felt her tear against her cheek. She called out in the language she and Audra alone had shared on shore, "I will always be near, and we will see each other again."
Audra called back to her in their language, "Be well, my daughter; you are always in my heart." She sat listening to the waves washing up on the shore with such gentleness. The salt air kissed her face as it blew past her. With each wave, she could hear joy from the endless waters.
As Audra sat on the knoll overlooking the endless waters, thinking of Willow, Nyle came up behind her and placed a shawl around her shoulder. He knelt and kissed her head. She reached up, took his arm, turned toward him, and said, "Willow has fulfilled the promise that was made long ago, and she will remain in the sea, but she has spoken to me, and we will see her again."
He leaned against her and said, "I know, my darling wife, I know." She didn't question him, and he said no more. He sat down beside her, and the two of them spent the rest of the evening staring out over the waters in the way they had never done before. Willow was a part of the sea, and they were at peace with that and the endless waters.
24
Willow spoke to Vala in their language, telling him they must plan to be joined soon and asking him to meet with her at the entrance of the cave of the ancients. Vala wondered why they would go there separately, but he trusted Willow and honored her request. No one but the chosen ever visited the cave of the ancients or even knew where it was. He had heard stories about its existence but did not know anyone who had ever been there. Of course, if they had, they would not speak of it. It was forbidden and sacred. It was said that where the spirits of the ancients resided was sacred ground. Only Morven and Ellura would have been there, for they carried the secrets of the ancients. However, when Willow disappeared for a long time with Morven and Ellura, he suspected they were there, or at least close by. Willow was chosen, and everyone knew she held special powers and wisdom in her blood from the ancients. She was also the great-great-granddaughter of Morven, so indeed she would be privileged to go there.
Vala appeared at the entrance, but Willow was not there yet, which was a surprise to him, for he knew she could travel beyond time and space faster than any. This is where she wanted him to meet her, and so he waited.
Willow had been summoned into the cave by Morven and asked to come alone. She lingered on the sands, waiting for Morven. Willow waited for the sands to begin to stir, yet there was only stillness, and then Morven was there. The light from her body was even more brilliant then it had been in the coral forest.
Morven said that before Willow and Vala could join, he must come into the cave of the ancients to that spot alone. Willow looked up at her hovering just slightly above her and said, "He has never been here before. How will he find his way?"
Morven smiled. "He will be guided."
"Who will guide him?" Willow asked.
Morven looked at her. "Vala has been chosen, not only by you to be your mate, but by all the ancients before he was born. He will enter the cave and receive the gifts that have been waiting for him alone. It will take two halves of the lineage to complete this passage. It does not end with you and Vala, but without each other, it will end."
Morven sent Willow to Vala with his instructions. Willow emerged from the cave's entrance, where Vala was waiting for her. She explained that he had to enter the cave alone and find his way to the sand shore at the entrance of the cave on the land side. He looked at her and asked, "How will I know my way without you to guide me?"
Willow said, "Enter and listen to the silence and the voices inside you, and you will find the way." Something inside him was pulling him closer to the entrance and into the darkness. He was not afraid, nor did he doubt her words.
He remembered a feeling he'd experienced when the spirits had visited him as he lay on the giant shell. He turned to Willow. "We will soon be joined, but I know I must first make this journey alone." He slowly entered the darkness. He could not see or feel anything. For a moment, he felt unsure and apprehensive. He took a deep breath and thought only of Willow and how he wanted to be by her side until the end of their days. He glided through the waters with ease, not questioning where he was going but trusting the gentle pull of the current and keeping his mind on Willow.
In and out, up and down the current carried him, but always gently. The gentleness nearly rocked him to sleep, but he pulled his thoughts back to why he was there. He reached an area where cool waters hit against a current of warm waters. He had two choices: to continue in the cool waters or to follow the gentle, warm waters. He was not familiar with gliding in warm waters, but he felt it was the right path to follow. He stood for a mere second and listened. Yes, I should follow the warmth of the current. The water became shallower, and a light was shining through the warm waters. Soon he found himself crawling onto a sandy shore beneath a cave.
