The Mystical Knights: The Sword of Dreams

by K. A. Robertson

  Kenzie sniffled. "You have to tell her Rowan," she said seriously. "Accept the facts and tell her soon—because if you wait, it’s only going to hurt you both even more. If you care about her as you say you do, you'll tell her.”

  “I don't know what to say...” Behind the bleakness of his voice, Kenzie heard the terrified trembling of someone who was afraid. Utterly and terribly afraid...

  Kenzie leaned her forehead against his, blinking away the rest of her tears that threatened to fall. “The truth.”

  * * *

  Quinn banged the flashlight repeatedly against the rocky walls, but the light continued to flicker into nothing.

  Thor snickered disbelievingly, shaking his unruly locks. “I can’t believe you dropped the flashlight...”

  “I didn’t drop it!” Quinn gave the other boy a riddled look. “The batteries are dying.”

  “And you didn’t think to bring spares?” Thor shook his head.

  Quinn glared. “Well excuse me! How was I to know they weren’t brand spankin’ just-out-of-the-package new?” He tossed the now dead flashlight into the dark behind him. “At least I tried to be helpful.”

  Thor rolled his eyes, skimming the wall with his hand. “Well genius, how do you suppose we find our way through the darkness?”

  Quinn could just make out the silhouette of his friend’s gangly body; his arms were crossed heatedly across his chest, and his weight was shifted towards the right. With a sigh, Quinn pushed himself to his feet and grabbed Thor by the shoulders. “We walk onward! You go first!”

  “Me?” Thor half-yelled, sounding incredulous. He wrenched away Quinn’s hands and pulled him to his side. “You go first! You’re the one who brought the dud flashlight!”

  “Afraid of the dark, are we?” Quinn sneered playfully. “At least I contributed something to this escapade...”

  “Like what?” Thor demanded ruefully. “A lousy near-dead flashlight?”

  Quinn rolled his eyes exasperatedly. “Would you let it go? Jeez—you’d think I’d committed a federal crime or something...” Quinn roughly seized Thor by the upper arm and pulled him forward. “C’mon...”

  As they walked further into the caverns, the blackness seemed to thicken, creating some extremely dense shadows. Quinn’s footsteps slowed and his usually even breaths became shallow as he tried to squint into nothing. His hands instinctively grazed the cold, stony walls.

  “Goddamnit!” Thor hollered as he stumbled forward again, slamming into the ground hard. A loud snap made Quinn wince while Thor groaned, lying nearly motionless on the ground. That seriously had to hurt...

  “You okay?” Quinn crouched down low and tenderly touched Thor’s shoulder.

  Thor hissed in pain, jerking back instinctively. “Do-don’t touch it,” he stammered through gritted teeth. “I—I think I broke my arm...”

  “So that’s what that mysterious popping noise was,” Quinn cynically muttered. He leaned over the rocking boy once again. “Lemme see, maybe I have something to brace it with in my bag—”

  “NO!” Thor gasped, and through the dank blackness, Quinn could tell that his face was pale and sweaty. “Don’t touch it—I’ll be fine.” Thor rolled forward, groaning and cursing as he uneasily pulled himself to his knees. Power breathing from his nose, Thor took a deep breath and pushed himself to his feet, trembling from head to toe.

  Quinn could see Thor’s shadow; his right arm was definitely twisted at an odd angle. His stomach churned squeamishly, but he swallowed the bile down and reached out to steady his already teetering friend. “Are you sure that you don’t want me to try and brace it?”

  “Yes, I'm fine,” Thor mumbled back, his breaths still shallow and harsh. "Let’s get moving—we don’t have that much time.”

  They moved in silence—despite the scuffling of their shoes and Thor’s heavy breathing. Their feet must have been kicking up some settled dust, because black fog was rising around their ankles. Quinn took several deep breaths himself and gave a painstaking yawn.

  “Is it just me,” he began, eyelids drooping, “or is it becoming very hard to breathe in here?”

  “It’s a bit difficult.” Thor agreed, cradling his arm.

  Something clicked distantly inside Quinn’s mind that made him pause in his step. The dense black fog, the disorientation...suddenly unable to catch a breath...

