So here's my story for Riannon.
I know it's long, bear with me, it's a story.
Of course all of the tabs and italics and such won't show up without me going through and doing codes and such, but I'm not going to take three years to do that so sorry if it confuses anyone.
Prelude
The world’s view on death is an extremely boring one. Many people expect that one day they will die in their beds at a ripe old age, and such a death is perfectly fine with them. Truth be told, what fun would it be if that’s how everyone went? Why die in a non-memorable way when you can go out with a bang that no one will ever forget? Why be just another person? Why would anyone want to be average when they could be extraordinary?
All of these thoughts were running through my head as I looked up at a man who had every intention in the world to destroy me. A sly grin formed on my face as I remembered everything that had been happening to me lately. I wasn’t just somebody; I was Saiya Alice Kage, a Warrior. I was going out with a bang alright, a bang that would shatter the world, simply because I wasn’t done just yet. I wasn’t going to die without a fight. I was going to die a martyr and I was going to die proud.
“Bring it on, you coward,” I growled through my smirk.
Chapter One
Enter Zain, Land of the Warriors
You have earth, and then you have earth’s crazy protector, Zain. The world of Zain is a very different one indeed. Upon earth there are humans and animals, plants and water. Everything is ordinary and nothing is magical. That’s not how it is in Zain. In Zain there are also humans and animals, plants and water, but that isn’t all. There are elves, there are vampires, there are beasts and magicians, but most importantly, there are the Warriors.
Warriors protect the land. They are strong, beautiful, magical, and wonderful, but they also have one extreme fault. Once a month a Warrior’s extreme power will take over them and turn them into a bloodthirsty monster. When this happens the Warriors are no longer be able to control themselves and try to kill everyone and everything in sight. You must understand that this is not the Warriors fault. Once it is over the Warrior cannot even remember what happened during their rampage.
In the olden days the only way to protect ones self against a rampaging Warrior was to get to a protected place as fast as possible and hide until the Warrior was back to being his or her self again. That is no longer the case. When a Warrior goes insane now-a-days, they are the ones locked up, not the people. You may wonder how this is possible. Over the years the government of Zain has discovered ways to predict when a Warrior will change and the Warrior is brought into a safe room where they cannot hurt themselves or anyone else.
Even though Warriors sometimes become a threat to the land, the people still love them for the amazing things that they do. They did way back when and they do now. The only problem is that even Warriors are not always sure hearted, and just like anyone else, their hearts can become tainted and evil. When this happens the Warrior has become one of the Soulless.
The purpose of Zain is to protect earth, and the purpose of the Warriors is to protect Zain, especially from the Soulless. Zain holds true to its purpose and the Warriors hold true to theirs. Now, not many from earth know of Zain, and the few that do are retired Warriors or somehow connected to said Warriors. When a Warrior is taught of Zain and their purpose it is called an awakening.
When a Warrior is done fulfilling their purpose or they have worked long enough, they have a choice, they may continue to be a Warrior or they may retire. If the Warrior chooses the second option, they have yet another decision to make. They can continue to live in Zain as an average citizen or they can live on earth like a normal human being.
This second road is the one my mother and father had taken, and never bothered to tell me about. I had no idea about this other world, and thinking I was your average girl, I was stuck with my feet on the ground. I never even imagined that there were other worlds besides the one I existed in. Sure, maybe there was life on other planets, but I had nothing to do with them and they had nothing to do with me, so in my mind their possible existence never even registered.
Even though I lived in an average world, I myself was nothing of the sort, and I’m not just talking about the way I behave. I have a long, shiny black mane that falls in curly cascades to my waist. Bright, nearly neon eyes, one blue, the other green, were laid in the pale, flawless canvas of my skin. My eyes were the thing that set me apart more than anything else. I was tall and had a beautiful, shapely body. Even through all of this clear beauty, I never was cocky about it and I figured I was just like everyone else, even if I didn’t look the part. Even though I never flaunted anything, none of the girls liked me. My only real friend was Ravyn Audere. I felt alone a lot of the time since I had no siblings, but I was okay for the most part. Loneliness was usual for me and when ever it got really bad I called up Raven or initiated a bonding day with my parents.
The day of the awakening started out like any other. I got up, I took my shower, I got dressed, and I walked to school with my best friend, Ravyn. Ravyn and I could have been related considering the oddly faultless way we looked. He had straight black hair that wasn’t too short and wasn’t too long, yet every girl I know wouldn’t mind if he was bald or had hair to his ankles because his other amazingly beautiful features would have made up for it. His bright gray-blue eyes stood out from his skin that was light, yet darker than mine and equally unblemished. I’d never dated him and I never figured I would, but every other female on the face of the earth (and probably men, even the straight ones) wanted to. Men of course were extremely jealous, yet no one seemed to hate him. He was usually seemed cold to most people, a mystery, which I would assume is one reason why he was so attractive to the girls. He was perfectly open and warm with me though. I’d known him since I was born, but, like any possible existence of other worlds; it never registered until I was about four. You see, his parents and my parents were very close friends and so Ravyn and I were together a lot. When I was four or so it really clicked in my head that he was my best friend. Being the tomboy I am Ravyn and I instantly clicked and were always getting down and dirty and stirring up trouble. I was just one of the boys and Ravyn and I had stayed the best of pals all through grade school, middle school, and high school, which is where we now walked to.
“Dude, I had such a weird dream last night!” Ravyn exclaimed.
“Me too, it wasn’t scary, but it was odd. What happened in yours?” I asked.
“So, I somehow ended up with these crazy, super-natural powers and I had to be the protector of this world somewhere. There was this evil overlord or something that was ruining the land and killing all of the people, and it was my job to stop him.”
I looked at him wide-eyed. “Are you serious?”
“Yeah, why? I didn’t think it was that amazing,” he looked at me like I was crazy.
“I had the same dream!” I gave him a confused look.
“Really? That’s creepy.”
“It is. You better get the hell outta my head buddy, ‘cause there isn’t enough room for both of us in there,” I grinned.
All of my classes rushed by in a non-memorable blur and Ravyn and I found ourselves once again walking through the streets of Worland Wyoming. Worland is one of those small hick towns where everyone was either a farmer or worked on the oil fields. There is never anything fun to do and if you wanted to get a rush you would drag down main a couple of times and that was the most fun you would have for awhile until you became a real dare-devil and did it again. In Worland you just had to make your own entertainment or live the dreary life that Worland had set for you. We were walking on one of the back streets towards my house which was over by the sugar beet factory. You see, Worland, like any other town I’m sure, had an abundance of, well, interesting smells, but the most distinctive had to be the sugar beet factory. For a while each year that factory would make the town smell so bad that it was hard to go outside if you lived anywhere close to it. I guess you kind of got used to it after a while, but if you weren’t prepared that smell would always surprise you when you walked outside.
