 
## Jadon the Sea Bound Ohnyx

By

### Jacob A. Landis

Copyright © 2013 by Jacob A. Landis

All Rights Reserved.

Thanks to Sigrid Macdonald for her editorial assistance.

_Dedicated to all my friends and family who helped or encouraged me along the way. A special consideration to my mother, and also to my friend, Deborah H_.

Table of Contents

Prologue

Chapter 1 "Sea Monsters & Stolen Gold"

Chapter 2 "Fireworks & Candles"

Chapter 3 "Scuffles"

Chapter 4 "Storms & Scars"

Chapter 5 "Spies & Clues"

Chapter 6 "Tragedy"

Chapter 7 "Anger"

Chapter 8 "Instinct"

Chapter 9 "Resurfaced Memories"

Chapter 10 "Love at First Sight"

Chapter 11 "Truth of Character"

Chapter 12 "Sounds & Rivals"

Chapter 13 "Micah's Gift"

Chapter 14 "Home"

Chapter 15 "The First Ohnyx"

Chapter 16 "Followed"

Chapter 17 "Safe Haven"

Chapter 18 "Secret Places & Bright Lights"

Chapter 19 "Villains & Overlooked Sighting"

Chapter 20 "Ethan's Secret"

Chapter 21 "Disastrous Dream"

Chapter 22 "Triumph"

Chapter 23 "Captured"

Chapter 24 "Cursed"

Chapter 25 "Promise Kept"

## Prologue

Torrents of rain and small waves pounded hundreds of wooden docks that lined the inner harbor of a large city. The hour was late, and clouds covered the two blue moons that normally lit up the night. Only when lightning streaked through the sky were two men, a child, and a baby all visible on dock number fourteen. A fierce wind blew the large ship anchored there against the wooden platform, creating a constant loud banging. It wasn't even a split second after the lightning that thunder sounded, causing the baby to cry.

"You don't have to do this, Nathan!" yelled the first man over the roaring wind and thunder. In the dark, one could barely make out his pointed ears through the shadows.

"You know I do. They already think he's dead, Argo," said the second man. Pushing his soaked hair to the side, he looked down at the baby boy of only a few months.

"I love you, Micah," he told the baby, and gently kissed him on his forehead. The baby stopped crying almost instantly. While glancing over toward the nine-year-old child, he whispered a small phrase of comfort to the baby. "Don't you worry. Before long, Jadon will love you, too."

Looking up at Argo, Nathan detected a hint of resentment. "I don't have a choice. My son saw the man's face. It's a miracle he survived in the first place. You've heard how many didn't."

"Still, you should come with him," Argo responded.

"I already told you, it's too risky. I need to lead them away from him. I can't let anything happen to him," he cried, as both rain and tears ran down his cheeks. Handing the baby over to Argo, he pulled the nine-year-old child closer to him.

"Mmmm-mmm." The young lad's words were incomprehensible.

Nathan let out a sigh as lightning lit up the sky. He knew the boy wouldn't be able to say anything audible for a few days. In fact, he wouldn't even remember this very day at all. "I understand you won't remember this, Jadon, but I love you. I really, really love you, my _son_ ," he cried. Kissing the boy's forehead, he hugged him.

"Mmmmm," murmured the boy again.

Nathan looked into his son's eyes, only to see confusion. He glanced at Argo.

"I wish there were another way, but this is it. If he doesn't know who he is, then no one else will either."

Argo shook his head.

"Besides, it's probably best if he doesn't remember what happened," Nathan yelled as thunder rumbled around them.

"Nathan, while what you have done protects him, it only puts off him knowing and coming to terms with what happened to his mom that night. He _will_ find out," Argo shouted back.

"You're not going to..." Before Nathan could finish speaking, a huge wave crashed against the anchored ship, slamming the ship against the dock. The dock shook violently, threatening to give way. Nathan struggled to hold on to nine-year-old, while Argo did likewise with the baby, who began to cry again.

Catching his balance, Argo spoke. "No, I won't tell him. I made you that promise, but one day, he will find out on his own. What you did doesn't change the type of person he is or will be. Remember, you never could keep a secret from him."

Nathan looked down at the older boy. "I know, but maybe, just maybe, he'll accept what's happened, when the time comes."

"What happens if, while he's out exploring the world with me, someone figures out who he really is? And of his power? You know what he's capable of, and we've already seen ohnyxs like him corrupted. He won't have that problem with you," Argo replied.

"Jadon's not like that. You've already said I can't change who he is or will be. Now, enough." Shivering in the cold, wet rain, he stared at Argo as thunder sounded yet again. He was tired of talking.

"Nathan..."

"I'm not changing my mind," Nathan said. "You can protect him. That's why he's here."

Argo sighed. Nathan had saved his life once, and thus at the very least Argo owed him this.

"I can try," Argo replied.

"Now, when he asks about his mom, give him this." Nathan handed him a golden locket. "And tell him she loved him very, very much."

"What about you?"

"I love him, too. However, as far as he will know, I'm dead also." Nathan hugged his son, and kissed him one last time.

Once again, the lad responded with an "mmmmm."

"Take care of your brother," Nathan told him. He stood up and looked at both the nine-year-old child and the baby.

"Goodbye, my sons. Goodbye, Argo." And with that, Nathan turned and raced into the darkness.

## Chapter 1

Sea Monsters & Stolen Gold

~ _Six Years Later_ ~

_What is that dreadful noise_? Rolling over in the top bunk, Jadon pushed his hair to the side. Directing his eyes upward, he saw that the small, round window had opened again. The wind blew it back and forth, making it hit the inside wall. He sighed. Not only had the wind opened the window, it had also let the rain in. He could feel the back of his gray, scraggly shorts soaked through.

"Cursed window!" he yelled, and slammed the window shut so hard it opened again. Grumbling, he pushed it shut lightly this time.

"Gee, Jadon," called out a Britik accented voice from across the small room. "Some of us are trying to sleep, you know."

"Shut up, Ethan!" he said to the younger, twelve-year-old boy. They were set to argue when the room shook violently.

"Bloody sea monsters! I'm never going to get any sleep," complained the younger lad again.

"That wasn't a sea monster," Jadon whispered, as he lay watching out the window. The air outside had appeared to liquify for just a second. It could only mean one thing: trouble.

"What do you mean?"

"We're at war," he told him. Quickly, he jumped out of his top bunk.

"Where are you going?"

"What's it look like? Above deck."

"But..."

"If you see water, take Micah, and get out of here," Jadon ordered, referring to the six-year-old who slept soundly on the bottom bunk. He knew the little boy could literally sleep through anything after a long day. Hurrying across the tiny, swaying room, he grabbed his knife, which was practically a sword.

Staring through the darkness, he glared at Ethan. "Oh, I suppose you could make sure the girls get out, too."

"Whatever," the younger lad replied.

Leaving the cabin, Jadon slammed the door closed and expertly maneuvered himself through boxes of cargo. As he raced for the rear of the ship, a loud boom rang in his ears. He knew it wasn't thunder, and braced for impact against an inner wall. The already swaying ship rocked violently, but the shields held. He smiled to himself. Their ship was unique that way; it had a shield, better known as a force field. Still, he hurried because if the ship tipped over, the shield would become useless. It was merely designed to block weapon's fire, nothing more.

Scurrying up a pair of circular stairs, Jadon climbed four decks. Running down a short hallway, he came to a halt in front of the operations room. Having a large, octagon, front window, and numerous controls, it was the capital command room for the ship. As he quietly edged himself into the room, he listened to the commotion of voices.

"The ship is rocking too much in this storm! I'm telling you, no one will be able to get a clear shot," said a young woman with blue eyes, and long, black hair wrapped up in a ponytail. She was a pretty young woman in a neat, well-kept, blue uniform, but she was also highly arrogant. Jadon knew this from much experience. She was the first officer, and how she advanced that far in rank, he was curious to know.

"I'm holding her as steady, as I can, you know, but we have very high winds out there." The sarcastic remark came from a dark-haired, orange-eyed man dressed in a white jacket with black pants. Jadon knew the tired, middle-aged man as the captain.

"I'm telling you, I can do it," piped up a man with graying black hair that matched his kind gray eyes. Having the pointed ears of the Adarm race, he was also dark-skinned, and known to him as Argo. He was the second officer, which was contrary to the appearance his torn-up blue uniform gave. Looking below the old man's heavily muscled arms, Jadon noted he held a transphasic rocket gun in his hands.

"You go onto the deck, and you risk falling into the ocean. We need you!" the first officer told Argo.

"Dab nabbit, Claire, I'm not some weak little..." Argo stopped speaking as Jadon stepped into the room.

"I'll do it," he told the three of them. Once again the ship rocked, even more violently this time. "The real question is, why aren't we flying a peace flag?" he asked.

"We are," said both Argo and the captain.

"You aren't going anywhere but back to your cabin, Jadon!" said the first officer. Much to his dismay, she grabbed his knife, as if to prove her point.

"That's what you think!" Jadon replied. Then, before anyone could stop him, he grabbed the gun from Argo, who wasn't prepared for the ambush. The gun slipped from his hands, and he raced out of the room with it.

"Get back here!" Claire yelled.

"Not today, Claire!" he shouted. Running like mad, he headed for the stairs.

"Stop him!" she shouted to a crewman just starting down the hallway. The man looked menacingly at him, but Jadon had other plans. Kicking an empty barrel that had been lying in the hallway with all his might, it landed in the crewman's arms. It was just large enough of a distraction for him to scoot by, untouched.

Taking the steps two at a time, Jadon halted once he reached the main deck, and pushed the outside doors open. Rain greeted him, along with a coal black sky. He knew the two blue moons would not be out to help him tonight. A flash of light, and a loud thunderous rumble, warned him of impending danger. Bracing himself against the doorway he held on as the energy beam made its impact with the shield. The ship shook violently again, but stabilized.

As Jadon waited, he strained to get a closer look at the dark, spinning disc that would soon be his target. He smirked. Its small, red, glowing engine made it visible as well as vulnerable. Moving out, he made his way across the slippery deck, first by crouching down, and then by crawling on his hands and knees. The rain quickly drenched him. Once halfway across the deck, he took to utilizing the rope guides that he had practically memorized from abundant use. _I'm always made to help with the cargo, and now for once, it comes in handy_!

Kicking his foot under one of the guides, and gripping onto another, Jadon had a much better hold on the deck than he would have had otherwise. His efforts paid off. He aimed the laser sight of the transphasic gun at the spinning disc's engine, and pulled the trigger. A rocket shot from the gun, and followed the target its sensors had locked onto. Making contact, the rocket exploded with immense power, completely destroying the flying disc.

What Jadon didn't expect was such a large shock wave that forced him to lose his grip from the rope guide. Making matters worse, his foot slipped out from under the other guide as the ship lurched, sending him sliding across the deck. The light from the explosion nearly blinded him, making it more difficult for him to see anything to grab onto.

"Aghh!" he cried, scrambling to find another hook. The heavily-weathered deck tore at his flesh, but much to his relief, his hand grabbed another hook just in time.

Once his muscles relaxed Jadon slowly made his way back to the stairs that led to the operations room.

Claire stood there with her arms crossed, alongside the captain and Argo. All three of them looked at him with a straight face, though Argo appeared to be the least upset with him.

"Well, I did it," he told them, and handed the transphasic gun back to Argo.

"You could have been killed!" Claire said angrily. She raised a hand to slap him, though before she could the captain quickly pulled her hand away, and shook his head.

"You know, lad, your mom would've killed me if she knew I let you do that," Argo informed him.

"Let me?" questioned Jadon, and stared him in the eye.

"Take it as you will, but I think you'd better get some sleep now. Tomorrow, we'll tie down in Arkabella, and there's no telling what we will find," Argo said. Turning away, he walked toward his own cabin.

Jadon grimaced for a minute. "First, tell me what that thing was."

"An Atlantin drone," Claire answered. "Now, isn't it time you got back to bed?"

Jadon narrowed his eyes. "And isn't it time you grew out of your dolls?" he asked, referring to the extensive collection of dolls she kept in her quarters.

Claire growled, no doubt wondering how he knew about that.

Jadon just smiled and walked away, satisfied.

"So, what happened up there?" inquired Ethan, back in their cabin.

"Nothing much," replied Jadon, as he changed into warm, dry clothes.

"You're not going to tell me again?"

"What's to tell?"

Silence followed. They had had this argument many times and Ethan never won.

Jumping up into his top bunk, Jadon set to sleep, for he knew the sun would be up in no time.

###

"Argh!" screeched Jadon the next morning.

"What?" questioned Ethan, whose short brown hair, orange eyes, and freckled face could be seen today. He wore a white shirt that differed from Jadon's green shirt, but his black shorts were almost identical. Ethan was just an inch and a half shorter than the older lad, which was painfully obvious to him.

"I have to swab the deck again. Didn't I just do that the other day?" Jadon asked. Glancing in a half-broken mirror on the wall, he frowned. It wasn't his green eyes, or red tinged blond hair that bothered him, but his child-like figure. _I'm supposed to be fifteen years old_! Yet no matter how many times he saw himself, he only looked about ten.

"Well, actually, that was a week ago," Ethan answered from behind him.

Jadon narrowed his eyes. "I still think Claire had something to do with it."

Ethan just rolled his eyes at him as he pulled an apron on. "You always think that. Although, if you do get things to change, get me out of the kitchen. I really hate peeling potatoes."

"Jadon?" inquired a high-pitched voice from below both of them. Tiny, green eyes peered up at the two lads.

"Yes, Micah?" he asked the light-blond haired, six-year-old with a softly freckled nose. Micah was small for his age, but Jadon knew he could count on the little boy. He also knew they shared the most in common, even with their age difference. They were both orphans, and brothers, though the latter was kept secret. Ethan had his dad, his mom having died when he was young.

"What do I have to do today?" the youngster asked. Twisting his hands inside the oversized blue shirt he wore, Micah looked up at Jadon.

"Well, it looks like you're to help, Ethan." Quickly, Jadon helped him comb his short hair, which was moderately shorter than his own.

"Joy," Ethan said. Grabbing one of the little boy's hands, they started to walk away.

Turning around, Micah smiled back at Jadon, showing his two missing baby teeth. The youth returned the smile. A short time later, after finding a mop and bucket, he climbed to the main deck. Once there, he paused, looking out past the railing, and across the ocean. Today was very sunny, with a few clouds, a slight wind, and good visibility, much the opposite of last night, he noted. Sighing, he started his cleaning routine.

After a few minutes, he sensed someone watching him.

"Morning, Abigail," he told the long, brown-haired girl of fourteen, behind him. Four little, white, pointed horns on the center of her forehead barely stuck out half an inch, but gave evidence to her Vagmar ancestry, and added to her otherwise soft complexion. Much to Jadon's dismay, though, their heights matched. However, as each day passed, he found himself getting over it. Today, he took notice of the plain, blue dress she wore, and how it matched her bright, blue eyes.

"Morning, Jadon," she replied.

"So, why is it that you get up when we do, when you're allowed to sleep an extra hour?" he questioned her.

"Because I want to."

"Because you like watching me work?"

"No," she giggled at him.

"Well, that is what you do every day."

"No, it just seems that way because you always spot me on my way past you."

"Right, or maybe, you're just in love with me," Jadon said, and shook his head.

"You wish," she replied, and started to walk away.

"Abby, wait up!" came another voice Jadon recognized. It was Abigail's younger sister, Shawnya. Their mom and dad had been serving on board the ship for the past two years. Shawnya's hair was brown just as her sister's, but cut slightly shorter and wrapped up into a ponytail. Her eyes were a deep violet, and her height was also shorter, to match her twelve years of age, but no one could mistake the resemblance. Three little, white, pointed horns rose out from the center of her forehead.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked as she straightened the wrinkles from her worn green dress.

"How lazy you girls are, and how you like to watch me do all the work," Jadon told her.

"Not me!" Shawnya cried out. "Only Abby likes to do that."

Abigail blushed, and pushed her sister along.

He smirked.

"We'll see you later," Abigail said, and hurried down the hallway, pushing her little sister along despite her protest to stop.

Jadon watched them head toward the mess hall before going back to his job of swabbing the deck. He was surprised at how dirty the deck got each week, even after the recent storm. A short time later, he had finished, just as the breakfast bell rang.

Normally, Jadon would run to the mess hall, but today he had other plans. After all, they were soon going to be in port for three days. Entering the stern of the ship, he smiled. Built taller than the rest of the ship, it housed the operations room, several offices, and the captain's quarters on the second level. The first level where he stood housed several of the officers' quarters. Slipping quietly into the hallway, he stopped at the first room, and placed his ear against the door. He knew she was most likely getting her morning meal. Quiet as a mouse, he slipped a hair pin in the flimsy lock, and unlocked it with some expertise.

Jadon slowly pushed the door open. All the doors on the ship seemed to creak if they were opened too fast; this he knew well. The cabin wasn't much bigger than his, but had a bigger window, and only slept one person, Claire. Shelves filled with dolls took up an entire wall; they were of all sorts, each with unique styles. Still, he found them as creepy as ever with their fake eyes, though some more real-looking than others. A chest which held her clothes, and a small, single bed filled the room. Not much else populated the room, except a picture on the wall of her with an older man the youth didn't recognize.

Taking a deep breath, Jadon listened closely to any and all sounds; after all, he didn't want to be caught in here. A thought sprung into his mind. _What would my mom think_? He shook it aside. He didn't care. After all, she was dead. The thought quickly came back; it was a lie, and he knew it. He did care, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember her, or even his childhood, for that matter. It was as if he had forgotten, and it had altogether vanished from his mind.

Still, Jadon didn't understand how that could have happened. _How could I forget my own parents_? he asked himself, causing his eyes to gloss over. Argo had told him long ago that he was just blocking his memories out because of his parents' death, but he knew that wasn't it. He wasn't depressed. As a matter of fact, he didn't even know how they had died. Yet, he still couldn't remember even bits and pieces of his childhood. His earliest memory was from the trade ship he was now aboard. The whole ordeal angered him more than Claire ever could. _Why can't I remember anything_! Jadon's mind screamed. His anger boiled over, and he punched the wall directly in front of him.

It was then that he suddenly remembered where he was, in Claire's cabin. He took another deep breath, and closed his eyes. This cleared his mind, and consequently made him focus on the task at hand.

Claire's cabin was notably familiar as Jadon had already been in her cabin before. Therefore, he found what he was looking for rather quickly. Under a small doll on the second shelf was a box. Opening the box he found two sacks of gold coins. He took the fuller one, and then carefully replaced the box, and the doll back on the shelf. He shoved the bag of gold coins deep into a pocket in his shorts. Glancing around the room one last time, he didn't spot the knife Claire had taken.

Growling slightly to himself, he made his exit just as fast as his entrance, making sure to relock the door. Running back down the decks, he went down to the mess hall. Grabbing a tray, Jadon ran over to where Ethan was serving food, with Micah at his side.

"Pancakes and orange juice only, Ethan. No one likes fried potatoes with this meal," he told him.

"Hey, I didn't make up the menu," the younger lad said defensively.

"I know. Just tell your friend, the cook, one of these days."

"You know I can't do that unless I want to be skinned alive."

"Yeah, yeah," Jadon mumbled. He then walked over to the table where Abigail and Shawnya sat.

"Hi, Jadon. What are you going to do today?" Shawnya asked cheerfully.

"Go exploring on the mainland. Maybe some shopping as soon as we make landfall," he told them. Digging into his pancakes with a fork, he stuffed an absurd amount into his mouth.

"Shopping?" questioned Abigail. She attempted to ignore his table manners. "I thought you hated shopping."

"Well, maybe I changed my mind, and maybe if you're nice, I'll buy you something," Jadon told her. Immediately, he could see her surprise for he had not allowed her to come along with him before.

"Really?" Abigail asked.

"Yes," he answered. "Really."

"Fine, I'll come with you."

Jadon narrowed his eyes. "You'd better be able to keep up."

"Oh, I'll be fine," she promised.

"Very well."

"Jadon?" inquired Shawnya.

"What?" he asked, still chewing his pancakes.

Walking over to him, Shawnya whispered a request into his ear.

Chuckling, he nodded. "I'll see what I can do."

Almost as soon as Jadon finished his pancakes, each of them felt the ship bump against the docks. Running outside, he headed up one deck followed by Abigail, who left her unfinished meal behind.

###

Shawnya rolled her eyes, knowing that she would have to clean up after her sister, and explain to their parents that she had gone off with the "reckless hooligan," as she called Jadon. Sighing, she was sure she'd never know why her sister liked him.

###

Meanwhile, above deck, men were busy tying the ship to the piers. Abigail watched as Jadon didn't wait for a ramp to the dock. He made the three-foot jump to the dock easily. She followed, making the jump across, but her landing was not as smooth as his. She tried to regain her balance, but found it to be a losing battle as she started to fall toward the water.

"Jadon!" she screamed as the murky water loomed closer and closer.

## Chapter 2

Fireworks & Candles

Jadon caught her the instant she yelled, grabbing her arm in the nick of time.

"I hope I don't have to do this the whole time we're together," he said, and headed toward the edge of the town. The scene at the docks was pure chaos. It wasn't often that a ship from the west made it in to dock. Buyers and sellers rushed for the best deals.

Glancing over his shoulder to make sure Abigail was still with him, he caught sight of their ship. It was an older Jafarian trade ship, and as such, it resembled a caravel. This meant the stern which housed the operations room was the tallest part of the ship, at two decks in height. The center was then the lowest point of the ship, while the deck near the bow was raised. Two levels of round windows known as portholes dotted the wooden-looking hull that mimicked older ships. However, he had learned long ago that the hull was really a special type of metal welded together in such a way that made it look wooden.

To Jadon, the ship was big and strong, having easily withstood the ocean many times in the past. Gold letters reading "Taryn" stood out from the white-striped, navy blue paint job. Gazing up slightly, he saw how three giant wood beams rose toward the sky from within the center of the ship. Known as the mast, they carried the sails, at least when they used them. The ship was a hybrid, and could use either sails or its engines. Today, though, both the engines were off, and the sails were folded up, for they would be staying in port at least three days.

Even before they made it off the dock, they bumped into Teacher, who was helping to tie the ship to the pier. "Be back soon. I plan to have a lesson for you young ones today," he told them both. "Don't be late," he warned, looking straight at Jadon.

He laughed, and quickened his pace. Reaching the end of the dock, his boots met up with the sandy streets. He continued toward the tan, stucco buildings that largely made up the desert town. A fairly busy place, people seemed to purposely get in his way.

"Would you wait up? These shops aren't going anywhere!" Abigail tried to tell Jadon. It was no use, though. He rushed ahead anyway, rudely squeezing between people as he made his way through. Just then, the sound of a tiny bell rang out ahead of them.

"...Money for the orphan children! Please share your extra parzacs!" A lady wearing a tattered dress yelled out to the crowd. Jadon stopped, and pulled out the small bag he had taken from Claire's cabin. Abigail stopped beside him as he handed the lady two gold coins. The lady was almost speechless.

"Are... are these gold?" she stuttered.

"Yes. Use them wisely," Jadon said, and walked off quietly.

Finally catching up, Abigail told him what she thought of his actions. "That was kind of you."

"You're welcome," he replied.

"No, really, it was."

The sun beat down on the small town, and they heard voices everywhere. Jadon halted for a moment, looking around. Singling out one voice, he ran it through his mind.

"Get your maps of Arkabella! Only two parzacs!" yelled the female voice. He looked over, and scanned the area around and behind the woman's stand. Smiling, he walked away, until he came to a small alleyway.

"Where are you going?" questioned Abigail.

Jadon didn't respond. Taking the alleyway, he circled the area until he came to a stop behind the woman's stand. Just as he had suspected, he found a stack of maps sitting there, unguarded. As he got closer, he bent down, and hid behind the stand. Taking a map, he looked it over, and then began walking away with it.

"Hey, you're not going to steal that, are you?" asked Abigail.

"Why not? It's certainly not worth two parzacs," he countered.

"Jadon..."

By now, the lady had seen them both behind her stand. "Hey! Get away from there! That map's two parzacs!" she yelled as she started around the stand. Jadon stared at the map, and then ran down the alleyway.

"Jadon, give it back!" Abigail yelled at him, and yanked his arm.

"Fine," he said, and threw the map at the lady. She picked it up and stopped chasing after them, but not without yelling at them first.

"That wasn't very nice," Abigail told him after they stopped running.

"I didn't steal it, so be happy."

"That's not the point."

Just then, Jadon halted in front of a store displaying causal clothes on sale in its large front window.

"I'm going in here. You can keep arguing out here if you want to," he said mockingly as he walked inside.

He heard her sigh loudly behind him, and then she followed him inside.

"A clothes store?" she asked inside.

"You wouldn't believe how fast I go through clothes. Besides, Shawnya asked for some boy clothes," Jadon replied, and moved on to look around. Picking up several sets of clothes, he was quickly ready to go, and turned toward Abigail.

"Well, are you going to get anything?" he questioned her.

"Can you afford it?" she inquired.

"You better believe it."

Smiling a little, Abigail headed to the girls' side, and picked out an elegant dress.

"You have no use for such a fancy dress on our ship," Jadon called after her, annoyed that she'd even consider one.

"Maybe I do," she said as she took the dress into the fitting room.

Rolling his eyes, he walked over to the room, and leaned back against the door while he waited. This created a loud bang.

"Hey, don't look!" she screeched.

"I'm not looking. I'm waiting. Why would I look?"

Abigail giggled, but didn't answer. A short moment later, she emerged in a gorgeous, blue-strapped dress that fit her quite beautifully.

Jadon found himself staring helplessly at her.

"And that's why I need this dress," Abigail said, and smiled as she walked back into the fitting room. Closing it once again, she changed back to her plain, old work dress. Soon they were ready to purchase.

The cashier looked amused with them as he looked at what they wanted to buy. Both Abigail and the cashier looked shocked as Jadon pulled out the bag of gold coins, and laid two of them on the table.

"That should cover it," he said.

The clearly astonished cashier nodded, and packaged everything for them in a box.

Jadon carried it out the door.

"Where did you get all that gold?" asked Abigail, as soon as they left the store.

"I get paid for all the work I do on the ship. Maybe if you did some work, they'd pay you, too," Jadon told her.

Abigail didn't look convinced, but didn't argue with him.

"Where are we going now?" she inquired.

"Just around the corner," he answered.

All of a sudden, Abigail yelled out and quickly darted across the street.

Jadon groaned as he watched her walk up to a perfume stand. He reluctantly followed.

"What do you need perfume for?" he asked her, obviously annoyed.

"To smell good, of course," Abigail replied sweetly.

Jadon rolled his eyes. "I'll be waiting over there," he said, and pointed toward a market house across the street. He certainly didn't want to be seen hanging around a perfume stand. He handed her one gold coin, hoping she wouldn't buy too much.

"Okay," Abigail told him, smiling slightly.

Quickly, Jadon made his way through the crowd. Stopping across the street, he leaned against a pole that held up a large porch to a marketplace. Every so often, he caught glimpses of Abigail. Why did she have this need for pretty things? He shook his head. Suddenly, a voice from the crowd caught his ears.

"Transphasic gun ammo, half price, but only for you," said someone.

"I'll send my youngest son over. What time and what place?" another voice asked.

"Thirty minutes from now. I'll have one of my men waiting. Dock forty-eight as usual," said the first voice. Jadon got a glimpse of one the men as they left, memorizing his black hair, piercing eyes, and a clearly unshaven chin.

Glancing back at Abigail, he saw she was paying for three bottles of perfume. Once she finished paying for everything, he walked over, wrapped his arm around hers, and pulled her along.

"Hey!" she exclaimed at first, but then let herself be pulled along. After about a half a dozen yards, they stopped at a toy store.

"What do you need here?" questioned Abigail.

Jadon didn't answer. He simply walked inside. The place was full of kids. Walking over, they stopped in front of a display of a small wooden train.

"You didn't want me to buy a dress or perfume, but you're going to get yourself a toy?" asked Abigail, sounding completely bewildered by his actions.

"It's not for me. It's for Micah."

Picking it up, Jadon made sure each of the wheels worked, and not a scratch was on it. Finally, he placed it back in the box it had come out of. Walking over to the cashier, he gave him one of the gold coins.

The man smiled, and gave him some change in parzacs.

Once outside, he accelerated his pace back to their ship.

"Well, this has to be the first time you've ever wanted to be on time to Teacher's classes," Abigail said.

Jadon remained silent. Within a few minutes, they made it to where the Taryn was docked. Abigail started up the ramp to the ship, but Jadon stopped her. He sat the box with the toy train on top of the box of clothes.

"What are you doing?" she asked, clearly confused.

"Take them to my cabin," he told her. "I'll be back." Then, he started off past several docks.

"Wait!" she called, but he didn't listen. He hurried off.

It was dock forty-eight Jadon was looking for. The Taryn was in dock twelve. After a long few minutes, he found it. Looking at a nearby clock tower, he saw he was ten minutes early. Walking a few yards away from the dock, he paced as he waited. Only three minutes had gone by when he saw a short, bald man coming down the dock carrying a wooden cargo box. Setting the box down, the man looked around. Jadon saw his chance. He walked confidently up to the man.

"You have my cargo?" he asked.

"If transphasic gun ammo it be, then yes," the man replied.

Jadon opened the box, and picked up and examined the rockets. He grinned. They would work quite nicely on his ship. Knowing this, he asked how much.

"Thirteen gold, but only for you, and your father."

Jadon quickly counted out thirteen gold coins, and handed them to him.

The man however, looked at him strangely. "I thought your father had black hair."

"He does. I dyed mine," Jadon responded swiftly.

The man smiled, and nodded. "You youngins," he said with hearty old laugh. Finally, the man handed the box to him. The box wasn't light, but Jadon hurried away. He knew the real son would be by anytime now.

As it was though, time was not on his side. Just as he reached the end of the dock a teen not much older than himself, but much taller, headed his way. Jadon rushed toward a road leading away from the docks, but the man and teen figured it out, and raced after him. He tried to run, but the box slowed him down too much, and they quickly surrounded him.

"Nice try, bub," said the teen. Red eyes glared through straight black hair at the youth.

"Sorry, I paid for it. It's mine now," Jadon said convincingly.

The teen laughed and pulled the box from his hands.

Jadon grabbed for his knife, but his pocket felt empty. Instantly, he remembered the night before.

The big man snickered and grabbed him. He struggled as they carried him toward a large building. "You're coming with us now," the man told him.

The teen chuckled. "I can't believe a kid almost stole our ammo," he told the man.

Jadon opened his mouth to refute the mistruth, but only grumbled, deciding it wiser not to let them know anything about himself. This wasn't the first time he had heard such a thing about his age, as he thought back to his first fight with Ethan. Narrowing his eyes, he focused on the matter at hand, listening to the man and teen talk among themselves.

"We need a better system," the man replied.

"Yeah. Next time, look for me, not this kid," the teen responded. Finally they came to a large building, where the man kicked the door open. They walked into what Jadon assumed to be a warehouse. Empty and musty smelling, it was fairly dark, lit by only a few lonely bulbs. The man carried the struggling youth into a corner where a wooden chair sat along with some wine bottles and various other things. Finding some rope, they tied his arms to the chair. Satisfied, they began their interrogation.

"How did you find out about our load of transphasic ammo?" asked the man.

"I overheard some talk at the marketplace."

"So, who oversees you?"

"No one," replied Jadon. The man slapped him, but he didn't even wince.

"Let's try that again," the man said. "And this time, tell the truth."

"I am telling the truth," the youth responded.

The man tried a different approach. "Who told you to come and intercept these goods?"

"No one. I overheard a guy getting a deal on them, and thought I'd make my own deal instead," Jadon retorted.

The man growled and the teen sighed. "I'll go find my father," the teen told the man, then headed outside.

"Where were you taking them?" the man asked Jadon.

"To my ship."

"Which one?" questioned the man.

Jadon knew it wouldn't be wise to answer that.

"It doesn't matter. You have your goods. Now let me go, you scoundrel!" He pulled at his ropes.

"You know, it doesn't pay to be a pigeon toad with me!" said the man loudly, and slapped him. Still, even with the man's show of force, the youth refused to answer any more questions to his liking. The man walked away, frustrated.

Jadon yanked at his ropes again. He saw that they were beginning to loosen. Tugging much harder now, it wasn't long before the palms of his hands met.

Abruptly, the man turned and noticed. "You little rat!" He hurried back over.

Try as he might, Jadon couldn't free himself in time. Grabbing Jadon's hands, the man intended to bend them backward, causing the youth pain. Instead, a bright light suddenly blinded them both.

"What is this?" the man yelled.

Jadon didn't answer. He too wondered what was happening. Fifteen seconds passed, and the light died down, letting them both see again.

Standing back up, the man, once angry, now appeared very afraid. For a moment, both of them were silent.

"Who are you? What did you just do to me?" the man blurted out, breaking the silence. All of a sudden, something from behind him smacked his head. As the man fell to the ground, Abigail stood visible, holding a broken piece of wood.

"Well, I hope you're happy," she said to Jadon.

"What are you doing here?" he questioned her.

"Saving you. What else?" She quickly untied the ropes.

"Nice going, but remember, I don't owe you anything."

"Oh, I think you do," Abigail replied with a smirk, which quickly disappeared only to be replaced by a worried face. "But, for right now, let's get out of here."

As they headed out of the warehouse, Jadon grabbed the chest.

"Tell me you aren't taking that," Abigail whined.

"I paid for it."

She sighed. "Come on, let's hurry."

"Did you see a bright light as you came in?" he questioned her, once outside the building.

"Yeah, what was it?"

"I don't know."

They had only gone a couple of hundred yards down the road when a yell rang out behind them. Both Abigail and Jadon took off running. Darting through a sea of people, the youth realized he was feeling unusually tired. Watching closely at the stores he passed, he looked for any sort of distraction. Then, he saw it. At the far side of the intersection ahead, he saw a candle shop. Just before that, on the other side, was a pyrotechnical shop. _Perfect_ , he thought. Quickly, he handed the box to Abigail.

"Why are you giving this to me?" she asked, clearly out of breath.

"I need to create a distraction!" he said impatiently.

"Jadon!"

He didn't respond, and instead ran toward the candle shop with Abigail rushing to keep up.

As he grabbed the brightest lit candle from the shop, he heard yelling, and then someone running after him. The sound of footsteps only made him run faster.

"What are you doing?" Abigail asked breathlessly, trying to keep up. "Jadon!" she yelled.

Still not answering, he raced through the crowd. Hot wax splattered onto his hand, but he ignored the pain. His target lay straight ahead. A box filled with different varieties of fireworks sat out in front of the pyrotechnical shop. He promptly flung the candle into the box.

Seeing what he had done, a short man with a long beard came out of the shop and yelled after him. As the sparks began to fly, the man yelled for everyone to clear the area, as he also made a fast exit.

Meanwhile, Jadon spotted the teen he had been with earlier. Now he was with a dark-haired man. Probably his father, he guessed. Both of them were looking with wonder at the panic-stricken crowd.

A loud explosion erupted as the fireworks started going off, filling the entire intersection with smoke. People screamed and ran for cover.

Abigail was yelling after him, but Jadon blocked it out. He waited until he could no longer see the man and the teen. They couldn't see him either, or so he concluded.

Grabbing Abigail's arm, he hastily led the terrified girl toward the Taryn, now barely visible through all the smoke.

Minutes later, when they finally arrived at the Taryn, Abigail was coughing, but was otherwise all right, and Jadon's prized box of ammo was still in her grasp.

"Well, that was fun," he told Abigail, and then grabbed the box from her.

"Fun?" she shouted. "We could have been killed!"

"Oh, calm down. It worked."

She seemed about to answer him when another voice interrupted them.

"Abigail! Jadon!" yelled Argo from the ship. "You have any idea what's going on over there?" he asked, and pointed toward the smoke. Jadon and Abigail looked at each other.

"Nope," said Jadon, shrugging his shoulders.

"Hmm, well at any rate, you're late for school again. Teacher won't be very happy," the old man warned.

"He never is."

"Ahh, but this time, you took the lass with you," Argo replied with amusement as the youth smiled.

Once across the ramp, and onto the ship, Jadon climbed down below deck. He placed the box of transphasic ammo into the cargo hold. Then, he made his way to his cabin where he hid the rest of the gold coins. After finishing all this, he finally made his way to the schoolroom, just like Abigail.

"Good morning, Jadon. As usual, you're the last one to arrive," stated a middle-aged man with short brown hair. Compared to every other man on the ship, he seemed much more refined because of his clean-shaven appearance, and the tidy suit he wore. His blue eyes peered out from behind a pair of spectacles, overseeing the teaching of the children aboard the Taryn. He was tall, but not overly so.

Jadon looked around, and noticed a youth who looked slightly older than him was present. Dressed in perfectly clean clothes, he had black hair, brown eyes, and appeared to be fairly tall. Also noticeable were the tiny black spots that covered his arms and neck, making it evident that his ancestry was of the Lemaron race.

"As you can see, Jadon, we have a new fellow joining us. His name is Tim," Teacher said glancing between the two lads. Tim stared at the youth with a confident smile.

Nonetheless, Jadon frowned, feeling an instant dislike for him. _He's hiding something_ , he thought silently, but quickly wondered why he thought such a thing.

Suddenly, Abigail raised her hand.

"Yes?" asked Teacher.

"I do believe Jadon was on time the day we did female anatomy," Abigail told the class with a smile. This made everyone laugh, except Jadon.

"Yes, that's true," stated Teacher.

"Do you want me to leave?" Jadon questioned aloud, as he felt his cheeks beginning to glow.

"Now Jadon, there is no need for that," Teacher replied, and then clapped his hands. "Let's all turn to lesson forty-eight of your science book." Soon everyone was listening to Teacher lecture about plants and photosynthesis.

Jadon was glad he was able to memorize what he guessed to be the important parts. His grades weren't bad, so it must be working. A photographic memory, someone once told him.

Once school was over for the day, he headed to the mess hall with Abigail and Ethan.

"So, where are these new recruits staying?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice.

"I hear Tim is getting his own cabin," Abigail responded.

"What!" Stopping, he turned around, and faced them. "Why?"

Abigail and Ethan looked at each other.

"He's sixteen," Ethan said slowly.

Anger slowly built up inside Jadon. Reaching his boiling point, he punched the wall.

"I was supposed to get my own cabin next!"

Just then, a voice spoke behind him. "Hey, you can have it, if you want. I didn't know you wanted it so badly." Turning around, he saw Tim standing behind him. Compared to Jadon, he was very tall.

"Really?" asked Jadon, narrowing his eyes. He was used to tricks.

"Yeah, I can stay with the munchkins, if you want," Tim told him. His face showed that he was telling the truth.

Jadon thought about it for a moment.

"No, I'll stay with the munchkins," he said, clearly confusing everyone. Then, he walked away.

"Was it something I said?" he heard Tim ask them.

"Yes. I'm not a munchkin," Ethan replied.

Jadon, nevertheless, didn't even question the decision he had just made. The reason was simple; he didn't trust Tim. Not yet anyway, and not around Micah.

A few minutes later, Jadon went down to the mess hall, and quickly consumed a chicken sandwich for lunch. He hadn't had chicken for months.

"Slow down. You'll choke," Abigail warned him. She and Micah were sitting with him.

"I've never seen you eat so fast, Jadon," remarked the six-year-old.

"Yes, you have. Remember the time we first had chili?" questioned Abigail.

Micah seemed to think about it for a moment. "No," he replied innocently.

"Well, he did then, too," Abigail replied. Having finished eating, she picked up a hairbrush and ran it through her long, brown hair. Turning to look at Jadon she said, "So, I've been thinking about what you owe me for saving your life."

Jadon stopped eating for a moment. "I don't owe you anything!"

"Yes, you do... What did you do this time?" she asked, looking behind him.

"Hmm?" Jadon looked behind him.

A clearly agitated Claire stormed over to him, taking large steps. Grabbing him by the shirt collar, she slammed him into the wall.

Jadon simply stared calmly at the first officer.

"Where's my gold!" she demanded, and searched his pockets.

Micah looked genuinely scared.

"What gold?" asked Jadon innocently enough, as Claire failed to find any gold in his pockets.

"You know very well what gold!" she screamed.

"I only took compensation for my knife."

"Your knife isn't worth that much!"

"How would you know what my knife is worth to me?"

"Fine," she replied. With one hand on Jadon's collar, she used the other to pull his knife from her pocket, and forcibly stuck it into the table. "Now, where's my gold?"

"Well, I would have taken your gold in place of it had I known where you kept it." He grabbed his collar away from her, and then pulled his knife from the table, and walked away. By now, everyone was staring at them.

Claire punched the wall in frustration, and left the mess hall.

Abigail was shocked. Her forehead wrinkled, making her horns appear more threatening. "You mean that gold we used today was hers?" she asked him, a hint of anger entering her voice.

"Not anymore it's not!" Jadon said with a laugh. "Guess we're partners in crime, now, huh?" he joked.

"Jadon!" she yelped at him. Ignoring her, he took his last swallow of water, stood up, and walked out.

The rest of the day was uneventful. Argo busied Jadon and Ethan in transporting the cargo.

Jadon was old enough to help raise and lower the cargo. Ethan found himself below deck, restocking items in the hold. A single crane raised and lowered the larger cargo through an enormous hatchway in the deck of the Taryn. By late afternoon, the cargo hold was overflowing with goods, as though it had never even been touched.

Dinnertime that evening was short, and Jadon was glad for that. He was unusually tired; after all, he was normally just as busy. It wasn't until he showered that night that he could finally relax and be alone. Claire had been glaring at him all day.

Jadon smirked as he rolled the soap over himself. He was always one step ahead of Claire. _Mom would be proud_! _She didn't raise no dumb, little boy_ , he thought happily to himself at first, but then sighed. At least he hoped she would be proud.

Soon he was thinking about the events of the day, and what had happened in the warehouse in particular. _Did I imagine it_? he asked himself. _No, Abigail saw it also_. Yet, try as he might, he could not think of any possible explanation. Smiling, he remembered how Abigail had attempted to save him. _She's not so bad_ , he slowly realized, and smiled. _Wonder if you'd approve, Mom_? he asked, looking up toward the ceiling with a smile.

The very next day, Jadon tried hard to stay awake through Teacher's lecture on geology. Just when it couldn't get any more boring, the ship shook unexpectedly.

"What was that?" Micah inquired.

"It was probably just a large piece of cargo," Teacher told them.

Even so, Jadon rose from his chair. "I'm going to check it out!" he told them.

Much to Teacher's dismay, Abigail, and Micah followed, leaving Ethan, Shawnya, and Tim to look at Teacher's helpless facial expression.

## Chapter 3

Scuffles

Using the closest ladder, Jadon climbed his way up to the main deck. Once there, he noticed some large metal framework leading inside the cargo bay at the front of the Taryn. This cargo bay, instead of using a top hatch, was accessible through large doors on either side of the ship. When closed, the doors blended in so well with the rest of the ship that it was nearly impossible to tell they were there.

Knowing that what he wanted to see was below deck, Jadon hurried to the cargo hold. Much to his surprise, only one extremely large cargo box filled the normally overflowing cargo bay. Both the captain and Argo stood in the room, along with several other crew members. Giving the crew an order, they pried the box open, and pulled the sides down slowly. A very unusual looking object became visible just as Abigail and Micah arrived.

Navy blue in color, it was shaped much like a boomerang. Around twenty feet wide, it rested on three wheels. Rounded on each end were wings that started out thin and narrow. Placed in the middle were large vents, where Jadon suspected the engines to be hidden. Gradually widening, the wings became thicker as they approached the center of the aircraft. There, a raised space, along with a windshield, gave evidence to a cabin. Both it and the wings were heavily slanted, and led to a sharp-looking point all around the front side.

As Jadon, Abigail, and Micah walked around the aircraft, an immediate oddity struck him. The wings were pointed forward. Jadon estimated the angle to be no more than thirty-six degrees. This design was completely contrary to most jet aircrafts, which pointed their wings behind them. Instead, the side that the wings pointed away from featured a small single door in the center.

"What is it?" inquired Abigail.

"A skybird," answered Jadon.

"A what?" questioned Micah, looking up at him.

"It's like a plane, but it doesn't need a runway. A skybird can fly straight up into the air, and then rush off faster than the speed of sound," the youth explained.

"It's not just any skybird. It's a Jafarian skybird," Argo told them both proudly as he walked up behind them.

"A Jafarian one? Where did you find one of those?" Jadon was suddenly full of questions. Jafarian technology was hard to come by, especially when the country was hundreds of miles away.

"Yes, a Jafarian one. Let's just say, a little bit of sailor's luck," Argo laughed. "Jadon, how would you like to go with me? I have some special cargo to pick up."

"Sure," he replied causally, not taking him seriously.

Argo insisted. As soon as the crew removed the metal framework from the bay, the old man motioned him toward the skybird.

"And what about your schoolwork, young man?" asked yet another voice.

Jadon turned to see Teacher glaring at him from under his spectacles. Ethan and Shawnya were also with him.

"My grades are good," he told Teacher quickly, staring back at the man.

Teacher rubbed his chin thoughtfully before replying. "That they are. Very well. Double the work tomorrow."

Jadon smiled, and Argo nodded. By now, the crew members had moved away the remainder of the cargo box.

"Is the sky...bird yours now?" Micah asked Argo.

"Yes, lad."

Jadon noticed how excited Argo was. "You do know how to fly one of these, right?" he inquired, a bit sheepishly.

"Of course I do. I learned back at base twelve. Ever since then, I've always wanted one," he told Jadon.

"You're not scared, are you?" Shawnya asked him, and jabbed his shoulder.

"Of course not," Jadon replied. Pulling the rear door open, he was surprised to find no seats and no controls; just a large empty space.

Argo laughed. "I hope you're not planning on riding in the cargo hold."

"Smart move," Ethan taunted with a smile.

Jadon grimaced, and quickly backed away, closing the door tightly. He waited impatiently for Argo to get in first this time but the old man didn't move right away. Instead he made a visual inspection of the skybird first.

After a long minute, Argo climbed onto the right wing, and then over the top of the cabin. Climbing through a round hatch, he disappeared from view.

Jadon followed him, and climbed into the two-seater cockpit.

"So, does it have weapons?" Jadon asked curiously, as he fastened the safety harness. He took a look at the large, intricate control panel, with several small screens and keypads in front of him. Argo flipped some switches, and the skybird powered up.

"Of course it does," Argo responded. Picking up a headset, he spoke into it. "Taryn, we're off." As Argo flicked yet another switch, Jadon felt the skybird lurch.

###

Meanwhile, outside the skybird, the crew members moved the group into the doorway of the cargo hold. A high-pitched sound could be heard as the engines powered on, and within seconds they watched the skybird hover in the air. The wheels and the landing gear retracted into the bottom of the aircraft next. Then, without further delay, the skybird exited the cargo bay, and took off high into the air. Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah ran from the doorway, and stopped a few feet from where the skybird had exited. There, they watched as the center of each wing glowed a dim, ruby red, as the skybird rapidly accelerated into the distance.

###

"Where are we going?" Jadon asked after a few minutes of silence.

"To pick up some valuable cargo!" answered Argo.

Jadon nodded, and held on tightly to the safety harness subconsciously for a little while before finally letting go. As he watched the buildings below go by him, he kept a straight face until Argo decided to show off. Pushing a joy stick eighty degrees to the right, the skybird copied the move instantly.

"Whoa!" Jadon exclaimed. He held on as the skybird leaned to the right.

"You're telling me, lad," Argo smiled. As he returned the joystick to its original position, the skybird copied the move once again.

"Should I show you all the moves I can do?" the old man joked.

"Why not?" he shrugged, sounding sure of himself because he wasn't going to admit to any weakness. Argo took him up on the offer, and by the time they landed, the youth's heart was in his stomach. Quickly jumping out, he was glad to be back on land. Almost instantly, he noticed how the place where they had landed seemed to be a richer, residential area of Arkabella, with large, white stucco homes, which populated the area. Many of the fancy two-story homes had gardens with unusually green plants growing outside. The roar of water that he could never forget told him that they were still near the ocean.

"I hope I didn't scare you with that last move," Argo joked again. The last "move" was a three hundred and sixty degree revolution from wing to wing at eighty-five degrees downward.

Jadon swore he saw the vents on the roof of the buildings below them much more clearly than he ever wanted to.

Argo pulled them back up just in time.

"Of course not," Jadon choked back, but still sounded honest.

Argo laughed.

"So, where's this valuable cargo?" the youth asked him, not amused in the slightest.

"If I told you, I might not have any of it left," replied Argo, sounding serious.

"Argo!"

The old man didn't answer. Instead, he walked up to one of the buildings, and knocked seven times.

A man with a white mustache and blue eyes opened the door. "Come in! Come in!" he told Argo, clearly in a rush. When Jadon followed, the man's expression changed.

"You brought a boy?" he asked, glaring at Argo.

Jadon returned his icy stare.

"He can be trusted," Argo told the man, and then looked behind him at the youth. "Can't you?"

Jadon nodded, and narrowed his eyes.

The man looked at him for another minute before he felt sure.

Once the man's eyes left his, Jadon looked around the place. He stared at the elegant crown molding, vases, and pictures. Even a plush carpet covered the floors. This man was clearly living a high-class lifestyle. Twisting his mustache, the man spoke quietly to Argo. He grew impatient after ten minutes of the whispering, but the two men finally struck a deal.

"Come," the white-haired man motioned for Jadon with two of his fingers.

He resented being treated like a dog, but he took a deep breath, and followed him. After passing through four hallways, the three of them walked down some stairs, and entered a secured room. A small cargo box stood in the middle of the room.

The older man opened the lid. Inside was a metal box, locked tight. He produced a key, and opened it.

Jadon's eyes widened as he looked inside. The skull of an animal lay inside, complete with all its teeth. Marble-sized packaging kept it in place. Staring at the skull, he tried to determine the animal species.

"A dragon's skull," Argo answered Jadon's unasked question.

The youth's eyes widened. He never believed dragons even existed until now. Normally he would think that Argo was pulling his leg, but the skull was the right shape and size.

The white-haired man glanced nervously at Jadon.

"Lock it back up," Argo told the man.

The man quickly complied, seeing that his customer was happy.

Argo smiled at Jadon, who glanced at it one last time.

Eventually, the youth collected himself. "Do you have a buyer for it?" he questioned Argo in a hushed voice. Not only did he know it wouldn't be cheap, but also he was sure that they would rarely buy something of the sort just for the fun of it.

"No, lad. It's good luck to have one on your ship."

Jadon felt confused. He couldn't believe the captain would buy one just for good luck.

Argo must have sensed he knew this. "Some of the crew is..." he paused. "Well, superstitious," he blurted out, finding the right word. "And as you know, a happy crew is an efficient crew."

Jadon nodded, understanding it all now. They turned back toward the white-haired man, and noticed he had been looking at them all this time.

"One hundred gold pieces," Argo said, and pulled out a very full looking sack from his pocket. Dumping the gold coins out on a nearby table, he counted each of them in front of the white-haired man.

Once Argo finished, the man nodded, satisfied that the deal was solid.

"Jadon, carry it up to the skybird. I'll be there in a minute," he told the youth.

Jadon grabbed the sides, and found it much heavier than he expected, but didn't complain. Hurrying outside, he climbed in the skybird, where he finally sat it behind his seat. Knowing its value, he didn't want to sit it in the cargo hold. Taking a deep breath, he climbed back out of the skybird, while he waited for Argo.

Just then, a gang of teens around his age, each visibly taller than him, walked past him before stopping. There were four of them, all with brown hair and tanned skin. Three had no unusual characteristics, but the fourth was Vagmar, with three, small, white, pointed horns on the center of his forehead. Dressed in prestigious looking clothes, Jadon recognized them instantly as rich kids. Almost instantly, he sensed they were up to no good.

They seemed to be bickering with each other about something — that was, until they saw Jadon. The youth didn't look at them, but he felt their eyes all over him, and knew they had started to talk about him. He hated that feeling. Suddenly, he heard laughing, and something about a "poor kid." That was it. He couldn't take it, he decided. Walking over to the gang with a fast pace, Jadon grabbed the horned teen's shirt collar, and pulled him down to his level.

"You got something to say to me?" he asked.

The teen laughed. "Is this how all poor kids greet people?"

The youth stared at him, and didn't answer.

"Come on, now. Let go," the teen commanded him.

"I'm not poor, and I'm not a kid," he responded angrily, but without yelling. His green eyes glared at the teen.

"Well, uhmm, those aren't exactly pricey clothes you're wearing," the horned teen replied.

"And," said one of the teen's comrades who couldn't stop laughing, "or not being a kid, you kind of look like one."

Jadon tensed, but ignored him.

"Maybe my clothes aren't the best because some of us have real work to do," he informed them.

"Such as?" asked the horned teen in a mocking voice.

Jadon narrowed his eyes. "Such as loading hundreds of boxes of cargo each day we're in port," he retorted.

"And they let a kid do that?" questioned another of the teen's comrades.

"I'm not a kid," Jadon groaned as anger began to boil up inside him.

"Well, you sure are short," the horned teen he was holding retorted.

"Yeah, we really should find your mom," joked together two of the teen's comrades.

"My mother is dead," Jadon replied stiffly. Making a fist, he looked at each of them with anger for bringing up the subject.

All was silent for a minute, before the horned teen dared to speak. "Well, then, how about your dad? I'm sure he's wondering where his little boy got to," he said with a fake laugh, but each of them knew it was a low blow after what Jadon had said.

Jadon not only didn't find it funny, it was too much for him. Within a fraction of a second, his fist crashed into the horned teen's chest, with all his strength. It knocked the wind out of the teen, and caused him to fall backwards onto one of his comrades who, up to this point, had been silent.

"Adam..." he managed to stutter, as he looked down. While he did so, Jadon's foot connected with his knee at high speed. The teen fell to the ground with a loud yelp. The third of them appeared to fight, throwing out multiple punches that Jadon quickly sidestepped.

Delivering a full-force punch to the third teen's shoulder, the youth knocked him to the ground. Then, before the fourth teen could do anything, Jadon pulled out his knife, and faced him with it. The teen held his hands out in front of him, surrendering.

"Still think I'm a kid?" he questioned the downed gang, and glared at them. Looking at each other, they groaned in pain, but didn't answer. Now that he had shown them his skills in the art of fighting, not one of them dared provoke him. Shaking his head, he walked away. Nonetheless, what they said had gotten to him. Looking to the sky, he asked a question.

"Mom, why do I have to look like a kid?" Hearing his own voice, he asked yet another question.

"And sound like one?" He was fifteen, and still his voice had not broken. Sighing, he pulled out a golden locket from underneath his shirt and opened it. A picture inside showed his younger self, with his father and pregnant mother.

Staring at the small part of the picture where his mom stood, he studied it. She was glancing down at him, her eyes full of love, which was magnified even more by the wide smile on her face.

"It doesn't matter, does it? You loved me anyway. I just hope I still deserve it," he said. Taking a deep breath, he finally allowed the tension inside him to release.

Closing the locket, Jadon stood up, and looked out over the ocean. Somehow, it seemed different to him now. So many days he had been out to sea, and now he was looking out at the ocean from solid ground, or at least as solid as sand can be. Walking alongside the ocean for about a mile, he caught a glimpse of a ship every so often. _So, that's what we look like out at sea_ , he thought. _So tiny_.

All of sudden, Jadon heard yelling and turned around. A gang of teens were running down the beach toward him. Four of them were the same ones he had fought with just moments earlier. They had brought reinforcements. He knew his chances were slim against them, and therefore he ran, but the sand slowed him down. Noticing a large number of tents along the beach side, he aimed for them. Making it to the tents, he ran between them, preparing to hide when he noticed an old lady up ahead. Standing outside one of the red tents, she had gray hair, and was dressed in a violet robe. On top of that, if he wasn't mistaken, she seemed to be staring at him with disbelief.

"Quickly! Come inside, Jadon," she said as he neared her.

Hearing the teens still in the distance, he reluctantly complied. As his eyes adjusted to the dark interior of the tent, he noted a single table with a dozen candles on it, and a chair on either side.

Sitting down in the far chair, the old lady lit the candles.

"Who are you?" Jadon asked, wondering how she knew his name.

"Kara, a fortune teller," she replied.

Immediately, he found himself not liking her. These were the kind of people who stole hard-earned money from people whom they could convince that they knew the future.

"I don't have any money," he told her, expecting her to kick him out.

"I don't want your money," she replied swiftly. Looking at her, he detected no deceit.

"Then, what do you want?"

"Only to see if you're who I think you are."

"And who would that be?" he inquired, starting to feel she was eluding him with these answers.

"I will tell you, but first, come and sit down," she said, beckoning him toward a white table.

Jadon walked over, and sat in a wooden chair.

The old lady sat down across from him, and took his hand in hers. Turning it over, she looked at his palm. The wrinkles on her face appeared to grow as she concentrated.

He started to grow bored when it lasted over five minutes. He began to say something, but she drew up her other hand toward his mouth.

Finally, she smiled. "I was right. It is you," she told him.

Jadon was not impressed that this was all she said after five minutes. _Five long minutes_!

"And who am I?"

"Her son, an ohnyx."

"A what? Whose son?" This seem to be getting him nowhere.

"You really don't know? But how is that possible?" the old lady questioned him, not understanding how he could not have known.

"I don't remember anything. That's how," Jadon replied.

"Then, you don't remember what you could do?"

"What could I do?" he inquired, with more questions constantly filling his head.

"You were capable of..." the old lady started to reply when they heard a loud noise , and the table collapsed beneath them. They turned to see a muddle pistol staring at them, in the hands of Argo.

"Say another word, and I'll kill you, I promise," he said, staring at the old lady.

Jadon had never seen him so angry. "But, Argo..."

"Out!" the old man commanded Jadon.

He reluctantly hurried outside of the tent. Although his curiosity wasn't satisfied, he stayed close to the tent, hoping to hear something. He was rewarded, as the wind was blowing his way.

"If you come anywhere near him, I swear, you'll die in the worst way possible," Argo yelled at her.

After a brief silence, the woman spoke up. "I saw his photo many years ago, but... he survived?"

The woman must be brave to even respond to Argo, Jadon decided, though he wondered what she was talking about.

"That's none of your concern," Argo answered, in a stiff voice.

The old woman started to say something, but Argo interrupted her.

"Just remember what I promised," he said, and then heard footsteps.

Jadon hurried away from the tent to look as if he had been waiting on the beach.

"Let's go," Argo told him, and they walked quietly back to the skybird.

"She didn't want any money," Jadon told him as they got in the skybird. He knew by now though, that wasn't it at all.

"They all want something," the old man replied.

Jadon decided not to argue with him, and put the safety belt on. The skybird rose upward, and then propelled forward.

"I guess I shouldn't have gone off on my own like that," he said solemnly.

"It's okay, lad," responded Argo, sounding more like himself again.

Jadon was silent as he tried to figure out what had just happened at the fortune teller's tent. Argo was hiding something from him, _but what_? He obviously couldn't ask him. Staying quiet, he watched Argo direct the skybird back inside the cargo bay, and then land. Unbuckling his safety harness, he followed the old man out the top.

"Secure her, men!" Argo yelled to the crewmen.

Taking his mind off things, Jadon watched as the crew latched the wheels into the deck. Then, climbing below deck, he purposely avoided everyone. Taking some clean clothes from his cabin, he made his way to a hot shower. It was hours before anyone saw him at dinnertime.

"Jadon!" yelled Micah, the first to see him in line for food, even though the mess hall was quite crowded.

Abigail looked relieved.

Once he had some food on his plate, Jadon walked over, and took a seat. "Yeah, I'm back," he replied casually.

"Abby was worried about you," Shawnya said to him quickly.

He laughed as Abigail punched her sister in the side.

"Shush!" she told her, and then turned to face him.

"So, what did you do today, Jadon?" asked Micah.

Jadon answered him, telling him what had happened, including Argo buying the dragon skull, and the four kids who had become ten.

"You sure do get into a lot of trouble," Shawnya told him.

"But that's not all," he replied.

"What do you mean?" questioned Abigail.

Jadon proceeded to tell them about the fortune teller.

"Argo that mad? Impossible!" Ethan remarked when he had finished. "You probably made the whole thing up because you had a boring day. I mean, come on. A dragon skull, and Argo mad, really?"

"Take it as you will," Jadon told the younger lad, and shrugged, silently annoyed at him.

Abigail looked curiously at Shawnya, her horns spreading apart slightly. Both of them looked unsure of his story.

Just then, they heard the dinner bell from the center of the mess hall, where Argo now stood.

