by Karen DuBose
I hesitate a beat before I face her. I am trying to give her time to enjoy this. Turning around, I know my face says everything. I didn’t have to say anything.
She gets out of the rocking chair and walks toward me with Runes in her arms asleep.
“What happened? I know you and I know something is wrong. Tell me.”
Walking the rest of the way to her, I wrap my arms around them both to enjoy it for a second. Taking a deep breath and letting it out I say, “The demons have gathered an army and are coming after you.”
If I wasn’t holding them both, Dariya would have fallen to the ground. I slowly take them to the ground so they don’t get hurt. I hold her until she is able to function on her own.
She finally looks up at me. “How did you find this out? Did Kelso tell you?”
I nod my head. I don’t speak, I’m trying to let her wrap her mind around this and I don’t want to overwhelm her all at once.
“Can we even trust Kelso? How did he even come across this information?”
I loosen my hold on her so I can see her better. “He said that we aren’t the only ones with a Seer in our pockets or something like that. He said the Seer told him and if we kill him, we wouldn’t have that’s Seers help anymore.”
I can see her frustration. “Wouldn’t Oceana have seen this?”
I let out my frustration with Oceana. “No. She says they all don’t see the same things. I didn’t let her explain, I wanted to get to you.”
She looks at Runes and I watch as dawning hits her. I can’t stand watching her happiness slip away. It’s breaking my heart and there is nothing I can do about it.
Without even looking at me she says, “I guess it’s time for me to wake up and face this head on. There is no other choice. They need to find those clues. We just need to pray that I am safe here for now.”
I hold her a little closer and kiss the top of her head. I know she is scared. I’m even scared for all of us, but mostly these two that are in my arms. I don’t know what the future holds or even if we will have a future.
Chapter Five
Dariya
I’m not going to show the fear I have deep inside me. They don’t need to see a weak leader. I will do everything I can to make sure they are safe and live a long and prosperous life. I don’t even know if what Kelso said is even true. Until we find out the facts, we will keep our plans.
I look at our child one more time before I wake up. I pray I will be able to hold her again and watch her grow up. I don’t think I will be able to handle not to see her again. Now that I have gotten to spend time with her, there is no way I’m not going to do everything in my power to make that happen. I just hope it’s enough.
I kiss her one last time and force myself to wake up. I can already feel my heart ripping out of my chest. It takes me a few minutes to catch my breath. It feels like someone carved my heart out.
Strong arms wrap around me and hold me like his life depends on it. I don’t dare open my eyes yet. The moment I do, I will have no choice but to deal with reality. My reality sucks right now. How am I going to be the leader everyone expects me to be when I have my death laid out for me?
“Love, I know you are avoiding reality for a few more minutes, but you need to open those gorgeous eyes. We have planning to do.”
“How can I be something everyone wants me to be and thinks I can be, when my death has already been laid out? What if Kelso is telling the truth? How can I even defeat that kind of army? I will not risk any of you. Don’t even finish that thought. I will not let you or anyone else get killed to protect me. I don’t care if you took an oath, I will break that oath.”
I’ve never seen him angry at me before and it makes me want to vanish. “Dariya! Even if you break the oath, we will still be there to protect you. So, you can get any idea out of your head. I will not sit by and watch you fall. That will never happen. You cannot decide for them nor me. Don’t ever take that away from us.”
I unwrap myself from his arms and try to sit up. I am still weak and light headed. I am finally able to sit up. I face away from him. “I know you are angry and I will let it slide this once. I am trying to protect you guys, just like you are trying to protect me. Do you have any idea what it’s like to know the ones you love are going to fight a useless fight and know they will die because of you? Going against the Elders is one thing, but the demons are a whole other story.”
He places his hand on my shoulder and pulls me to him. “I know how scared you are to lose everyone. I’d rather die than to live in this world without you. Please understand that. What is to say they won’t kill everyone on this planet just to have it for themselves?”
I shake my head. “You know just as well as I do, they need us to survive. They will never kill everyone. But you do have a point. What is to say they won’t kill you guys anyway? I’m sorry. I let my fear rule my judgment. Let’s get to planning. There has to be something to defeat them. We just have to find it.”
Kiernan stands up and looks down at me. I can see the sadness in his eyes but his smile is plastered in place. It still takes my breath away. He bends down and lifts me into his arms. He must feel just how weak I am. I know I wouldn’t have been able to stand on my own, let alone walk anywhere.
“You may be physically weak, but your spirit is strong. I can feel it inside me like a wave. Don’t let this hold you back. You will be strong in every form soon.”
He leans down and kisses me. Bringing the life back to me. I’ve missed this, his touch, his kiss-- everything about him.
He starts to pull away and I wrap my hand behind his head to make the kiss last longer. I need this. I need it like I need air. The taste of him mends my fear for now. I slowly end the kiss and pull away from him. His heated look stares back at me. Making me want to kiss him again, but I know if I did, we would never get the things we need to do completed.
“I think it’s time to see Oceana. It’s time to get everything lined up and see if we can’t see the outcome of the demons and what we can do to prevent it.”
