Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles (35 page)

“Yes, that’s correct,” supplies his mother
with a small smile that Morna figured it out so quickly.

“Ari, I can see you are clever young man.
Would you like to spend a little time with me so that we can get to
know each other?” Morna asks, and Ari looks at his left hand.

“Awesome!” says Morna.

“Well Mrs. Alfheim, you are in very good
hands. I will get out of the way,” Sharon says as she backs out of
the conference room. Morna smiles at Sharon as she goes out, then
she pulls a chair up in front of Ari.

“Ari, I need to get my computer out and set
it up so that I can take some notes while we visit. And I want to
let you know that I will need to learn some things about you and
your mother. Any questions that I have that can be answered with a
yes or no, I will ask you. Is that okay?” Ari indicates yes. “And
any questions that might need a longer answer I will ask of your
mother. Will that be alright?” Ari again indicates yes, and laughs
again.

Morna is truly delighted by the charming boy.
She is also quite certain that he is a very bright child,
apparently trapped in an uncooperative body. When Morna looks back
at the child from her computer she notices that he is looking over
her left shoulder where Morna knows that Luca is standing, hidden
by the spell he wove in the car. Luca is resting his hand on her
left shoulder. Morna then feels Luca move over to her right side,
and she sees Ari apparently follow him with his eyes. Morna
pretends her phone vibrates, takes it out of her pocket and says,
“I am so sorry, but I really need to take this call. I will be
right back. Excuse me.”

Once out in the hall she puts the phone to
her ear and whispers to Luca, “Did I actually see what I think I
did?”

“Yes, I believe you did,” he whispers back
into her ear. “Go back in and I will stay out here for a minute. I
will come back in a few minutes and we will see if he follows me
again. Okay?”

“Yes, that sounds good,” she says into the
phone and then snaps it shut. Morna takes a deep breath to calm
herself and smiles when Luca rubs her back reassuringly before she
goes back into the conference room. As she returns to her seat, she
apologizes for the interruption and watches Ari closely. He is only
looking at her face.

Morna looks at Ari’s mother and says, “May I
ask what Ari’s medical diagnosis is?

“Cerebral Palsy and a seizure disorder,”
supplies Mrs. Alfheim. Morna swallows hard at that bit of
information, and keeps her eyes glued to her computer screen until
she can control her facial expression and slow the pounding of her
heart. After several seconds she is composed enough to look back at
Ari and his mother.

Suddenly Ari looks toward the open door and
then trails his eyes toward Morna. He continues to look at a spot
above Morna’s right shoulder. Morna feels Luca place his hand on
her right shoulder. Then Ari shifts his gaze to spot above Morna’s
left shoulder. Luca rests his hand on her left shoulder.

Morna takes a deep breath and folds her hands
in her lap to hide the fact that they are shaking because of what
she is witnessing. She looks Ari directly in the eyes, trying to
decipher what the child sees. Ari holds her gaze and doesn’t look
away, until Luca apparently moves to stand behind Mrs. Alfheim,
because Ari’s gaze slowly tracks from Morna to his mother, or
rather a spot above her.

Finally, Morna, in an attempt to keep the
meeting moving, asks, “Ari, would you like to come to school with
other children?” Ari looks at his right hand, indicating ‘no‘.
Morna’s surprised by that answer, but tries not to show it. She
looks down to her hands again to school her facial expression.
Suddenly she hears a clear, sweet adult male voice saying, “Morna,
dear child, I am almost 1500 years old, why would I want to go to
school with children?”

Her head snaps up and she looks directly at
Ari, “What?” She breathes.

Ari is laughing softly, and then the voice
sounds in her head again, “We both know you heard me.”

Suddenly, Mrs. Alfheim laughs out loud, “Ari,
let us stop toying with our young friends. Lucian, won’t you join
us at the table?”

Morna is sitting with her mouth agape and
watches as Luca drops the hiding spell and sits beside her. He
says, “Madam, may I ask why the charade?”

“Ari thought we should do something
interesting to get Morna’s attention,” is Almeda’s response.

“We were hoping to spark Morna’s memory about
the lore of her people.” says the adult, male voice, sounding in
Luca’s and Morna’s heads.

