Chapter 25: Chapter 25

AMYRA

"Go on, Sweet Veronica. Tell me everything" I purred, stroking my prisoner's blood stained hair. She shuddered, whimpering as she cradled her broken arm- which was the fourth bone I'd broken in her body since I'd begun the interrogation. "I can do this all day, Ronnie. Why won't you just give in. It's that simple" I sighed."Never" she croaked."That's okay with me" I said, smirking. I grabbed a pair of tweezers and ripped off her fingernails. Her screams echoed in the room. But, when she still refused to give in, I was pissed off.I broke three more bones in her body. This time, she passed out. I squatted in front of her and began to probe into her mind. I'd tried probing into her mind earlier but she'd resisted me. She's so strong, defiant and loyal. It's such a pity that she's on the wrong side. She would've been an asset to me. I concentrated harder, digging my fingernails into her scalp as I assessed her mind. "Did you find what you were looking for?" Ric asked as he strolled in.I smirked, rising to my feet."Well, all I could gather is that Theodore is going after the mirror of mirrors and he plans to call on the twin moons"

"We have to stop him" Ric said, pacing the length of the room. "We will stop him" I said, twirling my hair around my finger. Theo was one step ahead of us. If I'm going to bring him down, I need to be ten steps ahead of him. ********

THEO

The night court seemed to grow darker and colder as I advanced deeper into it. The only sound I could hear was the sound of the strong wind. The place seemed totally lifeless. For a second there, I wondered if I was wrong all along. I wondered if there was any creature here because the place looked particularly deserted and there was no sign of life in it. It was more like a dark wasteland. I took deep breaths and started to fly over the hills. The darkness wrapped itself around me, like a cloak. My breathing was heavier and the feeling of foreboding was stronger. I noticed the bones and skulls on the ground. No doubt, this place was even more eerie than a graveyard.All of a sudden, the wind increased it's intensity and was turning into a whirlwind powerful enough to disorganize me. It threatened to swallow me but due to the strength of my wings, I was able to pull away. I began to fly northward and I could see the river in a short distance. I wanted to feel relieved that whatever creature still roamed the night court hadn't noticed me yet. But, I had a feeling that things wouldn't be as easy as they looked. Fifty metres away from the river, I started to slow down. It wasn't my intention to slow down but something was slowing me down. Something was sucking my energy slowly but steadily. I landed on the ground with both feet and shook my head to ward off the dizziness that was slowly creeping in. I straightened and looked around, my senses alert. It was then I heard it. Voices.At first, the voices were merely whispering my name. Then, they became louder and more disturbing. The louder they were, the more my head throbbed. I doubled over, holding my hand to my ears. I realized that the voices were in my head. I squeezed my eyes shut, panting hard. They were practically screaming in my head and my knees gave out. I sank to the ground, my muscles trembling. I didn't know why I was in the night court anymore. I tried to push the voices away but they were too stubborn. I knew something was very wrong. How could I have forgotten why I came here in the first place? The more I tried to get my brain working again, the more the voices in my head pushed. The worst part of it was that I didn't understand what they were saying to me despite how loud they were. Warm moisture oozed from my nose. I blindly touched my nose and realized that I was having a nose bleed.My breaths came in short strained gasps as I pushed harder against the mental torture. I started to think about Devon. I'd promised her that I would return to her and I wasn't going to fail her now. Not like this. I am Daeron Zrēlyen, I will not be subdued. The voices in my head vanished and I heaved a sigh. I wiped my nose with the back of my hand and rose to my feet. I needed to find the mirror of mirrors as quickly as possible. Soon, I was standing by the blackened river, preparing myself to go underwater. All of a sudden, something huge attacked me. It's claw dug into my biceps, pain lancing through me. I stumbled backwards, my eyes burning brighter. The creature that had just attacked me was a creature I'd never seen before. It had three large heads with six poison- tipped tails, razor sharp claws and fangs as well as midnight black eyes. Oh well, so much for not shifting into my dragon form. I moved backwards and took off my hoodie. I closed my eyes as the bright light that's usually accompanied by my immediate transformation brightened. In my place stood a thirteen feet gold and black scaled dragon. The other creature attacked first but in a matter of time, he collapsed to the ground with a loud thud as soon as I struck with a fatal blow to his head. I shifted back to my faerie form. A white mist appeared in front of the river. Slowly, it took the shape of a female. Soon, it became corporeal. The young woman had red hair that was long enough to touch the ground. Her yellow almond shaped eyes gazed at me intently. I blinked, wondering who she was. "Well met, lightbearer. My name is Yaran" she said, not taking her eyes of me.I stiffened.Yaran. The name sounded familiar.Ivagon had said something about the lightbearer who had been the first person to call on the twin moons. Her name was Yaran.She could help me. She might not."Well met, Yaran. My name is Daeron" I said"You seek the mirror of mirrors" "I do"

"You cannot have it" she said, her lips tightening into a grim line."Why?"

