by Wendy Owens
“Mirada, is that you?” Uri asked, furrowing his brow.
“It’s my home isn’t it? Who else would it be?” the voice answered.
“Is everything alright in there?” Uri asked, not budging. “We saw the door was open.”
“Of course, I left it open for you.”
“But—” Gabe began, suddenly stopping himself. He was already sure of how the conversation would proceed. He would ask how she knew they were coming, and then she would boast about how she’s an Oracle, making him look like a complete idiot in front of Rachel. He decided some questions were better left unasked.
“I’m sure Mrs. Harwood is a bit chilly out there all alone, there’s a seat for her in here by the fire.” Mirada called from the comfort of her own seat within her home.
“Uri, are you sure it’s safe?” Gabe whispered.
Before his friend could answer, Mirada replied for him. “You four came to my home, I think it’s I who should worry about safety.”
Gabe sighed. He was sure he had whispered quite softly and she would not hear his question. Unfortunately, he was wrong.
“Rachel,” Gabe called motioning for her to join them. The other two men entered the cabin, not waiting for the newlyweds. Rachel didn’t hesitate, eager to rejoin the group. Scurrying up the worn and rickety wooden stairs, she linked her arm around Gabe.
“Are you ready for this?” Gabe asked, looking into Rachel’s oversized brown eyes.
“Of course.” Rachel answered confidently.
The two made their way into the small cottage, where Gabe noticed something different right away. When he had entered the other homes of the two previous Oracles he met, they had a super natural presence. He couldn’t explain it, even if someone had asked. There was a sense of magic and mystic in those homes, perhaps it was the littering of magical trinkets, or simply a presence that hung around in the room.
Mirada’s home, however, was not this way at all. Once inside, he could see it was actually quite normal and cheery. There were no creepy sculptures or totems. From what he could see, no magical objects were around the home whatsoever. The walls were painted a bright sky blue, the wood trim was white. Had he not known better, he would have thought they were at a home in Cape Cod.
Across the room a fire burned, two high back chairs faced the flames. A slender hand rested on an arm of one of the chairs. Gabe saw an oversized ring on one of the fingers and a stone that appeared to be an opal. The nails were unpainted, but clean and well kept, the skin tone alabaster. A white linen cuff hung around the elbow and peaked out from behind the chair.
“Mirada?” Uri confirmed once all his friends were in the room.
The woman did not answer, instead she stood and approached the group. Her movements were haunting; she glided as if her feet did not touch the ground. Her hair was long, climbing down to the middle of her back, and the color was a pale blonde. Her features were small and delicate; her lips thin, her cheeks glowed with a soft and warm rosy color, her eyes a pale blue, almost gray.
Gabe stared, he couldn’t help thinking about how this was the woman, the woman who had captured Michael’s heart like Rachel had his. He had never thought of his mentor as someone who was capable of feeling something like romantic love. He seemed so logical and methodical.
“He wasn’t always that way.” Mirada said looking directly at Gabe.
“What?” Uri asked, completely confused by her statement.
Gabe’s mouth fell open, she couldn’t have been talking to him, he didn’t say anything out loud. There was no way, he thought.
“Michael actually used to be quite the romantic.” Mirada added, not looking away from Gabe.
“Oh, you’re doing that thing— you know I hate it when you do that.” Uri growled.
“Doing what thing?” Rachel asked, noticing the stare locked between her beloved and this strange woman.
“Mirada is a telepath as well.” Uri answered.
“What?” Gabe exclaimed, shaking his head as if he were trying to shake her out of his mind. “She can read my thoughts? Can I block her?”
“Doesn’t work that way, I’m afraid,” Mirada answered with a smile, and she extended her hand delicately. “I’m Mirada, but you all already know that. Thanks for that, Uri.”
Though it was obvious Mirada was kidding, Uri quickly jumped to his own defense, “I wouldn’t have brought them here if it wasn’t an emergency.”
Mirada laughed as she turned and walked back to the chair she had originally come from. “Calm down, Uri, I knew you would bring them here when I first allowed Michael to share with you my home’s location.”
