History Repeating: Chapter 4
"Dreams of Black Sands"
As usual, I do not own the NiGHTS, Reala, none of 'em. Don't badger me... I am an unstable woman :)
Jalia and the others do however belong to MEEEEEE! so there.
Author's Note: yet again the next chapter took me forever and a friggin' day thanks to the fact that I am now offically a senior in high school and am swamped with pretty much everything. But I got it done, that's better then nothing ain't it?
Black on blue; star like markings that seemed ot shine in the blackness all around him. He stalked slowly across the pure black plain. Occassionally he passed a twisted reminant of a tree, clinging to life in the desert with a tenacity he knew he could never even fathom to emulate. He wasn't strong: not that strong.
The sand shifted beneath his paws, yet he didn't feel tired in the slightest. Usually the shifting sands would have stopped his progress, but somehow they didn't bother him. He felt as if he were walking on solid, strong ground. Always toward the dark castle on the horizon.
He reached the gate and saw another standing at the open drawbridge. One like himself, but more warped looking, his body more of extremes then Kelsen's own evenly muscled body. He was the old kind, what maren cats had at one point looked like. Like a cross between a cat and a human-Maren, only, twisted and warped.
"You're coming, finally?" The voice was oddly low, yet it cracked up high at the end of the sentence. It sounded like a cat's tone when they make a plaintive meow at an owner.
"I guess so." Kelsen's wings flicked up and back a traditional form of maren-cat greeting.
The other chuckled deeply within its throat, the noise comming out almost as a growl. "Well, it's nice to know at least one of the group will come along without too much fuss."
"Are you… my ancestor?" Kelsen couldn't help it, he had to ask. He had to know if he had been from the spawn of this creature.
"I am. I am Clawz… Though many forget my part in the great wars in future times, or so I hear. Ah, the other is coming as well. JACKLE! Get out here."
Kelsen's eyes widened as the other figure came into veiw, looking pointedly irritated. He was not overly tall, but just his appaearence seemed to speak of havoc he had wrought. He wore an intensly bright flame like cloak, red boots and yellow gloves; his hat curved up slightly at the ends, but his clothes were not the most distrubing part. IT was the fact that he appeared to have no body whatsoever. That bothered Kelsen more than anything. His warm brown eyes and toothy grin hung in the air, attached to an invisable head beneath the hat. There was no body to speak of, but he moved as if he had one, standing beside claws and shading his eyes toward the horizon.
"Oh! She is coming… Goody!" he had a pleasant tennor that seemed to hint that it could change in the blink of an eye. As it seemed his whole character could. At the moment though the tooth grin told Kelsen the odd demi-maren was happy.
Kelsen turned his head to see who was coming, and from across the plains he saw something bright. As it drew closer he recognized it as being Jalia, wearing a cloak identicle ot the character before him as well as the boots and gloves, and like him, she boasted no body. However she wore no hat, her bright hair blew in a slight breeze as she walked closer. He could see she also retained her face which he was greatly relieved to see.. He wasn't sure he could handle seeing another invisable maren that day.
When Jalia stopped beside him she looks different, more wizened here. She seemed to reflect her ancestor, and Jackle smiled his slight fangs glitterign in the dim light. It made Kelsen wonder, though.. Did he really reflect of Clawz? Of that monster?
Abruptly, though, deep rumbling caught his ears. He didn't notice that both he and Clawz looked in the same direction.
"He's coming soon." Jackel said quietly, his voice a bit more shrill in his nervousness.
"Who's coming?" Kelsen asked.
"Our former master, the one who bound us to this place. Even in death we can't move on… none of us." Clawz replied staring back at the courtyard.
"You mean you're all trapped here?" Jalia asked grasping at her invisible throat.
