Insight

by Tina Engel

  “We can discuss Ana later, if you don’t mind.” Brett said, gruffly, “but we do seem to have a world, or many worlds to save right now.”

  He was right, I knew, and Queen Anahita wasn’t or shouldn’t have been a concern, but she was, and Brett knew it, as did I. We had seen her in the water, just after the creature from the other dimension injected me with her fluid.

  It was Poseidon who sent the creature, but was Queen Anahita trying to stop it, working for the Dark One, or was she helping Poseidon. Which side was she on? Biton had talked about a female water fey working for the Dark One, was it Queen Anahita or the other fey that I saw with her? Or was it someone else?

  Kimberlite turned and headed down the tunnel and we followed. My mind wondered, as we went, how was I supposed to close the doorway? What did I, standing in the middle of it, surrounded by lava, have to do with anything?

  As we hurried along, the ground and surrounding walls started to rumble again and things started to crumble all around. Kimberlite yelled, “We need to hurry before we are buried. I can survive but I’m not sure about the two of you and we don’t have time for me to dig you out, if we are buried.”

  I put my shield up around us, and the falling rocks and sand from all around rolled off, keeping us safe for the moment. I knew that if the tunnel completely caved in, we would be in the shield but still stuck and would have no air to breathe. I thought then, silly as it was, how were we getting air down here, anyway.

  I heard Brett chuckle, and knew he was in my mind and found my thoughts funny. I turned to look at him and started to laugh, as he did the same. “Well”, I said, “I think odd things when I’m stressed. How is the air getting down here to breathe?”

  Brett, smiled that silly smile that I so loved and hadn’t seen for so long, and said, “Let’s just be happy we are, and not worry about it.”

  I turned my head forward, just in time, to keep me from running into the wall in front of me. Brett grabbed my arm at the same time to stop me. I looked up above and there was Kimberlite, looking down.

  “Give me your hand Princess.” He requested.

  I did so and he lifted me up out of the hole, and as Brett jumped out, the tunnel collapsed and the hole was gone. Everything around us was shaking and as I looked around, I saw we were in the old part of the city, the crumbled buildings, crumbling more as the earth seemed to move.

  We were there, where we had closed the doorway earlier, but it was there again, not earth as we had left it. The golden door turned a deep red color suddenly and I could feel heat radiating from it.

  I knew it was going to explode and pieces of hot metal would fly everywhere. I suggested, calmly, that we should take cover. Kimberlite and Brett looked at me strangely at first and then looking back at the door, they understood and we ran to the nearest pile of rocks and got behind it just in time.

  My shield was still around us for protection but I wasn’t sure how well it would protect against hot, flying metal. An explosion broke the silence, and red hot metal came flying over our heads. Kimberlite stood then, bending over me and pulling Brett up under him too, protecting us from the falling fire balls, just in case my shield failed, not that I thought it would, but he wasn’t too sure.

  Soon, the sound of the falling metal stopped and Kimberlite stood up and said, “Well it looks like you didn’t need me this time, Princess. That shield of yours is pretty handy.”

  Brett and I stood then and looking over to where the doorway had been, there was an enormous hole. Suddenly, things started to come out, creatures, not like the small beetle type that had entered earlier, but grey wisps. Then I could see what was inside the greyness. They were people, fey and creatures that looked like him, the bug like creature in my dream, ghostly grey in color, scowling and angry, as they entered our side of the door.

  I knew what I had to do. I had to close off the entrance to Gehenna, and there was only one way. I turned to the boys and told them to keep the enemy busy while I closed the door.

  Brett grabbed my arm, swinging me to him, to stop me. I reached up, put my arms around his neck and kissed him hard and passionately. When I pulled away, just enough to look into his eyes, I saw fear and pride in them.

  Brett bent down, and placing his lips on mine, he gently kissed me, and pulling away said, “Be careful, we are not done yet.” And he let me go.

