Fathom(52)

“Thayde, how did you come to be alone on the beach?”

“I don’t know – one minute we were fighting Limus and the next minute, he had hit me with something and I was projected away from the area. I was alone in the deep ocean. There was nothing around me to recognize, so I swam as far as I could until I came upon that beach and collapsed.”

I said nothing, instead, realized how easy it would have been to have missed him altogether had I not been The Link. He would have died on that beach if I had not been blessed.

Thayde reached forward, cupping my face.

“Are you all right, baby?”

“I’m worried.”

“About what?” He asked, and I shrugged, taking his hands in mine.

“Everything. Thayde, you weren’t able to find Herra or Akin. What if they’re off plotting a way to get to me?”

He dropped his head in defeat. “I think they’ve been doing that for some time now.”

A wave of nausea washed over me. Perfect. Not only would I have to face Limus again, I’d have to take care of those two as well. It was not something I looked forward to. I’d have to deal with Limus first.

“So what do we do now?” Thayde asked.

“I have to continue with my lessons. Aletheia and Jacob have a few more things to teach me before they think I can handle Limus. Then they want me to kill him.” I gauged Thayde’s reaction. He looked troubled. “What?” I asked.

“I know you’re much stronger now than you were,” he began, “but I’m still so afraid you’re going to get hurt.” He looked deep into my eyes. “Promise me you won’t do anything stupid.”

“I promise.”

“I mean it, Morgan. He’s very sly – I’ve never known what he was up to until it was too late.”

“I promise,” I repeated.

There was a knock at the door and Jacob stuck his head in.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Aletheia says Thayde needs his rest and you need to begin your training for the day.”

“See what I mean?” I joked, kissing Thayde’s cheek. “Work, work, work!”

Thayde managed a slight laugh as he lay back down. I covered him with his quilt and left the room with Jacob.

Jacob walked with me down the stairs. “Glad to have Thayde back?” He asked.

“More than you can imagine!”

“It must be wonderful to be so in love,” he answered. Before I could answer, he placed his hand at my back and walked me toward the front door. “Let’s take a walk.”

We left the cabin together, walking along the drive before reaching the pathway at the edge of the woods. The morning air was cool but the sun was warm and it followed us through the trees as we made our way down the path to the clearing I’d visited so often in those four weeks.

Jacob chatted away about the scenery and how much he loved Idaho. His affinity for it matched mine. When we reached the clearing, he sat down in the long green grass and motioned for me to do the same.

“We haven’t been friends for long, but I think it’s safe to say that we understand each other, don’t we?” He asked.

“You could say that. The amount of peace your teachings have brought me has been life changing.”

“I feel you are still having a lot of issues with the amount of responsibility you carry.”

I didn’t say anything and he continued.

“You’re The Link and it seems that everything begins and ends with you. That’s quite a burden to carry. I want you to know one thing: you may feel as if you’re doing this all alone, but you aren’t. God is with you every step of the way. If you give your troubles to him, He will be able to handle it. You are not alone.”

He paused, looking through the tall trees to the light blue sky above us. “There is nothing He cannot handle. You may feel the weight of the world upon you and I’m telling you that giving it to Him will release you of the burden. Any time you feel alone, in need of help, scared, or persecuted, you can always count on Him.”

I hadn’t considered talking to God. It still felt strange to even pray. I remembered watching Lady Hawke as a child and thinking it funny that one of the characters spent a lot of time talking to Him. Was that what we were supposed to do all the time?

“Do you understand what I’m saying?” he asked and I nodded. “I think it’s important you know that.”

“Thank you for telling me, Jacob. Everything you’ve taught me has been so positive and has helped me immensely,” I said. “I’ll take your advice.”

“Also, I hope you don’t mind me saying so, but your family has been talking a lot about this Limus guy. He seems like a very nasty man. It doesn’t seem as if he’s contributed a lot to society and he seems to harm more people than he does help them. Still, killing a person is a very difficult choice to make and I understand why you are having such a difficult time with the idea. You are wise to consider all your options before resorting to the same kind of violence Limus seems to choose. There is a reason why you are hesitant about it and it’s because it is wrong.” He smiled at me and shrugged. “I just wanted to give you a different perspective than the one you’ve been hearing.”