The Seer - Part 3

“You must be Celestials,” the dhaceen hissed.

He took a step closer and his eyes darkened like a storm cloud sweeping through them. The human disguise seemed to falter, his aura was so dense, so evil that the darkness radiated from his body as if it was made of black smoke.

“You are the reason our kin didn’t make it across… for that, you will be punished.”

Without a thought, I stepped closer to Liam. I didn’t want to seem afraid but I was. As if he had a similar instinct he stepped in front of me in a protective stance and looking up at him his face was stern. I felt safer, even though death was staring us in the face.

“What are you searching for?” I dared to ask.

“That is not for you to know!” The dhaceen spat.

He then pulled a long obsidian dagger out of a pocket in his coat, the hilt was adorned with rubies, the blade twisting unnaturally to a sharp point. He hadn’t changed form yet, so I assumed he was confident in disposing of us as a human. I felt a chill run down my spine and swallowed my emotions.

With an unnatural crack, the dhaceen bent low and in a blur of movement lunged forward at us. The only thing I could think to do was wrap my arms around Liam’s waist and pull him back to avoid the initial impact. It felt as if we were falling in slow motion, and Liam lifted his arms in defense, and to both of our surprise, a bright beam of energy flew from Liam’s arms and struck the dhaceen. He toppled over and let out a groan.

“Looks like you have to train more.” The dhaceen spat through gritted teeth. “It will tak-”

Before he could finish he fell forward over in agony. His bones began cracking and popping out of their sockets. Chunks of flesh peeled and plopped onto the ground with a soft thud as the dhaceen riled in pain and spasmed erratically.

Liam had fallen partially on top of me, we both scrambled upright and I asked him “What happened?”

“I…I’m not sure.” He looked down at his arms as if they were not his own.

The dhaceen’s grotesque noises grew stranger and louder. He bent backward, spine cracking and altering shape. I saw his eyes flash red again as his jaw grew long and animal-like, sharp teeth pushed out through bleeding gums.

“Liam I think you may have revealed him!” I was panicking. If the dhaceen was seen in this form the chaos that would ensue was unimaginable.

“I didn’t mean to…” Liam trailed off. He was clearly in a daze.

We were almost out of time, we had to do something.

The dhaceen’s fingers and toes stretched and grew, fingertips parting for long claws to emerge. The human form was gone, now only a pile of deep red blood and ribbons of flesh. Those searching red eyes met my gaze, and I was looking at the terrifying creature I’d only seen in The Other Realm thus far.

“Liam…” my voice trailed off.

I wanted to sound brave, I wanted to be brave, but I was afraid. I decided in that moment I wouldn’t go out without a fight. I inhaled and stood my ground.

“Stay behind me!” Liam said urgently as the creature began to make a guttural noise, almost like he was cackling at us.

I wouldn’t, I was going to stay beside him, and do whatever I could.

Suddenly the dhaceen ceased its inhuman noises and froze in place, and for a moment the creature seemed confused before it began to contort erratically accompanied by high-pitched squealing in agony. The creature then started to grow unnaturally bulbous when a bright, iridescent light broke through in rays from the creature’s grayish flesh. After a few moments of covering my ears from the screams of anguish, the creature exploded in a mess of dark smog dancing to dispersion against the impossibly bright light.

As the dark smoke that was left behind by the dhaceen receded and the radiant, almost blinding light, began to fade a figure emerged. She was tall, with high cheekbones and an upturned nose. Silver hair with a hint of lavender gently flowed just above her shoulders.

I was so shocked that for a moment I said nothing, but it wasn’t long before I came to the conclusion of who she was.

“You must be the Redeemer.” I beamed at the girl who had just saved our lives.

...

We found our way back to Tamniirt and filled him in on what occurred. The Redeemer introduced herself as Alora, and we let her know who we were and what we had discovered. Finally, we grew quiet and awaited the story of how she came to rescue us. It was then that I noticed how her face had fallen as we spoke.

Liam must have sensed the air of sadness that seemed to suffocate Alora because he spoke up gently.

“How did you learn how to use your powers like that?”

Alora blinked and looked at the ground. “I had training,” she replied vaguely. “I can train you, as well.”

“Then, we could kill the last creature and be done with all this,” I said.

