The Adventures of the Junior Phoenixes, Part 5: The Last Pendant

Chapter 27: Beyond The Door

Chapter 27

Sherman's fanny pack was not a safe place to be while Star was being tossed around in the lagoon. Shade, Echo, Rain Fox, Sky Heart, Sam, and Bria were tossed and tumbled like laundry while Star fought the vines.
"Who's stupid idea was this again?!?" Sam shouted somewhere in the midst of the chaos.
"Watch out!" Bria shouted as she was launched from one side of the fanny pack to another.
"Oops!" Sky Heart shouted, "Sorry! I think I kicked someone!"
"Let go of my leg!" Rain Fox shouted.
"Never!" Echo hollered back.
Shade said nothing. He had been kicked in the head by Bria's flailing foot and was unconscious.
Instead of stars, though, Shade saw the hill that he had ascended in the Realm Beyond. He had gone beyond the mists and the dead forest, beyond the screams and bellowing of Antipater trapped under a tree. Shade had climbed and climbed. The hill became steeper as he got closer to the top. A thick cloud hid the top of the hill from his view. He felt as though he had been climbing forever. He wiped the sweat from his brow and kept on going, determined to make it to the top. As soon as the sweat hit the ground the cloud began to dissipate. When it had disappeared, Shade saw the peak of the hill. As he neared it, he saw a hedge of bushes and small trees that ringed the hilltop. When he reached the peak, he saw one of the most beautiful sights he had ever seen. The sunlight bathed the hillside. The entire hilltop was covered with shrubbery, bushes, trees, vines, and flowers. The garden was unique; many of the plants, flowers, and fruit he had never seen before. In the very center of the garden was a great fountain.
"The fountain," Shade said to himself. He approached the fountain. It was almost identical to the one that he had seen in Morgan le Fay's garden. It stood beautiful, tall; magnificent. A central vasque, shaped as a dragon, rose from the large bottom basin. Three smaller basins were located along the dragon's body, each basin smaller as they ascended. A pair of dragon wings protruded from the vasque between the second and third basins. The cap at the top of the vasque above the smallest of the basins was in the shape of the dragon's head. From the dragon's mouth the water spouted. The water then spilled out of the first basin and down to the second one, and so forth. The bottom basin was large, held up by a pedestal. On each basin was a distinct large rune, larger than all the other runes that covered it, and more prominent in their detail. The first symbol, on the bottom basin, was a strange triangle with a halved circle in it. The second symbol going upwards was an eye. The third was the Greek letter Omega. The fourth was a crescent moon and the sun. It was a beautiful fountain, the dragon appearing to be made of jade, the eyes of the dragon on the cap made of carnelian, the wings of amethyst. The water was clear, perfect, and splashed crisply.
Shade stepped to the fountain and admired its beauty. He then stepped beyond it. He looked from atop the peak and saw an amazing sight: A great arch stood, covered in ivy and vines. It had the same runes and same architecture of the Veiled Archway in the Department of Mysteries. Beyond the doorway, the Archway, was a valley filled with lush vegetation and a winding, clear-blue river.
He stared at the valley, lost in thought and lost in the moment. He could feel an overwhelming sensation of emotions overcome him. Sadness, glee, gratefulness, confusion, anger, nervousness, appreciation, eagerness, and fear; all the emotions ran through his mind and his heart. He felt tears well up in his eyes. He was overcome with emotions and could do nothing else but weep. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He could see and feel his entire life before his eyes.
Something stirred behind him which broke his concentration. He heard footsteps behind him. He turned to see who had arrived and, to his astonishment, he saw three witches standing in front of the fountain. There, in the Realm Beyond, were Echo, Rain Fox, and Star.
He was startled. "What are you guys doing here?" he asked them.
