Wicked resurrection 5, p.10
Wicked: Resurrection 5, page 10
"Amanda!"She shook her head and stuttered, "Wh-what? Where am I?"
Seemingly convinced that there were no dragons in the room, he settled down on the edge of her bed and grabbed her hand. "You're in your room. It's three in the morning."
"It is?" she asked, her eyes seeking out the clock on her nightstand.
Sure enough, it was. She watched as the digital numbers changed to read 3:01. Why couldn't she remember anything after breakfast? she thought in a panic.
"I'm looking forward to a turkey dinner tomorrow," her dad said, suppressing a yawn.
She blinked at him. It was three a.m., which meant that she had been dreaming about being in the kitchen and fixing breakfast and thinking about the phoenix.
"Me too," she managed to say back, despite the sudden fear that gripped her. The dream had felt absolutely real. Was she losing it? If she could no longer tell the difference between her waking life and her sleeping life, what did that mean? She shivered."You want me to get an extra blanket?" her father said, noticing and misinterpreting the action.
She shook her head slowly. "No, thank you. I'll be fine. I'll see you in the morning," she said, desperate to be alone so she could try to sort things out.
Her dad, however, seemed to have other ideas. "You know, I've noticed something strange since we moved here."She perked up, actually daring to hope that she wasn't alone, that she wasn't crazy. "What?"
"I haven't had any dreams."
Disappointment flooded through her. She wished she could say the same. "Maybe you just don't remember them."
He shook his head. "I don't think that's it. Ever since the war, I've had nightmares. Everything that's happened lately has made them worse, or at least more frequent. We came here, though, and not a single one. I talked with Tommy and Nicole yesterday. Neither of them is dreaming either."
Amanda sat up straighter. Now, that was strange. As kids, Nicole had been a lot more prone to dreams and nightmares than she had. "And I'm having nightmares every night," she admitted.
He nodded. "Yes. I don't know what it means, but one thing I've learned in life is there are no coincidences, just plans you don't know about. I'm starting to think we should get out of this house."
"No!" Amanda burst out, surprising even herself. "If there is something going on here, I need to find out what it is. I feel like there's something I'm supposed to do or find."
He nodded slowly. "Anything I can do to help with that?"
"I don't think so. If there is, though, you'll be the first to know."She sat there staring her father in the eyes, praying to the Goddess that he understood. "Okay but if things get too intense, we go when I say, no arguments."
She actually laughed. "Given the fact that we're still here after the dragon, I'd hate to see what you think too intense is."He laughed for a moment, but it didn't reach his eyes. "No, you really wouldn't want to."He kissed her forehead and stood up, and moved toward the door. She glanced at it, still somewhat surprised that Nicole and Tommy hadn't also come to check up on her."One other thing, sweetheart."
"Yes, Father?"
"I saw you tonight in the hallway when you cast the sleeping spells over Nicole and Tommy. Just don't ever do that to me. Are we clear?"All she could manage was a nod as terror closed around her throat like a giant fist. She had no memory of casting those spells.
Outside Mumbai: Armand, Pablo, Holly, Alex, and the Temple of the Air Armand woke covered in sweat. As he lay still trying to slow his heartbeat and regulate his breathing, he tried not to dwell on the nightmarish faces that still swam behind his closed eyes.
The hair on the back of his neck prickled, and he threw himself to the side and opened his eyes just in time to see a black, scaly demon slice through his pillow with a sickle.
Without a word Armand raised his hand and sent a blast of fire toward the demon. It hit him full in the chest and only burned a moment before snuffing out. The distraction was all that Armand needed. His lips moved in prayer, and a moment later the demon exploded, showering him and his sleeping covenates with gore."Not again, Armand," Pablo said sleepily."I just washed my hair," Holly groaned, sitting up and looking at him crossly.
A few weeks before, they would have thanked him. He knew it was confirmation that they shared his fears. Ever since he had exorcised Holly, something had changed. If there was a demon anywhere around, it seemed to sense him, to find him.
