An End to Summer

Luck.

On the morning of Kelly's death, his great uncle Robert and his son Tommy-Tom showed up. With all the family was there, Alexander didn't think much of it.

"So, these are the fantastic fleabags you are always going on about, Alex?" Uncle Robert asked as he plucked at one of the bridles hanging on the wall.

Alexander didn't answer as he groomed Jasper. The mount didn't like being treated like a mundane horse and only stood in the cross ties after long hours of assurance that they needed it for appearances. The arrival of these people he saw as threats did not please him. The stallion pinned his ears, eyes rolling towards the intruders.

"He's a nasty nag." Tommy-Tom said with a smirk. "You ride this devil Alexander?"

"He's not so bad. Want to try a moment in the saddle?" He stepped to the side as Jasper swung his hind end, gracefully avoiding the savage kick the stallion made towards the men. "You might want to stand back. If you're looking for mom and dad, they are watching Vanessa take her round."

"That thing is trying to kill me. What in the world are your parents thinking letting you children play with filthy livestock?" Uncle Robert demanded as he stumbled back, narrowly avoiding the shod hoof striking back at him. Jasper bared his teeth, ears pinned and made a horrible roaring sound as he bucked up, testing the cross ties as he tried to whirl towards the men.

"Oh, but this isn't playing," Alexander answered, drawing himself up to his full height. Beyond the threshold, he never felt tall. Bennonton had always exceeded him in size and there were many in the ranks who were equally matched. Here though, he towered over everyone, even his uncle Sebastian. The scrawny, sickly boy Tommy-Tom's sons nearly killed was gone.

Tommy-Tom just smirked as he played with a leather strap. He held it lazily and then looked up at Alexander. There was something so nasty in that expression, it made Alexander's skin crawl. That was where his cousins, Courage, Princeton, Crown, and Pride got their nature. It was a savage, hungry need to hurt people. Son, to father to grandfather. Did the man know what his children did to him all those years ago? What did it matter now?

"Good luck Alex. That's all we wanted to say. We're going to go watch Vanny do her ride. We will be watching you and that hay burner out there."

In the back of his mind, Jasper and Amberlynn both cursed and raged. The frustration rippled over him from both sides while Jasper tried to kick the departing men. Blackhearts in those beasts, he seethed. I will not let them harm you again! Amberlynn agreed with equal volume. Mentally he struggled to sooth them both. The stallion's savage rage stunned him. Jasper was usually unfading cheerful. It left the inside of his head ringing.

"Just leave it. Come on. Let's watch Vanny while you cool down." He unfastened the ties and led the horse into the field. The walk would do them both good. He put his helmet on and mounted up bare back, riding the big horse through the throng. Waving to friends, he kept an eye on his group of cousins, keeping a tight guard on Jasper who wanted to run them down.

Harris's were gathered in one pack, Wallace's were in the other. They were the sum of the two halves of his bruised soul he reflected. Jasper finally began to relax under his weight and the interest in the event and familiar mounts. Nothing settled a war-mount like being put to a test. He sent affectionate thoughts to the mount, scratching his high withers.

When Vanessa's ride was finished, he rode with her back to the stables to finish tacking up properly. Kelly was there, putting the final touches on Morgan. She polished the pin and affixed it to the center of the breastplate with a huge smile.

In the time Alexander had been gone, the girl had ravaged the whole tack room. Leg wraps of several colors were dangling over saddles like streamers. Girths, various bridles and other leather items were flung haphazardly rather than hanging neatly from their posts. It was as though she had tried on every set while no one was there to contain her whirlwind.

"How can you possibly make so much mess? You need to clean up after yourself, Kelly," he scolded as he dismounted, reaching out to rub Morgan between his soulful eyes. The big horse was dressed out not in the usual purples and blues but with red leg wraps that matched the gleaming ruby crusted token clipped at his chest.

Kelly laughed as she swung into the saddle. "Yes, yes. I will! I promise! I'm just nervous. I'll do it when I get back!" She was already riding out into the sunlight. She grinned over her shoulder as she fastened the strap of her helmet under her chin. "Love you! Wish me luck!"

He waved after her, shading his eyes, "Good luck, brat. Did you tighten your girth? Wait, let me check you."

