The Gift

I watched as the Frau and Cerrydwen walked away together, each whispering to the other about what had just happened. That was just fine with me, as I sat there trying to take it all in myself.

I had so many questions and almost no answers.

Was Drake well and truly dead? What the Hell was Dracaar going to do now with Drake’s body? Was the cure perhaps worse than the disease?

Fingering the sealed pocket of my leather jacket, I knew the ring was in there. What the Hell happened with Drake and this ring? Was it dangerous to have? Was there some part of Drake’s essence that escaped by going into the ring?

Knowing that it would be some time before the ladies were anywhere close to ready to depart, I took the opportunity to ground myself as John Red Bear had taught me to and slipped from my body. In my Spirit form, this place, this island looked completely different. It was brimming with colors and vibrantly alive. Instead of the dull, almost lonely place that it was to my normal senses, in this view, the place was brimming with creatures of Spirit that were dancing and playing in an almost gleeful way.

The large stone table was the center of a large gathering of sprites, brownies and other faery like beings who were dancing and singing in high pitched voices. Standing in the center, near the table, was a tall woman with long, elegant limbs, flowing hair, and a thin, angular face that called to mind the word ‘elf’.

I noticed that even with all of the activity going on around her, she was standing quietly, watching me. I felt a nervous tingle as I felt compelled to move closer to her ethereal beauty.

I was so entranced by her face, particularly her eyes, that I almost didn’t notice that she was naked except for a single loin cloth, like Cerrydwen had worn at the ceremony.

As I approached the ring of dancing fey, they scattered before me with gleeful cries and chaotic laughter, going off in pairs and threes into the nearby woods. Those woods, by the way, were much more colorful and cheery looking here than they were to my normal vision.

I continued to move forward, until I found myself standing directly in front of the angelic looking elfin woman. Like an awkward, geeky boy asking the prom queen for a dance, I managed to stammer out a few halting words in greeting. “H-H-Hello, my Lady. A-A-Are you the Hostess of this place that my friend Cerrydwen spoke of?”

She nodded. She was taller than I was, causing me to look up in order to speak to her properly. Her oval shaped face was perfectly proportioned, from her high cheeks and large, tear shaped eyes to her full lips framed by a small, dainty chin and a shapely nose.

“I’m sorry that I tried to break the Peace of this place.” For some reason, I felt like I had to apologize for just about everything. Her presence was a powerful, intoxicating spell, one I could not seem to resist. I so desperately wanted to please her.

I didn’t so much ‘hear’ her response as I ‘felt’ it pass through my Spirit, each word a swirl of emotion, color, and vibrant, living energy.

*There is no need to apologize for what you are.*

I was absolutely transfixed by her words as they passed through me. I had so many questions I wanted to ask this being about what had just happened, but I was transfixed by her gaze, her energy, her presence. I had never before encountered anyone or anything as beautiful as she seemed at that moment.

*He who broke my Peace has been punished for that crime, at least.*

I finally managed to form a coherent question and utter it. “Is he, Drake, dead?”

Her head tilted back in the slightest of movements and a small, tinkling laughter escaped from her mouth, a sound that that sent shockwaves of chaotic, thrilling energy through my very being.

*In the sense that you mortals would deem it, the one you call Drake is indeed dead. His essence, his Spirit as you might say, has been imprisoned in a vessel of his own choosing, a fitting punishment for what he has done to so many others, mortal and immortal alike.*

“The ring? Is his Spirit trapped inside the ring that he gave to me?”

She nodded.

“Is there any way for him to escape? Is it dangerous to hold onto that thing?”

*His essence is bound to that ring until such time as he accepts his guilt and is truly remorseful for the crimes he has committed. Yes, there will always be danger in holding that ring, but there is perhaps even more danger in not keeping it. There is much for you to learn from this one you call Drake. You will need to learn the lessons he has to teach if you are to become that which you must become, if you are to fulfill the destiny of which you are capable.*

“What destiny is that?”

She merely smiled and laughed again, sending even more spasms of energy through me.

“If you can’t tell me that, then can you at least tell me about this Dracaar and what his intentions are?”

*You will learn more of Dracaar from within and by learning from that ring that is now yours than you will from me. I am not of that Order and have no authority to interfere in their affairs.*

“I don’t understand.”

*I cannot offer you understanding, it is not in my nature to do so. But I can offer you something else.*

“What is that?”

*Life. I can restore your body to the world of the Living, make you whole once more.*

“Y-y-you can actually do that? Make me alive again?”

*Yes.*

Everything screamed to a stop in that moment. The one thing that I had wished for more than anything else was being offered to me. To be alive again! To be able to breathe, eat, sleep, touch, smell, taste again! To be able to feel the warmth of my daughter Alexa’s breath on my cheek, to feel the touch of another human being again!

I thought long and hard about her offer. At first I couldn’t believe it could even be possible. Then I thought of everything that happened since I had died, all that I had gone through and become. Would that be lost? Would I be able to do the things that I could now? Would I be able to be there for Alexa and the others who needed me if I were mortal again?

We stood there for what seemed an eternity. She never waivered or became bored as I fought my way through the debate of whether or not I should accept this gift of Life that I had just been offered. Finally, I looked back into her eyes and asked a question.

“Can I ask for this gift to be given to someone else?”

*You can always ask. But once you ask, the request is final*

“Then I will ask if you will give life back to Naomi Jackson, Alexa’s mother. She died too soon.”

The elfin woman’s eyes filled with a sparkling energy that grew so bright as to make it impossible to look directly at her. Her words were like a tidal wave of emotional energy as they washed through and over me.

*So mote it be.*

The power of her words blasted my Spirit back into my body, hurtled my physical form onto its back. As my eyes began to adjust and I felt the connection of Spirit and body click into place, I heard, or rather felt, her voice once more, much more softly this time.

*You have taken another step forward on your journey, you have chosen well, Friend.*

I slowly sat up, tried to shake the cobwebs free and heard some surprised gasps coming from the direction in which the Frau and Cerrydwen had gone.

The Frau called out breathlessly, “Rusty, who is that next to you?”

I looked over to see the sleeping form of Naomi laying beside where I had fallen. Her face a mask of calm repose. If I could have fainted, I would have.