by Katie Cherry
He laughs. “Well it’s not hard since you ask about everything! Must you know every little detail?” he teases.
I grin. “Yes, actually, I do. …Speaking of which…”
“Where’s Justin? I sent him home, assuring him that you will come back to school tomorrow and that you’ll be fine.”
“And…”
“If I wasn’t here to save you, why did I come to Second Earth?”
I laugh a little. “Get out of my head!”
He smiles and sits next to me on the blankets. “You’re an open book, my dear. One doesn’t need to have the Gift of mind reading to know what you’re going to ask next.”
“Okay, fair enough,” I concede. “So why are you here, then?”
His smile falters. “…How about we get to that in a moment? Care for a sandwich?” he asks, pulling a wrapped sandwich from his jacket pocket. I smile. It’s the same kind that he gave me the day I first met him. I accept the sandwich, knowing that any food from Zilferia will help me heal and clear my mind from the haze of pain in which it is now trapped. Sure enough, the delicious sandwich helps me recover a little more and helps me feel fresh and completely awake and alert. I’m not entirely healed, but the food sends a wave of relief through my body.
I sigh contentedly. “Man, I’ve missed Zilferian food!” I say, laughing a little. Vlad just smiles and hands me a water bottle and watches me finish it off.
“Ready?” he asks.
“Sure, I guess,” I respond, a little confused. What would I have to prepare myself to hear? Surely not…
“Your parents are fine,” Vlad says, watching me with his heavy gaze.
I sigh. “You knowing what I’m about to say is already getting old,” I remark, exasperated.
He laughs a little. “Sorry.”
“So what did you have to tell me, then? …How’s Nathan?”
“Fine,” he replies. “Absolutely nothing interesting seems to have happened to him at all over the summer or at school the past couple of days.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. “Well, that’s good. So what is it? Tell me already! I can take it!”
Just as Vlad opens his mouth to reply, a light but persistent tapping sound comes from the front door of the theater. Vlad and I share a look and he gets up and walks cautiously to the door, pulling a knife out of his boot before cautiously opening the door. It swings open and he jumps back, holding the knife out in front of him. His back is to me so I can’t see what’s happening until he steps aside to let the visitor in.
“Nora!” I exclaim, standing and rushing toward the door to greet my Familiar.
“What happened?!” she demands, flying in circles around me, inspecting my bloodstained clothes. “Why weren’t you on the bus? Why is Vladimir here? Is it even the real Vlad? Why are you hurt? Are you okay? What happened?!” I quickly fill her in with my mind as Vlad and I walk back to the blankets set up on the stage. “Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear… this is why I insisted I come to school with you!” she cries, pacing on my legs and flapping her wings agitatedly. “If I was there, I could have warned you that they were approaching early enough that you could have easily avoided them! Not only that, but I would have pecked his eyes out!”
“Yes, but birds aren’t exactly allowed at school, Nora. You would have been taken away or I would have been sent home and not allowed back until you weren’t with me…”
“I know I wouldn’t exactly fit in, Crystal,” she replies, indignant. “That’s why I’ve been practicing some magic. I can turn invisible now. They wouldn’t send you home for having an invisible bird, now would they?”
I blink in surprise. “You can do what now? Since when? When were you going to tell me?”
“Whenever it was necessary for you to know,” she calmly retorts, staring me in the eye.
I sigh. “Okay, fine. Whatever. Can we talk about this later? Vlad still has some explaining to do.”
“Of course,” she replies, turning to stare at Vlad instead. He squirms uncomfortably under her intense gaze.
“Um, ready now?” he asks, eyeing the bird of prey nervously.
“Yes. I’m always ready for answers, Vlad, as you should know by now,” I hint.
He chuckles. “Okay, okay, I guess I’ve kept you waiting long enough.” He takes a deep breath and his tone grows serious again. “I… we… need your help,” he simply states.
I sit there for a few seconds, waiting for him to continue. He simply watches me, waiting for my reaction. “Okay… three things,” I begin. “One, I can’t help anyone- as you well know; two, who needs my help exactly; and three, what do you need help with? I’m powerless!”
