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  “It’s this island.” Arthur said as he still knelt down at the picnic blanket.

  Chapter 12

  “It’s been a week and I still haven’t remembered anything.” Andrea said as she walked next to Arthur carrying one of the picnic baskets while he carried the other. Rebecca was walking alongside them, just collecting berries, but not really participating in the conversation.

  “I know a good psychiatrist in New York. He is a friend. I have asked him to come down for a weekend. He has agreed. I am sure he will have something to help you.”

  “You know, if I have a family out there, they must be worried. My mother must be wondering if I’ve kidnapped and held by a psychopath. They must be going mad with the not knowing.” She said looking away in the distance and Arthur turned to her.

  “You are going to be ok. I promise.” He said fiercely. Andrea gave a short sad laugh and started walking again.

  “It’s funny, you know. When you showed me that vision, it felt so real.”

  “It’s was real.” Arthur insisted and Andrea nodded.

  “A reality from one thousand years back. And I could feel precisely what the girl felt. I knew she went to the barn afterward and cried all night. All night till dawn, when the soldiers came and burnt down the village and captured her and took her to the Dark Prince.”

  “Don’t! Don’t do this to yourself.” Arthur said from between barred teeth.

  “You are a great wizard. A knowledgeable man. Tell me why my mind recollects the reality from One Thousand years back, so easily and still cannot remember the last twenty some years.” She said tears running down her cheeks.

  Arthur just looked at her. He had no answer.

  “Weylin is hurting. I can feel it all the way here. I think I can go help him a little.” She said and walked ahead leaving Rebecca and Arthur alone. For a while neither said anything.

  “She is right you know.” Rebecca said tentatively.

  “Don’t,” Arthur said from between barred teeth. “She remembers things from long back but nothing from the recent past.”

  “She remembers only what I showed her and things around it.”

  “And what about now?”

  “What about it?”

  “When are you going to show her something that may help.”

  “What makes you think I know anything about it?” Arthur asked querulously.

  “You try hard to shield your emotions around her. You use some pretty strong spells.”

  That was when he looked at her with grudging admiration and nodded. “Well played. You were trained well.” He commented then not taking his eyes from her, he pulled out his wallet, flipped it open, and showed it to her.

  Rebecca saw a family sitting on a lawn, Arthur, Andrea, and a good-looking, middle-aged, couple.

  “I see where you both get your good looks from.”

  “They are both of them doctors. They are sending Tobias down here for the consultation. Tobias Coroner is my best friend and an ace psychiatrist. They all think it’s better that we give her time to recover on her own before we help in any way.”

  “You love her very much.”

  “Of course, I do. She is my sister.”

  “And what happens when Tobias comes down?” Rebecca asked slyly.

  “Tobias is six feet three and has a black belt in five ancient martial arts.” Arthur commented looking grim.

  “So?”

  “So, when his heart breaks, the healer’s going to be in a pretty unhealable mess.” He said and they both laughed.

  As they continued down to join the rest of the group, who was already on the pier, it started raining. Before they knew what was happening there was a strike of lightning and heavy black clouds rolled in. Thunder rumbled above them and just like that the beautiful sunny afternoon became stormy and bleak.

  The ferryman sounded his horn three times in succession. They had been told just before they left the other shore that, three consecutive horns meant emergency call back to the boat. People started filling into the boat as Rebecca an Arthur started down the treacherous mountainside, the slippery rocks making their descent difficult.

  The horn sounded, loud and terrifying one more time, and they saw the light on the hull move.

  “Are they moving out? They can’t be moving out!” Rebecca cried out.

  “Hey…hey…stop!” she cried out through the sheets of rain clearly saw the boat moving out, their four friends waiting for them on the pier.

  Fifteen minutes later, when Rebecca and Arthur reached the wharf, the differences seemed to have mended as the four cursed and blamed them both, as one team, for making them miss the ferry.

