Relics

by Wilson, Maer

  Before I could say any more, there was a flurry of activity. Thankfully people had already come to help. I saw a neighbor standing helplessly to one side, his hand to his mouth. I was trying to process too much at once and nothing was making sense to me. I clung to Ally and Brent as I finally took a deep, calming breath.

  The people helping were elves. I had no idea how or when they got there, but I felt a wave of gratitude and relief. I knew I had to get Nana Fae, Mama Deb and Drew back to their bodies and quickly. The elves would be able to fix them, I was sure. I simply wasn't going to allow them to be dead. My heart was thudding in my chest hard enough to break through.

  With Ally and Brent's support, I limped to the back wall, stopping by Nana Fae's body. Ally and Brent, shocked and horrified, stayed with me, lending support while staring at the mass of people a few feet away.

  Once again, I turned to my grandmother and told her to get back to her body.

  Nana Fae simply shook her head. I looked at Mama Deb, who pointed to where her own body lay broken and bloody. Her head had become impaled on one of the gardening stakes she used for her tomatoes. My heart skipped a beat when I saw the extent of the damage. I had a gigantic hole in my own chest that was getting bigger by the second. I was forced to nod my head in acknowledgment. I looked at Nana Fae again, fear threatening to overwhelm me, but she only shook her head.

  “I'll explain later,” she said.

  “Nana, no,” I started to argue when I saw Drew's body. One of the rescuers, a male elf, was gently floating Drew's body out of the rest of my broken family. Drew was covered in blood, but I wasn't sure if it was his or someone else's. The elf ran his hands above Drew's body and caught sight of Drew's spirit. He motioned to Drew to get into his body.

  I asked the elf what was wrong, and he said Drew's lungs had been punctured by broken ribs, but he could repair the damage.

  “Is that his blood or someone else's?” I asked.

  The elf continued to work on Drew. “He has some scrapes and bruises, but most of the blood is someone else's. His lungs were the big problem.”

  Remembering how Reo had quietly spoken to Matt Mason, I tried to keep my voice even.

  “Drew, go back to your body. This elf will repair the damage. Please, sweetie. We need you.”

  Drew looked at his mother, who went to him and put her arms around him. “Listen to her, son. The family needs you. I love you. For now, I'm going to stay, and Fi can contact me at any time. You go to your body and live.”

  Drew nodded and slowly sat down and lay back into his body. A few moments later, he opened his eyes.

  “Is there pain?” asked the elf?

  Drew seemed to be taking stock. He slowly sat up. Testing arms and legs, he stood up, moving carefully.

  “I seem to be fine,” he said in a choked voice. “Thank you. Can you help the others?”

  The elf nodded and moved to Nana Fae's body. He looked up at her sharply after running his hands in the air over her. He ran his hands over her head and looked into my eyes as he shook his own head.

  I dropped to the ground to cradle her body, ignoring the pain in my knee. I smoothed her hair back from her face, as she'd done for me a thousand times when I was young. Up close, I saw how dark the circles were under her eyes and how thin she had gotten. I looked up at her, pleading, tears pouring down my face. “Please, Nana.”

  “I'm here, my sweet girl. I'm right here. You can see and hear me.”

  “It's not the same, Nana.” I hugged her body to me. “It's just not the same.”

  “It will have to do, Fiona.”

  I shook my head, sobbing as I'd done that long ago rainy night, when my parents had died. Only this time, there was no one holding me to make it better. I wanted Thulu and promised myself I'd kill Gabriel if he didn't return him to me.

  The elf patted my shoulder as he moved over to Jude. She had scrapes and bruises on her face, arms and legs. One arm was hanging at an angle that screamed broken.

  One by one, the elves gently and carefully extricated my family. A short distance away, Erik sat on the ground by his wife's body. She'd been moved off the stake, but the damage to her brain had to be massive. With Brent at my side, I hobbled over to Erik and repeated what Mama Deb had said to Drew. Erik looked at me blankly before he gave a short nod. I looked for Carter, who was safe in Ally's arms.

