Authors: Richard Jackson
"Don't be afraid,” she said. "I'm here."
Those simple words made everything all right. Kara stayed with me that long first night. To pass the time, she told me stories about knights in shining armor and heroes. I soon forgot my pain as the fear gave way to wonder. As dawn approached, she shared a secret with me. Magic was still alive in the world. Myth and legend still walked the Earth. If I wanted it to, I could walk in that world. As I regained my strength and healed, I didn’t tell my mom or relatives about Kara. She said, they wouldn’t understand and I believed her. As I grew older, I always remembered her and the stories she told me though the secret was lost to me.
Years later, I saw her again. I was twenty five and fresh out of college. I thought I knew all there was to know about life, the universe and everything. Yeah, I wasn't too bright back then. I like to think I’ve gotten smarter. You might not be able to tell with the way things have been going for me lately.
I had gone down to Oklahoma City on short notice. The promise of an exciting job and romance were enough to lure me out of New York City. Needless to say, things did not go as planned. With little money and less choice, I was forced to take the bus back to New York. Like most bus terminals, the one in Oklahoma City looked like it belonged to another time. It fit the lone ticket master who worked there perfectly. Like the vending machines that lined the walls, he appeared old and weathered. As I stepped up to buy my ticket, I saw through the illusion he projected. There was nothing weak or decrepit about the man. His eyes seemed wise to the world and all the tricks it might have in store for the unwary. After checking my ID, he wasted little time booking my trip. It felt like he knew far more about me than he should have. I dismissed the thought. Since then, I’ve learned to pay a bit more attention to my instincts.
“Not the best time of year for a bus trip,” he said.
Yeah, he was right about that. Even though it was only Mid-November, winter had come early. A long bus ride was not going to be pleasant.
"Are you sure about this? You could wait till the weather gets a little warmer. Maybe things will turn around for you.”
The question should have bothered me. This time was different. I was at a crossroads. I didn’t have to scurry back home. There was an alternative. I could tough it out down here a while longer. In a week, I could fly back home in style. No, the road called to me. The long bus ride would give me time to think. Sometimes I wonder what things would have been like if I had stayed in Oklahoma City the extra week. I paid for my ticket with cash.
"Good luck, Count. You're going to do fine."
An odd thing to say then again the whole trip was odd. It felt like fate had conspired to get me down to Oklahoma City only to take a crap on me. I looked back only once as I boarded my bus but the old man was nowhere to be seen.
The trip was worse than I thought it would be. Not only did the bus stop at every small town in Oklahoma, the temperature dropped to an all time low. Not even the body heat from all the people crammed into the bus with me made it feel any warmer. Sleep was impossible. At night, my fellow passengers held snoring contests. During the day, they seemed to take pleasure in having loud conversations about nothing. It wouldn’t have been so bad if there were something to do besides look out the window. I hadn’t even packed a book or brought a magazine to read.
Things changed the next night. Everything had become so surreal. The stars came out to play, lighting the ocean of darkness the world had become. The towns and intersections had become islands of light. Cars and trucks passed us by like ships in the night heading for distant far away lands.
At a rest stop in the middle of nowhere, I got off the bus to stretch my legs and to look up at the night sky. There under the stars, I saw it. A shape and form from legend peered at me from the shadows as if it had been waiting there all these years for me to wander this way. As the dragon took flight, it came to me in a rush, the secret I had forgotten.
Maybe it wasn’t real, maybe it was just a product of my imagination. Whatever it was, it opened my eyes. For the first time, in a long time, I saw the world through the eyes of a child. I felt the magic in the air and could sense what lurked in the shadows. Yeah, I know it sounds crazy. Hell, I was there and it still doesn’t make any sense to me. That’s how these things work. Very few revelations make sense. Of course, this one had its price. The fear had returned. Fear I had not known since childhood. It was never about pain. It was fear of the unknown and of being alone. There I was, feeling more alone than I had ever felt before with no rudder or compass to guide me in a world I didn’t know as well as I had thought. I could feel my hold on reality weakening when I heard her voice again.
