Shared Skies (21 page)

“
I have to go. I’ll talk
to them, tell them what's happened. I'll make them understand you
and I are one person. Give me till tomorrow, and then we’ll be
together and deal with the world.” They hugged tightly and moved
reluctantly apart.

“
It’s tearing my heart out
to leave you even if it is just for a few hours, but I know you
have to do this.” He tilted her chin up and kissed her swiftly on
the mouth, caressed her face and stepped back, disappearing into
the shadows. Her heart lurched, she was suddenly bereft.

Alasdair came into sight. “Gaiah! What the
Or’ka are you doing? We were so worried.” He hugged her tightly but
briefly. “What childish prank is this? Hiding in the garden because
Gorand upset you? Everyone’s out looking for you. Come back in to
the house immediately.” He stalked off, footsteps stamping out his
annoyance.

Gaiah was torn between a desire to scream at
him for causing Neal to leave, and hysterical laughter at his
assumptions, which were so far removed from reality.

Alasdair’s voice calling Gorand floated back
to her, yet she stayed standing. What had just happened? She had
found part of herself she hadn’t realized she was missing. A true
mate of her soul. Her future, wherever or whatever it was going to
be, was going to be spent side by side with Neal. A union of the
three worlds! And now, here she was, being told off like a naughty
six-year-old–it was absurd!

Chapter
Sixteen

Gaiah was in turmoil as she followed
Alasdair. Surges of happiness made her feel like shouting out her
news to the world. However she had changed since leaving London.
She was a radically different being now. Most of her mind was with
Neal, in the dark. She started to run, to catch up with Alasdair.
She couldn’t wait to tell everyone what had happened. To her
surprise, Kaley was alone in the kitchen.

She rushed at Gaiah and held her tightly.
“Gaiah, I’m sorry you're so upset about all the expectations of
you. Please don’t worry.” She kissed Gaiah's forehead. “But don’t
ever scare me like that again. When I went in to see if you were
okay, I found the room empty, the window open and you gone...I
couldn't imagine what had happened.”

“
Oh, God, I'm so sorry for
panicking you, but I'm really fine-”

“
Talking about panic,
Renny has shifted to Gaiana to get help. I'll have to go
immediately to let them know you’re okay.” She hugged Gaiah even
tighter. “Oh, darling, I'm so glad you're okay.” She paused, leaned
back and scrutinized Gaiah. “You look really strange, Gaiah, as if
you’re not really taking everything in–are you sure you’re all
right?”

“
Yes, I’m fine–pretty
good, really.” She felt her smile begin to stretch her face.
Alasdair, Gorand and Daveen burst into the kitchen.

Gorand strode over to her. “I’m so sorry,
Gaiah. I’m sure the last thing you needed was more pressure from
me. And Alasdair just told us that you've been ill too, I’m such an
idiot. Please forgive me.”

Before Gaiah answered, Kaley said, “I’m just
going to get Renny. I’ll see you all in the morning and, Gaiah,
remember what I said–don’t worry.”

“
Grandma, don’t, I–” but
Kaley had shimmered out of sight.

Daveen, leaning against the Rayburn, smiled
at Gaiah and nodded towards Gorand. “Please forgive him?”

“
Oh honestly! It’s all of
you who have to forgive me. You too, Grandpa. My behaviour was
appalling. Of course you didn’t upset me, Gorand. Really, more than
anything, I was cross at myself, for being so useless.”

Alasdair was smiling at her now, so all was
well. He poured tea for them all and they sat again at the kitchen
table. Gaiah felt wrapped in a glow of happiness and made
conversation with half her mind.

She was bursting to tell them the momentous
news but there was no way she could do it, not till her grandmother
was back. She listened as they chatted about Gorand’s plans to take
the family skiing. But she was fizzing inside and couldn’t wait to
be on her own to think about it all. She stood up. “Look, everyone,
I’m going to have an early night and tomorrow morning we’ll have a
serious chat, and maybe we can see if we can come up with any
plans?” They all agreed this was a good idea, and eventually
everyone settled and the house was quiet.

