Discovery at Nerwolix (47 page)

You must come with us
, a lyrical
voice sings in my head.

My eyes shoot open and there they are—the
three Lynzees. They’re floating inches above my nose, swirling in
and out of each other.

Go with you?
I ask.

You must come with us to the Fychu… there is
knowledge you both must possess.

What knowledge?

Accompany us to the Fychu… it will be
revealed soon.

I look to my right. Reid is asleep, his eyes
closed and his lips parted. His arms are wrapped around me and his
face has nearly sunk into my neck. I bring my hand to his shoulder
and shake gently. “Reid.
Reid
.”

His eyes flutter open. He smiles.

“We have to go.”

His humor fades. “Go where?”

I gesture up, to the Lynzees flying a foot
above us. “To Sampson’s.”

He smacks his tongue to the roof of his
mouth and with a sleepy grin, leans in and kisses me. Warmth stirs,
and I want so much for him to keep holding me. Instead he pulls
back with a nod and, obviously exhausted, rises from the bed. I
follow and we’re out of his home and over to Sampson’s in a matter
of minutes. When we arrive, all the Dofinikes are already there.
They look up at our arrival, especially as the Lynzees flutter in
behind us, assuming the center of the wooden abode.

Sampson stands, glancing from them to
me.

Fychu…
one of the Lynzees starts,
we have come to bestow valuable information for you and the
Arizals. The Mother advises that it will be three months before
Reuzkimpart returns, in which time Fallon must accompany us to
Arosin, where she will be educated and trained by the Lost
Princesses. This will be done, as it is Her way.

Everyone in the room looks at me, even
Reid.

Three months?

He must see something is wrong because he
frowns. “What is it?”

I don’t answer, because I’m not even sure I
heard right. I’ll be leaving for three months? I’m not sure how to
wrap my mind around that—leaving here, leaving everyone for three
solid months. Is it even possible? Can I do that? Can I leave
Reid?

During that time, you will prepare for
Reuzkimpart’s return. It is Her way, so it will be done.

Three months?
I ask this time.

It is Her will.

I don’t know what to say. I look at Sampson,
my mouth agape as the others stare at me. No one says anything. The
room is engulfed in silence—hard, thick silence.

Reid squeezes my hand. “What is it?” he
turns me to look at him. “Fallon?”

“I-I have to leave.”

“What?” he frowns as anger passing over his
features.

“For three months. I-I have to go.”

“Go where?”

“Arosin. I have to train with the Lost
Princesses. They’re…” I gulp, trying to register everything as I
say it. “They’re going to educate me and—and train me. For three
months,” I look at Sampson, “and then Reuzkimpart will return.”

Even though I’ve explained it, Reid still
shakes his head. “You can’t leave.”

“She doesn’t have a choice,” Sampson says
softly.

“But she can’t go,” Reid snaps, turning to
him. “For three months? You’ve got to be kidding.”

“It’s what the Mother wants. It’s Her will.
Her way. If she says Fallon must leave to be educated and trained…
it must happen.”

“But,” Reid looks back at me, trying to
search for a loop hole. His panicked eyes flicker between mine,
scorching my heart with the same sharp fear and after a long
moment, a lump rolls down his throat. “When?”

Tomorrow
, one of the Lynzees says.
Fallon will come with us tomorrow.

I bite back a cry, the painful swell in my
chest growing. “They say tomorrow.”

My heart speeds up, watching Reid’s face
fill with the same heartache. His hand grips mine, and I want
nothing more than to never let him go. How can I possibly do this?
How can I leave him? Suddenly, it’s hard to breathe.

“I am sorry you have to leave so suddenly,
Fallon,” Sampson says. “But you will be under the protection and
guidance of the Lost Princesses. They will educate, train and care
for you during this absence—it is truly a great honor. You must
view it like this.”

I don’t know what to say. I’m being sent
away from my friends and family for a quarter of a year. Finally, I
force words up my throat. “Three months?”

“It is what they request. We will use the
time to prepare for Reuzkimpart’s return.”

“So I’ll be coming back the same time he
will?”

