Rebecca, Lindsay, and Emilia walked up to stand alongside Carrie. They heard a door slowly open and close and looked up to see two stately figures walking up to greet them. A tall, willowy woman with flowing silver hair and deep, dark-violet eyes walked beside her equally beautiful husband, whose jet-black hair and grey eyes were in perfect contrast to her looks. They approached Carrie and her friends and extended their hands in greeting.
“I have been told you were successful in rescuing our land,” she said. The queen’s voice was rich and strong. Her eyes were filled with hope.
Carrie nodded, not trusting her voice enough to actually speak.
The king walked up to Carrie and regarded her curiously. He gave her burned hands and the bundle she was delicately carrying a long, considering look.
“May I relieve you of your burden?” he gently asked her. “I can send you to my personal healers to care for your hands. It must pain you to carry such a load.”
Despite her best efforts, Carrie could feel her eyes welling with tears. She delicately held her bundle out to the king. Her lower lip began trembling. “Your Majesty,” she said in a quavering voice. “I am so sorry…” She felt herself begin to cry. “I am so, so sorry.”
The king took her sweatshirt and slowly unwrapped Adom’s body. He took a sharp breath. “He was a good friend and a good and loyal emissary to my wife and me,” he said sadly. “He shall have a grand funeral and will be sorely missed by all.” He held Adom close to his heart. “You have my gratitude for bringing him home.”
“He saved my life,” Carrie said with a small hiccupping sob. “He was a dear friend to me, as well as to Lindsay and Rebecca. We’re going to miss him terribly.”
The queen put her arm around Carrie’s shaking shoulders. “Come inside,” she said and then motioned to Lindsay, Rebecca, and Emilia. “All of you come inside. We shall take care of you all as best we can.”
Carrie felt herself being guided into the palace. She did not resist when the palace healers set to work on her hands. She had not realized how badly they had been hurting her until she felt the absence of the pain from her burns. She saw Lindsay, Rebecca, and Emilia also being treated for the myriad of bruises and cuts they had accumulated during their fight with Asmodeus. Had it really been only a few hours since they had been fighting for their lives? It seemed more like days to Carrie.
The king and queen entered the room, and the healers turned to bow and curtsey before their rulers. The king looked at Carrie and gave her a small smile. “I should like you to accompany us to go and set the strings back in their proper place,” he said to them all.
Lindsay hopped off her chair. “We would love to,” she told him sincerely. “Absolutely.”
Rebecca joined her and turned to Carrie. “Come on,” she said. “You should come and see what we’ve been fighting for.”
Carrie reluctantly rose and joined her friends in following the king and queen down the hall. They soon entered a vast room encircled by high windows. Its floor seemed to be made of rose quartz coming to a short pedestal in the centre, upon which lay a square velvet cushion. Atop the cushion lay a small, wooden violin. It was a warm, rich brown, polished and smooth, revealing the delicate grain in the wood. Carrie approached it slowly, hardly daring to breathe. It seemed so odd to her that something so small could be the cause of so much trouble.
Carrie and her friends watched with bated breath as the queen walked reverently toward the violin. Lindsay had handed her the silver strings from her pocket, and the queen now laid them delicately upon the silent instrument. Carrie watched in awe as the strings stretched themselves along the length of the violin’s body. They wound themselves around the pegs at the head of the instrument, magically tuning themselves. Suddenly, the room became full of the sweetest music Carrie had ever heard. It was a song that filled the core of her being. It was inside her and around her, filling her ears and the chambers of her heart. She saw the blissful looks on the faces around her and knew they heard it too. It was a music that spoke of every emotion that made a person human. Carrie was sobbing softly as her grief over Adom’s death filled her, but the tears she cried were tears of healing. She saw her friends’ eyes were full of tears as well. It hit her that Adom would hear this music no longer, but she knew that the fact they had succeeded in their quest was a testament to his sacrifice. That little bit of knowledge made her pain that much easier to bear. And for that she was glad.