They looked at him with wide eyes. They were just as surprised as he was. Unlike the other people he had encountered in the Realm Beyond they looked different: They had life. They were not dead, but were alive. He could see life in their veins. He caught a glimpse of a shining jewel around each of their necks; each one wore a Pendant. He knew that Echo and Rain Fox both had Pendants of their own, but why did Star have a Pendant?
"Wait!" he shouted. He looked at the spot in which they had stood and ran to it. He looked and turned about, hoping that they would return for they had disappeared as soon as he had spoken.
"They are not here," a deep, accented voice spoke authoritatively. "They will not return, but you will return to them."
Shade turned again. From the direction of the Ivied Archway walked a man Shade did not expect to see. His robes were black, black as the abyss at the bottom of the sea. His hair was black with gray streaks. His gray and black narrow beard was long and hid the center of his chest behind it. His eyes were like black pearls. His robes flowed like wings behind him. His grimace was frightening and his brow furrowed. He strode towards Shade like a ghost. His skin was pale and his frame tall. He looked out of place in the lush green garden, and yet he moved with grace. The grass was not beaten by the stride of his feet. The vines and shrubbery retreated from him. He walked to Shade unhindered, the garden yielding to his presence. He was proud, mighty, even magnanimous. The Iron Bull stopped in front of the fountain and, to Shade's surprise, he grinned.
"Master Bullavin?" Shade asked. "What are you doing here?"
"You know the answer to that question already, boy," the Iron Bull replied. "I have come to claim my rest. I've earned it, yes?"
"You- you died?" Shade asked. "You're dead?"
"Dah," Master Bullavin answered. "My mortal life has been extinguished, but not before I helped the young ones deal a major blow to Easter and his kind."
"But how did-?" Shade began to ask.
"How I passed on is not important, boy," Master Bullavin interrupted him. "What is important is that you listen to me, and listen to me with an earnest ear. Easter attempted to bring Morgan le Fay back. He used an ancient spell to summon her by her blood. He used the magic stored in his wand, and in the wands of the others from Morgan's banishment, to bring her back. It was precise. It was exactly what he should have done in order to bring her back. It should have succeeded save for two things."
"What two things?" Shade asked.
"I am getting to that," Master Bullavin huffed, "Do not interrupt me. As I was saying, two things kept him from succeeding. The first is simple: He called upon the blood of Morgan le Fay. The second is also simple: He summoned her blood with your wand."
"My wand?" Shade asked.
"Are you going to continue to interrupt me?" Master Bullavin asked harshly. "Let me continue. The incantation he used would have worked perfectly fine if Morgan was the only person in the Realm Beyond with her blood coursing through her veins, but she is not. Because he used your wand, so cleverly replaced by young Star Saoirse, he ended up summoning you."
"Summoning me where?" Shade asked.
"Back to the land of the living," the Iron Bull answered. "You are going back to the Mortal Coils. Your journey is not yet complete. In fact, it has only begun. You have a higher purpose, Shade. You have work to finish. You may not have started this epic tale, but you must finish it. That is your task: Finish what others started. It has been your destiny since before you were born. Your fate has been as such all your life, preparing you for this coming battle, this final task."
"Why?" Shade asked, "Why? Why me?"
"Because of your lineage, Shade," Master Bullavin answered. "Do you know from whom you descend?"
"What?" Shade asked.
"Do you know from whom your bloodline descends?" Master Bullavin asked.
"From Morgan le Fay," Shade answered, "Right?"
"Yes," Master Bullavin, "But who was the father of her child?"
Shade paused. "Arthur?" Shade replied with uncertainty. "I assumed Arthur was the one who fathered her child."
"No," the Iron Bull answered, "Though I assumed the same for the longest time. It wasn't until I saw them face-to-face did I realize the truth."
"What truth?" Shade asked, almost certain that he did not want to hear the answer.
"The truth that Arthur is not the progenitor of your line," Master Bullavin spoke, "Easter is."
Shade was beside himself with surprise and shock. He felt the poison surge in his wounded side and a chill along his spine. "But why-? Why didn't Morgan le Fay tell me?"
