by Holly Martin
Making the most of his distraction, I snatched the red flag from his top pocket and slid on.
I landed on the hillside, the sheep nearby barely registered my arrival, either because I had been here so many times before that they were used to me or because they were sheep and the most exciting thing in their day was finding a piece of clover amongst the hundreds of blades of grass that they ate.
I knew there would be a Guardian lurking nearby, though I didn’t have to fight one at every location, they were just there to keep me safe.
I ran forward to get the flag, tied to a nearby fence post, when something hit me in the back of the neck. It didn’t hurt, in fact it was like a berry or nut had fallen from one of the trees towering over me. I ran forward, unperturbed but then spotted Trey lying at an awkward angle under some bushes a little way off. My step faltered as I suddenly changed direction and ran for him instead. Something had happened. But before I could get anywhere near him my legs gave way beneath me, and I found myself face down in the grass.
Confused I tried to get back up, but I was weak now and my legs refused to work as I wanted them to.
I heard movement behind me, as I fumbled around weakly on the ground.
‘That tranquilizer was strong enough to take down a bear, she should be out cold by now,’ a voice muttered.
I rolled over onto my back, trying to get a view of my attackers, but they stayed just out of my vision.
‘Shall I give her another dose?’ asked a younger voice.
‘No, God no, it would kill her, we’ll take her like this, she won’t put up a fight and the drugs should kick in soon.’
He was right, my brain was already cloudy, my eyelids closing.
I heard a shuffling and to my horror the face that shuffled into my view was one I had seen before, sunken eyes, the squashed bulldog face.
The Reapers.
Chapter 3
Blindly, in sheer panic, I reached out for the bond of my Guardians, knowing that they would be blocked from me as they had so many times before. But to my surprise they were there, the bond as strong as if they were standing right next to me in the field. I’m not sure if I pulled them, or they felt my panic and came to me, but they landed, poised ready to fight.
My eyes closed, unwillingly.
Chaos ensued. There were screams, roars, yells of pain and anger, the sounds of fighting all around me. And I lay unable to move as the fighting continued on all sides. Hands were suddenly around me, dragging me, pulling me, cold hands, tight round my wrists, then I was lifted. The fighting continued, my Guardians fighting to the death for me, and they had no idea that I was being carried away by one of the Reapers.
I couldn’t fight back, not physically, but as I reached out for my powers I realised they were still accessible. A blast, a wall of energy exploded from me, throwing my attacker away from me and I landed hard in the grass.
I forced myself to my feet, staggered a few feet and fell again. The cloud of drugs had settled over my brain, unconsciousness was taking me. My eyes closed again.
The hands were around me again, but my attacker was angry now, I could tell with his treatment of me, he was rougher, as he yanked me to my feet, and threw me over his shoulder. He was running, I could tell that, running away from the fighting behind us. How could my Guardians be so careless to let me be taken like this? I reached out for my powers again, but though they were there, I couldn’t do anything with them. It was like holding a sword that was too heavy to use.
I focussed on creating a ball of fire in my hands, it was such a small thing, something I could do now without even thinking about it. I pulled everything I had and as my hands glowed with a white fire, I shoved them hard against my attackers back. He roared with pain and I felt myself falling, not sure whether he had dropped me, thrown me, or was falling with me, but as I hit the ground everything went black.
*
When I woke, I was aware of many voices around me. Angry voices, all shouting over one another, so many I couldn’t make out what any of them were saying. I couldn’t open my eyes. My legs and arms were tied down, I was unable to move them. In fact, I must have been tied up so tightly, I couldn’t move a single part of my body. My head felt like it had been cleaved open.
Panic riding through me I reached out for my powers, and to my upmost surprise they were still there. These Reapers weren’t very skilled.
A loud whistled cracked through the air and the shouting stopped.
‘If you all shut up for a second, I think you’ll find she’s awake.’ That was Cain. What was going on?
