by Kim Iverson
“I believe in science. I believe in magic. I also believe scientists have screwed with things for a long time. Many of which they shouldn’t.”
Before she could finish what she said, Gwen cut her off. “And that’s why we’re still here. Mason saved the entire world from that. But there were consequences. A group of men came in and used Mason to help round up all of the scientists who wanted to ‘explore’ genetic splicing. That group sent him away because of what he knew. He gave up his powers for his child. For you. To keep you safe, he went into hiding, and disappeared. So the group wouldn’t find out about you. The only other living immortal.”
“You said there is a time crunch. Why? Sounds like Mason got everything he wanted and all is hunky dory now.” Lana went back to facing the window panel. “Where is Dean and Megan?” The window shimmered and revealed the two children who wandered the hallways of the ship. They looked around with wonder in their eyes, pointing, and laughing. Dean raised his attention.
“Odd. There aren’t any noticeable cameras there,” Gwen said.
“Dean isn’t human, remember? He knows. He senses my presence.” Lana didn’t bother to turn around. Megan seemed to ask what Dean looked at. She lifted her gaze, then glanced somewhere else. He shook his head as if to tell her he wasn’t looking at anything.
“Incredible. Mason thought he’d inherit a bit of both of your gifts, but still. . . .” Gwen drifted off in her own thoughts.
“You were saying?”
“What was I saying? Oh! Right. Because the window of opportunity will close soon. When the spell brought you to me, the clock on getting you to Mason would have started to tick. He gave it a week. The door will close in a week. Again, to protect you from the group of men who have taken over. All three of you now. He doesn’t know about her. Only Dean.”
Lana watched her kids for a long time before she finally spoke to Gwen. “This is all news to me. I had no idea about what has been going on. Did he want us to come to him?” The look on Gwen’s face spoke volumes.
“I don’t think there was anything else he wanted more. But I also don’t think he anticipated the number of years. For him, it’s been much, much longer.”
“How much?” Lana asked, turning away from her laughing children to regard Gwen.
“Twice that of you.”
Forty years? “That’s a long time.” Gwen nodded. “So now I’m supposed to decide within a week, whether or not to pack my children up and make some leap into the future? How?”
Gwen smiled. “The same path Mason took. I’ll make it easier on your children. We’ll drive. Sort of. I’ll put you on the same path he used, but to the children it will seem like a drive through the countryside. I don’t think that little girl could handle being taken apart and shot through space in the leap Mason took. It would be too painful on her. Emotionally, mentally, especially physically.”
“How can you make it gentler?”
“I still have part of Mason’s spell. It’s the part to bring you through time in a gentler manner. If you can take me back to your home, I can turn a vehicle—any of your choice—into a time jump vehicle. It’ll take much longer to pass through the portal, but it will be much less painful and intense for her.”
“You can do that?”
“The wonderment of science meeting magic. I’d need to know in the next two days. I’d need all that time to prepare.”
Lana sighed. Her daughter’s giggles drew her attention to the doorway. The wall shimmered and they both came in, relaxed and happy. The first time in a few months. Seemed this place possessed a great ability to do what the people who built it intended. That, and the tall boy standing next to his little sister.
Gwen awaited her answer. Lana nodded.
Chapter Fifteen
A hot shower healed all, Lana mused. She wrapped the towel around her and stood in front of the mirror. After she wiped the condensation off the glass, she stood there and stared at her reflection.
When did I start looking so old?
Having given up her powers and focusing more on her children, it seemed the years wanted to pile on. She must’ve done it to herself. Lana wanted to fit in with the other mothers she encountered, and didn’t want Megan to face questions. Why doesn’t your mom look old? Doesn’t your mom age?
Megan knew her mother was the “Black Witch.” Lana had explained to her enough that nobody could know Lana was anything but a regular mortal mom, because the rest of the world didn’t know her true identity. Megan had grown to accept that her brother took after his father. The father that she believed was Dean’s, Finn. The way Megan watched Dean sometimes made Lana believe that Megan knew deep down that she may not be like Dean or her mother. Or even Finn.
