The Gazing Globe by Candace Sams Page B

social activities lately.
    This will be a good opportunity to make amends for not keeping m touch." The way his brain was working lately, he believed he would dearly need friends one day. Instead of following that train of thought, he latched onto the safe and harmless subject of music. "You said I play the flute like my mother Tell me about where she came from and how you knew her and my father."
    "Perhaps you should know part of the story. The time is near enough."
    "What's that supposed to mean?" Blain responded impatiently. "What are you hiding from me? And why, when anyone mentions my parents, do I get the feeling I shouldn't ask? Please tell me what you know, Shayla. I have to understand." Blain straddled the bench to look at her.
    She paused, as though gathering her thoughts. "Can you imagine a world where myth and legend meet and become reality? Are you open-minded enough to hear the truth, Blain?"
    "Try me," he urged. His need to know overrode the mysterious undercurrent in her words.
    She paused for several moments then asked, "Do you believe in magic?"
    "I believe in what I can hold in my own two hands and see with my own two eyes. Where are you going with this?"
    "There was a time, centuries ago, when people not only believed in magic, but they lived by its edicts.
    Magic pervaded all things. Battles were fought to obtain it, and men lost their senses through its use.
    Kingdoms fell while their kings searched for it. Can you imagine such a world?"
    "In fairytales, sure. But what has that got to do with my parents?"
    "Your parents were part of a world which still exists on its belief in magic. Because they loved one another, they were forced to leave that world.Afton, Hugh and I are part of that world as well. On the Summer Solstice, three days from now, you will be exposed to strange and wonderful powers."
    Shayla is off her rocker, he thought, gaping at her. Would he soon be just as crazy, and did Hugh and Aftonreally believe in what Shayla was saying? Hopefully, they just humored the old woman to keep from upsetting her. Maybe that's whyAftonwas Shayla's assistant. Perhaps she'd been hired to look after Shayla. He decided to go along with Shayla's views to get to the bottom of how this strange, silver-haired woman knew his parents. Besides, how could he really judge her when his own mind was so obsessed about the future and his ominous feelings of what lay there?
    "Okay. Suppose you tell me why my parents had to leave this, uh...world of magic." Blain tried to be tactful and sound as receptive to the idea as he could.
    "Your father belonged to one faction of an Order of beings which exist on magic. Your mother belonged to another. In those days, the woman in charge of this Order—her name was Freyja—interpreted its laws strictly and wouldn't allow your parents to be together. So they left the Order and ran. Under Freyja's command, the Order searched for Syndra and Arthur. As soon as we had word of their whereabouts, your parents would disappear. We believed they used their combined powers to keep from being found. Finally, they ended up here. Hugh found you only because the powers your parents used to protect and hide you disappeared when your mother died."
    Blain passed a hand over his face in a weary gesture. "So, my parents were hunted because they fell in love and had magical powers?"
    "I wouldn't put it in such simplistic terms, but yes."
    "All right, Shayla. What powers were they supposed to have?" This gibberish was making him more than a little angry, but he reminded himself that he was humoring an older woman with a great big problem. A problem he might be feeding into.
    "Your mother was a fairy, and your father was a Druid. When you're ready to accept yourself and your heritage, you'll be able to look into and see who you really are instead of the ordinary man you believe yourself to be. You might be a fairy. They're made of light and love. All things good. They have extraordinary powers, as do