As soon as the last evolution was completed, all Resurrection Cultivators returned to the manor where they could continue to sleep safely. Their Caretakers stood guard over them patiently, and Shana and Siobhan took charge of the children. Or rather, they kept an eye on them. Anna had actually taken charge with the sort of calm that came from being a Lead Defender's child. She kept her brother and cousins distracted, read to them when they were too tired to play, and mended any injuries if someone did something they should not.
Shana shut the parlor door softly and walked over to where Siobhan stood at a window. "She's an amazing little girl." She leaned against the wall beside her sister. "Every time I look in on them, she gives me this look." She smiled wryly. "It's the same look her mother gives me when she thinks I ought to be focusing on something more important."
Siobhan smiled as well. "You don't have to share blood to be family. I think we've seen that often enough. Although . . ." She frowned thoughtfully. "You know . . . she might be descended of Liena."
Behind them, they heard Tasia say quietly, "She is."
Both turned to see their sister-Apex coming down the stairs. She looked relatively normal once more. The pallor to her skin had faded, and she seemed strong physically and emotionally. The swirl across her eyes had deepened more significantly, however, and she still exuded a very soft music in the air. "Are you sure you should be up?" Siobhan scolded her.
"I feel fine, Doctor Siobhan." Tasia stepped up beside them and sighed. "The music thing will turn off soon, I'm sure." She tilted her head. "Think of it as revving an engine before gunning it." She sat down on the window seat. "As for Anna, you are correct. She is an indirect descendant of Liena. Mark's past self took in Liena's children. Rather than being born to his own bloodline, he was reborn to hers and, therefore, so was Anna."
Shana sat down beside her. "When did you figure it out?"
"Almost the moment I met her, though I was not absolutely positive until after she came into her Sight. It made sense of a lot, really. She hit wizard evolution at a very young age, and is far more powerful than your average sort. You have to admit that my family turns out the best and the brightest. I suppose we can blame Destiny and Hope equally for that." She smiled up at Siobhan. "Sorry you're not mixed in there."
"I'm descended of Love," she smiled back. "That's not much for better. And since Terry said that Love and Destiny are twin souls, I guess that makes sense of a lot more." She sat down on Tasia's other side and covered her hand with her own. Shana covered hers as well, and they all laced their fingers together.
Tasia suddenly hiccupped. She hastily covered her mouth with her free hand and scowled at the air. Siobhan and Shana stared at her and then both quickly muffled snickers as they realized what it meant. A familiar warm presence swirled around them, and they looked to the side to see a shimmering rainbow-hued portal appearing.
"I guess that's an invitation," Shana said dryly. She got to her feet. "Let's go see what the Goddess wants."
Siobhan blinked at Tasia. "Something just dawned on me. If Destiny is who the Faith worships as its Goddess, who have you been worshipping as your God? I don't think I ever thought to ask about that. Maybe because we mostly only hear about the Goddess."
Tasia smiled. "With good reason. Our Father God is the God of Hope. Part of the intent in making the Faith was to help bolster the force of Hope in the universe. And the look on your face tells me you are realizing things that we witches have been pondering for a very long time. There are more answers to be had; I'll share them as they are important."
"Oh, alright. I'm holding you to that though."
Stepping through the portal reverted them all to their natural Apex form. Clothes disappeared from their bodies to be replaced by swirls of their power and given flower. Shana wore whorls of pure black Dark and black-pink protea blossoms; Siobhan had swirls of pure white Light and white-gold delphinium blossoms; and Tasia had vortices of pure gray Chaos shot with black and white lighting and rainbow-gray iris blossoms. Each wore wings that matched their core, and the crown from their Marks had appeared on their faces: Shana's to her left cheek, Siobhan's to her right cheek, and Tasia's to the middle of her forehead. Siobhan's also hair unraveled from its complicated braid even as Tasia's ponytail came down.
"Why are we always naked?" Siobhan complained to her sisters.
Tasia grinned. "We call it skyclad. So much more tasteful. Besides, we're more decently covered than if we were in most of our bathing suits—and you have no modesty whatsoever anyway—so don't complain."
"Must you always be practical?"
"Well, yes. Then there's a majority vote over you."
