The Nysian Prophecy

by M. K. Dawn

  When she looked me straight in the eyes and gave me the most seductive smile I had ever seen, it took everything inside of me not to close those last few inches and find out what it would be like to taste those luscious lips of hers.

  Then she did something I didn't expect, something no woman has ever done before. She broke the trance, put me in my place, and walked away. All this time I thought she was some quiet girl who avoided conflict at all cost. I was wrong. Gods help me, I want her even more, so much so I’m standing here staring at her like an idiot.

  I need to wake the hell up. “Yeah. My orb. It’s a bracelet, thick leather with a stone in the middle. Probably fell off when I was gathering firewood somewhere around here. You start over there, and I’ll start this way, then we can meet in the middle by the fire ring.”

  She walks through the brush kicking fallen branches out of the way, while I do the same towards the left. “Damn thing probably came loose when I ran into you. Sorry about that, by the way. You ran right into the road. It was either me slamming into you or that truck. But seriously, what were you thinking?”

  “I'm not sure the truck hitting me would have hurt any less.” She shoots me a little smile and I laugh. Our eyes connect and she turns away quickly to continue the search. “Someone was chasing me. He came out of nowhere. I thought it was the same guy who followed me to school after I left the mall.”

  “Which guy? The one you were talking about in the bar?”

  “Yeah, I thought he was with you. Talked about how I didn't have any warriors around me, and that my destiny awaits. You know, all the crazy shit you were spouting off. He was dressed like he had just come from a Renaissance fair.”

  “Was he with the group that was just here?”

  “Yeah, he was the really scary one that was ordering everyone around.”

  “Fuck me.” If Wright is using Kakos to track her down in the human realm, things are about to get a whole lot worse.

  “What? Do you know him? He scared the hell out of me that afternoon. Thank the Gods he couldn’t get past the school gates.”

  “His name is Kakos. He’s a mercenary, known for his extreme methods of interrogation. If Wright is using him to track you, then he must know the prophecy is close to being fulfilled and is doing everything in his power to ensure that doesn’t happen.”

  “I'm guessing that’s really bad news for me.”

  She doesn’t know the half of it. Alaina is scared, but not nearly as scared as she should be. “What that means is we need to find my orb and get the hell out of here. I can protect you from a lot of things, but it’s going to take a hell of a lot more than my bad-ass skills to defeat Kakos.”

  “Found it! But it looks like the stone is broken.”

  I jog over and take a look. “It’s not just broken, it’s shattered into at least fifteen pieces. “Shit. That’s not going to work. Well, we better get going. It’s a long fucking walk from here, at least three days, and that’s if we don't run into any trouble along the way.” I gather all I can find and stuff them into a small leather pouch from my bag. Could this day get any worse?

  “That’s convenient,” Alaina mutters.

  I roll my neck and sigh. “What is, Princess?”

  She shrugs. “The same orb you were going to use to prove to me that everything you are telling me is true, turns out to be broken.”

  “I guess your two near death run-ins with Kakos wasn't proof enough,” I snap.

  “No, that just tells me he’s as crazy as you are pretending not to be.” Her voice matches my intensity.

  “You calling me a liar? Because let me tell you, warriors don’t take kindly to that.”

  She yanks at her necklace. “Fine. Use my orb. Prove to me all this craziness is somehow real.”

  “I can’t, only you can use it, remember?” I tap her on the forehead. “And you don't know where we’re going. You have to visualize the location. That’s how it works.”

  “Maybe if you describe it to me.”

  “Too risky. If even a small detail is off, who knows where we could end up? Sorry, Princess, but we have to go on foot.”

  “Like I said, convenient.”

  “You need proof. Here,” I grab her hand, “hold your palm over this patch of leaves.”

  She narrows her eyes but does it anyway.

  “Now, picture the leaves on fire,” I say.

  She lifts her hand away. “What?”

  “Just do it!” I bark.

