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ESTHER

A large explosion filled the crowd, and everyone collapsed to the ground, unconscious. The guards around the edge of the crowd and next to the podium all were evaporated, the President lying on the ground behind the podium. At least that worked, thought Esther as she stepped over several peoples’ legs and arms towards the President’s podium. Looking down at the thousand-dollar suit on the still body of the Chief Executive, she had a realization.

I don’t… feel anything… she thought blankly. I’m not happy, sad, scared, or anything… Slowly, Esther withdrew from her bag a deep, ocean-blue-colored cube. She set it gently on the President’s back. Then, with a whoosh of air not unlike the crack of a whip, the leader of the United States vanished. The cube, now a bright shade of red, laid on the ground where the President once was. Without hesitation, Esther snatched up the cube and disappeared back to her master.

ADRIAN

It had been two days since Kade and I had departed Washington, D.C. We stopped for a half-hour rest every couple hours or so, finding some apple trees to gain nourishment from. It wasn’t exactly the best way to get back home, but it was working fairly well. At least we hadn’t run into any planes yet.

Kade and I were sitting on a very small hill, somewhere in Illinois I presumed. It was the middle of the afternoon, without a cloud to be seen in the sky. We were feasting on a few apples when I spotted something in the distance. Some kind of large bird…

Then it dawned on me. No way… Kelsey followed us all the way here?! Slowly the unmistakable red bird drew closer to us until it landed on the hill. I glared at it. “I told you to stay home!”

The Phoenix turned quickly back into my sister, dressed in a light gray jacket and jeans. “I couldn’t just stay while you two left!”

I groaned. “Yes, you easily could have done that.” I pointed a clawed finger at my sister. “Listen – just because you can turn into a Phoenix doesn’t mean you can just go flying off across the country by yourself!” I then had a sudden realization. “You were following us from the beginning, weren’t you?”

Kelsey smiled slightly. “Maybe… I just wanted to help.”

“Adrian?” asked Kade impatiently. “Could we maybe keep going? I’m kind of on a limited time schedule…”

I gasped. “Geez, Kade! Sorry… let’s go!” Glancing back at my sister, I growled, “keep close, and don’t get into any trouble.” Kelsey nodded, and we all took off into the air. I settled in for a very long flight.

KADE

After a very long and boring journey, wherein I had a few random thoughts of attacking Kelsey savagely, we finally arrived in our little hometown. It’s getting worse... I’m having more trouble controlling my thoughts. The dragon must be getting stronger. I sighed heavily. What should I do next, go to Mesusuki and beg to find an answer? Consult Zeus or the Citivas library?

“You ok?” came a voice to my left. It was Adrian, who wore a look of deep concern on his face.

I jumped slightly in midair, surprised as I was pulled back to reality from my thoughts. “Well, no. What are we supposed to do now? Mesusuki said there was no way we could stop the dragon from,” I sniffed, “taking over my mind.”

Adrian frowned slightly. “Listen, if Mesusuki put the dragon in you, he sure as heck can get it out. We’re going to find the answer to this, Kade. I can’t lose my best friend in the whole world!”

My spirits lifted a bit. “Thanks, Adrian.”

“No problem. Let’s get to Citivas and see what we can do.”

After Adrain had convinced Kelsey to go home, we both flew to the hill that contained Citivas and promptly dived at it. As soon as we got close, the hill opened wide, light spilling out, and we flew into the last draconic civilization on Earth.

“First, let’s just talk to Mesusuki one more time,” Adrian called to me. “Who knows, maybe he’s gotten some new information since we left?”

I nodded, and we flew over to Mesusuki’s apartment and knocked on the wooden door.

There was no response. “Mesusuki?” I said loudly, knocking harder. Still nothing.

At this point, both Adrian and I were getting worried. “Mesusuki?!” Adrian yelled, banging his scaly fist against the door. After a few seconds of waiting, Adrian stated flatly, “I’m going in.”

“Me too,” I responded, grabbing the doorknob and twisting it. Surprisingly, the door was unlocked. That’s unusual, I thought, Mesusuki usually keeps his door locked. I swung the door open quickly, and Adrian stepped in, me in tow. The lights in the apartment were off. Adrian flipped them on quickly and stepped further in.

Mesusuki was lying on the floor, a long spear through his chest. He was gasping for air, blood staining his white robes and the floor around him. Pages from books and broken glass were scattered everywhere.

“Oh my god!” Adrian screamed, rushing over to him. “Mesusuki, what happened?!”

The wizard coughed, then whispered, “it was h-her… she came…”

“Who?!” I cried, kneeling down next to Mesusuki and trying to stop the flow of blood with my hands.

“Y-your mother, Kade… It was her…”

I was at a loss for words. My mother wouldn’t do that, would she?!

Mesusuki winced, then said, “listen, both of you. She’s working… for Ombra.”

“No…” growled Adrian. “We poisoned him!”

“I’m afraid he… woke up early… She’s kidnapped the President…”

“Why?!” both Adrian and I cried at the same time.

“Not sure… Kade, she has these… devices… their magic is powerful… I have reason to believe that one of them will… help you…”

My head was pounding. My mom had kidnapped the President and stabbed Mesusuki? But she had a device that could stop that feral dragon from taking over my mind…

“You guys… need to go… find her… stop her before she helps Ombra any longer…”

Then, with one last painful shudder, Mesusuki closed his eyes and lay still.

*CONTINUED IN PART 9*