Light and Dark Ch. 04

They all stopped the side bar and turned their attention to me. Again taking the lead Barbara spoke, "Feel what dear? Do you feel something in the scroll?"

I shook my head and brushed the comment off. They continued speaking to each other and I turned to Nicklas. "I feel heat but I was sure it was the bracelet."

I turned my attention back to the scroll and quickly touched it. I still had no idea what language it was, but maybe by touching it I could understand again. I placed my hand on the page. Nothing. I looked down at the symbols and found them starting to blur together. Maybe I should use both hands. I placed them above the book and heat started to radiate from it again, burning my palms. I dropped them both to my sides.

Barbara broke my trance, "Can you make out any of the words?"

I looked up at her, "No. I..."

A chill ran down my spine, another vision. Dammit! Not now, not in front of the coven. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe past the pain that was starting in my feet.

"Alexis? Honey, are you okay?" Barbara started to get up, but Nicklas rose, waved her back to her seat and mumbled to them that I was having a vision. I felt him kneel beside me and hold my legs. The heat flowed over me like water and I opened my eyes to the vision. I was back in the same place the pillars had been. I could see a cluster of huts off to my right. This was getting interesting. I looked down at my clothes; I was still wearing my green tank top, black pants and the two elemental bracelets. I looked up and back over to where the huts were. Something was different, something was wrong. I started to walk toward the village and as I did my vision started to clear up. The huts that I had seen standing earlier now were reduced to a feathery pile of ash. I walked down what used to be the center row of the village. Left and right the huts, about twenty of them in all, had been burned to the ground. What happened here?

I knelt beside one of the pile of ash and reached out to touch it. Hot! I pulled my hand back quickly. What ever happened, happened rather recently. Just below its soft, feathery surface laid a molten core of fire. Burning what few scraps of the tent were left. I brushed my hands off and stood. Where were all of the people? I had heard voices in my previous visit here. The silence was now only broken by the occasional crackle of the smoldering huts. I looked ahead of me. At the other edge of town, I could see a large pile of something. Dirt maybe? I tried to focus on it, but it remained blurry. I started to walk toward it, slowly at first, but then picked up the pace to close in on the last thirty or so feet. The smell caught me with just a few feet to go. Burning flesh. I gagged back the contents of my stomach.

All the people, I had caught a whiff of this in the last vision, but was not privy to its source. The pile towering before me was about twenty feet wide and loomed at about ten feet. All of the town's folk had been piled here and then torched. I looked at the bodies. Some were already dead when they were piled here, but others. Oh god. I fell to my knees. The bodies closer to the top were bound and gagged. The fire had consumed most of the skin, but left everything else. The muscles were contorted and pulled into tight balls. The people at the top had tried to escape the fiery death. A small frame caught my eye. It was the child I had held in my last vision. I threw my hands up to cover my eyes. All of a sudden my empathic ability kicked in. I was thrown back onto the ground by its sheer force. All of the sorrow, pain and terror that had befallen them were being pushed into me. Into my soul. I cried out, "WHY DO YOU SHOW ME THIS! WHY DO YOU MAKE ME FEEL THIS! HOW IS THIS GOING TO HELP!"

I was screaming mostly to the void, but partly to myself. I wanted to hear my own thoughts. I wanted to reassure myself that I was still in control. I tried to reach inside me and remove the emotions from my soul. I focused as hard as I could and nothing happened. I dropped my hands from my face to the ground and lay them palm down. I had no idea what I would be drawing up from the earth here, but I had to get them out of my mind and my soul. I drew up the energy from the ground and let it fill me. It left as quickly as I pulled it in and I nearly collapsed under the emotions. I brought my knees to my chest and just hugged them, dropping my head to rest on the tops of my knees. I drew myself inside more and tried to push out the emotions, starting to cry.

Nicklas. I found myself thinking of him. I tried to focus on him; on the strength he gave me. I felt a power wash over me and someone's hand was on my shoulder. I looked up slowly, half expecting to find one of the elements, but instead I found myself staring into Nicklas's blue eyes. He was kneeling in front of me, his chest against my legs with his hands on my shoulders. I couldn't believe it was him. "Nicklas?" My voice was dry and raspy. He smiled at me and moved his hands to my face. "How can it be you?"

