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  Laura traced her path back. By her estimate, this statue was about a quarter of the way along the hollow. This statue’s gaze was also directed inward. She wondered what was there. That was where she would go, she decided, but first she wanted to see if there were other statues along the circle.

  She walked quickly, and found another sculpture, exactly like the ones before, standing exactly a quarter of the way from the last one. If she were a betting woman, she would have guessed there would be a fourth statue another quarter of the way away, at the halfway point between this one and the first one. She walked on, and after a while found the last carving. She went right past it, following the hollow all the way back to the first statue.

  Sure enough, the hollow made a complete circle. It was almost as if it was some kind of warding. Laura could not see far, but she felt sure there was something in the middle. Perhaps even what she came here for.

  She ventured forward slowly. She had an uncomfortable feeling that she was being watched. She strained her ears, listening for the tiniest noise that would give away the watcher. None came. Everything around her was quiet, blanketed by the discomforting fog. There could be somebody twenty feet away, and she wouldn’t know at all.

  She did not like how helpless the fog made her feel. It was almost an unnatural creation. And, it seemed to grow thicker the deeper she went into the circle. She tried willing it away, making it dissipate using her control over the dream realm. Nothing happened. She frowned to herself. That was supposed to be a simple thing. Perhaps she needed more control? She reached through the torrial, using it to influence the world… again, nothing happened. The blue aura around the three figurines sprung to life, but Laura couldn’t manage to do anything with it.

  Suddenly she noticed a pale light breaking through the fog. It came from in front of her. She went toward it carefully, aware of how vulnerable she was right now. Any attacker who knew the land would have her at his mercy.

  By her estimate, the light came from somewhere near the middle of the circle. However, it was impossible to tell without a clear view. Laura wandered closer, and abruptly the sky overhead darkened. She heard a roll of thunder in the distance and froze. The noise was the first to break the barrier of cloud. It sounded ominous.

  She looked ahead. In the darkened landscape, the light before her was more prevalent. She felt uneasy. She did not like how the sun just disappeared. It was as if it had been swallowed up by some beast.

  She went to the light, and as she got closer, a shape revealed itself to her. It surrounded the light. It was hard to see through the mist, so Laura went even closer. She was ten feet away when she finally saw the source of the light.

  There, in the middle of the circular clearing, stood a small wooden cabin. It was completely at odds with this place. The walls were made of freshly lacquered wood, and the roof of tile bricks. Unlike the statues that surrounded it, the cabin showed no signs of wear. In fact, none of it matched what was here. It looked like it had just dropped out of the sky.

  There was one window on the side facing Laura. That was the source of the light. She saw now, from the flickering shadows dancing on the ground before her, that the light came from some sort of fire.

  Laura approached the cabin carefully, and held on tightly to the three torrial in her pocket. Just because they afforded her greater control did not mean she could be stupid. The elders were more experienced, more sinister, and that undoubtedly gave them the advantage. Even with the torrial, she knew that her odds of matching one of them were slim to none. Still, she had to try.

  She circled the cabin, keeping one eye on it and the other on the fog around her. The window that she had seen was the only one. The only other feature that broke the uniform outer façade was a medium-sized door, just tall enough for her to fit through.

  She completed one circle, and, seeing nothing else, proceeded toward the cabin. She came to the door and stopped. What if this was some sort of trap? Surely the elder knew she was here by now. What if the cabin was a set-up, a way of getting Laura to put herself in some vulnerable position? But, at the same time, she couldn’t shy away now. The torrial that Gabrielle used had brought her here for a reason. Specifically here, to this barren land, right before the mountain. There was something here for her, and it was based on her need to kill the elders.

  She put her hand on the door and gently pushed it open. It swung easily on freshly-oiled hinges. The interior revealed itself to her.

  The cabin was empty except for a single bed and a roaring fireplace on the opposing wall. The flames gave no heat. But that wasn’t what held her attention.

  Seated on the bed, facing away from her, was a dark-haired man. He had his head between his hands, and by the way his body shook Laura thought he was sobbing. His hair was tied back in a ponytail.

  Laura crept into the cabin, careful to not make a noise. She felt a… pull… toward the man, and knew she had to be cautious. Could he be one of the elders? For some reason, she had always imagined them as frail, aging men, with hair as white as snow and skin leathery from too many years of living. Yet even from behind, Laura could tell the man before her was middle-aged and in possession of good health.

  Just as Laura was about to step in front of him, the man looked up. And Laura saw that he had not been sobbing. He had been laughing.

  Upon seeing his face Laura’s estimate was confirmed. The man was right in his middle-years, and some might say in the prime of his life. He had a strong if not handsome face, and a full beard that reached half-way down his chest. The clothes he wore were expensive. Laura had not seen luxuriant robes before, but the ones he had on gave no doubt to their worth. The seams were lined with threads of gold, and the outside lapels had magnificent animal stitched into them. A boar, a wolf, and a snake, among others that Laura did not recognized, twisted all the way around the collar of his jacket.

  A sinister smile distorted his face as his black eyes bore into her. That gaze was unearthly. Laura froze where she stood.

