Jane was cornered by Mir and Jesse now. She addressed them, “How can I return? I’m bound to the Afterlife.”
Mir outstretched his hand, “Take my hand and I’ll show you the way out.”
“Wait,” Jesse said, and Jane pulled her hand back. “Take my hand. I am human. Don’t trust the Alliance gods more than your own species. They have already tricked you once, Jane. Trust me. Take my hand.” After what Jesse had witnessed with Babette, she didn’t want Mir to do whatever he had planned. Now that Jane wanted to return, Jesse was confident she could do it alone and put an end to Mir’s scheming as whatever it was it was trouble for her sister, Jane and possibly more humans as well.
Mir stepped next to Jane, “Take my hand Jane, I’m the only one who can lead you back. She’s merely a human necromancer. She cannot negotiate with the gods.”
“Jane, you do not need to negotiate you can simply return,” Jesse pleaded but it was too late, she had already gone with Mir. Jesse opened her eyes and released Jane’s shoulders. Everyone in the room, but Mir, looked at her surprised. Mir’s eyes were still closed as he was with Jane, “Mir is negotiating with the gods for Jane’s safe passage back.” Then Jesse made eye contact with her sister. They didn’t need to speak they simply understood one another. Mir had used them again.
Everyone in the room was transfixed by the connection between Mir and Jane. They were both unmoving, eyes closed and silent, like statues.
In the Afterlife, Jane allowed Mir to present her to all the gods in the square stone temple. The goddess of home addressed them, “Mir, god of peace, what are you doing here? Haven’t you done enough recently to annoy us?”
“I want to end my reincarnation and that of Sif’s. We are finished. We offer up the goddess of humanity to be born again and again in return for her mortal life being restored.”
“Jane, do you want to return at this price? You and your husband will be bound to be reborn again and again.”
“I do not have a husband,” Jane replied.
“If you return to the mortal world, you will. Jei will see to it to set things right with your daughters and I know in your heart, you want that too. That’s why you want to return to your family now. To all your family. To the daughter you’ve never seen that was ripped from your dead body. I know all your desires.”
“It’s a small thing,” the god of war said. “Don’t be tempted by these emotions of the flesh, Jane. Your family will die soon enough and become a forgotten memory. You’re a goddess here in the Afterlife. What more could you want for an eternity? You and I have plans and a special bond. Are you really going to leave me?”
Jane was content to stay then after hearing the god of war’s words, but then she heard Jei again from the other side and remembered. She turned to Mir, “What’s it like to be born again and again? Is it really so bad?”
Mir nodded his head, “It’s horrendous.”
Jane thought clearly. She had never been so visceral. She could feel Jei holding her in her mortal body. She missed him and wanted to slap him at the same time, but she fervently felt, through her connection with Mir to the mortal world, that she wanted to return and be alive again. “I came here as the first human. The first of the Lost People to grace your divine halls. You allowed me, a lowly human, to walk with you. You taught me your secrets and showed me your pleasures. For this, I’ll always be grateful. However, I think I might have left my mortal body prematurely and for this, I ask to return. But I have not wronged you in the way that Mir and Sif have done. I only ask for extra time to see my family. I want a time limit on my reincarnation, and I will not accept any reincarnation that includes Jei. Only me. He should not be punished for the compromise I’m making now.”
The gods murmured amongst themselves and then said to Mir, “She speaks well. A life for a life. Mir you will be granted death, but it will not be certain for Sif. She must find her own replacement. Do you accept this offer?”
Mir looked at the gods with disdain, “Already you have done wrong by Sif in her human form. Will you make her suffer more by not allowing her some respite?”
“Her choices are her own as are yours Mir. She already has been granted some respite. Do you want to offer up the goddess of humanity as your replacement now?” the goddess of home asked.
Mir was quiet for a long time while he thought about the situation. He wondered if he could return and bring Jesse back with him to take Sif’s place, but after a few minutes contemplation, he doubted she would trust him and if he failed to bring her back the gods might not allow Jane to return or any rest for him. Finally, he said, “Yes, I offer the goddess of humanity in my stead.”
The goddess of home asked Jane then, “Do you agree?”
“How long?” Jane asked.
The goddess of home nodded, “Jane, goddess of humanity, you will be reincarnated seven sacred times as punishment for leaving us now.”
“That’s it?” protested Mir.
“What you did was unforgivable, Mir,” the god of war stated. “As well as Sif’s defiling. We hoped that after all this time you both would have learned something, but there seems to be no end to your trickery.”
“After all of this, I only get seven lifetimes’ reprieve?”
“This is my final offer,” the goddess of home said.
“Yes, I offer up the goddess of humanity for seven lifetimes in exchange for my own next seven lives,” Mir replied disappointed.
“Goddess of humanity, do you accept this?”
“What else would I have to do?” Jane asked. She knew it couldn’t be as easy as just being reborn again and again.
“You will have to serve as goddess of humanity in your mortal form to continue to bring the Lost People home to us. To protect our culture. To honor us. That is all.”
“I accept seven lifetimes of reincarnation to return to my family and my previous mortal life now,” Jane said confidently.
“Then let Mir show you the way. Go with our blessings.”
Jane opened her eyes. Her senses were all noisy, blurry, and bright. She closed eyes again trying to make sense of everything around her. She could hear and feel everyone in the room. She still had her goddess powers, they were fading as she claimed her physical body again, but they lingered enough for her to focus, feel, and hear everyone’s thoughts. It was exhausting and overwhelming. Even with her eyes closed the room was spinning quickly and she only wished it would stop.
Jane could feel Dru and Doctor Rea’s hands on her now, bringing her strength and calm. The spinning began to slow. Their internal voices in unison bringing her back in a purely Alliance medical way. Finally, the spinning and the confusion subsided.
Jane opened her eyes again and looked up at the bright white hospital ceiling. She heard Dru tell Jei to move back and to give her space, but he was hovering over her. His tears were falling onto her face and she couldn’t help it, she began to cry too.
When Jei saw that Jane’s eyes were open and that she was crying, he ignored everyone and scooped Jane into his arms. He held her tightly against him and whispered in her ear, “Had I known we couldn’t bring you back, I would have never done it. I’m so sorry. I never wanted this to happen. I’ve missed you my other half. Thank you for coming back to me.”