Chapter 23: The Foretelling

 

       The two boys remained in each other's arms for a few seconds longer before Skylar gently pulled away to look up at the dark-haired boy. He smiled up at him and upon seeing it, Spike looked away shamefully.

       “I'm sorry,” apologized Spike.

       “For what?” asked Skylar.

       “For hurting you...and the people of Wildtree.”

       “It's not your fault though, it's Blade's. You weren't able to control what you were doing.”

       “Yeah, but this could have all been avoided. If I was stronger, I wouldn't have been controlled so easily like that.”

       “But Blade is strong—real strong. I don't think anyone would really be able to prevent something like that from happening.”

       “Maybe. . . I take it that I can't go back to Wildtree anymore?”

       Skylar sighed. “No. But don't worry, I'll find a way to get them to let you back in.”

       “Well, we shouldn't worry about that right now. We should probably focus on defeating Blade instead.”

       “Yeah, I guess you're right. We have the Twin Blades, so that shouldn't be too much of a problem, right?”

       “There's still the fact that we need to be able to use them properly though. If we don't, then Blade could still probably defeat us easily. Not only that, but we need to figure out who will use the Twin Blades.”

       “We'll both use them. I'll use the Light Blade and you can use the Dark Blade.”

       “I don't know if that will work. The Twin Blades work best when used together.”

       “They'll be used together, but not by the same person. If we work together, then we can defeat him. Besides, it might be harder for him to fight us that way. He'll have to focus on two people with powerful swords, so the chances of us hitting him might be higher, right?”

       “Maybe. . .”

       “It'll work, trust me.” Skylar smile assuredly.

       “All right, we can give it a shot I guess. But if it gets too dangerous, you have to promise me that you'll escape and leave the fighting to me, got it?”

“I wouldn't be able to do that. It wouldn't be right if I left you there like that.”

       “It would be better if one of us died instead of both of us, and at least you have a home to return to. I can't do that anymore thanks to Blade. So promise me you'll run if the fighting gets too tough.”

       Skylar didn't answer.

       “Promise me.”

       “. . .Fine. . .” The blond sighed.

       “Good. Blade's currently in a city east of here called Fairwell. It'll take about a few days for us to get there, so we should probably start walking.”

       “Can't we maybe rest for a little bit?”

       “No, we should try to slay Blade as soon as possible. Besides, once we take care of him, we won't have another thing to worry about. We can rest all we want then.”

       Skylar nodded, not arguing on the matter anymore. The two grabbed their respective weapons and sheathed them before walking in the eastern direction while also gradually moving away from the wastelands.

       Hours passed and it eventually became night. Not wanting to rest right away, Spike decided for them to continue their tread eastward. After about another hour of walking though, they became a little too worn out to continue. Deciding that it would be best for them to just rest for the remainder of the night, they went to sleep in the vast plains.

       Spike awoke the blond from his sleep early the following day. Oddly enough, Skylar felt pain course through his body, which was enough to cause him to be uncomfortable as he walked through the field. Death, who had always been lurking over the blond's shoulder ever since that second encounter with Gore, had drawn his scythe close to his neck. He felt as though he could actually feel the coldness of the blade and hear Death's grim cackle as it almost came time for his prey to be killed. However, he didn't mention anything about it to Spike. He didn't want the older male to worry and he just continued to tell himself that it was just a figment of his imagination.

       Several hours passed and the two arrived at a small town. Seeing that there was only about an hour left until the sun would end its daily shift, they decided they would stop there for the night to rest. Spike and Skylar weaved their way through the crowded streets, peering about for an inn. When they finally found one, they rented a room and went into it. The two boys sat down on a bed; Spike looked down towards the floor in thought as Skylar looked around the room a little. A little too uncomfortable due to the pain, however, Skylar wasn't able to sit still. After a few more seconds of sitting there, he couldn't take it anymore and stood up from the bed.

       “I'll go get us something to eat,” the blond said.

       The dark-haired boy snapped out of his thoughts and nodded. He watched Skylar walk out of the room before laying down on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. The thoughts of the fight that would happen in the near future filled his mind. Spike wondered if they really would be able to handle Blade. Sure they had the Twin Blades, but were they skilled enough to use them properly?

       The boy sighed before sitting up on the bed. Feeling the need to get a little fresh air, Spike left the inn and began wandering the streets. However, the fresh air wasn't enough to completely relieve his mind of the thoughts about the soon-to-come fight. His gaze was set on the ground beneath him as he navigated his way through the crowded streets, somehow managing to keep himself from running into the other people.

