~William Shakespeare
No, not again. How do I get out of here? I looked around as if the dream or vision or whatever, had a door I could use to escape whatever happened next. The dream became clearer.
He sat in a steam room with a white towel wrapped around his waist. The mosaic tile of white, golden yellow, and a variety of blues so beautiful I almost forgot I was trapped near evil.
"Are you sure you're okay?" asked Lee. His bare chest was marred by thick scars.
"Yes. Sit with me, old friend."
Lee rolled his eyes as he sat. "I don't know why you like baking yourself so much."
He laughed and poured a cup of scented water on the coals. "Thank you for humoring me."
"Khan, you haven't screamed like that since they tried to burn you as a witch."
"We need to figure out what happened. I want Yilmaz brought here as soon as he is well enough to travel. Whatever he encountered stole life from him. Life that I gave him."
I gasped as I felt his anger, cold and vicious. I grabbed my fire pendant, willing Shamash and Aya to help pull me free of this dream.
"I will need another creature soon. We can't get caught in a weak moment. I fear we are at war."
Lee smiled, stroking a scar, making him looking even scarier. "I do love war."
"I know, my friend, I know. But first we must figure out what we are up against. What magical being could have done this?"
I breathed a sigh of relief as the images began to fade. He wasn't looking for Children of Fire. He still thinks we are nothing important.
"What did Yilmaz say about what happened?" Lee asked.
"All he can remember is seeing a bunch of magical creatures and a bright white and purple light," he sighed. "It reminds me of something, something from long, long before I met you."
"The Big Bang?"
He snorted and began to laugh.
My stomach rolled and my skin felt like sandpaper scraped against it. I whimpered, please, please let me go. The dream images began to fade.
I moaned. I could feel people near me, but I didn't know who they were. I couldn't see. My whole body hurt, sparks of power made my body twitch and shake. Someone cursed and the car swerved. I was in a car? Voices surrounded me, but I couldn't make any of them out. I needed to get away. I began to fight the hands that held onto me. My shaking limbs flailed about, not doing much damage.
Cool hands held my face and someone came close to me. I squirmed to get away and pushed into the body behind me. I couldn't think clearly, my chest ached. What happened? All I could remember were the Sons of Belial coming for us. I gasped for air.
"Sapphire, listen to me." The person got closer, icy blue eyes filled my vision as a forehead pressed against mine. "Calm down, it's Taliesin, you're safe. Kayin is right behind you."
"Everyone is fine." Kayin's accent slid over me, and my panic eased a bit.
"Uncle Gavin?" I choked out between gasping breaths.
"I'm here, sweetheart. So is Anali." I could hear Gavin, but I couldn't see him. A large hand awkwardly patted my leg.
"Others?" I managed to squeak out. Taliesin moved back a little bit, but I kept my eyes glued to his.
"We all got away safe and sound. You were the only one hurt." Taliesin's eyes were full of worry.
"Sapphire," Kayin whispered in my ear. "Try and breathe with us for a bit and then we will answer all of your questions, okay?"
I nodded and felt Kayin's chest rise against my back. Taliesin matched his breathing to Kayin's and soon I took slow, calm breaths. My vision cleared as my panic faded and I began to look around. We were in the SUV Gavin had rented. I could make out Gavin and Anali sitting in the front seats. Behind me all of our camping stuff was piled haphazardly in the back.
Taliesin's hands left my face. "Sit up a bit, and I'll get you some water."
I groaned. Every muscle protested the slight shift in position.
"Here, give her some ibuprofen," Anali said, handing Kayin two white pills.
Gratefully, I drank the cold water and swallowed the pain killers. Please, let them help.
"What happened?" I asked after drinking the bottle of water.
"What's the last thing you remember?" Anali asked.
I forced myself to sit up a little bit higher. "I remember opening the portal, magical creatures going home to Akasha, and blocking the Sons of Belial. I released the doorway, then woke up here."
"Good," Gavin said, and ran a hand through his hair. "Not much happened after that. We went back to camp. Packed everything and took off in case the Sons of Belial came back."
"What about the two men the walk-ins possessed?" I asked the memory of the shadow beings ripped from their bodies clear in my mind.
"George said they would drop them off at the ranger station," Anali said.
"And everyone is okay?"
"Yes, Sapphire," Taliesin said with a sigh. "In fact the others said they felt energized."
"It's true. Storm, Elijah, Rebecca and I were fine afterwards," Kayin said.
"Are we going home?" I asked trying to see into the black night so I could figure out where we are.
"No, not yet. I want to switch the rental car in case any of the Sons of Belial wrote down our license plate. Then I thought we'd spend a few days in San Diego. It's a large city and easy to hide in. We can go to Sea World," Gavin ended with a fake chipper voice.
"You are so weird," Taliesin said, staring at the back of Gavin's like he'd lost his mind.
"I would like to go to Sea World," Kayin said. I suspected he wanted to rile up Taliesin.
Anali laughed. "What about you, Sapphire?"
"Will there be a shower?"
"Of course," Gavin said.
"Then I'm fine. All I want right now is something to eat and a hot shower." I didn't mean to sound like a brat but I was hungry, smelly, and I ached.
"Well, the food thing I can fix. I'll stop at the next place that's open." Gavin leaned forward peering into the night. "There should be a truck stop or something coming up. We can at least get French fries and pie."
I liked pie. "That sounds good."
Kayin rubbed his hand down my arm. "You're shaking a lot, are you cold?"
"A little, but the shaking is from releasing my powers." I shook like this after putting on the fire pendant the first time. It was scary, but at least this time I knew what to expect.
Anali turned in her seat. "Why don't you lie back and do some five-count breathing?”
That helped before. "Okay." I lay back against Kayin and began to focus on my breath.
Taliesin shifted at my feet. I heard bags rustle. What was he up to? I tried to ignore Taliesin and count.
"I'm going to move you," Taliesin said. I winced as he picked up my feet and laid my legs over his lap. "Kayin, help me with this." A soft blanket was tucked around me.
"Thank you," I said. Maybe Taliesin wasn't so bad. I gathered my power in my belly and ran it up my spine. The twitching and shaking eased a bit, but my body still hurt.
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