Ellida (49 page)

Red Cliffs and Winston continued to help
Copper Ridge by providing money, supplies and a workforce. Many
individuals made generous donations and grants, or volunteered
their time and expertise to help the neighboring town recover as
quickly as possible.

Ahmed was probably Copper Ridge’s greatest
benefactor. Aside from his generous donation to the hospital, he
had financed several buildings for Copper Ridge youngsters. The
ground had been broken for a new elementary school, a gym, a
swimming pool, and fencing and ballet schools.

Max Wallace, Livia and Tristan’s friend from
Scotland, had given money for a soccer field and accompanying
facilities. Neil Ramsay, the Red Cliffs soccer coach, offered to
come three times per week to train the Copper Ridge junior
team.

James, Betty, Jack and I had decided to cover
the cost of a new expressway between the towns. Millennium Property
had undertaken the repair of private houses and public buildings.
The Fellowship of the Full Moon had bought clothes and footwear,
books and toys for all the kids. The small business owners helped
with food and household items. The youngest Red Cliffers donated
their toys, sports equipment and bicycles to their little friends
in Copper Ridge.

The most imaginative gift had come from Uncle
James and his fishing buddies: every child and her or his parents
got an all-inclusive one-week trip to Disneyland.

My grandparents had quietly retired and moved
to Copper Ridge. Ella started working in the hospital, and Arnaldur
was appointed as the Council’s legal advisor.

To my delight, Tristan and Livia had decided
to settle in Red Cliffs “for a while”, as Liv said.

“What does it mean, ‘for a while’?” I
asked.

“A couple of centuries, probably,” Tristan
said with a wink.

Tristan took over Ahmed’s position and Livia
continued with her allergy research project, dividing her time
between Red Cliffs and Copper Ridge, where she worked with
Ingmar.

Maggie and Darius announced their decision to
make Red Cliffs their permanent home. They decided to stay in
Copper Ridge until the New Year, when my mother would officially
take over the ‘office’. After that, Darius planned to go back to
Scotland for another year, this time taking Maggie with him. The
following fall, they planned to return to Red Cliffs.

I talked to my mother and we decided that our
family house would be a perfect wedding present for them. “They
keep saying they don’t want to get married so soon, but I have a
feeling we won’t wait long to hear wedding bells,” I said. “Let’s
make the house ready.”

My teacher and Amilla had also declared they
didn’t want to rush with their wedding. They would move in together
instead. The Council had granted Takeshi permission to open a
martial arts school on the main floor of Seth’s castle. The
Nakamuras had bought all the equipment. Two smaller buildings
inside the castle walls were planned for future ballet and music
schools, as soon as they found teachers. Before Ariel went back to
Winston, she and Eamon had spent lots of time getting them ready
for the first students.

Jack’s grandparents had decided to spend a
few days in Winston before they returned to Gelltydd Coch. They had
said they’d come to Red Cliffs for our wedding.

Jack and I stayed in Copper Ridge almost
until Halloween.

ONCE BACK at home, I happily immersed myself
in the preparations for Jack’s and my first Halloween together.
Betty and I spent three fun days cooking and baking spooky food.
Instead of candies and chocolate bars for trick-or-treaters, we
prepared dozens of trays filled with individually wrapped homemade
alternatives: cheesy witch fingers and goblin feet, weird and wacky
cookies, creepy cupcakes with grayish, zigzag-frosting that
resembled brain mass, forked eyeballs, gingerbread skeletons, wafer
gravestones, potato-skin ghosts, mini-pizza mummies. The children
were delighted.

I was dressed in a maternity version of
Princess Aurora’s fuchsia gown. Jack was Captain Jack Sparrow.

That morning I’d casually mentioned that I
had another costume for more private trick-or-treating. Jack was
intrigued and was trying to get me to tell him more about my
mysterious outfit. My lips stayed sealed, but I did give him plenty
of meaningful looks.

I went to check the beef roast in the oven
when I heard his steps following me to the kitchen. His arms closed
around me from behind. “I can’t stop thinking about it. Give me a
hint, baby,” he whispered against my neck and bare shoulders,
moving his warm hands lazily up to my swollen breasts.

