[24]

I knocked on the door and waited a full five count before opening it and slowly peering into the bedroom. Ellie was sitting in the centre of the bed hugging her knees close to her chest, head bowed with her red hair hiding her face from view. She wasn't making any more noise but the movement of her shoulders suggested that she was still crying.

"Ellie?" I said as I cautiously entered the room.

She looked up at me with sad emerald eyes, tears still falling down reddened cheeks. She blinked a few times and began to wipe the tears away with her hands.

"I'm sorry." She said. "I promise I don't usually cry this much." I smiled at the comment and she tried to return it but only managed to move her lips half way.

"Well the fact that you're still coherent, even after all this, is a good sign. I would have been committed long before now." That comment earned a huff of laughter which was a step in the right direction. "May I?" I asked gesturing to the bed for permission to sit down.

Ellie nodded her head and shuffled over so I could sit next to her on the bed. I crossed my legs and sat there not saying a word. I figured it was best to just let Ellie build up the nerve to talk in her own time. We sat that way for a good three minutes, neither of us saying anything, just taking in the quietness.

"I'm sorry." She finally said.

"Sorry for what?" I asked.

"For everything that's happened. For all the trouble you've been through since that night."

"With the way my night was going I would have found trouble sooner or later all by myself." I replied.

"Still, the things they did to you…" She put her hand on my knee and I felt something inside me respond to her touch. Instantly I began to build up walls in my mind to defend myself against Ellie's impromptu mental incursions. She didn't know what was happening so it was important not to over react. As I was setting up the walls my hand moved of its own accord and placed itself over Ellie's.

"The only thing I regret is that I wasn't able to stop us from being taken in the first place." I told her. "I meant what I said before, it's meant to be my job to stop these sort of things from happening."

Ellie was quiet for a second before she asked, "What is your job? What is it that you do?"

I could see this conversation was helping her calm down so decided to keep it going.

"I guess you'll find out sooner or later." I commented and proceeded to tell her about the White Council and the Wardens, about the other supernatural nations and the Seven Laws. As I explained things she continued to look at me in wonder.

"So you're a…Wizard?" She asked. "So what you did that night, when we escaped that was…"

"That was magic, yeah." I said finishing her sentence. "I'm what some would call an elemental. That means I specialise in the control and manipulation of the elements; wind, fire, water and earth."

"Wow," She gasped. "I can't believe I'm talking to an actual Wizard." I could be wrong but it almost sounded like she was geeking out on me. "I have so many questions. Do you guys have a school where you learn the things you can do? Is it in a castle?"

I huffed out a sigh. "What is it with people and those books? Sorry to break it to you but the child Wizard isn't real."

"So you don't learn magic in a castle?" Ellie asked with genuine interest.

"Well…yeah, I guess." I answered realising that Council HQ is in fact a castle and apprentices can in fact learn magic there. "But it's completely different. There's no hairy grounds keeper or wild mythical beasts roaming around." I added defensively.

"But you've clearly read the books?" She commented with a smile on her face. It was a good thing to see and it suited her. It was the kind of smile that was hard not to respond in kind and feel good about it.

And that's how we spent the next forty minutes. We talked about my back story, where I came from, how I met Louise and Joe and what it was like to be a Wizard in the modern age. She started telling me about her life, what it was like growing up, how she got into her field of study and what she usually did for fun. We talked about anything we could whilst ignoring the most obvious questions. We shared stories and bonded and laughed and it felt good. It was almost enough to make me forget our current troubles and there was a part of me that wanted to forget it all and just stay here with Ellie.

"And so I ran at the thing and we both went flying out of the window. Or what was left of it." I said explaining how I came up with the idea to break down Joe's living room door.

"That's insane." Ellie exclaimed. "How on earth did you survive falling from that high up?"

"A bit of creativity, imagination and sheer dumb luck." I answered which gained another infectious smile. "But I didn't make it out completely unscathed, I dislocated my shoulder…and I may have totalled a BMW."

Ellie looked at me like she couldn't tell if I was being truthful or not. But I got the feeling that she wasn't actually looking at me, it was as if she was staring at something else that just happened to be where I was sitting. It was the same look she gave me the day we arrived at Joe's. After a second she burst out with laughter and began to shake her head. It was a pleasant sound to hear and it just seemed right to be coming from her, like I was finally seeing the real Ellie. She put her hand on my knee again and once more something stirred inside me in response to her touch.

"You really do get yourself into trouble don't you?" She said as her laughter bubbled down to a gentle chuckle but slowly it faded altogether and we were once again left in silence. I almost didn't want to start talking, to let this peace stretch out for as long as I could just so I didn't have to take that smile away from her. But sometimes you have to push on no matter what, even when it hurts to do so.

"Ellie," I said gently. "We have to talk about what's happening and what we need to do next."

