The PureLights of Ohm Totem (17 page)

Lao layed down, resting on his forepaws, looking up into Zoey's eyes. “Again, we're all creating this together. We're all pieces of the same puzzle. We're all aspects of the Great Spirit and we're creating this dream as we go. The challenge is this: When are you and the rest of the dreamers going to wake up? When are we going to go with the flow of it all? When you do, you'll understand the most important facet of the dream. That life is about the choices you make, determining where you’ll be in the flow of life.”

Snow crunched behind Zoey, taking her attention away from Lao's words. Lao sat up and Zoey quickly turned. Coming straight toward them was a Komodo dragon.

Crepus Dim.

He stopped. His eyes were like slits and his brows were drawn downward in anger. “What are you doing, Lao?”

Lao bowed his head. “Greetings Crepus. What brings you this way?”

Zoey was slightly taken aback.
Greetings?
At first, Zoey thought he was kidding, but Lao's body language showed sincerity.

“Zoey? You don't really think life is a dream, do you?” asked Crepus.

His cold voice, and the way Crepus said her name, made her feathers quiver. Zoey dropped her head, stammering, “I...I don't know.”

Lao nodded to her. “In moons to come, Zoey, you'll begin to understand what I speak.”

“Silence!” yelled Crepus. The ferocity of his voice shook the trees, dropping snow from the branches and on top of her. Zoey shook her body and flapped her wings, knocking most of it off. She noticed that the falling snow had somehow missed Lao.

Crepus hissed and the black crystal sparkled. “She is naive, Lao. You use that against her. You trick her. You use your calm to bring her closer to you and closer to your precious PureLights and VioletLight Masters. You're no better than Nova.” He looked down upon Zoey. “They're running you straight into a trap, Zoey, and there's only one way out.”

The black crystal between Crepus’s eyes gleamed. Zoey tried to look away, but her eyes wouldn't budge. She tried to move her body, but even her body wouldn't cooperate. She was paralyzed.

She tried to take a deep breath, just like the Snow Tree had taught her. But she couldn't breathe. She wasn't breathing! She heard sinister laughter echoing all around her. It was Crepus. He frightened her, and at the same time, pulled her inside of his darkness. She felt trapped as if someone was slowly squeezing her between two walls. Her thoughts spun back to her breathing, but still, she couldn't breathe.
Why can't I breathe?
It was as if she were underwater, with no way of reaching the surface to gasp for air. She gulped and gulped, doing her best to inhale. But, nothing happened. The paralysis had her. Crepus had her in his fierce mind grip and he wasn't letting go.

She wanted to bring her wings over her eyes to block Crepus' black crystal from her vision. Her wings wouldn't budge. Her legs became weak and she dropped to the ground. Her body started to lose its life, fading away into the breathless confusion of it all.

“Breathe! Focus on the flow!” bellowed Lao, instantly shifting her awareness to the gray wolf's presence.

Zoey gasped for air. Her energy quickly returned and she jumped back from Crepus, hiding behind Lao.

The wind suddenly picked up and the trees slowly leaned to the side. Their limbs flapped in the wind. Large snowflakes fell to the ground, instantly sticking and building upon each other.

Lao stood tall with his gray chest puffed out. “You're not welcome here, Crepus.”

“You're telling an old friend to leave? That's not very VioletLight of you, Lao. I thought all were welcome around you.”

“Yes, in my life you're welcome to come and go. I'd like that, as old friends do. However, I'm not a spirit animal that you can harm, but Zoey is.” He sniffed the air. “The tenth suggestion of the PureLight Order, if you remember Crepus, states that we must serve, cherish, and protect the weak, and those who are oppressed, and all beings that suffer wrongdoing.” His violet crystal glowed brightly, “Crepus, I'm protecting Zoey from you.”

Zoey felt herself relax and her breathing slowed. She knew now, beyond doubt, that this wolf would not let anything harm her. At least, not when she was in his presence.

Crepus' eyes became sad. “You don't realize what she's going to do to us, do you?”

“I do realize. It's what we've been waiting for,” replied Lao.

