by E E Everly
Yeah, right. He’ll be seeing her later.
I had the added comfort of knowing that nothing was going on between them other than a few chaste kisses. Bronwen couldn’t have sex, er, physically bond with Dad unless they were spiritually bonded first because, without that bond, she would become a fallen emrys.
I shivered. I shouldn’t be thinking about things like that, especially since it was my dad who was involved.
But dang, having that limitation was better than a chastity belt.
Good gravy, Anerah. You’ve become the parent.
Dad left us, and Bronwen and I climbed the stairs. She was as weary as I was. Her room was across from mine, and Dad’s was beside hers.
We said good night, and shut our doors.
I collapsed onto my bed, not caring to do a single other thing.
I rolled onto my side at some point in the night. I had no idea how late or how early it was. The sun was down and the room dark, that’s all I needed to know.
Through the cracks of my eyelids, the room started to brighten. I squeezed my eyes shut, but it didn’t help.
What is that? The aurora borealis in my bedchamber?
I squinted into the room. As the light softened and diffused evenly throughout the space, I made out a woman standing at the end of my bed. Her skin was glowing from the inside.
I bolted upright. “What are you doing in here?”
“Anerah.” The woman’s voice was delicate, sweet. I knew that she held no malice toward me because her inner light was more divine than any other light I had yet to discern.
I rubbed my eyes. Her garment was white. Something of a gown that skimmed down her body and shimmered from her meek glow.
“Do I know you?” I asked. She seemed so familiar.
“Your spirit would know me because we are family.” She took a few steps around the bed until she was two feet from me. “I am Meinwen. Your great-great-great-grandmother.”
“The High Emrys?”
“Yes.” Meinwen smiled with her eyes.
“What are you doing here?” This was me meeting royalty—legend. The first emrys. My ancestor who by all rights should have been dead if she were a mortal, but she wasn’t. She could live forever, and she was here. Visiting me! I should kneel before her or bow. But here I was tucked into bed, in my dirty traveling clothes no less.
I nervously smoothed my hands over the bedspread. I don’t know if Meinwen took that as an invitation, but I was surprised when she sat on the bed and touched my leg through the blanket.
“You have many worries. Many cares,” she began with a whispered voice. “This path you follow is a good one.”
My mouth parted with curiosity.
“Cystenian has a dark road to follow.” She touched my hand. “He will be in darkness for many long years, but you will be his light. You must never lose faith. You must never stop loving him. He will need you when he is at his darkest. Do you understand?”
What did this mean? Was I going to fail him somehow? How would he be in darkness? “I don’t understand.”
Meinwen leaned forward and caressed my jaw. “You are pure in heart. The darkness in you is nothing compared to your light.”
Right, my darkness. The part of being a half-emrys I had yet to understand. Tears pooled in my eyes. Meinwen was calling me pure. She didn’t see me as a half-emrys. She didn’t see my auburn hair or my blue eyes that were so different from everyone else’s.
“We are two sides,” she said. “All light and darkness. All based on choices we make. The half-emrys have that as tangible evidence, but your balance of light and darkness does not define you. And it will not define Cystenian.”
“Okay.”
This woman was deep. I tried to commit everything she was saying to memory so I could ask Dad about it later.
“One last thing, Anerah.”
“Yes?”
“You will have to forgive him to heal,” Meinwen said. “Forgive him for what he does, for what he will do. What he chooses to do is what he believes is right. It will hurt, but you will be able to forgive him, with time.”
“Can you see the future?” I asked. She seemed so ethereal, like an elven queen.
“I see many paths.”
“Will Cystenian and I be together?” I couldn’t help asking. It was a selfish question, but my heart yearned to know this.
“I cannot answer that.”
“Can’t or won’t?”
“I am bound by certain eternal laws,” Meinwen said. “The chief one being that I can’t infringe on someone’s agency. Or tell them what course to take.”
“But you can advise.”
“I can give praise where praise is warranted. Believe me, it has been hard to stay my hand with some of my children.”
