Aerenden: The Child Returns (Ærenden) (32 page)

Nick
grinned, dropping his guard so she could sense his joy. “You did it,” he told
her, leaning between them to press his lips to hers. “Look at the bush.”

She
turned her head, amazed to see the plant changing in front of her. It dropped
its dry, dead leaves, replacing them with velvet green foliage streaked in
orange. It grew, rising from the ground and lifting wilted limbs into the sky
as it thickened into a dense bush as large as the raspberry bush by the cabin.
When it appeared healthy and full, it sprouted long, thin nuts the size of one
of Meaghan’s fingers.

Nick
plucked a nut from the bush. Snapping it in two, he upended the halves so that
several pea-sized filberts emptied into her hand. She tossed them into her
mouth, relishing more in their tender flavor than she had anything else before.

“They
taste like hazelnuts,” she said.

“They
do,” he agreed. “That’s an impressive power you have.”

She
blushed and reached for another nut, plucking a leaf with it. “You said these
were edible, too?”

“They
are, but that’s more emergency knowledge than anything else. They make jicab
root taste like candy.”

She
dropped the leaf to the ground, shuddering, and he laughed.

They
ate until they were full and then moved again. As they came within a mile of
the village, Nick quickened his pace, but Meaghan lagged behind, her anxiety
growing with each step.

“Are
you okay?” he asked after he stopped to let her catch up.

“Yes,
it’s just,” she shrugged. “I’m nervous about this.”

“You’ll
be fine,” he told her. “We’ll figure out a way to keep your power from
overwhelming you.”

“I
know,” she said, and touched a hand to her stomach, feeling queasy. “It’s not
that though. I’m afraid to meet your mother. She’s my mother-in-law now. What
if she doesn’t like me?”

He
grinned. “Considering everything else you’ve had to face this week, you’re
worried about that?” She glared at him, and he dropped his grin. “Sorry,” he
said and wrapped his arms around her. “First of all, we don’t have in-laws
here. Wedding me means you’re her daughter as much as I’m her son.”

“That’s
splitting hairs.”

“Perhaps,”
Nick said. “But even if that weren’t true, she won’t know we’re wed when you
meet her. She’ll only know you as her Queen.”

“I’ll
know,” Meaghan murmured, and pressed her cheek against his shoulder. “And I
want her to like me for me, not because she sees me as her Queen. I don’t want
her to feel like she has to be polite to my face while she secretly hates me
behind my back.”

“Then
you definitely have nothing to worry about,” Nick said. “My mother doesn’t do
polite for the sake of polite. If she doesn’t like you, she’ll tell you to your
face, royalty or not. If she’s upset with you for any reason, you’ll know.”

“Are
you sure?”

“I’m
certain. She’s as direct as one of Faillen’s arrows. In fact, she once told off
your father, despite the fact he could have thrown her in jail for it.”

“Why
did she do that?”

“Because
he deserved it. He showed up drunk after spending all night at a poker game. It
was soon after you were born. You’d been crying non-stop and your mom was
exhausted. Your dad strolled through the door of the royal suite, right into my
mother’s waiting wrath. She badgered him into a corner with an onslaught of
well-chosen words and didn’t relent for an hour. I can guarantee you she didn’t
gloss over what she thought of him that day.”

Meaghan
laughed. “Is that true?”

“Cal
claims it is. Of course, he was one of the people at the poker game, so he
would know. I understand your dad never did it again.”

“I
bet he didn’t.”

Nick
rested his chin on top of her head. “Don’t worry about my mom, Meg. You’ll be
fine.”

She
nodded and closed her eyes, listening to his heart beat slow and steady in his
chest. It calmed her more than his words did. “What’s your mother like?”

“Stubborn,
proud, boisterous, and bossy.” He smiled. “It’s why we call her May instead of
Mai.”

“Being
bossy is?”

