“Were you able to rest?” Aloyna asked them.
“Not really. Been doing a lot of thinking, actually. Trying to figure out why I am here.”
“I’m afraid it’s something only you’ll probably be able to figure out,” offered Jasper. “But you are feeling certain you were sent here for a specific purpose?”
“I must have been. And I’ve been wracking my brain trying to sort out why. Sebastian and I were talking, and, well, I know we can’t say too much about the future, but can I clarify something? I think we’re safe on this topic.”
“Shoot,” decided Jasper.
“Okay, so I know we’ve come back during the Stone War, but I’m trying to figure out exactly when. From what I’ve gathered from listening to you guys, the really big Stone has already been created? You know, the one Stone to rule them all,” she joked gloomily. “But it’s not yet been turned into the Immortality Stone, right?”
Aloyna’s tongue got befuddled for a moment. “I only yesterday morning returned from a mission in which I found this Stone. Robert followed them, after I returned. We believe they are planning on using that Stone to perform some very powerful magic.”
“They all want to be immortal,” Robert chimed in, confirming this fact. “I think they’ll find it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.” Meghan eyed him with questions ready to roll off her tongue. “I’m not a true immortal, but as a Projector I can live for a very long time. I’m already almost three hundred.”
“Years?” Meghan choked out. “Wow. I guess I knew that, obviously you guys can live really, really long lives, it’s just, kind of crazy to realize what that means.”
“It’s a bit overrated if you if ask me.” There seemed to be a lot he thought about the topic, but now wasn’t the time. Jasper gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. Meghan wanted to ask more, but she needed to keep on target.
“Okay, so, what if I really was sent back here to stop the Immortality Stone from being created?”
“The way you speak about it, it’s like you have some intimate knowledge about this Stone,” Jasper expressed.
Boy, did she! And she hadn’t even told them how she came to live, or how she was a part of the Stone. Robert was looking at her rather funny though. She placed the thought in his head, please don’t tell. She didn’t want to mess up things that should not be. He tore his gaze away, deep in thought about what he’d just seen in her head. It was a lot to take in.
A fake prophecy, three immortals born to bring balance. Looked like the future wasn’t any less crazy than the today.
“When we ran into the two of you yesterday,” went on Aloyna, “we’d just left a meeting. We are working on a plan of attack to try to stop the creation of this Immortality Stone. And working on a way to destroy the Stone.”
“We are standing on a dangerous precipice,” whispered Robert. They all understood his meaning. They had two people with knowledge of the future. A potential way to stop all of this before it started. But messing with time, and the future, and the past, might have consequences they were not aware of.
“I’m a, not sure how to move forward,” Meghan admitted. “I was toying with trying to stop my father from creating the Immortality Stone. But to be honest, I’m not sure how I’d go about that. I’m afraid we are not much help in the, how to stop it, department. Or if we’d somehow be doing even more damage, by doing so.”
“Perhaps we are not meant to stop it then.” Jasper let out a thoughtful breath. “Maybe we are thinking about this all wrong.”
“What do you mean?” asked Sebastien.
“Perhaps you’re not here to change the past. Maybe there’s nothing we can do to stop it.”
“Then why would I be here? If not to stop it from happening?”
“Learn something of value to take into the future,” suggested Aloyna. “Something you could only learn here, in this time, but would only be useful to you in your time.”
Meghan blew out a large pocket of air and sank into a chair. “I’m so tired of my life being one never ending riddle.” Sebastien tossed her a sympathetic smile. This was getting them nowhere. Getting rid of the Stone, or stopping its creation, seemed the only conclusion she could come to.
“What’s all this nonsense about a prophecy?” Robert chimed in out of the blue. He didn’t sound too keen about prophecies. Then again, neither was Meghan really. She’d been thinking about it just then. It was a little creepy to have a guy get into her head, who wasn’t one of her brothers, and she wasn’t able to block out. And it must have shown on her face.
