Page 68 of Lahaina Noon

Wu nodded again. “Two for and two against. It seems, my friend Tar’n, the vote has come down to you.”

Baltrus spluttered in anger.

Bridget saw the hood move slightly as if he was focusing on her.Good God, could this GET any more cliched! she thought.I mean, really. Two for and two against, down to the last vote, and it’s up to some Jedi wannabe hooded dude who might not even be alive under there. Could this be any more like a fiction novel?

Vaughn snorted, catching some of what she was thinking.Down girl,he sent her,two weeks ago, you didn’t even believe dragons existed. And remember those myths and legends are usually based on a kernel of truth.

She sighed, waiting. Where did he get off being so reasonable? She was tired of standing, tired of being judged. She wanted to get back home and figure out how to kick some shadow ass.

Tar’n finally stood and folded his hands. “Drake,” he said in a whispery voice.

Creepy,Bridget shivered.

Tar’n continued to speak, and his words sounded like leaves rattling in the wind through the branches of a dying tree on a cold fall night.Wow, I’m getting morbid,Bridget thought.

The whisper asked, “Why is it you come to us now? You spoke of needing help but have yet to ask. You demonstrate this incredible bond, this show of power, knowing it could endanger your cause. But you stand before us, putting on a spectacle. Why?” The whispering stopped, and Bridget felt the warmth return to the room. She half expected to see snow falling.

Vaughn drew himself tall, nodding; Bridget realized this was the reason he requested the show of power. “Thank you, wise one. I come before you to ask your help to battle the Shadow Claw.”

The Council hissed at the name. Baltrus jumped up, shouting, “You haven’t changed! Vengeance in your heart! Always looking for a fight!”

Tar’n raised a hand, and he sat back down.

“Tell us!” commanded Wu.

Vaughn launched into his tale of how the Shadows had been attacking in broad daylight in front of others, trying to snatch Bridget, burning her house down and ambushing families, killing some of them. At this news, the Council burst into shouts and unintelligible words. A cold wind whipped through the room with the force of a hurricane, whipping papers into the air and blowing out the torches. The room fell silent.

A small flame appeared next to Bridget as Vaughn walked to the torches and casually relit them. The Council sat silently, staring at the hooded Tar’n. Once Vaughn had returned to his position, the whisper came again.

“Why?” it asked simply.

Vaughn rolled his lips inward like he didn’t want to answer.

A cold chill swept over him, and Bridget saw frost gathering on his skin. She wasn’t sure who this Tar’n was, but she knew he was powerful. She nodded at Vaughn, encouraging him to tell them. “They are after Bridget because she is the Wielder of Prophecy.”

The council was silent for a moment as they regarded him. Silver Hair finally spoke. “So, you found the Wielder of Prophecy, and mated her. Well done, Drake.” She laughed and applauded.

Vaughn dipped his head.

“It’s not possible,” said Hilde in confusion. “The shadow killed the Wielders of Prophecy years ago.”

Wu nodded slightly, narrowing his eyes on Bridget. “That is true, but here she stands, enormous light wielding at her control, I wonder.” He tapped a finger to his lips. He turned to Baltrus, “You are the historian, are you not? You interpreted the Prophecy and gave us the identities of both, or so you claimed. Explain.”

Baltrus eyed Bridget with barely disguised malice. “There were two Wielders of Prophecy. We know the Shadows hunted down the first one fifty years ago in the Alps, buried him in an avalanche, a Jacob Slonsky, his body never recovered. Then we received word that they killed the second wielder almost nine years ago. Another man. He waskilled in an accident of some kind at a military base in America, in Texas. What was the name? A moment,” he shuffled some papers.

Ice wrapped around her heart. “No,” she whispered. “Please, God, no.” She noticed the hood focusing on her, like a physical touch.

Vaughn turned to her and said her name, but it sounded like he was underwater, muffled, far away.

“Here it is.” Baltrus waved a paper in slow motion. “Brian Ridgeway, he was the other Wielder. They killed him, too.”

Bridget’s world crumbled around her. Brian, her Brian, was dead because of her. Because the Shadow Claw thought he was the Wielder, but it was her. It was her fault. She saw Vaughn speaking, but she couldn’t hear him.Why does he look so scared? She thought before she hit the floor, and the world went blessedly dark.

“Bridget, come back, Bridget!”

No, I don’t want to go there, that way is pain. Let me stay here, let me stay.She slipped back into the dark, gladly letting Morpheus take her in his arms to keep the pain at bay.

Chapter 38

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