Wilde's Fire (Darkness Falls #1) (39 page)

Instead of giving me the same man, a second vision replaces him. Arland, Mom, Brit, Flanna, Cadman, Perth, and I all stand with our backs against a damp rock wall. Light blazes out of all of us, revealing an army of hundreds of thousands of approaching daemons.

There’s nowhere to run.

The daemons are led by a man covered in blood from head to toe, wearing no clothes at all. He carries his sword, and an evil smile mars his face. His eyes are hollow and black. On the ground around our feet, and as far as can be seen in the dark, lie the dead. Daemons hover over the bodies—possibly eating them, I’m not sure. I’m so disturbed, I avert my eyes.

My knees fail me.

I fall, trembling.

This is the end.

“Brad, please don’t do this!” I scream to the naked man before me.

ell me again. What happened?” Arland’s voice thickens with concern.

“She was with the horses, while we were on the other side of the stables,” Mom says. “After an hour, she started screaming. We weren’t sure what happened. We found her on the floor, convulsing.”

“Her eyes rolled back in her head. We could not get her to look at us or talk to us.” Flanna sniffles.

Has she been crying?

“How long has she been like this?” Kegan asks.

I imagine he’s ready to jab a needle into my arm, put me under the way he and Shay did to Brad. The thought of Brad sends a stabbing pain through my chest. The vision of his naked body, attacking us, killing innocent people … .

“She’s been under nearly three hours,” Mom whispers.

Three hours
?

“Maybe she has a concussion from Brad punching her?” Brit chimes in.

Oh, Brit, always the drama queen; although, she makes a valid point. I haven’t ever passed out this long from a vision.

“And she was with Mirain?” Arland must be coming to the same conclusion I already have, that Mirain shows me things.

“Yes,” Mom, Brit, and Flanna all announce together, with a slight edge. It’s clear they have told Arland this before.

”I believe she had another vision.” Arland brings my hand to his mouth and gently kisses my fingers.

“Kate, if you can hear me, please, wake up.”

I’ve been awake long enough to know how concerned they are for me; it’s not fair to eavesdrop while they worry. Opening my eyes, I smile, but quickly stop. The left side of my face stings. I touch the warm, tender skin. Swelling reaches halfway down my face, over my nose, and up to my temple. The skin has to be discolored, as well.

Relief is on the faces of everyone around me, except Arland. He clenches his jaw, narrows his eyes, and his hands hold the edge of the bed, as though he wants to tear the mattress apart. He looks like he wants to run from the room, scream obscenities, and hug me, all at the same time.

“How do you feel?” Mom asks.

I’m not sure I want to look away from Arland, but I do.

Blood thrums in my ears. “L-like my eye is on fire, a little confused as to why everyone is standing around me like I’m in a hospital d-dying, and somewhat worried about some things going on in my life, but otherwise I’m fine. Thanks f-for asking.” My sarcastic response does little to cover the uneasiness I’m feeling.

Mom rests her gaze on me, and everyone laughs nervously. But when I sit up, and they see I
am
fine, the joke catches on and the laughs become more honest.

Arland watches me. He hasn’t spoken, hasn’t touched me since he kissed my hand.

I cannot breathe. Why is he so angry? What did I do?

“Why did you pass out, Kate?” Brit asks the question that is surely on the tip of everyone’s tongue, the question I don’t want to answer in front of Kegan.

“I don’t know. Exhaustion, maybe.”

Arland looks at me cross-eyed. He knows I’m lying. I’m pretty sure everyone in the room does, too, but I don’t want to tell them about my visions. Finding out what they mean is more important than causing a panic over Brad. And after the day we’ve had, causing a panic doesn’t seem like the best idea.

Whatever is bothering Arland, he snaps out of it. His grip on the mattress relaxes; his back straightens.

“Kegan, go check in with Lann. Let him know Kate is okay, then begin inventory on our medical supplies. Send Saidear to the training facility. Have him gather all the remaining weapons, and a few targets for practice, and bring them into the sleeping quarters. Due to the daemon activity, we will not be traveling between the two buildings for the remainder of our stay. Flanna, get Brad something to eat. We will leave for the clearing at 3:00 a.m.,” Arland says.

The instant the door closes, Arland sits in the chair next to the bed. His face softens. “What did you see?”

Meeting his eyes, I put my hand on his cheek. “Tell me why you’re so upset, first.”

He’s pale and clammy; his expression shifts between angry and happy to see me.

Mom squeezes Arland’s shoulder. “Kate, Arland wiped Brad’s memory. When you take someone’s memories from them, you get glimpses into their minds, their life, their thoughts. You see things the way they did. Anything Brad ever did with you or thought about you, Arland has seen and felt through Brad’s eyes. You can imagine how hard that must have been for him.”