I smiled, feeling sleepy. “I’m glad I could meet you.”
“As am I to have met you.” Meinwen leaned in and touched her forehead to mine. I felt kissed by an angel as her love swept through me. I closed my eyes and soaked in the faith that she fortified me with.
Then she was gone. I opened my eyes to a room of darkness.
She truly had been a heavenly visitor.
FORTY-FIVE
I dragged myself out of bed the next morning. No one had come to wake me, so I splashed my face with water in the bathroom. They did indeed have modern plumbing, at least a basin that could fill with water and a circular tub. I skipped the bath. Cystenian would have no such luxury, so I would not indulge.
Hoping to find some food, I headed downstairs. Dad and Bronwen were seated across from each other in an alcove off the dining area. The place was flooded with natural light through arched windows that spanned the walls. I blinked furiously as I attempted to wake up.
I dropped into a chair next to Bronwen and nabbed a piece of toast with jam off Dad’s plate. I couldn’t name the berry, but it was sweet and tart at the same time, and I was starving. I moaned as I crunched.
Bronwen giggled next to me. “Have a good night’s sleep?”
I swallowed. “You guys won’t believe what happened last night.” I filled them in on my heavenly visitation. After describing her vague comments, I asked, “Is she always like that?”
“Yes.” Dad slid what was left of his meal toward me. Some sort of grainy conglomerate with mixed berries thrown in and orange eggs on the side. I dug in with no complaints.
Bronwen passed me a glass of creamy milk. I gulped it greedily. Whoa. Way better than cow’s milk.
“I have news,” Dad said while I ate.
I nodded as I shoveled, knowing that time was precious.
“I visited Catrin and Cerys last night.”
“Who?” I covered my mouth when toast crumbs flew out. I grimaced. Bronwen must have thought I was a pig.
“Catrin, your grandmother. And Cerys, her dragon. They’re here on Emira. I talked to Father—Meuric—through her to see about getting some backup.”
“Backup. Smart,” I muttered.
“Meuric is in the middle of a conflict, but he can leave at a moment’s notice and meet us.”
“How?”
“Mother let me borrow her dragon stone.” Dad looped his finger under a silver chain around his neck and pulled a teal stone out of his shirt. “I can reach Mother through her dragon, and in turn she can reach Father through their mental bond.”
“You didn’t make a bond with your parents before you came to Earth?”
“It was too risky to establish a bond. Anyone looking for me could breach their minds and find out where I’d gone.”
“Okay, then.” Once again my dad astounded me by his simple answer for a not-so-simple thing. “So how does having your mother reach out to your father help us?”
“Meuric can ether-jump to us,” Bronwen said. “One of the few emrys who can.”
“What’s that, like teleporting?” I asked.
“In a manner of speaking, yes.” Dad continued. “I told him that we would be at Uffern about midday, and that I woul
d let him know when we arrived. He’ll meet us there, with help.”
“That’s good. I’ll finally meet Gramps.”
“He wouldn’t want you to call him that.”
I laughed. “What should I call him?”
“Meuric.”
“What about Catrin?”
“She’s expecting. Meuric wants her as far away from danger as possible, which is why she’s on Emira.”
“What?” I spluttered. “You’re going to have a brother or sister? At your age?”
Dad smiled. “She’ll be my second sibling. It’s just Yas and me right now.”
“It’s a girl?”
“Yes.”
“Awesome.”
Dad cleared his throat. “Anyway. We should be going.”
I stood. “I agree.” I gulped down what was left of my milk. “Let’s go meet crazy Aunt Yas and dearest Mummy Rho.” Overly stuffed, my stomach clenched on itself. This was it. I was going to meet the woman who gave birth to me. If I could handle this emrys stuff, I could surely handle meeting her.
After stepping outside the inn, the three of us cracked open our wings. The heat lashed my back, feeling great against my sore muscles. We took a few running steps and then jumped into the sky, with a few onlookers that we paid no mind.