Since it was Friday I gave Ravyn the usual offer of staying the night over at my place. If you’re some crusty old fart and you’re thinking, “Gasp, boys and girls staying the night together!” you can just put down this book right now or get over it because that’s what we did. It’s not like we did anything and our parents knew that. They trusted us completely.
“Yeah, I’ll ask my mom when I get home,” Ravyn said to my proposition. “She probably won’t care, I mean, we do this every weekend. Plus, your house is much more fun than mine.”
“If you think my house is fun you live in a dull, dull world my friend,” I laughed.
“Well your house is farther away from the stench of the sugar beets,” he laughed.
As it turns out, Ravyn was right. His parents said yes, as they usually did, and he was at my house by six. Dinner was just as normal as the rest of the day, as was everything else that happened until bed. After we lay down to sleep was when it got intense. We had stayed up until four in the morning, so, of course, we were exhausted, and both of us fell asleep almost immediately. I was nice enough to let Ravyn have my bed and I slept on a mattress on the floor. You see, our house was pretty big but the rooms were small. It just had a lot of them.
My room, though it was small, was very comfortable. The walls and ceiling were three different colors of green. The front and back walls were a dark green, the side walls a medium green, and the ceiling and doors were a really light green, giving the room the look of a cube. It was different and that’s what I loved about it. Though we took a lot of time carefully painting those walls you could barely see them through the pictures and such I had hung on them. Magazine clippings, pictures, drawings, posters and more were spread out all over the walls. Fake vines crept their way around my curtain rods and green mesh material took the place of curtains. Three black roses were nestled in the mesh. Lying on top of the curtain rods and trailing down the wall was a string of Japanese paper lanterns. The lanterns were hooked to an industrial sized orange extension cord that was curled up under my no-where-near industrial sized bed. Blankets, two or three depending on the weather, lay on my bed with the four pillows that were always there. My bedding was a patchwork of whatever I could find. The main blanket and one of the pillow cases were green, which had been bought to match my room. The other main blanket was a blue quilt-like thing. Sometimes a green and black quilt that my grandmother had made graced the bed when I got really cold, other times it lay across the brown chair parallel to the bed. The two pillows I used for my head, the green one and a blue and white checkered one, lay at the top of the bed under my head board, the other two, a blue and white stripped one and a brown stripped one, sat at the side against the wall. On my headboard sat an assortment of glass animals, figurines, a jewelry box, and most importantly a bunch of vases filled with dead flowers. When ever someone gave me flowers I set them on my head board and left them there. When they died I kept them there anyway, I liked them. Needless to say, I’m a huge packrat. My small room barely had enough space to move around in because other than the bed there was the brown chair, a desk, a dresser, and a huge glass bookcase. The chair was extremely important to me and held a lot of memories. As a child my grandmother and I would sit on that chair and read I Spy books. When my great grandmother passed away she left the house to my grandma and when she moved in she rearranged and decided she had no room for the big brown chair so she gave it to me. The desk held a mess of art supplies, school stuff, and random things that I had no other place for. On top of my dresser were a stereo and a bunch of stuffed animals. On top of the book case sat a fan and a fake skull wearing a fedora and a purple Happy New Years hat. A few years ago we had a Halloween dance at a place in town called the Teen Center. A couple people and I had been in charge of decorating. We had gotten the skull, named it Uncle Sue (yes Uncle Sue), and decided that I could keep it when it was all over. I had put the fedora on it because I had nothing else to do with the hat. Then one time my mother had went to a New Year’s party and brought me back the purple hat for Uncle Sue. The bookcase itself was filled with books. We jokingly called it my personal library. The bookcase also held an assortment of bottles that I collected and a bunch of pictures of my parents. My floor was hardwood but a large square rug with pictures of green vines and flowers covered it. My room was brimming with random stuff but I loved it.
Anyway, after we fell asleep I began to dream immediately. I dreamt that I was back in that other world and the evil overlord, whom was called Shirk, and I were in a heated, full-out battle to the death. I crouched low and sprang at him (something I never would have been able to in real life), nearly catching him with the long sword I held. At the last second a burning sensation ran through my body, centered on my heart. Shirk had materialized behind me. One second I had him in my sights and then the next he was gone. I dropped to the ground, wide eyed and speechless, a sword through my chest.
I woke with a loud gasp and shot into a sitting position. I slowly looked around and realized that Ravyn was awake as well… and looking at me with the same expression of horror. I stared at him, unable to speak, and he stared back. I let out a deep breath that I hadn’t known that I was holding.
“Bad dream…” we murmured in unison and looked at each other in surprise. I let it slide and put my hands up to my face, rubbing my sore eyes. “What was yours about?” we both whispered, again at the same time.
“I told you to get out of my head,” I laughed uneasily.
“Sorry,” he put a hand on his forehead.
“I dreamt that I was fighting that guy again and he killed me,” I looked at him.
“Shirk?”
“Yeah… wait, how do you know his name? I don’t recall ever telling you.”
“We established this, this morning. I had the same dream. Yesterday and tonight. It’s creeping me out,” he shivered.
“Well, it should,” said a voice to my left.
I screamed and watched as a short girl walked out from behind my door. She had short silver hair that gleamed even in the slight light of my alarm clock. Her eyes also glowed a metallic silver. I looked at her. “How did you get in my house?” I choked out as Ravyn continued to look at her with wide, unbelieving eyes.
“I walked through the front door, duh,” she raised an eyebrow and grinned at me.
“Okay, fair enough,” I recovered my bearings. “Do I need to escort you from the premises?”
“Oh, I don’t think so, I’m rather harmless when I want to be,” she shrugged, still grinning.
“Fine, whatever, who are you?”
“I’m Sasha, the one and only!” she threw her hands up.
“Naw, I’m sure there’s more than one Sasha in the world. In fact, I know about four in our high school alone,” I crossed my arms over my chest.
“Aw, come on, none of them are as awesome as me,” she set her hands on her hips and the colorful bracelets she had on her arms jingled.
“I wouldn’t know, but since you are breaking and entering, I think my opinion of them is higher than that of you right now.”
At that moment my parents rushed through the half-open door. “What’s this ruckus?” my father demanded.
“Yeah, you nearly gave me a heart... Sasha!” my mother squealed and hugged the small woman who had somehow ended up in my room.
My dad turned to look. “Sasha, it’s been such a long time! What’s brought you to this nick of the woods?”
“It’s time, isn’t it?” my mother grinned.
“Yes, I’ve come to take them for training,” Sasha smiled. “I’ve already spoken to Andie and Robert.”
“My parents? How do you know my parents?” Ravyn spoke up for the first time since Sasha had shown up.
“Mom, Dad, how do you know her?” I inquired.
“Oh, the old days, when your father and I were Warriors, she was the witch on our team,” my mother smiled, reminiscing.
“Uh, Warriors? Witch?”
“Yeah,” Sasha spoke up, “the protectors of Zain.”
“Zain?” asked Ravyn, who was also completely lost.
