The Mystical Knights: The Sword of Dreams (15 page)

Fiona then gestured to herself, her pale hand waving back and forth quickly, with deliberate reason.  “My physical being and my soul are very much the same.  I always look exactly the same when I am reborn—never has one freckle changed upon my face.  I have never procreated like your ancestors did.  My soul has never found another host.  I am a direct descendant of Zindel'Tyr—his only living child.  Nia, on the other hand, is much like each of you, except that Gold Lion never took her own life before another could be born.  Like me, she is a direct descendant—Nia is the actual physical bodied daughter of Zindel’Tyr, through his child Nefertiti.  And Nefertiti was the first Mystical Knight to be born of
Neteru
and human blood.  What Earth beings would consider a
demigod
.”

“I
am
?” Nia’s eyes opened wide at the thought of this information, looking aghast.

Fiona didn’t hesitate to roll her eyes.  “Don’t you remember
anything
?” Fiona asked exasperatedly.  “Don’t you remember me explaining to you that you
have
direct lineage to Zindel’Tyr?”

Nia stared at Fiona with an extremely blank face.

Fiona blinked out of irritation before she spoke.  "And of course, you'd forget what is probably the most important piece of information I could had to give you.  It's been ingrained in your DNA, taints the blood that runs through your veins—"

“Fiona—” Rowan started, his voice deep and almost threatening.

“Rowan don’t,” Nia said hotly, giving Rowan a stern look.  She pulled herself right up, ignoring the dizzy feeling that pulsed down her neck while she glared at Fiona.  “If I remember correctly,” she spat, sure to look Fiona right in the eyes, "that was
a lot
of information for anybody to soak up, so
please
forgive me if I forgot one tiny detail."

"That tiny detail, Natali, frames
everything
that you are and everything that you could ever
be
."  Fiona sat, her face a canvas of silent fury.  Nia could see it in her eyes—the flames rippling dangerously while she sat, fuming in front of her.  Nia could have sworn she heard a soft growl rumble from Fiona’s throat, but it might as well just have been Quinn’s stomach, for his hands folded across his midsection. 

“There is a possibility,” Fiona muttered, her voice eerily calm, “that as the lineage grows, Gold Lion’s powers become stronger."  Fiona’s nostrils flared, but her eyes held the same coolness they always did.  "You are an evolution."

Silence.  Nia could hear her own pulse pounding loudly in her ears, thundering dangerously with every beat of her heart.  She didn't know what to think, and yet every thought she could possibly think flooded her mind in that instant. 
Demigod, Neteru, Sword of Dreams, Axel and his followers....
  The others were soundless as well; perhaps they too, felt the need to reflect.  Despite the thick tension in the atmosphere, Nia wrestled with her unvarying inquisitiveness.  “Evolution?”  She couldn't help but chuckled to herself.  “As in,
Darwin’s Theory?
”

“No.”  Fiona’s voice was as flat as slate and as sour as vinegar.  “Evolution—as in, you are growing beyond your known capabilities.  Zindel'Tyr created the rest of us, manipulated our DNA, mutated our genetics.  We were made with a purpose.  He had no intention of creating you.”

“Okay, back track,” Quinn quickly side stepped between Fiona and Nia, his mouth twisted into a frown.  “The Sword of Dreams?”  He gazed at Nia as he spoke, his green eyes intent on her face.  “You're sure it's hidden within the Seventh Shadow Realm?”

The Sword is there
—dwindling on that line between reality and
dreams
.  It seemed to be glinting at her sardonically, leering through the Shadows—but something was keeping the Sword hidden beyond the looking glass.  Nia nodded, narrowing her eyes as she tried to wrap her mind around the plan that was slowly stemming through her brain. 
How else would one find the Realm that only a Third Eye could see?

“I can find the Shadow Realms through my dreams!” she whispered suddenly.  Her eyes flashed upwards, gleaming mischievously.  The others looked over her as if she had simply lost her marbles, but Nia suddenly felt empowered by this foolproof idea and almost pulled herself to her feet.  Quinn’s hand darted out to steady her, but Nia had already decided against the action; she sat tight on the ground, her eyes wild with excitement.  “Whenever I've dreamed about the Sword of Dreams,” she explained, looking around at each of them, “it looks to be behind a sort of one-way mirror.  I can dream about it, reach through the mirror and pull it out!”

