by c a king
Mike noticed a boy sitting alone at the table in the corner. He was looking at various books, but never seemed to open any and didn't appear to be concerned at all. He nudged William and motioned in that direction. Everyone turned to look at the boy.
“Nathan,” Diana said. “Are you alright? I know you and Willow were close.”
“Yes Gran I am fine, and she will be too,” he answered. “It's in the book.”
“Which book? What do you mean?” Mike asked.
“'The Portal Prophecies',” Nathan answered. “Prophecy number twenty-three, although I don't think they are in any particular order.”
Diana walked over and picked up the book. She rubbed the cover as if for luck and then opened it flipping the pages to the exact prediction her grandson had spoken of and read it out loud.
' A race forgotten shall appear again, in need of intervention
one soul so pure shall see the cause and alter what could be,
devastation averted, a world now saved,
one life shall be the reward, within it's mind a soul has been lost
and another shall fall to slumber, the signs on doors to show the way,
with rest and time life shall renew and mind shall mend
all shall emerge with questions answered
life preserved and new hope granted.'
“Once you figure out the wording you can see it applies to what happened today. Problem is figuring out what they all mean before they come true. That might be difficult. It is something we should work on though. Some of the stuff in there sounds pretty bad so if we could avoid them happening it would be beneficial,” Nathan said.
“Problem with prophecies are the future isn't set in stone. They guide you as to what could happen, but we don't know if something we do causes them to happen or stops it. Not an exact science,” Clairity said chewing on her finger nail.
“The ones who wrote this book felt these particular predictions would be something needed in the future. They were insistent that I record them for them. No explanations, just that one day it would be important. They are the only prophecies our world ever recorded,” Diana added.
“You didn't ask what they meant?” Mike asked.
“No, it was before the war. I was just a book maker. It was my job. There was no reason for me to ask.” Diana rubbed her arms as if she were cold, although there was no chill and a fire was raging in the fireplace.
William flipped through the book. “There are a lot of prophecies in here. Do we know if any of them have happened already? Ones that we can...cross off the list?”
“We know the one about leaving our home world happened. It's how we got here. Willow deciphered it.” Diana took the book and flipped the pages again then read out loud the passage.
“When the blue flames engulf the land,
only one whose will is steadied by that discovered
can break that which is set in stone to escape.”
She handed the large book back to the guard, who examined the page. “From that she figured out how to open a portal?” he asked.
“No, there were other things too, like our dreams. They were about the last minutes on our world. Everything was the same except, in the dreams, there was a massive storm over the forest...and I think she mentioned another prophecy. I don't know where she heard about it, but it was about her. Something about being different from birth and needing to figure things out for herself.” Ashlyn had been withdrawn through the whole meeting, as if thinking. “Maybe I could contact her. If she is asleep I mean, in her dreams...make sure she is okay.”
“We aren't sure she is asleep at the moment. If we sedate her...it's an option we are willing to discuss.” William looked around the room for any reaction from the others.
“Is that dangerous?” Diana asked.
“We don't know, but we do know if she seems in pain we will have to induce sleep to calm her.”
“You should make her sleep, the prophecy says so. It is the only way!” Nathan exclaimed not believing they were discussing this. He headed for the door.
“Slow down dude,” Mike said grabbing the boy. “The doctor is running some tests first. We will have the results soon. Aslo and Kiera are watching her. If she looks stressed they will make sure she is sedated. Okay?”
Nathan nodded and sat down again.
“So Nathan, Diana...you two should head up a team to try and figure out some of the prophecies. Look for patterns, or indications of something that could be happening at the moment or in the near future first. There are too many to do every single one at once. Eventually we will need to know them all though. Pick a team to help you...and call a meeting when you have anything to brief us on. Sarah, you continue working on the maps and location of missing stones for portals. I would sleep a lot better if we had them in our possession. Work in shifts so everyone gets some rest and we have fresh eyes. Anyone not on a team please head to bed, tomorrow we start training for your abilities and self defence.” William rubbed the stubble growing on his face. It had been a couple days since he had any time to shave. Looking around the room he could see several of the other men were in the same position. It's definitely going to be a long haul this time he thought to himself.
He motioned to Ashlyn and Mike to join him and the three headed back over to the medical centre. There had been no change in Willow's condition and the test results weren't back yet. Suddenly her body began to shake and twitch. Aslo jumped up, eyes widened and focused on the red headed girl.
“She is in pain,” the guardian said. “She needs sedation now. There is no time to wait for test results. You have to trust me. She must sleep.”
The medical team had seen enough strange things happen in their time at the camp, that they knew better than to argue with a talking cat, who might one day be the only thing standing between their world as it is and complete destruction. They prepared a sedative to make Willow sleep.
Ashlyn lay down in the bed beside her friend. “Could I have a light sedative so I can try to reach Willow in her dreams?” she asked.