Sasha sighed. “Must I really explain all of this? Didn’t you tell them anything?” she addressed my parents.
“No,” they both said guiltily.
“Well, no use messing around here any more, we’re leaving now. Thank you, Allana, Jonathan, it was wonderful seeing you again,” she hugged each of my parents in turn. She pointed a finger at both of us and suddenly I felt like my stomach was being twisted in a pair of extremely powerful hands.
Ravyn and I were suddenly dropped on a rough patch of grass. A low “oof” escaped each of our mouths.
Sasha was laughing. “Welcome to Zain, thank you for taking Sasha the Amazing Airlines!”
“We couldn’t have opted for a more comfortable landing?” I grumbled.
She laughed again. “Oh no, not after your remark back in the bedroom, though I suppose,” she put a finger to her lips, “your opinion of me must be ever lower now.”
“You have no idea lady,” I growled under my breath.
“I hate this, I hate this, I hate this,” Ravyn chanted quietly beside me.
“Too bad, now stand up so we can get going,” Sasha ordered.
“Screw that, I’m staying right here until I’m clued in,” I glared at her.
“If I must,” she sighed and then began to explain to me the story of Zain and the Warriors. Ravyn and I sat on the ground and listened intently to the lengthy story. “And that’s all I can tell you. You’ll have to wait for Queen Audra to explain your purpose.”
“I see,” I said lamely as a huge jumble of thoughts concerning her story ran screaming through my mind.
“Shall we get going?”
“Sure,” Ravyn and I mumbled and stood up.
“Wait, you’re still in your pajamas!” Sasha looked horrified.
“Hey, don’t give me that look, my P.J.’s may not be the most beautiful things in the world, but they get the job done,” I snorted, but at the same time I realized how cold I was.
“Such sad, sad children,” she shook her head and once again pointed her finger at me. This time I didn’t miss the small silver glow that surrounded the tip of her finger. I felt a tingling sensation and then I was wearing a whole new outfit. I now had on long black pants and a black turtle neck sweater that had a green “x” crossing from my shoulder, across my breasts, and then down to the hem of the shirt. The outfit was completed with knee high boots that you obviously couldn’t see through the pants, but would protect me from the elements (as long as they didn’t pass my knees) and looked wonderful while doing so.
I turned to look at Ravyn. He was wearing a long-sleeved black over shirt and loose black jeans. Underneath the over shirt was a red shirt that I assumed must be a tank top (or wife-beater, if you prefer), if his outfit matched his personal style as mine did. Black boots stuck out from the ends of his jeans.
“Either you’re a stalker or you’re just really good,” I looked at Sasha with wide eyes. “You got our styles well.”
“I’m magic remember? Not only did I dress you according to your own styles, I dressed you for success by making sure you were suited to the weather. If that wasn’t splendid enough, there wasn’t even any stalking involved! In fact, tonight was the first time I’ve met either of you. All it took was a wave of this baby, “she flaunted her finger, “and I knew exactly what you would like to wear!”
“Hmm amazing,” I sounded indifferent not wishing to let her know that I was extremely happy with my outfit.
“Aw, you’re no fun,” she pouted.
“Thank you anyway,” I smiled.
“Agreed, I like this outfit,” Ravyn said finally speaking more than one or two words.
“It speaks!” Sasha looked amazed and then she giggled.
“It does,” I agreed, “but only sometimes.” I laughed, “Don’t worry, before long he’ll be talking non-stop! You just have to get to know him first.”
“You’re one to talk about being noisy,” he grumbled.
After a small argument about who was more talkative we started to walk through the dark forest. According to Sasha, our destination wasn’t extremely far, but it would involve a little walking to get there. We walked and listened to Sasha ramble on and on about unimportant things. I suppose she was only trying to break the ice, and I didn’t mind. She did have a pretty voice. Smooth as silk. The forest was beautiful. There were millions of beautiful trees, bushes, and other plants. Flowers of every size, shape, and color grew in the forest. Every once in a while we would see a few colorful lights coming from God knows what, but they were beautiful so I wasn’t afraid of them.
Sooner or later we cleared the trees and what we saw on the other side caused our jaws to drop. Walls surrounding a large castle-like building loomed over the field in which it was constructed. The soaring walls were covered in beautiful stonework which was embedded in the walls. Stories were told on those walls. There were pictures of wars and marriages, deaths and births, stunning images like gray photographs. A moment caught in time, every detail preserved for eternity.
Gorgeous gardens framed the edifice. Flowers of every shape, size, and color created a mosaic that must have taken years to create. Vines crept from the flowers, which were swaying gracefully in the wind. These vines crawled their way around the stone in delicate twists and turns. The vines carved their paths all the way up to the top of the walls where there were yet more flowers edging the sides. Behind this masterpiece the clouds rolled lazily by, adding to the perfection of this structure.
We moved forward along a stone walkway that seemed to have been laid very carefully, every stone picked for perfection. The walkway was lined by beautiful hedges. We came upon a large, dark gate, seemingly made out of the most beautiful wood in the world. The door rose at our arrival. Beyond the door I could see a waterfall, glimmering in the sunlight.
A tall woman stood within the gate, people flocking at her heels. The woman had a head of long, curly blonde hair and blue eyes that would pierce the heavens. Beautiful silken robes fell in pools around her body, touching each curve with careful perfection. Upon her head sat a delicate silver tiara.
“Welcome, my friends,” the woman spoke in a voice that could rival the heavens. “I am Audra, Queen of Zain.”
Chapter Two
Purpose
We stared in awe. Her sheer beauty was astonishing, but the power that seemed to emanate from her body was even more incredible. Authority seemed to flow around her in an aura that was nearly visible, but it was a gentle authority. She obviously had the love of her country. The eyes of the people around her were brimming with love and respect. Just her presence made me, a complete stranger, feel a little safer.
“Please, come into my home,” she said and turned to lead us up to the castle. The castle itself was surrounded by the simple and neat houses of the citizens. Outside on each lawn was a flag. The flag was black with a beautiful red “z” on it. We entered the castle and were lead to a large room with a table in the middle. Queen Audra sat at the head of the table and beckoned for us to sit.
We sat and she began. “You already know the general basics of being a Warrior, right?” We nodded. “Good. What I assume you don’t know is that Warriors do not grow old unless they choose to give up their positions and live on earth. If a Warrior continues to live on Zain and fulfill their duties, they will never grow old. Your parents came to us at the tender ages of eighteen and nineteen. Once they lived and worked here for over one-hundred years they chose to live in the mortal realm and become like humans. That’s when they had you.”
“So I’ve picked up that this Warrior thing runs in the blood,” Ravyn said quietly. He was very observational and if he didn’t understand something that he felt was important he usually asked.
“Yes.”
“So my brother will be one too?” Ravyn asked, speaking of his four-year-old brother, Ashton. Ashton was absolutely adorable. He had big blue eyes and wavy brown hair. He was a little trouble maker, but his innocent smile kept him on everyone’s good sides. I couldn’t imagine him a Warrior.
