The Mystical Knights: The Sword of Dreams (19 page)

             
"Let me tell you this,
Gold Lion
," Zephyrlis reached down and carefully plucked the golden chain that held the lion amulet over Nia's hammering heart, and pulled it free from underneath her shirt, "You may think that this trinket offers protection."  Nia's breath hitched in her throat, stunned silent
.
Zephyrlis caressed her thumb against the lion's gold mane, her eyes still dark and intent on Nia's shell-shocked face.  "It doesn't.  My master knows great things.  Things about
you
."  She leaned her face so close, that Nia could smell her musty breath. "You are unlimited, Nia.  There are so many great and wondrous things you are capable of, but your Knights will always hold you back.  Master would be very pleased with you."

              "Never," Nia hissed, roughly pulling away from Zephyrlis.  The chain to her amulet snapped and the lion's head clattered to the floor.  Nia dropped to her knees and scooped it into her hands, cradling it like  a fragile piece of glass.  It burned into her skin contentedly as though it were purring.  She straightened up and looped it back onto the chain, clamping the tiny link tight with her fingers.

              "Oh, but he would be.  And you would be graciously respected.  You are the Diviner; you see things through your dreams, hear the unspoken thoughts of others and much more."

              "I-I can't do too much outside my dreams."

              "With practice, you could.  And we would help you on the way to greatness."  Zephyrlis' boney hand wrapped tightly around Nia's forearm, her eyes sparkling dangerously.  "You will dream of fire and ash tonight. 
Everything will burn
.  And you won't be able to save what has been taken."

              "What are you talking about?  What's been taken?"  Nia's head suddenly began to throb so hard, her eyes began to tear.  That clicking and whirring noise was back, growing louder and louder... She pushed past Zephyrlis, wrenched the open the door and bolted up the tiny corridor.  As she entered the chorus room, she tossed the itinerary onto the music stand at the front of the room.  She heard CA chuckle from where she sat and more heat flushed into her cheeks.

             
Everything will burn.

             
There'd be time to rake in community service credits next year.  Right now, Nia needed to leave.  To get out.

              Nia stumbled out into the hallway and quickly darted towards the exit doors, relieved to hear the shrill and angry noise was beginning to thrum away.  Her hands found the exit doors at the end of the hall.  She keeled over, her hands on her knees, taking in deep gulps of air as though she had been suffocating.  The doors slammed loudly behind her and the sun stung her eyes, but it was much welcomed.  The sudden headache was beginning to subside, her mind was mostly quiet.

              "What happened?" Fiona's voice called out from somewhere behind her.  Nia's eyelids fluttered as she tried to focus, her knees hitting the gravelly pavement.

              "Nia?"  Rowan's hands were grabbing her shoulders.  He pushed away a dark curtain of her hair, staring at her with those unyielding blue eyes.  He was nothing but a blur, but his eyes stood out like beacons across a lonely sea.  "Breathe.  Just focus on your breath."

              "She had a medallion," Nia rasped, her voice oddly hoarse.  She swallowed, trying to wet her throat.  Rowan's face came back into focus and Nia felt safe all over again, comforted in his gaze.  "And-"

              "An onyx bracelet," Quinn finished, slipping out from the double doors behind them.  He held out a bottle of water, which Nia graciously took.  She untwisted the cap, and brought the neck to her lips.  The plastic crunched loudly as Nia chugged down the cool liquid without hesitation.

              "Did you hear it?" Nia whispered, releasing the bottle.  She now fixed her gaze at the ground, feeling their stares on her back.  "Do you have anything idea on what the noise was?  It was so awful..."

              "Noise?" Fiona asked, her tone attentive.  "I didn't hear anything.  What did it sound like?"

              "Like...like someone running a damp paper towel down a pane of glass...there was this weird clicking sound mixed in..." Nia mumbled.  "It-it got really loud when she got mad."

              "What did she say to you?" asked Kenzie from somewhere above her.  "While you were in the office?"

              Nia hesitated, biting her bottom lip. 
I'd do well siding against you.  They'd marvel my gift, my heightened awareness. 
"I felt like she was trying to recruit me," Nia whispered. 

              Fiona sank down in front of her, her wise and silver eyes  staring hard into Nia's.  There was something startling about her face in that moment.  Was it fear?  Anger?  "Don't listen to her.  They'd be better off with any of us fighting with them rather than against them."