  The thunder roared through the sky and the sea was suddenly turbulent, waves crashing and breaking against the rocks like a thousand shreds of broken glass. There was a definite chill in the air and the rain was so heavy they couldn’t see the person standing next to them. The wind was taking speed and the lightning was so wild it seemed like it would soon burn something down.

  “We need shelter.” Weylin said.

  “The castle is the only shelter around here and its gates are five miles inland.” Darcy said

  “The lighthouse, it seems nearer.” Zack cried out.

  “It's nearer than the castle but still quite far. We will never make it without drowning.” Said Andrea.

  “There are the caves.” Weylin put in.

  “They fill with water once the tide rises.” Darcy put in desolately. Rebecca had never heard Darcy so defeated. She was the most indomitable spirit among them.

  “If we follow the caves they will lead us to the lighthouse.” Arthur put in quietly.

  “Those caves are thousands of years old. We don’t even know which ones lead to the lighthouse.” Zack said incredulously.

  “I do” Arthur put in serenely and those two words created a silence so potent that for nearly a minute the only thing that they could hear was the rain, the sea, the wind and the thunder. Then all of them started to talk at once.

  Chapter 13

  “I can’t believe this. I am inside an ancient cave, holding a torch that was lit by the magic of an unrivaled.” Darcy said walking just behind Arthur and Bec, who led the expedition. Weylin and Zack brought up the rear.

  “You don’t need to be an Unrivaled to light fire without a match.” Rebecca said crossly.

  “You are annoyed love?” Arthur whispered in her ear.

  “Yes!” Rebecca whispered back with ire.

  “Why?” he asked still murmuring so only she could hear.

  “You are mean. This skirt you bought me is too short. And you did it on purpose,” she murmured back.

  “You look ravishing in it. Just like I imagined.”

  “You imagined me in this? Now you are mean and a pervert.” Rebecca hissed.

  “Who named you an Unrivaled anyway? Weylin asked from the back.

  “The masters of the council of The Unrivaled and Grandmaster Harold.”

  “There is a council of the Unrivaled? How come I never knew?” Weylin complained.

  “It’s like the CIA of wizards I suppose. You don’t even know if it exists till you are associated with them, one way or the other.” Zack put in.

  “We are nearly there,” Arthur called out and everyone went quiet.

  “Where is there?” Darcy asked looking around with suspicion.

  “The dungeons below the lighthouse.”

  “If it's just the lighthouse why does it feel so grim?” Weylin asked.

  “Because it’s the dungeons. Dungeons are always grim.” Andrea said.

  “And because it used to be a prison.” Zack concluded as they walked into a big circular hall and in the ghastly lights of their torches they saw circular arrangements of prison cells around.

  There were dozens of interlocked old wooden staircases that wound up and disappeared into the ceiling, or at least the void that should have been the ceiling.

  “And because you caged, tortured, and
killed hundreds of innocent witches and wizards down here.” Arthur put in quietly turning around in his place and looking around.

  “We? As in?” Darcy asked.

  “As in, you four except Rebecca and me. You killed us too, down here.”

  “That’s enough!” Cried Zack and faced Arthur with a challenge in his eyes.

  “Those are some dark accusations you’re making, Arthur.” Weylin said taking his position next to Zack.

  “They aren’t accusations, I’m recanting the events I remember from a former life. The dark prince lead us here. He made us miss our boat, knowing this would be the only shelter from the storm.”

  “How did this Dark Prince even know we were here?” Zack questioned and Arthur tried to look away, Zack stared at him with murderous eyes and Arthur yielded.

  “When Darcy used magic and threw Weylin off earlier, he would have sensed the presence of magic on the island. He knew we were here. And he seized the opportunity. He had said anyway that he wants Andrea’s blood by the new moon.”

  “And it’s the new moon tonight. We walked into a trap and handed him his piece of cake like fools.” Rebecca deduced.

  “But why Andrea? What did she do?” Darcy asked.

