“If it’s the orbit that triggers the trail,
then you’ll face the influence of Mercury. It orbits the sun every
eighty eight days,” August answered.
“Then we should have longer than a month,
shouldn’t we?” I asked.
August looked back at me and smiled. “You
may be right, but the way I’m seeing it is Mercury was already in
orbit when you faced the full moon. If you take those twenty eight
days – and the weeks that have already passed since then – we’re
looking at somewhere around twenty days before the next full orbit
of Mercury. But like I said, only ‘if’ it’s the orbit; truth is, we
don’t know. There were scrolls with your birth charts. The scrolls
seem to map out the heavens beginning at Aliyanna’s birth and
moving at least two hundred years beyond this day. The scrolls
could very well be our only weapon against what lies ahead.”
“How come you didn’t show those to us? You
can tell us what’s going to happen to us – when?” Landen
questioned, standing up straighter.
“I’ll show them to you, if you wish;
honestly, they make no sense. Sadly, we’ll have to measure the time
between the blue moon and your next trail to see if the scrolls
even matter. It’s more than clear to me that the scroll is younger
than your charts, giving me reason to believe that it’s an
interruption of what’s to come.”
“OK, so what does Mercury rule?” I asked,
thinking the orbit theory made sense.
“Mercury is in the third and sixth house.
The third deals with communication, and the sixth deals with work
and service.”
“So what can we assume we’ll have to face?”
Landen asked in a defeated tone.
“I’d say something to do with your mind,
your thinking process, and your communication style,” August said,
leaning back in his seat and gazing into his thoughts.
Landen looked at me; an impish grin filled
his face, his blue eyes sparkled, and relief overtook him. Neither
of us was concerned with this trial anymore; if there were an
element of our relationship that was strong, it was our
communication. We often would react to each other’s emotions before
we even had the time to speak to each other through thought or with
words. Landen’s emotion gave way to excitement; he had every intent
on enjoying this challenge. He tried to hide it from me, but he
wanted nothing more than a moment alone with Drake. Landen didn’t
want to challenge Drake for his throne, though; he wanted to
challenge him for taking me from him for those few minutes – and
for all the nightmares before that. We had never talked about what
had happened; no one but me knew the way Drake’s touch felt, and it
didn’t seem worth the anger it would cause.
August focused on me again. “I think the two
of you should spend as much time as you possibly can with Preston
and Libby,” he said in an orderly manner.
“You think they’ll lead us again?” Landen
said, hiding his grin.
“Perhaps... or maybe you’ll lead them,”
August said, looking back at Landen.
“How is that?” I asked, not wanting Libby
leading anywhere beyond her dimension.
August shrugged his shoulders, gazing into
space again. “For all we know, the two of you may only have the
purpose to pave a path for them to lead the universe. Everyone has
been working with them day in and out, but I would think that only
the two of you would really understand them,” he said
confidently.
I shook my head, smiling. I knew I didn’t
understand their gifts any clearer than the others. In their
presence, I was in awe just like everyone else.“I’d be more than
glad to spend more time with them - but I don’t think we’d
understand them any easier,” I said through my smile.
August looked at me with a serious
composure. “The two of you are in their element; all of you
perceive more than the average person. It’s difficult for us to
teach them anything when they’re constantly teaching us.”
August smiled a little as his eyes went
between me and Landen. He then sighed and continued, “They – you –
are the next element of humanity. You have found away to exist
outside of your bodies. Your mind has no limits and takes you
wherever you need it to. Communication is taken by you to a level
that has never existed - in the sane, any ways.” He looked back to
see if he had Landen’s full attention.
“I’ve never been called that,” I said,
looking at Landen.
“Neither have I,” Landen added, staring at
August.
August looked at Landen intently.
“Everything I’ve ever taught you was to prepare you for the day
that you’d finally realize your purpose. Don’t fear it - embrace
it. You are the first of an evolution, and you must teach us so we
can help you.”
