“Council, I appreciate your acceptance of my request. You have my full support and loyalty. I understand the risks and will accept any consequences that may stem from this mission.”
“Very well, Carrie. You may be off on your mission.”
“I may leave now, Councilman Aglet?” Carrie stared in disbelief.
“Of course, my dear. I understand there may be some…time constraints.”
“Yes…thank you. Thank you all so much.”
“That is all, Carrie.”
Chapter 3
She sat solemnly by the creek behind her father’s home. She arose from the soft earth beneath her as her father approached. His smile was tired—as were his eyes. He appeared riddled with worry.
“You look beautiful, Carrie.”
“You look fetching yourself, Father.”
As he stood by her he turned to the water. “What if I retrieved him, Carrie?”
Looking to her father, she found herself momentarily at a loss for words. “Father…you know I must do this. I’m bonded to him.”
“Carrie, you are my daughter. If anything happens to you…”
Taking his hand in hers, she pulled him closer. “Father, you know the pain of losing the one you’re bonded too. If I do not go to him, I too will live with that pain for all eternity. I can’t continue on without him.”
“Carrie…I have accepted whom you have bonded to. If you bring him home safely—”
“When I bring him home safely, Father.”
“When...you bring him home I will honor and respect him as your unified partner. I only fear for your well-being while you’re up there.”
“Father, I am eighty-eight years old.”
“Yet all they’ll see when they look at you is an eighteen-year-old human female…beautiful and vulnerable in their world. Humans…some of them, will prey on vulnerability. I’ve never felt more empty. Please…Carrie, let me bring him home.”
Acknowledging the fear in his eyes, she kissed his cheek. “All they would see when they looked at you is a devilishly attractive eighteen-year-old human male. And you would actually be alone…I on the other hand, will have both Nyrobie and Jerrek at my side.”
Instantly her father’s expression changed slightly. “Jerrek will be with you?”
“Yes, Father. Please remember we’ve all been up there and among them countless times, and I’ve studied Humanity for ages.”
“You are always with me when you are among them. Please do not ask me not to worry. Perhaps it’s selfish, but if anything happened to you…I’d be here all eternity with nothing but memories.”
“If I was always in your company while above Evrastill, I was unaware, Father. I will return to you just as I am now, but with my beautiful human man on my arm…and you’re going to love him. That’s just how it will be.”
He chuckled as he rested his hands on her shoulders. “I see your mother in you—so strong and independent. I won’t sleep until you return, but you have my blessing.”
She offered a cautious grin. “Do I, Father? Will you receive him as my eternal choice? There are members of the Society that would rather see me extinguished than unified with a human.”
“Carrie…you are bonded to him. What I think matters not.”
“It matters to me, Father. I must have your complete support, there are so many here that despise my choice, I need you now more than ever.”
His gaze turned from her and settled on the water. “When I think of him…his face, I think only of your sorrow and what the Council did to you, Carrie. I think of the equating factors and how lucky I am to have you standing here now.”
“The Council is restructured now, Father. What was once a crime is now accepted.”
“The Council is fickle, Carrie…as are humans. They may love and bond to many during their wretched one hundred years. They deceive their unifications and conspire with others.”
“Not all, Father. He has never loved another. We remain bonded regardless of time and the Council’s actions. I feel our bond just as strongly now as I did then.”
His scowl and pursed lips assured Carrie his true feelings would soon erupt. “Why? I don’t understand why a human? There are so many of your own kind here. Danny is strong and such a promising member—”
“Danny? Please do not be ridiculous. You have said it yourself, Father…one cannot choose with whom they bond…they can only let it be…forever. I must let it be forever. Please, I beg you to accept him as your son.”
His expression softened as he turned to her. “I already have…here.”
Reaching into the pocket of his silk robe, he removed a blue gem, attached to a golden chain. “Restoration.”
“You would trust me with this, Father?”
“Of course. In twelve years, you will be granted your own. You will certainly need it for the journey at hand.”
“Thank you, Father. I was certain I would have to beg Nyrobie for a drop.”
“To hold Restoration is a great responsibility, Carrie. A single drop could restore a man-depleted forest, breathe life into the dead…and heal even the most macabre wounds. Mankind has waged war for reasons far less concerning than what is in your hands. If they were to learn of your secret while you are up there, they would destroy you for it.”
“The only human I plan to engage is him, Father. This mission will be simple…my concern is the transition when I return. I feel for the next forty years or so, I will be an outcast.”
“Something you should be used to by now, my dear.” His playful smile was followed by a gentle kiss on her cheek.
“I love you, Father. I must go now.”
Standing at the base of the stone steps she and Nyrobie had descended earlier, Carrie, Nyrobie, and Jerrek faced Councilman Aglet, Carrie’s father—Tarik, and several other members of the Society wishing to see them off on their journey. The human, Clark, was among them.
Dressed in dark clothing for concealment, the only additional item she stowed was the chained gem.