She waved her crop at him, drawing her leg up so she could lean down and pull the saddle flap up and give the girth a tighten. "It's tight. I'm fine! Stop fussing."

He sighed and waved her off, watching her urge Morgan into a trot and then a canter as she rode over the rise to the warm-up ring.

"Alexander? Help me with this?" Vanessa's quiet plea distracted him from his worry. She held out her leg to him to be extracted from the tall boots.

It wasn't until he was saddling Jasper that he realized Kelly had the wrong girth. He frowned as he adjusted the narrow strap of leather to the billets. He replayed the memory of her gracefully adjusting the saddle while she was astride. There shouldn't be anything to worry about. Mother or father would check her before and after the warm-up ring, or Marion or Derek. Morgan would know if it was too loose and would never put the girl at risk. He pushed the thought away and finished his own tacking.

Jasper groused at the discomfort of the girth. Muttering sullenly, he jigged to demonstrate his displeasure. Usually the stallion happily tolerated the gear so he could play this game, a ghost of the sport they both left behind. Now he was a ball of agitation and anger Alexander couldn't seem to sooth.

He was about to call off the ride altogether when Morgan's voice cried out to them.

The young queen!

He nearly fell off Jasper as the big horse leapt forward, charging down the field towards the course. The whole world went black in Alexander's heart for a wrenching moment.

Jasper galloped him to her side but he knew before he saw her that the accident was bad. The eyes were open and her mouth was open and moving, but the Kelly he knew and loved was no longer with them. He felt the rift of her passing like a fist to his stomach. He slid off Jasper and went to her side, taking her hand in both of his.

I could not catch her! Morgan lamented in a broken cry as he stood staring, unwilling to be led away from his fallen rider. He should not be taken from her! It was his duty to carry her through.

Kelly and Morgan had been going for a jump when the saddle slipped. Morgan had tried to stop rather than go over the obstacle and the girth snapped. The saddle jerked loose despite the breastplate. They were going too fast and the unexpected veer and stop caused Kelly to fly over the horse's shoulder, directly into the solid obstacle. She lay crumpled like a doll at the base of the heavy wooden structure.

People were untangling the breastplate and saddle with the torn girth hanging from it. The jeweled pin flew free and fell to the ground by his knee. Alexander saw it through his tears and he heard Kelly's soft rasp.

"Zan'Dar." Her fingers twitched in a spasm in his hold, as though trying to reach for the pretty trinket. It was not her voice, speaking his name in the spirit-tongue. He felt a strange tickle in the back of his mind, like princess Winnifred desperately reaching for him.

He scooped the token up and put it between her hands and his.

Her eyes closed as a rattling breath drew in slowly. "Ah!" A smile curled up her pale lips as she clung to him. And then...she really was gone.

Gone.

And with her spirit, the pin. A bittersweet ache filled him. He was broken with grief for the loss of his sister. He didn't want to hear Morgan's low whisper. She is beside the princess, Zan'Dar. She will be safe and beloved.

It was wrong! Kelly should be there and he should be the one to cross over and return to Bennonton. It was an empty comfort that she was in a better place. Without a doubt, she would be cherished and adored beyond the threshold. But it didn't console his parents, his grandmother, Amy or all his siblings, cousins and the rest of their family and friends who would never hold her again.

This was another scar for him in a life full of loss.

Only weeks later, after Kelly was put into the cold ground did he give any attention to the gear. His mind did not want to consider the implications of that girth. Was it the same strap his uncle had picked up? There was no question it was his. Kelly had picked it up by mistake in her nervousness. But he had no proof it wasn't an accident.

Who could he go to with such a wild idea? His cousins and now his uncle had tried to kill him? Surely not!

The only good thing to come of the whole thing was Christopher coming home. Really returning to them! After a tense few months he and Remmy reinforced their fractured bond. His elder brother had changed. Perhaps it was the loss of Kelly but he seemed more grounded.

Or, perhaps Alexander's perception had changed. His eldest brother seemed young and vulnerable. Alexander hated whenever his cousins took Christopher out to get him drunk to 'heal his broken heart'. There was some plot or scheme there. There had to be.

"You're such an old soul," Christopher said one morning when he was nursing a hangover after one of those nights. His elder brother looked utterly miserable.

"I think you're going about healing the wrong way."

