Chapter 11

The rest of the day was spent in relaxation, recovering from our near disastrous picnic. We rarely saw Katie, as she spent her time with Becky, taking care of her. Becky spent most of the day sleeping. Although we were sure she would survive, she was still weak.

I periodically stepped into their bedroom to check on Becky and see if Katie needed anything. The third time I checked, Katie grabbed my hand and pulled me down on the bed next to her.

"Thank you for everything you did for her," she breathed, just before she gave me a kiss that curled my toes.

"I didn't do anything, Little One," I assured her, after kissing her back.

"Well, I can't thank the others properly, so I'll thank you!" she said. She then proceeded to thank me very nicely for an hour or so. Even though I was being thanked for nothing, I enjoyed it. I wasn't going to pass it on to everyone else, though! Well, maybe some of them.

It was while we were resting afterwards that the stress of the last several hours finally hit Katie. She broke down and wept as I lay next to her, holding her. I let her pour it all out, including the horror of watching, feeling, and sensing her twin as she lay dying. After she stopped crying I helped her understand that she would not lose Becky as she feared. Becky woke up during our talk and smiled sweetly at the sight of Katie and me, in various stages of undress, holding each other. I spent some time sandwiched between the two girls, speaking words of comfort to both of them. Becky was happy that Little Sarah had survived.

Victoria, Rhonda, Robert, and John returned as I walked back into the living room. They had left earlier on a day trip to a park several hours away to spend time together rebuilding their own family unit. Victoria, the only one of the group with mental powers, had sensed the disturbance in my mind. She tried to contact me, but the communication failed to go through. That worried her enough that they immediately headed back to see what was happening. The failure to communicate disturbed me also, as it was the first failure of our mental connections any of us could recall, except in the caves in Arizona. I realized that there had been no mental communications between any of us during the battle. I had just assumed that we had been too busy to 'talk'. Now I wondered if something else was going on.

I also realized it was a mistake to allow all our marine 'guards', the ones trained and hired to keep watch over our family, to leave together. After the defeat and death of Bandor, we had relaxed, assuming that our enemies were gone. It was now obvious, after the fact, that there were other enemies out there. A little late, I vowed to do more to guard and protect my family. Although I was aware that if anyone really wanted to hurt us, no amount of security could stop them, I also realized that there was no sense in making it easier for them to do so.

I decided the first place to start sorting out what had happened would be to talk with our new guest, Arrian. I sat next to him and his daughter, Sarah.

"Welcome to our house. My name is Patrick, and I am the father, in one way or another, to all the girls you see here."

I introduced my family to him. Arrian and Cindi smiled brilliantly at each other when I introduced her. His hand lingered in hers as they shook hands. I smiled to myself as Arrian brought her hand to his lips, kissing it briefly. She wasn't in a hurry to take it back.

The faint blush on Cindi's face only made her more beautiful. Arrian finally took his eyes, and his hand, away from her as I asked him a question.

"You are very young for Sarah to be your daughter," I remarked. I gave him a friendly smile, hoping I wasn't being too forward.

"Sarah is not really my daughter..." That was as far as he got before Little Sarah interrupted.

"I am too! He's my Daddy and I'm his daughter!" she said, her eyes daring anyone to disagree, before she was overcome by an attack of shyness and embarrassment and hid her face in his shirt. Arrian smiled at her lovingly.

"Excuse me; I should have said that Sarah is not my biological daughter. She is the daughter of one of my teachers," he said. "And one of my... women," he added quietly, tickling Little Sarah until her giggles lit up the room.

His last statement captured everyone's attention.

"One of your women?" I asked, smiling innocently. Arrian smiled back at me.

"Is that concept foreign to you?" he asked, a twinkle in his eyes. He continued before I could answer. "I see the way all of these girls look at you, and how you look at them," he added. He spoke again before I could answer.