"Today is a very good day," he said loudly. "Not only is our crew bigger and better, our profits greater than ever, our ship as beautiful as she can be, but we have it." The crew started to talk among themselves for a minute as Argo lifted a box up onto the table. Slowly he opened it, and the room was silent as they peered in. A moment later, a loud cheering broke out.

"That's right! A dragon skull! We now have a sailor's true sign of luck on our very own ship!" Argo shouted to the crew.

Rising up from the bench, Jadon watched Ethan walk over to see it for himself.Moments later, when the younger lad walked back over to the table, he couldn't hide the fact that he was surprised.

"Well, maybe Jadon didn't lie about everything," he said, crossing his arms once he sat back down.

The youth raised an eyebrow, but didn't reply. About half an hour later, they were done eating, and playing a game of cards. Raverick, it was called: too difficult for Micah yet, so the little boy just watched. The mess hall was quite empty by now, and everything appeared back to normal.

"Aha!" Shawnya exclaimed, and laid down the winning cards.

"Octopus trio again!" complained Ethan, being a sore loser.

"Hey, I can't help that I'm good! How about another game?" she teased.

All of a sudden, without warning, the ship lurched, startling them all.

Jadon jumped up, and hurried to a window. "We're moving out!" he exclaimed. The crew still in the mess hall started to talk wildly to each other. The youth hurried back to the group.

"I thought we weren't leaving until tomorrow night," said Ethan.

"Me, too," replied Abigail.

"Me, three," Shawnya chimed in.

"Well, we can't all be wrong," Jadon told them. "I'm going to find out what's going on."

The youth hurried up the ladders to the operations room. Once there, he listened outside the door. It wasn't long before he noticed Abigail had followed him, and he motioned for her to be silent.

"We've been cleared for departure, ropes are up, and the anchor is released, sir," said a crewman.

"Good. Power both cores up immediately," ordered Argo.

"Both, sir?" asked the crewman.

Jadon knew it was unusual to power up both unless they needed the speed.

"Yes, mate," Argo replied.

"What's going on?" Abigail questioned Jadon.

"If you would listen, you would find out," he said, but still answered her question. "We're not only leaving, but rather fast, too. Argo has both cores powering up."

"Oh," she replied, not really understanding what it meant.

Suddenly, a door within the operations room opened.

"Evening, captain," said Argo.

"Evening, Argo. I wasn't aware we were leaving so soon," responded the captain.

At that moment Jadon, without warning, backed away, pushing Abigail with him.

"Hey!" she started to say, when she saw Claire walking down the corridor. Pushing themselves into a nearby closet, they waited until she walked into the operations room, before they moved back into the doorway to listen again.

"Argo, what do you think you're doing?" Claire asked.

"I was just asking him the same question," the captain replied.

Argo took a deep breath. "It's Jadon, sir."

"What about him?" questioned Claire.

"Someone knows," answered Argo.

"Knows what?" inquired Claire, still confused.

"Never mind that," replied the captain swiftly.

"But Argo doesn't have the authority to do this!" she proclaimed anxiously.

"He does now," the captain responded.

"Thank you, sir," Argo told the captain.

"But, but, we'll lose a full day in port..." Claire said, clearly distressed.

"Sir, both cores are powered up," announced a crewman.

"Ease us out of the bay, and then full speed on the course we plotted for tomorrow," Argo ordered.

"Yes, sir," replied the crewman.

Jadon guessed the captain must have looked over at Argo funny.

"We have a large storm to miss, so let's hope that dragon's skull does us some good," Argo said aloud.

They listened for a little longer, but heard nothing of much use. Therefore, Abigail and Jadon went downstairs, and reported to the others.

"Strange. Something about that fortune teller really has him spooked," replied Ethan, but clearly thought nothing more of it.

"But, what though? She sounds loony. It's not like you have secret powers, or do you?" asked Shawnya with a smile.

Jadon smiled back about halfway, and his eyes lost focus as he thought of the bright light in the warehouse. Nonetheless, he didn't want to tell his comrades about it.

"Doubt it," he responded. "But, there is something I don't know — something big." It wasn't long before the group headed back to their cabins.

"You trying to impress Abigail?" inquired Ethan, as Jadon climbed into his bunk.

He turned to glare at the boy.

"What?" questioned the younger lad, with a smirk. "It's obvious she likes you. The real question is, do you like her?"

"I like her, Jadon," Micah stated, as climbed into his bottom bunk.

"You know what else is obvious, Ethan?" Jadon asked.

The smirk faded from Ethan's face.

"I know you like Shawnya. Perhaps I should tell her."

"Okay, okay," the younger lad said, seeing that Jadon didn't want to talk about it. Still, he couldn't help but wonder how the older lad knew he liked Shawnya. He had never told him. Sighing, he rolled over.

"Goodnight, Jadon!" Micah announced happily.

"Night, Micah," he replied.

"I really do hope we miss that storm," Ethan whispered to Jadon once the little boy had fallen asleep. He remembered the last big one, and it had not been a pleasant experience. Pulling the cover over his face, Ethan drifted off to sleep along with Micah, but Jadon did not.

He was bothered by earlier events that day. _What had the fortune teller meant by_ " _capable of_ ," _and what did he_ " _survive_ "? Then, there was the way Argo had replied, as though he was hiding something. So many questions, so little answers. He groaned silently, before closing his eyes, and finally setting off to sleep.

###

A few days later, everyone was quite sure they hadn't missed the storm. The Taryn was being tossed around, and the wind howled. No one could concentrate in the schoolroom as they all tried to take a test. "At least try," Teacher had told them a few minutes ago, but Jadon could hardly write his name, much less answer the questions.

Looking around, he noticed that the others weren't having much luck either. He also noted that Tim was missing again. The kids expected him to miss school. _Well, where was this more mature kid_? he scoffed in his mind.

Just then, the schoolroom door opened, and one of the many crewmen stood there.

"Jadon! Argo needs to see you in the operations room. On the double!"

## Chapter 4

Storms & Scars

Jadon heard waves toppling over the main deck, as he hurried toward the rear of the ship. A loud roar of thunder suddenly sounded, making him grin. He secretly liked storms, especially the power they displayed. Taking a right, he raced up the circular metal stairs. Three decks later, he followed a hallway, until he came to the door marked "operations room." He proceeded to march in slowly. The room was crowded with officers and crewmen, all of whom looked as if they were trying to do their task at the exact same time as each other. This made for more of a riot than the normally friendly operations room crew.

Gazing toward the center of the room, the youth saw Claire sitting in the captain's seat, and understood immediately why there was such an unorganized mess. For one thing, the captain's seat was much too big for her, so she was constantly trying to get comfortable in it, and not paying enough attention to the crew. Jadon laughed to himself, and scooted into a corner to watch. He always found her very entertaining, and besides, Argo was supposed to be here.

"Slow us down, Henry! These waves are getting too big to just plow through them like this. You'll tear the ship apart!" yelled Claire.

Looking out the window, Jadon saw that she was right. Not only were the waves large, but the sky did not look friendly.

"Yes, sir. I mean, yes, ma'am," replied the nervous officer. He yanked a lever down.

"Claire?" called a female voice, not loud enough for Claire to hear over the commotion.

"Not that slow, Henry! We need to get out of this storm before next year! Just a quarter slower than we were, Henry."

"Yes, ma'am. I mean, yes, sir. I mean..."

"Just do it," Claire told him, and tried to get comfortable in her chair once again. However, it was still too big for her no matter how many different ways she tried to sit in it.

"Claire?" asked the female voice again.

"Henry, this does not look like the right speed!" Claire yelled at the poor man again.

"But, ma'am, it's right where you wanted it," Henry replied.

"Claire?" came the female voice again, but Claire still did not hear her. Instead, she looked over at the gauges, and decided she had misjudged their speed.

"I suppose you're right, Henry," she said to the officer.

"Helm, see if you can plot us a quicker course out of this storm using the latest satellite imagery," she told the older sergeant officer, who was sitting in front of a digital screen.

"Yes, ma'am," he replied with what sounded like a cheerful, accented voice.

Jadon knew better, though it sounded more to him as if the man had been awaiting the order for a while now.

"Claire?" the female voice repeated. Finally, Claire heard it. Nevertheless, just then Argo and the captain walked into the room, from a door in the back that led to the captain's meeting room.

"Claire!" yelped the captain.

"Just a minute, Tabitha," Claire said quickly. "What can I do for you, captain?" she asked, and turned around. Seeing Jadon, she scowled, but quickly turned her attention to the unhappy sounding captain.

"We seem to have a major leak..." the captain started to say.

"You mean back there in your meeting room? I'll get someone right on it," Claire told him. Anxiously, she dug her nails into the chair's armrest.

"No, my system status report is showing a rather large leak in one of the bottom-most stern rooms," the captain replied, with a slight annoyance in his voice. He hated being interrupted.

Jadon instantly knew why he was upset; his prized wine stash was down there.

"Shouldn't the pumps be taking care of that?" inquired Claire.

"Yes," responded Argo. "But they aren't, so someone needs to take a look at it before we sink."

Jadon immediately chimed in. "I'll get right on it, Argo!" He always loved a challenging or dangerous task. Everyone in the room turned to see him, just before he went out the door.

"Jadon!" Argo yelled after him, but the youth did not stop.

###

"Jadon!" Argo yelled again, knowing it was useless. "That's not what I wanted him for..." he grumbled under his breath.

"Why didn't anyone come get me when Jadon first made it up here, like I had asked?" he questioned the crew. The operations room was deadly silent for the first time in hours.

"Sir, we didn't even know he was here," Henry said bravely.

Argo scratched his right ear, and considered this. The room was still silent, as if awaiting him to give the next order. The old man noticed this, and stopped scratching his ear.

"Well, somebody better go with the lad!" he finally replied, half annoyed.

"I'll go," said a young, male lieutenant. His blue eyes looked eager under his short brown hair.

Argo tossed him a radio. "Let me know if it's anything serious, mate."

The lieutenant nodded, and hurried out the door.

"Now about that leak, Claire. Why didn't you know about it?" he asked, and extended his hand with an open palm.

"Well, no one told me."

"Then, get off your butt next time," Argo replied.

"Enough!" yelled the captain. "Why didn't one of you tell her?" he inquired, and looked at each of the crew members. "This is a very serious matter." Finally, his view rested on Tabitha. They all knew full well that she was to watch the Taryn's system monitors.

"Well, sir, I've been trying to tell her for the past ten minutes, but she wouldn't answer," Tabitha said, as nicely as she could.

Argo placed his hand over his face to avoid laughing. He thought of Claire as highly as Jadon did, which wasn't anywhere near high, to say the least, but he had the youth to worry about now.

###

Jadon's boots clanged noisily on the metal ladder, as he moved downward into the heart of the ship. His hair was soaked with water, and for the fourth time he looked up, but failed to see where the water was coming from. It wasn't uncommon for the ship to have small leaks like this because as soon as they finished filling them in, new ones sprouted up. This leak, though, was quite distracting, making him skip rungs on the ladder to get downward faster. At last, he set his feet down on something solid, but then he heard a splash. Looking down, he saw that there were six inches of water on the ground. _Not good_ , he thought.

Looking for leaks, Jadon followed the water, which continually got deeper as he traipsed rearward. The hum of the generators got louder, but he knew it was a trick of his ears, as they were one deck higher. Perhaps right above him. The door for the engine room looked to be shut tight, but Jadon checked to make sure. Putting his ear against the door, he heard voices on the other end, but none of them sounded distressed, so he moved on. _Besides_ , he thought, _Claire would have been more aware of a leak in there_ , or at least he hoped so.

Only one room was left, the captain's wine room, but this troubled Jadon. He was pretty sure since it was the lowest room in the ship that there was a rather large pump located there. The water level kept rising, and he could see it pouring out through the doorway. Some uncaring crewman had left the normally watertight door wide open.

Jadon stopped in the doorway, and cocked his head for a moment. He could hear the hum of the pump. _So, why wasn't it working_? Slowly walking into the room, he tried to be ready for anything. Looking around rapidly, he saw that water was being thrown up over the shelves from one end of the room to the other. This made not only quite a sight, but a deafening noise.

Traipsing his way around the shelves to the far end wall, he could immediately see what was wrong. A large water pipe's valve, used for putting out fires, had been opened. This allowed water to flood the room, and while the pump was working fine, there was a large, gaping hole in the exit pipe. Looking over the pipe work, he wondered if he could do anything to fix it. Yes, there was, he saw. With one quick motion, he easily turned off the water pipe. He then looked to see if he could fix the useless pump. A secondary pipe caught his eye. _But where was the valve to change it over_?

Looking up, Jadon didn't see it, which meant it could only be in one other direction. It was under the rising water, nearly two-feet deep now. Bending his knees, he looked, and felt around underwater, for the valve. To his relief, not only was it easy to find, but it was also painted bright orange. Placing his hands on it, he bent his knees, and pulled as hard as he could. It moved, but just barely.

"Jadon!" he heard a someone yell. He ignored it, and saved his strength for pulling on the valve. He groaned. It probably hadn't been switched over in years.

"Jadon!" the voice yelled again, but this time closer.

"Almost there..." he spouted out as the valve began to give. Suddenly, the voice that had been calling him was right there. He looked to his side for a second. It was Lieutenant William, an officer he somewhat knew.

"Jadon! There you are," he said clearly out of breath. He noticed the youth had found the valve.

"Here, wait! We have a tool for that," he tried to explain, and attempted to hand Jadon a device that latched onto the lever, and gave the user more leverage.

"Got it!" was Jadon's only response, before the lever gave way completely. Caught by surprise, he lost his grip on the lever, and flew backward.

William attempted to reach out and catch him, but missed. Helplessly, he watched the youth fly into a lone stack of wine bottles, sitting in front of the bottom shelf. Glass shattered, but the room stood silent, as the sound of water stopped.

"I did it!" Jadon announced happily.

"Are you all right, boy?"

"I'm fine," he said, and stood up. Turning toward William, he noted his long face.

"What?"

"You're bleeding."

"I am?" Wrapping his hand around to his back, he felt over it slowly. Bringing his hand back around to his eyes, sure enough he saw blood.

"It's just a cut," he replied.

William didn't look convinced, but he didn't say anything more about it.

"So, why was the water turned on, and how did this hole get here?" Jadon questioned him, and showed it to him.

"I don't know," responded William.

Jadon leaned in to inspect it.

"This was clearly done on purpose! Take a look!" He pointed at the pipe.

William took a close look, and his eyes widened. "You're right."

"You'd better tell the captain," Jadon told him. Silently, he wondered why someone would cause such trouble.

"We can tell him," said William. "After all, you noticed the marks."

Jadon nodded. Both of them decided to wait a few minutes to make sure no further problems occurred, just in case. The room was soon dry, and the only telltale sign was a broken wine bottle. The youth scurried up the metal ladder quite fast, and by the time Lieutenant William arrived in the operations room, he had told the whole story, with some added glamor.

"Lieutenant William!" yelled Argo as the man stepped into the room. "Is any of what this lad says true?" he asked, and laughed, knowing full well at least some of it was. "A saboteur on board?"

"I'm afraid so, sir," William replied. The mood quickly grew very serious.

"You're sure?" Argo questioned him.

"I saw the marks myself, sir. Whoever it was intentionally hammered a hole in that exit pipe, and then turned a water valve on," the lieutenant replied.

All eyes were on Argo. He turned toward a female crew member.

"I want the pumps and their pipes inspected immediately, all of them."

"Yes, sir," she responded, and hurried off.

Argo turned his attention to the commander. "Officer Mike!" he yelped.

"Yes, sir?" inquired the older man.

"I want the whole ship scanned, to make sure we don't have any stowaways on board, so make sure we are carrying as many people as the records state," Argo commanded him.

"Yes, sir!" said the commander, and started right on it.

"Lieutenant!" Argo barked, and faced William again. "That scan has four dead zones. I want you to check all of them."

"Yes, sir!" the officer replied, and walked out the door.

"Claire!" Argo yelled once more.

"Yes... What?" she asked, realizing her rank was higher than William's.

Jadon smiled, as she almost said sir.

"Why aren't we out of this storm yet?" he questioned her, and looked through the clear glass window. Waves still battered the ship.

"I'm working on it," Claire responded.

"Well, work harder," Argo ordered her.

She crossed her arms, and didn't reply.

Argo shook his head, and turned toward Jadon finally.

"Now, lad, about why I really called you up here," he said, and stared him.

"Yes?" asked the youth.

"Were you in my office today?" he inquired, and stared hard into Jadon's eyes.

"No," replied Jadon after a second. "Why would I be?"

"He probably was. He has a bad habit of being in places he doesn't belong in," Claire said, butting in.

Jadon scowled at her, only for her to scowl back.

"Maybe you were looking for something?" inquired Argo.

"Like what? I know you don't keep anything valuable in your office," Jadon answered. He wondered why Argo was asking him this, and why he thought it was him.

"Well, I..." Argo said, still looking at Jadon. He appeared to think for a moment, and then shook his head.

"Heh, never mind, lad," he told him.

Jadon shrugged, and turned around to walk out.

"Jadon!" exclaimed Argo. "Lad, you've got to see a doctor! Now!"

The youth sighed. "It's just a cut..." he said, trying to downplay it, but he was starting to feel a pain in his back.

"Just a cut, my foot! The whole back of your shirt is filled with blood," Argo announced rather loudly.

"I'll be fine..." Jadon tried to tell him.

Nevertheless, Argo insisted he go to the ship's doctor.

"Claire, try not to get into too much trouble while I'm gone," the old man told her.

Again she scowled.

"Try not to do that too much either. Your face will get stuck there," Jadon mocked.

Hearing this, Argo pushed him out the door; he attempted to walk away, but the old man quickly grabbed his shoulder. "Oh, no you don't. We're going straight to the doctor."

As they walked down a flight of stairs that led to deck two, a thought crossed Jadon's mind, making him wonder why Argo was so worried about him. This wasn't the first time he had made sure Jadon had gotten to see the doctor. He'd still be hobbling around on a broken leg if it wasn't for Argo. Right now, though, he just wished he wouldn't follow him like this. He felt like an animal on a leash. As if he wasn't annoyed enough, he soon heard voices, familiar ones.

"Jadon! What happened?" inquired Abigail.

Micah and Shawnya, who was wearing her "boy" clothes for the first time, stood beside her.

"Nothing," he told her as he and Argo walked past.

"Jadon! What happened to your back!" Micah asked loudly.

"What did you do to your back?" questioned Shawnya. She didn't sound quite as thunderstruck as the little boy, but still surprised.

"It's nothing," replied Jadon, turning his back toward the wall.

"Did you get in a fight?" asked Abigail.

"Yes, and they stabbed me in the back," he answered tauntingly.

Shawnya twisted her horns at him and otherwise looked annoyed.

Walking into the medical bay, Jadon bumped into Ethan who just leaving.

He looked shocked to see them at first, though he quickly hid it. Seeing the older lad's bloody back, he chuckled.

"Did Claire find you robbing her cabin this time?" he teased him.

"No, she didn't because I was busy saving your butt from the cold, dark sea," replied Jadon with the same mocking tone. "What's your excuse?" he asked Ethan.

For a second, the younger lad's faced softened, but then quickly hardened again as he replied.

"Just a checkup. Since I'm not the one having accidents all the time."

Jadon sensed that Ethan was lying, but thought nothing of it.

"Well, someone has to do the work around here," he replied.

"Boys!" Argo yelled once, and they both became instantly silent.

Turning away, Ethan left the room.

Upon hearing the ruckus, the doctor walked out of his office. A rather young man, he was fairly muscular with jet black hair and yellow eyes. His face was clean-shaven, and he wore a blue lab coat. Seeing the red-tinged, blond-haired youth in the room, he knew instantly who it was, and was quite sure that his skills would be put to use right away.

"Jadon! What did you do this time?" he questioned the youth, and walked over to him.

"Didn't I tell you to be careful?....Oh my," the doctor said, not expecting the bloodstained shirt.

"It's not that bad," Jadon told the man, even though he could clearly feel it now.

The doctor's left eyebrow rose.

"Take care of him," Argo said, and winked before making a swift exit.

Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah made their way in, much to Jadon's dismay.

"Will do," replied the doctor and turned to look at the youth. "Well, what did you do this time?"

Just then, Jadon noticed that everyone was looking at him. He groaned, but told of his recent experience. "And when the valve let go a little faster than I expected... I kinda fell backward into a stack of wine bottles," he said, finishing his explanation. He decided to keep the saboteur part to himself, not wanting to scare Micah, Abigail, or Shawnya.

"Kinda?" questioned Abigail, twisting her horns.

"All right, well, let's see how much damage you did." Turning Jadon's back toward him, the doctor pulled his shirt off.

Shawnya's eyes widened as the golden locket around Jadon's neck came into view.

"What is..." she began to ask when Abigail's hand quickly covered her mouth.

Jadon breathed a sigh of relief as Abigail kept her sister quiet. He had once told Abigail that he'd like to keep some things to himself, and this was one of them, she having asked him once before about it.

Shawnya reluctantly complied.

Meanwhile, the doctor slowly wiped over Jadon's cut with a rag that he had dipped in an anti-infection agent.

"Well, Jadon, looks like you got lucky again. You missed cutting into anything real important, and the bleeding has slowed down at the moment. You'll need a shot, and I'll have to stitch it up, but that's about it," the doctor told him while everyone listened. Unlocking a drawer, the doctor fumbled through it, as the youth turned to his side, and stretched out his arm. After a short moment, the doctor found the right shot, and prepped a place on his upper arm.

Jadon watched Micah's eyes widen as he was about to get the shot.

The doctor moved swiftly, and consequently the shot was over in less than ten seconds.

Jadon didn't even flinch.

"Did it hurt, Jadon?" asked the curious little boy.

"Not really," he replied, as the doctor bandaged the site.

Abigail rolled her eyes at him.

"Go lie face down on the bed, Jadon, so I can stitch you up," the doctor told him and the youth complied.

"Wow! That's a big cut, Jadon!" Micah told him excitedly as he jumped up and down to see it.

"Should be an awesome looking scar," he told Micah with a smile. For a second, his mood had almost changed, but it didn't last.

"It'll be almost as big as that one you have on your leg, Jadon. Where did you say you got that one again?" inquired the doctor.

He frowned. "I don't remember," he replied solemnly, his eyes dimming.

"Where is it?" Micah asked.

"Let me stitch him up, and I'll show you," the doctor told them, without consulting his patient.

A few minutes later, the doctor announced that he was done. As soon as Jadon rolled over, he proceeded to show all three of them a five-inch scar across the top of the youth's upper leg. Once again, Micah was amazed. Even Shawnya stared at it and wrinkled her horns.

As the staring began to make Jadon uncomfortable, an image of a man suddenly filled his mind. Dressed in an intricate, black robe, he held a small sword in his hands. His black hair was cut very short, and he smiled, with a wicked grin that made an obvious false, red tooth visible. His body shivered at the sight of the man.

"Jadon!" shouted a voice, bringing him back to reality.

"What?" he asked.

"You really don't remember where you got that from?" questioned Shawnya.

"Nope," replied Jadon, ready to end this conversation.

"But it's so big!" Micah emphasized.

"Curses of rats," Jadon grumbled under his breath.

"Rats! Where?" inquired the little boy. He looked frantically around the room.

Jadon didn't answer because he was getting more and more annoyed, and was about to burst when the lights unexpectedly went out. Although the room had a few round windows, it was almost as dark as night outside because of the storm, making the room even darker. Three seconds went by, and the lights came back on again, but started to flicker.

"Something's not right..." Jadon stated, even though it was obvious to all of them.

Micah immediately hugged Shawnya, who wrapped a comforting arm around the little boy.

Quickly, Jadon grabbed a red robe from behind the doorway, and tied it around himself. He almost ran out the door without saying anything, but remembered them in the nick of time.

"I'd better get back to work. Watch your step," he warned them.

"Uhh, Jadon, you really shouldn't..." the doctor started to say, but before he could finish, the youth was out the door.

## Chapter 5

Clues

Once out the door, Jadon ran toward the operations room for the third time that day. The hall lights continued to flicker for another minute, before going out completely. As he neared the door, a small, red light near him came on. They were the emergency lights, which usually only turned on if they were either to be tested, or if the ship was running on battery power. He doubted that this was a test. Pushing the door open, he slipped in for a second time unnoticed.

The room was quite busy again with officers running between consoles, but this time there was an order to it. An officer in the corner held a radio, most likely conferring with the engine room. Surprisingly, Claire was nowhere to be found.

"An emergency shutdown of both cores is complete, sir," said the commander. He then took a deep breath. The tenseness in the room seemed to dissipate with everyone relaxing.

Apparently a close call had just occurred before he arrived, Jadon figured.

"Very good, commander. Now can anyone tell me what happened?" questioned Argo.

"It looks like our saboteur struck again," said the officer, who had been on the radio. "It seems we have a forced overload somewhere in the system. We can't turn on either of the cores for at least ten minutes, but it'll be longer than that, seeing as first we have to find out what's wrong."

"Can we scan for it?" asked Argo.

"Not recommended, sir. We might overload the emergency system, too," the officer replied.

"Very well. Helm, how close are we to a friendly port?"

"Three days, sir, and we have enough emergency power for four days."

"Very good. Get us moving at one quarter."

"Yes, sir."

Just then, the captain walked out.

"Did you figure out what's going on?" he inquired. Argo filled him in.

"I'll get right on it," he responded.

"You know, we do have men trained to do it," Argo told him.

"It's my ship. I'll do the work on it. You just catch that saboteur," the captain ordered him.

"Yes, sir," Argo replied. Turning slightly to say something to Lieutenant William, he noticed Jadon, standing in a corner of the room, for the first time.

"Lad, how do you do that?" he questioned him.

"Do what?" Jadon asked.

"Become as invisible as a fish in water?"

"It's a gift."

"And not your only one," replied Argo, immediately regretting saying it.

"Anyhow, back to your cabin. You need your rest. I'll find this saboteur. Don't worry, lad." Then, before Jadon could respond, Argo pushed him out the door.

Groaning, he started back to his cabin. On the way, his mind raced.

_Why would someone sabotage a ship they were currently on_? _It could kill them, too. Not only that, but the Taryn was just a Jafarian trade ship. They never carried anyone or anything important. Our cargo isn't all that unusual or important either_. This led him to think in a new direction. _What if it was just a distraction_? _That would make sense, but from what_? Then, Jadon remembered Argo saying something about his office.

Someone, most likely the saboteur, had been in it, and rumbled through it. There was only one place they would go if they didn't find what they were looking for in Argo's office: the captain's office. _What if the flooding wasn't as much as the saboteur had hoped for_? _So, now he or she tried something larger. It was working_! _Soon the captain would be down there fixing it, and away from his office_ , he concluded.

Jadon knew he had to hurry, and nearly knocked the door off its hinges as he barreled in. Ethan was reading a book with a portable flashlight in his single bed while Micah played with his toy train. Both of them looked up as he came in.

"Hi, Jadon!" Micah said loudly.

Pulling the robe off, he slipped a clean shirt on.

"Hi, Micah," he responded, and started out the door.

"Where are you going?" asked the little boy.

"On a mission," replied Jadon.

Ethan looked up at hearing this. The youth, however, left the room rather rapidly, leaving them both to stare out the door.

There were two ways into the captain's office, the first obviously being through the door. The second was an air vent. One of the advantages of not growing up so fast was that Jadon could still fit into the air passages. Climbing the ladder upward, he made his way to deck two. Rising slowly, he looked around, and didn't see anyone. Just when he had stepped off the ladder, a voice would have surprised him, if he hadn't heard the almost silent footsteps.

"Jadon! Do you know what's going on?" inquired Abigail.

"Nope," he replied without even looking at her.

She frowned, as if she knew he was lying. "Jadon, tell me!"

He rolled his eyes, but took the time to look at her. He hated that she was frowning.

"Everything is going to be fine."

"Jadon!" Abigail groaned.

"The captain is expecting me to hurry. I have to go," he said to her, and stared into her blue eyes. It worked. She seemed to calm down.

"Okay," she replied.

Jadon started to walk away. "But..." he stopped. "Be careful," he said, and continued walking again.

Making his way to the circular stairs, Jadon followed them up again, but only to the first level instead of the second. He cautiously looked down the hallway that led to various officers' quarters. Not a peep. Jiggling the handle of the fourth door on the left, he heard a click. He opened the door slowly. Inside were cleaning supplies, extra pillows, blankets, and even a box of tools. He pushed it all aside.

Down near the bottom, a large vent came into view. Grabbing a screw driver from the box of tools, he loosened the cover until it came off. Taking a flashlight from the toolbox, he closed the door of the closet, and lit up the small room. Bending down, he settled onto his knees, and crawled into the air duct. It was filled with dust, but to his delight, he didn't feel like sneezing.

Jadon crawled for what seemed like a long distance, when he came upon a larger air duct heading vertically. It contained a ladder which went both up and down. Placing his feet on it, he slowly pulled himself out of the smaller air duct. Once on the ladder, he continued upward, only looking down for a second. A large fan stood still at the bottom. At the top, a small shelf-like place around the edge provided a narrow place for him to stand.

Jadon knew he had to be very careful here; the rocking of the boat from the high waves could send him spiraling down onto the large fan. Even if the fan wasn't running, he doubted he would survive the fall, and therefore he elected to crawl around the shelf instead of walking. Three air ducts led away in three different directions. He had already been down each of them, and knew where they went. Crawling forward, he started down the center one. Again, it seemed like it took forever when he heard a voice from one of the exit vents that led into the captain's office. He turned off his flashlight.

"There's nothing in here either!" complained a male voice. However, it wasn't the captain; instead, Jadon recognized the voice as Tim's.

Glancing through the vent, Jadon could see Tim pulling out files from one of the captain's desk drawers. Three other file cabinets in the room also hung open, having already been looked through.

"I know it's him. I just can't prove it! I'll never forget that cursed, strawberry-blond hair," Tim said aloud.

In an instant, Jadon knew Tim was talking about him, and listened for him to say more. Nevertheless, his last words were not of much use.

"Time's up," Tim said to himself as he looked at his watch, and left the room.

Sighing, Jadon knew he must retreat. Turning himself around in the small space was impossible; thus, he pushed himself backward. Just as he passed the last vent, he heard Argo talking with someone. He had no need to spy on Argo, until he heard them using his name. Stopping again, he listened.

"You really shouldn't just ask about the lad like that," the old man said, sounding more worried than annoyed.

Jadon adjusted himself so he could see out the vent. Argo was looking at a screen, most likely at a video transmission.

"Well, how is he?" the man asked again.

"He's the same old lad. Getting himself into trouble, but generally making himself useful," Argo reluctantly answered.

"So, he hasn't remembered anything?" questioned the man.

Argo looked around nervously. "Russ, I told you, it worked."

The man on the other end grunted. "And nothing at all has come back?"

"Nope, he doesn't even remember me being his father's best friend. Now, we really shouldn't be talking about the lad so freely like this," Argo said, trying to change the subject.

Jadon started to wish he could see the man on the screen.

"Why? We haven't even mentioned..." Russ replied, purposely stopping in mid-sentence.

Argo shifted his head.

"Aye, aye," Russ said, giving in.

"Well, I hear you finally got yourself a Jafarian skybird. About time!" Russ said, congratulating him. Jadon silently and slowly began to push himself backward.

As he climbed back down the ladder toward the exit, Jadon knew that he should head back to Argo's office, and tell him about Tim, but something stopped him. Argo was hiding something from him — of that, he was sure. He decided to head back to his cabin. A few minutes later he arrived, and just as he opened the door, he remembered that Ethan and Micah were there. Right now he just wished he could be alone.

"So, how did that mission go?" Ethan questioned him, somewhat amused.

"Fine," replied Jadon.

"Did you find out who made all the lights go out?" Micah asked him.

Jadon looked down at him; he was still playing with the toy train. He smiled. That boy never gave up.

"Yeah."

"Who?" inquired Ethan, all of a sudden appearing interested.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Probably not, but tell me anyway."

"Tim."

"You're right. I don't believe you," the younger lad responded. "Why would he make the power system fail?"

"To get into the captain's office," Jadon informed him, and climbed into his bunk.

"And what did they want in there?" asked Ethan.

"Information on someone. He was rifling through the file cabinets," the youth said as he stared at the wall.

"Information on whom?" questioned the younger lad. He glanced over at Jadon.

"I don't know," the youth lied, and then rolled over onto his side. Closing his eyes, he tried to stop all the thoughts in his head. There were too many, and they were giving him a headache.

Two minutes later, he had fallen asleep. The busy day, and loss of blood, had worn him out. He was fast asleep when he was suddenly awakened by a crash on top of him. He slightly opened his eyes to see that it was Micah who had climbed into his bunk.

The little boy began pulling on his hand.

He tried to ignore him.

"Jadon, wake up!" the little boy finally shouted.

"Why?" he asked in a drowsy state, not even bothering to lift his head.

"It's time to wake up!" Micah said loudly.

"Why?"

"Because it's dinnertime! I heard the bell."

"And?"

"You need to eat."

Jadon groaned, and sat up. He knew very well that the little boy would not give up.

"Fine," he relented. Rubbing his eyes, he sat up and looked at Micah. Taking a second, he brushed the little boy's hair to the side, only to push it back down again a moment later.

"Let's go," he told him, and jumped out of the bunk.

Micah smiled, and scrambled back down, and took the youth's hand.

If it had been anyone else, Jadon knew he would have pushed the hand away, but it was Micah's.

As they neared the mess hall, the little boy let go and ran in, the smell of lasagna enchanting him. Although a well-behaved boy, he butted into the beginning of the line to get his food.

The crew and officers were used to this, but it brought a smile to Jadon's otherwise cloudy face. Waiting at the back of the line, he had his meal in no time. He then made his way over to his usual spot.

"Why are you so glum?" asked Abigail as he sat down.

Jadon looked around to see Ethan, Abigail, Shawnya, Micah, and Tim sitting at a table. He narrowed his eyes at Tim, who looked so smug right now, no one would have guessed it was he who had broken into the captain's office. All of sudden, he noticed Argo walking into the mess hall, and sighed.

"No reason," he fibbed, and stood up. He had decided to tell the old man what he saw. After a short conversation, Argo replied with a question.

"Are you sure?"

To which Jadon nodded, and looked him in the eye.

Walking over to Tim, Argo told the older lad to stand up.

Turning around, Tim noted Argo with Jadon. "You know, don't you?"

Argo nodded.

"Then, you just proved that it's him," Tim replied, and suddenly became angry.

"Tell me, why you didn't save her!" he asked, looking directly at Jadon.

Unsure how to answer, he didn't. Nonetheless, a single word entered his mind. The word hate.

"Let's go," Argo told Tim, and pulled him away from his seat.

"Why did you run away?" Tim shouted. As Argo pulled Tim toward the exit, Jadon and his comrades watched the older lad become more violent.

"Tell me!" he yelled before the door closed.

"What was that about?" Abigail asked.

"Who didn't you save, Jadon?" questioned Micah.

"I don't know," he replied to both of them, and sat down in front of his meal, which he was now unable to eat.

"Is something wrong, Jadon?" inquired Shawnya. The youth never seemed this quiet before.

"No," he replied. Then, taking one last swallow of his drink, he picked up his tray, and left them all to wonder.

"He's probably just causing trouble," Ethan told them.

###

Making his way to the showers later that evening, Jadon was feeling slightly revived and much cleaner within ten minutes. As he was getting dressed, Ethan walked into the shower room, and started to undress. Wrapping a slim towel around himself, he walked toward the showers, where he stopped and laughed at Jadon.

"What?" the older lad inquired.

"Nothing," Ethan replied at first, but then quickly went on, unable to contain his recent plan to blackmail Jadon. "I just found a sack of gold in your, I mean, _our_ hiding place," he informed him. "And all I have to do is tell Claire."

Jadon sighed. He really didn't really feel like this now.

"You can't threaten me," he replied, and walked over to Ethan.

"I'm not scared of you," the younger lad said. "But if we're going to fight, at least let me put my clothes back on."

Jadon laughed, half amused at how Ethan hadn't thought this out too well.

"We aren't going to fight," responded the older lad. Running over to the bench where both sets of Ethan's clothes sat, he grabbed them. "I'm just going to take these," he said and then ran for the door.

The younger lad galloped after him, but wasn't fast enough.

Jadon made it out the door.

Ethan opened the door, and stood in the doorway as Jadon stood two yards away with a grin on his face. Still dressed in only a towel, a slight wind reminded the younger lad that they were on the busy deck two.

"Give them back!" he yelled.

"You don't tell Claire, and you can have them back," Jadon said, spouting the terms of an agreement.

"Deal," replied Ethan grimly.

The older lad smiled as he ran down the hallway, before looking back at the younger lad. Turning the other way, he ran another two yards.

"Hey!" Ethan yelled.

"Oh, right," Jadon said, and then dropped the clothes in the hallway. "See ya!" he yelled, and ran off.

###

After changing the hiding place of the sack of gold, Jadon spent the rest of the night walking across the main deck. While Ethan had annoyed him, he had too much else to think about. First Argo and now Tim. The storm had settled down into a light rain with a gentle rhythmic rocking of the boat. Two bright, blue moons began to shine through the clouds. Every once in a while, he bumped into a crewman or officer who told him to watch where he was going. Eventually, he made his way back to his cabin.

Ethan didn't say anything to him, to his surprise.

Micah was much the opposite, though. The little boy looked scared.

"Jadon, can I sleep with you?" he asked.

"Sure," he replied, not even thinking about it.

Ethan turned his head to watch the little boy climb into the top bunk with the older lad. He looked at them strangely, making Jadon glare at him. The youth figured it was because he didn't put up an argument this time, forgetting for a moment how alike they looked together, being brothers.

Jadon turned to stare at the wall, as Micah made himself comfy. In no time at all, the little boy fell asleep, but the youth's brain didn't slow. He was going over the conversation that he had overheard with Argo. What did Argo mean by "it worked"?

An hour went by, and Jadon was almost asleep when he thought of the one possible meaning. He nearly bolted upright, but remembered in the nick of time that Micah was sleeping on top of him. He tried to think of other possibilities, but it all made sense now. His memory had been erased. He was sure of it. How, or why, he didn't know, but there was one way to find out. Tomorrow he would contact this "Russ" person whom Argo had been talking to, and maybe, just maybe, he would know how and why.

## Chapter 6

Tragedy

The sun was hardly up, and Jadon had already hatched a plan. He just had to wait for everyone to wake up.

It was twenty long minutes before Ethan yawned, and saw the youth looking down at him. "You waiting for something?"

"You could say that."

Ethan shrugged.

Jadon looked down at the little boy sleeping on him, and hated to wake him, but it was time. He shook him gently.

"Ja...don?" Micah asked, looking up at the older lad.

"It's time to get up."

"I had a dream about our..." Micah began.

Jadon clasped his hand over the little boy's mouth. He knew exactly what the boy was about to say, and now wasn't the time for it.

"Tell me about it later," he told him, and glanced over at Ethan. He looked questionably at them, but quickly turned around to pick up a shirt.

Micah took the hint. "Okay," he replied, and lay back down on Jadon's chest.

"Micah!" Jadon growled, but was not unhappy with the boy. "Wake up!" he yelled out, and started tickling the boy around his ribs.

The little boy bolted upright, and started to laugh.

"I'm up! I'm up!" he shouted through his laughter.

Jadon smiled, and stopped.

Micah rubbed his eyes, and climbed down out of the top bunk.

Ethan stared at them in wonder.

Jadon noticed him staring. "Don't you have work to do?"

The younger lad shook his head, and walked out of the cabin.

"Micah, you get to help Teacher clean the erasers again," Jadon told him as he looked over their duty sheet.

"Yay!" shouted the little boy.

"And I'm supposed to swab the deck again..." Jadon grumbled under his breath. He had better plans.

"Let's go," he told Micah, and led him up to the classroom.

Then, Jadon climbed back down the decks, until he found himself in Control Room Eight. No one was there, but he took with him a two-way radio, and headed to the other side of the ship. Once there, he entered the engine room. Here he was greeted by two distinct sounds: the hum of the two cores, and the drone of the propellers. The crew didn't even take notice of him, as they had grown used to him strolling through at random times.

Glancing at the two, tall, octagon-shaped objects known as the cores, Jadon watched their glass-covered chambers for a moment. Glowing a brilliant, bright white, they slowly became dark, only for another reaction to occur, causing them to glow brightly again. The cycle continually repeated itself. Tearing his eyes from them, he walked over to one of the numerous, information-filled screens. Most of the numbers meant nothing to him, but one bit did. He smiled. The grouger conductor was out of alignment. The engine room crew never bothered to keep it in alignment unless they knew Argo was coming.

Jadon left the engine room, and turned the two-way radio on. "Argo, I think you should know that the grouger conductor is out of alignment again."

"Jadon, is that you?" Argo asked.

"Yes."

"Aren't you supposed to be swabbing the deck?"

"Yes, but I noticed it on my way."

"On your way from what, lad?"

"I just did. Okay?"

"Fine, I'll be right down."

Jadon smiled, and headed out. _So far, so good_ , he told himself. A few minutes later, he was surrounded by doors leading to the officers' quarters. One of them was Argo's office. That would be the fourth door on his left. He tried the door, but found it locked. That was easily remedied with a hair pin. Bright sunlight lit him up as he opened the door. He had almost forgotten about the large, round window in Argo's office. He looked out it, amazed at how fast they tore over the ocean. He had to force himself to avoid the view, as he had business to attend to.

Argo's computer was fairly easy to use. As it started up, it asked for an authorization number. Jadon entered one he knew would work.

Once it was fully on, he spoke to the computer. "Show me the past video call logs from yesterday." A list came up. Two calls had been made. Not only was the first one made in the morning, but the second one read "Russ." He quickly memorized the numbers and the codes. Once he was sure he knew them, he shut down the computer, and left the room, making certain to lock the door as he shut it. Argo would never know he was there.

Making his way off the deck without being questioned, Jadon was just about to start swabbing the deck when the breakfast bell rang. Two minutes later, he sat down at his usual table with a tray of breakfast, and a glass of orange juice. As he started to eat, Abigail tried to interrogate him.

"Where have you been?" she questioned him.

"Busy," he replied, still chewing his food.

Abigail's horns twisted together. "Doing what?"

"Not cleaning the deck like he was supposed to," Ethan told them, just arriving at their table in the mess hall.

"How would you know? Weren't you supposed to be working in the kitchen this morning?" Jadon inquired, returning his question with a question. Having seen the schedule, he knew the younger lad was scheduled to be there.

"I... uh, forget that. What were you doing?" asked Ethan, barely composing himself.

"I had something more important to attend to," Jadon answered, evasively, though he wondered why the younger lad was doing the same.

Meanwhile, Shawnya took a sip of her orange juice before interrupting them both to ask the older lad a simple question.

"Is there anything you can tell us?"

Jadon looked over each of them. "No," he replied, and looked down at his food.

"Please, Jadon," Abigail said. She was practically begging.

Glancing up, he looked into her blue eyes, and sighed.

"I might find out who I really am today," he finally said.

"You're Jadon," Micah told him.

Ethan rolled his eyes. "And you don't already know who you are?" he asked.

"Not like I would like to," Jadon responded.

"What's that supposed to mean?" pressured Ethan.

The youth frowned, and stared at the table.

"It means, I would love to remember my childhood and my parents..." he said, and paused for a moment before his voice became louder. "But I do not, and cannot, remember anything before the day I came aboard this dang ship!" he told them angrily. He punched his fist on the table out of frustration, alerting them all that this was no joke.

Abigail and Shawnya looked at each other with confusion and surprise, while Ethan doubted Jadon right away.

"Are you sure you just haven't forgotten things because you're getting older? Even I don't remember everything I did when I was Micah's age."

Jadon had a simple answer for Ethan. "Would you forget your mom and dad? I wasn't five when she died. I was nine, and the only way I know that is because I have a photograph to prove it. It's not just them I forget, Ethan. It's everything — where I lived, what I did, what I liked... all of it." He sighed. He didn't expect the younger lad to understand.

Ethan glanced away, and quieted down.

"Maybe you have amnesia?" Shawnya suggested.

"What's amnesia?" asked Micah.

Abigail explained to him what it was.

"I would agree with you, but Argo won't tell me anything about my parents, or me as a child. He just gets real quiet," Jadon informed them, his speaking voice calm again.

"That's odd," replied Abigail.

"Perhaps you were in an accident that he doesn't like to talk about?" questioned Shawnya.

"Maybe, but after yesterday I don't believe that," Jadon responded.

"Why not?" she asked.

Jadon knew he wasn't going to get out of explaining this, so he might as well tell them. He looked up at them.

"I overheard Argo talking to a person named Russ. This Russ asked about me. One of the things he asked is, have I remembered anything? Argo said 'nope', and said that 'it worked.' That I didn't even remember him as my dad's best friend," Jadon explained.

"It?" questioned Ethan wearily, becoming vocal again.

"Yeah," he replied. He looked down again. "I had no idea what it could mean until last night."

"What?" asked Abigail.

"They erased my memory," Jadon said, looking up into each of their eyes.

"But why?" Abigail inquired.

"How did they do that, Jadon?" questioned Micah.

"I don't know why, and I don't know how," he responded solemnly.

Each of the comrades exchanged glances.

"So, what are you planning today?" Ethan asked.

"I'm going to contact this Russ person," Jadon told them. "Maybe he'll tell me what's going on."

"I suppose you won't be in school today, then?" Ethan inquired.

The older lad glared at him.

"I could possibly tell Teacher that Argo has you doing something," the younger lad suggested.

"We," corrected Abigail.

"And not just something. More like inventorying the cargo," Shawnya corrected.

Jadon started to smile.

"Thanks," he told them, and rose.

Micah looked at him.

"This is a secret, Micah," the youth told him.

"I can keep a secret. You know that, Jadon!" said the little boy happily.

Abigail looked curiously at him, and then the youth, but didn't ask what Micah had meant. Jadon left, and was followed by Ethan.

###

Abigail looked at Shawnya. "See, I told you he had a reason for that attitude," she bragged.

"Yes, I guess I would be cranky, too, if I couldn't remember our mom and dad," Shawnya replied.

As they were talking, Micah got up, and walked in between them.

"Jadon can be really nice," the little boy told them. "I was scared last night, and he let me sleep with him."

Abigail and Shawnya looked at each other, and smiled. Perhaps it was possible for the youth to be kind.

After a brief silence, Shawnya spoke up. "I still can't believe we're going to li..." She glanced at Micah "...trick Teacher," she finished.

###

At the same time, Jadon again made his way to "Control Room Eight," but this time, he did so in a stealth-like manner. No one questioned him, as he slipped into the empty room. He shut the door quietly, before turning the light on. Sitting down in the chair, he activated the console. "Please enter your authorization code," it read. He entered in a code, and a welcome sound told him that it worked.

"Start communications array," he told the computer. Silently, he hoped Argo wouldn't notice its activation. Seconds later, it asked him for the call number, and the code number. He tapped it in, and then waited. The screen read, "Making your call."

It was two full minutes before the screened changed, and showed a man sitting at his desk. The man had obviously not combed his blond hair. His shirt was wrinkled, and he looked generally unruly. He was not even looking at the camera.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Are you Russ?" Jadon questioned him.

"Who else would I be?" the man inquired before looking up.

Jadon could see the surprise in his eyes, as the man did a double-take.

"Ja..." he choked out, and then pulled himself together. "May I help you?" he asked.

"Yes, you can start by telling me everything you know about me," Jadon told him.

"But I don't know anything about you," replied the man.

The youth's eyebrow rose. The man was not a good liar.

"I heard you talking to Argo," he informed him. "You knew me."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Russ replied. He looked ready to end the call. "Now if you don't mind..."

"I do mind. Now, would you tell me why I can't remember my own parents! My childhood! Or anything in the past!" Jadon shouted at the man, full of anger.

The man sighed, and looked around nervously. "You're putting me in a difficult position," he said to Jadon. The man bit his lip.

"First, why don't you tell me how you received this communication code?" he questioned the youth.

"I got it from Argo's computer," Jadon answered him. "Why? Are you a wanted man?"

"No, it's not that. It's just, if they knew I was talking to you..." Russ replied, and leaned back on his chair.

"They? And what did I do?" Jadon asked.

The man rubbed his chin.

Jadon couldn't help but wonder why he was so nervous.

"We really can't talk about it," Russ told him.

"Why not?" he asked, starting to get annoyed. _This man wouldn't tell him anything_!

"It would put you and me both in danger. You know they randomly listen to other people's communications as they listen for word of you. They don't really believe that you or your brother are dead, you know."

Jadon silently groaned. The more he listened, the more confused he became.

"Who are they?" he inquired again.

"The Iguana Society," the man answered.

The youth felt a chill go through his spine. "The what?"

"Listen, kid, it's most unusual that you survived in the first place. I really think you should talk to Argo about this. "

"Argo won't tell me anything!"

"He has a good reason, you know. A very good reason," responded Russ.

"Like what?" asked Jadon.

The man rubbed his head. "You won't give up, will you?"

"No."

"I'll tell you what you want to know, but not through here. If you listened to Argo and me talk, you know that we're meeting up."

Jadon nodded.

"Come with him. We'll talk then."

"But what about Argo..." he started to reply, not sure Argo would let this man tell him anything.

"Don't worry about him. Now I have to go before this call is traced," said the man. "Bye." The screen blinked, telling Jadon that the transmission was over.

Jadon ran his hand through his hair. He had gotten very little in the way of answers, though what did slip was interesting. Moments later, he walked into the classroom, and sat at his desk. Lazily lying on it, he waited for school to be over.

"At attention," Teacher told him, and struck the desk with his pointer stick. "Just because you have other duties does not give you the right to take a nap in here."

Jadon groaned as he sat up and looked around.

"So, it didn't go well, I take it?" Abigail questioned him, once school was over. They walked slowly over to the main deck.

"He wouldn't tell me anything," Jadon replied, stopping to punch a railing post.

"Well, why not? Didn't he know you?" she inquired, stopping as well.

Jadon looked out over the ocean. "Oh, he knew me, real well, but he wouldn't tell me anything. Except that some people think I'm dead, and that my survival is most unusual."

"Some people? Your survival?"

"I don't know what he meant by that, but he called the people The Iguana Society," he replied, making a face as he said the name.

"The what?" she asked in disbelief.

"I don't know. He wouldn't tell me who they were."

Abigail stayed silent.

Jadon sensed she was afraid to anger him, and went on. "He seemed very nervous about getting caught talking to me, although he did say we could talk in person if I come with Argo."

"Isn't that good?" she questioned him.

"Somehow, I don't think Argo will let me learn anything."

"Why not?"

"He's hiding something. I don't know what, but he is."

"You think it's a bad something?"

"I don't know."

"Jadon, come on. You've gotten past Argo before. You can do it this time," she encouraged him.

He smiled a bit. "I suppose you're right." They began walking again.

"How many days until you go to see him?" Abigail asked him.

"Three," Jadon answered. _Three long days_ , he thought silently. It soon turned into two days, then one more, and finally it was the day of. He didn't know how early Argo would leave, so he was up before the sun had even risen over the horizon. He soon found Argo, and was glad he had gotten up so early, as Argo was getting ready. Jadon had quickly realized they wouldn't be pulling into port anytime soon, meaning there was only one other way he could leave. Two actually, but he was absolutely sure which way the old man would be taking.

Opening the hatch, Jadon watched Argo climb into his seat in the skybird, strap the belt on, and place a headset over his ears. He flipped some switches, and heard the core start up. Once they were humming at a steady pace, he flipped some more switches. The clamps holding the skybird in place released, and the starboard cargo door of the Taryn opened.

"Catch you later, Taryn," Argo spoke into the headset. He flicked some more switches, and directed the skybird out of the ship, and finally upward into the sky. As he was about to have the engines propel, Jadon moved into place in the second chair.

"I swear, you can become invisible, lad," Argo told him, shaking his head.

"It's all part of the job," he replied swiftly.

"So, lad, what are you doing in my skybird?"

"Taryn, prepare for me to land," Argo said into the headset.

"No!" Jadon shouted, surprising himself. "I'm coming with you," he said in a calmer manner.

Argo looked at him confused. "Jadon, I'm just going to the Taleco Villages to conduct some business. Nothing exciting. No need for you to come."

"I want to come! I need to know how to conduct business, too, if I'm to become a great sailor like you."

The old man looked out the window for a moment. "Aye, you just wanted another ride in my skybird," he said, and chuckled at the youth. "So, I suppose there is no way to change your mind?"

"Nope."

Argo tilted his head as he seemed to think about it.

"Taryn, cancel that order, but put down Jadon as being with me," he informed the captain. Jadon could hear laughter on the other end.

The old man shook his head. Three minutes later, they were on their way.

"So, how did you know I was leaving today?" asked Argo as he maneuvered the skybird.

"I overheard the captain say something about it," Jadon responded.

"Ahh," the old man replied. The captain was known to speak loudly of other people's plans. Argo looked at the dashboard. "We have a ways to go, lad, but with any luck, we'll be there in thirty-five minutes." He grinned, and jerked a lever. "Hold on! We're going supersonic this time! Three...two..."

Jadon rolled his eyes, and didn't think anything of it until the engines reacted when Argo's countdown stopped. Even with the inertia dampeners, the g-forces were still mildly present as the skybird rapidly accelerated, and until it reached full speed in about six seconds. The hum of engines grew louder, and they became a bright, ruby red. The speed of the skybird increased to a point where the youth could barely tell what was below them.

"Our speed is now stage four, point eight," Argo announced proudly.

It wasn't long before Jadon grew used to the speed, but he avoided looking out the window because it gave him a headache.

To fill the time, the old man started to talk about his days as a young boy.

This bored Jadon, who closed his eyes for long intervals, before opening them again.

"We're here," Argo finally told him. All of a sudden, the skybird slowed down.

Glancing out the window, Jadon could see a small airport.

"And there's Russ," the old man said, talking more to himself.

Jadon looked out the window to see an identical Jafarian skybird hovering above the airport.

"Argo to JAF Lampard," Argo said into the headset.

Jadon could tell he heard something back.

"Right you are. I'll meet you down there, mate, and I have a surprise for ya." Argo glanced over at Jadon for a moment.

"Argo to Taleco," he said into the headset a minute later. "Requesting landing."

"Aye, thanks, mate," he finally replied, and turned to Jadon. "We're landing after my buddy Russ," Argo told him.

Jadon watched Russ's skybird begin its descent, when an amber color erupted from the left wing. His eyes widened as the whole wing exploded, covering the remainder of the skybird in fire. Argo saw it, too, and reacted immediately. Feverishly switching the radio channel, he yelled into the receiver. "Eject, Russ! Eject!"

Jadon watched, but saw no signs that the man had escaped. He rapidly felt the hope of finding out any information about himself drain from his body. Just when he thought things couldn't get any worse, an explosion from behind shook the skybird.

## Chapter 7

Anger

"What was that?" Jadon asked.

"Weapons' fire," Argo replied as the air around the skybird appeared to liquify.

_The shields had been raised_! the youth realized. Nevertheless, five dark green jets, with a similar boomerang-like shape, became visible in front of them. Although much larger in size, their engines glowed a bright red, the same as the skybird's.

Jadon watched as two of them fired a weapon from their wings that seemed like spears of light. A dominant dark green color started out the "streaks" while a disappearing tail followed. Moving so fast they could only be seen for a second, they impacted the shield with little effect, only making the outside air appear to liquify for a moment. Remembering a lesson from Teacher, his mind clicked.

"They're Atlantin jets!" he said aloud. Then he noticed Argo was already talking. Listening, Jadon quickly figured out that he was sending a message to the attacking jets.

"This is Argo, the man in control of the Jafarian skybird. Halt your fire or I will be forced to destroy you."

Raising his brow, the youth wondered how the old man intended to do that.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Argo said to someone on the other end. Watching as the enemy jets doubled back, this time, all five of them fired at once. This caused the skybird to shake violently as the shield was strained.

"I've had enough of this. I just hope I remember how to do this," Argo stated, and placed his hands on two pads in front of him.

"Do what?" questioned Jadon, but the old man was silent.

"Argo?" Glancing at him, he noticed Argo appeared to be in a trance of sorts. Looking out the window, he noticed an enemy jet circling around, and heading directly for them. It continuously fired at them, shaking the youth in his seat. His head turned as he listened to the skybird's engines grow louder. _They were accelerating_!

"Argo!" he shouted, and tried to nudge the old man. Looking out the window, he watched, as they moved closer to the enemy jet.

Just as Jadon braced for impact, a rapid succession of light shot from both ends of the skybird's wings. For a short second, he caught a glimpse of the spears of light, heading for the enemy jet. Their dagger-like edge was a dark blue, while a fading tail followed. Then, he realized that the Atlantin jet's weapons were the same thing, but with a dark green color instead. A second passed, and the energy spears tore into the enemy jet, which clearly had no shields. At the very same time, the skybird made a three sixty degree flight out of the jet's path. For a few seconds, he found himself flying upside down as the enemy jet exploded, though at the very same time, he was also relieved. A second Atlantin jet was taken out the same way.

Jadon's relief was cut short when one of the remaining enemy jets fired a pair of missiles at them. He was further shocked when the skybird fired its weapons so fast that it not only destroyed the missiles, but also the jet they were launched from. The two remaining Atlantin jets used a more conventional way of fighting where they tried to close in and fire, and then outmaneuver when fired upon.

There was only one problem with this approach, Jadon observed. The skybird was much more maneuverable than the Atlantin style ones. It easily missed being fired upon, though this caused him to hold on tight many times. This same advantage made it easier for the skybird to fire on the enemy jets, and successfully hit them. One more Atlantin jet was destroyed, leaving only one behind.

However, Jadon was not prepared for the last maneuver, as the skybird flew toward the last enemy jet. He assumed he had seen every kind of attack the skybird could do, but was shocked when the skybird headed straight for the Atlantin jet. The skybird took a hit of weapon's fire to the shield, but closed in on the enemy jet at an accelerated rate, until the inevitable happened. The skybird impacted the Atlantin jet's wing. The skybird shook violently, and the loud sound of metal being crushed was overwhelming.

Jadon held onto his chair with white knuckles for what seemed like a very long three seconds. When the sounds and shaking stop, he looked out the window, and was shocked to see what they had done to the enemy's jet. _They had literally sliced the wing off_! It spun out of control, and in less than a minute, had crashed to the ground. Seeing no damage to his own ship, he wondered if the skybird had been made to do such a thing in the first place.

Just then, Argo took a deep breath.

"Argo?" Jadon asked.

"Ahh, how did I do, lad?"

"What did you do?" he inquired, looking at the old man's hands.

Seeing where Jadon was looking, Argo responded. "Oh, I was just communicating with Dragonfly. That's the name of this skybird. It's a lot faster than using the controls. Right now, though, we need to get out of here. There's eight more jets heading toward us at this very moment and they might not be as inexperienced."

Jadon was curious, but didn't ask any more questions.

After the skybird accelerated to a supersonic speed, Argo pressed another control. It caused the air outside to change in appearance to look as if they were inside of a piece of quartz with thousands of different sides. Many of the sides were murky in transparency while others were so unclear, they seemed reflective.

Jadon looked at Argo for an explanation.

"I've engaged the cloak. We're invisible. Not only to radar, but also to the naked eye."

Laying his head back, Jadon sighed silently. As exciting as this was, it had not gone the way he planned at all.

They were halfway to the Taryn when Argo frowned. "Russ was a good friend," he said quietly.

Jadon didn't reply. He wasn't even wondering why Russ had been killed. He just knew that the man who could tell him things about himself was gone. That, and it was beginning to look as though someone wanted to kill him. _But why_?

###

A short time later, Jadon noticed Argo's difficulty at landing the skybird inside of a moving, rocking ship. Slowly hovering the skybird, Argo moved cautiously forward. Nevertheless, they cringed, as the sound of the skybird scraping the ceiling of the cargo bay made its way to their ears.

As Jadon walked up to the main deck, Abigail suddenly appeared.

"Jadon!" she called.

He ignored her. Instead, he climbed up, and headed to the front of the ship. Then, he climbed onto the bowsprit, a long piece of thick wood that stuck out into the ocean.

"Jadon!" She was afraid he would jump, but he just sat there. The wind blew over him, rising his hair up, and making wind pockets through his shirt.

After almost tripping on a cargo hook, Abigail made it to him. "What happened?"

"He's dead," Jadon responded. Pulling his knife out of his pocket, he stuck it into the wood beam.

"How?" she asked, her eyes wide.

