The present was by far the worst ...
VERDANDI'S ROOM WASmuch like the rest of her home, a mishmash of random items from all different timelines. She had a large California king bed raised high off the ground. It looked like she was confused about what she liked more because the bed was tethered to the ceiling and hovered like a hammock, but there were platform stairs below it, so it also rested on the ground. Carlo shook his head, not truly understanding what that was about but deciding he wasn't even going to attempt to ask the Present Norn.
The rest of the room was covered in posters and artwork from different eras. Even what looked like a replica of the Mona Lisa sat right next to a tour poster from BTS. He shook his head, freaking out that he even recognized the group. It might be because one of the members was a paranormal, but he wasn't going to share which one.
One by one, the group rushed up the platform stairs to find Asherah resting in the center of the bed in the status Kallan and Teague had described earlier. The two Fae ran to her side and stood sentinel at the edge of the bed. Ash had surrounded herself with what looked like a bubble of water that protected her from anyone on the outside, and her dress of seafoam and Caribbean-blue fluttered in the contained waves.
“Well, at least she is safe,” Kallan whispered, bowing his head. “She did what Heath thought she would do and put herself in the protective sphere. We can be happy for that and know she's okay.”
“Yeah,” Teague added, “but now we're going to have to figure out how to get her out of it. The only one who could do that before was Heath. He somehow connected to her when she was sleeping.” He looked over at Carlo. “She sort of astral projects to him, and they can communicate; no one else can see her, but he can. Right now, there’s no way we could have him tell her we're here and to wake up.”
“Well, that's where I come in,” Verdandi said, coming deeper into the room. “All it takes is a little bit of trouble, your finger spinning around three times, and then jumping up on one leg. Then you gotta bounce on your butt. Oh wait, I think that's actually the friend dance, maybe. Or did that go with the campfire song, or maybe it was something about knowing how to blow the perfect bubble. Whatever. Yeah, we see she's in a bubble. Let's pop her out of it.”
Carlo groaned, once again relegating to have to deal with Verdandi's expertise, and not knowing how to keep up. Once more, Nanshe leaned over and plucked the horn wrapped around Verdandi's left ear, and she shivered before her face settled into more serious lines.
“Thank you again, sister. I'm back. The way to get her out of status is very simple. She needs to know we're here. Good thing you have me. I can sort of be in more than one place at a time. Give me just a moment, Nanshe, if you could help me out.”
“Of course, I'm right here.” Nanshe stepped behind Verdandi and placed her hands on her sister’s shoulders as Verdandi closed her eyes and bowed her head. Carlo was sure they were getting ready to see her to use some of her power much like Nanshe had used hers to protect him and his people. Verdandi’s came across much more subtly. At first, it didn't seem like she was doing much at all until Carlo noticed a slight vibration to her body. Slowly, the vibration got stronger and stronger until he could barely make out the shape of her body, and then a sort of afterimage stepped out and away from her body. Then, another afterimage stepped out, and each one stepped forward, closer and closer to where Asherah rested on the bed.
By the time she reached Asherah’s side, there were at least ten copies of Verdandi. And the original was the only one vibrating. Suddenly, all the Verdandis moved in different directions, except for the one that stayed at Asherah’s side. One Verdandi started cleaning up the room. Another darted out the window, and a third started singing the song from that movie with the fish that forgot everything.
Each of them almost made him go crazy with trying to keep an eye on all their actions, but he forced himself to focus on the one closest to Asherah.
“Holy fuck,” Teague whispered in awe.
“What the hell is she doing?”
“Based on my understanding of magic, and the fact she's the Present, I'm thinking she is actually appearing in all the different parallels at once, trying to find the answer.”
“The answer to what?” Carlo was confused.
“Depending on which parallel she's in, or if she can reach a timeline or universe where Asherah is awake, talking to that side of her may wake her up.”
Carlo watched Lennox with new respect. Obviously, he was well-studied. “And how, exactly, do you know that?”
Lennox shrugged. “When you piss off the Ales and she doesn't know what to do with you, she sends you into the archives to study any kind of magic and what's going on. To be honest, all the Trinity Council mages are historians of magic now. We already were, but now we are hyperaware of the different ways magic interacts. Kalinda wants to find all the ways she can protect the people of Encantado. Knowing all the ins and outs of magic can then extend to how she could use her magic, along with Silva. It gives her a good chance at being a better leader, but since it was a long shot, she hasn't really told everyone what she is doing.”
Carlo nodded, understanding the need for secrecy. For now, he could simply appreciate that. One of the newest members of the Lombardi Pack had been working tirelessly to protect the city without telling anyone. He could greatly respect that in a woman.
Much like he could say his own mate was doing.
Even the thought made him catch himself. He wished he wasn't so afraid of the Chaos, wished he didn't have so many issues with whatsherepresented. Nanshe, in so many ways, was the perfect woman for him. From her looks to her power to the softness in her, and even how she cared for Verdandi. Others would have been rightfully annoyed to even be around the Present Norn for a few minutes.
He could almost see she would have treated him the same when he had lost his mind. If he didn't have such abject terror of the Chaos, he could have been mated with her already. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts. There was no use in thinking about that right now.
Whatever Verdandi was doing had worked because the bubble of water popped suddenly, and Asherah sat up straight on the bed.
“Heath,” she whispered.
Kallan moved closer. “He's not here, but he is somewhere safe. We came to get you.”
Asherah cried out, falling into his arms and hugging him tightly. “I’m so happy you're here.”
“Of course, we would come. He would have been here himself, but he was detained by everyone else.”
Asherah rolled her eyes. “I'm sure he's going to be vicious because of that.”
“Well, it had to do more with his death causing others to die. He had to stay protected because of that. None of us thought about what he would have to sacrifice when he came back to Encantado. This was the first instance we came up against it.”
