Alex jumps out of the truck calling out, “I will walk Rusty before we come in.” Hunter walks in the front door with Varena behind him. Malach stands, feeling her presence before they see her. Staying close behind Hunter, Varena clutches for his hand and immediately feels his calming presence. He looks back at, her he nods in encouragement and she steps from his side into the light, but does not release him.
Elina turns from the fireplace dusting her hands off and goes still. Blue eyes wide in shock, she steps forward, and hazel eyes find hers.
“Rena?” she whispers. Varena was not sure how she would feel at the sight of her friend. She feels her heart call out sister, and they rush to each other laughing and crying at the same time.
“How is this possible?” Elina asks looking at Hunter. Smiling he stays protectively close to Varena, handing her a tissue. Introductions are made and then Malach steps forward.
When she sees the angel, Varena begins screaming in her mind. Elina reaches for her friend to reassure her when Alex explodes into the room and forms a protective shell around Hunter and Varena. The blast blows Elina back into Malach’s waiting arms.
Glowing eyes meet and Malach pulls Elina behind him, protecting her with his wings. Polly watches, and Ruby and Ronnie stare frozen afraid to move.
“Cease!” A deep voice calls out from behind them.
Simeon enters slowly and his wings disappear in an effort to set Varena at ease. Malach does the same and Elina shoves at Malach’s back. Moving aside, he allows her to see. Varena has stepped into Hunter’s protective embrace and Alex stands before them with his powers humming. He has not dropped his shield and he begins to levitate off the ground. The panic he felt in Varena causes a fluctuation in his power and it becomes volatile.
“Come forward Daughter of the Light, and meet your brother, Hemana,” Simeon says. Elina’s knees buckle and she stares at the young man in front of her. “What?” multiple voices cry out in unison.
“I can’t control it!” Alex cries out. As she feels the ripple of power expand and build, Elina does the only thing she can think to do. She leaps for him and ports them outside. Immediately they find themselves by the stream, and Alex is struggling to hold onto the power.
Elina instructs him, “Let it go Hemana, focus it on the stream.” His power explodes from him, causing a blast of epic proportions. The stream becomes a river and he falls forward exhausted from the effort to hold on.
Dropping down beside him, their eyes meet. “My name is Alex.”
Elina cries with joy, she touches his face and shares with him their final goodbye. Alex sees her younger face holding him, crying and whispering goodbye then a flash of blue light and she is gone.
“I would have taken you with me if I could, Alex. I was hunted and you needed to be protected.”
“No regrets Elina, I have had a great life. My father is awesome and my sister is the Keeper! That explains a lot.”
She stands slowly as she laughs pulling him to his feet. “We better get back to the others before they go crazy with worry.”
Laughing and wet, they port back into the living room and find Hunter standing with a shaking Varena. Malach and Simeon are on the deck talking privately.
Ruby and Ronnie rush forward to greet her. “I’m okay.” Ruby wraps Elina in a towel and they step aside to watch Alex run to his dad.
“What’s wrong, Rena? Are you hurt, If they…” he starts to say but his father wraps his shaking body in a towel, “Easy tiger, sit beside Rena.”
Polly brings a hot cup of tea and places it in Alex’s shaking hands. Varena reaches out and takes his hand. With a glance at Hunter, she says, “I don’t know what to say to him….”
Ruby steps forward and pulls Elina with her. “I can help with that. Link if you want to see,” she tells the others. They hold hands and Ruby uses her body as the conduit, reaching for Verena’s memories. They see her standing in a hut, holding a newborn baby surrounded by people. The baby sleeps, and she hands him to his sister. They watch as Elina kisses him. They feel as her heart breaks in two and then, in a flash of bright blue light, she is gone. All hell breaks loose. Varena runs with her father to the family hut, where they see two babies, and Micah comes in ordering his family to run! They run with Rena clutching a screaming baby in her arms and watch Varena run when her mother tells her, “Protect the Light! He must be protected!” They watch in awe as she runs, protecting him with all she has, then weep with her as she feels them closing in on her. They hear the screams of her mother and brother and feel the panic when she knows they need her. Saying a prayer of protection over Hemana, she places him in the basket and runs.” Breaking off they all are silent, Ronnie takes his wife in his arms and goes to the fireplace to warm up.
Simeon tells them “The part you didn’t see was the angel that flew in and took the child to safety, placing him in the arms of a protector until he is needed. That time is now, Son of the Light.”
Alex stares at them all, and leans forward grasping Varena’s hand. Before