“The Sword is an inanimate object though...you can't just pull object out of midair...er, space.”

“I
know
, Quinn—but just go with this,” Nia interrupted, taking a deep breath, the anticipation mounting high in her chest.  “I can reach beyond the looking-glass and grab it!  I can go into the Seventh Realm through my dreams! 
And
that's how Nefertiti's daughter Setepenre hid it in the first place
!”

At first, no one spoke.  Nia listened to her ragged breathing, exhilarated beyond compare; she could feel her eyes beginning to bulge out of their sockets.  Her smile was lopsided and goofy as though someone had just cracked an awkward joke.  She probably looked like a deranged lunatic, but she didn't care.  This was it.  This was what was meant to happen.

“That does seems plausible.”  Fiona spoke with unexpected lightness, twirling the hem of her dress around her finger.  Her eyes burned into Nia’s like a billion suns. 

“The idea is absolutely nuts!” Thor interjected, breaking free from his stupor.  He scorched Fiona with an incredulous stare.  “You can't travel through space while dreaming!  You can’t just obtain something that simply isn’t there—”

“But I
can
, Thor!  I can soul-walk!  I can have out-of-body experiences!” Nia pointed out, gesturing vivaciously with her hands.  “I’ve—I’ve gotten things from the Shadow Realm before...” The amulet was warm upon Nia’s heart; Nia could feel it trembling underneath her shirt as though it were purring contentedly.  "My amulet...that's how I received my amulet."

“You're different than your ancestors, Nia.  You have a power inside you that I have never seen before.” Fiona stated softly, staring at her once more with those blazing eyes.   “Finding the Sword...could be the key to unlocking that power.”

“Do you mean that she'll be able to do more than shoot laser beams out of her eyes?” Thor asked.

“With the Sword of Dreams, it may not hurt as much,” Fiona slowly reached out and placed a gentle hand on the crown of Nia’s head.  “If you put your mind to it, Nia, you
can
achieve it.”  Fiona took a deep breath.  “Just keep focusing beyond the looking-glass.”

Nia swallowed, the butterflies flittering through her stomach once again, her once over-brimming confidence dissipating quickly.  “It's not going to be easy...”

“Nothing is ever easy.”  Fiona drew her hand away and gave Nia a level look.  “But what is easy, may not always be right.”

Personally, Nia hated it whenever Fiona spoke in riddle or ended conversation in strange quotes; it was something she did quite often, and Nia had a feeling she did it on purpose.  But this time, it seemed almost fitting.  The fallen leaves rustled across the ground, swirling around one another as a gust of wind grazed by. 

“Um—Nia?” Rowan’s voice broke the silence.  He was standing a little ways away from her, inspecting his wrist watch.  "I hate to ruin the moment—but it’s quarter-past nine and if I want to get you home before you father decides to bury me alive, then we should have left at least five minutes ago.”

Nia cursed loudly, causing all of them to jump.  “Sorry,” she mumbled sheepishly, blushing.  Rowan already has his cell phone pressed to his ear, and was speaking into it quietly.  As she made to stand, Quinn and Thor reached down, lending their hands, which Nia greatly appreciated.  A surge of vertigo trembled through her and her knees went weak.

“You okay to walk?” Quinn asked, steadying her elbow.

“Yeah...I should be.”  Nia nodded, offering him a smile.  She gave her knees a little shake and the shaky feeling slowly ebbed away.

“I’ll take it from here.”  Rowan nudged Quinn out of the way and wrapped his arm securely around Nia’s waist.  “C’mon,” Rowan muttered, gently leading Nia back towards the road.  “The taxi should be on its way now...”

They bid each other goodbye, promising to see one another in school the next day.  Fiona had placed her hand on Kenzie’s shoulder, holding it tightly.  Nia averted her eyes to the ground, as uneasiness swept through her.  She wiggled away from Rowan's embrace a bit as they walked, and she could feel Kenzie's stare on her back. 

