I pushed them away. I needed the immediate future, not seeing them doing anything else. In fact, I forced myself not to look, and it was hard. I pulled back. The scene finally stopped on now. Okay, I was in what was about to happen.
There we all were. I could even see myself, which I tried not to be too bothered by. Instead, I looked at two or three of the options. There were people coming. Ten guys. They were going to attack us.
I didn’t know who they were. If I looked longer, perhaps I would, but right then I didn’t care. The longer this took, the less help I would be. I couldn’t be lost in this. I had to be strategic.
“Eric, can you hear me?” Talking and visions. I’d never done both before.
A hand touched my side. “I can, love.”
“People are coming. Ten of them. They’re going to start there.” I pointed left where Brody and Thaddeus were. “Tell them four of them, that way. Knives. They’ll swing first. At Brody. Tell them.”
There was movement. Noah must have run. Things shifted. Visions that were there disappeared and new ones replaced it. Okay. Okay. Okay. I breathed. I moved my focus to where Aidan was. “Three of them. By Aidan. He’ll handle it.” There didn’t seem to be a problem there. No future where he didn’t easily handle it, still I heard Eric call out to him.
I stepped forward like I was in the vision. Eric’s strong arm held me tight. “Don’t move Teagan. What are you seeing?”
“The rest come to us. One-two-three.” I was in the now. Shouts sounded as I staggered back into the present. My head hurt. That was different, hard, and not exactly what my visions had been designed for. Three men came toward us. Eric took the first out easily. I hadn’t watched this battle, but so help me, we were going to win. Noah came back, sword drawn, he quartered one of the other men. Thaddeus followed quickly behind him, eliminating the third guy.
I hadn’t physically exerted myself, but I panted like I had. Managing a vision like that? It wasn’t easy. Thaddeus grinned at Noah as Aidan and Brody rejoined the group. Brody pointed at one of the fallen men. “I know him. He worked for Regnar.”
Thaddeus nodded. “This wasn’t random. This was for us.”
I raised my hand. “Who’s Regnar?”
“Last name. Ziggy, yes that’s his name, Regnar. He works for Katrina. We caused him a lot of financial distress. This was targeted for us. Sorry you got into the middle of it, Teagan.” Noah stretched his arms over his head. “They didn’t expect us to know. You saved us. We only won because they had no surprise.”
They were all covered in blood. “Maybe you’d better tell me some of the things you did while I was elsewhere.”
Thaddeus nodded. “Tonight. After we get home. We’ll have a serious conversation about it. If it’s going to affect your life and our ability to defend you, then you have to know about it.”
I sighed. “I’m more concerned about losing one of you. They’re not after me. Katrina doesn’t want me dead.” And I still had no idea why. I couldn’t have increased production that much at the mines. If anything, I’d made it worse.
That was a question I couldn’t seem to let go of.
“Thanks for keeping me steady, Eric.”
He nodded. “You glowed like a beacon.”
I sat down right where I stood. My knees weren’t going to support me anymore. “That’s not how I’m supposed to work, exactly.”
He climbed up onto the carriage, his hand on my back. “Are you going to be faint?”
I wished I could say no, but the world tilted left.
* * *
I woke up in the carriage, my head on Eric’s lap. He rubbed my head, his eyes viewing the landscape outside the window. “Why did they give me these abilities if my body can’t hold them?”
His gaze darted down to me, and he grinned. “It does. You handled it until it was over. Then you passed out. As you said, you weren’t made to handle the visions exactly that way. You did it to help, and it was incredible. Then you fainted. Didn’t take away from the moment at all.”
I sat, rubbing my eyes. “That’s good.”
Eric scooted back a bit. “Teagan, I want you to know that…”
I waved my hand at him. “So help me Eric if you bring up the poisoning I’m going to scream. Do you believe me when I speak? Do you listen when I say it’s okay?”
“You saying that all is fine and me feeling that way are two different things.” He ran a hand through his dark black hair. “I killed you and you died. You’re back. It’s a gift. But I did that.”
I got up on my knees. “Eric, please. Listen to me. I was going to die. There were multiple scenarios. I only know because the true Sister Superior told me. You guys made a choice. That’s what happened.”
He nodded. “I get that. I consider myself to be really smart. Yet, it never occurred to me that the drugs might be wrong?”
“How would you have tested that?”
He threw his hands in the air. “Tested myself?”
“Oh great, then you’d be dead.” I leaned forward. “Do you want to suffer for this? Is that what it’s coming down to? You need to feel bad?”
He flared his nostrils. “I need someone to punish me for killing you. I need to face ramifications both for that and for leaving you in that mine.”
I let out a breath and spoke the first words that occurred to me. “Okay, Eric. I punish you. For the rest of our lives, you’re going to be in charge of making sure that I have all the information I need to do my job. You’re going to have learn things no one else knows about my powers, about the Sisterhood, about whatever we are facing. You are going to have to do better than is possible.”
He was silent for a moment. “Teagan,” he shook his head, “I’m doing that anyway.”
“Do better.”
