Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows

by Michelle Horst

  Raighne burst out laughing. “You have to stop that!” .

  “Stop what?”

  “I am trying very hard to stay out of your head, but sometimes the conversations are so loud I cannot help but hear what you are thinking.”

  “I was right! You can hear my thoughts.” The gravity of the truth sunk in.

  Damn! Sid, we have to stop thinking. Shit! I’m still thinking. How the hell do we stop thinking?

  “Stop, Alchera. I actually like Sid.” He laughed.

  I swallowed hard. “Have you…heard everything? Every thought I’ve had since we first met?” Did Raighne know how I felt about him? My shoulders sagged and I wished the ground would just open up and swallow me whole.

  His voice was calm and soothing. “I do not always hear you. Only when you get really loud and you project, like now. I worked on controlling it before I went to retrieve you.”

  “Can you hear everyone?”

  “No, just you. It is part of the guardian ability. That way we know when our charges are in trouble.” He went silent for a bit. “Like I said…I have gotten a bonus guarding you; I have grown very fond of Sid.”

  “Well, he doesn’t like you.” I was still reeling from embarrassment. I was going to have to whisper from now on or, better yet, just shoot myself in the head and get it over with.

  ~*~

  I didn’t know how long it took us to get there but, when we did, it sure didn’t look like much. We were surrounded by rocks and sand for as far as the eye could see.

  Of course we made an entrance. We were the last thanks to me, so we had everybody looking in our direction when we arrived.

  “I want to go home. I know no one here, and the ones I do know can’t stand me.” I aimed my gaze at Blair.

  “Everywhere on Vaalbara is home, Alchera. And they just do not know you. After this month everything will be different.”

  I walked in the direction of Aurian and River, two Vaalbarians’ who at least pretended to like me. “River, nice to see a friendly face. Are you and Aurian pairing up?”

  “Peace be, Alchera.” His smile stayed on his face. “You need to always greet like that, you know, it is the Vaalbarian way. Aurian will train with Blair, while Storm will be my trainee.”

  “Cool.”

  “Not cool, Alchera. Rather say…‘that is interesting to hear.”

  “I thought you were my friend, but I see they’ve turned you against me, too.” I turned to walk away. “Peace out, pal.”

  Everyone was together - ten in all. There was the guy who was with Alandra the first excruciating day I’d met her, and then a boy and girl who looked the same age as me. The older guy approached me first which was surprising, as he was supposed to be on Alandra’s side.

  “Peace be, Alchera. I am Evin, Alandra’s guardian and Raighne’s older brother.” He didn’t try to shake my hand. No, that would’ve been a too ‘earthly’ thing to do. Instead, he hugged me - one of those massive bear hugs that left me in shock.

  “Welcome home,” he said.

  “Peace be, Evin. I…uh,” I had nothing else to say. Wait, I did. “Thank you for the warm welcome.” Raighne had to be impressed with me right now. If that wasn’t prim and proper I didn’t know what was. I glanced over at him, watching him shake his head and smile.

  Stop listening in on me! I hoped he heard that one loud and clear.

  Now many things have startled the hell out of me, or had made me want to pee my pants since arriving on this new Earth, but what happened next took the cake and the bloody cherry on top!

  I suddenly heard Raighne’s voice in my head as if he was standing inside of me.

  Stop talking then. It is not my fault that you think about me all the time.

  I turned on him. “No, you didn’t!”

  Evin looked at me with confusion in his eyes.

  “Sorry, I didn’t mean you. Raighne just did this weird thing.”

  Evin nodded his understanding. “He used telepathy on you for the first time. Do not be concerned, you will practice it a great deal while you are here.”

  “Telepathy. As in…mind speaking?” I wanted to know more.

  “Yes, it is the transference of thoughts or feelings between two people by means other than the five basic senses. All will be well.” He patted me on the shoulder and walked to Alandra’s side.

