Chapter 16
“Now there are 5 of us,” Justin sighed, closing his eyes in exhaustion. “That’s a lot better than 3.”
“You can’t protect yourself on your own?” AJ smirked.
“You should be thankful that I’m tired right now.”
“Suuure Astropuff.”
Shawn snickered before he could stop.
“Hey I’ll get you too.”
“Stop,” Rena said, in the middle of a jaw-breaking yawn. “Just sleep. Hopefully this “shield” will last through the night.”
“Of course it will,” JC said indignantly. “I made it.”
“That’s what I’m concerned about.”
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AJ and Shawn sat in their part of the tent in the late night. They talked together, catching up.
“AJ?”
“Yeah?”
“…I’m scared,” Shawn said finally.
“Don’t worry about it Shawn, we’ll get out.”
“No. Not that…the dragons,” he said.
“We can beat em.”
“Yeah I know…but…”
AJ looked at his friend in concern. “But what?”
“They’re claws…their jaws…they’re all made of kyrinite.”
AJ’s stomach twisted and tied. “K-kyrinite? Are you serious?”
“I’m dead serious.”
“But…but then how…”
“What if we get cut?” Shawn blurted. “What if we get separated?” He clung to Pricara tightly in his arms. “I don’t want that to happen AJ.”
“How do they do it?”
“If they see your dæmon, they’ll cut you with their claws.”
The great lioness was trembling against AJ’s chest, and he tightened his grip around her. “No…it won’t happen!”
“AJ…”
“They won’t see her Shawn, I won’t let us be cut…” AJ closed his eyes tight.
“As long as they don’t see our dæmons, we’re ok,” Shawn said softly, stroking Pricara’s rough gray-blue fur.
There was a deafening silence in the shield, and AJ spoke up.
“Shawn?”
“Yeah?”
“Promise me, if I get severed…you’ll…you’ll kill me.”
“What? AJ you know I can’t-”
“Well it’s the same thing isn’t it?” AJ pressed. “I mean, cutting you away from your dæmon? It’s worse than death!”
“I can’t just kill you and live with myself,” Shawn said, shaking his head. He ran his hand through his golden blonde hair. “I won’t do it.”
“Shawn please,” AJ begged. “Living like a zombie isn’t going to help anyone. Promise me. If I get cut…kill me.”
Shawn shook in AJ’s hold and sighed, closing his eyes. “Ok…I promise.”
Pricara and Brianne huddled as close as they could to their humans, the thought of severing frightening them to no end.
Kyrinite was a metal- a metal with the ability to sever the powerful bond between human and dæmon. As AJ had said about all humans having dæmons on Alethior, someone having no dæmon was barely alive at all. Everyone feared kyrinite and it’s ability to cut that bond. Some scientists used kyrinite to sever connections on purpose, because of the indestructible energy the link possessed. They used that energy for experiments, that usually resulted in lifeless humans/dæmons, and failure.
“Don’t worry Bri…I won’t let them near us, I promise,” AJ said, hugging the lioness. A tear streaked down his flawed face and he whispered, “Ipromise.”
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“How big is this forest?” Rena asked absent mindedly, stepping to the side to avoid treading on a rat-like creature.
“Couple miles long,” Shawn replied softly.
Ever since he was rescued, he had stayed by AJ the whole time. Even his dæmon, Pricara, stayed by Brianne, head bowed. They tried hard to make him talk, and for once, it worked.
“Couple MILES? Damnit we’ll never get there,” Rena groaned.
“You’re so encouraging,” JC rolled his eyes. “C’mon, let’s get moving.”
“We HAVE been moving- for the past two WEEKS. Now shut up so we can rest.”
“Don’t be so pushy Astropuff.”
Justin glared at AJ. “See what you started?”
“What can I say? I’m a trendsetter.”
“Ok, so what’re we gonna do when we find the dragons?” JC asked, drawing mindlessly in the dirt.