"It is interesting that you introduced yourself as the father of all these girls, considering that most of them are the same age, more or less. That must be a fascinating story." I was impressed how he changed the subject, trying to steer the talk away from what he perceived could be a topic I might not want to discuss.

"It is. I'll let Cindi tell you all about it. I can see she is just dying to talk to you about something, although talking has never been something that she has ever needed help with before!" All the girls giggled as Cindi blushed even more.

"I assume you're not from around here?" I asked, grinning at the understatement. Megan looked embarrassed as I repeated her earlier statement.

"Well, yes... and no. We're from an area called Thoran City. It is possible that area exists in your plane; if it does, it would not be like ours," Arrian explained. The questioning look on everyone's face encouraged him to continue.

"We're from another plane of existence. It is the same time, and many of the same places that exist there are here, but we are not normally here and you do not exist in our plane. There are differences, but the two planes are similar."

"Similar, except, of course, for little girls that float on the ceiling, magical swords, young men with red eyes, and portals that open in the middle of nowhere," Lisa remarked somewhat sarcastically, pointedly not looking at Little Sarah as she spoke. Obviously Lisa could see her out of the corner of her eyes, as she looked irritated when Little Sarah stuck her tongue out at her. A pointed look from Arrian returned the tongue to her mouth immediately.

"True," the one called Larelle answered. "Or like family members that talk to each other in their minds, have distinctive colors all their own that exhibit great powers, can teleport in an instant, and have the power to remake the entire matrix of an interplanar dimension at will," she said quietly. Everyone looked at her in astonishment, wondering how she knew all of that. I saw Dad's surprised look and decided I would have to ask him later what the 'remaking of the entire matrix of an interplanar dimension' meant. Arrian seemed especially surprised; he didn't seem to know anything about what she was referring to.

"I'm sorry," said Arrian, embarrassed. "I have been rude. This is Larelle... I assume. I've never actually met her before, but I recognize her voice and the delightful way that she calls me 'Master'. It is good to finally meet you, my friend."

Larelle bowed slightly to him with respect. Arrian saw the look of confusion on our faces.

"I have never met her before because, until today, she has been a book. She is the one that formed the portal that brought us here. It linked with something here to open up the 'wormhole'."

I saw Cindi touch her pendant unconsciously. She walked over to Larelle and they stared at each other intently for a moment. The second meeting seemed as emotionally charged as the first, as Cindi once again put her hand to her mouth in surprise.

"Oh my God!" she whispered again. We all looked on in astonishment as Larelle did, and said, the same thing at the same time. Then they flew into each other's arms, hugging tightly, both of them ignoring the tears that flowed down their faces. The air fairly crackled as non-verbal, mental communication flowed nonstop between the two for several moments. We all looked away and blocked reception of the thoughts, out of respect for both of them. Well, all of us did except Amy. I guess she assumed there were no secrets between twins. I watched in astonishment as Larelle briefly changed in appearance, looking like an exact copy of Cindi for a second, then changed back to the pretty brunette we had seen before. The change was so fast I wasn't sure I hadn't imagined it. The look on Megan's face told me I hadn't.

"Daddy!" Cindi squealed, trying unsuccessfully to contain her excitement. "Larelle is me!" Cindi looked at us all expectantly, sure in her mind that we knew exactly what she was talking about. She looked exasperated at our confused looks, but nothing was going to ruin her good mood.

My Dad saved us from further confusion.

"Long ago, when Bandor and Elizabeth were King and Queen of the Tarqa, a piece of Cindi's energy was given as a gift to a being called the Caliph, from another plane. The being that energy represented became the Aide of that Caliph. There was a Protocol given to the Caliph's Aide at that time to allow the travel back to the source of that energy. Although it is not the only purpose, that was one of the purposes of the locket that was given to Cindi by her mother. It allows the opening of a portal for the return of the Caliph and his Aide to the original source of her energy. The purpose of the return was to recover certain items given by the Caliph to the Queen for safekeeping."

Dad looked at Arrian with interest.

