Their Light

Chapter 33

Hadley

Ryder's arms kept me grounded in reality when my mind wanted to go anywhere but. As we walked through the house, images from that horrible vision flashed through my head. This was my home, but now I was seeing it in a different way. It felt tainted. I didn't like that at all.

As he walked downstairs, I couldn't help but focus on the landing and then the railing. Flashes of the gruesome nightmare filled my mind. I tightened my grip on Ryder. We entered the living room and the sight in front of me turned my blood cold as terror filled me. The television was on, and Peter sat on the couch with his back to us. My mind was engulfed in the vision, and the present twisted in front of me. It was too much. Not Peter.

"Peter!" I shrieked, so afraid of what I'd see.

Ryder moved faster, sensing my distress. Peter whipped around at the sound of my voice. His two unharmed eyes stared back at me, worry evident in them. It was all too much. The breakdown I had been fighting all morning broke free as sobs wracked my body. Ryder passed me reluctantly into Peter's arms on the couch.

He cradled me close to his chest, gently rocking me back and forth as I cried. He whispered quiet reassurances in my ear. It took a while, but I could finally pull myself back together and look up at him. He smiled at me, but I could tell it was forced. They weren't liking this any more than I was.

"So do I not need to sit on the couch anymore?" he asked, slightly joking, but it was also slightly serious. I could read the underlying question of whether this was a trigger for me.

"At least for a little while, could you sit in the chair?" I asked through my sniffles. We both laughed a little, but it didn't last long.

Finn, Isaac, and Zeke came and joined us. Finn and Isaac declared a movie marathon was in order, which started immediately. Peter situated me on the couch so that I was sitting in his lap, cuddled into his chest, with my feet propped up in Zeke's lap.

I didn't think I'd ever laughed this hard. It was like these guys always knew exactly what I needed. I needed a distraction. I didn't want to cry anymore, so they started a comedy movie marathon of epic proportions. At some point Kent came in and changed the ice pack wrapped around my ankle, making me wince.

I leaned back against Peter, snuggling into his warm chest. Taking deep breaths, I began to feel something. Like a speck on the edge of my awareness. I didn't know how I knew, but I knew it had to do with the Tenebris. I was sick and tired of being attacked and just waiting around for it to happen again. So I closed my eyes and followed it.

I was sucked into another vision, but this time I knew it for what it was. I knew it wasn't real. This time I felt it. The connection to something else. The vision acted as a bridge. I followed it back to the source, stripping away the fake. The world around me deteriorated and soon enough, I was standing in some sort of underground chamber.

I saw a figure shadowed in front of me. I could only tell that they were about my build. The sick feeling of Tenebris crawled across my skin. I could see it. There was so much in this one room like black smoke snaking across the ceiling. But underneath that feeling I sensed a growing agony but I couldn't place where it was coming from.

Candles that lined the room were the only source of light to be seen. The figure knelt in the center of the room, the Tenebris flickering around it. It lashed out suddenly, but the figure didn't even make a sound, even though I felt the excruciating pain.

You have failed us again. The words of the Tenebris were like nails on a chalkboard.

"It's only a minor setback. I will get her. I will not fail you," the voice rang out, slightly distorted. But one thing was clear. I tried to hear more, but suddenly I was pulled out of the vision.

I shot up and out of Peter's hold, drawing the attention of everyone in the room. An annoying ringing filled the air, repeating over and over.

"What is that?" I asked, annoyed that it sucked me back.

"Phone," Finn stated, glancing at the kitchen. Just a moment later I heart Kent answer the phone. The others came into the room, all on edge with recent events.

"What happened?" Peter asked me.

"I-I saw them," I managed to get out. Peter pulled me back to couch since I started wobbling on my one leg.

"Saw who?" Caspian questioned, bending down in front of me.

"The Pravus, I guess, and the Tenebris," I explained. "I broke through the vision. I felt the connection and followed it back to the source. I saw them."

I declared the last bit proudly. Ryder looked pissed, but the rest ranged from intrigued to dying of curiosity. I waited a moment more before dropping the bomb on them.

"What did you find out?" Isaac finally asked, unable to wait any longer. Kent appeared in the doorway of the room, hanging up the phone.

"It's a woman."

"Well, that narrows it down some," Kent stated. "Did you notice anything else about her?"

I shook my head. "I was going to try to get a closer look when that phone woke me up."

I glared at his pocket where the phone in question resided. Peter wrapped his arms around me again. I relaxed back into his hold.

"You shouldn't be doing that anyway," Ryder scolded, still glaring at me.

"What?" I asked. "Trying to help and keep all of us safe. I shouldn't do that?"

"That's not what I meant," he snapped. "I just-."

He took a deep breath and ran a hand over his face. I waited. I'd never seen Ryder this, this vulnerable.

"You are still recovering from the last vision that that piece of shit forced you into and you want to jump right back in. You are making yourself vulnerable to them."

"I'll be careful," I told him. I had no wish to be an easy target, either. "But I won't stop. I can't, not when I could help." He looked like he wanted to say more but finally he relented, blowing out a long breath before nodding.

"Who was that?" Caspian directed the question at Kent, who now that I really looked at him, looked quite tense.

"Domu," he stated plainly. "Our new moving date has been approved."

"What new date?" I asked apprehensively.

"Tomorrow," he sighed as he spoke. "We are moving tomorrow."

"But-," I tried to protest.

"We need to get to Domu. We need to get you safe within its wards," Zeke said. I understood, but I didn't really want to move from this house. Well, it would be nice to not be reminded of that vision, but this was still my home, our home.

"Fine, but does that mean we have to pack right now?" I asked, pouting. Kent smirked and shook his head.

"I think we have time for one more movie at least."

"And you won't be doing any packing, not with that ankle," Peter pointed out. I glared at him, knowing I would be helping out no matter what they said. I could hop just fine. From his spot on the rug, Joe rolled over in his sleep, offering up his belly for some belly rubs. Ryder obliged, sitting down beside him.

Throughout the movie, I found myself glancing around at the guys, checking each one over with my eyes and with my power. They were fine. They were alive. We would catch the Pravus and destroy the Tenebris. We had to.