The Beginning

1

The sound of approaching men aroused the sorceress from her meditation. When the clattering of iron feet stopped in front of the door, she jumped to the side window with a book in hand. Fearing the worst, she screeched a sound unheard of by human ears out upon the wind and waited for its answer. She prayed it would be soon. Foolish me! Foolish thee! she kept repeating to herself. Calls beckoned her to turn and face the intruders. She watched hopelessly as guards with spears raced towards her.
Grasping the spell book she held dear, she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for the spears to pierce her small body. But the call she'd been waiting for finally rung from the windows . Tearing her eyes open, she swung around and bounded to the window just as the spears reached her. At the window, a large creature hovered with a rope of leather dangling from its mouth. The sorceress quickly gripped the rope in her trembling hand and turned towards the guardsmen.
Sensing the fear in it’s master, the beast stepped inside the room while taking part of the window with his shoulders and wings. He filled the room with an angry roar of fury. With the sorceress safe at it’s side, both beast and master watched as men fell to their knees clutching their armored heads from the great sound of the monster while some crawled like children to the door. Others stood their ground with weapons drawn upon the woman and creature. Knowing the danger that was ahead, the sorceress gave a small tug on the leash which beckoned the monster to rise. The guards left within the room stood with eyes full of what was before them. A creature whose scales were the color of mortal’s blood and eyes the color of a demon’s night. Lava-hot breath danced with fire from a mouth filled with razors. Armed with dagger-sharp claws at the end of each talon arm, the monster stood on legs the size of an elephant's. The head upon the dragon was riddled with crevasses and spikes. Such was a nightmare born of all knight’s fears.
Standing, the dragon before the guards was only a small one. Erect on it’s hind legs it barely reached the size of two horses, but with it’s wings spread wide the room was beginning to become crowded.
Then as if it couldn’t get worst, the dragon bellowed a stream of fire. The room lit in a globe of glittering gold. The armor that which the guardsmen wore glowed red with the heat as several of them were gripped by the flames which licked at their bodies and into their souls. Seeing the ways of getting past such a beast futile, the other guards fled into the hall to join their fellows who had already escaped.
Alone once again, the sorceress turned and patted the dragon on it’s quivering neck as he lifted her safely above the flames with its claw as a seat. Upon her lap sat the book of spells and behind her stood the window to freedom. With the leather strap wrapped upon her wrist, both woman and beast turned to the outside world and away from the death inside the room.
A final roar of victory rippled from the dragon’s throat as he turned with his bounty and exited the building. Seeing the outside coming swiftly to her sight, the sorceress pulled tight on the rope and held her breath for fear of falling. Yet her gasp of air was not needed, for the dragon would never let harm come to her.
Now freed of the danger from the guardsmen, she turned to view her late home as its beauty was engulfed in flames, and then slowly fall to pieces to the ground below. She sighed with the loss then turned to the sky before her, but her eyes were not on the view but on the book she held. Deep in its cover was the key to the survival of the world itself. Due to her deep concentration on the spell, that neither the woman nor beast heard the arrows that were coming dangerously close.




