Vaalbara; Visions & Shadows by Michelle Horst Page A

cold?”
    “Please Alchera, we have to leave now. If your visions have started then it is of great importance that we leave Earth now! I cannot protect you like this.” He seemed so genuinely worried that I almost believed him.
    I so needed to get into my warm bed and forget about this awful night. “Does it even count what I say, what I feel? You obviously only became my friend for your own gain. What is it? Why do you want me so much? I have nothing of value to offer. I’m nothing remember? Just the freak.”
    Ryan’s face changed in a split second. He looked…menacing. “You are of great worth to us and this dying world! Do not ever speak like that about yourself again! I will not have it!”
    He really seemed to care for me, in his own insane way. ”You tell me I have a family - that I come from some place called Vaalbara. I can’t even cope with my own dreams never mind your twisted stories.” I lifted my chin an inch, to show that I was not a coward.
    I couldn’t believe this was my Ryan standing in front of me acting so mental. But what else was there for me to do but stay calm and do as he said? He had to make a mistake at some point, and then I would try to get away again. 
    “I have been entrusted with your life, Alchera. I have wardship over you until you are back with your parents, and I intend to honor it. I know you are confused and scared, but I will not let any harm come to you. Look into my eyes. You will see that what I am telling you is the truth. I am not your enemy.”
    Look into his eyes. Yeah, right. It was dark out with only a sliver of moon shedding light on us. I pushed softly at his chest, trying to put some space between us, though I couldn’t make him budge. He must’ve taken it as a sign of me rebelling, because he grabbed me.
    Panic took over, but before I could free my arm he slammed me into the icy waterfall; the speed alone took my breath away.
    “May Awo forgive me.” He whispered the strange words with such intensity that I tried to issue one of my own quick prayers.
    No such luck. I didn’t even have time to scream before I was swallowed whole by darkness so thick, that it felt like my head was going to explode from the pressure.
    I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t even think.
                  It’s hard to explain what happened next. I wouldn’t have believed it myself if someone had told me such a story. Nevertheless, it was happening to me. In a split second my life changed forever.
    The thick pulsing darkness slowly released its powerful grip until all I was left with was the water surrounding me. A beautiful blue-green curtain of water.
    Someone pulled me out of the falls just as I began to swallow water. Coughing it out my lungs, I fought the sick drowning feeling.
    “It takes a few times before you get used to shifting. I do apologize. I should have warned you, but you gave me no choice back there.” Ryan’s voice made me snap back to reality. Reality? 
    The bright sunlight made me squint at first, but then my eyes grew wide. What I saw shocked the hell out of me. If I was stunned the first time I saw Ryan, this new vision was an even bigger surprise. His hair was raven black now, and his eyes had turned to a deep, shining violet. He had amethysts for eyes, and was no longer a teenager. The vision who stood before me was all man - a man who took the breath from my lungs.
    I couldn’t stop staring. I shook my head hard. No matter how good he looked I never wanted to see him again. I had to remind myself how he’d led me on…how he’d practically kidnapped me.
    “You’ve changed. Your voice… it’s… I’ve heard…” I tried to make sense of what was happening to me.
    The familiar lazy smile began to creep up at the side of his perfectly formed mouth, making me all the more furious with myself. I had to stop noticing these things!
    “I have changed slightly,” his deep voice practically purred. “We have to blend in