Sitting down on the cold sand with the sea raging wildly before him, Nemo wept silently. His back was turned on Daniel’s collapsed body farther behind him. He wasn’t one to usually cry, but knew of no other way to relieve himself of this anguish. With both his hands he clutched his chest that hurt badly. It was like he was trying to help it contain whatever it was that violently fought to get out. He had not felt pain like this in a very long time.
He was angry too, angry at his best friend, angry at himself. He wondered if it hadn’t been a mistake jumping into Charybdis headfirst. Would Daniel really have jumped in if he hadn’t? Had it been at the wrong moment, perhaps the wrong spot?
But no, he knew he’d done the right thing, he was sure of it. This was all on Daniel, him and his stubborn idea that somehow he always had to look after Nemo. What about him, who was supposed to look after him?
Nemo felt like screaming. He had all these emotions boiling inside of him and he didn’t know how he would be able to control them. But he was just about to be rid of at least a couple of them.
‘Nemo?’ the voice of Daniel finally waking up almost startled him. He turned around and saw his best friend sit up, one hand on his forehead. His eyes were blood-red and his face quite pale. He looked exhausted. But he was alive and that was all that mattered.
‘How long was I out?’ Daniel asked.
Nemo did not answer. Instead, he got up, walked over to his best friend and punched him so hard in the face that Daniel fell right back on the sand. But he didn’t stay down; he turned back up, anger flaring up in his eyes.
‘What the hell, Nemo? What is wrong with you?’
‘What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with you? I’m so angry at you, I could kill you,’ Nemo yelled at him, rubbing his own fist to ease yet another pain he had not counted on. ‘Planning on leaving me behind and jumping into that thing on your own; just what did you expect was going to happen? Did you think it was going to be a nice swim in the sea, just like back home? You almost died, you stubborn fool of a man. You would have died if I hadn’t been there.’
Nemo shouted to his heart’s content, letting all his anger and frustration out, while Daniel rubbed his face with the palm of his hand, trying to ease the pain. He looked up at his friend and could swear he didn’t recognise him. He’d never seen Nemo so angry before, like, ever. Had he done this? Was he the cause?
Right then, his anger softened. He had indeed brought this one on himself.
‘Ouch, Nemo; you punched me,’ he complained in fake disbelief when Nemo finally stopped yelling.
‘Did it hurt?’ the boy yelled again.
‘Yeah.’
‘Good,’ said Nemo. ‘At least you’re alive to feel it.’
‘Alright, alright,’ Daniel surrendered, still a bit frustrated. ‘I shouldn’t have tried to leave you behind; I get it. I just thought I’d keep you safe, okay?’
‘But why do you always insist on playing that role with me? I’m not a youngster anymore, Dan, still needing your protection. Or do you still think I cannot take care of myself?’
Daniel now stood up, still rubbing his cheek.
‘No, Nemo, that’s not it. I just care about you too much and don’t want you to get hurt, that’s all.’
‘Well, I care about you too, and I don’t want you to get hurt either,’ Nemo refused to lower his voice. ‘Or do you really think you’ll be able to do this all on your own, without risking anything? Look at all the things we’ve gone through so far, everything that’s happened to us; we’ve only managed to survive because we’ve been together. We take care of each other, Dan, or we don’t make it at all, neither of us. So, get that through to your thick head and stop trying to keep me away, or you’ll condemn both of us to death.’
Daniel didn’t know what to say. He’d heard it from Eleanor, he’d heard it from Odysseus, he’d even heard it from his own inner voice, but it was Nemo’s words that made the more sense. His friend was right; he’d been a fool. He needed Nemo just as much as Nemo needed him. He just wished he hadn’t almost died for him to understand it.
‘Alright, I won’t,’ he said, finally giving up, ‘I promise. We started this thing together and we’ll end it together.’
‘Good,’ said Nemo again, still shouting at his friend. Daniel actually found that funny, despite both of them feeling rather angry.
‘Why are you still yelling at me?’
‘I don’t know?’ Nemo answered, waving his hands in the air, but still not lowering his voice. He looked away for a moment, finally remembering to breathe and sort out his thoughts. He then decided he better try and calm down a bit. When he next spoke again, his voice was more controlled, his eyes sadder.
‘You don’t know what it was like, Dan, seeing you belly-up in the water, not breathing; holding you in my arms and being afraid that I was too late.’
‘Actually, I do,’ Daniel corrected him, and Nemo knew what he meant. He’d almost died that time he’d been chased by the werewolves near New Sotira.
‘Yeah, okay, you do. Still, it was the worst moment of my life and I’m so angry at you for making me go through that.’
‘Okay, okay,’ Daniel tried to appease him before he began yelling again. ‘You have my permission to punch me and yell at me for as long as you want; as long as it takes for you to stop being angry at me, okay? But, can I just say one thing?’
‘What?’ asked Nemo, sure that his friend was about to make some more excuses to justify his actions.
‘I’m sorry and thank you,’ Daniel said, surprising Nemo completely. ‘I’m sorry I tried to leave you back, and that I thought I needed to keep you safe, and for what I put you through. And thank you for being so wonderfully stubborn that you went against my wishes, just so you wouldn’t leave me alone. You’ve always been there for me, Nemo, looking after me, and saving my life more than once. I could not ask for a better friend than you.’
‘That wasn’t one thing,’ Nemo managed to say before he felt started weeping again. Feeling quite embarrassed about it, he turned away from Daniel and tried to control his sobbing this time. But of course he failed.
Once again, Daniel’s heart melted by the beautiful love he felt coming from his best friend. He suddenly felt the threat of his own tears attacking, but he did not mind. He walked over to the merman and decided to throw his arms around him. Only, Nemo suddenly turned and punched him again with just as much strength as the first time. Daniel’s head jerked sideways again and he screamed.