2

The wind blew across the wings of the dragon and through the hair of the sorceress as she paged through her book. Each sheet of the book brought back memories and the smell of its past owner-- who was the young woman’s father. He was the loyal subject of a wizard whom he had pledged his loyalty to as well as his abilities of magic. He passed that magic to his only child, a daughter named Sahaia, the sorceress.
Promising to always be there for her, he was shred of that commitment when a guardsman of the castle killed him for being a wizard’s help. Wanting to see if the power he held could save him from his fate the wizard in training suffered at the guard’s hands before death released him of his pain. Only his daughter knew the truth of what happened to her father because she had a gift of knowing what was to happen.
Unable to save her father, Sahaia pushed on with life with what he taught her and what she learned from the wizard. Now into the age of adulthood, she found her curse of premonitions useful in its ways. It was through one of these visions that she knew the kingdom was in great danger. Something had to be done.
When trying to seek the help of the king, the sorceress was accused of being a fraud and was casted aside. But she would not be stopped with such action. She was working on finding a spell to save what was to prevent the danger when a premonition came that her life was in jeopardy.
It was then that the guards had attacked and she had to get away. The fastest escape was with the help of her dragon and she prayed that what she was to do would not be the cause of her condemnation. For now, she could not know and doubted that she would ever know. Turning from her past, Sahaia concentrated on the book before her. She had to find the spell, a spell for help.
I need warriors, brave souls, she thought to herself as she scanned through her spell book. Symbols and letters passed from each page to her brain, as she analyzed each for what she needed. Then all at once, a word stopped her and she paged through the symbols quickly. Animus. The word left a tickle on her tongue. Suddenly the book disappeared along with what was her vision. She was having a premonition and could not stop its course. Then as swiftly as it came it was gone, but its message was clear. It is time.
Knowing what was to happen, she wasted no time. Turning her eyes back to the book, Sahaia found her eyes becoming moist. She did not even wipe the tears away as she looked forward with certainty. Clearing her throat she let the symbols take shape in her mind and slowly play out their own beat. They were notes to an incantation, a song.
It started as a hymn then quicken into a rhythm of melodies. No words came forth, only the sound of her voice changing in accordance with the chant. Then through the wind came a new sound, a swish like an arrow from guards upon the castle’s walls coming towards her. When she turned to see what it was coming for her the chant died on her lips as a scream pierced her throat. It was too soon.
Hearing its master’s scream, the dragon turned and had the wind from its wings kill the arrows flight. Sahaia turned away from the danger and quickly fell back upon her spell. More tears fell from her soft eyes as she sung out each verse. An arrow passed by her arm and her voice called higher with fear. She was coming closer to the end of her chant when something slammed into her back taking with it her breath.
An arrow had outwitted the wind and had struck its target. Gulping due to air loss, she whimpered in pain as she unwrapped the leather rope at her wrist and tried to reach for the arrow at her back. Before grasping the arrow, her booked slipped from her lap to the air before a new pain ripped through her entire body and she tumbled from her seat. She saw the ground below and then the sky with her dragon dodging the rainbow of arrows before she saw the ground once again.




3

The knowledge of what she had to do and what she could not do caused tears to falling from Sahaia’s eyes. As she fell, the tears flew across her face in a stream of stings as well as the blood from her wound to be released. The incantation needed to save what she so loved was lost when she had dropped the book in her pain as well as locked away somewhere in her mind. She could not remember the incantation.
Suddenly, she saw trees appearing through the fog of her tears and she knew she would hit them soon. But a shadow fell upon the forest of the ground. She knew who it was and was thankful for his return. She breathed a sigh of relief as the dragon opened its claw and plucked her from the air and into safety. The pain from the arrow made her cry out with its remembrance as well as its purpose.
Fresh tears drained down her face as she righted herself within the claw. Taking hold of the leash once again, Sahaia leveled her weight upon the rope. The dragon knowing his master’s distress hurried down into the trees to land. A clearing meadow stood before him and he landed with his back feet first upon the ground and then his one front. The other held the woman safely so as not to hurt her more.
Pain was making her breathing harder and something tainted was filling her mouth. Ignoring all of this Sahaia leaned into the warmth of her dragon and cried.
"I can't be helped, Anguis. I know this with all my heart," she whispered to the dragon she had come to love. He stiffen with understanding at her meaning. "But I can help you."
Blood was running down her lip as she closed her eyes and begun to hum. It was the spell she wanted and needed---she, she had remembered it! Coming to the end her chant, her words were slurred, but seemed to be sung by thousands in the magic.
"Guard them with your heart, my love." It was a whispered pled she was giving her pet. One she knew he would keep.
Standing with one hand cradled near his heart, Anguis felt what was left of his master’s life just slip from her body and into the sky. She was gone from this life with him to another where he knew she would be waiting for him.
A tightness suddenly formed around his heart and a single tear slide from his dark eye. She was forever gone from him, his master, friend, and mother was she and now she was gone. Such titles had no meaning anymore. He was alone.
Rage gripped his being and the dragon stood on his back legs with his master safe within his claws. His wings swung out to full length as his long neck lifted to the heavens. A roar ran from his heart to his throat then out onto the world with its hatred, shaking the ground and trees that he stood by. Birds took flight from the trees and animals close ran from the pain of the dragon’s roar until it was silent once again. Then with great strength in his wings, he lifted himself and the body of his human parent into the skies.
He passed by clouds and over the places that Sahaia had loved. What he saw was what was soon to be a battle ground; he would make sure of it. The spell was complete and soon warriors would come to this land with their weapons and a dragon’s revenge. Blood will be shed and evil shall be destroyed.
Until then, Anguis knew he had to find a safe burial place for his sorceress. Her home was no longer a safe haven. He will take her to his island where she will be safe from those that killed her dreams and hope. Then he will return with his army to stop what was to come in the future. He promised.
** ** **