  “No.” Quinn whispered, leaning back against the wall, waves of tiredness rolling over him. “It’s one of those smog minions—that black cloud thing that attacked Nia. Try to keep moving. Pull your shirt over your mouth.”

  “How can you be so—” Thor yawned awfully loudly and smacked his lips, “...sure?”

  Quinn snapped his head around to look at Thor; he had already found a place to sit, his head leaning against the wall. “The shadows above us,” Quinn pointed upwards toward the ceiling, “are moving.”

  A soft laughter echoed from somewhere in front of them. Regardless of his sleepy haze, Quinn’s ears pricked; he knew that laughter well. A cold chill shivered down his spine as his eyelids threatened to close.

  “You were always such a smarty pants,” a delectable voice said with a touch of delighted poison, “dear brother.”

  Nia hadn’t spoken a word to Fiona; they had marched onward in silence. Nia reflected upon the thoughts that echoed through her mind. These thoughts weren’t her own; they were the whispers, the constant whir of sounds that nearly always kept her from sleeping soundly at night. She often found comfort in them, despite their frequent interruptions.

  Just a bit farther...so close, so close...

  “Do you see that?” Fiona said suddenly as she reached out her hand, stretching the ball of blue crackling flames further away from her body. Nia gazed over Fiona’s head, cautiously rolling on her heels.

  In the distance was a tiny spot of golden light, shining dimly through the darkness. With an anxious gasp, Nia felt her heart fly up into her throat, and her feet kicked forward, moving one in front of the other. Fiona was running too, the toes of her boots just barely scuffing Nia’s heels.

  “When are you going to get the Sword?” Fiona casually asked, not even out of breath.

  Nia’s head was too high in the clouds for her heart to plummet back towards the ground at the mention of the Sword. "I'll try when we get to that light!"

  Someone came crashing around the corner, knocking the wind out of Nia’s already quaking lungs with the strength of a cannon ball. The wind had been punched out of her chest with such force, her head spun like a top, dizzy and disoriented, as she fell to the ground with neck-cracking force.

  “Why do we always seem to meet up like this?” Kenzie groaned, carefully lifting herself off of Nia’s half-limp body. Nia grunted, tenderly fingering her now aching head with lightheaded precision.

  “Good question,” Nia mumbled back, pushing against her elbows as she lifted herself to her feet. The lightheaded dizzy feel was slowly dissipating, but she couldn’t help but feel sick to her stomach.

  “I’m sorry! Are you okay?” Kenzie apologized quickly, giving Nia a worried look. “I just saw the light and I got super excited—”

  “I'm fine,” Nia replied slowly, curiously staring at Kenzie. Something had changed while they had been separated. The small, browned haired girl seemed much lighter than she had in weeks. Her energy had lifted and was bright and nearly cheerful again. But Rowan's demeanor...

  Nia glanced towards Rowan’s brooding form sulking behind the darkest shadows. His normally graceful posture was slumped forward and his hands were clasped tightly in front of him, twisting and wringing his fingers nervously. She had never seen him so uneasy before. Nia swallowed hard as her lingering eyes settled deeply on his face; the shadows of the cavern hid his vacant expression just enough, but she could still see his taut jaw and the way the hollows of his usually bright eyes had just sunk right into his face.

  Nia cocked her head anxiously, her lips beginning to purse as she prepared to ask him what was wrong, but
Rowan slowly stepped into the unearthly blue light that illuminated from Fiona's flames. Rowan looked absolutely fine; not nervous or on edge. He gave her grinned at her, but as she smiled back, her eyes found his once more and she felt that pang of unsettlement once more, and she knew that something was not right.

  “Rowan,” she said carefully. “You don’t look like yourself. Are you okay?”

  Was it another trick of the light, or did Rowan grimace a bit as he absently fixed the hem of his shirt? “I’m fine Nia. I’m just nervous.” He shook his bangs from his eyes and smiled at her again. Nia nodded and took his word; shadows always played tricks on the eyes.

  “Where's Quinn and Thor?” Fiona pressed the ridge of her hand into her forehead, wrinkling her nose. Nia heard a tone of concern underlying in her voice, and looked around too. Where there had been three paths in the beginning, there were only two that led into where they all stood now. Nia's stomach did a little flip, making her heartbeat pound in her ear drums..

