Ini-herit made a sound something like a grunt, but his face remained impassive.
“But how were you able to attend?” Amber asked in confusion. “You said my mother was human and not Estilorian, and you said that not all Estilorians can pass onto the human plane. So how were all of you able to attend our births?”
Now, Ini-herit’s face showed surprise and interest. It was almost scary after staring at his unmoving face for so long, and Amber was rather relieved when the expression vanished as quickly as it had appeared. “Another excellent question. With your mother carrying children that were only half-human, and knowing that human doctors would not know what to do if they identified anything unusual during their exams, we convinced her that it would be best to receive her prenatal care on our plane. As it happened, your mother was able to be temporarily brought over. We surmised that her absolute belief in Saraqael’s origins combined with the fact that her body chemistry was altered because she carried three babes of Saraqael’s blood was enough to allow her to make the passage.”
Amber processed this. “So, we were born on the Estilorian plane?”
“Yes. Your mother was kept carefully protected during her term. We had no way of knowing what the pregnancy and, of course, the birth would do to her. Fortunately, we have a number of Corgloresti with human medical knowledge and they were able to help care for her. The pregnancy went very well, actually.”
“How long did she survive after we were born?”
“Not for very long. After you—and thus, Saraqael’s blood—left her womb, she had to be returned to the human plane. Although Saraqael had cured her disease, the damage it had already done to her body, compounded by the births, prevented her recovery. She died soon thereafter. We sent along those Estilorians who could cross the plane to help care for her as best we could.”
It seemed they had done everything in their power for her, and Amber found herself nodding in acceptance. “Then what happened?”
The slightest frown flashed across Ini-herit’s features. “As with all societies, we have our darker side. While most of us saw the births of Saraqael’s children as a miracle and, indeed, a possible saving grace for our dying people, others remained unconvinced. Some felt that mixing Estilorian DNA with that of a human was an insult and an abomination. A few even thought to keep you imprisoned to conduct experiments on you, saying it would be to ensure you were not a danger to us. I have found that sentient beings, no matter their origin, usually fear what they do not understand. We are, regrettably, no different.
“During the last months of your mother’s pregnancy, an uprising began. Led by the Mercesti leader, Grolkinei, they sought to destroy you, cursing you as an evil plague upon the Estilorians. This was what finally convinced the rest of us that you would be safer on the human plane, at least until you were old enough to protect yourself if needed. The Mercesti have no influence here.
“At the urging of the wisest and most ancient Elphresti, Jabari, we made a plan before your birth to keep the three of you together. As a people, we know nearly nothing about raising children. But after centuries of living among humans, some of us have made a study out of successful child-rearing. Everything supports the idea of keeping siblings together. However, once you were born, we realized immediately that our plan would not work. The aura of power detected between the three of you was discernable even to the most untried Estilorian. And there were physical reactions when the three of you touched. You would never pass for human, and we were forced to separate you.
“Before a second plan could be effectively developed, Grolkinei’s followers attacked. They used trickery to lead the majority of us away from you, leaving you guarded by a small contingent of Waresti. The dissenters were too many, and overtook the fighters. But during the fray, three Corgloresti who had been charged with your safekeeping made their escape.
“In a secret location, the talented Scultresti elder, Zayna, had created human forms for you and your guardians to use on the human plane. Although Corgloresti cannot maintain human forms for extended periods of time and we had no way of knowing how long your forms would last, we had no other choice. After meeting with Zayna, the three Corgloresti took you and your sisters and made their way as carefully as they could to the locations we had planned to open pathways between the planes. These pathways open only for the Corgloresti. Joshua, the Corgloresti carrying you, waited until your sisters had been safely transferred and then took you to the closest transition point. Grolkinei himself lay in wait.
“Joshua sacrificed his life. But he managed to send you across the planes before Grolkinei destroyed him. Fortunately, he had the ability to send your Estilorian form to safety using his second power. Otherwise, your Estilorian form would even now be in Grolkinei’s control.”
