The Sorceress of the Sword 2

By Aanya Jayasuriya - Grade 4 “Welcome to Ithinlym!” Dame Heike smiled, holding out her arms and spinning. “Ah, just look at it! Isn’t it beautiful?” She beamed. Well, it' s a matter of opinion. Cheryl thought. There were clear glass buildings everywhere. The sunlight went straight through. “Well, it certainly is pretty, but-” Ardoch started, but then Lord Bonas interrupted. “Where’s the privacy, Heike?”

“What? Do you mean that you haven’t been to Ithinlym before? I thought everybody knew that it was super high-tech!” Dame Heike ran up to a building, and tapped on the wall three times. The glass turned glossy, opalescent and opaque.

“We’ve programmed all our buildings to look however we like! We usually choose this colour though, so Ithinlym has the same overall aesthetic. That reminds me!” Dame Heike closed her eyes, and it looked like she was concentrating. A sort of veil-like cloud came over her, and when it disappeared, her purple hair was marshmallow white, with pastel strands scattered here and here, and her hazel eyes had taken on a blue tinge.

“I forgot how freaky that is.” Ardoch murmured. The Council of Magic were an odd bunch, from Dame Heike’ humour and illusions to Lord Bonas’s playful summons.

“So, why did we have to come to Ithinlym?” Cheryl asked. “Because I wanted to treat you guys to all of the amazing things Ithinlym has to offer! Sure, Arcstead’s great, I totally get why we visited it but, no offence Cheryl, but the only thing special about it is the magic classes.” Dame Heike explained.

“Which floor do you live on?” Cheryl asked, looking up at the towering glass skyscraper. “Every single one! The Council of Magic needs to be able to watch over the town. So, I need the tallest building to live in!” Dame Heike winked.

“That is not what we mean by watch over, Heike.” Lord Bonas mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose in exasperation. “Sure it isn’t.” Heike smiled gleefully  at Cheryl.

“Choose a guest room. You’re welcome to pick any.” Heike’s home was just as beautiful on the inside as the outside. The windows were stained glass panes of any and every colour. The walls were pearly white, and the lights were the colour of melted marshmallow.

Cheryl chose the room next to the clear glass elevator that went up and down to each floor of the building. “The kitchen is two floors up, and there’s a bathroom connected to each guest room. Clap twice to see the control panel for the room. You can fix the lighting, the decorations, all of that. Now, y’all settled? Yes? Then let’s go! There’s so much I want to show you!”

“Oh, do you want to try vengeem swirls? They taste great.” Dame Heike led them to a stall selling small swirls of pastry. “Five please. In a bag.” The vendor gave her five of the pastry swirls.

Dame Heike moved away, then passed them out, keeping one in the bag for herself. “Trust me, they taste amazing.” Dame Heike insisted. The vengeem swirls were golden, flaky swirls of pastry, filled with a gooey, purple jam-like substance that tasted like chocolate with small lumps of pink that tasted like raspberries. OK, this is way better than anything in Arcstead. Cheryl thought, taking another bite.

WHAT ABOUT ME? DO I NOT GET A VENGEEM SWIRL? HAVE I NOT EARNED ONE, FLYING YOU ALL HERE? Darkwing telepathically spoke to the Council of Magic. “Oh yeah.” Dame Heike said guiltily. “Oh well.” She pulled the one she had been saving for herself out of the bag and gave it to Darkwing. IT TASTES LIKE ROAST CHICKEN. Darkwing continued. “It what?” Ardoch asked. Cheryl wasn’t sure how she had forgotten about her giant dragon pet, but honestly? She was kinda glad that she had.

Hidden in the Twilfoth Mountains, Laudan Sangrey was watching Cheryl Sinclair from afar. The girl who stole my position in the Council of Magic is. . . eating vengeem swirls? Laudan thought. “Well, they are delicious.” Laudan snapped her fingers, turning off the hologram of the innocent Cheryl, who was unaware of the deadly foe watching her.

Laudan had broken out of the high-security jail cell a week ago. She’d paralyzed the guards and used spellcraft to change her appearance to a sweet old lady looking for flowers. This “sweet old lady” happened to “accidentally” knock out a guard, pick up his keys and unlock the secret prisoner Laudan Sangrey. Then this “sweet old lady” was turned into a rose by the evil Laudan Sangrey and then all the guards had been paralyzed by the deadly Laudan Sangrey.

