The Mystical Knights: The Sword of Dreams (4 page)

Chapter 4: The Meeting Grounds

              The monster looked like a cross between a crocodile and a serpent.  Its scales were like metallic ebony, gleaming in the sun’s weak light and Nia could see bright green ichor dripping from its mouth like drool.  It slithered towards Nia and Rowan, snapping its jagged-toothed jaws menacingly.  The monster didn’t hiss like a snake, nor did it growl like a crocodile.  The sound that rippled from its throat was more like the edgy shriek of a raptor.  Its ruby red eyes flashed between Rowan and Nia, it's forked tongue flitting wildly, as if it were deciding which entrée to go after first before dessert.

              Nia tried to scream, in hopes that someone from the road would hear her, but her voice hitched deep within her throat and her tongue was frozen in fear.  She gripped Rowan’s arm tightly, urging him to stay with her, but he easily pulled from her grasp and moved towards the monster, squaring his shoulders.

              “No!” Nia managed to choke out.  “
Don’t
!”

              Rowan ignored her.  Nia’s heart pounded in her chest as she watched him inch closer, eyeing it down with deadly precision.  Rowan slowly raised his right fist into the air.

              Two things happened.

              First, the serpent sprang from its place and shot at Nia like an arrow, jaws open wide and its eyes dancing like wild fire.  Before Nia could force her legs to run, the second thing happened; Rowan, fist still raised high in the air, shouted, “SAPPHIRE WARRIOR!”  Noise like thunder cracked as a jet of royal blue light shot down from the heavens, showering Rowan with its rays.  And when Rowan turned around, he wasn’t Rowan anymore.  Instead, a steel-plated warrior stood before her, holding a sapphire and diamond encrusted great-sword at the ready.  He lunged forward—catching the serpent around the middle, but the creature shrieked and thrashed its spiny tail, sending the warrior through the air.  The warrior landed to the ground and bounced back to his feet instantly, unaffected.

              The warrior slashed his sword at the serpent as it advanced on him.  The scene played out in front of Nia like a fantasy battle scene—the knight in shining armor, slaying the dragon to save the damsel in distress.  Her eyes narrowed, watching as the serpent used its tail, wielding it like a blade.  She didn’t stop to wonder if she was dreaming, or even to doubt that what she was seeing was real.  Instead, her feet stayed rooted to the ground, frozen in shock.

              The warrior thrust the sword forward, but the monster inched out of the way and the sword’s tip just missed its flesh.  Caught off guard, the warrior was knocked off balance by the monster’s scaly tail; he grunted as he stumbled frontward, dropping his sword so that he could brace his fall.  The serpent laughed (or at least that’s what it sounded like) and arched its neck to strike the warrior in the back of the head.

              Nia’s arms moved mechanically as she watched the horrific fight. Grabbing a baseball sized rock from the forest floor, she hurled it at the serpent’s head.  It connected with a loud
thunk
, leaving the serpent stunned and slightly crossed eyed.

              “Rowan?” Nia whispered shrilly, creeping towards breathless warrior while the serpent blinked rapidly, growling dully in its throat.  “Are you okay?”

              The warrior—Rowan—didn’t answer.  Nia could hear her blood pulsing loudly in her ears like rushing water splashing through a river.  She stopped just inches away from Rowan, arm outstretched while shooting the monster frightful looks.  The monster shook its head the way a dog shook water from itself, its menacing growl growing louder.

              Its red, terrible eyes zeroed in on Nia like a shooter marking his target.  Nia didn’t need to be told twice.  She spun around, dashing the opposite way she had come, her throat closing around her scream.  The monster was shrieking now, crying through the trees like some sort of yowling cat.  Nia’s feet twisted around each other as she clumsily tried to escape, bringing her down to her knees.  She twirled into a sitting position, wide-eyed with terror as she watched the serpent advance, its jaws snapping perilously. 

