“When I realized the severity of things and what we might be fighting for and who we are fighting against, I felt that my feelings for you were obviously getting in the way of my ability to act with any sense.” I was scanning his eyes to see if any of the hurt that I was spewing on him was reflected. There was no such look.
“I actually thought about trying to stay away from you.” I whispered.
“Ana, you’re my angel. Remember that, regardless of who or what tries to separate us. You could do no wrong. Besides, I’m pretty irresistible. I don’t think you could have stayed away no matter how hard you tried.” My heart completely melted. How could he be so understanding and so very forgiving –and so completely correct?
Athen’s hand wrapped around my back as we headed back to our room. Before I knew it, he scooped me up and brought me through the doors leading into our hotel room where he laid me down ever so gently. Bringing his lips closer to mine, I felt the warm, softness glide along my own, parting only slightly as he began kissing with a passion that was uncontrolled and brilliant.
We had nothing left to lose - our inhibitions were gone. I had no more secrets bottled up. We had been separated for decades, only to come together briefly again, before being separated yet again, and in all that time, we never lost sight of one another, even if it was on another level of consciousness. We knew deep within our souls that we were not whole until we had one another in each other’s embrace.
As the comforter slid off the bed, I felt for the edge of his shirt to pull off as fast as I could. The beauty of his body was purely magnificent as he fell back on me, sending me to an utterly glorious place in heaven. I no longer needed to worry about the outsiders who had so often frequented my mind. Athen was mine and I was his. We were meant to be one for all eternity.
Chapter 31
I’d been avoiding Athen all morning. We were back at our home in Victoria. Cyril and Arie did an amazing job cleaning everything up for us, but the thanks we gave them over and over was about to be blown away into a million pieces, knowing that I’d seen visions that were going to disrupt our entire family. The most horrifying images had woken me up time and time again. I didn’t want to believe any of the dreams, but they were all so real. I’d learned my lesson once already to not ignore these dreams. I knew deep inside I had to take them seriously. What it meant for the future of our family, I didn’t know, but I had to voice them to Athen. He had to know.
I was out at the bakery closest to our home trying to gather up enough courage to tell Athen what my visions had shown me and, maybe, soften the blows by bringing home croissants for us to share as I was telling him things that I didn’t think possible.
After I was through my second Americano, I knew I had to go home and face what was before me. Grabbing the brown paper bag containing our breakfast, I took a deep breath and pushed through the door letting the bell signal my exit.
I somehow managed to appear at our front door. The spring wreath did its best attempt at making my mood lift a tad. I wasn’t sure if I should go in and just start telling Athen or maybe divert his attention first by way of a croissant. I hoped that as soon as I opened the door, the answers would come, and they did. Cyril and Arie were not home.
“There is something I need to tell you …” I felt faint knowing the words I was about to utter could possibly change our family dynamics forever, and they could be wrong – my words could be wrong, but if they weren’t, they needed to be said.
“I think Arie was tapped into something in Cyril that she didn’t even realize.” I could barely speak the words.
Athen’s striking green eyes searched mine for answers, and I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to have enough info to completely stop the destruction. I didn’t want to believe that one of us could be tricked into turning against what we believed in.
“You’ve got to tell me, Ana.” I knew he was right, but I didn’t want to believe the images that woke me up the night before were true. There was no way one of us would purposefully betray any of us, but I saw it. Not knowing if it had already happened or was about to, I knew I had to tell Athen everything.
“It’s Cyril - he was approached by Azazel, and he didn’t make the decision I thought he would.”
“What are you saying? That he went to the other side? Are you joking?” My worst fear was beginning to happen. The rift was already beginning. The thought that our family could be broken apart made me ill, and I didn’t want to believe it either.