  The smile came and went, but the man made no move toward her. Neither did he relent on that gaze. His eyes did not shift from her face. Laura did not know what to do. If this was who she thought it was, he should be attacking her, or her him, right at this moment. Neither of those things came to pass. Instead, Laura just stood there, unable to move a muscle, as the man continued to examine her. A long minute passed, and Laura felt like she was stuck in some sort of limbo. She could not move her eyes from his face, either.

  “It is true,” he said finally, muttering the words as if in disbelief. “You are here.” On hearing his voice, Laura jerked backwards, ending the spell. His voice was smooth and rich, but possessed a subtle menacing overtone. Laura backpedalled until she hit the wall. That voice had an uncanny resemblance to Logan’s.

  “Do you know where you are, girl?” the man asked, not moving from his seat. “Do you know where you’ve brought me?”

  “Who are you?” Laura asked. Her voice trembled. She knew that with the torrial she had, she should be able to face anyone here. Yet, the man still frightened her. It felt like she had gone to war with nothing more than a toothpick.

  The man smiled again, then threw his head back and laughed. It was a rich, full laugh, and the sound filled the small space of the cabin until Laura felt like suffocating. He did not stop before he ran out of breath, and even then, when he returned his attention to her, Laura could hear the echoes of his laughter in her mind.

  “Do not ask stupid questions that you already know the answers to,” came the man’s reply. He said it with such scorn that Laura had to flinch. His answer confirmed who he was. He looked at her, and frowned. “What I would like to know,” he said slowly, “is how someone like you found the strength to bring me here.”

  Laura could find no words. Her resolve to see justice done against the elders did not give her the courage she expected. It was not that she was frightened when she looked at the man, per se, but rather that his very presence made her f
eel less sure of herself. And she had never felt that way, not since her Vassiz transformation. The closest thing she could think of was a pupil facing her master.

  “You’re not one for talking, hmm?” the man mused after a few moments. “Very well.” He thrust his arm toward Laura, and she felt an invisible force wrap itself tightly around her arms, her legs. She tried to resist, but whatever the elder did had her stuck in place. The force extended upwards, wrapping itself around her neck like a collar, and pulling in tight. She couldn’t even squirm.

  Instantly, her mind flashed back to being imprisoned by Borrak and Serkhol. She could not face that again. No. She squeezed her eyes shut, and willed the force to go away. She had control over this place. She strained… and nothing happened. Her pulse quickened, and her breathing increased. The elder had her trapped because she had been so absolutely careless! Anger seethed inside of her, anger at herself for walking into such a dangerous situation and not being prepared. She tried again, imagining the force dissipating, calling on her control over the dream to make it so. Nothing happened. The confines of the force pressed against her wrists and ankles, latching her tightly to the wall. The collar around her neck tightened, making it difficult to breathe. Control! She had it here, she could make this go away. But no matter how hard she tried, nothing happened.

  Laughter interrupted her efforts. Laura opened her eyes. The man had not moved from the bed, and neither did he lower the hand that was extended toward her. But he was shaking with laughter. It was not the gregarious laugh from before; no, this was a cruel, sinister laugh. The laugh of someone who knew he had absolute advantage.

  “You thought it would be simple, didn’t you?” came the mocking voice from the bed. “That you could just come here, with all the experience of a newborn calf, and expect to challenge me?” The constraint around Laura’s neck tightened, until each breathe became a rasping struggle for life. “You know not a fifth of the nature of this place. Not a hundredth! You are naïve, girl, to think that you alone could stand up to the elders. Do not gape. I know who you are, but more importantly, I know what you are here for. Did you truly believe we did not anticipate this threat from you? We knew the moment our twisted half-brothers were freed from their prison.” He paused for effect, then slowly pushed himself up, off the bed. The hand he directed at Laura did not waver. “What interests me more, however,” he continued, turning toward her, “is how you managed to bring me here without my consent. There is only once device in the entire world with the power to do so. But how could you find access it? Where? Answers to that are worth more to me than anything else. More than life itself. More than you.” Laura tried to move, but could not. Her mind worked furiously, desperately trying to find the control necessary to free herself of the bonds. Nothing worked. The man – the elder – walked closer to her, and fire raged in his eyes. “I will get answers to these questions, Laura, whether you will it or not.”

  In one smooth motion, he brought his other hand up and wrapped it around her neck. Crudely, he forced Laura’s head up, so that she looked at him. And without warning, he reached into her mind.

  A searing pain exploded from behind her temples. She saw a flash of red, and felt her memories being ripped out of her. She tried to fight back, to stop it from happening, but could not. A stream of all her memories became a river, then a flood. The elder was invading her most private thoughts, and she could do nothing to stop it. She felt the drain of her thoughts escaping her and flowing to him. He was sucking her mind dry, much as she had sucked the blood out of the listless Vassiz woman at her first feeding. If she let it continue, there would soon be nothing left… If she…

  The flow cut off, and the pain ceased. The elder still held his hand around her throat, but his eyes were closed, as if savoring the taste of her defeat. Laura was left gaping. She was now empty and hollow. She had not been able to hold anything back. She knew that he had taken everything she had. From the location of the repository, to the plans that she and the angels laid out, to the identity of all those who had helped her, she had given it all away. Remorse and sadness filled her. After the elder was done with her, everyone she knew would suffer. Alexander’s and Madison’s identity was now known, as would Jacob’s. And of course Logan’s. All because she was too weak to resist whatever the elder had done. She felt tears of hopelessness rise up within her, but forced them down. Whatever happened, she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing her cry.

