The Oracle cocked her head. “So, you won’t help us?”
Nightmare stared at me.
I touched the medallion around my wrist as it warmed. First, I looked at Nightmare and then at The Oracle. “Uh… no. Definitely not.”
Chapter
Seven
The Oracle’s eyes narrowed. “Well, that was an unexpected response. Not at all what I was shown.”
“You have the wrong girl,” I said, twisting my fingers together. “My parents and brother died, but they weren’t angels or demons. They were just people. Like me. I’m just a human, and the only reason I’ve been able to do anything is because of this medallion around my wrist.”
“Not so,” The Oracle said. “The medallion is just a symbol… to help one focus. Anything you’ve done has come from within.”
My head was moving rapidly from side to side. “Not possible. It’s just not.”
“All right then, we have the wrong girl,” The Oracle said, shrugging. “Bringer of Nightmares, get back out there and find the one. We are running out of time. It’s probably already too late for your brother.”
“What is it I’m supposed to do to stop the end of the world?” I asked.
The Oracle’s eyes rolled back, glittering as her lids fluttered. “I cannot see that far. At least not yet.”
“Remy, help me at least find my brother. The medallion will be able to help with that,” Nightmare pleaded as he took my hand into his.
“Find The Bringer of Darkness and retrieve the last artifact protected by the Army of Light. Perhaps then I will be able to see who we are truly looking for to stop this all and what she needs to do to stop them,” The Oracle said, her eyes rolling back into position.
Nightmare squeezed my hand. “Remy, please.”
“Where is he?” I asked, sighing heavily. It wasn’t like I had anything else going on. After all, my boyfriend had just abandoned me to join the Army of Light.
And maybe I owed it to Darkness. If I hadn’t kept his medallion, he probably wouldn’t be missing.
“I’m not sure exactly,” she said, tapping her chin. “There is a storm over him with thick, rolling black clouds. The sky is blood red, constantly flickering and flashing from endless lightning,” The Oracle said, grimacing. “If I weren’t so hungry, perhaps I’d see more, but with every passing day, I grow weaker, and it’s not from lack of food.”
“What is making you weaker?” I asked.
“I can feel the end coming, and it’s exhausting. I can’t focus. The war needs to be stopped,” she said, meeting my gaze. “And soon. It’s not only killing me but our land and, soon, our people too. Have you felt it yet?”
Nightmare shook his head. “Not really.”
“Good,” she said, turning to me. “You? You feel anything?”
“I feel the same as I always have,” I said, hugging myself.
“That’s good, I suppose,” The Oracle said, inhaling before sneaking another quick bite of food. “But as this war accelerates, you will feel it. First in your bones and then in your blood.” She turned to Nightmare, her look turning painfully serious. “Tick Tock. Find your brother.”
Nightmare’s expression brightened. “My sister might know where he’s being kept.”
“Good luck,” The Oracle said, waving at the door. “Show yourselves out.”
“Thank you,” Nightmare said, bowing his head briefly before opening the door.
I turned to follow him but stopped abruptly. My head turned to watch The Oracle eat her meal as her words found me.
“The story is about your parents, Remy,” The Oracle said, her words only inside my head. Her lips didn’t even move except to chew her food. “Please, don’t deny it for long. We need you. You are the one we’ve been waiting for. In time, you will see.”
Nightmare grabbed my arm and yanked me out of the house, closing the door behind me. He raced around the side of the house, leading me toward a shed in the backyard.
“Oh, no. Not again,” I said, frowning.
“It’ll be easier this time.”
“Promise?”
Nightmare opened the rickety wooden door, revealing the glimmering, swirling portal. He wrapped his arms around me, pressing my face to his chest.
“No promises,” he said, pulling me in with him.
It happened unbelievably fast. In less than a second, I spilled out onto the hard, rocky ground.
I raised my head to look around, and everything spun. There wasn’t anything I could do to stop the bile as it crept up the back of my throat.
Nightmare groaned as I threw up onto the ground. Thankfully, there wasn’t much inside me to expel. I stood, my knees shaking as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.
“I will never get used to it,” I said, squeezing my eyes shut, willing the world to stop spinning. “And I don’t want to.”
A colossal, ominous black cloud loomed menacingly overhead. From within, torrents of rain descended with relentless fury, drowning me in a deluge of elemental wrath.
