THE LIGHT BEARERS


“Kill me? This girl is crazy!” Mathew took a few steps back, and managed to choke out

"You’re kidding, right?”

"Sorry, Matt, the boss wants me to bring you in, dead or alive; so just to make it easier, I’m choosing dead!” she said with a strangely evil grin. “Too bad too, I had fun making your life hell,”

It finally hit Mathew: She was with those guys in the blue uniforms. Though he could tell that even though she was half their age, she was much worse than the strangers he had escaped from at the dance. She had an air about her that just screamed "Merciless killer" Still, he figured her boss and the boss of the uniformed strangers was the same person.

“Why do these people want me dead so badly?”

Alana took a few steps toward Mathew, unsheathing a dagger from her belt. It looked like something he would have seen on one of those websites where they sell weapon replicas, or in a movie. The hand guard was designed to look like bat wings, but the pommel was in the shape of the head of some demonic creature.

"Stay back!" Mathew shouted, backing up more.

"Nuh uh uh, can't have you running off now," she said with a cackle that chilled Mathew to the bone.

She came even closer. Mathew’s heart was close to bursting right out of his chest. Why hadn’t he seen how psycho Alana was before now? Mathew went over his options: He could try to run, but she would probably catch him in no time. The only other choice was that he was going to have to fight his way out. But could he take her?

He remembered the day in school when he had somehow gained a boost in strength and knocked Andrew down the hall. If he could call on that strength again, he just might have a chance. Either way his choices were limited.

“Well if I’m going down at least I’m going down fighting.”

He raised his fists awkwardly, and stepped forward.

"You wouldn't hit a girl now, would you?" she asked in mock innocence, her nasty grin growing larger. Mathew went on the offensive with a punch. She bent over backwards, dodging the blow, and did a perfect back-flip, kicking Mathew under his jaw. He stumbled back and fell to the ground, rubbing his chin.

"Oh come on baby, I thought you'd at least be a bit of a challenge, you sure gave Andrew a beating, that was some right hook," she said, stretching. Mathew got up and tried a roundhouse kick. She knocked his leg aside easily and, lightning fast, slashed at him with her dagger. The blade caught Mathew in the right side, and he yelled in pain, falling to the ground once more. Mathew was seriously outmatched. This girl knew what she was doing.

"Hmm well I'm bored so I'll just let the shadow stalkers play with you," she said, yawning.

She raised her hand and Mathew suddenly felt like something was behind him. He turned around, and his jaw dropped in horror. Rising up from the ground were three shadowy figures. They formed into solid bodies, each one bearing horns and glowing blood red eyes. They looked like gargoyles, but without the wings. With razor sharp teeth and claws, they were the stuff of nightmares. Mathew couldn't tell who was scarier, these creatures, or Alana. He got up, looking for a way out of there, but there was nowhere to run.

"FETCH!" shouted Alana, pointing at him. The creatures ran and leaped towards Mathew with unearthly screeches…teeth bared…but never reached him. Somebody jumped in the way, swinging a long glowing object at the creatures, destroying them all in mid-air. And then, as Mathew looked closer at the object in his savior's hand, he realized with a shock that it was a cane.
It now had a thin blade extending from the end, but he definitely recognized it. It was a cane he had seen many times since his first day of school.

"Robert?" Mathew shouted, astonished. His best friend turned around and gave him the thumbs up.

"Hey ya Matt, did ya miss me?" he asked, grinning. Mathew couldn't reply, he was too shocked to say anything.

So Robert turned back to Alana, his cane still glowing with that otherworldly light.

"Hey, Alana, how's Andrew? He asked.

"That dumb ape couldn't figure out how to open a jar," Alana replied with a disgusted look.

"How long did it take you to figure that out?" Robert asked.

"I admit, I only hung around him because it was necessary. But he did prove incredibly useful in figuring out if Matt is the one I've been looking for," said Alana. "I wasn't sure, I mean, you don't exactly look like a great hero,” She continued, looking at Mathew as she said this. “But then I saw just what I was waiting for when your little friend here gave Andrew a superman punch to the jaw. Oh, that had to twinge a bit,"

"Yeah, well, you're going to get a lot worse than a superman punch from me if you don't buzz off," said Robert, raising his cane like fencer would their saber.

"You think you stand a chance against me?” Alana asked. “Hmm, two light bearers dead instead of one would get me extra credit…”

“What’ll three get you?” asked a familiar voice from behind Alana.

