Aerenden The Child Returns Read online

  “Actually, I do.” Cal dropped his hands. “I’m sure your mother never told you, but you weren’t slated to guard Meaghan. It’s rare for the Elders to assign a charge to a Guardian of the opposite gender. I can understand their reasons, but they had no choice once you developed your personal power and she developed her power. It’s fate. If they couldn’t dispute it, I don’t see how you can.”

  “I don’t believe in fate,” Nick argued, then blew out a hot breath when Cal grinned. “Fine, let’s call it fate, but it doesn’t make me feel any more prepared.”

  “Maybe not, but you’ll get there. In the meantime, don’t let on. The Elders may not have been willing to argue against fate back then, but Viv and James’ deaths will alter their views. You may have to fight to stay as Meaghan’s Guardian, and I expect you will. Meaghan trusts you. Don’t fail her.”

  “I won’t,” Nick promised.

  “Good. While you’re at it, you need to learn to trust her.”

  “I trust her.”

  “Not fully. The hardest part about being a Guardian is letting your charge make mistakes. You can’t protect her from everything or she’ll never learn. And if she doesn’t learn, she won’t develop into the person we need her to be to succeed.”

  “What if she gets hurt?” Nick asked. “What if she…?” he faltered, incapable of completing the thought.

  “She won’t get killed,” Cal assured him. “You won’t let her. As far as getting hurt, it’s okay. She was tough enough to make it all the way here on a sprained ankle, so I think she can handle injuries.” He picked up Nick’s mug and handed it to him. “She can also handle the truth.”

  Nick frowned. “We’ve already had that conversation.”

  “We started it, but we never finished. You ended it when Meaghan stirred.”

  “She didn’t need to find out about it by overhearing us.”

  “I agree, but she does need to find out, and soon.” Cal nodded toward Nick’s mug. “Drink up. I’m on guard duty tonight. You need a break.”

  Nick did not feel like drinking any longer, but he pressed the mug to his lips anyway. An awkward silence stretched between him and Cal, but as the liquor settled into Nick’s stomach and added a film of haze to his mind, the tension eased, and so did the conversation.

  “I’ve always been told I was assigned to Meaghan from her birth,” Nick said. “It’s funny how stories change over the years.”

  “Funny had nothing to do with it,” Cal responded. “May wouldn’t allow the story to be told any other way. Your family has been protecting Meaghan’s for generations and your mother wasn’t giving up your family’s heritage no matter what the Elders said.” He chuckled. “Of course, while you were gone, May was promoted to Elder status. I think there’s justice in that.”

  “No kidding?” Nick asked, pride spreading a grin across his face. “That’s fantastic news.”

  “It is,” Cal agreed. He picked up the jug and uncorked it. After topping off Nick’s mug, he poured another sampling into his own. “Welcome back, Meaghan,” he directed toward the mouth of the cave. “You’ve been asleep for a while. Do you feel better?”

  “Yes, thank you,” she responded. She exited the shadows of the mountain and joined them at the rock. Although she still limped, Nick was relieved to see that pain no longer lined her face.

  Cal handed her his mug. “This will help, though it’s not quite medicine. You’ll need to see a Healer soon or you won’t get much further. There’s a village with one not far from here.”

  “We’ll detour there tomorrow,” Nick decided. He sat down on the rock, pulling Meaghan down with him. “For now, stay off your feet as much as you can.”

  She nodded and took a sip from the cup in her hand, choking before Nick had a chance to warn her about its contents. He had seen her drink less than a half dozen times, and only beer or wine Vivian and James had given her, never liquor. Her eyes widened and she turned them on Cal.

  “What is this?”

  “My famous spirit,” Cal beamed. “Do you like it?”

  “It’s,” she hesitated, “strong.”

  Cal laughed. “I was telling Nick about May’s promotion. She’s an Elder now.”

  “Who’s May?” Meaghan asked. “And what’s an Elder?

  Cal knit his brows together in confusion before he turned the look on Nick. “Geez, lad, you haven’t told her anything. Does she think she’s still on Earth, too?”

