I dream, I'm standing at the end of a pathway that leads through a stone city. The buildings nearby are small and cramp. The lifeless gray stone is chipping away from battle scars. Sweet copper perfumes the air, at the same time making it thick and heavy in my lungs. I try to cough, but it doesn’t help. The copper attaches to my insides like its apart of me. Maybe it is.
The city is empty. And I don't just think they left in a hurry, I know they did. A potted plant near by is tipped over, a doll that got left behind in the street, and wooden benches broken in half. -All signs of a stampede. But, that's not how I know they left in a dash. Its the lingering dark, evil feeling that is roaming in and out of the buildings. Seeping through the windows, and cracks of the walls. Something did this... someone did this.
I should leave. But I can’t help myself, I long to see more. To know more. I lean forward to step on the cobblestone, when a howling scream suddenly reminds me of who I am. – Short, weak little me. There is nothing about me that’s amazing and can fight back. If I ever was in trouble, all I would have is a scram. And even that is weak.
Another scream hits me straight through the heart. I'm painfully aware of the rock cliff behind me. Just a short distance away from the city limits is a tall rocky mountain, that stretches on for miles. I've got no where to run. No where to hide.
“Breathe.” I tell myself as the panic creeps up my spine. But I can't move, even if I want to. I'm suddenly planted in place, my legs clamp tight and my knees buckle. I try to take a step backwards and forwards. But Nothing. Whatever holds me, holds me tighter than I've ever felt before. My blood curls as it runs through my body. I know without a doubt. I’m trapped.
My eyes focus on the corner of the street, where a sulphurous black smoke emerges. -Chocking the life out of a small flower. It moves towards me, slowly as if it knows I'm here. -stuck and helpless. Something tells me not to let that smoke touch me. I try to move again, but my legs don’t agree. I gasp and reach down to drag my legs, but I don't find my legs. My hand lands on the shoulder of the same short old man from my other world. The same man whose warning still lingers in my mind. “You are in grave danger.” My heart pounds in my chest. “You MUST find the other stars before it’s too late.” He's calmer now than in the theater. However, the crease in his forehead is becoming more prominent.
“What is it?” My voice comes out softer than I expect. Almost a muffle sound.
He doesn't respond
The smoke slowly slithers through a doorway. It moves like a snake searching for something. As it infects the city. More howls echo on the near by building -I quiver, at the thought that someone is within the strangling grip of that smoke.
“Who is it?”
The old man reaches out his arms, and spread his fingers wide. Two loud booming sparks shoot from his fingers like fireworks. I hold my ears tightly, but it doesn’t drown out the fact that the booming sound bounces around us, as it makes its way to a tall building window. Once it reaches the window at the top, the sparks explode into blue fire. Glass sores out of the window seal and crash into tiny peace in front of the smoke. The smoke stops in the doorway and turns towards the tall building. Slowly it sizzlers to the building and begins to follow the blue sparks.
“This is not good. Not good at all.” The old man mutters as he turns quickly and scurries off to the rocks behind us.
“Wait!” I call after him. But there’s no need. The minute the old man gets four feet away from me, my body slides to his side with ease. I was wrong. I’m not planted to the ground. I’m glued to him.
He makes his way to a rocky cave near the cliff side. – pulling me along with him. The cave has dark sparkles that seem to be glistening in the moonlight. At least in the small glimpse of what is left of the moonlight. The smoke covers the sky just as much as the city. I slip past him as he begins to close a solid rock door with a wave of his hand. Another scream belts out from the smoke, the shriek of the voice hits me like a lightning bolt. But he doesn’t pause as he slams the door hard. With another wave of his hand, five locks attach themselves around the door.
I stand there frozen trying to breathe, which is almost useless in the thick air. “Where are we?” I sigh with my muffled voice.
The man runs past me without a word.
“Your highness, he’s here!” Unlike my voice, his voice sings into the night.
He scurries up to a stone table in the middle of the room, where a young girl stands, focusing on a thick leather book. The book is tarnished, and tethered. She licks her fingers carefully before turning the page.
She is breathtaking. Deep silver dances within her long black waves of her curls. Her silver dress flows over her perfect body and her heart-shaped face is perfect for the low crown that wraps around her forehead. The crown is almost too thin- I can barely tell it’s there. But it swoops down on her forehead, as if it is a part of her. Part of the power she carries with her.
“Ada.” The old man says again after she doesn’t lift her head to him.
I can hear the panic in his voice. But she licks her fingers once more and turns the page to the book.
