by Holly Martin
‘The children are all fine, they’ve all been returned home.’
I swallowed. Then I realised he had deliberately side stepped my question about Izri.
Lucas sighed as he heard my thoughts. ‘Izri is taking Caleb and Clementine’s death very badly, Eli thinks she may have to leave the fort soon.’
I thought about what he meant by this. Why would they kick her out the fort for grieving over their deaths? Then I realised and a sick jolt rode through me. ‘She blames me for their death?’
Lucas nodded, sadly. ‘Eli has had her removed from this corridor, with strict instructions not to let her come down here.’
My heart raced and Seth held me tighter. ‘She wants to kill me?’
‘No, I don’t think so, but Eli isn’t taking any chances. Actually Persia thought it was a good idea if Izri kept her distance from you as well.’
Wow, my life was just one happy adventure at the moment, even my friends hated me. I closed my eyes, feeling suddenly so exhausted.
‘Eve?’
I forced my eyes back open.
‘Zach’s been asking after you.’ I could see Lucas was trying to change the subject onto more positive things. ‘He told me to tell you, that if you don’t get out of bed soon and stop lazing about he’d come up here and break your other foot.’
I grinned, broadly, I couldn’t help it.
Lucas smiled. ‘Yes he seemed to think it was funny as well, though I didn’t really get the joke.’
‘When you see him, tell him I’ll break his nose for that comment.’
‘You could go and tell him yourself, when you’re ready, of course.’
I closed my eyes, sleepily, at the thought of ever being ready. ‘Maybe tomorrow,’ I mumbled, as sleep took me.
*
I lay on my beach staring at the leaves of the palm trees blowing gently in the sea breeze but I knew immediately I wasn’t alone and I also knew who was with me.
‘Cain, I really don’t need a lecture from you right now.’ Especially as the last time I had seen him, his little friends had been plotting to kill me.
I felt him sit next to me and I sat up.
‘No lecture I promise. I came to see if you were ok?’
The concerned look in his eyes nearly made me start crying all over again. I hated my emotions sometimes. Despite my strength, something like grief and guilt was enough to make me as weak as a kitten.
‘Ok firstly, you need to forgive yourself over what happened to Caleb. I know you hate that your Guardians would die for you, but that’s what they’re there for, and they know that. None of them was forced into being your Guardian; they all entered into it willingly and with their eyes wide open. Maybe talking to him will help.’
Of course he would know about my hallucinations, he was more inside my head than Lucas was.
‘And Izri will come round, she knows that none of this is your fault. She’s just angry at the Reapers and the Putarians, and she’s taking it out on you.’
I smiled wryly. ‘You paint a very positive picture, so everything will work out ok?’
‘Well nothing is going to be solved by lying around in bed, feeling sorry for yourself,’ Cain nudged me.
He was right about that.
‘Yeah I’m right about lots of things,’ he grinned but then his smile faltered. ‘We need to stop you sliding in your dreams, that’s very dangerous. Do you know how you are doing it?’
I shrugged. ‘I don’t know, I don’t seem to have a lot of control over it.’
‘You can put yourself in a deep sleep can’t you?’
I nodded.
‘You need to make sure that every time you go to sleep it is a deep one, you are less likely to be influenced by external elements if you are here. You know this place is a dream, you just have to make sure you don’t act on anything you see, hear or think about whilst you are here. Shield yourself as soon as you get here, that will reduce the amount of noise or anything else from being received by your brain.’
‘I can use my powers here?’
He smiled and waved a lazy hand over the sea, turning it instantly to ice. ‘In your dreams anything is possible.’
I let a flame erupt in my hand and smiled before I let it wink out.
‘You will be summoned to the Oraculum to account for your actions.’
‘What?’ Where did that come from? ‘But it wasn’t deliberate.’
‘I know that. But the others are furious that you would go to rescue your friends with no Guardians. Some believe that you are becoming too arrogant and reckless with your powers.’