"I don't know, but I suspect sabotage," he said, staring out at the sea.

Abigail was quiet while Jadon went on, and explained. "Argo and I were watching him land when the wing of his skybird exploded. We watched for him to eject, but he never did. If that wasn't bad enough, five green jets, Atlantin ones, started firing on us. Luckily Argo destroyed them..." Jadon sighed once he finished speaking.

"So, you think someone killed him?" inquired Abigail.

"I know it," Jadon told her. "And they were after me."

"Are you sure? Why would they be after you?"

"Yes, I'm sure, and I don't know why. I heard Argo reply to them, saying I don't know what you're talking about," he replied. "I have a feeling it had to do with me."

Abigail considered this, but then thought up her own possibility. "Jadon, are you sure this all has to do with you? It could mean anything."

"No, it's me, if only I could remember!" he answered, cursed, and then pounded his head against the handle of his knife blade.

Abigail frowned.

"Jadon," she said, reaching over to try and stop him from hitting his head.

He let her stop him, and looked at her.

"You're missing school, aren't you?" he questioned Abigail.

"Jadon, that's not important."

"Go!"

"Only if you come with me," she countered.

Jadon groaned. _Girls_! _Why did they have to be so hard to deal with_?

"Fine," he grumbled. Pulling the case for his knife out of his pocket, he yanked the knife out of the wood beam, and inserted the knife back in.

Slipping the case back into his pocket, he climbed down onto the main deck. Before long they walked back into the schoolroom.

"Glad you could join us," Teacher told them, halting his speech on how antibodies work.

Micah turned his head, and smiled at Jadon.

Ethan only glanced at him.

Shawnya, though, looked happy to see Abigail back.

Within minutes, the classroom life returned to normal. Jadon pulled his schoolbook and notebook out, and got to work, writing what was drawn on the chalkboard. Several hours later, it was noontime. A bell rang, not a second too early for any of them. Sitting down for hours and listening to Teacher wasn't the most exciting thing.

"I expect a full report in three days on at least one of the different parts of blood that we discussed today," Teacher told them. "That's for anyone over six years of age," he said, glancing at Micah. Ethan groaned loudly as each of them gathered their things.

"I could make it two days," Teacher warned him.

"Yes, sir," replied Ethan.

Jadon didn't really care enough to be in a hurry today. He had taken his time walking the main deck, as he tried to put all the facts together. This was making him mad. If only he knew something that could awake his memory.

After about five minutes, he sat down with his tray that contained a cup of juice and a sandwich.

The table was quiet for the longest time, until Abigail spoke up. "Aren't you going to tell them?" she asked him.

"Tell them what?" Jadon grumbled with food in his mouth.

"About what happened," she responded.

"There's nothing to tell. Russ is dead," he replied.

"How?" inquired Shawnya.

Micah looked curiously at Jadon.

"Jadon probably killed him because he wouldn't tell him anything," Ethan suggested jokingly. No one found it very funny, including Jadon, who stopped chewing and stared at him.

"That's not funny, Ethan," Shawnya told him, but he didn't listen.

"Or maybe he just told Jadon that he was an ordinary boy with an ordinary life, and Jadon couldn't stand that," the younger lad went on.

At that moment, something inside the youth snapped. Ethan had been getting on his nerves one time too many lately.

"Or maybe..." the younger lad started to say before Jadon stood up, and in an instant, wrapped his hand around the younger boy's throat.

"Jadon, stop!" Abigail yelled.

He didn't listen to her. Instead, he pulled Ethan up to his feet, and started walking down an aisle with him.

"Jadon! Let go of him!" Shawnya yelled.

"Jadon, put him down!" Micah shouted, but the youth still didn't listen.

"Get...your...hands...off...me!" Ethan struggled to say.

"You just think you're so funny, don't you?" Jadon asked angrily. "Maybe, if you didn't remember your parents, and your childhood, you wouldn't find it so funny."

"Ja..don!" he croaked.

"Yes, I'll help you forget everything, starting right now," Jadon said with a smug face as they neared a cross table that blocked their way. By now, many of the officers and crew were beginning to see what was going on, and called for him to stop. Some stood up, and headed over, but they were too late.

Ethan, in fact, never knew what hit him, but everyone else watched as Jadon's fist connected with the younger boy's face at an alarming speed. At the same time, Jadon let go of his throat, causing the younger lad to fly backward over the table and onto the floor. Blood flowed from the younger boy's nose, and his face filled with an ever increasing pain.

"Jadon..."Abigail said, but was speechless.

"You hurt him, Jadon!" Micah exclaimed. He sounded deeply upset.

Shawnya stood up to look at Ethan.

Some of the crew immediately ran over to Ethan. He groaned, and sat up.

Jadon walked toward the exit, but not before the cook messaged the operations room. "Fight in the mess hall," he said frantically. "Send the doctor." The exit doors immediately locked shut.

A crewman saw the youth heading for the doors, and attempted to stop him.

Jadon pulled out his knife, and looked menacingly at him.

The crewman quickly backed away and his eyes widened as the youth punched in a code on the keypad next to the doors, making them click open. He opened the door, and made a quick exit. The doors relocked right away.

###

Within two minutes, Argo was there. When he spotted Ethan lying on the floor, he knew immediately who had done it.

"Jadon..." he grumbled, and looked at the group of kids.

Abigail nodded.

"Where is he?" Argo asked, looking around. Jadon's unique hair wasn't visible.

"He left, sir," said the crewman who had tried to stop him.

"How?" inquired Argo, thinking he had not locked the room fast enough, but knowing Jadon he would find another way if there was one.

"He seemed to have a code to get out of here, sir," the crewman replied.

Argo shook his head. _Leave it to that lad to know a code_ , he thought.

Just then, the doctor rushed in. Looking at Ethan he asked, "Jadon's work, I presume?"

Argo nodded.

"What made him so mad, lass?" the old man questioned Abigail.

"I...well," she started to say.

"Well, spit it out!"

"I'm not sure he would want you to know, sir."

"He should have thought of that before he did this," Argo responded, but raised an eyebrow. _What would Jadon not want him to know_? he wondered. He soon found out as Abigail explained.

Glancing at the ceiling, Argo rubbed his forehead.

"He's going to be all right, but I'd like to take him back with me to my office to check on a few things," the doctor told Argo, interrupting him.

"What?" Argo said at first, and then collected himself. "Yes, do that, and take Micah with you, Doc," he replied. "They'll need some place to sleep tonight."

Argo started to walk out, but Abigail stopped him.

"Sir?" she asked.

"Yes?" he questioned her, and turned around.

"This has been bothering Jadon for a long time now. I think if you know anything, you should tell him, and please don't be too hard on him."

Argo looked down at her, and smiled.

"I'll tell him what I can," he responded, looking away before looking back at her. "As for being hard on him, he should know better than to punch Ethan like that, but I'll see what I can do."

He paused yet again for a moment before asking her a question. "It's really been bothering him for a while?"

"Yes, I think so," she replied honestly.

"Hmm," he said, and punched in the code to exit the room.

Argo walked back up to the operations room at a fast pace. Reaching over his belt, he pulled his two-way radio off, and clicked it on.

"Operations, I want a lockdown of this ship _now_!" Argo commanded, emphasizing the last word.

"Yes, sir," replied a male voice on the other end. A red light flashed in the hallway ahead, letting Argo know they had listened. He was stopped by two sets of doors before he made it into the operations room.

"What are you doing back here? Did Jadon abandon ship?" Claire asked mockingly.

"He's not that stupid, Claire," replied Argo, shutting her up.

"Lieutenant, I want to know of all the secure doors on this ship that open," the old man told him.

"Yes, sir," replied William. Argo was silent as he listened to the lieutenant tell him which doors opened.

"This is useless," Claire insisted.

"Really?" questioned Argo. "Then, why did you just use your code to open door thirty-two C on deck one?"

"What!" she yelped, and looked at the lieutenant's screen in disbelief. "He has my code! That little rat has my code!" Her fist hit the armrest of the captain's chair angrily.

"Yes, and the lad's using it to go around in circles..." Argo told her.

"Probably avoiding people, sir," William suggested.

"Right..." said Argo, watching it carefully. "Where is he going?" Suddenly, both of their eyes widened, as one last door opened.

"Sea servants, sir..." Lieutenant William responded.

Argo reached for his radio again, and almost dropped it. "Shatner, speak to me, mate," Argo said, his voice shaking. The radio was silent.

"Where is he?" inquired Claire.

"That little rat, as you call him, is in the weapon's locker," Argo said, staring her in the eyes. Her facial expression changed to pure shock. "Guess he's not as dumb as you thought," he sneered, and started to head out the door.

"Sir!" Lieutenant William called, stopping him, and attempted to hand him a muddle pistol. "I think you'll need this, sir," he explained.

"No, I won't," Argo said, and pushed the muddle back into the lieutenant's hands. Before William could object, the old man ran out the door, and didn't stop for anything. Punching in his code to open the doors that blocked his passage, he made his way through the ship. He ran as fast as he could, even though he was sure Jadon wouldn't hurt people.

###

Jadon found it very easy to remove the weapon's locker "manager" from the room, especially when the poor man didn't even hear him come in. In no time flat, he was behind the manager with his knife pulled out, threatening to kill him if he didn't do as he said. He had no intention of really killing him, but the manager didn't know that, and cooperated fully by leaving the weapon's locker. Once he was gone, Jadon locked the door, and picked up his knife. He took a few steps back from the door, and then threw his knife into the electronic panel that controlled the locks. It sparked and short circuited, making him grin. _Now, I'll be left alone for a while_ , he thought.

Reaching across the counter, Jadon grabbed a muddle rifle. The barrel was two and a half feet long, black in color, and merged into a rear handle where there was a trigger. Enhancing the aim was a small, round scope on the very top of the muddle, and a grip near the center of the barrel used to help keep it steady. After making sure it was charged, ready, and the safety was off, he walked into the back room. It was a place where the crewmen could practice with their muddle on targets. There were twelve aisles, and each had fake scenery. The twelfth was the hardest. It was the longest aisle and included a moving projected target.

Jadon walked past all the other aisles, stopping only at the twelfth. Punching a red button to start the motion, he properly gripped the muddle rifle with two hands, and took aim. He pulled the trigger. A bright light flashed in front of him as the bullet of energy was fired. The target showed that his aim was not quite perfect, but almost there. He attempted to make it better. A thousand muddle strikes hit the target, during the next ten minutes. Pausing for a moment, he lowered himself onto his stomach, and continued from behind a fake bush. Soon two thousand strikes hit the target, then three thousand, and it wasn't long after that the gun clicked empty. The power cell was dead.

"Piece of junk..." Jadon muttered, and threw it behind him, making a thud sound. This wasn't making him feel better, and he knew it. If only he could....wait. He quickly realized something. _Muddle's rifles don't make a thud when they hit the floor. They make a clang_. He looked behind him to see Argo standing there, staring at him.

"Three thousand strikes is never enough, is it?" questioned Argo.

"Nope," replied Jadon as he sat up. Argo didn't sound too mad.

"So, why did you punch Ethan?" asked the old man.

"I'm sure they already told you."

"You mean, because he suggested that you killed Russ?"

The youth didn't answer.

"Jadon, that's a silly thing to get mad about, and you know what? It's not the real reason you're mad, is it?"

"No," he replied, looking down.

"Why, then?" inquired Argo who already knew, but wanted Jadon to tell him.

Jadon looked directly at Argo. "Because you had my memory erased!" he blurted out angrily.

"Whoa, lad. Where did you come up with something like that?" Argo questioned him.

Jadon glared at him. "I didn't come up with it! I can't remember anything before this ship, and..." he started to go on, but stopped.

"Go on," Argo told him.

"I overheard you say stuff to Russ about me. You said that "it" worked, and I wouldn't remember him. What else could "it" be?" the youth asked.

The old man took a deep breath, and sat down on the floor. He was quiet for a while before he spoke. "You're right. Your memory was erased, but it wasn't me who did it and, lad, you should know the reason why he did it."

"Who erased it? And why?" he inquired, his mind spinning as he stared at the old man.

"Your father did, Jadon, because he wanted to keep you safe," Argo answered him.

"Safe from what?"

"From a man who killed many children like you."

"Like me?"

"Lad, you possess a gift."

Jadon's mind filled with questions. "A gift? What do you mean?"

"You have a power. One that can do something very miraculous."

"You're kidding, right?"

"Have I ever lied to you?" Argo questioned him.

Jadon shook his head. Although the old man had kept parts of the truth from him before, he had never actually lied.

"What is this power, then?" he inquired.

"I'm afraid I can't tell you, lad." Argo told him, abruptly looking away from him.

"Why not?" he asked, nearly shouting. _What nonsense is this_? he wondered.

"Because I promised your father I wouldn't," Argo answered, looking back at him.

"Is he still alive then?" Jadon asked, knowing that if his father was the one who erased his memory, there was a chance he was still alive.

"No," Argo replied as the room fell silent.

The youth felt instantly confused. He knew that he should believe Argo, but he sensed that he was lying to him, even though the old man had never done so before. Thinking that he was just in denial, he ignored it, and tried for more answers.

"Then, break the promise, Argo. I deserve to know my own past. Who cares what my father says!" Jadon insisted, pushing his feelings aside about his father.

"Lad, he saved my life once," Argo informed him. "And he erased your memory with the intent to save you. Though perhaps that's not the only reason."

"What do you mean?" Jadon asked.

The old man sighed. "Your mom had just died."

"How did she die?"

Argo looked away from him, and toward the ceiling as a deep frown crossed his face. "She was killed..." he began, and then realized what he was saying.

"Killed?" Jadon inquired, hoping to learn more.

"I'm afraid I've told you as much as I can," Argo said regretfully, glancing down at him. The old man looked as sorry as he sounded.

"That's it?" Jadon asked him with wide eyes, having many more questions.

"I'm sorry, lad," Argo said softly. "I didn't even have to mention your gift, you know." Jadon sighed, and nodded.

All of a sudden, the old man's voice became much harsher. "Now please, don't listen in on me anymore. It is called _my_ office for a reason."

"Yes, sir," Jadon responded miserably. Argo had barely told him anything. He had hoped for so much more: something that might have perhaps unlocked his memory.

"You'll be staying in your cabin for the next two weeks alone, and only leaving for school and showers. Nothing else. Can I trust you to do that or should I put you in the brig?" Argo asked.

"You can trust me," Jadon replied. This was a weak punishment compared to what it could have been, and he knew it.

"And finally, if I ever see you do that to Ethan again, well, you don't want to know what I'll do. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir," Jadon said, his voice losing all expression.

"Now, off to your cabin," Argo told him.

The youth arose, and started to walk out.

"Jadon!" Argo called as he stood up.

He stopped, and turned around to look back at him.

The older, dark-skinned man stared him in the eye, as he began to speak.

"Your mother is out there, Jadon, watching you, every day as you grow up. Today, she wouldn't be very proud of you, but I'm dang sure that there are many times when she is, because she loved you very, very much. So, please, in the future, behave," Argo urged him.

Jadon nodded silently, and then turned around with a small smile slowly appearing on his face that stayed there the entire way back to his cabin. He had waited much too long to hear that his mother would be proud of him.

## Chapter 8

Instinct

Two weeks later, Jadon was on the main deck, staring out at the sea, which two blue moons lit up. His mother was on his mind.

"I wish I could remember you," he muttered aloud. As his eyes glazed over, he headed below deck, to bed. Suddenly, the ship lurched, then again a second time, and finally a third. He instantly had a bad feeling about it. Had they hit a reef! Rushing back to the main deck, he spotted nothing unusual, no yelling or anyone panicking. _Had he imagined it_? he wondered. _No, he hadn't_.

Scrambling up the circular stairs that led to the operations room, the youth rushed in, only to find each of the officers at ease, including Argo himself.

"What did you do this time, Jadon?" Argo asked, causing the surrounding crewmen to laugh.

He frowned. "I didn't do anything. But just a minute ago, I felt the Taryn lurch three times."

"The ship lurches all the time, Jadon," spoke up Lieutenant William.

"Not this way," replied the youth, making Argo smile.

"What?" questioned Jadon, narrowing his eyes.

"You're right, it was an unusual series of lurches," the old man replied. "But, lad, it's nothing to worry about. We've scanned for any leaks or damage, and there was none. The best I can figure is that it was a whale, or even possibly a dolphin."

"Argo, whales and dolphins know better than to come near our ship," Jadon responded.

The old man shrugged. "It happens. Besides, if it was a reef, we'd all know it by now."

All that was left was the bad feeling Jadon had, which he knew would not make for good evidence.

"All right," he said to Argo.

"Now off to bed, Jadon," the old man told him. Smiling, he ushered him out the door.

###

Finished his climb to the lower deck, Jadon was approaching his cabin when an explosion shook through the ship, darkening the lights. Bracing himself against the wall outside his cabin, he waited for another possible explosion, but everything was dead silent. As he strained his ears for a sign of life, he heard none. Neither Ethan and Micah, nor Abigail or Shawnya had come out of their cabins. _How did they sleep through that_? he asked himself.

Moving slowly, Jadon traced the wall with his hands until he found the supply closest. Opening the door, he grasped for a flashlight. Finding one, he lit up the hallway. It was empty. Turning back toward the closet, he reached behind a number of supplies until his hand felt the soft metal of a muddle pistol. A muddle pistol was basically the tiny version of the rifle. It had no scope, the handle was smaller, and the barrel was only four-inches long. The only similarity was the color scheme: a black barrel and a navy blue handle. Taking the muddle, he closed the closet door and carried the gun at his side.

Maneuvering through boxes of cargo, Jadon made his way until his flashlight lit up a speaker for the ship's intercom system. Climbing over a box, he stopped, and tried it.

"Argo, you there?" he asked, pressing the button. There was no response. He had a feeling it wasn't working. Stopping for a moment, he decided that the blast had come from the direction of the engine room. He realized that wasn't a good sign. The thought that the ship could be sinking at this very moment entered his mind. Grumbling, he decided to wake the "gang." If anything was wrong, he needed to give them a chance to survive, especially Micah. He shook his head. _I need to stop thinking that way. It could just be a minor malfunction_ , but his gut told him it wasn't.

Just as Jadon was about to open the door to his cabin for the second time, the emergency lights unexpectedly came on, lighting up the hallway. Racing back toward the intercom, Jadon tried it again.

"Argo, you there?" he asked.

"Yes, lad, I am. Do you have any idea what's going on?" Argo questioned him.

"No, I was about to ask you that," Jadon replied. He could hear the old man sigh on the other end.

"Well, get some sleep. I'll figure it out," Argo responded. Jadon stayed quiet for a moment as he listened to the background noise coming from the operations room.

"The main power grid has failed. Starting backup systems," said a faint female voice.

"No response from the engine room, sir," said a male voice.

"Jadon, you there?" Argo asked finally.

The youth noted that he sounded worried.

"Yeah, back to bed. Night, Argo," he told him, sounding reluctant.

Not following the order he'd been given, Jadon ran for the nearest hatch that led below. Two decks later, he was greeted with smoke. Holding his shirt over his nose, and crouching down low, he found it difficult to hold both the muddle pistol, and the flashlight. Luckily, he didn't have to give up either. Sliding the flashlight into his pocket, he flipped a switch on the handle of the muddle. A small light built on top of the barrel flooded the smoky corridor with light.

"I thought I got rid of the saboteur," he mumbled under his breath as he moved toward the engine room. Just then, his ears picked up a shocking noise – muddle fire. Widening his eyes, he turned the muddle pistol's safety off.

Several seconds later, he heard the sound of footsteps in the hallway. Staying low, he turned off his light, and slowed his breathing. He didn't want to give away his position by coughing.

"Hurry, this way!" shouted a male voice.

Jadon recognized him as a crew member.

"How do you think they got on?" questioned a female voice. She too was a crew member Jadon knew. The distress in her voice was obvious.

Reaching toward them, Jadon nudged the crewman.

The crewman nearly jumped out of his body, but didn't yell.

"Cartner, it's me," Jadon said in a hushed voice.

"Jadon?" asked Julia, to whom the female voice belonged.

"Yes, now who are both of you talking about?"

Both the crew members knelt down, but before they could respond, muddle fire lit up the hallway. Jumping up, the youth tightened his grip around his muddle, and fired into the smoky corridor from which the attack came. He didn't stop firing, until he heard two satisfying yelps.

"Now, who were you talking about?" he questioned them again, starting to cough from the smoke.

"Pirates!" answered Cartner.

"Come on, Jadon! We have to get above deck, and tell the captain," Julia said, grabbing for the youth, who swung away.

He narrowed his eyes. He didn't need help.

"The radios aren't working?" he asked. The handheld radios were supposed to be a backup to the intercom system.

"No, they aren't working. Some kind of interference," Cartner replied. "Now, let's go." Moving fast, they hurried to the same ladder Jadon had used to get to the lower deck.

During the small trek toward the ladder, Cartner tried to take the muddle pistol from Jadon, only for the youth to tell him that he knew how to use it, and for them to get a move on. As it was, no one else headed their way. However, a sailor's luck was not with them on deck four.

"Climb faster," Jadon ordered the two crew members. He had a bad feeling as though he was being watched, even in the dark.

Suddenly, muddle fire lit up the deck, just missing the ladder on which Julia was still climbing, causing her to scream.

Jadon groaned, and enabled the light on his muddle.

Two men dressed in black were rushing toward them, only to be temporarily blinded by the bright light.

Jadon fired his muddle, stunning them instantly. Turning around, he saw that Julia was still not up the ladder.

"You would think working on a ship would have helped you learn to climb a ladder faster," he grumbled.

"I'm going, I'm going," she told him, having been temporarily filled with fear.

The next two decks appeared to be empty, but Jadon knew that wouldn't last long. Rushing toward the intercom he had used earlier, he attempted to use it again. "Argo, we have a problem, a major problem," he said, as the two crew members behind him caught their breath.

"Jadon..." came a reply from the intercom, only for the rest to be garbled.

He sighed. "Argo! There are pirates on this ship! Pirates!" he yelled into the device. There was no reply.

"Okay," he said, turning toward Cartner and Julia. "You both are going to have to make it up to the operations room, and tell Argo what's going on," he instructed them.

"Yes, sir," replied Cartner with an annoyed voice.

"He's right," responded Julia.

"I know it's just..." Cartner didn't finish as Jadon glared at him.

He knew he was going to say something about him just being a kid.

"I'll take this," said Cartner, grabbing for the muddle.

Jadon pulled it away from his grasp. "You won't need it if you go now, but I will. Now go!" he told him harshly.

Reluctantly, Cartner and Julia left.

Jumping back over the cargo boxes, he made his way to his cabin, and the girls.

Banging on the door as he walked in, Jadon woke Ethan immediately.

"Jadon! I'm trying to sleep!"

"Now isn't a good time to sleep," replied the youth. Sticking his muddle in his pants, he reached his arms under Micah, and picked up the sleeping little boy.

"What are you talking about?" questioned Ethan.

"There are pirates on board!" Jadon answered.

"Don't we have an alarm for that?"

"Normally yes, but this time is different. Now, wake up!"

Ethan only groaned as Jadon walked out, and over to the girls' cabin. Kicking at the bottom of the door, he didn't stop until Abigail appeared.

"What is it?" she asked through the partly open door. "Is something wrong with Micah?" she inquired, seeing him in Jadon's arms. In response Jadon kicked the door wide open. The girls' cabin was exactly the same as the boys' cabin: a single bed, a bunk bed, a porthole, and very little room for storage.

"Jadon!" she yelped, not appreciating his rude entry.

Laying Micah in Abigail's bed, he clapped his hands loudly, making Shawnya arise.

"Jadon! What are you doing in here?" she questioned him. The girls' cabin was supposed to be off limits to the boys. "And Micah?" she asked, looking over at the little boy.

Jadon didn't answer. Instead, he left the cabin for a minute to drag Ethan out of his bed, and into the corridor.

"I'm not going into the girls' cabin!" Ethan insisted, but Jadon pushed him inside with little effort. He looked at the sisters helplessly.

Closing the door, Jadon finally explained. "Now, each of you listen closely. There are pirates on this ship! I don't know how many or how they got on, but they've already messed up our power system. Now the reason I brought all of you together is, I only have one muddle pistol."

"Pirates? You're kidding, right?" asked Abigail.

Jadon just stared at her.

"Or not," she mumbled.

"He is," replied Ethan. "Do you hear any alarms going off? The operation room's crew would seal all the master doors like they did when Jadon got mad, and that would be that. Now, let's go to bed."

Jadon had one response. "Try the light."

Ethan looked to his side, and humored him, flipping the switch for the lamp. Nothing happened.

The sisters looked at Ethan, and then Jadon.

"We're on emergency power only," he informed them.

"There could be multiple reasons for that," the younger lad responded, still not believing him.

"All right, don't believe me. Go back to your cabin, and get killed. I don't care. All I can tell you, is that I just came up from the engine room, where there is smoke, and men wearing all black, with muddle guns," Jadon said angrily.

"Fine..." Ethan started to say something when Jadon quickly covered his mouth.

The younger lad showed his annoyance, until he heard footsteps outside the cabin door.

"Great. They're here," Jadon whispered. Pulling the muddle pistol out of his pants, he turned the flashlight on, and kicked the door open. Poised ready to fire, he lowered his weapon.

"Geez, Jadon! You nearly gave me a heart attack," said Lieutenant William.

"Just be glad I didn't pull the trigger. Now, does Argo know what's going on?" he inquired.

"No, that's why he sent me down here. He said you kept trying to contact him."

"There are pirates on board."

"That's impossible!"

"That's what I've been telling him," Ethan said in the background.

"Well, there are, and someone needs to tell the captain. Crew members Julia and Cartner were supposed to tell him."

"But, Jadon, there aren't any ships anywhere near us."

"I know that, William! But they're down there. I stunned at least four of them, and if that's not enough, explain how the power grid just exploded. They're setting us up! I don't know how or why, but we need to act fast!" Jadon said loudly. He was getting tired of nobody believing him.

"Well..." Lieutenant William started to say, when out of nowhere a muddle lit up the corridor.

"Ahhhhh!" yelped William as he fell to the ground, staring at Jadon until his eyes closed, and he lay motionless.

Bending down, Jadon looked over William, using only the moonlight let in by the porthole, and taking care to keep himself within the cabin's protective walls. The man could be dead or just stunned, and it was best if he knew which. Taking the man's wrist, he felt a steady pulse, and sighed with relief. Turning only his head toward his comrades, who had been dead silent up to this point, he spoke quietly. "He's not dead, just stunned."

Due to the noise of William's stunning, Micah had awakened, and Shawnya was having more and more trouble keeping him quiet.

"What's going on?" he asked frantically, looking around, and then at Jadon.

The youth, nevertheless, didn't directly answer him. Turning toward Micah for only a second, he smiled, and reached for the boy's hair, pushing it to the side and then back down again.

"I'll be right back," he promised Micah. Then, without waiting for an answer, he darted out into the darkness, only lit up by emergency lights.

A muddle lit up the air, just missing Jadon as he jumped, and landed with a thud behind a cargo crate. A few more muddle strikes missed him, but from these he could tell two things. There was only one attacker, and he knew exactly where he was. Having the home advantage, he crawled behind crate after crate, until he was at the pirate's flank. He could see the man's shadow, from the dim emergency lights. He aimed, and fired, and heard a yelp of pain as the man fell to the ground with a thump. Still on guard, he walked over to the body without a problem. Assured that there weren't any more, he pulled the unconscious pirate a dozen yards until he was in front of the girls' cabin.

"Satisfied?" Jadon asked. Looking down, each of them could see a man dressed in all black, from head to toe, with even his face covered in a black, paint-like substance. The only hint of gleam came from a sword stuffed into a holder. Even the muddle pistol was black.

"But, how?" questioned Ethan.

"Jadon, don't scare me!" Abigail told Jadon, having heard all the muddle fire.

He didn't reply to either of them.

"Who is he?" inquired Micah.

"He's a pirate, Micah, and there's more of them. They want to steal our cargo or maybe worse," Jadon told him.

"Why?" asked the little boy.

"To make gold, of course." Picking up the pirate's muddle, he put it in his pants beside the other. Leaving the cabin once again, he pulled both bodies away from the doorway, albeit in a stealth-like manner. He knew the bodies would give away their location, and therefore he hid them.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do," Jadon told them. "Shawnya gets the muddle, and you all stay here," he instructed. Pulling out the Jafarian muddle, he handed it to Shawnya.

Looking directly at her, he whispered, "Protect Micah with your life." Then, before she could ask any questions, he went on.

"I'll make my way to the captain. Don't go anywhere! Understand?"

"Shawnya?" asked Ethan and Abigail at the same time.

Only Shawnya seemed happy with this arrangement.

Jadon didn't reply. Instead, he opened the door, and looked out.

"Why Shawnya?" the younger lad asked again, clearly annoyed that the youth hadn't picked him.

"Shhhh!" Jadon yelped, and closed the door again.

"She's the only one of you who's shot a weapon before," he said, informing them of his reasoning.

"I have?" questioned Shawnya.

Jadon narrowed his eyes. "A bow and arrow," he answered, wondering if he should have given the muddle to Ethan.

"Oh, yeah," she replied.

"Now, I'll be going," he informed them, and gave Shawnya a quick stare, as if to remind her of what he had said earlier. Then, with haste, he left the cabin, shutting the door, and advancing toward the stern corridor.

Silently, Jadon whispered a phrase into the air. "Mom, protect Micah." With that said, he found that the entire deck appeared empty, until he reached the circular stairs he was tracking. Stopping a few yards away, behind a barrel, he listened as multiple voices filled the air, including one that surprised him: the voice of a little girl.

"We haven't met with much resistance. Your plan is working perfectly as usual," said one of the female pirates.

Jadon counted eight of them, plus the one with the female voice that they were surrounding.

"Good. Start the removal of the valuable cargo. I'll keep the captain at bay," said the little girl.

As she had turned to face the pirates, Jadon caught a glimpse of her between them, and nearly dropped his muddle. She had long, black hair and wore a black dress, but the most surprising fact of all was that she looked to be nine years old.

Taking a deep breath, Jadon knew he didn't have a choice. He had to stop that little girl. Jumping out from behind the barrel, he took multiple shots at the pirates and the little girl. Within the seconds that he was shooting, he watched as the little girl turned toward him, and smiled.

Quickly, touching her palms together, she held out her hands. Jadon didn't pay it any attention, until the muddle fire dissipated in front of the girl and the pirates, just like it would have with a shield.

"That's impossible," he said aloud, but was unheard by anyone but himself. He was, in fact, so surprised that a shot from one of the pirates nearly hit him. He managed to fall to the ground, just in time.

"Get him!" yelled the little girl. The pirates immediately advanced on him.

Jadon fired again, but just like the first time, his muddle only hit the shield-like force field. Groaning, he retreated down a side hallway. Running to the very back of the ship, he tried a second stairway up.

Reaching deck one, he continued up the stairs, neglecting to notice that an emergency light was out. Jogging up the flight of stairs, he had reached the landing between decks when he felt something touch his back. Turning around in an instant, Jadon aimed his muddle behind him, only to hear laughing, and an object once again touch his back.

"You didn't think there was just one of us here, did you?" asked a male voice behind him. "Now, give me your gun, kid."

"I could fire and take out one of you," Jadon replied stiffly.

"Now that would be heroic, but not very wise. I mean, how do you know my muddle is set on stun?" questioned the voice.

Jadon felt the man was just testing him, but knew it wasn't worth the risk. With a groan, he roughly slammed the muddle into the guy in front of him.

"Ouch!" yelped the second guy. "Why am I always in front when that happens?"

###

At the same time, Shawnya watched Abigail pace inside the girls' cabin.

"Would you relax?" she told her. "Jadon can take care of himself."

"We shouldn't have let him go alone," Abigail replied.

"He's fine," Ethan said aloud, looking down at Micah who was hugging his leg.

Just then, the little boy looked up at him. "Did you hear that?"

"What?" asked Shawnya and Ethan together. For the second time, they heard a bang outside their cabin.

"This was a bad idea. We're sitting ducks in here!" Ethan complained.

Abigail opened the door slightly, taking a peek out.

"Don't do that!" Ethan hissed in a low voice, but it was loud enough for the men to hear. Abigail quickly shut the door.

"Did you hear that?" inquired a deep voice.

Shawnya looked frantically at Abigail. "How many?" she voiced with her lips.

Abigail held up three fingers.

"We can take them," Ethan said.

Shawnya knew he was trying to stay calm in front of everyone and she did the same. Remembering what Jadon said, she told the little boy to hide under the bottom bunk, behind the girls' items.

Then, while Ethan and Abigail stood against the bunk, she stood ready with the muddle aimed toward the door.

"Do you have anything I can use to hit someone with?" Ethan asked behind her, in a low voice.

Abigail whispered that they didn't.

Less than a second later, the door was kicked open. In a flash, Shawnya shot the muddle, not once but twice, hitting two of the pirates. The third was nowhere to be seen, but she was heard.

"Jim! Kyle!" whispered a female voice.

Taking a deep breath, Shawnya twisted her horns together, and forced herself to swallow any fear she felt. Opening the door slowly, she jumped out of the cabin. Pulling the trigger, she fired the muddle pistol from the left side of the cargo bay to the right, not letting go of the trigger once. This forced the gun to pulse and fire relentlessly. Nevertheless, she stopped when the wall to her right sparked in front of her. Letting go of the trigger, she jumped back, her breathing labored, and her hands shaking.

"You got her," were the first words Shawnya could hear clearly from Ethan.

"I did?" she asked.

"Yeah, she was, like, the first thing you hit."

"Right," responded Shawnya, forcing herself to become calm.

"Come on! We have to go!" Ethan urged them.

"Should we really leave?" questioned Abigail.

Shawnya looked at Ethan. "He's right. We're sitting ducks in here."

"Where should we go?" inquired Micah.

"To the captain. I know a short route. We should be able to do it," Ethan answered.

"Where to first?" Shawnya asked, looking out from their cabin.

"The cargo elevator," replied Ethan.

###

At the very same time, Jadon found himself being tied up in a room full of fellow officers, and crew members. The only light in the room was a flashlight on the muddle riffle of the second pirate, a well-built man who had captured the youth. The light shone directly on Jadon, forcing him to squint.

"There is something familiar about this boy," he said, suddenly breaking the silence.

"What?" asked the first pirate, a slightly round man.

"I don't know. It's like there's something I should be remembering," said the second.

Finally, the first one finished and looked up, directly into the youth's angry eyes. "Oh my Aunt Dora! It can't be..." he exclaimed.

Jadon stared at him. Something was scaring the man, he realized, and maybe, just maybe, he could get it to work to his advantage.

"What?" questioned the second.

"There's an easy way to figure this out," said the first, and went on to ask the youth a question. "What's your name, lad?"

Jadon stayed silent for a moment, and thought it over. He knew it was no use trying to guess what name they were thinking of, and therefore tried his own.

"Jadon," he answered simply.

Both pirates took an immediate step back.

"He's the boy we saw years ago. The one it's said could..." replied the second, only to be interrupted by the first.

"Curse people like us, if he wishes to."

The two pirates looked at each other.

"His hands are tied apart," the first one said, though he sounded unconvinced.

"What if he gets loose?" the second asked. The men started to panic.

Seeing the right moment, and having learned enough, Jadon spoke. "Take me to the girl in charge, and I won't curse either of you." He knew he was taking a big chance, but perhaps if they were afraid of him, then the little girl they called their leader would be, too.

###

Meanwhile, Abigail, Shawnya, Ethan, and Micah were inside the cargo elevator. Abigail pressed the button for the second level. Squeaking and squealing, the elevator began to move upward.

"Tell me again why we're taking the elevator." Shawnya asked, looking at Ethan.

"Simple. It's too noisy for the pirates to use, and it goes from deck three, where we are, to level two, where the captain is," Ethan explained.

"How comes it still works when we're on emergency power?" questioned Abigail.

"Look at this thing. You can probably fit thirty people on it at a time, which is about the size of the engine room crew. If they need to leave in a hurry, this is their best bet to get to the main deck," Ethan answered her.

"So, you do pay attention in class sometimes," chuckled Shawnya.

Ethan rolled his eyes.

During the conversation the group had been sharing, Micah had been watching the readout of the current deck.

"Level two," Micah said loudly.

Abigail scooted Micah to the back of the elevator. She then watched her sister and Ethan argue.

"Give me the muddle," Ethan commanded Shawnya.

"Why?" she asked. "Jadon gave it to me."

"He was joking," he answered her, and placed his left hand on the muddle.

"Get off! Why would he have been joking?" she questioned him.

"Because, well, you know, you're a..." he started to say, but stopped as she looked toward him. Her horns were twisted, matching the menacing look on her face.

"Go on," she insisted.

"Shawnya! Ethan!" yelped Abigail. The door to the cargo elevator was rising into the ceiling, and the small light that lit up the elevator was shining out onto the floor of the hallway which was lined with boots. Boots that didn't belong there.

Neither of them responded as Ethan continued to try to take the muddle from Shawnya.

"You were going to say girl, weren't you?" inquired Shawnya, tugging the gun away from him. The door rose higher, and black pants were now visible.

"So, what if I was?" Ethan asked. He pulled the gun back his way.

Abigail watched as muddle after muddle became visible.

"Fire the gun, you idiots!" Abigail screamed at both of them. Backing herself into the corner, she shielded Micah.

Looking at each other, neither Shawnya nor Ethan let go. Both of them locked a finger over the trigger, and looked out the door. Immediately they became alarmed, and pulled the trigger at the same time. A yelp was heard, and then another.

"Girls can do anything boys can do!" Shawnya yelled, and with a great pull, she steered the gun to her side, stunning three pirates.

"Is that so?" inquired Ethan, as he heaved the gun to his side, stunning four more pirates. Breathing hard, they both let off the trigger.

Seeing no more pirates, Ethan let go of the gun, and looked to Shawnya, who didn't respond.

"That's what I thought," he told her.

"Duck!" Shawnya abruptly yelled, and pushed Ethan onto the floor with great force. Sparks lit up the corner across from where Abigail was hiding with Micah. Shawnya aimed and fired.

"Ahhh!" came a cry from deep down the hallway, making her smile.

"It _is_ so Ethan," she said, looking down at the lad who was rubbing his head.

Ethan frowned, looking defeated.

As they walked down the hall, Micah stopped abruptly, and pulled at Abigail's dress. "I hear Jadon!" he said softly.

Listening closely, she could hear him, too, and brought it to the attention of everyone else.

###

Whispering for the group to stay where they were, Shawnya peered around the corner, while holding the muddle closely. Jadon was standing outside the operations room, talking to someone farther down the hall. Straining her ears, she could tell it was a girl. Glancing at his hands, she noticed that he didn't even appear to have a muddle, which Shawnya found really odd. _Had he been caught_? she wondered.

Taking a deep breath, Shawnya jumped out into the hallway. What she saw shocked her. Jadon, and Argo, who was standing beside him, were talking to a little girl, who was surrounded by half a dozen pirates. Shawnya didn't fire, and by the time she aimed, the pirates had charged their muddles and aimed them at her.

Turning around, Jadon saw Shawnya and rolled his eyes at her.

"She's my friend, and so are the rest of them hiding in that hallway. Now, as I was saying, tell me who you are, and what you think you're doing on my ship," he commanded.

Shawnya lowered her weapon, and cocked her head to the side. Jadon was speaking with much authority, and Argo was letting him.

Seeing that it was safe, Abigail, Ethan, and Micah walked around the corner, and stood behind her. Shawnya eyed the little girl in the emergency lights. She was short, and her hair was long and black, and split on to each side from the center of her forehead. Her eyes were dark, and her dress was black, except for some strange gray symbols in the center.

"You don't really expect me to believe that you're Jadon?" the girl asked the youth sweetly.

###

"And you really don't expect me to believe that you're in charge of all these scoundrels?" Jadon inquired, returning her question with his own.

The girl crossed her arms. "And why wouldn't I be?"

"You're what, nine? Someone has to rank above..." he said, only to be cut off.

"I'm seventeen, you ten-year-old!" she shouted, and held out her fist in his face.

"I'm fifteen," he replied, his smile becoming an instant frown.

Abigail whispered behind him. "Are they really arguing about their age?" No one responded to her.

The room was silent, as both Jadon and the girl were quiet for a full minute.

Finally, the girl spoke again. "Now answer my question. Do you really expect me to believe you're Jadon — the Jadon?" she asked him.

Jadon smiled. "Do you not have eyes? Look at me. Who else would I be?" he questioned her, his voice steady and calm.

However, the girl's anger began to fly in full force.

"You're not Jadon. He died, and I'm going to prove it!" she replied scornfully.

If he wasn't mistaken, Argo suddenly looked very nervous, scratching at his forehead. However, Jadon didn't have time to wonder about it as he watched the girl. She silently waved for the pirates to move to the side. Placing her hands together, she smirked at him.

"You're going to wish you were Jadon," she said, and giggled.

He, nonetheless, stood his ground. A strange new feeling had entered him, and it was telling him to stand right there, although his mind was wondering why as he watched the girl. Standing far down the hall, the girl began running toward him. Jumping into the air, she curled her body into a ball. Flipping all the way around until her feet were directly in front of Jadon's gut, she thrust them out. In less than a millisecond, they would connect at full force.

"Jadon!" Abigail screamed from behind him, when she, along with everyone else, was instantly blinded by a white light.

## Chapter 9

Resurfaced Memories

The sound of a crash made its way to Abigail's ears, and then the sound of a person moaning behind her.

"Jadon?" she asked, blinking heavily as she tried to see something.

Micah began to cry. "I can't see anything!" he screamed.

Abigail felt for the little boy with her hands, and having touched his hair, she pulled him close. "Neither can I, Micah." She, too, was scared. _Had the girl blinded them all_? she wondered.

"Each of you, calm down. It will pass," said Argo's loud voice. He was correct. Within a minute, each of them could start to see the dark hallway.

"I can see," said Ethan. Slowly Abigail did, also, but what she saw startled her. Jadon was standing in the very same place he had been, but the girl who had attacked him was a good three yards down the hall, lying motionless. She couldn't believe her own eyes. The thought, _There's no way Jadon could have thrown me that far_ clouded her mind.

"What happened?" questioned Shawnya, rubbing her eyes as she looked up at Ethan.

"I don't know," he replied honestly.

Abigail ran over to Jadon, who was silent and not moving.

"What did you do?" she whispered.

###

Jadon rubbed his head. "Nothing." He was just as confused as everyone else.

Then, for the first time since the incident, the girl sat up. All eyes were on her.

"So, you are Jadon," she said meekly, rubbing her sore head.

A few of the pirates rushed to her side to help her up.

Hobbling over to Jadon, she stopped. Glancing at him, she looked confused and scared.

"He's protected from your power," Argo announced.

The girl stared at the old man before looking back at the youth.

"Now, tell me who you are!" Jadon commanded.

"You must forgive me! I had no idea this was your ship. It had no such seal, nor did I know that you survived," said the girl urgently, her voice scared.

Although curious by what the last part meant, Jadon knew if he asked her, he would risk losing control of the situation.

"Who are you?" he inquired again, sounding impatient.

The girl took a deep breath before answering. "I am Delilah the Rebellious, an ohnyx defender. I really thought you were dead. It's what everyone said..."

"Maybe you shouldn't believe everything you're told," Jadon responded harshly.

Delilah took a step back. "Forgive me."

He looked into her eyes. Once proud, they were now full of fear.

"I'll order my men off your ship at once, the second they hear that Jadon the..."

Delilah's voice was suddenly muffled as a hand covered her mouth. Looking up, she saw that it was Argo. Anger flashed into her eyes, but she listened as he spoke.

"Never speak his full name," he warned her, and took his hand off her mouth.

Jadon silently glared at Argo.

"How did you get on my ship?" asked Jadon.

Delilah cocked her head to one side.

"We stole a Jafarian submarine, and..." She stopped in mid-sentence, seeming nervous about something.

"Go on, I'm not going to curse you," Jadon told her.

Delilah seemed very relieved, and therefore relaxed. "The kindness they said you had must be true. I mean, it is true," she said, but saw that he wanted to get to the point.

"We connected our submarine to your ship, and cut a hole in the bottom. Then, by matching your course, and speed, we could enter and exit at will."

"So, you were planning on letting us sink?"

"No. We'd never do that. We'd either weld a plate back on, or if you have watertight doors like on here..."

"You'd let the room flood."

Delilah nodded.

"I suppose you targeted our power system?" Jadon inquired.

"Yes, although it didn't appear to work," she replied, glancing at the emergency lights.

He smiled, but didn't tell her that was because they were a Jafarian trade ship.

"What about our radios? They don't work either," he asked.

It was Delilah's turn to smile. "Oh, that. It's a Jafarian gadget on our submarine used to block enemy communication."

Jadon just shook his head. "You should find a different profession."

"Funny. That's what my mom said," Delilah replied under her breath.

Jadon again shook his head. "I've heard enough. Get you and your scoundrels off my ship! And if even a cent worth of cargo is missing, I will curse you and all your crew," Jadon said, his voice leaving no doubt in her mind.

Taking only a single second to bow, Delilah quickly left the hallway, along with her fellow pirates.

Walking back through his group of comrades, an interrogation started.

"Jadon, how did you make that bright light?" inquired Micah.

"What did you mean when you said you would curse her?" questioned Abigail.

"Who does that girl think you are?" asked Shawnya, curious about the authority it gave him.

"Jadon, how did you...?" Ethan started to ask, but seemed unable to articulate his thoughts.

All of a sudden, Argo called to him.

Jadon turned around to look at the old man.

"Jadon! There's something I need to tell you."

"Tell me tomorrow. I'm tired," he replied. Then, without answering any of the questions his comrades had asked, he exited the hallway. The reality of his supposed power to curse was beginning to set in. He couldn't help but wonder if he had cursed someone and caused something horrible to happen. Like his mom being killed. After taking a shower, he made his way down to his cabin. There, he jumped into the top bunk, and closed his eyes.

It did not take Jadon long to fall asleep, and once he did, a dream began to enter his mind. At first, nothing but the sky appeared. Then, as he lowered his view, he could suddenly see buildings in the distance: hundreds at first, and over a thousand, he later determined.

"Wow," he said aloud, admiring the sight.

No two buildings were the same. Each one differed greatly in its own unique way, whether by its style, size, or even shape. Nevertheless, the most impressive building stood in the very center of the city. Made of stone, it had many levels, along with numerous, octagon-shaped towers, and small, narrow windows. It appeared to be a castle of sorts. As if the sheer size of the "castle" didn't shock Jadon, the highest tower did.

"It must be just over ten stories high," he muttered with surprise. At such a height, it was the tallest structure in the entire city, and making it even higher was a large, golden, metal rod on the very top. Glancing back over the city, he noticed how the buildings gradually tapered off in height from below the tower until they were below a stone wall that surrounded the city.

Built three stories in height, and made with enormous stone blocks, the wall protected the city from the ocean on three sides, and a river to the west. From the viewpoint Jadon had, he could tell the city was almost its own island, and that the ground level had been built up to prevent floods. None of this interested him nearly as much as the multiple square towers along the stone wall did. On top were the same golden, metal rods as the highest "castle" tower.

"What are they for?" he asked, and sighed. Taking another look around, he noticed for the first time that he could see a harbor. Dividing half the eastern side of the city in two, the harbor stopped a little ways from the "castle." Hundreds of ships were parked in the dark blue waters, some of which were so large that Jadon was sure they would have made the Taryn look like a model.

Walking forward as if to get a closer look, he hit a chain fence. Looking down at it, he saw the fence protected him from the steep countryside below. It was filled with trees, wild flowers, tall grass, and numerous farm animals, plus abundant squirrels, rabbits, and birds. Far below them, and in the distance, was a wall that matched the other cities, including the strange rods. Knowing that he could see over the tall wall, and seeing the steepness below him, he realized he was somewhere very high in elevation. Somehow, it all seemed so very familiar. Just then, a voice yelled out, breaking the silence.

"Stop it!" a little boy yelled.

Turning around, Jadon's eyes widened at the sight. Little kids dressed in intricate robes were running through a grassy field. He figured them to be around five or six years of age. Catching his eye across from the grassy field was a large, two-story building. Made of white cement, it was an average building, with arched windows and doors. However, most bizarre to Jadon, was the blue-tiled roof. Below that was a balcony, and under that, a porch that ran the length of the building. Two adults stood on the porch, and watched the children, and a third watched from the balcony above. One of the adults, a short, grayed-haired woman, seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't place her. Turning slowly, he was now sure where he was.

"I'm at a school," he said aloud, but nobody noticed him. Again the little boy's voice caught Jadon's attention.

"Stop it!"

Turning once more, Jadon saw the boy surrounded by two larger kids, with his back to the fence. A brown bag hung in his hand. The youth ran toward them, and watched.

"Come on. Just give me your lunch. You don't need it," said the one.

"No!" the little boy yelled.

Meanwhile, Jadon quickly studied the little boy they were bullying. He wore a dark green robe, his hair was blond, his eyes green, and he was relatively short. A thought clicked in his mind.

"Micah?" he inquired aloud, but none of the boys answered.

Suddenly, the little boy who was being bullied lashed out, kicking the boy on the right in the knee, and punching the boy on the left in the gut. As they squealed with pain, the little boy squeezed past them. Jadon instantly knew who it was, and a second glance at the little boy's hair confirmed it. A reddish tinge could be seen.

"It's me!" he exclaimed, watching as the little boy only ran a few steps away from them.

Jadon wondered what he was going to do.

"I'm going to curse you! Both of you!" he shouted, as if to answer Jadon's question. Setting down his lunch, the little boy looked at them angrily.

Raising his hands from his side to just below his chin, the little boy gave them another angry look, and started to bring his hands together when he was quickly grabbed from behind.

Looking up, the youth saw that it was the gray-haired lady.

"Jadon! How many times do I have to tell you that you can't just do that?" she asked.

Startled to see her, the little boy just grumbled at first.

"Speak to me, young man," the old lady insisted.

"They tried to take my lunch again, Miss Claribel," he informed her.

"That's no reason to curse them. I'm going to have to tell your parents," the lady replied.

"But Miss Claribel..." he whined.

The two bullies smiled for a moment.

"I'll also be talking to your parents, Jeremy and Kyle," Claribel said, only to hear them also whine.

"Enough of that! Get back to recess!" she shouted, and pointed toward the playground.

Jadon watched them play, and began to think it over.

What he had just seen seemed to point to his earlier thoughts of the aftereffects of cursing someone. Maybe even the wrong someone. _Had he somehow caused the death of his parents_? he wondered. The bell rang, and he sighed. Following his younger self into the classroom, he felt himself flush with the familiarity of it all. As the teacher droned on, Jadon watched as the little boy just glanced at the pages in the books, not studying them like the rest of the kids. He smiled. It was definitely him.

It was also during this time that Jadon noticed something on his younger self's robe. Over the left chest area was a round, blue circle. Around the edges of the circle were some strange symbols written in black, while inside that was a graphic of a small, white dragon. _I wonder what that means_? the youth thought.

Hours later, the bell rang and it was time to leave. Watching as his younger self packed his book into a bag, he followed him outside.

The young boy walked across the street, and into a small, brown building.

Crinkling his brow, Jadon rushed in, only to find a pair of stairs leading downward. A clickety-clack sound rose to his ears, and a breeze rushed past him as he scrambled down the stairs. At the bottom, he found several of the kids who appeared to be waiting for something. Glancing around, he saw what appeared to be an underground chamber, but he couldn't understand the purpose. As the place began to vibrate, he looked toward a drop-off that was several yards in front of him. All of a sudden, it filled with a blue and white train that appeared to be slowing down. Yelps were heard from the children as they stopped the play of their games, and ran toward the train when it finally stopped.

"An underground train?" Jadon asked aloud, amazed. Almost forgetting about his younger self, he glanced around for him. Starting to panic when he didn't see him, he began to think that perhaps he was on the train. Rushing toward the open doors, he came to a sudden stop when he saw the little boy sitting near the bottom of an arch that held up one of the train's exit tunnels.

"Of course, that's where I would sit," Jadon said to himself, and smiled, though he wondered what would happen next.

"Last call for Jafaro!" yelled out a male voice on a speaker system.

Jadon watched, but his younger self did not make a move, nor did he move when the train began to leave. Pacing back and forth, he waited impatiently for his younger self to do something. He did not have to wait long. A second train arrived on a second track, which he soon figured out was on the ceiling of the tunnels. Following the little boy in, he saw that the wood-paneled car was filled with elegant, green seats. Making a daring move, the youth sat next to himself. So far, no one had responded to him, so he didn't see the harm. The train soon started up again, and he sat quietly as the train propelled them down the underground tunnel.

"This must be a memory of mine," he said aloud.

"Who are you?" a voice suddenly questioned him.

Breaking from his thoughts, Jadon understood that it was his younger self asking the question. Looking toward the aisle, he saw that it was empty.

"Me?" he asked.

"Yes, you," answered his younger self.

"I'm... a friend," he replied, but soon laughed at the expression on his younger self's face. He knew the little boy thought he was lying.

"I'm not lying. I want to... speak with your parents," he told him honestly. If he could see his younger self, maybe, just maybe, he could see them as well.

"You could just ask me to do it, you know. You don't have to speak to them," Jadon's younger self said to him.

"Do what?" he inquired.

The little boy's expression turned angry. "Never mind."

Jadon knew when he was this way he would not talk, as he was him. Still, he wondered why the boy was suddenly so insulted.

"Mountaino A1!" said a voice on the loud speaker.

Jadon looked at the little boy, who made no attempt to leave. It would be eleven stops more before he got off.

"Mountaino A12, last stop!" Finally the little boy got off, and Jadon followed. Once off the train, Jadon found himself and the little boy in an underground area much the same as the one where they had gotten on. Nevertheless, as he followed his younger self up the stairs, and exited the building, he saw the surroundings were quite different. Tall, thick, green, trees shot up all around, for as far as the eye could see with flocks of birds chanting inside them. The ground was rocky, and littered with bushes and small shrubs that squirrels ran through. A small road led through the trees. As he followed his younger self, he saw there were small, wooden cabins placed sporadically between the trees.

"I lived here?" Jadon asked aloud. He forgot that his younger self could hear him.

"No, you didn't. I know everyone who lives up here, and you aren't one of them," the little boy replied. Walking for about a mile, the little boy stopped at a small pathway. Leading back into the woods, a cabin came into view. Medium-sized, it had a door in the center, and a window on each side. The roof appeared to be slate. Opening the door, Jadon's younger self ran inside.

The youth had to quickly follow before the door slammed shut.

Looking up at him, his younger self pointed him to a room at the right. "Wait there. I'll tell them you're here," said the little boy with a smirk on his face.

Jadon wondered why the smirk, but did as the little boy said. Looking around in the room, he quickly determined it was his parents' bedroom. Suddenly, the door slammed shut behind him, followed by a click. He knew immediately what his younger self had done.

"Hey! Let me out!" he yelled, and banged on the door, but only heard laughter from the little boy. Groaning, he pulled on the door, but it would not budge. Jadon realized he had just been outwitted by his younger self.

As he pulled and pulled on the door, a new voice rang out in the air, a female voice that brought tears to his eyes.

"Jadon, is that you?" she asked from a far place in the cabin.

Jadon knew exactly who it was.

"Yes, Mom," his younger self replied.

"We need to talk," she told him.

"But, Mom!"

"She's right, Jadon," said a male voice.

It could only belong to one person, Jadon knew — his dad. His hands fell away as he listened to them talk.

"Listen, son, you cannot just go around cursing people," said the man.

"But, Dad! They tried to take my lunch!"

"Jadon, do you really think you're going to remember them taking your lunch a year from now?" questioned his mom.

"Yes," Jadon's younger self replied instantly.

Jadon could guess that his parents must have been staring at his younger self.

"Maybe not," the little boy said stubbornly.

"Jadon, do you want people to be scared of you?" asked his father.

"No."

"Jadon, this part of your power is very frightening, to say the least. You need not use it until you're older, and know how to correctly use it. I know it's tough to understand, but there are bad people, and then there are really bad people," explained his father.

The little boy must have looked confused, Jadon surmised, as he listened to his mom reply.

"What your dad means to say is that you need to concentrate on just using your power to make people happy. There will come a day when you have to use your power that way, but it's not any time soon. Besides, I know you love seeing the smiles on people's faces. Now am I wrong?"

"No, Mom," Jadon's younger self replied.

"Now promise me you won't curse anyone."

"I promise, Mom."

Jadon noted that he sounded sincere. _I wouldn't break that promise, would I_? he questioned himself.

"We love you," said his mom.

Jadon could hear them lifting the boy off the ground.

"I love you, too," replied the little boy. The sound of a kiss soon followed.

"Ewww, Mom, Dad, aren't I too old for that?"

Jadon smiled from inside the bedroom.

"No," his father responded.

"You'll never be too old for that," answered his mom.

As if to change the subject, the little boy announced that a big kid was waiting for them in the bedroom.

"How long has he been in there?" inquired his father.

"Just a few minutes," replied the little boy.

"Jadon..." said the mom, and soon the youth himself heard footsteps walking toward the door. He held his breath, knowing that for the first time, he would see his parents alive and well. The door started to open, and he tensed with excitement, when a blinding white light came from the other side.

"Noooooooo!" he yelled in frustration, as everything went white.

"Jadon, shush up!" yelled another voice.

It took Jadon a minute to recognize it as Ethan's.

"I'm trying to sleep," he went on.

Jadon sat up, blinking his eyes as the white light faded. He was back inside his cabin on the Taryn.

"Oh, right," he said aloud, and sighed.

"Since when do you have nightmares?" questioned Ethan.

"It wasn't a nightmare," he replied, but didn't elaborate.

"We can sleep in today," the younger lad informed him, and rolled over.

Jadon, though, did not fall back asleep. Instead his mind raced all the way until the breakfast bell rang.

Once in the mess hall, Argo quickly walked over to him.

As he took Jadon aside, the youth immediately sensed what he wanted to talk about.

"Jadon, listen, I think you should know..."

"There's more to my power than cursing?" the youth finished.

The old man nodded.

"I already know," he replied.

Argo looked at him with bewilderment.

Jadon smiled and walked away.

Thinking over his dream, the youth could hardly concentrate on his surroundings, or his food. He hardly even heard his comrades when they mentioned Tim was missing.

"Where were you during the second half of school?" Shawnya suddenly asked.

Jadon looked up, wondering what she meant, only to see that she was talking to Ethan.

"I had something I had to do," Ethan told them, "for the captain."

The youth instantly knew he was lying, but he didn't care at the moment.

"Jadon, you sure are quiet," said Abigail, the first among them to say something about his silence.

"Aren't you going to tell us what happened last night?" inquired Ethan. For once he sounded very curious.

"I don't know what happened," Jadon replied solemnly.

Abigail and Shawnya looked at each other.

"How did you make the bright light?" questioned Micah.

"I don't know, but that's the second time it's happened," he replied again.

"The second time?" asked Shawnya.

Jadon looked toward Abigail, wondering if she would remember.

Suddenly, her face brightened. "In that warehouse," she said, and explained to others what had happened.

"But why did you say you would curse her?" she inquired.

"It's a part of my power," Jadon answered.

All of them stopped eating upon hearing this. He took notice and sighed.

"Power? Like a magical power?" asked Ethan. Although normally not one to listen to Jadon, the previous evening must have made him curious, the youth realized.

"Yes," Jadon replied, and explained what Argo had told him two weeks ago about having the gift of a power. He then went on to talk about his experience with the pirates.

"I found that the pirates were scared to death that I might curse them. That's why they took me to see Delilah in the first place. And until I went to bed last night, I thought that was my power, to be able to curse someone, but it's not, or rather, not all of it," he explained.

Looking around, Jadon saw each of them was staring at him.

"So, you know what your power is? I mean, all of it?" questioned Abigail.

He shook his head.

"What happened when you went to bed last night?" Ethan inquired.

"I had a dream, but I don't think it was a dream. I think it was a memory," Jadon said, and went on to tell what he saw.

"You must have been so cute!" Abigail said, and smiled, obviously thinking of what the youth looked like when he was young.

"Any idea what this other part of your power is?" asked Ethan.

Jadon shook his head again. "No, just that it makes people happy."

"What about how to use it?" questioned Shawnya.

"I don't know," Jadon answered. Delilah and his younger self had both used the same method, causing an idea to form in his mind about how he was to use it. Still, he couldn't just use it on someone, not knowing what it did, and therefore he kept it to himself.

"I'm sorry, Jadon," Abigail said.

"For what?"

