by Amy Sumida
I gaped at the horde waiting for us. It stretched back into the dining hall and out of the palace entirely. The Pride was there, of course, but so were all of the Froekn, the Thunderbirds, the Nagas, the Valkyries, the Greeks, and every god I'd ever helped in the past. Oh, and my mother.
Mom stood at the front of the assemblage, along with Fenrir, and Azrael's parents; Luke and Holly. All of Lesya's grandparents together; the human woman, the werewolf god, the Devil, and the Holy Spirit. What a lucky little girl my daughter was.
They surrounded us immediately, and Lesya proved to be a true princess already, giving them graceful waves along with her giggling. She was irresistible; a beautiful baby girl with a head full of raven-black hair, beguiling blue eyes, and a sweet demeanor. She was one of those happy babies, almost ridiculously happy, especially when you considered what she'd been through.
Lesya went willingly to every person who wanted to hold her; a huge shocker to me. I thought she might be traumatized from her experience with Sekhmet, but, in the way of all children, she proved to be resilient; letting go of the past more easily than any adult could. Seeing her held by her family helped me to let go of the past myself. It was healing to have Lesya home at last.
“How did everyone know that we found her?” I asked my Mom.
“Some person named Hermes spread the word that Lesya had been rescued,” Mom said. “I found out from Fenrir, who simply showed up on my doorstep. Thanks for telling me that my granddaughter was missing, by the way.”
“I didn't want to worry you.” I gave my Mom an apologetic look. “I'm sorry.”
“It's all right.” She hugged me. “I'm just happy that Lesya's home. She's so beautiful. I don't think I've ever seen such a gorgeous baby. Almost like a doll, like the perfect idea of a child. Too pretty to be real.”
“That's all Kirill.” I smiled over at my husband.
Kirill was hovering behind Kohana, the Thunderbird chief, as Kohana held Lesya and tickled her with one of his hair-feathers. Kirill wasn't about to let our daughter out of his sight.
“She's a little, female version of him.”
“I suppose she is,” Mom agreed. “But you're in there too, Vervain. Her eyes may be close to his in coloring, but they have your shape. It's a little soon to see any more resemblances, but I'm certain that you'll find even more of yourself in her as she ages.”
“Yeah, maybe you're right.” I smiled, remembering my time spent in the future. Lesya had my attitude if nothing else.
“You did well, my boy!” Fenrir exclaimed to Kirill as he held Lesya over his head.
Kirill's eyes went wide and worried. He watched Fenrir's every move, his hands hovering beneath Fenrir's as if in preparation of catching Lesya. I didn't blame him, Fenrir was nearly 8 feet tall and he was lifting our daughter even higher than that.
“She's wonderful!” Fenrir went on. “Behold my granddaughter!”
Fenrir turned in a circle as he held Lesya above his head. Lesya giggled and waved her arms about her like she was trying to get airborne. The crowd cheered, and Fenrir kept holding Lesya aloft as he made his way outside, to show her off to those gods who couldn't fit into the entry hall. The crowd flowed after him, Kirill practically glued to Fenrir's side, and soon, there were only a few people left in the palace with me.
“Why do I feel like 'The Circle of Life' should be playing in the background?” I smirked at the stragglers, which included my mother, Azrael, Odin, Re, Trevor, and the Squad.
“Wouldn't that make Fenrir the baboon?” Pan asked. “He's the one who holds the baby lion up, right?”
We all stared at each other for a second before bursting into laughter.
“It is kind of a Lion King moment,” Trevor noted.
“Lion Queen,” Azrael corrected.
Then I saw Re's stricken face.
“Re”–I went over and hugged him–“I'm so sorry about Sekhmet.”
“I've lost my daughter today,” Re whispered, “but you have found yours, and I'm content with that. Sekhmet has lived a very long life, more years than nature would have granted her. I'm grateful for the time I've had with her. Your daughter has just begun to live, and you deserve to have a place in that life.”
