Shine: The Knowing Ones

by Amy Freeman

  “I’ll be there,” Trin said.

  “What if you get hurt again?”

  Trin shook his head. “I did that.”

  Sam drew back in confusion. “What?”

  “My blood creates a protective shield for you,” he said. “It’s instilled in every Keeper. It’s how Anvil tried to protect Anavi the night she died.”

  Sam’s gaze lowered in renewed astonishment. His blood. That’s why he wanted something sharp. She contemplated how she had instantly been freed of the retching poison that engulfed her. But she had been so incapacitated she hadn’t realized what had released her from it. The gash in his arm had been significant. She gazed at him not knowing what to say.

  “It’s no big deal,” he said. “It’s easy to fix.”

  She glanced at his beautiful forearm so strong, completely healed; yet another astonishing ability they didn’t have time to cover, just like everything else.

  Anvil reclaimed her focus. “The point is you will be safe. This is not difficult for Trinton.” Anvil looked at Trin. “Mikhail is waiting for you,” he said. “You must begin. Once you two are together, call out to Mikhail. He will find you.”

  Sam and Trin looked at each other. Trin nodded in confirmation and took her hand.

  Sam looked down taking in a deep breath, then back up gleaning as much strength as she could from him. They leaned back together on the bed and closed their eyes.

  Inhaling deeply Sam tried to rid herself of the lingering hysteria and the fear of a repeat visit from the monster. She had never experienced anything so horrible in her life.

  Trin went in much quicker, having mastered the practice. She breathed in and out with focus this time—Trin’s face. Her muscles relaxed, her body softening into the bedspread. His angelic face floated before her, soothing her, calming her, and bringing her to that quiet place unreachable by the outside world.

  Her breathing slowed, the exterior sounds faded, and she entered the still space just as before. She glanced about, surrounded by calm. She remembered it was her job to bring Trin in. She closed her eyes, willing him to join her. When her eyes opened, he was there. She stood looking upon his magnificent beauty, noting how it brought her peace, squelching the fear that had consumed her earlier.

  He reached out taking her hands. Deafening silence hung in the space as Trin closed his eyes. His aura gleamed, intensifying a moment, and they were no longer alone.

  He stood to the right. Mikhail’s formidable frame towered past six feet, dressed in an elegant suit. Sapphire blue eyes sparkled beneath a regal brow, a base for newly forming lines of wisdom in his forehead. His thick graying hair lay in smooth waves against his head, combed straight back, and the signature white-blue aura coating his form revealed intermittent wisps of lilac.

  Sensing his presence, Trin opened his eyes. “Mikhail,” he said, astounded at Sam’s power.

  “Trinton,” Mikhail replied, resting the loving hand of a father on Trin’s broad shoulder. His eyes drifted to Sam, softening in humility. “Samantha,” he said, thick Russian accent rolling off his tongue. “How very long we have waited for you.”

  Sam had not grown accustomed to being someone highly revered—revered at all for that matter—and she wondered if it would ever feel like it fit; these perfect strangers from a foreign land treating her as though she were some powerful Goddess.

  “This is remarkable what you have done here,” he said. “It gives me hope.”

  Sam lowered her eyes, feeling unworthy of his praise. She didn’t even know how she had done it.

  “I want to show you something,” he said. He turned away from them, looking into the blackness. “I was on business in Germany and was awakened by a dream; the setting—a concentration camp, Bergen-Belsen.” he said. “The next day I drove to the site. I am going to show you what I saw.” He turned to Sam. “Coupled with what you have been experiencing, perhaps we can piece some of this together. It seems Ashbel is somehow involved, but we don’t know how, and we need to verify the involvement of the dark one.”

  Mikhail turned again to the empty darkness. The environment around them lit up and the three of them stood in the midst of Bergen-Belsen. A murky mist laced the atmosphere in despair, circling about as the scene moved forward.

