part0015

“You were at a very high altitude and were getting less than fifty percent of oxygen up there,” she explained. “While you’re at that altitude, your mind can begin playing tricks on you. You will start hearing and seeing things that aren’t there.”

“No, I know what I saw, Autumn and Logan saw it too.”

“Logan hasn’t spoken to anyone and Autumn said all she saw was Laila falling from the helicopter,” Josiah responded.

“This can’t be happening; the pilots, they saw it too!”

“No, they didn’t see anything after she fell. The storm was too great, they couldn’t land to recover her.”

I sat up in disbelief at what they were saying as a pain came over me, forcing me to lie back down.

“Careful, Mark, your body is still recovering,” Deluca insisted.

“The man in the green cloak; he was up there, you told me to watch out for him!”

“Rest, Mark, we have a lot of work ahead of us,” Josiah said as they walked away.

“Wait!” I screamed. “I’m not crazy, I know what I saw was true!”

“I’m sorry for this,” Deluca said as she stuck my arm with a needle.

A heaviness came over me as my eyes became blurry. I could see a man walking to my bedside as I blinked several times.

“Mark, can you hear me?” he said as I tried to make out who it was.

The sound of rain always gave me a sense of peace. The way it hit the window was like a calming song. I could smell the rain as I opened my eyes and noted I was in another vision, this one a hospital room but not the same one I was in. This was a room in Rockport, the familiar windows I had looked out from when I was here.

“Let’s go over that one more time, Sheriff Richards,” a man said as he stood over Richards’ bed.

This must have been after he freed me from the bus. I shot him so it would look like I forced my way out. I smiled at the thought of him being fine. I had a terrible feeling that my mother somehow found out and fed him to Aurora.

“How many times are you people going to ask me this?” he questioned. “Somehow, the kid got loose from his handcuffs. He then got my gun and shot me in the leg. Then he knocked out the bus driver, pulled the bus to the side of the road, and ran off.”

I noticed my mother was standing right next to the agent as they questioned him.

“We looked extensively into your past, Sheriff,” the agent said. “You have a history of military and police training. Can you tell me how a sixteen-year-old boy broke out of steel chains, disarmed a police officer, and knocked out a bus driver?”

“He has super powers, I don’t know what you want me to say agent—Smith, was it?”

My mother walked to the side of the bed and placed her hand on his wound.

“You’ve been here long enough, I think you have a pretty good idea of what is going on in this town,” she said, pressing harder as he winced. “If I find out that you had anything to do with my son’s escape, I’ll make sure that bullet lands a little higher than your knee.”

They both exited the room as he took a sigh of relief. I’d left him in the danger zone, abandoned him with a monster.

I quickly sat up in bed, like awakening from a nightmare. A loud crackling of thunder and lightning struck right outside my window as I noticed I was back in Logan’s cabin.

“Where did you go that time?” Josiah asked as he sat in the shadows.

Logan was nowhere to be found. His bed was neatly made like he’d been gone for some time.

“Richards, he’s in danger,” I answered, sitting up.

“Matt Richards is one of the strongest men I know, he can hold his own, Mark.”

“Where’s Logan?”

“He and Devin are at the lake in town, sending some of Laila’s things out into the sea.”

“Burial at sea?” I questioned. “Listen, Josiah, I’m not crazy, I didn’t have altitude sickness, I know what I saw. The Burning Snow are very strong and they are going to kill us all.”

“Hey, I believe you,” he uttered, looking around.

A loud cracking struck down around us again, sounding like it was just outside the room.

“While you were gone, I did some digging. Mrs. Deluca said her ancient equipment for giving tattoos had been stolen. I went to Dexter to request his help in finding the traitor. I startled him; he didn’t know I saw but behind him in a half-opened drawer were Deluca’s tools.”

“Dexter is the traitor, he helped Grimm get in?”

“It looks that way, Mark. That is why we had to lie to you in the hospital. We didn’t want Dexter to know that we knew the dead had risen again. Later that night, I went back to his place and found letters between him and your father about bringing the Burning Snow down on Dracfort. They sent Grimm to poison Callie so that you’d go out of the sanctuary and be exposed for the Burning Snow to get you. ”

“Autumn warned me that that may have been an ambush. Wait, why was Dexter sending letters to my father?”

“I’m sorry, Mark, I should have told you but Dexter made me promise not to. Dexter Harrington is your uncle.”

Suddenly, the image of the sword shot into my mind. WDD had been engraved on the side of it: William, Daniel, and Dexter.

“Why did Dexter tell me he was human?”

“He’s not proud of being Cambion, or so we thought. I don’t know when he switched, when he started contacting the Syreni. He’s had my back in so many instances. Don’t worry, I have Lucian watching his every move. As you can see, Mark, you come from a pretty interesting family.”

“My grandfather was the only one who truly fought for the order. Tell me something, Josiah, why did you have William Harrington killed?”

He raised his eyebrows in shock that I knew. The thunder roared again as the rain tapped on the window, the sun covered by the dark clouds moving in over the sanctuary.

“You spoke with Viktor, I take it?”

“Yes, he told me how the Order turned on him and that I should watch my back.”

“Let me tell you about Viktor. He was once in the Order, a very long time ago. Back when my ancestors ruled this land. He was a simple stable boy, nothing more, nothing less. But that simple life wasn’t enough for Viktor. He always longed for something more. The elders used to tell stories of a man in the mountains who was the gatekeeper to hell. They told stories of a ring that would give you eternal life but would punish you to damnation when hell rose again. All the kids took this as a warning not to go near the mountain but Viktor saw it as an opportunity for something greater. One night, he left the Order, climbed to the top of that mountain, and found this man. Possessed by the beauty of the ring, he accepted the job. ”

“So, what does this have to do with my grandfather?”

