Alex picked her up. ‘Could you delay your departure for a moment?’ he asked the spirits.
‘Of course,’ said Siphon. ‘We would not leave until we know she is OK.’
‘What’s wrong with her?’ said Paige.
‘Nothing,’ said Alex, ‘she just wasn’t strong enough.’
‘Strong enough for what?’
‘I’ll show you in a few minutes, and we’ll get our answer.’ Alex glanced up. ‘House would you take us into space.’
Can you still survive in space? Said House.
Siphon nodded. ‘Alex still has his power.’
‘What about Carrie?’ said Blaze. ‘Will she be able to breathe?’
‘She will be fine, as you only need a shield,’ said Alex, and vanished. He flew her close to the sun where solar flares leapt out eagerly at them. Carrie woke up almost in shock, and tried speaking.
You have to talk like this, said Alex.
Where the hell are we?
In space, said Alex, and took his arms from under her, she grabbed him as if to stop falling.
Let’s fly. Alex took her hand, and they flew for a few moments, before he kissed her, but she suddenly pulled away. I’m sorry, he said.
No, don’t be, as I wanted you to do that for a very long time, but I have to talk about Lightning.
I thought nothing happened between you.
Of course nothing happened, as I only ever loved you, but I felt like you almost wanted me to be with him.
I believed I was about to die, and thought if you were with someone else it would have been easier on you.
Are you mad? I have cried over us so many times now, and there is no way any other man would stop me crying for you, said Carrie, and kissed him before House took them back.
‘What’s happening?’ said Paige, as she stared at Carrie who was now glowing.
‘You should be able to do it now,’ said Alex, and a golden spirit stepped out of Carrie.
‘Mother,’ said the spirits, and ran to her.
‘Helena, but how?’ said Siphon.
‘My body died,’ said the new spirit, ‘but you gave me enough power to wait.’
Carrie stared open-mouthed. ‘You’ve been inside me all this time?’
‘Yes, and I’m sorry,’ said Helena. ‘I didn’t mean for you to suffer. I tried to protect you as much as possible. I knew what was going to happen but couldn’t do anything to help, so I tried to keep you apart. I felt your love for him and knew it would break your heart.’
‘So you gave me the dreams?’
‘No, that was you, it happened after you got psychic powers. I put doubts in your mind about Alex so you would keep away. It would have worked too, but someone had the bright idea of moving you into his home.’
‘This is so confusing,’ said James, as Summer came over with a tray of tea.
‘You are not wrong there, and I could do with a cup of tea right now,’ said Siphon, and jumped back inside Alex’s body.
‘Whoa,’ said Alex. ‘You could give me some warning when you do that.’
Sorry, but it is the only way I can get to enjoy a cup of tea or Summer’s wonderful cooking, said Siphon, and they all heard it in their minds and stared in complete bafflement.
‘You can taste it?’
Yes, but only when I am in here, and you have not picked a cup up yet.
‘For over two thousand years you have arranged all this, and now you need a cup of tea.’
Yes, my wife has returned, and you have put me through the wringer the last few months.
‘What? I’ve been following your dreams,’ said Alex, a little hurt.
For the most part yes, but then you go and give a vampire all your energy. That took a great effort to get it back.
Alex drank some tea. ‘To be fair, I didn’t get the dream about killing one until afterwards.’
Yes, Dagur cast an enchantment after you tried to kill him. You should listen to your uncle more, said Siphon, which got a smile from Adair.
‘Don’t forget the women stole it too.’
You had plenty of time to get it back after that. I started to add my own power and you go swinging dragons around.
‘That was fun though, and I thought you were asleep through most of it.’
Siphon stepped out of Alex’s body again. ‘I was, but I was also aware of what was happening.’
‘You could have warned me as the pain was incredible.’
‘Sorry about that, but if it helps it hurt me just as much.’
Carrie grabbed Alex’s hand. ‘If you two don’t mind, I’d like to know more about my dreams.’
