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CHAPTER FOUR – DISCOVERY


Stars had erupted in front of my eyes and I was finding it difficult to focus, I was squinting as
a result and all I could see in the darkness in front of me was two deep crimson eyes shrouded by a
human shaped shadow staring at me not moving, I pushed up on the tree to steady myself as I
attempted to get up.

“Abigail White?” its voice was deep but strangely human; I was expecting something more
monstrous, I looked up at it in confusion but I could not focus on its face, I grabbed at the back of my
head where I’d hit it on the tree root, it felt wet but warm which must have meant only one thing, I
was bleeding and badly judging by the amount of blood which had saturated my hand and the back
of my jumper.

I couldn’t find any words, my throat was dry and my head was starting to throb, its talking to
me? It’s unmoving? yet in my nightmares it had always attacked, then it occurred to me, it planned
to draw out the process, taking some enjoyment in the deed, I was weak and venerable and we were
deep in the forest with no witnesses.

As I looked down at Jason’s lifeless body on the floor and realisation set in, so did panic, my
breathing began to speed up I was struggling to find oxygen and my head was spinning I staggered
backwards clutching my chest and slipped down the tree and inch or so.

“Please No” my words were barely a whisper; a human would not have even heard me, yet it
responded as though I was speaking normally.

“Abigail White, you were born with the mark of the Angels and wield their strength and that
of your ancestors, as predicted in the prophecy you will bring an end to the reign of my King and I
cannot allow this”

I could hear the monster speaking but it sounded muffled as though there was cotton wool
in my ears, although I could not or did not understand what he was saying I knew what he meant,
my head continued to spin and throb and I was beginning to hyperventilate, there was not enough
oxygen getting into my body and I was starting to feel very faint, my heart was hammering away
inside my chest, this is it, the end and as I slowly slipped into unconsciousness, if that was what it
was, there was a sudden bright light that filled the forest and my last blurred vision was that of a
winged woman radiating a bright white light, like an Angel.

***

Am I in heaven? Was that really an Angel? I thought to myself as I started to regain


consciousness, my breathing was steady in my ears and although my eyes were still closed I could
tell it was light, daytime, there was a dull thumping in my head which seemed to intensify as I
started to come around, hang on, surly if I was dead and this really was heaven my head would not
still be hurting, were the hell was I then? as this is defiantly not my bed.

I quickly rolled over and opened my eyes; I wasn’t dead, it wasn’t a dream, not even one of
my real dreams, I was in some kind of tent or old fashioned pavilion, it had a very high ceiling at its
point which had gold and copper coloured chiffon material draped down from it to create a kind of
ceilinged curtain which once reached the floor lay elegantly around the tents circumference, I was
lying on a king sized mattress covered with tan and brown animal skins which was in the centre of
the room, the low level bed had big dark coloured oak posts at each corner from which hung even

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more gold and copper chiffon curtains, they were currently drawn back exposing me to whomever
might have been in the room, luckily I was on my own, my head was resting on several very soft
pillows and there were even more tan and brown animal skins draped over me.

The circular room was littered with very old looking dark oak furniture which complimented
the bed, there was a desk and chair near the entrance to the tent which was littered with some very
old looking papers and stationary, a large table and bench were on the other side of the entrance
with a vase of flowers in its centre, to the left of the bed there was a fire burning encased in a very
old looking metal fire place which was of a golden coppery colour, it had its own flume which I
assumed was to ensure all the smoke was dispelled outside of the pavilion as the pipe disappeared
into the ceiling, behind the bed was a large wooden ornate ottoman which doubled as a headboard
and had a beautiful display of flowers resting on its top, finally there was a large elaborate chair with
yet another brown and tan coloured animal skin draped over it and a double sized ornate wardrobe
at the back of the pavilion, not that the pavilion had a back as it was circular, but the wardrobe and
chair were almost opposite the entrance which in my book was the back, on the other side of the
wardrobe was a matching full length mirror and shoji style changing screen.

I started to move to get out of the bed and realized that someone must have cleaned and
changed me as I was now wearing a white cotton embroidered night gown; it was old fashioned like
something you would see in period film, it showed far too much cleavage and was nowhere near as
comfortable as my own PJs, as I climbed out from under the many animal skins I realized even with
the fire on it was freezing so I looked around for my clothes to change into, but they were nowhere
to be seen, I settled for what looked like a dressing gown or over coat from the 16th century which
was draped over the chair, it was lined with fur which spilled out over its seams and up around my
neck and cuffs, it tied with a leather string at the front into a single bow just below my chest.

