_____THE FOREST OF MISFITS_____
The next day, Mathew woke up and instantly wanted to go back to sleep. He felt sore all over from his ordeal of a night battling Alana and the shadows. He stretched rather painfully and yawned, rubbing the side of his aching head where Alana had nailed him with the pommel of her sword. If this is what the light bearers always felt like after a battle like that, then this fighting evil thing was definitely going to take some getting used to, especially for someone who’s only fighting experience was in video games.
He couldn’t believe this would be the last time he looked upon his bedroom, at least for a long time.
“Or maybe forever…” said a voice inside his head. He didn’t have any idea what would happen once he embarked on this insane adventure. Would he be able to come back? Would he ever see home again? Would he be able to see the people he cared about?
He supposed this all depended on whether or not he would be able to actually succeed in what he was supposed to do, which would be defeating an unfathomably evil overlord with enough power and skill to take down anyone who tried to resist him. This brought up a good question: How was he supposed to accomplish this? If nobody could resist Darius, then how could he, a kid still in his early teen years, possibly stand a chance against someone who had killed countless light bearers before him? What made him so special that he would be the one the prophecy spoke of?
Apparently the fact that he was half human was supposed to make him more powerful, seeing as the prophecy stated that a hybrid would be the only one able to stop Darius, but how did that work? Wouldn’t being only half light bearer make him less powerful? Thinking about it was making his head hurt, but he couldn’t stop; it just didn’t make any sense, and it was starting to get to him. He paced the room, trying to come up with a reason why being half human made a difference. After a short while there was a knock at his door, and he opened it to find Robert.
“You look stressed,” he stated.
“Nah, I’m good,” Mathew tried.
“That’s not what your aura says,” Robert replied. “It’s flickering and waving really hectically. What’s the matter?”
“It’s just…stuff on my mind,” Mathew said, leaning against the door-frame.
“State the obvious. Well, if you need to talk, you know I’m here,” Robert told him.
“Thanks, I know,” Mathew said. Robert whipped out his cell phone, opened it, and held it up to Mathew.
“What’s the time?” he asked.
“Eleven-thirty,” Mathew observed. “Why?”
“Someone is coming to give us a ride to the edge of town,” said Robert. “He’s supposed to be here around twelve. That is, if he isn’t late.”
“Oh, gotcha,” Mathew said. “Well I guess I’d better get packed. Meet you downstairs in half an hour,”
Robert nodded and went back down the hall, descending the staircase with his cane tapping at every step.
Mathew then turned back to his bedroom and stood there for a moment, trying to decide what he would really need. His first order of business was emptying half of his dresser into two duffel-bags. Once that was done, he added his PSP to one of them and zipped up both bags. There really wasn’t much more he would need, so he grabbed his bags and went downstairs to wait with Robert, but not before taking one last long look at his room.
“Goodbye, for now.”
As he was going down the stairs with his bags he heard knocking at the door. Thinking this was the light bearer who was supposed to escort them to the base, he hurried over and opened it to find…Emily?
“Emily! What are you−?” he started, but then he saw that she too was laden with bags.
“Hey, Rock-star,” she with a guilty smile, shrugging.
Mathew knew from just this sight what she wanted to happen, and he couldn’t speak.
“Hey, Matt, is he here?” Robert called from the living room.
“Uh, not exactly,” was all Mathew could say. He heard Robert’s cane tapping down into the room.
“What do you mean not exactly? He’s either here or he isn’t,” he said.
“Hey, Robert…” Emily said, looking even guiltier. Robert stopped dead.
“Hi, Emily, come to say goodbye?” he asked.
“That’s what I told my parents,” Emily responded.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Robert said with an edge in his voice.
“Neither do I,” Mathew agreed, crossing his arms.
“They would have never let me come,” Emily said. “I could just call them later and−”
“No,” Mathew said simply. “Not happening.”
“Aw, come on, you sound just like they would’ve!” she complained.
“That’s because just like them, I care about your safety,” Mathew replied. “Plus frankly the idea of your mother hunting me down scares me worse than the idea of fighting Darius.”
“Well it doesn’t matter what you say because I’m coming anyway,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.
“Nope, you’re going to go home and tell your parents I said goodbye,” Mathew said, staring off with her. She knit her eyebrows and glared back.
“Emily, Mathew’s right, you’ve got to go back,” Robert said. She opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance. Because just then they all heard something: The sound of giant wings flapping.
“Robert, are you hearing this?” Mathew asked worriedly, tensing up.
“Relax,” Robert said. “Our ride is coming, that’s all.”
“Huh?” Mathew lowered his guard and looked to the sky. What he saw was a large silhouette steadily dropping down towards the ground. Mathew squinted into the sun, but he couldn’t make anything out, except for those huge wings. It got closer and closer, until it finally touched down in a cloud of dust.
As the dust cleared, Mathew got a better look at the figure, and got a little dizzy. Was he seeing this right? Standing at the steps to his porch was s huge winged lizard. It was a dark greenish color, and had 3 curved horns. Its eyes, which were locked on Mathew's, were a bright yellow color. The winged reptile was slightly bigger than a horse, and had a saddle strapped to its back. Mathew was looking straight into the piercing eyes of a dragon.
Mathew's jaw dropped as he looked at the creature. Astride it was a man in a light brown trench coat. He had short spiky blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and looked to be about middle aged, but still quite fit, sporting a very muscular body. He leaped off his steed and landed in front of Mathew.
"Would you be Mathew Reynolds then?" He asked cheerfully. Mathew nodded, still looking wide-eyed at the dragon.
"Oh don't worry about old Valerian here, he's harmless," the man said. Then, as if having a staring contest with a dragon wasn't strange enough for him, the scaly beast spoke.
"Hmph, old? I'll have you know I'm only one hundred and seventy two,” it said in an irritated voice that sounded strangely like a British accent.
“And I'd very much appreciate it if you'd stop staring, it's making me a trifle uncomfortable," it added, turning its head back to Mathew as it finished.
This was all too much for Emily, and she started to fall over. Mathew rushed to catch her, and laid her down gently on the ground.
“Oh, terribly sorry!” the dragon said.
“It’s alright, she’ll be fine. At least I hope she will,” Mathew said.
“By the way, who is that young lass?” the man asked.
“She’s my friend, she wasn't supposed to be here,” Mathew replied, his face in his hands.
“Ah, that it explains things,” the man said. “I froze all the humans in the town to avoid uproar, but I left this area out because I wanted to have a word with your mother. I wasn’t expecting any extra humans to be around,”
“Neither was I, she's supposed to be at school,” Mathew said.
"Well, I’m sure she’ll come to in a bit. My name's Zadigon Fletcher, it's been quite a while," the man said, holding out his hand. From what he'd heard of his accent, Mathew guessed he was Scottish.
"It…has?" asked Mathew. He reached up and shook the man's hand, trying not to stare at the dragon again.
"Ah yes, almost sixteen years in fact," the man said.
Mathew didn't know how to reply to that, so he stayed silent.
"Oh, and this here is Valerian, good friend of mine," he said, gesturing to the dragon.
"Come now, Zadigon, can't you see the boy is confused?" the dragon said. He snaked his head down so he and Mathew were at eye level.
"We've met, though you were a bit young to remember," the dragon said. "I was a frequent visitor at your home in Utah,"
"Oh, well, good to see you again?" said Mathew, figuring his father must have known him. The dragon pulled back its lips in what looked like a smile.
"Ha, the boy has manners," he said. "It is a pleasure seeing you again, Mathew," He offered the tip of his tail. Mathew slowly reached out his hand and shook it, and it wiggled in his hand, tickling his palm. For some reason, this seemed incredibly familiar to Mathew, and he couldn't help laughing and grinning.
"Ha! He still laughs when I do that," said Valerian with a chuckle. "When you were just eight months old you seemed to have a fascination with my tail, you were always reaching out for it," he explained.
"I was?" Mathew asked with raised eyebrows.
"Oh yes, constantly. When I finally let you have it, you wouldn't let go, so I wiggled it around in your hand. You would laugh and embrace it like a teddy bear. You were quite an interesting little fellow," Valerian said, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Aye, and so was his old man," said Zadigon.
"You knew my dad too?" Mathew asked, curious now.
"Knew him? Oh yeah, I knew him, Charles and I go way back. When we were youngsters, not too much older than you, we were as close as two friends can be. We were always sparring with each other," he said. "He seemed to have a natural talent for the blade, I've rarely seen a better swordsman, except his old man," Mathew had a flashback to his fight with Alana. Hearing that his dad was an expert swordsman didn’t come as much of a surprise.
"Indeed, only his own father could defeat him in a fair fight. Charles never spared mercy, not even for elder Tarren, your grandfather," Valerian said, settling down like a dog or cat would when relaxing.
“Yes. Well, now that we’ve been introduced, would you mind fetching your mother for me?” Zadigon asked.
“No need,” Mathew’s mother’s voice called from the porch. She strode over to them and stood before Valerian as if the sight of the dragon were as plain as seeing a stray dog.
“Hello, boys, good to see you again,” she said with a small smile.
“Ah Katherine, looking lovely as always,” Zadigon said, nodding.
“So long it has been, Miss Reynolds,” Valerian said, bowing his head to her. Mathew’s mother patted the dragon’s head lightly. Mathew could only stare in disbelief.
“You know each other personally?” he asked slowly.
“Valerian was your dad’s most used method of transportation to and from the light bearer’s base,” his mother told him. “He was also the messenger dragon Elder Aerian arrived with the night this prophecy business started.”
“Ah, yes, that fateful night,” Valerian said. “That was certainly the longest distance I’ve ever traveled: Truckee, California from Glendale, Utah with very few stops. Fortunately Elder Aerian made for an enjoyable traveling companion.”
“Speaking of Elder Aerian, how is the council?” Mathew’s mother asked.
“Up to their beards in work,” Zadigon interjected. “The Dark Brethren have been snatching up more and more of our troops, and nobody feels safe living away from the base anymore. They’re all moving in, we barely have room for everyone.”
“There isn’t anywhere else you can go?” Zadigon shrugged and shook his head.
“There are the other 3 bases, but we can’t use any of them. The elves are living in the water base, and we still haven’t found the air base,” he said.
“What about the fire base?” Zadigon scowled like she had just given him a flashback to a bad memory.
“Bah, the dwarves say it’s been overrun with salamanders, plus it’s grown too hot to be inhabitable for any other type of humanoid life anyway,” he said. While his mother and Zadigon were talking, Mathew glanced back at Emily to see that she was waking up.
“Matt…am I going crazy, or is that a dragon?” she asked, pointing at Valerian. Mathew didn’t know how to explain the situation, so he just said
“He’s an old friend.”
“Well that clears everything up,” Emily said, getting to her feet.
“Don't think you're off the hook. You still shouldn't even be here,” Mathew said. “I want you to go home right now.”
“And I want to come with, so if you want me to go home you're going to have to take me there yourself,” Emily replied.
“Don't tempt me,” Mathew mumbled.
“Excuse me?” Emily said, marching up to him. “You want to repeat that?”
“Not particularly, no,” Mathew said, shrugging innocently. “But seriously, I have no idea what's going to happen, what if The Dark Brethren attack us? You'd be safer here.”
“Screw safer!” Emily growled. “Do you have any idea what I went through last night?”
“Yeah, actually, I do!” Mathew said, raising his voice. “You almost died if I remember correctly!”
“So? You saved me! And that's not the point anyway, I'm talking about how I spent the rest of the night-,” she stopped and frowned, apparently deciding not to tell him what had happened after he left the previous night.
“Forget it...I just don't want to lose you and maybe never see you again,” she said.
“Emily, I don't want to lose you either, but even if I did let you come, what about your parents?
“I'll take the heat from them later, I'll tell them it was all my idea and you had nothing to do with it! Just please, Matt, don't leave me all alone.” The look she gave him crushed any more attempts he would have tried to get Emily to turn back. He wanted her to be safe, but he also wanted her to be happy. And he couldn't really tell her what to do anyway, though he wished he could. So it looked like there was only one option.
