The Beholder

by Ivan Amberlake

  Jason clenched his teeth, realizing that was why the Shadow had let them escape back at the E&L building: it had wanted to kill Matt and Debbie. After Jason had initially questioned Emily, he never considered they might be in danger. He had been so consumed with his own panic that he’d simply forgotten about his friends. He bit his lower lip hard enough that the salty taste of blood spread in his mouth.

  “Are they safe?” she asked, and Jason listened hard.

  “Course they are. They’re with me. It took longer than I expected to transport ’em, but we’ll be at the Hall soon. Tell Jason they’re okay.” Some kind of commotion interrupted the speaker, then he said, “Um, sorry, Emily. I gotta go.”

  “Tyler? Tyler!” Emily screamed. Her shrill voice bounced off the walls and replicated in thousands of echoes, but the line was already dead.

  Jason closed his eyes, feeling sick with guilt. How could he have gotten his friends into this kind of danger?

  “Don’t blame yourself for this,” Emily admonished. She softly touched his bleeding lip with a gentle fingertip. “Even I didn’t expect Pariah to make such a move.”

  “I should have called them.”

  “You came to save me, to rescue me from Pariah.”

  What kind of a friend am I to forget about Debbie and Matt? he thought grimly.

  “You are a good friend. Faithful and loyal,” Emily assured him.

  Jason recoiled. “Wait. Are you reading my mind?”

  “Um, not exactly,” Emily said, looking away. She shrugged, and glanced apologetically at him. “I can’t help it. You wedged some of your thoughts into mine.”

  An awkward pause hung between them before she whispered, “Thank you for helping me.”

  “Helping?” Jason raised his eyebrows. “I didn’t do anything.”

  “You distracted Pariah from me.”

  “How?”

  Her chuckle was soft and lacked any hint of humor. “You’ll see very soon.”

  Jason’s eyes narrowed. “Tell me something. Was it you who made me see all those dreams?”

  “Me? No, never!” Emily said, shaking her head. She lowered her eyes and the agitation in her expression softened to sadness. “Only the last one with the mirror.”

  Jason knew he should be patient. After all, she kept promising him that he’d find out soon enough. But it had gone too far. He was so tense and confused he was afraid his head was going to explode. “But how is all this happening?” he demanded. “And what about the flying, the lightning, and you disappearing in one spot and reappearing in another? What’s going on?”

  She smiled and tilted her head slightly, looking sympathetic. “I think you should know why you see these visions in the first place.” Then she grimaced. “I can’t help seeing bits of them when I’m close to you. They’re not cool, are they?”

  Jason didn’t know how to act around a mind reader. He knew Emily wanted to help, but he didn’t want her to know all of his thoughts. Especially the ones that made him feel unsettled and awkward, the one focused on how gorgeous and irresistible she was. Her enigmatic presence made him feel strong and … different. As if something had lain dormant within him. Whatever had been sleeping was now wide awake.

  He kept his answer brief, wishing she weren’t inside his head. “Not really.”

  “Sorry, but I had no choice,” she said, rubbing her temples. “The meeting with the enemy was unavoidable. The Energy willed it, so I fused our minds to let you see me running into your office, then into the restroom with a mirror. And of course that’s where I had that nice little conversation with him.”

  Jason smiled a humorless smile. “That’s what you call it? A nice little conversation?”

  “It could have been so much worse, believe me. The most important thing for me to do was to show you where to find me,” Emily added. “Pariah was after me, and he also sent eight Legates on their way to you.”

  “Legates?”

  “Assassins in the Sight doing special service to Pariah,” Emily clarified. “Eight of them were ordered to capture you. My only chance was to lure you out of your friend’s house.” She sighed, looking resigned. “You have to understand something, Jason. Our kind has to make rash decisions, sometimes on the spur of the moment. Soon you’ll understand that the ends justify the means.”

  “Your kind?”