  I dropped the shield that surrounded us and I ran around the rock wall that had been our protection. Brett and Kimberlite came around the other side, yelling and carrying on to get the attention of the Dark One’s army. I ran to the doorway, as I put up my shield around myself.

  I stood in the middle of the doorway, my shield grew to the size of the opening, and no creature could get out, or in, for that matter.

  I watched as Brett and Kimberlite were destroying the few creatures that had come out of the doorway. They were not difficult to destroy. I found this curious, Kimberlite just had to strike out and they disintegrated and Brett did the same, one swing of his sword and they disappeared.

  I didn’t have time to contemplate this, for as I looked into Gehenna, on the other side of the doorway, I saw them, thousands of creatures, like the one I had seen in my dream, like overgrown insects. I saw him then, larger than the others, with a smile so evil that I felt instantly nauseous.

  I knew what I had to do then. I released my wings, and as they extended out, they touched the sides and top of the doorway. I took my necklace in my hand, and held it tight, thought of the lava babies inside and spoke to them. I told them that I needed their help, we had to close the doorway.

  My wings became stiff as stone, vibrating as if sending waves of energy into the walls. As I looked at my arms, still white, I knew that my entire body was the same color.

  Suddenly, I was surrounded with glowing, red hot lava. The lava seemed to be coming from me. I shut my eyes and focused on the lava, pushed it out, spread it up towards my wings, away from my body, until it filled my shield, touching the rim of the opening of the doorway.

  As the lava touched the rock wall, my wings withdrew into my back, and the lava started to cool and harden. My wings had softened the rocks around the opening so that the lava could attach to it, mold into it. I waited until the lava was rock hard all around the outer edge before I shrunk my shield, so it was just around my body.

  I was still standing in the middle, in the center where the lava was still liquid and wondered how I was going to get out. Maybe I wasn’t supposed to. Maybe this was my mission, to close the door and then somehow I would be taken home. Home, where was it, how I longed for it, right then.

  I heard then, “Emilee, it’s time to come home. Come.” And a hand reached into the lava still surrounding me, and pulled me through an opening that appeared, and I was outside the lava rock.

  There was Brett, pale in color and panic on his face. When he saw me, the panic quickly changed to relief and I realized that it was Kimberlite who had pulled me to safety, his hand still holding onto my arm. I turned around to see the opening he had pulled me through, close up.

  Where the doorway had been, was a hard lava rock, solid, and attached to the wall that the doorway had been in. It was closed, we had done it.

  “She is calling me home, I heard her, I felt her. I thought that was the end of me and she was coming for me.” I said, with a faint sadness in my voice. “I’m tired, I want this to be over.” I said, as I watched my arms go back to the nice tan color that they usually were.

  Brett came to me then as Kimberlite released me, looking wearier than Brett. As Kimberlite sat down on a pile of rocks, Brett took me in his arms and held me tightly, so tight that I had to push him away, just a bit, to breathe. We both chuckled and he kissed me on my forehead as he said, “I thought I lost you. It isn’t time yet.” And he took me in his arms, gently this time, and held me. I didn’t ever want him to let me go, I wanted this feeling of protectiveness to stay, always, but I knew it couldn’t be.

  “It isn’t time, yet?
” I asked then, as he released me.

  Brett gave me a peck on the lips and said with a strange tone in his voice, “Questions, always questions.”

  It was Kimberlite who interrupted us so I couldn’t be persistent in pushing Brett to explain. Kimberlite suggested we get out of there before anything or anyone came to stop us from getting back to the ship. He assumed that the doorway was what we came here to close and the longer we hung around, the more danger there might be.

  I asked him how he was going to get back to the surface, and when would I see him again and he gave me an enormous grin, got up and gave me a sweet hug, and said, “So you need me, huh?”

  He looked at Brett then, and slapping him on the back, said, “See, she needs me, you both do!” And he laughed a hearty laugh and disappeared into a hole that just appeared out of nowhere. I heard him say before the hole closed up, “If you need me, just call. Otherwise I will see you on dry land.”

