Oracle

by Amy Reece

  I nodded and stared into his deep brown eyes. “Yeah. It’ll be soon. I’m scared, Jack. I want this to be over, but I’m still scared.”

  “I know, querida. Me too. I have to leave tomorrow and God, I don’t want to. You remember to keep the gun with you at all times here at home, right? And make sure you have your phone with you 24/7. Promise me, Ally.”

  “I promise. I need you to promise me something, okay?”

  “Name it.”

  “Don’t talk about it any more tonight. This is our last night together until it’s over, hopefully. If we can lure Luc out when I’m alone, then all this can be behind us. Tonight, I need you. Just you. Make love to me, Jack.” I leaned forward and kissed him, pleading, promising.

  “Of course, babe. Always.” He rolled me beneath him and did exactly what I asked.

  ***

  I trudged out to my car Friday after school, exhausted from teaching all day and the stress of this untenable situation. Jack had left early that morning, wearing his fatigues and carrying his duffel bag, and although I knew he was already holed up in the rental house behind ours, I still missed him. Rémy and Mina had arrived a few hours ago and the three of them had set up surveillance on our house, ready to act as soon as Luc showed his face. I really hoped it wouldn’t be tonight because I needed to put my feet up and drink a glass of wine before I faced any crazed killers. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings as I fished my keys from my purse, so I didn’t notice the black sedan that was parked next to my SUV.

  “Ms. Moran,” said a voice from the open passenger window.

  I turned toward the black car, dread creeping up my spine and my stomach churning.

  “You’re going to want to come with me,” said the man. He had a heavy French accent, but I had never seen him before.

  “Why would I want to do that?” I asked.

  Instead of answering, he handed me a cell phone. My hand shook as I raised it to my ear.

  “Hello?” I croaked.

  “Ally?”

  “Megan? Oh my God. Where are you?”

  “I don’t know.” Her voice was so weak. “Kai’s dad picked us up after school. He said you told him to. He took us somewhere, I don’t know where. He took Kai away. I’m scared, Ally! It’s dark here and cold. I’m really sleepy—”

  “Ms. Moran.” Luc’s voice interrupted hers. “I do hope you’ll join us. Your sister-in-law would very much like to see you. Get in the car if you want her to live.” The phone clicked off on his end.

  The man got out of the front seat, took the phone out of my hand, and opened the back passenger door for me. I looked around the parking lot and noticed a few other teachers walking to their cars, but what help could they give if I screamed? I could get help for myself, but the one truly in danger was Megan. What choice did I have? I trembled as I climbed in the back seat.

  “Kai!” I exclaimed when I saw the little boy huddled on the seat next to me.

  He turned a tear-streaked face toward me and whispered, “I’m sorry,” before turning to the window.

  “Hey!” I objected as the man ripped my purse out of my hands and dumped the contents on the seat next to me. I watched as he rooted through makeup, gum wrappers, and tampons to find my cell phone, which he grabbed and shoved into my hands.

  “Send a text to the little girl’s aunt. Tell her you picked her up from school and are taking her to your home. If you try to send a message to anyone else, the little girl will suffer.” I sent the text, although my hands were shaking so hard I had to correct my spelling several times. As soon as I finished, he grabbed my phone, threw it down onto the asphalt of the parking lot, and then stomped it until the screen cracked.

  “Bastard!”

  The man didn’t reply; he simply slammed the car door in my face and returned to the front seat. As the car accelerated out of the parking lot, I screamed to Rémy in my head.

  —Rémy! Listen, we were wrong! He has Megan! Luc has Megan! He has me too!

  Nothing.

  —Rémy! Can you hear me? Answer me!

  Still nothing. I glanced at the small boy crumpled on the seat next to me and finally understood. It was Kai. When he was around, I couldn’t get through to Rémy or Mina. And they couldn’t get through to me. Great. Our secret weapon, our one advantage, apparently wasn’t so secret after all.

  —Kai. You’re doing this, aren’t you? I had no idea if he could hear me or not, but I had to try. Please, Kai. What is happening? Where is Megan? Is she okay?

  Silence. But I was nearly certain he heard me because his little shoulders tensed.

