Chapter 5: World Coming Down
"Hello Ami…"
My body tensed at her voice. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath before forcing myself to face her. Those violet eyes were cold and hard, calculating, as if she were studying me.
"Why are you here?"
Gods if looks could kill… I could tell she was still angry about our encounter earlier but I swallowed the lump in my throat and stepped closer, returning her gaze with every bit of determination I could muster. "I need to ask you to do a fire reading for me." She stood there facing me down for a few moments before her lips twisted into a smirk.
"I'm impressed Ami. Either you've become bolder since I saw you last or you're completely desperate." She chuckled and turned, walking across the stone pathway. "Come on. I don't have all day."
I sighed and shook my head as I followed. Maybe she's right…maybe I am desperate. I walked through the doorway, sliding it closed as I entered the fire room. Rei had already seated herself before the fire and was preparing herself for the reading.
"I want you to sit on the other side of the fire exactly as I am sitting now. Don't move and don't speak until I tell you."
I nodded and knelt down on the hardwood floor next to the fire. I gasped as the cool wood caused goose bumps to form on my legs and the hair to rise on the back of my neck. I rested my palms down on my lap and lowered my head, eyes closed. I was glad that Rei had decided to assist me but deep down a part of me was afraid of what this reading would discover.
What would Rei say when she found out that Usagi had returned from the grave to cause me personal harm because of my decisions in life? All of her accusations would be valid. I would become the traitor she had made me out to be. I would be the deceitful one who betrayed her friends and their futures.
But what if it was a new enemy that was only playing upon my own deep personal fears? The senshi would need to be reorganized, ruining their plans and putting their lives on hold to save the world yet again. And it would be my fault because somehow I let my identity slip to an unknown enemy who is just now deciding to show themselves.
Either way I'm screwed.
I tried not to think as Rei began the reading, her mumbled prayers becoming louder and faster almost in time with my racing heartbeat. I balled my hands into fists, the nails biting into the soft skin as if it were nothing. Time seemed to crawl on as the chanting became more regular. I could feel sweat beginning to drip down the side of my face, more from my nervousness than the heat of the flame. What would she discover? If it were an enemy I would have to contact the others, arrange a meeting, start working on an active battle plan. We'd have to fight. I told myself that the others wouldn't hold it against me. It definitely wouldn't be the first time that we'd be fighting again after a long stretch of peace. And it wouldn't really be my fault would it? No, not the enemy themselves, just the fact that they somehow know who I am.
Yes it definitely wouldn't be the first time we've fought. It would be the first time without Usagi though. I bit the inside of my cheek to push away the surge of emotion that bubbled up when I thought of her. I hadn't looked at it that way before. We really wouldn't have her this time. We'd be fighting with no princess to protect. We were probably pretty rusty by now. Would we be strong enough to fight without her? I know we would have to be much more careful, especially now that we were without Usagi and her ginzoushou. If we died...
I shook my head. I wasn't going to think about that. We'd be fine. And what if it isn't actually a new enemy, a small voice at the back of my mind said. Then...I didn't know what I would do.
I was so absorbed in my thoughts that I didn't realize Rei had finished and was speaking to me.
"Ami?"
I blinked my eyes and lifted my head to look at her. She looked visibly shaken, her chest quavering at her hurried breathing.
"I'm sorry. What did you say Rei?"
"I said," she paused, standing shakily to her feet. "It's rare that I have a vision with such clarity."
I swallowed nervously and stood as she walked over. "What did you see?"
She turned to look at me, the earlier emotions of anger gone from those amethyst eyes. Now all I could see was worry. "Ami, I think we should call a senshi meeting."
I nodded as she left the room to call the others. It couldn't be good that Rei wanted to call an emergency senshi meeting, our first in years, before she would tell me what she saw. I fished my cellphone out of my pocket and dialed our home number. Mamoru said he'd be there as fast as he could and I could tell that he was worried. I was worried too.
I had no idea just how much Rei had seen in her vision. She might know about Usagi. And what if she told everything in front of the others? Mamoru would know that I hadn't told him the whole truth and he would know about her. Things could go downhill quickly from there. And what would the others think? Would their views change if they knew that Usagi was haunting me? Wait a minute, I thought. Since when had I decided definitively that it was Usagi causing these problems and not another enemy? I had to wait to be sure. There was no conclusive evidence yet. At least that's what I told myself.
It didn't take long for the others to arrive. We sat in a circle ignoring the tea that was placed before us and nervously eying each other instead. My right hand picked at the hem of my blouse while Mamoru stroked the back of my left hand with his thumb. I know he was trying to keep me from worrying but the effort was futile. Rei finally sat down as she finished putting away the serving tray.
"I called you all here because of a vision I had today while praying over the sacred fire. Now you know that I would never call an emergency meeting unless I felt there was a justified reason for interrupting everyone's lives." She paused, taking a moment to look each of us in the eye before continuing. Obviously she was serious about whatever it is that she had seen. "Ami came to me today to request a fire reading and what I saw could very well have dire consequences for each of us."
My back stiffened at the mention of my name. Everyone was watching Rei intently, even Luna and Artemis couldn't hide the concern from their expressions. Minako leaned forward and caught Rei's attention. "Tell us everything you saw. If this is as serious as you say it is we'll need all the information we can get." I smiled Minako had really blossomed as a leader after the accident. She took it hard of course but it pushed her to reach her full potential. It pushed all of us really.
Rei nodded at her statement and began to tell the story of what she had seen in those few minutes in the fire room.
"I was watching the moon as it turned blood red and began to melt from the sky. It fell upon us like rain, staining everything in red. Agonizing screams floated in on the wind, seeming to come from every direction at once. Then a dark shadow slid in across the ground dragging each of us in. It was in plain sight but none of us seemed to realize the danger and we were each taken, until there were none of us." We watched as Rei suppressed a shudder. "All that was left was the blood."
No one spoke afterward until Luna crept up to the table. "Who was taken first?"