Free A.L. Jambor by The Tower in the Mist Page A

said.
    “Mace, stop,” Margaret said.
    I was feeling a thousand years old. He was right. I hadn’t protected her.
    “Then, I will leave you alone,” I said.
    “No, please, don’t go like this,” Margaret said.
    “There’s no reason to stay,” I said. I touched her cheek. “You know where to find me if you need me.”
    I left them standing on the lawn. She didn’t call to me.

April 13, 927
    I am Geezer. I am updating the journal of Margaret Hall. It’s been three years since I’ve written in this journal.
    A year ago I lifted the veil from the tower. There is a new king and he leaves me alone.
    Today a child came to my tower. I was in the garden and she came up behind me. I recognized her long dark hair and her large brown eyes.
    “Mama needs you, Geezer,” she said.
    I felt a quickening in my heart. I dropped my hoe and followed Ceil to the portal.
    It was raining when we emerged from the portal. The river was high. I lifted us up, flew us over the water and up to the house.
    “Mama is very sick,” Ceil said. “And Papa…is dead.”
    She didn’t look at me. I didn’t want to question her further.
    She took me into the manor house. The servants looked at me in disdain. My old robe looked dirty, and my sandals left streaks of mud on their clean white tiles.
    “Come, Geezer, hurry.”
    Ceil was running up the long staircase to the second floor. She turned into the first bedroom. I found Margaret lying in a pool of sweat. She looked at me and her eyes grew wide.
    “Geezer,” she whispered.
    “I’m taking you home,” I said. I looked at Ceil. “Are you coming, too?”
    She nodded. “Can I bring something?”
    I nodded and she ran out of the room. She had grown so tall.
    I wrapped Margaret in a blanket and carried her down the stairs. No one tried to stop me. The servants shrank from the sight of Margaret. Their fear of the pestilence was great.
    Ceil ran down the stairs with a satchel and followed me out the door. As soon as we got to the portal, we jumped in.
    “Will we make them sick?” Ceil asked.
    “Who?” I said.
    “The people in Tresteria.”
    No. You’ll stay at the tower. I’ll put up the veil until your mother recovers.”
    I knew she would recover. I’d give her my life force if I had to, but I would save her.
    The Spanish flu killed many Earthlings, and it was the only battle Mace had ever lost.
    Ceil was a hardy girl. She didn’t get sick. We talked a great deal about her life on Earth. I told her how much I missed her.
    I asked her about Mace. She said he wasn’t home very often. She didn’t seem to know him very well. But she loved her mother greatly.
    I asked her how Mace died. She said he became ill one night shortly after dinner. He grew weaker and weaker and began to bleed. The doctor couldn’t stop his bleeding and he died.
    When Ceil went to bed, I walked to the loft and sat at my desk. Ceil had collected a picture of her father before we left and she gave it to me. I looked at the face of my former king. He didn’t look happy.
    I remembered Mace sitting on the stool next to me, reading my “ridiculous book” and telling me he wanted to be king. He was thirteen. He was young and strong. I was glad I was alone. I didn’t have to hide my tears.
    July 24
    This is Margaret. I am feeling much better. I am walking further every day, and Geezer said the color has come back into my cheeks. He has been so kind.
    Ceil has become a real farmer. She grows large vegetables and her fruit trees bear the sweetest fruit. She wants to see the town and Geezer has promised to take her there.
    It’s almost as though I never left Tresteria. My years with Mace feel like a dream. He spent most of his time in London and only came to the manor on weekends. His father died of the flu early on. His wife, his second one, lived, as did his young son. The boy is just a little older than Ceil and they formed a bond. I wonder what he thinks of her disappearing like that.
    Mace told his father we