July31, 2012

Hello Dear Readers. Yes I have more or less fallen of the face of the earth so to say. As you all know my voices are not talking to me like they used to. I don't know if it is because of the stress that has been surrounding my preschool or if my mind decided to finally grow up and get old. I really love writing and I miss my voices. I used to take long walks at night with my best friend and tell her about all the plots and twist and turns in my stories. She has moved just far enough that we don't go for our nightly walks anymore. She isn't a reader anyway and was never really interested anyway. I have tried using the phone as a way to talk to some of you and see if it brings my voices back but I guess I don't talk on the phone enough. So now I am thinking of borrowing an Idea from some of the authors in the Twi-fandom. I have started a Facebook group for my stories. This will give you an additional way for you to nag me to get my bottom in gear and write. It will also be a way that you can ask me questions about plots or twists. If you are not a fan fiction member I will post when my stories are updated so that you will know. The group can be found under- www. facebook groups / 451506234880745 / close the spaces and it should work.

Chapter 22: A Matter of Time

Emma POV
January 28th

Tomorrow is Dimitri's transformation day. I know what we need to do because I have had to do it before for my own husband; also I have the book which told how it happened the first time. Wikanda insists that we take time to consult with her spirit guide; The Great She-Wolf. Part of me wishes she would just back off and let us handle it but Ben; ever the voice of reason; suggested we listen to her. He has let her use our back yard and helped her set things up. She has invited Auntie Lissa and Uncles Chris and Adrian along with Dr. Olendzki and Cousin Sasha. A fire pit was set up outside and all the guests were already sitting around it. I was still inside trying to let go of my frustration.

"Babe, come on give it a chance." Ben cooed to me while holding me in his arms.

"Honey I just don't understand what more we need to know. Mom will touch him while all the Spirit Wielders send her Spirit. She will channel the spirit energy with her healing love and heal his soul's connection to his body and his soul will exercise the demon from his body. It's not like we haven't done this before. I kind of feel like Wikanda is disregarding our experience."

"Emma you, yourself have told me; on more than one occasion, that the book can be cryptic and confusing at times. I know that in almost every timeline you are the historian but what if you were not there at the time. If you didn't come into the family till after Dimitri had been healed; who knows how long it was till you made the entry in the book. If it was a second hand explanation then there could be something missing."

"But we did it before with you and it worked. How can this be so different?" I pulled out of his embrace and turned to look out the back window. Ben turned me and held my eyes in a loving but firm gaze.

"Emma Susan Hathaway Belikova Strathmore, yes we have done this before but perhaps we missed a step. Yes, I did survive; yes, I am 2/3 Moroi and yes, I am a Spirit Wielder; but I am not a very powerful Wielder. Even if I had the medical knowledge that Dimitri has I wouldn't have the power to heal anything; I can barely heal a broken bone. Maybe the information was enough to show you how to heal me and give me whatever Spirit I will need for the purposes in your mission. Maybe Dimitri needs the extra steps."

"Ok your right." I squared my shoulders and allowed Ben to lead me to the coat rack by the French doors. I didn't want to admit it but what Ben said had struck a chord with me. In fact it reminded me of what I read in the Book of Prophesies and Alternate Timelines. Yesterday morning when I did my daily check with the book I was shocked with what I was given. Most mornings if I am led to read anything it is usually just a short passage; nothing more than a page or two. This morning I was given so much more than I could ever imagine. More than two hundred pages of small script were made coherent for me to read. Over the last few weeks I had been going over the book with Dimitri and for some reason there were passages in this area of the book that he had been able to decipher but I had not. I didn't ask him at the time what it said because I knew it wasn't for me to know and I can only wonder if I will be given that knowledge now or not. I asked Nanny to mind the children for the day and requested that I not be disturbed while I stayed in the study reading.

I don't know very much about the different timelines. I have never been able to piece together what event happened in a particular timeline. The reason for this is because I am never given much but this time I had been given an almost complete account of one specific timeline; from the time Mom (or more correctly Uncle Adrian) realized that she was pregnant till the point that I became a wielder myself. I thought about that timeline and everything I read.

The (Me), who wrote the entry, mentioned the attack of St Vladimir's and that the bond of The Marriage of the Heart had been formed just hours before the attack. She wrote about Dimitri being taken by Strigoi and how Rose went in search of him. Thinking she killed him she returned home where she found that Uncle Adrian loved her and wished to date her and she soon learned that Dimitri was not dead. Within weeks of Rose's return Adrian realized that she was carrying Dimitri's child and he recognized the fact that if Dimitri knew of his child he would stop at nothing to possess Rose and the baby.

