The Second Coming
Chapter 14

Carly could not stop worrying about Lia and Michael, and for the firstpart of the night Carly slept fitfully. Olbane, who she felt was dangerously close to the edge, was also in herthoughts. Carly castigated herself forbeing decidedly un-Priestess like, pulled herself together and used The Peace to calm herself, then settled down to a deeper sleep. When she woke she felt refreshed, and wasstill amazed at how sleeping after ThePeace made her feel like she had slept for a fullnight. Carly prayed for a long time,letting herself drift and become one with Revan.

“Thereyou will learn what it means to have The Blood.”

Carly jolted upright, and looked around for who might have uttered thewords, before she realised what had happened. She hadn’t seen anything, but was convinced it was another vision, andat once her heart surged with joy. Liawas alive! Carly dressed hurriedly, andwalked briskly to the library to seek out Priestess Elspeth. If anyone knew what The Blood was, or where to replace out, it was her.

*

Lia and Rastlin left after breakfast and rode further east. Lia felt slightly embarrassed after fallingasleep the previous evening, and they had eaten in silence. After a short time Rastlin pulled his mountcloser to hers. He spoke as if theprevious conversation had never ended. “The burning when you touched the man was a result of using him tochannel your power.”

Lia looked at him in surprise. “Channel?”

“Yes. Those who have The Bloodcannot access the elemental power without using something that is living to doso. You don’t necessarily need to touchit, but it is easier to do so, and more instinctive. Unfortunately the subject of the channellingsuffers as a result.”

The scream at Flaun’s house suddenly echoed through Lia’s mind, and shehad to force bile down her throat. “I… Iused that girl as a channel in Surian. Ithink I killed her.”

Rastlin nodded. “For you toproduce enough power to cause the damage you described, that would beinevitable.”

Tears fell down Lia’s face and she broke into uncontrollable sobs. Rastlin waited until she calmed herself,which took a number of minutes. Lialooked at him, with tears still flowing. “Then, The Blood is a curse! Anything that involves killing people must be. I can see why the church wanted to destroyit!”

Rastlin snapped back. “Curse ornot, they had no right to do commit genocide! Who says that Revan is the ultimate authority in the world? Why should any group that refuses to followbe persecuted?”

Lia glared at him, but didn’t say anything.

Rastlin took a deep breath. “When there were many who had The Blood, they didn’t always need to harmpeople to use their power. In normalcircumstances they found other ways of doing so. There are other living things on this world that can beused for channelling, such as plants, trees and creatures.” Lia was about toraise another objection, but he continued. “Over years, talented people with The Blood were known to channelthrough multiple living things at the same time, in some cases to the extentthat the subjects weren’t harmed at all.”

That made Lia feel a little better but the conversation ended, as herthoughts were focused on the girl who she had burned to ash. The name came to her: Francine, named afterthe Goddess of Luck. Lia snorted toherself at that thought; to name your child after a Goddess wasn’t enough tosecure lifelong good fortune. Of course,Francine hadn’t been totally innocent either; she had lured them to that house,which led to Michael’s death, and most likely Olbane’s too. Lia’s thoughts darkened further: perhapsFrancine’s own actions had caused her luck to run out, and she deserved todie. Lia was shocked at herself forthinking such a thing, but she didn’t dismiss the notion out of hand.

Eventually Lia calmed down and when they stopped for a rest shecontinued the conversation. “So is your order called The Blood Order?”

Rastlin shook his head. “It isknown as the Dragon Order.”

Lia couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “The Dragon Order? Why,was there a great serpent involved at its inception?”

Rastlin didn’t smile. “No. The earliest members of the Order onlymastered a partial power, in that they could generate fire, but nothingelse. In the days when people believedfire breathing dragons existed, it is believed the early order decided that itwould be impressive if they named themselves such. While the use of The Blood has evolved, thename is still associated with it, and while I admit it sounds slightlyridiculous, it does sum up what the Order stood for: large and powerful, butelegant, and aloof from the cares of others.” He looked at her intently. “And your destiny is to return The Dragon Order to itsformer glory.”