Ellie didn't speak. She drew back her hand, once again trying to curl herself in a ball. I gently placed my hand on her shoulder and she stopped and turned to look at me. Again I made sure to try and avoid eye contact as triggering a soulgaze now really wouldn't be a good idea; before it was because I was afraid of what she might see but now I was more worried about what I would find.

"I can't even being to imagine what is going through your mind right now but I understand that this must be overwhelming and that you're scared. Hell I'd be more worried if all of this didn't affect you. But my point is that you don't have to go through this alone, we're here to help. I'm here to help."

Ellie remained quiet for a moment and I didn't dare push any further without some kind of response. Suddenly I felt the presence of her hand resting on top of mine and she displayed a sad but appreciative smile. "Thank you Gabe." She said softly.

I returned the smile and Ellie began to relax again, uncurling herself from her defensive ball. We lingered like that for several seconds and it was only something calling in the back of my mind that prompted me to move the conversation along.

"Ok," I said clearing my throat. "So tell me about what happened in the kitchen. Where did that story about the Horsemen come from?"

Ellie shrugged her shoulders and shook her head. "I have no idea. As soon you all started talking about where I came from…what I was, it was like these images just appeared in my mind's eye and I knew exactly what they were."

So our theory about memory recall wasn't that far off.

"Can you tell me what was happening just before you passed out?" I asked.

Ellie started to frown, trying to concentrate on the relevant memories.

"At first I was afraid but then I just remember feeling really angry. Then, just like the tale of the Horsemen, images flashed in my mind."

"What did you see Ellie?"

"Fighting." She answered, her frown intensifying as she tried to remember. "I saw huge armies locked in battle, vast fields littered with unmoving bodies, arrows flying overhead, knights on horseback wading into hordes of enemy soldiers…" She gasped as her eyes opened wide. "I saw war."

"You're sure that's what you saw?" I said trying my hardest to keep calm and not freak out. It wouldn't do Ellie's confidence any good if she saw mine crack. The images she saw helped her unlock some fraction of her abilities and I think what she sees is relevant to the origins of her power. If what she saw is to be believed then I had a scary suspicion about who Ellie was meant to become. The Horseman of War.

From what I could remember from the myths War was said to be the most dangerous of the Four Horsemen, causing devastation wherever it went. But the tales didn't match up with Ellie's story at all; how'd you go from saving all of existence as we know it to being written as a harbinger of the end of days?

"Positive." She answered nodding her head. "Gabe what's happening to me?"

My resistance broke and I put my arm around her, pulling her in close to me. She rested her head on my shoulder and her warmth was intoxicating. I felt it seep into my weary body, washing away all of my doubts and fears, offering me a level of clarity few people ever truly experience. It was the same sensation I felt when Ellie helped me through the gates at Victoria station; it offered me sanctuary when I felt too exhausted to carry on, it picked me up when everything became just too heavy to bare. I knew not to give in to it last time because we were being chased, because I had to keep us moving, but now we were safe it was that much harder to keep my thoughts straight. I felt Ellie move next to me and as I turned to look I found her staring right at me and before I knew what was happening, I felt myself being pulled into a soulgaze.

I stood on top of a rocky mountain. A beautiful blue summer's sky stretched out above me, the sun shone brightly with birds dancing through the occasional cloud scattered here and there for added decoration. It looked peaceful and I wanted to stare up at it all day long. I could feel the sun's rays warming my skin but it wasn't the only heat I could feel.

I looked down and saw nothing but scorched earth. Pits of fire boiled up through to a molten surface, rivers of lava flowed freely destroying anything in its path. I could see things scurrying along the red hot stone, pale creatures with black, bat like wings wearing armour of dark silver, there were hundreds of them and they were all furiously trying to climb the mountain. I looked up again and the birds in the sky had multiplied tenfold, only they weren't birds; they were men and women with gloriously feathered wings of pure white and wearing dazzling armour of bright silver and they were slowly circling down towards me.

The two approaching forces were polar opposites in every way, one from the light and the other of the dark. It took me a moment to realise what they represented; they were the forces of Heaven and Hell and I was right in the middle of the conflict. But I noted I wasn't alone as across from me was another rocky mountain with four shadowy forms resting on top. Slowly the forms began to solidify into the shape of four figures in dark hooded cloaks sitting on four horses; the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. In the centre between the two mountains one set of chains, colour similar to the armour worn by the angels, reached down from the sky above while another set, their colour matching the demons, rose up from the earth. I followed the chains to their centre where I saw a woman with red hair held in place, suspended by her wrists and ankles, and it looked as if the chains were being pulled apart. It was Ellie. She dangled there lifelessly, her hair covering her face from view but I could hear her quiet sobs echoing across the distance. Behind Ellie I could see one of the Horsemen motion forward a couple of trots on its steed and raise its right hand, pointing at Ellie.

"Angels and demons suffer an eternal conflict." A deep voice bellowed, resonating between the mountains. I couldn't see any movement in the Horseman's cloak but I was positive the voice was coming from with its dark hood. "And so the same is said for the Nephilim, an eternal conflict of their nature. The burden bared by the children of light and dark. When they awaken their nature will be set, to conquer or conserve, to burn or build, these are the paths they must walk. Show them the way."

