Authors: Laura Hawks
“Protect me from what? This is all so confusing.” Jaz rubbed her forehead. “Does this have anything to do with Logan’s mom?”
“Actually yes, it does. Which is why we are going to see her today. Clarissa is, or rather was, guardian to a very powerful gem. When the gem was destroyed, my children took it to various realms and places to dispose of the miniscule pieces. Fern buried hers with her eggs. Yours was the closest and your shell incorporated the energy of the shard into your very body. It is bound with your heart and the blood which flows through you. There are many who search for any piece they can find of this stone. Therefore, they search for you.”
“Are they able to get it from me?”
“Only if they kill you to get your heart. Even though it’s only a minor fraction of the force which once existed when the gem was whole, it is enough to change the balance among anyone who possesses it. It could also be used to find other pieces. A honing device of sorts.”
“Can I feel the other pieces? Do I have access to the abilities the gem bestows?”
“No. You cannot feel the other pieces, nor would you have access to the powers of the gem. I removed that from you when you were born and we realized what had happened.”
“Why?”
“To protect you. If we could dampen the effects, we hoped it would prevent the call to others that a piece still existed within you and come after you to obtain it. Although I culled your abilities, I was not totally successful in preventing the call of the stone embedded within you. For those attuned to it, they can feel its resonance when you are near or if you are exposed in an unprotected area for a long period of time. Faefardom is protected. Those spells ward this house, which is why you are protected here.” Archanidou turned to Logan. “We should go. Your mother will be expecting us soon. I sent word to Shara to ready her for our arrival.” She turned to Tyler. “As guardian to Jasmine, I have secured you a pass to join us, if you desire.”
Tyler blinked, surprised at the ability to access a forbidden realm. Quickly recovering, he nodded. “I’m ready and willing to attend.”
Logan pushed his food away and moved to the door, indicating he was ready as well.
Jaz didn’t move. “How are we going to get there? I mean, somehow I don’t think a car will reach another realm.”
Archanidou chuckled. “True. However, I am able to open a portal to various realms. An ability you also have. We need to go outside though, where the wards won’t affect us. The back yard is purposely secluded for just this reason. Shall we, my child?”
Jasmine hesitated. She really was unsure if these people’s elevators just didn’t reach the top floor, if she was part of a scene from
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,
or if this was really happening. She took another sip from the now-cooled cup of coffee before setting it on the counter.
“Alright. Let’s get this over with.”
Chapter 18
One minute they were in the backyard of their New Orleans Creole Cottage, and the next they were in some sort of receiving room with two massive, winged, gargoyle skeletons staring at them in front of a huge stone fireplace. The blazing fire cast eerie shadows about the room, where Shara waited for them.
“Greetings,” Shara said, approaching Logan for a hug.
“Hi. You must be the Queen of Hearts. I’m Alice,” Jaz said, sticking out her hand.
Shara raised her eyebrow, pulling back from Logan. “Um. No. Logan’s mother will be down shortly. The wedding ran a bit late last night and they only got to bed a few hours ago.”
“Should we come back, then?”
From the doorway, a masculine voice boomed, despite its softness, throughout the room. “No. She will be down in a few minutes. Please, make yourselves comfortable while you wait. Can I get you anything?” Azamel gazed over at Tyler warily, his eyes narrowing.
Tyler wanted to duck behind Archanidou to avoid Mel’s gaze, but he knew it would be cowardly, which he wasn’t. Nor was he willing to appear weak to this god. He stood his ground, lifting his chin slightly in defiance as he did so, but said nothing.
“Hi Dad,” Logan stated, taking Jaz’s hand and leading her across the room to him. “Jazzy, this is my dad, Mel.”
Mel looked down at her, as if searching her very soul. It sent a shiver through her, down to her spine. She felt like he was judging her and she was sure she would have been a black mark on the freshly cleaned carpet if she failed whatever test he just did.
“Shara informed us you lost your memory. I wish we were all so lucky. There are a few things I would like to forget,” Mel said quietly. He turned away from her and spoke to Logan. “Have you narrowed the timeline down as to when it could have occurred?”
“Yes. We figure there was a two- to three-hour window from the time she left here before a friend discovered her like this in front of the Moon Walk.”
“That is not a lot of time,” Mel responded.
“No, Dad. But then, how long does it take to wipe one’s life away?”
Archanidou moved forward and laid a hand on Logan’s shoulder. “Logan feels responsible. Makes his words seem harsher than he means them to be.”
“I understand. I would feel the same if it were Rissa who couldn’t remember me or our time together.”
“Do you think Clarissa will be able to help me?”
“I can only try,” Clarissa spoke from the doorway as she entered the room. She greeted everyone, her final salutation to Jasmine. Taking the young woman’s hand, she led her to the couch in front of the fireplace. Archanidou sat on the other side of Jasmine. Logan and Tyler both started forth to be by Jaz, but Mel stopped them both. “Let the women do what they must. Do not interfere.”
Shara realized she was no longer needed and quickly slipped away from the room, anxious to get back to her warm bed and the demon who waited there for her.
“I’m really not sure what to do here, Ani. I’ve never done anything like this before,” Clarissa admitted, unsure where to begin or even how to. She was the only one who called the goddess Ani and Archanidou allowed her to take that liberty. It always amazed Mel Rissa was allowed to get away with it when everyone else would have been smoked where they stood.
“Put one arm in front of Jasmine and take my hand. The other behind her to do the same. She will be surrounded by our arms and our beings. I can lead you into her mind. You can follow the call of the gem and, between us, hopefully, we can see why she cannot remember and open the door to allow her memories to return.”
