“Allison, can I get a hug before your father and I go out?”
She looked at her mother and smiled. For a few moments she could only think of how beautiful her mother looked. Then she looked back down at the book. The illustration of the bird was beautiful, just like her mother.
“Momma, does the Phoenix hurt itself with its own fire?”
Her mother slowly walked over and sat down on Allison’s bed. “No, I don’t think so. I like to imagine that the Phoenix doesn’t feel any pain at all. They’re such tough birds, I don’t think they have the mind to care about something as insignificant as pain.”
Allison nodded, amazed by her mother's answer. “Kind of like our family.”
Her mother looked taken aback for a moment, but she quickly formed a smile. “What do you mean?”
Allison smiled back. “Well, us Marxon’s are strong! No matter what happens we push ahead, just like the phoenix!” Her mother laughed and patted Allison's leg. Allison laughed too, as she loved hearing her mother sound happy. “I just wish the phoenix was real, because then we could have a family mascot! That would be awesome!”
Her mother put a hand on her shoulder. “Who knows Allison, maybe they are real. The regular humans can’t see us Shadow Walkers, so is it too far fetched to think that we can’t see the phoenix? This world of ours is filled with crazy possibilities. You should never give up hope because of other people's lack of faith!”
Allison jumped forward and wrapped her arms around her mother for their very last hug. “You’re as beautiful as a phoenix, momma.”
Her mother had pulled away from her and wiped a tear away. “You are too, sweetie. Now don’t stay up all night reading, or your father might blow a fuse when he get’s back tonight.”
Her mother then stood up and walked to the door, stopping there for only a second. Before disappearing for the rest of her daughter's life, Allison’s mother cried out. Her voice was a mix between joy and sadness, something that Allison didn’t understand at the time. “I love you, Allison. Goodbye.”
And then the last thing Allison saw of her mother was her blue dress billowing behind her as she left the room.
* * *
The blue flames on the wall were the last thing Allison would ever see. As she lies helpless on the ground, she wonders if the flames were there to mock her, like a cosmic joke that had worked its way full circle. But none of it truly mattered. Her vision was fading, and she could no longer hear the Gerald clones shouting insults at her. The pain was quickly fading away, and Allison knew what it all meant. With the last of her strength, and her last tear rolling down her cheek, she speaks her final words.
“I’m sorry guys. Looks like I wasn’t strong enough.”
And as if her body was politely waiting for her to finish speaking, her heart stops beating only seconds after her apology. Her body goes completely limp. The Gerald clones kick her corpse a few more times before they realize that she was no longer trying to protect herself. They walk away in unison, headed back towards the invisible gate.
With her body lying still on the ground, Allison knew that she was technically dead. At the very least, her body had shut down. But for some strange reason, she was looking down at her beaten up body. She knew that she shouldn’t have been able to think- to see even. But there she was looking at her corpse. There was something that was keeping her soul tied to this world, leaving her aware of her surroundings.
That was when a voice suddenly spoke to Allison.
“The fire, use it.” An unfamiliar voice says to her. She looks over to the blue flames on the wall, and the fire from each of the torches suddenly starts flying towards her body. Her lifeless corpse was now serving as a bonfire for the Gerald clones to stare at in wonder. All of the torches in the room now had their fire clinging to Allison, setting her entire body aflame.
That was when Allison opened her eyes. Her heart was beating once again, and the bones that had been broken before were now perfectly fine. She stands up and outstretches her arm. She stares in awe at the hand that rests underneath the blue flames. She didn’t feel any pain at all.
“What is this? You were dead!” One of the Geralds shouts.
“This is impossible!” Another clone chimes in.
“What are you?” The original Gerald asks, the fear evident in his voice.
Allison smiles as she wills the flames to move away from her body. “I’m a phoenix.”
The Gerald’s look at each other with wide eyes. “Break down the door!” One of them yells. Allison focuses on the flames surrounding her and beckons them to listen to her command, much like she does when choosing which weapon she wanted to summon.The fire listens to her orders and shoots forward in the form of six fireballs.
The Gerald clones are each set on fire the instant the blue fireballs connect with them. Their subsequent screams let Allison know that- unlike for her- the flames must have been very hot to touch. The six of them fall to the ground and begin rolling around in a pointless attempt to put out the fire.
“Stop! Put it out, please!” The original Gerald screams. Immediately after his outcry two of the clones suddenly combust into clouds of purple dust. Shortly after two more clones follow suit. The second to last Gerald stands up and charges at Allison. She summons her spear once again, this time imbuing it with the power of her flames. Then she throws it directly at the last clone's head.
More purple dust fills the air.
The final Gerald desperately cries out to convey one last message. “The Queen… will kill you all!” Allison sighs and throws another spear towards the original Gerald’s heart. It pierces, and he turns to dust.
“I’ve heard that one before.” Allison says flatly. The room was finally quiet. She grins as she wills the fire to return to the torches on the wall. And then she’s left with nothing to do but to marvel at her own accomplishment. She had somehow managed to die and then come back to life. With an ability like that, she finally felt as if she was capable of honoring her family name.
