Here's the next chapter of Fallen Angel, peeps! This story's got a few chapters to go, maybe I'll hit twenty, I don't know. I have less time to write now since I have a D in math, but I'm trying really hard to bring it up, honestly! Then I'll have more time. Also, I'm thinking about beginning a new story, in no correlation with this one, neither will it put off my attention towards this story - cuz I am definitely going to finish this one! Here's the summary I came up with:
Dragon Hearts: Kitty has always hated dragons. She meets a young dragon named Kurt, and her views entirely change. But when disaster strikes the dragons, can Kitty save the beasts that have become her friends?
I'm writing it out on my computer, tell me if you want me to post this story! In a review, if you would be so kind. Anyways, scroll down for the next chapter of Fallen Angel! Enjoy!
Summary: Kurt is a Fallen, an indescribably beautiful race of demon–angels. Kitty is a fledgling priestess with a hidden power. Kitty knows that Kurt isn't her enemy, but can she prove it?
Fallen Angel
13. The Shrine of Stars
Kitty felt like she was flying, for a brief moment. Then ground jerked back to existence beneath her feet, and she opened her eyes, blinking instantly to help her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight.
The three Fallen stood on a mountaintop, snow covering its peak and lightly drifting down on them; below them, spread out like a panorama, was the Valley of Mists; in the distance they could see the waterfall, roaring over the cliffs, the very one that had brought them here. The blue sky was cloudless, and the always-present wave of fog blanketed the green forests; she could see, beyond the forest's edge, the beginnings of the muddy swamp where the Old Woman of the Swamp lived.
"It's really pretty up here," Kitty commented, looking out over the beautiful view.
Kurt nodded agreement. "Yeah…"
Sparks murmured, "It was beautiful before, why not now?"
"You mean you can see it?" asked Kitty, glancing over at Sparks.
Sparks shook her head, correcting, "I have seen it. A long time ago…before this." She waved one hand at her face, indicating her white eyes.
Kitty nodded, mumbling, "Oh…" So then, how had Sparks become the way she was? But she didn't voice the question, feeling it was too personal to ask. Instead, she asked a different question. "So where's this shrine place?"
"Behind us," stated Sparks, and Kitty whirled around, brown eyes widening in shock.
She was looking at the biggest building she had ever seen in her entire life, counting Treehaven and the fairy village too.
She could see why this place was called the "Shrine of Stars." It was entirely fashioned from ebony stone, speckled with white dots that varied in size, making it look like a reflection of the night sky, the constellations trapped in solid black rock, glittering in the mountain summit's brilliant sunlight. The building was extremely tall, and Kitty didn't even want to know how high up the roof was; she might get dizzy. If she concentrated hard enough, she could see a faint shimmering around the entire structure, evidence of a magical barrier, placed there to keep out those unworthy of looking upon what lay within it; though whatever that was, exactly, was yet to be seen.
"Whoa…" Kitty whispered. "We have to go in there?"
"Yes," Sparks said, and walked forwards, the invisible barrier not stopping her. Kitty and Kurt exchanged a look and took a couple steps; the magic force field quivered but didn't solidify, and they passed through. Now that they were in front of the Shrine of Stars, Kitty got the idea that it was a lot taller then it seemed.
The large doors to the shrine swung open, and Kitty peered into the gloom.
She could see the far-off, domed ceiling, speckled with stars—here she could see why the place was known as the Shrine of Stars, even more so then the outside revealed, for it seemed as though she were looking into the night sky itself, though she knew it to be daylight outside yet; inlaid into the floor of black onyx was a seal-like circle criss-crossed with lines, stark white against the midnight-black of the ground. Around the outer edges were seven perfect half-circles dug into the ground, and at the center of the circle there was a eighth half-circle. Along the sides of the large room were torches, shedding pale orange light on the circle at the center. The dancing glow from the fire cast flickering shadows across the wide circle.
"What is this place…?" Kitty muttered to herself, stepping inside, looking around.
Kurt stepped up next to her. "They say that circle there can open the gateway to the first Fallen's world. But there are special requirements that nobody save for the Guardian of the Shrine of Stars knows."
"Guardian…?" questioned Kitty, confused. What Guardian? She hadn't seen anyone since they had walked up and there appeared to be no one inside, as well.
"Yeah. No one's ever seen the Guardian, but the magical barrier got there somehow, right—someone had to put it there. And the gateway can only be opened if the Guardian is present, so if we're thinking of going to that other realm, we're going to need the Guardian."