Zoey searched Lao’s eyes for a hint of what he meant. But she saw nothing that gave it away.

Crepus retorted, “No, it's what the PureLights have been waiting for, not anyone else. You're a fool, Lao! You're going to ruin everything!”

Crepus moved closer until he was nose-to-nose with Lao. His black crystal flashed and he stomped his right foot on the ground. The earth shook, knocking Zoey over. She squawked as a crack formed between her and Lao. She scrambled away from the crevice, putting even more distance between her and the wolf.

Looking up in horror, she saw that Lao remained still. He hadn't moved. Lao turned his head to check on Zoey who now stood behind him. Zoey screamed, pointing over Lao’s shoulder with her wing, “Watch Out!”

Lao turned just as large, razor-sharp claws struck full force on his face. He fell awkwardly on his side, splattering blood against the snow, staining it red. He lay still for a moment, then calmly shook it off. He stood up gracefully, as if nothing happened, which surprised both Zoey and Crepus. Clearly, Crepus wasn't expecting Lao, or anyone else, to be able to get back up, let alone survive such a harsh attack.

Crepus attacked again, growling, causing the earth to shake yet again. Zoey instinctively wanted to jump in and help her friend, but she slipped, falling on her back as the ground shuddered heavily beneath her.

Zoey watched with dread as Crepus' claws were about to slice into Lao a second time, but suddenly something changed. Zoey heard and felt what she thought was static electricity cracking in the air around her. Crepus stopped in midair, just out of the reach of Lao. There, Crepus remained, looking as if he was hanging from an invisible rope. He swung his claws furiously at Lao, spitting and hissing.

“Let me go!”

Lao watched with soft eyes but showed no emotion. Zoey could see that his left cheek had four slash marks that slowly dripped blood off his fur to the snow covered earth.

“You left yourself open, Crepus.”

Crepus stopped flailing his forepaws, knowing he couldn't get to him. “Fight like a warrior, Lao!”

Lao bowed slightly, allowing Crepus to slowly descend until he was standing motionless before him. Zoey could see the Komodo dragon's powerful muscles twitch, wanting to attack, but Lao had some type of power over him that she didn't understand.

“A true warrior doesn't fight, Crepus. Fighting only brings violence. A warrior rises above all violence, finding another way to resolve conflict.”

“How are you going to resolve this, Lao?” Crepus hissed.

“You're beyond resolve. That's a reality that the PureLights must face. We've lost hope in you, Crepus. Now, you must leave this forest and never return to Zoey's dreams. If you do, I'll be waiting.” With that, Lao blew a gush of air toward Crepus. Crepus disappeared right before them.

“Are you alright?” Lao asked Zoey.

Zoey nodded yes, but looked at Lao's face with worry. The claw marks looked deep and she didn't understand how he wasn’t moaning from pain. He nodded in understanding and closed his eyes. As he did so, the claw marks slowly healed and vanished, showing clean and healthy fur.

Zoey's eyes widened. “How did you do that?”

“I've woken from the dream, Zoey.” He leaned forward, whispering into her ear, “Zoey, wake up.”

Zoey opened her eyes and looked around. She was safely snuggled in her bed of feathers. San slept across from her, whistling a sweet chirping snore with every breath. Good, it was only a dream. This time, though, she knew the dream was more real than she wanted to think.

What did Crepus mean by ruining everything and why did he say that Lao doesn't realize what I'm going to do to them?

Zoey stared out the window. The stars twinkled through the light wispy clouds that quickly moved across the sky. It wasn't quite night time yet, telling Zoey that she had only been asleep for ten minutes at most. Taking a deep breath, she calmed her nerves.
I don't know,
she thought.
My dreams are strange lately!
She closed her eyes and drifted off into a nice slumber.

The entrance of the Marble Burrow was large. It looked as if Chev could easily fit through it, even though he didn't attempt to when they arrived. He introduced himself to the caretaker, Honani, a wise old badger with indigo colored crystals. Chev nudged Coda toward the entrance. “Goodnight, Coda.”

“Goodnight, Chev.” He looked at Honani, then at the descending tunnel, and then back again at Chev. “What do I do now?”

