Myriad

A loud scream awokened Kalin. He shot up in bed, threw back his bedsheets, and hurried to the door, hearing the others doing the same. He reached the hallway and saw Mark and Sasha leaving their room. The scream must have been Regina.

He pushed open her door and saw her sitting up in bed, shivering, the moonlight streaking across her room. He waved his hand at the candles, making them come alight, then sat on the bed, facing her. He grasped her arms while the others came into the room. “What is it?” he asked, his voice high and distressed.

She wiped tears from her eyes, her hands shaking. It was a long moment before she spoke. “Myriad will be here in two days,” she said, still shaking.

Kalin stared at her in shock. Two days? He suddenly felt sick. That was no time. He started to become stressed, but then he looked at Regina and saw how distraught she was. He drew her to him, holding her close while she wept into his chest.

He glanced over at the others. Theodore had a grave look on his face, as if he was calculating all the things that could go wrong. Mark put his arms around Sasha, and Alfred was staring at the floor, deep in thought. Kalin shut his eyes, realizing in two days this could all end. He also realized he held the lives of the others in his hands.

“I won’t let him hurt you—any of you,” he said.

Regina looked at him, as did everyone else. Kalin gulped but was comforted by the look of gratitude he saw in Theodore’s eyes.

“Tell us about your vision,” Theodore said.

“I saw Kalin and Myriad fighting,” Regina said, “but I didn’t see how it ended. There was a battle between you, and it was strong. But I know you’ll defeat him. I know you will.”

Kalin lowered his head, terrified. She hadn’t seen how it ended.

“Alright, this is actually a good thing,” Theodore said.

Everyone looked at him, and Kalin wondered if he’d lost his mind.

“We’ll be able to fight him much better if we know when he’ll be here—much better than him showing up unannounced.”

Kalin put his head in his hands.

“Kalin, I know you’re frightened about fighting Myriad, but we’ll all be with you. We’ll help. You won’t be alone in this. You’re extraordinarily powerful, learning at a rapid rate, and now we know exactly when Myriad will be here. We’ll all be prepared. Please, try not to worry too much,” Theodore said.

Kalin looked at him again, then nodded. Theodore was right, even though nothing was going to stop him from worrying. “There’s no way I’ll be able to sleep tonight. I want to train,” he said.

Theodore stepped forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Alright. We’ll start working downstairs. Regina, I want you to first tell us everything you saw, in as much detail as you can. I’m going to get changed—I’ll meet you all in a short while.”

Everyone left the room, Kalin finally sitting there alone with Regina. She hugged him, and he ran his hand over her hair. “Oh, Regina,” he murmured. “I’m sorry you had such a horrible vision.”

She tightened her embrace, crying a little. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders, promising himself he wouldn’t let Myriad hurt her. Or anyone. It was his fault Myriad was coming to their home, but he was going to make damn sure he didn’t walk out again.

Could he kill someone? Could he really do this?

Did he have a choice?

***

Edward sat in his room on his twenty-eighth birthday. He’d flown earlier that day. He’d become out of practice with shape-shifting because Myriad did not require him to do it. But occasionally, on his birthday, he would become an eagle and fly. For a while he was free, though he could never completely leave. Myriad could always find him.

He lay on his bed, dreading the near future. In a month it would be the tenth anniversary of Machayla’s death. He would be beaten very badly that day, and then, three months later, the murders would take place in the castle. Edward hated the murders more than any punishment he could ever be given because he knew, deep down, they were partly his fault.

It had been ten years since Edward had done the very bad thing.

***

It was an agonizing two days for the group. They started preparing the night of Regina’s vision, putting Kalin through tests to strengthen his magic. He threw fire a great distance, created walls of ice, called weapons to him from far away, and shape-shifted at a rapid pace. Alfred repeatedly tried to get into his mind to control him, but Kalin put up the walls of steel to block him. He practiced transporting himself from one place to another and turning invisible. Theodore said there was a vast amount of other things Kalin would be able to do, magic they could only imagine. He barely slept, pushing himself further and harder until he felt he could fight a battle.

Even though everyone was trying to stay positive, to put on a brave front, Kalin knew they were all terrified. Myriad was one of the most powerful warlocks in the world. Kalin knew if he escaped with his life, let alone be able to kill the man, he’d be lucky. Theodore and his group had resolved themselves to trying to stop the coming massacre, and Kalin knew he should do anything in his power to help. But could he really stop it? What if they all lost their lives and Myriad killed the royal family anyway? Would Regina have had visions of him if they were just going to lose?

