Makaela hated how perfectly the Illumio sat on her middle finger. The band had morphed to the shape of her finger as soon as she put it on. The golden gemstone blinked at her, mocking her with its vibrant light.
The ring was said to enhance the lightweaving ability of its wearer. It was why her father was such a good caster. Though, the man was extremely talented without it. At least, that's what her uncle and Xander always told her.
Talent meant nothing when it came to a duel. Ruthlessness, wit, and a strong will to live usually overpowered even the most talented magicians in a life-or-death battle. During the duel between her father, Pierre, and Thorian, the former hadn't been wearing his ring; Thorian had the Obscurio, though. Perhaps that was the reason for his untimely demise.
Or perhaps Thorian's will to live eclipsed her father's.
She'd never know.
Ahead of her, Achilles began the incantation to activate the three Eldenarian Artifacts in the room. Like most spoken spells, he used the old tongue. The words flowed from his mouth seamlessly as if it were his first language. He held his hand over the Krigersverd, igniting a bright vermillion light within the emerald built into the hilt of the blade.
Sebastian repeated the same incantation, his face rigid as he stared at the Obscurio. Purple light flared within the ring's gemstone.
"Your turn," he told Makaela.
She drew a nervous breath.
"You got this," he told her.
She hoped he was right. Closing her eyes, she held her hand out and began the incantation. The old tongue didn't come as naturally to her as it did for others. With no one to consistently teach her the language of her ancestors, the words often sounded clunky and stiff from her mouth. Still, she managed to successfully perform the spell.
The gold gemstone of her ring glowed with energy. Heat spread across her hand as she felt the white band rise in temperate around her finger.
"When performing this spell alone, the artifacts show the wielder the clues of the prophecy in their mind," Achilles explained as he tightened his grip around his sword. "But with multiple artifacts present, a different effect occurs."
Right on cue, a beam of green light shot out of his sword. The Obscurio followed suit, a jet of lavender magic meeting Achilles' shimmering stream. Makaela stared in awe as the two colors melded together in the center of the table.
Her hand jolted forward as the Illumio projected a beam of its own. The golden ray met the others. Once all three met, a misty sphere surfaced above the table. It reminded Makaela of a crystal ball, murky and opaque and swirling with blurry images.
"What is that?" Imogen asked.
"Just watch," Achilles told her.
As the seconds passed them by, the cloudy images in the rotating orb above focused into view.
Makaela's eyes widened as she peered at them.
The first was a scene of a man overlooking a courtyard in the Eldenarian Palace. Thousands of magicians filled the streets beneath him, their faces pointed toward the balcony he watched them from. He stood tall, his hair darker than ravens feathers. A golden cape-the same one her father used to wear-spilled down his back. Instead, she stood on a balcony behind a man overlooking the Eldenarian Palace. The Obscurio could be seen on his left middle finger. A crown sat atop his head.
She couldn't see his face, but she knew who he was.
The King.
To his side stood a young woman with dark curls in a dress the color of liquid gold. Sucking in a breath, she recognized it to be herself. The Light.
The scene shifted to a large auditorium with high ceilings and stained-glass windows depicting fables from the old days of magic. A shadowy figure stood near a black throne in the background. Two magicians stood before them, hands raised as they prepared a spell.
Before she could get a better look at them, the image shifted.
This would occur five more times, each scene showcasing a new setting. She witnessed a lone wolf in a snowy forest, a woman within blue armor performing a water spell, and another woman standing amongst the ruins of a broken bridge. They all went too fast for her to get a proper look at anyone's face.
The next image lingered longer than the others.
A man, clad in full armor and wielding Achilles' sword, waded through a bloody sea of magicians and monsters. Makaela could taste the blood in the air, along with the stench of death.
Words from the prophecy slammed into her.
"...the Warrior will lead an army to war..."
"This should be the final one," Achilles said.
The scene showed a man in dark robes standing in the shadows. Seven glowing orbs hovered around him, each one a different color.
That one chilled her to the bone.
The Black Lotus.
The image changed.
Achilles blinked, his eyes narrowed at the floating orb. "Huh? There shouldn't be anymore."
Makaela watched on, silenced by her own shock.
A girl wearing a suit of sleek ivory armory hovered above an abyss of darkness. Light emanated from her ebony skin, expelling the shadows around her. Unbridled power resided in her golden irises. She was an angel amongst demons.
Makaela couldn't believe what she was seeing.
She was staring at herself.
Seconds later, the orb of images vanished into thin air. The light within the three Eldenarian Artifacts ceased, thus ending the spell. Everyone stared at each other, speechless from what they witnessed.
"Oh wow," someone said.
"I've never seen this one before," Achilles said. He peered at Makaela. "I'm not sure what it means."
No one did.
Makaela thought some of her answers about the prophecy would've been answered, but now she had more questions than before.
"What were we supposed to learn from that?" Sebastian asked. He huffed. "This didn't teach us anything."
"Your answers will come in due time," Achilles told him. "Patience is a virtue, boy. Just seeing these images will give you a better chance to prepare for when these prophesized events begin."