4

It was late in the afternoon on Friday, when a large yellow school bus came to a stop down a circled street. Children aboard the bus stood as it made a complete halt then made a mad dash for the front door. Some at the back tried to wrestle the back door open to escape, but the emergency lock had been placed on it earlier, so they retreated to the front with the others. It was with this sudden dash that Codi was struck from behind and was pushed forward into someone.
Pushing back with her book bag, she turned to the person before her to apologize when she met a pair of apple green eyes behind glass plates. She sighed before she could stop herself and smiled.
"Sorry Adam. I have this idiot behind me who thinks I'm not really here." Words were suddenly difficult to deliver in such close contact with others, but the black-haired boy had heard her and understood. Adam was just one of a gang of friends she hung out with and a shove in the back on the bus was nothing to him. It occurred nearly everyday because almost everyone on the bus lived near the stop. Pushing and pulling, the two finally freed themselves from the commotion and were able to walk down the steps to the ground below. The lack of being crowed led Codi to wonder about the whereabouts of her brother.
Strange, she thought to herself as her shoe trampled the grass near the bus stop, He’s always right beside me. She was about to turn around and look for him when Adam suddenly gripped her arm and pulled her aside so that they could avoid the heavy traffic of kids flowing from the bus. When last of the students were gone from the vehicle, the bus pulled its stop sign back onto its side and pulled away as everyone at the stop begun to go their own ways.
A few clusters of students stood about talking and laughing about what their schedules were that weekend. Codi was not worried about them; she was wondering where Sammy was. While holding the mesh book bag tight about her back, she stood on tip toes and searched the crowds that were breaking up. Adam knew what she was doing and started to help when suddenly her name was called.
Turning in the direction of the call, Codi watched as a miniature copy of herself in male form came running towards her with a bag with Jurassic Park dinosaurs on the front. The small chocolate-haired boy passed by other students his age and some older students that he had to duck past so as not to accidentally get knocked down.
His eight year old body squeezed between two brothers deep in an argument and then stopped when he was safely by his sister. When he let out a sigh of relief at his small journey, Codi could not help but smile at him as she ruffled his short hair the same shade as her own. Though she would never admit it out loud she actually liked having a younger brother…sometimes.
"Let’s go, squirt." she called as she turned to walk towards their home which was three houses down from the bus stop. Sammy stood and shook his head at the nickname before falling in behind his sister. He glanced at Adam who was nearby to see if he understood his sister anymore than he did. When Adam just shrugged Sammy understood that his sister was just weird that way.
Before they could even pass the corner which the bus stop was on, someone called from behind once again. The voice was familiar so Codi stopped and turned to greet her friend.
"Hello Tashia. What's up?" It was a normal greeting between the two girls and the group of friends.
"Oh nothing. Did you know that Scooby Doo is a Great Dane?" The cocoa-colored girl asked the pointless question with a series attitude. They were all high school students, but cartoons were still their heroes.
Codi shook her mane of brown hair which was pulled in the back with two bows, pigtail-like despite her short hair. She knew the breed of the cartoon dog, but decided to hold out on telling Tashia.
"You for real? Where do you get this stuff?" She played her eyes to look curiously towards Tashia, but she turned away with a grin on her lips. Sammy saw the expression and rolled his eyes.
That was what set Codi off and she swallowed a snort of giggles. Tashia's theory of how she came to the Scooby Doo mystery was suddenly forgotten when the snorts turned to body rocking laughter.
"I’m for real, girl. You have no idea where I get this information from…" Tashia was still rattling on when Adam joined in on the laughter. Codi could hear him suddenly stop and try to clear his throat of the laughter, she looked up with her lips clamped close to stop the joy, but one look at Adam’s own suffering of the same fate had them both breaking lose again. This time Tashia joined in without knowing whatever it was that they found funny in her talking.




