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A story of Sarah Turner with vampires, wizards, werewolves and magic |
| In the dim morning of August; even before the sun’s yellow glint has risen and warmed the land that had cooled down during the night, leaving a slight bit of dew on the blades of grass; a demeaning shadow walked the land. Everything the shadow touched shrivelled and died instantly, and the face in the cloak was cold and ruthless as he slid across the dewy grass to his destination. His bony, pale fingers glided over the tall grasses and flowers just barely missing them, and it almost seemed as if his feet were not even touching the ground beneath them. People and even the animals feared him, and did not dare say his name, because no one ever knew how close he could be, or how powerful he had become. But no one knew that he was in fact growing more powerful each day, finding tiny crystal shards that would eventually piece up to become one of the seven legendary crystals. Each of these special crystals were different with power, and each had a colour that symbolized its mystical powers. These crystals were created in the land Foria by the most authoritative, and powerful vampire ever known to have stepped foot on that soil; the great Vampire Balthazar. Balthazar was so prominent, you would have thought of him to be controlling and a blood hungry vampire that would feed on the innocent and even his own kind, like most other vampires. However, Balthazar was different from all the rest, he was kind and generous, and when he needed to feed, he would feed on the animals around the forest or vampire slayers instead of just random people. But even though Balthazar created the crystals, he never intended for his crystals to be so powerful, so great, but by the time he realized that they could make, or destroy the entire world, it was already much too late. He only meant for the crystals to help only the good, to stop all of the evil that was staining his beautiful land of Foria. Nevertheless, the crystals wanted more power than what Balthazar could provide, someone who could use the strongest of magic, and of course the darkest. Therefore, the crystals sent out a great sense of power across the land, causing many folk of magic to come and see what had called them, whether they were good, or evil. Because of Balthazar's creation of his crystals, wizards and dark vampires came out from the darkness to claim his precious crystals, and the result ended with Balthazar’s murder. It almost seemed as if all of Foria was doomed because their protector was now gone. However, at the moment he died, his seven crystals immediately stopped flowing with the power they were born with, and they were buried in the rubble with Balthazar’s body and many of the wicked magic folk that had come to retrieve the crystals. None one had heard of any of them since. No one had gone to the Glikar city until a young girl with golden locks came to investigate the mysteries of the once glorious city. She did not know it before, but once she arrived at the ruins, she became the heir and keeper of the seven mystical crystals, but only because they sensed a great power within her, even at her young age. Not many know of the crystals any longer, but the one wizard who did was successfully collecting the pieces right under the keeper’s nose, and this is the very same man who many fear, many have died from, and many have tried to defeat but failed, except for that one little girl... To become as powerful as he needed to be, he would need all of the seven crystals and the key to Foria. The key was a young girl that had the main crystal (platinum) and did not even know yet of what was to become of her, and soon he would jump at that opportunity before they could taint her with their white magic. If he could come to the girl first, he would enthral her with magic and what she could do herself. He remembered the day when his dear enemy cut all the crystals, thinking that maybe he would think the crystals were destroyed, but he was not as stupid as she had thought he was. No, he knew that she would never destroy the crystals, because she too was under its brilliant curse that had made many wizards, witches and vampires turn evil for a lust of power. Even he would admit, the crystals had a hold of him right on his heart, and it was twisting, taunting him with the powers that he could bequeath and use against the world. That is why he was visiting this village, a village he knew so well, because he had grown up in it as a young child; of course much more innocent and kind, unknowing yet of the hate that the world could throw. A girl, one he known that is named Maple, was carrying a crystal shard that would connect to the third crystal, and once he had that last piece, he would finally have the third crystal. He already had the second one, the gold crystal, and he was lucky that most of those pieces were all over Foria, his world that he now lived in instead of being in this world where no one believed of vampires or warlocks. These stupid pitiful humans, they were just so blind because there were vampires and wizards like him living right under their noses, and they still wouldn’t believe even if you bit them and left them there to die. Many had usually snapped whenever that happened and would usually die muttering things like ‘this isn’t real, I’m only dreaming, when I wake up I’ll be at home with Maggie and the kids...’ However, the ones who could handle it or asked for it, he would usually turn and make them apart of his loyal supporters, and since he gave them his blood, they were to follow him until he would allow them to leave. Of course, the only way to depart from him was being captured by the ‘good quality’ vampires or wizards, who would force his supporters to drink their blood and as a result they would no longer be evil and could reveal his secrets, or there was the other alternative; death. The same would happen with the other magic folk, he could figure out all their secrets just by drawing his blood and allowing them to drink (what kind of vampire would refuse blood) although it was slightly trickier to crack into a wizard or witch. He smiled nastily as up ahead he saw the house’s light glimmering in the darkness where Maple lived, he felt the vibration of the crystal calling for him to take it from the girl’s grasp, and call it his own. Yes, he wanted it, he wanted more than anything in the world at the very moment, his insides twisting with greed and hate. This was it, only this last piece and he would finally have the whole third silver crystal to join with his gold crystal that he collected a while back. It had taken him a long time to find this piece because Maple had kept moving around, trying to avoid his wrath that he would through upon her, but this time, she had not escaped from him. He laughed deeply and menacingly, his voice carrying in the wind and awakening the people in the house, but it was already far too late to save the crystal now, or save themselves. They were all condemned beyond their belief, and not a single soul could prevent him at this time, not even Hillary. Across the town, a girl shot up gasping for air, groping around for something that was of precious value to her, not realizing that she was not even in her own home. She felt perspiration sliding down her arms, forehead and stomach, and only realized that she dreamed of him, the evil dark lord when a flash of an evil laugh and poisonous red eyes blinded her. He felt so close to her, as though she could almost feel his own hate pulsing through her veins. But he could not be in Grand Valley, that was simply impossible, and it was absurd to even think that he wasn’t anxious about coming to the very place that Hillary resided in. Besides, Hillary had blocked the portal which let people jump from one world, the one she was currently in, to a whole other dimension where dragons roamed the skies, and werewolves hunted in the forests, and you had to be careful that you weren’t bit by a vampire if you were wandering around at night. That land usually called to her, and whispered its secrets to her when she was dreaming as it did to other people like her, but this didn’t feel normal, this felt as if it were happening at the very moment. She hated to admit this, but it frightened her to think of the possibility of Vladmire nearby. ‘Where are you Vladmire, tell me Foria, is the dark lord roaming Grand Valley at this very moment? How could he escape his bound to my world, please tell me Foria, tell me of his whereabouts on this night.’ The girl whispered to herself, her eyes gradually turning white, and that could only mean that she was falling into a trance. ‘Madison, are you alright? What happened?’ asked Sarah groggily, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Madison’s eyes slipped rapidly back to their natural bright green. She fell back against the pillow, pretending that she was trying to fall back asleep. Madison paused, considered telling Sarah about the dream, and thought no, why should she tell Sarah when she wouldn’t even begin to understand what it would mean. It was much better to leave her out of it while she had the chance, but she knew that very soon Sarah would need to know exactly who that dark evil man was, and what the crystals were. However, for now, let Sarah’s mind be still and innocent, still filled with a childish speculate that you just can’t keep forever in life. ‘It was just a nightmare Sarah, nothing at all to worry about, so let us just fall back asleep.’ Said Madison, assuring her friend and yawning, pretending as if she were tired, though she was wide-awake now and wouldn't be falling asleep for a long time. Sarah nodded, and as soon as her head touched her pillow, she fell asleep looking peaceful as ever, while Madison stared sadly at Sarah, thinking of how she already had her whole destiny planned out, and she had absolutely no decision over it. ‘So Sarah, did you possibly think about visiting Anna Soul’s home yet? I would really like to check out her home as soon as possible, you know, with her disappearance and all.’ Said a rather attractive girl in a low and hushed whisper so no one would over hear, her lips barely moving as she gave her friend Sarah a hard stare. You could never be too careful, she thought, trying not to appear nervous or even the slightest bit worried, because Sarah would suspect something. Madison and Sarah were sitting in Sarah’s kitchen slumped on their hands, still eating their breakfast, though it did lay forgotten in front of them. Sarah looked almost like an Angel from Heaven as she held her head gracefully on her hands, with almond shape crystal blue eyes that shimmered in the morning light, and pale blonde (almost white) with black streaks in her hair cut daintily around her shoulders, with split bangs that appealed to her cute looks. She had full pouty lips and a small hint of blush in her freckled tanned skin. Although short for her age at only 5’2, she made up for it in her always overachieving and bright and energetic attitude. She was always tough and didn’t let anyone push her around, ever. Madison however was completely contrast compared to Sarah. Madison’s eyes were beautiful and narrow and always seemed to stare inside deep into your soul, and could change from any colour of green that you could imagine. She almost always seemed edgy, irritated, her brows either cocked up with impatience or folded with sarcasm. With a delicate nose, flawless skin, rosy puckered up rosy lips, and the most shiny, beautiful black hair you could imagine, Madison seemed as though she were a seductive, perfect demon attempting to bring you down. But Sarah knew better. It had been a week since Madison had the dream while sleeping at Sarah’s house, but she knew something had happened at Anna’s home, and she wanted to find out what. Sarah frowned and chewed on her cheek, something she did a lot when she didn’t approve of something or when she was internally nervous. Of course, Sarah never realized when she did this, until she would gnaw too hard and make her cheek spew out blood, and then she would stop and pretend that she wasn’t doing it in the first place. ‘But, I just don’t think we should disturb Anna’s soul, this is different from the other times, we knew the people who lived in that house.’ Sarah replied, looking away and out the window, as if the small little blue bird that landed on the widow sill suddenly fascinated her. Madison watched the bird suspiciously knowing better than to trust anything that appeared cute, even if it were an animal. Madison was a good enough actress, that she changed her voice from what she thought was about to come out, into a whiny voice. Play the part, and you can get anything you want, that’s what her mother had taught her, and from her own experiences, she knew that it always worked. ‘Oh come on, please, wouldn’t it have made Anna feel better that we are trying to answer the mystery to her strange and eerie disappearance?’ Sarah closed her eyes and groaned tiredly, knowing that in the end, Madison would most likely convince her. ‘Madison please, why are we talking about this so early anyway? Why can’t we wait until Alex comes over later, and until the sun has a nice good place in the sky?’ asked Sarah, rubbing her hand over her blonde hair that fell onto her shoulders. Madison stared at Sarah, giving her a puppy dog look trying to make Sarah see it her way. This is what she usually did whenever she wanted something from her friends, because they were just unable to resist. Sarah tried to look away from Madison’s sad appearance, but moaned and had to look back into her amazing eyes that just lured you in. ‘Oh all right, you win, we’ll go.’ Sarah stated grouchily. Madison smiled, but it wasn’t a happy smile, but a tight and worried one that made Sarah wonder why she did want to go so bad. Nevertheless, Sarah didn’t ask what was bothering her, but instead decided to wait until later on. Sarah was suspicious and inquisitive as hell, and she would find out why this nightmare had affected her best friend so badly. ‘You know that you are annoying as hell, and you are so lucky that you’re my best friend, or else I wouldn’t give a shit about what you thought, right Madison?’ Sarah added with a small smile as she sighed and yawned profoundly. From across the table, she noticed that Madison’s gloomy atmosphere suddenly lightened as she grinned broadly and let out a distinct giggle from the other side of the table. Nevertheless, before Madison could respond, they heard Sarah’s sister coming down the stairs, and that made them both glance at each other and fall into a deep and odd silence. The reason for their awkward and sudden silence towards Sarah’s own twin sister Nicky, is that Madison and Nicky never quite got along or agreed with each other as Sarah did. Nicky would just adore to make Madison feel as horrible as she possibly could, and even though Madison always pretended that she didn’t care, Sarah could see how much Madison was hurt afterwards. Sarah supposed that Nicky was possibly jealous of Madison, because Sarah spent most of her time with her growing up instead of Nicky, and she was extremely jealous of Madison’s stunning and very much appealing looks. Nevertheless, Nicky and Madison would always try and be friends just for Sarah’s benefit, even if secretly they disliked each other. ‘Hey Sarah.’ Cried Nicky, ignoring Madison as she bounded down the stairs and skidding into the kitchen. She was already perfectly dressed in a dark blue top and a pair of black caprees with chains falling from it. She wore a small chocker on her neck, and a pair of long dangling white earrings. She threw her hair over her shoulder and went to make her cereal while Madison watched her carefully with her narrowed and suspicious eyes. Madison was a girl who didn’t trust others very much, and her only true friend was Sarah, but even Sarah didn’t find out all of the hidden secrets that lurked within Madison. Sarah hoped that sooner of later, Madison would finally open herself up to Sarah, and she hoped it would happen before those dark secrets and thoughts engulfed her friend. ‘So, what happened last night, I heard Madison scream, did you have a bad dream or something?’ Nicky asked as she practically leaped into a kitchen seat, and Sarah wondered whether Nicky was being sincere of what she asked, or if she was just being sarcastic, trying to find a way to insult Madison as she always did. Madison’s eyes adverted from Nicky and glared at Sarah, giving her warning not to speak of what happened. ‘Actually she did.’ Sarah explained. ‘But she won’t talk about it, and she’s been having the same one for a week now, but it’s all right Nicky, we’re handling it on our own.’ ‘I have not!’ Madison retorted, going slightly crimson in her cheeks. ‘You haven’t been with me every night, so you have no proof that I’ve had that same exact dream every night Sarah, and besides, I don’t want to talk about it!’ Nicky fetched her food, then brought her cereal to the table and sat next to Sarah, placing her head in her hands and watching Madison with a curious fascination, her eyes bright and excited. ‘Why are you so scared Madison, their just dreams you know. It seems almost a little pathetic to me.’ she slowly glanced at Sarah, realizing what she was saying, and saw how Sarah’s mouth was open and twisted. Nicky merely shrugged. Madison shook her head, her eyes narrowed fiercely at Nicky and changed to a swimmingly dark pine green. ‘Right, why do you always have to do this Nicky?’ Sarah said shaking her head light-heartedly at her sister. ‘Anyway, we’re slightly off topic, but Madison really wants to go visit the Soul’s home today, what do you think?’ Sarah asked, hoping that Nicky would see it her way. However, Nicky’s eye light up mischievously, as though she too had wanted to go to the house. ‘I think we should go, even if Anna was our friend, why should that stop us? I’ll change into something more appropriate.’ She cried, leaping up and nearly spilling her breakfast all over the table. She scurried through the doorway and soon Sarah heard Nicky slam the door to their room slam shut. Sarah’s jaw hung open in an utter confusion of how fast Nicky had decided for them all that they were going to visit their now departed friend’s home, in many ways, she found it not fair at all. She also wondered and groaned at Nicky’s apparent energetic mood; it annoyed her but she couldn’t just tell her sister to stop what she was doing because she was acting like an idiot now could she? Madison smiled at Sarah because she knew that she had finally won. Sarah frowned and looked out the window once more, her eyes sad and defeated just thinking about going to Anna’s home, because somehow she knew that something was going to happen. Madison loudly crunched on her cereal, making Sarah snap back reality with a small and insignificant jump in her seat. Sarah stared at Madison. Madison’s eyes were small and bright, and a look of satisfaction toyed with her lips that were turned into a smile. Somehow, all of this just made Sarah feel even stranger, and tried to hide the shiver that ran down her spine. It was a beautiful summer day like every other, with the flowers in full bloom and the trees slightly ruffling along with the wind. The Grand Valley weather was always warm like this in the summer, and Sarah Turner hardly remembered a day when she wasn’t too hot or too cold. Nevertheless, even though the day was warm and beautiful, the smell of blossomed flowers hanging in the air, Sarah thought that somehow it was to be played out like this, to hide the dark and evil creature that was holding