by Audra Hart
Sharon blushes slightly and says, “Yes, I rather gathered that. But did you know… Well, I mean… I saw him hanging around your hospital room when you were… I mean after the crash.”
“I’m sure you did see him at the hospital. He volunteers there part-time as a grief counselor. But that’s not how I met him.” Morna lies. “I met him about five months ago, we became friends. And for the last month or so we have become closer friends,” said Morna. All the time hoping lightning doesn’t strike her where she sits. But how in heaven’s name could she possibly explain the truth?
“Deidra I know it was rumored that you and Rolan had been separated long before the crash. Now I am not judging, but was this man the reason?” Sharon asks.
“Sharon, you are right, this is none of your business, but I will answer your question anyway. I didn’t meet Mr. Michaels until five months ago, just like I said,” Morna replies in a stiff voice.
“Deidra, I am sorry. I should have kept my nose out of your business. It’s just hard to know a friend is going through so much, and knowing that friend won’t ever talk to you about it,” Sharon offers by way of an apology.
“Sharon, you have known me for over twenty years. What in heaven’s name makes you think I would ever do something like that?” Morna asks in exasperation.
“Nothing really, I am sorry, I shouldn’t have been so nosy,” Sharon blushes crimson.
Morna stands up and walks over to her friend and gives her a hug. “You are a good lady Sharon and I guess I should be pleased that this is the one and only time you have ever stuck your nose in my personal business.” She chuckles. “No hard feelings, but I need to scoot. I will be back in plenty of time for the evaluation this afternoon. By the way, will that be a team evaluation or will I be doing it solo?”
“Solo. Mrs. Alfheim asked for you specifically. I can’t tell you how relieved I was when you said you could do it. Mrs. Alfheim didn‘t want our other contract psychometrist.” replies Sharon.
“Hmmm, that name sounds familiar,” says Morna thoughtfully. “Oh well, I will know soon enough when I meet them, I guess. Bye Sharon.”
Morna is still trying to place the name when walks outside and finds Luca already waiting for her. After she settles into the car and they are leaving school grounds, it occurs to her that the name is familiar to Morna, not Deidra. She turns to Luca and asks, “Why does the name Alfheim sound familiar to me, to Morna?”
“Because that is the name of the home-world of the light elves, from whom the Spell Weavers are descended,” Luca supplies.
“Huh. How odd. Sharon just told me …
“Morna, I heard. I have been trying to figure out what is going on. I think this is a meeting for Morna, not Deidra,” Luca says.
“Yes, that thought occurred to me as well,” admits Morna. “I am really glad you will be there. We have two hours before the meeting and I am not really hungry right now. What would you like to do?” She wags her eyebrows at him suggestively.
Luca gets a wicked gleam in his eyes and says, “Well since Breena hasn’t called us… We could go get some luggage for you and a real coat. Chicago winters are much colder than it is here in southern Oklahoma.”
Morna chuckles, “I do believe that I am corrupting you, Man of Light.” She kisses him passionately, stroking his face with loving hands. “Yes, I guess I do need luggage, and it’s sure to be colder in Chicago. Sure, that sounds fine. What time will our flight leave tonight?”
“10:00,” Luca replies. “We will get there early enough to allow you to get some sleep and then we can meet Brigid at her offices at 10:00 the next morning. She wants to do a full work up before we get together with our friends from Airendell.”
The shopping goes well enough. Morna is a little aggravated by the time they are finished though because Luca wants her to buy more than she needs. She is driving back to school because Luca didn’t want the busy-body, (Sharon), to wonder where he had ducked out to when he weaves the hiding spell. Luca was very put out that Sharon would even ask Morna if she had been a faithless wife. Morna, however, took it with a grain of salt, and says, “You know, I did consider it one time, so I guess she wasn’t too far off the mark after all,” Morna admits.
“Really? Morna, I find that hard to believe,” says Luca. He quickly weaves the hiding spell as she drives under a double overpass.
