Legions (6 page)

“Oh, most definitely. It’s
a shame Athen’s missing out, truly.” Cyril laughed. It felt like a
knife was inserted into my spine hearing those words.

“True.” Was all that I
could mumble aloud.

“Nice one, Cy. Now go help
her.” Arie pushed him towards me as his boot got sucked back down
into the marsh, creating a swallowing sound with a
squirt.

“Ewww! You’re forgiven
after that.” I knew he hadn’t meant anything, and he was right. I
wished Athen was here to see it too – but he wasn’t.

“Alright, so what you want
to do is feel it in your spine. Your whole being, really. Feel the
tree, know where you want to go and imagine it as you take your
first step. Don’t think about the process to get there – just
imagine yourself already there. Picture your foot on that branch
already leaving for the next one.”

Not realizing how scrunched
up my eyebrows must have been, Arie stepped in and tried explaining
it instead.

“So, you know that feeling
right before you’re about to jump? You get that little feeling of
excitement and exhilaration building up. Capture it and spring with
all of your might. Go towards your target like you can’t
miss.”

Ziplining in Whistler with
Athen popped into my head. That feeling of floating, gliding down
the mountain – but more importantly - that feeling right before you
step your foot off the ledge was what began making an entrance to
my extremities- getting the jitters started. Having the built up
energy and tingling that started in the base of my toes traveling
like the speed of light to match my mind’s anticipation, I allowed
myself to experience something beyond myself. I nodded at them both
and remembered that this was for Athen. Everything I did was for
Athen. My hand found its way to the tree trunk, feeling the wetness
that was releasing from the verdigris sponge wrapping itself around
the tree. I knew where I wanted to be, where I wanted to go, and
felt my body’s movement as the power began to build up in my
calves, quickly moving towards my spine as I hurled myself towards
my target.

Excitement began replacing
fear as my body darted from one tree limb to the next without
missing a step. The freedom was beginning to overtake my soul as
the heaviness of the moment made itself known. I was no longer an
observer. I was a participant in this fight. I reached the top of
the tree and suddenly realized that I had no idea what to do next.
I looked down to see Cyril and Arie waving me down. I knew what
they wanted me to do and hoped with everything that now was the
time to trust them.

I let go of the tree
feeling my body glide down from the sky, sailing against the wind
as my hand grasped onto nothingness. This was only the beginning,
but I was ready for more – much more. I felt my feet touch the
soggy earth as my knees buckled with the unexpected weight of
gravity. This life was sensational.

Chapter 8

The morning was a beautiful
one in Victoria. The grey sky had rolled back its grasp on the city
leaving brilliant blue skies, and I only hoped that was a sign for
the day to come. My dreams were so vivid I almost thought I was
awake and with Athen. The woman we saw in the Starbucks was with
Athen in my dreams, but what made it a dream instead of a nightmare
was that he looked deep into her eyes and asked her to leave him
alone. The setting was a sterile one; I’m guessing the hospital. I
only hoped it wasn’t a dream but reality. I had a new stirring
within me at the thought of him rejecting the woman who had
suddenly made me fault my self-image in comparison. The thought of
her evil eyes interpreting his discarding of her made me almost
giddy with delight.

I decided to go let Arie
and Cyril in on my dream. I was hoping they wouldn’t talk me out of
my theory. The slight gnawing feeling that this could be my
hopefulness outweighing my visions was something I discarded
quickly.

They were both already at
the table eating a bagel they split between them and slurping down
coffee. Obviously, the pep in my step couldn’t be
missed.

“Well?” Arie pulled the
chair back for me. “What’s got you in such a great mood? Was it the
training?” She asked amused. This new positive energy certainly
wasn’t something that was exuding from me as of late.

“I had a wonderful dream
that I’m hoping isn’t a dream at all.” I grabbed an orange out of
the fruit bowl and began hastily peeling it. The fact that my
hunger had resurfaced certainly was a sign of things changing –
good things.

“Fill us in!” Cyril
exclaimed, pushing back his chair to go refill his coffee cup. I
quickly scanned the kitchen and was thankful that it was so bright
and cheery to fit my mood of the moment.

“Okay! You know that thing
woman, whatever, I keep seeing in my visions with Athen?” I didn’t
want to give her any human qualities any longer.

“Yah, what about her?” Arie
asked, eyes curious.

“Last night in my dream, he
rejected her. FINALLY! Do you think it is wishful thinking or a
possibility?”

“Judging by your mood, I
would trust your gut. This could be a really good thing.” Cyril was
scouring the fridge, obviously the half a bagel didn’t cut
it.

“Are you just saying that?”
Not wanting to hear the answer.

“Nope.” Cyril found his
next morning snack of hard boiled eggs. “This kind of opens up the
possibility of getting things started sooner rather than later
still. For some reason, he seems more receptive than I ever thought
possible. I’m dying to know why, though.”

“Leave it to my brother.”
Arie said, her grin showing through her last bite of bagel. “I
think he knew more than we thought when he was taken from us. It’s
almost like he set up clues for himself or something. I don’t know
– maybe that’s just bits of crazy talk. The memsors haven’t ever
actually worked for anyone that I know of.”

“What the heck are
memsors?” I was totally puzzled.

“Supposedly, we have the
ability to leave memories in this world before we go to the next.
Meaning, if we somehow know harm is coming our way, we can make it
so when we wake up in the next life, our ‘pretend life’, there are
clues that can trigger the memories of who we truly are. It doesn’t
really work though - or hasn’t in the past.”

“That would make sense with
his research habits wouldn’t it? Why didn’t you guys mention it
before?” I asked.

Cyril was standing behind
Arie rubbing her neck, and a little twinge of jealousy entered my
body for which I felt complete shame.