  “Fire, fire. Leaves on fire,” she mumbles, but nothing happens.

  “Alaina, relax.”

  She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. The leaves burst into flames quicker than I expected.

  She falls back. “Oh, my Gods. Oh, my Gods. Did I do that?”

  I smirk. “Yep. How’s that for proof?”

  “Um. Wow. This is insane. You know that, right?”

  “That’s just child’s play. Can we get going now?”

  “Yeah, but we have another problem.” I cock an eye. “I have no shoes, and I assume women in this … realm…, don't dress like this. Plus, if this morning is any indication of the weather, I’ll freeze to death in the days it takes us to get wherever we are going.” She runs her hands up and down her body, emphasizing what little she has on.

  In all the commotion, I forgot she had no shoes and still had on her work uniform. She was right, there’s no way we would make it with her dressed like that. “Well, you aren’t going to freeze to death, but the no shoe thing may be a problem. There has to be a village or someone living close. Come here.”

  She hesitates.

  “I’m not going to bite. Grab my hand and ask your Orb to help you find a house nearby.”

  “How do I do that? Won’t it take me there?”

  “No. The orb is a very powerful device. Ask what you need from it and it will provide. With your hand in mine, I will feel the pull too. We follow it to where we need to go.”

  “Okay. Take me to the closest place that can help. Take me to the closest place that can help.” She repeats that over and over, until the pull becomes strong enough we can trace it. “My Gods, that’s amazing.”

  I can’t help but notice, she just used the word Gods, instead of God. And she has several times within the last hour or so. A simple slip up, I'm sure, but significant since that’s not a human term but a Nysian term; Nysians know there is, in fact, more than one God. It’s the small things that will bring back her memories.

  “So now, we follow the path the orb provides.”

  She squeezes my hand, a little harder than necessary, and we start off in the direction it beckons us to go.

  Holding hands with her is more intimate than I expected. My body tenses at the closeness. I sense her tension as well. As I’m about to say something, she beats me too it.

  “This is awkward. Walking around, holding hands. I mean, it doesn’t bother me that much but you look uncomfortable. I'm sorry to put you in this situation. I'm sure you have a girlfriend, or a wife, or someone, waiting for you.”

  I smile. Did she just ask me if I was single? “No. It’s fine. It’s my job to help you, and you are new to this orb thing, so holding your hand is part of my job.”

  “Great!” Her voice is laced with sarcasm. And do I detect a hint of disappointment?

  “What’s great?”

  “That your girlfriend is fine with you out in the middle of nowhere holding another girl's hand. I personally would be a little uncomfortable with it, especially if she saw what I was wearing. I would suggest when you mention this part, that you leave out the clothes.”

  I can’t help but laugh a little. “So, when I mention this to people, you want me to leave your clothes out like you came here naked. Because I think that might make it worse.” She blushes. “But I don't think it will get me in trouble.”

  “Wow, that’s some girl.”

  “I'm sure she will be… one day.”

  “What? Oh… I just assumed.”

 
; “Why would you assume that?”

  “I mean, I don't know. I just thought, you’re … and guys like you... I don't know what I'm saying.”

  She’s so cute when flustered. “What about you, no frat guy pining over you at home?”

  “Frat guy? Why would you ask that? Wait a minute, have you been following me? Oh, my Gods, you have been! For how long? When? Where? What did you see? Let go of my hand! Get away from me, you crazy stalker.”

  “A month.”

  Her jaw drops as she pulls her hand from mine and storms away. Shit, she’s pissed.

  “Alaina, wait!” I start to follow but she turns around and gives me the most Gods awful look I have ever seen.

  “What! Were you watching me for a month? Private moments with my friends, private moments alone!”

  “Technically, I never saw you alone or I would’ve talked to you.”

  “Do you know how crazy you are? How crazy that sounds?” She turns and stalks away again.