She looks over at him to respond to his question and says, “Great! Now I look like the crazy lady talking to myself.” She chuckles, and then says, “Yes Luca, I thought about it once. Rolan and I had been split up for a little over three years. A single father of one of my students expressed an interest in me, but it just never felt right, so I never allowed it to go beyond a professional relationship. But I did seriously think about it.”
“Well, that proves my point. You and Rolan were split up, and still you didn’t go through with it,” he asserts.
“Luca, I didn’t go through with it because he was the parent of a student of mine. Not because I am such a virtuous woman. I was lonely, and I admit I thought about pursuing a purely physical relationship with the man. Sorry, to disappoint you, sweetheart,” Morna admits.
“That’s not possible,” he assures her as he strokes her face. Morna smiles and thinks this strange to be caressed by her mate when she can’t see him. Luca says, “I guess I just really don’t like Sharon that much, sorry. I saw a lot of her when I was learning what I could about you. She’s a meddling gossip.”
“She’s bit of a busy body, but she’s okay.” They were parking in front of the administration building by this time. “I’ll come around and open that door, like I am looking for something,” she says.
“No need love, just leave your door open for 2 seconds after you get out. That will be sufficient.”
“Show off,” she mutters.
CHAPTER 15 - ROYAL ENVOYS
As soon as Morna steps into the building she is met by a very flustered Sharon. “Deidra, I am sooooooo glad you came back early. Mrs. Alfheim and her son showed up forty-five minutes early!” Sharon hisses.
“Easy Sharon, it’s not a big deal. If she’s upset, I will smooth things over with her,” Morna soothes. “Come on, let’s get this meeting started.”
As Sharon leads the way into the conference room, Morna is shocked by what she sees; there are bright silver auras around both of the persons in the conference room. Bright silver auras mean magic. Powerful magic! She nearly staggers, she is so surprised, but Luca gently steadies her with a hand on her elbow. She has been seeing auras again since her memories returned. But she knows these auras are special without anyone telling her, very special indeed. “Deidra Montfort, I would like for you to meet Mrs. Almeda Alfheim and her son Ari,” says Sharon.
Morna extends her hand in greeting to Mrs. Alfheim, and then nods when the lady in question just watches her with an amused expression and doesn’t take her proffered hand. Then Morna moves her attention to Ari. She struck by what a lovely child he is. He has curly sandy brown hair and green eyes, so much like her own Aiden. It makes her heart constrict painfully to look at the child. “Hello Ari. My name is Mrs. Deidra Montfort, so very nice to meet you.” She waits several seconds to see if the child speaks or uses other communication methods. She smiles again and then looks to his mother. “Ari doesn’t talk,” his mother says quietly.
“Okay,” Morna replies. “Ari do you use another form of ‘talking to people’?” she asks. Ari smiles hugely and laughs, “Hu,hu,hu,” and then looks to his left hand, holds his gaze there for a second or two, then looks back at Morna and smiles again.
Morna looks at Mrs. Alfheim, “I take it that means yes? And when he looks to his right hand, he means no?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” supplies his mother with a small smile that Morna figured it out so quickly.
“Ari, I can see you are clever young man. Would you like to spend a little time with me so that we can get to know each other?” Morna asks, and Ari looks at his left hand.
> “Awesome!” says Morna.
“Well Mrs. Alfheim, you are in very good hands. I will get out of the way,” Sharon says as she backs out of the conference room. Morna smiles at Sharon as she goes out, then she pulls a chair up in front of Ari.
“Ari, I need to get my computer out and set it up so that I can take some notes while we visit. And I want to let you know that I will need to learn some things about you and your mother. Any questions that I have that can be answered with a yes or no, I will ask you. Is that okay?” Ari indicates yes. “And any questions that might need a longer answer I will ask of your mother. Will that be alright?” Ari again indicates yes, and laughs again.
Morna is truly delighted by the charming boy. She is also quite certain that he is a very bright child, apparently trapped in an uncooperative body. When Morna looks back at the child from her computer she notices that he is looking over her left shoulder where Morna knows that Luca is standing, hidden by the spell he wove in the car. Luca is resting his hand on her left shoulder. Morna then feels Luca move over to her right side, and she sees Ari apparently follow him with his eyes. Morna pretends her phone vibrates, takes it out of her pocket and says, “I am so sorry, but I really need to take this call. I will be right back. Excuse me.”
