by Vivien Reis
"Maybe I should make a food run? They won't let us eat in here, but we can take a short break."
"Mmhmm." Abi was already deep into a data-crystal titled, Crystal Divination: A Study of Blood Stones and Their Applications. She quickly gathered that a blood stone didn't have to be red, but carried with it an essence of the original Oracle who performed the cast, hence the blood part.
A small paragraph mentioned a prophecy foretold by an Oracle named Jonathan.
"Hey, food's outside. That high-and-might aide wouldn't let me bring it into the lobby area."
"Look at this." She waved him over. "I found a prophecy foretelling the rise of the King's Army, initiated by a powerful ‘Brethren Oracle lost and betrayed,’” she quoted.
“How does that have anything to do with crystals?”
She’d gotten off track but for good reason. “I found this one first.” She plugged in a different crystal and read from the screen. “One of the most infamous uses of a blood stone occurred in the 1400’s. An Oracle named Jonathan BLANK used one of these stones in an elaborate ritual that resulted in his wife’s death. It was rumored he did so in an attempt to find the elixir of life. Jonathan was also known for spreading false news of a prophecy, one that caused widespread panic among Elysia for years.”
“Everyone knows about Jonathan.” Abi twisted to look up at him. He didn’t seem impressed, and munched on something gathered in his right hand.
“What do you mean?”
“It’s just a ghost story. Like saying ‘Bloody Mary’ three times in the mirror. Young Oracles are told if they don’t behave that old Jonathan would claim your life as an insult to Deia.”
“Why would he want to insult Deia? He’s the one that murdered his wife.”
“Yes, but people have ‘seen’ Jonathan here on the island. Some think it’s because Deia didn’t deem his spirit pure enough to deserve the afterlife but it’s just a scary story you tell little kids,” he rushed the last part and waved her over, walking backward. “Come on. Food’s getting cold.”
“Wait.” She stood, not sure why she was drawn to this ghost story. “His prophecy. What do you think he meant by ‘lost and betrayed?’ Do you think that could be my mom? What if she had this powerful blood stone and the King’s Army wanted it?”
“It is a story, Abi! Nothing more. When we get the stone, we can take it to Gertrude. Ask her what it really means.”
“I’m not waiting until then,” she sat back down for only a moment before getting up to retrieve another crystal off a shelf. When she got back, Jesse was still there.
“I’m starving,” he said.
“Go eat.”
But he didn’t. He sat down at the desk next to hers and popped in one of the spare crystal she had.
It didn’t take her long to find what she was looking for.
A self-proclaimed ghosthunter had written a book on the spirits still inhabiting the continent of Elysia. He only had a couple mentions of Jonathan, but it gave her what she needed.
“Look at this,” she said.
Jesse laid his hand on her desk. “Why am I looking at a map?”
“That star there, do you know how to get there?”
“Uhh, yeah, I guess. That’s where the island’s scrying stone is.”
“Good.” She pushed her chair back and was halfway to the exit when Jesse caught up with her.
“Where are you going?”
“To find Jonathan.”
“What do you mean find Jonathan?”
“I mean I’m going to go find him and ask him what he meant by his prophecy. Maybe he wasn’t such a mad kook that everyone made him out to be.”
“He is a—Abi this doesn’t—would you wait for a second?” He pulled her arm so she’d face him. They were already outside. “You want to go find some murderous, fictitious ghost to ask him a question? That’s like travelling to the North Pole in search of Santa. It’s just not going to happen.”
His tone made her doubt her plan. But only for a moment. “Of all the unbelievable things I've learned in the last two weeks, a ghost-prophecy wouldn't even make my top five. We need to at least try." She marched past the picnic tables, headed back toward the marketing district.
"Wait, you're not going right now, are you?"
"Ghosts don't sleep, do they?" she called over her shoulder, realizing she didn't know which way was north.
"No, but I do. It's at least a three-hour hike from here. It'll be midnight before we get there."
"So?" She crossed her arms. "Are you coming with me or not?" This was an empty threat, and they both knew it. She had no idea how to find this stone by herself.
"Can we at least eat first?"
"We’ll eat on the way." She marched back to the picnic table where Jesse had set out the food and gathered her sandwich up in a napkin.
Jesse reluctantly followed suit, pointing in a direction when he noticed Abi waiting at the bottom of the steps. She marched ahead of him, setting the pace.
Abi was on a mission, adding ghost hunting to her new repertoire of Oracle skills.
This stone is in my friend's house—my best friend. If something happens to her, Jesse, it's my fault.
# FORTY
# FORTY-ONE
The fatigue of the day was finally catching up to Abi. Jesse assured her they were already halfway there, but her legs were heavy and her mind weak. She was thankful Jesse had insisted they eat before they left. She couldn't imagine hiking all this way on an empty stomach.
"So, what exactly does a Marker do?" Even though Abi was walking in front, Jesse had sent out a pulse to the nearby vegetation, lighting the path for several yards in front of her.
He was also taking care of the mosquitoes buzzing nearby.
"I find people like you."
For some reason this robbed some of the magic of their friendship. She had wanted to feel special, like he had wanted to find her, not just another initiate Oracle. How many times had he done this before?
