Lennon

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Waiting had never been my strongest attribute. I supposed it required patience, of which I had very little. I paced the length of the two trees behind which we were spending twenty-four hours waiting. I loved Ren like a brother, but I wanted to take it out of his hide that he’d thought about that plan so fast and gotten Neil’s approval to go in alone without even discussing it with the rest of us.

I’d have convinced him to make it a two-person attack. Now, I had to worry about him and worry about Mika all at the same time. And wait. Which I hated. A lot.

“You’re going to make yourself dizzy.” Gordon crouched over a rock. He’d been staring at the ground for ten minutes.

“Memorized all the grains of dirt there, yet?”

My snarky remark didn’t get answered because we all heard the shout in the distance at the same time. Was that Ren? It had only been a few hours.

We rushed forward as a team, each one of us taking our spots. Mine was always somewhere to the left of Neil. We’d been this way forever. Bryant had called it our natural instincts, and maybe they were, but I suspected they also came from years of having to stand, the five of us, against the people who wanted to take Ren back.

His parents had died, but the nefarious characters on the other side of the island thought they had rights to him. They’d been sorely mistaken.

The life we’d led here on earth mattered as much as whatever training we’d had before. If anything, we were better off for having spent all that time together.

Ren had Mika in his arms as he ran toward us. No one seemed to be chasing him, but he plowed in our direction like every demon on the planet nipped at his heels. Mika rocked in Ren’s arms, and I winced at the sight.

She’d been cursed again. I ground my teeth together. My poor love—we’d get her better, fast.

Gordon shook his head. “We’re not going straight to Peter’s. We’re going to have to go back to Anne’s to get Teagan to help her.”

“Whatever it takes.” I met Ren halfway, taking Mika into my arms to give Ren a break. It wasn’t easy to run carrying someone, even if they were as light as Mika.

She smelled the same. Mika always had the scent of cherries on her. She’d lost weight, and dark circles stood out, making her eyes look slightly sunken in. I was surrounded by the others, each of us equally invested in getting to see her face again with our own eyes.

“Why are you covered in blood?”

That was when I noticed it. There was blood all over Ren. “What happened?”

“I killed someone. I can’t get into it here. Let’s get her out of this place. I only got away because they’re lazy. The whole thing inside there is off. I don’t want to be in the vicinity when it turns on.”

He was right. We got moving.

I watched Mika rocking back and forth. We’d wanted our girl back so much, and we had her. But she was still lost to us.

“Any idea what to do?” I really hoped Neil had some information he hadn’t been sharing. I ran my hands through my hair. She rocked, back and forth, back and forth. If something was in her way, she banged into it with the rocking, her eyes distant, unseeing. I wanted her to look up. I needed her to see me.

Neil shook his head. “We have to hold strong on this. The journey is only half done. This is the hardest part.” He sucked in a breath. “I’m not making light of this, guys. Not at all. I want her back so much, and yet we have to treat her like she’s… like she’s the most precious cargo on this train, and we have to keep her safe. That’s what we have to do.”

He was right. His little speech didn’t particularly bolster me—speeches rarely did—yet I appreciated Neil making the effort.

Wayne shook his head. “I want to shout to the heavens. Hasn’t she suffered enough?”

“When has shouting ever gotten any of us anywhere?” Gordon snapped. He always did when he was stressed. “This is what it is. We have her physically safe. We’ll get her returned to us. I promise we will.”

Gordon wasn’t any better equipped to keep that promise than I was, and even knowing that, I believed him. Together, we would do this.

Ren moved toward the door. “I need a walk.”

None of us tried to stop him. Whatever it took to stay strong, that was what we’d do.

I sat with Mika on my lap. She was dressed in regular clothing—brown pants and a red shirt—that we’d bought off a woman in the train station. The stranger had looked at us like we had two heads when we’d asked her to open her suitcase and let us take her clothes in exchange for gold. Still, it was a statement of just how far this apocalypse had progressed that she’d gladly done it. We’d taken almost the entire contents of her bag.