With her dueler powers still growing and with what she assumed to be a mage Chain unlocked, Allison couldn’t help but replay the words she heard only minutes ago.
You are the strongest Walker, the stranger had told her. Allison didn’t believe it at first, because she didn’t truly believe in herself. She lacked true power, and didn’t have the ability to do anything spectacular. Before this battle, she didn’t think she could even protect her friends properly, let alone her family name.
But now, Allison felt like she could do anything.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Allison
For a few minutes, Allison stood alone in the empty corridor. She was finally starting to panic when two large cracks suddenly appeared on the walls to her sides. Both walls slide to the side, opening up to reveal some type of passageway behind them. Hector runs into the room from the right passageway, and Isaac comes from the left. Allison’s nerves immediately settle down and she exhales deeply.
“You guys are okay!” Allison says as she runs towards Hector. She throws her arms around her friend and hugs him tightly.
“Yeah. We were freed from that stupid trap as soon as you touched that crystal.” Hector says.
Allison pulls away and looks at him with a confused expression. “Wait, how do you know what happened?”
“For some reason we snapped out of our trances a little bit after you left.” Isaac says.
“Then the imposters led us to these passageways.” Hector adds with a grin on his face. “We didn’t know which one would lead to you, so we split up so that at least one of us would be able to help you out. I ended up running into a dead end, but the wall just so happened to be see through.”
“So you saw me fight him?” Allison says looking at the ground. She didn’t like the idea that her friends had helplessly watched her die. But Hector laughs, and for some reason it cheers her up.
“Yeah, you got your butt whooped.” He says. Allison punches him in the sho
ulder, causing him to laugh even harder. Isaac laughs as well, and at that point even she couldn’t hold it back. Allison shamelessly laughs at herself with her teammates. Hector gets a straight face and shakes his head. “I was screaming the entire time, trying to root for you. I started crying when you went down, and then… well, what you did was amazing. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.”
“You did a good job, Allison.” Isaac says as he puts a hand on her shoulder. “You’re more than deserving of your family name.”
Allison felt as if she had just broken out of the shell that’s kept herself confined in for the past eight years. It was hard for her to be cynical and hard boiled after such a happy reunion with her friends. After dying and coming back to life, she could finally see the little things for what they were worth- and that included her friends. For the first time in a long time, Allison smiles. It was the same smile she used to give to her mother, not the half-hearted one she would use to hide behind.
Isaac steps away from Allison and walks towards the wall that Gerald stood in front of only minutes ago.“This is where the gate is, right?” He asks.
Allison nods. “How did you know?”
Isaac holds his hand up in the air. Allison quickly notices that Lydia’s ring was firmly placed on his finger, right next to a platinum ring. “This thing just gives me a hunch. Now let’s see…”
Isaac holds out his fist, his ring finger pointed directly at where Gerald was trying to destroy the gate. A black beam then emits from the ring and heads straight towards the invisible gate. Upon contact, the gate of the Pit suddenly becomes visible. Allison takes note that there were two bars horizontally connecting the hinges of the two doors. Though as Isaac mends to the door more bars begin to form in the same fashion, vertically and horizontally, until there were about two-hundred bars in total. And after that, two chains form over the bars, acting as further protection for the gate. The black beam stops coming from the ring.
“That’s crazy.” Isaac says.
“What?” Hector asks. Allison rolls her eyes. She didn’t understand how her teammate could be so oblivious to something right in front of him.
“There were only two of those bars left to guard the gate, when there are now over a hundred, and some chains to top it off.” Isaac says. “Gerald was probably only seconds away from breaking the gate open. If Nick didn’t freeze all of those Void back in the Pit, we wouldn’t have been able to get in here so quickly. And if it weren’t for Allison seeing through that stupid trap, we never would have been able to stop Gerald.”
“Damn, I’m really slacking this round.” Hector says. “I’m pretty sure my wolf did absolutely nothing for us.”
“It really didn’t.” Allison says. “But you tried, so you can get bonus points for effort.”
“Shut it, Marxon.” Hector says before giving Allison a playful push.
The three of them laugh, but it quickly dies down. There was something that was obviously missing from their group dynamic, and Allison was sure that all of them felt it.
“C’mon guys, let’s get back to the Pit. We need to check up on Nick.” She says.
Isaac nods and holds his hand out. “Alright guys, grab on. We can’t relax until the mission is officially over.”
Hector and Allison both grab on to their captain, the three of them finally ready to return to the Pit and deal with the aftermath of their tiring mission.
* * *
Allison sits patiently in the waiting room of the hospital where Nick was being held. Minutes pass with nothing but silence to fill them. Nobody said a word, but it was obvious that everyone was feeling angsty as they waited for their captain to return. Damon occasionally puts a hand on Hector’s shoulder to comfort him, which makes Allison cheer up a little. After everything that’s happened to them, and especially knowing of the things that were to come, her group deserved a little happiness. And Allison could tell that, for whatever reason, Damon made Hector happy.
