by KT Webb
The feelings were swirling around. He could feel the confusion emanating from his fellow Evolved. He didn't know who was who in the prophecy, and he didn't know what it meant. He looked at the now-familiar faces around him. Were they the final hope of mankind?
"We have identified your individual prophecies based on the descriptions of the five remaining ancestors. Would you like to receive these prophecies alone or together?" Romulus asked.
“Together,” they said as one. In any other situation, they would have found the moment amusing, but they each wore a mask of seriousness.
“Thatcher, please stand and receive your prophecy,” Dorian announced.
Kerr watched Thatcher go forward to receive his prophecy and felt his stomach begin to flutter nervously.
Dorian smiled kindly at Thatcher as he stood before the Virtues. "Thatcher, you are the orphan. You are the only Evolved who came from two descendants of the Old Immortals. You have never found a home you could belong in because you always belonged with us. Are you ready to receive your prophecy?"
Thatcher’s face was full of more questions than answers, but he still managed to nod his head.
"Your heart and mind are at odds. You must learn to accept the differences and choose the path that honors both. Do not be led astray by the appearance of innocence." Dorian motioned for Thatcher to take his seat, which he did with a look of concentration.
Kerr watched as Hadley and Whitley were summoned forth.
"Hadley and Whitley, you are the divided. As identical twins, you are made from one that is divided in two," Tahlia explained their title with tears in her eyes. "Are you ready to receive your prophecy?"
"We are," they said together.
"Although you are the same, you may go different ways. But your greatest strengths appear when you are as one." Tahlia stepped forward and kissed both girls on the cheek before they sat back down.
Nora was called forth next. Dorian grinned proudly at her as she stood in front of him with her head held high.
"Nora, you are the heart. Your compassion for others has always been your greatest strength. Are you ready to receive your prophecy?" Dorian smiled widely at her.
"Yes, I am," Nora whispered.
"You may think you are the end, but the beginning will come from within you," Dorian finished with a raw edge to his voice.
Kerr felt his nerves building as Nora slowly took her seat and began staring at her hands. Kerr had a million questions rolling around in his head. He was at a loss to decipher the prophecies his friends had received. He heard Romulus call his name, and the world spun as he came forward on wobbly legs.
"Kerr, you are the brave. You have learned to trust your ability to help you through any situation. Your bravery has led you through situations most people would turn from. Are you ready to receive your prophecy?"
"I am," Kerr answered with a voice that held none of the nerves he'd felt moments before.
"You know what has been, and sense what is to come. But you must open your heart to the present, or the future will not be," Romulus finished with a hopeful look directed at Kerr.
He went over and took his seat between Whitley and Thatcher. The tension was mixed with confusion as the prophecies sank into their heads.
Chapter Sixteen:
Malcolm
“What do you want me to do now?” Malcolm asked Absalom.
“I need you to win Thatcher over. He possesses the rest of the power that you should have. As long as he lives, you will never claim all of your abilities. Once you win him over, bring him to me,” Absalom said.
Malcolm nodded. “So once I bring him to you, what will happen to him?”
“That is none of your concern. Don’t forget your place in all this, boy,” Absalom snarled.
“You’re going to kill him aren’t you?” he asked quietly.
“No. I will not kill him,” Absalom answered.
“You won’t?” Malcolm felt a surge of hope. He had taken a liking to Thatcher. They were basically brothers, after all.
“No, that will fall to you. You will kill him to absorb his power. You will blame his death on me when you rejoin the Evolved, and take your place in the New Era. They will accept you and you will carry my legacy,” Absalom replied with only a hint of the evil he held inside him.
Malcolm left Absalom and made his way back into the house. He knew what was required of him and planned to pull it off. He'd been raised by Uncle Abe since before he could remember. His parents were both dead. He didn't know what happened, and he didn't care. All he knew was that it all had to do with The Evolved.
In order for them to fulfill the prophecies, they had to be the only remaining descendants of the Old Immortals. Abe had saved him. Malcolm had survived to prove that the future wasn't set in stone.
He remembered the day his Uncle Abe revealed himself as Absalom, one of the last remaining Old Immortals. Abe told Malcolm that he should be dead. He told him that his parents died because the Creator had chosen the five he would use to bring about his plans. What gave the Creator the right to decide who would live and who would die? Absalom trained him and showed him how to use his abilities. He taught him about the past and prepared him for the future.
The day the scout saw him in the park was planned. Where he would be when the Evolved came for him was planned. Absalom and Silas had set everything up. He knew they wouldn’t be far behind when he was picked up, but he hadn’t expected Absalom to follow him here.
He realized rather quickly that, while the plan was still to get rid of Thatcher, Absalom had his eyes on a new prize. Apparently Whitley and her twin Hadley were some special limited-edition set, because Abe was practically foaming at the mouth when he told him how important it was that he get his hands on them.
Malcolm told him he would get him the girls once they’d gotten rid of Thatcher. Once he was officially one of the Evolved, he would be able to sway the others to his cause by showing them the truth about the Creator and his precious Virtues.
