Amanda palmed the door closed and cloaked the telepod as she led the way back to Barla’s house as fast as she dared.
Vinia walked with her arms around each of her children. She could tell they were in awe of their surroundings and she wished she could be showing them to a home of her own rather than someone else’s. She mentally shrugged since she had no control over the circumstances which had led her to be living with Barla. Hopefully her future would bring Nealan back to her and they could all live together.
Amanda was the first to the house and she knocked on the front door and waited. The rest of her group joined around her. They could hear movement in the house.
Barla opened the door with Danika held in her arm. The look on her face was precious as she took in the familiar and unfamiliar faces. “Come in,” she said with alacrity.
Vinia came forward and took Danika out of Barla’s arms. She turned with pride toward her first-born daughter and presented the child. “This is your sister, Danika.”
Valentina held out her finger to touch Danika’s chubby little fist. “She’s so cute, Mom!”
Behn pushed his way out of the door so Barla could get it shut behind them. He was also interested in his little sister, but he was distracted by the style of the house around them. He knew he would have time to get to know Danika so he let Valentina have the infant’s attention first while he looked around in fascination.
Barla caught Amanda’s sleeve and leaned over to whisper, “It appears everything went well! I didn’t expect you back tonight.”
“I can’t stay since Daven and Nena are probably at my house by now. I’ll come back later tonight to get Behn and Valentina. I hope you don’t mind me dumping everyone off here so unexpectedly.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m glad everything has worked out for Vinia. Go on, I’ll let everyone know you had to go and tell them you’ll be back.” Barla opened the door enough for Amanda to exit and then closed the door again. She could not shake the feeling of being watched ever since the girls had left that morning. She peeked out the side window to watch Amanda trot back up the sidewalk back to the landing field.
Chapter Thirty
AMANDA MADE IT back to the house in record time. Still, there was another telepod in the garage when she parked her own. She had predicted they would arrive before she did and she had been correct. She could feel the drain of too much travel in one day and yet her day was far from over. She took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and went into the house to greet her guests.
Daven and Nena must have just arrived since they were still standing in the kitchen with Jena and Juila. Hugs and greetings were exchanged and Amanda suggested they get more comfortable in the living room where they all sat down. Riccan arrived home as soon as they were seated so everyone rose again and the greetings were repeated for him as well.
Riccan went upstairs to change clothes while everyone resumed their original seats. He rushed up to his room and made record time getting into a more comfortable outfit. As he came down the stairs he showed off slightly by creating their meal on the kitchen counter.
Amanda, whose back had been to the kitchen, smelled the aromas of the food and turned to investigate. She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and mouthed the words ‘show off’ to Riccan as he breezed through the living room to the kitchen. “It looks as though dinner is ready,” Amanda announced.
They had a buffet style service where everyone served themselves. Once the plates were full, they trailed into the dining room and set their plates down. As soon as everyone was in the room, Daven said grace for their meal and then they took their places at the table.
Dinner was a simple affair of several styles of foxl, two side dishes, and dessert. Riccan received compliments from the group on the tasty flavors of the meat. Conversation centered mostly on the food as well as what was going on with the girls at school.
Nena was most intrigued by the differences of education on Earth compared to what the girls were familiar with back home. They chatted continually on their end of the table while the other three adults remained suspiciously silent.
When the meal was finished, Riccan used a small amount of elemy to clear the dishes away. He had also cleaned up the kitchen leftovers in the same manner. “I think we should retire to the living room to discuss what is really on everyone’s mind,” Riccan suggested.
The girls looked at one another in confusion and followed their parents and grandparents to the living room. They wondered what could be going on since their mother had not had time to explain before their grandparents had arrived. They sat down across from the adults and waited to see what the topic of conversation would turn out to be.
Riccan started the conversation by looking at the girls and saying, “My mom sent me a message this morning asking me to stop by their house since she had found some useful information for me.” He turned his gaze to Amanda and continued, “She discovered the man who gave Ela Nena the award was actually an agent of Lucinden. I guess we now have our answer as to who is behind this scheme. We still don’t know the why, but it’s definitely a start.
“So I went to work and met with Ela Nena first thing this morning. I won’t go into all of the details because it wasn’t very pleasant. Suffice it to say, the award did have a samara hidden within it. To say Ela Nena was shocked would be an understatement; she couldn’t have me get that thing out of her office fast enough.
“What I didn’t share with anyone until now is that an unknown man came onto the rooftop just as I was teleporting out of there. He shot a tracking device onto my telepod just as I activated the transfer. I had no idea what he had done so I thought there was a malfunction happening.”
Everyone other than Amanda gasped at Riccan’s description of the timing of the shot. They all knew the dangers of the impact at the point of departure. Amanda had never learned about it so she wondered what she had missed, yet she did not want to sidetrack the story so she remained silent. She would ask later when they were alone.
