Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles (44 page)

“You have grown up always knowing who you are
and the power you are destined to wield as a Spell Weaver, always
being surrounded by people who love you and look out for you. Your
mother has been repeatedly stripped of that knowledge and had to
repeatedly reabsorb it. She hasn’t always had one tenth of the love
and support you have had.”

“This is her fourteenth life. None of them
have been easy. She doesn’t remember all of them. Two of them were
so horrible I am grateful she doesn’t remember them at all, and I
made a point of never telling you about them. So, please darling,
do not dismiss these headaches as a weakness, I wonder how either
of us would react in her situation.”

Aideen looks sad and says “Daddy, I am sorry
you thought I was judging Mama, I wouldn’t do that. I could never
begin to imagine how anyone survives what you two have been
through. Both of you have my utmost respect, my loyalty and my
love. I am sorry if I said anything that made you question that
Daddy.” When she finishes speaking she turns and walks toward the
bathroom door.

“Aideen. Honey, I never question your heart
or what is in it,” Luca says quietly. “You are much like your
mother, loyal and loving.”

Aideen nods to acknowledge that she heard her
father. Then she knocks on the bathroom door and enters without
waiting for Morna to answer.

She finds Morna is sitting on the floor with
wet washcloth wiping her face. She propped up against the wall by
the toilet. Aideen can smell the vomit, and is shocked to see her
mother looks ashen, and very ill. Aideen helps her get up off the
floor and moves her to a chair. “Mama, is it always this bad? Or
can you remember?” she asks.

“Aideen, I am not sure. Your father would
know better than I.” Morna shrugs and tries to get up.

Aideen puts her hand on her shoulder to stop
her. “Mama, I am a doctor remember. I want to check you out
quickly, is that okay?”

“Sure, but I need to lie down soon. I know
sleep helps, I remember that much,” Morna sighs weakly.

Aideen gives her a mini physical and decides
she is in no immediate danger. Her condition presents like a severe
migraine. So she calls Luca into the bathroom to carry her mother
to the bed. Once he has pulled her shoes off and settled her under
the covers, Aideen asks if she would like an injection to make her
sleep. By now the pain has reached crippling proportions and Morna
can only nod in agreement. Aideen gives her an injection. She
kisses her mother on the forehead and then leads her father back
over to the table.

“Daddy, that should put her out and keep her
out for eight hours or so,” Aideen informs her father.

He nods and then looks at his daughter. “And
honey, I am sorry if I hurt your feelings earlier. Your Mama has
been through hell, and all because of me. If she hadn’t killed that
ancient vampire the witch wouldn’t have cursed her. Can you
understand how much I love your mother? I mean really understand?”
he asks.

“No Daddy, probably not. But I am glad you
do. Don’t worry about hurting my feelings… I think I was being a
little flip about her headache. It’s just strange spending most of
your life around people who think that your mother is this amazing,
strong, wonderful woman, and yet you hardly ever get a chance to be
around her. Sorry, I don’t know how to explain myself.” Aideen
admits.

Luca hugs his daughter close and says, “You
don’t have to explain. It is a strange situation for all of us. And
I know I get obsessive about her, and probably leave you feeling
left out. I just can’t help it Aideen. Morna and I are bound for
eternity.”

Aideen‘s face takes on an indescribably
intense look. “Daddy, I hope we can break the damn curse this time,
I can’t take watching you chase her down again and go through all
this all over again,” admits Aideen. “I really hate seeing the hell
you have gone through over and over.”

Luca thinks Aideen looks angry over what
simply can’t be helped. Long ago he realized that anger only made
him bitter so he has learned to just accept what it. “Morna said
the same thing. Actually, she said I should change her so that I
wouldn’t have to do it again. She swears that somehow, someway if
she goes into another life time she will find a way to make me walk
away from her. It is impossible. I will never do that. But don’t
you see, she hates herself for hurting me, and you. It doesn’t
matter that it is not her fault, she still blames herself. We have
to break the curse. I can’t live without her, I won’t live without
her little girl,” He vows. “I am done living without her.”

“Daddy, what is she like this time?” Aideen
asks.

“Well, she’s passionate, loving, hard headed,
hardworking, very intelligent, strong, and creative, she’s very
drawn to kids with issues and other hopeless cases. Emotionally,
she is the strongest she has ever been. And yet she is very much
like she was in her original life in many ways,” This thought makes
him smile.