“Yes, he will. Anyway, as I was saying, you two are obviously ahead of your parents in the age department and the reason for that is that you two have a greater purpose.
“There is a Soulless wreaking havoc upon our community,” she continued. “More citizens turn up dead and mutilated each day. This Soulless’ hunger is stunning. Sometimes up to ten dead bodies a day turn up with every drop of blood drained from their veins and their bodies disfigured. Some are missing arms or legs, some even their heads.” I looked at her obviously horrified. Ravyn’s face was grave. She looked at us and went on, “Each body has a mark on their chests. It is his mark. You two have an extremely important and difficult purpose. You must find and destroy Shirk.”
My eyes went wide and I looked down at the table, unable to move. “Shirk?” I whispered.
“Yes, Saiya Alice, Shirk. Your dreams were not just coincidence. My studies of you have turned up very strong evidence that one of your talents, powers if you will, is the ability to tell the future. You can also translate your thoughts to others, whether the action is conscious or not. That is why Ravyn shared your dreams. It was a sort of warning that your mind instinctively gave him. You will both begin to fully receive these powers in a few days or so.”
I whimpered to myself quietly as to be sure that no one else heard. Powers? Shirk? What the hell was going on? This was all too freaky. I was convinced it was a dream. I want to wake up now... I thought to myself. I looked despairingly over at Ravyn. He was staring blankly at a wall and I could tell that he was letting everything sink in. He looked at me and tried to give me a comforting look. I tried to smile at him.
“Now,” Queen Audra said, her attitude completely flipped from serious to joyful, “I am sorry for your first few moments in my home being so grim. We will have a feast in order to introduce you to my people and your teammates.” She clapped and her servants went off at once, presumably to prepare this feast.
“Oh, no, Queen Audra, a feast is not necessary!” I said, flabbergasted.
“Oh, don’t be party poopers,” she smiled beautifully. “It’s been so long since we’ve had a feast!” She seemed rather excited so I stayed quiet. “Please, Sasha, lead them to their rooms so they may clean up.”
“Yes, your highness,” Sasha smiled. We were lead down a maze of beautiful hallways. Some had assorted plants, some beautiful paintings of people and places, some had suits of armor. Each hall was decorated in its own way. Finally we were lead to a sort of cul-de-sac with two doors at the end. Each one had a sign with delicate lettering on it. One said “Saiya Alice Kage” and the other said “Ravyn Audere”.
“I assume you both know which is yours?” Sasha smiled at us.
“Yes,” Ravyn said quietly.
“You know you don’t have to be so quiet!” Sasha basically yelled to make her point. Her voice echoed back at us, “... be so quiet...so quiet... quiet....”
“Sorry,” he grumbled and we opened our doors. At the far end of my room was a large bed. The bedposts rose up nearly six feet and a delicate, silken, forest green material was spread loosely from the front two posts to the back. The comforter and pillow cases matched the material which covered the bed. Beneath the bed was a circular gray rug. The rest of the floor was wood. A window in the light green wall let in light upon the many plants and pictures that were scattered around the room. Queen Audra obviously had a knack for interior decorating.
Ravyn walked in through the door that adjoined the rooms. “Fancy, eh?”
“Yeah, really fancy.”
“I’m so overwhelmed,” he sighed and sat on my bed.
“Me too,” I sat next to him and let my head fall on his shoulder. “I’m also exhausted.” He put his arm around my shoulders, as not to surprise me and let me fall, and laid us both back. He then put both his arms on his flat stomach and threaded his fingers together.
“I feel life is about to get really difficult for us,” he turned his head and looked me in the eyes.
Chapter Three
Teammates
Sasha later came in to bring the two their party outfits. She entered the room with an extra-special flourish, only to find both of them asleep on Saiya’s bed. Saiya was curled up on her side, next to her Ravyn had his hands on stomach. Sasha grumbled at the fact that her theatrics had been useless.
She walked over and slowly and carefully leaned over the bed. She screeched a very loud, very high-pitch screech that made Saiya scream and Ravyn bolt upright. Both turned at the same time and glared at her.
“What?” she put her hands up and shrugged. “You weren’t paying attention to me.” They both continued to glare. They’re both giving me the exact same look, Sasha thought and for some reason the thought brought a smile to her face. “Here, can’t say I never gave you nothin’,” Sasha said throwing them the clothes.
Saiya looked her dress over. It was a long, silky blue number with no straps. The top was a corset with delicate, dark blue ribbons holding it together. It was also a shade darker than the skirt part and made so that it would give her a little extra cleavage. The bottom looked like it was slightly pleated because of the way it was attached to the corset and fell gracefully to the floor. Her shoes were sparkly and silver. Sasha could read in Saiya’s eyes that she didn’t like to wear dresses, but loved this one.
Ravyn was given a black tuxedo that had a shiny red dress shirt. His cummerbund matched his dress shirt, but his tie was shiny and black. The legs and arms were creased to perfection and Sasha could tell that he liked it. His shoes were black and polished. One could see ones reflection in them. They smiled up at her and Ravyn walked into his room to change. Saiya changed in her bathroom.
Sasha herself was wearing a bright green dress. It was short and fit perfectly against her legs, showing every curve. The straps went up and tied around her neck. On her feet were black heels.
“Oh!” Sasha exclaimed as Saiya came out. “Nonononono!” she wailed as one big word. “You must put your hair up! The dress is beautiful, but if your hair is down it covers your shoulders!”
Saiya looked on in surprise as Sasha ran over and grabbed a brush, a clip, and some bobby pins. She quickly went to work on Saiya’s tresses. She pulled it up behind her head, leaving two thin, short, perfect curls to dangle in front of her ears. Last but not least, she inserted two small diamond earrings into Saiya’s ears.
“There,” she smiled, satisfied with her work. “Perfect.”
Ravyn walked in and Sasha was once again at work on a mop of hair. She smoothed his down so that he would look like a gentleman. As Sasha pranced through the door Ravyn looked over at Saiya, shook his hair back out, and grinned.
***************
Sasha led us to a monstrous ballroom where people were already milling about. The room was domed and the ceiling was glass so that you could see the moon and stars above. It was beautiful. The floor was marble and the walls were a crème color and had beautiful paintings on them.
“These are my guests of honor, Saiya Alice Kage and Ravyn Audere, our new Warriors!” Queen Audra boomed as the entered the room on either side of Sasha. People clapped and cheered. I felt my face burning. So many people were looking at me. Queen Audra sauntered down the aisle as people returned to their conversations and dancing.
“Please, follow me! You must meet your teammates!” she was obviously excited. We were led to a small group of people. They all turned as we came upon them.
One man stuck out his hand. “I am Garrad Sine, nice to meet you.” His handshake was firm and proud. I liked that. Garrad wore a black tux like Ravyn’s, but his dress shirt was a deep blue. Both his tie and his cummerbund matched the dress shirt. “I’ll be the warlock on your team.”
