Seeing Light (The Seraphina Parrish Trilogy) (27 page)

I run my hand over the glass, touching the photo. In it Mom is young and beautiful, just like when I met her in Egypt when she was a queen. Though she’s gone in my true time, I’ll never forget the little time we shared.

“Thank you. This means so much.” I press it to my chest. “She’ll be with me always. You’ll be with me always.” I look up at him from under my lashes.

“That reminds me,” I continue. “Where were you all this time? Why would you let me suffer without telling me you were alive, without giving me any hint you were okay? I’ve never cried so much in my life.” I look at him, needing answers.

“Love, I’m so sorry to put you through that, but I truly only stayed away to protect you.” He takes the picture from me, places it in the box, sets it aside, and moves closer. “It took some time for me to piece together how I survived. But when I did, I understood that you and Cece were essentially the same person, that she was born of you through fragmentation, and that I could time travel with you and her interchangeably, like she was my Wanderer too.”

“I know.” I nod and look away. “I mean, I knew about our connection, but I never imagined that you were still alive, that you could Wander with her. It makes sense now that you say it. But why didn’t you come back?” I glance up and he places a palm on my cheek.

“I tried to send you a message through Drake, but really, I did it for your own good. I stayed with her to keep an eye on her activities. After a short time it was easy to see the enormous threat she posed to you, so I stayed close to her to protect you. Besides, Hologram Turner looked over you and so did Bishop.”

I press my cheek into his palm and close my eyes, so relieved that we’re even having this conversation. I grab his wrist and turn his palm to my mouth and kiss it tenderly. When I gaze up at him, he’s staring at me with such love and intensity that I can’t help but feel blessed for this second chance. That’s when I notice a strange buzz around us.

Animate fireflies flash bright green as they dance in the gardens in the waning daylight. “It’s like they’re here
for
us.” I reach out my hands toward them.

“They are.” Turner pulls me to stand, pulling our bodies together. That’s when the fireflies begin to fly around us in a choreographed dance as though Turner’s asked them to do it.

“What do you mean?”

“We’ve lost our Wandering abilities but are slowly starting to regain our old gifts. The ones the Masters took away long ago, when they stripped us of our wings. Every magical thing we will be able to do is even better than time travel.”

“If I succeeded, I guess I always thought we would become humans, not super-beings.” I look away.

“But we aren’t human, Sera. We never have been. I mean, there may have been a small part of us that became human, over time, but we’re not meant to be. This is who we’re meant to be. Don’t you feel different? Complete? Content? Happy?” He grasps both my hands in his. “And Gibeon is a new place—a better one. There’s new magic, the people are better, more caring, and the Society and Underground are dissolved. Everything is as it should be. Paradise has returned.”

Turner’s words soothe me, and we’re swaying now, like we are dancing.

“I guess being superhuman in Paradise isn’t so bad.” I shrug, trying to wrap my brain around all the information.

“We’ve gained free will and in the most amazing place. It’s better than the world of Normals. It’s perfect here and even better, I’m here with you.”

When he gives me that mischievous smile that’s so uniquely him. “Maybe one day I’ll tell you everything that happened while I was gone, but for now, I just want to be near you.” Turner drops a kiss on my cheek and stays close, allowing his lips to move over my skin when he speaks his next hushed words. “I thought when I rolled over the edge of that pit that I’d never see you again. And even though I survived, I wasn’t alive until I touched you again.” His words reach into my soul and swirl around my heart, stirring it in a way I’ve never felt before, and I look up at him in awe.

He slips his hand behind my neck, beneath the fall of my hair. There’s no hesitation as he kisses my cheek again, dragging his velvet-soft lips over my skin, leaving a trail of heat behind them. I tingle with joy and scrunch my shoulders to my ears, unable to fight each fluttering breath that tickles my skin, and I giggle with happiness. When his lips finally find mine, they’re warm and full and he kisses me deeply with intensity, but slowly. We have all the time in the world to linger, to explore, to finally enjoy the moment. I slide my hands up his strong chest and lock my fingers around his neck to anchor myself to him forever. Though in this moment, feeling the real love we share, untouched by the Society, not manipulated by the Masters, the way love is meant to be, I know we will never be apart again. Not ever. I have so much raw emotion and it’s all for Turner. And for the first time in a long time, I’m happy, content, and fulfilled.

When I open my eyes, still wrapped in his loving embrace, I see that the two of us are floating several feet above the ground, hovering midair within the gardens that seem to bloom around us, for us, just for us. Perhaps we’re flying with invisible wings, or even possibly held up by the magic of our love, and I never want to come down from this high.

Anything can happen in Gibeon. It must be true because as the energy that we share surges around us, in my mind, I ask the flickering green fireflies to transform into a swarm of sparkling white butterflies. They do in that instant and flutter away as we kiss again.

Somehow I managed to accomplish everything I set out to do. The Normal world is rid of Wanderers, and free of their control. Wanderers have returned to purity and to the original Gibeon, where we’re meant to reside alongside the former inhabitants of Nocturna, who are now safe and free.

I look deeply into Turner’s eyes and see love reflected back at me. Smiling softly, I lift a finger to trace his bottom lip and whisper, “All my wishes came true.”

Animate:
Mechanical, living and breathing, animated animals.

Animate Anatomy:
Class taught at the Academy of Wanderers focusing on the mechanics and care of Animates.

Chosen:
A time traveler chosen by the Masters to evoke all three abilities of a team: Wanderer, Protector, and Seer.

