The Seers of Oak

Book 2 - Chapter 10 - A second chance

Nate screamed, falling backward, and Ginata flinched, catching herself with strong arms as she fell backward. That shock alone sent her system spinning, trying to reorient.

They were surrounded by slate walls and marble floors. An ugly yellow-brown urn sat on one side of a doorway, its partner shattered nearby. Above her, a small balcony with wrought iron railing would lead into the Council chamber. Ginata lay her palm flat against the smooth floor, amazed, and tried to grasp it all. She understood, but understanding and her body's reactions took a moment to align.

Nate continued to scream, scooting backward, eyes closed and hands locked like claws in the air. His back hit the wall and he continued trying to scoot through it. A few heads appeared around the corner and Ginata closed the distance to his side. The air cleared and cooled as if a blanket were thrown off. Ginata couldn't help a shiver through her body at the nonexistent breeze and she knew instinctively that the Festival's spell released its hold. Another wild cry from Nate brought Ginata's sister and another Council member running. Ginata's arms grasped him, calling his name over and over as she'd often seen her mother do to her father when a particularly bad vision ended.

Pricila pushing the junior Council members aside and forced his claw-like hands out of her way. She placed her hands on the side of his face. "Nate! Nate, come back to us Nate. The vision is gone."

Ginata watched with a strange distance. She'd been moved aside as well, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to stay and watch or hide in her own hole. His screams mirrored her own, though hers were mute. It was a vision. It was over.

But it felt so real.

She had lived for years in a world that was not her own, an alternative future that could still come to pass. A violent shiver shook through her as the echoes of memory and horror flashed across her mind. She could still feel the dead weight of a body she had no strength to control. She could see the wild insanity in the king's eyes. She knew her bow would never be sufficient. A rasping sob tore through her sealed lips at the thought that they might live through it all again. She closed her eyes, wanting to escape and found only the memory of darkness and the touch of unwelcome hands. The smell of death and the screams of soldiers; horses nickering in terror; shouts and orders she couldn't heed for the press of sword and mace.

She broke into sobbing cries, releasing the agony of the experience with her own wail of despair. She had to live it all again. A hundred Seers had found no escape from what was coming, and all she'd ever managed was to complicate things. The war would kill her again.

"Ginata!" Her sister's voice sounded distant to her ears. "Ginata!" The demand and concern in the voice pulled at her. "It's not real, Ginata. You're home now. This is reality. You're free of the vision."

Her eyes finally opened and the darkness fled. A blush crept onto her cheeks as she recognized the growing crowd of peers and concerned leaders.

Nate was under control again, but his eyes remained wild. "I can still feel it. I feel my skin pulling; ripping apart." His hands clutched his stomach where he'd torn.

Ginata shuddered again, pushing at her sister's hands. She stumbled upward, trying to regain her feet. She had strength, but her mind didn't expect any. She walked like a newborn horse, haltingly stepping a few times before she overbalanced and hit the wall, sliding back to the ground. She felt the sobs again, crawling up her throat for release.

"Get them out of here." Pricila waved a hand at the rest of the youth. "Clear the room and get her father."

The Council members hurried to obey, practically shoving young men and women through the large entrance. The clapping started outside, heedless of the disaster within, and Maleo appeared with his wife minutes later, shutting the heavy doors behind him.