‘Ouch, Nemo. Stop that.’
‘What? You gave me permission, and I’m still angry.’
Daniel raised his head again. His nose was now bleeding, but somehow it was Nemo’s tears that bothered him more. The boy continued to cry and move his hands like he didn’t know what to do with them. Daniel ignored his own pain and approached him carefully.
‘Do you need to hit me again?’
‘I don’t know,’ came the confused answer. ‘Maybe. Are you gonna hit me back if I do?’ Nemo’s lips widened beneath his wet cheeks. His eyes were still flooded.
‘No,’ Daniel chuckled, despite his face hurting pretty bad. ‘I’m not.’ He drew closer to his friend and waited for another blow, his eyes half closed in anticipation of it, but when it didn’t come, he opened them and threw his arms around Nemo, hugging him tight.
‘I’m sorry, Nemo. It won’t happen again, I promise.’
‘I know,’ Nemo said and wrapped his own arms around his best friend, resting his head on his shoulder. More sobs followed and he was glad it was just the two of them there. For some reason he thought of what Hëna would say right then, watching the two friends hug it out; and he could not help but smile. She would surely have something cheeky to say about this, had she been there.
When they were done having their moment, Daniel asked if they could sit back down. Coming back from the dead and then being punched twice seemed to take way too much energy.
‘So, what happened, anyway? You weren’
t anywhere near me when I was, you know…’
‘Drowning?’ Nemo offered in an accusing tone. Daniel gave him a tired look and Nemo decided to give him a break. He then proceeded to recount everything that had happened after Daniel had lost consciousness.
‘I jumped in there expecting it to be bad. I just didn’t know it would be that bad. I swam very quickly towards the bottom to get a feeling of how far we’d have to go, and that’s when I knew you wouldn’t make it; no human could. It was too far for you to swim it without air, and that’s without taking into account the crazy currents you had to fight. So I decided to swim right back and get you. Only, when I finally found you, it was already too late. You’d swallowed too much water and weren’t moving. I dragged you out of there as quickly as I could and brought you here. I managed to get you out just in time; a moment longer and you wouldn’t have come back. You’re lucky you’ve taught me CPR, ‘cause you’re alive because of it. You opened your eyes, coughed out all the water you had swallowed and then lost consciousness again. But you were breathing, so I just let you rest and regain your strength.’
It was difficult for Daniel to see the pain in his friend’s eyes while he recounted all of this, but what was done, was done. The path was walked, the lesson learned. They could only move on from here. He decided to say nothing more on the subject and looked around.
The strangest feeling hit him then as he made a quick inventory of their surroundings. He felt like they were back home, only it didn’t look exactly the same. The sea was quite agitated and the wind blew sporadically, sometimes violently. The forest behind them seemed to be drying up and dying, and despite the bright sunlight, there wasn’t much warmth coming from it. The sand underneath them was also freezing cold.
‘Where do you think we are?’ asked Nemo, surveying the area much like he was.
‘I don’t know, but I have the strangest feeling,’ replied Daniel.
‘I know what you mean; feels a bit like home, doesn’t it?’
‘But, it couldn’t be,’ said Daniel. ‘I’d recognise the beach; I know every inch of Endërland by heart, but I’ve never been to this place before.’
They both got up and began exploring the place in more detail.
‘You know what else is weird?’ asked Nemo.
‘Yeah, no sign of life anywhere,’ Daniel answered. ‘No animals in the forest, no birds in the sky. I don’t like this, Nemo; we better stay alert, we don’t know what we’ll find in this place.’
‘Oh, I’ve got a pretty good idea what we’ll find here,’ Nemo said, prompting Daniel to turn to him with a puzzling look on his face. ‘More monsters, of course,’ Nemo explained.
Daniel silently agreed. So far they had not had much luck, though this was only the second dreamworld they were visiting. By the looks of it though, unless it was completely barren of life, he anticipated nothing good.
But there was something he wasn’t telling Nemo. A suspicion was forming in his mind as to where they might have landed, but he had to know more before he could share this with his friend. It was time for them to do some walking and explore more of this place.
‘We need to move, Nemo, though I’m not sure in which direction.’
They looked both ways. To their right, facing the sea, the beach continued for a long while, before it disappeared around a corner somewhere far ahead. To their left, not too far from them a tall cliff arose steeply, which made following the coastline a bit difficult, but not impossible.
‘Well,’ Nemo suggested, ‘you’re still too tired to climb that cliff, so I think we better follow the sand and see what’s in this other direction.’
That sounded logical enough, so Daniel agreed and they decided to start walking. Despite the chill in the air and their still wet clothes, it felt good to have their feet planted on firm ground again. Daniel loved the sea and had enjoyed the yacht ride, as well as their time on Odysseus’ ship, but he was glad to feel the freedom of walking from place to place once again.
‘That’s not gonna swell and turn black, is it?’ Nemo suddenly asked, pointing at his face. Daniel lifted his hand to touch the sore spot right under his eye. They’d just managed to stop his nose bleeding.
‘It just might,’ he answered, pretending to be angry about it. ‘If I go back to Hëna with a black eye, she’ll give you two, you know that?’
‘Yeah, if you’re going back to Hëna with a black eye, you’ll be going alone,’ Nemo replied, laughing. ‘I’m not going anywhere near her. I’d rather be chased by the werewolves again.’
‘Coward,’ Daniel accused jokingly.
‘Punch bag,’ came the reply.
They both giggled. For a moment Daniel tried to imagine Hëna and Nemo fighting, and honestly didn’t know which of them would win, or who he would root for. It was a good thing something of that sort was highly unlikely to ever happen.