“We can’t teach you something we don’t
understand,” Landen said in a low tone.
“You understand more than you think you do,”
August said, beaming with pride.
Landen looked away from August, trying to
hide his frustration with his guidance. “We’ll spend as much time
as possible with Libby and Preston - not because of this trail,
but...we miss seeing them every day,” he said.
August cleared his throat and adjusted
himself in his seat. It was easy to see he wanted to take Landen’s
burden from him, but he could not find a way.“Well, I’m sure that
Aubrey will be relived. She’s looking forward to playing with that
new grandchild, but she also knows how important Preston is.”
I looked at the clock above the back door to
see that it was now nine-fifteen. I sat forward quickly and said,
“Landen, we have to go...I promised I’d help calm her, and she’s
already had the first contraction.” Before I finished my statement,
Landen had already vanished from the doorway and was running to the
shower.
August laughed out loud. “A baby changes
everything - and everyone,” he said, getting up from his seat and
staring back at my painting. I stood and checked the paint on the
canvas before handing it to August. Staring into my eyes, he
reached for the painting; I knew he wanted to say something, to
warn me, but he couldn’t find the words. He forced a smile, then
kissed my forehead and began to walk off. “I’ll tell them the
troops are on their way,” he said over his shoulder.
I watched him leave, wondering what his
fears were. I debated chasing after him and asking him to tell me
every possible scenario that lied ahead, then held myself back,
knowing his answers would only frustrate me more. Once he was out
of sight, I walked in the bedroom and found Landen hopping on one
foot, trying to put his shoes on and brush his teeth at the same
time. I tried to hold in my laughter, but it was impossible. He
looked up as he successfully put on his shoe.
“You think I’m funny, do you?” he said,
turning to rinse out his mouth. I nodded, trying to hold in a
belting laugh. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around
me.
“I’ll show you funny,” he said, leaning down
to kiss me. His touch never got old; he could make me high with one
simple look in his blue eyes. I would easily lose myself inside his
heart and mind. I wrapped my arms around him, pulling him tighter.
His kiss slowed, then he leaned his forehead against mine.“We have
to go,” he whispered just before stealing another kiss.
I let out a playful groan as he pulled me
through the beach house. We ran across the beach through the sand
dunes to the opening of the string; our home was only a few feet
from here. Inside the string, we found Felicity and Brady walking
in our direction. Felicity was holding on to Brady; she was not
from Chara, so she was blind inside the string.
“Sorry we’re late...you didn’t have to come
after us,” Landen said, slapping Brady on the back. Felicity and
Brady were both extremely nervous.
“We knew you’d be here. She wants to be in
the string; she says it feels good,” Brady explained, keeping his
eyes on Felicity.
I could see Felicity’s point; the hum and
current of the string were very addictive. Felicity reached out
blindly for me, and I grabbed her hand and sent a peaceful emotion
through her. She smiled immediately and let out a breath. Brady did
so as well when he saw Felicity’s relief. Landen laughed and shook
his head, then walked over and kissed me.“I guess I’m going to
check on Dad to find out where Libby and Preston are,” he said to
me.
“Wait...no, no, I need the both of you...you
both have to stay with me until the baby’s out,” Felicity
protested.
The look in Landen’s eyes was nothing short
of comical. He blushed.“Umm...listen, Willow is very strong in this
area...I don’t know if it’s my place to be here,” he stuttered,
looking at Brady.
Brady put both his hands on Landen’s
shoulders and looked him square in the eyes.“I need you to do this
for me. I’ll pay you back. I don’t care how, I don’t care when -
but I promise I will. Just help her...you know I’m scared. I don’t
want her to be.”
Felicity smiled as she heard Brady’s plea;
she found him being honest with his emotions beautiful. I did,
too...he had always held his true emotions close to him.
Landen sighed deeply and looked at me.
“
Come on, macho man...I know you’re not
scared, are you?”
I teased.
