Devil’s Curse     “Curses!” Baal yelled. “I lost again and I was so close!” Her dragon anger was awake and hungry for vengeance. Baal lied down onto her back in distress. Now what? The ice oni began to close her eyes. Something had to hit and soon.
    Soon, Baal sprung up like a spring. She remembered Jim. M and Fade, whom moved to Tokyo yesterday. An idea brewed in her head. “I’ll use them as bait!” Baal thought. Then she got up and took a handful of dust. Baal threw it up in the air and began praying. Soon, the ice oni began rising up. “The dragon is mine this time!” she thought.
    Lizzie awoke in the middle of the night. She was panting hard. “Is something wrong, Lizzie?” a woman asked. “Nai auntie.” the girl answered. “Just a terrible nightmare.” “All right.” said her aunt. “But…. It was more than a dream!” the heart bearer thought. Her psychic powers were growing stronger each day. Soon, Lizzie was having dreams about the future. This time it was about Jim M. and Fade. “I hope they’re all right!” Lizzie thought. She couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.
    Jim was having trouble sleeping as well. His psychic powers were beginning to grow. And tonight, Jim had sensed something wrong. His first notion was to get up and see what’s wrong. But then, the boy thought about waking the others up in the process. But in the end, Jim H. decided to investigate. So he slowly climbed out of bed, snuck down the hall, crept down the stairs, and made it out the door. The body bearer thought he had gotten away scot-free. But…. Someone was watching. A certain cltar-cltar was spying. “Where is he going?” she thought. She watched on.
    Jim was running when something caught his eye. A lady stood on the Mozingos’ porch. She looked worried. Jim was curious. He began walking over to her. The woman looked up. “Who’s there?” she asked. “Uh…. It’s only me.” Jim H. said. “What’s wrong san?” “*Sigh* My kids are gone.” said the woman. “Wha?!?” Jim asked. “I was asleep when I heard a loud thud of the door. So I immediately got out of bed and went to check on kids.” she said. “And they just disappeared?” Jim asked. The woman nodded. “It’s Baal doing!” the body bearer thought. “I see.” he said. “Uh…I have somewhere to go. I hope you find your kids.” “Arigato.” said the woman. Then the boy ran off.
    Jim H. was greeted by Lizzie and Ruthie. “You’re late!” Ruthie snapped. “Well sorry!” Jim snapped back. Then he claimed down. “Ready to go?” Jim asked his girls. “Uh-huh!” they responded. “Well, let’s go!” said the leader. Then the three walked into the woods.
    On the other side, Baal was watching in enjoyment. “Let the game begin!” she thought. Jim M. and Fade watched on in horror.
    The dragon bearers were walking through the woods when Lizzie froze in her tracks. “Teishi guys!” she yelled. (Noiz note: “Teishi”=Stop in Jap.) Her companions froze in their tracks and turned. “What’s wrong Lizzie?” Jim asked. “I sense an oni coming.” said she. “Where?” the body bearer asked. “From behind. It’s coming fast!” Lizzie said. Jim froze in shock. “I sense it too!” he said. “It’s coming closer!” “Huh? What do you mean?” Ruthie asked. Jim quickly covered her mouth. “Shhh.” said he.
    Soon, the footsteps sounded. Jim got his castor ready. “I’ll shoot when he comes. If that fails, Lizzie, say your spell. Got that?” said he. “Hai.” said the heart bearer. “Hey! What about me?!?” Ruthie asked. “Get behind me!” Jim barked. Angered, the brain bearer complied. The footsteps grew louder. “Here it comes!” Jim thought. And sure enough, their oni came at full speed and stopped in front of them. It white as snow and had the head of a dog and the body of a lion. The oni looked hungry and feisty. “Do it Jim!” Ruthie yelled. “Right!” said he. With that, Jim drew out his castor and began to fire. That reliable weapon failed him. “Damn!” he said. So he tried again and again. Same results followed until the boy ran out of shells. “Now Lizzie!” Jim yelled. “Right!” she nodded. “Iru gone oni!” But nothing happened. “What’s wrong with your spell?” Jim asked. “I don’t know!” said the heart bearer. The oni was coming closer. “Uh…. Any ideas stupid?” Ruthie asked frantically. “Hai!” said he. “Well say it damnit!” Ruthie snapped. “Run like hell!!!” Jim yelled. And the three dragon bearers took off quickly. The oni pursued them.
    Baal watched in enjoyment. “Neither bullets nor spells will work against my oni!” she thought. “The dragon will soon be mine.”
    It seemed like hours since the dragon bearers had been running. Ruthie was growing tired of it. She looked around and found a bow and some arrows. So the brain bearer teishied and picked them up. The other two teishied and turned. “What are you doing?!?” Jim yelled. “Shut up and let me try this!” Ruthie snapped. For once, Jim listened. The brain bearer drew the bow. When the oni was near, Ruthie shot the arrow. The arrow landed in the oni’s head. The beast let out a painful howl as it dissolved away. Jim and Lizzie were amazed. Ruthie turned to her companions. “See? I can be useful!” said she.
    Baal was furious. “My oni lost?!?” she yelled. “Not to worry! The others won’t lose!”
    The dragon bearers fought the onis and won. They finally came to Baal and her hostages. “In order to save your friends.” said the ice oni. “You have to get through me!” “Nai problem!” said Ruthie. Then she nudged Jim. “Come on!” said she. “Why me?” Jim asked. “Just come on!” Ruthie said. The boy reluctantly complied. And without warning, Baal attacked from above and sent the brain and the body bearer in two different directions. The ice oni started attacking Jim. He was yelling out all the spells he knew. But none of them had an effect. Time was running short. “Jim’s in trouble!” Ruthie thought. “Think fast girl!” She looked down and saw her bow and arrows. “That’s it!” the brain bearer thought. Then Ruthie grabbed them and aimed at the ice oni. She shot the arrow quickly. The arrow hit Baal in the back. The ice oni shrilled in pain as she dissolved into ice crystals. Jim looked up to see Ruthie with bow in hand. “What happened?” he asked. “I just saved your ass!” Ruthie said with a grin.
    “Are you okay?” Ruthie asked Jim M. and Fade. “Hai!” said Fade. Her brother nodded. “That’s good to hear.” Jim H. said. The hostages were held in a liquid ice ball. “Oh Jim!” a voice called out. Both Jims looked up. Lizzie was running towards the group. She stopped at Jim H. and knelt over him. “You’re hurt! Let me help you!” said she. “Huh? Oh it’s…..” the body bearer began to say. But Lizzie didn’t listen. She just held out her hand and began praying over the wounds. While the lights formed under the heart bearer’s hand, Jim noticed that his wounds were healing. Once she was done, Jim asked: “Since when did you learn healing powers?” Liz just smiled. “I’ll explain that later in time. But right now, let’s Fade and Jim home to their mother.” was all she said. “Right.” said the body bearer. Then he turned to Jim M., Fade, and Ruthie. “Let’s get out of here and quickly!” Jim said. “Right!” they said. And with that, the kids quickly left the scene.
    But within the bushes, Aisha had seen the whole show. “So that’s it!” she thought. What she had witnessed was all she needed to know. Later…