Early Spring - M-1893, Part 8 – Morana (I)

Guardian's Key

Part 8

Morana

I

“Is this the place, little one?”

“Yes, I only have problems with memories of Kerrin. Everything else concerning my life and my relationship with Lornus is very clear to me.” Try as she might, she just couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice. That her father had tampered with her memories for reasons she couldn’t begin to understand was really beginning to anger her.

“Hum, it’s about time you get pissed off about this. Your father had no right to remove your memories.”

“I most certainly agree, but my father is a gentle soul and I’m sure he had what he considered good reasons. I just wish he would have asked me first, that’s all.”

Xavier nodded and knocked on the door, which was opened shortly by a maid who looked like she was afraid of her own shadow. The mere knocking on the door must have caused her to jump.

“Is your master home?” Xavier asked.

The woman ignored Xavier, instead looking at Lessa she turned white. Too late, Lessa remembered she was supposed to be dead.

“Spirits help me,” the woman whispered, stepping back.

Before she could close the door in his face, Xavier stepped forward, “Fuck, woman, haven’t you ever heard of a Death Waker?”

If she heard Xavier, she didn’t give any indication. Still staring wide-eyed at Lessa she said, “Mr. Garnaych isn’t home, he hasn’t been home since Winter Season.”

“You lie, woman, he’s here.”

“No, there’s no one here but my life’s companion and myself.”

“We’ll just look for ourselves, shall we?” Xavier said walking forward.

The woman backed up, saying, “Please yourself, there’s no one here.”

Turning, she ran through a door, and they heard her clambering down stairs.

An hour later, they came back down the stairs after having searched every part of the house. Not only wasn’t there anyone home but the servants, there didn’t appear to be anywhere that matched what Lessa had seen in her vision.

Stepping outside, she said, “I was so sure he was in Morana.”

“Perhaps he was, but has been moved. What exactly do you see, little one?”

“Yes, that could explain it. I get feelings of things to come, impressions of emotions, but as to actually seeing, I only see what is presently happening. I see people and events I don’t know, and people I do know. It’s very strange, and I’m only learning how to use it. Until recently, I had to touch a person to get a sense of them, but since before Nanda went missing, it began to change, and I began having visions without touching anyone. But only visions of people I know who are in extreme situations.”

A thought suddenly occurred to her and she said, “I’ve also been seeing memories of my time with Kerrin. I’m only just understanding that, I thought they were visions, which would have meant I was seeing the future, but now I know they were memories.”

Softly, more to herself, she said, “I did love him, greatly.”

“And you still do, little one.” He took her arm and moved forward. “Come, we need to find him soon. What do you suggest?”

Pulling out of her thoughts, she said, “We need to find my father. Perhaps it’s not Silianos that’s here in Morana, but my father. I have a memory of the house here where I spent time with Kerrin. Why I remember that house is finally making sense, since I hadn’t been near it as far as I could remember since I was in my child years. I had to have stayed in the house if I ever met and fell in love with Kerrin. He’s said many times he hadn’t been out of Morana for a few Times of Change. Also, I somehow believe I moved there to be closer to Lornus’ family.”

“Now that sounds like fun. Hours spent with the Garnayches.” Xavier’s voice dripped with sarcasm.

“How I ever thought I could spend the rest of my life with them…” She couldn’t even finish the thought. “I’d rather be dead. It’s nice to know Lornus at least tried to give me that.”

Xavier snorted and shook his head, “Humor, good keep that, even if it’s black humor. You’ll need it to see yourself through however long it takes for us to find Kerrin.”

“It can’t take too long; I don’t know how much time he has left. I sense that he’s growing weaker every moment.”

“You can finally feel him then?”

Surprised she gave her last statement some thought, “Yes, I do. As soon as I left the house, I began to feel him, but nothing more. I have no idea where he is except that he must be somewhere close, not too many villages away. We must keep going, checking out everything we can think of.”

She took Xavier’s hand and teleported to the address of her father’s home. Shocked she looked around at nothing but a blank lot. The neighbor looked up from tending his flower beds for the Spring Season. Smiling he approached them. “Lassirra, it’s good to see you. I knew your father would have saved you, he’s a great Wizard.”

“Do you know what happened to my father’s home? Where he moved it to?”

“He didn’t move it, Lassirra, he destroyed it. He couldn’t bear that you had died in that home.”

“I died here?”

“Yes, oh my dear, you don’t remember? I’m sorry I told you, please forgive me.” He gave Xavier an apologetic look and returned to his flowerbeds.

Lessa stared at the empty lot and remembered the pain of every thrust of Lornus’ knife as it pierced her skin. Her father had not removed that memory, but he had lessened the strength of it, until she stood here in this spot staring at the place it happened. Suddenly, in a rush the full effect of the pain was clear, as was the softness of Kerrin’s touch as she died.

The world started to spin and just as she thought she was going to fall Xavier’s strong arms pulled her towards him. She let herself absorb his strength for only a moment before she said with complete conviction, “We have to find my father. He’ll know how to find Kerrin, he’s a much better seer that I am, and then he’s going to tell me just why the hell he removed my memories of him.” She looked at Xavier, “I loved him so much, why did my father take that from me?”

Part 7 The Shadowqueen III

Neith