  I gave up for the moment and focused on staring out the window, trying to figure out where we were going. I needed to be able to tell Rémy where to find us as soon as I got the chance. I struggled to keep my tears in as I realized I was completely alone, isolated now, just as I’m sure Luc had planned all along. I was determined not to give him the satisfaction of seeing how upset I was. He had made sure I couldn’t tell anyone where I was and had even left my cell phone in the school parking lot so Jack couldn’t use the GPS to locate me. Stupid tech-savvy Seers! We drove for several miles, ending downtown behind the rail yards, a hundred year old former Atchison, Topeka, and Santa Fe railway depot. The huge industrial complex was abandoned and in disrepair, but was slated for a major facelift in the near future, part of a downtown urban renewal project.

  The man got out of the car and opened my door while the driver opened Kai’s. “Let’s go,” he said and ushered us into the building through a door in a dark alcove in the back of the building.

  Inside, the building was dark and cold, the floor littered with broken glass, fast food wrappers, and other unsavory trash. I tripped over a bit of broken brick and fell, scraping my hands and knees, coming within a few millimeters of a discarded hypodermic needle and a used condom. The driver said nothing, just hauled me roughly to my feet and shoved me forward. I sniffed, determined to keep my tears at bay, and followed. We walked for several more minutes, up several flights of stairs, until we emerged on a platform of some sort in the main part of the building with high overhead ceilings and an entire wall of green, brown, and gold stained glass windows, through which the late afternoon sun was struggling to pierce. My heart sank as I recognized the setting of the visions I had been experiencing for months. While it didn’t surprise me at all to glimpse the pile of rags up ahead, nevertheless my stomach clenched in dread. Kai cried out and ran to the pile, falling to his knees, his shoulders shaking with his sobs. I was powerless to do anything but creep closer and touch him on one of his heaving shoulders. He turned to me, tears streaming down his face.

  “I’m sorry, Ally. I didn’t want this. She isn’t part of this. I tried to save her, but he made me! I’m so sorry!”

  “Kai! What have you done? Is she…?”

  “No,” he cried as he wiped his eyes. “She’s alive. It’s you he wants, Ally. He used her to get to you. You have to protect her!”

  “I will, Kai. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep her safe. I swear it.”

  “Of course you will. You are extremely predictable, which has made this so much easier.” Luc appeared from a side hallway. He was dressed casually, in khaki slacks and a dark red polo shirt, looking more like a Target employee rather than the evil murderer I knew him to be. I really think bad guys should dress like bad guys. He should have been wearing a black suit or something just to make his role in all this very clear. “Ms. Moran, welcome. It seems I finally found the right…motivation, shall we say? I trust I have your undivided attention? My last attempt lacked something, apparently.”

  “Your last attempt murdered an innocent boy!”

  “Simply collateral damage.” He shrugged. “You could have prevented his death, if you had only cared enough.”

  I knew his words were designed to cut deep and they did. They sliced straight into the deep well of guilt I would always carry over Michael’s murder. “What do you want?”

  “What I
’ve always wanted, Ms. Moran. I want you to work for me, to use your abilities as the Oracle to serve the greater good.”

  “Whose idea of ‘the greater good’? Yours? And it’s Mrs. Ruiz now, actually.” I spit the words out through clenched teeth.

  “I told you once that your pathetic teenage romance has no place in our world. This supposed marriage of yours is easily put aside. Your place is by my side and far away from this provincial western state. Europe is ours for the taking with your powers and my brilliance. I hope you finally see the immutability of your destiny and the futility of your objections.” He gestured to Megan as he spoke.

  “Fine. You want me, you got me. Let Megan go. You have to swear she will be okay, that she will be allowed to return to Jack.” I choked on these last words, but I was determined to secure her safety. I had no intention of ever going to Europe with crazy, sadistic Luc, but I had to get him to promise Megan would be safe.

  “Excellent! That’s all I require. It really is very simple. Of course, we will have to dispose of your inconvenient watchdogs first. They have a rather annoying habit of appearing just when they are most unwelcome. Isn’t that right, Monsieur Giles?” He turned as he asked his last question, addressing Rémy, who was led into the room and pushed roughly to the ground. The man handed Rémy’s gun to Luc, who calmly removed the round in the chamber and pocketed it. He reached behind his back to slide the gun into his waistband. The other man reached down and yanked Rémy to his feet, pressing his gun against his skull.

