Fort Morgan

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  Jill looked at Tanesha, who gave her a slight nod.

  “Five minutes,” Valerie said.

  Jill went into the nursery to say good-bye to the boys, but they were sleeping. She kissed their cheeks and turned to go. Edie stood in her way.

  “You need to call your father,” Edie said.

  “Perses?” Jill asked. “Why?”

  “Not sure,” Edie said. “Just a feeling. I think he’ll have the answer to your questions – even about Sissy.”

  “Can we save her?” Jill’s voice rose at the end in hope.

  “Fairy.” Edie pointed to herself. She shook her head and shrugged. “I can only tell you that everything is in motion and that Hedone is involved.”

  “Is that good?” Jill asked.

  “No idea,” Edie said.

  Jill scowled.

  “Maybe I should take Katy with me,” Jill said.

  “That’s probably a good idea,” Edie said. “I’ll hold down the fort here.”

  “Thanks,” Jill said.

  “I think there’s something sparkly coming my way,” Edie said.

  “From James?” Jill asked. She gave Edie a big smile. The fairy blushed and nodded.

  “Then we need to work this out,” Jill said. “No more soul-magpie tricksters torturing our children.”

  Jill hugged Edie and jogged to get her purse.

  “Are you coming?” Valerie screamed from the kitchen.

  Grabbing her purse, Jill ran down the long stairs. Everyone has assembled in the kitchen. Aden nodded to Jill. Tink and Wanda were holding hands. Nash was standing behind Charlie’s wheelchair. Noelle’s face was wet with tears, and Teddy looked grim. Mike had a large duffle bag over his shoulder. Sam and Honey waited just outside the kitchen with Valerie.

  “Time to go,” Valerie said.

