Wilde's Meadow

by Wade, Krystal

  I gasp. “What are you doing?”

  Marcus grabs my right hand and squeezes. “Take me, too, Griandor. I would not be standing here if not for Katriona. Give her Arland. Give Encardia Light.”

  I look at Marcus. His big brown eyes, so similar to his sister’s, are innocent, yet so mature, so much wiser than most boys’ his age. He should be climbing trees, fishing, reading books, playing in the dirt with his toys, not offering his soul to make me happy.

  My chin quivers. I don’t deserve people like this in my life. “Take me, Griandor. Without Arland, without my sister, Flanna, Gary, Mr. Tanner, Brad, without so many who have lost their lives, I don’t want to be here.”

  “No, ma’am.”

  I startle and turn at the sound of Cadman’s voice. He approaches with Rhoswen, Mom, High Leader Maher, Leader Murchadha, and many other Draíochtans in tow. Tristan, Saidear, Kegan, Shay … people join us from all directions, exiting homes, the forest, riding in on horses.

  Tristan runs to my side and presses his fist to his chest. “I am sorry for almost shooting your foot.”

  “You weren’t under the spell?”

  He shakes his head and then steps away, making room for Cadman.

  “Arland would never forgive me if I allowed the gods to take your life,” he says, closing his hand around Marcus’s. “Bring Encardia’s second greatest Leader back from his prison in time. My life for his.”

  “Second?” I ask.

  “You are Encardia’s greatest Leader, Katriona.” Cadman ignites in flames, and his thoughts collide into mine. Bring Light, bring the sun, bring peace.

  The others file in and form a small circle around the tree. Fire spreads to them in a domino effect as they take the hand of the Draíochtan next to them.

  Hearts swell with confidence, with pride, with hope. Power flows through us, growing stronger with each passing second, making the light blinding.

  I watch Arland through the display of fire, wait for him to show signs of life, wait for movement, for a twitch, a sigh, for his eyes to flutter, but nothing.

  Mom breaks the line and walks over to me. She places her hands on my shoulders and searches my face, moisture streaming down her cheeks.

  “Turn around,” she says, her voice strong.

  Shaking my head, I keep my eyes on Arland, but Mom spins me to face away from the tree.

  “I don’t know what I’m doing, but I know I have to focus on him, Mom. Why would you”—I catch sight of someone walking up behind her, someone familiar, someone I’ve known nearly forever, someone I killed not long ago—”Brad … ?”

  Arms wide open, he jogs to me, wearing a huge smile, a pair of hiking shorts and a T-shirt. He looks the same as the day we left for the Moormans River trail.

  “Is it really you?” I’m hesitant to launch myself into my best friend’s arms. So much has happened. So much has changed. Never mind the last time I saw him, a god owned his soul and body, and then I drove my sword through his chest.

  His dazzling baby blues twinkle in the light of my fire. “Come on, Kate. You’ve known me since second grade. Do you really not recognize me?”

  I stare at my feet, terrified to look him in the eyes too long. He loves me so much that he died for me. “I’m surprised you recognize me.”

  Brad lifts my chin with his finger and pins me with his gaze, his warmth shooting through me. “I see you now, all of you, everything you are and will be. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

  “I’m married, Brad. Pregnant. I’m not even human—”

  A flicker of pain twitches at the corner of his eyes, and he jerks his head toward the tree. “Arland, right? The guy you dreamed about all those years, the guy I was so jealous of I couldn’t listen to you talk about your feelings?”

  “Yes.”

  “And he makes you happy?”

  I nod, my voice lost, the burden of his crushed heart weighing on my chest.

  Brad kneels next to Anna and looks her right in the eyes. “May I cut in?”

  She moves aside and trades places with Perth. My favorite child is clearly not ready to forget what Dughbal did with Brad, and I don’t blame her.

  He takes my hand and flashes his award-winning smile. “After being in the Heavens and seeing you mourn for your husband, I realized there is no life for me here. My family is there, and a future I never imagined possible … life doesn’t end when you die, Kate. This is just the beginning.”