“Yes.
Vivian was always the calmer of the two of them, even when they were children.
Mom was more of the leader and the protector, though it came across as pushy,
which Viv hated. Mom tells me she used her older sister status as an excuse to
keep Viv in line.”

“I
thought they were twins.”

“She’s
older by forty-three minutes. It’s enough for Mom to believe it matters.”

Meaghan
laughed and Nick continued his story. “As the older sister, Mom would make Viv
ask permission to do everything. Viv did it to keep the peace, but she found
her own way of resisting. She narrowed her eyes, planted her hands on her hips,
and said ‘
May
I’ when asking permission. Then she used the same posture
and tone, calling my mother May instead of Mai during conversations. It annoyed
my mother so much she eventually stopped being so controlling of Viv, but the
name stuck and Mom grew to like it. Everyone calls her that now.”

Meaghan
laughed again, and then pulled back from Nick to wipe a tear from her eye.
“That sounds like Mom. Vivian,” she corrected. “She always knew how to get her
way. She was one of the smartest people I’ve ever known.”

“My
mom is too. And like Vivian, she’s also fiercely loyal and loving. She’ll do
anything to help, whether you’re family or a complete stranger. And she’s as
free with wisdom or a hug. She’s well-loved and respected in the village, and
she’s pretty much the best person to have around in a crisis.”

“Like
you,” Meaghan said.

“I
like to think I got some of her best qualities,” Nick agreed. “Are you ready?”

She
nodded. They walked further and when they crested a hill, he turned to her and
took her hand. “You are welcome here,” he said to her. The trees in front of
her disappeared and in their place, a village materialized, surrounded by open
fields. As Nick had stated, it was larger than Neiszhe’s village. Four times
larger at least, but before panic had time to settle over her, a movement in
the field distracted her. A boy ran toward them, his brown hair streaked back
from his face by his speed, his cheeks flushed with exertion. He kicked up dirt
as he skidded to a stop in front of them.

“Nick,”
he cried through gasps. “May sent me. She said she could sense you close by and
I had to get you.” He stopped talking. Bending over to press his hands to his
knees, he worked to catch his breath.

“What’s
wrong, Alcent?” Nick asked. “Is my mother all right?”

Alcent
nodded and looked up, seeming to notice Meaghan for the first time. His tawny
eyes grew wide. “Is she—?

“Yes,”
Nick interrupted. “What did my mother say?”

“She
said,” he panted, tried again. “She said she needs your help with a patient.
Right away. She said to go to her house.”

Meaghan
barely had time to look at Nick before he grabbed her hand and took off running
toward the village.

T
HEY SPED
down
wide roads paved in stone, through alleys lined in gravel, and past colorful,
multi-story houses. They blended together, one into another, until they were no
more than a streak of color and movement. People stepped out of houses and
shops. Some watched them with obvious stares, their curiosity piqued as she and
Nick ran past. Others waved and called out to Nick in recognition. And one
elderly man on his front porch whistled, hollering at them to slow down before
they knocked someone over.

Nick
ignored them all, dragging her along a route he knew by memory until they
reached a two-story house that looked almost identical to the one Vivian and
James had built on Earth, except that a small guest cottage stood to the right
of the house instead of a garage.

Nick
did not bother to knock on the front door. He opened it and charged in,
threading his way through a living room overstuffed with furniture and
knickknacks to a door opposite the entrance. Meaghan did not have to wonder how
he knew where to find his mother. She could hear the shouting as well as he
could.

He
pushed open the door, stepped into a kitchen also similar to the one on Earth,
and then came to an abrupt stop. Meaghan squeezed into the room behind him,
pausing when she saw the source of the noise.

Nick’s
mother stood on one side of a kitchen island. A man stood on the other,
brandishing a knife in his hand. His mouth moved constantly, spewing
unintelligible words. His eyes shown bright and wild, and each time May took a
step toward him, he screamed, slashing the knife through the air in warning.