Once out in the hall she puts the phone to her ear and whispers to Luca, “Did I actually see what I think I did?”
“Yes, I believe you did,” he whispers back into her ear. “Go back in and I will stay out here for a minute. I will come back in a few minutes and we will see if he follows me again. Okay?”
“Yes, that sounds good,” she says into the phone and then snaps it shut. Morna takes a deep breath to calm herself and smiles when Luca rubs her back reassuringly before she goes back into the conference room. As she returns to her seat, she apologizes for the interruption and watches Ari closely. He is only looking at her face.
Morna looks at Ari’s mother and says, “May I ask what Ari’s medical diagnosis is?
“Cerebral Palsy and a seizure disorder,” supplies Mrs. Alfheim. Morna swallows hard at that bit of information, and keeps her eyes glued to her computer screen until she can control her facial expression and slow the pounding of her heart. After several seconds she is composed enough to look back at Ari and his mother.
Suddenly Ari looks toward the open door and then trails his eyes toward Morna. He continues to look at a spot above Morna’s right shoulder. Morna feels Luca place his hand on her right shoulder. Then Ari shifts his gaze to spot above Morna’s left shoulder. Luca rests his hand on her left shoulder.
Morna takes a deep breath and folds her hands in her lap to hide the fact that they are shaking because of what she is witnessing. She looks Ari directly in the eyes, trying to decipher what the child sees. Ari holds her gaze and doesn’t look away, until Luca apparently moves to stand behind Mrs. Alfheim, because Ari’s gaze slowly tracks from Morna to his mother, or rather a spot above her.
Finally, Morna, in an attempt to keep the meeting moving, asks, “Ari, would you like to come to school with other children?” Ari looks at his right hand, indicating ‘no‘. Morna’s surprised by that answer, but tries not to show it. She looks down to her hands again to school her facial expression. Suddenly she hears a clear, sweet adult male voice saying, “Morna, dear child, I am almost 1500 years old, why would I want to go to school with children?”
Her head snaps up and she looks directly at Ari, “What?” She breathes.
Ari is laughing softly, and then the voice sounds in her head again, “We both know you heard me.”
Suddenly, Mrs. Alfheim laughs out loud, “Ari, let us stop toying with our young friends. Lucian, won’t you join us at the table?”
Morna is sitting with her mouth agape and watches as Luca drops the hiding spell and sits beside her. He says, “Madam, may I ask why the charade?”
“Ari thought we should do something interesting to get Morna’s attention,” is Almeda’s response.
“We were hoping to spark Morna’s memory about the lore of her people.” says the adult, male voice, sounding in Luca’s and Morna’s heads.
Mrs. Alfheim reaches across the table to touch Morna’s hand. “I am so sorry dear. I am, as Mrs. Connor said, Almeda of Alfheim. This is indeed my son, Ari, however, we are not here to enroll Ari in your little school. As Ari told you, he is much too old for that. Instead, we are here as envoys from the Elf Lord Alberich to check on your progress in regaining your memories.”
“Not the original Ari and Almeda? No, of course not.” Morna shakes her head and closes her eyes in an attempt to recall ancient knowledge long buried. “They perished in battle with the dark elves. You are descendants?” stutters Morna as she struggles to remember facts about the light elves.
Almeda nods approvingly, “I am Ari’s daughter with Serphina.”
“Very good child,” sounds the voice in Morna’s head. “I thought our little bit of play acting might push you along a bit.” Ari, the beautiful “child” is smiling approvingly at Morna.
“May I ask why the Elf Lord is interested in whether or not I have regained my memories?” asks Morna thoughtfully.
“I should have known,” says Luca quietly. He looks at Almeda and Ari and says, “It’s time isn’t it? That’s why she is so strong, why she can use magic without even thinking about it. Am I right?”
“Time for what?” demands Morna.