  The man released his grip, and with that, all the bonds that held her dissolved. Laura fell to the floor like a sack of potatoes. She could breathe again, and gulped down the sweet, precious air. She expected a blow to come, and readied her body. Nothing happened. After a few seconds, she looked up. The man had stepped away from her, and was now looking out the window on the other side of the cabin. The fire in the hearth continued to flare, illuminating the whole room with its wicked, heatless flame. The man had his back to her – that was how much he considered her a threat! Laura felt the torrial she still held in her hand. If it did not help her now, it never would. She closed her eyes, starting to focus…

  “I would not do that if I were you.” The casualness of the elder’s voice startled Laura. She looked up. He had still not turned away from the window, and his hands were clasped behind his back. “Do you think I don’t know of the torrial you hold? Try, if you dare, to use it against me. But I must warn you that you will not like the repercussions.”

  Laura paused. Surely if the elder knew of the torrial she had, he would take it away? But perhaps it was not as valuable against him as she thought. Perhaps he was much more powerful than she thought.

  “You do not need to fear me, Laura. At least, not yet.” He chuckled again. “The knowledge you hold is valuable; you yourself are valuable. As a council of elders, we recognized the threat you posed to us. And we acknowledged that something must be done about it. The only thing we could agree to, unfortunately, was to see you killed.” He turned and looked at her. “But you must understand that it was not an ideal solution. For you, least of all.” He turned away.

  “What do you mean?” Laura asked. She had managed to stand up, but still felt weak. She had to hold on to something, and used the wall behind her for support. Her voice shook.

  “What I am saying, Laura, is that I am not like some of the others. I pride myself on being able to see the bigger picture more often than they. I always thought that the proposed method of dealing with you was… wasteful. Surely, someone with as much ability as yourself might prove useful in the future?”

  “What do you mean?” Laura repeated. Was he trying to reason with her? Why? What did he want?

  “Let’s not mince words. You know the prophecy as well as I do. When darkness comes, and hope is lost, a shimmering star shall be revealed. And she will free the fallen ones, restoring order to the rule of man. Are those not the words you know? The ones that brought you to me?”

  “…They are,” Laura admitted uncertainly.

  “But there is more to it that drives you, isn’t there? I know what Gabrielle told you.” He spat the name, as if it were of a hated rival. “He said you were a human child, taken in the dream, and ripped to reality. Did he not?”

  “Why are you telling me this?”

  “Because of what I can offer you, Laura. I can grant you understanding. Of who you are. Of your birth. Do not look at me like I am a fool! Of you true birth.”

  “Why… why would you do that?”

  “Because I am not so narrow-minded as the rest. We should not be fighting prophecy but embracing it. If you bring change, so be it. But I do not want to lose power after it.”

  “No!” Laura cried out. She would not agree to anything that would keep the elders, any of them, in control of the Vassiz. The race needed to be free. And in the back of Laura’s mind, a voice cried out with all the warnings she’d heard about the elders. That they lie. That they deceit. Without discretion, and without mercy.

  “No?” The elder turned a
nd smiled cruelly. “I could crush you like the ant you are with the blink of an eye. You are lucky I am the one you brought here. The others… they would not be so kind, nor so forgiving. But do not forget yourself before me!”

  Something struck the back of Laura’s knee, causing it to buckle. She fell onto the floor harshly.

  “Ah. Much better. You will bow before me, and show the respect that you owe! If you can manage that, I might let you live.”

  “What do you want?” Laura asked through strained teeth. All her strength felt sapped away. She tried standing, but the force that held her before was back, and it was laced around both her ankles. Her upper body was free, but she could not shift from the subservient position.

  “A truce, of sorts.” The force holding Laura disappeared. “You may stand now, if you wish. I will be frank with you. Your hatred of the elders… is understandable. To be honest, I share much of your distaste about my colleagues. The string of events that led me to my current position were merely one unfortunate circumstance after another, and… well, I believe I might help you.”

  “Help me? How?” Laura did not move from where she was. Even though the bonds were gone, she did not want to appear irreverent. Not now.

  “I could help you with your quest. You have precious little control over this world, while I, much more.” As if to illustrate his point, the fire burning beside them flared wildly. Its flames licked around the man’s face, and came close to Laura, but she could feel no heat. “I could help you destroy the others. All that I ask in return is that you pledge allegiance to me. Bow before me as your true master. Help me seize control of the others. Then, I will spare your life.”

  Laura’s eyes widened. Was he telling the truth? Could he possibly be willing help her? But, she knew she could not trust him. A thing that Madison said once rang through her mind. The elders would destroy each other if given the chance, only in search of greater power. She was in a dangerous game. If she could convince him that she would do so, and then use him to kill the others, only to turn on him at the very end… but he would anticipate something like that, would he not?