  “Don’t be sarcastic,” Nick muttered before addressing Meaghan’s question. “The Elders are a panel of five Guardians who regulate the Guardian community.”

  “They’re down to four now,” Cal said. “The Mardróch got two of them a few months ago. May was the only one they trusted enough to promote, so they’re staying short one Elder for a while.”

  “Who did we lose?”

  “Silus and Morgan, but I’m sure that’s no surprise to you. Those two have been pushing an aggressive agenda for too long. Their Mardróch nighttime raids were bound to catch up with them eventually.”

  “It’s not a surprise, but it’s a shame,” Nick responded. “There aren’t many Guardians with active powers left. Silus’ ability to bend matter and Morgan’s pyrokenesis would have been helpful in the final plans.”

  “If we could trust them to stick to the plans,” Cal countered. “I don’t know if we could have.”

  “There’s no way to know now,” Nick said and turned back to Meaghan. “May is my mother. Her full name is Maiyahla. She was Vivian’s sister.” He hesitated, debating if he should tell Meaghan any more, but decided to trust her as Cal had recommended. He took her hand in his. “You should also know they were identical twins. You’ll meet my mom soon and it may be hard for you to see her.”

  “I’ll be all right,” she assured him. She squeezed his hand before letting it go. “I did fine with Cal, didn’t I? He looks a lot like my father.”

  “I should,” Cal told her. “James was my younger brother.”

  “I thought so. You and Dad have the same eyes.”

  “As did our father,” Cal said. A smile crossed his face. It only lasted a moment before fading. “James was a good man and I’m sure he made a fine father.”

  “He did.”

  Cal nodded. “But I’m afraid you can’t address him by that name on this world.”

  “What name?” Meaghan asked.

  “You can’t call him your father. I know he was to you, but to the people on this world, he wasn’t.”

  “Why should anyone care what I call him?”

  “It’s,” he rubbed the back of his neck, “complicated.”

  “And Mom?”

  “You should call her Vivian.”

  “I see.” Meaghan tightened her hands around her mug and drew them into her lap. Her shoulders stiffened, but she did not press the issue. Nick realized her leniency for Cal would not extend to him when they were alone later. “I’ll be mindful of your request,” she told Cal. “It won’t be easy to remember to call my parents by their proper names. I’ve been calling them Mom and Dad almost my entire life. But I’ll try.”

  “I appreciate that,” Cal said. “Let’s leave the serious topics alone for the rest of the evening. Dinner should be done soon and I imagine you two are starving.”

  “And then some,” Meaghan agreed. “It smells heavenly, by the way. I don’t even care what it is. I want to eat until I can’t move.”

  Cal laughed and scooped her into his arms, shaking his head when she started to protest. “No walking,” he reminded her. “You’ll have plenty of time to agitate your injury tomorrow. Tonight, let’s feast. And when we’re done, let’s empty the jug of its spirit. It’s time to celebrate your homecoming.”

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  TONGUES OF fire cast halos into the abyss, commanding them to their deaths in the near endless dark. Where the light found a place to settle, it revealed more than Meaghan wanted to see. The walls bled water, a slow seeping which trailed mineral formations
behind it. Thousands of years had crafted the formations into shapes. Some became distorted animal outlines while others twisted into writhing ghosts. Where water oozed from the ceiling, it hardened into sharp, gray icicles that reached for her when she passed beneath them. Although she knew the sinister shapes were only a betrayal of her imagination, fright still kept her within a step of Cal. At times, she trailed so close she almost ran into him when he stopped.

  They had been traveling through the caves since morning. Their route traversed narrow passageways and cramped rooms, forcing them to stoop to pass. They wandered up steep slopes and down into valleys, over rivers and beside canyons. She had never realized caves could be so complex, but Nick explained that hundreds of miles of cave systems interconnected the mountains. They could be dangerous for those who did not know them well. Folklore told of fierce warriors driven into them by advancing armies, lost forever. Nick shared some of those stories. While they frightened Meaghan, Cal chuckled at the story, unconcerned as he led them through the underground maze. He stopped every so often to lay a hand on the wall, nodding in the direction they should follow.