“Ugh...you have to promise me you'll be close to me 24/7,” he said as firmly as he could.
“Isn't that the whole point?” Emily said, grinning.
“Fine, I'll tell that guy Zadigon and─,” he was interrupted by a flying tackle from Emily and fell to the ground as she hugged him tight and laughed like a lunatic.
“Haha, I win!” she said.
“Yeah, whatever, don't get used to it.” Mathew said, but he hugged back all the same. When he looked back to his mother and Zadigon, Mathew saw that Robert had joined in on the conversation. From the looks of it they were recounting the events of the previous night. Zadigon kept glancing at him with a raised eyebrow, as if to say
“You did that?”
“Who is that guy, anyway?” Emily asked quietly.
“Apparently he was a friend of my dad's,” Mathew replied.
“Your dad must have had some interesting friends,” Emily said. Mathew shrugged, watching the others talk about him.
After a few minutes, his mother began walking up to him. When she reached him, she grasped his shoulders.
“Looks like this is it then,” she said. “Now, I want you to call me every day at least once, got it?”
Mathew nodded, and she hugged him tight.
“Mom...I...,” he couldn't finish. No amount of time could have prepared him for this moment. He was now about to leave his home, and embark on some insane journey that he might not come back from. But he knew what was at stake. If he didn't do this, there was no telling how many lives would be lost because of Darius. He had a chance to stop it, to save millions of people. Also, he had a personal drive. Darius had taken his father from him, and Mathew was going to make sure no more families were ripped apart like his had been.
With this in mind, he looked into his mother's eyes with new-found confidence.
“I won't let what dad did for us...for me, be for nothing,” he said. His mother smiled, and squeezed his shoulders.
“I knew that when I saw what happened last night,” she said. “It's true I never wanted you to fight your father's war, but it looks like the fight is coming to you, and I want you to be able to win it, even if it means I have to let you go for a while...” she frowned and hugged him again.
“You'll be just fine, you're just like your dad, you know,” she said, beaming at him.
“How can I be? From what you told me about him, he was one of the greatest light bearers who ever lived,”
“Trust me, I know you, you'll get there some day,” she assured him. “Right now you just need to focus on starting your training.”
Mathew still didn't know if he believed he could ever live up to his father, but he nodded in confirmation and looked to the others.
“Guess I'd better start this heroic “beat the bad guy” quest then,” he said. His mother laughed and kissed his forehead.
“Go on then, greatest light bearer to-be!” she said. “And remember: The smallest light can shine in the dark.” Mathew smiled and gave her one last hug, then made his way over to where the others were standing.
By the way Emily was looking at Valerian nervously and biting her lip, Mathew guessed she still wasn't completely comfortable with standing next to a dragon. But then again, she was...well...standing next to a dragon.
Robert was still talking to Zadigon, who gestured for Mathew to come closer.
“Well, from what your lad Robert has been telling me, it seems you truly are your father's son,” he said.
“Alana was asking for it,” Mathew replied with a shrug. This made Zadigon chuckle.
“It sure sounds like it, lucky your mum had the sense to bring your dad's most vital form of defense.”
“You mean this?”
Mathew drew the sword from its sheath at his hip and showed it to Zadigon, who eyed it with the expression of a man remembering earlier days.
“That little piece of dwarfen craftsmanship served your old man better than any other weapon made for the light bearers,” Zadigon told him.
“Mom mentioned elves, but dwarves? Don't tell me hobbits are real too,” Mathew said. Zadigon laughed and shook his head.
“Nah, just elves and dwarves, and the angels but we haven't had contact with them in a while.”
“Whoa, angels? Like servants of God angels?” Mathew asked.
“Eh, not exactly. They have wings and “divine powers” if that's what you want to call them, but otherwise they're just another type of humanoid being.”
Mathew opened his mouth to ask what other types of humanoid beings there were, but Zadigon held up a hand.
“Why don't you save the rest of your questions for the trip, eh?” he said.
“Yeah, of course,” Mathew said, nodding.
“Though, I do have a question for you,” Zadigon said slowly. “What is that wee lass doing here?” He pointed over to Emily, who was standing a good length away eying Valerian cautiously.
“She kind of wanted to come with us,” Mathew said. “I tried to tell her to stay here, but there's no changing her mind.”
"Oh!" Mathew thought he saw a strange look on his face… remorse? Valerian looked a bit uncomfortable as well. But before he could figure it out, Zadigon's grin was back.
"Well then, now that we've all built a deep trusting relationship with each other, how's about we move on out?" said Zadigon.
"Yeah, but…could I just have a minute?" said Mathew.
"No problem lad, just come when you're ready," said Zadigon. He and Valerian walked off the porch and went to wait in the yard. Valerian knelt down low to the ground, and Zadigon hopped into the front of the saddle. Mathew turned around, and looked at his home. He had only been there a few weeks, but it seemed sad that he was leaving. His mother had said he was just like his father; what that meant he supposed he would have to figure out along the way. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He felt hands clasp his shoulders, and looked to his sides to find Robert and Emily standing there with him. They too looked anxious about leaving. Mathew put his arms around their shoulders.
"So, ready for a road trip?" he asked them.
"Technically that's air trip," Robert said, grinning.
"Psh, whatever, smart-aleck," Mathew said, rolling his eyes. He wondered when he would next see his home, if he ever did see it again.
“Am I the only one who's standing here reminded of a fantasy novel?” he asked. The others both laughed and shook their heads. The three of them stood looking around at their home town for a few more minutes.
"Come on, let's get going," Mathew said finally. The three of them turned around and walked back over to Valerian
"Alright then, all aboard the light bearer express," said Zadigon. Mathew and Emily helped Robert up, and then Mathew clambered up after him. Emily paused, twisting a lock of hair around her finger, and looking at Valerian as if she was trying to decide whether he was stable enough to ride.
Mathew held out his hand, but she wouldn't take it.
"You alright?" Mathew asked. Emily shrugged.
"I…have this thing with heights," she said.
"Oh, wonderful," said Robert, shaking his head.
"Do not worry, my dear, I'm an excellent flier," said Valerian. Emily didn't seem convinced.
"Come on up, I won't let you fall, I promise," said Mathew, smiling. After a moment, Emily grinned.
"Hmm…well…alright," she said, taking his hand. He pulled her up in front of him, and wrapped his arms around her waist, while she held onto Robert, forming a chain.
Then a painful image flashed in his memory: Emily and Benjamin, dancing and laughing.
He loosened his grip a little, wishing that night had just never happened at all.
"Alright, everyone, strap your ankles in," Zadigon instructed. Everybody made sure their ankles were strapped in securely, and Valerian stood up.
"Are you all secure up there, then?" he asked.
"Aye, we're ready," Zadigon replied.
"Right. Let us be off," said Valerian. He crouched down low, and sprang into the air. Mathew was hit with a wave of G-force, and held onto Emily tight, struggling to avoid flying out of the saddle. Then Valerian started to flap his great wings and rose into the sky. It was breathtaking. Everybody down below was frozen by Zadigon's spell. Mathew looked down to the streets and saw a jogger on the side of the road, frozen in mid-step, unaware of the piece of gum directly underneath his foot. As Mathew admired the spectacle, he noticed something odd.
“Zadigon, didn't you say you froze all the humans in the area?” he asked.
“Aye, all of' them,” Zadigon replied. “Why do you ask?”
“I see someone from my school...and he's looking right at us.” Mathew knew that shaggy blonde hair anywhere. But how could he not be frozen by the spell?
“That's not possible. This is your first flight, it's probably having an effect on you,” Zadigon said.
“Yeah, guess so,” Mathew replied. But something just didn't seem right to him. He shook his head, and tried to concentrate on the incredible view.
As Valerian gained altitude, Mathew saw a large section of dense woods far in the distance.
“Where did that forest come from? I thought Arizona was all desert,” he asked.
"That's where the base is located!" shouted Zadigon over the wind in their ears.
"It used to be a huge desolate wasteland that stretched on for miles with only one tree. But when Darius cracked, we had to put up defenses to avoid being found. Now there's hundreds of trees, so he'll have a tough time figuring our which one is the right one," he explained.
"How did you make it go from one tree to hundreds?" Mathew asked over the roaring wind.
"Earth magic. It sure took us quite a while though, took all of our most skilled forces to get the job done," replied Zadigon.
After a while the forest drew closer. Mathew hadn't realized just how long it stretched on for. Finally, they neared the woods, and Valerian started to descend. When they touched down Valerian knelt low to the ground, and they dismounted. Emily was ecstatic to be back on solid ground, she shouted
"Land!" and scrambled off Valerian's back.
Zadigon led them to the woods, stopping a few feet from the entrance. He turned to the three of them.
“Right, so, what we have to do now is take hold of each other,” Zadigon said seriously. “Just holding on to each others' arm is enough, but make sure you've got a good tight grip.”
“Wait, what are we doing?” Mathew asked slowly.
“Teleporting,” Zadigon said simply.
“Teleporting?” Mathew repeated. “You're kidding, right?”
“You just flew on a dragon and you have a hard time believing in teleportation?” Zadigon asked with a smirk.
“I have a hard time believing any of this,” Mathew replied.
“Well, I can't say I blame you, but try to have an open mind, it'll help a lot,” Zadigon said.
“Okay, open mind. So, how are we “teleporting” ?” Mathew asked.
“With this.” Zadigon reached into his trench-coat and pulled out a rectangular device that looked like some sort of remote, only it had just one button.
“This device is locked onto the signal of our portal that we use to transport our troops all across the world,” Zadigon explained. “When activated, it sends the user directly back to the base.”
“Of course it does,” Mathew said, wondering what other seemingly impossible feats were in fact possible. “But if you have a portal that can take you anywhere, why didn't you use it to get here? And why didn't we use the teleporter at the house?”
“Zadigon appears to enjoy making me work,” Valerian said, grinning. It was a little unnerving with all tho sharp teeth.
“Psh, you know you enjoy getting out of the base,” Zadigon retorted. “And as for the teleporter, it's only a prototype, so it has limited range. Now, all of you take hold of each other, a tight grip is crucial.” Mathew grabbed Robert's wrist, and Emily squeezed his hand. Robert took hold of Zadigon's arm, and Zadigon held onto one of Valerian's horns.
“Right, are we all holding on tight?” Zadigon asked. The group nodded, and Zadigon put his finger to the button.
“Transporting to the light bearer headquarters in three...two...one...
Click
Mathew closed his eyes and grimaced, trying to be prepared for whatever happened, only to realize...nothing was happening.
“I'm not seeing any headquarters...,” he said.
“Alright, just hold on, let me try again,” Zadigon said. He clicked the button again.
Still nothing.
“Damn thing is malfunctioning!” Zadigon growled. “I was afraid this would happen. Blasted prototypes, bah!”
“So, what does this mean?” Mathew asked. “We can't get to the base?”
“Oh, we're getting to the base. It's just not going to be easy,” Zadigon replied.
“You're telling me we're going in there?” Mathew pointed to the forest, and Zadigon nodded.
“But I thought you said you made it so Darius couldn't find it. If that's true, then how can we find it?”
“This teleporter has a tracking function. It looks like that's still working at least,” Zadigon said, though he didn't show much enthusiasm.
“In other words, you're saying it can lead us to the base,” Mathew guessed.
“Aye, but walking there should only be a last resort,” Zadigon said. “And it looks like it's our only option, so I hope you have some experience camping.” He walked up to the forest and stopped. For some reason he seemed almost fearful, and what he said next explained why.
"Now, I should probably warn the three of ya, this forest is full of dangerous creatures," he said. “You've heard some of the legends of cryptids and mythical creatures from different cultures, right?"
"Yeah, like nearly every culture in the world has lore about dragons, right?" Mathew said, gesturing to Valerian. He had learned a lot from his sister's obsession with crypto-zoology, whether he wanted to or not.