‘Eve?’ Seth’s voice was close, his warm breath on my face and the panic vanished instantly, but in its place was confusion.
I tried to open my mouth to speak, but I couldn’t. I tried to force my eyes open but they stayed resolutely closed. I tried to reach out to him but the bonds round my wrists held me down.
‘She doesn’t look very awake to me,’ muttered Isaac, angrily.
‘Cain’s right, I can feel her confusion, she’s definitely awake,’ Lucas said.
Confused was an understatement. I tried to speak again, but nothing happened, I couldn’t even open my mouth.
Frustrated and annoyed, I reached out for Seth’s mind. ‘What’s going on, why am I tied up?’
‘You’re not Evie.’ I felt his hand stroke my face.
‘I can’t move my hands, my feet, I can’t open my eyes, what’s going on?’ despite Seth’s proximity, I could feel the panic returning.
‘She says she can’t move,’ Seth muttered, his voice anxious.
‘She’s paralysed?’ Eli asked.
‘So it would seem,’ Seth said, his voice cold and angry.
‘Stop glaring at me Seth,’ Cain said. ‘You can shout at me again later, how about we sort this little problem out first.’
‘Seth, what happened, the Reapers…’
‘Are all dead.’
‘But one of them took me, when the Guardians were fighting…’
‘That was me.’
‘No it wasn’t, I hit him with my energy field and—’
‘Yeah that was me.’
‘But … I burned him, when he was carrying me away…’
‘Yeah that was me too.’
‘Seth No! God, I’m so sorry, are you OK?’
Seth kissed my forehead fondly. ‘I’ll be fine.’
‘Eve, can you heal yourself, purge your body of the effects of the drugs?’ Cain said, from somewhere nearby.
I visualized my golden ball of light, drifting through my body, cleansing it of the drugs. It coursed through my veins, my arms, my legs, my brain and weakly I sat up, opening my eyes.
My Guardians and the members of the Oraculum all looked at me anxiously for a second, then the shouting resumed. Only Seth didn’t shout, he was kneeling next to me, looking at me with concern.
I sighed as the shouting continued.
‘This should never have happened,’ Quinn said.
‘You swore to us her training would be safe,’ Lucas said.
‘How did they get anywhere near her?’ Mason asked.
‘How did the Reapers know she was here?’ Trey asked. ‘They knew she was here, they came prepared. Knocked me out with one of their darts and then waited for her.’
‘Who chose this place?’ Eli demanded.
Cain rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. ‘This place was Nathaniel’s suggestion.’
Anger ripped through me. This was no coincidence. Thunder suddenly rumbled across the sky and lightning flashed above our heads which effectively silenced everyone as they looked up at the interruption and then back at me.
Seth chuckled in my head. ‘I love it when you get angry.’
I frowned in confusion. I was mad but I wasn’t responsible for the storm.
‘I know you’re angry Eve, you have every right to be, but Nathaniel wouldn’t do anything to risk your life before the end of the world,’ Cain said. ‘This was an unfortunate event an
d you have my deepest apologies.’
The heavens opened above us, the rain pelting us so hard it was almost painful and soaking us to the skin in mere seconds.
I stood up. ‘I’m presuming that if we continue the training today, I’m not likely to get attacked by the Putarians or anyone else at the next location?’
Cain shook his head. ‘You have my word.’
Cain’s word was looking less and less reliable but in my heart I still trusted him. It had been a mistake but my Guardians and I had made enough of them.
I nodded. ‘Let’s get on with it then.’
*
Knowing my bad mood about the Reapers hadn’t abated, Cain had let me go back to the fort that night despite the fact that I still hadn’t managed to complete the course to his liking. He had kept changing things throughout the course, supposedly to challenge me further but I did wonder if it was just to wind me up even more. If that was the goal, he was definitely succeeding.
I lay down on my bed and Seth lay down next to me, but then immediately sat up.
‘What’s up?’ I asked.
‘Oh, it’s nothing.’