             
I’m gonna die,
she thought, gripping her backpack against her chest, the amulet clasped tightly between her clammy hands. 
I’m gonna die, and I don’t even know why or even how I managed—
 

              The picture of a tiny aerosol can flashed by her Third Eye so quickly she had to strain to see it again.  Nia gasped in surprise, swinging her bag onto her lap, the creature closing in with dangerous speed.

              Rowan stirred from his unconscious state on the ground, groaning as he came to, but the serpent ignored him and continued its pursuit.  Nia unzipped her backpack, pulled out her pepper spray and just before the monster’s incisors could snap across her face, she pressed the trigger down, releasing the mace straight into the creature’s eyes.

              The serpent’s shriek turned into one of pain as it pulled away; it slapped it's spiny tail against the ground and scarcely caught Nia’s right arm.  She staggered back, inattentively rubbing her upper arm, and slumped back against a tree trunk while the serpent lashed away, blinking and rubbing its ugly face into the dirt.

              Rowan, who had fully gotten to his feet, charged over and with one swift slice of his almighty sword, decapitated the creature.  Nia gasped and pulled herself to her feet, watching as the monster shriveled around on the ground, emitting the sound of air hissing from a leaky tire.  As suddenly as it had appeared, the serpent disappeared with a soft
poof
, leaving black musky smoke behind in its wake.

              Breathing hard, Nia looked at Rowan, who gripped his amulet tightly in his hand.  “Thank you for your aide,” he whispered, and the blue light shot down from the sky again, showering Rowan in the same sparkling light as before, and then soared back up into the clouds.  He was no longer a gladiator, but a normal casually dressed teenage boy, who looked as if he’d just run a marathon.

              “What,” Nia breathlessly asked, “was
that
?”

              Rowan stared hard at her before charging over. He grabbed her upper left arm and forcefully began pulling her through the forest.  “C’mon,” he hastily muttered.  “We’ve got to get to a safe place, before he sends anything else.”

              “
He
?” Nia blinked, perplexed.  “
Who
?  What do you mean by
sends
?”

              “There's no time to explain.”  Rowan weaved easily through the trees, holding branches away for Nia so that they wouldn’t recoil back at her face.  “We have to get to the Meeting Grounds now.  Trust me, that thing was
easy
to kill compared to whatever he’ll send next.  We'll explain everything when we're safe.”

              “The Meeting Grounds?” Nia asked, staggering almost drunkenly to keep up with him.  Although her legs appeared to be longer than his, he walked pretty fast.  “I want to know what just happened back there!  Why aren't we safe—
Argghh!
”

              The top of her foot caught an unforeseen log and she tumbled to the ground.  Rowan took no time at all to drag her back to her feet, barely glancing back over his shoulder at her.

             
"Look—I’d tell you everything, but there isn’t time.  We're about to be outnumbered—"

                “I think I deserve some sort of explanation!” Nia cried in a strangled voice.  She insolently dug both her heels into the dirt, and forced him to a stop.  “I—I just saw a...mutated anaconda come out of nowhere, I
watched
you...I dunno,
transform
into a plate-clad warrior and try to take on the snake.  And—correct me if I'm wrong, but I
totally
just saved your butt back there.” As Nia spoke, her voice began to rise with heightened uncertainty, until it was shrill and almost unrecognizable to her own ears.  "I deserve an
answer
, something other than the procrastinating replies you've been giving me.  You wanted to talk with me.  Now I'm talking." 

              “Nia,” Rowan slowly began, awkwardly shifting his weight from left to right.  He played with the sleeve of his shirt, twisting it with his thumb and forefinger as he phrased what he wanted to say.  “I know how bewildered you feel right now.  I know how crazy this all must seem...” Rowan trailed off, his face screwing into an expression of frustration. 

"Tell me."  Nia bit her lip and stared back at him.  "What
are
you?" 
What am I
?

“I really can't tell you much more than that.  I wish I could, but it's not my responsibility.  That's why we have to get to the Meeting Grounds.  It's the safest place for us right now, and I promise...everything will be explained."

