The Prophet Read online

This was the first hint they’d had of a timeline. It left Hazen with a weird feeling.

  Oryan twirled his pencil and looked at Jazzmon. “Alright, out with it. What was your nightmare?”

  The Dane took a breath and looked down at her notes to guide her. “I didn’t see anything. But I might’ve been in a ship, because I heard engines firing and I felt claustrophobic. I was more terrified than I’d ever been in my life. I felt like I was weighed down with…darkness. Like with a shadow. I sensed someone’s hate but couldn’t separate it from my own feelings. And I heard a man shouting. He was furious. He was yelling, ‘They’re following us! Do you think they know we have the virus?’ Then he started swearing and muttering. I heard engines firing, and I got the feeling like we were accelerating into space.” She shrugged. “That’s it. Not real helpful or easy to interpret, I know.”

  Weird one, thought Hazen.

  Jazzmon looked at him hopefully. “Did your nightmare offer any clarification?”

  “No.” Hazen crossed his arms atop the table. “My vision didn’t have anything to do with the Mark Prophecy.” He told them about entering the fiery lights and exploring different times and places. “I don’t know who I was. I was terrified but also really excited. It was one of the weirdest visions I’ve ever had. But I didn’t sense anything about the Marked.” He gave Jazzmon a sympathetic smile. “Sorry, but guess your nightmare’s the last new vision we’re getting about the Mark Prophecy.”

  Oryan whistled. “So we’re finishing one prophecy and starting a new one all in the same day. Awesome.”

  Renny tapped her pen on everything she’d written as they talked. “But how do we interpret Jazzmon’s dream? What does it change or add from our earlier guess about this last line?”

  “Which was what again?” asked Hazen.

  “‘The enemy will disappear when the four Marked win.’”

  Jazzmon leaned an elbow on the table and trailed a finger through her stubbled hair, thinking. “That interpretation is what this felt like. I was seeing from the side of the enemy. And the mood was intense. It was like a great battle had just happened, and my side lost.”

  Renny studied what she’d recorded. “You said the man yelled, ‘They’re following us! Do you think they know we have the virus?’”

  “Yes.” Jazzmon nodded and looked at her own writings. “And I think ‘they’ is the Marked.”

  “It has to be the Marked, right?” said Oryan. “They’re the heroes of our dreams.” He grinned at how corny this sounded.

  “So,” Hazen thought aloud, “maybe the part we have wrong is the enemy disappearing. It’s more like they’re running away, and the Marked are following. Could that be right?”

  Jazzmon was thinking again. “They’re fleeing. That word feels more right.”

  Renny wrote ‘fleeing’ on the Mark Prophecy paper.

  The Dane frowned. “I’m also not sure about focusing on these enemies. My whole nightmare was clouded in intensity and fear, but when the man talked about having the virus, I felt this horrible sense of evil. I think the virus is what we should focus on, not whoever these enemies are.”

  Renny wrote ‘evil’ on the Mark Prophecy paper and circled it.

  Hazen agreed, thinking back on his nightmares from the Virus Prophecy. “All along, it’s been like the virus is the greatest evil of the future. It destroys humanity. The Kota are meant to escape from it. And if the Marked are supposed to bring hope to Earth…”

  “That must mean the Marked save Earth from the virus,” Renny finished.

  “Yes,” said Jazzmon with a nod. “That feels right. It’s not ‘the enemy will disappear when the four Marked win.’ It’s more like the virus is this terrible evil, and it’s using the men in the ship to flee Earth to get away from the Marked, who are following. There’s a sense that this isn’t over, too, so maybe leave it open-ended somehow.” She smiled at Renny. “Can you make that sound better?”

  Renny nodded and wrote for a few minutes, scratching words out a few times. “Okay, how about this?

  “’The Mark

  By the Bearers brought into time,

  fulfillment shall come in a Mark,

  and hope in four children born.

  Evil will flee Earth before the four Marked.’”

  Jazzmon nodded. “That’s good.”

  They all seemed to relax, and Hazen smiled at Renny, feeling proud of his vision partner once again.