  Transference of thoughts, telepathy, a never-ending world of sand and rocks…there was so much open around me, but I was actually starting to feel claustrophobic

  “Peace be, Princess.” The voice that greeted me was delicate and pleasant. I turned and was surprised to look into a pair of dark, silver-ish eyes - they looked just like the moonstone hanging around my neck. The girl possessed the same dark silver hair to match, but her skin was white as snow. She stood like a pixie beside me, only reaching my shoulder. “I am Luna, twin sister of Lucius.”

  “Peace be, Luna. Call me Alchera. Doesn’t your name mean moon?” I knew that much from all the werewolf movies I’d watched over the years.

  “Yes, it does. My brother’s means ‘light.’ Both our names are linked to our talents.” She seemed shy by nature, although she’d come to greet me first.

  “What talents do you have?”

  “My power is to control the moonlight. That is why I am here, to find out what I can do with it.” Her brother approached, and just as I glimpsed his bright golden eyes pain rushed through me, forcing me to the ground. It felt like my body was being ripped to shreds. Images started flashing in front of me. Images of my own body dripping with blood, and then…I was sucked in.

  This vision was unlike the others. It was a nightmare. A real nightmare and I was wide awake, able to live through every second of it. It lasted only a few seconds, though it felt like I was stuck in it for hours. When it ended I screamed with the agony the vision had put me through.

  “Nooo! It hurts too much!” I struggled to my feet and stumbled a few steps forward before I fell on all fours and began to get sick. A flask of cold water appeared. The pain was fading faster now; the dizziness subsiding.

  “Come, Alchera.” Raighne led me to where Aurian, Alandra, and Evin were standing. “You can only speak in front of us about your visions, as Evin and Alandra will be joining us on our quest.”

  I was only hearing every third word he was saying. I was too busy concentrating on erasing what I’d seen. This was one vision I didn’t ever want to think of again.

  “What did you see?” Raighne squeezed my shoulder to get my attention.

  I tried to catch my breath. “Didn’t you see it?”

  He shook his head. “I cannot follow you when you have a vision. I can only call to you.”

  “He was the most—”

  Raighne stepped closer. “Can you replay what you saw?”

  I looked at him, shaking my head in denial. There was no way I wanted to relive any of it ever again.

  Alandra moved forward. Her face was an unreadable mask, but her voice didn’t hold the bite it usually had. “What did you see?”

  “I can’t.” I tried my best to block the memory, but I wasn’t successful. His face flashed through my mind. His dead eyes haunted my soul. “I can see a man’s face, but I don’t know him.”

  Raighne was almost frantic as he took me into his arms. “Do not fear him. I am here.”

  “How reliable are her visions?” Alandra asked.

  “Two that I know of have come to pass. She saw me coming and she foresaw a discussion we had not too long ago,” Raighne’s voice trembled.

  “What else has she seen?”

  I began calming down as I listened to the hum of Raighne’s voice. That and the strong beat of his heart made me feel better. I cleared my throat. “I’ve seen a volcano erupting - the aftermath - someone…killing me. I’ve also seen that Raighne and I are going to have a little fall out sometime soon. That’s it so far.”

  “You have not seen anything of The Chosen Ones?” Alandra seemed surprised.

 
; “Not that I’m aware of.” My head began to pound and my stomach felt like it was set on the spin cycle. I couldn’t talk about any of this anymore. I needed to be alone. I so missed my falls right now.

  “We should let her take a break. We can look into the vision later when she feels more rested,” Raighne stated.

  “Let her rest and let the memory fade! This is not about your precious Alchera; it is about The Chosen Ones.” Turning, Alandra marched away with Evin following her close behind.

  How was that for sisterly love? “I’ve had enough.” I turned and walked in my own direction, but the further I walked the more I realized she was absolutely right. Nothing was about me - everything was about these Ten Chosen Ones and how I was going to find them.

  “Come.” Raighne took my hand and led me down an incline I hadn’t noticed when we’d first arrived.

  It was quite a walk, but it gave me time to think about what had happened. I didn’t think about the actual vision, I refused to do that. But it’d changed something in me, something I didn’t understand.