I looked up at Athen seeing the pain deep within his eyes. A coldness crept over the lenses as he looked back down at me. I knew the coldness wasn’t directed at me. He was beginning to build the same emotional wall against Cyril that I’d attempted when I thought I should distance myself from Athen. Athen grabbed my hand and pulled me towards him. I felt the comfort of his arms, something I needed now more than he ever knew.
“It’s true isn’t it?” He asked.
I didn’t need to answer. My tears said everything.
Our croissants stayed untouched on the coffee table as we impatiently waited for Cyril and Arie. We both knew the best thing to do was get it out in the open. My mind began wandering back to what Arie was trying to tell me earlier. Could she have sensed it before I did? Does Cyril know?
The living room door opened to Cyril and Arie laughing as Cyril’s arms were full carrying more bags of whatever else she could find to buy. The lightness of the moment was something I wanted to inhale in and never lose because I knew what we were about to discuss was going to change everything, possibly forever and in our world that was a very long time.
Athen and I obviously didn’t do a good job of hiding what was going on. Their laughter stopped as soon as they saw our faces. Cyril placed the bags on the floor, and they came into the living room for a discussion I never thought possible.
***
“It’s too dangerous to stay together. I didn’t think I’d ever be saying that again, but it looks like that time has come.” Cyril announced. He was taking this as seriously as the rest of us. I wasn’t sure if that made me more nervous or less. I guess I was hoping for him to completely deny that anything like that could happen, but that’s not what I got.
Athen grabbed my hand. I knew this was hard on him too. He was so worried about his sister, especially with the visions I told him about, but this was our best shot. We had to divide and conquer and try to thwart whatever might happen with Cyril. I didn’t want to believe my visions, but with my track record, I knew I had to tell Athen. I hoped with all of my heart that he would tell me that what I saw was impossible and persuade me that it was rubbish. Unfortunately, that wasn’t what happened at all. Instead, we came up with a plan to switch things up a little bit. We weren’t going to let Cyril be taken to the other side.
Arie nodded her head. With as dizzy as she may seem sometimes, she had a strength about her that I hoped to emulate one day. She wasn’t just the bubbly, fun loving girl I loved so much. She knew when to turn it on and off. Right now she was all business. Cyril was pacing back and forth, confusing Matilda who wanted to follow his footsteps which, any other day, would make me chuckle. Instead, I focused my gaze on Athen.
“We were thinking that maybe we should split up between Kingston and Whistler. Ana and I don’t have a preference as to which one we should go to. You guys tell us.”
“I’m thinking, we’ll go up to Whistler. I don’t think there is a right answer to this one.” Cyril said, the anger building in his voice.
He didn’t want to believe my visions anymore than any of the rest of us, but I think deep inside he actually believed it more than any of us, which was scary. I wasn’t sure what gave me that vibe, but I knew it to be true. Things could turn very dark for our family if there was even an ounce of truth to my premonition.
“Well, I think this house, and Victoria has seen enough action to last a lifetime. I’m ready to get a move on it. The sooner the better to get this crap over with.” Cyril shoved a magazine
off the shelf closest to him and headed down the hall. This was a side I hadn’t seen before. Searching Arie’s eyes, I knew this wasn’t a side of Cyril she had experienced either.
“It’s gonna be okay, Arie. I know we can make this go away. I’m sure I’m wrong, but better to be safe than sorry, right?” I searched her eyes for forgiveness. Guilt was coming at me from every direction. I felt responsible for creating this new Cyril. What if my images were all wrong, and I put us all through this for nothing?
“Yeah? Well, what if you didn’t tell us, and we weren’t prepared. What if they are correct? Imagine if we experienced the ending to this scenario because you didn’t want to mention it?” Athen replied to my thoughts aloud. I totally forgot to shut him out of my mind with all of the drama surrounding Cyril, but was kind of grateful he heard my thoughts. He made me feel a little better.
“I know. Believe me, I know. But there is a part of me that wonders if I’m wrong.”
Arie walked over and sat next to me on the couch, hugging me as I began to feel my eyes fill with tears.
