The man’s jaw is set but a smile reaches his eyes. “How many are there?”
“I counted twenty as they were chasing me, but there may be more.”
The man nods. “Do you think they will try to surround us?”
Cara shakes her head. “No. These are Mala’s mindless killing machines; they are deadly but stupid. They are the lowliest of the low.”
The one with brown hair smiles. “Are they stupid enough to come through where you had, to where we can just pick them off one by one?”
Cara frets. “It’s not as simple as that. Once they are close enough to cast their spells, we are all dead. Long range is the best way to defeat them without getting killed yourself, but unless either of you has sharp throwing implements, we are severely outnumbered because I have only four left, to include the one in my hand.”
The brown-haired man frowns. “So, Cole, any bright ideas?”
Cara inwardly smiles now that she knows this dark man’s name. Four more creatures emerge from the woods, each bursting into inky clouds as her daggers find their marks. She yells rather unnecessarily, “I’m out!”
Cole takes a step forward and laughs. “Hey, Ashe, do you want to see what a flagrant idiot can do?”
Ashe puts his hand on Cole’s chest. “What are you going to do?”
Cole lowers to the ground. “Just distract them for me, will you?” He crawls on his hands and knees towards the enemy-infested tree line, disappearing into the tall grass of the meadow.
Momentarily, three more creatures emerge from the forest and head for the two people standing in the middle of the meadow for all to see. The sun reflects off a blade held by a hidden third party just before the three creatures turn into dust like their friends before them. The same scene repeats itself, each new set of creatures surprised to find a third person lying in ambush, until the enemy is eventually nothing more than dust in the wind.
The assassin stands to reveal his hiding place off to the right of where all the creatures had come forth. Even from this distance, the two people standing in the center of the field could see his grin. Shadow bounds forth to rejoin her charge, signifying the “All clear.” Ashe runs to meet up with Cole and Cara takes his lead.
Cara retrieves the various knives littering the ground and straps each into their rightful place. One adorns each of her upper arms, one hangs at her hip, and two more strap around her legs. She looks up to see both men staring at her with unrestricted curiosity. Crossing her arms, she smiles. “Is there a problem?”
Ashe bows his head. “My lady, we only wonder at how one such as you should come to possess such accoutrements to which you are so intimately knowledgeable.”
Cara laughs. “There is no need for such formality.” She shakes her head. “Honestly, my lady….”
Cole smiles, a smile which nearly brings Cara to her knees. “Excuse my friend Ashe here.” He holds out his hand. “I am Cole.”
She takes his hand, his touch giving her flesh goose bumps. She looks up, his deeply black eyes staring down at her in expectation. She remembers herself and replies, “I am Cara.” Releasing his hand, she smiles. “I believe I owe you my life.”
“It was your daggers that saved the day. And you were also the one to warn us of the threat.” Cole kneels down to pet Shadow. He looks up at her and smiles. “I owe you mine.”
Ashe laughs. “Why don’t we just call it even and get out of here before any more of those things come back.” He looks to Cara. “Mistress Cara, shall we escort you on your way?”
Cole laughs. “I doubt you need an escort.” He smiles at her once more, causing her breath to catch in her throat. “But if you don’t mind the company, it would appease my conscience if I found you safely to your destination.” He stands. “So, where are you headed?”
Without preamble, she replies, “Nesthra.”
Ashe chokes. “Are you joking? You do realize that there is a war going on down there, don’t you?”
Cara nods. “And that is precisely why I must go there. I have urgent news that simply cannot wait.”
Cole crosses his arms. “You’re just full of surprises. Well, Cara,” he crooks his arm, “shall we?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Joel angrily follows an angrier Jessica out the front door into the fresh spring air. She makes it halfway down the hill before falling to her knees in overwhelming grief. Tears unremittingly roll down her cheek onto the green grass beneath her, soaking the earth with her sorrow. She cries into Joel’s shoulder as he comes to sit beside her and cradle her in his protective arms. He holds her tightly, assuring her of his presence and sharing in her bitter misery. The truth had been stalking the hallways for eleven long years, never once being admitted or even hinted at. Their entire lives have been lies neatly wrapped up in more lies. The world was crumbling around them and they could do nothing to stop it. All they can rely on is each other because that is the only thing that seems to be real.
Jessica clutches his tear-moistened shirt and sobs. “Please be real. I couldn’t stand it if you too were a lie.”
Joel holds her ever tighter. He presses his chin to the top of her head, closing his eyes to hold back his own tears. His body trembles with the force of his emotions as he manages to hold back the flood threatening to gush from his eyes. “I will always be a reality for you. And you live in me. You will have to get used to the fact that no matter how hard you might try, you can never be rid of me.” He caresses her hair. “When you are ready to stand on your own two feet, we will stand together. Until then, let me be your strength.”
Her tears fall faster now as she listens to his words. His body quivers, and she knows that this is tearing him up inside. She stares up into his impossibly blue eyes full of concern that far exceeds obligation or sympathy. Her pain is his own. She whispers, “And when we can again believe that we can fly, we will soar. But until then, we will believe in each other.” She reaches up to touch his cheek. “It is not a weakness to cry.” He lowers his head as a drop of wetness falls onto her arm.