  “It’s not her. It's him. He is her blood. He is her brother. And he is what the Dark prince wants.” Rebecca said quietly and Arthur glowered at her.

  “It was a thousand years back. I am sure their blood changed and diluted several times over during that period.” Weylin argued.

  “I don’t think that is what she is saying.” Andrea said staring at Arthur who looked away.

  “You mean, he is her brother, her real brother, here and now?” Darcy put in and Rebecca nodded. “I would never have told you. It was necessary that she remembers it all naturally on her own. But looks like we are all going to die down here tonight, so I don’t think it really matters anymore.” Rebecca replied.

  “Nobody is going to die!” Arthur said from between barred teeth while he tried to avoid the look of lost sorrow in Andrea’s eyes.

  “Yeah, we have an Unrivaled on our team.” Zack mocked.

  “Don’t forget he is the one who brought it all upon us in the first place. Apparently, it’s his blood and his amulet that the bad guy wants.” Weylin pointed out.

  Darcy asked the two boys to stop by raising her palm then turned to Arthur.

  “But he just wants that stupid amulet you wear around your neck. Why don’t you just hand it over and be done?”

  “I didn’t bring anything upon you, you did, all of you. And it’s not a stupid Amulet. It’s our life and our souls.” Arthur cried out. He stretched his hands towards the ground like claws and fire erupted. The others took a few steps back.

  “Sit down and hold hands.” He said and the others obeyed. “Look into the fire.” Arthur commanded. Suddenly the flames rose higher and the room melted away. Inside the vision they were still in the same room, the four except Rebecca and Arthur. Flashes upon flashes of how they tortured defenseless wizards passed before their eyes.

  Then they saw Rebecca and Arthur.

  “Kill her” the Dark Prince was saying. The four swung down upon her but Arthur and Rebecca fought back. Then the Dark Prince arrested Arturo’s magic. Andrea stood towering over Rebecca, her sword ready to strike.

  She turned towards Arturo and cried out.

  “Where is the Book?”

  “Don’t do this.” Arthur pleaded to the four. “All we are doing is protecting our kind. If the book falls into the wrong hands we will all be destroyed. Our race will be wiped out.” He implored. But they only laughed.

  Finally, Andrea brought down her steel upon Rebecca. They all saw Arthur staring at Rebecca chanting under his breath. Andrea inserted the steel in her ribs and tore it down to her belly. But Rebecca made no sound. She simply gave a sigh and died.

  Then they heard the howl. Arthur was clawing and biting at his cage. A similar gash, like Rebecca’s was cut into his chest.

  Suddenly the vision ended and they heard the deafening howl again. It took them a minute to understand that this was happening in the present. Arthur was panting hard, clutching his side and had fallen to the ground.

  Chapter 14

  “He is hurting. He is feeling the hurt of that strike.” Andrea screamed. Zack bore down upon them and put his hands upon Arthur but the intensity of the pain and the agony threw him back and he fell unconscious to the ground.

  Arthur was wheezing and his vision was blurring. Rebecca took his head in her lap and cried.

  “Don’t die. Stay with me...stay with me…,” she chanted.

  Just then dark smoke swirled down from above and the dark prince descended upon them from one of the wooden staircases.

  “It’s him.” Weylin cried out and Darcy and Andrea turned upon him at once. They fought him valiantly while Rebecca tried to wake Arthur.

  “Arturo, wake up. We can't do this by ourselves.” She cried.

  Then there was a deafening scream and Weylin was thrown against the opposite wall. There was a sickening crack and he fell to the ground in a heap. Darcy’s concentration wavered as she saw Weylin go down from the corner of her eyes and that was when the Dark Prince threw her against another wall with the sheer force of his magic.

  But this time Arthur was halfway up and he quickly threw his hands into the air and slowed Darcy’s fall. But the blow had knocked her off all the same.

  Andrea, Rebecca and Arthur stood their backs to each other and turned in slow circles as the swirls of blue light emanating from the Dark Prince's hands whirled around them and turned a darker hue.