onto Sarah’s heart. But, it was always perfect, with friendly people who always said hello or helped you with your groceries. Sometimes Sarah wished that her perfect town and perfect life was different, and that something exciting would happen. But nothing really ever did, except the time when she was rather young and childish, and thought she had moved things with her mind, but that was all over and done with now and seemed like a dream to her. Another strange time that happened to her would be when her brother had pushed her into their pool, and she had become so angry that he ended up in the neighbour's tree. She chuckled slightly just thinking about it now. But then again now, that she thought about it, there were some odder things than that, things that many people just forgot or wouldn’t talk about… once two years ago, a family just suddenly disappeared, and no one even wanted to find out what happened to them. It was things like that Sarah wished happened more, because she liked curious things that would make other’s cringe in fear. She liked mysteries and adventures, when the other people in her town would become quite nervous with just the mention of mystery. Okay, so she had to admit, Grand Valley wasn’t that normal and boring. She did keep herself busy with her two best friends and her sister Nicky exploring places that were abandoned or supposedly haunted. To them, there was nothing else better to do being thirteen in a small town with nothing to do. Sarah glanced to the sky, hoping to maybe see a cloud coming to block the heat that beat down on her bare shoulders. However, to her deep disappointment, there were only blue skies every side of the sun, stretching as far as she could see. The sun was high in the sky, and its golden rays spat down at the group that were slithering along a gate. Perspiration dripped off the tip of Sarah’s nose, but she didn’t heed the heat, even if she felt weary because of it. She did not stop because she was on a mission, and she never stopped at something once she started it, even if it did seem quite doubtful that they were to make it. Sarah was wearing a pair of dark blue shorts, underestimating this little adventure, and a black tank top that stuck to her skin from her sweat. The grass and bushes tickled her legs as she followed her sister Nicky, and now she wished that she had worn longer pants, because she had tiny lines of blood gliding down her leg from running through a forest. The sun was beating down so ferociously now; sweat gleamed across her face, arms and legs. Ahead of her, Nicky moaned and wiped her forehead. Sarah only wished that they had choose a cooler day to walk over two miles just to see the house that they were searching for. And imagine that there was nothing within the house, any blood, money, secrets, and then she would hope Madison would finally think she was foolish about taking them here. What if there was nothing to Anna’s death, and they were just pestering children that liked to step into other’s business that was obviously not their own? ‘Okay, it’s just around this corner.’ Announced Madison, who was leading the group to what was once Anna’s home. Sarah felt relieved immediately after hearing those words escaping Madison’s lips. Sarah did wonder how Madison, her best friend that she had known since forever, could with stand this heat when she had the darkest hair of the group, and the longest to add to that matter. She seemed as if the heat did not matter to her. Alex, who was behind Madison, took out his canteen that they had brought along, and tried to get water out of it. But he had tried that a few times, and of course, they had wasted it long ago, not thinking about the treeless walk ahead of them. There was a diminutive hill, and as they passed it, Sarah wondered about the family that once lived in the house. In that house, there had once been two girls, each with fair hair that fell past their shoulders, not thick at all, with murky cheerless cobalt eyes. Their mother had hair like theirs, and her eyes were a dull brown with no life amongst them, but they were not like that before she met her second husband. Their stepfather, he was the one who made them all so dreary, for he would beat the girls and their mother, or so the story goes, no one really could prove he was even touching them with his forefinger. The Soul’s were extremely poor. Sarah remembered the girl who was in her class, Anna, and remembered her ragged clothes and dirty greasy hair. She walked like a zombie when she was in class, and never answered a question, even if the teacher would ask her to answer one. She would just simply raise her head, and give the teacher the most chilling stare you could imagine, her sunken eyes glazed over and staring at nothing, even though it seemed as if she were looking into your soul. Her last name sure did suite her, because she seemed as if she could just take away your soul just by looking at you, though she never did have any life in anything she did. She was the shyest girl Sarah had ever met, and would go utterly crimson if someone would even talk to her, and would never even look upon the person who tried to speak to her. A few times, Sarah had seen her sitting on a log in the forest, and talking to what seemed like herself, but she mentioned a name, though Sarah couldn’t quite recall it. Sarah never spoke a syllable of what she had seen, because Anna had been ridiculed enough in her life, and Sarah knew how it felt to be just a little different… And of course, Sarah remembered the day when she burst out crying when the teacher asked if everything was all right. She blurted out to the whole class that her mother’s boyfriend… did awful things to her, things she did not want to repeat. Anna was told that they might have to put her in a foster home, and all she said was, ‘that would be best, for all my family, but do not make my sister leave, because she is perfectly fine where she is. It is just I that should leave, because I owe it to my family’, those were the exact words that Anna had said, and it was probably the liveliest thing she had even done in all of the years that Sarah had been to school with her. The next day, Anna and her sister did not come to school, because the children’s aid was investigating the family. But after a while, Anna came back, more depressed then ever because there was no evidence they could place on her father. Then things started to become more serious, Anna began skipping school and not eating, and Sarah even saw that she cut her wrists. When Sarah asked about it, Anna only replied by saying, ‘I need to die, or he’ll find me, you’ll understand soon Sarah, and maybe one day you’ll do these exact same things.’ Anna had stared at Sarah with a defeated look when she told her that, then suddenly turned and walked away without another word. Those words haunted Sarah for the longest time, and still left her chilled wondering about them. When school ended, Sarah wondered if she would ever see Anna again, somehow thinking she would hurt herself being home all the time with her father, but it didn’t end up that way. Madison began to bring Anna along with them when they went for walks, or went to see a movie, probably hoping to cheer her up and bring her out of her horrible depression. It seemed to be working for a while, until that night when Madison had her dream of course. Madison told the police there was something wrong with the family, something had happened, but no one would listen to her, until the mother didn’t show up for a work for a few days. Finally, the police went to Anna Souls home, and what they found was… no one, except their blood dried and crusted on the floor. All the furniture was there, whatever money they had was scattered across the kitchen. Of course, when four people disappear like that with no explanation, rumours spread amongst the Grand Valley busy bodies like wild fire, because nothing happened like that in Grand Valley. Some said that they moved to Mexico, because they went bankrupt, and some said that the boyfriend killed all the women. Of course, there were worse rumours as well, some that were about Anna killing her whole family, and then killing herself once it was all finished, because everyone knew Anna was crazy all along. Sarah didn’t quite believe the last rumour, she knew Anna was a little weird, but who isn’t? That doesn’t mean your going to snap and kill somebody, let alone your own family who was in the same pain as you were. Besides, if Anna had killed herself, where were all the bodies then, she wouldn’t have been able to hide them all and kill herself without hiding her own body. It was just logical if you thought about it. The realization that Sarah herself was a little odd made her swallow at tight lump in her throat. No matter what Sarah would go through, never would she hurt Nicky, even if her life depended on it. At least, she hoped that she would never hurt her sister. Nicky and Sarah were as close as twins could get, they thought the same, ended each other’s sentences and shared their clothes with one another. They could even sometimes (but rarely) hear what each other was thinking, and of course, they never told anyone about that though. Nicky glanced back at Sarah right on cue, her face contorted into a worried frown. ‘Are you okay Sarah?’ Sarah tried to smile legitimately, to hide whatever fears had been growing upon her for the last month, but it was a very forced grin. Madison as well glanced back, her eyes narrowed with inquisitiveness and suspicion of Sarah. Madison was the type of person, who could ‘see’, and not just with her two eyes, but also with her mind. She was psychic, and Sarah always wondered what went through her head, wondered what she saw when her eyes glazed and turned to a dark lifeless foggy white colour. Madison had no fears, at least none that Sarah knew of, even though many people thought she was a snobby rich girl who would squeal at a spider. However, Sarah knew Madison was not afraid of any spiders, as they crawled around them before. Moreover, she loved snakes, loved the way they swallowed their victim’s whole, so she bought a boa constrictor and keeps it in her room. Sarah thought for a moment about something Madison might be afraid of, and then remembered. She was deadly terrified of knives and needles, and only those specific things. If she were to cut food with a knife, it would have taken her forever, as she did it so leisurely and tenderly. Moreover, no teacher was able to ever get her to take a needle at school, because she would begin an anxiety attack, unable to breathe or able to hear anyone around her. Her eyes would fill with tears of fears from the past, then they would roll into her head, and she would slip away into unconsciousness. And sometimes, but rarely, the needle would burst in the owner’s hand causing glass shards to explode around the room, this was something no one was ever able to explain. She wasn’t afraid of the blood, but only the pain that was to come with it. Or maybe it was some memory from long ago that taunted Madison. Madison never told Sarah why, and Sarah never asked because she thought it was impolite. Nicky assumed that something awful must have happened to her as a child, but it was never actually answered whether that was the problem or not. But then again, Nicky and Madison weren’t nearly as close as Sarah was, but maybe it was because Madison understood when something strange happened to Sarah, and she asked no questions. Madison would simply know what had happened by just looking into your eyes. She would penetrate you, cut you open and poke around in your mind, and that was the thing that made Nicky uncomfortable around Madison, because Madison was too mysterious to ever figure out. And yet within minutes she could figure out your whole life story, your fears and fantasies, and of course, your ecstasy that you would someday hope would happen to you. Sarah on the other hand, was nothing at all like that. Sarah was much more outgoing than Madison, and could take a joke when Madison would scoff and stomp away angrily. But Sarah did have something within her, something that made Madison be her friend and protect her like a sister. Sarah began to think about her own fears, and wondered about a fear that she had always dreamt since she was a small child, and it was always of a man with a black cloak that wanted to harm her. Sarah shivered just remembering his dark figure just now as he would swoop down upon her in her dreams and grab something that lay inside of herself, and it actually felt as if he was feeling inside her very heart. She would gasp because it felt as though she wasn’t able to breathe when he took that life away from her. She awoke hurting and almost crying from the pain that night, a memory of a long ago past fading away, and yet still lingering in her head, though she wasn’t able to remember it. The memory consisted of three blurry shadows that would call her name, she would always try to reach out to them but of course she could never get close enough, and would fall out of her hazy nightmare (or so she called it) to what was the real world once again. ‘There it is!’ Nicky cried, stopping quite suddenly. Sarah scurried next to Nicky and stared at the Souls home, most likely filled with evil shadows and spirits that would not want four curious kids wandering inside it. The white siding was chipped and beginning to fade away, as well with the tiles on the roof already. Wind and rain had destroyed the once blooming flowers, and all of the grass was yellow or just completely gone, dirt remaining in its place. The Soul’s never did take care of their home even when they were cheerful people without any worries except for the bills each month. The presence did not chill Sarah as other places had, but there was a sense of evil around it that she just couldn’t ignore, because she could bet her life that she had felt that same feeling once upon a time. There was a very insignificant sense of pain in Sarah’s chest that reminded her of her dream and of that man who always reached inside of her, or at least would try to. Madison stopped walking, taking in the presence around her. Sarah knew that it was affecting her most out of the whole group, because she was able to feel and see things that nobody else could. It was her own special gift, but Madison had always said that she wished she were never born with a third eye, though Sarah never knew why. Sarah could only dream she could have something that special and obvious as her talent, but she hasn’t found her gift yet, whatever it may be. Of course, Madison always tells Sarah all the time to just wait, because her gift will be the greatest talent anyone could ever possibly imagine, but Sarah doesn’t think that will be true. At times, Sarah wished she could just change the sign she was born under, and choose a sign with a more positive and less shy attitude, but she was stuck with being a gentle and sensitive Picies, who held their true feelings deep within them. Actually, she would prefer to be a Scorpio like Madison was. Flirty, mysterious and dark was something she always dreamed she could be. Sarah sighed quietly so no one noticed, but no one really cared now anyway, because they scurried up to the windows of the house and peered inside with suspicion. Sarah’s adventurous and curiosities awakened like a sleeping dragon, the flames beginning to rise rapidly as she ran up to the house too. That’s the way it was with her group, when they were interested in something, nothing else mattered. Sarah could have fallen to the group in a pool of blood, and they wouldn’t have noticed, much less cared. Didn’t she have such great friends? Alex, being the only boy there, pretended that he wasn’t interested, but his eyes betrayed him with the kiddish excitement that filled his head. ‘Hmm, seems to be worthwhile I suppose.’ He said, trying to sound uninterested, though it wasn’t working very well. He just wasn’t as excellent an actor as the twins were. Nicky glanced at Sarah, a small bashful smile spread upon her lips, and Sarah grinned back and rolled her eyes. Sarah thought it was the same with all boys one way or another, they all just want to show off and pretend that they’re something they’re not, that’s how typical they were. ‘Do you think the floors might be unstable?’ He asked, his voice slow and his eyes trying not to dart at Nicky. Once again, Nicky revealed a shy almost timid smile and a tint of pink in her cheeks, as she looked away at a bird in a nearby tree. Alex was a Leo, which proved a lot of his personality. He was stubborn as hell trying to prove to Nicky that he was a good guy and that he liked her, and he was quite protective of her when danger approached. And if any boy decided he wanted to ask her out, Alex would march right over and tell the guy he would have to go through him first. Nicky found it cute they way he placed her on a pedestal, high above everyone’s head, but Sarah and Madison just found that so much attention would suffocate them. Alex was quite the popular boy at school, and made the girls swoon over him with his charm and witty remarks, not to mention his dashing dark good looks and slim body. His eyes were a stunningly dark sapphire that made you want to drown in his gaze, and his hair was dark chocolate with light streaks in his depths because of all the sun he got. His bangs appealed to him in the sense that they tried to hide his eyes away, make him appear more mysterious than he actually was, and fell into an adorable curve in front of his eyes. He was tall too (5”8), towering over Sarah and Nicky (who are only a mere five foot two) and was about three inches taller than Madison, (who is 5”5) . But even though he had the entire girl’s attention from fifth grade up to the eighth, there was only one girl he had on his mind (even if he did flirt a lot with the girls who followed him almost everywhere). They were like little puppies, Sarah thought, following around their master and great protector and the male that showed off the most. Or at least the male with the biggest ego problem or loudest grunt. Madison’s eyebrows rose high with consideration, then she shook her head to herself. ‘No, the floor should be quite stable since Anna’s family only recently passed, so don’t worry about your dear Nicky Alex.’ ‘Hey! Who the hell said I cared if she fell through the floor?’ he shouted back, his eyes were wide and blazing with embarrassment from underneath his bangs. The wind whipped around Sarah as she watched the two, knowing well enough that they were of course going to end up in a usual argument about useless things. Madison adored arguing with anyone about anything, and sometimes it annoyed Sarah, but she was used to it by now. But for some reason, it seemed as if the wind was whispering to her, whispering to her a secret that someone, or something was watching her. She glanced over her shoulder, pretending to just examine the surroundings, and even though she felt the sneaky suspicion that there were eyes upon her, she couldn’t see anything, and nothing within the forest around them moved. She shrugged the feeling away and moved closer to Nicky feeling comforted by being near her. ‘Oh come on Alex, as if we never realized that you had a crush on Nicky since third grade. Remember when you offered her your snacks every day for a whole month even if you were hungry for the rest of the day? And then you brought her a rose with a card that read, I love you, and she was so embarrassed that she gave it to Kristina?’ Madison teased in reply. Alex stepped toward Madison, trying his hardest not to see how Nicky was reacting, for he prayed to god that she would realize he was lying. Madison’s eyebrows rose in challenge, her eyes narrowing dangerously as an evil grin slowly was formed on her full rosy lips. She moved toward Alex, not taking her eyes off of him, because eye contact was the way to break them, and she had perfect eyes for doing this job, wicked and dark when she wanted them to be. ‘I never gave Nicky a rose in third grade Madison, you are such a liar!’ Madison laughed dryly. ‘What, do you really think you can take me on and prove you’re a man? I would truly love to see you try.’ Alex stepped closer, his fists tightly clenched, but then glanced at Sarah and Nicky, and stepped back, biting on his lip hard and glaring at Madison. ‘I won’t hit a girl, but if you hit first, then there’s no telling what will happen.’ ‘If I were to hit you Alex, you would be on the ground within seconds, and I wouldn’t even have to be trying, because in case you didn’t know, I have skills. And don’t judge me just because I’m of the female race, I am actually tougher than I appear to be.’ Said Madison sharply, placing her hands on her hips and bringing her lips to his ears in a taunting way. Nicky moved next to Sarah, and in a low whisper said ‘Why do they always have to prove which is stronger than the other is? Alex is just doing it to show off to me, and Madison wants to make him look like a fool in front of me. I hate being in the middle of those two; it just irritates me so much.’ ‘Well, nobody seems to realize it here, but Scorpio’s and Leo’s don’t exactly get along, and Scorpio’s hide their true feelings underneath a layer of toughness. Plus, the two signs just love to compete a lot, so don’t hate it so much, at least you have attention Nicky. ‘Plus, Madison always has to be right, and Alex… well he’s just a boy, and doesn’t want to seem like he’s weaker than a girl, especially weaker than Madison, but we both know she could destroy him.’ Sarah explained, watching the two spitting remarks in each other’s face, and Sarah could just imagine fangs appearing in Madison’s mouth and claws appearing on her hands. Suddenly, Alex burst into laughter with Madison right behind. Sarah sighed and leaned her head on her hand, watching as the two began to apologize to one another. ‘And in a way, that’s how the two signs can become friends, because they will argue so much, that in the end they don’t even know why they were quarrelling in the first place, and discontinue.’ Nicky let out a soft chuckle and laid her head on her sister’s shoulder, watching as Alex rubbed the back of his head smoothing out his creamy chocolate hair that splashed down the side of his head. She sighed longingly. Finally, the two stopped apologizing, and noticed that the twins were yawning with boredom. ‘Hey!’ Madison shouted at them. ‘Are you coming inside or not?’ she asked waving at them to follow. The two girls looked at each other, and then quickly caught up with Madison and Alex as they approached the door. Alex took the door handle in his palm, and glanced back at the girls, a mischievous grin set on his face. ‘Watch out girls, because what lies inside of this house has only evil inside of it, and if you are too scared, I will be there to comfort you.’ Madison rolled her eyes, and brushed past Alex and pushed at the door. It swung open, the air rapidly entering the house as if the house itself was breathing. Sarah only hoped it didn’t intend to devour them whole, but then thought that was a silly thing to think. ‘Was that so hard?’ Madison asked Alex, making her eyes innocent and sweet as she entered the house. ‘I was going to open the door, but you have no patience, do you Madison?’ ‘Nope, and yet I had the patience to wait for all of you this morning, the patience to walk all the way here, and the patience to withstand your stupid jokes that you think are so hilarious.’ As Alex was about to argue back, Nicky grabbed him and turned him so he faced her. ‘Will you two ever stop fighting? It’s the same arguments everyday, why can’t you just give it a break?’ ‘I’m sorry fair maiden, but I’m a man and must stand with strength when a challenge arises.’ Alex said with an English accent, bowing and giving Nicky a beaming smile. Nicky pushed him away and headed towards the kitchen sighing and shaking her head. Alex’s jaw dropped, and his hands flew up into the air in protest. ‘Hey, I just said the most beautiful thing you’ll ever hear, and you don’t even give this knight a kiss to thank him? Don’t be so unassuming dear women; let your emotions for me break free, and give me a peck.’ He leaned forward and stuck out his left cheek to Nicky, hoping she would give him what he wanted. ‘Please Romeo, poetry won’t work on me, so don’t even try. Besides, who knows how many other girls you said that line to, I will not be taken in by some ridiculous nonsense.’ Nicky tried to get away from Alex, but he grabbed her arm, and pulled her back to him. He held her right up against himself and stared almost sadly into her crystal blue eyes, which rapidly moved from one eye to another. Her breath came short as she stared hard back into his eyes, her legs weak as her heart pounded beneath her chest. ‘So why is it that you never react to what I say to you? Do you not like me, or is there somebody else you have your beautiful eyes on?’ Alex questioned. Nicky was feeling a little uncomfortable now, and felt the urge to call out for Sarah or even Madison. Being forced to press up against a boy wasn’t exactly her most best intention, and what if Sarah or Madison stepped out and saw this, surely, they would think that something else was going on. Sarah was always suspicious, but Madison would have already known what had really happened she was sure, so she was mostly frightened that Sarah would see this. ‘Well? Why won’t you answer me Nicky?’ ‘Okay, I do like you Alex, and I mean alot, but, I don’t think you quite suit me really. You’re so popular, and you could have any girl you wanted, because they all adore you! I’m nothing compared to half of those girls in our school, so I have no idea why you want me, I mean, what about that Cassandra girl, the one in high school?’ Now, most boys in this situation would have said something quite inappropriate, and rude, but not Alex, though he did grin broadly. ‘Oh, so just because she’s a fast grower, does that mean I should ask her out on a date?’ ‘No! But she does always flirt with you, and you flirt back, whether or not you want to admit it or not.’ ‘Sure, I flirt, but you don’t seem to realize that I only want you, and that I’m a boy who’s going to be going through puberty, and that’s when we only think with our Willies.’ Alex told Nicky. She pulled back, and stared into his eyes, not knowing if she should take it the way she usually did. ‘May I be out of place if I were to ask what a Willy is?’ ‘Why not at all Nicky, but I think I’ll leave the word to your own imagination.’ Alex winked at Nicky, and she knew exactly what he meant. ‘So I was right, figures.’ Nicky said in a mocking sort of tone, trying to make Alex feel ashamed, but his grin never faltered. ‘Come on, let’s go and search the rooms. You never know when there’s something valuable in a disturbing aged house.’ She took his hand into her own, and led him into the room in which Sarah or Madison didn’t enter. Alex beamed underneath the mess of his hair as he glanced at his hand within Nicky’s, somehow, this just made his world become so much more beautiful. While Nicky tugged at Alex, and Madison checked the rooms for any foul play with her sixth sense, Sarah wandered down the hallway, feeling some sort of presence calling for her. She stopped, and stared at very last doorway at the farther end in the hallway. In one part of her mind, she was reluctant, the voice telling her not to move forward. The other voice that hissed angrily told her to see what wasn’t to be known, because she had a right to know. Should she go on, and find out why Anna’s family had just disappeared without any traces left to show that they were still alive, or at least a hint to show how they had died. Sarah quickly glanced over her shoulder, making sure her sister or Madison wasn’t lurking in a corner. When she saw that only dirt and shadows were behind her, she continued, her eyes wide with inquisitiveness. It was the strongest urge she ever felt, it wasn’t just tugging at her head, but also at her physically, virtually pleading her to keep moving forward. It was strong and persuasive, the words soft and sweet like some smooth and tasty candy that would melt in her mouth, but soon she realized that her legs were quivering, trying to move without her own permission. ‘Sarah… come… let us… lead you… to the truth…’ a voice whispered, echoing in the hallway. Though Sarah didn’t want to see what lay beyond the door, her feet began to step forward against her will. ‘No.’ she moaned softly, her eyes beginning to close in weariness. Her hand flew up to her head as she began to take deep breaths as if she were afraid that she were about to faint. She was right when she knew something would happen, something usually did when you disturbed the dead. Sometimes, the spirits of the places that the group visited pleaded with Madison to help them cross over, but there were also those spirits that didn’t want them in their resting place, and then things would turn bad. Her head swarmed with pictures of what happened inside of this house and she began to wonder why the spirits were coming to her instead of Madison. Though they were merely quick flashes of bodies and faces with pure terror spread across their faces, screams bouncing around her head, they still alarmed Sarah. She wasn’t able to make any sense of it and she couldn’t recognize the people either, until she saw a small girl screaming in her bed as a large sword swung down upon her small fragile body. It was surely Anna’s younger sister