Chapter Thirty-Three

He pulled his car up to the house, not bothering to park in the driveway, and after he turned off the engine, sat there in silence. He was thinking about what to tell his comrades about the tale he had just heard. Would it matter to Krieger, to Chris, or even to Karl how Orion had obtained the power of dream travel?

If his father were still alive, he would want to know. But do they need to know? Would it change anything in the war? He doubted it.

Mykella, young innocent Mykella Brown, on the other hand would need to know. Just as soon as he meets her again he shall tell her the tale. For her, that bit of information might be useful in her struggle to regain mankind – if that is what her prophecy foretells.

Vince gave a deep sigh and opened the door. He stepped out, closed the door, and headed up the walkway that led to Cape Cod.

Before he could ball his hand into a fist to knock on the door, it was opened by someone and he soon found himself looking into the smiling face of Chris as she tried with all her might not to throw herself at him. But will power failed and she opened her arms and wrapped them around his neck and gave him the tightest embrace he had ever known her to give.

“Are you okay? Professor Krieger told us that you were coming. You’re not hurt, are you?” All this had been said in one breath and with such speed that he found it all one long word.

Vince tried to smile but it wouldn’t come. “Is everyone here?” he asked as he looked over her shoulder.

She felt hurt by his introduction. He didn’t ask if she was all right or even said ‘hello’ for that matter. “Yeah, they’re in the kitchen,” she said and let him out of her embrace and turned to walk away.

He had just now seen what his introduction had done to her and took her hand as she made a step toward the hallway. “Hey, how are you holding up?”

This seemed to have done the trick. In those few words, her spirits lifted and she looked back at him with a smile. “There’s a lot to talk about. Are you hungry?”

He followed her through the hallway, only to stop once to catch his image in an oval mirror which hung on the wall. There was an alien look in his eyes he had never known before: Fear. He knew now, as he reflected on the bloodied cross he had briefly touched, that even Jesus Christ had feared death. Vince knew what he must do in order to end the war, but he was terrified beyond comprehension. He knew that his friends would not notice the fear reflected in his eyes.

They came into the kitchen and the conversation had died once Krieger noticed Vince and he stood and extended his hand. “Are you doing all right?”

Vince shrugged. He walked past his professor without taking his hand and took a seat opposite Karl yet kept his attention on Chris, who had seated herself at his right. “I met Beth and Eric last night,” he began and Krieger raised his eyebrows.

“Really?”

Vince studied the older man who seemed surprised by this. He had not known Krieger to be a mysterious man. “Why are you so surprised? I wanted to meet them, remember?”

“Yeah,” Krieger replied with a nod. “But, it seems that before they met you, they told me they would not meet you until you arrive here.”

“I got into town yesterday morning. I needed some rest, so I got a motel room for the day.”

“Okay, so you met ‘em. So what?” Karl blurted out behind sarcasm and felt Chris kick his leg from beneath the table. She threw him an icy glare when he looked at her. “No, Chris,” he sat up and leaned onto the table. “This is one time I will not sit back like an obedient dog.”

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Vince leaned forward as well with an emotionless expression. “What’s your jive, Karl? Ever since this entire thing came about, you’ve been a complete shit to me. Why?”

“My jive, Vince? Ever since this Mykella girl has been in your dreams and after you tell me, I can’t stop thinking about her. I thought this whole thing was totally bogus, something you made up. Then she comes into my dream.”

Vince, Krieger, and Chris all glanced down at the table. They were either embarrassed or embarrassed for him. They would not look into his face.

“I think I’m in love with her, Man. That’s my jive. And you tell me that she’s supposed to be some Super-warrior. No, I won’t see her die.”

Now Vince looked up with a sympathetic smile. “Hey, I love her too. I don’t even know what her fate is to be. I’ll do everything I can to see to it that she lives, and that’s why I’ve chosen you guys to help me. You are the only ones I trust that will protect Mykella as long as you can.” He looked around the table. “We’re no longer her protectors; we are her Watchers from now on.”

Each one had their own idea of what it would be like to be a Watcher. Karl pictured himself as an old man keeping in loose contact with Mykella only when danger comes too close. Krieger knew that he would have to be in charge of watching the prophecies as closely as he could. He would have to watch his new family. To Chris, it really didn’t matter who she was watching, just as long as she was watching Vince at the same time.

Vince looked around the table, feeling almost like Frodo. What an odd band of fellowship members. Didn’t matter; he trusted them.

He chose to tell the Tale of the Oracles to them, in a condensed version, and once it had ended, “They hope to win Orion’s soul back to good.”

Krieger sat back and pondered all that he had heard. “It’s a risky move, but it could work. There’s no way you or I could do it, but maybe his own kind.”

“Wait a minute,” Vince formed a thought in his head. “Do you have a copy of my Dad’s book?”

“Of course,” Krieger nodded, stood, and exited the room, only to return in under a minute. “What do you want from it?” he asked and handed it to Vince.

Vince began thumbing through the middle section. “Here,” he almost shouted. “My mother actually freed Alexius’ soul. There could be a possibility that it can be done by us.” He scanned the passages referring to the time Tracy and Rick met and turned Alexius. “It says that my mother found Alexius’ weakness and used it against him, thereby rendering him full of guilt.” Then it hit him. “That’s why Beth and Eric despise Orion. They were full of guilt just before turning.”

“Now they’re full of rage,” Karl grinned as he looked up from his thoughts. “They’re really pissed at Orion.”

“That is to our advantage,” Vince said.

“Yeah,” mused Chris. “But, what happens if Orion can turn that rage on us? What if his conversion isn’t as complete as he would have liked, but then it happens? That’d be three of them against us.”

“I don’t think Orion has any more patience for them,” said Krieger with a smile.

“They thought that he was up to something, but didn’t know what.”

“Well,” Krieger stood and stretched his back. “I can hardly wait to meet this Orion. In the meantime, I’m getting some more coffee.”

“Are we all meeting tonight?” Chris asked as she looked up at Krieger, who looked at Vince.

“I don’t know,” Krieger said. “It all depends on how long you’re staying.”

Vince sighed. “I’ll definitely be here tonight. So, yeah, I guess we’ll all meet tonight,” he said and stood as well. “Besides, we need to get a battle plan set up.”

Everyone agreed. Krieger went about making his coffee. Chris and Karl said their farewells and left Vince to himself.

It was time, he thought and left the room. He found the back bedroom and gently knocked on the door before entering. His heart sank as he saw the woman sleeping silently in her bed.

What dreams was she having, he wondered. Was she dreaming about Mykella?

He quietly slid into the darkened room and sat at the foot of the bed, watching Samantha as she slept, like he had done that night when he realized what he must do. He watched her as Orion was watching him, waiting for Vince to take him to the Forbidden Realms.

He saw her hands twitching from beneath the cover. He saw her head give tiny jolts. Whatever she was dreaming, it couldn’t have been good. Vince reached out and barely touched her shoulder and then her eyes snapped open.

She sat up, stifling a scream, and looked into his face.

He was petrified at this moment. He would be horrified if she did not remember him, but he knew, realistically, that she probably wouldn’t.

She stared at him for a long moment and then tears ran down her face. “Vince,” she let out a sigh and fell into his awaiting arms.