  In his other hand, he held a torch fashioned from a short tree limb wrapped in cloth. Nick carried a similar torch. Both torches burned steadily, never waning despite the hours they wandered. Mesmerized by the limitless flames, Meaghan watched the fire dance in front of her, and marveled at Cal’s command over his power. She hoped someday she could gain the same control, but she had her doubts. Since she had met the man, his emotions controlled half her mind. She fought to separate them from her own, but found the chore exhausting. Her power continued to grow stronger on this world and she had yet to figure out how to manage it.

  After they stopped for a lunch of leftovers, they entered a cavern so large Meaghan could not see the ceiling. An eerie glow emanated from above, bathing the room in faint light. To their right, a landslide of boulders and small rocks blocked the path. And to the left, a pebble-laden shoreline descended into the ink-black waters of a lake. The lake stretched out in front of them, its far shores obscured by dark and distance. She could hear splashing as fish leapt from the water and dove back under the surface. An occasional ripple indicated movement. She watched several dance in succession close to the shore, and then a large one drifted toward them.

  Cal moved in front of Meaghan as Nick stepped forward to do the same. A line of spikes broke the water from the center of the ripple. Following the spikes, a head emerged. Two round, milky orbs came next, protruding from a bulbous face covered in scales. Metallic colored lids descended over the orbs several times in quick succession and Meaghan realized the creature was blinking. A serpentine tongue flicked from its gaping mouth as it rotated its orbs to focus on Cal, then it climbed onto the shore, revealing a toad-like body and elephantine legs. Although it stood the height of a large dog, its body held twice the mass. It pawed thick, webbed feet into the dirt, and then settled them.

  “What is that thing?” Nick asked.

  “I don’t know,” Cal responded. “There are a lot of weird beasts down here that don’t exist on the surface. Keep your eyes on it. I’ll try to clear the path.”

  Cal managed only a few steps toward the rockslide before the creature let out a high-pitched howl. Cal froze, but the effort came too late. Without any further warning, the animal charged toward them, its massive legs spraying rocks behind it.

  Nick lowered his torch and swung it at the creature. He missed, and the beast circled, its speed quickening. It lowered its head, pointing its sharp spikes at Nick’s stomach, and then let out a pig-like squeal when Cal’s torch met its backside. It reared up, rounding to face its attacker.

  Cal took a step back as the animal continued to stand on its hind legs, using its webbed feet to try to push him down. He fenced it off with his torch, the fire trailing and leaping as he swung it through the air, then he waved a hand toward the rockslide and the earth rumbled. Rocks fell, rolling away from the path to reveal a small opening.

  “Go,” Cal commanded. “I’ll catch up.”

  Nick pulled Meaghan onto the pathway. He ran, but she planted her feet, tearing her arm from his grip when the steady fear she had sensed from Cal changed to pain. She turned, hurrying back into the cavern before Nick could stop her. Cal lay on the ground, his torch several feet away. The beast advanced on him and he struggled to his feet only seconds before webbed paws knocked him back down. Meaghan felt his pain spike.

  The creature reared up, and she dove for the torch. Brandishing it, she attacked the animal, knocking it away from Cal before it could crush him. She rolled with it down the embankment, and then felt her leg snap when she hit a rock. Her own intense pain joined with Cal’s in her mind. She opened her mouth to scream, but inhaled water instead as the lake swallowed her and the creature, halting their descent.

  Weighted by her clothes, she sank below the surface. She let go of the deadened torch and struggled to find the lake floor with her feet. She felt only a current as the beast moved underneath her. Thrashing her arms, she tried to swim but her sweater weighed her down. She stripped out of it, kicked again, and found purchase when her feet struck the creature’s back. Using all of her energy, she launched up, breaking the surface of the water.

  Air rushed over her skin. She gasped a large breath before teeth clamped around her injured leg and pulled her back down. The urge to scream almost forced her to take another breath, but she curbed the reaction in time.