Jackle nodded his mostly invisable head with a sigh. "We are not allowed to leave. All of us who were once his right.. hands.." Jackle twittered shrilly a moment and Clawz rolled his red eyes expressively at the pun neither of the two teens got. "Ahem, as I was saying. All of us are trapped in Nightmare still.. The moment we died we returned here. Me, Clawz, Reala, Puffy, Gulpo, Gillwing… even NiGHTS though Nightmare was never really his home, at least not in his heart."
The rumble began to grow and a storm suddenly began in the sky above them. Multi-colored lightning forked out of the clouds illuminating the sky. Clawz looked up his tail twitching "He comes…"
Kelsen awoke with a start his eyes snapping open, and his head smacking painfully against the shelf just above his head. He narrowly cut off a curse by biting his tongue, lest he wake Talin who was asleep nearby. The whole group was sleeping over: Jalia and Arowen in the guest room, Talin, Keane and himself in Talin's room. And of course, Talin's mother always provided well for them all. Kelsen cast about quietly looking at the two others. Talin was in his bed, solidly asleep. However, Keane had his eyes open and was looking at Kelsen. Keane never seemed to sleep deeply.
"Something wrong, Kel?" Keane's voice was very quiet he watched Kelsen through half open eyes.
"No.. just a weird dream…"
Outside thunder suddenly let loose an angry roar, awakening even Talin who came to with a start.
"What the hell was that?!" Talin cried out slightly. He didn't avoid the shelf but hit his forehead hard. Keane twittered, trying to hide it in a terribly fake cough.
Abruptly a scream echoed through the house, waking any of the inhabitants that still slept. Talin grabbed the sword and vaulted up and out, followed closely by Keane and Kelsen. What they came to had to be the oddest sight they had collectively yet seen.
Jalia was pinned to the wall in her pajamas with her own cards; Arowen stood back, Gem's sword in her hand. The glow of lightning of the black blade illuminated a stranger's face who stood squarely in the center of the room. He was neither short nor tall, but as nodescript in height and build as they can possibly come. However he was dressed as an old time maren, in tight fitting suit, over-large boots and jester like cap. The colors were chilling though, White, gold, and black were interwoven in different areas over the body of the suit. In one hand he still grasped a card, his hands cut from throwintg them. He smirked as Talin and Keane entered. When he spoke his voice was so cold, so menacing it put even Talin's to shame.
"Oh, the whole party's here now, is it? All the easier for me then to wipe you all out now."
Talin snarled, something primal in him making him do it. "Get out of my house.."
"I don't think so." The other smiled darkly, his blood dripping into he carpet from sliced hands to fall soaking into the carpet. "You all are the children of prophecy? Forgive me for NOT quaking in my boots."
Slowly his feet moved as he walked twords Talin a few steps. His hazel eyes locked on Talin's blue ones. "Let me guess." The stranger hissed. "Reala? Am I right? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic."
The eyes turned to Arowen who was advancing on him slowly. "Uh-uh, pretty one." With that the final card flew through the air, burrowing deep in Arowen's leg, causing the short female maren to drop to the ground with a short yelp. "You cannot help it… By the end your ancestor was blind as a bat." Next on the taunting list seemed to be Jalia. The young mage still hung on the wall like some badly put away puppet. "You! All these books and you have not managed to learn ONE THING?!" the strange maren laughed hartily in Jalia's face. The other simply glowered, unable to say a word.
Then he turned to kelsen, the maren cat felt a deep hatred well up inside of him, irrationally, potient. "You," The other looked at Kelsen, marking how the cat's claws clutched the floor with contained anger. However he never got any further as Keane had stepped forward.
"Stop it." Keane's voice was muted. But his body was ridged.
"What was that, fairy boy?" The other held a mocking hand to his ear as if he had not heard Keane. "Did you say something?"
"Yeah.. I said, cut it out you asshole." Keane smiled softly. His face seemed so kind, so gentle it seemed impossible to all assembled of what he was about to do.
With one smooth movement Keane had pulled soemthign from the belt on his pants, a bright blade of a butterfly knife shone only a brief second in the light of lightning before it was thrown. It wedged itself fimly in the other's shoulder. The strange maren gaped in open surprise and fell back a step shakily. Carefully he removed the blade with a short cry then, without warning, flung himself at Kean in a fine fit of rage.
