by Simone Pond
He went over to the shower and turned the knobs. My heart did a mini-flip. Was he going to take a shower right in front of me?
“Get cleaned up. I’ll set out some fresh clothes for you,” he said. “I’m gonna get my main cadre over here.”
He shut the door to the bathroom and I didn’t waste a second ripping off my filthy clothes and getting into that glorious steaming hot water. I scrubbed the grime from my skin and hair. Soon, I started feeling like a woman again and no longer like a river rat. But in the solitude of the moment, the gravity of the prophecy began to weigh heavily on me. I couldn’t enjoy the shower anymore, so I got out and dried off.
After I changed into the clean clothes, I sat on one of the beds and my thoughts began to race. Then the vision hit me again. Get to him … whatever that meant … you will lead them back home … I was starting to feel overwhelmed.
“What’s going on?” Matthias asked.
“I have no clue what I’m doing,” I said.
“Nope. Not gonna let you go there, Temple.” He pulled me off the bed. “Come out and meet my crew. I made some eggs and potatoes. You’ll feel better after you eat.”
I walked with him to the kitchen. “Thanks.”
“If it means dismantling the right-bank council of Oligarchs and freeing my people, I’ll do whatever it takes.” He paused. “Wait, that’s not what I meant.”
I laughed and kissed his cheek. “It’s okay. I get it.”
He pulled me closer. “Mmm, you smell nice …”
I yanked myself away and walked ahead of him. “Time to focus, friend.”
CHAPTER 23
In the kitchen, I was greeted by four of Matthias’s people: two guys and two gals. One of the girls looked like a left-bank shop girl in a casual dress and a lavender cardigan. The other looked like a cage fighter, but with a face as delicate as a cherubim and snow-white hair. I didn’t know what she was until I shook her hand and felt her blissful energy dance up my arm.
“I haven’t seen a healer in a long time,” I said, smiling. “I’m Jordan Temple.”
“CeeCee Fairwell. From Alexandria. Honor to meet you. Your mother was a hero in my city.”
My mother … My heart sagged in my chest as images of my dear, kind mother flashed across my mind. I quickly pushed her from my thoughts. The heartbreak was too much.
CeeCee must’ve sensed my unease because she continued, “Charity Bachar was a fine woman. Things went downhill after she left. They brought back the days of the gladiators. Put me in a cage and forced me to fight because I could heal every time I came to near death. Took a while, but I finally escaped.”
CeeCee’s ethereal face evoked in me a deep compassion.
“I’m Benjamin.” A tall fellow with dark skin and light green eyes gave me a sturdy shake. “Shifter extraordinaire.”
“Ha! Only you can’t shift for shit,” said the pretty shop girl in the cardigan, slapping Benjamin’s broad shoulder.
“She’s got a mouth on her,” Benjamin said.
“I’m Chloe. I have the power of prophecy. Used to work in one of those ritzy shops on the right bank, telling fortunes to your people. Thank the Ancient One I got out of that game. Just awful. Wasn’t it, Matthias?” She glanced over at Matthias, her ice blue eyes gleaming. She was going to be a problem.
He ignored her comment and nudged the last of the four. “This is Levi,” he said.
The lanky fellow looked familiar. “I know you,” I said.
He shrugged. “I work on the right bank at a coffee shop. Maybe from there?”
An image crossed my thoughts—Levi standing on top of the counter at the coffee shop, firing away at the horde of slithering snakes that the terrorist mage had unleashed. My first covert “assignment” from Magnus.
“You saved a bunch of people from that terrorist mage attack,” I said.
“Yeah, I’m good with weapons,” he said with a humble nod.
“You know that whole thing was arranged by Counselor Magnus, right?” I said to the group.
“Yeah, no shit,” Chloe said in a snotty tone.
I raised my brows. Yep. Chloe was definitely going to be a problem.
“Why don’t we let Jordan eat, then we can start talking about next steps,” Matthias suggested, ushering the group out into the living room.
