The next day, Elena came to Asher’s house, and they spent hours reading through all of her books. As the sun set, they closed they gave up hope as they had no more information than they did before.
“I’m sorry, Asher. I really hoped we would find something.” Elena mumbled.
“It’s fine. I didn’t really expect to find anything anyways.”
“I know, I just want to help.”
“Well, I might’ve found my own way, but I'm not sure it will work."
“How?”
“Adrian. Somehow, he scares all the demons away.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Both of them were silent as they considered this.
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And so that’s what Asher did. He led a painful life, each day a struggle, each day living in fear of his demons. Each day he thought, thought about how much he mattered. Would he be missed if he was gone? Could he even be gone, or would he be stuck forever, never being able to escape the demons?
As the weeks dragged into months, and months into years, anger grew inside Asher. His mother had not died, he was certain. She had left, she had to have left because Asher knew something that no one wanted to tell him: he could not die. He had not grown in these past years or changed at all. He was still him. His mother could not be truly gone. He hoped she wasn’t gone.
Asher kept his baby brother close, and Adrian always tried to drive away the voices. Somedays Asher still broke down, but he always made it through. Elena and Cedric continued to research, trying to find a permanent way to get rid of the demons.
They never found anything.
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Asher’s anger continued to grow. Anger at his mother for leaving, and anger at Elena and Cedric for not telling him. He knew he couldn’t die, yet they still acted as though he could.
“How insensitive of them.”
Adrian eventually grew. He was still weak, but he slowly grew stronger, and Asher began to worry about him less. Free from those thoughts, Asher began to explore his other feelings. Soon, he fell in love with Elena. They grew closer together.
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Asher endured years of pain until he turned eighteen. He and Elena had a picnic where they first met, under the star-lit sky. Finally, Asher asked her.
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“Elena, we’ve been through so much together. I would never have made it this far without you. My life has not been great, but you’ve made it so much better.” Asher took a deep breath. “Elena, I would do anything for you. And, as you’ve told me many times, you would do anything for me. So I ask you to do this: will you marry me?”
Tears sprang at the corners of Elena’s eyes. “Of course, Asher!”
The arrangements were made. They made their way back to Asher’s house and announced the news. Adrian, now 13, pretended like he didn’t care, but Asher could tell that Adrian was both feeling happy for his brother and feeling betrayed, probably scared for what this would mean.
A few months went by, and the day finally came. Asher and Elena were married, and Adrian was the best man. They built their dream home, and Elena helped Asher through the days when the voices yelled and insulted him.
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One night, as the full moon shone through the window, Wymer whispered to Asher.
“Adrian is going to get sick. He’s going to die.”
“What?”
“Asher, you should know by now we can see the future.”
“I-I know that.” Asher began to cry. “What do you mean he’s going to die? He’s fourteen! He’s so much stronger than he was before!”
“Asher, your mother was strong, too, wasn’t she?”
“Is there a way to stop it?”
“Asher?” Elena said quietly. “Are the voices talking to you again?”
“Elena, they...they say Adrian is going to get sick and...and die.” Asher was sobbing now. His little brother! He couldn’t lose him.
“Asher, I’m sure they’re just saying that. It’ll be fine, I’m sure.” Elena tried to comfort him.
“They’ve always been right before!”
“When have they told you what’s going to happen?”
“Before my mother died. They told me she would.” Asher felt panic rising inside him and tears flowed down his cheeks. He had never told anyone.
“Oh, Asher.”
“Wymer, please, tell me, how can I stop this?”
“You already know. We’re very powerful. We just need the power.” Wymer whispered.
Asher took a shaky breath. “Is there really no other way?”
Wymer was silent. Asher thought about how he had lost his mother and the pain that had come with it. He knew; He knew he couldn’t do that again.
He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. His hands closed into tight fists around his blankets. He let out his breath, opened his eyes, looked into the moon, and relaxed. His mind was made up.
“Tell me what to do.”
The voices flooded his head.
“Yes, yes, destruction!”
“Oh finally.”
Some of them just laughed.