              "She also said..." Nia blinked several times before leveling her chin.  "She said I would dream of fire and ash tonight."  She shook her head wearily and looked around at Rowan and Fiona, Thor standing just behind Rowan, his eyes shifting as he thought.  "Something is coming...she said that we won't be able to get back what they have taken...and that everything will burn."

              "They won't take anything,"  Quinn said, clasping Nia's shoulder tightly.  "We'll always be able to get whatever is ours back."

              The look on Fiona's face didn't seem so promising.

* * *

             
Her skin was on fire.  It was melting like candle wax and she couldn't breathe.  Nia coughed, trying to reach out for it; the Sword of Dreams was right there, just out of reach by the brush of her fingertips. Ash was falling from the sky like snow, sprinkling soundlessly to the ground as the world burned around her.  The screams had finally stopped, and it was deathly quiet.  Nia tried to shout out but her throat was closing, the smoke too much for her lungs.  Her head felt dizzy and thick.

              "Nia..." The woman who dressed in purple and gold cloth stood above her, watching her with shrouded eyes.  "This is your destiny."

              "No!" Nia whispered shrilly, her voice hoarse from screaming.  "I have to save him!  If I can get to the Sword-"

              "You can't save what has been taken.  Don't waste yourself on this boy.  You must fight for what is precious."  The woman was fading now, evaporating into the fog like vapor.  Her monotone voice hung in the air like a spider's web.  "You need to save yourself."

             
Nia's skin was on fire; she bit down hard on her tongue and her blood filled her mouth as she balled her hand into a tight fist.  She turned her cheek and muffled her bloodcurdling scream into her soft pillow as she skin melted away into nothing...

Chapter 14: The Descent

              "Earth to Nia?"

              Nia blinked tiredly as she shivered.  Every inch of her every limb felt sore and heavy as though she had been running and running; her head spun with doubt, as she absently tried to piece together the shattered fragments of her dream from the night before.  She was barely aware of Rowan's worried stares as he carefully placed a slice of cheese pizza onto her plate.  "You zoned out back there..." he said softly.

              Everyone but Kenzie had met up at Willow Creek Pizza before the Spring Fever Carnival.  Kenzie had a few things to do with her mother, and she'd be meeting them at Gowen's Stadium for the carnival.  Willow Creek Pizza was an old-timey place.  It made Nia feel as though she had been transported back to the Disco Era; the booths were a marbled peach-orange color with brown cushions and the tiled floor was teal-green.  In the back was a small room filled with old arcade games that no one but Thor ever went back to play.  There was an old jazz tune that tinkered from the ancient jukebox a little ways from where the group sat and there were also a few candy dispensers by the door that had been filled with gum balls and other hard candies for what probably had been ages.  It was a rinky dink place, but the smell of sweet tomato sauce and warmly, bubbly cheese filled the pizzeria with patrons and townspeople every night as it was the only pizza shop for miles.

              Nia's blinked out of her reverie once more to find Rowan now placing her pizza in her hands.  She chewed on her lip, embarrassed, and robotically brought the slice to her lips.  It tasted bland today, compared to how it usually tasted.  She swallowed hard before bringing her gaze up to meet Rowan's.  "I didn't sleep that well last night."

              She caught Quinn and Fiona sharing a look out of the corner of her eye.  "No, I haven't gotten the Sword yet," Nia said automatically.  Quinn frowned, scooting further into the booth as Thor joined the group, his tray full of mushroom pizza, fries and baklava.  Quinn swiped the baklava from Thor's plate and proceeded to take a bite, while Thor frowned and made a whining noise in the back of his throat.

              "You have enough food," Quinn said.  "I'm hungry."

              "You just ate!" Thor cried.  "Have a fry if you're still hungry!"

              "One fry or baklava...I'm going to pick the baklava every time."  Quinn took another bite of the pastry.

              "Did you have the dream that Zephyrlis said you'd have?" Fiona asked quietly, ignoring Thor's groan.  She stared at Nia with, for what was the first time that Nia could remember, concerned.  Her pale eyes were still glinting with the usual hint of danger, but there was a gentleness to her gaze that Nia had never seen before.  "What did you see?"

              "I don't remember," Nia whispered truthfully, shaking her head.  She had tried to remember everything when she had sat up in bed, covered in cold sweat, her skin tingling and numb, but everything had been a blur of smoke and mirrors.  "I just woke up...and I couldn't breathe-I couldn't think..."  Nia took a deep breath and let it out slowly.  "It's like the fear I felt chased away any memory of the dream.  Maybe I wasn't even supposed to remember it.  Maybe Zephyrlis said all those things to get to me.  I don't know..."

