The Drifting (44 page)

“Lilianethia,” the ghostly voice calls to me from the edge of the cliff.  I look once again at Alorn, waving my hand in front of his face, desperate to get a reaction from him.  I turn toward the cliff and
the darkness beyond, and
take a hesitant step
.  I give
a last glance at Mellis, Julia and Phoris as I move away from Alorn. 

I walk toward the majestic voice that continues to call me.  The white oaks start to sway and
bend
by their own accord, bowing as I past each one.  When I step out from the protection of the trees, the wind whips at me. I come to a stop at the very edge of the cliff, before me is pitch
-
black.  I can’t see anything
,
and I don’t feel the bite of the wind either.  In fact, the howling is now distant and I look around to see that the wind blows around me as if being diverted by an invisible shield.  I glance behind me and see the white oaks still swaying and Alorn, who is closest to the wooded edge, stands with his long coat whipping about him even though his expression hasn’t change.

“Be brave
,
little one, she will appear in a moment.  Show no fear and know I’m here with you.”

“Great that’s comforting, considering I don’t even know your name.”
I answer a bit irritated that she hasn’t told me who she really is.

“You will find out soon enough,”
she replies cryptically. 

I shake my head to clear my mind of all thoughts.  And making up my mind, I decide to call Cessa.  From the shadows to the side of me, the black cat saunters over and roars at the wind.  When she reaches me
,
she is calm as she nudges at my
side
.  Instantly
,
I’m on my knees hugging her.

Ten minutes pass
, then twenty and still nothing happens.  The tightness in my calves and thighs from the long climb and the long wait takes
its
toll on my legs.  I sit from my kneeling position and pull Cessa to me, keeping an arm around her neck.  Even though I’m in some kind of energy bubble, my clothes are still wet and I start to feel the chill.  Now I know why the elves always have their coats on.  They never know when they’ll have to be out in this kind of weather.  I don’t think it’s stopped raining since I came through the doorway.

  I place my head on the ruff of Cessa
’s
neck, feeling
exhausted
when suddenly I hear
Jarhan’s voice
call to me again.  Large drops of rain fall on the back of my neck.  Wait, the wind and rain are held back by the energy shield.  Does this mean she’s not coming?  Cessa
gets up
slowly, a low rumble com
ing from the back of her throat.

“Lilianethia, look at me.”  I look up only to see a wall of silver scales
the size of a small car appear before
of me.  I look from one end to the other and the wall is twice the width, if not wider, than the bridge I walked in on.  It isn’t until I crane my neck as far as I can
that I
see the large head of a dragon looking down at me, water from the lake dripping off her.  My heart goes still, but somehow I’m on my feet, walking away from the sea creature before me, at the same time trying to pull Cessa with me.  She backs up as well, but only enough so she can look at the serpent without breaking her neck.  I would never think to leave her, so I stop where she does and stand close to her, my knees shaking.

Jarhan’s opalescent scales shimmer with the movement of her breathing.  My eyes are drawn to a spot at
her throat where the iridescence
is more rich and tinged with red.  A rhythmic pulse causing the scales to ripple slowly down her
chest
and across her entire body, at least the part I can see.  I look at her face and see large
, scaled fan-
like
fins
made of opal
sitting
on each side of her head.  She flaps them slowly as if they would lift her giant body out of the water.  The beauty of the creature trills through me with a mixture of awe and terror, but it is her eyes that transfix me.  Beautiful large, golden serpent eyes look down at me curiously.  She tilts her
head
to one side and assesses me in the same way a lion would a
mouse
before devouring it whole.

Cessa gives a roar at the sea creature and Jarhan shifts her attention to the cat.  “Sister, it is good to see you.  I have missed our days as children.”  I watch in amazement as Cessa communicates with Jarhan with low grating roars and grunted rumbling
s
. 

When Cessa is done, she glances back at me
then
turns to Jarhan and give
s
her a final roar.  She moves
away and
walk
s
behind me to sit and wait.

I stare
at the cat
but
I
turn
when I
sense the serpent move in place.  “You are your mother’s child,” she finally says
while
straightening her head.  I don’t know what to say to that, so I keep quiet.  “Are you not curious of your mother, Lilianethia?”

Whatever hold she had on me disappears at the end of her
question.  I take a step toward
her and she tilts her head again.  “I didn’t come here to discuss a mother I
don’t
know.  I was told you have a message for me.”

“Why are you angry with her?” she persists.  “You were so young when she was taken, what could she have done to you at such a young age that you would hate her so.”