Emilia had walked over to one of the many windows that surrounded them and let out a cry of joy. The sound broke all those around her out of their silent reverie, and they went to join her. On the horizon, they could see a sliver of light. The black night sky was slowly turning a pale pink around the mountains that surrounded the kingdom. It slowly strengthened in colour, gradually becoming purple and then a rich blue. After days of darkness, the sun was beginning to rise over the land of Hadariah.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Hitablut le Mishteh
Adom’s funeral took place later that very day. He was laid to rest in the midst of a grove of poplar trees. Carrie stood with her friends, and to her surprise, she could not cry. She felt as if she had no tears left within her. Lindsay, who stood to her right, cried enough for all of them. The king stood over Adom’s grave and spoke eloquently about the small fox. It was clear from his words that Adom had been a friend to all. He had been wise and brave, helping all who needed it. He had never put his own needs above the needs of his people.
“Adom’s loss is one that will be felt by us all for all time,” the king said gravely. “His sacrifice was not in vain, and he shall be remembered as a hero by the entire kingdom. He was instrumental in saving us all. For that, we are all in debt to him.”
* * *
That evening, there was a great feast in the palace’s banquet hall. Carrie, Lindsay, Rebecca, and Emilia were to be the guests of honour. Ever since their arrival, the dybbuk princess had been extremely shy and quiet, as if she were afraid of what everyone thought of her. She was very different from the fake princess they had been travelling with on their journey.
They spent some time in the rooms provided for them by the king and queen, preparing themselves for the feast. Emilia entered Carrie’s room. She had bathed and dressed herself in a pale-blue gown the queen had given her. Her hands and feet had been healed, and her face had gained a healthy glow. Her long red hair was freshly brushed and pulled back from her face with jewelled combs. Despite her beautiful appearance, Emilia looked incredibly insecure.
“Do you mind if I speak with you a moment?” Emilia asked. Her hands were preoccupied, wringing the cloth of her dress.
Carrie motioned for her to sit. Carrie turned to her mirror, frustrated, trying to tame her short hair into something resembling a formal style. “What is it?” she asked Emilia.
Emilia struggled for a moment to find a way to say what she wanted. “Do you think people here will accept me? I do not think they can look past who my father is.”
Carrie turned to look her in the eye. “I see past that,” she told her. “I think of you as a friend. I’m sure they will too. You did, after all, help us get the strings back. People will see that. It’s what you do that’s what counts. Not who your parents are.”
Emilia gave her a hopeful smile. “Do you really believe that?” she asked.
“I do,” Carrie told her.
Emilia stood awkwardly and cleared her throat. “There is one final thing,” she said.
“What’s that?” Carrie asked.
Emilia held out one of her hands. “I found this on the floor of my father’s throne room,” she said. “I believe it belongs to you.”
Carrie held out her hand and felt her breath catch in her throat. It was her chamtzah. She swiped at her face as she felt tears fall. Her bangs were once more in her eyes.
Emilia rose and took the brush from the table. “Let me help you with that.”
“Thank you,” Carrie said with a watery smile.
* * *
The feast was well underway when Carrie and her friends entered the banquet hall. The level of celebration amazed them. Carrie looked at her two oldest friends. Rebecca was stunning in a long-sleeved, empire-waist, ruby-red satin gown. Her long dark hair was hanging in a thick braid down her back. Lindsay was in her favourite colour—bright pink. Her silk gown had a sparkling bodice with long, flowing sleeves. Her blonde hair hung long, loose, and straight. Carrie herself was stunning in a forest-green gown with capped sleeves. It had a rust-coloured trim around the sweetheart neckline and hem. Her bangs had been clipped away from her face by Emilia, and the princess had secured them with an emerald pin. She wore no other jewelry other than the chamtzah, which had resumed its rightful place around her neck.