5

At last the laughter had finally died out and everyone was calming down. Codi swiped tears from her eyes before looking at the others whose faces were as flushed as her own. It was then that she noticed another presence. She turned to the new comer, seeing who it was she smiled at her other group friend. Red spikes of hair stood out upon his head and his icy eyes expressed confusion at what was going on. Josh looked to Sammy for answers and all he got was a shrug. When he looked at the others with the same question in his eyes, all shrugged the same as Sammy, but with grins on their faces.
"Can I get in with this joke that seems to be so funny?" Josh asked no one in particular though everyone knew he was feeling like he was the butt of the joke. Codi glanced at Tashia to explain, but instead of answering she gave a big grin and choked on Scooby Doo's "scooby dooby doo" or something close to it. Adam sputtered on a laugh and Codi bit down on her lip so as not to burst out laughing as Tashia was doing, although small giggles did pass from her clamped lips.
Turning her pleading eyes to Josh, even if they still had merriment in their blue depths, she was about to explain when she suddenly turned and slapped Adam and Tashia playfully to quiet them down.
Since that didn’t seem to work, she turned back to Josh once again and found herself met with an expression almost as if he were impersonating Elvis Presley. Josh had his lips curled to the side of his mouth in a half smile and his eye brow was creasing his forehead with confusion. Seeing this broke the hold in which Codi had tried to lock away and she broke out laughing. Except this time she wasn’t the only one.
Josh, Adam, Tashia, and herself were filled with stupid joy over some of the craziest things. The circle of laughter was broke once again, but this time for the last time by Sammy.
"I can't wait to be grown up. For I could look stupid on the corner of a street while laughing at something even dumber than myself." Sammy said to the bunch as he reached towards Codi's hand that held the key to the house, but before he could grab the silver chain Codi moved it higher out of his grasp and stared at her brother. The laughter had ended at last and was replaced with evil glares.
"What are you talking about, Brain?" It was a pet name the group had given Sammy because he was a whiz at almost everything. At times, Codi threatened for him to give his brain to science. That way they would know what was his problem.
"I'm tired and want to go home. That's all." Sammy mocked his sister as she turned to her friends as if to say it wasn’t her fault her family wanted this pet monkey in the family.
"Fine." She had turned back to her brother then away once again so that she could say her good-byes to her friends and the promise that they would hang out tomorrow without the Brain.
Finally separated from their friends each member went on their respective ways towards their homes. Codi sighed as she waved to each friend before turning to her brother.
"Let’s go then." She ignored him as much as she could as he dragged his feet like any other eight year old who was having a tantrum. Finally in their yard, he raced to the front door as Codi took her time getting there.
She was just coming up onto her front sidewalk when a large gust of wind blew the back of her neck and ruffled the trees in her yard. Looking towards the biggest tree in the yard, she watched as the branches swayed then straightened as the wind suddenly stopped. Then like the entrance of the wind came a rumble in the sky.
Codi stopped and looked to the heavens. She was amazed to see clouds starting to darken while moving in quick circles as if in fights with each other overhead. It was incredibly beautiful and yet very strange at the same time. And the weather was suppose to be sunny. Stupid news men, she thought of the weekend she had planned that was now going to be ruined because of the sudden storm.
An eerie green fog that was expanding in the air caught her eye and she watched it for a while as it curled into the clouds battlements. Shaking her head at the wild imagination of hers, she turned back and begun walking to her door. Once there she unlocked the bolt just as rain begun to fall and the wind begun to pick up once again.
Sammy pushed his way inside and caught Codi with his bag. Both fell inside the safety of the house just as the door sudden slammed closed behind them. They looked to each other then towards the door with frightened eyes. Both knew that the door was too thick to close on its own and neither one of them had touched the door to close it...they couldn’t have. Plus the key was still in the lock!
It was at the moment that both heard the switch on the knob turning slowly as it locked them inside.




