“What are you doing,” she yelled as she rushed across the room. Meredith and Reval turned to see what the matter was, and saw Hectain trying to wrestle the Dembys from Pit’s strong grip.
Meredith handed the baby to the still groggy Gwenth and rushed to Hectain’s aid.
“Give me that you traitorous imp.” Hectain shouted, pulling hard to keep the Dembys from being engulfed within Pit’s body.
“Stop it,” he said. “You don’t understand! I have to do this or we all will be lost! Letting himself fall back off his short legs, he pulled free of Hectain’s grasp just long enough to push the Dembys all the way into his body, sealing the access behind it as it went.
Hectain fell hard against the meteorite, bruising her cheek.
The sisters reached her and pulled her away from Pit. Hectain sputtered and kicked out even as she was being lifted off him. Her toe connected, but it only caused her to cry out in more pain as her toe was no match for the meteorite’s body. “Ouch, oh God, I think I broke my toe. Let go of me! I will personally kill him. Without the Dembys we can’t go home,” she yelled, as she wrestled against her sisters.
Pit stood up and brushed himself off. He felt a strange lightness of being from his encounter with the shape shifting witch. “My lady, please forgive me, yet again.” He bowed low to Hectain and her two sisters. “I’m afraid I’m so use to keeping my own council all these eons I didn’t realize you would misunderstand my intentions. The Dembys are safe, all of them are where they belong now and you will have a way home I promise you that.”
Hectain looked murderously at Pit. “Oh really and how will that happen? Will you magically take us there yourself?”
Pit laughed. “Yes dear lady, if you will share your name with me, I will gladly see you all home when this is done. In fact it has always been my plan to do so.”
Hectain hated him. She wanted to skewer this stone man with his accent and his laugh on a pungent Gabon stick and send him flying out into the universe for a good long while. Instead as she had no magic, she did what was left to her, she spit on him.
Pit felt the wet glob of spittle settle upon his head, and just as suddenly his voice boiled up and spilled over in laughter.
The sisters watched as the stone man fell to the ground and rolled about all the while his laughter rang out filling the great cavern with its sound. Finally exhausting himself, he stood and faced Hectain. “I for one can hardly wait till you are returned to the fair land from whence you came. In your own element you must be quite a force. I would meet you in battle gladly my lady and he bowed with a flourish.
Hectain stood stunned into silence.
Reval’s own laughter began to bubble up. “Looks like you have an admirer sister.”
Hectain turned to her sister and reaching over she pinched Reval’s arm hard.
“Ouch,” Reval yelled. “That was very nasty of you sister.” She rubbed the raised red welt. “Very nasty indeed,” she said, moving off a safe distance towards where Gwenth and Briok sat quietly with the baby. She stopped and looked at James, where he lay, “Why do you suppose James or whatever God he really is hasn’t woken,” she asked?
Hectain and Meredith turned to see that indeed James still lay in a crumpled heap upon the sand.
“Allow me,” Pit said as he tipped himself into the sand and rolled towards the fallen man.
Meredith hurried to keep up with the stone. “You won’t hurt him will you, Pit?”
Pit began to pick up speed and began to roll faster and faster towards the man. “No my lady, trust me,” he said, just as he launched himself into the air.
The group watched in disbelief as the heavy stone flew through the air, and then watched in horror as Pit began his descend, as if he meant to fall right upon the man’s body.
Meredith could do nothing but cry out as Pit landed hard on James’ sternum. She heard a loud sound as if all the air were being expelled from James’ diaphragm. She ran towards him.
Pit rolled off James’ middle and rolled a safe distance away from James’ body. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the witches running and knew there was no time. He stopped them where they were, with nothing more than a thought. All the witches hung suspended just off the ground at the edge of the sand.
“Duck,” he yelled, to the three children. Gwenth and Briok flung themselves instantly to the floor using their bodies to protect the baby resting in the sand.
A wind rose within the cavern and a great flash of light tore through the room. James’ body seemed to morph outward and upward at the same time. Then a giant shock wave rippled through the cavern. Light began spewing forth in every direction, and James’ body began to crack open. Gwenth and Briok watched in disbelief as James’ body disintegrated before their eyes. Steam rose up from James’ body, covering the cavern in a deep fog. Both the children stood up. Gwenth checked the baby all over for any harm, but the child was none worse for the wear though she was crying shrilly. Gwenth felt much the same way and wouldn’t even allow Briok near, to console her; instead she shrugged him off and clung to her baby sister, comforted somewhat by her loud cries.
The fog just as quickly began to clear and when it cleared James was sitting in the warm sand waving his hand before his face, unharmed.
Gwenth couldn’t believe her eyes, she ran to James and through herself into his lap. “Dad, I was so scared.”
James held his daughters close as his memories coursed through his body. He felt a whole new level of tenderness. None of his previous children had ever been given the chance to know him, this time things had been different because he had made them different. Instead of running off he had chosen to stay with the children’s mothers and lived as a mortal man among the Scotsman. James marveled at Gwenth’s bright twinkling eyes, their green, a deeper shade then he had ever realized. He reached down and took the crying baby from his oldest daughter’s grasp and settled the babe against his other shoulder and cooed softly to both of the girls. He felt a God’s size love for these two beings, each of whom were turning to him for protection and love. “Thank goodness you two are alright, if those stupid villagers had brought any harm you to you, I would have…”
Gwenth crumpled into a weeping mass upon his shoulder.