"Aye, that's correct. But as you can see, Valerian isn't exactly mythical, and neither are most of the other "Mythical" creatures you've heard about. We've got legendary creatures from almost every culture of the world here in this forest, plus a few that have never even been documented," said Zadigon.
"Why would there be creatures from all over the world in one forest?" Mathew asked.
"Added defense. We need to make sure we make it as hard as possible for the dark servants to find the base, and using bloodthirsty monsters like guard dogs seemed like a good way to do so," said Zadigon. “We used to deposit them all in another dimension known as the D-zone, but we decided we could use some of them to our advantage.”
"So you're saying we could find a chupacabra in one place and a sasquatch in another?" Mathew asked.
"Pretty much," said Zadigon, shrugging.
"Interesting," Mathew said, starting to rethink this whole destiny thing. The prophecy wouldn't mean much if he had his head bitten off by some hungry monster. Then he started to worry about Emily even more. He turned to her.
"You sure you wanna keep going? Because I can have Zadigon fly you back," he said.
"It's going to take more than a few bloodthirsty monsters to keep me away from you," she replied with a grin. With his last attempt to get Emily to turn back a failure, Mathew turned to Zadigon.
"Alright, we're ready," he told him. Zadigon nodded and the team took their first steps into the dark forest.
As they made their way through the forest, Emily was in complete awe. He couldn't blame her, the forest was incredible. It generated a feeling of mystery, curiosity, the feeling of not knowing what was waiting for you behind a tree, or crouched low in the bushes. It felt incredibly frightening, but exciting at the same time Mathew wondered what sort of bizarre creatures they'd run into in this vast forest.
He stuck close to Valerian, hoping those razor sharp teeth and claws would be enough to send any bloodthirsty beasties running.
Strange creatures weren't the only thing that made this forest interesting. There was a variety of bizarre looking plants all around. There were giant carnivorous plants, like super-sized Venus fly traps. There were also some intriguing flowers around the forest. Emily was instantly drawn to one with petals that changed different colors.
"Rainbow flowers. Quite a fascinating sight, wouldn't you say?" Zadigon asked."You can say that again," replied Emily, staring at the flower as it changed from red, to purple, to a bright green.
Soon, the group had their first sighting of one of the forest's many inhabitants. A dark silhouette among the trees It was quite short, and moved very quickly.
"Ah, I reckon that would be a gnome, earth elemental. They're crafty, fast, and like to stay hidden. But if you pay enough attention, you might see them when they're gathering food," said Zadigon. Mathew watched as the small shadow ducked into the bushes and vanished from sight.
"Not exactly very vicious," Mathew said.
"Not all the entities in this forest are interested in eating us," said Zadigon. "Some of them have come here of their own free will, and are quite docile. They just want to live in peace away from human population,"
"Okay, so you're saying there are monsters here in Arizona? Outside of this forest?" Mathew asked.
"Oh yes, but the mortals don't notice because we take care of them too quickly. The way we accomplish this is actually very simple. Whenever we get word of a creature sighting, we freeze the mortals in time, then we either capture the entity and bring it here, or, if it refuses to be captured, we dispatch it," explained Zadigon.
"So it's like a zoo," said Emily.
"Hardly. We don't keep them behind bars, they're free to roam around in this forest, away from humans, as it should be," said Zadigon.
They pressed on, as Zadigon told them more about the forest and its multitude of inhabitants. Eventually, they were drenched in sweat and their legs were exhausted from hiking, so they made camp near a small lake so they would be able to cool down and wash themselves off in the water. Emily, being the lady, got to take a dip in the lake first, so Mathew helped set up camp. The team rolled out the sleeping bags, and made a fire, then sat down to rest for a bit.
Finally, it was Mathew's turn to jump in the lake, so he made his way down to the water.
It was in an area completely encircled by trees, with the bright moonlight shining down on the water.
Mathew stripped and jumped into the lake. It was blessedly cool after the long day of hiking. He took a deep breath, and sunk below the surface.
He looked around, and saw a few fish swimming here and there. They were enormous, about the size of a shark, and were a bright greenish blue color. They weren't bothering Mathew, so he assumed they didn't eat humans. He held out his hand, and they shot through the water, circling around him, investigating the stranger intruding in their lake. They looked like fast swimmers, with long light blue fins extending from either side of their heads, and powerful tails that propelled them through the water. This forest was amazing, like an open zoo to the strange and the unknown.
But still, Mathew had to admit, he missed being home with his mother, and Jenna. He missed his formerly normal life, and wondered what could have happened if he hadn't been the one in the prophecy. He also wondered what was happening at his school, the only school he ever really liked, despite Andrew Carson being a constant threat. After a few seconds, realizing he was almost out of air, Mathew waved goodbye to his scaly friends and shot to the surface.
He relaxed in the shallows, floating on his back with his eyes closed.
Snap
The sound of a footstep made his heart skip a beat. He waited, listening intently...
Snap Another footstep. It sounded like it was coming from behind a portion of the tree circle. He swam over to where he heard the footsteps as quietly as he could. When he reached the right spot, he looked through the gaps between the trees, but couldn't see anything.
Snap A figure passed into his sight, and he nearly jumped out of the lake.
He couldn't make out much, only that whatever it was had on a very tattered hooded cloak, and walked slowly. It didn't stay long before moving on through the dense trees.
He tried he best to tell himself whatever he had just seen was normal here, but it wasn't easy. He went back over to the shallows and went back to enjoying the water, hoping whatever the figure was, it hadn't noticed him.
***
After a few more minutes floating in the refreshing water, Mathew put on some clean clothes and made his way back to camp. The gang was sitting around the fire, all except for Zadigon,. He was gone.
"Hey, where's Zadigon?" Mathew asked.
"He's out um, "acquiring" our dinner," said Robert.
"Ah, I see," Mathew replied. He took it that meant he was hunting. He went to sit down next to Emily, who was looking up at the stars. She smiled when she saw him approaching.
"This place is beautiful, don't you think?" she asked.
"Eh, it's okay," Mathew replied, grinning. It really was incredible, not like the tame campsites of the normal world. Here, Mathew could tell that nature ruled, and would tear down anything foolish enough to get in its way. He looked around and noticed Valerian near the edge of the camp, looking up at the moon with a serene expression on his face. Mathew got up and crossed over to him. He smiled when he noticed Mathew approaching.
"So, my boy, enjoying the trip so far?" he asked.
"Actually…yeah, I am," answered Mathew. "This place is just….wow," Valerian chuckled.
"Indeed, it is quite an intriguing place, especially at night. Listen closely, and you'll see what I mean," said Valerian. Mathew was silent, and lots of different sounds met his ears. Howls, chirps, hums, and many other noises came from the surrounding woods.
"You're right…the forest, it's like the whole place is-"
"Alive?" Valerian finished for him. "Yes, exactly. This place the light bearers have created is not only a fortification from outside threats, it serves yet another purpose: A haven, a place where any misfit creature that is different or feels it does not belong in the realm of humans shall find refuge," said Valerian warmly.
"So that's what Zadigon meant," said Mathew, listening to the calls of the forest inhabitants.
"Yes, some creatures actually want to come here. They have lived alongside light bearers for centuries, and know them well. So, they can sense their magic here, and know that they will welcome here," said Valerian.
"So this whole forest is like a home…a home for any creature that feels unwelcome in the outside world," said Mathew. Valerian nodded.
"Wisely put. But, there are some creatures that still feel unwelcome, even in this forest," he said quietly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mathew asked.
"I've heard tell of an elusive huntress that dwells in these woods, neither mortal nor a light bearer. It is said that she is a vagrant, a lone traveler, never staying in one place for too long. So, I guess you could say she hasn't found her home yet," Valerian explained.
"That's gotta suck," said Mathew. Valerian frowned.
"It is a depressing thought," he said.
Mathew wondered if the figure he had seen near the lake could be the huntress Valerian was talking about.
"But wait, if she's not a mortal or a light bearer, what is she?" he asked.
"There are many types of intelligent humanoids in the world, so it is hard to give that question a straight answer," said Valerian.
"So in other words, you're clueless," said Mathew.
"Precisely," said Valerian blankly, sighing. Mathew patted his side.
"Hey, there are some things even a wise dragon like you doesn't know, it's okay," he said, grinning. He laughed as he felt the tip of Valerian's tail tickle his back. Valerian chuckled.
Mathew sat down with his back against Valerian's side, looking up at the moon.
"So, you knew my dad, huh?" Mathew asked.
"I am a messenger dragon, one of many, sent to different destinations to deliver orders or notifications upon receiving them from the elders. Your father was a rather important man in the council, so he was summoned to the base quite often. I volunteered to deliver his orders once, and found he was quite an interesting fellow. So, I volunteered again when the time came, and again, and soon, we became good friends," explained Valerian.
"So that's what you meant when you said you were a frequent visitor," said Mathew.
"Indeed, but, between you and I, my visits were not always to deliver messages," said Valerian, his lips pulling back into that sharp toothed smile.
"Oh yeah?" said Mathew, stretching.
"Sometimes, I visited just for a little friendly chat, and to see how you were growing," said Valerian. Mathew smiled.
"You were definitely an intriguing child, curious to no end.”
"I still am a curious child. Just minus the baby fat," he said. Valerian chuckled again.
"Yes, I suppose you are. But you must be cautious with your curiosity here, lest you meet a swift end," he said. A few moments later, the team heard rustling coming from the edge of the camp, and Zadigon came into the light of the fire carrying a large boar. At first Mathew was surprised he could carry the king sized hog all by himself, then remembered that a light bearer's physical abilities were enhanced. Zadigon set the boar on the ground and stretched.
"Phew, this piggy's definitely been eating well," he said. He also set down a large sack full of fresh fruit. Mathew and Emily stared at the furry porker, which was as big as a calf.
"Robert, you should see this thing, it's huge!" Mathew exclaimed.
"I may be only two thirds blind, but in the dark, I can only see things that are alive," said Robert. "See, every living thing has its own aura, its own glow. Basically, in the dark, I can only see your essence. I can see you guys, because you're all alive, and you're glowing really bright, but I can't see anything if its soul has already passed on.," he explained.
"Sort of like a thermal camera," Mathew said. Robert nodded. Mathew felt a bit foolish. With the way Robert could fight, it was easy to forget he was disabled.
Fortunately, Mathew's mind was taken off his own stupidity when Zadigon took him aside after dinner.
"Now, lad, I'm going to teach you some of the basics of magic," he said. "The first ability I was going to teach you was how to heal minor injuries, but according to Robert, you've already got that one down,"
Realizing what he was talking about, Mathew looked at Emily, grateful for the miracle that had allowed him to save her life.
"Therefore, we'll move on. The first technique I'm going to teach you is very simple, very basic. Now, grab your sword," he instructed. Mathew did as he was told and retrieved his sword from his sleeping bag.
"Now, all you have to do is will it to illuminate with white light," he said.
“Like Robert's cane!” Mathew said. Zadigon nodded.
"So, just think about it?" Mathew asked.
"Aye, clear your mind, and concentrate on that one thought," he replied. "Not only will it light your way in dark places like caves, but it also makes for an effective weapon against those shadow creatures," he explained. "Now, concentrate on your blade, and will it to illuminate,"
Mathew nodded, and concentrated hard. A moment later the blade of his sword ignited.
"Ah, very good lad!" Zadigon said with a smile. "Now, this one's going to be a bit tougher," he said. He pointed to a practice dummy he had set up.
"What I want you to do, is use that light as a long range weapon. Swing your sword, and make a crescent of light shoot out of the blade and hit the practice dummy," he said. Mathew wasn't sure if he could do that, but he shrugged and gave it a shot. He touched the blade to his shoulder, held the handle firmly in both hands, and swung downwards with a yell. Nothing happened.
