Prophecies

     “.......ace.” I could hear a faint voice calling me. “Jace Princeton,” it said, a little clearer this time. The voice was soft, gentle, and female. I could feel my eyelids flicker. Someones hand gently shook my shoulders. My eyes slowly began to open. The first thing I saw was a candle on a stone wall. And then I felt a massive push in my head. I went up to rub my temple, and I noticed my arms were pretty badly bruised. I gently pushed one of them, and winced. What happened? Where was I? I couldn't remember anything. I looked up, and jumped a little.

     A girl was kneeling over me. At least, I think it was a girl. It had long red hair, but it's skin was a pearl white, and looked tighter, and smoother than human skin. It's big eyes looked so feline, and shallow green with the curve at the end. It's face also had an odd black, swirl like vine pattern encircling it's eyes, and cheeks. Growing out the side of it's head were ears shaped like a goat, and perched backwards, and pointing up. It was wearing a yellow skirt that was loose and carefree looking. It's shirt was off the shoulder, just as loose as her shirt, and the same color as it's skin. It had breasts, so I guess it was a girl.

     “Are you awake?” she asked me.

     I nodded.

     “Okay, good because you have to get up.” She got up to her feet, and that's when I saw Mr. Morris lying on the floor, surrounded by a pool of blood. It all came back to me in a rush. Nero and his minions, his cane with the black stone and the book, him taking Eden, along with everyone else, Tia. Without thinking, I jumped to my feet and grabbed the strange girl by her throat, and pinned her against the wall. I ignored the fact that it sent my whole body aching.

     She put her hands up. “Please, don't hurt me. I am no enemy.” she said with a scared look on her face. She looked scared, and I slowly released my grip.

     “So what are you?” I asked.

     “You could say I was a nymph of sorts. You may call me Anastasia.”

     “Okay then, Anastasia,” I started, “how do you know my name?”

     She smiled a little, revealing teeth in such a perfect alignment. “It's a gift of mine. I look at you, and I know almost everything about you. I also know you happen to have a little sister who is mentally disabled, am I correct?”

     That stopped me for a second. “Yeah, I do,” I said, wary.

     “You also have a serpent tattoo on your arm.” she added.

     I crinkled my eyebrows. “I don't have a serpent tattoo.”

     She cocked her head, and her ears twitched a little, like an animal. She also crinkled her eyebrows which made the dark, curly vine pattern on her face crinkle also. She reached for my left arm. “This is not a serpent tattoo?”

     I snatched my arm away. “No, it's a birthmark.”

     “You mean it is permanently branded into your skin?”

     “Yes...”

     “Then it is a tattoo. And it is shaped like a serpent.”

     I examined my birthmark again, knowing serpent could be another name for snake. I was shaking my head slightly, sure this was all just a dream. There's no way all that stuff with that Nero person and his disciples could have been real.

     “Wait,” I said suddenly, “Do you know who Nero is?”

     “Yes,” she said, but she hesitated before she said it.

     “Can you tell me?” I asked eagerly.

     She bit her lip. “No,” she said.

     “Why not?” I said, louder than I meant to.

     “Because it is not my place to say.”

     “Okay then. Could you tell me what happened to my friends?”

     “No, I cannot. If you want to find out what happened to them, you must come with me.”

     She grabbed my left arm again and tried to pull me away, but I snatched it back, and stayed in my place. She snapped around to face me. She tried to grab my arm again, but I backed away from her.

     “I'm not going anywhere with you.” I started. “You don't know me, you just know things about me, and I don't know you. You haven't told me anything that would make me trust you.”

     She took a deep breath. “I told you, it is not my place to say. The only thing I can tell you is, you are a good guy in all of this.”

     She reached for my arm again, but I backed away again, shaking my head.

     “Look,” she stated, “I can tell you want to get out of here and find some answers, and I am telling you, the only way to do that is to come with me. I can understand why you would not trust me, especially after what you just witnessed, but you must, because I am your only way out of here.” She finished sternly.