‘I didn’t even know they had been taken. And if I did I certainly wouldn’t have gone there without my Guardians, I’m not stupid. And maybe I shouldn’t go anywhere near the Oraculum, given that at least two of them want me dead.’
‘You will not be harmed. They might shout, intimidate and threaten but you will not be hurt in any way. There are those on the Oraculum who will die for you, who are fiercely loyal to you till the end. Despite what happens when you go, or in the coming weeks you should know I am loyal to you too. But you need to tread carefully, don’t go in there stamping on toes, as there are those who will ultimately seek to destroy you and they don’t need any more ammunition ahead of time.’
‘What makes you think I’ll be stomping on toes?’
Cain smiled wryly. ‘There’s a lot of anger in you about them.’
I sighed. ‘I do feel let down by them; they created me and then just left me to fend for myself. If I’d known about my powers from a child, I’d be stronger now. So much that has happened over the last few months that wouldn’t have if I had been stronger and more knowledgeable in my powers. I feel like they think they own me, that I’m their property to do with what they will, but they gave me all this compassion, this independence and are now regretting it. I think if they could redo my life again they would make me differently and they’d probably keep me locked in a cage like an animal and just trot me out when the end of the world came around.’
‘Your compassion is important Eve, and so is your knowledge of the world. Your ability to love your friends, family, the innocent, Seth so strongly, that love is also what will make you fight so fiercely for the world in the end. It was believed that if you had known about your destiny from birth, you would have grown up to be arrogant, not compassionate. But yes I understand your frustration about your lack of knowledge regarding your powers. But you’re growing stronger every day, you’re stronger now than anyone could have envisaged, and you’re still in your infancy, still learning. And yes they do see you as their property, they created you, gave you life, gave you your powers, gave you a home, a family, friends, protected you. So they will be expecting that you will do exactly as they say.’
‘They also gave me free will as well, the ability to think for myself,’ I said, bitterly.
Cain shook his head, with frustration. ‘If you plant an apple tree in your garden, a dwarf one with the expectation that it will grow to about six foot high and produce a few apples every summer ready for harvest in the September. Then the apple tree grows bigger than you expect, because it has free will, then you have two choices. You can let it grow as big and as wild as it desires, and when you get more apples in the harvest than you would have done if it had been smaller then you could pat yourself on the back and congratulate yourself on a fine crop. Or if the size of the apple tree is now taking over your garden, putting some of the other plants in the shade, you can cut the branches back, and make it smaller, force it to be the tree you wanted in the first place. Especially if you only really wanted a harvest of ten or twenty apples for your own personal use, and any more than that would be a waste.’
‘I’d let it grow big,’ I said obstinately. ‘I’d let it grow as big as it wanted and enjoy all the apples in the autumn. I’d make apple pies and apple crumbles, I’d give the spare apples to my friends and family.’
Cain smirked. ‘I bet you would, but what if the apple tree turns out not
to be apple tree at all? It’s a towering oak, that grows so quickly and so big it completely consumes your garden, it blocks out all the sun from all the windows, its roots grow under your house and through the floor boards. It’s so big and strong now that cutting it back wouldn’t achieve anything. So would you move house to get away from it, or would you reluctantly cut it down and burn the roots so it could never grow back. Honestly Eve, what would you do?’
I sighed. ‘I’d cut it down.’
‘Exactly, at the moment it’s a choice between cutting back the apple tree or letting it grow, they do not need to know that they have an oak tree on their hands.’
I sighed again. Cain did speak a lot of sense. ‘Ok you know them better than anyone. Names would be helpful and which side of the fence they’re on.’
Cain smiled. ‘That would be helpful, it would be very helpful if I knew. Ok, I’ll tell you what I know. Nereus and Helez are loyal to you. Nereus will die for you before the end. Nathaniel, Samuel and Matthias are not, they’ll be leading the witch hunt.’
‘Nathaniel’s my Dad.’
