The Chronicles of Winterset: Oracle (4 page)

There were voices around me, whispering things I didn’t understand.

“Oracle!”

“Transition.”

“Nihilist, Master, she is of fire; the One.”

Darkness was everywhere. Around me, above me, within me. I felt my body tremble as its coldness swept in, the voices swirling faster until they became incomprehensible, leaving me drained.

“Analia. Analia. Analia.”

“Can you hear me?”

Warm hands shook me gently, and I opened my eyes, the pain in my head intensifying.

“Welcome back,” Calix murmured, gazing down at me with clear concern. I whimpered and reached for my head, but Calix took my hands in his before I could touch it.

“You fell pretty hard,” he said, rubbing my hands in his, causing the strange electric buzz to flow through them. “Just lay there for a minute, OK? Get yourself together before you try to get up.”

“Ana, do you want me to call your parents?” Mel sounded frightened. Looking up, I saw I was surrounded by a small group of cheerleaders. I shook my head slightly and closed my eyes. My head was killing me. My body was starting to feel hot, and I wanted to escape my skin. Something was definitely wrong.

“What happened?” Kellin demanded, breaking through the small cluster of girls.

“She just collapsed,” Mel said. “I-I don’t know. She said her head was hurting.”

“She’s fine. She’s probably just doing it for attention,” Courtney remarked snidely from somewhere behind me.

“Yeah, this is the only time she’s ever in the spotlight,” Sasha piped up bitterly. Seeing Calix showing me compassion was probably tearing her apart, but it bothered me more than her. I wanted to tell her he was all hers, but I couldn’t find the energy to expend on such a pointless task.

“Ana, what happened?” Kellin asked, kneeling beside me in his blue and white football gear.

I gasped as another sharp pain shot through my head, this time causing my hands to spasm. Calix held them tighter as they shook.

“Mel, did you call her dad?”

“No, she said not to,” Mel said helplessly.

“I’ll take her,” Calix said unexpectedly.

“Like hell you will,” Kellin growled, suddenly very protective.

“Listen, she needs to get home, and by the time you get that crap off, she may have gotten worse. Do you want that on your head?” Calix snapped at Kellin.

Calix didn’t wait for Kellin to answer him. Instead, he leaned down and spoke softly into my ear, causing gooseflesh to surface on my skin.

“Can you walk?”

“I’ll try,” I stuttered. Calix helped me to sit up, then pulled me to my feet as I sagged against him.

“Come on,” he encouraged, pulling me through the group of girls.

“Listen,” Kellin was suddenly standing in front of us, looking menacing as all hell in his football gear, his helmet in his hands. “Get her home. Don’t mess around either. If I hear anything happened to her—”

“Calm down, Romeo. I’ll take care of her,” Calix said, his voice flat.

Kellin hesitated a moment before speaking again. “I’ll call you, Ana,” he said. “After practice, OK? I’ll call you the moment I’m done.”

I nodded, not sure why he cared so much, especially since Courtney—oh God, Courtney. She had to have heard Kellin. There would be hell to pay now. I groaned at the thought. I heard her clear her throat as Calix pulled me away.

I stumbled alongside Calix as we made our way to the parking lot. My vision was so blurry, there was no way I’d have made it home on my own. My energy was leaving my body, and I wasn’t even sure I’d make it to his car.

I lost my balance and fell, but Calix caught me before my knees hit the hard pavement. Without a word, he scooped me up and rushed me to his car as if I weighed nothing at all.

He placed me on the passenger seat and made sure my seat belt was fastened. I closed my eyes and whimpered as we pulled out of the parking lot.

“Hey,” Calix called out, taking my hand and squeezing it. “Ana. Hey. Wake up, OK?”

“Go away,” I murmured sleepily, closing my eyes.

“I have something that will help,” he said, pulling over to the curb. I heard him rustling around, and suddenly, there was a cold flask pressed to my lips.

“Drink this,” he commanded softly. “It’ll help.”

“No,” I said pushing it away. God knew what he was trying to force on me.

“Ana,” he sighed. “I swear it will help. Trust me.”

I opened my mouth despite my misgivings. If it would help, I’d try it.

The liquid was warm, with a thin consistency, and tasted a lot like sour honey. My headache dulled and my vision began clearing.

“What is it?” I murmured, my head throbbing slightly and my throat burning from the liquid.

“Just a little magic,” he replied, pulling the flask away. It was fine if he didn’t want to tell me, as long as it made the pain go away.

We were quiet with the exception of me giving him directions to my house. Pulling into my driveway, Calix let out a low whistle as he surveyed where I lived.

“Nice place. A castle fit for a princess,” he murmured getting out of the car. He quickly came to my side and helped me out. My headache felt like a normal one now, the fire I’d felt extinguished and my vision nearly normal.

