Chapter 6
Hours had passed and my doubts grew stronger of Shuron or anyone else finding us. I was so afraid. Von took on a grayish hue, his body temperature was high and he was shivering uncontrollably. He was getting worse by the minute. I tried not to cry and to think about what my uncle had said to me whenever I found myself in trouble, that crying was not going to solve my problems. Only sheer will, determination—or what he liked to call it stubbornness—and using one's brain will get oneself out of any situation. And if that didn't work, run like hell. Running was not an option here. Which left the others to work with. Unfortunately, at that moment, I lacked the constitution for any of them. Several minutes passed and I couldn't sit still anymore and watch him fade away. I knew I had to go and find help regardless of the danger I would face out there. I was about to get up when straight ahead, at the door, Shuron walked in. I didn't dare blink for fear that he would disappear if I did.
“You found us?” I said with relief and disbelief in my voice.
“It helps that Von and I are blood brothers. I can sense his presence when I need to.”
“I think he is dying.” I said with quivering voice as we both looked down at him. “Please, tell me I am wrong.”
“We will not know until the healers have seen him.”
I stopped him when he was about to pick Von up. “There were moricks that were after us. That is...that is how he got stabbed.”
“You do not need to worry. I have taken care of them. That is the reason I am late coming here.”
With one swift motion, Shuron lifted him up and over his shoulder. There was a small grunt of pain coming from Von before he quieted.
“It will be quicker if we leave from here to the campsite instead of going back to the park. I would need to use your magic.”
“I don't understand. What is the difference between the park and here?”
“As you have seen before, we are able to use our magic to create an opening to another place. But there are limitations. One of them is we can only create an opening within five miles in any direction from where we stand. If I use your magic, I will be able to increase the distance of the place where we need to go.”
I nodded, then I thought about what Loquis had said about others using Keya’s magic. “Aren't you afraid it will turn you evil?”
“I will not be holding on to it for long.” He went on when he saw my hesitation. “You need not worry, I can resist the temptation.”
“Why is that?”
“My magic is a level five. As long as the crystal is not in my possession for a long period of time, I can resist the temptation to take the magic for my own and for it to turn me evil.”
Satisfied with the answer, I handed over the necklace. He drew a line in the air, from top to bottom. A glow of light started to appear, tracing the line that he drew before it widened and I could see a campsite in front of us. He went through first and I reluctantly went after him. Loquis and the elders were waiting for us. Shuron quickly walked past them to Von's cort and they followed behind him. When he placed Von down on his bed, one of them, whom I assume was a healer, came forward and sat on a chair that someone had moved next to the bed. He slowly peeled back the leaf Von had placed on his wound and replaced it with his hand. He closed his eyes in concentration. He was still for a couple of minutes before he took his hand way, got up, and left the room. The healer went over to Shuron and whispered something to him before leaving.
I was about to ask Shuron if Von would be all right when Mirra rushed over, moving others aside who had gathered around us. When she saw the look on Shuron's face, she cried out. He tried to place his arms around her, but she stepped back, not wanting to be comforted. She turned and saw me standing there at the entrance. Wiping her tears, she walked calmly to me. We stood face to face, both of our eyes red and teary, before she slapped me on the cheek.
“Mirra!” Shuron shouted at her in surprise.
“You selfish, irresponsible fool. It is all your fault that he is dying. Why did you not just stay here where it is safe?”
“Stop it, Mirra,” Shuron said.
She wasn't listening and pulled away when he tried to move her aside. “You had to go out there knowing Nara was looking for you, knowing it was dangerous. Well, I hope you are happy. Von is dying. He is dying because of you!” Mirra shouted the last few words.
“It is not her fault,” Shuron said as he grabbed her arm again.
She shrugged it off and turned on him. “It is her fault, or have you forgotten that he is destined to die so she can live?”
“That is enough, Mirra; she does not deserve this.”
“Von is the one who does not deserve this,” she said before pushing me aside to go in.
Shuron stared at the door from where she had disappeared. Loquis placed a hand on his shoulder. “Go to her. She will need you right now. I will see to Cassiea,” he reassured him. Shuron, looking grateful for his help, nodded and went after Mirra.
I turned to watch him go in. Then I looked at everyone who was gathered around us, watching the commotion. Some stared at me accusingly, some looked away, and others whispered to each other while nodding to me disapprovingly. Loquis placed his hand on my arm and gently pushed me up the stairs. I let him lead me away, I also wanted to leave as quickly as I could from everyone’s prying eyes. I did not want to face their judgments of what I had done to one of their own people. I was numb and tired. What Mirra had said was swarming in my head as I tried to comprehend her accusation. What did she mean, he was destined to die because of me? What were they not telling me? What were they hiding from me?
I realized we were going up a spiral staircase. “I did not know Von's room was below mine.” I said. I don't know why I even thought or said such an inappropriate and inane thing at a time like this.
“We felt that you would feel more comfortable if someone you knew was close by if you needed any help.”
So that explained how Von had heard and got to my room so fast when I was having my nightmare. Thinking about the nightmare brought back everything that had happened. My eyes started to tear and I blinked a couple of times to keep them from falling.
“I am sorry,” I said.
He patted my arm and said, “It is not your fault. We cannot always control everything that happens in our life.”
“It is all my fault. If I hadn't left, they would still be alive.”
He stopped me when we were at my door. “You do not know that, Cassiea; nobody knows that.”