I sat on one of the stools and scooped up the eggs and potatoes like someone who hadn’t eaten in two days. Matthias had also made coffee, which was a delightful surprise. I drank the first cup to stay awake. The second cup was for pure pleasure. When I finished, I got up and joined the others on the leather couches, picking a spot next to CeeCee.
“So, I don’t know how much Matthias has told you about me, but I just found out I’m the Chosen One two days ago. To say I’m not prepared is an understatement. I never got the Chosen One Handbook.” I was trying to keep things light and jovial before diving into a full-blown plan. Or maybe I was just stalling.
“Stalling,” Chloe chirped.
I grinned at her politely, though I would’ve preferred slapping her. “Maybe I am. But honestly, I don’t know what to do. We just left Mysterium. Now I’m supposed to walk back in and round up a bunch of people and tell them to leave with me? That’s makes no sense.”
Chloe smiled and flipped her blond hair over her shoulder. “Sweetie, that’s where I come in.”
Matthias intervened. “Chloe will see what we’re supposed to do next. We follow those instructions.”
I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “Yeah, but who does she get her instructions from?” I asked Matthias, ignoring Chloe.
She stood up with her hands perched on her hips. “You don’t know anything about us, you privileged right-banker.”
Rage ignited inside me and instead of tamping it down, I let it rise to the surface. I stood up. “Excuse me?”
“You might be the Chosen One, but that doesn’t mean we have to bow down to you,” Chloe said.
What was she talking about? Bow down? I laughed under my breath, then stepped forward and lowered myself into a most graceful and sarcastic curtsy.
Benjamin let out a loud laugh, CeeCee contained a smirk, and Levi stayed quiet.
“You bitch!” Chloe said.
Matthias went over to her. “You need to chill.”
“She is so not cool.” She glared at me.
“You should’ve seen what I really wanted to do,” I said.
“You know what,” Chloe said, “I’m going to take a nap. We can chat later, ’kay?”
“Chloe.” Matthias trailed after her to the bedroom, but she waved him away. He came back to the couches and shook his head at me. “While she’s cooling off, I’m gonna secure some ships for passage. Why don’t you and CeeCee get acquainted.”
She got up with a grunt. “Come on, CO. I want to see what’s going on in that mind of yours. You’re all over the place.”
I followed the mass of lean muscles to the exercise and training area.
CeeCee sat down on a mat and told me to sit across from her.
“Staring contest,” she said.
“What?” I asked.
“Just keep your eyes on mine.”
We sat there, our eyes locked on one another’s. Then I felt it, a wave of pressure funneling into my mind. My thoughts darted from one to the next. She was right, I was all over the place.
“Close your eyes,” she said.
“Really?”
“Close ’em,” she repeated. “Now, slow down your breathing.”
I took one long inhale and held it, released it slowly, then repeated this until finally my body relaxed. The funnel of pressure in my mind began to spread, engulfing my entire being. It was like floating in warm water. Whatever she was doing, it felt fantastic.
“Are you Jordan Temple?” CeeCee’s voice was smooth like honey.
“Mm hmm …”
“Do you believe the Ancient One has chosen you?”
“Yes,” I murmured.
“Do you know
what you must do?”
Part of my mind resisted where she wanted me to go, but my soul knew the truth.
“Yes. But I don’t know how I’m going to do it,” I said.
She waited, like I was supposed to say something more, but I didn’t know what … I could only hear the sound of my drumming heartbeat and my deep inhale, then exhale. The blackness of my eyelids shifted to a veil of light, like the sunrise easing up over the Elin River. And through the silence of that moment, a still, soft voice spoke to me.
Trust me.
“I’m to trust the Ancient One. To stop resisting the truth and become who I really am,” I said.
CeeCee placed her calm hands onto each of my shoulders and a wave of peace unlike anything I had ever felt rested over my body. Then my eyes shot open as I released a gust of breath; with it flew a cloud of black smoke that she captured in her hand.
