The Gathering (4 page)

Alia couldn't help but laugh; her children were her joy, but with every moment of bliss, Alia was reminded of the children she had lost.
 
Gail and Steven, her first set of twins, had succumbed to influenza one year after the War had begun.
 
They were only nine.
 
She had thought she would die with them.
 
The pain had been unbearable.
 
Then Cassie had developed cancer two years after the war ended and had succumbed within eight months after the local doctor had diagnosed her.
 
She was thirteen.
 
Alia had been able to prepare for that, but the pain was exactly as she remembered, horrible and all consuming.
 
She still missed them, but time had turned the torment to a dull ache.
 
The last of her children to die were Frank and Colleen, who had been with their father when unknown attackers had ambushed them three years ago.

Alia could remember how alone she felt the day they brought their bodies home to rest.
 
Colleen was eighteen and Frank had just turned nineteen.
 
They had been tortured and her anguish was only dwarfed by her anger.
 
She couldn't breathe as she touched their cold, lifeless bodies, hoping that it was all a dream, a horrible nightmare.
 
But she never woke up and their bodies had been burned on Spirit Hill.
 
She remembered how numb she had been, she didn't cry.
 
Not until she had finally gone to the place where they were found.

The day had been warm and sunny, but she couldn't see anything but her dead husband and their dead children.
 
It was then she had finally broken down.
 
She remembered falling and Sean catching her, and she cried until she couldn't breathe, but he never let go of her and although she couldn't be sure, she thought she could remember him crying as well.

Alia now had eleven children.
 
Her oldest, Kaley, was twenty.
 
She loved her music and her family more than anything, but lately Alia could feel her getting restless.
 

Alisha was nineteen and headstrong.
 
She was an accomplished hunter and archer, but she was ready for a new life as well.
 
She had been seeing a young man in the village for several years.
 
His name was Vance Worley.
 
His father had been a Texas ranch hand and his mother a teacher and member of the Alabama Chautoma nation in East Texas.
 
Vance had his mother's coloring and his father's rugged good looks.
 
Despite their youth, Alia approved of the pair and their hand fasting would take place at the end of the Gathering.

Chris and Tanner were the second twins born to Alia and Paul, and at eighteen they had grown into fine young men. Great packs of giggling girls swooned over them, ever hoping to land one of the princes of Lia Fail.
 
They were accomplished healers, musicians and athletes.

Then there were the three girls, Sara, Coeli and Rebecca; seventeen, sixteen and fifteen.
 
Sara was stunning with long, white-blond hair and large blue eyes.
 
She was also vivacious and bubbly and had young men following her wherever she went.
 
Coeli was shy and quiet, and music was her passion, especially singing.
 
She was wise and thoughtful.
 
At fifteen, Rebecca was still trying to find her way.
 
Awkward, but lovely, she was an amazing swimmer and rider, but still very much a little girl.
 

Brian was twelve and always finding trouble.
 
The final set of twins, Brandon and Lisa, were ten and loved to read and learn more than anything, and lastly there was Amanda, who was the spitting image of her father in almost every way.
 

The palace they called home was large, but comfortable.
 
There were always fires in the hearths and every room smelled of warm bread and cakes.
 
Fabric hung from the
stone walls
and wooden beams, casting rich shadows of color throughout the cozy brightly lit rooms.
 
At dusk, the red and gold made every thing feel warm, even on the coldest winter night.
 
Oversized chairs and couches were laid about the main rooms, and a large, marble baby grand piano, which had been rescued from the war, stood in the corner of the main receiving room by the giant fireplace.
 
Many instruments had been saved after the War, but the true musical treasure of Lia Fail had been the arrival of James Tippen.
 

James was a carpenter by trade, who just happened to adore music.
 
When he came to the Fail, he was given the task of teaching woodworking; until one night while walking around the village, Paul and Alia heard beautiful music coming from a dwelling.
 
It was James.
 
He had fashioned a flute from a piece of pine and was blowing an amazing melody.
 
It was then that he became the music keeper, as well as the crafter of all instruments.
 
Alia believed he had been waiting his entire life to be given such a job.

It was important to Alia and Paul that the beauty of the past was kept alive, music being one of the loveliest things they could imagine.
 
Alia climbed the stairs to her room.
 
As she walked down the dimly lit halls, a song filled the air.
 
She moved silently towards the door in the center of the hall.

The beauty of the notes hung in the air like honey on a spoon, delicately trailing away from the point of origin, sweetly lifting in the breeze.
 
She looked in the slightly opened door.
 
