by Gin Eborn
The cliffs looked so far away, but I had stood beneath them many times. Over the border wall was my house and just beyond were the fields where Fisher and I first met. It was the place I buried my first shield.
“Sweetie, are you okay?” Chama’s voice felt like a warm embrace.
“Why would the Eris pick me for this?”
“They didn’t pick you, honey. They fucking birthed you. Like seed of the gods dropped here. Maggie, your mom was planted with you. Your dad was—”
We stared at each other. Motionless. My entire existence ripped away with one moment’s clarity.
“She knew,” I whispered.
“Well, shit, she must’ve known it wasn’t—”
“So, Dad knew, too.”
Rebekah wrapped a blanket around me. “Why don’t you lay down here at the fire for a while? Don’t focus on the past—just be here. We will never know what your father or your mother were thinking,” Rebekah declared. “We will hold this space for you, Magpie, all of us, as long as it is needed. Even till the end. We are here for you now, and we will add our strength to yours. You just have to pull it through. Remember? Root to water, child.”
“Root to water,” echoed back all around me.
“Wait. Dammit. I completely forgot. Fisher. Fisher is supposed to be here,” I jumped up ready to run.
Chama smiled. “Okay, baby girl, time to get back into your body. Remember, protection of the tree? There is no passage of time. Right?”
“Right.”
“Fisher will think he left you just an hour ago no matter how long you are here. Nothing out there has moved forward at all.”
“Right, no time has passed for Fisher, or George. My Rosie.” I closed my eyes for a moment. The warm fire crackling and the slight pulse of the ocean waves overtook me as I nestled into the tree roots and through to darkness.
I awoke curled up in Chama’s lap thinking there was a quake, but it was just her snoring. Even my laughter did not wake her. There was no way of knowing how long I slept. There was such peace not feeling enslaved by time. Rebekah’s stare grabbed me. Warm eyes, her chandy lights were brilliant swirls of pinks and pearls and moss greens. She waved me over to her.
“I’m curious. What do you see when you look at me?” Rebekah asked, making room on her blanket.
“I see the Mistress of the West Calypsos. I see my mom’s dearest friend and my mentor all these years. I see your full-on chandy, and I see that none of us—not one of us here— have been lost to the energy of the Coals.”
“This pleases me. After all we have been through, we have indeed kept our true power. I have been successful.” She took an enormous breath.
“You know they took Leah, right?” I dropped the information like a bomb. Part of me wanted to smack Rebekah for so publicly staining my mother’s reputation as former Mistress, but she didn’t miss a beat.
“Yes, I do know.”
“So it has started again. They’ve figured out how to find us.”
“It was only a matter of time. We all knew that. We have power and they want it. And we don’t succumb to the virus.”
“But—Mom succumbed.”
There was a long silent pause.
“True.” She looked away pursing her lips. “Oh, Jovia. Of course,” she muttered.
“What?”
Rebekah shook her head. “Nothing for you to worry about. I never realized until this moment just how much your mother loved you.” She stroked my face. I wanted to believe she was sincere, but after Mom died she did nothing to help me. She never even offered to take me in. Train me like everyone else—sure. But she was never a shoulder I could lean on. It would take a lot more than one night to prove to me she could be trusted.
I fixed my eyes on the mountain.
“You’re going, aren’t you?” Rebekah asked.
“Well, yeah. I don’t really have a choice. I screwed Pops over with what I did and I promised Rosie. And now the Four Powers have challenged me to choose my birthright. I don’t know what I believe. But if I can be unbound and blow the Regys off this fucking planet, well, I’m more than happy to do that. Then Fisher and I can get on our little houseboat and spend our days floating on the water. Doing anything we want.” It was the one dream that brought me peace.
“You can choose to stay. You always have the right to choose.”
“But that choice is death, and then I’m not being who I was born to be. And if I am this Creation Dreamer, then there is no choice. The Creation Dreamer by sheer definition must go. Besides, if I have all this power just hanging around out there, it would really piss me off to think someone else might take it.” I laughed the tension away.
I remembered we had a silent audience. Chama’s stare was unnerving and unfamiliar to me. There was a shadow across her face that I had never seen before.
I stood. “Well, the time for living in a bubble is over. All the chanting and good will have nourished me, and I am grateful. We are worthy of having everything that the Eris and the Celestial Kingdoms wanted for us. They said the two-leggeds split the Earth into two pieces. Okay. So maybe there was a mistake. How hard can it be to fix a fucking mistake?”
“A rather big fooking mistake.” Chama winked through very forced laughter.
“I choose to go. I choose to know the truth. And if by some weird shot of Eris semen seed, I am this prophecy holder—then fuck. Sadistic sense of humor these gods have. Imagine me, the last rising sun.”
Rebekah wrapped herself around me. In that one instant, I felt nothing but a hunger in her. It was a neediness clawing me. An unexpected moment of catching her guard down perhaps, or seeing her vulnerability. Either way, it gave me a chill.
Rebekah broke the silence. “Once you leave the ring of the tree, time is back in full swing. Quakes and storms are there and so is the Regys.”
