A Land Of Fire (Book 12) Read Free Page A

of him were complete, as if all was okay in the world.
    “Thorgrin, my son,” she said.
    It was the most beautiful voice he’d
ever heard, soft, reverberating off the ancient stone walls of the castle,
sounding as if it had come down from heaven itself. Thor stood there in shock,
not knowing what to do or what to say. Was this all real? He wondered briefly
if it was all just another creation in the Land of the Druids, just another
dream, or his mind playing tricks on him. He had been wanting to embrace his
mother for as long as he could remember, and he took a step forward, determined
to know if she was an apparition.
    Thor reached out to embrace her, and as
he did, he was afraid that his hug would go through nothing but air, all of
this just an illusion. But as Thor reached out, he felt his arms wrap around
her, felt himself hug a real person—and he felt her hug him back. It was the
most amazing feeling in the world.
    She hugged him tight, and Thor was
elated to know that she was real. That this was all real. That he had a mother,
that she really existed, that she was here in the flesh, in this land of
illusion and fantasy—and that she really cared about him.
    After a long while, they leaned back,
and Thor looked at her, tears in his eyes, and saw that there were tears in
hers, too.
    “I’m so proud of you, my son,” she said.
    He stared back, at a loss for words.
    “You have completed your journey,” she
added. “You are worthy to be here. You have become the man I always knew you
would.”
    Thor looked back at her, taking in her
features, still amazed by the fact that she really existed, and wondering what
to say. His entire life he’d had so many questions for her; yet now that he was
here before her, he was drawing a blank. He wasn’t sure even where to begin.
    “Come with me,” she said, turning, “and
I will show you this place—this place where you were born.”
    She smiled and held out her hand, and
Thor grasped it.
    They walked side-by-side into the
castle, his mother leading the way, light exuding off of her and bouncing off
the walls. Thor took it all in in wonder: it was the most resplendent place
he’d ever seen, its walls made of sparkling gold, everything shining, perfect,
surreal. He felt as if he had come to a magical castle in heaven.
    They passed down a long corridor with
high arched ceilings, light bouncing off of everything. Thor looked down and
saw the floor was covered in diamonds, smooth, sparkling in a million points of
light.
    “Why did you leave me?” Thor suddenly asked.
    They were the first words Thor had spoken,
and they surprised even him. Of all the things he wanted to ask her, for some
reason this popped out first, and he felt embarrassed and ashamed that he hadn’t
anything nicer to say. He hadn’t meant to be so abrupt.
    But his mother’s compassionate smile
never faltered. She walked beside him, looking at him with pure love, and he
could feel such love and acceptance from her, could feel that she did not judge
him, no matter what he said.
    “You are right to be upset with me,” she
said. “I need to ask your forgiveness. You and your sister meant more to me
than anything in the world. I wanted to raise you here—but I could not. Because
you are both special. Both of you.”
    They turned down another corridor, and
his mother stopped and turned to Thor.
    “You are not just a Druid, Thorgrin, not
just a warrior. You are the greatest warrior that has ever been, or ever will
be—and the greatest Druid, too. Yours is a special destiny; your life is meant
to be bigger, much bigger, than this place. It is life and a destiny meant to
be shared with the world. That is why I set you free. I had to let you out in
the world, in order for you to become the man you are, in order for you to have
the experiences you had and to learn to become the warrior you are meant to
be.”
    She took a deep breath.
    “You see, Thorgrin, it is not seclusion
and privilege that make a