The Account went on to tell how Adrian and Rose hid the truth of the baby's paternity by pretending to be in an intimate relationship. After Graduation they were married and in time Rose grew to love Adrian. However Despite her love for Adrian she never stopped loving Dimitri and neither of them gave up on the idea of saving him from his Strigoi state. They only had one second hand account of a person being brought back from the state of Strigoi. Together with the help of the whole family they researched archives and private libraries but never found the cure. They did however find a journal which led Rose to learn that all the changes that she had been experiencing were part of her new place as the Wielder of Life and Death.

When Rose was nearly full term she learned that Dimitri was planning an attack. With the help of her family and her ghost guides they trapped Dimitri and stalled him with the stalling stake and some charmed jewelry. For three months he lived in a cabin on the property. Rose allowed him to interact with their daughter Theresa. Rose and Adrian had an oddly loving but respectful relationship with Dimitri during this time.

I came to the passage I have read before explaining how to heal a Strigoi it was exactly as I had read it before. Rose used the spirit from both Adrian and Lissa and channeled it though her healing love.

What was different was the fact that Rose, Dimitri and Adrian all went unconscious for several days. Auntie Lissa though fatigued never suffered the extent the others had. Adrian and Dimitri became bonded as Rose was to Aunt Lissa. These facts are different from what happened when we healed my Ben. Though everyone was a felt a bit fatigued; no one lost consciousness. Also, Ben isn't bonded to anyone but me and it is the Marriage bond not a spirit bond.

I was very surprised to read that after healing Dimitri Adrian and Rose invited him to live in the home with them. Adrian fully accepted Dimitri as having a valid Marriage with Rose and Dimitri felt the same. Rose was the one to decide how to proceed; with Adrian she had a traditional marriage with all the physical benefits. With Dimitri it was somewhat different; instead of making love in a traditional sense they shared their love though the blood bond. This surprised me to some extent because for me and Ben the blood bond has been part of our physical bond since the beginning. I can't imagine having to keep the two facets of love separate, let alone the thought of sharing one with one man while sharing the other with another man.

I have to admit to being a bit weirded out by the idea of mom being married to UNCLE ADRIAN. In our timeline they have always been close and I do know that there was a time long ago that he fancied her, but mom has never had eyes for anyone but Dimitri. Part of Mom's Role as the Prime Alpha Wielder is that she is supposed to have many children and they are supposed to become future wielders and pack members. When she learned this she didn't know what to do because Dimitri had left and was already raising a family with Tasha. She tried dating other guys but never felt a spark. She tried Artificial Insemination when Yeva suggested she might have some success with a donation from Adrian; and she did get pregnant but the baby died due to her scaring. She tried again when she found out Dimitri and donated for Tasha. (Leave it to Grandpa Abe to steal Dimitri's swimmers for Rose.) She gave up when both pregnancies ended in miscarriage.

The book went on to tell how they had two years of a happy marriage with each man fully accepting the other's place in Rose's heart. After bearing Dimitri's daughter Rose conceived a son for Adrian and twins soon followed. Adrian died of a very rare Moroi disease; Hemometabolic dysfunction while Rose was still pregnant with the twins. Dimitri and Rose both mourned the loss. Adrian's soul stayed with them as a guide. It was sometime during her pregnancy that I was introduced into the family. (Thus proving that the (me) in that timeline was not there to write a first-hand account) It was though me that Adrian's soul was able to be with Rose in a physical way, when she gave birth to the twins.

There was an explanation of how I became bonded to Theresa and how we were very close. In our time line right now I am close to Annemarie but it isn't as close as I think the relationship Theresa shared with her Emma. Because of our abilities as wielders we both, Annie, and I can communicate telepathically and feel each other's emotions as we would with others around us. Theresa and her Emma seemed to understand each other despite the age difference. It made me wish I was closer to my little sister.

There were some incomprehensible passages that I could not read but then I found the last of what I was going to be allowed to read this time. The book was given to the Emma of that timeline as a wedding gift from Dimitri. She was 15 when she met her Ben and though they began to bond soon after they never consummated the bond till after they were married in the church on her 18th birthday. She began chronicling first by recounting what had happened from the time her parents had first bonded to her present time when she was given the book. Then she would continue to record the events of the future.

