CHAPTER 45: 45: A FAMILIAR’S VISION

Mike washed the bowls after their meal. Renn was lying comfortably on the floor in front of the door while Chad and Drake sat at the table, pondering their next move to complete the quest.

The storm was still raging outside. Thunder rolled across the sky as lightning flashed. The rain pounded the roof as if trying to destroy it. The wind howled through the trees. There was a distant sound of cracking wood as the wind tore trees out of the ground or split them in two. Creaking followed as the torn branches fell to the wet ground. Then the crash as they hit the ground in a tangle of mangled branches.

Renn suddenly whined, distracting Drake from the map. Getting up from his seat, he went to Renn, setting his hand on her large head. "Show me what’s wrong, girl," he told her gently.

Images flooded through his mind in torrents of blood and decay. In her mind were scenes of destruction and death. Three men faced him, with their weapons in their hands.

**Renn’s Vision**

Drake stood in the center of a clearing. On the ground around him were his friends, Chad and Mike. Renn was there too. There were hundreds of beasts surrounding him. They had all been killed. Limbs severed, bodies burned. There were rivers of blood flowing around him in the dirt.

Drake wondered why the beasts didn’t turn into light particles. It’s what happened when the beast died. These beasts did not, however. Was it the vision making a point, or was it real?

As Drake’s gaze swept around him, he realized he was surrounded by three men with their bloodied weapons aimed at him.

Drake looked at the three men. One of them was wearing the robes of the dimension master. He recognized him immediately. This was the first time he had ever seen hatred in his eyes. There was so much killing intent that it nearly brought him to his knees.

Beside him were two men. One with blond hair and a bow in his hand pointed directly at him. He knew this man as well. He looked exactly like his friend. His heart hurt as he saw the same bow his friend used, pointed at him. He looked at his friend, the one this man resembled. Chad had been slain. There was a hole through his chest. He turned back to the man. The killing intent coming from him was just as strong as the others.

The second man had a sword, glowing brightly with currents of lightning passing up and down the blade. The crackle of electricity was pointed at him. He knew this man as well. He turned to his friend Mike. He had been slain also. His charred body lay still.

As he looked at his friends, slain and bloody, he looked at the three men. "Why did you kill them. Why!" he yelled.

"Dad? Why, why did you kill them?" Drake asked in confusion as he stared at his father. Beside his father were Mike’s and Chad’s fathers. All three of them had faces like stone. Their eyes were hard. Their killing intent washed past him, making it hard to stand. He didn’t understand what was going on.

Through the memories of himself in the vision, they had just shone up with no reason whatsoever and started killing his beasts, his friends, and now they were going to kill him. He could feel it. They were going to kill him, and he didn’t know why.

Slowly, the men fanned out, ensuring he couldn’t escape. Their eyes narrowed, glaring at him.

Without saying a word, his father cracked his whip toward him. The ethereal whip slashed first, its metallic counterpart followed, cutting at his limbs. He fell to the ground in pain. Looking down at himself, he was missing one of his legs. His own father injured him. He wouldn’t fight back. If his friends were gone, it was because he existed. He didn’t need to exist either.

He at least wanted to know why. Why did they kill their own sons? "Why?" Drake cried, unable to contain his sobs. He hadn’t sobbed since he was six. He had always been close to his father. He wondered why this was happening. What had he done for his own father to attack him with such violence?

His father didn’t say a word as he cracked his whip again. He didn’t bother filling it with energy. The whip flew through the air, slicing his neck. The scenery around him went dark as his head fell to the ground.

***

Drake bent down and hugged his beast. "I won’t let that happen...I won’t," he promised.

Drake turned to his friends. His face was pale. The vision had shocked him. He no longer wanted to go home. If he went back, it wouldn’t be to his childhood home. He swallowed hard before speaking. "I know who the dimension master is. I know who you are heirs to," he said stiffly.

This got Chad and Mike’s attention. They looked up from what they were doing and stared, waiting for Drake to tell them. Drake stalled for a moment, then went to the front door. Flinging it wide open, he went outside into the rain. He fell to his knees sobbing uncontrollably, then puked his guts out. He couldn’t bring himself to stop.

The vision was devastating. He couldn’t handle it anymore. As he continued to sob, Renn squeezed herself out of the door and wrapped her large body around him, trying to comfort him. He wouldn’t be comforted. The vision, he couldn’t handle it. His fear rose. It rose for his friends. It rose for his familiar. It even rose for the hundreds of beasts that had clearly been part of him.

"The dimension master is my father, and you are the heirs of your own fathers," Drake sobbed.

"But that’s good, isn’t it?" Chad asked. Not sure why it would affect his friend like that.

Mike bent down, looking Drake in the eyes. "Why is that bad. It’s good, isn’t it?"

Drake shook his head. "They are going to kill us. Not just us, but everyone."

***

Drake’s father looked at the screen. He was watching the scene unfolding in front of him. The boys were huddled on the porch. Drake was sobbing uncontrollably as his friends and beast tried to comfort him.

Chad’s and Mike’s fathers were standing behind him, watching as well. They heard everything Drake said. Their faces were pale.

"Why would we kill them along with everyone else. I don’t get it." Drake’s father asked. His green eyes shone. He was confused.

Chad’s father folded his arms. "Which clearing are they staying in?" he asked.

"It’s the first clearing on the left side of the road after the broken bridge. Why?" he asked. His green eyes were dimming. He was feeling sick about what he had just heard from Drake.

"Remember when we did our ascension, there was that one clearing by Chadwick. I thought maybe they ended up there. That clearing has that enchantment on it to make you paranoid. I wonder if that one does that as well."

"I don’t think it has an enchantment on it." Mike’s dad stated. "Is there a way for us to find out for sure?"

The dimension master stood up and paced. "Could the gargoyle king be planting visions in his beast’s mind? Drake was touching the beast before he went outside. I think his beast showed him something. Gargoyles can plant visions in beasts; it might be from him. I know Drake is linked to the beast, which means he can see in its mind."

Chad’s father stood back against the wall. His face was going pale. He was already pale, but it only grew whiter. In a shaky voice, he looked at his two friends. "What if the vision was real?"

***

Drake was pulled back in by his friends. Renn squeezed her large body through the door, following. Chad quickly went to the hearth, adding wood to the fire. It was getting cold from the storm. He was afraid it would turn to snow.

He wasn’t even sure if it snowed in the dimension they were in, but it was getting cold enough to do so.

When he was done adding wood to the fire, he remembered the water. The paralyzing fear. He wondered if this clearing was doing something like that.

Chad bent down, close enough for Drake to hear. It was a low whisper; even their fathers couldn’t hear. "Drake, it’s not true. Like the clearing of illusion, it’s not true. This could be an enchanted storm aimed at you. All I know is that our fathers would never do that. Never... don’t believe it. I don’t."

Drake looked over at Chad. His eyes were red from crying. His voice was low as he hugged his friend for his words of wisdom. "Thank you. Thank you for reminding me. It’s not true. I don’t believe it; they would never do that... It was just another attack." He whispered.