  Mikhail’s eyes gleamed, navigating the presentation. A man emerged through the mists—Soft ebony hair fringing a stern face, firm jaw and eyes like an emerald sea. Black Veduny fatigues covering his muscular form displaced the mist as he moved through it. He stopped. The decadent jade vanished from his eyes leaving hollow black irises. Trin’s hand tightened around Sam’s, white light electrifying his frame. Sam stared, a mixture of intense emotion rushing her soul. Anvil, only not, with an incessant crushing emptiness, rancid hatred—and something else.

  Ashbel stared at them with dead eyes as he had Mikhail, before turning and disappearing into the mist. A pause in the vision, and then the mysterious relic flashed before them so quickly it was difficult to see.

  “Did you see that?” Sam asked.

  Trin glanced down. “What?” Mikhail turned to her as well.

  “In the blade,” she said. “You didn’t see that?”

  Trin and Mikhail exchanged glances. “All I saw was the kindjal, Sam,” Trin said. “What do you see?”

  Mikhail interjected. “Sam, you will see things no one else in our tribe will see. Describe what you saw.”

  “I thought I saw Veduny light around the blade,” she replied. She shook her head. “It was really quick but I know I saw it.”

  Mikhail stared. “Samantha,” he said. “In your vision you saw an effigy, an engraving in stone.”

  “Yes,” Sam replied.

  “Covered in light that looked like the Veduny royalty aura?”

  “Yes,” Sam answered. “It didn’t bother me until the light blinked out.”

  Mikhail studied her. “The image was bathed in the Veduny light?” he asked. “And then it blinked out?”

  Sam lowered her gaze trying to recall everything clearly. “It appeared,” she said. “It was covered in Veduny light. Then the light vanished and it was just the stone engraving.” She looked up at both men. “That’s when it started to make me sick. It shattered and the light came back with the monster from my dream.”

  Mikhail nodded, then closed his eyes, lowering his head for a moment.

  “What is it Mikhail?” Trin asked.

  Mikhail turned to Trin. “ Вы здесь больше не в безопасности.”

  “Да, я знаю это.”

  “Вам нужно находиться в России.”

  “Как мы сможем это сделать?”

  “Вы здесь совершенно одни. Здесь вам никто не сможет помочь.”

  “Вы знаете как трудно это будет?”

  “Тебе не понравится, если она умрет, правда?” The Russian dialogue lasted too long, Sam’s anxiety growing with each return. “Please,” she begged. “I need to know what you know.” Trin kept his eyes on Mikhail as he responded to Sam. “Mikhail feels we are no longer safe here. He says we are vulnerable so far away from our tribe.” He turned to Sam. “He says we should be in Russia.”

  Sam stared. It was all she could do. “I can’t just move to Russia,” Sam finally said. “You can’t just move to Russia. What about the swim team? School? I’m the lead in the showcase. My family.”

  “Sam, you don’t understand. If I’m right, none of that matters.”

  Sam paused. “What do you mean?”

  Mikhail looked at Sam. “It would appear you are receiving Oracle predictions even though your power has not yet been established.”

  Trin jumped in. “What you experienced today was probably a prediction of...pretty much the worst thing that could ever happen.”

  Sam was stunned speechless.

  Trin looked past her in frustration.

 
; Mikhail looked at Trin. “Somehow this kindjal is the key.”

  Trin stared back. “How do we find it? Where do we even begin?”

  “I am researching everything we have, and our men are tracking Ashbel.”

  “I’m pretty sure we know where Ashbel is,” Trin said.

  “Trinton, we need to restore the Oracle power,” Mikhail said. “It is our only hope of finding answers.”

  Trin looked at Sam, her energy wafting in anxiety at the notion of governing a super-human tribe. He took her hand and squeezed. Turning to Mikhail he nodded in concession, going against everything he felt prompted to do. “Fine.”

  “We can arrange for the ceremonies in Ivanova,” Mikhail said. He turned to Sam.

