Exodus - The Khiara Banning Series Book Two

Ten

Sam

It's night time and Rexy is lost. I can't find him anywhere. And believe me; I've been looking for him. I mean how does a dinosaur get lost? They're ferocious. I don't know what ferocious means exactly, but Lisa told me that's what they are, so that's what they are. Lisa's pretty smart.

I miss him. I was s'pposed to give him to Ki-ki but now I guess I can't. I think I'm gonna look some more.

Hopping out of my bed, I make sure that everybody else is fast asleep. I can hear uncle Cam's snores and Daddy's too...even Cara's. I think she snores the loudest. They're all dreaming, which is nice, except that Tristan's having a nightmare.

I don't like that very much. Makes me sad.

So, I fix it. Close my eyes, and think positively at him, and make sure he dreams of happier things like chocolate and pudding. Chocolate pudding. I'm hungry I guess. A giggle escapes me, and I cover my mouth quickly so nobody hears it. I hafta be serious. I do. I need to find Rexy. He's probably missing me too.

One last look at everybody, and I'm out the door, into the night. I figure if I retrace my steps, I'll find him. I just needa remember where I went!

But after about five minutes, something makes me stop my searching. I have no problems seeing in the dark although I hate it because scary things always lurk just beyond my reach. But that's not why I stop.

I'm being followed, but I'm not scared. She's not scary. I turn around, and on a low-hanging branch is my follower. She's a crow right now! I like crows; they're smart and kinda fluffy if you look close enough.

"Morrigan," I say, somehow knowing her name, pulling it from deep inside of me, the part where my magic comes from, not the kid part.

"Hello Sam," she says, and she hops onto my shoulder.

I laugh at the sound of a person coming from a crow. "Why're you here?" I ask.

"To alleviate the harbinger of her curse. She has realized her potential and has passed the first trial of the in-between."

"Oh," I say, somehow understanding exactly what she means. "I'll tell everybody?"

"Please," she says, and turns into a human form in one blink of my eyes.

She's holding Rexy.

"I found this on the forest floor, child. Do you know who this dinosaur belongs to?"

I smile and jump up and down and up and down and, oh I'm kinda dizzy! "Me! That's Rexy. He's ferocious."

Morrigan smiles down at me, and says, "Yes, he is, isn't he. And he's also very courageous. Do you know what that means, Sam?"

I shake my head, because no, I don't. Sometimes I understand some serious stuff but it feels like that's not really a real part of me, and sometimes I'm just Sam. Sam who can do things that other kids his age can't, but that's okay because everybody's different. Sam who likes cheese sandwiches with fries on the side, and the colour green like the leaves on the trees.

"What does that mean?" I ask.

"That means he has courage, and that he is brave. Are you brave, Sam?" she says as she hands Rexy to me.

I think about this for a second.

Am I brave? I dunno.

She places her hand on my shoulder and says, "You are very brave, Sam. You ran into battle knowing that Khiara would be killed, but you did it anyway because you knew it was needed. And I have a secret for you," she says, "a secret that you must only tell when the time comes; and you'll know when it comes. Do you think you can keep it until then?"

I nod.

She runs a hand through my hair. "My brother – your God – is going to pay his first visit in a very long time to Earth. To make the final judgement. Your kind is rare, and pure, and wonderful, and as native to Earth as the Humans and the Fae. But you are being hunted. This is the only warning I will give you."

I whimper a bit, but catch myself and force it out of me. All the way out. "I can be brave," I say. "If I have to be. But... I'm also kinda scared."

She smiles at me. "Of course you are. That is what bravery is all about. Now," she purrs, and just like that, turns into a crow again. "Take Rexy back to bed. Get some sleep."

"Okay," I whisper, and she's gone.

A scream breaks through the night, far away but not too far away for my ears. Death suddenly feels very close to me, and I begin to panic. Why can I hear screaming so far away from people?

The sudden image of thousands of bodies littering the ground, the smell of rotting flesh in the harsh sun finds its way into my head somehow, and then the landscape changes to a snowy one with far more people – angels? And they're fighting, and dying, and dying, and dying.

It's the Battle. I can see it.

My pants grow warm and wet, and I clutch Rexy close to me.

But I have to be brave.

So I walk away from everybody I care about, towards the screaming. I go against my very instincts. And I'm no longer Sam who likes sandwiches with fries on the side, and the colour green like the leaves on the trees.

I am Rephaim.