The Mystical Knights: The Sword of Dreams (24 page)

              Someone cried out; Kenzie slumped back against the wall, her hands clutching her abdomen.  A look of surprise was etched all over her gentle face as something dark and red began to soak the fabric surrounding her hands.  Her feet gave out from beneath her and Kenzie slid down to the floor.  Zephyrlis let out a loud and defiant cackle, letting her blood-stained dagger drop to the floor.  As Kenzie sat cradling her wound, the guardian clothes that she had been wearing faded and returned to normal teenager clothes.  Thor, who had be standing back just inches from Kenzie due to his injured leg and arm, limped over to her and dropped down to her side at once.

              Zephyrlis was running close to where Nia lay, trapped beneath this tiny yet extremely strong girl.  With one swift movement, Nia bucked her hips forward, jostling the girl so that she could wriggle out from underneath her, ripping her wrists from the girl's tight grasp.  The girl grunted, falling backwards, and was up on her feet with the grace of a stealthy cat.  She ran at Nia again, but Nia, back on her feet, side stepped and stuck out her foot, sending the small girl flying through the air.

              One of the black cloaks was standing against the far wall, idly watching all the chaos around her.  Although Nia could not see her face hidden beneath her hood, she could read this girl's energy quite easily.  This madness thrilled the girl in a way that disturbed Nia, so much so that she quickly severed their connection.  The girl moved her head so that her line of sight was geared towards Nia's prying eyes, and Nia couldn't look away-

              "I've got it Master!" Zephyrlis shrieked, wild with glee.  With a gasp, Nia tore her eyes away from the girl in the corner and spun around to watch in horror, as Zephyrlis reached down for the Sword of Dreams, her hands trembling, her smile yellow and wide.  Everything seemed to move in slow motion; Nia's feet were moving, although she knew she would never make it in time.  The Sword that she had dreamed about, longed for, was going to be taken from her in seconds.  Zephyrlis' gnarled, long fingers just grazed the jeweled hilt.

              And Zephyrlis screamed.  She screamed and tried to pull her hand back, but it appeared that her flesh had melted to the Sword's hilt; Nia could see it oozing around the bright amethysts like candle wax.  Zephyrlis' screams were turning in desperate, animal-like shrieks and she uncontrollably flailed her melting hand around in attempt to shake the Sword from her body, but it would not release.  Slowly, the Sword's gold plating was beginning to glow white hot.  The jewels that glittered along it's hilt and blade were pulsing with bright purple light, brighter and brighter.  Nia had no idea what was happening.  Wasn't the Sword of Dreams supposed to be a weapon of peace?  No blood had ever been shed upon it's blade.

              But the Sword was acting on its own accord.  Nia was not wielding it, not running Zephyrlis through.  Zephyrlis was not from Nefertiti's bloodline, Nia realized, bringing her hands up to her mouth, staring on in horror and unable to peel her eyes away.  She was not alone; everyone had stopped to watch.  Axel's comrades had gathered themselves near the girl in the corner, all whispering.  The Grey that had sent Lance back was still standing at the table, watching Zephyrlis, his ancient face void of any emotion.  The whole scene reflected back at Nia in his large black eyes, and Nia wished she could glimpse his thoughts, but he was mentally blocking her from him.

              Kenzie sat with Thor, Thor's hands pressed against her abdomen.  Kenzie's face was pasty and white; beads of sweat were dotted across her forehead.  Nia saw Thor look over his shoulder, saw his lips move but could not hear him speak, and Fiona was at his side at once, kneeling down and shielding Kenzie from sight.  Quinn and Axel stood side by side, brother to brother.  Axel's neat and sleeked back ash colored hair was a mess now, and if it weren't for his black clothes, Nia wouldn't have been able to tell the twins apart.

              Rowan's eyes had found her before she saw him.  He was staring at her, his eyes dark and intense.  The other Grey he had been fighting lay dead at his feet, black and thick liquid pooling out from around him.  Nia held her breath, and knew. 
We're going to die.  Everything will burn
, she thought, breaking Rowan's gaze to look back at Zephyrlis, who was starting to shake and seize.  The Sword of Dreams was shaking too, quivering in her hand, like a soda can that was about to depressurize. With one poorly executed and last attempt to break from of the Sword, Zephyrlis brought her other hand to clutch the other side of the hilt, likely hoping that she's somehow be able to peel the Sword away somehow.  This connection seemed to made the Sword quiver even more, as though it were reaching its limits.  Like a volcano about to erupt.