You will arrive first. Reuzkimpart will
bring his army two weeks after.

I look at Reid and bite my lip.

“What?” he’s afraid.

“It appears Fallon will arrive here two
weeks prior to Reuzkimpart’s next attempt. We will have those three
months to prepare and the two weeks to catch her up,” Sampson steps
forward, glancing around the room. “It is… more than an honor that
the Lynzees share this information with us. We know when
Reuzkimpart will strike, so we can move the Gifts then. And as for
Fallon,” he turns to me, his face tightening. “I know it seems
sudden and probably not what you want, but you must remember what
an honor it is.
No one
is asked to be trained by the Lost
Princesses. It is almost like…”

“Being taken under the wing of an angel,”
Clarence says quietly. “Or so I’d imagine.”

Everything is quiet. Still. I try to absorb
this information, my thoughts racing a thousand miles a minute, but
all I keep thinking about is Reid. And my heart keeps breaking over
and over again. I don’t want to leave him. I don’t want to leave
anyone
—I want to stay here with everyone else, preparing for
the Vermix return.

“Fallon…” Sampson takes a step closer, but
I’m nodding.

“I know… I’m going,” I swallow, unable to
look at Reid. “It’s just… a bit of a shock.”

Tomorrow morning we shall leave for Arosin.
You will start your training then.

I nod again. Stepping back on instinct, I
try to keep my voice strong, solid. “Can I just… take a minute?
If—if I’m leaving tomorrow morning, I need,” I gulp. “I need a
minute.”

I turn and jet past the red curtain before
anyone can stop me. I meant to only find myself outside Sampson’s
home where the air is crisp and I can breathe again, but I keep
going. I’m still running, not sure where I’m headed, but I can’t
stop. If I stop, then that means it’s real; it means I have to
leave tomorrow for three months when I all want is to stay forever
in Reid’s arms.

No one is behind me. No one is racing after
me or calling for me so I just keep going. Maybe I
can
outrun this. Maybe if I just keep going, I can find myself in a new
situation—one very different from this one, one where I stay here,
with Reid, with my family. One where I don’t have to leave in a
matter of hours.

I make it all the way to the south side of
the city and jet down the trees toward the beach. I fall to the
sand, mostly because my legs have given out from under me and
panting, I look straight ahead, ignoring the thundering in my
chest. Half the sun is hovering over the horizon, casting a
golden-pink glow across the still water. It’s beautiful, really,
and I focus all my attention on that. I can get lost in the sunset,
pretend nothing else exists and just be here, in this moment of
solitude and peace before the truth comes crashing down on me
again.

I’m not sure how long I’ve been out here,
sitting on the sand and watching the sun disappear behind the water
when footsteps sound behind me. I don’t look. I can’t. Whoever it
is, I’ll have to say goodbye to them tomorrow and I can’t start
those yet. I can’t say my goodbyes to anyone right now.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Clarence remarks
behind me.

Silence.

“It’s one of my favorite things,” he moves
closer, standing beside me as he gazes out over the water. “A
sunset. Truly remarkable how all those colors come from one blazing
star.” He waits a moment longer before sitting next to me, keeping
his focus ahead. “When I was young, I would look forward to the sun
setting all day.”

“Seems like a waste,” I mumble.

“Why’s that?”

“You’re wasting your entire day looking
forward to one thing at the end.”

Clarence shakes his head. “Not at all. I
enjoyed
my days, but the exciting part was knowing that the
best was yet to come. There was nothing wasteful about it. It was
like, no matter how good or bad the day was, it always ended on a
positive; it always ended with a sunset,” he glances at me. “You
know, the whole ‘there’s a light at the end of the tunnel’
thing.”

“Is there a light at the end of my tunnel?”
I know how whiny that sounds, but I can’t help it.

He starts to speak but closes his mouth,
turning to face the water again. A moment passes before he breaks
the silence.

“I know you think three months is forever,
but it really isn’t. It’s a speck of time,” he selects a grain of
sand and pinches it between his pointer and thumb, “nothing more
than a single grain on this beach. It’s so small you can barely see
it.”

“But I can,” I focus on the sand between his
fingers. “I can see it right now.”

