Shade and Dusk: Guardians of Analysia

(14) The Voice of the Ocean

Shade made a promise to Paige that Shade will let her little sister ride Dusk once she gets home, because this is amazing. Hopefully she will survive long enough to keep the promise.

     They kept at cloud height, being hard to be seen by the citizens below. Dusk’s wings flapped powerfully in the wind, Ray’s arms around Shade’s waist to help keep his balance. He said he felt awkward having to do it, but Shade secretly didn’t mind the gesture. The cool air blew on their faces as they flew, trying to find Celeste.

     “So do you know why Celeste is being really sensitive about this?” Ray asked, his voice talking over the wind.

     Shade paused a quick moment before answering, “Something happened a long time ago, when my mother and Celeste’s parents took us to the beach. Paige was only a few months old, so we were pretty young.”

     Ray calculated the years in his head, “So like seven?”

     She nodded. However, as Shade told the tale to Ray, Celeste too was remembering of her past as she tracked down the creature.

     It happened nine years ago, as she vaguely remembered going to a beach near a small town, not to far from Kalica. Young Celeste and Shade were playing in the sand near the waves of the ocean, while Martha, Shade’s mom, is cradling baby Paige. Martha was in her swimsuit, her necklace dangled around her neck. The necklace is an onyx colored chain, with two different colored hearts: one silver, the other gold. Celeste’s parents, Linda and James, are sitting on their towel watching the kids. Paige kept squirming and clapping happily in Martha’s arms.

     Linda giggled, “Such an energetic little child isn’t she?”

     Martha laughed a little, “Well, that means she’ll have good energy as she gets older.”

     Linda smiled at Paige as she tried to make her laugh. Linda’s hair is a sandy brown color, with violet blue eyes. She’s in her early forties, as well as Celeste’s father James. James looks like Celeste: black hair and silver eyes, a little muscle from working in the mines five days every week.

     “So where is Zack?” asked James. “Shouldn’t he be here?”

     “My husband is working again,” answered Martha.

     “That sucks,” said James, “Doesn’t he do military?”

     Martha nodded. As the parents talked, Celeste and Shade chased each other as they played tag. Celeste’s hair flopped in the wind, her headband not on as she hasn’t started to hide her crescent moon birthmark yet. In front of them is the water of the ocean, the sound of waves crashing on the piles of giant rocks off to their right, almost like a mountain side view.

     As the two girls giggled while chasing each other, Celeste stopped as she heard a woman’s whisper, calling out her name. It caused Shade to bump into Celeste’s back and almost fall. Celeste looked back, “Sorry Shade!”

     “It’s okay,” she said, “Why did you stop? Something wrong?”

     “Don’t you hear it?” asked Celeste.

     Shade paused and listened, but shook her head, “No, just the waves.”

     But Celeste kept hearing the woman’s enchanting whisper, calling her name. Celeste then started to walk in the water, as if in a daze, their parents not noticing.

     “Celeste?” asked Shade, but young Celeste kept going, soon waist level in the salt water. Without them knowing, in the shadows of the giant rocks was a woman in dark clothing, with a black cloak over her shoulders, her dark hair long and her eyes like the galaxy. Next to her is a raven, watching the woman as her finger twirled with purple magic. Her voice is the one calling out Celeste’s name, making her walk to the ocean where she will drown to her death.

     “Celeste!” Shade cried louder, but nothing helped. Not even the adults seem to notice. With one flick of the woman’s hand, Celeste fell into the current and sunk into the ocean. The mysterious woman grinned as she mumbled, “One Defender down, seven more to go.” She vanished into thin air.

     Once Celeste was out of the trance, she started to choke as she soon realized she was drowning underwater. Just as she thought she was about to die, she heard a different sound: a roar underwater. Before her eyes started to close, she saw a transparent figure in the water: and it looked like a dragon. Her vision went dark.

     When she woke up she found herself lying on the sand, her parents, Shade and Miss Darkrider looking down at her in worry.

     “Celeste!” Mom said, and smothered her in a hug.

     “We saw you two chasing each other when Celeste bumped into you and fell down on her back,” said Dad, “Are you alright sweetheart?”

     “What?” asked Celeste, “But I was drowning in the ocean, and this creature appeared out of nowhere and saved me―”

     Mom chuckled, “Well, what an imagination. Now come on let’s get you two cleaned up.”

     “But Mom, it’s true!” Celeste insisted.

     “Yeah, I saw it,” said Shade, but Lynda ended the conversation as she tended Celeste’s scrapes on her knees. They obviously don’t believe, but as Celeste looked at Shade, Celeste knew what they saw.

            A dragon saved her life, yet the king of Lyeria told the Alayans that the Dragons are killers.