“What? You knew I—” Uri began, suddenly stopping as he contemplated the absurdity of it.
“Mrs. Harwood, you should take this other seat here, warm yourself next to the fire. You can’t be expected to be subjected to such harsh traveling in your condition.” the woman said waving to the empty chair next to her.
“My condition?” Rachel asked curious. “What condition? I’m fine.”
Mirada didn’t answer, instead she simply sat quietly.
“How do you know our names?” Haim asked.
Uri and Gabe both chuckled, amused that Haim seemed so far behind the situation.
“What? What’s so funny?” he groaned.
“Why don’t we go outside and keep watch? I’ll explain it all to you out there.” Uri insisted, pushing his slow witted friend out the front door.
Gabe, Rachel, and Mirada were now alone in the room. There was an awkward silence hanging in the air as neither Gabe nor Rachel were sure where to begin.
“You really should warm yourself up.” Gabe agreed, walking Rachel over to the chair. She couldn’t stop thinking about what the woman had said, “In your condition.” What could she have meant by that? She decided it best not to look directly in her eyes, as if it would protect her from the thought reading in some way. Suddenly, she realized Mirada was probably reading her thoughts right then, and now she knew she was thinking about all of this. Rachel accidentally glanced at Mirada who was already looking at her. The woman smiled. Panicking, Rachel looked away quickly.
“Relax, I would never do anything to hurt the two of you.” Mirada added in an attempt to comfort the pair.
Gabe glanced around. Spying a small wooden stool, he stepped away momentarily and pulled it up next to Rachel’s chair. After sitting, he looked to Rachel. He could see she was uncomfortable. Gabe reached out, taking her hand into his, using his abilities to calm her. Rachel looked into the fire, entranced by the flames, a small smile emerging on her lips.
“Nifty trick. Does she mind?” Gabe heard the words echo in his thoughts. Quickly realizing they had not been audible, he looked to Mirada who just smiled.
“Don’t do that!” Gabe exclaimed.
“Do what?” Rachel asked, confused by his outburst.
“Sorry, nothing.” Gabe answered.
“Is everything alright, Gabe?” Rachel pushed.
“Yeah, sorry, it’s nothing. Really.” Gabe reassured her.
“So how can I help you two?” Mirada asked.
“Seems like you already know why we’re here.” Gabe chimed with a snarky grin.
“Even though I know why you’re here, it doesn’t mean you will find the courage to ask the questions that need asking, young man.” the woman answered.
“Seriously? You’ve got to be kidding me.” Gabe snapped. “Uri assured me you were different, I don’t know why I believed him.”
“Gabe!” Rachel scorned, glaring at him. “We need answers, she has them.”
“She’s not going to give us any answers, Rachel, this is what they do. They enjoy toying with you, that’s all.” Gabe insisted.
“It’s your choice if you want to ask me questions. I know my sisters have not earned your trust and I am sad for that, but I can’t undo what they have done.” Mirada explained.
“You all claim to be neutral, but—” Gabe began until he was interrup
ted by Mirada.
“Make no mistake, I am not my sisters. Now if you don’t want my help, it makes no difference to me, you can all be on your way. Your mere presence puts me at greater risk.”
“Gabe, please.” Rachel pleaded. “We have no other choice.”
Gabe stared at Mirada, his contempt for her quite clear in his expression. Michael loved this woman, Uri seemed to trust her, and it was clear Rachel felt compelled to do so as well. He was not so easily won over, though. He had experienced firsthand the way the other Oracles would leave out crucial information for no other reason than to torment people. They had been removed from society for so long, hidden away in their secret hiding places, consumed years ago by boredom, turned cold by the decades of time. Gabe dared not make the same mistake and trust another Oracle’s word without question.
“Fine, let’s say I do believe you, and you’re not like the others, can you help us?” Gabe asked.
“I can answer questions you might have with honesty, unless such a question would tip the scales in the favor of one side or the other.” Mirada answered flatly.
“See!” Gabe exclaimed. “What did I tell you? They just mess with your head.”