     I backed away a little, pressing my back against the stone wall. I looked down at the floor, causing my dark brown hair to fall in my eyes. I closed my eyes, and took a deep breath, trying to relax myself. Lifting my head back up, I caught sight of Mr. Morris, still lying there in a pool of blood.

     “He's dead, Jace.” Anastasia said bluntly. I turned my head to her. Her cat eyes were sad, and her ears twitched a little. She started walking toward me. Her straight red hair was swaying around her shoulders. When she reached me, she put her hand on my cheek, leaned in to my ear, and whispered “I am sorry.” When she backed away to see my face, she was crying a little.

     “Okay. I'll go with you,” I said, giving in.

     “Okay.” And with that she gently grabbed my left arm, and made her way past Mr. Morris, to the darker end of the hallway. “Hold on,” she said. She put her arm around my waste, and began to wave her hand around. The next thing I heard was a “woosh” that reminded me of when Nero fled. I couldn't see anything, but I felt like I was flying through the sky, without a care in the world. I could feel wind on my face, and all over the rest of my body, and it was exhilarating. I took another deep breath of it all, letting the air fill my lungs and lift me up higher into the black sky.

“Bend you knees,” I heard.

     I couldn't react in time, because just as soon as we were flying, I was face down on a marble floor, making me feel the cut on my forehead.

     “Are you alright?” Anastasia asked, slightly panicked.

     “Yeah, I think so,” I responded, trying to get to my feet. Anastasia got hold of my hand to help me the rest of the way.

     The sight in front of me was surreal, and at the same time, Medieval. The buildings were magnificent. Most were average sized, but it was the structure of them all that caught my eye. The doorways were arched, and the doors were a deep russet red, with two black iron bars going across them, like the door to a castle. The buildings themselves were made out of a tan stone. The little town was filled with colors of red, black, tan, and white, all blended together in a way that was nice to the eyes.

     “Where are we?” I asked, taking in everything.

     “This is Madelia,” Anastasia answered.

The people were all hustling and bustling in a way that looked anxious, and also nervous. Even the outfits of the people looked a little odd. The girls and women were dressed in those big obnoxious hats you only see rich people wear, and headbands with huge bows on them, and medium to long length dresses dresses with bright colors, and the guys in those pants from the 1800s, and vests.

     One couple talking in particular stood out to me. They were both crying, arguing about something, and the man pointed to the sky in the distance. I followed his finger, and saw what was probably the biggest building in this little town. It wasn't really a little place to eat, sleep, or a persons house, but more like a tower. It had a top part of the tower was flat, and stretched horizontally across a little portion of the sky, but what was above that gave me an uneasy feeling. Right above the flat top, was an ominous looking, dark purplish spot, that marred the clear sky. I looked at Anastasia, who was also staring at it with a cross of anger and fear. She hurried and grabbed my arm again to drag me away.

     “Come on, we do not have time to gawk. You have to talk to Sicarius.” she said as she speed walked me through the town.

     “Who's Sicarius?” I asked.

     “You will see.” she answered.

     “Let me guess,” I started, “It's not your place to say?”

     “You catch on quickly.”

     As I was walking through the town, I could hear panicked cries from all of the people as I zoomed past them. One in particular, stayed in my head. A little boy was crying onto his mother's chest, while she caressed him, and told him everything was going to be alright. Her voice said one thing, but her face told a whole different story.

     “We are here.” We stopped in front of a building that was different from all of the others. It was the standard house shape, with a triangle roof, but also different from everything else, the exterior was a deep blue, with mixes of green. The door was a little wood door with a brass doorknob. Anastasia stepped forward and knocked on the door three times. I stood back, waiting for what was behind that door.

     The knob turned with a click, and slowly opened, and behind it was an old man. He was old, but he was tall, and healthy looking. He had a white beard to his neck, and he was bald. His wrinkles were soft, and more accented by the warm smile on his face. He was draped in a blue robe that matched his house color, and his green eyes were welcoming. I slowly began to relax.

