“Should’ve known,” he exhales. “Alright, well, come sit down, Fallon. Tell us what happened.”
Leading me to Sampson’s bed, Reid sits beside me, keeping our fingers locked on his lap. His eyes roam over my face, down my shoulders and lower, scanning for injuries. Satisfied, he lifts my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. “What happened?”
“After you left, I fell asleep.” I turn to Sampson, Blovid and Clarence. “I had this dream… the same one I’ve been having for a while.”
“Dream?” Clarence frowns. “What dream?”
“I didn’t know what it was—who She was.”
“Who?”
“This older woman, with silver eyes and white hair.”
“You have dreamt of Her?” Blovid inhales.
“She has come to you?” Sampson mimics the response, drawing in air with genuine surprise. “She doesn’t appear to many…” the shock is still painted across his face. “What did She say?”
“Nothing at first…” I try remembering the first time she appeared. It was back on Harrizel—the first time I dreamt of the woman with the red bandanna and Granny Ruth. But what did she say? “At first she just kept calling my name. Over and over…” I think back, trying to remember. “That was on Harrizel. And then, when I got here, to Nerwolix for the first time, she kept telling me it was time to wake up. I had to wake up,” I look at the Dofinikes who all share the same confusion. “And then tonight, when I was napping, she told me to come find her. Said I had to follow them.”
“Who?” Reid asks.
“The Lynzees,” Sampson answers before I get a chance.
I nod. “So I did.”
“Where did you go?”
“Nearly back where we were earlier,” I glance at Reid. “To the Hylas Mountains.”
“You went all the way back there?” his eyes light up. He squeezes my hand and I know he wishes it was just the two of us right now. Part of me wishes the same thing but I need to get the rest of it out.
“And what happened?” Clarence asks. “When you got there—what happened?”
“She appeared.”
“Aya-Vellay,” Vix whispers.
“Oh Great Spirit…” Blovid looks to the others before focusing on me again. “You actually saw Her?”
“Saw who?” Reid asks.
“Only for a few seconds…” I nod. “She was all around me, coming from every direction, and then in front of me. But only briefly.”
“And what did She say?”
“Wait—who is She?” Reid asks.
“The Spirit, Reid,” Sampson answers. “The Mother.”
His eyes grow wide, turning back on me.
“Tell us, Fallon,” Clarence goes on, “what did She say?”
“She said I’ve returned home. That I’m with my family who shares my ancient blood,” I look between all the Dofinikes, hoping someone will have the answer. “What does that mean?”
Sampson and Clarence exchange glances as the four other Dofinikes peek over at the duo. When no one immediately answers, I go on, adding the rest of the details. “She said that all I have to do is ask him and he’ll reveal the truth. …What am I supposed to ask? And who?”
“It is time Fallon knows,” Vix says, as if settling some matter.
“Know?” I look at her. “Know what?”
Sampson takes a deep breath, nodding. “I agree. The Mother wants her to know. It must be for a reason.”
“What?” I ask.
“I cannot believe She came to Fallon… and has been for a while,” Blovid exhales, eyeing me with awe. “It certainly explains the Lynzees. This is extraordinary!”
“It is highly unusual,” Jothkore agrees with excitement.
“She rarely appears to her children,” Qippert glances over me, “especially one of the younger ones.”
“She is not young,” Vix exhales, eyes set on me like all the others. “She has ancient blood.”
“What does that mean?” Reid asks with a bit of aggression. “Someone want to explain?”
Again, Sampson and Clarence exchange glances.
“How are we going to do this?” the Fychu asks his friend.
Clarence exhales, rubbing the back of his neck. After a solid moment of silence, he sighs. “I guess I should tell her.”
“Shall we leave?” Blovid asks.
Clarence offers the slightest nod and the others start to move for the curtain. But Reid keeps his fingers threaded with mine, no intent on moving. Sampson also holds his position, eyes on the ground.
At the drape, Blovid eyes me one final time. “Good luck.”
Once it’s only the four of us, I turn to Clarence. “What’s going on?”