“Because you’re focusing on it,” he tosses
it aside and it gets lost among the other yellowy-beige
material.

“It’s still there.”

He scoffs. “Where?”

I look back toward the water and sigh. I
know what Clarence is trying to do but I’m in no mood to be cheered
up. I should be, since this is the last time I’m going to see
everyone for a while but I don’t have it in me to play along.
Another long moment passes when thoughts bubble up from earlier,
from before the Vermix arrived when I found myself in the same
strange awkwardness next to him. He told me I could ask whatever I
wanted. This is what I want to know.

“Tell me what you loved about her,” I turn
to him. “Tell me what you loved about Anne.”

Surprise flickers over his face, followed
quickly by sadness and regret. Finally, a small speck of happiness
shines through.

“Her warmth,” he says. “Everyone was drawn
to her. She had…” he gazes out to the water with a smile. “She had
this way about her. Such softness… and love. I couldn’t be sure she
was real the first time I saw her. But she was. She was this
miraculous being, this angel sent to torment me…” he breaks his
stare of the water and runs his fingers through the sand. “I knew I
was being punished. It was
my
idea to go.
I
was the
one who wanted to visit Earth. Sampson was happy on Ellae and I was
lonely. And restless and curious and always up for breaking some
rules. I told him he didn’t have to come with me but…” Clarence
shrugs, looking up again. He takes a breath. “It was only supposed
to be for fun. It was only supposed to be a few weeks or so…” he’s
staring so hard at the water that I don’t even think he’s here
anymore.

When a long silent moment has passed, I try
bringing him back.

“But you fell in love with her.”

“It wasn’t just love,” Clarence shakes his
head, his voice growing soft. Tender. “Before Anne, I didn’t know
why I was here, why I was alive. I found purpose the day I saw
her,” he inhales. “I found my reason.”

“Wow…” I whisper, focusing on Clarence’s
words, letting them sink in. “You must’ve really loved her.”

“
Love
her,” he corrects, looking at
me. “I still love her. She may have gone, but I still feel for her
what I did that day I first saw her. And I always will,” he nods,
gazing out to the water again. “There’s nothing that can change
that.”

His love for my great-great-grandmother is
almost surreal, that he carries it with him to this day. But the
pain he must feel, the knowledge that he can never hold her again,
not now, not three months from now, must be torturous. Suddenly, my
own worries seem to fizzle into nothing.

“I’m sorry,” my words come out whispers,
“…for what happened.”

Clarence turns to me, heartbreak on his
face. He offers a half smile and then looks back to the water
again, which is quickly growing dark. The sun has nearly set and
the sky is a deep purple around us. Silence stretches for a long
time until he starts again, his focus on the sand below.

“Sometimes…” his voice is fragile,
“…sometimes I think it would’ve been better if I didn’t survive the
massacre. If we had died together… I could be with her right now,”
he picks at the sand. “I think about it a lot, actually,” a deep
frown settles before he looks up, straight ahead. “But then I
wouldn’t have been able to protect Ruth. To watch her grow or meet
Helen…” he turns to me, “or you. You’re my family just as much as
Anne was. You’re the last part of her I have.”

My chest tightens, an urge to cry rising up
my throat. “Do I look like her?”

“Actually…” Clarence smiles. “You do.”

“How?”

He selects a curl and flips it between his
fingers. “Anne had dark curly hair like yours. She had the same
fierce brown eyes and a look like she was always trying to figure
something out,” he laughs, dropping the curl. He turns back to the
water with a sigh. “A hundred years. It’s been a hundred years
since I first saw her. And here you sit,” he grins with a glance at
me. “I must’ve done something right.”

I don’t know what to say. I’m not sure if
there’s anything to say. So we sit in quiet, gazing out to the dark
water, my Callix starting to glow around my wrist. After a bit,
Clarence inhales next to me.

“You’ll be back here before you know it,
kid.”

I nod, bringing my knees to my chest and
wrapping my arms around them. “What are they going to teach
me?”

“Probably what I should’ve since I found you
in Ruth’s house—about us, our world, our culture.”