     “I have found him, Sicarius,” Anastasia said. I raised my eyebrows at her. 'I have found him?' I looked at Sicarius, who was now staring at me. His eyes were examining me with the intent only an old person could muster, and I felt like I was a museum piece on display for curious spectators. His eyes wandered to my left arm, and on my birthmark. The smile on his face went a little bigger.

     He looked back at Anastasia. “You did well,” he said, and she looked at the floor and smiled, pleased with herself. If she could blush, I'm sure she would have.

     “Come in,” he said gesturing us with his hand.

     Anastasia led the way in, and I followed after her.

     The inside was even more peculiar that the outside. It had a musty, ancient smell, but at the same time, it smelled homey. It was only one room. A table was closest to us, and on the left side of the room. A stove and oven was next, and on the right side, and in the very far back was a bed that was made neatly, with simple colored sheets. Against the walls were countless shelves that were filled with dusty looking books, and weird looking trinkets, and other items you would find in a role playing game. The only normal thing was a fish bowl, and swimming inside it was a little gold fish. While Sicarius was roaming the shelves for something, I made my way farther down the shelve I was on, stopping on something that looked like a wand. It was long, and red, but with a black tip. Something about it seemed to glow, and I felt the need to touch it. I reached up, slowly extending my arm and -

     “Don't touch that,” Sicarius stopped me. In his hand was a suspicious looking yellow liquid, and a sponge. He grabbed a chair, and lay it out for me. Anastasia was on the other side of the chair. I don't know why, but it made me feel trapped.

Knowing I couldn't do anything about it, I sauntered over to the chair and sat down.

“Put your head back,” he told me. He took the vial of yellow liquid, and dumped a little of it into the sponge. Then he took the sponge and moved it over my cut. I expected it to sting a little, but it didn't. It felt like sunshine on me face. It made me relax finally.

     “I see you've met Nero,” Sicarius said to me with a little chuckle.

     I popped up out of my seat.

     “You know Nero!” I exclaimed.

     “Yes, I do.” He said. “Sit back down.”

     I sat.

     “When you met Nero, did he have a book and a cane with him?”

     I scanned my memory. “Yes, I can remember a cane and a book.”

     “Did this cane have the Black Diamond sitting on top of it?”

     “Yes,” I responded.

     “That diamond, is cursed,” he said, his tone and his face going dark.

     He paused a second, as if preparing himself. I looked at his face, and I could tell I was going to be sitting here for a while.

     “The book in his hand, that was the Book of Psaris,” he launched into his story. “It is filled with prophecies and glimpses of the future.”

     “The future?” I asked in awe, my eyes bulging out of my head a little.

     “Yes, the future. Naturally, everyone wanted for themselves, hoping to take a peak at their future, but no one who obtained it was ever happy.” His voice was deep, and haunting. “The reason being, it held frightful stories not meant for human eyes. The main prophecy, being the one of the Black Diamond.”

     My heart was beginning to beat a little faster, but I ignored it, already entranced in this story.

     “'Only the blood of a pure heart may activate the Black Diamond, and henceforth, open the black hole,' so it is written.” As he said this, his eyes were distant, looking out into space.

     I was fixated, until my mind hung on a certain phrase. Only the blood of a pure heart may activate the Black Diamond. My mind then wandered back to Nero, and how he said he needed a pure heart. And that's when he took Eden, Tia, Liam, Gracie, and everyone else.

     “What do you mean 'the blood of a pure heart?'” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

     “I mean, a pure-hearten person must die in front of the Black Diamond in order for it to activate.”

     I rolled over that in my head. Nero said Eden was his pure heart. Sicarius had just said a pure heart had to die in order for the black whole to open, and at that my mind went back to that purplish spot I saw in the sky. A single tear slid down my face as I made the horrifying, heart wrenching connection.

