Chapter 13

Her hand slipped from his. He couldn't make her out ahead of him in the darkness of the tunnel. The words of the villagers came back to him and he quickened his stride, breaking out of the narrow passage and into the start of a dark green forest. The trees were thick, their branches low-hanging, arched against one another like fingers—gnarled, bony fingers that formed a blanket-like canopy overhead. Angel glanced at him as he took a step forward, examining the surrounding area.

"See? We're fine," she said. Caleb looked around a little longer and nodded. He still felt uncertain about the whole thing. After another minute or so, he noticed a low-pitched buzzing noise humming faintly in his ears and as soon as he focused on it, it intensified, making him grimace.

"Let's do this quickly," he called back and received no response. He turned and saw his companion lying facedown on the grass, her hair spilling out around her. "Angel!" he ran over and fell to her side, a hand clasping on her shoulder and shaking her as roughly as he dared. "Angel? Angel!" He rolled her over. Her eyes were closed, but he saw them moving feverishly beneath the pale lids. He breathed a sigh, she was alive. The buzzing noise reached into his ears and slithered into his brain, squeezing painfully. Tears sprung into his eyes and he quickly swiped an arm across his face. This is no time to be weak. But it always took more than this to make him cry; maybe he was getting overly-sensitive on this journey? He pulled his arm down and stared at it, blinking, then lifted his fingers to his face and touched the cold tracks of his tears. He pulled them away and stared at his hands. They were stained red with blood. "What…?" His eyes adjusted to the sudden red haze that had coated his vision. Figures came into focus, and as the details of their faces became noticeable, the humming in his ears moved to a roar, as if in an attempt to blind him. He smacked a hand to his forehead as he stumbled over to the two smallest figures: the little boy and girl. He grabbed at them, wincing as his hands touched them and the buzzing turned into a scream. He tumbled back to Angel, kneeling beside her body and laying the children in her arms. He arranged her arms securely around them and then tugged on her rope. The townspeople on the other side of the opening took the signal and began to heave her out. He watched her disappear through the archway with his head feeling as if it were about to explode and then he turned to the other figures he had made out before. Four of them, and he took a step forward to get to them. His world spun and he tumbled to one knee, wincing as sharp pain ripped up his side. He let out an unbidden yelp. Fresh blood tears sprang into his eyes and this time he let them come. He hadn't been taken by the magic of the forest—there was some hidden power within these crimson tears. The same tears he had cried when he had obliterated the monsters in Cosmo Canyon. The same tears he cried when he had seen the vision of his parents. He grabbed at the four; the woman rested in the crook of his arm and the men he grabbed by the backs of their work clothes, clutching at them with both trembling fists. He heaved. His strength gave. He collapsed onto his side. His eyes felt extraordinarily heavy and suddenly the cool grass was the best place in the world to be. Just a little rest… A little sleep…

"Get up, Caleb. You can't sleep yet."

Her voice was like a shimmering blade that sliced through the dark veil that had lowered upon his vision. Like a physical cut, it stabbed into his chest and the warmth that flowed from the "wound" spread through all his limbs and made him tingle. He was awake. And alive. He sat up abruptly, the four workers still within his arms and still unconscious. A woman walked out from behind one of the squat, moss-covered trees and stared over at him, her hands clasped loosely behind her back. She wore a pale rose pink dress with a short red jacket over her shoulders, and brown boots that matched her hair, which was long and braided and held up by a ribbon that matched the color of her gown. She walked over and crouched before him, hugging her knees to her chest and laying her chin on them as she peered down at him with a soft smile.

"You're just like your dad, you know."

"Who are you?" he blinked up in confusion.

She smiled kindly: "That's not important. What is important is that you need to get out of here. Even your limit break won't save you for much longer."

"You know what this is?" Caleb indicated the red tears rolling down his cheeks.

"They're called Crimson Tears and they're very rare. The Planet only blesses a child of fate with that power."

"Planet? Child of fate? You talk as if the planet's a real person."

"Don't you agree?"

He felt himself nodding slowly. "I thought I was the only one…"

"The children of fate are born one for every generation. In a sense, they are caretakers of the Planet, much like the Cetra were."