I didn't know why I was given such a detailed account of that timeline but I know that I was given it for a reason. I also hate to admit it but Ben is right; whatever Wikanda's spirit guide has to tell us might make a difference. I cuddled into the sweater Ben held out for me, and then allowed him to lead me out to the back yard where everyone waited for me.

Winter was still upon us but the between the bonfire in the pit, and Uncle Chris's using his magic the seating area was warm. Wikanda smiled tenderly at me; it kinda made me feel bad for resenting her earlier. Once we were seated Levi passed out cups of ceremonial tea to all the men. Taking from a second container of a different color he poured some for Lissa, the doctors and me. This caused me to give him a questioning look.

"The teas are not the same. Your brew has a few less ingredients for the safety of you, and your unborn children. Doctor Ivashkov-Isham and Doctor Olendzki may not be currently with child but Wikanda was told not to take chances. All the women get the gentler brew. It is just strong enough to allow you to enter into a vision though it might be a bit hazy. "

He gave us a nod like bow and stepped away. I turned my attention to the others around me as they sniffed at the noxious smelling tea. Out of the corner of my eye I thought I saw him disappear behind some shrubs with a cup of tea and return empty handed. He took his place at Wikanda's side.

"Please, everyone take a moment to relax and clear your mind. Once you are ready -drink down your tea; it will be quite bitter but please finish it as it will aid you in our vision quest." She said.

I looked all around me and saw that everyone else seemed to be following instructions without reservation. Taking a cleansing breath I set my own prejudgment aside; doing as I was asked. The tea was indeed bitter; I could barely force myself to swallow it. Looking around I could tell that I was not the only one wearing a look of total disgust.

Standing tall and looking very much like a Native American medicine woman in her ceremonial clothing; Wikanda lit her bundle of sage and other sacred plants. She began chanting prayers to the Great Spirit. Levi sat down next to a large handmade drum. First with just his fingers he tapped the drum lightly calling fourth a heartbeat; as the pulse grew Wikanda danced to the rhythm.

My head began to feel funny and my vision blurred for a moment. I closed my eyes and fought against a wave of nausea. When I opened them again a snow white wolf walked into the center of the grouping. Turning its back to the fire and sitting tall, it looked up to the full moon and howled. Wikanda kneeled down till her forehead rested on the ground inches from the wolf.

"Great She-Wolf, please reveal yourself to us in your human form."

The wolf grew brighter as if her fur itself held light. It became so bright we had to look away momentarily and when we turned back I saw a woman I recognized; both from her portrait that hangs in the dining hall at St. Columban's Academy in Ireland, and from my the few times she has come to me in dreams. Bridgette Donnelley knelt beside Wikanda bidding her to rise. It was at that moment I realized I was wrong. We could not do this my way; it had to be done exactly as we were about to be told. Bridgette stood and turned to us, her voice was as soft and warm as it had been in my dreams.

"My dear ones, I have been given permission by the Counsel of the Pure to show you the events as they happened in another place and time. It may take a few moments for us all to reach into the place in your mind where you can see but rest assured we will wait till everyone has joined us. Once there you will be able to move around and explore the vision from every angle. When I feel it necessary I may take a moment to examine an aspect of the vision so that we are all certain of how to proceed tomorrow."

I felt myself relax further as the drumbeat softened to the pulse of a heart at rest. I closed my eyes and when I opened them I found myself in the cabin at Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill was the mansion that Adrian owned near court; it was where Rose and Adrian lived in that timeline. In our timeline Mom has never lived with Uncle Adrian there or anywhere but when she has business at court she often stays at the House on Cherry Hill. I had spent a few weekends there during my first year with mom. I explored the grounds and had found the cabin once; it was dusty and abandoned. In the vision it was clean and homey looking. Wikanda, Lissa and Adrian were there already. I wasn't surprised by this because they are all Spirit Wielders but what did surprise me was when I saw that Bridgette was holding Annemarie's hand.

"Annie, what are you doing here?" This was no place for her to be. She was supposed to be with Abe and Janine. I bet she snuck off again. She has always had a habit of evading her guardians and sneaking off. Mom made her promise to stop in exchange she could go to school like all the other kids. She did stop for a long time and I thought she had outgrown it but apparently not.