“As soon as I landed in Pantano, I checked the craft for any signs of malfunction when I came upon the tracking devise. Of course I destroyed it immediately, but I’m afraid it could have transmitted my location before I got to it. I know the Residence has safeguards in place, however, you may want to take extra precautions for a little while.”
Daven nodded his acquiescence and Riccan continued his recital of events.
“Mom identified the colors of the new samara as being the same as her own birth crystal.”
Amanda and the girls both exchanged pleased looks until Riccan said his next statement.
“She is wary of even touching the crystal until she knows it isn’t evil. Since the samara was obviously used to control Ela Nena’s behavior and Lucinden is clearly involved in the giving of the award, we can see where she would be reticent to become the owner.”
Riccan turned to his daughters and asked, “Can you share what you know of the samaras with my parents? I think if they knew the history and uses of them, then they might have a better understanding. Would you agree?”
Jena nodded solemnly. She was the most conversant with the histories since she had been the one to find and read the ancient text in the library in Acaim. She also knew more about them intimately since she had communed with her own samara for many hours. Of course Juila shared her knowledge since their minds were linked, however, Jena really had been the first one to study the history.
“The samaras were created by Jehoban at the beginning of the universe. He has planned for them to be used for something in the future, as yet it has not been disclosed for what purpose. Anyway, the thirteen descendants of his angels were each given a samara to keep in their family line until the time of their need was at hand.
“As you can imagine, some of the family lines became extinct and the samaras were lost into the land. Other calamities happened such as theft and still more samaras were stolen. Throughout time, the knowledge of the samaras ha
s been diluted until it became legend, then myth, and finally it was not known at all…until now.”
Jena took a few seconds to compose her thoughts of what would be important or relevant for everyone to know. “The samaras are very powerful sources of energy. They are more powerful when they are together than when they are separated. There are two…no wait, three…ways for their power to be used. In the first way, anyone can access the power. In the second way, someone can control another person through it. In the third way, the samaras can work together to create a very powerful energy which, I believe, is their true purpose.”
Nena cleared her throat and clarified, “So what you are saying is that they can be very dangerous.”
“Yes, in the wrong hands it’s true. However, in the hands of the true, ordained owner, only that one person can access the power. Once the true owner touches the samara, a permanent link is made and nobody else will ever be able to access the samara’s power while the real owner remains alive.” Jena had felt the link form when she had first touched her own samara.
Juila nodded confirmation and said, “We both felt the link form when we touched the samaras which had our own birth crystal colors as their aura. It is how we know this is true, we have felt it ourselves.”
Riccan hoped the children had convinced his mother to at least try to claim the samara for herself. To seal the deal, Riccan said, “Mom, if the samara remains unclaimed by its rightful owner, then it does pose a threat to all of us. Please say you’ll touch it and see if it is yours.”
Nena still looked scared. She looked into her husband’s eyes, hoping he would refute their son’s request. Seeing only entreaty, Nena closed her eyes and said a silent prayer for her safety. She gave a small nod of agreement as she opened her eyes and said, “I’ll try.”
Not wanting to give her any time to change her mind, Riccan stood up and left the room. He went into the library, opened the secret door, and entered the hidden chamber beyond. He picked up the samara, which was still encased in the award, and returned to the living room. In his haste he did not even bother to shut the bookcase wall.
Riccan set the award down on the coffee table just in front of his mother. He flicked the small lever on the side to allow the front panel to drop down which left the samara exposed to view only from the front. He sat down on the coffee table to be close at hand should his mother require assistance.
One last time, Nena looked to her husband. Her hopes of his changing his mind evaporated when he nodded for her to continue. With a sigh of resignation, she reached out with both hands and placed them on either side of the samara. Instantly, she felt a charge of energy as the samara communicated directly with her core being.
She knew with every fiber of her being that this crystal had been made for her. It seemed ridiculous now that she had been so fearful to take charge. Now she understood what they had all been saying. Time stood still as she watched flashes of the samara’s history and all of its former owners, both true and false.
~~~~~~~~~~~~
The evening came to a close when Riccan suggested they put the samara back in the hidden room with the other samaras. He was amused when he discovered how difficult it was to get his mother to give up possession of her new toy. Instead of touching it himself, he guided his mother to the back room and had her place the samara in a vacant cubby near his own.
As soon as Nena’s fingers lost contact with the stone, she felt a profound sense of loss. She immediately wanted to reclaim the feeling. The lure of the samara was addictive and she could see why it would draw the attention of evil. She folded her arms across her body and looked away from the cubby. “That is one powerful stone, Riccan. Why didn’t you tell me how it would be? Is it the same for you?”
Riccan nodded and reminded her, “I did tell you about it. Your fear kept you from believing me. Also, I think the power within the stone is different for each person, but I understand what you’re saying. The things I’ve seen as I’ve held my samara have been fascinating. I could spend hours at a time just watching as it shows me what has happened around it.”
