portal prophecies 01 - keepers destiny (26 page)

William, Aslo and Kiera were still in the command centre. They had sent everyone else to get a good night's sleep, except a few men who were doing perimeter watches. Mike put Willow down on the couch. He retold the story as far as he knew it, leaving out the part where she freaked out over eating meat, which Willow was quite happy about. Then it was her turn to fill them in about the woman. She described the old lady, her clothes, jewelry, makeup and voice. Then she recited the eerie words.

'Be forewarned on Hallows Eve

those who are not of this world shall take to the streets,

blood shall flow and death shall follow.

Your presence attracts what we cannot explain.

Your destiny is written. You best make sure you listen.'

“A prophecy?” Mike asked looking at William.

“I don't know, but I think we should treat it as one. Tomorrow everyone is back to work on the prophecies. If something is coming, we need as much information as we can find,” he answered. “As for you young lady, perhaps some time in bed just to make sure you are really okay is called for.”

“No...no, I am fine. I think it was just too much to process at once, the lights, the people, the noise. It caught me off guard. I can help,” she answered. “You need me. I have a way with the prophecies.”

“She is correct. We do need her insight, since it seems so many of the prophecies are about her in some way,” Aslo said. “It makes sense she can decipher them. I also think we need a training session on this world before anyone else ventures into populated areas.”

“Agreed,” Mike said.

That one word played on her emotions, bringing back out the guilt she had been trying to swallow. She wanted to tell him she had fun. She hadn't even had a chance to thank him for taking her yet. But she couldn't, not in front of others. It would be too weird.

“Okay off to bed with you,” Kiera said. “They are short handed tonight, everyone is resting for a big day tomorrow so Aslo and I are helping patrol. We will see you in the morning.”

“Are you okay to walk?” Mike asked.

She wanted to say no. She wanted him to lift her up, carry her to her bed, and place her down gently, but answered '
yes
' with a meek smile instead. The whole walk to her sleeping quarters she was beating herself up inside for giving up her opportunity to thank him for showing her so many things...to let him know this had been the best night of her life and to apologize for being rude about the food. She figured he would probably never talk to her again.

She hopped back in bed and the kittens immediately joined with her. She made a mental note she still didn't know their names yet and needed to learn them. She could hear little giggles in her mind, which made her smile. Even with all the sleep she had lately, it didn't take long until she drifted off into a deep slumber. There was no fear of night scares tonight. She would dream of one thing, being back at the park having fun with Mike.

“Willow...Willow!”

She opened her eyes and stretched before realizing Clairity was standing over her. “Hey,” she said still trying to wake up.

“We have a meeting, remember?”

“Is it late?” Willow asked, worried she was sleeping way too much.

“No, but we will be late if you don't get up and get ready,” Clairity said handing her friend some clothes to change into.

Willow did as requested. She got up and did her morning routine of washing, brushing and changing. Stopping to look in the mirror, she realized for the first time, she didn't hate what she saw anymore. Perhaps Acacia had pity on her and changed her a little.

“Do I look different to you?” she asked Clairity without taking her eyes away from the mirror.

“No, why should you? Did something happen?”

“No, maybe it's the light. It's nothing,” she answered.

The kittens remained in bed for the day. All the voices could be confusing for them as well. After seeing them settled, all curled up together in little balls of fur, the two girls headed out to the training field to meet the others.

They were the last to arrive. Mike was working with Jessie, Dezi and Pete already, and didn't even look up to acknowledge her, but William did.

“Nice of you to join us ladies,” he said. “I guess we can begin then. Right, everyone gather round. In this first exercise I want each of you to close your eyes and imagine a line connecting yourself to a person who is here, someone close. When you have that concentrate on saying '
hi
'.”

Willow chose Clairity and said her '
hi
'. For a moment she thought everyone had chosen to say hi to her. Voices were coming at her from all directions, all mixed together. It hurt.

“Let's try one at a time,” William said still shaking his head from the noise.

It didn't seem to matter who he chose. The '
hi
' rang out to everyone. It was Willow's turn. She said '
hi
' to Clairity again and looked back to William.

“Are you done?” he asked. “Who did you speak to?”

“Clairity,” she answered.

“I heard it. Did anyone else?” her friend asked.

No one else did. '
Score one for the good guys,
' she thought. Clairity and Ashlyn also had the technique down. They figured it had something to do with being keepers and the natural telepathic link that gave them. The three of them were excused to practice among themselves with bigger messages.

The training went on for several hours and then broke for lunch. Willow decided as soon as everyone returned, she would take Mike aside and thank him for last night. She went back to the training site early to find him, but Mike didn't return.

William went over a list of rules for when to use the telepathic link and when not to, using Nathan's cookie story as an example, which made Nathan happy and most everyone giggle.

He ended the meeting asking everyone to practice and report any unusual abilities that may arise, warning that for some, advanced fighting skills could mean the ability to call weapons to appear. The skill had only been seen in proficient fighters before. He didn't think any of them had to worry about it yet, but at the same time didn't want a limb to be lost during practice fights, or worse.

Willow had a hard time concentrating, her mind preoccupied wondering where Mike had gone. Why had he not returned with the others from lunch? She had the urge to run up and ask William right there in front of everyone, but thought that might seem a little strange. He had been nice to her, but they certainly weren't a couple. It was more likely she was reading something into the situation that wasn't there. He had made her feel warm and safe. It was nice. Her mind turned to Lance, he was the opposite. He gave her feelings of excitement and danger, made her feel wild and alive. She hadn't thought of the prince at all since just after the dream, but now she could see his piercing blue eyes locked on hers, feeling the way he watched her. It was a different connection and yet the same.