“Ada!” The old man grows inpatient.
“What is it Thoms?” Ada's voice rings like tiny bells, with the same clear tone that Thoms has.
“They’re almost here!” Thoms yells anxiously.
“Is everyone out?” Ada says calmly.
“Yes. Ammon has taken them past the cliffs.” Thoms says quickly. He takes a deep breath and says. “Are you sure, you don't need more guards? I could call him back.”
“I'm afraid that Zailor has made that impossible. He has put the Gilingtons into extinction, and with that, gaining many of our powers.” She licks her fingers and moves down a page in her book. “My path is set, Thoms”
“But we can protect you, your highness.”
“He will not stop until he has me.” Ada’s voice is strong and powerful. It feels as if the mountain moves with her. She takes a deep breath. “Would you put to death the rest of us, for my sake?”
I can tell she doesn’t really want him to answer that question. But that doesn’t stop him from fighting for her life.
“No. Of course not. But I will not sacrifice my queen either.”
“You may leave if you wish.”
Thoms’s eyes growls at Queen Ada. “I have not failed my queen in 642 years. I did not fail your mother. I will not fail you.”
The Queen and Thoms stand there staring at each other for a moment. I’m not sure exactly what their expression is. - Anger with a little gratitude, maybe.
More howling screams come from outside and circles within the cave. Both Ada and I shudder. Ada shakes her head a little. “We don't have much time. If you're going to stay, you’re going to have to help.”
“Are you sure you want to do this? This will leave you defenseless.” I can tell Thoms thinks Ada is foolish. It drips off every word he says. But Ada doesn’t seem to notice. Or maybe she’s use to his attitude and just doesn’t care any more.
“It's the only way to keep everyone safe. If Zailor takes my powers, there will be no one to stop him.”
“But it killed your mother.”
Ada takes a moment to ponder a little, but she shakes it off. “He will get the eye Thoms. I wont be a part of that.” She firmly confirms.
“But-”
“Promise me Thoms!” Ada interrupts.
The fear in Thoms eyes grows deeper when Ada words reaches his understanding. He shakes his head with a silent no.
“Promise me that you’ll do everything you can to stop him from getting my powers.”
Thoms head is still shacking.
“Please.” Ada says softly. “Please save us all.”
“I …” Thoms stubbles “I promise your highness.” He bows his head in defeat. “All that I can.”
Ada smiles and nods just a little.
"I am going to open the mountain. As soon as I do that, they’ll know where we are.”
Thoms nods his head. “I'll be ready!” He run back to the doorway and with another swing with his hand, an orange magical liquid shield swells around the cracks of the door and encircles it.
“Um.... excuse me?” I try to grab some kind of explanation for what is going on. But neither Thoms nor Ada looks at me. I am grasping more and more onto the idea that I'm in some kind of ultra-reality.
Ada's hair glows even more silver as a loud thumping sound comes from outside.
“He's here.” Ada speaks softly
“Who’s Zailor?” I demand in my muffle voice. But again no one notices.
Ada is back to her book in a flash. She waves her hand to the glass bottles on a nearby wall. Four bottles fly to her quickly, as soon as they reach the table she gives her hand a little twist. The bottles wave over the table and then tip slowly over; each one sprinkles themselves onto table. Ada snaps her fingers and blue fire sparks, almost taking over the table itself.
“Come out. come out, where ever you are.” A creepy, scratchy voice lurks inside the cave. It has to be Zailor. His voice sounds like he’s standing right behind me. I turn around quickly, but, he's not there.
“There is nowhere to run.” Zailor continues.
Neither Ada nor Thoms respond to his scratchy voice.
“Thoms prepare for the destroyers.” Ada says as she positions herself behind the table.
Thoms runs over to the other side of the table. Leaving the orange shield next to the doorway; he reaches up his hands ready for the pending attack.
“I call to the North, East, West, and South Stars.” The Mountain cracks above my head, as Ada speaks. “I call across the lands to find the purest good.” The cave stretches thin. “I call to those who would save us. I call to the stars to protect us all!”
Ada reaches her hands up to the roof of the cave. The caves blows off like a feather in the wind.
“Aseen, Starklen, Crossow!” Ada’s voice echoes in the night’s sky.
But nothing happens. She looks down at the book with her face wrinkle with worry.
“It must be the darkness.” Ada crys “It’s not letting me through.” Her eyes are terrified as she looks at Thoms.
“Try again.” Thoms encourages.
Ada turns back to the sky and says again even louder “ASEEN, STARKLEN, CROSSOW!”
