Ignite (Circle of Light Book 2) (2 page)

I told them I wanted white walls and I picked out a black and gray square tile pattern for the flooring.  After I showed them and they wrote it down, they went to work. 

I watched them write so much down that I became embarrassed.  Maybe I should’ve done this myself, I thought to myself.  I wasn’t very comfortable with the idea of them paying for everything. 

They’re not paying for it sweetheart.  We are, so get anything you want.  Don’t worry about the cost
, Eric whispered to me and all my apprehension about who was going to pay for all the stuff went out the window.

Eric came in the room smiling and asked what was going on.  “I let them do the kitchen.”  I replied with guilt.  He laughed and led me to the living room. 

Our fathers were standing there with books strewn everywhere and I could feel the masculinity flowing freely in the room. 

“What do you want in here?”  Eric asked. 

Taking a minute to think, I said, “You do this room.  Just make sure I can see the television.”

“Okay.  Do you mind if I get a Wii?”  He asked with a sheepish grin.

“Not at all, I love playing Wii.”

He walked over to the couch and tossed me a book.  It was for games.  “Pick out whatever you want.”

I looked through the book and wrote down several games that I was interested in.  They were mostly Sims games.  I like that kind the best.

I gave him back the book and the list and went back into the kitchen.  The doorbell rang as I walked in. 

“I got it!”  Eric’s father called.  It must be the pizza delivery person, I thought.

A moment later, Jim came into the kitchen with the pizza.  I was glad of it too.  I was starving.  Everyone got plates, grabbed a few slices and headed to the table.  The silence was welcoming after all the happenings of today.  I took it in and relaxed.  However, it didn’t last as long as I had wanted it too.  Before I knew it, the chattering of our mothers once again surrounded me.

My head was spinning and I knew what was about to happen.  Eric came abruptly to my side.  “We’re going to go up to my room and talk about some wedding things if you guys don’t mind.  We won’t be long.”  Eric explained to our parents.  They smiled and I heard one of them saying something about the wedding date, but my mind was already so foggy that I couldn’t even tell which one of them had said it.

Eric had to carry me halfway up the stairs.  My body had given in to my Queens request and as soon as he laid me on the bed, I was out.

Fire Queen was sitting on the ground directly in front of me when I woke.  She looked stressed and scared.  It bothered me because I had never noticed any other emotion on her face but pure joy.  All of the anguish of Lord Raylan came rushing back to me in an instant.

“My Queen?”  I said half a question and a greeting.

She responded gracefully as always, but with fear.   “Lord Raylan is a true danger to you Bailey.  He will come for Eric soon and you must defeat him.  Do. Not. Let him go or you will pay the price with your life Queen.  Our circle must not be broken.”

I wanted to ask her how I could defeat him, but it was too late.  She had already sent me back.  I had so many questions for her and without the answers, I was sure to lose the battle that I was facing.  But I couldn’t lose.  Not this. Not Eric.

When I woke, I had a new feeling of determination.  One like I had never had before.  I was super alert.  My senses seemed to be finely tuned and I could feel the danger lurking around us.

I felt Eric enter my mind and started observing my thoughts.  He searched my mind and listened to Fire Queen’s warning.  When he was finished, he asked, “When?”

“I’m not sure.”

“Don’t worry.  We will be ready.”

“I’m not so sure about that.”  I said as my voice shook with fear.

“Why?”

“Because he is coming now! I can feel him!”

“Get up! We have to get out of the house!”  He said as he pulled me off the bed.

He was entered my mind again, giving me directions on what to do.  The one thing he said that was more important than anything was for me to never let go of his hand for any reason, no matter what.  The strength of our power depended on that one simple thing.

We ran down the stairs and to our parents.  Eric told them we were going out and that when we come back we will have a date for the wedding.  It was a brilliant plan. They would never suspect anything, and he knew as well as I did that saying that would keep them all in one place. It would keep them safe.

We got in the car and drove down to the lake.  It didn’t take long.  At the rate of speed he was driving, we could have been out of state in at least an hour.

The area was dark and chilling.  I was reluctant to get out of the car, but I knew that I had to.  I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter.  Lord Raylan has to be dealt with.

Eric got out of the car, ran over to my side, and opened the door.  I grabbed his hand and the intensity of our combined powers was almost too much.  Searching out our surroundings, I knew Lord Raylan was close.  He was close enough to hear us now.  I took a deep breath and called to my Queens with my mind.  With our connection, I heard Eric call his Kings.

Everything happened so fast that I didn’t have time to process it.  The Kings and Queens had answered our call.  This time they came in person.  The entire Circle of Light was present. 

I felt more power surge through my body as one of them took my hand.  The shock of new power flowed each time another one of them touched the other.

In the tree line, I could see a dark figure approaching.  It moved cautiously, as if weighing his options. 

I was frightened, to say the least, but I have to stand my ground now more than ever.  Eric’s life depended on it.  So did the Circle of Light.  I am a Queen so I had damned well better start acting like one if we had any chance of getting through this.

Eric squeezed my hand as the final member of our circle joined us.  The completed power was unlike any other.  Strong.  Magnificent.  I felt like I could face anything.  My fear was completely diminished.

As the figure moved closer, I was certain it was Lord Raylan.  I noticed that as I was seeing him I wasn’t scared anymore.  I had Eric and the Circle at my side. 

I had a heightened sense of awareness.  I saw every single move his body was making.  Every shuffle of his feet, every hair that moved in the breeze; I missed nothing.

“I see you came prepared.”  Lord Raylan said as he stopped a few feet from us.

