The Rosewood Prophecy

Chapter 14

                                                                               Katherine

"She's not waking up!"

"How long will she be out?"

"She summoned all of her magic, every last drop. That's why it drained her so much."

"The magic nearly killed her. She called up some of her life force for that magic."

"It's all my fault..."

"No it's not. Don't blame yourself, Aaron."

"I'm sorry; I'm just not good enough."

Voices. Lots of them. In the heavy darkness they faded in and out, never staying too long, because fatigue would always overwhelm me and I would fall back into a deep state of unconsciousness.

At one point I was on the edge of consciousness, but my eyelids were so heavy, and my body protested if I tried to wake up. But the voices were talking, sometimes loud, and sometimes soft. They washed over me like a soothing lullaby. The darkness pulled me back into its welcome arms...

"What was that? Lucian, go check."

"Guys, I think we're under attack!"

"What?!" Sounds of chairs being pushed back and footsteps running to the door. A whoosh of wind blew in as the door opened. Even in my semi-conscious state I was able to tell that something was wrong.

"Oh no..."Was that Indigo's upset voice? "My uncle...my cousins..."

"You children need to get out of here!" I identified the gruff voice as Old Henry.

"You haven't told us everything! Besides, we need to stay and help fight! And Katherine's still unconscious!" I heard Ashley's voice, going shrill at the end.

"I've told you all you need to know. And staying to fight would be suicide! You guys need to go now."

"You can't tell us what to do." Was that Lucian or Jason?

"Guys, our packs! They're still in the inn!"

"Oh no! Okay, we need to leave. We'll figure out what to do after we get our stuff!"

Strong arms slipped beneath me and lifted me from where I was laying. "I got Katherine. Let's go!" It sounded like Aaron. But wasn't he just so weak and pale from all the blood loss?

"Remember what I told you!" Old Henry shouted after us as we ran out the door and down the hill. The wind blew, gusty and strong. It was just like the day the Evils attacked the Academy.

I heard the neighing of horses. Legacy, I thought.

"Katherine's too weak to ride alone. She'll ride with me," came Aaron's firm voice. I felt a jolt as he leapt onto his horse, with me still in his arms. A lurch, and then we were off.

I fought against another wave of darkness. I need to be awake. My friends needed me. Something happened to the village, and if we were going to fight, I can't be unconscious.

Slowly, I forced my eyes to open. I saw Aaron's determined face as he followed the others back to the inn. He glanced down at me, and was surprised to see me awake.

"Kath! Oh thank god you're awake!" We stopped at the inn. Aaron helped me sit up and dismount.

"Katherine! Oh my gosh, how are you feeling? We were so worried," said Ashley, running up. Indigo and Lucian had headed in to grab our packs. Jason and Rachel were trying to gather information from nearby frantic villagers.