             
It is up to you
, the Grey whispered to Nia.  Nia found his eyes, furrowing her brows. 
You choose your destiny, Niambe.  Only you can stop this. 
He looked up to the ceiling. 
You know what you have to do.
  The Grey was gone.  He simply vanished into thin air, leaving Nia to wonder if he had actually existed at all.

              He had to though; at his abrupt departure, Axel raced towards his followers, shouting, "Go!  Take us now."  The black cloaks all faded away too without hesitation.  Axel grinned at the Mystical Knights, and tipped his head in a sinister parting.  "Goodbye brother," he said to Quinn, his voice smug.  His startling green eyes found Nia's purple ones; a loud whistling noise, like a ready kettle, was sounding from where Zephyrlis stood, paralyzed, the Sword now glowing a very vibrant purple.  "I'll be watching you Nia," Axel said serenely, smiling at her with an eerie wonderment, "if you make it out of this alive."

              Nia spun on her heel as Axel disappeared into the air.  She ran towards Zephyrlis, ignoring the gasps and cries of her friends.  Purple streaks of light were beginning to tear through Zephyrlis' body.  With every burst of light, her deranged face turned into something much more demented.  She looked completely agonized; she had ceased to scream, although her expression was twisted into a silent one. Nia stood in front of the burning woman, watching helplessly as Zephyrlis stared back.  For a moment, fear sparked across her aged face; the end was drawing near.

              "Nia! Don't!"

              Rowan was inches from her; as calmly as she could, Nia held out a hand, eyes still on Zephyrlis.  "Stop," she said softly, and he did, his arms outstretched.  "I'm the only one who can stop this," she explained, not understanding just how she knew this.  The words she spoke were being rattled around her mind as her thoughts raced.  "I am a blood descendant.  I can touch the Sword. Trust me, and get back."

              Before Rowan could respond, she grabbed Zephyrlis' now blackened hand; there was a loud
crack
and the earth trembled dangerously.  Rowan stumbled backwards, cowering back with Quinn.  Nia's breath hitched as she stared down at her hand.  It did not burn, like she thought it might.  Zephyrlis' hand cracked and split away like burning wood underneath Nia's hand. Her black and beady eyes widened with horror as she watched her hand break away and fall to the ground.  "No," she said in a strangled whisper, her voice hoarse and broken from screeching.  "He lied! Why? I am faithful, Master!  My soul-"  she inhaled loudly, wheezing as she took her final breath while white fire consumed her head to toe. Her body, instantly charred and shapeless, crumbled to the floor like ash and dust.  Something dark and wispy lingered where Zephyrlis had once stood; Nia stared into it, her eyes unable to penetrate through its blackness.  For a second, this terrified her.  She could feel the dark shadow staring at her with invisible eyes as she stood unable to move.  Looking down, as though to avoid its gaze, Nia saw the Sword of Dreams, gleaming brightly in her hand.  It felt pleasant in her grasp, perfect even.  The whispers started whirring in her mind, purring with acceptance.  This Sword could do great things.  She was meant for this Sword, and it, her.

              As she lifted the Sword above her head, the blackness consumed her.  She could feel it, burning her lungs with every breath she took, but no one else could see.  She could hear Kenzie screaming, Rowan shouting... Nothing was real anymore.  This place, these walls...she wasn't real.  The blackness filled her up, licking her insides like flames.

             
Everything will burn. 

              The Sword lit up once more, it's blazing fiery light cascading across the room like moon light, pooling over where the other Mystical Knights stood speechless and shielding their eyes from this brilliance, and yet the darkness that was burning Nia would not quit.  She squeezed her eyes shut and felt her knees hit the floor as her legs gave out from beneath her.  The bright light emitting from the Sword burned through the backs of her eyelids, and colorful dots and patterns danced across her eyes. 
Let it end,
she thought desperately, barely clinging to any real sense or thought. 
Please...let me go.