  This time her smile was warm and welcoming. “I said our, because you’re included. You are one of us, Jason, one of the few. You don’t feel it yet, but you are on your way to becoming a phenomenon even amongst us.”

  Jason threw up his hands, exasperated. None of this made any sense. “You must’ve made a mistake. I don’t understand why you’d take me for someone I’m not. I’m just an ordinary person who—”

  “—sees extraordinary visions. Tell me, did you experience anything strange over the last three days?”

  “Like what?”

  “Like running tremendously fast and being able to stop time? Or perhaps seeing people glowing in a strange silver light?”

  “Okay, okay! Stop it!” Blood throbbed in Jason’s temples. He was embarrassed and angry and completely at a loss. “I’m getting used to the weird idea that you know more about me than I do. So if that’s true, maybe it’s time to tell me at least something. Why am I here? Why are my friends in danger? Why’s all of this happening to me?”

  Strangely, now that Emily stood so close, Jason was more disturbed by her closeness than he was about danger from the enemy. Now that he knew she could read his mind, he wanted to look away, clear his head, but she was a magnet to him. How could she be so graceful? How could her eyes, always so vivid, be so much brighter even than the incandescent spheres? The soft, gentle flow of her hair where it fringed her angelic face …

  Wait! Without warning he softly touched her left cheek. Emily shivered slightly at the contact, her eyes wide. But her left ear was perfectly fine, and there were no traces of blood on her forehead or cheek, just the smooth pink silk of her skin.

  “He smashed your head against the mirror. I saw it happen. You were bleeding, and now your skin is unharmed.”

  Jason’s hand slid to her hand, remembering when it had been hurt in the dream. Her clothes were torn to shreds in several places, but the wounds had closed up.

  “Cuts and minor injuries heal almost instantly on our bodies. That’s one of the things you’ll learn fairly quickly, so don’t be surprised.”

  Jason was so close to her, feeling the warmth of her skin with his hand, that he hardly heard what she was saying. He looked in her eyes, and his heart beat madly in his chest. What was it about this girl? An hour ago his mind had been inside hers. Now he stroked the silky skin of her cheek and neck.

  But …

  A contraction jerked through his body. He stepped back, remembering the dream with perfect clarity, as if a smokescreen had dissolved from his memory, revealing all the horror of what had happened—and would happen—to her. He saw again the ancient tunnel, in which the shadows had chased the girl. He had led those shadows. He had attacked the girl. Emily’s amber eyes that had widened in fear. How could that be?

  Emily watched him in silence, and when she licked her lips they glistened, catching the dazzling light around them. Jason wanted very badly to kiss her.

  Then Emily’s words from the dream, or “fusion,” as she’d called it, rang in his ears. “The Prophecy says I’ll find him. The Beholder shall come.”

  He shook his head, completely lost. She alone held the map that would help him understand why he had lived through such torture for the past three weeks. And though he knew the answer might not be what he wanted to hear, at least it was better than living in ignorance.

  “I proclaimed the Prophecy,” she said, reminding him that she could hear his thoughts.

  He took a deep breath, then said, “I want to know what the Prophecy says.”

  Emily’s lips twitched, as if she’d been stuck with a needle. Jason looked into her eyes and saw undisguised fea
r. Then she nodded and looked away. “I knew I’d have to do it sooner or later,” she muttered. “Perhaps now is the right moment. Come with me.”

  Chapter 13

  She led them to a door framed by an ancient stone arch, embellished with cryptic signs which had been burnt in iridescent mauve and turquoise. The door seemed to be a solid black slab in one moment, then it changed, rippling as if it were fluid instead. As Jason watched, it changed again, becoming some sort of translucent, gaseous substance.

  She reached towards the smoldering sphere, and double Es glowed upon it after she removed her hand. A soft purring noise came out of nowhere, followed by a sharp click, and the door, solid black this time, vanished. A cold breeze whispered through Jason’s hair, spilling goosebumps over his body. The blackness didn’t welcome unwelcome guests, and Emily and Jason were about to encroach upon its territory.