Being with these people made him sick. He couldn't wait to destroy them all just to prove to the Creator that he wasn't as powerful as he thought.
The house was deserted when he returned. He wasn't sure where everyone went, but decided to take advantage of the alone time. He wandered into the library searching for the book he had heard so much about.
The fire was still burning, which led him to believe they left abruptly, and hadn't been gone long. Looking around the library, he knew it would be nearly impossible to find the right book. Absalom thought he'd be able to find it because he is the same as The Evolved. But he had little reason to believe that to be true. In fact, Malcolm refused to compare himself to them in any way.
For Absalom to even say that made him want to scream. His whole life had been dedicated to building a plan to get rid of them, now Abe wanted to compare him to them? As far as he was concerned, the Evolved were probably just as bad as the Virtues. They were all entitled. Entitled to whatever the Creator had decided for them. Well he wasn’t going to be like that. He was going to decide for himself once he’d done what Absalom wanted so he could get the rest of his power.
He began searching the countless books on the shelf, but deep down he knew they wouldn't have left it unattended. Malcolm began to thumb through one of the books and came across a section about Absalom. He settled down by the fire and began to read.
History of the Old Immortals:
Absalom
When the Old Immortals came to life, they were intended to be forces of good in a growing world. Absalom was born of darkness. From the very beginning, he was the bane of their existence. Absalom was full of trickery. His abilities were intended to bring mortals light and warmth, but he caused pain and panic wherever he went.
Absalom is the most dangerous and feared Immortal. Instead of creating sources of fire to help mankind, he created weapons to destroy them. Mountains became volcanoes, decimating entire civilizations. Natural pools of fresh water becam
e hot springs with temperatures high enough to cook a human being in seconds.
After centuries of second chances, the Creator stepped in. Absalom was banished from the world and took to ruling the Under Realm. His other names are still used today. Most know him as Hades, Lucifer, and most commonly, Satan.
Malcolm sat up straight as the chills ran up and down his spine. He closed the book to see who had written this account. His eyes fell on a name he was familiar with from Absalom's own library, so he knew this was not a biased history for the Evolved.
This couldn't be right. He re-read the introduction, and continued reading through the rest of the accounts. He slowly began to realize that he had literally made a deal with the devil.
Malcolm sat back with the book lying open in his lap. As he let the information sink in, he couldn't decide how he felt about what he'd learned. He knew Absalom was evil; here had never been any question about that. But it didn't matter because they shared the same goal: stopping the Evolved.
He couldn't shake the chill that had settled into his bones. The fire was still burning brightly as he pulled a blanket around his body and drifted into a fitful sleep.
Chapter Seventeen:
Hadley
Hadley was upset. No one had bothered to explain the vaguely ominous prophecy she and Whitley had received. Their mother seemed distant, so Hadley assumed she knew something more than she was letting on.
Right after they received their prophecies, Nora went off on her own. Hadley watched her leave and held Whitley back from following her. Thatcher had his head buried in his hands, still perched on the ruined columns. Kerr and Romulus had disappeared into the trees. It had been almost an hour of silence when Dorian made a comment about checking on Nora and headed down the path she'd taken. The girls sat facing each other at the ruined table with Tahlia between them.
Hadley cleared her throat and gave Whitley a weak smile before turning to Tahlia.
“Spill it, mom. What do you know?” Hadley asked, all business.
“You two are a miracle,” Tahlia replied reluctantly.
“Cut the crap. You should realize that we have part of you and part of dad, which makes us very difficult to avoid,” Whitley said with an edge in her voice.
Tahlia looked at the girls, shaking her head. “I know. I can tell you all I know, but I don't know if it will help you. Because you are identical twins, you know you came from one egg. And because you are the only children to be born to a female of my kind, the power was not diluted. I believe you became twins because no single mortal, Evolved or not, could contain the amount of power I passed down to you.”
The girls shared a confused look, but encouraged their mother to continue.
“Because you were one egg to begin with, and the two of you each hold half of my abilities, I am beginning to see how your prophecy will affect your future.” Tahlia paused to look at each girl in turn. “Think about your prophecy, and think about your lives. When have you ever been apart? The two of you have been inseparable since the day you were born.”
Hadley wrinkled her forehead as she let the information sink in. “So, going from our prophecy you think it means we can't ever be apart?”
Tahlia looked down. “More than that. I think you are still one person, only divided for the sake of survival.”
She listened to her mother’s words and felt them begin to sink into her body and mind. Hadley locked eyes with her sister and saw it all. They had always felt like two halves of a whole. They were alike in every way, but the extreme opposites in their personalities balanced the other out. The words of the prophecy rang in her head. “Although you are the same, you may go different ways. But your greatest strengths appear when you are as one.” If they were the same person in two bodies, what did that prophecy mean?
“So what are you saying, mom? That we aren't really two people? Are you telling us that we are going to go back to having just one body? How is that supposed to save mankind?” Whitley threw the words at their mother before turning to walk in the direction she saw Nora go.
