Celtic Rose (26 page)

Kalan dumped the contents of the box onto the table and everyone surrounded it. They started to paw through everything, picking out pieces of the tablet and placing them in the center. Gabriel came in and added the last piece. With all of them pitching in, they pieced together the stone jigsaw puzzle in minutes. Staring at the completed tablet, Kallisto had no idea what she was looking at. She thought she recognized the carvings as Egyptian, but she couldn’t read it. Looking around the circle of friends and family, she saw the same confusion. Gabriel and Ephiny, though, looked deep in thought as they read the text then sat back in their chairs. Ephiny’s face was calm, but Gabriel bowed his head and pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. His brow was creased and Kallisto could tell there was something wrong.

“So…what does it say?” Kalan asked impatiently.

Gabriel looked up. “How do you feel about Egypt?” He gave a small smirk, but it was troubled looking instead of cocky.

“We have to go to Egypt for the next clue?” Kallisto sat down roughly and sighed. “We have to go back to Garber and let Hope know what’s going on and say goodbye before we go. I won’t leave without at least saying goodbye. We’ll most likely need to mail the clues to Hope from Egypt, not to mention the fact that we’ll need more money. I have to have things in order before we leave.”

Kalan nodded in agreement. Gabriel stared at Kallisto for a moment and dipped his head once in agreement. Kallisto jumped up and ran to her room. She needed to get her thoughts in order and pack for the trip. When she reached her room, she closed the door and went to the bed. Sitting on the edge, she felt numb and disconnected as she stared into space and wondered what to do next. She’d given that speech downstairs about living their lives like they didn’t know the end was coming, but there she was, wasting time worrying about what to do. She thought
some leader I’ve turned out to be
. No wonder she didn’t live to be a queen; she would’ve been horrible at it. She was always eager to give advice, but she rarely took her own words to heart, and how could she be an effective leader if she couldn’t practice what she preached? A knock at the door interrupted her self-depreciation, and she crossed the room to the dresser so she’d at least look like she was busy.

“Come in!” she called, a little harsher than she needed to, and felt guilty immediately. It wasn’t their fault she was a failure.

“It’s me, babe. Are you alright?” Talus peeked through the door, seemingly unsure whether to come in or not. His caution made her smile; he was always so polite and kind and charming.

“You can come in, Talus. I’m sorry I snapped. I’m just a little on edge right now.” She turned toward him but stood still.

He nodded as he came in and closed the door behind him. “Kallisto, you never need to apologize to me. This is very hard on all of us—emotions are running high. I probably would’ve snapped if someone had come to my room.” He walked over to her with his arms outstretched. She fell into them as he reached her and wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. The weight of the situation finally took its toll and she started sobbing into his shoulder. Murmuring comforting words, he rubbed her back and smoothed her hair. She felt his lips press to her head several times. They stayed like that, wrapped in each other’s embrace, for what felt like a wonderful eternity. Another knock at the door interrupted them, and Kallisto straightened up. The tears were already gone and her face reflected the calm she felt.

“Who is it?” she said quietly, not wanting to snap at another person who didn’t deserve it.

“It’s me. Can I come in?” Gabriel said.

“Of course you can, Gabriel.” Kallisto stepped to the side of Talus so she could see the door and Talus turned beside her, slipping his arm around her shoulders. Kallisto thought his support felt nice and comforting, like being at home.

Gabriel came in slowly and shut the door behind him. “Everyone’s ready when you are.” He looked at the room, taking in the unmoved state of Kallisto’s belongings.

“I’m sorry, Gabriel, I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I should’ve been packed long ago.” She bowed her head in shame.

Quickly closing the space between them, Gabriel tilted her chin up to look in her eyes. “Never apologize to me, Princess. You’ve done nothing wrong. This is harsh news for anyone to take, and it takes a lot out of a person.”

“Everyone else seemed to take it just fine. They’re already finished and I’ve done nothing but stand here being comforted. Some princess I am.” Kallisto tried to look away but Gabriel grabbed her chin roughly, but not enough to hurt.

“You’re the best princess I’ve ever served. Your heart is tender and kind. There’s no snobbery in your personality at all, and you’re stronger than any other princess I’ve known, with the exception of Ramina, of course,” he said the last with a smirk and released her chin. It was an attempt to cheer her up and she let it work. She smiled back, a true smile, even though it was slightly sad.

