Awakening the Beast (16 page)

“Fire,” she murmured. “Trees burning. All dead. Must stop it.”

“Aren’t you going to do something?” he pushed Daruk and Lelana away from Illiana. Christopher knelt down before her and drew her up into his arms. She murmured other things he could not understand.

Belik took her hand in his and whispered her name. Ohanzee tried, and still she did not stir from her trance. “Last time this happened I was able to call her back from her vision. This is getting worse. I don’t know what to do,” Belik said.

“What’s going on with her?” Tullin asked.

“Her abilities are taking over. She’s mastered all four elements, but whatever the fifth one is, it’s taking ahold of her and if she doesn’t learn how to control it soon it’ll consume her. That’s why we need to see her aunt,” Ohanzee explained.

“I’ll go get her,” Jalisa volunteered.

“Thank you. I’ll go with you,” Lelana said.

Christopher cradled his mate closer and held her when the tremors in her muscles grew more violent. Her back bowed and propelled her out of his grasp. She drew in a deep breath, settled down, and then opened her eyes to stare at him. However it was not the woman he knew looking back at him. Her eyes were blank and yet they were filled with a presence he could not quite explain.

“You seek vengeance for all that has been inflicted upon you. All those whom you pursue will pay. The whole world will burn and you must choose,” Illiana said.

“What must I chose?” he asked her.

A knowing smile spread on her lips, but it was twisted and diabolical. “That will come soon enough. Not all that is seen is foretold. Not all the secrets shared are for human ears to hear them.”

Whatever was controlling her, he wanted it gone. “Leave Illiana and give her back to me.” He shook her.

A dark laugh bubbled from her lips. “How can I leave her, when I’m already inside of her and have been since the day she was born? You don’t want to look into the darkness and see the truth. The woman you so adore and hold on a pedestal isn’t the innocent woman you fell in love with. She’s so much more. You need to decide if you want to be a part of the journey. Sometimes the self is more important than you think it is. Decide or the decision will be taken from you.” She placed a hand on Christopher’s cheek and a blast of warmth went through him that made him sweat. The earth rumbled beneath him and the wind stirred so powerfully that he rocked with the force of it.

It was coming from Illiana.

He pulled away from her. The words she said to him rang in his head. Whatever this was, it was part of her. It showed that she had changed more than he had realized. She had never been able to manipulate the earth the way that she did now. How did she come upon this awesome power and what it mean? What that why needed to talk to Coret? “What do you mean the decision will be taken from me?”

“Feathers will fall from the sky and those who rule the ground will find their claws pulled out. All that’s treasured will become ash. In the end, the path that is forged will lead you toward your destiny.”

He wanted to say something else when he saw Coret. She placed a hand on Illiana’s shoulder. At once her eyes fluttered shut and she went limp. He glanced at the priestess. “What did you do to her?”

“I grounded her. She’ll be fine. It’s nice to see you, Lelana,” Coret acknowledged her sister.

“You too,” Lelana responded.

Christopher scooped up Illiana. “So are you going to tell us what’s going on with her?”

The priestess looked at the other members of the camp. Her eyes settled on Daruk and he could understand the fascination that she had with the large man. Maybe she could feel the elements in him or whatever power it was that he had. Christopher held Illiana close and kissed her forehead before giving her back over to Belik. Christopher saw the love the other man had for her. He tried to understand why the raven had let another man share their bed. Knowing him, he probably did it to please the woman they loved. They did it because she wanted them in her life. And if sharing her was the only way to make that happen, then they were going to make her happy. From what he had learned so far about Ohanzee, he was courageous and loved Illiana with a fierceness that rivaled his own.

“She’s losing the battle with the spirits. They threaten to possess her completely. I never saw this coming. What’s happened to her?” Coret asked Belik.

“She can control all four elements and started having visions about six months ago. They began as dreams. Now they’ve started to take her over when she’s awake,” Belik replied.

“Her father said that she had to learn to take control of them, of the fifth element as he called it, would control her. She’s healed some of my village learning how to balance the elements inside. I’m not quite sure how she does it, but she healed me,” Ohanzee explained.

