Chapter 18

Sound asleep, the strumming of the mark proved startling. A bright flare of the sun's rays in what was previously only darkness.

The abruptness of it woke him, and he sat upright, wondering if he'd imagined the pulsing in his soul. A connection he'd not felt in a long time. He reached for it. Tried to follow the thin, wavering strand.

Is it you?

He couldn't see the other end. It was hidden from him. Yet, even hidden, he felt something familiar.

Something impossible.

Through that link echoed a message - "I see you."

As quickly as his mark ignited, it extinguished.

"Come back." He looked deep within. Swept his soul for the thread. Only to find nothing. Not even a hint of its presence. As if it were never there at all.

"No," he yelled, frustration in the word. Anger quickly followed.