Aerenden: The Child Returns (Ærenden) (33 page)

“Nick
told you not to take another step,” she said.

“Abbott
understands I’m safe,” Meaghan assured her. “He’s fighting his fear.”

“There’s no way you could
possibly—”

“Trust
her,” Nick interrupted. “Meaghan knows what she’s doing. Do you have something
that could help Abbott based on what she described?”

May
blew out a hot breath and Meaghan felt certain she would continue arguing, but
she only nodded. “He might be under the influence of a serum. I’ve heard Garon
had one created to magnify a person’s fears, but I didn’t think the rumors were
true.”

The
room grew quiet and Meaghan realized Abbott had stopped babbling. She glanced
at him again. His eyes locked on hers. Relief now fought with his fear.

“You’re
right,” Meaghan said. “He’s calm because you figured it out.”

May
pursed her lips. Her hands came to her hips, but she conceded once more. “He
may have been trying to explain all along. It’s possible the serum also masks
speech.”

“Can
you do anything for him?” Nick asked.

May
cocked her head to the side, studying her patient, and then returned her focus
to her son. “I think so. I have a few potions that should work.”

“Get
them,” Nick said and set the cookie sheet down on the counter. After his mother
left the room, he faced Meaghan. “I don’t want you getting any closer,” he told
her. “If Abbott knows we’re safe, I’ll approach. I need to sedate him.”

“All
right,” Meaghan agreed and addressed Abbott. “Will you allow him to help you?”

Abbott
nodded and Nick inched around the island, his movements cautious, though
Abbot’s gaze never left Meaghan’s face.

Not even when Nick
slipped the needle into his arm.

§

M
EAGHAN SAT
on the couch in the living room, waiting as Nick and his mother worked. She
felt ill and she preferred not to show how much her efforts in the kitchen had
exhausted her. She needed May to see her strength, not her weakness, as much
for their relationship as for the other reason that had occurred to her when
the woman had confronted her in the kitchen. May was an Elder. Although Meaghan
felt certain May’s role as a mother came first, she could not disregard the fear
that if the Elder saw Meaghan as unable to control her power, the choice to
remove Nick as Guardian would be as much for his protection as hers. So Meaghan
watched them work and willed her shaking muscles to relax.

Nick
pinned Abbott’s shoulders to the floor. May held down his feet. Although the
patient remained unconscious, his body thrashed in response to the potions
warring for possession of his blood. When his arms jerked out, Nick used his
knees to hold the man’s shoulders, and then moved his hands to the man’s arms,
locking them at his sides. Every few minutes, May immobilized his feet in a
similar manner and relieved Nick of his awkward position by taking Abbott’s hands.

When
Abbott’s breath grew labored, they both let go. Nick lifted the patient’s upper
body while May listened to his heart, feeding him more potions or laying her
hands on his chest and closing her eyes to heal him. No words passed between
Nick and his mother. They had choreographed this dance many years before.

It
took well over an hour before Abbott’s body stopped flailing and his breathing
normalized. After checking his vital signs once more, May stood.

“Take
him to the guest room,” she instructed Nick. He disappeared up the stairs with
the patient and May turned to face Meaghan. A frown dug shadows into her cheeks
and Meaghan swallowed the sudden urge to shrink back into the couch.

“You
were foolish,” May said. Her tone took on the heat her eyes had earlier. “You
shouldn’t have approached Abbott. You couldn’t be certain of what he was seeing
or that he understood what you were saying. With his babbling—”

“I
could feel his trust,” Meaghan protested. “I can tell enough about basic
emotions to guess—”

“You
can tell about emotions on
Earth
,” May stressed the last word with
distaste and Meaghan bit the inside of her cheek. “Don’t make the mistake of
thinking you know anything about this world. Garon’s potion could have masked
Abbott’s emotions in the same way it distorted his speech. It could have been a
trick to trap you.” She placed her hands firmly on her hips. “I’m amazed you
and Nick are still alive. With your foolish Earth tendencies, I’m surprised you
didn’t get him—”

“Don’t
you dare finish that sentence,” Nick’s voice commanded from the top of the
stairs. May dropped her arms and he descended the steps. “I take it Cal told
you what happened.”

