Chapter Six

For the first time in a while, Acacius fell into a dreamless sleep, a sleep his body so much needed as it caved under the pressure of all the worries of the past few weeks where both peace and sleep had eluded him.

When he awoke, it was to find both Brian and Freyja wanting answers so he began to tell them the story of the birth of the child the priestess had foretold while he had healed under the Ambroses' roof. Freyja recalled the prophecy for she was at the door when the priestess of the god of light had told Accacius what she had seen. He told them how the priestess had foretold that the girl while fated to stand by him would also be his weakness if she stood by him. He told them how he had ignored the prophecy but could no longer ignore it when he had started losing his abilities while in close proximity to the child.

He told them how this had worried him and he had approached Ethan and his wife and spoken to them of his concerns about his enemies using her against him. He had asked that they let him protect her but they had refused to give up their only daughter to a man of low moral standards. He told them about how he had searched all over for the child for many years and how his nightmares had returned after he had first seen Aurora on his last visit to the Ambroses' home.

Acaccius paced back and forth on the living room floor as the crone's words came back to him "Search within for there lies all that you have been seeking". He grunted as he recalled the frustration the visit had left him with. It had left him with more questions than he went seeking answers for.

Heads turned towards him as the grunt left his lips. "Whatever is it now?", Freyja mumbled as Brian glared at her. "The crone couldn't even find what it is and you expect me to know?". "crone? what crone?" Brian asked, demanding an answer. Acaccius looked up and replied, throwing up his hands in the air "some crone at Ailonopolis. Brian raised a brow as Freyja also asked, "what crone, what is her name, what do the people call her?".

"Stop screaming, woman", Brian yelled at her, "he doesn't even know which one of your questions to answer first." "They call her; Ophelia," he said as Freyja collapsed on the couch nearest to her. "What business did you have with her, why did you go to her, what did she tell you, son?"

Acaccius began to tell the couple how she had said she has seen him coming but refused to give him a straight answer, he recounted the entire visit as they listened. They ended up more frustrated too so they agreed to visit the old woman again.

Illium arrived home as Acaccius set out to leave the Ambrose villa. He opened the door to find Acaccius on the other side, his face turned up into a frown instantly; showing the bad blood between them.

"This isn't the time to measure your egos, boys," Freyja said as she pushed past the staring duo and dragged her mate and Acacius by the arm as she headed out. Once they were in flight, they headed for Ailonopolis on wings that knew the way by heart. Acacius looked on in wonder as Freyja flew with him on one side and her mate on another. His reason for wonder was Freyja's wings; they were a radiant thing tainted with streaks of blue and gold. Many senior angels coveted her if not for decoration, as a source of pride, power, and prestige. When Freyja flew, the human children were entranced as their parents had once been by a certain child with red tresses. For she flew with such poise and strength as the human world has never known.

The trio flew quite high so as to not announce their arrival for in paranormal laws, territories were held quite possessively, and to be found on another's territory without permission was to go looking for a fight. They soon arrived in Ailonopolis and Acacius led the way to the crone's hut hoping that today she might have answers for them.

But she wasn't in her hut when they arrived. However, Acacius caught her scent in the wind and eventually found her near a cliff.

OPHELIA

Ophelia had been woken by a vision and had known as soon as she had roused that the day would be trying. All-day long, she had been restless and her restlessness had brought her to a cliff where she could see the place she had once called home. Observing the townspeople bustling around, she had wondered if this was what the paranormals saw when they first arrived; children running through the paved streets while their mothers handled household chores and their fathers went about their crafts.

Every time she caught a child's laughter, she had wondered if her face once lit up that way or if the adults laughed when she did. It didn't matter anymore, she told herself, it was all in the past now. The past she couldn't stop thinking about, the what-ifs plaguing her thought every waking moment. When she didn't wonder about her childhood, she thought of the vibrant and very much alive young angel (for all angels were young to her, she had lived for so long, too long if you asked her)who looked so much like Isidore.

Just when she turned her mind and body away from the cliff, she saw Acacius come up with 2 people she had hoped never to see again even if she couldn't die. "You live," Brian said as Freyja followed with "and look well" as Acacius turned to wonder how they knew her. As far as he knew, the couple had never set foot in Ailonopolis before. Now that he thought about it, he realized that their response when he had said the old crone's name wasn't normal, he also realized he had never asked how they knew where to fly to when they had left to seek out the woman. At the time, he had thought they were following his lead but now it seemed they were quite acquainted with the old crone.

"The gods wouldn't take me though I begged them to," the crone said with an emotionless face, never betraying how much she had wanted to end her own life when the nightmares had begun. At a point, she had even bargained to have her own life taken if it would mean that Izzy would live. She had wanted an escape from the namecalling, the whispers, the rumors, and of course, the nightmares.

But nothing would save her. The gods it appeared still needed her alive. "What brings you all here, she said". "I have found her, the one the priestess called the bane of my existence.", Acacius replied. Pointing to Brian and Freyja, he said "they are here because I found her at their home". Ophelia chuckled and said, "I assure you, that's not the only reason they are here but let us talk about the present, not the past.". "Are you ready to start at the beginning?". He nodded, then holding out her hand she said "come, walk me to my home".

They began the walk back to her home as Elena and Brian lingered at the back whispering to each other. "I thought you said we would never have to worry about her again?" Freyja whisper-yelled at Brian. Brian replied, "I thought so too, she should have died in the fire but as we can both see, not only does she live, she is well". "I don't have a good feeling about this", she said.