Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Phoenix

Chapter 31

The whole time Sherry was cooking was spent in awkward silence between the adults. Anna kept up a running commentary, and thankfully, the girl didn't have a problem continuing without much prompting. It made the rest at least a little bearable. Sherry wasn't quite finished cooking when Kaylan showed up. The girl gave Sherry an apologetic look when she walked in, but Sherry just shook her head and smiled. She couldn't be mad at Kaylan for caring.

Kaylan helped her set everything out. As soon as Anna was eating, Kaylan also offered to wake Stella. Daniel thanked her before he gave Sherry a pointed look. She kissed Anna on the top of the head before she gestured to the door. The siblings walked in silence until they made it to the clearing beside the house. It was far enough out that their conversation could be private, at least.

Sherry paced while she waited for Daniel to say something. She still had no idea where to start. Finally, she stopped when he spoke. "Sis, Kaylan made it sound like you were dying. She wouldn't tell me what was going on, but she said it was important for me to see you immediately. It's a damn good thing I don't have classes right now. It took jumping through some hoops, but I was able to take a few days of emergency leave. Please tell me that I didn't just pull in every favor I could just because you fell in with some weirdos."

Sherry huffed a little laugh, but it was only to hide the fact that she was close to tears. She had to face away from him before she could speak. "I suppose it makes sense that she called you. I had planned on seeing you when I headed out there in a couple of weeks, but since you are here, we can go ahead and get all the paperwork signed without having to go through extra steps."

There was a pregnant pause before he lightly grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. His worry was clearly evident. "What paperwork? You still haven't told me what is going on."

She swallowed a couple of times before she could speak. "I'm adding you as co-owner on all my assets. All the paperwork should be done by tomorrow. I imagine that Mr. Latham could get them done today if I let him know you're here."

At that, he grabbed both her shoulders and gave her a small shake. "What the hell!? That doesn't make this any clearer. Why are you doing this?"

The first tears finally started to fall as she grabbed him in a tight hug. "Daniel, I'm so sorry. I don't know why it was me that was chosen, but something happened, and I was made a l'cie."

He had pulled her in tight when she started crying, but he froze at her last words. He pushed her back after a moment, and Sherry could tell that he was trying to figure out how to calm her down and still tell her she was crazy. He was fighting to keep from yelling. "I know this may seem real, but you have to know on some level that those guys are actors. Maybe great ones, but l'cie aren't real."

Sherry shook her head and took a couple of steps back. She had already been through this once and knew there was only one sure-fire way to prove she wasn't crazy. She held up both hands and focused. A rime of frost encased one hand while a small fireball popped up in the other. She held them for a few seconds, just long enough for Daniel to realize he wasn't seeing things.

It was still several seconds after they were gone before he could manage to say anything. "What the hell was that!"

Sherry gave him a frustrated look. "What did it look like? It was magic. I told you I'm a l'cie." At that, she flipped her wrist over and let him see the mark there. He stepped forward and ran his fingers across it before he looked back up. Sherry felt like he had punched her when she saw the look in his eyes. She hadn't seen that look since their mother's funeral.