“I’m out of your head, Red.” He winked like it was no big.
Jasper and Aloyna waited for her to explain.
“I’m a, not sure how much I should say about that.”
“Probably best not to,” scoffed Aloyna. “Never met a prophecy I liked.” Jasper grunted out an agreement.
Meghan and Sebastien stared in befuddlement. She caught his eye and they had a short, but wordless, conversation over this. It made no sense. The most important part of this battle was about to go down, in which the Grosvenor were created, Jasper and Aloyna fought over this prophecy she was creating, and after, she got cursed into the glass and…
“Oh my God…” Meghan’s breath caught up in her throat.
“Meghan?” Sebastien saw a beacon blazing in her eyes. She’d figured it out.
She passed a heavy gape by each of them, the full measure of this truth sinking deep into her mind as if it had been anchored there, all along, biding its time.
“I know why I’m here. It’s me. It’s all me.”
“What is?” Sebastien questioned her.
She put her hand over her mouth letting it slide down her chin, breathed out nervously and then got to her feet, pacing anxiously.
“It’s me,” she mumbled. “It’s not you,” she aimed at Aloyna.
“Oh. Oh…” Sebastien pieced it together. He bounded from his chair and grasped Meghan by her shoulders. “Are you really sure about this? Knowing all you know, now. With all Colby showed you about what your father has in store for you. What you’ll be going back to. What you’ve already lived through.”
He saw the determination fix in her eyes, with an equal mix of terror and certainty. He nodded and backed away. This wasn’t his choice.
Everyone waited for her to explain. Even Robert, rather than invade her thoughts.
“I know why I’m here.” Saying the actual words were mind blowing, but trying to think about how she came from the future, only to come to the past, and create this… “Okay, so um, there’s this prophecy. I recently found out it was fake. Made up, I thought, by you,” she aimed at Aloyna. Who wore the look of, I’d never do such a thing.
“Except you do. But not because you make it up. Because I do. I made it up. Not you. Because I know everything that has to happen to get to the future we are at now. You’re right. We cannot change the past. We cannot change what happened. However, we can prepare for the future.”
They gawked at her like she was crazy. And possibly, brilliant.
“My father doesn’t know this prophecy isn’t real,” she continued. “At least I’m almost certain of this. Actually, it’s one of the few things I’d wager my life on. He does not know. And that, is how we’re going to win this war.”
Meghan sounded certain, and felt certain, and hoped to hell she was right.
“Interesting,” Robert was mumbling a moment later. “Sorry, had to hop in for a minute after all that. That’s a pretty crazy life you’ve led so far, Red.”
“That’s one way to look at it I guess. But what do you think?” She honestly wanted to know, before she set in to explaining to Aloyna, her terrible future. And Jasper, she probably wasn’t allowed to tell him he wouldn’t survive to see Aloyna free again.
She saw the recognition in Robert’s eyes. He passed a glance between his two friends. He believed everything Meghan was showing him, and this news hurt more than anything else. So much so, that fo
r the first time since she’d met him, he needed a minute to control his emotions before they overcame him and made his Projector’s powers go berserk.
“Why don’t you let me explain,” Robert offered after a minute. “Seems you’ve had to more times than you’d like, already.” Meghan grinned wearily. It took a little to warm up to the guy, but she liked Robert Motley. And so she sat back, and listened, as he basically retold her life story to Aloyna and Jasper, and all about the prophecy that was created by Meghan Jacoby.
CHAPTER 41
Catrina bolted awake to heavy breaths, incoherent mumblings, and Colin’s body convulsing in his sleep. She also awoke to her bed no longer in the lighthouse, but suddenly the scene of whatever dreams were playing out in Colin’s mind.
There was no other explanation for what she was seeing. Something had happened when they were asleep, and his dreams were attempting to live themselves out.
They were in the woods. And she stared, wide-eyed, as the ominous figure of Freyne Rothrock slithered closer, extending a long, bony arm toward her throat. She shouted as thin fingers enclosed around her neck, cutting off her scream.
