IceShine

XV

The window lays in tatters in front of us. My barrier protected us, but I’m shocked by what happened.

“… la… Lila… LILA!”

That was when I hear John’s voice and turn my head towards him. He’s still holding me by my waist, and is gripping me tightly, to his body.

“Are you all right?”

I avert my eyes and can only nod in response. I guess he didn’t like it, because he grips my chin and turns my head to look at him in those honey-colored eyes that can magnetize me in any situation. But this time, they are filled with worry, and I immediately feel guilty.

“The truth.”

I gulp and answer him.

“Physically, I’m okay. I’m just shaken by all this…”

I think this answer suits him better, because he nods, lets my chin go, and turns to look at the shattered window.

“What happened?”

I shrug my shoulders and turn to look too at the window.

“I have absolutely no idea. And I believe we should move slowly towards the exit. Like now!”

“You’re right.”

Still holding me, he makes three branches with his free hand and takes the three bags with his branches. Even the one that I was holding and somewhere along the way, I let it fall.

Wait a minute… Along the way… We almost kissed! My eyes go wide, as I realize what almost happened. Was it in my imagination?

“Lila, sorry to break you out of your daydream, but we must go!”

John says with a smirk plastered on his lips… As if he knew what I was thinking… Great, that’s the only thing that misses from this whole ordeal. I snap out of it and take a step back from him, finally putting some distance between us. Somehow, I'm feeling cold and I would like to get back to his embrace. Maybe, even continue from where we left off. But, not now, we have much more important things to deal with first… Like take these things to the car, talking with Jason about the books, talking to John about what just happened, and after that, maybe…

“Yeah, I’m keeping the barrier on. Follow me, as close as you can.”

“Okay.”

I turn and make my way, as quickly as I can, to the car outside. There, finally, I put the barrier down and Greghory comes to open the back door for us to put the books in.

“What took you so long? I was ready to come inside, when I heard the sound of something breaking. What was that?”

Me and Jonh turn to look at each other, and shrug. I turn my gaze back on Greghory.

“After I found the books, we put them in bags, and as we were about to leave, something attacked us, and broke the window of my dad’s office.”

His face takes on an angered heat.

“What? Who attacked you?”

Now it was John’s turn to answer.

“We didn’t see…”

“Oh, now you’ll see me!”

We turn to look around us to see where that voice came from.

I can’t put my finger on it, but I think I know that voice. I’ve heard it before, I’m sure.

“Tik… Tok… Tik… Tok… Time is running out…”

And that’s then it hits me… It’s the man from my dream! I can’t control it, my eyes go wide, I stare into space, and I start trembling. So much that I try to stop it by hugging myself… But it’s fruitless… I’m trembling so much now, that my body is convulsing.

“Now, let’s see what you can and cannot do…”

The voice taunting me, only makes me convulse harder and harder… It’s been a really long time since I went through a panic attack. I feel everyone around me, even the girls who were in the car, come in front of me in a protective stance. I also feel hands grabbing me and trying to stop me from convulsing, but it doesn’t stop.

I focus my eyes on what’s happening in front of me, and see John fighting with a Shadow Monster. I turn my head and see all of them fighting except Miranda, who I assume is holding me.

I feel heat, like someone put on a fire. But I don’t have time to think about that, because that’s when everything turns black.

…

Everything hurts. That’s what I’m sure of when I come to. I try to open my eyes, but it seems like they want to remain that… Closed. But I fight it, cause I hear some whispers above me. I don’t know what they are saying, but I can recognize John’s and Greghory’s voices. The voices slowly become clearer… I try to open my eyes again, and this time, it seems easier.

“Shut up, both of you! She’s waking up…”

That voice was Bina… My eyes finally open, but close again soon enough because of the brightness… Slowly, I adjust to the light, and my eyes open again. The first face I see when I wake up is Bina, who is smiling at me, and sitting on the bed beside me.