They finally packed up and loaded their luggage into the cars. Talus, Ephiny and Kallisto rode with Gabriel. William, Ramina and Kalan drove Kallisto’s car. They were finally on their way back to Oklahoma. They would stop at Hope’s and ask to borrow her SUV so they could all ride together; it was big enough to haul all of them plus their belongings.

The trip was long. Ramina, William, and Kalan took turns driving Kallisto’s car, but Ephiny and Kallisto were too nervous about driving the monster truck so Talus and Gabriel switched off. Talus was ecstatic about driving a truck that size. It was a new and exciting experience for him.

Around midnight, they finally reached Hope’s house. They were too nervous and exhilarated to go to sleep on the drive, so they were wide awake when they arrived. Hope was awake and waiting. Kallisto assumed Kalan had called her until Hope ran up and thanked Gabriel for letting her know. Gabriel never used the phone, so he must’ve put it in her head like he had with Kallisto. She really wanted to learn how to do that.

Hope ran up and hugged Kalan and Kallisto and kissed their heads. Then, she went to Talus and Ramina. Confusion seeped into her warm expression when she looked at Ephiny. She walked up to her and Ephiny wrapped her arms around Hope. Hope stood there a moment and then returned the hug.

“Grandma?” Hope said, still confused.

“Yes darling, it’s me. The enchantress saw fit that I should come back and help.” Ephiny looked far too young to be Hope’s grandmother, but she acted just like one. Kallisto was confused as to how Hope knew who she was. Gabriel must have seen it.

“Hope, why don’t you show everyone how you know this is Ephiny,” Gabriel suggested.

Hope pulled back from Ephiny and nodded. “Yes of course.” She led them into the house, leaving them in the living room while she went into the attic for a moment. Soon, she came back downstairs with a painting. She turned it around and showed them. In the portrait, Ephiny sat in a chair, but it wasn’t the same Ephiny that stood looking at the painting with them. The Ephiny in the painting was older, with gray streaks through her hair and wrinkles around the eyes and mouth. Hope called them laugh lines when Kallisto was a child. Ephiny looked as though she was in her late forties. Ephiny must’ve been a very happy woman in her life. Her eyes sparkled, like the painter caught the glimpse of humor in them that wasn’t shown on her face. None of the people in the painting smiled but they still looked happy in the eyes. A man stood behind her with his hand on her shoulder. He looked much like William, but with dark brown, almost black hair with gray streaks all through it, and the eyes were darker than William’s as well. Although he was much older, that man could’ve been William’s twin or grandpa. He looked as though he was in his early fifties. William stared at the painting in disbelief.

There were children in the painting. One child was poised in Ephiny’s lap and another at her feet. They were identical twins, about eight or nine years old, and both had blonde hair and blue eyes that gleamed like their parents’. They truly looked as though they wanted to laugh. There was a boy standing beside the man with his hands clasped in front of him. He had dark hair and eyes and looked to be around twenty years old. Another man who looked like he was in his mid-twenties stood with his hand on Ephiny’s other shoulder. A blonde girl stood in front of the older boy. She looked like a younger version of Hope, around eighteen years old. The last child was a dark haired girl that looked like a younger version of Ephiny, who looked as though she might be about twelve. The happy unit sat in their group staring out of the painting as the younger Ephiny gazed lovingly back. They felt strange, looking at the painting, while the object of it stood next to them, younger and more vital. Ephiny sighed as she looked at the painting.

“I lived a full and happy life. I watched my children grow and have children of their own. I thought I was too old to have the twins but there they sit, happy and healthy. I loved that man with all my heart, but the only thing that started the relationship…was William. If he hadn’t looked so much like William I don’t think I would’ve given him a second look.” She turned and smiled at William. William’s cheeks flushed, surprising Kallisto. He was always so self-confident; she’d never seen him embarrassed by anything. He walked over to Ephiny and wrapped his arms around her.

“We lived in the same castle for over two years. Why didn’t you ever say anything?” He pulled back and looked in Ephiny’s eyes, glittering with unshed tears.

