Authors: M.A. KROPF
“It is time, Megan. Get Max and Aaron and let Nicholai know. The Caduceus is meeting at the house of flowers right now. They do not know you are coming. Go now.”
And he was gone.
I awakened with a start, like when you have the sense of falling in your dream and you are jolted back to awareness. I sat up on the couch breathing heavily. I felt a change coming over me. I could see the fight and the players engaging on the lawn. I saw from the clock that it was late, but I pulled my phone from my pocket and dialed.
“Hello?”
He sounded much too alert for so late at night. This man never sleeps, I thought. “Hello, Max?”
“Hello, Megan. How can I help you?”
Where to start. I paused.
“Megan?”
At the same time I heard Nicholai in my head, saying, “You saw Asclepius? He came to you in a vision? Unbelievable!”
Wait a minute,
I told him.
“Max, I had a vision and it was Asclepius. The Caduceus are at the Conservatory of Flowers right now. We have to go. Please call Aaron and meet me there. Tonight is the night. It is the same for Nicholai. Their fight will be at the temple.” Thinking for a moment, I added, “Please be careful and don’t go out into the open until I get there.”
Without any hesitation he responded, “So it shall be. We will be there.”
Nicholai, did you hear that?
“Yes, I’m working on it now, trying to get ahold of Aleck and we’ll get right over to the temple. Who am I fighting? The Caduceus?”
Yes, they are organizing their opposition here and in Greece. They do not know we are coming, but be careful. I saw bits of the fight and we are evenly matched, although I’m not sure why. This may not be as easy as completing a purpose.
“Understood… and Megan?”
Yes.
“Please be careful.”
I felt a lump in my throat.
You too
. . .
please.
We said our good-byes and I went upstairs to wake Luke and try to explain this madness to him. However, when I walked into our room he was sitting straight up in bed.
“Why are you awake? I thought you were asleep?”
“Can’t sleep. Off again?”
“Yes, look I… work called…”
He put a hand up. “It’s okay, I’ve got some reading to do and, well, have a good night.”
I could tell that he was trying to get me to leave. I felt utterly unwanted. A pain grew from my chest and expanded outward to every corner of my body.
“Okay,” I finally choked out and turned to leave. Now was not the time for any meaningful conversation. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was doing, but whatever it was, I needed to be at the Conservatory of Flowers… tonight.
I pulled into a parking spot a distance away from the meeting place according to my agreement with Max. Stepping out of the car, I took a deep breath in as I began to walk toward my destination. I looked up and the stars were on fire, as if ready for something.
I looked around and knew this was the place from my visions. It took a moment before my eyes adjusted to the darkness. As I passed through hundreds of beautifully maintained varieties of flowers, the colors and smells almost took my breath away. The grassy areas on either side of the concrete walkway were meticulously manicured and stretched from the street to wrap around the flower beds. I reached a wide set of stairs leading up to the main building.
The main building… unbelievable is the only word to describe it. Architectural masterpiece, in the daytime it was white but in the darkness, all lit up, it let off an eerie blue glow. Stretching out in front of me, rows of windows flanked a grand entrance that beckoned the eyes up toward the majestic dome. I sighed.
I caught my breath. Before my eyes there suddenly flashed a vision of what was to come, here, in front of me. The fight. I could see bits and pieces, broken and disjointed like a book with every other page torn out.
Just then I felt Aaron and Max getting closer. A sense of something was building. I closed my eyes to steady myself. I was definitely on alert. My body was tingling, almost as if I could feel the air move around me.
“Hello Max… Aaron.” I turned to face them before they emerged from the foliage.
“Whoa. You knew we were here?” Aaron spoke first.
“Yes,” I said, but my attention was on our surroundings. “I sensed you coming. I can also sense that the others are almost here.”
Max smiled, “I’m so glad you came during my lifetime. I’m not sure exactly what my part is, nor is it important to always know why. I’m just glad to know you and be part of the change coming.”
I nodded as a thank you but then felt a sudden pain in my neck as if I had been slapped. I snapped my head around and looked. “They’re here… somewhere… everyone get ready.”
