Empyreal: Awaken - Book One (27 page)

“Coralie – are you okay?” she heard
two voices ask, harmoniously concerned.

Coralie finally allowed one word to
breathlessly slip from her lips. “Yeah...”

“Cor, let's get you home.”

“Court, I had things under
control.”

“Alex, I can take over from
here.”

“Wait a second, how do you two know
each other?” Coralie asked, perplexed.

“It's a long story –” Alex
started.

“Yeah, one that can wait for
tomorrow...” Court concluded, leaving no room for
argument.

But that didn't stop Coralie in
trying. “… one that I would love to hear...”

Alex jumped at the chance to chime in.
“… and one that I’d love to tell...”

Irritated, Court clarified, “Cor, I
promise we can make the time for more stories tomorrow. Your
parents are worried and we should really get you home, okay?” He
took her hand, and began leading her away from Alex. “So, can we go
now and discuss this later?”

The two of them began to walk in the
opposite direction of Alex, silence falling all around
them.

“Coralie –” Alex called out, causing
Coralie to turn immediately toward him. When Alex knew he had her
attention, he continued, “… tomorrow, Cor ... I can explain
everything ... I just –”

“You're like me. You knew...” Coralie
affirmed, with hurt in her voice.

This tore at Alex's chest,
painfully.

“Yes, I knew ... and I've known all
along. But I’ve never lied to you ... everything I've ever said to
you has been true. Everything...” Alex explained in desperation. He
paused, moving closer, grabbing her hand. “Please believe me ... I
never meant to hurt you.”

At this slight of notion, Court's jaw
clinched, but he awaited Coralie's reaction.

Coralie nodded, then slowly let go of
Alex’s hand. “I do believe you, Alex...”

“Tomorrow, then...” Alex said,
attempting to confirm his assumption.

She nodded. Offset, but
acceptingly.

Coralie turned back to Court, and they
began their trudge toward his motorcycle, sitting at the edge of
the tree-lined road. She could feel Alex's eyes still resting upon
her as she walked away.

“He'll be fine...” said Court, reading
her without even looking at her. “He'll be following us anyway,”
Court started, “... it's his duty...” Realizing his words, he
stopped, and then looked at her.

Coralie's eyes were questioning and
confused.

“Forget that I said anything. You've
been exposed to enough tonight. I'll enlighten you with all of the
mind-numbing details later, okay? This, too, can wait 'til
tomorrow.”

This seemed to be the theme of her
life. Everything to be explained later. Everything to be continued
...

Exhausted, and not wanting to put up
an argument, Coralie resisted the urge to protest Court's choice of
transportation. She threw her leg up and over the back of the seat,
straddling the motorcycle. She sat snug behind Court, reaching
around his waist, closed her eyes, and held on tight.

Without a word, Court cranked the
engine and sped off, just the two of them ... with Alex trailing
not far behind.

Xavier could hear the sound of his own
footsteps echoing throughout the shadowy passageway. Live, fire-lit
wall torches illuminated the darkened stone hallway into a soft
orange and red glow.

As he approached one of the chamber
doors, he could hear proverbial voices getting louder, all very
familiar. He paused, beginning to listen very carefully.

The door leading to the chamber room
was slightly closed, giving privacy to those who sat on the other
side of it. Xavier noticed a slight peek of luminosity seeping
through the door. He searched the woody surface until he found the
crack from which it came. He stood almost silent and motionless,
surveying the chamber through the crack in the old wooden
door.

Xavier could see the flicker of
similar fire lit torches, perched on the walls inside of the
chamber. Though he could only barely make out some of the faces
amongst the ones inside the stone-walled room, he found himself
recognizing and individualizing the voices of those who sat around
the giant, dark, oak table.

Xavier considered himself to be an
intricate member of the party, and yet the invitation to this
particular meeting had somehow fallen to the wayside, never making
into his hands.

First, the thought occurred to him,
that the
Others
may have simply overlooked his involvement
and the need to contact him.

Maybe he would be bothered with such
details. Maybe he would be too busy to attend. Maybe he would be
too engaged on his mission work in the field to be troubled with
such an assembly.

Though, the idea to him seemed
somewhat realistic, he quickly pushed the thought aside due to the
fact that everyone in
The Guard
knew his dedication to this
mission.

A second thought soon occurred
...

Would the
Others
try to push
him aside as unnecessary? Surely not. Assuredly, he could never be
thought of as needless, unwarranted, excessive. He allowed this
thought to pass very quickly.

Finally, the thought passed of the
Heads – Head of Divisions. Head of Missions. Head of Council. The
latter being the most intricate of them all.

This was his connection to the inside.
The Head of Council would simply inform him of any plans made in
the early morning. This knowledge eased his angst of
exclusion.

The Head of Council was clever. Xavier
could read
his
feelings. Everything was going according to
his
plan.
He
would not dare reveal all of
his
tricks so soon.
He
wanted their trust first, and then he
would decide to move forward.

Though Xavier would surely hear the
recap soon after the meeting was over, he moved closer to the door.
Deciding on the fact that he didn’t want to miss one word of the
advancing design of the deliberate strategy, he listened closely to
the blending murmurs.

Suddenly, one voice made its way
through the intermingled voices. “But, Sir, how do we know that she
is even the
One
?”