She moves her hand to the back of his head and draws him into a kiss. Her parched lips sting with the salt of his tears, but she dare not pull away. In a world that has all but abandoned them, this one pure moment of reality is all that they have. With all of the lies that are woven by the tongues of men, only a heart conformed to the truth can be trusted. And from this trust can they build their faith so that they may one day believe again.
* * *
Lara rears her horse as a sudden breeze sweeps across the plain, bringing with it a desolate sobbing that strikes the very core of her being. She turns towards the cottage, brushing a strand of hair from her face. Snapping the reins, she turns her horse back towards the cottage. She sees Joel and Jessica huddled together on the hill so she brings her horse to a trot and jumps off. She runs towards them. “What’s wrong?”
Joel looks up at her, tears filling his eyes. “Everything.”
Lara bites her lip in worry and then runs the rest of the way up the hill. The door to the house swings open in a fury as she rushes in. A startled Maria and a stranger stare at her. She looks to Maria and demands, “What’s going on? What happened?”
Maria sighs, “We told them. We told them everything.”
Lara glares. “What entails ‘everything’?”
Maria weeps into the stranger’s shoulder. The man looks at Lara. “Our mission is in jeopardy, so we had no choice but to tell them of their pasts. We told them about the prophecy and their parts in it.”
Lara rages. “And now you act so surprised that they should respond in such a way? They are too young for all of this. I am twenty-two years old and even I am not sure if I can handle it. I remember all too well why we are here and who we are, but they were only three at the time.”
Maria steps forward. “And we told Jessica who her parents are.”
Lara clears her throat. “I thought that you didn’t know.” She clenches her fist in fury. “What else haven’t you
told us?”
Maria looks at Tom and then once again turns her gaze upon Lara. “I am Jessica’s mother.”
The contempt welling up inside Lara sets her golden eyes on fire. “Excuse me?”
Maria repeats. “I am Jessica’s mother.”
Unable to contain her resentment, Lara slaps Maria with the force and fury of a windstorm. Through gritted teeth she glares down at Maria. “You don’t deserve that title.” Casting a warning look at the stranger, she storms out of the cottage, breaking free of the confines that were threatening to suffocate her. She takes a deep breath and expels her wrath into the swirling wind around her, forcing it to carry her scream across the land and sea so all the world will know of the anguish brought about today. Breathing heavily, she stalks down the hill to where Joel and Jessica await. She looks down at them.
“For eleven years you have been fed lies. It is time for you to discover the truth.” Sitting down before them and crossing her legs, she begins.
“Eleven years ago, the Lion Wars, which have been fought since the death of the High King of Ilia three thousand years ago, officially came to an end with the signing of the Dragon Treaty by King James of Jewel and King Lanacan of Laentus. Any notion of peace, however, was abandoned with the appearance of a threat from Sentra. That threat is in the form of a person you know as Mala. She is the self-proclaimed queen of Sentra, a desert continent to the southwest of us. She has set her sights on ruling all of Ilia and, sad to say, she has the power to do so. For eleven years she has been building her powers and now she is finally ready to wage her war. If she succeeds, she will bring this world to ashes. Her first target is the Nesthra Islands. Only one thing stands in her way: the seven of us.” She sighs.
“I have no knowledge of our pasts, only of what ensued the night we all became orphans, but I do know part of the prophecy that has been unceremoniously placed before our feet to fulfill.” She recites:
“A centuries-old war finally ceased
But danger lurks in a mysterious region
Safeguarded from the threat are six
And they shall inherit the powers that be
One of fire, a skilled warrior
One of water, who shall see the truth
One of wind, hears all and sees all
One of earth, with the power to heal
One of energy, senses true intentions
And one of both day and night, to whom will be told the world’s secrets
Destined to defeat the evil power
But only two, by their union, shall bring peace
And shall all things be in balance
Until the end of time.”
Joel frowns. “That’s only six.”
Lara nods. “Only six inherit the ‘powers that be,’ or the forces of nature. As it should be, because peace is achieved through balance. The seventh entity is the antithesis of balance: Chaos.”
Jessica questions. “What are the extents of these powers?”
“They can be boundless,” Lara answers, “but limits are set by the wielder’s own faith and confidence, not only in God,” she smiles at each of them, “but in themselves and in each other.”
Jessica remembers one of her visions. “But these abilities also have the power to destroy.”
Lara nods. “Yes; if used for the wrong reasons, all can be lost. But the destruction is more than the prospect of a lost cause; it also destroys what the person could have been. You lose your soul.”
Joel shivers. “That sounds so … permanent.”
“It is,” replies Lara. She sighs, “The power can be overwhelming sometimes. And without the maturity necessary to harness it, the very act would mean certain death.” She looks at Joel. “We hadn’t originally planned on keeping such an enormous secret from you, but our overzealousness nearly got Chase killed.”
Joel nods. “You are talking about Chase’s fifth birthday when Cole took him into the forest, aren’t you?”
Lara smiles. “I sometimes wonder whether your intuitiveness is coincidence, or if it is connected to your abilities.”