‘As I said it was sort of working, but you still wanted to see him,’ said Helena. ‘Then you moved in here, and your powers started to grow. You could see in your dreams my visions of the future where I thought my husband and Alex were going to die. Then you come up with a plan and it backfired on you.’
Carrie nodded. ‘I hurt him.’
‘Yes, and the seed of doubt that I had planted turned to poison. Instead of Alex ignoring you because of what you did, he came to you, and you got even closer. Then you were hurt by the blood devil and you could only see death. That’s when the madness really set in.’
‘So I tried to erase my memories, and I succeeded.’
‘No, you failed, and I had to use all my power to protect your mind as you nearly fried it.’
‘She still hugged me when her mind was not there,’ said Alex, with a smile.
Helena nodded. ‘You were born to love each other.’
‘Where does Alex get his power from?’ said Adair.
‘He was born with it from what I could tell,’ said Siphon.
‘How long have you been in there?’ Luella asked.
‘Not long before Joseph saved him, but I didn’t become aware until it was time to save the twins.’
‘So you did wake up my powers?’ Alex asked.
‘In a way yes, to save your daughters. It made you ill for a few days, which was not a pleasant time.’
‘What about the girls?’ said Luella.
‘I have no idea of where they come from, just like Alex. They have the same genes, and he would pass every test on this world to prove he is their father.’
‘Don’t even go there,’ said Paige as everyone looked at her. ‘I would love to be their mother, but I’m not.’
‘It is not Paige, but their mother is here,’ said Helena.
Alex shook his head. ‘I only knew Mother and Paige back then.’
Carrie frowned. ‘And a few of you have known me for the last ten years.’
‘Nether the less, you are their mother,’ said Helena.
Carrie shook her head. ‘That’s impossible.’
‘Like Alex, you would pass all the tests to prove it.’
‘But I’ve never been pregnant.’
‘I know, but how do you feel about the girls?’
‘I love them, and yes I love them like they are my own children.’
‘This is a riddle,’ said Siphon.
‘And one hell of a coincidence,’ said James. ‘You each chose people from the same family over the space of thirty-two years.’
‘Yes, and that Helena died years before we gave up our bodies.’
Joseph rubbed his chin. ‘Maybe it was no coincidence, but outside forces helping you out.’
‘In what way?’ said Alex.
‘The demon, and maybe others were trying to stop you, well maybe another was trying to help you.’
‘That is plausible,’ said Siphon. ‘When I searched for extra power I found Alex straight away, and didn’t even need to look for anyone else.’
‘I found one with power also,’ said one of Siphon’s daughters.
‘As did I,’ said another.
Alex considered it. ‘I knew the girls were mine, it’s just a case of finding out who we are.’
Claire grinned. ‘Or what you are.’
‘That’s true.’
Jos
eph glanced at Siphon. ‘You were very clever, but it seems you missed a few things.’
‘Yes, and that was a wonderful bonus. I thought there were many times we would fail, but something I could not see kept helping us, and that was our greatest help.’
Alex nodded. ‘And our greatest friend.’
‘Yes, indeed, if it was not for House, we most likely would have failed.’
Thank you, said the spirit of Vesta.
Claire was still smiling when she looked at Alex. ‘You nearly had a threesome.’
Alex blushed when he glanced at Helena. ‘It would have been a foursome . . . I think you did the right thing.’
Carrie rubbed her eyes. ‘But why me? I was never an orphan about to die.’
‘You were adopted,’ said Helena. ‘You had an illness, and were given months to live. It took nearly all my energy to save you.’
The spirits said their farewells and left after promising to return one day.
‘Is it finally over now?’ Paige asked.
Alex watched the spirits leave. ‘I hope so, as you may have noticed that half my power has just flown away.’
James patted him on the shoulder. ‘So, you’ve re-joined the world of us mere mortals then?’
