Chapter 58

Right after the chariot lurched to a halt, a sleek warmth slid from me, and I pried open my eyes. At Beth’s grin, I smiled, although scanning around, my chest tightened. Despite nothing but jagged memories, once more I was in my front yard with Shayna sitting beside the chariot. As Beth lifted the armrests and stirrups, she kept looking at me. At the sudden jangling in my nerves and my feet shaking, her grin vaporized, and brows narrowed.

“ ... alright, Kyle?” At the touch of her fingertips on my cheek, I jerked. Along with blood roaring was the hammering of drums. “ ... out of it for a minute.”

“Uh, I think so,” I replied. It sounded as if I were speaking below a hundred miles of ocean.

“Well, sorry ... My mom ... lunch ... to talk with Nina and me about...” When her grin returned, it was only a strained curl of her shiny lips. “ ... me ... again, okay?”

“Yes. Sure. Alright,” is all I managed from beneath the sea.

After bending to peck at my mouth, she slid into the murky, wavering haze that was the driveway. When I eased around, the front door was open, and a furry blur moved inside. After trundling into the cool interior air, there was a muffled thump. Oh, right, the door had closed. That furred figure slipped under my fingers.

“Hey, that Cindy Wellington called again—” A vague silhouette, dad appeared from his office. His face was—hazy. Eyes dark and wobbling. Then he tilted and became darkness. “Are you okay? Kyle. Kyle! Oh, shit!”

Dad never cursed.

Flowers everywhere. Bright yellow and white, stretching as far as the horizon. They glimmered under a full moon. My view was—strange. Lurching as I moved. To one side, then the other. As I zipped through the tall blooms, my heart thundered.

At soft laughter, I turned. My nighttime shadow. Her bare frame was sliding through the endless field beside me. Perfect on her olive-skin, the little cones barely jiggled with each racing step. Racing? When I glanced downward, my heartbeat thumped. One foot, then the other, was plowing through the stalks.

Running! I was running. On my feet. Not rolling.

My heartbeat pounding, I turned to her and laughed. I’d never run before. With a jump, I spun, arms wide, to thud back to the ground.

“What is this?” I gazed at a massive harvest moon, pale yellow in a blank, dark sky. “Where am I?” Despite me straining to listen, there was no sound other than our speeding footfalls and the beating of my heart. “No drums?”

Why’d I expect there to be drums? When I returned to her, I caught the glint of metal in the running girl’s collar. Her smile was radiant. Molten eyes, bottomless, were filled with mirth.

“They are only for the other side. To remind us we remain close to our world.”

“Our world?”

Air zipped across my face as I dashed through the flowers. Since she’d fallen silent, I turned to her racing form once more. The tag on her collar caught the moonlight. Its lettering was bold and crisp.

“Shayna?”

“So like your father.” Her laughter tickled my soul. “You could always see the letters. The whole time. You just chose not to believe.”

“Insane voice?”

“Of course, Lord.” She slid her hand over my arm as we ran. “You knew it was mine all along, didn’t you?”

As we raced onwards, I searched my memories. She was correct. There’d been no other reason for not admitting those things. I’d simply decided it wasn’t right. And made it so.

“Your world was fragile enough, my lord.” Once more, that sweet laughter brightened my soul. “Understandable, given everything else in it.”

“Lord? You keep calling me that.”

“As I’d told you. You’ve been through fire and ice. He’s proud of you. As with your mother, your soul is strong.”

“He?”

“Wahchintonka. From the desert.” She laughed again while sliding her dainty fingers along my biceps. “At least in your time, it’s a—”

Before she could finish, the flowers changed. After dissipating and whirling to one side, they faded from view. We were speeding down a verdant green slope towards a familiar homestead. But different. No sand. No scorched rocks. Instead, towering shade trees, moving with a heavy humid breeze. Still bright, the sun was slipping behind perfect cotton ball clouds.

In the middle of the grassy yard stood a dusky, russet figure. It took much to focus on him as he wandered in and out of—everything. In only a shiny leather vest and tight buckskin trousers, the tall, muscled frame glowed.

Of course, it was him. From dad’s desert meeting a million years ago. And from the time we’d met Shayna. And he was the “He” of my mother’s conversations. Yes, I’d known, but only then did I admit it.

Once we’d halted before the tall figure, Shayna eased under my arm. As we both gasped for air, her heartbeat pummeled my ribs. Her eyes glowed with—all the things right in the universe. Wahchintonka smiled. It also was filled with goodness.

“Your mother made a deal. It wasn’t only your father, Kyle of the Clarkes.” As he spoke, his deep voice drove his words into me. “She is strong and her love for you is boundless. She delivered and I owe her. You are with us now. Shainaha vouches for you.” Shayna’s sweat-slick frame squeezed me tighter. “And I have witnessed much.”

“On this side for as long as you wish”—he slid his gaze to the lengthy structure occupying the compound’s far side—”you may run with your brothers and sisters.”

Only then did quiet whimpering and muted baying become clear. At Shayna’s soft lips against my neck, I gulped. When he moved, we walked alongside, in his shadow. No, shadow isn’t profound enough. Not only did he block the sunlight, but his existence also wrapped around us.

“On this side?”

After halting before the shiny wooden steps to his green-painted home, I gazed behind me. Although it was thick grass, I found the spot where, a million years later, my father would halt our van in the dust. My pulse raced as I scanned through each faded landmark in my memory, matching them to this world. At last, I met his bemused visage. Shayna’s low giggle sent my heartbeat soaring.

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