by JC Dameron
The clothes which Ethan had given me were a bit small and fit Lucas very tightly, showcasing his form. The image made it hard to stay mad at him for laying in my bed. As I was just starting to appreciate the view, he quickly rushed out of the room.
"I'll ah, see you soon?" He posed the statement as a question, as he closed the door.
After he left the room, I undressed and stepped into the shower myself. After the day I had, there was nothing better than the prospect of a hot shower and good night of sleep. As I stood, soaking in the shower, the water began to cool, and I realized that I had lost track of time.
"Vel?" I heard Lucas say from inside the room.
"Wait outside, Lucas!" I screamed, wishing that I had innate Ether in that moment.
"I'm just gonna lay on the couch," he said, seemingly ignoring me. "I'll cover my head with the blanket I found, just uncover me when you're done."
"Lucas, so help me..." I started but didn't hear the door again. I quickly finished rinsing and contemplated the best way to re-break Lucas's nose. "When I get out of here, you better be outside, or you're going to find out what Ethan warned you about this morning!"
After dressing myself in a casual cotton nightgown, I walked out to confront Lucas, but as he said he was indeed on the couch fully covered from head to toe with a blanket...MY blanket. I ripped the blanket off of him, ready to strike, but found that he had placed another blanket beneath mine, likely taking mine as an afterthought, just to be funny. I pulled the second blanket back, revealing his head, and found that he was sound asleep. My rage dissipated as I took his appearance in. His face was still swollen from where I had kneed him in it, and you could tell that his nose would not be the same again, but he was still quite handsome. I decided to let him have a pass, and I tucked myself into bed after fixing my blanket, falling fast asleep in only minutes.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
To Dream a Dream
Under normal circumstances, I was never able to remember my dreams, but the dream I had on this night, was I one would never be able to forget. I was standing in New York, surrounded by the city from the middle of a large park. Ethan, Leaha, Seles, Grimaldi, Vesta, Lucas, Aaron and countless UTF agents all stood with me. On the other side of the field, Astiel and a horde of casters stood ready to do battle. Astiel struck first, invoking an attack which launched the ground itself toward us. As waves of earth propelled forward, shaking the very foundation we stood upon, Grimaldi and Seles expertly countered by raising a wall of earth to block the debris.
The UTF agents, lead by Ethan and Aaron, split into two teams and moved to flank the casters with Astiel. Astiel and his most powerful men gathered Ether and manifested an invocation which created enormous globes of water in the sky. He proceeded to launch a ball of flame upward, rupturing those globes. The resulting effect was a mix of fire and water that joined together to rain down in the form of a fiery acid, striking many of the unprotected agents. I watched in horror as their skin melted from their bones, leaving only the memory of their screams.
Seles drew her daggers, invoking her speed enhancement; while Grimaldi held a staff which seemed to allow him to focus his Ether, maximizing his power. Seles flashed next to the casters who were nearest Astiel, and sliced their throats, killing all of them in mere seconds. Astiel countered, invoking walls of earth around Seles that were inescapable, even with her speed. As the walls closed in on her, Grimaldi invoked a wave of flaming earth which struck one of the walls and blew it to pieces, but not before Seles was left defenseless. I watched in horror as a barrage of lightning from Astiel's army pummeled her, breaking through her barrier, and leaving her unconscious on the ground. Astiel moved to her, picking her up by her hair, threatening a final blow.
Vesta invoked a spell which drew the debris around us together, creating a golem, it's right hand was set aflame, while it's left cracked violently with uncontrollable lightning. The Golem moved toward Astiel, who attempted to quickly vanquish Seles with her own dagger, but the dagger was reflected off of a barrier which Leaha had invoked around the unconscious Seles. Astiel tossed her limp body aside, chanting a spell to deal with the Golem. I heard shots ring, as Aaron and Ethan's teams began to assault the army of casters from behind, killing or injuring many of those who had foregone barriers to concentrate on attacking from the rear. Astiel invoked an enormous blade of light above the Golem, followed by a pillar of earth from beneath, which raised the golem to the blade, impaling it. With a wave of his hand, he directed the blade far away toward the city where the blade pierced a tall building and ripped the Golem apart. Seles had regained consciousness during the exchange and picked up her dagger from the ground beside her. She flashed to Astiel, driving her dagger into his leg, just above his knee. Astiel screamed in pain as he fell to his knee, pulling the dagger from it, and silently invoked his most notorious spell. I watched in horror, alongside those near me, as flames appeared and gathering together in the form of a phoenix. Seles flashed away, but it was too late. The flaming bird moved toward her swiftly, flowing into her as a stream of flame, entering into her body through her eyes and ears. I turned my head, unable to watch, as the flames flowed through her body and burnt her insides to ash, leaving only a hollow shell before rushing back out of her, ready to move to Astiel's next target.