              Fiona nodded.  "I'm sure they're somehow aware that  you are trying to get the Sword of Dreams.  She probably said those things to pull you off guard."

              Nia stared blanking at the jukebox's many colored lights.  If it wasn't a premonition, the why couldn't she shake that feeling of constant dread?  She had never had such a difficult time recovering a dream before.  It was like her brain was in a state of shock; her Third Eye kept stuttering and skipping over the fear she felt in her heart, but she couldn't put the pieces of the puzzle together.

              The bells on the pizzeria door tinkled cheerfully as it swung open, but the person walking towards them was clearly the opposite.

              It was Kenzie.  She quickly glanced into the tiny back room where all the arcade games were kept before hurrying over to where they sat.  Her long brown hair was pulled back into a long plait, but a few strands had found a way free.  A pale blue shoulder bag rocked gently at her side as she walked and her aqua colored eyes were wide with anxiety; Nia could feel it, growing stronger as the worried girl stepped closer.  She could have sworn that the sound of the rapid heart beating in her ears was her own, but it wasn't.               

              "Have you guys seen Lance?" Kenzie asked breathlessly, looking around at all of them.  "Has he been here?"

              Their blank stares must have been enough to answer her questions, because Kenzie spun on her heel and dashed towards the pizza counter, her braid bouncing on her back.  Nia turned in her seat, watching Kenzie clutch the pizza counter, the knuckles of her hands turning white.  "Demetrius!" she called to the elderly man in the kitchens, her voice wavering a little as she spoke. "Have you seen Lance today?"

              "No, Kendra, I'm sorry."  Demetrius limped into view, his gray eyes crinkling with concern.  His accent had a hint of Mediterranean flair to it.  Despite his limp, Demetrius had a sturdy look about him; his strong jaw was hidden by a neat and tidy beard and his dark olive colored hands were marked with calluses and scars.  "Lance wasn't here today.  I see him yesterday.  Not today."

              "Thanks," Kenzie sighed, her shoulders sagging as she turned back.  She pulled her cell phone out of her bag as she walked over to their booth.  "This is just not like him," she muttered, bringing her phone up to her ear.  "He always follows instruction to the point.  I just don't know where he could have gone...Mom dropped me off here-she went to go check at home to see if he's there.  He was supposed to wait for us at the Junior High."

              "Maybe he's at the carnival?  It starts in an hour," Quinn suggested helpfully.

              "No-it'd be too loud there...he has a hard enough time going to a school assembly let alone to a carnival set up-Mom? Hi.  Mom, he's not here, is he at home?"  The worried look on Kenzie's face crumbled into a look of panic.  "Okay Mom.  Yeah, I'm with my friends.  We'll head back to the school (Do you guys mind helping me look?) I'll call you if I see him.  Love you."  She clicked off her phone and looked at them, her hands shaking.  "He's not here, he's not at home..."

              "Let's go back to the Junior High," Fiona said, standing up.  "Maybe he stayed after with a friend-"

              "This is just not like him," Kenzie whispered, her eyes darting around nervously.  They settled on Nia, and Nia blanched.  Before Nia could open her mouth, Kenzie was already speaking.  "Can you see anything about him?"  Kenzie's hands were digging through her bag, and she pulled out a deck of playing cards.  "These are his.  He loves them, he wants to be a magician and is always doing these card tricks.  He's not allowed to bring them to school, so Mom keeps them on her until she picks him up from class..." she was rambling so quickly, that Nia couldn't get a word in.  "Can you...touch them?  Does-does it work that way?  Please?"  Her voice cracked a little, and that tremble of vocal chords was filled with hope and desperation.  Nia bit her lip and stared at Kenzie, unsure of what to say.

              "It doesn't always work that way," she began softly, her brow furrowed.  "I can't just turn on my Third Eye and-"  She stopped.  Kenzie held the card out further, her hand trembling around them.  Her eyes were shining with tears. 

              "Please.  Try," was all Kenzie could say.

              Nia sighed, frowning.  And if psychometry didn't work?  What next?  Would Kenzie force her into other methods to find Lance?  "I just want you to know, it doesn't always work.  It works when it wants to. If I don't get anything-"

              "I won't take offense," Kenzie promised.  "He likes you.  Lance-the first time you met him...I've never seen him open up to anyone like that first try.  It took him years to talk to his tutor, his doctor...If anyone can get a clue as to where he is, you can.  I know it."