"The Cetra?"

"Oh my. Your parents didn't have time to explain anything, did they?"

His eyes lowered, and a dull ache of anger and pain rolled in the pit of his stomach: "No… they—"

"—died when you were only a baby?" His eyes widened. "I know. Your mother told me."

"My mother—!"

"She's fine," the woman reassured with another calming smile. "She misses you and your father both very much."

"My father… is he alive? Is he alright?" Caleb rose quickly and the woman blinked, standing at a much more sedate pace.

"It depends on what you call 'alive'…" she mumbled. He stood tensely in front of her, the tears beginning to ebb slowly. The buzzing was coming back. He flinched.

"Please… who are you? How do you know my parents? Where's my father?"

"Your parents were my closest friends," she answered, her smile turning a little sad. "I originally asked your father to be my bodyguard, back when I was being chased by Hojo and the Turks." Caleb lifted an eyebrow despite his pain. Those names were familiar. "Eventually, through him, I met your mother and we became best friends. It was because of me that they were all dragged on that quest to save the Planet. It was my job, but I…" she laughed, waving it off. "They helped me do my job as the previous Child of Fate. The only thing I could do for them in return was make sure they were safe as they married and had a child of their own." Her green eyes sparkled happily. "You. My nephew."

Caleb's head spun. He opened his mouth to ask more questions; he was full of questions for this mystery woman. But he felt himself plunging back, away from her, and he lurched forward desperately.

"NO!"

He awoke. Angel, who had been sitting beside him, leaned over his vision, her hair spilling like a dark curtain over one shoulder.

"Welcome back," she whispered. He leaned up and kissed her. Her hand stroked his face as he pulled away and she smiled at him.

"I saw a woman," he told her. "She knew my parents. She knew me—she told me what this means." He held up one blood-stained palm. She took his hand with both of hers and kissed his fingertips softly.

"I'm sorry I wasn't of any help to you," she frowned. He shook his head, sitting up fully and squeezing her fingers tightly.

"Did we get everyone?" She smiled again, nodding her head and glancing up. He followed her gaze. The three men and one woman he had dragged out on his own were just now sitting up, holding their heads and blinking as if just waking up from a long nap. Caleb felt the corner of his mouth tugging in a little smile. He felt a tap on his shoulder and turned again. The little girl was standing behind him, a woven bracelet of small red woven flowers clutched in her hands and presented to him with a shy glance and a blush. He extended his right arm, offering her his wrist and she beamed gleefully as she linked it around his wrist. "Thank you," he grinned back, and she turned a deeper shade of red, racing back to the little boy and wrapping her arms around his neck. He held her back, his eyes finding Caleb's and nodding his own thanks. They scurried off. Caleb couldn't help but think that they reminded him of himself and…

Angel helped him to his feet. "There's another surprise," she turned and motioned to one of the workers behind her. They handed her a parcel wrapped in oilcloth and she faced him again, holding it up to him. He took it and the cloth fell away from the glowing ivory harp, encircled with golden bands and covered in lacy gold patterns. The strings ran from the arc of it's abnormal J-shape, connected by a golden rod that ran from the top of one end to the other, diagonally. They looked like tracks of star tears. The entire instrument shone like the woman's eyes.

"Is this the Lunar Harp?" he blinked.

"You pulled it out with you. It was lying in your arms along with the others," she nodded. He studied it again, a small smile curving his lips.

"And with this, now we can pass through," he said. Angel gave another nod as a collection of workers hauled Caleb's motorcycle over the ledge and brought it to him, the group headed by the burly leader.

"Thanks, you two," he rumbled, dropping another cigarette butt into the dirt and crushing it with the toe of his boot. "How can we repay the favor?"

"I'll call it in someday," Caleb extended his free hand. The man blinked, then laughed and took the younger man's hand in his larger one.

"You're a special case, kid," he snickered, clapping him on the shoulder and making the blond wince slightly. "And I mean special with quotation marks and everything."

"That wasn't news to me," Angel blinked innocently. Caleb made a face at her, but then grinned.

"Ready to move on?" he asked her.

"Can we eat first?" she pleaded with a smile of her own. He laughed, nodding his head.