Dead Man's Hand
CHAPTER FOUR
"We'll be there soon."
Sawyer nodded his head silently. Kalen, Sawyer, and Silver were walking down a long pathway between two rows of cherry blossom trees. Instead of their usual light pink color, the blossoms were a bright mixture of red, orange, and yellow. It reminded Sawyer strongly of flames; it was a comforting feeling to the man who has once bore the Wildfire armor.
Sawyer had watched in awe as Kalen had opened a small, human-sized door out of water from the lake. They had then used that door to enter the Nether Realm. Silver's leash and collar were now tucked away in the messenger bag Sawyer was carrying on him. Silver would jog ahead of them then turn around to run back, circle around the duo, and jog ahead again.
Sawyer glanced up at the sky. It was littered with a sea of sparkling stars and two bright circles of light. He knew there were probably many differences between the two realms, but he wasn't quite sure what those differences were. So he decided to ask Kalen.
"Well, there are actually a few similarities between the Mortal Realm and the Nether Realm. There are people and animals, we live in buildings, and so on. Unless we bring our brand of nether 'magic' into the Mortal Realm, it typically stays here. Not all Nether Realm people have special abilities like the Ancients. There are many nations here in the Nether Realm, most of which stay out of the war between the Warlords and Ancients."
Sawyer took a moment to take this in as Kalen paused in her speech. Then Kalen continued.
"In order to find the Hidden City of the Ancients or the Warlords domain, you have to be a resident there, be escorted by a resident, or possess an item that has been modified to allow you entrance. Everywhere else is accessible at all times."
"How do the Nether realm Residents feel about the Warlords? And the Ancients?" Sawyer interrupted.
Kalen took in a deep breath as she watched Silver off in the distance. The canine jumped up barking at a tree where some birds were sitting.
"Most people fear the power of the armors, but there are one or two nations that honor that power. The Ancients are welcome most anywhere. Mainly because all we want is peace within the realm and the Mortal Realm left as it is. We know we are welcome when a resident speaks a code phrase to us. Only those who will welcome us know the phrase."
Thinking on that, Sawyer whistled low and long for Silver. The canine had run much further ahead of them than Sawyer was comfortable with. The Alaskan Malamute stopped at the end of the trees and sat down where he waited obediently.
"What is the phrase?"
Kalen stopped next to Silver and turned towards Sawyer who had also stopped.
"Be led in light."
Sawyer frowned. Could it really be that simple a phrase? Kalen must have read his mind because she giggled and patted him on the arm gently.
"We have a few fake-out phrases that draw out those who are hoping to hold an Ancient hostage," Kalen added.
Kalen held out her arm to her side and in front of where they were.
"Welcome to the Hidden City, Sawyer."
Whatever Sawyer had been expecting it wasn't this. Before him stood an old, waterless fountain in the center of a courtyard with a small wall and archway behind it. Beyond the archway there was a city of old, abandoned buildings with another fountain all the way at the end of the roadway. Kalen laughed playfully at the look on his face.
"Remember, Saw. We call it the Hidden City for a reason," Kalen reassured him.
They stopped under the archway when Kalen took his hand in hers, interlocking their fingers. She placed a hand on top of Silver's head and gripped his ear firmly. Kalen stepped forward with both of them from under the archway.
Suddenly, the image of the abandoned city flickered and it became a very much alive city. The buildings were full of color, the fountains were flowing with clear water, people were talking on the street and children were running around playing. Seeing the children, Silver broke out of Kalen's grip and ran off to play while barking happily.
Kalen chuckled as she gently pulled Sawyer along to walk with her. Sawyer was at awe that such a significant change could happen just by Kalen's touch upon entering the city. Many people standing outside waved hello to the two of them as they walked by. A small group of children of various ages chased Silver around while laughing and cheering.
As they reached the fountain at the end of the street, they were joined by a small group of adults, four guys and a woman. Although he only recognized one of the guys, Sawyer knew these fellow adults (with the exception of one of the guys) were the very ones who made up the Ancient Council.
One guy stepped forward to greet them. He had soft chocolate brown eyes and dirty blonde hair. He wore half-finger nylon gloves, one black and the other white, over his hands.
