***
Kevan spun around, taking it all in. The beautiful open field filled with waves of wildflowers, and birds playing in the scented air gave her the perspective to see how big the valley was. Turning in a complete 360o, she saw nothing familiar, but the beauty entranced her, negating a ripple of fear that ran through her. She wondered if what she had warned Caleb about had happened, and she couldn’t remember it.
“Don’t be afraid.” Kevan whipped around, coming to a sudden stop when her eyes fell upon a woman unlike any she had ever seen before.
“Who are you?” Kevan demanded, stepping back to see if there was anything, she could use as a weapon. “Where am I?”
“You’re safe. I did not bring you here to harm you. I brought you here so we could talk,” she explained to Kevan.
“I don’t understand?” Kevan questioned. She glanced around again, as all kinds of scenarios ran through her mind of who this woman was. “Who are you?”
“I’m known by many different names, by many different races, but you may call me Tatiana.”
“Well Tatiana, you still haven’t told me who you are, and what you want from me.”
“No, I haven’t,” she told Kevan, a smile lighting her face. Kevan looked away. Tatiana was overwhelming to look at; her being radiated light and beauty unlike anything Kevan had ever seen before. “It’s not important who I am. What is important is the information that I have for you.”
“Are you a god?” Kevan felt small.
“A god. Kevan, please, do I look like a god?”
“How would I know? I have never seen a god before,” Kevan shot back at her.
“And you still haven’t. I need you to listen to me. I have something I need to tell you, and we don’t have much time.”
“Why not?” Kevan wanted to know.
“Kevan, we certainly don’t have time for me to explain to you why we don’t have the time. I need you to listen to what I have to tell you.”
“I’m sorry. As my sisters will tell you, I can be very stubborn when I want to be. You’ve kidnapped me, now you won’t tell me who, or what, you are. Those two facts certainly aren’t working in your favor, so no I don’t think I will cooperate with you.” She closed her eyes and concentrated.
“What are you doing?” Tatiana questioned, frowning as she watched her.
“This has to be a dream. I don’t think that you could have taken me without waking Caleb, and you certainly couldn’t have hurt him. So that means I must be asleep, and now want to wake up.”
“Well, your logic might work if you were asleep.” Kevan’s eyes shot open as she glared at the woman standing in front of her.
“What do you mean, I’m not asleep?”
“It would have been easier if you were, but you’re not, and neither am I. I guess that means that were we’re both awake.”
“This isn’t possible,” Kevan muttered.
“You really are one stubborn woman.”
“What did you expect? The last thing, I remember was having s ...” Kevan blushed, as she quickly changed what she had been about to say. “I remember falling asleep safe in Caleb’s arms, and now I am standing in a field of wildflowers, with a stranger, who isn’t willing to telling me anything about herself. Are you human? How were you able to bring me here without alerting Caleb? If I appear to be skeptical, tough. With all that we have been through, if you want me to listen to you, I need answers.”
Tatiana’s long, flowing golden curls floated over her shoulders, and down her back. The colour was stunning, either the best colour job Kevan had ever seen, or it was supernatural. Kevan shook her head from the distraction, and then looked away from Tatiana. Kevan wasn’t sure what the lady had done, but Kevan was sure that she had done something, because she was forgetting the questions that she wanted answers to.
“Whatever you’re doing, stop, I’m not going to forget my questions. Who are you, and where am I?” Kevan watched her closely, trying to get a handle on this woman.
Tatiana watched Kevan just as closely until a smile lit her face, and Kevan was filled with feelings of what she could only describe as pure goodness. “You’ve surprised me; I never expected you to be quite so stubborn, or beautiful. I always knew that you would be strong and determined, and so far you certainly have shown that.”
“Why are you acting like you know me?” Kevan demanded of her. “I don’t know you?”
“No, you don’t know me, but I know you, Kevan.”
“That’s not possible,” Kevan argued.
“Sure it is,” Tatiana told her.
“How?”
“I think I underestimated just how stubborn you would be,” Tatiana said, but Kevan felt like another was being addressed, not herself.
“Who are you talking to?” Kevan demanded of her.
“It’s alright, Kevan. I have forgotten what it’s like to interact with a human. It’s been a very time.”
“What are? Are you a member of the cairbare sorcerers?”
“No, I am not a cairbare. I am of another race, which for reasons we deemed necessary, removed ourselves from the human realm a long time ago.”
“The human realm? What are you talking about?” Tatiana, was getting antsy, Kevan could see that, as she looked over her shoulder yet again.
