I jolt awake. I feel like I could vomit right there. What was that? Was it a glimpse into the future? Was it just a bad dream?
"It is your destiny," calls a voice from within my head. "Though when the time comes, I hope you will not be quite so emotional as you were in your vision."
The voice belongs to my guide. A spirit that lives within me. The source of my latent magic. But I've never heard it speak so clearly before.
"Today is the day, huh?" I ask, rolling over in my bed and throwing the sheets off of me. I'd sweat nearly through them. A hot night. The nightmarish vision didn't help.
"Yes, August. I am here now. I am fully awake."
That makes one of us, I think to myself. I could use another year of sleep.
"So, Rylin is..."
"It would appear so," my Guide says, the words projecting directly into my brain like thick blots of ink on parchment that then morph into words that sear into the back of my head.
"And Kieran is destined to become my Vessel..."
I rise from the bed, walking across the warm and warped wooden floor to the door leading outside to my balcony. I step outside and inhale the fresh air deeply. It's still morning and the air outside is a touch cooler than the stale air in my room. I exhale and try to calm myself down. The morning air invigorates me and tingles my bare torso.
I glance skyward. A dancing aurora of light and color that provides soothing, cool light to my world. We call it the barrier. It has eternally shielded our town from the darkness outside.
As I stare up at the prismatic barrier that has kept me safe my whole life, I realize that today may be the last day I ever enjoy like this again. My Guide has awoken, and I have received my vision. I know my destiny.
I turn my head. I see my best friend has woken up bright and early too. I can get a good view down the street from my roof, and I see him squirreling around outside his house, probably getting ready to come over here. He looks up quickly, almost like he could sense my gaze. He's still far off, out of earshot, but he does a big dumb wave with both hands. He's always so bouncy and energetic. I don't know where he gets it from. Me, I like to relax...
"You'll have time enough to relax," my Guide says. There's an almost playful tone to its voice.
"Are you going to just read all my thoughts, all the time?" I ponder. There's no response, but I know the answer is yes. After all, the Guide lives inside my mind. I can't very well "turn it off'.
I sit down at the small patio table at the corner of my balcony and run my hands through my hair as I take another deep breath. I'm less worried about Kieran - he wanted to be my Vessel from the beginning. But how am I going to tell Rylin about this? Will she accept it, like she did in my vision?
"Your vision will not come to pass quite how you have experienced it. The power of foresight is a powerful one. Even now, your knowledge of the future has shaped your destiny into a different path."
"What's the point of seeing the future, if seeing it means it will all change?" I wonder this out loud, even though simply thinking the words is enough for my Guide to hear.
"You'll be glad to learn that future sight isn't my strong suit, then. Don't expect to rely on that type of magic too much."
I see that Kieran has finished up whatever he'd been working on over at his house because he's skipping down the street toward my house. I keep an eye on him as my mind floats to a follow-up for my Guide.
"If that's not your forte, what is?"
Instead of a response, vibrant images spawn into my mind. I see myself wielding powerful magic. In the images, I thrust out my hand and the air around me ignites.
"Explosion Magic," I realize, as my mouth curls into an uncontrollable smirk. "I can get behind that."
The moment of awe is short-lived as I remember the other part of my vision. Rylin is to become one with the moon. I'm going to lose her.
"Coming up!" I hear as the front gate of my house creaks open. Kieran runs over to the side of the house. I keep a small ladder there to climb up to my balcony from below. Kieran has always used it as his personal VIP entrance to and from my house.
Kieran's head pops over the railing as he gives me a big smile. His eyes flicker for a moment, looking me up and down. "Jeez, August, I know you're a good-looking guy but put some clothes on!"
I look down at myself. I'd been in such a daze since I woke up I'd hardly realized. I wasn't wearing a thing besides the compression shorts I'd slept in.
"Figured I'd wait for you to get here, so you could admire the view," I tease, standing up and walking back toward my room.
"Cocky, aren't you?" the voice inside my head seems to have some judgments about me already.
I think back to the voice. 'We kid around,' I clarify. He and I have been best friends since we were toddlers. There ain't a thing he hasn't seen already. I suppose that does make him a good candidate for my Vessel, huh?
I find myself back in my room, rifling through my dresser, wondering what to wear. Kieran lingers in the doorway between my room and the balcony. "If you wear that yellow shirt I got you, we can be matchy today," Kieran grinned. I look back at him. Sure enough, he was dressed in a canary yellow shirt and black capris. Black and yellow. His signature color scheme. Matches his spiky blond hair.
"Eh, why not," I say, foregoing my usual maroon and grabbing the shirt I'd gotten for my birthday last year. It's hard to believe that was a year ago already. I'll be seventeen in a month. My birthday is on the first day of August. Today is the first day of July.
I set it aside to find a pair of pants to wear with it, but as I do I feel my entire house begin to shake, violently enough that things begin to fall off the shelves. I grab a hold of the dresser for stability and look to Kieran, horrified.
"Moon quake!?" I exclaim as it becomes more violent and I'm knocked off my feet. I tumble to the side of the room and hit my head on the windowsill. Kieran rushes to me, grabbing me and looking me over nervously. I look to my friend, but behind him, through the open door, I am able to see what's happening. The barrier above us, the only thing that protects us from the darkness beyond... It is shattering.
And all I see from beyond the barrier is a large, glowing, yellow eye - staring right back at me.