"Since Larelle is obviously that spark of energy given so long ago, and you are her Master, I assume that makes you the Caliph." Dad bowed his head in respect. "Welcome, Noble One, to our Plane and to our humble home. Our home is your home, and we are your servants!"

I recognized his words as some sort of ancient ceremony of our race. The look on the faces of the others in the room told me that they recognized the ceremonial words also.

Arrian looked embarrassed.

"Thank you, Sir! It is true that I am the... reincarnation, I guess the best word would be in your plane... of Arihah, the Caliph that visited your people so long ago. Only one knew the words you just spoke. I assume, therefore, that you are the one known as the Ancient Prophecy," he said respectfully. Arrian took one step forward and bowed to him in return.

The look on Larelle's face was priceless. She stared at Dad, almost in tears again, looking like she wanted to run to him in her excitement. When Dad held out his arms, Larelle raced across the room, flew into his arms and hugged him tightly.

"Grampa!" she whispered, her voice think with emotion.

"Welcome back, Little Lost One," Dad whispered in return, just as emotionally. I realized then that every little spark of energy was precious, and even the smallest spark was missed greatly.

Larelle then slipped into my arms quietly, and embraced me.

"Daddy!" she whispered. I looked at her, eyebrows raised.

"Well, you're the closest thing I have to a Daddy." She looked me over carefully. "You'll do!" she declared, hugged and kissed me again, then moved away.

When Larelle stepped away, Cindi put her arm around her new friend. Larelle slipped her arm around Cindi's back and pulled her in close.

"She's my sister!" Cindi proclaimed proudly. Then, realizing that Amy might feel left out, she motioned her over, and Cindi, Amy, and Larelle hugged for a moment. They stood there together, Larelle in the middle, arms around each other.

{Tell them about yourself, Master.}

I saw all the girls look at Larelle as they detected her thought. Larelle looked around in surprise, not expecting her thoughts to be heard by them.

"I am an elemental. You would probably call me a dragon in your world. I am in search of the objects that Arihah left with your King and Queen long ago. If I may ask, where would I find Elizabeth, Queen of the Tarqa, and Bandor, King of the Tarqa?" Arrian asked politely.

<For further information about Arrian / Arihah's world, see 'Ballad of the Samurai, ' by Chaos Samurai. J.>

He did not expect the look of anger on some of the faces, and the sudden tears from Cindi. Instinctively, not even thinking of the proper thing to do, he stepped forward and took the crying girl in his arms. Cindi melted against him as she cried softly.

"What is it, Precious One? What have I done, Cindi?" he asked, clearly upset by the girl crying in his arms.

"Mom... is dead! But... she has not been Queen of the Tarqa for many years," Cindi stammered through her tears.

"And Bandor?" Arrian asked gently.

"He's dead!" All the girls chorused at once. "Thank God!"

"Surely there is a new Queen?" he asked. I saw the girls look around, searching for Sammi.

"There is one who is to be Queen, but she is not here right now. She's... busy," I said politely. Julie giggled and Eric chuckled. The others looked confused, then their faces lit up with understanding. They trembled with desire, and blushed with... envy... ? as they extended their minds outwards, feeling Sammi.

"Then I shall wait to meet with her and recover the object that I need," Arrian announced.

"What do you seek?" I asked politely.

"A sword. Its name is Firestorm. My searching tells me it is near this place somewhere," he answered. I saw him look at Cindi as she stiffened in his arms, then pulled herself reluctantly out of his grasp. She looked at him sadly, then sat on the couch, staring off into space, and thinking.

Arrian looked at me questioningly. I shrugged my shoulders. Cindi was Cindi. No one had figured her out yet. Well, maybe Amy, but she'd never tell.

"Do you know who those men were that attacked us?" I asked. "They came out of nowhere about the same time you and Sarah appeared."

Arrian and Larelle looked at each other. I saw her tiny nod.