"Demon magnet," Alex muttered before going back to sleep.
Two of Alex's followers--Armand still didn't know their names--rose and set to work repairing the wards that the demon had somehow managed to break through. It had become standard procedure to ward any place they were going to be at for more than an hour. Any longer than that, and the demons started coming.
Armand lay back down, but he knew he would get no more sleep that night. Something had to give. The demons who were being drawn to him were all different, and every time they came, he flashed back to exorcising Holly and the sheer number of different rituals he had needed to perform.
His path had never been an easy one. He had studied to be a priest and at the last moment had turned aside to study the ways of the Goddess. He had managed to blend the two religions and had found others with similar beliefs and needs. Sometimes he wondered what would have happened if he hadn't quit. Would he have had his own parish by now? Would he have advanced through the ranks? Would he have ministered to the lost and suffering? Or would he have become an exorcist? For so long the church had stopped teaching the sacred rite. Almost too late they had seen their mistake. Now they were scrambling with only a handful of trained exorcists still alive, who were dying as old men without passing on their wisdom.
"Tell me what to do," he breathed to whichever deity would answer.
A sudden thought came to his mind with such startling clarity that he knew it was an answer. He remembered when he was just a boy back in Paris, he had met a great man, a prophet who could see the future and read a person's soul. He had come to speak to the congregation at Armand's church.
His name was Jacob. And he had told them that he lived in India. On the outskirts of Bombay…
now known as Mumbai.
How could I have forgotten that? he thought. But Armand had been only three years old then.
How could he have remembered?
His heart began to pound. His mind tried to tell him that he didn't even know if this Jacob was still alive.
Seek and ye shall find.
He rose silently, then froze. What if it were a trick, designed to lure him away from Holly and the others? What if, by leaving, he abandoned them to demonic attack and worse--possession?
And yet… Jacob had been a holy man. He had told Armand that he would become an orphan.
His parents had laughed… and then crossed themselves.
They had died within the year, both of them. To a strange malady.
Perhaps Jacob had given them the disease.
I don't know what to do, he thought. So he sank to his knees and prayed.
Venga, said a voice. Come.
Warmth spread through him, taking the edge off his terrible fear. Resolved, he touched Pablo on the shoulder and moved away from the others. Pablo was beside him in a moment. I must find a man, a prophet named Jacob who lives somewhere near here.
Pablo closed his eyes in concentration. Finally he nodded and opened his eyes. He's waiting for you. He Hues a few miles away to the east. I'll guide you, in your mind.
I will be back as soon as I can, Armand thought, laying a hand on Pablo's skinny shoulder. I will not leave you here. It might be better if you keep the reason that I've gone to yourself.
I know. I agree.
Armand turned, made a hole for himself through the wards surrounding the camp, and slipped into the night. Once out of earshot, he abandoned caution and began to run. The farther he got from the camp, the greater the sense of urgency.
When he came to a small village, his feet guided him around it and to a house well past it, secluded and private. Gracias, Pablo.
He stopped, out of breath, and stood for a moment. Then he walked slowly up to the front door of the house, only mildly surprised to see that it stood open. Inside he could see into a back room where an old man sat at a table laden with two cups filled with steaming liquid, and a single candle for illumination. He was gaunt, with a long beard, and was wearing a weathered sweatshirt and a pair of tan trousers. His feet were bare. "I've been waiting for you, young man,"
he said in French.
"Jacob," Armand whispered, walking inside and closing the door behind him. "How did you know?"
The old man chuckled. "Prophet, remember? Or have you forgotten that as well?"
"As well?" Armand asked as he seated himself at the table.
"You were just a boy when we met, but I promised you we would see each other again. One might say we have unfinished business. Have some tea.
"As Armand sipped his tea, he marveled at how with a few simple words Jacob had seemed to transport them back through time. Once again Armand was the wide-eyed child, eager to learn, to ask questions and to be told his future.