Gaiah was beyond
happy.
Okay, I’ve upset everyone
here
tonight, but
they’ll all forget that when they hear the news tomorrow. Gosh, an
Earth–Or’kan–Gaianan melding, that has to mean something major! Oh,
I can’t wait ‘til they meet him.
The
instant she thought about Neal it was as if every corpuscle in her
body went into overdrive.

She was aware of her own skin on the soft,
warmed bed; her own happiness and excitement coursing through her
body, but, on top of it, there was a layer that was Neal. It was a
tingling layer where she could feel a cold, scratchy sheet at her
back, and a strong heart ready to explode with happiness. She knew
he was awake and as happy as she was. Though as her father had said
before, happy seemed way too small a word for how they felt.

Gaiah laughed in pure delight and felt an
answering surge from Neal. Tomorrow couldn't come fast enough. She
felt the strength of his agreement and grinned. Turning over, she
closed her eyes and gave herself up to sleep, wrapped securely in
their shared emotions.

It was barely eight o'
clock when she woke next morning, and was immediately surrounded by
Neal’s feelings. She was aware of his impatience to come to the
house, to her. Gaiah leapt out of bed and dressed as quickly as she
could, putting on the first things that came to hand: jeans, sturdy
boots and a soft sweater. If no one up she was going to call them
all. This was
the
most important thing to happen to the three worlds
ever
. Gaiah knew this
for sure. Exactly what it signified she didn't know, but it
was
big
!

Kaley was already in the kitchen, sitting
looking out the window, clasping a mug of coffee in both hands. She
looked up at Gaiah. “We were thinking that it might be a good
idea…You know, that chat you suggested to Alasdair last night? It
might be a good idea to have it in Gaiana?” her voice was dull and
her speech slow.

“
Grandma, are you all
right? You seem strange?”

Kaley sighed and stood up. “Yes, I’m okay. I
didn’t have a good night and there’s a lot on my mind.”

“
I hope it isn’t about me,
Grandma, because believe me, you never have to worry about me
again.”

Gaiah thought it might be a good idea to
have this chat in Gaiana. As the Ten would be there, and they could
all be told together. Every atom of her body was dancing with
happiness and she couldn’t wait to tell them–if they were so
excited about one melding’s child, what on earth were they going to
make of two?

“
Good idea. Let’s go. Are
Grandpa and Renny already there?”

Kaley looked away. “They
left earlier,” was all she said as she took Gaiah’s hand and
shifted them to the arrival hall. It was as beautiful as ever, but
Gaiah barely noticed. She was only aware that her connection with
Neal was diminished somehow by the change in dimensions. Her sense
of him had become kind of fuzzy and she felt his worry, as he felt
this change too.
This is horrible, I can’t
bear not sensing him properly. Best to get this all over with as
quickly as possible and get back.

“
Okay,” she turned to
Kaley and despite her urgent desire to renew contact with Neal,
excitement at her news made her smile luminous. “We need to get
this over with.”

She strode to the wall, touched the
activation pad and waved Kaley into the conference hall ahead of
her. Kaley looked a bit taken aback by this assertive behaviour but
slowly stepped in. There were people gathered there. Gaiah
recognized some faces from her last visit, but she could see
Alasdair, Gorand and Renny were missing.

A small, wiry woman stepped forward. “Aghna,
from your own Clan Shaman. I don’t know if you remember me? We met
on your first visit. I’d like to invite this meeting to take place
in my house by the sea. I think breakfast on the balcony
overlooking the beach? The peace and harmony there would be
conducive to a calm and productive meeting.” There was a murmur of
agreement and people started moving to the entrance hall.

This is all wrong.
“No. No.” Gaiah's voice rang around the room.
“We’ll talk here and now.” There was a stunned silence. Gaiah
stopped, drew a deep breath and said, “Sorry, it’s just that
there’s so much to say and it’s
so
important and I really, really need to get back
to Earth as soon as I can.”

They all looked worried at this outburst.
They glanced at Kaley, as if wondering how to deal with it. Gaiah
started again in a calmer voice. “Thank you all for being here. But
I don’t think we have all the Ten, and where's Grandpa?”

Kaley looked at Aghna. “Alasdair and a few
others had something to attend to, they will be here as soon as
they can.”

