His stomach knotted. His power could be dangerous, and in his youth, there were times he had lost control. What if the ship sank because of him? What if he was responsible? His past could be littered with countless deaths that were the result of hisgift.
“Don’t you do that.”
Eramus lifted his gaze. Her accusing finger was directed at him again. “Don’t you dare blame yourself. We don’t know what happened. We may never know, but I refuse to believe it was your fault. You have always been compassionate and were the sweetest child I’d ever seen.”
Eramus swallowed, attempting to moisten his dry throat. “You don’t know what I was like before.Idon’t know what I was like. My powers could easily sink a ship if I lost control. There have been times it has happened in this very house.”
Inara folded her arms. “Sure, but it was always harmless. Remember the time I asked you to help with the dishes? You thought you could use your gift to do the work for you. What a disaster that turned out to be!”
Eramus ran his fingers through his hair and laughed. “I didn’t see any reason to work if I didn’t need to, but cleaning up armfuls of bubbles is more difficult than simply scrubbing a plate. I learned a valuable lesson that day.”
“Ah, so you did. You were a good boy. I worried about you for a long time. You were so afraid of the world—of yourself, even. A dark experience can have a negative effect on a child…and on adults, too. Sometimes memories can be so painful that we learn to block them out. We learn to pretend they never happened, but the scars can never be hidden. Even in our greatest attempts at concealment, our pasts shine through. They are, after all, what led us to the present.”
“I wish my pastwouldshine through. I want to know what happened, to know who I am and where my powers came from. Part of my life has always been a mystery, and I feel my soul will never rest until I can understand. Until I find myself.”
Inara stood and walked around the table towards him. She leaned down and kissed the top of his head. “Someday you will, dear. And when you do, I will be right here to listen. Just know that no matter what you discover, you will always be my Eramus. You will always be my son.”
Tears pricked his eyes. Eramus rose and wrapped his arms around her. “Thank you, Mother, for saving me in every way.”
She pulled away, a wide smile on her face. “I am completely exhausted. I think I will go to bed. Sleep well, my dear.” She patted his cheek. “And don’t forget to shave in the morning.”
Eramus chuckled and nodded. Inara left him alone in the darkening room, the only light emanating from the candle in the center of the table. He plopped down in the chair and placed his clasped hands against his forehead. He closed his eyes and focused on the memories of that day on the shore. The image of Inara’s face, hovering over him on the sandy beach, flashed into his mind. He pinched his eyes tighter. If he could only discover the memories that lay just beyond his reach. They felt so close, and yet…
He opened his eyes and sighed. Someday he would find answers, even if it required a lifetime to do it.
***
The air was warm. Eramus chucked off the multicolored blanket and rolled over. He struggled to sleep when it was hot, and tonight was proving no different. Even when his heavy eyes closed, his mind couldn’t rest. It wandered to the sea, where a massive wooden ship tossed in the waves. Blue light glowed between small cracks in the hull, causing the ship to swell under the force until it exploded into a storm of debris. He imagined himself as a small child at the center of the event, the lone survivor of the disaster. But nothing about those images seemed real. Not like his memories of Inara, when she had found him nearly dead on the beach.
Slowly, the images shifted to a stormy sea and a darkening sky. The ship creaked against the surging waves, tilting from side to side until it capsized. Screams sounded from all around him. A tight embrace held him close as he trembled. Water flooded the small cabin, and then he was in the open sea, fighting the waves with flailing limbs. He gasped before the turbulence pulled him under. His lungs burned, but he could find no air.
A flash of brilliant blue light surrounded him, and he breathed in the salty air. A soft voice filled his mind like a lullaby, singing him off to sleep.
“Take care, my love. We’ll be together again soon.”