"Aren’t new Oracles usually younger?" She stopped to take a break, sitting atop a glowing fallen tree. "I mean, isn’t it weird, you creeping on little kids?"
Jesse gave a hearty laugh and Abi smiled, almost proud of herself. "Yes, it does get a little tricky sometimes. There aren't very many of us Markers, which further complicates things. If people saw the same person lingering around a school for too long, or a playground, or an arcade, it would certainly look suspicious. For that reason, we have to do most of our surveillance from afar and rotate out Markers based on where our sensing unit finds hot spots."
"So, someone tells you where to go to find a new oracle?" He nodded. "And how do you find them from there? How can you tell them apart from normal people?" Her exhaustion let one of her thoughts slip through her guard—how had he not been able to tell she was an Oracle?
He raised an eyebrow and looked off to the side, like he wanted to forget the fact he hadn't gotten it right with her. "I definitely sensed something on one of you at that party, but it was subtle. A freshly marked person has what Markers call steam. Kind of like an aura that floats above the person. There's this shift in the their mind, like they're absorbing nearby energy from Deia."
"You travel around a lot then? Looking for these people?"
"All the time. That's why I get so tired of hopping. Since our minds work like a muscle, the farther away the microhop, the more energy it takes. Plus, as you probably remember from your experience, it's not exactly the best sensation in the world."
She didn't remember the hop at all, not unless pain was the only sensation anyone experienced while hopping.
They got up and continued on the path, which had narrowed so they could no longer walk side by side. Occasionally, Abi had to push aside tree branches, holding them back for Jesse, or climb over fallen tree trunks to continue on the path. Already she had several scrapes and bruises, but ignored them.
She felt bad for Jessie, knowing how tired he must've been, and not knowing if he had
to work in the morning. She wouldn't feel good about herself if he only got a few hours of sleep because he spent so long helping her.
"So, what happens when we find this imaginary ghost?" Jesse asked.
She chose to ignore his mocking tone. "We ask him about the prophecy. See if he knows if my mom is involved somehow. What happens after that, I have no clue. It still seems crazy that a crystal led me here."
Saying it outloud, it seemed crazier that she believed a four-hundred-year-old prophecy was about her mom.
"You'd be surprised. Crystals don't just store the energy we feel, they're conduits between this world and the true Elysia. People have been trying to pinpoint for hundreds of years how Elysia's energy and magic systems flowed into the earth. Some believe this energy comes in the form of a river, one we can't see but that flows all across the earth, occasionally collecting in something like a lake. Others believe this energy flows directly through crystals, which would explain why naturally occurring crystal formations seem to rejuvenate our abilities."
"Can these rivers affect normal people? Is that how Oracles are made?" Based on what the Consul had said during her first meeting with them, she knew an Oracle's power could be passed down from one generation to the next. But were all of them oracles because of their parents?
"That's precisely why some people believe so firmly in the rivers. My birth parents weren't Oracles at all, so it seems to be random sometimes. Two Oracles can have a normal child, but two normal people could have an Oracle."
"And one Oracle having two Oracle children is rare?"
"I guess. I know I've never heard of it, but I can't say for certain it's impossible. Your mom sounds like she was a very strong Oracle, but as far as we understand, only one child can receive that gift. A person becomes marked by Deia, and it may not always make sense to us, but there is a higher power. Our energy descends directly from it."
"We're children of the gods, then?" She meant this as a joke, but Jesse nodded.
"Exactly. The demi-Deias cast out from the original Elysia were children that Deia created in her true image, gifted with a world soaked through with her power. When the demi-Deias left Elysia, each one was said to originally land on a different continent than the other, and those landing spots became origins for the most powerful rivers. Without that energy, each demi-Deia is a normal person without gifts. So, when each of us receives some of that energy, imbuing us with those special gifts, we become a demi-deia ourselves."
Abi was still left wondering if her brother could've been an Oracle. If he was, then he wasn't safe staying with Gran. "There's still a surveillance detail on my family, right?"
"Absolutely. Even after the attack, the Consul had at least one person on detail with your family at all times. Just in case."
Thinking back to how Myra reacted to Abi's question about the recent attacks, she asked, "These attacks haven't occurred that frequently, have they?"
She looked back to see Jesse shaking his head. "This is the largest attack committed against us in hundreds of years. Most of the skirmishes out in the general population ended after the Great Battle. There've been small skirmishes and incidents since then, but they've been steadily increasing in the last ten years."
"Why? Do they think they'll gain power over the Brethren?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. But more and more Oracles have gone missing. Their bodies never turn up, and any attempts at long distance communication yield nothing."
"Myra lost someone that way, didn't she?" Abi's unskilled senses picked up on him drawing back from the conversation.
"She did."
The topic died out and Abi wondered who it had been. Her mom or dad? Boyfriend? She was curious to know, but didn't think she would ever work up the courage to ask Myra about it. From her own experience, she knew prying questions like that didn't feel good.