Suddenly, as if remembering something, he began frantically searching first his pockets and then his back pack. His face began changing from worried into desperate in a matter of seconds as he realized that what he was looking for wasn’t there. He was about to stop and turn back, when he heard Nemo say.
‘You looking for this?’
In his hand he had a small wooden box, with a ribbon tied around it, not in the best condition. Relieved, Daniel took it from his hand, his face now settling back into a relaxed posture.
‘Oh, thank you, Nemo. I thought I’d lost it.’
‘You almost did. A bunch of things fell out of your bag when you went into Charybdis; it was pure luck that I spotted this little beauty when we were making our way out. I knew you’d hate yourself if you lost it, so I managed to grab it quickly, before we got out of there.’
Once again, Daniel felt so grateful for his friend and berated himself for ever thinking he could have done this without him.
‘Thanks, Nemo. I don’t know how I’m ever gonna repay you.’
‘Hey, I got to punch you, twice,’ Nemo joked. ‘Been wondering for ever what that would feel like.’
‘I’m gonna get you back for that, you know,’ Daniel threatened, rubbing his face again. Nemo had one hell of a mean left hook.
‘Sure,’ replied Nemo. ‘Just wait for the day I decide to leave you behind and go on a suicidal mission.’
‘Hey, I thought we put that behind us,’ complained Daniel. Nemo just smiled at him and kept walking.
‘Are you ever gonna tell me what’s in that box?’ he asked after a while. Daniel still held it in his hands, as if he was afraid of letting it out of his sight again.
‘You mean; you didn’t open it?’
‘Oh, I was tempted to, believe me. But I was just a little busy with, you know…’ he stopped right there, when he saw Daniel giving him another berating look. Nemo retreated apologetically.
‘You’re just gonna have to wait and see for yourself when we find Serena,’ Daniel finally answered about the box.
‘I think I can do that,’ Nemo said and smiled. All was finally right with the world again, well, in a manner of speaking. From the moment he’d gotten wind of Daniel’s plan to leave him behind, he’d felt like their quest had failed, like he was alone. He knew Daniel meant well and he understood, but he’d still felt rejected, unwanted. But now, they were back on track, with the assurance that they were in this together until the end, and once again, everything was the way it should be.
They walked for what felt like half a day, following the coastline eastward. The forest to their right was endless and dense, and they decided not to abandon the beach for fear of getting lost inside it. Besides, the dying state of all the trees and bushes made the whole place feel quite hostile and unpleasant. They were better off sticking with the safe shoreline.
Sundown would soon be upon them and they were about to give up and rest for the day, after having walked for hours without a break, when turning round the corner of a shallow bay they finally saw it. Straight ahead of them, only about fifteen minutes’ walk, rose a solitar
y castle, next to what must have once been a huge garden. The castle was imposing. It faced mainland westward, overlooking a great courtyard similar to that of the Eternal Clock in Arba, as well as the garden beyond. A tall pointy tower rose high right above the sea, on the east wing, with a smaller windowless one built on the south wing.
The whole place had an eerie similarity to Arba, yet it was still so different. Daniel’s suspicion was fast turning into certainty by now.
Being more cautious, the two of them continued to walk towards the castle, wondering whom, if anyone, they would meet there. From the distance, there were no signs of life to be seen anywhere. Here, much like everywhere else, all the green life had turned brown or yellow. The garden had withered and died, as if from a bad disease. They had never seen anything like it before.
When they finally entered the castle, they found it unsurprisingly empty. Most gates and doors seemed to have been brought down or broken apart, and there was destruction everywhere. They proceeded inside and checked hall after hall and room after room, finding everything in pretty much the same situation.
Outside the castle, the sun was getting closer to the finish line. Daniel somehow had a feeling that the night was gonna be much less unpleasant than the day in this cold and lifeless place.
‘We need to light a few torches, Nemo, and find us a room to spend the night in. Preferably one with a door standing in its place, seeing as we don’t know what the night might bring.’
‘Well, we might just have the thing for you,’ he suddenly heard a voice from behind them and turned around to see who spoke.
The answer to his suspicion was standing right in front of him, dressed in a royal warrior’s armour, with long blonde curly hair let down and an impressive golden crown on top of her head. About ten or so soldiers stood behind her, all armed to their teeth, but looking more frightened than frightening.
Daniel, however, was not concerned with the soldiers. The woman, whose blue eyes had lost none of their youthful spark, made one step towards them.
‘Hi, Daniel.’
‘Hi, Sam.’
Sitting quietly by the fire and feeding it log after log so that it wouldn’t go out, Nazir thought about this new world, while his travelling companions slept. He wondered whether the future of his people lay here, in this eerily quiet land where so far he hadn’t countered any signs of life. He’d never met with such silence before. The night back home, even underneath the surface, was full of sounds and noises. The chirping song of the cricket was ever his favourite. He would go out on the surface almost nightly to listen to it, cherishing those moments like they were priceless to him. But here all sounds of life were strangely absent, even for this late hour.
Now that his eyes had adjusted to the dark, he could see a bit clearer all around him, thanks in part to the fire and the stars above. The small lake they’d camped next to poured its waters into another river, which headed south and got lost in the horizon hidden behind the dark. The wind rustled the trees of the forest nearby, but he did not like the sound they made; it was as if they were all naked and lifeless. No animal noises or movement could be heard; the forests were always full of nightly creatures, but not this one.
There was clearly something wrong with this place; he could feel it. The initial joy that the eagle leader had given him slowly gave way to an increasing fear. This world might not be the one they were looking for, after all. And even if it did turn out to be a suitable place for his people, they might never be able to come down here. How would his people make it down the great river, all of them?