I went to move across the room to look in the mirror at the injuries I’d sustained the night
before and find a way out of here that was not the front exit, as I looked at myself in the mirror I
couldn’t believe my eyes, there were no scratches or scrapes or bruises on my face like id imagined
and when I felt at the back of my head there was nothing, no blood or gashes, there wasn’t even any
bumps or lumps, the only thing that was bothering me was a little headache, I realised I must have
been here all night my parents were probably going insane with worry, I can just imagine it now, the
police parked outside my house and everything and how was I going to explain last night, oh god
and Jason, oh poor Jason he was gone and it was all my fault, what was I going to say to Jason’s
parents what was I going to do, panic was slowly setting in and tears were welling up in my eyes
when I heard voices outside the pavilion and I froze on the spot.

“She will be awake soon what are you going to tell her” it was a man’s voice strangely
familiar but I couldn’t place it.

“Well I did have a plan for this moment which I’d spent centuries preparing but with your
fooling around and disobeying orders I will have to come up with something new” the woman
sounded authoritative but incredibly ticked off, centuries? This was getting stranger by the minute
and I was finding it difficult to fight the urge to run.

“I’m sorry, but things were getting desperate, her dreams were getting worse and I knew
they would attract the demons attention soon, I had to come up with a plan to get close to her as
quickly as possible and I wasn’t far off the mark if I do say so myself, the Demon turned up on the
eve of her 18th Birthday, as I’d predicted...” the man said.

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“No. What you should have done is alert us to the developments, not fool around with her
emotions, we could have intervened and prevented this whole catastrophe from occurring, you
were supposed to be our eyes and ears, you were supposed to watch her, that was all, those were
your orders, no more no less, now we’ve had to bring her here prematurely, she is going to be
confused and scared which will not help our cause in the slightest” the woman retorted with venom
in her tone.

“Prematurely? She turns 18 today! we would’ve had to bring her here within a few days of
today anyway; else she would have been casting all manner of magic and scaring not only herself but
all the people who are close to her as well” he replied just as angrily.

“You forget who you are speaking with” she said.

“I’m sorry Arylia it’s just been a very tense few days, I have grown close to her and I’m
concerned for her well being and safety” he replied, are they talking about me? Do I in avertedly
know this man? I scanned the room for an escape exit again; I certainly didn’t know anyone by the
name of Arylia.

“It sounds as though you have gotten too close, do you forget who she is, what she is
capable of, I fear your immature magic upon the girl has caused us more problems than we needed
at this time, she is falling for you, you should not have cast such spells when you are still so
inexperienced yourself, do not forget who she is Jason, or who you are” said Arylia, Jason!, my
Jason?, panic started to creep up my spin, what the hell is going on I thought he was dead, I made a
dash to the far side of the pavilion to see if I could get underneath its rim, I needed to get out of here
and quick this was not a place I wanted to be, it was strange and not normal and I’d just about had
enough of strange and unnatural things just at the minute I needed to get back to my parents.

“She has heard our conversation, she is trying to make an escape” Jason said, it wasn’t only
panic that was running thought my veins now, fear had come to join the party too, what were these
people and how could they know what I was thinking or what I was going to do, I need to get out
quick, I thought to myself, so I ran for the far side of the tent.

“Well this won’t make things any easier will it Jason, GO quick” Arylia said “Bring her back”

“She won’t get far” Jason replied.

I was prepared to claw my way out as I scrambled to the floor at the edge of the pavilion
but there was no need to, the tents inner and out linings just lay upon the wooden floor of the
pavilion, so as quietly and as gently as I could I slid and wiggled out from underneath the pavilions
walls, I pulled myself up and was ready to make a sprint for it but didn’t even make it one step when
I slammed into something warm and very hard and fell back to the ground, “Going somewhere”
Jason said very calmly, I let out a huff of air in pain as I landed on stone scratching my knee and
piercing my calf on smoothing very sharp.