"For you not being able to see your parents," she replied.

"It's okay," he told her. Standing up, he returned his tray and left the mess hall. Walking back to his cabin, he found one simple question about his dream bugging him. _Had he broken the promise to his mom_?

A week passed, and Jadon rapidly returned to normal, speaking up even when it wasn't wanted, and generally getting into trouble around the ship. After another week, the Taryn docked in the Port of Cartophelia. Starting just as the sun had risen, the youth began his usual work of helping to unload the cargo. Taking a glance over the side of the ship, he noticed a fairly pretty girl, perhaps a year older than himself. She was helping a man, who was most likely her dad, load boxes onto a cart.

At first, Jadon took no interest, but as lunch neared, he noticed she was still working. He smiled, and took a longer look at her. A red cap covered the top of her shoulder length, curly, brown hair. Her soft, kind, facial complexion more than made up for the dirty, sleeveless t-shirt she wore. The long pants she had on were torn at the knees, making it obvious she worked a lot. Smiling, he headed off the Taryn.

Abigail quickly intercepted him from out of nowhere. "Where are you going?"

Jadon didn't even look at Abigail.

"To see her," he said, and pointed at the girl. He then ran off before she could say another word.

###

Abigail walked back onto the Taryn's deck, and spotted Ethan.

"Do you know who she is?" she questioned him, pointing at the girl.

"Nope," replied Ethan.

## Chapter 10

Love at First Sight

Walking right up to the girl, Jadon asked her a question. "Need any help?"

The girl looked at him first with her blue eyes, and then toward the man he assumed was her father.

The man smiled while the girl replied.

"What do you want?" she inquired rather rudely.

However, Jadon was not taken aback. "A day with you."

The girl laughed. "I don't just run off with strangers."

"I'm Jadon, and I'm not strange. That is, unless of course you call living on a ship strange because..." he told her, pausing to smile as she laughed, "some people do."

"And I suppose you came in on this ship?" she questioned him, looking at the Taryn.

Jadon nodded in response.

Looking toward her dad, she smiled, and looked back at him.

"The name's Alex," the girl told him.

"Short for Alexis?"

"Yes, but if you ever call me that..."

"You'll beat the living daylights out of me," Jadon finished.

Alex looked questioningly at him as if to ask him how he knew that.

He smiled knowingly. "I would have said the same thing," he responded.

"About what?" she inquired.

Jadon looked away for a second, but Alex caught it.

"If I called you a kid," she said, answering herself.

Jadon's smile was lukewarm as he looked back at her.

"Why would I do that? I mean you look young, but you're at least fifteen."

It was Jadon's turn to look inquisitively at her.

"You walk like an adult," was her only response, as she smiled at him. Before Jadon could ask what she meant, Alex went on. "So, is there anything interesting on your ship?"

"How about a Jafarian skybird?" he inquired.

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Really?" she asked.

"Yes, Argo managed to find one," he explained proudly.

"Argo?"

"Our second officer." Alex nodded, and Jadon continued. "I suppose I could give you a tour of the Taryn, and the skybird."

"You suppose?" she questioned him with a smug face.

"Well, you know, I'm usually pretty busy, but you are quite pretty," he said daringly.

Alex blushed, but only for a second as she quickly regained her composure. Pushing him backward, she started off without him.

Jadon smiled. _Now this is the kind of girl I could live with_ , he told himself.

Turning her head for a second, Alex yelled out, "I'll be back, Dad," to the man she had been standing with.

Running across the bridge-way to the ship, Alex was stopped by none other than Argo.

He looked down at her with a straight face.

"Going somewhere, young lass?"

"She's with me, Argo. She wants to see the skybird," Jadon explained.

"Is that so?" the old man questioned them sarcastically.

All of a sudden, Alex caught Argo by surprise as she kicked him in the knee, momentarily letting herself onto the ship.

The old man laughed, as he held his knee.

"You keep an eye on her, lad," he told Jadon, watching him follow her.

"Wait up!" Jadon yelled, and ran after her.

"So, where is this skybird?" Alex asked him. She looked doubtfully at him.

"Below deck," he responded. Quickly, he led her to the skybird hold.

"You're not lying," she said, clearly impressed.

"Of course not. I'm a man of my word."

Alex smiled, and walked towards the skybird.

"She's beautiful," she said aloud, gliding her hand over the smooth wings. "How do you get her out of here?"

"Actually, uhmm, I think it's a he," Jadon said, trying not to laugh. "And there are doors that open on either side of this room."

She glanced toward him questioningly.

"It's named Dragonfly."

"And?"

Jadon shook his head. With her own name being what it was, he knew arguing would get him nowhere.

"I guess it could be a girl," he finally said.

Alex smiled with approval.

"The real question is if the Dragonfly has ever been in a real battle," he asked, looking over the skybird.

"Yes, she has," replied Alex, sounding quite sure of herself.

Jadon looked toward her with surprise.

She grinned. "To start with, this is a second generation, which means it was most certainly in a real battle, no doubt the Atlantin-Jafarian war. Now to prove that, just take a look at the armor. See how the metal has different smoothness to it in places? It most certainly had pieces replaced. No doubt with ones made from a better process."

Jadon looked closely at the armor, and just as she said, the metal armor differed in places.

"You're right, but how do you know so much about skybirds?" he asked curiously.

Alex looked embarrassed for a moment.

"I'm kinda into flying machines and, as you probably know, Jafaro makes the best," she explained.

Jadon smiled. "Well, then, I don't suppose you'll want to see the inside."

"Perhaps if you were able to get us in there," she mocked him right back.

"I can," he responded, and climbed up onto the wing.

Stretching his arm downward, Jadon held out his hand, which Alex accepted, and pulled herself up. Jumping on top of the cockpit, the youth slid open a tiny panel, and rapidly punched in a code on the keypad. After closing the panel, he turned around, and his head nearly bumped into Alex's. For a moment, he found his own face within an inch of hers. Both of them blushed, and Alex pulled away, mumbling an apology. A second later, Jadon pulled the hatch open, and they both climbed inside.

"It's smaller than I thought it would be," Alex commented.

Jadon laughed. "They made them for combat, not comfort."

"You don't say?" she taunted as she examined all the controls. "So, let's see, a second generation can fly as fast as stage four," she said.

Jadon smirked. "Then, this one must have updated phatonic engines because she can go as fast as stage four, point eight and, let me tell you, that is fast."

"You've flown the Dragonfly before?" questioned Alex. She looked clearly impressed with him.

Jadon laughed, and relented. "Flown in. I'm only fifteen," he replied, looking away from her.

"You know in the Atlantin Civil War, fifteen-year-olds flew Jafarian jets," she responded.

Jadon turned back toward her. "And if I recall correctly, they lost that war, too."

"Yes, but not for that reason. The sheer number of Atlantin jets forced their hand," she replied.

"True," he answered, and for a moment there was a silence between them.

Alex spoke next. "I bet this is the most valuable thing you have on this ship."

He nodded.

"Do you carry anything else of value?" she daringly asked him.

"Why? Do you plan to steal it?" he questioned her with a smirk.

"If I had, I wouldn't be asking you," she assured him.

"Good point," Jadon replied with a smile. "We carry a dragon's skull."

"A dragon's skull?" she inquired, looking confused. "A real one?"

"None other."

"You mean dragons were real?"

"At one time. They're probably extinct now."

Alex was silent, as Jadon noticed her deep in thought.

"I don't suppose you'll want to see it, now, would you?" he questioned her.

She smiled and nodded.

A short time later, Jadon led her to the secure room. Looking each way down the hallway, he saw it empty and punched in the code.

"You're not going to get me in trouble, are you?" she inquired, seeing his caution.

"I'm not supposed to know the code."

Alex chuckled. "I'm like that, too."

Flicking the light on, he opened the crate that sat in the center of the room.

Jadon watched as Alex stared in awe, her expression clearly shocked, though only for a second.

Swiftly turning toward him, she asked him a question. "Are you sure it's real?"

He smiled. "Argo wouldn't buy a fake," he answered without a doubt.

Alex walked around the crate, her eyes dancing over the skull. Suddenly, she reached out to touch it, only for Jadon to slap her hand away.

"Don't touch it!" Seeing the look on her face, he realized he had yelled it out.

"Sorry, the oils on your fingers could damage it," he informed her, feeling half ashamed.

"I understand," she replied, and for a moment, there was a silence.

Finally, Jadon dared to speak again. "Would you like to get something to drink from our mess hall? I mean, we've been working all day..." he said, telling her his reasoning.

Alex laughed, and covered her mouth.

"Sure," she said, and giggled. "You don't have to explain." A moment later, they left the room with Jadon making sure the door relocked.

Then, both of them found a refreshing drink in the mess hall, and sat next to each other on one of the many benches.

"You live aboard here with your parents?" Alex asked causally.

Jadon unintentionally let his feelings show on his face.

"Which one?" she inquired sadly, but didn't expect his answer.

"Both," he replied as his right hand reached up, and felt the golden locket underneath his shirt.

"Oh," she replied, her voice shrinking in volume.

"I lost my mom a year ago, but I don't know what I would do without my dad," she told Jadon.

"You'd miss them a lot," he answered her unspoken question. "Especially if you don't even remember them."

"Huh?" questioned Alex, tilting her head to the side.

"Nothing," he said, and forced a smile.

"No, really, what did..." she started to ask when she was interrupted by another female voice.

"Jadon! There you are!" He sighed. It was Abigail. He turned to look at her.

"What do you want?"

"For you to tell me who this is," she said, pointing toward Alex.

Alex looked between them.

"Her name is Alex, and she's a friend," Jadon told her, leaving any more detail out.

"Well, how do you know her?" Abigail inquired. She seemed determined to find out more.

"Does it really matter?" asked Jadon, staring at her as if to say "Go away!"

"I guess not," she responded, and walked over to another table where Shawnya sat.

"She's jealous of me, isn't she?" Alex questioned Jadon.

"She kinda has a crush on me," he said, running his hand through his hair.

"I know how that is."

Jadon looked toward her, but she looked across the room.

"Yeah," he responded, not knowing what else to say.

Alex turned toward him. "Only some of them, I happen to like," she said, and smiled.

Jadon wondered if she meant anything about him, but for the first time in a long time, he felt shy. Therefore, he asked a casual question. "You work with your dad?"

"Yep, he sells mirrors, vases, trunks, that sort of thing. Nothing exciting," she replied.

"It could be exciting if you find a trunk full of gold," Jadon joked.

Alex giggled. "That's never happened before."

"There's always a first time," he said, smirking as he looked at her. She smiled back.

"Do you live alone on this ship then? I mean since..."

"Not really. I have to take care of the kids," Jadon responded before she could mention his parents.

"Kids? How many live on this ship?" she questioned him, looking bewildered.

"Not that many. There's Ethan, and Micah, and then I have to watch after the girls, too."

"I bet the boys are more trouble," she told him with a giggle.

"Not really," he answered, thinking of Micah.

Alex seemed to study the look on his face.

"You're close to one of them," she said aloud.

Jadon nodded, and took a deep breath. "Micah. He's six, and he, well, he looks up to me."

"Awww," she said, and grinned until he lightly punched her shoulder.

"Don't go all girly on me!"

She laughed and grabbed his right hand, and held it with both of her own.

Jadon looked at her with surprise.

Alex smiled, her blue eyes sparkling.

"Now, since you showed me something, why don't you let me show you something?" she offered.

"Sure," he replied.

Letting go of his hand, she stood up, and rushed out the door, turning back to smile at him as he rushed after her.

###

Meanwhile, from across the room, Abigail had watched Jadon and Alex, with her face in a deep frown, and her horns twisted in anguish. She had not failed to notice how well Jadon and Alex were getting along.

"What does she have that I don't?" she questioned her sister moments earlier.

"Well, she is older," Shawnya replied, having had a good look at Alex.

Abigail ignored her. "And who names a girl Alex?" she went on with her questions.

"It's not that unusual."

"How could she possibly like Jadon without even knowing him like I do?" Abigail asked again. Shawnya sighed and twisted her horns with despair, but Abigail suddenly smiled at her.

"I'm going to keep an eye on those two," she told her sister.

Shawnya laughed, only making her sister look angrily at her.

"What? That sounds like something Jadon would do."

Abigail failed to answer her, and instead stood up.

"Wait! Where are you going?" Shawnya inquired. Abigail said nothing and watched Jadon and Alex leave, only to hurry after them.

"Abigail! You aren't really going to follow them, are you?" Shawnya yelled after her, but once again, she stayed silent as she ran off.

###

The town of Cartophelia, into which Jadon followed Alex, was crowded with tall Victorian buildings, known for their shutters, large bay windows, and their complex moldings. The vast majority of them appeared to be homes.

"Nice town," Jadon commented.

"It's not bad," replied Alex.

However, the way she spoke, Jadon felt the slightest inkling that she was hiding something. He ignored it.

"Where are we going?" he questioned her.

"To a tavern," she responded, and looked back to smile at him. "Don't worry, we're not even going inside."

Jadon followed, wondering what this was about.

A few blocks later, they approached the tavern. Made from logs, and only one story tall, it did not match its surroundings. Outside of it was a small porch, with a few tables and chairs. Alex took a seat at the only table that was already occupied by another person, a man. Jadon guessed him to be about thirty years old. His short brown hair was well-kept and his eyes were of a friendly sort.

Jadon reluctantly walked up to the table.

"Have a seat, Jadon. This is Joshua, the Wishful," Alex told him.

Jadon was silent as he took a seat. His mind raced. _Delilah had a name just like that. Was it a coincidence_?

"Tell him your age first," Alex said, speaking to the man.

Joshua laughed. "Do I have to?"

Jadon looked questionably at the man; he didn't see what the big deal was.

"Yes," she whined.

"One hundred and four."

Jadon raised his brow; the man was obviously lying.

"I know. You think he's lying," Alex said looking at Jadon.

He nodded.

"But he's not."

"Show him what you can do," she said, turning back toward Joshua.

"Do I have to show all your friends?" Joshua asked, shaking his head with a smile.

"Yes, especially this one," she told him. Quickly, she turned toward Jadon. "Watch closely."

Grinning, Joshua raised both his hands in front of him, and placed his palms together. Pulling them apart, he placed his hands a few inches from the table. Instantly, a bar of ice about three inches thick formed between his hands. Moving his hands apart, it became longer and longer, until his hands were two feet apart. Lifting his hands, he stopped the process.

Jadon stared wide-eyed.

"That's impossible!" he stuttered, but his mind was racing. He had used the same method of placing his hands together that Delilah had!

"Feel it yourself," Alex replied, and handed him the block of ice.

Jadon examined it closely, but found it contained no flaws. It was even melting in his hands! He looked up at the man.

"How did you do it?"

"I know what you're thinking. It's a magic trick, but it's not. I'm an ohnyx with the gift of water. I can create water, snow, ice... anywhere. It's also why I look so young," Joshua explained.

"Oh-nix," Jadon said, pronouncing the word ohnyx slowly. _Where have I heard that before_? He wondered. Thinking hard, he remembered the fortune teller calling him one, and Delilah calling herself one.

"It's an old Jafarian word meaning gifted child," Joshua informed him.

"Tell him about how you created the Jafarian Ice Age," Alex urged.

Joshua smiled. "It was the first time I used my power. I didn't even know I had it," the man explained. "It was during the Atlantin Civil War. I was out in a field. Atlantin bombers were overhead, and my mother was yelling for me to come inside the house. We had a bomb bunker, you see, but that didn't matter to me. I was eight, and all I could think about was how I wished it would snow. Now you have to understand how silly that was. It was mid-summer, and nearly eighty degrees. I don't really know what possessed me to do it, but I placed my hands together just like I showed you, and reached up into the sky."

"And it started to snow?" asked Jadon.

"No," chuckled Joshua. "Ice shot up from both my hands and into the sky. I never saw the sky become so dark before. I knew nothing of how cold ice like that reacted with such hot air. Lightning shot from the sky, and a few minutes later, it was just what I had wished for — snow. Until I became older, I knew nothing of the effects it had on the ocean. North of Jafaro completely froze up. In fact, the ocean froze over so fast, to this day you can still see the frozen waves in the glaciers. I'm afraid, though, I got more than I wished for. It snowed in Jafaro constantly for nearly thirty years after that. Not every day, but it got old. Though, the good news, I'm told, is that it canceled an attack on the capital itself."

"Wow," Jadon said when he finished. He wasn't sure if he believed him, but it was an incredible story.

"I thought you'd find it interesting," Alex told him with a smile. Still, she didn't expect the next question.

"Is that how all ohnyxs use their powers — with their hands?" the youth questioned Joshua as he glanced at his hands.

The man chuckled, and grinned. "The likelihood of you being an ohnyx is very small, but if you still want to try, just place your hands together like I did and try."

"But, wait! What if there are two parts to my power?" Jadon asked him, remembering his ability to curse.

Joshua was surprised for a moment that this youth would know of such a thing.

"I've heard there are some ohnyxs like that. However, supposedly the second part of their power, which is really a second power in itself, is much harder to use. I hear it involves the energy of thought. Can't really tell you what that means, but I suggest you not be thinking bad things when you try it," Joshua responded with a chuckle.

Deciding to try it, Jadon placed his palms together, and then held them out toward the sky. To his dismay, nothing extraordinary happened.

"Happens to the best of us," Alex told him.

"Is there another way?" he inquired.

Alex shook her head, but Joshua nodded.

"For some, it only works at certain times, or in certain places, or even with certain people," he explained to the youth.

Jadon sighed, but asked yet one more question. "Have you ever heard of an ohnyx named Jadon?"

The man shook his head. "I'm afraid I've lived here too long to have heard of many of the ohnyxs."

Jadon sighed and Alex laughed.

"All right. Let's go, Jadon," Alex told him with a slight strain to her voice.

A minute later, as they were walking down the street, Jadon explained to her why he had been so interested in it, although he only provided part of the story.

"I lost my memory five years ago, and some days I feel like I was someone important back then. It's just a silly feeling, I guess," he told her sadly, not expecting Alex's reaction.

She stopped, and hugged him. "You should have told me! I was beginning to think you were crazy."

Jadon smiled, and Alex returned one. Reaching up, she ran her hand along the side of his head.

"Who knows? Maybe you're the ohnyx he talks about who will take down The Iguana Society." Jadon suddenly pulled away from her as his expression changed to shock.

"You know who they are?" he asked.

Alex frowned. "Sure, they killed my mother."

"What? Why?"

"Simply because she owed them a little money she couldn't pay."

"I'm sorry," he said to her, but he couldn't help but look curious.

"But what?" she inquired.

"Do you know anything more about them?"

"They're ruthless even to children I hear," she responded, spiking Jadon's curiosity. Nevertheless, before he could ask about it, Alex spoke again.

"I have to help my dad some more, but I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked, managing a small smile.

"You bet," replied Jadon. After a brief hug with Alex, he retreated back to the ship.

###

At the same time, Abigail had followed them closely, but kept her distance. She had learned a lot from Jadon, and how to follow a person was one skill that she had picked up. It didn't seem to matter, though, as he seemed more interested in Alex than her. Abigail felt full of jealousy, but she knew if that's who Jadon wanted, she would have to let her have him. Right now, that didn't matter.

Her gut instinct was telling her there was something fishy about the girl. When they first stopped at the tavern, she wondered if Alex planned on getting Jadon drunk for some reason, but they never ordered anything; they just talked with an older man. Abigail had to remind herself to keep quiet as she, too, was stunned by the man's amazing ability. Forcing herself to think as Jadon would, she assumed it to be a trick of some kind.

It was when Jadon left Alex that Abigail made the split-second decision to follow Alex. Keeping half a block distance between herself and Alex, and staying on the opposite side of the street, she was not spotted. To Abigail's surprise, Alex led her to a rundown part of town, where the buildings were literally falling apart.

Alex stopped, and went inside a two-story building, once painted white with blue shutters. Sneaking across the street, Abigail surveyed the building, wondering what Jadon would do. Seeing an open window on the side of the house, Abigail knew immediately what to do. Sneaking over to it, she crouched under it and listened for voices.

"I'm home, Dad!" yelled out Alex.

"About time. I was beginning to think you ran off with that boy," said a male voice that grew louder as footsteps came down the stairs.

"I wasn't gone that long, Dad," she whined. "Besides, he showed me something that will get us out of poverty, once and for all. All we have to do is relocate it." A chuckle erupted from Alex's lips as Abigail listened, wondering what exactly the girl meant.

## Chapter 11

Truth of Character

Several days passed, and Abigail felt alone on the Taryn, as Jadon took even more of an interest in Alex.

"Why don't you just tell him?" Ethan asked Abigail in the mess hall.

She lifted her face off the table to look at him while trying not to cry. "He won't believe me. He's too in love."

"And this is why I hate love," Shawnya complained.

"You all are making this out to be bigger than it really is. He only has another day with her before we ship out. He'll forget about her soon after," Ethan told them logically.

"Which means if she's going to do anything, it'll be today," Shawnya responded.

Abigail ignored her. "He'll probably abandon ship."

Suddenly, they heard a new voice at the table.

"Jadon won't abandon ship!" shouted Micah. He sounded quite sure of himself.

"You're right. He'll bring her along," Abigail cried, wiping fresh tears from her eyes.

"Abby! Get a hold of yourself!" Shawnya shouted, her fist pounding on the table. "There is more to life than Jadon."

Abigail rolled her eyes. "Well, I can't just sit here. I'm going to find them," she told her sister. Then, with haste, she left.

###

Meanwhile, only slightly earlier that day, Jadon had walked off the dock to find Alex pulling up on a motor scooter.

"Hop on!" she invited him.

He didn't resist, and hopped on the back.

"Now, come on," she urged. "You have to hold on tight."

Jadon smiled, and grabbed her shoulders. A moment later, the scooter took off, the motor growing louder as Alex narrowly missed people in the street. All of a sudden, a scream erupted from in front of them, and the scooter slowed. Looking over Alex's shoulder, Jadon saw none other than Claire, dressed in a white dress. She was bending down to pick up a bag of dolls he assumed she had just dropped, when she was surprised by Alex. A few of the dolls had fallen out.

"Dang kids..." she mumbled, only to look up and see the youth's face.

"Jadon!" she yelled as she inspected and quickly stuffed the dolls back into the bag.

"You know her?" questioned Alex, while she waited impatiently for Claire to move.

"She's only the most annoying person on the Taryn," he whispered.

Just then, Claire finished and looked up at them. "Tell your girlfriend to watch where she's going!"

Both of them laughed.

"It's not funny. I have an auction in a big city to get to, and if these dolls are scratched up..." They never heard the rest as Alex gunned the motor.

The scooter took off, and the crowds thinned out as they rushed toward the outskirts of Cartophelia. The ride thrilled Jadon — the wind blowing his hair backward, and his hands holding on tightly to Alex — but somewhere deep inside him, he was bothered. It was a feeling as if something wasn't quite right. The feeling had been there the past few days, but the youth threw it aside, and had ignored it. He was here to have a good time, not to think of a jealous Abigail, or so he thought the feeling was about. Finally, the scooter stopped, just before the end of the town.

"We're not leaving town?" inquired Jadon, pretending to be disappointed as they slowed down in front of a tall, iron fence, alongside the road.

"Not unless you want to see my uncle in Tabernoin, but I should warn you, he hates boys who like me," Alex told him.

"So, I like you now?" he asked with a smile.

She turned her head, and smiled back at him, though she did not answer.

"Okay, but why did we stop here?" he questioned her. Peering through the iron fence, an overgrown lawn seemed to hide everything.

"There's a haunted mansion in there," she replied mysteriously. She hopped off the scooter next.

Jadon followed suit, and watched as she locked it to the fence.

"Right," he said sarcastically.

Alex, however, was not taken aback. "Come see for yourself," she responded. Walking along the fence, they came to a place where a bush had grown through. As Alex pulled the branches of the bush away from the fence, Jadon could see that someone had cut out the bars below.

"Boys first," she told him. Without hesitation the youth crawled through the fence, and under a bush, before finally coming out in some tall grass. Alex followed. As they walked through the overgrown lawn, a brick building came into view. Like the rest of the town, it was Victorian with four-story towers on either side of the main three-story building. Although perhaps a handsome building in its day, now it was overgrown with ivy, windows were broken, and even parts of the roof had caved in.

"Nice building," Jadon commented.

Alex smiled, and proceeded to walk in the front door.

Jadon followed, only to hear a bell ring from deep within the house. He froze on spot.

"Told you it was haunted," she replied with a smirk, but he didn't look at her; instead, he glanced at the floor.

Slowly taking a step away, he felt the floor rise behind him.

"It's a pressure switch," he told Alex, looking back up at her with a smug face.

"You're no fun," she responded and moved on.

Looking around the foyer and into some of the other rooms, Jadon saw that the place was mostly void of furniture, and smelled moldy. Plaster was cracked in many places, and almost all of it had fallen from the ceiling, due to the condition of the roof, he assumed.

"Yeah, it's too bad. This must have been a nice place at one time," Alex said to Jadon. "But, after the unsolved murder of Sir Brink, a well-respected war hero for this country, no one wanted the place."

He nodded, and proceeded into one of the rooms to look around. Having lots of space, and a great big window now broken in more places than he could count, he assumed it to be a living room. She smiled at him as he looked around. When he kicked through the debris on the floor, she warned him. "Careful, unless you want to fall through the floor."

"Ever been in the basement?" Jadon asked.

Alex cringed. "It's full of rats."

Jadon laughed at her newly uncovered weakness.

She glared back at him with a small smile. "Oh come on, I bet there's something that scares you, too," she replied, hoping he would tell.

"Perhaps," he answered, and though he didn't elaborate, she still figured it out.

"It's that boy. What did you say his name was? You're scared of something happening to him?"

Jadon nodded. She had read his thoughts. "Micah."

"So, if you stayed here with me, you'd have to bring him, as well, but he has his own parents, doesn't he?" she questioned him, seemingly disappointed.

He smiled, and this time, not even Alex could read his thoughts.

"What?" she asked.

Jadon swallowed. "Nothing," he replied, when the conversation made him unexpectedly remember something.

"Alex, can I ask you something?"

She nodded.

"What did you mean when you said The Iguana Society was ruthless, even to children?"

Alex glanced away from him before she replied. "It's something Joshua told me. He said they killed thirteen ohnyx children in their sleep, on a single night, in Jafaro, of all places!"

Jadon's eyes widened. "Really? Why would they do such a thing?"

"Don't know," she replied grimly.

"So, when did it happen?"

"Five or six years ago, I think he said. Why?" she inquired, suddenly noticing his strong interest.

"Just wondering," he replied, and then changed the subject. "Was there something you wanted to show me in here?"

Alex smiled. "How about a secret room?" she asked, with an edge to her voice.

Jadon grinned, and nodded in approval. She started up the stairs to the second floor, with him close behind. It was then, for the second time that day that he found himself feeling as if something was off.

"Get out of my head, Abigail," he told himself quietly, and ignored it.

###

Meanwhile, just a bit earlier, Abigail had no idea where to look for Jadon and Alex, but she was in luck. The man she saw with Alex on the day they arrived was eating at a local restaurant.

"Sir?" she asked, walking up to his table.

"Can I help you?" he questioned Abigail with a friendly voice.

She took a deep breath, as his voice was the very same one she heard in the house with Alex. Nevertheless, maybe he could help.

"I'm looking for Jadon, Alex's friend," Abigail explained.

"Ahh, yes," he responded, and smiled. "I believe she was taking him to that old mansion she likes."

Abigail looked questionably at him.

"You'll have to rent a scooter from Joe's, but if you follow the main road, you can't miss it. It's right on the edge of town, at the top of the hill."

"Thanks," she replied, and began to walk away.

"Wait! Tell them Alex said you'd let them borrow a scooter. You won't have to pay a parzac," the man told her.

Abigail nodded her thanks, and hurried to the nearby place named Joe's. Hearing Alex's name, the short man there lent her a scooter. After taking the time to figure out how to operate the scooter, Abigail left for the outskirts of town. She found Alex's father to be right in his directions to the place. Giving further evidence that she was at the right place, and they were there, she noted another scooter chained to the fence. Locking hers to the fence, she looked for a way in. Scanning the fence, she saw that an overgrown bush hid some of it. Pulling random bits of the bush away, she discovered a small way in, and crawled through.

The mansion hardly looked inviting; in fact, it seemed somewhat scary, but Abigail pushed herself forward. Not wanting to alert them that she was here, she walked around back. Finding a completely busted-out window, she crawled in, falling onto the floor, only to hear a squeak below her that caused her heart to beat faster.

To her delight, she didn't see any mice. Looking around, she was in a small room, smelling of mothballs. Holding her nose, she darted into the hallway. She heard voices upstairs, but they started becoming quieter. Tiptoeing up the stairs, Abigail peered down the hall. Waiting for a full minute, she found it to be clear. Just when she had almost made it to the final room at the end, a cracking sound erupted from below her, and before she knew it, she was falling through the floor. She screamed.

###

Minutes earlier, Jadon was in that very same hallway. He was taken aback by the condition of the floor.

"Don't worry. It's safe... most of it," Alex assured him.

He copied her exact footsteps down the hallway. Taking a swift look around, he saw light fixtures hanging by a thread, and wallpaper falling from the wall.

"Sad, isn't it?" Alex asked Jadon, seeing him glance around.

"Yeah."

"I wish my dad had bought it, but he never seems to have enough money..."

"You should have wished upon a star."

"You don't think I did?" she questioned him. "But, I got something else." Smiling, she looked at Jadon.

Stepping into a room at the end of the hall, Alex stopped.

Jadon trailed her into the room. Red paint peeled off the walls, but the dark mahogany molding throughout the room still maintained some of its original luster. On the far side stood a fireplace, its mantel decorated with a molded lion on one side and a lamb on the other. On either side of the fireplace were shelves that still contained a few books. A large, metal bed frame in the center of the room was all Jadon needed to see to confirm his suspicions.

"The master bedroom," he said aloud.

"Yes, now can you guess where the secret room is?" Alex asked.

"I'm betting it has something to do with those bookshelves and the fireplace," he answered her.

"Right," she replied. Walking over to the left side of the fireplace, she reached behind the lion, and pulled its tail. A click sounded, and with a loud creak, the bookshelf to the left of the fireplace turned halfway, revealing a room behind it.

"Nice," Jadon told Alex, and walked in behind her. A small, round window let light pour into the room that held a small desk. On that dusty desk sat a small pistol. His eyes widened.

"Don't worry. It's not loaded," she said, seeing his eyes on the gun.

"Let me guess. That's the gun that killed Sir Brink?" he inquired.

"Don't think so, but you never know," she responded.

Turning around, Jadon noticed two skinny pairs of circular stairs: one leading up, and one leading down. Before he could even ask where they led, Alex told him.

"The one going down leads to an underground tunnel which has collapsed... And the one leading up goes to the west tower, where we should go next if we're going to catch the sunset."

Jadon waved Alex onward, and she led him up the stairs.

At the top, she stopped abruptly and a look of terror spread across her face.

He quickly pushed her to the side. True to her word, they were in the tower room, though with an uninvited guest. Lying in the very center of the circular room on a wooden bench were the bones of a skeleton.

Jadon felt chills go through him, as he looked at the skull. Suddenly, it occurred to him how fragile a skeleton would be. There was no way a person could just walk up here with one and stash it. There was also no way it could have been up here long without Alex knowing about it. He reached only one conclusion, but as he turned to face her, she started laughing.

"I got you! It's fake," she told him.

He frowned.

"Oh, don't be sore," she said seeing his frown.

"I'm not. I was just about to tell you it was a fake," he replied, and shook his head.

Alex was about to say something, when a scream sounded from within the house. She looked to Jadon, who only assumed it was her doing again.

"I'm not falling for it."

She shook her head. "That wasn't me this time," she responded, though he did not buy it.

"I guess it was one of the kids who play around here," Alex said, standing by the window.

Jadon looked out the window, and over the high grass and overgrown bushes of the yard below, but saw no one. He was not convinced. Glancing around the room they were in, Jadon saw that very few of the windows had been broken, and the copper roof above them had kept the inside of the tower in relatively good condition compared to the rest of the house.

During this time, Alex walked over to the fake skeleton, and moved it off the bench.

"So, you planned all this?" questioned Jadon, as she sat down.

Grabbing his arm, she pulled him down onto the bench.

"Well, this is your last day," she said, not entirely ignoring the question. He didn't reply, and therefore she did, this time her voice becoming unsteady.

"I was kinda hoping you'd consider staying. Micah will be okay. He has parents, right?"

Jadon took a deep breath, unsure of how to answer her. He became silent, his mind deep in thought. Throughout the past few days, he found himself liking her more and more, but he had to leave tomorrow.

"People, they count on me," he finally said aloud.

There was a brief silence, but then Alex spoke. "I understand," she answered, and then smiled, pointing out the window.

"It's sunset. It's a tradition here to, well, to kiss a person at sunset. They say it brings good luck," Alex told him, blushing slightly.

He smiled. "You don't have to explain it," he replied, using her own earlier words. Both of them leaned in, Jadon closing his eyes as he felt his heart beating faster and faster, knowing that their lips would touch any second.

"Jadon!" screamed a female voice. Jadon instantly pulled away, opened his eyes, and became filled with anger. Standing in front of them was Abigail. Her face was dirty, her dress torn, and her arms were bleeding, but he took no notice of any of it. Standing up in front of her, he placed his hands on her shoulders with force.

"You and your jealousy just had to ruin this for me!" he yelled.

Tripping over a high board on the floor behind her, Abigail fell. A sob broke from her lips.

"Jadon..." she cried, and looked up into his angry eyes.

"What?" he asked.

"Jadon," she stuttered, her hands rubbing her eyes.

"Say it, already!"

Finally, Abigail was able to form words. "Alex is using you! She and her father, they're going to steal something from the ship. I heard them talking about it, Jadon."

He sighed, and looked toward Alex. He then stared down at Abigail, and the anger in his eyes drained, turning into a dim hurt. In an instant, he was sure she wasn't lying to him, and the nagging feeling he had been having the past few days was not for nothing.

"She's telling the truth, Alex, isn't she?" questioned Jadon, glancing back at her.

She looked at him with shock.

Grabbing Abigail's hand, Jadon pulled her up.

"Let's go," he told her, and two minutes later they were free of the house. Turning around, he watched Abigail crawl through the fence. He knew he had hurt her, _but what could he say now_? Abigail was silent as she stood up, her face full of agony and her feelings clearly so hurt, she wouldn't even say a word to him.

Jadon cursed, as he tried to pull Alex's scooter from its lock, but it was no use.

Abigail tapped his back, and as he turned around, he saw that she was holding her own scooter.

"Thanks," Jadon responded.

Abigail didn't even acknowledge his answer.

"I'm sorry, okay?" he asked after he had started the scooter, but she didn't even look at him. Jadon sighed. He didn't have time for this. The second Abigail grabbed onto his shoulders, he gunned the motor, and the scooter took off. A few minutes later, they were back at the Taryn, and the sun had gone down completely. Jadon told Abigail to go below deck while he checked things out.

At first, everything appeared normal, until he noticed that the night guard was lying on the deck, with his eyes closed. Jadon checked his pulse, and found him to be just unconscious. Reaching for his radio, he quickly relayed a message to the control room.

"Lock down the ship! Lock down the ship! Get two guards down here to the dock entry!" he yelled in a hushed voice.

Argo responded, "Jadon, is that you?"

"Yes, the night guard has been knocked unconscious! They're trying to steal the dragon skull! I repeat, they are trying to steal the dragon skull!" he yelled as quietly as he could.

"Jadon, there's a code to that room," Argo replied.

Up in the operations room, Lieutenant William checked the access log for the locked room containing the dragon skull.

"Sir, it was accessed a minute ago," he told the old man hastily.

Argo cursed, but realized it would take more than a minute to get down there and back.

"Jadon, the crooks are on their way! Stall them!" he relayed on the radio, and barked orders for some guards to report to the main deck.

At the very same time, Jadon searched the night guard for his muddle. He found it just in time as fast-paced footsteps made its way to his ears. Hiding behind a crate, he waited until they were nearly off the ship when he stopped them.

"Don't move!" he told the two dark figures.

The figure directly in front of him held a crate the exact same size as the one that held the dragon skull.

He laughed at the youth. "You're supposed to be with Alex," said the man.

Jadon recognized the voice as belonging to Alex's father.

"Well, I'm not, and I'm on to your little scheme," he replied. "Now put the crate down, and you can leave unharmed."

"Right, like you're going to shoot me when I'm holding something as fragile as this," the man told Jadon.

He appeared to pause to think about it, but in reality, his eyes were picking up on some movement behind the men.

"Maybe I would," he told Alex's father.

"Get out of our way!" the man yelled, not believing him.

"No," Jadon replied, and shot the muddle. Unnoticed by Alex's father, Jadon had altered the direction in which he was shooting the muddle.

The unnamed, silent accomplice fell to the ground with a loud yelp.

"You dumb little..." Alex's father yelled at Jadon, about to curse when the youth's foot lashed out, kicking the man's knee as hard as he could. The man yelled in pain.

Jadon immediately dropped the muddle, and grabbed both sides of the crate, pulling it toward him. The box loosened from the man's grip, but only momentarily as the pain subsided.

"Nice try!" Alex's father taunted, but had an awful time getting Jadon to let go. Seeing a familiar face appear behind the man, the youth began to smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Alex's father questioned him.

Jadon ignored him, and nodded abruptly.

A well-placed hand instantly found a pressure point on Alex's father's neck, crumpling him to the ground, while Jadon held on tightly to the crate.

"Thanks, Argo," Jadon said, looking up at the older man only to see him frowning.

"Tell me you didn't give that girl the code," Argo asked him.

Jadon looked down for a moment, and then back up. "I may have been in love, but I didn't. I'm not that dumb."

Argo asked him no further questions, knowing Jadon was telling the truth.

###

An hour later the dinner bell rang and the mess hall doors opened. Abigail immediately caught sight of Jadon and began to cry, making him turn back and leave.

"He hates me," Abigail told Ethan and Shawnya, quickly explaining how mad Jadon had gotten for interrupting them.

"No, I don't think so," replied Ethan. "But you did interrupt his first kiss."

"I had to!" Abigail cried, and then sighed. "Even if he doesn't like me."

Shawnya rolled her eyes. "What was so important about a silly kiss anyway?" she asked her sister who didn't respond.

"He does like you, but I don't know anything more than that. He's a quiet person when it comes to things like that," Ethan responded, and stood up. "I'm going to talk to him and see if he's okay."

###

What Ethan didn't tell them was that he hated seeing Abigail cry. He really doubted that Jadon would want his help. It was a few minutes before he opened the cabin door. Looking up, he saw Jadon sulking in his top bunk. At first, the younger lad was quiet, but as his courage built up, he asked him a question.

"Why are you so mad at Abigail?"

"Because she was right," Jadon replied solemnly.

At first, Ethan didn't realize exactly what she meant, but then the significance hit him.

"You mean you accused Alex without knowing for sure other than what Abigail said?" he asked cautiously.

"She wouldn't lie about something like that, even if she was jealous."

The younger lad dared ask one more question. "You like Abigail, and she likes you. Why haven't you two ever, you know, become more than just friends?"

Immediately upon hearing the question, Jadon rolled over to face the wall, and became silent. Ethan sighed, and left, reporting his findings to Abigail and Shawnya.

###

Sniffling, Abigail attempted to stop crying. "That's a lot of trust," she admitted.

Shawnya nodded. "Especially for Jadon," she responded.

"I guess I shouldn't be so upset with him," Abigail told them.

Shawnya twisted her horns. "He threw you on the ground!"

"It was an accident. I tripped," Abigail replied.

"Only because he pushed you backward," Shawnya insisted. Her older sister stared at her. She sighed, but accepted it, though only with a clause.

"Fine, but if he does it again, I'll hurt him," she promised.

###

The next morning, the entire group except for Jadon was having breakfast in the mess hall. Walking in late, Jadon waited in line until he was served a tray of food. Then, he sat down quietly beside Micah.

"I'm glad you're back, Jadon," Micah told him happily.

Jadon, however, was not as enthusiastic. "Yeah," he replied with a sigh.

Abigail only looked toward him once, and then back down at her long-sleeved dress as she ate. The youth ate fast, so he could leave. Once finished, he headed for the main deck.

Minutes later, Abigail walked out onto the main deck to see Jadon looking out over the ocean. Little did she know that Jadon sensed her.

"I knew it all along, and I didn't even wonder about it," he said aloud.

"What?" asked Abigail.

"I knew she was a bad person, and here I tried to think it was you."

"What do you mean you knew?"

Jadon didn't know how to answer that. It just seemed that he had strong intuition about her, and this wasn't the first time. It had been there with Tim, also.

"At least she told me something useful," Jadon went on, not answering her question.

"What?" Abigail inquired.

He slowly explained about the murder of the ohnyx children by The Iguana Society.

"That's horrible," she replied quietly, still sounding a bit upset with him.

"And it happened six years ago, exactly when I lost my memory. At first I thought I had cursed somebody I shouldn't have, but this makes me wonder..." He sighed. "Then again, why are they still after me? Maybe I cursed one of their men, and the murders were their retaliation..." His head sank lower.

"Jadon..." Abigail muttered.

Suddenly, he noticed something, and turned around. "Why aren't we leaving yet?" he asked, and ran for the operations room.

Abigail waited outside the room while he questioned Argo.

"Claire's not back yet," the old man answered him.

Setting down a pair of headphones, Lieutenant William interrupted him. "No response, sir. The girl just says that she has Claire and, as for the ransom, they want..." He stopped in mid-sentence when he noticed Jadon.

Argo sighed, and turned toward the youth. "Lad, don't you be going anywhere," he said, only to find the door closing as he said it.

Jadon made his way to Claire's quarters, and opened the lock with a hair pin as Abigail watched. The door clicked open to the empty quarters, and Jadon turned toward Abigail.

"You want to go with me?" he asked.

"Where?" questioned Abigail in a small voice.

"To find Claire," Jadon replied, never having thought he would be rescuing Claire.

"Won't she find her own way back?"

"Not this time."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to go with me or not?"

Abigail was silent as she thought it over. "Okay," she replied. Her eyes looked a small bit hopeful.

## Chapter 12

Sounds & Rivals

"What are we doing in here?" Abigail questioned Jadon, as he looked around Claire's cabin.

"Looking for clues," he replied. Spotting a brochure on the table, he picked it up. Across the top it read, "Angela's Doll Auctions" in large print.

"And I found one."

Abigail hardly paid him attention. Instead, she looked around the room nervously, obviously not wanting to be caught in Claire's cabin.

"Oh, relax. No one is going to be around here this time of day. I've done this many times," he assured her.

Nonetheless, that didn't seem to make Abigail feel any better.

Taking a second glance around the room, he spotted nothing else that could help them.

"All right. Let's go! I bet the train will take us here," he said, and pointed at the location. "Tabernoin" it read. Somehow, it sounded familiar to him, though how he didn't know.

Headed to the train station, they were soon on a two-hour ride to Tabernoin, during which Jadon noticed Abigail's long sleeves.

"You shouldn't have worn those long sleeves. We're heading south, you know," he told her, and then noticed the pained expression on her face. Hastily, he grabbed her left arm, and rolled up the sleeve.

"Hey!" she cried out, but Jadon pulled up her sleeve anyway.

Deep cuts and scratches told him everything.

"You fell through the floor, didn't you?" he asked plainly, looking into her eyes.

Abigail looked down for a moment, before appearing angry. "Yes, but what do you care!" she lashed out, and turned away.

"I do care because you came back up a second time, through that same hallway just to tell me what you did," he unexpectedly replied. Both of them were quiet for the rest of the train ride.

As the train stopped in the biggest station they had ever seen, they were surprised. Making their way through hordes of people, they soon entered a huge Victorian and Tudor style town. The Tudor style was a unique combination of brick, wood beams, stucco, and gridded windows.

"I suppose now is a good time to tell you that Claire's been kidnapped," Jadon told Abigail.

Having heard this, she appeared angry, but to his surprise, she didn't yell at him. Instead, she calmly questioned him.

"Jadon, why didn't you tell me this before? How are we going to find her? It's not like she went to visit family."

"You wouldn't have come along if I had told you before," he answered her, without even looking at her.

"We just have to go where Claire went, and hope..." Jadon said, stopping in mid-sentence as a realization hit him. He turned, and smiled at Abigail.

"Family. That's it!" he shouted, all of a sudden remembering why Tabernoin sounded familiar. "All we have to do is find Alex."

"Why her?" Abigail groaned.

"She'd do anything to be rich."

"But Alex doesn't live here."

"She has an uncle here."

"Jadon, it still doesn't make sense."

"It does. We ran into Claire the one day, and she mentioned coming to the big city with her dolls. I'm guessing this is the only big city around, and Alex knows that. I also mentioned that Claire was one of the crew, and finally the voice of the kidnapper was fe... "

Just then, a loud, obnoxious voice interrupted him. They both turned to see a young man not much older than Jadon.

"Well, well, well. Lost in the big city. Don't worry. It happens to most people," said a long, blond-haired, young man. He wore glasses that clung to his pointed Adarm ears, and he was dressed in a long, green trench coat.

At first, Jadon felt angry, knowing instantly that the young man thought they were tourists, and just wanted their gold, but then he calmed down. Perhaps, this annoying person could help them. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a gold coin.

"This is what you want, right?" he asked the young man.

"Is that real gold? I was actually just thinking of a few parzacs, but that will do," the young man replied with a wide smile.

"You can have it if you lead us to a certain someone," Jadon said to him.

"Hey, now look, I don't know everyone in this city..." the young man began to say.

"Alex."

"There are lots of Alexs in this city."

Jadon looked toward Abigail.

"A girl named Alex, with brown curly hair, torn clothes, and she's slightly older than me," Abigail told him.

The young man chuckled.

"So, you do know her?" Jadon replied.

"Who doesn't know her?" the young man questioned him.

"Where does she stay when she's here?"

"Wherever she can. Her uncle is a rich snob."

"I'll give you this gold coin if you take us to each of these places until we find her."

The young man smiled widely. "It's a deal. My name's Brandon," he said, and reached out his hand. Jadon shook it.

"Well, we'd better get going then. There's at least half a dozen places she could be," Brandon told him.

Jadon growled as they started walking. Four minutes later, they stopped at a large, empty building.

"This is her usual building, since her uncle doesn't use it," Brandon announced. Jumping off the scooter, the youth looked at the building, and turned toward Abigail.

"Stay here," he said to her.

"But..." Abigail started to stay.

"Do it," Jadon said commandingly, and rushed off as Brandon followed.

Stopping at the door, Jadon pulled the muddle pistol out of his pocket. Yanking on the door, he found it did not give.

"It's locked," Brandon whispered to him, and motioned him around the side of the building. Seeing a stack of crates leading up to a window, Jadon didn't need any help figuring out how to get in. Climbing up the crates, he pushed the window open, and unlike the door, it gave way. No one was inside. He glanced toward the floor. He noticed a chair, and jumped onto it.

Taking a swift look around, the youth sighed. The entire building was empty of life. Aside from a stack of old newspapers, and a bunch of pillows, it was void of objects, too. Seeing a loft, he ran for the ladder. It was on the third step that the board below him gave out, toppling him to the ground. He frowned, and rubbed his head. If he couldn't make it up there, it was doubtful anyone else had done so. Once he climbed back outside, he shook his head.

"She's not here," he informed them.

They scoured two more buildings, which were also empty, as Brandon continued to lead them to the places, and Jadon and Abigail searched them for any sign of Alex.

"This is getting old, Brandon," Jadon complained.

"It's not my fault," the young man retorted.

Before Jadon could reply, Abigail placed a hand on his shoulder.

Taking a deep breath, he became silent. The next building Brandon brought them to was an empty townhouse. Torn curtains allowed them to look inside. To Abigail's dismay, Jadon told her to stay outside again. What he didn't tell her was that he had a bad feeling about the place.

"I don't want you to get hurt," he said before running up to the front door. Trying it, he found it unlocked. Looking around at the crumbling plaster, the building appeared to be dead silent. Walking up a pair of stairs to the right, he took a look in each room. Once nice rooms, they were now in shambles. Climbing the stairs again, he walked up to the third floor. It was empty aside from a pair of toy trucks. He sighed. _I guess that bad feeling was nothing_ , he decided. Walking down to the first floor again, he walked to the back of the house. As he did, the heavy amount of dust in the building caused him to sneeze. "Pigeon toads!" he muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, Jadon heard a sound from below. _The basement_! he realized. Looking for a door, he found one, though it was only a pantry.

"Rats!" he complained. He saw no other doors. Walking through the first-floor rooms, the living room, dining room, and a kitchen, he only found a pair of closets. His mind began to turn. _That door to the pantry is exactly where a basement door should be_ , he thought silently. Walking back to it, he examined it closely. He groaned in frustration. Nothing seemed off about it. Nevertheless, he yanked on the middle shelf, purely out of frustration, but when he heard a click and the shelves moved backward and out of the way, he knew he had found the entrance.

Darkness greeted Jadon, though as he moved down the steps, light shone through windows far in the front of the basement. The steps creaked as he walked down them, but a rustling in the basement caught his attention. His right hand gripped the muddle. Though he knew it might just be rats, he decided to prepare. As he stepped off the bottom step, a male voice almost made him jump.

"Who goes there?" it questioned him.

"I'm looking for Alex," Jadon replied, seeing a shadowy figure far in the distance. Another figure appeared from behind a stack of boxes. From what he could tell, they seemed to be short, and about his own age, he guessed.

"Are you now?" inquired a female voice. Two more figures appeared from the shadows.

"Do you know where she is or not?" Jadon asked. His hand gripped the muddle tighter.

"Well, why don't you have a seat, and we'll tell you," said the first male voice.

Jadon watched as they appeared to close in on him. "I wouldn't come any closer," he warned.

"Why not?" questioned a third voice.

He pulled out his muddle. "Because I have this."

All four of them laughed.

"Oh, look... a toy," said the boy.

Jadon began to feel uncomfortable as they surrounded him. "Can a toy do this?" he asked, and fired the muddle four times in a row, taking only a second to aim each time. Three members of the group fell, but the first boy dived and tackled Jadon.

"How do you know Alex?" he asked breathlessly, as they struggled.

Jadon didn't answer, but the boy almost sounded jealous. Wrestling with him, he threw a punch at his shoulder, causing the boy to yelp in pain. He tried to retaliate, only for the youth to block his punch using his arm. However, the boy managed to punch him once in the face, before he could crack him over the head with the muddle pistol, knocking him out. Blood rushed from his nose, causing him to curse as he looked at the downed boy.

Pulling a handkerchief from his backpack, he held it against his nose, and looked around the basement room. Turning on the light on his muddle, he could see better, but saw no sign of Claire or Alex. As Jadon walked back out the front door, Abigail ran to his side.

"What happened?" she inquired. She looked at him with wonder.

"I met with some foul play," he replied, staring at Brandon.

"I didn't know. I promise, man," the young man told Jadon.

He didn't reply, as Brandon appeared to be telling the truth.

Abigail waited for the youth to explain more about what had happened, but he didn't, only saying that Claire and Alex weren't there.

Soon Jadon began to feel discouraged, when he found the next three buildings Brandon led them to empty. Though, he was happy that he didn't have to fight again.

"There's one more place, but it's a bit far from here," Brandon told them, and walked ahead. Hearing that, and seeing that the young man was far ahead of them, Abigail decided now was as good as any time to have a heart-to-heart conversation with Jadon.

"Jadon, did you really like Alex?" she asked, her voice low.

He sighed. "Yeah, but I should have known she was too much like me," he responded.

Abigail was silent for moment before she said any more. "Maybe it's just a rumor, but I thought you liked me," she said slowly.

Jadon rolled his eyes. "I do," he replied plainly.

"Then, why don't you ever get close to me?" she inquired.

He sighed again. "Because, well," he stuttered, unable to answer. "You wouldn't understand," he finally said, giving up.

It was Abigail's turn to sigh. "Sorry, Jadon," she said, and became silent, unintentionally making him feel guilty.

"All right, I'll tell you something. Something I've never told anyone," he told her.

"Really?" she questioned.

"Yes," he said, and then glanced at her. "Micah's my brother."

For a moment, Abigail was too shocked to speak. Then, she flooded him with questions, but he answered only three of them.

"If you don't remember your past, how do you know that?"

"It's just one of those things I've always known. It's not something that can be erased," Jadon replied truthfully.

"So, why do you hide it?" she asked.

"Because I don't want to put him in danger. You know, with all the things that happen around me."

"He doesn't know?"

"He does," Jadon replied.

Abigail's face lit up with surprise.

Jadon knew she could hardly believe the six-year-old had kept such a big secret.

Finally, Brandon led them to yet another place in the city. This time, it was another residential neighborhood.

"This is the last place I know of," he informed them. "If she's not here, I don't know where she is."

Glancing around, Jadon noted they were in a poor section of town once again. The houses lacked attention, with cracked windows, and peeling paint. Only the few brick homes had a semi-decent look to them.

"Wait a minute! It's the next block," Brandon quickly told them.

"This better be the right place," Jadon grumbled, so only Abigail could hear him.

"I hope so, too," she replied.

Coming to a crossing in the street, Brandon looked both ways, and started across.

Jadon did the same, and started across with Abigail at his side. As they neared the middle of the intersection, Jadon heard a faint tune from a piano. He thought nothing of it until an angry little girl's voice entered his head.

"Jadon! What do you mean you're tired!? Save him! Save him!" she yelled, becoming hysterical.

Stopped in the middle of street, he urgently looked around for where the voice had come from. Nevertheless, just as quickly as he had heard the voice, it was gone.

"Jadon?" Abigail asked him, wondering why he would stop so suddenly in the middle of the street.

"That little girl! Didn't you hear her?" he inquired. Looking in every direction, he saw no sign of a little girl. All four streets were empty, except for them, and a middle-aged man walking out of his house.

HONK! A motor car was barreling down on them in the very same lane that they were blocking.

Abigail grabbed Jadon's arm, and pulled him as hard as she could, almost knocking him off balance, but managing to make him move out of the way in time.

"What was that all about?" questioned Brandon.

Jadon ignored the question.

"What's that tune I hear?" he asked.

"What tune?" Brandon inquired.

"The one playing on the piano," Jadon told him desperately.

"I hear it," Abigail told Brandon. She looked curiously at Jadon.

Straining his ears, the young man managed to hear the faint tune, and listened for a second before answering Jadon.

"Oh, that song. It's an old Jafarian lullaby that was used during wartime. It's also used at funerals," Brandon explained.

Jadon stared into the distance with a blank expression while Abigail asked a question. "Do you know the words?"

"Let me think..." the young man said, and paused for a second. Looking toward the sky, he appeared to be concentrating. "The chorus goes something like this," he finally said, and began to hum a tune, to which he added words.

"Hush my child, don't cry a bit, Daddy's gone off to fight a war, But one day, far away that war will be o'er, And that fine day, we'll see him again."

"Yeah, that's it. There's also a version with Mommy instead of Daddy," Brandon told them. Jadon was baffled. He thought for sure it would have to do with the ohnyx children, but this song would not work for them. While his mind raced, the group stood still on the sidewalk for over two minutes, before Brandon grew impatient.

"Is somebody going to tell me what's going on? I thought we were looking for Alex," he stated.

Jadon sighed. No more sounds or memories revealed themselves.

"Let's go, then," he said abruptly, and moved forward.

Brandon shrugged, and led them onward. Thirty yards ahead, he stopped in front of a large, white stone house. Bigger than all the rest on the block, it was guarded by a big, iron fence. However, the gate stood open.

Jadon walked into the untamed grounds, following the brick sidewalk. The house was only two stories tall, but looked like a miniature mansion with spectacular columns holding a roof two stories high over the front porch. Pronounced bay windows jutted out on each side. Although run-down, the building did not look abandoned.

"This is it," Jadon told them, as he looked over the place. "She's here."

"How do you know?" questioned Abigail.

"Doesn't this place look familiar?" he asked, looking toward her.

She nodded.

Walking into the grounds, he was immediately sure this was the right place. A lone doll lay behind a bush as if it had been dropped there.

Stepping up to the front door, Jadon tried the knob. It was unlocked. He turned toward Abigail as he pulled the muddle pistol from his pocket.

"Stay behind me." Turning the knob, he kicked the door fully open. The bright sun lit up the dark room ahead of them. He aimed the muddle in each direction of the room. Spotting only old furniture, he let down his guard for a second, when a voice came from a doorway to the right.

"Who's there?" asked an older man.

Jadon lowered his muddle to his side, and responded. "Friends of Alex," he informed the man.

"I don't remember her saying she had anyone coming," the voice said as they walked into the room. A loud sigh came from the doorway, and a man appeared carrying a glass of wine at his side.

"She doesn't ever tell me anything. Gets that trait from her father, you know," the man told them. Dressed in a black suit, with short black hair and a small jaw, he reminded Jadon of a businessman. Nonetheless, his piercing red eyes made the youth not want to trust him, and therefore he didn't. When the man raised the wine glass to take a drink, Jadon raised the muddle from his side, and shot the man with one click of the trigger. As the man fell to the ground, the wine glass slipped from his hands and shattered.

An eerie silence followed, until Brandon yelled out. "What did you do!" he squealed.

"Shut up!" Jadon said in a hushed whisper.

"That was Alex's uncle! He'll sue you for all you're worth!"

Jadon started laughing.

"I'm serious!"

"He doesn't even know who I am, and even if he did, I barely have a parzac to my name. Now, let's find Alex," he said before Brandon could say anything further.

Abigail followed closely behind Jadon as he wearily snuck into each of the downstairs rooms. All of them except the kitchen contained furniture that had been covered in a white dust cloth, and in one room, the youth noted a familiar scooter, but there was no sign of Alex.

"She must be upstairs," Jadon whispered.

Brandon rubbed his forehead. "Look, man, uhmm, I don't want to be a part of this. Can I have my gold coin now? You know Alex is here, and all," he said, clearly sounding uncomfortable.

Jadon thought about it for a minute.

"Okay," he replied, and tossed the young man the gold coin.

Brandon hastily headed for the door, and left, slamming the door a bit too hard for Jadon's comfort.

From a pair of stairs leading to the second floor came Alex's voice. "That you, Uncle? Have they sent the dragon skull yet?" she asked.

"Stay here," Jadon told Abigail as he tiptoed up the stairs.

Upstairs, Jadon strained his ears, and heard movement coming from a room to the right. Aiming his muddle straight ahead, he walked into the room. Directly in front of him, he saw Claire gagged, and tied to a chair. Seeing him, she shook the chair violently.

A laugh suddenly came from behind him. He turned only far enough to see the door move before a muddle butted up against his back. She had been hiding behind the door, he realized too late, all of a sudden feeling like a fool.

"So, you did come back for me?" said Alex.

Jadon started to turn around.

"Drop the muddle first," she commanded.

He let it drop to the floor, knowing he still had his knife.

"And now the knife." She laughed at his surprise. "You really didn't think I would forget it, did you?"

Jadon growled, but slowly pulled it out of his pocket, and then in a fast move, flung it into the floor. Alex chuckled and bent down to pull it out of the floor.

During this time, the youth flung his foot backward in a kick, but missed.

Alex had anticipated it. "Nice try, Jadon," she said, shaking her head. "Move forward."

Jadon decided to try and distract her. "So, it was about money the whole time?" he questioned her.

"Don't be silly. You know it wasn't. You'd be doing the same thing if you lived like I do," she replied. "I really liked you, and if you had decided to stay, you could have been in on it. But that doesn't matter. You have those stupid friends you care about."

Jadon whirled around in anger. At that point in time, he didn't care if Alex did shoot him. Nevertheless, he didn't have to worry about that, because at the very same time, Abigail tackled Alex from behind. The girls began a vicious struggle.

Kicking his muddle across the floor, Jadon reached for the arm in which Alex held her muddle. She was attempting to beat Abigail with the muddle, unable to aim it. Yanking on it as hard he could, Alex cried in pain, as the youth freed the gun from her grasp.

Jadon grinned, and watched the girls fight for a minute before he whistled loudly. Picking up his muddle, he aimed both muddles at Alex. Seeing this, she stopped struggling.

Abigail climbed off Alex, breathing hard.

"You did good," Jadon complimented her.

She smiled weakly.

Just then, a noise from behind them reminded her that Claire was still tied up and gagged.

"Untie her?" questioned Abigail.

"Not yet," replied Jadon, still aiming his muddle at Alex.

She was staring up, directly at him.