Just then two very dark auras move out of the brush, followed by the figures they belonged to.
The first man was a six-foot Adonis-looking creature. Beautiful and deplorable at the same time. He had short brown hair and deep ominous eyes that seemed to bore through me. He was dressed in black from head to toe with a large gold Caduceus hanging on a thick chain around his neck.
The other man was not as tall as the first, with lighter hair that seemed to sweep along his shoulders as he walked. His steps were not as intentional but he was much more graceful. Even in the dark I could see his bright flashes of his green eyes gazing intently into mine as they approached.
My insides burned. My enemies.
They stopped forty feet from us. “Gentlemen,” the tallest one started, looking beyond me to address Max and Aaron. “Well, this is a surprise. While I see no need for pleasantries, my name is David and this Jason. We wish no ill toward you. We need only deal with the woman. You may leave now, and you will not be harmed.”
I heard movement behind me as Aaron and Max flanked me on either side.
As they moved closer to me, I gasped to see our auras became interwoven, and the color and size grew in intensity and volume. This was the first time I had seen any part of my own aura, and the shock of seeing it combined with Max’s and Aaron’s gave me a new sense of resolve. Each of the men looked startled as if they were able to see the growing light around us.
Max then took one step forward. I tried to reach for him but he held a hand up.
“We also wish no ill toward you—yet—so you may choose to leave now to avert any unfortunate happenings here,” Max said. “However, we will not leave the woman. If you choose to proceed, you will fight us all. You
do
have a choice.”
Max’s stare intensified as he directed his intentions to the larger of the two men, David, who appeared to be the leader. I looked briefly at Aaron and noticed that he, too, was staring intently but at the shorter man, Jason. Oddly, it was clear that they had their intended purposes. I had not seen my purpose yet.
I felt a sudden pain inside and something building, almost nauseating. My muscles tingled and tightened. A warmth was growing.
Again David spoke, “Old man, we do not want to hurt you. But if you stay, you will die.”
Something wasn’t right. How could they be so confident? If they knew we had extra skills as Aurators, then how could mere civilians fight us? I looked back at Max who suddenly stood up straighter, and his aura grew to a size I had never seen before. He then nodded his head, looked back at Aaron, and responded almost nonchalantly, “So be it.”
With that, both of the men ran toward us. While Max and Aaron took defensive stances, my body began to shake in anticipation. Aaron ran toward Jason and traded several punches and deflections. In a swift sweeping kick, Aaron knocked Jason off his feet and pinned him to the ground. Jason struggled, and then I saw Aaron get thrown back several feet, crashing to the ground on his back. This display of strength didn’t seem possible to me, not considering the red glow that was flowing around Aaron’s limbs.
A voice in my head cried out, “Megan? MEGAN? Can you hear me? It’s Nicholai. I can hear your thoughts—we’re fighting here, too.”
Nicholai?
You’re
fighting
now?
I grabbed the sides of my head trying to hold it together as the pictures of here and elsewhere shifted in and out of focus. Suddenly I could see the fight, not here, but in Greece. I saw it all, Nicholai and Aleck, and in front of them the seven pillars at the Asklepion.
Yes,
Nicholai,
I
can
hear
you
and
see
some
of
what’s
going
on.
What’s
happening?
I saw someone run and swing at Nicholai. He stumbled backward to dodge the blow, but stayed upright. Then I saw a man approach him and hurtle a large stone object that shattered into a million pieces when it hit Nicholai. I brought my hands up instinctively to shield against them actually hitting me. But when I moved my hands away I could see shards of stone all around but none of them connected with me.
My heart raced with this conflict between my reality and Nicholai’s. I could feel the blood pumping and the heat began raise from within me. I reached for Nicholai who now lay as if unconscious, but I could not touch him. I screamed to wake him but my own sound seemed muffled by a loud crash to my right, as Aaron was being flung into a nearby tree.
I turned my head back from Aaron and saw Nicholai struggling to bring himself back to a standing position as I heard him, “Megan, they are Aurators… Aurators who have chosen the other side. We have to fight with all our skills. They are too strong otherwise.”