Sadly, Megan was human. Many of Elizabeth’s tests confirmed the truth. Lana didn’t know how she could tell Dean he would never die, yet his sister would. Or how he would cope with losing her, the way Lana had lost so many herself. Telling Dean that he too was immortal, meant telling him who his father really was. For now, Lana didn’t want him to know. She planned to drag it out as long as she could.
The moment the two kids came back in after looking around, and telling her all the awesome finds, the question did come. Who is Mason? Why was he important?
She lied.
Lana had almost no fears. Still, those two sweet faces hating her for lying to them? The idea alone petrified her. She struggled to fall asleep that night. After traversing the ship over and over—they did more explorations after dinner—the kids were exhausted, so they didn’t have any issues falling asleep.
How was she to decide what to do? She had less than twenty four hours. The decision felt impossible.
Lana finished dressing and sat on the edge of the bed, her head in her hands.
“I know who he is,” Dean’s voice caused her to start.
“Who, who is, sweetheart?”
Dean gave her that steady look. The one that told her he grew up far too fast for his own good. The one . . . that reminded her of Mason. The one that made her heart ache all over again. The one who tore her soul into a million pieces.
“Mason.”
Lana’s hands grew cold. “I told you. He’s an old friend.”
Dean glanced into the living room where Megan sat watching an old animated movie. He entered the room and waved his hand in front of the locking switch. The door solidified behind him for privacy.
“And my dad,” Dean said, sitting next to her on the bed.
“Finn is your dad. You know that. You look so much like him.”
Dean shook his head. “I’ve seen pictures of Mason. I look more like him. I don’t blame you, Mom. I’ve known for a long time. I want to meet him. I asked Gwen to tell me what’s going on.”
Lana gritted her teeth. “She shouldn’t have said anything.”
Dean smirked, causing her to gasp. “I might’ve helped. Don’t get mad at her.”
“Since when did you learn to do that?”
He gave his mom an impish smile. “Sorry. I don’t use it. I know you don’t like me trying to learn what I can do, but it sort of happened one day. I promise I don’t use it all the time. Well . . . unless I find myself in a spaceship in some weird world and want to know why.”
“You’re as bad as Finn. He shouldn’t have taught you how to do that.”
“He didn’t. I figured it out.”
“Oh?” Lana stared at him for a long time until he laughed.
“Okay, maybe a little.” Leave it to Finn to teach Dean to be rotten.
“Uh huh. Do you understand what you’re saying? If we go, we can’t come back.”
“Yeah . . . but my father is there. From what I’ve heard and seen, he’s a good man.”
“I don’t know. I don’t know who he’ll be. Gwen told you how long it’s been for him?”
Dean shook his head, but remained quiet.
“Twice as long as us. As in, forty years. He’s been in this future place for forty years. He could
’ve been alone, in a world much different than this. We don’t know. We don’t know the type of world we’ll encounter if we go.”
Dean stared at the door a long time. “You can protect us. He’ll be there. He can too. He can find us, can’t he? The way I can with you?”
Lana wrapped her arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer. “I honestly don’t know. There is much we don’t know.” She kissed the top of his head.
“I want to meet him. I want to know my father. I can protect Megan, too. What if the world is better where he’s at? What’s left here for us?”
Chapter Sixteen
Lana stared at the camper for a long time. She turned to Gwen. “You’re telling me that you made this a time jumping vehicle? That we’re going to drive down the street and oh look . . . the future.”
Gwen smiled. “It will work. I promise.”
“So basically I’m in a movie.”
Gwen’s eyebrows drew together.
Lana waved her off and wandered around the truck.