"Why did you choose to follow both the Hebrew God and the Goddess?" the old man asked, staring intently at him."I felt like there had to be something more out there. I wanted to know everything I could."
"Then why didn't you become Buddhist as well?"Armand felt himself flush. "I guess I found what made sense to me, and…"
"And you didn't feel the need to keep going with your quest."
"I guess not," Armand admitted. –
"You like the mystical, the supernatural."
It was a statement, not a question. Armand just dropped his eyes to his cup, wondering if he was about to be scolded."You had the misfortune to come up in the church at a time when these things were frowned upon, discouraged."
'Yes," Armand admitted."You would have done well as an exorcist, or a healer. In this technologically driven world of ours, though, there is very little place for faith, let alone the miraculous."
"I have often thought that," Armand said."Of course you have, and so you went looking for something more exciting." He smiled, his lined eyelids crinkling like Venetian blinds.
Armand opened his mouth to protest, but Jacob waved him off. "You did not see how you could be yourself inside the church, so you left. It happens to many."
"I don't see what you're getting at," Armand said. "What I need to know right now is--"Jacob took a sip of tea, peering through his lashes at Armand. "You have demon problems, yes?"
"Oui."
"They are getting worse since you have set yourself up as one who can banish them, correct?"
Armand nodded.
"Then you should know they will only get worse. Soon the Dark One is coming to destroy the earth. The demons also sense this, and it makes them both bolder and more afraid."
"You mean, Satan is coming?" As Armand spoke the name, the tea in his cup froze to ice.
Jacob stared at him long and hard before giving him a tiny smile. 'You're not asking me to explain; you're asking me what to believe. That, as always, is your choice. But, no, the Dark One is not Satan. He goes by many names, but that is not one."Jacob touched Armand's cup, and the ice changed back into steaming tea."I'm not sure that makes me feel any better," Armand murmured."It shouldn't. Terrible things are coming, and what you have seen is only the beginning."
"What must I do?"
"You must fight." Jacob leaned forward and took both of Armand's hands in his. His grip was strong. His frail appearance was deceiving. Appearances so often were."You have been assigned a role in this since before your birth. The powers beyond us always have plans for us. However, you can only fulfill your destiny if your heart is undivided."
"What do you mean?" Armand asked even though he was afraid he knew the answer.
Jacob gripped harder, as if trying to press answers into Armand's flesh. "You must choose. You must follow either the Hebrew God or the Goddess. If you try to serve both, you will not have the focus you need and you will be one of the first to die."Armand trembled, and Jacob released him. "Which must I choose?"
"That is up to you, but you must do so quickly and without doubt." He drank another sip of tea."How do I do that?" Armand was baffled.
Jacob closed his eyes, and the expression on his face reminded Armand of the look Pablo had when concentrating especially hard on a distant voice he alone could hear."The time is coming when a choice will be presented. Then you must make it, and swiftly." He picked up both their cups and scooted out his chair. "But now you must go so that you are not missed."Armand had so many other questions, but the prophet raised his hand as though to stave them off. Reluctantly Armand stood and bowed.
Jacob bowed back. "I salute you, pilgrim," he said."Would you come with me?" Armand asked him."If I could, I would. But I have a battle of my own," Jacob replied. "Now go." Armand left the small house and with a heavy heart turned his steps back to the camp.
He knew something was wrong when he was still about a mile away. He felt as if he heard the whisper of shouts on the air. Pablo, can you hear me? he thought.
There was no answer.
He began to run.
Seattle, Five Years Ago: Nicole and Eli
It was the first day of high school for Nicole Anderson and her twin sister Amanda. Nicole was jazzed! Of course, Amanda was her usual quiet self. It was too hard to tell what went on half the time in her sister's head.
No big. Life was for living, not worrying. Still, when lunchtime came, she dutifully found Amanda in the cafeteria and sat with her, just like she had promised her mom she would. It was only the first day, and besides, wherever Nicole sat, her best friends, Kat and Steph, would follow.
