The Light so Divine

Doubt Comes In

 "You are so reckless! One day you'll get someone killed! What were you thinking?" Avalon's voice grew louder by the minute.

"Oh, I'm so sorry I have fun! I made sure no one followed me! I'm not completely incompetent you know? Honestly, how did Elizabeth stand you?" Evergrey retorted, his temper flaring.

"You could have been seen!"

"Wow, okay. So, like always, you and the Keepers will risk young women's lives, but not your own? I'm trying to help."

"Listen here brother!" Avalon seemed ready to punch Evergrey. "That is not true and you know it. And may I remind you that you're partially responsible for Catherine?"

The brothers had been arguing ever since Evergrey came for a visit. That had been an hour ago. They had been so preoccupied, both men had failed to notice that Vic was still in her room, her door wide open. She'd been listening to them argue, while laying on her bed. She was tempted to walk out and get their attention. Except, her curiosity had kept her immobile, silently listening. She wanted to know more about what had Avalon so upset.

Two minutes later both Evergrey and Avalon fell silent. A board creaked and Vic shut her eyes. Seconds later she heard Avalon whisper from her door. "You're lucky she's asleep." His footsteps echoed down the hall, and a minute later Vic heard a door slam.

"I know you're not asleep Vic." She jumped slightly, her eyes flying open in surprise. Looking down at her was Evergrey, a smirk tugging at his lips.

She frowned slightly. "How'd you know?"

He laughed lightly. "I used to do that when I was younger. Don't worry about our argument though. It's just Avalon overreacting about harmless fun." A shadow of doubt flickered over his face before disappearing as quickly as it came.

Vic sat up, narrowing her eyes. Why was Evergrey being shady all of a sudden? She was usually told things, and those things were usually stuff Avalon wanted her to not know about. The first bit of info she wasn't supposed to know was that Evergrey had been exiled to the north. That had set everything in motion. Except, now even she was being kept in the dark by the only man who told her anything. Vic had a right to know about what was happening. After all, she had to travel between this realm and Pandoria so many times. Every single time she was sent into Pandoria, she was almost trapped there.

Vic shuddered lightly at the thought. Yes, Pandora was beautiful with its pink skies, giant mushrooms, crystal trees, and giant flying manta-rays. But it was incredibly dangerous, especially for humans. Time didn't exist in Pandoria, and she saw the effects it had on Anne and Evergrey. Anne's eyes had turned pink, and running up one side of her face were pink-like veins. With Evergrey, his left eye shone a pink light, and he had been weakened. If Evergrey stepped foot in Pandoria again, he would die. Honestly, Vic didn't really fancy suffering the same fate that her friends were.

Evergrey seemed to have sensed her slight distress and distrust. He sighed and smirked. "I just got back from the docks where DC has been stationed. I also checked on Justin. Avalon panicked and thinks I could've been seen or followed."

"But you weren't, were you?" Vic had stopped worrying or caring about being followed by DC drones a long time ago. It'd already happened multiple times, and each time the Soul Riders had taken care of it.

"No. They aren't paranoid. And it doesn't look like they are planning anything big any time soon." He sat down on Vic's soft chair, leaning forward towards her. After careful deliberation, he spoke again, but slower. "Vic, you and I have had many endeavours together. You and I constantly get in trouble together. It's no accident that you were brought here. However, you need to listen to me. Things are going to get worse from here on out. I was exiled for a reason, Vic. Believe me, when I say, the Keepers are not all sunshine and rainbows. They have darker intentions. Do not let yourself be fooled by anything they promise you and be prepared for what is yet to come.

She looked at him strangely. For a month now both Vic and Linda had been suspicious of the Keepers. But now, it was just confirmed that the girls had a right to be. Choosing her words carefully, Vic replied. "I know. But what do I do?"

"Pretend to be oblivious. Just keep doing what you've been doing." With that, Evergrey stood up and walked out of Avalon's house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A large target stood in front of Vic. It had faded burn marks on it from past girls trying to control their magic. Avalon had dragged Vic up to the old paddock in the mountains. He'd also taken the other girls as well, demolishing their plans to have a day to themselves in the city. Since the memorial, security for the girls had been tightened. Linda had self-appointed bodyguards who followed her everywhere. Lisa had to be escorted everywhere, Alex was being watched by Mrs. Holdsworth, and Vic was not allowed past the village border alone. Now it seemed as if though the Soul Riders would only meet up for training.

Avalon had pressed them, making sure that each girl had quick reflexes. Now it was Vic's turn. She had focused on drawing up her magic and blasting the target. So far all that had happened was a few sharp bolts of lightning. They were small and had accidentally hit Rhiannon, who was acting as an assistant to Avalon. Alex had made a remark about "This is what happens when you don't properly train people." Avalon had let out an exasperated sigh at that.

Now that Vic thought about it, Avalon was exasperated a lot. He steadily went from being nice and sweet to firm and strict. This change had started ever since the day Anne was saved. It was unsure if he was paranoid or if this was how he dealt with grief. The only certain thing was that this version of Avalon was not preferable. He had returned to being just as grouchy as he was when Vic first met him. Short replies were given to questions, quick flares of temper every day, especially when something went wrong.

"Victoria! Pay attention!" There it was, Avalon's daily outburst. She flinched slightly, her own temper quickly dissolving. "Focus child! If you hesitate ot aren't strong enough, the enemy will kill you!"

She whirled on the druid, her eyes narrowed. Her fingers sparked with lightning, which started to grow in power. "Don't you dare say anything, Avalon! It's not my fault that I haven't been trained properly!" A large crack sounded, followed by Anne screaming. Vic turned around, her eyes wide. In one of the patches of sand was a large crater. The sand itself was black and arched upwards from where the lightning struck. She gaped slightly. No one moved for several minutes, too shocked to do anything. Finally, Alex let out a loud whoop.

Alex jumped over the low stone wall and ran to Vic, enveloping her into a hug. The two girls spun in a small circle from the force of Alex running over. "That was amazing! Can you do that again?"

"Alex!" Avalon snapped. "I think this training session is over. You are all dismissed."

Vic grabbed her bag which had been discarded by one of the trees. She had begun walking back to Valedale Village, unkeen to spending more time than necessary with two of the Keepers. Unfortunately, Rhiannon had wanted to speak with Vic before she left.

"Victoria, we must speak." Rhiannon had taken up being the resident hippie since Elizabeth's passing. She brushed her black hair out of her face with a dark tan hand. The woman and Vic had been repairing their relationship since the latter had broken every rule in order to rescue Justin from Avalon's basement. Vic would be lying if she said that she didn't harbour some animosity towards Rhiannon. Sure, Vic was civil, but she was still bitter about almost being locked up with Justin. It would have been a fair judgement on the Keepers parts, but an undesirable situation for Vic herself.

"Yeah. What do you need?"

It seems as if though Evergrey was correct. We neglected your training, and now you're facing mass problems. After today, it seems as if though your magic is powered by emotion."

"You just noticed your neglect now?" She snorted in bemusement. "The emotion-based magic can't be bad."

"It can be, and it is. Dark Core will use this to their advantage."

"It was an accident, Rhiannon. I'll get it under control."

"I hope you do. You need to be prepared for the near future." Rhiannon walked away, leaving Vic standing in the paddock alone and confused. The near future? The Keepers couldn't be planning an attack on Mr. Sands so soon. Could they?