6

Staring at what could not have been real, Codi only looked away from the door when a scream summoned her to turn around. She watched wide-eyed as her kid brother ran yelling for their mother down the hall towards his bedroom. Though it would have been something worth seeing, she did not find it funny at all.
The slamming of what had to be her brother’s door was the only sound heard for a while. Then all that was left was the rain on the roof and Codi’s heartbeat. She was starting to calm down and was able to breath correctly after swallowing her fear, when something whispered behind her. With only a squeak and not caring to even see what it could have been, she took off on winged feet towards the couch and leaped behind it. The couch was the biggest piece of furniture in the house or at least in the room and Codi made good use for it. Since it had been pulled away from the wall earlier in the year so as not to caught the drapes, the small area was big enough for her to push just a few inches more to get behind it. Plus it was far from the possessed door.
After a few minutes that seemed like hours, she looked out from her perch behind her shelter, but this time she had a weapon. A souvenir Cardinals bat that Sammy had lost some time ago was hidden under the couch and Codi used that small bat as a protection. She searched the room from wall to wall and saw nothing.
Deciding that who or whatever it was, was gone she begun to calm down. With the bat positioned upon her shoulder as if in the game, she came from behind the couch and started to walk towards her brother’s room.
She was just passing the love seat when a banging came from the front door. Fear iced her veins and she almost dropped the only weapon she knew how to use. Fighting the need to run and to see who was on the other side of the door, Codi was making a turn towards the hall when she heard shouting coming from the outside. Immediately she recognized Adam's voice.
"I’m coming!" She yelled and without dropping the bat, she hurried to the door and unlocked it. On the other side of the door, she found her three friends drenched in rain and with worry in their eyes. Not caring about what she must look like with her bat held firm in her hand, Codi sighed and fell forward into Josh’s arms.
He caught her and looked to Adam for help, then changed his mind. He patted the girl in his arms on the back as if to comfort her, which was what she needed.
Then finding that this closeness was enough for her, Codi pulled away and walked inside. She heard rather than saw the others follow her. One of them shut the door and locked it, but she did not know who. Fear was no longer a factor that they held. They were serious once again even as they shivered, wet from the sudden shower. Tashia knew her way around the house so she left to get towels from the front bathroom, while the guys stood looking about almost uncomfortable. They stood in silence until Tashia returned with the towels and they were able to dry themselves. Even Codi took a towel to brush the damp spot she had gotten from Josh earlier.
"We thought we heard someone scream, but it seems you could handle yourself should the need arise." Adam was the first to break the silence as he washed his glasses on the towel and pointed to the bat to clarify what he was talking about.
"Not really," she said weakly to her friends. Possessed doors were one thing, but whispers were another. "Something is seriously wrong here. I know you’ve seen what’s going on outside. This is not normal for a small town of Savannah." She paused, as if taking a deep breath so that she would be calm enough to explain what had happened. "For heavens sake, my door just closed and locked itself on its own. That is not normal!" She was not going to bring up the fact that she also heard a voice. They might think she’s really gone bonkers!