“You did the right thing by telling Athen. Really - it’s just a lot for us, any of us, to handle. Don’t blame Cyril. I can’t imagine what he must be going through. Knowing he could never commit such an atrocity, yet having just enough doubt creep in to shake everything you believe in? This isn’t his fault, and this isn’t your fault, Ana. We’ll make it through this.” Her hand reached for mine, squeezing it. “Azazel will not get to him. I guarantee it.”
“Thanks.” Was all I could utter.
***
None of us had that much to pack so we were done pretty quickly. It felt odd knowing that we would be leaving this house in separate directions. It was hard to comprehend us as two separate pairs, preparing for a fight that we knew nothing about. Arie had reached out to all of our friends, and to none of our surprise, they all saw the Legions’ activity strengthen in their regions. It was clear that we would all be coming together at some point for a battle, but none of us knew exactly when. We were all too busy trying to get our loved ones back or help squash the little uprisings that the Legions had begun starting with the humans to worry about when the main battle was going to begin.
I was thinking back to all of the road trips we had taken with Cyril and Arie and the happy times those always brought. Whether we were driving from Whistler to Seattle or to Kingston with a car full of snacks, pillows, and Matilda stuck in between us all somewhere. Now, we are all leaving each other, hoping for the best and preparing for the worst. Matilda was jumping up on her hind legs, resting her front paws on my leg, hoping for any sort of scratch on her head or an ear tickle. I was secretly relieved that she was coming with us. After being without her, when Athen was gone, it had made me become even more attached to the little girl.
Our goal was to be down to Kingston before sunset, and at this rate, we would be very lucky to achieve that. None of us really wanted to say goodbye. Athen made the first move, by loading the last bag into the Jeep and setting Matilda inside.
“Alright, man.” Athen said, grabbing Cyril. “Keep an eye on my sister. She tends to get herself in trouble when we aren’t all together.”
Cyril obviously appreciated Athen’s lighthearted goodbye as he let go of Athen and nodded.
“You got it, man, but you’ve got the klutz. You should be more worried about her.”
“Alright, I’m happy everyone is able to feel better about things at my expense but come on! I’m not that bad. Especially lately, right? You’ve seen my moves recently. Pretty impressive right?” I almost didn’t want to hear the answer, because I thought I’d actually been doing pretty well; all things considered. Granted, I did have a shapeshifting accident, but that could happen to anyone.
“Yeah, Cy. You got me there.” He rubbed my shoulders as if that would make me feel better versus his words as we all left our home in Victoria to go our separate ways.
***
I woke up in a dead panic. I hadn’t felt this level of fear for quite sometime. Athen shot up in bed beside me, flipping on the lamp next on his bedside table. We had only been in Kingston a short time.
“What’s wrong, sweetie?” His eyes were full of concern. “Did they get to Cyril?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s something else. They’ve started something else.” My fingers were running along my temples. My head was pounding. I wasn’t certain of what I saw, but the images were beyond terrifying.
“Who has started?” Athen already knew the answer since he was getting out of bed, heading for the phone. “Fill me in.”
“They’re lighting fires.” I ignored his question. I couldn’t help it as a lump began to form in my throat. “Surrounding Whistler.”
Athen had already dialed Arie’s number. We thought we had made it through the biggest hurdle with Cyril, not realizing more was to come so quickly.
“What did you see, Ana? Give me all the details you can.” Athen was waiting for his sister to pick up.
I’d already grabbed my notebook and begun writing. I liked to keep track of things since I was still learning the ins and outs of everything. Trying to write in words and condense the images that had haunted me minutes before seemed almost impossible.
“Yeah, hey.” Athen began. “Ana’s visions led her somewhere pretty horrible. Here she is.” I stared at him not really wanting to take the phone.
