The Golden Desires (23 page)

"
Adrian
,
if you do not wish to still be paired with her…"

"I
have to continue with it now, Isabella. To not do so would go against how
things work with our people, as you well know."

"But
you could at least talk to one of the ancients and get advice. It could not
hurt, could it?"

"What
if they are offended by me saying such things? I could cause hurt…"

"They
are not like that,
Adrian
. Elder Rhys is wonderful to talk to. I can go
with you - walk with you there - if you like."

Adrian
looked at her face and considered what she was
saying. He did not like going against the ways of their people - he never
wanted to upset anyone - but inside of him he felt like something was not quite
right with the situation with Kat, and he would rather ask now than live to
regret later.

"Alright,
if you come with me," he said and she nodded and stood. "Oh, you mean
now?"

"Yes,
immediately.
Trent
, will you come with us?" Isabella asked and
Trent
looked from one face to the other.

"I
can, if you both wish me to, but I do not need to. What do you prefer,
Adrian
?"

Adrian
appreciated again the older man who had paired
with Isabella, and nodded.

"I
think I would like you both there. I would feel better."

The
three of them made their way to the door, but not before Isabella pulled
Adrian
into her arms and held him tight, not wanting to let him go. As he wrapped his
arms around her in return, he caught sight of
Trent
over her shoulder,
but only saw him smile sadly. He wondered if Kat would ever be so accepting of
the special bond he and Isabella had shared all of their lives.

~~~~~

As
they approached the temple the three of them walked slower and Isabella felt
the warmth in her belly again. Her hands naturally came up and over it, in the
protective manner they had so recently discovered.
Trent
saw the action and looked at her.

"You
still can feel it when you move closer to the temple?" he asked and she
nodded at him.

He
placed his hand on her belly and felt the warmth, and the glow eased off, as if
soothed by knowing both of its creators were there to keep it safe.

Adrian
saw the actions and words exchanged by Isabella
and Trent but did not question what they were talking about. It was not the
right time. Right now he had to determine what to do about his own future, and
not be distracted by someone else's.

They
walked into the inner areas and were greeted by Elder Rhys.

"I
sensed you coming to talk to me. Come," he said simply and the three of
them followed him.

Once
inside the smaller room, they all sat.

"
Adrian
,
you are worried about something," he said and
Adrian
was overwhelmed all of a sudden, not having had the level of contact with ancients
that Isabella had recently become familiar with.

"Yes.
I am … uncertain … about my chosen pairing…"
Adrian
said slowly, quietly as if he were not sure he should speak of such things.

"Kat,"
the ancient said and
Adrian
nodded, assuming Elder Rhys was asking a
question, but upon looking at the ancient's face, he saw the older man before
him was in contemplation and not there in the present with them at all.

The
three of them watched as Elder Rhys seemed to go rigid and stare at nothing,
before finally he came back to them in presence.

"She
is here, in the temple," he said and stood up to walk out the door.
Adrian
looked at Isabella and Trent with a look of horror on his face, sure that Kat
would be angry at him for being here in the temple, and talking to everyone
about her, but still he stood up and followed the ancient from the room, with
Trent and Isabella following behind.

Elder
Rhys walked to where she was - in his mind he could see what she was seeing so
knew exactly where she was. As she came into view he saw Kat turn around and
look at him. As she did, the ancient felt a feeling overwhelm him. From behind
him, Isabella saw the look on Kat's face and the way she was looking at Elder
Rhys, but was surprised when she saw the ancient grip his belly firmly and
slowly lower to the ground, onto his knees.

Isabella
moved to rush forward before she felt her belly warn her to not get close to
him, and
Trent
, seeing her frustration, ran to the ancient
himself.

"Elder
Rhys! What is it?" he asked the elderly man but the ancient only gripped
his belly and moaned loudly.

Trent
looked back at Isabella and Adrian, but saw them
both focused on Kat.

"Why
are you here, Kat?"
Adrian
seemed to find the strength to ask but almost
immediately wished he hadn't, as he too found a deep ache in his belly that
forced him to the ground in pain.

Isabella
watched in disbelief.

"Stop!
What are you doing, Kat? You are hurting them!"

Kat
turned her attention to Isabella, her face contorted into something that only
Trent
could recognise as deep hatred. She seemed to focus on her, but then looked
surprised.

"You
will bow before me," she said, as if a different voice was coming out of
her - a voice that Isabella recognised immediately as the one that had entered
her head on numerous occasions recently.

"No,
I will not, Kat," Isabella said, moving forward. She monitored the feeling
in her belly - she would not do anything that would hurt it - but it only gave
her courage, not concern.

As
Isabella moved forward she saw something begin in the belly of the woman she
faced - a glowing. But not the golden glow she had noticed in her own belly.
Before her was a blue glow starting to form. At the same time she saw it, so
did Trent, who had remained on the floor with the ancient and so had temporarily
escaped Kat's attention. But when he saw what he saw, he did not stay quiet.

"Isabella,
look!"

As
soon as his voice was heard, he saw Kat's eyes fall on him and then felt the
extreme pain inside of him. Isabella saw it and that drove her on to stop the woman
before her.

"You
have been talking to me in my head for days now, Kat. Why?" she asked but
Kat only looked confused.

"What?
I don't know what you…" she started to say and all of a sudden seemed to