Mika had fought us to keep on her Sisterhood garb, and we hadn’t wanted that. So after we boarded the train and she took herself to the bathroom to bathe, Wayne had thrown away the awful Sisterhood garb. He replaced it with regular clothing. She seemed to be doing activities like eating and sleeping with no thought and presence. It was as though when Katrina had cursed her, she hadn’t wanted to have to actually care for her. So she’d set it up so that the person still took care of their own basic needs.

She’d come out dressed better to fit in. Now if we could figure out how to hide her white eyes, we’d be all set. In the meantime, she rocked and I rubbed her back. Did she know we were with her? Would that make things better or worse? You couldn’t explain or apologize to a person who wasn’t mentally present.

Ren and Wayne were patrolling the train for any potential threats while Gordon and Neil had gone to bring back food. It was just Mika and myself. I hummed lightly, a tune my mother had used to calm me when I was sick or scared. I didn’t know if it had words, and even if it did, no one wanted to hear me sing, not even me.

A wave of nausea rolled through me, and I sat up a little bit. What was that?

In front of me, the vision of a woman appeared. She was tall, skinny, and had straight black hair. She shimmered, like she wasn’t any more solid than the air around us.

“Hello, Lennon.”

I blinked. Was this actually happening? Who was this woman? Nausea rolled through me again. Yeah… whoever she was, I didn’t want to talk to her. I wanted her to leave right now.

“Whatever you are, get out of here. You’re not wanted.”

She put her hand on her hip, which told me that somewhere, she was solid enough to do that movement. I pulled Mika closer to me then went a step further, taking her off my lap, setting her on the chair, and putting my body between Mika and the specter.

Ghosts were the things of fairytales, but then again, we lived in a world of demons. Anything was possible. I’d have to see if any of Gordon’s books talked about this.

“I can’t hurt her. Not from here. My name is Katrina, and despite what you might have heard, I am not your enemy.”

I’d been told plenty, and the fact she kidnapped my love spoke enough on the subject. She’d also had every Sister I knew tormented. Was that what was happening to Mika now?

“Get away from here. I have nothing to say to you.”

She formed a thin line with her mouth. “I will get her back. You can bring her to me and live, or die in the process.”

“I think who lives and who dies goes beyond your realm of power. Be gone with you. I have no time for your filth.”

She shimmered into nothingness. I didn’t know much, but I was certain this wasn’t the last time I’d see Sister Katrina.

It took months to get Mika back to her Sisterhood. We arrived in full darkness, the moon high in the sky. The gate opened as we approached, and Sister Daniella’s husband, Max, nodded at us. “Daniella saw you guys arriving in a vision. Bring Mika to Teagan. They’re all waiting.”

They were?

Neil vocalized what I was thinking. “They don’t think this will be easy. This isn’t just going to be Teagan taking Mika out of the curse.”

A cold settled in the base of my spine. Whatever it took, we were bringing Mika back from wherever she had been stuck for a little over a year. It was sweet torture to be with her right now. She was with us, and yet she was still gone.

Gordon took her from me, and we all walked into the room. They’d made great progress on the house while we’d been gone. It looked like a home again. Bryant had taught us swordsmanship, and we’d instructed them on building.

I might have done certain things differently—like I probably wouldn’t have buttresses anywhere near the place—but it was Anne’s home, and whatever she liked was her prerogative.

In the guesthouse that had been our home, the Sisters we knew waited for us. We’d been gone a long time, and everyone looked tired. Dark circles, bruises, and scars marred their visible skin. Behind Daniella, her three daughters who I almost never saw—Clara, Devyn, and Jayne—had joined the group.

Throughout the house, Sisters rocked. Hope fled my thoughts. If Teagan hadn’t figured out how to cure these others, how would she get Mika help? The Prophet—as Teagan was called—held a baby girl in her arms, rocking her slightly.

“You rescued her. Well done.” Anne’s smile was bright, if not tired.

“Thanks,” Neil answered for us. “We’d have it no other way. I’m afraid we may have Sister Katrina on our heels. She went after Lennon on the train. Tried to get him to betray us all.”

