The next morning we started saying our farewells to assorted people.
The first person we ran into was Imarath. As he was Ashton's tutor in shapeshifting, she actually gave him a hug. The rest of us just mumbled "adios" under our breaths.
Then we found Elu and Kyretholle, polishing the plane. The Plainswoman whispered something to him and he ran to us. Jared grabbed him and gave him a hug.
"I'll miss you," he said.
"What are you going to do next?" Shannon asked.
"Kyretholle's going to adopt me," the blind prophet said brightly. "We're going to take the People of the Wind back to the Plains and build a city. Well, I probably won't help build the city, but..."
His grin was infectious.
"Good-bye, Elu," I said, hugging him.
"Maybe I will see you again, Mary," he told me, patting my hair. "Be kind to your new sister."
"I've got a new sister?" I squealed. "Oh, my God, that's so wonderful! What's her name?"
"Laura Grace. Born in February."
I couldn't believe it. In all the commotion, I had totally forgotten that my mother was pregnant. And now I had a little sister! All the more reason to go home very soon.
Allison had a long talk with Kyretholle in her native language. We all got bored and went our separate ways. Eventually I found my way to Kitana's room.
She was sprawled out on her bed, listening to someone I didn't know on her CD player, absently singing along. "In that August breeze of those forgotten trees, your time was set for leaving, come a colder season..."
Kitana noticed me and pushed a button, pausing the song. "Hey, Emjay. Come to say farewell?"
"I'll do that later," I said, perching on a chair in front of a...computer? "Where did all this come from?"
"Earth. Must have been a huge surprise for my family, losing their computer overnight." She snickered. "Oh well, that's what I say."
I was quiet for a moment. "What's it like? Being dead, I mean?"
She thought about that for a minute. "It's dark, quiet, and cold," she said at last. "It feels like you'll fall at any moment, so you reach up for heaven, but it's not there. Neither is hell. And you wonder if you're really, truly dead, or if maybe this is the afterlife and everything you ever heard in Sunday School is wrong. And coming back is like swimming."
"Why wasn't heaven there?"
Kitana sat up and shrugged. "Maybe because God knew I would be coming back and He didn't want to spoil the surprise. I don't know." She shuddered. "But if that's all there is to the afterlife, I'd rather be immortal."
We sat there silently for a minute. Then there was a knock at the door. "C'min," Kitana called. "You didn't knock, Mary..."
I grinned sheepishly as Meg stepped hesitantly in. "Hi," she whispered.
"Hey, Manda."
Meg shut the door and leaned on the wall. She glanced at me, apparently decided I was "safe," and started talking. "I don't want to leave, Kit. This is my home now. Dad went and got married on Earth - at least I think he did - and Eric is my stepbrother and I hate it all. I love this place and I love the magic and there's no way you can make me leave."
Kitana thought about that for a little while. "Why would I try to make you leave?"
"How can you want to stay here?" I asked. "I mean, maybe your father married someone you don't like, but he's still your dad, and he must miss you."
"Good point," Kitana said. "He lost your mother, Manda. Why would he want to lose you?"
She blushed and slipped back out. Kitana shook her head sadly. "I'm going to have to force her to leave," she said softly.
"Why?"
"The guilt. Seeing me here would just make the pain and guilt more real for Manda. She's got to go home, learn to live again and forget about me and Avrien and the magic. This place isn't for everyone. I think she's better suited to Earth."
"What about me?" I asked.
"You? Earth. Definitely Earth. You're a terrible general."
"Thanks." I grinned. "I think I'll miss you."
"That's nice to know, Emjay. Now adios on outta here. Tell the others we're meeting on the roof at three."
Three o'clock found us all on the roof. Kitana made the air solid and walked out. She placed the Disk on the "ground" and set it spinning. She stepped quickly back as the silver-black tornado roared up out of it. Then she walked back to us.
"Who first?" she asked.
"Me," Allison said. "See you guys at school. Bye, Cam." Without a backward glance, she ran to the tornado and vanished inside it.
Shannon went next. "Sayonara, Kitana," she called.
"Ja mata ne," Kitana yelled back as Shannon disappeared into the tornado.
Jared just waved while he ran out to the Disk and the tornado.
Ashton, not much for long good-byes, coughed nervously. "I'll be seeing you," she said. "I'll take care of your family."
"Thanks. Ja mata ne, Ashi-sama. My love to Rela."
Ashton nodded and walked out to the tornado, vanishing therein. I looked at Meg.