“See, look, now you’ve hurt yourself, hasty decisions always lead to nasty results, I will have
to get the healers to have a look at that for you” I looked up at Jason expecting to see a nasty mess
that was his face, I’m sure that thing which had attacked us in the woods had taken half of it off, but
he was just the way I remembered, ruggedly handsome, I just stared at him utterly shocked.

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“Are you suggesting this is my fault, if you hadn’t of gotten in my way I would not have fallen
down” I’d found my voice and it was far from pleasant which seemed to amuse Jason, this only
infuriated me more.

“Sorry but I couldn’t have you running off and getting yourself into even more trouble, it’s
more than my lifes worth” he bent down a picked me up swiftly but gently with one arm underneath
my legs and the other under my arms.

As I looked round at my surroundings I gathered we were deep in a forest, the trees were
tall and almost obscured all view of the sky, the ground was mostly moss covered with patched of
bluebells here and there, pavilions littered the clearing, some were bigger than others, there was
what looked like very old stone buildings, some of which were long destroyed and lay in dismay, I
could see some stone steps at the base of one of the more complete stone buildings which lead
down into a sort of canyon covered with greenery, wild flowers and very large trees, it had a massive
waterfall on the far side which was making a tremendous amount of noise, the sun filled this large
open area with rays of light causing a glittering effect on the surface of the water below, there was a
network of tree houses and wooden walkways suspended far up into the trees and on the other side
of the clearing on the opposite side to the canyon stood what could only be describe as a mountain
side with even more old stone buildings built into it, some were complete, others looked battered
and destroyed.

“They won’t be pleased with me they’ve had a bit of a busy night healing after what
happened in the woods” he said and the familiar smile which I loved so much stretched across his
face and with that all my anger disappeared.

“What did happen Jason? Where are we? What’s going on?” the questions just started to
flow one after another as did the tears and I had to stop myself if I was going to get any answers.

“I don’t think I would be the best person to explain, Arylia will tell you all you need to know”
my face must have shown some fear at her name because he quickly went on “You can trust Arylia
she is one of the good guys, we all are and were here to protect you, see I have said to much
already, let’s get you back in your pavilion and I will send for the healers” he looked deep into my
eyes and I felt safe, I trusted him.

“My pavilion?” I asked

“Yes you need somewhere to sleep wont you “he said

“I have somewhere to sleep Jason, I need to get home, my parent will be spitting feathers” I
pleaded.

“Abi I’m really sorry but you can’t go home it’s not safe, I know you have questions and you
need answer but trust me Arylia will have them for you, she just has some, urrr, stuff to see to and
she will be back, till then you’ve got me” he smiled again and I could feel myself melt, he set me
down on one of the benches next to the large table in my pavilion.

“It’s not safe? What do you mean it’s not safe? What about my parents? I need to get them
if it’s not safe” I said panicked.

“It’s not safe for you, you parent are fine, right I will be back with a healer in a minute will
you be ok till I get back, here have some water” he pour out a glass of ice cold water from the crystal

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decanter which seemed to have appeared on the table, It certainly wasn’t there the last time I was in
the pavilion, someone must have brought it along in my absence, I smiled at him as he left the room.

My head was in tatters I just didn’t know what to think, the last couple of days were a
complete mystery to me and I couldn’t get it all straight in my head, I’ve had three very real dreams
which I can’t explain, well two nightmares and one daydream, the object of those very real
nightmares turned out to actually exist, Jason had suddenly appeared in my life which I had initially
thought that was my doing but after this morning I’m beginning to think that his involvement with
me over the last few days was not my doing at all, then there was the monster which seemed intent
upon my death and Arylia described me as though I was something or someone of importance who
is capable of god only know what.

“Abi this is Haley” Jason made me jump and I knocked over my water “Sorry didn’t mean to
startle you” he said with an apologetic smile as he mopped up the water.

“No its ok I didn’t hear you come in, that’s all” Haley was standing by the entrance to the
pavilion, she was small and petite with long dark brown hair and bright green eyes which were lined
with the thickest and longest eye lashes I’d ever seen, she was dressed in jeans, white fur lined snow
boots and a white heavily fur lined snow jacket with a fir rimmed hood, she was very pretty but it
was her eyes which got my attention, her eyes were big deep and mesmerizing.