“But I'm sure that it hurts to turn your back on your child,” I said gently. “No matter what she did, Sekhmet's still your daughter. I'm sorry for your pain.”
“It was either that or allow Kirill to kill her today,” Re said without bitterness. “I chose the best option for her. That's what a parent does.”
“The best that we can,” I agreed.
Then I hugged him. There wasn't anything else I could say to help him through his loss. Sekhmet would grow old and die someday. But that day wasn't today. Re had bought her a little time. And he was right; it was the best decision he could have made for her.
“I'm sorry,” Odin said sincerely as he laid a hand on Re's shoulder. “Believe me; I understand exactly what you're going through.”
“I know that you do.” Re gave Odin a look of kinship. “Thank you.”
And he did. Odin's son had betrayed him recently–for the second time. Balder had manipulated the myth of Ragnarok, basically the end of the world, and forced it into happening just to get the chance to kill his father and me. Balder had already died once while trying to kill me, but he had been living an afterlife with Hel in Niflheim. Although, part of that time he'd spent as a tree–long story. Ragnarok had freed Balder of Niflheim and brought him back to life... only to be killed again by Sutr, King of The Fire Giants. This time, Balder was dead for good.
“Come with me,” Odin said to Re. “Let's get a drink.”
“A fine idea, Northman,” Re agreed, and the two of them headed off toward the kitchen.
“Do I want to know what that was about?” My mother asked.
“Nope,” I said, “absolutely not.”
I was not telling my mother about Ragnarok; giant world serpents, fire giants, and getting stabbed in my side. She didn't need those nightmares.
“Okay then.” Mom let it go because she was a wise witch.
“I need to go out there and thank all of our allies,” I said as I turned to Pan. “But first, do you want to tell me how Hermes found out about Lesya's rescue so quickly?”
“He called me,” Hermes said as he walked up to us along with Panacea and her sisters.
“How did you get in here?” I asked him.
“I brought him,” Hygieia admitted. “Did I do something wrong?”
“No, it's fine.” I waved Trevor down; he was starting to tense up. “As long as he doesn't have the tracing chant.”
“Wow, that's some gratitude for you,” Hermes huffed.
“You said that our truce was only going to last until we found Lesya,” I reminded him. “And we've found her. I'm grateful; grateful enough to let go of the past. But I have no idea if you're willing to do so too.”
“Fair enough.” Hermes smirked.
“Don't you think that you owe him an apology as well?” Panacea growled. “You accused him of kidnapping.”
“You're right,” I agreed. “My sincerest apologies for accusing you, and my equally sincere thanks for helping me, despite that accusation.”
“You're welcome, Godhunter,” Hermes said gently. “I am relieved that your daughter is safe.”
“Thanks, Dad,” Pan piped up. “You were a huge help. I'm proud of you for putting aside your hatred long enough to see Lesya home.”
“Children are precious.” Hermes hugged his son. “I have repaid the debt that I owed the Oathbreaker, and that was worth any amount of effort. Owing the King of Asgard is a heavy weight to carry.”
“So, are we enemies again?” Trevor asked what I was thinking.
“I don't know yet.” Hermes frowned. “But I'll do you the courtesy of notifying you when I do.”
“Well, that's not ominous at all.” I rolled my eyes.
Hermes laughed. “I'll send word through my son,” he clarified.
“I can be honorable.”
“Fair enough,” I repeated his earlier words. “For now, I'd be delighted if you stayed and celebrated Lesya's return with us.”
“Thank you.” Hermes gave me a surprised smile. “I'd like that.”
Hermes took Panacea's hand (she was still glaring at me), and led her outside with her sisters.
“That was nice of you,” Horus noted with a skeptical air.
“Isn't it better to foster friendship than animosity?” I asked him.
“Absolutely”–Horus sniffed disdainfully–“but that's hardly been your MO.”
“Maybe motherhood has changed me,” I offered.
“A drop on your head couldn't change you,” Horus scoffed.
“Watch it, bird man,” my mom snapped. “Or I'll drop you on your head.”
