Ryan studied the envelope, unable to recognise the symbol stamped upon it. He flipped it over, and in handwritten lettering it read:
To the Young Sentinel,
May good fortune find you.
Curiously Vennoss walked closer to look at the envelope, exchanging a confused glance with Ryan before both shrugged and made their way into the medical unit, where Jaden was recovering. The battle was over for them, the rebuilding would begin the next day, but for now, they wished to speak with Jaden about the mysterious letter he had just received.
Chapter Thirty
In the silence the call is heard.
April 17, 997 R.E.
Jaden sat among green grasses on the hilltop, staring toward the blue ocean in the distance. He had been here for what seemed years, unable to return to the physical world, trapped in the haunted dream, condemned to an eternity here for a crime he could not remember. The boy with black hair was gone. He had walked away on the first day before Jaden was able to reach him. Jaden hadn’t followed. He thought it best to let the child go on his own. The boy would know where to find him if he wanted his help. It was not his place to decide what was best for the boy anymore. That right had been forfeited. He was not sure when he had done it or what he had done, but there was a weight upon his chest, of something in his past that would not allow him to go any further.
Ever since he had arrived here, it had seemed to be dawn. The sky was a dull blue, mostly covered by gray clouds. But all was at peace. There was silence, without a breath of wind about him. It gave him time to think, to wander through his thoughts without care for anything that had happened, without fear of what might be, and without hate for all that had occurred. He was free here, even if imprisoned.
He knew he had lived many years in some other world, where none of what he saw around him existed. But without the memories of that lifetime, it was little more than a whisper in the back of his mind.
There were fleeting visions that came from time to time, each revealing a new piece of the puzzle; a face, a scene, and sometimes a voice. Some made him feel anger while others made him calm. He welcomed each as a change, something more to think on. He was happy for the rest, but his mind continued to yearn for more than what was here. There was more to learn, more to achieve.
As he began to fidget with the grass in front of him, a blurred scene grew from darkness. He could not see where he was, but there was the sound of crashing water behind him. He put his head down, allowing tears to fall from his closed eyes. He was not sure why it made him cry, but he knew the place was one he truly missed from the other world.
He lifted his head as the scene disappeared and he waited the next hours in silence.
A voice spoke to him later, but like the scene, it too seemed blurred and unrecognisable. He had not heard any words, but he felt the need to get up and search around him. There was nothing here but dirt and grasses, and he quickly began to race back through the fields. He didn’t know what he was searching for, only that he needed to find it soon. Wind began to push the grasses forward as he ran faster and the sky began to flash with lightning. He saw the black-haired boy then as he reached the top of another hill and stopped in shock.
The boy’s face was calm as their eyes first met but quickly contorted into utter hatred.
Jaden shook his head. ‘Why are you still here?’
The boy glared fiercely, but said nothing.
‘Get away from me!’ shouted Jaden. ‘It’s over! Let me go!’
No matter how loud Jaden yelled at the boy, the boy remained where he was, defiant beyond anything Jaden knew.
The storm intensified as the two fought through an invisible wire linking their minds, and Jaden fell to his knees when he realised he was no match for the dark-haired boy.
‘Why?’ asked Jaden. ‘Why don’t you just forgive the world for what it is?’
Before the boy could respond, Jaden felt himself being pulled into the earth beneath him by powerful claw-like grips. He woke to darkness, unable to open his eyes. He felt the claws around his wrists, holding him down. But he would not let them defeat him. He would fight them to the end. He ignited the endobraces as he sat up and felt pain like knives slicing into both arms, forcing him to recoil back in agony.
Warm hands pushed him back down and held him there gently.
‘Easy,’ came a familiar, husky voice. ‘Easy,’ it repeated.
Jaden tossed and turned, struggling with the pain in his arms. Something was wrong. Something had happened when he had tried to use the Daijuarn energy.
When the pain subsided in the coming minutes, he found he was able to open his eyes, but no longer could he see the barren fields of the dream. He was behind a dark green curtain with three people at his side as he lay in a bed, his arms in bandages and strapped to the bed frame—what he had thought were the claw-like grips.