“I really didn’t let myself
consider it as valid possibility until enough incidents started
stacking up, I guess. We didn’t want to get your hopes up for no
reason, but I guess, at this point, it doesn’t matter. We can all
be excited or devastated as a unit depending on which way this
thing turns out.” Cyril said, only half joking.

“Huh, well I’m going to
take this as a positive sign and let myself float through the day
in a happy mood for once until I do some other stupid move to knock
me off my feet.”

“Sounds good to me,
sweetie.” Arie was getting up from the kitchen table, reaching for
the plate that the bagel once made home, and Cyril reached over her
arm and grabbed it first. He treated her like such a queen, like
Athen treated me. My heart ached as I commanded myself to listen to
my seconds earlier advice.

Chapter 9

I was driving along Highway
14 on my way to Botanical Beach to escape from everything. My
thoughts, my worries, my family, my inability to get Athen back –
everything was overwhelming, and the house felt confining – this
was my escape. I needed some time by myself, and this drive was
providing just that.

The music was blaring as
loud as my ears could handle with my favorite playlist going of
indie and alternative music that I always found comfort in. Doing
my best to sing along with most songs, I began to feel free again.
The weight of the last few weeks beginning to slowly drift away as
I internalized the lyrics, flipping from one song to another.
Imagining Athen and I together listening to these songs, messing
around to these songs and doing absolutely nothing but enjoying our
time together, with music serenading us in the background, made me
enthralled at what I was about to attempt by myself. It was going
to be my own form of therapy.

With the pavement wet from
the morning’s last rainfall, I was extra cautious as I turned sharp
corner after corner, zigzagging back and forth following the shiny,
grey surface leading to my own training ground. The views of the
Strait of Juan De Fuca were beautiful as glimpse after glimpse was
offered up through the breaks in the large trees that were
shadowing the highway. The sea was beautiful and was beckoning me
to continue on my journey. Every mile closer to the park brought me
reassurance that I was making the right choice. I needed time away
from everything and everyone to practice what I had learned at the
bog.

Something was on the
horizon, and I needed to be prepared. I didn’t know what exactly,
but I wanted to be ready. The itch of a fight was spreading through
my visions, and the tingle of fear was beginning to seed itself
exactly as it had happened before Athen was taken away from us,
from me. The only difference was that this time I was ready, and I
was expecting it. I would no longer be ignoring my visions. That’s
why I needed the practice and the time alone.

Looking at Google earlier,
this park seemed like the perfect place to practice what I wanted,
especially on a gloomy, rain-drenched day when most mortals
wouldn’t dare be staring at tide pools, perching themselves on
slimy, cold rocks. They were smarter than that. This portion of the
beach was just tricky enough that in weather like this, it could be
very dangerous.

That danger was another
reason that led me to this spot for my training. There had been
some disturbances around this area dealing with humans, and my gut
was telling me the demons were involved. I didn’t think I’d
actually be running into any, I only wanted to survey the area –
get a feel for it and the possibilities that may lay
ahead.

The cliffs were edging
closer to the highway’s edge cueing me to the fact that I was
getting closer to my destination. As I turned into the public
parking area, my suspicions were confirmed. The lot was completely
vacant except for one vehicle, an older, white Mazda sedan. The
crunch of my wheels hitting the gravel fighting with the loudness
of my music, began to build a little anxiety that I wasn’t
expecting to feel. Turning into a parking spot at the far end of
the lot, I flipped off my music and took a deep breath in, scanning
the area. I wasn’t sure what for exactly, but I had already had to
promise my soul to Cyril and Arie that I’d be extra vigilant on my
little trip. They weren’t thrilled at the idea of me going out on
my own, but I think they understood. I needed to practice my
training, and I needed clarity.

I was following the path
down towards the beach and finally made it to the beautiful tide
pools. The water was crystal clear exposing all sorts of wonderful
sea life from the beautiful purple starfish sprawled on the side of
a rock to the sea anemone’s tentacles waving to match the rhythm of
the water’s ripples. I could see why this was such a popular place
for visitors to come to. I also understood what an easy way to get
prey it would be here, from the dark demon’s point of view. There’s
nowhere for the humans to run. Looking back along the beach, the
jaggedy, black cliffs were rising from the ground exposing
beautiful quartz etching throughout, with old tree roots wrapping
themselves along the boulders and cliff perches.

The harshness of the
Northwest beaches were at their most brilliant here. Even much of
the vegetation was rugged and beaten to death, barely hanging on to
the cliffs edge. The rawness of everything I was witnessing made me
realize the gravity of the situation even more. There was no room
for error around this landscape, and there was no room for error
when fighting our enemies. Hopefully, if I can learn to negotiate
my way around this rugged landscape, I’ll be that much more
prepared to face the Legions.

Taking the far most hiking
trail, I followed it for what felt like forever as I was constantly
walking uphill along the side of the cliff, heading towards the
large towering trees. The perfect place for me to bounce from limb
to limb and maybe even try it without the trees, like Cyril and
everyone always liked to rub in.

The corner of forest with
the Douglas firs clumped together that I picked was perfect. There
was no way anyone would be able to see what I was up to, but if on
the off chance there were any visitors, I’d be able to spot them
before they saw me. Piling my backpack and jacket on one of the
almost dry rocks, I prepared myself as best I could for my practice
session. I threw some downed branches over my stuff, just in
case.

Stepping back to take a
look at how tall the tree I chose was, I found myself sucking in
the air and not wanting to let any of it out. Somehow it worked
back at the bog, I only hoped it would continue to work here.
Closing my eyes, I pictured myself at the top of the fir tree. I
felt where I wanted to be, the wind blowing my hair, the tiny fear
in the pit of my stomach as I would look down. I envisioned myself
already up-top looking at the meadows and cliffs.