“Look, Kevan, I wish I had time to explain all of this to you. You’re going to have to take a chance on the fact that I really am the friend that I am claiming to be. We don’t have much time. Caleb has discovered that you are missing.”
“Then take me back, and tell us both, what you want to tell me.”
“If only it was that simple I would, but it’s not. Leila’s information about protecting the grimoire is correct, but you will need all the help you can get.”
“How do you know what Leila said about the grimoire?” Kevan asked warily. “What do you know about the grimoire?”
“I know that it is a mix of pure evil, and pure good, a balance of both, like life, and unfortunately you need to have both to ensure that proper balance.”
“Okay.”
“Now I need you to listen to me.”
“You know, for someone who claims that you’ve lived apart from the human realm, you sure seem to know a lot of what is happening.”
“Yes, television and the internet are wonderfully educational,” Tatiana laughed. “We need to focus.” She handed Kevan a rolled up piece of paper.
“What is this?” Kevan wanted to know, shaking it at her.
“It’s our contribution to your search.”
“What search?” Kevan tried to play dumb.
“Oh, Kevan, please don’t act stupid. We both know that you aren’t. You’re about to embark on the search for the grimoire, and this is to help you on your quest. Trust that we have your best interest at heart.” Tatiana glanced behind her again. Kevan saw the look of concern that flashed across her face.
“What’s got you so worried?” Kevan asked her.
“I’m running out of time. We will do what we can to help, but you need to find the grimoire, it’s the first step. You need to stop those who would seek to use it to destroy all we hold dear.”
“Tatiana, I don’t understand, what do you mean about this being the first step? And who has you so scared?”
“Don’t worry about the first step. You’ll understand when the time is right,” Tatiana told her. “I have gone against my council’s orders to stay out this, but I cannot. They don’t understand that they are wrong,” she hastily explained to Kevan. “You need to find the grimoire, and I can help you. When it is safe, I will try and contact you again, or get you information when I can, but they are coming. I have to send you back now, before they catch us.”
“Back?” Kevan questioned, as she looked around her. “Who is coming?”
“Be strong, Kevan. You are destined for amazing things,” Tatiana told her,
as she reached out, grasping Kevan’s shoulder.
Kevan gasped, as a sharp burning sensation flared across her shoulder blade, easing down to multiple stings when Tatiana lifted her hand off. Then Kevan was swept away, and the feeling of falling off a cliff overwhelmed her senses.
“Kevan!” Caleb roared as he barreled down the stairs, his heart pounding with fear as he tore through the house looking for her. “Kevan?” he shouted, needing her to answer him.
“Caleb?” He sagged when he saw Kaitlyn stepping into the hallway.
“Is Kevan with you?” he prayed.
“No, I haven’t seen her since she went upstairs a couple hours ago,” Kaitlyn told him. “What’s wrong?”
“I woke up, and she wasn’t in the bed. I went looking for her. I can’t find her. I’ve searched the entire house and grounds, she isn’t here.” The terror that he was feeling threatened to take control; a need to rip everything apart to find her began to build within him. Kaitlyn could see how scared he was, and she tried to calm him down.
“I’m sure you have just missed each other. I’ll bet she is in the kitchen getting a drink, or something to eat. She’s fine, I would know if she wasn’t,” she tried assuring him.
“Kaitlyn, you don’t understand. I can’t sense her. I’ve always been able to sense her. Something is wrong, somebody has taken her ...” He stopped his rant and staggered, gasping at the sudden bombardment of Kevan’s essence. He turned and raced back up the stairs, followed by a very worried Kaitlyn. He stopped when Kevan stepped into his line of sight. “Kevan,” his voice was relieved, as he took the final dozen steps two at a time to get to her. Pulling her into his arms, crushing her to his body, he inhaled her scent. It was uniquely her, but something was different, it reminded him of wildflowers. “Thank the gods,” he whispered against her neck, where he had buried his face. “I woke, and you were gone.”
Kevan wrapped her arms around Caleb’s broad shoulders and held on. She didn’t want to let go of him, ever. “I’m sorry,” she told him. “I don’t know what happened.”
“Where were you?” he demanded as his anger replaced his fear. “I couldn’t find you anywhere!” Kevan held onto him, trying to figure out how to explain, what had happened to her, even though she really didn’t understand it herself.
“Kevan?” She looked over her shoulder to her concerned looking twin.
“Hi, Kait.”
