Shared Skies Page 17

  “These are kisses for my poor, lonely Gaiah who I wasn’t there to look after, and these,” he paused for more kisses, “are for my poor, sad Gaiah who I wasn’t there to cheer up and these,” more kisses, “are for the poor, cross Gaiah who I wasn’t there to tell her–get a grip!” Gaiah felt a happiness and lightness of spirit she hadn’t felt since her mother was alive.

  Neal wanted to put his art at the entrance to the fort. They spent a while searching for exactly the right place; climbing, crawling, stretching, hammering and measuring until finally they had the work mounted at different angles in the trees at both sides of the entrance to the old fort. The gun shot added a texture to their appearance which gave an extra depth and meaning to the work. “I think it's time for whatever it is Alasdair put in our backpack,” Gaiah said, and they both sat leaning back against a tree stump in the centre of the fort so they could admire his art from a distance while they ate.

  Alasdair had packed cheese, apples, two wedges of Kaley’s fruit cake and a flask of coffee. “Oh wonderful.”

  Neal inhaled the intense aroma of the coffee. He looked down along the scrubby winter grass to his work.

  “They're a memorial for my parents; this was where they met. My mother told me she was drawn to this place all her life.” He looked around.

  Gaiah’s heart wrenched with the depth of sadness and pain he was feeling. Her breath caught as she sensed his building anguish. What was coming?

  “I have to tell you, this area is a portal for Or’kans shifting Earthways.”

  Gaiah's eyes widened and she jumped to her feet. “What? What are we doing here?”

  “We’re safe. Or’kan shifting is a slow process compared to Gaianans. Anyway, they rarely shift. Can you see the stone over there, by that tree? The stuff that looks as if it has been melted? There's quite a lot of that around here. It has always defied explanation. It was caused by the blasts of an Or’kan energy gun.”

  Gaiah sat again, held his two hands and met his gaze with serious eyes. She waited for him to continue.

  “It was directed at some slaves who were trying to escape by joining a group who were shifting Earthways. A guard blasted them just as they set foot on Earth.”

  Gaiah shuddered. “How awful.” She looked at the solid, rugged rock transformed to shining, fused plates. “What a powerful weapon.”

  “Yes,” agreed Neal. “It’s not quite so extreme on Or’ka where the energies are equal, but here on Earth, it’s devastating.”

  She stared at the melted rock. The thought of the evil behind these moss-covered, ancient Earth curiosities made her feel ill. It was an evil she and Neal were expected to deal with. She changed the subject.

  “How did your parents meet?”

  “My father had been sent here as support for an Or’kan project. They fell into each other’s arms, literally. She tripped as they passed each other. She said the minute they touched they were rooted to the spot, and could have stayed there forever.”

  He smiled at Gaiah. “I always thought she was exaggerating, now I know exactly what she meant. She didn’t go home and he never continued his assignment. They made a home in deeper woods in the highlands. Afric, my father, spent his days painting and my mother grew their food.”

  “But what did he tell her? How did he explain things?”

  “He told her everything. She found it easy to accept; she said she’d always known there was more to life than what we saw. When he was eventually found and ordered back, he refused. I was born at that stage and he knew he would rather die than leave us. But of course they did get him, or rather, they drained his energy, until he literally disappeared.” He stared at the copper pieces, now glinting in faint sunlight. “You can imagine how impossible it was for my mother to recount that story to anyone. So she became a silent ghost of herself. Everyone thought she was a bit mad. I was the only person she spoke to about what had happened, but I was young, and more influenced by everyone around me. I kind of dismissed it as ‘just my mother’s stories’ but she had been severed from her melded self. If it hadn’t been for me, she would have let herself die too, years earlier.”

  Neal’s head was against the tree and his eyes were closed, but his grip was firm on her hand as he recounted his parents' history. This part of his story really resonated with Gaiah. She finally understood how her father must have been suffering all these years. And, unlike Neal’s mum, he never had an idea why he couldn’t cope.

  Gaiah shared Neal’s sadness, but said, “How proud they would be, their melding’s child, now a melded man, is back to celebrate their lives and their love. And I’m here to give thanks to them for you.” She cupped his face in her hands, kissed him gently and sat back. “I hate to bring this up now…but Graeme? His car was parked where that poor old lady attacked me.”

  Neal’s face tightened. “I can barely stand to talk about him, but he will have to be dealt with. He’s a full Or’kan-”

  “That’s impossible! He’s at school and everything. He asked me out…” Revulsion and indignation made Gaiah’s voice shrill.

  Neal shook his head. “Graeme was orchestrating that attack. Look, there’s an awful lot more to say about him and it’s all even worse, but we’ll need help to do anything about him, so for now, let’s not talk about it?”

  Gaiah shuddered, trying to imagine what could be worse than turning an innocent old lady walking her dog, into a killing machine, but was happy to change the subject. “I wonder what they’ve got planned on Gaiana for us?” She finished the rest of the coffee and started packing away papers and cups.

  Neal took the backpack and pulled Gaiah to her feet. He looked serious. “I don’t know, but I do know you and I are going to be totally one. A melded couple for eternity.” He paused, ran his eyes from her head to her toes and back again. A grin lit up his face. “And I can’t wait.” He fell on her like a villain from an old movie, kissing her neck and laughing. Warmth surged through them both and the laughter stopped. Kisses became intense and deep.

  Neal's hands inside her jacket were radiating heat and Gaiah could barely breathe. Reluctantly, they broke apart, both experiencing the pounding hearts and rushing blood they were trying to subdue. Gaiah was blushing. “Wow. We definitely better go now.”

  Neal ran his thumb over her swollen lips. “Yes, we'll have all the time in the world to do this properly.” They walked back in silence. Their senses were so attuned that they may as well have been talking.

  However, their shared happiness and excitement was made bittersweet by the dark knowledge that the fate of the trinity was on their shoulders, and they had no idea what to do.

  End of Book One