       “Excuse me sir,” called out a feminine voice.

       Spike snapped out of his thoughts and stopped in his tracks as he turned his head to the side to see who had spoken to him. In front of a small wooden building was a small woman who looked to be in her late forties. She had wise-looking lavender eyes and black hair that cascaded down her slightly hunched back.

       “You seem to be troubled,” the woman pointed out. “Care to see what lies in the future? It might calm you.”

       “Sure, what have I got to lose,” said Spike, saying it more as a statement than a question.

       He followed the woman into the small building. Candles were mounted on the walls, barely illuminating the place. In the center of the room was a round table with two chairs – one on one side and the other one on the opposite. On it sat a small crystal ball. The fortuneteller passed through the semidarkness of the room and took a seat in the chair closest to the back wall. Spike followed her over to the table and took a seat in the other chair.

       “Is there anything certain you would like to know?” asked the fortuneteller.

       “Yeah,” replied Spike. “I want to know what the outcome will be when Skylar and I fight Blade.”

       “All right, I can do that. But first, you must pay.”

       Spike held out the money. She quickly snatched it away with her small, bony fingers before counting it to make sure she wasn't being cheated out of her money. When she was finished, she quickly put it away so no one could take it from her before looking at the boy.

       “Okay, stare into the crystal ball and I will give you your answer.”

       The dark-haired boy did as he was told and stared into the crystal ball. The fortuneteller also stared into it while she moved her hands around it. Purple mist appeared in the ball and it slowly swirled around, going with the woman's hand movements. Spike was a little skeptical of these kinds of things since they were never usually anything but a scam. However, he figured he would just give it a shot. It might help him alleviate some of the stress that had built up inside of him.

       The fortuneteller stared into the swirling mist as her hands slowly stopped moving. A flicker of a surprised look came on her face as she saw the answer to Spike's question, before it was replaced with a more apathetic look. Spike tried to see what she had seen, but wasn't able to see anything but the purple mist.

       “There will be three deaths at the end of the fight,” stated the fortuneteller.

       Spike was surprised to hear this. The possibility of all of this just being a scam completely left his mind as he became more concerned with the prediction he heard.

       “Who dies, and how?” asked Spike.

       “I cannot tell, but maybe if you give me a little more money. . .” The woman trailed off to let the boy figure out the rest. Unfortunately, Spike didn't have anymore money, so it seemed that the details of the fight's outcome wouldn't be known until it happened. Sighing heavily, Spike got up and left.

       The prediction completely occupied Spike's thoughts as he made his way back to the inn. The fortuneteller's words continued to ring in his mind. What frustrated Spike the most was the fact that he didn't know how anyone died. He was certain that him, Skylar, and Blade would be the ones to die because they were going to be the only three combatants. Blade didn't have anyone else that was under his allegiance and based on his memories of the city, there were barely any people that lived there since the evil warrior had taken control of it.

       When Spike got back to the room, he saw Skylar sitting on one of the beds, eating an apple. Spike joined him and ate some of the other food the blond had bought. They talked a little as they ate, but Spike didn't bring up the prediction he received from the fortuneteller. He didn't want to worry the younger male about it.

       Once they were finished eating, the two only stayed up for a little while longer before deciding to go to bed. Unfortunately, Spike wasn't able to get to sleep so easily. His mind continued to dwell on the fortuneteller's foretelling. He tried to expel the thoughts from his mind, but no matter how hard he tried, the thoughts continued to creep back into his mind. It took him a few hours before he was finally able to get to sleep.

       Spike was the first one up the following day. As soon as his eyes opened to rest on the ceiling, the prediction instantly returned to his mind. The dark-haired boy started to think about it, trying to think of how all three of them would die. However, no matter how hard he thought about it, there was no way of telling; it was impossible to figure it out. The only way he would be able to find out would be for them to fight Blade, but by the time that happened, it would be far too late for either of them to possibly survive.

       A heavy sigh escaped Spike's mouth before he looked down towards the sleeping boy. He wasn't as concerned about his own life as he was Skylar's. Spike cared about the blond a lot, and he didn't want to see him die. If there was any possible way for him to prevent it, he would, even if it would cost him his own life.

