Ascended (18 page)

“No! Henry never knew about you. Lily never told him she was carrying twins. Lily was a patient
of my mom’s, and my mom couldn’t divulge any information because of the doctor-patient confidentiality agreement, so by law she was unable to disclose anything pertaining to the events of that evening to anyone, even to Henry. The Chief took you in as if you were his own child. He raised you, protected you, and loved you with all his heart,” Carter said.

Vie was quiet
. She seemed to be processing everything Carter had told her. He could see she was a million miles away just thinking about having been abandoned by her mother. There was a sadness he had not seen on her face before, and it was killing him to watch it take hold of her.

“Vie, are you al
l right?” he asked, stopping her contemplation. He looked into her eyes and he could feel her pain. He knew then he couldn’t tell her everything he knew about Lily right now; it was just too much for one person to handle.

“Vie, Lily was very sick. She had an illness, a mental illness
; it wasn’t her fault. And it wasn’t yours, either. Do you remember when you were in the hospital after Vivian’s surgery? Lily was there. Well, she wasn’t Lily exactly. She was known as Ivy, and she came to watch over you. She loved you, Vie,” Carter said.

“Ivy?” Vie thought about it for a minute.
The memory of the gentle nurse’s eyes specifically stuck out in her mind. When she recalled looking into Ivy’s eyes, Vie made the same connection about her that Carter had.
They were
the same
, she thought. “But she didn’t know I was there. I was merged into Vivian at the time. She came to watch over her, not me,” Vie challenged.

“Oh
, really? You don’t think Lily knew you were there? Come on, Vie, I know you don’t believe that. I mean, you’re good, but do you really think you could fool an angel?” he posed the question to her.

Vie thought about it for a moment and then remembered Ivy’s eyes the night that
the little girl, Olivia, had died in the hospital, back when Vie had first descended. Ivy had placed her hands softly on either side of Vie’s face and had said to her, “You have something rare, a gift that not very many people have here in this world. It comes from deep within you and it is genuine and beautiful. You have the ability to really see into the souls of those who are frightened and make all their fears go away. Use these gifts, Vie.”

These words were echoed by
Lily when they’d spoken at the Gates. Vie believed Carter was right. Ivy was Lily. She also believed her mother had been there to guide her.

Carter noticed a light within her eyes as he looked on. Vie may not have known her mother’s love as a child, but she felt it now for sure.

Carter rested his hand on the side of her face, tracing her cheekbone lightly. “Vie, I believe you were exactly where you were supposed to be: on the reservation with the Chief—waiting for me,” he said softly.

Vie looked at him
, smiling, and Carter kissed the top of her head and said, “We were fated for each other and I think Lily knew that.”

They started walking again
, holding hands, but Vie stopped abruptly after only a few steps.

“Wait,”
she said. “Does Henry know I exist now?”

“Sort of
...he knows Lily had twins. He just doesn’t know the twin is you. Now come on, Vie, we have to get back to the reservation,” he said.

“
No, I need to see Henry. Now!” she demanded.

Carter was not about to argue with her
; it was a battle he was sure to lose. He decided if she needed to see Henry, then Henry she’d see. He made the detour away from the reservation and back toward Newcastle to the Thorne home.

Vie looked at Carter
. “You know, the Guardians will be coming soon, so we have to hurry.”

Carter knew what that meant
. Instantly, the two of them were excited at the chance to race to the finish line. Their eyes met, electrified by the silent dare, and off they raced like missiles through the forest, darting between the trees with superhuman bursts of speed. Invigorated by each other’s energy, they zoomed by like two shooting stars in the night sky.

Carter arrived first
, and stood on the front porch waiting for Vie with a grin of accomplishment. He heard a noise by the bush at the side of the house and moved to investigate, creeping down the steps.

A
ll of a sudden, something jumped out at him and shouted, “Beat ya!”

It was Vie, with a huge victorious smile planted on her
glowing face. She boasted about her triumph, attempting to be pretentious and failing.

Carter let her have the moment she so rightfully deserved.
This was the Vie he loved and he was in awe of her.

Vie noticed Jeremy’s car
in front of the house and was nervous but excited to see him again. They knocked, and Jeremy opened the door, looking relieved when he saw Carter.

“I’m glad you’re here
, Carter. Henry has been asking for you,” he said, worried. Then Vie stepped into the doorway and Jeremy froze where he stood.

Vie waited a moment for it to set in and then put her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “It’s so good to see you
, Jer,” she said softly in his ear.

Jeremy
was amazed to see her—for the first time—in the flesh. He had known she existed, or at least he’d believed she did, but seeing her, holding her, made it all so real.

The door
was opened wider and she saw Henry’s grief-stricken eyes looking straight into hers. She pulled away from Jeremy slowly and took her first step toward Henry.

“Daddy?”
Vie said softly, her voice trembling as she took another step closer to the man she knew to be her father.

Henry stood up. He was thin and pale, we
akened from Vivian’s passing. His eyes were red and his cheeks sunken from the loss of weight he’d experienced from the tragedy. His eyes welled up with tears and his heart filled with love as he gazed into her eyes. “Is it really you?” Henry said in the doorway, still in disbelief. “You look so much like her.” He appeared to be in awe of Vie.

“Like Vivian?” Vie
asked.

“No, like your mother,” he said
, a loving, wistful look on his face.

Vie had always been compared to Vivian in likeness but never to Lily. The thought of it
filled her with joy and solidified the fact that she was indeed Lily’s daughter.