Mrs. Alfheim reaches across the table to
touch Morna’s hand. “I am so sorry dear. I am, as Mrs. Connor said,
Almeda of Alfheim. This is indeed my son, Ari, however, we are not
here to enroll Ari in your little school. As Ari told you, he is
much too old for that. Instead, we are here as envoys from the Elf
Lord Alberich to check on your progress in regaining your
memories.”

“Not the original Ari and Almeda? No, of
course not.” Morna shakes her head and closes her eyes in an
attempt to recall ancient knowledge long buried. “They perished in
battle with the dark elves. You are descendants?” stutters Morna as
she struggles to remember facts about the light elves.

Almeda nods approvingly, “I am Ari’s daughter
with Serphina.”

“Very good child,” sounds the voice in
Morna’s head. “I thought our little bit of play acting might push
you along a bit.” Ari, the beautiful “child” is smiling approvingly
at Morna.

“May I ask why the Elf Lord is interested in
whether or not I have regained my memories?” asks Morna
thoughtfully.

“I should have known,” says Luca quietly. He
looks at Almeda and Ari and says, “It’s time isn’t it? That’s why
she is so strong, why she can use magic without even thinking about
it. Am I right?”

“Time for what?” demands Morna.

“Time for you to take over for your mother,
of course. A new age for magical Immortals is approaching. You will
help usher it in,” says Almeda. “It is your time to lead the Spell
Weavers. Your Guild has languished long enough. You must step up
and take your rightful place as their leader and set about
fulfilling your Guild‘s destiny.”

Morna’s head feels like it explodes. The
agony seers through her brain and she faints dead away. She nearly
falls out of her chair, but Luca catches her. He looks over at the
pair in frustration and says, “I really wish you had not approached
her this way. It can be very painful for her to have memories
forced onto her. Was it really necessary to put her through seeing
you looking so much like her son?”

“This is my natural form. Her son Aiden
simply resembles his ancestors.” Ari assures Luca. “We did not mean
to cause her pain. But time is of the essence. She has dangerous
enemies who will do anything to stop her ascension.”

Luca scoffs and says, “I suggest we finish
this conversation at my home. I can put a buffer spell around my
office and we can continue this discussion in private.”

“No, I think your clearing on the ridge above
your hunting range in the Arbuckles would be much better. The rain
has stopped and it will be a safer setting. You can call Breena and
have her on speaker phone for this. We know that she can hear and
see us through Morna but we may need to know her thoughts on a few
things. Also, your new ward Damian should be there, and perhaps one
other talented young person may be ready to join us…” sounds the
voice in Luca’s head.

Morna comes around quickly. She looks across
the table at the envoys with bleary eyes. She is aware of most of
what transpired while she was unconscious. Her head is throbbing
mercilessly, her hands are shaking violently, as she wonders if she
is losing her mind.

Almeda stands up imperiously, and unlocks the
wheels on Ari’s wheelchair. “I will go tell Mrs. Connors that I
have decided I am not ready to enroll Ari in school. We will meet
you both at the clearing in three hours’ time. Perhaps Samantha and
Damian will be ready to join us by then.”

Luca helps Morna pack her computer away, then
picks up her bag and leads her out of the building to his car.
Morna can tell he’s very upset. “What’s wrong Luca?” she
breathes.

“I am afraid something must be very wrong if
the Elf Lord is sending envoys to see us. I just don’t know what to
expect next. You are the most powerful of all of us, and you still
don’t have your memories. I am more than a little bit concerned my
love,” he confesses as he helps her into his car.

Morna’s cell phone rings. She is certain that
it is her sister calling, she hits the speaker button and hears
Breena, “Luca! What do you make of that? What did they mean she is
supposed to take over for Mother? I thought it was decided… Oh
never mind. What are they talking about?”

“Morna, Breena, let me tell you what little I
know, and then we can go from there, okay?” says Luca.

“Sure,” says Breena, and Morna nods
silently.

“Morna, first let me say, I hate that this is
coming at you so quickly, but apparently time is running out.
Breena do you remember when you found me to tell me that you had
found signs of Morna returning in Verona?”

“Of course,” says Breena.