“Time for you to take over for your mother, of course. A new age for magical Immortals is approaching. You will help usher it in,” says Almeda. “It is your time to lead the Spell Weavers. Your Guild has languished long enough. You must step up and take your rightful place as their leader and set about fulfilling your Guild‘s destiny.”
Morna’s head feels like it explodes. The agony seers through her brain and she faints dead away. She nearly falls out of her chair, but Luca catches her. He looks over at the pair in frustration and says, “I really wish you had not approached her this way. It can be very painful for her to have memories forced onto her. Was it really necessary to put her through seeing you looking so much like her son?”
“This is my natural form. Her son Aiden simply resembles his ancestors.” Ari assures Luca. “We did not mean to cause her pain. But time is of the essence. She has dangerous enemies who will do anything to stop her ascension.”
Luca scoffs and says, “I suggest we finish this conversation at my home. I can put a buffer spell around my office and we can continue this discussion in private.”
“No, I think your clearing on the ridge above your hunting range in the Arbuckles would be much better. The rain has stopped and it will be a safer setting. You can call Breena and have her on speaker phone for this. We know that she can hear and see us through Morna but we may need to know her thoughts on a few things. Also, your new ward Damian should be there, and perhaps one other talented young person may be ready to join us…” sounds the voice in Luca’s head.
Morna comes around quickly. She looks across the table at the envoys with bleary eyes. She is aware of most of what transpired while she was unconscious. Her head is throbbing mercilessly, her hands are shaking violently, as she wonders if she is losing her mind.
Almeda stands up imperiously, and unlocks the wheels on Ari’s wheelchair. “I will go tell Mrs. Connors that I have decided I am not ready to enroll Ari in school. We will meet you both at the clearing in three hours’ time. Perhaps Samantha and Damian will be ready to join us by then.”
Luca helps Morna pack her computer away, then picks up her bag and leads her out of the building to his car. Morna can tell he’s very upset. “What’s wrong Luca?” she breathes.
“I am afraid something must be very wrong if the Elf Lord is sending envoys to see us. I just don’t know what to expect next. You are the most powerful of all of us, and you still don’t have your memories. I am more than a little bit concerned my love,” he confesses as he helps her into his car.
Morna’s cell phone rings. She is certain that
it is her sister calling, she hits the speaker button and hears Breena, “Luca! What do you make of that? What did they mean she is supposed to take over for Mother? I thought it was decided… Oh never mind. What are they talking about?”
“Morna, Breena, let me tell you what little I know, and then we can go from there, okay?” says Luca.
“Sure,” says Breena, and Morna nods silently.
“Morna, first let me say, I hate that this is coming at you so quickly, but apparently time is running out. Breena do you remember when you found me to tell me that you had found signs of Morna returning in Verona?”
“Of course,” says Breena.
“Well right after you left an envoy from the Elf Lord showed up. He told me that it was up to me to keep track of Morna through her incarnations so that she would be able to fulfill her destiny when the time was right. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions about that destiny, he would only say that the fate of the Spell Weavers would someday be resting in her hands.”
Morna’s sharp intake of breath makes Luca look over at her. It is obvious that she is overwhelmed and probably frightened. He reaches over and puts his hand on her cheek. “Why me?” she whispers as she rubs her throbbing temples.
“Because your people need you and you are the strongest one, the one most able to face whatever is coming,” he says quietly, confidently.
“Morna, you are even stronger than even Luca realizes. I should not be surprised by this turn of events,” Breena says softly.
Morna shakes her head slowly in disbelief. “What was all that about Damian and Samantha?” she whispers. “What can a young vampire and a troubled young girl, who may or may not have the gift of future sight have to do with this?”
Luca shrugs and says, “I don’t know anything about that part. Breena, do you have any ideas on that?”
“Actually, I was just thinking of the prophecy I mentioned before, the gathering of the magical and supernatural… will be able to reverse an unjust curse… Really, I am not sure, but maybe they are intended to be part of the gathering,” offers Breena. She sighs into the phone. “Maybe I am just reaching. But it‘s the only thing that makes sense to me.”