"Don't be afraid,” she said. "I'm here."
And just like that, everything was all right. My fear and doubt disappeared as I saw her. Kara hadn't changed a bit. She was just as beautiful as I remembered her. It was impossible but that didn't matter. I felt the link and the warmth of her thoughts. I knew she wouldn’t be leaving me. Even after all this time, I still have trouble putting it into words.
I let my thoughts and feelings for Kara flow into the link. It’s easy and it’s not easy. The link doesn’t allow for anything but the truth and sensations. There is still a sense of privacy. Kara can’t read my mind unless I let her and vice versa. It lets us keep the things we want private. There are parts of me I never want anyone to see but whatever we share across the link has to be honest and open. Tonight, I do the unthinkable and think the words that come so hard to me. “I’m sorry.”
I hear her voice again and I know it’s not a dream or a memory. "I'm sorry,” she says.
With the hard part out of the way, it gets easier. We share with each other why we got angry and did what we did. Kara says I have been reckless and taking more chances than usual. She’s afraid, I’m not ready for what’s coming while I think she has been a little overprotective and doesn’t trust me with the information she has been holding back. It doesn’t matter who is right or wrong, we compromise before spending the rest of the night renewing our partnership and just enjoying each other’s company. Meredith, the quest, the DIA, everything, it can all wait.
Chapter Twenty Two
The demands of work force Jennifer to leave me to my own devices. Jennifer? When did that change? When did I start thinking of her as Jennifer instead of Marino?
“
When you decided to trust her,”
Kara says.
I smile, glad for her company and the chance to take a break from my exercises. The weights and exercise bike that Jennifer had delivered to the apartment are a good alternative to visiting my physical therapist. It allows me to work out each day and to set my own pace instead of two or three times a week. The exercises are painful and tend to wear me out but after a week, I notice the difference they have made. I still need the knee brace but the crutches are a thing of the past.
“
Tell me about the Awakening.
”
I hate asking, maybe as much as she hates answering. It feels like I am dredging up something best left in the past but I need to know whatever it was Scott had to tell me.
“
Some believe that it’s inevitable. When the Seven awaken, a new age will begin.
”
“
Are you saying I can’t beat Meredith?
”
Kara doesn’t answer immediately. “
No, I’m saying there are people out there who think it’s only a matter of time before they awaken. Those aren’t the ones to worry about. The dangerous ones are people like Meredith who work to hasten their return.
”
I consider her words. Nothing lasts forever. Oceans rise and civilizations fall, it’s the way of things. The problem is people like Meredith who want to hasten the fall. Still, the only reason for not sharing this with me is because Kara thinks that day might be close. Over the years, magic has become weaker; the same magic holds the Seven at bay. There might not be a way to stop them.
Kara shakes her head. “
Even I can get a little scared. It caused me to doubt you, us.
”
I nod, knowing exactly how she feels. There have been times when it seemed smarter to bet on the other side. It would be too easy if everything was preordained and written in stone. It’s not. Everything is a product of our actions or inaction. True, there are things that are out of our control. You can call it luck, destiny or the universe conspiring against you. These events might create opportunities or take them away from you but it all comes down to what you do in that moment. So where do seers, prophets and prophecy fit in? It’s like dealing with your average stock market analyst. He or she isn’t always correct but the good ones can tell you what is most likely to happen with the market based on current events and trends. The important thing is what you do with that information. Kara believes in me. I’m not going to dwell on it. There are other matters to think about.
“
You smell
” she says.
Ouch, that hurt. I get the distinct image of Kara wrinkling her nose and waving a hand to ward me off. I stop pedaling and dismount from the exercise bike. Maybe it is time for a break. I have to be careful not to overdo it and stick to the program the therapist gave me. Too much exercise is as bad as too little.