“What was wrong with you?” Coret asked him.

“My other form was stuck. I was caught between forms, half lion and half man. She eased me out from it and I was able to access both animals. Ranolo called her an elemental healer, but he thought she might be more than that,” Ohanzee explained.

Coret nodded. “I always knew that she was special. She should’ve been in training for the priesthood when she was younger, but you wouldn’t even let her come near me, Lelana.”

“That’s in the past,” Lelana growled.

“Can you help her?” Ohanzee asked.

“I can, but whatever you’ve planned is going to have to wait. Follow me and bring her. The rest of you stay here,” Coret instructed.

Christopher did not want to see her go, but it was the best thing for her. When they disappeared into the forest, he turned back toward the campfire and planned what was to come.

* * * *

Illiana opened her eyes and looked into the pale blue eyes of her aunt. She sat up slowly before she wrapped her arms around her aunt’s neck. Coret hugged her back. “I knew you were still alive. I knew it.”

“How did you know?” her aunt asked.

She took in her surroundings and saw they were in the forest. “I had a dream. Christopher had rescued you from a cave. He got you and a few others out. One of the cougars clawed him across the face.”

“What else have you seen?”

Illiana recounted the other visions she had along with the eruption and feeling as though she was actually being shot out of the volcano. She told Coret everything about her abilities and how she was able to heal those if she wanted. When she was done, Illiana looked into her aunt’s eyes, saw the astonishment and something else that she could not quite understand. “You think I’m some kind of a freak, don’t you?”

“No, sweetie. I don’t think that at all. I’ve always thought you were special. You’re mother never wanted me to teach you or even be around you for fearing that I’d tell you of your true parentage, but you know that already. I think she was also afraid of losing you to the priesthood. I saw your destiny when you left the forest and gave you the bracelet. I knew that you’d be back. And here you are.”

“Did you know that this was going to happen? That the forest was going to be overrun by outsiders and that I would be the cause of it?” Illiana asked.

“You’re not the cause of it. Your mother showed me the letter. I thought it’d be a good time to expand our trading. The wolves agreed upon it, too. What happened here is not your fault. You can’t blame yourself. I think that might be part of your problem. If you can give up this guilt and take a hold of this other power, then you’ll understand it wasn’t your fault.”

Illiana thought about what her aunt said. She did feel guilty about setting the events into motion that eventually led the forest to be overrun and her people enslaved. How did that coincide with her abilities? “Maybe. My father called this other power the fifth element. It’s the element you gave yourself to. How would my guilt give this other power over me?”

Coret ran her fingers through her dark hair. “In a way your father is right. When I was younger, before I went into the priesthood, I’d have dreams. Horrible nightmares about things to come that I didn’t understand. When I learned to look inside of myself, to go deeper where all was quiet, I saw this other place and it was a raging storm. I had to face this storm before I could gain control of the other ability. Now I see a clear pool and it allows me to know things. Sometimes they just come to me the way you read the air and the fire. You know these things after a while. I suggested that your mother try it, but she was always so stubborn. You’re like Lelana in that respect. You’ve grown so much in the past year. Whatever journey you were set upon it is ending.”

Illiana nodded. “Many things have changed. If I wasn’t already mated to Ohanzee and Belik, Daruk would whisk me away to his homeland and make me his queen or something.”

“What about Christopher? Is he not your mate, too? He loves you and you him.”

“I know he does. It was my love for him that made it possible for me to see you and hear his pleas. For so long I tried to put him out of my heart, but he was always there. Nonetheless, I can’t say where we stand when it comes to the future. We have to do this first. After, I have to go back to my father and check on the village. Ohanzee wants to go back because they’re his people. I don’t know what I’m going to do.”

“Love’s a powerful thing. Time will tell you what direction to go in. From what I saw tonight, you are heading down the path where you will be consumed. The fifth element is connected to all things, all forms of life, spirits, gods, whatever you want to call it. It’s made up of all the elements that you already know, but there is more to it. It lives inside all of us. Many people don’t know how to listen.”