"Welcome back, Kalen," he said, placing a soft kiss on top of her head.
Then he turned to nod his head to Sawyer respectfully.
"Good to see you again, Sawyer. I trust you are well," spoke the man in a surprisingly soft voice.
Sawyer knew to be careful when mentioning anything of how he was feeling emotionally when near this particular Ancient.
"I'm…conflicted, Griffin," Sawyer replied, speaking honestly.
Griffin nodded slowly. Kalen let go of Sawyer's hand and took a small step away. Griffin held one of his gloved hands (the white one) palm up in invitation to Sawyer. With only a small bit of hesitation, Sawyer placed his hand in Griffin's. The gloved hand gripped his hand firmly, but not too tightly.
He watched as Griffin's gaze seemed to drift off. His eyes slowly shifted from their chocolate brown to a dark hazel to orange and then back to their normal brown. Griffin smiled as he murmured something in the native Ancient tongue. Finally, Griffin released his hand and Sawyer took a small step back.
"You are very conflicted, Sawyer. But again, you, of all people, have a right to be. I am sorry this has happened," Griffin said.
"T-Thank you," Sawyer murmured.
Griffin smiled before stepping aside and waving to the group.
"I believe some introductions are in order. As you have guessed, these are the members of the Council. These two are our infamous twins of terror, Casper and Tobi."
The two males stepped forward to shake hands with him; at the same time. At first, he wasn't sure how to tell the two boys apart. They had dark, charcoal gray hair with dark blue eyes.
"I'm Tobi."
[I'm Casper.]
Sawyer nearly jerked out of both their grasps when he heard the voice speak inside his head. Tobi, the one who had spoken out loud, released his hand, but Casper still held his right hand.
[Forgive me? It was not my intention to scare you. This is how I communicate.]
"I-I'm sorry?" asked a very confused Sawyer.
Tobi clapped a hand on his twin's shoulder.
"Sorry about that, mate. Me twin Casper here was born mute. He's a Telepath so by touch he can speak to you up heere." Tobi tapped the side of his head. "When we was growin' up, I was me brother's voice. See, we have a mind link which allows him to speak to me mind without needin' to touch me."
Sawyer was secretly impressed. It had to have been tough for Casper growing up to have to rely on his twin so much.
[Do not worry about me. The other Ancients have grown accustomed to my inabilities and abilities. It is good to finally meet you.]
Sawyer shook his hand firmly and agreed in the affirmative. The twins stepped back and the only other female of the group appeared in front of him. Sawyer bowed his head to her and she giggled.
"Hello, Sawyer. I'm Selena."
That was all she said before walking back over to stand between the twins. The last guy of the group stepped up to stand next to Griffin who introduced him as Kai.
"I thought the Council only had five members," Sawyer said.
"There was. Kai here is the youngest of our group. He's only just joined the Council this year," Griffin explained.
Kai was about to speak when a group of children came running over with Silver. One little girl clamped onto Sawyer's hand and tugged on it playfully until he knelt down beside her.
"Vine a jugar amb nosaltres, amic de Kalen[1]!" she said happily.
The other kids cheered in agreement. Sawyer glanced up at Kalen with an uneasy look. Kalen shook her head with a smile. She clapped her hands to gain the attention of all the children who immediately quieted down.
"Children, this is our friend Sawyer. He doesn't speak our language so English, please," Kalen encouraged them.
All the children nodded their heads in agreement. The little girl leaning on Sawyer prodded him in the shoulder until he turned back around to look at her.
"Come play with us!" she exclaimed, repeating her statement from before.
Sawyer chuckled. He had always had a soft spot for children. The little girl pulled on his hand until he stood and the children all surrounded him pulling him out away from the group. He looked over his shoulder at Kalen who nodded.
"Go have fun, my friend. The Council has to meet and I'm afraid we'll be a while," Kalen apologized.
"Okay."
After that, Sawyer allowed the children to pull him along. He whistled for Silver who licked Kalen's hand before running off. Kalen turned towards her fellow Council members and spoke softly to them.
"Entrem. Tenim molt a discutir [2]," Kalen said.