Leaha was busy shielding the UTF agents, including Ethan and Aaron, who had engaged the casters behind Astiel. Grimaldi stepped forward, walking slowly to Astiel. I couldn't see his face, but I knew he was going to fight with Astiel toe to toe. Grimaldi released his staff, and as he chanted his invocation, a great flood of water erupted forth and took the shape of a great serpent. Astiel laughed, and though I couldn't hear his words, I knew he mocked Grimaldi. Astiel pointed to Grimaldi, directing his phoenix toward him. The bird of flame moved swiftly, ready to end Grimaldi in the same manner as it had Seles. Grimaldi's serpent, responding quickly, lunged forward and grabbed the phoenix, extinguishing my brother's invocation in the process. Astiel clapped, seeing Grimaldi best his attack. Grimaldi directed the serpent toward Astiel, but the serpent met with his barrier, unable to pierce it. Astiel reached into the serpent's mouth, grasping Grimaldi's staff, which was centered in the invocation's skull. He pulled it from the serpent, causing the invocation to disperse, and water to crash to the ground. I heard Vesta chanting and watched as her body became encompassed by the dull aura of flame she had shown previously. Her eyes turned black, and as she chanted, the water from Grimaldi's serpent invocation began to freeze. I looked to Astiel who's fear was apparent, and having noticed the girl's aura, I knew that he realized that she was drawing Ether from the Leylines. The freezing effect rushed toward Astiel, who had become drenched by water when the Serpent dispersed above him.
I saw Astiel chant an invocation, and in an instant, he was surrounded by a wall of flames. Vesta's invocation penetrated the wall of flame, slowly encasing Astiel in ice, similar to the invocation Vesta's mother had used on the man who had abused her. Grimaldi, not willing to miss his chance, chanted an invocation which seemed to draw on all of his power; however, before he could invoke his spell, Astiel broke free from the chamber of ice which Vesta had invoked to encase him, and he manifested an invocation. A dark rift opened behind Grimaldi, and black flames shot to his feet. Grimaldi screamed in agony as boils formed on his skin, and I could see that his blood was boiling inside his body before he fell, limp and lifeless. Black flame erupted toward Vesta and Leaha, but Vesta invoked a barrier which dissipated the flames, and with a thought, she closed the rift. Astiel was clearly outmatched, and he knew that he could not defeat the girl.
As he began to chant what would be his final invocation, the battlefront was silenced by an enormous clash, which sounded like thunder, and shook the ground beneath us. I looked up to find an enormous black cloud rapidly covering the land. The cloud flashed with lightning and crashed with thunder, and as it passed the buildings in the city, it left them desolate, as though they had aged thousands of years in a momen
t. As the cloud approached, Astiel and all of his men, as well as those present with me, seemed to forget about their current engagements and began to invoke spells to pierce the cloud, to no avail. I seemed to be the only one who didn't know what the cloud represented. The cloud surrounded us from all sides, leaving only the field in which we stood untouched by its overwhelming destructive force, though it enclosed upon us at a constant rate. As it passed over Astiel's men, they were turned to ash; thousands of casters were killed in an instant. I looked on in horror, seeing that Aaron and Ethan, alongside their remaining men, were about to share the same fate. I screamed for them to move, and as their flesh was turned into the dust from which it came, I wondered if this was the power of the gods themselves, judging this world. Leaha, having witnessed Ethan's demise, shouted a mournful cry as she held her womb and fell to her knees, defeated. The cloud passed over Astiel, who maniacally invoked spells to try and stop the cloud's progression, but in an instant, he was destroyed. I watched as my friends, family, and subjects fell victim, one by one, to the unstoppable power the cloud represented. I tried to grab Leaha's hand but passed through her. Lucas rushed to her and picked her up, but he was too late. She looked into my eyes, tears staining her face, as the cloud passed over her, turning her and Lucas into nothingness.
