Revolution
Page 21
Thinking of it now, Dana knew Max had been correct in her initial assessment and judgement of their government and society. It had degraded into complacency and had placed inappropriate emphasis on warden hierarchy and the caste system. At that time of the power shift, Max had insisted she be allowed to enter the Earth plane and begin her task of healing the lost souls. Dana had cried rivers of tears and clung to her flesh and blood child so hard, Max had needed to pry her off. Max had then given her one of her now well-known, righteous speeches leaving Dana feeling like she was the child and her daughter was the wise crone. Unable to deny Max anything, in the end, Dana had kissed Max on her forehead and bestowed her blessings.
Passage from one plane to the next was not necessarily a difficult task, but it was governed by rules and the laws of nature. Souls had no trouble passing through the veil between worlds. But physical bodies? That was another act of physics entirely. Dana had no such issues because she was a pure goddess, but Max on the other hand, was a mix of mortality and divinity. She was a custodian of the flesh, and though she had been able to successfully cross, maintaining the physical body of a young woman on the cusp of adulthood, the passing had some unforeseen consequences.
Amnesia.
Dana had been absolutely horrified and had been about to pass through the veil and retrieve her when a piece of paper near the metaphysical barrier had caught her eye. There, in her daughter’s neat handwriting, were the words; Don’t you dare!!! Max had apparently foreseen the complication even though Dana herself had not. Dana shook her head, mouth quirking when she thought about the note and sketchbook Max had left for herself this time. Her daughter was nothing if not prepared. Dana had obeyed Max’s wishes and had left her alone and afraid in a foreign world with naught but the clothes on her back. She had trusted her daughter to know what she was doing and where she was destined to end up.
Observing the joy and happiness of Max with her family now, and the revolutionary healing of the chades, Dana still couldn’t honestly say that she did the right thing or that she would do it all over again had she seen the outcome. Though she didn’t need to wonder what her stubborn daughter thought. Max had told her in no uncertain terms what her opinion was upon her return to Otherworld just weeks prior. The moment Max had crossed the veil in her pure soul form, her memories as Titania had returned and Dana had an armful of laughing, sobbing energy. Their happy reunion had lasted a blissful matter of minutes until Max had let loose a string of creative curses and demands to know what was going on. After that, Dana had been forced to endure three weeks of whining, cursing, and pouting until Max had been able to reform her physical form. Dana had been under no illusion that Max would return to Earth the moment she was physically able to, but they had both been surprised and overwhelmed to learn of the presence of the tiny being nestled contentedly in Max’s womb. Though Dana was able to essentially birth souls, she did not get to choose where those souls were housed. That was the responsibility of a different deity.
Naturally, the discovery of her own daughter made Max even more determined to return and Dana had aided her as much as she was able to. Unfortunately, all the preparation in the world still had not been enough to prevent the resulting memory loss. Human bodies simply weren’t supposed to cross the veil. Dana had watched on tenterhooks as Max found her way yet again and although she was overjoyed at the scene in front of her right now, she was even more gratified to hear Max call Mordecai dad and ask him what he thought of being a grandfather.
Dana laughed out loud as Mordecai notably paled. Seems that small fact had escaped him. To be fair, he responded to the good-natured ribbing from his Order and Ryker well, even smiling a time or two before finally threatening them all with bodily harm. I wish he would threaten my body again, Dana thought without meaning to. She immediately flushed, though there was no one to see her embarrassment. Mordecai had been her first – and last – lover. The title of Great Mother was more symbolic than literal. Yes, she had birthed the first souls and the first seeds of nature, but like her fellow gods and goddesses, procreation had not involved sex. Even with Mordecai being exceptionally drunk and herself aware of the purpose of the act, it had still been the most incredible night of her life. She could well understand why humans placed so much emphasis on sex. Too bad she was doomed never to experience it again.
Her sigh this time was big enough to displace the air minutely, and Max’s head popped up, eyes searching keenly. When they looked directly through where the veil was hovering in the doorway, Max gave her a small grin and a wave, even though Dana knew she couldn’t actually see the shimmering, pearlescent curtain. It was invisible and impervious to all – other than pure divinity. Still, Max was sensitive enough and astute enough to know Dana was there.
The small gesture from Max had Dana slumping in relief. When Max had said she remembered everything, Dana didn’t know if that included herself or not. Thankfully, it appeared to and she wondered when Max would see fit to tell the others about her trip to Otherworld and what she remembered of her time growing up as Titania and the beloved daughter of Mother Nature.
Max raised her eyebrows and patted her stomach one last time before turning her attention back to Beyden and Jasminka. Dana was glad those the two had resolved their feelings for each other, knowing they had been destined to meet even before their births. But sometimes destiny wasn’t enough, and choices accompanied by actions often forged new paths. She was relieved to see these two had not travelled down different roads because Max was going to need them – need all of them. Or rather, Max’s daughter was.
Max had only been partially correct when she had said her babe was a goddess. The little girl was half life paladin and half custodian in corporeal form. The resulting child – Dana’s granddaughter – was destined to be the first of her kind.
A Spirit Goddess.
The time would come when Dana would reveal the full potential of her grandchild, but that time was not now. Now, there was a society to rebuild and a government to re-establish, and one last paladin whose own destiny was about to come knocking on the door.
THE ELEMENTAL PALADINS WILL CONTINUE – AND CONCLUDE – IN BOOK SIX, RECKONING.
THE ELEMENTAL COLLECTIVE, VOLUMES 1 & 2, WILL BE RELEASED AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE ELEMENTAL PALADINS SERIES.
ALSO BY MONTANA ASH:
The Elemental Paladins Series (paranormal/urban fantasy romance)
WARDEN
PALADIN
CHADE
RANGER
CUSTODIAN
RECKONING (Coming soon)
The Forbidden Series (paranormal, mystery reverse harem/polyamorous romance)
FORBIDDEN HYBRID
FORBIDDEN HEX (BOOK 1.5)
The Familiars Series (paranormal reverse harem/polyamorous romance)
IVORY’S FAMILIARS
Meet Montana!
Montana is an Aussie, self-confessed book junkie. Although she loves reading absolutely everything, her not-so-guilty pleasure is paranormal romance. Alpha men – just a little bit damaged – and feisty women – strong yet vulnerable – are a favourite combination of hers. Throw in some steamy sex scenes, a touch of humour, and a little violence and she is in heaven! She is a scientist by day, a writer by night, and a reader always!
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Email: montanaash.author@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.montanaash.com/
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Twitter: @ReadMontanaAsh
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