He pulls up one of the red cushions across from me and squeezes it into the tight space. Slowly sitting, he leans forward and rests his elbows on his knees. Running his hands through his hair, he looks at me with a mixture of apprehension and guilt. “I need to tell you something, Fallon.”
My heart is racing, the air suddenly heavy in my chest. I clutch Reid’s hand, squeezing it with unintended force. But if he feels it, he doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t even flinch, but sits calmly next to me, stroking my knuckles with his thumb.
Clarence inhales, glancing back at Sampson before focusing on me again. “Something I should’ve told you a while ago. I didn’t, because you’re only twenty-three. I wanted to wait until you were twenty-five …That’s the age I told your mother.”
My mother?
It slams into me all at once—everything somersaulting too fast to really understand how I didn’t see it before. How could I have not put it together? Especially after we got our memories back and I knew it was Granny Ruth I was dreaming of? But I didn’t remember when I awoke. I didn’t put it together that…
Clarence remains silent, tight-lipped as he watches me unravel it.
“It was you…” I inhale, the pieces coming together, “with Granny Ruth and… and my mother.” I look at him, a second realization striking my brain. “My mother’s name was Helen.”
Clarence nods.
“How did you know them?”
Keeping his voice low, Clarence inhales. “Ruth Gillian was my granddaughter.”
Chapter Twelve: Admittance
“What?”
“Fallon… please… let me explain,” he glances to Sampson who watches me carefully. The Fychu nods and Clarence redirects his attention, running a hand through his hair. “I guess it’s best to start at the beginning.” He stares off into the distance, already focused on the nothing behind me.
“I was young. Considered no more than a teenager at the time…” he shoots Sampson a quick glance and the Fychu lowers his eyes, listening. “We uh…” Clarence continues, “…we were already on our own and at that time, things were… things were difficult. That’s putting it lightly,” he chuckles softly, the humor quickly dying on his lips. “But it didn’t stop me from doing what I’d wanted to do for some time—going to Earth. It was illegal, so naturally I wanted to go. With the prophecy in existence, no Dofinike was allowed to visit the planet in fear of igniting the inevitable war. But,” he shrugs casually, “I wanted to see what the big deal was. We needed a field trip… something to take our minds off… off things. Sampson didn’t want to go. It was all my idea and believe me,” he laughs, “it took a lot of convincing to get him to go with me.”
Clarence leans back. “It was spring, 1910. We landed somewhere outside Boston. We didn’t know the first thing about Earth or humans—how to act or what we should look like—so we hid in the woods, spying. It must’ve been around a week when we finally felt comfortable and ventured out,” he chuckles to himself, his eyes darting over the wooden floor. “The way you dressed and spoke… so very different from ourselves. I promised Sampson we wouldn’t stay for very long. I just wanted to see. Just see. What was the big deal with you? And what was the danger? And at first, it was nothing. There was nothing really special about the humans. I almost regre
tted coming. I don’t like being disappointed,” he grins, his smile quickly fading. “So we’d decided to go home. But on the day we were set to leave, I wanted one last human meal from a restaurant we’d tried. I went in alone, assuming I’d be there no more than a few minutes…” his voice trails off, his eyes focused on something in the distance. The corner of his mouth turns up. “And then I saw her. Anne,” he inhales, his voice soft and gentle. “The most beautiful thing I ever saw.
“I thought she was a vision. There was no way something so beautiful could be real… no way a creature like that could exist, especially so close to me…” his mouth lifts, his eyes full of wonder. They shift, seeing something over my shoulder. “She wore lavender. A lavender dress with white lace and a red hat. It matched her lips. These perfect full lips…
“I ate my steak as slow as possible. I wanted time to last forever with her at the table next to me. Nothing was as wonderful as being near her, just being close to her…” his voice softens, “…and when she started to leave, I-I couldn’t help it. I followed her. All over town, I wouldn’t let her out of my sight. I followed her from the shipping docks to the bank her father owned and back to her home. She was all I could see,” he looks back at me. “Sampson didn’t understand. He couldn’t. It was just a human female to him. But she wasn’t. She was more. And I didn’t care if he left me on Earth—I’d stay if it meant I could see her every day. That’s all I wanted.