“You were so in love with Kallisto, there was no way I’d have risked rejection,” Ephiny said in a small voice. “Besides, you always looked at all the servants as though you were so much better than us. My self-esteem couldn’t take a blow like that.”

“I would never have said that about you, Ephiny. You were the only servant that didn’t seem like a servant to me. Kallisto treated you like a sister so much that I always considered you like a part of the royal family. I think of you that way even more now that I know it was your family who brought us up and protected us. The ones who raised me were such good parents that I really felt as though they were my parents. I loved them very much.” William pulled her back into the circle of his arms. “If I love them, how can I not love the mother of their whole family?” He pulled back again and kissed her.

The others stood there in shock, all but Gabriel and Hope. Watching them was a little awkward for the others, so they turned and started talking about Egypt. Gabriel finally got annoyed with their show of affection.

“Alright you two, that’s enough. You’re making us uncomfortable.” Gabriel looked down as he said it. He was blushing, which was strange because he never blushed, not in all the lives Kallisto could remember. It made her wonder if he was starting to soften up in this incarnation. Laughing, Ephiny and William pulled apart. Everyone now had a partner, except Gabriel. Maybe that was why he’d acted that way; maybe it was the realization that he was without someone.

Gabriel went out to the truck to get the box. They still needed to go over a few things before they went to Egypt. As they went through the box, they found a layout of where they were supposed to stand during the ceremony to open the door to get the next clue. There was an extra spot on the layout and they didn’t know what it was for. Ephiny looked at the spot for a moment and smiled.

“That’s for someone we haven’t collected yet,” Ephiny said, still smiling. They turned to her with shock, even Gabriel.

“You mean we’re going to be joined by someone else?” Gabriel said taken aback. Ephiny smiled wider.

“‘She’s the path. She’ll lead the way. She’ll come in when the curse nears an end and be a savior to us all’,” Ephiny quoted. Everyone was still in shock.

“What’s that, some sort of prophecy?” William asked with sarcasm. Ephiny just kept smiling and nodded as though she hadn’t heard the sarcasm.

“Gabriel, you know this whole curse has had prophecy told throughout. Did the monks not tell you this one?” Ephiny asked. Gabriel nodded his head.

“They did, but I thought it was a reference to Ramina being the key. I thought she would lead the way and open the door once we got there. I guess I thought wrong,” Gabriel said finally. Everyone looked to Ramina. Her eyes were wide and she shrugged.

“I don’t even know how to get to Egypt, much less anywhere in Egypt.” Ramina said seriously. Ephiny laughed slightly.

“If you were the path then as soon as we got there you would feel a pull in a certain direction. So if that happens then the prophecy will be about you; but considering there’s an extra space and no one to take it, I’d have to assume that there is someone else meant for that purpose. And since the prophecy says she, it is safe to say that it will be a woman,” Ephiny devised.

“So since you know all of this, do you know who she is and what she looks like so we can find her easily?” Kallisto was finally snapping out of her shock long enough to ask the question.

“No, I’m sorry, things are going to be revealed to me as they are revealed to you. Remember, I’m one of you now. If I were to know what’s to happen then we’d be able to find what we need without the extra woman and everything else that needs to happen. There’s a reason for it all, so it cannot be changed. Any changes may cause the curse to go wrong in a way that we don’t want. I am surprised to see a place for me on there. When she brought me back she must’ve changed some other things too,” Ephiny answered.

“That’s a little worrisome. I wonder if there are any other aspects changed because of it,” Kallisto contemplated, but it was a fact none of them would know. Silence followed as they went to sit down. The adrenaline was finally starting to ebb away and they were getting extremely tired. As Kallisto looked around, everyone looked haggard. She must’ve looked about the same, because her limbs were starting to feel heavy, and her eyelids were drooping.

“It’s been a very long day, with so much heartache. Let’s go to bed and you’ll start your travel to Egypt tomorrow. That’ll be another long journey, and you’re going to need your rest,” Hope said sadly. She gave them hugs and disappeared into her own room. Ephiny, Ramina, and Kallisto went to their room, with last kisses to their men, who went to Kalan’s room with reluctant glances toward the girls. Gabriel jumped, laying his body out in mid-air, and landed on the couch with a loud thunk.