“Oh, how nice to meet you!” a small woman smiled and daintily shook our hands. “My name is Saiko Neraa,” she continued to smile. “I’m your tracker.” Saiko’s dress was a dark red made from silk. It was straight and went all the way to the floor. The bodice was covered in a twisting pattern made from small silver beads.
Another woman, slightly taller than Saiko but not much, smiled brilliantly. “I’m Leah Breana! I love your dress!” she grinned and squealed at me. She was obviously a very happy person. “I’m your negotiator, just in case,” she giggled. Her dress was short and hot pink. It frilled out at the bottom and showed her short yet smooth legs. Silver stilettos gleamed on her feet.
Another man presented his hand. He had a white tux, a maroon dress shirt and cummerbund, and black tie. “I’m Kain Alland.” We shook hands. “I’ll be your guard.”
The last of the group, a man in a white and blue tux grabbed our hands. “I’m Joseph Sorran, I’m also a Warrior, but I play the role of your lookout.”
I smiled at all of them. They were quite the group. Garrad had short black hair and ice blue eyes. Both Kain and Joseph had blond hair. Kain’s was short and Joseph’s was slightly longer. Kain’s eyes were a dark green and Joseph’s were a dark yet glowing blue. The first woman of the group, Saiko, had short blond hair that went a little below her ears. Her eyes were an amber color. Leah’s hair was blonde and curled to her shoulders. Her eyes shone a light pink. Each was amazingly beautiful. I felt like I’d walked into the other side of the mirror where ugly didn’t even exist.
Chapter Four
A New Discovery
“So who’s going to dance with these two?” Sasha grinned.
“I’ll take him!” Leah sang and grabbed Ravyn’s arm. “Dancing’s fun!”
I laughed at him as I watched her yank him out onto the floor. He looked confused.
“I’ll take the lady first,” Garrad offered, putting his hand out towards me. I blushed furiously and blinked at his hand. “Dear, it’s just a hand,” he said.
I grabbed his hand. “I suppose,” I said under my breath. He lead me out to the floor. “I, uh, don’t know how to dance….” I blushed again.
“I see, well simply step onto my feet.” I hesitated. “Don’t be shy, you won’t hurt me, I promise.”
I stepped carefully onto his feet and he began to waltz. “So, Saiya Alice, how old are you?”
“Sixteen,” I said quietly and looked up. His icy eyes stared back at me. He smiled.
“I see, I am but seventeen. We are not far in age.”
“Nope. So you said you’re a warlock, right? So does that make you like Sasha?”
“Yes,” he continued to smile. “Sasha and I have known each other for a very long time.”
I looked over to see that Ravyn was now in Sasha’s arms and she was laughing hysterically as she led him around. I heard a low voice, “I’ll take her now, please.”
I was spun around and it was Kain. I was just getting to know everyone I suppose. I was a little nervous about the whole physical contact with strangers thing. I made a “meep” sound as Kain daintily lifted me up onto his feet.
“It’s nice to know that someone is going to stop Shirk,” he said and I just looked down at his chest. “Saiya, you’re doing a great thing for Zain,” he said and lifted my chin so that I would look at him.
“I guess. It’s just all so overwhelming though. Give me a while to get used to it and I’ll be fine.”
“I know you will. Your parents, I knew them.”
I stared at him. “What?!”
“I knew them. I was about seven at the time. Just brought home by my parents. You see, my parents went to earth to try living normally and had me. After a while they just couldn’t stand being away from Zain and brought me back. They took me back and forth between Zain and earth each year so that I would grow. I’m eighteen now.”
“Oh, I see. Well this is all very new to me.”
He smiled and I was passed off again. This time I was flung into Ravyn’s arms.
“Oh, thank God it’s you!” I sighed.
“I’ve been being flung around between bunches of women I just met,” he looked a little annoyed. He wasn’t a people person.
“Well now we’ll embarrass ourselves together,” I said as I realized how awkward we must look since neither of us could dance. “They’re nice people though. Garrad is seventeen, Kain’s eighteen. Kain knew my parents.”
“Yeah, Leah’s sixteen like us. Sasha’s fifteen although she acts like a two year old.”
I laughed. We were passed though dance after dance throughout the night. We ate a huge meal consisting of too many things to count. Ravyn and I were finally allowed to trudge back to our rooms.
“Good night Saiya,” Ravyn said and ruffled my hair.
I glared at him. “Night.”
Ravyn left and shut the door behind him. I went and looked in the closet. There was an abundance of clothes in there. I finally found a nightgown and changed into it. I curled in under the comforter. I closed my eyes and thought about the day. I must have laid there for three hours unable to actually sleep. I just felt so foreign and cut off. Finally I got up and opened the door between Ravyn and my rooms. I lay back down and finally fell asleep.
I woke up in the morning with the sun shining in my eyes. I groaned and rolled over with my eyes shut tight. I opened them and a scream escaped my mouth.
“What the hell?!” I yelled at Sasha who sat next to my bed, face in mine, staring at me.
She giggled. “You’re funny.” She got up and pranced over the closet singing, “Training, oh training, what a wonderfully painful thing, we knock you out and knock you back in, and all the while we dance and sing, while we watch you toil in vain!”
I whined. “No,” I wailed. “Let me alone, just let me alone!”
She skipped back out and tossed me a black skin tight suit. Another green “x” crossed the breast area. “Put it on so we can go training!” she grinned.
I moaned as I walked over to get dressed. I slipped on the suit and flopped down against the wall. I was exhausted. How was I supposed to train and do everything that entailed if I could barely walk?
“You know, Saiya,” Sasha yelled from the next room, “you’re burning daylight!”
“Oh, I’m going to burn something alright,” I grumbled darkly.
Sasha led Ravyn and me to a large training ground. There were different stations spread about. I heard Sasha giggle quietly and whisper, “I know!” We were led over to a deep pit. The pit had a long board about three inches wide across it. A rack next to the pit held a variety of swords. “Pick your weapon!” Sasha grinned.
Ravyn and I walked over and inspected the weaponry. I picked up a long sword and Ravyn grabbed a slightly longer one, I guess because he was taller than me.
“Now,” Sasha instructed, “step up onto the board and gain your balance.”
I walked over and carefully got on, nearly falling off numerous times. I found my balance as a tall woman stepped on. Her long brown hair gleamed in the ponytail it was pulled back in. She tossed me a hair tie. “You’ll need this.” I tied my hair up as she instructed.
“Ooo, Saiya! You have to fight Lynn!” she chuckled. “You’re doomed, you’re doomed,” she sang. I grumbled at her. “Just try to stay on the board and knock Lynn off. Those are the only rules.”
