The Beckoning of Broken Things (The Beckoning Series) (29 page)

The Numina gather in an emergency ether meeting. All around me there is chaos, confusion, outbursts, and pleas.

“This is unheard of, Light Rebel
! Why are you doing this?”

“Your life will be in danger, child. Think again.”

“Let me tell you who to choose. I’m impartial. I can make a good choice for you.”

I want to shut out the cacophony of voices. I can’t think in here.
I press my hands over my ears to shut them out.

“Quiet!” The voice of the
Keeper of Time and Records v5.5.1, slices through the air like a sword. “The Light Rebel has made her decision.” She turns and gestures to Daniel and Rafe. “You two…come forward.
Now!”

The two strong
, powerful warriors slink forward like naughty school boys being called out on a prank. Both of them hang their heads and refuse to meet her gaze.

The Record Keeper extends her hand and lightning shoots out from each palm
. The light hovers under their chins, and she slowly guides the light upward, causing the two men to have to lift their heads and look at her. She slowly gazes from one to the other. Her wise head shakes from side to side. “Neither one of you listens, do you? Do you know why you’ve forced her hand, making her embark on this dangerous endeavor?”

“I have an idea. I thought about it
long and hard while in the dark,” Daniel says.

“Good,” she booms.

He leans back from the force of her words.

“And you?” She
half-closes one eye and stares long and hard at Rafe out of the other one.

He squirms under her scrutiny. “Yes. I should not have allowed myself to fall in love with her.”

“No, you shouldn’t have. You heard of the risks. Did you think that was just folly?”

“No, I…” Rafe begins. “
She’s amazing. I couldn’t help myself. And I guess I…I just wanted to see what it felt like to be in love,” he mumbles.

“And how does it feel?” The Record Keeper asks more gently.

“Hotter than any fire I’ve ever experienced.”

She laughs
, her laughter echoing through the atmosphere. “So it is, child, so it is. The heart is so fickle. It wants what it wants. And now do you believe what you were told?”

“Yes…yes, ma’am.”

I’ve never seen Rafe so polite or contrite. It makes me want to laugh. Instead I reach down to ruffle Sober’s head. Sober’s never been to an ether meeting, but it seems he’s going to get an award today.

“This won’t be easy for any of you,” the Record Keeper tells the three of us. “You,” she says to Daniel, stabbing him in the chest with her fingertip.

His face is stoic, but I know that must have hurt. His jaw tenses and his neck muscles bunch in response.

“Your ego needs to come down a notch or two. You’re rather willful and impulsive.
”

“Yes, your grace,” he replies impassively
, meeting her gaze with his brilliant blue eyes.

“
And you,” she says to Rafe, holding his chin in her hand as if he’s a child. “Your self-esteem needs to raise a hair or two. You’ll be good for one another,” she states. “If you don’t kill one another first.” She laughs a big belly laugh this time.

Daniel works his jaw side to side and again, I want to laugh. I’m sure his britches are in a bunch right now.

The Record Keeper becomes still as nightfall. Her eyes close, as if she’s in trance. She begins to mouth words. They fall silently from her lips, glowing brightly before extinguishing.

I c
an only make out a few of them. “Recommendation.” “Challenge.” “Good for them.”

Her eyes open
, and we all let out a collective sigh as if we have been holding our breath as one.

“An idea has been presented to me,” she says. “It’s a sound one, com
ing from the Beyond.” She closes her eyes again and cocks her head, as if listening. “Yes,” she finally says. When she opens her eyes, they look like milky opals, bright white with glints of blue and fiery orange. “The three of you shall travel together. The Light Rebel shall require escorts until such time as you are no longer needed.”

“What?” Daniel roar
s.

“Oh, hell, no!” Rafe splutter
s.

“Oh, no!”
I wail. I
don’t
want to travel with the two of them. Talk about awkward.

She holds up her hand
, and everyone falls silent once more. “There’s nothing to argue about. What’s decided is decided. You three have already upset the balance of things.”

She gives each of us a piercing glare
. It causes my stomach to lurch.

“As for you,” she says to me, reaching for me with her hands.

I take them and a searing volt of electricity rocks through me, making me want to shriek. Instead, I inhale and exhale deeply, giving Daniel a scorching glance out of the corner of my eye as he suppresses his own laughter.

“You’ve been told the risks, yes?”

For a moment, I’m mesmerized by the glowing words, falling from her mouth, floating about her head like golden fog until they dissipate. I blink and try to focus on what she’s saying. “Uh, yes…yes, I’ve been told the risks.”

“You’ll need to prepare well. Not only will you learn from your consorts…”

Daniel hisses in a sharp rush of air. “There
are
no consorts. There’s only me.”

The Record Keeper turns her head and glares at him until he stills and appears contrite. She turns back to me. “Not only will you learn from your consorts, you’ll be tutored more from Tom the falconer and from Betty, as well
, before your departure.”

I smile and blush. Crazy Betty
has let it be known that she wants to adopt me. I politely told her that I had a mother and father, and that although they are dead, they still serve as my parental guides.

“Who’s gonna replace your aunt, then? You don’t need someone throwing you in the loony bin just because she gets her knickers in a twist, now do you?”

“Good point.”

“And this will be more of a Numina adoption.
That’s different.”

“
Different how?” I’d asked.

“Oh, it’s sort of a sacred trust thing. It would mean I’d be in charge of your supernatural upbringing, the way it should have been done.”

“Supernatural? I thought I was human with a twist.”

“Oh, no, child. You’re bona fide supe. Your daddy, he had himself some skills, too. He just let his f
lounder.”

“What?”
Why do I always find things out in reverse?

