Witches of the Elements - Book 12: Red Ruby, Part 1

Episode 48: Sweet Dreams

"BY THE GODS, what was that?" Leo asked as even he had never seen an attack like that before.

"You guys...you guys...guys!" Zac called out, but none of them answered nor moved. Zac went around and grabbed Angela's hand when her eyelids shot opened. Zac's psionic-link with her peeked at 100% together and was strong enough for Zac's psychic projection to be pulled into whatever Angela was dreaming about. Zac found himself in a dry field, the heat from the sun seemed abnormally hot, as if the sun itself was getting closer.

"Zac!" he heard Angela called out to him. He saw her on the sanded ground fighting for her life as hands sprouted and grabbed onto her, trying to pull her down like quicksand.

"Zachariah... Little mortal comes running back to daddy? Ah, here to save your sister perhaps hahahahmm..." That deep of a voice had a way to send chills down Zac's spin, Emais. "Your friends will burn in my hell and you...you of all people will watch as I suck their Soul Hearts dry like a succulent piece of meat that was meant for all intensive purposes for you," Emais voiced as mirages of Travis, Jenna, and Trista appeared in and out of their nightmare struggles. "A'las, I think I'll start with this one first muahaha!" Emais renounced in joy. Angela couldn't allow Zac to remain trapped in her own dream.

"Zzaacc!" Angela screamed out as Zac lunged after her. Zac tried to hold onto her, but the sun's rays was too much for them as the sweat from their hands caused her to slip from his grasp,

"No!" he shouted. The instant shock knocked his psychic projection back into this body and brought him back into reality as he slammed into the counter.

"Ah!" he yelled from the impacted.

"Zac! You alright?" Syrus called him, Leo, and Hylis rushed over to him to help him up.

"This is bad. I saw it. I..." Zac murmured until the pair of huge red lips appeared again with a message.

"To my beloved Fire Elemental Warrior. Call it a gift for your silence. Unfortunately for your friends they won't be as lucky as my packed was with you and not them." The pair of red lips faded out from sight while Zac flashed back to Tara's last words to him.

"Oh no. Tara...she removed the demon Emais from me and spread him to the others in order to take us out. We're obstacles and she wants to remove us," Zac concluded.

"Is Angela and the others going to be okay?" Syrus asked while holding onto to her from the floor.

"The enchantment Tara used must put everyone into a dream-state slumber. They are not going to wake up anytime soon," Leo told them. "If this demon Emais devours their Crystal Heart, the laws of the Dream Realm will be broken. If they get hurt or even die there, they'll get hurt...or even die here too."

"Brother, if that were to happen then the Elemental Cycle would end with them. That would shatter the current course of timeline," Hylis stressed.

"Here, take this," Leo said and handed Zac a gem that was clear in color. "Hylis and I are going to send you back in time one year ago on Halloween night to capture Emais' Aurora Light. Trap the Aurora Light within the gem and the Power of the Cosmos will be temporarily yours to help battle against Anomali," Leo informed. Zac's mind tried to piece all of what was just told to him together as it was happening so fast. The thought of leaving everyone behind so helpless didn't sit well with him. Not that he didn't trust or believe in what the Prince was saying, it was the fact that he wanted him to go up against Emais, something that Zac couldn't even accomplish now. This along with everything else began to overwhelm him in the process.

"Here." Zac stood all the way up and looked at Syrus who took something out of a pouch of his and splashed whatever it was onto his hand. He grabbed onto Zac's arm, lifted up the sleeve and pressed hard against Zac's flesh,

"Ouch!" Zac yelled from the burning sensation he was getting. When Syrus removed his hand, a newly placed waves of water with a trident symbol in the form of a tattoo was now there on Zac's upper arm.

"Ever since Angela came back from her Aurora Light journey and the chance of everyone else doing the same thing, based on her information I made a couple of special elixirs just for this kind of thing. The one on you now is the crest of my people as we mer-folk need little sleep. So long as it remains intact, you won't fall asleep as fast as you normally would. It will activate upon your arrival," Syrus explained to him.

"Why? Dude, I've been giving you such a hard time from the moment I found out you were dating my sister," Zac confessed.

"How you treat me does show how much you care for her and I will continue to show you how much I care for her too," Syrus smiled. Syrus' words removed every bit doubt he previously had. Zac smiled back and took Syrus hand and balled it into a fist so that his own fist made contact with it as a thank you.

"You land-folk have such odd customs sometimes," Syrus confessed.

"Well, since you're going to be on land for a while, it'll seem less odd as you do them too," Zac grinned. "Alright, I'm ready." They took Angela, Jenna, Travis, and Trista's bodies off of the floor and laid them down on a table. Syrus, Leo, and Hlis assured Zac that they would do all that they could to counteract the dream effect till his return.

"Just so you're clear, the Timestream will take you precisely back on Halloween night. You will be cut off from transforming into your protective gear," Hylis reminded him. "You won't be able to return to this timeline until you have captured Emais' Aurora Light." Leo removed his earring as the chain grew longer than what it originally was before. The White Diamond Crystal started swinging like a pendulum. From side-to-side Zac's ruby eyes followed until they finally closed shut. Both Leo and Hylis began,

"What is lost, will now be found. Trapped beneath the fire while bound. Drift off into time and space and arrive where you need to be, this moment and place..."