Keane threw up his hands and caught his opponent's holding and crossing their fingers, when he felt a strange heat against his collar bone. It began like a hand, then began to seep throughout his body. Filling him with power. With a growl, he gathered the red energy to his hands. The enemy began to squirm, trying to break Keane's hold on him.
"Let go, you crazy bastard!!"
"Why should I? I so enjoy watching evil like you squirm, scum." Keane's voice was not his own, but held an odd, playful note to what should have been a very grave sentence. To the others a bright red gem, previously unnoticed by all, was pulsating with a bright, rich, red light. The light filtered around the room Somehow, it lent strength; it gave energy; it dulled pain.
The odd maren finally yanked away from Keane's hold, cradling bloody, burned hands with a venomous glare at Keane. "This ain't over, fairy boy.. There's more of us.. and the master will always win!" With that he simply dissappeared, while outside the storm broke with fat raindrops.
As the maren left, the light diminished, slowly tapering away till it fell completely, collapsed back into the blood red crystal that hung from a chain around Keane's neck. And as the light began to dissapear, Keane began to slowly drop, until at last he simply fell backwards onto the floor, eyes rolled up, unconcious.
Kelsen walked over to Arowen, the young female humaren was digging the card out herself. Her teeth were gritted and several very vehement swear words escaped her lips. Kelsen attempted to assist and was actually able to, as his claws were sharp, and much more capable of hooking the end to pull the thing out.
Near by Talin released Jalia from her wall holds, the bright haired girl almost collapsing as soon as her feet touched the ground. Her glasses slid off her face and rattled to the floor, luckily not breaking. Talin gently supported her as his mother finally succeeded in opening the door all the way. The older woman put her hands to her mouth in a classic gesture of shock, as she moved to check on Keane, and, satisfied the teen was only unconcious and not dead, helped find something to try to stop the bleeding of Arowen's leg.The rest of the night was spent in a local emergency room fixing up the various pains of the night.
Sebian slowly lowered to the ground, cradling a bloody shoulder and throbbing hands. A dark, fridged female voice issued from the darkness. "Aww, the children beat you, Sebian?"
"Oh, you shut up. I didn't see you out there trying to kill them." Sebian snarled as the curvy form came forward, turquoise eyes seeming to glow out fo the darkness of the underground vault around him.
"Master didn't send me, moron. He sent you. I'll get my chance; you're too incompetent to kill them anyway."
"I said, shut up!" Sebian lashed out with a foot only to be knocked over the head with something hard and metal.
"Don't think so, slow one. There is a reason I was named general and not you." The female snickered with a smile. "Master wants to see you in his meeting hall.. Soon he will be free and we will be able to rule as promised."
"Augh, fine I'm going," Sebian levered himself up against the wall and walked down the dark hall, acutely aware of the turquoise eyes that followed his progress.
Kelsen opened his eyes to glance at Talin's bed. However, it wasn't Talin's dark hair that stuck out fro under the over stuffed comforter but a bright blonde known to be Keane's. The boy was still out after their encounter with the strange maren the night before. Though he looked like hell-and-a-half, the doctors had found nothing but exhaustion wrong with him, so sent him home with Talin's family and advised to let him sleep it off.
Near by Jalia held a book in one arm, and was holding her other up as if she held something, mouthing strange words carefully. Ever since last ngiht she had been hell bent on learning the thing her family had denied her. Magic lay thick in the room, ticklng Kelsen's nose and whiskers. It made his fur stand on end, but in a pleasant way, like when he drug his paws against a thick carpet with nylon in the fiber mix. Jalia had been trying the energy transfer spell all morning, but nothing so far had worked.
"Exalo, denerum desikai…" She muttered with a hopefull look. "Aso zoni lepsudai!" Th spell hummed to life, creating vibration and light, but the light slowly turned violet and faded away.