“I restrain the power of this darkness and banish it in the name of the Ancient One!” CeeCee’s voice thundered through the warehouse and she clapped her hands together, dispelling the black cloud into nothingness.
I stood up almost too fast and felt like I could smash through the ceiling. I felt light but strong. Clean and clear-headed.
“You’ve had an inhibitor spirit attached to you. They’re like limiters that cap how much you can know and see, especially spiritually. The closer you get to the truth, the harder they work to keep you in the dark. You nearly had yours beaten on your own. I was just the cleanup.”
“Thank you!” I said.
“My pleasure.”
“I am of Ancient blood,” I announced with pride.
“And you are the Chosen One, called forth to lead the Ancients to freedom.” CeeCee smiled and sunshine sparkled through the warehouse.
Chloe lurked by one of the partitions, watching me with an eerie curiosity in her ice blue eyes. She approached and cocked her head.
“What is it, Chloe?” CeeCee broke the strained silence.
“I’m just trying to see it,” Chloe said, observing me.
“Not gonna bite, Chloe. I’m feeling pretty good.” I headed to where Matthias and Levi were stationed in front of a hologram monitor of streaming code.
“Yeah, I just don’t see the resemblance to him,” Chloe said.
Go to him … I stopped and turned around. “Resemblance to who?”
“The Old Man.” She lifted her eyebrows defiantly.
The girl certainly knew how to push my buttons. A kernel of anger stirred, but I deeply inhaled to keep myself in check.
“You don’t know who I’m talking about, do you?” she taunted.
“What’s your problem?” I said.
“Tsk, tsk. Temper, temper, Chosen One …”
Never in all of my years of dealing with the parade of right-bank, high-society debutants had I felt such annoyance as I had in Chloe’s presence.
“What do you want from me, Chloe?” I said in a steady voice.
“Just testing to see what you’re made of. I’m not putting my life in the hands of some temperamental, wishy-washy right-banker.” She adjusted her cardigan and smoothed out her glossy blond hair.
“I’m with you guys. Can’t you see that? I mean, literally—can’t you see that I’m the Chosen One?”
Chloe’s face softened. “Yes. But it’s not that black and white. And the information comes in pieces,” she explained.
“Just tell me about the Old Man,” I said.
“You’ve really never heard of the Old Man?” she asked.
I shook my head. “New to this, remember …”
“He’s the only Ancient who’s still able to converse directly with the Ancient One. In my vision, I saw us taking you to him.”
“Okay … but what did you mean by resemblance?” I asked.
“Oh, he’s your pops,” she said.
CHAPTER 24
“My father is alive? How?” I asked.
“Your father, John Temple, knew you had powerful magic. He was fleeing Mysterium with you,” Chloe said. “Getting you away before they injected you with that poison.”
I sat on a stool in the kitchen, drinking down one glass of water after another. My insides felt parched, my throat as dry as sandpaper.
“Where was my mother?” I asked.
“Gone. She died giving birth to you. Your magic was too strong.” Chloe delivered this information with such apathy I almost stopped her right there, but I had to know the rest.
“Continue,” I said.
“John Temple had warned the Ancients what was coming. He knew because he was a close advisor and even a friend to Prime Master Bachar. He helped keep peaceful relations between the left and right banks. The Prime Master had told him in great secrecy of Counselor Magnus’s plans with the vaccine and the water supply. He told your father to pack his bags and get out of Mysterium as quickly as possible.”
My stomach was full from all the water I’d been pounding. The others had gathered around the kitchen counter to hear the story of the Old Man—my father, John Temple. Chloe stopped to take out a nail file and started giving herself a manicure. I kept quiet, knowing she was only trying to provoke me. I could wait. I’d waited twenty-two years; what was another few minutes?
“Well, go on!” Benjamin shook the counter.
“Chill, spaz-ass. I’m holding a sharp object,” Chloe said, picking up her nail file from where it had fallen.
“Please, Chloe, just tell the rest,” Matthias said.
She languidly began doing her nails again. We sat patiently, watching her in stillness.
