"I don't like him." Jaymes, the tiny pink kitty whispered to Kara as he stared at Jeriel. He rode along on her shoulder, his head bobbing in time with her stride.
Kara smiled and chuckled a bit. "He's not that bad. He has his moments."
"You know I can hear you." Jeriel chimed in.
Kara turned to glance at him, smiling. She playfully stuck her tongue out at him and promptly turned back to the path.
Jaymes climbed up on top of her head to get a better view. "So what are we doing?"
"We're trying to find a lost mirror piece." She replied.
"Oh....What's a mirror?" He asked hanging his little pink head, upside down, over her forehead to look at her eye to eye.
"Um. It's a shiny thing you can see yourself in."
A big smile spread across the kitty's little face. "I saw something like that yesterday."
"Where?"
"Up that way." He pointed his paw in the direction of a thick forested area.
Kara stopped and closed her eyes, seeking out the energy signature of the mirror shard. Miraculously, she located it.
"Jeriel! It is there!" She exclaimed as she turned. "Well done Jaymes!"
"Yay! I helped!" The tiny kitty celebrated, doing a happy kitty wiggle on top of Kara's head.
Kara sped up her steps, rushing toward the place the mirror piece energy was the strongest. In her rush, she moved a bit faster than Jeriel could keep up with her. He called out to her, but her reply echoed through the trees. He frantically searched along the path and beyond for her, she couldn't have gotten that far ahead of him. He finally saw her, kneeling on the ground, at the base of a huge, hollow tree.
"Jer! It's in here!" She exclaimed, excitedly. Jaymes was doing another happy kitty dance on her shoulder.
Jeriel dropped to his knees beside her. "Please don't run off anymore. If i can't find you, I can't protect you."
Suddenly Kara stopped. The words the boy said in her recurring dreams rang in her ears. She repeated them out loud. "If they can't find you, they can't take you." She paused again, locking eyes with a startled Jeriel. "I remember that night. Until you just said that, I never put it all together. It was you. That boy, trying to protect me, was you."
Jeriel nodded, unable to say anything. He scooted closer to her and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her tightly as she leaned into the hug, smiling.
Jaymes, however, did not like it. He hurried down Kara's shoulder, squeezing his way between the embraced two.
"No no nononono." The tiny pink kitty pushed Jeriel away from Kara with a big frown on his little face.
Jeriel and Kara both laughed at the brave, protective kitty.
"Oh. It's ok, Jaymes." Kara chuckled as she snuggled the kitten against her.
Jaymes stuck his tiny tongue out at Jeriel.
"Ok. Come on. We gotta get this piece." She said, breaking the adorable tension, setting Jaymes on the ground, at her side.
Kara pulled apart the thick, branch like vines at the base of the tree and reached her arm in. She could just barely feel the smoothness of the glass against her fingertips. After repeated attempts, it was still just out of reach. The thick vines made it impossible to get her arm in any further. Trying once more, she accidentally ran her finger along the a sharp, ragged edge, drawing a thin trickle of blood from her finger.
"Ow! Damn. I can't reach it." She said sinking back onto her heels, sticking her wounded finger in her mouth. Suddenly, her eyes fell on Jaymes, the tiny kitty.
"Jaymes! You're small enough. Would you go in there and get the mirror shard for me?"
Jaymes smiled, and bowed deeply. "For you, Kara, I would fight a dragon. Of course I'll go in and get it."
Kara pulled the vines apart, once more, to let Jaymes squeeze in to retrieve the mirror piece. As they waited for the kitty to return, Kara caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of her eye.
"Um...Jer. what was that?" She questioned.
"I'm not sure. I didn't see it."
He turned to face the hollow tree, becoming unnerved. "Come on, Jaymes, hurry up."
"I'm going as fast as I can." The tiny voice replied. "It keeps getting stuck in the vines."
"Kara. I have a bad feeling about this." Jeriel said, glancing around. Leaves were rustling all around them at that point and chattering sounds filled the spaces between.
The hairs on the back of Kara's neck stood at attention as a warning chill passed over her. She peered up at Jeriel with worry in her eyes. He stood and looked around, trying to see whatever it was that had them surrounded.
In front of her, the vines moved as Jaymes grunted and strained as he struggled to pull the mirror shard through. "Here it is, Kara!"
"Oh thank god! You got it." She breathed as she reached toward him and the jagged silvery shard. Suddenly, a sharp pain stuck in Kara's arm and she immediately retracted her arm. She couldn't see what had caused the pain, but as she looked at the area, she noticed that it looked like tiny sharp teeth marks.
"Ow! Son of a bitch, that hurt. I think something bit me." She cried out.
"What?" Jeriel asked, rushing to her side to inspect the bite mark. "Oh, no. Grab the cat, we gotta go, now!"
Kara didn't understand what the rush was, but she did as he ordered. She wrapped her hands around Jaymes, who outstretched one arm to her, the other arm firmly around the mirror piece. She tried to pull, but he got stuck in the thick, strong vines.
"He's stuck." Kara said calmly. As soon as those words left her, a rush of tiny, grey, humanoid creatures came barreling through the undergrowth.
Kara tugged at the tiny stuck kitty, who was getting nervous himself. "Jeriel!" She yelled. "He's stuck! I can't get him out!"
Jeriel dove in, tugging as hard as he could on the vines, trying to free Jaymes and the mirror shard. Finally, with the oncoming rush of grey creatures nearing them, the vines broke loose, freeing the kitty. Kara pulled him up and out. Tucking her tiny pink bundle holding the precious mirror shard into her arms, she rose quickly to her feet. She and Jeriel began to run, as fast as their legs would carry them, away from the grey creatures. But the sheer volume if the tiny attackers proved to be too much.