Siobhan couldn't take offense to that. She just laughed and hugged her taller friend. An arm still around Tasia's waist, she turned when she sensed a presence approaching. It swirled through the air as a glowing rainbow light that held all colors and all elements. It began to take form as it drifted down to where they stood, and in moments, Destiny herself stood before them.
She seemed of average height, and she was stunningly beautiful. Her eyes looked a base of white where all other colors shimmered and reflected in turn. Her hair seemed the same; an iridescent white that reflected back all other colors as light and dark moved across it. Her skin held a gradient as well, and it showed every tone of skin from the palest ivory to the darkest coal. Her Gray core could be clearly sensed, as could her own power which could not be described yet most closely resembled the arcanistry inside Tasia. As her long hair dragged on the floor, flowers appeared to tumble down the locks and disappear.
She wore a gown of rainbow colors that had embroidered flowers of all sorts across the surface. It opened low enough in front to clearly show, over her heart, the same star-in-circle pentagram that had been adopted by the Faith as their most sacred symbol. Silver power swirled around her, and it had been mixed with stars. "I've wanted to see you all so badly," she said softly in her familiar voice. "You have every reason to hate me for what I have done, but I wanted to see you. Please forgive me."
Shana lifted her chin. "You know what? I did hate you for a long time. Well, okay, hate is a misnomer. I can't hate. But I really didn't like you. You pissed me off a lot. You kept asking me to do things I didn't want to do. You'd offer to give me something I wanted but only if you could ask for something later. Yeah, I didn't like being your servant." Much softer, she continued, "But I haven't felt that way in millennia now. After I had healed from the Chaos War, I had this . . . realization. We are not your servants. We are your chosen Apexes, your emissaries you trust with the very lifeblood of this universe you made. I believe you have suffered as much—if not more—than we have. You have no need for forgiveness."
Destiny glanced at Siobhan who nodded. "I also said some nasty things about you," the Apex of Light admitted, "but I'm not upset anymore. For every bad thing you've asked, you've worked hard to give us something good. You gave us our Defenders, our Caretakers, our twins, and our beloved brothers. You surrounded us with people we love more than anything, who love us unconditionally. You did what you had to do, and you tried so hard to reward us. The things that we want most—peace and freedom and balance—are not yours to give. Not yet anyway."
When Destiny looked at Tasia, the Mystic only smiled. "You are my Goddess. Another beloved Mother." She placed a hand over her heart. "You placed the heaviest burden on my shoulders of us three, but I know it is because you love and trust me. Have I said some bad things myself? Hell, yes, I have. I had to shatter myself three times in order to evolve. But . . . I can feel it inside you. You've been crying for millions of years. Every terrible thing you've done has gouged at your soul, and you have not had a Caretaker to turn to for strength. Every drop we've bled, you've bled thrice." She shook her head. "There is nothing to forgive."
Destiny closed her eyes for a moment as tears shimmered across her lashes. "I have no words," she whispered. "I love you three so much. My own descendants and a descendant of my beloved twin soul." She drew a deep breath. "You are correct when you say I have been planning for this for millions of years. From that very moment that evil was created and entered existence, I have been preparing for these days. Did I plan for everything? Most everything." Her eyes opened and she smiled tremulously. "It is hard to keep wholly ahead of Cultivators. They are deliberately designed to be stubborn, enduring individuals. I might set an event in their path, but they do not always go through it in a way I expect. I deliberately give you Paradoxal Pivots, just to see what you will do, and oh, how you have entertained me too many times."
"What lays in the future?" Tasia asked.
"Even I do not know yet."
"Then these events aren't set in stone." Siobhan took a long breath. "It really is up to all of us. You've literally done everything you can do."
"When the battle ends, we will know the future. You will make the future." Destiny curled her hands together. "A future where there will always be a happy ending."
"And that makes it all worthwhile," Tasia said simply.
"Destiny?" Shana tilted her head. "What will happen to Shanta and Enaya when Siobhan and I are the High Goddesses of the Realm? To any of the current Goddesses and Guardians when our generation and Tasia's rise to those roles. Will they be forced to be reborn, or can they stay as part of the Realm?"