Vlad takes one of my hands and holds it gently in his while he looks me in the eyes. “Crystal, you are our Princess. You are useful- Gifts or not- and we need you. All of Zilferia is in trouble. The Dragon Hunters have taken over everything, and we are losing people- and Gifts- at an alarming rate. The Dragon Hunters are getting more and more powerful with each passing day. We need your help to talk with the dragons, the Sohos, the mermaids, and maybe even some Hunters themselves. You won’t seem like a threat anymore, so they shouldn’t attack you. They might listen to you and fight with us. …If you are up for the job, of course. I understand if you don’t want to go since it’s so dangerous there, but I figured it would be worth a shot to ask you, at least.”
I stare at him. “Are you crazy? I can’t do anything! I would probably be killed the instant I walked through the portal! I don’t have my dragon powers or my Gifts anymore. Why would anyone listen to me?”
“Oh, I don’t know… you were a pretty fierce opponent even before you knew about dragons or Gifts. And the Sohos don’t let not having any Gifts get them down. …Your parents and I truly believe that you can do this, Crystal. But it’s up to you. You have to believe in yourself first, or else this wouldn’t work anyway.” He sighs and stands up, releasing my hand. “Just contact me with your watch if you ever decide to come back, then. It’s not exactly safe here either, though. The Dragon Hunters are after you, and now they know exactly where you are. …And where Justin is, too. Either way, there’s danger. But, I won’t try to influence you either way. Stay or go, it’s your choice.”
“Um… yeah… I won’t be able to contact you with the watch,” I say sheepishly.
“Why not?” he says, then notices that I’m not wearing it. “…Where’s the watch?”
“…That Dragon Hunter you beat up said he stole it.”
He stares at me in disbelief. “You’re kidding me.” I shake my head. Vlad puts his face in his hands and sighs. “Well, then you’re going to have to decide now. Zilferia is your home, and it’s about to be destroyed. So if you choose to stay now, it’s choosing to let go of Zilferia forever since it will no longer exist in the state you once knew it to be in. This is your only chance to take back your life- your true life- or just muddle along and try to be a normal person on Second Earth, always feeling unfulfilled.”
“I thought you said you weren’t going to try and influence my decision,” I remark teasingly.
“That was before it became necessary for me to try and persuade you.”
I bite my lip and turn to face Nora. “What do you think?” I ask her. She stares at me like it should be obvious. I laugh. I suppose it is pretty clear what my choice will be.
*****
It’s not dark yet, but I can tell by the sun setting in the west that night is fast approaching on Zilferia. “It’s so quiet,” I whisper. No living thing could be heard moving and not even the trees were singing, although there’s a light breeze rushing past the leaves. Vlad nods, then quickly leads the way to the castle where my mom, dad, and the newly formed Village Council are waiting.
He knocks on the door. Three knocks, pause, eight knocks, pause, one knock. The door opens and the next thing I know, I’m trapped in Pearl Dragon’s loving hug. I’m released only to be caught in Alexander Dragon’s warm embrace as he lifts me off the floor in his stron
g arms. He sets me down, chuckling, then lets us in, closing the door behind us. “We missed you so much,” Pearl says, again giving me a quick hug.
“And we’re glad you’re here,” Alexander adds, “Although I wish it were at a happier time. Unfortunately, I fear Zilferia will never be the same again. Especially not if we can’t vanquish these Dragon Hunters from among us. …And to think, this all started because of one man. A crazy, now very powerful man, but just one man nonetheless.”
Thaddeus comes up to me and offers a hand for me to shake, but I give him a hug instead. He laughs in surprise and gently pats me on the back. “Welcome back, Princess.”
I release him and stick my tongue out at the name. “Don’t suddenly start calling me Princess, Thaddeus! I’m still Crystal and always will be.”
He grins. “Of course. But you are our princess, too. So don’t get overly surprised when people start calling you Princess.”
I frown. “Fine. But I don’t want you or any of my other friends calling me anything but Crystal! Okay?”
