"NO!" Emerald screamed in agony, dropping to her knees and knowing it was too late. Keegan would have only fallen to the ground if she were dead. Otherwise, if she was only wounded, she would have appeared where she was headed. Frantically, she tried to save her, but her gift could not bring back the dead.

Rourk felt a coldness enter his body. He closed his eyes and saw Keegan on the ground, her mother sobbing, holding onto her daughter. Everyone engaged in the battle literally froze in place, swords stopping in mid-swing, bodies balanced as if in a strange painting. The only ones able to move were those attached to Keegan. They all raced towards her body, crying and kneeling on the ground next to her.

Thaddeus could not believe he was staring at his vision in the flesh. The battle was over. They would lose. Richard was also crying as he kneeled on the ground holding his daughter's hand, his other arm supporting his wife at his side.

Rourk felt a fury he had never known. In a quiet, dangerous voice, he said, "They will all die."

Emerald looked into his steel grey eyes and felt his rage seep into her. She stumbled to her feet, swiping the tears from her face, and grabbed the hilt of her sword. The heaviness in her hands felt real. She stood up beside Rourk. "They took my daughter, now I will take their lives. There will be no mercy if they are with the dark, they will die; women, children, or soldiers. They are no different in my eyes."

Together, the two raced forward, killing dark elves as they stood frozen and unable to fight back.

Rourk had no intention of leaving the battle alive. He didn't want to live if Keegan was not in this world. He would join her on the other side, but not before he avenged her death.

Thaddeus didn't know what to do. He was supposed to be able to save them from extinction, yet his visions kept coming true. He couldn't see a way out of this. It was too hard for him to push his grief for his sister aside. In order to think, he needed to be alone, like at home when he could go for a run and just let go. His sister had just been killed, and now, his mother had gone over the edge. Was the time of the light elves really over? He couldn't accept that. There had to be something he could do.

Richard silently picked Keegan up, cradling her against his chest. Grief seeped through him as he looked down at his only daughter. It was useless going after his wife; there was no stopping the rage that coursed through her veins. He could feel her agony inside him. She and Rourk were no longer thinking as soldiers. They had gone over to the side of the dark. Flashes of his daughter's childhood went through his mind.

When she was five and he had followed behind her on the driveway, his hand gripping the seat of her bicycle without its training wheels. He still remembered the way she had fallen, sc.r.a.ped her knees, and stood up, brushing her hands off to do it again.

She was nine, dancing around the kitchen like a ballerina with her skinny arms in the air and socks on her feet. Richard recalled how she slid after one particularly hard twirl and knocked Emerald's favorite blue vase from the table. They had cleaned it up, the two of them, and hidden the shards at the bottom of the trash can. Emerald found out anyway.

Just a few weeks before, she had stood in the living room, rolling her eyes at his bad jokes. Richard had wondered then when it was she had become such a beautiful young woman.

As he carried his daughter away, the battle fell into motion once more, continuing on around them. He didn't care about the war or their inevitable extinction, all he cared about was getting his daughter away from the scene of her death.

Suddenly, loud chanting overwhelmed the sound of the battle. Richard could not understand what was being said; it sounded like gibberish. He looked around, searching for the source, and saw a woman walking towards them.

She had on a long white robe that was flowing behind her. Her brown hair fell down the side of her shoulders and she had an innocent looking face with soft brown eyes. She was almost translucent. Richard could tell he and Thaddeus were the only ones that could see her because no one else gave her a second glance. Richard also knew she was a spirit walker. He had heard of them but had never laid eyes on one.

Thaddeus whispered, "It's Anna's mother."

Gently, the luminous woman took Keegan from his arms continuing with what sounded like a spell. Keegan's body took on the same translucent sheen as the woman's. The colors started to come back, faded at first and then brighter. They were shocked when Keegan's eyes fluttered open. Looking up at his father in shock, Thaddeus whispered, "Dark magic."