7

No one said anything as outside the wind suddenly picked up once again and pounded rain down upon the house. There was nothing to say or explain what was going on around them. After drying off with the towels the best they could, the friends had decided to wait out the storm before trying to go home. No one was there anyway. Josh and Tashia sat side by side on the love seat that over looked the front yard.
Adam paced back and forth in front of the gated fireplace that was the living room’s best feature, while Codi sat on the ottoman of the rocking chair. She watched as her backyard started to flood from the strong storm and knew that the roads, if she could see them, were filling just as fast.
Suddenly lightening lit the sky and something popped at the back of the house. Immediately, the lights died. A distance hum drifted from the walls of the house as the central vents surrendered to the lack of energy. At first no one moved for it was expected that the power would come back on before long. Codi sighed and was about to get up and get some flashlights when she heard her name whispered once again. Only this time she knew who it was.
"Its okay Sammy. I’m right here."
Although it was midday and most times there was light coming from the outside, the clouds had already hidden the sunlight and the house was in total darkness. "Don’t move, Sam. I’m going to go get some flashlights. Just think of this as that time you stood in that other thunder storm and tried to fly a kite like Ben Franklin. Remember that?"
"This storm is not the same." he said in his child-like manner.
"No…its not the same. Its down-right spooky." She was trying to make him feel more comfortable knowing that he was not alone in that weird business.
At that exact moment the sky lit up again with lightening and the roar of thunder. With a small shriek and a running start, Sammy glided himself through the darkness and straight into Adam’s side. No one could see what was going on, but the sound of Adam’s grunt and a sudden crash gave them a good idea.
"I’m sorry. I’m sorry." Sammy choked at his mistake in the dark.
"Its okay, little dude." Adam said to reassure him, which was fine with Codi. She heaved a sigh of relief, while at the same time she tried to make her way to the kitchen.
Just as she was sure she was going the right way, a light flashed in her eyes and she had to shut them from the glare just as someone apologized. Once she was sure the glare was gone she opened her eyes to the room. After the color dots dancing before her eyes finished there two-step, she could see that someone had found a flashlight. Josh was the one holding it, so it had to be him so she was grateful to him for getting the one task done.
She was making her way back to a chair when she asked what they wanted to do. No one said anything even when she got to the chair and had curled her legs to her chest. She watched as Josh and Adam set to work lighting a fire in the fireplace for more light and warmth.
"I think we should try to call home or at least someone." Tashia's voice cracked as if she talking against her will. Everyone looked her way and could tell that the poor girl was frightened. They all were.
"I doubt the phones work, but we can try." Adam suggested as he sat on the floor with Sammy close by. Sammy was looking towards the front door as if afraid it will open this time. He clutched the bag he held tighter.
"Good idea. Okay, lets try," Codi said as she picked up the cordless phone from the table beside her. She placed it to her ear first and found that there was a dial tone. She shrugged and started to dial her mother’s work number and then she placed the phone to her ear once again. All her friends watched and waited for an answer.
After a moment of not getting through, she was about to give up when suddenly a sound came over the phone. A soft voice, but a voice none the less came through the static and seemed to be…singing? Out of confusion and curiosity she listened to what was going on the other line. She smiled at her friends when they seemed to be interested in what was going on. Then the smiled faded as something happened, something that even Codi could not explain.
She threw the phone across the room and placed her hands to her ears like she did as a child to hold out the sounds that she didn’t want to hear while closing her eyes and screamed.




