The Seekers: Chapter 5 ~Kinsley~

Elizabeth

When I wake up all the memories of last night come flooding back. I look up and see Adam quietly sitting in his chair. His eyes are cast downwards and he looks deep in thought. When he sees that I’m awake he points to the door and I leave the room so he can change. I enter my own room and take a shower. When I’m ready I open the door and I see Adam standing beside it in fresh clothes, his hands shoved deep in his pockets. He offers me a weak smile.

“What do we do now?” I ask. He shrugs his shoulders.

“I don’t know. We failed the mission. I’ve never failed a mission in my life.” I can’t help but think this is all my fault. “So,” he continues, “We can leave if you want to but I don’t think the Goddess is going to let us off that easy.” All of a sudden a chuckle comes from behind one of the stone pillars. A silhouetted figured comes forward followed by another much smaller one.

“You’re right. I would never let you off that easy,” the figure says. It steps forward into the light and I can clearly see the distinguishing features of the Goddess. Her sapphire eyes bore into my own. “Well, well, well, who do we have here? Adam and sweet, little Elizabeth. How charming,” she taunts. Adam glares at her with cold eyes. The Goddess’ deep red lips form into a snide smile and she circles us like a shark waiting to attack its prey. Her long, silky black hair flows behind her as she walks. She casts a curious glance at me. Adam sees this and steps in front of me defensively.

“What do you want with Elizabeth?” Adam demands. The Goddess’ companion finally steps forward. Although he is still in disguise something seems familiar about him. I look at him then back to the Goddess and wonder why she isn’t disguised.

“I have no reason to hide my identity. You know who I am,” she answers after hearing my thoughts.

“What do you want with Elizabeth?” Adam asks again, although a little more forcefully this time. The Goddess waves a hand at him.

“Nothing much really. I just want her dead. Surely that’s not too much to ask,” she answers. The sudden realization that an immortal is out to kill me hits me hard. My molecules start spreading apart and I know that I’m fading.

“My, my, Elizabeth you need to start controlling your powers. It wouldn’t be fun if you were to float away and escape, now would it?” The Goddess flicks her hand and my molecules snap painfully back together. I wince and try not to cry out. Eris steps forward toward me. She reaches her hand out to touch me and Adam all but slaps it away.

“Don’t you touch her,” he growls. The Goddess’ taunting, sarcastic attitude falls away like bricks and is replaced by a meaner, nastier one.

“Finish him, Syrah,” she hisses to her companion who is already drawing his sword. Syrah flies out in front of her and Adam barely has enough time to defend himself. Fire bursts from Adam’s hand and flies toward Syrah’s sword. He cries out in pain and lets the sword fall to the ground. Syrah lunges at Adam with his hands outstretched. The two roll on the floor, each trying to get an edge over the other. I lose track of the battle as Eris grabs me by the arm and drags me behind a stone pillar. I try to break free but her grasp is too strong. I turn my head to the side and out of the corner of my eye I see Adam blast Syrah away with an icy beam. I wonder why the Goddess isn’t hurting me. It then becomes clear that the Goddess isn’t going to hurt me right now but is trying to keep me from helping Adam. Syrah climbs to his feet and remnants of ice cling to his clothes. He spreads his hands out in front of him but Adam doesn’t seem to notice. He is too busy looking for me. The Goddess slaps a hand over my mouth right before I call to Adam. Syrah’s arms trace an invisible pattern in the air and a type of energy seems to generate from them. In the corner a still figure lying on the ground comes into view. An impassioned cry comes from across the room and I soon realize it came from Adam. He darts across the room to the figure in the corner.

“No,” Adam moans. To my horror I see blood flowing from the body and when Adam reaches for it I recognize that it’s my body he’s reaching for. Then I realize what Syrah is trying to do.

“Adam, it’s only an illusion!” I yell but with the Goddess’ hand over my mouth my cries are muffled. The Goddess finally lets me go and she walks over to Syrah but she still keeps a finger pointed in my direction. I try to move but it's like invisible chains are keeping me put. I try to speak but the words won’t form.

“Why?” Adam screams. He jumps up and his hands ball into fists. With tears coursing down his cheeks he lets out a wail. He throws out his hands and an explosion of heat burst from them. It takes Eris and Syrah by surprise and they fly backwards from the sheer force of Adam’s blow. Since the Goddess’ attention is diverted my bonds are broken and I leap from behind the pillar.

“Adam!” I cry. He looks up at me with his mouth gaping open. He looks from me to the illusion then back to me with a dumbfounded expression. When I look back at the illusion I have just enough time to see it flicker then fade away.

“It was an illusion,” I explain. Adam nods and turns his attention to Syrah and the Goddess. The glower on her face seems etched in stone. Her lips turn up into a snarl and she thrusts her hands outward. A blue beam blasts from them and hits Adam full on. His limp body is flung into the air and crashes into the wall on the other side of the room. I let my molecules flow freely. Little by little my body fades away until I am completely invisible. Soundlessly I walk up behind Eris. Syrah starts looking around when he notices that I’m gone. I dive at the Goddess, toppling her over in the process. She shrieks as she goes down. Adam gets to his feet and is quick to attack her. Tiny ice crystals fly from his hands to the Goddess. She screams in agony as they rip through her flesh. Miraculously, her wounds heal quickly and I realize that it’s because she is an immortal. My eyes scan the room for Syrah. I make myself whole again and snatch his discarded sword from the floor while making my way toward him. When he spots me he creates the illusion of a bow and arrow set. He shoots several flaming arrows and they come at me like missiles. Instinctively, I dodge them even though I know they’re only illusions. When I get closer he converts his bow to a sword identical to mine. He strikes my sword with his and I’m surprised that mine doesn’t go right through his.