"You're not going to shoot me, just like I wasn't going to shoot you. You know that thing stings for hours after you wake up. You wouldn't do that to me," she told him, full of certainty.

Jadon looked deep into her eyes. They looked so innocent and beautiful, but they were also very deceitful.

"My friends aren't stupid," he said, and pulled the trigger of the muddle in his right hand. It fired, and Alex slumped to the ground, motionless.

Abigail looked happily at Jadon. It was then, she immediately noticed his shock.

"What?" she asked.

"I saw someone I care about shot before. I'm almost sure of it," Jadon told her. He didn't know how he knew, but the feeling was there.

Not knowing what to say, Abigail was speechless. A moment later, a noise from behind them diverted their attention back to freeing Claire.

###

A short time later, all three of them were aboard a train back to the Taryn. To Jadon, it seemed to take forever to get back, as Claire was convinced he had something to do with her kidnapping. He just ignored her, and his thoughts strayed toward the little girl's voice he had heard as the piano played. _How was he supposed to save anyone_? Both Tim, and now this girl, had said he was capable of such a thing. The question floated through his mind, until hours later when he finally set foot aboard the Taryn. As Jadon walked into the mess hall, Micah spotted him.

"Jadon!" the little boy shouted. He ran toward the older lad. As he came closer, Micah tried to say everything he was thinking at once, only for it to come out in one big jumble.

"What, Micah?" Jadon inquired. While he listened, he brushed the little boy's hair to the side, only to push it back down a few moments later.

"I had a dream! I have a power, too! Mommy showed me how to use it!" Micah told him eagerly.

He looked doubtfully at the little boy, and then looked from side to side.

"Micah, it was just a dream," he said, trying to hush the little boy.

"No, Jadon! Mommy said it wasn't a dream! She said I have to try it on you first. I've been waiting forever for you to come back!"

"Micah," Jadon said. He tried to reason with the little boy, but watched with wonder as Micah placed his palms together, and reached out to touch him. Then, everything went black, at least for Jadon.

###

For those in the lunchroom, a bright white light blinded everyone. It lasted only fifteen seconds, but it caught everyone's attention, including Abigail who was sitting with her sister and Ethan. Shielding her eyes against the light with her hands, she moved them away as it dimmed. Immediately she looked to where Jadon had been, and watched with horror as he crumpled to the ground, along with the tray that he had been holding. Everyone seemed to freeze in place, except Abigail.

"Jadon!" she yelled, and darted out of her seat. She felt her heart drop, as she neared him, and saw his eyes closed. Dropping to her knees, Abigail found her hands shaking so much that she fumbled for his pulse. Taking a deep breath, she felt it. It was slow and steady. Glancing up, she saw Micah looking down at her with a frightened face, though before she could say anything to him, he spoke.

"Mommy said he'll be fine. She just wants to talk to him."

Abigail's eyes widened with confusion as the scene rapidly turned to chaos.

## Chapter 13

Micah's Gift

Indeed, when Jadon opened his eyes, he saw the one person he thought he would never see again; his mom.

Sitting in a wooden chair directly in front of him was a blue-eyed woman with shoulder length, strawberry-blond hair. It contrasted slightly more so than the youth's own hair. Her nose was also lightly freckled, just like Micah's. Dressed in an intricate, white robe of some kind, she warmly smiled at him. He had only seen her one place before — in the picture held in his locket. The woman was most certainly his mom. Seeing the recognition in the youth's eyes, she called to him.

"Come here, Jadon," she said, and opened her arms.

For the first time, he noticed himself kneeling on a wood floor. Springing up, he ran into her arms.

The woman embraced him lovingly, kissing Jadon on the cheek, and wrapping her arms around him, pulling him closer.

"Mom?" he asked for the first time.

"It's me," she answered, and tears came to her own eyes.

Pulling slightly away, he studied her face. Her eyes were sad, but happy, and her smile, warm and also kind. So many feelings rushed through him! She was truly his mom.

"Mom!" Jadon yelled, and dove his face into her chest as the feelings burst, making him cry. Emotionally overwhelmed, he couldn't believe he was really seeing her. He was filled with joy at the sight of her and hearing her voice, yet he was sad about all the time he had missed with her and how he didn't even know a thing about her.

"I miss you so much!" he told her through his sobs. "Dad had my memory erased, and now I can't remember you, but I still know I miss you..." he said. Looking up at her, he expected his mom to be disappointed.

"I know all about that, Jadon," she replied.

Jadon wiped his eyes.

"Do you know why he did it?"

She nodded. "But I can't tell you."

"You, too! Why not?" he questioned his mom, suddenly angry. Pushing himself off his mother's lap, he stood up, and walked away from her. Then, for the first time, he noticed they were in the same cabin as his earlier dream.

"I must honor your father's wishes, Jadon. He honored mine, and he never brought dishonor upon our house. Now, that doesn't mean I agree with what he did, but I will not blame him. He was never good at handling stress like that," his mother explained.

"So, I made him stressed?" he asked mockingly, as he crossed his arms.

His mom only sighed. "Don't dishonor your father, Jadon. He did what he thought was right," she replied.

Walking away from his mother, the youth looked around the small cabin, and then out to the window into the woods.

"Did we live here?" he inquired, changing the subject.

"We did," his mother cautiously answered.

"This is Jafaro, isn't it?" he questioned her, his voice still sounding upset.

"Yes, specifically, in the outskirts of the city of Mountaino."

Slowly, Jadon's curiosity began to erode at the anger he felt. "Did I like it here?"

"Yes, you loved it here," she informed him. "But we didn't spend all our time at home. We traveled a good bit, too."

Jadon looked around at the cabin, noting how nice it was, and put it together with the fact his mom had just told him they had traveled a lot.

"Were we rich then?"

"We could have been." His mom grinned when he looked at her questioningly. "I was once a princess, Jadon. I was born into a family of royalty."

Jadon tilted his head to the side while he listened. He immediately suspected she had done something to change her status. "What happened?"

"I met your father, and just like when I was a kid, I wanted a normal life. I hated how people looked up to me, just because of my family line, and not anything I did. So, I went to the king one day, and to my surprise, he understood and granted me a normal citizenship. Your grandparents were more upset than anyone, but I think they eventually understood."

"I'm not a prince then, am I?" Jadon asked. He sounded disappointed, but he really wasn't. His mom had left royalty for a noble cause.

Hearing this, his mother laughed. "I'm sure you still could be if you wanted to be," she responded.

He shook his head.

"That's what I thought," she said and peered cheerfully at him.

Changing the subject slightly, he asked about his dad. "Did I get along with my dad?"

His mother grinned again. "You both got along really well. You even built a tree house in the backyard together."

Wanting to see this for himself, Jadon walked into the kitchen, and looked out the back window. To his surprise, in one of the tallest trees was a gigantic tree house that must have been no small feat to build. Walking back into the room with his mom, he asked another question about his dad.

"So, what happened? Why was Dad so stressed?"

"Your life was in danger, Jadon."

"Why? Did I break my promise not to curse?" He had to know, once and for all.

"No," she replied with a small smile, which quickly faded. "You saw the face of the man who intended to kill you. Once that happened, the night turned into pure chaos. You were forced to make a heart-wrenching choice. It was a choice that no one should ever have to make, much less you, of all people. Still, you made a choice that I am happy with."

"What was the choice? Did it have to do with my power? Did you die that night?"

His mother sighed. "You ask too many questions, Jadon. Just remember what I said when you do remember what happened. I am happy with the choice you made. I always was, okay?"

He nodded, and looked at his mom with surprise. "Then, I will remember everything again one day?" he asked excitedly, her statement suddenly taking hold in his mind.

"Yes, with a little help," his mom told him.

Looking around the cabin, he quickly asked a new question.

"What happened to Dad? Why isn't he here?" he inquired in a low tone of voice.

His mom looked at him with a mixed look, as if she didn't know how to tell him.

"Jadon..." she started to say. "I can't lie to you, and I'm not sure I should tell you, but..."

"He's alive, isn't he?" he blurted out.

His mom nodded.

Jadon instantly felt a new energy rush through him. He couldn't believe it. All these years he thought his father was dead and he was an orphan. "Well, where is he?" he questioned her with excitement in his voice, and a big smile on his face.

His mom looked happily at him again. "You'll find out soon enough. But I will tell you one thing. He misses you greatly— you and Micah, both."

Jadon took a deep breath. "So, you know for sure that I will see him again?"

His mom nodded, and he didn't question how she knew.

"Now, tell me about Micah," she instructed him.

Jadon looked at his mom curiously.

"I only have a short time with you, and I want to know all I can about you both."

"Well, he's six now, and still scared of silly things like rats," he started to say.

"I don't like rats either," his mother told him quickly, with a short laugh.

"He always likes the toys I get him, and he's rather smart for a six-year-old. In fact, Teacher is very proud of him. Of course, I am, too." Jadon stopped to sit down on his mom's lap, and his fingers wrapped around the golden locket on her neck. "I think I'm even going to give him your locket for his seventh birthday because I think he'll be careful enough with it now."

"So, you two, are..." his mom said, pausing for a moment, "friends then?"

Jadon couldn't help but detect a hint of surprise in her voice. "Yes, we are," he replied.

His mother grinned, but offered no explanation for it.

However, he chose not to ask about it.

"Abigail just recently found out that we're brothers. She's keeping it secret for now, but..." Jadon stopped as his mother made a face at the unfamiliar name.

Not wanting his mom to see his expression, he turned away from her. "Abigail, she's this girl..." he started to say with some reluctance.

"She's your age, isn't she?" his mother asked him.

"A year younger."

"Go on."

Jadon let out a deep breath. "She's as tall as me. She has long, brown hair, blue eyes, and she's Vagmar, so she has..."

"White, pointed horns," his mom said, and started laughing.

"What?" Jadon inquired repeatedly. "Mom!" Finally, his mom stopped laughing.

"It's nothing, dear. It's just when you were little..." she began before another laugh escaped.

"What?" he questioned her, practically begging.

"You were scared of people who had those horns."

Jadon rolled his eyes upon hearing this. "Well, I'm not scared of her or her horns."

"I hope that doesn't mean you two get into fights."

"No, she's not that kind of girl. But we always get into stupid little fights about how I shouldn't do something because it's dangerous."

"I see. It almost sounds like..."

"Like she likes me? Yes, she does..." Jadon answered with a groan.

"And you don't like her?" asked his mother.

Jadon was silent for a moment, debating how to answer that. Finally, he told her the truth. "I do, but..."

"But what?"

He sighed, and walked over to his mother, taking a seat in her lap once again. Staring out a nearby window, he explained. "I can't like her, Mom, not when I know nothing about myself. This gift... for all I know, I could kill her with it accidentally."

Jadon's mom stayed silent for a moment, as she kissed her son's forehead, easing some of his tension. "Jadon, I can tell you right now," his mother began, "you're not going to kill her with it. You're going to save her with it."

Looking up at her, he was shocked.

His mom, though, was calm and smiled gently. She nodded, and placed her fingers to her lips, knowing he wanted to ask more questions. "But, that's not the only reason, is it?" she inquired.

Jadon nodded glumly. "Well, I have a reputation, Mom, for being..." he started to say.

"Tough?" asked his mother, giving him a knowing look.

He nodded.

"And you think if people know you're in love that will change?"

He nodded again. "It will..."

"Jadon, I don't suppose you know what your father did for a living, do you?" his mother asked him.

He shook his head.

"He was a lumberjack. He cut down trees with a group of friends. Now what do you suppose those friends thought when they saw him with a princess?"

"Let me guess. He didn't care what they thought," he replied, trying to surmise what his mom intended on saying.

"Wrong, he did care, just like you. But, do you know what he did?" she questioned him.

Jadon didn't reply.

"He set them in their place, nicely. He told them, just because he had special feelings for me, did not change who he was. He was still tough, with or without me. I know you can do that, Jadon. You do that all the time, don't you?"

Jadon nodded with a small smile.

"If you really care about her, don't let anything stop you. You may only get one special girl in your lifetime, and she might be it. Just make sure to treat her with care. And a word of advice — she's always right, no matter what," his mother told him as she brushed her hand through his hair.

Jadon's smile widened. "Thanks, Mom," he replied. "Can I ask another question?"

She nodded.

He started to speak, but suddenly felt embarrassed, and stupid to ask his question.

"Jadon, go on. You can ask me anything," his mother urged.

"I don't even know your or dad's name," he told her with a sigh.

"My name is Sarah, and your father's is Nathan."

Jadon grinned upon hearing this, but his mom wasn't finished. "And ya know, I like the sound of Jadon and Abigail."

This caused him to blush, making him turn away as he rolled his eyes.

"Now, my turn," said his mother. "Why do you do all that dangerous stuff to make Abigail worry? Starting fights, shooting muddles..."

Jadon sighed happily, knowing he'd have a lot to explain to his mom.

###

Meanwhile, Abigail was very much worried. It'd had been more than an hour since Jadon had become unconscious. She had watched as he was lifted onto a stretcher, and silently followed along with Shawnya and Micah as the youth was carried to the medical bay, where they met up with Ethan. From there, she had no idea what was happening. Much to her dismay, Micah was the only one allowed in the medical bay with Jadon, and she was finding it difficult to sit still on the bench outside the room.

"You don't think he's going to..." Abigail started to ask.

Shawnya shook her head. "It's Jadon we're talking about," she replied. She sounded hopeful, but Abigail knew it was only for her sake.

"Yeah, it's Jadon. Is someone going to tell me what happened?" questioned Ethan, sounding partly annoyed.

Shawnya groaned, and explained what little she knew to him.

"So, what were you doing down here, anyway?" she inquired.

"I was helping some of the crew move some things. We were running a bit late," Ethan told her, though he neglected to look at them.

Abigail sighed and stared off into space.

_What had Micah meant earlier_? was the question racing through Abigail's mind.

As more and more time passed, Shawnya attempted to comfort her, but with little progress.

"I need to know what's going on!" Abigail shouted inadvertently to her younger sister.

"Okay, what do you want to do, then?" Shawnya asked, sounding offended.

"Jadon wouldn't wait here this long. I'm going in!" Abigail replied. Standing up, she walked forward, opened the door, and marched in. Right into Argo's chest.

"Going somewhere, lass?" he questioned her.

Abigail looked up at him with her most sorrowful look.

Argo sighed. Turning around, the old man looked at the doctor, who looked at Abigail.

Shawnya and Ethan, upon seeing Abigail make headway, followed her into the room.

Medical equipment sat on the left side of the room, while twelve beds lined the right side. Jadon's limp body was visible on the fourth bed from the back. Here the doctor could be seen, forcing the youth's eye open with one hand, and shining a flashlight inside with the other. Micah too was visible, sitting in a tall chair behind the bed, from which he looked down over the older lad, and watched the doctor perform his duties.

The little boy peeked up only for a second, at the arrival of the group.

As they took note of all of this, Argo sighed silently, and looked back at the doctor. "Tell them the results."

Standing up straight, the doctor looked toward them before he spoke. "Every single test is normal, scans show nothing, pulse is normal, blood pressure is normal, brain activity is off the charts. As far as I can tell, he should be up walking and talking."

Abigail looked questionably at Argo for an explanation.

"In other words, he's perfectly healthy."

"I don't understand," Abigail said, speaking for all of them.

"He's not sick," answered Argo. "Is he, Micah?"

Walking out from behind the bed for the first time, the little boy looked at them, slightly scared for a moment, before shaking his head.

"He's talking to Mommy," Micah insisted.

Abigail, Shawnya, and Ethan looked at each other with confusion.

"Tell them what your mom said your full name is," Argo instructed.

"Micah the Fighter!" the little boy gloated proudly.

"I shouldn't be surprised. Ohnyxs are rarely named after their powers. Of course I still can't believe that both her children are ohnyxs. She really was a wonderful woman," Argo said, babbling on for a moment before he looked down at the group.

"Micah is a speaker for those long past, or rather he lets you talk to them personally. However, do not use his power unwisely, because it only works once," he explained.

"I don't believe this," Ethan told them. His facial expression hardened as if to show his doubt.

Argo only laughed and did not answer.

"How does he know which person you want to talk to?" questioned Abigail.

"He knows," replied Argo.

"He can really let you talk to someone who's died?"

"Yes, although it must be someone you knew."

During this time, Shawnya had realized something else. "Micah is Jadon's brother?" she asked with surprise in her voice. It all made sense, but it still came as a shock.

Argo nodded in response.

"It makes sense, but why didn't he tell us?" Ethan inquired.

"Jadon didn't want anyone to know," Abigail responded.

"Why wouldn't he?" questioned Shawnya, glancing at her sister, who failed to look back at her.

"Because of all the trouble he gets himself into," Abigail answered.

Hearing such a detailed response, and the fact she wouldn't look at her, Shawnya had become suspicious. "You knew, didn't you!?" she accused her sister.

"Only for a few hours," Abigail reluctantly replied.

###

At the very same time, Jadon was content with his mom, the two of them joking, but he realized it wouldn't last. "I can't stay here forever, can I?"

His mother shook her head. "Our time is almost up," she told him regretfully.

"But any time I want to see you, I can just ask Micah to do this again, right?" he inquired cheerfully.

Shaking her head, Jadon's mom frowned. "Micah can only use his gift once per person," she explained.

"Oh," Jadon said with a sigh, though he quickly remembered Argo telling him of the limitation to his gift. "Was that my limitation, too? I could only use it once on a person?" His mind raced, thinking over what she had said earlier. And suddenly, as a thought entered his mind, he stared at his mom.

"I couldn't use it on you, could I?" he questioned her.

Tilting her head, his mom wrapped her arms around him. "Jadon, your limitation isn't the same as Micah's," she said slowly, as if carefully choosing her words.

"Can't you tell me anything about my gift, Mom. Maybe just a hint?" he asked.

His mother took a deep breath.

The look on her face said it all. She wasn't going to tell him anything. He groaned in frustration.

"Jadon..." she said, reaching for his hands, and grasping them within her own.

He didn't even bother looking at her at first, but something in her voice changed his mind.

"Do you not still like figuring things out for yourself?" she inquired.

He nodded slowly. Perhaps this could go somewhere.

"Then, wait until the day that Micah tells you he has another loose tooth. It won't be long after that time when you will use your power to save Abigail, just as I told you."

"That could happen any day now..." Jadon said, knowing that Micah had many baby teeth still to lose.

"That's right. Now Jadon, you must promise me one thing since I told you this."

"What, Mom?"

"Don't tell any of your friends this, not even Micah. For doing so could change the future."

"Okay, I promise."

"Now, my time with you is almost up," his mom said, with tears in her eyes.

"Is there any way I could ever see you again?" Jadon asked quickly, his heart beating fast.

"You could find another ohnyx who has the same power as Micah. A speaker for those of us long past."

"I'll do that, Mom. I promise!"

His mother smiled. "I know you will, Jadon. Now I must go. I love you, son, very much," she told him.

"I love you too, Mom," Jadon said, turning around, and wrapping his arms around her. His mother did the same, and for the second time, she kissed his cheek. Pulling away after two minutes, Jadon stared into his mother's face as everything disappeared around him into a bright white light. This eventually included his mother. Soon the light faded, and when he blinked, he was inside the Taryn's medical bay. A loud, familiar voice yelled his name, though it took a moment for him to realize who it was.

"Micah?" he asked. Glancing at a tall chair next to the bed, he saw the little boy sitting boy there with an enormous smile.

"Jadon!" Micah yelled. Standing up on the chair, he hopped into the bed with him.

"Did you see Mommy?" the little boy asked curiously.

He nodded.

Suddenly, Abigail noticed the commotion, and ran up to the side of the bed.

Shawnya quietly followed behind her sister.

"You're awake!" she exclaimed. Sitting up, Jadon looked at her kindly, his eyes gazing into hers.

Abigail was instantly confused by the look.

"Are you okay?" she questioned him.

He nodded.

"Did you really see your mom?"

"I did."

"Did she tell you what your power was?"

Jadon frowned for a second, shook his head, and then explained. "No, she said that she wanted to honor my father's wishes."

"Then, you didn't really learn anything, did you?" questioned Ethan, who had been quiet up to this point. Walking up to the youth, the younger lad appeared doubtful that anything had really happened.

"I did," Jadon said, glancing toward the younger lad, though without any annoyance. Looking back at Abigail, he went on. "I learned that my mom was named Sarah, and was once a princess, and my father was named Nathan, and he was a lumberjack."

"Wow! Our mom was a princess!" Micah exclaimed.

"I don't believe it," Ethan said, rolling his eyes.

From behind all of them, Argo started to laugh, making each of them glance at him.

"Jadon didn't tell you everything yet," he mentioned as soon as he could speak, making each one stare at the youth.

"She gave up the palace life for my dad," he explained.

"What palace?" Ethan questioned him with narrow eyes.

"Jafaro's," Jadon answered.

"Now I really don't believe it," the younger lad replied.

"I'm afraid, young Ethan, that he's speaking the truth," Argo informed the doubtful lad.

Ethan glanced at the old man, who nodded.

"Did you learn anything else?" Abigail asked impatiently.

Jadon nodded, and told them all he had learned, except for what he had been told to keep secret. Finally, he smirked, and told Abigail that he discovered one more thing.

"What?" she inquired.

"She worries about me as much as you," he responded with a chuckle that was shared with everyone but Abigail, who blushed.

Chuckling, Argo walked out of the room.

Noticing this, Shawnya nudged her sister, who was obviously still feeling embarrassed. "Tell them what we learned."

"What? Oh, yeah," Abigail said, looking at Micah. "We know Micah's full name, and..." She looked at Shawnya and Ethan, and then back at Jadon with a slightly disappointed face. "They know that he's your brother. Argo told them."

Jadon took a deep breath. He always knew his secret about Micah would be out someday. Still, he had hoped it was someday far away. Deciding not to say anything about it, he asked about Micah's full name.

Abigail and Shawnya glanced at Micah, who looked at him proudly.

"Micah, the Fighter," he answered.

Jadon instantly looked at Abigail and Shawnya with a confused look.

They only nodded, confirming he had it right.

"But he never fights with anyone, and his gift is to..." he began to say.

"We know," Abigail and Shawnya replied at the same time, before Jadon could even finish. They too had pondered the meaning behind the little boy's full name, and were at a loss to explain it. Nonetheless, Abigail had a new question on her mind. "You didn't happen to learn your full name, did you, Jadon?"

He shook his head, with a shrug.

Abigail let out a laugh, causing herself to be the center of attention.

"It's probably just as mysterious as Micah's," she told them.

All four of them smiled, and Jadon nodded his head approvingly.

## Chapter 14

Home

Several days later, in the late afternoon, Jadon lay in his cot, thinking deeply. His niceness toward Abigail had not gone unnoticed. Now, not only Abigail, but Shawnya and Ethan were asking questions. He sighed. This was something he didn't want to talk about with them. Glancing out the small, round window, he barely took notice of the bright and sunny, yet cold, day. A barely audible creak abruptly caused him to look in the opposite direction inside the cabin. Without so much as a knock, the door flew open, and in strolled Ethan.

"Oh, there you are," came the boy's accented voice. "Your girlfriend is looking for you," he said with a smug face.

Jadon frowned, and pulled the pillow over his head without responding.

Meanwhile, Ethan continued to talk. "Why is it so cold in here?" he asked, and reached over him to close the window. "You really should shut that when it gets so cold out."

Suddenly, the pillow flew off Jadon's face, and in an instant, he had opened the window again, nearly breaking the latch as he hurried to open it.

"Oh, come on, Jadon. It's, like, forty degrees out," Ethan complained, but Jadon hardly noticed as he struggled to look out the window. Not seeing what he wanted, he jumped out of the cot, and rushed out the door.

"What is it?" Ethan yelled, but Jadon didn't respond. Instead he rushed up on to the main deck as fast as his arms and legs could climb. Running toward the bow of the ship, his eyes widened. He had been right.

Ahead of them lay an island, with cities built not only in the valleys, but also on top of the mountains as well. A lone skybird flew over top of the Taryn and rushed toward the island. Meeting up with several others, they flew in unison around one of the many cities, like bees around a beehive. Though the cities were surrounded by walls with towers, the intricate buildings weren't hidden within; instead, they rose up highest near the center. Yet, there was still more to this island than its cities. Between the populated areas were the greenest forests, highest mountains, and hilliest valleys used for farmland. Rivers broke apart the island in many places, starting and ending at the white beaches and a few cliffs where the island met the ocean. The island was known as Jafaro.

"Is this...?" questioned a female voice behind him.

Jadon didn't bother to turn around; he knew it was Abigail. "It's Jafaro."

"You're home then," she replied.

He nodded. A moment of silence followed.

"Do you remember it?"

"No," Jadon answered meekly. "But I do remember it being cold the very first time I was on this ship. When I felt that cold air today, and remembered how long it had been, I just knew."

Abigail took a step closer to him, wrapped her arms around the front of him, and smiled.

Jadon immediately tensed as he felt Abigail's arms around him. _She can't be doing this where anyone could see it_! he told himself. Abruptly pulling away, he informed her that he had to go, and left with angst.

Heading for the operations room, he was happy to see that Argo was in control.

"Afternoon, lad," Argo said, seeing Jadon.

The youth nodded.

"I suppose you know what that island up ahead is."

"Home," Jadon replied.

The old man nodded. "Listen, I know you probably won't listen, but try and stay out of trouble while we're here."

Jadon smirked in response. "How long until we dock?"

"A little longer than normal before we'll be in the Dragon's mouth," Argo replied, referring to the way the island of Jafaro, and specifically the bay, looked from the sky. "I intend to use the sails."

"Really? Why?" Jadon questioned.

"Captain's orders. I believe he wants to impress the Jafarian Navy. Sails are rarely used nowadays, you know," Argo answered with a chuckle. He then glanced at Lieutenant William.

"Raise the sails!" he commanded.

"Yes, sir," the man responded, and pressed a series of keys.

Jadon watched out the window as hundreds of small arms unfolded from the front of each mast in a matter of seconds. Each arm held a part of a sail, and by unfolding like a spider web, the sails were completely set up within five minutes. He had only seen this twice before, and each time it amazed him.

Argo commanded the engines to halt, and soon they were on their way using only the sails.

Making a trip down to his cabin, Jadon changed into a pair of long pants, the cold temperature starting to get to him. He also placed his knife and its case in his pocket, not knowing if he would need it. Rising back to the main deck, he soon found himself admiring the great city that surrounded them on three sides, as the Taryn sailed into the harbor. Matching his dream, the city was built up high over the height of the bay waters.

A three-story wall then surrounded the city. It had square towers every mile, each with the same peculiar, golden, metal rods on top that he had wondered about. However, this time, he knew they were for the city's legendary shield. It protected the elaborate buildings inside the city, which grew to more than three times the height of the walls. The most spectacular sight of all, though, was again the twelve-story "castle" that stood in line with the center of the harbor.

A short time later, the Taryn was being tied down. Seeing Abigail standing in front of the sail on the most forward mast, Jadon wandered around behind it. He silently debated whether to ask her if she would come along with him to his home. The last time he had asked her to go on a trip with him was because he had felt bad. This time he kind of wanted her to. _But would she even want to go_?

Suddenly, Abigail noticed him walking around behind the sail. "Jadon? What are you doing?" Momentarily stunned, he decided to ask her. "Do you want to come along with me to my home?"

Smiling slightly, she nodded with surprise.

"Good, now here's the thing. We're not telling anyone," he responded.

"Why not?" she inquired, slightly confused.

"Because I don't want Shawnya, or Ethan, or even Argo following us."

"Argo?"

"If you want to come with me, you'll do it."

Somewhat reluctantly, she followed him. To her dismay, the Taryn was about three feet from the dock.

Jadon easily made the jump.

"I don't know about this, Jadon," Abigail told him nervously. She vividly remembered the last time she tried it.

"You did it before," he replied.

"Only because you caught me."

"And I'll catch you this time. Now, let's go!"

Much to Abigail's surprise, she made the jump. Teetering on the edge of the dock slightly, she caught herself without Jadon's help. Smiling, she looked at the youth, who grinned.

"See, you're getting better at it," he told her.

She nodded. Following the dock, they made their way to the customs building. Here they found themselves waiting in a long line. Taking note of the architecture of the building, Jadon realized it would be easy to climb.

Starting to walk away, Abigail stopped him. "Where are you going?"

"We could climb around this building," he responded.

"I don't think so," she told him with a stare.

"You're no fun," he replied, though it was obvious he was giving in.

"Maybe, but with all these people watching us, don't you think someone will be waiting for us on the other end?"

Jadon's eyes widened. She had clearly thought ahead.

"Good point," he answered, impressed with her. After passing through customs, they found themselves in an enormously busy city. People of every race, and motor cars of all designs, were everywhere, but what surprised Jadon was how quiet the city was. The most one could hear was the crowd in front of them talking. Glancing at Abigail, he noticed her looking at each of the tall buildings in front of them.

Turning her head, she finally stopped to stare in awe at the great castle-like building, far to their right.

"It's amazing, isn't it?" questioned Jadon.

Abigail nodded.

Multiple towers, all octagon in shape, rose into the clouds, until the highest one could hardly be seen. The day was clear enough that Jadon caught a glimpse of a thin, golden, metal rod on top, just like it had been there in his dream. Changing his view, he noted the hundreds of narrow windows that dotted each level of the castle. It was just like the castle he saw in his dream, only closer. From this distance, he could see the copper spouting that had long turned green, the steep, slate roofs, and even the stained glass used in many of the windows.

"Ahh, the Jafarian Palace. Very impressive, isn't it?" inquired a man, who noticed them both staring. Dressed in a white and blue uniform, Jadon knew he was a guard, an officer of the law in Jafaro.

"That's the palace? But it's a..." asked the stunned youth.

"Castle?" questioned the guard.

He nodded.

"Yes, that it is," the guard replied.

All of sudden, a clickety-clack sound made its way to the youth's ears, reminding him of what he wanted to do.

"The underground train, where is it? And will it take me to Mountaino?" he asked the guard.

"You mean the subway. That small station over there will take you to Mountaino," said the guard as he pointed toward a brick building, and then pointed northeast.

Jadon's eyes focused as they followed the direction in which the guard had pointed. Far in the distance was a city built around a mountain. After thanking the guard, he led Abigail toward the subway. All of a sudden, an unusual white and blue motorcar honked at them, as it made its way through the streets.

Having one wheel in front and one in back, it was narrow like a motorcycle, but fully enclosed. A spoiler on the back made the vehicle appear sporty, as did a sunroof on the very top. However, more interesting to Jadon was the fact the vehicle was almost perfectly silent as it moved along.

"Wow," Abigail said aloud.

He smiled at her amazement, and pulled her along. As they walked into the building the guard had pointed to, and down a flight of stairs, she asked where they were going.

"My home," he replied.

At the bottom of the stairs, they found a small rest area in front of a pair of tracks, just the same as in his dream. A blue and white train was parked on them, though it was obviously ready to leave.

"Hurry!" Jadon told Abigail, and rushed her toward it.

"All aboard!" yelled a voice amplified by a set of speakers. Making it right in time, Jadon and Abigail jumped on the train, just as it began to move, and the doors closed. Finding a seat, he waited impatiently for the train to move faster. As it moved up to speed, he suddenly felt Abigail clutching him. Noticing her scared face, he looked out the window, and for the first time realized how fast they were going. Trying to think of something calming to say, he was at a loss for words. Instead, he placed an arm around her.

"Jadon, is it supposed to go this..." Abigail started to ask, and then noticed herself clutching him. Reluctantly, she began to back away. "I'm sorry," she stuttered.

"It's okay," he replied, and grabbed for her hands. "And, yes, it normally goes this fast," he answered gently.

Looking at him holding her hands, Abigail felt the need to tell him something. "I'm sorry about earlier," she said meekly.

Jadon looked at her curiously. He had no idea what she was talking about.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, when I put my arms around you on the main deck, I mean, I thought..." she started to tell him.

"That wasn't you," he responded. "That was me. I just don't want to..."

Abigail twisted her horns as she looked at him, confused. Then, all of a sudden, her eyes widened.

"You don't want to look like you're in love because then, people will think you're weak!" she blurted out.

He tilted his head sideways, and stared at her, signaling that she was right.

"Jadon, you'll never look weak, with me or without me. You know better than to listen to Ethan."

He smiled. She was indeed right.

"You sound like my mom," he replied with a laugh.

Abigail looked happily at him.

As Jadon listened for "Mountaino A12" the passengers began to leave until he and Abigail were the only ones left.

"Mountaino A12! Last stop!" the conductor announced through the speakers, ten minutes later. Jadon immediately hopped off, and Abigail followed. Climbing up a flight of stairs, Abigail appeared shocked at the sight of so many trees.

"Where are we?" she questioned him.

"Mountaino, near where I lived," Jadon answered, widening her eyes. Letting go of her hand, he ran down a dirt road in front of them.

"Wait up!" she called.

Nevertheless, he hardly slowed. A mile later, he looked for the pathway he had seen in his dream, but it was nowhere to be seen. His mind filled with doubts, but that didn't stop him.

"It's probably overgrown if no one lives there," he muttered to himself. Pushing the high grass aside, he looked for evidence of a path.

A small depressed area, free of rocks, heading back into the woods, convinced him that he had found it.

"You didn't tell me we'd be hiking," Abigail said, trying to maneuver the path in her long dress.

"This isn't hiking," Jadon replied.

Abigail began to argue with him, but suddenly stopped.

"Jadon..." she said, her voice out of breath.

"What now?" he asked, and turned around. Seeing her staring at her shoes, he looked down, and noticed a two-foot long creature that was climbing up her shoe. Narrow and long, it was green with a black stripe down its scale-covered back. He immediately knew it was a snake, and that Abigail was frozen with fear.

Reaching for his pocket, Jadon moved quickly, and slid his knife out of its case as the snake started curling up her leg. The snake suddenly hissed at the slight movement Abigail made, and Jadon knew it would likely bite her. He was determined not to let that happen. With no time to spare, he aimed, and threw the knife.

Abigail closed her eyes as the knife flew, and then opened them again seconds later. The snake fell limply from her leg. Glancing up at Jadon, she pulled her shoe away from the dead animal.

"Thanks," she told him with a grateful smile.

He nodded, and after retrieving his knife, moved forward.

Carefully watching the ground, Jadon was happy when they spotted a cabin up ahead. Tall grass, overgrown bushes, vines, and an abundance of trees hid it fairly well, but Jadon was pretty sure it was the same cabin. Still, there was only one way to be certain.

Much to Abigail's dismay, he pushed his way through high grass and around bushes to the back of the cabin. There, he spotted what he was looking for — a tree house. It was falling apart, but it was clearly the same tree house his mom had pointed out to him in the vision he had had.

Walking back around to Abigail, he smiled.

"This is my home," Jadon told her. Walking up to the front door, he tried it, and found it locked.

"Of course."

"You didn't really think it would be unlocked, did you?" she questioned him.

Jadon didn't answer as he took notice of a strange seal on the door. Round in shape, it featured a white dragon in the middle, with strange black symbols surrounding it along the edges. It took him a moment to realize that he had seen it on his younger self's robe before.

"What is it?" Abigail asked.

"I don't know," he replied.

Deciding to try each of the windows, Jadon walked around the house, only to find them all locked. Groaning in frustration, he walked around the side, and noticed for the first time a second-story window near a tree branch.

Running toward the tree, Abigail questioned what he was doing.

"I'm going to check that window," he said, and pointed toward it. Climbing up the tree, he edged out onto the branch that grew toward the cabin. Carefully sliding himself along he made it to the window, though before he tried to open it, he noticed something: shards of glass on the windowsill. "This window was broken at one time," he quickly figured out. Reaching over to open the window, he stopped suddenly when the sound of breaking branches came from the front of the house. Looking down, he knew it wasn't Abigail; she was too busy watching him.

_There was someone coming_! he rapidly determined.

"Hide!" he whispered in Abigail's direction.

"What?" she asked.

"Hide!" he repeated a little louder.

She heard him this time, and hid behind a nearby bush.

Glancing toward the front of the house, his eyes blinked in surprise when a figure became visible. It was Argo. He was saying something. Jadon strained his ears.

"Where have you gone, Nathan? Your son is asking too many questions. He's soon going to find out his power. I can feel it in my bones. He's going to..." Just then, a loud sneeze from near the tree in which the youth hid interrupted Argo.

Jadon looked down to see that it was Abigail.

"Who's there?" Argo called.

## Chapter 15

The First Ohnyx

"Just me," yelled Abigail. Jadon grinned; she wasn't going to reveal his presence. However, he knew it wouldn't last, and he was right, due to Argo's next question.

"Where's Jadon?"

Abigail struggled for an answer.

The youth shook his head as she tried not to give him up, but he knew it was not to be. He walked right up next to her.

"Right here," he answered.

"Spying on me?" questioned Argo.

"If I was spying on you, we would have been behind you, not in front," Jadon pointed out. "I'm just visiting my home."

"But, how did you know?" the old man inquired.

Jadon only smirked as an answer.

"Right, well, I don't suppose you'd want to go inside, would you?"

"Yes, I would."

Taking a deep breath, the old man pulled out a key, and walked up to the front door.

While he opened it, the youth asked him about the seal.

"Don't know. Can't read the old style Jafarian language. It's probably some kind of curse for thieves," Argo explained.

Jadon's instincts told him the old man was not telling the whole truth, but he didn't say a word. Walking inside, he was breathless. It was as if time had stood still.

"It's just as it was with my mom, and in my dream," he said aloud.

Abigail looked happily at him. Looking around, they saw that it was a nice place, even covered in the thick layer of dust.

The cabin was small. To the very right of the front door was a bedroom. To the left, a living room with a large couch, and a couple of armchairs. Behind the living room sat the dining room with a round, wooden table, and four matching chairs. Finally, tucked into the back right was a small, open kitchen. Jadon immediately ran for the lone rocking chair in the living room.

"This was my mom's," he told them.

Argo nodded. "She'd like to sit there, and read books while you were away at school."

Jadon ran into the bedroom next.

"And this was my parents' room," he said to Abigail, who followed him in. A queen bed with two nightstands, a tall dresser with an attached mirror, a wardrobe, and a crib filled the room. Another door in the room led to a small bathroom. Walking over to one of the nightstands, Jadon picked up a dust-covered picture. Blowing it off, he caused Abigail to sneeze. Glancing at the picture, he smiled at what he saw. It was of a much younger him, and his mom and dad.

His dad was blond, too, though a much lighter blond, and had his hair cut short, very much like Micah's. His eyes were green, and his face gentle and smiling. Many years of hard work, though, had taken a small toll on him, making him rough around the edges. His large hands held Jadon's hands, which were tiny in comparison. Setting the picture back down, Jadon looked around the room at the other pictures. It didn't take him long to realize there were no pictures with Micah.

"That's strange," he said aloud, without meaning to.

"What?" asked Abigail.

"There aren't any pictures of my mom with Micah," he replied.

Abigail was quiet for a minute. "Jadon, you know... she could have died in childbirth," she told him quietly, most likely hoping not to upset him.

"No. She was killed, according to Argo," he reminded her. Pulling the nightstand drawer open, he began to search through it. Picking up a card, he laughed.

"What?" Abigail questioned him. Jadon handed her a handmade card, made with markers and crayons.

"I'll be the best big brother, Mom," it read, and was signed by none other than Jadon. Abigail laughed even more so than he did, making him tilt his head questioningly.

"What?" he asked.

"You still have that same scribble-like handwriting," she answered.

He groaned, and slid the drawer shut.

Walking across the room, Jadon couldn't help but grin at the picture sitting on the dresser. Taken at least a year or two before they had Micah, the youth was hanging onto his parents' hands with his feet off the ground.

All of a sudden, Abigail took the picture from him.

"Aww, you were so cute back then," she said with a giggle.

Jadon stared at her.

"I mean, not that you're not cute now," she corrected herself.

Just then, Argo walked in the room, interrupting their conversation.

"What are you two doing in here?" he asked. Seeing the picture in Abigail's hands, he sighed, and took it.

"Your father would have my head if he knew you saw that," he informed Jadon.

"Then, it's a good thing he's dead, right?" Jadon answered sarcastically.

Argo turned away, and was silent for a moment before setting the picture back down on the desk, and leaving the room.

"What was that about?" inquired Abigail.

"My father's not dead," Jadon replied. "My mother told me otherwise."

"Where is he?"

"Don't know," he replied with a sigh, and began opening the drawers of each dresser. Peering in, he saw nothing but clothes in most of them. The nightstands were empty. Finding his search fruitless, he lay down on the left side of the bed, only to hear a crinkling when he rested his head on the pillow.

"Did you hear that?" questioned Abigail.

Without responding to her, Jadon sat up, and moved the pillow. Under it was a small envelope.

Sealed on the backside, it was addressed to his mom, though without a send or a return address. Just then, he heard footsteps at the door. Knowing who it was, he stuffed the envelope into his pocket.

"Aren't you two done in there, yet?" asked Argo. He stood in the doorway. "There's only so much to see in your parents' bedroom."

Instead of answering, Jadon asked yet another question. "Where was my bedroom?"

The old man smiled, and pointed to his right.

Walking out the door, Abigail followed behind Jadon until they came to a set of circular stairs hidden within an alcove, between the kitchen and the bedroom.

Argo gestured Jadon to follow them.

"Upstairs, of course!" Jadon said aloud. Climbing them until he came to the top, he stopped and looked around. To his left, was a loft that looked down over the living room, with a few pieces of scattered furniture. To his right was a door.

"Go on in, Jadon. It is your room," Argo told him.

As he opened the door, Abigail followed him into the medium-sized room with a single window.

"Wow," she exclaimed.

Fastened to the leaning ceiling on either side of the room were all kinds of handmade weapons, from swords and knives, to bows and arrows. All of them, though, were made of wood. A bed in the center was covered in a bright patchwork blanket. Two nightstands, a rocking chair, a dresser, a wardrobe, and a chest furnished the room.

Opening the chest first, Jadon found it full of toys, from little model cars, to a set of blocks. Standing up straight, he touched the wooden weapons fastened to the leaning roof.

"This is definitely my room," he told Abigail with a grin.

"I can see that," she replied and smiled back.

As Jadon explored his room, he suddenly took notice of one small fact. The window was the very same one he had tried to enter earlier by way of the tree branch, which also meant it was the window with the broken glass on the sill. Closing his eyes, he shook his head. For some reason, he thought this was important, but he didn't know why.

A short time later, Argo appeared at the door. He, too, smiled as he watched Jadon search through the room.

"You can take something along with you, if you like," the old man said. Glancing at Argo, Jadon looked around the room, hardly knowing what to pick. Knowing this, Argo made it easy.

"Your mom made you that blanket, when you were half the size you are now."

Folding it up, Jadon held it against him, and ran down the stairs for an unspoken reason. Two minutes later, Abigail was again beside him in the woods beyond the house, where he looked up into a tree. It was falling apart, but still together enough that it resembled a tree house. A pretty big one at that.

When Abigail stepped beside Jadon, he told her what he knew. That he and his dad had built it.

"It must have been pretty awesome," Abigail replied.

He nodded, and then parted the blanket he held. Inside, Abigail could see a picture that had been in the bedroom: the one of a much younger Jadon, hanging between his parents.

"That's why you hurried out so fast," she exclaimed.

Jadon put a finger to his lips, motioning her to be quiet. Then, he nodded slowly.

A moment later, Argo caught up with them.

"Are you happy with what you saw?" he asked.

"Yes," Jadon replied. Looking up at the tree house for the first time, a wide grin spread across Argo's face. Turning back toward the youth, he spoke.

"We should get back to the Taryn. They'll be serving lunch."

Jadon nodded.

###

A half an hour later, Jadon neatly stuffed the letter he had found and the picture into the patchwork blanket, which he placed under Micah's bottom bunk. In the mess hall, he got himself a lunch, and sat down, to listen to Abigail and Shawnya argue.

"You still should have told me where you were going," Shawnya told her sister.

"I didn't feel like it," Abigail insisted.

"What do you mean, you didn't feel like it? You always tell me where you're going. For all I knew, you could have been kidnapped!"

"Enough!" Jadon groaned. "I told her not to tell you."

"Why not?" questioned Shawnya.

"Because I didn't want everyone tagging along with me to my home," he answered.

Ethan grinned. "Or you just wanted to be alone with Abigail," he said, speaking up.

Jadon closed his eyes. "We weren't alone. Argo was there."

All of a sudden, Abigail spoke up. "Ethan, you're not funny."

Jadon opened his eyes to see her staring at Ethan. With her face tense, and her horns twisted, she appeared angry.

"Okay," the younger lad replied, backing off.

Jadon looked at Abigail, almost astonished. Just then, a new voice interrupted them.

"Jadon?" asked the little voice. Glancing behind himself, he spotted Micah. The little boy had just gotten his food, but looked afraid to sit down.

"Yes?" inquired Jadon. Seeing the little boy just stand there, he calmed his voice. "Come sit down."

As soon as Micah had seated himself, he asked his question.

"Can I go with you into Gafaro?"

Jadon smiled at the mispronunciation.

"Jafaro, and yes, you can," he replied.

The little boy smiled with glee.

"Shawnya and I will come with you," Abigail told Jadon.

He reluctantly accepted this, while Shawnya looked at her sister with surprise.

"Why me?" she asked.

"Because we'll have fun, and I'll prove to you that Jadon's not all bad," her older sister answered.

Jadon smirked, upon hearing this.

"Fine. No one else, though," he said, looking specifically at Ethan.

The younger lad appeared angry for a minute, before standing up and walking off, without saying a word.

"Well, that went well," Jadon said sarcastically.

###

A short time later Jadon, Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah made it through the custom's building.

"It's freezing out here!" exclaimed Abigail. The custom's building had been warm inside, and now both she and Micah were shivering as they struggled to zip up their coats.

"It's not that bad," Shawnya told her sister.

"Well, it is winter here, you know," Jadon said with a chuckle.

"Jadon, doesn't it snow in the winter?" asked the little boy.

"Yes, but not all the time, Micah."

"Now, where to?" Jadon questioned his comrades The answer was pretty easy.

"Jadon, we have to see that castle," Micah told him, eagerly pulling at the older lad's arm.

"Yeah, it's huge," Abigail said, staring in awe of the palace.

"Well, we can look at the front of it, but I don't think they'll let us in," he responded. Narrowly making his way around clusters of people, he led them forward.

The sidewalk he followed edged its way around several tall, now leafless, trees. In addition to this, every so many yards, an intricate lamppost had been built to light the way at night. Nonetheless, these small details could easily be overlooked. Looking up at each and every building they passed, they could hardly believe their eyes.

They had never seen such large buildings, or such deviation. Although a few of the buildings looked centuries old, others were sleek and new. Several were the usual square and rectangle shapes, while others had eight sides. Some were made of bricks and stone, whereas others had fancy metalwork. Not one of the buildings matched another. However, they all shared one thing in common; not one of them was taller than the palace.

Jadon was just as interested as his comrades, but didn't want to appear like a tourist to the crowds of people in the city. Nonetheless, he had never seen such a busy city in all his travels. The motor vehicles were nothing like he had ever seen before, with silent motors, and curves instead of square edges. They were also smaller than he thought they would be. He watched as they honked their horns at pedestrians crossing the concrete street.

"Jadon! Look! It's straight ahead!" exclaimed Abigail, and she was right. Up ahead, the buildings ended on the right side of the street, and a large, black fence started.

Glancing ahead, Jadon spotted a fountain in the middle of the road where three roads intersected the entrance of the palace.

"Come on, Micah!" he shouted, and picked the little boy up, and ran with him.

Micah squealed the entire way, until he let him down. Looking through a gate that blocked the way into the palace, Jadon suddenly noticed an old, gray-haired man walking on the palace grounds. Dressed in an intricate, orange robe, his most prominent feature was a gray beard that nearly reached his waist. Stopping for a moment, he stared at the man. A sense of familiarity flooded his veins. _Why_? It was as though he knew the man. Still, thinking as hard as he could, he could not place the man.

Then, Abigail startled him. "Did you know him?" she asked. Glancing at the old man, she studied his pale, wrinkled face, and noticed how fast he was moving.

"He looks like he's over a hundred years old, though he sure moves fast," she commented. Micah and Shawnya now also looked at the old man.

"That's a very long beard," Micah commented with wide eyes.

"Definitely," Shawnya replied. She had never before seen a man with that long of a beard.

Jadon didn't answer Abigail right away because, despite the fact he didn't know who the man was, an overwhelming feeling of guilt gripped him. This, in turn, caused him to feel very anxious.

"I think...I did," he hesitantly answered. Then, much to his dismay, Abigail tried to get the old man's attention, by shaking the gate, and yelling for him.

"Abigail! Wait!" he yelled. "I don't want to..."

"What?" she questioned, stopping for a moment.

"It's just that..." he said suddenly stopping when a tall, young guard walked up to them. Seeing Abigail yell, and shake the gate, had attracted his attention.

"Can I help you kids?" he inquired.

"That man, I've seen him before," Jadon told him, and pointed toward the very old man.

"Oh, you mean Jebediah. You probably do know him. Most kids do. Still, I can't really bring him here. He's a very busy man, you know," the guard explained.

"How old is he?" asked Shawnya.

"No one really knows. But, I've heard rumors that he's close to two hundred years old," the guard replied. "It's unbelievable he hasn't gone off to battle yet, if you know what I mean."

"What's his job exactly?" inquired Jadon.

"A little bit of everything. Manages government affairs, teaches children... you name it, he can do it," the guard replied.

"Thanks," Jadon told him, and the guard walked away. Jadon thought deeply for a moment.

"Did you think he was your teacher?" Abigail questioned him.

"Maybe," he answered, and turned around. Something deep inside him told him that wasn't it. He wondered about the nagging feeling of guilt. _Why did he feel that way_? _Had he once done something to the old man_? Breaking his thoughts from it, he looked around the circular intersection. It was then that he noticed a small shop on the opposite corner that interested him.

"I'll be right back," Jadon said aloud, as they were once again admiring the palace. Crossing the street, he made his way around the fountain, and crossed the street for a final time before standing in front of one of the largest buildings in Jafaro. Multiple shops filled the first floor, but only one of them stood out to him — a shop with a little bit of everything. "Griffin's Shop," the sign read. Walking inside, he spotted everything from computers to dolls. Smirking, he wondered if Claire knew about the place. Walking down an aisle, he found himself surround by toys, old dresses, knickknacks and books. He was just about to start reading the titles when he heard a commotion coming from the front of the store.

"Are you sure he's in here?" inquired a female voice. Jadon groaned. It was Abigail.

"Yes!" Micah replied.

"Jadon!" yelled Shawnya.

"Right here," he groaned from the back.

Running from Abigail and Shawnya, Micah made a beeline for him.

The two sisters promptly followed.

Suddenly, a tall, brown-haired man, with glasses stood over them.

"Name's Griffin. Can I help all of you?" he asked, as he looked down at them.

Jadon nodded. "Do you happen to have anything on... the _ohnyxs_?" he questioned him, pausing for a moment as he tried to word his question.

"What's an Oh-nix?" asked Micah.

"A gifted child," Jadon explained quickly.

"Is there a specific ohnyx you're looking to learn about?" the man inquired with a smile.

"Well, actually, I was hoping for a list of the ohnyx children who were killed six years ago," Jadon replied.

The man's smile faded. "Then, you've come to the wrong place, I'm afraid. However, while I don't know where you can find such a list, I do know where you can find a complete list of all the ohnyxs, living or past," Griffin answered.

"Where?" questioned Abigail, before Jadon could.

Without answering, Griffin walked to the very back of the store. Glancing around, each of them noted numerous pictures, making it obviously the art section.

"There," Griffin said, and pointed to a large picture on the back wall. Centered on the photo was a large statue of a young boy who looked to be no more than seven years of age. His hair was short, and he wore an intricate, robe type garment. He was also smiling, with a small but cheeky grin. All around the statue was a little pond while in front, stood an angled stone, with writing on. A small view to the left and right of the statue allowed one to see that the place was high in elevation, with a yellow valley visible behind the statue, and a city in the distance.

"Is that Jafaro?" Jadon asked the man, pointing at the city.

"None other," Griffin replied. "And that," said the man, pointing to the stone with writing on, "contains the name of every known ohnyx."

"Great. How do we get there?"

"Just go down one of those flight of stairs you see outside, and you'll find yourself in a subway station. You want the one for Lampard Lake. A14 is your stop," the man explained.

After Jadon thanked the man, he ran for the exit and down the stairs. Coming to the bottom, he stopped, allowing the others to catch up to him. An enormously white and bright, octagon-shaped station lay in front of them. Looking up, they couldn't believe their eyes; the same fountain they had walked past earlier was completely visible.

Made of a see-through material, it allowed much needed light in. Bright lights lit up the rest. Gigantic murals, painted on each angle of the octagon, brightened up the station, along with golden moldings. Even the trains themselves look grand. While the one to Lighthouse Bay looked futuristic, several other cities' trains appeared to be a few hundred years old.

Glancing around for signs, Jadon immediately took note of the large crowds.

"Hold my hand," he requested of Micah.

After the little boy did so, Abigail took his other hand with no fuss from him.

"Dragon's Tail, Fisher's Bay, Forest City." Jadon read off the signs above the parked trains.

"Lampard Lake! There it is!" he exclaimed, and led the way to the train.

Abigail followed along on behind. Once on board, Jadon and Abigail found the train to be almost the same on the inside as the Mountaino train, wood-paneled, with elegant, blue seats.

Sitting down, Abigail stared at Jadon until he figured out she wanted him to sit with her.

"Oh, all right," he said, and took the seat beside Abigail, across from Micah. Soon the train began moving, and the little boy peered out the windows.

"We're underground, aren't we?" he asked.

"Yes," Jadon answered."

"Wow," Micah replied.

As the train began to move faster, Abigail silently clutched Jadon's hand.

"Look!" the little boy suddenly shouted. Each of them looked out the window, just in time to see themselves surrounded by water.

"The river at the west end of the city," Jadon muttered.

Abigail tightened her grip, but Jadon knew they were safe. It was most likely some kind of glass-made tunnel through the river.

About twenty minutes, and thirteen stops later, the train slowed, and "Lampard Lake A14," was announced. Scooting off the train, they found themselves in an empty station. Climbing up the stairs, they came to what looked to be a park that was fairly wooded.

"It must be this way," Jadon said leading them on a small path. He was indeed right. They soon came upon the same statue they had seen in the painting, surrounded by a pond in which a couple of ducks had taken up a habitat.

"So, why did they make a statue of him?" asked Abigail, looking over the monument.

"I don't know. Maybe he was the first child to have powers?" suggested Jadon, who was not really sure himself. Leaning on the tilted stone in front of the statue, he began studying the names carved into it, looking for his own.

"Actually, I was the one who gave them their powers," spoke a voice from behind them.

All but the youth instantly turned around.

"Jadon," said Abigail, with an urgent tone in her voice.

"Just a minute. I found the J's... Ahhh" he told them, and stopped to groan. "Of course, they're not in alphabetical order."

"They're in order by date," replied the mystery voice.

"That's a good suggestion. I can't be too far from the end of the list then, can I?"

"Jadon!" Micah urgently called.

"Just a sec," he responded.

"Your name's not on the list. I've erased it," said the mystery voice again.

"What do you mean you...?"

"Jadon!" Shawnya screeched.

Finally, he turned around to see what all the commotion was about. He immediately did a double-take, looking back at the statue, and then at the boy standing in front of the group. They were identical in every aspect. He had short, whitish-blond hair, bright blue eyes, and a cheeky grin. He wore a royal blue robe trimmed in black. Even the dragon emblem was over his upper left chest, the same as the statue.

"It's him," said Abigail as Jadon's mind rushed.

"He'd be over a hundred years old. You're just a boy dressed up like the First Ohnyx, right?" he asked.

The boy shook his head slowly, and looked at the youth with a serious face. "I am over a hundred years old, Jadon."

Turning his head toward Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah, he smiled.

"Don't be afraid. I won't hurt any of you," he said, calming their fears.

Walking over to Micah, he placed his hands on the little boy's shoulders.

"Congratulations on finding your power, Micah the Fighter. It's good to see how much you've grown up. Remember, always use your power when your instincts tell you it's okay to do so, and never otherwise," the First Ohnyx advised him.

The little boy nodded.

"Why is he called that?" Shawnya inquired. Her curiosity overwhelmed her fear of speaking. The First Ohnyx turned toward her.

"Because he fought for his very life, not that long ago."

"What's Jadon's name?" Micah suddenly asked the First Ohnyx.

"I'm afraid it's not the correct time for me to say," he replied, and looked back at the youth. Only Jadon was not taken in by the First Ohnyx.

"Nor, is it the correct time for him to discover who he is. Therefore, I've erased his name," he said, answering the youth's unspoken question.

"Don't be mad," said the First Ohnyx, sensing Jadon's anger without him even speaking.

"Why not?" he questioned him.

"Because it'll be worth waiting for. Trust me, and trust your mother. She could have told you, but she knew you would like it better if you waited. She even told you when it was going to happen. Is that not enough?" inquired the First Ohnyx.

"I..." Jadon began, but the First Ohnyx knew what he wanted to say.

"I know, you're curious, and you've waited a long time, but it's not yet the correct time. You have yet to fulfill what you're going to do."

"And what would that be?" Jadon asked.

"It's not my place to tell you," the First Ohnyx answered evasively.

"How do I even know you're the real First Ohnyx?"

"You already do know. Still, you will be assured shortly. I always did like the fact you never trusted anyone right away. It's an admirable quality," the First Ohnyx replied. He was not visibly taken aback by the youth's disbelief.

Jadon was silent upon hearing this answer, while Micah had a question that he was begging to have answered.

"Are you really a hundred years old?" the little boy asked during the silence.

"A little older, actually," the First Ohnyx answered with a grin, as he looked toward Micah.

"But don't you..." the little boy started to inquire, but was unsure how to word the rest.

"Grow old? Sometimes I wish I could, but I'm unable to," the First Ohnyx responded.

"Why do you give children these powers?" asked Shawnya.

"Because I am thanking the Jafarian people for what they did for me," the First Ohnyx answered.

"Do you have a name?" questioned Abigail.

"I am called Jasper by my friends," he told her.

"Did I ever meet you before?" Jadon abruptly asked the First Ohnyx, overcoming his silence. A vague feeling of familiarity bothered him.

"Once, before you were even born. That's when I found out who you truly were, and thus, I gave you your power," Jasper explained.

"How long before Jadon discovers his power?" Abigail asked.

"Not very long," Jasper replied, smiling at her again. "Now I must go. My deed here is done. There are others who need me. Farewell, my friends." Having said that, he touched the palms of his hands together, and instantly disappeared in a bright white light that quickly vanished, leaving no trace of the young-looking child who had stood before them just seconds ago.

## Chapter 16

Followed

"Jadon! Did you see that?" asked Micah, the first to speak.

"Yes, I did."

"How did he do that?"

"I don't know."

Suddenly, a new sensation startled them all. A cold breeze was quickly followed by dots of white in the air.

"Snow!" exclaimed Micah. Dancing around, the little boy looked up into the sky at the falling flakes.

Jadon and Abigail looked at each other, the youth smiling as their eyes met.

"Jadon! It's coming down harder!" Micah suddenly yelled.

Looking up, he instantly found the little boy to be right. Brushing the snow off his hair, he urged them to head back to the subway station.

"We really don't want to get caught out here in a blizzard," he told them. Jadon was right. By the time they made it back to the subway station, they were already making footprints. Running ahead, Shawnya scooped some snow off the ground, and threw it straight at Jadon. The snow was soft, so it fell apart as it flew. Some of it never made it there, but other parts hit his jacket, and even a small portion hit his face.

For a short moment, each of them was silent, as Jadon wiped it off, and kept a straight face. Then, to challenge her, he scooped up some snow of his own, and threw it back at Shawnya, though he didn't stop there. Abigail was next. For the next few minutes, the group threw snow at each other. Micah yelled out with glee each time he was hit, while Abigail giggled, and Shawnya and Jadon were mostly silent.

Finally, when they began to notice the effects of the cold, they each strolled down the stairs to the subway station.

Once on the train back to Jafaro, Micah complained that he was cold.

"Come here," Jadon said, opening his arms.

The little boy happily jumped up into his lap.

Shawnya and Abigail smiled at Jadon.

"What?" he inquired.

They both looked at each other, knowing what they were thinking.

"Nothing," Abigail told him. By the time they made it to Jafaro, three to four inches covered the ground.

Standing at the top of the stairs that led to the subway station, Jadon immediately noted a small amount of steam rising from the road as snow fell on it.

"Why isn't the snow lying on the road?" Micah questioned him as he came to a stop at the top of the stairs.

