Never Let You Fall (The Prophecy of Tyalbrook) (20 page)

She must have (correctly) deciphered the crazy look I gave her as a question, because she quickly added, “There are many ways that magic can be tracked. They were worried that McClintock’s men would be able to find us here by tracking my magic. We agreed that I would stay a few hours away. Close enough for us to meet up if there was danger, but far enough to keep the two of you safe.

As I stated earlier, I didn’t have much skill yet with my magic, but I was able to place a spell that helped me keep track of your safety. Then, I made my way to these mountains and found myself a small place to live. I helped by providing your parents with money, as well as a few items to help keep you undercover through the years.”

“Rioden told me that he’d explained to you how he eventually did end up here, right?” she questioned Xander.

“Yeah - he said that he chased some Semvon though a new portal once he’d finally gotten word that they’d found us. So what happened? How did he find you?”

“He didn’t, I found him. And you. Like I said, I’d placed a tracking spell on you so I would be able to sense if something bad happened. As soon as I realized there was trouble, I tried to reach you guys. I was too late, of course. Looking at Skye, she continued, “By the time I reached the house, Xander’s parents were dead and he was unconscious, you were missing and Rioden had already killed everyone else. I helped ‘sway’ the authorities that it had been a simple gas explosion and that we were nobody.”

“What?” I asked, astounded that she could actually compel someone to believe something.

“Skye, they would have asked questions – questions we couldn’t answer. I had to get them to think it was an accident. Rioden and I found a local hotel and watched over you, Xander. You woke up a few hours later screaming for your parents, and for Skye. You barely even remembered Rioden at first.”

Thinking back on the vague details the police had given me about the incident, I assumed that Selene messing with their minds might have been the reason why I’d never truly known what had happened.

“You telling the cops that it was a gas explosion - is
that
why no one could ever tell me what had happened to me? When they found me, did they think that it had been my home and assumed I had escaped somehow?”

“I suppose that must be what happened,” Selene agreed.

Xander spoke up, “I don’t remember any of this, Selene. I mean, I remember Rioden, but not you. I recall waking up and yelling at Ri that we had to find Skye. We ran to the park where I’d told her to hide.” He turned to me with sad eyes. “We searched everywhere for you, but there was nothing, not even a trace.”

Selene coughed and shifted nervously. I could tell there was something she wasn’t telling us, but what? What could she still be hiding? Could we trust her?

Xander seemed to trust her. I think knowing that Rioden had sent us to her was all he really needed as proof of her trustworthiness, but I still had my doubts.

I shook my head and told myself to stop thinking ill of her. Evidently my lack of trust in people was clouding my judgment. Selene had sat here with us and gave us all the information she could. I needed to trust her, because I really didn’t have many other options.

The three of us stood there in a circle, each looking at the other, and it distinctively felt like a standoff; everyone caught in their own personal thoughts or memories. A cell phone ring finally interrupted us. Selene pulled a phone out from her under her cape and answered.

“Hello?”

Her eyes brightened immediately, and I guessed it was Rioden before she said another word.

“Are you alright? Mmmhmmm. We’re still at the cabin. Soon. Well, they had questions…okay, hold on.”

She held the phone out towards Xander and smiled. “It’s Rioden.”

He grabbed the phone in a rush and paced in circles before heading to the bedroom to speak in semi-private.

“Ri? Yeah, no – we’re fine. She’s doing well. When will you get there? I know, but…” He sighed heavily and I fervently wished I could hear Rioden on the other end. I watched as Xander moved his hand through his hair in frustration.

“Ri, this is gonna work best with you, man. You’re the only one who saw and heard McClintock’s men. You’re the only one who can convince the ones who are left, that the man was a traitor. Okay, we will. Yes…I love you too, and I promise. With my life, you know that. Bye.”

He walked back into the front room and gave the phone back to Selene, telling her that Rioden still wanted to speak to her. She reached out her long slim fingers to take the phone, and then made her way to the front door. Looking back at us with a slight shrug, she stepped outside and closed the door behind her.

I stood there watching the door, waiting for her to return, when Xander came up next to me and wrapped his hand around my own. I turned to face him as he pulled me into a light hug, and I could feel the muscles beneath his shirt flex. His stress had him as tight as a wire.

“What did he say, Xander? Are you okay?” I whispered, rubbing my face against his chest. The feel of his hand on the small of my back made me lightheaded. His other hand softly stroked my hair.

“I’m okay. But we have to go, Skye. We need to get to Tyalbrook and find a resistance army.”

I pulled back at the word ‘army’ and stared into his face in shock as he added, “It was always the plan. We need to start a war with McClintock and remove him from power.
You
are the heir, and it’s time for you to get back what is rightfully yours.”

“But I don’t want a war! And Xander, I don’t
need
to be Queen! Hell, I don’t know if I even
want
to be. I just know that I don’t want to cause any more death, Xander. I can’t take any more pain being brought about for my sake.”

It was Selene who answered my statement as she reentered the cabin. “Skye, every day you aren’t Queen is another day that people die. Every day is just another day of suffering.”

“Selene!” Xander growled, easing his hold of me enough so I could step aside.

