The Seasons

Chapter 30

When everyone was here, except for Winter and Aether, they began to feel agitated. “I don’t understand,” Rosalyn groaned. “If all of us can be here on time, why can’t they? And this isn’t like Aether who-”

“Hello,” Aether said, his soft voice travelling as he appeared in the archway. “Sorry, we’re late.” All eyes landed on Winter, who was being held up by the mer-man as he was too drunk to stand alone. Wing could smell the Moonshine from there, and so could he from how Micah was scowling at him.

Blue clapped their hands, their blonde hair was tied up, and Warren was standing beside them, staring at their lover. “So, although it was blurry, I figured out what the pictures were saying thanks to Will, who helped me enhance them. So, what I would like to say is we’re all f*****g screwed. If you thought last time was bad, oh, it’s about to get a lot worse. And where the f**k did Cairo even get this from? It look like a journal.”

“Nibi,” Jem groaned. “We almost died last time, How could it be wrose?”

“Don't jinx it,” Summer snapped, waving his hands. “Don’t jinx it.” Autumn frowned as he looked down at him but said nothing. Wing frowned too; Summer had been acting odd these past two weeks; he hadn’t bought up the fact Autumn was getting married, which he was so sure he would; anyone could see Summer had enormous feelings for him. Sometimes, he would zone out too.

“I don’t know how Cairo managed to get the pictures, but they’re from a book. A book I thought had been lost hundreds of years ago. Crys has mentioned this book to me before, and how it was the only copy of it because it talks about blessings by someone who had one. Blessings given by gods and is either a curse or a gift. Chaos has blessed someone before Slaine and this is his journal. No one knows what happened to the man; some say the gift turned into a curse, and it devoured him. Slaine, you need to keep your emotions in check.”

Slaine hesitated as his eyes snapped to the mirror; he glared at his reflection before staring at Blue. “Well, they’re off. So, I don’t know what else I can do.”

“Slaine, no,” Blue said gently; they took a step forward, and Slaine took one backwards, eyeing them. Blue hesitated but put their hands up, smiling as they stood still. “You need to turn them on. The longer they’re off, the more complex the fall will be. Everything you would have felt over the course of five years you would feel in minutes.”

Slaine glanced in the mirror as he swallowed a little. “It’s okay. I’ll be fine.”

“Why are we all f*****g screwed, Nibi? We need to know.”

“I haven’t fully deciphered the language yet, but I thought I should let you know from what I have. The book recounts a prophecy. Well, multiple.”

“A prophecy?” Micah asked. “What kind of prophecy? And multiple?

“One that could either save the world, or destroy it.”

“Oh, so now we’ve moved on from us dying to the world dying, great,” Jem grumbled, and Grey sighed as he patted his arm.

Blue frowned as they ran a hand through their blonde hair. “It gets worse.”

“Of course it does,” Rosalyn deadpanned. “Because why wouldn’t it?”

“Somehow Slaine and The Seasons seem to be in the middle of it all.”

Slaine scowled, his purple eyes narrowing. “No, what the hell? Don’t drag me into this again.”

Blue sighed. “I’m sorry, I’m still working on translating, but I managed to translate one line for the one picture that was the least blurred.”

“One line?” Jem spluttered, his blue eyes widening. “There’s more than one?”

They nodded. “It almost looks like a recipe; the squiggles on the side look like numbers. This one had no number, so I assume it is the title of this so-called prophecy. It’s titled ‘The burning will occur in the light of the celestial.’”

The silence that drowned the room was loud. Wing looked around, trying to see if anyone looked as confused as he felt, but he didn’t think so. Micah was frowning, staring at the ground, and Alexander was repeatedly blinking. Slaine had his usual blank face but stared at the mirror rather than the ground. Aether was staring at Winter, who had a drunken smile. And so on. All appeared lost in thought before the volume reached new heights, causing Wing to wince and cover his ears.

“What the f**k does that even mean?”

“The world’s doomed, boys. We’re gonna die,” Atticus deadpanned in a monotone voice.

“Can we go home?”

“A god? I think evil fuckery is afoot here.” Wing frowned as he stared at Jasper at the last comment, and the human shrugged. “I’m not wrong. Evil fuckery is afoot.”

“Well, at least we don’t have to travel half way across the country this time.”

Blue sighed as they ran a hand through their hair, causing some pale strands to fall from the bun. “I know everyone is overwhelmed, but I focused more on the Blessing’s page than the prophecy. The blessing seems to be at the centre of this curse, so I figured it’d put all my time into that. I’m not finished with the translation yet, I’m waiting for Crys to bring me a few books, but when I have the translation of Blessing’s page, I will let everyone know.”

Slaine scowled. “So, let me get this straight. I am, once again, involved in something that will kill me, but instead of it being Grey and Jem also being wrapped up in this mess, it’s The Seasons. And, Chaos has blessed someone before me and they’re also a part of this.”

Blue nodded gently. “That is correct, which is why, Slaine, I would like to borrow your neck-”

“No,” he snapped, taking a step back from everyone. “I’ve already said no. You can’t take them from me, Blue. And the next time you ask, I’ll make you wish you didn’t.” Warren’s eyes flashed red, and surprisingly Jasper glared at the older man; as he stepped in front of Slaine, Kevin sighed at his lover before standing beside him, also protecting Slaine.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” Winter said, slurring his words a little as he held onto Aether to stand up straight. “I get; we’re all very pissy here. But I don’t think turning on one another is gonna help. Blue, Slaine’s right. He’s already said no; you can’t force him. And Slaine, stop being such an ass that resorts to violence every time.”

“Wise words from the one who can’t even stand up, sit down, will you,” Rosalyn snapped as she pushed her brother off of the black couch and pointed at it. Winter stumbled over to take a seat; Aether silently moved so he was standing beside him.

“I know we’re all a tiny bit terrified,” Neo said, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “But why don’t we all take a breather, hm? We can wait for Cairo. I have texted him, and the little s**t is usually good at replying.” Wing’s eyes narrowed at that. If he was so good at texting, why wasn’t he replying? It further proved his point that something wasn’t right and that Thorne didn’t care was concerning. “So, he’s the one who sent it, so he will know more about it, in the meantime, Blue can work on translating more. So, if you wanna stay and laze around, I’m sure Blue and Warren wouldn’t mind, otherwise, you’re free to go.”

~*~