  “Brad?”

  He’s not making sense; his voice is small and far off, like he’s lost in his thoughts. “Did you know your sister loves me?”

  “Not until recently, but what are you saying? What kind of future exists in the Heavens? What does it matter?”

  “One day you will understand.” Brad looks up at the sky. “Take me, Griandor. My life for Arland’s.”

  “No. No. No.” I drop Marcus’s hand, then wrap my arms around Brad. His touch is foreign and familiar at the same time, but he’s my best friend. He always will be. “I already lost you once. I can’t let you go again. You’re not even making sense.”

  He pulls me tight, pushing the air from my lungs, and rests his cheek on the top of my head. “You aren’t losing me. Trust me; we’ll see each other again, and often.”

  “How do you know? You’ll be … gone.”

  “Remember what you learned, Kate.”

  Part of me wants to stomp my foot like a toddler and scream at him for saying the same thing as everyone else, but I maintain control. “What have I learned, Brad? That life is too short, too easily stolen? That people, no matter what world we live in, will always fight for power that doesn’t belong to them? That I’m some magical descendant of a goddess who controls time, making me different than almost every other person here? That my mom somehow avoided a curse put in place by the gods’ father? Or should I remember that you, your father and mine, my stepfather, my sister, my best girl friend, my husband—”

  Wait! My mom didn’t avoid the curse. Dad died shortly after I was born. Technically, he should have died after my birth, preventing Mom from living with the true love of her life. She manipulated the curse so she could have two daughters.

  A family bound to separate … sacrifice or they will lose. “Brit broke the curse. She sacrificed herself, her inherited powers from Morgandy, to save me and Arland.”

  Brad backs away, nodding.

  “How do you know this?”

  “Because I told him.” Everything around us lights with golden flames, not catching on fire but flickering with energy, with life, like the trees and wood and leaves and people all want to burst forward and hug Griandor. Even the sun cracks the eastern horizon, drawn to its master.

  Draíochtans gasp and drop to their knees, but not me and Brad.

  I smile at the god, not afraid of him, not angry with him, and certainly not about to show him the same respect as the others. “How are you here when Arland is there?”

  “You remembered who you are when you became angry a few moments ago, when you lit this tree of life, one of three gifts my father gave to this planet on the day of its birth. You embraced who you are, thus accepting the blessing your sister gave you.” He laughs, caressing my cheek with the back of his soft, soft hand. “Come now, lower those eyebrows.”

  “I don’t understand,” I say, leaning into his pleasant touch.

  “You are a goddess, Katriona—”

  “Three quarters at least.” Mom takes my hand and faces Griandor. “Your sister gave you half of her powers, and now you are as close to being an immortal as anyone else will ever be. You no longer need protection from Griandor or his brothers or sisters. You will sit beside them, be a part of the Heavens.”

  I don’t care about being an immortal, or being close to one, or anything that’s involved with that. “Who has the other half?”

  “Arland.” Griandor glances at my husband and cringes. “He does not deserve to be looked upon while in this condition. Your mother offered to give herself up t
o save Arland, and I accept. This will make you and your husband true equals. When you pass from this life into the next, you will be welcomed as family, you will be a part of my father’s council. Your new life will last forever.”

  Mom steps closer to the god, the biggest grin I’ve ever seen striking across her face. “Thank you, Griandor.”

  He nods. “I do believe your desire is to return home to Brian Wilde, and he desires the same for you.”

  “What about Gary?” I blurt. “He gave his life for me, he raised me, he loved you.”

  “I do love Gary, Kate. Falling for him was both the easiest and most difficult thing I have ever done. Watching him care for you girls as if you were his own, watching him play games with you and worry for you, these are the things that made me love him, but during all that time, I desperately missed your father.” She wipes under her eyes. “I hope Gary understands I did everything for you, and he will one day forgive me.”

  Griandor nods. “When you return home, Katriona, your stepfather will find his ultimate happiness.”

