Page 4 of Dark Reckoning
Someone ran our way, screaming in terror, their clothes were robes, like tunics. The man kept running toward us and I moved behind Sage to get out of his way.
“Stay, I don't think we're actually here,” Sage said.
I wasn't so sure... it felt too real. I looked around at all of the carnage. Bodies lay everywhere, some still charred and smoldering. Homes were on fire, trees were on fire... hell, the damn ground was on fire! The man ran right toward us until he ran past Sage and me. But while I was focused on him, I didn't see the woman who ran right through Sage and me and I experienced what felt like a chill down my spine.
“Did you feel that?” I asked Sage.
“Yeah,” he said, then turned around. “Oh shit!” His mouth dropped open and it was the first time he looked afraid.
That triggered my own fear and curiosity and I turned around quickly to see what had spooked him. I jumped back, my body hitting the brick wall that was Sage, but he held me against him, protecting me. Before us was a battle of epic proportions. Five mages stood around one man who had been levitated in the air. He screamed in rage and cursed at them as they chanted, ignoring his threats and insults.
They were speaking another language, but I could still understand them. Beneath my feet, the earth shook and cracked. It all felt so real, I ran away when one of the cracks traveled between my legs. Sage was still holding my hand, so I ended up dragging him with me.
“Baby wait, stop!” Sage called out.
I turned to him in a panic. My breath came in quick pants, I could hear my heart hammering in my ears, and felt it beating in my chest. I'd never known such fear. “We have to leave now,” I yelled.
He released my hand and took hold of my shoulders, shaking me a little, forcing me to focus on him. “It's not real, baby. It's a vision. We need to watch to see what they want us to learn,” Sage said in a voice that was calm enough to settle my nerves... just a little.
My chest was heaving in my excitement, but what he said made sense. It was just, I was scared. I nodded and took several deep breaths. If he could remain coolheaded, then so could I... I hoped. I turned back to watch the spell the mages were working. There was a mixture of white and black mist coming from the surrounding mages that encircled the Dark God as he roared and turned but was unable to escape. The mist was now gray as it swirled around the Dark God tighter and tighter like a vice until he couldn't move. The mages all sank to their knees, growing weaker, but they continued to chant their spell. The body of the Dark God began to turn into black smoke inside the gray mist and his screams faded as the smoke was sucked into what looked like a ruby encased in a steel cage. Once all of the smoke was inside, the ruby turned black, but the earth didn't stop shaking. It was at that point, the mages of the Council fell. Their bodies remained motionless. Somehow, I knew they had all died.
The people who'd witnessed the spell and were in hysterics because of everything that had happened became even more frightened as they pointed in one direction, and then tried to run. That was when Sage and I turned to see what they had been looking at, and my mouth dropped open. Rushing toward us was a wall of water at least two hundred feet high, maybe even higher. All around us, people ran in a panic, but with a wave that high, there was no escaping their fate. My breath caught in my chest and I wrapped my arms around Sage, who just held me. I still didn't know if this was real for us or not, because I could feel the ground shaking beneath my feet. I felt the heat of the fires that were burning out of control all around us, and could smell the embers. Was a vision supposed to be this interactive? Were we about to die?
The tsunami was upon us and I screamed in terror as the massive wave rushed toward us with all of the wrath of nature. Oh my god, was this what it was going to be like in order to deal with the Dark God that had escaped because we broke the contract between the vampires and El-Kazier?
“It's just a vision... just a vision,” I heard Sage say as if he were still trying to convince himself that what we were seeing wasn't real. His heart pounded in his chest so hard, I could feel the impact against my face, which I had pressed to him.
I turned to see the tsunami again and I only had seconds to accept that this was how it all ended over seventeen hundred years ago. The destructive impact of the wave hit me so hard, both Sage and I were flung off our feet and I blacked out.
***
“Are you back with us?” I heard a familiar voice ask and I blinked several times. I opened my eyes slowly, my vision cloudy, but the last thing I remembered was the wall of water killing me.
I screamed, my arms flailing and I felt strong hands grabbing me and holding me close to a muscled body I was used to and found comfort in.
“Baby, calm down,” I heard Sage's voice penetrate through my panicked state of being.
I forced myself to breathe slowly while I gathered my wits about myself. I saw Kakashi standing over me, his expression was patient but still regal.
“What... happened?” I asked. My heart raced, but I could feel my jitters settling as I became more aware of my surroundings.
“Gather your senses first,” said the mage with the sexy French accent. His name was escaping me at the moment.
I struggled to sit up because I was still a little disorientated, so Sage gave me aid. He let me lean on him, and it was exactly what I needed after going through that ordeal. I wiped my eyes and looked up at Kakashi, now that I was running on all cylinders again. “What happened? Was that actually a vision or were we transported back in time?”
“A bit of both,” Kakashi said. “That is the power of the Eye of Aldeliér. What you saw was how the Echelon Imperial of their time had to deal with the Dark God, Sana Doré. And the great sacrifice that was made to save the world. But even with all of that, two cities were completely lost to time. All of their inhabitants were lost with it. Neapolis, Tunisia, and Eleutherna, Crete. Both were destroyed in 365 AD.”
“What caused the earthquake and the tsunami has gone unknown and will continue to go unknown as no one survived. Not even the mages, but their powers went back into the ether to be given to the descendants of their covens,” Aldéric said, his name finally coming back to me.
“And the power that bound them, given to them by the ritual of the Echelon Imperial, also returned to its fount,” Kakashi said.
“So, does that mean when we take on this God, we'll die too?” I asked. “Because I'm seeing a trend here.” The two stories I'd learned about the Council taking on a Dark God and Goddess all ended with them dying.
Kakashi sighed, then shrugged. “I don't know, and that is what I hope to avoid. I rather like living. What I do know is that we must fight him regardless of whether or not we live or die. Turning a blind eye will only leave this world at the mercy of the god who will destroy it. Would you like to see what is and what will be?”
“Will it be like it was the last time?” I asked, because I really didn't want to be trapped in a vision of that magnitude.
“Yes. Can you handle it?” Kakashi asked.