  Nana Fae and Mama Deb had been joined by Nana Tara. Another wail of denial tore from my throat as I looked at the porch. When was this going to stop? Neither of the other Nanas were in sight, but they had been there just moments before.

  Brent stopped me as I struggled to get to the porch. I frantically pointed to the porch and told him about Nana Tara. Brent simply reached down, picked me up and carried me to the porch. Nana Bette sat on the floor, next to the lifeless Nana Tara.

  Nana Tara's ghost had followed me and shook her head as I told her to get back in her body.

  “No, dear, there have been too many changes. Besides, I'm missing my Erik. I think he might be waiting for me.”

  “No, Nana Tara,” I begged. “The elves can heal you. We already lost Nana Fae and Mama Deb. Think what that will do to Erik! To lose his mother and wife both. Please, Nana Tara, please. I'm begging you. No more, okay?”

  She looked over the backyard at her son, the pain and loss evident in every line of his body. One of the female elves had joined us and said Nana Tara's heart had given out. Nana Tara met my eyes.

  “Just this one time, Fiona. If I die again, don't ask me to stay.”

  “I won't. Just please, stay now, please.” The sob caught in my throat.

  She moved back into her body, and the elf did whatever magic thing she did. Nana Tara's eyes opened.

  I began to hop away.

  “Is anyone going to heal that child or are you going to force her to hop around all night?” Nana Bette's voice had that no-nonsense tone to it. She looked at me. “Fiona, is my daughter still here?”

  I nodded and again repeated that Mama Deb said she'd stay and would be in contact with me.

  “I'm going to hold you to that.” Her face just crumpled, and it was Nana Tara's turn to comfort her friend.

  The elf girl came to me and stooped down to see my knee. She ran her hand in the air over it. I felt a hot, pulsing wave. I swear I heard some crunching as the pieces of my kneecap moved back into place and began to knit together. It didn't hurt, but it felt really weird. The skin reformed, and soon there wasn't even a scar to show for the injury, just the drying blood.

  Romeo had come out to the deck with the other three children, and they stood there with Juliet. The kids were scared, but safe, and their parents grabbed them up with hugs and kisses. Ally brought Carter to the deck, handing him to Angie, who took charge of all four kids. She led them back inside, away from the horror of the backyard.

  The cries had almost disappeared as elves healed my broken family. Which made the scream that cut through the dusk much more terrifying. I made my way to one of the trees near the back fence. Jude and Becca stood with tears streaming down their faces, arms wrapped around each other. Shock and pain was on every face I saw. Mara was sobbing hard in Drew's arms. Ally had collapsed to the grass, with Brent at her side.

  All eyes were focused on the branches of the oak tree, where a body was tangled. At first I couldn't identify who it was. Bloody, with arms and legs bent in directions they weren't supposed to go, it was hard to make out features in the gathering twilight. Without making direct contact, an elf carefully worked to disentangle it and finally brought the broken body to rest on the grass. It was Evan. I caught sight of his ghost joining Nana Fae and Mama Deb. He looked at his body and back at me.

  “I'm not ready to be dead, Fi.”

  I looked at the elf, the one who had helped Drew. He shook his head.

  “I'm sorry, but his neck was broken, his spinal cord severed. No oxygen has been getting to his brain. Not even magic can work when the brain has been damaged this much.”

&nbs
p; I looked back at Evan's ghost and shook my head. He gave a long sigh. Mama Deb took his hand, and Nana Fae whispered something to him. He listened carefully and seemed to come to terms with his death. It always surprised me how quickly the dead often accepted their deaths. Much faster than those they left behind came to grips with losing them.

  I felt eyes on me and looked around as my family began to focus on me, one by one. Of course, they would expect me to handle the communications. After all, it was what I did.

  I saw Lynda-Jean was still there, as well. She stood off to the side, and I got the sense that the other dead had turned their backs on her. When she saw that I was looking at her, she put her head down for a few seconds. She seemed to find some inner strength and looked back up, meeting my eyes with defiance. I gave one short nod. I'd deal with her, but in my own good time.