Jessica punches Joel. “You better not even dare to try to read my mind.”
Joel smiles. “I don’t have to in order to know what you’re thinking.”
Jessica resists the urge to punch him, her curiosity overriding any other emotion she may have been feeling. “So Lara, if Joel is Energy and I am Day and Night, what are you?”
“I am intrigued that you would use such a definitive tense in describing the abilities you possess.” Lara rises and clasps her hands together in joy. “You have cut out all the preamble and gotten right to the source of the matter. Already you understand that these elements are not merely something you can manipulate, but are the basis of who you are. Whether or not you know it, they have shaped the type of person you are.”
Joel questions. “So, I am the light. I like the sound of that.”
Jessica stands up and twirls around. “Then I am the sun, with the entire universe revolving around me.”
Lara shakes her head. “You two are having way too much fun with this, but I am glad to see you smiling.”
Joel stands and takes a few steps toward Lara. “We may have been living lies for the past eleven years, but not everything was false. Chase and Cole are my brothers. And far as I am concerned, you are my mother. I am sure my biological mother was heartbroken over the loss of her child, just as Maria is, but you are the one who raised us. You were the one who was always honest with us. I remember you singing us to sleep at night and watching over us when we were sick. Even just now, when you were telling us of our powers, you left out all the empty histrionics and gave the information to us straight. You respect us enough to not frame the truth in excuse. Thank you.”
Lara stands staring at him, at a loss of what to say. Her teary eyes smile endearing warmth to match the grin on her face. “You do me much honor with your words and, in seeing this man disguised in a boy’s body before me, I should thank you. You truly are the light.”
Jessica stops spinning and smiles giddily at Joel. “There are so many of you. So many lights. Too many.” She trips over her own feet and falls onto her behind. Rubbing her dizzy head and sore bum simultaneously, she pouts. “I don’t think I like being the center of the universe.”
Joel gives her a hand and pulls her up. Putting an arm around her waist to steady her, he laughs. “Then I guess the universe makes you its center just to scorn you.”
Jessica nods but immediately regrets doing so. “Exactly.”
Joel rolls his eyes and laughs. “Believe me. You fit the role well.”
Jessica glares at him, and then turns to Lara. “So, you never did tell us which one you are.”
“I” … two streams of fresh mountain air blow past them as Lara brings her arms up before her … “am” … the currents begin to dance around each other until forming a circle like a miniature tornado … “the Wind!”—and she rises a few feet from the ground, floating in midair. The winds subside and Lara slowly descends until her feet once more touch firm ground. She casts a lightheartedly reproachful gaze at Joel and Jessica. “And you should do well to remember that.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Chase wrings out the wetness from his shirt and smiles over at Kae sitting on the bank not too far away.
“That was refreshing.” He pulls his shirt back over his head. “But next time we go swimming, would you remind me to remove my shirt?”
Kae giggles as she stares at the damp shirt clinging to the muscles of his chest, herself drenched from head to toe.
“Well, I don’t have that luxury. But since you have made the request, I will do my best to fulfill it.”
Chase sits down next to her and wraps an arm around her shoulders. He smiles as he whispers into her ear, “You were just checking me out.”
Kae turns to him and gasps. “I was not.” He stretches his arms over his head and Kae is unable to look away. “Do you want me to slap you?”
“W
hat?” Chase replies innocently. “I was just stretching.” He smiles at her. “But if you slap me again, I will just have to kiss you again.”
Shaking her head, she laughs. “You’re impossible.”
He grins. “I know. But that’s why you love me.” He leans back and supports himself on his elbows. “I make you feel alive, remember?”
Kae leans down to kiss him. She smiles down at him with her lilac eyes. “And how do I make you feel, Chase?”
He jumps up and runs up the slope to the center of the bridge. Holding his arms out to his sides, he looks up and screams, “Like I am the king of all Ilia!” Holding an arm out to her, he smiles warmly. “And you are my queen.”
Kae wraps her arms around her knees and laughs delightfully. She watches as Chase bounds back down towards her.
He holds out a hand and bows. “My Lady, may I have this dance?”
Kae takes his hand and slowly stands up. She nods her head in all propriety. “Yes, my Lord, and you may have all the dances hereafter.”
Chase twirls her around and flips her, supporting her in his arm. They gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment. He pulls her back up and smiles. “You seem surprised.”
“I never knew that you could dance,” she replies as they part with only his hand holding hers to lead her.
Chase kisses her hand and bows his head. “Neither did I.” He takes a deep breath as he looks around them. “There is just something about this place that makes me feel confident.”
“You’re drawn to this place, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I guess you could say that. I remember one day I had been exploring the woods and I heard this loud thundering as in a storm, but the sky was clear. My curiosity took control and it led me to this place. Seeing the waterfall for the first time, I knew that I was surveying a masterpiece. The sheer beauty of it left me speechless, but I also recognized the raw power of God himself being released. The crystal-clear waters cascading down from the mountainside is stunning to behold, but is deceptive in its strength to pull someone under and then sweep them away.” He looks at Kae. “In a way, it reminds me of you.”
Book One: Beginnings Page 13