"But where would they be?" Kitty looked around, up at the ceiling, by the torches, but she couldn't see anyone besides herself, Kurt, and Sparks in the room.
Neither answered her; Kurt was crouched by the ring of circles. "Kitty?" he called, sounding a little excited. She ran over to him and peered into the depths of the circle, spying a symbol scratched into the bottom. She brushed away some dust, and spied the Fallen glyph for fire.
Beginning to get an idea, she moved onto the next circle, eagerly sweeping aside the dust at the bottom, finding the glyph for air, barely visible with all the grime coating it, but it was noticeable enough to be seen, and that was enough for Kitty, whose eyesight wasn't the best, but it had improved since she had become Fallen.
A grin stretched across her face, and she beckoned to Kurt. "Come see!"
He crouched next to her, his eyes easily seeing the writing. His eyes widened as he came to the same conclusion she had; she could see him counting the circles—there were seven, and if what she had just seen was anything to go by… There was one circle for each element—water, fire, earth, air, light, dark, and lightning. All of the elements, together at once! Kitty brushed her hair back from her face and crossed to the middle circle—it was bigger than the others, about big enough to fit a curled up person if they scrunched up a bit and weren't too big to begin with. She leaned over the edge and reached to the bottom, clearing away the film of grime and dirt gathered at the bottom; there was no glyph here, in any language; just a single picture, standing out among the faint silver of the half-sphere.
Kitty was staring at a picture of a coiled up dragon, surrounded by a flickering flame.
And that could only mean one thing.
All the elements, plus the dragon's fire, were required to open the gateway to the other realm, where the first Fallen came from.
She scooted back from the rim of the small crater and called to the others, "Can you guys come over here for a second?"
Kurt appeared by her side in milliseconds; Sparks simply fluttered over and alighted by the edge of the circle, questioning, "What is it, Kitty? Did you find something interesting?"
"I suppose you could call it interesting…" Kitty stated, enjoying the suspense.
Seconds passed…
"What is it?" asked Kurt, attempting to get her to elaborate, and Kitty pointed to the circle in the ground. Kurt scooted over to the edge, his sharp golden eyes searching the bottom till they spied what it was that she had discovered, and his eyes widened more, if that was possible.
Sparks leaped into the crater and put her hand against the base of the large circle; she traced the edges of the small image, and she looked up to Kitty. "You think you're clever, don't you?"
"Yes, yes I do," said Kitty smugly.
"Well, what are you going to do about it?"
"Do?" Kitty was taken aback. What was she planning on doing? Sure, she knew how to open the portal now, but what good would that do? After all, Treehaven was destroyed as far as any of them knew, and surely Fervior would come to find them eventually, right? Since he appeared to have all-knowing resources, he'd be coming for them soon enough—after all the Shrine of Stars wasn't that hard to miss, from what Kitty had seen of it. Fervior was sure to know of it, of course—he was a Fallen, despite everything he'd done. So Fervior would track them down, and then what? Sure, there might be some sort of showdown thingy, but Kitty knew that she was as inexperienced with fighting as Fervior was experienced. No contest there—so what if she knew how to open the gateway to that strange dimension the first Fallen came from? So what? What good would it do her if she was killed by Fervior? It wasn't like they could plan some sort of trap, like to open the gateway before hand or something…
Kitty realized she'd just come up with a plan without actually thinking she was making up a plan—smart, huh? Her brain had decided to kick in for once and now she didn't feel quite as stupid as she normally did, and that was a good thing, since she'd managed to feel stupid a lot during their long journey that had somehow brought them to ending up here, like Fate had decided to put some sort of winner's chip into play, and it was up to her to figure out how to use it.
"I have a plan," she announced, rather proudly.
Both Kurt and Sparks turned to look at her, staring in shock. "A plan?" asked Kurt, obviously a bit confused, since Kitty hadn't made up all that many plans before.
"Yes, you have a plan?" inquired Sparks.
"Yes, I do," replied Kitty, a bit angry by the fact that they didn't have much faith in her. She waved at them, and they put their heads together, and Kitty whispered, "Okay, so here's the plan…"
She explained it carefully, laying out the parts that they each would have to play.
Sparks blinked. "I think this might actually work."
Kitty grinned. Finally, some recognition!
Wow, Kitty came up with a plan? Isn't that amazing? Finally she gets to show her smarts and not seem so stupid, since she barely knows about the Fallen world! Tell me what you think of this chapter, and yah know what? We'll be meeting Fervior soon, aren't you excited? Eh heh... Review!
~ Shadey