Laudan smiled bitterly. If only they knew what it had been like back then, before the new Council of Magic was founded and they “saved” everybody. The original Council of Magic wouldn’t stand by a thing that these faux protectors have done.

Laudan’s appearance had deteriorated as well. Her once silky pale blonde hair was now dirty and no matter how often Laudan tried to brush it, the tangles returned. Her azure blue eyes were now always narrowed and scanning the area, looking for possible threats.

Her white dress was ragged and torn at the bottom. The gloves she had favored, the ones that hid her acid scars had been torn into strips a few days ago to serve as bandages for new wounds on her hands. Her once pristine white heels were somewhere on the floor of the prison, the heels broken off and the edges scuffed. Her nails were sharp and chipped, the polish peeling off.

“Oh, I know! There’s sculpting classes in the very center of the city for Bonas, and for Cabal, you could visit the famous Ethereal Gardens. Ardoch, you could visit the zoo! After all, you’d feel right at home there, wouldn’t you?” Dame Heike added. She had been suggesting places for them to go that would fit their personal interests.

Lord Bonas loved art, which Cheryl thought was the strangest thing ever, but no! Sir Cabal was interested in FUNGI and FLOWERS and TREES! And here I was thinking we were in Ithinlym for an actual reason. Cheryl thought.

“And Cheryl, there’s this amazing sword-fighting program next to the zoo, why don’t you try it?” Dame Heike pointed them each in the correct direction. Cheryl stayed behind.

“I already tried out the sword-fighting program last year. I came to visit Ithinlym with my brother.” Cheryl explained, fiddling with the hilt of her sword. “Oh. Okay then. You should check out the Ethereal Gardens. They’re the most visited place in all of Ithinlym.”

Cheryl could definitely see why. There were four tall glassy pillars, one in each corner of the garden and connected to a corner of a wide quartz shelter above the garden.

There were wispy pistachio green tendrils curling up the pillars, with small marshmallow pink flowers scattered around the tendrils. There were lots of round jade green bushes with more small flowers, except these ones were powder blue. Tall warm brown trees were scattered around the garden, each one with emerald green diamond-shaped leaves. There were a few vines curling down, and when Cheryl moved closer to one, she noticed small coral-coloured flowers, each one the shape of a snowflake.

“Oh, there’s seats over there if you want to sit.” Dame Heike pointed over to a corner by a glass pillar with small scratches carved into the glass. Cheryl didn’t look where she was going, so she tripped over a small black rock and landed face-first in a patch of springy green moss. When she got back up, she kept her eyes on the ground, so she banged into the pillar. Stumbling back, she (thankfully) fell onto one of the stools. Wow, Cheryl. Way to make a fool of yourself in your first week as a member of the Council of Magic. Cheryl wiped the last of the dirt off on her chair, when she noticed the soft texture.

When she looked down, she realized that the “seats” were actually bio-luminescent. toadstools, in ocean blues and forest greens. OK, never mind, I don’t need to sit if the seats are overgrown mushrooms. Cheryl stood, and then she noticed the specific pattern of the scratches on the glass pillar. When she looked closer, she realized that they were letters, not scratches.

Don’t panic. Cheryl told herself. You can’t be sure it’s a message to the Council of Magic. It’s probably just somebody’s name. Cheryl leaned closer to the pillar, taking care not to fall onto one of the giant fungus stools. She pieced together the message, and almost fainted when she realized what it said.

To the Council of Magic,

If you’re truly as grand as you declare, then prove it — come find me, if any of you dare.

At Ithinlym’s glass lake, when June’s first full moon gleams, at midnight, I’ll wait —

the end of your dreams. For the towns you once cherished now tremble in vain, your failures will echo in terror and flame. Meet me there, or watch as despair takes its course —

And your precious Ecros falls under my force.

— Laudan Sangrey

 

Okay, Laudan Sangrey has some serious talent if she can manage to create a rhyming message almost as cryptic and annoying as the one that the Council of Magic used against me. Cheryl thought, then she rushed over to Dame Heike, who was animatedly chatting with Sir Cabal. Dame Heike’s ghostly white tunic and pastel hair stood out against the leafy greens, bright purples, vibrant blues and warm fiery colours of the Ethereal Gardens.

“Dame Heike!” Cheryl tugged on Heike’s lacy tunic sleeve. “Yeah, Cheryl?” Dame Heike glanced at Cheryl, then gaped at her. It hadn’t occurred to Cheryl how silly she must look. She had bits of moss in her hair, and she had stepped on a small glowing mushroom earlier, and it had spurted out some sort of glowing liquid. It had sprayed all over Cheryl’s boots, socks, skirt and the bottom of her black cloak. They were all now soaked in glittery gooey teal slime.