"The roads are heated," he replied. Then, he kicked some snow from the sidewalk to the road. Each of them watched as right away, it melted into a puddle that rapidly turned to steam.

"What do you all want to do now?" Jadon asked his comrades. It was still early in the day, and they had plenty of time left before the evening meal on the Taryn.

Micah shrugged, but Abigail knew immediately what she wanted to do.

"Shopping!" she responded. Jadon and Shawnya both groaned.

"Don't you remember what happened last time you went shopping with Jadon?" Shawnya questioned her sister.

"And whose money did you intend on using?" Jadon inquired, with an edge to his voice.

Abigail looked at them both with wide, innocent eyes.

"Fine, two pieces of gold. That's it," Jadon warned her. Having said that, they were off. Much to his dismay, they stopped inside nearly every shop.

Having only two gold pieces, Abigail was being extremely picky about what she bought.

As Jadon and Shawnya tired of seeing the inside of every store, he decided to wait outside with her and Micah, who surprisingly didn't want anything.

While Abigail took her time in one store, Shawnya all of a sudden stared at Jadon.

"What?" he asked, and avoided her stare, as it made him uncomfortable.

"My sister still likes you."

"I know."

"Don't hurt her again."

"I won't," Jadon promised, this time looking Shawnya in the eye. He didn't feel that great about what had happened with Alex.

"You'd better not," Shawnya threatened as she twisted her horns.

Upon waiting outside several more times for Abigail, Jadon suddenly noticed a man with short, black hair across the street, who did not blend in too well with the crowd. Dressed in an intricate, black robe with a brown scarf that covered his lower face, he appeared to be following them. Keeping a distance each time, far across the street, the man peered over at him several times. As Jadon watched him, a deep sense of dread filled him, making him quite sure the man was bad news. Thus, he glared at him, causing the man to hide behind parked vehicles.

"What is it?" questioned Shawnya all of a sudden.

"We're being followed," he replied.

"Do you know who it is?"

"Somehow, he seems familiar."

Just then, Abigail exited the store, and nothing more was said about their shadow.

Arriving at an octagon-shaped building that contained a clothing store, Micah announced that he was not warming up yet.

"All right, we'll go inside," Jadon said, turning to see if the man was still following them. _Perhaps that man will stop following us if we go inside_ , he told himself. Still, he didn't believe it. Nevertheless, when they exited, the man appeared to be gone. _Finally_! Jadon told himself.

"We should get something to eat," Abigail told Jadon. Carrying two bags, she appeared to finally be done shopping.

He groaned. _Of course she's right_ , he thought as he heard his own stomach growling. Continuing to walk down the street, he noticed a place directly across from them. It was a small, two-story, Victorian style inn built between two, much taller buildings. It had a quaint look about it, and a little sign advertised a place to eat and drink.

"This place is as good as any," Jadon announced, and crossed the street with Micah.

The girls followed the boys into the building. Inside, they found the place dimly-lit, though comfortable. There was a homey feel about the place. Instantly noticeable were items hanging from the ceiling and on the walls. Jadon soon figured them out to be antiques.

Round, wooden tables covered the floor space, each with a single light bulb hanging over the center of them. Toward the back sat a small bar, displaying sets of golden-colored coins inside several cases. "Not for sale," a sign read. All of sudden, they heard footsteps. A door behind the bar opened.

"I thought I heard the door!" declared a female voice as a woman stepped into the room. Red-haired, and blue-eyed, her forehead displayed the same number of white, pointed horns as Abigail's. Her dark skin was blemish-free and her smile bright and she appeared to be at most thirty years old. Swirling around in an intricate, red robe, she was plenty energetic.

"Welcome! Welcome! What can I get you?" she asked. Walking right up to them, she shook each of their hands, including Micah's. Circling them twice, she seemed stunned to see them.

"Something warm," Jadon told her, watching her with a raised brow as he took a seat behind a table.

"Of course, hot chocolate! Coming right up!" she said, racing back behind the bar, and through the doorway.

Abigail and Shawnya chose to sit in front of him, while Micah sat beside him. As they waited for the hot chocolate, they took their coats off, finding the place pleasantly warm. Within a few minutes, the woman came out from the back carrying a tray with four mugs of hot chocolate. Setting the mugs down in front of each of them, she gave Micah his last, though he was the only one to have marshmallows.

"I thought you would like them," the woman told him, and then turned her attention to the others.

"My goodness, I haven't even told you my name. It's Natalie, and this is my little place, as you can see. I hope you enjoy your stay. Now, what can I get you to eat?" she asked. After the four had ordered, she hurried into the back. They barely had to wait as Natalie came out with a tray holding a plate for each of them in no time at all. As hurried as she appeared, none of them was surprised.

"Oh look, more customers! You must all be my good luck for the day!" she said to them with a wide smile, and hurried away.

Glancing toward the door, Jadon watched as a large group of people walked into the place. Nevertheless, it wasn't until he was done, and taking a drink of his hot chocolate, that he caught a glimpse of a familiar face.

Hiding behind a newspaper, and sitting at a table diagonal to their own, was the very same man who had been following them. This time, though, he had taken off his scarf, and his scruffy face was visible along with a wicked-looking, round-shaped scar on his left cheek. Nearly choking on his hot chocolate, Jadon's heart raced as a feeling of dread overtook him. Every nerve in his body tensed. He found it slightly harder to breathe, and his stomach rumbled. Not only had an image of this man appeared in his head before, but there was something about him that made Jadon angry and scared. For a second, Jadon had no idea what it could be, and then it hit him like a ton of bricks. The puzzle of his past life was starting to come together.

"Stand up," he said aloud to Abigail and Shawnya.

"What?" they asked at nearly the same time, having been interrupted in their conversation. "Just do it. Then, count to fifteen, and sit back down," he instructed them.

"Jadon, what's going on?" Abigail desperately questioned him.

"Do it now!" he commanded them, and arose from his chair.

Reluctantly the girls followed suit.

Slipping a butter knife into his pocket, Jadon ducked down.

"Where are you going!" Abigail whispered loudly to him.

"Count to fifteen!" he quietly repeated, and made his way behind the bar. Seconds later, he was on the other side of the dining room. Standing up, he walked quietly behind the scar-faced man, and waited for Abigail and Shawnya to sit down.

When they did, he heard the man gasp in surprise. Hurriedly glancing around the room, the man was about to stand up when he felt a cool piece of metal at his throat.

"Looking for somebody?" Jadon questioned him. Startled for only a second, the man laughed.

"You're going to cut my throat with a butter knife, Jadon?" he asked. "In a public restaurant, nonetheless. And to think you've been hiding for how many years now?"

"I don't answer to you."

"Ha-ha, right, same old Jadon, who up until today, I thought was dead. But there I was, walking down Main Street when your bright hair pops out at me. Only you and your mom ever had such a color. It's a shame what happened to her, isn't it?" the man asked.

Tensing, Jadon held the knife tighter against the man's throat. Surely, his instincts were right about what this man had done.

"Hey, it was supposed to be you that evening," the man told him, and coughed from the tension on his throat.

"I then thought I killed you several nights later, but your death was never completely confirmed. When your father disappeared, we thought we would never know for sure. However, not that long ago, I heard from my friends in the Taleco Villages. They said they had your voice on tape, but I didn't believe them. At that point, we almost found your father, but once again, he eluded us. Now, that brings me to today, because here you are, and now, I can finally finish the job. If only you hadn't seen my face that night, then you could have lived. Still, you did. Though before I kill you, I'd like to know where you've been all these years. So, do tell."

Jadon kept silent.

Smirking, the man started to reach for his pocket.

"Hands on the table," he warned him.

"Like I told you, young man, I'm not afraid of a butter knife," the man responded in an irritated tone of voice.

"Yes, but I bet if I curse you, that would be different."

The man turned his head toward Jadon, making his eerie, red tooth visible for mere seconds, before his smile faded.

"You wouldn't. I bet you still don't have the guts to do so."

Jadon remained silent, his mind rushing as the man fed him bits and pieces of what happened.

"I'm not going to wait all day," the man told him.

"Why did you kill her?" he asked after a moment of silence. He had to know if his instincts were right.

The man smirked, and laughed at him before he answered.

"Quite simply because she was in the way. I can't really blame her for that, but I think we can all agree to blame you." Jadon took a deep breath, and glanced at the dinnerware in front of the man. The man's drink was sitting to the right, making him most likely right-handed. He could be wrong, but now was not the time to doubt himself.

Taking the knife away from the man's throat, Jadon thrust it with all his might into the man's right hand, all within a matter of seconds. Blood spurted from the man's hand, as he yelled out loudly, cursing Jadon.

"You fool! This is the second time! Aggh!"

"Maybe now, you'll be more afraid of a butter knife in my hands," Jadon retorted. As the man started to pull the knife, he backed away, and aimed a strong kick at the man's chair, sending him sprawling onto the floor, the knife still stuck in his hand.

Suddenly, noticing the silence of the room, Jadon glancing around, and saw that every customer in the dining room was staring at him, opened-mouth, along with his own comrades.

"Let's go!" he yelled at them, and started for the door.

Just then, Natalie walked through the door with a tray full of food.

"What's going on?" she inquired, glancing around at her silent customers. Then, she heard a groan coming from the man. Not being able to see him from her position, she started to walk toward his table. Glancing down to see the man on the floor with the knife still in his hand, she screamed, and dropped the tray to the floor.

Making it to the door, Jadon signaled for a still stunned Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah to come.Abigail finally got the picture, and pulled Micah from his chair.

For a moment, Natalie pulled herself together long enough to ask a question. "Why? What have you done?"

"Not what I should have. He killed my mother, and he wanted to kill me," Jadon replied. Hastily pulling their coats on, the four of them left the building.

Micah was too shocked to speak, but Abigail had questions.

"Jadon, how do you know he killed your mother?" she asked as they walked down the sidewalk. The snow had stopped, but had left a covering on the sidewalk that they traipsed through.

"He admitted to it," he replied. "And I just knew it." Just then, sirens erupted in the distance. "Ninnn nuuuuu, Ninnn nuuuuu."

"Come on! Hurry!" he shouted. Walking faster, he turned down a nearly empty side street.

"They're after us, aren't they?" asked Shawnya anxiously.

"If they are, I don't think they will be for long," Jadon said. His instincts told him that the scar-faced man was not on the right side of the law.

"If that man really did kill your mother, why didn't you kill him?" Abigail asked.

Jadon was surprised by her choice of words she. Glancing at her, he sighed.

"Because, you all would never forget it. What it looked like and how I did it," he responded. "Micah would have nightmares for weeks. I couldn't do that to him."

"But Jadon, he killed Mommy," the little boy suddenly replied.

"I know," he said with another sigh. Just then, a glass window behind them shattered into a thousand pieces. All but Jadon stopped in shock. He immediately knew what it was, and picked up Micah in his arms.

"Run!" he yelled to Abigail and Shawnya as muddle fire shot above them, shattering the window of another building. The man could clearly not aim with his left hand, but Jadon knew that didn't mean he couldn't get lucky.

"This way!" Jadon shouted, leading them through the doorway of what appeared to be a burned-out building, blocked only by a small chain. All that was left were the first two stories, though most of the second story was gone. Darting through the maze of rooms, all of them ran for their lives. They heard muddle fire hitting the outside of the building. Jadon came to an abrupt stop. _Perhaps the man would not follow them inside_ , he thought. Footsteps told him he was wrong.

"Jadon," came Abigail's frightened voice.

"Come on," he whispered, and continued through the building

Areas of wreckage where the upper floors had collapsed blocked most of the hallways. Nonetheless, Jadon was sure there was a way out. Darting down one hallway, only to run back out and choose another, he finally found one hallway that went to a flight of steps that led up. Blocked again by a small chain, this time it held a sign with a symbol on it.

Jadon, having seen the symbol on the Taryn before, knew it meant danger. Darting under the chain, he climbed up the stairs, followed by the others. There was no ceiling on the second floor, only partial walls at best. The floor below them was filled with holes, and just as bad, a snow covering left what was there slippery. The highest part remaining of the structure stood in front of them: a flight of stairs that led to a nonexistent third floor. As he walked toward the edges of the building, Micah clung to him tighter.

"I'm scared," the little boy told him.

"Don't be," he replied.

"Jadon, how are we going to get down from here?" questioned Abigail.

"What have you gotten us into?" Shawnya inquired.

The youth didn't reply to either of them. Instead, he quietly surveyed the landscape below. Lots of wreckage, though a few areas without, but no easy way to climb down.

At the very same time, a guard spotted him.

"Hey, kids!" the man yelled. Jadon looked over toward him.

"What are you doing up there?" he asked. "I suggest you get down."

"We can't. There's a man after me," Jadon yelled back.

"What do you mean?" questioned the guard, staring at him. "Oh, don't tell me. You're an ohnyx, aren't you?"

Jadon nodded. "Yes, now pass me your muddle! Or we're all going to die up here," he yelled back.

The guard shook his head, and ran toward the building.

"You'll never make it inside in time!" Jadon yelled urgently.

The guard stopped.

"Then, I'll have to help you all climb down."

Groaning, Jadon knew he didn't have time to argue, as any moment now, the man would find his way up. After tossing Abigail's shopping bags onto the ground, it was the little boy's turn.

"Micah, don't let go of my hands until you're sure the guard has you," Jadon said to him.

The little boy nodded, and swallowed nervously.

Handing Micah down as carefully but as quickly as possible, he felt the guard latch onto the little boy. Shawnya was next, and slightly easier due to her taller height. Finally, he helped Abigail down.

"Don't let go," she warned Jadon as he held onto her hands.

"I won't," he replied, looking into her frightened eyes. Moments later, she was down. Just as Jadon was ready to be hoisted down, he heard a voice coming from the stairs.

"Don't move." He turned toward the voice, to again see the scar-faced man several yards away, this time holding a muddle pistol. The youth smiled.

"Gotta go!" he said, and jumped from the building.

The man pulled the muddle's trigger.

## Chapter 17

Safe Haven

Abigail, Shawnya, Micah, and the guard watched, as in an instant, Jadon appeared to fall from the building. This happened at the exact same time as the flash of muddle fire was visible, adjacent to his head. Abigail screamed. It all happened so fast, she was sure he'd been hit. She neglected to notice how the youth covered his face with his arms before he landed, and how he hit the snow-covered ground rolling, before coming to a stop. Running over to him, she saw that his eyes were closed.

"Jadon, you can't die!" she cried. Tears started to stream down her cheeks when all of a sudden, a wicked laugh filled the air. Glancing up at the building she had been hoisted down from, she saw for a brief second the scar-faced man who had been chasing them.

He peered down at them for a quick moment, before he was forced to take cover as the guard fired at him, narrowly missing.

"Jadon," Abigail muttered, kneeling down and placing a hand on his cheek.

Micah slowly walked over.

"Jadon can't be dead," muttered the little boy in denial. Suddenly sniffling, his eyes became watery.

Abigail felt Shawnya place a hand on her shoulder as she stared at Jadon. Tears continued to fall from her eyes. _It seemed too unreal_! Just then, Jadon's arms abruptly moved, in a quick manner, reaching around both Micah and Abigail, and pulled them against him.

###

"Would you two stop crying already? I'm fine," Jadon said, opening his eyes.

"Jadon!" Micah exclaimed, his face transforming into a big smile.

Abigail, though, looked ready to yell at him.

"Shhhh," he warned them, placing a finger to his lips. "We don't want that man to come back, do we?"

In an instant, Abigail figured out that he had planned the whole thing. Standing up, she kicked him in the knee.

"Ouch!" Jadon quietly yelped. "You know that landing really did hurt," he informed her. Still, she felt somewhat mad at him for the trickery, even if had saved them from further assault by the evil man. Walking away, she grabbed her shopping bags.

Jadon smiled, and looked at Micah.

"I won't die on you, Micah."

Just then, the guard spoke up. "After all I've heard about the children with powers, I guess I really shouldn't be surprised, should I?" he asked him.

Jadon shook his head, and stood up.

"Do you have a name?" the guard questioned him.

"Jadon," he replied.

"Well, I know that, but I meant your full name."

"Don't know it yet," Jadon answered, much to the guard's bewilderment. Glancing back at the building they had just run from, he noticed for the first time how out of place it looked.

"What is that place?" he inquired.

"It was the first building to be hit during an Atlantin air raid when the shield went down over Jafaro for the first time. Luckily no one died, but it's a memorial," the guard explained.

A short time later, Jadon, Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah made it safely back to the Taryn, all of them feeling tired from the day's events.

###

It was a full week afterward when Jadon walked into the engine room.

There, Argo spotted him. "Jadon! I've been meaning to talk to you," he informed the youth.

Jadon raised his brow.

For a moment, the old man appeared speechless.

"Well, lad, you already know that your father isn't quite dead," Argo started to say.

"Isn't quite?" questioned Jadon.

"Okay, he's not," the old man replied. "But, the fact is, he's missing."

"Missing?"

"Yes, missing. I was supposed to contact him when we got back this year. Nevertheless, he's not responding, and none of his friends seem to know where he is. You could say I'm a bit worried about him."

"And how can I help you?" He definitely had no idea where his father was.

"You could come with me to find him."

"Really?" Jadon asked, expecting a catch.

"If we find him, you get to meet him," Argo replied.

Jadon studied his gray eyes. He appeared to be telling the truth.

"Okay." Jadon knew he should have been mad at Argo for lying about his father's death, but the thought of actually seeing his father changed that.

"Then, pack up. We'll be gone for a few days. I'll meet you by the skybird in an hour, after the evening meal," the old man told him, and walked away.

Back in his cabin, Jadon did just that as Micah stared at him with sad, little eyes.

"Micah, I'll only be gone for a few days. I'll be fine. I'm going to find our dad," he explained for the third time.

Still, the little boy looked at him forlornly.

Comforting him, Jadon brushed the little boy's hair to the side, only to push it back down seconds later.

"I've been gone before, Micah. You'll be fine, too. And I promise, I'll come back," he told him. Lifting up the little boy in his arms, the youth hugged him

"Okay, Jadon," the little boy finally replied.

###

At the evening meal, Jadon could hardly believe his ears again. _Abigail also wanted to come_! He wasn't happy with the idea.

"No," Jadon said to her.

"Why not?" she asked him.

"It could be dangerous."

"Like a week ago?"

"Yes," he answered with a nod, and stared straight at her.

"I still want to come. Besides, I've never flown in the skybird," she reminded him.

Jadon sighed, but devised a plan in his mind so he would not have to keep telling her no.

"Argo won't let you come along, but if he does, you can come," he told her logically.

"We'll see about that," Abigail replied, throwing her napkin at him, and standing up from the table.

Jadon rolled his eyes. _At least that's over_ , he thought.

###

Waiting in his cabin to go, Jadon turned to face Ethan.

"Take care of Micah while I'm gone," he reminded the younger lad.

Ethan nodded.

Walking to the cargo bay that held the skybird, Jadon was surprised to see Abigail handing a luggage bag to Argo.

"There is no way," he muttered.

Turning around, she spotted him, and smiled widely.

He frowned back, and walked up to Argo.

"Is she really coming?" he asked the old man, who was busy arranging the cargo.

"Of course. She told me you were fine with it, lad."

"But Argo, there are only two seats in the skybird, and it's not safe for a third," he told him, his eyes glaring.

The old man laughed.

"That's where you're wrong, Jadon. Climb in."

Groaning silently, he did so. Taking a place in one of the two seats, Argo sat in the other.

Reaching for the floor, the old man reached into a notch just big enough for his finger to slip into, and pulled up. A click sounded, and to Jadon's surprise, a third seat unfolded from within the floor, and up between the two others. Slightly smaller in size than the regular seats, it just barely fit.

"And it's okay with her parents?" he asked, seeing his plan falling apart before his eyes.

"Yes, lad, they know she's... quite fond of you," Argo answered with a chuckle.

"But we could be putting her in danger," he insisted.

"Oh, Jadon, between the two of us, there's nothing to worry about. Not to mention I believe I heard that she's saved you before, more than once."

"Where did you hear that!?" Jadon questioned him with a groan. Sighing, he covered his eyes with his hand.

Argo chuckled.

"Come in, Abigail," he shouted out the open hatch.

###

Abigail swiftly obeyed and climbed in. As she made herself comfortable in the small, middle seat, she looked around while Argo closed the hatch. Once they were all buckled in, Argo placed a headset over his head and spoke into it. Moments later, the skybird ascended. Holding on tightly to the armrest, she bit her lip and looked at Jadon, who frowned at her. _Was he angry_? she wondered. _He did tell her she could go if Argo said it was okay. She had also been in danger before because of him, so how was this different_?

Suddenly, Argo spoke. "Here we go," he said as the skybird accelerated. Only a few minutes later, they slowed down.

Glancing out the window, Abigail spotted an island below them.

"Dragon's Tail, they call it, due to the way it looks from up here," Argo informed them.

Abigail nodded in agreement, seeing the way the land wrapped around like a whip, and at the very end it broke off, creating the small island city of Dragon's Tail.

Argo landed the skybird, and it wasn't long before they were carrying their luggage through the small city. Unlike Jafaro, the buildings were not as tall, or as breathtaking, but with many cottage-style homes, the city had more of a neighborhood feel to it. The crowds were also smaller, and were mostly just people heading for the beach, even in the cold weather.

"Where are we going?" Abigail finally asked, as they strolled down a sidewalk.

"To Jadon's father's apartment," Argo answered. "We're almost there."

###

Jadon was silent as he looked around. He listened as the roar of the ocean got louder, the farther they walked. Minutes later, they stopped at a blue brick, A-frame, five-story building. Called an A-frame due to the way it resembled the letter A, there was a steep roof on either side that stopped only two feet from the ground.

Walking up to the wood-colored door, Argo pushed the first of five buttons. A bell rang somewhere deep inside. A minute passed and the door opened. A short, white-haired lady answered the door. Black spots dotted her arms, and she wore a green dress that matched her green eyes.

"Can I help you?" she asked, looking them over.

"Yes, I'm look for Abraham Belding," Argo told the woman.

"I'm afraid he's not been home in several months. You'll have to wait along with everyone else," she replied, shaking her head.

"Everyone else?" questioned Jadon.

"Yes, several men were here a week ago. They all wore black robes. I mean, aside from this one guy with a brown scarf over his face," she answered. Jadon and Abigail's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"Can we see his apartment?" Argo inquired.

"Strange, they asked that, too, but no, I don't go showing off my tenants' apartments," the lady replied. She started to close the door.

The old man stopped her.

"It's a matter of life or death. Would you show an ohnyx?" Argo asked, and glanced back at the youth. The old lady's eyes followed his to Jadon.

He stared at them both.

"It's not wise to ask an ohnyx to show his power if I don't need it. However, how do I know he really is one, then?" she asked after a brief pause.

"Show her your passport," Argo urged Jadon. A moment later, to the youth's surprise, the woman let them inside.

"You have a passport with the king's seal. They are given to all the ohnyxs," the old man explained.

"His apartment is on the top floor," the lady announced, and started climbing a flight of stairs, just inside the door. Reaching the top, she unlocked the door, and gasped.

Jadon and Argo darted in front of her. The apartment looked like a tornado had gone through it. Chairs were lying on their sides, books littering the floor, and pictures were torn from the walls. The dining room table was turned completely upside down, and not even the kitchen was untouched, with plates littering the counter, as if the cabinets had been searched.

"They were looking for something," Jadon said, concluding what had happened.

"Indeed," Argo replied.

"I need to call the guards," the woman told them, finally overcoming her surprise.

Argo walked back to her, and shook his head, telling her it would do no good after all this time.

Meanwhile, Jadon walked into the wood-paneled bedroom, finding that the bed had been cut to shreds, along with the sheets and pillows. A nightstand lay on its side, while the dresser had been pulled apart. He immediately realized that there were no clothes in the room.

"He didn't plan on coming back, at least not for a while," he said aloud.

###

During this time, Abigail pulled open the curtains of a large window that looked out the front of the house. Her eyes widened at the sight. The house was built just high enough, and in the right place, that it overlooked Dragon Tail's city wall. A fantastic view of the evening sun reflecting off the ocean waves was visible.

"I can see why he liked this room," Abigail said, hoping Jadon would reply. Still, he didn't. Finally, she had had enough. It was very obvious that he was annoyed with her.

"You really didn't want me to come along, did you?"

Jadon sighed.

"Why not? I mean, I'm getting used to all the danger you put me through. I'm not that much of a pain, am I?" she inquired, and stared at him.

"You're not a pain, but..." he said, and paused for a moment before going on, "I kinda wanted to meet my father alone."

"Oh... I'm sorry," Abigail replied, finally understanding the tension between them. "Why didn't you just say something?"

"Because I really didn't think Argo would let you come along," Jadon replied, finally turning towards her with a half smirk.

She sighed with relief upon seeing him almost smile.

"Hey, well, if you do find your father, I'll just disappear. I promise," she informed him.

"Thanks," he answered.

"How do we find him, though? He's definitely not here."

Jadon smirked. "Well, if my father is anything like me, he'd have a hiding place, and this seems like the room he'd have one in," he responded. "Let's search the place."

Abigail could hear the enthusiasm in his voice, though she wasn't sure that she shared it. _Hadn't the place already been searched thoroughly_? she wondered. Still, she followed his orders.

###

Jadon set about to knocking on the wood-paneled wall, while Abigail looked for any peculiarities in the room. Having finished with the wall, the youth checked under the dresser, and glanced at the solid plaster ceiling. _There has to be something I'm missing! Then again, it could be in any of the rooms_ , he thought.

Abigail also felt ready to give up, when all of a sudden the youth noticed a piece of molding along the floor and beside the bed that was just slightly out of place. Darting down onto his hands and knees, he attempted to pull it out. It wouldn't budge.

"Get me a knife," Jadon said, turning toward Abigail for a second.

She nodded and rushed to the kitchen. Mere seconds later, he was prying the board out with her sitting down beside him. Just then, they heard Argo's voice behind them.

"Nathan, you probably spent the last six years here wondering how to tell Jadon of the choice the boy was faced with," he muttered.

Jadon immediately turned around and saw that Argo also was drawn to the spectacular view and hadn't noticed them on the other side of the bed.

"What choice?" he asked. He was instantly sure it was the same decision his mom had mentioned, and wondered what could have been such a difficult choice. Argo, hearing the youth, nearly jumped out of his skin.

"Jadon! You almost scared me." All of a sudden, he noticed what the youth was doing. "What have you found, lad?" he asked.

Pulling the board completely out, Jadon smiled as several sheets of paper and two framed pictures were visible. He had certainly found a hiding place. Pulling out the first picture, he brushed off the dust, and instantly recognized himself, his father, and the place they were in. It was the tree house behind his home in Mountaino. Looking at the second picture, he saw that it was of his father and mother, both looking very happy. Setting them down, he picked up the papers. Most of them held no interest to him, until he picked up a very odd looking square piece of paper. Outlined with graphics of trees, and typed up in a fancy font, it appeared very official.

"Let me see that," Argo said, and took it from him. A moment later, he smiled.

"I think we found your father's hiding place," the old man told him.

Jadon looked up at him questioningly.

"It's a deed, for a cabin deep in the Northern Lights Forest," the old man explained. "We'll head there tomorrow."

With one look out the window, Jadon could see the sun was setting for the day, and nodded back at Argo. Then, he quickly looked back, suddenly realizing why Abigail had said his father had liked this room. It looked out over the ocean: the very same ocean he had been traveling over for the past six years.

###

Almost an hour later, the group had made themselves comfortable in a Bed and Breakfast for the night. Here, Jadon and Abigail met up on their side-by-side balconies.

"Do you think we'll find him tomorrow?" Abigail questioned him.

"Don't know," he replied, speaking the truth.

Glancing up at the sky, Abigail noticed some clouds.

"Ahhh, I hope it doesn't storm tomorrow," she told him.

"It would be cool if it does," he replied, to her bewilderment.

It showed on her face.

"What? I like storms."

Much to Jadon's dismay, there was no storm the next morning. After having a hearty breakfast, the group walked back to the airport where the skybird had been kept.

Taking off, Argo piloted the skybird in just a few minutes to a place he called Forest City. Glancing out the windshield as they slowed down to land, Jadon could see why it was called such. Tall, tightly-packed trees literally surrounded the city's walls on all four sides.

As the skybird bumped onto the ground, Jadon flew the hatch open and climbed out first. Abigail, and then Argo followed. Walking through the bustling, hilly city, they stopped at a place full of trucks, and other off-road vehicles.

Argo told them to wait outside, while he went inside the small, brown brick building, and rented one.

About ten minutes later, Jadon was sitting in the front seat of a four-wheel drive "crawler," as it was called. Noisy, and not the most comfortable, it was green, very square, and had a hardtop roof over the roll bars. Belted in tightly, he watched from the passenger seat as they raced down the highway, just outside of Forest City.

Taking an exit, they soon found themselves in a seemingly desolate place, with no other people, or even buildings. The road started uphill at first, and then the once wide road changed to one lane. Just after that, the crawler started bouncing around as they went from a paved road to unpaved.

"This is going to get rough. It looks like the road has been washed out," Argo warned them. The crawler bounced around even more. Finally, they stopped.

"Are we here?" Abigail asked as Argo turned the crawler off, and pulled the brake in place. Then, he got out.

Jadon followed suit.

"Halfway. Bring your stuff along," the old man answered.

Jadon watched Abigail's eyes widened as she grabbed her bag. Ahead of them, eight trails led in eight different directions.

"How do we know which one?" Abigail inquired.

Argo pulled out the deed for a look, and then walked a few steps down each trail before coming back.

"The second trail," the old man replied. "It's the only one with a large rock covered in vines." Groaning silently inside, Abigail followed Jadon and Argo along the trail.

Each of them slowly started to get tired, as the steep trail never seemed to end, and parts of it were quite a climb. Rocks jutted out at all sorts of places, causing Abigail to nearly fall twice as she tripped. Once she caught herself, and the second time Jadon caught her, shaking his head with a smile.

"Are we actually going anywhere? Why is this place so hard to get to?" she asked. Jadon could see why she had asked that. The scenery was similar and the trail was tiring. Even the birds and squirrels seemed to be teasing them.

"Yes, we are," he said, answering her first question. Although the scenery looked much the same, his memory was sharp, and he took notice of the subtle differences. He didn't want to be caught going in circles.

"I imagine it's hard to get to on purpose. If my memory serves me correctly, this was one of the Jafarian hideouts in Atlantin-declared territory. As you can see, it's hard to get to, so why would they bother coming to get the few people who were here?" Argo explained.

Abigail nodded.

"No worries, though. We're close. Hear that?" the old man asked.

Jadon and Abigail both stopped to listen. In the distance, they could hear a roar.

"What is it?" questioned Abigail.

"A waterfall," Jadon answered.

Argo nodded.

Walking just a few more paces, they came to a breathtaking clearing. They saw a small, one-story wood cabin set below a slight cliff, about ten feet away from a waterfall created by the very same cliff. Most unusual was the fact that a steam arose from the waterfall, and the lake created by it. At the moment, though, Jadon hardly took notice. Instead, he ran up to the cabin, and peered inside one of the windows, only to see darkness. Not seeing anything, he tried the door to find it locked, and thus started knocking on it. He sighed as no one answered.

Walking up to the door, Argo pulled out some thin, odd-looking pieces of metal held together by a key chain.

"Your father won't mind if I let myself in," Argo told the youth. A second later, they heard a click, and the door opened.

Jadon rushed in, with Abigail, and Argo not far behind.

The cabin was made up of only three rooms — a kitchen and living area combined, a bedroom, and a tiny bathroom — all of which were devoid of people. The place was also sparsely furnished with a bed, and a pair of chairs as the only true furniture.

"He's not here," Jadon grumbled. Argo opened the small fridge, releasing a rancid odor into the room. Abigail held her nose, and the youth wrinkled his.

"And he's not been here for a while," the old man commented.

Jadon quickly felt a rush of anger, and punched a wall.

Easily sensing his anger, Argo responded. "We're not done chasing after him yet. I need you to stay here with the lass. I'll be gone a few hours."

"Where are you going?" he asked, feeling somewhat calmer.

"Your dad and I used to play a game when we were little. It's now time for me to finish playing it," Argo answered.

"But..." Jadon began.

"Stay here with Abigail. I'll be back."

"Argo..." he started to say again. There was no way he was going to let the old man find his father without him.

"Jadon, I'm probably not going to actually find him, but rather where he went. Now, stay here. I'll be back," Argo said, and left the cabin without any further argument.

Jadon groaned aloud in frustration. Looking out the window, he watched as Argo headed into the woods.

"I'm sorry, Jadon," Abigail said from behind him.

Jadon turned to face her. "For what?"

"Argo can tell I'm tired," she answered with a sigh.

"It's okay," he replied, and for a long while, they were silent. Staring out the window at the hot lake of water, he suddenly had an idea. Taking off his coat, he walked outside.

"Where you going? Why did you take your coat off?" Abigail asked.

Outside the doorway, Jadon dropped his knapsack and headed toward the lake in front of the waterfall. Kneeling down, he stuck his hand in the water. Seconds later, he was pulling his boots and socks off.

"Jadon, what are you doing?" Abigail yelled, as he pulled his shirt off and his golden locket. He didn't answer. Instead, he stripped down to his undershorts and jumped in. Swimming toward the center of the lake, he stopped once he reached deeper water. Turning around, he smiled at her.

"Come on in. The water's great!" Jadon yelled.

Abigail shook her head.

"You're not going to convince me to do that," she said, sounding confident. Nevertheless, she walked up to the edge of the lake.

"I guess I'll just swim alone then," he told her nonchalantly. Shaking his head, he resumed swimming and left Abigail alone to decide for herself.

###

Almost an hour later, Jadon and Abigail, both tired from swimming, sat in the water alongside the edge. There was just enough water to cover them up to their shoulders. Glancing at Abigail's horns on her forehead, Jadon chuckled.

"What?" questioned Abigail.

"My mom told me something about your horns," he replied.

"Mine?"

"Well, not specifically yours, but the Vagmar people's."

"What about them?" she asked anxiously.

Jadon laughed again before he responded.

"She said when I was little, I was afraid of people with horns like yours."

"You, afraid?" she inquired, with a smile.

"Well, I was little. I didn't know any better," he responded, causing her to giggle. Reaching for her horns, Jadon ran his finger over one of them. The sharpness of it sliced into his finger. Instantly he pulled his hand away.

Abigail groaned. "No one ever believes me when I say they're sharp," she told him as she watched him push more blood from his finger.

"I do. That's why I did it," he replied.

Abigail looked at him with confusion. He smiled, and reached for her face once again with his cut finger.

Quickly, and much to her shock, he used it to make two vertical lines of blood, on each of her cheeks.

"What did you do that for?" she inquired, appearing slightly disgusted by what he had done.

"I think it means something special," he answered, smiling, and looking into her blue eyes once more. "I did this once to Micah, too, and it just felt right, like I'm supposed to do it to people I..." he paused for a second before going on, "really care about."

Hearing this, Abigail smiled back.

"Now, we had better get out of here before Argo gets back," Jadon said.

"That would have been a good idea," spoke a deep voice from behind them.

The youth turned to see Argo standing there.

"You have a minute to get out, Jadon," the old man told him. Without another word, he walked off toward the cabin.

As soon as the door closed, the youth quickly jumped out, and scrambled into some dry clothes from his knapsack. Then, he too entered the cabin.

###

As soon as Jadon was inside, Abigail followed his lead. Once inside the cabin, Argo started talking to her.

"We'll be sleeping here tonight, so Jadon's cleaning up the bedroom for..." He stopped in mid-sentence as he turned toward her.

"Did Jadon do that to your cheeks?"

"Yes," Abigail replied.

"With his blood?"

She nodded. "I'll wash it off."

The old man shook his head."I wouldn't do that just yet."

"Then, you know what it means?"

"Jadon didn't tell you?"

"No, he couldn't remember. Just that it was something special," Abigail responded.

"It is. It's an old Jafarian tradition. When his father and I were young lads, we did it to each other," Argo started to tell her, but could tell she was growing impatient to know what it meant.

"It means, quite literally, that he'd die for you."

She froze, instantly stunned.

Just then, Jadon walked into the living area.

Abigail looked at him, her mouth open and her eyes wide.

"What?" he asked.

Recovering from her shock, she didn't answer. Instead she walked over to him, and before he could stop her, she kissed him on his right cheek. She smiled at his surprise and quickly walked into the bedroom.

###

The very next morning, they made the same trip back through the forest.

Argo explained on the way what he had found.

"We got lucky. He left a clue. A man in Lighthouse Bay. We'll be heading there as soon as we get back to the skybird." A half a day later, and after a hearty meal, they were back in the skybird. Abigail started to doze during the short few minutes to Lighthouse Bay, when Jadon woke her to say that they were there.

Glancing out of the window at the large city, Jadon was immediately stunned at the height of the buildings within the city's walls. While most were three to four times the height of those in Jafaro, a large, white building in the very center looked to be ten times the height of the palace! He also took note of an enormous, blue and gold lighthouse along the seaside, for which he had no doubt the city was named after.

After landing, Argo, Jadon, and Abigail piled into a green rental car, which they used to maneuver through the tall, busy city. Finally stopping at a flea market on the edge of the city, the youth wasn't impressed.

Leading them through the aisles, the old man finally stopped in front of a man selling hats.

"Is that you, Barry?" inquired Argo.

The bald, short man, dressed in an intricate, orange robe looked up.

"Argo?" he asked. "You've gotten so old," he said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, well, whatever happened to your hair?" Argo questioned the man.

After a short conversation, Jadon could tell the two had once known each other very well.

"Listen, I'm here about Nathan," Argo told the man. Suddenly, the man's smile disappeared, and he became quiet for a minute. Looking around for the first time, he noticed Jadon and Abigail.

"That's Jadon, isn't it?" Barry asked Argo. Without an answer, the man smiled at the youth. "Of course it is. I could never forget you, Jadon," he said, and turned back toward Argo.

"All right, I'll tell you. He's safe in the Jafarian Arctic base. He said there were some men after him, and so I told him he'd be fine there."

"Thanks, Barry. Now, I think I need a hat," Argo said to him.

The man smiled.

A minute later when they were outside of the flea market, Jadon spoke up. "Now, to this Arctic base," he said, for once feeling hopeful that he might see his father.

Nevertheless, Argo shook his head. "No, Jadon, we go back to the Taryn."

"What? Why?"

"Because, we found out that your father is safe. That's all I intended to do," Argo explained. Abigail glanced at Jadon, only for him to look away as the disappointment registered in his mind.

## Chapter 18

Secret Places & Bright Lights

"I don't want to talk about it, Abigail," Jadon said, back on board the Taryn. She was just getting annoying now. Not only did she want him to talk about how he felt, but she had followed him into his own cabin.

"Jadon..." Abigail started to say, but soon found the cabin door slammed in her face, as he made a hasty exit.

Climbing up to the main deck, Jadon climbed another ladder until he was just outside the operations room. Sitting down outside the door, he crossed his arms and legs, and then sighed. He was, in fact, hurt that he couldn't see his father. _But why did Abigail have to know that_? he wondered. Slowly, his annoyance with her began to fade. The voices in the operations room grew louder, and his mind opened up to them. They were nothing unusual: just the normal set of commands given when leaving a dock. Just then, a voice outside the operations room caught him off guard.

"What are you doing up here?" inquired an accented voice.

Jadon turned to see Ethan.

"Oh, wait. I already know," Ethan said, not allowing him to answer. "You're hiding from Abigail, right?"

The older lad looked away, and didn't respond. This was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

"Oh, come on. Tell me what she did."

"She didn't do anything," Jadon replied, stumping Ethan.

"Then, why are you hiding..." he started to respond, but in less than a second, Jadon had placed his hand over his mouth.

"Shhhh!" he said, and glared at the younger lad, as he attempted to hear what was being said in the operations room. Argo was giving out a new set of orders for where they would be heading next.

"Once we're out of the bay, set a course for J40 by K75. Full stop once we're at those coordinates," Argo ordered the navigation officer.

Meanwhile, Ethan pulled Jadon's hand off his mouth.

"Did you hear that?" the youth questioned him, seeming quite serious.

"J40 by K75," the younger lad repeated. "Why?" he asked, raising his brow.

"That's the middle of the ocean," Jadon answered.

Ethan shook his head.

"There's probably an island there."

Jadon now shook his head.

"There isn't. I'm sure of it."

The younger lad groaned and walked away.

###

Hours later, Jadon met up once again with Abigail, Shawnya, and Micah in the mess hall. Making small talk as he ate, he wondered where Ethan was, though when he eventually arrived, he wished he hadn't.

"Have we stopped in the middle of the ocean yet, Jadon?" Ethan taunted as he took a seat.

"Not yet, but we will," he responded. "And just where have you been?"

"Don't change the subject. I'm going to prove you wrong for once," the younger lad told him.

"What are you two talking about?" asked Shawnya, glancing at Ethan.

"Jadon thinks we're going to stop in the middle of the ocean for some reason," he explained.

"Don't think, I know it. You heard it just as well as I did," the youth replied.

"Okay, but why would we do that?" Ethan questioned him.

"Well, I don't think we're meeting someone, so there's only one reason it could be..."

"You're kidding right? Don't tell me you're gonna bring fairy tales into this," the younger lad mocked.

"What's the reason?" inquired Abigail, putting her fork down.

Jadon smiled, instantly widening Abigail's eyes.

Micah, too, looked at the youth.

Suddenly, Shawnya spoke. "An ocean city," she said aloud.

Each of them looked toward her, including Jadon who was not amused that he hadn't been the one to answer.

"Right," he answered.

"They're impossible," Ethan told each of them. "Just think of it, a city..." he started to tell them when Micah interrupted him.

"What's an ocean city?" the little boy asked.

"It's a city built underwater," Jadon responded.

Ethan once again started to tell them how it was impossible, only for the older lad to interrupt him.

"I'll bet that Jafaro has the technology to do it," he told him.

The younger lad scoffed at him. "Then, why haven't we heard about this city before?"

"Don't know," Jadon replied.

Ethan laughed mockingly.

The older lad looked away, and started eating, as he thought deeply. He was sure he was right, but the younger lad had a good point. _Why would they hide it_? _It would be such an amazing project that surely they would let word get out about it_. Just then, the Taryn slowed in its movement. Jumping out of his seat, and rushing to a port hole window, Jadon watched the ship stop. He turned back toward Ethan with a smile.

"It's time to find out who's right," he said, and rushed out the door.

Ethan narrowed his eyes, stood up, and followed him.

Outside on the main deck, Jadon grinned. There was nothing but ocean for miles. Nonetheless, Ethan wasn't convinced. "We're meeting someone."

Jadon didn't reply. Instead, he watched as Argo appeared from the stern of the ship.

"Jadon, Ethan! Come help me load some cargo into the skybird." Ethan smirked at Jadon.

Down in the "skybird hold," as the youth had decided to call it, Argo opened up the rear of the skybird. "All those crates need to go," he told them, pointing to a large stack of wooden boxes placed to the right of the entryway of the skybird hold.

After carrying several small crates inside, Ethan and Jadon were forced to work together on a particularly heavy one. Moving fast, they lifted it into the skybird's hold. It was then that Ethan chose to brag.

"I told you we were meeting someone," he said to the older lad.

Upon hearing this, Jadon abruptly let go of his side of the crate. Crashing to the ground, it scraped against the younger lad's knees as he struggled to control it.

"Ouch!" he yelped, looking angrily at Jadon, and then at his torn right pant leg. Pulling it up, the younger lad could see a long, vivid, fresh scratch on his skin.

"Curse you!" he yelled, looking back at the older lad, who only laughed upon seeing the younger lad's injury.

"That's nothing," Jadon said, just as Argo arrived. Ethan lowered his pant leg.

"Everything all right?" the old man asked.

"It kind of slipped," Jadon told him.

"Yeah, right," Ethan remarked.

Argo shook his head. "Don't let it happen again," he responded in a stern voice.

Jadon nodded, and once again they were loading crates, including one that took all three of them to lift.

Finishing that, each of them took a short minute to catch their breath before Argo glanced at him.

"Lad, how would you like to come with me?" he asked.

"Where to?" questioned Jadon, the tone of his voice showing he wasn't enthusiastic.

Ethan smiled tauntingly. Nevertheless, he ignored him and waited for Argo to answer.

"About eight hundred yards below us, there happens to be an ocean city," Argo said with a grin.

The youth's eyes beamed proudly as Ethan's mouth fell open.

"I knew it!" Jadon exclaimed.

At the same time, the younger lad was stunned.

"There's no way! And using a jet?" he muttered.

"I believe Ethan would like to come along with us," Jadon told Argo.

Ethan started to argue, but stopped abruptly.

"Sure, we have room for three passengers, as you know. However, there is one little shark bite, as they say," Argo told them.

Jadon knew by shark bite, he meant there was some kind of rule or exception.

"What is it?"

"This Jafarian city is a very well-kept secret. That's why neither of you have probably ever heard of it," Argo said, stopping to chuckle. "Then again, it sounds like you already knew about it for some reason, Jadon." The old man rubbed his chin, as he thought about it for a second.

"At any rate, I expect it to stay that way," the old man told them with a serious tone.

Jadon and Ethan nodded.

"How is it possible to take this jet underwater?" the younger lad asked Argo.

"It has a shield, as you know, which can keep the water out, and the phatonic engines still work in water, Also, there's reserve air, normally used for high altitudes, but it will serve us just as well underwater." Argo explained. "Now climb in. I'll have a crewman let your parents know where you are," he told Ethan as he closed the cargo hatch.

Jadon, though, didn't need to be told. He had already jumped on the wing ahead of the younger lad. Climbing over top of the cabin, he punched in the code that opened the hatch. Jumping down inside, he waited.

Seconds later, Ethan climbed inside, trying not to look surprised, in front of Jadon, at the intriguing interior.

"Not bad, is it?" Jadon asked.

The younger lad didn't reply, and grimaced as he squeezed into the middle seat, which he knew had to be for him.

"Yeah, they really didn't make this skybird that big inside," Jadon said with a chuckle. The younger lad flashed him a frown, just as Argo climbed in.

"Strap in," the old man told them as he flipped several switches, and belted himself in. The clamps released and the Taryn's starboard door opened. Flying outside slowly, Argo flipped a number of switches, and headed away from the Taryn.

"Shield on," Argo spoke aloud.

Ethan was visibly surprised as the air sparkled in front of them before clearing up.

Grabbing a headset, the old man spoke into it.

"Taryn, we're off." Punching a few keys, he switched the channel.

"This is Jaf Dragonfly calling Dragon's Lair, authorization code, A four two six beta nine," Argo said, and was silent as he waited for a response. Suddenly, a voice spoke to him on the other end.

"Understood," the old man replied.

"Brace for impact, lads!" Argo warned them. Both Jadon and Ethan held on tightly to their armrest.

"You're sure this is really going to work?" Ethan asked.

The youth detected a hint of nervousness in the younger lad's voice.

"We're going to find out," the old man said with a chuckle. Slowing the engines, Argo steered the skybird directly for ocean water. In mere seconds they hit it, rocking the skybird violently on impact, though the ride quickly smoothed out as they dove deeper. Soon, almost nothing was visible on the exterior window.

"Computer, external lights," Argo ordered. Instantly, bright lights lit up the outside. The first thing they noticed was the nearly invisible barrier holding the ocean water away from the skybird. Beyond that, hundreds of fish in almost every color, size, and shape swam away from them as they dove deeper.

"There it is!" Jadon exclaimed. Sure enough, ahead was a brightly-lit "bubble."

Built on the ocean floor, it was more of a town than a city, being of small size, and with short buildings. However, one thing that was unique, and Jadon guessed it to be purposely designed that way, was the fact that each and every building was connected to one another. There were no lone buildings, and just like all the Jafarian cities he had seen, the tallest building was in the center of the city. It contained an extremely bright light on all four sides, which lit up nearly the entire city.

"Impressive," he said aloud.

Ethan nodded in an agreement. "I wouldn't believe you if I weren't seeing it for myself," he told him.

Jadon nodded.

"How do we get inside?" the younger lad asked as the skybird moved closer.

"Carefully, lad," Argo replied, as he directed them toward an orange building on the edge of the town. Slowing to nearly a stop, they approached the building, which was both inside and outside the clear barrier. Built fairly high, there was a large opening in the center, which Jadon determined to also be protected by a clear barrier, as the inside, with nothing more than blinking green lights, appeared empty of water.

All of a sudden, the skybird shook ever so slightly, as Argo directed it into the opening of the building, causing them to make contact with the barrier.

Jadon and Ethan continued to watch with amazement as they began to pass through it. A minute passed, and the skybird stopped, fully inside. A couple more minutes passed as Argo seemed to be waiting for something.

During this time, Jadon figured how the building worked. If one shield on either side of the building failed at any time, the city would still be safe due to the other shield. Kind of like an airlock, Jadon figured. Still, there was one thing he didn't know. _How were they able to pass through the first shield in the first place_? He decided to ask Argo.

"Easy. They gave me their shield frequency right after I contacted them, and I changed mine to match. When shield frequencies match, they can pass through one another. And I know what you're thinking, lad. That makes them vulnerable. It doesn't, seeing as there is a one in eight hundred quadrillion chance of you finding that exact same frequency without them telling you what it is," the old man explained.

Jadon nodded, slowly taking the explanation in.

Suddenly, a voice spoke to Argo on the radio, and he moved the skybird forward through the second shield. Seconds later, they were inside the city and flying under the great barrier that held back the ocean.

Minutes passed, and the skybird landed in front of what appeared to be a warehouse. Exiting first, Argo smiled at the sight around him.

Jadon and Ethan followed, climbing down onto the sandy street, and then looking up at the ocean above them.

"Well, what do you think?" Argo asked.

Ethan and Jadon looked at each other, neither one wanting to admit they were amazed by it.

"It's interesting," Jadon replied.

"Yeah, interesting," Ethan agreed.

Argo chuckled. "Interesting? It's downright amazing, if you ask me."

"So, why did they build this all down here?" Jadon inquired.

"It's a mining town. You know that armor on the Taryn? The skybird? Or just about any Jafarian military base?" Argo asked.

Jadon and Ethan nodded.

"More than eighty percent of the alloys that make it up are found here."

"And that's why it's secret," Jadon said, looking at Ethan, who only frowned, and narrowed his eyes.

"That's correct, Jadon," Argo replied.

"So, we have mining equipment in back?" questioned Ethan.

Argo nodded."Actually, parts of the workers."

Both Ethan and Jadon looked at Argo wide-eyed.

"Robots work the mines. It's a little too hazardous for humans," the old man responded.

"I should have known," Jadon replied, and looked around. While a warehouse took up the entire north side of the street for as far as he could see, the other side was littered with many different buildings, each with its own individual style. He also noticed a small number of people walking in the street. Most of them were dressed in casual shirts and long pants as the temperature in the ocean city was a tad cool.

Walking up to the warehouse door, Argo knocked, and was promptly greeted by a dark skinned, muscular man. Dressed in a sleeveless brown shirt and black pants, he was black-haired, with a slightly wrinkled forehead showing his age.

"Ahh, you must be from the Taryn," he said to them.

"Yes," replied Argo. "Just show us where to unload the cargo."

"Of course," replied the man, opening a large, watertight door in front of them that was as wide as the skybird. The inside was dark until a light came on, showing how empty, though enormous, the room was.

"Just sit them down anywhere. I'll take them from here," the man told him. Turning back toward Jadon and Ethan, Argo nodded at them to get busy.

While carrying several crates into the warehouse, Jadon noticed a young woman who didn't blend in with the crowd. Instead, she wore an intricate, white robe, and carried a large, white bag, most likely a purse.

Glancing his way, Jadon stopped working for a moment as she smiled warmly at him. With her youthful appearance, long, light brown hair that reached past her shoulders, and bright blue eyes, she may have been the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Nonetheless, he could see more than that. A strong feeling deep inside him told him she was an unusually nice person. Stunned for a few seconds, he barely noticed a bald man in a gray shirt and black pants, sneaking up behind the woman.

"Jadon, what _are_ you looking at?" asked Ethan, snapping his fingers in front of Jadon's face, successfully snapping him out of it. Following the older lad's eyes, he saw the woman and smiled.

"Oh, I see her," he said with a laugh but, in the short second that he said that, Jadon saw what was happening.

"No, you don't see! That man is stealing her purse!" he yelped.

"Behind you!" he shouted, but it was too late. The man tore the purse from her, causing her to scream. Running toward the woman, Jadon stopped in front of her. "I'll get him," he promised her, and ran after the man. Running as fast as he could, he followed the man. He began to run out of breath as the man raced not only through stores, but people's homes, and soon into a crowded restaurant, where he lost him. Suddenly, he heard his name being called.

"Jadon!" It was Ethan.

"Over here!" he yelled, and a moment later, the younger lad was with him.

"Did you catch him?" questioned Ethan.

Jadon sighed. "No, but he's here somewhere."

The younger lad groaned as the minutes passed, and the youth failed to find him.

"Come on, let's go back to the Skybird. This is a job for the guards," Ethan told him.

"Remind me never to bring you on my adventures," Jadon said to him as they headed back for the skybird. The young woman was nowhere to be seen, much to his dismay, though he would have hated to disappoint her.

###

Back on the Taryn, Jadon lay in his bunk. He was in fact mad at himself for allowing Ethan to find him. He needed to help that lady. He didn't know why; he just had to. It was more than the fact he gave his word, which he valued strongly, but there was just something about her. Just then, the bell rang for lunch, and he slipped out of his bunk. After receiving a sandwich in the mess hall, he walked to his table and sat down. Here, even Micah could tell he was upset.

"What's wrong, Jadon?" the little boy asked.

"Nothing," he replied.

Shawnya groaned. "Tell us already, and save the drama."

Ethan sat down, and upon hearing this, he laughed.

"Yeah, tell us of this adventure," he told Jadon.

The older lad looked across at him. "There wasn't one, thanks to you, but there was an ocean city."

"There was?" inquired Shawnya.

"A city under the water?" questioned Micah.

Jadon nodded.

"Well, there are some things you should leave to the authorities," Ethan replied, bluntly ignoring the comments about the ocean city.

"What happened?" Abigail asked.

"A man stole this lady's purse, and I tried to catch him, but somebody stopped me," Jadon explained, glaring at Ethan.

"Where did this happen?" asked Shawnya him.

"In the ocean city known as Dragon's Lair," he answered.

"Why don't you tell them about this lady?" Ethan asked with a smile. "It wasn't just any lady." Jadon stopped eating, and rubbed his forehead.

"What about her?" inquired Abigail.

"There was something about her..." Jadon began.

"Oh, I bet there was," Ethan said interrupting him. "And it might have had to do with the fact she was so beautiful."

"That wasn't it," Jadon replied, as Abigail stared at him. Seeing her facial expression, he sighed, and set his sandwich down.

"She just didn't deserve for that to happen to her," he told her.

"You only talked with her for like two seconds. How would you know that?" Ethan asked.

"I just know it," he responded, and started eating again. Jadon felt Abigail watch him for a moment before eating again.

"Yeah, just like you have a power," Ethan said, clearly starting to doubt the older lad again. Jadon looked up for a moment just as Shawnya punched the younger lad's shoulder.

"Ouch!" he yelped.

"Quit it, already," Shawnya told him.

Jadon then confidently spoke up. "I do have a power, and I even know how to use it. I just don't know what it does," he informed Ethan. "I haven't been willing to use it on anyone, but I think you would make a good test subject."

The younger lad smirked too, obviously more willing to prove Jadon wrong than to realize how many times he had been right before.

"Okay, try it on me," Ethan urged, and stood up.

Once again, Jadon put down his sandwich. Standing up, he walked over to the younger lad, who turned to face him.

"I hope for your sake this doesn't hurt," Jadon said sincerely.

Upon hearing this, Shawnya and Abigail spoke up.

"Ethan, maybe you shouldn't," Shawnya said.

"Yeah, don't do it, Jadon," Abigail pressured the youth.

"Just do it," Ethan commanded.

Swallowing any fear he had, Jadon lifted his hands up in front of him. Clapping them together for a second, his palms touched. Then, pulling them back apart, he placed them on Ethan's shoulders. Instantly, a bright white light surrounded the younger lad, blinding the group and all of the crew in the mess hall.

## Chapter 19

Villains & Overlooked Sightings

In less than fifteen seconds, the light vanished. Nothing appeared to have changed, as each of their eyes adjusted to the normal lighting of the mess hall. Ethan and Jadon were both still standing in the exact same place, though the youth had dropped his hands to his sides.

"What happened?" asked Abigail and Shawnya at nearly the same time, causing them to look at each other with annoyance.

Micah jumped out of his seat, and rushed over to Jadon and Ethan. He quickly looked them over.

The mess hall grew louder, as the crew began to talk among themselves. They had no idea that Jadon had caused the bright, blinding light.

"Jadon? Ethan?" called Shawnya. Both of the lads were staring at each other, and had yet to say a word.

Finally, Ethan was the first to speak.

"What did you do to me?" he questioned Jadon.

"You can't tell me?" inquired the older lad, who all of sudden found himself noticeably tired, as if he'd just run several miles.

"I don't know. I felt it, but I don't know what you did," Ethan replied, and looked at everyone.

"Do you feel different, somehow?" asked Abigail.

"Well, I can't fly," Ethan joked, though he still wasn't fully himself.

Nonetheless, each of them smiled at his joke, aside from Jadon, who had hoped he could find out what his power did.

"So, you don't notice anything different?" he asked with a frown.

"Nope," the younger lad replied.

"Maybe it didn't work on Ethan for some reason," Shawnya suggested as she sat down.

"No, it worked. I felt the power leave me," Jadon replied, and took his seat once again.

"Yeah, it just didn't do anything. Perhaps you didn't have enough _power_ ," Ethan replied, also sitting back down.

Sighing, Jadon glared at him.

"Maybe it did work; we just don't know what it did, yet," Abigail said, likely trying to prevent a fight.

Silent for the rest of the meal, Jadon decided to stop thinking about it. Instead, he tried to work out a way to get back to the ocean city. If only he had a little more time, he was sure he could find that man. After all, the city wasn't that big. Still, only Argo could take him to the ocean city. He would have to convince him. Minutes later, he exited the mess hall, and headed for Argo's office. Arriving there, he knocked on the door and opened it without waiting for a response.

Looking up at him from behind his computer console, Argo shook his head. "Lad, you could have waited until I asked you to come in."

Jadon ignored him. "I want to go back to the ocean city, Dragon Lair."

Argo rubbed his chin. "Let me guess. That beautiful woman you and Ethan wouldn't stop talking about?" he asked.

"Yes, a man..." Jadon began.

Argo interrupted him. "Lad, I'm sure the guards can handle it, and you, of all people, should look past outer beauty."

The youth groaned, and became angry. Due to his unusually tired state, he found he could barely control his anger.

"Argo, I don't care how beautiful she is! There's something about her. I just don't think she deserved what happened to her!"

Argo's eyes widened upon hearing this.

"Why do you think such a thing?" he asked calmly.

"I just do," Jadon replied, slamming his fist on the desk without even thinking.

The old man looked at his rolled-up fist, and then back to his face.

"You and your dang instincts," the old man sighed. "They always were right," he said. Pausing for a moment, he thought it over. "Okay, Jadon. I have to go down there this evening anyway to meet with a business partner, but I want you to take someone with you. Someone who will keep you out of trouble, for the most part."

Smiling for a second, Jadon nodded. "I'll find someone."

Back in his cabin, Jadon slid the case that held his large knife into his left pocket, and a fully-charged muddle pistol into the right pocket. Then Ethan strolled in the door.

"Going somewhere?" he inquired.

"Yeah, to find that lady's purse," Jadon replied.

The younger lad laughed. "You must really like her."

"No, I don't." He started out the door.

"How are you going to find it?"

"I'll figure it out when I get there."

The younger lad grinned. "For someone who has all these adventures, you sure don't think ahead."

Having had enough of Ethan's latest attitude, Jadon turned around and grabbed a hold of the younger lad's arm, twisting it painfully behind him before he even had a chance to defend himself.

"Cut it out! You're hurting me!" the younger lad told him.

"Look, I've had enough of your attitude. I'm not trying to be better than you, and I'm not trying to get anyone's attention by making stuff up. So, drop it already," Jadon said, and let go of his arm.

Trying once again to exit the cabin, Ethan spoke up. "You're not going alone, are you?"

"No, I'll take Abigail with me."

"But wouldn't it be better if you had someone along like me?"

