Arianna Rose: The Gates of Hell (Part 5) (27 page)

“But you are something special, Arianna.  You’re the Sola.  And you saved everyone on this planet.”

Cringing inwardly, Arianna said, “They would have done exactly what I did, and I didn’t even do it alone.  The prophecy was wrong.”

“Shh,” he said and took her hands in his.  “Everything happened exactly as it was supposed to happen.”

She lowered her eyes to her feet, unconvinced.  “If it weren’t for Dane, I’d be dead, and everyone’s fate would be sealed.”

“Dane fulfilled his destiny, though he lost his way for a short period, and you fulfilled yours.”

Arianna rubbed her temples and contemplated his words. 

“Come now,” he patted her back soothingly and said.  “The Parkers are waiting in the study.”

She nodded.  Her belly fluttered just thinking about delivering more bad news to MaryAnn and Adam Parker.  Their family had been besieged by loss.  They were still reeling from Beth’s murder.  She agonized that news of Dane’s death may very well break them. 

“It will be difficult,” Briathos said
as if he’d heard her thoughts.  “But they need to know.  They need to hear how their son helped save the world.”

His words wrapped around her brain just before her vision was aglow with incandescent light.  Heated radiance swathed her as she sifted with Briathos to the main house.  When gradually the gleam dimmed, Arianna found herself standing in the entryway to Briathos’ private study. 

Floor-to-ceiling walnut shelves lined with leather-bound volumes suddenly looked imposing, and the walnut desk behind which Dr. Adam Parker sat made her feel as if she were in a courtroom on trial and he the judge about to hand down his verdict.  Jason and MaryAnn Parker sat in matching leather wing chairs, an emerald area rug between them. 

Adam’s face was careworn.  Dark, half-moons looked like bruises beneath both eyes.  Short, spiky growth shadowed his chin and upper lip
and his button front shirt looked rumpled.  His youngest daughter, Avery stood by his side.  Arianna had never seen either the veterinarian or Avery look so haggard. 

Jason didn’t look much better.  Wan skin dotted with stubble and eyes puffy from
crying and lack of sleep dominated his features.  His shoulders slumped as he sat on the edge of the deep chair as if carrying a burden so heavy he could barely remain upright. 

MaryAnn’s petite frame looked frail, her slender body thinner than usual as she wrung her hands in her lap.  Wavy hair usually styled in a neat bob looked disheveled
, and the fine lines around her eyes, barely noticeable months earlier, had deepened. 

Seeing MaryAnn,
Jason, Avery, and Adam Parker, as they were, made Arianna want to run away.  She entertained doing just that, and hesitated for a moment, then stepped inside. 

“Arianna,” Jason said and sprang to his feet
.  “We’re so glad you’re here.  Please, tell us what happened to Dane.”

“We can’t believe what he did,” Adam said, disappo
intment thickening his voice.  Avery gave her father’s shoulder a gentle squeeze.  “But he was still our son.”  He ran a hand through soft brown hair touched with silver at his temples and lowered hazel eyes identical to his son’s. 

MaryAnn stood and closed the distance between them.  She hugged Arianna tightly, and as she reciprocated, Arianna could feel small sobs racking MaryAnn’s body. 

“How did he . . . die?” MaryAnn asked, her voice muffled by tears and Arianna’s shirt. 

MaryAnn released her and stepped back, one arm wrapped around her waist while the other cupped one side of her face.  Red-rimmed eyes searched Arianna’s.  “
Please tell us.”  Her voice was a hoarse whisper as teardrops fell down her cheeks. 

Arianna nodded and closed her eyes, shedding tears of her own. 

Adam gasped and lowered his head to the desk.  He began weeping quietly. 

Jason rushed to his mother’s side, his face a mask of pain.  He draped an arm over her shoulders and pulled her into him. 
Mary Ann looked even slighter of build and more fragile in her strapping son’s arms.

“I-I can’t bel
ieve he’s gone,” Jason mumbled, pain evident in his tone. 

“I know, I know,” MaryAnn whimpered.