“
I’ll tell you all about it. But for now we have to get to an emergency Numina meeting. Are you in or out with me adopting you, Numina-style?”

“I’m in. You don’t get to tell me what to do though.”

“I wouldn’t dream of it, child. It’s too much fun watching you get into and out of the messes you find yourself in. You’re better then TV.”

I didn’t know whether to thank her
or not at that moment, but I’m sure she meant it with warm affection.

“Marissa!”

The Record Keepers voice snaps me back to attention. “Yes, ma’am?” I say, my face becoming a brilliant shade of red.

“Present your dog.”

“Oh. Yes. Sober, come here.”

Sober
is none too keen to stand before the Keeper of Time and Records v5.5.1. He’s been huddled behind me the entire meeting.

“Sober, come.” I tug on his leash.

“I’ll do it, Marissa,” a gentle male voice says.

I look up into the blue eyes of my soul bound lover. He sure ma
kes me melt inside.

“We have a bond. Who do you think rescued him from your aunt?”

I feel a whole mess of stuff in that moment - shame, gratitude, confusion, and warmth. “Here,” I say, handing over the leash. “But he’s still mine.”

“Always will be, dulzura,” he sa
ys, leaning over to give me a kiss on my cheek.

Who are we talking about? You or my dog?

You’ll just have to find out, won’t you?
A mysterious grin spreads across Daniel’s face. He leans over and takes Sober’s muzzle in his hands. Whispers something in Latin to the dog.

Sober stop
s shivering, stands up proudly, and shakes out his coat as if to say, “I’ve got this.” He looks at Daniel, looks at me, and wanders up to the Record Keeper, his wings unfurled.

Both Crazy Betty and Tom c
ome up to me, standing on either side. They put their arms around me and hold me close. I have to admit, it does feel great to have these two esteemed elders guiding my way. I beam with pride at my dog.

The Record Keeper t
akes his muzzle in her electric hand.

He
yips, jerks away, and cowers, looking back at Daniel.

Daniel’s mouth move
s as if he is saying something only the dog can hear. Once more, Sober calms and steps toward the Record Keeper.

Once again, she softly grab
s his muzzle. This time he stiffens, but does not pull away. The Record Keeper’s golden light rolls over my dog’s head. It curls around his chest and belly and moves along his back. When it reaches his wings, it combines with Sober’s colors, creating a new, gorgeous hue.

He looks
beautiful. Crazy Betty is sniffling beside me. Even Tom clears his throat. My eyes fill with tears.

“You are a warrior dog and Demon Slayer.
You are the noble companion to the Light Rebel. Welcome to the Numina,” the ancient woman declares. She releases her hand, but the colors surrounding Sober stay the same.

Sober wags his tail and puts his front paws on her shoulders, licking her face.

“Oh, my,” the great elder says. “Well, this is a nice thank you. Okay. Alright. That’s good.” She almost looks giddy as she gently pushes away my canine from bestowing slurpy kisses.

She pushe
s her hand into her voluminous skirts and retrieves a golden glowing dog tag. “Son, will you do the honors?” she asks Daniel.

“I’
ll be happy to. This dog means as much to me as he does to his owner.” He unbuckles Sober’s collar and quickly affixes the new tag. “Marissa, you should be the one to put it back on,” he says without looking at me.

I move away from Crazy Betty and Tom and str
ide over to my dog. “Thank you,” I say softly to Daniel.

“You’re welcome.”

Our eyes lock for the briefest of moments and huge waves of feeling, care, and caution are exchanged. Then a calm certainty washes through me. This - this entire thing - the soul binding, falling in love with Rafe, making a decision to go see the three sisters - it is all part of a larger plan than my mind can comprehend. I’ll make a good choice, I just know it. I’ll make the right choice. None of us need to worry or fret about the future.

Daniel nod
s, as if he understands. His shoulders relax. A loud sigh comes from Rafe’s direction as if he has released something, too. I look over at him, and he smiles. I crouch before my dog and buckle his medal around his neck. His adoring eyes meet mine. “You’re a good, brave dog,” I tell him, tears spilling from my eyes. “You’re the best dog in the whole world.” I grab him and hug him as cheers and celebration erupt all around us.

“Quiet, everyone, quiet!” The Record Keeper’s voice quashe
s the hubbub with ease. “We have one more ceremony to conduct. Betty? Tom? Would you join us up here?”

The two elder sorcerers stride regally up to the Record Keeper.

“Light Rebel, join hands with these two.”

I take their hands
, and we form a triangle. Light sears between us all, fusing our hands, our minds, our bodies, and our hearts. It’s a strange synthesis of our combined energy.

“From this day forth, Tom and Betty are your sacred guardians. You exist in a trinity.”

The minute she says the word “trinity,” a gushing fountain of light erupts between us.

Crazy Betty thr
ows back her head and laughs. “Oh, my, child, I never knew it would be this fun to adopt you. Oh,
my!
We’ve done it now. We’ve combined our energies. Can you feel it, honey girl?”

I scrunch my face and smile at her. She’s beaming at me. I feel suddenly shy and awkward. I mean, I
worked with her for years when I had a job at PS Publishing, but now she has an official capacity in my life as more of a mom-type and a spiritual guide. And Tom? A few weeks ago, he scared the bejeezus out of me. Now I recognize him for what he is…sort of. Truth is, I don’t really know him all that well but I’m about to, that’s for sure. Right now he’s glowing white and gold and a pale, shimmery blue and he’s got a dopey, beatific look on his face. Betty is turning her head from me to him, smiling so big it’s like she’s got a dinner plate in her mouth. I shake my head. I can’t help but laugh. As if to bless the moment, two ghostlike apparitions swirl out of the column of light between us.