Sight

by Chrystal Blue

  It was what the cousins had said about Teraya in secret. They had called her like Zorin’s daughter a death bringer, destroyer of worlds. She didn’t need to pry into the minds of the elders to know what it meant. The words, hurtful, brought tears to her eyes. Though they never called Teraya that to her face, Arel could hear it each time they looked at her sister, her face.

  "“You can’t ask me not to choose you. We could have another child or no children at all,” pleaded Sebastian.

  “You can hide her, keep her protected. If I know where she is, they can learn where she is. She might not bare the curse,” begged Arel.

  Years had elapsed since Arel had seen Teraya. During that time, she had no idea how her powers had changed. As children, the connection they shared was powerful, and part of her worried the link was still present. If Arel knew where the child was, then Teraya would know and the Darken as well.

  “You are not cursed. Arel, you will both be fine. I will make sure of it,” he replied his voice rising slightly the anger of what she was asking on the edge of his tone.

  “I am a death bringer, I will destroy worlds, not just this one, but all to protect you and her. They have told it to be so, it was not just the Darken I have been running from, it has always been myself.”

  “My Anam, my love, my soul. You believe you will destroy worlds because of a fairy tale your kidnappers told you. Neither the Darken nor the Resistance can be trusted. I know you better than you know yourself. Countless times you have intervened, done everything imaginable to save a life and you believe you will kill so easily?”

  “The Darken are evil, they destroy everything, and their blood flows through my veins. Perhaps it was a foolish dream to think I could,” said Arel.

  “It is a dream we both share. Never did I imagine you would give me the gift of an heir. We will have a child, and we will watch him grow up. You will both be well,” said Sebastian. Embracing Arel in his arms, his hands rubbed her back.

  “Then why do you worry so much?"

  "Your health is deteriorating, your nightmares keep you up, you have been having conversations in a language," he replied.

  Winter looked up, a perplexed look on her face.

  "I've been talking in my sleep?"

  "Yes."

  "Why didn't you tell me? Do you know what I said," demanded Arel. Her eyes excited at the new information he had revealed. It worried her that she was now talking in her sleep. Resolved not to let him know her concern she concentrated on hearing the conversation.

  Pulling his phone out of his pocket, he laid it on the table, playing the recording of her talking in her sleep. Holding the phone in her hand, she listened intently, replaying the conversation over and over before finally stop it and placing it back on the table.

  "When we were younger, my sister and I had our own language. We made the language up so no one would know what we were talking about. That's what I was speaking."

  "Do you know what you were saying?"

  "I kept telling her I was sorry. I kept asking for forgiveness. I promised her I would find her. I think she was asking me questions."

  "What makes you say that," he asked her. His concern grew with the realization that she was communicating with her sister and the Darken.

  "I told her I wasn't with mom and dad anymore that they were dead. I told her I couldn't tell her where our brother was. I kept repeating they were gone; there was something I had to tell her face to face."

  "There's something else you're not telling me."

  Holding her hands in his, he waited for her to share the information she was withholding from him. Her leg rubbed against his as she shifted in the chair. The weight of her belly felt cumbersome, and the hardness of the chair caused her back to hurt. A bothersome pain weighed on her from the rapidly growing belly. She was more uncomfortable in her skin than before, but she wouldn't tell him about the constant pain.

  "Have you told your father about Dmitri yet?"

  "Arel," Sebastian scolded.

  "Sebastian, Dmitri will only use the recent events to gain support for his overthrowing of your father. It didn't help that Marcus warned everyone that outsides can't be trusted. I can't be trusted, even though William told them I told the truth, it doesn't gain support from the elders for our cause. I am ignorant of your laws, and they will use that and me against you," said Arel.

  "Right now, you are important, your health, your happiness, our child. My father will handle Dmitri as he has handled threats before,” replied Sebastian.

  Stubborn, that was the word she would use to describe him. He wasn’t as one minded as he would like her to believe. Arel knew Sebastian was meticulous in planning out his strategies. She assumed because of his worrying about her condition, he would not reveal his plans to her.

  "It's nothing you should worry about. We should focus on the problem at hand, Dmitri. He will challenge your father, and if he should succeed, he will give Iliad's son and me to the Darken in hopes that it would provide him a sort of protection," said Arel.

  "Dmitri isn't a threat; the other families would never accept him as the leader," said Sebastian.

  "Your father's allegiances are not as strong as you believe. If Dmitri proves himself strong enough to overcome your father, they will follow him. He will wait until your father's allies have returned to their homes. When his numbers are stronger than yours, he will strike. If we don't plan for it, we will lose," commanded Arel.

  "You have seen this? My death? My father's death? Is this what you fear to tell me?"

  Although she had tried numerous times, his life and ultimately his death remained hidden. Those intimately connected with her own life, their lives remained hidden from her visions, it had always been this way with him. Arel's existence and death remained a secret from her, just as Sebastian's and the baby she carried in her belly. Every day she tried in vain to see if their child would be more like her or Sebastian. Even if she did not follow after her mother possessing the ability to not only create life but destroy it, she must remain hidden away from the Darken.