In Haley’s hands was a clay bowl and some cloth, Jason had set down on the table another
two clay bowls one with some brown paste in it and the other with what looked like green glitter,
what on earth were they planning on doing, making a pretty picture, where was the antiseptic and
bandages, that puncture wound I’d sustained looked deep and they both seemed ill equipped to
patch me up.

I think Jason saw the look upon my face and guessed what I was thinking “Not your usual
medical equipment I know but trust me this will work far better and quicker than any medicine you
will receive from a doctor, Haley is an experienced healer you just need to keep an open mind and
don’t worry or panic, ok...” he looked deep into my eyes and I was finding it hard to concentrate on
the situation at hand I just wanted to stare deep into the ocean that was his eyes and melt away.

“Worry? Panic? What are you going to do?” he put his finger to my lips and ssshhhed me.

“Trust me, did you have some water” he filled the glass again and handed it to me, I took a
sip and set the glass down, Haley knelt down in front of my leg, I had already pulled my nightgown
up to knee level as I didn’t want it to stick to the front of my leg as the blood had already started to
dry, Jason handed me my glass and told me to drink some more so I took the glass and drained it
before setting the glass back down, Haley began cleaning my leg and wounds with the cloth and
water she had brought in the clay bowls.

I don’t know if it was the sight or smell of the blood but I was starting to feel a little light
headed, the sight of blood had never made me feel woozy before what would be so different now or
here, then the room stated to wobble a little bit and I had to clutch at the table to keep myself
steady, my eyes glazed over and I found myself uncontrollably staring at the opposite side of the
pavilion.

“It’s working, you should be ok to start now” I heard Jason say.

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I’d started to feel very tiered and faint and my eye lids were becoming heavy, I lay my head
down on the table as it was becoming heavy with sleep, I was only faintly aware but I think Jason
had placed a pillow there for my head, I hadn’t actually fallen asleep, I was trying to fight it as I was
very curious of what Hayley and Jason was doing, so I tried to focuses my eyes and listen intently, it
wasn’t easy.

Haley first spared the paste over the blooded wounds and gently worked it into the area,
this seemed to go on for ages, after a while the paste seemed to soak into my skin leaving it just
slightly redden, the wounds and scratches were gone, she then took the second clay bowl with the
green glittery substance and pinching a little between her fingers she sprinkled it over the area
where my wounds had been, instead of falling onto my skin or even off my skin and to the ground it
looked as though it was being absorbed into my skin and it sparkled as it did so, at the same time the
redness which was left by the paste started to glow intensely before beginning to fade, then my
sight and focus started to falter and I was finding it harder to hold onto consciousness, everything
grew darker and the room faded as I slipped into a very deep restful sleep.

I awoke in the same room and bed I had been in early this morning, it was dark and the only
light was from the open flame fire which was still burning, I felt incredibly thirsty so I made a move
to get up and find something to drink, I climbed up from the bed and wrapped my arms around
myself as it was still freezing, colder even than before, I spotted the dressing gown I’d worn earlier
and went to get it, that’s when I remembered what had happened.

My night dress was clean and blood free, someone had changed my clothing again, the
thought made me feel slightly uncomfortable, had I really seen my cuts and wounds miraculously
heal in front of my eyes, I sat down to examine my leg and there was nothing, no redness or
scratches, it didn’t even hurt and there was no scaring either, nothing, I stood up looking around for
the crystal decanter of water and glass that had been here earlier but I could not see them
anywhere.

“Hello sleepy head” Jason made me jump for the second time today.

“Oh, hi, where did you come from?” I said with a little less enthusiasm than I’d intended.

“Sorry..., I made you jump again, been here all the time dozing in the chair how are you
feeling?” he said and he pulled me into a hug, I was all too aware of his hands around my waist and I
pulled away, I was feeling a bit upset with him, no, I mean I was quite angry with him really, I wanted
answers and no one seemed prepared to give them to me.

“Jason I want to know what the hell is going on here, It s dark, I have been away from my
parents for 24 hours or more, they must be beside themselves with worry, you’ve got people
miraculously healing cuts, I have monsters trying to kill me, you were talking about things with Arylia
earlier today which sounded downright ridiculous and I have a feeling you drugged me or something,
before when Haley came to sort my leg out, saying I’m a little less than happy with you right now
would be an understatement, so please stop trying to, to, to” and that was it, tears were rolling
down my face so fast I couldn’t stop myself, Jason just pulled me closer to him and whispered in my
ear.