‘Seth.’
‘Just… where you burned me, it’s a bit painful to lie on.’
‘Oh Seth, I’m sorry. Why didn’t you tell me before, I would have healed it for you. Let me take a look.’
‘Nah it’s OK, you rest a while.’
I tutted at him, and lifted his T-shirt so I could see the injury I had inflicted on him. I gasped when I saw it. I had burned him so severely, the skin had blistered around the wound. It was red and sore and weeping.
‘Yeah pretty cool eh?’ laughed Seth.
‘Cool? I’ve burned you, horrendously, what’s cool about it?’
‘Do you not see what shape it is?’
‘The shape of your evil wife’s hands.’
Seth laughed again, and then shifted round a bit to face me, he lay a finger gently on my birthmark. I looked down at it in confusion then back at his wound. My mouth went dry. The upside down print of my hands on his back was the exact same shape as my birthmark, the angel wings.
‘Yeah Lucas told me what it looked like, he said he was going to ask you to do one on him, that all your Guardians should have it, the brand of The Sentinel.’
I tutted angrily. ‘Well he’ll have a long wait, lie down on your front and I’ll heal you.’
‘I quite like it actually,’ Seth grinned.
I growled, idiot boy. ‘Lie down, or I’ll make you lie down.’
Seth laughed but did as he was told. ‘Well could you at least leave a scar, the outline of it?’
I ignored him as I held my hands over the burn and poured my healing powers into his wound, closing the skin, cleansing the body of any potential infection. As soon as he was healed, I let my powers wink out, but I rested my hands on the small of his back. I ran my hands up his spine, to his shoulders. He had such strength, every part of him was muscular, I could feel it through his skin. I ran my fingers back down his spine again. He was warm to the touch.
‘You should have told me it was you, rather than just grabbing me and running. I would never do anything to hurt you.’
‘There wasn’t really time to stop for polite introductions.’
I smirked as I moved my hands round in little circles across his back.
‘OK, my turn,’ Seth said, pushing himself off the bed.
I look at him bemused. ‘Your turn for what?’
‘Lie down.’
I lay down staring at him in confusion. Seth sighed with exasperation. ‘On your front.’
I rolled over so I was face down. Seth rolled my T-shirt up round my neck and started to massage my back, his hands firm but gentle as he ran his fingers across my skin. Weirdly he seemed to be getting more enjoyment out of massaging me than being massaged by me. He was very good at it too, his fingers seeming to know the exact places to apply more pressure, and the places that he needed to be gentler with.
‘When the end of the world is done with, we can do this all day every day on our little island,’ Seth said.
I smiled. ‘You know that the others will probably be there too, Lucas, Persia, Quinn.’
‘That’s OK, the island is big enough for all of us, big enough that we can spend our mornings alone wrapped in each other’s arms, and our afternoons hanging out together on the beach.’
I rolled over and sat up. Seth’s face fell. ‘Were you not enjoying it?’
I smiled as I shuffled closer to him. ‘Very much, now how are you at multi-tasking.’
‘I’m a man, so probably not good.’
‘But you’re a man with super speed and strength, massaging my back and kissing me at the same time should be very easy for you.’
Seth smiled as he pulled me against him, his fingers continuing where they’d left off seconds before. ‘I’ll give it a go Eve, but I can’t make any promises.’ He kissed me briefly on the lips. ‘Your kisses are very distracting.’
*
I arrived the next day slightly earlier than normal, determined that today I was going to finish this damned course and get my days off for Christmas. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and I really wanted to spend the next few days with my husband and not have to think about what would happen when New Year’s Eve would come around.
I was annoyed to see that Nathaniel and Jonah was talking to Cain, Matthias and Leon when I arrived with all my Guardians in tow. As soon as Nathaniel saw me he vanished, clearly fearful that I would suddenly decide to kill him as he believed I had already killed Sebastian. Jonah stayed which I was less than happy with as he was also one of the ones that voted to kill me.
