said, taking a few steps forward trying to listen hard. "Those are
demons." The bear insisted.
Jon and Jim took up post with Steve
near the burning wall.
Jon stretched out his hands splitting the
ground until it opened up into a wide massive ditch, surrounding
the entire camp as well, placing it just behind Steve's wall of
flames. Jim knelt down and touched the ground inside the ditch
pulling the water up from under the forest floor filling the ditch to
it's rim, then he closed his hands with a circular motion making the
water swirl in a counter clockwise circle right around the entire
camp.
I watched quietly, as the nerves built in my stomach.
Tucker
stepped up behind of me. "Mia, are you ready?" He asked, staring
hard at the wall of fire and swirling water before us.
"Yes; I have
never been more ready." I replied, as I felt the darkness getting
closer to the camp. “I saw them Mia.”
He said still staring ahead.
“Who.”
I replied looking back at him.
Tucker never answered me;
we all just stood there quite.
Jon quickly ran over to me, and held on to my hand. he turned
me around to face him. With his soft smile he leaned in and kissed
me so softly on my lips. "I love you Mia." He said. I returned the
kiss and smiled.
I didn't want to say anything, when this could be
the last time that I ever hear these words from Jon. I don't think he
minded because he didn't say anything more.
He turned back towards dad, who was totally concentrated on
uncle Tom who was hunched over in utter pain. The Elder's stood
diligently watching the flames that surrounded the camp, listening
to the growing growl's that were just beyond the flames. "Mia, do
you know where the scrolls are?" Elder Wolf asked. "Yes, and
they are safe." I said aloud.
Suddenly the growling stopped and
all that could be heard was the sound of the crackling flames and
the swirling water.
"Mia, I've come for you my dear." I heard a woman saying in
the most evil voice I have ever heard. The thought of what elder
Wing told me about my mother made me think; I’ll bet this is her;
then it made me angry, very angry. The very thought that it was
because of her my grandparents left us so long ago, the thought
of her leaving me as a child. I felt the anger burning and bubbling
in my body.
"Mia, I've come for you Mia." The voice said again. At that
very moment I knew that it was her. I fell backward to the ground
this time, feeling the evil starting to flow from the ground. The wall
of flames began to get smaller. "You fools, you really think your
cheap tricks, are going to stop me from my destiny." She said with
a laugh. Steve pushed harder with every bit of his being making
the flames burn brighter and hotter. Suddenly Steve fell back onto
the ground weakened by the evil that sucked his power from him.
Jon helped him up, slowly backing up toward the safety of the
camp. Steve laid there still, all his energy sucked out of him. The
wall of flames slowly started to go down and dim back to it's
orange and red color.
The flames began to slowly flicker.
Jim pushed his power forward, holding his fists tightly close to
his body, then lifting it into the air above his head; lifting the water
high, just as high as Steve's wall of flames once stood. "Ha, ha,
ha.
Keep hiding behind your little magicians Elders; I'll get those
scrolls." She said still laughing.
The Elders looked at each other
worriedly, as they watched her slowly overcome each barricade.
Tucker got next to Jim and called the winds to him. He
pushed it outward right in front of the wall of water and swirled it,
creating a perfect tornado that spun around the entire camp. "Ah;
my son." She said. Suddenly a small portion of the wall of water
opened up and a tall thin shape stepped through, before it closed
up again. The thin shape put it's arms up and blocked the wind as
it got closer.
"Ha, ha, ha. Like I said Elders, the scrolls are mine."
As the shape got closer I notice that I knew who this person
was. "Dad; it's James." I said out loud, looking over at dad. James
got closer to Tucker and in one powerful kick Tucker went flying
across the small clearing fronting the camp. Jon ran over and hit
James a few times, but James overcame him, throwing Jon into a
tree. I watched as Jon's limp body hit the tree with such a force
that the tree broke in half as his body slide slowly to the ground.
"Jon." I screamed, as I took a deep breath.
I stood up from
Steve's side, I noticed that James was walking toward us. I felt my
anger grow, I felt my hatred grow, I felt the energy that surrounded
me. I felt the weakened powers of the Elemental's, the old power
of the elders and uncle Tom and my dad.
I felt the energy from
the weakening flames, the water and the wind that surrounded the
camp, the energy from the ground of the forest, the energy from
the Weeping Mountains.
A red light pulsated from my body, instinctively I place my
hand in the sky above me, pulling the dark energy from the clouds
that had built up above us. I pulled the energy out of the sky
making it very weak, allowing the moon that was now high above
us shine it's light throughout the forest.
James got closer to the
camp; he was getting closer to Steve, to my dad.
"Mia, you will not win.
Join us and help us conquer the
world." James said, now glaring at me. The energy flowed
throughout by body, throughout my blood.
Suddenly the light of
the moon began to change, it's brightness dimmed until it burned
bright red.
"No." I heard the woman say. The light of the moon shined
directly upon me as I pulled an energy that I have never ever felt
before into my body letting it fill my every being. I floated off the
ground with my eyes closed, as I continue pulling the energy.
