Edge pulled out her dagger like a seasoned warrior, throwing it right in the middle of a skeleton’s head. The whole world seemed to pause as it dissolved into dust, the dagger clunking to the ground.

All the monsters turned to look at Edge, their surprise dwindling. With a start, they all rushed at her.

What happened in the next few moments was blurry. All of her weakness disappeared, and she got a surge of power. She could practically feel herself glowing as she unleashed her powers. Hundreds of different shadows, in the shapes of all creatures great and small, appeared by her side.

There were flashes of black and red, some of the shadows dissolving in moments. More monsters joined the fight, distracted by the sudden appearance of these shadow things. A few monsters made their way to Edge, but Echo was right by her side, turning any monster he saw into dust.

This time, she wasn’t tired. Her heart was pounding in her chest with adrenaline, only one word on her mind.

Protect.

Before she knew it, it was over. The monsters who were left backed away, and so did the curious soldiers in the area. It wasn’t long before that street of the village was completely deserted, save for the hundreds of swords scattered around.

For once, it was perfectly silent.

Slowly, Edge let her defenses drop, and her shadows disappeared. Echo hissed at the last cowering monster, and it ran out after its friends. All that was left were her shocked, and slightly terrified, friends.

“W-what just happened?” Kate stuttered, shaking.

Kalmar’s eyes locked with Edge. “Edge? You did that?”

“Yeah,” She muttered, stumbling back a step. Her legs felt like jello, body completely drained of energy. Echo immediately jumped to her side, letting her lean on his scaly body for support.

“That’s a…” Serena’s eyes were wide as she motioned to Echo, “A dragon!”

Edge slowly lifted herself onto her dragon’s back, breathing a sigh of relief. There was no way she’d be able to walk anywhere. Keeping her eyes down, she said, “Echo. I rescued him.”

Serena wrinkled her nose. “Rescue or not, he’s still dangerous!”

“He’s sort of cute,” Evan offered helpfully.

“And not dangerous,” Kalmar walked over to Echo, placing his hand on his scales. Echo rumbled happily, shifting his feet.

“We should probably get moving,” Kate came over to Echo as well, “Maybe towards the castle is our best bet.”

“Castle?” Evan asked.

“You couldn’t see it when we were walking around the gate?”

“Guess we were paying more attention to the monsters around, rather than the scenery,” Serena scoffed.

“Well, anyway,” Kate continued on, “Edge, do you think we could all ride on Echo? It’d be a much easier way to get there.”

Well, she’d probably make Echo drop Serena on the way there, but maybe if she didn’t say anything rude, that wouldn’t happen.

Maybe.

Edge finally sighed. “Sure,”

It took a while to persuade Serena to get on, but she eventually agreed, mainly because she heard some monsters coming closer. It was definitely a challenge to fit everyone on. His front end could only fit three people, and that was if they really squished together. That meant two people had to ride below his wings, near his tail. And that definitely wasn’t stable, or really rideable.

“Serena, Kalmar?” Kate eventually asked, “What would you think about letting Echo take you with his feet?”

Kalmar shrugged, “That’s cool, I’m up for it.””

But Serena had other thoughts on the matter. “No way! This stinky beast will just drop me as soon as he has the chance!”

“Well, I don’t think there’s any other choice. You obviously can’t stay back there!” Kate grumbled.

Without warning, Echo started flapping his wings. Edge, Evan, and Kate had to hold on for dear life as he rose into the air. He swooped down, grabbed Kalmar and Serena in his talons, and lifted everybody away in one quick motion.

“LET ME DOWN RIGHT NOW!” Serena screamed, trying to squirm out of Echo’s grip. It probably wasn’t the greatest idea, though, since they were hundreds of feet above the ground.

“Bring us to the castle,” Edge leaned forward and whispered in Echo’s ear. He grunted, and re-adjusted his course.

For the first time, Edge could see what Kate meant by the castle she was talking about. On the outside of the village, on a huge hill surrounded by a river, was the biggest structure she had ever seen. It was made out of perfectly painted white and blue stone, and rose high into the air. On top of its many pillars were dark blue flags with a black dragon stitched in the perfect middle. There were probably fifty or so windows, the glass reflecting the dark light outside. It really was a breathtaking sight.

“Whoa,” Evan marveled, taking it all in. The sun was just beginning to set, casting an orange glow on the horizon. If it wasn’t for the destroyed village and the battle, it really would’ve been the most amazing place in the world.