“Hi, Arie. So fire is going to be their main weapon, and it’s directed where you guys are. They are going to attack Whistler.” I let my mind wander to what I’d dreamed minutes earlier, doing my best to let the images reach Athen, Cyril, and Arie. I felt the images would speak louder than anything I could relay in words.
Closing my eyes, left me with the latest images I was attempting to place in their minds, those of the streaks of fire streaming down from the sky. No one would see it coming. Humans would think it nothing more than lightning strikes or human error with a campsite. Unfortunately, those were events that can be handled pretty simply in the scheme of things. There can be an end to those kinds of flames. What I didn’t see with these images was any sort of immediate end to these events unless we stopped them. Every time one fire was extinguished, it looked as if the demons had started another, trapping everyone up in Whistler. The images formed of the beautiful, thick forests being turned into charred remnants of sticks and twigs. Thick smoke was filling up the beautiful skies, confusion setting in for the tourists and residents of the most quaint village the Northwest had to offer. I did my best to shut off the images before letting them all escape. There were some I couldn’t let them see. I didn’t want to believe them.
“So, I think you guys need to leave.” Was all that escaped over the phone as the last of the images found their way into them. “Now.”
“Ana, we can’t leave everyone up here. We’ve got to help. As soon as I hang up, I’m gonna let everyone know. We have to stay, you guys. We can’t leave.”
Unfortunately, Athen and I already knew they would say that. It would be so much easier to think that they would be self-serving first, but of course, they weren’t. Athen took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. It must have been loud enough for Arie to hear because she uttered something quickly into the phone, I almost didn’t catch before she hung up on us.
“Guys, we’ll be fine. We’ll call you after we contact everyone up here.” Hanging up the phone, Athen wrapped his arms around me but not before whispering quietly into my ear.
“Why don’t you tell me the images you didn’t want any of us to see, sweetie?”
Chapter 32
Cyril, Arie, and the entire Whistler community were cut off from all contact. The forest fires had begun. Of course, everyone thought it was the unusually dry spring, and the lightning strikes. If only it was so simple.
We were glued to the news, but truthfully, we were able to get more information directly from Cyril and Arie who were constantly communicating to us. The demons’ attempt to cut off Whistler from aid was a su
ccess. The hillsides were either a charred mess of ash or brilliant new flames that the demons had set ablaze. It was an absolutely sickening sight. The beautiful wildflowers, which had only barely begun to bloom, were now fighting with fleeing animals, flames, and firefighters to maintain their beauty.
Miraculously, there had been no casualties, yet. Unfortunately, that could change in an instant, and we all knew that. Cyril and Arie were meeting nonstop with all our fellow counterparts in Whistler trying to gauge damage and next steps. The flames hadn’t gotten to the village but rather had cut the town off completely from help. The smoke was too thick for air support. Help was working its way up from the backside and the upper mountain to get the flames to a manageable level, but unfortunately, the demons were laying in wait to start them up again.
I felt completely helpless and was completely riddled with guilt. If I hadn’t told anyone about the dreams I’d been having, none of us would have separated, and we would all still be together.
Athen flipped off the television and slid the remote across the table at me.
“I think I’ve had enough for the moment. Between the reports from Cyril and Arie and that, I don’t think I can do it for another second.”
“Why won’t they just leave?” Knowing the answer already, I wasn’t sure why I asked it.
“Listen, I’m just as worried about them as you are, but to your point, they can get out of there if they need to. They just don’t want to leave all of those humans. I think they feel they can somehow stop this before it takes any human lives.”
“Do you believe that?” I asked Athen.
He reached for my hand across the table. His was cold as ice.
“If anyone can pull off something like that, they can… But they are going to need our help.”
I nodded knowing that it was only a matter of time before Cyril and Arie were going to call us up there. They had been working with the other families up there, figuring out what method would work best to evacuate the humans if needed or put an end to the flames. As of now, neither alternative seemed very plausible. Then again, I hadn’t been exposed to this type of thing recently.
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