Keegan's eyes slowly focused. She tried to look around, but her vision was blurry. The earsplitting noise was overwhelming to her. Her mind raced as she tried to figure out what the noises were. Who was holding her? She was being cradled in someone's arms. Panic rose in her throat.

"Keegan, can you hear me?" his voice sounded desperate. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't place it. Blinking her eyes a few times, her vision finally cleared a bit. She tried to speak, but nothing would come out. A wave of dizziness washed over her and then there was darkness.

"What have you done to our daughter?" Richard asked, stepping forward.

"I gave her life back. Your wife gave me my life back, and this is my repayment." The woman's voice was matter-of-fact.

"Yes, but at what cost? Only black magic can bring someone back from the dead."

"There will be consequences, but she is alive. Isn't that enough? I would do anything to protect my own daughters even if it meant using black magic. If you and your wife do not approve of my actions, they can be reversed within twenty-four hours."

Richard took his daughter back, holding her gently against him, and he knew that would be impossible. He could not take back the gift they had been given. Whatever the consequences, they would work through them.

"Why is she not responding?" Richard said.

"Her body has undergone a major transformation, which causes sensory overload. She will be out for at least a day, if not more. Her body needs time to recover. I will stay with her while she recovers in case anything goes wrong. Your wife should be here; a healing might help speed up the process."

Richard closed his eyes and mentally screamed, Emerald, she is alive.

Emerald's sword was raised. Without pause she slashed, and another body dropped to the ground. She couldn't close her eyes to see what Richard saw, there was too much going on, and it would cause her own life to be taken. Scanning quickly, she searched for Rourk. She heard his animalistic scream as he drove a dagger through a dark elf. She had to get to him. As much as she wanted to run to her daughter, she had to let him know. She worked her way through the crowd and eventually was close enough to get his attention.

"Keegan is alive!"

She couldn't possibly have said what he thought she did. Rourk saw his opponent advance, and he took care of him swiftly. Looking over at Emerald with a puzzled look in his eye, he said, "Alive?" He couldn't seem to comprehend what she was saying.

Rourk tried to process the information, and in doing so he let his guard down. A dark elf drove a blade through his stomach. Rourk looked down at the blood. Stomach wounds were the worst, and he knew he could bleed out slowly. Emerald efficiently killed the dark elf and they made it safely off the battle ground.

Laying him down on the ground, Emerald went to work. She smiled down at him, her hair sticking up wildly and a stripe of blood across her dirty cheek. "I don't know how or why, but Keegan is alive." Rourk wanted to jump up, but knew he must wait until she was finished. He would be no good to Keegan dead. He closed his eyes but saw nothing when he sought her.

"I don't understand," he said. "I can't see her."

Emerald closed her eyes. She couldn't see her daughter either. Had she heard Richard wrong? Closing her eyes, she focused on her husband. He was sitting beside their daughter's body. Her eyes were closed, and she was not moving. Sensing her Richard thought, She is alive, but she'll be out for a while. Emerald responded, I'm hurrying, Rourk needed a healing. We'll be there shortly.

Some healings took longer than others, and Rourk's was one of the longer ones. When she finished up, she helped the young man to his feet and they set off at a rapid pace to Richard's tent. Emerald flung the flaps of the tent open and ran to her daughter.

Kneeling beside her, she felt for a pulse. It was shallow, but she had one. Emerald focused every ounce of energy she had, and called forth her ancestors. She knew it could be done because her own mother had told her, but she herself had never done before asked for the ancestors. She felt them surround her, and begged for their help in healing Keegan. She smiled when she felt her grandmother's hands touch hers. Closing her eyes they began their work.

Emerald instantly knew something was off. She knew her daughter's energy field, and it had been altered. Keegan usually had a particularly warm energy that felt like the sun was shining directly on her. Now, her energy felt cool as if it were the air from a nighttime stroll in the fall. Emerald pushed aside her fears and focused on the healing; maybe when she was fully healed she would feel normal. There were three generations of healers working on Keegan, she would be fine.