Lia drew back. “Me? How on Eureza can one girl who has got luckywith some ancient power restore anything? Unless you didn’t notice, I was a little out of my depth in Surian.”

Rastlin maintained his powerful gaze. “True, but with my help you can learn to master The Blood, and toprepare yourself for what lies ahead.”

“Do you have The Blood as well?” Lia matched his stare.

He shook his head. “My role inyour development is also pre-destined, but my line is different to yours. My family’s responsibility is to seek outthose with The Blood and to guide them. Your inheritance was power, mine was knowledge. Knowledge of what to do when someone like youis born, and how to replace them, was the gift from my parents.”

Lia was more than curious to know how Rastlin found her, but the woundfrom her parents’ murder was still too fresh. She decided to change the direction of the conversation. “So what is it I am supposed to do?”

For the first time Lia could remember, Rastlin didn’t look sure ofhimself. “When we reach our destination,we will replace out.”

Lia snorted. “What kind ofanswer is that? We will replace out? Does that meanyou don’t actually know what I am supposed to do?”

He nodded, somewhat disarmingly. “That is correct, to a degree. Iknow you are key to ensuring The Dragon Order is allowed its rightful place,and that when we arrive at our destination you will be given what you need toachieve that goal. Until we know that, myrole is to ensure you are prepared. I amconfident that when you do know, I will be able to guide you.”

Lia didn’t look convinced. “Thissounds extremely unlikely if you ask me. What could we possibly replace that will help? An army?”

It was Rastlin’s turn to snort. “Our order has never had need for armies, Lia. We do not wish to make war on anyone, atleast not unless we are forced to do so. When our order was all but destroyed, it was Revan’s church who marchedon us.”

“So what then?”

Rastlin looked at her closely. “Knowledge. You will replace what weneed to know to allow our order to flourish once more.”

Lia still didn’t look convinced. “Presumably this has something to do with the church of Revan? If they destroyed the Dragon Order before,are they holding it back?”

Rastlin smiled his approval. “Itis a distinct possibility, one I have long considered. My hope is that whatever lies at ourdestination will give us enough to break free.”

“Well, it would have to be something fairly special. We are talking about breaking downgenerations of belief, if the church’s stranglehold is to be broken.” Lia realised what she was saying and stoppedherself. “I am sounding like some kindof heretic! Who is to say I even want toentertain something like this?”

Rastlin stared at her, and his was voice barely a whisper. “Because you are destined to doso! Tell me, how do you feel now you arehere? Do you feel any different?”

Lia stopped and for a few moments didn’t think about theconversation. She admitted to herselfshe felt more comfortable than she had done since the day her parents died,almost at home. Was that because timewas healing the wounds, or because of something else? “Well, I do feel stronger, almost as if I belong.”

He nodded. “That is because youare on the right path, Lia. Your destinyis being fulfilled. As happened inSurian, if you attempt to deviate from your current path, you will eventuallyreturn to this course.”

Despite not wanting to believe it, in her heart Lia knew he was speakingthe truth. “So, assuming I accept whatyou are saying, apart from guiding me to this mythical place, what else are yousupposed to help me with?”

Rastlin smiled again. “That, we need to discuss when you are fully rested. Your preparation will start tomorrowmorning.”

*

Carly walked even faster than usual, and barely acknowledged thevarious nods of greetings from her fellow Priestesses as she traversed thecorridors of the temple. As expected,Priestess Elspeth was in the north-east corner of the library, sat amongst apile of books and papers. The old womandidn’t look up from the tattered manuscript she was reading as Carlyapproached. Carly blurted out agreeting. “Priestess Elspeth! I must talk with you!”

Elspeth’s head remained downward. “I am sure you do, Priestess Carly,the one whose Test was unusual to say the least.” Carly realised Elspeth’s hearing wasn’t aspoor as she thought, and neither was her knowledge of current affairs. “I have heard you have overcome yourinability to connect with Him as well as dealing with a ratherunsavoury group of slavers. That isquite an eventful few weeks.”