“Nope. It’s a surprise. Be a good boy and
you’ll get your treat.”

“You little witch! I’ll have my revenge, mark
my words.”

James, Betty and Eamon joined us for a late
dinner, and went home after midnight.

“Playtime!” I said, kissed Jack and locked
myself in the bathroom.

I slipped into a silver catsuit and arranged
my hair into a sleek French twist. The costume was a bit tight
around the chest and abdomen. I was bigger than Maggie and I had
anticipated this when we sewed it. Fortunately, it was made of
stretchable Spandex and comfortable. I would take it off soon,
anyway.

“Baby, what’s taking you so long?” I heard
Jack. “I’m gonna take off whatever you’re putting on. In case you
find me awake when you come out, that is.”

“In a minute, Jack. It’s worth waiting for, I
promise!”

I applied the facial ‘implants’ using silver
face paint. Finally, the finishing touch: a tight surgical glove
for my left hand, with glued-on copper strands and rubber
fingertips painted black.

“I’m telling you, Astrid, I’m tired and I’m
going to sleep now.”

I opened the bathroom door.

A homemade Star Trek Seven-of-Nine stepped
out. “Well, not before you’re assimilated, Jack Canagan.”

A wide grin spread across his face. “I
wouldn’t even dream of showing any resistance,” he said, laughing,
and pulled me into his arms.

THE FIRST High Council assembly I was about
to preside over was scheduled for the second Monday in November. We
had only two topics on our agenda: Heather Kincaid and Henry Albert
Flanagan.

Heather had repeated her confession, which
she had already officially made in Copper Ridge.

In summary, this was her story: During one of
the winter festivals in Red Cliffs twenty- five years ago, Seth had
met my mother for the first time. He immediately became obsessed
with the idea of marrying her and fathering a female child who
would become the Copper Ridge Ellida. “He was attracted to her; he
didn’t need to pretend that part,” Heather said. “When he wanted,
he could be charming, smart, intelligent, gentle and generous.
Everything women like. I told him that Rowena’s and Hal’s marriage
was shaky and that Hal refused to turn her into a werewolf. I
thought, if she left Hal, he could be mine. But he didn’t care
about me, he never had.”

Later, acting as Seth’s messenger, she’d
helped arrange Seth’s meeting with Hal and Brian. “He said he
wanted to talk to them, to resolve the whole mess. He said he
wanted to talk about Astrid, to bring her to Copper Ridge to be
with her mother. I didn’t know Seth planned to kill Hal and Brian.
I swear I didn’t. Seth told me later that Rowena wanted them dead
because Hal would have never let her take Astrid, and Brian would
have supported him.

“I trusted Seth, although it soon became
clear he didn’t want the little girl in Copper Ridge. He hoped for
his own daughter with Rowena. Later, when it became obvious they
wouldn’t have a child together, Seth turned his attention to
Astrid. Rowena did everything in her power to keep Astrid out of
Seth’s reach.”

“Tell us about your recent role,” Janet
Falconer said.

“I was Seth’s insider. I was reporting to him
what was going on here, especially after the Ellida came. He asked
me to come up with a plan to get her to Copper Ridge. The idea of
infiltrating the humans here was mine. I still possessed some of my
wizard skills so I was able to change their scent. He wanted to get
even with Rowena, but he promised he wouldn’t hurt Astrid.” She
stopped and let out a deep sigh. “He said he’d hurt Peyton if I
didn’t do what he asked.”

Several Council members gave her a doubtful
look.

“I believe you, Heather,” I said before
anybody else said a word. I actually knew she had been telling the
truth, although even she didn’t know everything that had happened.
Liv had told me what she had seen when she had looked into her
mind. Like many others, Heather had been used and manipulated, a
victim rather than a villain.

Only three people—my mother, my father and
Brian Canagan—knew exactly what had happened: all the causes,
reasons and consequences. Two of them were dead. My mother’s name
had been cleared of any wrongdoing, but she was still reluctant to
talk about the details. “You and everybody else will know
everything in due time, Astrid,” she’d said to me with a strange
expression. “This sad chapter is over, but the story is going
on.”

I’d made Heather’s confession a public
document so that anybody who wanted to read it could do so. Now
that everybody’s roles in those events were more or less known, all
the speculation had stopped and Red Cliffs could finally put its
painful past behind it.