“You okay?” she asked. Kevan smiled at her, but emotions started to bubble to the surface, and the tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
“I’m not sure,” she told her twin.
“Do you need to talk?”
“Yeah, but give us a minute.” Kevan kissed Caleb’s neck, before she stepped back, turning in his arms, which he refused to remove from around her. Kaitlyn cocked her head to the side as she stared at Kevan.
“You feel different,” she told her sister. They had always had a connection between them that let them know how the other was.
“I know,” Kevan acknowledged the difference that she could feel within herself while Caleb ran his hands over her shoulders. Kevan hissed as a shooting flash pain radiated across she shoulder blade where his fingers brushed the spot Tatiana had grasped.
“You’re hurt!” he barked, as he pulled the t-shirt away from her shoulder so he could check her out. Kaitlyn moved around so that she could see. Kevan saw the look of surprise that came over her twin’s face.
“When did you get a new tattoo?” Kaitlyn demanded.
“What are you talking about?” Kevan asked her, as she tried to see what Kaitlyn was seeing. “I haven’t gotten any new tattoos,” she told them as she moved to look at her shoulder in the mirror hanging on the wall. There it was. On the upper part of her back, right above her shoulder blade, lay a tattoo of a tiny fairy. She looked to both Caleb and Kaitlyn, and then took off running to Caleb’s bedroom.
“Kevan?” Caleb followed her, watching as she searched the bed for something, flipping the covers, and then dropping to the floor to look under the bed. “Kevan?” Caleb questioned her again. Kevan stopped, and reaching under the bed, she pulled out a roll of paper that had fallen down between the bed and the nightstand. Her hands shook when she looked to Caleb and Kaitlyn, who were both watching her with a look of real worry on their faces.
Kaitlyn walked over, taking the rolled scrap, and holding it up, asked Kevan, “What is this?”
“The reason I disappeared, I think.” Kevan informed them. She looked to her twin. With shaking hands, she took the scroll gently; undoing the string that held it closed, and unrolled it. Pausing for a moment, she tried to mentally prepare herself for what she was about to do. Her guts told her this was going to add more changes to their upside-down lives. Looking down she took a few minutes to read it repeatedly, before she looked up at the anxiously waiting Kaitlyn and Caleb. Letting Kaitlyn take it from her trembling hands, she got to her feet, staying quiet while Kaitlyn read, then held it out for Caleb.
“Just tell me,” he told her.
“It’s a map,” Kaitlyn told him.
“A map to what?” Caleb wanted to know, as he watched the emotion of fear replaced by joy on Kevan’s face.
“It’s a map or better yet, it’s directions on how to find the grimoire,” Kevan laughed.
“What?” Caleb roared. “Where the hell did you find a piece a paper that gave you directions to the grimoire? Where the hell were you, and who were you with?”
“I don’t know,” Kevan told him with a smile, feeling far better about their task ahead.
“What do you mean you don’t know? What do you remember?” Caleb wanted to know.
“I remember everything,” Kevan told them. “I don’t know where I was, but I remember it.”
“You had better start talking,” Kaitlyn informed her.
“I remember falling asleep in Caleb’s arms, then the next thing I know, I’m standing in a field of wildflowers.” Caleb drew a sharp breath, but signaled her to carry on. “When I turned around, I wasn’t alone. There was this beautiful woman there. She said that she was known by many different names, but I could call her Tatiana.” Kevan sensed the escalating tension in Caleb’s body. She looked at him, but once again he signaled for her to continue. “Well, we argued for a bit. She told me that she had something to contribute to our search for the grimoire. I asked her what she knew about it, and she told me that the book contained both pure evil and pure good, mimicking life. She was scared, I could see that, she told me that she was going against her council, and that was when she gave me the scroll. She said finding the grimoire was just the first step, and when I asked the first step to what, she informed me that we would know when the time was right. She knew about Leila.” Kevan stopped as she recalled one of the things that Tatiana had told her. “Is there more than one world?” she asked Caleb.
“What?”
“It’s a simple question. Is there more than just our world?”
“Yes,” Caleb stated simply.
“Wow,” Kevan whispered.
“Seriously cool!” Kaitlyn chimed in.
“At one time, it was very common for the races to move back and forth between the different realms. Now L’Dern is one of the few places that is still accessible. How did you think all the different races came to be on earth, anyway?”
“I never really thought about it. It just was what it was,” Kevan stated. “I certainly never thought that there were other worlds.”
“So, are they on different planets? Is getting there like stepping through a stargate? Can we go visit them?” Kaitlyn badgered Caleb, wanting to know more.