              "He just read my cards," Nia said.  "He was playing."

              "And that is huge for him."  Kenzie reached the cards out further; Nia only had to lift her hand to touch them.  "Please."

              Nia sighed again, softly this time, and gently touched the deck of cards with her fingers.

             
"Come with me, sweetheart."  She wrapped a boney hand around Lance's and urged him with her.  "You're going to have a wonderful time with me.  Don't be afraid."

              He went with her, not because she was kind.  Not because she had taught his IEP class today.  Not because he wanted to, but because he was supposed to.  He could see Mom's car getting ready to turn left into the parking lot.  She would be angry.

              But he had to do this.

              "Is it nice down there?" he asked, absently staring towards the gazebo at Hollow Hills Park.

              "It's very nice, sweetheart.  Just you wait.  We've been waiting for you."

              "It's very nice," Lance repeated, disappearing with the short and lanky woman behind the school.

              Nia gasped, springing her hand away from the cards as though they had shocked her.

              "Whoa, that fast?" Thor asked, sounding impressed.

              Nia looked up at Kenzie.  She was chewing on her bottom lip, looking afraid to breathe.  "He went with someone," Nia said.  She nudged Fiona, who stood up quickly.  Nia slid out of the booth and looked at Kenzie.  "He was waiting for your mom, but someone went to him.  Took him somewhere.  He knew that he shouldn't go with her, but he felt that he was supposed to."

              "Who would he go with?" Kenzie whispered, her chest rising and falling very fast.  "He'd never go with someone he didn't know."

              "I think he did know her.  He had a substitute teacher today."

              "
Zephyrlis.
"  Kenzie's concern and worry quickly turned to anger.  "Why would she do this?  What does she want with him?"

              "It's not what she wants...it's what he wants.  Axel."

              They were all standing up now.  Demetrius has came out from behind the counter to clear their trays.  "Let me know if you find him, Kendra," he was saying but they were already pushing out of the door, Nia in the lead.

              The sun was beating down today.  Clear blue sky went on for miles and the tiny town of Willow Creek was bustling around them.  Unaware of what was happening to one of their own.  Unaware that six teenagers were now on a mission to take back what was theirs.  It was one thing to send minions and other Realm world monsters upon them, but to actually take a brother from one of them was crossing the line.

              "Yesterday Zephyrlis said we won't be able to save what's been taken," Nia said grimly as they walked back towards the school.  "They have no idea what they've done by taking him.  We'll get him back."

              "Did you dream about it last night Nia?" Kenzie asked, jogging to catch up with Nia's long strides.

              "I don't remember, but I'll be damned if they do anything to him," she said firmly.  "He's innocent.  He has absolutely nothing to do with this."

              By the time they had reached Hollow Hills Park, Nia could hear the carnival music humming in the distance.  She could just make out the Ferris wheel peeking out just over the trees. People were starting to arrive; there was a clown standing down by the Junior High, directing others where to park.

              "We have thirty minutes until we have to be down there," Rowan said from behind her.  The others stopped short on either side of Nia, staring at the Ferris wheel in the distance.

              "I'm not going until I know Lance is safe," Kenzie said, clasping her hands tightly. 

              "Neither am I," Nia said.  She looked at her friends.  "We need to go down there, and let our booth partners know we won't be in.  Find Mrs. Curtis-let her know that we can't make it."

              "Isn't that going to look suspicious?" Thor asked.

              "It doesn't matter if it looks suspicious or not," Fiona said in a clipped tone.  "This needs to get sorted out.  This is what we do."

              "My mom is going to be frantic when she finds out that I'm not over by the dunk tank."  Thor brushed a hand through his golden hair. 

              "My dad isn't going to be happy either," Nia said, giving Thor a small smile.  "But we'll face that when it comes."  Placing a hand on Kenzie's shoulder, she gave it a small reassuring squeeze.  "C'mon.  Let's get down there."

              They broke off into a run, past the park and down behind the Junior High.  The field was just beyond there.  The smells of popcorn, fried dough and other fair food wafted deliciously in the air, but Nia wasn't hungry.  Her stomach churned at the very thought of food.  They broke off at the gate, dodging past one of the class officers.  Nia darted down the stone steps that led onto the field.  Thankfully things weren't too crowded yet; it was mostly filled with students and teachers hurrying around to put the finishing touches on their booths and games.  The rides were being operated by a local carnival group that came back to do the fair every year.