“My apologies, Madam,” Horus said, utterly chastised.
“Damn, Mom!” I exclaimed. “That was impressive. The only woman I've seen handle Horus like that is Hekate. And she's sleeping with him, so that gives her a little leverage.”
“No one messes with my babies,” Mom declared. “Now, do I need to go and straighten out that Hermes guy and his harlots?”
“Mom!” I gasped as I tried not to laugh.
The Squad laughed for me.
“Those women weren't harlots, Mom,” Trevor said. “One of them was his girlfriend, but the others are her sisters. And one of those sisters is the woman who saved Lesya.”
“What do you mean, 'saved Lesya'?” My Mom narrowed her stare on Trevor as I groaned.
“Oh, uh, she's a doctor,” Trevor stammered. “Um, Vervain was having some pregnancy problems, and Hygieia took care of her.”
“Oh. Okay then.” My mother simmered down. “I think I'm going to go and see if I can steal Lesya away from whoever has her now.”
“Maybe not the best phrasing, Mom,” I noted dryly.
Chapter Thirty-Two
After I went out and addressed the massive crowd, we celebrated late into the night. I walked among my allies and made sure to thank each one of them individually. They had gone above and beyond for my daughter and me, and I wanted to make sure that they knew that I appreciated it.
“Vervain,” a soft, steady voice called to me from the darkness.
“Toby,” I whispered as I turned to him.
He had been standing beside the boulders that supported a waterfall which fed our swimming pool, hidden within their shadows. An appropriate place for The Lord of Darkness and Child of the Water. I looked him over as if I was seeing him for the first time, and I realized that it had been awhile since I'd spoken to Toby. The last time I'd seen him was at Blue's wedding, but we hadn't had the chance to talk.
Toby was short for Tobadzistsini, and there had been a time when I'd loved him. Our magics had melded, the Moon magic being a perfect counterpart to his Darkness and Water. But beyond that, we had melded, and I remembered the powerful passion we'd had for each other. But we'd given it up, separating our magics and our love for the greater good. We could remember our love, but we didn't feel it.
A whimper pulled my attention to the animal beside him; a cream-colored dog with gentle eyes. She stared up at me as if I were a part of her family and she couldn't understand where I'd been for so long.
“Doba,” I said as I crouched before her. The dog came into my embrace, and I hugged her. “Hey girl, you look good.”
“She is,” Toby said. “We're both doing well, and we're very happy that you have your daughter back.”
“Thank you.” I gave Doba one last pat before I stood. “And aren't you a tall drink of water,” I teased.
“It's wonderful to see you too,” he said simply.
“Your mother said there was something you wanted to tell me?” I prompted after he continued to stare.
“I've found someone to love,” he whispered as if he were confessing a sin.
“That's wonderful,” I said softly, even though there was the smallest part of me that mourned.
No matter what we do, the heart always remembers. We can trick it, bewitch it, even destroy it, but there will always be a record of a great love. And ours had been great.
“I wanted to be the one to tell you,” Toby said.
“Are you happy?”
Doba whined and looked back and forth between us.
“I am.” He smiled brilliantly, and it healed the remnants of heartache I had for a love I couldn't remember.
“Then I am too.” I went forward and hugged him, and Doba leaned against the two of us contentedly.
“I think I need to bring Doba around more often.” Toby eased away from me. “It looks like she's missed you.”
“I've missed her too.” I gave the dog another stroke before looking up at her god. “I've missed both of you.”
“I think now that I have someone to hold in your stead, I can be all right with watching you hold others,” he whispered.
“Toby”–I frowned–“I thought... were you... have you been hurt over us?”
“No, not exactly.” His face went through the motions of thought. “I've felt the trace of what we had, and it made me feel empty.”
“Because you had no one to fill the space where our love was,” I noted.
“Yes, I believe so,” he agreed. “I missed what I couldn't remember and seeing you with others made it worse.”
“And now you have love again.”
“I do.”