  The terrain began to change as we walked on. Patches of grass appeared here and there, but nothing to get too excited about. That was, until we came around a massive boulder and I stared at the awe-inspiring panorama that unfolded before my eyes. My soul came alive.

  “It’s a waterfall.” I breathed, and clapped my hands like a child.

  Raighne laughed. “It is the best I can do under the circumstances. It is not your waterfall, but she can hold her own. This is where we will be…um, taking our baths.”

  “Are you embarrassed?”

  “Of course not…just uncomfortable.” Raighne went and stood by the water’s edge, kneeling down so he could rinse the thin layer of sand that’d stuck to his sweaty arms. It looked so refreshing I couldn’t help but join him.

  “I know what Alandra said was right, but there is just no way I am going to think of that vision again.” I sat down beside him, took a deep breath, and then looked him square in the eyes. “It was too horrible.”

  He nodded. “We need to practice our telepathy. It might be uncomfortable in the beginning but, with that gift, I will always have contact with you…no matter where you are.”

  ~*~

  Our first telepathy session was a lot like a kid‘s game. I had to look at something and Raighne would guess what it was.

  Okay, I’m looking at a rock.

  You do not have to project to me. Just look around and I will tell you what you see.

  It was weird hearing him in my mind. Ugh! Bye, bye privacy. I took a deep breath. Can you just do this already?’

  Rocks, grass patch, sky and eagle.

  “I so did not see an eagle!” I turned to face him. “You could easily have seen those things yourself.”

  “Do you have to do everything the hard way? Can you not just trust me?” He kept on walking past me, and I could have sworn I heard him cursing under his breath.

  When we got back to the campsite, I felt like a three-legged, one-eyed, two dollar hooker strolling into their invitation-only party.

  “Aaw, come on everybody. I ain’t dead yet.” I couldn’t help the sarcasm. They were looking at me the same way every living soul had looked at me every day of my life back in that town I’d grown up in. They looked at me like, A) I was a freak, and, B) like I was a chalk outline.

  “They are not looking at you in that way.” Raighne corrected my thoughts. “What you are seeing is concern - a group of people merely concerned for your welfare.”

  “Uh, huh.”

  “Is she rested now?” Alandra’s bite was back.

  “Enough Alandra, she is your sister. How can you vow to protect her when you cannot even show her any courtesy?” Aurian’s voice - the voice that held the power of a King - shut her up immediately.

  Alandra bowed. “Yes, Aurian.”

  “Do you feel better now, Alchera? We do not want to strain you too much so soon after your vision.” Oh man, I would never be able to speak like that.

  Alchera, concentrate! Raighne’s voice resounded in my mind.

  “Yes, Aurian…I’m feeling better now.”

  My guardian surprised me by talking on my behalf. “Alchera will not be able to talk about the vision. I felt her pain and I can understand why.”

  Alandra stepped up to us, her eyes shooting sparks. “It is not for you to decide what she shares and what she does not share. The Chosen Ones—”

  “Quiet, Alandra!” Raighne’s voice was cold. “I am her guardian and it is for me to decide what is best for her.”

  “Leave it Raighne.” I walked to where River was standing.

  “Feeling better?” He smiled. “What happened?”

  I shrugged. “I wish I could tell you, but then I’d be in trouble again and, since I’m already swimming in sh—”

  River held up his hand and grinned. “I understand what you are trying to say. Come, we need to continue our trek around that bend.”

  “You mean this isn’t the campsite?”

  “Would you have stayed here?”

  “Would I have had any say in the matter?” I mumbled.

  River gave me a bigger smile, as if he believed that I would have had plenty to say in the matter. He was right.

  I walked toward the horse, as Raighne appeared beside me. “You and River seem to be getting along.”

  I shrugged. “He’s okay.”

  “You are very friendly with him. I’m curious. What does he do differently than me?” Hold your horses.

  “What’s with the twenty questions? I barely know River. Are you… jealous?” I wasn’t teasing him. I promise I wasn’t.