My love nodded, as though I’d really just dished out a punishment for him. Sure, I needed more information. He loved this stuff. Eric needed his mind occupied elsewhere. “Like what?”
I put my hand over his heart. “Why am I alive? Not, the rebirth stuff. Fine. I get that. Why didn’t Katrina kill me? She could have undone all of this. No Prophet. Without us being together, I doubt I’d have had the rebirth. Kill me six years ago and never face this threat. Why am I here? Why did she bother?”
He rubbed his chin. “That’s an interesting question.”
“I know.”
His gaze was far away. I knew Eric when he did this—he was thinking so fast he’d practically left the present. He was considering, searching, and thinking about where to go next. Or something close to it.
He finally focused back on me. “We do need to understand her thinking.”
“Yes. This is your job. I expect you to do it.” I almost choked saying the words. Only he let me know he needed it, and he wasn’t going to be okay until I found something suitable for penance. My discomfort with it was neither here nor there. Some Sisters had liked ordering their guards around. I had never been that woman.
My powers jolted to life. There was a demon nearby or maybe more. My hands tingled. This was going to be a big job.
The carriage abruptly stopped. They would have felt my power surge and known that we needed to.
Eric touched the side of my face. “What are we facing?”
“Something big.”
I’d no sooner uttered the words than the carriage was lifted off the ground and shaken. Eric and I both grabbed the sides, his body coming over mine like he could protect me. I searched the link. All the guys were okay, alive. I hoped they had gotten off the vehicle before we went airborne. What in the hell had picked us up? I scurried to the window to see outside.
What I saw made my skin go cold. “It’s an original. And a giant at that.”
Eric scooted next to me. “Can I see him because he’s an original or because of our link?”
“I don’t know. Let’s not question it just now.”
I forced on my second sight. There were too many outcomes to this situation for me to analyze. I
shut it down, turning to Eric, my heart in my stomach. “I don’t have a quick answer about what to do.”
He threw his arms around me. Maybe he was psychic, because right at the second, the demon threw the carriage. We toppled, circling, bouncing until we hit the ground. The sound of crunching and breaking metal and wood was all I could hear. I’d never forget the sounds. Still, the vehicle had been built strong. It did not break completely. I didn’t pass out, which I was thrilled about, but I knew I was going to have a nasty headache when this was done.
I turned to Eric. “You okay?”
“Yep.”
The carriage lay on its side. The door, which was above us, flung open, and Thaddeus was there, extending his hand. He pulled me out, and Brody grabbed Eric.
“Everyone?”
Thaddeus nodded. “The four of us saw it, and we jumped. I tried to get you. Shit, we thought you were both dead.”
Eric shook his head. “We’re all tough to kill.”
That being said, I stared up at the giant original demon taking up most of the road. The originals came in all shapes and sizes. They were mean, scary, and bent on destroying as many lives as possible before they finished with our planet.
They made the demons that possessed others. They made the demons that caused pain. This had all been their plan.
And now, apparently, it wanted my attention. I’d pulled one out of Anne after it possessed her. From what Anne and Daniella had told me, that hadn’t won me any love with the important demons. That was fine by me.
“Stay back,” I instructed my five. Nods met my statement, and I was glad to see we weren’t going to have another round of arguing like we’d done at the orphanage. Of course, this fell into the realm of things we’d always done together.
They were used to this.
“Foul creature,” I addressed the beast—who had red horns and beady eyes to go with his goat-like body. “If you wanted my attention you needed only have presented yourself. I am happy to end your life any time you like.”
14
The original threw his neck back and laughed, like I’d said something funny. “I’ve heard of you. I didn’t realize the stories were true. You have more sass than sense. I threw your carriage over like you were nothing. Why should I be afraid of a tiny person such as yourself? I’ll eat you for a snack.”
“If you could eat me for a snack, you would have done so and not bothered with the theatrics.” I walked toward him. Fear presented itself at the base of my spine, but I chose to ignore it. Just because I’d managed the one in Anne, who had been arguably weakened by being inside of her for years, it didn’t mean these things were a joke.
They weren’t. There was a reason most Sisters couldn’t handle them.
“I’ll rid the world of you now.”
His power hit me hard, like a physical blow, and I staggered backward before I righted myself, sending my own power back at him. The two energies collided midair. I could see the two together like they were different colors, my own slightly purple and his fully red. I closed my eyes, a roar exploding from my mouth. This was pain and power. I wasn’t at my best.
But still I could suddenly see his future. I gasped. That was bizarre. In no conversation had the Sisters ever told me that the demons even had any. He had as many futures as we did, although none of them showed a gravesite. Instead, there was fire. I looked away. Somehow, I knew instinctually I shouldn’t see that.
The demon had a future. That meant that I wasn’t killing it just now…
My throat threatened to close. He was sucking my energy out of me. I drew in long breaths, and then suddenly I was bathed in warm, white light. The demon staggered backward. This wasn’t my own power. I swung around. Daniella stood, arm raised. She pushed at the demon at the same time I did.
Together, we assaulted the beast with our power, and rather than fight both of us, he vanished.
I let out a sigh. “Good timing, Sister Daniella.”
