Prisoners of Prophecy

Chapter 35

Cato - Wednesday, July 24th, 2019; 9:15pm

Uma had faded back into the darkness after saying a hurried goodbye. She had said the reason that I was feeling so sick was the combination of all of the information I had received and meeting such a powerful being in a foreign place.
     But, it was nothing compared to her sudden absence. I hardly noticed the billions of stars and planets snap out of existence; I didn't sense the enormous space around me shrinking rapidly. Her power, which had coursed through my veins only a moment before, had drained me of my strength and had replaced it with something much more potent, something I couldn't begin to understand how to control. Feeling it leave my system was exhausting. Without it, I felt empty.
     I don't know how much time passed until I realized I was in the basement again, but the instant that I did, I wanted nothing more than to get out. The air was thick and difficult to breathe. The four walls seemed to be crowding too close, and it was awful compared to the impossible but beautiful place that I had been in just before. Only then did I think about how quiet it had been in that massive endlessness. Even the sound of my panicked gasps echoing in the cramped room was deafening in relation.
     I rushed up the stairs, longing for the open night sky above me.
     What greeted me when I opened the front door was not what I had expected. I thought Calypso would show up, sure, and maybe Xantara, since she was now the only one who had yet to visit her God. But, no - it was all of them. They stood in a line about fifteen feet away from the house, facing me. All six of us had been together quite a few times now, but each time, it hit me intensely. I knew now that it was because, each time, we had been getting stronger. Just like the Gods were.
     I gestured for them to come closer. I had a sudden feeling that this was a perfect time to tell them about Terrat. It could be the only time. And Uma had told me to not speak of him outside of the house. We were already here, weren't we? What better opportunity?
I was filled with dread all the same. I knew they were looking for answers. Surely, though, these weren't the answers they were wishing for. I hoped that they would take it well.
The five of them shared a few nervous glances. I didn't have to dive into their thoughts to know that they were hesitant about coming any closer to the house, as if they already knew what I would ask of them. I couldn't blame them. I had just come from inside, yet I myself had doubts about going back. This was no longer some haunted old building that we weren't sure was or was not addressing us - this was some sort ancient leviathan with our fates in its grasp. A place of faith and power, but also of rage and grief and terrible loss.
Calypso was the first one to step forward. The rest of them followed then. Maybe her bravery had rubbed off on them, but I thought it was more likely that they were under the influence of her powerful attraction. It was much easier to follow that than the fear.
And, right now, her magnetism was strangely persistent, even harder to ignore than usual. Once my gaze had landed on her, it was impossible to ignore. To my surprise, even after meeting a Goddess, Calypso still appeared to me somehow just as divine. Especially in moments like these, where her emotions were so strong that they came from her in waves. I could feel them as if they were my own - a daunting combination of terror, anger, and desperate curiosity. All of those emotions and more danced in her narrowed eyes, which reflected the moonlight. She moved slowly and gracefully towards me, almost like an unseen predator tracking its prey. I was frozen to the spot under her attention. Chills covered my body but my insides felt as if they were on fire.
     She stopped before the porch's sagging steps. The others filed behind her. She studied me for a moment before speaking. "What is it? Is everything okay? We should get back to our rooms. I heard what happened earlier. If some hoard of zombies is about to show up, we should be inside. We can talk then."
     "It's not zombies," I said weakly. "Or, at least... It's not all zombies." I closed my eyes tight. A bolt of pain dug into my brain and then began to ache there dully. I tried to keep a hold of my thoughts, to prevent them from wandering into insane nonsense.  "I can tell you about it. But we've got to go back in here, not to our rooms."
     Calypso's pale, almost silver, eyes widened. "Why?"
Melany spoke up shyly behind her. "Do you think that's a good idea? Your God could still be down there. Or Xantara's. Or any one of them."
"Why would that be a problem?" Kai asked. He seemed to be feeling a lot better than he did even earlier today. The sickly yellow tone had gone out of his skin, and his gaze was bright, his expression more smug than ever. "I mean, we'll have to meet them all eventually, right?"
"No one is inside. "I tried to keep the urgency out of my voice, afraid it might frighten them. "Come on. Just trust me."
     Calypso shrugged. "I trust you," she said, gesturing to the door behind me. Though it was hidden very well, I could see a sliver of doubt in her beautiful eyes. "After you, Cato."