“Cheryl! Are you-? Actually, never mind. I was going to ask whether you’re good, but then I saw your face, so, yeah. What’s the matter?” Heike asked. “There’s a message from Laudan Sangrey on that pillar.” Cheryl pointed at the pillar. “THERE’S A MESSAGE FROM LAUDAN SANGREY? BUT SHE’S MEANT TO BE IN PRISON?” Sir Cabal shouted. By the way, Cabal had super-everything, including a super loud voice. So, when Cabal shouted, buildings shook.

“We have to tell Ardoch and Bonas.” Dame Heike announced the second she finished reading the scratches. Dame Heike’s illusion abilities had deactivated from the shock, and she looked very . . . normal. Dull wavy brown hair, dead-looking brown eyes and freckles scattered across her nose made her almost unrecognisable. Is her ability illusion or being able to change her appearance? Before Cheryl could finish her train of thought, a ripple of red flickered in her sight.

Cheryl glanced at Dame Heike. Heike’s hair was ruby red, and her eyes glistened a shade of red almost as dark as Cheryl’ eyes for a second before her appearance changed back to her marshmallow pastels. More like her appearance reflects her emotions if she’s lost control of them. Like, camouflage? No, more like changing-your-appearance-at-will-oflage. Cheryl thought.

Dame Heike reached into her pocket, pulling out a small translucent silver rectangle. She tapped it twice, and it glowed bright blue. “Ardoch Occulti and Lord Bonas.” Heike lifted the rectangle up to her lips and spoke into it. The moment she finished speaking, she threw down the silver device, jumped back, and pulled Sir Cabal and Cheryl next to her.

Then Ardoch clambered out of the silver rectangle, followed by Lord Bonas. “You had a huge dragon! Why’d you have to use a Summoner?” Ardoch spat out the word like a rotten lemon. Well, that does match the look on his face. Cheryl thought in amusement. Ardoch’s face was scrunched up angrily, his bright blue eyes glaring at the silver rectangle which he had called a Summoner, and his black hair was very messy.

“Because this is urgent. Cheryl found a message from Laudan Sangrey.” Dame Heike answered, without flinching at the frustration on Ardoch’s face, which faded away almost immediately when he heard the situation. “Um, excuse me?” Cheryl said, trying to get somebody’s attention. “But she’s meant to be secured in the Ecros Dungeons.” Lord Bonas interrupted, looked even paler than usual, his azure eyes narrowed. They were the exact shade of blue that Laudan Sangreys’ eyes were.

“Yes, an escaped prisoner-” Cabal began, but Cheryl interrupted. “Do you really think we should be discussing this in such a public place?” She asked. “No, no, you’re right. Darkwing, could you take us somewhere private?” Dame Heike asked. Darkwing bowed his head and stopped swinging his tail, signalling for them to climb on.

Darkwing, how far are you taking us? Cheryl transmitted. YOU ASKED FOR SOMEWHERE PRIVATE, DID YOU NOT? Darkwing replied. Which isn’t really an answer. Cheryl grumbled. Darkwing’s scales were shiny black, each as big as a leaf on a palm tree. His eyes were the size of basketballs, ruby red orbs with black slits. Cheryl glanced up at the sky.

They were flying just above the clouds, which translated to a brilliant view. The fluffy white clouds below looked like cotton candy, and the moon above them was a giant glowing circle, flooding the sky with silvery moonlight. The sky was every shade of blue, purple and pink, from icicle blue, lilac and strawberry pink to sapphire, amethyst and rose quartz. Cheryl felt as if she was in a dream. When Darkwing dipped down a little, Cheryl reached down, half expecting to feel soft fluff, but instead soaking her hand in ice cold water. It brought Cheryl back to reality.

“It’s cold.” Cheryl shivered, wrapping her scarf tighter around her neck. “Are we almost there?” Without answering, Darkwing began to drop, spinning down like a tornado, before gently landing. “Where are we?” Cheryl asked, glancing around. They were in front of a group of tall mountains that reached up to the shimmering stars. “Wow, I’ve heard stories about the Twilfoth Mountains, but I never knew they were real.” Dame Heike breathed, trying to take in every ounce of magnificence the mountains held.