In the same formation my guards were in, hers waited behind her. She walked toward me. “I’m not the Prophet, but sometimes I have visions. I had one that showed you needed me.”
I threw my arms around her. “Very good to see you right at that moment.”
“He’s a mean one, isn’t he?” She pulled back to gaze at me. “Anne and I thought maybe you’d appear differently. The Prophet out of mythology. But you don’t. You still seem just like you did before, lovely and kind.”
I shook my head. “Everyone knew but me.”
“Well, of course dear. We’re never so blind as we are with our self-awareness.” She put her arm around my shoulder, and we walked toward her carriage, since mine was on its side. At Katrina’s Sisterhood, we’d had carriages with horses. But like so many odd things about our life in the Deadlands, the ones we had here moved with steam. A device that the guards maintained to keep the vehicle moving. I did miss seeing the horses, but in situations like this, when my carriage was likely never to move again, I was glad the horses weren’t around to get hurt. I hoped we could all fit in Daniella’s. Thaddeus ran up to my side.
“You’re okay?”
I took his hand and kissed the top of it. “Because of Daniella.”
He nodded to her. “Thank you, Sister Daniella.”
She smiled broadly at him. “You’re welcome. We aren’t meant to fight those big ones, the originals, at least not alone. It threw your carriage into the air then back on the ground.” She shook her head. “Monster.”
He certainly had been. With all of us together, we headed home.
* * *
Walking through our small Sisterhood, I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I was still lit up like a candle. Abruptly, I stopped moving. Brody almost crashed into me. His hand came to my back. “What’s the matter, love?”
“Nothing. I’m lit up pretty brightly right now.”
He nodded. “It’ll fade.”
“Yes, of course, but before it does, maybe I should use it.”
Brody turned to Aidan who behind him. “Do you know what she means?”
“Teagan, what do you mean?” Aidan always cut right to the chase.
“Mika and Krystal. They’re lost in the dark.” I turned and ran. “I’m lit up like a beacon home.”
* * *
I knelt down on the floor in front of Mika. She was dressed differently, which meant that Anne had listened to me and taken away their Sister clothing. I thought I recognized the black and gray outfit as something Daniella owned. It hung on Mika. Daniella’s curvaceous frame required different clothing than Mika’s. By contrast, Krystal had been put in something of Anne’s. It was too tight. I sighed and shook my head. I loved my fellow Sisters, but they needed me here to run the basics of life.
They had the biggest hearts in the world and no common sense to go with them.
I placed my hand on Mika’s knee and closed my eyes. I was light. I let the energy travel into her, my own consciousness with it. She ran down the dark road. It was like her body had gone into survival mode—eating, showering, changing—with her mind staying behind in this strange place. Who or what had done this to her?
“Mika,” I called out, and she came to a stop.
“Teagan?” She reached out for me, and I took her hands, clasping like we were in the real world and not somewhere, imprisoned in her mind. “I can see you. I can feel you.”
I nodded. “Mika, see my light? Follow it. Please.” I tugged at her. If she could see the light, she could find her way back home with me. “Come on. Enough of this place. Let’s get out of here.”
Her eyes widened, and then I saw resolve travel through her gaze. She was going to make it out of this. I yanked her forward, her consciousness coming with me. We fell back into our bodies. Mika rolled forward, and I caught her in my arms.
She touched my cheeks a second before she hugged me tightly. “You’re real. You’re here, and you’re real.”
“I am.” She finally pulled back, so I spoke again. ?
??I just didn’t know how to get you out of there before now.”
Mika looked around. “How did I get here? The last thing I remember is Krystal and I decided to leave. Katrina yelled something, and then... nothing.”
I shook my head. “You two arrived with no explanation. You both had your names in your pockets, although Anne knew Krystal then I recognized you when I saw you, Mika. You were both in this state. I have to get Krystal out of it, too. I’m not sure how you survived out there or how you got here. We’ve had nothing but questions. You kept saying ‘Prophet,’ which, it turns out, I am.”
She sucked in her breath. “Of course you are. No one better for the job. Things are so bad at the other place. I don’t have answers, but I’m glad to be here.”
That would have to do for now. I got to my feet. I was still glowing, although less so than earlier. I got in front of Katrina, placed my hands on my knees, and went for it again. I always had to be strong enough to do what needed to be done. I wouldn’t let myself be otherwise, not again.
* * *
Seated around the table, Daniella, Anne, and I faced Mika and Krystal. The finally with-it women drank tea quietly. Krystal didn’t have any more answers than Mika had had.
She set down her drink. “It just doesn’t make sense. We traveled half the known world. How did we get here?”
“Tell me what you heard Katrina do before you found yourself lost and alone in that dark place, the place she forced you to go to in your mind.”
Mika sighed. “Anne, after you came and announced your plans, things got very dark. It was always there on the outside, you know? A lot of us wanted to go, to follow you. But the way you love your guards?” She peered at Anne, and Daniella, and finally me. “I never had that. The disdain we all talk about? That was real for me.”
I put my hand on hers. “That’s because Katrina got in the way of things. You may have never even gotten to meet them. They’re there, somewhere.” I hoped.