by Jamie Murray
"I can try."
"Don't try. Just do it."
Luke nodded. Jameson got up and used the sword to knock off the lock on the door as Luke struggled to get to his feet. Once the door was kicked open, Jameson went to Luke and steadied him, slinging Luke's uninjured arm over his shoulder to help him walk.
They almost fell through the door to reveal they were back where they started with the two pedestals and the entrance they had just come through had been hidden by the vines which were now retracting to avoid the light. With the light coming from the Rain Stone around Jameson's neck, the illusion of the hole in the floor was no longer intact. As Jameson limped around it with Luke over his shoulder, he could see clearly where the two of them had fallen the first time. He took Luke to the enormous door and let him go, allowing him to sit, and quickly surveyed the area.
"Cyrus and Louisa," Jameson said simply.
"They probably fell down there," Luke said, pointing at the other pedestal which had an identical hole to the side of it.
"Then they're in trouble," Jameson concluded. "Let's go."
He started to get Luke to stand again, but Luke cried out in pain, which made Jameson stop. "Just go," Luke said. "I'll be fine here."
"As soon as I leave the room, those vines—"
"Then go fast," Luke said through his teeth. Jameson vigorously shook his head, but then Luke shoved him, looking somewhat angry. "They could be dying right now!"
Jameson stood up somewhat reluctantly and made a rush for the other side of the room where he assumed there would be another door. He cut away at some of the vines and found what he was looking for, aggressively kicking the door three or four times before it finally gave way and opened. After one glance back at Luke sitting next and watching him, he tore down the first staircase, allowing the glow of the Rain Stone to clear a path for him and light his way.
When he reached the first landing, he discovered a struggle between a dark human-shaped creature and Cyrus, wielding his sword and wildly taking swings at the form in front of him. Every precise connection he made with the dark shape emitted a slice of light so it appeared as though Cyrus was winning, but Jameson wasn't prepared to let anymore time pass.
Jameson ran towards the fight and didn't have to do much beyond that because the form put as much distance between it and the Rain Stone as it possibly could. It jumped up into the air and disappeared through the weave of vines and ceiling, and Cyrus looked desperately to Jameson.
"It got Louisa," he said breathlessly, wiping his forehead and smearing some blood dripping from his hairline.
"Where did it take her?" Jameson said.
"Up there," Cyrus said, pointing directly at where the form had gone. "If it absorbs even a fraction of her energy, then we won't have a chance to rescue her or defeat it."
"Through that door," said Jameson. "Come on."
He ran up the staircase and Cyrus enthusiastically followed. They plowed through the small doorway which looked as though it was already being overtaken by vines again. As soon as he was in the main room again, he heard Luke yell for him. He ran around the pedestal to see Luke was surrounded by thick branches, tightening their grip on him until Jameson finally came over to ward them away.
Luke choked and coughed as the vines let him go and slithered away. "A creature came up through the floor," he tried to say through his coughs. His face was ghostly white and his sweat was soaking up his collar. Painstakingly, he put his hand on his side and struggled to force his palm to rest on the torn clothing to halt the bleeding. "I don't know where it went."
"Don't talk," Jameson said. "Just concentrate on keeping yourself in one piece. Cyrus, we have to figure out a way to get through this door."
"It's the Rain Stone," Cyrus decided rather confidently. "That's the only possible explanation."
"What do I do with it?" Jameson said, removing the necklace and holding it up against the door. He haphazardly began to throw the stones against the huge door, hoping something productive may happen. All he could think about was Louisa on the other side, tortured and breaking slowly. He hit his head against the door and clenched his fists angrily.
Strangely, through it all, he heard only one voice in his head. It was the voice of a child, and it was a voice from so long ago that Jameson could only just barely recall it. It began to speak and, as Jameson looked around for some indication that he wasn't insane, he realized that he was not the only one who could hear it: I think I knew. That you would leave someday, I think.
"What was that?" Luke asked.
"You could hear it?" Jameson said.
"Yes," said Luke.
"Hear what?" said Cyrus.
"It was you," Jameson reminded him. "You told me that the day I left the village. And I said I would come back…I insisted it."
That's the thing. I don't think you are. Not for a long, long time.
"There it was again," said Luke. "That was me?"
Cyrus took a few steps backwards, unable to hear whatever voices the two men were talking about, but more concerned with getting on the other side of the door instead of finding the source of the voices.
"That memory came from the stone on that day…" Jameson said. "That day when the stone was supposed to turn to dust. Instead, they all just emitted memories like those. And…that's the memory that came out of the Rain Stone."
"Does that mean something?" Luke asked.
"It means you're coming with us," Jameson said. "We're going to need you."
Cyrus found that as a possible way to get them going, so he started to help Luke stand up, but Luke fumbled and almost fell over, gripping his side helplessly. As soon as Cyrus saw the damage, he quickly allowed him to sit again. "He can't be moved," Cyrus decided. "He needs to rest."
