Enchanted Hearts

Chapter 4-2

Eric paused to watch her reaction. She was listening, but seemed detached. She was difficult to read. He couldn’t be sure if she believed him. "Yet again, bad fortune followed the man," he continued. "His wife was injured while defending an innocent. As he held her hand and watched her life force wane, the man gave thanks for the time they’d had. Although his heart broke, he didn’t lose sight of his belief that all things happened for a reason."

Nancy"s spectacular ice-blue eyes blinked. Through their shared connection, he could sense her sadness for the man"s pain and suffering. The depth of her empathy surprised him. "Then, on the eve of Winter Solstice, at the moment of greatest darkness, he found his light. Her heart stopped beating at the exact time between the twodays and great magic was released with her passing. The spirits of all the animals she’d ever called materialized and bound themselves to receptive humans across the realm. One of those spirits took refuge in her, and through its power, she was healed."

Nancy"s lips parted and she released the breath she’d been holding. Eric felt sorrow lift from his chest. "Those who now held animal spirits flocked to the couple, and he told their story. His faith spread. Others began to believe. One by one, they learned of a new ability to move between realms. Only those with unwavering faith could navigate the currents. Those who gave in to fear and began to doubt the inherent goodness of life, found themselves lost, cast to other worlds. They were called fallen. Those who were fallen forgot all that they were and became one with their new worlds. Those with strong faith discovered a land nestled in the sea of time. They called their new home Calaspia and settled in the sanctuary. And so they remained."

"You mean they hid."

His forehead furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, it must be easy to stay optimistic and faithful if you hide in some sanctuary with a bunch of other people who believe like you do. That first guy, he immersed himself in the suffering of others, trying to help people, and still stayed positive. He didn"t hide from life and all its unfair suckiness. I can"t imagine he’d be happy in this paradise world, when he knew that in the other worlds, people were dying and being tortured."

He felt a well of emotions bubbling inside her.

She closed her eyes and shook her head. The emotions dissipated. "I"m sorry. I have no idea why I got carried away like that. It was wrong of me to say those things. I don"t know you or your people. I have no right to judge anything on a two-minute conversation."

Eric paused. He’d expected questions and a good bit of doubt and fear, but he hadn"t expected a philosophical discussion. What would it be like to live in a world of death and pain? His mom rarely talked about her childhood on Earth, but he knew it hadn"t been easy. He tried to see things from her perspective. If he’d lived through immense suffering, would his faith be so strong?

"I can"t say you’re entirely wrong," he allowed. "Our founder and his wife didn"t stay in Calaspia. You’re correct about that. They were there for its founding, but never stayed long and, as far as anyone knows, are still out there traveling between worlds, helping others. Perhaps the rest of us took the easy path, but it wasn"t always that way, and there were reasons for the choices my kind made. Many did seek refuge and safety. I suppose they saw Calaspia as their reward for a lifetime of suffering. I can’t speak to individual motivations. Many of our elders eventually follow the example of our founders. They say it’s a calling, a desire to leave our world and return to where they’re needed. There were others who saw Calaspia merely as a safe resting place between journeys. For a while, many continued to travel between the worlds, even Earth. It was those interactions that provided names to describe the two branches of our kinds—"

"Angelics and demonics?" she interjected.

"Yes," he smiled. "You see, while we’re animal and human hybrids, angelics retain more human nature and often assume full animal forms or full human forms, as the situation dictates. Demonics are prone to take hybrid forms like this," he indicated himself, "mixing and fully integrating our human and animal natures. Although we can take full animal forms, it’s more difficult to do, and isn’t the form we prefer. Because our animal spirit is more prevalent, we tend to rely heavily on instincts and can become agitated easily. That’s also why your people likened us to demons. Fear of our visits grew. Some of our kind were killed, not just here, but on other worlds. The angelics had the benefit of their easy-to-maintain human forms and temperament to help them blend in, but eventually they were hunted as witches and forced to return to Calaspia. The connection between our worlds grew thin and became difficult to travel. Some were lost trying to return here or go back. And so, we’ve maintained our distance."

"Then, why are you here? Or why am I here? And where exactly is here?" she asked curiously.

hereHe smiled understandingly, and his hand reached out instinctively to touch hers. Her skin felt soft under his rough fingertips, and a breath caught in his chest. She reacted similarly, but didn"t flinch or move away. Her face softened as she smiled; it was beautiful. She accepted his touch. Eric looked into her eyes and felt a shock course through his body when pretty, sparkling eyes stared back. He felt her goodness, her spirit and soul, just as he felt their connection, clear and undeniable. Desire built and threatened to overwhelm his senses. He wanted to hold her close, kiss those soft, inviting lips, and stare into those beautiful, magical eyes for all of time. "You have the most beautiful eyes I"ve ever seen," he whispered, wonderstruck.

