The Last Summoning---Andrew and the Quest of Orion's Belt (Book Four) (72 page)

Where Andrew’s friends grew tired and hungry,
he no longer felt those things. He had a vague sense of what they
felt like, what it was to be hungry, or to feel pain. Oh, he ate
and drank, but not with the same enjoyment that it had once given
him. Yes, he remembered the pleasure those things had given him,
but they had passed away like a dream.

He was not the same Andrew he once was, and
those who knew him, felt it, as well. It was not that he was so
changed from the person he used to be, but that he had become more
of himself than he had been before---an Andrew that had existed
long before the world began. He was a being whose time on earth was
beginning to wane. He felt a strange longing to be alone, to get
away from all the eyes that looked at him curiously. His friends
had tried to act as if he were the same, and they treated him with
little difference. Yet, he could see it in their eyes, he could
hear it in their voice. Something had changed.

He stood up from his place by the fire, and
moved out into a great, grassy field of starflowers, where once
legions of shadows and darkened beings had waged war on an icy
field, battling the army of light. He turned his eyes to the sky,
and breathed in. The light from his skin burned brighter as he
stared up at the stars. He could hear their call. The heavens
whispered to him, urged him to their embrace. In their voices he
could hear the voices of souls that had gone on before him. People
who loved him. How he wanted to go. Yet, he wanted to stay. How he
wanted to see his parents he had never known, how he wanted to see
his earthly parents, and tell him of all that he had seen.
Something inside him, told him that he would.

As if summoned by Andrew himself, a light
smeared across the sky, a flaming chariot drawn by Orion. It
ushered itself through the host of stars, with flaming wheels of
fire, bursting into the field in front of Andrew. Wafts of heat and
light floated off the luminous chariot as Orion stepped from
flames.

“It is time,” Orion said. His voice was
strong, and abrupt. He motioned with his gleaming hand, beckoning
Andrew towards his chariot. “There are many waiting to see
you.”

Andrew stepped towards Orion, then quickly
glanced back. He could hear the music, the laughter, the voices of
his friends---people he had grown to love and respect, and who
loved and respected him. People he would give his live for if he
still had one to give. But that too had passed away. Life, he
thought, how fleeting it was. Yet with death, he had awakened to a
new life, one where he could see things so much clearer than
before, where he could feel things in a different, keener way,
without the heaviness of his body weighing him down. He felt
weightless, and without limit, as if he could leap off into the
sky, and glide where he wished. The sky called to him, louder and
louder, like a choir welcoming his return. He felt torn in two.

How could he leave his friends, now that they
had finally been reunited. There were still more stories to tell,
still more journeys to be had. Why did he have to go? Why did he
want to go? It didn’t make any sense.

He took a step into the chariot, a shiver of
exhilaration beating in his gleaming heart, but a voice called him
back.

“Andrew!” Ivory cried. “ANDREW!” She ran
through the darkness up to him. “Don’t go.” Tears trailed down her
cheeks. “Please, stay. STAY!” She buried her head in his arms.
“I’ve lost you so many times, Andrew. I don’t want to lose you
again. I would rather die, than be left here alone, without
you.”

Andrew held her close, looking into her
green, shining eyes. His heart filled with longing and sadness. “I
want to…”

“Then stay!”

“He can’t,” Orion cut in.

The color drained from Ivory’s face. “But
why? It’s not fair.”

Andrew took Ivory’s trembling hands in his.
His throat tightened, and gleaming tears of light spilled down his
face. “I want to stay, Ivory. I really do. More than anything.
But…”

“But what?” Ivory asked. “Stay with me, with
us…” She pointed to his friends gathering behind him.

Andrew tried to back away from Ivory, feeling
the strong pull of something greater than he could understand,
towards the chariot. “You will never be alone, Ivory. Never. I
promise.”

“Take me with you Andrew, please,” Ivory
cried, yanking him back to her.

Andrew looked at Orion with pleading
eyes.

“No, she cannot come,” Orion said. “You
already know this. She still as a work to accomplish. But, yours,
Andrew is finished.”

Andrew cringed at his words. How true they
were. Still, he did not want to hear them.

