“You know,” he said softly, “I never told you how I felt about you. Well here’s the answer.” He paused and looked down before clasping my hand, taking a deep breath before finishing his thoughts. “I care deeply about you, and I won't let anyone hurt you. I might even love you . . .”
I felt a strangely familiar sensation spread through me, and suddenly, as I looked up into the blank eyes of the statue, I remembered . . .
3,000 B.C.
“So tell me again why we’re in Nihon-koku?” Pa asked as I walked beside Chris down the crowded streets of Honshu. I was looking for the blacksmith’s shop, but despite my having been to Honshu several times before this, I still got completely lost.
“There’s an old friend of mine here,” Chris answered. “His skill as a sword crafter is unparalleled by any in the world. I had him create weapons for us that can harness the powers of our elements, allowing us to fight a lot more effectively.”
Ricky’s smile widened. “All right! I can’t wait to see what mine looks like!”
“Ricky,” I chastised, “These aren’t toys.”
“Yeah I know,” he amended. “I’m a guy. I inevitably get excited by the prospect of killing things with a really bad-ass sword.”
Pa laughed as she took his hand in hers, kissing it before letting it fall to her side.
“So, this guy . . .” Skylar started to say with a look of disgust in his eyes at what Pa had just done, “He made each of us the perfect companion, basically?”
Chris nodded. “I hope you guys don’t mind, but I told him all about you. He’s a pretty good reader of auras, so he knows what kind of weapon will complete you and enhance your fighting prowess. He created the perfect best friend for you in battle.”
I smiled as we rounded a corner and turned onto a rather deserted-looking street. There was only one shop still opened, so I knew without a doubt that this was Fujiwara Hitoshi’s blacksmith shop.
We walked in and were greeted by none other than Fujiwara-sama himself. Despite his old age, he was quick on his feet and extremely amiable. His white hair was long and braided, both his hair and his beard, and his ageless gray eyes shined brightly, bringing life to his countenance.
“Hitoshi-sensei,” Chris said as he bowed low before the old man, folding his hands as though he was praying. “It’s been quite a while since I visited you last.”
“Indeed, young one,” he answered. “It has been quite a while. But upon your most humble request, I have forged the items you asked for. If your beloved would follow me, I will show them their new companions.”
Chris took my hand and ushered the others to follow Fujiwara-sama into the back room.
“Paola, Skylar, Richard, Christopher, and Dessa,” he said as he turned around to face us, “All of you are about to receive your closest companion. I will ask the Keeper of Light to approach first.”
I looked over at Chris, who smiled encouragingly, and took a few steps forward. I instinctively bowed low before Fujiwara-sama. His old, wise smile brought a feeling of ease to my mind as he reached behind him to place the beautifully wrapped sword into my waiting hands.
I looked down at the wrapped bundle, and without even seeing her, I knew she was mine: Akarusa, my closest companion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The wind blew past me as I ran toward them, with Akarusa hanging loosely by my side. The cold metal blade caressed my leg as I sprinted to the place where Chris and the others were waiting for me. Unfortunately, I had nothing but bad news to give them this time.
The Hunters were becoming stronger and stronger, preying at our weaknesses and completely destroying us. Even with the five of us together, we didn’t stand a chance against their growing strength. With her now on their side, I had no choice but to resort to the only solution left.
I had finally arrived at the dilapidated shack where they’d been hiding. I approached warily, because there was no movement at my approach. I knocked on the door once before taking down the door with a swift blow from Akarusa.
I stepped inside carefully, one hand on Akarusa’s hilt, the other carelessly vibrating photons and creating an orb of light to help me see.
“Dessa? Is that you?”
I felt a surge of relief at the sound of my beloved’s voice, and I smiled as I walked further into the house. I clutched the heart-shaped locket that rested in the hollow of my throat and embraced the feeling of power it gave to me.
“It’s me, Christopher. Why didn’t you answer the door?”
He walked out from behind a pile of broken floor boards with a troubled look on his face.
“They’ve been getting stronger, Dess,” he answered, and he took me in his arms as I approached him.
“I know,” I answered calmly. “But I think I know how we can stop them.”
“Sis, I hope you aren’t about to do something stupid,” Ricky said as he walked into the room with Pa by his side. They were holding hands like they always did, smiling at each other and at me despite the horrible news I was about to give them.
I smiled at them and shook my head. “Nothing stupid,” I amended. “But I feel it’s the only escape we have.”
“Are you trying to tell me that there’s absolutely nothing we can do to stop them?” Pa asked worriedly, grabbing Ricky’s other hand and clutching his hands in both of hers.
“We can’t fight them off as we are,” I said. “The only way we can build up enough power to destroy them is if we seal them away.”
“I’d say that counts as a defeat,” Chris said optimistically.
I shook my head once more, sighing. “In order to seal them, we’re going to have to seal ourselves, too.”
The horrifying silence made me want to kill myself. Ricky and Pa widened their eyes, which were now glowing beautifully in the dim light of the shack. Chris’ sapphire irises shined brightly as well as he took my hand and began to massage it comfortingly.