As they crested the top of a hill, the path widened enough for Abi and Jesse to walk next to each other again. She was so conscious of herself—her breathing, the way her arms swung at her sides as she walked—and of him, being so close to him, aware each time they accidentally drifted closer to one another as they trekked along.
"Should be just over this next crest, if I remember correctly." Jesse pointed ahead of them.
"Thank goodness.” She didn't want to say she had no idea how they were supposed to make this ghost appear. It couldn’t be easy, otherwise everyone would see Jonathan when they came here.
She was panting, her shins on fire and quads numb, as they ascended the last hill. When they reached the top, a plateau stretched out before them with a large stone jutting from the earth. Jesse's light extended around them.
Stars dotted the night in cloudy clusters and bright pinpricks, more in one place than she had ever seen before. It was too later for any animals, and the silence amongst the stars was peaceful. Ahead of her, the grass abruptly ended as the earth plunged down toward the ocean below. It was windy, but the cool air felt good on her slick face.
That light from each star above had traveled so far to reach earth, and her own insignificance calmed her racing thoughts.
"Abigail Cole," an Irish voice said.
She whirled around, a surprisingly young man standing before her. Was this supposed to be the ancient Jonathan? Or was it another Oracle playing some practical joke on them?
"You look very much like your mother." The young man had close-cropped hair and skin that glowed through his shimmering white clothes. He tilted his head inquisitively. "What can I help you with?"
How did he know her mother? "You’re Jonathan?"
She didn’t know how it was possible if it were. She’d hoped she’d be able to get some answers, but was she actually talking to a dead person?
A tendril of a thread from Jesse snaked into her mind and Abi concentrated on letting it in. Are you all right?
She looked over at him, but he wasn't moving. He had frozen mid-step, mouth open as if he had been about to say something.
I'm fine, she sent to him. Jonathan is here.
"It's been quite a few years since anyone has made the trek up here. The stars make exquisite company, but they rarely respond to my attempts at conversation."
Did that mean the stars sometimes responded to him? Abi narrowed her eyes. Maybe this man...err, ghost, wouldn't be much help after all.
"Our peace is at stake. But you know that, don’t you?" he said casually, turning from Abi and the frozen Jesse to stare into the stars. "But I gather that's why you're here. And I'm no more a ghost than you are, my dear." Jonathan turned his head just far enough to briefly meet Abi's gaze. She had been guarding her thoughts, but he saw straight through them.
"What does the Elysian Prophecy mean?" She asked.
"It means exactly what it foretold." Again, he looked to the heavens as if he were searching for something. Abi waited for him to elaborate until it became clear he wouldn't.
"The person that’s supposed to betray Elysia. Do you know who it is?"
"No." His hands were clasped behind his back. He was nearly as tall as Jesse and much younger than she thought he would be.
She chewed on her lip. This really wasn't helpful after all. "Can you explain what exactly threatens Elysia's peace?"
"Nope. I cannot impose myself in the continuum of modern existence. That would be against the rules."
"Can you tell me anything?" Abi snapped. They had walked three hours in the middle of the night to have some loony spin them around in circles.
Jonathan turned, the stars reflecting in his pale eyes. "I can tell you someone you care about will die soon. I can tell you that you're weaker than you need to be, but stronger than you think you are. I can tell you that love will not be enough, and I can tell you that the dark tide is coming. Its wave has crested and bears down upon us all. The prophecy does not matter anymore as it's already been set into motion. No one can escape it now."
"Then what's the point of a prophecy? Why foretell something if you know we can't s
top it!"
"Oh, Abigail. Isn't that the definition of a prophecy? The foretelling of something to come? I did not foretell these events hoping someone could stop them, but rather, in the hopes that we could prepare."
"If your foretelling of this prophecy changed nothing, then our reaction to this prophecy is already written in stone. We can't change that any more than we can change the prophecy." Jonathan looked at Abi as if she were smarter than he had anticipated.
She didn’t like it.
"False. I do not see the future. I get a tiny picture from a film in motion. I do not know the after. I do not know if we will succeed or if we will fail. That part has not yet been decided."
Abi huffed. She thought she would have felt reverence in the presence of an ancient ghost, or come away with some piece of vital information. They had walked all that distance for nothing.
"What is it you seek?" he asked, dropping his whimsical demeanor.
"Information."
"False. Try again."
She racked her brain. "I seek help."
"No."
Yes, she did. How did he know what she wanted?
"You came to me in need. What is your greatest desire?"
Her greatest desire was to have her family back.
Jonathan pointed a finger at her. "Bingo. You must find your precious blood stone to get what you want."
"But you said I can't stop the prophecy from coming true."
"The final page has not been written. Find the blood stone, and you hold the quill and ink to this story.” His form faltered, as smoke would in a strong breeze. “Tell your mother I said hello."
"Wha—" Before she could ask her next question, he disappeared in a puff. "No!" Life rushed back into Jesse and she looked imploringly at him. He stared, wide-eyed as if he couldn't believe what had just happened. "That was useless!"
"Ho-ly shit. You talked to Jonathan. A ghost!"
"Could you please quit fangirling for a minute? Did you hear any of what just happened?"
"I have absolutely no idea what fangirling is and yes, I did. Holy—"