  Chapter 14

  When past and present

  Collide,

  Emotions run wild.

  I looked towards Brett, and saw that he was staring off into space and I saw what he was thinking. I didn’t hear his thoughts, I could see them, like a movie. We were in the water again, just after the creature clamped onto my foot, and there was Queen Anahita. Brett held onto that memory, holding her there, frozen in that moment.

  Suddenly it ended, Brett let the memory go and was looking at me with concern and confusion in his eyes. I went up to him and brushed my hand across his forehead, brushing away a strand of hair that was dangling lazily in front of one of his eyes. He smiled then and placing his hands softly on my hips, pulled me to him.

  The instant his hand touched me, I wanted to be in his arms. I willingly and eagerly let him lead me to him, pressing his body to mine. Brett looked down at me, our faces only inches apart, smiled and all I could do was stare back into his eyes. The need I felt then was so overwhelming, the need for his blood. Oh, I wanted more, but the blood was overpowering.

  I stood up on my tippy toes and placed a soft kiss on his lips. I whispered that he should let me go and we should get out of there quickly, but with a smirk across his lips, he kissed me again but with more force than I had, and with such passion that I couldn’t stop him, even if I wanted to.

  I finally found a small amount of will power, deep down inside, and said in my mind, knowing that he was listening, that he needed to let go. I couldn’t, I had such a need, that if he didn’t stop, I wouldn’t be able to control myself and I was frightened by what I wanted to do. I wanted to drink from him, drain him completely.

  Brett pulled back then, his lips from mine, but didn’t let go of me, our bodies still touching. He said, “Don’t be frightened, I won’t let you do anything that you are not supposed to do, at this time.”

  I looked up into his eyes, the dark green color of need, such desire, and I knew that my eyes where the same. But what he wanted was different than my need. Why did I want his blood so desperately?

  Before I could ask him and before he kissed me again, which I knew was going to happen and I could do nothing to stop him, a gust of wind came at us and at the same time water started to fill up the area of the old city that we were in.

  The cool water swallowed us up, engulfing everything. I wasn’t worried about drowning, we both could breathe under water but I looked around, wondering why the water filled the city now, when it had been dry.

  I spotted them then, two sharks, great whites, one bigger than the other. Brett still had one arm around my waist, as I put up the shield around us. The two sharks came face to face with each other, and then transformed into Poseidon and Proteus. They were half man and half fish, face to face, staring each other down. Proteus was holding the same staff I had seen him with earlier, before he disappeared.

  Poseidon, reached out towards Proteus, a lightning bolt protruding from his hand, brought the staff to him. Proteus, let out a groan as if in pain as the staff was removed from his hand.

  The water around us started to bubble, as Poseidon swirled the staff over his head and I heard him say, “This staff belongs to me, and me alone as long as I am alive.”

  At that, Proteus struck out, throwing a lightning bolt in Poseidon’s direction, as he raged “I can arrange to end your life, father!” But Poseidon swung the staff forward, towards the lightning bolt, blocking it before it reached him.

  Proteus looked towards us and threw a bolt of lightning our way, but with my shield up, it bounced off, sending it back towards him. As Proteus dodged the bolt, it struck a nearby structure, still somewhat standing, and it crumbled into a pile of sand.

  Poseidon laughed a robust laugh and said, “You are not welcome in these waters anymore. You have failed in your work for the Dark One, and if I lay eyes on you again, it will be the last thing you will ever see!” Poseidon’s eyes, turned black, and he started to glow and a force came out from around his body that knocked Proteus back and caused my shield to vibrate.

  Proteus composed himself and looking at me with conviction in his face, said, “You will be his, you can run but you can’t hide. He will have you and when he is done, you will belong to Stephan. He has seen the future, he knows all the tricks that she plays.”