  “I am very concerned for your safety,” he said. “We do not have nearly enough information. You and Trin have no support here. In Ivanova, you would have all of us and you would not have to hide. I know it seems impossible, but you must think of a way to get to Ivanova as soon as you can. Every moment spent here without direction, without knowing what is going on, is a step closer to disaster.” He took Sam’s hand, looking her in the eyes. “Pay close attention to what you see,” he counseled. Mikhail looked upon Trin with unspoken reverence and then he was gone.

  Trin turned to Sam. “Let’s go,” he said.

  CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

  T rin leaned back into the driver’s seat of his truck and exhaled. Sam sat silent beside him in the passenger seat, reeling. Glancing at the floor she said, “I’m scared.”

  His blue eyes shot a pained glance in her direction and he reached a hand behind her head. Placing his other hand on her cheek he looked her dead in the eyes. “My whole purpose for existing is to keep you safe. I will die before I ever let anything happen to you. Do you hear me?”

  Sam nodded as his words, coupled by his touch, dismantled any trace of fear she had. He leaned forward, pressing his soft lips to hers. Releasing his grasp he put the key in the ignition, started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot of Sam’s dorm.

  Slowing for a stop sign he turned to Sam, sudden tension in his eyes. “Do you have a passport?”

  “Yes,” she replied. “My parents went to Europe during the summer and decided to get me one when they got my mom’s.”

  Relieved, Trin retreated into his seat.

  Sam still couldn’t believe they were discussing this as if they were actually considering it. “Trin, there has got to be another way,” she said. “There is no way we can realistically go to Russia right now, and this isn’t just fear talking. Maybe we can get information about the kindjal. If we knew what was happening we could deal with it here, right?”

  “That’s not very likely,” he replied. He reached the bottom of the hill and hit the left turn signal. “The missing information could be in Russia. In fact, it probably is. That’s where everything is.”

  “I wasn’t,” she reminded him. “Most of the new information you’ve received has been through me,” she said. “I’m here.”

  Trin considered this for a moment, then raised an eyebrow and shrugged. She was right.

  “Keep training me,” she said.

  Trin looked at her uncertainly.

  “Everything we have discovered so far has manifested because of you training me or teaching me about who I am.”

  Trin recapped the fateful night that had opened the flood gates. He shook his head in defiance.

  “Trin, I know what you’re thinking, but we’ll just have to take that chance. I’m a vault of missing information.” Sam turned toward him taking his hand as he stared through the windshield. “That’s the only way we’re going to be able to make this work.”

  “You’re not safe here, Sam.”

  “Am I really that much safer there?”

  “Probably.”

  “Let’s get me through my showcase and you through your next meet. Until then you have to teach me, Trin. I have these stupid dreams and visions every day now. I feel myself remembering things, connecting with things you or Anvil say and now things Mikhail has said. I can help you. I feel it. After this weekend we can start planning to go to Russia. Right now teach me what I need to know. I’ll let you know if I feel anything. You and Anvil both said I’ll see it coming.”

  “You have seen it coming.”

  “I disagree,” she said.

  Trin shot her a frustrated look of confusion.

  “What I have seen are visions of what has already happened. I’ve seen this demon, yes, but that doesn’t mean he’s after me. I see events for the whole tribe, including threats, right? Isn’t he always a threat?” She said, “and I’ve never had a vision, dream or anything about Ashbel coming for me.”

  “I feel him,” Trin said. “He may be tainted but he is still Veduny. He is very close, Sam. If Chernobog has tabs on you it is through him. I’m certain of it.”

  “Trin, you always tell me to trust your instincts in regards to my safety. Try trusting mine in regards to solving this mess for the tribe.” She leaned in, taking his free hand. “We need answers...fast.” Then she stopped, remembering Mikhail’s conversation with Trin. “Trin,” she asked, “Mikhail said we need the Oracle. I don’t understand that. You all keep telling me I’m the Oracle. I’m right here.”

  Trin exhaled, provocative eyes staring forward through the windshield. He shook his head laughing a little.

  Sam squinted. “What?”

