Then it all fell silent.
The vision froze. Another spear had been thrown, stopping in mid-air before reaching its target. The Destroyers glared at us all with cruel malice. I heard the shuffle of my own feet on the dew-soaked grass as I moved forward, reaching out to touch Jovi.
His face was barely recognizable in that moment, his mouth open as he cried out, his eyes wide and fearful. Not fear of the spear, or the Destroyers at the cliff edge, but as if he was recognizing his own death, staring it in the face as his body let him down, as if he’d never before realized that he was mortal.
Is this what death looks like?
Was it that frightening to face your own end? Like Jovi, like us all, I had never really considered my own death—not when we lived in the safest place on Earth. And most of us in The Shade were immortal anyway, or had such long lives it felt that way.
A voice, coming from the water-filled sphere, interrupted my morbid musings.
“Vita?”
I spun around, facing the Oracle. While everything else was still frozen, she alone seemed to be moving in her glass prison. Her hair wafted out gently behind her, and when she opened her mouth, bubbles rose to the surface.
“Vita, is that you?”
I nodded, my heart pounding in my chest as I took a step closer toward her. I froze completely as her body started to move…or not. It was confusing. The Oracle remained where she was, but a white, faded replica of her being stepped out from the glass constraints of the sphere. She looked like a ghost, and through her non-corporeal form I could see the ‘real’ Oracle still floating behind her. The ghost of the Oracle walked toward me, her eyes still unseeing, the runes moving rapidly over her body. Her hair was wet, leaving drips of water on the grass.
“Vita, answer me,” she pleaded, her voice barely above a whisper.
“I’m here,” I answered, my voice high-pitched and wavering.
She closed the space between us and stood inches in front of me. Her hands latched onto my arms. Her fingers were ice cold, so cold I felt like they almost burned marks onto my skin.
“Vita, listen to me. Time is running out. You need to find the Daughters, they will help, but you need to act fast. The Druid isn’t as safe as he thinks.”
She abruptly dropped my arms, looking up at the sky. I followed her gaze, but could see nothing. When I turned back to face her, the apparition was gone, and only the Oracle in the sphere remained.
“Wait!” I called out, running across the grass to reach the temple. I didn’t get very far before I started to feel nauseous, my head spinning. The vision was coming to an end.
Serena
Even out in the bright sunshine that seemed to give the illusion of safety—or at least it was more comforting than the surroundings of the basement—watching my brother, Vita and Aida slowly pass into an unconscious state was an uncomfortable moment. Draven told us to avoid the fumes ourselves, but even so I could feel myself growing slightly drowsy as the herbs’ aroma wafted my way with the breeze.
“How are they doing?” Bijarki asked, watching Vita.
“They’re fine,” Draven replied, his eyebrows raised in a warning as he saw where his friend’s attention was directed.
“They seem to be pretty out of it,” murmured Jovi. His gaze was directed at Draven, his brow furrowed in an expression of distrust.
“I’m sure it’s fine,” I said, soothing Jovi. He nodded with some reluctance and then took a step back to watch with Field, who hadn’t moved an inch or said a word from the moment our friends had gone under.
I could see all of their chests rising with steady, sleep-like breaths, and the repetition and calm of the motion started to relax me.
“Draven!” Bijarki barked as he moved swiftly over to my brother. I had been watching Vita, but I turned instantly to Phoenix, seeing his body twitching.
“What’s happening?” I asked, placing my hands on either side of his arms. His skin was ice cold beneath his shirt, but he was also sweating profusely.
Draven placed a palm across his forehead, muttering something under his breath.
“What?” I asked, panicked. It was no time for the Druid to be evasive. If there was something wrong with my brother, I wanted to know, now.
“Dammit!” the Druid swore, throwing the censers with the smoking herbs away from Phoenix’s body.
“Tell me what’s happening!” I tried to shake my brother, hoping that he would wake, but the Druid yelled at me to stop. Jovi grabbed me by both shoulders, moving me back and away from Phoenix.
“Get off,” I cried, twisting out of his grasp.
“It’s because he’s a syphon—I forgot.” The Druid let out another volley of curses.