Chapter Three
Kendra's first impulse was to think that Brynn was lying, or was at least mistaken. How could this not be Bracken?
Bracken – if it really was him – seemed to be thinking along the same lines. "Brynn, don't talk such foolishness," he said. "Of course I'm you're brother. Do you not remember all we did together as we grew up?"
"What do you mean?" Tanu asked Brynn. "Is he a stingbulb?"
Brynn held up her hands for silence. "Perhaps I should clarify," she said. "This is Bracken, and we are of the same blood. That was a poor choice of words. What I meant is that while this is Bracken's body, it is not Bracken who is controlling it. Someone – or something – else has taken possession of him," she said.
"A narcoblix?" Kendra asked, though it didn't seem likely. Blixes were creatures similar to vampires that could affect their victim through a bite. Narcoblixes could control those they had bitten in their sleep. The only narcoblix she could think of was Vanessa, who was supposedly on their side, and she couldn't have gotten close enough to bite Bracken.
"No, it is impossible for a blix of any kind to hold power over a unicorn," Brynn said. "I fear this is something much darker. Though it seems impossible, I would guess that somehow a spirit forced its way into his mind."
Tanu inhaled in shock. "A spirit?" he exclaimed. "I thought they had all faded away."
"Some remain," said Brynn. "The captain of the ghost ship the Lady Luck is among the most well-known. A few wanderers linger, too, roaming the world of the living until they are completely forgotten. But it has been thousands of years since the essences of dead creatures have remained in our world rather than passing over to the Realm of the Dead. I assumed all that were left were accounted for – except, apparently, for one especially powerful spirit."
"How can you be so certain in your beliefs?" Bracken asked. Kendra thought she detected the tiniest bit of worry in his voice.
A seed of doubt was beginning to form in her own mind. Yes, the person lying in the bed definitely looked like Bracken, but there was something about the way he spoke that was off. His manner was more formal than Bracken's usually was, and he accented his words in a slightly different fashion. It wasn't much to go on, but it did seem possible that this wasn't the unicorn she knew so well.
"Unicorns have a distinct aura about them I immediately noticed that Bracken's essence seemed to be tainted, mixed with that of another," Brynn said. Kendra noticed that she referred to Bracken in the third person, as if she has already accepted that she was speaking to someone else.
"Can you figure out who's possessed him?" Kendra asked. She still wasn't entirely sure Brynn was right.
The unicorn nodded. "Yes, it should be easy to tell," she said. She approached Bracken, who made no attempt to stop her, and pressed her index finger to his forehead.
Three things then happened at once. Bracken's eyes began glowing a deep, ruby red, there was a crack like someone flicking a whip, and Brynn crumpled to the ground, unconscious.
Kendra watched in shock as Bracken rose from the bed, betraying no weakness, his eyes still that unnerving shade of crimson, though less luminous. He walked to the center of the room and stretched luxuriously, seemingly oblivious to her and Tanu's presence. "Oh, how glorious to have a body again," he cried in a voice that was not his own. Even when Bracken had addressed them just before the battle on Shoreless Isle, he had not managed the same sense of majesty that filled this strange voice now. "How wonderful to have an instrument through which I can channel my powers, and how amazing to be able to walk about like a man again. 'Tis a pity that the fool parted with his true form as a unicorn, but I surrendered my own long ago in exchange for greater power, so 'tis not such a great loss. And besides, I am more than capable of shaping myself a new body!"
Kendra watched in horror as Bracken grew larger until he dwarfed even Tanu and had muscles to rival Trask's. But the most terrifying to watch was the transformation of his face. His hair darkened until it was nearly black and features became hard and angry. He remained handsome, and beneath it all Kendra could see that he was still Bracken, and that was what drove a knife through her heart.
This new, darker Bracken turned to Kendra. "I shall leave you with your life, for I know the prince had taken a liking to you for reasons I cannot comprehend, and you are of little threat to me now. But if we cross paths again and our objectives differ, know that I will kill you as I will kill all who stand beside you." He turned away from her, preparing to leave.
Kendra trembled at the malice in his words. She had no doubt that he meant what he said. But there was a part of her – a part that her other, more sensible half thought was crazy – that saw not the evil being who stood before her, but the good being he looked like. That insane, desperate half took control of her mouth and whimpered weakly, "Bracken."
Bracken halted and looked back at her. Was it possible that he seemed a little less angry? Gaining confidence, Kendra whispered, "Bracken, don't do this."