Christopher gave him a condescending smile. "What would you know about a broken heart, little bro?"

Alexander could only choke on his response. It wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with Christopher when he was in this mood. "I just want you to be careful around Tommy-Tom's kids. Okay? I just...I don't think they have your best interest at heart."

"Yeah, okay, kiddo." He stood and slapped him hard on the shoulder before swaggering out. He was still more than a little tipsy.

Less than a month later Christopher found him in the stables while he was cleaning stalls. He leaned over the door, watching him with a strange, stricken look on his face.

"What's happened?" Alexander asked, not stopping his work.

That made Christopher crinkle his nose and he let out a breath, "You were right about the Harris cousins. Your intuition is really good, brother. I'm so sorry I doubted you. I...I've been an asshole."

That made Alexander stop his cleaning to turn and stare at his eldest brother.

"Oh, don't give me that look." Christopher frowned and laid his chin on his forearm. "They got me drunk and sent me off with Trina."

"Trina?" The name sent a shudder through Alexander. If there were a more grasping and needy woman, he couldn't name her. Trina had been hanging onto the Harris boys all through high school with the hope of latching onto them. Unfortunately, Robert's sons, Tommy-Tom and Sam, had ideas for who their children would wed. At least that was the rumor. Trina was passed around from boy to boy and then summarily dumped for someone the Harris family deemed worthy.

He felt bad for Trina and wanted her to be treated better. However, rather than listening to Alexander's advice and realizing what those boys were doing, she fed off the attention it gave her. She thought there was power and prestige being with one of the Harris boys.

"Yeah. She really tried to put her marks on me too. Thank god I used a fucking condom."

"You fucked her?"

"She fucked me. I was drunk! Damnit, Alexander! What do you expect me to do the rest of my life? Sophia doesn't want me. I don't have a future now. I'm not a goddamn monk."

"You did use a condom though? Really? You know she'll latch onto you if there's even a hint of doubt you might have knocked her up. Even if it's not your kid."

"Yes! Of course I did. I'm not stupid."

"Yes you are. You are a fucking idiot."

Christopher frowned and rubbed hands over his face. "Yeah. That's what Amy said too. And yeah, I am. Fuck. You know the fucking worst part about it?" He looked at Alexander through his fingers. "Amy caught me doing the walk of shame this morning. After she finished chewing me out for being a fool, she showed me this picture." He hesitated and scrubbed at his eyes again and then returned his attention to Alexander. The question came out with difficulty. "Do...do you believe in love at first sight?"

Alexander had a flash of accepting the token from Bennonton. The hot flicker of energy leaping between their fingers had been unmistakable. Heart-bound. Heat rushed to his cheeks despite his best effort to hide it.

"Ah-ha! You aren't made of stone after all! Alright, so, we both believe in love at first sight. Alright, so...no more drinking for me. No more hanging out with my cousins. No more hiding from my problems. Getting laid isn't worth ending up in a trap with Trina. Or worse."

"What's this? You're hanging up your spurs?"

"Yeah, taking a page from your book, asshole. When did you get so wise? And who is this love of yours? When do we meet her?" For the first time since he came home, Christopher actually smiled and it didn't look edged around a sardonic smirk.

Looking at his brother, seeing his hurt and the vulnerability, he told him about what happened. He explained about Bennonton. He laid it all out between them. At the end of it, they sat in a stall with Remmy, Jasper, Amberlyn and Morgan, grieving in equal measure. They mourned for lost love and family and clung to the tiny hope that the future would bring happiness to all of them.

"Is it worth it?" Christopher asked, throwing an arm around his shoulder in brotherly support.

He nodded his head violently, unable to make the word 'yes' fit into the size of his answer.

Christopher's eyes got that far away look in them and he let out a soft sigh. "I don't know, Alexander. This girl is Amy's niece."

Alexander whistled softly and then grinned. "Well, at least you know Amy will put a good word in for you."

Christopher's smile softened and he shrugged, looking away. "I guess we'll see." He paused and then nudged him. "So, you really ran with wild horses?"

It wasn't the question he expected. His eldest brother, gone so many years, didn't question that his heart belonged to a man or that he'd had children with a deity and that their sister might be consort to the princess almighty. He wanted to know about running with the horses.