“There now child, we’re safe. Let us check on the others.” He turned his attention to coaxing Gwenth into to letting them all stand up.
Pit stood near the witches that were still suspended under his spell. He was enjoying the opportunity to look upon the one called Hectain. The Dembys portions that had been away, knew much about the sisters. Hectain was considered by her sisters as the strongest. He found himself aroused by that thought.
James saw that Briok stood aside waiting to greet him and also saw that something had the women under a geis. “You,” James’ voice boomed. “Why have you spelled those women?”
Pit turned away from the witches and bowed low before the God. “I am on a mission from my world to try and assist one from this world in evolving. I only spelled the women so they would come to no harm as you evolved. You may call me Pit,” and he bowed again. Though his information was that the God of this world was a fair God, one never really knew how a freshly evolved God might act. It was always better to act on the side of courtesy, when dealing with a God.
James looked at the women and then from Briok to Gwenth. They both nodded their heads in agreement. “It’s true papa,” Gwenth said. “He awoke us all with the sacred waters.”
James looked about the cavern. It seemed so familiar. Suddenly it struck him this was the center of this world; it had changed much since he had created it so long ago. “Please release the women,” he said, bowing to Pit.
Pit smiled and turning towards the witches, he smiled upon them as well and they were freed from the spell.
“Oh James,” Meredith said, running into his arms. James took his beautiful raven haired wife into his arms and bent to meet her kiss. Their lips locked and the world fell away for them both.
<
br /> Reval seeing everyone’s nervousness finally broke the two apart with a well-timed cough.
Both Meredith and James turned to the group and each felt a bit of flush come on. Never had either of them expressed their private passion so publically.
Meredith reached out and pulled Gwenth and the babe into her grasp and hugged them both close. She murmured her love to both of them. The baby having wailed itself silent was handed into her arms where it exhaustedly fell asleep.
“Well now what,” Hectain asked?
“We need to save my friend Lillith, and save our world,” Briok broke in.
“Yes of course,” said Hectain, “but how?”
Everyone looked from one another.
Pit clucked his tongue. “I’m afraid you are a bit late for that.”
Everyone turned their eyes towards the squat stone man. James gave the stone man a withering look.
Pit coughed and shuffled his feet uneasily. Having worked with many worlds and many Gods in his lifetime, he well understood the risk of honesty, but his intuition had served him well all these eons and he felt it was right to use honesty to set the tone now. “Of course you can save the girl, that will be an easy thing really, but this world can only be saved, in a manner of speaking. I believe you know this to be true yourself, young God.”
Briok couldn’t help himself his wings drove him nearly to the ceiling in his anger. He would not strike Pit, but he felt betrayed by him and wished he was fully awakened so that he could at the very least silence the meteorite where he stood.
James recalled the memory of creating this world. He suddenly felt anything but newly evolved. Looking up at the young Fey, he finally understood just how self-righteous he had been in his youth. “Pit’s right Briok.”
Briok nearly fell from his hover spot near the ceiling. “What,” he yelled, as he flung himself downward. “How can that be? You are a God! You can fix anything,” he said, coming to a stop right in front of James.
James’ head hung low for a moment, realizing that as he grew and evolved he would have to accept responsibility for his actions. He raised his eyes and looked directly into the young Fey’s face. “No son, even Gods have limits. There is an underlying order to any universe; those laws can only be bent but never broken.”
Briok could feel a heat coming through his body, his anger was so strong. He clenched both fists and stared back at the God. “So the myth that this world, our world was made by a God is true and you are that God?”
James nodded in ascent. “Yes I made this world after I met Gwenth’s mother. I wanted to live as a man and know a lifetime of love for her and since she was a mortal, I knew I would out live her but I had grown tired of leaving lovers behind. I wanted to have a real family, so I made your world to watch over time while I was away.”
Briok felt the fire within in him growing hotter and hotter as he listened to James’ story. Briok realized though he could hear James he could barely concentrate, something was wrong.
Pit cut in, “I believe the boy is spontaneously awakening,” he said, as he moved closer to the Fey. He looked at James, “You are going to have to help me or he will transition too quickly. It would cut short his life and believe me he is going to need a very long life.”
James moved quickly across the sand ready to do whatever he could for the young Fey.
“Take a hold of his feet,” Pit said to the God. “We need to ground his energy. At least here in the cavern we will have the Rowan’s help. It may be enough,” he said, as he moved toward the young Fey.
“Like this,” James asked, as he knelt down and placed his palms over the boy’s feet?
“No take hold of his ankles, hold him down. We don’t have long; I only wish his parents were here to make this smoother. I don’t want him getting lost in the reverie with his anger flowing so high.”
“Briok,” Pit said. I’m not going to hurt you but we need to get me up to your heart and since no one else can lift me, I think we will have to lie you down in the sand.”
“It would be better for him to stand, so his wings aren’t harmed.”