"They were probably servants of Zareas, also known as Stuart," Arrian said. "He is looking for a sword called Farael. He is also looking for me. I am sorry that I have brought trouble to all of you. I had hoped to find the sword and leave before Zareas found me."

He looked surprised as several of the girls giggled.

"Trouble always finds us," Julie said quietly, the tone of her voice serious. "It's an old friend of ours. More won't bother us much. We'll be ready for his friends next time." I never thought a flash of pink could look so ominous, so dangerous. It would have been funny had she not been so serious.

"Still, I am sorry. Be careful; he is a powerful foe. I will help you if... when he comes. You have no idea what he can do," Arrian said, looking at Cindi with concern. She flashed him a quick smile.

"He has no idea what we can do, either," Amy muttered to herself.

I left Arrian and Little Sarah with the girls, to get acquainted. I smiled as I left, noticing that Arrian somehow managed to sit next to Cindi, and Lisa somehow managed to be as far away from Little Sarah as possible. Lori and Sarah were keeping her entertained, however.

Becky was awake when I checked in with her the next time. She and Katie immediately pulled me down to sit with them before I was able to escape again (poor me!). After an intense, delightful kiss from both of them, Becky looked at me with a worried look.

"What is it, Little Orange Person?" I asked, bringing a bright smile to her face. It disappeared quickly, however.

"We need to review the 'tape' from Crystal's and Angela's mind, soon," she blurted out. "For some reason, it's bothering me greatly since my experiences this morning."

"We'll do that as soon as you are well," I told her. She grasped my hand and held it tightly.

"Tomorrow! It's important! And bring Victoria with you!" she insisted.

"Why Victoria?" I could think of many reasons, starting with her having been a topflight FBI agent, but I didn't think that was what Becky had in mind.

"It's not pretty at all, Daddy. You'll need your twin."

That didn't sound good, not good at all.

Never argue with a female that has just survived a near death experience; that has always been my motto! They are dangerous enough under normal conditions. I agreed, and after spending a few moments with the delightful twins, I left them to each other.

I was checking the house just before going to bed, when I heard a surprised squeak coming from the room I had just passed. I walked in and found Lisa and Lori, obviously just awakened from a sound sleep. Lisa was sitting up in bed, a hand on her chest, her face pale. Lori was lying in bed, her eyes as big as they could be. They were breathing hard and looked like they were about to have a heart attack. Lying peacefully between them, her thumb in her mouth, was Little Sarah. She was sound asleep, cuddled up closely to Lori. I thought it was cute.

"What's wrong, girls?" I asked.

"She... she just shimmered in here, appearing between us!" Lisa blurted out. Lori held Little Sarah, stroking her hair as the girl sighed in her sleep and cuddled closer. I looked with interest as Lisa's face softened.

"Want me to take her back to her bed?" I asked, knowing how Lisa felt about her.

"Poor little thing. She's probably scared and lonely. Let her stay. I think... she might be the Sarah that our Sarah was so upset about dying. If so, she's probably really upset. I wish I had thought of that before I yelled at her. No wonder she was so upset about being away from her Daddy," Lisa whispered. Lisa? Wow!

Lisa lay down next to Little Sarah and cuddled up to her, sandwiching the girl between them. Sarah mumbled, then giggled in her sleep.

"Don't you dare tell anyone about this!" Lisa threatened, glaring at me as she put her arm around the girl to comfort her. I laughed and walked out.

My next stop was Arrian's room. He had obviously just awakened, and was sitting up in bed, groggily looking for something.

"Sarah is with Lisa and Lori."

"Oh. I better go get her. I don't think Lisa likes her all that much," he said as he started to get out of bed.

"They're doing just fine. Lisa is over her snit, although she'll be mad if we tell anyone that. She'll likely still act as if she's mad at Little Sarah for a little while, just for show. She won't fool anyone," I explained. Arrian laughed.

"Girls!" we exclaimed together. I walked out of another room laughing.