I brought my hands up to his. It was him. His power and warmth washed over me and calmed my soul. He spoke softly, "Now, concentrate."

I shook my head." I've tried. I can't get them out of my head."

He wiped away my tears and took my hands. "Alexis, trust me."

I did trust him. I sighed and closed my eyes. I felt his warmth inside of me and I focused on that. I pulled the warmth through every inch of my body and cast out the voices. The voices were gone and my peace was back. I slowly opened my eyes, afraid that he would be gone, but he was still with me. I sat up and hugged him. "Nicklas, how is this really you?"

He hugged me back and answered, "I was sitting there with you at the castle and I could feel everything that was happening here. I felt you call out for balance and you called for me, here I am."

I was amazed. I mean I had tapped into his powers before and he into my active ones, but I didn't realize he could follow me into a vision. He spoke, "It is amazing what we can do together."

I laughed. I knew what he meant, but that had to be the second cheesiest line ever. I pulled away slowly and looked up at him. He was smiling down at me and spoke, "Now what do you suppose you are doing back here?"

I shook my head again, "I don't know. If this," I pointed to the pile of bodies, "is supposed to some how help me. I don't get it."

He smoothed my hair. "You will, now let's walk toward the pillars. The pillars mean something right?"

I had forgotten about the pillars. I turned toward the clearing that held them and they were there as before. I started walking toward them and Nicklas followed behind me. The ground began to move underneath us and we were instantly brought to the pillars. "Well now that was handy." I turned to see if Nicklas was okay.

He stepped up to my side. "These are the same symbols that are on the scroll your father has." He walked over to them and I followed.

"Yes. When I was here before I knew what they said, all I had to do was touch the pillars. I tried that with the scroll and nothing happened. Just that heat." He reached out to the pillars and I joined his powers with mine. Nothing happened. A flickering of light in the cave caught my eye. "The little man. Maybe he can help."

I walked through the pillars and into the cave. As I drew closer to the inside I could see the little man. He turned to face me as I entered the room.

"Ah. I see you have brought the dark here with you this time." He pointed behind me to Nicklas who was following behind me. He turned back to the statues. I was confused, "Why the huts. Why the people? What is the purpose of filling me with all of that? I need to know."

The little man motioned for me to follow him. He walked over to the altar and picked up a book on the top. "'In the beginning Mother Moon gave us the earth at her feet and the water that coursed through giving it life. Father Sun gave his breath to the world as a cool breeze that blew through the earth and from his soul he set fire on the land. From the ash and the dust, the water once again flowed and cleared the earth. From this ash and water rose humanity. From these humans the Lady and Lord chose four to become the Watchtowers of the Elements. They were given the powers for the corner they would protect. Over time, the power started to corrupt the Watchtowers of the elements and they began to unleash destruction on the world. Fire sent fire and brimstone to burn the inhabitants. Then Water not wanting to be outdone sent in the floods. Alas the air reciprocated with typhoons and tornadoes. The final catastrophe was Earth who shook and rumbled, swallowing everything insight.' Child don't you see?"

I stood there trying to understand when it hit me. Ash and dust flowed water and cleared the earth. Air, fire, water and earth. This was the order in which they had to be banished. Backwards from whence they came. "See child, that wasn't so hard. Now go. You have the Scroll of The Sage, read and find out where the other two are located. The keys to containing them are located within those scrolls. You have until the full moon."

I nodded to him and walked over to Nicklas. "Can we go back now?"

He held out his hands to me. I took them and focused on the coven. I opened my eyes. We were back in the castle, Nicklas was kneeling before me as he had said and the coven members were trying to find information in other books. Nicklas opened his eyes and looked up at me. I touched his face. "Thank you."

He smiled, stood and pulled his chair closer to mine so that we could read the scroll. I rolled it open and focused on the symbols. They started to swirl and a line of English words started to form. I looked up quickly; Madison had a piece of paper in front of her. "Madison, throw me that paper and pen please."

