The Return of the Watchers (Armageddon Rising Book 1) (19 page)

              All at once a series of sensations hit him, as if he was smelling, seeing, and hearing for the first time. Only he wasn’t doing anything different. The darkness quickly faded as loud shrieks could be heard dissipating. A great weight was lifted as the terrible emanating evil passed.               The seven were all staring at Dorian with shock and terror themselves, after what they had just witnessed and struggled against, and what they were now beholding.                                                                                     Dorian's hands were bright, much like Amprodios's, and his eyes appeared as if they were emeralds; sparkling and glistening a deep green color, with a glowing light that emanated from within. The top of his head was covered with what looked like a living fire, moving and flowing like a river, flowing down past his shoulders. His new form stood approximately fifteen feet in height. The clothes he'd had on in Norway were not to be seen, instead he was adorned in a material that moved with almost a will of its own, a bioluminescent material that shimmered with an array of colors and enveloping him like the robes in a Renaissance painting.                            “Please stop it!” several being cried aloud. “I cannot survive this,” another shouted. Dorian looked confused as he was washed in newfound power. Tremendous energy emanated from him.                                           “Dorian, quickly, you need to.”                                                                       Before Matthias could finish his sentence Yelnisha grabbed him by the arm and pushed the two of them into the wall with the cabin in view and Dorian felt his spirit slam into his body in a very uncomfortable fashion.              

Ten

              A cold sweat came over Dorian and it took several minutes to acclimate to all the new sensations he was feeling. After having adjusted to being back his body he still found it difficult to cope with the newfound sensations. Sounds were coming from all over the room- voices, as far as he could ascertain. As he was looking around for the source of these noises a wave of fear hit him. There was no one else in the cabin and yet sounds filled his head, as if twenty radio stations were all playing simultaneously. In addition to the noises, he could feel a squirrel outside foraging for food, its heartbeat, its movements, as well as its thoughts. It was struggling to live, as if it had been forced underwater, leaving him with a very disconcerted feeling as the squirrel suffered. He could also feel the presence of several birds also struggling to live, and he wondered what was going on. Instinctively, he tried to move a hockey puck in his room with his mind, reaching his hand out to test out a childish theory. Nothing happened.

              “Well, I don’t have The Force; that’s no fun,” he thought. “I suppose this means I can’t fly either,” he said aloud this time, trying to will himself to fly. Again, nothing happened.

              He reached for his cell phone before it rang. “How did I?” he thought, as he answered the call.                                                                                     “Know it was going to ring?”              a voice with an Irish accent said on the line. “You’ve read far too many comic books for your own good,” the female sounding voice said to him.                            

              “Ok, I give up. No wait,” he said pausing to focus his thoughts. “Yelnisha. Somehow I know it’s you, but your voice is completely different. How did you know my, never mind. Oh, boy, what else did you look at in there? You know that’s not right. A person’s mind is their own private place!”                                                                                                                 “Shut your gob, listen to me! You need to do exactly as I say or you’re going to end up killing a lot of people without realizing it. The spiritual force you have is too great to leave unsuppressed,” she said with urgency in her voice. Dorian glanced out the window and noticed birds dropping to the ground around the house. He could no longer sense the squirrel and noticed its lifeless body outside where he had last felt it.              “Whoa, what’s going on here? What do I have to do?” he asked in desperation, knowing his mother and Yuki could be returning at any moment.

              “You need to calm your mind and imagine that you have something like The Force, only it’s coming from all over you. Now imagine how you tried to move that hockey puck and pull it towards you. You need to pull the energy inside you. Bring it in.”                                                        “How do I know if it’s working?”

              “You’ll feel pressure build up and your energy level will increase.”              He set the phone down and sat on the bed, trying to concentrate. There was too much sensory overload. He couldn’t focus.                                           “It’s not working! Help me!” Dorian shouted in desperation.              “Aw, bollocks, relax! You’re going to have to calm down or people are going to die. Listen to me. Shut everything down and take a deep breath. Take slow, deep breaths and imagine a large clock ticking. Tick tock, tick, tock, tick tock. There’s nothing but you alone in space. Tick tock, tick tock. Pull it in Dorian. You’re calling yourself home. Bring the energy back. Feel it returning and imagine your power building. You’re filling up an empty container.”