By the night of the second day, everyone was exhausted. They all sat around the fireplace, trying to find comfort in its warmth. Regina said Myriad would be there in the morning—there was no way anyone could sleep.

Kalin sat lost in thought, unable to keep his worries at bay. Myriad would be there in a matter of hours. He was wondering how he was going to do this when he suddenly clutched his chest.

“Kalin!” Regina exclaimed, reaching out to him.

He shut his eyes tightly, and the pain passed. He exhaled deeply.

“How long since the last time you sensed him?” Theodore asked.

“A few hours,” Kalin replied. “But it’s always there, to an extent.” He wrung his hands, the tension inside him unbearable. He’d finally discovered what the odd sensation was he’d felt the other night: his connection to Myriad, the sensation one universal felt when another was near. It had grown stronger and deeper over the last couple of days, worsening as Myriad got closer. Kalin was so anxious, he could barely sit still.

“I’m going outside,” he said, exasperated. He rose, walked to the door, opened it, and went out into the cool night. He shut the door behind him and wandered down the path to sit on the bench under the tree. He shivered as he sat there, gazing over the garden where the moonlight left a trail.

He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them, when he heard the door to the house open. He turned, hoping it was Regina approaching him in the darkness. He looked at her gratefully as she sat beside him.

“Couldn’t leave you out here to freeze,” she said, cuddling close.

He half smiled, holding her, his skin immediately growing warmer at her touch.

They sat in silence, a gentle breeze rustling the leaves in the trees, clouds slowly moving over the moon. Kalin didn’t know what to say, too consumed with worry to be able to make any kind of conversation. But there was one thing he was desperate to know.

“Regina?” he asked her, gently kissing her hair.

She gave a little sigh. “What is it?”

He took a deep breath. “Can you tell me what you saw? How you know I’ll be alright?”

She looked up at him, her eyes so dark and full, and she gently kissed him. She kissed him once more, then wrapped her arms around his neck. He held her close, hoping she would give him an answer. She kissed his neck, then looked at him, holding his face in her hands.

“I saw us in the future,” she said. “I don’t know how far ahead it was, but we were happy, and safe, and….” She paused. “We were married.” She chewed on her lip, looking nervous. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you—I don’t want you to think… you have to… but it’s what I saw, Kalin. I know you’ll survive because I saw us together, as strong as any of my other visions. I know it’s too soon for you to hear this—I promised myself I wouldn’t tell you unless we were together for a long time. But it’s what I saw. We were living in a small house, in a beautiful place, and we were married. And we loved each other, so much.” She took a shaky breath and looked down, covering her face with her hands.

Kalin still had his arms around her, and he looked at her in astonishment. Married? She saw them like that? He felt a little overwhelmed, frightened at the thought. He adored her, but he hadn’t thought about things like that. But as he gazed at her, still covering her face, her heart open wide before him, his heart broke. He took hold of her hands and brought them to his chest.

“That’s very sweet—that’s lovely,” he said.

She nodded, looking down, but she still seemed vulnerable, like she was waiting to be rejected.

“Do we have children?” he asked, and she giggled.

“I didn’t see that far ahead,” she said, then finally looked at him.

He put his arms around her again. “It is very sweet, and I’m not rejecting you when I say that. We’re nowhere near there yet, but it’s lovely. You’re lovely.”

She smiled shyly and cuddled him closer, her arms around his neck.

Married, he thought. He was of two minds—her vision was saying he’d live, but also saying something he wasn’t quite ready to think about yet. He didn’t want her to get too ahead of things, but who was he to talk, creating a garden of flowers for her before she’d even kissed him! They were both smitten, both infatuated.

He moved aside her hair and kissed her neck. “Regina,” he whispered in her ear, and she trembled in his arms. He kissed her neck again and again, and then she moved to face him, looking at him closely. Their mouths met hungrily, passionately, and they clutched each other tight as they became lost in the sensation.

Kalin wanted to kiss her all night and do more, much more, forget all his darkness with her. But he was just going to sit with her on the bench, kissing her until they couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t the night for more. He really didn’t know if he’d live through tomorrow, but maybe he would. She’d seen it.