She looked up and tossed them across the table to Nicklas. The words were bold and clear and flowing across the page. Nicklas wrote them down as I read aloud, "The White Scroll contains the words of the descendants of the Light, while the Black Scroll contains the words of the descendants of the Dark. To unlock the keys, bring together the three scrolls, The Oracles of Chalcis."

The symbols on the scroll started to blur and returned to their original state. That couldn't be all. The other scrolls, The Oracles of Chalcis. I knew the answer! Chalcis was an ancient Greek city fabled to have guarded the words of creation. I knew taking the history classes would pay off. Nicklas smiled and I turned to face him. "We may need some help from your clan and a warlock or two. If I'm right about this, the city had been burned to the ground and another was rebuilt in it's place. But in the ancient times, if you were going to hide something, you did it in a labyrinth."

He shook his head, "Okay, but why do we need the help?"

I was the one who got to smile this time. "Silly boy, labyrinths are often cursed and guarded by monsters. Magic doesn't burn, it protects itself. I'll need a warlock to lift the curse."

We both laughed out loud. For the first time I was aware of the coven around us. I turned back toward them. They were staring at us again. Lily spoke, "You are even connected telepathically! That is so cool!"

I smiled at her childlike enthusiasm. "Yes, I suppose we are."

Barbara spoke, "What are the Oracles of Chalcis?"

I stood and walked over to the wall of books. My parents had been avid readers, and this wall reflected that. It stood almost twelve foot high and was twenty foot wide. I pushed the ladder over to the history section and climbed to the top row. Among the dusty filings was a gold hardback book. I pulled it out and turned on the ladder so that I could sit and talk to the group. I started to flip through the pages as I spoke, "Chalcis was an ancient Greek city that had been fabled to protect the words of creation. Unfortunately around 509 B.C.E., they and the neighboring city of Thebes took the chance, while the Spartans were quarreling amongst themselves, to rise up against Attica, the leader at the time. Unfortunately the Athenians horribly beat them. Ah ha, here it is: 'the city was burned to the ground and the people were taken as slaves back to Athens.' The origins of the scrolls are unknown and after the battle, no one else laid claim to possessing them."

I flipped through the rest of the book, but I knew I wasn't going to find anything else. Madison was clapping, "You go girl!" She looked to the coven members, "I take credit for all of her good doings! She learned it all from me."

I started laughing, "Right! I suppose next you'll tell them I was the one who broke into Dr. Callus's office to steal the Art History test."

She slapped her knee, "Hey, You studied with me that night, so you were in part, to blame!" We both started laughing.

"How did you recall that?" Lily was trying hard to contain her excitement. I put the book back and climbed down the ladder. "It was my other major at Bowdoin. Daddy always had me interested in ancient cultures, so I learned them all, well as much as I could."

I walked back to my chair, for the first time I felt exhausted. I slumped down in the chair and Barbara looked back up at me. "Alexis Honey, you really should get some sleep. You are going to have to find those scrolls tomorrow and your going to need all your strength."

She was right. Besides with the time change and all it was almost midnight here. I stood, "You're right. Please don't stay awake too long tonight. We have what we need for now and I don't want to disrupt your normal rhythm more than necessary. Madison, There are many guest bedrooms, help yourself."

Madison nodded to me, the coven stood and Barbara walked around the table to me. "Nonsense child, you have always been our priority. Your father would have done nothing short of moving heaven and earth to help you."

The memory of my father hit me hard. I hugged her and pulled away quickly. If she had said anything else I would have broke down. I turned and walked out the doors and headed to the front staircase. I don't know why I was having such a hard time with my father's absence. I guess seeing him today brought back the thoughts of all that I missed with him. At the top of the stairs I took a left and headed down the hallway to my room, stopping in front of my father's room. The only condition I had ever had with the coven was that they never touched anything in his room. I reached out to the door handle, turned it and slowly pushed opened the door. I stepped in and inhaled. I swear I could still smell his aftershave, lavender and tea tree oil.