He hated Prince Amir for what he’d done, bringing war and the prospect of inevitable destruction for his people. For he did not doubt that the eagles would never be defeated, not really. The fighting between the two races might take years, but even if they lost a battle or two, he knew the eagles would eventually win the war. They would never give up and abandon their home. His father had always spoken with the highest respect for these creatures and had known them like few tergs ever had. He’d known the history of the two people from way back and had always maintained that they were a noble race, generous and kind to their friends, but formidable against their enemies. They were as old as life itself and they would most likely be here until the end of time.
Nazir had grown up with his father’s veneration for the eagle race and they’d never let him down. Standing in front of the great Ìskender, he had been even more in awe of his wisdom and respect for all life, including that of his enemies. So he prayed with all his heart that this plan of theirs worked; both races deserved peace, and this truly seemed the only way for them to achieve it. He just hoped the young eagle sleeping by the fire saw things the same way.
As if sensing the terg’s thoughts, Junior stirred in his sleep, a puff of hot air blowing out of both his mouths. It almost put the fire out. Nazir watched with curiosity and got to thinking. He had not been so sure at first, when he learned that Ìskender had chosen the young eagle to be flying them down the river stream. He had thought it a mistake, or at the very most, a desire of Ìskender to keep Junior away from the imminent war. But now that he thought about it, the old eagle had always been a wise and far-seeing leader, and he probably saw things that others didn’t. Was there something about this youngling that hid beneath the surface? Something special, perhaps?
As he pondered this new riddle, a dreadful sound broke the dead silence of the night, jolting the entire world awake. It was some sort of high-pitched cry, coming from the distance, deep over the forest; a pair of dry shrieks that pierced the ear and chilled the bone. Everyone in the camp got up at once.
‘What was that horrible sound?’ Junior was the first to ask.
‘It sounded like nothing I’ve ever heard before,’ it was Séraphin who answered, trying to control his yawning.
‘Nor I,’ added Nazir. ‘It came from that direction.’
‘What do you think it was?’ Junior asked again.
‘I’ve no idea,’ Hëna spoke this time, reaching for her sword, ‘but I don’t think I wanna know. Whatever it is, it can’t be anything good sounding like that. We best put the fire out.’
As they hurried to kill the flames with dirt and water, the shrieks were heard again, this time a lot closer. Whatever it was, it was clearly headed in their direction, flying in the night sky.
‘They must have seen the fire,’ Séraphin said.
‘Any chance they could be friendly?’ Junior asked, really doubting it.
‘With that hideous noise? Highly unlikely,’ answered Hëna. ‘I think we’re about to be attacked. From what I can tell, they should be two or three of them, large and airborne, obviously. Nazir, can you fight?’
The small terg seemed to have been caught off guard by the question, but he recovered quickly.
‘I…, I’m not the best at close combat; you know, with swords and stuff,’ he answered, prompting the other three to exchange meaningful looks. ‘But I’m great at fighting from a distance. I’m a great marksman, very good with bow and arrow, and I can throw anything I get my hands on, always hitting the spot. I’ve won the championship for four years in a row, apart from last year, when my sister was finally allowed to enter, and…’
‘Nazir, focus,’ Hëna interrupted him again. ‘Do you have any weapons at all?’
‘Sorry,’ Nazir answered. ‘My bow and quiver were taken from me by Prince Amir’s men, and of course, I wasn’t allowed any weapons among the eagles.’
‘Here, take these,’ Séraphin pulled out of his bag two beautiful double edged daggers. ‘Try not to throw them both at once, or at any one of us.’
Hëna looked at him with probing eyes.
‘How come you still have those? You were supposed to have destroyed them a long time ago.’
Séraphin looked guilty all of a sudden.
‘I couldn’t bear to part with them. I had a feeling I’d need them again someday.’
Hëna made to say something, but thought better of it
. ‘So what are you going to fight with?’ she then asked, to which, Séraphin protracted his long claws as a response.
‘And the sword? What happened to it?’
‘I dropped it back when we got rescued.’ He didn’t look at Junior just then, nor mentioned Mara. ‘These will do just fine, trust me.’
‘I still wish you had a sword, or at least a crossbow,’ Hëna said. She had managed to hold on to hers and Ìskender had later allowed her to keep it.
‘You know I can’t really use either of them when I’m flying, Hëna, and something tells me I won’t be fighting down here…’
He didn’t even finish his sentence, when a third wave of shrieks and screeches now echoed from the near south, high above them. They all turned their heads in that direction, but it was Séraphin’s sharp eyes that spotted the creatures first. What he saw put the living fear inside of him.
‘Now, that’s definitely something I’ve never seen before,’ he said, arching his wings halfway in preparation. Before the others could even ask what he meant, they saw for themselves. The creatures, two of them, had coal black bodies, looking quite human in shape, specifically female humans. They had large bat-like wings and eyes that shone fire-red. Their hair was long, apparently tied into multiple thick braids, and it looked alive, moving at will against the wind. They looked about as scary as they sounded, and their cries alone had been enough to terrify the four travellers.
‘Junior, you’re with me,’ Séraphin instructed. ‘Hëna, you and Nazir better head into the woods; you’ll have more protection there. We’ll try to stay close enough, in case you need help.’
‘Good luck,’ said Hëna, and without lingering another second she grabbed Nazir and ran toward the trees.
Séraphin rose up in the air to meet the creatures, followed by Junior, whose heart was pounding like crazy.
‘Here’s your chance, Gjergj,’ Séraphin smiled at him as they headed towards the oncoming threat. ‘Show me what you got.’
In response, Junior launched a double cry of war that could almost rival the shrieks of the creatures.