"Damnit!" Jalia cried when the light had gone. "It collapsed again!"
"Can a spell collapse?" Arowen mused from a near by chair, her hurt leg proped up on another chair. "Like a soufflai or something?"
At this point kelsen got a very comical picture of Jalia with a chef's hat on her head attempting to hold up some failing concoction with magic and snickered. Arowen shot him a smile, while Jalia sent him such a glare that his smile faded. Then pictures of what she could do to him with those cards entered his mind. The smile was vanished completely and Kelsen was left to wonder if Jalia had set the pictures there. For after he shrank away a bit she smiled and went back to studying her book.
Talin sat back polishing the great silver blade angrily. Kelsen could see it on his face: Talin blamed himelf for the injuries among his friends. And that wound the guilt inflicted was festering. Talin was not the type to usually bottle himself up. But he had been so different since he had first met his ancestor, all of the others had. This left Kelsen to wonder: had he changed too, was he becoming more like Clawz? How would they defeat an enemy much bigger and stronger then they are, strong enough to imprision those who were already dead. His concentration must've shown on his face because Arowen leaned toward him and ruffled his ears.
"You all right, blue?" she asked calmly. Though she could be abrasive at times Kelsen had learned Arowen really did have a heart of gold. It just took longer to get down to it. Apparently, his helping her with the card the night before was enough to get into that select few she seemed kind to.
"Yeah…. Yeah, I am just thinking, is all… I need to get out of the house for a while.. I need to go for a walk."
"Then take the mage with you-" Arowen stole a glance at Jalia who looked like she was suddenly tempted to throw the book at the wall "-because I would hate to see what she'll do when the frustration gets to be too much."
"I still don't understand why you made me come along with you," Jalia glowered. The stress on her face was enough to make the maren cat wince; he hated seeing his friends upset.
"It's better we go by the buddy system if last night is any indication. I mean, it's harder to take out a group than a single person." Kelsen replied with a gentle smile. Jalia simply huffed and folded her arms before her in a standoffish manner.
"Aw, come on Jali, would you lighten up al-" Kelsen suddenly trailed off and paused mid step. Staring straight ahead.
"Lighten up already? I don't feel like it, Kelsen!... Kelsen??" Turning her gaze, she saw the maren cat standing tense as if he saw something directly ahead of them. But when Jalia followed his gaze all she saw was the bustling, milling, normal activity of downtown on a weekend afternoon. "Kelsen, what's wrong?"
"Don't you see it, Jalia?" His voice was suddenly harsh, not his normal gentle tones at all. His green eyes were wide, the pupils seemingly slits in an expanse of electric green.
"I don't see anythign but people, Kel.."
"I see it… the castle…" He began to walk forward quickly, stalkind down the street in an oddly threatening manner. His long muscular back arched, tail lashing here and there, claws un sheathed and scraping agaisnt the side walk as he walked.
"Wait! Kel! " Jalia ran after him, but he didn't respond. He continued to walk, oblivious to the mage walking beside him.
They continued on like this for a while until darkness had fallen. Jalia had long given up on talking to Kelsen, but the cat could swear he could see it, the twisted, leaning spires of an ancient black castle. No one else seemed to, but he could. It seemed to be pulling him, leading him closer and closer.
They turned a corner on New Grenia Street and came face to face with the police taped wasteland created by the land slide a few days before. The sky over the entire place was black with clouds. Kelsen's fur stood on end. He could see it clearly now. And from the look on Jalia's face, she could too.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" A soft female voice near by drawled.
Kelsen whirled around and his jaw nearly hit the ground. Befor ehim stood a very familiar form, Slightly curled, lavender hair, same build.. same face. All but the eyes. The eyes were not the preditory gold but tranquil teal.
"L-leire?!" He gasped as the other nodded and pulled a scythe like weapon with a cruel smile.
End Chapter 4.