  Trin glanced sideways, light eyes hesitant. “You are the Oracle,” he said. “But you can’t function in that capacity without me.”

  Sam looked at him, still confused.

  “You need me to make it work,” he explained. He studied her a moment longer and finally said “Why do you think I stopped myself the other night?”

  Sam shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said “I couldn’t figure that—” She stopped. “Oh,” she said. She glanced down with a partial smile. “I see.”

  Trin concentrated on the road, staring forward through the windshield.

  She turned fully, facing him in her seat. “Really?”

  Trin nodded. “Really. Sex is a big deal to the Veduny. It’s not just something we do with whomever.”

  Sam stared at him. “So the first time we...”

  “Yeah.”

  She sunk back into the passenger seat. “So basically, when you...”

  “Yes, Sam.”

  Sam glanced down and smiled. “That’s hot.”

  Trin shook his head. Applying the brakes, he turned onto his street. “Actually it’s hell.”

  Sam threw him a wounded look. “Why do you say that?”

  “Were you there that night?”

  “You’re the one who stopped.”

  He turned back to the road and sighed. “I don’t know why,” he said. “I wish I did but I know something is wrong. I have to listen to my instincts. Right now it’s really all I have. I’m not going to fail at that, too.”

  “You are not failing,” Sam said. “Apparently you’ve been fighting all this in the dark. That’s not your fault. You don’t have me, I guess. I mean, you haven’t, you know, flipped the switch or whatever.”

  Trin laughed out loud.

  Her heart melted. “Keep training me, Trin. If you don’t train me, we won’t see anything coming. I know we’re taking a risk that Ashbel will find me, but he’s going to find me eventually and I would really love to be as prepared as I can when that happens. I’m freaking out over all this and I’m still willing. The info that comes to me may be the only thing that saves me...or any of us. It’s not completely outside the realm of possibility that we fix everything before they can get to me.”

  Trin considered that for a moment. She was right. They had managed to elude them thus far. His gaze remained forward but his expression had softened a bit. He was considering it.

  “Please, Trin,” she said.

  They pulled up to his house. Sam stared, waiting for an answer but he never looked back at her. His forward gaze took on an air
of confusion. He squinted through the windshield for a moment then sat back, the corners of his mouth lifting as he shook his head.

  Trin cocked his head to one side, watching an intoxicated college student rocketing down an enormous inflatable chute. He flew out of the second story window of Trin’s house, whooping and hollering as he went.

  Sam and Trin pulled up to his driveway. The entire yard was crawling with college students running around in bathing suits, regular clothing, and anything else they felt was appropriate attire for water activities. Many of the guys had super soaker squirt guns in their hands and everyone was completely drenched.

  Trin seemed oddly unfazed by the scene as the next person came shooting out of the second story window and went zipping across the lawn on a slip and slide, coming to an abrupt stop with the help of a pile of old bean bag chairs and Sam wasn’t really sure what else.

  She sat motionless, mouth hanging open. “There’s a blow-up slide attached to your second story window.”

  Trin tilted his head to the other side, still watching the show. “Yeah...” he said. “This occasionally happens at my house.”

  Sam stared at him. “This?” she balked, pointing at the gargantuan blow-up slide.

  “Well,” he said, gesturing toward the spectacle, “variations of this. The slide is a creative new twist.” He was clearly impressed.

  “Where did they get the slide?”

  Trin raised his eyebrows and shrugged. His gaze then fell to the lawn where several plastic bottles lay emptied and strewn about. Brows knit together, he studied the array. Then comprehension set in. “Huh,” he uttered as it all became clear.

  Sam gaped. “Is that vegetable oil?”

  “I think so.”

  The next suicide victim went careening down the slide, ripping across the oil-coated plastic and smashing into the pile of whatever.

  Sam’s hands went to her face. “Someone is going to get killed.”

  Trin hesitated, as if pondering the thought. He started up the engine of his truck. “Yeah,” he agreed. “You’re probably right.”