Between Ascension, page 28
part #9 of Levels of Ascension Series
“I was chosen,” Petre repeated as he looked Elder Daven in the eyes. “I don’t know why, but I was chosen.”
“Who chose you?”
“I don’t know. They were in my head; they kept me alive until you could find me. They told me I was chosen.”
“For what were you chosen?”
“I don’t know.” Petre shook his head as he tried to make sense of everything, yet nothing seemed to fit anymore. His body began to tremble with shock and he drew his arms around his legs pulled up to his chest and rested his forehead on his knees. He started to rock back and forth, still seeing the men in his head telling him he was chosen. “Where is the woman? I felt her with me. Where is she?” Petre suddenly lifted his head and looked around. Relief spread through him when he saw her lying on the floor nearby. “Is she going to be okay?”
“Yes, I believe so. Do you know who she is?”
“No, I don’t know her, but she needed me. She needs me still. I have to make sure she’s okay.” He scooted across the floor and gently touched her cheek. Feeling her warm and healthy calmed him down and his trembling began to ease. He would make sure she stayed safe, it was his duty, and he would be there for her as long as she needed him.
Elder Daven, going against protocol, was listening in to Petre’s thoughts and wondered what had happened between the worlds to make such a drastic change in this man. Petre was known for his selfish, crass ways, especially where women were concerned. What he saw in Petre’s mind was so totally changed as to be almost unrecognizable.
Petre looked up at Elder Daven and asked, “Were you able to save the samara as well?”
“I was, but it will be staying with me.” Daven had toyed with the idea of letting Petre believe it had been lost, but it went against all of his teachings. Seeing the relief on Petre’s face as he heard the news proved he had been correct in owning the truth.
“Good, it belongs to you, you know. I’m glad you saved it.” He turned back to face the woman and picked up her hand and held it between his own. “Please wake up. Tell me your name.”
Almost as if she had been waiting for the invitation, the woman’s eyes opened and she smiled weakly up at Petre. “It was you. You saved me from the darkness. You kept me from being lost and alone forever. Thank you!”
“I’m just glad I was there to help. Can you sit up? What’s your name?” He supported her arm as she struggled to move into the telepod seat behind her. He remained in physical contact even as he took the seat beside her, never taking his eyes off of hers.
“Thank you. My name is Tirsha.” She looked at Petre first and then turned her gaze to see Elder Daven and finally Jena. “Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t notice the two of you. You must think me so rude.”
“Not at all,” Daven assured her. There were so many questions rolling through his head and he could see Jena was also intrigued. “Jena, I’m assuming you’ve let them know we’re alright?”
“Yes. They are very relieved and asking when we will be returning.”
“Very shortly, as soon as we get these two sorted out.” He turned back to their unexpected guests and asked, “Would the two of you mind coming inside so we can figure out how you both ended up where you were?”
“Sure, I’d like to figure it out myself.” Petre stood up and offered his hand to Tirsha. He was more than pleased when she accepted his invitation. Together they stepped off of the telepod, and the group walked up to the terrace of the Residence. It was such a lovely day; they opted to sit in the sunshine after such a dark and harrowing experience.
Daven’s staff were as efficient as ever and had steena tea delivered within seconds of their arrival on the patio. Just as Melba retreated into the house, Nena came outside with a wide grin of welcome for her husband and granddaughter. Her smile lost some of its sparkle when she noticed Petre sitting at the table, but she held her tongue until she could discover the reason for this visit.
“Daven! I didn’t know you’d be coming back so soon, and with Jena even!” She kissed her husband on the cheek warmly and smiled fondly at Jena. She turned to the newcomers and said with a clipped tone, “Petre.” Her tone changed dramatically when she addressed the woman seated next to Petre, “I don’t believe we’ve ever been introduced. My name is Nena; I’m Elder Daven’s wife.”
The woman looked startled as she finally took in Daven’s clothes and their surroundings. She had been so disoriented that she failed to recognize she was in much-esteemed company. Suddenly shy, she looked down at her lap, seeing her clothes were stained with black streaks and torn, she brushed ineffectually at the dirt in an attempt to be more presentable. “My name’s Tirsha. Thank you for your hospitality; it is very…unexpected.”
Nena raised her eyebrows in question at Daven and received a puzzled expression in return. This was turning out to be a very odd day. Nena sat down on the other side of the woman and hoped she would hear what was certain to be a very interesting story. She poured tea into the glasses and handed them out to everyone.
Daven cleared his throat as he was the last to sit. “Tirsha, can you tell me how you ended up where we found you?”
“I really have no idea, Elder Daven. I’m sorry to have interrupted you and created such a fuss.”
Waving his hand in dismissal of her worry, he continued, “What is the last thing you remember then?”
Tirsha considered his question seriously and then slowly began to recall the events before her rescue. “It was dark, and I got turned around. I was upstairs in my house, and there was smoke filling up every room. I was trying to find my daughter so I could save her…oh no! I need to help my daughter! I have to get back to my house! Please, can you take me there immediately?” Tirsha jumped up from her seat and looked ready to run back to the telepod.
“I understand your fear, Tirsha, please sit back down.”