Coming soon:
Chapter 5: Mastering Magics
"Dreams of Black Sands"
As usual, I do not own the NiGHTS, Reala, none of 'em. Don't badger me... I am an unstable woman :)
Jalia and the others do however belong to MEEEEEE! so there.
Author's Note: yet again the next chapter took me forever and a friggin' day thanks to the fact that I am now offically a senior in high school and am swamped with pretty much everything. But I got it done, that's better then nothing ain't it?
Black on blue; star like markings that seemed ot shine in the blackness all around him. He stalked slowly across the pure black plain. Occassionally he passed a twisted reminant of a tree, clinging to life in the desert with a tenacity he knew he could never even fathom to emulate. He wasn't strong: not that strong.
The sand shifted beneath his paws, yet he didn't feel tired in the slightest. Usually the shifting sands would have stopped his progress, but somehow they didn't bother him. He felt as if he were walking on solid, strong ground. Always toward the dark castle on the horizon.
He reached the gate and saw another standing at the open drawbridge. One like himself, but more warped looking, his body more of extremes then Kelsen's own evenly muscled body. He was the old kind, what maren cats had at one point looked like. Like a cross between a cat and a human-Maren, only, twisted and warped.
"You're coming, finally?" The voice was oddly low, yet it cracked up high at the end of the sentence. It sounded like a cat's tone when they make a plaintive meow at an owner.
"I guess so." Kelsen's wings flicked up and back a traditional form of maren-cat greeting.
The other chuckled deeply within its throat, the noise comming out almost as a growl. "Well, it's nice to know at least one of the group will come along without too much fuss."
"Are you… my ancestor?" Kelsen couldn't help it, he had to ask. He had to know if he had been from the spawn of this creature.
"I am. I am Clawz… Though many forget my part in the great wars in future times, or so I hear. Ah, the other is coming as well. JACKLE! Get out here."
Kelsen's eyes widened as the other figure came into veiw, looking pointedly irritated. He was not overly tall, but just his appaearence seemed to speak of havoc he had wrought. He wore an intensly bright flame like cloak, red boots and yellow gloves; his hat curved up slightly at the ends, but his clothes were not the most distrubing part. IT was the fact that he appeared to have no body whatsoever. That bothered Kelsen more than anything. His warm brown eyes and toothy grin hung in the air, attached to an invisable head beneath the hat. There was no body to speak of, but he moved as if he had one, standing beside claws and shading his eyes toward the horizon.
"Oh! She is coming… Goody!" he had a pleasant tennor that seemed to hint that it could change in the blink of an eye. As it seemed his whole character could. At the moment though the tooth grin told Kelsen the odd demi-maren was happy.
Kelsen turned his head to see who was coming, and from across the plains he saw something bright. As it drew closer he recognized it as being Jalia, wearing a cloak identicle ot the character before him as well as the boots and gloves, and like him, she boasted no body. However she wore no hat, her bright hair blew in a slight breeze as she walked closer. He could see she also retained her face which he was greatly relieved to see.. He wasn't sure he could handle seeing another invisable maren that day.
When Jalia stopped beside him she looks different, more wizened here. She seemed to reflect her ancestor, and Jackle smiled his slight fangs glitterign in the dim light. It made Kelsen wonder, though.. Did he really reflect of Clawz? Of that monster?
Abruptly, though, deep rumbling caught his ears. He didn't notice that both he and Clawz looked in the same direction.
"He's coming soon." Jackel said quietly, his voice a bit more shrill in his nervousness.
"Who's coming?" Kelsen asked.
"Our former master, the one who bound us to this place. Even in death we can't move on… none of us." Clawz replied staring back at the courtyard.
"You mean you're all trapped here?" Jalia asked grasping at her invisible throat.
Jackle nodded his mostly invisable head with a sigh. "We are not allowed to leave. All of us who were once his right.. hands.." Jackle twittered shrilly a moment and Clawz rolled his red eyes expressively at the pun neither of the two teens got. "Ahem, as I was saying. All of us are trapped in Nightmare still.. The moment we died we returned here. Me, Clawz, Reala, Puffy, Gulpo, Gillwing… even NiGHTS though Nightmare was never really his home, at least not in his heart."
