Chapter 42
Anton slept, and as he rested, he began to dream, a dream that was a memory brought back to life. He saw his last fight with the enemy that had caused him so much pain.
* * * * *
"Kabal!" he yelled as he leaped backwards, dodging a piece of falling scaffolding, "You won't live through this one!"
"Watch me Blaze!" the maniac laughed as he cast a lightning bolt from the heavens at the psion.
Dampening the shock by focusing the powers within him and distorting his own electromagnetic field, but it still hurt like hell as he was launched backwards. With a grunt he slammed into a wall and slipped off the catwalk to land below.
Glancing around for a weapon as he saw his own blade smashed against the concrete floor, he spotted a shelf holding books and a katana. Rushing forwards as another bolt of lightning hit the ground, this one mere inches from his face, Anton lunged and grabbed the blade as a black garbed figure landed before him.
* * * * *
His eyes jerked open and he rocked to a sitting position. Anton had been avoiding those thoughts and memories since they had occurred. Some things in the past were best left there and not constantly tilled from the soil of history.
He climbed out of his bed and pulled his robe on. His head was still muddled as he stepped through the French doors and onto the balcony of his room. Brushing his hair back with his hand he stared into the star filled sky, wondering just what on earth was going on.
Anton didn't know how he had sensed what happened to the elves, but he knew that it was different than anything else he had experienced. Something was changing him, something that he didn't quite understand.
His mind flashed once more to that fateful day.
* * * * *
Gunfire tore through the area around him as he swung the blade between him and his enemy, reacting with all of the psionic speed he had to use the weapon to block the hail of bullets as he rolled to the side.
"Try opening your eyes next time," Anton retorted as he heard the gun click empty.
"I'd love to know just how you did that, but I have a feeling that even a Shadespeaker won't be able to speak to you when I'm done with you Blaze!"
"Catch me if you can Kabal!"
* * * * *
Watching the stars, Anton had never felt more alone. The rise of the moon allowed him a brief respite as he pondered it, wondering about its silver light and its power in relation to the blades.
He glanced down at the garden dome that filled the courtyard. It had been built by his aunt when she was young to keep flowers growing all year round, the single piece of material that rose from the roofs to form the dome kept the courtyard feeling like a Caribbean island all year round, and that was how it was landscaped, sand and water.
He glanced down, seeing Holly below, wandering through the flowers he had around the edges of the greenhouse.
Slowly, a smile crossed his lips as he slipped over the balcony to land silently behind her.
"I'm surprised that you're still up," he said calmly with a wide grin.
She jumped and glanced behind her to see where the voice had come from, and a slight, barely noticeable smile crossed her face.
"All of us from my world are as you would say, night owls."
"Although, I had noticed that, I just thought that you would be resting after that injury, healing you from that kind of damage took a lot out of me as well, and I had a lot of rest before it."
"My own magic was depleted trying to stay intact after the crash, and that is why I've been wandering around, I need to find a specific type of plant, and an old one."
"Tell me the type and I'll see if I can help, I have several here or in the other three courtyards or even the grounds, it was my aunts hobby to raise plants, and I learned from her."
"I really shouldn't be telling you this, but since you put me back together after the crash, I need to find an ancient oak tree."
"How old does it need to be in order to fit your requirements?"
"At least a hundred I believe."
"I may have just the one, that is unless a three hundred plus year old one wouldn't quite work,' Anton answered as he lead the young elf through his home and out the back to a large stone porch that arched around a massive and ancient tree with a slowly moving river just below.
"It's just perfect," Holly stammered as she glanced around it for a seed.
"Its one of the things my family has watched over for centuries, and it was planted here by the first Black to live here as a sapling from where he came from, said it reminded him of home."
"Where did he live before that?"
"That is a secret I cannot tell you about, only those of my family may know it."
"Oaks are something special to my people," Holly said with a slight smile, realizing that there were still some secrets left.
"And to my family, especially where they came from, but don't try for any more unless you want the spirits of my ancestors to force you into a shotgun marriage with me for you having the secret."
She stuck out her lip at him and then laughed, he joined in a second later.
"So its that secret," she managed to say as she spotted a few acorns near the top of the tree and started to climb up after it.
"Yes, and has been for longer than I have been alive, and that has been long enough to remove several illusions from my thoughts," he answered as he saw her reach for one of the acorns.
It was just out of her reach and it wouldn't be safe to get any closer to it as the branch was already bending awfully close to breaking as it was.
Thinking quickly, Anton reacted as the young elf lost her grip and fell towards the ground, right into his arms as he reached out with his mind and pulled one of the Acorns loose to float towards him like a leaf to land in her free hand, the other holding Anton's collar in a death grip as she shook like crazy.
"Relax," Anton said as he carried her over to a bench, "You're safe now."
It then crossed his mind that perhaps this was part of the future he had seen earlier during his training. He thought back on the history of his family, the first Black had been of a union of two courts in the hopes that he would unify them. A lady from each tried to get him to woo them, but he didn't fall for either, instead he found love outside of either. The man had never looked back, but he was a man, just not human.