“I know this is hard, I’m sorry, Arylia is on her way now, she will explain it all to you, come on
now, dry your eyes, please, I hate to see you so upset” and he kissed my forehead, it was so sweet
and tender my legs almost gave way.

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I looked up into Jason’s eyes and he looked down into mine, it didn’t seem real, what was
happening between Jason and I or any of it for that matter, how could it be real how could it be
happening, it was like something straight out of a fiction novel or an elaborate Hollywood movie,
then Jason lent in closer to my face and pulled me closer to his warm body, I could feel his breath
upon my face and my heart stated to skip a beat as it raced to catch up with itself, I was certain
Jason was just about to kiss me, however Arylia decided to make her first appearance slicing the
atmosphere with a ice cold knife.

“Hum Hum...” Arylia said, Jason dropped me and spun round so quick I was a little
disorientated and wasn’t sure at first why he had so abruptly stopped in his tracks until I saw what
had interrupted our moment.

“Oh sorry, Abi this is Arylia” and there standing not a few feet from me was the most
beautiful thing I’d ever seen, I say thing because although she looked human there was no mistaking
that she was not human at all, she was tall and slender with petite facial features, bright blue feline
looking eyes and alabaster skin, her hair was long, curly and blonde, almost white, which fell in
ringlets around her face, she seemed to almost glow a silvery white light which radiated around her
shape, she was wearing a white dress made of the same kind of material as the curtains in the
pavilion, it fell around her and seemed to float and flow in a nonexistent breeze around her body,
the dress had thick loose straps which fell off her shoulders rather than sit on them, she wore no
shoes and her body was covered in a pale pattern which was slightly raised off her skin, a bit like the
birth mark on the right-hand side of my neck only hers glittered under the light and covered a much
larger area where as mine was only a few inches long, the pattern started from her hands and
wound its way up her arms, across her chest over her shoulders and up the left side of her face
decorating her left eye like a vine or ivy, only it wasn’t coloured green like vines and ivy it was just a
shade darker than her skin but stood out because it glittered like a thousand tiny diamonds before
blending into her skin, I could see that the pattern disappeared underneath her clothing so I
assumed her entire body was covered, I noticed as she turned to the right slightly that the pattern
got heaver across her shoulder blades and then left her body entirely to form two very delicately
translucent looking wings, like a fairy, which had the same kind of pattern on them and was also
glittering like they had a thousand tiny diamonds covering their surface, the wings were relatively
small in comparison to her own size and I wondered how they would ever get her of the ground,
they were shaped like the wings of a butterfly and seemed just a delicate.

“Abigail White, you gave us quite a fright last night, we thought we would lose you for a
moment or two there and that would not do at all, we have been waiting for this day, the day you
would arrive for a very long time” her voice was almost musical, I couldn’t believe that I’d missed
that fact before when I’d heard her talking to Jason outside the pavilion this morning, she sounded
like an Angel, then it hit me, she must have been the Angel I thought I saw in the woods last night,
only that Angel, if it was in fact an Angel, had much bigger wings and they had seemed far more
capable of flight.

“Ummm, I..., waiting?, But...” for the umpteenth time over the last few days words failed
me, something I was not used to at all, I was just finding it very difficult to absorb all of what was
being presented to me, the information, or perhaps it was the lack of information which
accompanied the abundance of visual information which was throwing me and causing my
inadequate and inappropriate responses.

“Abi, are you ok?” Jason said.

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“Umph..., what? Oh yes I’m fine, I just need, umm..., a drink, is there any water?” I said a
little flustered.

“Oh yes, sure I will sort it out, will you be ok with Arylia while I go and fetch some, I will only
be a minute” he smiled at me as he left the pavilion, I looked back at Arylia and smiled in an attempt
at looking friendly but I’m not sure if she got my meaning.

“Abigail I’m sure that you must have questions about what you have encountered over the
last few days and I hope to provide you with those answers, please sit” it wasn’t a request, so I sat
and waited for her to speak again.