Hadley knew deep down inside her what the prophecy meant. She had already worked it out in her mind. Both she and Whitley would have to part ways forever, or somehow become one. Either way, she would lose her sister.
Hadley looked at her mother and thought about how long she’d wanted to be with her. She reached across the table and took Tahlia’s hand in hers as she thought about the implications of her role as one of the Evolved.
“Mom, do you think it was a mistake?” Hadley murmured.
“What are you referring to?” Tahlia replied.
“Having us,” Hadley said slowly, as though each word caused her physical pain.
Abruptly, her mother looked up at her, holding her hand firmly. “No,” she said while looking into Hadley’s eyes. “No. It doesn’t matter what the future holds, it doesn’t matter what mistakes I’ve made in the past, and it doesn’t matter that I didn’t get to be part of your lives. You and your sister were never a mistake. You are both here as a result of the love Eric and I shared, and a result of the only selfish decision I ever made. I will never regret any of it.”
She gathered Hadley into a fierce hug and kissed her forehead. Hadley knew this would be the response, but she needed to hear it. She knew her mother did not regret bringing them into this world, and she knew her mother loved both of them. The only thing she didn’t quite understand was how her mother lived all these years knowing that one of the twins would possibly die to save the world.
Hadley glanced at Thatcher. He had been sitting quietly in the same position through the entire exchange between them. She wondered what he was thinking. She couldn’t even remember what his prophecy was. She walked over to him and sat on the ruined pillar next to him.
“Hey, you okay?” she asked, touching his shoulder.
“I’m fine. I don’t really know how I should feel. This whole day has been insane,” Thatcher responded without looking up.
“I know what you mean. Yesterday morning I never would have dreamed that I’d find my mother, let alone anything else that’s happened,” Hadley said quietly.
“I’m still not sure what to think about Dorian and leaving Malcolm behind,” he said as he looked up at her. “I have to believe that kid is innocent.”
Hadley understood why Thatcher felt the way he did. Malcolm seemed nice enough, and he was just a kid. Hadley hadn’t spent much time around him, and neither had Thatcher, but she knew his connection to Malcolm was instant.
“I want to believe that too. But I don’t know Malcolm. None of us do,” Hadley said gently.
Thatcher nodded his head and tried not to look lost. “I’m just so torn right now. I want to believe that the Virtues know what they’re doing, but what if they’re wrong?”
Hadley realized she hadn’t questioned the Virtues because they knew everything about her, they cared about her, and her mother was one of them. She had learned so much in the last twenty-four hours, and she knew it was right. She couldn’t explain it, but she believed it.
“I don’t believe they’re wrong, Thatcher. They don’t know what to make of Malcolm. He wasn’t part of the plans they’ve had for centuries. And because he was talking to Absalom in the middle of the night, we’re all a little worried,” Hadley told him.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m worried about this whole situation too. I think I’m so upset about it because it could have easily been me. He’s descended from Absalom, and so am I. His parents are dead, and so are mine. If he is working with Absalom, it could have easily been me that he chose. When I think about what that would mean for me, I know I have to find a way to help Malcolm,” Thatcher responded.
She smiled at his words. She knew there was no way it ever could have been him working with Absalom. He had such a good heart, and she didn’t think that came from being tossed from one foster home to another. It was something he’d inherited from his parents. She reached over and took his hand. He squeezed back and
smiled at her.
“I’m going to take a walk,” Thatcher said as he headed off in the same direction as Dorian.
Hadley could tell she was going to have to give Thatcher constant reassurance, and she realized she really didn’t mind.
Chapter Eighteen:
Kerr
Even though he knew what his prophecy meant, and what would happen to the others, he knew he couldn't tell them. His conversation with Romulus told him he had to leave this up to each person to choose their own way.
He paced back and forth in front of the tree stump where Romulus was perched. His grandfather smiled at him. He had already seen everything too.
“So you're telling me I don't have a choice?” Kerr demanded
“I'm not telling you anything. You already know the answers,” Romulus said.
“Well, what if I don't want to do what I saw? What if that's too much to expect of me? This is my life too,” Kerr cried in anguish.
“Is it really too much? Think about the glimpses you saw. How did you feel?” Romulus asked quietly.
Kerr was silent for a long time before he finally sat next to Romulus and said, “Happy. Happier than I ever thought possible. I felt love deeper than I ever thought was possible.”
Romulus slapped him on the back. “Congratulations.”
“The strange thing is, I know it's possible, and I actually do want it. But, I don't feel it right now. How do I get there?”
Romulus shrugged. “I fell for Anu the moment we laid eyes on each other. I don't know how it will be for you. Our abilities don't show us all the details, they just show us what can or will be.”
Kerr heard a twig snap and turned to see Whitley walking down the path. He smiled kindly at her, but quickly noticed the change in her demeanor. She was upset. He could feel her irritation and frustration pouring out of her.
“Are you okay?” Kerr asked.
“Don’t bother asking a question you already know the answer to,” Whitley replied dryly.