Teagan nodded. “She does that. I’d hoped Mika wouldn’t be back in that state, if you brought her back here at all. Every time I try to take any of them out of it, it’s like Katrina pulls me toward her with claws. We’ve been trying to figure out what to do. We shouldn’t be surprised that you showed up tonight. We finally had an answer.”

“Which was what?” I asked, not waiting for anyone else to do it. Most of the time, I was happy to stand back and watch what happened around me. But this was Mika. I wanted them to hurry up with their answers.

Daniella cleared her throat. “My daughters. It seems their powers have become active. We hoped to have more years until they were at risk like this. Or that they wouldn’t have to do it at all. We’ve been trying to figure out which Sister to try their abilities on. Frankly, I’ve been dreading this day since they were born. I… I don’t mind risking myself over and over, but my children…” Her hands shook, and she put them in her pockets. My heart turned over for her. Daniella had owned her love for her Guards and defied Katrina twenty years before anyone else. She was strong, and to see her anxious seemed somehow wrong.

She took down demons, but didn’t want her daughters to do so.

“With Mika being The Oracle, and Daniella having the vision of her returning today, we thought it a sign that we should use their talents to help her first.”

I wanted my girl back—to start to make things right—more than anything, but I wasn’t okay with harming children to do so. Moreover, I didn’t think Mika—who had cared for Alexander with such gentleness—would want this either.

“Isn’t that risky?” Gordon spoke the words I thought. “If they go after Teagan, couldn’t they simply turn around and do the same to them?”

Daniella sighed and put her hand on Clara’s back. “It seems that Clara and Jayne can work as a team. Clara can block Katrina while Jayne reaches her. They can’t work with anyone else. Their gifts are to be used together.”

Anne rose. “Then we’re going to do this. We must have Mika. Whether she works here with us or elsewhere, the Oracle is pivotal. There is no way to the future Teagan is helping to guide us to without her. I’m sorry to ask it ladies, but that is all there is to it.”

I was glad I wasn’t in charge. Daniella’s Guards—who were these girls’ fathers—took stances around them like they would their mother. There was so much love in this room. The battles, the fighting, the horror, the pushing back against a losing battle, made it easy to forget that all of these people were in love.

Krystal rose. She stepped to the side, looking at us when she did. “How bad is it there?”

“Just as bad as you can imagine.” I set Mika down on the couch, smoothing her dark curls off her forehead. When I spoke again, it was low. I liked to believe she could hear me. All I knew about the place where she was came from Krystal’s descriptions. A dark and lonely road.

“We’re here, and you’re coming back to us.” I stepped back, sure the others would want to speak to her, too, only they didn’t move. Neil nodded to me. It was then it dawned on me I’d been the only one whispering to her this whole time. I should feel embarrassed for doing it when it was so obviously futile, and yet, I didn’t. If there was even the smallest chance Mika could hear me, it was worth being ridiculous.

Mika

“Looking at the ground won’t stop me from seeing the baby, Mika.” Katrina snarled at me. I would have punched her if it would have helped. She wasn’t really there any more than I was. Smacking her wouldn’t do anything but frustrate me.

I refused to raise my gaze. Little victories where I could find them. “Then why bother yelling at me about it?”

“Mika.” She snarled then stopped with a gasp. I raised my gaze just long enough to watch her be sucked backward until she was out of my sight.

What had just happened? I whirled around. Behind me stood Jayne, Daniella’s youngest daughter. I blinked, trying to clear my vision. She couldn’t be here. Teagan could get me out, but not Jayne. And even then, I wasn’t sure it was a good idea to let her. Katrina could see through my eyes.

“Are you real?”

She reached out her hand. “I am.”

“How?”

Jayne let out a sigh. “Clara can block Katrina for a bit, and I can follow her power to get to you. We don’t have forever. Please, Sister Mika. Come to me.”

I didn’t move. “She’ll be able to see through my eyes.”

Jayne nodded. “We know. We haven’t told your Guards that we know, but we do. Teagan could see it in the future. We know what to do, too. Devyn has that gift. I’m afraid we’re going to take your eyesight. I’m sorry. It’s the only way.”