“There are things in this world which are darker and older than you will have ever imagined,
they are incredibly dangerous and evil and have walked the earth since the dawn of time it’s self,
there are also good things in the world who are equally as old and as powerful if not more so, the
two forces have been engaged in an age old battle for centuries, Demons have been battling for
control of this world as it provides them with an endless source of life to sustain them and Angels
have been battling to keep this world safe from such dark forces to allow life to flourish here as
intended by God”

“Unfortunately stuck in the middle of this battle are humans, humans have always been
aware of Angels and Demons and both have appeared in human writings for centuries, in an attempt
to help save their race from the Demons and help the Angels with the battle against the Dark,
humans have developed abilities and powers of their own which have proved quite useful and
successful against the Demons, these humans are known to your race as witches and they are
capable of great power, witches are born with their powers and gifts, their magic is in their blood
and is a part of their sole, witches have abilities such as mind reading and premonition to name just
a few and we Angels refer to them as Angels in the Dark”

I just sat there looking at Arylia with no expression on my face hopefully she was unable to
see any flicker of fear however inside I was utterly freaking out, here I was sitting in a beautiful
pavilion with an Angel who was the epitome of that description, casually discussing the battle
between good and evil, angels and demons, things I had grown up thinking were fictional characters
you found in books and films and I was struggling to find the right words in which to respond with,
all I wanted to do was disbelieve Arylia and what she was saying but with her standing there in front
of me as living proof that these mythical creatures do actually exist, disbelief was not an option or
excuse I was able to use and I was finding it difficult to think coherently as a result, just then Jason
returned with my water and I took that moment to gather my thought as I knocked back one glass of
water after another.

“Abi are you sure you’re feeling ok” Jason said with a worried look on his face.

“Oh yes I’m fine Arylia was just filling me in on the age old battle between good and evil and
educating me on Angels and Demons and other magical creatures which inhabit our world, I’m just
taking it all in and...” I picked up another glass of water when Jason gently put his hand around my
wrist to stop me.

“It’s ok to be a little freaked out you know this is a lot to take in, no one will think any less of
you, you really don’t need to put on a front” Jason smiled at me again and I felt a little less tense.

“I know I’m sorry I didn’t mean to seem so mechanical” I said.

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“Its ok, do you want to stop and start again tomorrow” Jason asked “No” I said, “I need to
get this done now, I need to know what my involvement in all this is” I said pleadingly.

“Your involvement Abigail”

“Oh please call me Abi” I said, all the formality was making this somehow harder to take in.

“Ok if you would prefer..., Abi your involvement in this was predicted in a prophecy many
centuries ago by one of your ancestors, he was one of the most powerful Angels in the Dark I have
ever had the pleasure of knowing, his powers and abilities have been passed down his descendent
by blood ever since ” Arlyia said.

“So you mean to say that through one of my ancestors, one of the most powerful Angels in
the Dark you’ve known, that I am also an Angel in the Dark, a Witch, by blood?” I said feeling very
stupid for have done so.

“Oh you are so much more than that Abi, your ancestor Ealdred made a prophecy before his
demise...”

“A girl will be born of both an Angel of Light and Angel of Dark, born from their unconditional
love, she will bear their mark, she will wield their powers, she alone will be the one with power strong
enough to bring an end to the darkness, she alone will bear the gift, she alone will bear the burden
and she alone will bear the curse”

“The prophecy refers to you Abi” Arylia said looking deep into my eyes.

“This cannot be... I mean it’s just not true, I have known my parents my whole life I would
know if they had magical powers, my mom runs an art gallery and my father is in engineering, hardly
what you would call magical, so you see you have the wrong person, the Demons have the wrong
person, it could not possibly be me that your prophecy refers too” I said sounding a little desperate.

“Abi, you have never known your biological parents, they were killed when you were barely
a few months old, by the Demon Luthian, after he learnt of your existence he came after you and
there was a battle, your real parents were killed trying to protect you, we then went great lengths to
protect you and using magic so strong you were hidden with human adoptive parents in a place the
Demons would never think to look” Arylia said and for the first time since I’d meet her there was a
deep show of emotion in her face.

Anger crept up and took me off guard “Well you didn’t do a very good job did you” I was on
my feet now shouting.