  Suddenly the man just strode up to them, and punched Arthur in the guts. Arthur cried out in pain as the dark prince held him by his hair and stopped him from falling to the ground. He dragged him away from the two girls then kicked him in the belly hard. Arthur was dangling on the cusp of consciousness and blissful oblivion.

  “Try something funny and you will lose him.” The dark prince warned. The two girls stood there, ready and in position but did not strike. The Dark Prince ripped off Arthur’s t-shirt and pulled off the amulet, then he let him slip to the floor.

  “I will be seeing you soon.” He said to the two girls and then disappeared into swirls of black smoke and started rising towards the ceiling. That was when they all heard a beastly cry and Weylin came rushing from behind and rammed into the swirls.

  The dark prince laughed a sickening laugh and started rising towards the ceiling with Weylin caught up into his folds.

  “Don’t” Darcy screamed and rushed forward. “Don’t take him, you bastard.” She screamed.

  “By all means keep him.” The Dark Prince howled in laughter and let go of Weylin.

  “Noooooo…..” Darcy cried and rushed forward, while Arthur thrashed on the ground and withered in his place as he threw his hands forward to slow down Weylin’s momentum. Pain shot through his body as if his insides were on fire. Then everything went black and he slipped into oblivion.

  Chapter 15

  Before Arthur moved to Griffin Falls Montana, a month back, he had had a brilliant career as a Trauma Surgeon in one of the leading hospitals in New York. Trauma care is not easy. It often happens that you have to impart bad news. Arthur always did it with compassion. He was always the sharp steel surgeon inside the OT, but once he stepped out he would don his mask of empathy, even when he did not feel it at times. Because he knew that his patient’s folks, who waited for him to bring them the news, needed it.

  Now as he tore off his gloves and his mask, while the nurse helped him, the only thought that plagued Arthur was, how he was going to face his friends, especially Darcy.

  It was unusually quiet when he walked into the waiting room outside the OT. It was early morning and still dark outside. He could see his friends sitting huddled in a corner. Rebecca sat next to Darcy and held her close, while Darcy sobbed quietly into her side. Andrea and Zack stood on either side of them saying something to Darcy in qui
et reassurance. They were most probably telling her that everything was going to be okay. Arthur wondered how he was going to tell her otherwise.

  They all turned and rose slowly as he approached. For a second he blocked out the others and looked straight at Darcy. The minute she looked at him, Arthur knew that she had read the truth in his eyes. He put out his hand to hold her shoulder but Darcy shrugged and refused his touch.

  “I am sorry Darcy. Weylin is dead. There was extreme internal damage and we couldn’t save him.” He said. Sometimes the direct approach was the best. The quiet in the room was so intense that Arthur thought he could actually hear it.

  Darcy was going into shock. She was not letting anyone comfort her, her pupils were dilated and she looked straight out of the window without blinking as she walked a few paces away from the others and sat in another chair alone, hugging herself as if she was cold and rocking in place.

  Arthur had anticipated it and he motioned forward the nurse who was up until then waiting in the shadows behind the reception desk, as instructed by Arthur. She walked up to Darcy and before the girl could resist or even understand what was happening, she pressed a syringe into her upper arm. Darcy sat motionless as the tranquilizer entered her system. Arthur started walking over to them but Darcy held up her palm to stop him, still looking straight ahead and not turning to Arthur.

  “Stop right there, whoever you are. You did not save him. You had the opportunity, but you did not. Is this why you and your sister have shown up in our life Arthur? To kill us all one by one. I understand.”

  Then she rose and went away meekly as the nurse started leading her away.

  Arthur walked over to the others and was first met by Zack who stood now with his back to the large window, leaning against it, tears streaming down his cheeks, watching the nurse take Darcy away. Arthur clutched his shoulder with his fingers and said.

  “Sorry buddy. I failed you.” Zack straightened and stepped a few steps aside, getting himself out of the reach of Arthur.