“I saw that you would find her,” I admitted. “When we broke apart, I knew that”–I paused to swallow past the constriction in my throat, and Toby took my hand–“I knew that someone else would love you for me.”
“Vervain,” that one word said all that was between us, and the tear that slid down his face said even more.
Toby pulled me into another embrace, this one tighter and more meaningful than the last. I heard his heart beating strong, and I found a deep peace in knowing that it was happy at last, that someone was loving my Toby.
“This is not goodbye,” he whispered into my hair. “This is a new beginning for us. Now, we can be in each others lives again.”
“I wish you the most sublime happiness, Tobadzistsini.”
“I wish that for you as well, Vervain. But happiness is as tricky as the currents. All we can do is ride the river and hope that the current is kind to us,” Toby said with a smile,
“Is that shaman talk for: we'll just have to wait and see if it lasts?”
“It is.” he admitted.
“At least we're paddling down the same river now.” I smirked.
“Yes.” He laughed. “It's good to be able to travel beside you again.”
“It is,” I agreed. “All right, God of Water, we'll just go with the flow.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
When I finally went to bed, I snuggled up around my daughter with her father and uncles protectively curled around us. In the words of Mr. T (the television show character, not the god); I pity the fool who tried to get past us.
I woke early and fed Lesya. Unfortunately, due to the way Lesya was removed from me prematurely, I wasn't able to breastfeed her, but she took quickly to the baby formula Hygieia had prepared for her. I was about to change her diaper when Nick made an appearance. He'd been MIA the night before, but that hadn't surprised me. Nick didn't like parties; he usually found someplace quiet to hide out in until they were over. What was surprising was his reaction to Lesya. As soon as he saw her, he hissed, his fur standing on end.
“What the hell, Nick?” I huffed at him.
He gave Lesya one more affronted look and ran out of the room.
“I guess your diaper is more offensive than I thought,” I teased Lesya, and she giggled.
I changed her diaper and set her back in bed beside her father. I had promised Brevyn and Rian that they would get to meet their sister as soon as I had her back, and I intended to keep my word. But to take Lesya to Faerie, I'd have to make sure that our times were synced up first. With my c
onstant use of the Ring of Remembrance, I was usually in two places at the same time. Which meant that when I wanted to bring people over to another realm with me, I had to make sure that I wasn't already in that realm.
It's a long, boring process that I won't go into deeply. Basically, I needed to go back to the time I'd left Faerie and stay in the realm until the time there was caught up to the time in the God Realm–aligning my presents. Then I could return to this moment and once more head back over to Faerie without worrying about being sucked into an experience I'd already had in that realm. And yes, that's the short explanation.
So, I used my ring to go back to Faerie and found an anxious Arach waiting for me with our sons. I gave him a brilliant smile, and all three of them smiled back at me.
“Thank the flames!” Arach exclaimed as he rushed over to me. “She's home?”
“She's home,” I confirmed as I took Brevyn from him. “You helped a lot, Brev. We couldn't have found Lesya without you. Thank you.”
“Lay-lay is safe?” Brevyn asked.
“Lesya,” Rian corrected.
“Yes, she's safe,” I said with a smile. “I'm going to spend a little time here, and then I'll go back and get her.”
“Mama, you're bringing Lesya here?” Rian asked, his dragon-eyes set on me solemnly.
“I am,” I confirmed, “and I'll probably bring your uncles with me too.”
Brevyn and Rian squealed in delight while Arach made an annoyed face. Dexter yipped happily.
“They're not going to want Lesya out of their sight for awhile,” I explained to Arach. “I'm sorry.”
“It's fine,” Arach used his abused-husband tone. “They are welcome here, of course.”
“Thank you. I'll make it up to you.” I winked at him.
“When is this 'making up' going to occur?” He asked as he perked up. “Perhaps now?”
“Let me spend some time with our sons first.” I rolled my eyes and bounced Brevyn. “Your father is so impatient.”
Brevyn giggled.
“Dragons get what they want, when they want it!” Rian declared.