  “Maybe they already found a way in! Lance!” Kenzie brushed past them, her heels clicking against the rocks and gravel as she ran towards the twinkling light in the distance. As Rowan followed her, Nia uneasily glanced at Fiona, who replied with an shrug and followed Kenzie's lead as well.

  The four Knights cautiously reached the glowing entrance. The lights that cascaded around them were pale gold and twinkling silvers. Kenzie stood just near the entrance to the well lit room, but her sudden stab of courage had dissipated. She looked terrified to see just what was inside, and she had every right to feel that way. Nia toed her way around Kenzie, and slowly entered the room.

  It was just like what she saw in her earlier vision; Lance, stripped down to his underwear, strapped onto a granite table. He looked as pale as death, but Nia could see the slow and easy rise and fall of his chest as he lay unconscious. His eyes were rolling around behind his eyelids as though he were intensely dreaming. Intravenous needles were stuck into the fold of both arms, wires and long, spidery metal probes were sticking to his head and his face. It was like some kind of bizarre hospital scene, except the monitors that surrounded him were unlike any Nia had ever seen before. They didn't appear to be monitoring heart rate or brain activity, but were drilling away at an array of different equations, one right after the next.

  Nia frowned and stared at the monitors as the other filed in behind her. Kenzie gasped and made to dash over to her brother's side, but Rowan grabbed her arm and pulled her back.

  "Let me go!" Kenzie said in a strangled whisper. "What've they done to him?"

  "The Sword of Dreams would heal him," Fiona said quietly.

  Nia looked at her and knew that putting off the summoning of the Sword was something she could no longer do. Nia inhaled deeply and stared at the monitor, watching those strange equations compute across the screen. Her heart began to race like wild fire inside her chest, but her mind and her thoughts were calm. She let that serenity carry her away from the cool underground. Her vision narrowed, blurring around the edges like a frost covered window on a cold winter’s night. Her astral form flew through the sky, darting through the clouds and around the stars. She could see the Sword of Dreams dwindling like starlight in the distance. She looked upon it like a young child, marveling it as though it were one of the Seven Wonders of the world instead of an old Khopesh.

  Using her Third Eye, she easily reached out her hand upwards as though she were flying a kite and with a flick of the wrist, her fingers wrapped tightly around the hilt of the Sword, securing it within the palm of her hand. Euphoria rushed through her veins, just as strong as the sweetest poison would have. For a moment Nia dwindled between time and space, holding this most precious Sword in her hand. Then she was hurtling back towards Earth so quickly that her chest was aching with the want to breathe.

  She gasped as she reconnected with her body, her eyes opening wide. A firm hand held her arm just under her elbow and helped her to her knees. Nia's heart skipped a beat before pounding hard inside her chest; she inhaled sharply, the cold air clean and sweet inside her lungs, filling them up until they felt that they could surely burst. But in her hand was the Sword of Dreams, beautiful, yet simple, and oddly regal. It's tarnished blade and amethyst jewels glittered delicately, casting twisted fractals of light across the room.

  Nia slowly got to her feet, using Fiona's hands as support, and moved to Lance's bedside. She stared at him, listening to the quiet, to the steady beeping that was Lance's heartbeat. No one made a sound, not even Kenzie. Their eyes were all on Nia's back, that she was aware of. As she gazed down upon the boy's cold body, she wondered what she should do. How was the best way to help him with this Sword?

  Place my blade on his heart.

  Holding her breath, Nia raised the Sword up and hovered it over Lance's chest. She wasn't quite sure who's voice had just whispered through her mind, but it made her nervous. She bit her lower lip, staring down at the brilliant Sword, so powerful, in her hands. She could feel the steady thrum of its energy pulsing through her blood and her bones as she stood there, and it left a tingling excitement within her. She took a deep breath to steady herself and slowly brought the blade down; the closer she got to Lance's flesh, the more wildly her stomach flipped. Her body was one with the Sword; she was anxiously anticipating something both wondrous and terrible to happen the moment she touched him, but the Sword would not stop.

  "Excellent," a voice spoke from behind them. "You've recovered the Sword of Dreams."

  His voice was right—the tone wasn’t. Nia spun around there, standing in the doorway, with two other tall beings flanked behind him, stood an unusually haughty-looking Quinn, his emerald eyes glittering with malice.