I stood beside Vesta, covering her with my body, as the cloud completely closed above us. Vesta's small form disappeared in my arms, leaving me alone, with nothing but darkness left. As I wept, I heard a roar from the heavens, and a great dragon burst through the cloud from above, allowing the light to shine onto the field in which I stood. The dragon breathed a great flame which seemed to encircle the entire world, burning away the cloud, and then the dragon landed before me. I stood near the divine beast, tears flowing like a river from my eyes, as I searched and found no other life, anywhere. I looked into the dragon's eyes, which, were not that of a dragon at all, but very human in their appearance. The dragon, with a few mighty beats of its wings, flew into the sky, leaving me truly alone.
"Vel!" I heard Lucas's voice from my dream. "Vel, wake up, it's just a dream.”
The great dragon faded, and I sat up swiftly in the dark with Lucas beside me.
"Are you okay?" He placed his hand on my shoulder, a concerned look in his eyes.
I could feel the burning in my eyes, and the moisture on my cheeks from the tears that stained my face. Tears so powerful, they transcended my subconscious and became real.
"I'm fine, I..I just thought I lost everyone," I said, trying to control myself, but I found that I was unable to do so as I laid my face on Lucas's shoulder, weeping. "I saw you die, Lucas.”
"I'm right here, Vel. As long as you need me, I'll always be right here." He smiled and grabbed my chin, lifting my face to his, and kissed me.
In that moment, though part of me wanted to pull away, I couldn't. I drew nearer to him, pressing my body against his, and I kissed him back. Lucas grabbed my hand, wrapping his fingers in mine, and set me on my back. He didn't say a word, he just sat there, staring at me for what felt like an eternity, taking me in through the darkness. He lowered his head to mine, kissing me, holding me, and comforting me, and he stayed with me until I couldn't stay with him any longer as I fell asleep in his arms.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The Scoop
I awoke the next morning, alone. I sat up in my bed, and I searched for Lucas, but he was nowhere to be found. I wanted to thank him for comforting me when I awoke from my dream and to threaten his life if he told anyone about the way in which he had comforted me. I assumed he had gone to the lab, so I decided that I would go to speak with him there. After brushing my hair and dressing, I walked out of my room and was met by Seles. She was sitting by the wall next to my door as if she had been waiting for me for a while.
"Hey Vel," she said, standing to her feet.
"Good morning Seles." I waited for her to start the conversation that she so clearly felt she needed to have with me.
"So, I was going to knock a little while ago, but before I could, Lucas walked out and smiled at me as he walked toward the lab," she said, bending her head to look me in the eyes as I subconsciously lowered my head.
"Well, at least he was in a good mood; he must be a morning person," I replied, trying to deflect the interrogation that I knew was sure to follow.
"Mhm," she mumbled under her breath, staring through me.
Seles had been a good friend for as long as I had known her, but this wasn't a subject I was going to discuss with her, or anyone, not even Leaha.
"Vel!" I heard Leaha's voice ring from down the hall. "I just came from the lab, and man was Lucas ever ready to share how his night with Velareedra Renaud went." I noticed that she had a brisk pace in her step.
I thought I would be sick at this announcement, and then I remembered Lucas's gentleness. It wasn't that I regretted allowing him to be close to me, not at all, but for him to speak about it to my friends without consulting me, that part seem to enrage me.
"Oh, do tell," Seles said to Leaha, smiling wide.
I grabbed Seles and Leaha's arms and drug them into my room.
"What did he tell you, Leaha?" I asked, blushing.
"He told me that he fell asleep on the couch and you were kind enough to cover him with a blanket, but your reaction tells me there's more to the story," she giggled, having successfully pinned me down so I had to share.