“It’s only meant to get you there. You will not stop. It will take many hours of driving. I will go with you so I can use it to get back, and help you get to him. You will be on your own once you do cross over. I won’t be able to stay.”
Fear crept its icy cold fingers within her. The idea of her children being harmed got to her. The Black Witch may have to take over once more.
Admittedly, the fear wasn’t just for her children. The idea of seeing Mason again made her stomach flip-flop. Who would he be? What would he be like? Would he even want her? She looked like an old frumpy mom. Could he recognize the woman she used to be?
She gave up that other side of herself a long time ago and didn’t know if it would ever come back. Her heart ached for a place that he alone could fill. At the same time, she grew to love Finn in a way nobody could touch. He had become such a good man. A good father.
Finn became such an important part of her life. He became everything to her.
On cue, Megan came rushing over to leap into Lana’s arms. “We going soon?”
“She said it’s ready.”
“We’re traveling in this? Can I ride in the back?” she squeaked.
“I think you’ll have to.” Lana laughed. Not much room in front. The camper sat on the back of the truck, but the truck held only one row of seats in front. Enough for three of them comfortably. If Megan wanted to sit up front, she would be too cramped.
“Can we go?” she asked in all her bubbly excitement, which Lana once remembered. Her heart ached to see Finn one last time. To have him tell her she was making the right decision as only he could.
Lana lowered Megan to the ground. Dean came up beside his sister and ruffled her hair. She ducked away and moved to the other side of her mom with a grumble at him for messing up her hair. Dean’s eyes met his mother’s. They stood there a long time. All the hopes of what could come, all the fears. Laid out on the line. She took a deep breath and let go.
“Okay. . . .”
* * *
They drove for a long time. In silence at first, then the conversation began. Dean was allowed to drive, which filled him with immense pride. He leaned over the steering wheel to regard her and Lana was struck with the image of Mason for a moment. Those deep green eyes held her, beckoning. Calling her for something she didn’t quite know yet. As if they always knew this moment would exist.
But it wasn’t Mason. She shook her head. It was her son.
“What was he like?” Dean asked.
Lana looked through the window. “Strong. Cocky. Intelligent. A real over-confident, full-of-himself man sometimes. Overall?” She turned and watched Dean while his focus was on the road outside. Only meadow surrounded them on this long, boring, straight road, yet like a good driver, Dean remained focused and vigilant.
A soft smile took over. Lana said, “A good man.”
Dean glanced at her. He saw the distant pain when her mind wandered to Finn. Mason told Finn and her to take care of one another. He knew he had to leave. His hand was forced. Finn and her had enjoyed a good life together, but Finn wasn’t Mason. Mason, who gave her this incredible boy who time and again amazed her with how similar he could be to his father.
Finn never treated Dean like Dean was anything but his son. He was the greatest father to Dean that Mason could ever have hoped to find. A tear slid down her cheek and she turned back to the window.
* * *
Dean pulled the truck to a stop in front of a store. The first store they had seen in almost twenty-four hours’ worth of driving. Lana got out, followed by Dean, and then Dean helped Megan from the back. Gwen moved into the driver’s seat.
Lana stretched her back. The shift through time twisted and squeezed her nerves, and now she was more worn out than before. Feeling old wasn’t a sensation she was used to, but the years weighed heavily on her.
Lana glanced around. “Where are we?”
The store sat on the side of a hill. A two-story structure. A house was attached to the store, but not. The house was floating on top of the water. A decent enough structure. Yet it looked like a bachelor lived there. Or they didn’t care about keeping the place tidy. Parts of the exterior paint job were peeling and dissolving. A porch lay beyond where smoke billowed from whoever sat on the porch.
Even from here, the disgusting stench of the cigar invaded her senses. She scrunched her nose and tried not to gag.
The house floating on the water wasn’t the oddest part. The oddest part of the entire situation was that the house wasn’t the only house floating. The nearest house floated over a mile away. She could still see that it, too looked like the one docked at this store. The three of them stood on a bank, and beyond that all that existed was water.
