Empyreal: Awaken - Book One (14 page)

Just then, Criston heard a creaking
noise, prompting her to turn toward it. It had come from the back
of the church. There she stared at an open door.

“Great, not again...” she huffed, then
stated, “... and the chase continues...” She paused taking in her
surroundings. Yes, they had fled.

She called out, into the dark, empty
cathedral, “You are just prolonging the inevitable,” hearing
herself echo again.

She took a deep breath, and then spoke
in a low voice, “Lucky for you – I have other plans to attend to
... but keep running, the game is more fun that way...”

Criston grabbed her weapon sling and
slung it back over her shoulder. She stood still for a moment,
looking around herself, and then made her way out of the massive
open wooden door and into the pitch-black, darkness of the
night.

Coralie and Court walked along the roadside
together. Chivalrously, Court had offered to carry Coralie's
backpack that was chock-full of books from school. She allowed it,
though it made her feel like woman of the eighteen century, like
those spoke of in class by Ms. Sieve.

That was a time, wasn't it?

A time when young men did fine things
to show their affections for a lady of such interest. A time when
chivalry was something that was of the norm, much unlike
today.

There were the few that were the
exceptions, though. Her father, for one, had always shown the
utmost respect and valiance toward her mother, Coralie remembered.
And now, there was Court to be considered.

She looked at him from the corner of
her eye. He had such a pleasant presence to him. She noticed that
he was allowing a gentle smile to wash over his face.

She wondered if he could sense that
she was looking at him. Not intending to answer her either way,
Court reached for her hand. Coralie felt warmth run throughout her
entire body from his touch. She allowed the same gentle smile to
wash over her face as well.

“What?” Court asked.

“Nothing, really ... just thinking ...
so, where is it that we are actually going?”

“You'll see...” he said, slowing to a
halt.

Unexpectedly, Court ducked into the
tree-line, through the brush. Coralie looked around her, but all
she could see was the tree-lined road that stretched on for miles
ahead. Coralie had looked to where Court had disappeared
nervously.

Court popped his head out from around
the brush and held out his hand, “You coming?”

She stared contemplatively at his
extended hand. She wasn't cold or cool. She hadn’t even caught the
slightest bit of chill. The weather was very nice for Spring. In
fact, somewhat unseasonably warm for March. Sunny, a barely-there
breeze ... it was a perfect afternoon. But Coralie realized that
her hand longed for its warmth again.

It was not the weather that stimulated
this desire to feel his warmth. It was
her.
It was she that
simply needed him
.
She longed for him to hold her hand, to
hold her, to embrace her. Even just the simple brush of his touch
warmed her entire body and soul. Head to toe and back again. With
him, she felt safe … she felt at home.

He smiled, “Trust me...”

Coralie sighed, giving up without a
fight. Like a magnet, her hand slid into his.

Sure, she was following someone, of
whom she barely knew, into the woods … the bear-filled woods. And
not a soul knew where she was. She had to admit, this was not the
smartest idea that she had ever had. In any other situation, in any
other scenario, she would have told herself so. But things were
different with Court. She didn’t know how or why, but she knew that
she could trust him. Pushing crazy thoughts from her mind, she
reminded herself of that.

Somewhere, someplace else in the
world, she was certain there were crazies out there looking for
innocent prey. But Court wasn't one of them. She knew this without
another thought tracing though her mind. He was one of the
good-guys. He would never cause her harm.

And Coralie knew this without a
doubt.

She could feel his care, his concern,
and his love for her. She could feel it when he looked at her. She
could feel it when he touched her hand. She could feel it when
would breathe her in.

They walked down a trail that wound
through the forest, leading them down a brushy path. Suddenly,
Coralie noticed that they were approaching an illuminating light
peeking through the branches of the trees.

She looked up at Court, but he was
still looking ahead of them. As they came to a halt, Coralie's eyes
widened with awe. Her eyes focused solely on the light before
her.

The lush, brushy forest had opened
into a clearing, housing an embankment that surrounded an
illuminating body of water. It seemed to stretch on forever. She
wanted to look around for what could be aiding this beautiful
sight, but she couldn't look away. Its brilliance was
magnificent.

Coralie finally mustered up enough
words to ask, “Where are we?”

Court answered, speaking softly, as if
speaking of a loved one. “Empyreal Lake ... Beautiful, isn't
she?”

“Beautiful ... it's absolutely
breathtaking...” Coralie answered, still in awe of the sight before
her. The both of them stood in a pleasant silence, as they took in
their surroundings.

Breaking the stillness, Coralie spoke,
“Do you come here often?” Suddenly, she felt the rush of stupidity
set in. How awkward did she sound?
Do you come here often?
It sounded more like a cheesy, pick-up line than a sincere
question, although sincerity was her intent.

But Court didn't seem to notice it as
such. “Yeah, I come here to get away...” he said, as he took a seat
on the ground, next to a brush-covered tree trunk, looking out over
the water.

“Yeah, I guess everyone needs a place
like that, huh?” Coralie said, nervously taking a place beside him.
She thought of her own 'thinking place', though not even a
comparison to the sight before her.

Court smiled slightly at her unspoken
thoughts.

“So,” Coralie continued, “When you are
in Greece or any of the other places that you travel, do you miss
it? Coming here … to your special place, I mean?”

His smile continued, as he looked
around, as if he were taking in all of the scenery that surrounded
them. As if this were the first time he'd seen it, at all. “Yeah, I
guess, but you see, I can always come back here, you know
–”

“What do you mean?”