“Very well, Crystal,” he laughs, then gestures to the people behind him, still seated at the table. “This is the new Village Council.”
“Greetings,” an old man says, hobbling over to me with the aid of his cane. He takes off his hat and tips it to me with a small bow. “Pleased to meet you at last, Princess Crystal. I look forward to working with you for the good of the Village- and all of Zilferia.” I swallow nervously. This is a huge and daunting task, and it only just hit me just how much I have to do- and the fact that none of it may affect the war here at all. If I can even do the tasks before me in the first place, that is. I knew that I might fail before I came, however. So I’m not going to chicken out now. I will do my part to save this place and everyone living here.
Thaddeus introduces me to the other eight villagers making up the council before we all sit down at the table with them. Something suddenly strikes me as odd. I lean over to Vlad. “If you and Thaddeus are here… why aren’t Zelda and Y’vette? Shouldn’t they be a part of this council too?” Vlad and Thaddeus share a glance before he answers me.
“They were both part of the council. But they… were recently captured by Patrick. We aren’t sure what he’s going to do to them. He could be holding them hostage for something, or he could have taken their Gifts by now. However, he’s probably at least torturing them for information about our plans. They are strong, but I fear they won’t last more than a couple more days in there.”
“Exactly. We need to get them out- now,” the King states. “Which is where you come in,” he reluctantly finishes, looking at me.
“Me? How am I going to rescue them?”
“You have been there before, haven’t you? You can lead a group of people in there and hopefully also lead them all back out, with the addition of Zelda and Y’vette. Two of the group will be assigned specifically to protect you, no matter the cost. The people can’t lose their Princess again.”
“And we can’t lose our daughter again,” Pearl finishes, looking at me with tears in her beautiful green eyes.
I take a deep breath, trying to make myself feel braver. “Okay. I’ll do it. What’s the plan? Who’s going with me?”
*****
I pull on the soft black boots, completing the midnight black outfit that Taylor gave me. The silky soft form-fitting clothes allow me to move without making a sound and appear to blend into the shadows. I pull up the hood and look into the mirror. Lowering my head, I can’t see any distinguishing features on my face. It’s unlikely that I will be seen, but if I am, no one should be able to easily recognize me. I grin. As a little girl watching spy movies, I had always wanted to be one. Now I’m about to finally be a proper secret agent. I may not have all the gadgets from the movies, but I have enough to help me out if I happen to get caught. The black belt fastened loosely about my waist and hips hides a small dagger, a vial of poison, a grenade, pepper spray that causes permanent blindness, and a spray that can eat through metal. At the last second, I remember to grab a small bell- the only thing that will deter Patrick’s porcupine-tiger from mauling us to death.
Practicing my stealth, I slink down the stairs and lurk in the shadows. The rest of the group that will be on the rescue mission with me enters the room. Sierra Davis walks in first, followed by Ham Jacobson. These two are my main ‘guards,’ although everyone in the group will be looking out for me. Vlad and Thaddeus aren’t coming, since if they get captured as well, Patrick will have all four of the advisors- and the main leaders, besides the King and Queen, of not only the council, but also the main Village.
A tall, slender woman with short brown hair enters behind Ham. I spot a sword at her waist, a knife in her boot, tiny poisonous darts in the cuffs of her gloves, and I’m sure there are other various weapons hidden elsewhere on her person as well. This must be Susan Parker- the weaponry master, in her early twenties. Obviously, her main Gift is Fighting. Her other Gift is reading minds, according to Thaddeus. The next member of our group, Josh Papke, enters next. He’s an average height with brown hair that looks like he never styled it; also in his early twenties. His Gifts are flying and logic.
The last two members of the group walk in at about the same time. Reed Agee and Brent Alder. Both in their late twenties, Reed has the Gifts of speed and memory, and Brent has strength and telepathy. All of them are dressed in black as well, although made of a different material than mine.