“I meant you no harm at our first meeting.  I warned you then.  But it seems that you didn’t understand how serious I really was at the time.”  I replied with power in my voice.

“My Queen, I am only here as a messenger.  Come talk with me and I will explain everything.”

I could see the sly look on his face and he was definitely trying to lure me out away from the Circle.  Alone. Powerless.  Eric tightened his grip on my hand as if to remind me of his only request.  Do not separate.

“No.  I believe that we won’t be able to discuss this at all.”

“Well, I tried to be as nice as I could, but now, I’m going to have to prove my point it looks like.” He said as he slowly lifted his hands from his side and into the air.  Swirls of silver and gray lit up the sky above him.  He was drawing in power. 

I was startled.  I had never seen anything like it before.  Even when Eric’s powers and mine united, it was not like this.  There was just so much power around him. It flowed and spun violently into his body and I watched as he jerked from the force of it.  I felt the tension building in the Circle.  Everyone grew more anxious with each jerk of his body, but not even one of them voiced any signs of distress.  We watched as the last sparkle of power entered him.  He dropped his hands back to his sides and spoke with extreme authority.

“I will break the Circle of Light.  One of you must die.” Lord Raylan said.

There was no emotion in his voice at all.  It was flat and unfeeling.  The tone of it made me sure that if I lived through tonight, I was certain to never forget the sound of his voice.  Nor the look on his face.  So empty and I could feel pure evil coming from him.  His aura was as black as midnight in the moonlight.

Suddenly, he started moving forward with deliberate steps.  Our bond strengthened as our powers emerged from our bodies.  I could sense every King and Queen’s power outside my body as well as inside. 

The intense colors brightened the area around us.  I had never noticed that brown could be so brilliant, but at this moment it was drowning out all the other colors of our powers.

The ground began to shake under the Raylan as he made his way closer to us.  Each step became harder for him to make and still stay on his feet.  Cracking sounds came from the Earth as it began to open up and fall away from his feet.  Within a few seconds, the Earth gave way and created a gigantic hole.  To my surprise, he wasn’t falling into it, but floating above it.

I looked over at Earth King and Queen.  They had their arms raised in the air.  Except for the one that was joining them with the Air King and Queen. 

I saw them slowly raise their arms just like the ones before them.  Suddenly, the wind picked up.  It blew with the force of a hurricane.  It gusted, blowing leaves and small branches through the air. We had no trouble standing there in the savage winds because our powers didn’t affect us the way it would him. 

As the wind reached Raylan, I could see his clothes flapping against him, but I could not see any other evidence of it harming him at all.  He stood there with a disturbing grin on his face as he looked back at us.

The silence of Eric s mind was very uncomfortable.  Come to think about it, I couldn’t hear anyone’s mind.  Not even a faint whisper.  I suppose that I was too involved in the arrival of our guest to realize what was going on around me. 

The night sky turned a fierce red color as the Fire power joined into the mix.  I could hear Raylan grunt in discomfort.  We were penetrating his power.  I hope that we would be strong enough to defeat him without any loss of life.

Ice King and Queen joined in and I could now hear his screams.  He was in pure agony.  Their power touched him and seemed to be causing him a greater amount of pain than just the fire power alone.

Ice Queen raised her hand that joined with mine and at the same time Eric’s hands rose too.  I was confused, but I let the power flow through my body unrestricted.

I could smell the Earth. The heat from the fire was soothing because I had to be cold, but I just couldn’t feel anything other than the power right now.  Sweat started forming on my forehead; I was getting too hot.  Thankfully, I felt the breeze mixed with cool air.

Our powers were complete and Raylan couldn’t escape it.  He was doomed.  No question about it, but I wasn’t expecting him to surrender. 

He screamed with such horror that tears automatically formed in my eyes.  I could feel his pain, the burning of the fire and the ice pulsating through his body.  I overcome by the sensations when I noticed Eric joining hands with Earth Queen.  The Circle of Light was complete. 

A blinding light forced me to close my eyes and as the seconds passed, I realized that I could not hear his cries any longer.  What was happening?  I tried to open my eyes, but the light was just too much.  It hurt.  I listened and heard no one. Nothing.

“My Queen?”  I heard someone call.

“Yes?”  I responded still blind.

“I’m so sorry for all of this. Really. I am.”  A gentle male voice replied.

“But, I don’t understand.  Who are you?”  I asked puzzled.

“Look at me, please.”  He requested.

I carefully began to open my eyes, hoping the light had gone away and to my surprise, it had.  I could see the man clearly now. 

Inside our circle, was a young man. I didn’t recognize him at first, but the more I looked at him the more familiar he became.  He had the same hair as Raylan, but cleaner.  Every feature of his face reminded me of him but sharper and better defined. Younger.  It was him.  I was sure of it.

“Raylan?”  I muttered not believing what I was seeing.

“Yes, my Queen?”

“What happened to you?”  I asked in the most polite tone I could manage.

“I have been saved.  I thank you all.  I was forced to join the Dark Union.”  He sighed as he spoke.  “They took my family from me, but thankfully they escaped unharmed.  The longer I was with the Union, the harder it became for me to break free of the hold that was on me.  I am truly sorry for what I have done to you and your King.”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.  Was this some kind of ploy to get me to let my guard down?  On the other hand, could it be that the man in front of me was telling the truth?  Either way, I wasn’t sure what the result of all of this was going to be.

The Queen’s explained to me that I could grant Raylan one request and if I decided he was not worthy of his request, then he would be dealt with accordingly.

I wasn’t sure how to do any of this, but I went with it the best way that I could.  I tried to act like I was everything he thought I was, but inside I was trembling.  This man’s life was in my hands.  It was all up to me.