The
man’s shrill cries commanded Meaghan’s attention for a moment, but soon her
eyes locked on May and froze. Although Nick had warned Meaghan about the
identical appearance between Vivian and her sister, seeing May standing in a near
copy of the room Vivian had cherished stole Meaghan’s breath. If May’s hair had
been long like Vivian’s instead of cropped short at her ears, or if the kitchen
had housed the gleaming white appliances Vivian had found so comforting instead
of the more rustic tools May owned, Meaghan would not have been able to
separate the past from the present. She checked her impulse to run to the
woman, and then fought the equally strong impulse to cry, faking calm by
folding her hands together in front of her.

“What’s
going on?” Nick asked his mother.

“I
don’t know,” May responded. “His name’s Abbott. He’s a Guardian assigned to a
village a few days’ walk from here. The village was attacked last week. Someone
found him unconscious in the field this morning and brought him to me, but I
can’t find anything wrong with him.” Abbott screamed again and May sighed.
“That’s getting old,” she told her patient, then spoke to Nick again. “When he
woke up, he ran from me and came in here. He’s been screaming and babbling ever
since.”

“How
long has he been doing this?”

“Two
hours now. I can’t get close enough to sedate him.”

“I
could try sneaking around if you think you could distract him.”

The
man turned his knife toward Nick, slashing again as he argued in his senseless
language.

“Or
not,” Nick said. “We could let him keep going like this. He’ll get tired
eventually and pass out.”

May
shook her head. “That could take days. I have better things to do with my time
than babysit him. Any other ideas?”

“Did
anyone else live through the attack?”

“About
half of the village survived,” May responded. “A quarter of those are still
recovering from injuries. Are you thinking he was driven mad by the violence?”

“He
wouldn’t be the first,” Nick reasoned. “Give me the needle. I’ll take my chances
against his knife.” 

May
slipped a syringe from her pocket and handed it to him. Nick picked up a cookie
sheet from the counter, weighing it in his hands before extending it out like a
shield. He inched forward and Abbott’s protests filled the room once more.

Meaghan
released her hold on Nick’s power. A rush of emotions from the surrounding
village assaulted her, but she gritted her teeth, and held her gaze steady on
Abbott. Although the other emotions remained, they became no more than
background noise when Abbott’s eyes met hers. His emotions surged forward,
strong and commanding, and she curled her fingers into her palms, standing her
ground against them. It only took her a moment to realize what they meant.

“Wait,”
she said.

Nick
kept the cookie sheet in front of him, but followed her request and stopped
walking.

“He’s
not insane,” she told him.

“How
do you know?”

“Because
he’s terrified. I can feel it, but the emotion isn’t natural. It feels forced.”

“You
mean like it’s induced?” May asked.

“Maybe.
Though it seems to surge when he looks at you.”

“He
could be hallucinating,” May said.

Meaghan
focused more of her power on Abbott. Although his fear seemed to overwhelm him,
something else surfaced through the chaos. She took a step forward, stopping when
Nick took hold of her arm.

“That’s
enough,” he said. “I don’t want you near him. And stop using your power. There
are too many people within sensing distance.”

“I’m
fine. The other emotions aren’t as strong as long as I focus on him.”

“You’re
not fine. You’re white and you’re sweating.”

Meaghan
raised a hand to her forehead. As soon as her fingers met her brow, beads of
sweat rolled over them. She rubbed the moisture between her fingertips,
surprised by it, but shook her head.

“I’m
okay.”

Nick’s
grip tightened. “Turn off your power before you get hurt.”

“Not
yet. I can help.” She turned her gaze to Nick, pleading with him to believe her
and he nodded. His hold slackened and she started moving toward Abbott again. She
only managed a few steps before another emotion surged from her left, stronger
than the ones in the village and it broke her concentration. Anger, she
realized, and flicked her eyes toward the redheaded woman who had moved to
block her path. The heat in May’s green eyes matched the emotion Meaghan sensed.