  “No, I am not jealous. He seems to make you more comfortable, and if it is because he is doing something right, then I would like to know so I could do it as well.”

  “You are way better than him. I am just befriending him so I can plant some seeds of love for Fleur. I think they would make a perfect couple and she likes him a lot. I want to nudge him in her direction.”

  “River and Fleur? You think they could be a couple?”

  “You’ve known them longer than me! How could you not have seen the signs?”

  “I have spent the last five years preparing for your return. I did not have time to notice things like that.” Now that piece of news rendered me speechless. …for five seconds.

  “You trained five years for me?”

  “What? Do you think King Eryon called me one day, gave me the order, and the next day I was on my way?”

  Hey, Sid, looks like my sarcasm was rubbing off on him.

  “Who trained you?”

  “My father and Alder. I was trained by the best.” I heard the nostalgia in his voice.

  “You respect your father a lot?”

  “He is the greatest guardian there is. No one will go against him.” Raighne got lost in his thoughts. “He is the only one who has faced Adeth and lived to tell the tale.”

  “When did this happen?”

  His voice lowered. “On your thirteenth birthday. She tried to get close to you and your parents. She had already wanted to kill you back then. Adeth underestimated my father, who attacked her immediately. I grabbed you while Alder and Aster guarded your parents. When they came face to face, the ground moved beneath our feet. It was that day I had my first lesson.”

  “I knew you back then?”

  “Yes, but only by sight. That was the first day we met face-to-face. I could feel the connection when I held you, and knew I had to keep you safe.”

  “That was the day I was sent to Earth.”

  “They had no choice. Adeth would keep coming back for you until she eventually had you.”

  “I understand now.” I really did. I also understood that constant longing for that certain someone or something that was missing in my life. It had turned out to be Raighne.

  ~*~

  Our campsite consisted of one tent the size of a hut sitting beside a cool, clean river. Very picturesque. They han
ded us our sleeping bags, a bottle to carry water in and, believe it or not, a first aid kit.

  “Groovy.” It slipped out.

  “Find yourselves a comfortable spot to sleep tonight. We rise before dawn. You will need all your strength and clarity of mind, so please sleep.” That was Aurian, short and sweet.

  I walked to the side of the cliff. I was at least going to have the wall at my back. Sleeping in the open was bad enough. I smoothed the ground to the best of my abilities, making sure there was no rock, no cluster of sand, not even one creepy crawlie’ in sight, before rolling out my sleeping bag. I then took out my pillow. Apparently, around all these stealth, hardened warriors, I should’ve waited for the cover of darkness before I did that.

  “A pillow? Alchera, a pillow? Really?” Raighne had been standing behind me, silently watching me do my thing. Déjà vu. Why did I keep on having these weird moments? Moments when my hamster totally peddled in the wrong direction, only to leave me confused. This was yet another vision I had at the party.

  “Last time I checked.” Okay his turn, let’s hear it.

  “Did I say to bring one?” His voice was like that of a father embarrassed that his child would do something stupid in front of his peers.

  “Okay, we can stop this right here.” I shoved the pillow at him. “You’ll end up winning this argument anyway. This is the vision I had at the party, and don’t you even think about threatening me with physical training.” He just stared at me, looking very confused. Grabbing my backpack, I practically jogged to my ‘bath.’

  No thinking, no thinking. I kept reminding myself. Far more than Sid was listening now.

  I got to the spot where we were sitting earlier on, looking around for some cover. I was not going to stand naked in the river for all to see. There was no cover. Damn, Sid, they DO expect me to stand naked in the river for all to see. What am I? A water sprite?

  “No bloody way I’m doing this.”

  “This is one of the exercises.” Raighne walked toward me with a smile. “Figure out a way to bathe without showing any…um.”

  “Any what? You can’t even say it! Skin? I can’t wait to see you do it. How about you go first.” I had such a big grin on my face I was sure every one of my teeth was gleaming in the twilight.