Eternity (Circle of Light)

by April Margeson

  “How about you guys get in one of the cars and try to keep warm.” One of the officers said, but the little boy continued to cry and say that he wasn’t going to get into a car unless it was with his mother. I understood his fear. If I were him, I think I would feel the same way about getting into another person’s car.

  An investigator had wanted to talk to both Eric and myself. We answered the questions they asked us in the best way we could and he thanked us for being here at the perfect time.

  One of the officers had apparently reached the little boy’s parents. I could see his mother running to us from the car that had been parked in the middle of the road.

  “David!” She screamed as she fell to the ground in front of us. The look that she had on her face was a sight that I was certain I wasn’t ever going to forget for as long as I lived. There was a certain amount of pain and horror in her eyes that seemed to be beyond my understanding.

  I was locked in an uncomfortably tight embrace with her and the boy, but I didn’t move.

  The boy's mother finally let go and started looking at me in a way that I couldn’t completely understand. It was a half of a thank you and a half scared out of her mind look.

  “It’s okay now, Momma. The man didn’t get me.” David said as he touched her hand gently.

  “I know baby. I know.” she sobbed.

  I made sure that he was snug in the blankets, after taking our coats off him. His mother took him and stood up, still holding on to him. The boy’s father was trying to dry the tears from his face, but he was not doing a good job of it. Every time that he would get his face clear, he would look at his son and the tears would start falling again.

  Eric put his arm around me and I could feel all his tension release from his body. We had done it. We saved the boy and the man was going to jail for a very long time.

  The boy’s father walked closer to us and held out his hand to Eric. He shook the man’s hand as he pulled him into a hug.

  “Thank you so much for being here. I don’t know what would have happened if you guys hadn't have been.”

  The boy's mother hugged us both and cried as she kissed each of us on the cheek, I don’t know if words could ever say how much I appreciate what you two have done for us today. You two truly are David’s angels.

  She asked for our names and phone numbers as she held out an envelope and a pen. Eric quickly jotted them down and handed it back to her. She hugged both of us one last time and said goodbye.

  “Hey! Pretty Girl!” I heard the boy call to me. I was instantly aware of him and every move that he was making as he ran up to me. I hadn’t exactly noticed how small he was until now. He could not have been more than five years old at best.

  I knelt down on one knee as he jumped on me and hugged me in the magnificent way that only a child could. The love I was feeling from him was amazing to me and I was suddenly feeling that I was connected to him in some way. My heart grew with love for the stranger child that had his arms and legs wrapped around me in an embrace. The strength of it was striking. So pure. So gentle, but powerful.

  “Thank you for not letting that man take me.” He said, kissing my forehead and then jumping down to run back to his mother.

  I grabbed my chest and without any hesitation in my body, I began to cry again. His innocence had touched my soul and I could feel love deep within myself for him.

  The investigator came up to us, thanked us for answering his questions, and told us we should probably get on home.

  He was right, we should. I was freezing and it felt like it was getting colder every minute. The temperature must have dropped since we came out. Maybe the wind made it feel colder, but I wasn’t so sure about all that.

  The sky was unnaturally dark for this time of day. It gave me a troubled feeling. All I wanted to do was to get home. And fast. I wanted to shake away the horrid felling that I had and I was positive that I wasn’t going to be able to do that for a very long time.

  Eric pulled me close to him as we hurried to get back home. I was so cold that my body had begun to jerk. Every step I took sent dull pain through my legs. I honestly couldn’t remember a time when I had been as cold as I am now. It really gives new meaning to the phrase, the cold bites.

  By the time we reached my house every muscle in my body was stiff. I forced my legs to move the last few steps to the doorway, but I was having a hard time making them do anything. The pressure from walking on my feet was almost unbearable.

  As we walked through the door, I almost cried. I was so happy to be home that I would have jumped for joy if my body would let me, but I was hardly allowing me to walk.

  My mother met us at the door with a concerned look on her face. She looked us over and called for my dad. He came bounding down the stairs looking at us as if we had been in car accident or something. Immediately, he started checking us over.

  “You guys were out there way too long.” Dad said as he scanned our hands for signs of frostbite.

  “Sorry Dad. We had to stay at the park until the police said we could leave.”

  He looked up at me, eyes wide with fear.

  “What happened?”

  I tried to tell him what had happened, but I was just too cold. My teeth were chattering and I was having a hard time talking, so I pointed to Eric and said, “You tell them. I can’t.”

  An alarmed look came over my Dad’s face.

  “What happened, Eric?” He said as he shifted his weight onto one foot.

  Eric explained everything. He told them that he had thought that he had lost his wallet and turned to show my father the whole in the back pocket of his jeans.

  I forgot I had put it in my coat pocket, and then found it when I put my hands in my pockets.

  I sat there listening to what Eric was telling my father. I needed to have the entire story correct, in case he asked me about it again.

  “I wish that you guys would have called me. I could have driven down there in the car and you all could have been warm until they let you go.”

  “It’s okay Dad. We are fine now and the little boy is safe and probably at home drinking a cup of hot cocoa right now.”