Cain frowned. ‘You’ve got your facts a bit wrong there, admittedly Nathaniel was your Dad originally but most of his DNA was replaced. You now possess equal amounts of DNA from all members of the Oraculum. Nathaniel is no more your Dad than Nereus or Helez or….Me,’ he trailed off. Cain was my Dad. I didn’t even know what to do with that information. I could hardly throw myself into his arms. ‘Technically you are the daughter of all of the Oraculum.’
‘So what happened to blood being thicker than water, what happened to family comes first?’
‘It was never going to be that kind of relationship Eve, you were created for a single purpose, it was never going to be about playing football, ice creams and building sandcastles on the beach.’
I smiled wryly. I’d never had that kind of relationship, not even with the fake parents the Oraculum had provided me with. I pressed on before I could get sad about that. ‘Ok so what about the others?’
‘I have no idea, they tend to play their cards close to their chest. You can’t come straight out with what you think, because you could be talking to someone who doesn’t think the same way as you. That would be very dangerous. I only know what I know because I keep my ears to the ground, because I see your future very clearly, though not all of it. Even when you stand before them, you won’t be able to tell who stands for you; they would never make it known in such an open forum like that. Those who yell the loudest might actually be trying to disguise their loyalty for you. I think, and I emphasise think, that Leon is for you, but I could be completely wrong, and the others I just don’t know.’
I nodded. ‘Who are the others?’
‘Sebastian and Jonah. Anyway you better wake up. Something really important is going to happen today, you definitely want to be there for it.’
I frowned. ‘What’s happening today?’ I looked back to Cain, who seemed to be fading into the air. ‘Where do I need to be?’
‘I have to go now Eve, but I’ll see you soon.’ Cain faded into a shimmer and vanished.
Chapter 7
I paced the room under the watchful gaze of Seth and Caleb. What was going to happen that was so important? Another visit from the Oraculum perhaps? Another earthquake that I had to help with? Would I know it when I saw it? Should I wait in my room just in case I missed it? I’d showered and dressed so I would be ready for it but that still hadn’t made me feel any more prepared. It had already been past lunchtime when I woke and I was worried I might have already missed it. I was actually starting to worry that it was something bad and maybe I should stay in my room to avoid it.
I wasn’t a coward. The one thing that destroying the Reapers had taught me, was that I had incredible strength. Although admittedly I didn’t actually know how to recreate those powers but it was comforting to know I at least had it in me.
Confident that my Guardians would let me know if something happened or arrived, I decided to head out for a walk.
Seth immediately fell in at my side as we left the room and I knew he was going to be my shadow at least for the next few days.
The bright sunshine hurt my eyes as I stepped out, not having been outside for nearly a week. Instinctively I headed to the back of the fort to see Zach; a good fight would help distract me from the impending important event.
As we neared the grassy slopes, I stopped for a second, realising I was on my way to see Zach and that Seth was with me. A fight was certainly out the question with Seth here and remembering the animosity between them, I thought it might be best if Seth hung back.
I turned to look at him taking his face in my hand. ‘Will you wait here for me for a moment, I just need to say hello to someone.’
Seth frowned slightly. ‘Who?’
‘Zach.’
Seth’s scowl deepened. ‘You never told me you’d met Zach.’
‘You never told me that you had a brother, so I guess we’re even,’ I smiled, sweetly.
Seth’s eyes slid to the grassy slopes and his face grew dark. ‘And you and he are friends?’
‘Yes.’
He swallowed, nervously. ‘Just friends?’
I suppressed a smile, he was jealous. I leaned up on my tip toes so my mouth was almost level with his. His eyes slid back to mine, giving me his full attention as he put his hands round my waist.
‘Seth, do you doubt the love I have for you?’
‘No, but…’
I gently pulled Seth’s head down and I kissed between his eyes, right on top of his scowl. ‘Then I don’t want to see this scowl when I come back.’
I turned and ran down the slopes, feeling lighter still at having Seth in my life.