“Remember your training as well as your studies. If you encounter any human other than your extraction target, be mindful of your mannerisms. Remember...if you do encounter a human they will surely assume the three of you to be young humans…naïve and easily manipulated. If you find yourself at their mercy, you must refrain from inflicting injury upon them of any sort. Be off now, and the Council wishes you the best outcome.”
Stepping out into the surrounding forest, the trio took a moment to bask in the idea of independence. Smiles overtook them, and then laughter.
“Oh, how I love you two. I couldn’t do this without you. I would be friendless without you.”
“That’s not true, Carrie…the humans, Elinor, Clark, and Joseph are quite fond of you.” Jerrek’s comment had them chuckling again.
“The cardinals will meet us at the forest’s edge. They will guide us.” With this, Carrie sprang to a low-hanging branch of a large tree, speedily hoisting herself up, she leapt from branch to branch until Jerrek and Nyrobie were no longer visible; she was at the top of the tree within seconds. Peering out over the tops of the countless trees, she spotted what appeared to be the edge of the tree line.
Looking downward, she merely stepped from the tree-top, sailing to the ground through an opening in the branches—landing with tremendous force.
“It’s this way. They’ll be there within the hour.”
In seconds the three were sprinting at speeds faster than the average sparrow can fly, bounding gracefully over downed trees and ducking proficiently under branches. They’d reached the tree line only a moment later—not a single bead of sweat adorned their brows.
“Now what?” Nyrobie looked to the sky.
“We wait for our feathered friends.” Carrie eyed the ground, sitting down.
“When we’re returning, we’ll need to take turns carrying him…otherwise we’ll be out here for days. Even the fastest human is pathetically slow.” Jerrek smiled as he sat down.
“It would be absolutely awful to be human…” Jerrek stared out over the surrounding mountain range as he made his proclamation. “So weak…and the aging thing is truly alarming.”
“That’s cruel, Jerrek.” Carrie’s sharp tone had both her friends looking toward her. “They know nothing else. How blessed are we that we need not have to worry of mortality and growing decrepit? How blessed are we to not age a day after our eighteenth year? How horrible it must be to awake each morning to know that one day there will be no more mornings…one day there will be nothing. And yet they persevere and carve out an existence with the little time they have. Humans may seem cruel, fragile, and even insignificant to some…but I have seen firsthand the cruelty of our own kind. And remember, the weakling you speak of is the one I am to be unified with…for eternity.”
The look on his face expressed both his shock and regret. “Carrie…I meant nothing ill of him. I meant what I said, he is my friend. I wouldn’t be here if I felt any different.”
Her anger left quicker than it had mounted. “I’m sorry, Jerrek. I know your heart.”
“Look!” Nyrobie pointed to the sky as the high-pitched calls of hundreds of small red cardinals fell upon them. The birds circled in the air above, coaxing the trio to rise to their feet. As they did, several of the cardinals swooped down, resting on their shoulders and heads.
“Your friends are beautiful, Carrie.”
“You wear them well, Jerrek.”
“Darkness will be on us soon. We shall travel to him through the cover of night and collect him before the dawn.” Carrie’s confident confession had the other two nodding in agreement. “Let’s go.”
“Carrie…what are we to do once we reach this place? We can’t walk through the entrance and retrieve him.”
“I know that, Jerrek. If my plan seems ill-planned that’s because it is. I didn’t know what the Council would decide. To grant a Society member the right to unify with a human living amongst us is one thing…to extract, restore, and introduce one is another matter entirely. I’m not entirely sure I believe this is happening.”
“And you are certain he will agree to an eternity with you, Carrie?”
“I am, Jerrek. Our bond is strongest now. I feel he is beckoning me to him.”
“Then why the hesitation, ladies? Let’s go get the boy.”
As the cardinals took flight, the three immortals darted into the trees on the opposing side of the clearing.
Chapter 4
The earthly night was all around them—strange sounds and odd smells were quite foreign. Traveling afoot, even the swiftest human would need an entire night and the following day sprinting at full-speed and without resting to reach the destination outside the mountainous and heavily wooded area—Carrie, Nyrobie, and Jerrek were approaching their destination within an hour of departing the entrance of Evrastill—their pace matched that of the cardinals above them.
The frigid air numbed her nose—something she wasn’t quite accustomed to as Evrastill was ever a consistent, comfortable temperature. Soft glow of artificial light shined through the trees as the three approached a beautifully crafted building within a clearing.
“This will be your first interaction since your forced separation, Carrie. Do you need a moment to collect yourself, or at least to rest?”
“I have rested long enough, Nyrobie. My heart has never been more alive. I feel him. He’s there…just there.”
“He’ll wonder why you haven’t come to him sooner. He’ll have countless questions—”
“I know this, Jerrek. And I’ll have an infinite amount of time to explain how such actions would result in my execution or worse…his end. I had to protect him from a ruthless and corrupt Council. He’ll understand…we are bonded…he will understand.”