     I was relieved to have a reason to turn my focus away from her. I thought I might have kept on staring at her dumbly forever, if she wouldn't have given me an order. But she had, and there was no resisting an order from Calypso, even if, for some reason, you had the desire to.
     I turned around slowly, facing the closed door hesitantly, as if I was now confronting an enemy who had been after me all my life. And wasn't it something like that, this building of stone and rotted planks filled with forgotten items from some forgotten past? For a moment, in the chipped paint and splintering wood, I thought I saw a face grinning evilly back at me. I blinked once and it was gone. I tried to push the image out of my mind as I opened the door for the second time today on the dark silence that lay within the house.
     Their presence behind me as I stepped inside was comforting but also a little unsettling. When the last person shut the door and closed us inside, the force of what we were becoming magnified. It was almost overwhelming, being in an enclosed space with the other five lucky - or, what felt more like unlucky - people that had been blessed by Gods. The feeling was almost as strong, maybe even stronger, than it had been standing in front of Uma herself.
     Again, I felt that surge of confidence, that feeling that things may not be entirely hopeless after all, even with the new knowledge that I was about to share with the rest of them.
     I hesitated in the doorway that would lead me back down into the basement. Some time tonight - a time that felt somehow like it had just happened but also that it had occurred a million years ago - that room has disappeared and had been replaced by the vastness of space. Though it had been a magnificent experience, I didn't think I could mentally or physically handle it again so soon.
     "What's the hold up?" Kai's voice echoing in the tight hallway made me jump, but it also pulled me out of my worried thoughts, which I was grateful for. "You know how late it is?"
     His exclamation was answered with a series of annoyed groans and hushed complaints from the others. It eased my mind. I even smiled a little to myself. Knowing that these were my friends, despite the horrible things we may soon encounter, was a relieving thought.
     I led them down. The old stairs creaked ominously under our weight. Like it was tradition - and now, it pretty much was - we blindly arranged ourselves into a circle in the darkness. Even Melany, who had not done this nearly as many times as the rest of us, wordlessly fit in.
     "Where's the damn candle?" Kai cursed.
     "Let that thing just die, Kai," Calypso scoffed. "You're the candle."
     To my surprise, Kai chuckled light-heartedly.
     A moment later, the small room was illuminated with orange light. A ball of dancing flame danced an inch or two above Kai's upturned palm. I had seen him use his unnatural ability many times, but it never ceased to both amaze and disturb me. This calm fire could turn into an all-consuming blaze at any moment. I had never seen that before, but I knew how his family had died. Sometimes it deeply frightened me that someone with such power had such a quick temper. It seemed to me a recipe for disaster.
     Now that I could see all of their faces, I realized that they were all looking at me. Though I had been the one to bring them down here, and I had the answers that they had been waiting for, the weight of their expectant stares was almost too much for me to bear.
     Another thing came to me then, a thought that sent a chill through me. We are the strongest humans living. Probably the strongest to have ever lived.
     And maybe that would have filled a younger me with pride and overflowing confidence- but to me right now it sounded like the worst curse someone could put on another person.
     Xantara's eyes - which were darker than the basement could ever be, yet infinitely more beautiful - scanned everyone's faces curiously before glancing back at me. "It's like the house is getting stronger. Can you feel that?"
     I had felt the power of the house earlier tonight, as it called to me, telling me it was my time to visit the ancient Gods it somehow held within its walls. As I was sure the others had before me. But, what I had not realized until now, was that Xantara had not been inside the house since Achiq had introduced himself and the fate that had been laid upon us. That seemed like it had been forever ago. She had not yet felt how these deity's presences now lingered in this room, and now combined with all of our energy...
     Before I could find the words to answer, Calypso spoke. "It definitely is. I wonder how long it's been since the Gods have been here. You know, before we came along."
    "They probably have never been in this house before," Melany whispered. She shrunk away from the group a little when everyone's focused turned to her. She hung her head for a moment, her blond hair curtaining her face, which had turned a rosy color.
     "What makes you think that?" Calypso asked her softly.
     Melany looked back up and locked eyes with Calypso. It seemed as if her aura gave her strength, or perhaps she had only gotten lost in it. Either way, she was now able to speak without looking away, and her voice had gotten steadier. "I mean, they wouldn't have had a reason to. Maybe they couldn't. It sounds like their tribe died a long time ago. It just happened that... That the house was built here. And then, the school."
"So you think this is where the tribe lived?" I questioned curiously. I had never even considered such a thing, but now it almost seemed obvious.