Annemarie stood tall and squared her shoulders. "I have every right to be here."

"Annie you are just a little girl; not even seven yet. This is grown up stuff that you have no business seeing. You have to go home and get back with your guardians.

"Emma, I'm not a baby. I may be young chronologically but biologically, mentally and emotionally I am much older. I will be a Wielder of Love soon and I need to be here to learn just as much as you do."

"No you don't. You won't be expected to take your place as wielder for at least another five years maybe even nine if you are lucky. You still have plenty of time to be a kid before you have to worry about any of this. When your time comes Mom and I will be there to help you through it. Till then go home; be a kid."

It scares me that she had grown so fast. I look at her and I think about Amanda, Jacob and John. My children age quickly, just like her and it makes me cringe to think that she is already preparing to take her place. She was just about to argue with me when Bridgette placed her hand on each of us. I felt her wield love and peace to us.

"Enough arguing, daughters, we have little time to waist. Emma, your sister is here not only of her free will but at my request as well. Annemarie is brave beyond expectation; when her time comes to earn her moonstone she will be as great a wielder as her mother. She is right to want this knowledge firsthand."

I gave one last rueful glance at my little sister before diverting my attention to the center of the room. Uncle Christian, Cousin Sasha, Maria Olendzki and Ben have finally appeared. Bridgette stood in the center of the room, right behind the small couch and raised her hand and bowed her head for a moment. Without noise she called us all to attention.

With a wave of her hand over the couch; Dimitri appeared. He was sitting down and staring at a framed picture that was set on a coffee table directly in front of him. His face was a mask of turmoil. He raised one arm; brining his wrist to his mouth. With one ferocious bite he tore into his wrist, blood spurted from the exposed veins. He did the same on the other wrist. Not once did he take his eyes off picture of mom and him during her Academy days.

"NO, not yet I am still too dangerous. The monster is so strong." He whispered to himself.

"Go away Rose. GO AWAY!" It was then that I heard banging of fists on the door. Looking to the door I saw that a chair had been placed under the door knob preventing the door from opening.

"Like Hell Dimitri let us in!" The door handle jingled as she tried to open the door. She pounded on it again.

"GO AWAY!"

I could hear her smash her body against the door again and again. The third time the lock and chair gave way. Mom ran into the room and flew to Dimitri's side; in her hand she held a stake with a golden hilt. I recognized this stake as a stalling stake. The one that Grandma Yeva designed to implant charmed silver pellets into Strigoi to help their souls control the demon till mom or I can transform them.

"Please kill me. Release me from this monster before he makes me kill you." He pleaded with her as she knelt before him. She plunged the stake but not in his heart like he wanted but into his thigh. Dimitri's head bent over her and bit into the curve of her neck hard. She cried out three words.

"Give me spirit."

Adrian who was already headed towards them put one hand on her shoulder and one on Dimitri's chest as if to try to tear her away from Dimitri. Yet instead of pulling her way his face glazed over with the look Spirit wielders get when using their magic. Love could be felt all around us and I knew it was the love mom had for dad; it was the most amazing thing to feel the fullness of their love. I myself know and understand the intensity of the love that a Wielder of life and Death has with her husband of her heart. (They don't call us Love Wielders for nothing.) I looked over at Annemarie; she didn't seem surprised by it as I would have thought but the look of total peace in her smile almost surprised me. I would have thought she was too young to understand it.

Dimitri's wounds closed up and he lifted his bloody mouth off of mom's neck. She gazed at him with so such a loving look that it caused most of us to gasp. By this point Adrian had already passed out and mom's eyes began to close. Before Dimitri lost consciousness himself you could see a look of total devastation crossed his face. He must have thought he had killed her.
~*~

Bridgette turned to me "Emma, how does this scene differ from what you have read or from how you healed your own husband?"

"Um well first of all there was no mention in the book of anyone touching Dimitri except Rose. I was the only one to touch Ben. The book mentions mom pulling spirit from both Adrian and Lissa but I only see Adrian here not Lissa. When I healed Ben I pulled Spirit from both of them remotely as I do from my pack when I transform a Strigoi. And also in Ben's healing; no one lost consciousness."

"I wasn't wounded to begin with, other than the puncture from the stalling stake that is. Dimitri had bit though his wrists and had already lost a lot of blood before they even got into the cabin let alone by the time he was healed." Ben interjected with a detail I had missed.