  —Rémy, oh my God! How did you know where I was? How did you find me? Where’s Jack?

  Nothing. No response. It felt like my thoughts were hitting a brick wall, but I had to try.

  As I was attempting vainly to communicate with him, I felt a hard object pressed to the back of my head and heard the hammer of the gun click back. Crap. This just kept getting worse. “Really, Luc? Guns? I thought this was my destiny? Why would you need to hold guns on us if I’m destined to do your bidding or whatever?”

  “Always so cheeky, Aletheia. We will have to work on your tendency to insolence. I find it extremely fatiguing.”

  I wanted nothing more than to blast him to smithereens, which I could do, but I couldn’t risk it with all the trigger-happy goons holding guns on Rémy and myself.

  —Kai. Please, Kai. I know you can hear me. Please help us. Help me help Megan.

  He glanced up and met my eyes.

  —I knew it! You can hear me. You’re blocking Rémy and me, aren’t you? Why? What hold does he have over you?

  “Ah, I see you have discovered one of my son’s many talents,” Luc said as he glanced between Kai and me.

  His son? Well, I certainly hadn’t seen that one coming.

  —He is not my father! Kai’s voice resonated in my head as he glared at Luc from across the room.

  “Kai, you know what I require. Do not disappoint me again, boy.” Luc spoke in French, which didn’t surprise me. It did surprise me, however, when Kai answered him in kind.

  “You promised she would be safe!” His accent was atrocious, but he was definitely fluent, which explained how he had understood when Rémy and I spoke to each other in front of him. My heart sank even further as I realized Luc had always been one step ahead of us. Luc laughed dismissively at the boy’s distress.

  —Kai, how did you come to be with him? Once again, my heart went out to the small boy. He’s horrible! Why do you stay with him?

  —Do you think I stay from choice? He found me in London, in an orphanage. He brought me here. I have nowhere else to go.

  —Oh, Kai. I’m sorry. I had no idea.

  —He only wants you, Ally. If you just go with him he’ll leave everyone else alone. Megan will be safe. He was holding her hand, stroking it as he sent the thoughts at me.

  —Do you really believe that? Do you trust him? I don’t. He murdered a friend of mine, Kai. Michael had done nothing. He was simply in Luc’s way, so Luc had him killed, right in front of me. Look at him! He has guns aimed at my head and at Rémy’s head. He’s going to kill him, Kai. He’ll most likely kill Megan, too.

  His shoulders drooped. I know.

  —Then help me. Stop blocking us. It’s the only chance we have.

  —Okay. But you have to be careful. Luc doesn’t know for sure about your abilities, but he suspects. That’s why he has been using me.

  —Can he hear us?

  —No. But your face doesn’t hide your emotions well. Your husband is here.

  —What? I couldn’t turn because of the gun pressed against my skull, but I saw that Kai was staring behind me. I could, however, hear the click of another gun hammer pulled back.

  “Drop the gun and move away from my wife now or I will blow your fucking head off,” Jack growled.

  I had never been happier to hear his voice but at the same time wanted him a thousand miles away. I felt the gun removed and breathed a huge sigh of relief. “Jack!” I sobbed and turned to see that he was now holding his gun to the man’s head while he kicked the other gun behind him.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah.” I sniffed.

  “Go see to Meg. I think she’s waking up.”

  Megan was indeed beginning to stir, so I hurried across the room to her side.

  “So, here we all are,” Luc began. “We seem to be at something of an impasse. What shall we do? The choice is, of course, yours, Ms. Moran.”

  I knew he was trying to fluster Jack by using my maiden name, so I sent him an evil look that only made him laugh.

  “Ally! You came!” Megan struggled to sit up. “Kai!” She threw her arms around him and hugged him tightly. “Can we go home now? Please?”

  “Oh, I’m afraid that is not possible, at least not yet,” Luc said. “Ms. Moran has a decision to make first.”