The flight to the portal was short. Outside the city, two boulders sat on a hillside, with two emrys guards standing at attention in front of each boulder.
We landed near the massive rocks. The guards didn’t speak. Their job was to keep evil from entering, not fools from exiting. That was exactly how I felt; we were the fools leaving an immortal paradise filled with dragons and magic.
“Which boulder is the portal?” I asked.
“It’s between them,” Bronwen said.
“Oh.” I squinted my eyes and looked with my inner sight. “Right. I see the shimmer now.”
Dad led the way. As I stepped between the two hulking gray boulders, wide enough for a dragon to fly between, a whispering static filled my ears and a gray nothing enveloped my vision.
Then I emerged onto Bryn. The other mortal earth.
Immediately snow pelted my face, and the wind blew my hair back. I held my arm up. “Oh my gosh, it’s Snowmageddon!” I hollered over the wind. I lifted my legs through knee-deep snow. “This is nuts.”
Dad took my hand, and immediately heat surged throughout my body. “The weather is unpredictable on the top of Eirwen Mountain. It should be better in the highlands.”
“We’re not dressed for this!” I shouted.
Bronwen grabbed Dad’s other hand. I couldn’t see two feet in front of me.
“It’s a whiteout, but we should be safe once we fly lower,” he said.
I was warm enough because of the heat coming from Dad, but my limbs felt like lead. “Let’s get out of here.”
“Can you fly in this?” Dad asked.
“I’ll be fine.” Maybe. I wasn’t sure.
“We won’t be able to see each other in the sky, but follow my light with your inner sight. Keep flying. We’ll regroup in Talfryn before taking off over the desert.”
“There’s a desert?” I asked.
“I’ll explain later. Let’s go.” He dropped our hands and plodded forward. I lost sight of him. What did it matter anyway?
Jump into the sky and go! he said.
Bronwen stepped forward, and she disappeared.
Here goes nothing. I lifted my arms over my face and trudged forward. I spread my wings, almost amazed that their light could penetrate this snowstorm. After a few flaps, I lifted up and off into the white unknown.
I could sense Dad below me, so I followed. He was trying to get lower in altitude.
I kept on flying. Press forward, I urged myself. The wind gusted several times, blowing my tiny frame off course. Bronwen had caught up to Dad, and I kept my sight on them.
Then, without preamble, the raging wind became a calm, and the driving snow, lazy flakes. I exhaled with relief when I saw Dad and Bron with my naked eyes. As we dropped below some low clouds, a snow-covered city came into view.
Talfryn, Dad said. We don’t need to waste time going into the city, but let’s land and take a breather.
Perfect for me. A huge lump of dread was growing under my sternum. I wondered if it was the start of a panic attack. I’d never had one, so I figured the best thing to do was to take deep breaths.
We landed in a barren field. The snow was about ankle deep. I snapped my wings out of existence and took two steps forward. “That was intense.”
Without warning, a heavy pain gripped my chest. I gasped and collapsed onto my hands and knees. “What’s happening?” I screamed.
Dad and Bronwen swarmed me. The pain grew in intensity, and I rolled onto my side.
I hugged my knees to my chest, thinking I was having a heart attack as the unrelenting anguish crushed me. “I’m going to die. I can’t breathe.” I grabbed for Dad. “Help me!”
FORTY-SIX
Dad knelt over me, gripping my shoulders as I gripped his biceps. “Bronwen, what do you see?”
They rolled me onto my back in the snow. The air became warm, and a light filled the gray sky around us. Dad had projected a shield of light over our small group to shelter us. Bronwen placed her hands on my chest. I tried to lay still, but the added pressure of her hands made me gasp for breath.
With absolute horror, I stared into her face as her eyes closed. I’m scared, Dad. I’m scared.
We have you, Anerah. Try to relax. We’ll figure this out.
“There’s a large void in her heart-center,” Bronwen said. “It’s pushing against her light and compressing it.”