“Back off, Ben, I’ve got this one,” Robert said firmly. Mathew had seen a lot of crazy things tonight, but Ben walking towards them with his bag of baseball gear was pretty odd. And since when were he and Robert on a first name basis? They hardly knew each other. But the craziness didn’t stop there: Benjamin reached into his bag, and pulled out what appeared to be something similar to Alana’s dagger, only the blade was a bit longer, and the hilt was just an ordinary cross design. He held it backhand style, and dropped into a fighting stance.

“Two against one, not very fair,” Alana said.

“Too bad we have to kick your ass, Alana, you’re pretty cute,” Benjamin said with his usual cocky smirk.

“Now now, daddy would be mad if you hurt one of his students” Alana said. Benjamin got a bit stiff, and Mathew wondered what Alana was talking about.

“You shut your mouth!” Benjamin snarled.

“Ben, snap out of it, she’s a dark servant, she’s using your flaws against you,” Robert said in a warning tone. Benjamin shook his head as if coming out of a trance.

“Oh you did NOT just try to use your little mind tricks on me!” he growled.

“I’m surprised there was even a mind to trick,” Alana said, shrugging. “No matter. Now, I think it’s time I even the odds,” She held up her hand, and more shadow creatures rose up from the ground.

“You see what you did?” Robert said to Benjamin in exasperation.

“Hey, they’re always nagging us to work together on something,” Benjamin replied.

“Fine, you protect Mathew, I’ll take Alana,” Robert said.

“How come you get to fight the hot chick?” Benjamin whined. Did he really just ask that question?

While they were bickering, it seemed the shadows had gotten impatient, because they shot towards the group with wild shrieks. This was enough motivation for Mathew to find his voice.

“Guys, I hate to interrupt, but SOMBODY DO SOMETHING!” he shouted, pointing out the charging shadow beasts.

“Ugh fine, you take Alana, I’ll handle the shadows,” Robert said. He stepped into some kind of fencing stance.

“Can you stand? He asked Mathew as the creatures began circling them. Mathew struggled to his feet.

“Well enough,” he said.

“That’s good, I might need your help with these,” Robert said. “

“What? What do you expect me to do?” Mathew cried.

“I expect you to defend yourself!” Robert barked. It surprised Mathew to hear so much seriousness and authority in his tone.

“Tried that, I got my ass handed to me,” he said.

“Alana’s out of your league, but I think you can take these guys,” Robert said. Mathew figured he might as well humor him, and raised his fists again.

He was going to die anyway, so he didn’t have much to lose. He looked back to Benjamin, who was staring off with Alana. Neither of them was attacking, but Mathew could tell they were trying to figure out who would strike first.

“Matt, on your left!” Mathew didn’t even think about it: He just swung his right arm to the left as hard as he could, and nailed a shadow creature, sending it flying into a tree. When it hit the branches it exploded into black smoke. Then he saw Alana take her chance and attack, slashing upwards at Ben. He knocked her dagger aside and spun, thrusting his foot out and kicking her in the stomach.

“Mathew!” he had been paying so much attention to Benjamin and Alana that he hadn’t noticed the shadow creature gunning for him. As the creature jumped into the air, Mathew shoved his fist under its chin in an uppercut. Robert finished it off with an overhead swing from his shining cane. Mathew had counted three creatures, so where was the last one? His answer came without warning as he was tackled from behind and hit the ground hard.

“Get OFF!” he shouted, punching the creature in the face and shoving it away. He got to his feet and grabbed its horns as it ran at him again, spinning around and slamming it into a tree-trunk. It disappeared in a puff of smoke like the rest.

“How am I doing this?”

He had no fighting experience except the one punch he threw at Andrew, and yet here he was beating the snot out of a bunch of bloodthirsty demons. It just didn’t make sense. The strange thing was, it felt natural.

When he was sure the shadows had been taken care of, he turned around to see how Benjamin was doing.

Alana may have been intimidating to Mathew, but Benjamin was handling himself rather well, dodging and blocking jabs and swipes from Alana’s dagger. To Mathew it looked like something from those fantasy movies, only this was real. One of them was going to make a mistake soon, and when they did, that would be it: Game over.

Unfortunately it looked like Alana had just a bit more experience, because despite Ben's skills, she was able to get in a few slashes, cutting him across the shoulder and along his side.