  Chapter 16: The Lost Brother

  “Quinn?” Nia asked, suddenly feeling heavily guarded. She shivered despite herself and tucked the Sword behind her back, out of sight. Fiona, Rowan, and Kenzie had all spun around too, their bodies rigid, yet prepared to attack. Cautiously, Nia brought her sword arm to her side, and held the Sword of Dreams at the ready.

  A sinister twinkle touched Quinn’s indifferent eyes, and as he grinned, the feeling of wariness intensified about ten times. What's wrong with him? Nia thought, looking over her friend with concern. His aura was dark and clouded, and there was something evil lurking within the depths of his eyes. Even the way he had his hair combed was completely wrong; it was sleeked back and neat, unlike how it usually was. And when Quinn smiled, his face contorted into someone else’s entirely.

  “So,” he crooned softly, his eyes glued interestedly on Nia’s surprised face, “you must be Gold Lion. We have been waiting to meet you, Nia.” His eyes flitted towards the Sword of Dreams, which was nestled firmly at Nia's side. “And that—”

  “—is not rightfully yours,” Fiona clarified between clenched teeth. Quinn looked over at Fiona apathetically before searching Nia’s face once more, his eyes hungry. Fiona glared right back at Quinn with such hatred and loathing...it was a look Nia had never seen Fiona exchange with Quinn, ever.

  Rowan stood back silently, watching Quinn with immense distaste while Kenzie clenched her fists and quickly stole a glance at her brother. This boy who stood before them could have fooled anyone in every way; he had Quinn’s eyes, his hair, his smile, his voice...but this boy was not Quinn.

  “Axel,” Nia whispered, the pieces of the puzzle snapping into place as she carefully traced her eyes over the boy’s face again. The boy’s lucid eyes twitched longingly over the Sword once more as a delighted smile stretched all over his face. No one had mentioned that Quinn had a brother, no less an identical twin. And yet, no one appeared as shocked as she felt. They had known about this.

  “Ah!” he exclaimed, stopping just inches in front of Nia. “How was it that you knew who I was? Your clever intuitiveness, perhaps? You are extremely talented, you know.”

  “No,” Nia replied coldly, clutching the Sword tightly in his hands, ready to swing. “I just guessed.”

  Axel chuckled li
ghtly, clapping his hands together once like a gleeful child. “You are fascinating, truly." Nia stared at him, firmly pressing her lips together, the Sword's embossed jewels digging into her palm. “You fascinate me, much more than any of your friends.” He reached out and cupped Nia's chin in his hand, his soft thumb caressing her cheek. Nia could feel his warm, yet sweet breath bristling against her face, her entire body cold at his touch. She felt as though she had been engulfed by ice; it hurt to breathe, it hurt to move...Axel sneered as he pulled away from her. Nia inhaled sharply, the freezing sensation now a strange but distant memory.

  "Where are they?" Fiona said flatly, startling Nia out of her reverie. "Where's Quinn? Where's Thor?"

  "Oh Fiona. Do you really think I would harm a hair on my dear brother's head?" Before Fiona could answer, Axel snapped his fingers, and the two tall figures that stood in the doorway trailed silently into the room, joining them. Just behind them, bound with rope, marched Quinn and Thor; neither boy had been harmed it seemed, but Thor was limping and cradling his wrist. Quinn's left arm was draped around Thor's shoulders, acting as a sturdy crutch.

  "You see, Fiona? No blood, no foul." Axel smirked, casting his eyes upon his captures. "Thunderbolt or whatever you call him was hurt well before I got to them. That was on him."

  "He's telling the truth," Quinn said, his voice hard and almost bitter. The look he gave Axel was almost frightening and far from any look Nia ever imagined Quinn could give.

  “Come, my friends!” Axel clapped his hands together once and, flourished them as he continued to speak. “So much to do—so little time in which to do it...”

  Four other cloaked figures entered the blue-lit room; these figures were much shorter than the taller two who seemed determined to stay as close to Axel as possible. As they joined their ensemble, Nia vaguely wondered if they had rehearsed their entrances beforehand. It seemed too neat and well put together. They all stepped in time, left foot then right, without skipping a beat.