I walked over to his dresser. On top were his keys, a photo of my mother and a photo of me on the swing in the back yard. I remembered him taking that picture. I was about four and he had just hung the swing from the old oak. I was swinging as high as I could and he told me I looked like an angel. I touched the photo. I couldn't hold it back anymore and I started to cry. I buried my head in my hands and leaned up against the dresser. Seeing him today wasn't fair. I only saw him for such a short time; I didn't really have time to register it as an actual memory. My heart felt so heavy. I felt hands on my shoulders, Nicklas. I turned and collapsed into his chest. He held me and let me cry. He didn't say anything or reach out mentally; he just let me cry in his arms.

When I couldn't cry anymore I looked up at him. His eyes were there. "Will you stay with me tonight?"

He didn't say anything, just picked me up and carried me out of my father's room and down the hallway to mine. He put me down outside of my closet. I didn't want to let go, but I dropped my arms and walked into my closet to change. I hadn't touched anything in this closet for ten years. I didn't know if I even had anything to wear, but I walked over to the drawers on the far wall and found a tank top and shorts. I stripped out of my clothes and into the newly found ones. I picked up my clothes, put them in the hamper and walked back out into my room. The lights weren't on but I could see Nicklas lying in my bed and the sight of him there, lifted my heart. I walked over to the other side, moved the cover and slid in next to him. He had stripped down to his boxers and his skin was warm to the touch. I curled into his chest and he wrapped his arms around me. I was so tired, but I had one thing I had to do. I looked up at him; he ran his hand through my hair and let it rest on the back of my neck. "You don't have to talk."

His voice was almost at a whisper, but was still strong. I put my hand on his face. "I know, I just wanted to tell you that I would be honored to be with you."

He didn't move, but I could feel his power reaching out to me. "Are you sure? I would understand if you didn't."

I smiled at him, his warmth surrounded me and I felt our powers connect. He was the one thing in my life that I wanted to work at keeping. It didn't matter what side of the tracks he was from, he was never anything but gentle with me. I would be his mate and take what ever came with that. If it meant being with him, I would make it work. I would always have the coven, but I was afraid of losing him and I think that is why I missed my father so much. "Alexis, I would never expect you to give up anything to be with me. I don't know how it will affect us, but I am willing to try."

I put both of my hands on his face and his dropped to my waist. "Nicklas, I love you and being with you doesn't force me to give up anything. I don't know what will happen either, but I know I am stronger with you. I don't care what anyone thinks, the coven will always accept me and that is all I need."

He leaned in and kissed me. I felt the heat surround us, and our powers flowed freely. When I couldn't take the heat anymore I pulled back and rested my head on the pillow. He put one of his arms under my neck and one over my waist and onto my back pulling me closer to him. I wrapped mine around his neck and rested my forehead on his. I fell asleep staring into his eyes.

Mist was forming around me. I knew I was dreaming, but I could feel everything, like I was having a vision. I was standing in the middle of the ocean, the land of Greece off to my right. I looked above me to the star clad night. It was the beginning of a full moon and the light lit up the blue water creating a mirror on the top. I looked ahead of me and could see nothing but white mist. I looked below me and could see the stars and myself. In the stars I could see a single star that shown brighter than the rest. It was slowly falling from the sky towards me. I looked up to its location and saw it hovering just above my head. I reached my hand up to touch it and it started to head toward the island. I was meant to follow the star. I went to take a step forward and felt my foot break the top of the water. I pulled it back and tried the other. Same results. I focused on the star and teleported myself to where ever it was going and ended up on the shore of the land I had seen.

The light continued on ahead and I followed. I walked the path through the seaside and then we took a sharp turn inward. Up the hills and into a canyon, I realized that the star was leading me to the city of Chalcis. Just on the other side of the canyon was a flourishing green pasture. I walked through the pasture and back onto another gravel road. I walked past many stones and trees. The land here was quite beautiful and I was beginning to look forward to seeing it in person. The light stopped at some ruins. I had been wrong about another city being re-built on top of the ruins. The star went about half way into the crumbled stone and stopped just above, what I thought resembled a statue. I walked closer to it and looked down. It had at one point been a statue, maybe of the Deity for the city, but over the years the detail had been worn away and I couldn't distinguish any patterns. The ground beneath me began to shake and I fell through the earth. I hit the bottom and my legs gave out underneath me.