Rising up high enough to be on the same level as the flying crones, Séraphin and Junior hovered in the air, making sure not to go too far from where Hëna and Nazir were hiding. When they came within earshot, the creatures stopped in mid-air, observing the strangers with curiosity. Séraphin was now able to see them better; they looked like women, disfigured and discoloured from any sign of life in their hideous bodies. One of them had the appearance of an old plump woman, while the other one looked like a young girl, deformed by the darkness that had taken over her body. Their wings were as ugly as their faces, but the most disturbing bit of all was the fact that what he had first thought of as braids, were actually living dark-skinned snakes, with blood-red eyes just like their mothers. It was without a doubt the most terrifying thing he had ever seen, and anything that looked like that had to be an evil monster in his book. The fact that they were not attacking, however, gave him pause, so he thought he’d try out diplomacy first.
‘Greetings,’ he said, waving a hand as a friendly gesture, while making sure to withdraw his claws. ‘We’re visitors from another world. We mean you no harm.’
The crones, however, appeared to be ignoring his words and moved their heads about as if looking for something, or someone. They soon cast their gaze down towards the campfire first, and then followed the trail to where Hëna and Nazir were hiding. When they spotted them, they both screeched heinously one more time and launched themselves downward, towards their prey.
Without thinking twice about it, Séraphin and Junior dived in after them. They flew surprisingly fast, taking into account their weird bat-like wings, and within seconds were right on top of Hëna and Nazir, who held their blades raised upwards. Junior, however, was faster. He reached the creatures before they could land on their target, grabbing the closest one by her wings with his large and sharp talons. She screamed in pain, prompting her friend to stop and turn for help. She set herself on Junior, her long nails aiming for him, while all the snakes on her head hissed ominously, reaching for flesh to sink their teeth into.
As Junior swerved between the trees, dragging the first creature by the wings, the second one turned and flew on top of him, ready to attack. It was now Séraphin’s turn to engage. He fell on her back, careful to keep away from the snakes on her head. Something told him that, if he should attempt to avoid anything, it should be those snakes. He sank his own claws in her back, tearing at the thin membrane of her wings. The creature cried out in pain and turned to defend herself. The look of hate in her blood-red eyes could petrify the bravest of men, but Séraphin was no mere man. His wingman heart beat steadily the entire time, never skipping a beat. As the creature turned, he turned along with her, while still pulling and tearing at her wings that were now oozing black blood out of the open cuts.
Each of them was now engaged in a duel with one of the creatures, while Hëna and Nazir watched from the ground, their hearts beating anxiously. Hëna really wished she had Daniel’s old bow and arrow with her right now; they would really come in handy, assuming these things could be killed.
Nazir’s heart raced like crazy as he followed the aerial battle from below. That one moment where the hideously clawed fingers of the creatures had dangled right on top of him had been one of the scariest of his entire life. He’d never thought of himself as a coward, but that had been real fear he had felt just then; still did. He could not help but root for the wingman and the young eagle, despite the latter’s not so friendly attitude towards him. Not that he blamed the eagle; he’d just lost his mother, and his entire race, home and life were being threatened. Anyone would react the same way, or even worse. But Nazir knew that in the end, they were both on the same side here, looking for the same thing, peace and freedom for both their people. And Nazir would do everything in his power to make that happen.
Standing next to him, Hëna followed the fight closely, staying extra alert and prepared for anything. Her friends seemed to be doing okay so far, but there was something very unnatural about these creatures. Despite bleeding and feeling pain, they did not seem to slow down or back off. In fact, every new cut or wound appeared to entice them even more, their hate and rage giving them new strength.
Being slightly smaller in size than Séraphin, it was easier for the crones to manoeuvre between the leafless trees in the forest. They soon managed to rip their wings free of the claws of Séraphin and Junior, and switched from defence to offense. Junior was too big to move around the trees, so he drew one of them out in the open, where he could protect himself better. Here it proved easier for him to keep the creature’s snakes away from any body parts; he kept his talons aimed at her, never allowing her to get too close to him. Hëna was impressed at how agile the young eagle seemed to be.
Séraphin on the other hand appeared to be struggling more. The crone was too quick for him to keep her at bay, and he was running out of manoeuvres and space. He was being pushed farther and farther into the woods, where the creature knew his large wings would prove a problem. And so they did, both of them getting stuck in the branches of a huge old oak. Seizing the opportunity, the creature was about to jump on his exposed body, when the cry of her friend stopped her in mid-air. Junior had once again caught her between his talons, and was tearing her black wings apart. The second creature abandoned Séraphin where he was and sped towards Junior and her friend, both not too far from where Hëna and Nazir were. Hëna began to panic; Junior would not be able to handle both of them.
Several things happened then all at once. Séraphin managed to free himself from the tree and set after his prey, passing right above Hëna and Nazir.
‘Séraphin,’ Hëna called from below, throwing him her sword, which he caught in the air, without stopping.
The second creature was now almost on top of Junior, when a knife flew in her direction and planted itself in her back, going in deep. She screamed and fell down on the ground, writhin
g in pain. At the same time, the sword Séraphin was holding cut through the flesh of the other creature, who was still hanging from Junior’s talons. She too screamed in agony, and in the process kicked Séraphin and his sword away from her. She then managed to tear herself off from Junior’s grasp, leaving a good portion of her wings in his claws. She flew awkwardly away towards her friend and landed clumsily next to her. Frantically, she wrenched the knife out of her friend’s back and threw it away towards the forest. Then they both began consoling each other over their wounds and cuts, all the while throwing spiteful glances towards their enemies.