“No worries, some people have more trouble practicing magic than others,” Zadigon said. “Why don't you try again?” Mathew sighed, but nodded and tried it again. This time a small crescent of light flew at the dummy, crashing into it and making it flop around on its post.
"Good, good," said Zadigon. "Now, we light bearers are skilled in controlling the elements. It's how we made this very forest you're standing in. You will be learning all about the elements and their many uses. Tonight, I will teach you Ice. This is a good starter, because all you have to do to use it is relax yourself. You have to be cool like the element, channel its essence into your body, and let it out through the palms of your hands," he explained. "This should result in an orb of pure icy air being released and flying at the practice dummy," he continued. "This spell can freeze just about anything, and extinguish even the hottest flames. But, if you're angry, the most you'll get while trying to summon Ice is cold hands,"
Mathew nodded, and tried his best to relax his body, thinking back to when he was floating in the cool lake, to when He and Emily were sitting up in the bleachers at school. His muscles relaxed, and he took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and aiming at the practice dummy. His hands started to feel cold, and ice began to form on his fingers, running up his hands.
"You've got to release it, Matt, or you'll end up freezing yourself," said Zadigon urgently. Mathew quickly nodded, and imagined the ice forming into an orb and shooting at the practice dummy. The ice stopped, and Mathew started to feel something cool pulsating in his hands. It started as a shimmering spec of bright blue light, and grew into a glowing orb, about the size of a snowball. Mathew released it, and it flew at the dummy, crashing into it. There was a loud hiss, and it was obscured in cold air for a moment, so it looked when you first open a freezer. When the spot was clear, Mathew saw that the dummy was coated in frost.
"You see?” asked Zadigon. "The effects will become more powerful as you progress through your training and become more powerful yourself. But I think that's enough for tonight, Practice these techniques until they're second nature."
"No problem," Mathew said. They walked back over to the others and Emily laid down next to him by the fire.
“Not bad, rock-star,” she said, clasping her hands behind her head.
“Eh, I think I was at my best when I was saving your butt,” he replied, poking her shoulder.
“Ah, yes, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Zadigon said.
“There's not much to talk about,” Mathew insisted. “I just did what Robert did for me when Alana attacked me on the road.”
“Not exactly, Matt,” Robert interjected. “What you did was different...way different.”
“I just healed her, I thought we were finished discussing this!,” said Mathew in irritation.
“You did a lot more than that, and a lot more than you should have,” Robert muttered.
“Hey, I saved her life!” Mathew said loudly. “Would you rather me have let her die?”
Robert opened his mouth to retort, but his eyes moved to where Emily was sitting, and he sighed, shaking his head.
“Of course not,” he said. “But I didn't want you to die trying to save her either,”
“Just what are you saying?” Mathew demanded.
“I'm saying that you reached into the other side and pulled Emily back, and somehow managed to reverse her death,” Robert replied. “But the other side tried to take you too!”
Emily looked at him wide-eyed,
“You mean Mathew almost took my place when he was trying to save me?” she asked timidly.
“That's the gist of it,” Robert replied. “He tried to cheat the balance of life and death, and the balance wasn't happy about it.”
“I still don't get what you're talking about,” Mathew insisted.
“He's talking about the next world, and how you almost became a part of it,” Zadigon said darkly.
“What next world? Are you talking about Heaven or something?”
Zadigon gave him a thoughtful look, as though he were wondering this himself.
“In a way, yes. But of course, nobody who is living could possibly know what the next world is like,” he said.
“So for all you know it really could be like Christians describe it,” Mathew said.
“It's possible,” Zadigon replied. “What do you think?”
Mathew looked up at the stars and thought about this for a moment. There were thousands of descriptions of “Heaven'” as it was called by many.
But since nobody had ever seen it, it was impossible to say whether or not one of those descriptions was correct.
“To be honest, I don't know what to believe,” he said. “I believe the best idea is just to do what you said earlier: Keep an open mind.”
“Wise words for one so young,” Valerian said, walking back over to the camp and stretching out by the fire.
“Oh please, I think we all know who the wise one is here,” Robert said smugly.
“Ha, more like wise-ass,” Mathew replied, ducking as Robert took a swing at him with his cane. That was when everybody cracked up, even Robert.
Maybe this whole journey through a forest of deadly blood-lusted monsters thing wouldn't be so bad after all. He had his best friends, and had even made some new ones. He still wasn't totally on board with the idea of Emily joining them, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it, so he figured he might as well enjoy her company.
Zadigon and Valerian seemed pretty cool too. Even though he had just met them a few hours ago, he was already beginning to like them.
As they sat around the fire, Zadigon explained the story of how he knew Mathew's father. It turned out he, Charles, and Darius were good friends back before Darius was banished. He explained how they used to be inseparable when they were kids, and were the best of friends even when they were grown up. But Darius began to think of mortals as lesser humans, and the friendship became strained. Then when he was put on trial for the use of dark magic, Charles and Zadigon both saw him as a criminal. When Darius was found guilty he was banished from the council. Darius blamed Charles and Zadigon for his banishment, stating that if they had defended him, he wouldn't have been sentenced to exile.
When Zadigon had finished with his story it had gotten late, and Emily, exhausted from the day of hiking, had passed out with her head on Mathew's shoulder. So it was decided they would get some rest and continue the journey in the morning. Mathew carried Emily over to her sleeping bag, then went to his own and lay down, looking up at the stars. His first day away from home had gone better than he thought it would. Sure he missed his mother, but still, it wasn't so bad. He smiled and clasped his hands behind his head.
***
After a while, everybody had fallen asleep, but Mathew just couldn't do it, his mind was racing with too many thoughts. So he decided to take a walk. He crept away from the camp, and set off. When Mathew was a good distance away from the camp he used the ability Zadigon had taught him earlier, and illuminated the blade of his sword. He held it out in front of him like a torch. Mathew had thought the forest was amazing before, but now, at night, it felt like the entire forest was alive.
There were sounds and movements everywhere. He saw various shadows, strange shapes that definitely weren't ordinary animals. Soon he came upon some abnormally large and strange looking mushrooms. They were as wide as dinner plates. Mathew stepped on a few as he made his way through the forest, and stopped when he heard a loud cracking sort of noise, like breaking wood. He figured he must have stepped on a rotten log, and kept walking, but froze in place when he heard somebody yelling in a high pitched shriek.
"HEY, YOU BIG, DUMB, CLUMSY OAF, YOU DESTROYED MY FREAKING HOUSE!" Mathew looked around. Nobody was there. He shrugged, and tried to step forward.
"HEY! STUPID! DOWN HERE!" Mathew slowly looked down at the ground near his feet. Standing there was what looked like a tiny person with monarch butterfly wings. She had shoulder length straight brunette hair and dark eyes, and she was glowing a reddish color. She was dressed in torn fabric sewn together to make a skirt and a top. Mathew recognized it instantly as a fairy. Jenna had showed him pictures of what fairies were supposed to look like, and this was definitely how they were described. A real live fairy, staring right up at him. And a very ticked off fairy at that. Mathew made a mental note to apologize to his sister for making fun of her belief in fairies if he ever saw her again.
"Look what you did!" yelled the tiny fairy, pointing. Mathew looked in the direction she was pointing to see the mushrooms he had stepped on. As he looked closer he saw that indeed there was a small house nestled between them. Or at least there was. It was just broken pieces of wood and glass now.
"Oh, uh, oops. um sorry I didn't see it there," Mathew said with a nervous smile
"Oops? OOPS? That's all you're going to say? You destroyed my house you son of a toad!" The fairy shouted. "Ugh now what am I going to do? My parents are going to be home any minute, I'm toast!" she said hopelessly. Mathew felt bad for her, he did destroy her house after all.
He had no idea what to do. He knew he had probably get back to camp soon, but he couldn't just leave her here like this.
"Hey, look, I'm really sorry. How bout I wait for your parents and explain what happened?" he suggested. She looked up at him, scowling.
"You better, I'm sure as hell not takin' the blame!" she said fiercely. So, they waited, eventually another fairy came flying out of the darkness with a tiny torch. He looked to be just a little boy. He was glowing two different colors, blinking from blue to yellow. He rushed into the arms of the other fairy. He was crying.
"Gum gum, what's wrong? Where are mom and dad?" asked the girl. the little fairy looked up at his sister, tears in his eyes.
"They're gone, they've been taken by Baltazer!" cried the boy, the girl's face turned from concerned to horrified.
"Oh no…he's going to…" her voice trailed off. Apparently this Baltahzer guy was bad news.
"Who's Baltazer?" Mathew asked. The fairy girl looked up at him. She was no longer glowing red, but a yellowish color like the little boy.
"He's a big scary monster that eats us fairy folk!" she responded.
"That's terrible!" Mathew said. Then he had an idea. It probably wasn't the best idea, since he hadn't had much training, and this forest was full of dangerous nocturnal monsters, but he had to do something, he owed the fairy for destroying her house.
"Hey, do you know where this Baltazer lives?" He asked,
The girl slowly nodded, a look of pure terror on her face
"If you lead me there…I'll get your parent's back," Mathew said. The terror in the fairy's face quickly turned to hope.
"Really? You'd do that for us?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, I did break down your house, it's the least I can do," Mathew replied. The fairy nodded, then turned to her brother.
"Gummy, we're going to take you to grandpa's, and I want you to stay there until I come for you." she said.
"But what about mom and dad?" pleaded the little boy.
"Don't worry, we're going to bring them back," she assured him. The boy sniffled, but nodded.
"Come with me," said the girl. Mathew nodded, and she flew off through the trees. Mathew followed close behind, holding his sword out in front of him. The fairy led him to another small house.
"Stand back a little, I don't want you stepping on this one too," she said.
"Hey, you don't gotta tell me twice," Mathew said, taking a step back. She knocked on the tiny door, and an old man walked out. He was dressed in a jacket and trousers, and a little beret. He was smoking a miniscule pipe. He looked just like what you'd expect an old grandfather to look like, except for his brown butterfly wings.
"Hello there Tianati, what brings you here so late at night?" Asked her grandfather.
"Grandpa, mom and dad have been taken by Baltazer, I need you to watch Gummy while I go find them," replied the girl.
"Tianati, it's dangerous out there!" he said. "There's a whole forest of big critters that would make a meal out of young'uns like you!"
"Grandpa please, I have to find them. And, I have help," she said, gesturing to Mathew. The old fairy looked up at Mathew with one eyebrow raised. It was an inspecting look. Mathew got it from Emily's father the night he went to see her. The old man seemed to be wondering whether he could trust Mathew to protect his granddaughter. Finally, he took his pipe out of his mouth and let out a long sigh.
"Well…alright, but just be careful," he said. The fairy girl hugged her brother, and he sniffled.
"Be careful, sis," he said.
"Don't worry, Gummy, I'll be okay, I promise," said the girl. The boy finally broke apart from his sister, and he went inside the house, along with their grandfather.
Then the fairy ascended until she was at eye level with Mathew.
"Follow me," she said seriously. Mathew nodded, and walked behind her as she continued through the forest.
As she led Mathew through the dark woods, he tried to strike up a conversation.
"My name's Matt, Matt Reynolds," he said.
"Reynolds? You don't mean Charles Reynolds?" she asked.
"Yeah, he was my dad," Mathew told her.
"Hmm…I'm Tianati, or Ti ti for short," she said. Soon they came to a large hole in the ground with a rope ladder.
"That's his lair," she said quietly. Mathew shined his light on it. It was too far down to see the bottom. Mathew was suddenly having second thoughts about being heroic. But, fear aside, he climbed down onto the ladder, looking back up at the fairy.
"You'd better stay up here. I'll bring them back, I promise," he said. She nodded. he then descended into the dark hole.
When he reached the bottom he was in an underground rocky cavern, dimly lit with torches along the walls. Mathew gulped and set off, wondering what he would encounter in the dark underground.
