Zakara: Fire Within (An Allanon Fanfic)

Chapter Nine - A Glimpse into the Future

My eyes opened to see that just ahead of me was a darkened dirt path in the middle of the woods. It seemed normal enough, so I just began to walk, feeling a strong urge to get somewhere, but I didn't even know where I needed to be.

Turning the corner, I was met by three men on horseback, all of which wore black clothing and hoods that hid their faces. I tried to ask directions to the place I needed to be, but they all suddenly drew swords and charged me.

Turning to run, I tripped on a rock and face planted in the dirt. Strong hands then grabbed my arms and lifted me up onto a horse. One man hit me on the head with the hilt of his sword, knocking me out cold. 

Seconds later, my eyes shot open to find myself in some kind of dungeon. The grey, brick walls and floors were covered in mold and moss, and some portions were wet from water leaking in through cracks. It was awfully musty and hard to breath, but I was relieved to find that I was not trapped in a cell, although, someone else in front of me was. There was a man standing by the door of the cell, looking upset and defeated. Wait, that was Alyster! There was no mistaking his perfectly groomed, dark hair and handsome face.

Confused, I moved closer and was about to ask what was wrong, but something grabbed my arm and made me turn to look at them.

A hideous figure of a woman stood before me, with glowing green eyes and jagged teeth. She hissed and squeezed my arm even tighter, sending a shock wave of pain through my whole body which then caused me to fall to the ground. But, I didn't hit the ground, I just kept falling, and falling as though this would go on forever, until I suddenly landed on my feet in the middle of a battle field. 

It was covered in weapons and bodies, but there were still people fighting each other. I could see Allanon, Mekhi, and some other man I had never seen before, fighting one another. "No!" I shouted, running forward to try and stop them, but Allanon was stabbed in the side, and tumbled to the ground. The man I didn't know then struck Mekhi. Before I could help either of them, everything went completely black.

~oOo~

"Zakara! Zakara!" Someone violently shook me awake.

I opened my eyes to see Allanon above me. Worried he was hurt, I quickly sat up and pushed his jacket out of the way to look at his side. There was no blood or anything, but that didn't help me calm down. I felt it with my hand, but Allanon grabbed my arm and pulled it away. "Zakara, what on earth are you doing?"

"You're hurt," I told him, frantically looking around until I saw Prince Mekhi and Levi lying down on blankets near a campfire.

Allanon grabbed my shoulders and shook me. "Snap out of it, Zakara! Nothing happened. I'm fine."

Tears stung my eyes as I began to calm down a little, finally fully realizing that what I had seen wasn't real. With fright, I wrapped my arms around Allanon and started sobbing. That instantly woke Mekhi, who looked horribly worried. "What has happened?" He questioned.

"She had a bad dream," Allanon told him. "I can take care of it."

Mekhi wanted to say more, but when Allanon glared, he knew he wasn't wanted. So, he lied back down and silently watched them.

Allanon made me look at him and gently wiped away my tears with his thumb. "You were groaning and yelling in your sleep. What was your dream about?"

I sniffled and took a deep breath to gain some composure. "It was more like a nightmare! Oh, Allanon! It was horrible!"

I quickly explained to him about the kidnappers, Alyster in prison, the scary lady, and the terrible battle scene. As I went on, Allanon's calm expression turned to worry. When I had finished, he grasped my hand and leaned closer, saying quietly, "Zakara, that wasn't a dream. I fear what you saw is the future."

My heart skipped a beat as my voice caught in my throat. If that was the future, then Allanon and Mekhi would die!

He looked over at the concerned elf prince and sleeping Levi before looking back at me. "I'm not positive what you saw will happen, but I feel it is a warning. We must be on our guard at all times from now on. We must not let that happen."

I wiped away the remaining tears on my pale face and nodded. I wanted to at least look tough for Allanon, and in front of Mekhi. I didn't want them to think I was a big cry baby, but what I saw was the most horrifying thing I had ever had to witness or experience. And to make matters worse, from what Allanon said, it sounded like it could actually happen!

Allanon went back to his bed once he saw that I would be okay for the time being, so I lied down again too, to keep Mekhi from staring at me. I waited for quite some time and looked up through the leaves of the trees at the star filled sky. They were winking and dancing as if they were trying to tell me it would be okay. 

Once I was sure Mekhi was asleep, I sat back up and looked around at the dark forest surrounding us. It reminded me of the first part of my weird dream... but we weren't on a road, so it wouldn't happen yet. I hoped with all my heart it would never happen, but right then and there, I told myself to protect Allanon and Mekhi with my life, and to do what I could to try and talk to that water woman again. I had questions that needed to be answered as soon as possible!

Heart still racing, I grabbed my blanket and quietly crawled over to Allanon, who seemed to be asleep. I scanned the forest around us once more to make sure we were safe, then crawled over to Allanon and snuggled up against him, resting my head on his arm and placing the blanket over us both.

He looked at me in surprise, and was about to say something, but realized I was already in a peaceful slumber. Allanon stared down into my pretty, round face for a moment, seeing the relieved expression I had until he sighed and brushed some of my dark brown hair out of my face before lying back down and closing his eyes.

Okay, I know this is short and it's been a long time since I've updated. I'm sorry about that, it's been crazy, but don't worry. I'm working on the next few chapters and will put up the next one next week or sooner. Thank you so much for being patient with me and thank you for reading!

-Becketha Rowndy