Dawn of Faith

Chapter 5

I rushed to assist Sandy and North, who were still struggling to get out from under a heavy beam that had fallen across them. Jack, Bunnymund, and Tooth had chased after the remaining nightmares, determined to find any clues regarding our attacker.

"Thank you, Dawn." North said, his voice strained. He clasped my hand as I helped him to his feet, grumbling about damages and the new, tasteless skylight. I nodded absently, my mind still wandering, still contemplating the attack. Sandy stared up at the sun through the caved-in roof.

"Are you alright?" I asked, settling to my knees beside him.

He gave me a solemn smile, placing a comforting hand on my knee. I hope they come back safe, he signed quietly. He seemed shaken by the nightmare's resistance to our powers. The unease that settled into the pit of my stomach agreed.

"They will," I responded in kind.

While we waited for the others to return, North consulted the yetis. I was grateful to hear that nobody had been hurt, and that the only injury came from an elf that had electrocuted itself earlier that day. Despite the damage to the globe room, the rest of the Workshop had been left untouched.

As the yetis busied themselves with clearing the rubble, I turned towards the arching windows, staring past broken glass panes to the snowy mountains beyond. Questions continued to swirl in my mind. Who had attacked us? Why was the dragon capable of using fire? Who was strong enough to create something so powerful? Nothing was clear, and the longer I contemplated the more confused I became.

The sounds of Bunnymund speaking heatedly to North roused me from my thoughts. Rising to our feet, Sandy and I joined the circle of concerned faces underneath the darkened globe.

"Not a trace anywhere. He disappeared just like that," Jack said with a snap of his fingers. Frustration dripped off his voice as he spoke.

"Who disappeared?" I asked, wondering if they had caught sight of the perpetrator.

"Pitch!" Bunny replied angrily. "I told ya, he was always evil. He can't be trusted." He gestured to the destruction of the room, and the crack splitting the globe. "Look at this! Look what's he done! All those lights gone, and only days until Easter." He rubbed his face with a big blue paw in exasperation.

I grit my teeth. Bunnymund's anger was justified, but I was convinced the attack was not Pitch's doing. Too many aspects had been unfamiliar and strange, and I had not sensed his presence anywhere. It seemed unlikely he would mount another attack so swiftly, much less with so little concern for my safety, but...perhaps in my years of absence, I had lost sight of who he was. What he was capable of doing.

"I don't think it was Pitch," I stated quietly, though I wasn't sure if I was attempting to convince myself or the others.

Bunny scoffed. "And who do ya think it was? The Leprechaun?"

His barbed condescension pricked at my temper. "Did you see any nightmares?"

"They were all over the place!" Jack retorted, chiming into our argument.

"No. I meant nightmares. As in horses. I've only ever seen Pitch with night mares, and there wasn't a single one to be seen. Plus, that dragon blew fire. How do you explain that?" I countered, arms held tightly to my chest. The smell of smoke still hung in the air, stinging my nostrils.

Momentary silence followed my words. Sandy's eyes were wide as he looked between us, rapidly signing for us to speak calmly with each other.

"Dawn is right guys, Pitch has never been able to use fire against us," Tooth agreed. Her wings hummed behind her as she hovered anxiously. Two baby teeth peeked over her shoulders, chittering to each other. She motioned for them to settle.

Jack scowled, crossing his arms. "That's why we need to be more careful. If Pitch has grown strong enough to use fire, then--"

"That's what I'm saying!" I interrupted. "You defeated Pitch for the second time just a few months ago. Even during the Dark Ages, at the peak of his power, he was unable to use fire. That dragon was way beyond Pitch's capabilities in his weakened state. Not to mention the female laughter."

"Laughter? What're ya talking about, mate?" Bunnymund asked, ears perked as he hopped closer.

"You didn't hear it?" I asked, surprised they had missed it. Perhaps they had been too preoccupied with fighting at the time.

Sandy tugged on my sleeve, and nodded his head. I breathed a sigh of relief. I was worried I may have been mistaken.

"Right as the attack began, there was laughter. It was very quiet, but it was definitely not Pitch's. It sounded feminine."

"A woman..." North echoed, pacing about the room. One sword dangled from his grasp, glinting as he swung it back and forth in thought.

"We don't know anyone other than Pitch, mate. Perhaps ya heard wrong." Bunnymund commented. In face of his response, I tried to compose myself, but his blatant dismissal pushed my frayed nerves over the edge.

"Look, I realize what I've been saying is a lot to take in. That it's hard to see Pitch as anything but the enemy. But I'm trying to help you, so will you please listen to me for once?" I snapped. My head turned from them, instantly regretting my outburst, but unwilling to back down from my point. I needed them to hear me, to trust that I knew him well enough to predict his actions and motives.

There was a moment of silence, before Bunnymund spoke up. "I'm sorry, mate," he said, his nose twitching. "I still find it hard to believe, but I'll give ya the benefit of the doubt." Slowly I lowered my defensive guard, nodding appreciatively. He was headstrong and tough, rarely backing down from his convictions. Hearing an apology was unexpected, but it lifted my heart regardless.

A small smile graced my lips, and I could feel the understanding that passed between us as the tension melted away. "Thank you."

"So the laughter was female, there were no nightmares, and the nightmare dragon could breathe fire. Was there anything else anybody noticed?" Jack asked, perched upon his staff as he looked down at us and urged the conversation forwards.

Sandy tugged at my hand. Chaos. Pitch usually attacks in an organized manner, even when he attacks in force. His pride prevents him from being messy.

North nodded his head thoughtfully. "Good point...scene was not organized as Pitch normally is. He likes to face us either head on in large force, or entirely on one target. This showed no order." He stroked his long white beard, plucking out a piece of debris and tossing it aside.

"There were so many different nightmares that attacked with no specific interest or formation," I agreed, "everything was going every which way."

"Is there a spirit of chaos?" Jack questioned, waving his staff across the ground. Snowflake frost crawled across the floor at our feet. Several elves that had gathered to hear our conversations scattered back from the curling crystals.

"Chaos?" Tooth asked curiously. "Isn't Pitch supposed to be the spirit of the night?"

"He is. It's why I'm so sure this attack was not Pitch's doing," I mused. I twirled an arrow between my fingers absentmindedly, listening to the quiet whistling of the fletching. No matter how we turned the information, we seemed no closer to identifying the perpetrator.

"But who could be spirit of chaos?" North asked, shaking his arms slightly. His swords glinted against the sunbeams streaming through the unfinished roof. He cast a glare at Jack, catching the spirit mischievously freezing the feet of several perplexed elves who jingled raucously. Jack merely shrugged, a lazy grin splitting across his face.

As we stood there in a circle, contemplating the origins of this strange new threat, an idea came to my mind. I hesitated. It was risky, and it was dangerous, but at the moment, it was our only lead.

"We may not know who this spirit of chaos is, but there has to be somebody who does. And I think I know who to ask."