“Mirada,” Rachel continued calmly as she ignored Gabe’s outburst. “You say you can’t tip the scales in favor of one side or the other, is it my understanding your goal is to keep things even between good and evil?”
“Yes, only when there is a balance is there peace.” the woman responded.
“Well, I don’t know if you’ve heard or not, but the demons have attacked the humans. They destroyed my home; the scales are far from even right now.” Rachel explained.
“And that is why I allowed you to find me.” Mirada added.
“Allowed us? Uri knew exactly where to find you, you didn’t allow anything.” Gabe chuckled as he responded.
A low growl came from the shadows behind where Mirada sat. Without hesitation, Gabe was at full alert, hand perched on his sword.
“Who’s there?” Gabe demanded.
“Calm down, Mr. Harwood, there’s no reason to be alarmed, it’s just Stimely.” Mirada explained, glancing over her shoulder.
“Who?” Gabe asked irritated.
A large and ghostly figure stepped out from the hiding place he had been lurking. His shoulders were broad, his eyes glowed a pale gray, there was no smile, just a curl at the corners of his mouth as if he were tempting Gabe to make a move. Gabe could tell the being was not human, but he had never seen anything like him. His hair was kept short and tight, his skin was almost chalky in appearance. Gabe stared intensely, unsure what to make of him.
“This is Stimely. I suppose you could call him my bodyguard. If I had not wanted you to find me, he would have made sure you never did.” Mirada explained again.
The oversized man thumped his fist onto his open palm before growling once again.
“What is he?” Rachel whispered to Gabe.
“I don’t know.” Gabe answered honestly.
“Stimely, stand down, I’m fine. Stimely is a Bloodless. When I refused to help the Guardian council any longer, they decided to try and hunt me down. They explained that they could not allow someone with the strength of my abilities to fall into enemy hands. I, however, am not one to leave my fate up to someone else. That is when I acquired Stimely’s services.”
“I’ve never actually seen one—” Gabe said in awe.
“Seen what? What’s a Bloodless?” Rachel asked, staring at her husband’s face, scared to look anywhere else.
“They’re neither living nor dead.” Gabe answered. “They can’t be killed, the only way to stop a Bloodless is to dismember it and bury their parts as far away from one another as you can.”
“Grrr—” the creature snarled.
“Calm down, Stimely, Gabe knows he would be a fool to try anything of the sort with you. Something else about the Bloodless, they are also incredibly loyal.”
“Good to know.” Gabe added. Releasing his hand from his sword, he watched cautiously as Stimely slowly backed up into the shadows once again.
“What Baal has done in the human world has drastically shifted the balance of good and evil. If you want to ask me your questions for that reason, I will answer.” Mirada offered.
“I don’t understand what we’re supposed to ask. If you know why we’re here, I shouldn’t need to ask anything.” Gabe argued.
Rachel chimed in, a light going off in her mind, so to speak. “If she just tells us what we should know, she’s no longer neutral because she is guiding the information we learn. If she simply answers our questions though, she’s only restoring the balance, not determining the direction of the future.”
“Very wise, Mrs. Harwood.” Mirada answered.
“So what do we ask?” Gabe inquired from his beloved.
Rachel thought about his question for a moment before turning to Mirada. She looked into the woman’s eyes and asked, “Can Baal be defeated?”
Mirada returned Rachel’s gaze, answering simply, “Yes.”
Without hesitation Rachel continued, “How can we defeat Baal and his army?”
“There were two ways, now there is one.” Mirada answered.
“Here we go with the cryptic answers again.” Gabe snarled.
“Honey, if you’re not going to be helpful, than please, keep quiet.” Rachel demanded. “We don’t understand, what do you mean, now there is one?”
“There is a prophecy that told of a way, a path of sacrifice.” Mirada explained.
“Yeah, we know that one and I prefer a way I don’t die!” Gabe exclaimed.
“I mean it, Gabe!” Rachel said slapping his knee.
“Are you talking about the prophecy that says Gabe will be the protector?” Rachel prodded.