feel pain herself, as the blue glow intensified.

Isabella
continued to walk forward, feeding off the feeling that was coming from her own
belly, but as she did so, Kat seemed to suffer from it.

"Stop!
You are hurting me," she was saying but Isabella felt a new emotion in her
- anger.

"Stop
hurting them and I will stop hurting you," she said and instantly Kat
changed her focus and seemed to lift whatever force she had pushed onto the
other three people in the room. "Now tell me what you want from me. You
must have had some reason to talk to me as you have been."

"Isabella,
I don't know what…" she started to say but again felt another deep pain
inside of her.

"Isabella,"
Trent
's voice said and for a moment she turned to look at him.
"Isabella, I don't think she knows what has been happening."

The
ancient finally seemed to come back to himself as his pain subsided, and when
he looked at the two women he groaned heavily.

"You!
You are in disguise but I remember you," he said forcefully, directing his
words at Kat.

"What…?"
Kat continued to ask, seeming to not know anything about anything the people
around her were saying.

"That
blue glow. I have seen it before. In the future, when you were here before.
When you destroyed us."

Kat's
eyes grew large as she tried to comprehend what the ancient was saying.

"No!
I would never hurt anyone! I don't know what you are talking…"

Once
more the pain flowed through her and Kat fell to the ground in agony as
Isabella moved closer to her still.

"Be
careful, Isabella,"
Trent
pleaded with her, hoping she had true strength in
her to not be harmed by the dangerous woman in front of them all.

"My
baby. Oh! Don't hurt my child," Kat called out and
Trent
saw
Adrian
's face react as if he were only now waking up.

"Child?!"
he asked quietly - so quietly that only
Trent
heard it.

"It
is no child, Isabella," Elder Rhys said. "I have seen it before. That
glow - it is not a child!"

Isabella
stopped and was still for a moment, checking her body within but knowing in her
heart that it was right for her to keep moving forward.

As
she stepped closer, she saw Kat start to back away, moving along the ground
away from Isabella, but then reached a wall and could not move any more.

Kat
watched as Isabella neared, the blue cold in her belly intensifying to a level
where she thought her body would freeze in its entirety.

All
of a sudden, when they were only a metre apart Isabella brought her hands
together as if making them into a cup shape, and before all of their eyes a
golden glow emerged, as if coming from the golden stone that had been seen by
her, Trent and the ancient. She stood still as the glow grew in its power and
Kat stood once more and braced herself as she saw and felt Isabella take the
final step toward her. Kat willed herself to put out her hands and push
Isabella way but found that she could not move any part of her body. She was
frozen still, and could only watch as the hand holding the golden glow moved
closer and finally made contact with her own belly.

The
three men watched as the contact was made and before them a brilliant light
filled the room, making each of them close their eyes and turn from it, while
they heard a loud scream come from one of the women - they could not tell who.

Isabella
felt the power surge through her, like it was flowing from her and into Kat,
consuming the younger woman in front of her. She heard the scream that came
from Kat and watched as even through the blinding light she could see a blue
light rise up from Kat's belly and hover right in front of her face. Although
she did not know what it was, she knew through instinct that she had to
eliminate it, and quickly brought her other hand up and struck it directly with
the golden glow coming from that hand. Bringing her other hand up from Kat's
belly, the younger woman slumped down before her, but Isabella could not do
anything in that moment for her. Isabella concentrated her power on her hands,
enclosing the blue light within them, trapping it with her own golden light and
eventually she felt the heat reach an intensity she had not yet felt before,
and smoke began to emanate from her closed hands, before the feeling of power
disseminated into the air around her. Whatever it had been, she knew it was now
gone - destroyed.

She
looked down and saw Kat lying still, and quickly moved to her, knowing that she
was in the same state
Trent
had been the day that he had touched the golden
rock in the cave.

The
three men watched from where they were as the bright light disappeared and they
saw Isabella kneeling in front of Kat, brought up her hand and placed it on
Kat's heart, the golden glow showing once more. Trent watched in wonder,
knowing in the depth of his soul that what he was seeing was what Isabella had
done to him that day - brought him back to life.

All
of a sudden a loud gasp of air being inhaled came from Kat, and her body
convulsed. Isabella watched the young woman and immediately sensed a different
person before her. She heard someone moving up behind her but she held her
other hand back to indicate them to stop.

"Wait."

Kat
opened her eyes and immediately looked around her, intensely frightened.

"What?
Where am I?" she asked Isabella with fear in her voice.

"You
are in the temple, Kat."

"The
temple? No. No, I was at the mill. Adrian and I were about to leave to go to
the evening meal."

Kat
looked down at the warm feeling in her chest, and put her hand over the glow
that was coming from it.

"What
happened to me?" she asked and Isabella stood up, holding out her hands to
assist the younger woman.

"Come,
Kat. Stand now. You have not been yourself but now all will be well," she
said, feeling with no uncertainty that her words were true.

Kat
stood and looked around her, seeing Adrian,
Trent
and another older
man looking at her as they slowly moved forward toward where she and Isabella
stood.