Gabriel had released Amber’s hand during this part of the story and shifted even closer so he could put his arm around her. Even with his body heat pressing against her, she felt cold and somehow alone. She realized that was how she had ended up abandoned in that industrial building shortly after her birth. Somehow, the unknown Corgloresti’s sacrifice was almost more saddening to hear about than her parents’ deaths.
“We mobilized immediately, hoping to get a Corgloresti transitioned to you before you were discovered by humans. Unfortunately, we had no way of knowing exactly where on the human plane Joshua had sent you since he had veered from our hastily sketched plan out of necessity. We were forced to wait until a Corgloresti already on the human plane learned your whereabouts and relayed your location to us. It was one of the most difficult waits of our existence.”
Amber thought the sentence sounded insincere due to Ini-herit’s monotone.
“Fortunately, the social worker who was ultimately assigned as your legal guardian was one of us. He did not get assigned to work with you until you had already been screened by Child Protection Services and placed with the Vonneguts, but he seemed pleased with the placement. As soon as he identified you, he notified us so we could keep track of you.”
“If Amber’s DFCS worker was a Corgloresti, why wasn’t he able to prevent all of Amber’s disrupted placements?” Gabriel asked.
If Amber hadn’t already been ridiculously in love with him, the anger in his voice over that question would have sealed the deal. She leaned her head into his shoulder and stared at Ini-herit, who managed to look at least mildly uncomfortable.
“He did try to maintain the placement with the Vonneguts, of course. Unfortunately, it was his human supervisor who made the final decision. The witnesses who had seen Mrs. Vonnegut with you went to the authorities, and it ended up being broadcast in the media, adding pressure to the supervisor to end the placement. As it was, though, that particular Corgloresti had really extended his time on the human plane to an unhealthy level. Had he remained much longer, he would have lost his sanity and then his life.”
Amber couldn’t think of a thing to say in response to that.
“We knew before you were born that because of our limited time allowed here at any one time, we would have to rely on humans to give you the strongest basis of your guardianship on the human plane. In Olaya’s case, her human guardian, Jean, is what humans would consider a medium, or would be if she opted to exercise her abilities in any significant capacity. She is highly open to what humans call the spirit realm and believes in things that most other humans dismiss. When her human soul is ready to expire, she will make a prime candidate for The Embrace. After the births, Olaya’s Corgloresti spent time on the human plane until he met Jean. It did not take much to convince her to become Olaya’s human caregiver.
“Similarly, Skylar’s appearance among the Yupik people here in Alaska was welcomed with open minds and eagerness. Her arrival coincided with the death of a very respected and prominent elder, Sky Tomaganuk. She also bore his name, and the tribe believed her eye color combined with her serendipitous arrival into their culture represented a sort of rebirth for the elder. Nick is Sky’s son, and he accepted Sk
ylar into his family without question.”
An unwelcome surge of bitterness coursed through Amber as she realized that the two girls sitting out in the hallway had managed to have fairly normal upbringings while she had suffered. Had Olivia or Skye ever questioned their worth? Had they ever dwelled in misery, wondering whether there was something seriously wrong with them? Had they ever wondered whether they were worthy of a parent’s love? She had to doubt it.
And was that their fault? she argued with herself. Of course not. So get over it.
Centering her thoughts, she asked, “Okay, so what about my other placements? Couldn’t you have done something to prevent those from disrupting? I mean, you managed to get Olivia and Skye into stable enough environments.”
“Yes, but they did not have the surges of power that you did.” Seeing her surprise, he nodded. “The first one, when you were three, was thought to be an oddity. As I said, your sisters did not show any similar displays and we had no way of knowing what had caused it. When nothing happened for a period of time afterward, we dismissed it. And you seemed stable enough after your placement in the Anders’ care. Only after the second surge did we come to understand that there was something significant happening to you. As a result, we threw caution aside and arranged it so that you were placed directly into the care of a Corgloresti. Called Allison Palmer by humans, she risked everything in order to remain with you as long as possible. As she is one of our eldest and most powerful Corgloresti, we had hoped she could maintain her human form longer than most because of that. At least enough to raise you to an age where things could be explained to you.”