“Sing.”
“How many dragons are there?”
“Five.” Shawn looked up briefly before looking down again.
“FIVE? How are we supposed to sing to five dragons?” AJ asked, bewildered.
“You can do it,” Shawn said.
“Speakers,” Justin grinned.
“Speakers to amplify the sound!” JC caught on. “J you’re a genius,” he laughed, giving Justin a high five.
“What have I been tellin you guys?” Justin joked, rolling his eyes.
“If you guys amplify the sound too much, the Lurkers and Demons will hear,” Shawn said quietly. “They’ll come to destroy you.”
“But what are the Demons without their leader?”
“They are nothing. But they seek revenge.”
“How loud will that be?” Rena asked.
“About close to maximum.”
“Ok that’s doable,” Justin said. “Can any of you conjure up some speakers?”
“I can,” JC volunteered.
“UGH I wish I could use my magic!” Rena fumed.
“Live with it hun,” AJ joked, biting into a crab apple.
“How much farther till the heart of the forest?” JC asked.
“Couple hours of walking,” Shawn said knowingly. “We should be able to see the fire by then.”
“FIRE?” they chorused.
“Dragons, fire, it’s kinda obvious.”
“So how about we just start singing right before?” AJ suggested.
They nodded and agreed.
“What do we sing?” Justin asked.
They looked at each other.
Then they started to argue.
Rena sat and sighed. Richard Marx, KISS, Nirvana, someone she didn’t know existed, and a couple more names flew into the air. “SHUT UP!”
“Just…sing something.”
“What do we sing?” Justin asked.
Rena closed her eyes, straining to remember any songs she had known…but it was so long ago…
Her eyes flew open. “Sailing.”
“Sailing?”
“By Christopher Cross…I always loved that song, remember Justin?”
He smiled and nodded. “You know, the song, it says it’s not far down to paradise, but damn where are we now?”
“Not in paradise,” JC smiled. “So Sailing it is?”
“How does it go?” AJ and Shawn asked, having never heard it before.
Rena smiled and looked from JC to Justin. “Guys?”
They conversed a little, and counting off, they sang.
“Aaah…aaahh…
It was harmony and melody as they started the song, AJ and Shawn listening carefully. Then JC started to sing.
Well it’s not far down to paradise
At least it’s not for me
And if the wind is right you can sail away,
To find tranquility
Oh the canvas can do miracles, just you wait and see
Baby believe me, ohh…
Justin smiled and began to sing harmony.
It’s not far to Never Never Land
The reason to pretend
And if the wind is right you can find the joy
Of innocence again
Oh the canvas can do miracles
Just you wait and see
Baby believe me
Oh…
Sailing…takes me away
To where I always heard it could be
(I heard it could be)
Just a dream in the wind to carry me
And soon I will be free…
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Soon enough, AJ and Shawn had contributed their voices and harmonies,and the song was complete. At last they were calm and at peace.
As JC finished, “And soon I will be free…yeah…” the forest was silent. And they were unaware of the soul that was watching them.
Brian smiled in joy, his tears evident in his eyes. Shawn was safe, and they would escape. He had been watching for the two hours they had been practicing, and had been entranced by the beauty of the song. He now had the lyrics memorized and he knew he could sing them. His family and friends always told him he had a golden voice.
Sighing to himself, he turned around to go find the heart of the forest so see what danger was ahead. After going just a little ways, he sensed something, and disappeared, only to reappear again at the edge of the forest.
And he gasped.
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“Alright, we’re ready,” Rena smiled brightly, proud of their work. “You guys are wonderful.”
“Ok here’s the speakers,” JC said, displaying his handiwork. “And microphones.”
He handed out the headsets to Shawn, Justin, and AJ, leaving the last one for himself. They were of four different colors- Justin had metallic blue, AJ had gold, Shawn a metallic red, and JC had an electric green. Rena had the hardest job, so she was resting slightly.