The next day, Mathew woke up and instantly wanted to go back to sleep. He felt sore all over from his ordeal of a night battling Alana and the shadows. He stretched rather painfully and yawned, rubbing the side of his aching head where Alana had nailed him with the pommel of her sword. If this is what the light bearers always felt like after a battle like that, then this fighting evil thing was definitely going to take some getting used to, especially for someone who’s only fighting experience was in video games.
He couldn’t believe this would be the last time he looked upon his bedroom, at least for a long time.
“Or maybe forever…” said a voice inside his head. He didn’t have any idea what would happen once he embarked on this insane adventure. Would he be able to come back? Would he ever see home again? Would he be able to see the people he cared about?
He supposed this all depended on whether or not he would be able to actually succeed in what he was supposed to do, which would be defeating an unfathomably evil overlord with enough power and skill to take down anyone who tried to resist him. This brought up a good question: How was he supposed to accomplish this? If nobody could resist Darius, then how could he, a kid still in his early teen years, possibly stand a chance against someone who had killed countless light bearers before him? What made him so special that he would be the one the prophecy spoke of?
Apparently the fact that he was half human was supposed to make him more powerful, seeing as the prophecy stated that a hybrid would be the only one able to stop Darius, but how did that work? Wouldn’t being only half light bearer make him less powerful? Thinking about it was making his head hurt, but he couldn’t stop; it just didn’t make any sense, and it was starting to get to him. He paced the room, trying to come up with a reason why being half human made a difference. After a short while there was a knock at his door, and he opened it to find Robert.
“You look stressed,” he stated.
“Nah, I’m good,” Mathew tried.
“That’s not what your aura says,” Robert replied. “It’s flickering and waving really hectically. What’s the matter?”
“It’s just…stuff on my mind,” Mathew said, leaning against the door-frame.
“State the obvious. Well, if you need to talk, you know I’m here,” Robert told him.
“Thanks, I know,” Mathew said. Robert whipped out his cell phone, opened it, and held it up to Mathew.
“What’s the time?” he asked.
“Eleven-thirty,” Mathew observed. “Why?”
“Someone is coming to give us a ride to the edge of town,” said Robert. “He’s supposed to be here around twelve. That is, if he isn’t late.”
“Oh, gotcha,” Mathew said. “Well I guess I’d better get packed. Meet you downstairs in half an hour,”
Robert nodded and went back down the hall, descending the staircase with his cane tapping at every step.
Mathew then turned back to his bedroom and stood there for a moment, trying to decide what he would really need. His first order of business was emptying half of his dresser into two duffel-bags. Once that was done, he added his PSP to one of them and zipped up both bags. There really wasn’t much more he would need, so he grabbed his bags and went downstairs to wait with Robert, but not before taking one last long look at his room.
“Goodbye, for now.”
As he was going down the stairs with his bags he heard knocking at the door. Thinking this was the light bearer who was supposed to escort them to the base, he hurried over and opened it to find…Emily?
“Emily! What are you−?” he started, but then he saw that she too was laden with bags.
“Hey, Rock-star,” she with a guilty smile, shrugging.
Mathew knew from just this sight what she wanted to happen, and he couldn’t speak.
“Hey, Matt, is he here?” Robert called from the living room.
“Uh, not exactly,” was all Mathew could say. He heard Robert’s cane tapping down into the room.
“What do you mean not exactly? He’s either here or he isn’t,” he said.
“Hey, Robert…” Emily said, looking even guiltier. Robert stopped dead.
“Hi, Emily, come to say goodbye?” he asked.
“That’s what I told my parents,” Emily responded.
“I don’t like the sound of that,” Robert said with an edge in his voice.
“Neither do I,” Mathew agreed, crossing his arms.
“They would have never let me come,” Emily said. “I could just call them later and−”
“No,” Mathew said simply. “Not happening.”
“Aw, come on, you sound just like they would’ve!” she complained.
“That’s because just like them, I care about your safety,” Mathew replied. “Plus frankly the idea of your mother hunting me down scares me worse than the idea of fighting Darius.”
“Well it doesn’t matter what you say because I’m coming anyway,” she said, putting her hands on her hips.
“Nope, you’re going to go home and tell your parents I said goodbye,” Mathew said, staring off with her. She knit her eyebrows and glared back.
“Emily, Mathew’s right, you’ve got to go back,” Robert said. She opened her mouth to answer, but never got the chance. Because just then they all heard something: The sound of giant wings flapping.
“Robert, are you hearing this?” Mathew asked worriedly, tensing up.
“Relax,” Robert said. “Our ride is coming, that’s all.”
“Huh?” Mathew lowered his guard and looked to the sky. What he saw was a large silhouette steadily dropping down towards the ground. Mathew squinted into the sun, but he couldn’t make anything out, except for those huge wings. It got closer and closer, until it finally touched down in a cloud of dust.
As the dust cleared, Mathew got a better look at the figure, and got a little dizzy. Was he seeing this right? Standing at the steps to his porch was s huge winged lizard. It was a dark greenish color, and had 3 curved horns. Its eyes, which were locked on Mathew's, were a bright yellow color. The winged reptile was slightly bigger than a horse, and had a saddle strapped to its back. Mathew was looking straight into the piercing eyes of a dragon.
Mathew's jaw dropped as he looked at the creature. Astride it was a man in a light brown trench coat. He had short spiky blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and looked to be about middle aged, but still quite fit, sporting a very muscular body. He leaped off his steed and landed in front of Mathew.
"Would you be Mathew Reynolds then?" He asked cheerfully. Mathew nodded, still looking wide-eyed at the dragon.
"Oh don't worry about old Valerian here, he's harmless," the man said. Then, as if having a staring contest with a dragon wasn't strange enough for him, the scaly beast spoke.
"Hmph, old? I'll have you know I'm only one hundred and seventy two,” it said in an irritated voice that sounded strangely like a British accent.
“And I'd very much appreciate it if you'd stop staring, it's making me a trifle uncomfortable," it added, turning its head back to Mathew as it finished.
This was all too much for Emily, and she started to fall over. Mathew rushed to catch her, and laid her down gently on the ground.
“Oh, terribly sorry!” the dragon said.
“It’s alright, she’ll be fine. At least I hope she will,” Mathew said.
“By the way, who is that young lass?” the man asked.
“She’s my friend, she wasn't supposed to be here,” Mathew replied, his face in his hands.
“Ah, that it explains things,” the man said. “I froze all the humans in the town to avoid uproar, but I left this area out because I wanted to have a word with your mother. I wasn’t expecting any extra humans to be around,”
“Neither was I, she's supposed to be at school,” Mathew said.
"Well, I’m sure she’ll come to in a bit. My name's Zadigon Fletcher, it's been quite a while," the man said, holding out his hand. From what he'd heard of his accent, Mathew guessed he was Scottish.
"It…has?" asked Mathew. He reached up and shook the man's hand, trying not to stare at the dragon again.
"Ah yes, almost sixteen years in fact," the man said.
Mathew didn't know how to reply to that, so he stayed silent.
"Oh, and this here is Valerian, good friend of mine," he said, gesturing to the dragon.
"Come now, Zadigon, can't you see the boy is confused?" the dragon said. He snaked his head down so he and Mathew were at eye level.
"We've met, though you were a bit young to remember," the dragon said. "I was a frequent visitor at your home in Utah,"
"Oh, well, good to see you again?" said Mathew, figuring his father must have known him. The dragon pulled back its lips in what looked like a smile.
"Ha, the boy has manners," he said. "It is a pleasure seeing you again, Mathew," He offered the tip of his tail. Mathew slowly reached out his hand and shook it, and it wiggled in his hand, tickling his palm. For some reason, this seemed incredibly familiar to Mathew, and he couldn't help laughing and grinning.
"Ha! He still laughs when I do that," said Valerian with a chuckle. "When you were just eight months old you seemed to have a fascination with my tail, you were always reaching out for it," he explained.
"I was?" Mathew asked with raised eyebrows.
"Oh yes, constantly. When I finally let you have it, you wouldn't let go, so I wiggled it around in your hand. You would laugh and embrace it like a teddy bear. You were quite an interesting little fellow," Valerian said, a twinkle in his eyes.
"Aye, and so was his old man," said Zadigon.
"You knew my dad too?" Mathew asked, curious now.
"Knew him? Oh yeah, I knew him, Charles and I go way back. When we were youngsters, not too much older than you, we were as close as two friends can be. We were always sparring with each other," he said. "He seemed to have a natural talent for the blade, I've rarely seen a better swordsman, except his old man," Mathew had a flashback to his fight with Alana. Hearing that his dad was an expert swordsman didn’t come as much of a surprise.
"Indeed, only his own father could defeat him in a fair fight. Charles never spared mercy, not even for elder Tarren, your grandfather," Valerian said, settling down like a dog or cat would when relaxing.
“Yes. Well, now that we’ve been introduced, would you mind fetching your mother for me?” Zadigon asked.
“No need,” Mathew’s mother’s voice called from the porch. She strode over to them and stood before Valerian as if the sight of the dragon were as plain as seeing a stray dog.
“Hello, boys, good to see you again,” she said with a small smile.
“Ah Katherine, looking lovely as always,” Zadigon said, nodding.
“So long it has been, Miss Reynolds,” Valerian said, bowing his head to her. Mathew’s mother patted the dragon’s head lightly. Mathew could only stare in disbelief.
“You know each other personally?” he asked slowly.
“Valerian was your dad’s most used method of transportation to and from the light bearer’s base,” his mother told him. “He was also the messenger dragon Elder Aerian arrived with the night this prophecy business started.”
“Ah, yes, that fateful night,” Valerian said. “That was certainly the longest distance I’ve ever traveled: Truckee, California from Glendale, Utah with very few stops. Fortunately Elder Aerian made for an enjoyable traveling companion.”
“Speaking of Elder Aerian, how is the council?” Mathew’s mother asked.
“Up to their beards in work,” Zadigon interjected. “The Dark Brethren have been snatching up more and more of our troops, and nobody feels safe living away from the base anymore. They’re all moving in, we barely have room for everyone.”
“There isn’t anywhere else you can go?” Zadigon shrugged and shook his head.
“There are the other 3 bases, but we can’t use any of them. The elves are living in the water base, and we still haven’t found the air base,” he said.
“What about the fire base?” Zadigon scowled like she had just given him a flashback to a bad memory.
“Bah, the dwarves say it’s been overrun with salamanders, plus it’s grown too hot to be inhabitable for any other type of humanoid life anyway,” he said. While his mother and Zadigon were talking, Mathew glanced back at Emily to see that she was waking up.
“Matt…am I going crazy, or is that a dragon?” she asked, pointing at Valerian. Mathew didn’t know how to explain the situation, so he just said
“He’s an old friend.”
“Well that clears everything up,” Emily said, getting to her feet.
“Don't think you're off the hook. You still shouldn't even be here,” Mathew said. “I want you to go home right now.”
“And I want to come with, so if you want me to go home you're going to have to take me there yourself,” Emily replied.
“Don't tempt me,” Mathew mumbled.
“Excuse me?” Emily said, marching up to him. “You want to repeat that?”
“Not particularly, no,” Mathew said, shrugging innocently. “But seriously, I have no idea what's going to happen, what if The Dark Brethren attack us? You'd be safer here.”
“Screw safer!” Emily growled. “Do you have any idea what I went through last night?”
“Yeah, actually, I do!” Mathew said, raising his voice. “You almost died if I remember correctly!”
“So? You saved me! And that's not the point anyway, I'm talking about how I spent the rest of the night-,” she stopped and frowned, apparently deciding not to tell him what had happened after he left the previous night.
“Forget it...I just don't want to lose you and maybe never see you again,” she said.
“Emily, I don't want to lose you either, but even if I did let you come, what about your parents?
“I'll take the heat from them later, I'll tell them it was all my idea and you had nothing to do with it! Just please, Matt, don't leave me all alone.” The look she gave him crushed any more attempts he would have tried to get Emily to turn back. He wanted her to be safe, but he also wanted her to be happy. And he couldn't really tell her what to do anyway, though he wished he could. So it looked like there was only one option.