  Too upset to care what the press of paparazzi witnessed, Valerie left through the side door. They split up and made their way to the airport.

  ~~~~~~~~

  Sitting on a swing, Sissy felt a giggle develop in the back of her throat. She was going to fly as high as possible today. No one was going to stop her! She pumped her short legs and leaned back. Her long braids bounced on her chest as the wind whipped underneath her. She looked back to see if her babysitter had noticed how high she was flying.

  “Go, Sissy!” her babysitter cheered.

  And Sissy took off again. She pumped her legs and pulled with her arms. It was a spectacular day. Each swing brought her closer to the baby-blue sky and white, puffy clouds. She hung in the air for a brief moment before descending toward the playground’s perfect sand. She flew backwards until she could see the gorgeous green grass that surrounded the playground. Then, she flew up, up, up into the sky again.

  At the very top of her swinging arc, Sissy could see the horizon. The Castle lay off in the distance over there on her right. Her brother was sitting on a picnic table with Tink on her left. When she swung up again, she craned her neck to see if she could see Sandy. She was so intent on making sure she could see everyone she loved that her focus slipped.

  Soon, she wasn’t swinging so high. She slowed to a stop, and her babysitter came over.

  “I remember this place,” Sissy said to her babysitter. The woman smiled. “What do I call you?”

  “Hedone,” she said. “It’s my name.”

  “Am I still Sissy?” she asked.

  “You’ve always been Sissy,” Hedone said. “Long before your mother met your father, long before Denver, you were Sissy. You’ll be Sissy long after.”

  Hedone gave Sissy a soft push, and she floated back and forth for a while.

  “I remember coming here,” Sissy said. “With you. It’s so perfect, so beautiful. I used to ask Sandy to come here and not to the park. We looked and looked, but Sandy could never find this place.”

  “You’re in Olympia,” Hedone said.

  “Why?” Sissy said.

  Hedone sighed. Sissy saw that a small infant was tied close to her babysitter’s chest. The baby was fast asleep. Sissy swung for a while, and her babysitter gave her gentle pushes. Time had a different quality here. It wasn’t one moment or the next; it was more like you’re either swinging or you’re not. Ivan appeared at the opposite end of the swings near the hunter-green posts. He gave Sissy a loving look and waved to her babysitter before starting to swing at his own pace.

  “Where is the man?” Sissy asked.

  “What man?” her babysitter asked.

  “The man you used to meet here,” Sissy said. “I would swing, and you would argue with that man.”

  “You have a good memory,” Hedone said.

  “Is he coming to yell at you some more?” Sissy asked.

  Hedone chuckled.

  “What was his problem?” Sissy asked.

  “Actually, it was my problem,” Hedone said. “He had done something that I found reprehensible. I was angry with him.”

  “What?” Sissy asked.

  “He made you love someone you would never possibly meet,” Hedone said.

  Chapter Three Hundred and Sixty

  On the swings

  “Ivan,” Sissy said.

  Hedone nodded.

  “But Delphie found Ivan,” Sissy said. “We were going to start dating! He even kissed me twice! And it was. . . amazing!”

  “This time,” Hedone said.

  “This time?” Sissy asked. “Have there been others?”

  “Many, many lonely lifetimes,” Hedone said. “I tried everything to get him to change his mind, remove the arrow, but he refused.”

  “Arrow?” Sissy asked.

  “My father, Eros,” Hedone said. “He went through this dark phase where he’d create soulmate love only in people who could never possibly meet. It was like a game to him. Could the people find each other? Was it possible? He loved it when two love-arrow-struck humans pined away for loves they would never know. He thought it was hilarious.”

  Hedone snorted.

  “For all I know, he still thinks it’s funny,” Hedone said with a nod.

  “That’s not very nice,” Sissy said.

  “He’s not very nice,” Hedone said.

  Sissy let her babysitter push her on the swing for a while.

  “But Ivan is here now!” Sissy said, the words bursting out of her.

  Sissy stretched out her feet to stop the swing. She was surprised to find that her legs didn’t touch the ground. Hedone stopped the swing. Sissy tried to get off, but her babysitter held her in place.

  “You’ll have to leave Olympia if you get off the swing,” Hedone said.

  Rage pumped through Sissy’s veins.

  “Ivan’s here now!” Sissy yelled. “We’re going to start dating.”

  Hedone nodded.

  “He loves me!” Sissy screamed.

  Hedone nodded.

  “I love him!”

  Sissy kicked her legs and batted her arms, but didn’t dare get off the swing. She looked over and Ivan was gone. She stopped moving and sat very still.

  “What’s happening to us?” Sissy asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Hedone said. “Ivan’s been stabbed, and your stitches ripped when you tried to save him. On earth, you are both dying.”

  “Oh.”

  Her babysitter gave her a little push, and Sissy started swinging again. She felt the desire to swing as high as the swing would take her. She longed for the bright-blue sky and the rush of air. She looked at Hedone, and her babysitter smiled.

