Prophecy of Light - Foretold

by RJ Crayton

  “Good,” he said. “Then tomorrow, we start.”

  Chapter 26 - A Lure

  Zygam paced the room while Akilah sat on the floor trying to meditate, trying to center herself. It was hard when he paced back and forth like a metronome. His footfalls vibrated the room, even though she couldn’t see him with her closed eyes. But maybe it was also hard because she was attempting moon magic. Zygam had showed her techniques, but they felt awkward. They didn’t draw on your inner light. They drew on your inner turmoil, they drew on feelings you wished to expel, rather than ones you wished to multiply.

  Something about it felt off. Not because it was wrong, she told herself, knowing she needed to believe she hadn’t made a mistake in coming here. This magic just felt off because it was different from what she was used to.

  “Akilah,” Zygam said, his voice soft with an uptick. It was almost a question.

  She opened her eyes and looked up. “Yes.”

  “I had a thought,” he said. “One that will bring Kady here, one that will bring her to our side, so that we may all get the world we want. One where you have your family, where you get justice, where the Talisman is whole.”

  Akilah raised an eyebrow. She couldn’t imagine such a scenario. At least not one happening easily. “How?”

  “I’ll explain, but I’m going to need your help.”

  Chapter 27 - Foretold

  I had been on my way back to my room when I heard Pylum call me telepathically. His voice was urgent, and he asked me to come immediately. I switched directions, heading toward his office, wondering what the emergency was. When I arrived, Pylum didn’t look happy. My curiosity was emblazoned now.

  He motioned for me to sit, and his mouth was a hard line. “Kady,” he said as he joined me in sitting, taking a seat across from me. “You know that I search the Seas of Times for indications of problems ahead, for clues of what might be lurking?”

  I nodded. He adored his Seas of Time.

  “Often, I see snippets of events to come, of things that might happen. But I know that each snippet is only one possibility. That if we were to change something in the present, that future might never come.”

  I nodded again. I wasn’t sure what he was getting at.

  “Sometimes, however, visions of future events take hold. They set, so to speak, and they stay the same, no matter what other parts of the Seas do. Such a thing has happened, and I would like to show you the event that seems to have set. I have witnessed it several times, and each time I see it, it becomes firmer, stronger. Often visions have a wispy quality about them, as if they’re still forming. This one is more solid than any I’ve seen.”

  Hmm. More solid, more permanent. “What is it?”

  He lifted the memory orbs from his desk and held it out. “I will show you,” he said.

  “I thought you could only see the past in memory orbs,” I said.

  He shrugged. “You can see any memory. This is a memory of a vision of the future. So, a memory from the future I suppose. In the old days, oracles would offer their visions to leaders this way. But only visions that had solidified. Offering faint visions tended to lead to trouble.”

  “Alright,” I said, the anxiety pooling in the pit of my stomach. I leaned forward and looked into the orb. Pylum closed his eyes, and a swirl of mist emerged in the little ball. As it cleared, I saw the halls of the Moon Temple. Zygam walked through them swiftly, his white cloak whipping as he did. He arrived in a room, a small room, that was reminiscent of a light room here at Hakari Ahet. The mist swirled momentarily, but the room didn’t change. Only now, Zygam wasn’t alone. Sitting on the floor leaning against the wall was me. I had tears in my eyes. I wiped my face and looked up at him.

  “I know this is hard for you, Dirah,” Zygam said, and he knelt in front of me. “You have to know I don’t want things to be hard for you.”

  I nodded as if I understood him, as if I believed him. Inside the orb, I sucked in a deep breath. “If I give it to you,” I said. “It will work? It will be a cure?”

  Zygam smiled at me, a kindness in his eyes. “I promise you, it will work.”

  I hesitated, took a deep breath, and then I place my fingers on my collar bone, fingering the fine chain around my neck. I pulled up the necklace Pylum had given me with the little rock on it. Zygam’s eyes widened, and the lust in them was palpable as he watched me wrap my hand around the stone, then yank the chain from my neck.