“How are you feeling?”

I try to stand up but my body has a different opinion. With her help and a lot of grunts, I succeed, only to answer her with…

“Like I was run over by a truck.”

“At least you still have your humor.”

I turn to face Greghory, who is standing on the opposite wall from my bed. He seems tired and relieved. Tired, I don’t know why… relieved, I think because I woke up.

And now that I said woke up…

“What happened to me?”

“Do you remember what happened?”

I jolt at the voice of John. He was sitting on a chair beside the bed, on the opposite side from where Bina is. His eyes seem to hold anger… I don’t know what made him this angry, but his voice was calm and composed… like normal.

I sigh and close my eyes trying to remember…

“After school we went to my home… There I was searching some books, while you were waiting for me…”

“Right… And then?”

“After we found them…”

I stop… Oh, yeah… we almost kissed! I turn to look at him with my cheeks feeling warm… But he seems to not think the same as me, as he continues the story, without mentioning the almost kiss.

“We were ready to go to the car, so that we could come home…”

“Yeah, and then an explosion happened and my father’s office window got blown up. And then we went quickly outside and…”

… I stop on my track as my foggy memory becomes stable…

“I heard him…”

“Everyone heard the voice…”

I turn to look at Greghory, slightly trembling.

“It was not your imagination, princess… we all heard a man’s voice, before flocks of Shadow Monsters attacked us. We didn’t get to see him… but everyone present heard that voice.”

This can’t be happening. No, no… Why? Why was he there? The silence after what Greghory told me was deafening.

“Lila, I need you to tell me something…”

I look at Greghory again, with tears ready to fall from my eyes…

“Was the voice we heard… The man that attacked us today… is he the one appearing in your dreams?”

My tears flow down my cheeks… I don’t say anything, just look at him in the eyes. But that’s all the answer he needs.

“s**t…”

He stands tall and goes quickly out of the room. I can faintly hear him go outside and chanting a protective spell around the house… The stronger he can master… I feel Bina gently stroking my back and John coming closer to hold my hand while I’m crying.

Why? Why is this happening? Why did he decide to appear now? Why not when I have lived alone for a whole month?

“I’m going to make you something to drink. Miranda is already in the kitchen, cooking for you. But I feel like a cup of warm milk will help you relax.”

I just nod. I can’t say anything… It’s like my ability to speak just went out of the window.

She gets up and goes out of the room, closing the door behind her. Now I’m alone with John, him holding my hand, while I try to come to terms with the new set of events…

“I don’t know how much you heard of what he spoke of… but after you were out cold in Miranda’s hands, he continued talking…”

“I remember him taunting me… something about what I can and cannot do…”

“He was really talkative after you passed out… about what a shame it was that you were out… about how weak we are… and about what he would do to make you his.”

I turn my head towards him, not believing what I just heard.

“What?”

“I don’t know what he meant by that… but I know that he is planning something. The Shadow Monsters we fought were not that strong… it was as if he was taunting us… Like “fight the weakest to entertain me…” kind of thing… At least that’s what I felt like it was.”

I continue staring at him not believing what I’m hearing.

He sighs and lifts his free hand to dry my cheeks from my tears. The gesture seems so much more intimate than what it appears to be.

“I can’t stand it when you cry…”

His voice only above a whisper, he keeps drying my tears, until there is not even hint of moisture on my skin. Then he smiles at me, not a trace of anger on his eyes anymore.

“Better…”

Then the door opens, and in came a more tired looking Greghory, and behind him, Miranda with a tray with soup, and Bina with a cup of milk and a bottle of water.

“Hey friend! How are you feeling? I made some food for you!”

Miranda comes and puts the tray on my lap.

“Girl, you don’t know how much you worried me! Just passing out cold like that on me!”

“I’m sorry, it was not like I wanted it to… I just went into panic mode…”

Greghory looks at me, then, and comes near me. He kneels beside the bed.