       Skylar was awakened by pain that surged through his body when the older male had placed a hand on his arm. His face contorted into a small grimace for a moment before he opened his eyes. Ignoring the pain, he looked up towards Spike and smiled a little. Spike smiled back and the two exchanged greetings. They laid there for a couple more minutes, kissing each other every so often, before deciding that they should get ready to leave.

       Once they got something small to eat, they left the town and continued their way eastward. The large plains continued beyond the horizon, seemingly never ending as they continued to inch their towards Fairwell. When it grew night, the city wasn't in sight. However, Spike knew that they were close, and he figured that it would be wise to stop for the night. If they continued any further, they could possibly get too close, and he didn't want Blade to know that they were nearby, or otherwise he would probably kill them while they slept.

       The two boys sat in the open field. The campfire they made for the night crackled and illuminated the area. Skylar sat close to the other male, but he kept far enough away so he was barely in arm's reach. He loved Spike, but right now Skylar was in too much pain to really be able to show that love in any kind of way other than words, and he didn't want the dark-haired boy to find out about his condition because he didn't want him to worry. However, as minutes passed, the pain seemed to continue to increase while the blond sat there. Feeling too uncomfortable to sit anymore, Skylar looked around and spotted a small lake not too far from where they were. He stood up and looked towards Spike.

       “Give me your canteen,” said Skylar. “I'll go fill it up.”

       Spike nodded and handed the other boy his canteen. He watched Skylar walk towards the lake for a little bit before his gaze went skyward. His thoughts returned to the foretelling he received the previous day. They were close to reaching Fairwell, which meant that it wouldn't be too much longer until they fought Blade.

       It was indubitable that the three deaths were him, Skylar, and Blade. However, Spike figured he would change that. Sure he would end up dying, but if he could somehow prevent the blond from suffering the same fate, then it didn't really matter to him. Spike planned on going to fight Blade himself so that the blond wouldn't have a chance of dying in the fight. Of course, there was no way Skylar would willingly agree to that, and Spike knew it. It seemed like the only way for him to do this was to take the Light Blade and go once Skylar was asleep.

       Skylar returned with the canteens a couple minutes later. After handing Spike his canteen, he sat down near him. Spike scooted closer to him and put an arm around him. Skylar smiled and rested his head on the dark-haired boy's shoulder. Unfortunately, the pain became too unbearable after about half a minute passed and the blond removed his head from Spike's shoulder, but still kept close to the other male.

       The two remained sitting there. They talked a little bit as they watched the flames dance. After a few minutes, Spike looked towards Skylar for a moment before leaning in to kiss him. Their eyes fluttered close and the dark-haired boy reached a hand up to caress the blond's cheek. Pain surged through Skylar as this happened, but he completely ignored it. However, there was something he noticed about the kiss. It almost seemed like Spike was making it as though it was going to be their last kiss – like he was saying goodbye. When the older male pulled away, Skylar looked at him with a slightly puzzled look. Spike saw this and looked away before the blond could possibly read any of his thoughts.

       “I love you,” Spike told him.

       “I love you too,” the blond said back, forgetting about how Spike kissed him.

       They remained awake for a little while longer before Skylar decided to head to bed. Spike put out the fire before the two laid down. The blond was close to the other boy, but not too close to where their bodies were touching. He wouldn't have been able to handle the pain that would be caused from it.

       Spike remained laying their on the ground. He didn't bother closing his eyes because he didn't want to take a chance of falling asleep, but he instead kept his gaze on the starry sky above. Every now and then he glanced towards Skylar, trying to figure out if he was asleep or not. After about fifteen minutes of waiting, Skylar propped himself up with an elbow and looked towards the younger male for a few seconds.

       “Skylar, you awake?” he asked quietly.

       There wasn't a response. Spike reached over the sleeping boy and grabbed the sheathed Light Blade that was sitting their on the ground. Before he was able to bring it towards him completely, however, Skylar grabbed onto the sheath to stop Spike before turning over to look towards him.

       “What are you doing?” Skylar asked as he sat up.

       The dark-haired boy didn't answer.

       “Spike?” the blond said.

       “. . .Goodbye, Skylar.”

       Before the blond had a chance to respond, Spike sent a fist crashing down on his head to knock him out. He pulled the Light Blade away from the now unconscious boy before standing. After attaching the sheathed Twin Blades to his waist, Spike looked down at Skylar.

       “I'm sorry, but it's for your own good,” he explained as if the blond was able to hear him.

       Spike then turned away from Skylar and began making his way eastward towards Fairwell.