The group nodded their heads in agreement. They moved as one around the fountain and entered the building behind them. The building had several winding halls and many rooms. They walked to the very back where a variety of chairs were set up in a circle. Drawn into the floor in the center of the circle was a series of symbols. There was a smaller circle in the center that had no symbol on it.
Each Council member sat down in their respective chair while Kalen stepped up to stand in the very center of the smaller circle.
"Welcome, my amics and família [friends and family]. I wish we were meeting under better circumstances," Kalen said with a sad expression on her face.
Murmurs of agreement sounded from the group.
"Our worst fears have come to life. The seal has been broken and the Dark Warlords have returned to the Mortal Realm."
Kalen's words echoed through the room, adding strength to their meaning. From Kalen's left, Griffin leaned forward in his seat. Instantly, Kalen and the rest of the Council turned towards him, giving him their full attention. He waited a moment before speaking.
"I was…pleasantly surprised that Sawyer returned with you. We can never repay him for what he did for us. And the world. And yet he still feels as though this is where he needs to be," Griffin said.
Across from Griffin (on Kalen's right), Kai was balancing a small ball of water from one hand to the other while respectfully keeping his gaze on the elder Ancient. Like the others, he looked to be in his young twenties, but he was actually in his late thirties. He sat up abruptly with the ball of water quietly sloshing back onto the ground behind him. Kalen's head snapped back around to him.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I apologize to ya, Kalen, and to da rest of da Council, but I don' understand," Kai replied.
Kalen wasn't the only one who frowned.
"What confuses you, young Kai?" Griffin questioned.
Kai stood with a short bow to Kalen who nodded her head back to him.
"Well, I know how the seal was put into place and how the warlords were banished. I'm talkin' about the mortal. Sawyer? This was my first time meetin' him. What has he done fer us?"
The question stunned them all. Surely, someone amongst their people had told him about Sawyer?! However, when Griffin asked him about this, Kai answered in the negative.
"Maleït," Kalan hissed under her breath.
Kai jumped slightly. It wasn't every day you heard one of the Council members, particularly Griffin or Kalen, curse in the native tongue. Kalen drew in a deep breath and let it out. She motioned for Kai to take a seat as she reached into her pouch pocket where her cards sat. She withdrew the card on the very top.
Griffin and the twins could see the card while Kalen held it out to her side between two fingers with it facing behind her. Twisting her fingers and wrist, she then turned it around to face Kai and Selena.
The side that had been facing them was a dark blue-purple with a large, thin crescent moon and three tiny stars around it. On the face-up side was a cloaked figure riding a large, menacing looking horse[3] and carrying a scythe. Noting the serious look on Kalen's face, Kai leaned back against his seat and left the water on the ground behind him.
"This is Sawyer's past. Do you know what it is?" Kalen asked.
Kai had his suspicions, but he had only ever seen a few cards in the leader's deck. He silently shook his head. Kalen brought her hand down yet the card remained floating in the air. The blonde Ancient clasped her hands together behind her.
"This is the Death card. More precisely, the Messenger of Death. It is Sawyer's past and," Kalen took in a staggering, deep breath "...his curse. Let us tell you about it."
/.../
"Phew!"
Sawyer plopped down at the base of a tree. The children had pulled him kicking a soccer ball around. They had been going at it for an hour now. The little girl from earlier, an angel by the name of Gabriella, had quite the powerful kick.
He was watching the children kick the ball around when Griffin suddenly appeared at his side. The Ancient had a small frown on his face. Sawyer thought that probably didn't bode well for him.
"Will you come with me, Sawyer? The Council must meet with you," Griffin told him.
Sawyer climbed to his feet, dusting off his clothes with quick swipes of his hands. He turned so he could fully face the older male.
"Is something wrong?" Sawyer asked.
Griffin smiled before placing a hand (the black gloved) on his shoulder. Suddenly, Sawyer felt a large wave of peace wash over him. Had it not been for Griffin's strong, steady hand on his shoulder, Sawyer felt as though he would have collapsed.
"Come inside with me, my friend. We have much we need to talk about," Griffin explained.
Griffin nodded his head towards the children. "Silver, too."
Sawyer let out a high, short whistle. Silver scrambled up to his feet and darted away from the children to slide to a stop next to Sawyer. The children pouted at the loss of the canine, but returned to playing their game.
