NIGEL

CHAPTER 23: VISION

The next morning, everyone met downstairs, Noah seeming more happy than usual and his new little companion May, or Shay, or whatever he name was, fixed us breakfast while her mother and father prepared for the day. She put a little plate down for Evie the cat which I think made it even harder for Noah to say goodbye to this girl, but there was nothing he could do. Kieran was still asleep by the time the rest of us had made it downstairs. Eventually, he shuffled his way to the kitchen table, understandably confused as to what was going on. He asked all the expected questions. "Where are we?" "How did I get here?" "What happened after I passed out?" Etcetera, etcetera.
We took the time to answer them as tactfully as we could without alerting the Birch daughter or her family in the house about what had led us to this place. Kieran thankfully caught on quickly and we tried not to remain with the Birch's for too long, seeing as we had a journey to finish.
Ewan Birch, the father, engaged with us in some conversation which we took great care to avoid at length, and his wife was more than lovely. We said our goodbyes to them and the children, rushing our way out. Noah said his sentimental goodbyes to the Birch's oldest daughter whose name I still can't totally remember, and that was that. I could see the amusement in Noah's eyes as Kieran and I teased him about his new "girlfriend" which he dismissed. As years go on and I think about Noah, I realize through reflecting on my own loneliness, how lonely everything must have been for him. He was immortal like myself, not that he knew it at the time, but he was half elvish which meant he had a longer life span than most people. Noah had to wander the world pretty much alone and those around him would never be with him for too long. Every time this would cross my mind, I would pity him, and then I would immediately start to pity myself. This was the future that awaited me. No friends and no family, other than Noah, who would be with me forever because unlike most people, my "forever" did actually never end. It was then I realized that I should try and get closer to Noah if I could. Not only were we brothers but I was becoming acutely aware of how much we would need each other to prevent such bitter loneliness in both our lives.
Noah had brought up the idea to me not too long ago, that his and my existence is due to our monstrous father's own loneliness and desperation for companionship. It would explain why he tended not to kill the women he seduced even though his offspring would typically take care of that in birth. It wasn't unusual for a vampire to seduce their victim, but often they would use it as an appetizer or a sick satisfaction they wanted before vicious murder. James didn't do this seeing as his victims lived long enough to birth children. Regardless, however James may have felt or why he did the things he did, I didn't care. He still killed my mother and I would never forgive him for it. I hated him, and there was nothing in the world that could humanize him in my eyes. In all honesty, I didn't want to humanize him. I didn't want to see him as anything more than a monster. Sometimes I didn't want to admit he was my father because to me he wasn't.
We finally got back on the road and took inventory. We had practically nothing at this point except for the few supplies, and food the Birch's were kind enough to spare. We didn't know where we were going except for that it had to be north. Then, we all realized the obvious. Immediately, I blurted out "Kieran what did you see in your vision yesterday?" which took Kieran by surprise. It was almost like he'd forgotten about it which was not a good sign to me. I was hoping he could remember what he saw. It was incredibly stressful I must tell you.
Kieran took a deep breath and we all stared at him, waiting for him to answer. Kieran's eyes darted back and forth to us apprehensively, which again, was not a good sign. "Alright, well it's kind of hard to explain." Began Kieran finally.
"Well please try." I said patiently, anxiously awaiting his response.
"Kieran, just tell us what you saw exactly, it doesn't have to make sense if it didn't to you." Added Lily.
Kieran nodded. "Okay, so the first thing I saw was a forest full of pine trees and snow."
"That has to be The Lonely Wood in the North, so that should mean we are heading in the right direction like the witches told us." Said Noah optimistically, though I could sense a slightly somber undertone in his voice that I chose to ignore at the time.
"That's the most logical guess." Kieran responded. "But I saw a figure. A dark, tall figure with frightening red eyes that seemed to glow in the darkness!"
I shiver ran up my spine. I knew exactly what Kieran was talking about. I had experienced the horror of those eyes first hand, and hearing Kieran mention them was just as uncomfortable for me as it was to see them in person. I could never forget those eyes. In all my year, hundreds in fact, I still sometimes get flashes of those eyes. Looming in the candle light, ready to suck the life out of my mother. Me, hiding under the floorboards.
"Then," continued Kieran, his expression growing dark, "I saw fire. The forest just engulfed with flames and the horrific sound of somebody screaming."
"Did you see a dragon?" Asked Noah.
Kieran shook his head. "No, but I'm nervous because I don't know what else could have produced so much fire so quickly!"
I bit my lip. "Maybe your perspective was off? It happens in visions sometimes doesn't it?" I suggested.
Kieran nodded, but he didn't look too convinced. Kieran took another deep breath. "Then, I was consumed by the flames. I don't know whose perspective I was seeing through, but regardless, that's not a fun thing to experience even in a vision. After that I just sort of blacked out. Almost like the flames had killed me and I was suddenly nothing. It felt so real and yet not real at the same time. I shouldn't have tried to stay longer than I did, but I pushed myself so I could get more out of the vision. Thank you guys for taking care of me while I was out."
"You're welcome Kieran." Answered Lily, but just like the rest of us, she seemed a little distracted. We didn't know what to make of what Kieran was telling us and it didn't look like Kieran knew either. All I could tell was that the fire part was either the key to our victory or the reason for our demise.
I sighed. "Let's just keep walking and try not to dwell on this at the moment. One day at a time right?"
Everybody seemed to agree, and off we went.