Finally, she continued speaking. “After the Prime Master gave him the heads-up, John went back to the left bank and warned whoever he could. He told them all to leave. But the people didn’t believe him because they didn’t want to imagine something so horrible. And when the right-bank authorities started arresting anyone talking conspiracy about the virus and the vaccine, most Ancients avoided John Temple like a plague. There was a group of zealots on the left bank—you call them terrorist mages on the right bank—who begged your father to kill Prime Master Bachar and to save the Ancients, but he couldn’t do it. So he packed up and left with you, Jordan.”
I held up my hand to pause the story. “Why wouldn’t he kill Bachar?”
“I didn’t say wouldn’t, I said couldn’t. And that’s something you’ll have to ask your pops when we go to him.” Chloe worked a cuticle.
I was not sure how any explanation could excuse the mass murder of innocent children, or the enslavement of an entire race of people.
“So,” Chloe said, “your father drove out of Mysterium with you in the passenger seat. It was late at night and he didn’t know where he was going. He was following the guiding star. The same one that all Ancients follow. Anyway, about a hundred miles outside the city, Counselor Magnus appears in the middle of the road. Your father drove right through him. A trick. An illusion. Magnus played with his mind for miles. Until finally your father grew weak. That’s when Magnus sent forth an eruption of flames that blasted the car sky-high. The vehicle came crashing onto the cement road upside-down, crushing the roof flat. There was no chance for survival.”
A memory flashed over me … a man reaching for me as we soared high above the treetops in a screeching storm of fire. His strong arms wrapped around my small body as he cradled me safely against his chest. I remembered a cat, too—an orange tabby, meowing loudly as we tumbled upwards in slow motion. The stars twinkled like drops of water across the night sky. Then in an abrupt flash, the car flipped over and came crashing down. Before we hit the ground, something happened … The entire front seat filled up with a radiant but incandescent violet blister of light. It was my magic wrapping around my father and me—and that orange tabby—protecting us from the thunderous crash-landing onto the pavement. His arms were limp around me, but he was still alive. The cat meowed and crawled out of the small opening, then meowed again for me to follow. I squeezed out of the car and made it onto the road. A
nd that’s all I could remember.
“My magic saved us,” I said to the group.
“Yep,” Chloe replied. “And when Charity Bachar was on her way to Alexandria, she found you wandering along the road. She had her people search the area around the car wreck for any other survivors or victims, but they found no one. She decided to take you with her to Alexandria and raise you as her own daughter.”
“So what happened to my father?” I asked.
“The Ancient One led the left-bank zealots to him, and they brought him here to the Madlands, where he’s been in hiding for the last twenty-two years.” Chloe put away her manicure kit and zipped up her purse.
The story had come full circle.
CHAPTER 25
The guys started filling bags with water bottles and handguns for our trek to the Red Mountains where the Old Man—my father—resided. In a cave. It sounded so … archaic. Or like some mythical folklore: The Old Man in the Cave. I’m guessing he preferred seclusion over depravity. Based on my brief tour of the Madlands, I couldn’t fault him for that.
We left the warehouse during daylight, briskly cutting through the city streets and making our way to the western outskirts, where the desolate drylands stretched. Large industrial drug-making factories gave way to skeletal remains of old ghost towns, which then succumbed to rocky desert and sand. Benjamin led the pack with Levi steadying the rear; both of them had machine guns strapped around their shoulders. The hot desert sun was unforgiving, sapping every drop of moisture from my body. I ruminated in silence. About potential attacks. The prophecy. Magnus. And of course, my father. I was on my way to “meet” him after all this time. Weird. I really hadn’t thought about him at all in any sense my entire life because nobody had ever mentioned him. I was just a little girl found on the side of the road whose father was a ghost. That was my story. And now I was about to meet this ghost.
The sun was getting low behind the jagged range by the time we reached the foothills of the Red Mountains. Spectacular halos of purple and red layered the horizon. I stopped a moment to take it in, wishing I wasn’t so damn nervous.
