Page 31 of Heart Shaped Wreckage
All I could do was wait.
And worry. I was going to worry.
13
LANDON
Iwould have fallen off the sheer drops in this stupid cavern many times if the light of the seeking stones hadn’t guided me. I could feel them pull me one way or the other, and I gave my trust over to them.
It was hard for Heath to let me go in here alone. I could feel his concern, and the way he looked at me… It was not the look of someone who was just a friend. It had this heat to it that made my skin electric as I stared at him. I could look into those gorgeous eyes of his all day. That strong cheekbone and stubble were something that made my heart pound and my dick swell with all the promise I knew we had between us.
He felt the same. He was also hiding secrets from me. But they weren’t mine to force him to tell. He said he would when the time was right. But I wanted to know everything there was about him. I had to put my trust in him. I had put my trust in him, and he had already saved my life.
‘Old one,’ they had called him. How old? I was assuming ancient. I mean, he acted like he knew angels. ‘Wings that beat no more awakens the beast within.’ Was that Heath? Was he the beast? Did he once have wings? Maybe an angel or… Perhaps hewas once in the X-Men. I knew that was stupid, but I was trying to keep my mind busy because I was absolutely terrified of being in here alone. It was so dark I couldn’t see an inch from my face if it hadn’t been for the stones. Their purple light made it even more eerie.
I made my way across a very narrow ravine and through a stone arch into a room that held a dim light up ahead. I walked towards it. Purple, like the light of my stones, seemed to float in the air.
No!
I stopped in my tracks and almost ran back the way I had come, but I had come so far, and we needed these stones. It didn’t hover. It was held in another clasped hand.
“Greetings, stone seeker,” the cold voice whispered.
I knew that voice. It belonged to me. But it didn’t sound very friendly. It sounded cold and sad.
The light from the purple stone grew brighter as whoever held it opened their hand, and my stones pulsed in response. The other me, an exact duplicate, stood there with the purple stone in his hand.
“To receive the stone, you must answer two questions. If you fail, the stone's power will end, and you will be plunged into darkness.”
“Is there another option. I’m not a huge fan of my odds.” I tried to make light of my fear, but my knees were actually shaking. “I don’t know much, right now.”
“Everything you need to acquire the stone is already inside you.” The other me smiled coldly. “But if you fail, I promise that you will stay here with me forever until a new seeker of the stones is named.”
“That’s not very comforting,” I laughed without any mirth.
“Your first question is – who are you?”
“That’s not fair, I have magical amnesia!” I blurted angrily.
“Life is not fair.” The other me smiled. In the purple light, I looked pretty fantastic, actually.
“Who am I?” I tried to think and held the stones aloft as if they might help me find the answer. I was Kevin, because that is who I chose. But that was not the answer. I knew that. I tried to think, to break through the walls that held my identity in place, when I realized that my identity is not who I truly am. Who was I?
I made a list, mentally, of everything I knew to be true about myself, and took a deep breath. This could go so badly, and I did not want to be lunch for the other me as he devoured my soul. I was sure that was what would happen. He’d turn into some magical monster, maybe a magical talking chihuahua, and eat me alive before my screams could ever reach Heath. He would fail without me. It would take both of us to complete the stupid prophecy.
Heath would be lost. He would fail and possibly die.
Who was I?
“I am Kevin by my chosen name, but that is just a mask – a name I chose. But my other name, the one that’s lost, is not one I chose; it was given. It is also not who I am. I am kind and caring, and scared of almost everything, yet I find the courage to keep going. I am the stone seeker, the prophecy named, and the one who will see this quest through to the end. I am determined and stronger than I think I am. I have magic coursing through my veins, though I have yet to master it. I am learning as I grow.”
“Is that it?” The other me sneered.
“No. Even though it seems stupid, it is true. I care for Heath as much as I could care for anyone. I… I love him for what he has done for me. I love him because I do. I am love.”
“A correct answer from the moron with the stones. I’m impressed.” The other me was really not very pleasant. I was starting to think he wanted me to fail.
“I am too, actually. I was sure that you were going to eat me.” I tried to make light of my fear.
