Beyond Sight.
Chapter Eleven:
Jessica ran as fast as her disability allowed. She'd known what Talia had sobbed about and she knew this day was to come. She was an oracle and while some might say they are blessed with the second sight, they are also cursed to know how and when they will die. That didn't mean she couldn't try to cheat death for just a little longer, after all, was wanting to live to take care of your children, to grow old with someone you love so much to ask? She stopped for a moment to catch her breath and get her bearings, she knew she'd been going straight and had gone left out of the main doors so should have been heading towards the town where she could blend in better. Of course when you're blind and panicking it's never that simple, "this puts a whole knew prospective on 'blind panic'" she thought to herself, and with the thought of the safety of your children and lover and your imminent death on your mind you're bound to get just a little lost. She spun around and slipped in the snow falling over, she could have sworn she had heard something. She got up and ran away from the sound, all the while hearing something running behind her. All she could do was try to run faster but whatever it was was catching up. It grabbed her by the shoulder and she screamed despite herself.
"Whoa hey, take it easy Jess," Nosedive watched her worriedly, "why'd you run off like that?"
"Listen I have to go," Jess said trying to get out of the boy's grip, "it's not safe to be around me right now."
"What do you mean?" But before she could answer him everything in the forest went unnaturally silent. Jessica heard the sound of Nosedive changing his clothes into his battle gear and pull out his weapon.
"Please," she pleaded in a whisper, "you have to get away from me!"
"But Wildwing and everybody else are out looking for you!" Nosedive said, "And why are we whispering?" Something moved behind him and he spun round and pointed his gun at the area, "Who's there?" Two figures in black robes jumped down and stayed in a menacing crouch. Nosedive felt Jessica pulling on his wrist to get him to leave but he didn't want to take his eyes off the two ahead. "You'd better back off or else you hear?"
"We are not after you boy." One said.
"We are only after the oracle first class." The other pitched in.
"Get in our way though." The first said and both pulled out extremely large swords.
"And we will go through you." The second finished the warning.
"Please Nosedive you have to get out of hear!" Jessica implored whilst trying to push him away from the voices she's just heard.
"No way I'm leaving you!" Nosedive protested.
"Very well." Both robed figure said and lunged. Jessica didn't even hear Nosedive scream. She backed up against a tree and tried to listen for the two attackers but she heard nothing and even though she knew how the Raxi would kill her it was still a shock to feel the cold metal pierce her chest. She heard a scream and then there was blackness.
Talia kept screaming even after the Raxi had gone she couldn't stop and before she knew it strong grey arms were wrapped around her and she heard someone else yelling and sobbing at the same time. She looked around trying very hard to avoid looking at the bloody mess and saw Canard, Mallory and Duke trying to hold back a hysterical Wildwing. She watched as Canard gave Duke a look and the ex-thief gripped Wing's shoulder and squeezed. The effect was instantaneous; Wildwing slumped to the floor unconscious. Talia then turned her attention to Tanya who was checking over Nosedive.
"Is he . . ?" Mallory couldn't finish the question.
"He's alive, b . . . barely," she said then grimaced at Jessica's lifeless body, "we have to get him back to Anaheim though; I'm not sure how long we'll have. The . ... the airowing may not be fast enough though and . . . and . . ." Duke walked over and started to clean up Dive's wounds talking to Tanya softly and she calmed down a bit.
"I can get him back." Talia said to Tanya and sniffed, "I could teleport you and Nosedive back then the others could follow in the airowing."
"We need to hurry!" Tanya implored the young goddess. Talia nodded and clasped her hands together as if in prayer then began to glow she, Nosedive and Tanya shimmered for a few moments before disappearing completely.
"Grin, take Wildwing back to the cabin for now," Canard looked at Mallory and Duke, "I guess we'd better take her back too." Canard couldn't even bring himself to say her name and felt physically sick as duke pulled the blade out of Jessica's chest. He caught her body as it fell to the ground and Duke took off his long coat and covered her over. The three ducks followed after Grin where they knew Wildwing's twins were sleeping soundly and Candy was waiting for them to return oblivious to what had happened.
"What happened tonight?" Mallory said out loud without meaning to.
"We won't know that until Nosedive wakes up." Canard said still resisting the urge to throw up.
"If he wakes up." Duke pointed out.
"If he doesn't then . . ." Mallory paused, "Wildwing he'll . . ."
"I doubt he'll get over it," Canard finished, "even with his kids."
"Guys!" Candy said running out of the building, "Grin won't say what's happened, what's going . . ." Candice's face turned a shade lighter when she noticed the blood all over Canard and the feminine shape under her uncle's coat, "No." she took a step back and covered her beak, "this isn't happening, they were so happy. Why would anyone do this?"
"We don't know." Canard sighed and walked past her and took Jessica into the house and laid her down on the couch.
"Who did this?" Candy's only reply was a shrug and she noticed Duke and Mallory had disappeared.
"Raxi." They turned to see Chase standing in the doorway looking like he'd just flown through a hurricane.
"Excuse me?" Canard said rubbing his temples, "and why are you all wet."
"There's a really big storm going over Anaheim and the Raxi are a race of devils," Chase walked over to the couch and pulled the coat back to examine the fatal wound whilst Candy looked away, "the problem is they only come when they are summoned. They can see through you and know your past and present, but the summoner will have given them a target and that is all they can destroy. Nosedive will live, they cannot kill anyone but their target or they will self destruct as it were."
"But Jessica?" Candy said feeling less than okay; she felt a hand on hers and smiled at Canard in thanks.
"Has known, like any oracle, how and when she would die form a young age," Chase told them and pulled the coat back over his old friend, "she knew this day would come and no doubt she was running to protect all of you."
"So these things would have hurt us if she'd stayed?" Canard asked.
"Most definitely," Chase informed then, "I came here to escort all of you home as I assume that's what you want me to do. Daren is helping Tanya with Nosedive who's still unconscious."
"I'll get Grin to put Wing in the airowing." Canard got up to leave.
"Is he alright?" Chase asked genuinely worried.
"No." Canard said stopping only long enough to say it then kept walking.
Once the airowing was packed up and ready to go Candy and Mallory took the twins and Grin carried Wildwing to the airowing and they set off with Duke flying the jet. Once home they placed Wildwing in the infirmary with his brother and went about dealing with funeral arrangements for Jessica. They first contacted Cleghorn to get him to make sure there were no questions, he had been told the truth but they wanted the public to think she died from sickness after child birth. Nobody could get Wildwing to speak for the first few weeks, not even Nosedive When he woke up. All their leader would do was to dote over his children and make sure they were okay. Letters poured in for him offering condolences, although some weren't quite so sympathetic. The funeral was surreal, quite a few of the locals showed up, Hitome was there and Nosedive had brought Thrash and Mookie along, more for support than anything else. Onlookers watched as the ducks buried their supposedly human friend all silent save Talia who cried the whole time into Chase's belly and silent tears fell down Wildwing's cheeks as the casket was lowered down into the ground. Nosedive threw a bouquet of lilies on top of it that he had bought whilst out with Thrash and Mookie and the human grave diggers began to fill the hole back in. Wildwing stood staring at the mound of earth for quite some time before he could be persuaded to leave and go back to his children back at the pond with Phil.
Okay I am so evil! I hope you liked this one but rest assured this is not the end of this story. I will keep going if it kills me! Please review and I'll try to update as soon as I can. Toodles Angel xxx.