The ocean took over everything. The store was constructed to give these homes that resembled real homes, but were floating, a place to stop. A place to gather supplies. A place to stop in.
Lana, Megan, and Dean, stood on the one land strip that seemed to exist, which seemed to be all a part of the spell. Gwen nodded, having followed her train of thought.
“When I leave, this road won’t be here. It’s a small island where this man lives. He’ll forget all about the truck. And you.”
“Wait. So where is Mason. He’s not the old man? He’ll be here soon?”
Gwen pointed at the house docked behind the store. Or . . . the front of the store.
Lana’s nose scrunched. “Please tell me he’s not the one smoking that god-awful cigar?”
“I need to leave.” Gwen shrugged.
Lana nodded. “Thank you for everything. I think I can handle it from here. If Mason isn’t in that house, I can find him. I haven’t tried, but I will sense him out. If I try to use my powers again, he’ll know.”
“I hope you find him. I know what it will mean to him. Take care of yourselves.”
Megan ran over to the door and kissed Gwen on the cheek. “Thanks.”
“Take care of yourself, sweetie.” Gwen pulled away and waved at them all.
Lana studied the house beyond the store. Without using her powers, if Mason were there, he wouldn’t know she was. She didn’t want to risk alerting him yet. Her gut told her that the man sitting out there smoking was him though.
She didn’t need powers to know what her galloping heart did.
Chapter Seventeen
An old man swept the floor and didn’t glance at them. Lana directed the kids past him and Dean ran for the stairs. The small interior of the store was destroyed. Dean lifted Megan over a ruined box, directing her to the staircase. Lana waved them on.
Lana told Dean he could go on up and she would wait downstairs. Dean gave her a sarcastic look that said it all. Seriously? Come on, Mom. Yeah, that was an all too familiar look. From the same man she was hesitant to see. The man who challenged her.
Part of her didn’t want to go see him. Dean helped Megan over the box and to the stairs, then ran up the rest of the stairs with his sister in tow.
One excited little man to see his father. She waited for a long time before she headed up, unable to get the nerve. She took a few deep breaths.
The staircase loomed in front of Lana. It took longer than it should have to ascend the darkened way. Was the staircase getting longer, or was that just her perception?
Dean’s deep voice came from in front of her, but her ears were buzzing too loud. Her heart raced. A man sat with his back facing her. He sat on the porch in an old beat up folding chair. In his thick fingers he held that cigar. His hair was greyer than she remembered. Dean stood over him, talking. Megan ran to the edge of the porch and looked into the water.
“Careful,” came the gruff threat. A voice Lana knew anywhere. A voice that didn’t shake Megan in any way.
Mason.
Coming up beside him, moving as quiet as a mouse, she pulled her long sweater tighter around her. Did she always feel this cold? Or was it nerves? Mason’s profile came into view and he looked old. Still, he looked far better in his old age than she did. Unshaven and grumpy. That’s how she would describe this bitter old man she saw. Bitter. Another good word.
Lana moved past him and over to the edge of the porch. Mason faced the right corner so she took the left, remaining quiet with each step. She didn’t know what to say, or how to say it. All of a sudden she had no idea what to say or do. I feel like a scared little girl, what is with me?
He was busy with her children anyway. Dean chatted away like they were old pals. “Yeah, it was a long trip. I’m just glad we don’t have to sit in that truck any longer.”
Mason chuckled and the sound slid through her body, heating her from toes to nose. She closed her eyes to the sound, relishing how good the sound of his voice felt gliding over her. The years began to fade away. Her body ached. “I would imagine. I didn’t know Gwen would be that creative.”
“It was cool!” Megan giggled.
“I’m glad you’re here,” Mason said behind Lana. The sound changed. He didn’t face away from her. He looked right at her. She knew by the sudden weight of his gaze on her. Her pulse raced.