“I stayed a week longer, watching her, trying to figure out what to do—what to say. And one day, I worked up the nerve to talk to her. I introduced myself as Clarence—a name I’d heard in town. And she smiled…” his face lights up. “Oh… I was sure I’d never breathe again. And I knew. I knew I could never leave. Not without her. My life would become all about her. Anne. And I was fine with that.
“That first day we spoke for only a few minutes. It was painful when it ended, but every day after that we talked a little longer, spent a little more time together. And every day I fell more in love with her. I was lost. Absolutely unraveling,” he shakes his head with stardust in his eyes. “It wasn’t long before her father wanted to know who I was, why I was spending so much time with his daughter. I played the part, assuming the role of the perfect suitor –even told him of my intention to marry Anne,” he takes a slow breath, his smile fading.
“He had someone else in mind. A doctor from New York. He’d been working on the union for a while. It was someone from a good family and me—I couldn’t produce a respectable surname. I would never get his blessing… or his daughter.
“Anne and I decided to run away. We couldn’t stay in town or anywhere nearby. They’d find us. She’d be forced to marry the doctor and me… I’d be imprisoned. He’d see to it. We couldn’t stay. I knew it was a gamble, but I had to tell her the truth. She was owed that much. So one night, I confessed it all. Everything. What I was. Where I came from and that I’d planned on giving up that life to spend the rest of it with her. Because she was worth it. More than worth it. She was all I wanted out of life anymore and, thank the Way, she felt the same. She loved me despite everything. And she wanted to come back with me. But we couldn’t go to Dellapalania…” Clarence shoots the Fychu a look, but he’s focused on the floor. “Thankfully Sampson welcomed us to his home, a small escape in the middle of the Harrizel jungle. I took Anne there and we were married.
“We spent two blissful years together before we welcomed our first child. Virginia. She was perfect, just like her mother. I was in heaven…” he beams but after a second, the expression dissipates and his face drops. “Anne became nostalgic—homesick for Earth. She missed her family, friends. At first we returned infrequently. A day here and there. She was happy to see her loved ones, even from afar. But it was tough. Soon the visits became regular. We were traveling to Earth every few weeks and then,” he takes a deep breath, “one trip, we came across a terrible accident. One of her childhood friends had been hit by a car…
“We snuck Mary behind town, into the woods and I… I healed her. It was a rash decision and I did it mostly for Anne… but I knew it would never be as it was. Mary couldn’t stay on Earth. She had to come back with us. That life was over and the only one left was with us, on Harrizel. So we took her home. But like Anne, she missed her family. She didn’t have anyone on Harrizel. She was a stranger, on a foreign planet. She was alone... depressed. So we started making more trips to Earth. It got harder and harder for Mary to come back to Harrizel. She wanted to stay, to return to the life she claimed I had taken from her. She had fought with Anne for a long while and eventually, on one of our trips back, she tried to escape.
“Mary only lasted a few hours before she collapsed. Dead. Once that life ends…” he inhales, his eyes staring sadly into the distance. “It took Anne a while to get past it. For a long time she didn’t want to travel to Earth—she couldn’t bear the thought of seeing anything that reminded her of Mary. That was fine with me. I’d assumed she was finished with going back to Earth.
“…Until Virginia started to question her heritage. When she was old enough we told her everything—who she was, where she came from and the incredible story of how she came into existence. Naturally, she was curious about her maternal history. On Anne’s request, we traveled back to Earth one final time, but by this point, the planet had erupted in some great war. So many dying in hospitals and battlefields. Virginia couldn’t stand the sight. How could a culture do this to themselves? She’d known so little of life outside Harrizel. She wanted to help. She decided to stay for long bouts, doing what she could, learning what she could. And, as every father dreads, the day came when she told me she’d fallen in love.
“He was a wounded soldier, on the verge of certain death and she begged me. Promised her life would end if his did. I knew what it meant to leave Earth, knew what he’d have to endure—same as Mary—but I couldn’t lose my daughter. So I saved him. But he wouldn’t leave his wounded brothers,” Clarence exhales, running a hand through his hair. “So I saved seven more. We returned and like Anne, like Mary, they wanted to go back, to check on their families, their loved ones. Each time we returned there was another to heal, another to save. We kept bringing more back and soon, our little Ellae had blossomed—a second chance for so many.