Gaiah thought for a second, she didn’t want
to waste any more time. “Well, I’m sorry Grandpa especially isn’t
here, but I need to tell you all something anyway. Something vital.
You see Neal–”

“
Don’t worry,” interrupted
Kaley, putting her hand on Gaiah’s arm and squeezing it gently.
“It’s okay, dear, we know.”

Gaiah was stunned. “You what?”

Aghna stepped forward. Her eyes soft with
sympathy. “Yes, Renny told us everything yesterday. When she
thought you’d disappeared last night, she was distraught and gave
us all the details.” Aghna's face hardened. “Don’t worry. Neal is
being looked after at the moment, that’s where Alasdair and the
others have gone. You won’t be having any more trouble from
Neal.”

If someone had kicked Gaiah in the stomach
it couldn’t have had a bigger, physical impact, as the implications
of what Aghna had said became clear. She doubled over, folding her
arms across her stomach.

Frantically, Gaiah
searched for her connection to Neal. She found him, he was in a
panic because even through the dimensions he had felt her shock.
She could breathe again–he was still alive. They didn’t have
telepathic communication–it was just emotional–so it wasn't
possible to warn him the others were out to kill him.
Oh God
. She just
had
to get to him as
soon as possible. She straightened and grabbed Kaley’s hand.
Looking frantically from face to face, her voice was barely under
control. “We must go now. We must stop them. That’s what I wanted
to tell you–Renny didn’t have a clue. She’d only heard part of
things, before I understood it all myself. Neal is part of me.
We’re a melded pair. He’s a melding’s child too and we found each
other through all the worlds. You
can’t
harm him. If you do, you may
as well kill me too.”

“
It's not possible...he's
an Or'kan?” Aghna stepped back looking in horror at
Gaiah.

“
Yes, but he’s an
Earth–Or’kan melding and he’s my heart.” Gaiah looked around the
room.

Bevin tugged at Kaley’s arm, forcing her to
face her.

“
She’s been encognated, we
have to do something!”

Kaley turned slowly back to face Gaiah. “I
trust the melding’s child, I think we all should.”

Her voice wavered as she continued. “Gaiah,
I’m sorry. Renny called to his grandparents' house this morning,
saying that she was a school friend looking for him, and they told
her he was setting up some of his art pieces in Craigphadraig woods
today. That’s where they’re going now…to…to finish him. They think
he’s an occupied, intent on killing you.”

“
Kill
me
?” shrieked Gaiah, “he
saved
me!” She paused,
closing her eyes. “I can’t sense him strongly from this dimension,
but I know he’s still alive, so I’m going.”

She ran from the
conference room. All her thoughts were with Neal, desperately
trying to connect with him. All she knew was she
had
to shift
Earthways
now
,
and she did. She was instantly back in the deserted kitchen. Gaiah,
who had never been shown even the most rudimentary aspects of
shifting, had sailed through as easily as Kaley herself.
Neal! Neal!
Her senses
screamed out to him. She felt an answering tidal wave of love and
relief that she was close again, but there was also shock and fear.
A stunned Kaley arrived immediately after her.

Gaiah didn’t stay in the house. She ran to
the car, shouting over her shoulder, “Quickly, Grandma, I still
need you to drive.” Without a word or a question, Kaley jumped into
the driver’s seat and started the car before the doors were closed.
She drove faster than she’d ever driven, throwing the car around
corners, barely slowing at intersections and finally screeching to
a stop at the entrance to the woods.

Gaiah could barely breathe. She knew Neal
was running, felt his fear growing. They must be closing in.
Alasdair’s car and Neal’s motorbike were both in the car park. She
ran full tilt through the woods, following the sign posts. Her
steps were taking her exactly where he’d been heading–up to the
Pictish fort where his mother used to stay when she ran away from
home.

Gaiah turned a corner in
the narrow path, with Kaley following just behind her. Their
breathing was a harsh sound, loud in the silence. Then, through the
trees, she saw Alasdair, Renny and Gorand. They had just caught up
with Neal. They were facing him, with shotguns pointed. As she
gasped for air, Neal’s voice carried clearly to them. “You
can’t
keep me away from
Gaiah.”