She wiped at the tears that started trailing down her cheeks. Her thoughts were turned inward watching the memory play out within her mind. She was barely aware of his presence in her mind. Her mother placed a crystal on her forehead, said some words that she couldn't quiet grasp, the crystal glowed, and then it stopped. Her mother picked up the crystal, kissed her head, told her she loved her and to be well, and then left her room. She sat and let the tears run unchecked down her cheeks. She didn't notice that Shimani was no longer in her mind or crouched in front of her.
As her tears began to subside, she pulled her mind back to the present. She blinked and looked around the clearing for Shimani. He turned towards her when she stood and moved to join him by the pool. He met her half way, and held his arms open to her. She walked into his embrace, letting him hold her. There were no words to describe how grateful she was for the gift he gave her. Her mother escaped, but where was she, and why did she leave her with her foster parents?
"I don't know, Kaily, maybe she left you on Earth to protect you." He answered her unspoken question.
She stepped back from his embrace. "Maybe," she said. "What did she do to me?" She wiped her tears away, again. She grew tired of her tears.
He shook his head. "I'm not positive, but I think she somehow shielded you from your memories, maybe even your abilities."
"Did you remove the shield?" Moto mentioned a shield in her mind, but she had no real idea what he meant. She didn't feel in a communicative mood at that time and didn't get clarification from Moto.
Shimani shook his head. "No, I just pushed it back enough to allow some of the memories to surface. If my theory is accurate, and no, I'm not giving you all the details of my theory, I think that the shield will come down on its own when you are ready to face what they are keeping away from your conscious mind."
"What if I'm never ready?" She asked, almost pleaded. From what she could remember of the nightmares, she didn't think she would ever have the courage to face her memories.
"Kaily, please hear me on this," Shimani put both his hands on her shoulders and silently demanded her full attention, "and please try to understand; you have to face those memories. You no longer have the luxury to choose not to. I think that is why your abilities are so out of control or at least part of the reason."
She looked down at the ground. "I destroyed the training room, didn't I?" She looked back up at Shimani. "I'm the reason part of Moto's hair turned white, aren't I?"
"I don't know. I think so, but Moto won't tell us what happened." He picked up some of her hair and looked at her thoughtfully, "his wasn't the only one to turn partially white."
She touched the strand of hair he picked up. "How? Why?"
He shook his head. "I don't know." He handed the square parchment back to her. "That is the rune that will open a doorway to Celtan, the Druid home world."
"I'm not Druid," she said and handed the parchment back to him.
He accepted the parchment from her. "Who was the man in your night terrors, Kaily?"
She turned to leave.
He grabbed her by the arm and forced her to face him. "Who was the man in your night terrors?" He asked again.
She struggled for a moment. She only settled when it was apparent that he was not going to let her go or let her run from the truth surfacing in her mind, "my father, sire as the Druids would call him." There was hatred in her tone. She hated that man and it wasn't just because of the memories trying to surface or what she could remember of them. It was a hatred she felt deep down in parts of her she didn't know existed. "Why, Shimani, why didn't you just open the portal to Celtan when I first went through it? Why did you bring me here? Why did you bring me to Moto?" She screamed at him and beat his chest with her fists.
He gathered her close to quiet her actions. "I didn't."
She glared up at him. "Semantics, Shimani, you might not have been the actual one to open the Gateway that day, but you are part of what brought me here. Don't deny it. The mind link works both ways."
His eyes left hers and he looked out over the clearing. "He hoped to bring you into your full Druidic powers before you were sent to Celtan."
"Why?" She stepped back from Shimani and he let her. There was something disturbingly uncomfortable about seeking comfort from another male that was not Moto. "Who is he?"
"Because of Moto," he said, "and the connection between the two of you," he finished.
She shook her head. She felt her temper rising. "No, don't give me that crap. You or whoever you answer to forced the connection. There is no way you can convince me otherwise." She didn't bother repeating her question of who he was. She already knew Shimani wouldn't give her an answer.
"No one has the ability to force the type of connection you and Moto have."
"Apparently they do," she said.
He held up his hands. "Believe me or not, but it is the truth. Let me finish," he said when she opened her mouth to refute his words.
She crossed her arms and waited.
"Moto traveled to your world as he did many other worlds before, but he kept going back to your world. I was tasked to find out why. I discovered he kept going back because of you, and he was keeping very close tabs on you,"
She frowned. "How?"
He smiled and looked away. His eyes drifted back to hers. "I think that is a conversation