The rumble began to grow and a storm suddenly began in the sky above them. Multi-colored lightning forked out of the clouds illuminating the sky. Clawz looked up his tail twitching "He comes…"
Kelsen awoke with a start his eyes snapping open, and his head smacking painfully against the shelf just above his head. He narrowly cut off a curse by biting his tongue, lest he wake Talin who was asleep nearby. The whole group was sleeping over: Jalia and Arowen in the guest room, Talin, Keane and himself in Talin's room. And of course, Talin's mother always provided well for them all. Kelsen cast about quietly looking at the two others. Talin was in his bed, solidly asleep. However, Keane had his eyes open and was looking at Kelsen. Keane never seemed to sleep deeply.
"Something wrong, Kel?" Keane's voice was very quiet he watched Kelsen through half open eyes.
"No.. just a weird dream…"
Outside thunder suddenly let loose an angry roar, awakening even Talin who came to with a start.
"What the hell was that?!" Talin cried out slightly. He didn't avoid the shelf but hit his forehead hard. Keane twittered, trying to hide it in a terribly fake cough.
Abruptly a scream echoed through the house, waking any of the inhabitants that still slept. Talin grabbed the sword and vaulted up and out, followed closely by Keane and Kelsen. What they came to had to be the oddest sight they had collectively yet seen.
Jalia was pinned to the wall in her pajamas with her own cards; Arowen stood back, Gem's sword in her hand. The glow of lightning of the black blade illuminated a stranger's face who stood squarely in the center of the room. He was neither short nor tall, but as nodescript in height and build as they can possibly come. However he was dressed as an old time maren, in tight fitting suit, over-large boots and jester like cap. The colors were chilling though, White, gold, and black were interwoven in different areas over the body of the suit. In one hand he still grasped a card, his hands cut from throwintg them. He smirked as Talin and Keane entered. When he spoke his voice was so cold, so menacing it put even Talin's to shame.
"Oh, the whole party's here now, is it? All the easier for me then to wipe you all out now."
Talin snarled, something primal in him making him do it. "Get out of my house.."
"I don't think so." The other smiled darkly, his blood dripping into he carpet from sliced hands to fall soaking into the carpet. "You all are the children of prophecy? Forgive me for NOT quaking in my boots."
Slowly his feet moved as he walked twords Talin a few steps. His hazel eyes locked on Talin's blue ones. "Let me guess." The stranger hissed. "Reala? Am I right? Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic."
The eyes turned to Arowen who was advancing on him slowly. "Uh-uh, pretty one." With that the final card flew through the air, burrowing deep in Arowen's leg, causing the short female maren to drop to the ground with a short yelp. "You cannot help it… By the end your ancestor was blind as a bat." Next on the taunting list seemed to be Jalia. The young mage still hung on the wall like some badly put away puppet. "You! All these books and you have not managed to learn ONE THING?!" the strange maren laughed hartily in Jalia's face. The other simply glowered, unable to say a word.
Then he turned to kelsen, the maren cat felt a deep hatred well up inside of him, irrationally, potient. "You," The other looked at Kelsen, marking how the cat's claws clutched the floor with contained anger. However he never got any further as Keane had stepped forward.
"Stop it." Keane's voice was muted. But his body was ridged.
"What was that, fairy boy?" The other held a mocking hand to his ear as if he had not heard Keane. "Did you say something?"
"Yeah.. I said, cut it out you asshole." Keane smiled softly. His face seemed so kind, so gentle it seemed impossible to all assembled of what he was about to do.
With one smooth movement Keane had pulled soemthign from the belt on his pants, a bright blade of a butterfly knife shone only a brief second in the light of lightning before it was thrown. It wedged itself fimly in the other's shoulder. The strange maren gaped in open surprise and fell back a step shakily. Carefully he removed the blade with a short cry then, without warning, flung himself at Kean in a fine fit of rage.