“And Fisher packing for us to leave. Chama—”
“Yes, sweet Magpie warrior savior of the Earthen world.” She stopped herself and stared at my non-humored face. “Maggie, yes, I will go and meet Fisher.”
“Tell him to go without me. Tell him I will meet him at the place he and I talked about. A day, maybe two tops. He won’t like it, but you convince him. You hear me? I can’t do this thing unless I know he’s okay.”
“I will take care of it.”
“And no mention of where I’m going. Understand me? He would just try to follow me. So lie if you have to. Get him out of here. This is no place for him to be if this turns into a sudden brouhaha with the Regys.”
Chama nodded. I trusted she understood the depth of my request.
“Okay. So I leave here. I go find this Record Keeper, and I unbind my power, light some fire and I will be back. And we take over the world! Seems simple enough.” My hands were soaking wet.
“Don’t underestimate this visionary,” Rebekah cautioned, her fingers wrapped over my shoulder. “I have no divine insight into her or what you will find. I don’t know what price you will have to pay to be unbound, but we will stay here and hold space for you and your journey. And Chama will succeed in convincing Fisher to go. We will see to that.”
“Even if I have to knock him out and drag him under the tree and tie him up!”
“I love him, Chama.” I twisted my hand in her robe. “I love him.” We stared until she finally looked away. I knew she understood. “Oh, shit, there is something else I need to tell you. There’s a coyote.”
“What?” Rebekah’s tone was harsh.
“I had a snapshot at the Flies. A coyote. A woman wearing this green robe thing.”
“Not possible.” Chama was shaking her head.
“Not only possible. But true. My snapshots are never wrong. You of all people know that. So be careful.”
“We’re safe here.” Rebekah reassured everyone. “But Chama—”
“Got it. Coyote crossing alert acknowledged.”
I stood up and fumbled with my pendant as I took a deep breath. Chama snuggled in behind m
e. She always smelled like roses.
“Well, you have got this, got this, got this. Do you know what I mean? You are going to zip up that mountain girl. I mean zip up and meet this fantastical lady who is going to tell you, by the way, just how spectacular you are. Which I already know. And you will unzip all this magic inside you and be right back down. Dreaming under the tree tonight.” She glided her hand across my shoulder as we both started laughing. Laughs that morphed into teary eyes gazing steadily and deeply into each other. Then the solemness of truth: I had no idea what was ahead and there was a real chance I’d never come back down that mountain.
“The red lace is going to look good on you, Chama,” I grinned, walking away.
“Red lace?”
“I left a little something for you at our spot.”
“Well, just wait till Scratt gets to see me in it.”
That stopped me. I wanted to hide my face, but I knew it was too late. I peered over my shoulder. “Lucky Scratt.”
I wanted to run to her, to find a way to ease the pressure I felt every time I looked at her. Her chandy was violet and turquoise. I could imagine what those colors tasted like.
“I will make sure Fisher is okay. No matter what.”
“Yup, a very lucky Scratt. Ladies, as they say—keep the light on for me. See you soon.” And with one definitive breath, I stepped out from under the tree and into hell.
There was nothing to do but run. Trees cracked and fell as I paced my way up to the border wall. The comfort of the Calys disappeared the minute I left the protection circle of the tree and I felt an inescapable aloneness. It was just me in the full abdomen of the storm, wind slamming into my face. It had a mind of its own, pushing me back with as much force as it could garner. One step forward and two back. Five back.
“You have underestimated me,” I thought. Nothing could stop me from getting up that mountain and into the unknown energy—and knowledge—of the Record Keeper.
Stones fell at my feet. And the lightning hit the ground with a vengeance.
“What the fuck do you want from me?” I yelled up at the sky, imaging the Celestial Kingdoms would answer. “I am doing this to save our asses. Maybe a little help? Yo Eristotus? If I am your daughter, what are you doing? Why not help me?” It was as close to praying as I could muster. Each step was like walking through thick molasses, but it only made me more determined. And then I was there, standing at the bottom of the wall looking up and the cliff face just beyond.
“Okay kid, you have done this many times. One more heroic jump up, and you are on your way.” I shifted into the full power of my totem—my four strong paws with claws out clutching the ground—and with one deep roar, I leaped up and over the border wall. There was no turning back. Pausing at the house that once held so many memories of love, that now echoed with nothing but secrets, I yelled into the winds, “I am Magpie Turnley, Creation Dreamer. I’m coming!”
Lips curled, I sucked in the energy of life around me and bolted to the base of the cliffs. The climb was nothing. Surging, I threw myself up onto each foothold with confidence. I was ready to know my truth. I thought.
5
It is Far from Aldon
As my belly scratched against the rock face, I swear another heartbeat joined my own. Much deeper in pitch, but eerily in rhythm—like two of us were climbing the mountain together. It helped me climb faster than I ever imagined. Up—until it started.
At first, it was one pebble. Some loose dirt smacked my face and then louder sounds started, crashing high above me. Boulders were coming my way which made finding shelter paramount. The Earth whipped me, pulling me back with each step up. Blood oozed between my fingers, the heat dripping down my wrists as I tightened my grip on the rock’s craggy edges.
Do not look down. Nothing good ever came from looking down.