"Very good, let us look at these issues and see if we can come up with a plan to heal your Dimitri and give him the full benefit of Spirit.

~~*~O~*~~

Dimitri POV
January 29th.

Roza is still lying in my arms as we wait for the others. She pressed my hand against her lower abdomen, her eyes were closed but she was not sleeping. I try not to think about it but I believe there is a tumor in her uterus. I pray that if I am able to saver her I will also be able to save her reproductive organs. She wants more children and I would love nothing more than to see her round with my child. In an effort to distract myself and calm both our nerves I began to hum the Russian lullaby that I used to sing to her. The pressure of her hand over mine increased just a little and she began humming with me. Her eyes opened and she smiled at me serenely.

I heard the others gathering down stairs as Roza and I lay cuddling on our bed. I kissed her cheek. "Their coming; are you ready?" I asked her.

"As ready as I ever will be Comrade." She tried to pull herself into a sitting position but couldn't do it on her own. Thankfully she doesn't have a problem letting me help her sit up. I heard them ascend the stairs before there was a tap on the door.

"Come in" we called out together.

Emma entered first along with Lissa, Adrian and Wikanda and Levi. Dr. Olendzki and Dr. Isham followed and were the last to enter. Downstairs I could hear and smell the members of Emma's pack. Her pack was here as back up; to lend her the power of her elements if she needed to transform me at the last minute. Abe and Janine took Joshua and Annemarie to court so that they would not be here if things went wrong.

"Well we have waited as long as I think we can. It's time to change you back dad; are you ready?"

"Yes but first let's say a prayer." Every one nodded at my request. To my surprise it was Adrian who began the prayer. The rest of us bowed our heads.

"Dear God, we ask you to grant us through your mercy; the power to remove the demon from my brother, Dimitri without taking from him the special changes that would make him mostly Moroi. We ask you to grant him the power of Spirit Magic; that he may in turn use it to heal his family and others. We thank you God for giving us the knowledge through your servant Bridgette Donnelley and for sending Wikanda to help us; the sacrifice that she and her husband Levi are making will be remembered with gratitude for many generations to come. Amen."

After the prayer we stayed quiet each having our own moment with God. I wondered how it was that the last Wielder who loved over 600 years ago had given them the knowledge. Furthermore I wondered what Wikanda and Levi were going to sacrifice to help me. A few moments later, Emma cleared her throat.

"Ehm, ok I think it is time now, Doctors your up first. Dimitri I know that you read in the Book how this was done in the other time line but the account was incomplete. Wikanda took us on a vision quest where Bridgette Donnelley showed us how it really happened and helped us formulate this plan. Please trust us."

Sasha and Maria both came up to me and asked me to lie in the center of the bed. Each held a stake and a basin. They took my hands and placed them in the basins. Then holding a washcloth over each wrist with one hand and the stake in the other they cut into my wrists deeply quickly covering the wounds before the blood spurting from my arteries could splash everywhere. They cut again when my Strigoi physiology began to heal the wounds.

The demon in me was raging and fighting to kill them but I fought him. I knew I could not let him harm anyone in this room. I lifted my eyes heavenward and prayed for strength. I felt the loss of blood begin to weaken both me and the demon so I welcomed it while still praying to keep control of the demon. As soon as the doctors were satisfied that I had lost enough blood they moved away.

Wikanda sat on the side of the bed opposite to Roza. She reached over me and took Roza's hand in hers and held it to my chest and with her other hand she held my bicep. "Now Child" She whispered to her. Roza's voice called out

"Give Me Spirit"

I felt Roza's love wrap around me and flow though me at the same time. If it were not for the distracting overload of heat and cold I felt from Spirit flowing through me I would have wept at the magnitude of love. The spirit became overwhelming. I've had had minor cuts and bruises healed before but this was infinitely more powerful than anything I had ever experienced. Colors burst before my eyes in a kaleidoscope. I could feel my brain shutting off; protecting itself from the overload. Black nothingness engulfed me.

NO Pop Quiz, just food for thought.

Why was Annemarie really there? Her mother and sister could have shared with her how the change was done when she was older. Could there be more going on with Annemarie than people know?

Again the facebook group is www. facebook groups / 451506234880745 /

Also for anyone interested I am free to Beta stories for other authers.

Please Please Review. I know I don't deserve it but I really want to know if anyone is still with me.