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“What’s wrong?” Brian asked, concerned.
Maerlin wiped her eyes. “I’m sorry. You can’t imagine how incredibly lonely my life is. No one has accepted me as I am…well, never like this.”
Melinda closed the space between them and hugged her dear friend. “Oh, honey. Of course, we accept you. I can’t promise we would have reacted like this twenty years ago, but I’d like to think so. Maer, you have a place with us as long as we live. No one should be alone.”
Maerlin couldn’t stem the tears and gave a hiccupping laugh. “Don’t tempt me. I can make you immortal.”
Brian smiled. “Be careful what you offer. Cut Dani in for the deal, and I suspect you will have some takers. Ash said vampires live forever.”
“I have no problem taking you with me when I go find Ash, and we will talk seriously about immortality, but you do know she’s not a vampire, right?” Maerlin grinned.
Brian, Melinda, and the panther prowl stared at her in confusion. “What do you mean?” Uuka asked. “I saw her. She’s a vampire.”
Maerlin shook her head. “Only because she doesn’t know any better. Ash was born of my magic, which makes her one of my children, though she is also your daughter, born of your flesh and blood. I don’t know how to describe what I am. The closest I’ve come in human language is an alien goddess.
“Mother Earth is one of my more accurate names. I was born here and was the first living creature on this planet, and I consider this place my home and under my protection. There’s a lot more to it, but Ash is unique. She is a true immortal with the seal broken, and her powers are limited only by her will and imagination.”
Brian sat back, the breath huffing out of his lungs. “Holy shit. We’re going to need drinks. Maerlin, keep talking.”
Uuka and his sister poured and passed out bourbon, and they all settled in to listen to Maerlin explain the curious situation in which they found themselves.
“There are other worlds,” Maerlin continued. “Other universes and other dimensions. My soul is from a universe called the Abyss, and a very long time ago, it collided with this universe, creating a rift between them below the ocean floor off the coast of Chile. What’s now Chile, anyway. The planet was different back then. In one of the last collisions of the Hadean Era, a rogue planet was drawn to the rift and smashed it open.”
They all stared at her in shock, but her words riveted them, so Maerlin kept talking. “Think of the Abyss as a shell containing a lightless ocean of incomprehensible size. Instead of water, the Abyss is full of… Translation fails me here, but think of it as amniotic fluid infused with magic. There is no death there. It is an endless cycle of rebirth as a soul lives one life after another. Conquest, conflict, and consumption on infinite repeat.
“I was in the waiting stage before my next life started when our universes collided. I was not a notably powerful being in the Abyss, but my magic works differently here. In my home, we never knew what we’d become from one life to the next. What we learned and the power we amassed influenced how we were reborn. Abyssian magic is based on potential. I don’t understand the difference in my power level, but I have not encountered many limits here.
“The exchange brought new material to the Abyss, and I can only guess what happened there. Here, the influx of Abyssal fluid sparked life. I was alone for so long, and I did everything in my power to protect the budding life on this planet.” She sighed wistfully. “I do miss the dinosaurs. There’s nothing like fighting a T-rex or running with the raptors. Still, there are things even I cannot change, and they had their time.”
Everyone watched her with awe, but Melinda’s laughter broke the silence. “The girls are going to love you. They want to study archaeology and explore the world’s history. Maerlin, you are the world’s history.”
Maerlin smiled happily. “Do you think so? I can’t wait to meet them.”
“We should save the rest for when we meet up with them,” Brian suggested. “That way, Maerlin won’t have to repeat herself.”
Melinda turned to Uuka and the other panthers. “Will you go with us?”
Uuka nodded. “The king left you both in our care, so we will go where you go.”
“Okay, then we need to find a flight with enough seats. I’ll start looking at the travel sites,” Melinda offered.
Maerlin grinned at them. They were adorable. “I can just open a portal. Instant travel, unmatched convenience, and it’s free.”
“You can? Of course, you can. Okay, let me call the girls and make sure they are prepared for guests. I don’t want to ambush them or intrude at an inopportune time.”
Ash didn’t answer her phone, but Dani did. She was thrilled that they were coming to visit, but Melinda didn’t tell her about Maerlin. “Ash should be back on Friday, so that would be the best time to come. She went on a vampire recruiting mission, going all Ben Franklin on their asses.”
“What does that even mean, Dani?”
“Current historical obsession. Ben Franklin was a badass, and he knew his way around a revolution. Anyway, Friday would be the best time to come. Eiko is with her, and they might be able to open a portal when they return.”
“That won’t be necessary, honey,” Melinda replied. “We can get there just fine. I’ll call you when we have more details. Otherwise, I will see you on Friday. Give Luca and the others our love.”
“Well, with that settled, how will we pass the time?” Maerlin asked.
Melinda laughed. “Are you kidding me? In addition to catching up on the past twenty years, I want to hear about your life. You must have been so lonely. I’m sure you’ll have to repeat some of it, but I’m not sorry since it will be just as fascinating the second time. I think we’ll find plenty to talk about.”
She sighed, still smiling. “I’ve missed you so much.”
