Trina was roused from somewhat disturbed sleep by the sounds of voices. She stumbled sleepily from her bed, Will doing likewise, and followed the sounds of incoherent shouts from the room. Dad was already out of his bedroom and rushing down the stairs, Kat coming at a more sedate pace, fastening a pink dressing gown around herself as she yawned her way downstairs.
Train headed with the others to the living room, where Jason was thrashing on the couch, caught up in what must be a truly horrific dream. Dad was there, trying to calm him.
"Get out of my head!" Jason came awake with a yell, nearly hitting Dad in his nightmare-induced panic. Dad grabbed Jason's flailing arms.
"Jase, Jase, it's just a dream. You're safe."
"Oh man," Jason muttered. Then he saw the rest of the family standing watching him. "Sorry."
"It's not your fault, Jason," said Kat, "Everyone gets bad dreams. You want some cocoa or something?"
"No, I'll be fine. You guys just go back to bed."
Tommy turned to them and gave a reassuring smile, "Go on."
"Come on, kids," said Kat, "back to bed."
They left the living room, Kat giving each of the twins a gentle push in the direction of the stairs before heading into the kitchen. Trina hesitated a moment.
"It wasn't just a dream, was it?" asked Dad.
"She's looking for something," Jason answered.
"What?"
"I don't know. Something that she thinks will help her find the Order."
"Oi," Kat stuck her head out of the kitchen door. "Bed."
Trina reluctantly headed up the stairs and back to her bedroom. She was thoroughly exhausted, what with staying up late to fetch the tape and now this, but she didn't think she'd be able to sleep. Her head was rushing with confused thoughts. So much didn't make sense. Only a few days ago, her life had been ordinary. Now, she didn't even know who her parents were or what they were up to.
She curled up beneath the covers and tried to clear her mind, but she kept running over the words that she'd heard on the tape. She thought of Jason's terror from whatever had caused his bad dream and of her dad, expressing his worries about death. The solid foundations of her life had been shattered and now she was falling through a chaos of secrets that she couldn't comprehend. Dad and Uncle Jase were both scared by something she didn't know about, and they were never scared of anything. That unknown was more terrifying now to Trina than any monster ever could be.
Sobs came, unbidden and unwanted.
She wished it was yesterday.
There was movement in the darkness then the bed shifted as Will climbed beside her. Trina felt his arms wrap around her.
Trina wanted to thank him, but she couldn't bring herself to actually say the words. She just lay there in the darkness and hoped he understood how much this meant, how much she needed this right now. Most of the time, she might claim to hate her brother, but she wouldn't want anyone else beside her as she faced this new, uncertain future.
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The room was large and rectangular, with two rows of pillars making an avenue from the single door to the only item in the room, an enormous, gold gem held in a gold stand. Gold was the only touch of colour in the room. Walls, floor, ceiling and pillars were all pure white, apart from thin lines of gold decoration up the pillars. Everything was clean and bare and empty, making the faint glow of the gem all the more obvious.
The door opened and a man walked in. In stark contrast to his surroundings, he was dressed in black, ninja clothes, a mask concealing his face. Across his chest he wore a red sash, made brilliantly noticeable by the lack of colour elsewhere. The sash was his honour and a burden far heavier than any piece of cloth should be.
The man walked reverently through the room, stopping when he stood in front of the gem. He hesitated only briefly before reaching out his hand, closing his eyes as he did so as to better see the images in his mind.
He saw a warrior with silvered eyes, which shone like mirrors in his face, showing no sign of a soul beneath him. He saw a man, dressed much as he was but with a golden sash across his chest. The man had tears in his eyes as he spoke, "I have given this Order everything, but you can't ask me to give my children." Another voice answered, the speaker unseen, "They were never your children to give." There were explosions. A city lay in ruins. Bodies were piled into mass graves. The screams of the dead and dying assaulted his thoughts. In the middle of the chaos, two children stood, holding hands as each reached out to call on the sword.
The man snatched his hand from the jewel. The chaos of the vision faded, the harsh sights of sounds already blurring, thankfully, now that the trance of seeing was severed. The future wasn't set, he knew. The images of death might be a warning of things he was supposed to change.
But he'd seen what he'd been looking for. He'd seen who was destined to hold the Sword of Orasella next.
Tommy was going kill him when he found out.