Paradox - Progeny Of Innocence (bk2) (Paradox series) (21 page)

Joshua started walking toward the treeline. "Jackson, give me your torch. We can't go anywhere until we find Angela and Clair."

"Maybe Angela is in on the joke, too," Sonndra said.

"Seriously?" Joshua asked. "This is Angela we're talking about. And Angela doesn't joke. Ever."

Another scream tore through the trees, scuttling another flock of flying foxes into the night sky. "Give it up, Clair. The joke's over, so you may as well come out..." Andrew shouted. Nothing... Then suddenly another scream shrilled out, and not just any scream, but a bone-chilling scream that sent goosebumps down their spines.

* * *

Grace flinches sporadically as she sleeps curled up on the sofa, lost in the dream.

I am hiding behind a tree, and I am being very still, very quiet. I hold my hand over my mouth so no one can hear me. I don't want to risk giving away my secret hiding place. Suddenly, someone grabs me from behind, and I scream. It is my brother. I am five years old, and I am playing hide and seek with my brothers and sisters. "I've found her… you can all come out now…" he says, swinging me around. I squeal in absolute delight.

Suddenly, I am standing in a church. The Church has proclaimed that I am one of the chosen ones. I am the voice, the voice of heaven. My dreams, my visions are a Gift from God. Although some of the time this Gift they speak of does not feel like a gift at all. My parents look at me proudly as we stand there; they are joyous with the news the Benedictine Nuns have bestowed upon them. So I smile, too, with the knowledge that I have a Gift. And not just any gift… I am 'The Gift' from God. How marvelous…. I just adore gifts.

Everyone looks upon me as I pass, with gentle eyes and a slight tilt to their heads as they whisper the words, "The Gifted One."

A moment later my vision shifts, and I am slightly older. Eight now, I think, and I am being handed over to a gaggle of God-fearing nuns. A sob bursts from my trembling lips; tears are streaming down my cheeks. I am frightened. I do not want to go, so I cling desperately to this family, that I know in my heart loves me. So why are they doing this to me? Why are they pushing me away? They are my brothers, my sisters, and my mother. They call out my name, and for a moment I am disoriented, confused… they are calling to me. However, they do not call me by my name, Juliette. They are calling me by another name, and at that moment I also realize they are speaking in German. Hilda, Hilda, Hilda! Suddenly the awareness of who I was wakes me, and I remember. I am Hilda. My name is Hilda. I am in Germany, and it is 1103 A.D.

"Please Mama, don’t let them take me. What is it that I have done that displeases you so? Please, I will be good. I promise. I will sing for you." I seize my mother’s arm in a desperate grip and collapse to the ground, begging reverently for exoneration. However, my plea falls on deaf ears. Mama is shaking her head at me. I have been offered up as an oblate to the church, my soul for charity. My mother lifts me to my feet. "Go, child," she begs, as she pushes me away. "You belong to God now." She pries my small fingers, one by one, from her arm. "You must know the ways of the Lord our father, before you can save our souls."

"What about me, who will save my soul?" I search the small crowd that has gathered around. My eyes are wild with fear. I look for the boy. Surely, he will save me? But he is nowhere to be seen. Please come for me, I pray silently. "Please save me," I scream.

* * *

Another scream… "I don't think she's joking around this time," Jackson said, as he and Joshua started to run toward the ominous treeline and into the forest.

"Jackson. No. Please don't do this. It's just Clair playing another one of her stupid games!" Amber called out after him, stamping her feet on the ground.

"Just wait there!" Jackson called over his shoulder as he disappeared into the shadows only seconds behind Joshua.

"You go left. I'll go right," Joshua called to Jackson.

"But we've only got the one flashlight," Jackson replied.