He took a step towards me though Cain held him back. ‘You don’t go near her, that was the agreement,’ Cain said, quietly.
Jonah nodded and took a step back away from me, though he still didn’t leave. ‘Cain has been telling me how hard you’ve been working. He’s very impressed with how well you are doing. We all are. I hear only good things about your dedication, determination and skills. I am afraid I completely misjudged you.’
I glanced at Cain. He had never given me one word of encouragement or praise in the last six months I had been training with him. I had been working so hard for his approval and I had it all this time.
‘I am sorry about what has happened before between the Oraculum and yourself, it was never meant to be that way,’ Jonah continued.
I hesitated for a moment before I nodded. ‘Apology accepted.’ I would never trust him but if the opportunity to mend fences had arisen I didn’t want to turn it down.
He nodded and smiled slightly before he too vanished.
I looked back at Cain who actually looked awkward that he had been outed in that way. ‘Jonah exaggerates what I have told him. I said you were doing OK.’
I smiled. ‘I’ll take that.’
‘Leon, Matthias, will you take the Guardians and Quinn to their locations?’ Cain said, changing the subject.
Leon and Matthias moved forward to touch the Guardians and a second later I was left alone with Seth and Cain.
‘What were the other Oraculum members doing here?’ I asked.
Cain shrugged. ‘Just checking in.’
‘You mean that Nathaniel still thinks I killed Sebastian?’
‘You do not need to worry about him.’
I glanced at Seth and I could see he wasn’t happy about this either.
‘You should start. The rest of the Guardians will be in their place shortly, if they are not already there.’
I nodded, gave Seth a quick kiss on the cheek and slid to my first location before Cain could even start his stopwatch. I needed all the help I could get even if it was only a few seconds head start.
I whistled through the first few locations, the river, cave, mountain, and the hillside where the Reapers had attacked me the day before without any other problems and then slid onto an abandoned airport. Old planes and plane parts littered the sides of the runway,
like unwanted and broken toys. But I was not alone. A member of the unsuspecting public, was standing with his back to me, looking at one of the planes. Using my power would be out of the question now, and the lack of it would slow me down. I hesitated for a second wondering whether to come back to this location later and move on for now. But suddenly the man turned and my heart literally stopped.
Adam was standing about ten metres away from me with a look of shock and horror on his face. This wasn’t a planned meeting, he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him. For all the protection the Oraculum had placed over me, it was suddenly completely worthless. We both stood in shock for what seemed like an eternity, and the silence stretched around us, not even the birds daring to make a noise.
Chapter 4
Adam’s face changed to one of sheer hatred as he suddenly launched towards me, he screamed in anger, raising his hand towards me, it glowed with a white hot heat.
A face to face battle, with both of us on equal terms. I had wondered whether it would come to this.
I fell into the cat stance, feeling my hands glow with my power too. But in that split second before battle commenced, I knew. I knew I needed him at the end, knew I needed to be there at the end too. I’d seen it in my prophecies, both of us battling to save the world together. A battle would result in a fight to the death, and either ending was not a good one, not if the world depended on us joining together to fight for its survival.
As a bolt of white hot lightning shot from his hands, I slid, landing badly, falling on my knees in the grounds of the deserted castle.
A burning, agonizing pain seared through my shoulder.
‘Eve.’ Seth was at my side, instantly. ‘What happened?’
‘Adam,’ I said, by way of explanation, as I focussed my attention on healing myself.
‘Where?’ Cain demanded.
‘Location five, the airport.’ I closed my eyes, feeling the golden glow of my healing powers flow to my shoulder.
I heard a soft swishing and opened my eyes in alarm, realising what I had done. Cain had gone and I knew instantly he intended to kill him. I quickly scrabbled to my feet and before Seth could stop me I slid back to the airport. I had to stop Cain. As much as I hated Adam for what he had done to me and Quinn, I needed him, I knew that.