Blanching, Amber realized what had happened. “I screwed it up.”
“Don’t say that,” Gabriel argued, giving her a little shake.
“But she did,” Ini-herit confirmed emotionlessly, making Gabriel’s eyes narrow. “Inadvertently, yes, but the placement was going well until the day she had another display of her power and her Corgloresti was not there to assist her.”
Numbly, Amber reached up with her left hand and linked her fingers with Gabriel’s over her shoulder. Their rings touched and the connection made her feel much better, the tension easing a bit from her shoulders. It was almost as if she could hear his thoughts. You were just a child…you didn’t understand what was happening to you…you weren’t to blame!
“The placement with the Jamisons was done without our influence,” Ini-herit explained. “We did not have a Corgloresti in the child services department at the time or we would have done what we could to prevent that placement, narrow-minded fools that they were. Nevertheless, we quickly put several Corgloresti in place in the school and church you attended as well as in the DFCS office, trying to prevent another displacement. Allison had noted the scarring impact that the changes in your caregivers had caused to your emotional stability, and we wanted to do what we could to prevent further damage.”
Amber jerked in her seat at being referred to as “damaged.” No longer comforted and suddenly feeling undeserving of Gabriel’s touch, she tried to pull her hand back down. His grip tightened, holding her in place.
Don’t listen to anything this guy says about emotions. I mean, just look at him!
Turning and catching Gabriel’s gaze, she cocked her head to the side. Those thoughts had definitely been in his voice…hadn’t they? Before she could consider it further, Ini-herit continued his narration and they both tuned back in to it.
“As the third year of your placement with the Jamisons approached, all of the Corgloresti in your vicinity were on guard. Unfortunately, when the anticipated power surge came, you left the church during the service that the on-site Corgloresti was performing, and he could not chase after you without drawing the attention of all of the humans in attendance.”
“The preacher was a Corgloresti?” She had always thought that he had fed into the belief by the Jamisons that she was possessed.
“Indeed. And they were so intolerant that they would not listen when he tried to convince them that you needed their support, resulting in another displacement. So we made the only decision we could.
“We sent you to Gabriel.”
Chapter Fifteen
On the Estilorian plane, far from the visibility of the other Estilorian classes, the leader of the Mercesti, Grolkinei, sat in conference with his team of commanders. They had gathered in his lakeside manor house and were currently seated around a hand-crafted wooden table that would have looked at home in any human Fortune 500 CEO’s office. In point of fact, everyone gathered there was dressed to impress in business attire. Custom-made suits, silk ties, dress shoes.
Sunlight winked off the placid lake visible through the wall of windows comprising half the room. An intricately landscaped garden started at the edges of their current location and wove around the lake, across more than three acres of property. Pots of tea and coffee sat in the middle of the table. Three of his four commanders had delicate, classically-designed cups sitting before them.
“We have intercepted confirmation that they will attempt to make the transition tonight,” said Cesaro.
Of Grolkinei’s commanders, he was the most reliable when it came to ferreting out information. The thin, unassuming, white-haired Mercesti was so successful because he was willing to illicit the information through any means necessary. Easy enough when you didn’t have a conscience.
Across from Cesaro sat the blonde, waif-like Layla, Grolkinei’s mystic commander and the female who currently entertained him as a mate. She nodded in agreement, her Mercesti red eyes moving among the other commanders. “I intercepted another message to the Elphresti not an hour ago also confirming this.”