     “Oh my God,” I was shaking my head in denial. “He killed Eden,” I choked on the words.

     “If the Black Diamond is not stopped, the black whole will consume all worlds.”

     “Who wrote this book?” I said, the tears streaming harder.

     “Nobody knows. But it is a theory that the one who authored the Book of Psaris is the same one who created the Black Diamond.”

     “Is there a way to stop it?” I said, sure my face was pale white.

     “Yes.” He got up and went back to one of his bookshelves and pulled out a thick book that was covered with dust. He slammed it on the table, and a dust cloud blew up, making me cough a little.

     “This book was written by my ancestors, the same one who built this here town, to counter act the Book of Psaris. My ancestors called this the Book of Itha.”

I drew my hand across its leathery binding. The pages were a little ripped, but like Sicarius said, it was written by ancients.

     “Also created by my ancestors, was Iridescan's Amulet.” he reached into one of his pocket, and slowly pulled out a gold chain with a gold, solid circle hanging off of it. He held it up to me. It looked like it was missing it's middle piece.

     “Like the Book of Psaris, the Book of Itha tells the story of this little beauty right here,” he said, waving it in my face. “I see you noticed it's missing it's piece. Well, my ancestors were worried about the security of it, and to protect it, they separated the middle piece into eight different factions, and spread them throughout different realms.” I nodded my head, drawn to the story again. “'Once one piece is found, the next one will reveal itself by opening the portal to its realm,'” he quoted another passage. “I have the first piece right here actually.” he reached into his pocket again, and pulled out a small red stone, that like the Black Diamond, was translucent, and seemed to glow from the inside. The sight of it made my birthmark burn, in a good way.

     “So, which realm is this?”I asked.

     “It's not really a realm at all. It's more like...” he stroked his beard, trying to find the words. “You could say it was between realms.”

     “Wait, if you have it, why don't you just find the other pieces?”

     “Because it is not my place,” he said, repeating Anastasia.

     “So who has to find them?”

     A smile slowly spread across his face as he stared at me. “You,” he said.

     I choked on my breath. “Me?” I asked in disbelief.

     “Yes, you.”

     “Why me?” I asked again, my voice more than a little shaky.

     “Because, you are the 'Boy with the Serpent Tattoo.” He said, staring at my birthmark. I quickly slid it under the table. Sicarius brought my arm up and lay it on the table. With his bony finger, he traced the birthmark to my elbow.

     “The Boy with the Serpent Tattoo must travel through these realms to find the pieces of the Amulet. 'When all pieces are found, the very last piece shall reveal itself.'” He looked at me. “However, just finding the pieces won't be enough to stop the Black Diamond completely, it will only give you the power to do so. In order to completely stop the Black Diamond, The Boy with the Serpent Tattoo must harness the power of Iridescan's Amulet to defeat the Black Diamond's wielder.. That wielder, would be Nero.”

     Nero had thrown me 50 feet clear with just a flick of his hand, and he didn't even touch me. How could I possibly fight, let alone defeat him? Sicarius' mouth was moving, but his words were barely clicking in my head. I was overwhelmed by what he was saying. This had to be some weird dream, and I would wake up any time now, and get ready for school. I pinched myself, but nothing changed. “Listen, I want to help. I do, but I can't be your hero, or whatever.”

     “But you are the hero of the prophecies-”

     “No, I'm not. I can't even throw a dodge ball.”

     Sicarius examined me again. “You doubt yourself.”

     “I'm honest with myself,” I replied.

     “Listen, um...”

     “Jace,” Anastasia interjected.

     “Jace,” he said, “you have a lot of strength that you don't give yourself credit for.”

     “I know. I'm weaker.” I sighed. “Look, I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to find yourself another hero.”

     I snatched my arm back, and got up from the table.

     “Jace, wait,” Anastasia said after a period of silence. “You can't go.”

     “I can, and I will,” I told her.

     I turned the knob, and left into the little town known as Madelia.