Cities of Time:
There are twelve hidden cities of time. Wanderers only gain access to each by ascending the ranks of the Society of Wanderers.

Contrapulator:
Machine that traps and steals dreams while sleeping, trading them with recorded information.

Defense Arts:
Class taught at the Academy of Wanderers for the instruction of the art of physical defense.

Dreamdrive:
Crystal hard drive that inserts into a contrapulator to record and save all your dreams.

Elijah Vanderpool:
(b. 1849, d. 1894) Often called the Father of Wandering. A Watcher who constructed both Olde Town and the Washington Square Academy of Wanderers in Chicago, Illinois. He and his father, Macon, also invented several important contraptions used by Wanderers: the Contrapulator, the Unfragmentation machine, and the Relicutionist.

E.Y.E.S.:
Acronym for Elusive Youth Electronic Surveillance.
The video surveillance system used at the Washington Square Academy of Wanderers to not only protect its students but also to watch them.

Fragmentation:
1) The process of breaking apart a relic, rendering it unsuitable and dangerous for time traveling. 2) The process of breaking apart a Wanderer into two or more separate beings, usually occurring when attempting to Wander with a fragmented relic.

Gibeon:
One of the cities of time. The capital city of Wanderers, which randomly moves through time to protect its location from the Normals.

Grand Master:
The high leader of the Society of Wanderers.

Grand Lodge:
The capitol building in the city of Gibeon, where the Oaths to the Society and other secret rituals are performed.

Harvester:
A Wanderer possessing a special gift who travels the world, searching the minds of the descendants of Wanderers, seeking out those who carry the gift of Wandering, Protecting, or Seeing, for the purpose of recruiting them for the Society of Wanderers.

Hologram:
A beam of light and energy that produces a realistic three-dimensional form.

King Unika:
Mythological Wanderer. Believed to be the first Wanderer of Egypt.

King Unika’s Crown:
A royal headpiece originally belonging to the mythological first Wanderer of Egypt, King Unika. The ultimate relic that allows any Wanderer to travel to wherever their heart desires.

Library Archives:
The library of ancient books in Olde Town.

Life Path:
The history of a relic and all the places it has traveled, visualized by the special gift of a Seer.

Masters:
The makers or gods of Wanderers.

Member Archives:
An extensive storage facility for all Wanderers’ past possessions.

Normal:
A human.

Oaths to the Society:
An anointment ceremony held in the Wandering capital of Gibeon at the Grand Lodge, where junior year Wanderers, Protectors, and Seers will dedicate their lives to the Society.

Obelisk:
Four-sided pillar with a pyramid at the apex, similar to the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. Symbol of the Wandering people.

Olde Town:
The secret city beneath the Washington Square Academy of Wanderers, constructed from the leftover remnants from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Although underground, the city gives the impression of being outdoors with the use of atmosphere machines, which control weather and light.

Physics of Wandering:
Class taught at the Academy of Wanderers focusing on physics as it pertains to time travel.

Protector:
One of three in a Wandering team that travels time. The Protector is the middle link in the team’s chain. He or she is connected mentally to the Seer through all senses and accompanies and protects a Wanderer during time travels. A Protector can traverse time only when in physical contact with his or her Wanderer. Protectors become experts in defense, history, linguistics, cultures, and the overall ability to blend seamlessly into any period of time. The symbol of a Protector is a scorpion.

Relic:
Any inanimate object.

Relic Archives:
The extensive library of relics that sits beneath the city of Olde Town. Available to all Wanderers for their time travel needs.

Relicutionist:
A machine that shows the life path of a relic by playing back a visualized image, like a TV.

Seer:
One of three in a Wandering team. The Seer remains in true time and experiences time travels through the Protector’s eyes and senses. Seers can view the life path of a relic, reading them like a road map, learning where a relic can lead throughout various periods of time. Seers become experts in history, linguistics, and cultures. The symbol of a Seer is an Egyptian hieroglyphic eye.

Schalg:
Time travel jet lag. Wanderers and Protectors become debilitated by schalg when jumping through time for extended periods, much like a human traveler becomes affected by jet leg when flying for extended periods.

Skipping:
The instantaneous movement in true time from one physical location to another.

Society of Wanderers:
A secret nation of time travelers.

Sundial Bracelet:
A bracelet containing a powerful emerald from King Unika’s crown.

Team Tactics:
Class taught at the Academy of Wanderers promoting team strength and trust.

True Time:
The current time.

Underground Brotherhood of the Snake:
More commonly known as the Underground. An illegal group of Wanderers who seek to control time and take down the Society of Wanderers.

Unfragmentation Machine:
Machine designed by Elijah Vanderpool to return fragmented relics or Wanderers to their original state.

Wanderer:
One of three in a Wandering team that travels time. The Wanderer is the most important of the group. They, with use of a relic and keyword, open the gates of time. A Wanderer relies on their Seer and Protector to supply a smooth and accurate journey. Wanderers become experts in history, linguistics, cultures, and the overall ability to blend seamlessly into any period of time. The symbol for a Wanderer is wings.

Wandering Compass:
A small handheld contraption that allows Wanderers to travel as a team to one of the twelve cities of time, including Gibeon.

Wandering Team:
A group of three (Wanderer, Protector, and Seer) who depend upon one another to travel through time.

Washington Square Academy of Wanderers:
Often called The Academy of Wanderers. A secret boarding school established to teach newly matured Wanderers the laws of the Society, while honing their time-traveling abilities.

Watcher:
A time traveler that evokes a combination of two of the three time-traveling abilities: Wanderer, Protector, or Seer.