Prophecy

This story is a work of fiction and the story and characters are my own creation. Any resemblence to people, places or events living, dead, or undead are purely coincidental.


Prologue

I stepped out of my shower and wrapped a warm towel around my body while I listened to the midsummer rain fall on the roof of my apartment. It wasn’t odd for it to rain this time of year, but the rain itself seemed strange… like a thousand voices crying softly. But it was time for my day to start and I couldn’t stand around naked all day, so I dried off and went into my bedroom.
1985 was an interesting year for many reasons, but my favorite one was that today, July 5, this Washington girl was finally turning 21. I was 5’9, brunette with emerald green eyes and a figure that could make heads snap when I walked into a room. Ok, I look good and I know it, so of course it took me a while to pick out what I was going to wear, but I got it, and if I may say so; I got it going on! That made me giggle a little and also made my roommate pop her head in the door to see what was going on. Jade had been my friend for most of my life and most of the time we seemed to think on the same wavelength so today she was just as excited as I was.
“So, are you excited?” she asked excitedly. Jade was a 5 foot nothing, red head with the normal freckles, skinny as a pencil, and strong as 5 men, Texas girl that was so smart she explained that warp drive stuff from Star Trek to the rest of us… that wouldn’t have been so odd had she not been able to make a working prototype.
I smiled at her and opened my mouth to respond when a crack of lightning lit up my room and I stopped. It took me a second to recover from it, but when my vision cleared I realized that I had just had a vision. I forced a smile for Jade and went to my closet.
“Hey, can I ask you a favor?” I asked quietly. She looked at me quizzically and nodded. I finished putting things into my favorite leather trench coat and zipped it up, then pulled it down, wrapped it up and handed it to her. “Give this to my father and ask him to get it cleaned for me please. But I need you to go ahead and go now, before the rain gets worse. I’m almost done and I’ll be right behind ya.”
She looked a little disappointed, but quickly recovered and grabbed the coat. “Sure, but hurry up! We’re getting you sooooooo smashed tonight!” she yelled behind her. I smiled and wiped away a tear from my cheek.
As soon as she left I walked into the kitchen and poured myself a cup of coffee and lit a cigarette in the dark, and waited watching the seconds click by on the clock. At 7 after 7 the door to my apartment blew up with a flash as bright as the lightning above. I watched as more than 50 black silhouettes surrounded me. I took another sip, then a drag and blew it out then spoke to the leader.
“You’re late. Incompetent as always I see. He only smiled and bared his shining white fangs, but then stepped aside and I heard a voice from the door that shook me to the very core. “My dear, don’t you know? A mage arrives exactly when he means to.” The deep voice shook the room. “For someone in my own fathers employ, much less the District’s you sure do carry around a lot of confidence.” I said voice full with as much confidence and distain as I could muster. He didn’t buy it and leaned down until our noses were almost touching.
“Don’t worry, with you out of the way it will be a simple matter to finish off the District and start again.” I jumped off my chair and drew the swords off my back before I even hit the ground and leaped into the crowed as they launched at me.
Blood splattered everywhere as I cut through anything that I could reach. At first nothing could touch me, but the line seemed endless as more and more kept pouring through the door and little by little more and more blows landed until one finally caught me just right and I hit the floor. Before I could blink they were on me holding me down. Then that arrogant bastard came to me again.
“I will not prattle on with a speech that won’t ever be heard or repeated so I only ask one thing of you. Any final words of you own?” he asked smugly. My eyes began to glow as I looked up at him and I felt the rush of power surge through my veins. I clenched my fists and held on as long as I could, just so I could spit out one last thing. “Yeah, ya smug asshole; Today is my birthday and I am going to go out with my friends to drink my mind out. Here’s to the fireworks.”
He looked at me like I was insane. “What, that’s it? No last insult, no fighting, nothing?! That’s it?!” he screamed enraged. “Well, I will say one last thing. I guess this is my last resort.” He stopped for a second, then looked into my eyes to see them starting to burn. He turned and ran as hard as he could, throwing the henchmen to the side as he went. But before he made it to the door I let go of everything and watched as the sky lit up like a sun had just ignited over the little rainy town.
For a minute the rain stopped and everything was still, but then one by one the drops fell again. For a mile around there was nothing but dirt and small fires in the crater that had been left. All the people in the city stopped and looked toward where my apartment had just been, not knowing what was happening, all filled with fear, all filled with sadness. But some, just a few ran to find out what had happened… and to help one black clad survivor to the hospital.

1:27am
Mages District, Council Chambers
December 31, 2017

“The prophecy? There’s no way it could come true! Not now, not this soon! Can you imagine what this will mean?!”
The room was only slightly lit, the district not in session, but the council members sitting in their seats anyway. The cloaks adorning them had their hoods up so their faces did not show, but they knew who each other were anyway. Seven of them stood at the words of the eighth sitting in the middle of all of them, the second one on his left spoke.
“Do you understand that what you say is at best TREASON?!” she screamed. He looked at her with amusement in his eyes. “And who is going to charge me with it? You? I built this district, and I can tear it down. Now sit down and listen.” They all still stood and watched him. “I SAID SIT!” they all snapped down into their seats as if a large sledge hammer had just tenderized their chests.
“Now… I understand that this is something we didn’t see happening for many years, but all the signs are around us, and the scroll has been found. Now what more do we need?” The other seven spoke between themselves with no regard for the man in the middle, but soon quieted down and the woman spoke again.
“We need proof. A sign. For Goddess sake, the one spoken of in the prophecy has not even been whispered of yet. You can’t expect us to take you seriously when you can’t even show us-“
The doors to the room burst open and a man in a long red cloak, trimmed in gold, rushed in. His hair was black as the night, with fire red streaks throughout, spiked and short, and a sense of power surrounding him. He stopped in the center of the room and knelt. “RAGIN! The eighth star… it has been awakened!”
The man in the center lowered the silver hood and smiled. “Thank you Ashton,” then he turned and looked at the rest of the members. “Anything else? How about Hillary Clinton?” The rest of the members looked at them both in shock, then one by one they slowly vanished. After the last one had gone Ragin turned and looked at Ashton.
“You have done well, Ashton. Now go and find the child. Place one of the seven with her. Protect her at all costs.”
Ashton bowed low, and in a flash of fire disappeared. Ragin sat for a long time, alone in the room, to his thoughts. He looked at the small pocket watch at his side and smiled. “Hmm… time for a little vacation I think… and a call to an old friend.”