The Council had confirmed Heather’s
sentence.

When asked if she had anything else to add,
Heather said that she was deeply sorry for all the suffering she’d
caused, including the way she had treated her daughter. “I know I
can’t ask for your or my daughter’s forgiveness. I know I don’t
deserve it,” she’d said in a quiet voice. “But with my last act I
was hoping to tell you how much I regret everything I’ve done. I
have no excuse and no explanation. Please, believe me.”

I looked at her eyes and saw sadness, anguish
and pain in them, but none of the hate and coldness that had marked
them before. “I know that, Heather,” I said. “You saved me, and I’m
truly grateful. That’s why I took over your sentencing. You’ll be
leaving tomorrow for Gelltydd Coch with Ellida Morgaine and Master
Hayato. Use the years ahead wisely. When we meet again, I hope
we’ll have some nicer things to tell each other.”

THE SECOND part of the meeting was much more
pleasant. As a token of the Council’s appreciation for his courage,
Henry Flanagan was presented with the Silver Sword of Bravery, Red
Cliffs’ highest military award.

Eyes shining with excitement, Henry stood in
front of the Council immaculately dressed in dark pants and a white
shirt.

“In recognition of your heroic act and quick
thinking, I present you, Harrison Albert Flanagan, son of Angela
and Jordan, with the Silver Sword of Bravery,” Jack said and placed
the sword on Henry’s outstretched palms.

The boy slightly bowed his head. “I thank
you, Enihamir, and the High Council for this great honor. It was my
duty and my honor to protect our Ellida.”

I smiled. Only Henry Flanagan could use such
grown-up words with his high-pitched child’s voice and sound so
noble.

I walked to him and lowered myself on one
knee to be at the same eye level with him. “I’m ever so grateful to
have a protector like you, Henry. You risked your own life to save
mine. I know how much you like our ancient stories about Harlan,
Illeanna and the Horse with the Silver Mane. Well, the horse that’s
waiting for you outside looks a little bit different. It’s chestnut
with a black mane, but I know you’ll like him fine. Please accept
it as a token of my gratitude, Master Henry.”

Henry carefully placed the sword on the floor
and hugged me fiercely. “Thank you, Ellida,” he stuttered. “I could
never have a cat or a dog because of my allergies, but I’m not
allergic to horse hair.”

“I know that.” I smiled. “And soon, you’ll
have a chance to have a cat and a dog, and drink milk. I’ve already
scheduled your first appointment with Dr. Livia Blake. She’s the
best allergy doctor in the world.”

UNCLE JAMES, Betty and Eamon spent the first
half of December in Italy, looking for a flat for Eamon, who’d
chosen
Conservatorio Statale di Musica
in Florence for his
studies in Music History next year. After two years in Italy, Eamon
planned to come back and continue to study ethnomusicology
somewhere in the States or in Canada.

One day Eamon phoned me from Florence, so
excited that I had a hard time figuring out what he was trying to
tell me.

“My Musicology professor, Signor Alessandro
Colonna,” he started. “I spoke to him when I submitted my
application. He’s doing a project on performance practice. He’s
asking different opera singers to record the same role, for
teaching purposes… Mr. Colonna’s chosen the
Queen of the
Night
role. Astrid, he wants you to record it and send it to
him.”

“Slow down, slow down. Record it how?
Why?”

“Okay, okay… He’s doing research on
variations between different vocal qualities, and one of the ways
to do that is to record the same composition sung by several
singers. Got it?

“No, I don’t, Eamon.” I said. “Every singing
voice is unique. Why would someone want to compare them?”

Eamon ignored my comment. “I mentioned you,
and I honestly told him you were not a professional opera singer,
but that you’d had voice lessons for years. You did, didn’t you? So
he’s going to e-mail you with the instructions how to download the
orchestral part, and I’ll help you to record it. You just start
practicing, will you?”

I still wasn’t sure what Signor Colonna
wanted from me, but Eamon’s enthusiasm quickly rubbed off on me.
“So, I’m going to do a sort of
Queen of the Night
karaoke,”
I said, laughing. “No problem. I’ll start practicing right
away.”