“And you are certain he will come with you, even now?”
Carrie turned to Jerrek as a Cardinal landed on her shoulder. “Yes…of course…as I said, we are bonded.”
“She speaks the truth, Jerrek. Even now he dreams of you.” Nyrobie smiled as she pointed toward the building.
“I must go now.” Turning from her friends, Carrie prompted her feathered guide to continue its navigation to him. She methodically followed the small bird across the lawn, leading to one of several windows. Peering inside, her heart fluttered to see a withered and aged Charlie, sleeping in a rocking chair. The years he’d been so painfully close, and yet pursuing him or even stealing a glance would have resulted in disastrous consequences.
A strange anxiety had loomed since finding she would be capable of securing him, and seeing him exacerbated it.
Gently opening the window, she climbed inside. Kneeling in front of the tired, haggard human before her, she took his hand and kissed it repeatedly.
Mumbling of some sort escaped his mouth, and then he was looking about. “Who’s there?”
His voice—so different yet so much the same—nearly took her breath. It had been seventy years since she had heard it.
“Charlie.”
His eyes widened as he looked in her direction. “Who…who are you?”
“Charlie…it is I…Carrie.”
With this Charlie smiled and relaxed. “I see. I’m still dreaming.”
Wiping her tears, she kissed his worn face. “No my love…this is not a dream. I have returned for you. I am here for you now, just before your light fades, I am here to assure it shines forever.”
His shaking hand reached toward the desk in front of his chair. Opening the top drawer, he slipped his finger in the opening and slammed it partially closed with the other hand. “Ah! Dammit!”
Immediately he placed his finger in his mouth. “That…that should do it. Damned if it’s the dreams or my medications. Voices and—”
“Charlie, I’m still here.”
He stared in her direction, mouth agape.
“I’m by your side now…and I will be forever if you give me that chance.”
His lip quivering was coupled with tears pooling in either eye, he reached blindly for her face. “How? How is this possible?”
“Everything has changed now, Charlie. We can love now freely.”
“You’re really here? Carrie…you’re here?”
“I am, my love.”
He reached his weathered arms forward, embracing her. “I don’t understand…”
“I know…I know you don’t but if you give the opportunity, I promise I will make sense of it.”
He cried violently yet silently onto her shoulder. “Why have you come back now? I don’t got much…much time left and…my eyes…I can’t see your face.”
“Charlie…my beautiful love. I am here to bring you back with me. And I will be doing it with the full blessing of the Council.”
“Now? You love me even now? I’m…I’m so old and raggedy. Carrie, you can’t love me when you are you, and I’m this.”
“Charlie…I have loved you since long before the day in the lilies…your face has been all that has kept me walking. I cannot go on without you.”
“Carrie…I’m tired and close to the end of my road…”
“Your road leads home with me…and it is just the beginning…please…trust me.”
Placing her hands on either of his temples, she witnessed the color of his pupils return to the dark brown she remembered.
“Oh my god! Your face! It really is you!”
“It’s me, Charlie…”
He instantly hugged her again.
“Come back with me, my love, tonight.”
“This is real? I feel like I’m on some other planet right now.”
“I am real…and if you allow me…I will restore your earthly body to the day of our last kiss…the day in the lilies. You will then return with me to Evrastill, and with the Council’s permission
…we will be unified.”
“Unified? Married?”
She chuckled. “Yes my love.”
“This don’t make no sense, Carrie. How? After they took my sight I spent years in a damned mental institution…thinkin’ I was crazy myself, and wondering if I really was insane…I went my whole life without friends or family because I couldn’t shake you off my mind. And now you just show up and say all’s well? You’re certain?”
“Charlie…I was released from Evrastill’s prison, only to be shunned by my own people. I sat silently in the shadows, just hoping something miraculous would occur before you left me…and then it did. The Council is behind me…they are behind us. All you have to do is say yes and you and I will spend eternity in one another’s arms.”
His respirations hastened as he leaned forward, his hands plastered across his forehead. “This is real. I’m…I can leave with you right now.”
“Right now.”
“And…when you say eternity—”
“You remember the humans I once told you of? They haven’t aged a day since their rescue. They’re safe from time within Evrastill. You would be safe with me…in my arms for eternity.”
“Yes…yes…” His smile was fleeting and then he was grabbing his chest, his eyes widening as he looked to Carrie.
“Charlie?”
She captured him as he fell from his chair. Hoisting him in the air, she jumped out the window with him in her arms, sprinting toward the trees.
Lying him on the ground, she produced the Restoration as Nyrobie and Jerrek were quick to approach.
“Is he dead?”
“No, Jerrek.”
“He looks dead…and he certainly doesn’t look anything like the last time I saw him.”
“Enough, Jerrek! Help me!”
As they straightened him out about the fallen leaves, Carrie gently lowered the opened gem bottle to Charlie’s chapped and bleeding lips. A single, sparkling, blue drop entered the man’s mouth.
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