              He concentrated on her words and could feel his internal power growing along with his sensory abilities increasing in amplitude. The sound of the rental car was approaching and he could hear it pull into the driveway.                                                                                                                              “Focus, Dorian!”                                                                                                   He tried with every ounce of his might to concentrate, but he was picking up their heartbeats, thoughts, movements, and it was overwhelming him. His focus was shifting, and with that, he could feel his mother and Yuki both attempting to get to the cabin door. They both were gasping for breath.                                                                                                  “What’s happening? There’s no air! I can’t stand! Yuki, help me,” Iduna said, reaching out to her as she dropped to the snow-covered ground. Yuki was on one knee, struggling to get back to the car.                             “Bloody hell, I don’t have the ability to get to you! I’m sorry!” Yelnisha said, tears in her voice.                                                                                     Panic and anger raced through Dorian. He stood and concentrated, willing his spirit into himself. As the pressure mounted, incredible energy filled him. A feeling of weightlessness accompanied by strength engulfed him and his thoughts moved much faster than ever before. It was working, somehow. This was like drinking a megaton of caffeine. He truly felt invincible, and had to remind himself to remain focused.                                           The sound of the rental car engine came to life and he could feel Yuki’s racing heartbeat. He ran outside the door and saw his mother’s lifeless body in the snow, face down. There was nothing coming from her body; no life could be observed save the spirit-energy he felt coming from the bright light that was visible above her. A large being, an Angel he suspected, was standing aside the light and seemed to be opening a portal.               Dorian filled with rage.                                                                                     All his emotions were on overload and he let out a yell so loud that many of the windows on the street shattered and multiple avalanches began on the mountain peaks around them. Yuki was terrified and Dorian immediately realized he had made a terrible mistake. His mother was one thing, but he couldn’t be responsible for the deaths of other innocents.               The loud rumble of snow filled the air, almost as loud as Dorian’s cry. Instinctively he ran to the base of the mountainside to try and stop an avalanche all by himself, even though he had no idea how he would accomplish such a feat. Without realizing it, he was moving at incredible pace, augmented by his spirit energy. Even with his unthinkable speed, he made it to the bottom of the mountain only to behold an awesome sight. An entire legion of Angels were at the base of the mountain, stopping him dead in his tracks. Apparently they super heated the snow to the point of evaporation. This was also occurring at the other mountain bases, creating a large amount of fog and a bit of precipitation. A large, fifteen foot tall angel appeared before Dorian who ascertained by the way the others stood that this one was a leader. His countenance was soft and his face was glowing with radiance. His eyes were similar to Amprodias's, only his hair was much longer and he looked terrifying. Dorian could not penetrate his thoughts, but he sensed a peacefulness and a connection with this angel. The armor the angel was clothed in shimmered with translucence, and had a gigantic sword affixed to his waist that was sheathed glowing white-hot scabbard.                                                                                                                               “My thoughts are my own, Arrai'el. Consider this miracle a gift, young one. You must learn to control yourself. Although you are known to all of us, it is not my place to speak to you at this time,” he said, with his head turned slightly towards Dorian while supervising the cleanup and repair. The other Angels were buzzing around like worker bees quickly going about their appointed tasks; some on cleanup and some were affecting the few onlookers with persuasion of the events that had transpired. The witnesses would come to believe this was the result of an underground fissure of molten magma that opened up and evaporated the snow; a side effect from the events in Oslo. A few of them were observing Dorian with cautious curiosity and seemed to
be whispering to each other.              He looked up at the powerful being and his thoughts returned to Yuki and his mother. Without a word he turned and began to make his way back to the cabin, albeit considerably slower as many onlookers were now out in the streets. As he rounded the road the cabin was on, he saw Yuki leaning over Iduna's lifeless body. 