Landen shook his head at me, then smiled at
Brady.“You better believe that I’m going to put this favor on a
shelf and save it for something really good,” he said. His tone was
humorous. If anything, we owed Brady; he’d faced the demons with us
and defended us when others were trying to shape us.
Landen reached for Felicity’s other hand. I
could feel the peace he was sending through her; we pushed it back
and forth, smiling at each other like it was a tennis match. Brady
grew less tense and put his hand on Felicity’s shoulders.
After walking hours back and forth in front
of the passages that led to Chara, Felicity’s breath became
measured. Brady panicked and ran through the opening to Chara to
find my father. We could feel the baby and knew it was calm, just
easing its way into the world. We concentrated on filling Felicity
with as much peace and calm as we could.
My father stepped in the string a few
moments later; he smiled at me, relived that I’d come home. He then
circled Felicity, looking her over. Brady was right behind him, and
Landen reached out and touched his arm as well. The string
intensified the emotions around us, and Brady’s nervousness was
vibrating us both to the point of distraction; calming them both
down was the only way we would be able to sustain Felicity. Brady
smiled as he felt the peace Landen was sending him, and his
shoulders relaxed.
“Let’s just think about four thirty-three
right now,” Landen said, looking at Brady. If my father was right,
it would be over by then.
My dad looked at me, then at Felicity. “OK,
here comes one,” he said to her.
Felicity nodded and started breathing short
breaths. I put my hand on her stomach and shoulder. She screamed
out, then started to count along with my father. When it was over,
she smiled a little.
“Not so bad...I can do this,” she said to
herself.
The advantage of having a doctor that could
see everything going on inside your body and understand it without
even touching you continued to be virtue for all of us.
“I think we should go back to your house now
– unless you were intending to deliver in the string. You have one
hour left,” my father said. Felicity nodded, and we started to walk
to the opening.
“Wait – here’s another,” my father said
aloud. We all played our parts and counted with Felicity. When it
was over, Brady leaned down, picked Felicity up, then carried her
through the string. Landen and I walked alongside them, never
losing touch of Felicity. Outside the string, most of our family
was waiting. Ashten was doing his best to keep Aubrey calm, and
Rose and Karsten were playing with Preston and Libby in the field
of flowers. My mother and August were waiting as well. My father
took the driver’s seat of Brady’s jeep, and we all climbed in the
back with Felicity. Their house was only three small hills from
this opening.
As we passed by our house, I smiled at
Landen. We had spent such a small amount of time here that I missed
it deeply. I remembered visiting it through dreams before I ever
even knew Landen; it was my safe haven.
Clarissa and Dane were waiting on Brady and
Felicity’s porch. I was sure that Chrispin and Olivia were close; I
was even surer that the four of them had been spending a lot of
time traveling back and forth between Franklin, giving Olivia and
Dane’s family a chance to ease into the separation. I knew that
Chrispin was keeping a close watch on my friends. He wanted nothing
more than to say his peace to Drake.
As Felicity was carried to her room, Aubrey
made her way into the room with us. Ashten and the others waited
outside with discretion. Landen had positioned himself so that his
body would face Felicity, making room for Brady to be by her side.
It was not hard to continue giving Felicity the love and peace she
needed; we could feel it coming from the ones we loved.
My father smiled at Brady, then at Felicity.
“Alright, with this next contraction, I need you to push,” he
said
She nodded, and three contractions later -
at exactly four thirty two - we heard the first cry of the
beautiful baby girl. I could feel her remarkable emotion as her
eyes meet my father, then Felicity and Brady. The first emotion we
feel when we enter this world is unconditional love; it’s strange
to think how we lose that as we get older, only to search for it
again.
“I guess your women’s intuition was right
again,” I said to Felicity. She had told me before that she knew it
was a girl. My father had offered to tell them, but they wanted to
wait.
“So do we have a name?” Aubrey asked, edging
closer to see her granddaughter.
Brady looked at Felicity; she nodded at him.
He then smiled up at me, then down at his new daughter. “Her name
is Aliyanna,” Brady said.