She glanced at me and nodded. "It would make sense. Why else would the tribe be haunting this place? It's not this house that can't be older than the late eighteen-hundred's that's special enough to conjure Gods - it's what used to be here that is. Right?"
Of course she was right. And a million questions followed that new knowledge. But beneath it all was nervous excitement. The long time that we had spent in utter confusion was coming to an abrupt end. Our true future was being revealed; the murky path that we had been chosen to follow was becoming clearer. And, though some things I've learned has frightened me terribly, at least I knew now. What was after us was no longer a mysterious, invisible monster. It was someone with a name and a past. Perhaps we could find a weakness in that.
"You know what it is." Calypso said. It wasn't a question. It was as if she had momentarily borrowed my inhuman ability to look into thoughts. It stunned me into silence for a few seconds.
I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself. "Yes," I sighed. "The Goddess I met today. Uma." The power in her name offered me enough strength to deliver the news. "She told me who it is. And she seems to be positive about it. She said they didn't want to tell us until they were sure. I guess they are now."
"So who is it?" Kai asked impatiently. "We could go after them now, while they think we're still clueless."
"It won't be that easy," I responded dejectedly. "Uma insisted we not talk about him unless we're in this house. Because he might hear."
"Because he might hear?" Kai repeated, dubious. "Who is this guy? Superman, or something?"
Calypso laughed, a little harshly. "It never ceases to amaze me, how hard-headed you are. Why are you still shocked? We're helping Gods. You think our enemy is just going to be the police?"
Kai narrowed his eyes and glared at her, but he said nothing. Even he wouldn't dare anger her too much.
"He's a God, too."
The room fell into a bewildered silence. I could not even hear anyone breathing. For a terrifying moment, the only sound was my heartbeat - quick and strong and almost unbearably loud. All eyes were on me once again. Everyone's horror flooded the small room until it was almost palpable.
"You're joking, right?" Xantara was the first one to speak. She was looking at me with her dark eyes wide and afraid. The flickering flame floating freely above Kai's open hand threw shifting shadows across her pale face. "You can't be serious."
"Yeah, aren't we supposed to be helping the Gods?" Melany remarked from beside her. She had grabbed Xantara's hand, and they shared a glance in which they appeared to have a silent conversation. She turned her gaze back to me and asked, "Why would one of them want to stop us?"
"Because this one wants all the power to himself." I spoke slowly, in fear that if my voice trembled, that the horror of it all may consume us. We could have a fighting chance as one, but I knew that if all six of us weren't here, it would be impossible.
"What do you mean?" Calypso questioned.
"Uma told me that the Gods stayed with the tribe while they were dying of that awful sickness. I guess trying to help them, you know? But one of them left. She said he spread stories about himself, and left the rest of them out of all of those stories. He probably said he was the only God in the universe, and people believed in him. Had faith in him. Leaving the others, who stayed loyal to their tribe instead of succumbing to that hunger he had for power, to be forgotten."
"How terrible," Illisha muttered, so quietly that even I had to strain a little to hear her over the sound of my racing heart. "Why didn't he just stay, too? Maybe they could have saved the tribe, and they could all still be as great as they had been then. We wouldn't even be here, having to go through this." Her words were laced with a heavy sadness and grief. " I don't know about you guys, but I'm not cut out for this. I don't know how I can help any."
"I understand why you feel that way," I said softly, trying to comfort her in any way that I could. Comfort all of them, and myself, too. "But if we couldn't do this, there's no way the Gods would waste their time, much less the insane amount of strength it probably took for them to call on us."
"I guess that makes sense," Illisha agreed, albeit a little doubtfully. "It just seems impossible."
Kai had begun to toss the ball of flame from one hand to the other, causing the room to be flooded with constantly shifting, dancing shadows. It was both a strange and awesome sight. It filled me with awe but also a little bit of fear. I recalled again what that fire was capable of.
"Of course it's possible," he said with deep conviction. "Look at us. If anyone could fight a God, it would be us."
"I wonder what will happen after tomorrow," I said. "After we've all met our Gods."
"Well, from what we've heard from them, we'll be seeing them again," Calypso responded. "To learn more from them, I'm sure. Hopefully they can help us in finding the full extent of the abilities they've given us."
"That would be nice. I mean, we've gotten stronger just by meeting them. And it seems that they are stronger already, too. Because we believe in them, and they believe in us. If they prepare us, teach us... We could do it. We could beat him, and save the Gods."