Mark of the Chosen

Chapter Seven

Allisa stepped across the threshold into her apartment just as fatigue hit her like a tidal wave and the weight of her busy day seemed ready to crush her. Leaning on the door as it closed, she was unsure whether she was holding it up or if it was the opposite. Although she was grateful for the solace of her home, the call of her "to do" list constantly beckoned her. Unfortunately, Allisa was barely able to keep her eyes after teaching, researching, writing, and every other aspect of her life that made a twenty-four hour day insufficient.

She placed the personal library of books she lugged around on the table near the door along with her keys, peeled off her scarf and jacket and draped it over the coat rack at the end of the hallway. Two more steps took her to her favorite chair, a brown recliner next to an end table, where she dropped her books. Before the fatigue completely consumed her, she pulled out hairpins and dropped them on the end table, then added her glasses. The trail of bread crumbs ceased at her bedroom where the lure of a night of rest invited her to forget her to do lists and research. Before she knew it she was the willing and loyal captive of her paisley comforter set and oversized pillows.

A soothing slumber replaced the constant churning of her machine-like mind. On the brink of oblivion, Allisa was totally unaware of what was going on around her. She did not realize who or what was in her midst.

Kao used every connection in the unknowns he could find to strengthening his connection to Allisa's fear until honed in on her home, He timed it perfectly and waited patiently in the comfort of her home, concealed by the shadows as if he never left the Unknowns.

From the initial CLICK-CLICK-CLICK of the door unlocking, he observed as Allisa haplessly stumbled into the lion's den. Kao moved in for the kill. He was so close that he could taste his impending success. Peering down at the finite human form, Kao reached into her chest, poised to complete his assignment with one simple motion. But as his arm sank deeper and deeper he quickly realized that something wasn't right. This wasn't normal. This...wasn't human. And whatever it was now restrained him.

Stunned by the unexpected tug of war and the force with which the unknown opponent fought against him, his freedom was short lived as he fell backward into the shadows. A surge of power radiated through the room, leaving a still slumbering Allisa undisturbed, but fighting back the darkness that comforted Kao. He gathered his bearings, making it to his feet. But something was off.

A constant ringing in his ears made it almost too difficult to hear his own thoughts. He tried shaking away the annoyance but soon realized he was down two senses. Rubbing and clawing at his eyes yielded no results. Although severely weakened, he would have to rely on his training now more than ever.

Focusing on the senses still available to him, Kao stretched out his arms in the hopes that his palms and fingertips would graze a clue, anything that would reveal where he was. But even as the unwanted soundtrack accompanying his movement seemed to intensify, his explorations revealed nothing. No walls, no texture, no structure, no-one. Nothing

So it's no secret to wherever this is or to whoever brought me here that I am a warrior of the Unknowns. He reasoned as he realized that his wings now accompanied his every movement.

"Your thoughts are poetic, demon. But that is in fact what you are...a demon." A voice resonated around and through him. The resilient chime of his personal serenade disappeared. The aching silence left Kao fighting off the urge to panic.

"Where am I? Why have you weakened me? Will you not allow me the honor of dying in a fair battle?" Kao asked of his captive.

"You come seeking answers. But those are not the answers you seek. In your weakness, you will see the unimaginable and hear untold revelations of your world. In your weakness, you'll find strength." The sing-song voice replied in riddle.

"Who are you?" Frustrated, confused, and uncertain Kao wasn't certain he really wanted to know the answer.

"I am a Keeper; a Sage to some and an Oracle to your kind."

"What do you want from me?" He considered the likelihood that he was party to a case of mistaken identity.

"It's no mistake." The Oracle's response reminded Kao that his thoughts were not off limits. "I've been waiting for you."

The last statement was more unnerving to Kao than anything that he'd experienced so far.

"Why am I here?"

"It is written: The one sent to devour will be consumed, as the Keeper's vessel chooses no sides but heralds the truth of The Unknowns, the Forevers, and everything in between."

In that moment, with sight stripped away, Kao had never seen more clearly. He was not only set-up to fail, he was sent off to slaughter like a lamb. Plots of revenge wriggled in his mind as he considered the likely facilitator of his election for demise.

"There is no time for that. The revelation grows impatient," The Oracle declared while suspending a helpless Kao above the nothingness where he once stood. "Now see the knowledge of the Unknowns!" She called out.

Searing pain traveled through Kao's veins like the sting of an unwanted inoculation. Writhing and churning as if preparing to be turned inside out, Kao cried out as every word of the history of the Unknowns was branded onto his existence. Communing with the Oracle left him feeling more human and vulnerable. Surely this would be the method of his demise. Just as everything in him wanted to stop trying, stop fighting, and stop being, the familiar nothingness of the shadows comforted him.

His hands trembled at the realization that his senses had been restored and the silence and darkness surrounding him was simply that of Allisa's bedroom. He had been returned to the moment before he seized his victim. But this time he was armed with knowledge.

Allisa's, still surrounded by her paisley barricade, hadn't moved at all. Her peaceful rest gave him pause as he replayed the words of the Oracle. Whoever had set him up and for whatever reason, he would not be a pawn. Leaving the Oracle's vessel unharmed, Kao made his way back into the Unknowns, determined to exert his rage on a more deserving target.

***********************************************************

Don't forget to vote, share your feedback/suggestions in the comments and subscribe to http://www.twcolvin.com