"What are they?" Kara asked as she kicked a few off her ankles.
"Cephalai Nymphs. Avadaria warned us about them. They must have smelled the blood from the cut on your finger." He shouted back, pulling another couple nof them off his shoulders.
"But, I didn't bleed that much."
"Doesn't matter. They can smell the tiniest speck." He replied as they continued to run.
The nymphs climbed up onto Kara's back, biting her. When she cried out, Jeriel slowed to her stride, tugging the creatures off her. He whipped off his black leather longcoat, tossing it at her.
"Put this on. It'll slow them down. They can't bite through that easily."
Kara swiftly threw the coat on. She opened the satchel at her hip, carefully shoving Jaymes and the mirror piece in.
"Stay in there, wrap yourself and the mirror in the blanket."
Jaymes climbed in, doing exactly what Kara directed.
"Wait!" Jeriel called out. "Jaymes! I need you!"
The kitty poked his head out of the satchel and held on as they continued to run.
Jeriel grabbed Jaymes out of the bag, ripped off the lower half of his sleeve and held the cat up to his bare arm. "Scratch. Harder than you've ever scratched before."
Jaymes gave him a confused look.
"Just do it!" He yelled at the kitty.
Jaymes obliged, spreading his claws and digging them deep into Jeriel's arm, leaving gushing red lines. Jeriel stopped Kara, shoving the kitty back in the bag. Suddenly, the horrible, grey creatures paused, sniffing the air. They turned their attention toward Jeriel and the trail of blood he was leaving behind.
"Run, Kara. Just run." He spoke with conviction.
Jeriel turned and stood stoically, behind her, facing the oncoming horde of nymphs.
"No! I won't leave you!" She cried out.
Jeriel turned his head toward her, smiled a half smile and raised his hand. Weak but effective, a silvery wave came off his hand, throwing Kara backwards a few yards. She clamored to her feet in time to see Jeriel disappear under a mountain of the viscous, grey nymphs.
"NO!" Her terror filled cry echoed through the forest. Kara rushed to him, feeling a charge of her own silvery energy building up in her chest. Anger and fear filled her every thought. She released the energy wave and directed it toward the writhing grey mass. Only half of the nymphs were knocked aside, and the spaces were quickly filled by the others. She tried another energy wave, but this one was weaker. Another try and her wave was more like a breeze. Frustrated, Kara took hold of a large stick, swinging it wildly at the grey creatures. Tears slid down her cheeks. She couldn't let anything happen to Jeriel, not after all the times he'd risked his own safety for hers.
Above, a shrill shriek echoed. Kara raised her head to see the phoenix flying in. As it neared, it's feathers went from rainbow to all completely red. It glided in a circle around Kara and her fight against the nymphs. Suddenly the phoenix dove straight down, toward the pile of grey, and it's feathers ignited, becoming a blazing comet heading into the fight. It gained speed as it descended, and crashed with a deafening blow, to the top of the grey pile, sending nymphs flying in all directions. Catching fire, they ran in crazy circles, revealing Jeriel, bloodied from all the bites. Kara rushed toward him, his eyes closed. The moment her hand touched his, his eyes flew open.
"Come on, Jer." She said as she pulled on his hand, helping him up.
"Kara? You didn't run." He said weakly.
She gently squeezed his hand. "No. I couldn't leave you behind. You wouldn't have left me."
"Never." Jeriel smiled.
A weak squawk from the side interrupted them. The phoenix lay seemingly in pain.
"Oh no." Kara breathed. "She's dying."
The rustling sound returned, with a vengeance. They looked up to see an ocean of grey heading in their direction. Kara let go of Jeriel's hand and rushed to take up the rainbow phoenix, her feathers, now muted colors.
"We can't leave her, she saved you." Kara said as she cradled the bird for a moment before carefully placing her in the satchel with Jaymes.
"Keep her safe." She ordered the kitty, who, in turn, wrapped the blanket around the bird as well.
Kara grabbed Jeriel's hand again and they darted off, ahead of the grey tidal wave of creatures.
As they ran, Kara remembered what the Dragon Elder, Thamon had said. If she needed his help, just call out to him.
Kara took a deep breath and yelled as loudly as she could. "THAMON!!"
The dragon's dark shadow appeared as he flew overhead. Kara saw the cliff edge approaching them.
"Do you trust me, Jer?" She asked, tightening her hand around his.
"Yes. Why?" He questioned, confused.
"Keep running." She said as she headed straight for the cliff edge.
"Wait, wait...Kara."
"Just run. No questions. Run!"
"What are you doing?" He asked, getting worried that the cliff was coming.
"Shut up. Just keep running. He knows where we are."
"Who?"
The edge was within mere steps.
"Ok. When we get there, jump!" Kara yelled.
"What!?!"
"JUMP!" She shouted as her feet hit the edge.
She and Jeriel leapt from the edge and decended into a freefall. Jeriel reached his other hand out for Kara as they fell. Suddenly, through the mists in the valley below, Thamon appeared. Flying up to meet their decent, he positioned himself. The pair landed squarely on the dragon's enormous back. As they hit, however, Kara began to slide down Thamon's spine, toward his tail. Jeriel, hands already on hers, pulled her back up to him and wrapped his arms around her.
"Oh my god Kara. How did you know he was going to catch us?" Jeriel asked, looking down at her in his arms.
"I didn't. Sometimes you just need to have faith." She replied, smiling sheepishly.
All Jeriel could do was smile and stare at her, not knowing what to say. Kara smiled and tucked her arms carefully around his wounded body as Thamon carried them off to safety.