Ancient Echoes

CHAPTER 54



MICHAEL DIDN’T GO TO the stables to bed down when the other men did. Instead he stood at the fence around the sheep and goats, his foot on the bottom rung, and thought of the young people, the students, caught up in this madness, the dangers not only from the chimeras, but also from the village men.

The village men had taken their guns and rifles away. Now, he understood why. If they had them, they would be tempted to use them on Kohler or anyone else who threatened the students. Too many of these kids had already died.

Michael tried not to think about that, and not to think about the strange history Quade relayed of his ancestors. Psychics and alchemists? Charlatans were more likely, and yet, he had known and seen things that this world had no answer for. If he had such abilities where had they come from if not his forefathers?

He couldn't think of that now. Instead, he did his best to concentrate on the silence all around. Still, his mind wouldn’t allow such peace.

The scent of the forest changed from that of firs and brush to one much more floral and aromatic. He knew what was coming.

His body tensed, torn between the need to see her, and wanting to run from what was unnatural and wrong. He turned to force himself back to the stables.

“Michael.”

He froze. It was a voice, but not a voice. The sound came from inside his head.

He shut his eyes. This is madness. When he opened them again, she stood before him.

Was this insanity, or was he seeing more of the reality and complexity of the world than he ever thought possible?

She stood in front of a shimmering garden of white and rose pink peonies. She wore a simple, long-sleeved dress, the color of the sea, with a Chinese collar and frog fasteners across the bodice and down one side. The thick braid of her hair hung to her waist, a plain style for a woman of her position, yet on her it looked regal and elegant.

“Lady Hsieh.”

She glided toward him. “I could not stay away and leave you to this danger.”

Joy along with sadness filled him. “I'm glad you didn't.”

Her eyes traced his face. “You must free the men trapped here by the gold and the book. You must destroy all this. In doing so, you will free yourself.”

“What about you?” He stepped closer. “If this is gone, will I ever see you again?”

She shook her head. “No, but there is no other way.”

“Then I can’t do what you ask.”

“You must. It’s not your fault. It’s mine.” She took his hand and led him away from the stables toward the fence that circled the village. He followed in silence until she stopped. She dropped his hand and kept her back to him. Head bowed, she began to speak. “After I performed my magic, using the ancient practice my grandmother taught, I achieved what I thought I wanted.” She shuddered. “But I learned that immortality only means great loneliness...eternal loneliness, not heaven or hell, but nothing. A vast, empty wasteland. Only when I was freed from the alchemical spell could I go on to the true afterlife, a place that’s home, that’s a comfort to the soul. But I left it to return here. To warn you.”

She faced him then, her eyes like black pools. “You can't allow this world to continue or the evil here to spread. You must stop it.”

“How can I do that?” He caught her hands in his and held them to his chest.

She shut her eyes as a tremor rippled through her. “All I know is that you will understand when the time comes. You will do what’s right. It's the only way. You're a good man, Michael. There is much for you to do in your life. Follow your instincts, trust them, for only in them will you find the fulfillment you crave.”

“And you will come with me?” he asked.

She looked toward the heavens. The moon appeared as a narrow sliver in the dark sky. “I cannot.”

“I won’t leave you.” He clasped her arms.

She shook her head. “I’m not the one you want. I wish I was. I wish I had known you when I was a part of the world, your world. But the one you love…her life is not what you imagine. Find her.”

He shook his head. “She’s nothing to me.”

“She did not betray you.”

He winced, surprised the memory still hurt. He didn’t want to open that wound ever again. He had learned that lesson well. “Whatever did or did not happen, it ended long ago. She has a husband and a child now. She was part of my past. But you are my present, and I want you to be in my future. I’ve never felt the connection with anyone else that I do with you.”

“Because with me there is no pretense. It is pure…what? Feeling? Intuition?” She smiled at him. “My dear Michael, for you this is not enough. You have a generous heart, one that should know true love one day, and I hope and pray that you will. But first, you still have much to do, beginning with finding a way to leave this place, and then to destroy it.”

“Destroy it?” He cupped her face. She took his breath way. “How can I, when you’re here?”

Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him. “You must do it before it kills you. If you hesitate, you will die. There are forces that will try to stop you and make it impossible for you to escape. You must not let them win!”

“I’ll be all right,” he whispered, as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

“I'm breaking so many rules, so many laws to have spent these few minutes with you.”

“Don't say that!”

She began to walk away, but he spun her around so they were face-to-face.

Instead of fighting him, a haunted look came over her and threw herself into his arms. “My name is Lin,” she whispered, holding him close.

“Lin.” He molded her to him. She was so real, in every way, it hurt his heart to think she would ever leave him. “Stay with me. Find a way.”

She tilted back her head to look up at him. Her fingers lightly touched his scratchy beard, his eyes, his brows, as if she wanted to memorize not only his look, but how he felt, everything about him. “It is impossible, Michael. I should not even be here now. But for one moment I wanted joy. I wanted to know how it felt to look at a man and to know passion, to know love.”

She lifted her arms to circle his neck. She stood on her toes as he bent his head and their lips met. He lifted her, holding her, as she kissed him the way she had never kissed a man before, feeling passion, desire, and joy.

Breathless, she drew back, breaking his hold. Her gaze never leaving him, she stepped backwards, once, twice. “Now, I do.”

“No, wait,” he said as he reached for her.

Her gaze filled with despair and longing.

And then she was gone.