Keane threw up his hands and caught his opponent's holding and crossing their fingers, when he felt a strange heat against his collar bone. It began like a hand, then began to seep throughout his body. Filling him with power. With a growl, he gathered the red energy to his hands. The enemy began to squirm, trying to break Keane's hold on him.
"Let go, you crazy bastard!!"
"Why should I? I so enjoy watching evil like you squirm, scum." Keane's voice was not his own, but held an odd, playful note to what should have been a very grave sentence. To the others a bright red gem, previously unnoticed by all, was pulsating with a bright, rich, red light. The light filtered around the room Somehow, it lent strength; it gave energy; it dulled pain.
The odd maren finally yanked away from Keane's hold, cradling bloody, burned hands with a venomous glare at Keane. "This ain't over, fairy boy.. There's more of us.. and the master will always win!" With that he simply dissappeared, while outside the storm broke with fat raindrops.
As the maren left, the light diminished, slowly tapering away till it fell completely, collapsed back into the blood red crystal that hung from a chain around Keane's neck. And as the light began to dissapear, Keane began to slowly drop, until at last he simply fell backwards onto the floor, eyes rolled up, unconcious.
Kelsen walked over to Arowen, the young female humaren was digging the card out herself. Her teeth were gritted and several very vehement swear words escaped her lips. Kelsen attempted to assist and was actually able to, as his claws were sharp, and much more capable of hooking the end to pull the thing out.
Near by Talin released Jalia from her wall holds, the bright haired girl almost collapsing as soon as her feet touched the ground. Her glasses slid off her face and rattled to the floor, luckily not breaking. Talin gently supported her as his mother finally succeeded in opening the door all the way. The older woman put her hands to her mouth in a classic gesture of shock, as she moved to check on Keane, and, satisfied the teen was only unconcious and not dead, helped find something to try to stop the bleeding of Arowen's leg.The rest of the night was spent in a local emergency room fixing up the various pains of the night.
Sebian slowly lowered to the ground, cradling a bloody shoulder and throbbing hands. A dark, fridged female voice issued from the darkness. "Aww, the children beat you, Sebian?"
"Oh, you shut up. I didn't see you out there trying to kill them." Sebian snarled as the curvy form came forward, turquoise eyes seeming to glow out fo the darkness of the underground vault around him.
"Master didn't send me, moron. He sent you. I'll get my chance; you're too incompetent to kill them anyway."
"I said, shut up!" Sebian lashed out with a foot only to be knocked over the head with something hard and metal.
"Don't think so, slow one. There is a reason I was named general and not you." The female snickered with a smile. "Master wants to see you in his meeting hall.. Soon he will be free and we will be able to rule as promised."
"Augh, fine I'm going," Sebian levered himself up against the wall and walked down the dark hall, acutely aware of the turquoise eyes that followed his progress.
Kelsen opened his eyes to glance at Talin's bed. However, it wasn't Talin's dark hair that stuck out fro under the over stuffed comforter but a bright blonde known to be Keane's. The boy was still out after their encounter with the strange maren the night before. Though he looked like hell-and-a-half, the doctors had found nothing but exhaustion wrong with him, so sent him home with Talin's family and advised to let him sleep it off.
Near by Jalia held a book in one arm, and was holding her other up as if she held something, mouthing strange words carefully. Ever since last ngiht she had been hell bent on learning the thing her family had denied her. Magic lay thick in the room, ticklng Kelsen's nose and whiskers. It made his fur stand on end, but in a pleasant way, like when he drug his paws against a thick carpet with nylon in the fiber mix. Jalia had been trying the energy transfer spell all morning, but nothing so far had worked.
"Exalo, denerum desikai…" She muttered with a hopefull look. "Aso zoni lepsudai!" Th spell hummed to life, creating vibration and light, but the light slowly turned violet and faded away.
