Oracle

Chapter 35

Ira

His blood pooled around him stained and curdled by the poison in his soul. The blade in his chest had once been a gift of love, but that gift was now his end. His hands warped around theirs over the hilt. He forgave them. they could see it in his bright green eyes that dulled as the light they had loved left him. Sorrow swept over them as death claimed his soul and his body turned to dust

I could have saved him.

Why didn't I save him?

I could have saved them all.

The man, the monster.

And mother.

Running. Screaming. Cutting.

No, not again.

Gunshots. blood. Mom!

I sucked in a sharp breath, eyes flying open to the same room I'd woken in before.

After he'd left me here, I'd sat for several hours just holding myself. I don't know how I'd forgotten so quickly about the visions but there was no doubt in my mind Nina would die. I just wasn't sure telling Uriel would help him save her. What if by telling him I stopped it from happening. It was clear he didn't know what to do when that time came. And maybe that was part of it. Maybe by telling him now, I would make him do it wrong.

But what if I was supposed to tell?

What if my silence killed her?

It was a question that haunted me. I'd told almost told River. he was young and otherwise fit. Perhaps if I had, and he stopped smoking, the cancer would never stir. But then what? A concussion? a heart attack? organ failure? He would always die somehow.

But that pain I had seen; I could save him from it.

I should have saved mom from it.

I could still feel the warmth of her arms when she held me. Still remembered the nights spent on the couch as we talked into the late hours. But those days were gone. Because I hadn't played attention. I'd known the mage was there in that room, just like it had been in my dream. Still, I failed to warn them. I could have woken up sooner. I should have followed my instincts and gone to their room instead. Dad could have killed the mage before he ever touched mom.

But all the what-ifs and could-haves, would not bring her back.

Exhausted in a different way I'd eventually slipped into unconsciousness.

Only to find Uriel as I had always done.

I wasn't surprised by the brutal death he would one day suffer. Not with everything I'd seen about the life he lived. Still, I could feel his blood on my hands, and I knew the knife I would one day put through his heart.

My soul ached with remembered pain.

I was going to kill him just as surely as Nina would die.

He should have just killed me.

Why he hadn't was beyond my understanding.

It was clear he didn't want me here even if Nina seemed glad for the company. And who knew how long he would let me remain.

Or if he'd ever let me go.

Dread settled in my stomach.

What if I was stuck here with nothing to do? With nothing to distract me from the nightmares.