I took his hand and guided him to one of the red chairs. Like a small child,
he collapsed into it and buried his face in his palms.
I knelt in front of him. "Cole, I know this is overwhelming, but I need you to
talk to us – to me.”
Cole lifted his head. Tears fell from his deep blue eyes. “It was so real. She
was standing in front of me, telling me how proud of me she was and how sorry
she was for not being here for me now.”
Frantically, he jumped up and started pacing. “When I opened the chest, I saw four girls reading a book. This image quickly changed to a woman. I didn't
know her, but she felt familiar. As she proudly promised to protect the magic, her blue eyes and soft curly blonde hair that fell down her shoulders made me think I should recognize her.”
He shook his head slightly. “She stared right at me and smiled as she took the
oath. It was like she was talking directly to me. As quickly as she came, she disappeared and a vision of a young mother, holding her new baby in her arms,
replaced her. This lady kept saying to the infant, 'Sarah, don't be afraid of your
path. Be braver than I was, my baby.' The child must have been my mother and
the woman holding her, my grandmother, Olivia.”
Cole stopped as if he was debating whether to continue or not. Gram and I
both watched quietly while he ran his fingers through his dark hair. Finally, working out whatever was troubling him, he proceeded.
“Then, the image changed to two teen girls fighting. It was our mothers.
When Eliza turned to walk away, my mother pulled on her arm, begging her to
not go with him. She kept saying, 'Don't go to him. Remember your promise.'
The cold look that Eliza had in her eyes told me nothing would change her mind.”
Sitting back down, he spoke softly as he told the next part to us. “All of a sudden, a brilliant ray of colors shone into my eyes, and my mother stepped out
of the light. Her long blonde hair sparkled with a glittery shine, and her blue eyes twinkled with bits of turquoise. My mother told me she was sorry she wasn’t there to teach me everything, but she was proud of the man I had become.
She said I would always be safe with the both of you by my side, and if I never
forgot my promise.”
He looked up, meeting my gaze. "As I began to question her, she started to
leave. At the last moment, she turned around and told me my magic was safe in
the hands of the Goddess. Her final words to me were, 'I'm proud of you, Cole. I
know you will continue the oath our family took. I love you.' Then, she was gone
again.”
“Cole, I'm sorry you’re finding out this way,” I said, trying to comfort him.
The guilt I felt over my mother's attack on his home had begun to sink in. Even though I didn't bring on any of this, I still felt responsible.
Gram interrupted me from further apologizing. “Cole, did you take the
oath?”
Though I knew my grandmother was asking a valid question, she had
additional motives in cutting me off. There was no way she’d let me take
responsibility for what had happened. However, that didn't stop my sense of ownership for what my mother had done.
“Of course,” Cole answered. “Tonight, when you called the elements, I felt a
connection…a need to protect. To protect you, the elements…well, to protect
everything. I cannot explain it, but I didn't question taking the oath. It was more
of a feeling as to why it took me so long to do this. Together, we'll keep the promises we made, and together we'll fight against anything and everyone that threatens our gift…even if that means facing Eliza.”