Carly couldn’t disagree with that. “All true, Priestess, although I had help with the slavers.”

Elspeth chuckled, although Carly noted it was more of a cackle. “All of us have help in our lives, PriestessCarly, mostly from Him of course. Please, take a seat, and tell me, why are you here?”

Carly found a seat and managed not to displace any books or manuscriptsin the process. “Priestess Elspeth, does‘The Blood’ mean anything to you?”

Elspeth’s voice was a hiss. “Itdoes indeed, Priestess Carly! The Bloodis not something that is discussed a great deal, and as you know isn’t coveredin studies in any depth. Assuming youpaid attention during your studies, you will have heard of The Dragon Order.”

Carly cast her mind back a few weeks to something she read whilecramming for her Test. “I believeso, yes. But the text I read didn’tcontain much detail.”

Elspeth grunted. “True. Their order diminished some time ago. However, the term The Blood is the name they gave to those with the inherited ability tochannel power. Tell me, where did youhear of this?”

Carly looked at the old woman. “In a vision, during my morning prayers today; I heard a voice mentionit.”

“A voice you say? That is mostinteresting. Isn’t this the second eventyou have had during prayer? I recall youhave visited me before to discuss such a matter.”

Carly nodded. “That is true, butit isn’t the second vision I have had. Ihave had three others.”

Elspeth rubbed her hands together in glee, almost like a child. “Five visions in such a short space of time? This is almost unheard of; clearly He has plans for you. I amhonoured you have shared this with me, Priestess Carly.” The old woman paused. “Before we discuss The Dragon Order further,please tell me of the other visions.”

Carly recounted the visions: the warning against the bandits, Lia inpain and in trouble, and of the strange building in Surian.

Elspeth listened intently, and stared into the distance. “Your first vision related to your friend, asdid the third. The second kept you andyour friends alive, but the fourth, as well as this new one, is lessclear. To have so many visions in such ashort space of time must mean they are related, but why?” She flicked herattention back to Carly. “Can you recallexactly what the voice said this morning?”

Carly shuddered; there was something about the voice that stillresonated within her mind. “He said ‘There you will learn what it means tohave The Blood.’”

Elspeth looked puzzled. “Well,that’s not much help, if I am being honest. The Dragon Order originated from Areza, but it is a large territory andI am not aware of any particular place of significance there.”

Carly interjected. “I am surethis morning’s vision is related to Lia. When I awoke this morning, my head told me she was dead. Now I know she lives.”

Elspeth’s eyes shone brightly. “Did you feel herpresence?”

Carly shrugged. “Perhaps. I know is that she is alive, but I have noidea why or what this has to do with The Blood.”

Elspeth smiled. “Well, there isone clue in the vision you had of Lia on the road in peril. That power you felt, did it feel like thepower a Priestess draws upon in times of need?”

Carly shrugged again. “To behonest I am not sure. It was all over soquickly. Are you suggesting that it wassomething more sinister?”

It was Elspeth’s turn to shrug. “Those with The Blood had the ability to draw their own power, similar tobut not through Him. It is worth keepingthat in your mind as you explore further possibilities. Now, I would like to discuss the vision ofthe building in Surian. You mentionedyou found this building?”

Carly nodded. “Despite theunusual circumstances surrounding my Test, and the visions, that building is the strangestthing I have seen so far in my life. From what I gathered from the man I met there, people tend to forgetabout the building, and only certain people can enter. There were also odd runes on the door that Icould not decipher.”

Elspeth hissed again. “I haveheard of such places, but I cannot believe there is one in our own capitalcity! You are truly blessed, PriestessCarly, if He wanted you to go there.”

Carly couldn’t contain her joy. “It was there whereI connected with Him deliberately for the firsttime! I was reading this old book, andpart of it was obscured. With His help,I was able to read it. To be honest itdidn’t make a great deal of sense…” Suddenly, Carly muttered to herself under her breath.

Elspeth almost rose from her seat, and her voice was no more than awhisper. “Priestess Carly, what is it?”