The full moon was still gleaming just as brig- wait, the moon is full? “Dame Heike! We’re meant to be meeting Laudan Sangrey today!” Cheryl exclaimed, whirling around to face her.

On Cheryl’s exclamation, Ardochs’ head snapped up, eyes resting on the moon. Lord Bonas and Sir Cabal rushed over from their place next to Darkwing, who was bombarding their minds with worries. Darkwing! Shut up! Ardoch burst eventually. Wait, why can I hear Ardoch’s thoughts? Cheryl wondered. BECAUSE I CONNECTED YOUR MINDS. I COULD SENSE A FOREIGN ENTITY, SO THIS IS THE BEST WAY TO COMMUNICATE. THEY CAN’T HEAR US NOW. Darkwing answered. Oh, thank you. Hey, can you get the others to stop talking out loud as well? Like, a mental message? The way you did a few days ago in the Jewel Forest? Cheryl asked.

Darkwing tried, and succeeded in sending a message to Lord Bonas, Sir Cabal and Heike. Does that mean that we can hear every thought the other members are having? Heike’s appearance had shifted again, now completely in twilight blues and purples, with hints of silver here and there. NO, BUT YOUR LOUDEST ONES YES. Darkwing replied. “Wait, what?!” Cheryl and Ardoch complained in unison.

“My goodness, looks like the new member is getting along fine with the Council after stealing my place. Having fun, Cheryl?” A cloyingly sweet voice chimed in, sickeningly familiar. They all whirled around to face the criminal, Laudan Sangrey.

Cheryl’s hand shot to her holster, gripping the hilt of her blade. Ardoch turned into a wolf, making Cheryl jump. OK, that is seriously freaky. She yelped, jumping away from the black wolf. She knew it was just Ardoch, except she was freaked out by wolves. “Didn’t think that through, did you?” Laudan smirked, reminding the Council of Magic of her animal-controlling abilities. “Oh, relax. I won’t need it. Just like you won’t need that blade, Cheryl, and you won’t need those fangs, Ardoch.”

Lord Bonas seemed frozen in place, a look of immense fear on his face. “Bonas, spirits?” Heike snapped her fingers in front of his face, and when he didn’t respond, she slapped his face multiple times. He still didn’t respond. “Bonas?” Cabal thundered, glancing at the summoner. Laudan shrieked with glee. “Oh, haven’t you told them, Bonas? Or are you living in denial?” She asked, her azure eyes gleaming.

“What are you talking about, Laudan?” Heike asked, glancing from Bonas to Laudan. “Oh, how rude. Hasn’t Bonas told you he’s my brother?”

“NO!” Bonas snapped, a moment too late. “Is that true, Bonas?” Cabal boomed, glaring at him. “No, of course not!” He protested, cowering under Cabals’ glare. “Yes, it is. If you don’t believe me, think. Why would I want to lie about that?” Laudan smirked, glancing at her alleged brother for a moment before spinning on her heel and disappearing in a cloud of shimmer.

Heike cursed. “How could we let her slip out of our grasp again?!” Ardoch shifted back into himself, grumbling. “What do you mean again?” Cheryl wondered, noticing how each of the members flinched after she asked her question, except Ardoch. “We just meant that we had her right in front of us, and she got away.” Sir Cabal explained, with a slight edge of panic to his voice.

Then the melodic voice of Laudan Sangrey spoke, echoing off the mountains. “Oh, and I have a little surprise for you. Good luck, you’ll need it.” Cheryl’s thoughts immediately spiralled into the hundreds of possibilities. She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t realise that the ground beneath her feet was splitting until she dropped into the seemingly endless abyss.

“Cheryl!” Heike screamed, her hair and face paling. “Ardoch, go down there. You can shapeshift into something that can fly, or see in the dark or something! Just get Cheryl!” Cabal ordered, pointing to the deep crevice that Cheryl was stuck in. “Got it.” Ardoch nodded, shifting to a wolf before leaping to a rock that was jutting out from one side.

Ardoch glanced around. He couldn’t spot any more rocks jutting out, thanks to the darkness. He leaped off his rock, and free-fell for a moment or two before realizing he would be a wolf pancake if he landed. He shifted into a bird, and flitted down until he hit the ground. He shifted to his normal, human form just before a shadow charged at him.

The moment Cheryl had heard the soft thunk of a person landing, she’d lifted her hood and unsheathed her sword. She rushed forward, her sword glinting in the small slivers of light, and struck with the flat side of her blade. It had been enchanted to bind the being it touched. The person fell to the floor.