I tried to find a stance. I held my sword in front of me and nodded to Lynn to tell her I was ready. She gracefully leapt and slammed her sword into mine. I stumbled back, nearly falling off. I came back, ducked low, and swung at her ankles. She hopped right over the arc of my sword. She was still in the air when she flipped her body upward, stabbed her sword into the board, put both hands on the handle and balanced herself there. I gaped and she came down with her foot. She cracked me on top of the head and then used it as a launching board to flip herself behind me. I fell to one knee and rubbed my throbbing head.
“Okay, that’s enough,” I growled and lunged. She met her sword with mine but I put my other hand on the blade and shoved downward. Her knees and back bent. Our eyes met for a brief second. I saw cool resolve in her gray eyes; she saw fiery determination in my blue-green ones. She then pushed and forced me backwards. My feet slid along the board and since I couldn’t stop her I carefully kept them sliding in a straight path so I wouldn’t be knocked off. I hopped back a bit and came at her again, this time at her knees. I felt my sword connect, but she barely moved. She walked back with a slight limp. She came at me with renewed speed. Her foot slid under mine and I fell from the board. My hand caught it at the last second.
I was beginning to pull myself up when she walked over and looked down at me. “Sorry,” she said as she kicked my hand and forced me off. I hit the bottom of the pit hard on my side. I lay there breathing for a second before Sasha poked her head over the edge of the pit.
“You gonna come up and let Ravyn have a turn?”
“No freaking way, I’m not done yet,” I breathed.
“You should probably rest,” she said in a motherly tone.
“I said I’m not done yet!” I yelled and slowly pulled myself up. I put my hands on my knees and stood there for a second while I let my head clear and then I climbed up.
“This is stupid,” I heard the voice of Sasha. “She’s going to kill herself.”
“What did you say?” I turned on her.
“I didn’t say a thing!” Sasha looked offended.
“Don’t give me that bull; you said that what I’m doing is stupid!”
“Correction, I thought that,” Sasha looked offended and slightly confused.
“But I heard it!” I yelled.
“You… you read my mind,” Sasha paused. “It all makes sense,” she whispered to herself. “You remember when Queen Audra said that you had powers so far that had to do with your mind?” she addressed me this time.
“Yeah,” I looked at her and gave a look that said “Your point?”
“You can read minds, that’s how you knew what I was thinking! You can read minds!” she was excited now.
Chapter Five
Memories
I walked back out on the board, my new power on my mind. All I’ve got to do, I thought to myself, is read her mind and see what she’ll do next. I got into my stance again. Lynn got into hers. I looked her in the eyes and concentrated hard. “Forward and push,” I heard in my head. The next second Lynn shot forward. I was ready and I hopped upwards. I landed on her wrist, used my downward momentum to kick, and pushed myself over her head. I turned in the air and landed facing her. My landing shook my body slightly but I kept balance. I heard her groan and watched her fall forward on her good hand, the one with the sword. Her other hand was tucked tightly against her chest.
“My wrist!” I heard her scream in my head. “She sprained my wrist!”
I felt sorry for her but a grin crossed my face. I was winning this time. She stood up and turned around. I slowly walked over to her. She put up her good hand in a defensive motion. I smiled and quickly slammed my sword down on her shoulder. Her eyes went wide and her shoulder popped. She fell to her knees. She whipped her sword out and I jumped. I came back down and caught the sword between my feet. I did a backbend, quickly set my sword under my hands, and flung my body over, lithely ripping the sword from her hands. It flew out of my grasp and clanged to the bottom of the pit.
I heard her wail in my head. “How does she know what I’m going to do now? Something’s changed! How does she just know?!”
“How do you think I know?” I said aloud as I stood back up.
She sucked in a breath and let her guard down for a fraction of a second. I took advantage of that second and roundhouse kicked into her side. I felt my foot connect with her ribs and she was thrown off the board. I listened as she smacked the bottom of the pit. I shuffled off the board and fell in a heap at the side of the pit. Now that my adrenaline was gone I could barely move. I lay there breathing hard. Ravyn ran to my side.
“Christ Saiya!” he wailed. “You’re really going to kill yourself, why did you do that?”
I looked up at him. “You know me,” I smiled. “I’ve always gotta be the winner.”
He smiled. “You did really well. You just killed that second time. Poor Lynn didn’t know what was coming.” He laughed. “You’re just a giant, violent cyclone in a pretty little package, eh?”
“Damn straight.”
***************
Ravyn stood up as Lynn limped over to Saiya. “Well done,” she managed a smile, “I definitely did not expect that. You came at me so hard the second time.”
“I figured out I could read minds,” Saiya smiled and Ravyn looked at Lynn to judge her reaction. She managed to keep most of it in but Ravyn saw a glimpse of surprise cross her eyes.
“Well, that would explain it,” Lynn laughed and helped Saiya up. She’s such a good sport, Ravyn thought to himself. He watched as Lynn and Saiya walked over, arms over each other’s shoulders, and sat back against a tree. They were smiling and joking.
“Your turn!” Sasha beamed. “I could only hope and pray, that when young Ravyn fights today, that he can match his partner’s strength, as he goes to any length, to beat his opponent off the board, with his cunning and his sword!” Sasha sang another of her little rhymes.
“You know, you really aren’t helping,” he told her and walked out into the pit. Ravyn watched a tall man walk onto the board. His body and limbs were amazingly long and muscled. His red hair was cut to right below his ears and his eyes gleamed neon green. Both took their stance. Ravyn took a second to glance at Saiya. She was still sitting next to Lynn. She smiled and gave him a thumbs up.
Sasha yelled that the man’s name was Derrek and for them to start. Derrek watched carefully as Ravyn took a testing step forward. The board shook slightly. Ravyn then swung his sword and Derrek jumped. His grace was amazing as he landed back down, dropped a hand onto the board behind himself, and kicked out at Ravyn’s feet. His feet linked with Ravyn’s shin and he was thrown back.
Saiya gasped as his hand gripped the board in a death grip. He dangled on the brink of defeat.
***************
“No!” I wheezed to myself. Ravyn was nearly beaten. I watched him quickly pull himself up. The whole ordeal took no more than a few seconds and Derrek never had time to completely knock him off, like Lynn had done to me, but it felt like hours as I sat petrified. I didn’t want to watch Ravyn fall. I couldn’t watch him hurt or conquered. He didn’t know it but he was my own personal hero. He was always so strong and smart and handsome. He was like a god in my eyes. A god who just happened to be my best friend.
I suppose he really started looking that way to me when we were really little. As a little girl I didn’t know how to stand up for myself and was picked on all the time. There was this one really bad time when Ravyn came to my rescue. We were about ten. A boy named Josh had been teasing me unmercifully and…
...I was on the brink of tears.
“Why don’ you go get som’more plastic surgery you freak? Normal people don’t look like yous! You is a freak! No one likes you and no one ever will. Everyone says that you were born so ugly that your momma had to take you in and get your face fixed ‘cause she couldn’ even look at you! Yo’ own mamma!” he said with his redneck speech and laughed.