“How could I be so dim! Thatbook spoke of The Blood!”

Elspeth’s eyes lit up. “You havefound the connection between the visions! Your friend must be involved with The Blood! I suggest that the power you felt in thevision with the slavers proves this!”

“But why Lia, and if the Dragon Order died out, why now?”

Elspeth smiled. “What did thebook say? It seems highly unlikely anyof this is down to coincidence, given your visions.”

Carly grimaced. “Most of it wasthe ramblings of an angry madman, I think, but it did speak of a prophecy.”

Elspeth looked very interested again. “A prophecy you say? Throughoutthe ages various prophecies have come and gone, most of them not coming tofruition as expected.”

Carly continued. “What I believeare parts of the prophecy were intermingled with the ramblings, but it wasclear the author thought the Dragon Order would come again, and ultimatelytriumph. It talked of two events, Isuppose. A First Coming and a SecondComing.”

Elspeth nodded. “That soundsfairly standard, if you can call a prophecy standard. Normally they foretell of events unfolding atcritical times. Most likely the Firstand Second Coming refer to a person or a group of people. I would normally say that someone believesyour friend is part of this prophecy, and dismiss it as that. What makes me want to take it more seriouslyis the visions. Why would He send you them unless they were important?”

It was a rhetorical question, so Carly didn’t answer directly.“Priestess Elspeth, what do I do? Myfriend is clearly involved with something, and on the evidence I have so farmost likely against her will. Thevisions are clearly meant to help me, but I have no idea where she is or whereshe is going.” Carly threw her hands in the air. “Or even if I should be pursuing this! A Priestess shouldn’t be pursuing personalmatters above her other duties.”

Elspeth smiled. “True, but in myexperience and from what I have read, a Priestess doesn’t get visions thatoften either. Be patient, PriestessCarly. Revan has guided you this far,and I am sure He will assist if you require it. For the time being, put your friend out of your mind as best you can andcontinue with your duties. I would alsoadvise you spend a little time here in the library. We do have texts on the Dragon Order here thatmight prove beneficial.”

Carly nodded, but wasn’t convinced.

*

Lia awoke on the hard ground. Rastlin was already up and was in the process of cooking something overa small fire, which smelled fabulous. Lia rubbed her eyes and joined him.

“You need a good breakfast, Lia. Today I will help you unlock your power.”

Lia’s stomach rumbled when she realised the meat was rabbit. “Well, Iam certainly hungry. How did you catchthat?”

“I laid a trap last night before I went to sleep. I am used to travelling so have picked upsome skills along the way.”

Lia sat and waited patiently. “Have you travelled far? What didyou do before you found me?”

He turned and looked at her. “Mostly it was searching for you. I have travelled far, across many nations. Unfortunately my ancestors were careless andmanaged to lose the trail.”

Lia shuddered at the use of the word trail. “You makeit sound like my family have been hunted.”

His gaze softened slightly. “Inone sense, I suppose they have, although it was destiny hunting them. When your grandmother was carrying yourfather, they suddenly disappeared and they did an exceptional job of coveringtheir tracks, so to speak. I believethey had help, divine help.”

Lia smiled a mocking smile. “Letme guess: the church of Revan.”

If he picked up on the mockery, it didn’t faze him. “That is the logicalassumption, yes.”

Lia looked at him closely. Rastlin was of middle years, but he didn’t look old enough to have beenchasing her grandmother around. “Didyour father start the search?”

He nodded. “He did, although hedidn’t get very far. When I was just tenyears old he died, which I suspect was predestined. I have learned a significant amount since, asI was forced to cope from a very young age. I searched Suria village by village, town by town, but there was no signof them. Eventually, as it became clearthat traditional methods were not going to be enough, I was forced to seek helpof a different kind to replace you.”

Lia’s eyes narrowed. “What doyou mean, help of a different kind? Wasit similar to how you found me in Surian?”