  What I wanted to do was curl up in a corner and cry. I didn't have that option, though; there was simply too much to do. I had to help my family and hope my husband was returned to me soon. I didn't want to even think about him not returning. I believed Gabriel would send him back, simply because he wanted the relics.

  And that meant we had to find them first, banish the Light Ones and seal the portal before Gabriel slaughtered the rest of our family. I believed his silent threat and had no doubt he would follow through.

  We also had to deal with the police, who had just arrived. I assumed the neighbors had called them. I felt overwhelmed, and the tears I thought had been cried out came back in force.

  That was when Reo came charging into the backyard, closely followed by Jones and Stuart. Of course, Reo would have sensed the crisis. Jones staggered a step or two, and I guessed that the pain in the yard had to be overwhelming. He recovered quickly, though, hiding whatever thoughts he had. Reo took stock of the scene and made his way to me and pulled me into his arms. I knew I had the support I'd need to deal with everything and sobbed with relief.

  Chapter 33

  It took hours to sort through everything. The police wanted explanations, but I could tell they had a hard time believing what they were hearing. Seeing elves, fairies, a pixie and goblins helped some, I'm sure. Jones was able to deflect a lot of the attention. For once I was grateful for his smooth confidence. Reo was defusing things, as well, easing suspicion where it existed. He was careful though. Too much and someone else would only pick it up later.

  Emergency personnel took away the bodies of our dead after the crime scene techs released them. They swarmed all over and took pictures of everything and everyone, from every angle. They weren't pleased that people had been moved, but when a detective said so to me, my temper snapped.

  “We were lucky the elves came and were willing to help. I'm sorry that having more members of my family alive is such an inconvenience to you.” I stared into his startled face, shook my head in disgust and stomped off.

  “That wasn't what I meant,” followed me, but I ignored him.

  The hole in my heart was threatening to swallow me up and leave nothing but a void. I was worried about Thulu and grieving for my dead. I was also more scared than I'd admit about the promise I'd made to Gabriel. Nana Fae and the others tended to stay near me, but with strangers there, I didn't dare take more than surreptitious glances at them. And I had a new feeling to deal with: hatred. I didn't know how, but Gabriel was going to pay for this. I wondered if I could hire Aela to kill him.

  Reo was making the rounds, comforting family. He didn't use his abilities, though, just his love and compassion. The grief needed to run its course, without interference.

  Statements were given, and since my family knew of my reluctance for any attention, no mention was made of my abilities. We Thulukans drew together in our grief and kept the information at a minimum.

  The police probably should have separated us, but before they could, Erik started talking in a loud, firm voice. He told how Gabriel had arrived, attacked the family and left again when the fairy had killed one of the Light Ones. Erik said he didn't know why we were attacked, and he didn't offer info about Thulu's kidnapping, the relics or anything else. There wasn't anything Earth authorities could do about any of that anyway.

  The rest of the family stuck to this formula when the police started individual questioning. They gave their own viewpoints on the attack itself, but no one strayed from the basics. More emphasis was given to being blown into the wall and frozen in place, isolated from the rest of the world. We also emphasized that tiny Aela had killed a gigantic Light One and how the elves had quickly come and helped out.

  That was a bit of a mistake though because the police wanted to know why a fairy, pixie and goblins were at our barbeque. Jones stepped in at that point and explained that they were friends of his. The police responded to him just as people always seemed to, and he soon had them distracted. My family moved inside, our ghosts trailing behind us.

  That long, long night wore on, but eventually the police and everyone connected to their investigation went away, leaving us to deal with our grief.

  Family members who had left earlier came back, silent and shocked. They filed back into the house, but not the yard, which had been taped off. I could feel the fear, anger and grief as I wandered throughout the house.