"That was not her job to tell you," Master Bullavin replied.
"Does Easter know this?" Shade asked. "Does he know I'm one of his descendants?"
"No," the Iron Bull spoke, "But someone else does; one who has been around even longer than Easter. He called himself the Dragon Rider of the Ancient Days. He is the manipulator, the genius behind Easter. He poisoned Easter's mind into doing his own bidding under the disguise of allowing Easter to run his own cult. He has been behind the scenes, moving things right where he's always wanted them to be. He is cunning and cruel and far worse than Easter has always been."
"Leech?" Shade asked.
"Dah," the Iron Bull confirmed. "He tasted your blood in his tower on Misery Island. Ever since then, he has manipulated everything according to his grand design. He wanted you to kill him atop the tower that day. He wanted to weasel his way into the Ministry under the guise of Temperance Graves in order to sow dissension among them. He wanted to kill you before Easter learned of who you really were. He wanted Easter to bring back Morgan le Fay. He wants what she had; something that was far more powerful than anything he has ever seen since: The Last Pendant. He is the villain behind all of this."
"But why?" Shade asked.
"For power," Master Bullavin answered, "Why else? Leech does not believe in Easter's cause. He has used it to continue his own mad agenda to bring Morgan le Fay back so that he can take the Pendant for himself."
"So what does that mean for me?" Shade asked. "I'm a descendant of Easter; now what?"
"You will need to appeal to him," Master Bullavin instructed him, "He doesn't know that you are of his bloodline. It may have an effect on him that you might not have expected."
"Oh, yeah," Shade snipped, "He loves hearing from his sworn enemies, I'm sure."
"You won't know until you try," Master Bullavin grumbled. "When you return, you will not remember all of this right away. It will return to you over time. You must not lose hope."
"But how am I supposed to know how to end this?" Shade asked. "Morgan wants me to go find the Fountain of Fair Fortune, retrieve some herbs to save my sorry butt, and get her Pendant. You want me to talk to Easter and tell him we're related. He still has a Horcrux out there, not to mention I don't know how to destroy one. What am I supposed to do?"
"You follow your heart," another voice spoke. Shade turned to see who had spoken and a man stepped forward. Shade recognized the man. He had seen him before.
"You," Shade said, "You're the one from inside the Pendant of Life. You're the Host, right? You're the one that showed me around inside the Pendant of Life."
"Yes," the man said, "I am. At the same time, Shade, I'm also much more than that."
The man stepped to Shade and smiled at him. He was tall, with dark hair and deep brown eyes. His olive skin almost glistened in the sunlight. He looked like he could have been tough but had a gentle spirit about him. He stepped to Shade slowly, almost with trepidation.
"Your time has come, Shade," the man told him, "Your life has been leading you to this exact time in history. It is your task to finish what was started so long ago. This is your task; to rid this world of the great evil of Leech and free Easter of Leech's evil clutches."
"Free Easter?" Shade said.
"Yes," the man replied, "Free him to finally do what he's longed to do all his life."
"What's that?" Shade asked.
"Love," the man said. "It is what has eluded him all his life. It has eluded you all your life. You have never fully loved in your life, Shade. You've always been afraid to. You've always been afraid to lose the things you love. You have lost so much and have been deprived of so much for as long as you have memory. But you are never alone, son. Those things you love never leave you; they are here." The man pointed to Shade's heart. "They are here, in your heart. They have always been here, residing in the House of your Soul. They never leave you. They are always watching, hoping, praying, smiling at you."
The man smiled widely at him.
"I have always been here."
Shade felt his emotions overwhelm him, his hairs stand on end and a warm shiver cover his skin. "Dad?" he asked.
The man nodded. "Yes, son. I'm sorry I was never there, but I've been here all your life. I've watched you grow. I've cheered you on. I cried when you cried. I crossed my fingers and hoped beyond hope when you faced the dangers you faced. But all this time, son, I have never left you."