The healing continued for well over two hours while Emerald sat over her daughter's p.r.o.ne form. It was the longest healing she had ever given. Eventually, Keegan's breathing returned to normal, her pulse was slightly lower than it should be, and she was still unconscious. What mattered was that she was alive; she would pull through.

Emerald realized that Anna's mother was there. The woman had sat silently through the healing, staying at Keegan's side as she had promised. "I don't understand. How can she be alive? You are a spirit walker?"

Jennifer gazed almost lovingly at her. "Yes, I am a spirit walker."

Emerald's voice was uncertain. "I thought spirit walkers just helped people to the other side?" She had a sinking feeling in her chest, and she almost didn't want her to continue.

"I used black magic to bring her back." Jennifer stated it as if she was worried of the other woman's reaction. Her tall, thin body slumped against the side of the tent, her unwavering brown eyes waiting.

"How could you have used black magic when you are on the side of the light? I have felt your soul; you are a creature of the light."

Jennifer took a deep breath, her chest rising and falling slowly. "My parents died when I was young, and my grandmother raised me. She was a witch, and she worked for the dark. It is a long story how she went from light to dark. Growing up, I was taught black magic, I didn't know there was anything wrong with it. As I got older, I realized that my grandmother was evil. This is the first time I have ever used black magic to bring someone back from the dead. When I saw Keegan was pa.s.sing, by heart ached for you. I did the same thing I would have done for my own daughters."

Emerald looked up with tears in her eyes, "Thank you for saving my daughter. Do you know how this will affect her? Rourk and I could not see her with our mind's eye when we tried."

"I'm sorry," Jennifer murmured, shaking her head. "I don't know exactly how her body will react. There will be changes like the one you mentioned. We have to wait till she wakes up to see. She has a strong soul. The best way that I can think to explain it is that she will have a spark of dark in her. Her light is strong enough to keep it at bay."

Thaddeus was pacing the tent like a caged animal, avoiding looking at his sister as his mind whirled. His voice broke the uncomfortable silence that had followed Jennifer's declaration. "I need to be alone to think."

Richard looked up and nodded at his son. Glancing at Jennifer, he asked, "She will be out for at least twenty-four hours?"

Jennifer nodded.

Richard leaned down and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "Rourk, we need to get back out there." As much as it pained him, he knew he was right. Richard looked over at Jennifer, "We will be forever in your debt." He shared a look with his wife and marched out back to the battle field. Rourk followed.

Thaddeus felt like something was in front of his face, but he was missing it. Going back over the events, his visions had come true. Keegan had died, ma.s.s deaths including women and children, and yet, the light was still fighting on. They still had a chance, so why was he not seeing it? Why him? Why was he so influential in the outcome of the battle? What made him different from other seers? He was a seer and a warrior, that was the only difference.

He felt as if time was moving too quickly. He wanted to slow it down, so he could figure things out before it was too late. Night would soon fall upon them, and then the fighting would pause until sunrise. He had to think of something before then. He was not sure why, but he had a feeling his window of opportunity would close if he didn't figure it out before tomorrow. He should be out there fighting with his unit, but he felt it was his time to be a seer and to let the others fight.

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head.

He began to form a plan.

Keegan was dreaming. She was in a field of wildflowers. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever laid eyes on, and it seemed to stretch on forever. As far as she could see, the bold colors of the flowers waved beneath a bright, sunny sky. She was running and laughing and she could feel the wind on her face. Stopping, she twirled around and around until everything became blurry. She heard a loud roar, and she fell to the ground, startled.

Keegan frantically looked around. She felt frightened. When the spinning in her vision stopped, she saw a ma.s.sive tiger in the distance slowly stalking towards her. She was too afraid to run, and stayed frozen in place. The tiger approached and walked around her in a circle; coming to a rest, he laid down and stretched out. She reached for him, petting the beautiful animal.

