Tomorrows Child (25 page)

Tahinah took a
deep breath as if the air had just been sucked from her lungs “Oh
my! May the goddess be gentle with this one.”

I knew these
women were prone to bouts of strange behaviour, but never more so
than now and the moments that followed. Tahinah spoke to the
goddess; I’m not sure which one, sometimes it seemed as if there
was one for every occasion. Libby, on the other hand, paced and
yelled at my mother.

“Celeste! You
had better get in here this minute. I don’t care if you’re dead.
You know that’s no excuse. I knew there had to be a reason why you
didn’t show yourself - why I couldn’t connect. What have you done?
My God, Celeste! What have you done?”

Libby never
said anything about not being able to contact Mum. I knew that she
didn’t spend all day in conference with dead people, but I didn’t
realise that she had never spoken to her at all.

My lips
trembled and the words I spoke were soft and weak; “What is wrong?
What has she done?” Tahinah was rubbing my back and chanting like a
crazy woman, but I didn’t understand what she was saying.

“This is a
binding, Psyche. Your mother bound your magick so you couldn’t use
it, so you couldn’t access it. She crippled you, Psyche. It’s the
same as if she’d clipped your wings. Celeste made you a prisoner,
you just never knew. She had no right, it wasn’t her place to take
away your magick.” Libby took a deep breath. “Please Tahinah,
you’re scaring the child.”

Tahinah stopped
chanting and hugged me. “We can fix this, Psyche, I know we can. It
will be okay.”

“Maybe; maybe
we can fix it, maybe it’s too late.” Libby interjected for the
first time. She was solemn, her words careful. “Psyche, you had so
much potential, so much was promised. You are the future, but you
carry the past. A simple binding… yes, we could fix that, but this?
She has bound everything. I am surprised you can even dream.” She
took another deep breath, “Every Darnell comes into her power
slowly, little by little, over many years. As you grow and learn,
your power grows. If we remove the bindings now, it may be too
much, all of your power turned on in an instant.”

“Could we just
remove some of the binding? Little by little? The way it’s supposed
to be?” I hated that Libby was mad at Mum and I hated that
Butterfly was the cause of something bad. There had to be a really
good reason for the binding or Mum wouldn’t have made me find the
doll. Phoenix made tea and placed the mugs in front of us.

Libby tossed
the doll in front of me. “Look at the bindings, Psyche. There is no
way to remove just one. They are woven and bound; the wrappings are
quite secure. If we remove one, we remove them all. Celeste, where
the hell are you? I can’t do this without hurting the girl!”

“Just leave it
then! What does it really matter?” I said. It really didn’t matter
to me.

Libby snorted
in disgust “Now you sound just like your mother. What I don’t
understand is why I didn’t realise what was happening. I should
have felt it.”

“That vampire
witch knew. She told me I was bound and of no use to her. I didn’t
know what she was talking about, but I think that’s when she
decided to kill me and be done with it.”

“Your mother
was smart, Psyche. If she made sure that I wouldn’t be able to
sense that you were bound, then she must have also created a way to
remove the binding without hurting you. Now, I think it is time I
had a word with my daughter, if you’ll excuse me.” Libby went to
her room and shut the door.

Libby was a
medium. It was her gift and she cherished this above all else; but
unless she was contacting a person’s guides or family on the other
side, she preferred to “speak to the dead” alone. Today was no
different and her displeasure with Celeste was more than enough
reason for her to be alone. Readings usually took a little more
than an hour. Spirits communicating between two worlds had trouble
maintaining contact for even that long. On the other hand, guides
were able to stay a lot longer, but it was emotionally draining for
everyone in the room. Libby had now been locked in her room for
over three hours.

This gave the
rest of us time to reflect on recent events, as well as plan, fret,
and drink copious amounts of tea and coffee. When Libby emerged
from her room, Tahinah had cooked enough to feed both families and
I had finished the afternoon chores. Libby looked completely
drained and seemed years older than she looked this morning.