Shade didn't know what to do. He had never met his father and didn't know how to react to him.
"I know you feel a little overwhelmed right now," his father said, "And that's probably an understatement. But the future lies in your hands and the hands of the girls that share your responsibility. Yes, Leech has manipulated everything, but he's not the only force behind this. Look at what has happened: Four of the world's most powerful objects are in the hands of four friends."
"Four?" Shade asked. "So that WAS a Pendant that Star had around her neck!"
"Yes," his father replied, "Four friends having the Pendants has not happened since they were given to the four friends that took them from the Fountain of Fair Fortune so many years ago. It is your love, yours and your friends, that has brought you so far, that has saved each other, and will ultimately lead you to the final victory over evil. That is how you were able to see them and what brought them here for a brief second: Their love for you. Love is the ultimate power in this universe. It is what created it in the first place and what shall remain when it passes away. When you return to them, love them, Shade, as they have loved you. Let love guide you. Let love be your weapon. Magic is nothing without love."
Shade nodded. "So I go and do what?"
"You follow your heart," his father repeated. "You will figure it out when you remember this. Don't give up, Shade. Don't be afraid. We are here."
"We have never left you," Master Bullavin added.
"How do I get back?" Shade asked.
His father stepped aside. He gestured for Shade to follow him. Shade stepped towards the garden, towards the Ivied Archway and, to his surprise, figures stepped from out of the garden and lined up the walkway to the Flowing Veil in the Archway. Shade saw people he had known who had passed: John Hardstone, Spike Thornback, Starling Govanjek, and the old Medicine Woman from the Wapanaki Tribe. They cheered him on as he walked towards the Ivied Archway. Others joined them: Staff members and Aurors who had died in the service of the Ministry in Boston, Nexus Knight, Vonnegut Creek, Pollux Gray, the Prewett Brothers, the Pastor, and even beautiful Morgan le Fay. Each gave him a word of encouragement, a cheer, and told him never to lose hope. Finally, as Shade approached the Archway, three figures stood beside it that made his heart stop as the tears streamed down his face.
Severus Snape, Collin Creevey, and his mother.
"I always believe in you, Shade," Professor Snape said. "I told you to seek me out when you finished. When you accomplish what you're destined to do, come back to Hogwarts and speak to me there. We have much to discuss."
Shade nodded.
"My handsome boy," his mother said. She hugged him and kissed his cheek, "We are so proud of you!"
Collin smiled at him. "I always knew you were a true Gryffindor," he said, "Brave and true. This is it, Shade. You ready?"
Shade nodded. It was the first time in a long time that he didn't feel pain in his side or in his body. "I'm ready, I think."
Shade's father rubbed his shoulders. "Remember: You won't remember everything at first, but it will come back to you. When it does, when you need hope and love the most, think of this moment. Think of us as we think of you. You can do this, Shade. You're not alone. You're never alone."
Master Bullavin nodded. "Love never fails. Love endures."
"Always," Snape added.
Shade hugged Master Bullavin, much to the Iron Bulls' surprise. He hugged back, kissed Shade's forehead, and turned to the Ivied Archway. The Archway began to shake and light up. The Veil inside was torn in half and a bright light consumed him.
"Follow your heart!" Shade's father shouted out.
"I will," Shade said. He stepped into the light and turned his back on the Realm Beyond. He saw the stars wheel about, as though he had stepped beyond space and time. He fell for what felt like an eternity through the nothingness. It wasn't until he saw the light around him flash and then suddenly cease did he realize that he was still alive. He emerged from the light and stood in a dark, cold, stone-walled round chamber upon a raised dais similar to the one that he remembered the Veiled Archway was in hidden away in the Department of Mysteries. He looked beyond the raised dais and, to his astonishment, he saw Sam Meadows, Star Saoirse, Bria Brightwater, Sherman Locke, and Dan Titan.
"Whoa," was all Shade could say. He had returned.