“Oh Ivory…” he wiped a tear from her eyes.
“Don’t cry, Ivory. I will take you with me. But not today. You have
a work that only you can do.” He opened her closed palms and traced
the strange diamond marks---the scars that had been burned into her
hand when she had pulled Freddie up from the tower wall. “Don’t you
see? You bear the mark now. You now hold the flame. You have a
gift, Ivory. And you must use it. It is up to you to smite darkness
where and when it ventures in.”

“What gift? I don’t understand.” Ivory pulled
her hands away from Andrews. “You speak in riddles. Why can’t I go
with you now?”

“Because,” Andrew whispered, “the world still
needs you.”

Ivory pulled back, her face fierce and angry.
“No, it doesn’t.”

“Oh, but it does, Ivory,” he said, his voice
cracking with emotion. “Believe me, it does. If there was anything
I could do to change fate…if I would take you with me.”

Ivory folded her arms and glowered at Andrew.
“Don’t you need me?”

Andrew pulled her close, and hugged her
tightly. “Of course. I always have, and always will need you.
That’s why I’ll always be watching, always waiting for you. You do
have a work to do, Ivory. I can’t tell you what it is. Only that it
is important.”

“More important than us being together?”

Andrew held her shoulders and stared at her
sincere, loving face, wishing more than anything that he could take
her with him. “We will be together, Ivory. Just not now.”

Ivory’s eyes filled with tears, and she began
to sob. “Go then, but I’m not going to wait for you until I’m a
hundred. I’ll marry Freddie, or Talic. Yes. That’s what I’ll
do.”

“You will?” Freddie called behind her. He
stepped up to the chariot, Talic, Freddie, Lancedon, Gogindy,
Croffin and the rest of Andrew’s friends watching behind him.

“Looks like I’m the lucky one,” Freddie
laughed, weakly, trying to lighten the mood, but doing a poor job
of it. His eyes grew serious, and his face was soft with emotion.
“You’re leaving already…Andrew?”

Andrew took Freddie by the shoulders, and
stared deeply into his eyes. “I have to.”

Freddie nodded, trying to hide his tears.
“Sure. Go, then if you must. Just when things were getting back to
normal. Go, take off. Fly away in your flaming chariot. I don’t
care. Right, Talic, Ivory, Gogindy? We don’t care do we?”

“He’s right,” Talic chirruped, jerking his
head from under a rock, bringing out a large white worm. He chewed
on it, nodding. “Yes. Go…Andrew. It’ll be your own fault, missing
out on so many wonderful things…” He absently scratched his neck as
if he had fleas.

“Like worms…” Andrew answered.

“Yes…like worms…er, wait, uh…” Talic’s face
filled with embarrassment realizing what he had just said.

“Tut, tut,” Croffin chimed. “Still looks like
you have some unhealthy habits to get over.”

“They’re not bad,” Gogindy scoffed, coming to
Talic’s defense. “It’s perfectly healthy. Bugs have lots of protein
in them. They're very, very healthy. All Twisker girls like it when
you collect bugs and give them a box for special occasions. It’s
deemed very, very admirable. I do think he should try it
sometime.”

Talic nodded, listening with great interest
as if this piece of advice was priceless, and worth
remembering.

“I don’t think Gogindy’s the one you should
be listening to for advice,” Andrew said, giving Talic a worried
look. “He may lead you astray.”

“What?” Gogindy screeched. “Me? Never. After
all I’ve done for this planet, after all I did? After ringing that
bell and risking my neck, after losing my whiskers, after saving
practically everybody from extinction and this is the praise I get?
This is the thanks? There should be crowds groveling before me,
licking up my every word. I am a hero.”

“Yes,” Andrew agreed, placing a gentle hand
full of strength and light on Gogindy’s shoulder. His voice filled
with power and sincerity. “You are a great hero, Gogindy. You gave
the world hope, in the darkness. You gave me hope. You are stronger
than you look. Never let anyone tell you otherwise. ”

At those words Gogindy’s face gleamed with
pride. He beamed with gratitude, and nobility. He bowed before
Andrew, “No. It is you, Andrew who is the real hero.”