"You keep it!" Joshua shouted, running deeper into the forest. "I don't need it." And he didn't. As soon as the darkness closed around him, his eyes adjusted, and he could see every detail perfectly. He brushed back branches as if they were nothing more than fragile twigs, and ran deeper into the forest. He had to find her, his Angela. Underfoot, a spark flew, and ignited the dead leaves. Within moments, a fire blazed a trail behind him and quickly began to spread, jumping from one tree to another, and then another, and another.

* * *

My father holds me gently for a moment and whispers. "Give yourself to God; find the Holy Trinity, my child, go." Then abruptly he holds me at arm’s length and instructs the Benedictine nuns to take me. I struggle and look back over my shoulder at my father, and beg for mercy, for forgiveness for a crime that I know not of. I turn to look at the forest where I used to play hide-and-seek with my brothers and sisters, but the tree branches are all twisted, bent, and shaped into giant crucifixes. Then hundreds of angels descend from the heavens, and one by one they shoot fiery arrows into the trees, and the trees burst into hungry flames.

A foreboding storm begins to congregate overhead. A tempest of burning leaves and smoke is swept up, littering the angry sky. My brothers and sisters huddle around my parents, weeping, but they do not offer me any salvation from my captors.

Behind my family, I see the boy. The boy, the boy at last! I search my memory for his name, but it eludes me. He is my childhood companion, my brave, brave knight, my fire-breathing dragon slayer. I reach out for him, and he advances, but Father restrains him. "Be still, boy, let her go. This is her destiny." The boy struggles for a moment, and then bows his head and is still.

My heart sinks, my knees buckle, and the torturous, searing pain in my head resumes once again. The voices, the visions that I witness, that have been called my destiny, my Gift, are nothing more than a blessed curse.

I fear I will never again look into the beautiful eyes of the boy and find refuge there.

Never experience his hands, his lips touching mine with tenderness, turning me from a child to the woman I am yet to become.

My vision begins to blur, and then abruptly gives way to nothingness. My mind shifts, and I drift peacefully on a vast black ocean. I am alone. I am without body, and then in my mind, I see a dark figure rising out of the darkness. His teeth are bared, and I scream…

* * *

Angela edged slowly closer as the hunched predator sank his teeth into Clair's throat. His hands ripped and clawed at her clothing. In his frenzy, he did not notice Angela approaching him stealthily from behind. Then a branch snapped beneath her foot, and his head, independent of his body, swiveled around at an impossible angle to face her. He hissed at her and bared his teeth; his eyes were wide, frantic, and very black, like pools of ink. Angela, in an equally impossible movement, sprang forward, grabbed him by the throat with her fingers, pulled him off Clair, and flung him effortlessly into a tree several meters away, snapping the sturdy trunk. She glanced quickly at Clair, who was lying slumped on the ground. Her eyes were closed, and she was losing a lot of blood, but her heart was beating, and her chest rose and fell with each labored breath.

Seconds later, the assailant sprang back onto his feet with perfect precision. A guttural gurgling sound disgorged from his throat. He lunged forward, running directly at Angela, growling and hissing feverishly. She crouched, ready to retaliate, and then hesitated when she realized she recognized the assailant's face.

It was Tony, Eric's brother. Then her fighting instincts quickly snapped her reflexes back into action. This predator was no longer the Tony that Angela and her friends had known. This Tony was a hunter, a killer. Angela snatched up a branch from the ground, and drove it straight through Tony's chest as he propelled himself toward her. He stumbled backward, but did not fall. He groped at the branch lodged in his ribcage, pulled it out effortlessly, and flung it aside as if it were a mere broken twig. Angela, not doubting his strength for a second, was prepared, and leapt over his head, landing directly behind him.

She knew she only had moments left. Others like him would be nearby. She knew hunters like these traveled in packs, and she could hear footsteps quickly approaching from different directions. She reached up for the back of Tony's head and with one quick flick of her wrists, she broke his neck and let his lifeless, soulless body fall in a heap on the ground at her feet. She looked down and studied his face for a moment. His neck was twisted at a grotesque angle; his eyes were dark and staring. He had recently been turned, possibly only a handful of days ago. She knew, though, that it had been too late to try and save this boy from this fate he did not deserve. The look in his eyes had been manic; there had been no self-control, only the unquenchable desire to feed, to replenish his own recent blood loss. Somewhere on his body, had she had time to look, she knew she would have found two fresh puncture wounds.