All the while, some distance away, Jurekai Fazendiin was sitting on the branch of a tree, looking down over them with a satisfied glower. Juliska was by his side, smiling, and oddly, holding a bag of popcorn, like she was ready to enjoy the show.
Catrina screamed for Colin to wake up. It came out gurgled due to the hand squeezing around her throat.
Colin’s body jolted and his eyes flew open.
The nightmare dissolved, the bony fingers no longer choking Catrina. But the red mark of his dream hands still lingered on her skin.
They were back in the lighthouse and night had come.
Colin stared, somewhat blankly, his brain trying to catch up with what was happening. He caught the fear Catrina was trying desperately to make go away.
“Wh-what happened?” he breathed out.
“I think whatever you were dreaming…” she waved her arms around.
His dreams and nightmares had become momentary living things. Even in his sleep, he was not safe to be around. He nearly sent Catrina away from him. He did not want to, but he was putting her in danger, even while only sleeping.
“It’s okay, Colin. It’s over now.” She put on a brave face.
He sat up, got up, tussled his messy hair and let his hands cover his face. He needed to be locked away somewhere. Some place where he could not hurt anyone. But did a place like that even exist?
Catrina was up and pulling his hand down away from his face a moment later.
“I didn’t know that could happen,” he told her, apologies rampant in his tone.
“Now we know.” Although she had no idea how they dealt with this kind of problem. And could a dream coming to life, kill her, for real?
Colin shifted away from her, horrified. In need of the courage to do the right thing and send her somewhere safe.
There was an ear-splitting crack behind them.
He spun around to see Tanzea Chase on the spiral staircase leading upward to the lighthouse tower. There was a shriek and a howl outside, followed by another. Eyes blazed through the windows. She had not come alone.
When his mind had gone on the fritz he must have lost control of the magical protection cloak. And they’d been traced. Colin bounded in front of Catrina, trying to regain the control he needed to protect her.
Tanzea gave a silent order and they heard wings slapping against the wind, outside. Glass shattered, the windows broken.
Colin’s deadly stare stuck on Tanzea. Didn’t she remember that Scratchers were no match for him? He had destroyed one, and had no problem destroying more.
“Careful, boy,” she spat out. “One of them might be your friend.”
Jae…
Crap…
Colin was mortified because she was right in her assumptions that he’d not want to hurt Jae.
He was freaking out that even if he got them re-cloaked, and took them away from this spot, they might be traced or followed. His magic wasn’t cooperating and the anger boiling in his blood was not helping.
The very idea they’d use Jae against him was sadistic. And if one of these Scratchers was Jae, he had to be dying inside too. This wasn’t him. Not really.
“Leave. Now.” Colin searched deep for that calm focus he needed. Catrina held onto his hand, squeezing so hard, like she was trying to find it for him.
Tanzea had no plan of leaving. Mothball woman smirked and let her cane drop to the ground. Her own body began to contort, and shift.
He hadn’t realized she was one of them too.
His choices were to fight, or flee. But he could not calm himself enough to flee, safely.
Before she joined the others and he lost the ability to recognize her from the others, he needed to attack and take her down. He lifted his palm but gasped when a spell whizzed right past his head.
Catrina.
She tossed him a look of, I’m not completely helpless. And of course she wasn’t.
And in that realization, he sank a little deeper into the calm his magic needed.
The spell had only knocked Tanzea over. She was back on her wolf-like feet a moment later.
“I don’t want to hurt your friend,” Catrina said. “But we have to fight. We have to try to escape.”
Colin nodded. They could fight, without killing.
But he’d do it on his terms, not hers. In a mere thought, the lighthouse vanished and they were outside, in the winter wind, balancing on the jagged rocks.
The Scratchers pumped their wings and took off into the air, circling over Colin and Catrina.