  “Are we waiting for the man?” Sissy asked.

  “No,” Hedone said. “He’s otherwise occupied.”

  “Then what are we waiting for?” Sissy asked. “Let’s go back so Ivan and I can have our happily ever after.”

  “I’d like that.” Hedone gave Sissy a lovely smile.

  Sissy started her ascension to the horizon. She pumped her arms and swung her feet. She felt the sensation of merging with the blue sky. When she looked down, she saw Hedone was having a quiet con
versation with a tall, thin woman with dark hair and beautiful features. The woman was so gorgeous that she had to be a Goddess. Her babysitter and the Goddess seemed to be good friends. The woman gave Sissy a beautiful smile. When Sissy swung backwards, she heard Hedone say:

  “But I don’t know how!”

  “It’s not about how,” the Goddess said.

  The air filled Sissy’s ears. She turned her head to see if she could see what her babysitter said next but Sissy was too far away. She reached the top of the swing and began to descend. She swung past the perfect sand, and. . .

  Sissy opened her eyes to the blazing overhead light. She closed her eyes, but the light was so bright that her eyelids shone bright red. Her ears filled with the sound of screaming machines. She sensed people around her — moving, arguing, working. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, but found her mouth covered with some kind of mask.

  The machines were all silenced at the same time. She opened her eyes. There was a feeling of palpable tension as the people moved at lightning speed.

  “She’s back!” an unfamiliar man’s voice near her head said. He leaned into her. “Sissy?”

  Sissy tried to speak. The man looked at someone who nodded. The man removed a mask from her face.

  “Sissy?” a shadow with Sandy’s voice asked. “Sissy? Can you hear me?”

  “Sandy?” Sissy whispered.

  “I’m here.” Sandy grabbed her hand and held it to her chest.

  “Ivan?” Sissy whispered. “You have to tell me — how is Ivan?”

  “Who?” Sandy asked with a little shake of her head.

  Sissy felt the life flow out from her. The machines started screaming again. A mask came over her face. . .

  . . . and Sissy was on the swings in her four-year-old body. She felt Hedone’s hand on her back and turned to look. Her babysitter smiled and gave her a little push. Sissy started to swing again. She pumped her arms and swung her legs until she felt like she was flying. She was descending toward the sand when the beautiful Goddess appeared again.

  “That didn’t work,” Hedone said.

  “I noticed,” the Goddess said. “You know, she might just be. . .”

  “You saw what happened,” Hedone said. “She won’t live without him. Not now. Not since she’s had a chance to know him. Not since they’ve kissed.”

  “They’ve kissed?” the Goddess asked.

  Hedone nodded. The Goddess said something else, but Sissy couldn’t hear her. She was flying too high and too fast to catch what the women were saying now. She was descending toward the sand again when the Goddess hugged Hedone.

  “You should have told me,” the Goddess said as Sissy zoomed by.

  “I thought you knew,” Hedone said.

  Sissy’s heart dropped when she saw that her babysitter was crying. Next to Sandy, her babysitter was the most important person in Sissy’s world. Her babysitter was tough and strong and still loving and kind. If her babysitter was upset, then something was seriously wrong. Sissy put her feet down to stop the swing. When she slowed, Hedone looked up at her. Sissy opened her mouth to ask what was wrong. . .

  . . .and she was in a long, dark tunnel, floating toward the screaming health monitoring machines. Sissy opened her eyes to the blazing overhead light. She saw shadows moving around the overwhelming light. She closed her eyes. She sensed people around her — moving, arguing, working.

  The machines were all silenced at the same time, but the light blazed on. As the light invaded her skull, her eyelids shone bright red. There was a feeling of palpable tension as the people moved around her in a silent play of light and shadow where speed was of the essence.

  “She’s back!” a loud, unfamiliar male voice near her head said. He leaned into her. “Sissy? Miss Delgado?”

  Sissy tried to speak. The man looked at someone who nodded. A hand stretched out to remove a mask from her face.

  “Sissy?” a shadow with Sandy’s voice asked. “Sissy? Can you hear me?”

  “Sandy?” Sissy whispered.

  “I’m here.” Sandy grabbed her hand and held it to her chest.

  “Sandy,” Sissy whispered.

  She felt more than saw Sandy’s tears. She tried to reach out to comfort Sandy, but the movement was too much effort. She closed her eyes.

  “Ivan?” Sissy whispered. “How is Ivan?”

  When Sandy didn’t respond, Sissy opened her eyes. Sandy’s eyebrows were pinched together. Sandy’s tear-reddened eyes squinted to keep her tears from falling.

  “Tell me,” Sissy whispered. “I have to know.”

  “I’m so sorry, Sissy,” Sandy said. “He’s gone.”

  “Gone where?” Sissy asked.

  “Ivan is dead,” Sandy said. “He didn’t survive surgery.”

  Sissy felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. She tried to speak but instead spat out blood. The machines started screaming and Sissy felt herself fading again. She lost the strength to hold onto Sandy’s hand, and. . .