He turns serious in a flash. “Do you think that is wise? You still need to rest. I don’t want you to overexert yourself so soon.”
I place my hand on his cheek and look him in the eyes. “I’m more than sure. We need to survive this. I want to hold Runes in my arms again. I will do anything to protect her and make sure she survives.”
He leans into my touch and closes his eyes. “You are brave, smart, and fierce. Everything I love about you. I know you will protect her, as I will do the same to protect both of you. If this is what you want to do then, I will take you to her. Just know we did not end in a good note when I came to you.”
I close my eyes and lean my head back to draw strength into me. “I don’t know what happened between you two. Besides you telling me you yelled at her, but you must apologize to her. We need her more than ever. Remember, she can’t cause me harm or stand by and watch someone do it. Have faith in her that she is on our side.”
He lets out a frustrated noise. “I know she is loyal to you. I have faith in that. I just… I don’t know what this feeling is. It’s not just toward her, it’s everything and everyone. I knew I shouldn’t have yelled at her. I was scared and angry.”
“Let’s go see her and you can tell her that yourself. I know she will forgive you. She isn’t one to hold grudges for petty things. I know the others are ready to move forward. So am I.”
Without saying another word, he jumps in the water with me in his arms and swims under the waterfall. When we emerge, I see Mom, Isobel, and Oceana talking. There are three other women with them I don’t know. They must be the witches Oceana went to find.
Kiernan swims to the edge and Mom and Isobel spot us. They rush over with Oceana to help me out of the water. Kiernan growls at them. I turn my head to look at him and shake my head. I whisper into his mind. “They are safe.” His dragon is trying to protect me. He must learn who is safe and who is not. These women would never hurt
me on purpose.
Mom bends down with caution and grabs one of my arms, so does Isobel. They lift me up and set me gently on the grass. Oceana rushes over to me. She could care less that Kiernan was just growling at her.
“How are you feeling? I wish you could have slept longer. I’m so sorry for not seeing the demons. If I would have known, I would have shared that with you. Please forgive me?”
Tears run down her face, dripping onto the ground between us. “Oceana? Why would you need my forgiveness? I have seen all you have seen… past… present and future. I know for a fact you did not see this coming. However, we will figure out if it is the truth or lie and if it is a lie, people will pay for their mistakes. I make that promise here and now. I will not be bullied or seen as weak ever again. I will be the leader you all see. Caring, passionate, but I will also be punishment.”
They all fall silent at my words. I know the new me is something they were not expecting. I am tired of shifter and non-shifters thinking I am weak and will fail. They will see the new me. I will get the respect I deserve. I am risking my lifecycle to save them. They will no longer treat me like I am a pawn.
Mom is the first to break her shock. “Where did my little girl go? All I see is a strong woman in front of me.” Tears start to fall from her eyes.
I try to stand up but my weakness evident. I hear the splash of water before Kiernan helps me stand. I lean on him for support. I will work on the physical strength later, right now I need to get things rolling.
I look up at him and smile. “Thanks, babe.”
He smiles back and helps me walk to my mom and the other women standing around her. I hold a hand out to her. She reaches for it. The moment she touches me, I’m thrown into a vision. I cling on to her not knowing why. I don’t even know how I know this.
The world is in chaos. Everything is either burning, burnt, or dead. The smell of flesh is strong in the air along with wood and vegetation. I see nothing but destruction. There is no life, nothing.
I fall to the ground, tears flowing down. My heart aches for the loss. How am I going to fix this or even stop this? I sit there on my knees for what seems like forever not taking my eyes off of the scene.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see movement. When I turn to see what it is, it’s gone. I watch for it again. It flies low to the ground. Its wings glisten in the smoke covered sun. How did a dragonfly get here?
I watch it as looks for something. When it hasn’t found what it’s looking for, it flies away. I can feel the anger and sadness coming from it.
I take one last look around before I take myself out of the vision. I know who has done this. The Demons.
I slowly open my eyes to see the purple night sky. I was in there a long time. I turn my head to see Kiernan sleeping next to me. He has his arm across me like he is making sure I don’t go anywhere.
I roll to my side and let his arm fall off me. As soon as it does, he sits up with panic etched on his face. He looks down and sees that I am still there and relief washes away his panic.
He lays back down on his side to face me. “Love, please don’t ever do that again. I hate feeling helpless and every time you go into a vision like that, that is what I feel like. I didn’t think you were coming back this time. You have never been in a vision that long ever. Kira is freaking out because she couldn’t get through to you.”
How am I going to tell him this? I don’t even know if I can, but if he finds out I have been keeping things from him, it will hurt him more. “I saw the last days on this planet. It was and will be horrible. There is no life left. Except for one lone dragonfly. I don’t even know how or why it was there. Maybe it was telling me something and I just didn’t listen or maybe it’s a sign of a new beginning. I don’t know. All I know is we can’t let this happen. I don’t care how we do it, but we need to stop this from happening.”
He pulls me closer to him and lets me cry. The heartache I feel is overwhelming and I feel like there is no hope. This isn’t how it will end. It can’t be.