Cheryl snuck forward, trying to catch a glimpse of them. Then they started to shrink. She jumped back with a yelp, her sword clattering to the ground. “Sinclair? Oh, thank Oveld.” A worm wriggled out from underneath the magic binding rope and grew into a human. “Ardoch!? What-how-Heike-crevice-how did you get here?” Cheryl grabbed her sword and sheathed it. “Thank Oveld, you’re safe. If you weren’t Heike would probably murder me.” Ardoch sounded genuinely relieved, which was. . . un-nerving.

Ardoch was 90% sarcasm and smirks, and 10% flesh, blood, muscle, skin, organs, etc. Genuine and Ardoch didn’t belong next to each other in a sentence. “I’m gonna go tell Heike you’re down here. Stay here, Cheryl.” It was only after he had left that Cheryl realized he was immune to her spells.

A few minutes later, Darkwing dived down and flicked his tail, gesturing for Cheryl to climb on. He flew them back to the top, before bombarding Cheryl with pleas to go back to mini-mode. “Yeah, yeah, not like I almost died just then.” Cheryl tapped Darkwing with a small dagger she had enchanted with the spell to swap Darkwing from Onyx Terror to mini-mode. “Don’t joke about that.” Heike’s voice was so sharp, Cheryl almost didn’t recognize it.

“We actually thought we lost you for a moment when Ardoch came back without you. It. . .” Heike trailed off, the normally mischievous glint gone from her eyes. “Are you OK, Cheryl?” Even Sir Cabal was quieter than usual. “I’m fine!” She assured them. But their worried looks didn’t disappear. “Look, shouldn’t we be interrogating Bonas?” Cheryl reminded them. “That’s right. . . but where is he?” Ardoch asked, glancing around. “He, um, might’ve gotten away when we were distracted.” Heike stared at the floor. “WHAT?” Cheryl and Ardoch shouted. “Hey, we were too busy worrying about Cheryl dropping down a giant chasm! Maybe you should look where you’re going next time!” Heike snapped. “Excuse me?” Cheryl growled.

When they got to the Council Tower, in the center of Ecros, Cheryl wouldn’t look at Heike. How could she? Like it’s my fault some supervillain decided to drop me into the ground. Mini Darkwing bounded to the door, slipped through the modified cat-flap and went inside to hopefully sleep, and not wreck destruction and burn down the tower. “We should probably get some sleep. Tomorrow, Council Meeting. Fourth floor, breakfast hall. See you guys in the morning.” Ardoch followed Darkwing in, with Cabal and Heike right on his tail.

The Council Tower was in the center of Ecros, with ten floors. Cheryl lived on the eighth, Heike the fifth, Ardoch the seventh and Cabal the sixth. Windows were scattered on the walls of the stone structure so each of the members could watch over their hometown.

As soon as Cheryl entered the eighth floor, she went straight to her bookshelf. She ran her fingers over the spines, stopping on a navy one that was rough to her touch. There wasn’t a title on the spine, so she pulled it out. Or tried to, anyway. She jumped back in surprise as the bookshelf shuddered and slid out of place, revealing a long rectangular pathway, with glowing amber sconces on the walls. This is literally something out of a fairytale. Cheryl smirked.

The stone corridor had raised slabs of marble in an unmistakable checkerboard pattern. A big rectangular painting of a flurry of butterflies was hung crookedly further down the path. Cheryl gripped the hilt of her sword as she started to make her way down.

Around twenty meters from the crooked painting, there was a dark iron door, with an old-fashioned wolf-shaped knocker. Cheryl shuddered. She grabbed the doorknocker and pulled open the door to find. . .

“An empty, abandoned room.” She slowly spun around, taking in every inch of the bare stone cube. “Who takes the time to magically hollow out a passage, then just leave it empty?!” Cheryl shouted, her voice echoing around the stupid chamber. Then her eyes fell on a mousehole in a corner.

Cheryl dropped to her knees. It’s too small to go through, and I don’t know any size related spells. Maybe I could try putting my hand in it. . . Cheryl rolled up the sleeve of her cloak, and stuck her arm in the hole up to the middle of her forearm. She wiggled her fingers around, trying to catch something. Her fingertips brushed against harsh fabric, and she pushed her arm in further, her elbow grazing the edge of the mini doorway. Cheryl’s fingers closed around a lump of woven something.

