“I invited her along, Alec,” John Mark spoke from behind Alec.
Alec whirled around facing away from the window, and seeing the small sturdy figure of his saint standing just beside the door he had entered so many years before as a naïve and unprepared teenager. Alec took quick strides towards John Mark, and enveloped him in a hug before any word escaped from his mouth.
“How did Caitlen get here?” Alec asked.
“I invited her,” John Mark repeated as he and Alec released each other. “I brought her here because I thought you would appreciate having a companion who is also a healer. You’ll have a long life together ruling the Avonellene Empire.
“I know that you were pained by the way you never gained acceptance in Michian,” he continued. “With two healers on the throne, constantly helping the population and treating their pains, the two of you together will be loved by the population of your land for as long as Caitlen reigns.”
“Thank you,” Alec said humbly, recognizing the truth of John Mark’s words about his life in Michian. He had never become part of the land there, never grown to know the people or be loved by them.
“And thank you for the restoration of my powers. How is it possible? I gave them all away to create the prison cell for Hellmann.”
“With God, all things are possible,” John Mark said affirmatively. “You demonstrated that you understand the value of the powers. When you gave them up to defeat Hellmann, you showed, as I knew you would, that you would place the safety of the whole world above your own use of your powers.
“For that spirit, you deserve to have them restored. You’ve grown so much in your visit to Avonellene that you deserve to have them all back. I know that you will use them judiciously,” John Mark concluded.
“The irony is that I felt I would have grown happy living without them. As long as I can live with Caitlen and have a family in a peaceful land, I would be content,” Alec replied.
He felt a hand on his shoulder. “We will work to make you have a happy life with your family, in a land you’ve made peaceful,” Caitlen told him, arisen and standing behind him.
Alec turned and hugged her, then turned again, still holding her hand. “Caitlen, this is John Mark, the greatest saint of my faith. This cave is one of his holy places.”
Caitlen stared at the saint, overcome by the sense of holiness in his presence, then curtsied, something Alec suspected she had not done in many years. “I am honored to be in this place, your grace.”
“It is you who helped make this meeting possible,” John Mark replied. “You told Alec that you had faith in his God.
“Thank you. Now you and Alec may return to your home and live your lives together. I’ll let Alec explain everything to you. And perhaps someday we can meet again in your own land,” John Mark said, then disappeared from the cave.
“What do we do now?” Caitlen asked, taking the disappearance of the saint in stride.
Alec looked at her, a serious expression on his face, then suddenly broke into a grin. “Would you like to climb some stairs?” he asked.
Ajacii and Demons: The Ingenairii Series Page 32