“Hey! I need that shirt for next week's game!” he cried out in rage.


“You think he can take her?” Mathew asked Robert, watching the fight. Robert didn't answer right away. He was standing there, facing in the direction of Ben and Alana. He didn't know what Robert was doing; he was blind, so he couldn't have been watching the scrap.

“I’m going to help him, stay back!” he said. Robert ran right into the fray and kicked out at Alana, catching her off guard. She stumbled back and tried to lash out with her dagger, but Robert's presence had changed the tide. He and Benjamin were working as one, taking turns blocking and attacking, and soon they both kicked out and nailed Alana right in the chest. She stumbled back once more, panting heavily, and raised her hand again. But this time instead of more creatures rising from the ground, a dark portal appeared out of nowhere.

“Playtime’s over, I’m afraid,” she said.

“Aw, we were just starting to have fun,” Robert said. Alana narrowed her eyes.

“Don’t be a sore loser, Alana,” Benjamin said.

“Don’t be a bigheaded twit, Ben,” Alana replied. “I may not have the power to take on all of you, but my master does, and when he has his way, which will be soon, all of you will regret protecting him!” she pointed to Mathew. She then regained both her composure and her evil grin.

"See ya later babe," she said, winking at Mathew. And with one last cackle she stepped into the darkness. The doorway disappeared, and her along with it. After a few awkward moments of silence, Mathew exploded.
"What the HELL is going on?" he shouted, not sure he wanted to hear the answer.

"We saved your ass, that's what's going on," Robert replied.

"Yes, and I'm grateful, but you've got about five seconds to explain why some psycho chick just tried to waste me!" I yelled back.

"Eh, not long enough try ten seconds," he said, grinning.

"You think this is funny?" Mathew shouted. "Alana Burgess almost sliced and diced me into cutlets!"

"But she didn't," Robert responded calmly. Mathew unwillingly let out a noise between a shout and a sob, and started stuttering words without even knowing what he was trying to say.

“Take it easy, squirt, speak English, will you?” Benjamin said.

"And You!” Mathew said, pointing at Benjamin. “How do you two know each other? You’ve never spoken to each other, and you’re complete opposites!”

“In a way yes, but in another, not so much,” Benjamin said. Mathew couldn’t take anymore. He dropped to the ground and put his face in his hands.

“This is a dream.” He told himself. “I drank some bad soda at the dance, I’m hallucinating.”

“Nah you’re not hallucinating, unless you saw a cow and a hippo dueling a minute ago,” Benjamin said ever so helpfully.

“This can’t happen!” Mathew insisted. “Alana just made some kind of shadow things pop out of the ground which I just went street fighter on, and I’ve never even been in a real fight! And you guys were-you were-ugh!” he was shaking all over, and was hit by an overwhelming sense of nausea, which made him toss his cookies all over the ground.

“That sounds pleasant,” Robert said with a grimace. When nothing else was coming up, Mathew wiped his mouth and sat up on his knees. There were so many things going though his mind he thought his brain might explode. But there was only one question he had been wondering for weeks.
“Where have you been?” he asked weakly. Robert frowned.

“I’m sorry, I know, I abandoned you,” he said. "I promise, I'll explain everything, but first we need to get you home,”

“I’m not taking a step until you tell me what just happened,” Mathew said fiercely.

“We fought some shadows and Alana, and we won, more or less,” Robert said simply. “Now if you want a more in depth explanation I suggest you start walking. The sooner we get to your house, the sooner you get your answers,” Mathew was at a loss for words. Apparently Robert wasn’t going to divulge any information at the moment, so he really had no choice. He could always ditch them. But what if Alana came back? There was no getting around it, Mathew needed them.

"Alright, fine," he said finally.

"Excellent, shall we go then?" he asked, smiling. Mathew nodded. "Oh but first, let me fix that for you," he added, pointing to Mathew’s side.

"Don't think that's going to happen, unless you have some bandages on you," Mathew replied.

"Oh don't worry, I won't need them, just lift up your shirt," he said. Mathew shrugged and lifted up his shirt.


It didn't look too bad, but there was a long gash down his side.


"Put my hand on the cut," said Robert. Mathew raised an eyebrow, but did as he was told.

“Don’t worry, Reynolds, Doctor Robert will fix you up,” Benjamin said.

He felt a warm sensation on his side, and Robert's hand was shining with white light. After a moment he took away his hand, and Mathew’s side was as good as new.