“I can’t! Didn’t you hear me? I need to save my daughter!” Tirsha took a step away from the table, feeling tears of hopeless despair at her situation.
“There’s time, I promise. Once you tell us everything, I will be able to get you back in time to save your daughter. Please sit back down and finish your story.”
Seeing she was not going to be taken anywhere until she finished, she felt defeated and wilted back into her chair. She did not understand how Elder Daven could be so unfeeling as to keep her here when her daughter could still have a chance at being rescued.
“Please continue, Tirsha. This is important.” Daven felt compelled to hear her story, thinking it might be some sort of clue for using his samara which was resting uncomfortably in his pocket, jabbing itself into his thigh as he sat.
Tirsha felt tears of frustration dripping down her cheeks, making clean streaks appear in the filth covering her face. “My house somehow caught fire. I was trapped upstairs when the fire began billowing up the staircase. I could hear my daughter screaming for me down in the kitchen. I wasn’t able to get to her. I tried to fight my way through the flames, but the heat drove me back. In a desperate act, I gathered elemy and translated myself out of the house. I was only trying to get outside, but I somehow messed up and never made it to where I intended. Instead, I ended up finding this man.” She looked over at Petre with admiration and wonder. “You saved me.”
Petre had never experienced anyone looking at him in such a manner before and he was suddenly shy of the attention. He looked down into his lap and felt like a fool. He had done nothing to help her, but he was thankful he had been of assistance to her, no matter how it had happened.
Daven turned to Petre and asked, “Petre, how did you end up where we found you?”
Knowing better than to lie to an Elder, Petre opted for the truth. “I was sent to Earth by Lucinden to retrieve what you have in your pocket. I mistakenly believed I could properly harness its power to take me back home to Tuala. Somehow, I ended up getting stuck between the two worlds. I don’t know how or why, but I’m very grateful that you rescued me…us.” He rapidly amended as he glanced hastily at Tirsha.
Nena visibly startled when Petre mentioned Lucinden’s name. This was the third occurrence in such a short period of time of Lucinden’s meddling in affairs which ended up affecting them personally. This was more than coincidental and it was starting to scare her. She did not like the idea of Lucinden becoming so powerful as to start creating events with which they would have to become involved.
Daven stood hastily and said, “I’ll be right back.” He did not wait for an answer but walked swiftly into the house. At the mention of Lucinden, Daven felt the need to get his samara into a safe hiding place inside his Residence where it would not be at risk of being taken from him. Thinking about how close he had come to never getting his samara made it even more urgent for him to safeguard it until he could properly claim it as his own.
He reached the Ascension Gate room and created a towel in which he could wrap his samara and keep from touching it again until he was ready. With his hand wrapped, he reached into his pocket and retrieved the small crystal skull. He held it up to inspect it for the first time, wishing he could spend more time exploring its depths. With great reluctance, he pulled the towel over the top of it and set it in the niche next to Nena’s. He reset the ward to guard it and swiftly returned to his guests on the terrace.
The table had remained silent while Daven was gone. He cleared his throat and asked, “Tirsha, tell me exactly when you left your house. We need to be careful not to return to your home before you left, but we want to get back as close as we can after your departure.”
“I was just getting ready to start dinner, just before my husband got off of work at the docks.”
“Where are you from?” Petre asked.
“The Port of Cresdon.”
Jena had a funny feeling come over her and decided she would ask the question which popped into her head no matter how odd it seemed. “What is the date, including the year, Tirsha?”
Raising her eyebrows at the strange question, she answered confidently, “It’s the sixth of Elul, 3440. Why?”
Everyone’s eyes rounded with surprise at Tirsha’s statement, yet nobody made any reply as they all considered how long Tirsha had been lost. Daven was the first to recover his voice and said, “That was a good question, Jena. Thank you.”
“What? Why was that such a good question? I don’t understand.” Tirsha was getting even more upset with these people and their obvious unwillingness to help her with her daughter.
“Today’s date is actually the twenty-fifth of Adar in the year 3450. Somehow you managed to push yourself ahead in time by over a declan. Since you are from the Port of Cresdon, your house fire would have been recorded in the records. I can see what became of your daughter. What is her name?”
“Corva.” Her reply was almost whispered as she tried to understand how she could have lost so much time.
Jena gasped as she heard the name. It was too much of a coincidence to think that the little girl she had been raised with for the first six anons of her life could be the same girl this woman had thought to have lost in her house fire. She leaned toward her grandfather and spoke quietly. “That’s Barla’s foster-daughter’s name. The timing is also right, and so are the circumstances of her coming to live with Barla and Captain Ahn. Do you think it could be true?”
“What could be true?” Tirsha asked excitedly as she strained to overhear the conversation across the table. “Do you know my daughter?”
“I think so. Let’s go check the records, Grandpa.” Jena jumped up at the same time Daven did, and they raced into the house together to investigate.
Chapter Forty
“OH, MY!” JUILA exclaimed as she discovered the identity of the man rescued from between the dimensions. She looked up in horrified amazement at her parents and said, “Petre MacVeen is the man they rescued.”