“We do know that Von is going to die because of me; isn't that what Mirra said. He will die so I can live.”
“Do not take her words to heart, Cassiea. Mirra was not speaking logically. Visions are not always what they appear to be.”
“Does that mean he is going to live?”
He shook his head and sighed. “Hard to say. Visions of the future are always unstable and indecipherable. I see you hold him in your arms as he lay dying, but that is only one part of the whole story.”
“I don't understand.”
“It is similar to someone handing you a drawing and you need to guess the whole story from what you see from it. What comes before or what comes after is only a guess. I see you holding Von in your arms. His eyes were closed and I could feel him dying. I do not know what happened before that vision and I do not know what will happen after that vision. We can only take what we see and prepare ourselves for what is to come. A vision is only a glimpse of an image, but it does not tell you everything.
It is just like when I knew it was you who was destined to have Keya's magic. I saw several visions of you, at different times and at different places. And in each vision, I noticed you have that crystal around your neck. I knew that it contained Keya's magic because I was able to sense it. I knew that you were not from our world because, in all of my visions, I saw buildings in the background or you were in rooms that are similar to rooms in your world. I also know that you will be able to handle Keya's magic because
in those visions I felt no evil emanating from you. You were using your magic to help not to harm.”
“There is more to it, isn't there? Why did Mirra say that he was destined to die because of me? You had more than one vision of Von's death. That is why she is certain I am responsible for it. That is why you won't deny he will die because of me.”
Loquis was quiet and somber, not knowing what to say.
“It is true? It has to be true. What you see will occur. He is destined to die because of me. There has to be a way to change it.”
“Cassiea, do not try to think too much about this. Learn from our mistakes. What is and what will be will always stay true no matter how many directions you go. The out come will always be the same.”
“Are you telling me that visions of the future will always come true? It could never be changed? Somehow, I find that hard to believe.”
“That is not what I am implying, Cassiea. There are some futures that are destined. It is unwise to try to change it for we will make it worse no matter how careful we are.”
“How is trying to save a persons life making things worse?”
“Good intentions are sometimes a devil in disguise. We have learned this too often and forget too fast. Please, let us continue our conversation another time. You are tired and need rest.”
I did not believe him. There had to be a way to change the vision. Wasn't there a saying about the future not being written yet? And, I didn't see the harm in trying to save someone's life. Especially when I know they will die. Isn't that what you should do when you know someone is going to die? You find a way to save that person. I did not say any of this to him. I knew he would argue with me about it and I didn't want to hear it. I thanked him and went inside. I walked over to the bed, stood there, and stared at it. As tired as I was, I couldn't sleep. I sat on a chair by the window instead and watched the scenery outside, but not really seeing anything. I felt so helpless, as if my life was spinning out of control. I felt lost in a haze of fog, trapped into walking around without any direction. Somehow, I had to find a way to take control. I had to find my way or else I would be lost again. Like I had been when my parents died, before Uncle Ned found me and took me in.
My mind swirled with thoughts and images of all that had happened. I wondered how my life had changed so drastically, so fast. It had only been two days, but it felt like a life-time ago when I had walked that day in the park. Everything was changing, and all I wanted to do was to go back to that day and stay there; never knowing anything other than my own existence. I wanted to go down the path where I met my uncle at the hospital as I had intended to do.
“Uncle Ned,” I whispered softly. I missed him already. Now that I was alone, I wanted to cry, to grieve, but the tears wouldn't come. I had held the tears in for so long and now, now that I could finally cry, I couldn't.
A couple of hours had passed before I saw Shuron and Mirra walk out of Von's room. I had not seen him since we got back and I wanted to be by his side. I got up and headed downstairs. At a distance, Von looked calm and peaceful. But as I got closer, I could see the frown on his brow and the perspiration on his forehead. He looked to be in pain and it was all my fault. I burst into tears then. All the adrenaline of the past two days and all that I had lost, overwhelmed me and I was finally able release it.
“Please,” I said between sobs, “please don't die. You have to live.”
I laid my cheek on his chest, closed my eyes and listened to his breathing. I felt the movement of his chest rising and falling. Slowly, my hand moved to rest above his wound. There was an intense heat resonating from there, as if that area was in flames. I couldn't explain it, but I also felt darkness. There was an empty void in that area and it was spreading throughout his body. It was such an ominous feeling that it sickened and nauseated me. Without thinking, I replaced the darkness in my mind with light. I visualized and concentrated on the feeling of the joy and beauty of the first light of day; in the early morning when the sun rose up into the sky. I remembered the feeling of the cool damp earth beneath my feet. And how the coolness of the moist earth, that had not yet been warmed from the sun, was refreshing. I pushed that thought, that feeling through me and into the blackness and the heat that was coming from his wound. Somehow, I knew I couldn't let the darkness win. Using all of my strength, I concentrated hard on all the happy memories that I had with uncle Ned and when I first saw Von. I absorbed the darkness within my light. I pushed everything that was bright and joyous in my life and used it to smother the darkness. Slowly I could feel Von stirring and soon a hand lightly touched my cheek. I opened my eyes to meet his and smiled as my eyes started to tear up again. “You are awake.”
“Cassiea,” he whispered before holding me close to him. He kissed each of my eyelids before lowering to my lips.
“I'm sorry,” I said when he moved away. “I couldn't get rid of it all.”
I felt drained and my eyelids felt heavy. I tried to stay awake, but I could feel myself drifting away.