“Ugh...you have to promise me you'll be close to me 24/7,” he said as firmly as he could.
“Isn't that the whole point?” Emily said, grinning.
“Fine, I'll tell that guy Zadigon and─,” he was interrupted by a flying tackle from Emily and fell to the ground as she hugged him tight and laughed like a lunatic.
“Haha, I win!” she said.
“Yeah, whatever, don't get used to it.” Mathew said, but he hugged back all the same. When he looked back to his mother and Zadigon, Mathew saw that Robert had joined in on the conversation. From the looks of it they were recounting the events of the previous night. Zadigon kept glancing at him with a raised eyebrow, as if to say
“You did that?”
“Who is that guy, anyway?” Emily asked quietly.
“Apparently he was a friend of my dad's,” Mathew replied.
“Your dad must have had some interesting friends,” Emily said. Mathew shrugged, watching the others talk about him.
After a few minutes, his mother began walking up to him. When she reached him, she grasped his shoulders.
“Looks like this is it then,” she said. “Now, I want you to call me every day at least once, got it?”
Mathew nodded, and she hugged him tight.
“Mom...I...,” he couldn't finish. No amount of time could have prepared him for this moment. He was now about to leave his home, and embark on some insane journey that he might not come back from. But he knew what was at stake. If he didn't do this, there was no telling how many lives would be lost because of Darius. He had a chance to stop it, to save millions of people. Also, he had a personal drive. Darius had taken his father from him, and Mathew was going to make sure no more families were ripped apart like his had been.
With this in mind, he looked into his mother's eyes with new-found confidence.
“I won't let what dad did for us...for me, be for nothing,” he said. His mother smiled, and squeezed his shoulders.
“I knew that when I saw what happened last night,” she said. “It's true I never wanted you to fight your father's war, but it looks like the fight is coming to you, and I want you to be able to win it, even if it means I have to let you go for a while...” she frowned and hugged him again.
“You'll be just fine, you're just like your dad, you know,” she said, beaming at him.
“How can I be? From what you told me about him, he was one of the greatest light bearers who ever lived,”
“Trust me, I know you, you'll get there some day,” she assured him. “Right now you just need to focus on starting your training.”
Mathew still didn't know if he believed he could ever live up to his father, but he nodded in confirmation and looked to the others.
“Guess I'd better start this heroic “beat the bad guy” quest then,” he said. His mother laughed and kissed his forehead.
“Go on then, greatest light bearer to-be!” she said. “And remember: The smallest light can shine in the dark.” Mathew smiled and gave her one last hug, then made his way over to where the others were standing.
By the way Emily was looking at Valerian nervously and biting her lip, Mathew guessed she still wasn't completely comfortable with standing next to a dragon. But then again, she was...well...standing next to a dragon.
Robert was still talking to Zadigon, who gestured for Mathew to come closer.
“Well, from what your lad Robert has been telling me, it seems you truly are your father's son,” he said.
“Alana was asking for it,” Mathew replied with a shrug. This made Zadigon chuckle.
“It sure sounds like it, lucky your mum had the sense to bring your dad's most vital form of defense.”
“You mean this?”
Mathew drew the sword from its sheath at his hip and showed it to Zadigon, who eyed it with the expression of a man remembering earlier days.
“That little piece of dwarfen craftsmanship served your old man better than any other weapon made for the light bearers,” Zadigon told him.
“Mom mentioned elves, but dwarves? Don't tell me hobbits are real too,” Mathew said. Zadigon laughed and shook his head.
“Nah, just elves and dwarves, and the angels but we haven't had contact with them in a while.”
“Whoa, angels? Like servants of God angels?” Mathew asked.
“Eh, not exactly. They have wings and “divine powers” if that's what you want to call them, but otherwise they're just another type of humanoid being.”
Mathew opened his mouth to ask what other types of humanoid beings there were, but Zadigon held up a hand.
“Why don't you save the rest of your questions for the trip, eh?” he said.
“Yeah, of course,” Mathew said, nodding.
“Though, I do have a question for you,” Zadigon said slowly. “What is that wee lass doing here?” He pointed over to Emily, who was standing a good length away eying Valerian cautiously.
“She kind of wanted to come with us,” Mathew said. “I tried to tell her to stay here, but there's no changing her mind.”
"Oh!" Mathew thought he saw a strange look on his face… remorse? Valerian looked a bit uncomfortable as well. But before he could figure it out, Zadigon's grin was back.
"Well then, now that we've all built a deep trusting relationship with each other, how's about we move on out?" said Zadigon.
"Yeah, but…could I just have a minute?" said Mathew.
"No problem lad, just come when you're ready," said Zadigon. He and Valerian walked off the porch and went to wait in the yard. Valerian knelt down low to the ground, and Zadigon hopped into the front of the saddle. Mathew turned around, and looked at his home. He had only been there a few weeks, but it seemed sad that he was leaving. His mother had said he was just like his father; what that meant he supposed he would have to figure out along the way. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath. He felt hands clasp his shoulders, and looked to his sides to find Robert and Emily standing there with him. They too looked anxious about leaving. Mathew put his arms around their shoulders.
"So, ready for a road trip?" he asked them.
"Technically that's air trip," Robert said, grinning.
"Psh, whatever, smart-aleck," Mathew said, rolling his eyes. He wondered when he would next see his home, if he ever did see it again.
“Am I the only one who's standing here reminded of a fantasy novel?” he asked. The others both laughed and shook their heads. The three of them stood looking around at their home town for a few more minutes.
"Come on, let's get going," Mathew said finally. The three of them turned around and walked back over to Valerian
"Alright then, all aboard the light bearer express," said Zadigon. Mathew and Emily helped Robert up, and then Mathew clambered up after him. Emily paused, twisting a lock of hair around her finger, and looking at Valerian as if she was trying to decide whether he was stable enough to ride.
Mathew held out his hand, but she wouldn't take it.
"You alright?" Mathew asked. Emily shrugged.
"I…have this thing with heights," she said.
"Oh, wonderful," said Robert, shaking his head.
"Do not worry, my dear, I'm an excellent flier," said Valerian. Emily didn't seem convinced.
"Come on up, I won't let you fall, I promise," said Mathew, smiling. After a moment, Emily grinned.
"Hmm…well…alright," she said, taking his hand. He pulled her up in front of him, and wrapped his arms around her waist, while she held onto Robert, forming a chain.
Then a painful image flashed in his memory: Emily and Benjamin, dancing and laughing.
He loosened his grip a little, wishing that night had just never happened at all.
"Alright, everyone, strap your ankles in," Zadigon instructed. Everybody made sure their ankles were strapped in securely, and Valerian stood up.
"Are you all secure up there, then?" he asked.
"Aye, we're ready," Zadigon replied.
"Right. Let us be off," said Valerian. He crouched down low, and sprang into the air. Mathew was hit with a wave of G-force, and held onto Emily tight, struggling to avoid flying out of the saddle. Then Valerian started to flap his great wings and rose into the sky. It was breathtaking. Everybody down below was frozen by Zadigon's spell. Mathew looked down to the streets and saw a jogger on the side of the road, frozen in mid-step, unaware of the piece of gum directly underneath his foot. As Mathew admired the spectacle, he noticed something odd.
“Zadigon, didn't you say you froze all the humans in the area?” he asked.
“Aye, all of' them,” Zadigon replied. “Why do you ask?”
“I see someone from my school...and he's looking right at us.” Mathew knew that shaggy blonde hair anywhere. But how could he not be frozen by the spell?
“That's not possible. This is your first flight, it's probably having an effect on you,” Zadigon said.
“Yeah, guess so,” Mathew replied. But something just didn't seem right to him. He shook his head, and tried to concentrate on the incredible view.
As Valerian gained altitude, Mathew saw a large section of dense woods far in the distance.
“Where did that forest come from? I thought Arizona was all desert,” he asked.
"That's where the base is located!" shouted Zadigon over the wind in their ears.
"It used to be a huge desolate wasteland that stretched on for miles with only one tree. But when Darius cracked, we had to put up defenses to avoid being found. Now there's hundreds of trees, so he'll have a tough time figuring our which one is the right one," he explained.
"How did you make it go from one tree to hundreds?" Mathew asked over the roaring wind.
"Earth magic. It sure took us quite a while though, took all of our most skilled forces to get the job done," replied Zadigon.
After a while the forest drew closer. Mathew hadn't realized just how long it stretched on for. Finally, they neared the woods, and Valerian started to descend. When they touched down Valerian knelt low to the ground, and they dismounted. Emily was ecstatic to be back on solid ground, she shouted
"Land!" and scrambled off Valerian's back.
Zadigon led them to the woods, stopping a few feet from the entrance. He turned to the three of them.
“Right, so, what we have to do now is take hold of each other,” Zadigon said seriously. “Just holding on to each others' arm is enough, but make sure you've got a good tight grip.”
“Wait, what are we doing?” Mathew asked slowly.
“Teleporting,” Zadigon said simply.
“Teleporting?” Mathew repeated. “You're kidding, right?”
“You just flew on a dragon and you have a hard time believing in teleportation?” Zadigon asked with a smirk.
“I have a hard time believing any of this,” Mathew replied.
“Well, I can't say I blame you, but try to have an open mind, it'll help a lot,” Zadigon said.
“Okay, open mind. So, how are we “teleporting” ?” Mathew asked.
“With this.” Zadigon reached into his trench-coat and pulled out a rectangular device that looked like some sort of remote, only it had just one button.
“This device is locked onto the signal of our portal that we use to transport our troops all across the world,” Zadigon explained. “When activated, it sends the user directly back to the base.”
“Of course it does,” Mathew said, wondering what other seemingly impossible feats were in fact possible. “But if you have a portal that can take you anywhere, why didn't you use it to get here? And why didn't we use the teleporter at the house?”
“Zadigon appears to enjoy making me work,” Valerian said, grinning. It was a little unnerving with all tho sharp teeth.
“Psh, you know you enjoy getting out of the base,” Zadigon retorted. “And as for the teleporter, it's only a prototype, so it has limited range. Now, all of you take hold of each other, a tight grip is crucial.” Mathew grabbed Robert's wrist, and Emily squeezed his hand. Robert took hold of Zadigon's arm, and Zadigon held onto one of Valerian's horns.
“Right, are we all holding on tight?” Zadigon asked. The group nodded, and Zadigon put his finger to the button.
“Transporting to the light bearer headquarters in three...two...one...
Click
Mathew closed his eyes and grimaced, trying to be prepared for whatever happened, only to realize...nothing was happening.
“I'm not seeing any headquarters...,” he said.
“Alright, just hold on, let me try again,” Zadigon said. He clicked the button again.
Still nothing.
“Damn thing is malfunctioning!” Zadigon growled. “I was afraid this would happen. Blasted prototypes, bah!”
“So, what does this mean?” Mathew asked. “We can't get to the base?”
“Oh, we're getting to the base. It's just not going to be easy,” Zadigon replied.
“You're telling me we're going in there?” Mathew pointed to the forest, and Zadigon nodded.
“But I thought you said you made it so Darius couldn't find it. If that's true, then how can we find it?”
“This teleporter has a tracking function. It looks like that's still working at least,” Zadigon said, though he didn't show much enthusiasm.
“In other words, you're saying it can lead us to the base,” Mathew guessed.
“Aye, but walking there should only be a last resort,” Zadigon said. “And it looks like it's our only option, so I hope you have some experience camping.” He walked up to the forest and stopped. For some reason he seemed almost fearful, and what he said next explained why.
"Now, I should probably warn the three of ya, this forest is full of dangerous creatures," he said. “You've heard some of the legends of cryptids and mythical creatures from different cultures, right?"
"Yeah, like nearly every culture in the world has lore about dragons, right?" Mathew said, gesturing to Valerian. He had learned a lot from his sister's obsession with crypto-zoology, whether he wanted to or not.