"How's that?" Robert asked. Mathew felt his side. There was no evidence that there was ever a cut there, not even a scar.

"How did you do that? And that thing with the cane," Mathew asked. "Robert…who are you?"

"There now, I think we're ready" was all he said.

“You guys go ahead, I’m going to head back to HQ to tell them what happened,” Benjamin said.

“Be careful, Ben. If Alana shows up again, don’t do anything reckless,” Robert said.

“Come on, man, you know me,” Benjamin said.

“That’s the problem,” Robert said, face-palming. With that Benjamin turned and ran down the road in the opposite direction.

“Right then, homeward bound, Matt,” Robert said. Mathew wanted to know more, but it didn't look like he was revealing anything until they got to the house. So, Mathew nodded, and the two of them set off down the road. Fortunately, Alana didn't attack again. As they wandered down the road, Mathew tried to piece together everything that was happening, but it was all too confusing. He hoped his mom would be able to shed some light on this crazy situation.
***

When they walked in the door Mathew’s mother approached them.

“Oh great, now I'm gonna get it.”

"There you are, I was starting to get worried, what kept you so late?" she asked sternly, her hands on her hips.

"Uh, well−" At a loss for a logical explanation, Mathew looked to Robert for some brilliant story to cover for him.

"He was attacked," he said quietly.

“Well, not what I was going for...”

"Oh my God! Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did they steal anything?" needless to say, his mother went ballistic. Then Robert cut in.

"No Miss Reynolds, attacked by a servant of Darius." Mathew’s mother froze. Obviously she knew something Mathew didn't. It seemed like he was finally going to find out the truth.

"Mom, what's going on?" he asked her nervously.

"It's time miss Reynolds, you have to tell him." said Robert. What did the two of them know about Mathew that he didn't? And who was this Darius guy?

"Mom, please, tell me…what have you been keeping from me?" Mathew pleaded. She sighed. Then pulled out a chair at the table and said

"Sit down, Mathew. It's time I told you the truth about your father and the light bearers." Mathew looked at her with confusion, and slowly crossed over to the table and sat down. Robert did the same. Then his mother sat down across from him, took a deep breath, and began her story.

"Well, when I told you about your father dying in a fire, I was telling you the truth,” she started. "But I never told you the details that led up to his death. You see, your father wasn't…well…he wasn't exactly normal."

“What does dad have to do with any of this?” Mathew asked.

“More than you think,” his mother replied. Her tone told Mathew not to interrupt, so he let her continue.

"He was from a race of special people called the light bearers. These people, they have extraordinary powers, they could do things you couldn't even imagine. They practiced all different kinds of magic."

"Alright, this has got to be some sort of joke, right?" Mathew asked.

"Was it a joke when Alana summoned those shadow creatures to attack you?" asked Robert. He had a point. Mathew had to believe what his mother was telling him. He had seen Robert perform real magic with his very eyes. His mother continued her story.

"They controlled the elements; Fire, water, air, and earth, and had many other incredible abilities. They also cared for the most magnificent creatures, from myths and legends all around the world: Griffins, dragons, unicorns, phoenixes, hippocampuses, and many more. In the old days, they were known by different terms: Magi, sorcerers, and even wizards,”

“Wait, you’re telling me that’s where the idea of wizards came from?” Mathew asked.

“Of course, Merlin was one of the most famous light bearers ever,” Robert said.

“Oh, and now Merlin is real? I suppose you’re going to tell me Arthur Pendragon was real too?” Mathew said.

“In a sense, yes, but not how you’d think. But that’s another story for another time,” Robert answered.

Mathew tried to talk, failed, tried again, and finally gave up, shaking his head, and gestured for his mother to continue.

“These people, the light bearers, lived in harmony with normal humans for centuries, because they look and act just like them. But your father's friend, Darius, didn't like the idea of sharing the planet with lesser humans. He thought himself better than us, he despised us, thought of us as peasants. Soon his anger led him to delve into dark shadow magic, which was forbidden because of how dangerous it could be. The light bearer council found out about it, and banished him. Bitter and alone, he devised a plan to destroy all humanity by using his dark magic to create an army of shadowy demons. But, he swore he would start by annihilating every last light bearer. When he came for your father, you were only a baby. Darius was no longer the man your father once knew, he was a monster. Your father fought bravely against him, but during the fight, Darius grabbed you out of your stroller, and threatened to throw you into the fire the battle had caused.”

