Lost Wanderer Awakened - Book One of the Airendell Chronicles (47 page)

The sisters are hugging again when they hear
Luca chuckling. They look up and he is standing in the doorway,
smiling so warmly that their hearts overflow because they know he
shares their joy at their reunion. He comes forward to hug his long
estranged sister in law. “Breena, you beautiful little sprite. Oh
how I have missed you, sweet girl!”

After Luca hugs his sister in law for a few
moments he stands back and says, “So now that you see our Morna up
close, she is more amazing than ever, is she not?” he beams. “And
wait until you hear how fast her memories are coming back and all
the power she has under her control already. She is truly
astounding!” Morna blushes a violent red and Luca takes the cue to
leave off before he makes her really uncomfortable. He walks over
to his mate and wraps one arm around her waist. “Breena I am so
glad you came to Chicago to meet us. I really have missed you and
Morna needs her sister.”

He gestures to the couch and says, “Have a
seat dear girls, get comfortable,” he urges. Can I get either one
of you anything to drink?” Both girls want a coke. Luca leaves the
suite to get the drinks from the vending machine down the hall.

Breena looks at Luca thoughtfully as he walks
out of the room, “Why does he feel guilty?” she wonders. Then
mentally shrugs it off, “He will tell one of us about whatever it
is soon enough.” She mentally assures herself. Morna and Breena
just sit with each other chat quietly about how good it is to see
each other until Luca returns with their sodas.

When everyone is settled, Luca starts
rattling off Morna’s recent accomplishments. “Breena, your sister
remembers the first time we declared our love, our wedding,
Aideen’s birth, she remembers picnics we took, times she gave me
lessons on weaving spells, she remembers driving back the trolls
into the underworld, she remembers various facts about our friends.
She can levitate objects, do a binding spell without even thinking
about it, weave an iron-lion, not that she seems to need it, she
can catch and hold without thinking about it…” Luca breaks off
because he can see Morna doesn’t agree with that last one. “Morna,
on the stairs when you fell, that was a catch and hold, didn’t you
realize?”

“Well…,” she mutters in embarrassment, “that
was just instinct, I probably couldn’t do it again.” Luca tosses
the table lamp up in the air and it starts to fall back to the
floor. Morna gasps, holds her hand out to it, and it freezes in
midair.” She turns to look at Luca in amazement, “You were saying
my love…” he chuckles as she slowly lowers it back to table with a
graceful movement of her hand.

“She’s been running with vampires, even
practically adopted one, as though being eternally bonded to one as
mate isn’t enough of a challenge for her. She adopts seers, and all
kinds of hopeless cases, then works tirelessly to try to make them
whole. She has been meeting with envoys from Middle-world royalty,
and she makes a really good meatloaf I am told,” Luca finishes with
a wink.

Morna looks at her mate sardonically, and
says, “If I ever decide to run for office, will you manage my
campaign and PR?” she says with snort. “Jeez Luca, please baby, you
know I hate that kind of attention,” she pleads gently.

He ducks his head and then smiles sheepishly.
“I am sorry Morna, I just trying to avoid saying what was really on
my mind,” he confesses.

Their eyes meet, then they both look at
Breena and say, “She/I remembered Kylor,” they whisper sadly in
unison. Breena gets up and rushes to her sister to hold her.

Morna refuses to cry, but says in choked
voice, “I don’t understand. If the Elves would send a sprite for my
three children here on Upper-world, why would they not send one for
Kylor in Middle-world?” she whispers.

Luca comes to kneel before her, he strokes
her face and looks deeply into her hard emerald green eyes.
“Darling,” he soothes, “you know why. It was Kylor’s time, his
destiny to only be with us for such a short time. Kyle, Aiden and
Nora were stolen from you prematurely, the world was robbed of
their potential. The Elves would not stand by and watch that happen
to such valuable members of the magic clans.”

“Oh Luca,” she chokes out, “I know that
logically, but it rankles my very soul. The pain of losing our baby
is so fresh to me. And it comes on the heels of my eleven month
loss of my other children. Even though I know they are not truly
gone, and I will most likely be able to see them, if I survive, the
wounds from their losses are still so raw. I am sorry, but this
mother’s heart is weak. Forgive me,” she pleads.