“You saw that, too? I’m glad you said something, I thought it might just be me. What about the girls?”
“Yes, they’ve both had similar experiences. Let’s go back to the others now. Being around the energy from all of these samaras together makes my skin crawl.” Riccan led the way out and waited for his mother to join him.
Since Riccan had pointed it out, she looked down and saw the hair on her arm standing on end. She definitely felt the power being drawn by the separate crystals. With one last look, she felt like she was parting from a long-lost friend and felt tears come to her eyes. She would have to schedule another trip here just to see if she still felt the same connection the next time she touched her samara.
Daven and Nena left right after they returned to the living room. The evening had gone better than anyone could have hoped. They were sitting on the sofa talking about the samaras and asking the girls a couple more questions about what they knew.
During a lull in the conversation, Juila asked, “When are Behn and Valentina coming home?”
“Oh!” Amanda sat up immediately. She felt horrible and exclaimed, “I promised to go back and get them and I totally forgot.” Amanda stood up and started heading for the garage.
“Wait, Mom. Let me go get them, you’ve already traveled too much today. I know where Barla lives, we used to live there ourselves, after all,” Juila stated matter-of-factly.
Amanda glanced down at Riccan to see if he approved and saw him scrunch his shoulders. It was up to her to decide. The girls had never asked before, and she was glad they felt comfortable enough. Besides, Juila loved flying and she had yet to venture out on her own since they had come to live on Earth. Amanda decided, “Go there and come straight back, okay?”
Juila squealed with delight and jumped up to give her mother a quick hug. She grabbed the telepod remote off of the small desk beside the kitchen and almost ran out into the garage. With the new equipment in her mother’s telepod, she did not even have to worry about finding and memorizing the destination coordinates. She buckled herself into the pilot’s seat, activated her flight plan on the glass panel, verified all of the green lights indicating the systems were all functioning properly, and then she hit the button to begin the transfer.
The long teleportation unnerved her slightly and she noticed her hand was shaking slightly as she manually set the telepod down on the Cresdon landing field. She left the aircraft and looked around her with a slight frown of confusion. While she had been confident in this journey when she had been at home, it had been ten anons since she had been in this city. When they were little, they never had any occasion to go to the landing field except on the day they left to go live on Acaim.
Darkness was falling and she had to pick a direction. She chose to go right toward the houses which looked the most familiar. If it came right down to it, Juila could knock on someone’s door and ask for directions. She hoped as she walked that it would start to look familiar.
As she passed each home she looked at it intently for any signs of recognition. She felt slightly stupid since she could not even recall on which side of the street the house had been. Just as she was about to give up, she looked to her left and saw the white picket fence. Instantly, she recalled playing inside the yard and up the grand staircase.
She opened the gate and went up the stairs to knock on the door. She reasoned that even if this were the wrong house, she had a back-up plan. The feeling of rightness left little doubt she had picked correctly. She knocked with authority and waited.
Barla opened the door expecting to see Amanda. Her eyes widened as she saw an older version of one of the girls she had helped raise. “Are you Juila or Jena?” she asked even as she pulled her in for a big hug.
“Juila,” she answered as she returned the hug for the first mother she remembered. She had been thrilled to find out Barla was actually her great-aunt so she would al
ways be able to keep in touch with her and call her family.
“Where’s your mom?” Barla asked as she let go of her and looked out the door for Amanda.
“I came by myself to get Behn and Val. Do you think they’re ready to go?” Juila had not considered the darkness when she had offered to come. She had never liked walking in the streets at night when she was outside of Acaim.
“Let’s go find out, shall we?” Barla said as she shut the door and led Juila down the hall to the living room. “Look who came over!” she announced as they entered the room.
Behn and Valentina looked up from where they were seated on the floor playing with their little sister.
Juila thought they looked very happy. She knelt down beside Behn and asked, “Who is this little cutie?”
Valentina spoke with pride, “This is our little sister. Isn’t she adorable?”
“Absolutely,” Juila agreed. She hated to have to break up the party, but she had promised her mother she would be quick with this trip. Her search for the house had taken up precious time. They were going to have to leave pretty soon. “Are you guys almost ready to go home?”
Valentina was actually disappointed. The afternoon and early evening had been perfect and she had enjoyed getting to know her mother, Danika, and Barla. “Do you think we’ll be able to come back soon to visit again?”
Vinia was so happy to hear Valentina ask to return. She had been so scared her oldest daughter would reject her and now she had proof of her love. “I’m sure we can arrange something, Val. It is getting late and your little sister needs to go up to bed for the night.”
“Okay,” Valentina said reluctantly. She got up from the floor and leaned down to give her mom a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She could not resist one last chance to touch Danika’s cheek before she left.
Levels of Ascension BoxSet Page 75