  Oryan stood from his floor pillow. “Well, I’m starving.”

  Jazzmon also rose. “I said I’d help Seth in the gardens this afternoon, but I’d also like a quick lunch first.”

  Renny started packing up her various papers. “Okay, see you guys later.”

  The other vision partners bowed out of habit and left the temple.

  Hazen stood and helped Renny reach Oryan’s drawing to tuck in her notebook. “Need help with anything?”

  “Nope. I’m just going to throw this notebook in the library and then take a bath.” She wrinkled her nose. “Being a cowgirl is not as fun as I expected.”

  Hazen grinned. “Okay. See you later?”

  “Later, partner.” Renny used Seth’s southern twang as she said this. She smiled up at Hazen. “Or, more accurately… Later, vision partner.”

  Hazen laughed and walked to the exit to retrieve his shoes.

  Later that evening, Hazen stretched his legs as he sat on a hillside overlooking the twinkling city of Gyantse. From here he could see the more modern streets where tourists stayed, and he could also see the older sections of town. The impressive monastery on the mountainous hill was, as always, the dominant feature. Above, Hazen had never seen a sky so clear.

  He heard someone panting up the steep trail. Looking over, he saw Renny as she held up the end of her robes and watched her footing on the loose dirt. Under her robes, she’d put on one of the black, long-sleeve shirts they’d bought in Lhasa for colder weather. Since she was watching the ground so intently, Hazen raised a hand in case she hadn’t spotted him.

  “Hey.” She panted as she came to share his boulder seat. She laughed at herself. “I’m so tired from hauling those cows out this morning.”

  He smiled. “It’s hard because of the oxygen. I was panting too.”

  Renny faced the open scenery below them. “I had a dream. Thought I should come tell you right away.”

  “Do tell.”

  “Well, you know the Bearers Prophecy about the chosen brothers who’ll guide the Marked. We’ve sorted out that the brothers will stay on Earth after the Kota go through the swirling portal to escape the virus.

  ’The Bearers

  The remnant, remaining to reveal the light, must strive on.

  Hope will come, as vowed by heaven.

  Through preservation, time shall hold the chosen brothers.

  The one will seed;

  the other will foster.

  And so, both shall bear.’”

  Hazen nodded.

  Renny looked at the horizon of mountains. “Oryan and I keep seeing the father, so he must be the brother who will ‘seed.’ I’m wondering if your vision earlier was of the other brother.”

  Hazen raised an eyebrow.

  “My dream,” she said, “was also super weird. But I think I was seeing through the eyes of the same man you were. He could open the realm of the lights. He was standing in a living room like the one you described, and he made a motion with his hand that opened a portal. It looked so cool.”

  He nodded with a smile, remembering the same.

  “In my dream, the man watched the one little boy with a Mark as the kid played in a sandbox. He felt proud of the kid, but it wasn’t the same feeling I get from the boy’s dad. I think that means it was the other brother, the boy’s uncle.”

  This made sense.

  Renny sighed. “It was amazing, the things I saw him doing. He could change history, Hazen. We know the lights’ realm has something to do wit
h time, so if he can access the lights, it makes sense that he can fiddle with time.” She made a face. “I’m not using ‘fiddle’ in this prophecy. It was more like he altered things. But it wasn’t just for fun. He had a deep sense of purpose. He was…interceding to change history in ways that help people. I think I’ll call him the Interceder.”

  “Yeah, that fits with what I felt too.”

  “He’s so powerful, right? But he’s also lonely. It was his job to do all this, but…”

  Hazen watched her face and saw her usual expression whenever she was trying to choose the right words.

  “He alone will do the work,” she said, “and he will do the work alone.”

  Hazen smiled. “I can’t wait to see more of this guy.”

  They paused to look out at the mountains. The breeze grew cooler, and Hazen knew soon the sun would drop. Then they’d be freezing. But he didn’t want to leave just yet. Renny seemed to be of the same mind, and she put her head on his shoulder. This surprised him a little, but it didn’t bother him. Not at all…

  “You know,” she said, “if we really have finalized the Mark Prophecy, we’ll stop seeing visions of the Marked when they’re young. I’ll miss seeing those kids.”