I pull away from him and try to sit up. We have things to do and mourning over something that may never happen is wasting our time.
He places a hand behind my back and takes my hand. “Let me help you.”
He stands up and helps me the rest of the way up. I’m not as weak as I was, but it’s going to take some time. Time we really don’t have anymore.
“As much as the Mountain won’t like it, I need everyone here as soon as possible. Wake Oceana up and tell her my plan about that. I need to talk to my mom.”
I reach up and give him a kiss before I slowly make my way to where I hope my mom is. She has a favorite spot across from the waterfall. She says it peaceful and brings her hope.
It takes me longer than I expect to get over there. Mom spots me and comes to help me.
“What are you doing walking around? Where is Kiernan, he should be helping you?”
I lean on her for support. That little distance has taken more out of me than I want to admit. “He is getting Oceana. There is a lot that needs to be discussed. I will not allow what I saw in my vision to come to pass. I will tell you about it when everyone is here. I don’t want to repeat it.”
She nods her head and helps me the rest of the way to her spot. She helps me sit down and I am grateful. I give myself a few minutes to gather some strength I desperately need. This is going to be a long night.
As we wait for the others to show up, I rub my belly, telling Runes I will find a way to keep her safe. I don’t promise her because I don’t know if I can keep that promise.
I hear rustling behind me and turn to look. Kira spots me and runs over to me. She slides on her knees to wrap herself around me. I let her fear wash over me. I hold on to her and let her know I’m as good as I can be right now. Source I’ve really missed her.
Someone clears their throat to get our attention. I look up and see Jax staring at me with a determined expression.
I give him a small smile. It’s all I can give him right now. “I’ve missed you too, Jax.”
“Me too.” He walks up to me and kneels in front of me. “Why have you called us here? It is not safe for us all to be here.”
I look at everyone and almost lose it. “It’s not going to happen,” I keep telling myself.
“I’m going to try and show you what I have seen. Before I do, just know this may come to pass if we don’t figure out how to stop it.”
I look at each and every one of them. All forty-six of them. Jax, Bruno, Cicero, Rome, Taz, Alums, Brody, Aidian, Desean, Errol, Knox, and all the others. They nod at me as soon as our eyes connect. They are ready to see what my vision has shown me.
I close my eyes and bring the vision to me again. My heart breaks all over again, and I almost lose the vision. Taking a deep breath, I push it toward all of them. I know when they can see it. I hear them take a ragged breath in. Some are even cussing. I can’t see them, but I can feel them. Rage, pain, heartbreak, denial-- all of it runs through them. I don’t blame them because I feel the same way.
When the vision is done, and I release them of it, I open my eyes to see their feeling written all over them. A few are pacing, trying to control their animals. Few of them are in tears and the rest are staring at me waiting for me to tell them what needs to be done and I can’t. I don’t know what needs to be done.
I turn to Oceana for help. I beg her with my eyes for answers. All she could do is shake her head. I felt the weight of the world crash down on me just then.
I stand up with strength I didn’t even know I had. Anger courses through me. “What is the point of all of this? I destroy the Elders and for what! To see the world fall. I will not except this! Not now, not ever! The Source didn’t give me this power for nothing. There has to be a way to stop this from happening.”
I stand there lost for the first time. I truly feel helpless.
A hand lands on my shoulder and turns me to her. Oceana looks me deep in the eyes. “I don’t think that vi
sion was to tell you the world will end. I think there is more to it and we need to figure out what it is before it’s too late. If the demons are after you then we will figure out a way to stop them. That is the only way I can see.”
I lower my head in defeat. “How are we to stop an army that size?”
She lifts my chin up. “We don’t know what kind of army they have. Don’t you think if they had the army you think they have, they would have done something by now? What have they been waiting for?”
Oceana does have a point. They could have attacked already and been done with it. “Even if they don’t have a huge army, we will still need the Elders to defeat the ones they do have. They are more powerful than all of us combined.”
“If that were true, then why has the prophesy chosen you to take them down. You are more powerful than they are combined, dear girl. You must believe in yourself or that vision will come to pass whether you want it to or not.”
The truth of her words brings relief and panic to course through me. If I am the key to saving this world, then I have failed before I even started. I have been trying to make myself believe since I found out I was to take the Elders on. Now I must save the world from the Demons too?
Chapter Six
Weeks have passed. After we met up that night, we decided to follow the clues to find the Dragon Stone. I have been able to keep them cloaked from the Elders, I’m scared my cloak won’t keep the demons from spotting them. I don’t want to find out either. Bruno and Rome have been slowly working their way to the old Moon base. They have been testing the cloaking to make sure it works before they head straight there.
I’ve been letting Kiernan deal with Kelso. I don’t think I can deal with him without causing him harm. Kiernan has better control than I do at this point.
I’m always on edge waiting for the shoe to drop and hating the fact that they are out there and not me. It kills me to stay here and do nothing. I know I am protecting them this way. I just don’t like it.
I turn to Kira when she laughs at me. “What are you laughing at?”