Mathew thought about his recurring dream. Had that been what it was about?

"Your father surrendered, and Darius tossed you to me. I caught you, but your father was killed. While he was laying there on the ground, barely alive, he made me swear that I wouldn't tell you any of this until you were ready. I escaped with you and we fled to my mother's house in California,"

"Alright, so far you’ve told me about how dad had magical powers and fought monsters and demons, and he was killed by his friend who got into dark magic.” Mathew recounted. His mother shrugged.

“Well alright then, I mean, why not?” Mathew said. “So dad is a pretty big part of this, but what does any of this have to do with me?" I asked.

"The light bearer gene passes on from parent to child. So, if I told you that you were mortal, I wouldn't be completely lying, but…"

That was why Alana had called him light bearer on the road. He was only half of what he originally thought he was. He had inherited my father's genes: He was a hybrid.

"I'm so sorry I never told you any of this, but your father made me swear never to tell you until you were ready." his mother said.

Mathew said nothing. He couldn't believe his mother hadn't told him any of this.

"And your father also had a request," she said, going into the hall. She pulled down the ladder to the attic and ascended it. Mathew heard something being unlocked, and knew it was the old trunk she had said was full of clothes. Finally, she came back down the ladder, holding a long object wrapped in cloth. As she pulled the cloth away, an old sword was revealed. It was a bit rusty, and looked a little battered from previous use.

"His request was that you take this, and meet with the council of elders,” she said quietly.

“What for?” Mathew asked.

“They will train you. Your father wanted you to begin your training much earlier, but he wasn’t around. It was foolish of me to try to protect you longer than I should have, I should’ve let them take you when they arrived…”

“What do you mean “when they arrived”?” Mathew asked slowly. “Are you saying they’ve been here before?”

“Not here, no. But they came to visit multiple times throughout your life. I always told them you needed more time, but it was me who couldn’t let you go.” She lowered her gaze, and let out a sigh.

“Mom, what exactly am I supposed to be training for?” Mathew asked.

"Well…when the light bearer council first visited us, it was at your grandmother’s house in California," said his mother. "But there was only one person, a man named Aerian. He is an elder, one of four, though today there are only three. He told me he had grave news concerning my child; concerning you.”
“which was?” Mathew asked, knowing he would much rather not hear the answer.

"The elders believe in a great prophecy. The prophecy states that many will try to defeat the shadow master, but only one will have the power to destroy him, and that one was to be born half light bearer, half mortal,” his mother paused for a moment, and then gave him the worst news yet.

“You were the only baby ever born from both a light bearer and a mortal."

“So basically you want me to go heroic warrior and shove a sword in some guy I don’t even know?” Mathew asked.

“Honestly I would give my life for you to not have to do this,” she replied. “But there’s no other way. Aerian was dead set that you are the one the prophecy talks about. And so far, the prophecy has been right. Nobody has been able to stand up to Darius because of the fact that his power has somehow grown significantly since he fought your father,”

“If that’s true, what chance do I have against him?” Mathew asked. His mother gave him a sad smile.

“None right now, which is why he wants to get rid of you while you’re still inexperienced. The truth is, he’s afraid once you’re trained, you’ll be able to defeat him,” she said. “And that’s why you’ll be leaving as soon as possible to see the council. They’ll know what to do next.”

"And what will happen if I refuse?" Mathew asked.

"Darius will most likely destroy this world," answered Robert.

“Ah, great, so no pressure.” This was all too much for him. Believing there was a whole other world inside the one he already knew was one thing, but being a part of that world, and protecting people from monsters? He could hardly defend himself as it was. But once again, it looked like he was stuck. If he accepted, he would probably die. If he refused, he would definitely die, along with the rest of the world.

“Alright, I’ll do it,” Mathew said.

"Excellent, we'll travel to the light bearer’s base tomorrow.” Robert said.

"Hold on, you still haven't told me your part in this," Mathew said to Robert.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but it wasn't my place, it was your mother's. If I had told you, I would have been breaking a law of the light bearers. It was your mother's task to inform you of your heritage, and hers alone," Mathew looked at his mom, wishing she would have told him sooner. He would probably be more enthusiastic if he was about seven.