  “How? How is that possible when the woman he loved used him?” I close my eyes, and images flood my mind: Gary taking me riding when I was nothing more than a little girl, Gary teaching me to drive, helping me with homework, urging me to go to prom, helping me fill out college applications. “Doesn’t he deserve real love?”

  “As Brad told you, death here is not the end of life.”

  “Will he be alone until I die?”

  “He will never be alone in the Heavens, and he will never be upset. Gary Carlton willingly sacrificed his life because he loves you, because he wanted to help you, and because he understood the importance of unity for this battle. Be at peace now, child, and say your goodbyes.” Griandor snaps his fingers, making everything but me, Mom, Brad, and Arland disappear; though Arland is still lying in the same spot as before, covered in the same amount of blood and dirt.

  “Mom?” I wave my hand in front of her glazed eyes; she’s staring at the endless amounts of white around us, like we’re standing in the in-between as I did when the hound bit me. “You’re going to leave me? I’m pregnant! I know nothing about parenting or childbirth or—”

  “You knew nothing about fighting a war either,” Mom says, stroking my face with the back of her fingers, eyes red, nose running.

  I don’t know why she’s crying; the decision to leave this world is hers. I’m the one losing a mother, a sister, a friend or two, a father … . “Why didn’t you prepare me for anything?”

  “You were born to live a specific life, Kate. If I shared any of your prophecy with you, would you have done everything the same way? You made the choices you made without being influenced by some stupid prophecy. You fell in love, made a Ground Dweller your best friend, united most of our people, taught many of them how to use old magic, and you did these things on your own! Knowledge would have made you feel as though you had to do those things, but no, you, and you alone, chose to be the amazing woman you are.” Mom wraps me up in a tight hug. “I love you, Katriona Maher. We will see each other again. I’m so proud of you.”

  “And I’ll see you again, too,” Brad says, joining in on our embrace. “I love you, and I would live this life a thousand times over for you, Kate. Take care of your heart, and take care of that baby.”

  He kisses my cheek.

  “I love you both, too.” I break down, tears flooding my eyes and falling down my face. Brad, Mom, Brit, Gary, my dad, everyone died so that I could live a happy life with the man I love, so that in some odd way, their deaths would serve as repayment for all my right choices.

  No one should have to die for me, but they all chose to; they all want their end so my life can go on.

  Golden light swirls around our small group, casting a warm blanket of the god’s powers over my skin. I know he’s telling us time is up. I squeeze them one more time, chin quivering, heart breaking and rejoicing all at once.

  “Your wish for Lann came true,” Griandor sings, calming every unsettled nerve in me. “Flanna asked me to inform you of that, and she said thank you and that she will sing her song from the Heavens for only your child to hear. She also said to watch out for goats.”

  I burst into laughter, a crazy, maniacal laughter. “Thank you. Tell Flanna she will always be my Confidant.”

  “You have done well, Katriona. We will meet again soon.” The light of Griandor floats in the air around me, cocooning me in his love.

  “Griandor?” I ask, staring at the golden orbs of the god.

  “You must restart Arland’s time. My sister, Morgandy, and I have tried telling you: Remember.”

  Crack!

  Mom, Brad, and Griandor are gone, leaving me in the early morning light, surrounded by all my friends, all my people, and half-smiling in front of a motionless Arland. I feel like we’re at a funeral, all staring glassy-eyed at the dead man not in a casket. But this isn’t a funeral; this is his awakening.

  Remember his last words to you. That’s what my sister said in my dream. I kneel beside Arland, take his cold hand in mine, and close my eyes to search my memories. I was afraid on the battlefield, afraid because my sister died, Flanna died, and Dughbal threatened Arland. He told me to fight and that no matter what, he would always love me.

  A warbled laugh escapes my throat, choked by my sobs for all my losses. Things in this world are always so easy, yet so hard. Leaning forward, I press my lips to Arland’s and whisper, “I love you, too.”

  Warmth explodes around me, and he gasps for breath. I waste no time in wrapping him in a huge bear hug, holding on so tight for fear he’ll go away or stop breathing or I’ll wake up.

