Dark Cotillion

Four

"The Prophet does have an opinion." It was a child's voice. A young boy and it stabbed me directly through the heart. For a moment, I could not catch my breath. My youngest brother walked into the room.

"I am the Prophet and she lives." He glared at Chiron. Since my brother does not make eye contact with hardly anyone, it was a sight to see. He came and sat on my lap.

"Or at least, the Council will decide that she lives," he shrugged his shoulders. "Her fate is unknown to me, as that is not my purpose."

"You are a prophet?" Chiron raised an eyebrow.

"I am a prophet," he responded. Suddenly, the illness that affected his mind made sense to me. He wasn't autistic; he was fractured. The prophecy that was contained inside of him, wedged into the spaces, trapped him inside too. It explained why he was occasionally very lucid.

"And what is your prophecy?" Chiron asked.

"My prophecy is not ready. You cannot force it out of my mind, no one can. Vishnu has tried. Brenna has tried. My father has tried. The Demons thought they should be able to heal me. Vishnu tried to spare my father the death of a son, my sister the death of a sibling she treasures."

"Can you give us any clue about the prophecy?" Chiron asked.

"Yes, but I won't." My brother stood up and looked at the Council. For several seconds, he stared at each member. Finally, he walked up, leaned his body over the table and touched Anubis's face. As he did so, he closed his eyes.

"You are wise, Anubis, very wise." He sighed and moved onto Fenrir. "You are cursed, but not for eternity."

He moved on, stepping in front of Gabriel, "You will not be scarred for much longer; a great healer will come for you."

"And you," he stepped in front of Chiron and shook his head, "No, your fate will not be known yet either."

"Daniel," Anubis stood up, "your prophecy is about the Overlords and their Fates."

"Yes," Daniel kept his back turned to him. "As I said, you are very wise Anubis. You understand much. I know the Fate of each of the Overlords and it will come to pass, and it will start the next Elder War."

"Daniel," I stood up for the first time I had ever stood up during a Council Meeting. Normally, I remained seated and quiet. Normally, I found them very boring.

"Brenna, you have started the Maturing," he cocked his head to the side. "Tomorrow, you will be mortal."

"Daniel," I touched his arm. His head was thrown back, mouth opened, a blood curdling scream issued from it. I let go and he didn't stop. Someone grabbed hold of me.

"It is time," the voice was familiar, but seemed to be a million miles away.

"Two by two," Daniel stopped screaming. "Two by two by two by two."

"What?" I pulled away from the arms that were holding me.

"A leak, that's all," Vishnu grabbed me again. "It happens sometimes during stress with a prophet. The thought of your death has forced something of the prophecy loose inside his head. He will go back to being your brother in a few days."

In a heartbeat, Daniel's eyes glazed back over. He returned to being the boy I knew. The boy that barely spoke, had favorites, made it rain slugs, and occasionally caused massive hail damage, stood before me. There was a thick sounding clunk on the roof, followed by another. A downpour began. He was angry and unable to express it again. The lucidity was gone and Daniel had returned. I looked at the skylight and watched as walnuts slammed into them.

"Great," I frowned.

"You need to find safety, Brenna. You have not been put to death, but that does not mean attempts will not be made," Vishnu looked very pointedly at Chiron who was staring in terror at Daniel.

"Get Daniel in the house," my mother suddenly yelled. My father moved with lightning speed, gathering up the boy. He folded him gently in his arms, surrounded him with his massive body and left the Council Room.

"I recommend you leave in the chaos as well," Magnus whispered to me. "Make sure you have guards. Your brother being a prophet is an interesting turn of events."