“It’s not that big,” I sighed as he walked beside me to the door.

“What?”

“The house. You said it was a castle. It’s really not that big.”

“OK,” he smirked at me. “You’re rich, and I’m not surprised.”

“I’m not rich. My parents are. I’d be fine without all of it.”

“Yeah, I’m sure,” he remarked with a roll of his dark eyes.

“Listen,” I said, turning to him tiredly. “I’ve had a rough day, OK? Thank you for helping me out. I owe you for that. But I’m not really in the mood for loads of attitude so this is where we say good-bye.”

“I’d like to come in,” he stated firmly, the earlier sparkle gone from his eyes. “I want to make sure you’re OK.”

“I’m fine now,” I replied hastily. I opened my door and stepped through. “Good-bye, Calix.”

I closed the door firmly behind me and locked it, then went straight to my room and looked out at the driveway to see if he had left. I was surprised to see him standing in front of his very sleek sports car gazing up at my house, a strange, troubled look on his face.

I couldn’t fathom what was going on in his head, so I pulled the curtains closed and flopped down on my bed, letting sleep take over, my mind reeling over what might be wrong with me.

I had weird dreams that night.

I tossed and turned, my skin burning with a fever that threatened my very soul. I recalled my parents coming in throughout the night to check on me. I gathered from their hushed conversations that they assumed I’d caught some kind of flu and needed rest.

I heard my phone ring, but didn’t bother to answer it, not having the energy even if I’d wanted to.

At one point, my mom was talking to someone outside my door, and then I heard it crack open. I tried to pry my eyes open, but they wouldn’t budge, so I lay in the darkness, feeling like I was going to drown in my own sweat, not knowing if this was really happening or if it was part of my odd dreams.

A warm hand had touched my cheek and then squeezed my hand.

“You’re going to be OK,” Kellin murmured from beside me. “This won’t last forever, Ana. I swear it.” I felt warm lips kiss my wet forehead, and I couldn’t help but think this was the strangest dream I’d ever had. It had to be a dream. Kellin James was not in my bedroom holding my hand, kissing my forehead, and saying things that didn’t make sense.

I fell deeper into sleep, the colors of my dreams swirling around me.

I was in a beautiful place. There was a vast field of wildflowers and a waterfall. In the distance, I could see a castle, its large silhouette taking up a portion of the skyline. The sweet smell from all the flowers made me feel euphoric. I knew this was where I belonged and that I’d been gone from this place for too long.

The pleasant vision was suddenly ripped away, and I plunged into a cold darkness, my skin prickling with fear as the acrid scent of blood and death filled my senses. My heart hammered uneasily in my chest, and I tried to suck in a breath, but I could only gag on the smell surrounding me.

The darkness began to recede, and I screamed as I saw that I was no longer in my field of wildflowers. Instead, the flowers had been replaced by dead bodies, some missing eyes, arms, legs, and heads. The ones who retained their heads held looks of terror on their faces, their mouths open in surprised Os as their eyes locked with death, never to look away.

I tried pinching myself, hoping to wake up, but I couldn’t pull myself from the horrible scene.

A figure appeared in the distance and slowly made its way through the field of bodies, shrouded in a long, black cloak, its face hidden in the shadows. I turned and ran, tripping over dead bodies and bits of what was once attached to them. I cried out in frustration as I found myself up against a wall of stone. Looking up, I wondered if I could climb, but quickly realized it would be impossible since it had to be ten times my height.

I looked behind me and was frightened as the figure glided closer. I knew I did not want to meet whatever was beneath the hood, but that seemed inevitable.

“Nihilist,” the man hissed from beneath his hood as he appeared a few feet in front of me. The only thing separating us was a body that was missing its arms. I looked away, my stomach rolling.

As I raked in a deep breath, my mouth filled with the taste of the dead all around me.

Then a jolt of energy rocketed through my body, and I looked over to see another cloaked and hooded figure drifting across the field.

“Master,” the voice intoned dully. It sounded like the dead surrounding us looked: devoid of life and meaning. The voice sounded familiar, yet so different. It was as if he’d had his soul taken from his body, only to be left with an empty shell. It made me shudder as his dark energy spilled around me.

“We are close, Nihilist. I can sense her transition. One of these feeble-minded imbeciles told me where we can gain information on her whereabouts.”

“And where is the traitor?” the man called the Nihilist asked, his voice deadpan, and his face hidden within the shadows of his dark hood.

“Dead,” the Master answered wickedly. I felt waves of evil roll off of him and shivered as it made the air around us vibrate. “He served his purpose.”

“What would you have me do, Master?” The Nihilist dropped to a knee and bowed his head before the man in front of him. I looked quickly between the two, wondering why this Nihilist would ever do the bidding of such an evil being. Despite how the situation looked, I felt something coming from the Nihilist—something that wasn’t entirely bad, but it was quite dim in comparison to the demon he bowed to.

