The Deona Crystal

Chapter 1 - Déjà Vu

Hank could not shake off the feeling of déjà vu. He knew they had never been in the valley before, but somehow it seemed familiar - and the further they walked, the more uneasy he felt. Even though the Realm's four suns were almost directly overhead, the path they were travelling along was in the shadow of the tall cliffs running along each side of the narrow pass, which was not helping the feeling. He glanced round at his surroundings and frowned. He had been on edge for the last few days, but today was different. Something was going to happen, and somehow he was sure he should know what that something was. He shook his head, looked around again and realised that he had almost come to a standstill.

The others were a short distance ahead, Bobby and Uni in the lead with Eric and Presto just behind them. The two girls were a little way behind them and appeared to be totally absorbed in their conversation. Hank wondered what they could be discussing so intently, and was still watching them when the Thief briefly glanced over her shoulder and looked in his direction. He smiled and then, pushing the thoughts that were troubling him to the back of his mind, quickened his pace the catch up with his friends.

"How much further?" came from a shout from ahead.

"I don't know, Eric," Hank groaned. "Dungeonmaster just said we should get to Letion before nightfall."

"We've been walking for hours and… Hey watch it, short stuff."

Eric ploughed into the Barbarian who had stopped to stare at the sight in front of them. The others stopped just behind them and gazed at what they had found.

"Wow," whispered Sheila.

"What is it?" asked Presto, looking at Hank.

"Whatever it is, what's it doing here?" Diana wondered aloud.

A short distance ahead was a large pure white archway, completely blocking the path, with the only way to proceed being through the centre. Within the arch a thick mist was swirling and, as they watched, the mist slowly changed colour from a deep purple to blue and then to green before gradually changing back again.

"It's a gateway, obviously," Eric proclaimed proudly.

"It still doesn't explain what it's doing here, Captain Shiny!" Diana retorted. "Care to elaborate?"

"Well, erm … I mean it's here because, erm…" He glared at the Acrobat, who grinned back at him before bursting into laughter with Bobby and Presto.

"Knock it off, you two!" Hank snapped. He was still on edge and was in no mood for more of their bickering.

He glared at the mysterious archway. There was a nagging voice in the back of his mind telling him that he should know exactly what it was, but that didn't make sense. He had never seen it before, so how he could know anything about it?

"I wonder what's on the other side," Sheila muttered.

"Maybe it's a portal home?" Bobby answered hopefully.

The Thief looked at her brother and smiled before resting a hand on his shoulder. "Maybe, Bobby, maybe."

"Yeah, because an unguarded portal in the middle of nowhere must be a way home," Eric said bitingly.

"Ever the optimist, Cavalier!" replied Diana.

"Well, it could be," Bobby said.

"Meah!" Uni added.

The Barbarian and his unicorn began moving towards the archway.

"Careful, Bobby! We don't know if it is a portal!" Sheila cried, quickly following them, along with Hank and Presto.

Diana glared at Eric.

"What?" he asked. "Don't tell me you think it really is a portal home!"

"Of course I don't!" she snapped back. "Just give the kid a break."

She ran after the others leaving Eric to skulk behind.

They all stopped on the smooth stone platform a short distance from the strange archway and stared. They were now out of the shadow from the cliffs and the full force of the Realm's suns could be felt. Sheila reached for the water pouch at her side and took a quick sip before wiping her brow with the back of her hand.

"What do we do now Hank?" she asked. "Should we go through?"

"I'm not sure, it's not like any portal we've …"

He broke off. He had been about to say they had never seen anything like this before, but the vague feeling from before was back. He'd seen this archway before, but he had no idea when, or how, or why no one else seemed to recognise it.

"Hank, what it is?" Presto queried as he turned towards him.

"I'm not sure."

He frowned. He was now feeling more uneasy than ever when a shrill cry was heard from overhead.

"Get down!" he yelled.

They all dived to the ground, and not a moment too soon. The creature that swooped down towards them was unlike anything they had ever come across before. It was the size of a large bird and had razor sharp talons to match, but instead of feathers, it had fur, and its head resembled that of a dragon. The talons only just missed the Acrobat, and as the creature cried out in frustration, a bolt of energy shot from its mouth towards Presto.

Eric reacted instantly, deflecting the shot away from the Magician. Instead, it struck the side of the mysterious archway. The mist within glowed red for a moment and then returned to its cycle from before. The creature then spun around for a second attempt, but Hank was ready with his bow. He fired a volley of arrows towards it, and it retreated momentarily.

"Look out!" Presto shouted.

Their attacker was no longer alone; there were now another five of the bird like creatures to contend with.

"Take that!" Bobby yelled, swinging his club at one of them as it made for Uni.

A second one headed for the Cavalier and crashed into his shield. Sheila reached for her hood and disappeared as one aimed an energy ray at her. Diana used her staff to vault out of reach of another, with the last two heading for the Ranger as he fired more arrows in quick succession.

The creatures were unrelenting. They avoided Hank's arrows with ease and were driving the children closer and closer to the mist within the archway.

"Hank, it's no good! We can't hold them off much longer!" the Acrobat called. "We'll have to go through."

The Ranger assessed their current situation. Diana was right; they were losing the battle and were fast running out of options. He could see Presto was bleeding from a small cut on his forehead, Eric by his side protecting them both with his shield. The Thief was nowhere to be seen. Bobby was desperately trying to defend Uni from the creatures with his club. Diana only narrowly missed another energy bolt and was clearly starting to get tired.

"OK," he agreed, ignoring the voice in the back of his head screaming at him that this was a bad idea. "Let's go!"

The Thief, still hidden beneath her cloak, was nearest to the entrance, and she hurriedly moved forward. She paused for a second at the entrance, then took a small step forward. Hank turned his head and saw a bright flash, heard her scream, and then watched in horror as the mist suddenly transformed into a torrent of flames.

"SHEILA!"