"It may surprise you to hear this, but almost no Cultivators other than from your generation have ever been reborn. They could have been, had they wanted, but none ever felt need. To be sure, there have been plenty resurrected and kicked back to living because their time was not yet up—one generation racked up an impressive four-time streak with that—but an actual rebirth that starts over from childhood? Cultivators who have no loose threads always choose to stay in the Realm and savor their freedom. I suppose it might change someday, but that is the way it has been thus far." She shook her head. "I can honestly only think of one Ruler who chose to be reborn, but perhaps 'chose' is a poor word when he arrived not intact and had to be kicked back to find his missing piece. His was more of a reincarnation than a rebirth; he came back a different person. Or perhaps, the person he should have always been."
Tasia's eyes narrowed slightly, and her caramel eye began to flicker. "And Cultivators, neither Defender nor Ruler, lose their magic? Defenders do not lose their Masks?"
A little smile tugged at Destiny's lips. "Naturally not. They just cease to act in their roles. Think of it as retirement. You do not forget what you have learned, but you don't need to use that knowledge anymore because someone else has taken your place. The Elders who so very recently sacrificed themselves have entered into limbo with their magic and Seeds and Masks restored so they will land in the Realm intact. What they gave was given back, for love only ever begets love."
"What are you thinking?" Siobhan asked Tasia.
"I'm thinking I've just made sense of something that I had been wondering about all along." She waved a hand in the air. "You'll see it soon enough. It's not something you'll need to do, and I'm not entirely sure how to put into words what is in my mind." She huffed out a breath. "Let's talk about something else. Why am I radiating music?"
"Ah, yes." Destiny smiled. "It is a necessity leading to the final battle, as you already suspected, but to be more specific, it is a critical part of the Cleansing—which is exactly what it sounds like. It will be what cleanses the universe of evil. Only a Mystic could do such a thing. Aluria will be the prism for your power. The Leylines will carry your voice across all of existence."
She drummed her fingers on her arm. "Aluria is in another dimension."
"You must tear down the wall separating it and return it to its rightful place at the cusp of the Tarmol galaxy. Its position will not have changed, but its location will. This time of year is the only time it could happen."
"Imagine that," Shana groused. "How do we rip down a dimensional wall and put Aluria back where it belongs?"
"Wait!" Siobhan's eyes flew wide. "Tasia! She has to sing, right? That's it! That's why her voice can reach across dimensions! Ohmygod, can she really sing across time?"
"Uhm, well, yes. If she was inclined."
"I'm not!" Tasia said hastily. "I'm really not! I'd either screw up the past or trip the hell out of people by them encountering my voice in the future! Be honest: do I have a need to sing across time?"
"No." It was said with a smile. "It's just a potential byproduct. Truthfully, your coming song to bring down the dimensional wall might cross time, but Time herself is standing by just in case it happens, and of course Racine as Librarian will be on hand."
"That's something, I guess." She sighed. "I guess we had better be going back and contact the Alurian Defenders to warn them that they're about to have one hell of a moving day. Thank god they don't have to do any packing."
"I will send you back now." Destiny hesitated, then said softer, "If you ever wish to see me, you need only use your power to open a portal to where I am. I have never been far from you. I love you very dearly. I just . . ." She broke off as all three Apexes moved forward and hugged her tightly. Tears slid down her cheeks. How beautifully they lived! How generously they loved. "Go now," she whispered. "And find the happy ending for us all."
The portal opened and all three started through. Shana was the last, and she looked over her shoulder with a smile. "You'll have your happy ending as well. Promise. I want freedom, Siobhan wants peace, and Tasia wants balance. What's the one thing you want most, Destiny?"
"Happiness." She smiled a little sadly. "I'm afraid I've never really known it any more than you have really known freedom."
"I'll have my freedom. And I promise you will have your happiness." She stepped through the portal as well, and on the other side she reverted back to normal. She glanced toward the stairs and discovered all of the Resurrection Cultivators sitting there patiently. The Caretakers were leaning on the banister. She started laughing. "I hope no one worried that we had gotten lost."
"Nah." Emily smiled. "The portal was left behind and it felt like Destiny. Figured it was a meet and greet kind of thing." She leaned back on her hands. "We all seem to be recovered. We're kind of fuzzy, but coffee might fix it."