  “I hear I’m going to be a father.” Arland slowly sits up and pulls me into his lap, rocking me back and forth, caressing my arms with his worn hands.

  “I’m?” I plant kisses all over his face and finally his lips, ignoring the gathered, cheering crowd.

  He pulls back and looks at me with those blazing emerald eyes, staring right through me. “Are you going to point out every time I speak like you?”

  “Yes. For the rest of our long, happy life together.”

  Epilogue

  Former High Leader Maher allowed Arland and me to push off restructuring discussions until after all the Draíochtan bodies were collected, identified, and buried. The search took weeks, and the reward was a mixture of deepening and repairing our wounds.

  Brit’s and Flanna’s funerals were the most difficult; they were also the last. In those seemingly endless days of mourning, I realized so many things about my life: why my mother always seemed closer to Brit, why she always distanced herself from Gary, why she kept everything from me.

  Mom was right. If I’d known any of the future—that my sister would give up her life to spare my unborn child’s and my husband’s, that my stepdad would die, that Brad would turn and walk out of the life he was promised, that I’d have to live with a large chunk of guilt on my heart for every piece of happiness I have—I’m not sure Encardia would have Light. Fear does funny things to people, so does knowledge. I’m not sure how my mom lived a normal life with what she knew.

  “Are you ready?” Arland asks, placing his work-worn hand on my lower back, ushering me through the squeaky screen door of our family’s farmhouse.

  I nod, and we step onto the front porch of our home in Albemarle, Virginia. The bright morning sun peeks through the thick white flowers of the dogwoods and warms my skin, quickly melting away the bite of the chilly, springtime air.

  Every morning hints at summer, at another year passed since the horrible nightmare we endured during Dughbal’s reign. Birds sing and rush from branch to branch, collecting sticks and hair and whatever else they need to make nests for their growing families. Bees buzz around the yellow and purple wildflowers cropping up all over Maher Farms.

  “Mommy!” my precious little girl screams, covered in straw and dirt, running to us with a frantic Muriel rushing behind. “Mommy, Mirain had her baby! You ha
ve to see her; she looks just like Bowen.”

  Muriel presses her palm to her chest, dragging in deep breaths. “Sorry, Kate. I know you have meetings this morning and I promised Brianna would be clean, but she was just too excited.”

  Arland and I share a smile. We brought our horses through the portal when we decided to move to Earth, and our eldest child is as attached to them as Arland and I have ever been.

  So is the general public.

  People from all over the world come here seeking training, breeding, or just a small glimpse of the animals who’ve won us so many awards. But today, we’re due in Encardia, as we are every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

  Part of our agreement with High Leader Dufaigh and his wife is splitting duties. Arland and I tried stepping down after the elections, but no one would permit us—not even Perth. He refused to take the position unless we took it with him.

  I have to admit: the responsibility of rebuilding Encardia is much easier when we work together.

  “It’s okay, Muriel. The Dufaighs know her no other way,” I say, kneeling.

  Brianna launches herself into my arms, nearly knocking me off balance. When you have a stomach the size of a bowling ball, it’s not difficult to do.

  “Brianna, we’ve talked about this. You will hurt the baby,” Arland says, peeling our daughter from my arms.

  She hides her face in the crook of his neck, covering her beautiful blue eyes. “Sorry, Mommy.”

  I kiss her cheek then push her curly, brown locks behind her ear. “Don’t ever be sorry for loving me.”

  Arland winks, warming my insides. We’ve said the same thing to each other many times.

  “Are you bringing Cadman home today?” Muriel asks, clasping her hands under her chin.

  We’ve had to build a guesthouse for the amount of visitors we always have here. Cadman splits his time between leading Encardia’s military and serving as an extra farmhand for us. The kids love him. And I wouldn’t be alive without the aging soldier.

  He’s family now, and I’m pretty sure he always has been.

  Arland shakes his head. “I believe he is still in Draodín. The Bheagans are a forgetful bunch and once again wish for payment for their war-time services.”