NIGEL

CHAPTER 21: A FAVOR

Now that Kieran and I were honest with each other, it was nice to not feel so awkward around him anymore. I didn't know exactly what we were, but it was nice to not have a label on it. It was relaxing for me, and the last thing I needed was more stress. Noah and Lily stayed close. It often seemed like they were each other's only company since Lily was still upset with me and Noah didn't want to get in the middle of things. Besides, I think that Lily took such a liking to Evie the little cat and since Evie was always with Noah, then it only made sense that they were around each other so often. Lily and I were cordial to each other and she made it clear she and I should talk, but she just wasn't ready. I respected that, and we all agreed that there were more important problems at hand anyway.
We were already almost past the border of Severno. We were in northern Andella and getting close. It wouldn't be too long now before we made it to The Lonely Wood in the far north where James was supposedly dwelling. It started to dawn on us that there are so many aspects of our plan that we hadn't fully thought through, and since the event was approaching we needed to remedy that.
"Kieran darling?" I asked one day.
"Yes?" He responded chipperly, as usual.
"Do you think you could try looking into the future for us?"
Kieran eyed me apprehensively. "I don't know Nigel. It's not that easy for me to look into the future. I only get little visions here and there in my sleep and the last time I saw the future I didn't see anything too positive." He said, glancing over at Noah who immediately looked down. Kieran cleared his throat to draw attention away from Noah. "What do you want to see anyway?"
I shrugged. "I think it would be nice to know where we are going to meet James, or when?" I suggested.
Kieran raised an eyebrow. "Didn't the Divine Sisters tell you that?"
I shook my head. "No they weren't as specific as I would have liked them to be. Could you at least try? Please?"
Kieran wrung his hands nervously. It was clear he was slightly uncomfortable with the idea but even he knew this could be immensely helpful to our mission. "I mean," He stuttered, "I guess I could try."
My face lit up, "thank you Kieran!" I exclaimed, embracing him in a hug. "But don't get your hopes up okay? I'm not trained and I'm not very good at this." He warned with a blush.
I nodded in understanding and urged him to start.
We had to clear some stuff around us and build a fire, doing all this seemingly random preparation for Kieran to look into the future. I would be frustrated, but seeing as I had no way of knowing what was or wasn't necessary, I decided it best to keep my mouth shut for a while. Kieran also made us go out with him and search for various plants that were deemed appropriate for the ritual. He would pick some up, feel them, smell them, even sometimes taste them and either throw them down or keep them to use for later. I had no idea what for but I assumed I would find out eventually.
Finally we sorted everything out to Kieran's liking. I begged him to get on with it and tell us something that we might need to know if we were to face James, which I was becoming acutely aware of how soon that would hopefully be. Was I frightened? Of course! But I think my hatred overcame my fear because I would've rather died than given up. James was going to die and I was going to watch the life leave his eyes as I killed him, just like he had done to my poor mother.
We sat around the puny fire Kieran insisted we build in the middle of the day and I was glad I came up with the idea of doing this while we were out in the woods instead of staying in a town. We would've had to wait otherwise and I was in no mood that day to wait for anything. As you can tell I was quite anxious by then. I was so close to what I had always wanted that I could taste it and I was more than eager to hear what Kieran had to say if he saw anything of use to us when it came to killing James.
"Nigel," began Kieran, "Would you mind giving me your hands please?" He requested politely. I obliged and placed my hands in his gently. I glanced over at Lily out of the corner of my eye, who looked unphased. Internally, I let out a sigh of relief. Kieran took my hands and then pulled one hand away to throw one of the herbs he had picked up into the fire. He told me to look deeply into the flames and concentrate. I was more than nervous about this considering the last time I did something like this I nearly had a stroke from what I saw. It scared me half to death because it all felt so real and I was hoping this time would be different. To my relief it was. I didn't see much, but only little unclear images I could have sworn were tricks of the light if I didn't know any better.
I looked back to Kieran quickly, and was taken aback to see his pupils missing! It almost looked like his eyes had rolled completely to the back of his head. I wanted to touch him or shake him out of it, since such an action would be a typical immediate instinct towards someone who looks like they are having a seizure. But, I stayed calm and let Kieran concentrate. I quickly turned my focus back to the flames, hoping I would see something clearer. All I could see were hints of fleeting images, but what I could make out didn't seem pleasant. I saw trees, a full moon and a hand reaching out. I'll admit I was starting to get uncomfortable again, but my gaze was broken by Kieran who was starting to shake to the point of convulsing! I ripped my hands out of his now firm grip, all of us working to steady him. Kieran didn't cease but we tried laying him down to rest, and making sure he was on his side so if he started to vomit he wouldn't choke. I fetched some of our water from Kieran's canteen and tried giving him some but he wouldn't take it. Noah took an old cloth and dampened it with some of the cool water, dabbing it on Kieran's now burning forehead to cool him down.
What happened?! I had no idea that doing this would cause Kieran's body to react this way. I could tell that whatever he was doing he was pushing his limit and he didn't understand how to truly harness his power. I knew it was my fault! I shouldn't have pushed him! I knew he wasn't ready and I was just so desperate to get more information to fuel my ludicrous lust for revenge that I put Kieran in danger of losing his mind or dying! What was wrong with me?