"Coffee can be had," Siobhan smiled. "Let's start some, and we will tell you what we learned. Actually, let's start the coffee and call the Alurian Defenders to see if they are ready to visit."
"Why call?" Sunlight said sassily from the doorway. Behind her stood all of the Alurian Defenders. "We deliver!"
"Did someone say coffee?" Phoenix asked plaintively.
There was no room for all of them in the dining room or the kitchen. They stayed in the large foyer and spread out as they had for the first big meeting. Everyone who wanted coffee had some in short order, and those who drank tea had that as well. Noticing the Alurian Defenders were alone this time, Reagan asked, "Where are Raven and Felix and the others?"
"Home, preparing the world for what will come during the Cleansing. Pretty much the moment Destiny said we'd be returning to Tarmol, we determined to the alert the people to a bumpy ride. All of our mates are working with them. And Luc." The last was an addendum since Yuiki was determined to win the bet. "And speaking of the Cleansing, I think we all learned stuff we need to share."
It took roughly an hour, and second cups of energizing beverages, before everyone reached the same page and knew everything everyone else did. All Hallows sat only a week away. Shana and Siobhan had checked while the others slept, and they had uncovered that all other worlds beyond Blossom had gotten rattled in the onslaught but not actually harmed or damaged. Any vestiges of evil had been long before erased there; that was why no new Defenders had been born. Instead, all that was left of evil had gathered across the Protea Kingdom and the plains around it. It had begun there. It would end there.
"Full circle," Beth murmured.
"So what about this musical number?" Theo asked Tasia. "Where are you going to release it from? Also, do you need me?"
Tasia winced wryly. "I'm worried about what might happen to you if you tried to support me. I don't think anything can handle a full punch from a Mystic's soul." She broke off sharply, and her eyes widened as she turned to stare at her husband. "That's it," she whispered. "That's why it happened that way."
"Quit being cryptic!" Raine complained. "Spell it out!"
"I was just . . . realizing something. Rodi and I. I don't know that anyone has realized yet." She took a long, deliberate, deep breath, and eyes widened as they watched Rodi do the same at the same moment. "All of you are aware that Rodi and I have been locked together far deeper than most other soul mate pairs. We became even deeper connected when he evolved. Ribbons of Chaos power have literally fused our very cores. We breathe the same breaths. The last breath one of us takes will be the last the other takes. Rocky and Shana could breathe for each other, on purpose, but Rodi and I do it permanently without thought now. Even when I'm not leaking music, he can hear it in his soul because of how deeply we have fused together."
Storm's eyes widened. "He'll be able to keep you from wearing too hard on your soul or body and being unable to perform the Cleansing. That's why he became a Virtuoso!"
"Thank you for staying a Shaman," Chance muttered at LeAnn. "I have enough trouble with you."
"That's the 'what' and 'who'," Vincent put in, "but what about the 'where'? I mean, yeah, you're a Mystic and you can reach across any distance. But can we maybe shorten the distance to make it easier on you? Would going to Aluria help or hinder?"
"I'm not sure it'd matter which side of the wall I was on," Tasia said thoughtfully. "But I think I'd rather stay in this galaxy. Presumably, if I were on Statice or Iris, I should see a bright new star in the sky from whichever part of those worlds faces Tarmol. Given that Iris is my world, and her Core now holds Chaos as well as Ice, I can't imagine a better place to be for this—and I'm sure that is deliberate." She looked at her partners. "When I get back, we have some things to discuss as well."
The transport was easier than ever to use thanks to all the worlds' Cores being purified and strengthened to their state at the beginning of time before evil came into being. Tasia and Rodi barely noticed the effects as they landed on Iris. They landed on the northern pole, and it was bitterly cold and snowy. Snowy was normal for Iris, but not the cold. It only got truly cold for December-January, but it otherwise felt perfectly comfortable for even non-Irisians; such was the magic of the world's Ruler. Unfortunately, even with the Core restored, the world still healed slowly. Just because you regained your ability to heal didn't mean your wounds suddenly disappeared. Only in the Cleansing would the wounds truly fade.