A few of the group’s thoughts squirmed through Edge’s distracted mind. Edge straighted, almost forgetting about her mind-reading abilities. On top of the shadows constantly whispering to her, and all the stress and concentration she had needed that day, it had disappeared for a while. Guess it was back again.

It wasn’t long before they made it to the castle. Echo gently let go of Kalmar and Serena before landing beside them. They were on the smooth walkway up to the castle, which was only a couple of feet away. Looking back, Edge saw a few monsters trying to figure out a way across the river. The group probably had twenty minutes, tops, before the monsters invaded.

“I can’t believe this is real,” Kate marveled, slipping off of Echo’s back.

Kalmar nodded in agreement. “I’ve seen a lot of things today I thought weren’t real,”

“Don’t you ever make me ride with that dragon again!” Serena groaned. “And if you think that—”

“Be quiet!” Edge suddenly hissed, freezing in her tracks. She heard somebody’s thoughts, a stranger, just a little ways away. “Someone’s here.”

Everyone froze, eyes tracing the trees for any sign of the intruder.

“Good ears,” Someone said behind the group. Edge whipped around, half-expecting to see a big man with bulging muscles and a club, so she was surprised with who actually came into view.

It was a girl. Couldn’t have been older than seventeen. Her skin seemed to glow a dim white light, her features soft, and grey eyes radiating perfect beauty. Her blond hair was pulled into a single braid at the back of her head, and her dark blue dress swept the ground, its long sleeves embroidered with gold and tiny beads glittering at the waist. Around her neck was a small locket, and on her pointed ears were two small ruby earrings.

“Who are you?” Edge asked warily. Echo growled, standing up to his full height and spreading his wings menacingly.

Instead of answering the question, the girl just walked closer, studying them with an odd expression.

“You’re not from here, are you?” The girl asked softly. It seemed like she already knew the answer.

“No, we aren’t,” Kate said.

“We got teleported. Serena says we got abducted, but I don’t think so. I mean, there is a difference, isn’t there?” Kalmar shrugged, not as concerned about the stranger as everyone else was.

“Oh,” was all she said in response. “Well, I’m Rose.”

Serena seemed to take it upon herself to introduce everybody. Clearing her throat, she announced, “I’m Serena. The boys are Evan and Kalmar. Kate is over there, and Edge is the gloomy one in the back.”

“Interesting names,” Rose didn’t seem to be talking about just Edge’s either. “So, there’s… five of you?”

Five? What was so wrong with five?

“Yeah, so?” Edge’s eyes narrowed slightly.

“Nothing, I just…” Rose stopped mid-sentence, changing the subject, “How did you get teleported, anyway?”

“What’s it to you?” Edge asked suspiciously. No one else got the hint.

“My sketchbook started glowing, and me and Evan just got teleported, I guess,” Kate answered.

“Kate almost got possessed but…” Evan grimaced.

“Serena was the only reason I came here,” Kalmar sighed. “She pulled me outside, in the rain, and we teleported together.”

“I did,” Serena said proudly. She gave Kalmar a soft smirk, and he returned it with one of his own.

“What about you, Edge?” Rose turned to her.

Pausing for a second, Edge listened to the thoughts in her head. It took a second to find Rose’s thoughts in the mix of everything else, but it sure made everything more confusing when she did.

The prophecy said that there would be four kids. Are these not them? Or does someone not belong?

In a strong voice, Edge said, “I’m not going to share that.”

“But wh—” Rose’s voice was quickly drowned out by a deafening horn being blown in the distance. Rose stopped dead. Horror was woven into her expression as she whispered, “We lost.”

“You lost what?” Serena asked. Then she understood, “Oh! The battle…”’

There was a moment of silence, mourning the loss of the village. The monsters screeched and hollered, a black cloud of danger started forming in the sky. Someone was coming.

“You guys can’t…” Rose looked at everyone, breathing heavily. She took a shaking breath, then muttered, “I’m sorry.”

Edge was just about to set Echo loose on Rose, her suspicions confirmed at last. But, before she had the chance, her vision started getting blurry, head filled with fuzz. Rose looked like she was straining to do something, and Edge knew that look from experience. She was using her powers.

Looking beside her, her friends were already down, eyes closed, resting on the ground. She used all of her strength to resist the fuzziness clawing at her mind, but it was no use. In one quick moment, the darkness overtook her, and everything stopped.