“Ok c’mon Rena,” Justin said, prodding her awake.
“Uh wha?”
“Let’s GO,” Justin laughed, pulling her up.
“Alright, alright I’m up!”
“Ok which direction Rena?” AJ asked, turning in place.
“Uh…north, northwest. That way.”
“Got the speakers?” JC said, making sure they each had the amplifiers in their hands. They were to put them evenly around the area, so they could surround the dragons with their sound.
“Ok, so how do we do this? Just start singing?” Justin asked, putting on his headset.
“We’ll count off.”
“Ok.”
AJ and Shawn glanced each other nervously, and trailed at the end of the group. If any of them got severed, well… things happen.
“Hey c’mon,” Rena said, waiting for them. “What’s with you being last all the time AJ?”
“It’s nothin,” AJ brushed it off.
Her gut told her something was wrong, so she asked. “What’s wrong AJ?”
“It’s nothing,” he said again.
“He’s tellin the truth,” Shawn said. “We’ll be up in a sec.”
Rena could sense they wanted her out, so she shook her head and caughtup with Justin and JC.
“She knew we were lying,” AJ said flatly, ducking under a branch.
“How do you know?”
“She just…she just does. She can sorta sense your feelings. Very empathic.”
“Oh.”
“I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” Rena went on. “It’s like…it’s like he’s pushing away.”
“Rena, you’re exaggerating,” JC said.
“Yeah really,” Justin agreed. “It’s none of your business.”
She sighed. “But it feels like it is.”
“Rena, please. Stop that. You’re being a busybody.”
“Whatever.”
“GUYS,” JC hissed, pulling them both back. He pointed ahead. “Fire.”
Surprised, Rena and Justin looked up stupidly. Their eyes sharpened as they backed up slowly. AJ and Shawn had seen their surprise and stopped.
In the forest and in the air, they could see flames- not just red, orange and yellow flames, FLAMES. They were black, they were white, red, pink, orange, blue…it was a rainbow of fire.
“Oh dear lord.”
“How are we supposed to get past this?” Justin asked fearfully.
“Hurry and set up! Don’t step on anything.”
Quickly and swiftly, the young men ran around the circumference of the flames, setting up the speakers and plugging in the 50 foot long cordsfrom their headsets to the amplifiers. AJ and Shawn had commanded their now invisible dæmons to stay unseen in the forest.
Everyone had agreed to let Rena be the one to count off, so they all looked at her, hearts racing, bodies sweating, heads spinning, ready to start singing.
Rena let out a breath and held up her fingers- 1, 2, 3, GO! The harmony of the four voices soon filtered loud and clear through the speakers, and the flames stopped dancing across the leaves of the trees.
She waited until the second verse, hearing five earth shaking thuds, andran, hoping AJ’s Invisibility spell worked to keep her unseen.
Her eyes bulged out of her head when she saw the immense size of the Dragons. One was an emerald color, one sky blue, one majestic purple, a smaller one a crimson red, and the last and most immense one of all was silver. Their scales glinted in the dying fires, their horns andclaws shining, as if warning her that she could be killed in a matter of seconds. Compressing the rising bile in her throat, she made for the center of the area- an ice pedestal with the ring, barely a stub in the middle of it, sticking out. She could practically sense the power radiating from it.
They were halfway through the song as she got over the purple Dragon, making sure only to step lightly on the head-sized scales. Rena stepped down onto the dirt ground and started for the Ice pedestal when she froze.
The eye of the silver Dragon was open and staring at her. The eye was at least a foot long, the iris a pool of greens and blues. She swallowedand backed away.
Rena turned around quickly and jogged softly to the dais. The magic was pulsing through her veins now, and she was desperate to get out of the Forest. The song was starting over again, and she put her hand on the ring.
<><><><><>
Brian’s eyes darted everywhere, and was taken with shock.
