I stood on top of the world among the ice and snow, looking for something but I wasn’t sure what. I wasn’t cold even though I stood on an ice flow and the wind was blowing to cyclone proportions all around me yet I never felt a breeze. The snow cleared for a brief moment and I saw a polar bear walking towards me.
For a moment, it morphed into a woman then back again to the great white bear.
“Come.” The large silver eyes were hypnotizing.
It never occurred to me that polar bears don’t generally speak and I simply followed her into the blinding snow. I still wasn’t cold and a thought was trying to get through to me but I ignored everything but the bear beside me. My hand was on her head and her fur was soft beneath my fingers. Somehow, I knew she wanted her ears rubbed so I obliged.
Even over the blasting wind I could hear the rumble that was her purr. Then an opening in the snow appeared and we were descending into a long tunnel of blue green ice. It must have been big because we were still walking side by side. She led me deep beneath the freezing surface until I heard humming.
We stopped at the entrance of a cavern just big enough to hold another polar bear, two cubs and a woman dressed simply in black jeans and a blue turtleneck. That didn’t seem any stranger to me than the rest of this weird dream did. Yeah, I knew I was dreaming but I was too curious to wake myself up.
The cubs and the woman were playing while Mom watched them with an indulgent smile in her dark eyes. The woman was badly scarred and I couldn’t tell how old she was although her buzz cut was as white as the fur on the two small bears that tumbled with her on the ice floor.
Her laughter ran out while the cubs attacked at the same moment, bearing her down with mock war growls. She rolled with them, tickling and rubbing their fur until they suddenly ran out of energy and lay panting atop her. I watched her smile at them like a proud mother then share that look with their mother.
“You need to keep them below until the earth quits moving. The wind will be bad for awhile but once it dies down the world above should be all right.” Her husky voice echoed slightly against the ice walls.
The mama bear growled low and her cubs immediately scampered over to her.
“I know you want to help but your place is protecting your cubs. Let me worry about Above.” She knelt in front of them and extended a hand towards the great white muzzle. The bear looked at her for a long moment then down at the cubs nestled to her side. Nodding, she nuzzled into the outstretched hand and I heard the woman give a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. I’ll take care of the Ikiiri and you’ll take care of your babies. Within another day and night, it should be safe to go Above again.” The woman stretched and stood, moving to the center of the cavern and beginning a kata that moved slowly in waves of motion that mimicked the dolphins I’d seen cavorting in the southern waters near Seward.
As she turned, she caught sight of us and slowed her movements while assessing me with her single silver eye that matched the bear’s eyes beside me. “You just can’t leave it alone, can you, Mother? Who’s this one?”
I shouldn’t have been surprised I guess but I started when the bear beside me spoke in motherly tones. “You’ve never met him, little one.”
“But I’m going to, aren’t I? Why can’t you just let me get on with this? You never used to interfere like this before.” She moved gracefully across to the great white bear beside me, kneeling so their eyes were on a level. “Don’t you trust me any longer?”
“I trust you with my world, small bite. But who do you trust?”
“I trust myself and my sister-selves. And I trust you. If I am wrong then tell me so I can correct my actions. It is my world too and I will die for Her as I have done three times already.”
“Excuse me, but could you explain what’s going on?” I decided to see if I could participate in this little tennis match.
She rose and held out her hand. “Hello, my name is Ruth and I’m the Earth’s Avatar.” Looking pointedly at the bear at my side, she continued. “And this is Earth’s Guardian Goddess. Who still hasn’t told me why she’s brought you here.”
If a bear could look sly, then the Goddess beside me looked like butter wouldn’t melt in her mouth. “I thought you might like to get acquainted. It’s getting so there’s no one new to introduce you to.”
I finished shaking the Avatar’s hand. “And what are you warning the bears against?”
She sighed and looked up into my eyes with such a sad look. “Every two thousand years, an alien race called the Ikiiri visit Earth. There’s a wormhole which only occurs at that time out near Mars."
“The space anomaly that appeared is a ship?” My mind was racing and putting together the limited facts at my disposal.
“Yes. This will be the fourth time I’ve faced them. Protocol demands that the Ikiiri Queen be met by her equal in rank. It’s why the Goddess chose me six thousand years ago."
“You’re six thousand years old?” I think my voice squeaked.
“Well, not continuously. One little side effect of our meetings is that I always die. But when they’re expected again, I’m reborn in time to be at least old enough to handle opening my memory and letting in my sister-selves so I’m prepared to meet them.”
I suddenly had a very bad feeling about this. What if this woman was totally insane?
“Well, it’s your dream, honey. If I’m insane then you’ll wake up and forget you were ever here.” She was smiling sympathetically at me and I could feel myself blush. “And this crisis will be over before too long anyway.”
“Sorry, I’m a little confused.”
“Join the crowd.” She sighed and rubbed her scarred cheek with a scarred left hand. “It’s always a little disorienting when I first receive the memories of my past lives. Illura, my first self was the only one who didn’t have to contend with thoughts of madness. Are you sure I haven’t met this one?” She suddenly turned to the bear beside me.
“Certain. Marag was King Orion in Atlantis.”
The woman and I exchanged a look that shared commiseration while I tried to remember what she had said her name was. Suddenly she stiffened all over and stalked over to stand in front of her Goddess.
“Mother. Please tell me that he is not Peter Hamilton.”
The bear simply looked at her.
“Please, don’t make me forswear my promise to his mother. I promised her that none of her sons would come to harm.” She was begging the great white bear before her, her hands tugging on the silky fur at the bear’s shoulders.
“You’ve met my mother?” This was getting too strange and I shook my head to try and wake up but nothing happened.
“I’m supposed to understand this, aren’t I? Why are you putting innocents in the path of danger? Surely my life is sacrifice enough. It’s not very important to anyone but me but I really do willingly give my life so the Earth will be safe. Each life I took fewer of my people with me. Why must there be more?”
“You’re not thinking this through, little one. You’ve touched so many lives over the millennia, they have asked to share this one with you. With clear minds and loving hearts they are coming to join with you to meet the Ikiiri one last time.”
“You’ve never said that before, Mother. This is the last time we must meet?” The note of hope in her voice was strong.
“The last time you will meet in combat, my Chosen One. This I promise you.” The large silver eyes moved between the two of us. “Remember what I said earlier. Free will is what sets you apart from all my children. You have always chosen love in your lives, Daughter. What will you choose this time?”
I watched a tear slowly slide down her good cheek. She nodded to her Goddess then looked up at me with a quirk of her lips. “I choose love, My Lady. Even if I do not deserve it, I will love to the best of my ability."
“Oh good, now it’s time you went back to bed, Peter. You have family coming.”
The cave began to fade away, dissolving around the edges of my sight. I heard the woman exclaim once more before she faded completely.
“Mother, you are such a troublemaker!”
“I heard that, young lady. I prefer to call myself a matchmaker.”
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End of chapter 14