Burning Star: A Twilight FanFic

Ch 14- Troubled Times

It was ultimately decided that Leah would stay here with Mikhail for now. Neither one of them wanted to be apart from the other. Leah pulled me aside before I could leave and we had a long conversation.

"I owe you and Raven so much. I've spent so long praying that I could imprint. That I could escape the pain," she said. Seth had explained the situation with Leah and Sam, so I knew what she was talking about. "And now, now I have him. I feel so free. Thank you."

I smiled. "Of course, Leah. You're family now, anyway, and Mikhail is a good friend. I would do anything to ensure your happiness. I'm glad I got to help you both."

Al also pulled me aside for a talk before I left. "I did a check through your Seth's mind while you were all busy, as I'm sure you noticed," she began.

"Yes, to check for clearance level approval. I read it as you cast," I affirmed.

"Right. You should be able to use a partial mental block to protect any classified information from the rest of his pack. Once that's done, feel free to tell him everything. He and Leah will both be given tier 2 clearance."

"Got it. I'll be spending sometime back in Forks and La Push, so if someone needs to come see me, I'll be there," I told her. "Oh!"

She quirked an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"I have a message from Raven, she said it was important."

"Tell me," she prompted. She looked eager. Since prophecies from diviners were rare, it was always important to pay close attention to them.

"She said 'The past cannot be erased. What was forgotten can always be remembered. Long lost ravens can always fly back.'"

My mentor thought for a moment and then her eyes went wide. A very concerned expression crossed her face before she smoothed it out. "I'm going to blur the memory of that from your friends' minds. As for you and Raven, do not repeat that to anyone. It's to be kept absolutely quiet until I can confirm the meaning."

"Of course. I'm sure Raven already knows, but I'll make sure she's reminded. Do you know what it could mean?" We had a barrier around us, so I knew the others wouldn't hear. I was worried by the grave look in her eyes. This was something serious.

She sighed. "I'm not going to tell you that unless it's absolutely necessary. That's not something anyone should know."

It was an odd exchange. I had tier 1 security clearance, so there was nothing that I wouldn't be able to know. The lack of an explanation worried me even more. I had a horrible feeling about that prophecy.

Berit and Mitch were waiting for us back at the Cullen house. Berit had cooked dinner and it was ready the minute we walked back through the door.

"Raven told me when to start," she explained. I looked around and caught a glimpse of her daughter and Embry through the glass back door. They were walking out of the woods together, smiles on their faces.

Raven and I shared a long stare when she entered the house. Finally she nodded, confirming that she understood the situation. Raven was almost as good a mind reader as Edward. Somehow she could always figure out what a person wanted to say, even if they said nothing at all. I wondered if it was related to her connection to the pack.

Dinner was lively as everyone exchanged what they'd learned today. While they were talking, I slipped into their memories and put a shadow over Raven's prophecy. Nobody would remember it clearly.

Once again, Seth came back to my hotel room with me. We were less reluctant to hold each other tonight. My head was laid on his chest and his arms were wrapped around me. He seemed deep in thought for a long time. I held myself back from just invading his mind and seeing what he was thinking and chose a more human approach.

"What's on your mind?" I asked softly.

"The world looked very different today," he mused. "The Archives, they made me feel like- well, like an immortal."

"You are an immortal, Seth," I pointed out. Saying it more might make it easier for him to get used to it.

He nodded. "It's still new though. I always thought I'd stop some day, so I never really thought of myself that way. But there, with the ancients smells, and the books written in languages I couldn't begin to understand, I couldn't help thinking about how much time I have. All those records, they go so far back I probably couldn't wrap my head around it. But I didn't really feel weird about it."

"Probably. It's always easy to forget about the outside world there. It's a place built for immortal beings, and that tends to make us more comfortable with the changes we'll have to face in our extended lives. The Archives has been there for thousands of years, and it will be there until the end of time, I'm sure. The place is free from the effects of time. It's a permanent refuge for us."

He nodded.

"Seth, there's somethings you need to know now. About me and my past. About my powers. Al approved your clearance. 2nd from the top, tier 2. But I have to put a mental block on your thoughts about me and about magic so that your pack can't see them. What I'm going to tell you is highly classified. The same thing goes for Leah. Is that ok?"

"Go ahead. It might be nice to be able to have secrets for once," he said with a grin. I touched my hand to his temple and let the magic flow into him. Now the pack wouldn't hear any of his thoughts about classified information.

I took in a breath and began telling my story. "It only took me till age three to master most of the magic my mom knew. She was shocked because she couldn't believe a child could learn it all so fast. She knew that I would need help sooner than most. She filed a petition with the Magic Council, and the witch that used to be in charge of North America came to see me. I was admitted to the Academy early without any discussion. His assessment clearly showed the fact that I had enormous power. I progressed quickly at the academy. I finished my basic courses two years early, and my advance classes, which should've taken six years, in just four. I spent a great deal of time experimenting after that. The Council began bringing me along on mission to help."

He was listening intently and I appreciated his focus. I took another deep breath and continued.

"Two years ago, I discovered my true power. Mars, the human you met today, died a day before we found her. She was among several magical slaves who'd been illegally bound that were murdered during their master's escape. Elsie was losing control and none of us knew what to do. I had been working on a new type of healing spell, and a friend who was with me, who'd watched me work, pushed me to try and use the spell. It worked. I- I brought Mars back from the dead. And two others at the same time by accident."

"Wait," he gasped. "You can actually do that?"

"Yes. I'm the only one in history who's been able to. But there's another side to it."

"Another side?"

"The same spell that saves lives can also destroy them completely. I've never tested to see how many I can do at once. But I know it's a lot. No body, no bones, not even a soul to pass on to the after life," I explained with a shudder. "It's horrible."

He didn't say anything in response. He just ran his fingers up and down my back silently. Eventually we drifted off into a peaceful sleep; each of us had now taken a small piece of the other's burden, and we were closer than ever.