“I’ll do it,” I said. “I’ll be the one to seal us away.”
“Dessa . . .” Pa began, but Ricky silenced her gently by touching her shoulder.
“I have to do this,” I said. “It has to be me. They have way too much power. If we don’t seal them away, they’ll destroy everything.”
Ricky, Pa, and Chris frowned, all turning their heads to stare at the floor.
“Where’s Skylar?” I asked suddenly.
Pa smirked. “He thought he could take them on by himself. He left before you arrived and went after them.”
“Idiot,” I muttered. “Anyway,” I continued solemnly, “We should probably go. We’ll have to lure them to Athanasia; it’s the perfect place to place a seal, and we’ll entrust the estate to Chris’ family. They’ll take care of it, and take care of us.”
Chris rubbed my hand slightly harder, and I could somehow feel his sorrow as his fingers touched me. I rubbed his hand back, telling him without unnecessary words that everything was going to be okay.
“We should go,” I murmured again, and with my hand on Akarusa’s hilt, I charged out of the shack with Chris and Koorimizu by my side. Pa and Ricky followed behind with their swords, Soyokaze and Kenchi, and the four of us ran together toward the end of our lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Are you sure you have to do this, Dessa?”
I could barely hear Chris’ question over the screaming. I looked behind me, afraid that the screaming was his, but thankfully, he was still following faithfully behind me.
I clutched Akarusa tightly as I ran toward Athanasia, praying that none of the others had been killed. In order to make this work—in order to completely seal the four Hunters along with her in a reflective prison where they could only gaze at the world through the barrier of a mirror—the five of us would have to seal ourselves in stone as compensation for using such a horrid spell.
It was wrong of me to sentence my friends to an eternity as stone statues, staring at the world as time passed by right before their frozen eyes. I had explored all
other alternatives, all other options that could get us out of this situation, but I had found none.
My thoughts were interrupted when one of the Hunters approached a defenseless civilian. He was protecting his kid sister, who was crying behind her brother.
A feeling of complete rage filled me as I rushed to protect them.
“Chris, go on ahead of me,” I commanded sharply. He nodded reluctantly and went to find the others.
I parried the blow the Hunter had made for the young man’s flesh, and I yelled at the children and shouted at them to run away. They complied without hesitation, and the young man shot me a look of compassion and gratefulness as he quickly bowed low before me, picked up his sister in his arms, and fled.
“You’ve really sunk this low?” I asked caustically. “Attacking small, defenseless children? Really, Balthazar?”
He laughed at me and swung his sword, but Akarusa and I fought him off easily.
“Shouldn’t you be worried about yourself?” he asked. “After all, if we succeed in killing even one of you, this entire planet will die. You're Keepers. Gods. These people can't survive without you. So if I kill you, the rest should fall in line. If they don't, they'll fall, too.”
I felt the blood drain from my face at the truth behind his words. When an element went out of balance, the balance of the planet was thrown off. If one of the elements was destroyed, life couldn’t be sustained. If one of us died, all of us fell with him . . .
“I don’t have time for you,” I said curtly, and I ran toward Athanasia, not in the least surprised when he followed me.
He continued to attack me from behind, not once succeeding in piercing me. I was able to fend him off long enough to buy enough time to get to Athanasia unharmed. Much to my relief, the others had made it as well; even Skylar.
“Pa!” I shouted as I approached the base of the fountain. The water flowed freely, and the beautiful pedestal above the water was glowing like a rainbow. Pa was standing on top of the pedestal with Ricky by her side.
“Dessa!” she shouted back. “I’ve been able to keep them at bay until you got here,” she added when I had climbed onto the fountain beside her. I put my back to hers and we stood back to back upon the pedestal, with Ricky defending Pa and Chris defending me. “Skylar, get over here,” she whispered urgently, and Skylar appeared moments later, his sword Haikai flaming in his hands.
“Isn’t that cute? They’re all standing together before they die.”
I looked above me to see not only Balthazar, but also Cicero, his right hand man; and Matthias and Raphael, the twin brothers. The four of them were flying in midair protecting her, but were ready to attack us at the same time.
“Before long you guys will be the ones that’ll be dead,” Ricky taunted.
“How sentimental,” Cicero chided. “You think that just because you’re standing at the base of Athanasia you’ll be able to defeat us? Just ask your precious Keeper of Light,” he continued as he moved his eyes to gaze at me. “She knows you have no hope left. I can see that in her eyes. She knows there’s nothing left to defend.”
I stared up at Cicero with flaming golden eyes, my confidence building as I put my hands into the air. Pa did the same, and Ricky and Chris were prepared to attack anyone who broke our concentration.
I felt tears collecting in my eyes as I began to chant in our beautiful language, speaking the words that would seal away those terrible men while simultaneously turning my best friends and myself into stone statues for 5,000 years.
The fear that seized me . . . it was indescribable. I wished it only had to be me to give up everything to defeat these guys, but since I’d failed at defeating them, I had been forced to drag my friends into it. And now I had basically killed them, too.
Akarusa vibrated against my side, telling me that everything would be okay, but for the first time in a long time, I actually didn’t believe her.