"He needs to come in with us," Jameson said, reaching his hand out for his friend.
Luke took a deep breath and reached for Jameson's hand. Jameson pulled him to his feet and Cyrus, clearly sensing that this was going to happen regardless of what he thought, decided to pick Luke right up off the ground and carry him.
Jameson looked down at the necklace, and then strategically removed the stones and separated the Rain Stone from the other five. "This is yours, Luke," he decided extending Luke's arm and opening his palm. "Take it."
Jameson placed the stone into Luke's palm and it exploded with such bright light that Jameson's earlier show was no more than just a convenience. Cyrus closed his eyes, unable to see through the light as it filled the entire room. All the vines and plants retracted until they were hardly even visible in the room in the first place. The light pierced through the two orbs, illuminating them into a beautiful spacious green.
Once the two orbs were illuminated, the entire room rumbled. The massive door was rising, but Jameson could not be bothered to wait for it to rise all the way to the top because he seized Luke's bow and arrows, while also wielding the sword, and crawled under the opening which was provided. Cyrus waited patiently for the doors to slowly rise to his level, especially since he was carrying a wounded man, but was shocked to see what was waiting for them on the other side.
The black form Cyrus had been battling with a few minutes earlier was standing in the middle of the enormous floor which resembled something close to a stadium, though there were no spectators, but Louisa was nowhere in sight.
"Where's Louisa?" Cyrus demanded of the creature.
"There," Jameson said, pointing towards the ceiling where they could barely see folded fabric of Louisa's dress through layers of vines.
"Is she alive?" Cyrus said quietly.
"Louisa wouldn't be killed so easily," Jameson said. "She's alive, but she's going to be angry with us for taking too long to rescue her."
"Then we should hurry," said Cyrus.
"I need you to fight with me."
Cyrus gently placed Luke down on the floor where he could protect his own wounds. Cyrus stood and drew his sword again, facing the black creature, which was becoming increasingly
more human shaped.
"It's becoming something…" Cyrus said slowly. "You need the Rain Stone!"
"It's where it needs to be," Jameson said assuredly, checking briefly over his shoulder as his friend gripped the stone tightly, turning his head to the side to avoid looking at the light. "Trust me."
"I trust you," Cyrus said.
"Then whatever that is, or whatever it's becoming, we have to destroy it," Jameson said, facing the blackened creature.
21. It Belongs to You
Chapter 21
The black creature did not appear even aware of their presence at first, so Cyrus took the opportunity to try to approach it. Jameson stayed behind him, trying to provide support for him but also to protect Luke if the situation demanded it, though he didn't feel particularly threatening with a sword that barely extended his reach.
Cyrus was correct in his original assumption that the black form was taking a more human shape. But, as he crept up close to it, Jameson evaluated that it was not becoming a man; it was much too small and child-sized in comparison to Cyrus. Its feet were rooted into the ground quite literally as it was directly surrounded in vines and roots all the way up to what was transforming into its waist. Cyrus halted his approach and looked back to Jameson, attempting to convey a message with just a look, but Jameson had only known him for a day or so, and was unable to interpret the expression.
However, Jameson was also sure that the correct choice at that point was not to call for clarification as Cyrus turned back to the creature. Jameson knew he would just have to trust whatever Cyrus was planning and try to go along with it as far as he could in hopes that it would have the best results for all of them. He hoped it would be something along the lines of destroying the creature, though could not decide if striking the plants or the creatures itself would yield the best results.
Cyrus appeared to make an executive decision at that point that striking the vines around the creature's feet would be a better option. As it happened, Jameson decided that it was better as well since the creature was not making a threat on them at the moment, so he firmly agreed with Cyrus's choice.
As far as Jameson could see, Cyrus's sword did not come in contact with the vines, but it came awfully close. When he was about to hit the vines connecting the black form and the vine, something solid yet transparent forced the powerful swing to a stop. Cyrus stumbled backwards in response to the unexpected barrier and nearly tripped over a vine which had begun to move.
Jameson was not going to stand around any longer because he knew something bad was about to happen. With a firm promise to himself that he would not neglect Luke, Jameson propelled himself forward and ran towards the creature. He attacked in a similar fashion that Cyrus had, except he had momentum as well, yet he found himself equally repelled by something strange and invisible. As he fell backwards to where Cyrus was standing, he confessed himself surprised and had been fairly certain that he would be able to cut through whatever had kept Cyrus out.
"That's not going to work," Jameson commented.
The black form did not look at them, unconcerned with what their plans were. Clearly, it was sure that it would not be stopped by them so it did not need to bother with their endeavors.
"This force field…" Cyrus said, stepping over one of the branches. "It's Louisa's."
"Louisa's?" Jameson repeated.
"One of the Ultimate Powers," said Cyrus.
Jameson looked back at the black form; its outline was nearly defined, features clearly mapped out on its face. Jameson could tell it was a young boy and then wondered, quite passively, if he was recognizing the face correctly.
