Chosen by the Fates

An Unexpected Journey

Sol~

Aisling sits with Tiffa the couch across from Sol, Sionainn is poised in a love seat over his cup of tea, and Cian remains leaning against the arm of the couch I sit on.

Sionainn casts a glance Aisling’s way, “If Adah is correct, it should be fine to explain everything now that Delphi is fractured from you. But I need to know that you will tell us if you begin to experience the headaches once more?” He says that last in a stern voice.

I frown, not understanding most of what Sionainn. But it concerns me that something we discuss could cause Aisling pain. I don’t like it, and I find myself watching her carefully as she answers.

Aisling nods, “I’m ready. I promise I will.”

Her calm about it puts me a little at ease, but I keep my senses attuned to her even as Sionainn addresses me next.

Sionainn nods at her answer, then looks back to me. “We call ourselves Lucids. Our souls exist in the dreaming, a place beyond the individual dreams of most beings.

The source of all life energy, the dreaming is a culmination of that energy between untold worlds and planes of existence. As Lucids we serve as guardians. We maintain the balance there so the living worlds may continue to exist.”

I sip my coffee, considering this man’s words carefully. Lucids sound like a being of elder legends known to pack memory as dream walkers. And the “source of life energy” would indicate he is speaking of the Beyond. But are the many worlds he is referring to the worlds of the gods?

I keep quiet as he continues, “My brothers; Cian, Ashleigh, and I have lived many lives across times and worlds. As has our dear Aisling, who is also a Lucid.”

Her eyes find mine. She is a creature of the Beyond, but not a wolf then.

Sionainn’s eyes are on Aisling as he speaks, “Her soul in the dreaming is known as Delphi. And Delphi left us some time ago, following after the Nightwalker. A being of immense power tied to the void.”

The void is what Aisling called the old magic corruption we have been hunting. She’d said something about it coming through her when she sleeps. I collect my thoughts around the information Sionainn is freely sharing.

Taking another sip of my coffee, I pull my eyes away from Aisling to listen as Sionainn continues on, “After which, Delphi vanished without a trace.

We searched every life we’ve shared, and it was as if Delphi had vanished from existence. The only thing capable of such erasure is the void itself. Ashleigh followed Delphi’s trail within the dreaming to an area which overlapped with this world of Midgard, and with Aisling’s mind and dreams.

But Aisling was unable to remember anything. She was barely aware of our presence when we attempted to pull her into the dreaming. We weren’t able to get her name, only where we might find her.”

I recall our first encounter. The way Sionainn and his brothers looked and behaved at the Rise and Grind. It feels like ages ago, and had been their first time meeting Aisling. I am certain of what I say next, voice low with thought, “The Rise and Grind. For our date.” I feel Aisling’s eyes on me as I refer to our date. Her heart thumps in time with mine when I say the words.

Sionainn regards me thoughtfully with a nod, “Yes. Truly I am sorry for crashing your date. But as serendipity would have it, Aisling lived contemporary to our lives here as you see us. We had agreed that if Delphi was here, we would find them.

But we encountered further hurtles. Not only did Aisling remember anything, but her mind rejected any engagement with her within even her own dreams, or discussion of the past in our waking time together.

The physical mind of a Lucid is a delicate construct, highly developed from rigorous training during development within the dreaming. We assumed her headaches were a symptom of her mind being untrained and we were unsure what could be shared with her safely without risk to her mind.”

Sionainn sighs and sips at his tea. His scent is an unusual mix of Lilac and fresh snow. If I didn’t know better and only picked up his scent in the woods, I would have thought him to be more feminine than he appears to be in person.

So Delphi went after the corruption in the Beyond, then somehow ended up here as Aisling. However it would appear that the corruption only began bleeding through after the arrival of Sionainn and his brothers…

My thoughts trail off as Sionainn begins speaking again, “However, the more time she spent with us… particularly with Ashleigh, the more she seemed to recall. She was able to find parts of Delphi within herself, drawing on their knowledge and impressions.”

My hackles go up hearing Ashleigh’s part in this. That’s when the corruption began bleeding through.

Sionainn frowns confirming my suspicions, “Unfortunately, it appears that Delphi had been somehow locked within Aisling, and corrupted. When Aisling began to remember and connect with Delphi, the void began to use Aisling as a physical conduit into this world.”

I nod, deep in thought as my mind sorts the information out. It makes sense. The Beyond is filled with a vast amount of energy, energy which the old magics would require for manifestation in this world without magic. It is how the wolves are able to shift and live as we do, we are born from and bound to the Beyond.

Sionainn’s voice takes on a soft quality, sadness lacing each word as he continues, “We sought out a close friend of ours, another Lucid known as Adah. Adah hypothesizes that Delphi was trapped within Aisling’s life, locking them away from the dreaming. When Aisling began to recall her memories, it freed Delphi as well as fracturing their soul.” Sionainn glances at Aisling, “Delphi attacked us once already, and they appear to be active within the dreaming once more. Delphi has been wielding the corruption like a weapon.

Delphi must be stopped.

The void devours all life. It is the nothingness beyond time. The absence of all which does not or has ceased to exist. The void can not be allowed to exist unchecked in a world brimming with life.

Adah believes that if we can fully sever Delphi from Aisling it should cut the conduit at the source. However, it will mean a journey through the dreaming to Adah.

A journey through the dreaming with the void, as well as a powerful and corrupted Lucid, hunting us.”

Fracture Aisling’s soul?

My heart twists in knots of worry. I’ve never heard of such a thing, but I can’t imagine that is a safe thing to do. I don’t like the plan, but I’m also not the one living in fear of sleep or being attacked by some other supernatural part of myself.

Looking toward Aisling, I see hope behind her eyes. She is not afraid of this?

Clearly Aisling still feels entirely herself to me, even with this Delphi gone. And she still feels different from a human.  

Frowning, I consider everything, “And what of Delphi after you’ve separated them?”

“Adah does not think Delphi can be saved.” Sionainn’s words are empty and cold, his gaze distant for a brief moment. It’s the expression of a man in too much pain to feel.

They were close.

I consider my bonds with my family. We’ve lived centuries together, and it changes the way one loves. If Sionainn is to be believed, the brothers and Delphi have been close for many lifetimes. What would it do to me if one of my family could not be saved?

Heaving a sigh, I finish my coffee and set my mug down on the coffee table.

“So if Aisling is led through this dreaming to Adah, she can separate Aisling from Delphi?”

Sionainn nods, “We believe we have found a way.”

I turn my steady gaze on Aisling, “And this is something you want to do?”

Her eyes are on mine, pulse racing in response to my voice and attention even at this distance. I am met with the desire to pull her into my lap, slide my arms around her, and rest my forehead against hers. I center myself, I knew the mate bond would grow the more we interact.

Aisling tips her head affirmatively at me, “Delphi must be stopped. It’s the only way to protect everyone from… well, from me.”

My heart aches at the idea of my mate seeing herself as a threat. I don’t like it.

Closing my eyes, I’ve made my own decision even as the words leave my mouth, “Then I will be going with you.”

I will support whatever Aisling chooses. And I will not let her make a dangerous journey through the Beyond without my protection.

It will mean… I push away the thought.

All that matters is that we get through this.