I wait for someone to notice me, but no one seems to see me at all. After about a minute, Josh growls, frustrated. “How long is it going to take that girl to get dressed? I mean, I know girls like clothes, but still…” he stops suddenly, seeing a knife appear about an inch away from his eye.
Susan, still smiling amiably, calmly says, “She’ll be down soon, I’m sure. Oh, and that teddy bear you sleep with? That’s real cute. Do you play dress-up with it too?”
Josh’s mouth falls open and his face turns crimson. “How did… hey, that’s not fair! You read my mind?”
Susan continues smiling as she slowly puts the knife away. “Yes, and it wasn’t hard either, kitten.”
He looks confused. “Kitten?” He sighs. “Alright, listen, I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t mean what I said about girls.”
“I take it you won’t make the same mistake again though, now will you?”
“No ma’am,” he responds ashamedly. Sierra, Ham, Reed, and Brent all laugh while Susan smiles, satisfied with her work.
Again, I wait for someone to notice me in the shadow by the stairs, but still no one does. I grin. I’m a better spy than I thought, then. I take a small step out of the shadow and walk towards them stealthily, watching their faces to see who spots me first. As I suspected, it’s Susan. Her eyes pass over me a couple of times before she narrows her eyes and a look of surprise crosses her face. “Crystal? Were you here the whole time?”
I pull off the hood and nod. The others jump as though I appeared out of nowhere. “What… Crystal? Where did you come from?” Ham exclaims.
“She… she appeared out of nowhere!” Reed says, pointing out what the others already noticed. “She must have gotten another Gift! How else would she have been able to disappear like that?”
Susan’s brow furrows in thought. “No. I still would have sensed her thoughts loud and clear… plus, she wasn’t completely invisible. …Crystal, do you know what that outfit is made out of?”
Josh coughs, thinly veiling his words, “Girls and clothes… what did I say…” I can tell Susan heard it too, but she chooses to ignore it this time.
I shrug. “I have no idea. I just know that it’s super comfortable and light, that’s all.”
She narrows her eyes at me, then extends a hand. “May I?”
“Sure,” I say, taking off a glove and handing it to her. She takes off her own to feel the silkiness of the fabric. She then pulls out a knife and gently drags it across the surface, gradually adding pressure. Confused, I move to stand beside her to see what she’s do
ing. She removes the knife and holds up the glove for me to see. There isn’t a cut on it anywhere.
She looks at me seriously. “I believe that this is made from the underwater monster, Glaoud. His skin, dark as obsidian, was sometimes seen as a dark blue for better camouflage beneath the water. He is the only one of his kind, and he was a giant. He’s bigger than this room… approximately the size of a dragon. They say he’s a sea dragon- from Quagon. His skin is nearly impervious to anything sharp- even immune to most poisons. It’s said… he could turn nearly invisible if he moved slowly or not at all.”
Brent takes the glove, turning it over in his hands. “And you think that Crystal’s clothes are made from his skin?”
“I don’t see how it’s possible, but that’s the only explanation I can think of. I could hardly feel Crystal’s thoughts and barely see her movements when that hood was up. I’ve never encountered anything like that before, although the closest I’ve come to feeling that kind of block on her mind is when I talked with a dragon.” She pauses and takes the glove back from Brent and hands it to me, looking me in the eye as she does so. “This is a treasure beyond comprehension, Crystal. Protect it, and it will protect you. Never let anyone else wear this or take any part of it off. It only works as a complete set.”
I nod and slip the glove back on, feeling self-conscious with everyone looking at me, wide-eyed. “Thanks,” I croak. She nods and straightens back up, turning to the door just as it opens again. Thaddeus, Vlad, Pearl, and Alexander enter the room.
“Everyone ready?” Pearl asks the group, looking only at me. We nod.
“Then good luck,” Alexander says, opening the door for us to go outside. The group slides past him into the night. As I pass him, I give him a quick hug.
“Don’t worry, we’ll be okay,” I reassure him before hurrying after the others. I look back once and see my parents standing at the door with tears in their eyes. I vow to come back to them, no matter what it takes. I won’t break their hearts again.
CHAPTER FIVE
On Edge