Oh my God,
hard
? That must have been horrible. What did he see that’s angered him so much? Why does he look like he wants to kill Brad? If he saw and felt what Brad was feeling, does that mean Arland is mad at
me
?

I have to know. “What did you see?”

Mom shakes her head. “I don’t think it would be a good idea for Arland to tell you.”

A tear hangs from Brit’s chin. “Mom, I think it would be
great
for Kate to hear.”

“Arland? Please?” I beg.

He sits on the bed next to me and takes my hands in his. Keeping his eyes down, Arland rubs his thumb lightly over my knuckles. “Kate, I saw a young boy who loved you very much, but as that boy grew, he became obsessed with you, when that love was not reciprocated. I saw him leading a life full of lies, so he could be close to you. He betrayed you more than once, and he enjoyed when you were hurt, so he could be closer to you. I saw a boy who was sad, who felt like a shadow in your world.”

I never meant to hurt Brad, and I never expected him to hurt me. “W-what else?”

“When he saw us together, Kate, he had murderous thoughts—”

“That’s enough.” Mom gives Arland a stern look.

I feel like someone has taken a sledgehammer and slammed it into my chest. I’m capable of taking only short breaths. I see Arland, Mom, and Brit through the tears, but I cannot hear anything they’re saying. My hands are cold. I’m sure Arland saw a lot more than he’s telling me. Brad and I were friends for a long time, and he was always there, but for some reason, Mom doesn’t want Arland to go on.

How could that sweet little boy from the playground turn out to be such a monster? Why did none of us recognized how bad he was? He saved his mother’s life once; if he was such a bad person, why would he have done that?

Blinking the tears from my eyes, I see concern in Arland’s.

No. I refuse to wallow, refuse to let Brad get the best of me, refuse to be upset over this. I’m mad. I think, for the first time in my life, I might actually hate someone.

Taking deep breaths, I focus on those in front of me, those who love me for who I am and what I want—or rather, for what I’m going to become. Wiping the tears from my face, I grip Arland’s hand. “In the stables, I was feeding Mirain. I asked her who sent her to me. She showed me a vision of a man with a golden mare. He was beautiful. Before the vision faded away, he stabbed a sword into the ground and left it there.”

Anger flows through me, making my skin burn. I throw the wool blankets from my legs.

Mom sits on the foot of the bed. “Is that when you fainted?”

She doesn’t show it, but she must be shocked I’m not reacting worse to the news about Brad.

I’m not going to let him affect me any longer.

I take another deep breath. “No. There was another, horrible vision—”

“Hold up. Did you just say Mirain showed you the vision?” Brit asks, voice raised.

“It is not the first time Kate has experienced visions while in proximity to Mirain,” Arland says, reminding me of the first vision she showed me, the one of Brad killing him.

I fight an urge to flee the room and punch Brad in
his
eye.

“Mirain was a gift from Griandor.” Arland rubs his thumb over my knuckles. I think he’s trying to calm me, not himself. My fury must be visible on my face, in my words, in the sweaty grip I have on him.

“I believe you are right, Arland. Griandor seems to have a lot of involvement with Kate.” Mom turns to face me.

“Kate, what was the other vision?”

“Brad led the army for Darkness. Everyone had been murdered except for the four of us, Cadman, Flanna, and Perth. Brad had us cornered. I begged him to stop, but he didn’t. That’s when I fainted.” I leave out the details of Brad being naked, with hollowed eye sockets, and covered in blood. Those details will remain locked away; they are too painful.

Arland stands so fast his chair falls back. “Can you ride?”

“I thought you’d never ask,” I say.

“What are we going to do?” Brit asks, legs bouncing.

“We are not going to wait until three. Kate and I are going to get Brad out of here, now. This is not the first vision she has had of him trying to kill us. I fear the longer he is here, the more danger we are in.” Arland lifts me to my feet.

I sway from standing too quickly. He pulls me into him, then wraps his arms around me. Leaning my head against Arland’s chest, I listen to each of his calming breaths.

The anger begins to subside.

“I am going to get Cadman. Brit, you stay here and help Flanna. Can you two handle bringing Brad up?” Mom asks Arland.

“That sounds like the best deal for me.” Brit bolts from the room.

“We will meet you in the stables with Brad,” Arland says.

Mom leaves.

He stands me straight up and looks at me with questioning eyes.

I try to give him my best
I’m okay
look. It must work; he takes me by the hand and leads me from our room.

Flanna is talking to Brad in the dining area. He pauses in his conversation and looks from my hand in Arland’s hands, to my eye, to Arland. I get the sinking suspicion Brad remembers me, the fight, everything. But, I think if he did, he would be trying to murder Arland right now, not sitting in his seat, looking timid and confused.