The Final Redemption by Michael Manning (little red riding hood ebook free .txt) 📕

that if I wantyou to share your secrets, I need to be more accepting. If thatalso means you’ll think things through more carefully, then it’s awin-win,” she said.

“Who are you, and what have you donewith Penny?” I said incredulously.

She smiled and gave me a quick peck onthe cheek, dismissing me. “Go back to your work.”

I started to leave, but I stopped fora second, looking back.

“Enjoy second guessing yourself,” sheadded.

I shook my head andleft. I’ll show her, I thought to myself. I’ll recklesslypush forward, and to hell with the consequences. I won’t rethink asingle thing!

It was empty bravado, though. After Isent the message inviting Gareth and Moira to stay with us, I spentthe rest of the afternoon reconsidering my entire plan. Then Ibegan rechecking all the work I had done. Penny really knew how toget under my skin sometimes. Before I was done, I did indeed changea few minor things and decided to add a few extra conditions tomake sure my enchantment would continue to work even in the mostunlikely situations I could imagine.

Women are evil, and my wife was chiefamong them.

***

Moira and Gareth arrived a few dayslater. In the past, Moira had been almost a member of thehousehold, she was around so often, but since marrying we had onlyseen her twice, and only briefly on those occasions.

Penny set them up in the one guestbedroom we kept in our, no longer quite so secret, mountaincottage. We had a nice dinner and drinks afterward, indulging insmall talk and letting the children entertain us with theirantics.

It wasn’t until the next morning afterbreakfast that I took Moira Centyr aside and asked her if she wouldjoin me in my workshop. I chose that time of day since it gave uslots of time. Gareth had taken our older children out on themountain to give them a lesson on the wildlife that lived in suchareas. He had a unique perspective on it, since at one time oranother he had actually transformed into many of the animals theycould see out there.

The reality though, was that he wantedto be nowhere nearby when I broached the subject of my latestproject with his wife.

“Penny mentioned last night thatyou’ve been spending an inordinate amount of time in here,” notedMoira as I let her in through the main door.

“That’s true,” I confessed, “but Iactually have two reasons for bringing you here.”

“I could tell you had a lot on yourmind,” she answered mildly. “What are those boxes?”

I took her closer, letting her examinethe runes. “They should be somewhat familiar to you,” Isaid.

“Stasis boxes, why would you need somany, and why so small?” She looked confused.

“Let me start at the beginning,” Isaid and then I took my time explaining my plan. Her face grewdarker as my plan unfolded, but she held her tongue until theend.

“Did you learn nothing?! This isimmoral, dangerous, and possibly the very definition of evil!You’re just repeating my mistake! You even have his memories, whywould you do this?!” Her voice rose with each phrase.

By ‘his memories’, I knew she wasreferring to the first Mordecai, the one she had loved a thousandyears before, the actual father of my daughter. He had been the onewho had originally designed the ‘god-enchantment’ that they used tocreate the Shining Gods. “There are some substantial differenceshere,” I began, but she interrupted me.

“Yes!” she broke in, “Differences ofscale. What you plan is even larger and more dangerous.Twenty-three! Why would you even consider such athing?!”

“I’ve altered the enchantment innumerous ways, to create a system of safeguards, both for them andfor us,” I explained. “Look here, do you see this part?”

“None of that makessense,” she spat out angrily. “But it hardly matters, think of thesuffering! Even if you thought this was safe for the people of thisworld, think of what you’re condemning them to endure.You were a victim ofthis sort of thing for a year; didn’t you learn anything fromthat?”

“It won’t be like that,” I reassuredher. “They will be alive, in every sense of the word. They’ll growand learn, just like…”

Her eyes grew wide.“You’re using her aren’t you? My daughter—your daughter, have you no shame? Doyou think she has the slightest inkling what any of thismeans?”

In her anger, the forty-plus Celiorsworth of aythar that Moira Centyr had stored within her began toleak out, creating an almost unbearable pressure. It was becomingan effort simply to breathe while standing in the same room withher.

“And when you say, ‘alive’, does thatmean what I think it does? Have you dragged my own husband intothis?!”

I couldn’t take much more. Evenshielding my mind as strongly as possible, her aythar was crushingmy will, and she was still containing most of it. I was no longerimmortal as I had been when I faced Mal’goroth, nor did I have thesort of power to protect myself that I had had then. Thankfully, Ihad alternatives now.

As I had done with Celior long ago, Ilet my mind slip partly into the earth, gaining some respite fromthe unbearable power I was standing beside. Once I was able tothink clearly, I uttered the words that would reinstate my controlover Moira Centyr’s enchantment, binding her to my will oncemore.

“You dare!” she shouted, swellinguntil she threatened to destroy my small shop.

“Resume your normal size, and reign inyour strength, you’re making it difficult to breathe,” I commanded.“You will do nothing else until I give you leave to act on your ownagain. Until then you will listen carefully to all that Isay.”

She shrank back to her normal size,staring at me with fury in her eyes.

“First,” I told her, “We need toremove some of that power. It isn’t safe to store it in onelocation like that.”

Using short terse commands. I directedher to channel the aythar into the first of my temporary holding‘cells’. In reality, it was the first of my new creations, but thepower wouldn’t remain there permanently. I had a multitude of plansfor how it would be divided up later.

It was a process that would take quitea while, considering how much aythar she had within her, so I usedthe time to explain the finer points