Vala sat on the warm sands alone. He thought about calling to Willow for assurance, but he knew what he alone needed to do. But he wasn't sure why. He sat there for what seemed a long time, yet it was where he was meant to be. That he was sure of. He began to feel lightheaded, so he lay on the glistening sands. The warmth of the sand relaxed him, and he fell into a deep sleep.
Vala dreamt of all the events that had occurred since Willow had arrived from the land. His mind began spinning, and soon all the thoughts ran together like a twisted clump of seaweed. The harder he tried to formulate his dreams, the more entangled they got. He became more weary and exhausted from his struggle, and then it all went dark and empty. There were no thoughts, no feelings—just emptiness, a complete void.
Vala's nearly lifeless body lay still on the sandy shore in an abyss. The sands swirled around him, yet he felt nothing. He lay there, unable to feel anything or even know anything was happening. The swirling sands subsided. The ancients had arrived, each stretching out their silver threads around Vala until he was in a cocoon of illuminated strands of silver lights. His body began to rise above the cave sands, suspended by the ethereal strands that connected him to the spirits of the ancients. Then they laid him gently down on the sand and vanished.
Vala felt the life come back into his body, but it was not the life he had known. He did not understand this strange feeling. He sat there in a daze, wondering what had happened. His mind was spinning again, but this time, clear thoughts appeared and then seemed to disappear in the hidden fractions of his mind, with each thought finding its resting place for when it would be needed. Vala felt stronger and more attuned to his part of the great journey that lay ahead for him and Willow. Piece by piece, pictures formed, and a knowledge solidified: this was what he was meant to do all his life. This was the predestined journey he would take; but now he had the clear knowledge of what his role would be.
Vala knew he was not the same being that had entered the cave, and whatever had happened in there would reshape who he was. He sat there on the shore, staring at the warm water for a while. The water seemed to come closer and closer to him until he could look down at his reflection. Indeed, it was the same, yet very different. He watched his reflection and then noticed a brilliant figure overpowering his vision. He sat up, turned around, and there before him was a light so bright it nearly blinded him. He tried to focus his eyes, but the light was too intense. He was comforted by its presence and could not turn away from its luminous brilliance.
His eyes began to focus as this being spoke. "Vala, do you not know me?" Then it was clear to him it was Morven.
"I thought you perished within the Great Sea Beast," he said, "though Ellura said you still lived within Willow."
"Yes, I am in Willow, and she in me, but I have not perished. I live among the ancients now, but will always be here as your guide—yours and Willow's. You need only seek my guidance."
Vala knew this was a special place but wasn't sure of its significance. He asked, "What is this place?" She told him the story she had once told Willow about how the water people entered the sea there, and that it was where the ancients came to res
t upon their passage. She told him that someday he and Willow would come there when it was their time, but there would be much for the two of them to do before then. She warned him there would someday be a great sacrifice, and he must be prepared for that.
They spoke for a long time, and then she told him he must return, for he was ready to join with Willow as her mate. She leaned forward, touched his cheek, and then vanished.
What does all this mean? he wondered.
"All in good time," he heard her reply in almost a whisper. Vala sat briefly and then could feel the call of the cave waters for him to return to Willow. He slowly entered the warm waters, hesitated, and turned one last time to look at the sandy shore. It looked so calm and serene, and he knew he could return if he needed the guidance of the ancients, including Morven. Vala submerged himself in the water and glided through the corridors of the cave, gliding up and down and in and out of many passageways. He had no concern where he was going; it was part of him now.
Willow called out to him just before he appeared at the entrance of the cave. Vala emerged slowly from the darkness. As he appeared in front of Willow, she knew he was Vala, but he too had been changed by his experience with the ancients.