Chapter 8

Mark studied the map as the six walked along. Something was wrong. He turned to the group and asked, "Shouldn't we be heading west?"

Lief nodded, "We should, but I want to make one stop." Mark nodded, not understanding fully. As they walked along to wherever it was Lief was taking them, Mark looked at the beautiful countryside around them. The beautiful trees. The grass dancing in the wind. Children running around. Then he imagined destruction. The trees falling down, shaking the countryside. The grass on fire, flames spreading to the various houses around. Children, either lying on the ground or cowering in terror. All of this would happen if there was truly a disaster coming. Milling amidst his thoughts he didn't notice the group stopping. Everyone stared at him as he bumped into John mumbling apologies.

Where they had stopped was a small house. They walked into the house where Mark asked where they were. Lief took in the surroundings, "This is the house of the oldest Deltoran." Mark heard strained breathing. He thought about the time his mom took Matthew and him to the nursing home where she worked at. Hearing their breathing was like this. Some people were scared of things like that. He wasn't. He knew what death was and accepted it. It was inevitable.

They went to one of the bigger rooms in the house. There was a small bed with a woman lying in it. Mark assumed it was the person they came to see. Lief went slowly to the bed, "Josephine," he said gently. The woman gave a start and moved on the bed. She strained her eyes to see Lief's figure, "Lief. Why have you come today. Today you are supposed to go to the Amethyst territory to help the reconstruction."

Lief said gently, "Plans have changed. I have brought a special visitor."

She closed her eyes, "Is it Jasmine? I have not seen her since the wedding."

Lief shook his head, "It is someone else." He motioned for Mark to come over.

Mark came over and stood by Josephine. She opened her eyes and smiled when she saw Mark, "I was afraid I wouldn't be able to meet you." Mark smiled, unsure of what Lief wanted. Lief understood and took the baton, "There have been problems. I fear the Doors may have opened again."

She closed her eyes in a grimace, "I feared something was wrong." She looked at the belt Lief was wearing, "I remember how that looked on Adin." Everyone but Lief was confused by what she said. She looked at their surprised faces, "Lief!" she said sternly, "why have you not told them?"

She closed her eyes again and began her story, "I was alive when Adin was. That may seem unlikely but it is true. Years after he freed the land, mysteries began. People began living longer. And monsters would take longer to kill. Something was wrong and it was near Dread Mountain. Adin lead an expedition to the mountain. We got there and the dead could live again. We began to fight but they kept coming back. Then I saw something we named The Doors of Death. Not only could we see the dead from our world, but from other worlds too.I ran and attempted to close them. I was successful but only after being revealed to the full darkness of death. I was not able to die after that. It was only documented for the highest members of the Royal Family." The five stared. Only Lief had known her story.

Josephine looked at Mark's sword, "Adin made that blade too." Mark unsheathed it and looked. Josephine stared, "He used that in the battle. It would never respond to anyone like it did for him. Cherish that blade." She turned to the rest of the group, "Look for those living who should not be. The Doors might be open. And the Shadow Lord might be feeding off the power."

Everyone turned to leave, but Mark stopped. He turned to Josephine, "Do you know what Caramya means?" She nodded, "It is the old language. It means "Pure." But it could also mean "Paired." Why?"

He looked at his sword, "It's my sword's name."

Tad stretched out on the ground. The Shadow Lord was paying him to kill the six. He didn't say it had to be quick. He yawned. Maybe he could take a nap and one of his group members would have a lead. Probably not. He was the greatest of the group for sure.

A/N: Sorry I haven't updated. I promise to update more later and probably tomorrow but I won't have access to a computers for a couple of days. And sorry about the lines. I somehow messed up. Remember. R+R. And vote on my pole on my profile. See you in the next chapter.