Chosen Legacy (Book Five of the Chosen Universe)

Chapter Thirty-Eight

CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
CALEB
He was having a vision. There was fire everywhere. People were screaming. The Witch was cackling at the carnage.

Zell and Jezzeff stood facing each other. Both were flinging attacks around, trying to see who could do more damage. Felina stood at Zell's side, smiling sadistically.

"Show him, my Lord," she said. "Show him you are truly the most powerful entity in existence!"

Zell seemed darker than usual. He possessed nothing good and wasn't trying to pretend otherwise. This Zell was stronger than any Caleb had ever seen, and he was terrifying.

As Jezzeff targeted Stephanie, Boom and Blast suddenly got in the way of his attack. The twins lay dying. Blast looked at Stephanie sadly and said, "You look so much like your mother." Both twins died seconds later, holding hands.

Caleb snapped out of the vision. "Caleb! Are you okay?" Dora asked in alarm.

"I... I think so?" Caleb replied.

He was startled to see a woman who bore a striking resemblance to Stephanie staring at him from behind Dora. Caleb jumped back.

Dora spun around. "Shit! Don't sneak up on us like that," she scolded the spirit.

"Save them!" The spirit said.

Caleb took a deep breath before asking, "Who are you?"

"Ilsa. My name was Ilsa. Please, save my daughter and husband!"

He thought he understood, but part of the implications seemed impossible. "You're Stephanie's mother?" He asked, willing to accept that part easier.

"Wait, what?" Dora asked.

"I am," Ilsa replied. "They hid her in time to protect her as a child, but she can no longer hide. He has found her."

"Who has?"

"The liar. Please, warn her! She doesn't know who she truly is."

He hesitated. "So, Blast is...?" He began to ask.

"He is Stephanie's father, and my husband."

Caleb could hardly believe that Blast was a father or that he'd been married. The twins seemed to live in their own little bubble, and he was surprised to realize there might be more to them than explosions.

"Blast? As in the Rebel who blows everything up?" Dora asked in disbelief, apparently sharing her cousin's sentiments.

Ilsa smiled fondly. "That would be him," she said with a slight laugh. It made her seem so normal that Caleb nearly forgot she was dead.

"So, Stephanie's Eltarian," Dora said.

"Half," Ilsa clarified. "I was from a horrible planet called Drezdan. They treated the women terribly and I wouldn't stand for it, so they sold me into slavery on Onyx. That's where I met Blast and Boom. They liberated me and brought me to the Rebellion. Garron ignored my lack of Eltarian blood and asked me to join his Chapter."

"Now I see where Stephanie gets her fighting spirit from," Dora said.

"What do you want us to tell them?" Caleb asked.

"Tell Stephanie she must meet her father. It is time for them to reunite. Blast understood my power... The same power she possesses. He can help her," Ilsa said.