The Book Of Secrets Long Begotten

IX

Jake found himself in the white room again. A room he had not seen in a long time. He realized he had shadowdreamed instead of regularly dreaming. He looked around and saw a figure cloaked in black. The figure stood still. It appeared to be a man of some sort.

"Greetings, Jake Collins." The voice spoke. The voice was deep and masculine but it was still human. Jake immediately recognized the voice.

"Lord Zygor... It's you." Jake said. There was an undertone of rage and shock in his voice. The figure uncloaked itself and showed the face of a man. The man resembled the actor Jeremy Irons' portrayal of the character Brom Holcombsson from the movie adaptation to the book Dragon by Christopher Paolini. The man spoke to Jake.

"Relax, child. I can sense the rage and shock in your voice. You still have a couple of days to prepare. I do not want to rush the process. I want to be able to fight you, not kill you with a single touch." Lord Zygor said to Jake. "Now, you don't want that...do you?" Jake just stared at him with a look of rage and curiosity on his face. Lord Zygor rolled his eyes and sighed. 'This kid is going to be something else' Lord Zygor thought to himself.

"What do you want?" Jake asked Lord Zygor. Lord Zygor stretched his back a bit and thought about it.

"What do I want....what do I want?" Lord Zygor said to himself out loud. "I just want to have a good look at you. My, I thought you'd be a lot different than you are." Jake looked at him puzzled.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Jake asked him.

"Well, I imagined you'd look a lot taller, perhaps even more muscular. Instead I look at you and I see some kid who probably just experienced heartbreak after a short but very important relationship. Probably going to college in the spring." Lord Zygor said.

"Joke's on you, I'm twenty-seven years old." Jake said.

"Oooh...what a shocker! Do you think I give a shit about that? I'm just doing small talk while I'm in this shadowdream with you." Lord Zygor said. Jake inhaled and exhaled deeply through his nostrils.

"You seem human to me...but that's impossible, right?" Jake asked. Lord Zygor shook his head.

"Not at all. I am human, just like you. I lived on Earth just like you." Lord Zygor said. Jake looked at him even more puzzled.

"But you have powers. Us humans don't have powers." Jake said. Lord Zygor smiled.

"My boy, you can use magic just like me. Every human has powers. For example, you can use teleportation, levitation, shadowdreaming, etc. those are seen as impossible on Earth but humans can still find ways to accomplish those feats. On earth, you are told you can't perform those acts. You are told you are not limited whereas you actually are." Lord Zygor explained to Jake.

"So that's why you came here...to The Nother Realm, so you could use your full potential." Jake said, trying to piece everything together the best he could. Lord Zygor swayed his head from right to left and spoke to Jake.

"So so. But that's all I'm going to tell you for now." Lord Zygor said. "I'll go ahead and leave you now. Let you wake up." Jake gave him a determined grin. A grin a hero might wear as they see their villain at the edge of defeat.

"I will see you again...and I will put an end to you. Save this realm and bring balance back to where it belongs." Jake said grinning. Lord Zygor smiled at the cringe that was Jake Collins.

"Sure, whatever you say, Jake Collins." Lord Zygor said and he snapped his fingers. Jake suddenly woke up and saw that he was sleeping next to Rebekah on the giant leaf.

He smiled at her sleeping body and kissed her on the cheek. He got up and headed off towards the exit.

"Leaving? So soon?" A sleepy Rebekah said to him.

"I have to. I think Leo and Swamp are waiting for me." Jake said. He smiled. "You know...I had fun last night. I really did." He looked at her and saw that she was smiling back.

"I did too." She said. "Do you need me to walk you back out of this forest?" Jake shook his head.

"Nah, I got it." Jake said. He walked towards the exit and left. As he walked away, he felt something deep inside of him.... consternation.

There was a voice in his head. It wasn't his own. It was a whispery voice that told him this would be the last he'd see of Rebekah. Jake ignored this voice and made it out of the forest. He made his way back to the cottage and walked inside. Once he got inside, he saw Leo and Swamp were dressed in thick black coats.

"What is that all for?" Jake asked them.

"The time is drawing close, Jake." Swamp said in a very foreboding voice.

"The time where you meet The Elder One." Leo said in the same foreboding voice. Jake nodded.

"Alright, I am not going to question the coats or the foreboding voices." Jake said. "Am I wearing one?" Leo nodded excitedly. Swamp rolled his eyes.

"I'll go get the spare." Swamp said and he walked off to go fetch it.

"So, how was it?" Leo asked.

"How was what?" Jake asked.

"Your little date? Did y'all do it?" Leo asked.

"Oh come off it, Leo. I'm not going to tell you. But the date went pretty well." Jake said. Swamp came back with the spare and Jake put it on. "So are we ready?" The two nodded. "Alright let us get to it." And with that, the three were off on their way to visit The Elder One in The Enchanted Dead Forest. A forest that seemed to be rather familiar to Jake's dreams.