  "I can't see your life. It is tied to mine. I have not looked at your father's life."

  "Then you can't be sure," he responded.

  "I have read his thoughts, seen his path. Before our child comes into this world, he will strike. Even Eir in her blindness can see he desires the seat of power; he thinks your father is weak in his rule. Although he despises you, there is one Cadell he favors. With Catrin, he would strengthen his claim to the seat, sealing their union in blood."

  "Catrin would kill him before allowing him to touch her," he chuckled.

  Shifting again in the chair, she decided it might be more comfortable on the couch. Rising up from her seat, she left the nearly empty bowl on the table, heading towards the living room. Slowly laying on the sofa, she pushed her legs to the opposite side, completely stretching out.

  "She's growing too fast," she said as Sebastian sat on the floor in front of her.

  ‘The doctor will make sure you both are healthy."

  "You said it yourself, our child is the first of her kind. Maybe I should go to my sister, maybe they can help. They might know what to do."

  "Is that what you believe?"

  Realizing what she was asking, she regretted saying it. The worry caused her to think irrationally. The last thing she wanted was to bring her defenseless child in the presence of the Darken, especially with the stories the others whispered when they thought she couldn't hear.

  The older Vampires had told stories of whole civilizations wiped out by the Darken. Survivors forced to pay tribute with the blood of their children. It wasn't just from Sebastian's people they took the offspring; it was from all of the conquered. The children as young as two were carted off in large waves, their whereabouts remain a mystery.

  Rumors began about the fate of the children. Some stated Zorin and the Darken created an army from the tribute they collected. Other stories fated the children as being feed to strange cre
atures or a worse fate as experiments, the products of Zorin's twisted imagination dreamed up.

  Thinking back to the state home, she remembered how Lucas would call them freaks. All of the orphans in the state home were a comingling of species. A few of the children were clearly half-human, the others were not. Although Arel’s blood never made it into the government system, she ended up in the home.

  Her first homes were designated for humans, which she could easily pass for. The nightmares drove her from them, ultimately landing her in the last state home where she met James.

  Of all the stories she heard of Zorin's experimentation, she knew they all were accurate in some form of another. One of the hardest for her to forget was the fate of the stolen children, his tribute. It reminded her of a story she heard as a child about Zorin's daughter, her own mother, one that she wished to forget. Whether Zorin had experimented with her mother, she was relieved she did not know.

  "I can have the doctor come now," said Sebastian.

  Drawing her out of her thoughts, she shivered at the idea of having to go to a hospital.

  "I hate hospitals and doctors. It's never been a pleasant experience for me."

  Ignoring her, he stood up from the floor heading into the other room, his phone in his hand. She could hear him speaking to someone on the other end. Arel strained to listen to the conversation to no avail, his ability to whisper was remarkable. A few minutes later, Sebastian returned, taking a seat on the sofa under her feet.

  "You've called them haven't you," she asked.

  Determined, Sebastian had made up his mind, and there would be no changing it. Arel missed how gave in to her requests, especially now she was in no mood to deal with a doctor. She knew his intentions were in the right place, but for her, there was no point as only the Darken would know how to deal with her kind.

  "We have to make sure you are both well," Sebastian replied.

  Closing her eyes, she drifted off to sleep.

  Arel’s Dream

  Arel stood in the middle of the battlefield bodies laid strewn on the bloody ground. Sword raised, she stood ready for battle. The sky shone like fire, raging the anger of the crowd surrounding her. Behind her the roar of an army, his army. In front of her, the feeble remains of the resistance stood in their last moments against the Darken.

  "Death," his army screamed. "Death," they demanded. The hint of fear crept up from the smell of sweat, blood, and soil. The clouds rumbled; thunder pounded the dusk sky. Fear lingered at her feet, rising slowly like a serpent.

  A silence swept over the crowd as the sound of footsteps boomed towards her.

  "Destroy them," the voice demanded echoing in the air.

  Her heart said no, it shouted, but her voice remained silent. The fear grew stronger, more pungent, it was her fear. Her heart thumped louder in her chest. She searched the crowd for his face. She knew their faces, their lives, their fate, but she missed the face she longed for.

  "Destroy them now or lose the one you search for," he commanded.

  The heavens parted, opening, the slow stream of rain, tears poured down her cheeks. Slowly she lowered the sword, until its tip hit the ground, a soft thud echoing as she let it fall from her grasp. Raising her hand, she fulfilled the vision she had seen. Their bodies fell lifeless to the ground. The resistance was no more. She belonged to Zorin, his to control. Still weeping, head bent, she fell to the ground ashamed.

  "I have done as you asked, give him to me," she begged.

  "In time," his coarse reply.

  The ground pounded with his heavy footsteps as he walked away.

  "Give him to me! Give me what you promised," she screamed into the dusky sky.

  She turned, but Zorin was gone, his army stood in front of her. Palm raised, she glared at them. Hatred danced in the air, fear gone, replaced by rage. Thunder pounded. Hand still raised, she let her anger go full force towards Zorin, the Darken. The terrain shook as their lifeless bodies thudded with full impact to the ground. Zorin was missing and with him her chance to find the one she sought. Her screams rang out, louder and louder.