Sawyer followed Griffin inside with his canine companion walking beside him. It didn't take long for them to reach the Council's meeting room. Griffin returned to his seat while Sawyer and Silver stood in between Griffin and the twins. Kalen turned around from her conversation with Kai and smiled.
"Thank you for coming to meet with us, Sawyer," Kalen said, turning back to finish her short conversation with Kai.
"La pau sigui amb el Consell de la Ancients [4]."
Kalen looked just as perplexed as the rest of the Council when she whipped around. Sawyer looked confused. Had he said something wrong? Griffin picked up on his confusion and spoke up.
"I do not believe our young ally realizes what he just said," Griffin pointed out.
"What? Did I say something wrong?" Sawyer asked, worried he had said something offensive without realizing it.
Selena shook her head. "No, Sawyer. You said 'Peace be to the Council of the Ancients.' It is the most respectful greeting anyone can give us."
Sawyer squinted one of his eyes and raised his opposite eyebrow up. So what was the big deal?
"Ya said it in our native tongue," Kai said, accusingly.
Sawyer's face grew just as confused as the others, especially when Selena quietly added that he had sounded quite fluent. The Council members murmured quietly to each other, causing a tad bit of confusion, until Kalen let out a short, high-pitched whistle. Everyone immediately silenced and focused on her.
"We'll worry about the how later. For now, we need to make sure that we are all on the same page. Come sit, Sawyer."
Sawyer sat down on an empty chair next to Kalen's. She sat down as well. Silver laid down next to Sawyer's chair and closed his eyes. Selena explained how they had just finished telling Kai of his past.
"I'm sorry dat happened to ya," Kai blurted out.
Sawyer smiled awkwardly and murmured a quiet thank you. They quickly fell down into their serious conversation.
"There are a few things we need you to know before you join us back out in the Mortal Realm in Toyama. Otherwise, we could put the lives of everyone, Ancient and mortal, in real danger. Okay?" Kalen asked.
Sawyer nodded silently in understanding. Across from Sawyer and Kalen, Tobi was the first to speak.
"What do you know of the banishment of the warlords and the seal?" Tobi questioned.
Sawyer took the time to think on that question. It had been so long ago that this had been brought up into conversation.
"The Ancient One sealed away the…warlords and closed the link between the realms. This caused a banishment of them to the Nether Realm. He used up his remaining spirit force to create the seal," Sawyer answered.
Tobi smiled. He shrugged his shoulders and held his hands palm up to the ceiling.
"Yes and no. The Ancient One, with the assistance of the Council, was able to banish the warlords to the Nether Realm and create the seal. You are right that he is no longer with us. He did use his remaining spirit force to save the mortals," Tobi said, nodding his head as he finished.
Suddenly, the lines carved into the ground in the middle of their circle began glowing. Streaks of colored light came up into the air and began to form words.
It is vital…you know…what the warlords know.
The words came in intervals one after another as if it were someone speaking. Sawyer glanced under the text over at the twins. Tobi had a hand on his brother's arm while Casper had his head down and eyes closed. Somehow the connection was allowing for Casper to form his words into the air before them.
"What do they know?" Sawyer inquired.
They know less…than you do.
Sawyer looked sideways at Kalen. She had her head up but was glancing off to the side with her gaze between Selena and Kai.
This has something to do with Kalen, Sawyer thought.
Sawyer returned his gaze to the bright orange words forming in the air.
They know about the Council…but they do NOT know…Kalen is our leader.
Sawyer's head snapped to the side as did Silver who wasn't quite sure what was going on. Kalen slowly turned her head to lock eyes with him. She nodded.
"Wha-? H-H-How?" Sawyer stuttered.
Kalen sucked in a deep breath before releasing it.
"Although I am the leader, the Council works as a whole. We cornered the warlords together as that whole. The original warlords have known me for a while but that was before the Ancient One chose me as his apprentice. I had only just taken over a few months prior to the betrayal," Kalen explained.
Griffin immediately chimed in before Sawyer could speak.
"Kalen's identity as our leader must be kept a secret. She is already a major target for the warlords, but if her status was revealed they would focus completely on her. We can't risk that," Griffin added.
"I understand," Sawyer said.