Zach wasn’t fighting when I approached, he was busy helping some of the younger Guardlings, but as soon as he saw me he broke away and embraced me in a big hug.
‘Good to finally see you, I thought you’d got scared of me beating you up. How are you?’
‘Good to see you too,’ I said, deliberately side stepping the question of how I was. Though I felt better than I had done since my return, there was still a part of me that was screaming inside. There was still a part of me that felt so guilty over Caleb and Clementine’s death, and I wasn’t ready to deal with that yet. Zach pulled away and looked at me, then his eyes slid to the corner of the fort where I knew Seth was waiting.
‘I take it we’re not going to fight today.’
‘Not today, maybe tomorrow.’
Zach frowned as he studied me. ‘You’re still in a lot of pain aren’t you?’
I side stepped again. ‘You think too much of yourself, you don’t hit that hard.’
‘Eve. You know what I meant. I’m sorry about Caleb, he was a good bloke.’
I looked down at my feet, as Zach reached into my chest and crushed my heart. ‘I know.’
Zach was supposed to make me feel better not worse, I suddenly felt tired again. The deep depression I had been in for the last few days and thought was on its way out was now drifting back into my heart, surrounding it like a blanket of nails. I took an involuntary step back, away from Zach. I didn’t want to talk to him about Caleb. In reality the only person that I could talk to about how I felt about Caleb was Caleb, the one person I had been avoiding looking at since my return. I looked around for him now, but he was nowhere to be seen. Had he left me now I was stronger, or had he never been there in the first place and my hallucinations had now stopped? Standing next to Zach, I felt very alone. I looked round for Seth, suddenly panicking that he might have left me too, but he was still standing where I’d left him. I suddenly needed him and his arms around me. He had been holding my hand as I walked over the thin ice the last few days, preventing me from falling into the deep crevasses beneath and now standing here without him, I felt lost and vulnerable. They all had their roles to play in healing me, Seth made me stronger, Eli had to make me feel safe, Quinn’s continual presence was familiar and comforting, and Zach was s
upposed to be making me laugh. I almost scowled at him for not fulfilling his obligation.
‘Zach, I’ll see you in a few days,’ I muttered, taking another step away from him. Zach nodded sadly.
I turned and made my way slowly back up the grassy slopes towards Seth and as soon as I got close, he took me in his arms and hugged me tight, knowing instinctively what I needed from him. Quite why his brother hadn’t figured out what I had needed from him was beyond me. The blanket of nails, dissipated, though I knew it was only lurking in the wings, ready to pounce again.
Eventually I pulled away and started walking back round the side of the fort, with Seth at my side. I spotted Lucas and Quinn waiting for me. Quinn swung me into his arms as I approached but there was something flowing from him that I could feel as soon as he held me. He was excited.
I pulled back. ‘What are you so happy about?’
‘Me? I’m not.’ His eyes slid to Seth. ‘Just pleased to see you out of bed.’
Something wasn’t right and I felt unease in my stomach. Quinn was grinning so inanely I was sure he was putting on a front so that I wouldn’t see the truth. Had something bad happened?
‘I need a word with Quinn actually.’ Seth stepped forward and shoved Quinn away from me, clearly annoyed that I had suspected something.
‘What’s going on?’
I looked at Lucas who was busy studying his shoes.
‘Nothing. Lucas is going to stay with you whilst I talk to Quinn.’
I watched Seth and Quinn walk off in confusion. I searched Lucas’s thoughts in my head for any clue but to my annoyance he was singing loudly in his own head, making it difficult for me to hear any thoughts other than the words of the song. I glared at him and he smirked.
Over his shoulder I saw Caleb by the pool and I wondered casually over as Lucas followed. I sat down dipping my feet into the cool waters and Caleb sat next to me.
He was dressed more casually than I’d ever seen him in a white linen shirt that hung loose over khaki green shorts. He looked tanned and relaxed, he grinned at me as he sat down on the edge of the pool dipping his bare feet into the water.