Clarissa followed the goddess’ instructions.
“What should I do?” Jasmine asked quietly as she sat between the two women.
“Think, Jasmine. Focus on what you remember and keep trying to remember what you can’t recall. Imagine a door which you need to open to release all your memories.”
‘Well, that makes absolutely no sense,’
Jaz thought. Still, she let her mind go back to the first cognizant thoughts she had.
Archanidou used her abilities and brought Clarissa into Jasmine’s mind. Once there, Clarissa could sense the stone, even stronger than she could before. Clarissa stood in darkness. Bursts of a fiery orange light would shine as if from underneath a door, then just as suddenly disappear. She followed the minute eruptions of illumination, twisting and turning down the darkened corridors through Jasmine’s mind. A pounding pierced the area as she moved further and farther along. It took her a few minutes to realize what she was hearing was a heartbeat. And with each thrum, the orange glow would appear. It led her to a door, which was barricaded.
“You need to find a way to open the door,” the whispered voice of Spiderwoman reverberated within Clarissa’s head.
Clarissa searched for a door handle, hinges, or some way to release the entranceway, but access was unobtainable as far as she could discern. The door was solid. Clarissa tried pushing, pulling, tugging, reaching over and under to try to pry it open, but nothing worked.
“What do I do?” she asked, hoping Archanidou would hear and answer her.
“Follow the stone, Clarissa. Just as you would in the world outside. You can use your abilities to break the door, your wolf strength. You can do this, if you believe in yourself and will it to you. Just remember, you need to go to it. Calling it to you will damage Jasmine physically. The thrumming you hear is her heartbeat. It is why it matches the bursts of light of the stone.”
Clarissa understood. It had been a long time since she first trained with Mel in getting her powers and learning to control them. She had to learn to move past the angry chip on her shoulder, to trust in others in order to succeed, by not letting her enemies use her own personal losses against her. She called up what she had to go through for her training. Remembered the exercises she had to do. Exercises she later passed on when she trained Logan and had planned to use in order to train Trinity. Once she was ready, Clarissa waited for the light to pulse, the burst of energy from the stone. She timed it, mentally counting, until she perceived a pattern. She hunched down, focused. Ready. She would only have one chance. She knew this much, though how, she was uncertain.
When the beam glowed again, Clarissa was prepared. She had called up her wolf senses, including strength. In one swift movement, she stood, swung and kicked the door with the heel of her foot, cracking the barrier. In that momentous second, Clarissa sensed Trinity and her own heart sped in anxiousness. Her head swam with giddiness. Was it her imagination? Would the gods be that cruel?
Clarissa took a couple of steps back, her desperation overwhelming. She ran and, with both feet, kicked the barrier once again, leaving a gaping hole. Clarissa peered inside and saw Trinity trying to retrieve the essence of the Gem of Avarice, but because it was tied to Jasmine’s heart and blood, it tugged throughout Jasmine’s entire being. Jasmine’s body shut down to protect itself; her mind had one thought—get away to someplace safe. The stone, which was a part of her very life source, felt the pull of Trinity trying to grab ahold of it and did what it could to survive.
Clarissa’s focus changed. Instead of guiding Jasmine to receiving her memory, it was now about figuring out where Trinity was. She was desperate to get to her daughter. But, just as suddenly as the barricade was dismantled and Jasmine’s memories came flooding back, Clarissa was washed in the tide of them, being forced out. The contact with Archanidou disengaged and she gasped for breath as Jasmine screeched, putting her hands to her head.
Logan ran towards Jasmine, his arms encasing her to help calm her the only way he could think of. Mel was beside Clarissa, holding her shaking form close against his body as he knelt beside her. Tyler moved to help Archanidou should she need his assistance, but she waved him off, silently thanking him.
It was going to take a few moments for the others to settle down before they could discuss the complexities of what Clarissa sensed and saw, as well as get any specific details from Jasmine.
Clarissa pushed Mel back slightly. Her hands tightly gripped his biceps, her knuckles white with the strain as she stared into his eyes. Her next sentence was going to be simple, but the ramifications would be ten-fold. Her voice was shaky, yet firm and determined. She needed a moment to understand what it was she had sensed, time to comprehend what she knew but couldn’t immediately process. Those few minutes Mel had her in his arms, her brain settled on recognizing one of the most monumental discoveries she could grasp. She had to make Mel believe her words if nothing else, but no matter what the consequences, the revelation would propel her forward. Alone if need be.
“Coyote has Trinity.”
The room felt suspended in time as silence fell like a heavy theater curtain. Everyone seemed stunned by Clarissa’s words.
“How do you know?” Logan asked.
“Are you sure?” Mel queried.
“Impossible!” Logan exclaimed as his mother’s words seemed partially plausible, yet he was unsure why.
“Why would he do such a thing?” Archanidou calmly questioned. She needed to bring some sense back into the room before they all went off half-cocked and started something they would all be unable to stop just because they lost any sense of having a cool head. She would be the voice of reason, just as she always had been. It was a role she was not assigned but willingly accepted and, as a result, earned a seat on Nanaboojoo’s council. He could always count on her to be fair, impartial and examine every aspect with a clear, level-headedness others failed to yield.
Clarissa turned towards Archanidou. “I don’t know, but I aim to find out.” She turned back to Mel. “I’ll go alone if I have to, but I am going and I’m not coming back until my daughter is with me.”
Logan was by his mother’s side in a blink of an eye. “I’m going with you. If she is there, we will find her. Nothing is going to stop us.”