Alex nodded, as he could feel the loss of Siphon’s power, but also relief that a huge weight had been removed from his shoulders. ‘It would look that way.’
‘You don’t seem too bothered about it,’ said Adair.
‘No, Uncle, I’m very happy right now and I might even be able to get drunk tonight.’
‘Don’t even think about getting drunk tonight, Mister,’ said Carrie. ‘You should have known you were coming back, so you owe me.’
‘Making up is something I can do,’ said Alex, as George whispered something into his ear. ‘Oh crap, I forgot about that.’
‘What now?’ said Claire.
‘I booked us on a holiday.’
‘When and where?’
‘In two days’ time, on a luxury cruise.’
‘We’re going on a ship, Papa?’ said Adhara.
‘Yes, sweetheart, for two weeks.’
Claire shook her head. ‘And you tell us now?’
‘I was busy, and it was meant to be a surprise anyway.’
‘It’s a lovely surprise,’ said Paige, ‘but you know what that means?’
‘I’ve no idea.’
‘Shopping for holiday clothes.’
‘What about the others?’ Sarin asked.
‘At the time of booking it there was only Gort, Flax, and the pixies,’ said George, but it has all changed now.’
‘Bugger that, one of them can have my room as I won’t need it,’ said Carrie, giving Alex a smile, who went slightly red.
‘I wouldn’t worry about who can or cannot go, as long as House doesn’t mind bringing any of them over.’
‘What about the other passengers?’ said James.
‘What other passengers?’
‘A cruise liner is huge and will have many passengers on it.’
‘You don’t think the Order would just let you swan off on a cruise without protection. They acquired the liner and the whole crew and security are from the Order.’
‘Now that’s impressive.’ James turned to Alex. ‘You might feel like you lost half your power, but it has been replaced by another.’
Alex nodded. ‘It would appear so, but the thing is Siphon has now gone, and we all know he isn’t me. So doesn’t that mean the Order isn’t mine either?’
‘Far from it,’ said George, ‘they’re more your followers than anything now. You shared the same body for a long time, and it was both of you who saved the world.’
‘But he has gone.’
‘You are still here, and did you hear him call Luella, Mother? Of course, if you prefer they are willing to change their name to the Order of Alexander.’
‘No, I like the other name better,’ said Alex, when an idea came to him. House, can you ask Torgon to meet me in the study?
Of course.
‘Excuse me for a moment,’ said Alex, and smiled as he walked to the room. He took something out of a drawer when Torgon appeared.
‘Is there anything wrong?’ he asked.
‘No, not at all,’ said Alex, as he whispered something to the elf even though they were alone and Torgon grinned. Alex was also grinning as he came back out and walked over to Carrie.
‘What are you playing at?’ said Paige.
Claire sighed. ‘He has that look again.’
Alex took Carrie’s hand and dropped one knee to the sound of many gasps. ‘Carrie, will you do me the honour of becoming my wife?’ he said, and held out the diamond ring he had bought off James.
‘Oh god yes,’ said Carrie, and Alex put the ring on her finger. ‘For the children’s sake of course.’
Alex stood and kissed her. ‘Well, we do have nine daughters.’
Carrie’s eyes grew large. ‘It’s the five you owe me for, unless you want to owe me for all of them.’
‘How do you mean, owe you?’
‘Well you know how babies are made?’
‘Of course.’
‘Well I don’t remember once, so you owe me.’
‘And a few practice tries,’ said Michelle.
‘Now we have a papa and mama,’ said Talitha.
Luella embraced them both. ‘I feel so proud right now.’
Carrie frowned. ‘I wish we didn’t have to wait until after the holiday.’
Alex raised an eyebrow. ‘Wait for what?’
‘For us to get married.’
‘We won’t, we’re getting married today.’
Carrie gripped his hand. ‘What? I’m not dressed to get married.’
Alex smiled at her. ‘You look beautiful as always, and how do you feel about an elf wedding.’
‘Yes, that would be perfect,’ said Carrie. ‘All I was thinking about was how soon should I move my things into your room?’