"Yeah," he replied, feeling the tears start all over again.

"You are amazing, little brother. Thanks for...not kicking my ass the other day. I'm sorry for your loss."

Those simple words healed a huge rift between them. He even felt Remmy's brush of affection that included Christopher without the bristles of animosity that had so often accompanied thoughts of his rider.

Time continued to spin. For five more years, their family was left to heal without additional trauma. As the years passed Alexander felt his memories fade and with them the agony of his loss. Their cousins settled down and had children, Harris and Wallace alike. The tradition of getting married at eighteen and starting a family was firmly ingrained into all of them.

Except for the Harris-Wallace line and those sworn to them diminished. They were love-less and barren.

Amy never remarried after a failed first attempt and a tragedy that happened to her before Alexander was born. Her champions, his uncle Sebastian, and family friend Mambo were reportedly as chaste as monks. It was not normal.

Robert's children and grandchildren gloated with victory as their line grew larger and stronger. Each new baby a feather in their cloak.

He felt it in his heart. Their line cursed.

Or were they holding their breath for something?

He longed for children in their family home and to be surrounded by nephews and nieces and to see his siblings settled, happy and beloved. Like his brothers and sister, he loved their youngest cousins, but it wasn't the same. Every year that passed, he despaired that they would ever break the cycle.

Chapter Twenty-Four

In early 2015, Amy Welton's health took a savage and swift downturn. They, his parents and his grandmother, claimed it was cancer. Whatever the cause, it was brutal and consuming. Even with the most powerful sagecraft they had at their fingertips she was ravaged by the illness.

Alexander, spent as much time as he could with her. Together they sat under the red tree and she dozed peacefully against the thick trunk as the first rays of summer warmed them both. He played the flute for her, trying to remember a song he'd learned in that other life.

"Don't give up hope my beloved, heart-son." Amy's soft voice was filled with pain but she smiled. "Please, have mercy on your uncle Sebastian. I worry so much about him and Mano. They have dedicated everything to me and I leave them with nothing."

He stopped playing and turned to watch her. "Oh Momma-Amy, don't talk like that."

Her eyes were closed, face tipped up towards the dappled sunlight coming through the trees branches. "Every story has an end. There is a beginning that can only start with a catalyst." She smiled and tipped her face towards him, eyes opening. "I have never been able to help you the way you needed and I am so sorry. Now I ask something of you that is so unfair and yet, only your old soul might understand. Things will be very dangerous and you will meet people who have been chained in darkness their whole lives. They will need guidance. Delphine and your parents are going to need support educating them."

"Chained in darkness? What do you mean?"

"Not every tribe is like ours. Harris, Wallace and Welton, with our deep, proud blood tied and bound and trained as infants to understand there are mysteries like spirit beasts, sagecraft, war-mounts and gateways across the threshold into the land of spirits."

"I can't tell someone about those things who are not of my blood. That's...against traditions. It is dangerous."

"Yes, it is, Alexander. However, ours are far from the oldest bloodlines. There are people out there who have no idea of their talents. Some families have died out before their children could be told. What of them?"

"They fade out by natural selection," he said, quoting the tradition and feeling his skin crawl as his cousin's words came out of his mouth.

Her eyes sharpened on him, mouth tightening. "Well quoted."

Ashamed, he looked away, face hot. "Everyone says that old sagecraft has been burned out from the world."

"Everyone? Do you trust the people telling you? What are their motivations?"

His throat grew too tight around the memory of his childhood beating and Kelly's accident. He felt her watching him but couldn't meet her gaze. The fact that Robert Harris and his children and grandchildren wanted to extinguish other lines was right under his nose.

'Your weak, talentless waste should be culled from the bloodline.' The words from so many years ago rang through him.

But there was no proof.

Except that particular family was the loudest voice behind the rally to cling rigidly to tradition.

"There is a reason our traditions started. You're correct; it is dangerous for our secrets to be unveiled indiscriminately. There are also very good reasons to bend and break those guidelines when they no longer work. Outside our safe, protected valley, people do not have sharp eyes to see or minds that accept those wonders. If we don't adjust and grow, we will lose allies and those powerful talents will be lost forever. Your old soul sees and your instincts are sound. Trust them!" Her eyes lost focus and she closed them, pain etched deeply across her face.