“And you are still very much devoted to her,”
Aideen says quietly.

Luca smiles happily and says, “That will
never change, Ladybug.”

Aideen looks very thoughtful at her father‘s
words, and suddenly seems very eager to leave. “Daddy, I don’t
think she is going to have an adverse reaction to the injection, so
I am going to leave for now. I need to go make my rounds at the
hospital. I will let Brigid know what happened. Just call us when
she is feeling up to seeing anyone, okay?” asks Aideen as she
stands up to leave.

Luca stands up gives his daughter a hug and a
kiss, “Thank you darling. Call me immediately if that link resumes,
okay?”

Aideen laughs, “No problem Daddy, believe me,
I won’t hesitate!” she chuckles as she heads out the door.

Luca walks over the bed to check on Morna.
She’s sweating already so he pulls the covers down and crawls in
bed beside her. His cold body should cool her off soon. He holds
her close and listens to her talk in her sleep about all of her
children. But at least the dreams don’t sound desolate as they have
over the past months since she came out of the coma.

She sleeps about two hours when she wakes up
and asks for Aideen. “Aideen went home. How is your head feeling?”
he asks.

“Better, I think. Let me go to the necessary
and we will see what moving around does to it,” she suggests.

She comes back from the bathroom a few
minutes later and sits beside him on the bed. She puts her hand on
his knee and he puts his hand over it and rubs gently. “Morna, what
were you dreaming about right before you woke up?”

She cringes and then tries to concentrate. “I
think… I think I was dreaming about Rosa and Audrey, I am not sure.
It all gets so jumbled. Sometimes I really can’t tell what is a
dream and what’s a memory. Sorry.”

“I can only imagine,” he says thoughtfully.
“You should come back to bed, your daughter, the doctor, said that
medication should make you sleep about eight hours,” he
chuckles.

“Oh well, medication never quite affects me
like the doctors say it should,” she laughs. “I guess she thinks I
am a pretty lame specimen, doesn’t she?”

“Not at all,” Luca assures her.

“Luca, my hearing is almost as good as yours,
remember?” she cocks her head wryly at him.

“Morna, I don’t know how to say this without
making Aideen look bad, because it is not bad, it just is. Well,
Aideen has had some issues over the centuries of being jealous over
you,” he admits.

“Of course she has. Her absent mother has
been responsible for taking her Daddy away from her. That girl
obviously adores you Luca. You have done a good job with her. I
mean that, she seems very rock solid.”

“I knew, somehow, that you would understand.
Now get back into bed, and take care of yourself,” he orders.

“I want a shower first, I feel sticky and the
headache isn’t completely gone.” She leans over kisses him,
caressing his neck. I’ll be back out in a bit. Oh, have you talked
to the kids at home?” she asks.

“Yes, I have. Everyone is fine. Go take care
of you for a change,” he insists.

Morna grabs a clean bra and panty set out of
her suitcase and goes to the bathroom to shower. While she’s in the
shower Luca calls Aideen to see if she should be awake already.
“Definitely not,” says Aideen. “She should be out like a light. She
must have the constitution of a damned Clydesdale,” she chuckles.
Then asks, “Is her head any better?”

“A bit. She’s showering now. Sometimes that
helps. Mostly, I think she should just sleep more. Maybe I will get
her something to eat while she is in there. She didn’t eat much
while you were here. Anyway, thank you for looking after her
earlier. Tell Brigid I don’t know when we can make it to her
clinic. Apologize for me, Okay?”

“Nothing to apologize for Daddy, I saw how
sick she was. I am wondering if I shouldn‘t have insisted we take
her to Brigid to run some tests.” Aideen is thoughtful, “Is it this
bad for her every time?

“I wondered about that too. But to answer
your question; sometimes it is worse, sometimes not so severe. I
guess it just depends on how much she can remember on her own, over
time. This time she doesn’t have the luxury of time. So I think it
will be very hard for her,” he worries aloud.

“Wow! Sorry, I had no idea it‘s been so hard
for her,” admits Aideen.

“Well, she just turned the shower off. I’ll
call you later,” he says.

“Wait Daddy, Brigid and I were planning to
come over at 8:00, would that be okay?”

