She released my hand and looked at her palm. A slight smile spread across her face.
“What?” I asked.
“Your aura is gold as well.”
“My aura?”
“The light that surrounds you. Everyone’s aura is unique. You leave your aura behind you.” Her strangely colored eyes bore through me. “We’ll have to work on that.”
I felt as if I’d crossed into the realm of mystics or something. Hesitating, I decided to be completely honest with her.
“I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know why Troen chose me. I think I’m too young for this.”
“That,” her voice rose slightly, “is why you are having the problems you’re having.”
“Problems?”
“You feel completely out of control and on the verge of slipping into the blackness of the evil you feel in your heart.”
Holy cow.
She continued. “It is because you doubt yourself. Troen didn’t choose you. You were chosen years before your parents were even born. The line does not make The Link until it is time.”
“I don’t understand how I could be The Link,” I interrupted. “The Link has to come from pure lines. My mom said she’s got Halflings and Humans in her line!”
Aletheia looked amused. “What do you think a link is?”
I thought for a moment. I knew what merpeople thought it was.
“How do you think the dictionary defines a link?” She rephrased.
“To join something?”
“Yes,” she began, “it is a means of connection. It is a channel for communication between groups. In order to be The Link, you must have blood from both channels in you. You cannot be pure blooded.”
That took me by surprise. I’d always assumed The Link would be this perfect being from pure blood and the oldest of the merfamilies. When I didn’t answer, she continued.
“Troen and Calipsor were not pure and were better able to mingle with humans and understand them. This is imperative for our survival. I met with Troen after you were blessed. He told me the moment he met you, he knew you were The Link and that your time to be blessed was at hand.”
“How?”
“When he touched your hand, he read your thoughts, felt your feelings and instantly read your blood lines. It is similar to a computer download and that only happens with The Link.”
This was all very deep. My brain felt as if it was floating on water.
“I have a lot to teach you.” As she stood, her dress gracefully fell to the forest floor. “We don’t have very long to do this.”
“What do you mean?”
She looked down at me, a kind expression on her face. “Thayde believes he can kill his father. He cannot. It will be you who has to do it.”
“Me?” A bolt of shock flew through me. “I can’t kill anyone!”
“If you wish to stop this, you will have to.”
“This is foul.” Mom wasn’t enjoying her lunch at all. “I don’t know how you can eat that.”
“Hmm...” I mumbled, my mouth full. Idaho wasn’t a big importer of seaweed and Mom was missing it. She eyed the teriyaki chicken sandwich I held tightly in my hands and winced as I took another bite.
“Doesn’t it make you feel sick at all?”
“Nope,” I licked the juice running down my wrist.
“Ugh,” she looked away. “I hope the boys get back soon so we can return to Florida.”
We’d been stuck in the house for five days while Aletheia taught me some of our ways. By the fifth day, I insisted we get out. The suggestion of lunch was met with a lot of enthusiasm, but now, as Mom realized that Idaho food was quite a bit different from Florida food, she seemed anxious to get back.
Oddly enough, Naira insisted on staying at the cabin with Shirley, saying she wanted to swim in the lake and play in the sand. She enjoyed the water far more than I, and like Tammer, was constantly in it.
I eyed Aletheia who sat demurely in a heavy wooden chair across the table from us. She was picking through a spinach salad and ignoring the looks from the men at the adjacent table.
I looked straight at them and nearly laughed. It was painfully obvious they were overcome with the beauty sitting around me. With Aletheia’s dark hair and striking eyes and Mom’s blonde hair and honey colored skin, it was like sitting between a couple of models.
The men talked among themselves, daring each other to go over and talk to us. The handsome Egyptian man was commenting on how beautifully Mom’s necklace fell just above her cleavage. His friend, a tall blonde man who could pass as a Viking in the movies, commented on Aletheia’s gorgeous eyes and shiny hair. The third, a younger man who was obviously uncomfortable with the whole situation, dropped his eyes when I looked at him.