“Not another television reference,” Caleb muttered. “Okay, I’m not exactly sure how to explain this to you. The worlds are all here, just not here on this earth. I guess the best way to describe it, is that they are in different dimensions. At one time, as I said, there were races
that could step through certain portals, and be on another world or realm.”
“What are they like, the realms?” Kevan asked, her curiosity kicking in.
“I don’t know, some are amazing, some are very similar to earth. Time moves differently in the different realms. If you compared them to earth, you could step into a realm that is more like the 1500’s or 1800’s, or what you think it might be like in 2800. This realm, or earth’s time line, doesn’t seem to fluctuate like other realms; it seems to be more stable for some reason. When you are in different realms, and want to return to earth at the same time frame that you left, it can prove difficult.”
“You said that at one time it was very common to move from one world to another. Tatiana said they had withdrawn from the human realm a long time ago, but she talked like us. She knew me, and when I asked her about it, she told me that television and the internet were very educational. So they must have some kind of connection?” Kevan looked to Caleb; something on his face told her that he knew more than he was telling.
“Caleb?”
“What?” he asked.
“You know something. Don’t tell me you don’t, I can see it written all over your face.”
Caleb looked away as he started talking. “These worlds hold many different magical races that, over the centuries, interacted with the other races on earth. Since the beginning, really, we all mixed together, humans, cairbare, demons, vamps, everyone. It was common until the passages between the worlds began to close down, and disappear. At one time, there were hundreds of worlds. Now, as I said, only the access to L’Dern is still open, which has always baffled us.”
“You know who this Tatiana is, don’t you?” Kevan pushed him. He closed his eyes, and nodded his head.
“I am not positive, but I have my suspicions,” he admitted. Kevan drew a deep breath, suddenly terrified about the answer to the next question she had to ask.
“You loved her,” Kevan stated, catching Caleb off guard.
“If it is who I believe, then yes, I loved her, but not the way you’re thinking.” He took a hold of Kevan’s hands. “I was not in love with her like I am in love with you.” He pulled her close, kissing her forehead. “Please don’t ever doubt that; I’m sorry if I made you feel otherwise.”
“Then who is she?” Kevan questioned him.
“Tatiana is like a sister to me,” Caleb explained with a smile, as he recalled memories of his friend.
“But she told me that she wasn’t cairbare,” Kevan stated in confusion.
“I said like a sister, not that she was a sister,” Caleb corrected her. “If it was Tatiana you talked with, she is Elfame.”
“A what?” Kaitlyn questioned.
“Elfame are a race of fair folk. They are immortal, wielders of magic, and very private. The best analogy, they are like elves, and don’t you dare come up with a movie analogy, Kaitlyn,” Caleb groused. “They don’t have pointy ears; I have no idea where the hell that came from. They are like the cairbare, they aren’t human. There are many different classes of elfame, think England in the 17th and 18th centuries. Elfame have a monarchy, which have ruled the Elfame for thousands of years. It’s not really all that different from earth’s own history. The biggest difference is the fact that magic was very much a part of their lives, whereas here on earth, it isn’t, it’s hidden.”
“What happened to them?” Kaitlyn asked, with the impatience of a child.
“As the human race developed, it became clear that magic was not going to be tolerated. Unlike many of the other races that use magic, elfame magic is not something that they use, it is part of them, woven within them differently than most of the others. When they did not want to hide that fact, it was agreed that no elf would live, or spend too much time, in this realm. Only short visits were granted, always returning to Farren, their home realm. One day I received a summons to Farren, that they needed our help. Marcus and I attempted to shimmer, but we couldn’t. The portal was closed, and nothing that we tried would allow us to pass through,” Caleb explained. “You talked to her? You saw Tatiana?”
“I talked to a woman who called herself Tatiana,” Kevan corrected. “How long has it been since the portal closed to Farren?”
“A very long time,” Caleb stated.
“Caleb, just tell us. You have to know how long it has been.”
“Kevan,” he warned her, hating to bring up the years that he had lived before her.
“Caleb, please just tell us.”
“You’re a pain in the butt, woman,” he growled, making Kevan smile. “Fine, it’s been almost 1800 years,” Caleb told them. Both Kevan and Kaitlyn rocked on their heels in shock.
“Holy crap!” Kaitlyn whispered. Kevan’s mind raced with so many ideas. “I knew you were old, ‘cause Kevan told me, but it is amazing to hear you say it.”