“Abi even the most powerful of magic is not strong enough to keep you hidden after you
came of age and into your powers, evidently I do owe you an apology though as I did not imagine
that your powers would be so strong that they would presented themselves before even your 18th
birthday”

“The dreams you have been having were your powers of premonition coming into effect, the
dreams and daydreams that you have experienced have been mild in comparison to what you will be
able to achieve once you have received the correct training, however they were evidently strong
enough to map you out for the Demon Luthian and he sent some of his lesser beings to kill you

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before you turned 18” there was sorrow in her eyes and I could see that there was no lie there all,
that what she had said was true, right down to the last word.

I found myself speechless yet again; I slowly sat down again while trying to process all the
information, Jason put his arm around my waist and handed me another glass of water which I took
gratefully and slowly sipped.

“So my real mother and father were like you?” I asked.

“Your mother was an Angel in the Dark like Jason here, human or as your refer to them as, a
witch and your farther was an Angel of the Light, one of my kind, their love was strong and deep, the
birthmark upon your neck is the same kind of mark that you see upon my skin and now that you
have turned 18 it will start to grow more prominent, these marks are from which you will draw you
power, the power passed onto you by your farther, the magic you have inherited from your mother
however will not be as easy to control, it will require concentration and perhaps a little guidance
from other Angels in the Dark” Arylia looked soft as she explained all this to me but more and more
questions were forming in my head and as though she could read my mind she went on.

“You are a first Abi, there have never been any child like you before so there are many
questions that you will have that I will be unable to answer, we do not know if you will be more like
Angels of the Light or Angels in the Dark, my kind draw our power from our marking and wings which
grow larger the more power we are conducting, if you really are as powerful as the prophecy
suggests we would expect you to have those weapons in your arsenal and the small mark you
currently have will not produce much in the way of power, although I can see it has already started
to spread and glitter” I instinctively put my hand up to the right-hand side of my neck and I could
feel my birthmark more prominently raised upon my skin, it also felt longer as though it was making
its way down towards my collarbone. “Therefore we believe that you mark will grow and glitter and
will cover your body as ours do, our markings extend out from body to form our wings so if we are
correct, we also believe that you will take flight but like I said we are not certain you are the first of
your kind” Arylia was looking at me curiously as though waiting for a reaction but at this point I was
actually being to think more calmly and rationally.

“So to sum up, my father was an Angel and my mother was a Witch my birth was predicted
in a prophecy and I have their powers combined making me the only individual strong enough and
powerful enough to bring down this demon you keep referring to, Luthian, thus saving the world?” I
just looked at them both waiting for my answer.

“Well yes, in short” Arylia replied.

“I have questions, I understand the first part of the prophecy but in the last sentence you
said..

“she alone will bear the gift, she alone will bear the burden and she alone will bear the curse,
what does that mean?” again I waited patiently for my answer.

“We don’t know, Ealdred, your ancestor, who made the prophecy was killed shortly
afterwards by Luthian who had intercepted Ealdreds magical force whilst he was in trance, you may
have noticed that whilst you are having your dreams, or predictions as they are actually called, there
is a magical force or aura which is radiated from your body, it can cause some interference with
electrical devises as you learnt yourself, Luthian has a kind of magic, dark magic of his own and using
it, he was able to pick up on Ealdreds magical force whilst he was in trance and intercepted Ealdreds

© 2010 Sarah Anne Phillips


11

prophecy by absorbing the magical force Eldred was leaking, it was in this way that Luthians lesser
beings were able to find you, whilst you were in trance and producing your magical force, once
Luthian learnt of the prophecy he sought to kill Eldred before he was able to pass the information on
to me, who Luthian knew Eldred was in league with, Eldred however was able to reach me and
communicate the prophecy to me using a sort of telepathy just as he was killed, but the answers
behind the prophecy was lost with Eldred” Arylia again looked sadden as she spoke her words, I got
the sense that she must have been close to Ealdred.

“My last question is about Luthian, What is he? Who is he? And what is he capable of? But
before you answer my question Arylia I have one for Jason, if you don’t mind?” I asked politely and
gave her a small smile as I had a feeling she knew exactly what I would be asking him, she confirmed
my guess with her response.

“Of course you can oh and Jason you have only yourself to blame, I told you it was foolish to
perform such magic when you are so inexperienced yourself and in any case you should know that
such magic would end in tears, human emotions are strong and should be left well alone, please
carry on Abi” and she returned my smile, Jason looked at me with sheer terror in his eyes.