Kaley was playing a hammered dulcimer, her eyes closed as her nimble hands worked the delicate hammers over the strings.
 
Alia recognized the melody; it was Paul's favorite song.
 
Alia's eyes filled with tears.

"Hi."

Kaley had stopped playing and was looking over at her mother, smiling.

"Hi," Alia replied, smiling.
 
"Don't stop on my account.
 
You know I love that song."

"You look like you're crying."

Alia smiled.

"No, I'm fine.
 
Help me out today, ok?"

Kaley tried to look put-upon, but a smile came through anyway.

"Ok.
 
Are you sure you're okay, Mom?"

"Yeah, just a little tired, I guess."

Alia walked over to where Kaley was sitting, leaned over and kissed her daughter's forehead.
 
Kaley smiled at her and then Alia walked to the door and left, closing it behind her as she moved out into the hall again.
 

"Three years since Paul was killed,"
she thought to herself.
 
"Everything gets easier.
 
Easier to function, easier to smile, easier to sleep.
 
It all gets easier
.
”

But these feelings now took a back seat to new emotions.
  
She placed her hand on the door and walked into her room.
 
She looked around and turned to close the door.

"Sometimes I feel so alone."

4

Sean Lantry moved easily through the villagers as they ran between their homes and their stands, preparing for the week's festivities. He turned the corner and walked into the main quad, where he stopped and looked up at Paul Stark's memorial.
 

It was a stone column that rose thirty feet in the air.
 
Carved into the column were reliefs of Paul's life.
 
Sean himself had carved the third from the top.
 
He felt the smile on his face melt as he looked to the top of the obelisk, and thought of his friend.
 
Sean looked down and walked on towards the barracks.
 
As he walked, he remembered.
 

Sean Lantry had been the CEO of Fortune Tide Productions before the War.
 
He lived in a palace by the sea in the beautiful town of Malibu.
 
He had a gorgeous girlfriend, who wanted nothing more than to please him in any way possible.
 
He could remember the way her long blond hair smelled like fresh flowers.
 
Her skin was golden and soft like velvet.
 
He could remember the way she felt when he was inside of her, the arch of her back, the shuddering of her body and the noises she made when she came.
 
He stopped for a minute and suddenly felt ashamed; he remembered that for all of her sacrifices, he had never loved her and now all these years later, he couldn't even remember her name.
 
He had been a different man then.

When the rains began, he had known that they should leave, but she didn't want to go.
 
It had been miraculous that the home hadn't been destroyed during the bombings and had been spared from the fires; she felt it was the safest place they could be.
 
Sean knew they were on borrowed time.
 
He had been raised in Los Angeles and knew that the next round of trouble was about to start.
 

He had been upstairs packing a bag, determined to get out and get to safety when he heard the crash.
 
There was a horrible boom that was followed by a loud creaking, then the snapping of wood and tiny chinks of broken glass.
 
Then he heard the scream.
 
He could still hear that scream.
 
He ran to the ledge of the balcony and looked down to see her clinging to the edge of the fireplace.
 

He heard her screaming his name and he rushed to the edge of the stairs, now submerged in water.
 
Her eyes were desperate as she plead with him to save her.
 
He couldn’t see the tears against her wet face, but he knew she was crying and he ran to her.
 
They never saw the second wave coming.
 
It crashed into the living room, up to the ceiling and knocked him back against the wall.
 
He felt the water close over him and start to pull him off the ledge.
 
He reached out and grabbed for anything.
 
His hands fell on the metal banister, cool and slick to the touch.
 
His fingers closed around the slippery pole and he held on with every ounce of strength he had.
 
The water twisted and pulled at him for what seemed like forever, until it felt as if his chest would explode.
 
Finally, the water moved away and he felt the air rush into his lungs.
 
As he gasped, he opened his eyes and looked at the fireplace.
 
She was gone.
 

As he remembered how he had called out her name, he felt a twinge, as he still had no idea what it was.
 
There had been silence, and as he looked out the window he saw another wave beginning to gather.
 

One benefit of living on the side of a cliff was having the majority of the house below the front door.
 
He let go of the banister and ran back to where he had left the bag he had been packing, grabbed it and whatever else he could and ran out the front door.
 
He jumped in his car and fled inland, to the mountains.
 
As he drove, he turned and saw his house slide off the side of the hill and into the rising ocean.

Once he had reached the mountains, Sean had met Paul and Alia.
 
They, their children and several of their friends had already begun building Lia Fail. They had taken him in and almost immediately Paul had become Sean's best friend.
 
It had been Paul who had given Sean the ability to forgive himself for not being able to save the girl.