“Find her. Bring her to me. It is time she joined us,” the Master replied, his voice filled with poison. The Master’s hand came from within the cloak, and I bit my lip to keep from crying out as I saw the terrible black lines snake their way across his skin. If you could see evil course through veins, I was positive this was how it looked.

The Master pressed his hand to the Nihilist’s head, and the spot where they touched glowed with a strange blue light. But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone.

The Nihilist rose to his feet slowly and spoke in a pained voice. “As you wish, Master. I will bring back the Oracle and prove my worth.”

“See to it that you do. You have been a disappointment since your toxic body was birthed from your whore of a mother.”

The Nihilist nodded tightly, and the dream faded slowly away as I watched the Nihilist marching from the rubble of the dead, his cloak dragging like a broken spirit behind him.

The relief of normal sleep swept over me, and I embraced it without question.

When I awoke the next morning, the sun was peeking through my curtains. I sat up and saw that I only had fifteen minutes to get ready and make it to school. Jumping up, I grabbed a pair of jeans and thin green T-shirt and pulled them on quickly. I didn’t bother brushing my hair, opting to pull it into a messy ponytail.

I stumbled and fell back, catching myself on the edge of my desk. I felt tired and weak, definitely not like myself at all. I knew I couldn’t miss classes, though. I’d never missed a day of school in my entire academic career, and I wasn’t about to start now.

The weird dream was still embedded in my mind and I gave a shiver as I grabbed my backpack, hoping the feeling of foreboding would leave me before I left the house.

I raced downstairs and was almost out the front door when my mom met me.

“Ana, sweetheart, what in heavens are you doing?” she asked incredulously.

“I’m going to be late for school, Mom,” I answered, my voice weak with exhaustion as I grabbed my leather jacket out of the hall closet.

“Honey, you were really sick last night. Are you sure you want to go to school?” She reached up and touched my forehead, wincing when she felt how hot I still was.

“Yes. I’m feeling a lot better. I swear,” I lied as I saw the look of skepticism on her face.

“OK,” she said with a defeated sigh. “Have a good day. Call me if you need anything.”

“I will. Love you, Mom,” I said, grabbing my keys. I hopped into my car and sped off to school, the dream on repeat in my head. I tried to chalk it up to whatever illness was plaguing me. Maybe the wicked fever made me dream it, kind of like a hallucination, only when sleeping. A halluci-mare.

When I pulled into the parking lot, the first bell had already rung. I glanced at myself in the mirror and groaned. I looked like I’d had a very rough night with black circles under my eyes, and my forehead was beaded with dots of sweat from the fever ravaging my body.

At least I’m not as hot as I was last night,
I argued with myself. Surely that meant I was getting better.

I half ran to my chemistry class and tried to slide into my seat unnoticed, but Sasha coughed, causing Mr. Gillis to turn around.

“Miss Winters?” He sounded perplexed. “You’re late.”

“Sorry,” I muttered sincerely.

He nodded curtly, and I let out a sigh of relief. I caught Sasha rolling her eyes and smiled to myself.

“How are you feeling?” Calix leaned over and whispered in my ear.

I shivered and drew my coat closer around me. “Better,” I murmured, not meeting his eyes or caring to discuss my health with him.

He backed away and didn’t say anything else, but from the corner of my eye, I could see him glancing at me.

When Mr. Gillis turned us loose, Calix seemed intent on discussing my illness.

“You have a fever,” he noted, his dark eyes drinking me in. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat and grunted at him.

“Did you sleep well?”

“Why?” I asked, frowning.

“You look like hell,” he replied honestly. “Still pretty, but ragged. Kind of like someone who spent all night at a bar followed by a wild romp in a random stranger’s bed.”

“Ugh,” I scoffed at the mental picture. “Thanks.”

“It wasn’t a compliment,” he answered dryly.

“I’d hope not,” I muttered. “I’d begin to doubt your social skills.”

“You should never doubt my skills.” His face broke into a wickedly handsome grin. “In fact, I could show you a few—”

“That won’t be necessary,” I replied hastily, even though my heart jumped in my chest at his words.

“Your loss.” He shrugged his broad shoulders.

“I doubt it,” I said under my breath. I didn’t think he could hear me, but his lips quirked up. I shook my head; apparently he had bionic hearing.

We worked diligently through class and I ground my teeth as Sasha swayed over, cleavage close to bursting, and engaged Calix in easy conversation.

“It’s too bad you weren’t here a week ago,” she purred, touching his arm.

“Why is that?” he asked raising his eyebrows and smiling down at her.

I rolled my eyes and continued making notes.

“We could have gone to homecoming together. Now I have a date,” she pouted.

“Ah,” he said knowingly. “That’s too bad. Guess I’ll have to find a date now.”

