Page 50 of Langiappe & Lost Legends

"Remember," Maeve instructed, "don't try to force the connection. Let the crystal's natural harmonics guide you. Your sister-bond will do the rest."

"Because that makes it so much clearer," Lia muttered as she clutched my hand.

I closed my eyes and reached for the connection that had always linked us together. The empty space where Dea should be felt like a wound. Around it, I could feel my other sisters' energy pulsing strong and sure. That was when I felt a familiar presence brushing against my consciousness. It was warm, fierce, and loving in a way that made my heart clench.

"Mom?" I whispered. My voice broke as my soul ached painfully. The others went still. It was the kind of stillness thatcomes with trying not to shatter something. They wanted to see her as badly as I did.

She appeared before us. She was translucent but undeniably there. Her smile was exactly as I remembered. It was the one that had gotten us through every moment of our lives. It hadn't wavered even through years of chemo and radiation. It was there even when the cancer was winning. She'd faced death with the same grace and strength she'd shown in life. And taught us one final lesson about courage.

Kota made a sound somewhere between a sob and a laugh. "You still look like you're about to tell us to straighten our spines and remember we're Smith women."

"That's because you're slouching, dear," Mom replied, and oh God, that familiar teasing tone made my eyes burn. She'd always known how to break the tension and how to make us laugh even when things seemed darkest.

Phi was blinking back tears. Lia was crying freely while Dani was holding her hand and smiling. We all felt that bittersweet ache of having our mom here but not here. We missed her so fiercely that it felt like a physical pain. It hurt worst of all because Dea wasn’t experiencing this.

"You need anchors," Mom said simply. Looking at her, I saw all the love and pride she'd always shown us. "Something to hold you steady while you reach across the void."

More spirits materialized. They were more of our ancestors. I'd bet some were even the ones who had originally protected the crystal. They formed a circle around us. Their power added another layer of stability to our efforts. But it wasn't enough. We needed something stronger.

"Your loved ones," Mom said before I could even voice my observation. She always had been the smartest person I’d ever known. It didn’t matter that she never had any secondaryeducation. "Your families. They're your strongest connections to this reality."

Understanding hit me like a supernatural freight train. I reached out through my bonds, not just to Steve but to my children and grandchildren. The response was immediate and overwhelming. Love surged back through our connection like a tide and wrapped around me like the warmest blanket.

Around me, my sisters were reaching for their families and drawing on the bonds of love that transcended even death itself. The kind of bonds Mom had helped us forge. She had shown us by example how to nurture and protect. She’d given us the best gift anyone ever could in each other. My sisters and brothers were my greatest treasures.

The effect was immediate and intense. Reality stopped trying to tear itself apart around us. The artifacts' light steadied, and Phi's equipment settled into a rhythm that sounded less like an imminent explosion and more like controlled chaos. "That's my girls," Mom said softly. Her pride wrapped around us like a familiar hug and a sob left me. We were all crying so hard we couldn’t breathe. "You’re always strongest together."

Looking at this woman who had raised us to be both strong and gentle. She had shown us how to face both life and death with grace. And had made sure we knew that family was about more than blood. I felt that familiar mix of grief and gratitude. We missed her every day, but everything she'd taught us lived on in how we loved each other. How we faced challenges. And how we built our own families.

"We love you, Mom," Kota whispered. She voiced what we were all feeling.

"And I love you, my brave girls," she replied. "Now go get your sister back."

Even as her spirit faded, I could feel her strength remaining with us. This time it wasn’t just in our memories. She was therewith us. We loved fiercely and fought harder, and we’d never give up. Just like she taught us.

Through our combined connections, I could finally sense Dea clearly. She was fragmenting because she was experiencing countless realities simultaneously. Underneath the chaos, I felt a surge of emotion from her that could only mean one thing. Mom had reached her too. Tears pricked my eyes as I sensed my sister's response to our mother's presence. Even trapped between realities and with her consciousness scattered across countless dimensions, Dea was crying.

That had to be a good sign. If she could still feel, react, and miss Mom with that same bone-deep ache we all carried, then she hadn't completely lost herself to the temporal fluctuations. And maybe, just maybe, Mom was doing what she'd always done best. Protecting her children, even from forces that could tear everything apart.

I could feel Dea fighting and holding onto her identity with that special brand of Smith stubbornness. The same stubbornness Mom had shown during her final months. It fueled the strength that had made her keep smiling and telling us, “I’m okay.” It was how she kept being our rock even when her body was failing her.

"She's still in there," I told my sisters, my voice thick with emotion. "Mom's with her.”

Lia nodded and wiped her eyes. “I think... I think she's been with her this whole time, keeping her anchored just enough until we could reach her."

That was exactly the kind of thing our mother would do. She would absolutely find a way to guard her children even from beyond the veil. Especially when one of us was lost in the spaces between realities. Some mothers gave their kids chicken soup when they were sick. Ours held our souls together when theywere scattered across dimensions. Honestly, that tracked for our family.

"I’m calculating exact coordinates now,” Phi reported. “Though you're not going to like where they have her."

"When do we ever like where the bad guys set up shop?" Lia asked.

"They've got her suspended between the worst moments of every possible timeline," Phi explained grimly. "It's like they're forcing her to experience every tragedy that could have happened to us simultaneously."

A surge of rage shot through me. "Those bastards."

"Dea," I called through our sister-bond. "Hold on. We're coming."

Her response was faint but clear. "Hurry. And tell Lia to lay off the energy drinks. I can feel her vibrating from here."

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