“Nonsense, Morna,” insists Luca as he strokes
her cheek gently. “Your mother’s heart is one of the many things
that makes you a force to be reckoned with. And grieving over these
horrible losses is certainly nothing to be sorry for, and
definitely nothing that needs forgiven!” he further asserts with
force. He picks her up off the couch and holds her tightly in his
arms.

Just then a knock sounds at the door. Luca
looks to Breena and pleads with his with eyes her to take care of
the new arrivals while he quickly carries Morna to the other room.
He takes her into the bedroom and closes the door behind him. He
swiftly takes her to the bed and sets her on it and kneels before
her. “Morna, Morna my love. You must give yourself a little credit.
Do you not see all the impossible things that have thrown at you
over the years? And especially this year? Take heart love, you are
one the grandest survivors in all of history. He holds her hands
tightly and kisses them several times, before he raises up to kiss
her lips passionately. “My mate, my warrior goddess, my Morna!” he
whispers fiercely.

In the other room they can hear Breena
greeting their daughter, Aideen and their old friend, Brigid. Then
they hear her say, “Oh they just stepped in the other room for a
second.” Brigid chuckles slyly, misunderstanding or perhaps falling
for Breena’s deliberate misdirection, Morna isn‘t sure which.
Whatever the explanation, she is grateful for the opportunity to
collect herself before meeting with the women.

She kisses Luca and embraces him and smiles
back at him brightly, because she is so pleased, so honored and
above all so joyful to have him for her beloved mate. “I am fine,
my love. Let us go see our daughter and dear friend,” she
whispers.

Morna is delighted to see her good friend
Brigid, especially since after today she realizes how many reasons
she has to be grateful for to this woman. Saving her child, and
then being a regular fixture in her life. Providing a true source
of love and support when Morna herself could not be those things
for her daughter. Brigid is, indeed a true friend. And Morna is
very, very happy to see her. They hold each other in a long
embrace. When they pull back to look at each other, Morna quickly
glances at Aideen and then back to Brigid and mouths thank you and
holds her joined hands over her heart. Brigid laughs good naturedly
and hugs her again. “Morna, do you have any idea how many times
over the centuries you have thanked me for my role in Aideen’s
life?”

“Well, I can’t remember them… so you just
have to endure another round.” Morna smirks at Brigid good
naturedly.

Brigid just laughs and then steps back to
look at Morna. “This incarnation really agrees with you, Morna. My
heavens woman but you shine! You positively radiate love and grace
and hope! Amazing, so gorgeous you are in this body and face. A
lovely Amazon!”

Morna blushes violently and tears herself
away from Brigid to go to her daughter. Aideen reaches out with her
hands to take her mother’s hands, then the women silently touch and
hold their foreheads against each other. Then Morna brings her arms
up to hug her daughter. “So sweet to see you a second time today,
my beautiful babe,” she whispers in an awe filled voice.

Aideen looks away and looks at Brigid and
Breena, “You see, didn’t I tell you? Her spirit animal must be the
Clydesdale. She is truly a great beast of a woman, towering and
strong.” She grins saucily.

Brigid clears her throat before anyone has a
chance to comment that comparing one’s mother to a beast of burden
doesn’t not exactly warm one’s father’s heart, nor encourage one’s
mother’s heart either. Then she says, “Hey, there is an excellent
pianist performing in the bar downstairs tonight. What say you,
ladies, should we go have us a drink and enjoy a song or two?”
Morna looks to Breena and Aideen quickly and sees that neither of
them object to idea, so she turns to her friend and brightly
agrees. “I’ll just be a moment, I need to grab a clutch bag and a
wrap.”

Breena silently follows her into the bedroom
and shuts the door behind her. Breena is concerned that Aideen’s
careless remark hurt her sister’s feelings, so she follows Morna
around the room as she gathers her white cashmere wrap and finds
the clutch in her suitcase and throws her cell phone, card key for
the room, and wallet into it. Finally, Morna turns to Breena and
says brightly, “Let’s go!”

As soon as Morna and Breena are in the
bedroom, Luca opens the door to the hallway and he and Brigid herd
Aideen out of the suite. Luca’s face is a mask of fury, “Aideen,
did you really just call your mother a beast? A damned horse?” he
hisses through clenched teeth.