May’s
lower lip trembled, but she raised her chin, facing him. “This doesn’t have
anything to do with—”

“It
obviously does. And it seems you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”

“If
you mean I shouldn’t speak to royalty that way, you’re mistaken. I know who her
parents were. I loved them as much as I could love any family member.”

“I’m
aware,” he said, his tone turning hard. “And you know that isn’t what I meant.
You’ve forgotten Meaghan is no more from Earth than you are. Even if she was,
creatures from Ærenden are to blame. I realize you wish to see it differently,
but I can’t allow you to take it out on her.”

A
tear escaped May’s control. She wiped it away, but failed to catch the others
that had begun coursing down her cheeks. Nick continued without wavering.
“You’ve also forgotten I was there when Viv and James died. I watched it happen
and
we
,” he stressed the word to ensure May could not ignore what he
said, “did everything we could. Vivian made her choice long ago. We couldn’t
stop it, so if you want to blame someone, blame her. Or blame me if you must.
But don’t ever blame Meaghan for this.”

May’s
shoulders slumped and Nick wrapped his arms around her. Meaghan felt moisture
fill her own eyes, but she refused to cry. This moment belonged to Nick and his
mother, and she did not want to interrupt.

“Vivian
made the right choice,” Nick said. His eyes found Meaghan’s over his mother’s
shoulder and she understood he spoke to her, too.

“She
made the right choice because she made it out of love for the woman she saw as
her daughter. She made it because she realized Meaghan’s future, and ours, was
worth saving.”

And
in those words, Meaghan realized the true depth of Vivian’s sacrifice. She
buried her face in her hands and wept.

A
SHOWER
had
never felt so good in Meaghan’s life. She soaked up the warm water, relishing
in each drop for longer than she knew she should. As the minutes passed, she
felt the remnants of her journey dissolve from her body and her mind, washed
down the drain with the last remnants of dried sweat and grime. She stayed in
the shower until it turned her arms and legs into beets and her fingers into
prunes, and then forced herself to turn off the water and step out of the tub.
Cold air brought the hairs on her arms to attention, but even that felt like a
blessing bestowed on baptized skin.

Sighing
with relief, she wrapped a large towel around her body, and then fingered the
wool dress May had given her. The finely woven blue and white material sparkled
with the simplest movement, reminding her of a crystal lake in full sunlight.
She slipped the dress over her head, smiled as it flowed over her skin, and
then drew a hand up to the elegant neckline to finger the white lace along the
edge. The same lace edged the sleeves and the bottom of the dress.

Nick
had told her making clothes took a special power, but she had understood it through
her limited knowledge to be a talent, similar to clothing designers on Earth.
She had not realized until now how breathtaking that power could be. No regular
tailor could spin material like this. She turned to look in the mirror. The
dress made the copper in her eyes dance. Like fall leaves swaying above the
water, she thought, and opened the bathroom door to exit.

As
soon as she saw Nick standing in the hall, she froze. Her gaze locked on the
warning in his eyes, and her good mood disappeared. He glanced toward the
stairs and she nodded. She could hear his mother’s voice drifting up from the
living room, as well as the voices of several men she did not recognize. She
waited for Nick to speak.

“They
sent me to get you,” he said, his easy tone betraying no hint of the worry she
saw on his face, and now felt within him. Worry, anger, confusion, and even joy
washed over her from downstairs, though the emotions felt faint, as did the dozens
of other emotions filtering through the walls of the house. She raised an
eyebrow at Nick in question and he stepped forward so she could hear him
whisper.

“My
power is muted half-way,” he told her. “But it’s difficult to maintain at that
level, so it can’t last long. Hopefully it will be enough for you to read
them.”