"So, how's it going?" Nicole asked Amanda. "Any hot guys in your classes?"Amanda sighed.
"So far, just lots of homework But I think I'm going to love my math class."
"Gag me," Nicole said, grimacing as she slurped her diet soda. "I'd rather take six periods of PE
than--"Whoa. Across the room the hottest guy she had ever seen was staring right at her. Dark bedroom eyes, long dark hair. Amazing. She let her lips curve into a smile around the straw, realized that was kind of, um, sexual, and made herself look away. She knew how to play the game. She'd been playing it for years.
"Who's that?" she asked, lowering her voice.
Everyone at the table turned to look, then turned back.
"That's Eli, Jeraud Deveraux's older brother," Kat breathed. "A senior."
"He's trouble," Steph said. "My brother says his family's into some really weird stuff. Like devilworshipping
or something. But his dad is totally hot, for an olderguy."Trouble. Nicole smiled.
She liked the sound of that.
Across the room Eli Deveraux was still staring at her, and he started smiling too. Even though he was all the way across the noisy cafeteria, she was sure she could see right into his eyes and lose herself in them…
"Nicole! Nicole!"She jumped and turned to Amanda.
"What?" she snapped, irritated."What are you saying?" Amanda demanded.
"What do you mean?" Nicole grabbed a french fry off Amanda's plate, swabbed it in her ketchup, and ate it.
Amanda batted her hand away. "Just now you were staring at Eli and you were saying…
something. I couldn't understand you."
"It sounded French," Kat said, stealing a french fry from Amanda too.
"I don't speak French," Nicole said, annoyed with all of them now.
"Are you on drugs?" Amanda cried. "I am so telling Mom--"
"I am not on drugs," Nicole said.
"And if you're so hungry, why don't you eat your own lunch?" Amanda continued.
Nicole glanced down at the table and realized she hadn't eaten a thing. How did that happen? she wondered briefly. She crammed a bite of turkey sandwich into her mouth and washed it down with the rest of her soda.
Then the bell rang. As everyone scrambled, she looked over toward Eli. He was gone.
When they got home, she was big-time going to lecture Amanda about distracting her when she was in flirt mode.
Finding her a boyfriend would do wonders for my hue life, she realized. A second later she dismissed it. They had only one class in common, and after today they didn't even have to eat lunch together. I so should have been an only child. I'd be great at it.
Nicole fidgeted through the rest of her classes. She couldn't stop thinking about Eli. There was something so powerful about him. She closed her eyes and envisioned his broad shoulders. She imagined what it would be like to run her fingers through his dark hair and kiss him.
Her algebra teacher droned on and on, and Nicole started checking out. It was her last class of the day and she was hoping that she'd be able to catch a glimpse of Eli before he left campus.
Eli.
So gorgeous.
Eli.
So dangerous.
Eli.
That name didn't seem to suit him, though. There was another.
She was standing in the back of a different class, his class. She could see him staring out the window. Was he thinking of her?
Can you see me?
Suddenly he turned around and looked right at her, right through her. Her skin felt as though it were on fire. It was all so…familiar. The bell rang and she snapped awake. For a moment she was disoriented until she stared down at her piece of paper. There she had written "2x + y = Eli."
She blushed and scratched it out quickly before stuffing her notebook into her bag. She was going to have to move fast if she hoped to see him before he left school. Everyone else had filed out by the time she made it to the door. She ran so hard right into a broad chest that she had the wind knocked out of her. She looked up and melted into Eli's eyes.
"It's you," she whispered.
He looked a little puzzled, but he nodded anyway.
His eyes were more intense than she had even imagined them. So very Deveraux.
She brushed the thought away. Of course, he was the first Deveraux she had actually met. She had seen his younger brother, Jer, but only from a distance. Amanda had made Mom drive by his house when they were twelve.