“What, Xander? It’s the truth. It was her fate, her prophecy, was it not?
She
is the one who would start a war, and
she
is the only one who could bring back the peace.”

“What?” I gasped, stumbling back. I leaned my hand against the wall to keep myself standing upright.

Even Xander looked taken aback. His anger at Selene clashed with his worry for me as he asked, “What the hell are you talking about, Selene?”

“I’ve had time to memorize it through the years,” Selene spoke, as she stood in the middle of the kitchen. “Skye, the prophecy was told to your mother in a sort of cryptic manner. At the age of one, an old woman had apparently touched your arm and became entranced. She blurted out the words.”

Xander and I exchanged glances.

“What was the complete prophesy?” he asked.

Selene closed her eyes and repeated the words that had so long ago started the path I found myself on:

“War will come

Pain and death are in her future

but she will prevail

Only her blood,

her strength will save us all

Nations will rise on her 18th birthday

only she can calm the storm

Her bloodline will prosper

All creatures will love her

the Kingdom will flourish in her care

Only she can rule for man to have a future,

for all to join together”

SIXTEEN - TOGETHER

Xander

Hearing Selene’s words had hit me like ton of bricks, so I could only imagine how they must have affected Skye. She gasped for air and her hands clawed at her chest.

“Skye, baby, calm down…” I soothed. I was able to catch her before she would have collapsed to the floor. I pulled her towards the armchair and placed her on my lap as she continued to hyperventilate.

Selene watched our exchange with interest as I pulled Skye closer to me and whispered every soothing word I could think of.

“Hun, it’s not your fault. You didn’t ask for this, Skye.”

“It is, though! I never should have been born, Xander! It’s like I’m evil,” she cried, with her eyes wide and full of fear. “Who has a future like that, huh? Who wants a child who’s the cause of so much death and destruction? It’s no wonder nobody wanted me…”

“No. We aren’t going there again, Skye,” I threatened, before pulling her away from me so I could look at her face. “We are
not
going to keep rehashing this. It’s not your fault that when you were one, some old woman decided to name you the savior of our Kingdom. You had nothing to do with that!”

“Not the savior, Xander - the destroyer! God!” she screamed, as she pushed me away and stood on her own. Her eyes were flashing now. Tears still wet her face, but they had stopped flowing. Now her stance was one of pure anger.

“You know, I tried to ignore it. I really did. The fact that it was because of me that you all had to leave your home fifteen years ago…and the fact that my parents and Selene’s mother disappeared because of me…and the fact that your parents…your parents
died
, Xander!” she choked out; holding her hands out towards me as if she were asking for forgiveness.

“They died, because of ME. God, I am so sorry! How many other people died trying to save the castle, or as they tried to protect the Kingdom? It was all because of ME that this happened.”

“No, Princess. It was because of
greed
that this all happened.” Selene’s words halted Skye’s tirade. She stepped up to Skye and stood toe-to-toe with her as she spoke. “Greed, Princess. Men who had no right to the things you would someday be able to offer, decided to try and take it. That is not your fault.”

“But it is…!”

“No, Skye. Is it the fault of a beautiful woman if she is raped because of her beauty? Huh? Is it her fault just because she is beautiful? No. You are not to blame for what has transpired,” Selene finished, and placed her hands on Skye’s forearms.

“However,” she added, “it
is
your fault for what will continue to happen if you choose not to go back.”

“Selene!” I growled again. She seemed to like making me shout her name.

“It’s true, Xander! Now you know what has happened, what is likely still happening, and that the Princess is the only one who can stop it. We must go back!”

“Selene - we don’t even know what she’s supposed to do! We can’t really know that what she does will change things. Don’t place the weight of the future on her shoulders!”

There was a moment of silence.

“She’s right, Xander.” Skye’s voice was soft, but more controlled now. “I need to go back. If the prophecy is right, then I’m the only one who can make things right.”

I touched her soft cheek and spoke to her. “Skye, you don’t have to make things right.”

“But I do. I have to… I know you don’t think it’s my fault, but I do. The only way I’m ever gonna be able to live with myself is if I fix this.”

I exchanged glances with Selene, and my heart raced at the thought of going home. At taking Skye home.

“Are you sure you’re ready? I don’t want to force you to go back. It’s very different there, Skye.”

“I’m sure. This pain, Xander…” She took my hand and placed it on her chest over her heart. “The pain right here - it’s just too much for me to bear. I need to make it right, or else die trying.”

“Well that’s not going to happen,” I pledged to her, and placed my other hand over my own heart. “That, I can promise you. We’ll do this together, okay?”

A ghost of a smile played on her lips as she shook her head in the affirmative. “Okay.”

Skye

Once the decision had been made, I felt a tad bit lighter. After Xander had promised that we would fix everything together, he and Selene convinced me to take a shower. They were packing some travel packs with food, since we weren’t sure how long we might be without it once we got through the portal.

When Selene had shown up that morning, she’d brought two bags. One contained food, including our breakfast, and the other held clothing for us. However, this wasn’t normal clothing. It was period clothing, like what I’d seen in a Knights of the Round Table movie.