-
Patricia Reding
a book bubble about
Ephemeral and Fleeting
Science Fiction & Fantasy
Author Insight
You Could Be Free From All This
Much of the workings of the Select and their Oathtakers is actually provided in this short segment. As those following the series know, when an Oathtaker swears a life oath to protect a member of the Select, he receives in return, attendant magic, and continued youth. For an Oathtaker like Lucy, who had served a seventh-born of the Select, that continued youth would last for the remainder of her days. Although not immortal, she would no longer age. Here, Mara suggests that since Lucy's charge is deceased, she might want to follow another path--as Oathtakers have traditionally done. Lucy refuses. It seems her service is her first choice. Would you agree?
Book Excerpt
Ephemeral and Fleeting
“So you let him go?”
“I did. But you see, there was something even more important.”
“What was that?”
Lucy sat again. “Mara, do you remember the hearing you had with the Council after Lilith’s death, when the twins were just infants?” She waved her hand. “Oh, never mind, of course you do. Anyway, you’d made a decision . . . about Dixon.”
Mara bit her lip. “Yes.”
“Believing there was no way for the two of you to be together—to love one another and commit to one another—you decided that you would send Dixon away.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
Lucy looked at her, searchingly. “Did you ever think it was because . . .” She pulled back, sat up straighter. “Oh, never mind.”
“What? Was I going to send him away because I didn’t ‘love him enough,’ as you say?”
“Well . . . yes.”
“No. The very thought left me cold. But—” Tears sprang to Mara’s eyes. “I couldn’t break my oath, Lucy. I couldn’t bear the thought of losing the girls. At the time, that idea was even worse to me than the idea of losing Dixon. They were so helpless. They depended on me.”
She looked out the window at her side. “I couldn’t break my vow, and Dixon would never have asked me to. It’s like I told Nina all those years ago: if I’d turned from my oath, Dixon would forever after have wondered when I’d turn from him.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“What does this have to do with Petrus?” She took her friend’s hand in her own.
Lucy closed her eyes, as though viewing her memories in her mind’s eye. “He had a charge of his own,” she finally said. “I told him that if he broke his vow, I’d not have him. He was . . . not pleased. He said he didn’t believe me—that he thought I was incapable of loving—or at least of showing it.” She straightened her shoulders. “Maybe he was right. I don’t know. In any case, I never saw him again after that. I went on my way to follow my first love—Ehyeh and the Select—and I suppose he did the same.”
“Is this who you thought you saw today?”
“Yes.” She pulled her hand free and sighed. “But of course, it wasn’t possible. Still, for a moment, I . . .”
Once more, Mara tapped on the table. Then, “You know,” she said, “now that the twins have found their way, maybe you want to be free from all of this. You could still make a life for yourself, you know.”
Lucy shook her head.
Amazon
Barnes&Noble
Apple Books
Kobo
Click Follow to receive emails when this author adds content on Bublish
Comment on this Bubble
Your comment and a link to this bubble will also appear in your Facebook feed.