Only she knew what it really was.”
He paused. “Knowing what it was, she kept it apart from the rest of the world, living mostly alone. It stayed with her for a time—we don’t know how long exactly—and then it disappeared. I kept waiting for it to resurface, but its time had not yet come. By then, the world was drifting toward anarchy and the seeds of the Great Wars had begun to take root. I searched for the child without success; wherever it was, it was well hidden. Very few can hide from me, but this one did. I could not track its magic because I could not define what it was. The magic of each gypsy morph, like the morph itself, is unlike that of any other.
Wild magic is unpredictable; it may turn out to be either good or evil. The demons sought to capture and make use of this morph, aware of its potential. But Nest Freemark saved it.”
Logan looked out across the river. “You’re about to tell me that it’s reappeared, aren’t you?”
Two Bears nodded. “Its time is now, after all these years. Its purpose is known. The Lady has divined it. But it is still a child, still in a child’s form with a child’s mind. It will know what to do when it is time, but not how to survive until then. It must have help for that. It must have a protector.”
Logan sighed. “That would be me?”
“Whoever goes to the aid of this child will be attacked from all sides.
The demons will do anything to destroy it or to stop it from fulfilling its purpose. I know of no one better able to withstand the demons than you, Logan.
The Lady has made her choice. I think she has chosen well.”
The owl hooted softly, closer now. Sylvans had once ridden owls, Logan remembered. Six-inch-tall fairy creatures with long life spans and tiny bodies made of sticks and moss, their given task was to care for trees and plants. He had never seen one. Were they really all gone?
“What makes this child so important? What is it supposed to do?”
Two Bears leaned forward and rested his elbows on his crossed legs. His copper face dipped into shadow. “It is going to save humankind, Logan.”
“That’s a tall order.” He tried to keep the incredulity from his voice.
“How is it going to do that?”
The Sinnissippi considered his answer for a moment. “I told you earlier that the climb out of the abyss would be long and difficult. What I did not tell you is that only a few would make that climb. Most will perish in the effort.
The demons have won their war against the old world, and no amount of retribution is going to change that. The evil has penetrated to the core of civilization. A fire is coming, huge and engulfing. When it ignites, most of what is left of humanity will vanish. It will happen suddenly and quite soon.”
“Sounds biblical.” Logan shifted his weight toward the other man. “You’re telling me the demons have managed to get their hands on nuclear weapons and intend to use them? On a massive scale?”
The black eyes glittered from out of the shadow of the heavy brow. “What the demons either do not appreciate or do not care about is that it will prove indiscriminate in its destructiveness. Bad and good alike will be consumed. Most of the demons will perish, too.”
“That part sounds pretty good. But the morph can prevent all this in some way?”
“No one can prevent it. Nothing can stop it. But the morph has the means to survive it, the means to transcend the destruction and allow a handful of the world’s inhabitants to start anew.”
“How is it going to do that?”
The Sinnissippi rocked backward slowly. “By opening a door that leads to a safe place.”
“For a chosen few?”
“For a scattering of men, women, and children who will find their way to you.”
“The remnants of humankind.”
“Some. Not all will be human.”
Logan hesitated on hearing that, but decided not to pursue it. “Where will the child find this door?”
“The child will know.”
Logan felt a keen sense of frustration. Nothing about any of this seemed very clear. “One problem. If you can’t find this child, how am I supposed to? I don’t have the skills for that.”
“You won’t need them. You will have its mother’s help.” He climbed to his feet. “Come, Logan. We will walk some more.”