8

Everyone in the room stared at Codi for only a second before taking action. Adam rushed to her side and tried to calm her while Josh ran and got the phone to see if he could hear whatever it was that had scared her. Tashia stood from her seat and rushed to Sammy because he was crying and was starting to freak out. Tears were in Codi’s eyes when she opened them to see who was touching her. Seeing Adam she stopped her screaming at once and wrapped her arms around his neck as if for protection.
She was shivering with what had just happened and did not want to do it again. Once she had her senses about herself, she let go of her death grip on him and leaned back with her eyes turned away from him.
"I’m sorry," she whispered as she brushed the tears away with the back of her hand. She gave a weak smile of gratitude to Adam and turned to the others. Seeing Josh with the phone had her suck in her breath with fear. "Put it away Josh. Now!"
"Its okay, Codi. There’s nothing there. See." Josh was holding the phone towards her and she pulled away. Then thinking what a fool she was she swallowed her fear and reached for the phone.
Then just as before she placed the phone to her ear and listened. Silence greeted her on the other end. She sighed.
"What happened, Codi? What spooked you?" Adam was fearful for his friend’s safety and at times their sanity too.
"I don’t know," she whispered as a single tear fell from her eye. "I heard a sound and then…I don’t know. It was so awful almost like pain." She was babbling, but it was the best she could do at the moment.
Knowing what was needed, Tashia walked over to Codi and gave her a hug,, a woman to woman understanding hug. "Its okay now, girl. We’re all right here with you."
Codi knew they were all trying to help the best they could, but she did not understand what was going on here. As if knowing what they were trying to figure out, the wind howled outside and from the fireplace came a great blast of wind. The fire went out immediately, then the flashlight fell from its perch on the table where Josh had placed it earlier and went out. Adam quickly reached to get the light and found that it would not light, but it was forgotten when the room sudden came awake with a singing voice.
"Oh God!" someone whispered as if that would stop the voice.
"This is WHACK!" another called as the song played on with no music just a haunting melody of one voice.
"No, this is a chant!" Tashia’s soft voice said. "I take music in school plus I read a lot of witch books. Don’t ask."
"Okay I won’t. What is it about?" Adam asked. There was a pause and then Tashia answered him and everyone’s question.
"Its a sad melody, a spell of some kind."
"Great! Who did you tick off today at school who just so happened to be a witch, Codi!" Josh yelled over the voice. He was only fooling around and trying to make a joke.
At that very moment the song changed and the same thing happened that played over the phone. A scream pierced the air and the wind in the room twirled about each in the room. Codi and the others winced with the scream and covered their ears. Only this time, their eyes were opened because something was happening.




9

The wind in the room began to pick up as it danced past the friends, knocking objects from the tables onto the floor as it went. Then out of the dark came a spark and the fireplace lit once again. It blazed a purple shade and cast the room in a gloomy halo of the color. The chant was strong in the air and then it dived into whispers. Fear had the friends wanting to run, but fear also held them where they stood.
Codi could hear her brother crying as he tried to run to her, but like all the others, he could not move. Tashia was trying to understand the words while at the same time curse it for what it was doing to them. Lightening played on outside against the house with all its fury as a mist of green waved its way through the air and into the living room from the fireplace. Codi watched the wave circle each within the room one at a time. Sammy closed his eyes when it came near him then opened them as if knowing it was gone. Tashia blew at it to try and dash it away just as Josh swiped his hand through it to get it away. Adam watched it as it waved itself around him while Codi glared at it as it twirled around her body.
Something was whispered into Codi’s ear while at the same time the mist marched through her. It was a word, but she was not sure of what it meant. When trying to ask someone, anyone, something changed in the room.
As quickly and mysteriously as it came, the chant slowly died and the fire went out. Darkness once again and no sound except for their labored breathing could be heard. Even Sammy was quiet.
Something touched her hand just as the flashlight came on in Adam’s hand. With so sudden of a change he dropped the light and it went out once again. Then there was light in the room and Codi could see that Sammy was holding her hand, tightly. She squeezed back to show that she knew how he felt and that she understood.
"Now that…was creepy." Adam said as he shined the light on everyone in the room.
"Animus."
"Excuse me?" Josh asked as Adam turned the beam of the light onto Codi.
"That was what they said, Animus. I know it is. I just don’t know what it is," she said still looking to the others with confusion.
"Wait a minute. They?" Josh asked.
"What does it mean?" Codi ignored him with her own question.
"It's Latin, I think." All eyes turned to Sammy at his insight. "No, I know it’s Latin, I just don’t know what it means," Sammy said, his voice rising with the excitement of discovery.
Tashia rolled her eyes at her best friend’s brother and crossed her arms. "You have a book on everything in that thing you call a room. Tell me you have one on Latin somewhere in that mess."
As if remembering that as true, Sammy suddenly grabbed the flashlight from Adam and ran to his room. The others waited ten minutes in the dark before Sammy returned holding three books. He gave the flashlight back to Adam and sat down on the couch. Everyone sat where they could on the sofa or floor so long as they were near the light.
"I couldn’t decide which one to bring;" he said sheepishly. "They each have different meanings for that word you said, Sis."
"Well?"
"According to this author, Animus means bravery. To another it mean souls." He paused. "You know, most of them say it means something along the lines of warriors. Brave souls of might, strength, and power kind of lines."
"Okay, enough Dungeons and Dragons for you, little man." Josh said with a wink and a laugh.
As if that alone seemed to clear all that was happening, everyone in the room shared in with the small joke and sighed with relief that everything was back to normal. Even if normal was sitting out a storm that whispered words in Latin while being cursed by a chant of death. So long as they were together it did not matter to them.
** ** **