Suddenly the darkness turns quickly to the mountainside. It knows where we are now. Loud screams of what only the destroyers could make, come running towards us.
“They heard you!” terror runs through Thoms’s voice.
“I don’t understand!” I scream and run over to Ada’s side. “Aren’t they already here?” neither one answers me. Part of me wants to beg, but I know that won’t work. They can’t see me, or hear me.
Ada cries into the sky again. “ASEEN, STARKLEN CROSSOW!” This time, her voice reaches further; escaping the thick dark smoke. Not sure how I know this. I can just feel it deep inside my bones.
A loud noise comes echoing into the room, I grab my ears and duck into my knees. Black world-win creatures came running up to the hole Ada created. Thoms shields them from entering the cave. –they are crazed and wild, thrashing against the shield. But I can’t see them well. A strong wind flew into the cave when Ada’s last cry went out. Inside the cave the wind sreams around us, tossing me back-and-forth. Ada nor Thoms move an inch. But I am being yanked from the room, along with the left over bottles on the wall.
I scream and reach for a large rock near my feet. I can feel my body begin to rise with the force of the wind.
Four lights shoot into the cave like rockets. Ada waves her arms again, and the ceiling encloses around us. - leaving the world-win creatures outside. They shriek with fury. The high pitch of their voices painfully rings in my ears. I hold my ears tightly again. The wind still circles the room, but I’m not flying away any more. The lights fly inside the cave and I know what they doing, what they're thinking. -a way out, must get out.
“NO!” Zailor shrieks.
A bang lands hard on the other side of the door. The locks hold on strong, but I fear not for long. The door crumbles with the next blow. The shield, however, holds its place. Thoms darts back to the shield and clasps his hands out to support the shield. His body is hard and tense. He’s face to face with Zailor. As more shrieks from the creatures come even louder now that the door is open.
“You can’t stop it.” Zailor laughs. His voice make a shiver run down my spine.
Zailor emerges into full view, and I suddenly know exactly who he is. It’s the creepy guy that stands outside my window. He’s tall, with short dark hair and a five o'clock shadow across his face. He has a startling smile plastered on his face. His sharp blue eyes dart into the cave and end on Ada. Ada doesn’t turn her face to look at him, which seems to make Zailor fury with aggravation.
“Now, I need something strong.” Ada whispers. She looks around the room anxiously.
“Don’t be a fool” Zailor shouts. “You have nowhere to run.”
Ada peers at her ring and relief stretches across her face. She yanks her ring off, and then an armband that’s wrapped around her right arm. She unlocked a necklace around her neck and her crown around her forehead. She tosses them all into the blue flames and continues with her spell.
“The North star.” She waits until one of the lights swoops over to the flames on the table, before continuing. “To Guide them all!” She shouts over the wind that’s being whirled by the other lights.
The blue fire explodes into the sky, engulfing the light that lingers above the table. I fall backwards away from the table and Ada. But I quickly regain my balance.
“NO!” Zailor shouts as he twists his right hand.
A red fireball appears over Zailor’s hand, with a twist of his hand. He throws the fireball at Thoms’s shield. The shield holds, but wavers a little. Zailor smiles again at the sight of the shield moving. He twists his hand again and starts throwing fireballs faster and harder at the shield. Terror flew through my body and I don't resist screaming. – Thankful, they can’t hear me.
Ada continues. “The East star to Shield them!” another light sparks and darts into the flames.
The wind blows even harder. Almost a tornado coming from the last two stars. I feel their panic deep inside of me as they sway around the cave crazed like. They don’t belong in this cave. Neither do I. The ground starts to shake underneath my feet, my legs give away. I grab for the table, but it’s too hot. I stubble backwards to the edge of the cave. And I try not to let my entire body shack when I realize it's closer than I thought.
The destroyers crazed look keep me locked in place. I barely see Zailor’s fireballs hitting the shield because the destroyers took their place. Attacking and slashing on the shield as if it's a thin piece of paper. It's not going to hold. I thing. But I can’t bring myself to say anything.
Just then, the Shield dose give away, and burst open, revealing us. Destroyers ran full force towards Thoms. But Thoms jets backwards with lightning speed. He lands near my side and waves his arms again.
Another shield burst open. Thoms pushes hard on the shield and traps the destroyers half way into the cave. He moves quickly – faster than I thought could be possible. He pushes harder and moves them back just a little.
“Hurry your Majesty!” Thoms’s voice cracks.
I scurry behind Ada, just as she shouts again. “The South Star to Heal them and the West to defend them!”