  Arel continued to scream, Sebastian stood over her gently holding her arms in place trying desperately to awake her. Fear lingered in his face as she slowly came to, quieting her cries.

  "You were having a nightmare," whispered Sebastian.

  "It was terrible, he had...someone...and he wouldn't tell me where...I destroyed them...I killed them all," she sobbed.

  Holding her, comforting her heaving, shaking body in his embrace.

  "It’s okay. You’re awake now,” Sebastian soothed.

  “All of them, dead by my hand. I am death,” wept Arel.

  “Who Arel? Who did you kill," asked Sebastian. Sitting on the couch, he wrapped his arms around her waist. Arel rested her head on his torso, her chest heaving as the sobs quieted.

  "The Resistance. The Darken. I killed them all," she cried.

  "It's okay, it was just a dream."

  "No, he had…" her voice trailed off as she fought to remember the face she searched for in the crowd.

  "Who did he have?"

  "Someone I loved...someone that was missing. It could have been you. I was searching the crowd for you. There were faces I knew, their lives all the way down to the generations before. I destroyed them all because he had you and I wanted you back."

  Her eyes stared off in the distance, avoiding him. A loud knock interrupted their silence. Quickly Sebastian was at the door allowing someone into the apartment. Arel assumed it was the doctor he called earlier to examine her and the child. She had heard him talk once before of the family physician that cared for all of his family members.

  She could hear the sounds of a woman's heels trailing behind a man's footsteps. His feet kind of shuffled along the wood floor towards the living room. She knew Sebastian lead the way, although his footsteps remained silent. No matter how hard she tried, she was never able to pick up the sound of his steps. It was as if he glided, never entirely placing a foot on anything unless he purposely made a sound which he often did at the beginning of their relationship.

  There in front of her stood an aging man, a thick head of white hair topped his kind oval face. Deep-set lines outlined his puffy, bagged eyes, and wrinkled skin. His thick lips, surrounded by laugh lines, smiled gently. He wore a gray suit and white shirt tucked neatly in his belted suit pants.

  On his hand, he wore a single gold wedding ring that gleamed to a high shine. His large nails were trimmed low and clean. As the light reflected off his nail beds, it made them seemed polished. Standing in front of Arel, she noticed one of his legs was slightly longer than the other, the reason for his shuffling along the floor as he walked.

  Next to him stood a woman, a younger feminine version of the man. Her thickly coiled hair was natural, falling just to about her chin, framing her full oval face. She stood motionless in her matching gray suit; her white blouse tucked neatly in the pencil skirt. A thin gold chain belt hung around her full hips. Gold tiny hoops dangled from her short earlobes.

  "Arel, this is the doctor I was speaking about. He's going to make sure you and the baby are healthy," said Sebastian returning to a seat on the couch next to her.

  "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Cadell. I'm Dr. William Weaver, and this is my daughter Kerry."

  Extending his hand towards her, he bent slightly waiting. Looking up, she observed them both again reading them. Arel used her gifts more than usual since the return of her memory and the revelation of her past. Secretly she strengthened her ability preparing for when Dmitri sprung his plan into action. Arel would be ready for Dmitri and eventually the Darken. No longer exhausted, she peered into their lives without the physical reaction she experienced last night.

  "How can you help me," she asked impatiently.

  Returning to his full upright position, he continued to smile at the seated Arel, his eyes looking sympathetically towards her.

  "We've been the Cadell family physician since the
times of Cadfael," he said proudly. "My family, entrusted with their care for generations. When I pass, my daughter will continue caring for Cadfael's heirs, your family. It will continue this way for years."

  "How can you help me," she repeated.

  Annoyed at his response, she knew his family had vowed to hold their knowledge of the Cadell's a secret. Their family oath led many of his family to their death. Generation after generation, they trained from a young age. For eons, they passed down the secrets of Sebastian's family, but those secrets did not detail how to care for her kind.

  "We'll make sure you both are well," he replied.

  “You don’t know what that means for either of us. You can only guess as to what will help or not.”

  “Mrs. Cadell, I assure you we will take excellent care of you and the newest addition to the Cadell line. We have hundreds of years of experience,” responded Dr. Weaver.

  “Have you ever seen a Darken up close,” asked Arel.

  Taken off guard, the doctor smiled politely. Kerry rested her hand on her father’s arm. Both of them looked over to Sebastian after again resting their eyes on Arel.

  Turning towards Sebastian, Arel shook her head in disagreement. She was tired and wanted to be done with the ordeal, for her, it meant no difference to see this doctor or not. Arel was sure no doctor she would see would be able to assist her unless they came from the Darken.

  “He doesn’t know what to do. I’m the first Darken he has seen up close. If he has never seen my kind, how can we trust him to even diagnose anything? We would need a doctor for the Darken.”

  “Arel, he has assisted in countless births of the family. He helped my mother deliver Beli in addition to the Catrin.”

  Now she understood why he was insistent on her seeing this doctor. His search for information must not have turned up anything useful, so he turned to the one source he could. Turning to the Darken was out of the question, so he called the ill-prepared family doctor that had delivered him and his siblings.