“Psyche, I love
your mother, I always have, but I swear, if she were here now…”
Libby never finished the sentence. “Basically I am no wiser than I
was this morning. Celeste would only say she was sorry, over and
over. She said ‘sorry and please forgive me.’ She also said she
loved you and to take care of you.”

I honestly
expected she would provide the pieces of puzzle we were missing.
Why else would she tell us about Butterfly?

“I spoke to my
guides, but every question resulted in a dead end. They just
blocked me out with visions of mist and brick walls.”

Tahinah placed
a cup of hot tea in front of Libby. Libby was quiet, thoughtful,
and I knew she wanted to reassure me that everything would be fine,
but she couldn’t. “I’m not sure if I was locked out because it
involves Psyche and this may be considered interfering, or simply
because of the binding. But there’s more going on here than we
realise. Tahinah, you take the doll and see if you get anything
from it.”

Tahinah took
the doll. She was clairsentient, but didn’t normally read objects,
although today she was willing to try. We fell silent as she sat
quietly, holding the doll. When she opened her eyes, they were
red-rimmed and glistening. “I see nothing helpful,” she said as she
let out a deep sigh, “but the magick is so powerful and so tightly
bound. I don’t know how Celeste did this, but if this is Psyche’s
magick, I can understand why she did it. I think we should talk
about this, Libby.”

“No,” I said,
“if there is any talking to do, then you will do it in front of me.
There have been enough secrets.”

“Psyche’s
right. It is too late for secrets, only the truth can protect her
now.” Finally, Phoenix was on my side, even if it meant standing up
to his mother.

“It’s just… I
don’t think you should have to worry about this, Psyche, at least
not yet. I might be very wrong.”

“I know I
promised you the truth, but are you sure you want to hear this? You
may not like what Tahinah has discovered,” Libby sighed. I may not
like it? Come to think of it, I didn’t like any of it.

Tahinah’s eyes
were still rimmed with red and bloodshot. She pushed her hand
through her hair as if she were trying to force the thoughts away.
“I’m sorry… but that energy, I don’t think any human could handle
that much energy. I think it would… kill the person receiving it.
Especially if it arrived all at once. It would be like a tsunami,
destroying everything in its path.” She looked at me before adding,
“and you’re still so frail.”

Libby too,
caressed her forehead, but I felt surprisingly calm.

“I don’t know
what to do,” Libby whispered. “I am sure this is Psyche’s year, but
we are running out of time. I really don’t know what to do.”

“I do,” I said.
Libby and Tahinah looked bewildered. “Well, I don’t really, but I
know what we’re going to do. We can research! We have the most
amazing library of magical texts I have ever seen, plus we’ve got
knowledge. Not me, of course, but you two and the other women. They
can help and Phoenix has his memories, so technically, he is the
oldest and the wisest person here. I’m pretty much deadwood, but I
can read more and make tea.”

“You know,
that’s not a bad idea.”

“Well it’s
better than no idea.”

“There is one
other thing,” I said, “what exactly do you know, Phoenix?” Phoenix
had promised me the truth, but I knew there were many things he
wasn’t allowed to tell me.

Phoenix shook
his head. “Nothing really, not about the binding anyway.”

“But you were
sent here for a reason, what was that reason?”

“I… Well, I was
shown what was supposed to happen, and told there might be some who
wanted to stop you.” He looked thoughtful and sad. “You know I love
you, right? But I have to be careful. I would never keep something
from you that could endanger your life, but there are some things
that you must discover on your own.”

“Did you know
about the binding? Or about Volante?” I asked, I could tell he was
holding back, but exactly how much was a still a mystery.

“I knew that
there had been a major change when you were young, something that
could block your path and force a change to your destiny. I also
knew that it wasn’t done with evil intent, but I didn’t know about
the binding or that it was your mother. As far as Volante goes, and
even your father’s role in all this, it’s complicated, really
complicated.”

“You knew?”

“No, it’s not
that I knew they would abduct you or that Volante was a
soul-sucking vampire, but you must understand there has to be a
very good reason to send someone like me back.” Phoenix reached out
and held my hand. I resisted the urge to pull away and swallowed
the feelings of deception like bitter medicine.