“I am, the Protecter’s death alone will not be enough, he must willingly sacrifice his life in order for Baal to be destroyed.” Mirada confirmed.
“Well, we know all about that option. We want to know more about the other one.” Gabe said, doing his best not to sound antagonistic to avoid Rachel’s wrath.
“There is only one viable option now, and it is the one I have told you of.” Mirada reaffirmed.
“Humor us. Let’s say the other one was still viable, what is it?” Gabe pushed.
“The Guardian’s Crown could have been used to defeat Baal.” Mirada responded. “But like I said, that’s no longer an option.”
“Why is that not an option?” Gabe asked, again agitated by the lack of forthcoming answers.
“The Crown has been broken.” Mirada said.
“What Crown? Where can I find this Crown?” Gabe pleaded.
“I can’t tell you anymore, it doesn’t matter anyways, it’s no longer an option.” Mirada replied.
“Well, I want to know more.” Gabe snapped, leaning forward.
Stimely suddenly reemerged from the darkness, his intentions clear. “Gabe, let’s go, we’ve heard what we need to hear.” Rachel urged, rising to her feet.
“I haven’t heard where I can find the Guardian’s Crown.” Gabe argued.
Mirada stood and walked to Stimely’s side, taking hold of his leather clad arm. “Please tell Michael I said hello and I hope he is well. I assume you all can show yourselves out.” With those words, Mirada and her faithful undead guard turned to walk out of the room.
“Where do you think you’re going?” Gabe shouted.
Mirada did not respond, instead they continued out of sight.
“Get back here.” Gabe commanded, stepping to the side to give chase. Before he could move, Rachel reached out and grasped his arm firmly.
“Gabe, don’t!”
“She didn’t answer our questions, we need to know more.” Gabe looked at her with shock.
“She did answer. Let’s go.” Rachel didn’t hesitate, rushing to the front door and throwing it open. Gabe lingered for a moment, shocked by Rachel’s reaction.
“You can’t be serious!” Gabe groaned, running a
fter his wife.
Rachel bounded down the stairs, walking up to where Haim and Uri waited for them. Gabe followed, pulling the front door closed behind him.
“Done already?” Uri asked.
“No, we’re not done.” Gabe exclaimed, coming to rest between Rachel and Uri.
“Uri, have you ever heard of the Guardian’s Crown?” Rachel asked.
“No, why? What is it?” Uri questioned.
“Do you know of anyone who can help us find out about it?” Rachel asked.
“If there’s anything in the archives, Sophie would probably know.” Uri said.
“Very well, we need to get to Sophie as soon as possible. Can we transport?” Rachel inquired.
“What are you doing, Rachel?” Gabe’s face reflected his confusion.
Rachel sighed, annoyed she had to take the time to explain her plan to Gabe. “You said not to trust the Oracles, why try to get more information out of her than what we absolutely need. There’s no way for us to know if we would be getting whole truths. If we want to find out how to keep our family together, we will need to figure this out ourselves.”
Gabe fell silent, he felt like a fool. He had thought Rachel was siding with Mirada, all along though she kept faith in what he had told her, that the Oracles could not be trusted. She was only trying to find out information she might possibly be able to use, taking all of the woman’s words in with a grain of salt.
“I don’t recommend transporting. It took a lot out of you last time and I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Uri suggested.
“Very well, how long to get back to Iron Gate?” Rachel asked.
“A few weeks.” Uri answered. “I could transport to Iron Gate and request some assistance from perhaps the Alicorns to speed things up if you’re interested.”
“Then we better get started.” Rachel said. “We have a long way to go.”
“I don’t understand, what’s your plan?” Gabe asked softly.
Rachel turned and looked at her new husband. Reaching out she took a step forward, taking his hands into her own. “I’m not going to lose you. We’re going to figure out where the Guardian’s Crown is and put this nightmare behind us.”
Gabe pulled Rachel closer, their lips meeting firmly, the kiss then releasing into a soft and tender caress. “I love you so much, Rachel Harwood.”