  The children had been sent upstairs, and most of the kids were asleep. Angie had given charge over to some of the older kids and joined the rest of us, sitting close to her husband, Drew. Our ghosts hovered together in one corner, while Lynda-Jean stayed in another, arms crossed, staring at nothing. She gave me a weird feeling, but I just wasn't up to dealing with her.

  Our guests had stayed, as had one of the elves, Sloane, the one who had helped Drew. Aela kept an arrow notched in her bow. They kept themselves at the ready for trouble, but didn't intrude on our family grief. We all waited, hoping Gabriel would keep his word to return Thulu.

  I was trying to stay as quiet as possible. Since the family already knew of the relics, I didn't have to explain that part. I sat in a chair in the family room, lost in too many emotions and thoughts. I went over and over the encounter with Gabriel, but I couldn’t think of anything I could have done differently. I tried to come to terms with the overwhelming guilt that threatened me. Lynda-Jean's earlier accusations had been echoing in my head for hours. I was half afraid someone would blame me for the attack, but deep down I knew my family wouldn't do that. The fact that this un-Earthly creature attacked us wasn't my fault. I clung to that thought tenaciously.

  The combination of guilt and grief was something I later hoped I'd never go through again. It hit me just how golden our lives had always been. I was a bit ashamed at how much I'd taken for granted. I'd considered myself so strong and ready for anything, but reality had reared its ugly head, and I knew that we had changed forever. I felt young and small and not the least in control of anything, not even myself.

  Just because my grandmother and Mama Deb were still available to me in a limited way didn't lessen the knowledge that I'd lost them. The two of them had filled the void left by my own mother's death. I relied on them for things I couldn't put a name to yet, but I knew it would sink in as time went on, especially when they left.

  They'd been my support for the last fifteen years, and the hole in my heart ached with a physical pain. Mama Deb and Nana Fae had been there to help me as I grew up, giving me love and advice. They'd been there for me when I was a teen and helped me and Thulu plan for college. They'd planned my wedding, helped pick out the dresses and invitations and all the other little details. They had given their opinions on decorating our house and office. At every turn, they had been a large part of our lives. For once, I was glad I couldn’t have kids. At least they wouldn't miss the kids we couldn't have.

  Reo sat next to me, knowing some of what was going through my head. He held my hand and gave it small, comforting squeezes.

  It was into this subdued gathering that Thulu was finally returned to us. I think I stepped on people trying to get to him as he came into the kitchen from the
backyard. He was bewildered, shaken and fearful, but physically unharmed. He grabbed me and looked me over carefully before turning his attention to the rest of the family, holding me close.

  I saw the moment when he realized his mother was dead. He shook his head in denial, as tears filled his eyes. Mama Deb looked at her youngest child, her hands held before her in a placating gesture.

  “Tell me.” Thulu's voice was raw as he looked at me.

  We moved into the family room, and people made space for us to sit together. I hesitated, wondering if the cops had left us any bugs. I asked Jones, who took a quick tour around the outside of the house.

  “If they have, they will no longer work. Nor can they use listening devices from outside.”

  Assured that I could speak truthfully, I filled Thulu in on what happened after he'd been thrown through the portal. The events took a lot longer to tell than the time it took for them to happen.

  Several times I had to stop as I described the aftermath of Gabriel's visit. Others cried quietly when I explained what had happened to Mama Deb, Nana Fae and Evan. No one cried over Lynda-Jean, and no one interrupted me. When I was done, the silence stretched for a long time.

  “You did good, Fi,” my husband said quietly, kissing the top of my head. “You did the best anyone could do. Tomorrow we will figure out what to do. Not tonight.” He looked around. “Does anyone have anything to add? Is there more?”

  “She covered it all, son,” said Erik, his voice rough and cracked with emotion.

  “Now you,” I said. “What happened to you?”

  Thulu took a deep breath. “I barely had a chance to see much. I got the impression of a green swamp before the Light One snatched me up again. God, that felt weird - being picked up like a child. He just shoved me through another portal, then another and another. I think the portals had all been opened before and left so we'd get through faster.