"It's a dangerous weapon, Daeron"

"I know that. I need it, Yaran. It's the only thing that can save my people" She shook her head, warily."You are aware that whoever uses it, loses his soul"

"I'm aware of that"

"What makes you think you're worthy?""I-""I know you desperately want the mirror of mirrors but you have to go through three trials" I stiffened.Of course, what did I expect?"If you pass the test, I will give you the mirror of mirrors myself. If you fail, you die. Do you understand?"

"I understand"

"Good" she said, a slow smirk creeping onto her lips.I swallowed hard.Was I ready? I honestly don't know."Close your eyes" Yaran said. I narrowed my eyes.What was she up to?"Do you want the mirror of mirrors or not? You have to cooperate with me" I exhaled slowly and closed my eyes.

********

When I opened my eyes, I saw four different beasts waiting to attack me. Their skin was ranging from scaly to smooth. They all had hideous looking fangs and talons. In their midnight black eyes was the unmistakable hunger to kill their prey. In this case, I was their prey and I needed to survive.This test wasn't so simple because I had to trust my instincts because I couldn't shift to my dragon form and my magic seemed useless at this point. The first creature lunged forward and I struck, using my daggers. The other three circled me. I could feel their claws digging into my skin. I rolled over, knocking them to the ground. Without wasting any time, I twisted the head of one of the beasts. It slumped to the ground in a dead heap. The other three cornered me. They were vicious. Teeth, talons and claws were everywhere. I was bleeding badly. But then, I didn't want to fail. I noticed that one of the beasts was blind. So, I led it towards the cliff edge. It pounced and I twisted out of the way. It fell over the cliff. The other two were easier to take on. One of them pounced, it's sharp claws digging into my shoulder. Grunting, I twisted sharply and grabbed a large stone from the ground. Holding it down, I smashed it's head with the stone and it slumped to the ground. The other beast was more violent. I managed to grab my fallen dagger and stab it on the side of the neck. I was exhausted and my vision was blurry at the edges. When I closed my eyes and opened them,I found myself within the confinement of four black walls. The space was really narrow and I tried to relax but I was on edge. A silverish fog started to spread within the walls. I was practically gasping for air. I couldn't breathe. Was this the test?What the hell was I supposed to do? I tried to break through the walls. Unfortunately, the walls were made of iron which was the bane of fairies.My vision started to blur and my knees gave out. I collapsed to the ground, lungs still straining for air. Devon was on my mind as I faded into darkness.

*************

My eyes shot open and I found myself in a place where everything was a brilliant white color. "Dae?"I turned to see Devon smiling at me.I frowned."What are you doing here?" I asked."I want to help"I stared at her, panic welling up inside of me."Devon, you shouldn't be here" I said.She sighed"Fine, I'm leaving" she said and started to walk away. But then, she suddenly started to sink into the ground. She let out a scream, tears filling her eyes. Horrified, I rushed to her side. She screamed again as she sank a bit further."Dae, please get me out of here" she whimpered.I grabbed her hands and tried to pull her out but she only sank deeper. "Dae?"I froze when I heard Luke's voice behind me. I turned to look at him. "W-what are you doing here?" I asked, eyes wide."I'm dying" he whispered."What?"He slowly took off his shirt. I gagged when I saw the torn flesh and bones. His chest looked like it had been mauled by an animal. His ribs and bones were exposed and I could see his heart. "Oh my God" I gasped, taking a step backwards.Behind me, Devon had crawled out of the ground but she looked deathly pale with blackish veins criss crossing her skin. I rushed to her and cupped her cheek."I'm sorry" she whispered, tears flowing out of her blood shot eyes. Luke fell to the ground with a thud, blood pooling around him. Devon let out a choking sound. To my dismay, there was a dagger buried in her heart. My dagger.

I had stabbed her but I didn't remember doing that. I moved away from the both of them, gasping for air. Something wasn't right."It's your fault" Luke's corpse croaked."You're not real" I said, moving backwards, shakily.There was blood everywhere. I could see Luke and Devon's body everywhere even when I closed my eyes. Fear started to paralyze me. I've never felt like this before.I can't breathe.It has to be an illusion.It's not real.'Look, it's real. You touched her, she's solid. Illusions are not supposed to be solid' the tiny voice in the back of my mind said. "No, it can't be real. YOU'RE NOT REAL" I yelled. Instantly, everything disappeared. Yaran stood there with a grim look on her face."You passed the first two tests. It was an illusion, you were right" she said and I shuddered."What would've happened if I didn't know that?" I asked."You would've been lost in limbo forever"

"Are you ready for your third and final test?"I nodded, trying to get my racing heart to calm down."Stop! You're not getting the mirror of mirrors. Not while I'm still alive"I froze, my blood running cold in my veins.A female stepped out from the fog with six men. Her blood red eyes were menacing and she had an evil smirk on her pale face.

Amyra. She had just arrived.

I think things just got a whole lot worse.