             
And with that, the blackness overtook the brilliant color and she felt her body-or was it her soul?-floating towards the heavens.  

Chapter 17: The Girl Who Cried

The gentle tingle of soft fingertips brushed lightly across her forehead as if she were made of delicate porcelain...

Rowan.

Beep.  Beep. Beep.  Beep.  Beep...

There was that
annoying
beeping sound again.  Nia wrinkled her nose as she listened, trying to ignore the pain that pulsed through her head every time she heard those obnoxious beeps.  Someone was mumbling something just under their breath.  Nia could hear the sharp clicking of boots as feet paced back and forth along the floor.

“Maybe she’ll be awake tomorrow...” the girl was saying.

“Maybe she won’t wake up at all,” the boy replied, sounding remorseful.

“Don’t think like that...”

Couldn’t they see that she was awake?  Nia made to stretch, but her arms felt stuck to her sides and when she tried to peel back her eyelids, it was like trying to lift three-ton weights.  Stubbornly Nia persisted anyways—she had to wake up...it was the only way she was ever going to get out of this perfectly cozy limbo...

There was the sound of skin slapping against skin.  “See?” the girl said proudly, a hint of arrogance touching her voice.  “I
told
you she’d wake up...”

Nia’s eyes opened, fluttering gently like the wings of a butterfly.  The room was open and warm.  From what Nia could see, the pale blue walls were stenciled with royal larkspur, pink tulips and white baby’s breath blossoms.  Wires of every sort were hooked up to a strange looking computer and those wires were stuck to Nia’s chest with ECG pads.  Nia wriggled her nose again, feeling the oddest sensation of cool air lightly blowing into her nostrils.  It was then that she noticed the tubes and wires that were taped to her face; she just about went cross-eyed to gaze down the bridge of her nose at them all.

“Rise and shine, sleepyhead!” Quinn cried almost jubilantly.  He stepped back through the doorway, tucking his leather jacket around his midsection.  “How are you feeling?”

“Disoriented,” Nia replied truthfully as she gazed around the room in wonder. 
How did I get here?
she curiously thought, eyeing a crystal vase of wild flowers and a box of chocolates that sat untouched on a little side table.  She spotted her father’s familiar patched corduroy jacket hanging off one of the chairs that sat next to her bed.  “Dad’s here?”  Nia sat up quickly, pulling the stiff white sheets off of her legs.  “I have to talk to him.  Is he okay?”

“Hold it, laser eyes.”  Quinn was at her side at once, his hand bracing her shoulder as he gently pushed her back into the lumpy hospital pillows.  “Your father is fine—he just stepped out to get some coffee.”

“Dad drinks
coffee
?”  Nia made a face, her eyebrows shooting into the middle of her forehead.  “How long have I been here for Dad to start drinking coffee?”

“Long enough.”  Fiona inched back through the doorway as well, her long curtain of red hair swaying back and forth as she walked.  Her long silvery dress shimmered elegantly as Fiona walked through the rays of sunshine that came beaming through the window.  Fiona’s long fingers laced through one another as she sat at the foot of Nia’s bed.  She gave Nia a wry smile and shook the toe of her boot.  “It’s been nearly five days.”

Nia’s eyes popped open, practically bulging from their sockets.  “
Five
days?” Nia whispered exasperatedly, looking alarmed.  “I’ve been gone for that long?”

“Well you haven’t been gone, but you haven’t been here much, either,” Quinn replied, sounding amused.  He leaned his slender frame against the chair and smirked.

“But—where is everyone?”  Nia looked around the room wild eyed, just now realizing that there were three out of the six of them standing in the room. 
Are they alright?  Are they even alive?  Well,
Nia swallowed hard, listening as the shrill beeping quickly became erratic,
they wouldn’t look so cheerful if everyone was dead, right?

"Everyone is fine," Fiona said calmly, her expression stoic. “Kenzie is in the room next to yours,” she leaned forward, giving Nia a sympathetic look.  “That Sword—whatever you did—helped her out a great deal.”

"I don't even know what happened," Nia revealed, suddenly feeling anxious.  That black thing...the light...the internal struggled of what felt like good and evil...  She met Fiona's silvery eyes and asked, "Did you see that large black shadow that was left behind when-when what was left of Zephyrlis crumbled?  Did you see it go inside me?"