“I hadn’t realized what I’d done—what I’d created. I just wanted to save my daughter from certain heartache. And yet… I’d altered so many lives by giving second chances. Was it wrong? Was I costing them more pain than hope? How could I tell? But Virginia was happy and that’s all that mattered. She married Matthew in the same place Anne and I did,” Clarence nods to himself. “Matthew was a good man. He and Virginia gave me my only grandchild. One of the most beautiful things I’d ever seen after my wife and daughter. She was the tiniest little thing and absolutely precious.
“Ruth,” he inhales, the corner of his mouth lifting, “my special angel. I wanted…I wanted more time. I wanted to watch her grow up like Virginia, to see her learn things, discover things. She was so curious, even as a baby. She had these eyes that would follow you, study you. Like her mother and grandmother, she was absolutely perfect, the most perfect thing I’d ever seen,” he gulps, his smile turning down as a dark shadow crosses his face.
“They came at night. Anne was asleep next to me. Virginia and Matthew were at home with Ruth. The screams woke us. And then the smoke. Anne started coughing—she couldn’t take it. She was older by that point and her body… it was weak. I carried her out of our home that was in flames just like the rest of the town. Everywhere you looked… black. Or orange. I couldn’t believe what was happening—that the Leaders had discovered us. I didn’t know what to do… where to go. Anne was choking in my arms. I had to get her away. But Virginia and Ruth… I had to find them. I had to make sure they were safe too. So I took Anne deep into the jungle and hid her far from the fire, somewhere I hoped the Vermix wouldn’t find. I rushed back to my daughter’s home and…” his face falls, paling as he stills. A lump rolls d
own his throat. “Everything was in flames. I rushed in but…” he shakes his head, his pained eyes staring off into the distance. “I thought I’d lost everything. Then, by some miracle, I heard Ruth crying. I grabbed her and raced for Anne, pushing past the cries and slaughter of our neighbors, people I’d known well. But I had to get Ruth out of there. I had to get her and Anne to safety. I didn’t know where that was—I didn’t know anything—just that I had to keep moving, and get them both away from there. But when I finally reached Anne…” he takes a deep breath, another lump rolling down his throat. A long, quiet moment passes as a single tear rolls down Clarence’s cheek. He doesn’t bother wiping it away. “There wasn’t enough time. There wasn’t any time… I had to leave her body. I had to save Ruth. I tucked her close and went back to Earth once more.
“I considered finding Anne’s parents but they’d long since passed. I wasn’t sure what to do. I couldn’t stay with Ruth—the Vermix would find me and kill her. I knew they would. I had no choice—I had to leave her; the last of my family, the last connection to Anne and Virginia.
“I considered ending my life right then, joining them wherever they’d gone… but I couldn’t. I had to survive for my granddaughter. She’d be in danger for the rest of her life for what I did. I needed to stay alive to watch over her, to protect her. So I did.
“I left her at an orphanage. It was 1946 and I wasn’t sure when I’d be able to see her again. I knew the longer I stayed with her, they’d come looking for me. So…” he inhales, “I kissed her, looked into her eyes that reminded me so much of her grandmother’s… and left.
“The Leaders didn’t believe I’d simply run. They knew I’d gone somewhere, done something, but I never confessed. So my escape was treated as a simple fleeing. They assumed my entire family perished in their raid. I was called a coward for abandoning everyone, but I never said a word. I couldn’t. I had to protect Ruth. I saw what they were doing to the other humans—what they did. They called them contaminated; a plague. Everyone they didn’t kill in the raid was slaughtered afterward. Until Blovid stopped it, of course. But by then there were only a handful left. Sampson and me and the other Arizals who had come to live with us were presented in front of the Leaders. Because Sampson was a Fychu at that point and the son of a great Vermix Leader, he was spared the Vermix prison and instead, ordered to a life of imprisonment at the Harrizel prison we created. We’d hoped to never use it, hoped it remained abandoned… but… as it was a ready alternative for them…
Discovery at Nerwolix Page 14