  “Please, Alaina, let me just explain. Stop walking away from me. You don't even know where you are going!”

  “This orb thing is pulling me this way, so that’s the way I'm going! And once I find someone, I'm going to go home!”

  “You can’t get home, at least not back to the human realm. Not until the full moon. There are other portals, but they are heavily guarded by Wright's men. No one has been able to use them in eight years.”

  This revelation seems to shatter her. She falls to her knees and sobs. “What about my friends? What about Gina, Dr. Meel, and Dr. Siple? They are going to be so worried about me. I’d finally found my place there. I have friends that are more like family. What are they going to think when they discover I’m missing? How much pain is my disappearance going to cause? Oh, my Gods, I had a date tomorrow with the frat guy!”

  I bend down and wrap my arms around her shoulder. I just met the girl and already it's killing me to see her cry. She rests her head on my chest and sighs. “When this war is over, you can go back. You can visit Gina, and maybe even explain all of this to her if you would like. Don't worry about Meel and Siple. They know your true identity. They’re part of the people who’ve been looking out for you all these years. They are Nysians as well. As for the frat guy, he tried to take home a redhead after you left the club that night. Pretty sure standing him up would be a much-needed blow to his ego.”

  “They’re Nysian? So, the scholarship to New Ridge?”

  “Was created by us. Dean Meel took over as director a few years before you were old enough attend. Then she brought Siple in as the head therapist. It was always planned that you would go there and be under their care.”

  “I'm starting to feel like my whole life has been a lie.”

  “I'm sure it feels that way. I can’t imagine all the pain you’ve gone through the last eight years. But I swear to you, they did it to protect you, to save you. It’s what your father wanted. We all wanted you to be safe.”

  She looks up at me with those gorgeous brown eyes glistening with tears. In that moment, I know she is by far the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. I would do anything to protect her. I haven’t felt that way in such a long time, and I can hardly believe I’m feeling it now. The last person I felt that for died. I failed her. That wouldn’t happen again. Like any good warrior, I would lay down my life for my Queen, it’s our sworn duty. But this was different. It wasn’t honor that bound me to her. It was something much, much stronger.

  “Did we know each other as children?”

  Her question catches me off guard. “Not really. My father was a warrior. I joined about six months before our kingdom fell. We both lived in the castle, but only saw each other in passing. Why do you ask?”

  She lifts her hand up to my forehead, hesitates then brushes the hair back from my forehead, running her finger along my scar. The mere act sends shock waves coursing through my body. Only one person has ever done that to me, and she died when our kingdom fell. “I had a dream right after I met you at the mall. I was young, watching the new warriors battle to see who would make it. There was a boy with blue eyes who got hit in the head with a sword right where your scar is. I thought maybe it was a memory.”

  How the hell does she know that? “There is no way you would have been there. The royal family never attended those events.”

  “Maybe this means that I'm not who you think I am?”

  “No, you most certainly are. We have been tracking you ever since you were sent away. When we get back to our camp, we will talk to Eric and figure out what’s going on.”

  “Eric?”

  “You remember him?”

  She pushed the fallen strands of hair out of her face. “Just another boy from my dreams.”

  Jealousy gnaws at my insides. Pushing the emotion aside, I’m determined to bury my ever-growing feelings. Being so close to her doesn’t help. I jump up and offer to help her off the ground. She grasps my hand and I yank her up so hard she crashes into my chest. Our eyes lock and the tension between us intensifies. I want so badly in this moment to kiss her, to make her mine in every sense of the word. But she isn’t mine to have. So, I do what any other guy in my situation would do - open my mouth to say something clever. “Come on, Princess, let’s get you out of those clothes.”

  She flinches away from my touch; her cheeks flushed. Real. Fucking. Smooth.

  Chapter Ten

  Alaina

  Brady clears his throat. “Shit, that’s not what I meant. Sorry.”