The Horseman's final words reverberated between the two mountains and rocks began to crumble. The peak of the mountain started to dissolve around me, pushing me towards the centre until there was barely any platform left for me to stand on. I looked up to see the angels diving towards me and from below demons flew upwards on their monstrous black wings. I was surrounded with no way out and I felt myself start to panic uncontrollably as creatures from above and below began clawing at me. I curled myself up into a ball, shielding my head with my arms. I lost control as the terror took over me and I let a blood curdling scream. I closed my eyes tight and waited in horror for the end to come.

But it never did.

I waited for what felt like an hour for something to happen but there was nothing. I dared to open my eyes again…

…and just like that, the soulgaze was over.

I was once again sitting on the bed in Joe's spare room with Ellie by my side staring up into my eyes. She blinked a couple of times as she returned from the gaze and her eyes went wide. For a split second I thought I had lost her to fear, that whatever she saw in me had shattered the trust we had built and she wouldn't be able to look at me again. A gift and curse of a soulgaze is that you never forget what you see and I feared that I had left Ellie with something unforgivable.

"Oh my," Ellie whispered. My heart hung in my throat. "You…you poor man. The thing's you've been through." Then to my surprise she reached out and wrapped her arms around me.

I hadn't realised that I had been holding my breath until it came out in a relieved sigh. I returned the hug and felt her warmth rush over me; I was still reeling from what I had seen in the soulgaze, so shocked that I welcomed the calming effect it had on me. The hug went on a second longer than we should have allowed it to, but eventually we both pulled away. Her hair brushed my cheek and I froze in place which prompted Ellie to follow suit. We were close, intimately so and our eyes met again, this time without the fear of peering in too deep. She gently touched my cheek with her finger tips, lightly tracing over where her hair had brushed against me. My skin tingled in response to her touch sending a shiver through me. Without warning we both moved closer, hesitating ever so slightly when our lips were barely a hairs width apart, but the emotions overcame us as are lips finally met.

Her lips felt soft against mine as we both started slowly, as if testing to see if the kiss felt right. It was quietly-sensuous but not impassioned, it felt warm and invited further exploration. Maybe I was just too tired, or too injured, or too worried about my prospects for immediate survival, but it felt good. It felt really good.

I tightened my grip on the kiss, and my arm rose, sliding deliberately around the small of her back, pulling her toward me.

Ellie let out a hiss of sudden excitement and her kiss grew deeper, swifter, her breath quickening. Her body shifted in steady tension against mine, and I could feel the heat of her against me. The fingers of her right hand ran through my hair while the other began pulling at my shirt, almost desperately trying to reveal the flesh beneath. I wanted my mouth to explore every sinuous curve of her. I wanted to drive her mad with need, to fill my senses with her warmth, her cries, her scent. We both fell deeper into the moment, letting the connection between us guide our actions and we started tugging on each other's clothes.

But something kept calling to me, some thought in the back of my mind that I couldn't quite understand kept circling just beyond my comprehension. Every time I tried to push it away it just came back louder and louder until it howled and screamed at me to let go.

Abruptly I pulled away from Ellie. We both sat back from one another panting. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips were slightly swollen. The quick pace of her breathing made her chest move in captivating ways.

"I'm…I'm so sorry…" Ellie panted. "I have no idea…what came over me."

"Er…" I responded whilst trying to get my blood pumping back towards my big brain. "I…er…maybe I should let you get some sleep?" I finally said once my brain had rebooted.

"Right. That sounds…that sounds like a good idea." She agreed.

"Right." I repeated while slowly getting off the bed and backing away towards the door. "Ok then…well, I'll…er, I'll speak to you tomorrow."

I opened the door and went to leave when Ellie called my name.

"Gabe?" I turned back to face her. She still looked flustered but had a gratifying expression. "Thank you. For everything."

I smiled. "We'll help you get through this Ellie, I promise."

She nodded her head in thanks and I left. I closed the door on my way out but stopped and leant back against the wall, taking a moment to compose myself. I got pissed before when Marcus called into question my judgement, saying that I had been compromised, but I was now starting to think that maybe he was right. When I was around Ellie things become more complicated. Rationally I knew it was because of her emerging powers but that doesn't help in practice. My mind had been so beaten down that my defences were at their weakest; I was compromised, otherwise that little scene would never have happened in the first place.

My heart tugged with regret at the thought of how Louise would react if she found out. I had never lied to her. I had omitted certain facts about my life, my world when she wasn't ready to hear, given her half-truths but I had never flat out lied to her.

God my head was such a mess, there was so much going on that I felt like it was going to explode. I just wanted to scream at the top of my lungs, shout at someone, something until it cleared, but that was never a plan of action that actually amounted to anything. Instead I settled with releasing a deep and weary sigh before heading back downstairs to face Joe and Louise.