Her mouth parted in surprise. "You like my eyes?" Her voice was barely audible.

"Very much." He touched her face and she leaned close. "I have no idea what I was saying," he admitted.

Nancy laughed. "Uh … about where we are, I think."

"Right." He dropped his hand. Inhaling slowly and deeply to steady his thoughts and emotions, he continued. "We’re here because of the Winter Solstice. Every year, on this day, we have feasts and celebrations."

"Because that was when the first guy"s wife was saved and all of your kind was created?"

He smiled. "Yes, exactly. We use magic and rituals to form connections through the plane of time. No one knows exactly how it works, but any unbound adult can be affected. We shift out of phase until we find the other person in phase with us, and pass through the temple archway together."

in"This is the plane of time?"

"It is."

"Are we still on Earth?"

He nodded.

"Then why can"t I see anyone else? And why does everything look so different?"

"We can"t see anyone else, and they can"t see us, because we aren"t moving at the same speed as they are. Only you and I are in sync. Things look strange, because everything is more a spiritual representation of itself. We’re seeing things as they truly are. Places with dark energy will be ugly and murky. Places like this church, holy places that may appear normal in a regular time phase, show their beauty."

They gazed around the courtyard and took in the peaceful serenity. The rain had slowed to a fine mist. Moonlight shimmered on puddles and glowing flowers.

She moved closer to him. "I"ve always felt at peace here, even when everything looked normal. I think that"s why I found my way here when I was running. I didn"t know where I was going, yet somehow I ended up here."

His fingers tightened slightly around hers. He ached to embrace her. "We often sense things we cannot see. Places like this leave their impression on us."

"And you were brought here because of some magic rituals?" she asked softly, gazing at him.

"We both were." His voice was equally soft.

bothThey stared at each other, feeling the pull of their mutual attraction, even if Nancy didn"t understand why.

"Why me? I"m not one of your people. Why did I get sucked into this Solstice ritual time-shift thing?"

Eric paused, unsure how to answer. From what his mother had told him, although some human marriages were arranged for political or monetary gain, the majority of humans were highly protective of their freedom to marry a person of their choosing. They didn’t welcome outside forces or persons making the choice for them. Calaspians were staunchly independent, as well. They’d broken away from all they’d known to create a new society in a new world, after all. But they’d done so with unwavering faith in a greater power providing guidance toward the best possible outcome. That faith, and centuries of experience, taught them to accept divine mating without question.

"You"re afraid again," she said matter-of-factly. "What are you afraid to tell me?"

Through their connection, she could perceive his emotions as easily as he could hers, so he shouldn’t have been shocked. "When we phase out," he explained, "the person we’re in sync with is our divine match. To leave this place, this time, we must both accept the mating, the joining, without reservation. Traditionally, that has meant a complete connecting of body and soul."

bothHer eyes widened. "I"m not one of your people," she said again. "Why am I here?"

"In the past, when the connection between our worlds was stronger, matings between our kinds were not unknown to occur. My mother was from Earth. In these cases, the human gains our animal spirit and our immortality."

She shivered.

He ached to hold her, comfort and kiss her. "Ever since I saw light travel to Earth, I’ve been in unfamiliar territory, as I know you have. Even though it happened to my parents, I never once imagined it could happen to me because that was so very long ago … one of the last times before travel became restricted."

Shocked, her eyes widened with trepidation. She was quiet for several moments as hundreds of thoughts flit through her mind. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and then stared intently. "You"re saying you and I are some kind of … soulmates?"

He nodded once.

"Why should I believe any of this?"

He understood and respected her skepticism, but there was one thing she wouldn"t be able to deny, at least to herself. Slowly, he leaned close, an inch from her ear.

Her breathing quickened as she watched him through partially closed eyes.

"Those who are mated feel an overwhelming attraction to one another. The urge to join is strong, nearly uncontrollable." His hand brushed her arm, and their mind connection flared.

Her thoughts flashed to memories of a stolen kiss while he slept.

Eric grinned. He had thought it was real, but he hadn"t been sure until just now. Their connection was already exceptionally strong.

She closed her eyes and swallowed heavily. Her entire body shook, though he could sense she fought to control it. He experienced the same and he ached to hold her. Their proximity was both sweet and intoxicating … and an exciting yet frustrating exercise in discipline and restraint.

After a long moment, Nancy reluctantly pulled away and stood, putting distance between them. She ran a heavy hand across her forehead and then clasped her hair when her body refused to cease shaking.

He half expected her to jump into his arms and give in to the passion he knew she felt. She took another step back, into the misty rain.