“Well right after you left an envoy from the
Elf Lord showed up. He told me that it was up to me to keep track
of Morna through her incarnations so that she would be able to
fulfill her destiny when the time was right. He wouldn’t answer any
of my questions about that destiny, he would only say that the fate
of the Spell Weavers would someday be resting in her hands.”

Morna’s sharp intake of breath makes Luca
look over at her. It is obvious that she is overwhelmed and
probably frightened. He reaches over and puts his hand on her
cheek. “Why me?” she whispers as she rubs her throbbing
temples.

“Because your people need you and you are the
strongest one, the one most able to face whatever is coming,” he
says quietly, confidently.

“Morna, you are even stronger than even Luca
realizes. I should not be surprised by this turn of events,” Breena
says softly.

Morna shakes her head slowly in disbelief.
“What was all that about Damian and Samantha?” she whispers. “What
can a young vampire and a troubled young girl, who may or may not
have the gift of future sight have to do with this?”

Luca shrugs and says, “I don’t know anything
about that part. Breena, do you have any ideas on that?”

“Actually, I was just thinking of the
prophecy I mentioned before, the gathering of the magical and
supernatural… will be able to reverse an unjust curse… Really, I am
not sure, but maybe they are intended to be part of the gathering,”
offers Breena. She sighs into the phone. “Maybe I am just reaching.
But it‘s the only thing that makes sense to me.”

“I am really having a hard time wrapping my
head around any of this Luca. Less than a week ago I was just a
middle aged woman trying to survive losing her family. Now I am
finding out I may have to figure out how to save a whole race of
magical beings… Me! Of all people! What the hell? Am I dreaming or
going insane?” Morna whispers through pale lips.

“Darling, you certainly are not insane, and
unfortunately, you are not dreaming. But I am certain you are up to
whatever is ahead of you. You just don’t fully realize yet who and
what you truly are. Actually, you have never really understood how
amazing you are. You just have never seen yourself clearly, never
accepted how important that you are to all of the Spell Weavers.
But I know you will be more than a match for any challenges ahead
of you,” Luca assures her.

They have arrived back at their home by now
and are still sitting in his car discussing this via telephone with
Breena. Luca’s phone rings. He looks at the number then says,
“Morna, go change into some jeans and a sweater. It will colder on
the ridge. And eat something, darling. I think we have a long night
ahead of us.” Luca gets out and walks around to open her car door
for her. After Morna walks away, he answers his phone, “Brigid,
what’s up now?”

“Luca, Morna has linked with Aideen just like
she has to Breena. Aideen relayed all of the conversation with the
Elf Lord’s envoys to me. I hope the connection stays intact. Aideen
is overjoyed at being so closely linked with Morna but she’s
worried about Morna. She’s in a lot of pain. We can’t wait for you
two to get here tonight,” says Brigid. Go look after your wife
Luca. Aideen says she is feeling very lost and confused right now,
she is feeling exactly what Morna is feeling. She needs you,” urges
Brigid. “And do not miss the damned flight!”

Luca finds Morna sitting on the floor in
their bedroom. She has stripped down to her bra and panties. She is
holding a pair of soft jeans and a lightweight cashmere sweater on
her lap. She is staring off into space. Luca kneels down in front
of her on floor, “Morna, are you okay, darling?”

She grabs him to her and starts kissing him
desperately, like she may never get another chance to be this close
to him. Her need and desire for him are tangible things. He takes
her into his arms, holds her tightly to him, “We can’t, darling,”
he whispers. “You are linked, remember?”

“Well, maybe Breena would forgive me…” her
voice trails off, uncertainly.

“Morna, Breena isn’t the only link now. You
are also linked to another in Chicago, another from Airendell. This
other one sees, hears and feels everything you do right now,” He
kisses her gently. “Soon, I promise, I need you just as much. But
now let us go see what these Elvish envoys have for us.” He kisses
her gently and helps her to her feet. “Damian and Mac are back. I
must go talk to him. What do you think we should do with Mac?”

“I am not sure. My impulse is to take her to
The Bridge, she will be safe and comfortable there. But Damian
might be able to give us insight into whether or not that would be
a good idea.” Morna smiles reassuringly at her mate, she recognizes
the deep concern for her written on his face.