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Chapter 12: The Water Jewel |
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James stepped backwards, trying to augment the distance between the three beings in front of him. The gap was now 3 yards long and growing slowly. I should have run while I had the chance, James thought bitterly. He looked at the three life forms that stared at him, their secret conversation in a language that hurt to hear over. The peach colored boy pointed at James and beckoned him to come closer. James’s heart iced over and sweat formed at the back of his neck. It was a battle of wills that began inside of the teen. Logic told him to stay away yet his soul pulled towards the creatures. They frightened him and yet somehow the evoked a strong sense of peace from the depths of his heart. He hadn’t felt anything so real before in his young life. The teen’s heart told him, pressured him to not be afraid of the creatures in front of him but it was his mind, his cynical human mind that moved his feet backwards rather than forward.
The teen stumbled and fell, hitting the snow with a soft thud. Snowflakes jumped and danced their way into the air, covering him in a small cloud of white. The fine white powder drifted down back to the earth all around him slowly, as if taking orders from a master. I wish I could hide, James thought, shutting his eyes tight. Now they began to burn and tears trickled down his cheeks. The fat drops of water froze as they traveled down his dark skin in the cold mountain air. He sniffed and raised a snow covered arm to wipe away the tears and rub his eyes. James peaked open an eye and watched, stunned, as he watched a dazzling teal tear drop come from his eyes and affix itself to his gloved index finger. Using his other arm James placed himself into a sitting position. As if on cue the snow still falling from the sky, moving so slow they seemed to be suspended in the air, began to swirl around the black teen.
James had his focus on the frozen tear, now marveling at how the tiny thing emitted so much light. He had been exposed to many fine things in his life time as he had been invited to banquets and balls all his life. It was just a part of his life to see numerous guests and hostesses sporting huge diamonds that seemed to emanate their own little lights, rather than reflect the light of the expensive chandeliers in the room. It was no secret to the aristocratic world that his modest but opulent family, which owned a franchise of very profitable world-renowned resorts on every continent of the earth, had in their possession one such gem and all others were the finest imitations that money and science could forge. James balled the hand holding the frozen tear, now hard as a rock, and reached into his pocket. Seconds later he fished out that rare shining stone that was but only one of his family’s treasures. It was about the size of a golf ball and surprisingly, it gave off a light that was the same hue as that of the tear.
James sneezed and accidentally brought the two crystals together. They clinked together musically and settled. His hands grew warm; the two gems shimmered in the palm of his hand. James’s eyes grew wide as both crystals emitted a blazing white light and slowly fused together. He stared into its glow. The teen was mesmerized by its light. It sang to him, filling him with power and a sense of purpose. So much power was contained in such a powerful artifact. James didn’t notice that as the tear’s glow intensified the eddying snow began to blizzard around him.
Sensing the danger, the tall and taciturn man wielding the curved blade rushed into action. He ran a few steps as his wings unfurled. The man jumped into the air and let his wings take him. They propelled him in just three powerful wing beats over to the churning snow. He raised his curved blade. Whispering more of the strange words he pointed the weapon at the blizzard cloud and a loud crack resounded through the wooded area. A thin beam of bronze the same color as the curved blade ejaculated itself from the metal and headed directly towards the tumultuous snow swirling around James. It hit the white powder and with a loud crack The snow stopped its movements and dropped from the air all around James like heavy stones. The teen was startled out of the trance
The man swooped down and landed beside the boy, scooped him up, and rocketed into the air. He beckoned towards his allies and soared upwards, headed east.
James snapped out of his trance just as he was lifted from the snow covered earth. Memories of what had just happened sped through his brain. His body went rigid for a second as he began to reconnect himself to the world. The palms of his hands opened up and the gem slipped from his gloved fingers. Through the corner of his eye James watched as the sparkling jewel that had enthralled him drop from the sky.
“No!” James cried out. He bent over the strong man’s rams as far as he could. Frantically his hands tried to grasp the object. The teen’s hands closed around the empty New Hampshire air.
 Erebus Haze · Wed Feb 27, 2008 @ 02:02am · 6 Comments |
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