Aideen steps back quickly. She has never seen
her father truly angry with her. She looks to Brigid and sees a
very similar expression on her foster mother’s face that her father
is wearing. She is genuinely surprised and sputters for a moment.
“What… wh… I… mean... Oh hell! Well, she does tower over me by over
a foot and she probably outweighs me by 50 to 70 pounds. And she
shoved you across the room, Daddy, like she was flicking a fly off
her arm. My God, she is a beast. A glorious, wondrous, amazing
beast, but a beast none the less!” she finishes indignantly.

Morna opens the door suddenly and says, “Ah,
I see we are all ready to go!” She waits for Breena to follow her
out into the hallway, and says, “Are we ready?” And she smiles
beautifully and brightly. She lets the three other ladies take the
lead and holds her mate back to walk with her. She leans over likes
she is going to nuzzle his ear and whispers to quietly for the
women in front of them to hear; “Darling, if I have a problem with
anything that child says to me, I will take care of it. Thank you
so very much for being so concerned about my feelings, but they are
my feelings and I can fend for them just fine with our
daughter.”

Morna looks at his face to see how he is
taking what she is saying to him. He seems to be accepting it in
the spirit she’s intending so she concludes with; “Please
understand me, I do not mean to chastise, I am only seeking your
cooperation, she and I have a lot of rocky ground to traverse, but
we must get to know each other and learn to trust each other to do
it. If you insist on rushing to my rescue every time she pecks at
me or expresses displeasure with me, she won‘t be able to trust me.
You are her Daddy, she needs you in her corner. Don‘t let my being
back take that away from her.” She kisses his cheek and nuzzles his
neck and pulls back to try to get a read on his reaction to her
little speech.

He is smiling happily, and leans over and
kisses her fully on the mouth and then draws his arm around her
waist and pulls her close to him. Now it is his turn to whisper, “I
wish I didn’t need to go out tonight, we could shoot for seven in a
24 hour period.” She blushes a brilliant crimson and mouths ‘soon’
and grips his hard butt in her powerful hand. And then she breaks
away to catch up to Aideen. She loops Aideen’s arm through hers and
looks down at her lovely daughter with a huge smile on her face,
all the while thinking, “Clydesdale beast my ass!”

When they are seated in the quaint little
bar, Luca goes up and orders the drinks for the ladies. A double
Scotch neat for Morna, a glass of chardonnay for Aideen and a local
micro-brewery lager for Breena, and mineral water for Brigid, as
she is on call this weekend. When Luca follows the waitress back to
the table he goes by the piano player and requests a special song
for Morna, and slips a twenty in the tip jar, but asks him to play
something else first that is also suited for a slow dance, and then
to play the requested song. The pianist smiles broadly at the very
handsome gentleman and wonders which of the three lovely ladies is
the lucky one he had requested the special song for.

When the next slow dance song begins, Breena
excuses herself to go to ladies room at a signal from Luca. Then he
asks Brigid to dance in order to give Morna a chance to speak with
their lovely, if somewhat self-centered daughter. After the trio
leaves the table, Morna spends a few seconds watching her beloved
mate dance with their dear friend. She can hear him explaining to
Brigid that Morna had requested to handle her daughter’s rude
comments in her own way, and that he suspects that is exactly what
she plans to do right now. Morna smiles contentedly, her mate knows
her so well.

She turns to her daughter with a brilliant
smile on her face. “Oh my precious daughter, I am overjoyed to
learn of your existence. You’re very life fills my heart to
overflowing. However dear one, Mama is going to set a few ground
rules.”

Morna glances up to see how Brigid is taking
in the message that Luca is repeating for her. “Gotta love that
vampire hearing!” she muses to herself. “My rules are very, very
simple, darling girl. Be honest with me at all times. Be sincere,
and above all never, never be petty with me! Do you understand me
sweetheart?” she asks with a sweet smile.

Aideen stammers much like she did with her
father and foster-mother, seemingly surprised that she is again
being called to answer for her earlier rude remark. Morna cuts in
neatly, “Sweetheart, it is true that I have been mostly absent from
your life for nearly 600 years, but you know it was not by my
choice. And before you get angry with your Daddy for chastising you
earlier, bear in mind your Daddy always has your best interests,
your health, safety and welfare in mind. And he knows full well
that mother is fully capable of knocking you on your pretty butt. I
won’t tolerate any petty name calling from my own daughter.”