Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 20

Illisha - Sunday, July 21st, 2019; 5:03pm

I walked slowly to the library, cradling my laptop to my chest tightly, like I was lost in the vastness of some ocean and it was the only thing keeping me afloat. Each step I took was hesitant. I knew that after I checked in the school's laptop, I would have to make my way to the abandoned house. Down into that basement. Alone.
I cursed myself under my breath for offering to go next. Calypso was right - after I go talk to some deity about my future, that doesn't end all of this. I could rush this moment, but more would follow. We still had to save Gods.
I had spent the night before tossing and turning in my bed, my mind so full of thoughts and questions I was sure my head would burst. I thought of Achiq, the being that sounded like a man but looked like a pillar of fire. I thought of how weak and pale Kai had appeared coming out of the dark house, and the shocked way he regarded me when he learned I chosen to be the one next to meet the divine things who claimed to need our help. Kai, on the way back to our rooms, had described Rapa to us. I couldn't understand how someone who was as tall and muscular and powerful as he had said the God was could need the help of a few young adults who had been sent to a reform school for misbehaving badly. Kai said even being around him drained his energy. So what could we do?
I pushed through the library's doors and went to the front desk. Ms. Clark - an old, frail woman who always scowled at every kid with the same disdain over her thick spectacles - was behind it, scribbling in a notebook. When I set my laptop on the desk, she straightened and studied me with her intelligent, clear blue eyes narrowed. "Are you sick, Ms, Leigh?" She asked. "You look a bit under the weather."
     "I'm alright," I lied. "Just tired."
     She scanned the barcode on the bottom of the laptop. She rapidly typed something into the computer, put the laptop into the cart with the others, and then regarded me again. "I hope that's all it is. Get some rest. But, if you still don't feel good in the morning, call the front. We've had a few of our staff and students catching some sort of virus. We don't need it spreading."
     I nodded. "I will. On the way to my room now." I smiled, hoping that it looked at least a little believable.
     I turned and started for the exit, wishing that I was just going to bed instead. I felt as if I could sleep for a week.
     But, I knew that if I could try, I would only be kept awake yet again, terrified of the answers I may have gotten and desperately needing them.
     Xantara was holding the door open, gesturing for me. Melany stood outside, her gaze switching back and forth between us warily. Their presence instantly comforted me some, but I knew it wouldn't last for long. I needed to go to the basement, and I would have to be alone.
     I went outside, Xantara following me. She had put bandaids over the gouges in her cheeks, and she was now rubbing absentmindedly at one of them with a pointer finger as she moved out of the way of a couple of students who seemed to not want to be within even ten feet of us. I wondered briefly if anyone had asked about them, and if so, what her excuse had been. The two students gave us a curious glance before hurrying into the library, whispering to each other.
     "Do you have a second?" Xantara asked me in a low voice, aware of how many people were around.
     "Yeah," I answered. "Is everything okay?"
     "What isn't?" She joked, smiling slightly. "Let's get away from the door, though."
     I followed her and Melany. They led me to the left, towards the house. A chill ran through me. Last night, as me and Calypso made our way to the derelict building, we had encountered this sort of... barrier. There was no other word I could use to describe it. We had both stopped abruptly at the same time, at least thirty feet from the porch. It felt as if I had run into a cold, invisible wall. I had reached out, reached into, that force field, and pulled back instantly. It had felt like being shocked and stabbed at the same time. Would that be there today, too? I wondered. Will I be able to pass that? Would I be able to bear that pain?
     "Whoa-" Melany started.
     "What the hell?" Xantara exclaimed.
     I turned around to see that they had both halted a few steps behind. They were looking down at themselves, arms outstretched, palms up, in an almost eerily similar way. Melany reached ahead of her, as if she was about to high-five the air. She jerked her arm back almost instantly, hissing through clenched teeth.
     Realization like a stone settled into the pit of my stomach.
     "Do you not feel that?" Melany asked, her dark blue eyes wide.
     "Not today," I mumbled, the sound of my pounding heart almost drowning out my own words.
     "What do you mean?" Xantara asked.
     "Last night, me and Calypso felt the same thing. Because it was Kai's turn."
     I saw the same realization dawn on both of their stunned expressions. Xantara started rubbing at one of the bandages on her face again. "And now it's your turn. But... how do they know?"
     I shrugged. "They're Gods," I said simply, though the two words made my head throb. "What do they not know?"
     "I wonder if anyone else could feel it." Melany said, her gaze focused on something over my shoulder. I was sure it was the house. "They don't come too close, though, it looks like."
     "That's probably for the best," I remarked. "I don't think it would be good if anyone else found interest in that place."
     "It's kind of a hazard. Why haven't they torn it down, anyways? Doesn't seem like a good place. Hell, all the stuff in there... I wouldn't be surprised if there were weapons in there. To have that in the vicinity of so many trouble makers, the fact that it's relatively unbothered, it doesn't make any sense."
     I had wondered the same thing at first. But, as more and more unreal things came to light, that fact seemed unimportant in comparison. As if Xantara had read my mind, she told Melany the same thing I'd been feeling. She was peering at Xantara with an openness that was jarringly different from how guarded she had appeared when she had first arrived.
     Now, she turned back towards me and asked me curiously, "Are you scared?"
     "Of course I am. I guess someone would be crazy if they weren't." I answered honestly, though it made me feel weak to admit it.
     She mumbled an agreement as Xantara queried, "Do you know who's going next?"
     "Calypso seemed pretty insistent on it last night. But, I suppose she'll let one of you know if she changes her mind."
     "You know, I don't think it's up to us." Melany seemed to momentarily shrink under both of our questioning glances before continuing. "I mean, it seems like we're choosing. But what would happen if I went instead?"
     Alarm sparked in Xantara's eyes and she grabbed Melany's shoulder. "That wouldn't be a good idea," she warned. "I mean, whatever's surrounding that house now; it hurts." The concern in the look she gave her was intense. How much do they remember now? I thought, but did not ask. They look like they never forgot each other at all.
     "Yeah, I won't do it," Melany scoffed, giving her a smile that was a beautiful sight in the terrifying fate that had come upon all of us. A light in the dark. "But what if I did?"
     Xantara shook her head dismissively, but a small smirk played on her pale lips. "I don't want to figure out." She looked back at me, her face serious again. "We better not keep you."
     "Yeah," I agreed, though the thought of going the rest of the way by myself made my mouth go dry and my breath catch in my throat. I could feel the house's impatience - as if its spirits were tugging at my clothes, pulling me closer. "I got to get going."
     "Be strong, Illisha." She dipped her head. I think it may have been encouragement, but to me it looked like a goodbye.
     "See you on the other side," Melany said.