“I don’t know,” David said. “But I need to find a link-seer so the past-seer can find out what they want with her.”
“That’s a lot of seers,” Hope said. “Shae here’s a seer, herself.”
“A future-seer?” David asked.
“Yeah,” Shae whispered. She still looked very shocked. She turned to Hope and Slynn. “We have to help him. We can’t let anything happen to Molly!”
“But Gen–” Hope began.
“Gen’ll be fine,” Shae said. “She’ll find us.”
“Do you see that?”
Shae waved her hand dismissively, “Yeah, of course.” She looked pleadingly at Slynn. “Slynn, please, you can’t let those pixies do anything to hurt her!”
Slynn nodded slowly. “All right. I’ll help. I don’t know what Jeegan’s up to, but whatever it is, I don’t like it. We don’t need to go around murdering humans.”
“But what about Gen?” Hope demanded.
“She’ll be fine,” Slynn said. “And Shae says she’ll catch up to us. Right, Shae?”
“Yeah, right. She’ll catch up,” Shae said, absent-mindedly.
“See? Come on. Let’s find this link-seer,” Slynn said.
David said, “I don’t know how much farther away he or she is. I only know that we need to go that way.” David pointed in the same direction as the arrow.
“We’re all packed,” Shae said. She went inside the house, grabbed Slynn’s, Hope’s, and her own packs, and brought them outside.
“Did you leave a note for Gen?” Hope asked.
“There’s nothing to write on.”
“Give me that arrow for a minute, okay?” Without waiting for a response, Hope snatched it out of David’s hand and ran inside the house. She put the arrow on the table. “Find me the link-seer.” The arrow pointed and Hope jabbed her dagger into the wooden table and traced the arrow. Then she put it on the floor about a third of the way between the door and the table and did the same thing. She did this twice more, leaving three arrows on the floor and one on the table, all pointing in the direction they were about to go. She moved Gen’s pack so that it was in front of one of the arrows, then headed for the front door. She turned around halfway and ran back to the table. She carved an “H” with a heart around it and from the heart, another arrow, pointed in the same direction. “Sorry, my love, that’s the best I can do. Find me.” She kissed her fingers and touched them to the heart, then she ran out the door.
Chapter 18
Gen walked into her empty house again, hoping to find a note or a sign or something telling her… something. All of the rooms were empty. The cookware had been cleaned and put away. Both the bed in the master bedroom and the bed in the guest room had been made. The only sign that they’d been staying here for the past few days was her pack, which sat on the floor, neatly packed and leaning against the dining table.
Gen gasped in surprise when she saw the arrow carved into the floor in front of her backpack. “The hell did you do to my floor…?” She muttered, but she was delighted. She picked up her pack and put it on, then she saw three arrows carved into the floorboards. They led away from the front door, roughly in the direction of the village. She followed the arrows with her eyes and saw a fourth arrow carved into the table. Next to the large arrow was etched a letter H with a heart around it, and a much smaller arrow that pointed the same direction.
Gen took a last look around the house to see if there was anything she might need, decided she was satisfied, then she flew in the direction of the arrows. She paused as she flew almost directly over the town center. She looked down and saw several piles of bones on the ground below her. This was the last place that she – that Ivy – had seen Nai, Ivy’s mentor. A pang of sadness stabbed through her chest. She closed her eyes and heaved a deep sigh. When she opened her eyes and looked back down to the ground, her mouth dropped open in amazement.
A small, glowing green ball of light hung in the air a couple feet above Nai’s skeleton.
Gen descended and stood on the ground in front of the light. It was roughly the size of a volleyball and it glowed very nearly the same vibrant green color as the Heart of The Meadows she’d restored the night before. It radiated a pleasant warmth. Something about it brought Nai to Gen’s mind. She reached her hand up to touch it but before she reached it, it disappeared.
Gen’s face fell. She sighed again, biting her bottom lip. She was about to take off and resume her flight when she saw the orb again across the plaza.
“What in the world?”