"Damnit!" Jalia cried when the light had gone. "It collapsed again!"
"Can a spell collapse?" Arowen mused from a near by chair, her hurt leg proped up on another chair. "Like a soufflai or something?"
At this point kelsen got a very comical picture of Jalia with a chef's hat on her head attempting to hold up some failing concoction with magic and snickered. Arowen shot him a smile, while Jalia sent him such a glare that his smile faded. Then pictures of what she could do to him with those cards entered his mind. The smile was vanished completely and Kelsen was left to wonder if Jalia had set the pictures there. For after he shrank away a bit she smiled and went back to studying her book.
Talin sat back polishing the great silver blade angrily. Kelsen could see it on his face: Talin blamed himelf for the injuries among his friends. And that wound the guilt inflicted was festering. Talin was not the type to usually bottle himself up. But he had been so different since he had first met his ancestor, all of the others had. This left Kelsen to wonder: had he changed too, was he becoming more like Clawz? How would they defeat an enemy much bigger and stronger then they are, strong enough to imprision those who were already dead. His concentration must've shown on his face because Arowen leaned toward him and ruffled his ears.
"You all right, blue?" she asked calmly. Though she could be abrasive at times Kelsen had learned Arowen really did have a heart of gold. It just took longer to get down to it. Apparently, his helping her with the card the night before was enough to get into that select few she seemed kind to.
"Yeah…. Yeah, I am just thinking, is all… I need to get out of the house for a while.. I need to go for a walk."
"Then take the mage with you-" Arowen stole a glance at Jalia who looked like she was suddenly tempted to throw the book at the wall "-because I would hate to see what she'll do when the frustration gets to be too much."
"I still don't understand why you made me come along with you," Jalia glowered. The stress on her face was enough to make the maren cat wince; he hated seeing his friends upset.
"It's better we go by the buddy system if last night is any indication. I mean, it's harder to take out a group than a single person." Kelsen replied with a gentle smile. Jalia simply huffed and folded her arms before her in a standoffish manner.
"Aw, come on Jali, would you lighten up al-" Kelsen suddenly trailed off and paused mid step. Staring straight ahead.
"Lighten up already? I don't feel like it, Kelsen!... Kelsen??" Turning her gaze, she saw the maren cat standing tense as if he saw something directly ahead of them. But when Jalia followed his gaze all she saw was the bustling, milling, normal activity of downtown on a weekend afternoon. "Kelsen, what's wrong?"
"Don't you see it, Jalia?" His voice was suddenly harsh, not his normal gentle tones at all. His green eyes were wide, the pupils seemingly slits in an expanse of electric green.
"I don't see anythign but people, Kel.."
"I see it… the castle…" He began to walk forward quickly, stalkind down the street in an oddly threatening manner. His long muscular back arched, tail lashing here and there, claws un sheathed and scraping agaisnt the side walk as he walked.
"Wait! Kel! " Jalia ran after him, but he didn't respond. He continued to walk, oblivious to the mage walking beside him.
They continued on like this for a while until darkness had fallen. Jalia had long given up on talking to Kelsen, but the cat could swear he could see it, the twisted, leaning spires of an ancient black castle. No one else seemed to, but he could. It seemed to be pulling him, leading him closer and closer.
They turned a corner on New Grenia Street and came face to face with the police taped wasteland created by the land slide a few days before. The sky over the entire place was black with clouds. Kelsen's fur stood on end. He could see it clearly now. And from the look on Jalia's face, she could too.
"Magnificent, isn't it?" A soft female voice near by drawled.
Kelsen whirled around and his jaw nearly hit the ground. Befor ehim stood a very familiar form, Slightly curled, lavender hair, same build.. same face. All but the eyes. The eyes were not the preditory gold but tranquil teal.
"L-leire?!" He gasped as the other nodded and pulled a scythe like weapon with a cruel smile.
End Chapter 4.
Coming soon:
Chapter 5: Mastering Magics