Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“Can I get you anything, Jeni?” Dad asked from the kitchen.
“No, thanks.” Wrapped in a blanket, I sat on the cream-colored couch in the living room, the huge flat-screen on mute and set to the news. I knew it was ridiculous, but I kept thinking maybe Draco would turn up at some bus stop, or a cop might pull over the people who took him and notice something was wrong. They’d report on it, right?
I still didn’t understand how the Seers had gotten in so quickly. It was like they knew the moment I left the house. Just the baby and my dad. Had they been watching us? Maybe using our own security system against us? Did Seers even know how to use technology?
No. They would have had someone from this world do the job.
But why take him now? He was of no use to them at such an early age.
“You need to hydrate.” Dad set a glass of water on the end table next to me.
“I have to try to see them,” I said.
“See who?”
I gave Dad a look. “You know who.”
“I agree with Ansin. They aren’t going to tell you anything. And if they do, it’ll only be to deceive you—maybe throw you off their track.”
“I know, but…I just have to look them in the eyes and ask why.”
He shrugged in that sort of way a person does when they have nothing more to say.
“If Ansin calls, wake me up. I’ll be downstairs in my bed.” I went to my room, closed the thick curtains leading to my private patio and the garden, and lay down on the soft white comforter. The process of leaving my body and traveling to their world—wherever it existed—didn’t come naturally to me. And lately, I hadn’t had any success with accessing my gifts. You have to try, Jeni.
I began relaxing my toes and fingers, arms and legs. Slow breathing. See myself there. See myself in ancient Crete. I visualized the deep blues and aquamarines of the Mediterranean, the powder blue sky, and soft white sandy beach. I imagined inhaling the fresh ocean air and savoring the warm sunshine on my face.
I felt my body dissolving away, separating from my soul. Go. Go. You can do this, Jeni. I began moving through the air in the room, up through the ceiling and other floors of the house until I was high in the sky. Go to them, Jeni. See them. I soared through layers of wispy clouds toward a bright blue light.
Suddenly, the sound of the ocean flooded my ears. I think I did it.
I opened my eyes and looked around at the empty beach. Something felt off. The times before, I’d been transported directly to the Seers. Whether they were seated around that old wooden table or on the beach, I’d gone directly to them. Today, there were no people. No Seers. Was I in the right place?
Off in the distance, I spotted a tall temple with marble pillars. I started walking toward it with the hot sun to my back. As I walked, I rehearsed what I wanted to say. I only wanted Draco to be freed and somewhere safe. In exchange, they could have anything they wanted. My obedience, my powers, my life. But they couldn’t use Draco as the vehicle to punish me, which was what I feared they were doing. Ariadna had said on the day Draco was born that I would be punished for killing another Seer. Specifically her. She’d been inside Mia’s stomach when Hagne ended their lives, followed by Arch’s.
I looked up at the temple, noticing it wasn’t any closer.
“What the hell is going on?” Had they locked me out? Was this part of my penance, too?
“I just want to know why you took Draco,” I yelled, spinning in a circle. “I want him back!”
A lone seagull, high above me, squawked, but that was the only sound.
“This isn’t over! I won’t rest until I get him back!”
King
Where is everyone? This was ancient Crete, during the times of the Minoans, with its glorious stone temples, trees bursting with figs, and thatched-roof dwellings, but there was no one here. I was completely alone in what appeared to be my childhood home.
Was this some sort of fucking joke? I searched every temple, every dwelling and field. I walked miles of coastline, searching for merchants or fishermen. Nothing. Not even an ox.
The island was completely void of life.
My anger and frustration soared. “Mia! Arch! Mack! Where the hell are you?”
Worse yet, I felt hollow inside. My powers were no use here. I could not sense, see, feel the sorts of energies naked to the eye but more useful than any tool or machine. I was just a man on an island all alone.
“I want him back! This isn’t over!” called a female voice that sounded oddly familiar.