Will lay on his bed, throwing a baseball in the air and catching it in one hand. Kirjava, lying on the edge of the open window, resting, looking at the ball lazily.
Solstice, who had become a black, silky panther, was washing herself with long laps of her tongue, paying not attention to the others.
The boy was very thoughtful, and wondering what on earth was happening, would happen and already did happen. He was pretty sure that if Solstice wasn't here when he woke up, he would have believed Aurora and everything she told him was just a dream.
And suddenly, Will stopped throwing the ball. His hand fell to his side and he dropped in to the floor. Solstice looked over at him, analyzing the sudden change of sounds. She watched as Will, a sad look on his face, got out of bed and walked to his desk.
He pushed aside a few papers and picked up the leather case containing Easheatter. He returned to his bed, and sat down on it.
Kirjava leaped off the window, and along with Solstice, came next to Will. They watched him as his trembling fingers opened the case, and the pieces of the blade slipped out of it, falling to his bed.
Immediately, Solstice flattened her ears over her head and snarled. Kirjava blinked, wondering what had aggravated the larger daemon.
"What do you hear?" Will asked. He knew the daemon could hear the blade.
"Easheatter's lament. His empty promises. His desire to be one and free. His hate towards you, Will." Solstice answered, relaxing slightly.
"Why does he hate me?"
Pause. Solstice turned into a raven, and landed on the desk's lamp.
"You have broken him twice. And the first time, you mended him, but he became ugly. Remember Will, that everything truly evil always searches for beauty, for it will make it more attractive and harder to resist. Easheatter hates you because you have made him ugly."
The boy and his daemon exchanged looks. Scared looks.
"Put him back, Will. His lies are breaking me."
Will did not understand what Solstice meant, but carefully, he put back all nine pieces into the leather case.
The bird then took it into her beak, and fluttered back to the desk, where she set it underneath piles of paper. Solstice turned back into a black leopard, and continued licking herself in a puddle of light that came through the window.
Kirjava returned to the window, and Will continued throwing his ball.
More questions invaded his mind.
(0)
Lyra walked out of Jordan College, and into a fiery morning. The sun was up high, but upcoming clouds announced a possibility of rain.
Pan was on her shoulder, sending glances at passersby. Lyra's back hurt pretty badly, since she had slept on the window's edge all night, so her walking was a bit stiff. But she managed to get them to the nearby canal.
She looked around at the gypsies, wondering is Ma Costa was here. But she failed to see her or her lovely boat, so she simply walked up to the edge of the canal instead.
She remembered how she used to swim in there with the other kids, and how Pan would turn into a fish or dolphin and play with the other daemons. Now, she missed those times, and her heart burst with jealousy as she watched other kids do the same.
Lyra turned around with a sigh, and suddenly saw a caped figure slip right out of her sight.
Pan sent her a warning by nibbling on her shoulder, but a strange feeling of dejavue pushed the girl to go after the figure.
She broke into a half-run, her back aching terribly.
But again, the figure disappeared. She followed it, frowning. Something told she really needed to reach whoever was under that black cape.
"Wait!" Lyra shouted, pushing past a few people. They groaned and shouted after her, but she ignored them.
And suddenly, there was a scream.
Lyra herself gasped, as all of a sudden, in the center of a large park, a huge dragon appeared out of nowhere. The girl had only seen dragons in old books at Jordan, and this one could only qualify as one.
He roared, opening, his massive, menacing jaws filled with rows upon roars of fangs, and spread out his giant leathery wings.
Screaming, kids went scrambling for cover, as Lyra stood there and gaped. Pan, with a squeak, had disappeared in her shirt.
The dragon stood on its rear paws and roared so mightily the ground shook. And on top of his head, Lyra suddenly saw the caped figure. She was about to call out for it, but just then, with a flap of his wings that sent Lyra flying in the wind, the dragon took off, and disappeared.
The girl scrambled to her feet, picking Pan up, and ran a few steps after the dragon. But the creature was long gone.
Lyra decided it was best if she disappeared from the scene, and quickly ran past gangs of kids and adults who were muttering very fast.
(0)
Aurora looked over at the horizon, sitting on Equinox, who was still a large hippogriff. They were stationed in the air, hundreds of feet above the ground.
They had stopped because the girl had suddenly felt something; a wave of amazing power, followed by a distant feeling of. . .a feeling that felt, warm, welcoming. Like when you meet an old friend after being apart for a very long amount of time.
The girl sighed.
"Aurore. . ." She murmured. It seemed her brother was causing trouble again. . .but in another world.
As Equinox flew on towards the North, Aurora wondered whenever her brother was in Lyra's world yet, and if he was, if he had found her.
And he probably had found her, because that wave of power could only have come from Tenebrus, his daemon that loved the dragon form.
(0)
Wasn't that good? Eh? Well anyways. Please review. Next chappy will be up soon.
BTW, Aurora's brother's name is Aurore. I know its sounds like a girl's name but hey, its my story! And Aurore's daemon is Tenebrus. (duh). Thanks for the reviews! You peeps rock!
Peace out.