Séraphin and Junior came down to where their friends were and assumed a protective position. From the distance they could see the creatures slowly but surely getting back up, and what was more alarming, mending themselves as if by magic. In the span of a few minutes their wounds seemed to have closed completely as if they’d never been there at all. The friends watched in horror as their attackers arose in the air again, ready for a second battle. But as they set out with renewed vengeance, something caused them to stop. They began to look around and smell the air; something was clearly frightening them. Soon, it was clear what that something was; daylight had been sneaking upon them during this entire time, and now the sun was coming up. The creatures shrieked in terror and looked down towards the friends, almost unwilling to leave them.
‘We’ll meet again,’ the older crone hissed at them, her eyes flashing fire and her snakes dancing wildly in the air. Then they both flew hurriedly northward, towards the snow-covered mountains.
Finally allowing themselves to breathe, the four friends sat down where they were, taking a moment.
‘What in the world was that?’ Nazir was the first to break the silence, while Hëna began checking on Séraphin and Junior for any battle wounds. Luckily they had escaped the entire ordeal largely unhurt, apart from a few scratches and lost feathers from Séraphin’s wings.
‘I have no idea,’ Séraphin said, ‘but I don’t want to stick around and find out. They’ll come back tonight, I’m sure. We need to be prepared and hope that they don’t have any more friends. ‘You alright, Junior?’ he turned to his big friend who seemed awfully quiet.
The young eagle then decided to do something that surprised them all. He positioned himself in front of Nazir and lowered his heads.
‘You saved my life,’ he said, humbly. ‘Thank you; I am in forever your debt.’
‘Yeah, man,’ Séraphin added, ‘that was quite a throw.’
‘You weren’t kidding about being a great marksman, were you?’ Hëna chipped in.
Nazir felt a bit overwhelmed by all the attention, but also enjoyed it, especially the eagle’s heartfelt thanks. This was a good thing, indeed.
‘You are welcome,’ he replied to Junior with the same humility. ‘But I did nothing that you weren’t doing for me, so there’s no debt owed.’
Junior rose back up, feeling genuinely touched. He was beginning to see why Ìskender wasn’t ready to give up on this people just yet.
Séraphin could already sense the change of heart in this proud young eagle and smiled. Life had a funny way of making enemies out of friends, and friends out of enemies.
‘Alright,’ Hëna said, when it was clear that the moment had passed. ‘We better gather our things and get away from here. We have a world to explore and only a day to find shelter against those things.’
Everyone agreed and headed to the camp to gather their few belongings. Only Nazir headed back into the forest in search of the lost knife. It took him a while, but when he found it, he returned to the camp and handed them back to Séraphin.
‘You keep them,’ Séraphin said, ‘you’ve earned them. Besides, it looks like you make better use of them against these creatures than I. I might just have to use something else, myself.’
Touched, Nazir thanked him and then proceeded to gather his stuff. He already loved the two daggers; their hilts were beautifully carved and they were fairly light, despite appearing heavier than they looked. Placing them on his belt he then climbed on Junior’s back, settling in front of Hëna once again.
Soon they were back in the air, high up, from where they could see far in the horizon. When his keen eyes took in the entire land, gazing even farther than Hëna’s and Nazir’s could, Séraphin knew which way they should go.
‘I think I have an idea where we might be,’ he told Hëna, who seemed to have fallen into deep thoughts herself. She also recognised certain similarities with their home world and could not help but feel something tug at her heart. It hadn’t been that long since they’d left home, but she already missed it and her life there, the life she knew back before Serena had gone missing. And now, here they were, in a new world very similar to theirs. Suddenly all thoughts of home and family came rushing back into her mind, the emotions that they invoked almost crippling her.
‘Yeah,’ she almost whispered at Séraphin, ‘me too. We’re in New Endërland.’
‘Have you been here before?’ Nazir asked. He’d clearly overheard.
‘No,’ Séraphin answered, ‘but we’ve heard about it. It is supposed to be a beautiful world, very much like our own. I just don’t understand what’s happened to turn it into this desolate and accursed place.’
But they had not seen anything yet. Heading southeast towards the ocean, the extent of the destruction of this world became even more clear to them. Entire forests seemed to have been burned down or died; endless fields were laid bare, villages and towns completely empty and void of any life, human or otherwise. There was death all around them, as far as the eye could see.
‘This is such a shame,’ Nazir said, observing from above. ‘It seems to be such a beautiful place. How could anyone destroy it like this?’
‘The nasties couldn’t have done this, could they?’ asked Junior.
‘It’s possible,’ Hëna said. ‘They were clearly after humans and they seemed impossible to kill. There’s signs of battle everywhere; my guess is, people fought them but were unable to overcome them. They’re probably either dead or hiding where the creatures cannot find them.’
‘Do you think Sam is here?’ Séraphin asked her.
‘Who’s Sam?’ Junior couldn’t master his curiosity.
‘She’s the Great Lord, or Lady of this world,’ Hëna answered him, ‘and, I don’t know,’ she answered to Séraphin. ‘I guess we’ll find out soon enough.’
They continued their flight in the direction they would find Arba, had they been in Endërland. Junior flew with a sense of urgency; he knew daytime would not last forever and he’d hate for them to be caught out in the open again. They might not be as lucky this time around.
Morning in the small town of Basingstoke came too early for Serena. She did not feel like getting out of bed, not when it felt this good lying beside Freddie, his arm under her head, his body so close to hers that she could practically taste his skin. She even enjoyed the scent of the little beads of sweat trickling down his forehead. She watched him sleep and quietly memorized every line on his face, the eyebrows, his closed eyes, his small cute nose, and of course, the little scar on his right chin. She wondered why she’d never asked him about it.
She looked at him and she could feel her own body react strangely to her thoughts. It was a new sensation, strange, yet so pleasant, so good. She did not want it to end.