"Aye, that's correct. But as you can see, Valerian isn't exactly mythical, and neither are most of the other "Mythical" creatures you've heard about. We've got legendary creatures from almost every culture of the world here in this forest, plus a few that have never even been documented," said Zadigon.
"Why would there be creatures from all over the world in one forest?" Mathew asked.
"Added defense. We need to make sure we make it as hard as possible for the dark servants to find the base, and using bloodthirsty monsters like guard dogs seemed like a good way to do so," said Zadigon. “We used to deposit them all in another dimension known as the D-zone, but we decided we could use some of them to our advantage.”
"So you're saying we could find a chupacabra in one place and a sasquatch in another?" Mathew asked.
"Pretty much," said Zadigon, shrugging.
"Interesting," Mathew said, starting to rethink this whole destiny thing. The prophecy wouldn't mean much if he had his head bitten off by some hungry monster. Then he started to worry about Emily even more. He turned to her.
"You sure you wanna keep going? Because I can have Zadigon fly you back," he said.
"It's going to take more than a few bloodthirsty monsters to keep me away from you," she replied with a grin. With his last attempt to get Emily to turn back a failure, Mathew turned to Zadigon.
"Alright, we're ready," he told him. Zadigon nodded and the team took their first steps into the dark forest.
As they made their way through the forest, Emily was in complete awe. He couldn't blame her, the forest was incredible. It generated a feeling of mystery, curiosity, the feeling of not knowing what was waiting for you behind a tree, or crouched low in the bushes. It felt incredibly frightening, but exciting at the same time Mathew wondered what sort of bizarre creatures they'd run into in this vast forest.
He stuck close to Valerian, hoping those razor sharp teeth and claws would be enough to send any bloodthirsty beasties running.
Strange creatures weren't the only thing that made this forest interesting. There was a variety of bizarre looking plants all around. There were giant carnivorous plants, like super-sized Venus fly traps. There were also some intriguing flowers around the forest. Emily was instantly drawn to one with petals that changed different colors.
"Rainbow flowers. Quite a fascinating sight, wouldn't you say?" Zadigon asked."You can say that again," replied Emily, staring at the flower as it changed from red, to purple, to a bright green.
Soon, the group had their first sighting of one of the forest's many inhabitants. A dark silhouette among the trees It was quite short, and moved very quickly.
"Ah, I reckon that would be a gnome, earth elemental. They're crafty, fast, and like to stay hidden. But if you pay enough attention, you might see them when they're gathering food," said Zadigon. Mathew watched as the small shadow ducked into the bushes and vanished from sight.
"Not exactly very vicious," Mathew said.
"Not all the entities in this forest are interested in eating us," said Zadigon. "Some of them have come here of their own free will, and are quite docile. They just want to live in peace away from human population,"
"Okay, so you're saying there are monsters here in Arizona? Outside of this forest?" Mathew asked.
"Oh yes, but the mortals don't notice because we take care of them too quickly. The way we accomplish this is actually very simple. Whenever we get word of a creature sighting, we freeze the mortals in time, then we either capture the entity and bring it here, or, if it refuses to be captured, we dispatch it," explained Zadigon.
"So it's like a zoo," said Emily.
"Hardly. We don't keep them behind bars, they're free to roam around in this forest, away from humans, as it should be," said Zadigon.
They pressed on, as Zadigon told them more about the forest and its multitude of inhabitants. Eventually, they were drenched in sweat and their legs were exhausted from hiking, so they made camp near a small lake so they would be able to cool down and wash themselves off in the water. Emily, being the lady, got to take a dip in the lake first, so Mathew helped set up camp. The team rolled out the sleeping bags, and made a fire, then sat down to rest for a bit.
Finally, it was Mathew's turn to jump in the lake, so he made his way down to the water.
It was in an area completely encircled by trees, with the bright moonlight shining down on the water.
Mathew stripped and jumped into the lake. It was blessedly cool after the long day of hiking. He took a deep breath, and sunk below the surface.
He looked around, and saw a few fish swimming here and there. They were enormous, about the size of a shark, and were a bright greenish blue color. They weren't bothering Mathew, so he assumed they didn't eat humans. He held out his hand, and they shot through the water, circling around him, investigating the stranger intruding in their lake. They looked like fast swimmers, with long light blue fins extending from either side of their heads, and powerful tails that propelled them through the water. This forest was amazing, like an open zoo to the strange and the unknown.
But still, Mathew had to admit, he missed being home with his mother, and Jenna. He missed his formerly normal life, and wondered what could have happened if he hadn't been the one in the prophecy. He also wondered what was happening at his school, the only school he ever really liked, despite Andrew Carson being a constant threat. After a few seconds, realizing he was almost out of air, Mathew waved goodbye to his scaly friends and shot to the surface.
He relaxed in the shallows, floating on his back with his eyes closed.
Snap
The sound of a footstep made his heart skip a beat. He waited, listening intently...
Snap Another footstep. It sounded like it was coming from behind a portion of the tree circle. He swam over to where he heard the footsteps as quietly as he could. When he reached the right spot, he looked through the gaps between the trees, but couldn't see anything.
Snap A figure passed into his sight, and he nearly jumped out of the lake.
He couldn't make out much, only that whatever it was had on a very tattered hooded cloak, and walked slowly. It didn't stay long before moving on through the dense trees.
He tried he best to tell himself whatever he had just seen was normal here, but it wasn't easy. He went back over to the shallows and went back to enjoying the water, hoping whatever the figure was, it hadn't noticed him.
***
After a few more minutes floating in the refreshing water, Mathew put on some clean clothes and made his way back to camp. The gang was sitting around the fire, all except for Zadigon,. He was gone.
"Hey, where's Zadigon?" Mathew asked.
"He's out um, "acquiring" our dinner," said Robert.
"Ah, I see," Mathew replied. He took it that meant he was hunting. He went to sit down next to Emily, who was looking up at the stars. She smiled when she saw him approaching.
"This place is beautiful, don't you think?" she asked.
"Eh, it's okay," Mathew replied, grinning. It really was incredible, not like the tame campsites of the normal world. Here, Mathew could tell that nature ruled, and would tear down anything foolish enough to get in its way. He looked around and noticed Valerian near the edge of the camp, looking up at the moon with a serene expression on his face. Mathew got up and crossed over to him. He smiled when he noticed Mathew approaching.
"So, my boy, enjoying the trip so far?" he asked.
"Actually…yeah, I am," answered Mathew. "This place is just….wow," Valerian chuckled.
"Indeed, it is quite an intriguing place, especially at night. Listen closely, and you'll see what I mean," said Valerian. Mathew was silent, and lots of different sounds met his ears. Howls, chirps, hums, and many other noises came from the surrounding woods.
"You're right…the forest, it's like the whole place is-"
"Alive?" Valerian finished for him. "Yes, exactly. This place the light bearers have created is not only a fortification from outside threats, it serves yet another purpose: A haven, a place where any misfit creature that is different or feels it does not belong in the realm of humans shall find refuge," said Valerian warmly.
"So that's what Zadigon meant," said Mathew, listening to the calls of the forest inhabitants.
"Yes, some creatures actually want to come here. They have lived alongside light bearers for centuries, and know them well. So, they can sense their magic here, and know that they will welcome here," said Valerian.
"So this whole forest is like a home…a home for any creature that feels unwelcome in the outside world," said Mathew. Valerian nodded.
"Wisely put. But, there are some creatures that still feel unwelcome, even in this forest," he said quietly.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Mathew asked.
"I've heard tell of an elusive huntress that dwells in these woods, neither mortal nor a light bearer. It is said that she is a vagrant, a lone traveler, never staying in one place for too long. So, I guess you could say she hasn't found her home yet," Valerian explained.
"That's gotta suck," said Mathew. Valerian frowned.
"It is a depressing thought," he said.
Mathew wondered if the figure he had seen near the lake could be the huntress Valerian was talking about.
"But wait, if she's not a mortal or a light bearer, what is she?" he asked.
"There are many types of intelligent humanoids in the world, so it is hard to give that question a straight answer," said Valerian.
"So in other words, you're clueless," said Mathew.
"Precisely," said Valerian blankly, sighing. Mathew patted his side.
"Hey, there are some things even a wise dragon like you doesn't know, it's okay," he said, grinning. He laughed as he felt the tip of Valerian's tail tickle his back. Valerian chuckled.
Mathew sat down with his back against Valerian's side, looking up at the moon.
"So, you knew my dad, huh?" Mathew asked.
"I am a messenger dragon, one of many, sent to different destinations to deliver orders or notifications upon receiving them from the elders. Your father was a rather important man in the council, so he was summoned to the base quite often. I volunteered to deliver his orders once, and found he was quite an interesting fellow. So, I volunteered again when the time came, and again, and soon, we became good friends," explained Valerian.
"So that's what you meant when you said you were a frequent visitor," said Mathew.
"Indeed, but, between you and I, my visits were not always to deliver messages," said Valerian, his lips pulling back into that sharp toothed smile.
"Oh yeah?" said Mathew, stretching.
"Sometimes, I visited just for a little friendly chat, and to see how you were growing," said Valerian. Mathew smiled.
"You were definitely an intriguing child, curious to no end.”
"I still am a curious child. Just minus the baby fat," he said. Valerian chuckled again.
"Yes, I suppose you are. But you must be cautious with your curiosity here, lest you meet a swift end," he said. A few moments later, the team heard rustling coming from the edge of the camp, and Zadigon came into the light of the fire carrying a large boar. At first Mathew was surprised he could carry the king sized hog all by himself, then remembered that a light bearer's physical abilities were enhanced. Zadigon set the boar on the ground and stretched.
"Phew, this piggy's definitely been eating well," he said. He also set down a large sack full of fresh fruit. Mathew and Emily stared at the furry porker, which was as big as a calf.
"Robert, you should see this thing, it's huge!" Mathew exclaimed.
"I may be only two thirds blind, but in the dark, I can only see things that are alive," said Robert. "See, every living thing has its own aura, its own glow. Basically, in the dark, I can only see your essence. I can see you guys, because you're all alive, and you're glowing really bright, but I can't see anything if its soul has already passed on.," he explained.
"Sort of like a thermal camera," Mathew said. Robert nodded. Mathew felt a bit foolish. With the way Robert could fight, it was easy to forget he was disabled.
Fortunately, Mathew's mind was taken off his own stupidity when Zadigon took him aside after dinner.
"Now, lad, I'm going to teach you some of the basics of magic," he said. "The first ability I was going to teach you was how to heal minor injuries, but according to Robert, you've already got that one down,"
Realizing what he was talking about, Mathew looked at Emily, grateful for the miracle that had allowed him to save her life.
"Therefore, we'll move on. The first technique I'm going to teach you is very simple, very basic. Now, grab your sword," he instructed. Mathew did as he was told and retrieved his sword from his sleeping bag.
"Now, all you have to do is will it to illuminate with white light," he said.
“Like Robert's cane!” Mathew said. Zadigon nodded.
"So, just think about it?" Mathew asked.
"Aye, clear your mind, and concentrate on that one thought," he replied. "Not only will it light your way in dark places like caves, but it also makes for an effective weapon against those shadow creatures," he explained. "Now, concentrate on your blade, and will it to illuminate,"
Mathew nodded, and concentrated hard. A moment later the blade of his sword ignited.
"Ah, very good lad!" Zadigon said with a smile. "Now, this one's going to be a bit tougher," he said. He pointed to a practice dummy he had set up.
"What I want you to do, is use that light as a long range weapon. Swing your sword, and make a crescent of light shoot out of the blade and hit the practice dummy," he said. Mathew wasn't sure if he could do that, but he shrugged and gave it a shot. He touched the blade to his shoulder, held the handle firmly in both hands, and swung downwards with a yell. Nothing happened.
