“I’m sorry, Elina. I failed you!” Malach tells her.
In an instant, she is surrounded by his light. He uses the last of his strength to protect her. Determined that she not watch him die, he pushes with all of his power and sends her tumbling through space and time. The last sound he hears is her scream reverberating through his soul.
Chapter 2
She is tumbling and spinning and her screams blend with his as she fights with all of her strength to return to Malach’s side. To protect him, or die trying. Even wounded his strength could not be overcome. He surrounded her, stripping her of all of her power, and sent her where she would not be found.
Elina is falling and the minute she hits the water below, all her breath is stolen from her body. Caught in the river’s grasp, she fights the current and swims toward shore before passing out on the shallow rocks.
The sound of birds calling to each other echoes in her ears and she struggles to open her eyes. Squinting against the glare of the sun, she slowly opens her eyes and every bone in her body hurts. A soft wind blows across her damp body, and she pushes up and bites back a scream. Her arm! Pain, radiates from the elbow to the hand and her fingers feel numb. Black and blue bruises are apparent, but nothing protrudes through the skin.
“Malach!!” She calls, but he does not respond. “Malach,” she whispers and struggles not to cry. Elina is sitting on the edge of a river surrounded by woods but she does not know where she is. Confusion, fear, and pain cloud her mind as she struggles to stand. The birds are noisy and she blocks out the sound of their music and concentrates again, “Malach!”
No response, closing her eyes, she concentrates, picturing Polly’s house where she last saw Malach. Elina feels the sensation of air moving around her as she ports. Slowly she opens her eyes and is horrified by what has become of Polly’s home.
Fear causes her to fall to her knees. The house is gone, in its place a burnt out wreck of what once was a beautiful home. It almost looks as though everything has grown over, aged by time. Elina struggles back to her feet and stumbles toward the house.
Quaking she picks up a blackened burnt board and immediately sees flame!
The vision is so strong she can hear the crackling, popping, sound of wood being devoured by fire, but it is the stench that turns her stomach.
Elina hears a sound and she turns toward it and watches as her Uncle Ronnie comes running, screaming for Ruby. He begins to tear at boards with his bare hands, trying in vain to dig his wife out from beneath the rubble. He ignores the pain as he finds her pale hand, for he is desperate to save her!
“Ruuuby!” he screams, over and over again as he tosses the scorching boards away. With every piece he moves, more fall in. He turns a tear stained face behind him looking straight through Elina, and relief fills his bloodshot eyes.
“Malach! Help me free them! Ruby and Polly are inside! I can’t hear them anymore,” he begs turning back to pull more boards free. Fear fills his heart when he hears a growl behind him. He slowly turns and stares in shock at the monstrous look in Malach’s black eyes. With a flick of his spiked tail, he pierces Ronnie through his heart. Wide eyed Ronnie stares down at his bleeding chest, and back up at Malach,
“Betrayer!” he says with his last breath.
Malach roars, ripping his tail free, he drops the body on the ground and shifts back to his true form. Raphaim! He walks towards the broken old man with a smile.
“You are the first old man. Next, her brother. I will destroy everyone she holds dear. Let’s see how she likes losing her family!” he says, kicking the body, enraged that she took Varena and his baby daughter, Alexandria from him.
Elina drops to the ground desperate to protect her Uncle, but all she finds is empty dirt as the vision leaves her. She screams dropping the board. “NO, NO, NO! This can’t be real!” Elina stands looking around, she is cold wet and hurting.
“Find shelter, Elina!” Cradling her arm, she takes a step and begins to walk towards the road. If you can call it that. It is barely recognizable through the tall grass and weeds. She swipes her hand across her cheek, smearing the tears and dirt. But where to go? Polly would go to the reservation if she needed help. Maybe she will find help there too?
With a sigh, she pools her power and closes her eyes porting to the community center. Elina is shocked when she opens her eyes. The brick building that Polly helped build, stands in ruins. Windows are broken and parts of the roof have caved in.
A hand painted sign says: Death Ahead in red letters. Elina builds her power, savoring the feel of it inside of her. She feels death here and she is in no condition to fight.
The community center was built on the outskirts of the reservation. It was a source of pride and they took care of it. It was not like this yesterday! As she looks around, she notices the cars abandoned in the streets, some with broken windows, but no people. Elina listens and hears… nothing. Not the sound of cars running, children playing or people talking. Nothing, just emptiness.
Sick to her stomach, she decides to get a closer look and as she takes a step, a piece of paper blows up and sticks to her leg. She bends and picks it up. It is handwritten and reads:
The End of Days has come
Are you ready to be judged?
They are coming for you, next.
Pray for