As if sensing her gaze upon him, Freddie opened his own eyes, hers being the first thing he saw that day. He smiled, almost involuntarily, and then raised his hand over his mouth, while he yawned.
‘Good morning!’
‘Good morning,’ she replied, still pretty much in his arms. ‘Did you sleep well tonight? I didn’t keep you awake, did I?’
Freddie smiled again.
‘I slept wonderfully, thank you. And you?’
‘Me too,’ she replied, then added timidly. ‘I told you, sleeping with you is very nice.’
She paused for a moment, then looked into his beautiful hazel
eyes again and said.
‘This isn’t weird, is it? The two of us I mean, sleeping like this?’
‘Maybe a little,’ Freddie admitted, ‘but I don’t mind if you don’t.’
‘No, I don’t mind at all,’ Serena hurried to assure him, fearing she might lose whatever this was.
‘Good,’ said Freddie and smiled again. She smiled back and they both remained like that for a while, lying in each other’s arms and looking into each other’s eyes, not lovers, yet not exactly just friends either.
When it felt like this was beginning to get awkward again, Serena was the first to speak.
‘I better get up and prepare us some coffee.’
Freddie chuckled.
‘If you’re not careful, you’re gonna get addicted to that thing,’ he joked.
She stayed where she was, her eyes curious.
‘What does that mean?’
‘What, addicted? It’s when you really like something and you want it all the time, to the point where you feel like you cannot live without it.’
Serena thought about it for a while, another question popping into her overworking mind.
‘Can you get addicted to people?’ she asked, her eyes telling him more than her words ever could.
‘Especially people,’ he answered, unable to stop his lips from forming a huge smile without his permission.
Neither of them said anything for a moment, then she spoke again.
‘Freddie?’
‘Yes, Serena.’
‘I think I’m getting addicted to you.’
There, it happened. He had her right where his boss wanted her, only that wasn’t what he was thinking just then. He was thinking how happy he was to hear her say those words and how much he wanted to say them back to her. He raised his right hand and placed it on her cheek, feeling the warmth from her skin underneath his palm.
‘I think I’m getting addicted to you, too,’ he said, causing her eyes to practically shine now.
‘So, what do we do about it?’ she asked next.
Instead of replying, Freddie drew closer and placed his lips on hers, kissing her ever so softly. He felt her body draw closer to his and tasted her passion behind her lips. They felt so soft and sweet, so full of heaven. He could not believe he had resisted this for so long.
Serena kissed him back, though she was not sure what or how she was doing. She just let his lips guide hers and his tongue play with her tongue. It was the strangest feeling, yet it felt so good that she practically berated herself for not trying it any sooner.
The kiss only lasted a moment and then Freddie drew back and away from her, appearing embarrassed. She wasn’t sure if she’d done something wrong; maybe he didn’t like how she kissed?
‘Everything okay?’ she whispered, concerned.
‘Yeah, yeah, everything is great,’ Freddie hurried to reassure her. ‘Are you okay? Was that alright? I have to admit; I haven’t had that much experience.’
‘It was my first time, so, I wouldn’t know,’ Serena said, lowering her eyes in embarrassment. ‘I’ve got nothing to compare it to, really.’
Freddie placed his palm on her cheek again - she loved it when he did that - and spoke sweetly.
‘Did you like it?’
‘Very much,’ she answered, prompting him to come closer for another short kiss and then draw back again.
‘I think we better get up,’ he said, trying to cover himself, once again looking red in the face. ‘You go ahead; I’ll meet you downstairs.’
Serena felt confused, but his smile told him she had nothing to worry about. She beamed back at him and proceeded to get out of bed and leave the room. She had a great feeling that this was going to be a wonderful day; she was sure of it. Her body felt light as a feather, the air around her unnaturally rich with a delightful aroma, and the day as bright as she’d ever seen it. She was so happy she could go around skipping and singing.
Back in his room, Freddie took care of the morning routine, making sure to take a nice cold shower before heading back down to her. He was almost ready to join Serena downstairs for breakfast, when he heard her scream. Running down the stairs as fast as he could without tripping over his own feet, he was initially confused when he found her alone in the kitchen, looking outside the window.’
‘What happened?’
‘Come and see for yourself,’ Serena answered, motioning towards the glass door.
He walked over to her and could not believe what he saw. The small garden in the back of the house had been completely transformed overnight. Not only had the rosebush bloomed with over a dozen red roses, but there were a multitude of other flower and plants that had grown and blossomed as well. The grass was also all nicely grown and shining from the morning dew. It was a beautiful sight to behold; one that left them both speechless.
‘It was like this when I got down here,’ she said, already answering his first question.
‘Wow,’ was all he could say, ‘you did it, Serena.’
‘But how?’
‘I don’t know. Maybe it’s the result of whatever you tried yesterday. Maybe you’ve been thinking or dreaming about it in your sleep.’
‘But I haven’t been thinking about this,’ she said, giving him a meaningful look. He threw a loving arm around her shoulder and drew her close to him.
‘It doesn’t matter. The important thing is that now we know you have the power. We’ll just have to spend some more time for you to learn how to control it, that’s all.’
He opened the door to the patio and went outside in the garden, to the rosebush. Taking a single rose, he then headed back into the living room and handed the flower to her. She graciously accepted it and gave him a quick kiss on the lips in return. They both headed towards the kitchen and the coffee pot, completely taken by the new turn of events.
For Serena, it was indeed a good day. She was finally able to understand whatever she’d been feeling this past few weeks concerning Freddie, and was even more happy knowing that he, too, felt the same way. And now they also knew that she did indeed possess the powers of this Great Dreamer. This part came with dangerous consequences, sure, but it also held the promise of her returning home and reuniting with her parents, and for that she was even more thrilled. Of course, if she found a way to go back home, it might mean she might never get to see Freddie again, but she did not want to think that far ahead. She’d cross that bridge when she got to it.