“Kaitlyn, enough!” Both Kevan and Caleb said in unison.
“But the questions, I have to know.”
“Not the place, and certainly not the time,” Kevan interjected.
“Well, excuse me for being curious,” Kaitlyn spat at her twin. “It’s not like we’re talking eighteen years, we’re talking eighteen centuries. If that doesn’t deserve a holy crap, I don’t know what does.”
“Okay, Kaitlyn, you are right. Caleb, you’re telling us that 1800 years ago the doorways between the worlds started disappearing. Now, all of a sudden, she can pull me between the worlds, and can hand us directions to the grimoire that we just happen to be looking for. What about this is wrong?” Kevan looked at her twin. “She knows about television and the internet, but instead of pulling someone she knows, like Caleb, she grabbed me.” Kevan scrubbed her face with her hands. “Don’t you think this is nuts? I wish I could talk to her, I wish I understood ...” Kevan let out a scream, as she swatted at her shoulder.
“What’s wrong?” Kaitlyn cried out.
“There’s something under my shirt!” Kevan cried out. Caleb grabbed the collar of the t-shirt and ripped it. The edges fell apart as he pulled the pieces off her shoulder. They all gasped, as something flew out from under the pieces of ruined t-shirt. Kaitlyn let out a screech, taking a swat at whatever it was that flew out from under Kevan’s shirt, only stopping when Caleb grabbed her.
“No!” He reached his hand out. Kevan watched it hovering above them, and then it flew towards Caleb, settling on his outstretched hand. His face lit up with a smile, at the tiny woman that settled on his hand. “Kira!” he said with surprise.
“Caleb, warrior of the cairbare, I bring welcome.” The voice reminded Kevan of the way one sounds after inhaling helium. “Greetings, and welcome from Tatiana of the Elfame.”
“Oh my gods, it’s a real live Tinkerbell,” Kaitlyn screeched, as she smacked her sister’s shoulder. Kevan just shook her head, and looked at the tiny little person that was standing on the back of Caleb’s hand, watching them just as intently.
“Please tell me that,” Kevan stuttered as she pointed to the tiny person standing on the back of Caleb’s hand, “thing did not just come off my shoulder!”
“I can’t!” Caleb told her. “Kira is a Fay, and she did come off your shoulder,” he explained.
“What the hell is that? And how the hell did it get on my shoulder?” Kevan demanded.
“Kevan, calm down, it’s going to be alright, Kira is a guardian Fay.” He paused, “She was one of Tatiana’s, and she must have given her to you.”
“She sent me to help you,” Kira told Kevan, as she flew up and towards Kevan.
“This is so cool!” Kaitlyn exclaimed, holding her hand out towards Kira, who was busy showing her air ballet moves. Kaitlyn laughed at the still shocked Kevan. “You’ve got your very own Tinkerbell.”
“I’m glad you’re so excited about this whole thing, Sis, but she didn’t come off your shoulder, and how the hell is she supposed to help us? How do I expla
in this if anyone sees her?” Kevan’s voice dropped off when she became aware of the suddenly still Kira, staring at her, looking pissed, her hands on her hips, sparks popping off her head, her foot tapping thin air. Caleb cleared his throat, getting Kevan’s attention.
“Kevan, don’t let Kira’s size fool you. As an elite member of the Guardian Fays, she is very capable of much more than you would ever think.”
“I am to assist with your search,” Kira piped up, her anger dissipating as quickly as it had risen. “Tatiana thought I would be an asset.” Caleb shook his head, confused at Kira’s statement.
“Kira, how does Tatiana even know what we are searching for?” Caleb asked. “We haven’t had contact with the elfame or Farren in almost 1800 years. Unless something has happened … has the portal opened?” Kira floated towards Caleb until she was right in his face.
“I don’t understand it myself, Caleb,” Kira told him rather seriously. “But in the past hundred years, things have been changing in Farren.”
“Changing? How?” Caleb’s curiosity rose.
Kira recited, “Where once there was a door, then a wall, now holds a window. Only the most trusted know that an access into another of the realms has opened. Tatiana has argued that we need to try to open the portals again, but the council are being old men, and think that it’s better if they stay closed. They convinced King Elric that it would be dangerous to let it be known that the portal had opened a window, but not a door. They think that the elfame should stay away from the other races, because most only try and use elfame for their skills with nothing given in return.”
“Okay Kira, that’s too much information,” Caleb told her. “The portals are opening?”
“I don’t know,” Kira told him.
