Chapter 8
"Lords, I'm-" Razzle started to say when they arrived at the Temple of Light.
Toby shook his head. "Please, don't." He pleaded. Admitting it out loud made it real and Toby wished more than anything that this was just another one of his nightmares, which had become more frequent since the Obscurio debacle.
Razzle looked as though he wanted to say something but thought better of it. Lucas frowned. "We still have to destroy Nadia."
Nick looked up. "But how? We'd need the Dagger of No Return to do that, and we don't have a clue where it is!"
Old Sage cleared his throat. "You would be incorrect there, Lord of Earth. The Dagger lies in Nadia's possession; it was the very weapon she used to-" He cut himself off, upon seeing Toby's look of pain.
"So all we have to do is get the Dagger off her. Should be a snap!" Lucas cheered enthusiastically. Razzle nodded, "You must also recover the Vial before Nadia uses it to resurrect Obscurio!"
"We've got our checklist, now it's time to look sharp!" Nick said, looking determined. Toby stepped forward too, his expression unreadable but they all knew his rage at Jessica's death would either put him in danger or make his powers more deadly.
Old Sage gated them to the Cavern of the Hidden Shadow. Outside, Lucas shuddered, "This place gets more charming each time we come here. How much does she pay the decorators?" Both Toby and Nick gave him weird looks. "Geez, I was just trying to relieve the tension. This place creeps me out!"
They exchanged glances before taking deep breaths and walking forward into the cave. "Now remember, Nadia is a formidable opponent. She's smart and obviously knows our weaknesses so attacking her head-on won't be the ideal strategy. What we need is for someone to distract her whilst the others grab the Dagger and Vial."
Toby inhaled deeply before saying, "I'll distract her, on one condition. I'm the one who destroys her, just like she destroyed Jessica!"
Both Nick and Lucas looked alarmed at Toby's sudden anger but he calmed down enough to say, "Let's do this together! Our fate is in our hands!"
Nodding to each other, they braced themselves in preparation for what laid ahead, before squaring their shoulders and walking into the main part of the cavern.
"Well, well, what a suprise!" Nadia sneered. "I suppose I should have expected to see you pathetic creatures here again."
"We'll be the last creatures you'll ever see!" Toby snarled, hurling a jet of water at Nadia who easily deflected it with a lazy wave of her hand. He frowned and continued blasting water at her; his rage seemed to be blinding his logic.
"What's the matter? Does the poor Lord feel lonely without his girl?" Nadia laughed evilly. Toby saw red and charged towards Nadia, ignoring Lucas and Nick's cries of alarm.
"Don't dare talk about Jessica! You don't deserve to still be breathing while she lies there dead!" He hissed venomously, whilst trying to wrestle the Dagger out of her hands.
The two of them rolled over on the floor, each one of them looking for a moment to seize their opportunity. Nick and Lucas looked on, helplessly.
Suddenly Nadia let out a scream of outrage. Toby had somehow caught hold of the hilt of the dagger and hurled it into Nadia's chest. Her eyes widened with shock as she looked down, "That's not possible. No! What's happening?" Black shadows were pouring from her wound and she screamed as she began to lose form, dissipating into thin air, but not before saying cruelly, "You're too late! The essences have been collected. Even though you have defeated me, the shadows of Gorm will remain...forever!" Her evil laughter was the last thing they heard as she finally faded away.
They all gasped. In their desire to avenge Jessica's death, they had completely forgotten about Nadia's master plan. Just then, Lucas pointed at the ground, "Look!" Toby and Nick complied and their eyes widened.
Lying on the cave floor was a tiny golden vial. "The Vial of Rejuvenation!" Nick breathed in awe.
Toby suddenly looked up, "We can use this to bring Jessica back!"
Lucas and Nick exchanged concerned glances before Lucas said gently, "Jessica can't come back, Toby. Besides this is the Vial of Rejuvenation. It can't bring people back from the dead."
Toby shook his head stubbornly. "Guys, you don't understand! I just have this feeling that it will work!" Nick and Lucas looked at him sympathetically. "I don't expect you to believe it. I'm not even sure if I believe it! Just imagine if it's true; if we could really bring her back." He looked at them, his eyes pleading. "We need to give a try." He begged desperately.
Nick and Lucas nodded solemnly. The three of them held their hands over the vial. "For the power of the light!" At first, nothing happened. Then, all of a sudden, the vial started to glow with a brilliant light as different coloured lights came flying out.
A pink light flew towards Jessica, entering her body, causing it to be bathed in a rosy glow. First, her arms twitched then her legs stretched. Finally,
agonizingly slowly, she opened her eyes.
The others gasped. Jessica stood up, looking completely flawless. There was no evidence to suggest that a mere five minutes ago, she had been dead.
Nick was gobsmacked. "H-How did that work?" He stuttered, unable to believe his eyes.
Lucas looked around. "I have no idea. Maybe Old Sage will know." He pointed out hopefully.
Toby, meanwhile, approached Jessica who immediately flung herself into his protective embrace. Neither of them seemed to want to let go, not wanting to be separated once again.
Eventually, they let go of each other and gated to the Temple of Light, in high hopes that Old Sage would have the answers they were looking for.
AN: That's the end of the chapter. Tell me in a review why you think Jessica came back to life. Some nice comments wouldn't hurt either! :-)