Chapter 4 #2
Then a thought came, and I rode my roller coaster of emotions straight back to the top. I knew Daniel. That was what mattered. Our connection couldn’t be taken from me—only the version of me still growing in my mother’s belly. But even that could be remedied.
If—when—we all lived on, I could introduce Daniel and the younger Moriah. Weirder things had happened.
But how was I supposed to save a king?
And down the roller coaster I sailed. I was just a farm girl. A college dropout at that. Now I was supposedly a queen foretold, destined to save an entire world from a hostile takeover of winged monsters led by a ruthless madman. To fail meant condemning everyone I loved to death.
Hunting comfort, I looked to Jasher. Afternoon sunlight still glinted off the metal. The executioner still stood completely frozen.
Disappointment surged anew, but I told him, “The second you’re free, I need to feel your arms around me.”
The barn door opened, and Daddy entered. He’d changed into a faded shirt, the sleeves rolled to his forearms, and newish jeans tucked into cowboy boots. A black backpack I recognized hung at his side, stuffed to the brim.
My vision tunneled. In twenty years, Jasher would carry that bag while we ventured through Lawless Forest.
So we took it with us…and gave it to his younger self?
Dad’s expression broadcast familiar, unshakable resolve, and dread pricked me. Whatever he’d come to say, he was decided, and nothing would change his mind. There was no man more stubborn than Daniel Shaker.
“This is the pack Sandra mentioned,” he said, placing it at my feet.
“Thank you.” I closed the journal. “And I’m the one who gave it to her?” I asked. “What’s in it?”
“According to her, yes, you did. We’ve tried to open it, but we’ve been unsuccessful.”
Was it magically enhanced, then? But no. Jasher swore magic wasn’t possible. He claimed tricks, illusions, mind-bending herbs, and technology we didn’t yet understand were always involved when something reeked of “magic.”
“There might be a hidden latch.” I’d work on it later. I stood, focused on him. “This must be weird for you.” It certainly was for me.
He scrubbed a hand over his face. “Weird doesn’t begin to cover it. But I can’t regret Sandra’s arrival.”
“How is she?” I chewed on my bottom lip.
“Eager to return to Hakeldama but currently resting.” He massaged his nape. “There have been complications with the pregnancy.”
Oh, no. I’d had no idea.
“Mother and daughter will be fine,” he said, sensing my worry. He flashed a wry smile. “Not that I need to tell an oracle from the future something she already knows. Anyway, I’ll make sure of it.”
I believed him. His deep, steady strength had carried me through the greatest loss of my life. Of course, mother and baby would be fine. We had Daniel Shaker, mender of fences and broken hearts, looking out for us.
He stood quietly for a long while, reminding me of summers picking strawberries and winters sipping hot cocoa. Then he lifted his gaze to mine. “It’s clear you are her daughter. The very Moriah you described.”
Hearing my name in his voice was a blessing and a bruise all at once.
“Sandra is in denial about the resemblance, but I’m not.” Calmly stated, while I continued to reel.
How like my dad. Always straight to the point.
“I’m her daughter, yes,” I confirmed. There, in the barn, I rushed to voice what I’d feared sharing earlier.
“But I’m your daughter, too. In eight years, you’ll take me out to harvest our soybeans.
We’ll come home laughing—and find blood splattered over the walls, the rooms ransacked, and Mom missing. Just…gone.”
My confession knocked him back. “You’re fighting to save her,” he stated.
“Yes.” I licked my lips. “And you. And King Ahav. Not to mention the kingdom. Ian isn’t a kind ruler.
He enforces a law that allows innocent people to pay for crimes committed by the upper class.
Beheadings are a daily occurrence. Sometimes hourly.
I was on the chopping block, meant to die, but Jasher saved me.
It has cost him everything. I’ll repay, even if it’s in blood. ”
Dad’s mouth curved down. “I guess he’s not as creepy as I originally assumed.”
I offered a soft smile. “The day I traveled to Hakeldama, you told me to date someone, anyone. So I did.”
He grimaced. “Always ignore terrible advice, even when it’s given by a very wise man.”
I snickered. “You are a wonderful father to me. I want you to know that. I love you as dearly as I love her.”
“That’s…that’s nice to hear.” His voice thickened. “Thank you for telling me.” He pulled at the neckline of his shirt, collecting himself. “Did I share any of this while you were growing up?”
“No. Never. Mom did, but only through children’s stories she wrote and illustrated.
You gave me as normal a childhood as possible, all things considered.
I didn’t find out until I arrived in Hakeldama.
A circumstance I wasn’t prepared for,” I admitted.
“The journal mentioned we can set everything right, yet no one in the future seemed to care about it. The Ember of Everlight. Ever heard of it?”
“Sorry, but no.”
Too bad. I’d ask Mom. “Apparently, I’ll go back to Hakeldama.
Not the land as it is now, but the past. And I think someone will force Mom to travel back, too, and that’s why she vanishes in eight years.
I found her artwork there. Pieces she couldn’t have done before I was born.
” And oh, how I’d needed the hints and clues she’d hidden to help me navigate that hostile land.
“Considering the bloody scene the day of her disappearance, I’m guessing Ian is responsible.
That he kept her imprisoned in the royal dungeon before she… she died. Few survive him.”
Tension stole over Dad’s features. He rubbed his fingers over his jaw and flicked a glance Jasher’s way. “I can tell you like your Tinman. Maybe you truly love him. But if he’s a clone of this Ian fellow, he might be running a long con. Make you fall for him now, so he can stop you later.”
I almost rolled my eyes. “You are such a dad,” I teased. “Jasher isn’t like that, I promise.”
He didn’t look convinced. “I hope you’re right.” A little hesitant, he patted my shoulder. “You are a woman any father would be proud to call daughter.” With that, he strode from the barn, leaving me wrecked.