Fiona's unyielding face frowned.  She shared at look with Quinn who looked equally confused.  "What are you talking about?"

"That-that black thing," Nia repeated, looking between the two of them as her heart beat a little faster in her chest.  "It sucked itself right up inside me.  I could feel it filling me up with every breath I took, and it just..." she trailed off, watching as the confusion deepened between the two of them.  "I-I must have imagined it..."

"I just saw the Sword," Fiona said quietly.  "It lit up like a beacon and filled me with such hope.  I know it helped heal Kenzie before it took us where ever we needed to go.  It healed Thor a bit too-he's still a bit banged up, but he's on his feet and walking normally now.  And Rowan—” Nia felt her heart quiver with anticipation as Fiona spoke his name, “was perfectly fine—just a little bit black and blue.  He just left, actually.”

“I’m glad that everyone is okay,” Nia said, playing with the seams of her sheets. She glanced into Quinn’s face and frowned.  "You have a brother."

"I do," Quinn said, heaving a sigh.  He leaned back in the chair and twiddled his fingers.  "A real life evil twin, at that."

"No one else seemed surprised," Nia replied, turned her attention to Fiona, who raised her eyebrows.

"We didn't think to tell you, to be fair," she said, matter-of-factly.  "I thought you'd already knew."

"Fair enough," Nia nodded.  "But I keep telling you the psychic thing doesn't work that way.  I don't know
everything.
"

"But you know well enough."

There was an awkward silence between them as they sat.  Quinn cleared his throat and shifted in his chair.  "If it means anything, I don't speak of my brother much.  If fact, I try to pretend he isn't my brother.  He isn't much of one, he hasn't been in my life for years."

"Why?" Nia asked.

"I thought he was dead," Quinn said.  His face held no remorse, but a sadness lingered behind his eyes.  "We were five and I guess my memory isn't as great as I thought it was..."

"Must have come as a shock when you saw him again, huh?"

"You'd think that," Quinn cupped his chin in his palm, and distractedly eyed the ceiling, "but I was mostly relieved.  Happy, even.  Until I learned what he had become.  Although he wasn't always the most, uh...
innocent
child, I never thought...well, you know..."

He didn't need to speak anymore.  Nia understood well enough; she couldn't begin to imagine her own mother coming back from the grave, completely different than what she remembered.  Swallowing hard, Nia pushed the thought of her mother away, another question coming to mind. 
She wanted to know what happened after the Sword transported them-or whatever it did-back from the underground.  Where had they reappeared?  She opened her mouth, but the sound of Styrofoam hitting the ground made the three Knights look up towards the doorway.

“Nia!”  Sam raced towards his daughter, completely forgetting all about the spilt coffee as he scooped Nia up into his arms just like he used to when she was small.  Nia silently winced into his shoulder, breathing in the smell of leather, coconuts and sawdust.  Fiona slipped off of the bed, watching the two embrace with mild inquisitiveness.  “Oh, my girl—you’re awake!”

“Yes Dad,” Nia affirmed with a laugh, giving a quick nod while squeezing him tight, as a few stray tears plopped unceremoniously on the top of her head.  “I’m awake.”

Sam planted a rather whiskery kiss to Nia’s cheek before turning to look at Fiona and Quinn who had stood from their seats.

“We’ll see you later, Nia,” Quinn gave them both a salute like wave before ducking out of the room.

“Bye Nia,” Fiona waved, a small smile toying at her lips.  Her usually brass voice sounded different, kinder maybe.  “Good-bye, Mr. Mitchell.”

Sam nodded to Fiona as she carefully shut the door behind her before turning his attention back towards Nia.  “They might act strange and dress weird,” he muttered to her under his breath, “but you have got some of the nicest friends I have ever met.  They've been in and out of here like troopers.”  He gestured to the door behind him.  “They came to visit every day—they brought the flowers and chocolate.  And that girl—Fiona?-I swear I've seen her before—”  Nia’s stomach rumbled a little too loudly.  Sam laughed and pulled her close.  “We’ll get you something light to eat if you are hungry—toast or an English muffin.  You haven’t had a meal in days...”  He looked at the call button experimentally and gave Nia a shrewd look that made Nia cave inwardly.  “We were supposed to let the nurses know when you woke up, but I have a few questions to ask you first.”

