Destiny's Chosen

At first Courtney saw Michael, lying peacefully in his bed, the moonlight streaming through the window illuminating only half of his body. Her hand extended, ready to sweep back the lock of hair that covered his eyes, when in a flash her vision changed, and she saw a dark tower looming over her. Great mountains rose up behind it, adding to its formidability. She felt drawn to the black tower, captivated by the secrets she knew it held. No, not secrets. Answers. But answers to what? When she tried to concentrate, her vision changed yet again, and in place of the tower and mountains, Rebecca appeared. Courtney couldn’t see her surroundings, but she knew she was in a place of darkness and she felt claustrophobic. She could sense something else, too. Anger? Fear? No. It was deeper than that, more overwhelming. She could feel it, like an old wound healed over badly. She continued to stare at Rebecca, and the look on her sister’s face was of wonder and disgust. Rebecca was about to say something when suddenly her face grew pale, her eyes widened with fear. An image of Jennifer attempting to cry out flashed across Courtney’s mind. Rebecca collapsed to the ground. Then a pair of yellow eyes filled with hatred and cruel pleasure penetrated through her dream like an arrow until they consumed her entire vision. Courtney sat up with a jolt, panting and trying to blink that last image away. A layer of sweat beaded across her brow, but she felt indescribably cold. Only when the image of those eyes disappeared was she then able to calm down. But in a moment, as if indelibly imprinted on the back of her mind, those yellow irises returned. In all her life, she had never seen eyes such as those, never any so piercing. It was like they had seen straight through the protective invisibility of her dream and had seen her. She shuddered at the thought. Courtney sighed as she pulled the sheets back over her head, praying she would be able to sleep some more before the sun finally rose. She had only one more thought before she drifted back into a fitful sleep. At least it had only been a dream. ..... Rebecca remained motionless—fingers clenched into fists, body ridged, and back arched as the sharp tip of a blade pressed into her back. “Now slowly turn around,” the voice commanded. She did as she was told, and her gaze was met by a pair of piercing yellow eyes staring at her intensely. He wore a long black cloak with a hood that covered the rest of his features. A raven was embroidered on its left shoulder. “I’m sorry, Your Majesty,” the old man in the back of the room whimpered. “He said he’d give her back…if…if I brought you here. Please,” he begged, “please forgive me.” He had made his way out of the corner and was holding onto Jennifer’s feet, but she shoved him roughly aside and he lay unmoving except for the occasional whine that shook his shoulders. “So you’re responsible for the disappearances?” Jennifer declared turning her attention to the intruder. The man chuckled, a raspy sound oddly like metal grinding on rocks. “I’m not entirely responsible, but to the extent that you are referring to, I suppose the answer is yes.” “What do you mean by ‘not entirely responsible’?” Rebecca asked cautiously. His gaze unnerved her. “Someone else was the cause of this whole mess, not I. I am only trying to set things right again, obtain what is rightfully mine.” “And this is how you justify it?” she demanded quietly as she gestured to the old man who lay on the ground. “Why have you been kidnapping innocent girls?” The man’s yellow eyes flamed in what was a mixture of madness and amusement. “Oh, they’re not innocent,” he explained. “Well, one of them isn’t anyway. One is guilty and will become the answer to all of my problems. And that one is either you,” he pointed a bony finger at Jennifer, “or you,” he snarled as his gaze settled upon Rebecca once more. “Who are you, and who are you looking for?” she asked fearfully. “My name is Lamonet,” he chuckled. “But that will be of little or no use to you.” He flicked his wrist once in her direction, and she found herself gasping for air, suffocating. Jennifer too was struggling to find breath. She looked back at the yellow-eyed man. He’d taken off the hood. He was grinning maliciously, his sallow skin now stretched tautly across his cheekbones, his thin lips curling back over his grey teeth. Just as Rebecca’s vision began to blur and she could feel herself slipping into unconsciousness, she heard him say something. Cora…