I look away, angry now and not sure why.  “I don’t…I don’t know why, I just am.”  The feeling of loneliness and abandonment I felt all those years ago as a child rushes back at me.  The days when being different warranted bullying on a daily basis
– to the point of isolation from everyone…everyone but Lucas and Julia
.  If only she was there, if only she wasn’t the great warrior Lucas and everyone else said she was and just been a mom
.  M
aybe
then
she wouldn’t have been killed.  She would be alive and she would
have been
there when Lucas and I needed her to be.  She made a choice and she chose to be Queen Senestra. 

Something inside me suddenly
breaks
and the woman in my head cries.  I don’t know how I know
this
, but I can feel her sorrow
,
her pain…my pain.  And then she’s gone.  It’s not as if I was
conscious
of her all the time, but since the first day she spoke to me when Alorn was poison
ed, I knew she was there
.  Now that she’s gone I can feel an emptiness that leaves me lonely and bereft.  Oh my God, it can’t be.  Realization finally dawns on me, but disbelief of my suspicions refuse
s
to make that realization true.

I look back up at Jarhan
,
fill
ed
with frustrated anger.  “What message do you have for me?”  I ask
,
no longer afraid of the serpent and no longer in awe. 

“I have already given it to you
,
and you have accepted it.  The woman who has been with you since your Binding with Prince Tharin was your mother, Senestra.”

Despite my suspicions and realization of a minute ago, her news shocks me to
my core
.  I was right and the last moment when I felt her leave me I knew the truth then.  “How
?  W
hy…why didn’t she tell me?” 

“She feared that you would push her away, as you have just done.  She could not bear the pain and sorrow she felt when your memories took you back to days when you felt you needed her most.” 

Jarhan stops and again looks down at me steadily.  After a moment’s thought she says, “I will tell you this, Lilianethia.  The day of her assassination you were with her.  Although Eathos was banished to the UnderRealm
,
he still had followers who eliminated those they felt were responsible for his imprisonment.  One particular follower, a Sidhe warrior
,
discovered the truth about the prophecy and came after you the night she was killed.  She called to our Mother asking for whatever she could give to protect you.  And by doing so, she was vulnerable to the attack.  If not for
protecting
her child, your mother would be standing by your side now.”

I bow my head, shaking it in disbelief.  And just like that, all the anger against my parents disappears.  How could I hold on
to it?  It was the anger of a child, lost and alone who wanted her mommy.  I’m not that little girl anymore
,
and I’ve grown strong to ask, to reason and to forgive.  I look up at Jarhan, choking back my emotions, “
C
an you
call
her back?”

“I am sorry, Lilianethia, I cannot.  It is the queen’s wish that you live in peace and with
the love of those who surround
you.”

I nod slowly, “Will you tell her I’m sorry?”

“I will give her your message, my queen.”

I shake my head at her and say, “I’m not a queen.”

“Yes, you are.  You are the daughter of my sister, Senestra
,
and you will rule the people of Velesi as you were meant to.”  After another pause, she continues, “I do have a gift for you.  A gift handed to only a few in your bloodline.”

“What is it?”  Not really caring, my mind still on my mom.

From below, she lifts her large forelegs with claws as big and long as the trunks of the biggest white oak and places it gently on the cliff.  Water cascades off it like
Niagara Falls
.  I step back
,
afraid I would be caught up in its
pull
and drown at the bottom of the lake.  She lifts her talons and with one pointing directly at my heart
,
she reaches out and touches the center of my chest with it.  A sudden flash of opalescent light blinds me and I feel my body jerk up and back.  A feeling of white hot liquid burns through me and I hear myself scream as the serpent’s face comes in line with my own. 

“You now carry all that has come before you from the day Tileanith and her lover created the first healer of your line.”  She gently puts me down and I lay on the wet ground trying to shake the sudden nausea overwhelming me.  I put my head down and feel the drops on the back of my neck.  It takes me a moment to realize that it’s not from the sea creature, but it’s raining once again, the sound of the howling wind deafening me.  I look behind me for Cessa, but she’s gone…back to Malainisi.  I feel strong hands grab at my shoulders turning me over carefully.  I lay in Alorn’s arms for a moment before realizing that Phoris, Mellis and Julia are also with me. 

I give a look at Alorn and
nod to let
him know I’m okay.  He helps me up and I hold onto him for a moment before seeing Julia across from me.  I let Alorn go and reach for her and she catches me, wrapping her arms around me.  She hugs me to her as we make our way back to the grove to get out of the rain.