Just then my attention was drawn to my right by a movement, and I saw David jumping several feet in the air. He was aimed to land full force on top of Max. It was in this split second that I saw it. Whenever we connected with them or they fell against anything, their black auras sparked red. It was only a brief flash but it was definitely the Aurator beneath their shadowy aura.
I yelled out a warning, “Max! They are Aurators! We have to use our skills!” Max nodded without looking and raised his arm up to ward off his attacker. When he connected with David, he threw his arm to the side and flung the man twenty feet.
David again got up and ran toward Max, seemingly unbothered.
“You’re right Megan!” hollered Max. “Are our auras connected?”
They weren’t, so I ran between Max and Aaron. Our auras converged and grew. Just then I saw Aaron grab his attacker with exceptionally more strength than before. I heard the sounds of bones cracking as he contorted and twisted Jason’s body.
I was confused for a moment when I realized that I suddenly was looking through Nicholai’s eyes again. “Megan, I’m sorry, I don’t think we’re going to win here. There are only two of us and four of them.” I could see that Nicholai was on the ground and another man was running for him.
“NO!” I screamed.
Touch
the
earth
Megan
, I heard in my head. I knew enough now to listen to these messages, although I sometimes didn’t know who was talking to me—Nicholai, Asclepius, or my own intuition. I felt my body pulled downward in slow motion. I knelt down. I could see movement around me. Greece? I wasn’t sure. I put my hand on the ground, closed my eyes and concentrated. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I felt an intense heat radiate from my hand.
I opened each hand to see if what I felt was real. The ground shook and buckled under my touch, then rippled out from my hand and across the land like a pebble landing in a still pond. A shock wave left my body, knocking me backwards.
At that moment I could see the man who was running toward Nicholai. He seemed to mysteriously launch away from Nicholai, and all the dark auras did too.
My vision shifted to two scenes at once, shifting in and out of focus. I saw the effect of the ground rippling as all the Caduceus here… and there… flew off their feet to land several yards away.
“Megan.
Did
you
do
that?”
I
think
so
Nicholai.
Are
you
all
right?
“I
think
so.”
Listen
. . .
if
you
and
Aleck
stand
close
together
it
increases
the
abilities
you
both
have
exponentially.
Do
it.
“All
right
Megan,
we
. . .”
His voice cut off as I felt someone behind me. I turned but it was too late. He hit me with such enormous force that it sent me into the air and I landed on my side in the grass nearly twenty yards away from where I had been. I looked toward Max and Aaron, who were joined by their auras and fighting David together. Max was flinging him around like a rag doll, dragging him through the surrounding flower beds and slamming him against walls. They couldn’t see that I had been attacked.
I tried to scream but he was there again. He grabbed my arms and threw me again, this time in the opposite direction.
“Megan?
Are
you
okay?”
I could barely hear Nicholai as I slammed against the ground. Lying on the ground wondering if something was broken, I felt my attacker approach me.
A third man, tall and whose face seemed riddled with hate, sneered at me maliciously, “Neither you, nor anyone else in your family will change life for us.”
I looked toward Max and Aaron just as Max flung his attacker into the air and brought him crashing into the glass dome, sending shards of glass everywhere. As glass rained down around the area, I questioned whether I was really the person meant to fix this.
My aggressor pulled out a gun and aimed it at me. I heard a shot but felt nothing. I could see red all around. My breathing sped as if to run away from me.
Thoughts raced through my mind.
My
family,
my
husband,
my
girls.
Protect
them
at
all
costs.
Guard
them.
A surge of anger electrified my body. “You will not harm my family!” My words surprised me as they came out in an instinctive growl. I noticed that I was lying on a gravel path, and with a speed I had never felt, I grabbed a handful and threw it at his eyes. As his arms instinctively flew up to cover his face, I leapt to my feet and knocked the gun out of his hand. I tackled him to the ground.
Holding him down, I suddenly focused on my hand. There was blood, not his but mine. I looked toward my shoulder that I now realized was throbbing. I had been shot! In spite of all of my newfound strength and feelings of invulnerability, I was in fact not immortal.