  I can’t help but laugh. We’re in the middle of the woods. Me - a half-dressed sobbing mess. Him - a brave warrior doing his best to comfort me.

  Then we have this moment. For a second, I thought he was going to kiss me. Until he opened his mouth and said the most ridiculous, hilarious thing I’ve heard in a long time. It was his way of getting us back on track, but the way it came out. Now he’s uncomfortable. So uncomfortable he can’t even look at me.

  “Brady, it's okay. I know what you meant.”

  His eyes touch mine and we both crack up. I laugh so hard, tears stream down my face. It wasn’t that funny, but there’s so much sexual tension coursing around us that laughter is the only thing that can break it. That, and sex, which isn’t going to happen.

  I skim my fingers over my dampened cheeks. “Guess we should get moving?”

  “Yeah. It’ll be dark soon. I would rather not be stuck out here in the middle of nowhere with Wright's men searching for us. Give me your hand?”

  “I can handle it.” It wasn’t that hard.

  “This is no time to practice your powers. Give me your hand,” Brady insists.

  “Are you always this hard-headed?”

  “To a fault, some would say.”

  I take a step back, shy of his reach. “Just let me do it, okay?”

  He flings his hands over his head. “Fine, Princess. Lead the way.”

  In a hushed voice, I ask my orb to lead us to someone who can help. “Let’s go.”

  ***

  For a while, we walk in silence, each lost in our own little world. My attention strays to the countryside. Nysa is beautiful. It reminds me of the untouched woods in the human realm. At last, my inquisitiveness nature gets the best of me and I break the silence. “So, tell me about Nysa.”

  “It’s not unlike the human realm. Same sky, air, water, and trees. We have an ocean, lakes, and rivers. The biggest difference, I would say, is our lifestyle.”

  “Tell me about it.”

  His eyes light up, a huge contagious smile stretches across his face like he has been waiting forever to tell me about our world. “The human realm survives on energy like gas and electricity. In Nysa, we live on powers which have been gifted to us by the Gods. The basics present themselves around the same age as puberty, but full powers do not come in until the age of nineteen. For example, everyone is born able to create fire since fire is life. We use it daily for things like heat and cooking.”

  “That’s why it was so easy
for me to create fire?”

  “Yep.”

  “Wow, the people on Survivor would be so jealous!”

  He laughs. “You can always tell who the Nysians are on that show. We can’t use the full extent of our powers in the human realm, but a little comes through. The Nysians are usually the ones that can make fire quickly and without flint. Most of the winners are Nysians as well. We’re better equipped to survive than humans.”

  “Wait, you have TV here?”

  “Sorry, Princess. No TV. I have watched it a few times in the human realm. I had a friend go on that show and come in second place. And no, I'm not going to tell you who.”

  I give him my best pouting face. He chuckles but doesn’t budge. “Fine. Don't tell me, but mark my words, one day I will get it out of you. Moving on… So, does your magic ability determine what occupation you will have?”

  “You catch on fast. Yes. My powers – not magic – allow me to have exceptional strength, keen hearing and eyesight. These qualities make me an excellent warrior. Some have the ability to heal people, so they are doctors of sorts. The majority can manipulate objects. They create clothes, furniture, structures – things like that. We have those who can communicate with animals. And, those who can communicate with the earth.”

  “People that can see into the future and create prophecies?”

  My comment catches him off guard. “Sorta. More like read prophecies.” He hesitates as if he’s unsure how much he should say.

  “On several occasions, you’ve mentioned a prophecy concerning me. I just assumed there must be someone who deals with them. I believe Eric was training to advance his skills with Ordin.”

  We glance at one another, aware a memory just surfaced out of nowhere. It’s a minor detail, but a memory no less.

  “Yes, he’s quite talented now. He can also do amazing things with the mind. Read thoughts, push images into others’ heads and ... block memories.” The way he emphasizes the word ‘block’ sounds more like a jab than a mere addition to the list.