Everyone turned to see a Fey hovering just above the floor.
“Oh thank God Lisl, the boy is awakening,” Pit said.
“Yes I can see that clearly enough,” she said flying to Briok’s side. “Son it’s me; I’m here now and you are going to be alright. Just follow my voice and we will transition together alright.” She smoothed down the boy’s hair gently as she spoke.
“Quickly now, she said, turning to the others. I assume you all know how to ground, please circle Briok and imagine his energy grounding it into the sands here, and I beg of you think of nothing else.”
The three witches and Gwenth moved into a tight circle around Lisl, Pit, Briok and James. The witches easily slipped into grounding the boy. Gwenth had only begun the practice of grounding, so she just tried to imagine all Briok’s anger going down his legs into the warming sand.
“Pit I would ask you to lend us a Dembys but Sephoria explained that you are the Dembys, so while I could lift you up here, I don’t want to split my concentration. The cavern is a pretty charged place to try an awakening. What if you touched a wall, would you be able to reflect the love towards his heart?”
Pit considered the idea. “Yes of course that would work. It will be the strongest connection possible.” He rolled over to the cavern wall and chose a crystal extrusion to reach out too. “I’m ready.”
Lisl touched her son’s heart and began to hum a low tone, quickly aligning herself with the boy’s heartbeat. Usually she would have built up the energy, but Briok already had too much energy, he needed to release it and center. As her tone went lower and lower she could feel his heart matching the sound and she began to feel the pressure releasing from his auric body. Lisl looked down where the God was holding her son’s feet to the sand and saw that even the God was struggling with the boy’s chaotic energy. Sweat dripped off James’ brow and began to pool in the sand. Lisl went deeper. She knew that her son would father a great race of people and for that he would need strength and compassion balanced by wisdom. She let her tonal range begin the journey through each of the energy fields within her son. She began the transition from his auric field and carried the tonal energy deeper into his physical body, down into his genetic body and then outward into the universal field.
Briok felt the pressure releasing, he was at last able to concentrate on the tonal sounds and follow them each down the pathways, he was meant to travel. As each tone melded with his own energy he began to understand the deeper song of energy that was being sung for him. He felt refreshed by the sound medicine. He sensed his physical body as it began its change, his rational mind knew there might be pain with this change over, but so far he felt none. He felt only love and the energy of being nurtured growing stronger all around his physical body. He felt his body elongating, his sensed his wings were filling out and widening. In his mind he could see the colors on his body changing. He liked what he saw and felt. Inside he felt the deeper changes, the ones that signaled his adulthood. He felt magic opening within his heart and as it surged up and outward, Briok realized that he was able to recognize the sense of truly being connected to his world, and his people.
Lisl was tiring. It was hard to do such an awakening away from the tribe. Before she had always at the very least had the wise woman’s energy to rely upon. She called out in her mind for assistance from the Great Rowan.
The Rowan answered, and Lisl felt a surge of energy rushing in to refresh and sustain her. She knew then that the boy would make it through his initiation unscathed. He would become a great mate for Lillith and support her matriarchy. Lisl saw the two young Fey growing old on the shore of a distant world. Shaking off her foresight, she renewed her concentration on the lad’s progress. She refocused on her vigorous tonal education. She lead Briok through the tonal forests of the Fey, taking him deep within in the homeland, through forests of sound. There he flew through
the great stands of tones that made up the world as the strands washed over the boy, they added magic to his spirit, so that he might gain as much knowledge as his body and mind would allow.
Pit concentrated on sending love to the boy via the crystal wall. Each crystal so long in tune with the Dembys easily sang out the song of universal love. The wall vibrated in the colors of alternating gold and green and the crystals sang repeated the song over and over building up a force field of energy. All of the energy was being sent to not just the young Fey but the left over energy, not absorbed by the boy, was falling on the group surrounding him, lifting them up as well, sustaining them best as it could, in their exhausting task.
Pit could see that the boy was very nearly through his journey. He would be a strong lad and well balanced.
Suddenly the cavern rocked with a giant blast. The crystalline walls began to shift and crumble around them. The crystals stopped transmitting love and instead began to try and stop the ripple of damaging energy from being transmitted through to the boy.
Everyone, but Lisl was torn from where they stood. The hand clasp was broken; as everyone was thrown off their feet by the blast, the energy to Briok was severed. The sisters struggled, barely able to maintain an unbroken circle of energy around the two.
The roof began to rain down small shards of sharp crystal. James turned his thoughts upward and stopped most of the dangerous shards from landing among the group.
Suddenly they all heard an ominous crack. Looking up everyone could see a large stalactite directly above Lisl and Briok wobble. The witches watched in horror, their magic of no use in this world as the crystal broke loose and fell straight down, like an arrow. Pit let go of the wall and turned all of his formidable power towards the falling crystal. James slowed the arrow’s descent. Pit changed the stalactites trajectory and the giant crystal crashed just beyond where the two Fey were still standing, caught as they were deep within the dream world of Fey. The stalactite’s sharp point buried itself deep in the heart of the cavern floor.
REALM'S END (BOOK OF FEY 1) Page 28