Too late. My belly wretched. Heights. Fucking heights. There had to be somewhere on that damned rock to wait it out; I just had to find it. But I was so tired. There were moments of thinking it was all over. That fast. Done. While crying felt like a good idea, letting go seemed an even better one. Except for one little voice in the back of my head that kept jabbing me over and over: I never give up.
“It takes guts.” Mom’s voice echoed in my head. “Life—it takes guts.”
If she only knew the power that one insight held for me all those years. An unexpected moment of inspiration that I’m sure she never gave a second thought. So I sucked in some air, pulled in my pride, and reengaged the rocks. Crimping one hold after another until the pain almost overtook me; her voice reminded me letting go was not an option. I was nothing if not her daughter—rugged to the bitter end. And it paid off. The first round of small boulders bounced by me at the same moment my hand landed on a flat ledge covered in soft moss. And then I did cry.
“Come on, you lousy shit Dreamer—get your ass up there before the full force of this quake takes you down.” With one big effort, I tightened all the muscles I never knew I had in my body and swung myself up. It was just enough, and screaming really loud helped, too. Only it wasn’t a ledge; it was the opening to a cave.
Rocks pummeled me as I threw myself inside to safety. I’d made it just in time. The grit in my eyes burned, but I was alive. My fingers, tight and numb, searched the ground until I found the wall.
“Score one for the hero!” I burst out laughing. “You’re funny there, Maggs. Some hero.” The sound of my own voice was a small comfort as I spit dirt and wished for some warm water to clean my hands. A flash of lightning strobed the cave for a moment. Then again. Little moments to scan my surroundings. Something in the far back of the cave grabbed the light just before it grabbed me. Some kind of energetic cord penetrated me deep inside, wrapping around my spinal column and pulling me closer.
She was there, awakened by the lightning and calling out to me. Something in her voice. Something about the sight of her that filled me with hunger. Each moment I resisted was met with another tug from her, making it impossible to look away.
Who are you? What are you?
I only saw her chandy as she welcomed me closer. Her warmth shattered my defiance and rushed in through every open cavity in my bones.
What the—
Not a woman at all. A stone etching of a sphere carved into the back, shadowed wall. Inside the sphere was a cross dividing it into four quadrants, and there were two small circles carved above and below. In the center of it all was a clear quartz crystal.
I couldn’t resist touching it. My body raged in the energy, vibrating so deeply I shook as if I, too, had quakes shifting the plates of my body.
Maggie, you’re insane. Too much. Make this stop now.
I dropped my hand and stepped back.
Breathe. Slow the shaking. Breathe this through.
The crystal shot a rainbow light out through the four lines like spokes of a wheel. So engaged with her, I blew into the crystal and watched the wheel spin on its axis. Fully three-dimensional, and awake, like a shield.
“Oh, you have power, don’t you?” I took one step back.
On the right side of the sphere was an indentation in the wall as if fingers throughout centuries had tapped on the stone in that one place again and again. Convicted, I joined them. Each of them—all of them—wrapped around my finger as I pushed into the smoothness of the indentation.
What is that?
“Beautiful little creature, are you a doorway? Where might I find your key?”
I stood back and let the pads of my fingers drape onto the carving, taking in each sensation around the curve of the sphere down to the bottom and then around and up the other side to the top. Small drops of my blood marking the path. Rapid snapshots riveted through me—snapshots of fingers, of rings on fingers, of age on fingers, of youth on fingers, of blood on fingers, and intermittently, I saw eyes.
My hand rested on the crystal inside the sphere. There was the echo of drums beating, of heart beats layered over each other, in different places, but
in the same space, and in unison, in a growing aching loudness. Beat after beat until a song pulled through from some celestial place. Rhythmic chanting like a goddess, up in the heavens above the prayer bands of beings, poured out her soul down onto the Earth for our own glory. Or maybe for her glory.
The faintest reverberation from a single voice grabbed me, and then voices. These were my Calypso sisters. I was sure of it. All of us there together in some mysterious alignment. Every muscle squeezed together inside me, trying to pull them in—to bring us into one conscious connection, but they remained just out of my reach.
I can not understand what you are saying.
I stomped as the connection died.
“Oh, you sacred goddess.” I backed away. “Hidden away up here. Hidden behind border walls. Here you are. What are you some kind of sacred symbol for the Celestial Kingdoms? Do the Regys even know you are here?” My voice slid around the cave and back to me; I couldn’t help but smile. There was something in that place that hugged me, and damn, I ached to have it answer back.
“Did you bring me here on purpose?”
Of course, I didn’t know who the fuck I was trying to talk to. Out of my mind, I guess in that moment. I can’t explain it. I can only say that on some unspeakable level I was led to that cave. A destiny moment perhaps. I knew in my bones I belonged there.
My eyes remained locked on the wall as I took one step back after another. I didn’t want to leave her, as ridiculous as that sounds. Only one thing could break our sacred communion, and it came. The bark was just outside the cave entrance.
Coyote. You fucker. There you are.
It came again. My fists tightened from impulse, reminding me of my bruised, bloodied hands. No matter. A full-flush power wave spiked through me from my feet up through every hair on my head.