"It feels a little odd," Rodi murmured.
"To have answers?"
"Yeah." He studied her pale brown eye. "How's our guest doing?"
"Getting stronger by the minute. She's feeding off my majik. She was stuck in limbo a very long time, Rodi. She hasn't gained enough strength to talk to me, but I am starting to pick up things from her mind and heart."
"Do you know who she is?"
"Yes."
He waited but no further information came. "Alright, then. Will she be safe when you sing?"
"She should be. She isn't touching my soul, so she shouldn't be any more affected than if she was standing beside me. It's not like my Mystic powers are in my blood. They're just in my soul."
"'Just' she says."
"If they were in my blood, I'd be capable of killing myself by singing away my life. That's one pressure I don't need. Mind you, she might find the ride a bit bumpy considering everything's tangled up inside me, but she should be safe through turbulence."
They stopped walking as they reached the center of a flat plain. It was a dismal landscape but the perfect place for the song to be released from. It felt a little odd for Tasia. She hadn't imagined finding herself in the position of using her voice as a weapon. She had used it to do other things, but never as a weapon. In a way, it might well be her most powerful weapon of all. "I've never tried to bend existence," she murmured. "We knew I could, but I never actually thought I would do it on purpose."
Rodi stepped up behind her and lightly looped his arms around her waist. "There's a first time for everything."
She closed her eyes and let the music begin to well inside her soul until it spilled into the air as more than a subconscious melody. It grew louder and more powerful, and the land began to quiver softly. The blowing wind began to die down as the music crept outward. A hush fell across two dimensions and formed a waiting silence. And, softly, she began to sing.
In the sunless night, the wind blows chilling me to the bone
Everyone hold on tonight
In the sunless night, the stars hide behind untrue storm clouds
Don’t forget your promise
Passionately and violently, I want to change my form
It doesn’t make sense this burning; tell me why
Hotly, hotly, no matter what, my wings are spread to the sky
Far away, far away from you, this dream keeps changing course
Everyone, everyone, find what is real and don’t let go of this world
No matter how the road changes don’t lose to the fear
The music swept across the land and into the sky. It climbed through space and slipped through the broken cracks between dimensional walls. The haunting song was heard by all who lived, and they stopped in their tracks to listen. Hope. The mystical voice that curled across souls carried the rawest force of Hope. All those who had despaired began to believe, and that belief started to become power.
Aluria began to glow in the alternate dimension. The Leylines harmonized and revved as they prepared to receive the Cleansing. The walls between dimensions started cracking and crumbling even more.
In the sunless night, evil is overwhelming the land and the sea
Pray for a distant dream to come through
Deeply and strongly I want to keep on winning this battle
The sun and the stars have joined our fight; tell me how
Always, always, I want to keep believing in our power
More, more, we become stronger, and free our souls
Surely, surely, saying good bye won’t end this passion
No matter how confused you get, don’t lose to the despair
The cracking of the walls became audible across space. Back on Protea, the two with connections to time-space felt the ripple as reality changed. The wall between dimensions kept breaking faster and faster, huge chunks dissolving into nothing. The space between the dimensions suddenly exploded outward and blinded everyone and everything. When it faded, it didn't look like anything had changed. And in some ways, nothing had.
Nothing except the newly glowing star in the skies of Iris, Statice, and Aluria alike. The wall was gone.
Hotly, hotly, no matter what, my wings are spread to the sky
Far away, far away from you, this dream keeps changing course
Everyone, everyone, find what is real and don’t let go of this world
No matter how the road changes don’t lose to the fear
Hotly, hotly, no matter what
Far away, far away from you
Everyone, everyone, find what is real
No matter how the road changes
Hotly, hotly, no matter what
The song slowly ebbed and faded away even as Tasia's voice trailed off. She felt slightly dizzy and more than a little emotionally drained, but Rodi's solid presence inside her very core grounded her. Strength began to pour back into her through him, as if his soul had become a battery recharging her. Her music had stopped rippling into the air at the end of her song, and it began to well again as she recovered rapidly.
"Are you okay?" he asked huskily in her ear.
