“We need to prepare also.” Her eyes moved around the room, looking at every face there. “If this truly is the last Maxa’xak, our time here is over. Those Unbound will depart. If that is not their wish, they must be Bound tonight.” She touched my father’s arm. “It has been ten thousand years. Everyone should be prepared. Make sure all our People understand.”
No one protested, getting up and silently leaving, except my family. My mother looked at my father and his hand covered hers in a touch I didn’t see very often. A silent message none of us could hear. I caught Daniel watching too, with an expression of sadness, before he dropped his eyes. He wrapped an arm over Joey’s shoulders.
My heart pounded with a sudden fear. My Ci’in confirmed the growing thought in my head. My parents were both Ci’inkwia, so there was no ceremony to Bound them together. And Joey was unmarried, without children. I wanted to jump to my feet, but my legs felt weak, as if all the blood drained out of my body.
“You’re leaving me!”
My mother tore her eyes away from my father’s. “If this is the end, we’ll be free.” She still held his hand. “In the mere blink of an eye, you and your brothers will join us.”
My Spirit knew this, but my heart didn’t care. Casey’s hands gripped my shoulders. I didn’t get emotional often, but he always seemed to know when I was on the edge. She noticed, smiling at him. “You won’t be alone and your children will never carry this burden.”
Children? I’d never even thought of that. “But you won’t be here to help me raise them.” I couldn’t stop the tears from welling up on my bottom lids.
My brothers weren’t doing much better, fighting their own emotions. Joey kept running his hand over his chest, as if something inside was already splintering apart. He looked at me with such sadness. “Joey…”
Father stood up. He was normally such a quiet man, but when he spoke, you listened. “Bound or Unbound, no mourning. We are not dying, only transcending this world for our true existence. You will one day join us.”
My mother pushed her chair out and my father helped her stand. She came around the table. I stood up, but she reached for Casey. He stepped forward, accepting her embrace. She took his hand and folded it into mine. “You won’t be alone.”
“No, she won’t.” He looked past my mother to the rest of my family. “I can’t say I fully understand this, but I’ll do my best to make the transition easier.”
Mom focused on me again. “This is only tragic to your mortal self. You need time to finish remembering your full Spirit, maybe meditation. There is a place by the river.” She glanced to the windows. “Take the rest of the evening and let us worry about what tomorrow brings.”
“Mediation’s not going to help. Besides, I don’t know how to meditate the way you do.” Her meditation went so deep that we joked the house could burn down around her, but if we did anything wrong, she knew.
She gave me her ‘I know better’ smile and stroked my cheek. “Now that you have Risen, it will come to you, Din’ah. Let go of your defenses and you’ll remember.”
“I’ll try.” I resisted reaching out to hold onto her as my father came and pulled her away from me, leading her out of the conference room. My brothers followed them out, circled around Joey.
I leaned into Casey. His arm tightened around me as I pressed my face to his chest. “I know what they say is true, but I can’t help feeling like I’m leading them to their deaths. I’ve done this a thousand times. It shouldn’t hurt like this.”
“Then let’s go do what your mother says. Center yourself.” With a nudge he started me out of the room. At the elevator we waited just a moment before it returned. Casey called Cherise, telling her where we wanted to go.
She met us as the doors opened on the ground floor, holding a blanket folded over her arm, looking completely calm as if we hadn’t called her only seconds before. “I’ll take you down to the riverside. We have a private beach for our penthouse guests.”
“Thank you.” Casey wrapped his arm around me. “Is it possible to bring us some food and drink?”
“I have already ordered a basket to be brought to the beach. If you’ll follow me.”
She led us out the private rear entrance, across the circular drive and into a desert garden with Spanish pavers creating paths that split off into different directions. She took us to the right, towards a tall, ornate, wrought iron fence.
A noise behind us drew my attention. Two large security guards. I hadn’t seen them join us, which probably proved they were good.
Cherise stopped at the fence, using a card key on a gate key pad. “You will have total privacy here.” In a few steps one guard reached for the gate, holding it open for us while the other guard covered our backs. We left the garden and moved into a grove of trees.
I could hear the river, even smell it. We didn’t have far to go before we stepped into an area filled with white sand, leading to a small cove. Turning back towards the hotel, it was almost invisible through the trees. “This is nice. Quiet.”
Cerise gestured to the gazebo under the trees. “You should find everything you need there. Anything else is but a call away.” She bowed and left us.
Casey went to the gazebo, the back wall enclosed with stocked cabinets and a beverage cooler. He removed beach blankets and a couple beers. “Let’s just relax. If you feel like doing meditation, it’ll come