Ashlyn had only discovered in the past few weeks she had the gift of dream walker and was still experimenting with what that meant. She knew she could call someone close to her into her dreams if she was emotional, especially scared, although so far she had only contacted her mother. Willow had been able to call her for help once as well. They had shared the same dream, a foretelling of the devastation of their home world. She wasn't exactly sure if she could enter her friend's dreams or not yet. This would be a completely new experience, but she had to try.
Mary handed a tiny white pill to Ashlyn. “This will only help you fall asleep. You will be able to wake up if necessary within a couple of hours.
Richard had already given some form of medication to Willow through what he called a needle. Ashlyn heard them say her heart rate and blood pressure was already returning to normal levels and she showed no more signs of pain or stress. 'Time to go in,' Ashlyn thought to herself as she swallowed the pill. Her body flopped back on the bed. She was worried her nervousness might hinder her ability to sleep and was considering other ways to help relax enough to drift off. When she opened her eyes everything was white for as far as she could see.
She was asleep. Now to find Willow. She called to her a few times concentrating as hard as she could on her friend, how she looked, how she talked. Looking around, the room was white, the walls were white, her dress was white. She mused at how her hair had just chosen its final colour in the last two weeks and it too was white, although with pastel pink streaks. It was perfectly straight and hung down just above her shoulders, except for bangs which covered her forehead. She was happy that it no longer changed colour with her moods as was the case with all the girls under sixteen cycles from her homeland. Her hair colour now highlighted her facial features perfectly. She was petite with grey eyes so light they were almost silver colour, a small nose, perfectly pink cheeks and small red lips.
Walking forwar
d, she noticed up ahead closed doors were forming before her eyes, hundreds of them. She began turning knobs, but every one she tried was locked. Frustration set in. She ran frantically from door to door trying to find one she could open, but none would. After about thirty doors, she stopped. Bending over at the waist, she gasped for air. Slowly her red flushed face returned to normal and her heart rate slowed. 'Now what?' she asked herself knowing there would be no answer. She was at a loss. How was she supposed to know which door led to her friend? Her small framed body slid to the ground and she pulled her knees to her chest. She sighed. Tilting her head upwards, something caught her attention. Getting up, she moved close to the door in front of her. There on the knob was a green gem, a jade. The prophecy had told her what to do.
Of course she thought, each door had a sign on them as to who was behind the door. Something that spoke to her, that she could understand. There would be a door for everyone she knew who was currently sleeping. Unfortunately that was most of the camp, so she would have a lot of doors to examine to find the one that led to Willow.
After examining several doors, she came across one with a black bird on the handle. 'I wonder,' she thought, 'maybe'...she turned the door knob and it opened. Stepping through Ashlyn found herself in another white room with a single door in it. On the floor was a black bird.
“Are you trying to go through there?” Ashlyn asked.
“I can't. Someone has to open the door and let me through,” the bird answered. “It's the door you are looking for. You can help her. Don't leave her alone. She needs someone to protect her.”
Ashlyn moved closer to the door and examined the symbols on the handle. They were changing so fast she couldn't make out what any of them were.
“What does this mean?” she asked pointing to the signs.
“The girl is someone to whom everything and nothing applies. She chooses her own path and then can create it. A strength which until now has never been seen. It is unclear how far she can stretch the reality the rest of us are bound to.”
Ashlyn reached for the handle and was shocked when it turned easily. She opened it slowly and turned back to the bird still standing behind her as if she wanted to ask a question.
“She isn't ready to see me yet. I am here if you need anything. She will need to talk to you about things she has seen...felt. She needs a friend she already knows.”
Ashlyn walked through closing the door behind her. The room she entered was still white without any furniture or anything, except sitting in the middle was Willow, wearing a similar white dress, which made her deep red curly hair stand out and her skin tone look darker than normal.
“Willow!”
The girl in the middle of the room looked up at her with relief written all over her face. “How did you find me?”
“Getting better at this I guess.” Ashlyn smiled. “Are you okay?”
“I saw them...the ones who destroyed our home...they were the same ones who hurt the guardian bird.” The colour quickly disappeared from Willow's face as she thought back to the images she had seen. “I saw their home world, where the others are being held. They have our people and guardians locked up in rooms. They hurt them, torture them. We have to save them.” Her mind wandered to the boy named Lance. She hadn't seen him there but she knew he was a part of that world.
“How? They have an army Willow. We aren't strong enough.”
“I don't know yet, but there has to be a way. We can't leave them and that will be where they took the survivors from the attack on or homeland as well.”
“Did you see them?” Ashlyn asked.
“No, what I saw happened before that. It was what the bird saw and felt. The torture that was inflicted on the poor thing. I thought I was going to die from the pain.”
“I think you almost did. Richard the doctor gave you a sedative so you would sleep. Aslo said that would help you.”
“Ohhhh.” A smile came over Willow's face. “Of course they can't enter my dreams. But, I can't stay asleep forever.”