“They built a wall around the one portal, but they didn’t know that Tatiana had discovered another one, another window to your world,” Kira explained, “Tatiana watches it whenever she can, and not telling anyone except her most trusted confidantes about the window. She says that we need to be prepared for when our help is needed.”
“That makes no sense,” he muttered to himself. “What help are you talking about?”
“Caleb, let me,” Kevan told him. “Kira?”
“Yes Kevan.” Kira floated towards Kevan. “You’re pretty, Kevan.” Kevan shook her head at the sudden change in direction of the conversation.
“Thank you, Kira,” Kevan told her, redirecting her back to what they had been discussing. “Did Tatiana give you any other information for us?”
“I don’t understand?” Kira looked at Kevan.
“Both you and Caleb said that Tatiana sent you to help. Did she tell you anything that might help us? How did she even know what we were searching for? How would she even know how to find the grimoire?”
“The window,” Kira stated, as if they should know what she meant. “She can see things; she has shown me many things so I would know about your homeland.”
“But how?” Kevan needed to know.
“She asks, and it shows her.”
“Oh my gods, the portal didn’t open. Somehow it’s been changed to a looking glass,” Caleb explained, his voice ringing with shock. “Kira, did Tatiana ever find out why the portal closed between our worlds?” Kira tilted her head to the side, as she studied first Kevan then Caleb. “Kira?” he pushed her; she could be just as bad as Kaitlyn for going off on tangents.
“No, our warrior Caleb, she believes that we know who is behind it, but requires proof to take to the council, something that is going to get them off their butts, and make them realize that if they don’t do something, that Farren could be the next target.”
“Kira, the Tatiana I knew never talked like that,” Caleb laughed.
“1800 years of isolation changes a person.” Kevan stared at Kira; she sounded exactly like Tatiana. Kira giggled and smiled as she covered her mouth with her hand. “Tatiana says that she is tired of dealing with grumpy old men, too scared to do what needs to be done in order to help our people, before it is too late.”
“Too late for what?” Caleb questioned Kira, watching as she continued her air ballet.
“I don’t know. Tatiana comes away from the window with all kinds of ideas I don’t understand. She is Tatiana, and we obey.”
“So who does she suspect?” Kevan wanted to know. Kira looked at Kevan and shrugged her shoulders.
“She does not tell me that. She only told me about the window a while ago, so I would be ready when the time was right for my journey, but at times she talks to the window and I overhear things. She’s worried that if the council finds out that she has access to one of the other realms; they would do something to stop her from watching, and trying to help. Tatiana says that she needs all the information that she can get in order to make things right again.” Kira’s wings drooped, and she looked to Caleb. “Caleb, I’m hungry,” she told him, rubbing her stomach, which they all heard growling.
“Kevan.” She looked to Caleb. “Kira is your Fay. You need to take care of her.”
“What?” Kevan asked confused at what he was getting at.
“Kira needs to be fed,” he told her.
“In a minute,” she said off-handedly, stopping when he reached out, touching her shoulder.
“No, Kevan, now,” Caleb told her.
“But?” she started to argue.
“Kevan, you need to understand something of the honor you have been given. I don’t ever remember anyone outside of the elfame that have been given a personal fey, it just isn’t done. Tatiana is one of the heirs to the Farren throne; her father is the King. Kira isn’t just a regular fey; she is one of the royal guardian fays. In order for Tatiana to give her to you, she would have had to volunteer.”
“I get it Caleb, and I am very honored by her trust.” Kevan gave him a look that said she understood what he was saying, but she didn’t understand what he was trying to tell her. “We’ll see that we get Kira back to Tatiana ASAP.”
Caleb shook his head. “It doesn’t work that way,” Caleb stated.
“What do you mean, it doesn’t work that way?” Kevan stopped, drawing in a calming breath. “Please explain how it works,” Kevan asked Caleb. “Your acting like I have done something wrong and I don’t understand why?”
“Kevan, honey,” he paused, still trying to deal with all that had happened in the last little while. “I’m sorry, you haven’t done anything wrong, but you need to take care of the gifts you are given. Kira is a gift, you will see.”
“Okay.” Kevan watched him, still confused by his attitude.
“That means that she needs to be fed.” Kira landed on Kevan’s shoulder, grabbing onto her earring. “You need to feed her.”
“I think we are going to be great friends,” Kira chirped in Kevan’s ear, as she swung back and forth on the hoop, “but I’m hungry.” The stomach grumble was really quite loud for such a tiny being.