  “I suppose you’re right.” He said as he looked over us one last time and I could see the pride on his face. He was thinking that we were heroes and that he could not have asked for a better daughter than me.

  I was comforted by his thoughts, but I made sure that I acted as if I didn’t know what he was thinking about.

  After he decided we were out of danger, he told us to go sit on the couch.

  I was expecting a lecture when he came back down the stairs, but the stinging feeling the cold had caused was drowning out the worry.

  We were sitting there on the couch trying to get warm, but it was no use. Not even cuddling with Eric helped. He didn’t have any extra body heat to spare.

  Mom came in to the room with two electric blankets. She plugged them up and helped us wrap up in them. I turned the dial up on high and prayed for it to hurry up and reach the right temperature.

  Eric had done the same thing, except he had pulled his up over his head. I could hear him exhaling into the blanket trying to warm himself quicker. I found that cute despite the reasoning behind it.

  My Dad came in with two coffee mugs in his hands. He had wrapped them up with a couple of dishtowels. I suppose the heat from the cups would probably burn our skin without us really even noticing it.

  We sat up and sipped from the cups slowly. The warmth of the hot cocoa soothed my throat and I could feel it go all the way down to my stomach. Unfreezing me from the inside out.

  I hadn’t realized how tired I was until I heard Eric snore lightly from under the blanket. The sound of it made my eyes become heavy and I was left no choice but to close them. I laid my head on Eric’s shoulder and quickly fell asleep.

  It didn’t take long for me to recognize that I was dreaming. I was back in the beautiful meadow I had been in the last time I had visited the Queens. The
air was peaceful and every sound was relaxing to me. The best thing was that I wasn’t cold anymore. I was warm and the sun was beaming down on me.

  I saw Eric was up ahead of me at the pond. Which I found rather odd because I had never dreamed of the meadow with him in it.

  He was leaning over the water with his hand in it. It looked like he was reaching for something. I remembered how clear the water in the pond had been the last time I was here and how mesmerized I was by the fish. Surely if he was seeing them, he was as awestruck as I had been.

  “Hi, my love.” I said to him. He turned to look at me. The smile on his face when he saw me was bright enough to light the world for all of eternity.

  “I've never dreamed with you with me.” He said excitedly.

  “I have a feeling that we aren’t dreaming.” I muttered.

  “Then what is this?”

  “The last time I was here I was with my Queens.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. It’s such a wonderful place.”

  “I have never seen anything like this. Everything looks so pure.” He said clearly amazed with the things he was seeing.

  I had had the same rush of feelings that he was having the first time I was here. I was still stunned by the magnificence of this place. The pure, untouched beauty was indescribable. So peaceful.

  “Aren't they cool?” I pointed at the fish.

  “There are no words for it.” He muttered back.

  “I know.”

  The air around us began to shift and I was all too aware of what was happening. Eric looked at me out of confusion. It was obvious his Kings appeared to him in a different way.

  “It’s okay.” I said as I held his hand.

  Each one of the Queens became visible one by one. Eric tightened his grip on my hand. I was getting the sense that he was a little more afraid than I had realized.

  They weren’t standing side by side this time. I found that odd because I had never seen them put any sort of distance between them. This gave me an uneasy feeling. A feeling of not knowing what to expect.

  Lastly, Fire Queen appeared. A shimmer appeared beside each Queen, bursting almost violently into their male companions. It sent a rumble through the ground that shook my feet.

  Eric’s grip on my hand became lighter, but I was startled by the sudden appearance of the Kings.

  “I applaud you both on the tremendous job of rescuing the child today. One of the Kings said. There was so much authority in his voice that I was immediately staggered.

  I wasn’t certain of whom he was, but I suspected he was the Fire King due to his place beside Fire Queen.

  I held on to Eric tightly as we stood there. We both gave our thanks to them and awaited their responses.

  The Earth King and Queen stepped forward and began to speak. “Today is solely about unity between the both of you. We are aware of your powers already being united, but the matters of your souls still stand.”

  The matter in which they spoke struck me. Our souls are not united? Unsure of myself, I patiently listened as they went on.

  “Your souls must unite before your full potential can be reached. You may recognize this as a marriage in your world.” I gasped covering my mouth to stop myself from screaming in shock.

  “Does each of you believe the other is your soul mate?” Earth Queen asked.

  “I know she is.” Eric answered.

  “I am very certain that Eric is, my Queen.” I responded in agreement.

  “Very well.” Earth Queen said with a smile.

  They swirled around us, joining their hands in a circle around us. We were instructed to agree after they performed the unity bond. Without that, we would not be united.

  They each spoke briefly of our bond and the bonds between them.

  “Eric? Do you agree that you want to be, forever, with Bailey?” Air Queen asked.

  “Absolutely, my Queen.”

  “Bailey? Do you agree that you want to be, forever, with Eric?”

  “Without a doubt, my Queen.”

  “So it shall be.” She said as a strange feeling came over me.

  I was faint, but at the same time, I was full of a peculiar energy I had never had before. A sudden shock hit me as a flowing blue light shot from my chest. It swirled in front of me as if it was waiting for something. I saw the same light, only red, coming from Eric and at the very moment they touched, I felt my feet leave the ground. We were floating above the earth. The bonds of gravity surrendered to our bodies. The light tangled until I thought it was sure to bust from the tightness of the bond.