Calix turned to me suddenly and smiled sweetly. “Miss Winters, do you have a date for homecoming?”

“Oh . . . uh,” I stammered, putting down my pencil and looking from him to Sasha. She glared at me, her arms folded across her chest. I wiped at the dots of sweat on my forehead from my fever, my vision a little blurry again.

“Either you do or you don’t, Princess,” he laughed softly.

“It’s none of your business,” I said, turning away from him, my face heating.

“She probably doesn’t,” Sasha cut in. “She tried taking Kellin James from Courtney, and she failed. He didn’t want her.”

“What?” I sputtered disbelievingly, snapping my head back in their direction. “I never tried to take Kellin!”

“Whatever. We saw you two together yesterday morning, and we saw how he was with you at practice. Kellin bailed on Courtney last night to go check on you. Courtney is pissed. If I were you, I’d stay away from her,” Sasha stated matter-of-factly.

“Ah, Princess has a wild side,” Calix murmured, eyeing me dangerously.

“No, I don’t,” I argued and then quickly clamped my mouth shut.

“So you are uptight?” he teased.

I rolled my eyes at him and put my notebook back into my bag. “Shut up,” I grumbled. I was sick of hearing about me being uptight.

“She really is uptight. Last year at Kevin’s party, we played suck and blow, and when Mike Watkins, this hot linebacker on the football team, dropped the card and had to kiss her, she ran away like a wuss,” Sasha said, a look of menacing triumph on her heart-shaped face.

“You didn’t want your first kiss to be from a drunken party game?” Calix asked with mock innocence.

“No, I didn’t,” I snapped, and then my face reddened more as Sasha sat forward and opened her mouth in shock.

“Oh my God!” she practically shouted. “You’ve never been kissed?! No wonder you’re such a prude! Wait until I tell Courtney!”

Calix sat back in his seat, a somber look on his face.

I looked from him to Sasha, who had already pulled out her phone and was texting Courtney my embarrassing news.

I fidgeted in my seat, feeling my heart in my throat. This was so embarrassing. I should have known he was trying to trick me.

The remainder of the morning was horrible with the news of me never kissing anyone spreading like wildfire. I guess Courtney had her ammunition, thanks to Calix and my sudden inability to think clearly.

By the time lunch rolled around, I’d had so many people make kissy faces at me that I was sick to my stomach from it. I sat down at our normal table and poked weakly at my lunch, my appetite nonexistent.

Mel sat down and nudged me.

“So I heard word got out,” she said, shaking her head at me. “She’s such a bitch.”

“Whatever,” I said softly, pushing my dry pizza around. She could say whatever she wanted. I was more concerned with the effort it was taking for me to stay awake. Whatever sickness had befallen me was really working me over.

“It’s not that big a deal. So you’re waiting for the right guy. She’s just jealous because she can’t keep her legs closed for more than five minutes.”

I didn’t answer because Courtney and Kellin sat down, Kellin staring at me in concern. Courtney smirked and winked at me. I looked away wondering why I sat with these people. A few moments later, Calix joined the group with Sasha in tow.

“When the hell did that happen? He’s been here two days,” Mel whispered to me. I shrugged, not really caring.

“Hey, Ana!” Jared called out, catching everyone’s attention. I looked up wearily, not eager to speak to him.

He rushed around the side of the table, sat down beside me, and took my sweaty hand in his. “I heard you’ve never kissed anyone before. I wanted you to know I’m here to remedy that and more,” he proclaimed dramatically.

I pulled my hand away in disgust as everyone laughed.

“Come on, Ana! Don’t play hard to get!” he continued, leaning into me. “You need to loosen up a little! I can help with that too!”

I gripped my fork, ready to put it through his eye if he kept harassing me.

He grabbed me abruptly and bent me down so fast I didn’t have time to register what was happening. His lips were a hair’s breadth from my own and I struggled against him as he held my arms. People jeered and whooped their approval all around us. I felt the tingling in my hands again and let out a small moan as it went from tickling to a harsh burning pain.

“Knock it off!” Kellin was on his feet in an instant. I opened my eyes long enough to see Calix watching the scene unfold with sharp, narrowed eyes that were boring into my own.

Kellin grabbed Jared and pushed him away from me.

“Come on, Kel! I was only teasing,” Jared reasoned. “Besides, she needs it, and since you haven’t done it—”

Jared was immediately silenced by Kellin shoving him hard in the chest, sending him flying over a garbage can.

Then Calix was on his feet, staring down at me with a curious expression on his face. It looked like he was torn between wanting to help me and wanting to finish my social demise.

“Are you OK?” Mel asked, concerned as she reached for me.

I shook my head, tears burning my eyes, and got to my feet, not bothering to grab my tray. I rushed away from the commons without looking back even though Mel was calling my name.