My heart might have actually skipped a beat. I digested this information silently as I always did when things shocked me, when I didn’t know what to do. I didn’t open my mouth until my brain caught up to the situation.

Bob had told me this. The Oracles were always blind. I’d not focused on it at that time.

Jayne held out her hand. “Please? I know this is too much, but we haven’t the time.”

“Did you say Guards?” I had them? When had this happened? I was going to be blinded, but I took her hand. I couldn’t stay here. The darkness she offered was better than this one.

I came through a light so bright I winced trying to get through it and was thrown back into my body. As before, my body burned, and I sagged forward. This was all very familiar. I forced my eyes open. If my sight was going, I needed to see all I could before I took it away.

“Give her a second,” Jayne called out to Devyn.

“What’s going on?” I knew that voice, and I turned toward it. Neil. What was he doing here? How much time has passed? What was…

Suddenly, he was on his knees in front of me. “Mika.” He touched the side of my face. His hands were callused, a little rough, and I loved the feeling. “Are you okay? You’re seeing us? We’ve been waiting.”

“What are you doing here? You don’t belong in this mess.”

He sucked in his breath. “We do. We’re your Guards. I’m sorry we didn’t know right away. I’m sorry we didn’t hold onto the knowledge we shouldn’t have lost. Forgive me. Forgive us.”

“I can’t hold her off too much longer,” Clara called out.

I knew what she meant, but Neil obviously didn’t. He spun around on his knees to stare at her. “What?”

They were my Guards? I hadn’t let myself hope. But I had to focus. If this was the last time I’d see them I had to memorize their faces. Neil, high cheekbones, blond hair he’d let get long, deep, soulful blue eyes. Wayne, short brown hair, long lean muscles, a strong chin, a quick smile. Gordon, so tall I had to bend my neck back to stare up at him, chocolate-brown eyes that could read everything around him in an instant. Ren, long black hair, a full mouth and an easy smile. Lennon, with his bushy hair and multi-hued brown eyes.

They were lovely. They were mine. I sucked in my breath. “Just do it, Devyn. Do it before I give in to being scared.”

Gordon rushed to my side, taking my hand in his. “What is happening? Don’t be scared, honey. Somebody talk.”

And just like that, the world went black.

One second there was color, and the next there was nothing. Not just darkness… but a complete lack of anything.

My eyesight vanished, but my hearing was perfectly fine. Everyone spoke at once. The guys were unhappy, and I couldn’t blame them. I wasn’t thrilled about this myself. For that matter, the Sisters sounded distraught as well. The difference—they had known it was going to happen and we’d all accepted a certain amount of pain as being part of our lives.

I was glad none of the anger in the room was being turned on Devyn. She was young. Since her powers had manifested with an ability to blind someone, she was both terrifying and spectacular. I’d love to know how she knew she could do this.

I rubbed at my eyes. I could feel them, just not see out of them. I tried to make my pulse calm. Nothing would be gained by becoming hysterical. My racing heart didn’t seem to want to listen, so the best I could do was ignore the panic welling inside.

“You didn’t tell us because you knew we wouldn’t let it happen. I didn’t take her from one darkness to put her in another. We’d have found another way.”

A screeching chair being pushed back and a baby crying, which stopped after the sound of a door opening and closing clicked in the distance. Was that Teagan’s baby? I’d never even gotten to see. Her voice was strong and sure when she answered Neil. “This isn’t on Daniella. This is a Prophet thing. I looked and I looked and I looked. Let me tell you the futures I saw for Mika. One, she died in that place with Katrina. You never rescued her. Another had us all dead because we lost the Oracle. The only way things are even remotely okay is like this.” Her voice shook. “Mika, I truly am sorry.”

“You didn’t do this, Teagan. Katrina did.” And if Beelzebub had been entirely truthful, then the Oracles were always blind. Maybe that was why Katrina had locked the last one up in a room. “There is a problem, though. She’ll still be able to see my visions.”