  Black water blinded her eyes. She heard nothing but her own frantic heartbeat and the whoosh of the creature’s body as it descended with her into the depths. She struggled, and then renewed pain shot through her as the grip on her leg intensified. Cal’s emotions muted. Her lungs burned. Instinct finally forced her to inhale water as the black haze of unconsciousness fringed her vision. Death would not be far behind. She lost her strength and then a roar filled her ears. She flew upward, floating, spinning in a whirlwind of pressure, and then she fell.

  Her back hit the ground. Too weak to move, she stopped fighting and accepted whatever came next. Softness pressed against her lips, separating them. Air filled her lungs. She choked, coughed, and then hands pulled her onto her side. The water in her lungs rushed out, and she succeeded in taking her next breath on her own. Although labored, it felt like the greatest accomplishment of her life. She struggled to rise, but failed when dizziness overcame her.

  “The beast is coming back,” she heard a distant voice say. “The water spout didn’t deter it.”

  “Take her,” someone else responded. She thought she recognized the second voice as Cal’s. Arms lifted her and she floated through the air again.

  She forced open her eyes. Nick held her. Cal ran close by. They fled into the passageway. Cal raised a hand, flipping it toward the opening and the stones tumbled back into place. Seconds later, darkness descended around them.

  Meaghan heard the sound of stone scraping stone. A spark shot from the wall, then turned to fire as it caught the cloth on the remaining torch. Frantic scratching and scraping emanated from the pile of rocks blocking the entrance and Nick and Cal continued running. Up ahead, the pathway glowed from another opening. Rocks scattered behind them, tumbling from the pile as the creature made progress. Cal directed them into the new opening, and then waved his hand to seal it.

  Brightness seared Meaghan’s eyes. After half the day spent in shadows, they burned from the light, and she squinted to allow them to adjust. The walls and ceiling of the cave sparkled with hundreds of multi-faceted crystals in varying sizes. Each cast a soft white glow from its center, turning the darkness of the deep earth into daylight.

  Nick set her down on the ground. He tried to be gentle but the slight movement brushed her leg against his, sending pain shooting through her body and she clenched her teeth to avoid screaming. The pain, coupled with Cal’s fear, drove her heart into frantic beats. She felt sick and squeezed her eyes shut.

  Fingers slid down her face. She could hear Nick’s voice,
but through the intensity of the emotions, she could not make out what he said. She opened her eyes. Nick laid a hand on her brow. His lips moved and she concentrated on them until his words made sense. “Focus,” he said. “Focus on my emotions. Feel my power, Meg. Focus on it.”

  She stared at him, not understanding. The emotions swirled within her. The pain held her captive. She could not focus on anything else. He laid a palm against her cheek, and then dropped the block he held over her power and allowed her to share his emotions.

  His worry overshadowed all other emotions. Slowly, he withdrew it. As it dissipated, she felt warmth in its place. It was his power, she realized, and allowed the warmth to flood out Cal’s emotions, leaving only her own. She covered Nick’s hand, pressed her cheek into his palm and he understood. He turned from her to roll up her pant leg, his hands gentle and slow.

  “How do your lungs feel?” he asked after she had propped up on her elbows to watch him.

  “Okay, I think,” she responded, attempting a deep breath. She coughed on the air, but managed to take another with better results. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Good.” He finished rolling up her pant leg, careful to keep the wet material from tugging on her skin, then removed the bandage, frowning when a gash a few inches above her ankle revealed a splinter of bone. “This won’t be though. I can see why I’m sensing so much pain from you.” He turned to Cal. “We have to get her to the village soon. I can’t help her with this.”

  Cal walked over to them and examined the injury. “At least she hurt the same leg. She’ll still be able to move. Do you have any jicab root?”

  “In the backpack,” Nick responded and slipped it off his back. Digging through it, he found the portion of root they had left. “We can’t build a fire,” he said, handing it to Cal. “This space is too enclosed.”

  “I don’t intend to,” Cal responded. He took a knife from his pocket and cut off a small chunk of the root. “Open up,” he told Meaghan, slipping it between her lips when she followed his direction. “It will taste horrible, but chew it. Don’t swallow, or you’ll be having visions for the next three days.”