"You okay?" Rowan asked.

Nia could only nod as she wondered how Rowan could be so inept at seeing Kenzie's overwhelming hurt.  How could he have ever cared for her at all?

              The cab driver had pulled into Nia’s driveway.  Every room in Nia’s house was well lit, and she could have sworn she saw the silhouette of her father dart away from the bay window and into the shadow of the curtains.  “Thanks for everything,” Nia mumbled quietly. 

              “Anytime.”  Rowan gave Nia a crooked smile as he shook his bangs out of his eyes.   

              “I’ll see you at school tomorrow?” Nia asked; she mentally smacked herself for not thinking before she spoke. 
Obviously
, Rowan would be at school tomorrow...

              “Of course,” Rowan answered lightly, pushing her bangs out of her face.  She must have looked like quite a fright; knees grass-stained, her shirt covered in dirt...
Dear God, what will Sam think? 
Rowan had even weeded out some pine needles from her hair during the ride home.  Nia bit her lip and reached for the handle.

              “Wait.”  Rowan’s hand crashed upon hers as she turned to look up at him, eyes as huge as saucers.  “Where’s my kiss, then?”

              Nia breath hitched up in her throat.  Before she could protest, make up a reason why he couldn't kiss her, Rowan’s feather-soft lips tenderly touched hers; he tasted sweet and his lips were warm... Somewhere, hidden beneath guilty and confused, desire uncurled deep with her stomach.  Desire was a dangerous creature; as heartwarming as she was, she could also be self destructive.  Nia's heart raced as desire raced like poison within her veins with this dizzying high of elation and want, denying any sense of reason or wrong doing from entering her thoughts. 

              “Hemm,
hmmm
.”  Nia’s eyes popped open, startled at the cabby’s exclamation.  He had been spying on them from the rearview mirror the entire time, an agitated look evident on his leathery face.

              “
Creepy pervert
,” Rowan mumbled, so quietly that only Nia could hear.  Nia had to choke back a fit of laughter, her eyes sparkling with delight as she smirked at Rowan.  With a quick “Thanks,” to the cabby, Nia hopped out of the van.

              “Bye.”  Nia inelegantly waved, her cheeks rosy with a sudden rush of vulnerability.  “Sleep well, Rowan.”

              “Have a pleasant night, Nia,” Rowan gently said, reaching for the door handle.  “Dream sweet.”

              Nia exhaled deeply as Rowan slammed the door shut, too exhilarated to care that she was grinning foolishly from ear to ear.  She made her way to the house, practically skipping up the steps as her heart bubbled with immense joy.  She clambered through the door and kicked off her shoes.

              “You’re five minutes late.”

              Reality popped her bubble of happy as Nia peeked around the corner to find Sam sprawled out in his recliner.  He was sitting in such a way that seemed strangely posed.  The book he pretended to be engrossed in was upside down, but Nia shrugged and flopped face first onto the couch, feeling lightheaded.  That feeling of desire and elation was fading now; confusion and guilt and Kenzie began to poke back in like needles in a pincushion.

              “You seem to be quite the mess,” her father noted, looking sideways from his book, awkwardly flipping it around.  He gave her a searching look.  “Is there something I need to know?”

              “Nope,” Nia said, stifled by the arm of the couch.  She peeked out at him from under her arm.  “The rest of our friends joined us up at Hollow Hills Park and I kind of fell down the hill.”  Nia paused, surprised by her newly acquired fibbing skills.  “It hurt,” she added.

              “Hmm.”  Sam stood up from his chair and placed the book on the coffee table.  He bent over the couch and placed a kiss on the top of her head.  “Well, I’m off to bed.”  He stretched widely, his yawn contorting his face.  “Glad to hear you had a good time.”

              He began to walk away; Nia counted his heavy footsteps as he walked into the dining room and as he landed with one foot in the kitchen, he stopped.  “Sleep well, Nia.  I love you.”

              Nia peeked up at him, smiling softly despite the war of desire and guilt that raged on in her mind.  “I love you too, Dad.”