Nia swallowed hard; she had been dreading this part of seeing her father again.  She could only imagine the types of questions he would ask:
“What happened?”
and
“Why did you skip the carnival and deliberately lie to me?”

“Dad, I don't remember too much-" Nia began.

Sam cupped Nia’s face between his hands, holding her as though she were the most precious thing on Earth.  He leaned close, so their eyes were level, brown looking in on purple, and he breathed a soft sigh.  “They said you might have some memory loss..." He smoothed Nia's hair back a couple of times in silence before letting his hand drop onto her shoulder.  "A boy was found wandering around the carnival a little while after it started.  He was in such a state, stripped right down to his underwear..."

Lance.
Nia inhaled sharply, her insides quivering with anger.  How terrible for him, not just what he endured in the underground, but to have been thrust into the boisterous events of a noisy carnival?

"...He was running around and shouting.  He kept saying, 'Nia saved me! Help Nia!' over and over again."  Sam removed his hand and stared at Nia long and hard, as though trying to see deep within her soul.  "Do you have any recollection of why he may have been shouting
your
name?  Did you save him?"

Nia blanched.  All the air that had been in her lungs felt like it had been pushed out and she had to press her hand into the flimsy mattress to steady her.  "He-he said my name?"

"He did," Sam said carefully, assessing her with soft eyes.  "It took a while to calm him down-locate his mother-he's your friend Kenzie's brother, Lance, was it?.  And then people began to realize that you and your friends were missing.  Someone said that you all had been looking for Lance..." he trailed off, rising to his feet as he did so. 

Sam rounded to the other side of the bed and picked up a pile of newspapers off of the side table. His eyes lingered on a headline that Nia could not see before bringing the papers to his chest.  He looked at her with a confused expression and sat down on her bed.  "No one had hardly a clue as to where any of you were.  Except Lance.  He was quite adamant that you all were in some kind of danger, he kept muttering something about 'the gray ones...'" Nia held her breath, staring at her father with wide unblinking eyes.  Sam, on the other hand, exhaled loudly and held out the newspaper.  "And then someone saw this, hovering in the sky over Hollow Hills."

The picture on the front page was of Hollow Hills Park and a large steely gray disc shaped object floating high above the Hollow Hills gazebo.  The disc was rimmed with several white lights, and three larger red lights were set within those white lights-one at the top and two perfectly spaced out at the bottom.  Nia took the newspaper and stared at the picture, her mind reeling hard, like fishing line being cast to sea.

"What's funny to me-and maybe ironic," Sam said, and Nia could feel his eyes burning into the side of her face as she sat, heart racing in her throat, "is that I could have sworn that I heard Lance say something about
aliens
.  Aliens had taken him."  Nia met his steady gaze, unsure if she should laugh and pretend the idea was ludicrous, pretend that Sam must have wrongly overheard him.  Sam chuckled a bit, and Nia's shoulder's relaxed and she chuckled idly along as well until her father's friendly face became serious once more.  He cleared his throat before continuing, "Do you believe in-?"  Sam paused and pointed up towards the ceiling.

Nia hesitated.  "Aliens?"  Sam nodded.  "I-I believe that it's...narrow minded and ignorant to think that we're the only intelligent life out there," she replied honestly, watching him carefully.

Sam pursed his lips together and leaned closer to her on the bed.  He appeared nervous; his knee kept bouncing up and down and Nia could see his Adam's apple moving hard with every deliberate swallow he took.  He folded his hands together as his eyebrows furrowed together in thought.  "When I was younger, he told her carefully, his voice low and soft, "back in the beginning of my military days, sixteen years ago, I had a couple...weird experiences."  He swallowed hard once more, before reaching out for the pitcher of water that sat on the side table.  He pour his drink into a cup, but didn't touch it.  "There was this one time, I had to call for a ride to get back to my house on base.  I had just came back from leave, and I was dead on my feet.  I remember making the phone call...and then I remember sitting on the curb and realizing it had been hours since I had made that call.  I don't remember what happened in between."