  I held it out to him. “Take it,” I said.

  Then mist subsumed me and Zygam, and the vision was over. As the orb cleared, I shook my head. “That can’t be right. I wouldn’t give Zygam the stone. I swear, I wouldn’t give him the alab.”

  Pylum simply stared at me, waiting for me to stop my protestations. “I make no judgments about why or what led to this. All I know is that I cannot stop this from happening. Not the way I had intended, through training. I must resort to other measures.”

  I felt a chill run through me. “What do you mean?”

  He held out his hand. “I cannot let you keep it.”

  The alab. It was still cradled around my neck at the moment. I hadn’t taken it off since he’d told me to keep it. It felt like it belonged there, like it made me whole. I didn’t move. Just watched his waiting outstretched palm. I wasn’t ready to give it up though. I wasn’t ready to believe anything would lead me to that path. “Are you sure that will happen?”

  He nodded.

  “But why?”

  “The Seas of Time are inexact. There could be a thousand different scenarios that occur, but they all lead to this event.” His eyes were focused on the chain around my neck. “I must protect the people here at Hakari Ahet. People like your aunt, and Jasper. I need the stone.”

  Auntie. Jasper. I wanted them protected. I still had no idea why I would trust Zygam, but I took both my hands, gently removed the necklace, and handed it to Pylum. He closed his little hand around it, and I swear, he looked relieved. I wonder if the Seas of Time had shown a wispy vision of me fighting him, battling him to keep it. Part of me, for just a fraction of a second, had considered not letting it go.

  “Thank you,” he said.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “We continue your training, and hope that whatever Zygam did to lead you to the place in that vision has less effect on you now that you have seen what has happened.”

  Chapter 28 - An Invitation

  I’d left Pylum’s office and gone to the healing room to find my aunt. But she’d gone already. Master Yaritza walked me to her room in the family housing. When we arrived, I walked in and found a living area that was already brightly decorated with rugs and tapestries and comfortable furnishings.

  “Wow, Auntie,” I said after Yaritza had left us alone. “You move quickly.”

  She laughed, as she sat on the sofa, and waved me over to join her. “I can thank Pylum. He stored most of my things after your mother and I left. When I came back a couple of days ago, he had my things removed from storage and put in this room.”

  Ah, that made sense. The place felt like Auntie. Lots of yellows and reds, and the tapestries depicted various breads and grains. Even back then, she must have found joy in baking.

  “So,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Why does something have to be wrong for me to visit you?”

  She shook her head. “Nothing has to be wrong for you to visit me, but if you visit me looking as if the sun has fallen from the sky, plunging the world into darkness, I’m going to ask you what’s wrong.”

  I couldn’t help but chuckle. Auntie knew me too well. I hesitated a moment, then told her what Pylum had showed me.

  She bit her lower lip and squished her eyebrows together. “That’s not good.”

  “But it’s not true, is it?” I asked. “I mean, I wouldn’t do that. You know that, right?”

  She paused before answering, taking a moment to scoop my hand into hers. “Love, if Pylum’s vision has solidified
, it means there is a good chance of it happening. But we are human beings, and we can control our destiny. The vision is likely, but it’s not concrete.”

  I nodded, but I didn’t feel terribly reassured. I wanted her to tell me she knew I would never do anything like that. That Pylum had been a fool not to trust me. The fact that she couldn’t say it meant she must not believe it. She clearly thought Pylum was justified in taking the stone back, that I would somehow allow Zygam to control me. I was surprised by her lack of faith in me.

  She patted my back. “You still seemed dejected.”

  I shrugged. “I just wish people had more faith in me.”

  She smiled, wrapped an arm around me and gave a squeeze. “I have faith in you,” she said. “Work with Master Nuri on strengthening your mind, and I am certain that you will not do what Pylum has foreseen.”

  I wouldn’t do it anyway. I forced a smile and turned to my aunt. “So, is it nice being in the temple again? I mean, having your own room, the way you used to?”

