Threads Of Destiny:Echoes Of The Pendant Book Two-The Raven's Shadow Chapter Six-Seven

CHAPTER SIX

Raven opened her eyes. Once again, she sat up to see herself in the unusual forest. I have to get back to Shadow. Maybe she is still waiting there for me, Raven thought. She ran at a fast pace and reached the spot where Shadow was waiting for her. “I’m back,” she called. “How long did it take?”

“Only a few minutes,” Shadow responded. “How’d you get back?”

“I swam down through the abyss,” Raven said. She peered through the dense leaves to see Dylan. She almost threw up.

There was blood everywhere. Dylan was still, blood staining his clothes. He had deep gashes down his back and chest. Figure was gone, but there were purple-eyed people guarding him, walking around, turning at every sound or rustle. “Is he…” Raven didn’t want to say it. “No, otherwise the people wouldn’t be guarding him,” Shadow replied. “What…do we do?” Raven asked, her feeling of dread and panic rising with every breath.

“I came up with a plan while you were gone, but it will take two people, and you weren’t here yet. We can sneak over there quietly and rustle the branches and leaves, making it sound like someone was running away. Then, we can just sneak in and save Dylan.” Shadow gestured to a spot a distance away from them.

“Good plan,” Raven whispered. They ran over (quietly) to the spot, and made as much noise as they could. “Aaaahhhh, the people are here!” Shadow screamed and ran, her footsteps loud and clear. Then, as the people ran to see what was going on, Shadow and Raven ran back and into the clearing. Shadow motioned for her to untie the rope behind Dylan. She gave a slight nod and rushed to the back as Shadow broke down the cage. By the time she was finished, she heard footsteps coming their way. “They’re back!” Shadow hissed. Together, they dragged him into the bushes, hiding themselves completely just as the others burst in. “It was a distraction,” one snarled. “Find him!” Raven gasped in fear. “Come on!” Shadow muttered.

They sprinted.

An arrow shot towards Raven and hit her in the ankle. “Ouch!”

“Hurry!” Shadow whispered. Raven closed her eyes and pulled the arrow out. Three more came flying.

“Raven, you have to wake up! You have to wake Dylan up! It will save you both. I’ll be fine, I’ll hide,” Shadow added when she saw Raven’s look of concern. “I promise I’ll be back to save you and the others from Figure. A deal is a deal.”

Shadow smiled. “I’d never thought I’d be allies with Dylan’s girlfriend,” she said teasingly. Raven turned red with embarrassment and smiled back. “I’d never thought I’d be allies with the Cobra Tribe’s former assassin!”

“Well, see you!” Shadow called.

Raven tried to feel her way into the real world. She suddenly felt something. Someone. As if on cue, the world began to fade around her. She closed her eyes. Bring me back.

CHAPTER SEVEN

“Raven.” She blinked and saw Saber, kneeling beside her and looking at her. Like last time, he was worried. “I’m fine,” Raven said, and sat up. Her ankle was throbbing with pain, but she figured she’ll see the nurse afterwards. Besides, Dylan must be in even more pain. “Thank you for bringing me back,” Raven murmured, and gave him a quick hug. Then, she ran over to Dylan. He was in the same exact state as if still in the mindset. Raven tried not to look away. She had to help him. Figure tortured him and left him there. This is what we are dealing with here. “Is he dead?” Saber asked, concern clouding his gaze. Raven gently pressed her hand to his blood-stained chest. It was beating, but it was slowing down. “Not yet. I won’t let him,” Raven said, heart pounding.

“He swallowed a lot of water,” Saber said. “Griffin did CPR on him.”

Raven shook him firmly. “Wake up!” Tears started filling her eyes. She blinked them back.

Dylan suddenly spasmed and coughed up a gallon of water. His breathing was raspy and uneven, but at least he was alive. Raven smiled with relief. Dylan coughed some more. He gently blinked, and blinked again.

Dylan tried sitting up. Saber pushed him back down. “Don’t get up! You guys are so stubborn!”

Saber ran off. To get cloth to make him stop bleeding, Raven realized. He really is a great friend. “R-aven…” Dylan’s voice was weak and shaking.

“Shhh,” Raven hissed quietly. “Don’t waste your energy.”

Dylan struggled to speak again. “R-Raven, they have the pendant…” he managed to choke out, then relaxed his head again. He closed his eyes for a brief second, then opened them again.

Saber returned with the cloth. “Saber, they have the pendant,” Raven murmured. “Okay, you got to explain the whole story. Let’s go back to the Base. We can retrieve the pendant later,” Saber said, exasperated.

After an hour, they were all cleaned up. Raven got a bandaid from the nurse, while Dylan was cared for in the emergency room. He limped out. Raven noticed that the doctors had washed all the blood away and bandaged his wounds. Saber supported him. They all went upstairs and sat in the bedroom.

“Listen, Saber. We went to the lake to cool off for a bit. Suddenly, the water turned a shade of violet and an abyss opened up beneath us and sucked us in,” Raven explained, trying to summarize all that happened. She explained the fake Dylan, the actual Dylan, Figure, the purple-eyed people, and how Axel was part of it. She also explained to Dylan and Saber about the help from Shadow, and the deal she made with her. “It’s crazy that Shadow would do that for us,” Saber muttered. “I know! I find it hard to believe. But I do believe it. I never took the time to know Shadow.” Dylan whispered. His voice was still hoarse. 

“I arrived alone,” Dylan said, throwing the topic of Shadow off to the side. “I explored the place, and immediately knew where I was. The mindset. The Spirit Realm. Then, Figure found me. It cornered me and the purple-eyed people started closing in. You already explained the rest.” Dylan nodded at Raven. “Okay, we need a better name for ‘purple-eyed people’,” Saber said, throwing his hands into the air. “The Spellbound.”