Void? How can a void push against something?
“That’s not a void,” Dad said. “That’s her darkness. It looks like nothing, like space, to Emrys of Light.”
“Well, it’s taking on a life of its own.”
“My darkness?” I gasped. “What is it doing?” My darkness was killing me; it had to have been. Like a cancer. I could feel it now that Bronwen put a name to what the pain in my chest was. “Why does it hurt so much?”
Dad put his hands over my heart under Bronwen’s hands. “She needs an infusion of light.” My chest became hot, so hot that I broke into a sweat as heat rushed into my face.
Dad and Bronwen were pushing light into me; I understood that even as I wished the overwhelming pain would subside. Their light crawled through my body, but mostly kept within my core. “This is only a temporary solution,” Dad said. “Bronwen, keep feeding her light. I must search for the source of this problem.”
“It hurts!” I drew my knees up to my chest.
Dad placed a hand on my forehead. “The darkness is vying for control, Anerah.”
“She didn’t grow up in this world, Vaughan.” Bronwen looked at Dad. “Even though she was born here, she’s not used to how the darkness feels on this planet. It does not manifest the same way as it does on Earth.”
“Can’t you take it out?” I screamed. “Take my darkness out!”
“I can’t do that, sweetheart,” Dad said. “I can’t grab ahold of your darkness the way I can light. Darkness is slippery. Sneaky. It bides its time, waiting for an opportunity such as now to gain control.” Don’t focus on your doubts and fears. Don’t focus on your worry for Cystenian. Those allow the darkness to take root. Focus on your hope.
I thought I had been. Hadn’t I been trying to be optimistic? I groaned, but it was feeble.
As the infusion of light from them grew, I calmed. I could sense the darkness, like a pit in my stomach, only in my heart. “I feel so heavy. Sleepy.”
“We might want to rest for a while. Give her body time to acclimate,” Bronwen said.
“We don’t have time,” I grunted. “We have already taken too much time.”
I attempted to sit up, but Dad forced me back. “We’re safe and warm under the shield for now. Rest, Anerah.”
My eyelids closed without my permission. They
were putting me to sleep. “No,” I mumbled. “No.”
It was lights out, baby.
The last word on my lips was Cystenian.
FORTY-SEVEN
Anerah, I’m talking to you in your sleep, Dad said. You can let your darkness rule or you can let the light rule. Once the two energies settle into a relatively sedate state, they won’t fight each other. With most half-emrys, the powers gradually shift from one side to the other. Coming onto this mortal plane was too much for you. The flight in the snow storm took a strain as well. I believe with rest that you will regulate and be fine.
Sedate state? I asked. Will I still be able to harness my light? Will I be able to fly?
Yes. You can even harness the darkness on this world. That is the beauty of it. You can choose which one you want to use, but only one power at a time.
I remember you telling me that. That’s why the moon jewels were made, so you could harness both energies at once to open a portal.
Yes, Dad said.
Is it safe to use the darkness?
That depends on what you use it for. Father uses it all the time. The darkness allows him to ether jump. Using darkness does not make you evil.
Do you use it? I asked.
Sometimes. I will have to teach you what the darkness can do, but we don’t have time for that. Since you are used to the light and have learned some basic skills, focus on that energy.
Okay. I feel stronger. It doesn’t hurt anymore. I think I’m ready to wake up.
All right, Anerah. Open your eyes. It’s time to see this world.
I was warm and toasty under Dad’s canopy of light. The snow under us had melted. Interesting. I stretched and yawned, perfectly dry. Dad and Bronwen were curled against each other beside me.
I sat up. I wasn’t going to miss this opportunity to tease them. “Did you get a little nap too, huh?”
Dad rolled upright with a goofy grin on his face. “Taking advantage of the down time.”
More like taking advantage of Bronwen, I added to myself.
Bronwen stretched and combed her braid smooth with her fingers. She looked lovely even though we’d traveled through a storm and had been lying in the grass.
