“I never thought I’d hear those words from you, Milicent.”
“Men do what they can to make themselves necessary,” she said. “Do you have any candidates for your VP?”
“Not a one,” Mica said. “You could help me first, then maybe I’ll see about your Skylar.”
“I’ll consider it, but I have a bit of travel to attend to first,” Milicent said.
They disconnected and Mica turned her attention to Wren, who stood waiting at attention.
“Tell me all you know and don’t spare any details,” Mica said. “Details are where the secrets are hidden.”
Skylar turned the knob of the nursery door. It was locked. Her distraction allowed the rush of voices to return to her head, now seemingly amplified. She was so inundated, it was hard to focus on one thing. She needed to create space in her mind so she could hear the softly spoken answers being trampled by the other, louder noise in her head.
It was surprising that she had been left alone. She assumed Heather was shirking her duties. She kept turning doorknobs, but all were locked. There were many. She touched one knob and it triggered an awareness in her body, like muscle memory. The door itself was smaller than all the rest, and Alice in Wonderland flashed in her mind. Her blue smocked dress, her shiny black shoes … the white rabbit, the rabbit hole of the meaning of existence. The images turned over in her mind like the pages of a flipbook.
She turned the knob and it opened.
The door creaked loudly and then … silence. Skylar was astonished and actually took in an audible breath. The chatter in her head vanished. Relief, she thought. She played a game; if she set one foot into the hall, the noise returned. After trying this a couple of times, she went inside the room and shut the door. She vowed to never leave the tiny space, though even as she did she knew that wouldn’t be possible.
She had walked into a peaceful sanctuary. One wall was lined, floor to ceiling, with jewel-toned books. She’d never thought about how precious and meaningful books had been in her life until that moment. She had always believed in the magic of books—ideas put on paper, so many forgotten. But the written word, once captured in form, remained for eternity. That was the essence of the Akashic Records, and Skylar felt its presence here so profoundly. Here in this land where no veil existed, she could feel the energy signature of the people that had written these books. She felt their intentions, self-serving or otherwise.
She was drawn to a book with a rich orange cover. She reached out and pulled the book toward her. Ocean’s Fire was the title. “Hmm,” she said, chuckling. “She certainly is fire.” She returned it to the shelf and perused along, thinking, Suki would love it here. She ran her hand along the spines of the books at chest level.
A large window was built into the far wall. Skylar walked over and, looking out, saw a city below, its occupants scurrying around. She backed away from it. She wasn’t interested in being discovered.
A small indoor water fountain sat in the corner closest to her. The golden goddess statue had water pouring from her outstretched hand into a miniature pool of cloudy water that lapped like waves at the edges. Skylar studied it and dipped her finger in. She didn’t know what compelled her to taste it—salt. Every third wave cascaded over the edge to another basin below it, to catch the spill. The fountain was calming, like everything else in the room, and she felt her own connection to the ocean in this sculpture.
In another corner sat a stuffed bird, perched on a small trapeze that was hung a few feet from the ceiling. She thought it was odd and a bit disturbing to see taxidermy here. The bird was magnificent, and its tail feathers swept so long they almost reached the floor. This was some magical bird, Skylar thought. Nothing like this has ever existed on the planet. Upon closer examination, she saw that the bird was a blend of avian and serpent, bird and snake. It was the balance between air and earth, having both wings and roots.
She took in a deep breath, still reveling in the silence and the opportunity to focus on one thing at a time.
An antique diagram hung on one wall above a small desk. The title at the top read, Alchemical Table of Elements. Mystical symbols flashed around the parchment in lighted sequence. Skylar saw the geometric shapes that morphed into the reality seen by the eye. “Trippy,” she said. The table reminded her of Joel. He must be so worried about her. She hoped Ocean was helping him.
On the desk sat a gorgeous green plant with large, thick, waxy leaves. Hundreds of tiny white flowers were beginning to open from their buds. Skylar had never seen so many buds in such a condensed space.
In the last corner was an altar of candles in the colors of the rainbow. They were the largest candles she’d ever seen, all about two feet around. They sat in various stages of wear, the tallest about three feet, the smallest still big at over a foot tall. When she focused on one, it came to life and lit up. The first one, red, startled her, but once she understood what was happening, she relished in lighting the rest with her mind.
After the candles were lit, a movement caught her eye. She turned to see the bird shaking its tail feathers, and intuitively knew it was an invitation to sit in the one chair in the room. Despite being captive here, she felt safe in this room. She was finally able to hear her own voice, and she welcomed the help from this beautifully odd bird—who, she was happy to realize, had merely been asleep.
She took a seat in the oversize striped chair and was instantly transported to a place she’d seen among the many in her head.
It was the end of the First Age. The three Great Mothers were kneeling above the baby Sophia as she disappeared in a flash. Skylar watched Ocean pick up the stone, and she knew this was the moment before the end of the world. Where did Sophia go? And where is she now?
She rushed to stand up, her heart pounding. Could she really witness the end of the world? And what would it look like? Would it change anything about now, or would she simply be an observer, like watching a movie? Why was this the scene the bird was showing her?
She looked at the bird, which was now motionless. “Thanks,” she said anxiously. She took a deep breath, sat back down, and closed her eyes. She waited, but the scene didn’t return. “Damn,” she said to the bird. “I lost my chance.” She took another breath in and waited, this time just feeling grateful for the silence, not expecting anything in return, and another image came to her mind. It was a similar scene, but Beatrice was missing. There was a baby girl, but it wasn’t Sophia. Vivienne was enraged, and for the first time ever, Skylar saw fear in Ocean’s eyes.
Skylar watched quietly as Ocean emblazoned the circle of three doves on the face of the wailing infant. Skylar was horrified, and the scene hit her in the gut. The eyes of the baby were so trusting of the women above her, and one had just inflicted immense physical pain on her. Overwhelming sadness welled in Skylar and she sobbed, feeling the trauma inflicted on this baby girl. She felt Vivienne’s rage as she walked to the water’s edge and summoned great energy from the waves at her feet, and she sensed her thoughts as well.
Vivienne knew what this would do to the planet, to Gaia, but she was a woman scorned. She loved Magus but he had betrayed her. She wanted to punish him for choosing wrongly. One drop of her blood into the water would kill everything he’d created. His world needed fresh water to exist. Her blood would carry for miles, around the perimeter of his island, enough to choke the life out of his world.