Although it wasn’t extremely reliable, Layla had the ability to pick up on the thoughts sent out by the Orculesti. She had been focusing her energies on this skill for several months, since they had first gotten wind of the possibility that Saraqael’s daughters might be returning to the Estilorian plane.
Grolkinei nodded. “Excellent. I imagine since neither of you have mentioned it that the exact location of their transition has not yet been identified.”
Cesaro shook his head with a frown. Layla replied, “No. But I will continue to scan, of course.”
“Of course.” He turned his attention to the tallest and largest figure in the room. “Angius, how would you recommend we proceed?”
Between his face being half-covered in leathery scars that had occurred during his acceptance of his Mercesti form and his absolutely legendary fighting skills, Angius was by far the most feared Mercesti outside of Grolkinei. He was also highly intelligent and a brilliant strategist. His bald head gleamed almost white in the sunlight.
“Without knowing their transition location, we are forced to wait.”
With considerable reluctance, the other fighting commander in the room, Ryce, growled, “I hate to say it, but I concur.”
Grolkinei once again nodded. “Much as I had determined myself. Well, we have waited this long. Another few hours will hardly impact our plans, and we can spend some more time defining our strategy.” He raised his eyebrows. “Any more coffee or tea, anyone?”
Rubbing his thumb along Amber’s ring, Gabriel stared consideringly at Ini-herit. The cool, remote tone of the Estilorian made his narration seem unconscionably harsh. At several points, in fact, Gabriel had wanted to verbally lash out against the things he said, but that would have done little good. It was evident that Ini-herit was acting in the only manner of which he was capable. His words were simply meant to inform, not hurt.
But hurt they had, and Gabriel felt it in Amber’s taut frame. His heart ached for the loss she had suffered and for the pain these new revelations had caused. Knowing she wouldn’t welcome it didn’t prevent him from wanting to wrap her up in his arms and get her away from there as quickly as possible.
Fortunately, she seemed calmer now that they had gotten to his part in this bizarre tale. That helped ease his own tension, and he asked, “Am I a Corgloresti
, then?”
“No. You are a Gloresti. In human terms, think of this as something like a bodyguard. When Corgloresti transition to the human plane, their Estilorian forms are vulnerable. The Mercesti are aggressive and unscrupulous and would think nothing of harming a transitioned Corgloresti. And there are occasionally environmental dangers such as stray animals or weather changes. Thus, the Gloresti dedicate their lives to the protection of the Corgloresti on the Estilorian side of the plane. In the direst of circumstances, the most powerful Gloresti can cross planes, but it must be in order to protect their paired Corgloresti, and the time they can remain on the human plane is even more limited than for us.”
Ini-herit looked again at Amber. “At least, that had been the case before the girls were born.”
With a sinking feeling, Gabriel said, “I was Saraqael’s Gloresti, wasn’t I?”
“Not directly, but you were supervising the Gloresti who was supposed to protect him. At the time of Saraqael’s interaction with Kate, you were not pledged to a particular Corgloresti. You were between pairings. We needed more Gloresti trained, and as the oldest and strongest of your class, you were the best to do so. Unfortunately, as is the case with most Estilorians, particularly those with more than a century of age, your perception and interpretation of human emotions were both highly compromised. You, and thus the Gloresti you were training, failed to realize what was happening between Saraqael and Kate until it was too late.”
An inexplicable feeling of guilt flooded him. Amber’s right hand moved to his knee as if she knew his thoughts. His grip on her hand tightened briefly in appreciation for her silent support.
“Once Kate arrived on the Estilorian plane, you spent time with her trying to reason out what had happened. We needed to know if other Corgloresti could be at risk of succumbing as Saraqael had. You felt obligated to prevent such a fatality from occurring again. However, achieving a complete understanding regarding Kate’s claims of Saraqael’s love eluded you, as it did the rest of us. We certainly know on a basic level what love means among humans, but actually experiencing that significant a connection—one that results in putting ourselves as well as humanity at risk—is a foreign concept among Estilorians.