Reaching Retribution(74)
“That’s different.”
“No, it’s not.”
“He attacked you, Ryanne. Multiple times.”
“And has protected me multiple times this past week.” Colton stares down at me for a couple of seconds, before sighing. I can tell that I’ve won. “Please, leave him alone.” I glance behind me at Adam, hoping that I don’t regret standing up for him. Adam nods and I feel his gratefulness wash over me. He didn’t want to fight Colton, because he knew it would upset me.
The shuffling around me gets louder as more mages start to make their way over to us. I hear whispers as people wonder what the heck is going on. Knowing I have to address everyone, I step away from Colton and walk to the center of the open area. I smile at some familiar faces, but there are many people here I don’t recognize. My smile widens when I see Lucas and his silent posse push through everyone.
Liam walks over to me and grabs my arm, pulling me toward him. “Ryanne, I understand what my mom meant.” At my confused look, he continues, “About the secret of the flame.”
“What? How?”
“In this situation, you are the secret of the flame. You bring the illumination we need in this dark time. You’re the light—the catalyst for the dawn.” I’m the secret of the flame? “A dawn is coming,” he reminds me, “but we need you.”
I’m the secret of the flame.
I now know what I have to do. I look behind me and walk over to the platform. Air, can you help me? I ask as I visualize myself being hoisted up and gently placed on the platform. I feel my feet being lifted on the ground. I use my arms to make sure I get enough upward movement. When I’m floating above the platform, I release the magic and let myself float down until my feet are firmly planted on the wood structure.
“Look,” I announce to everyone. “I don’t know how long this magic is going to stay. I’m honestly surprised that it’s lasted this long. Many of you don’t know me and I apologize for that. I wanted to meet all of you before this time came, but plans change.
“I may be able to see the future and I may be able to read minds and emotions, but today is as much of a mystery to me as it is to you. I don’t know how all of this is going to play out.” So many different emotions crash into me that I have to take a step back and mentally sort through them. Determination. Anger. Sadness. Love. Respect. Fear. “I’m scared, too. I afraid that everything I’ve fought for will be lost tonight, but isn’t that what life is about? Fighting for what you believe in?
“If you never had to fight for something, you’ve never truly lived. Life is about the unknowns. You never know where tomorrow is going to take you, but you go through the day because you want to know. Right here, right now, this is what I’ve been fighting for. This moment where I can finally do something good—where we all can finally do something good. We’re all here for a reason. Whether it is to stop the Gadramicks,” I motion toward the Howicks, “whether it is for closure, we’re all here for something. I want to finally stop Dravin and Zahtri.
“They’ve been testing on humans, trying to see if they can create a whole new magical race. Both Zahtri and Dravin tried to keep that thought from me, but their mental barriers are not as strong as they think they are. They’ve been trying to extract magic. At first, I thought it was so they could give it to Dravin to make him stronger, but I was wrong. Zahtri injected himself with the magic from witches. He’s learned how to use Dark Magic. Dravin’s been doing some experiments on the side. They’re trying to create a whole army of mages. Nonmages with powers. They’ve killed too many people during this experiment, and it needs to end today.
“I’m not saying that I agree with killing anyone. I’ve been at this compound way too many times, but since I’ve been here, I’m come to realize a few things. Not all the Gadramicks here are bad. Larkin and Kyril were once Gadramicks, but now they’re my family.” I look toward them and smile. Both of them smile and give me a knowing nod. “Adam was once one of the Gadramicks on the top of my list, but this past week, he’s been one of few reasons why I’m alive and standing in front of all of you. People can change. Please, don’t forget that.
“I know that blood will be shed here today. I wish that I could save everyone here, but I can’t, because I don’t know if I’ll make it out of this either. What happens today will be remembered for a long time, and I hope that we’ll all come out of this alive, but,” I glance toward the door of the compound where I know he’s standing, “sometimes fate has a different plan for us. There’s no more running. No more hiding. This is it.” Jedrek nods and slowly walks toward me.