Sebastian shook his head. "We didn't need a slideshow of the future. We needed answers. We need a way to stop my father-"
"You should be grateful I even showed you-"
"The wolf is a Redfang," Remy interjected. The usual cheerful glint in his eyes was gone. He looked pensive, almost afraid. "It had red eyes. Only the Redfang clan of wolves have those."
Makaela's heart sank. She and him both knew those eyes all too well.
Achilles nodded at Remy.
Sebastian crossed his arms. "Okay...what about the person with the Krigersverd? And the woman with the water? Who are they?"
Catherine cleared her throat. "The one with the sword is the Warrior and the woman in the water is the Healer. We just don't know who they are."
"Not yet," Remy corrected.
Imogen's features were twisted in confusion. "Er, this is going to sound strange, but I recognized one of those images. Well, not exactly. I recognized the place in one of them."
"You did?" Makaela asked. How could an ordinaire know something about the prophecy that she didn't even know?
"That bridge," she said. "I've seen something like it in Nova Scotia. I saw it once. The memory's a little fuzzy, though."
"Huh."
"I always thought the prophecy would pass my time. That I'd be able to die before it came to fruition," Achilles said. "Even after Makaela had that vision ten years ago. But I was a fool. The prophecy is upon us." He scowled in Sebastian's direction before averting his attention towards Makaela. "Your father tried to warn us. We didn't believe him. Or maybe we didn't want to believe him. But he was right. He was always right."
"What did he tell you?"
Achilles rested his palms on the base of his blade. "After one of our council meetings, he warned us all about Thorian's descent into madness. It was happening right in front of our faces, but we ignored it. I dismissed it as him grieving for Xandra."
Out the corner of her eye, Makaela saw Sebastian's jaw twitch. His fingernails dug into the leather armrest of the couch, his dark eyes burning like hellfire.
"We should have heeded his warning when we had the chance," Achilles muttered under his breath. He cast a look at Makaela. Sorrow and regret swam in his green eyes like grieving dolphins mourning their dead. "I'm sorry, child. Your father was a great man. He was the best of us. And we let him down."
Tears welled in her eyes. She wiped them away and looked away.
The room fell deathly silent, a crypt of silent emotions and remorse.
"We have to go to the council," Remy stammered. "We have enough evidence to do something now, right? The Eldai should be able to do something about this...the ones Thorian isn't controlling, I mean. Maybe if we can arrest him, we can stop him."
Achilles stroked his beard. "I'll notify Jorgen immediately. He'll know who to trust."
Optimism bloomed within Makaela's chest, spreading onto her face in the form of a smile. Thorian was powerful; there was no denying that. But not even he could fend off the advances of the most well-trained magicians on the planet. The Order of the Black Lotus wouldn't stand a chance against an attack by the Eldai.
Thorian would be defeated.
She could feel it deep in her bones. A vision of Thorian sitting in the most well-guarded cell in Nyghtmir filled her head. As she looked around the room, she noticed the others seemed a bit more hopeful as well. Everyone except Sebastian.
The boy's eyes were trained on his ring, his face slightly scrunched as he glared at the black gem. Arching an eyebrow, Makaela nudged him with her elbow.
"What's wrong?"
"I..." He swallowed hard. "It's talking to me again."
She froze in her seat. Before she could ask him what it was saying, the Illumio flared on her hand. Achilles' artifact lit up as well. The three of them exchanged identical looks of fear.
A cold draft ripped through the room. There weren't any windows. No room for any wind from outside to sneak in.
Her heart dropped.
Oh no.
An armored woman stumbled into the room, their dirt-smudged face red with exhaustion. Sweat dripped from their forehead, every droplet hitting the ground sounding like a cannon shot in Makaela's ears. The entire room went deathly quiet as they gawked at the newcomer. Tiny cuts riddled her exposed skin. Blood trickled from a wound on her side; it looked like a set of claws tore through her flesh. She was barely standing. A woman, dressed in half-armor, stumbled inside.
Catherine and Ajax rushed over to the battlemage.
Achilles gripped the edges of the table, his knuckles whiter than a ghost. "What happened?"
"An attack...," the woman panted. "Shades..." Her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She collapsed to the ground. It was only then did Makaela notice the slash marks cutting through the back of her shirt. Blood gathered around her body.
"We need to get her to a medic," Catherine said. Ajax was doing his best to keep pressure on her wound, but there was only so much he could do. It only took a few seconds for his hands to look like they had been dipped in a bucket of red paint.
With his jaw clenched, he looked to his father.
Achilles scowled.
Makaela's hands flew to her head. She could feel her chest expanding and deflating with every passing second. Silver spots dotted her vision despite her heavy breathing. Panic trickled inside of her, infiltrating her veins like a deadly toxin. It grabbed hold of her, forcing her to stay seat no matter how much she wanted to jump out of her seat and run.
The Order was here.
"What do we do?" Remy asked.
Achilles picked up his sword from the table and hobbled over to the exit of the room. "We meet our guests."