  “Let’s go.” She stooped under the archway, and the dark consumed her, leaving only a vague silhouette. Jason flinched, startled when her hand emerged from the dark. “Let’s go,” she said. “We don’t have much time.”

  Feigning confidence, Jason took the proffered hand and stepped onto the stone threshold. His stomach dropped, filled with the same dread he’d experienced after each of his nightmares. Emily squeezed his hand, easing the panic, and led him through the murk.

  “What is this place?” he whispered.

  “It’s called the Maze. It thrives on the darkness within people’s souls, but if you have light in your heart, the Maze won’t touch you. It forms a circular shape, and we’re heading for the center of it. The only light here comes from a few torches, though they’re not of much help if you don’t know which way to go. You see, there are thousands of false entrances here that might let you in, but they’ll never let you out.”

  Apparently she was on friendly terms with the ebony blackness, for her gait was confident. As she’d said, only the occasional torch lit the way along the brick walls, but their flames were dim beacons in the prevailing gloom. It didn’t take long before the afterimage of the white-hot shining tunnel which had been burned in Jason’s mind was obliterated. Soon he couldn’t see a thing, but he trusted Emily’s lead.

  Not far past the first torch, Emily turned right and led Jason to what appeared to be a solid wall, but it was the first opening. Twice they turned to the left, and after that, Jason could tell nothing but it felt as if they were walking in circles. They could have spent several minutes in the dark, or it could have been hours, Jason didn’t think he’d be able to feel the difference. At some point it seemed he had become a part of the darkness, and darkness had become a part of him.

  After what seemed an eternity, they stopped, and Emily let go of his hand. “Before we start, I need to tell you some rules.”

  Jason nodded, then realized she couldn’t see him. “Okay,” he said.

  “First of all,” she told him, “you must stay where you are. I placed a protective shield between you and me just in case something goes wrong. You absolutely must not move. You must not speak. If you violate these rules, I won’t be able to save you from what might happen. The protective shield might even get destroyed.”

  Out of all the questions bouncing around in Jason’s head, he grabbed what he hoped was the easiest one. “What might happen?”

  “Judging by what happened when I made the other Prophecies, I may be totally unpredictable when doing this thing.”

  “Have you done it lots of times?”

  “Actually, I’ve never tried doing it deliberately. The Prophecies come to me of their own accord. All I know is that the consequences may be destructive. Depends on how the Energy wills to behave.”

  “You haven’t answered my question,” Jason said.

  She sighed. “You’ll be better off not knowing, I think. Just follow the rules. Don’t you want to listen to the Prophecy?”

  “I do. I really do.”

  “All right then. Remember: don’t move, don’t do anything at all. Even if you don’t like what you see. Just listen.”

  Jason stood motionless in front of a shield he couldn’t see, his muscles bunched with tension. Emily struck a match, bringing a small gold aura to the blackness. He squinted and saw she’d covered herself with a cloak. He wanted to see her face, maybe read her expression, but her mane of thick hair concealed her features. The light of the match reached her lips though, and blood boiled in Jason’s veins as he watched them move.

  Emily knelt slowly, folding into layers of black mist. She lowered the burning match and lit a candle on the floor, then extended her palm over the flame. The weak fire gained strength, reaching up to lick her hand, and Jason nearly screamed with frustration. He couldn’t stand to watch this happen, watch her be hurt. But he had made a promise, and he would keep that promise.

  It was like one of his nightmares, only now he was the beholder from the outside, unable to do anything but witness. The light of the candle melted to liquid and dripped to the floor, spreading, turning into fiery circles which sprawled in radiant gold, forming letters and words. With the increasing light, Jason was able to see the room. It was small and circular, and the only part of it untouched by light was the space where Jason stood. He thought that meant the protective shield was working. From the small circle of golden letters on the floor came thousands more. Through their light he could now see rows and rows of corridors through doorless entries, all of them lit with similar writings.