“What?!” Riccan exploded. He did not want his daughter anywhere near that man. His paternal instincts were kicking in, and he stood up, ready to charge into battle, he would use the other telepod to get to his father’s house if he had to.
“It’s okay, Dad,” Juila continued to hold his hand, restraining him from going very far. “He’s mostly incoherent, and Grandpa has the situation completely under control.”
“I suppose,” Riccan said sullenly, still wishing he were where the action was taking place. Getting his information second-hand was harder than he imagined it would be. The mention of his father reminded him that he was not without his own methods of protection, including mind control over Petre if the situation warranted such drastic measures.
He sat down on the edge of the coffee table and gestured for Amanda to come closer to him so he could put his arm around her for mutual comfort. This was not the homecoming he had planned for her, and he looked up to see if he could tell what she was thinking. Her face was unusually blank of any expression, which worried him more than anything.
“The woman’s name is Tirsha. Grandpa and Jena are going inside to check the records about Tirsha’s daughter Corva. Jena thinks this could be the mother of Barla’s foster-daughter.” Juila looked up at her mother and said, “She’s the same girl you saw in your visions, Mom. This would be amazing if Corva could have her mother back. It’s been more than ten anons. Can you even imagine?”
“Yes, Juila, I actually can imagine. I got you and your sister back after even longer than that, and it’s been the most amazing adventure. I hope Corva and Tirsha will have an easier time of it.” Amanda smiled warmly at her daughter, still wondering why Jena was unable to come home. “What was in Jena’s dream that made her think she needed to risk herself?”
Juila looked distinctly uncomfortable, yet she knew she would have to tell eventually. “Jena said if she didn’t go, then the prophecy would not be able to be fulfilled. She said it was now or never and I’ve learned to trust her instincts.”
“Yes, I imagine you would.” Amanda tapped her bottom lip as she tried to put all of the pieces together. If the prophecy were dependent upon them each having their own samara, then it stood to reason a samara had been what had drawn Jena. The fact that Daven had been with her seemed to reinforce the idea since he still had to find his. She looked first at Riccan and then shifted her gaze to her daughter before she asked, “Was Jena on a mission to find Elder Daven’s samara?”
“How did you know?” Juila asked in stunned amazement. She still was uncertain if that were the actual draw, but it stood to reason that would be the answer. Did Grandpa find a samara, Jena?
I don’t actually know. Let me ask. YES! He got his own, and he’s already put it with Grandma’s for safe keeping until this whole matter can be resolved with Petre and Tirsha. I still don’t quite understand how the two of them came to be where they were. Does Dad or Mom know anything?
Juila’s eyes lit up as she delivered the good news. “Grandpa found his own crystal with Jena’s help. The mission was successful!”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Amanda sighed and felt herself wilt slightly onto Riccan’s side with her relief making her knees weak.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Petre sat at the table, the sunshine warming his shoulders, but his thoughts were still frozen on what had just happened to him. Something amazing had transpired, yet he was unclear how he could even describe it to himself, let alone anyone else. He looked over at Tirsha and all he could see was a woman, not terribly attractive physically, but with a soul so profoundly beautiful. He needed to stay with her, take care of her, until she was able to take care of herself.
Even this was a foreign thought to him since he usually did not take into account anyone else’s needs. Wishing Elder Daven would return so he could discuss this matter with him; he looked around anxiously. Hopefully, the Elder would be able to tell him what it meant to be chosen; there had to be some deeper meaning to it which was escaping him.
Seeing Elder Daven and Jena return, he could not help but look at the young girl and wonder who she was; she looked familiar to him. He remained silent while he waited for them to be seated and hear what they had discovered.
“We found the report from your house fire,” Daven began, although he was not sure how to continue without upsetting her.
“What did it say?”
“The official report stated that both you and your husband perished in the fire.”
“My husband? I don’t understand; he wasn’t home from work yet. He has to be okay.” Tirsha looked from one face to the other around the table trying to find someone to corroborate her story.
“I’m sorry, there was a man’s body found downstairs in the house. It was presumed you had died since there was never a body located and nobody came to claim the toddler.”
“Corva is alive then?” Her previous anguish was lessened considerably. She leaned forward, anxious to hear how her daughter had managed to survive.
“Yes, she is doing very well and has been in a very loving home.”
“I want to see her. I need to see for myself that she’s okay. Can you take me to her? She must have been so scared, my poor little baby girl.”
“Tirsha, I want you to be very clear about what has happened.”
“What do you mean? I want to see my baby. She needs to know I’m okay and that I’m here for her.”
“Tirsha, you’ve been gone for a very long time. Remember when Jena asked you the date? You told her a date from over a declan ago. Corva is no longer a little child; she’s a teenager. She has been raised by a family ever since the day her family died.”
“Are you saying you won’t let me see her? She’s my child! I want to see my daughter!”
Petre touched her hand gently and spoke softly, “I think Elder Daven is trying to prepare you for her to be much changed from when you last saw her. It may have only been a few moments for you, but for your daughter, it’s been a very long time. She may need time to adjust to the idea of you being alive again. I don’t think he’s trying to keep you from her, are you Elder Daven?”