He smiled approvingly. “You aremost astute, Lia. Eventually I located arather strange hag who lives in the north of the Great Forest,who has the gift of second sight. If sheis given something physical to link to a person, she can replace them, or at leastthe general area in which they reside. Unfortunately, she wanted gold in return, and a significant amount. I was forced to return to Areza and work forfive years to attain enough to give her what she wanted, as well as bring hersomething to draw power from.”

Lia didn’t like the sound of that. “What something? Does herpower work in a similar way to The Blood?”

He nodded again. “As your familyhad to make sacrifices to achieve our ultimate goal, so did mine. My mother willingly gave her life to allowthe hag to replace you; to allow her to channel enough power.”

Lia looked horrified. “Yousacrificed your own mother?”

There was no emotion on his face. “It was her choice; without her sacrifice, I would have had to take moreextreme steps to gain the hag’s assistance. I suspect it was her destiny to die that day.”

Lia’s voice rose. “And was it Franklin’s when you foundme in Surian? He didn’t strike me as thesacrificial type!”

Rastlin shook his head. “No, hewasn’t. Franklin was a hired help, no more. His interest was only for himself, and heserved no other cause. His life wasinconsequential.”

Despite the callousness of the comments, Lia couldn’t disagree withRastlin’s sentiments on Franklin;he had been involved in her parents’ murder with no motive except greed. She forced herself to calm. “Whether you like it or not, you murdered Franklin, and for all Iknow countless others. How does thismake you different from the church of Revan, who you blamefor their acts years ago?”

For the first time since they met, Rastlin seemed to be out ofanswers. He paused for a long time,almost to the extent Lia thought the conversation was over. “I cannot defend all of my actions, Lia. All I can say is that the more I am with you,the more I know they were the right thing to do. Your insight is very strong, and the ultimateirony for me is that you would have made a very fine and powerful Priestess ofRevan.”

His response completely disarmed Lia, who was spoiling for a heatedargument. Instead, she thought back tobefore the conversation became animated. “So, was my family in Crossmoor when the hag found them?”

“Yes. At the time I didn’t knowif they had been there the whole time I searched, or whether they had arrivedrecently. I confirmed this at the Temple of Revan in your home town. There wasn’t an official record of a FrancisEssmoor, but I found enough evidence you were in Crossmoor through his trade.”

Lia looked sceptical. “It seemsunlikely if the church was hiding us that they would give father work as atemple scribe.”

He shrugged. “I have had thatthought myself on many occasions.”

“If my family is really that important, that doesn’t make any sense. After all, most of the secrecy appears tohave happened in your lifetime, and I have lived in Crossmoor for my entirelife.”

Rastlin shrugged again. “I know,Lia. All I know is that when I searchedCrossmoor the previous time, which was after your birth, I couldn’t replace you. A greater power was definitely at work; I am very thorough.”

“It sounds like the church gave father the position to keep usclose. One of the conditions of hisemployment was that we could never leave Crossmoor.” The conversation had taken a more dociletone, so Lia gave in to her stomach and began eating.

“Most likely. However, let usnot waste further thought on this matter; all we have discussed has past, andwe must focus on the task in hand. Whenwe reach our destination, you will be tested. This is necessary to ensure only one with The Blood can enter.”

Lia swallowed and then stopped eating. “That sounds ominous; what kind of test?”

Rastlin looked down at the rabbit then returned his attention toher. “For the time being, I want tofocus on what you need to prove you are who you are. Please, eat and we will discuss further afterbreakfast.”

Lia lost her appetite immediately but continued to eat. She was determined to steel herself forwhatever was coming next.

A short while later Rastlin asked Lia to join him in a clearing a shortwalk from the camp. He sat down on theground, and beckoned her to do the same.

“So far you have used your power on two occasions you are aware of: tofrighten off the slavers, and in Surian. Both times you did this out of instinct, and used a person to channelthe power. Instinct is crucial when youhave The Blood, as the heart should drive everything, but you need to be ableto know how much power to use, and ideally what form it will take. There also won’t always be people around tochannel through, and as we have already discussed there are more acceptableways to access the power.” He paused, and looked at her intently. “First, I want to see if you can channelpower at will. Tell me, how do you feelat the moment?”