Isaac finally walks into the room. Everybody looks up in alarm, ready to hear the worse case scenario.
“He should be fine.” Isaac says flatly. “He’s out cold right now, and probably will be for a few weeks. He almost used up all of his energy. Using your first Chain can never deplete all of your energy, but he used both of his Chains simultaneously and ended up on the brink of death. Thankfully, the doctors managed to restore his energy quickly enough to keep him kicking.”
Everybody let’s out a sigh of relief. Allison looks at her captain with curious eyes. “And my dad?”
“He and the other Council members are fine too. Axus received the worst wounds out of the three, but he’s a quick healer. Your father says to be at home later- he wants to talk with you. And later tonight there will be a gathering in front of the Council building to celebrate and announce some things. Oh, and Damon- welcome to the Pit.”
Damon smiles. Hector playfully punches the Void in his leg. “I told you they would follow through with their deal. Now we just need to set up your room at my house, maybe even take a quick tour of the Pit.”
“Go ahead.” Isaac says. “Just make sure you’re both there for the celebration later tonight. It starts at nine o’clock sharp.”
Allison stands up and stretches. “Well now that I know Nick’s okay, I think I’m going to go home and take a nap or something.”
“Okay, but I better see the three of you later.” Isaac says. “I’ll have to hear Marcus’ mouth again if all of you don’t make an appearance.”
Allison walks over to the shadow of one of the desks in the room. She waves her teammates goodbye before jumping through the shadow. It now felt strange jumping through the Shadow Realm, knowing of the strange mysteries that it contained. When she emerges she is once again standing in her kitchen.
For the first time in a week, Allison was safe at home.
“Allison!” Her little brother Calvin screams as he jumps away from the kitchen table. “Allison you’re back!” He wraps his arms around her waist.
“That’s right buddy. I’m guessing you want me to tell you all about my adventure.”
“Please?” He asks looking up at her with pleading eyes. She laughs and pats her brothers head.
“Alright, but let me get something to eat first.”
Her grandmother smiles as she puts down a pot. She rushes out of the room and yells for Allison’s Aunt Kayla and Uncle James. Allison sits down at the kitchen table, as does her younger brother. He starts to beg her to ‘spill the beans’ about her mission. She laughs at her little brother’s innocence and tells him to wait for the rest of the family to arrive. When the rest of them do sit down at the table they all have looks of excitement on their faces. Allison smiles, prepared to tell her family all about her stressful adventure.
And, once again, her father would have to wait for his turn to hear.
* * *
A few hours after arriving at home, Allison is once again sitting down at her kitchen table, drinking a cup of orange juice. That’s when her father shadow jumps into the room.
Marcus Marxon walks over with his usual confidence and takes the seat across from his daughter. They stare at eachother for a moment, just taking in the other’s presence. Allison lets her father initiate the conversation. “Isaac briefed me on everything that your team went through. He was especially thorough when explaining your role in the mission. All I can say is that I am proud to call you my daughter.”
Allison doesn’t thank her father for his praise. In fact, she doesn’t even feel the least bit pleased to hear those words come out of his mouth. A week ago she probably would have felt relief over her father’s approval, but after everything that she’s went through over the past week, she felt too independent to care about his opinion on her. Especially after what she learned at the castle.
“What happened to my mother?” Allison asks flatly.
Marcus looks at his daughter and cocks his head. “What a strange subject to jump to. Don’t you want to tell me abo
ut the mission yourself? Surely there must be something that you’re dying to tell me.”
“No.” Allison says. She bites her tongue, unsure of whether or not she was prepared to open this can of worms. But with nothing else to lose, she decides to go with it. “My mother is dead, isn’t she?” She asks bluntly.
Her father cringes. He obviously wasn’t expecting his daughter to say such things. “Who told you that?”
“It happened while I was in the Shadow Realm. Someone told me that you’re a liar, and that I should know the truth about you before I put my faith in our family name. So how did she die? Why have you been lying to me for eight years?”
“Allison, I didn’t raise you to talk to me so casually. Just because you have showed some potential, don’t think that you can just go and make any situation yours. Do you understand?”
“I don’t care how you raised me!” Allison half shouts in an attempt to make herself clear without disturbing the rest of her family. “I’m not your prize anymore dad, I can think for myself! I don’t care about impressing you, or even listening to what you have to say. And I don’t need your help anymore- I’ll become stronger than you all on my own. This pride in our family name that you talk about… it’s just an excuse to gloat about your own power and the things you consider yours! But I’m not going to be a part of that anymore, I’m going to honor the Marxon name in a different way. Whether you appreciate it or not.”
Her father’s face contorts as if somebody had just punched him. But then he grins- something that seemed foreign on the man’s face. “If your mother were still alive, she would smile upon seeing you act like this.”
“So she is dead.” Allison whispers. She didn’t want to hear the confirmation, but she needed to know the truth. All that she cared about anymore was the truth.
Shadow Walkers Page 23