“I think we need to talk, all of us. But I want you to be sure, that you are okay with this conversation… we are sure that it was… Him… but I know how you feel about it. So, if you want to do it tomorrow, I will wait.”

I look at him and shake my head.

“No, that conversation needs to be done now. We need to get the facts before it comes to the point that it’s too late to do anything.”

We cannot lose time anymore. We have already lost too much, it’s time to woman up, and let go of my fears. This man has been hunting me for months now. I’m tired of being afraid… I want all of this to end.

Greghory nods his head and gets up again. He goes out and brings two more chairs. He sits on one of them, while Bina takes the other one. John is already sitting in a chair beside me, and Miranda got into bed with me to “help me” eat.

“Miranda, I can eat by myself, you don’t have to do that…”

I say, barely containing myself before exploding.

“Oh, come on… don’t spoil my fun!”

“Miranda, if you don’t want that soup on your head, you better let her eat by herself...I know from experience…”

Greghory says and laughs at Miranda’s pout. But he quickly regains his composure and turns to look at me. When I nod, he sighs and begins talking.

“So… The guy from your dreams attacked us… He was controlling the Shadow Monsters… That must mean only one thing… One thing I believe you were suspicious, but did not want to believe… Am I right, princess?”

I nod my head, after taking a mouthful of soup.

“He must be the descendant of the dark Warlock…”

Everyone in the room grows quiet. Everyone in their own little world. Thinking about what is to come.

“After you passed out, he continued talking and-”

“Don’t bother, I already briefed her about what he said…”

Greghory looks at John, whose head is tilted in front, looking at our hands. He sighs, then continues talking.

“Okay… Then we can get quicker to the point… I think what he meant by saying what he would to make you his, is that he wants to take you and kill you.”

“Nah…”

Everyone turns to look at Miranda. She seems totally disinterested in this whole conversation.

“What do you mean ‘Nah’”

Greghory looks at her in wonder.

What the hell is going through her mind? But my feeling is that whatever she says, I won’t like it.

“He doesn’t want to kill her… at least immediately. To me it seems like he is in love with her or something, and wants her. But because he is a psychopath, and a Dark Warlock, he opted to stalk her through her dreams, and attack the first friends she made in a while. Also, killing her parents, because he was sure that they would never approve of him being near her.”

Yep, I was right. I don’t like what I heard AT ALL! Because if it is true, that makes it way more sick than I initially thought.

Greghory seems to be in deep thought about what Miranda said… After a while, he turns again to look at her.

“Are you sure?”

“Oh, please! It’s as clear as day… Because I don’t know if you noticed, but no Shadow Monster came near me outside the house. It was because I was the one holding Lila. If he wanted to hurt her, or worse kill her, he would not let this chance fall to the ground like that.”

Why, whatever is coming out of her mouth is making sense? Oh, God! I’m so f****d up!

“And what are we going to do now? If his target is to take Lila, then we must do something…!”

Bina was starting to panic, like me. I started trembling again. I don’t want to even think about what will happen if he gets his hands on me. Or worse, what he is going to do to get me…

Then I feel John’s thumb rubbing circles on my hand, in an attempt to relax me. I turn to look at him, and when we make eye contact, he starts doing big inhales and exhales, for me to follow him. And I do. After a few of them, and the rubbing on my hand, I feel slightly better, in time for Greghory to start narrating his plan.

“We cannot do much but two things. First, protect Lila. Lila will always be accompanied by at least one of you, wherever she goes. She is not to be left alone, even when she sleeps. We will take turns with the sleeping. We will bring another pull in bed, for me and John to sleep in, when it’s our turn.”

He pauses, looks at all of our faces, and when he sees that we have no objections, he continues.

“Second, you will train harder starting tomorrow. Even me and Lila will train. Jason will help, and everyone will help whoever needs it. We will cover every little weakness we each have. And when he comes to us, we will be ready for him.”