"Uhm." She let her weight rest against him. "I'm a tiny bit giddy. I've never done that before. Remember when we did the ritual to draw down the sun and we both ended up a little high from the energy rush? I just got that again." Her lashes fluttered closed as his lips feathered across her neck. "Don't you dare seduce me out here!"
"You seduced me first."
"Not intentionally." She hadn't realized how intimate it would be for him to be fused with her soul while she was singing. She could feel the majik in her blood calling out for his. "The others are waiting for us." It was a weak protest, and her breathy voice belied her hunger for him. "No snow!" She made her voice as firm as she could.
He slowly released her on a nearly sultry laugh. "I'm claiming a rain check." She turned in his arms, and he buried his fingers in her hair to drag her up for a wild kiss. His lips curved as he released her again. "I hear saxophones."
"Little wonder!"
The sexy saxophones had disappeared into the normal 'default' sound of her soul by the time they returned to the manor where the others waited. Even Shana looked at her with awe when she walked in the door. "Holy vined hells, kid," Shana told her. "That was incredible!"
"Welcome to this side of the fence," Ryan told Starlight solemnly. "We hold sleepovers on Saturdays when we're not destroying evil forces."
"Exactly where are we?" Moonlight asked dryly.
"Exactly where you left from!" Siobhan smiled. "The galaxy where Aria and Celia are. Aria is of course where Rodi is from, and Celia is actually where Shana's and my fathers from the Royal Era originated. Expect them to show up on the castle doorstep with cookies and presents. They love friends and allies." She looked at Tasia. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Let's call it a sugar rush. There's no other way to describe it." She had started to sit down when Anna suddenly opened the parlor door. "What is it, honey?"
With amazing calm, Anna said, "Devin is glowing."
Raine and Logan rushed toward the parlor, and Siobhan, Shana, and Tasia were hot on their heels. Inside, they found Relisha standing on one side of the room with the dragons while Percival and Daelan stood on the other. Devin stood in the middle and was, indeed, glowing. A pale golden light flowed around his fingers and then out around his body.
He looked perfectly fine physically, but the glow had never happened before. All had always known he carried some great power inside, though. Raine knelt in front of him, and he looked at her solemnly. "I'm okay. I feel fine. I felt Tasi's song and it did something to me."
Raine saw a different glow, and she reached out to tug down his collar. There, on his chest, they could all see the familiar pentagram mark that the three Apexes had only just seen on Destiny herself. She looked at him for long moments and then looked at Tasia, who nodded. She turned back to Devin and smiled. "It's nothing bad, I promise. We can tell you what it is later, as you get older. But for now, I still want to do a check-up, alright?"
Into Tasia and Shana's minds, Siobhan said, I know that light.
You should, Shana agreed. For one thing, gold is the color majik takes for those who are close to the God. For another, the arcane lake holding all of the hopes of the universe is also gold. And in case I'm not being obvious enough, it would appear our Devin is a reincarnated god. Which, you know, is making sense of too many things, including Kellie. That's why she could hear the Whisper. She had been chosen to give birth to Hope—literally.
Tasia smiled as she watched Devin experiment with the gold power. Destiny worked very hard to help her counterpart be capable of being born, never once realizing at all what he would be to her. The timing of Devin's birth makes sense. Within months of my reaching adulthood was when Kacey got pregnant. The existence of all three Apexes at one time—even with me unawakened—was enough to push the force of hope in the universe to where Hope himself could be born at last.
Okay, so are you telling me that your technical brother via your stepsister is the soul mate of one of your ancestors and is also directly one of your ancestors as well? Siobhan asked it dryly.
Tyson jinxed himself. He said they had the weirdest part of the overarching family tree. He was not wrong. Shana shook her head. The force of Hope. He was there all along. Always there, always beyond our sight. Not even Destiny could see him.
Of course not, Tasia murmured back. We almost never see our soul mates at first.
Siobhan wrapped an arm around each of their waists and smiled as Raine and Logan finished examining an exasperated Devin. Even when we can't see them, they're still there, she thought to her sisters.
Tasia thought about the things she had figured out after her conversations with Destiny. "Yeah," she said softly. "That's one way of putting it."
©Stacy J. Garrett. Do not reprint or redistribute without permission.
Chapter 18 (Later Today)->
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