Impossibly, Bracken's eyes reverted to their normal silvery-blue. "Kendra," he gasped, sounding like himself again. And then the dark Bracken returned, eyes once again that ghastly color. For a moment he looked murderous, and Kendra waited for him to blast her into smithereens or do something equally painful. But he seemed to regain control of his temper. "You disgust me," he growled to himself.
He turned once again as if to leave. Tanu lunged at him, but suddenly the world seemed to converge on the spot where Bracken stood and he vanished into nothing. Tanu hit the floor with a painful-sounding thump.
Kendra helped him up. "Nice try," she said, her voice trembling slightly.
"If only I'd been a second faster, but he just wouldn't turn his back on me," Tanu sighed.
"He probably would have stopped you anyhow," Kendra said.
"That was some serious magic he did," Tanu agreed. "What was that?"
"Brynn would probably know," said Kendra. She glanced at the unicorn, who still lay on the ground. "Do you think she's in the Final Sanctuary, too?"
"No, she's coming around. See?" Tanu said, pointing. Brynn was indeed beginning to stir.
A few moments later, Brynn sat up, groaning. "Foolish," she muttered. "Absolutely foolish. Not to mention overconfident, too."
"What was foolish?" Kendra asked as Brynn stood up.
"I was foolish," Brynn said. She chuckled bitterly. "I didn't think that if a spirit could defeat my brother, it could certainly overpower me."
"Are you hurt?" Tanu asked, already reaching for his potion pouch.
"Save your elixirs, potion master," Brynn said. "I am fine; only my pride is injured. But if nothing else, I did discover who has taken possession of Bracken."
"Who?" Kendra and Tanu asked together.
Brynn shook her head. "We should discuss this with everyone," she said. Something in her tone stopped Kendra from prying further. Though Brynn displayed as little feeling as Bracken usually did, it sounded like her emotions bubbled close to the surface, kept in check only by millennia of experience. What – or who – could she have seen in Bracken's mind to cause such distress?
"Well, let's go," Kendra pushed. The sooner they were downstairs, the sooner they could find out who had possessed Bracken, and the sooner Brynn could tell them how to fix everything. The unicorn surely knew what to do in a case like this.
It was a desperate hope, but Kendra clung to it like a life preserver, because she couldn't bear the thought of losing Bracken.
In the space of three minutes, everything had turned upside-down for Seth.
As soon as Kendra, Tanu, and the unknown unicorn had trudged downstairs – without Bracken, Seth had noted – he had just known. Something was wrong. They had had their five months of peace, and now it was back into the action for them.
Everyone had gathered in the living room to hear what the unicorn had to say.
She had introduced herself as Brynn, one of the daughters of the Fairy Queen and thus one of Bracken's sisters. She had explained – surprisingly calmly – that a powerful spirit had somehow possessed Bracken and taken control of his body. With great detail, she had described the transformation he had undergone had how he had vanished into nothing.
Everyone seemed shocked. Seth said, somewhat confused, "But I thought we were done with adventure."
Nobody replied to his comment. His mom asked Brynn, "Do you think you could explain a little about spirits and whatnot? I don't really understand it."
Brynn sank into an armchair and began to speak. "Long, long, ago, when creatures – animals and humans and magical creatures alike – died, rather than fade into the oblivion now known to some as the Realm of the Dead, their spirits lingered in this world," she explained. "These spirits were capable of coherent thought, but were invisible to the world of the living, and with nothing to do, they gradually forgot themselves. All of this changed, however, when a particularly vengeful spirit, once a powerful wizard, was so intent on taking down his assassins that he forced himself into the body of a man, something no one had thought possible. His strong will crushed the spirit of the man and he took control of his body.
"The assassins didn't see him coming, and the wizard killed them all. But revenge wasn't enough for him. He gained power quickly after that, meddling with politics and causing terror. He chose a new body to inhabit whenever his old one was killed. But the spirits he had crushed were freed when their bodies died, and they learned from the wizard's actions and caused chaos of their own. It was a dangerous time to be alive.
"Eventually, the other ancient wizards caught on. They came together and, combining their powers, created the Realm of the Dead. Now whenever creatures die, their spirits joined the oblivion that awaits us all in the end. This chapter in history was gradually forgotten, since not many people actually knew of the spirits' wars, and most of the spirits faded from existence. Very few remain from that early time. The captain of the Lady Luck is one, an innocent child who died of natural causes and went on to greatness. A few others, scholars who still enjoy learning, persist. And one of the ancient wizards, who possessed a man to write the book from which I learned of this, lives on," Brynn finished.