"You've got to go," Kitana murmured. "There's no place for you here."
Meg shook her head desperately. "I don't want to go back."
"Just go, Manda. Someone's got to keep Eric in line."
She smiled shakily. "I'll do that. Bye, Kit. Bye, Mary." She walked out to the tornado without a backward glance.
"What'd you do to her?" I asked Kitana.
"Spellbinding." She coughed. "You'd better get going, Emjay. I think my email's still working. Tell the others, all right?"
"Yeah," I said. I turned and stepped onto the hardened air. Very unnerving. I tried not to look down as I dashed to the tornado.
The lights sparkled in my eyes. I closed them, stepped in.
Something tugged on me and I landed somewhere soft. After a moment, I dared open my eyes.
My bed. My room. Earth!
I jumped up and did a little dance, then ran off to find my family.
I was home.
*Kitana*
I dropped my spell the moment Mary vanished in the Disk. I was going to let it smash to the ground, but at the last moment I flicked my wrist and magicked it into my hand. I wasn't ready to let go yet, I guess.
I sat there for an hour or two, thinking about my friends and the strange pain it had brought me to lose them. There was no doubt in my mind that I had lost them. They wouldn't want to return, and I didn't want to go back.
A small hand patted my hair, and I smiled slightly. "Good afternoon, Elu."
The blind prophet rested his head on my shoulder. "I miss Jared."
"Me too."
He touched my black robes. "What are you going to do now?"
"Well, first I'll muster the strength to get up. Then I'll go downstairs and round up some mages to go help in Calsa."
"That's nice. Hedaris and Amidan said you'll be queen soon."
"Empress. I don't want just Telaia, I want all of Avrien."
"Why?"
I was silent for a moment. Why did I want Avrien? I'd been telling myself that I wanted to make it better, but death had changed my perspective on life. Why did I want it?
"Because I like having power," I admitted. "I really do want to help these people, but I like the power."
"Kyretholle says you are the High Priestess of the God called God."
I smiled at that. "I am a pastor," I said. "Not High Priestess."
"So why do you wear black?"
"I look good in black."
He touched my robes again. "Why not white? Or blue? Or red?"
I thought about that. "White is too radical of a change," I decided. "Red might be good, since we've been washed in Jesus' blood..."
"Think about it," he said.
I thought about it, turned to tell him something, and discovered that he was gone.
After a little while, I made my way downstairs, where I literally ran into Imarath, standing at the top of the stairs. He snaked an arm around my waist and pulled me close. "It's nice to have you back," he mumbled into my hair.
My mouth dropped and I pulled away. "No, no way," I gasped. "This will never work. Nuh-uh."
"What won't work?"
"Us. Me. You. Together."
He smiled at me, an annoyingly adorable grin. "Who said anything about us together?"
"I did," I said impishly. "And now I'm saying it wouldn't work. Us. Together. You're, like, twice my age, and I'm too young to date..."
"Who mentioned dating?"
"Me," I said. To get off of the suddenly embarassing discussion, I said, "Elu thinks I should wear blue. Or red. What do you think?"
He scrutinized me, and I felt my cheeks getting warm. Finally, he snapped his fingers. My black robes shimmered sudden, brilliant silver, the soft material getting, if possible, softer. And tighter. And a good deal more low-cut.
"I like it this way," Imarath said.
I ran a hand through my hair, then flung my arms around his neck. "Maybe it would work," I murmured.
"Are we busy this week?"
"Yeah. Calsa and everything. I'm free a week from Thursday, though..."
"Hmm." He kissed my forehead, which sent a thrill racing through me and made it extremely difficult to stand. "Should I announce the wedding, or did you want to?"
"It's rather obvious," someone called. We both turned to look and saw most of the Tower turned out below us, watching us with sparkling eyes. Someone whistled. I flushed and buried my face in Imarath's chest, making a slight movement of my left hand. His robes turned pale blue.
"I like this," I said softly. "Are you sure we should get married so soon? What happened to dinner and a movie?" I answered myself, "Avrien happened, that's what."
Then I started laughing, and I just couldn't stop. Maybe life wouldn't be so bad, after all. I was alive, Head Mage, future Empress, pastor, and Imarath's fiancee.
"Did you destroy the Disk?" Imarath asked quietly.
I slipped a hand into a pocket in my robes and touched the Disk, still whole. "Depends. Did you want to go to Egypt for our honeymoon?"
"Sounds perfect."
Why, yes...I believe it did.
END