  He smiled. “Me too.”

  Though I always saw scarier things around them, he thought.

  “Renny, do you think everything will work out? What if we miss something? What do any of us know about interpreting visions? We’re guessing.”

  “But everything’s clearer since the four of us came together.”

  “Yeah…but you guys vetoed me about writing the prophecies exactly like we see them. Shouldn’t we be precise so those in the future know what to expect, who to involve, and what to do? I know you’re having fun writing the prophecies and being all poetic and mysterious, but that seems dangerous considering how serious this future seems to be.”

  “Except that we don’t know how to interpret exactly what we’re seeing. If we wrote everything as fact when we actually can’t possibly know everything – we’re seeing the distant future, after all – that could be bad too.”

  “Except if the Kota leave in that WSP ship, this isn’t so distant after all.”

  Renny sighed heavily into his shoulder. “I’m not worried. The Signal Prophecy is at the beginning of everything, and I’m guessing there’s lots of time between then and everything with the Marked.” She squeezed his arm. “We have time to understand what these prophecies mean, Hazen. Fate seems happy with how we’ve worded them, so that’s good enough for me. What’s important is that we get them written now, while the visions still come.”

  “I know. I just hate this responsibility. The more we see and the more we write, the more confusing it gets.” He frowned. “This is too much responsibility for four people.”

  Renny chuckled. “That’s probably what the four Marked children will think. At least we don’t have to save the world.”

  “No, we only have to tell them how to do it.”

  She sighed again. “Well, if we’re nearing the end of our visions, our part in this will be done soon. I’ll finally hand over all my notes to Lhamo, he can start the translating process for monks of the future, and after that we can all go home.”

  What then? thought Hazen.

  “You’re right. Sorry I’m such a downer.” He kissed the top of her head in a quick peck. “Come on, let’s go. It’s getting late, and we don’t want to freeze up here.”

  She sat up. “Okay. I’m starving, anyway.”

  He laughed and followed her to the trail. “You eat more than I do!”

  “Well, Mino had me fasting yesterday. Of course, I’m starving. And you can’t tell me you’re not sick of highland barley in everything.”

  He stepped over a pointy rock. “I’m more sick of the air-dried mutton. I’d kill for a thick, juicy burger.”

  “If you make me dream of burgers tonight, I’ll kill you.”

  Hazen laughed and hurried down the trail.

  7

  The False Prophet

  The next morning, Hazen woke to screaming. Real screaming. He sat up from his mat and saw shadows of people running by his tent. They were shouting to each other in the local language he didn’t know, but he head the panic in their voices.

  A gunshot blasted from the direction of the temple, and Hazen winced.

  After scrambling out of his blankets, he looked down at his tattooed body. He wore only boxers, but there was no time to dress in his robes. Sliding into his shoes, he flipped open the tent flap and exited into the freezing air.

  Monks and nuns ran screaming and shouting from the main yard that stretched in front of the temple. They hurried by Hazen, seeking shelter.

  “Renny!”

  Hazen stooped to open her tent flap, but she wasn’t there. He next went to Jazzmon’s tent, then Oryan’s with the same results. More monks ran around the corner of the temple, and Hazen saw they looked absolutely terrified.

  Against any natural instinct, Hazen ran where the crowds were fleeing from. He turned into the front yard of the temple and saw monks running to the stables to hide. Still more monks and nuns hurried in the opposite direction into the temple doors, none taking the time to remove their shoes. Once enough of them had cleared the yard, Hazen saw the source of their fear.

  A brown-haired, thin, tall man in European clothes stood in the center of the yard. He held a gun pointed at Oryan and Renny, who looked like they’d been working in the stables.

  No, thought Hazen. Oh, God!