"Foul play, Leaha," I said, trying to act angry so they would drop it.
"Oh, come on now, Vel," Leaha said, completely ignoring my facade.
"Yea, Vel, give us all of the juicy details," Seles chimed in, displaying a devious smile, clearing filling in the blanks as she saw fit.
"Listen, what he said is only partially true," I admitted. "He ignored my demands that he stay out of the room while I was in the shower, stating that he would cover himself completely with a blanket. He was true to his word, but he had stolen my blanket as well, so I took it back," I said, not including the second event of the evening.
"Really? That’s all that happened?” Seles sighed and put on her best sulky face. “Lame!”
"Well, I bet it was probably more like the evening I had with the blacksmith's son, but I'll let you keep it to yourself if you must," Leaha said, referencing an encounter she had, and swore me to secrecy about when we were young women.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Seles said, hoping to be let in on the details.
"Don't worry about it Seles, it's a story from long ago," Leaha said, shutting Seles down.
My night with Lucas wasn't quite as eventful as those of her tale, but I decided to let her believe that it was, rather than explaining the details.
"Well then, if that’s all we will be discussing about the events of last night, I guess I can tell you about my morning. So, I went to the lab to speak to our head of research and development, Felix Rivera, to confirm if he felt that Lucas's time frame was correct. Not because I doubted Lucas's abilities or judgment, but rather, to plan ahead. That falls very close to when my child will be born, and I want to be sure that I am able to be there when the time comes,” Leaha said.
As I looked at Leaha and Seles, my mind traveled to my dream. I relived their deaths in my mind as they spoke, and it was horrible.
"Vel?" Leaha said as if asking a question. "What's wrong, why are you crying?"
I hadn't even realized that tears had formed in my eyes.
"It's nothing," I said, wiping the tears away. "I was just thinking about all of the people who have joined Astiel, and how many of them will die, standing against us for his unrighteous cause," I said, explaining away my sadness.
Seles put her hand to her forehead and sighed.
"It's unbelievable how much the tide has turned since the day he attacked Leordia City," Seles said.
Leaha placed her hands on Seles and my shoulders, and she began to rub gently.
"It's okay," she said, pulling her hands back. "I believe that, in the final battle, many of t
hem will see Astiel's lies for what they are, and I can only hope that those who do are able to escape from him without harm. Oh speaking of, Aaron is due to decompress in a few hours. Why don't we go eat some breakfast, and then we can go to the rejuv room to welcome him back to the land of the living."
"Sounds good to me," I said, determining that I would wait to visit Lucas until after Aaron was removed from the rejuv tank to thank him for his discretion.
"Wait, I still want to know about Lucas and the blacksmith's son!" Seles screamed from behind us.
Leaha and I chuckled as we walked, and Seles mumbled a few harsh words under her breath as she followed. When we arrived at the Lounge, Ethan and Grimaldi awaited us. As always, Ethan stood to his feet and pulled a chair for Leaha, helping to seat her. Seles took the seat next to Grimaldi, and I the seat at the head of the table in between Seles and Leaha. The agents, who had been assigned food duty that day, brought out our plates and served us our breakfast.
"The round thing on your plate is called a pancake," Leaha explained around a mouth full of said food. "It's mixed with blackberries and chocolate chips, make sure you grab some of the spread, called butter, and spread it across the top of the pancakes. Oh and pour some of this on top of it," she said, pouring a thick substance, which read Maple Syrup on the bottle.
I did as she said, taking note of the other items on the plate.
"The sandwich is ham, egg, and cheese, and it's delicious on the French bread," Seles said, pointing to the large sandwich next to the pancakes.
"Well, while everyone is explaining things, majesty," Grimaldi chimed in with a smile. "The cubed sections there are potatoes, but when they're chopped up and fried, they're called home fries," he concluded, making a face at Seles as if he had stolen her glory.
Ethan laughed, watching Seles and Grimaldi banter back and forth.
"Remember when we were like that, Leaha," he said, pulling Leaha close and kissing her, jesting that Seles and Grimaldi were like a couple.