Arianna, standing amid the worst grief human beings could endure—the loss of a child—felt as if she were dying a small death.  Dane had died for her.  His passing was blood on her hands, and she had yet to tell them.  For the Parkers, this was the second time they were enduring the unimaginable torture of losing a child, and both times, whether directly or indirectly, their children were lost because of their ties to her.  She knew she’d have to tell them.  They deserved to know the truth about their son’s death.  They would shun her for sure, and be right in doing so. 

Suddenly parched, her throat blazed.  She swallowed hard but felt as if her mouth were filled with sand.  She parted her lips, unsure of how to broach the subject of how Dane died
, when Jason spoke.

“How did it happen?” Jason asked in a voice that faltered. 

Arianna closed her eyes for a moment then opened them and said, “He died saving the world.”

Four
sets of eyes zeroed in on her as Adam looked up from his folded arms, Avery gazed from behind him, MaryAnn lifted her chin and peered over her shoulder and Jason watched her.  They waited for clarification. 

“He
knew where Darius and I fought, the abandoned chateau in Belgium, and sifted there.  Darius had me on my knees.  Our powers dueled, and I was dangerously close to losing my life.  But then Dane showed up.”  Arianna swallowed hard and gave a sad smile as she swiped tears from her cheeks.  The scene replayed in her head in striking clarity, and for a moment she swore she could smell the stench of sulfur and ash, of fire and smoke once again.  “He gripped Darius from behind, pinning his arms, and then told me to finish him,” she said tearfully.  “He was burning already.  He knew he wouldn’t make it, but told me to blast Darius.”

Jason’s breathing snagged visibly, his chest stuttering with overwhelming emotion, and MaryAnn covered her mo
uth with both hands. 

“He died honorably,” Arianna added with conviction.  “Without him, humankind would be lost, their fate doomed.”

“So Dane forfeited his life so that you, the Sola, could kill both he and Darius?” Adam asked.

Arianna couldn’t tell whether accusation laced his words, but prepared herself for it
, nevertheless.  She deserved it, after all.  “Yes,” she answered truthfully.

Adam’s gaze was trained on her.  Was the weight of judgment swirling in their depths?  Arianna wondered as a long pause spanned between them.  She was afraid to breathe, to blink even.  The air was fraught with stress and strain so thick it was practically visible.  And just when she thought she couldn’t withstand it another moment and debated falling to her knees and begging their forgiveness, Adam spoke. 

“He was born to protect the Sola, and he did,” Adam Parker said solemnly, breaking the tense silence that held the room hostage.  “He died an honorable death, as you said.”

Pressure bled from the atmosphere, though hurt remained.  MaryAnn
, Avery and Jason hugged her, and so did Adam.  She offered her condolences despite knowing they were a pittance of what they deserved and what she was feeling. 

After heartfelt words were exchanged and promises of me
eting for dinner in the coming days were made, Arianna left the Parkers to their grief.  Unfortunately, they had enough to last a lifetime.  Briathos waited for her in the hallway. 

“You are braver than you think,” he said with a fatherly glint in his eye.  “You will hurt, and they will hurt.  All of us have suffered.  As time passes, we will honor those lost by remembering them and sharing stories of their lives.  And we will treat each day as a gift because it is.”

He was imparting her with wisdom she was sure she would appreciate in the future, once the ache inside her subsided.  Right now it was too hard to hear.  Everything was too fresh, the hurt too raw. 

“I know they are just words right now, and for me too.  But in the future,” he let his sentence hang; his though
t went unfinished as they made their way downstairs together. 

At the bottom of the steps, Dafeenah stood talking to one of the warlocks she’d met earlier.  Seeing Arianna, she excused herself and approached.  

“Sola,” her husky voice was filled with admiration that made Arianna squirm.  “You have saved us all.”

In Arianna’s ear, Briathos whispered, “I will leave you two.  I must go and make funeral arrangement
s,” then gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze before disappearing from sight. 

“Oh Dafeenah, if you only knew how uncomfortable I am to hear you say that,” she mumbled.  “Then again you’re a psychic, so I guess you do know.” She laughed nervously. 

Dafeenah’s silver eyes sparkled as she released a throaty chuckle and shook her head.  “That’s not quite what I expected you to say, but okay.”