My eyes were brimming as he came over to me and grabbed a hold of my hair. He yanked hard. “I’mma make you ugly ‘gain!” he said and pulled another time. I felt some of my hair come out and the tears came. I was powerless to stop them and they fell down my face in rivers. A sob escaped me and he threw me to the ground. I slammed my knee into the pavement. A shock went up my leg and then it went numb.
“Stop whinin’ you baby!” he yelled and kicked me. I lay on the ground covering my face and crying. I suddenly heard a loud smack. I opened my eyes and heard the smack again as Ravyn’s fist connected with Josh’s face. Josh hit the ground.
“You dumb p***k! Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to hit girls?” Ravyn growled in his face as he lifted Josh back up by his shirt.
“Stay out of this,” Josh mumbled since his lip was split open and swelling, “it ain’t none o’ yo’ business.”
“Oh but it is. I will not stand by and watch a coward like you hit a woman! Women are to be respected! What did Saiya ever do to you; beat you in a beauty contest? Well I hate to break it to you but that’s just a case of bad genes on your part,” Ravyn growled and punched him in the face again. “Now you listen to me,” Ravyn said, “if I ever see you so much as look at Saiya, or any other girl for that matter, funny, I’m going to rip your guts out through your throat, got it?”
By this time Josh was so badly scared that he could do nothing but shake his head. I watched in awe. Ravyn came over to me and his face softened. He knelt beside me and put his hand on my shoulder. “He won’t ever touch you again,” Ravyn promised. I looked into his face and felt tears well up again.
I collapsed forward into his arms and squeezed him tight. “Oh Ravyn,” I sobbed, “thank you Ravyn, thank you!”
“Anytime,” he said and stroked my hair. “It’s going to be...”
…alright,” I heard Lynn say beside me. “He got right back up there, don’t worry.”
I guessed she had felt me stiffen or something. I relaxed. “Yeah, he’s a tough one.” I reverted to concentrating on Ravyn’s match. He was back up on the board and he and Derrek were clashing swords. I watched his muscles move in smooth perfection. He looked like a cat to me, so graceful and captivating. He lashed out and caught Derrek’s arm with the blade. Derrek flinched slightly in pain. I was suddenly aware that it was all going to be just fine.
Chapter Six
Blocks
I watched as Ravyn and Derrek went head to head. Ravyn seemed to be winning at the moment. Hope filled me. Derrek was suddenly crouched behind Ravyn and the thrust of his sword was aimed at Ravyn’s knees. Once he hit, Ravyn’s knees would be knocked out and he would fall. The hope that had filled me drained right out.
Next thing I knew, Ravyn was in the air. He had jumped, but unlike normal jumping, he was rising high and alarmingly fast. He went up what had to be fifty yards in the air, at least. I ogled. My eyes were huge. Ravyn turned his body in the air and shot downwards. He hit Derrek in the chest with all of that extra momentum. Derrek fell with a flump to the bottom of the pit.
I couldn’t help myself; I stood up and began to scream. “Ravyn! You’re amazing!” I ran over to the pit. By now he was off the board and standing on the side. He was leaning on his sword, obviously tired. I tackle-hugged him and knocked him to the ground. “Ravyn!” I was on top of him so I straightened my arms and grinned at him. He looked exhausted but his eyes were sparkling. “Oh Ravyn, I was so worried you would be knocked off but you did it!”
He laughed. “You’re a worry wart. Didn’t you know I could do it?”
“I did, I did, but you were so close to failing and you came right back and just dominated! And that jump! Wow Ravyn!” I was so excited that I was babbling. My hero had once again triumphed over the odds. I was proud. Ravyn, my best friend, was the most amazing man ever and no one could change my mind.
He smiled and started to sit up. I flopped back on my butt, still grinning. I put my hands between my legs and just looked at him with so much love and respect that if I could have seen my own face it would have broken my heart.
***************
Ravyn looked at Saiya. She was beaming at him. She was simply glowing. He could tell she was proud of him. That made him smile big. She had always been right by his side. They had been the inseparable duo and he wanted nothing more than to make her proud of him. That look on her face could have warmed up even the most frozen heart. It was that look that made him feel that it was all worth it.
She laughed again. “Oh, Ravyn, Ravyn, Ravyn, that jump was so amazing, I just can’t get over it! I guess we know some of what you can do now!”
“It was so amazing being in the air like that,” he said. “I mean, it’s no wonder that everyone has always wanted to fly. I guess I didn’t really fly, but it was so close. That feeling was just… indescribable!”
“I bet! You’re so astounding Ravyn! I just feel so humble in comparison!”
“You are no less amazing. Let’s get up,” he said as he stood up. He put his hand out and Saiya grabbed it and gleefully flung herself up. She spotted Sasha and ran over to her, unable to contain her excitement.
Ravyn turned his head and saw Derrek sitting near the pit. He walked over to him and sat next to him. He felt that he should tell Derrek how great he was at fighting. “You’re an amazing fighter.”
“Yeah, I guess,” Derrek responded. “You bested me though. I guess I need to train harder.”
“No matter how good you get you must always train to get better.”
“Such strong and wise words from such a young man,” Derrek smiled and clapped his hand on Ravyn’s back. “Good fight, my friend.”
“Thanks,” Ravyn smiled. “I’ve got a question for you.”
“Shoot.”
“Do you think that fighting for someone other than yourself makes a person stronger than they would be if they were fighting for themselves alone?” Ravyn looked towards Saiya.
“Yes. If you have a strong, selfless purpose set deep in your heart you are one of the strongest, most honorable men in the world.”
***************
After the balance training Sasha took us to a big dirt ring. The ring had nothing in it save a few scuff marks and footprints. “Welcome to my domain of pain and torture,” she smiled evilly. “Time for magic defense.”
“So what do we do exactly?” I asked.
“Well, I’m going to shoot magic at you and you’re going to dodge. Simple enough?”
“Do I get any weapons?” I asked.
“Yep, your body and your sword. That’s it.”
We stepped into the ring and took our sides. Sasha squatted and put her hands out. I got into my stance with the sword. I tried to concentrate on her thoughts. Suddenly a silver blast was whirring my way. I wasn’t prepared and I jumped as quickly as I could, but the blast nicked my leg. I felt like I had been burned. I looked down; saw a hole in my suit, and beneath that, a burn. I concentrated again. Nothing.
“I see you’re trying to read my mind,” Sasha smirked. “That won’t work. I put a spell on the ring so that as long as you’re in here with me, my mind is private territory.”
I was shocked but refused to let it show. I waited for the next blast. It came and I stuck my sword in the way. It hit the sword and deteriorated. I understood. As soon as it hit something it went away. She shot two this time. I jumped and one hit a tree behind me, the other hit my sword again. We went on battling like this for a while. I got burnt a couple of times and it hurt like hell, but sooner or later she told me it was Ravyn’s turn.