  Proteus then turned his gaze back to his father, Poseidon, and as he chuckled, his face twisted in hate, as he said, “It will be your death at my feet and the staff will be mine. I will be the ruler over all the waters, it has been promised to me. He will succeed, take over and rule all. She will be his slave, for what she did to him. It is written in the stars.” And at that, he spun in a circle, creating a water funnel, and disappeared.

  Poseidon, not looking at Brett and I, allowed his shoulders to droop a bit as the water started to subside. Exactly where it went, I couldn’t tell you, but it slowly disappeared.

  Poseidon looked over at us, his fish tail turning back into legs, and motioned for us to come to him. He went over to a golden bench that had not been destroyed and sat down.

  Brett and I went over to him. Brett was wary and tense but I felt strong and safe. When we reached him, and I stood in front of him, Poseidon took my hands in his and placed his forehead on them in greeting. As he looked up at me, I could see the sorrow in his eyes, the exhaustion he was feeling.

  Poseidon then looked at Brett and his posture changed, he sat upright, showing a more demanding attitude and said, “Things have changed, Emilee is stronger now, and has almost everything she needs to face him, but he knew things that we thought were kept from most. You, Brett must keep her safe.” He said, as he looked towards me for a moment.

  Poseidon then looking back to Brett, continued, “Her need is getting stronger, but she must wait, it isn’t time yet, she must not…” and he stopped talking, looked up into my face again and smiled wearily.

  “Don’t let the desire and need interfere with your mission, Princess. We can beat him, stop him from succeeding, but not without you. We have waited too long now and we cannot wait for another to come. It must be you. Home, she is calling you home, follow her voice, it will lead you to where you must go next. Proteus is still out there, and will stop at nothing to get to you, to help the Dark One win.”

  Looking at Brett, Poseidon continued in a gruff tone, “Be vigilant, and do not trust your surroundings. Don’t let Emilee’s needs and desires take over. You must keep her in line, and you must keep your…” and he paused for a moment, looking at both of us, one to the other, and then looking back at Brett, said “Your feelings are not important, remember that. Keep it in check.”

  I asked when he paused, “Queen Anahita, what does she have to do with this? She was there, in the water. I saw her as did Brett. Why? Is she working for you, helping you to get the beast to me or working for the Dark One, trying to stop it from happening?”

  I paused for a moment and then added, “But there was another water fey there, I could only see its silhouette, but it was there. Who was that?”

  As I tried to
continue with my questions, Poseidon put his hand up to stop me, and smiling said, “You do ask so many questions but you know the answers to most.” And he looked to Brett for a moment before walking a short distance away from us.

  I started to feel like a child again, frightened and frustrated that I could get no answers from him, so I put up my shield around myself and Poseidon. Of course, that sent Brett through the roof, so to speak.

  All Brett could get out of his mouth before I told him to shut up, was, “Emilee!” And after I told him to shut up, Poseidon laughed, a simple, innocent laugh, but it did make Brett angry. (I did find a bit of humor in it, I will admit)

  “She can tell you what you want to know.” Poseidon said.

  I released my shield then and said in a tone that was firm but respectful, “Please, you are a water fey, supposed to be the God of all the waters, so the stories go, in the human world. Queen Anahita is a water fey. I want to hear this from you and I’m not leaving until I get some answers.”

  I then said in a more sarcastic tone, “I don’t even know who “She” is, or where “She” is! All I know is that you all, everyone keeps talking about “Her or She”, as if “She” is a goddess or something!”

  Poseidon turned away from us for a moment as if he were waiting for something to happen, or for someone to appear, and then turned back to us and spoke, “Very well Child.”

  Well, you know how I don’t like being call a child, but before I could get all riled up again, Brett took my elbow in his hand, pulled me gently to him and whispered softly, “Let’s get some answers from him, before you piss him off and he disappears.” He then gave me that stupid, smirky smile that I so loved.

  I pursed my lips to silence myself, looked at Poseidon and waited. He gave Brett a smile of approval and commented that was how Brett must keep me in control.