They entered the hall to thunderous applause as the kingdom’s champions and took their seats to the right of the queen. The chair to the king’s left was conspicuously empty. Carrie guessed it had been left so in Adom’s honour. The table was laden with all sorts of food. Fruits spilled from golden bowls. Cakes decorated with gobs of frosting towered to the ceiling, cherries resting on peaks of whipped cream. Goblets of mousse were scattered in various places across the long table. Crystal goblets filled with ruby wine glinted in the torch light. Candles sat dripping in fat candelabras on either end of the room.
Carrie did not realize how hungry she was until she seated herself beside the queen. She gratefully accepted a goblet of wine from her and began heaping a plate with foamy chocolate mousse and ripe berries. She took a long sip of her wine and marvelled at its delicious, earthy flavour. The queen stood and clinked a golden spoon against her goblet to attract everyone’s attention.
“My people,” she called. “We are gathered here to celebrate our champions: Carrie, Rebecca, Lindsay, and the honoured Princess Emilia. These fine women faced peril and fought valiantly for our safety and our continuing existence. We owe them our lives.” She turned to Carrie and her friends. “We gift to you a place in our hearts and our kingdom for all your lives.” She looked directly at Emilia. “You will always have a home here with us, if you want it.”
Emilia smiled at the queen. “I am honoured to accept your hospitality, Your Majesty.”
The queen nodded and raised her glass. “A toast to our champions and their continuing health.”
All seated raised their glasses and toasted the girls. The feast continued well after the sun went down and was followed by dancing and laughter. The darkness in the sky did not bother a soul—not when they knew that in some hours, the sun would return to its rightful place.
The king and queen searched out Carrie and her friends, who had escaped the festivities and retired to the palace’s gardens. Now that the time of darkness had ended, they could see the beauty of the flowers’ colours in the evening’s starlight.
“Whenever you are ready,” the king told them, “we will send you home. But know you can always return here whenever you desire.”
“Thank you for your generosity,” Rebecca said to him with a slight curtsey. “We appreciate all you have done for us.”
“It is we who should be thanking you,” the queen said to them.
“We didn’t do any of this for the reward,” Carrie protested. “You have given us enough thanks already. We don’t want anything else.”
“I understand this,” the queen replied. “Just tell us if you require anything further.”
Carrie looked at Lindsay and Rebecca as if willing them to read her mind. “If it is all right with my friends, I think the time has come for us to return home,” she told them.
Lindsay and Rebecca nodded in agreement. “We think we have been gone too long,” Rebecca said. “Our parents will be wondering where we’ve gone. We said we were going away for only a few days. I’m sure we’ve been gone longer than that.”
“But we’ll definitely be back to visit,” Lindsay promised earnestly.
“Definitely,” Carrie said quietly, though she knew that every visit back would be bittersweet. She looked down at her outfit. “Um,” she started hesitantly. “I know I said we didn’t want anything in return for all we did, but could we keep the clothes? The ones we were wearing were pretty trashed, and Asmodeus stole our stuff.”
The queen laughed, a high merry sound. “Of course you may,” she said. “You need not even have asked.”
“Thank you so much,” Carrie said to her.
Soon Carrie, Lindsay, and Rebecca were standing before a door atop one of the palace’s towers. The king and queen looked at them intently. “The ways between worlds are plentiful,” the king said to them. “You just need to look. This door will take you where you want to go. Just think of your destination and step through.” He moved aside to give them access to the door. “Whenever you are ready.”
Carrie, Lindsay, and Rebecca turned to Emilia. “Looks like you found a new home,” Carrie said to her. “If you ever want to see our world, you will always have a place to stay with any one of us. I was really glad to get to know the real you.” She pulled Emilia into a tight hug.
“And I was glad to meet you,” Emilia told all three of them. “Thank you again for rescuing me.”
“It was no problem,” Lindsay assured her. “That’s what friends are for.”
“It was wonderful to meet you,” Rebecca said and hugged her good-bye.
All three friends turned to say farewell to the king and queen. “Thank you again for your hospitality,” Rebecca said.