I was shaken by the close call we just had with the dhaceen. Without Alora, I don’t think we would have survived.

“Not quite,” Tamniirt says. “More dhaceen will continue coming through the hole. We need to find a way to seal it. Whatever the dhaceen are looking for may be the key. I think the only choice we have is to continue following the one that is here and strike as soon as he finds what he is looking for. Then, we have to hope the item will help us, and that we can figure out how to use it.”

Alora clears her throat. “That’s not our only option.” She sets her jaw before continuing, seemingly making a decision to trust us. “I know what they are looking for and how they created the hole.”

“The other Celestials, the Seer and Revealer before you,” she nodded at Liam and me before continuing. “They are the ones who made the hole in the barrier between worlds. The Seer was enticed by a beautiful creature he saw in Vaarn. The Revealer tried to tell him that humans were not meant to live among the creatures of Vaarn, and that’s why our worlds were separated by a barrier, but he didn’t listen.”

Alora paused here, wiping a tear from her eye.

“The Revealer didn’t want him to go alone. She thought she could protect him. They were supposed to just go for a short visit, long enough to meet some of the beautiful creatures, but they…” She exhaled a shaky breath. “They never came back.”

We are silent for a moment before Liam speaks. “Maybe we can go find them?”

A sob bursts from Alora. “If you are here… it’s too late for them,” she managed to get out.

Tamniirt finished the thought for her. “There can only be three Celestials; one Seer, Revealer, and Redeemer at a time.”

After a time, Alora continued. “I wanted to go with them, but we needed someone to stay here and guard this side of the barrier and the final piece of the artifact. They needed two pieces to open a temporary hole in the barrier. The dhaceen must have taken the pieces from them if they are able to continue opening holes. If they were to find the third piece, they could remove the entire veil between worlds.”

Liam squared his shoulders. “We won’t let that happen.”

...

We came up with a plan to train with Alora until the next quarter moon. We knew at that time, the dhaceen will have to use the pieces of the artifact to open another portal. That is when we will need to strike. Then, when we possess all three pieces, we can seal the veil between our worlds.

I thought I had known the full extent of my powers. Simply close one eye to see what is on the other side of the veil, but Alora told me that there was more. She said my first sight of Vaarn, of the dhaceen, scared me into not exploring my full potential. She said if I wanted to see more, I can.

I did my best not to be afraid of what I might find if I extended my sight further into Vaarn. I knew that when the time came, I would need to be the one to discover where the next dhaceen will enter our world since the others cannot see past the veil. I practiced deep breathing and reminded myself that what I see cannot cross over, at least not yet. It’s the fear of meeting these monsters in the future that hinders my powers.

Liam took a break from trying to reveal Tamniirt’s true form to come to my side. I blew out a breath and smiled at him.

“I can see a little further now but I’m not making much progress,” I tell him. “Alora says I’m too afraid of what I might see.”

I look down at my feet.

Liam watched me for a moment and took my hand. “You don’t have to be afraid,” he says. “I’m here with you.”

Without reading too much into it, I closed one eye and squeezed Liam’s hand; my tether to this world. The feel of our fingers interlaced allowed me to focus my sight on the other side of the barrier. I breathed and, for the first time, allowed myself to truly see.

The veil began to clear as if a gust of wind swept through the fog, pushed it further away. At first glance, it looked like our world, but brighter. The colors are more pronounced, like when the glinting sun altered the world at dusk. A horse galloped past before unveiling white wings of shifted colors, like turning a pearl in the sun. It rose effortlessly into the air, landing on a cloud and curled up to rest.

A large, brightly colored bird soars past. Its wings are blue at the center and it shifted to shades of orange at the tips, flickering like a flame. The beauty of these creatures made me understand why the former Seer would be tempted to visit this place.

The flaming bird abruptly changed the direction of its flight, and I look down to see a dhaceen prowling unnaturally through the grass. I tensed and the mist closed over Vaarn once more. I opened my eye and shake off the vision of another world.

I turned to Liam.

“I think I can do it. I can spy on the dhaceen and find out where they will enter into our world.”

...

What do you think of “The Seer” so far? Who is your favorite character? Let us know in the comments below. Check back soon for the conclusion to the story!

Thanks so much for reading!

-Clever and WTF