"Tell me what that thing was," she begged.  "Just tell me that one thing and I'll follow you to where ever these Meeting Grounds are. 
Please
."

Rowan let out a low chuckle, shaking his head.  “She's not going to like this...but that
thing
was a type of basilisk—
Serpencaeca
."  The unfamiliar word danced off of Rowan's tongue like music and fire.  "Did you see the eyes?”  Nia remembered the red, merciless pits embedded within the basilisk’s head and nodded.  “The reason why you didn't drop dead the moment it laid eyes on you is because it was a blind basilisk—the ancients cut the eyes right out of its head, and—”  Rowan stopped abruptly and stared at Nia.  "I can't say anymore.  Put your amulet on and come on."

              The winding path became dense and thick until there was no longer a path at all.  The coarse bushes and hazardous tree limbs poked and scratched Nia as she stumbled through the wilderness.  Pausing for a moment to catch her breath, Nia gazed up into the sky just as a crow cawed darkly from a distance away.  She wrapped her arms tightly around her middle and quickened her step.  The sun was sinking behind the tippity tops of the sweet-scented pines, casting dark and lingering shadows all around the now silent forest.  In the distance, she could make out wisps of light shining down from behind the long tree branches. 

              Apprehensiveness bubbled through Nia’s veins like venom—quick and nearly lethal.

              They reached the forest’s edge; the white light from beyond the trees caught her amulet that was resting peacefully against her chest.  Rowan reached out and pushed away some stray tree limbs.  “It’s right through here.”

              Though uncertain of what
it
was, Nia took a deep breath and slipped through the brush without a second thought, Rowan just behind her.

              They were standing inside a small enclosure; the sun’s light embraced the circle, casting pools of light and warmth across the nearly frozen forest ground.  A small pond sat in the center, surrounded by large rocks and an old tree house sat crookedly on a thick tree limb just above it.   

              “What is this place...?” Nia gazed around tentatively, watching as a sky bird took flight from its resting spot high within a nearby tree.

              “The Meeting Grounds,” Rowan finished, nodding his head.  “This is the safest place for us to meet.  We can't be harmed here.  Fiona made sure of that."  He stared towards the west, patiently waiting for something to break through the many tree limbs.  Biting her bottom lip, Nia curiously followed Rowan’s intent gaze.  She closed her eyes momentarily, trying to see beyond the minutes, but blackness wrapped itself tight around her Third Eye, making it nearly impossible to see any bit of what was to come.  As Nia blinked open her eyes, she felt her heart rate increase with a surge of apprehension. 

              A small girl broke through the clearing.  She looked to be about their age, with long tendrils of brown hair curling past her shoulders, and glasses askew on her slight nose.  She smiled at them and waved as she broke into a run to greet them. 

              "Hi!" she said breathlessly, her eyes the color of ocean water.  Her hand wrapped tightly around Rowan's and she leaned in to give him a quick peck on the cheek. Resting against her heart was a shimmering tear-drop shaped pendant.  It twinkled in the sun's dying light, casting prisms across her cheeks. "I'm Kenzie.  And you're Nia, right?" 

              "That would be me," Nia replied, feeling awkward as Kenzie released Rowan's hand and bent down by the pond's edge. She dipped her hands into the cool clean water, not yet frozen from the mild winter.  A smile spread wide across her face and with a joyous thrust, Kenzie tossed the water high into the air.  The tiny beads of water soared into the air and as they fell back to the earth, they began to crystallize and spin like little tops.  Nia gasped, staring as Kenzie giggled in delight.

              “Wow...” Nia murmured, catching a crystallized droplet in her hand.  She stared at it in mild shock, watching as it slowly began to melt as though it were a chip of ice.  It wasn't even cold. 

              “Ouch!” someone cried from the edge of the Meeting Grounds.  Alert, Nia spun around on the spot and stared into the small section of trees where a tall ash haired boy had made his appearance, an emerald gem displayed proudly on his chest, glinting in the sunlight.