"What about Sawyer? I mean, I know it's been over a hundred years but won' his former friends be able ta recognize him."
Sawyer stiffened. Kai had a good point. He looked over at Kalen who drew out a card from her deck. The face of the card was unique looking. A small child stood in the center of a room full of mirrors. In four different mirrors was a different reflection of the child. They showed him as a baby, a teenager, an adult, and an elderly man.
"Let's take a look," Kalen suggested.
She turned her arm horizontally and threw the card out in front of her. Sawyer watched in amazement as the card flew out horizontally before swinging upwards to float vertically in mid-air. The card slowly turned around to face him and Kalen.
"Obert [5]."
The spoken word caused the card face to change to clear and glow. Two thin lines of light spun out from the card and FLASH! In place of where the card had been were two standing images. Sawyer was surprised to see an image of his past self (Ryo) and his current self (Sawyer).
Everyone stood up and closed the circle by stepping closer. There were noticeable differences between the two images. Ryo had the youthful appearance of age sixteen with his long, black hair and bright blue eyes. His skin was tan and his smile playful. He wore a red sweater with a white collar, blue jeans, and sneakers.
Sawyer stood a few inches taller with the older appearance of his twenty-three year old self. He was a somewhat paler shade of color with frosted highlights naturally woven into his short, raven-colored hair. His eyes were a shocking deep shade of autumn orange and hidden behind small, rounded-off rectangular shaped lenses. His mirror image wore the same clothes as him; a plain light gray shirt with a deep red, unzipped hoodie and dark gray military jacket, blue jeans, and sneakers [6].
The group agreed as a whole that Sawyer was highly unlikely to be recognized as Ryo. Griffin had also pointed out that Sawyer's voice was a smidge deeper than it used to be. Kalen summoned the image back to her card and returned the card to her deck. She placed a hand on Sawyer's arm. She waited until she had his gaze on her to speak.
"It's important you know how we were able to banish the warlords and place the seal over their connection between the realms."
Kalen noticed how weary Sawyer looked. He murmured that he was tired. Kalen knew the travel between the realms could be exhausting for someone who wasn't used to it. Yet she insisted.
"When this story is over, you can rest. Time is of the essence right now."
Sawyer let out a big sigh.
"Okay."
/…/
The ronins had betrayed the very mortals they had sworn to protect. Since the 'death' of their leader, several incidences had occurred. Lightning strikes had caused large fires, earthquakes caused deep holes in the earth, and a tsunami of great proportions had doused the United States. Deaths had started occurring everywhere in the world.
Despite the turmoil, the city of Toyama tried to move on. They held their annual Family Blossom Festival which consisted of a large gathering of fun booths, games and such. Having given the mortals a small break, one of the traitorous warriors chose to separate from the rest and walk amongst the mortals.
He walked aimlessly past a mentalist who had hypnotized a group of people and a separate group of children singing a song. His guard was down so he was unaware of several sets of eyes with their gaze on him. The warrior stopped a few feet short from a small table where a young woman was doing something with cards.
She had short blonde hair and wore a hat that covered her face as she kept her head lowered. There was an elderly man sitting in a chair on the opposite side of the table. She had a card deck out on the table and appeared to be doing a tarot reading. He glanced around but in reality he was eavesdropping on the reading.
"…and your last card is the Judgment card."
"Is that a bad thing?" the man asked with a chuckle.
The young woman shook her head.
"Many mistake it for such. Yet the Judgment card means the reaping of awards. You shall be rewarded very soon for a job well done," she told him.
The elderly man stood up to shake hands with her while she stayed seated and thanked her with a quiet word. He moved on past the young woman as she brought her cards together into the full deck.
"Care for a reading, traveler?" came the voice of the woman from under her hat.
The warrior stepped closer with a sly smile on his face. He leaned down onto the table and spoke.
"Perhaps if I saw your beautiful face I might consider," he said.
She brought her head up to reveal a sparkling pair of gray-blue eyes. He slowly lowered himself down into a seat as he watched her artfully shuffle the deck. When she was done, she placed the deck down in front of her.
"What would you like your reading on?" she asked.
The warrior tapped a finger on his chin with a small smile before shrugging.
"Surprise me."