Rourk was in the heat of battle, but he felt as if he was not all the way there. He knew that was an excellent way to get himself killed. He needed to focus and be in the moment, but it was hard not to let his mind wander to Keegan.

He was scared. h.e.l.l, he was terrified. He could not sense her. What did that mean? Had their connection been broken by the black magic? He focused and screamed within himself, channeling the energy into a swipe of his sword as he took off the head of his opponent. He knew there was nothing he could do; he had to wait for her to wake up tomorrow.

For now, Rourk could take out his frustration on the enemy. He felt the calmness surge through his body, and once again he was fighting as if he was floating on air. The moves were so natural he felt as one with his blade. Countless would die by his hand before the day was over.

Night descended upon them and relief could be felt throughout the camp. The soldiers shoved food down their throats and exchanged war stories. They were still energized by the fight for their existence. The weariness had not settled in yet. Richard knew if this kept up much longer that was exactly what would happen.

Richard heard his son approach and turned to greet him. Where earlier the boy had been tired and drawn, with dark circles under his eyes, he was now standing tall. "Father, I've had a vision and I need to be brought to the leader of the dark."

Richard physically took a step back. "Have you lost your mind son? I cannot allow you to go over to the side of the dark."

Thaddeus spoke with firmness, not as a son to his father, but as a gifted seer to the leader of the light. "This is not a request, either you take me or I will go by myself."

Richard could think of nothing that could change his son's mind. He resigned himself to the idea. "Let me grab something to eat and we will go."

Thaddeus eyed his father, "We will go now."

Nodding, Richard grabbed his gear and they headed out. He hoped his son knew what he was doing. Just the thought of coming face to face with his nemesis, Creed, made his blood boil. It was going to take all of his willpower to follow the rules of war.

It took them over an hour by foot to reach the camp of the dark elves. They had chosen a spot set deep in a small valley between hills where their own sea of illuminated tents lit the valley like the light elves. It was set up essentially like their own. He could see no real differences, but he could feel it.

Entering the area felt like they'd stepped into an air conditioned room. They were greeted by a guard in full gear, his sword tip pointing at Richard's face. Richard glared at him, "We are here to see your leader, Creed. Tell him my son has had a vision and needs to see him at once."

Those gifted with sight were highly respected. The man looked over at Thaddeus, and he almost bowed, but stopped himself. "I will be right back, you can wait here." Thaddeus and Richard pointedly remained silent; Richard, upset about entering the enemy's territory with his son and Thaddeus, terrified.

The guard quickly returned and said, "Follow me."

Conversation fell silent as they let the man lead them through the camp. Every dark soldier turned in their direction, following the three-man party with wary eyes as they pa.s.sed.

Creed's tent was indistinguishable from any other and he even looked like a normal person; but Richard knew he was not to be underestimated. Despite his average face and normal brown hair, he was dangerous. You do not get to be the leader of the dark without merit.

Creed glanced up when they walked in, and he nodded slightly at them both, his blue eyes hard. "I've heard you've had a vision and need to see me?"

Thaddeus stepped forward, "Sir, my vision has shown that if we continue on with this war we will all die. We are both equally matched. If you added up the numbers of the dead right now, you will see they are the same. This battle will effectively cause extinction to our kind, both light and dark. My vision showed me the only way to stop this is to call a truce. I have also made some connections on my own, if you care to hear them."

Creed waved his hand at Thaddeus to continue, one eyebrow raised sardonically.

"Who is to say that light is just and dark is evil? What if light is just light and dark is just dark. What if we have been brainwashed to believe we should hate each other? Today with my own eyes I saw my mother and future brother-in-law cross over to the side of the dark. They were no longer fighting for good or to save their kind. They were fueled on pure revenge. I also witnessed with my own eyes my sister being brought back to life by black magic. Does that mean she is evil now? I cannot believe that to be the case. I look around your camp and see your soldiers are the same as our soldiers. We are all fighting for something we believe in. What if what we believe in has been false all along? I do not suggest that we become friends. I do suggest that we show each other the respect we both deserve. Why are we killing off our own racea"we are all elves, are we not?"