“I know we are working on it.” Ashlyn thought about telling her friend about what was outside the door she had come through, but decided it was better to wait.
“Did you feel that?” Willow asked standing up to look around.
“Feel what?” Ashlyn began to answer when the room shook like they were in a mini earthquake. “Whoa!” She said putting her arms out to catch her balance.
The room shook again this time harder, then started to change. There was a fireplace and comfortable chairs with a tapestry type rug on the floor. The changes were coming closer and the white room was disappearing. Then appeared a boy. He had blue black hair with bangs that hung down over his piercing blue eyes and he dressed all in black. He smiled at Ashlyn and said, “Sorry private party,” while waving.
Ashlyn felt her body propelling backwards. The door opened, throwing her out before slamming behind her. She could hear Willow scream. Looking up she saw she was on the floor and the bird was looking over her.
“Are you okay? The girl?” it asked her.
“I don't know,” Ashlyn described what had happened during the visit.
“Lance...the boy you described, one of the princes in the world that we are fighting. This is dangerous. You need to open the door again and help her.”
“I can't, he knew I was there. He won't let me back in.” Salty tears cascaded down her pale face kissing her lips.
“Then let me in,” the bird yelled.
Ashlyn looked at it. “I can do that? How?”
“You can do more than you know child, you just haven't tried. This world belongs to you, with practice you can do anything.”
“So the boy, Lance...he is a dream walker too? That is how he made the room?”
“Yes, their whole family has the gift and they have had many years practice,” the bird said. “Just open the door and tell it you are allowing me to enter.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Everything was happening so quickly. One minute Willow was talking to her friend Ashlyn and now here she was standing in a lavish room face to face with the boy from the forest. His piercing blue eyes were staring straight into hers, as if seeing her soul.
“Hello,” he said with a smile. “I was wondering if we would ever meet again. Tell me how did you escape the necrid fire?”
“How...how did you get into my dream? What happened to my friend?” Willow barked.
“How?” he laughed. “You called me here. Actually, seems a little unfair you know my name and I don't know yours.”
Willow realized earlier she had thought of him for a brief moment. “Lance...your name. I was thinking of the forest and what happened. That was enough to call you here?”
“Yes, but how exactly do you know my name?” Lance moved to the back of a chair and rested against it waiting for a reply.
“I heard someone call you in the forest when I was running away,” she said.
“So, back to the beginning, You know my name, but what is yours?” he said.
“Why did you do it? Why did you destroy my home?” Willow asked ignoring the prince's question.
“That is a long story. Why don't you tell me how you escaped?” he asked getting a bit aggravated.
That seemed to be an ongoing theme for her with boys, she aggravated them. Willow's mind turned to a similar conversation she had with Mike. She decided after remembering the duct tape that she needed to come up with an answer for the prince.
“I...don't know,” she answered with a sigh. “I know I was in an accident and a doctor sedated me so I could rest. If you had let my friend stay longer she might have told me more.” She wasn't really lying about that, so even if he had the ability to sense an untruth he wouldn't question what she had just said. She wasn't about to give him more information than she needed to. He may be cute but she wasn't stupid.
“So, where are you?” he asked.
“I...don't know.” Again she wasn't lying, she never asked where exactly s
he was. Thinking back she realized how odd that was, and she also didn't know where her body was either maybe a medical facility of some sort, maybe a room or maybe lying in a field.
“You don't know anything?” he mused.
“My friend...she was trying to see if I was okay. That's why she was here to contact me.” This all not only sounded true, it was all true.
“That sucks.” He moved around and sat in a chair by the fire.
“Your turn,” Willow said moving closer. “Why did you do it?”
“I told you it's a long story.”
“I have nowhere to go,” she answered.
“Okay, well a long time ago there were six ancient races, the serpents, the spiders, the sea creatures, the cats, the birds and a dog type animal. They monitored the world and called themselves guardians. The guardians had...powers, abilities stronger than any other creature alive. They watched over things but their policy was not to get involved in the world, to let other beings live out their lives without influence.”
“Three of races felt things weren't being handled correctly. They split off and decided that to keep things the way they wanted. They confined all worlds, separate from each other, especially locking in serpents, spiders and sea creatures in different places...to ensure their way would not be challenged. They kidnapped people from the stronger realms thinking that would stop any uprisings.”
“The serpents, were the original sleep walkers and contacted different leaders among men, to find one who could help them stop the oppression which was being forced on us all. They chose my father. Together they began working on a way to make the walls between worlds disappear. At first just a small hole was all that could be managed. Knowing how much time it was going to take to complete the task, the serpent leader Apopp sent through a chalice of his venom for the King and Queen, my parents, to drink. It granted them and their family line new abilities and extended life. Now we can create an opening for long enough to enter and search worlds for the rogue guardians and make sure they have nowhere to hide. Our goal is to eradicate them, break down the walls that were put up and ultimately protect all beings from them.”