“There is a
hierarchy, a spiritual council, that plan and organise, and try to
keep everything according to plan, but it’s more a game of chess
than anything else. They have a strategy, but it doesn’t guarantee
they win the game. There is free will to start with, and that
always complicates things since not everyone is with the program,
so to speak. There are those on both sides of the veil working to
prevent the changes.”

I wanted to run
so bad, the soles of my feet ached, but I knew I was past the point
where running would solve my problems. Not that it ever had.

“I have more
enemies?” I inquired. I thought Volante was just a twisted witch,
but this tiny detail was about to change the game or at least
explain why the game was so hard.

“It’s not
personal, but you’re like the keystone. If you fail, then we all
fail.”

“So I really
need to learn how to play chess.”

Strategy wasn’t
my thing and chess certainly wasn’t my game, but in the quiet hours
before dawn, I came up with a plan that would change everything. I
slipped on my jeans, now three sizes too big, cinched them in with
a belt, threw on my coat and boots and walked to the bathroom. I
carried a large pair of scissors. Not the sharp pointed kind that
cut hair, more like the type psycho killers used in horror movies.
My hair was long. Too long for what I had planned. I began cutting
and watched the hair fall to the floor. I used my shoulders as a
guide, but in the mirror everything is backward. My haircut ended
up more crooked and jagged than was attractive, but I really didn't
care. When I finished, I looked like Joan of Arc, the heretic, just
moments before they burnt her at the stake. If I could channel Joan
of Arc, I would probably do okay, but I realised that was pretty
unlikely.

I returned to
the kitchen and waited for dawn. I watched the sky changed from
black to grey to pink and left the house to find Ruben and Navarre.
At this time of day, they would be patrolling, watching for
creatures of the night and strangers with murderous intent. I had
thought Ruben was obsessing unnecessarily, but after everything
that happened, I realised his concerns were justified. I arrived at
my destination before the men returned and waited on the steps.

“Greetings,
Psyche,” Tahinah smiled. “I thought we were coming to your house
today.”

“I just need to
see Ruben and then I’ll be home.”

“Ruben? Okay
then, they should be back soon.” I could tell Tahinah was confused,
but I still had some details to work out in my head before I
revealed my plan. As plans go, it wasn’t that elaborate, but still
it would take dedication and I needed Ruben on my side.

Ruben arrived
just seconds before Navarre and Phoenix.

“Good morning,
Psyche, you’re up bright and early.”

“Hi Ruben, we
need to talk,” I said.

“Hey Psyche! I
wanna see ya war wounds,” Navarre pulled his shirt off and showed
me the jagged scar that ran down his arm. I slipped off my coat and
carefully rolled back the sleeve of my shirt.

“Ooh, nasty,”
said Navarre. Our scars would be much the same when mine healed.
His wound had healed into three equally spaced pink lines that
travelled the length of his arm from shoulder to elbow. My wound
was fresh. It puckered beneath the stitches, still raw and angry.
Three lines angled from shoulder to elbow as if a snake had wrapped
around my arm.

“You know if
you were Apache, you would be two missions away from becoming a
real warrior.” I could see him working this out in his head,
“That’s only if we don’t count the day you were lost, ‘cause that’s
not really something a warrior would do. But being a prisoner and
fighting the hell beast, they both count.”

“Cool!” I said.
Navarre had most things calculated in Apache law, “But that’s kind
of what I’m here about.”

“You want to
become an Apache warrior?”

The look of
confusion on everyone’s face was no surprise. “See, the thing is, I
am always in danger; and if Phoenix is right, then it’s only going
to get worse and I’m done with being the damsel in distress.”

I looked around
at the faces of the men before me, “So… will you teach me to fight?
To defend myself? Teach me warrior skills and how to find my way.
I’m tired of getting lost, sick of being afraid, and most of all, I
hate being a threat to everyone else. I’ll do whatever I need to
do, learn whatever I need to fight.”

“Are you sure?”
said Ruben. “We’ve tried this before, but you have to be dedicated,
Psyche. If you’re going to hold a weapon, you have to be ready to
use it, ready to kill. It’s not a game. Have you discussed this
with Libby?”