Andrew shook his head and stared at the great
gathering of people surrounding him. “You, all of you, are
heroes!”

“It is time, Andrew” Orion murmured, nudging
Andrew to him. “We can wait no longer.” Andrew’s heart lurched when
he heard those words. He had been preparing for this moment all
day. Yet, he could not bring himself to leave. Here were the people
he loved and cared for most, in all the world. Here, standing
before him were the souls he owed so much more than his life to.
What words could he say? What thanks could he give? What gratitude
could he show? Anything he had to say seemed small, and unworthy of
those he called his friends. His throat tightened, his vision
blurred with tears, his brilliant frame trembled with emotion.

He grabbed Freddie by the shoulders and
pulled him into a hug. “Goodbye, my friend, my brother. You did it,
Freddie, just like I knew you would.”

“No,” Freddie replied motioning to all the
people standing there. “
We
did it.”

“Yes,” Andrew nodded. “We did.”

In a moment, Andrew’s friends rushed in
around him, hugging him one last time, murmuring soft goodbyes.
Talic tousled his hair, and hugged him tightly. Croffin shook his
hand, and just smiled, not saying a word. Gogindy wrapped his three
tails around Andrew’s legs, hindering him from taking another step.
“Goodbye, old friend,” Gogindy howled, spraying Andrew in the face
with his uncontrollable tears. “I will miss you! Ooooooh.”

Andrew hugged Gogindy’s warm, whiskery body
to his, feeling as though he had been enveloped by a pillow of
feathers. “Take good care of the others while I’m gone. I will
never forget you.”

“Nor I, you,” Gogindy nodded, his big eyes
gleaming under Andrew’s brilliant aura. “I promise to look out
after the others until we meet again. A Twisker's word is more
binding than a spider’s web.”

“That, I believe,” Andrew said, shaking
Gogindy’s small hand. “You have proven that one small whisker on a
Twisker can make a big difference. “Goodbye, my whiskered friend.”
He turned and stood before Sterling and Lancedon, Coral, and Page.
Their regal countenance seemed to beam from their beings like the
light did from Andrew’s skin. “All of you, thank you for never
forsaking me.” Andrew took Lancedon’s hand and shook it. I have
felt of your strength. You will make great a leader, Lancedon.”

“And you…” Lancedon repeated, his clear eyes
seeing deep into Andrew’s soul, “a great star.”

“Come!” Orion commanded. “Andrew!”

“Wait…” Andrew said, looking out over his
friends, searching in vain for Ivory. But she had vanished.

“It is time,” Orion urged him.

Andrew reluctantly turned away from his
friends, and followed Orion into his chariot, waving to his
friends, his face brilliant, and his eyes gleaming. How he wished
he could make them understand. How he wished he could take them
with him.

Orion stood at the helm of the chariot and
lifted his long fiery whip, ready to stir his great horse into
action.

“Andrew!” Ivory called, pushing her way
through the crowd, to the chariot. She pulled Andrew to her one
more time, and pressed her lips to his. “I love you, Andrew,” she
breathed. “And I’ll wait for you, even if I have to wait until the
stars fall again, and drop from the sky---especially if one of them
is you.”

Before Andrew could reply, she pulled back,
and jumped from the chariot, and waved. “Goodbye, Andrew.
Goodbye.”

Orion cracked the whip over his great horse,
Nebula, jerking it to life, catapulting them into the air at a
breathtaking speed. Wind, fire, and a wonderful warm heat of new
galaxies rushed around him as the life below them vanished in a
blur. The faces of Andrew’s friends disappeared in the distance, as
he was propelled forward into a realm of light. A light so pure, so
clean, that in it, galaxies were framed and called into being.

One journey had ended. And a new journey had
begun.

A new star shone in the heavens that night,
gleaming in an empty patch of sky that had been vacant and empty
ever since The Fallen had forsaken his former glory. Now it was
empty no more.

Andromeda had been born.

That night, Ivory looked at the new star and
smiled. It gleamed, outshining the other stars as if willing her
and those of his friends to look up and remember that they were not
alone.

Dear reader,