The destroyers push against the shield, making Thoms slide across the floor.
Zailor growls at Thoms. “Move out of the way! Or I’ll kill you myself and take these percusses shields with me."
“I give my powers to these stars, and send them to their true owners!” Ada cries as she glares at Zailor through Thoms shield.
The blue fire burst high into the air. sparking to the top of the sealing and then back down encircling Ada within its grasp.
“NO!” Zailor horrified, gives one large burst with another fireball that breaks through Thoms’s shield and sending him flying across the room. Thoms slams into the wall of the cave and I feel the mountain rumble with anger.
I'm dreaming. I tell myself. I have to be.
I try to move towards Thoms, but I'm stuck between the fire and Zailor. I look closely at Thoms. He's doesn’t move. I can't even see him breathe.
I search the wall until I feel a small space between the fool and the wall. I crawl under it as much as I can. Feeling the pain of the rock dig into me. I don't let up. It's only a matter of time for them to realize I'm there. I bite my lips so the screams inside can't escape.
Just before Zailor reaches the table, the fire bust high into the sky and explodes through the sealing above us. -Knocking destroyers off the rock sides. Four blue flames spark from the fire, shooting through the darkness in the sky, in four different directions.
I can see Zailor’s horrified face as the fire slowly dies down, leaving only Ada, her hair completely black, unconscious upon the table.
“NO!” Zailor loses it. Turning into terror throwing fireballs at the destroyers next him. Panic runs through the room, as destroyers flee. I crouch behind a table even more. Pushing my back deep into the rock. My eyes dart to Thoms and Ada as much as I can see them. They don’t move. Zailor soars quickly around the room, and halts next to me. My heart races, and panic rushes through me like an electric pulse.
I can barely see Ada’s face. But I can see it. Her sweet childlike face is lifeless. Suddenly her eyes snap open. Locking me into a trance. deadly words come out of her mouth. “Get up Jazlyn.”
I wake up with a jolt. My eyes fly open as I wrench myself up. My heart pounds in my chest hard and drops of sweat drips from my forehead. I chock on whatever darkness that's in my room.
“It's just a dream -- I'm safe.” I tell myself. But my heart won’t stop flying.
My room appears to be… strange. I try to focus on why. Everything seems to be in the same place. The picture frames are in the same spot, as I left them. In the dark I can still make out my homework on the desk, and the large glow-in-the-dark stars are still somewhat shinning. But a strange silver glow in the room catches my eye. It’s coming from the star around my neck. My heart skips a beat before speeding up again. I gasp and clinch it with my right hand, as if it’s going to fly off my neck by itself. I need to keep it safe. I hold it tight. I take a deep breath in and listen for the wind outside, it’s struggling to breathe too.
That dream was too real. Too vivid. My skin crawls as the black smoke sneaks back into my mind. I can still feel my insides shake. My throat is dry from screaming and the chill in my room feels just like the small cave.
I let go of my grip on my necklace.- just a little, enough to study it. The color inside the star is bright and gaining power. It’s almost the same color of the blue fire from the dream. But that can’t be.
I take another deep breath, wipe my forehead and take off the covers. I move my eyes from my necklace and focus on the glow-in-the-dark star above the closet. What’s with these people and stars? I try to focus on that thought, but my mind keeps slipping back to the dream and Ada. My heart aches to know more. What happened to her? I tussle to make another ending where she lives. -Where magic flees from her hands, like Thoms, and she attacks Zailor. Where she wins the flight and the stars never overcame her with fire. But my mind won't agree. I struggle with the image of her lying on the stone table. – Lifeless and pail. She’s dead. That I know. Whatever made her eyes pop open wasn’t life.
A strange sound comes from behind the dresser. a thump. -Something hit it. No one could be here - could they? But something tells me I’m not alone. My heart jumps into full speed again. I grab my star even tighter than before.
“Whose there?” I can barely make the words appear.
No one answers.
I’m crazy! I’m losing my freaking mind! I squeeze myself in between the wall and the bed. I slowly reach for the light switch. My arm shack as I stretch. I feel weak and cold. Like any moment I'll pass out just because I can.
“Don't!” The husky voice comes from the corner of the room.
I freeze, waiting to make sure this is really happening. I stare at what must be his foot on the floor, next to the dresser. My mind races from one thing to another. I couldn't stop the shiver running up my spine. My breathing became erratic as sweat drips down my cheek. My body is shacking on its own. Am I still dreaming?
“Zailor?” I whisper.
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