and sighed in unison. I ignored my mom’s sympathetic glance.
Wade and I walked with my mom to the portal, so quiet that we could hear our feet squish against the moss. When we reached the grove, she didn’t start bawling like I’d feared. She pulled herself up tall and gave me a soft smile and one last hug. She was a brave woman, even if she was my mom. Then she stepped between two narrow trees, through the ripple of energy that no one else seemed to see, and disappeared.
I was doing the right thing.
But my steps rang hollow on the walk back to Lyric. I could have gone through with her. Back to sunlight and stars, cell phones and books, pizza and soda. Back to my family.
When we entered the city, my feet aimed straight back to the worship tower.
Wade stayed back near the entry while I hurried to the center of the tower and dropped to one knee. Hand on my sword hilt and head bowed, I turned my thoughts to my Chief Guardian. “Sorry for being so thick, but could You just tell me one more time? Are You sure You want me here? I’m going to need some directions. The songkeepers are still sorting out how to undo the damage from the fake Records. The Council does nothing but argue. The Kahlareans will probably keep trying to get across the River Borders.”
Cool moist air swirled around me, a gathering mist that carried reassurance and enough strength to fill my bones. The Voice spoke, with a tone of confidence and wild joy. His words would carry me for all the seasons of work ahead. They were the only words I needed.
Jake, follow Me.
34
Susan
Dust motes sparkled in the quiet attic. Late afternoon sun angled in from the low west window, blinding me with its brilliance. Without a thick grey atmosphere obscuring any glimpse into the cosmos, the light looked golden. I took a deep breath and waited for vertigo to pass.
Home. I’d made it back. The familiar bits and bobbles of our suburban life smiled at me from under the eaves.
Another shaky breath and I turned in a full circle. Alone. Somehow I’d expected Mark to be waiting—standing guard by the stones.
My relief sagged under the weight of sudden anxiety. How much time had passed? Was Mark all right? What had happened to him while I’d been gone?
The pull-down stairs unfolded into our back hallway. At least Mark hadn’t shut the trapdoor.
I worked my way down the narrow treads and stopped to listen. The house felt quiet—too quiet.
Father, let him be all right. Please, please, please. If he managed to get through to Lyric somehow and we never found each other—
Something clattered from the direction of the kitchen. A voice murmured. The ache to be back in Mark’s arms rolled over me. I ran through the living room and into the kitchen.
I skidded to a stop in the doorway, hands grabbing the frame for support.
Mark sat at the kitchen table, chasing a piece of spaghetti around a freezer-meal tray with a fork. The bruises on his face were less swollen but still colorful. “Yeah, have Murray handle that account. No, I don’t know when I’ll be in.” He snapped his cell phone shut and tossed it on the table. He shoved his plate aside and rested his forehead against his fists.
“Oh, God, bring her back.” The groaning prayer that wrenched from him would stay with me forever.
Then he must have sensed my presence in the doorway.
“Susan!” He was an explosion of movement. I’d never seen him move that fast before, even when crossing swords with Hazorites. He knocked over a kitchen chair in his dash to meet me. “Thank the One.”
His arms nearly crushed me.
Nothing had ever felt as wonderful.
He held me out and stared, scanning me. First, like a warrior assessing battle damage. Next, as my best friend, reading a glimpse of my experiences through the clues in my face and body. Finally, he took in every inch of me with the hunger of a lover.
My skin flushed and I flung myself back into him for another hug. “I’m home.”
He gave a joyous bark of laughter. “Yes, I see that. Where’s Jake?”
I froze. “I’ll explain in a minute.” I dropped my voice to a whisper. “How much time has gone by? Are the kids—?”
“A few days. Karen’s still on her band tour, and the other kids are at camp. I’m”—he cleared his throat—“alone.”
I’d already seen his desperation when he’d slumped at the table. Now I heard its dissonance rattle in his throat. I’d been in a miserable prison in Rhus, but he’d been tortured every bit as much as he waited and worried.
A few days? My head spun. A slow breath drew in the scent of garlic from Mark’s microwave dinner. A few dishes cluttered the sink, and take-out bags were wadded on the counter. Mark’s whiskers scraped against my skin as he nuzzled me. His shirt was rumpled. I touched a cut over his eye. Even multicolored with bruises, he was beautiful.
His fingers dug into my arms. “What happened? How did you get away from Medea and Cameron? I tried to go through a hundred times and the portal didn’t work. Did Jake find you? Where is he?”
I sank into a chair. The silence pulled taut. Mark didn’t move. My fingers traced wood patterns on the table while I struggled to squeeze the words out. “He’s staying for a while.”
It took three mugs of spice tea—the closest thing to clavo I’d been able to find in our world—to fill him in on everything that had happened. I loved him too much to tell him everything Nicco had done to my mind.
“You’re so pale.” He touched the scar on my face, then kissed it softly. “And thin. You’re not telling me everything.”
I’d never been good at hiding things from him, so I opted for distraction. “Jake led the guardians and got the Kahlareans out of Rendor. And he defeated Cameron.”
Mark swelled with pride as I told him about Jake’s adventures. Finally, I summoned the courage to explain Jake’s decision to stay.
My husband raked a hand through his hair and paced a rut into our living room carpet. He argued, complained, and decreed that it was a bad idea.
Once he got that out of his system, we went over his objections and struggles one by one, and he calmed down. As Jake had predicted, Mark found symmetry in our son’s decision. On some level, he could accept it. And maybe he knew that if he kept ranting about it, my own compartmentalized pain would break out again. For my sake, he sat down and took a deep breath. “I’m sure he’ll be fine. You couldn’t drag him back. If the One wants him there . . .” He sighed with the pain of being separated from both his world and his son. For a man who thrived on fixing things, no crueler challenge existed than to know that those he loved were facing battles where he couldn’t help.