She walked up to it. It looked exactly the same as before. She walked in a circle around it, then, feeling like an idiot, said, “Hello?”
Nothing happened. She reached for it again and it disappeared.
“Okay,” she said aloud, “this is weird.”
She looked around her and she saw it again on one of the streets that led out of the plaza. She followed it, trying to touch it every time she got near, and it disappeared and continued to lead her through the village. She swallowed hard when she realized where it had led her. She stood outside the gate of the sovereign’s estate. The gate was still straight and intact. Every other building on the street – practically every other building in the entire village – was completely destroyed, but the estate looked pristine. The orb hung in the air on the other side of the gate. It looked like it was waiting on the porch for someone to open the door, which made Gen smile.
As she touched the gate to push it open, the large lock clicked and the gate swung silently open. Gen couldn’t tell quite what it was, but it felt very inviting, like the house itself was asking her in. She stepped through the gate and walked to the door. The orb disappeared again and the door opened. She went into the house and closed the door behind herself.
The entrance hall was warm and bright. The carpet was plush and she walked silently up the hall, looking at the paintings and tapestries that hung from the walls. The place was perfectly kept. There wasn’t a speck of dust to be seen and the air smelled clean and fresh.
“Where–?”
As soon as she said the word, another green ball blinked into being at the far end of the hallway. She flitted quickly down the hallway, chuckling at the memory of Nai telling Ivy, “Walk, Ivy, and with pride. Don’t drag your feet. You will be the ruler of this place.” This time, though, she felt as though she belonged here.
Ivy never gave a thought to the opulence of this place. Until she left with Herron to find out what was happening in the Chamber of The Meadows, she’d never left the Realm. She had no idea that the seat of power in every Realm wasn’t as lavish as this estate. Gen was awestruck. She’d never seen any place like this. It was what she imaged Bruce Wayne’s mansion might look like, only not as cold.
She followed the orb the stairs to the third floor, then up a spiral staircase Ivy had never seen. At the top of the staircase was a warm, cozy study. There was a fire crackling in the fireplace. A set of four shiny, richly lacquered, square-shaped sticks lay lined up on the desk next to a thick, leather-bound book with silver gilded pages. Four walls of the octagonally shaped room were floor-to-ceiling bookshelves lined with books; one was the fireplace; one, the door to the study; and the other two were tall windows that looked out over the grounds of the estate.
Gen walked to the desk and picked up one of the sticks. It was heavier than she expected, about six inches long and three quarters of an inch or so on each face. Each of the four faces was decorated with a different pattern of lines and dots.
“It’s used to divine the future.”
The voice behind her startled Gen enough that she jumped and dropped the stick. She scrambled with both hands to catch it before it hit the desk or the floor. She caught the stick and whirled around, gripping it like a knife. When she saw Nai standing in front of her in the study, her jaw fell open and she dropped the stick. It clattered to the floor.
“Hello, Genevieve.”
Gen was dumbstruck. She could only stare at N
ai, slack jawed, gawking.
Nai smiled gently at her. “I’m sure you’re confused. You saw me die. Well,” Nai inclined her head for a moment, “Ivy did. But close enough.”
Gen closed her mouth and nodded slowly. She shook her head and tried to collect herself.
“Those,” she nodded toward the sticks and the book on the desk, “are how I knew you were coming.”
“You knew I was coming?” Gen asked.
“I did. For a while, now.”
“Did you know before you sent me away?” She corrected herself, “I mean, sent Ivy away?”
Nai nodded.
“How did you know that?”
“Did you know that I was once under consideration to be chosen as the Oracle?”
“No,” Gen said. “But you’re dodging the question.”
“Not at all.” Nai smiled at her. “I’m just answering it in a much longer fashion than you anticipated. I declined the position when my predecessor asked me to be her successor. But I never gave up divination.”
“But you’re a healer, and the Sovereign.”
“Don’t let something that you do limit who you are, Ivy.”
“Gen,” Genevieve corrected her.
