He pulled back and studied her face again. “Tell me what you saw,” he instructed.
“Arosa has the power to save our world,” she said in a slow, measured tone.
“But—” he added.
“But—she also has the power to hurt you,” she replied.
He shook his head in denial. “Arosa would never hurt me. If she has the power to save our world, then I will find her and bring her back,” he said in a confident voice.
“I know this is what must happen, but Tamblin—please be careful,” Tia said.
Tamblin kissed her forehead, released her and stepped back. “I will. I’ll find her, Tia,” he reassured.
He motioned to Batty. The small mammal released his grip on the rail and launched into the air. Tamblin jumped up onto the railing and hopped onto the back of the hovering bat. He slid his feet into the stirrups, unwound the reins from the horn of the saddle, and looked at Tia. She stared back at him as if she wanted to say something more, but she raised her hand instead.
“I’ll return as soon as possible,” he promised, tapping Batty’s sides.
“Be sure that you do!” she cried out behind him.
4
Valdier:
Paul Grove looked up from the tablet he was reading when his wife, Morian, came out of the kitchen. There was a worried expression on her face. He placed the tablet aside.
“What’s wrong?” he asked.
She looked at him with a crooked smile. “Have you noticed anything unusual this evening?” she inquired.
He frowned and looked around the living room. The coffee table had a variety of toys covering it. Crash, their symbiot, was sprawled out on the balcony. The aroma of cooking food made his stomach growl. Everything appeared normal. In fact, it was downright peaceful.
His eyes widened. “Morah,” he muttered.
She chuckled and nodded. “I haven’t seen her in almost an hour. By now she’s usually at the table moaning about how she is starving and we never feed her,” she replied.
“I better check on her,” he laughed as he got up from his chair.
“Tell her dinner will be in ten minutes,” she called after him.
He scooped up several of his daughter’s dolls as he walked down the hallway. Turning the toys in his hands, he shook his head. His oldest daughter, Trisha, had played with soldiers—real life ones. They were polar opposites about some things.
“But the same in others,” he chuckled, looking at the princess doll in the flowing gown wearing a laser pistol at her hip.
He paused outside of his daughter’s door and frowned when he saw it was closed. Morah never closed her door. He reached out and gripped the doorknob. The door was locked.
Surprised, he listened. He could hear her talking. He gently knocked on the door.
“Morah, honey, unlock the door,” he said.
“I busy, Daddy,” Morah called through the closed door.
Paul frowned and looked at the door with a raised eyebrow. “Busy?” he repeated to himself.
He knocked on the door again. “Morah, can you open the door, please. Mommy said dinner is almost ready. You need to get cleaned up,” he replied.
“I can’t eats right now. I’m busy,” Morah responded.
He studied the door and wondered what was going on. Morah was talking again but obviously not to him. Curious, he pressed his ear to the door.
“You in loves. I know becauses my mommy and daddy has that weirds look in their eyes too when they talk about each others,” Morah was saying.
Paul pulled back and gripped the doorknob again. “Morah, who is in there with you?” he demanded.
He stepped back when the door knob rattled. His eyes widened when his petite daughter scowled up at him with a disapproving air. He tried to peer inside her room, but she pulled the door partially closed behind herself so he couldn’t.
“I is having a meeting, Daddy. This is importants. It is about loves and wishes. I can’t eats dinner yet,” she explained in a very serious tone.
Paul studied Morah. She was wearing a pair of oversized golden glasses—without any lens in the frames—one of his white dress shirts unbuttoned down the front, and a name tag with… He tilted his head to read it, Dr. Morah, written in uneven, childish lettering.
“Dr. Morah?” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
She reached up and adjusted her fake glasses and nodded. “The Goddess needs helps. I tolds her if she ever needs helps I would gives it to her. We’s having an… inner… inner… a session,” she announced with an emphatic nod of her head.
Paul reached out and steadied the tall, pointed princess hat that tilted sideways from her movement. He tried looking into the room again, but Morah pushed a hand against his stomach. He cleared his throat and looked down at her.
“Are you saying you have one of the Goddesses in your bedroom, and you are having an intervention session with her?” he asked.
He wanted to clarify what he was going to tell Morian.
“Yes—and you is interruptings us,” Morah pointed out.
“My apologies. I’ll let Mommy know you’ll be busy for a bit longer,” he replied, trying not to laugh.
“Thank you, Daddy,” she replied.
She began to close the door before she paused, sniffed the air, looked down the hallway, then turned eyes filled with longing up to him. He could see the conflict on her face. The sound of her tummy rumbling gave her thoughts away.
“How about I bring you a plate—or two. After all, counseling a Goddess is hard work, and I imagine both of you are probably hungry,” he suggested.
Morah’s face lit up with delight, and she wrapped her arms around his legs. He adjusted her hat again when she pulled back and looked up at him with a smile. He bent down and kissed her forehead.
“I’ll put a tray outside the door,” he murmured.
“You are the best Daddy evers,” she whispered back to him.
As she went back into her bedroom and closed the door, he frowned. Why would a Goddess need help with love issues? More importantly—what was Morah telling her? He jumped with a start when a slender arm wrapped around his waist.
“Is everything alright?” Morian asked, resting her chin against his arm.
“Sometimes I feel very old,” he replied with a sigh.
Morian laughed and shook her head. “Trust me when I say I’m the one who robbed the cradle,” she teased before she looked at the door and continued, “Please tell me she isn’t plotting to take over the world.”
He shook his head. “No. She is going to need a tray with dinner for two,” he replied, sliding his arm around her as they both walked back to the living room.
“Two?” she inquired with a surprised expression.
He nodded. “It would appear that she is now Dr. Morah, counselor to the Goddesses,” he chuckled.
Morian glanced up at him in surprise before looking back over her shoulder. Her lips were parted, and her eyes were wide, so he couldn’t resist kissing her.
“Oh my,” she replied with a laugh.
“Yes. I suspect this is only the beginning. I’ll make her a tray,” he said with a shake of his head.