“It should be. It would give her eight hours
to recoup her strength. She won’t need that long, but it will be
nice for her not to feel rushed,” he says. “See you two at 8:00.
Good bye.” Luca hangs up the phone and stares thoughtfully into
nothingness. Wondering if his two girls were going to be able to
come together soon enough to meet the challenges ahead.

Morna comes out of the bathroom, wearing the
new bra and panty set, (this particular set is covered in cheetah
spots,) and drying her hair with a towel. “Well, the shower helped
a little more. I almost feel like returning to land of living,” she
jokes. Her grin disappears when she notices the pensive look on
Luca’s face.

She goes over to him quickly and kneels
before him. “What’s wrong? Is everyone okay?” she asks
breathlessly.

He shakes his head to rouse himself from his
worries. He caresses her face gently and says, “Yes, it was just
calling Aideen. I was asking if you should be awake yet. She said
you must have the constitution of a Clydesdale,” he chuckles. Then
he adds, “Aideen and Brigid are coming over at 8:00. I bet Breena
comes along too.”

Morna rises up and kisses him deeply then
pushes him back on to the bed, and stretches herself out, hovering
over him. “Darling, don’t worry. Women are funny creatures. Aideen
and I will find our way, I promise. It will be okay.” She kisses
him again and says, “Guess what I remembered while I was in the
shower?”

Luca chuckles as he runs his hands up her
sides from her lush hips and says, “Well out of the thousands of
memories you might have had, it would be a little hard for me to
guess.”

She beams happily and says, “I remembered our
first wedding! And our honeymoon in that little tent,” she giggles.
And then she gets very serious. “You really don’t mind that I am so
much older than I was then? And physically, I am huge compared to
that life. What was I then? Maybe 4’11” or 5’? I am over a foot
taller this time and probably 70 - 80 pounds heavier. I was much
prettier then too,” she says quietly.

Luca sits up, forcing her to sit face to face
with him. He takes her face in his hands, “Morna, you have always
been beautiful to me, in all your incarnations. But honestly, I
feel more passion for you this time than I ever have. You are lusty
and gorgeous. Beyond a doubt, the sexiest woman I have ever been in
love with, and believe me, I have been in love with in all shapes
and sizes.”

“I’m the sexiest?” she looks doubtful. “With
my gray hair, wrinkles, extra weight? Sure Luca, try again,” she
jokes.

“Morna, look me in the eyes. Hear me, believe
me. I love this version of you more than I have ever loved you. You
take my breath away. You are passionate, loving, generous, caring,
brave, stubborn, trusting, and yes, sexy. Very, very sexy!” He
kisses her passionately and rolls her over onto her back and starts
trailing his ice cold lips down her neck and finally buries his
face between her breasts as he kneads them with both hands. He
pulls back and says hoarsely, “I better stop for now, you need to
rest. I don’t want that headache coming back.”

She reaches up and pulls him back down to her
breasts, and says, “What headache? Besides, you said that sex often
helps.”

He laughs but says, “Morna, I mean it. You
probably need to rest.”

She puts her hands on both sides of his face
and says, “No, all I really need is you. More than air, more than
water, more than food. I can’t remember every bit of every life we
have had together, but I can’t imagine I could have ever loved you
more than I do right now.” Suddenly she shifts her hands to his
shoulders and she flips him over onto his back with her straddled
on top. She grins a very wicked little grin and leans down to kiss
him.

“Morna, how did you do that? I was resisting,
and you flipped me anyway. Did you use a spell?” he asks
breathlessly.

“Nope, just me in my forty-nine year old,
passion-filled body,” she brags humorously. “Seriously, I don’t
know how I did it, but it’s intoxicating to be this powerful, I
must admit.” Suddenly she sits bolt upright. “Uh, oh. I am seeing
red around the edge of my vision. Do you know what that means?”

“No,” Luca admits, looking a little
confused.

“It means that I am calling on my warrior
persona, without even trying to. Luca, I am not sure if that’s good
or bad.” She rolls off of him suddenly, and sits cross legged
facing him. “Luca, I remember defeating the trolls in 1289. There
were over 200 of them and just four of us, and we drove them back.
They were trying to break through near Airendell in Middle-world to
get to this world. But the four of us, you, me, Brian and Bronwyn,
we drove them back. We destroyed sixty-two of them in the process.
Twenty, that’s how many I brought down by myself!”