"But what does this have to do with Bracken?" Grandma Larsen asked.
"All of this happened long before the first unicorns walked the earth, so when the first unicorn was born, creatures had been passing into oblivion when they died for centuries already. Because no unicorn spirits dwell in the world of the living, and because of our great power, we have forever assumed that no spirit would be strong enough would be strong enough to overcome us. But somehow…" Brynn paused, and when she continued, Seth detected a tremor in her voice. "Somehow, a dark spirit has taken possession of Bracken."
"Who is it?" Kendra prompted. She was sitting next to Seth, on the edge of the sofa, leaning forward with anticipation.
Brynn's reply was barely audible. "Ronodin, the dark unicorn."
The name meant nothing to Seth. The others seemed to feel the same; they exchanged perplexed glances, and Warren whispered to Trask, "I've never heard of him."
Brynn sighed. "I had forgotten; Ronodin was killed thousands of years ago, and he brought about little discussion in the human world. But in the Fairy Realm, Ronodin was considered as great a threat as the Demon King. He created a vast army of demons and other dark beings and waged war on creatures of light. In the end he was slain by my father on the battlefield of the Battle of Forsaken Souls. I was but an adolescent at the time, but I recall being so glad that the world was finally cleansed of one great evil…" She trailed off, lost in memories.
"How do you know that it's this Ronodin who's possessed Bracken?" asked Elise. "How can you even tell he's been possessed in the first place?"
"I am quite familiar with the feel of Ronodin's mind," Brynn asserted. "Years ago, before he made his true intentions known, Ronodin was my mentor in magic. As teacher and student, he and I developed a strong mental bond. When he betrayed my family and the war began, I used the connection to decipher his strategies and anticipate his maneuvers. I shall never forget what it felt like to touch a mind of such pure evil."
"What if you're in league with Ronodin?" Grandpa Larsen challenged. "Maybe you're using this mental link to communicate."
Brynn's eyes flashed dangerously. "Are you accusing me of treason?" she demanded. Composing herself, she explained, "Ronodin blocked me from his thoughts when he realized what I was doing. The connection was severed when he died."
"But if he supposedly died, how is it possible that he possessed Bracken?" asked Trask.
"I have no definite answer to that question," Brynn replied. "I can only speculate. Perhaps he discovered some dark sorcery that allowed him to continue to exist after his body was destroyed. Perhaps it wasn't truly his body, only one he chose to inhabit, and he is actually an ancient, spectral being, though this seems highly unlikely. Only Ronodin himself knows."
"But how can we cure him?" Kendra asked.
Brynn seemed perplexed by the question. "What do you mean?"
"How do we get Bracken back? How do we get the evil spirit out of him?" Kendra's voice rose with each word.
With a sigh – not one of exasperation, but one of deep and utter regret – Brynn said, "I don't know."
Kendra leapt up. "What?" she shrieked. "How can you not know?"
"Kendra, calm down," Mom instructed sharply. Seth grabbed his sister's hand and pulled her back onto the sofa. She sank down onto the cushions. Catching a glimpse of her face, her eyes brimming with tears, Seth knew that Kendra had only lashed out at Brynn out of grief.
"Our best chance to save Bracken has passed us by," Brynn explained. "Had we returned but a few minutes earlier, before Ronodin had crushed Bracken's resistance, Bracken and I may have been able to fight him off together. But now Ronodin has taken control."
"But there must be something we can do," Kendra protested.
"Even if we think of something, we are very short on time. Based on the extent of Ronodin's power, and the strength of my brother's spirit, we have at most a week before Ronodin is permanently settled," said Brynn.
"You mean the spirit does not yet have full power over Bracken?" Tanu verified. Seth thought he might see the slightest glimmer of hope in the Samoan's eyes.
Brynn nodded. "In the texts I read, it said that it usually took the invasive spirit some time to adjust to its new body."
"Then we might have a chance," Tanu declared. He paused for dramatic effect, which resulted in a number of expectant glances and one eyeroll from Mara. Apparently realizing that this was the only reaction he was going to get, he said simply, "The Memory Glass."
"It was destroyed centuries ago," Brynn said immediately. "Don't think I wouldn't have mentioned it already if it was an option."
