Vilmo's Wrath: Deglon Blood (9 page)

They laugh and Robbie stands.

“You want to be a god, young Robbie?” they ask.

“No, but I will become whatever is necessary to save my family,” Robbie says.

Silence lingers and Losrath stands.

“You will definitely be strong enough with a little help. Do you think she will pass the test?” he asks floating around Robbie.

“I do,” Robbie replies.

“Do you know the sacrifice you will have to make?”

Robbie’s heart drags to a slow beat and more tears form in his eyes.

“I do, but I believe there may be another way,” he says reluctantly.

“Ah … the ruby. You will try to destroy them all,” Losrath says.

Robbie nods.

Losrath nods and sits back down.

“Thanks to you, Nora is already stronger than even we could have made her, but she is weakened by anger, doubt, and fear. It will be up to you to help her with that. Robbie, I am going to increase your powers. We will also give the two of you the power necessary to defeat Dumont, but only together, will you accomplish this and only if your wife is ready to believe in who she is. Our test will see if your bond is worth depending on. If not—I’m sorry, but we will have no choice but to destroy that world. Have a seat young Robbie, let us see if your bond is as strong as you think it is.”

Am I dead? I don’t feel any pain. I must be dead. Should I open my eyes? No, if I am not dead yet, maybe I should act as if I am until they all leave. Are they still here? I don’t hear them or feel them. Okay, here goes nothing,
Nora thinks.

Her mind plays every possible scenario that could happen if she climbed to her feet. Would she be shot again? Or attacked so violently that they do kill her this time? With every reason to stay planted on the ground, Nora still jumps to her feet, ready for the attack.
Hum, nothing. Nothing alive anyway,
she thinks to herself. The cave is cold and dark. The glow from lit torches in their sconces along the walls are going dim, not leaving her a lot of time to get out while she can still see.

Nora looks around, but the only life is hers. She looks herself over, intrigued by her miraculous recovery.

“
I’m healed, and stronger than ever. I read nothing about this in Dad’s book,” she says excitedly.

“Dad? Daddy, where are you?”

She frantically searches for his body. Her father’s body is gone. Robbie is gone. She slowly walks around the cave ready for anything. She drops to the floor and crawls to the spot where she last saw her father’s body. Only his blood covers the spot where he last lay. Her heart crumbles as she remembers their last conversation.

Nora stands heavy-hearted. Even though she had been beaten, shot, and left to rot, her body felt great, but her soul begged for death. Without her family, she has no reason to live. Nora almost collapses from the excruciating pain that penetrates her chest as the thought of Robbie being killed plays with her mind. Although she did not see him die, she knows death would be the only reason she was left for dead.

Nora takes a moment to reclaim herself. One by one the torches go out. Nora’s eyes wander for a way out and land on three lifeless bodies.

“Three? I only killed two humans,” she mumbles.

Walking closer, she realizes she knows the third. She falls next to the body and sobs.

“Uncle Rod.”

Nora’s uncle lay with a gunshot wound to his head. Instantly she remembers the two gunshots. She kisses his head, wipes her face, and continues searching for a way out. After finding the exit, she takes one last look at the place that held the lives of her family.

“I will destroy them all!” she says, remembering the familiar voice of the female, which is now imprinted in her mind forever.

Nora remembers how the woman and her friends laughed at the destruction of her life. Every moment that replays in her mind sends rage through her.
That’s who will die first. I will not rest until she is dead.

It doesn’t take long for Nora to get home. She now travels just as a Szion, which frightens her a little. Since she was never told how to get to the house or even which state she was in, she is still unsure how she found her way back. Somehow she felt as if Robbie guided her.

Nora makes it home before the sun comes up. After a shower, and stuffing her face with cold leftover chicken, from the fridge, she sits in the dark trying to gather her thoughts. She repeatedly beats herself mentally by replaying every one of her last moments with each of her dead loved ones. She spends hours sobbing.