“It’s kind of the same thing now, isn’t it?”
Gen frowned and drew a breath to ask a question, but Nai started speaking.
“I would cast the sticks before every new arrival. I knew from before you arrived that you were going to be special. That’s why I had Silla groom you and train you and that’s why I knew I would be able to count on you as my successor. And look what you’ve done.”
“You sent Ivy off to die,” Gen said.
Nai’s expression didn’t change. “I suppose I did. But before you get angry, know that I loved Ivy deeply. She was very dear to me. You still are. Both of you.”
“But you sent me out there to die! You told me to leave! You told me to help Herron!”
Nai nodded. “To save The Meadows.”
“But we didn’t! We didn’t save The Meadows! Pepper destroyed the Heart and sent it to The Void! We chased him to the human world, to my world, and, yeah, we stopped him, but at what price? You knew Ivy was going to die? How dare you? You bitch!”
“Calm yourself, Genevieve. I know what I did. And look around you. You did save The Meadows. It’s here now, isn’t it? Along with The Caverns and The Marsh, if I’m not mistaken.”
Ivy’s memories and Gen’s clashed and jumbled in her head. The more heated her emotions became, the harder it was to keep them separate. “You sent me out to die! You asked me to succeed you, to take over from you, and you knew I was going to die!”
“Please, Gen, calm down.”
“I can’t calm down! You betrayed me! You betrayed both of us!”
“Ivy, I asked you to be my successor. But it wasn’t so that you would be Sovereign. You’re right. I knew that you would die before the mantle could be passed. And as it turns out, that wasn’t quite true. I did die before you. You saw me.”
“I did. And that’s when my teacher died, too. I didn’t really put it together. You two said the same words when you died. You were Mrs. Gates’ fairy.”
“Carol. Yes, that’s right. She loved you, Genevieve. She was your teacher earlier, yes?”
“Second and third grade, right.”
“And then,” Nai continued, “she switched to a higher school and taught you again.”
“In high school, that’s right.”
“She was so proud of you. Genevieve, she looked at you much as I looked at Ivy. You were so very special to us both.”
Gen shook her head. “I don’t understand. Why would you ask Ivy to be your replacement if you knew she wasn’t going to be able to actually step up and do it? If you knew she wouldn’t live long enough?”
“Because, Genevieve,” Nai said, “I asked Ivy to be my successor so that you could be Sovereign.”
“What?” Gen shouted.
“I wanted you to rule over this place, Gen. All of this was meant for you.”
“That’s impossible.” A sense of furious injustice swelled from the part of Gen that was still Ivy.
Nai shook her head. She pointed at the black and silver book on the desk. “You can read all of my divinations and all of my notes for the last fifteen years. It was all set up for you. This will be your home for a long, long time, and you’ll rule over it fairly and justly. You’re immortal, so you don’t have to worry yourself with the banal concerns of succession and defending your position.”
“You didn’t just know that Ivy would die. You knew that I would kill her.” Tears burned Gen’s eyes and she struggled to keep them in.
“It wasn’t your fault, Genevieve.”
“I know that! You think I don’t know that?”
“It’s only been a couple of months. I know that you still struggle with the guilt of it. Ivy offered herself to you. She forgave you. Hope forgave you. I forgive you.”
“Herron didn’t.”
“He did. You saved his life more than once. He may have gotten angry with you every now and then. He’s a passionate fairy. But he forgives you.”
“He didn’t.”
“Try asking him,” Nai said.
“I guess you didn’t see everything, then, did you? He’s dead.”
Nai closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. No. You’re right. I didn’t foresee that. I didn’t divine much about Herron. I was concerned with the two of you.”
“Why?”
“I told you why. So you, Genevieve, could be Sovereign. The Meadows is a special place. It’s not an ordinary Realm. The Meadows has a power to it, a life to it, that most of the other Realms don’t have. We don’t have much longer. I’m afraid I can’t go into that now. But you’ll see.”