For Freddie, however, it was more of a mixed bag this morning. He could not deny how strongly he felt for Serena, and a big part of him really wanted to find a way for them to be together forever. But her powers had already manifested themselves and he had no more time left. His boss would soon come for her, and then he would most probably never see her again. What’s worse, she would finally know the truth about him and he was sure she would hate him. After all, he hated himself right now.
There was no escape from this situation, from his boss, no matter how much he tried to find a way. Someone was going to end up getting hurt, and the choice was his. Only, he didn’t want to make it, he couldn’t. For the millionth time he cursed his luck and wished that he was born just as normal as a non-dreamer. Then, none of this would have happened.
But wishing does not change anything, and Freddie was about to find that out the hard way.
It had been four days since Lily’s death and the police still had found no trace of Drake anywhere. The pressure was high upon them to deliver to justice this monster, who was also suspected of orchestrating the Bagley’s false arrest and burning down their house with them inside. Lily’s family was devastated and the entire neighbourhood utterly shocked, but it was Samuel who suffered it the most. His sister’s tragic end hit him the hardest and he found no rest in the assurances of the authorities that they would catch the man responsible. Nor would he simply wait for them to deliver on that promise; he wanted to get Drake himself, even if it was the last thing he ever did.
So it was that he s
earched the ghettos and slums for days until by chance he ran into one of the three “policemen” who had “arrested” the Bagleys. Paying the man handsomely, he was able to get instructions on where Drake might have gone, and there he went, alone and prepared to do what he must.
He found Drake right where he was told he might be, a small, currently unoccupied two-storey house in one of the better neighbourhoods of Whitechapel. The last owners had apparently died under mysterious circumstances a few months ago and the house had been empty ever since. Samuel waited outside the house for hours and sure enough, when the evening came, he finally saw Drake walk in. He almost didn’t recognise the boy; he’d grown gaunt and pale, his hair and beard unkempt, his clothes plain and dirty. This was not the Drake he knew, the cocky and well-groomed young man who admittedly had managed to charm him like no other man.
Samuel watched him go inside and froze. He’d come this far knowing exactly what he wanted to do, but now that the hour was upon him, he wasn’t so sure he could actually do it. It is no small a thing after all, taking someone else’s life. But that wasn’t the only hurdle; Samuel knew he could never take on Drake, being much smaller in size and strength. He was never known for his courage either, much preferring to best a man with his wit instead. But his sister had to be avenged and that monster had to pay for coming into their lives, making a fool of everyone and eventually dishonouring his family the way he did. He should not be allowed to get away with it; who knew how many other victims like his sister would follow?
Debating with himself for a good while, Samuel never left his hiding place. Night fell and eventually all the lights went out in the house. And that’s when Samuel also came out. Carefully prying the old door open, using a trick Drake had taught him only days before, he silently walked inside the quiet house. Drake could already be heard snoring from upstairs.
There were a couple of ways Samuel could get this done; going upstairs and quietly gutting Drake where he slept, being one of them. The problem with that particular strategy was that, if something were to go wrong, he risked Drake waking up and overpowering him. He did not want to take that chance.
The other option was to light the entire house on fire and hope that Drake would burn to death along with it. This also contained the risk of Drake waking up in time and making it out, but he figured if that happened, he’d still be there and could have another go at trying to kill him. Besides, there was something to say about Drake dying in the same way he had killed the Bagleys, a sort of poetic justice, or so Samuel thought.
Settling on the second option, he searched for bits of paper in the house and lit them up, putting the entire ground floor on fire. When he was sure that the fire definitely caught, he walked out of the house and back to his hiding place, observing. Soon, he was happy to witness the entire house, both ground and first floor were caught on fire. The flames appeared licking the walls and windows from the inside and soon enough they spread everywhere. Panic began to wake up the neighbouring houses, with people coming out in the streets and shouting in distress. A few of them tried to douse the flames with whatever they could, but it wasn’t enough.
Minutes passed and the fire now grew so wild and out of control that it was already too late to put it out. The entire building was burning, with logs dropping down one after the other. Inside the house there was no movement whatsoever; Samuel never saw Drake go out, nor heard him scream. That’s when he figured the boy must have asphyxiated from the smoke. Right then, he got angry at himself for not thinking of this. He had not meant for Drake to go in such a peaceful way; he deserved to suffer at least the same amount of pain he had caused his family. Only, Samuel had no idea just how much pain he was actually unleashing on Drake with his actions.
The entire neighbourhood eventually gathered to help put the fire out, with the fire brigade also making it into the scene at some point. But for all their tries, they were not able to dowse the hungry flames, not until they’d consumed everything and there was nothing eventually left standing.
When it was finally safe to do so, the ruins were checked and the remains of someone were found, burned to the bone and unrecognisable. But that was all the evidence Samuel needed. Satisfied that Drake had paid for his sister’s life with his own, he left his hiding place and went back home to his family and life.
He mourned his sister for a while, and when enough time passed, he put her, Drake and the entire ordeal behind him. He moved on with his life, studied to become a lawyer, fell in love and married a young girl from a well-known family, raising a family of their own together. He had a fairly mundane life and he was fine with that. He often thought about his four days searching for her sister’s rapist and avenging her, and at times he had bouts of guilt, or crisis of conscience. But that did not happen very often. The rest of the time he was sure that he had done the right thing; not only had he earned justice for his sister, but also done the world a favour, and rid it of a monster. He just never knew how right he was.