“I just mean that by being here, I
know that...” Court paused, leaving his words hanging in the
air.

“You
know that
what?” Coralie
questioned, knowing that he was trying to tell her something … but
what
?”

“From here, from
this place
...
I know that I can go anywhere – be anywhere in an instant ... do
you understand what I’m trying to say?”

“No, I’m sorry … I think that you lost
me...” Coralie looked confused at him, leaving Court at
disheartened hopefulness of his words. “So, how come I've never ...
I mean, I’ve basically lived here all of my life ... in Thessla,
that is. I know that I've never been here before, yet I find
myself...” Coralie paused, trying to find words.

Trying to read her better, Court moved
closer. “Go on...”

“I don't know ... it's nothing – just
a stupid thought...”

“Nothing you think or say is stupid
... Please tell me, Cor ... what are you thinking?”

Court knew things were beginning to
fall into place for Coralie. But he wanted her to say it. He wanted
to hear it from her lips. For her to say what she felt. To say what
she felt was real … what was truth ...

“This place feels so familiar, you
know … In a weird sort-of way, like home...” Coralie finished,
looking up at him.

“I know...” he smiled, looking back at
her.

“Court –”

“Yeah?”

“Do you – I mean,” Coralie paused,
searching for words that could help her explain her insane
thoughts.

“Do I, what?” Court asked, prompting
her to continue.

She sighed a heavy sigh, thus
acknowledging the possibility that Court would think she somehow
should be committed to a psych ward for her crazy thoughts and
questions. She watched a smile sweep across Court’s lips, this
giving her a bit of encouragement to continue. “Do you ever feel
like there's something out there, you know ... like there's some
kind of secret or inside joke that you haven't been let in on yet?
Is that crazy?”

“You mean, like someone,
everyone
, has been keeping something from
you
? No,
that’s not crazy...”

“I don't know ... maybe I shouldn't
have said anything...”

“Yes, you should have. Cor, you can
tell me anything … you know that, right – you can trust me with
anything...”

Coralie stood up, taking a deep breath
before starting her spiel. “It's just that I've been having these
dreams … strange dreams and weird feelings...”

“Have you tried talking about this
with your parents?”

“Yeah, I've tried to talk to my
parents about them, but they just,” she paused, and sighed as she
looked at Court. “... They just look at me with these concerned
looks on their faces ... sort of like the one that you have on your
face right now...”

Court rose to his feet and faced her.
“Cor, though this is a concerned look on my face, it's not like
what you may think. It's
you
that I'm concerned with – your
safety, not your dreams.” He sighed. “Do you ever think that maybe
there's more to your dreams than just what meets the eye, or mind
rather?”

“Like what do you mean?” Coralie
asked, trying to smile jokingly, but was unsuccessful.

“Like that your dreams may be more
than just dreams. Maybe they are more like premonitions or even
–”

“What? Or even what?”

He shrugged. “Maybe they could even be
a reality...”

“Court, come on – I think I would know
if I was some superhero-type, warrioresque, vindicating heroine,
that went around kicking villain tail and taking names on a daily
basis ... but I'm afraid, my friend, it just isn't
so...”

“No?”

“Well ... it just doesn't seem very
likely or possible even...”

“Maybe the reality is just one of
which you are unaware of – just a thought –besides,” he paused,
leaning closer to her, causing her breath to catch in her chest.
“... I could totally see you as a superhero ...,” he finished, as
he stepped backward.

Suddenly, Court lost his footing,
falling hard against a fallen tree and a bouldering rock wall. The
large portion of the fallen tree began to fall towards Court. At
the same time, Coralie saw at the top of the rock wall was a large,
loose stone – about the size of a beach ball – teetering along the
edge.

All within seconds, both objects
started to fall. Still trying to regain his footing, Court seemed
unaware of his dire need to move his place of stance.

Coralie knew that she needed to do
something. Without another thought, she absentmindedly allowed
herself to throw one of her hands out to her side and the other in
front of her.

When Coralie’s eyes met Court's, she
expected to see a look of terror or exasperation even. To her
surprise, she saw something very different. There was a smile that
slowly stretched across his face.

Coralie looked around herself to see
what may have triggered his ever-growing smile. She looked
sideways, out toward her right arm. There at a short distance, held
at mid-fall, was the large portion of the fallen tree. She slowly
looked to her left – there was the large boulder hovering in
mid-air.

Coralie realized that she was holding
them there at a distance with her own hands. But how? She was not
within reach, but yet as she moved her hands, the objects moved
with her. Almost as if she was commanding them to move.

That was it ... she was.

Court walked toward her in a leisurely
saunter, still grinning. As soon as Court was next to her, she
lowered her arms gently, watching the two objects do the same.
Startled by the sight of her own doing, she jumped and lost her
concentration, causing her to drop the objects to the ground
abruptly.

Clapping, Court turned toward her.
“Well done! And you said you weren't the superhero-type ...,” he
said, smiling from ear to ear, with usage of her wording, “...that
seemed pretty superhero-like to me!”

She turned to him, with realization
and desperation in her eyes. “You can't tell anyone,
okay?”

Beaming, he stood facing her. He took
her hands into his. “Your secret's safe with me … Come on, there's
something else I want to show you,” he said, leading her toward the
water's edge.

The colors were vivid and brilliant,
surrounding her. The bright green of the trees and brush, along
with the colorful hues of the flowers – in whites, pinks, yellows,
reds, purples, and blues – all of them, illuminating off of the
lake's rippling reflection.