  She smiled. “I don’t think I’ve been in here more than an hour or two,” she said. “It’s hard to say what it’s like with so little time here.” Her eyes got far off as she looked across the room at a hanging tapestry embroidered with women dancing around in a circle. I suspected the women would look as if they moved if a breeze came along and blew on it. “I miss the bakery.”

  I leaned in closer, feeling the softness of her comforting hold. “I miss it, too,” I admitted. “It’s funny. Once I knew that the people here were magical, I thought the kufta and the sufta rolls would be as good as yours, but they never were.”

  “I never used magic to bake. Just love, care and attention.”

  I smiled. I guess I had known that. Using magic meant Zygam would find us. But even without magic, he had still found me. “Do you think we’ll be able to go back there? I mean, when everything with Zygam is finished?”

  The silence as I waited for her answer felt too long. “Maybe,” she said, finally. “First, Zygam must be dealt with. We need to take the Talisman from him.”

  Kill him, she meant. I felt a lump rise in my throat. He’d done a horrible thing to my mother, and the Talisman was the only thing keeping him alive. Taking it meant death. It was why he’d fought so hard to find me, why he’d been obsessed.

  My aunt pulled her arm away and covered her mouth as she tried to stifle a yawn. I was tiring her out. A wave of guilt washed over me. She’d been moved, but she still had to be weak from what happened.

  I stood up.

  The abruptness of it, made her frown. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” I said. “Your yawn just reminded me that I’m tired. I’m going to head up my room and get ready for bed.”

  Auntie watched me a moment, as if seeking some other answer, perhaps a sign my face gave that I had something else on my mind. Finally, she sighed. “Alright, then, you can go,” she said. “But come back in the morning. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “Something you have to wait until the morning to tell me?”

  She paused to consider, and then shook her head. “I don’t have to wait. I can tell you now, and what I wanted to talk to you about. Well, it’s just a suggestion,” she said, and I squinted as I tried to figure out why she was dancing around the subject instead of coming straight to it. Finally, she said, “I just wanted you to know that you could stay here with me. You don’t have to stay in the student wing if you don’t want to.”

  My eyes widened slightly, and I was appalled that the idea hadn’t occurred to me on my own. “Auntie,” I started.

  She held up a hand. “Don’t answer now,” she said. “That’s why I wanted to talk to you about it in the morning. But I also didn’t want you to feel like you were being kicked out tonight. You can stay here if you want to. My home is your home. Come here whenever you want, stay as long as you want.”

  I shook my head “I didn’t feel like I was being kicked out,” I said, meaning it. I’d come to view my room at the temple as mine. ‘“I’ve gotten used to my room here. For tonight, I think I’ll stay there, let you get some undisturbed rest.”

  She nodded. “Sounds like a good plan,” she said. Then she stood up and hugged me. It was a warm and familiar embrace. She looked tired after she sat back down.

  “I should go, Auntie,” I said. With that, I bid her goodbye and left.

  * * *

  I’d taken the long way to my room, trying to clear my head. For some reason everything felt like too much too fast. Master Nuri, Pylum taking the stone back, Auntie’s move into a new life already furnished. I tried to breathe out and calm myself, but I felt riddled with anxiety even as I went to sleep.

  It was no wonder that my mind traveled in my dreams. I found myself back in the Moon Temple with my uncle. He was sitting on a cushion in the corner of a small room, meditating. It reminded me of the light rooms in our temple. Yet, I knew it couldn’t be exactly like those rooms, because Jasper had told me that light rooms were impenetrable to mind invasion.

  “Kady,” Zygam said. “I’m happy to see you.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “I’ve been trying to reach you.”

  “Why?”

  He smiled. “I’m glad you’re so eager to hear.”

  I frowned. I was eager, but I shouldn’t have showed it.

  “Your friend needs your help,” he said.

  I raised an eyebrow. “Akilah?”

  He nodded.