“I’m sorry, Jae,” he mumbled to himself, praying he wasn’t actually here and Tanzea was tricking him. He waved his arm over his head and a mass of the winter wind pummeling the island surged upward, sent the flying beasts flailing to keep airborne. With every few seconds that passed, Colin began to regain more and more control. Until all of a sudden he was stretching his eyes, and unable to get enough air into his lungs. His hands went to his throat, his body fighting some invisible thing, which made his body want to shut down.
Catrina gasped as she saw it. A fine dust swirling in a downward spiral, surrounding Colin, getting sucked into his lungs. Pumping into his blood.
Tanzea had some of that Projector bone dust. Not from Jasper, because his was inside the lighthouse, wherever that was now that Colin had magicked it away. But if they didn’t get out of here fast, Colin was going to be poisoned by this bone. Catrina shot off a series of spells. Some hit. Some did not. None did much damage to the Scratchers.
Colin fell to his knees, breaths getting shallow and black splotches getting larger each time he blinked.
He watched one of the Scratchers’ bodies lowering. It’s deadly wings aiming for Catrina.
He fell to his back, the dust creeping into his blood, effectively shutting him down. Making him useless.
A tall figure appeared out of nowhere. Cloaked. A cloth or mask covering most of his face. Colin’s eyes couldn’t really focus and tell for sure.
He heard the words, “He’s mine,” and thought he saw the figure fighting the Scratchers.
This is how it all ended.
Perhaps he could die. And this was the moment it happened.
“Please don’t hurt Catrina,” he wanted to plea. But it came out in a slur of incoherent grunts.
He’d messed up, let his guard down, and the hunters had descended.
His eyes opened to see Catrina staring down over him, the fear of imminent demise swarming there.
The cloaked figure fought off the flying beasts swiftly.
With a fleeting glance, he saw that Colin was in rough shape. But damn it, this bone poison wasn’t something he could handle. He shouted to the girl trying to protect him.
“You need to get the poison out, or he will be paralyzed. Or die.” He continued his attack on the Scratchers.
Catrina spent one e
ternity lasting second as what this stranger claimed, sank in, followed by the knowledge that they were there to help.
A blink, and breath, and gasp, later, she and Colin were no longer on Freyne’s island. The stranger had magicked them away. The battle was nowhere in sight. The sounds of it, gone. But they were alone and she wasted no time.
“I’m sorry,” she told Colin. She was almost certain this was going to hurt. Because the only thing she could think to do was use magic to suck the poison out of him.
She passed her hands over him, letting her magic draw out each granule of bone, trying to ignore the cries and ragged breaths and chokes and convulsions as each poisonous granule dug its way out of him.
And then it was over. The pile of bone dust hurled out to sea to float away with the tides.
She leaned over him breathlessly. “Don’t try to move. Or talk. Just rest for a minute.”
He could only obey as his body was healing itself, and his mind, trying to reconnect with not only his second soul, but reality, in general. It was a bit like his mind and body were disconnected and trying to sew themselves back together.
Catrina tried to figure out where they were. This man who’d saved them had sent them away. He was powerful, and had saved their lives. It looked like he’d sent them to shore. Far enough away to be out of harm’s way.
Catrina’s breath caught when the magical protection cloak encircled them again.
Colin sat up and motioned for her. She slid over, embracing him.
“I’m so sorry,” he repeated a few times. “Are you okay?”
“Fine,” she whimpered out. There was no holding back, or hiding the fear she’d felt, or relief that by some miracle they were okay.
Was this their life now? Being tracked and hunted until someone succeeded in taking him down? He was shivering. So was Catrina. They were not dressed properly for this winter night. And something about nearly dying would give anyone the shivers.
Colin got them to their feet and into the woods not far away. Once there, he made sure the temperature inside their magical bubble was warm, and they plunked down, leaning against one of the trees.
The Ghost, The Dragon, and The Lost King (Fated Chronicles Book 4) Page 44