“Patience, Mark. Fast forward a few hundred years, yes, the ring’s power is real. My first year ruling the Order, a few students rebelled against me. They had heard of the man in the mountain and wanted to find the truth of it. They went out against my wishes and climbed the mountain during one of the worst storms our land had ever seen. Your grandfather was distraught that a group of kids could be trapped or killed on that mountain because of a story. I commanded him not to leave; I didn’t want to lose our best warrior but William was stubborn, much like you.”

“Hey, now, I’m not that bad.”

“He went out on his own during this blizzard. Trekked up the mountain and found Viktor in the caves. Viktor showed him where the kids had been torn apart by the Burning Snow. Unbeknownst to me, a few members of the Order followed him up the mountain. They found him with the kids and mountain sickness took over. Viktor told me how they killed your grandfather, stripped him of all his clothing and sent him out into the storm. His body was frozen like a statue atop the mountain. Once the members came back down and recovered from this sickness, I exiled them for what they had done. The one you call ‘old man McGinty’ was one of those members. His family had blinded him of the Syreni and he wanted to join the Order to fight them. I believe he lost his mind after what he’d done to your grandfather.”

“My grandfather; my mother told me he was my great uncle.”

“Trust me, Mark, McGinty is your mother’s father. Joyce Gray and your mother, Daisy Parker, are sisters.”

I suddenly remembered Agent Taylor telling me they were sisters before she died on the cliff.

“My mother told me how McGinty’s dad and her grandmother had twins.”

“You have to realize that your mother has been manipulating you since you were a young boy. She lied to you about everything, Mark. ”

“Do you know everything about my family?”

“Your family is intertwined in everything. Once McGinty killed William, he went back to Rockport and married back into the Syreni. His wife, Debra Parker, gave birth to your mother and Joyce Gray. Once your grandfather was killed on that mountain, Dexter remained with the Order, growing up with us. Your father’s anger grew, when he learned what had happened to his father. He blamed me for it and didn’t believe McGinty would do that to William. Your parents met in the Syreni and had you and Charles.”

“So, my mother’s father killed my father’s father. My father, mother, and uncle are all demonic worshippers. My brother is trapped in the middle of all of it and to top it all off, I almost had sex with my cousin. My life has really taken a turn these past few months, Josiah.”

“I know it’s hard learning all of this stuff but you have to trust me.”

“Josiah, I had a vision last night, that my mother is the one who killed Damon and McGinty. Why would she kill her father and the man she was seeing on the side?”

He looked stunned as he glanced out the window at the now pouring rain.

“Like I said, McGinty was never the same after he left here. It’s likely she wanted to put him out of his misery. I didn’t know Damon Miller much other than that he was affiliated with the Syreni in one way or another. Maybe she wanted to make things work with your father and had to get rid of Damon to do it. These people are crazy, Mark, they will do anything to ensure evil exists.”

“Thank you for saving me from that place. I never thanked you for that. Agent Taylor and Sheriff Richards saved my life and you are teaching me all of this. I really appreciate it.”

“Of course, Mark, like I have told you before, you are the chosen one,” he laughed.

“Did you ever find out what key Grimm was searching for? ”

“The key is safe now, you should go meet with your friends by the lake. They need you more now than ever before.”

“Okay,” I said getting out of bed. “Why can’t we just confront Dexter now?”

“I want to keep an eye on him, see what he is planning next. Don’t tell anyone about this, Mark.”

I nodded to him and got dressed before leaving the cabin.

I headed back through town and quickly remembered about Callie. Did they ever get the moss back to her? I ran faster toward the lake. The rain slowed down as I approached a gathering by the water’s edge.

“Callie!” I yelled, as I saw her standing with the others.

“There he is!” She laughed as she hugged me.

The warmth of her body radiated through my own. I saw Autumn watching us from behind as I pulled away from Callie.

“The moss worked?” I questioned, joining the others.

“Yes, thanks to you guys,” she answered as her smile quickly disappeared.

I walked to the water’s edge where a large wooden raft filled with all of Laila’s things was on the edge, waiting to be pushed to sea.

“Devin, I am so sorry about your sister.”

“She always told me she was going to die for a good cause, she was part of a quest that saved Callie,” he stuttered. “I’m so proud of her for accomplishing that and I want to thank you for looking out for her.”

I’d never seen him so depressed; he was always so alive. I could tell he was fighting tears as he watched people load the raft with flowers.

“Logan,” I said as he brushed past me .

“Give him some time, Mark,” Autumn said as she placed a flower on the raft.

Josiah and Lucian came walking down the hill toward us as all the students joined us by the water.

“Laila died serving the Order of Lai. Her sacrifice saved a life today,” Josiah uttered as everyone was silent. “Her parents would be proud of the woman she had become. She leaves behind a brother to carry on her legacy as the darkness creeps in, as the evil tries to consume us. We rise up as one, the light always finds a way. This is a gruesome truth of the evil that exists today and I stand in front of you to tell you the light does not end here. The Order of Lai will prevail, and we will vanquish all evil.”

“Long live the Order of Lai!” everyone screamed in unison.

Josiah walked to the raft and pushed it out onto the lake toward the tunnel in the ice. Lucian walked by and lit an arrow on fire. He put it into his bow and pulled back on the string. He waited for the raft to get close to the tunnel before he shot the arrow. I watched as this flaming arrow flew across the sky and landed on the raft. It went up in flames as it floated into the ice tunnel. I noticed everyone around me kneeling with their hand in front of their faces. I knelt down and did the same as I witnessed the entire town on their knees. I made a promise right there that I would defeat the Burning Snow and avenge Laila’s death.