Just then, Kade
came in from the kitchen, carrying a plate with some food for Henry. She stopped instantly upon seeing Vie and dropped the dish, causing it to shatter as it hit the hardwood floor.

Vie turned her head and saw a scared Kade halted by the vision in the room. She
’d obviously noticed a striking resemblance to Vivian, but realized it wasn’t Vivian standing in the doorway.

Jeremy walked over to
her and said, “Kade, this is Vie, Vivian’s sister.”

“But how?
What happened?” Kade said, still in shock.

“Vie grew up on the reservation with the
Chief. It’s kind of a long story. We’d rather not get into the details right now,” Carter said, brushing it off.

“I’m sorry, I…umm…I didn’t mean to pry,” Kade said
, embarrassed.

“Kade, please
, it’s fine. You don’t need to apologize. I know this is a lot for everyone to handle right now, including me,” Vie said, trying to make her feel less uncomfortable.

Kade just
continued to stare at Vie, still overwhelmed, until Jeremy took her into the kitchen to allow her the time she needed to compose herself.

Vie turned and looked back to Henry. He immediately opened his arms wide and welcomed
her into them. She ran like a little girl into her father’s arms and the two of them clutched each other in an unyielding embrace.

Carter felt a rush of tears com
e to the surface as he watched Vie reunite with her father. It was similar to watching the miracle of birth, through Henry’s eyes; a father seeing at his daughter for the very first time was a rare blessing to witness.

Henry
cradled her head in his hands and gazed into her beautiful eyes. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t know,” he tearfully confessed.

“I know
, Daddy, I know,” she said, consoling him.

Henry
searched her face, looking again into her eyes, and tilted his head suspiciously.

“Daddy, are you okay?” Vie asked
, worried about him.

“You were here before, weren’t you?” Henry said
, studying her.

Vie turned and looked at Carter, not knowing how she should respond.

Carter nodded his head to let Vie know he believed it was okay.

“Yes,
Daddy, I was,” she said.

Henry grabbed her again tightly and closed his eyes
, silently thanking Lily for sending his little girl back to him. “It was your eyes that gave you away, you know. I’ve only seen eyes like yours one other time in my life, and that was when I looked into the eyes of my beloved wife, Lily.”

Jeremy and a slightly more composed Kade
reentered the living room.

Vie stood up and looked at the girl she
’d called her friend: the one she’d protected from Tess’ bullying, the one who’d shopped with her and supported her relationship with Carter.

Kade recognized her eyes now
, too; she seemed to understand that they were familiar, and although not Vivian’s, still the eyes of a person she knew as her friend. They walked slowly toward each other at first, and then Kade ran to her and hugged her. She whispered in Vie’s ear, “I’d hoped you’d return.”

Vie just held her, fighting back the tears. The emotions in the room were overwhelming
, to say the least. Vie felt as though she had been reborn into the world, surrounded by all the people who loved her and whom she loved in return. Nothing was going to touch her family now. It was time to do what she came here to do.

“Guys, I hate to cut this reunion short
, but Vie and I do have to go,” Carter stated, seeing that Vie really needed a break.

“Yes, yes we do,” she said
, wiping the tears from her cheeks.

“No, you can’t go
. I just got you back,” Henry said, clinging to his little girl.

Vie kneeled down in front of Henry
. “Oh, Daddy, you couldn’t get rid of me even if you tried. I’ll be back soon, I promise,” she said, standing to kiss his cheek.

Carter had spoken to Jeremy
privately about staying the night with Henry to watch over him. He was worried about Henry, but he didn’t want to transfer his concerns to Vie. They had work to do, and a distracted Vie would not be a productive Vie.

Carter
was already feeling guilty about his lack of disclosure with Vie. There was a fine line between lying and disclosure, and Carter was walking right down the center of it. He battled with his conscience about withholding the information given to him regarding her birth. Ultimately, it was his strong belief that no matter what he had been told, he knew without a doubt there was not an evil bone in Vie’s body, and therefore no reason to disclose it.

The two of them walked outside and Jeremy followed. “Hey, what’s going on?
And don’t tell me ‘nothing,’ because I know both of you all too well,” he warned.

Vie walked over to
him and said, “Jer, we have something to do—something very important. I can’t tell you everything, but I can tell you that I’m here for my sister,” she said, her love for Vivian apparent.

Jeremy could see
not only love, but danger in her eyes. He had known Vivian’s soul was in trouble; he had known it for a long time. He’d tried so hard to save her, but he had failed. His faith was very strong, and he could feel Vivian’s soul was not resting in peace. The idea of her spending one second tormented by evil was unbearable for him.

Vie could see his heart was heavy
at the thought of where Vivian’s soul was headed.

“Jer, we
’ve got this!” she said confidently, holding his hands.

Jeremy knew Vie was the one
person who could save Vivian, and he was thankful to both her and Carter for what he knew they were about to do.

“What can I do to help?” he said
, wanting to join them.

“Honestly
, Jer, you’re doing it right now. You and Kade taking care of my father for me is all I need. I can’t thank you enough,” Vie said humbly.

“It
’s my honor to do it, Vie. You know how I feel about him; I’d do anything for Henry,” he reassured her.

“Okay
, then, tell Henry I’ll be back in the morning to see him. Can you do that for me?” she said.

“Done
. Oh, and Carter…you’d better take care of her or I’ll come looking for you,” Jeremy said.