“How can your sword hit mine? I thought it was just an illusion,” I say as I thrust my sword at him. He dodges and delivers a counter attack.

“Because my illusions, for as long as they last, are as real as you and me,” he answers smugly. I nick his shoulder and he growls. I try to position myself so I can see Adam and Eris but I don’t dare take my eyes off of Syrah. He shuffles to the side and I follow him. Finally I can see them out of the corner of my eye. Without averting my gaze from Syrah I can see that Adam is shooting sparks of fire at the Goddess while she is casting a green surge of power at him. The two streams are meeting in between them and creating a huge ball of energy in the middle. As the ball of energy grows more intense, Syrah clashes his sword hard against mine and the force of it almost knocks me over.

Suddenly the ball of energy explodes and catapults Adam and Eris apart. Syrah makes the fatal mistake of glancing away to look at them. I take the advantage thrust my sword out. Just before it plunges into Syrah’s gut he turns back and screams.

“Azari!” Instantly the Goddess and Syrah fade away and I know they’re being transported back to the Unity’s headquarters. I drop the sword and collapse on the floor from exhaustion.

“We did it,” I pant. Adam looks skeptical and he rubs the back of his head.

“I don’t know, Elizabeth. I have the feeling that we haven’t seen the last of them. Come on, we should go back,” he says. He takes a hold of my hand and calls out Genevieve’s name. Soon we return to the Way Gate. I feel so ashamed that we didn’t protect Prince Charles. I turn and hide behind Adam. Before long I can see Genevieve walking towards us with a worried look on her face.

“Are you okay? I couldn’t see anything in the pool. It was completely black the whole time,” she says.

Adam hesitates. “Um, we failed the mission. Prince Charles died,” he explains. Genevieve’s face washes over with pure terror.

“Elizabeth. Where is she, Adam? Elizabeth, are you okay?” She asks in a panicked voice. Her eyes franticly search the room. I step out from behind Adam and give a sheepish wave.

“I’m right here, Genevieve,” I answer. She rushes over to me and wraps her arms fiercely around me.

“Oh, thank goodness you’re okay!” The relief on her face is evident. I stand stock still for a moment then embrace her back. She releases me and looks at me with pure adoration.

I point to Adam and raise my eyebrows. “Uh, you know, Adam’s fine too,” I say with a smile. Her face turns red from embarrassment.

“Yes! I’m glad you’re both okay,” she says quickly.

“It’s nice to see who she really cares about,” he whispers to me.

“Did you see the Goddess?” Her question brings us both back to why we’re really here and our smiles melt away.

“She was there and so was some kid named Syrah,” Adam informs her. She seems to ponder this then asks another question.

“Did you notice anything familiar about him?”

“He was disguised as usual but the Goddess wasn’t. She said that we knew who she was and she didn’t need to protect her identity,” I tell her.

“I think she was originally the new maid,” Adam chips in, “What if someone saw her? That would raise a lot of questions. I don’t think she would risk traveling into the past without a disguise.”

“Was there anyone else?” she asks. Adam and I exchange glances.

“There was a woman,” he says reluctantly. Genevieve’s eyebrows rise.

“A woman?” she inquires. I nod my head.

“I think she wanted Prince Charles’ help. I pretty sure she was expecting. She looked like it. She was saying that something was his and I think she was referring to the baby,” I say.

“No,” Adam argues, “Prince Charles’ first child isn’t born until June of next year.”

“Well maybe he had an affair,” I say, my voice rising. Adam scoffs at this. “He hasn’t even been married for a month!”

“If that’s the case, the only thing he should be accused of is cheating on his girlfriend,” Adam says, crossing his arms. The action lets me know that the subject is closed.

“I still think that he has another child,” I mutter. Adam’s eyes flash and I know he’s heard what I said.

“Well, since history has changed then I guess that’s his only surviving child!” Adam says with a voice much louder than normal. Genevieve sticks her arms in between us.

“Okay, you two. That’s enough,” she says sternly. We both cross our arms and look the other way indignantly. “Look, I don’t know what it’s going to be like when you get back. Surely Prince Charles’ death will be mourned on its anniversary. But remember, when you get back he will have been dead since 1981 so don’t act like it just happened. And don’t ever mention his other children William or Harry. Since Prince Charles’ died before they were born, their whole existence has been whipped out along with anything that they have done,” she warns. We reluctantly uncross our arms.

“Sorry,” he mutters. I nod my head and apologize too.

“Be careful in school too. I’ll let you know if anything new happens,” Genevieve says. We nod our heads. “Oh, and your teacher will no longer need a substitute. Mr. Hicks will be there tomorrow morning,” she says with a smile and transports us back into our own beds.