Chev yawned, stretching his trunk out toward the fading sky. “You follow Honani to your room. I'm getting me some much needed shuteye.” Chev winked at Honani, “Take good care of my friend here.”

Honani nodded, “Of course.” With that, Chev patted the top of Coda's head and turned toward the east. Coda watched him until he disappeared into the darkness of the trees beyond.

Coda suddenly felt a little scared and, in some way, abandoned. Alone. But before he could sulk, Honani brushed his small tail against Coda's side and started walking down the tunnel. Coda followed.

The tunnel of the Marble Burrow went deep underground. It wasn't anything special, either. It was simply dirt. Dirt walls, dirt ceiling, and a dirt floor. He thought how lucky Zoey was for staying in what was probably a luxurious big hollow tree.
She always gets the best.
A sinking feeling came over him, just like the times when his mom and dad gave her a bigger Christmas gift. It wasn't the first time he had felt like this.
She's such a spoiled brat.

Coda walked side-by-side down the tunnel with Honani, who hadn't spoken a word yet, giving Coda somewhat of an uncomfortable feeling. He was rather used to Chev's friendly and playful demeanor. So Coda remained quiet, too, thinking this was probably best.

On each side of the tunnel, lights were positioned in the wall every twenty steps or so. Coda wondered how they lit up like that, since Ohm Totem probably didn't have electricity. As Coda passed one of the lights, he gave it a close inspection. He saw that the lights were actually two rocks, lit up, and set in a cavity dug into the wall. The cavity looked to be about a foot deep, a foot wide, and a foot high, making a nice, snug fit.

Coda wanted to ask what they were, but looked to the ground instead, and walked at a faster pace to catch up with Honani.
Am I not supposed to talk?
wondered Coda.
Probably not
.

“You can talk,” said the badger, turning his head to Coda. “I'm not as uncomfortable to be around as you think. Sometimes silence is the greatest company you'll ever have. Try it for several days sometime. You won't regret it.”

“Sure,” replied Coda. His reply was enthusiastic, but deep down Coda thought it would be boring to be quiet all day long.

Coda's reply didn't fool Honani. Honani stopped, prompting Coda to do the same. He looked into Coda's eyes and spoke slowly. His eyes sparkled wisdom, much like Nova, and his demeanor was strong, composed, and innocent. There was a sense of genius to the way he articulated his words.

“Sometimes being quiet can be a bore, especially for the first couple of days. However, if you say nothing for a couple of days, you'll start to see your thoughts for what they truly are—nonsense and noise. During those first couple of days, you'll notice that your thoughts will become louder and louder. They'll scream for you to speak. Finally, your thoughts give up screaming all together when they realize that you aren't going to speak at all. Then, stillness enters the mind. When that happens, you realize what it's really like to be truly calm and present. You find joy in everything. You find inner peace and happiness for the first time since you were a baby.”

“Oh,” said Coda. He didn't know what else to say. He didn’t think he would ever stop talking, so this wouldn't matter to him anyway.

Honani shrugged his shoulders in a way that said he knew someday Coda would benefit from silence. Then he nudged Coda, changing the subject. “Come over here, my friend.” They walked over to one of the cavities in the wall. It held a pair of glowing rocks.

“I'm curious, do you have anything like these where you come from?” asked Honani.

Eyeing the rocks, Coda twitched his whiskers as a peacefulness enveloped his body. This peace seemed to come from the soft glow emanating from the rocks.

Both rocks had slightly different shapes and were translucent. At the point where they touched each other, they emitted a bright dot of light which then dispersed, radiating a soft, serene glow over all the rocks.

“We have light bulbs, but nothing like these,” replied Coda.

“Light bulbs?” queried the badger.

“Yeah, they give off light, but they're a little brighter than these rocks. You can't look into the light bulbs like you can these rocks.”

“Why is that?”

Coda stared deeply into the glowing rocks. “Because staring at light bulbs can hurt your eyes. They can probably ruin your eyesight if you stared at them too long.”

“Ahh, I see. These lights won't hurt your eyes. They'll strengthen them, along with the rest of your body. Do you feel the soothing energy?”