Anton slept, and as he rested, he began to dream, a dream that was a memory brought back to life. He saw his last fight with the enemy that had caused him so much pain.
* * * * *
"Kabal!" he yelled as he leaped backwards, dodging a piece of falling scaffolding, "You won't live through this one!"
"Watch me Blaze!" the maniac laughed as he cast a lightning bolt from the heavens at the psion.
Dampening the shock by focusing the powers within him and distorting his own electromagnetic field, but it still hurt like hell as he was launched backwards. With a grunt he slammed into a wall and slipped off the catwalk to land below.
Glancing around for a weapon as he saw his own blade smashed against the concrete floor, he spotted a shelf holding books and a katana. Rushing forwards as another bolt of lightning hit the ground, this one mere inches from his face, Anton lunged and grabbed the blade as a black garbed figure landed before him.
* * * * *
His eyes jerked open and he rocked to a sitting position. Anton had been avoiding those thoughts and memories since they had occurred. Some things in the past were best left there and not constantly tilled from the soil of history.
He climbed out of his bed and pulled his robe on. His head was still muddled as he stepped through the French doors and onto the balcony of his room. Brushing his hair back with his hand he stared into the star filled sky, wondering just what on earth was going on.
Anton didn't know how he had sensed what happened to the elves, but he knew that it was different than anything else he had experienced. Something was changing him, something that he didn't quite understand.
His mind flashed once more to that fateful day.
* * * * *
Gunfire tore through the area around him as he swung the blade between him and his enemy, reacting with all of the psionic speed he had to use the weapon to block the hail of bullets as he rolled to the side.
"Try opening your eyes next time," Anton retorted as he heard the gun click empty.
"I'd love to know just how you did that, but I have a feeling that even a Shadespeaker won't be able to speak to you when I'm done with you Blaze!"
"Catch me if you can Kabal!"
* * * * *
Watching the stars, Anton had never felt more alone. The rise of the moon allowed him a brief respite as he pondered it, wondering about its silver light and its power in relation to the blades.
He glanced down at the garden dome that filled the courtyard. It had been built by his aunt when she was young to keep flowers growing all year round, the single piece of material that rose from the roofs to form the dome kept the courtyard feeling like a Caribbean island all year round, and that was how it was landscaped, sand and water.
He glanced down, seeing Holly below, wandering through the flowers he had around the edges of the greenhouse.
Slowly, a smile crossed his lips as he slipped over the balcony to land silently behind her.
"I'm surprised that you're still up," he said calmly with a wide grin.
She jumped and glanced behind her to see where the voice had come from, and a slight, barely noticeable smile crossed her face.
"All of us from my world are as you would say, night owls."
"Although, I had noticed that, I just thought that you would be resting after that injury, healing you from that kind of damage took a lot out of me as well, and I had a lot of rest before it."
"My own magic was depleted trying to stay intact after the crash, and that is why I've been wandering around, I need to find a specific type of plant, and an old one."
"Tell me the type and I'll see if I can help, I have several here or in the other three courtyards or even the grounds, it was my aunts hobby to raise plants, and I learned from her."
"I really shouldn't be telling you this, but since you put me back together after the crash, I need to find an ancient oak tree."
"How old does it need to be in order to fit your requirements?"
"At least a hundred I believe."
"I may have just the one, that is unless a three hundred plus year old one wouldn't quite work,' Anton answered as he lead the young elf through his home and out the back to a large stone porch that arched around a massive and ancient tree with a slowly moving river just below.
"It's just perfect," Holly stammered as she glanced around it for a seed.
"Its one of the things my family has watched over for centuries, and it was planted here by the first Black to live here as a sapling from where he came from, said it reminded him of home."
"Where did he live before that?"
"That is a secret I cannot tell you about, only those of my family may know it."
"Oaks are something special to my people," Holly said with a slight smile, realizing that there were still some secrets left.
"And to my family, especially where they came from, but don't try for any more unless you want the spirits of my ancestors to force you into a shotgun marriage with me for you having the secret."
She stuck out her lip at him and then laughed, he joined in a second later.
"So its that secret," she managed to say as she spotted a few acorns near the top of the tree and started to climb up after it.
"Yes, and has been for longer than I have been alive, and that has been long enough to remove several illusions from my thoughts," he answered as he saw her reach for one of the acorns.
It was just out of her reach and it wouldn't be safe to get any closer to it as the branch was already bending awfully close to breaking as it was.
Thinking quickly, Anton reacted as the young elf lost her grip and fell towards the ground, right into his arms as he reached out with his mind and pulled one of the Acorns loose to float towards him like a leaf to land in her free hand, the other holding Anton's collar in a death grip as she shook like crazy.
"Relax," Anton said as he carried her over to a bench, "You're safe now."
It then crossed his mind that perhaps this was part of the future he had seen earlier during his training. He thought back on the history of his family, the first Black had been of a union of two courts in the hopes that he would unify them. A lady from each tried to get him to woo them, but he didn't fall for either, instead he found love outside of either. The man had never looked back, but he was a man, just not human.