“No worries, some people have more trouble practicing magic than others,” Zadigon said. “Why don't you try again?” Mathew sighed, but nodded and tried it again. This time a small crescent of light flew at the dummy, crashing into it and making it flop around on its post.
"Good, good," said Zadigon. "Now, we light bearers are skilled in controlling the elements. It's how we made this very forest you're standing in. You will be learning all about the elements and their many uses. Tonight, I will teach you Ice. This is a good starter, because all you have to do to use it is relax yourself. You have to be cool like the element, channel its essence into your body, and let it out through the palms of your hands," he explained. "This should result in an orb of pure icy air being released and flying at the practice dummy," he continued. "This spell can freeze just about anything, and extinguish even the hottest flames. But, if you're angry, the most you'll get while trying to summon Ice is cold hands,"
Mathew nodded, and tried his best to relax his body, thinking back to when he was floating in the cool lake, to when He and Emily were sitting up in the bleachers at school. His muscles relaxed, and he took in a deep breath, letting it out slowly, and aiming at the practice dummy. His hands started to feel cold, and ice began to form on his fingers, running up his hands.
"You've got to release it, Matt, or you'll end up freezing yourself," said Zadigon urgently. Mathew quickly nodded, and imagined the ice forming into an orb and shooting at the practice dummy. The ice stopped, and Mathew started to feel something cool pulsating in his hands. It started as a shimmering spec of bright blue light, and grew into a glowing orb, about the size of a snowball. Mathew released it, and it flew at the dummy, crashing into it. There was a loud hiss, and it was obscured in cold air for a moment, so it looked when you first open a freezer. When the spot was clear, Mathew saw that the dummy was coated in frost.
"You see?” asked Zadigon. "The effects will become more powerful as you progress through your training and become more powerful yourself. But I think that's enough for tonight, Practice these techniques until they're second nature."
"No problem," Mathew said. They walked back over to the others and Emily laid down next to him by the fire.
“Not bad, rock-star,” she said, clasping her hands behind her head.
“Eh, I think I was at my best when I was saving your butt,” he replied, poking her shoulder.
“Ah, yes, I wanted to talk to you about that,” Zadigon said.
“There's not much to talk about,” Mathew insisted. “I just did what Robert did for me when Alana attacked me on the road.”
“Not exactly, Matt,” Robert interjected. “What you did was different...way different.”
“I just healed her, I thought we were finished discussing this!,” said Mathew in irritation.
“You did a lot more than that, and a lot more than you should have,” Robert muttered.
“Hey, I saved her life!” Mathew said loudly. “Would you rather me have let her die?”
Robert opened his mouth to retort, but his eyes moved to where Emily was sitting, and he sighed, shaking his head.
“Of course not,” he said. “But I didn't want you to die trying to save her either,”
“Just what are you saying?” Mathew demanded.
“I'm saying that you reached into the other side and pulled Emily back, and somehow managed to reverse her death,” Robert replied. “But the other side tried to take you too!”
Emily looked at him wide-eyed,
“You mean Mathew almost took my place when he was trying to save me?” she asked timidly.
“That's the gist of it,” Robert replied. “He tried to cheat the balance of life and death, and the balance wasn't happy about it.”
“I still don't get what you're talking about,” Mathew insisted.
“He's talking about the next world, and how you almost became a part of it,” Zadigon said darkly.
“What next world? Are you talking about Heaven or something?”
Zadigon gave him a thoughtful look, as though he were wondering this himself.
“In a way, yes. But of course, nobody who is living could possibly know what the next world is like,” he said.
“So for all you know it really could be like Christians describe it,” Mathew said.
“It's possible,” Zadigon replied. “What do you think?”
Mathew looked up at the stars and thought about this for a moment. There were thousands of descriptions of “Heaven'” as it was called by many.
But since nobody had ever seen it, it was impossible to say whether or not one of those descriptions was correct.
“To be honest, I don't know what to believe,” he said. “I believe the best idea is just to do what you said earlier: Keep an open mind.”
“Wise words for one so young,” Valerian said, walking back over to the camp and stretching out by the fire.
“Oh please, I think we all know who the wise one is here,” Robert said smugly.
“Ha, more like wise-ass,” Mathew replied, ducking as Robert took a swing at him with his cane. That was when everybody cracked up, even Robert.
Maybe this whole journey through a forest of deadly blood-lusted monsters thing wouldn't be so bad after all. He had his best friends, and had even made some new ones. He still wasn't totally on board with the idea of Emily joining them, but he knew there wasn't much he could do about it, so he figured he might as well enjoy her company.
Zadigon and Valerian seemed pretty cool too. Even though he had just met them a few hours ago, he was already beginning to like them.
As they sat around the fire, Zadigon explained the story of how he knew Mathew's father. It turned out he, Charles, and Darius were good friends back before Darius was banished. He explained how they used to be inseparable when they were kids, and were the best of friends even when they were grown up. But Darius began to think of mortals as lesser humans, and the friendship became strained. Then when he was put on trial for the use of dark magic, Charles and Zadigon both saw him as a criminal. When Darius was found guilty he was banished from the council. Darius blamed Charles and Zadigon for his banishment, stating that if they had defended him, he wouldn't have been sentenced to exile.
When Zadigon had finished with his story it had gotten late, and Emily, exhausted from the day of hiking, had passed out with her head on Mathew's shoulder. So it was decided they would get some rest and continue the journey in the morning. Mathew carried Emily over to her sleeping bag, then went to his own and lay down, looking up at the stars. His first day away from home had gone better than he thought it would. Sure he missed his mother, but still, it wasn't so bad. He smiled and clasped his hands behind his head.
***
After a while, everybody had fallen asleep, but Mathew just couldn't do it, his mind was racing with too many thoughts. So he decided to take a walk. He crept away from the camp, and set off. When Mathew was a good distance away from the camp he used the ability Zadigon had taught him earlier, and illuminated the blade of his sword. He held it out in front of him like a torch. Mathew had thought the forest was amazing before, but now, at night, it felt like the entire forest was alive.
There were sounds and movements everywhere. He saw various shadows, strange shapes that definitely weren't ordinary animals. Soon he came upon some abnormally large and strange looking mushrooms. They were as wide as dinner plates. Mathew stepped on a few as he made his way through the forest, and stopped when he heard a loud cracking sort of noise, like breaking wood. He figured he must have stepped on a rotten log, and kept walking, but froze in place when he heard somebody yelling in a high pitched shriek.
"HEY, YOU BIG, DUMB, CLUMSY OAF, YOU DESTROYED MY FREAKING HOUSE!" Mathew looked around. Nobody was there. He shrugged, and tried to step forward.
"HEY! STUPID! DOWN HERE!" Mathew slowly looked down at the ground near his feet. Standing there was what looked like a tiny person with monarch butterfly wings. She had shoulder length straight brunette hair and dark eyes, and she was glowing a reddish color. She was dressed in torn fabric sewn together to make a skirt and a top. Mathew recognized it instantly as a fairy. Jenna had showed him pictures of what fairies were supposed to look like, and this was definitely how they were described. A real live fairy, staring right up at him. And a very ticked off fairy at that. Mathew made a mental note to apologize to his sister for making fun of her belief in fairies if he ever saw her again.
"Look what you did!" yelled the tiny fairy, pointing. Mathew looked in the direction she was pointing to see the mushrooms he had stepped on. As he looked closer he saw that indeed there was a small house nestled between them. Or at least there was. It was just broken pieces of wood and glass now.
"Oh, uh, oops. um sorry I didn't see it there," Mathew said with a nervous smile
"Oops? OOPS? That's all you're going to say? You destroyed my house you son of a toad!" The fairy shouted. "Ugh now what am I going to do? My parents are going to be home any minute, I'm toast!" she said hopelessly. Mathew felt bad for her, he did destroy her house after all.
He had no idea what to do. He knew he had probably get back to camp soon, but he couldn't just leave her here like this.
"Hey, look, I'm really sorry. How bout I wait for your parents and explain what happened?" he suggested. She looked up at him, scowling.
"You better, I'm sure as hell not takin' the blame!" she said fiercely. So, they waited, eventually another fairy came flying out of the darkness with a tiny torch. He looked to be just a little boy. He was glowing two different colors, blinking from blue to yellow. He rushed into the arms of the other fairy. He was crying.
"Gum gum, what's wrong? Where are mom and dad?" asked the girl. the little fairy looked up at his sister, tears in his eyes.
"They're gone, they've been taken by Baltazer!" cried the boy, the girl's face turned from concerned to horrified.
"Oh no…he's going to…" her voice trailed off. Apparently this Baltahzer guy was bad news.
"Who's Baltazer?" Mathew asked. The fairy girl looked up at him. She was no longer glowing red, but a yellowish color like the little boy.
"He's a big scary monster that eats us fairy folk!" she responded.
"That's terrible!" Mathew said. Then he had an idea. It probably wasn't the best idea, since he hadn't had much training, and this forest was full of dangerous nocturnal monsters, but he had to do something, he owed the fairy for destroying her house.
"Hey, do you know where this Baltazer lives?" He asked,
The girl slowly nodded, a look of pure terror on her face
"If you lead me there…I'll get your parent's back," Mathew said. The terror in the fairy's face quickly turned to hope.
"Really? You'd do that for us?" she asked.
"Well, yeah, I did break down your house, it's the least I can do," Mathew replied. The fairy nodded, then turned to her brother.
"Gummy, we're going to take you to grandpa's, and I want you to stay there until I come for you." she said.
"But what about mom and dad?" pleaded the little boy.
"Don't worry, we're going to bring them back," she assured him. The boy sniffled, but nodded.
"Come with me," said the girl. Mathew nodded, and she flew off through the trees. Mathew followed close behind, holding his sword out in front of him. The fairy led him to another small house.
"Stand back a little, I don't want you stepping on this one too," she said.
"Hey, you don't gotta tell me twice," Mathew said, taking a step back. She knocked on the tiny door, and an old man walked out. He was dressed in a jacket and trousers, and a little beret. He was smoking a miniscule pipe. He looked just like what you'd expect an old grandfather to look like, except for his brown butterfly wings.
"Hello there Tianati, what brings you here so late at night?" Asked her grandfather.
"Grandpa, mom and dad have been taken by Baltazer, I need you to watch Gummy while I go find them," replied the girl.
"Tianati, it's dangerous out there!" he said. "There's a whole forest of big critters that would make a meal out of young'uns like you!"
"Grandpa please, I have to find them. And, I have help," she said, gesturing to Mathew. The old fairy looked up at Mathew with one eyebrow raised. It was an inspecting look. Mathew got it from Emily's father the night he went to see her. The old man seemed to be wondering whether he could trust Mathew to protect his granddaughter. Finally, he took his pipe out of his mouth and let out a long sigh.
"Well…alright, but just be careful," he said. The fairy girl hugged her brother, and he sniffled.
"Be careful, sis," he said.
"Don't worry, Gummy, I'll be okay, I promise," said the girl. The boy finally broke apart from his sister, and he went inside the house, along with their grandfather.
Then the fairy ascended until she was at eye level with Mathew.
"Follow me," she said seriously. Mathew nodded, and walked behind her as she continued through the forest.
As she led Mathew through the dark woods, he tried to strike up a conversation.
"My name's Matt, Matt Reynolds," he said.
"Reynolds? You don't mean Charles Reynolds?" she asked.
"Yeah, he was my dad," Mathew told her.
"Hmm…I'm Tianati, or Ti ti for short," she said. Soon they came to a large hole in the ground with a rope ladder.
"That's his lair," she said quietly. Mathew shined his light on it. It was too far down to see the bottom. Mathew was suddenly having second thoughts about being heroic. But, fear aside, he climbed down onto the ladder, looking back up at the fairy.
"You'd better stay up here. I'll bring them back, I promise," he said. She nodded. he then descended into the dark hole.
When he reached the bottom he was in an underground rocky cavern, dimly lit with torches along the walls. Mathew gulped and set off, wondering what he would encounter in the dark underground.
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