“Oh dear lord,” Brian whispered, looking all around him.
It was alive.
The trees, once a murky green and brown, were now spring emerald and auburn. There was grass. There were flowers… there was life.
“How…?” the ghost wondered. His azure eyes widened. “The song.”
The silver sparkles of light danced across the plant life, bringing to its beauty. But. It stopped.
Brian’s eyebrows furrowed, then he disappeared.
<><><><><>
‘Oh no’ AJ thought to himself. He could see the Dragons stir. The music wasn’t enough.
Brianne and Pricara had started to sing along with AJ and Shawn, bringing more power in their song. But its effects were lasting.
Abruptly he felt a bone-chilling cold on his skin and his eyes darted, not skipping a beat of the song. But when he saw who it was he nearly fainted.
Brain gestured to the headset, and then pointed to himself, mouthing, “Get me one!”
AJ finally understood and conjured up another headset, handing it to Brian. Somehow, the ghost could touch it and put them on.
And their song was renewed.
<><><><><>
JC watched anxiously as he sang, louder and louder, and at last her finger smade contact with the diamond of the ring.
It turned out that no special word was needed, only the blood of the ancestors that had possessed it. Serena Rainer now possessed one of the strongest magic in the world.
She grasped the ring and pulled it out, and an eye-blinding light burst from the gap the ring was held. She screamed as the force of it pushed her back into the forest. Luckily she was able to hold the ring in her tightly closed fist.
All the singers stopped, except for one voice. It rang loud and clear through all their speakers, and at first JC was entranced by it, lulled into a calm in his mind. But he shook his head and searched for the source of the voice and Rena.
He took a step, but then his gut pulled at him and he started to sing again. One by one, the others continued the melody of the song as the new voice took lead.
<><><><><>
Shawn gaped as the white light dispersed into glitter, settling on all matter around them. He sang as loud and well as he could while watching the miraculous sparkle.
There was a deafening roar and earth shattering stomps as the Dragons awoke. Their gallant heads snapped in every direction, but they didn’t seem to notice the glitter. They were looking for something else.
The blonde continued to sing, and the glitter’s haze grew stronger, while he stared at the Dragons. The silver one was holding something in its claws. It was Rena.
The men were about to run forward, but the Dragon surprised them. The Dragon set her down gently on her feet. She was surrounded by the immense lizards as she turned frantically, looking for a way out.
Until they bowed.
Miraculously the other 5 men were still singing, and the sparkle was still coming from the hole in the dais. Somehow he knew that the singing was causing the magic to come from the hole. And somehow else, he knew that it was good.
“NOOO!!!”
Shawn and the others stopped singing for a quick second to turn to see Alastor and his minions come running up, only to be seized by the silverdust and screaming toward their deaths.
And so they kept singing.
<><><><><>
Rena gulped as she was met with the ruby eye of the emerald Dragon. These things sure had their colors mixed up.
“W-what do you want?” she asked, her voice barely heard over the commotionand shrieking of the Lurkers.
“We bow to you,” Silver boomed. “Because you possess the ring.”
“We are at your command,” Crimson added. It was a female.
Rena looked at Silver and Crimson to see if there was any difference in genders, and realized that females had no spikes down their backs,and horned tails. She looked them all over and saw that Crimson and Violet were females.
“M-my command?” she asked.
They all nodded.
“Ok um…how do I tell you apart?” she asked.
The Dragons looked at each other and shrugged.
“What do you wish to call us?” Silver asked.
‘Oh this is fun- I get to make up names’
Then she was hit with the memory of the spell she had cast.
Rena let out her breath and walked up to the purple Dragon, setting herhand on the scales of her.
“I name you Violet Beauty.”
Violet Beauty bowed low.
“You shall be Emerald Courage,” she said to the green one. “And you, Ruby Night, Sapphire, and Silverback.”
“What is your command?” Silverback asked dutifully.
“Tell me something. What is this magic around us now?”
