The Master of Dragons

Chapter 23

      Daniella opened her eyes to find herself looking at the pond of her astral plane. She groaned and threw her head back to look at the sky in frustration. She had spent so much time here that she was beginning to hate it. She looked around her and found the bench. Walking over, she ran her fingers through her hair and sat down and waited for an emotion to show up. There was no telling what would show up and Daniella had stopped being surprised. However, what walked over to her was something new that Daniella had not been expecting.

"You know I would take it back if I could," Nya's voice called from beside her.

"Out of all the things I thought would show up. This was not one of them. Look, you aren't even her. You're just the makeup of emotion and memory. It's my brain's way of not being alone. Liu told me all about you," Daniella replied in disgust, looking out across the pond.

"But you heard her through the door," Nya reasoned.

"I heard something. But that wasn't my best friend, I'll tell you that. My best friend wouldn't have hurt me that way," Daniella countered.

      Nya sighed as she sat down next to Daniella on the bench. Daniella didn't turn to look at her, but she took a side glance. The memory was a spitting image of Nya, and it only made her heart clench more.

"You know I wouldn't be here if you didn't need me."

"I don't need you. You only seem to hurt me."

"Daniella, you can't keep burying me. You have to deal with this. It's part of the reason that you can't keep your aura hidden."

"Don't you dare talk to me like you know what's best for me!" Daniella shouted, the ground shaking with her anger. The sky turned red as violent waves crashed over the surface of the pond. The water licked at their shoes as Daniella let her anger affect what was around her.

"I wouldn't say it if you didn't know it. Like you said, I'm just a memory. But you know that I'm right. Would it be better if I wore a different face? A face that you could trust? A face that you feel like you could tell anything?" it asked as it rippled into a new form. Daniella rubbed her face in frustration before turning to look at the memory sitting next to her.

      The world around her stopped shaking for just a moment as she stared at the memories' new form. Her heart clenched as she looked into the emerald eyes that she always felt she could get lost in. One rain drop fell between them, then another as she continued to stare.

"Well, the ground stopped shaking. There's a plus," it said with Cole's voice. Daniella felt the tears falling from her face as the rain continued around them.

"Oh, come on. You don't like this face either? You have so many emotions tied to it that I thought this would be better."

"You're a memory. You don't think. What are you?" Daniella asked as the tears slowed. She furrowed her brows as she slowly stood up and backed away from the bench. The thing that wore Cole's face didn't move as he watched her back away.

"You really didn't think that this was the end of our battle. I'll let you in on a little Shurandian secret little fledgling. If you breathe in the smoke, you will never be alone," he said, laughing as he stood up.

"But you can't be here. The Library is protected," Daniella replied.

"Protected from unwanted visitors, yes. But when a demon is brought inside by the Purple Ninja, well, then all bets are off."

"You're the reason why I can't push down my emotions anymore. You keep digging them back up!"

"Correct again. And they said that you were too stupid to last long. I keep bringing them up, but I was right about you needing to deal with it," the demon said as he inspected his nails.

"Oh, like you're on my side? You're a demon, why would you want to help me?" Daniella asked, her staff appearing in her hands.

"As much fun as it is to watch you squirm and lose, there are bigger things coming. Someone who I hope would never see the light of day again. She always gets the first helpings of all the measly humans and leaves the scraps for the rest of us. I would rather not have to fight for my next meal thank you," it replied, looking up, "You may not trust me, but you can look it up yourself. The balance is shifting. That is why you are here now."

"A demon who cares for balance? Okay, now I've really seen everything," Daniella said as she moved to a defensive stance.

"Balance is there for everyone's best interest. You may think that all demons are the same, but we are not. Some of us understand that if we can't keep the balance, then everything will be destroyed, and that includes us demons. Why fight for something that you won't get to use in the end? Look, I don't like being here anymore than you do, but at the rate things are going, I think I would very much rather stay here where I am protected."

"Protected? If I die, so do you. This place is destroyed when I take my last breath. You know, you sound like a certain Serpentine that I knew back in Ninjago. His smooth talking really convinced my little brother at first and it only got him in trouble. So, forgive me, but I don't think I want you in my head anymore."

"And if you defeat me, I will be sent back to the Underworld. Your secrets would guarantee my safety as well. Do you really think that I would have been here for this long without poking around? I must say, you have an excellent memory for someone so young," The Shurandian said with a grin. He made a sweeping motion with his hands and gestured to the Spirit world around him. Daniella grimaced slightly as the demon had made Cole look as if he were taking a bow on stage.

"Well then, if I can't defeat you, then I can keep you imprisoned until I can figure out what to do with you," Daniella replied, closing her eyes, and taking a centering breath. The Shurandian's eyes shot from Daniella to the ground around him as bars began to come from the Earth. He started to shout as the bars intertwined with themselves and formed an intricate cage.

"Look, I can help you. You want information on the Empress? I can give it to you. Information on the Bounty Hunter that she is sending after you, done. You can have it, but please don't send me back there."

"You would look better as a snake," Daniella said as she opened her eyes. His form began to ripple involuntarily as she locked up memories of her family and friends and left him with only one person to mimic.

"This is outrageous! Let me out!" The Shurandian said with the voice of Pythor.

"Oh, that is much more fitting. You will stay in that cage until I can figure out what to do with you. In the meantime, be a good little demon and stay put," Daniella said as she turned and looked at the landscape around her.