“Willow!” William yelled, breaking her trance.

“Sorry,” she replied. Looking around she could see that almost everyone had left and she was standing there looking silly. “I was thinking about...the prophecies,” she added figuring it was the most believable thing she could say.

“How about thinking about them with everyone else inside the command centre and maybe...I don't know...sharing your thoughts?” he said.

“Yeah sure,” she answered. The tone of his voice had told her this wasn't the time to ask about Mike.

Nathan was sitting at the table with Diana when she walked in. The first order of business was for Nathan to share the book with her, so she would remember every prophecy. The group had already implemented a policy of sharing '
The Portal Prophecies
' every week to ensure it remained fresh in their minds. They also worked out of the book itself.

“So where should we begin?” William asked as Sarah took a seat beside him. Kiera and Aslo were already sitting on the table waiting for everyone to settle.

This was her chance she thought. “Aren't we going to wait for Mike?” she asked. She couldn't seem to think of anything else.

“No, he had something personal to take care of,” William said.

“When will he be back?” Nathan asked.

Willow covered her mouth as she sighed in relief. She was glad the boy had been the one to continue the conversation. As much as she wanted the answers, she also didn't want anyone knowing she might have developed a crush on Mike.

“Not sure. We should concentrate on the prophecies,” he answered.

'On the outside flesh rots, but under is fine

the captors look dead, the prisoner fine,

no one notices, no one hears, a scream for help disappears

hidden in darkness, unable to move

the ones with power have something to prove

look for the signs that something is near

unusual and strange, that people fear

under a store which sells that which can be made

you will know the place by the woman with the blade

some powers real, some not

rope, fire and water punished the lot'

Willow wasn't sure why she had chosen to read this prophecy out loud but she felt the need. She had no idea what it meant either. Maybe her mind wasn't clear enough to do this today. All her thoughts went back to boys over and over.

“Okay, so any ideas?...Willow?” William asked.

“I don't know. It popped into my head. I just had a feeling it was relevant. It mentions signs. I think since Ashlyn's interpretation helped her find me, she took signs to mean symbols of something. We should use that as a start,” Willow answered. “We are looking for something unusual and strange that people fear. Didn't you say people of this world make things up for whatever they can't explain?”

“Yes,” William said deep in thought. “It could be the signs we are looking for are something the human world created to signify something they fear. I guess we should start some research into myths and legends.” He walked into a back room and came back with a pile of books. “Start with these Nathan and share them. I will start on the computer.”

Weeks of study went by and the group found out very little about the prophecy. They looked at various different stories about monsters and strange happenings. A few Willow tagged as requiring further attention at a later date, including The Black Mountain in Australia, The Bermuda Triangle, The Lost City of Atlantis and creature sightings such as Yeti, Bigfoot, Lockness Monster and mermaids. But some how none of them seemed to fit the situation.

Nathan found reference to one type of creature thought to have rotting flesh called a zombie, but after reading hundreds of books and watching hours of shows on the creatures, no one could find any signs as to where you would locate them. It seemed this may be the one being that did not actually come from another world and was just from someone's imagination. Not knowing for sure, they continued research. Anxiety levels were rising. They were going nowhere with this prophecy. William finally suggested they move on to another and Willow reluctantly agreed. She had a feeling deep inside this was important, but other prophecies were probably just as important as well.

The group decided to look at the prophecy from the amusement park for the rest of the afternoon. They started with Halloween delving only slightly into the history. The in depth analysis of the celebration was something William would gather books and information on, for them to look at tomorrow.

They learnt from Sarah, that Halloween night had become a holiday when people would dress up in costumes which resembled monsters and celebrate with candy and feasts. The most common scary costumes being vampires, ghosts, mummies and witches. She explained as she went along what each was supposed to look like.

Diana remembered the story about Sarah's family. “Perhaps each of these creatures, like the vampires, could be from another world and just named differently,” she said.

It made sense and fit in with the prophecy, so William agreed to find as many books as possible on each of the creatures so they could be studied separately. Feeling like they had at least accomplished something, he dismissed the group till the morning.

There was still no word from Mike. William didn't seemed concerned, but there was talk around camp that he had left them, or run off with some girl. Something was wrong and Willow knew a way to find out how. She just needed to figure out how to suggest it without looking as if she was some stupid girl with a crush, stalking him.

Ashlyn and Clairity found her at the edge of the tree line. The three girls decided to take a well deserved afternoon alone to catch up and gossip, all guardians left behind. When they were safely hidden away in a tree fort Willow had created, Clairity spoke.

“I actually had another reason for wanting us to talk alone. I have a feeling...something is wrong. I know William and the others don't trust my intuition much, but you two, you know I am accurate,” she said. “It's about Mike.”

“About Mike?” Ashlyn spun around, her eyes sparkling with interest. “Everyone is wondering what happened. Do you know?”

Willow was amazed they were saying everything she had been wanting to say, asking the same questions she had wanted to ask.

“No, I don't know exactly, but it isn't good. I think he is hurt,” Clairity responded. “My visions are getting stronger but none of it makes any sense. People dressed in black robes so you can't see their faces and big black pots over a fire, chants of something I don't understand.”

“You wouldn't happen to know where would you?” Willow asked.

“No, I don't know enough about this world to recognize anything.”

“We should tell William,” Ashlyn suggested.