  —Ally. It was Rémy. The block was gone. Don’t do anything stupid. Get Megan out of here. Jack and I can handle Luc. I need you away from here and safe. Mina is waiting outside. Take Megan and go.

  —No. He’ll kill you. I can’t risk it. I looked over at him, where he was being held with a gun pressed against his skull. As I stared, it was as if the rest of the room melted away and all I could see was Rémy. I suddenly knew in the deepest part of my soul that my purpose in life was to protect him in this moment in time. It’s what I was born for. I was the Shield, the Protector of Kate’s long-ago prophecy. Rémy was the Oracle. The truth of it washed over and through me. Oh, my God, Rémy! It’s you. You are the Oracle.

  His eyes grew large as he realized what I was saying. Then he slammed them shut and hung his head. How is this possible? How could we have missed this? I feel the truth of it, Ally, but I don’t know…

  —I do. My resolve came with the revelation. I absolutely knew what I had to do. Do exactly what I tell you to, when I tell you to do it.

  “What is your decision, Ms. Moran? I am losing my patience. You either agree to come with me willingly, or your watchdog dies.”

  “Ally,” Jack warned. “Don’t even think about it. Just get Meg out of here.”

  I turned to look at the love of my life, begging him with my eyes to try to understand what I needed to do. Please, Jack! I sent the thought at him with every ounce of concentration I could muster, not sure if he would be able to pick up anything. I have to do this! Please try to understand.

  I turned my thoughts to Kai. I need your help, Kai. I need you to cause some sort of distraction to draw the attention of the guy holding the gun to Rémy’s head, okay?

  —I can do better than that. Tell me when you’re ready.

  “I can see you have decided to be stubborn about this,” Luc said. “Apparently the lives of your friends are meaningless to you. Perhaps the loss of another will help you decide.”

  “That would be a grave mistake, Luc,” I said.

  “Oh really? I don’t think so,” he replied, turning to the man holding the gun on Rémy.

  “Wait! Do you really want to shoot the Oracle?”

&
nbsp; “What are you talking about?” Luc asked, scoffing.

  “The ascension was fake, Luc.” I stood slowly. “I’m not the Oracle. Rémy is.”

  He laughed. “That is ridiculous! You should choose better lies.”

  “I’m not lying.”

  “The Oracle cannot be a man. That is impossible!” But I thought I detected a hint of uncertainty in his eyes.

  “Oh, yeah? What, is it against the Oracle handbook? Wait—there is no handbook, is there? There really are no rules to this whole Seer business. Who’s to say a man can’t be the Oracle? Everything’s changing, Luc. You can’t be sure, can you?”

  He was wavering, looking between Rémy and me. I took advantage of Luc’s momentary confusion to call out to Kai in my mind. Ready!

  Kai held his hand toward the man holding the gun to Rémy’s head and the gun was suddenly in Kai’s hand. He turned to me. Now!

  Luc started to reach for the gun he had slid into his waistband.

  —Rémy! Duck! To his great credit, he hit the floor without stopping to ask any stupid questions. I sent a huge blast of energy straight at Luc and the gunman. The gunman flew back off the platform to the brick floor at least twenty feet below. The sound of his head hitting the bricks is something that would haunt me for a long time.

  Luc hadn’t fallen, but had been knocked against a wall. As he started to regain his feet, he again reached for the gun he had put in his waistband. Rémy tackled him before he could fire and knocked it out of his hands. They began hand-to-hand combat, punching whatever they could reach. Luc was a fierce and dirty fighter, but Rémy was younger. Still, I feared Luc would get to the gun before Rémy had the chance to finish him off.

  I turned to see Jack and the man who had held a gun on me fighting, as well. Jack was completely capable and clearly had the upper hand, so I simply ran to retrieve the gun the man had dropped earlier and turned back to help Rémy. The gun was behind them, on the edge of the platform, so I aimed a blast of energy that sent it sailing off the edge and well out reach of Luc.

  I searched wildly for Kai and Megan, terrified they would be caught in the middle of one of the fights. I finally spied them in a far corner, Kai huddled over Megan, protecting her. God, I loved that kid in that moment.