Free Ascended by Debra Ann Miller Page A

he had ever seen. He decided to follow Vie and see for himself what she was up to.
    Gabriel watched as Vie talked to one of the Guardians who stood guard at the entrance of the Gates. Then he saw the Guardian leave, and Vie looking around nervously. What is she up to? he wondered.
    Then he saw s omeone coming toward her, a woman from the other side of the gate. She was dressed in a long white gown and her head was covered with a scarf so her face wasn’t visible. Gabriel knew immediately where she had journeyed from; she had come from the other side. The woman standing before Vie was an angel who seemed to have a message for her.
    Gabriel moved closer so he could hear their conversation. There was a moment of silence when they met , and then the woman spoke.
    “You must go back,” she said .
    “Back? Back where?” Vie sounded confused.
    “You must go back to save Vivian,” the woman said.
    “I can’t. It’s not allowed,” Vie said wistfully.
    “You must find a way. You ’re the only person who can save her. He will stop at nothing to have her soul,” she said.
    “Who are you, and why do you think I can help her?” Vie asked.
    “I am Lily, Vivian’s mother—your mother,” she announced.
    “What? You can’t be,” Vie looked perplexed.
    “I am , Violet. My sweet, sweet, Violet,” Lily said, reaching her hand through the gate and touching Vie’s face. “You are my daughter and Vivian is your sister; I gave birth to two sweet daughters, not one. I am begging you, Violet; you are the only one who can save her from Lucian. Please, Violet,” she said, beseeching Vie.
    “I don’t believe you. If what you ’re saying is true, then prove it,” Vie said, daring her.
    The woman looked in Vie’s eyes, communicating to her word lessly. She moved Vie’s hair back from her shoulder and gazed at the amethyst earrings Henry had given to her the night of the dance. “I see you’ve received my gift. I knew they would find their way to you. I saved those earrings in a special place, hoping I would be the one to give them to you someday, but things don’t always work out like we plan. They’re amethyst—your birthstone, Violet. A rare and precious gem, just like you.” She fought to hold back her tears.
    Suddenly, Vie noticed the guard returning to his post. She looked back at Lily and could see her eyes looking through the white veil she’d worn to conceal her face. A light flashed in her eyes and Vie saw her mother’s face looking back at her, the day she was born; it was in those flashes that Vie became aware the woman was indeed telling her the truth. These eyes were the eyes of her mother.
    Vie remembered looking at a portrait Vivian had painted of her mother, and remembered feeling a strong connection to the eyes of the woman displayed on the canvas. It all made sense to her now: the recognition, the resemblance she had to Vivian, the feelings she had for Henry. It all fit.
    “I have to go now ; they’re coming. Please, Violet, you must go back and save her. You are the only one who can stop him. You must stop him, Violet!” she said again before fleeing.
    It was frightening for Vie to think that she had this gift, this eidetic memory, which allowed her to perfectly recall every image, sound , and object with extreme precision, and yet it offered no help to her whatsoever in recalling any details of her own life. She had existed in the human world. She had a mother, a father, even a sister—but absolutely no memory of any of them. Nor did they seem to have any memory of her.
    Why can’t I remember? What happened to me there that was so terrible that I ’ve managed to erase my entire human existence? she wondered. Vie just stood at the Gates and watched as her mother, whom she’d met only seconds ago, disappeared into thin air. It was as if she were dreaming, but she wasn’t. It was real. She was real.
    Her head was spinning and all she wanted to do was run to Carter , but she couldn’t even do