He fought without use of his powers as well. Sasha made it so that he couldn’t jump and higher than the average person. She was trying to teach us that we can’t rely on those powers because sometimes people can take them away from us. We were finally able to go home. When I got back I changed into some jeans and a t-shirt. I sat down on the bed and looked at all the burns on my body. I touched one and hissed. It hurt.
Ravyn entered my room and sat down next to me. “Training is hard but actually quite fun,” he said.
“Yeah, I love it, but I ain’t so crazy about these burns,” I poked another one.
“Me neither, now stop touching them. Here,” he held up a tube of burn relief. I grabbed it and sighed at the cooling sensation on my burns.
“That’s so much better,” I smiled and lay back on the bed. Ravyn turned and put his feet up.
“I’m just glad we get a little bit of time to rest,” he laughed.
Chapter Seven
Loss
We trained each and every day. We were getting much better. Sometimes our teammates trained with us, other times we trained alone or with Sasha. After about a week Queen Audra called for us. She said she had good news. She was smiling when we arrived.
“You’ve been training so hard that I’m sending you and your teammates to go visit your families.”
“Yes!” I squealed. I missed my mom and dad. Ravyn grinned beside me.
“Go and pack, you get two days there,” she smiled and shooed us off.
I packed quickly. I was so excited. Sasha and Kain entered my room when I was almost done packing. They were both happy.
“I’m so glad I get to see Allana and Jonathan again!” Sasha clapped her hands.
“Yeah, I haven’t seen them in so long!” Kain agreed.
“Yeah, well I haven’t gotten to see them in a week and they’re my parents,” I laughed.
Sasha took us back to earth and to my parent’s house first. I ran in and attacked my mom and dad. I hugged them so tightly that they had to ask me to let go before they passed out. You see, my parents were the only people that really loved me other than Ravyn. I didn’t do well spending more than a day or so away from them. I looked over to see that Ravyn’s parents were here as well and he was smiling and hugging them. We all stood in my living room. It was large and had two couches, two end tables, a small book shelf, a large TV stand, and a long table thing that held all of my mother’s rocks. She loved rocks.
“We’re so proud of you!” my mother beamed. “You’re taking on the legacy, becoming a Warrior! Oh, Jonathan, our baby is a Warrior!”
My father put one arm around my hysterical mother and the other around me. “I know, Allana, I know.”
Sasha giggled and tackled my mom. They giggled like old girl friends do when they see each other again. Kain and my father shook hands and then pulled each other into a hug, like boys do. I watched as everyone greeted each other. Then my mother ran off into the kitchen to get dinner set up. We all ate and I was happy to see that everyone got along. Every one smiled, told stories, and even laughed at my dad’s corny jokes.
I went to bed that night happy. Everyone was down for the night. Even Ravyn’s parents were staying at our rather large, two story house. Everything was happy and peaceful. All of that changed when I heard a scream from down the hall. It sounded like my mother. The scream was of obvious horror. My heart skipped a beat. I wasted no time in hopping up and slamming my door open. I rushed down the hallway into my parent’s bedroom. My eyes took in the scene and my heart now seemed to completely stop. My mother was hiding behind my father, who stood over her, protecting her. His lips were pulled back in a snarl. A figure walked towards them. The figure had come out of a portal thing that was over near the bed. The portal was the color of dried blood.
“Mom! Dad!” I yelled. My father snarled. The figure waved his hand and more figures showed up. These figures were small and their backs were perpetually bent. They attacked my father and pinned him to the ground. I stared, unable to move. My mother howled and tried to help my father. The figure moved his hand and she was shot back. She stood up and charged at him. I cried out as the man stabbed with his sword and it went through my mother’s chest. I could see the look of pain and horror on her face, even in the dark room. She fell heavily to the ground. The shape pulled the sword from her and her back arched in pain.
“No, Mama!” I yelled and ran over to her. Blood was pouring out of the wound in her chest and more trickled out of her mouth and down her cheek. She was breathing in quick, shallow gasps. She looked at me.
“Saiya… my baby,” my mom croaked and tried to smile, “Saiya, I believe… in you…. I love you.”
Tears were streaming down my face and plopping on her skin. “Mom, no, please no,” I whispered. I heard intakes of breath and cries of horror as others arrived. I heard Sasha yell and Kain growl. Ravyn’s parents gasped. Ravyn himself roared and charged forward. Assorted sounds of terror and pain came from the others. A few of them followed Ravyn’s lead. I looked up at my father as he broke away from his captors and scrambled to my mother. He lifted her into his lap. I saw Ravyn and the others attacking the dark shadows. Ravyn kicked one into a wall. It hit with an “oof” and disappeared in a puff of smoke.
“Oh, John,” she looked up at my father. Tears ran down his face. “I love you John. You were… always there for… me. You gave me… Saiya. I couldn’t have… asked for more… from either of you.” My mother’s eyes closed and I felt her die. My father roared. He sobbed and kissed her cold lips.
“No, Ally, no,” he repeated again and again. We cried and he grabbed my hand. I couldn’t breathe. I heard a grunt. I looked up at my father and his eyes were wide, his mouth open. A sword, the very same that had killed my mother, stuck out of his back.
“Daddy! No!” I cried. Not both of my parents. Please God, let this be a dream, I prayed. “Dad…?” I whispered. I looked around and saw the murderer retreat through the portal. The portal was growing smaller and Ravyn dove at it, but it was already gone. He hit the floor where it had been.
“Saiya, make… your mom and I… proud. We… love you…” my father whispered and was gone.
Chapter Eight
The Beast Within
Tears streamed down my face. I couldn’t move. Rage welled up inside of me. I screamed out in pain and fury. My parents, two of the only three people who had always loved and been there for me, were gone. I felt Ravyn drop down next to me. He yelled in anger. Sasha flew down next to my parent’s corpses, sobs escaping her throat. I watched as Kain walked over, tears falling from his eyes. I lifted my head and saw Garrad, Saiko, Leah, Joseph, and Ravyn’s parents standing around us in a circle, some crying, all horrified.
Yet, even as I saw and noticed all of this, my body no longer felt like my own. I heard Ravyn call my name, but he sounded very far away. I felt his hand on my back, but it felt like no more than a butterfly. A roar, which I had not been in control of, escaped my throat.
***************
Ravyn heard Saiya roar. He looked at her angry face and blank eyes. Tears fell from her eyes. Worry filled his body and he felt the instinct to back away, but didn’t. “Saiya?” he asked softly. She growled deep in her throat. He looked up at Sasha who was staring, terrified, at Saiya.
“Ravyn, back off her, now! She’s changing! Everyone but Garrad, leave now!”
Everyone ran from the room, but Ravyn refused to budge. His parents paused. “Ravyn, come on, this isn’t good!” his mother wailed.
“No,” he whispered.
“She’s changing! If you don’t move now she’ll kill you!” Sasha wailed.
“I said no,” he said again. He moved his attention back to Saiya. Her nails were growing. They were about two inches longer now and looked like they were as hard as stone. Her eyes faded into black and red snaked its way through the black
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