Jadon looked back at him, unsure if it was a question. _He couldn't be serious_ , the youth thought at first.

"Maybe not better, but I wouldn't say no," he answered.

"Good, 'cause if you really do go on all these adventures, I'd like to see what it's like," Ethan told him. Jadon stared at the younger lad for a long moment to see if he was serious. He appeared to be.

"Fine, but if you start giving me trouble, I'm gone, and you can find your own way back to the Taryn," he warned.

"Understood," Ethan responded.

Not long after that, they met Argo in the skybird hold.

"You're bringing Ethan?" the old man inquired with surprise.

Jadon simply nodded.

"Okay, all aboard," Argo told them, and moments later, the skybird was flying. Diving into the water for the second time that day, they made their way down to Dragon's Lair. At the orange building, they passed through the first shield, and waited to be cleared to go through the second shield.

Finally, Argo received a go-ahead on the radio along with the warning lights turning green. The skybird shook gently as they passed through. Flying into the air, Argo set down near a small office building.

"Good luck, Jadon," he told the older lad. "I'll be waiting, so don't take too long." Turning toward Ethan, he smiled.

"And, you," he said, "keep Jadon out of too much trouble."

The younger lad nodded.

After taking a moment to figure out where they were in relation to the day's earlier events, Jadon took the lead.

"So, how did your trip with Abigail go?" Ethan questioned him as they walked.

"Fine," Jadon replied, evasively. The younger lad glanced at Jadon, obviously expecting more of an answer.

"Both good and bad," Jadon explained. "We found where my father was, but Argo wouldn't let us see him."

"Since when has that stopped you?" Ethan asked.

"He's at an Arctic base, and we were only in the city of Lighthouse Bay," Jadon replied. "I could have stolen the skybird, but I'm not as reckless as you think I am."

Ethan grinned, and laughed upon hearing this.

"Does Abigail really keep up with you?" he asked.

"Yeah, she does," Jadon replied, and smiled brightly. The younger lad immediately took notice.

"You love her, don't you?" he asked, surprising him.

"I... uh..."

"You do!"

"I really haven't thought about it," Jadon responded truthfully.

"So, why were you hiding from her?" Ethan inquired.

Jadon groaned. "She kept asking if I was okay. I mean, because of how I wasn't able to see my father, even though I worked so hard to find him."

"What's so bad about that?" the younger lad asked.

Jadon glanced at him. "I'm not exactly the kind of person who wants to talk about that."

"You should tell her anyway. She's just trying to help because she loves you back. It's so obvious," Ethan told him with a sincere face.

"Enough about me. Did you and Shawnya get to do anything while we were in Jafaro?" asked Jadon. "After all, you do like her."

It was the younger lad's turn to smile. "Yeah, but I failed miserably." Jadon noted Ethan didn't sound upset.

"Go on," he urged him.

"We went skiing in Mountaino. Easy enough, right? Not. Shawnya happens to be an expert. She wanted to go on the harder slopes, so we did. Well, I fell on my butt and slid down half the mountain so many times, it's not even funny. In fact, I still can't sit down right. Shawnya? I don't even think she fell once," Ethan explained.

Jadon laughed.

"I don't think she was too impressed with me," the younger lad informed him.

"I bet you made her laugh, though."

"Yeah, but I wanna be more than someone to laugh at. I wish she loved me like Abigail loves you," Ethan told him.

Jadon could hear the seriousness in his voice. In fact, he was sure he detected a hint of sadness.

"Give it some time, Ethan," he assured him.

"I don't have that much more time!" the younger lad said, suddenly shouting.

Jadon stopped, and turned toward him, as people in the town began to look their way.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

Ethan sighed."I... uh," he stuttered, while looking at him.

The older lad stood still, waiting for an answer.

"I just meant..." the younger lad started to say, and paused.

"Never mind. Let's just catch this thief," he finally said, and started walking in the direction the youth had been going.

"Okay," Jadon replied, but wondered what the younger lad was hiding. For the first time, he sensed that Ethan was deeply troubled. _But about what_? he asked himself.

"Where are we going?" the younger lad asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

"To that restaurant you stopped me at. I noticed that man I followed didn't just run around in circles. He was heading in a certain direction," Jadon explained.

"He was going somewhere specific," Ethan guessed.

"Right," he replied. "There it is!" he shouted, and pointed to the place they had been at earlier: a reddish-brown, two-story building with large, arched windows. Several groups of people stood around the double-door entry talking with each other. Jadon and Ethan walked between them, and made their way inside. There, they found the place crowded: the same as earlier. A long line waiting in front of a sign that read, "Please wait to be seated" made Jadon wonder if this was the only place in town to eat. They saw booths and tables on either side of them, along with a bar straight ahead. Light colored paneling, and bright lights helped make the place seem bigger than it really was.

"This is where he disappeared," Jadon said loudly, so Ethan could hear him. His eyes scanned over the people to see if the man was in the place.

"I don't see him," he finally told the younger lad.

"Which way did you come in?"

"The front, just as we did, which means he had to exit another way. Let's split up, and find him," Jadon suggested. "We'll meet back here in five minutes."

"You'll actually be here?" Ethan asked wearily.

The older lad nodded. "Yes, now let's go." Scooting down an aisle, he raced for the far end of the building, when he suddenly bumped into a waiter carrying several drinks. They crashed to the floor, though Jadon was gone before the waiter could even turn to see who had done it. From then on, he paid more attention.

Reaching the end of the aisle, and arriving at the far end of the building, he detected a watertight door slightly opened. Walking over to it, he pushed it open, finding it quite heavy. Stepping through the doorway, he found himself in a clothing store, quite different from the restaurant he had just been in. He saw racks upon racks of clothes all around him, and much to his dismay, he was surrounded by dresses.

"Can I help you?" inquired a voice far in front of Jadon. Glancing ahead, he saw a young woman, probably a teen, with short, blond hair, dressed in a plain, blue dress.

"I suppose you made a wrong turn," she told him with a giggle.

"Have you been here all day?" he questioned her.

The girl looked at him confused. "Yes, why?"

"Did a bald man run through here earlier today?" he asked.

"No," she replied.

"Would you have noticed if he had?" questioned Jadon, continuing his line of questions.

"Oh, yes," she responded. "I really have to keep an eye on my dresses. Thieves around here are quite bad lately."

He smiled, and nodded. "Thanks," he told her, and ran back into the restaurant.

Checking in the kitchen for any other exits, he only found one door, which was sealed and locked.

"Hey! What are you doing in here?" inquired one of the cooks in a loud voice.

"Got lost!" Jadon answered him, and made a quick exit. Making his way to the front, he waited for Ethan. A full five minutes went by, and he began to wonder if the younger lad was really coming back. Just as his patience began to run out, Ethan showed up.

"Find anything?" he asked Jadon.

The older lad shook his head.

"Good, 'cause I did," he replied with a grin. Leading Jadon to the right side of the building, they walked through an open, watertight door into the next building. Here, short, blue painted walls surrounded obvious office cubicles. Many of them were in use by men and women working on computers.

Jadon was not impressed. "I thought you said you found something," he muttered in a voice low enough that none of them could hear him.

"I did, but not in here," Ethan replied, leading him straight across the building and through the next watertight door. Once inside, their surroundings dramatically changed. The ceiling height above them greatly increased, while the light and temperature decreased. Surrounded by shelves with crates, Jadon immediately knew they were in a warehouse.

Ethan suddenly motioned for him to be quiet and Jadon did so. In the distance, they could hear voices.

Leading Jadon through the maze of crates, they stopped at a dead end. Surrounded by a wall of crates, he listened to the now clear voices.

"Our last shipment of duramite was a bit skimpy," a lady complained.

"You know, they almost caught us getting away with it," a man answered.

"Yeah, this is getting more and more risky," another man said.

"Don't you two worry about it. Our friend Delilah will be helping you both next time. Any problems that might come about will be easily dealt with," the woman replied.

Ethan and Jadon looked at each other. _It couldn't be the same Delilah, could it_?

Somehow Jadon knew it was.

Stepping onto a crate in front of him, Jadon hoisted himself up. Struggling slightly, he had forgotten how tired he was until now. Yet with more determination, he climbed onto an empty section of shelving. Crawling forward until the thieves were just barely visible, he stopped when he saw the bald man. The backs of a small, black-haired lady and a big man, with long, blond hair, were also visible. Pulling out his muddle pistol, Jadon aimed and fired. The bald man fell to the floor. However, before he could aim again, the remaining two had pulled out their own muddles and were firing back at him.

Keeping behind a crate, he waited for the muddle fire to die down.

Seeing that Jadon had stopped firing, both thieves made a run for it. Jumping to the floor, the youth ran after them, when a sudden crash of crates took out the long-haired man.

The lady turned only for a second to look back before she ran into what appeared to be an office for the building, and slammed the door shut.

Ethan, who could barely catch his breath, met up with Jadon in front of the door moments later.

"You have no idea how heavy those crates were," he told him.

"You did good," Jadon said, and all of a sudden grinned.

"What?" asked the younger lad, just then noticing the older lad was looking at the fire escape plan.

"There's no way out of that office."

Glancing in a window of the office, Ethan nodded.

"You're right. There isn't. She doesn't want you to come in either. She barricaded the door with a desk," the younger lad told him.

"Get down!" Jadon yelled at him. Obeying quickly, Ethan looked questionably at him.

"If she has a muddle, the last thing you need to have is glass shards stuck in you," he warned.

The younger lad nodded solemnly.

"Go, and find the guards, okay?" Jadon asked. "I'll keep her in there," he said, and sat down in front of the door.

Ethan nodded, and ran for the exit. Less than ten minutes later, guards filled the place. After taking away the two men, a guard ordered the lady to come out. When she didn't, a guard cut the hinges of the office door with a muddle rifle. Slowly and quietly, they peered inside as they waited for any retaliation.

"There's no one inside," said one of the guards.

"What!" yelped Jadon, running in front of the door, and ignoring the orders to stay back. Crawling over the desk, he made his way into the office. Only a desk, chair, and bookshelf populated the room. There wasn't even a single window.

Still, Jadon was determined that there was a way out, since he was sure she hadn't left by way of the door. Looking for any secret doors in the walls, he found none; staring at the high ceiling, he saw no way out there either. Then, he saw a small, square piece of metal that made up the floor.

"What's this?" he questioned the guard.

"Oh, it just goes to a maintenance tunnel, you know, with wiring, plumbing, and such..." he replied. Suddenly, the guard must have realized what Jadon was thinking.

"And that would be how she got out," he said, realizing it for the first time himself. "Good job," he told the youth with a smile.

"Did you happen to find a white purse around here?" Jadon inquired. The guard looked curiously at him.

"Why, yes, we did," he replied, wondering why he had asked about it.

###

Thirty minutes later, Jadon and Ethan stood in front of the only hotel in Dragon's Lair. White in color, with gold trim, it looked to be a grand place.

"You think she's here?" Ethan asked.

"She didn't look to be from around here," Jadon replied. Stopping at the front desk, he described the young lady to the clerk.

"Oh, you mean Princess Darla. Now, now, boys, I can't be disturbing her," he said with a laugh, obviously thinking that they both had a crush on her.

"But..." Jadon began to say. Just then, a soft feminine voice interrupted them.

"Did someone say my name?" Jadon and Ethan turned to see the princess. Both were stunned by how beautiful she was, even though they had seen her earlier that day.

"Miss, I got your purse back," Jadon said nervously, and held the white purse out in front of him.

A smile lit up the princess's face. "Oh, you're that cute boy who ran after the thief," she responded.

Blushing slightly, he nodded.

"Who's this?" she questioned, looking at Ethan, who was clearly too stunned to speak.

"He helped me get it back for you," Jadon replied.

Opening the purse, the princess looked inside. "Oh good. It's still here," she said aloud, and pulled out a colorful, handmade beaded necklace.

Jadon and Ethan examined it, and noticed that it didn't appear to be particularly valuable.

As if she could read their minds, the princess looked up, and smiled. "There's a woman down here who is spending over a year away from her family, to correct an ongoing problem with the robotic miners. She's as smart as they come, but her husband and daughter miss her. You see, her daughter made this, and I said I would personally give it to her mother," Princess Darla explained. Neither Jadon nor Ethan knew what to say.

"Now, I thank you both so much. Let me see if I can find you a little something for your trouble," she told them. Reaching into the pocket of her robe, she pulled out a bag of gold coins. Counting out sixteen, she handed eight coins to each of them.

"There you are," she said to the stunned lads, and smiled.

"I hope you always help people in distress."

"I will. I mean, we will," Jadon replied.

Smiling, Princess Darla bent down, and gave them each a kiss on the cheek.

"I must be going now. May you both have many moons of good tidings."

After she had walked off, it was a minute before either of them moved.

"How often does this happen to you?" Ethan asked, as they walked outside.

"What do you know? You can talk," Jadon replied, looking at the younger lad with a smirk.

Ethan frowned for a moment, but said nothing.

"Not that often," Jadon answered him. The younger lad stared down at the gold coins in his hands.

"I can't believe she gave us eight pieces of gold," he said aloud.

"And she kissed you. Wait till Shawnya finds out," Jadon joked.

Ethan frowned, though only for a second. "Does that mean I should tell Abigail?" Both of them stared at each other.

"Okay. How about we tell no one about that part?" Jadon suggested.

The younger lad nodded in agreement.

Meeting up with Argo, he was happy to hear that they had successfully completed their mission.

"How did it go?" he asked Ethan.

"It was interesting," the younger lad replied, and looked at Jadon.

Back on the Taryn, the boys played a game of Raverick with the girls, as Micah watched.

"Did you find that thief?" Abigail questioned Jadon.

He smirked, and looked at Ethan. "Why don't you tell them about it?" he asked the younger lad.

Nodding, Ethan explained their adventure, leaving out only the kiss the princess had given them.

"A princess?" asked Shawnya. "Really?"

Ethan nodded.

"Wow, and she was nice, just like you thought, Jadon," Abigail said.

The youth nodded. "Yes, that she was," replied Jadon with a grin. Looking toward Ethan, the younger lad also grinned.

"What?" inquired Shawnya.

"Nothing," the two lads replied at the same time. Instantly, Shawnya and Abigail suspected that the boys were hiding something, as did Micah.

"What did you do!" the little boy questioned them loudly.

"We didn't do anything," Jadon responded.Try as they might, the girls and Micah could not get either of the lads to explain further.

###

An hour later, Jadon found himself in the boys' cabin with Ethan and Micah. Both Ethan and Micah had quickly fallen asleep, but as tired as the youth was, he couldn't sleep just yet. His mind rushed over the events of the day. Specifically, how he had used his power on Ethan. _What did it do_? _And why did it make me so tired_? he wondered. Slowly, his thoughts shifted to a different matter. W _hat did Ethan mean when he said that he didn't have much time left_?

Suddenly, a new question entered his mind. _Would Ethan be leaving the Taryn_? Glancing down at Ethan, Jadon knew he would miss the younger lad, even if he was an annoyance sometimes. While his mind was busy thinking, it barely perceived what his eyes saw. Having worn shorts to bed, Ethan had made the place visible where the crate had cut into his leg earlier that day, only the scratch wasn't there, and neither was a scar.

## Chapter 20

Ethan's Secret

Several mornings later, Jadon found himself swabbing the deck before breakfast, as was required of him on his duty chart. Not entirely unexpected were footsteps behind him.

"Morning, Abigail," he said aloud.

"Morning, Jadon," Abigail replied from behind him.

Turning around, he noted her smiling.

"I have a question for you," she told him.

Jadon tried to keep his brush strokes repetitious, though he couldn't help but wonder what she wanted to ask him.

"I was wondering if..." Abigail started to say, when her sister interrupted her.

"Oh, look, he can do normal jobs," Shawnya taunted from behind Abigail. Smiling, she looked at her older sister, who only frowned back at her.

"I'm only saying that because this is the first time in a long time that I've actually seen him doing something useful," she explained.

Abigail seemed ready to argue, but when she turned to Jadon, he looked ready to laugh.

"Well, I do have to save the world, and all, so much that I barely have time for these things."

Shawnya shook her head, and walked away, barely able to hide her smile.

"So, what did you want to ask me?" Jadon said to Abigail, trying not to appear too curious.

"Remember that envelope you took from your house that had your mother's name on it? I was just wondering, did it have anything inside?" she asked. For a moment, he was stunned. _How could I possibly have forgotten about that_!

"Jadon?" asked Abigail, looking at his green eyes, which appeared to be a million miles away at the moment.

"I never opened it."

Abigail was surprised to hear this. "Why not?" It seemed to her that he would have done it weeks ago.

"I forgot about it," Jadon admitted. Suddenly, the dinner bell rang, and he placed his mop and bucket in a nearby closet.

Almost unnoticed by Jadon, Abigail held his hand until they got to the mess hall. Stopping before they entered the mess hall, he glanced at their joined hands, and then back up at Abigail's face.

Immediately she took the hint. "Sorry," she muttered, and let go. Though, before she could enter, Jadon stopped her.

"Don't be sorry."

Inside the mess hall, Micah greeted him with a large smile.

"Morning, Jadon!" he told the older lad with an unusual amount of enthusiasm.

"Morning, Micah," he replied, and wondered right away what was up with the little boy, who could barely stand still.

"Guess what!" Micah challenged him.

He took a guess. "We're having your favorite breakfast?"

The little boy shook his head.

"What then?"

"Argo is going to let me control the ship!"

Jadon instantly smiled, remembering a time several years ago when the old man had let him have a go at the controls. Argo had always said that everyone on board should know how to operate the ship, "for safety's sake," but the youth felt it was really more than that to the old man.

"That's awesome!" he told Micah.

The little boy grinned.

A short time later, Jadon found himself listening to further conversation about the matter along with his comrades.

"I'm going to make us go in circles!" Micah told them.

"You'd better not make us dizzy," Shawnya replied, making each of them laugh.

"I won't," the little boy promised.

As the group talked, Jadon was quiet for the most part, his mind on the envelope.

###

Four hours later, Teacher let them out his classroom. Jadon groaned. The last hour had been a long, boring lecture. If he had known that, he would have skipped class today. Nonetheless, it was finally over. Making his way to his cabin, he didn't notice that Abigail had followed him until he arrived there, and she stopped in the doorway behind him. He glanced at her with a questioning look.

"What? You don't think I'm curious to know what's in there?" she asked.

Shrugging, he pulled out the patchwork blanket from underneath Micah's bottom bunk. Opening it up, he set his family picture aside and picked up the envelope. Glancing at Abigail, Jadon broke the seal. Looking inside, he found a single piece of paper – a letter. Holding it in front of the window, he began to read it, while Abigail waited impatiently.

"Dear Sarah,

I know you can't really read this anymore, but I still feel it needs to be written. I love you, more than there are stars in the sky, always and forever. I miss you terribly. Every day without you is enormously hard. Nonetheless, I want you to know that I love our son Jadon. He did everything right, and all that he could.

You know that. After all, you saw his brother, our son, Micah, before you died. I'm glad for that. Still, I wish Jadon had been there during your last moments, to see how happy we were about Micah. It might have caused things to be different.

I say that because things have taken a turn for the worse. You see, he has learned how to hate. He not only hates the man he saved that night, but Micah too, for obvious reasons. He heard you, the same as I did, telling him what to do and he did nothing wrong. Still, he blames himself every day.

I don't know how he knows, but he's sure he could have done what he had to do, if his strength had not been weakened. I've told him it's not every day a person survives an attack from a trained assassin, not to mention that twelve of his own kind have perished. Yet he doesn't seem to care. I have tried everything, but he has become more secluded and depressed as the days have gone on.

Then, Jadon was almost killed in his sleep, just as the others had been. The very same man who killed you is intent on killing our son. The guards and I are fairly sure it's because Jadon saw this man's face.

I understand why you didn't let Jadon curse him when he had the chance, but I often wonder if he could have done it, and if it would have solved this. Nevertheless, I've decided to take action after these recent turn of events. I came up with a way to save Jadon, from himself, and from these people. I erased Jadon's memory, and hoped that the man thought our son was dead, after his recent attempt.

Yes, I know you wouldn't have done it, but I had to do it. I love Jadon so much, and I wanted so badly for him to be safe and happy. Therefore I saw it as the only way. I wonder now, though, if it was the right thing to do. Remember Argo? Yes, my rough and tough friend, as you called him. Even he questioned me. Perhaps my action was a bit hasty after all, but I was at my wit's end.

I know you would have forgiven me if you were here, but I am unsure about Jadon. I hope I can meet him one day and tell him everything, but that may be wishful thinking. I wish things had been different, but never will I blame you or Jadon. Now, before I go, I've listed below some of our happiest moments as a family that I will always cherish:

The day I proposed to you. Remember how I fell into the pond by accident? Yes, it was an accident. The day we had Jadon, I was so scared, and I remember him smiling up at me as if to say everything was going to be all right. The day you showed Jadon a bird's nest in our backyard. You told him not to, but he tried to take an egg, only for

the long beaked mother to fly over, and bite his..."

Jadon stopped reading as he felt his cheeks glow.

"What is it?" Abigail asked, noticing him blushing.

"Nothing," he lied. However, she clearly wanted to know, and grabbed the letter from his hands.

"Give it back," he grumbled, but he didn't take the letter from her.

"No," she replied, and began reading it.

"It's sad," she told him after she had read nearly all of it.

"It's a bunch of riddles, if you ask me."

Suddenly, Abigail giggled, and Jadon immediately knew what she had read. He groaned as she looked up at him, and giggled again.

"You tell no one," he said to her in a serious tone of voice, feeling somewhat embarrassed.

She smiled at him.

"I mean it!"

"I know," Abigail responded, with one last giggle.

Jadon sighed.

"So, what do you think your dad meant by _trained assassin_?" she questioned him.

"I have a feeling we already met him."

"What do you mean?"

"That man who tried to kill me in Jafaro? I'll bet all Claire's gold he's the assassin," he replied. Taking the letter back from Abigail, he reread a part of it, and sighed loudly.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"It says I wasn't there during my mom's last moments. Where the heck was I? And what obvious reasons could make me hate Micah?" Jadon asked. Raising his right hand, he felt the golden locket under his shirt, his mind racing. He couldn't believe that he would leave his mom alone when she was dying.

"I don't know," replied Abigail quietly. "Maybe you went after this man."

"Yeah," he replied, sadness evident in his voice. "I could have at least been successful then."

Before Abigail could reply, the dinner bell rang. Exiting the cabin before she had a chance to speak, Jadon raced ahead, and climbed up to deck two. There, he noticed Ethan heading in the opposite direction of the mess hall.

"What is it?" questioned Abigail, finally catching up to Jadon, only to see him staring down the hall.

"Ethan..." Jadon muttered.

"What about him?"

"Go to the mess hall. I'll meet you there," was all he said, before he ran after the younger lad. Attempting to stay in the shadows, Jadon quietly followed Ethan at a distance. He was surprised when the younger lad stopped in front of the doctor's, and looked back his way. Hopping into a room in what appeared to be just the nick of time, Jadon was unsure if the younger lad had seen him.

Opening the door slowly, Jadon peered out from the closet. His eyes widened. Ethan seemed to have disappeared. Running in the direction that the younger lad had been going, the youth failed to find him. Walking back past the doctor's, he realized there was only one other place he could have gone, but why? Glancing at the medical bay, he noted that a light was on, and showing through the two, upper, frosted windows.

Thinking quickly, Jadon knew he didn't want to just barge in, so he thought of another way to see what was going on inside the doctor's office. There were two ways in: one of them through the very hallway he was standing in, and the other was the doctor's office, which exited directly into the medical bay. Walking over to the office door, he saw through the round window that the light was on. Taking a deep breath, he punched in Argo's key code for the door. Silently, he hoped not only that the doctor wasn't in his office, but also that he was too busy to notice the door opening.

As the door slid open, Jadon sighed with relief. The office was empty, at least, for now. Walking in quietly, he edged himself toward the door that led into the medical bay. Leaning against the doctor's desk, he listened to two voices coming from the medical bay, one of them being Ethan's.

"You really should tell your friends," the doctor was saying.

"I know, but I can't," Ethan replied. "Just give me the injection already. I have to get back to the mess hall before they notice me missing."

"Have you felt any weaker than usual?" the doctor asked.

Jadon listened as something clicked in his head.

"Not really," the younger lad answered.

Jadon heard Ethan take a deep breath, and determined that the younger lad was getting a shot.

"It's going to get worse now that it's not responding to the treatment, as your previous test showed," the doctor informed the younger lad.

"I'll make do."

"Ethan, you really need to start taking this seriously. You only have a few more months to live," the doctor told him.

Just as the younger lad was about to answer, the ship suddenly lurched strongly to the left. Losing his balance for a mere second, Jadon was thrown to the other side of the doctor's office. With a loud thump, he landed on a pair of pile cabinets.

"What was that?" Ethan' asked from within the medical bay.

"I don't know, but I'd better check it out," the doctor responded.

Hastily, Jadon looked for a place to hide. He saw only one place. Quickly kneeling down, he squeezed himself between the chair and the place underneath the doctor's desk. Without a second extra, he pushed himself as far back as he could, just as the doctor arrived. Almost instantly he knew he had forgotten something.

"I thought I closed this door," the doctor muttered. Looking around, though, nothing seemed to be out of place. Walking back into the medical bay, he told Ethan how he had just left the door open.

With haste, the younger lad asked if he could leave.

"Yes, just think about what I said." As Ethan left through the medical bay, Jadon waited from underneath the desk to see what the doctor would do, and hoped he didn't intend on sitting down.

As the doctor walked up to his desk, the youth could hear him shuffling some paperwork, and then let out a loud sigh. The longer the doctor stood there, the more he wondered what he would say if he was caught.

Just as it seemed unavoidable, the doctor left his office.

After waiting a full minute, Jadon arose and immediately left the office. Making his way to the mess hall, he saw that everyone was there but Micah. After fixing himself a meal, he walked over and took a seat at his usual place.

Upon seeing him, Abigail turned toward Shawnya and they both laughed.

All of a sudden, he remembered what Abigail had read about him earlier that day.

"You told her, didn't you?" Jadon asked her.

"No," she answered, but her fib was obvious.

"Where's Micah?" he inquired, changing the conversation.

"Steering the ship," Shawnya answered.

"So, that's what that lurch was," he said aloud.

"Yeah," Ethan replied, staring at him.

"What?" Jadon questioned him.

"Nothing," the younger lad muttered, and went back to eating his meal.

"Where did you go earlier?" Abigail suddenly asked Jadon.

Hearing this, Ethan stopped eating.

"I had something I wanted to ask Teacher," Jadon lied.

"Right," Shawnya responded, immediately knowing better.

"I did. It was about that letter, which someone was supposed to keep secret," he said, glaring at Abigail.

"Sorry," Abigail dimly replied.

Jadon sat quietly, and didn't answer her.

"What letter?" questioned Ethan.

"I found one when we went to visit my home. Now, I don't want to talk about it anymore," Jadon answered. He ate the rest of his meal in silence.

Minutes later, Jadon made his way to his cabin where he started on his homework. Not ten minutes had passed when there was a knock at the door.

Opening the door, he found Abigail standing there with a frown on her face.

"What?" he inquired.

"I really am sorry."

"Okay," he said. Then, without warning, he closed the door in her face.

Sighing, as he climbed back into his bunk, Jadon knew he shouldn't be mad at Abigail at all. That wasn't really what was bothering him. It was Ethan. As annoying as the younger lad was, he was dying, and he couldn't help but feel unhappy being unable to do anything about it.

It was several hours before Ethan strolled in, but when he did, he looked straight up at Jadon.

"You know, don't you?"

"How do you know I know?" the older lad asked in return.

"The doctor didn't leave that door open, I saw him close it."

"I know there's something wrong with you, and that you're dying, but I don't know the details."

The younger lad sighed, but decided to explain. "I have stage four lucronic cancer. It means my body is literally killing itself."

"But, cancer is curable," Jadon replied.

"It's not curable, at least not for me. I'm the one in a billion for whom the treatments don't work. Something about the way my immune system works," Ethan informed him.

"So, that's where you disappear to all the time, the doctor's, and why you are so upset at times," Jadon responded, putting the clues together.

The younger lad nodded. "It's the whole reason I'm on the Taryn, to get the free medical care. My dad did so much to get us here, but it doesn't matter. It's not working."

"You can't give up," Jadon said to him.

"I don't have a choice," Ethan responded "You heard the doctor. I'm going to become weaker soon."

"Why haven't you told us?"

"Because I don't want to be treated differently. I'm not a weakling, at least not yet."

"Ethan," Jadon started to say, when the cabin door began to open.

"Don't tell this to anyone," he begged the older lad, just as Micah walked in.

Seeing the youth, a wide smile lit up the little boy's face.

"Jadon, guess what?"

"What? You got to steer the ship?" he inquired, suspecting it had something to do with the little boy controlling the ship.

"Yes. But then I went to eat, and guess what!"

"What?" questioned Jadon, wondering what it could be.

"I have another loose tooth!"

## Chapter 21

Disastrous Dream

Jadon's eyes widened, and he scrambled out of his bunk. Without saying a word to either of the boys, he rushed out the door.

Outside in the hallway, he walked up to the girls' cabin and knocked on the door relentlessly.

"What!" Shawnya asked, as she opened the door. Seeing him, she sighed. "Oh, it's you."

"Is Abigail okay?" he asked hurriedly.

"Yes. Even if you're being mean to her," Shawnya answered.

Suddenly, another voice could be heard from within the cabin.

"Jadon?" It was Abigail. Turning away, he left the hallway before she even got to the door.

_Of course, my mom said it would happen soon after, not right away_ , Jadon thought to himself. _But what was going to happen_? _And how was he going to save Abigail_? Climbing to the main deck, he walked to the front of the ship, where he hoisted himself onto the bowsprit. Here, he stayed until evening, thinking to himself, when the dinner bell rang. Making his way to the mess hall, Jadon quickly made himself a meal, and sat down at his regular table. Picking at his food, he ate very little.

Much to Abigail's dismay, he was still not talkative, though he didn't appear mad either.

"Is something wrong?"

"Not yet," he replied to the bewilderment of the others.

Ethan glared at the older lad, clearly thinking it was him the youth was talking about.

Then, Shawnya spoke up. "If you two start another fight, I'm going to beat up both of you. That's a promise, not a threat."

Hearing this, Jadon cracked a smile.

"I mean it," she went on, only to be interrupted by Argo's loud voice.

"Attention!" he yelled. The mess hall quieted down as everyone turned to face Argo.

"I want all of you to know that at our next stop, no one is to go ashore. Is that understood?" he asked. The crew members began talking among themselves only for Argo to clap his hands.

"We are docking at Martook," he said loudly, only for the crew to speak even louder than last time.

"What's Martook?" Micah asked Jadon.

"The only Atlantin Isle that didn't sink," he replied, though he was wondering still why they were going there in the first place. The nation of Martook and Jafaro were not on friendly terms.

Whistling, Argo once again received everyone's attention.

"As you know, Martook is not a friendly nation, and we are not there to make peace. However, they have a shortage of food, and in trade for some precious items, we have been chosen by the Jafarian government to give them some. Now then, we have been given two additional commands to follow. First, we use only the sails to show that our intent is peaceful, and the second is, just as I said, no one is to go ashore." Immediately some whispers started around the room.

Argo clapped his hands. "No one. Am I understood?"

"Yes, sir!" responded the crew.

Turning back around, Jadon felt uneasy. Something was bound to go wrong, and he had a strong need to figure out what it was. Not feeling hungry anymore, he stood up and disposed of the rest of his meal.

###

Ethan nearly jumped when Shawnya spoke, after Jadon left the mess hall.

"He knows something," she told all of them. She sounded quite sure of herself.

"What?" asked Micah.

"Don't know, but he does."

Ethan sighed quietly. He couldn't believe Jadon was upset about him dying. It always seemed like the older lad couldn't care less about him. Searching his mind, he quickly realized the youth began acting funny when Micah mentioned a loose tooth. Still, that didn't make any sense. _What was there to be upset about_? _It's just a tooth_.

###

That very night, Jadon lay awake in his top bunk with many questions on his mind. _What was going to happen to Abigail_? _And how would he save her_? And those weren't the only questions. Picking up the letter to his mom, he used a flashlight to glance over it. It seemed to him that it was just one big riddle. Reading over the first paragraph, he stopped, and read it again.

"It almost seems like I had something to do with Micah's birth," he muttered. "But why does it also say I hated him?" More questions began to fill his mind. _Who is this other man that I helped_? _Why was, and still is, a trained assassin after me_? _And what does it mean my strength was weakened_? Finally one last question bugged him. Where was he when his mom was dying? Sighing, he placed the letter aside, turned off the flashlight, and rested his head on the pillow.

An hour later, sleep came, only this time a dream entered Jadon's mind. Looking around, he found himself in a large hallway with a very high ceiling. The walls were made of stone, and reminded him of a certain place, though he could not place it. Above him, large arches held up the ceiling, which contained several skylights that were dark. Straight ahead, he saw the only doors in the hallway — two double doors. Walking toward them on the white tile floor, a bright light suddenly pierced through the cracks around the doors.

Stopping, Jadon moved to the side so that the light didn't blind him. Fading within fifteen seconds, he realized that it was the same type of bright light that he had made before. Just then, the door knob of the right door started to turn. Glancing around, he saw no place to hide, and bolted farther down the hallway until he found an open door.

"Bye!" shouted a young boy's voice.

"You be careful! Tell your parents where you were!" an old man's voice replied.

Not responding, the boy walked quickly down the hallway. He didn't even seem to notice Jadon watching him through a partly open door.

Nonetheless, after a quick glance, the youth immediately knew who it was. The red-tinged, blond hair gave it away instantly. _It was his younger self_! _He was having another memory_! Excitedly he followed his younger self outside. It was dark, and only the two blue moons lit up the sky, but the scarcely lit city around him made him realize they had just been in the Jafarian palace!

Seeing his younger self far ahead, Jadon had to run to catch up. Traveling down the stairs to the subway station, he watched his younger self board the virtually empty Mountaino train, and he did the same. Sitting in an aisle seat, he sat a few seats in front of his younger self, to keep an eye on him. As the train started moving, he glanced back and noticed that his younger self looked quite smug. _I wonder what I just did_ , he thought.

At each stop, Jadon looked back to make sure his younger self had not gotten off before the station near their house. When they were halfway there, he looked back, and his younger self was gone! Shocked, he looked around, only to hear the younger boy's voice beside him. Turning back around, he saw that the younger boy had taken a seat beside him.

"You're spying on me, aren't you?" his younger self questioned him.

"No, why would I do that?" Jadon asked in return.

"You've been following me since we were in the palace. Jebediah told you to do this didn't he?"

"Who's that?" Jadon responded.

"As if you don't know," his younger self answered.

Suddenly, an idea entered Jadon's mind. "He's old, and has a long beard, doesn't he?"

"He's going to have a _very_ long beard," the boy replied with a smirk.

"You just helped him, didn't you?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Like you don't know. Now, listen. I'll be fine, and you tell Jebediah that. And stop following me," the boy instructed him.

Jadon nodded helplessly, and watched the boy go back to his seat. Still, he had no intention of not following his younger self.

Arriving at the final station, Jadon waited until the last minute to get off. Then, he followed far behind his younger self on the way to their cabin.

However, just as they were almost there, his younger self stopped unexpectedly, as if he had sighted something.

Looking ahead, Jadon saw what he had seen and felt his heart drop. A man with short black hair in a matching intricate, black robe was lurking around the outside of the dark cabin. He appeared to be looking around.

Glancing back at his younger self, Jadon watched him cut through the woods instead of using the path to their cabin.

Bending over for a moment, the boy seemed to pick something up.

_What am I doing_? Jadon wondered. Moving in closer, he tried to get a better view. When he did this, he noticed the man in the black robe was holding a very large gun at his side; it was known as a sniper muddle.

Watching his younger self move through the woods, Jadon smiled, having figured out what his younger self was doing. Less than two seconds later, the man let out a loud yelp and dropped the muddle. A large rock had collided with his hand, making him lose his grip on the gun.

"Drop something?" his younger self asked aloud, and walked out of the woods.

"You little brat," the man muttered.

"What are you doing here?" the boy asked.

The man smiled, showing off his false, red tooth. "I'm here to kill you," he replied, still holding his hand.

"Why?"

"It's not why. It's what you are. An ohnyx. And now that you've seen my face, that's another reason to kill you!"

In the blink of an eye, the man pulled a miniature sword from his side.

This caught Jadon's younger self off-guard, though only for a second. Yanking a long knife from his belt, he faced the man with it.

Jadon watched as the two blades clanged together, knowing his younger self didn't have much of a chance. For two minutes, nothing but metal on metal was heard, while Jadon watched anxiously. His younger self seemed to know when to back away, and when to watch out.

With one unexpected move, the man sliced into the boy's upper right leg.

"Agghhhhh!" the boy cried out, as blood darkened the right leg of his shorts.

Jadon immediately knew it was a deep cut, and it was the very same cut that had left the enormous scar on his right leg. Struggling to fight, his younger self retreated. Running back into the cabin, he slammed the door closed. The man laughed loudly at him as he did so, and started looking at the ground.

_What's he looking for_? Jadon asked, and then realized he was looking for his muddle. Finding it, the man picked it up and walked over to the cabin. Finding the door locked, he kicked it.

Unexpectedly, the door opened. Jadon's eyes instantly fearful as a woman in an intricate, white robe, with strawberry-blond hair stood there. Obviously pregnant, he knew immediately who she was. A loud yell from his younger self confirmed it.

"Mom! Noooooo!"

"Noooooo!" Jadon himself yelled, as the man pulled the trigger.

The muddle fired, and hit his mom. Her face wrinkled in pain as she clutched her stomach, and fell to the ground. Waking up at that very instant, Jadon found himself short of breath, and his heart pounding fast. The image of his mom's face as she was shot stuck in his head. Bolting upright, it took him a full minute to realize where he was. Glancing around, he noted that everyone was asleep. Wiping the sweat off his forehead, he knew it would be hard to get back to sleep, and therefore quietly climbed out of his bunk. Leaving the boys' cabin, he headed for the main deck. Walking in front of the sails, he stayed out of the well-lit areas, and sat down against the port side railing, using only the two blue moons to see by.

Taking more deep breaths, Jadon could hardly believe what he had just dreamed. Every time he blinked, he could see the image of his mom in his head. Then, he noticed a new sensation. His cheeks were wet, not from rain, but from fresh tears. Wiping them to the side, he was instantly sure of one thing. That was no dream. It was indeed another memory.

"Did you really die like that?" he asked aloud, and looked up at the two bright, blue moons in the sky. He sighed. "No wonder my father tried to hide it from me."

Just then, he heard footsteps on the deck. Silently groaning, Jadon assumed it was Argo until the wind blew part of a white nightgown into the light.

"Abigail?" he called. The footsteps stopped.

"Jadon?" she asked.

"What are you doing up here at this time of night?" he questioned her.

"I heard you get up, and leave."

"And you were already up?"

"I was having trouble sleeping."

"Why?"

Abigail could hardly believe her ears. "Because you were mad at me."

"About what?" Jadon inquired.

"You know, about telling Shawnya what it said in the letter."

"Oh, yeah."

"Well, it's just, I've kept so many of your secrets from her that I don't want her to start thinking I don't trust her."

"I understand."

"Besides, it was funny," she told him. She was clearly trying to brighten his mood.

"No, it wasn't," he replied.

"Yeah, it was. Just think about it... a mother protecting her baby, and she just happens to bite you on your..." she started to say.

"Okay, okay," he responded before she could mention it.

"Jadon, what's wrong?" Abigail asked. She twisted her horns after a brief period of silence.

"I just had a bad dream. Okay?" he told her.

"A bad dream? What about?" she asked.

He sighed. "It wasn't a dream. It was memory, I just know it..."

"A bad memory?"

He nodded. "You should get back to bed before you catch a cold."

"Tell me."

Reluctantly, Jadon told her about his dream.

"That's horrifying!" Abigail exclaimed. "And you think it really happened?" she asked in a quieter tone.

"Yeah, I do," he responded solemnly.

"This doesn't mean it was your fault."

"I think it's all pretty clear. I was a coward."

"Jadon..." Abigail began.

"It's all right. At least now, I know why everything was hidden from me," he said, interrupting her.

"You don't know everything, though," she reminded him.

Nevertheless, before he could reply, they heard footsteps, and then Argo's voice, as his shadowy figure came into view.

"Abigail? Jadon? What are you two doing out here at this time of night?"

"Couldn't sleep," they both replied at the same time.

"Right, well, get back to your cabins, and don't let me find you out here again," Argo ordered them.

"Yes, sir," Jadon replied, and followed Abigail back to their cabins.

###

Two hours later, he managed to get back to sleep, only to be shaken awake by Micah.

"Time to get up, Jadon!" the little boy told him eagerly.

He groaned, but sat up. "I'll see you at breakfast, Micah."

Moving slowly through his scheduled chores, he finally made his way to the mess hall.

"Why are you so tired?" Ethan questioned Jadon, as he sat down and yawned.

"Oh, no reason," he replied. He didn't want to tell the younger lad about his dream.

"Did you stay up last night?" asked Micah.

"Not exactly," he replied. Then, before either of the boys could ask any more questions, the girls showed up. Making small talk for a while, Shawnya suddenly looked at the youth just as she finished her meal.

"Jadon?" she asked.

"What?"

"I was thinking about getting a pet," she said with a smile.

His brow rose. "Really?" he inquired, sensing some kind of smart comeback.

"Yeah, a bird with a long beak," she responded, and giggled as she rose from her chair, and then made a quick exit.

Clenching his fist, Jadon looked at Abigail, who shrugged helplessly before she too stood up and left.

He groaned. Although she had slightly annoyed him, he realized it was nothing compared with the way he felt for her.

"What was that about?" inquired Ethan, interrupting his thoughts.

"You don't want to know."

"Why does Shawnya want a pet bird?" Micah questioned him curiously.

Sighing, the youth shrugged. "No reason, Micah. No reason."

###

During school hours the Taryn docked at the island of Martook. Feeling the ship hit the dock, Teacher dismissed both Jadon and Ethan with the excuse that "Argo wanted to trade the cargos as quickly as possible, and could use all the help he could get." Rising to the main deck, the crew quickly put the boys to work. Jadon worked with Ethan, who normally worked below, but was now up top, due to a slight change of arrangements.

After a few hours, his muscles ached, but he kept pushing on, knowing it would soon be time for lunch. Even as much as Argo wanted to get this over with, he still had to know the crew would need a break. Just then, he heard a voice from down below. Glancing down through the huge hatchway, he noticed Abigail on the bottom deck, waving at him from behind two crates. Seeing how busy the crew was lowering items to that deck, it took him only an instant to remember his mom's warning. Something was going to happen to her, and it would be any time now.

"Abigail!" he yelled. "Get out from there!" However, the warning came too late.

All of a sudden, an explosion ripped through the hatchway, shaking the ship to the point where Jadon nearly fell forward, only to catch himself at the last minute. The image of his mom dying flashed in his head, only this time it was Abigail's image.

"Abigail!" he yelled through the smoke, but there was no response. Around him, the crew panicked, and an alarm sounded. Racing to the nearest ladder below deck, he didn't hesitate to kick people off as he made his way to the bottom deck. There, he ran down to the cargo entry room where Abigail had been. The door stood open, filling the hallway with smoke. Just as he was about to enter, someone grabbed his arm.

"Let go!" he yelled.

"Jadon, it's me," said Lieutenant William. "You can't go in there."

"Yes, I can," he answered, and pulled his arm loose.

"At least take an oxygen..."

Jadon never heard the rest of it as he ran into the large, smoke-filled room. Several burning crates caused the room to fill with so much smoke that he could barely see two feet in front of him. Struggling to think, he tried to remember how things had been prior to the explosion.

"Abigail!" he yelled, and started coughing.

Placing his shirt over his nose, Jadon attempted to find the place where she had been.

"Abigail!" he shouted out again, and then suddenly saw her. Slumped against a wall, the two cargo crates that had been in front of her were now broken, and piled against her. Racing up to her, his heart nearly stopped when he saw that her eyes were closed, and her forehead was bleeding.

"Abigail!" he yelled, but she didn't respond. Picking up the top crate, he lifted it gingerly away from her, and then threw it to the side with all his might, causing a loud crash. After he did the same to the second crate, her eyes flickered open.

"Jadon?" she muttered.

Dropping his shirt, he responded.

"It's me. Don't worry. You're going to be okay." Pausing for a moment, he coughed from the smoke.

"Jadon, I love you," Abigail said to him, before abruptly closing her eyes.

"Abigail! Abigail! Stay with me!" he shouted, but it was no use. Coughing again, he felt lightheaded. Trying to stand up, he only fell over. The scene in front of him faded from his eyes, as he began to fall unconscious from smoke inhalation.

## Chapter 22

Triumph

Beep! Beep! _What is that annoying beep_? Jadon's mind wondered. Beep! Beep! Beep! The sound was quickening as he thought about it more. Then, he heard a voice.

"Jadon?" He knew that voice! It was Micah's! Struggling slightly, he forced his eyes open. At first he saw nothing, as bright lights appeared to blind him. As his eyes adjusted, he heard Micah again.

"Jadon! You're awake!" the little boy exclaimed.

Glancing around, he could finally see he was in the medical bay. Instantly, his memory returned, as the doctor walked up to him.

"Good to see you awake, Jadon," the doctor announced.

Jadon ignored him. "Where's Abigail?"

The doctor motioned him to look to his right, where one of the beds was surrounded by a curtain.

"How is she?" His heart beat faster, causing the beeping sound behind him to increase. _A pulse monitor_ , he realized.

"Jadon, I really need to check you out first. Then, I can tell you about Abigail," the doctor replied.

"She's not..." he started to say, intentionally stopping.

"No, she's not. Now let me check you out, and I'll tell you about her."

Reluctantly, Jadon complied.

The doctor placed a stethoscope over his bare chest to listen to his heart and lungs. Then, after taking an agonizingly long moment on a computer across from him, the doctor finally spoke.

"Well, you appear to be fine, Jadon, but it's good they pulled you out when they did." The youth couldn't have cared less about himself at the moment.

"What about Abigail?" he asked urgently.

The doctor sighed and walked over to the closed curtain. Pulling it away, she became visible lying in a bed, with all but her head covered by a sheet. Her eyes were closed, and bandages covered her head. Without the doctor even saying what was wrong, Jadon knew it was bad. This was clear because her parents and Shawna sat alongside her.

Only Shawnya acknowledged him with a dim look.

"What's wrong with her?" Jadon questioned the doctor quietly.

"She's in a coma from head trauma. She also has three broken ribs, and a broken right arm. I've done all I can for now, but it's the head trauma I'm concerned about. It'll be a few days before I can do any more, and I can't promise anything," the doctor explained. "I have three other patients here including you, but Abigail here is the worst. She was probably closest to the explosion."

Jadon looked down. He couldn't take much more of this. Walking up to Abigail, he took her right hand in his.

"I'm sorry I couldn't save you," he said aloud. He felt tears coming, but he had to say one more thing before they did.

"I love you too, Abigail," he told her, not caring who heard it. Still, she appeared lifeless. Using his left hand, he touched her hair.

"Did you hear me?"

"Jadon..." Shawnya said softly.

Unable to take it anymore, the youth let go of Abigail's hand, and ran out of the medical bay. Micah looked sadly at her, before following him out the door.

Walking up to the main deck, Jadon sat in the very same place he had been with Abigail the night before, only this time Micah sat beside him.

"Jadon, do you think Abby is going to be okay?" the little boy asked.

"I don't know," he answered. "Why was she even down there? She knows I work on top..."

Micah attempted an answer. "Maybe she forgot."

"Maybe," Jadon replied. Silent for a few minutes, he suddenly stood up.

"Come on, Micah. We have to find out what happened."

The little boy stood up, and silently followed him until they reached the hallway outside the operations room.

There, they found Argo exiting his office. He looked surprised to see the youth.

"Lad, what are you doing up and about?"

Jadon didn't answer his question.

"What happened, Argo?" he inquired instead.

The old man sighed.

"A bomb was snuck aboard. We're lucky. It was a rather small one."

Hearing this, the youth looked away.

"Not small enough, though," Argo said. "Two of my crew, and Abigail."

Jadon didn't respond.

"Who snuck a bomb aboard?" questioned Micah.

"It was probably hidden in one of the crates we traded. Therefore, we have no idea who did it," Argo answered.

Jadon suddenly looked up.

"You mean, you don't think it was the Martook government?" he asked.

Argo shook his head. "They've slowly been trying to agree to a peace treaty with us. This would only damage that." Suddenly, Jadon felt like the old man was hiding something.

"You found something, didn't you?" he questioned him.

Argo tried to hide his surprise. "Well... yes," he replied, and didn't elaborate.

Jadon stared at him.

Taking a deep breath, Argo pulled a piece of charred wood from his pocket, and handed it to him.

"I have reason to believe this came from the crate that exploded." Turning it over, Jadon examined the piece of wood. A small part of it had escaped the fire, and allowed a round-shaped seal to survive. Inside the seal, a fierce looking iguana was visible.

"What is it?" Micah inquired.

"It's the seal of The Iguana Society. The same group that wants you dead," Argo said solemnly.

"But they already think I'm dead!" Jadon blurted out.

Argo again looked surprised, only this time he didn't try to hide it as the youth explained about the man who had followed him while he was with the girls and Micah. The old man rubbed his head as he listened with disbelief at the danger they had been in. Then, a new thought must have popped into his head.

"If he really did think you're dead, there's a second possibility," Argo told Jadon.

"What?"

"They could have found out you were from this ship, and did it to warn us."

"True, and now, it's my turn to warn them!" Quickly, Jadon placed the charred piece of wood in his pocket and started to walk away, only for Argo to grab him.

The old man sighed before speaking. "Jadon, you aren't going to do anything."

"You can't stop me," the youth said without turning to face him.

"You know, when this happened, Jadon, I had no idea where you were. The crew said you were on the main deck helping them, and then the next minute, you were gone. I was beginning to think you had fallen..." Argo explained, making it clear that he had thought Jadon had been killed. "I saw Micah next, and I didn't even know what to tell him."

The youth interrupted him. "You don't understand, Argo. I was supposed to save her. I failed, but I can still do something, and I have to do it," he responded, and pulled away from Argo's hands.

"Jadon, wait," Argo said in a soft voice that stopped him. Rubbing his forehead, the old man seemed to be deep in thought.

"What?" the youth asked, as he grew impatient.

"You're not leaving this ship," Argo finally answered in a stern voice.

"We'll see about that," Jadon replied, and narrowed his eyes. Then, with haste, he left to the main deck using the circular stairs.

Micah rushed along behind him.

Attempting to exit the Taryn, and make his way to land, the youth was suddenly surrounded by four strong men who carried him back. Sighing, he realized there was no easy way off the ship, at least for now. He tried to think of a plan. Minutes later, he was on the way to the medical bay along with Micah. On the way, he bumped into Ethan who, having heard what had happened to Abigail, was unusually kind.

"Jadon, I hope she gets better," the younger lad said.

He sighed, and walked on.

Once in the medical bay, he pulled up a chair, and sat alongside Abigail. Seeing this, Micah copied him.

"Micah, you don't have to wait here with me," Jadon whispered.

"But I want to," the little boy replied. Taking a deep breath, the youth watched Abigail for a sign of life as the hours went by. As night arrived, both Shawna and her parents talked to Abigail, but her condition didn't change.

Jadon started to feel angry. _Why was she down there in the first place_! _And how could he possibly have saved her_? _He did yell. Hadn't she heard him_? _He wasn't anywhere close to her. Not to mention, he had no knowledge of the explosive device_. He sighed. _I must have missed something_! Taking Abigail's hand, he spoke to her as tears raced down his cheek.

"I'm sorry I failed you, Abigail." Shawnya widened her eyes upon hearing this, and then twisted her horns.

"Jadon, you didn't fail her," she told him.

"You don't understand," he said, standing up. "I knew this was going to happen."

Abigail's parents looked at each other as he walked out, but Shawna jumped up and followed him into the hallway. Grabbing his arm, she stopped him.

"Tell me you didn't have something to do with this," she said. Her voice was both threatening and distressed at the same time.

"I didn't," he replied.

"Then, what did you mean?" she asked, her tone a bit calmer.

"My mother told me I was going to save Abigail..." Jadon began, and explained what had happened in his dream. He went on to tell Shawnya that he hadn't been anywhere near Abigail when it happened.

"I rushed below deck. There was smoke everywhere, but I found her. She was..." He stopped for a moment.

"What?" questioned Shawnya.

"She was awake when I pulled these two crates off her. She said my name. She knew it was me. She said something else too..."

"Go on."

Jadon looked her in the eye before he spoke again.

"She said she loved me. After that, she passed out, and so did I..." He sighed.

"She really does love you," Shawnya told him. "As much as I hate to admit it, she really does."

He nodded. "Too bad I couldn't have saved her."

"Maybe your mom meant some other way?"

"Yeah, some other way..." Jadon muttered, and walked away.

It wasn't until that night that he started to form a plan. He intended to get off the ship, whether or not Argo would let him. Placing his knife and a muddle pistol in his pocket, he waited until both Ethan and Micah were asleep. Then, crawling out of his bunk, he rose to the main deck. He found the Taryn's exit onto the dock guarded by several men. They eyed him suspiciously, most likely having been told he would try to leave the ship.

Jadon knew he could easily use the muddle on them, but he doubted that was all Argo had up his sleeve. Climbing to the scantly-used overwatch deck, which was built on top of the operations room, he looked over the stern side of the Taryn. Clouds covered the two blue moons tonight, and he found himself straining hard to see at first. A seawall directly behind the Taryn became visible, and then something else. He smiled. It was a lone tree.

Racing below deck, Jadon hurried to a storage locker on deck three. Here he found what he was looking for: a rope gun. It was a device that could shoot a rope into nearly anything, rocks included, and more easily a tree. Taking it with him, he realized he would have to hurry once he fired it. Both firing the gun and the piercing of the tree would make a loud noise, but it would also take anyone who heard it time to figure out what it was. Reaching the main deck, he nearly tiptoed. The guards were talking to each other, and barely noticed him climbing the ladder. Reaching the top, he turned the gun on. It took roughly a minute to warm up. With the laser sight on, he aimed it at the tree and fired. A loud shot ran out, followed by the sound of splitting wood.

Jadon heard voices as he checked the line for snugness, and then started the climb. Placing one hand in front of the other as he moved, he tried not to think about the water below him. Halfway across, he felt his arms aching, but pushed on. Finally, he reached the tree, and climbed onto the ground. First he heard the noise of footsteps running toward him. Immediately, he took off running.

"Jadon! Get back here!" The voice was Argo's.

"Sorry. I have to do this!" he replied. Sprinting off into the night, he raced away from the old man.

Not far away, Jadon found an abandoned building along the shore. There, he tried to sleep until morning, but sleep never came. He was too worried about Abigail. The sun rose, and he could hear people outside. Rising up, he pulled his things together, and walked outside. His first order of business was to find out who sent that package to the Taryn. He smiled, and pulled out the burnt piece of wood. Actually, he already knew. He just had to find them; then he would use his power to curse them.

Making his way up a hillside, Jadon arrived in a small village town with numerous small, wooden buildings. The place seemed like a ghost town — deathly silent at first — when he suddenly found himself surrounded by people, young and old. At first he felt threatened, but then he learned it was his hair they were extremely taken with.

"How did you get hair color like that?" a little girl asked him.

"My mother gave it to me," he answered with a small smile.

"Can someone please tell me where the warehouse is for the ships that dock?" he asked.

An older man answered him. "Take a right at the next intersection. You can't miss the building. It's brown, tall, and huge."

After thanking the man, Jadon made a run for it. Several people tried to get him to stop, but he ignored them. He couldn't believe the attention his hair was bringing him. Making a right at an intersection, he could see the building the man had described. Everything he said about it was true. In fact, it looked out of place from the other buildings.

Stopping in front of the door, Jadon caught his breath, and pulled the muddle pistol out from his backpack. Holding it at his side, he entered the building. As his eyes adjusted to the dim light, he found himself in a small, pale yellow room. A desk stood in front of him, with a man sitting behind it. Not noticing the youth right away, he was reading a newspaper.

"Can I help you?" his gruff voice questioned Jadon. Before answering the youth studied his features. The man was skinny, with black hair, and had a mustache. He was dressed in a worn green shirt covered by a blue jacket.

"Yes, you can tell me how this crate got on the Taryn," Jadon told him. Pulling out the charred piece of wood, he sat it on the desk. The man sighed, and put his newspaper down. Seeing Jadon, he looked surprised for a moment.

"Look, no matter what you guys do, I can't tell you anything more," he replied. "Although, the reddish-blond hair thing is kind of cool."

Feeling slightly angry, Jadon let himself cool down.

"I don't know who you're talking about, but I'm not with them. My friend, my very good friend, might die because you permitted that crate on board."

"Calm down. I can't tell you where the crate came from unless you have the numbers on it," the man informed him.

"What about a seal?"

The man looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

Jadon picked up the piece of wood, and held it before the man's eyes.

"Oh, no. Oh, no!" the man repeated. Visibly shaken, he backed away.

"You know where it came from?"

"No, no. I don't," the man responded.

Jadon sighed. He was not a good liar, but something was making him very afraid. Walking behind the desk, he raised his muddle.

"Tell me!"

"Look, I know I shouldn't have done it, but it's never turned out this way before..." the man started to explain, raising his hands high.

"Go on," Jadon told him.

"I accepted money to have it put it on board."

"A bribe? From whom?"

"This man. He has an ugly, red tooth. He wears all black, except for a scarf around his face."

"Where is he now?"

"I don't know. He didn't say where he was from."

Jadon's anger started to boil over. _He should curse this man! Maybe that would somehow save Abigail_. He put his muddle down for a moment. No, something deep inside him told him that was wrong.

"Why did you accept the bribe?" he questioned the man.

"Because this job really doesn't pay that much. I have six kids to feed..."

Jadon sighed. In an instant, he knew that it wouldn't be right to curse this man. Without any further words, he left the building.

Walking outside, he thought long and hard about something that had bothered him from the start. When his mom had told him the future, she had never given out any details that would have changed it. _That meant she would have known he'd be nowhere near Abigail when the explosion occurred. Which means I'm to save her now. But how could I possibly do that_? _Unless_ ... Suddenly, it all clicked. It even explained why his power had worked on Ethan. Still, there was only one way to know for sure.

Running as fast as he could, Jadon headed for the Taryn. As he flew through the crowds, people began to follow him, yelling for him to stop. The ship finally came into sight as he crested the top of a hill. Running so fast down the hill that he nearly fell, he finally reached the Taryn.

The guards Argo had posted let him through, having been expecting him. However, they were not ready for the large crowd that had followed him.

Rushing below deck, Jadon raced toward the medical bay. Micah stood outside, looking particularly lonesome, while Ethan was hugging Shawnya. Her parents were also there. The youth's heart dropped. _Was he too late_?

"Shawnya! How is she?" he inquired, barely able to catch his breath.

"Jadon!" exclaimed the little boy.

The youth picked him up, and hugged him as he listened to Shawnya.

"She's worse, Jadon. She's going into surgery in a few minutes, but it only has a slim chance of working."

"Don't worry! She's going to be perfectly fine," he replied, and sat Micah down.

"What do you mean?" questioned Shawnya, pulling away from Ethan.

Jadon smiled, and didn't respond to her. Instead, he placed his hands on the younger lad.

"Ethan, you don't have cancer anymore," he said to him.

The younger lad's mouth sprang open in disbelief that Jadon had just told Shawnya his secret.

"Jadon!" he yelled.

"What is he talking about?" Shawnya asked Ethan with bewilderment. While they were momentarily distracted, the youth pushed the medical bay doors open and rushed in.

"Jadon, you can't go in there!" Shawnya yelled, and sprang after him. Inside, he instantly noticed her bed had been moved to the surgery bay, where it would be easier for the doctor to work. Both the doctor and one of his assistants were preparing for the procedure when they recognized him.

"Jadon! Get out of here! We just sterilized the room," the doctor told him. Still, Ethan and Micah watched from the doorway as he walked right up to Abigail.

"Jadon!" Shawnya screeched from halfway across the room. She couldn't believe he was risking her sister's life like this.

"There's nothing you can do for her now," the doctor insisted.

"Oh yes there is," Jadon responded. Quickly placing the palms of his hands together, he pulled them apart, and reached for Abigail.