“Oh, you saw that, did you?” Gen’s tone was snide.
“No. I cast a part of my spirit, of my life, into this room before I died. To wait for you. To talk to you. To ask you to forgive me.”
“I don’t know if I can.”
A tear fell from Nai’s eye. “I understand. The most I could do was explain and beg your forgiveness. Ivy, I’m so sorry. I don’t have long, so let’s talk about the future, rather than the past. Okay, Genevieve?”
“Sure, yeah.”
“Your friends have joined up with an angel.”
“A what?” Gen asked. “An angel? Like an angel angel?”
“Angels are the counterparts to humans with a strong spiritual calling. Some say that old souls arrive as angels, too.”
“Old souls?”
“Souls who are born again and again and have lived countless lives. Traces of the wisdom gained from each of their former lives follow every soul into a new life. It’s said that the truly ancient souls are angels. Mostly, though, you see humans with angels have strong spiritual callings. Holy men and women.”
“New lives? Are you talking about reincarnation?” Gen asked.
Nai nodded. “Exactly. And I’m afraid now that you’re immortal, this is the last life you’re ever going to have. Even if you’re somehow killed – I don’t know if it can happen, but there are stories of it happening – you won’t move on to a new life. I’m sorry. I know it’s one more terrible part of an already terrible burden to bear. But your friends, they’re helping an angel find a link-seer.”
Gen looked at her like she had no idea what she was talking about.
“A fairy who can see the links between humanity and their counterparts. A link-seer can find a fairy’s human, and vice-versa.”
“I see,” Gen said.
Nai looked over her shoulder at the fire. It was much smaller than before. She turned back to Gen. “The fire will go out soon and that’s all the time I have left. Please, listen. Your friends are helping an angel find a link-seer. They’ll find him. Make absolutely sure that you find Molly’s fairy. Remember that. Molly’s fairy.”
“Molly’s fairy. Who’s Molly?”
“Your friends will know. Don’t go
without her. Do you understand?”
Gen nodded. “Don’t go without Molly’s fairy. Okay. Go where?”
The fire was almost gone out. All that remained were the brightly glowing embers, burning orange in the hearth.
“You can’t succeed unless Molly’s fairy is with you. She’ll tell you what the pixies want with her. That’s all I can tell you.” Nai’s body began to fade into transparency. “I’m sorry, Ivy. I love you and I’m so very sorry. I know the price you had to pay and I’m so, so sorry that I wasn’t able to share your destiny with you.”
“My destiny?”
“It’s not over yet. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” Nai was almost completely gone now. Only the slightest outline of her remained.
“I’m sorry, Nai! I’m sorry!” Gen cried. She stepped forward, toward Nai’s ghost. “I forgive you.” She hadn’t finished the sentence before the fire went out completely and Nai had disappeared.
Gen’s knees buckled and she sat down hard on the floor and cried. “I forgive you.”
Chapter 19
The nurses on the floor suggested that Laura and the Summers stay at the hospital until the weather cleared up. After everything that had happened, Geoff was inclined to agree and not to drive home through the storm. The nurses gave Laura some pillows to help her arrange herself in a chair, and Geoff, Gabby, and George slept on the floor or in the uncomfortable waiting room chairs.
The blizzard disappeared completely a little after three in the morning. Geoff woke up first, at about five o’clock, and left a message with his VP at work that he wasn’t coming in that day. He woke up the others and they drove home.
“What about Shelly?” Laura asked. “She’s still with the neighbor. I need to go see her.”
“Let’s go home, drop Gabby off, and we’ll get the van. You two shouldn’t be in the house by yourselves,” Geoff said.
“We’re not little kids,” Laura said defensively. “I know how to take care of us.”
“I know,” Geoff said. “I wasn’t trying to insinuate that you couldn’t take care of yourselves. I was saying that you shouldn’t be alone. We’ll go pick up Michelle and you girls can stay with us until we figure it all out.”
Sovereign (Realmwalker Book 3) Page 14