"You don't know it, but you've had guards protecting your family your whole life. I was dispatched here last year to guard you and keep you safe from Darius's servants," Robert said. "So I had already been here for a while before you showed up. They told me you were an important light bearer, and to make sure you stayed safe. But man, you seem to have a knack for making my job difficult, you're always getting in trouble," he added with a grin.

"So, Alana, she was one of Darius's servants?" Mathew asked.

"Yup. My guess is she went undercover as a student to see if you were who Darius thought you were. It's a good thing I took that road, you were lucky, I sensed evil, and thought I should check it out. Did you do anything at school while I was away that would reveal your identity?" Mathew thought about it.

"Well…Andrew tried to beat me up, so I fought back, and she was there. I punched Andrew, and sent him flying into the lockers," Mathew explained.

"Ah, that would do it, a light bearer's physical abilities are stronger than a normal human's. Once she saw that, she'd have her answer," said Robert.
“Oh, that’s another thing: Where have you been for the last couple of weeks?” Mathew said, remembering how he’d been nearly driven mad trying to figure out what happened to his friend.

“I apologize for that. I got called in sooner than I expected. You see, the council wanted me to get information on what’s been going on with the war against the dark brethren. There’s been an increase in slain light bearers, and the council had a suspicion that Darius had enlisted some kind of assassin. Of course, we’ve known this assassin for a while, I just didn’t know it at the time.”

“Alana?” Mathew guessed. Robert nodded grimly.

“If she’s the one that’s been taking out light bearers, it’s suicide to try to fight her one on one. So to really answer your question, I’ve been going from town to town to check on some of our troops that don’t live at the base, and to warn them about Alana.” He said. “While I was gone, Benjamin was to temporarily take over my duty to watch you. Didn’t do a very good job of it by what he told me about the dance.” He scowled and shook his head.

“Wait, he knows about that?” Mathew said. “If he was supposed to protect me, then where was he when that guy came after me?”

“He was tied up in a freaking broom closet,” Robert growled. “The idiot tried to take on Xavier and his goons by himself. He never wants to have backup, he has to run in by himself and be mister big-shot.”

“He told me he was with a girl!” Mathew said, outraged.

“He would. He hates admitting to other people when he fails.” Robert said. The table was silent for a while. Then Mathew realized he had one more question.

“What about Emily, is she a light bearer too?”

“Nah, she’s human. One of the coolest humans I’ve met, I’ll admit,” Robert said.

“You’re telling me. When Andrew was going to beat me up, she jumped on him and tried to get him to leave me alone, even though she was still mad at me,” Mathew said. Robert grinned.

“I told you she’d forgive you, man,” he said.

“Okay, you were right, what else is new?” Mathew said. “But wait a minute. Couldn’t you have taken Andrew apart yourself?”

"Would have been child's play," he replied.

"Well hey you were there to protect me, why didn't you use some of your light bearer mojo on him?" Mathew asked.

"Dueling dark servants is one thing. Sorry to say, petty school fights are your own problem. It's forbidden for a light bearer to harm a mortal with their powers.” He said.

“Does that mean I’m going to light bearer jail or something?” Mathew asked. Robert laughed.

“You don't have to worry, what happened at school was an accident. But if you were to intentionally harm a mortal with your powers, the punishment would be severe. We can freeze them in time, but if we did anything to hurt them with our powers on purpose, we would be banished….or worse," explained Robert. He put emphasis on the word "Worse"

"Worse? Like worse how?" Mathew asked. There was an awkward silence.

"Well, it's getting late so I think I'd better leave," he said.

"But-"
"I'll see you tomorrow, Matt," he said hurriedly. Then he got up and went to the door.

"Robert, what-" Mathew heard the door shut, and sighed. Why was he so afraid to talk about what would happen if you broke that law?

Mathew yawned and looked at the clock. It really was late, so he decided to hit the sack. As he got up he picked up the old sword that apparently he now owned. He took a closer look and saw that the blade was made in an odd fashion, so that two crescent points curved down and inward near the hand-guard. To him they looked a lot like fangs. The hilt itself was in the shape of a dragon, with its head extending over the bottom of the blade and its wings spread as the hand-guard. Despite the scratches and rust, it was still cool looking. He put the sword in its sheath and went up to his room.

When he went to bed he could hardly sleep. He had the mysterious dream again, but this time it was no longer mysterious. He could make out everything; Darius holding him, the heat of the fire, and his mother being held back as she struggled to get to him. And he now realized that the mysterious voice was his father pleadingly calling his name in his final moments.