Chapter II, Reading 4

"Why scared?" Leudh was quick to ask.  "Is there something wrong?"

She nodded her head slowly.  "I'm beginning to sense a great evil and it's..."  Flindra dug the toe of her boot into the fallen leaves.  "It's looking for me.  That’s why I'm afraid, Leudh.  In truth, I'm more afraid than I've ever been in my life."

A frown of concern crossed Leudh's features as he gazed at his sister.  "How do you know this?"

"It started in my dream last night.  I kept having the same nightmare over and over.  It got so bad, I left my bed to keep from returning to the dream."

Leudh's frown deepened.

"For some reason, I felt compelled to gaze into the crystal to see if I could discover anything from it."

"The crystal Kewero gave you?"

Flindra nodded and had a distant look in her eyes.  "When I gaze into the crystal I see things.  My mind is pulled into a realm of colored lights and visions of people and places.  I see things that I should have no way of knowing.  The first time I looked into the crystal I discovered that I need to search for Kewero somewhere in the Northern Reaches."

"That seems harmless enough."

She shook her head.  "That's only the beginning.  I also see people and places and I feel in my heart that I’m seeing glimpses of my future.  It changes sometimes; my fate must not be completely foretold, but it seems that I'm the focus of a terrible conflict somewhere in our future."  She swallowed hard.  "There is evil, a terrible, monstrous evil aiming to destroy us all.  I know, somehow, I'm going to be involved fighting this evil and that's why it's looking for me."

"Looking for you?"

"It's like a terrible hunter seeking out my presence.  It hasn't found me yet, but it's searching for me." 

"Are you certain?"  A look of doubt crossed his features.  "Do you truly believe what you see in this crystal?"

Flindra took note of the look.  "I do believe it, Leudh.  I've asked the Spirit to be with me and to guide me and I really believe this is the truth."  She swallowed hard.  "My awareness of the monstrous evil was even more acute in the crystal's vision than in my dreams."  Flindra shuddered and closed her eyes.

Leudh slipped his arm around her shoulders to give her support.  "Is there more?"

"The crystal kept showing visions of a terrible darkness descending over the world as if it was showing me what will happen if we lose our fight with this evil.  What if I don't do the right thing?  What if I'm not equal to my fate?  What if I fail in this fight and condemn the world to disaster?"  She looked at him and tears touched her eyes.  "What if I don't do the right thing?" she reiterated.

"Flin, I think you'll make the right move when the time comes if indeed you must face this trial at all.  Ask yourself something, though, did you ever know Papa or Momma to make a wrong decision when they arrived at some important question in their lives?  Did you ever see them too afraid to do what they had to do?"