  A barely audible whisper came through Emily’s trembling lips. She kept one hand positioned over the candle flame and the other pressed to the golden floor, and Jason saw her shudder from time to time while the flame hissed spitefully. Her head remained bowed while everything around her blazed with a non-scorching fire. In the reigning silence her words were clear-cut, intensified, imbued with the most acute of pain.

  Through visions of torture and horror he will walk,

  Drenched in the pain of those unknowingly defending him.

  Pillars of Light first released then destroyed by the raging Energy of the Dark,

  Until but one remains.

  The one with the Energy of Light, the last of the twelve, the Beholder.

  His path lies through the valley of shadows

  Where eleven souls are marked by the aura of the One.

  Through Light and Darkness he will walk

  Innocent blood he will save with the knowledge only he possesses.

  Of two souls intertwined, the first shall be gone,

  With the other left to die in blinding agony.

  Death’s scythe hanging over him

  Will not forget to slash at the crack of dawn,

  When the Energy demands for the Librium to restore.

  Once and for all the Beholder will disappear.

  Emily’s voice was hoarse, every syllable burning with the pain in her hand. The Prophecy was finished, and the words died out on her lips as she dropped to the ground. The candle seemed satisfied with the girl’s palm, and the iridescent words on the walls dying out as tendrils of darkness consumed the room.

  Jason’s protective shield disappeared, and he bolted through the dark towards the place where Emily was supposed to be. He found her lying on the floor, weeping, clutching at her hand. Jason palmed her face, feeling her tears stream down her burning cheeks and roll onto his hands. This was all his fault. He hated himself for asking to hear the Prophecy. If only he had known—if only she’d told him it would involve anything like this.

  “Why would you do that to yourself?” Jason demanded. He heard the fury in his voice, but he was more angry at himself than Emily.

  She sniffed. “To make a Prophecy, I have to feel pain. It won’t come any other way. Pain is the key to revealing the future. And now you know what will happen in the end.”

  Jason closed his eyes and swallowed. “I knew it would end that way,” he said quietly, surprising even himself with the frank admission. “But Emily, there’s something else. I need to tell you something. I can’t hi
de it from you anymore.”

  Her face shifted slightly within his hands, and he envisioned her beautiful brow creased with question. “W-what is it?”

  “One of the visions.” He hesitated, searching for better words, but there were none. “In one of my dreams I saw you. You were … dying.”

  The dark hid Emily’s face, but her voice trembled, giving her panic away. “What? What are you talking about?”

  “In the dream, a group of shadows chased you, and I … I was inside their leader’s mind. I was in Pariah’s mind.”

  “What? No! That can’t be true!” she whispered.

  “I’m sorry,” he replied, though there was nothing he could have done to change anything. He regretted having told her, causing her even more pain, but it had been done now. There was no turning back. He scooped her fragile form into his arms and held her tight against him.

  Chapter 14

  Emily didn’t understand. She pressed herself to Jason, soaking in his closeness, his soft touch, feeling constantly in awe of his sparkling beauty. She had seen him all along the path in the dark, the same way she saw the corridor of the Maze. The dark wasn’t all that dark to her, and Jason made reality even brighter than usual. If she could only tell him how beautiful he looked in the dark. But he wouldn’t understand.

  Not yet.

  She was afraid to tell Jason what was really going on, and why protecting him and his friends was so important. The black veil that kept Jason from seeing her made her more confident. She had been about to tell him everything when he told her he’d seen her in one of the fusions.

  The news had staggered her. She toed a dangerous line, and one wrong move could ruin everything.

  “How do you know it was me in your dream?” she asked.

  “It had to be you. It couldn’t be anyone else. The girl moved so fast the shadows could barely keep up with her,” he said, unwittingly slicing Emily’s insides as if with a knife. “Then the leader—I mean I did something, cut a rupture in the air and plunged into it, reappearing right in front of the girl.”