“But the phoenix I see tells me that you’ve gone through a rather amazing transformation; well on the way to becoming a beautiful, powerful creature.” I felt my own face heat up as everyone turned to smile knowingly at me. Finn put his arm around me and squeezed me tight.
“Anxiety and immense pressure fill your current reality, as seen by the herd of elephants running around the sides of your cup.”
“Herd of Elephants?” Phoebe giggled.
“That’s not what you’d normally want running around your cup,” Ricker quipped, “or anywhere for that matter.”
“Whoa, who are
“Auras,” Tina answered with a scowl. The entire restaurant appeared to glow in the group’s presence. Made up of five rather obvious couples, they followed the hostess to a table near ours. I’m surprised that I didn’t see the tether of a leash on each of the guys, as the girls gripped their arms with an air of ownership. Their dark brown hair was offset by startling pale skin and light silvery-gray eyes. Something tickled at my memory, as I watched the first girl walk towards us. Her slender frame easily maneuvered between the tables as her calculating eyes swept over us. Her shoulder length hair fell perfectly around her face, and the glittering silver top she wore matched the silver of her eyes.
Black skinny jeans were topped off by silver high heels and a black clutch. Still looking down her nose at us, she lifted her chin ever so slightly, not bothering to smile or acknowledge us. Each person behind her followed suit, completely ignoring us.
Besides their pretentious, imperious attitudes, the other things that struck me were the glass orbs that hung from the silver chains around their necks. It instantly reminded me of the woman in the soul-stealing vision I had on the plane. She had the same type of necklace, except that hers pulsed with light.
“What’s an Aura?” Phoebe whispered to Tina with saucer-shaped eyes.
“They’re one of the orders at Eventide,” Tina explained dryly. “Descendents of the moon goddess Selene. As you can see, they don’t believe in associating with lesser beings. A.K.A., everyone else.”
“Seriously? An entire Order of snobs?” Phoebe scrunched up her nose in disgust.
“Pretty much. They only date and marry other Auras, too. They believe that having offspring with someone in another Order diminishes the purity of their essence.”
“They sound like well-adjusted, open minded people,” Ricker chuckled with sarcasm. “Think they’d want to join us at the Inferior Beings table?”
“We should pretend they aren’t there,” Elina censured us. “Each Order is free to practice their own beliefs and traditions. It is not our place to judge them, just as it is not their place to judge us.
Speaking of traditions…let’s continue our reading, shall we?”
We tore our eyes away from the Auras, who were barely even speaking to the waitress tasked with obtaining their drink orders. As Elina inspected my cup again, I recognized a warming sensation at my side where my purse hung from my chair. I twisted around and searched through it for the source of the heat.
“And your future appears to hold….” Elina’s breath appeared to catch in her throat, just as I wrapped my fingers around what I recognized as my moonstone. I had begun to carry it everywhere in memory of my mother. I pulled it from my purse, but all curiosity was lost when Elina dropped my cup suddenly and stared at me; stunned. “Death.”
What did she just say? Death!? The blood drained from my face and the air left my lungs as my world flipped upside down. I clenched onto Finn’s arm and tried to steady myself.
“Stasia! Your moonstone!” Natasha gasped. I looked down at the moonstone still clutched in my left hand, which was now glowing - pulsing a silvery light. A pulsing light that reminded me of the woman in my vision’s necklace once again. Feeling eyes on me, I looked up into the eyes of all ten Auras, who were now openly gaping at me. I gasped at what I saw. The glass orbs hanging from their necklaces were now glowing; pulsing in cadence with my moonstone. My last vision came crashing back to me.
Chapter 18
I ran past the now wide-eyed Auras, past the startled hostesses who unsuccessfully tried to hold the door open for me, over the railing, and across the beach until I finally made it to my destination. The sea. The details of my vision revolved in my mind like a ferris wheel gone wild.
The rocks, the crescent beach, the glowing orb, the woman who could only be the Moon goddess the Auras descended from. The pale skin, dark hair, and silver eyes. I had no idea what the vision meant, or why it had happened. All I knew was that I needed to stop it.
Death. Elina’s last word also circulated through my thoughts. Torturing my already tortured soul, I pledged silently that it didn’t matter - as long as I could save those people on the beach. Maybe if I could get to them in time, I could stop it. I could make a difference! If I died saving them, then so be it.
The sea’s crashing waves felt like a soft blanket on a cool night, surrounding my heart and energizing my muscles. I found the moonstone still in my hand and shoved it into my jeans pocket before diving underwater; swimming as fast as I could. I propelled myself through the water with incredible force and speed, surprising even myself. As the rain fell on the surface, a frenzy of energy swirled around me. Schools of fish suddenly came alive, darting back in forth with the cadence of the rain above. It was as if the sea was feeding off of the turbulent energy from above. I pulled from it and let it take over, filling every fiber of my being with its strength.
As the bottom changed from sandy to rocky, I knew I was close. Allowing my instinct to guide me, I darted toward shore. The grass covering the boulders below danced in the chaotic rhythm of the waves and I could feel the excitement every living being fell victim to at the falling rain. It was if the sea was celebrating. Celebrating a part of itself returning after a long journey.
As I made my way on shore, I realized I had lost my shoes at some point during my swim. I clamored over the rocky shoreline that swept the area. The pouring rain made it impossible to see and even more impossible to walk. It hadn’t been raining in my vision, but what about when the rain let up? What about tomorrow? The next day? I strained to remember if there was any trace of rain in my vision, but I couldn’t remember. The more time that went by, the hazier the memory of my visions became.
My feet slipped on the slippery rocks of the beach and I tumbled sideways, landing hard on my side and scraping my leg. I pushed myself back up and continued, only to slip again. This time a pair of arms caught me mid-fall, securing me and softening the landing as we both tumbled onto the rocks. I felt the pain of several more bruises as my legs slammed into a couple sharp ones.
“Nice night for a swim,” Finn’s sarcastic voice tickled my ear, momentarily hypnotizing me.
“Let me go, I have to find them!” I yelled back at him, attempting to stand back up.
Unfortunately, he easily overpowered my efforts.
“You’re not finding anybody in this weather.”
“I have to try!” I struggled against his strong arms to no avail.
“Stasia, calm down.”
“I’ll calm down when I figure out why the hell I keep having visions that don’t make sense!”
I yelled at him, tears burning behind my eyes. “I have to watch a bunch of people have their souls ripped out of their bodies with no clue as to who they are, where they are, or most importantly
“Just because you have a vision about something doesn’t mean you are supposed to hunt to the ends of the earth to find it and prevent it,” he said calmly. “Some things are meant to happen. Fate and destiny are stronger than any vision, any essence, or any ability.”
“Then why do I have them? Why can’t I have a vision about something good? Why do I have to watch people
