“Thenwhatare they?”
I chuckled. “Iremember asking Haddi the same thing when I was a boy.”
“Haddi? From thestory of the sleepers?” she asked. “The magician who sent them away fromIceland?”
I nodded. “Notjust a magician. Haddi is one of the most powerful and wise magicians of alltime. As members of the royal family, he tutored my siblings and me throughoutour childhood. He was a stern taskmaster, but also very warm and loving.”
“What did hetell you?”
“Haddi said theFates are simply how we describe the never-ending river of energy that flowsthroughout us and our planet. Energy derived from everything that’s ever livedor will live on this planet.”
She gasped. “Howis that possible?”
“Every livingthing generates energy, right?”
Lennox shrugged.“I guess so, yes.”
“Have you everthought about where that energy goes when an organism dies?”
“Are you talkingabout the soul?”
“I suppose youcould call it that. Now imagine a flow of energy made up of the souls of everyliving thing. Then imagine being able to dip into that river of knowledge andexperience to help guide your steps.”
“You also saidthe Fates pull energy from things yet to live. How?”
“Time is onlylinear to us here on Earth. In truth time and space are inextricably linked andare infinite. The Fates are not a sentient being, but rather a vast well ofexperience and foresight helping to guide us along.”
She waved a handin the air in obvious frustration. “But why?”
“Why does thewind fill the sailor’s sail, or the rain quell the farmer’s thirsty crop? Somethings are simply the way they are, and the best we can do is learn to benefitfrom them. While my ancestors were learning to tame the seas with sail and oar,they were also learning to commune with the Fates. Sharing visions andprophecies that would come to save our people from total annihilation.”
She rolled hereyes. “That still doesn’t explain the need for the cosmic dating service.”
I laughed. “TheCauld Ane have always known women and men to be equals. Not the same, but completelyequal. We also hold the knowledge that we are stronger once we have been boundto our mates. Certain parts of ourselves and even our abilities remain lockedaway until we’ve bonded. The Fates know this and can guide us to one another ifwe’re open to them.”
“We may not comefrom different planets, but we definitely come from two completely differentversions of earth,” she said.
I took her handsin mine. “Contrary to what your father and others like him want to believe,Humans and Cauld Ane are not completely different to each other. In fact, weshare a common ancestor dating back to over six million years ago. At somepoint the bloodline split, causing division between the two early species. Theprimitive Cauld Ane ancestors thrived, and their numbers grew rapidly, but soonmankind would begin to dominate the world’s population. Quickly, andforevermore outnumbering our kind. The Cauld Ane adapted, using our ability tocommune with earth to extend our lifetimes and our powers to keep mankind fromwiping us from existence.”
“I used to thinkmy father knew everything about the Cauld Ane, and that he was teaching usabout you to protect us.”
I cocked myhead. “And now?”
She grimaced.“Now I realize the only thing he ever taught us was how to hate you.”
“Hate is hard tochange, Lennox. Especially when someone feels justified in their hate.”
“But hate iseverything my soul fights against,” she breathed out. “Righteous anger, fine.But hate? There’s no place for it.”
I smiled gently.“I don’t disagree. I just don’t think your father will change.”
“Oh, no, hewon’t.” She dropped her head onto the back of the sofa. “I just don’t knowwhere that leaves me.”
“It leaves yousafe. Here with us. Withme,” I avowed.
“So, I move fromone overbearing man to another? I want autonomy, Phin.”
“Sweetheart,you’ll have autonomy with me,” I said, and the second the words were out of mymouth, I understood everything my brother had been going through with Liberty.