  . . .Sissy was flying through the baby blue sky again. The white, puffy clouds were so perfect that Sissy wondered if they had been painted by a masterful artist. She looked to the horizon to see if she could see the Castle. Strangely, a perfect carpet of green grass stretched out from the edge of the sand to as far as she could see.

  She turned around to see if she could see her babysitter. The Goddess and Hedone were standing next to the hunter-green swing supports. The women were shaking their heads in a kind of “I don’t know what to do” way. From her swing, Sissy could tell that her babysitter was crying. Sissy wanted to stop and ask what was going on, but her babysitter pointed for her to turn around. Sissy loved her babysitter, so she did what she was told. She pumped her arms and swung her feet to keep flying high.

  A man appeared just as she zoomed past her babysitter and the Goddess. It was the same man who used to yell at her babysitter when they came here a long time ago. It was the man her babysitter had said was her father. The man had a smug look on his face. When she reached the top of her swinging arc, Sissy wrenched around to look. Hedone was crying, and the man was laughing. The Goddess looked angry. She said something, and the man looked more pleased with himself.

  Sissy heard the Goddess and the man yell at each other in some strange language. The more angry the Goddess became, the more scary she became. The air filled with electric tension. But the more angry she became, the more the man laughed. After yelling at the Goddess, the man started in on Hedone.

  Sissy got mad. No matter what, her babysitter did not deserve to be yelled at, especially by her useless father. Sissy remembered Tink talking about what a selfish jerk he’d been at Hedone’s mother’s house. Nodding to herself, Sissy slowed down. She needed to stop this man from hurting her precious babysitter.

  By slowing down, she attracted the man’s attention. He said something in the foreign language and pointed at Sissy. Hedone gasped and stepped between them. Whatever the man had done bounced off her babysitter. The man howled with rage. He took a step toward Hedone. Sissy screamed because she was afraid that the horrible man would hurt her babysitter.

  Another man appeared. Sissy recognized him from the Castle. He’d been there when Jill was having her perfect twins. While Sissy couldn’t remember his name or who he was, she thought he looked an awful lot like Mike. Sissy liked Mike a lot.

  The man winked at her, and Sissy started swinging again. It wasn’t that she thought about swinging. All of a sudden, she really, really, really wanted to swing. She wanted to swing more than finding out what was going on.

  She pumped her arms and used her legs. This time, she even arched her back until she was high above the arguing adults. Swoosh! She was up in the clouds. Swoosh! She could hear the adults argue as she swung by. Swoosh! She was touching the baby-blue sky. Swoosh! She rushed past the sand.

  “This is none of your business,” she heard the horrible man say.

  “You made it my business by telling me you were taking a break,
” the man who looked like Mike said. “You’ve been begging for a break for centuries. You found Psyche and left to spend a hundred years in love, together, on my island! You gave your powers to Hedone. Let her get on with it.”

  “Haven’t you heard?” the horrible man asked. “Hedone has my powers and has made a complete cock up of things.”

  “Maybe she just needs help,” the man who looked like Mike said.

  Swoosh! Sissy was heading toward the sky again. Sissy thought about her father. He was so handsome and funny. He’d loved her very much. She reached the top of the swing and thought about her mother. She scowled. She was swooshing past the sand when she thought of Sandy. Sissy smiled. Glancing at the adults, she saw her babysitter point her hand to the ground and stand up very tall. Even the baby tucked to Hedone’s breast gave the horrible man a dark look. Sissy smiled.

  Sandy and Hedone were her heroes.

  As she flew past the adults, she saw the man who looked like Mike wink at her again. Sissy did her best to wink back. As if on the wings of his wink, she zoomed higher and higher, until she was surrounded by the white, puffy clouds. Fully expecting to hit the end, she braced herself for her descent to the sand, but the end never came. Instead. . .

  Sissy awoke with a gasp. She tried to sit up but was too weak to make it happen. She fell back to the bed. The room was dark and quiet except for the even beat of a few heart-rate monitors. She felt air push through her nose. Sissy lay still for only a moment before a nurse appeared. The nurse smiled at Sissy and checked everything. Sissy’s eyes followed the nurse in a drugged blur. After a moment, Nadia’s face appeared. She gave Sissy a kind smile and grabbed Sissy’s hand.

  “Sandy,” Sissy whispered.

  “I sent her home,” Nadia said with a smile. “Doctor’s orders. She’s been with you every moment since. . .”

  Nadia nodded and swallowed hard. Sissy got the impression that whatever had happened was fairly awful. Sissy tried to figure out what the doctor could be talking about.