noticed the one unifying element that is in every single prophecy?" His eyes were cold.
I pulled out of his grip, and turned to him. "I see. I see myself in every single one. I see that I look haunted and hurt." I pointed to one that showed me in battle, with the tips of my hair glowing like violet flames. "In that one I look fierce and certain. But in none of these is there a damn thing that says I wanted all of this to happen. Yeah, maybe I play a part, but so does Eric, Collin, Shannon, Al and every other person in any of these! It's not just me! The whole world doesn't go to Hell because of one shitty decision that I made!" I was yelling, and didn't realize it. "I'm sorry, but it's not a destiny that I wanted." I hung my head, as Lorren walked away from me.
He pointed to a painting, asking me more questions and folding his arms. He walked back to the painting of Eric's trial. "This part mattered, greatly. And the thing that acted as the catalyst wasn't only you. There are several factors at play..." he glanced over at me. "How did he escape punishment? I assume that he wasn't turned into a Valefar in front of the Martis army."
"He wasn't," I answered, "I saved him."
Lorren looked surprised. "You saved him?" I explained what happened and how the Martis condemned Eric for helping me. "We'd saved each other several times over the past few months. And down here. It's just, that last time I tried to save him, well...I screwed up. He was dying and I couldn't understand him. I thought he wanted to live and that was the only way I knew..." my voice hung in the air and I'd stopped speaking mid-sentence.
"But..." he prompted.
But, I liked it, I thought. But, I enjoyed tasting his soul. The thoughts brushed the back of mind and were too horrifying to acknowledge. I shut my eyes and shook my head. "But nothing. It's my fault he's a Valefar." Looking at the rest of the paintings it was clear. I set this in motion. My decisions were causing a cascade of effects that I didn't anticipate. There was no way I could have possibly known. I swallowed hard. "So this is it. This is what causes the Apocalypse. Me."
He nodded. "You and some other factors, but mostly you. But it seems to be an accident, which is shocking. A girl ends the world by mistake."
Normally, I would have sneered at him. But he was right. I shrugged, "I thought I could change it. I thought the prophecy could bend and become what I made it."
"It doesn't work like that. The prophecy is set in stone. This stuff happens," he gestured towards the paintings. "And you're the key. Do you see anything in these? Does anything jump out at you?"
I was about to say no, but something did seem odd. I knew all the people in the paintings. In every painting Collin's face was obscured, but I knew it was him. One painting depicted Shannon swinging her silver sword like a warrior. That was the night we closed the portal on Long Island. I walked down the line looking at the paintings again, and instead of seeing my demise, I saw... something. Something with Collin and Eric. But what? I couldn't wrap my brain around it. Collin and Eric. I stared at the paintings and realized it seemed like a piece of the puzzle was missing. I counted and there were only twelve paintings. After a moment I paused and looked back at Lorren. "There's one missing."
He nodded. "There is. It's the last one in the series. We were missing the first until recently. It was tossed in here a few months ago. But it's that last painting that says what happens - who wins. If you win, you defeated Kreturus and take his power. That makes you Demon Queen. If he wins, if he steals your power when you die, then...God help us."
I looked up at him. "You don't think that I'll turn evil by the time I kill Kreturus, if that is what happens? How could you think that?"
He looked at the painting and back at me. "Because. It's all over your face. You don't want to be this girl, and yet you are. She is you and you are her; and yet, you aren't the same - yet. "
I laughed,