She gave him the honest answer. “Terrified; I am not ready for this.”

He smiled. “And full of doubt aswell. Let us try and channel thatfear. Never try and suppress youremotions: they come from the heart.” Rastlin’s head moved to his left, wherethere were a number of moderately sized trees. “Reach out to the trees withyour mind; draw in their energy.”

Lia concentrated hard on the trees, but she didn’t feel anydifferent. Rastlin remained silent, andstudied her face. After a second attemptLia suppressed the urge to shout at him; why was he asking her to do that? Trying to channel power through a tree wasridiculous! The whole thing was a farce;she was sat in a clearing, miles from home, with the murderer of her parents,trying to resurrect the beliefs of some long dead band of lunatics. She cried out in frustration, threw both armsinto the air, and suddenly felt it. From her right side, she felt energy coursing through her. She then opened her eyes to see that Rastlinhad vanished! Immediately the sensationstopped, and she rose to her feet. Amoment later, Rastlin came crashing to the earth in the spot he was sat onmoments earlier. For a few moments hewas still, but then Lia heard, rich, joyous laughter. Gingerly, he sat up. “I am very glad you didn’t become angry, Lia,or I would most likely be a flaming torch by now. What were you feeling?”

Lia was shaking. “Frustration, despair; I was asking myself why I amhere.”

He didn’t seem concerned with that. “Well, you certainly used significant power. Look at the tree.”

Lia turned to her right; one of the trees was in flames. She wondered if there was enough water leftto douse them.

“Do you remember what it was like when you channelled through thetree?”

Lia nodded. “Yes. The energy was incredible.”

“That is the result of the channelling, not the channellingitself. Can you remember what thefeeling was just before then? That’swhat you need to lock onto; the sooner you can learn to switch that feeling onat will, the closer we are to achieving our goal.”

Lia tried to focus on what happened. “I am not sure; I screamed with frustration, and then I felt the power.”

Rastlin smiled. “You also threwyour hands up in the air, and although it is unlikely a gesture holds the key,it may help. I suggest you try tochannel again; after all, that tree is beyond help, so you may as well use itagain. We will work on control later.”

Lia felt sorry for the tree, but nodded her agreement. Lia sat again, took a deep breath and turnedto look at the burning tree.

Rastlin interrupted before she went any further, however. “Calming yourself won’t help, Lia. Remember your power works on instinct.”

Lia glared at him and instantly felt it again. That time she tried to hold onto it ratherthan lashing out, but immediately lost her connection with the tree. Rastlin remained impassive. “Think of something that drives high emotionwithin you; it doesn’t matter what. Powerful memories can help to trigger the power.”

Lia was worried about the consequences and was reluctant to do so.

“Think of your parents!” Rastlin hissed. “Make sure their sacrifice wasworth it!”

Lia glared at him, and her right arm stretched towards the blazingtree. “Murderer!” Her left hand reached towards Rastlin andsuddenly he was floating in front of her, and gasping for air. Lia’s eyes feltas if they were on fire, but she felt a great surge of power, and knew shecould extinguish his life in a moment. Lia wasn’t sure she wanted to let go.

Despite his gasps, Rastlin managed to look at her. “Lia...”

Hearing her name out loud was enough to jolt Lia back to reality, andRastlin dropped to the floor in a heap. Part of her wanted to run over and check he was not permanently harmed,while another part wanted to draw on the tree again and finish the job. Lia as a whole compromised and remained whereshe was.

Eventually Rastlin composed himself. He had a nasty red mark around his neck. “I hoped you wouldn’t have needed to practice on me personally, but thatwas a worthwhile exercise.”

Lia scowled. “Was it? If I have to be angry each time, it is notworth it. My parents wouldn’t havewanted to die for that.”

“Remember what I saidbefore you nearly choked the life out of me: any powerful emotion can trigger your power. It may be that anger and sorrow provokes themost severe reaction, but it may not be the only way. You also need to learn control; just becauseyou are angry, it doesn’t mean you have to be reckless. When we reach our destination, you cannotafford to be.”