  A breeze blew, reminding him he was half-naked, but he fought off a shiver and took a slow step forward. The man had his back to Hazen. If he could sneak all the way across the yard…

  Renny, her face tense with fear, saw Hazen around the man. She returned her eyes to the stranger between them so she didn’t give Hazen away. He couldn’t see Oryan’s face, since the stranger was equally tall. Then Hazen noticed something burning on the ground in front of them.

  “You’re Vin, aren’t you?” said Oryan.

  “Indeed I am!” Vin didn’t seem to care who heard him, and he waved his free arm while he spoke like they were old friends. “And hello to you, dreamer! It’s taken me a really long time to find you guys, hasn’t it?”

  The yard was clear now, but Hazen saw monks peeking out from the stables. He took another step and checked his footing for anything that would make noise if he stepped on it. Bumps covered his skin, but he held his mouth closed so his teeth didn’t chatter.

  “What…” Oryan had his hands up, and Hazen heard the fright in his friend’s voice. “What do you want?”

  Vin giggled. “That’s what Lhamo asked right before I shot him. Renny, you should know Lhamo tried to talk me out of taking your book. He put up a good fight, but…” Vin motioned to the small fire between them.

  The prophecies! thought Hazen. All Renny’s notes!

  The notebook was little more than black char now, a few flames still licking the pages.

  “What do you want?” asked Oryan again.

  Hazen then realized that his friend had spotted him approaching. Oryan was trying to keep Vin distracted.

  “I’m on a mission to get rid of you dreamers, obviously. I’ve seen so many fun things since Sonyeah’s been gone. I’m thinking…” He scratched his head with the gun before quickly pointing it back at Oryan, then Renny. “I’m thinking that if I get rid of all you dreamers, the happy endings won’t exist anymore! Then I can control the things I see in my nightmares!”

  He’s a lunatic, thought Hazen as he took another step.

  Renny was trying to be brave. “Don’t do this.”

  Vin aimed the gun at her, then at Oryan, then at Renny. “I’ll do whatever I want!” He jumped up and down as he shouted, “I am the true prophet!”

  And with that, he shot Oryan in the heart.

  “No!”

  The scream came from the temple entrance, and Hazen look
ed to see Jazzmon in the doorway. Seth grabbed her from behind and pulled her back inside for cover.

  “Ha!” Vin kept the gun on Renny but looked at the temple now with a wide smile. “Seth, was that you? Why don’t you come say, hello?”

  Wind swept over the silence that followed this.

  “Well, that’s just rude!”

  Seth’s voice called from the temple, “Let them go, Vin. This won’t accomplish anything.”

  “Oh, that’s where you’re wrong! I-” Vin saw Hazen in his periphery and backed up to keep the gun on Renny while also able to watch his challenger now.

  Shit, thought Hazen.

  “Hello, fellow nightmare-er! A bit underdressed for these parts, aren’t you?”

  Hazen stopped where he stood and lifted his hands. Despite the cold, he felt himself sweating. “Vin, don’t do this. We can get you help.”

  “Help? I don’t need help. That’s the whole point. I want control. I’m trying to liberate you too, you know! You and Jazzmon. If I get rid of your dreamers, you won’t have to see alterable futures anymore! You’ll see only the real future, like me!”

  Hazen answered carefully. “No, thank you.”

  “You think I came here without seeing how this all plays out? I will kill the dreamers, Hazen. I’ve already got Jazzmon’s.” Vin motioned to Oryan’s body as if his point wasn’t clear. Then he motioned with the gun to Renny. “Once you’re free of her, you can have more visions and then go watch it happen in real life!” He winked. “Or, you know, help it out a bit. That’s pretty fun too.”

  Renny was looking at Hazen, crying. She mouthed, ‘I love you,’ which was almost more than Hazen could take.

  Don’t believe Vin, he thought. Please, don’t believe him. This has to be alterable!

  Vin looked at Renny. “You’re the writer, yeah? Don’t you think it’s so cliché that the girl always has to die to teach the guy a lesson?” With a smirk, he aimed the gun at Renny’s head.

  “No!” Hazen’s body moved forward before he knew what he was doing.

  Suddenly a loud, strong voice shouted from the stables. “Vin!”