“Y
ou need a shower”
she adds.
“Is it that bad?” I take another sniff and frown.
“
Yes it is.
”
***
I can almost forget Meredith is still out there, almost. A walk down the street or a visit to the store reminds me of how much things have changed. There is a climate of fear. People are afraid. Most still think it’s a simple matter of terrorism. Others have made wilder claims that come closer to the truth. Even if we caught Meredith tomorrow, things will never go back to the way they were. He’s left his mark on the city. No one can be trusted. Meredith was considered a philanthropist and an upstanding member of the community. If he could me a mass murder and a terrorist, who else could be? Does that guy next to you have some dark secret to hide? Different is now a synonym for suspicious.
“
You can’t blame yourself for this
” Kara says.
I don’t have an answer for her. I’m not the one who let the Servitor loose but I did contribute to the problem. We all did. The signs were there and none of us heeded them until it was too late. Things shouldn’t have gotten this far. Now the powers that be, both mundane and magical, flail about looking for Meredith. It won’t correct our earlier mistakes. What’s done is done. He needs to be found before he can do something else. The longer he is on the loose the more dangerous he becomes. I’ve seen his handiwork. I know what he is capable of. Still, I ask the question. What is he up to? The only thing he has tried to do since disappearing is try to have me killed and make life difficult for my friends. That’s bad enough but not the worst he could be doing. Is he that petty to waste time with me? Is it a simple matter of revenge or something else?
“
He thinks you can stop him from awakening the Seven.
”
“Can I? Meredith didn’t act like it before. It seems like the only thing I’ve done is delay him.”
I think it over some. Maybe that’s enough. A lot of magic comes down to timing. Some spells can only be cast at certain times and in certain places. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside when the opposition thinks you’re actually a threat. When the moment passes, I remember the downside. The bad guys tend to make eliminating you a priority. Meredith is no exception. I was a lot safer when he thought I was a minor annoyance. He’s going to keep sending people my way till one of them succeeds. That makes it even more important to find him.
“
What are you going to do?
”
“
I’m going to use my head and find him.
”
Kara doesn’t say anything. She’s not sure what I have planned. I can sense her relief when I start pulling out the research I did on Meredith weeks earlier. Before, I had just been going through the motions, not accomplishing a damn thing. Now it’s time to get to work.
“
For a moment, I thought you were going to pound the pavement and look for him.
”
“You think I should?”
I smile, already knowing the answer without her having to voice it. I try to learn from my mistakes, not repeat them. I really don’t want to run into Meredith or any of his friends by myself. Kara remains silent as I thumb the information I got from the library. She doesn’t want to disturb me as I re-familiarize myself with the information and the notes I made. I still don’t have a complete picture of the man and who he is but I have enough for my purposes. I close my eyes and do the unthinkable. I put myself in Meredith’s shoes. It is a frighteningly and surprisingly easy fit.
Meredith is committed to awakening the Seven. In his mind, it’s the only way to create a better tomorrow. He’s willing to tear down the world as we know it. Nothing is going to stand in his way. It meant crossing a line most sorcerers were unwilling or unable to cross. Even so, he has been thwarted but he can’t give up. Meredith has to stay the course. His survival depends on it. He has to try again. It’s that simple. How he does it and his next step depends on information that’s not in my file. I turn my thoughts and questions to Kara.
“
Can he awaken the Seven without the Bloodstone?
”
Kara doesn’t answer immediately. She knows I’m not going to like the news and she is right. “
It wouldn’t be easy, even for him, but yes he could do it.
”
“
I thought that might be the case.
”
The Bloodstone’s ability to store magic makes it a valuable tool for any sorcerer or magic user. It would make any major undertaking easier but it’s more than that. The ring was made to do this sort of thing. Without it, Meredith has to do things the hard way. That gives me hope.
“
Why are you smiling?
”