Meaghan
raised an eyebrow. “Who?”

“The
Elders,” Nick responded and stepped back from her. Her heart dropped. “They
want to speak with you. I’ve already given them my report of everything that’s
happened since the Mardróch came to Earth.”

“Of
course,” she said and then mouthed, “Everything?”

Nick
shook his head and she knew he had not told them about the wedding. She nodded
and when he inclined his head toward the stairs, she took the lead. Pausing at
the bottom of the staircase, she surveyed the room.

May
sat in the chair closest to the stairs, her face grim as she clutched a coffee
cup in her hand. Meaghan sensed worry and a small amount of anger emanating
from her.

On
May’s left sat an older man sporting a short, white beard and snowy hair
cropped tight above his ears. His portly body seemed molded to his seat as if
he had spent half his life in it. His steel blue eyes studied Meaghan from a
face etched with laugh lines and fine red veins. She felt curiosity and concern
from him, but no negative emotions.

Unlike
the man to his left, Meaghan realized, and caught her breath when the man’s
resentment battered her power with such strength she could not ignore the
implication of it. He detested her presence and he did not bother to hide it.

His
copper eyes sparked with anger.  He stretched long arms in front of him
and then folded them together, a silent hint of defiance. A frown drew shadows
along his dark, willowy beard, but he settled back into his chair, his emotions
now contained, and she chased away the discomfort she had felt under his gaze
and moved her attention to the last man in the room.

Although
years had added a few pounds to his muscular frame and his wavy black hair had
turned to salt and pepper, his round face remained clean shaven and devoid of
heavy lines. She could not ignore the familiarity she felt looking at it, or
the memories flooding her mind when she stared into his dark gray eyes. A smile
stretched across his lips and she returned it, her joy matching his.

“Miles,”
she said.

He
nodded. “You remember?”

“Some.
You saved my life. Then you gave me to,” she hesitated, then swallowed the word
readied on her lips, replacing it with the one required of her. “Vivian.”

“I
did,” Miles responded. “You’ve had a difficult journey. Sit, please. We aren’t
here to judge you.”

All
four pairs of eyes flicked to Nick when he came to stand beside her and she
understood, even before May’s anger strengthened, that Miles had not lied. The
Elders had not come to judge her. They had come to judge Nick.

Meaghan
forced a smile, nodded, and found her way to the couch. Nick sat on the
opposite end. “So this is a social call?” she asked, crossing her legs and
lacing her hands over her knee. “A meet the Queen and see if she’ll be a pain
in the ass type of thing?”

The
white haired man chuckled and gripped the arms of his seat, pushing forward to
study her. “Do you intend to be a pain?”

“That
depends,” she said. “Who are you?”

“Sam,”
he responded. “Do you?”

“If
you intend to replace Nick, I promise I will be.”

Sam’s
chuckle turned to guffaws of laughter and he slapped a hand on his knee. “I
love it. She’s Adelina through and through.” He turned to the man who sat to
his left. “You had nothing to worry about, Angus. Earth didn’t soften her at
all. Seems the royal family’s trademark tenacity’s in the blood.”

Angus’
frowned. “And it also seems she has no manners. She’s using her power.”

Meaghan
bristled. “Does it matter?”

“It
does,” Miles responded. “As Elders, we’ve earned a certain amount of respect.
Spying on our emotions doesn’t fall in line with that.”

“Then
I recommend you don’t do things behind my back,” she said, her tone turning
stiff with her anger at the reprimand. “Were you planning on telling me this
meeting had an alternate purpose, or were you hoping to trick me into helping
you hang Nick?”

Guilt
flickered through Miles and she realized the Elders had intended to do exactly
that. She leaned forward, pinning him with a glare. “Wrong answer,” she said.
“It’s my understanding we’ll be working together if you intend for me to be
Queen. We can’t do that if you think you can manipulate me.”