She smiled.
"Very well."
The woman picked up the deck again and evenly separated the cards into five groups. She told him to select a deck. The warrior thought on it for a moment before selecting the center deck. She placed the four parts back into a whole and set it aside. Starting with the card on the top of the chosen deck, the woman placed three cards face-down in a triangle formation.
"Your first card…" she turned over the card on the left. "…is the Strength card. It tells me you have a lot of strength, inner and physical."
He listened with rapt attention and feigned interest. The next card showed the Hanged Man. He chuckled.
"Now what can a card entitled the Hanged Man tell you about little ol' me?" he asked curiously.
Her smile remained constant as she explained its meaning.
"People often mistake this card's meaning. The Hanged Man holds many mysteries, but they cannot be learned by searching for the lessons. You must trust within. This card tells me you put a lot of trust from within over many struggles and mysteries in your life."
Another chuckle from him as the woman reached out to flip the third and final card. She was surprised when his hand shot out to stop her. She looked up with a quizzical look on her face.
"What's your name?" he asked.
"My friends call me Kay," she answered.
He smiled. Good. He hadn't seen through her lie.
"Have lunch with me."
/…/
Sawyer stared in horror at Kalen. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. She had enticed one of the ex-ronins by engaging him in conversation and he had asked her out to lunch.
"Please God tell me it wasn't Sage," Sawyer murmured.
Kalen shook her head. "No. It wasn't him."
/…/
Kalen finished gargling the saltwater and spat it out on the ground. Griffin chuckled from where he was perched on a low tree branch. Kalen had been dating the ex-ronin-turned-warlord for a few weeks now.
"Is everything ready?" Kalen asked, tossing him up the water bottle.
"Yes. Selena and Casper took care of the ruins. The Ancient One has finished pulling all of his spirit force into the Staff." He paused. "How are you?"
Kalen smiled weakly. The ex-ronin had done normal activities such as late-night walks and dinner dates. He was a good kisser, but a tad too possessive for Kalen. For instance, he had a surprisingly assertive personality with holding her hand tightly and telling more than asking her out.
"I'm fine. We knew when we started this plan that things may get rough. I'll be lucky if I survive us finishing the seal and banishing the warlords," Kalen said.
"You will. The Ancient One is counting on you to lead us when he's gone."
"I know."
Sigh.
"You know what the worst part about…'seeing' him is?"
"No. What?"
"I think he wants me to meet the 'family.'"
Griffin fell out of the tree laughing while Kalen glared at him.
/…/
"So when do we get to meet his 'little treasure'?"
Kento chuckled as he walked beside Dais. The two of them were downtown scouting out what some of their recent destruction had done.
"Hell if I know, man! Cye's been hiding her away all to himself. I'm surprised with seven of us that none of us have spotted him with her," Kento replied.
Dais shook his head. It was a wonder how none of them had seen the mystery girl yet. However, that thought came to a screeching halt when he glanced upwards. He stopped dead and stared in disbelief. Kento followed his gaze.
Cye was standing up on the bridge above holding a woman close in his arms. He was pointing up at something to which she was smiling over her shoulder at him.
"Cye was right. She does look like a gem," Kento said with a smirk.
Kento was shocked when his companion swore quite colorfully. He turned his head towards him confused.
"What? What's wrong about Cye dating Kay?" Kento asked.
Dais let out a loud snort. "Kay isn't just a Kay. Kay is short for Kalen."
Kento stared at him confused.
"You know her?"
Dais glared up where the two of them had just been standing. They had moved on from their spot now and couldn't be seen.
"Unfortunately, we do. Remember us telling you four about the group of Ancients?"
"Yeah. What about 'em?"
"She's one of them."
/…/
"He told the others?"
Griffin piped up in response instead of Kalen.
"Of course. I kept watch nearby and observed them. He told the others. Cye was a little hard to convince but the original warlords told him facts about Kalen that only they would know after having known her longer than him."
"What happened next?"
/…/
A gorgeous white snow leopard with pale, practically unseeable black spots and bright gray-blue eyes tore through the forest at top speed. The snow leopard leapt over a log and landed on the other side. A few seconds later, a pack of wolves came tearing over and under the log after the leopard. The group consisted of eight wolves with various colors ranging in shades of gray and black.