“Sorry.  That’s what you people get for picking a girl like me to be your go-to person,” she joked. 
“But kidding aside, I had my doubts about you.  I mean, if you’d heard me kicking up my heels about a carnival psychic leading us to Darius, you would’ve hated me.  In truth, I hate me a bit for being such a judgmental bitch.”

“I’m sure you had your reasons.  There are many fakes out there.  But some of us are the real thing.”

“You’re letting me off the hook too easy.  Tell me off or something,
please
,” she teased.  Then after a few seconds passed, she said, “Seriously, I couldn’t have found Darius without you.  You saw the last three places where the portals were and we were able to locate him.  So thank you.”

“You are most certainly welcome,” Dafeenah said. 

A comfortable silence filled the space between them for several beats then Arianna said, “I’m headed back to my cabin, how about you?”

“Uh, I was going to catch up with Kenneth, the man I was talking to a moment ago,” Dafeenah gestured with her thumb over her shoulder.  “It turns out we come from the same region and know a lot of the same people.”

“Ah, that’s great,” she said with enthusiasm she didn’t feel.  Truth of the matter was, she was still drained and was relieved she wouldn’t have to chitchat as she walked to her cabin.  Now she could sift and avoid everyone.  “I’ll catch up with you tomorrow if you’re still here.”

“I’ll be here,” Dafeenah assured her.  “I am staying for the ceremonies.  I didn’t know any of the fallen, not well at least, but they are my people all the same.  Their lives, on this plane and the next, should be celebrated by all.”

“True,” Arianna agreed.  “Then I will see you tomorrow evening.”

Arianna turned and started to walk away.

“Arianna!” Dafeenah called after her. 

She turned and saw a worried expression on the seer’s face. 
Please don’t have a vision!  Please don’t have a vision!
Arianna thought.  “Yes?”

“Are you all right?” Dafeenah asked and Arianna sighed audibly. 

“Just tired, that’s all,” she replied. 

“I see,” Dafeenah said earnestly.  She looked to the floor t
hen to Arianna.  “Rest.  In time, you will be okay.”

Time.  Everyone said the same thing.  But would time heal all wounds as the saying went?  Would she, one day, be fine and dandy?  She guessed only time would tell.

“See you tomorrow, Dafeenah.” She gave a small wave and walked out of the cabin.

The evening air was crisp and fresh, the kind she’d enjoy strolling in were it not for the matter of wanting to avoid pretty much everyone. 
Sifting to her cabin would be so much easier.  Pajamas, a steaming mug of tea and her bed called to her.  Still, Briathos’ words echoed in her brain, something he’d said not too long ago about taking in her surroundings that had sounded an awful lot like the old adage
stop and smell the roses
. 

Against her better judgment, she made her way, on foot, down the long and winding path toward the clearing around which the cabins had been built.  She was stopped countless times along the way.  Some
of the warlocks she encountered bowed and others kissed her hand while the majority simply came up to her and thanked her.  Each time she thanked them in return, assuring them they had as much to do with the final riddance of Darius as she did.  Mostly people just wanted to stand and talk with her, hear about what the experience of purging absolute evil from the world had been like.  Unfortunately, that was what she wanted to do least.  And after repeating the story for the umpteenth time, she told a small group just outside her cabin that she would join them for dinner after the services the next day and share all the details.  That seemed to appease everyone and she was confident the news would spread fast.  She retreated to the comfort of her cabin. 

Chapter 20

Inside the cabin, Arianna leaned her back against the door and sighed.  She’d physically shut out the questions and comments, the stares and bows, but the aftereffects remained.  Many lives had been lost.  Being revered had felt unnatural, and undeserved.  She wondered whether those who celebrated would feel the same way if they’d spent five minutes with Dane’s family right now.  Loss was inevitable no matter the battle.  War claimed lives.  But a list of names means far less when strangers are cataloged within it.  Each person claimed had a function in this world.  Each was a sister or a brother, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, a best friend, a lover.  No one among them was an entity without connection.  All left someone grieving, and in many cases, multiple people grieving.