"I hope I'm right about this, Abigail," were his last words, before his hands touched her seemingly lifeless body. A bright light instantly blinded everyone in the room.

"Jadon what did you do?" loudly questioned the doctor.

He didn't respond. Instead, he waited for it to fade, along with the rest of his comrades. When it did, almost nothing appeared to be different at first. The first thing he noticed was the bandage that had been atop her head was gone, along with the deep wound it had hidden. Shortly after, the doctor detected a second difference.

"I don't believe this," he said aloud while looking at one of the monitors. Shawnya walked closer upon hearing this.

"What is it?" she inquired.

"Her brainwave patterns, they're normal. In fact..." Jadon watched closely, as Abigail's eyes flickered open at that exact second.

"She should be awake," whispered the stunned doctor.

Then, Shawnya noticed her sister's eyes open.

"Abigail!" she yelled in delight.

From the doorway, Ethan, Micah, and the girl's parents watched with disbelief as Abigail sat up. Seeing this, the little boy ran across the room to see Abigail.

"Shawnya?" Abigail asked in a slightly confused voice.

Hugging her sister gently, Shawnya smiled, and let herself cry tears of joy.

Jadon was no different. As he smiled at Abigail, he felt tears rolling down his cheek. He could hardly believe what he had just done.

Abigail turned toward him. "Jadon? What happened?" She had never seen him cry before.

"I figured out what my power is, and I saved you with it," he answered her.

## Chapter 23

Captured

"Your power? Then, you know what it is?" Abigail asked.

Jadon choked back his tears to try and answer her, but before he could do so, Micah responded.

"He made you better!" the little boy shouted.

Abigail glanced at the youth, who nodded and finally spoke.

"I can heal people. Go figure."

"It's true. I can't believe it, but it's true," Shawnya told her sister with a bright smile.

"That's a wonderful power, Jadon," Abigail responded.

He nodded.

"But, how did you know?" she inquired, looking slightly confused

"My mother said I would save you, and the only way for me to save you was to heal you."

"Your mother told you?" Again, Abigail was confused.

"She told me before when I talked with her, but said I couldn't tell anyone, or the future could change," Jadon explained.

"Oh," Abigail said as it slowly started to make sense in her mind. Turning around, Jadon noted Abigail's parents were eager to talk with her.

"One more thing, Abigail," Jadon said, and paused to look around the crowded room. He didn't like the idea of saying it around so many people for the first time, but now he didn't care that much.

"I love you, too." Smiling for only a few seconds at her surprised face, he turned, and walked away. As he made his way to exit the room, everyone seemed to be staring at him. He ignored it until he got to Ethan, whose mouth had dropped open.

"You trying to catch a fly?" Jadon questioned him with a smirk.

"I didn't think you had it in you," the younger lad answered him.

"Well, I did."

Just as he had finished talking to the younger lad, Argo walked through the door. Upon seeing Abigail, he smiled.

"Congratulations, lad," Argo announced.

Jadon only frowned, and quickly became angry.

"Would you have let her die just to keep it a secret from me?"

"No, Jadon, I..."

"Then, why didn't you tell me!"

"Jadon, I was hoping you would figure it out yourself. That's why I wanted you to stay on the ship. I thought maybe it would just come to you," Argo explained.

"But she could have died while I was figuring it out!" he said loudly.

Heads in the room began to turn.

"Calm down, Jadon. I was going to tell you if her condition got worse. And when her condition did decline, you weren't on the ship to tell," Argo replied.

The youth sighed. This was getting him nowhere.

"It's not an easy promise to keep, you know," Argo told him. "And the worst part is, you're as stubborn as your father."

"What's that supposed to mean?" he inquired. The old man only smiled, and shook his head.

"Lad, forget it. Why don't you use your power again on the other two crew members who were injured in the explosion? I suggest you start first on the worst of the two, Emily." Before Jadon could reply, he turned and walked away.

Taking a deep breath, the youth walked over toward the bed that held Emily. She appeared to be resting peacefully.

Walking over to him, the doctor spoke quietly of her condition. "She's stable for now, but she has internal bleeding. If I can't stop it, she'll die."

He nodded. "I'll stop it," he told the doctor, who watched with shock. Walking to the side of her bed, Jadon was about to touch his palms together when he sensed he was being watched. Turning around for a second, he realized that everyone in the room was looking at him.

"Do you mind?" he asked. Much to his dismay, everyone shook their heads. They were clearly intent on seeing this.

"Fine. Don't blame me if you're all blinded."

However, before they could react, Jadon brought his palms together, and then reached down, and touched the woman's shoulders. The very second he did so, a white light blinded everyone in the room. There were gasps of surprise, along with scattered confusion, which died down as the light faded. Everyone, including the youth, watched for a sign of life from Emily. For nearly a second, nothing happened. After a minute, she opened her eyes, and yawned. The group in began talking all at once until the doctor ordered them to be quiet.

"What happened?" Emily asked.

"I just healed you," Jadon replied, and walked away.

The confused woman asked more questions, but he walked over to the last injured crew member.

Blinking his eyes, he could hardly believe how tired he unexpectedly felt. In fact, he couldn't remember the last time he had felt this tired. "I'll heal this man, and go lie down," he told himself, not yet seeing the connection between healing and his depleted energy. Touching his palms together, everyone watched as, once again, a bright light filled the room.

###

However, when the light faded, Abigail, her comrades, and the rest of the people watched as the youth fell backwards onto the floor.

"Jadon!" yelled Abigail, and Micah at the same time.

Jumping out of bed, Abigail ran for him.

The little boy quickly followed.

The doctor, however, was the first to reach him. Lifting him onto a bed, he checked his vitals.

"His pulse is very weak, and breathing shallow, but he doesn't appear to be getting any worse," he announced moments later.

"What happened?" questioned Abigail.

"It's just a theory, but I'm guessing his power is limited," the doctor answered.

"Is he hurt?" Micah inquired.

"I don't know," the doctor replied.

An hour later, the doctor had run some scans, but was unable to make any conclusion. Glancing at the group of kids around Jadon's bedside, he sighed, and put in a call to Argo.

Meanwhile, Abigail could hardly believe what had happened that day. She watched Jadon intently for a sign of life, but with nothing happening, she had trouble holding the tears back.

Shawnya was silent, but Micah spoke. "He just looks like he's sleeping."

That was all it took for Abigail to burst into tears. Shawnya hugged her sister, while Ethan replied to Micah.

"Maybe he is," he said. "It just doesn't make sense, though, that using his power would hurt him."

"No, it doesn't," Shawnya replied when the door to the medical bay opened.

Turning around, Shawnya, Ethan, and Micah noted that it was Argo.

"How many people did he heal?" the old man asked.

"Three," Micah and Ethan answered at the same time.

"So, he really could have healed three people had he been able to..." the old man muttered, appearing surprised.

"What do you mean?" asked Shawnya.

"Nothing," Argo replied. Walking toward the group, he saw Abigail.

"What's wrong?" he inquired.

"It's Jadon...he's..." Abigail stuttered. Argo interrupted her before she could finish.

"Abigail, he's asleep. He'll wake up in the morning, and be just fine," the old man explained. Ethan and Shawnya looked at Argo with wide eyes, while Micah smiled brightly.

"I knew it!" the little boy shouted.

"Really?" questioned Abigail, turning around to look at the old man.

"Yes. Healing people takes a certain amount of energy from him. It's his limitation. Now, each of you get out of here, and let him sleep," Argo told them.

All of them listened but Abigail, who refused to leave Jadon's side.

After Shawnya brought Abigail her evening meal, she asked her sister how much longer she was going to stay.

"Until he wakes up."

Upon hearing this, Shawnya rolled her eyes.

"He did save my life, didn't he?" Abigail asked.

Her sister nodded. "Yes, but he's just asleep."

"I want to be sure of that," she insisted.

Shawnya sighed and left.

###

Because Abigail fell asleep during a late hour of the night, Jadon awoke first the next day. Opening his eyes slowly, he looked around, and unexpectedly spotted Abigail sleeping in the chair beside him. Jutting his eyes wide open, he sat up.

"Abigail?" he asked, and looked around. There was no one else in the room. Abigail's eyes fluttered as she stirred. Seeing that Jadon was awake, she nearly jumped out of her chair.

"Jadon! You're awake!" she cried.

"Yeah, what happened?" he inquired.

Abigail explained to him what little Argo had told her.

"And he did say one strange thing."

"What's that?" questioned Jadon.

"He asked us how many people you had healed. After we told him three, he said, 'So, he really could have healed three people, had he been able to... Then, when we asked what he meant, he wouldn't tell us."

"Had I been able to?" Jadon asked. He was sure it was another clue, but his mind was not yet awake.

"I know. It didn't make sense," Abigail replied.

Jadon suddenly noticed her wrinkled clothes.

"Did you stay here the entire night?" he inquired.

Abigail nodded shyly.

"Why?"

"I wanted to be sure you really were just asleep."

Jadon smirked, but said no more about it. "Well, we better go get some breakfast," he said to her.

They were at breakfast when they learned of a surprise from their comrades.

"We're allowed to leave the ship, and explore Martook," Ethan told them.

"Why?" asked Jadon. "I mean..."

"Apparently, they thought we were going to blame them for the explosion. Then, when we didn't, it really shocked them," Shawnya explained.

"I can't believe it," Jadon told them, and then looked at Abigail. "But since it's true, maybe we should explore Martook." It was hard to hide the fact he had something in mind.

"What are you planning?" she questioned him minutes later, as they returned their trays to the kitchen.

"What makes you think I'm planning something?" Jadon inquired with a smug face.

Abigail shook her head. "You're not going to tell, me are you?"

"Nope, but you're welcome to come with me in three hours."

That was more than enough time for both of them to shower and dress in a clean pair of clothes.

As they met up to leave the ship, Argo stopped Jadon and pulled him aside.

"Listen, lad, you really shouldn't go onto the mainland."

"Why not?" he asked.

"Because you may be putting yourself in danger," the old man answered vaguely.

"Argo, I'll be fine. I don't even plan on going into the village town. Though in case I do, I have a muddle pistol and my knife with me," the youth answered. Then, before the old man could reply, he walked away with Abigail.

After a short climb, they arrived at the same village town Jadon had visited only the day before.

"This is a nice little place," Abigail said, turning around, and enjoying the view of the harbor, though a grove of trees blocked part of it.

Glancing around while Abigail was distracted, Jadon spotted what he was looking for: a place to sit where people wouldn't notice them, but they could still enjoy the view.

"This way!" he told her, and led her along the edge of the hillside. Stopping in front of a collapsed building, Jadon sat down in the grass.

"Why do I feel like we're hiding?" questioned Abigail.

"My hair," he replied, causing her to look at him strangely. "Everyone in this town is fascinated with my hair," he reluctantly explained.

Hearing this, she laughed and sat down.

"Wow, the view is even better here. There are no trees in the way," she stated.

Jadon nodded, and for the next minute he was quiet. Picking a nearby blue wildflower, he handed it to her.

Abigail smiled, instantly figuring it out. "This is our first date, isn't it?"

He looked at her, and nodded.

"What can I say, besides I love you?" he asked, suddenly feeling very shy.

"I knew you meant it when you said it in front of everyone," she told him with a smile, and then kissed his cheek. "I love you, too."

He turned and smiled back. Both of them were silent for a couple of minutes when Jadon finally spoke up.

"Abigail... I don't understand. Who would I want to heal more than my mom?"

"What do you mean?" she inquired, confused by his question.

"I'm pretty sure I healed that man named Jebediah. You know, that old man we saw," he replied.

She nodded.

"Then, in my dream, we saw my mom get shot. That's only two people."

"Maybe you didn't have enough energy to heal her?"

"No, my mom spoke of a choice, a hard choice. Then, Argo said I couldn't heal three people for some reason. He didn't say two," Jadon told Abigail, his mind rushing.

"Maybe another person was hurt, like your father," she suggested.

"No, he would have mentioned that in the letter I found, for sure," he replied rubbing his forehead.

Suddenly, a clue sparked in Abigail's mind at the same time one did in Jadon's, and they both spoke over each other.

"Jadon, you said your mom was pregnant..."

"The letter said I hated..."

Glancing at each other, they both knew who the person was.

"Micah," they said, and looked at each other. Taking a deep breath, Jadon laid his head far back against the wall so that he could look up at the sky.

"Micah," he mumbled over and over for a minute. "Of course, he was a person even then, and I was probably looking forward to having a brother. In fact, I know I was," he said, remembering a card he had seen at his house.

"You don't hate him now, do you?" she asked.

"No, of course not," he replied and looked at Abigail, who managed a small smile.

Suddenly shaking his head, Jadon looked at Abigail.

"What am I doing? This is supposed to be our date," he said to her, and became determined to think about things later.

"It's okay, Jadon," she told him.

"But I still have one question about you."

"What is it?" Abigail asked nervously.

"What were you doing down below when the explosion happened?" He'd been wondering about it for days.

"I wanted to ask Ethan something, but he wasn't there."

"What was it?"

"It was about you," she said, cracking a small smile.

"What would you ask Ethan about me?"

"Well, you've never told anyone your birthday," Abigail responded, and gazed into his eyes. "I was hoping to get a clue from Ethan."

Jadon smiled upon hearing this, but didn't reply.

"Well, aren't you going to tell me?" she questioned him, and poked his side.

Grinning, he decided to tell her. "The twelfth day of the thirteenth month."

"Jadon, that's only two months away! And it's so close to the fourteenth day!" she said excitedly.

"Which would make it exactly one month before yours," he replied, knowing Abigail would be surprised.

"You remembered!"

"Of course I did. It's not every day someone throws a piece of cake at me..." he said, starting a whole new round of conversation.

###

Finally, as the day set, they decided to return to the Taryn. Arriving back at the entrance of the village, Abigail spotted a medium-sized building with a display window. In it appeared several dresses.

"Jadon, look! A store!"

"So what?" he asked. He was ready to go back.

"Don't you want to buy me something?" she questioned him.

Giving in, Jadon walked into the shop with her. Much to his delight, he discovered the store was not full of dresses. Instead, it contained a little bit of everything, from food to clothing and even some knickknacks.

From the back, a cashier watched the youth as both of them explored the place.

Abigail quickly became unhappy. All three dresses in the window were too big for her, and even worse, they appeared to be the only ones in the shop.

Nevertheless, Jadon found something he was sure might interest her.

"Abigail, look at this. It's neat."

Glancing toward the youth, she saw that he was holding a bracelet. Walking over, she took a closer look. Made with large crystals of multiple blue shades and different sizes, they were each divided with pale white beads.

"Wow, it's pretty," Abigail said aloud.

"It's a good luck bracelet," a voice spoke from behind them. Turning around, they saw it was the cashier.

"I like it," Abigail told Jadon, who was reaching to a shelf above.

Reaching between them, the cashier picked up another bracelet. Differing from the other, it was made with bright, colorful crystals.

"How about this one?" she inquired.

"No, I like the other one," Abigail responded, and glanced at Jadon with a smile.

"Try it on," he suggested.

Moments later, Abigail couldn't have been happier when she found that it fit.

"I'll pay for it," Jadon told her, and walked into the back with the cashier. Paying with a gold coin, he was quite annoyed when she purposely took her time counting the change. She did that so she could start up a conversation about his hair.

"Is it real? Does it bring you good luck?"

"Yes, it's real, and I don't really know if it brings me good luck," he responded. He secretly didn't want to disappoint these people if that's what they believed about his hair.

Finally able to leave, Jadon strolled outside with Abigail not far behind. Not paying attention to her surroundings, she was admiring her bracelet as she walked into the street, when a loud roar caught her off-guard. Glancing up, Abigail was just in time to see a large, brown pickup heading toward them.

Before she could even think what to do, Jadon pulled her violently toward the side of the road, as the truck went past at a very high rate of speed. Almost losing her balance, he held onto her until she managed to regain it. Spotting the truck in the distance, it was far away already.

"What a crazy driver," she commented to Jadon.

He stared at the truck, which was already far away from them, and didn't respond.

"Jadon?" Abigail asked. "What is it?"

"There was a man in the back of that truck, all tied up," Jadon told her, finally looking away from the truck and at her.

"Did you recognize him?"

"Yeah. He was my father."

## Chapter 24

Cursed

"Jadon, are you sure? That truck went by awfully fast," Abigail questioned him.

The youth was quite sure. Seeing the truck coming, he barely had enough time to pull Abigail out of the way before looking back at the truck, where he saw the man. Tied up in the bed of the truck, his unshaven face had been at first, unfamiliar. That's when he noticed the man had blond hair, and then their eyes met. While the truck moved on, Jadon studied his face. _Where had he seen that face before_? Then, he remembered: in the locket that was now against his chest. He felt it in every bone of his body that the man in the back of the truck was indeed his father.

"Yes, I'm sure," he replied to Abigail.

"What would he even be doing here?" she asked.

"The explosion on the Taryn. It probably made the news in Jafaro," Jadon answered, having wondered the same thing himself. Just then, a voice called to them.

"Jadon! Abigail!" yelled a young girl. Turning toward her, they spotted Shawnya.

"There you two are. You both are going to miss the evening meal," she warned them. Then, she must have noticed the looks on their faces.

"What's wrong?" she inquired. Neither of them responded.

"Abigail, what is it?" questioned Shawnya again, her voice becoming insistent.

"Jadon saw his father," Abigail finally answered, and started explaining what had happened. While she was doing so, the youth abruptly took off running.

"Where are you going!?" Abigail shouted.

"After my father! You two go back to the Taryn for help!" He sighed as he peered back and saw that they weren't listening, but following him.

Up ahead, Jadon had spotted a white, four-door farm truck. He knew the skybird would be the quickest way to get to his father, but by the time he convinced Argo of what he saw, it might just be faster to find a ride. After all, it had only been minutes ago that his father went by. Getting there just in time, Jadon saw a short, brown-haired woman with glasses getting into the truck.

"Wait! I need a ride!" he yelled.

The woman stopped, and stared at him.

"I have gold coins!"

The woman shook her head.

"Gold won't save my farm now."

"Please! We need to help his father!" Abigail said, now beside Jadon, along with Shawnya. She was practically begging, but the woman paid no attention.

Jadon felt desperate; if only there was something he had that she would want. Glancing at the lady, he noticed she was still staring at him, and it occurred to him why.

"My hair! It's good luck, right? What if I cut off some of my hair, and gave it to you?" he asked, wondering if it would work.

"It's real, then?" the woman inquired wearily.

"Yes. Do you want some strands?" questioned Jadon.

She nodded, and he pulled his knife out. The woman suddenly closed the door of the truck, disheartening him until he figured out she was just watching him. _Of course, she was being careful_ , he realized.

Secretly glad he hadn't had a haircut in a while, Jadon pulled forward the strands of hair over his forehead. Then, with the other hand, in one quick motion he sliced them off.

Abigail stared at him with shock and Shawnya with confusion.

However, for the first time, the woman smiled as Jadon handed her the hair cut from his bangs. Stuffing it in a pants' pocket, she motioned for them to get in.

After he got in, the girls quickly followed.

"You do realize how dangerous these people are?" he asked them. They nodded, and he sighed.

"Guess they're coming along, too," he told the woman, but at the moment she didn't seem to care. While Jadon sat in the middle, Abigail sat to his right, and Shawnya got in the back seat.

As the woman turned the truck around, Abigail decided to ask him about the trade. "What's so special about your hair?" she whispered.

"It's good luck," he replied.

Overhearing them talk, the woman explained. "You see, no one around here has had a child with bright hair for decades, and look at this place now. It's all dried up. A wasteland, really," she told them, and then smiled. "But my luck will change now!"

The youth looked at Abigail, and rolled his eyes. _It was just hair_!

"Where to?" the woman asked as she started the truck. It roared to life, while Jadon answered her question with a question.

"How many places does this road lead to?"

"Two cities."

"Do either of them have an airport?"

"One."

"Then, that's the one we want," he replied, thinking of the jet the scar-faced man had.

Upon reaching the end of the small coastal town, they were surrounded by fields full of dead grass for as far as the eye could see. The ground was dry, causing a dust cloud to form behind the truck as it moved forward. The few trees they passed looked dead, and wildlife seemed to be nonexistent. The only sound they heard was the noise of the truck.

"Do me a favor, and step on it," Jadon told the woman. "Like my friend said, my dad's in trouble."

"Okay, you asked for it," she replied, and pushed the accelerator to the floor. The engine roared, and the truck sped up. The youth watched the speedometer climb just below its top speed of sixty. Rattles from the truck grew louder. All three of them were nearly jarred out of their seats as they hit a pothole.

"Might wanna put those belts on," the woman told them, referring to a strap that they had all been sitting on. It wasn't long before they were glad they did. Numerous more potholes pulled the truck in every direction. The truck creaked and groaned as it was forced to continue to move through them at the high rate of speed.

"Come on, George. You can do it," the woman said, and patted the dash.

Shawnya leaned forward, and whispered between Jadon and Abigail, "Who names a truck, George?"

Jadon shrugged in response.

###

Meanwhile, back on the Taryn, Argo was talking with Ethan and Micah in the hallway outside their cabin.

"Have either of you heard from Jadon, Abigail, or Shawnya?" he inquired while rubbing his chin.

"No, sir," responded Ethan. Micah shook his head. Argo sighed.

"Where did they go?" questioned Argo, speaking his thoughts out loud. Just an hour ago he had sent Shawnya to find them, and she had yet to return. When thirty minutes had gone by, he sent an officer to look in the town for them, but he had returned empty handed. _Had it been a mistake to trust the people of Martook_? he wondered. All of a sudden, Micah tugged on his shirt.

"Do you think Jadon is in trouble?" the little boy asked.

"I hope not, but I don't really know," Argo answered, and looked down at the boy's worried eyes.

###

At the very same time, Jadon, Abigail, and Shawnya were in the town of Dormich. A small city, it was filled with brick buildings unlike the village had been. People walked into the streets, with no thought of the truck coming toward them.

"Now, any idea where your dad is?" the woman questioned them. Abigail looked at Jadon, who turned toward the woman. Taking a deep breath, he answered her.

"Have you heard of The Iguana Society?"

The woman looked at him with shock.

"Who?" Shawnya inquired from behind.

"You really shouldn't be messing with them. People have been killed just for looking at them the wrong way," the woman warned him.

"So, they are here. Where?" Jadon asked. When the woman didn't answer, he pointed at his hair.

"Lucky child, right. Okay, I'll tell you, but I'm not going to drive you around that section of town."

###

"That section of town" turned out to be the entire north quarter. After she dropped them off, Jadon, Abigail, and Shawnya walked down an empty street. It was instantly clear that only the three of them dared to walk in this area of town, as no one else was in sight. Abandoned buildings lined both sides of the street. Paint peeled from the wooden buildings, and nearly everyone had broken windows.

Jadon suddenly stopped, and stepped in front of the girls. "Look, maybe you should get help." They both shook their heads.

"We're not going anywhere," Abigail told him.

Glancing at both of them, he saw they looked equally determined. He rolled his eyes and moved on. Pleasantly surprised when there was no ambush around the next corner, he was even more so after they had explored several more streets. Turning onto a wide street, it wasn't long before he saw a large building that looked unusually well-kept. Large pillars in the front held a roof two stories up over a porch with double doors. Made of white stone, it had huge windows, which were unbroken. Curtains shielded the interior from view, making it all the more obvious the place was inhabited.

"This looks like the place," Jadon told them in a whisper. Quietly sneaking to the side of the building, he walked down a narrow path between the large building, and the smaller one next to it. Shawnya followed silently. Peering in each window, the two saw that they were covered adequately until they came to the last one. Because a small c-shaped piece of glass near the bottom was missing, they could hear a man speaking.

Peering in, Jadon felt his heart drop, as he saw his father tied to a wooden chair. For a moment, he felt afraid. He didn't really know his father, yet somehow he felt they shared a bond. Calming himself, he watched and listened to the scene inside the room. Surrounded by several men and women in black robes, Nathan appeared solemn, as a single, black-haired man spoke to him. When the man turned his head to the side, a scar on his left cheek became visible. In an instant Jadon knew it was the same man he had seen before who had killed his mother. Straining his ears, he attempted to hear what the man was saying to his father.

"Our judgment is decided. We've decide to kill you at dawn." A vicious laugh followed.

"Go ahead," Jadon's father responded with no sign of fear in his voice. "But your reign of terror will end soon, and I'm sure it'll be my son who causes it."

"Your son is dead! I already told you I killed him! I've had enough of your lies. Gag him!" the scar-faced man yelled angrily. One of the members quickly moved in to do so. Pulling out a knife, the man ran it along Jadon's father's neck.

"Maybe I should kill you now," he threatened him.

Jadon quickly decided he had seen enough, and moved away from the window.

Abigail and Shawnya followed him to the front of the building.

"Jadon, where are you going?" asked Shawnya once they were far enough away not to be heard.

"If it's me they want, then it's me they'll get," he replied and reached for the door handle.

"Wait!" Abigail said in a hushed yell. He was nuts! He didn't stand a chance against all the people she saw in there!

Appearing to listen to Abigail, Jadon did stop. Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her. Pulling away from her, he smiled.

"I love you," he told her. Leaning in, he kissed her.

###

Standing to the side of them, Shawnya watched and instantly knew it was no ordinary kiss. Her sister's eyes, at first closed, were now wide open in surprise. When the kiss ended, Shawnya could see Abigail was still in shock as Jadon spoke.

"I have a plan. Take this," he said, and handed her the muddle from his pocket, before he continued speaking. "You two stay out here. If it doesn't work, run for help."

###

Then, before either of them could object, Jadon entered the building. Walking into the first room, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the dimness. Once they did, he noted that the room was full of cargo boxes. To the left and right, stairs ran up to a balcony on the second floor. However, he wanted to go straight through the double doors under them. Taking a deep breath, he headed for them when two members dressed in black jumped out. Unsurprised, Jadon spoke to them, and did not struggle as they searched him and found his knife. "Tell the scar-faced man I'm here," he said. He could sense their shock, as they stood still.

"Well, get to it!"

The first member quickly exited into the next room, and then opened the door moments later and motioned them through. Kicking Jadon in the back of the leg, the second member tried to push him to the ground, but was unsuccessful as he raced for the center of the room. Upon seeing the youth, both his father and the scar-faced man stared at him with surprise.

"Are you okay, Dad?" Jadon inquired. His father nodded, but then looked to the scar-faced man. The youth's eyes met his.

"Jadon, you're still alive _again_? I thought I killed you last time," the man said grimly. "But, really, to come in here and offer no struggle. Am I missing something? Or are you planning something more?"

"Nope, not really," he answered.

The man frowned in disbelief.

"I just want to know why you killed all those ohnyx children."

The man smiled, showing off his red tooth for a moment before he replied. "Because no one should have the powers that you and they do."

"So, that's it? You killed them for that? All twelve of them!"

"Yes, that I did. Something had to be done about them. It's unnatural. They are unnatural, and I know they will be the cause of a war one day."

Hearing this, Jadon instantly felt disgusted with the man, and turned toward the members.

"And you all find this man, your leader, honorable?"

"We do," all of them answered.

He sensed a liar among them, but said nothing.

"Of course they do! What a silly question," the scar-faced man told him. "Now, it's time to kill you in front of your own father's eyes." Pulling a knife from his side, he faced the youth with it.

Jadon smiled.

"I don't think so. May my mother forgive me, but..." he said, placing the palms of his hands together, and reaching out toward the man.

"I curse you, and all the people in this room who consider you honorable!"

###

At the very same time, Micah was alone in the boys' cabin. Running his wooden toy train across the floor, he was not having fun. He was too worried about Jadon. So much had happened in the past few days. He could hardly believe it, though he wasn't unhappy about that. After all, his brother had finally discovered his power. He could heal people and, in his mind, that was really spectacular.

Nonetheless, Jadon was missing now, and so were Abigail and Shawna! _Where had they all gone_? he wondered. He hoped they were okay. Two minutes went by as he thought about this, when all of a sudden, the room went pitch black. Glancing up at the window, all he saw was darkness. Climbing up into the youth's bunk, he looked out the round window. Nothing was blocking it! It was just dark all of sudden. He immediately felt scared. It had never gotten dark that fast before.

###

Ethan was getting checked out at the doctor's just before it happened. Sitting on one of the beds, he was listening to the doctor.

"It's true, Ethan. All my tests show that it's gone. Not a trace of cancer."

"So, Jadon really can heal," Ethan said, and took a deep breath. One minute he only had months to live, and now he could live the rest of his life without worrying about it.

"Yes, he can," the doctor replied. "Guess that means I'm out of a job?" he joked.

Ethan smiled just as the light in the room unexpectedly grew dim. Both of them glanced at the six, round, outer windows, which only shone darkness.

"That's odd..." the doctor started to say.

"Yeah. Maybe it's an eclipse," Ethan responded. Somehow, though, he didn't think that was it.

"I'd better find Micah," he told the doctor, and quickly left. Running down to the boys' cabin, he found the frightened little boy.

"What happened to the sun?" Micah asked Ethan, and hugged him.

"I don't know. Let's find Argo. Maybe he'll know," the older lad suggested.

###

The words that Jadon had spoken clearly frightened the man, but when nothing happened, he laughed.

"So, you can't do it after all," the man replied, and advanced toward Jadon with his knife.

###

Abigail, who was again watching from the window, had seen enough. Moving away, she ran for the front of the building, holding the muddle out in front of her. Her heart beat fast, but she was determined to do this. _I have to save him_!

"Abigail!" Shawnya screeched, running behind her.

###

Jadon didn't move. His eyes stayed closed, and his hands were still raised.

"You're wrong, Terrance. I can do it," he replied. The palms of his hands began to glow a bright white.

"No, no, no!" the man shouted. He started to make an exit, but it was too late. The room was overpowered in a bright white light.

###

Abigail ran into the building just as the bright light blinded her, and the ground beneath her began to shake. A strong wind started to blow all around her in more than one direction. Unable to see because of the blinding, bright light, she could hear the cries and yells of people. A sudden roar that sounded ten times louder than thunder scared her, but she was even more afraid when darkness broke through the bright light. Suddenly, she could hear Jadon's voice talking to her.

"Close your eyes, Abigail," he said gently. She did so, but a sudden thought bothered her. _What about her sister_? _What was happening to he, now_!

"What about Shawnya?" she questioned him, though through all the noise she was unsure that he could hear her.

"She'll be fine," Jadon responded. Abigail could do nothing but trust he was right. Her heart beat faster as she felt bitter coldness and arid heat around her at the same time. Then, of all things, she felt droplets of water. _Rain_? she asked herself.

###

Ethan and Micah made their way to the operations room when the loud roar of thunder cut through the ship. It was quickly followed by torrents of rain. _It's a storm_? Ethan wondered. _Still, storms have never made it that dark before_ , he thought as he looked out another porthole. _It's like night out there_. Arriving at the operations room, he and Micah hurried in.

"What happened to the sun?" Micah questioned anyone who would answer him. They all looked at each other."Is it an eclipse?" Ethan asked.

"Do you see one of the moons out there?" Claire inquired, half annoyed.

Ethan narrowed his eyes. _No wonder Jadon didn't like her_.

"Well, it can't be just a storm," he said.

Argo looked at him seriously. "That's because it's not," he told him, causing the crew, including, Claire to stare at him.

"I've only heard about this once. About an ohnyx who had the ability to curse."

"Like Jadon," Ethan responded, remembering a conversation where Jadon had said one of his powers was to curse. "But what's an ohnyx?"

"It means gifted child," Argo replied.

"You two can't be serious! Jadon didn't cause this. It's just a storm!" Claire ridiculed them.

The howl of wind picked up just as she said that. Deciding not to argue with Claire, Ethan and Micah watched from the main window as the storm strengthened in the next five minutes to a full-blown hurricane. Waves pounded the Taryn, rocking it from side to side. The rain and wind quickly diminished visibility.

"This isn't good," crew member Henry spoke up.

Meanwhile, Lieutenant William was surprised by what he saw on his monitor.

"I've never seen such a large hurricane before!" he informed them. Just as he said that, a huge wave rocked the boat.

Ethan and Micah, who were the only ones not in a chair, nearly lost their footing.

"Wow!" shouted Micah, who had been watching outside when it happened. Thanks to the outer lights, he could see the bow, and had seen this wave barely crest over it and onto the main deck.

"Get the pumps ready to work on any leaks," the captain ordered. "And tell all hands to brace themselves for further impacts!"

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant William replied. Two minutes went by, and the tension rose on the Taryn as the storm worsened.

Suddenly, Micah shouted. "Look! Hurry!"

Glancing out the window, Ethan saw a wave as high as the Taryn. With barely any time to spare, Argo suddenly grabbed him and Micah away from the window. He pushed them onto the floor, just as the wave crashed into the bow. They heard a crash as the Taryn was pulled loose from its moorings, and thrown against the seawall behind them.

Still, even more frightening was a wave that poured over the main deck and headed directly for the operations room window. With only seconds to react, the crew closest to the window jumped away from their stations, just as the wave crashed against it. Cracking through the center, the glass held, much to everyone's relief.

"Now that was a wave," Ethan said as he stood back up.

It was also the last great wave to hit them. After only a few more minutes, the weather calmed. Bright streaks of light began to pass through the darkness at an ever increasing rate, until eventually, there was no more darkness. It was almost as if it had never happened. Claire's mouth fell open in astonishment.

"I can't believe it's over that quickly," she told them.

"It is," Argo responded, and sure enough, he was right.

###

It was fifteen minutes later, but to Abigail it felt like it had been forever, when everything abruptly stopped. The noise, the heat and the cold, the rain and the wind.

"You can open your eyes now," Jadon told her calmly. Opening them, she saw the bright light was gone, and so was the building they had been in. In fact, there were no buildings around her: just dirt under her feet. All of sudden, she spotted someone else lying on the ground- Shawnya. The girl's eyes were closed, but when she was shaken, they opened.

"Abigail?" she asked, and sat up. "What happened?" Abigail looked over at Jadon, and noticed he was looking at something. Standing up, her eyes followed his. The body of a teenage boy was lying in the dirt. Moving around, he suddenly sat up. Now dressed in gray colored clothes, his hair was black, and his complexion pale. Seeing Jadon, he looked scared.

"Why I am still here?" he questioned him.

"Because you didn't really think he was honorable," the youth replied.

"No, I didn't."

"And that's why you are still here. Now, go!" he commanded him. Heeding his word, the teen hurried off.

Another groan made Jadon turn toward his father. The man was now free of his bonds, and sitting on the dirt with a dazed look. Jadon stared down at him for a long minute, as if he didn't know what to say. When his father finally looked up at him, the youth let out a sigh.

"I now know why my mom didn't want me curse back then. She was right... I wouldn't have... been able to..." the youth started to tell him. Stopping before he could finish, he unexpectedly fell to the ground and his eyes closed.

Both Jadon's father and Abigail rushed over to him.

Abigail quickly checked his pulse.

"It's weak," she told her sister.

"You think he's tired again?" Shawnya inquired as she stood up.

"I hope so," she replied, and she looked at Jadon's father.

The man looked back at her, but didn't speak as he lifted the youth over his shoulders.

As they exited the city, they just happened to come across the woman with the white truck. She usually looked happy, and even more so when she saw them.

"Isn't this great! He did it, didn't he?" she asked, pointing at Jadon's limp body.

"Did what?" questioned Abigail.

"All this rain! All the lakes and rivers are filled!"

"Well, yes..." replied Shawnya, though she was unable to convince the woman that it had nothing to do with his hair color. However, much to her delight, she would give them a ride back. Abigail and Shawnya both sat in front while in the backseat, Jadon's father held his son. Glancing back at them, Abigail could see the man's eyes looking down at Jadon. What she could not tell was if the sadness in his eyes was from happiness or sorrow. She silently realized how long it must have been since he had seen Jadon last.

"Why did Jadon cut his hair?" he inquired, speaking for the first time.

"For you," Abigail replied with a smile, before quietly explaining what had happened. Jadon's father smiled and kissed his son's forehead. It was late that night when they made it on board the Taryn. Abigail followed Jadon's father to the medical bay where he took the youth, before leaving abruptly without saying a word.

###

While Ethan had long since gone to sleep, Micah was unable to settle. When he was sure he had heard something, he quietly exited his cabin to see Shawnya.

"Is Jadon back?" Micah asked.

Shawnya nodded, and told him that the older lad was in the medical bay. Running all the way there, he found Abigail beside Jadon's bedside.

"Is Jadon hurt?" he questioned her, out of breath.

"I don't know. I think he may just be tired again," she said to him.

Abigail and Micah were both happy to find out the next morning that she had been correct.

###

Yawning, and stretching, Jadon had awakened. After being served breakfast in bed, Ethan and Shawnya arrived, just in time for him to answer questions. Micah went first.

"Did you really make that storm?" he inquired.

"I did," he answered.

"Really?" questioned Ethan.

"Why?" asked Abigail and Shawnya at the same time, causing them to look at each other with annoyance.

"Yes, really, and because I needed something to do with their energy. I've always liked storms, and these people did need one," Jadon explained, and then noted Micah looked angry.

"What, Micah?" he inquired, but he was pretty sure he knew.

"There was a big wave that could have really hurt us!"

"I know. I'm sorry. I let go of my control for just a second, and..." he went on, with a long face when Micah interrupted him.

"It's okay, Jadon."

After answering a few more questions, the youth abruptly frowned.

"Where's my dad?" he questioned them.

His comrades looked at each other.

"We don't know. He carried you down here, and we haven't seen him since," Abigail informed him.

## Chapter 25

Promise Kept

Just then, Argo walked into the room. "I don't suppose you know who Jasper is, do you? I don't, but your father said he had to meet him, and he'd send an escort after he'd found him."

Jadon looked at his comrades. "The First Ohnyx. And what did he mean by an escort?"

Argo shrugged.

###

Jadon found out two days later, when he heard the sound of a low-flying aircraft in his cabin. Rising to the main deck of the Taryn, he was astounded by what he saw. Less than fifty yards from them, a skybird floated in the water. However, it was bigger than Argo's, and more importantly, a red stripe on each wing told him everything.

A minute passed, and his comrades quickly joined him.

"It's a royal skybird," he told Abigail.

"What's that?" she inquired.

"It's the elite part of the Jafarian army. They're specifically for the king's protection, but they can be used for other things. The skybirds are as fast as they come. The armor doesn't get any better, and the weapons... Well, let's just say, you don't want to make them angry," Jadon explained.

"Wow," she replied.

"What is it doing here?" questioned Ethan from behind him.

Blinking with annoyance, Jadon replied, "I don't know." Silently he couldn't believe how cheerful the younger lad had become over the past few days. He hoped it would die down a bit.

Just then the hatch on top of the skybird opened. As a man stepped out, only Ethan looked at him with surprise.

"It can't be," Jadon muttered. Standing on top of the skybird was the man they had seen in Jafaro with the gray beard that nearly reached his waist. He was again dressed in an intricate, orange robe.

"It's Jebediah," Shawnya announced.

"Who's that?" Ethan inquired and she quickly explained what little they knew about him.

The man, seeing them watching him, waved.

"He sure is old," Micah noted, and waved back.

Hearing this, Jadon smiled.

Each of them watched as Jebediah made his way from his skybird to the Taryn. After introducing himself to an officer from the Taryn, he was allowed on board, and escorted into the rear of the ship.

"Where do you think he's going?" Shawnya asked.

"To see Argo," Jadon replied. "But I'm pretty sure he'll be coming back to see me soon." He was indeed correct.

Several minutes later, Jebediah appeared, and headed straight for the group.

"Good afternoon, young ones," he said, with a wide smile.

"Afternoon," Jadon responded, and looked at the man's bright, green eyes.

"You're Jadon. Am I right?" Jebediah questioned him.

"I am," he answered.

The old man glanced at Micah. "And you must be Micah."

The little boy nodded.

Taking a deep breath, Jebediah looked back at the youth. "Your father would like to see the two of you."

"So, he's here, then?" Jadon inquired, glancing at the royal skybird.

"No, he's in Jafaro," Jebediah responded.

Jadon narrowed his eyes. "Well, why isn't he here?"

"Because, quite frankly, he's afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid you'll hate him for what he did."

Jadon didn't reply.

"If you want to see him, I'll take the two of you back," Jebediah informed him.

"I'll think about it," Jadon replied, and walked away.

"I'll be here for a few days!" Jebediah yelled, as he walked off.

###

Inside his cabin Jadon felt angry, not because of what his dad had done to him, but because of his dad's reluctance to see him. He had long accepted there was a good reason for why his dad had erased his memory, and he still felt a little anger over it. Nonetheless, it was another thing to be too stubborn to come to see his own son. Lying in his bunk, it wasn't long before he heard a knock at his door. At first, the youth ignored it, but when it continued, he soon figured out who it was.

"Abigail, please just let me think," he yelled, and the knocking soon stopped. Jadon stayed in his cabin, so his comrades did not see him at lunch. When he appeared for the supper meal, he was very quiet. Still, they all tried to talk to him.

"Jadon, I want to see our dad," Micah told him with sad eyes.

"You really should give your dad a chance," Abigail said.

"Everyone makes mistakes," Ethan spoke up.

However, it was what Shawnya said that got to him. "You're being just as stubborn as your dad," she said, in a matter-of-fact way.

She was the only one who Jadon glanced at.

While his other comrades had been friendly, she spoke the truth.

The very next morning, he climbed to the main deck to look for Jebediah. He spotted him crossing from the dock onto the Taryn. Seeing the youth walk toward him, the old man smiled.

"Have you made up your mind?" he asked.

"Yes. I'll go." He wasn't looking forward to it, but it was something he felt he had to do.

"Great. Then, let your friends know that we'll be leaving in an hour."

"Friends?" he questioned him with surprise.

"Yeah, those young people behind you," Jebediah answered.

Turning around, Jadon saw Abigail, Shawnya, and Ethan standing behind him. Silently groaning, he was annoyed at first, but then quickly realized they actually were his friends.

"There's enough room on your skybird for them, Micah, and me?"

"Yes, and for Argo."

Jadon knew he shouldn't have been surprised, but he was.

###

An hour later, he was packed and ready to go. Taking a deep breath, Jadon exited his cabin along with Micah, who was more excited than anxious.

"Do I look like our dad?" Micah suddenly inquired. The older lad smiled, and nodded.

"Yes, you do."

After placing his backpack in the cargo hold of Jebediah's skybird, Jadon climbed in through the hatch. Instantly he was shocked at how much room there was. In Argo's skybird there were only three seats, whereas this skybird had two front seats, plus two rows of four seats behind them.

Sitting in the back row in the end seat, he was not surprised when Abigail sat beside him. Micah took a seat in front of Jadon to get a better view, while Ethan, Shawnya, and Argo sat in the same row.

After everyone was belted in, Shawnya and Micah were both amazed as the skybird rose out of the water. They had not ridden in a skybird before.

"Accelerating to stage six point eighty-four in three, two..." Jebediah announced. As soon as the engines reacted, the skybird rapidly accelerated to the supersonic speed.

"Argo, it's faster than yours," Jadon said with a grin.

Argo turned to look at him with a frown. "Don't remind me."

Barely ten minutes passed, when Abigail caught Jadon's attention. "You're wearing that dress I got you!" he exclaimed, referring to the blue one he had bought her months ago.

Abigail smiled. "You finally noticed," she replied. Then, she paused. "I have something to ask you."

He looked curiously at her.

"The other day, when you kissed me..."

"What?" he asked, not hearing a question.

"I mean, the way you kissed me," she said blushing a bit.

Jadon smirked. "I heard it could be done that way."

Abigail twisted her horns. "So, you tried it out on me?"

He shook his head. "No, it wasn't like that!"

She stared at him until he went on. "I wasn't sure if I could really do what I did, and if I was killed... well, I just wanted you to remember me."

Abigail smiled. "I'll never forget you, Jadon."

He smiled back, knowing that she surely wouldn't.

A short time later, Jafaro came into view. As the skybird landed within the palace grounds, everyone except Jadon felt excited. He now knew the meaning of having butterflies in one's stomach. Walking across a brick pathway, they were surrounded by immaculate gardens on either side. Octagon in shape, unusually tall trees decorated the center, while every color of flower they could imagine surrounded them. At one point, they were surrounded by tall, green bushes with blossoming white flowers.

When they finally reached the palace, they saw a guard standing in front of a large, arched door.

Seeing Jebediah, the guard smiled and used a keypad next to the doorway to open the door for them. As they walked inside onto a gray tile floor, they each took a deep breath. The hallway they were in was overwhelmingly large. White pillars were separated by stone walls. Large, wooden arches held up the high ceiling, which was decorated with impressive, carved wooden panels.

Following Jebediah through a maze of brightly-lit hallways, they finally reached a large empty room. Decorated the same as the hallways, it differed by having gold pillars, and a plush red carpet. Telling them to wait there, Jebediah left, leaving them all curious.

Not wanting to be the first person his dad saw, Jadon moved to the back of the room. Seeing that a bookshelf covered the entire rear wall, he looked to see if he recognized any of the books. He was then pleasantly surprised when the bookshelf moved out toward him, forcing him to quickly move away. A dark passage rapidly became visible in front of him.

"Jadon," said a male voice from inside the passage.

Stepping outside, Jadon's father froze when he saw his son. Tall and muscular, Nathan's green eyes stared at the youth. Lifting his right hand, he pushed his light blond hair to the side. His expression was mixed, and he was speechless.

###

At the very same time, Micah suddenly noticed someone new in the room. The little boy tugged on Abigail's shirt, and pointed at him.

Standing in the doorway was none other than Jasper, the First Ohnyx. He motioned for all of them to be quiet as he walked toward the youth. Jadon and the man were the only ones who hadn't noticed the whitish-blond haired boy.

"Jadon, I..." the man began, when he looked up and noticed Jasper behind the youth.

Quickly touching his palms together, Jasper reached out in front of him, just as Jadon turned around to see what the man was looking at. The instant his hands made contact with the youth, a bright white light blinded everyone in the room. Fifteen seconds passed, and it faded. As his eyes adjusted, Micah noticed Jadon had fallen into the arms of the man. Then, he noticed something else. Jadon was blinking quickly, and his eyes seemed to dart around the room.

"What's happening to Jadon?" he asked.

Turning around, Jasper looked at him. "He's remembering."

###

Indeed, at that very moment, thousands and thousands of memories were flooding his mind. He smiled. Many of them included his mom and dad, and ever so slowly, they began to paint the story of his past. He now remembered why he hadn't saved the woman Tim had referred to many months ago. It was because of his instinct.

Jadon was seven years old, and his parents often made trips around the island of Jafaro so that he could use his power on a great many people. It was in Lighthouse Bay where he met Tim one spring day.

###

"Hey, you're Jadon, the healer, right?" Tim asked, while catching his breath. Just moments before, he had spotted Jadon, and run across the street to see if it was actually him. When the younger lad nodded, he couldn't have been happier.

"Please, come heal my mother. She's really sick. I think she's going to die," Tim said, practically begging Jadon.

Feeling nothing wrong, Jadon followed him. Along the way, Tim explained to him that she wasn't his real mother, but he still loved her dearly. Meeting up on the porch of a small house, he was surprised at how different the two were. While Tim was lean, she was round. Tim's hair was black, and hers red. Tim was Lemaron, and she was not. The differences only grew from there.

At first, nothing appeared to be wrong with her, until Tabitha, her name as Jadon learned, started coughing up blood. Tim again asked for his help.

Fully intending to heal her, the younger lad touched his palms together and reached for her. That's when the bad feeling came. In an instant, Jadon knew that she hated Tim and wanted him dead. In fact, he was sure she had already tried to kill Tim once. Jadon ran away as fast as he could, for he had never felt that much hate before.

Tim shouted, and ran after him, but the younger lad managed to find a place to hide in a park. He stayed there for several hours, before he found his way back to his parents.

###

Another memory soon made sense of why a lullaby playing on a piano had brought back the sound of a girl's voice. It was at a beach house, located in Forest City.

###

The sun had just set when there was a knock at the door. Feeling tired, Jadon didn't answer it right away, until his mother yelled from the kitchen for him to do so. Groaning, he found a young girl at the door, sobbing. Looking to be only six years old, blond hair covered her tear-stained face.

"Jadon!" she cried upon seeing him, and latched herself around him.

"Do I know you?" he asked her.

"You need to heal my daddy!"

Jadon sighed. He didn't know how to tell her, but he had already used his power twice today. That was as much as he could use it, as it made him extremely tired.

"I can't," the lad told her, but the little girl refused to let go.

"Come, please!" she begged.

"You don't understand. I'm tired. I already used all my power today," he explained.

Still, she wouldn't listen. "Jadon! What do you mean you're tired? Save him! Save him!" she yelled, becoming hysterical.

Reluctantly, he followed her to her house. Once inside, he heard the piano playing the funeral tune.

"If he's already passed. I can't do anything either," Jadon told her.

Still, the girl led him into her parents' bedroom. There, he caught sight of a very sick looking man. His skin was pale and his eyes were closed. Nevertheless, the lad checked the man's pulse, and found it to be there, but very weak.

"Do it!" the little girl told him.

Groaning, he hesitated, but then touched him palms together and tried it. To his surprise, it worked, and a bright light surrounded the room.

However, he never knew what happened after that. Everything went dark, and when he awoke, it was the next day. He was also lying on the front porch of the beach house he was staying in. Nonetheless, for some unknown reason, he had never told his parents what had happened that night.

###

While those two memories were very important parts of his life, one final memory stood out from them all: the memory of what happened the night of his mom's death. Pulling away from his father, tears wet Jadon's eyes.

"I know what happened. I know everything," he began, and looked at Abigail. "I was right," he said and then looked at Jebediah. "It all began when I healed him. I saw him in a parade one day. He looked fine, but I knew something was wrong with him. So, I sneaked out of my house really late that night and healed him."

Jebediah nodded.

For a brief second, Jadon smiled.

"Jebediah asked what he could do to repay me. For some reason, I told him to grow his beard as long as he could."

Everyone in the room smiled for a quick second.

"And that I did," Jebediah told them.

"After I healed him, I came back to my house, just before sunrise. That's when I saw Terrance with a muddle. He was planning to kill me in my own bed, just like the twelve other ohnyx children. All because they had unnatural powers." Jadon stopped for a moment to ask Jasper a question.

"How did they not know!" he asked angrily.

Jasper sighed. "I knew it was going to happen. I just didn't know when, or I would have done something."

A minute passed, and Jadon went on. "I threw a rock, and managed to knock the muddle out of Terrance's hands. He was very angry that I had seen him, and surprised me with a knife. I had one, too, and we ended up in a knife fight. I was good, but he was better. He managed to slice his knife into my leg." As he continued to speak, he started to sob.

"I was losing a lot of blood, so I ran for the house, but..."

Jadon stared at Abigail as tears freely ran down his cheeks.

"It wasn't because I was a coward!" He looked up at his father. "I wasn't, Dad!"

"I know, son," his father replied softly.

Jadon cried freely for a moment before going on.

"I went inside to get a better weapon. My bow and arrow was just across the living room, but before I could get it, my mom answered the door," he explained.

"I told her _not_ to! I yelled for her _not_ to answer the door!" he shouted as more tears fell.

"Jadon, I know. I heard you," his father said quietly.

"She was shot the moment she opened the door," he said with a great sob. "It didn't even _matter_ to Terrance that she was pregnant!" A minute went by, and he went on.

"When Terrance came inside, I aimed and shot the arrow. It went right through his left cheek. That was just enough time for my dad to grab his muddle pistol. He shot and missed. Terrance went running."

"I couldn't hold it steady," his father responded quietly. "I told Jadon to curse him, but..."

"My mom yelled for me not to. She was probably afraid I wouldn't have been able to control it, and she was right," Jadon told them, his eyes glazing over.

"I ran over to her, and found she was in a lot of pain. Even so, she noticed how my leg was bleeding all over the place and had me wrap it up. Then, I realized how tired I was because of the blood loss. I knew I couldn't heal both my brother and her, and so I told her. Then, without any hesitation, she told me to heal Micah. That was the first time she spoke his name," Jadon whispered, and glanced at the little boy.

Micah frowned at him, and looked down.

"I told her I couldn't just let her die, but she stopped talking because her pain was growing worse. I knew I could go against her, but I decided to heal Micah first, and then try and heal my mom. I thought maybe, just maybe, I would have enough power." Jadon looked down, as he sobbed for a silent minute.

"I didn't," he finally said. "I fainted when I tried."

"After you fainted, Micah fought his way out. Then, she held you and him until she passed," his father told him.

"It got worse. I remembering being so annoyed at Micah for crying so much. I hated him, really," Jadon said, and looked at the little boy who appeared as if he was about cry.

"But I was wrong..." he went on. "He just missed his mother, too." Opening his arms, the little boy ran up to him, and joined him in a hug.

"We had no idea he would try again, but several nights later, he tried to kill me in my bed by climbing that tree outside my window and using a muddle. He was intent on killing me because I saw his face. I was the one person who could link him to the murder of the ohnyx children. A guard spotted him, and shot at him, at the exact moment he took a shot. That's probably why he just barely missed, but he didn't know it because I stayed really still until he was gone. After that..."

"I erased his memory in hopes of protecting him," his father told them.

"Wow," Ethan responded, causing everyone to look at him.

Turning around, the youth looked at his father. "I understand, Dad, why you did what you did," he said, and hugged him.

Seeing this, Micah hugged him, too.

Suddenly, Jasper walked over to the youth, holding an intricate, green robe. "I think it's time you wore this, Jadon the..."

"Jadon, the Tenacious," he interrupted him, having glanced at the seal over the left chest area. He now knew that's what it said.

Meanwhile, Abigail giggled as he pulled the robe on.

Jadon looked questioningly at her.

"Well, you are stubborn," she told him, referring to the meaning of the word tenacious.

He smiled for a short moment, and then looked back at his dad.

"I think you all should have some alone time. I'll show your friends around the palace," Jebediah said, and led Abigail, Shawnya, and Ethan out the door.

Then, they noticed that Jasper was gone.

###

Several hours later, they again joined Jadon, Micah, and their father. The tears had long since dried up, and all three were smiling. Abigail, though, was worried. In no time at all, her face changed when Jadon told them of the plans that his father had made.

"My dad is coming to live on the Taryn with me!" he announced.

Abigail smiled brightly.

"Now, don't you think it's time you introduced me to your friends?" his father asked the youth. Jadon smiled, and walked over to his comrades.

"This is Ethan," he said, pointing to the freckle-faced lad. "And this is Shawnya," he told him, pointing at the younger of the two girls. Turning around, he looked at his father, and silently waited.

"Jadon!" Abigail shouted.

"He said friends," he replied, and turned around to look at her twisted horns. Before she could question what he meant, Jadon smiled, and looked at his father.

"Dad, this is Abigail, and she's more than just a friend," he informed him. Hearing this, Abigail's anger left her, and she returned the smile.

"Oh?" his father inquired, with a growing grin.

Before the youth could respond, Shawnya did. "What he means to say is that they're gonna grow up and get married."

Abigail blushed in shock, while Jadon laughed.

"I think she may be right," he responded. Then, before Abigail could respond, he leaned in and kissed her.

~Eight Years Later~

Shawnya had indeed been correct.

Four years ago, at the ages of nineteen and eighteen, Jadon and Abigail were happily married. Jadon became a part-time, first mate to captain Argo, on the Taryn, while Abigail became a dress designer. When they weren't sailing, the two lived peacefully together in a cabin, right beside Jadon's childhood home, where Micah and his father lived.

Coming home from work early one day, Jadon found Abigail at home. Holding her in his arms, they kissed and then they kissed again.

"Jadon!" Abigail said, obviously trying to tell him something between kisses.

He kissed her again, and suddenly remembered something. _She wasn't normally home this early_! Pulling away, he asked her why she was home at this hour.

"So, you don't remember where I went today?" questioned Abigail, with a smile.

Jadon shook his head, but then recalled.

"Wait... You went to... Are we?" he asked.

"With more than one," she replied.

"You mean..." he started to ask.

"I mean, we're having twins, Jadon."

He smiled, and laughed. "Twins! What are we going to do with twins?" Kissing Abigail, he danced around the cabin, nearly jumping for joy.

Stopping for a moment, he looked back at Abigail, his smile slightly fading.

"If only I could tell my mom. I haven't even gotten to tell her that I got my memory back. I know she already knows, but it's not the same..." Jadon said speaking of his mom. An ohnyx had not yet been found with an ability like Micah's.

"I know. That day will come. Don't worry."

Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. Running over to it, Jadon opened it to let Micah in.

"Micah! Abigail and I are having twins!" he exclaimed, shaking the now fourteen-year-old youth.

"Congratulations!" Micah replied. "But listen..." he started to say, when there was another knock at the door.

Opening it, Abigail was surprised to see her sister.

"Shawnya! What a great day for you to stop by! Abigail and I just found out we're having twins!" Jadon told her, still barely able to contain his excitement.

"That's great, but I came here because..." Once again, a knock at the open door interrupted them.

Turning around, they were shocked to see Ethan.

Jadon again repeated the news about the twins.

"That's awesome, but Jadon, listen. There's an ohnyx!" he began.

Hearing this, he became silent.

"A child in Fisher's Bay," Shawnya went on.

"Who has a power just like mine," Micah finished.

"Then, what are we waiting for? Let's go!" Jadon said, and strolled out the door.

###

One hour later, they were in Fisher's Bay heading for an address that Ethan had written down. The street they discovered was lined with brick homes. They all looked much the same, except for different colored shutters, and doors. The street was barely used by traffic, allowing children to play in it.

As they walked towards the address, Ethan looked at Jadon. "You know it's not fair that you're the oldest, and yet you look younger than all of us, aside from Micah, that is."

"Oh, get over it," Jadon replied, making them all laugh.

As they neared the house with the address listed, they noted a blond boy with pointed ears sitting on the steps. He appeared to be about nine years old, and was eating a pretzel.

"That must be him," Ethan said aloud.

"It's not," Jadon replied to everyone's surprise but Micah's.

Just then, the door behind the boy opened and a blond girl, who appeared to be four years old, walked outside.

"That's her," he told them.

Glancing their way, the girl saw them coming. Jumping from the steps, she took off running.

Seeing this, Jadon took off after her. Running as fast as he could, he edged closer until he had caught up with her.

Taking note of this, the girl stopped, and frowned at him. Pushing her long hair from her eyes, and behind her pointed ears, she appeared angry.

"You want me to use my power, don't you?" she questioned him.

"Yes," he replied.

"Well, I don't want to use it."

Jadon was taken aback, but did not give up. "Is there anything I can do to make you change your mind? Maybe you want something?"

The girl looked at him for a moment before answering. "I like stories."

Jadon smiled. "So, if I tell you a story, you'll use your power?"

"Only if I like it."

He extended his hand. "You'll like it," he told her. "Tell me your name, and let's shake on it."

The little girl did so, and then informed him that she was Ruth, the Timid. She led Jadon to a bench.

There, his comrades met up with him, and he told them of the deal. Glancing at each other, they wondered what story Jadon could possibly have to tell, until he started it.

"It all started with a young lad named Jadon who saw a man in a parade one day..."

Tears welled up in his eyes, as Jadon spoke of his mom, but he continued the story. An hour passed before he finished telling the true story of his life.

"Wow!" Ruth said when he done. "I've never heard a story like that before!"

He smiled. "It's a true story. So, do we have a deal?"

"Yes," she replied.

Touching her hands together, she reached for him, when suddenly something occurred to Jadon.

"Wait!" he yelled.

Ruth quickly pulled away, and his comrades looked at him with confusion.

"It won't hurt," she informed him.

"I know, but don't you think that story is worth you using your power more than once?" questioned Jadon.

"It was really good, so two, maybe three times," Ruth admitted, and then frowned. "But, I can only use it on you once."

"I know, but I think you should use it on my brother, Micah, first."

"What! But, Jadon, you've wanted to do this for so long!" Micah exclaimed, completely surprised.

"And I still can tomorrow, but you've never seen our mom," Jadon responded.

"I've seen her in my dreams."

"It's not the same. For one thing, you get to talk back. Come on, try it!"

"But I don't even know if..." Micah started to say.

"She'll like you. Now, go on!" he insisted.

Sitting down on the bench, Ruth brought her palms together for a second time, and then touched Micah's hands. Instantly, a bright light blinded them for fifteen seconds.

When the light died down, Micah appeared to be asleep on the bench.

Smiling, Abigail looked at Jadon. "I'm so proud of you."

He grinned, and looked up to the sky. "I'm fairly sure my mom is, too," he replied, and sighed happily.

**The End.**

**More books in this series:**

Jordyn the Ohnyx of Hope