  “How can she need my help? And if she actually does need it, why not just ask me?”

  He shrugged. “You know she isn’t gifted in magic of the mind. She has trouble communicating this way. But she needs your help. She needs you to come.”

  I shook my head. “I’m not coming back to the Moon Temple.”

  He nodded, but then said, “I know you think it’s not safe, but I assure you that no harm will come to you, and you can help Akilah. She needs your help. If not, she will ...” He looked frightened of the words he left off, but made no move to say more.

  He was baiting me, but I took it. “She will what?”

  “She may never recover.”

  I shook my head, and started to pull from the dream. He was toying with me, playing games.

  “Wait,” he called out.

  I turned back to him, even though part of my brain was urging me not to. “I won’t be tricked again, uncle.”

  He smiled at that. “You may call me uncle, if you prefer. Though, I have always liked alab,” he said. “With regards to your friend, this is not a trick. She needs your help to find peace. Her mind ….”

  The dramatic halts were irritating. “What about her mind?” I snapped.

  “Let me show you,” he said. “Open your mind to me.”

  I felt certain that since we were communicating via dream, my mind was already open to him. I motioned for him to continue

  He closed his eyes and a moment later, I saw an image. It was Akilah lying on the floor, her eyes were rolling back in her head and she writhed. She screamed in pain. “Kaddddyyyy,” she belted out in a blood-curdling shriek. “Help, please.” Her body shook and convulsed, tears ran down her eyes. “Make it stop. Make it stop.’”

  I recoiled, practically able to feel the agony myself. The vision ended. “What was that? What’s wrong with her?” I demanded.

  “I ... I’m not entirely sure,” he admitted. “Something with her memories returning and being near Elpida. The crystal has been known to warp the mind. And like you, she used it when she was younger. I think she needs the healing power of the crystal. And I can’t wield it. Only you can.”

  I swallowed. I hadn’t expected that. I hadn’t expected her to need my help. “But you’ve been using it? Haven’t you been using it?”

  He didn’t respond. “I don’t possess the skill it takes to cure her. Only you can do that. If you want to help, come to the Moon Temple. Sooner, rather than later.”

  And then
the dream ended. I woke up, alone in my room. I looked over to Akilah’s empty spot. Whatever had happened with Zygam and that crystal, she didn’t deserve that kind of pain.

  Chapter 29 - Decisions

  I felt a sense of deja vu. A cry for help from someone who needed me at the Moon Temple. Less than a week ago, I’d rushed off, planning to go alone. Instead, I’d taken Akilah, and gotten her caught up with Zygam.

  Now she was paying for it. I looked around the room, lit only by the sliver of moonlight that crept in. I had to figure out what to do. It could have been a trap. Zygam could have been lying, but part of me didn’t feel that he was. And if he was telling the truth, if only I could help Akilah, then what kind of person would I be for not helping?

  I wondered briefly if this was the vision Pylum had seen. Had I gone to help Akilah and given Zygam the alab for her? Could I help her if I didn’t have the alab?

  I sighed and breathed out. I had to make some decisions, and quickly. Master Nuri had suggested I was ambivalent toward my uncle, that I should only face him again once my feelings were settled. But there wasn’t time for that. And even though Akilah had joined Zygam, I knew that she wasn’t a bad person. She’d said she’d escaped darkness, and even Jasper had suggested her past was stormy. Maybe that storm was catching up and she needed my help. Despite everything else, she was the first to come and help me. She was the first to try to make me feel welcome here. She was the first to volunteer to come with me to the moon temple. She stood by my side, ready to protect me from Zygam. Didn’t I owe her anything for that?

  I lit the lamp and found my things. I dressed in a cloak and gathered my resolve. I would go and get her. I had to decide whether I needed a ketesh or not. Zygam had said I’d be safe, but the idea that I could trust him niggled me. A great part of me felt the desire to trust him. Had strong emotional connections to him as my adored alab. But the other part of me knew he didn’t just love me as a niece. He needed my magic.