Creed stood up and paced the room quietly for a moment, his hands clasped behind his back. When he looked up, his face was filled with emotion. "My son died today. He did not even believe in war; he thought we should sit down and discuss our differences and work it out amicably. I laughed at him and told him he was foolish. When I heard the news that he was dead all I could think was, for what? I couldn't even feel a sense of pride for my son who died in battle. I knew in his heart that he did not agree with it."

Richard tried to hold on to his contempt for the man, but at his words, he was unable to do anything but remember the feeling of losing Keegan. He felt something he never thought he would feel for the man he had hated most of his life: compa.s.sion. He knew what it felt like to lose a child even if his loss was only briefly. Maybe Thaddeus was right, and they weren't so different after all. He had let his contempt for the dark consume him. He never thought of them as individuals.

"Creed, you know that my son was prophesied as the only chance the light had to survive. I think we should take heed his advice and his vision. Being a great warrior yourself, you know there is a time when calling a truce is necessary, and the right thing to do. I believe this is the time and place."

Creed almost grinned. "I've always heard you were a smooth leader. I actually felt a sense of pride just now, hearing you call me a great warrior. Do you know I have spent most of my adult life hating you? I have lain awake countless nights waiting for this moment, for us to be face to face. I'd go over all the different ways I would kill you if given the chance. Yet, here we are both complimenting each other. Even with my hatred for you there was always a hint of admiration as well."

The two men stared at each other, and Richard extended his hand out. Creed grasped his hand and they shook. "A truce it is," Creed said.

Richard returned the man's grin, clapping his hands together. "Now that we are no longer fighting each other, we can put our skills to work protecting the human race."

Creed laughed loudly. "Yes, I miss the days when you could kill at night."

"Ah, yes, the Elven laws. In the human world, battles do not end at nightfall." Richard smiled as he spoke.

Creed replied. "The humans seem to be on the brink of causing their own extinction. I think directing our talents and energy in that direction sounds like a good idea." Creed looked warmly over at Thaddeus. "Thank you son, your gift as a seer has saved us all. I will strongly consider your words. The hatred that has been spread will not go away overnight. Probably, not even in our generation. Perhaps one day dark and light elves will see each other as elves and nothing more. Now go spread the word the battle has ended in a truce due to your vision. We all respect magic, so I think everyone will feel joy to know the G.o.ds have decided to bring this to an end."

Thaddeus was relieved that it was over with. He had been stressed wondering if his plan would work. As they walked out, his father put his arm around his son and they left the camp in silence.

Once they were on the grounds of the light, Richard stopped and looked at his son. "There was no vision was there?"

An impish grin spread across Thaddeus' face. "Strategy number 23: Weave a Seamless Blend of Fact and Fiction, from The 33 Strategies of War by Robert Greene."

Richard pulled his son into a hug. Thaddeus continued, "You always taught me that your mind was the best tool during a battle. It finally dawned on me the reason I could affect the outcome of the battle was not because I have the gift of sight, but because of I have the mind of a warrior. For that, I thank you. I believed everything I said to him about my thoughts on the light and dark."

Richard stared at the ground for a minute. "Thaddeus, you opened my eyes to a new line of thought. With all my knowledge, I somehow managed to overlook the obvious. I am humbled to be your father."

Thaddeus chuckled, "Let's not go overboard, Dad, you and humble do not go together."

CHAPTER 20.

The next morning the sun rose, and activity could be heard throughout the camp. Tents were being taken down, and people were heading home. The family sat patiently waiting. There was no talking; no one knew what to say. Three more hours pa.s.sed and then it happened.

Opening her eyes, Keegan rubbed her face and stretched. Thaddeus jokingly said, "Leave it to you to sleep in the day you come back to life."