"What exactly is the Memory Glass?" Kendra asked Tanu. "I heard you and Grandpa talking about it at dinner, but you weren't really clear about what it was."
"None living know exactly what it looked like, save Agad, who created it, and perhaps a few of the older wizards," explained Brynn. "In theory, the Memory Glass was a mirror in an ornate, gilded frame."
"But what does it do? How can it help Bracken?" Seth, who hadn't overheard the conversation between Tanu and Grandpa Larsen, didn't see what good some old mirror was going to do against a powerful spirit.
"Simply put, if the possessed person looks into the Memory Glass, they recognize their true self and the unwelcome spirit is forced to leave," said Tanu.
"The legends say it was unreliable and didn't remove the spirit immediately," Brynn interjected. "It just dislodged the spirit, and gave the body's true spirit an opportunity to regain control."
"So if we could find this Memory Glass, and get Bracken to look into it, he could push Ronodin out of his body." Kendra was practically bouncing up and down with excitement.
Seth, on the other hand, remained skeptical. It seemed too far-fetched. All Bracken had to do was seem himself in the Memory Glass and poof! Ronodin was gone? He knew from experience it was never that easy. "Brynn said it would just give Bracken a chance to push Ronodin out," he pointed out. "And if Ronodin could squish him down in the first place, why can't he just do it again?"
"If Brynn was there, she could lend Bracken energy, like she said she was going to when I first told her about it," Kendra said. "You could, right?" She directed this last part at the unicorn.
"Hypothetically, yes, I could," Brynn replied. "But the point remains: the Memory Glass was destroyed."
"Some claim it still exists," said Tanu. "Every couple decades or so-"
Brynn cut him off. "Yes, yes, I know. They claim. There's no solid evidence."
"There's no proof it was destroyed, either," Tanu countered. "That's just what everyone assumes."
"It's the logical conclusion to draw," Brynn snapped.
Tanu opened his mouth to respond, but Grandpa Sorenson interrupted him. "Why was the Memory Glass supposedly destroyed, Brynn?" he asked.
"Agad created it when the notion of inhabiting someone else's body first originated," Brynn began. "He was a young wizard then, and he had not yet surrendered his form as a dragon, and his magic was erratic. If the person who looked into the Glass wasn't possessed, or sometimes even if they were, there was a chance their own spirit could be ejected. Agad decided it would be best if it was no longer used."
"That doesn't mean he destroyed it," muttered Tanu. Brynn ignored him.
"The wizards toyed with the idea of creating another, more reliable Glass someday, but they created the Realm of the Dead instead. As the number of spirits dwindled, the need for a Memory Glass diminished, and eventually the wizards forgot," she finished.
"Could Agad make another one?" Mara suggested.
Brynn shook her head. "We're on a deadline," she reminded them. "It would take far too long."
"It could still exist," Tanu persisted. "I heard of the latest claim from a friend of mine last week – normally I wouldn't even consider it, because really, who would have the Memory Glass hanging up in their house like any old mirror? – but it sounds somewhat credible. The house of the person who said they had it was ransacked recently. Someone else is looking for the Memory Glass, too."
"We're short on options, and a slim chance is better than no chance," Grandpa Sorenson decided. "We should start doing some research immediately."
"I could do some digging among the Knights of the Dawn," Warren volunteered.
"I will return to the Fairy Realm and search the palace library," Brynn announced. "Perhaps there's something I overlooked."
"How will we keep in touch with you?" Kendra asked.
Brynn pulled a small coin from her pocket and cupped it in her hands. Her hands glowed brightly for a moment. She handed the coin to Kendra. Seth realized she had turned it into a communicator.
Kendra had come to the same conclusion. "Just like Bracken," she murmured.
Brynn smiled sadly. "Yes. It's a habit I picked up from him." She turned to go, but stopped suddenly and faced the humans again. "Thank you," she whispered.
"For what?" Seth asked. They hadn't done anything yet, really; there was nothing for her to thank them for.
"For not giving up on Bracken," Brynn answered. "I had abandoned hope from the moment I realized it was Ronodin in my brother's body. But you resilient humans will cling to even the slightest hope. It gives me courage." With that, she turned and left.
Author's Note:
So someone gets possessed/captured/etc. and the person who loves them runs off to save them. Has it been done before? Yes. Is it incredibly cliché? Well, maybe a little xD I promise to try to make this a little more unique than your standard possession story. I know this chapter was all dialogue and no action, but hopefully it cleared up a few things. More excitement coming up later on, I promise!