Lily, there was no doubting those large blue eyes that were always so innocent and frightened looking. Sarah stumbled as she approached the door, nearly falling to the floor, but regained her composure and continued. This house wanted her to know the truth, she could obviously tell, but what kind of truth lay beyond that door, why was Anna’s family so brutally murdered and yet, who took and hid their bodies away from prying eyes? She paused in front of the door, considering whether to enter, because once you would do something, you could never turn back. She thought she heard Nicky shriek, but to her, it sounded like she had heard it from under water, so soft and unrealistic. The voices from beyond the door cried out to her, more powerful than ever, and resisting the ghostly call made beads of sweat slide down the side of her face. Her breaths quickened in only a matter of seconds, her throat felt like it was chocking on whatever saliva she had in her mouth, and it seemed impossible to even breathe at all. ‘Do it Sarah, open the door, do it. Do it! DO IT NOW!’ the voice shrieked in her head, or had it been her own mouth that the words escaped from? She wanted to cover her ears, to make the screams and laughter to go away, but instead, her hand shot out and grabbed the door handle. It was as if she were struck by lightening in her head, because the pictures she was seeing were physically hurting her. Little did she know that this was only one of the many things to come as she was swept away into another realm where there was no such thing as reality anymore. The murders happened when it was night, she was sure about that, because the entire house was dark with moonlight seeping in from under window shades. The light was silver when it fell onto the floors and spread across the hall and her body, making everything seem unreal. She did wonder if this was somehow just all some strange dream, a false imagination that ran through her head. She stood in the hallway she was just in, but there was something much different about it. There was an odd smell on the air that hung around her, but she couldn’t place her finger on it, but she could tell the other smell, death and blood, and it was already seeping into her clothes and skin. She began to vigorously rub herself trying to get the smell off, her eyes squeezing shut to keep tears from falling out. After she finally calmed herself down, and stopped rubbing herself, her eyes raised and focused on the door down the hallway. She quietly moved her way down the hallway to the only light she could see, which came from under the door at the end of the hallway. Her eyes focused to the night light, and her ears listened earnestly for any sound of movement. From beyond the door, she heard the raspy breathing of someone, and the crying in small gasps of a girl. As she leaned in to the door, she barely heard the conversation past the door, but did catch some sentences, and they were words that she did not want to hear and wish she never had. ‘You realize that I will kill you if you do not tell me where the crystal is, don’t you?’ The voice that spoke had such harshness and a coldness that sent a deep shiver down Sarah’s back as she gently put her ear against the door to hear better. ‘I do not care if you kill me, for I have nothing now, you have taken everything that was important to me.’ The girl replied. Sarah took notice quickly that the voice belonged to Anna, but every word she spoke came with a gasping breath for air afterward, as if she had been hit quite hard in her chest, and she still needed time to catch her breath. Sarah knew that she needed to help Anna before anything horrible happened, but then questioned herself, how can you change what has already occurred before, and you already knew what the outcome was to be? The first male voice chuckled, but it was strained with intolerance. ‘I don’t want to do that, because you’re special my dear, you know that, but it may come down to that if you do not cooperate.’ ‘You… murdered… my… family.’ Anna whispered. She coughed violently, then regained her strength. ‘They had no valuable use to me, and we both know that only you know where the Crystal Shard is, so lets stop this useless nonsense and tell me Maple so I can spare your life.’ Maple? Sarah wondered. Wasn’t this voice beyond the door Anna’s, the shy and quiet squeak that belonged to her long before she disappeared or was murdered? ‘Do not speak of my true name within these walls, my name in this home is Anna!’ she shouted, her strength rising. The door suddenly swung open, and Sarah finally saw what was happening with her own two eyes, but now she wished she hadn’t, because her eyes would be scarred with the memory forever. It was Anna’s bedroom that she shared with her younger sister, whose body was limp under the blood red sheets on her bed against the wall, her hair falling off the side of the bed. Her mother’s boyfriend was also in the room, but perished as well with a sword lying next to him, soaked in his own blood as if he had murdered himself. Sarah gasped, tears of absolute terror filling her eyes as she finally looked upon Anna, who lay on the floor, trying to hold herself up with one arm, the other mangled and disturbingly grotesque. Anna and the man in the long cloak both looked back at the door, the man frowning with suspicion, but Anna smiled delicately and looked back at the man, her breaths still slow and hard. Even though the man had a hood over his head, Sarah was quick to notice a pair of glowing crimson eyes glaring right where she was standing. She caught the smirk that was on his lips and his strong shapely jaw that was barely visible from the hood. But those eyes… his eyes would stay within her memories for as long as she would live. ‘Someone shall know my story now, and Hillary will find out that you were here.’ Anna told him mockingly. ‘What is it you are speaking of Maple?’ he growled, his eyes darting around the room almost apprehensively. ‘Who is here in this room with us?’ Anna laughed weakly, but did not respond to his question, only infuriating the man even more. ‘MAPLE!’ ‘My name is not Maple any longer, it is Anna, so call me by that name or do not speak to me at all!’ she shrieked, tears of frustration falling down her pale small face. ‘I shall call you whatever I please, NOW TELL ME WHERE THE CRYSTAL IS!’ the man shouted. Anna didn’t reply, instead, she let her gaze slip past the man who stood in front of her, and noticed her step father’s blade that he cherished. It was a precious blade that he had received from Sun Li himself, a famous Japanese man who had created it specially for her father. ‘What is it you are looking at Maple?’ the man asked, his eyes narrowing at her as death would. ‘For your information, I was looking at my father and thinking about my own death.’ Anna said, pretending to sound sad, her eyes looking away and out the window. The man narrowed his eyes at Anna suspiciously, and tried to break into her memory to see if she was telling the truth. The problem was, it was hard for someone to see into people’s memory, and keep an eye on them as well, because you did blank out, and lost the realization of the world around you. Anna realized what he was doing, and pictured all the fun days with her parents and younger sister before he came, looking for that danmed crystal shard. Oh, she just knew what he would do with the crystal if he got it, and that is why she knew she would never tell him. She tried to keep the crystal out of her mind, but it was as if it wanted to be found, and brought to the dark lord, because the crystal keep trying to disturb her thoughts. Anna had only a few options, wait for that werewolf boy to come and help her (which he probably was watching right now and not doing anything), pull out of her trance and try for the sword, (even though the dark lord would most likely be able to get a glimpse of where the crystal was), or keep fighting to not let the dark lord break into her thoughts. She knew she was weakening, and if she did indeed get so weak that he could see the crystal, he would kill her right after anyways. She knew somehow, even though she wasn’t able to use her powers yet, she must make the sword come to her. She raised her palm, and thought about the sword coming into her hand. She noticed that it wobbled significantly, and that encouraged her more. The dark lord saw her thoughts about the sword, and he knew she was going to try to kill him, even though she was barely strong enough to hold herself up. How much more pitiful could this girl be, he could easily murder her with a swipe of his hand, and yet she was thinking of killing him! He backed out of her thoughts, and whistled a high pitched, yet soothing tune that would call his men to him, his army of dark warriors who thought of nothing except destruction. He glanced back at the sword and saw that it was gradually beginning to slide towards the girl, though he was bewildered at how she was doing this at such a young age. ‘How are you doing this!?’ he asked, but she was much too deep in thought to notice what he had said, and she probably hadn’t cared if she had heard anyway. He looked at the sword again, and it was nearly past himself, gently floating in the air. ‘There’s no way you’re getting that sword!’ he yelled, and leaped at the Anna. Sarah screamed Anna’s name in fear, hoping that she would somehow hear it, though she very doubted it. However, even before the man could wrap his arms around Anna in his attempt to kill her, he stumbled and fell to the floor, covering his ears and shrieking like a banshee. It appeared as if Sarah’s voice had did somehow break through the fourth wall and had affected him. ‘COME TO ME NOW!’ Anna shrieked when she saw the dark lord fall to the ground, flailing his arms wildly, and his nails clawing at his ears. The sword obeyed without hesitation, and shot towards Anna, just scarcely scratching the man, who growled in pain. When he rose off the ground, rather unsteadily, she must admit, she took the sword in both hands, and swung it at the him. He stumbled backwards, narrowly avoiding the blade and glaring with pure venom at Anna. Anna knew what she was to do, and faced the blade to herself. A droplet of water came from her eye and slid down the side of her cheek, something she just began to experience. It was the human emotion of sadness she realized, but didn’t understand why she was doing this. Humans are so strange, she thought as she hesitated to consider the tear that fell down her cheek, but especially the females of the species, because they had such high-strung emotions, and always seemed to find one fault about themselves. She wondered about why she was crying this time, and thought that maybe it was her family, the one she was assigned to so they would protect her from dark lord. She had to tell that school that her stepfather was beating her, because she sensed that the dark lord was coming for her. When she told this information to the school, she had asked if she was going to be put in another home, and they told she would most likely would be, but they needed proof that he had hurt her, and that’s when it all when wrong. That’s why she was not taken away that very night, because she didn’t have any bruises on her body, and neither did Lily, the little girl who pretended to be her younger sister. This would never have happened to her family if she had never come here, she thought as another tear formed in her right eye, blurring her vision. She was shaking slightly, but it didn’t stop her from what she about to do, because she only could wonder about what would happen if the dark lord had the crystal in his hands. Just as the dark werewolves crashed in through the window, she brought the sword into her stomach, for it was the only way to prevent the downfall of the whole world itself. Anna knew that it would only be a matter of time before he found the shard once again, but at least she would slow him down, at least for a while. Besides, she had no use for her life, and sacrificing it for saving the crystal would be the greatest honour she would ever accomplish, her death would bring hope. That is all that she could ever want, nothing more, nothing less. She gasped in the excruciating pain that the blade had produced as she fell to her knees and ripped the sword out of her stomach, her hands already smeared with the blood from her wound. With her last ounce of strength, she glanced back, her eyes falling onto the place where Sarah stood. ‘Protect the crystals, and do not let them fall into evil hands, please, at least do this in memory of me and my family.’ Then she fell backwards, her pupils fading away to a white blank stare that caused a deep chill to fill the room. Sarah’s jaw was dropped open, because she swore that Anna had looked right into her own eyes, and she had spoken words as if she had seen Sarah standing there as an audience. Sarah slumped against the wall, unable to catch her breath and fearing that she would have a panic attack as she gazed upon Anna’s petite and weak looking body. Might it have been possible that Anna had been the only one to see her this entire time, but if she had, why had she not asked for help? However, Anna was gone, she was gone long before Sarah had even seen this and there was no way that Anna could ever return to them. Sarah just couldn’t believe that Anna was not with them anymore, and that she had seen it happen as if she was actually there. Sarah hid her face in her hands and whimpered quietly, she could not bear watching the man in the cloak any longer. Though Anna bled heavily from her wound, no one saw the faint white light that had appeared, and floated out the window and into the forest. The dark lord roared in sheer anger, because now he would have to start all over to find that last piece of the damned crystal shard! He looked down at the girl’s body, and realized she was so different from her original body, very different and strange indeed. Her eyes were now unfocused, staring at the ceiling above her and were smoky white, something he has seen many times in his life. Moreover, there would be many more white eyes like this, and many more people screaming and crying at him because he murdered someone that they had cherished and loved, but he did not care anymore. To him, a life was nothing more than a piece of fragile china, and could so easily be broken in many, many ways. He sneered as he picked up his staff, looking at the orb in the middle held by three different claws that were each still deadly and sharp as they were when he first stole them from their owners. One was a werewolf claw still sharp even after all these years, and the other one a dragon’s claw and the last, a vampire’s tooth, all of them filled with pure venom of evil. All of these claws came from an authoritative and well-known persons; the werewolf was an untainted white albino that guarded the forest of Darkness well over five hundred years ago. The dragon had been a proud and powerful ruler of the highest mountains in Foria, his scales had been every colour imaginable. Last was the vampire, (his eyes narrowed angrily just remembering it) this was the vampire who killed his family and took him, bit him, and trained him to become the most powerful vampire known in all of Foria. However, he had apparently gotten too strong for her to handle, and she tried to battle him, but of course, he had won. His hands shook remembering his parents and how he used to never use to do any of such horrid things, his parents had been the only ones who had loved him. Wait, that was not true, one woman had loved him, but he dare not say her name. If only he had not turned so demented, they would have been together, and they could have ruled all of Foria together in peace. He shook his head angrily, his hands digging into his cane. Love! That was a word he despised with his whole body, for there was no love in the world, just betrayal and distrust. No one told the truth, no one loved someone else, and at any chance they could get, people would stab their closest friends in their backs. He closed his eyes, more hatred for the world filling in his heart as he thought about how Maple had cried, cried for people who were not even her family, and Maple did not even know how to cry. She was as pathetic as he always thought. ‘Milord?’ a vampire said, almost whispering it in fear of upsetting his master. He turned and faced the vampire, who to him seemed so weak and so unhopeful compared to himself. Ferrow was his dark name, the name that Vladmire had assigned to him when he came to the dark side. He had the greyest eyes that Vladmire had ever seen; they were just so cold and lifeless. That was possibly, what made that weak boy frightening to some, because he was able to kill someone without a blink of his eyes, and he would walk away, blood covered all over himself. He always smiled when he murdered somebody, and that made him think that Ferrow was possibly like how he was when he first became a vampire. He had been weak, he had cried when that horrible bitch had murdered his parents, but soon she had melded him into a bloodthirsty vampire and powerful wizard. ‘We must hurry to the portal and find where the next crystal lies. Those vampires do have spies watching this home, and they won’t make haste before they arrive to take the bodies away. I’m sure Hillary shall move the crystal once she knows that you have broken through to this world against her will.’ The dark lord smiled his lips tight and quivering, making a shiver ran down the Ferrow’s back. ‘You do not understand, do you Ferrow? I want Hillary to know I’ve gotten stronger, I want her to finally fear me, and tremble when she’s an inch away from her death.’ ‘I thought she never feared you?’ Ferrow asked, quickly regretting that he even opened his mouth. The dark lord didn’t reply, but kept staring at his little orb in his staff, his eyes narrowed and piercingly mean. Eventually, Ferrow bowed to the lord and went to assemble the rest of the group for their trip back to their own world. When everyone was ready, Ferrow glanced at his master. He still hadn’t moved eyes from his precious orb, and he was beginning to get nervous because of it. Nevertheless, his eyes or motion did not reveal his anxiety, because he was able to hide it so well when the time came. To show weakness was the worst thing you could do, and he knew how lovely it was when someone cried in front of him when he was about to murder them. ‘Milord? We must leave for the portal now Milord.’ ‘I’m coming.’ He said finally, and followed his most loyal servant out of the house, and away from the crystal. Ferrow lead the way towards the portal, with the dark lord trailing right behind, his eyes focused upon Ferrow suspiciously. He did sometimes wonder if this little weakling was actually on his side, because Ferrow was always nervous and fidgety whenever they were in this world. Maybe one day he would find out if Ferrow was truly faithful to him, but for now, it was too easy to manipulate him and have him under complete control. Though he did have no emotion when it came to slaughtering whole families, he did show a small amount of nervousness around him. The dark lord ignored it, for now but soon he would have to have a talk with Ferrow about his loyalty and where it lies. Two golden eyes, with the radiance of the moon specked upon them watched the light intensely. His eyes were set into a narrowed glare of curiosity and yet a hidden worry. His fur was black as the hours of darkness around him, except for a pure white line that streaked down to his nose from his forehead. Most people who saw him thought that his one pure white streak was quite adorable, especially how it was strangely shaped. He was a werewolf, the keeper of the Soul’s home, and it was his duty to follow the crystal to its destination, and not allow it to fall into harms way. He knew it was much too late to help Maple now, so he didn’t even bother to go inside the house and see if she was alive, because he knew that she wasn’t. Why risk his identity to that evil man, when he was much safer out here, where darkness could cover him and keep him secret? Yes, it was a much better idea to just stay quiet and stay out of the dark lord’s way, because he would have been scorned a fool to go after him. Besides, that girl, Anna, he thought that was what her name was, had it coming for her, she didn’t really try to leave the home and escape when she knew that he was coming for her. All she did was weep in her home and practically wait for the dark lord to come and try to take the crystal away. A pathetic human soul is what Maple was. But then again, she was never strong in her other form when she lived in the magical world of Foria. She once used to be a mermaid and keeper of the deepest waters where a crystal once used to lie within a temple filled with mermaid warriors that protected all the waters across the lands. She used to be quite the giggly and flirty girl when she was a mermaid, and was much more attractive when she would sit on the rocks and lull anglers towards her. Sometimes she would even attract normal travellers whenever they would pass by with her angelic voice and a swing of her light blue tail. Her eyes did not have such dark shadows under her eyes then, she seemed so much happier and lighter in Foria, and her light blue hair full and thick as it would sway in the wind. Simon sighed because he once spent a few months in the land of Foria, and to him it was the best place he had ever been to, and though he wished that he could stay there longer, he was forced by Hillary and Serge to come back to this world. Simon followed the light, his heavy paws not making a sound on the earth on which he walked on, and did not once glance back at Anna’s home. Moreover, he ignored the high screams of glee from the dark vampires, and the hideous and fierce cries of the dark werewolves who were once just like himself. He ignored that maybe he knew some of those werewolves in there, which they could be his relatives or old friends from his past that felt so long ago. They wouldn’t trust him though, because he decided to help the good vampires (if you can call any vampires good that is) and Hillary (who is both a vampire and a witch) while they chose to help him with his evil plans. Vampires were of course still feeders of flesh and blood off the innocent during the darkest hours, and wizards were still murderers of dragons and werewolves to this very day. He knew that long ago, when he was still only a child dreaming of his life that was ahead of him, werewolves were not on any side, but rather they stuck with themselves, though they did rather dislike the vampire clan. He knew that the vampires back then were almost as ruthless as he was, and they destroyed werewolves along with dragons, thinking that they were evil and murderous creatures. As a result, when the dark lord asked whether they would join him, they agreed, hoping to maybe get some revenge against their enemies. The dark lord was half wizard, and half vampire, and that was only because the women who turned him heard about his dark prophecy, and thought it would be an excellent idea to have a wizard and a vampire mixed together. Well, that was quite smart now wasn’t it? He turned once very kind but weak vampires, wizards and witches that were cast away from the stronger ones, into blood hungry demons that roamed the forests across the county looking for fresh meat to claim. He knew that some werewolves were still undeciding which side to choose in this war, and it was his job to try to convince them to stay good and pure. It was much harder than it sounded, because werewolves these days were quite the untrusting folk, quiet and spiteful, spending their days alone in their homes that were hidden in the densest parts of forests. Sometimes the families (if there were any) would attack him and leave him wounded as he would walk away from their home, ready to go and try once again the next day, whether it would kill him or not. He would never fight back, but allow the werewolves to hurt him, tear at him, bite him and other things that hurt his pride rather than his body physically. A sudden movement from behind a tree shook the werewolf out of his daze, and put his body ready to fight. He had to admit, if he were to go against a dark werewolf, he would have a very small chance at winning no matter how hard he would try. They were enormous compared to him, and their paws almost the size of his head alone, and were simply capable of crushing his head with a small press of their paws. He was only the size of a normal wolf, and often mistaken for a dog, but it did have its advantages, because he was able to roam the village. The dark werewolves eyes were no longer gold that had a innocent shine to it, but rather pure red of all the blood they have caused to been spilt, and no life stirred within them either, just a darkness that caused many to shiver with trepidation. They also have the dark magic stirring within them, and the hunger for flesh that he only experienced once a month, something he would much rather do without. He realized that his body was trembling, and tried to make himself stop when the figure stepped out from behind the tree, a cloak thrown around its shoulders. The man grinned, his sunken and pale face showing his delight in the werewolf’s fear as he crossed his arms over one another. ‘What is it Simon, did I frighten you? Did you happen to think I was one of the dark lord’s servants here to take the crystal away?’ his voice was no less than a whisper, but with his spectacular ears, Simon heard perfectly clear. Simon replied with a small snarl, his white and glistening teeth just barely showing between the lips. Serge laughed slightly, being his ignorant self, coming right into Simon’s face and staring into his golden eyes and taking his muzzle into his grasp so Simon was unable to pull away. ‘Do you think that you’re tough because you have razor-sharp claws and can move around like the current of air? Ha, I seen the way your eyes revealed the terror that dwelt within you, so don’t pretend you’re vile to me Simon.’ Simon knew serge was right, and slowly calmed down, the hairs on his back beginning to settle and smooth. Simon began to transform back to his human self, ignoring the way serge watched with a pure fascination of the way the bones melded to their human shape, and the way his wolf hairs simply melted into his skin. Simon knew that Serge's family were dark, and always were. Their blood was just made that way, and they always had followed the dark leaders until one day a witch killed them, except for a little baby in its crib. That baby grew up to be Serge today, and though he grew up with a good family, Simon was sure that the dark and murderous blood still circulated throughout his veins. No matter how much Hillary trusted him, Simon never believed he would, nor would he trust any dark vampire or werewolf, because they could turn on you in a matter of seconds. Serge noticed the way Simon’s dark cerulean human eyes glared at him, and glanced away to the light that hung in the air nearby, just barely revealing the crystal piece that lay within the light. The light shone in his eyes, and dazzled him beyond belief, so that he couldn’t pull his gaze away. He was curious about how one little simple crystal could turn so many good people evil. Serge wanted to touch it, to feel the raw power that could either help or obliterate both worlds that he knew of, to feel it’s intensity in his hands, the one that his parents had once tried to get for the dark lord. ‘Serge!’ Simon growled, grabbing Serge's shoulder. His rather sharp nails gripped Serge and brought him back to normal, his blood stopped bubbling inside, and that little dark whisper went and hid once again. He felt like grabbing Simon’s arm and snapping it, he wanted to hear Simon moan and yell in pain, as the bone would snap in two. He closed his eyes and took a slow and deep breath, knowing that Simon was stronger than he was and the fact that Simon had sharper teeth than a vampire like himself. He knew that even though Simon was usually a gentle werewolf, he could be ferocious and would tear Serge apart even without trying; he just never fought back when he was attacked, and that made him feeble at heart. ‘We need to bring this back to Hillary before Vladmire realizes that we’re here, though he probably already has. And besides, it needs to have a new host before the light dies, and you know that.’ Simon said, reminding Serge of their duties. Even though Simon was only thirteen, which was much younger than Serge, he sometimes felt as if he were more mature and older, especially when Serge's eyes took on that childish light and he blanked out. ‘Serge!’ ‘Yes, let’s go immediately back to the school. We don’t want the crystal to die, do we?’ Serge said his voice soft and sing song, and almost childish as he glanced at Simon, his eyes glowing in the dark. Whenever a magical person was feeling threatened or going to use their magic, their eyes would begin to glow in the night. Simon shuddered as a deep chill crept down his spine, the feeling reminding him of thousands of spiders crawling across his skin. ‘Whatever, let’s just go before he catches us…’ ‘Indeed, that would be a terrible fate wouldn’t it Simon?’ Serge replied simply as they turned away from the house and made their way through the woods into complete unknown. |
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