              No longer could he see the angel that presided over his mother's spirit-energy; however, he was able to see another standing near Yuki that seemed to be comforting her. The angel peered over at Dorian with an  expression of surprise and apprehension at his presence. He could sense the heartache coming from Yuki, and yet somehow his pain at the loss of his mother was attenuated. He also began to hear random thoughts, causing a bit of sensory overload                                                                                     “I will miss you mother,” he said softly while kneeling to caress her face, trying to maintain composure. He went into the cabin to retrieve something to wrap her with and found her favorite blanket on a chair inside. He gently rolled her onto the blanket while Yuki remained silent, in a state of shock.  Slowly he carried her lifeless body towards the car, holding her tightly, embracing her small body. Yuki quickly got up to open the passenger door and Dorian gently laid his mother in the seat.               “I am so sorry,” she said, putting her hand on his arm. “I don't understand.... As soon as we got out of the car it was as if we were in outer space. There wasn't any air. What happened? Did one of those aliens do this to get back at you?” she asked, dried eyeliner streaks covering her face.                                                                                                                                            “No... this was my fault,” was all he could muster without losing composure.                                                                                                                               Yuki put her hand on his shoulder. “You look so different now. What happened? What are you going to do?”                                                          “I suppose I'll tell the police she collapsed when she saw the avalanches happening all around us. I'm not really sure what happened to her. All I know is I'm responsible.”                                                                                     “What are you talking about? We were outside and felt this immense pressure, and it was very hard to breathe. What did you do?”              “I'll fill you in on the details later. Right now, I just want to get my mother to a proper place. I need to call this in to the authorities. You go ahead inside. I'll be back in a while.”                                                                                    After placing a call to the emergency line and explaining that his mother had passed away, he drove her to the local hospital, where the county coroner met with him as well as a police detective who asked some basic questions. It was difficult for him to concentrate on the words of the authorities, due to all of the static noise emanating from them, and it was becoming uncomfortable. After a cursory exam, the coroner advised Dorian that his mother may have had a stroke, but it was too early to tell. Dorian heard some of their thoughts amidst the noise and he knew they were suspicious of him.                                                                                                   He left the facility with a heavy heart, questioning himself as to why he hadn't broken down after what just happened. Instinctively he reached for his phone that he somehow knew was about to ring. A familiar voice was on the other end.                                                                                    “Dorian... I'm so sorry about your mother. There was no time. If any of us thought this was going to happen we would have taken greater precautions. Honestly, we had no idea this was going to be the outcome, it was totally banjaxed,” Yelnisha said.                                                                       “I don't understand. How could you not have known. Doesn't this sort of thing happen every time? What went wrong?” he asked, sounding on the verge of tears.             
                                                                                                  “Just who the bloody hell are you? You didn't look like any Elioud I've ever seen and you certainly had way more power. We've never awakened someone with Shi like yours before. Most of us have brought out half-breeds or less and all of those without exception were very easy. No one had the spiritual energy after first awakening to harm a mouse, let alone a human. That typically takes years of training and only a handfull of us are capable. Honestly, Dorian, I've never felt such immense spiritual energy before, and I had to make a quick decision. You were hurting the others back on Erustian Prime. I hadn't a crazy notion what was going to happen so I had to do something. Listen. that's not all.”                                           “What do you mean, what now?”                                                                       “The Shemzol removal was another disaster and I think the enemy is going to be coming after you. I called to tell you you're not safe. Whoever put that on you is real bad news. It took everything we had to keep them from getting hold of you. I think they were trying to trap your spirit during the awakening process which is why everyone was in a panic. I don't know for sure who they were, but they have some serious juice behind them. You need to be careful, Dorian. We never had the time to show you, but you need to learn how to suppress your spiritual energy and  close off your mind, otherwise you're going to be found pretty easily. Until we can get you to a safe location, you need to do exactly what I'm about to tell you.”

              “Where's Matthias at?” he asked.                                                                      “His spirit remains on Erustian Prime, but his body is elsewhere.             

              “Judging by your accent I'm guessing you're Irish. Is that where you're at, Ireland?” he asked.                                                                                    “You're lucky. If you had said I was from England or Scotland I would have to bust your dial.                                                                                                  “We don't much time. There's a small village near the center of Sicily, called Villalba. You need to get on a plane and head there right away.”                                                                                                                                            “What? Sicily?  I've got to plan a funeral for my mother. I can't just leave her here!” he snapped.                                                                                                  “I'll explain later, just do as I say and don't dawdle. I know you just lost your mother, and I'm really sorry about it, but you're going to have to put something together for her by tomorrow. If you don't get out of there soon, you risk a lot of other innocent people getting hurt. The enemy obviously wants you for some reason and I don't think it's a good idea for us to wage war when we don't know who or what we are dealing with.               “Villalba is almost in the middle of Sicily so there will be some driving to get there. I've got some preparations I need to do myself in order to make the trip as safe as possible for all of us.