“She won’t,” Clara’s voice called out. “Not as long as you stay with me. That’s why we’ll be going with you, Mika.”

I tried to get to my feet, and my legs wobbled. Without my vision to give me a sense of the room, I was off balance. A strong hand grasped my arm. “Easy, beautiful.”

I smiled. Ren wouldn’t let me fall. I knew it. I rose slowly but surely. “Am I going somewhere?”

“To Peter’s with us,” Wayne called out. “No way are you staying here if you can’t see. If you need Clara for protection, she’ll come, too.”

I expected an argument from Daniella, but instead she responded quite differently. “All three of my girls will be going with you. It’s time. They need their teacher. That’s you.”

“You want me to instruct them on how to be Sisters, on the ways of things, without any eyesight.” That sounded like a joke. “All I am going to be able to do now is find children in my visions and stumble around.”

There was a quick suck of breath. “That’s not true,” Daniella answered. “The Oracles, it would seem, are always blind. We didn’t know that until today. They were always the teachers. So I’m going to have to ask you, Mika, to take care of my daughters. They’ll leave me now and go with you. We don’t know if we’ll see each other again. Teagan can’t see it.”

I shook my head. “Don’t give me your daughters, Daniella. I’m useless now.”

“You have no idea how wrong you are about that.”

As if to prove my point, I tried to walk forward and would have stumbled into something if Ren hadn’t stopped me. They wanted me to teach? I couldn’t even read anymore. Everyone was going to see very quickly just how wrong this was.

“Are you going to take the vision of all the Sisters Katrina cursed?” Because then they were going to have a huge undertaking on their hands.

“No,” Anne answered. “We’re going to take their powers. Krystal is not a threat, she can’t be used by Katrina without them. The others will have to be powerless until we can find another way. And when we can, Mika, we’ll restore your sight, too. I want everyone here to understand I made this decision. When it came down to it, I said we’d take your eyesight.”

I sucked in a breath. I understood her decision. I’d even semi-agreed to it in the cursed place. Perhaps it was lonely at the top for Anne. I could sympathize, but I was still alone in the dark. I had no wise words of comfort to offer.

I thought I must be in a room in the back of the guesthouse. I had my lids closed. It was easier to see nothing with them closed than to have them open and still be sightless.

“What do you need?” Gordon’s voice was close, and a second later he sat down on the bed next to where I perched.

Did I need anything? I’d been gone for over a year, trapped in my mind, countless children were at the mercy of Katrina now because I’d been unable to help myself, and now I was blind. I had no idea—none—what I needed anymore.

“I’m fine.”

“You’re not.” I’d never really focused on how deep Gordon’s voice was before. The low sound resonated through me, and I wished I could roll around in the noise, as if such a thing was possible. “How could you be? I’m not fine, and I didn’t lose my vision.”

I’d spent no time thinking about the fact they were my Guards. The idea still seemed remote, sort of impossible, and like a bad joke. Gain five loves, lose your ability to ever gaze at them again.

I shook my head. I had to get control of my thoughts. “I wonder why I agreed to this. I mean, I don’t mean to be oh poor Mika. I know this is the end of days. Everything is awful. Why should my problems matter at all? But why would I have said yes to this?”

He touched the side of my face. “Because you’re brave. And you never say no when people need help. I’ve watched it myself.”

“Gordon.” I sighed. “I’m sorry you’re stuck with me. You’re going to spend the rest of your life trailing after or leading me around. I won’t even be fighting demons anymore.”

He hadn’t moved his hand. “This is hard right now. It’ll be better on Peter’s. I promise it will. And I was wondering if I could kiss you.”

I laughed. He wanted to kiss me? “Gordon, you never wanted to. Why would you now?”

“There was nothing I wanted more. I’ve spent this whole time regretting that I didn’t. Please, let me kiss you. I missed you, Mika.”

He was so sweet. “If you want to, then that would be fine. I…”

Gordon didn’t let me finish. He pressed his mouth to mine, and even though I was surrounded in darkness, for that second I didn’t feel alone.