Bryan Davis - Eye of the Oracle

Palin limped toward the front door. “I’ll get the gas.”

As the last of Gabriel’s sparks winked out, his outer extremities stretched toward the candlestone. He tried to resist, but his confused atoms did little to defy the gem’s power.

Devin turned on his own flashlight. Some of the beam’s particles seemed to break away and trickle in the opposite direction. “Your mother hid her tracks well, but not well enough.”

After returning with a gasoline can, Palin splashed the contents over the furniture and rugs. Pausing for a moment, he set the can down and picked something up from the floor. The clump of material draped over his hand looked like one of Ashley’s rag dolls.

Gabriel cried out in his mind. Now they would know about Ashley, and they would comb the forest until they found her!

Glancing at Devin, Palin stuffed the doll under his surcoat and continued his morbid job. When the last drops drained out on the hallway carpet, he handed Devin a glass bottle with a rag sticking out of the top.

As Gabriel stretched toward the candlestone, Devin stomped on the carpet. “I know you’re still around here somewhere.” He raised the bottle. “Ever heard of a Molotov cocktail? When your mother returns, Palin and I are going to propose a toast, thanking her for donating her blood to our cause. If our little explosion doesn’t kill you, then I guess nothing will.”

Gabriel strained against the candlestone’s relentless pull. With the slayer standing right over him, the gem seemed to lasso his body and drag him upward. He finally gave in. As he flew toward the glittering crystal, the room stretched out into warped colors and disappeared.

Bonnie Conner

August, 1995 A.D.

"Gabriel? Can you hear me?”

The eerie voice seemed unearthly, yet familiar. Gabriel opened his eyes but could see only darkness. He turned his head to one side. With a veil of blackness in view, he couldn’t tell if he was standing, sitting, or lying down.

“Over here, Gabriel.”

He swiveled his head to the other side. A bright humanoid shape reached a shimmering hand over his brow.

Gabriel whispered, “Merlin?”

“Yes. It’s time for you to wake up.”

Gabriel stood and shook his head, clearing his foggy mind. “Wake up? How long have I been sleeping?”

“Ever since you reentered the candlestone seven years ago.”

“Seven years? How could I sleep for seven years?”

“Because of necessity and mercy.” Merlin pointed a radiant finger at him. “Your energy was nearly spent in your battle with Devin and Palin, so you needed to recharge. Sleeping was also an act of mercy, for wandering here for years on end is not exactly a pleasant experience.”

“I remember shocking the slayers, but ” An image of Palin drenching furniture with gasoline flashed in his mind. “Merlin!” he shouted with his static-filled voice. “Did they kill my parents?”

“I’m afraid so.” Merlin laid a hand on Gabriel’s shoulder. “Yet, there is still hope for them, and we must work together to salvage what we can.”

“There’s hope?” Gabriel rolled his fingers into fists. “What do I do? Where do I go?”

“Patience. The path to their restoration is not straightforward. First we must take care of the dragon offspring.”

“Like Ashley? She got away, didn’t she?”

“Ashley is in no danger. Her grandfather adopted her and changed her last name to his own. Since her dragon traits are not easy to detect, she will not attract the slayer’s attention.”

“That’s a relief.” Gabriel relaxed his fingers. “So do I get to guard her again? I managed to save her, didn’t I?”

“There is no doubt that you saved Ashley’s life.” Merlin’s bright silhouette paced in front of Gabriel. “After losing Shiloh, you rebounded well as a guardian angel.”

“Thanks. I know I’m not a real angel, but sometimes I felt like I was supposed to be. It’s hard when you can’t always figure out what to do.”

“Intelligence must mingle with wisdom and shrewd planning.” Merlin stopped and touched Gabriel’s chest with his glowing finger. “You cannot rely on your physical field alone. Electricity manipulation is limited and dangerous.”

“I know. It’s sort of shocking, too.”

Merlin’s energy field flashed red. “Very funny. You almost disintegrated, and now you’re making jests.”

“Right.” Gabriel bowed his head. “Sorry.”

Merlin slowly faded back to dazzling white. He floated to the darkest part of the chamber and knelt next to a fissure in the floor. “I awakened you, because you are likely now strong enough to leave the candlestone.”

“I feel strong.” Gabriel knelt beside him. “Trust me. I’ll get out somehow.”

“And you must. Your next assignment awaits.”

“Next assignment? Do you mean I can’t watch over Ashley?”

“You may visit her from time to time, because your new charge lives within a reasonable distance. But you must not let your concern for Ashley distract you from focusing on Bonnie.”

“Bonnie?”

“Yes.” Merlin rose to his feet. “Bonnie Conner is the daughter of Irene, formerly Hartanna. She has a wonderful dragon trait that has only recently become obvious, and her parents will now have to hide it to keep the slayers at bay.”

“What trait does she have?”

“You’ll soon find out.” Merlin gestured for Gabriel to stand. “Come, let us expand our vision, and I will show you where Bonnie lives. Then, you must leave this place and become her guardian angel.”

Gabriel glided up to the two-story Victorian home, flapping his wings as he ascended the three wooden porch steps. Although his movements did nothing to propel him, changing his energy boundaries made him feel more alive and less like a floating cloud of invisible gas.

Pausing at the front door, he read the address, 377, each calligraphic numeral illuminated by the rays of the rising sun. He glanced around for a way inside. Weather stripping blocked the crack under the door, so he drifted to the side of the house and focused on a vent, possibly leading to a kitchen stove. Traveling past soot and hot air wouldn’t be fun, but he had entered Ashley’s new home that way.

Shaking his head, Gabriel floated back to the porch. Ashley’s home was where he really wanted to be, and it was only about eight or nine miles away on the other side of Missoula, about an hour’s journey at the pace his thought-induced locomotion provided. This assignment would be so different. Bonnie and her parents were strangers. What if she turned out to be a brat? Or a stuck-up princess, smug and proud as she strutted about in her latest fashions?

Gabriel peered in through a window that abutted the door. Standing beside a coat rack in the foyer, a woman helped a little girl adjust a backpack, checking the zippers multiple times and smoothing out the wrinkles in her sweatshirt. The woman grabbed a jacket from the rack, and the two headed for the door.

As Gabriel backed away, the door flew open. Swinging a Winnie-the-Pooh lunch box, the girl bounced out and ran right through Gabriel. The woman followed, laughing. “Bonnie! Wait! What’s your hurry?”

Bonnie spun around and backpedaled toward the street, her blonde hair streaming in the stiff breeze. “If I’m late for my first day, the teacher might not like me!”

“Who wouldn’t like you, silly girl?” Her mother caught up and took her hand. “Anyway, the bus won’t be at our corner for another five minutes. There’s plenty of time.”

As mother and daughter walked hand in hand along the sidewalk, Gabriel followed close behind. Bonnie seemed nice enough, far from what he had feared. No bratty princess could ever produce her smile so pure, so genuine, the image of youthful innocence. Her mother, of course, had to be Irene, the former dragon who once bore the name Hartanna. She seemed dutiful and friendly, another welcome discovery.