“How can I get this under control?”

“That’s why I’ve brought you here. Do you know where we are?” Coret asked.

Illiana glanced around. The trees were taller and older than what she was used. The canopy was denser. She placed her hand on the wooden deck below her. A zing of energy electrified her nerves. The aroma of pine and oak filled her nose. The wood was damp from it having rained recently. When she extended her senses, reading the elements, she could not feel any other wildlife. This place seemed to be protected because there was nothing of life around her except an intense energy that permeated the air. “No. Where are we?”

“This is the place where all of our initiates come so they can find for themselves. It was here I had to face my greatest fears and learn to give myself over to them.”

“If I finally accept this other element, am I going to be destined for the priesthood and nothing else?” Illiana asked. It was not a life she wanted. She was not even sure that she believed in many of the things that her aunt.

“Your path in life is far greater than being a priest. You don’t need to learn the chants or the other tricks that the priests use to connect with nature. You do need to learn to quiet your inner self so you can control the other side of you. You remember that with your wolf it took your anger to pull it out of the darkness.”

“Of course.”

“This requires serenity and following a journey so you can confront whatever it is inside of you causing you to feel this way. Drink this tea.” Coret handed her a warm mug.

Illiana inhaled the scent of peppermint, lavender, but something else in the tea she was not familiar with. “What happens once I drink it?”

Coret gave her a smile she had come to know that she would not get a straight answer. “You follow the raven.”

Illiana shook her head and sipped the tea. It was not a bad taste, but there was a pungent aftertaste that she could not shake. However, she gulped the rest of it down and waited for it to take some effect. Coret took the cup and walked over the rickety bridge that connected the platform to the aerie in the next tree. Illiana had not noticed it before because it blended so well with the trunk. It was ancient and seemed abandoned. She closed her eyes. The elements played on her skin wherever they touched her. Fire raced along her veins. Her head felt dizzy and her body swayed with the wind. When the wooden platform she sat upon swayed in a heavy gust of wind, she opened her eyes and grabbed onto the boards. The dampness of the wood made her cold. Illiana summoned the water and watched as the droplets joined together into a ribbon and followed her fingertips. Illiana giggled as they swirled together in a spiral. Their voices were so small that she could not understand them. The longer she concentrated on feeling the elements around her, the more the fire cooled inside of her. The wind embraced her, keeping her company. When she reached for the energy of the earth, she was met with the zinging of the tree’s energy and that helped to ground her. But it did not stop the dizziness. Illiana tried to push the elements away because they were overwhelming her. Before she could, she heard the loud screech of a raven. It snapped her back to attention. She looked around the forest and her gaze locked onto a large white raven perched on a branch across from her.

“Coret, do you see that?” Illiana asked. But her aunt had vanished. It was only her and the raven. All the ravens in the flock were black. The bird cried again. Her aunt had told her to follow the raven.

She got up slowly and walked across the wobbly bridge. The boards were slippery and she could barely keep her balance. When she summoned the air to fly without transforming, she found the ability was lost upon her. Illiana caught herself and danced across the wet lumber until she was on the other side with the raven. She was so close to the bird she saw its feathers were all white and its eyes were black. She assumed it would have the blue eyes that all the priests had who had given themselves over to the spirits. Would her eyes change as well?

Illiana tried to touch the raven, but it had disappeared. Its screech echoed through the forest. She caught a blur of white was going flashing away from the aerie heading deeper into the forest. She raced along the branches and the bridges connecting the trees together. Illiana tried to keep up with it, but it was always a glimpse here and there until they were so far into the wood, the trees were enormous and hardly any room between them. There was untapped power all around her. Stories of the old forest where that the dark spirits dwelled were told at bed time to scare the children. She came to a branch that she could not reach. She leapt to the next bough, but when she landed it gave way underneath her. Illiana tried to catch herself. Instead, before she hit the ground, she took flight. The white raven was in view until she came to a curtain of blackness where the forest just ended. She landed, shed her feathers and stood within the darkness.