  The colors of our souls turned from blue and red to a deep purple as they united.

  We slowly made our descent back to the ground as the purple light receded back into each of our bodies. “You are united forever.”

  Eric kissed me as if he was just told to kiss the bride at our wedding. “I love you.” He said.

  “I love you too.”

  “You are now royalty of the Circle of Light. Eric. You are now King of Eternity as well as Bailey is your Queen. Blessed be.” Air King said as they all disappeared.

  We both woke up at the same time. I looked at Eric with a renewed love. It was unlike before. Our bond was stronger than anything was and I could feel it pulsating all throughout my body. I was his and he was mine forever.

  Unfortunately, our moment was ruined by waking up to the doorbell ringing. “Bailey, can you guys get that?” Mom called from the kitchen.

  Eric and I stumbled to get up and head for the door. My bones still felt frozen and it still hurt to put pressure on my feet.

  He opened the door, only to find a package sitting there. The box was wrapped in black paper with a silver bow. The elegance of the paper threw me off. I was sure that it wasn’t anyone’s birthday.

  Eric picked it up and read the tag. It read, To the King and Queen of Eternity. He immediately made sure that there was not anyone else around to see it.

  I took the package from him and headed for my room. I laid the box on my bed and asked Eric if we should open it.

  “I don’t see why not.” he replied.

  I slowly untied the bow and pulled the paper off. Acid rose up into my throat from my stomach. The sick feeling grew worse as I opened the box. In the bottom of the box, laid a note.

  It was a white card resembling an invitation. The lettering was the deepest shade of black that I had ever seen. As I read the message, it became clear to me that Eric and I are in grave danger.

  The note read, I warned you. Now you will have to pay the ultimate price. ..YOUR LIFE. I will be seeing the both of you soon and I mean real soon. Until then.

  Lord Raylan

  CHAPTER 10

  “Lord Raylan? I knew I should have killed him that day in the pool. I don’t understand.” I said as I fought back the tears.

  Eric explained that he was the second in command of the Dark Union. He was not royalty by any means, but was very powerful. He was the hunter, so to speak. He had accepted the order to kill us, to erase us from the Light Circle. But why? It made no sense to me at all.

  I looked at Eric, not knowing how to fix this situation. Will we live? Alternatively, will Lord Raylan complete his task? Tears flowed from my eyes as Eric pulled me into a sound hug.

  “I’m scared Eric.” I cried.

  “I know. But we will get everything figured out. Don’t worry.” Eric said as he held me until I fell asleep. I woke up with the worst headache I had ever had in my life. With every beat of my heart, pain pulsed through my head. I dared not to even open my eyes for fear of the light hurting my eyes, and I was for sure that I wouldn’t be able to keep from screaming.

  I had cried myself to sleep from fear last night. My eyes felt like I had a million tiny grains of sand in them and I could feel that they were swollen. Not bad, but it was enough to make me aware of it. I needed to get a cool washcloth and lay across them to try to get the swelling to go down.

  I laid there on my bed, not wa
nting to move, but I knew I had to eventually. There would be no escaping it. Plans had to be made and we did not have time to dilly dally around about it. Our lives depended on it.

  With that in mind, I gathered every ounce of strength I had left and sat up on the side of the bed. I, immediately, wished that I hadn't. My head throbbed like someone was playing Bongos in it.

  The pain was intense. So much so, that a tear escaped from my eyes. I was regretting not following Eric’s advice about not getting overly upset about this dilemma with Lord Raylan.

  But I couldn’t help it. I was an emotional person. In addition, my life has been threatened for absolutely no reason at all. What are we going to do? I can’t bear the idea that someone wanted to hurt Eric. Someone wanted to take my life force away from me and I was powerless to stop it.

  Utter disgust at the fact that Eric was in trouble made my stomach lurch. I was almost at the point of throwing up before I could get myself under control.

  I slid my hand over my pillow and felt a piece of paper lying there. I struggled to adjust my eyes enough to be able to read it. It was hard, but I finally got to where I could see good enough to make out the words. It was Eric’s handwriting. Ran home for a bit. I’ll be back soon. I love you.

  Putting the note back on the bed, I carefully put my feet on the floor and stood up. When I was sure that I was sturdy enough to walk, I headed to the bathroom.

  The cabinet was recently stocked with fresh washcloths and towels. I grabbed a couple of them and ran cold water over them until I could not stand to hear the faucet run anymore.

  I wondered what Eric was doing. I wasn’t sure of when he had left to go home, but I knew that he would be back soon, if he wasn’t already downstairs.

  I sat down on the window platform and placed the cold washcloths on my eyes. I hope that it will reduce the swelling so it won’t be as noticeable. Eric would have a fit and so would Mom.

  When the washcloth lost its coolness, I took it off and opened my eyes. The light of the rising sun made my eyes burn. I wasn’t as bad as I had expected it to be, but it didn’t seem to be much better than a minute ago.