"I've seen this child before," Jameson announced.
His mind flew him back to the first day of his journey when he first met Louisa and she took him to the Rain Shrine. He had to fight the giant spider-like Forces with a rolling eye and then, when the Forces was defeated and crumbled into ash, it left the barely conscious and barely coherent body of a young boy. The black creature that had attacked them, injured Luke and was currently draining Louisa's energy, looked identical to the Rain Spirit.
"Who is it?" Cyrus questioned.
"We have to kill it," Jameson said simply. "Before it gets too powerful. Right now."
"Step back," Cyrus said, taking Jameson by the shoulder and pushing him out of the way. Cyrus raised his sword towards the creature and looked as though he might just attack it blindly again, but as he raised it above his head, the blade began to shimmer. The light around him coming from the Rain Stone held by Luke appeared to swirl towards the blade and embed into the sharp edge.
At once, Cyrus lowered the sword towards the creature instead of attacking the plants. The sword was stopped by the force field at first, but Cyrus fought to keep the blade in place, and the invisible barrier started to become visible, glowing faintly in response to the attack. Abruptly, Cyrus raised the sword and brought it down to hit the barrier again, and this time it gave way slightly, folding under the pressure of Cyrus's sword. Jameson took another step backwards as Cyrus raised the sword again for another swipe.
However, the shadowed boy finally appeared to take note that there was something around it. When the sword was hefted, the creature turned and raised both of its hands in Cyrus's direction, expelling the faint barrier towards Cyrus, forcefully pushing him back from attackable range. Cyrus was knocked right off his feet and onto his back, but Jameson immediately lunged for the creature with his sword at the ready while the barrier was dropped. The sword pieced the shadow, which let out a cry, and promptly spun around, instantly growing to immense size and looming over Jameson.
Since his sword was now lodged into the creature, Jameson was no longer armed so he found himself quickly out of options. He tried to keep his eyes front, but turned and ran from the creature to avoid it, while the creature dropped his massive arm down upon him. The force of the shadow's weight pushed Jameson to the ground and pinned him for just a second, until it immediately withdrew itself with another shriek. Jameson rolled over, slightly disoriented, to see Cyrus had severed a large portion of the plants around its base and was quickly moving to finish the job. The shadow retracted itself and propelled towards Cyrus, using its force to drive Cyrus from where he was standing clear across to the other side of the round room.
Jameson sat up and watched as Cyrus hit the wall and then dropped down to the ground, unmoving. The shadow hovered over Cyrus's crumpled form as Jameson sprung to his feet, running as fast as he could towards Cyrus and the creature to prevent it from finishing him off. The creature was ready, however, and turned his attack towards Jameson. He saw it rocketing towards him and, for an instant, he was sure it really was over that time around, but the creature suddenly stopped and focused its attention elsewhere.
It happened that the creature was paying attention to the ceiling because there was a bright and concentrated point of light emitting. All the plants in that section withdrew and slithered away, revealing Louisa, now completely uninhibited from the grip of the vines. At first, she didn't appear conscious, but as she fell, she caught herself before she hit the ground and before she had even stood, she had both arms raised towards the creature. The shadow over Jameson writhed as it turned over in the air, retracting back to its half cut base. Jameson admittedly was in awe looking at Louisa, acting as though she had been there all along and, moments following her attack, an arrow clattered next to her.
Jameson turned to see Luke standing up straight, bow raised, staring directly at where Louisa had landed. He winced and dropped the bow, clutching his side and his arm, falling to his knees. Jameson was unable to run to his side because Louisa had shouted, "Attack it now!"
Jameson frantically looked around for something to attack the creature with. Cyrus was laying only a few paces from him, his sword still gripped tightly in his hand, so Jameson ran to him and took the sword. He ran to the creature and took a great swipe with the blade, cutting off the last small section of vines still attached to it.
The creature screamed in an inhumane sort of way, completely detached from its original base, and Louisa came up behind Jameson and created her own force field, attacking the shadow in the same way it had attacked Cyrus.
The shadow hit the ground, still shrieking, and began to convulse. For a few moments, it became the outline of the Rain Spirit again, and then started dissipating, as if it were burning from the inside. It crumbled and the plants on the walls followed suit, the burnt remains of the vines dropping from the ceiling into heaps, covering the floor with black dust.
Jameson went to the pile left by the shadowed creature and removed the intact short sword from the ashes. He turned back to Louisa who was holding her arms and looking shaken, but she nodded towards Luke. "See if he's still alive," she said. "I'll check on Felix."
He wasn't going to blame her for her failure to be sensitive as he agreed and ran over to Luke who was sprawled out on the ground, face in the ash, no longer taking the need to cover his wounds. Jameson turned him over and woke him with a slight shake. Luke let out a labored and deep breath, barely opening his eyes, and lightly commenting, "Did that work?"