Although Robbie is dead, Nora feels him wrap her in his arms. His warming love fills her with strength. She feels him strongly as if their hearts still beat as one. Not just in her heart, but through her entire body as she walks around their house, she can almost hear his voice whisper her name. She loves having him so close to her heart, but the pain is almost unbearable. She sits on their bed, then lies on his pillow just so that she can smell him. Again, she cries until she falls asleep.

“This is extraordinary! She feels him more now,” Losrath says.

Robbie stands and touches the images of Nora’s face. Tears roll down his cheeks, but he smiles.

“We will never be separated again. She will forever feel me and I her,” he says, turning to the gods. “What more could you possibly want from her?”

Desmond stands and approaches Robbie slowly.

“Just one more test. Please, sit.”

That evening, Nora jumps out of bed.

“Light!”

She peeks out the corner of the curtains. Six Light stand outside her house. She watches as they circle the home. Nora walks around the living room with her spike in her hand.

“I know I can’t beat them all, but I will give them one hell of a fight if they try to come in my house. Why haven’t they tried to come in?” she says.

“Nooorrra!”

“She’s here! How did she find me?” Nora whispers.

The woman from the cave taunts her. Nora wants so badly to go out and end her life, but she knows if she is to survive, she will need to be smart about all of her decisions.

“You tricked me, Nora. You pretended to be dead,” she says.

“No, you just suck at killing!” Nora yells, as she dresses.

She laughs, which only pisses Nora off. Nora looks out the window again. She needed to see her, but all she sees is a black cloud of smoke.

“A Shadow.”

Nora’s jaw tightens, and she trembles with anger.

“Oh, come out Nora.”

As badly as Nora wants to be out there and give her the battle of her life, she wants to be smart. There is a reason she has not come in. 

“You want me? Come and get me, bitch!”

Nora stands firm and her body races with adrenaline. Within seconds, Light floods her home. Nora fights with ease, destroying all that enter. The rush she feels with each death strengthens her. Plunging her spike into them is more than exciting, it’s exhilarating. After tossing the last Light through the door, Nora exits the house, facing the Shadow. Her gaze is hard and cold.

“Now, like I said, you want me?
You
come and get me.”

The Shadow charges her. Nora braces for a harsh battle. Only inches from her face, the Shadow vanishes. She looks around, but it is gone.

“Damn it! Get back here you coward!” Nora yells. “I can’t do this alone, Robbie. I need help, I need you,” she mumbles as she slides down the doorway entrance and plops on the floor.

She pulls her knees to her chest and holds them tightly as she cries. She rests her head on her arms for nearly 20 minutes. She remembers what her dad told her, and she rushes to retrieve the little black book from the bedroom drawer, but there on the counter sits the book, and a small black phone. She’s never seen an object such as this one. Nora picks it up and stares at it.

“Boligon is decades ahead of you.”

Robbie’s whisper, causes her to flinch.

She closes her eyes.

“Robbie,” she whispers. 

A blue electronic glow runs through the tiny phone. Right away, she knows it’s Robbie, who placed it there. Nora wastes no time trying to figure out the details. She grabs a book bag from her closet, packs some clothes, the big leather book, the small black book, the cell phone, and her car keys. She jumps in her car and drives off. She has no idea where to go, she only knows it’s not safe to stay there.

After driving for about ten minutes, Nora glances at the passenger seat and sees a handwritten map. She pulls to the side of the road. She assumes it’s another gift from Robbie, but no, this one is from her father. She tosses the map into the back seat.

“Great, a map. I don’t even know where I am, how am I supposed to follow a map?”

She digs out the black book and phone from her bag. She thumbs through the pages hoping to see a familiar name. She recognizes two names toward the back of the book. Rod Langly and Robert Crew. Even seeing their names hurt, and she began to tear up.

“No, Nora. You can’t do this right now,”
she tells herself.

Nora takes a few deep breaths before continuing and notices the name Hingi circled in red ink. Written next to the name, a small note
‘Nora, call this number for help. Dial the number and press the green button.’