“Jason that day I asked you if you would take me out, was it me who asked you or was it you
who cast a spell encouraging me to ask you” I looked at him as though I was conducting business.

“Abi please...” and he waited for me to excuses him from a reply but when I gave none he
continued “Yes it was me who had cast a spell, I needed to get close to you in order to protect you
from what I knew what was coming but I needed you to think it was you who had made the choice
or you would have run in the opposite direction, I had seen in your mind that the idea of dating was
the last thing you would be interested in” he looked at me with pleading in his eyes.

“Do you regularly look into my mind?” I retorted.

“No, I respect your privacy, it was necessary on this occasion to keep you safe and thats all
that matter to me” his eyes became that deep ocean I had come to love and I was finding it difficult
to concentrate.

“That matters to you why? Because you care about me or who I am?” I was really havening
to try hard now to stay focused as his eye were beckoning me to relent.

“I care about you; I do Abi, you have to know that, you have to see that in the way I look at
you, you must be able to see it in my eyes, but Abi you are also the most important person alive, you
will save the world and that is more important than the way I feel about you” his face was sad but
pleading.

“And what about the way I feel about you? Is that magic too or is that real Jason? Because I
am beginning to wonder if anything I have felt towards you since that day at collage was real or did
you make me feel that way too?” I could feel the tears welling in my eyes but I fought as hard as I
could to keep them there.

“Abi Please don’t do this” he paused and looked into my eyes “They are your own feelings,
they just needed a little encouragement that’s all, I can produce magic but to make someone feel an
emotion that was not already there is way beyond my capabilities, your feelings were already there I
merely stirred them from slumber” he was still looking straight into my eyes and felt a single tear
escape my hold on them and roll down my face, he moved his hand towards my face to wipe it away

© 2010 Sarah Anne Phillips


12

with his thumb, but I turned away and gave Arylia the signal she needed to carry on with her
explanations.

“Luthian is a Demon from the deepest pits of hell, his kind are what your kind have referred
to as many things, the living dead, night walkers, creatures of the night, vampires to name just a few,
in order for his kind to survive they need life to sustain them, they drink the blood of humans, they
can sustain themselves on the blood of animals but it’s the blood of humans which they crave, they
find it almost impossible to resist the scent of a human when in their company, they are immensely
strong, lighting fast, their skin is cold, they have blood red eyes when hungry and have incredibly
sensitive hearing, they are very difficult to kill since they are already dead, their heart does not beat,
they are sensitive to daylight but can venture out in the day, it does weaken them so they rarely do,
they are able to materialised like smoke and can keep their form transparent for short periods of
time, when they do this they appear like shadows as though they are not really there, they are not
naturally able to produce magic, we believe they have absorbed this ability and powers from the
Angels in the Dark by drinking their blood, he is able to grow his following by turning humans into his
kind, he does this by draining their blood until they are mere inches from death then feeding them
his own blood, his numbers are growing in force and are the bane of this world and to the human
existence”

I sat their completely immersed in Arylias story but I was finding it difficult to concentrate, I
was becoming overwhelmed with information and my short conversation with Jason just now was
not helping my concentration at all, somehow Arylia had seen my falter and decided it was time to
end our conversation for the day.

“Abigail there have been many things which we have discuss this evening and I am sure you
must be feeling very overwhelmed, we must now end our conversations for today and continue with
them after you have had some sustenance and rest however before I leave you for the night I do
need to burden you with some bad news, following the demons failed attempt last night to kill you,
they targeted your family, after we brought you back here, I returned to your home to collect your
adoptive mother and farther however the demons had arrived at your home first and I was unable
to save your parents, I’m truly sorry for your loss”

It felt like my heart just cracked in two, the pain was unbearable, I clutched at my chest as I
struggled to regain a regular breathing pattern, my legs turned to jelly, I just couldn’t feel them
anymore and I felt myself plunge towards the floor only it was not hard wood that I landed on, Jason
had caught me before I hit the floor, tears were rolling over my checks and my vision was blurred
but in that instant that I looked up into his eyes I forgot my anger with him and I was lost in that
familiar ocean as all else faded around me.

© 2010 Sarah Anne Phillips

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