AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Are you saying you’re—?”
“No. No. I am borrowing this magic right now. Case will return to you. We all have one. The original is deep inside the more modern version you tote about. I suspect someone will ensure she has the finest of companions. Opal looked at Thurst and he nodded, blushed a deep blue.
He had fixed Case and since she lived in there, she was aware of that and probably more.
She explained, “Treasures are passed down from one generation to the next in these little boxes. You’ll find the history as it was until I was stolen in hers. Read it to her, for me. You were meant to be a loving species. Warriors can have hearts, too.”
I nodded as she smoothed her hand over a piece of metal covering what would have been visible genitalia making me aware that Case was essentially providing modesty for this appearance, and said, “You loved both your grandparents on your mother’s side. Not all wizards are bad. Some wanted to move forward in life. Others wanted to go back.”
“Just take me.” My father was defeated and he could not even be civil in the face of it.
“Take you? Like every Mayhem before you, you are so filled with your own blind worth you don’t understand. I don’t want you. I’m not a siren. I didn’t call for man to find me so I could enlighten you. No. I’m doing what I should have done to your ancestor when he found me. What your line has taught me works so well when one misbehaves or doesn’t like an outcome. I’m sending you. Sending you to the same place your ancestors sent me. You want to live in the past, wish granted.” She snapped her fingers and my father was gone. She looked at me and said, “Your mother is still on the island, but you should not return there. Let her live out her life in fear of death coming at any moment. I am so disappointed in my children. I created them. Revenge is not what I would have wanted. I made them special. I made them first. And I made them warriors, but I failed to make them see that the best parts of life are found in love. They lived for revenge, for hate, and they sacrificed my sons as though they had the right to make that trade. And for what? Both the Mayhem and their species are all but extinct now when they could have been thriving without me under the waters.”
We could see right through this entity even if it still had a body and still moved like water flowing and glowing with each step. She was very curious about the hybrids. “Ellie. Your comb.”
She produced a sparkling object that Ellie took cautiously with a smile and a quiet, “Thank you.”
“You are exceptional. And your desires will come to you, but not this soon.” She winked and Ellie blushed so deeply it was not too challenging to realize she also wanted a family.
“Dee-moon, and gate keeper trapped in one soul.” She sized up Braz and said, “United. Yes. United by your heart. You’re a handsome devil.”
Braz was cautiously eyeing her as he sort of nodded because this creature was ancient and weird, but she also just snapped my father into some kind of prison, so… yeah. We were all kind of seeing how this was going to play out. By the time she made it to our little section of this space, she was looking at the tired and the weary parents of twins. Twins!
“Thurston, your father is proud of the decisions you made. Your horses do not wish you to mourn them so greatly and carry that weight in your heart any longer. They would have done it with or without your aid. Home is restored. Masks are revealed. And you are welcome in the waters of any kingdoms I created.” She waved her hand in front of him as if erasing a mark I could not see.
She looked at the baby and said, “A boy. To see a son born unto one of us. It is a gift. Even if I cannot undo everything done in my name, your love was strong enough to change the tides.”
“Would you like to name him?” Thurst asked and surprised me with that.
“No. He should carry your father’s name as you intended.” She smiled and Thurst looked at me. I nodded. He smiled even brighter then.
“Maxine. The Mayhem fortune is yours. Do with it as you please. You’ve earned it.” She then looked around one last time and said, “Back to the seas for me. Finally, I can finish my life’s work. I had several planets left to tend when I was last free.”
With that, the air began to spin, the sky lightened, and Case seemed a bit tipsy until it came to a stop. I laughed and said, “Glad you’re you, Case.”
The latches jingled and everyone laughed.
“Well.” Ellie snuggled up next to her monster. “I think we can safely call it a day?”
Oh yeah.
CHAPTER 22
Three months later…
Thurst
“Look at me!” Opal was insisting as she swam in circles around me and then popped out and landed without so much as making a splash. She was maturing so fast even though she was still so small.
“And you?” I asked our son who was currently floating on his back in his human-like form. He set his feet to fins and then went back to floating. I snickered. Yeah, that was my kid for sure.
Max said, “And what about you?”
“Me?” I laughed. “What do I need to practice?”
“Show me your shark teeth.” She winked and I flushed with embarrassment even though our children had no idea what she was referring to.
Our children. We were safe as anyone could be in this realm. So much happened in such a short amount of time after Opal appeared and then disappeared, it was hard to keep up. A missing Mayhem meant Maxine was needed. Old papers that had been passed through generations of Mayhem didn’t seem as important to modern politicians when Maxine wanted to dissolve the corrupt accounts, restore businesses to their rightful owners, and donate the stolen archives of generations to places such as museums and other showcases that could put them to good use, help forge better roads ahead.