“That is something even I do not know,” he said honestly. “But I know that it’s good. And is here to help us.”
She nodded. Then she caught site of a translucent being staring at her. Him having caught her attention, came floating at her at once.
“SERENA!” he cried.
She backed up as the ghost neared. “What?”
“The song…the magic…the Forest.”
“Shall we take care of him?” Sapphire asked, gleam in his eye.
“No, no please, I’m AJ’s friend, Brian.”
Rena froze. “Brian? THE Brian?”
“Well I don’t know about THE…but yes I’m Brian, companion of AJ and Shawn.”
“What are you saying, the song and the Forest?” Rena asked, getting back to business.
“Your song, it caused the magic to come. It’s alive again Serena. It’s becoming a forest of GOOD.”
“What are you talking about? What will happen to everything?” she asked.
“The life will be back again. The trees and the flowers… the good.”
“What about the Demons?” she asked carefully.
Brian nearly shone with joy. “They’re human again! Imagine! Back to themselves!”
“Oh wow…that’s…that’s GREAT!”
“Rena!”
She looked up to see JC and Justin running up to them, speakers and headsets still away.
“Guys! Guess what?”
“We know,” they said smiling.
“This is great! Now we can go home!” Justin laughed, dancing around in his place.
Rena’s smile lessened as she thought about it. Home…it sounded so inviting…and yet it was so alien to her. The two weeks that had lasted nearly forever was ending. And in a way, she didn’t want it to end.
“What’s wrong?” JC asked.
“Uh nothing just…I think I’m gonna miss this place.”
“Are you joking?” Brian asked. “I’m more than ready to get outta here. Two years stuck in an asylum like this is too much for me.”
Rena laughed and shook her head. “What will you be…?”
“I’ll be a ghost…still. But I dunno. Heaven?”
“What is heaven, really?”
“Just a place where we aren’t strangers I guess,” Brian smiled.
Rena smiled back at him. She wished she could have stopped his death, could have known this wonderful man.
She looked down at her ring and looked at Brian.
“Hey Brian…”
<><><><><>
“Gosh I’m gonna miss you guys so much,” Rena laughed, hugging AJ and Shawn close.
“Yeah I’ll miss you too,” AJ smiled, but blinked. He refused to cry over a girl he was merely parting with.
“I love you guys.”
“Love you too.”
“Thanks for saving me,” Shawn whispered. “I owe you my life.”
“It’s nothing. The magic would have saved you anyway,” she smiled, letting go.
Rena turned and faced him. “And you. Thanks for helping.”
Brian laughed as tears streamed down his face. He could FEEL again. Andwhat’s more, his dæmon, Kiara, was back.
“How can that compare to what you’ve done for me?”
“I just do what’s right,” she said, backing away from the embrace.
“I owe you one.” Brian said, crossing his arms.
“Damn right you do,” JC laughed, clapping his shoulder. “She brought you your body back.”
“That ring can do ANYTHING,” Justin shook his head. “Coke, Coke, Coke! HA! I LOVE this!”
Rena had also given Justin magic. It was an injustice to leave him without any after what he had been through.
“That’s gonna be the biggest mistake I ever made,” she laughed. “Emerald! Ruby! Make sure these men get back to where they belong.”
They bowed their heads and stood tall behind Shawn, AJ, and Brian, all clasping hands.
And it turned out, Dragons didn’t sever dæmons from their masters- the truly evil and Controlled ones did.
Rena climbed onto Violet Beauty’s back, as JC got onto Silverback’s, and Justin on Sapphire. They all waved to the three men as they all departed into the air, their hearts high, their spirits soaring. They learned the value of life, of love, and to never take anything for granted.
Rena laughed as the wind blew in her long black hair, her and Violet Beauty racing the others on their giddy Dragons. She saw the hope and good shining from the revived Forest, and she smiled.
This was one journey she would never forget.
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