She pulled it back, examining the plain bag. It was tied with a string that looked like it had been pulled from a shirt. Cheryl carefully undid the knot, and dug through the bag. She felt something cold, around the size of her ring finger. She tipped the bag onto the floor, a golden key clattering in front of her.

Cheryl picked it up and examined it. She scoured every corner of the room, but she couldn’t find a door or chest or any kind of lock. I guess I’ll have to try later. It’s probably almost morning by now. Cheryl got up, shoved the key into her cloak pocket and raced down the corridor, the slivers of sunlight making the crooked butterfly painting glow on the grey wall.

Cheryl pushed the navy book back, making the bookshelf shudder back into place. She realized that it was part of the bookshelf, carved out of wood and stuck into it. Cheryl moved to her window and pulled back the crimson curtain, flooding the room with sunlight. She turned around to shield herself from the blinding light, her eyes falling on the clock above her bed. “Almost time for the Council meeting.” Cheryl opened her door and went straight to the meeting place.

Should I ask one of them for help with the key? I guess I could find it faster with help, but who do I ask? Heike is a no-go, after yesterday, and Cabal is too distant and loud. Ardoch? Too sarcastic and teasing. But he’s still the safest bet. Cheryl glanced around the Council table from her spot in front of Cabal. Bonas’s chair was noticeably empty. Ardoch was sleeping on a couch in the corner of the room, and he jerked awake when Heike entered the room, her heels clicking against the floor.

“We need a new Council member. Yirdem is unprotected. The ogres could strike any day once they find out about Bonas. Ardoch, anybody you’ve been spying on lately who could be up for consideration?” Heike asked, taking her place in her throne-like seat.

Ardoch flushed bright red. “I wasn’t spying on Cheryl! I just happened to be in Arcstead! I wasn’t spying, but-” Cabal coughed, earning a glare from Ardoch. “I wasn’t! Anyway, that worked out for all of us, didn’t it?” Ardoch asked, still glaring at Cabal, who towered over all of them, even while sitting down.

“So, what you’re saying is that you don’t have any suggestions?” Cheryl interrupted. “Yes, I mean no, I mean-. Agh, I don’t have anybody who could be a member.” Ardoch finished awkwardly. “So we have to start from scratch? Like trying to grow an orchid with no experience in gardening?!” Cabal asked. “Not the way I would phrase it but. . . yes.” Heike answered, her hair shifting slightly to reddish-purple for a second before going back to her colourful blend she usually had in the Council Tower.

“We could go around Yirdem? In like, the training facilities and. . .” Cheryl trailed off when Heike scoffed. “Like we’ll find someone worthy there. Ardoch was spying on you in the library, and thought you were a suitable candidate, and look how wrong he was there. “I. Was. Not. Spying!” Ardoch growled at the same time Cheryl shouted. “And how exactly is your useless party trick of mimicking a chameleon better than my sword?!”

Ardoch and Cabal screeched to a halt, backing away from the glare-off going on with Cheryl and Heike. “You didn’t just say that.” Heike spat. “Actually, I think you need to get your hearing checked, because I’m pretty sure I did.” Cheryl countered. Heike opened her mouth- Probably to say some new silly thing, Cheryl thought- but Cabal interrupted before any words could leave her mouth. “We’re going to Yirdem and splitting up into groups to try and find candidates. Cheryl and Ardoch, you go to the entertainment and business part of Yirdem, while Heike and I look around the nature bits and neighbourhoods.”

“Are you saying I’m stuck with the most sarcastic person in all of Ecros?” Cheryl and Ardoch argued. “See? It’ll be fine. Or would you rather be grouped with Heike, Cheryl?” Cabal asked, raising an eyebrow. “Fine, but you can count on me getting revenge on you for this!” Cheryl warned Cabal. “I’ll be waiting.” Cabal replied drily.

Yirdem was. . . fancy. “This place is beautiful! The architecture, the colours, it’s so organized!” Heike exclaimed once Darkwing landed next to a neat, straight row of windowless skyscrapers.

Cheryl glanced around Yirdem. Looks like fate has even more surprises set in store for me. She smirked, looking around at her companions. Once-playful, backstabber Heike, teasing, sarcastic, easily-flustered Ardoch, way-too-loud, super-tall Cabal. They were an odd bunch, but they were still ready for whatever surprises fate had waiting to spring on them. OK, that was probably the sappiest thought train I’ve ever had. Guess I’ve gotta be ready for it to crash. Cheryl sighed, but a smile was hidden in it.

THE END.