Prologue
Aelric
Pounding came from down the hall. I knew it wouldn't be long now until Than came. His army was already here. Johnson stood at my side, fearless, awaiting death. His hand was on my shoulder, protecting me, his Shield wrapping around my body. I only wished I had stayed longer to help him succeed in expanding his Shield so that he could protect us all. I had failed my people. Jamia and Kaiti were already waiting at the opening of the ballroom, prepared to strike down whoever came through the door. With the allosphere in my hand, I stood at the back of the room, waiting for Than and Raol. I knew we wouldn't win. My visions were never wrong. But that piece of information I never told anyone, so I gave them hope.
The doors to the ballroom burst open, followed by gun shots. At least fourty people ran into the room, shooting guns and swinging swords. I watched as people began to fall to the ground. We were outnumbered two to one, that was for sure. But we held our ground.
As the war continued, Than made a grand entrance, shooting bolts of electricity at Johnson, bursting him into flames. I held my allosphere high above my head, but before I had the chance to retaliate, a trance took over my body.
In my dream, I was walking through a field, the grass high above my head and the sun beating down on my skin. I pushed through the grass to an opening and saw my three girls look back at me and cry for help. Then the world went black.