Then I could see her, through the wall of water, through the dust in
the wind. I saw my mother.
"You will not win mother." I demanded. "Yes I will." She said,
with her evil laugh. I slowly floated back to the ground where
James and I stood face to face. I took a step back and braced
myself as James came charging at me. I pulled a small ball of red
energy between the palms of my hands and threw it at him,
pushing him back as he dug his feet into the ground. Again and
again he charged, and with every charge another energy ball met
him head on. But I got impatient with this and I wanted to
challenge my mother.
"Is this all you've got?" I screamed out toward my mother. I
raised my hand into the sky and felt the energy of the moon
building even more; until finally I threw my hand forward and a red
pulsating light emitted from my palms right through James,
sending him flying back toward my mother. The wind that swirled
around the camp fell, as did the wall of water. My mother was
gone, and any animal that was there, was gone as well. James hit
a tree in a powerful thud, shaking the ground like an earthquake.
Just as that happened, the bear ran off toward him. I heard a
loud scream, so I squinted my eyes to see what was happening.
The bear took James arm off in one bite. On the second bite he
took James head off. Slowly the bear dragged James' dead body
off into the forest. "You, will not win mother." I said quietly in my
mind.
I looked up into the sky as the moon still burned bright red,
then I looked at everyone around me staring at me as the red glow
pulsated off of me, then throughout the forest. I put both my hands
out and felt the energy that I flowed throughout my body. I slowly
lifted off the ground again and floated higher into the sky until
once again I was just above the tree tops of the forest, I could see
the red pulsing light emitting itself throughout the entire forest,
over the lake, then up and over the entire Weeping Mountains.
I slowly floated back down to the ground, as I felt the energy
being released from my body. I looked up at the moon and
realized that it was slowly turning back into a bright bluish white
color; the pulsating light slowly diminished as well. By the time my
feet touched the ground, the energy was gone. Everyone stood
quietly watching me, staring at me, I could feel their eyes, their
curiosity.
Jon was right there to greet me when I reached the ground.
"Mia, you're alright."
He said, with a smile, as he hugged me
tightly. I hugged him back just as tight, then gently pushed away.
"Are you alright?" I asked, looking him over. "I'm fine, a little sore
but other than that I'm good." He smiled. I hugged him again then
turned to everyone staring at me. "Is everyone here alright?" I
asked looking at every person that looked back at me. "I'm fine."
Each of them said starting with uncle Tom and ending with Steve.
Dad looked at me with his proud eyes, but didn't say a single
word. Elders Wolf and Wing did the same. Everyone walked over
to the fire pit and stood around it, but there was no fire. Steve was
too weak to start one so dad placed a few logs into it and picked
up some kindles. "Dad, you don't need that." I said, and with a
wave of my hand a warm small fire ignited beneath the pile of
wood. "I guess not."
He said proudly.
We all spent the night there, staring into the flames, not
talking just listening to the sounds of the soft breeze blowing
through the trees, the animals and insects rustling around in the
tall grass and bushes that surrounded the camp, the water that
flowed down the creek. Everything for that moment was back to
normal. I wondered quietly to myself how long normal would last.
In fact what was normal? How can I go back to normal if I didn't
even know what it was anymore? Where did my mother disappear
too?
So many question still raised worry in my mind, but to have
Jon sitting next to me holding me tightly so close everything felt
safe again, it felt right again. I placed my head on his shoulders
and kept it there. I didn't move, I didn't say anything but neither did
anyone else.
We all just sat there quietly, concentrating on the
the flickering flames of the fire that burned brightly before us.
This battle may very well be over, but I could feel it in my
bones that something else was coming.
I knew that my mother
would not give up and the next time we met may just be the last
for one of us.
10 THE QUEST BEGINS
When the sun raised in the morning, I didn't wake to the sound of
birds chirping, nor did I hear the rustling sounds of trees blowing in
the wind. Instead after my fight with James was different;
everything felt rather surreal, well for me it did. Nothing felt the
same anymore. I felt a greater responsibility for my friends, my
brother, my dad and especially for Jon. I just laid there in bed not
moving, and trying not to think about anything.
I tried to clear my mind as much as I could but there were too
many questions that needed answers.
I wasn't sure what to do or
how to do anything for that matter.
I knew that she would
eventually return to kill everyone and take the scrolls as her own,
but I wasn't sure what to do about it. I knew that I wouldn't allow
her to hurt anyone any more, she took enough from me and will
not take anymore. I thought quietly to myself, as the events of the
past few weeks played through my mind, like a movie in rewind.
Everything just sort of happened so fast, that I never really
gave myself the time to sit and let it sink in.
I slowly sat up in bed,
looking around the tent. I got up and walked over to the many old
boxes that grandma had saved; piled one on top of the other. I
began to rummage through them, looking for anything that I could
find; even if it would give me just the slightest bit of inclination of
what I should do; but I couldn't find anything.
Grandma had nothing that I could use to help me. I did find a
bunch of old pair of jeans, though, and they fit me perfectly and a
few tops that fit too.
I put on a pair of jeans and a red top that