Normally, wolves wouldn't be able to keep up with a tiger or snow leopard, but their added power allowed them to keep up just behind the slightly bigger beast. The snow leopard darted through the trees, but made sure not to lose them. One of the wolves communicated to the others about an open meadow nearby.
Three of the wolves sprinted forward and over to the snow leopard's left. They forced her to turn and run towards the meadow. Little did they know that's exactly what the snow leopard had been anticipating. One of the wolves snapped at her long yet oddly thin tail, making her leap over a small stream.
The snow leopard entered the meadow first and bolted for the center before slowing to a stop. She turned around to face the wolves as they slowly emerged from the woods. With a breeze of cherry blossom petals, the leopard shifted form from beast to human. Kalen stood poised with a card in her hand.
One wolf, a dark gray with fierce blue eyes, growled and lunged at her. When he was about a foot away, he was thrown backwards by an unforeseen force. He jumped up from the ground with a growl.
"You went right where I needed you to," Kalen said.
Before the wolves could even transform to their human forms, the spirit of the Ancient One appeared in the center of them. Each of the Council members[7] stood at the outer edges of the circle. Griffin was channeling his Empathetic abilities with the help of Casper and Tobi (who was currently a wolf, too). With the added help, Griffin was able to keep the warlords extremely calm while the Ancient One chanted in their native tongue.
Selena was holding the seal closed along with Kalen. Kalen's card was clear and blank but when it caught the light just right it revealed a light outline copy of the circle of ruins drawn into the grass. A sea of blue light shot up on the outer circle separating the Council from the warlords and spirit of the Ancient One.
Each wolf changed into a ball of light matching the color of their armors. They shot up into the sky and through an open dynasty gate. The Ancient One's spirit approached Kalen until he was standing just between her and the blue light.
"Take care, child. You will be a wonderful leader. I am very proud of you, my apprentice," he said.
Tears sprung to Kalen's eyes, but they refused to fall.
"I'm so sorry. None of us could have foreseen this coming," Kalen whispered.
The saddened spirit nodded his head.
"I know. You know what must be done now, Kalen. Heal the minds and search for Ryo," the Ancient One told her.
Kalen shook her head while wiping the tears away. She could see the light and the spirit beginning to fade.
"Do you really think he could have survived?" she asked.
"I do not know, my apprentice. It is beyond my abilities now to detect his life force. His body was not found so you must search for him. If he has passed on to the next world, Ryo of the Wildfire deserves a proper burial," the Ancient One answered.
Kalen nodded. "It's the least we can do. We will search for him, Ancient One, and we will find him."
The Ancient One whispered a prayer in their native tongue before he and the light faded completely away. It took Kalen several minutes to blink the tears away and compose herself. The other members of the Council walked over to stand with her.
"What do we do now?" Tobi asked.
"We still have a lot of work to do. They left us a big mess to clean up," Kalen answered.
/…/
Sawyer brought a fist up to his forehead to stem away the migraine that was roaring to the forefront now. He felt another hand on his shoulder and immediately felt a calming wave wash over him that almost made him faint.
"I think it time you get some rest, Sawyer. It has been a long day for you and for us as well," Griffin told him.
Silver let out an even bigger sigh than Sawyer. Rest sounded really good right about now.
END OF CHAPTER FOUR
[1] – I'm going to make the Ancient language as Catalan. Why? Not really sure. The translation works and it looks cool. And it's on Google Translate.
[2] – "Let us go inside. We have much to discuss." (More or less, that's what I typed in; this is the result.)
[3] – If you've ever seen Disney's "Hunchback of Notre Dame," the horse I'm envisioning is Frollo's horse. It looks frightening.
[4] – "Peace be to the Council of the Ancients."
[5] – "Open."
[6] – I am a Big Bang Theory fan and I love Leonard's outfit. This is what I'm picturing Sawyer wearing but in different colors from what he, Leonard, wears.
[7] – At this time, the Council only exists of Kalen, Griffin, Tobi, Casper, and Selena.
Author's Note: Sorry if this chapter seemed really wordy, but I wanted to get all the details in. This was one of my longest chapters, too. Over 6,000 words!