Luella shook her head. ‘Don’t you think you should go and sort it with the elves?’
‘I already have,’ said Alex.
Carrie stared opened mouthed. ‘You organised the wedding before you asked me to marry you?’
Alex pursed his lips. ‘Err . . . Yeah.’
‘And what if I had said no?’
‘I would have gone and lived with the goblins, and left you as a single mother,’ said Alex, and whispered to her. ‘Do you still have that bikini?’
‘Watch out, Caz,’ said Claire, ‘a wedding over there won’t be legal here.’
‘There has never been a divorce on the Elf World, as they marry for life,’ said Alex. ‘We could always have a wedding over here too.’
‘You could have the second wedding on the cruise,’ said George, ‘as the captain is a member of the order.’
The wedding would take place at 7.30pm, which left Alex a good few hours to kill. He went looking for Carrie who had been dragged into the salon by Paige. Alex decided to knock before entering, and Paige opened the door slightly.
‘You can’t come in, as we need to get her ready for the wedding.’
‘Haven’t you heard? It’s not for another seven hours.’
Carrie groaned. ‘That long?’
Alex smiled. ‘Yeah, that long, so would it be OK to spend a couple of hours with my fiancé?’
Paige gave him a suspicious look. ‘What have you got in mind?’
Alex shrugged. ‘I thought we could go for a walk on one of the other worlds as it’s raining here.’
‘I’ll put my bikini on,’ said Carrie.
Paige folded her arms. ‘Don’t even think about getting up to anything, you can save that until tonight.’
‘Oh we won’t, but I am going to tease him,’ said Carrie, and hurried upstairs.
Alex waited for Carrie when the wolves returned, as they had been for a run and the cubs only just found out he had returned. His mind almost exploded as seven wolves talked excitedly to him.
; It’s good to see you up and about, said Rho.
‘It feels good too.’
The children never said anything to the cubs, said Chi, and it is a nice surprise.
‘The part I’m back or the fact I’m marrying Carrie?’
That is wonderful, and you have chosen a perfect mate.
‘Yeah, and I’m quite looking forward to it.’
And you’re going away for two weeks, said Rho.
‘Yes, but House will be able to take others there if they want to go.’
I will be able to take you to them when we are on the sea, said House.’
Carrie came back down in a bikini with a sari wrapped around her waist. She took Alex’s hand and kissed him. ‘I am ready, my lord.’
‘Then let us be off, my lady,’ said Alex, and House took them to a remote spot on the Elf World.
‘So how long have you loved me?’ Carrie asked, as they sat down.
‘Like I said, since I first met you,’ said Alex.
Carrie stood and took the sari off. ‘So it wasn’t because of my bikini then?’
‘No, but that, and when you sent me those pictures, nearly sent me over the edge.’
‘How often did you look at them?’
‘Once or twice, and you know I nearly sent you a different message.’
‘What did it say?’
‘Just that it would look much better in my room.’
‘You idiot,’ said Carrie, as she sat back down and let him wrap his arms around her. ‘I would have been in like a shot, as I was in such a fun mood.’
‘When I said I was going for a cold shower, must have told you something.’
‘I know that now, and get your top off.’
‘What for,’ said Alex, but took it off anyway.
Carrie removed her bikini top. ‘So I can snuggle up to you and not the t-shirt.’
Alex’s eyes nearly popped out. ‘Oh dear, I’m sure we promised Paige that we would behave.’
‘We will keep that promise, but I just want to lie next to you with our skin touching.’
The wedding had the biggest celebration they had ever seen. There were kings, queens, and nobility from all the lands and other worlds they had been to, and most important all their friends. The presents were piling up. King Fulton gave them an estate in Calberon with a large manor house. Their biggest surprise was when Lightning gave them a wedding gift of two arrows.
The Final Destiny: Vesta Mansion Trilogy - Book Three - Fantasy Page 43