10

A powerful breeze danced in the skies above the dragon in flight. With it came the fumes of what was below and it was awful, full of death. Anguis batted his wings at the smell and glided higher into the clouds. Each beat of his heart gave beat to his wings as he held his pace with the setting sun. Though his light was slowly dying into night, the dragon’s journey would hold most of the rays as he traveled closer to the sun. Even without light he would never flaw in his flying to his holy ground.
A sudden parting of the clouds gave way to a view of the kingdom that was once peaceful and charming. Bright colors of green and yellow that were the trees now were overruled with dull gray and the black of soot from fires. Large spears jagged out of the ground with what were bodies of soldiers and villagers caught in the chaos. Blacken bones and the stench of death were laid before the dragon’s view, but he turned away when he noticed a body too small to be that of an adult. Children were victims in this war as well as any other life form that got in the way of such evil. Anguis absorbed this hate into his heart as he passed over the battleground.
The small body was strung from a pole that the dragon had seen countless children use to flag streamers at celebrations. Its symbol of joy and happiness was now a symbol of death. Bowing his head, the dragon prayed for the lost souls of all that were and would be destroyed in this war to come. Then with strength from his wings and the air, the dragon took flight faster to rid himself of the images below him.
He was coming across a stream that snaked within the forest below him when he caught a shadow upon the ground behind him.
Twisting in mid drift, but never stopping his flight Anguis turned his long neck to see what was following him. He caught a glance of gold feathers in the sunlight before he understood what it was. Harpy!
The monstrous bird was large, bigger than average, and was the size of two grown men. The golden brown feathers covered the body from head to tail except for the under belly of white. Its golden beak glazed red and sharp in the light as it squawked a warning.
Every bird of prey knew it was no match for a dragon and would normally leave them be, but this one seemed to have a purpose for even trying to hunt such a beast. Suddenly it dived then crossed under the dragon before it squawked another warning and lunged up under the dragon with razor-like claws spread wide.
Seeing such an attack coming, Anguis rolled in the sky and plunged to the ground on his side so that his claws safely protected the body he carried. He knew without a thought that the bird was coming for her.
Not giving up on such a futile mission, the harpy turned and dived at the falling dragon only to swish by when the dragon turned a wing and glided pass the bird. The harpy squawked his rage and tried again with the same result.
Anguis roared at the bird and swiped it with his free claw when it got too close. When it dived for the woman the claw struck the bird’s wings and it fell to the waiting trees below. The dragon smiled at the fallen enemy and rose higher into the sky. Though he had wasted more energy than he ought to with the harpy, he promised himself to make it to his home before he rested. With a quick glance at the forest below him, he searched for the annoying bird. With no trace of a single gold feather among the trees he sighed with relief. For now the bird was away, but he knew it would continue its attack once he caught up. At that time Anguis hoped to be home for no creature outside the dragons would dare enter his territory and live.