Page 60 of Charmed

“Whatever.”

So when the portal appeared in the cave and I found the stones, I was elated. There were thirteen stones in all, but I only found eleven. I need the last two before I can approach the gods to return them.”

“And that’s why you want the one I have,” said Stone with a nod.

“So hand it over,” demanded Elric. “You know now that the gemstones are not your king’s so there is no need for you to bring them back to him.”

“Not so fast,” said Stone. “Even if I give you the one I have, you have one more to find. My guess is that Rancor has it. And you’re going to need me to track him down to get it for you.”

“Never mind the stones. Elric, are you really my father? Or is King Helix Kapion the man who sired me?” asked Persimmon, starting to understand her father’s bitter attitude toward her now.

“I don’t know,” said Elric, shaking his head. “I’m not sure your mother really knew either.”

“Then I need to find out on my own.”

“No!” both Elric and Stone said together.

“It’s too dangerous, Persimmon.” Stone held concern in his voice.

“The man is evil. Why would you even want to know if he is the one who sired you?” asked Elric.

“Mayhap, because I have not had a real father my entire life and I would like to finally have one.” Grief filled her heart. She didn’t want to be the daughter of an evil man, but neither did she want an elven father who had ignored her and seemed to despise her for the last twenty-five years, even though it was no fault of hers. She was torn, but felt the burning desire to know the truth once and for all.

“Once I finally convinced Luna how bad King Kapion was, she decided she would have to hide you, Persimmon. Because if the portal ever opened again and he came back, she wasn’t sure he wouldn’t try to kidnap you, wanting to claim you as his daughter and take you away from her. It was only a matter of time before he figured out how powerful you would be.”

“Oh,” she answered. “Everything makes sense now. Mayhap that is why I don’t look like you and have pointy ears.”

“So she might not even be half-elf after all,” Stone spoke up. “For all we know, she might be half-human.”

“That’s right,” said Persimmon. “What if I am really the daughter of the King of Taelgonoth? Then what?”

“Don’t say that! Ever!” spat Elric. “You are half elf. Everyone knows that.”

“Do we?” asked Persimmon, seeming to upset her father.

When Elric got off the table quickly, one of the gemstones fell from his pouch. Persimmon was attracted to it. She slowly reached out to pick it up.

“Father, I don’t understand,” said Persimmon, closing her fingers around the gemstone. “Why didn’t you or Mother ever tell me any of this?”

“Some things are better off left unsaid,” replied Elric.

“Is that really true?” asked Persimmon, feeling her heart sink. She rubbed her thumb over the stone. “If only one of you would have told me all this years ago, I wouldn’t have had to feel so abandoned my entire life.”

“You weren’t abandoned. It was done for your own protection.” Elric slammed his hand down on the table.

Persimmon felt the stone become so hot in her hand that she had to throw it down in front of her. “Ow!” she cried, rubbing her fingers together, trying to stop the pain. She saw a ghostly figure at the far side of the room and knew immediately who it was. “Mother,” she gasped. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Be careful, Persimmon. Now that you know these things, you are in more danger than you believe.

“Luna is here?” Elric spun around in a fast circle, looking in every direction. “Where is she? Why can’t I see her? Luna, where are you and what do you want?”

“She’s right there.” Persimmon pointed to the ghost of her mother. “She’s warning me to be careful.”

“She’s speaking? What is she saying? I need to know.” Elric was visibly upset.

“Why do you need to know?” asked Persimmon. “Are you afraid she might tell me something else that you’ve been keeping from me?”

“Uh, excuse me,” said Stone. His eyes were focused on the table and his jaw dropped. “Did anyone else see that? Persimmon touched a gemstone and it is glowing.” Stone scooped up the stone.