“Akarusa,” I whispered to her. “I want you to protect your brothers and sisters. Take them away to a place where only Chris’ family has access to them. Stay there and wait for us to return to you.”
She vibrated in response and suddenly the weight was lifted from my hips, and Akarusa was gone. Koorimizu joined her, along with Haikai, one of the Kenchi twin swords, and Soyokaze. The only sword remaining was the other Kenchi, who was clasped in Ricky’s hand as he defended Pa.
The tears started falling freely now as I continued the incantation, and a filmy substance started to form in the air above the Hunters, dark and reflective. This film would be the seal that trapped them inside a mirror-like prison until that seal could be broken.
My body began to ache as I made the film stronger, pouring in more of my energy to create a stronger seal. My muscles began to stretch to their limits and my bones began to twinge.
The film expanded to cover the area of space around the four Hunters and Darkness, whom they were protecting. With a final breath, I spoke the last words of the spell, forcing my hands out toward them. A warm, peaceful light that was somehow stronger than the darkness opposing us erupted from inside me and forced the film to collapse around them.
Several screams erupted from above me, but my body couldn’t react in any way. I was immobilized in fatigue, unable to fully comprehend what I had just done. Within moments the screams died out with a sudden stop, drowning us in a deadly silence that seemed to stretch on forever.
“Dessa,” Pa finally said with a breath, “You did it.”
I felt myself smile, but then I heard Chris grunt in pain and I looked over at him, completely devastated.
His feet were slowly changing to stone, and with a horrible jolt of panic I reached out and clutched his hand.
“Chris, I’m so sorry,” I said as the tears streamed down my face. “The spell has chosen to seal you first . . .”
“It’s okay, Dessa,” he said calmly, closing his eyes in pain as the spell turned more of him to stone. “We had to do this. You had to do this. And you succeeded. The threat of the Hunters, along with Darkness, has been completely extinguished. Since I'm the first to leave us, I’ll be the first to return. I’ll find you, and I’ll come back for you.”
“I don’t want to lose you,” I whispered, practically feeling his pain as the stone continued to travel up his body, imprisoning him in a concrete prison he could never escape.
“I’ll be right here beside you,” he said quietly, grabbing my hand. “I always have been, and I always will be.” He leaned in to kiss me, and he turned away from me, keeping my hand clutched tightly in his own. “I don’t want you to see the look in my eyes,” he explained, and the stone prison grew to trap his shoulders and neck.
“Chris . . .” I murmured, feeling the warm tears run down my cold skin.
“I love you, Dessa. Watch over me.”
And he was gone. His breathing was silenced, his pain put at bay. His stone hand was still clutching mine, but the warmth had gone from him. I was holding a stone, and nothing more . . .
Sorrow captivated my entire being as I stared at his statue, unable to hold my emotions in any longer. My body began to convulse from the sobs and the indescribable guilt that was seizing me.
Just when I thought my pain couldn’t get any worse, I heard a horrible scream followed by Pa crying, “No! Ricky!”
My brother’s cries of pain erupted in my head, splitting my skull. Pa was crying as he spoke to her, saying he loved her and would wait 5,000 years in his prison just so he could see her face again.
Ricky’s screams were silenced as the stone prison encompassed his head, freezing over his beautiful face right before our eyes. Pa closed her eyes painfully, but stood up and forced her hands into the air, causing a whirlwind of sorrow to pulsate around us. The trees and earth shook with her pain, and Skylar, upon seeing her like this, arose to comfort her.
I watched in horror as Pa’s feet began to turn to stone, keeping her frozen behind Ricky’s statue. She closed her eyes and let it take her, without making
any sounds at all. I watched in admiration as a smile spread slowly across her face just as the curse completely overtook her.
Skylar screamed in rage, looking at me with the most hateful gaze I had ever seen.
“I hope you can live with this guilt!” He shouted at me as he fell at the feet of Pa’s statue. “You did this to us!” His screams and accusations got louder as the curse began to change him, freezing over his muscles and body with a concrete seal. He clutched at Pa’s stone ankle and held on until the curse had imprisoned him as well.
I stood there among the statues of my closest friends, unable to come to grips with the idea that they were no longer alive.
But before I could contemplate how I felt about doing these terrible things to them, the stone began to attack my body, too. I put out my hands in front of me, and I cradled the beautiful light that my friends had kindled inside me.
I felt cold, like all circulation had been completely shut down, but the light did not grow dim. It shined brighter than ever, warm and peaceful despite the cold stone that traveled slowly through my body, taking over and trapping me in a prison I could not escape for 5,000 years.
I felt the stone prison expand to cover my arms and torso, and then slowly it crept up into my neck, finally spreading to cover the rest of my body. I let the warm light embrace me and closed my eyes . . .
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I smiled as I remembered the isolation I had endured, and felt tears fall down my cheeks as he kissed me again, mixing his body with mine in a way that didn’t involve any pain. I pulled away from him and whispered, “I love you, Christopher.”
He sighed in relief and smiled. We were finally together again; after 5,000 long, painful, isolated years, we were together again.
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