The Head of Council began to speak,
but before a sound could leave his mouth, a familiar voice spoke.
“She is the
One
.”

“You don’t know for certain.” A voice
argued.

The familiar voice spoke again very
clearly. “I have seen what she can do.”

“Have the Fortunes not spoken? Have
they not Declared
her
?” A voice questioned.

Another voice spoke up out of the
amalgam. “How can we trust that the Fortunes’ readings and
interpretations are precisely correct? Could they not be
mistaken?”

The Head of Council spoke again,
trying to contain his controlled temperament. “You must trust that
I have extended all resources in making for certain that we are
making accurate, just decisions and choices as we move forward in
our plans. That we are searching for the True Great Empyreal
Warrior. And that she will bring us power as we rise against our
foes – those who have turned their backs on us, those who have
betrayed us, and those who will be forced to bow down to our
demands and to reconcile within their defeat.”

Seemingly pleased with their leader’s
promises, a hush fell over their concerns.

Then one voice asked, engaging the
Others
within the Council, “So, what is our next move,
Sir?”

“Decisions are being made. Very soon,
we will be given the opportunity to move in closer to our prey. We
have still got some ground to cover, but soon, very soon, my loyal
companions, we will have the life and the power that we have all so
longed for...”

Court stepped through Coralie's third story
bedroom window, and walked out onto the rooftop. He took a seat by
Coralie, who sat soundlessly looking up at the stars. She felt
refreshed, having taken a shower as soon as she had arrived home
and changed clothes. A mute attempt to erase the night ... or at
least tuck it away for a while.

Court spoke up, disrupting the silence
of the dark night surrounding them. “You okay?”

“I don't know...”she answered,
softly.

“Wanna talk about it?” he
offered.

“Tonight was a little much, you know
... and now that I -”

“Now that you what?”

“All I ever wanted was to know the
truth. The truth about what was going on around me. Why I couldn't
remember my life … why I’ve never felt quite normal … why I've
always felt so different in an oh-so-normal life. I wanted so bad
to remember, to have my memories again, and now they're flooding
the pages of my mind...”

“And that's a bad thing?”

“No, it's just that...”

“What? Cor, you can tell
me...”

“It’s just that … I think that I have
more than just mine in there...”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I think that somehow since
I'm able to access my own memories now ... somehow, I'm also able
to access others...”

“Others...”

She nodded. “I'm remembering things,
but some of memories are not mine … they’re not my
memories...”

“I know that you probably don't want
to hear this right now, but this may be another one of your Gifts.
We all have something that we can do naturally great or can be
trained very well to do … but you seemed to have been Blessed with
more than one of these extraordinary Gifts ... kind of cool,
huh?”

“Cool?”

“Yeah…”

“I have the power to suspend things in
mid-air, and to toss things about without even touching them. I
have the power to travel at just under warp speed when I decide to
go for a leisurely run. And now, I can see other people's memories,
relive the moments with them, and who knows what else. I don't know
if 'cool' is the word that I am looking for, exactly...”

“I think 'cool' fits just fine. Look,
we'll talk to your Dad, and I know he'll probably want to consult
the Great Book. Maybe we can find some answers in there...” Court
said, trying to be helpful in easing her angst, “By the way,
speaking of your father – I just spoke with him downstairs, and
he's put out an alert. He's warning the Elders and the other
Warriors of the potential threat.”

Coralie went silent again.

“Cor –” Court began.

Coralie turned toward him, in fear of
his upcoming words.

With this, Court continued. “There has
always been reason for alarm, for distress, for apprehension. There
has always been reason for your protection, you know, with the fear
of
them
finding out about you, the fear of them searching
for you, and the fear of them finding you. But now –” he paused,
gathering his thoughts. “Now, things are different. Our fears have
most certainly become a reality, and the reasons for those fears
are certain to be attempted to be carried out...”

Coralie didn't have any accessible
words, so she remained reticent.

This allowed for Court's continuance.
“Cor, with tonight's encounter, the dynamics have
changed.”

“What do you mean?”

“Tonight’s encounter with Tempest was
a game-changer.” Court paused gathering his thoughts. “Oh, Cor … I
wish you hadn’t –”

“I had no choice!” Coralie shouted,
cutting Court’s words and allowing her own words to flow
freely.

“You always have a
choice...”

“I had to do something. I couldn't
just stand there and do nothing.”

“That's what Alex was supposedly there
for ... and now, the wonderment of you will be over. Every last one
of the
Others
will find out about your true existence and
they will attempt to come after you.”

“But how? Tempest is gone. She
dissipated before our very eyes, just as her shadowed creatures
did.”

“Yes, she vanished, but it doesn't
mean that she is
gone.”

“What does that mean?”

“Tempest is a Rogue Warrior. She is
practicing as a High Witch. She has great power, new power ... and
she is in search of more, much more. Our encounter with her tonight
– whether a defeat or not – will surely result in a hunt.
“

“So, a search and destroy mission with
my name written all over it, huh?”

“This is not joke. The
Others
are coming after you, Coralie...” he paused, trying to retain
composure. “Before, it was just a wild goose chase of a myth, a
legend ... now, with confirmation, you have become their number one
priority...”

“Then, I'll fight them...” Coralie
said, with such determination and conflict in her voice.

“Spoken like a true Warrior...” Court
allowed a slight smirk to appear on his lips just before fading
again.