“Just remember that you are all welcome any time,” the king said and opened the door.
After a moment’s hesitation and one last look back at their new friends, Carrie, Rebecca, and Lindsay stepped through the open doorway and came out the other side in their own world. They were home.
Chapter Thirty
Lech le Baytah
Carrie, Lindsay, and Rebecca emerged into the sunlight in Carrie’s backyard. They walked slowly over the grass, slowly drinking in the idea that they were finally home. The sound of hysterical barking caused Carrie to break away from her friends and run across the lawn. She soon found her arms full of happy, wriggling dog as her cocker spaniel leaped into her embrace.
“Finnigan!” Carrie cried amid the flurry of wet kisses. “I missed you so much!”
Lindsay and Rebecca joined her with smiles and laughter. They petted and hugged Finnigan; the little dog had never felt so loved.
Carrie looked into Finnigan’s big smiling eyes and felt a twinge of sadness. She turned to Lindsay and Rebecca. “I’m sorry,” she told them. “I’m sorry for taking you with me. You could’ve gotten hurt. I could’ve lost both of you too.”
Rebecca laughed. “We did some real good,” she said. “We saved all those people. Admit it, Carrie. What we did, saving their world, you needed us. You needed our help, our company. You could never have done all that alone.”
Carrie smiled. “Yeah,” she told them. “I needed you. We succeeded because we were together.”
Lindsay patted Finnigan’s head as she looked into Carrie’s eyes. “The way I see it,” she said, “we made some wonderful new friends, and we have a hell of a story to tell our kids one day. Not all of the memories will be good ones, but I don’t regret going for one second.”
Something in what Lindsay had said gave Carrie an idea. Suddenly, the things Carrie had been dreading before this adventure had started seemed petty and minor. So what if she was going on to her final year of high school? So what if she had to go on and grow up? She felt less like a child than she ever had before. Suddenly, her life seemed to fall into place. She knew exactly what she wanted to do.
“Guys,” she said, “I just had an idea.”
“What is it?” Rebecca asked. “It seems serious.”
“I keep going over what Asmodeus said to us,” Carrie said. “It bothers me a bit.”
“What part of it?” Lindsay asked her.
“The part about how our world has lost its magic,” Carrie explained. “He was talking abou
t how we’ve lost our priorities. We’ve lost our stories, our magic.”
Rebecca nodded. “I’ve been thinking about that too,” she admitted. “I think he was right. I mean, think about how we live. I forgot all about my bubbie’s stories. She tried so hard to teach them to me, and I never listened. I forgot all about them and their magic and wonder. I almost feel we should try and do something about it.”
“That’s what I’ve been thinking,” Carrie said, absentmindedly petting Finnigan. “I thought that maybe I should study that in university. Take a major in folklore or something.”
Rebecca grinned. “If you can do that,” she said, “I’m so there with you.”
“Make that three,” Lindsay said. “After all we saw and did, I have to continue learning more about it all.”
Carrie smiled. She felt like the luckiest girl in the world to have such fantastic friends. She turned and led the way to her front door. She rang the doorbell and heard her mother’s footsteps as she came to open the door.
“Where have you been?” Mrs. Eisen cried as she saw her daughter and her friends standing on the front step. “We’ve been so worried.”
“I lost my cell phone,” Carrie said. “I’m sorry.”
“You are grounded, young lady,” Mrs. Eisen scolded her daughter. She looked at the clothes Carrie and her friends were wearing. “You said you’d call! Where were you? You look like you’ve escaped a Renaissance fair.”
“I’ll explain everything,” Carrie promised. She knew she would tell her parents the truth. And she knew in her heart that they would believe her. The worst case scenario was that she could show them where she and her friends had been. She remembered the king’s words: The ways between worlds are plentiful. You just need to look.
The Song of Hadariah: Dybbuk Scrolls Trilogy: Book 1 (Dybbuk Scrolls Trillogy) Page 17