She whipped her head around; she could hear dry grass and branches snapping as others began to close in. She quickly sprinted over to Clair; she would have to deal with Tony's body later.

Joshua arrived first, and found Angela kneeling down beside Clair. She had torn off the sleeve of her jacket and had it pressed firmly over Clair's wound. Then suddenly Clair sat bolt upright, her arms thrashing in the air, as if still fighting off her attacker.

"It's okay Clair; it's me, Angela, and Josh. A dog attacked you... you remember? And when I got here it ran off, into the bush…" Angela said softly, but convincingly.

Clair nodded absently. "Yes, a dog. It was a dog that attacked me. It was a really big dog, too," she said, staring at Angela for guidance.

Someone else burst through the smoky shadows, and Angela spun around, poised in a crouched position, ready to fight. Clair scurried off the ground and fell into Joshua's arms. "Get it away from me," she screamed hysterically.

* * *

Tonight, I look deep into the hypnotic eyes of a fair-haired boy. And although his features are not in focus, I still sense that he is beautiful.

Under the muted glow of the dancing flames in the stone fireplace, my body waits eagerly for his exquisite touch. He embraces me and cradles my head against the warmth of his beating chest. Then, gently, he pulls away and brings me to my feet. Slowly, his hands slip the garments from my body, exposing my nakedness to the confines of my tiny fire-lit room. He whispers his eternal love, and I know that he speaks the truth, and I smile. I sink further into my dream, and his words are swept away, down into a fathomless abyss. I am alone now, surrounded by fire. I turn to see a faceless figure coming out of the flames toward me.

* * *

The figure, silhouetted by falling embers and flames, stepped forward and came to a standstill before Clair, Angela, and Joshua. Clair faltered in Joshua's arms and let out a painful moan. "No," she begged. "Not again…"

"It's okay, Clair. It's just me, Jackson," he said, holding up his arms and stepping closer. A tall tree came smashing down behind him, and he lifted his arms and cowered to shelter his body from the burning branches. "We have to get out of here, and quick. This fire is getting worse by the second," he yelled over the increasing roar of the fire.

Angela studied Joshua's face for a moment, and found nothing. She realized he had no idea that he had been the one that had started the fire. This also meant, of course, that he had absolutely no idea how to control it, or extinguish it.

"Make it rain, make it rain, make it rain," Angela chanted quietly to another.

"Come on, Angela," Joshua said, frowning at the curious expression on her face. "You heard Jackson. This fire is getting worse; we really have to get the hell out of here, and now!" He turned around frantically, disoriented, trying to get his bearings. "But which way do we go? We're trapped. This fire has spread everywhere."

* * *

He is back, and he pulls me towards him and out of the darkness. His warm hands glide over my body, and I gasp. He lays me down on my bed and with his perfect lips, he kisses my mouth, my throat and further still.

There is a sound, something is outside, and I stir. My head turns towards the fireplace, and I tell myself it is only the crackling logs that have disturbed me. I hear a faraway voice… "Make, make it, make it…" but I cannot hear the rest of the sentence. The logs in the fireplace burn brighter, higher, louder…

"They are in danger," he purrs into my ear. "You have to help them…" His warm breath tickles my cheek, and I turn to his lips and kiss them before pulling him back down toward me. Outside it has begun to rain, and a cold shiver runs down my spine. "Show them the way," he says, as the darkness pulls me out of his grasp once again. I look up in the darkness and feel tears running down my face, and I smile.

* * *

Angela looked skyward and blinked as a gentle splatter of rain began to fall. "This way..." she said, as she began to walk into the broiling, grey smoke.