The Black-Hearted Ninja (The Dark Triangle #1)

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes- Part 1

No one's P.O.V.

It was nighttime again and neither Kai nor any of the other ninja had found anything about Cole's condition. If anything, they were just more confused. Kai realized how incomplete the team was without Cole telling them what to do while eating cake, Jay making a lame pun and bursting into laughter, Nya carefully cross-referencing anything useful she might find. Their absence was noticed by all, but nobody had the heart to talk about it. At one point, Skylor said, "Maybe we should get Nya to help." But everyone just looked at her.

Now it was Kai's turn to guard Cole. It took every ounce of his being not to strangle his ghostly prisoner. Kai thought, "WWND?" (what would Nya do?) He decided his sister would treat Cole like she would an evil nindroid- say nothing and just do her job. Calmed a bit, Kai sat down and started the watch.

It was an hour in when Kai noticed something. Cole's eyes snapped up to the ceiling. His right eye began to move while his left eye stared straight up.

In the room above them, Nya was pacing. Jay was laying down.

Cole's right eye stopped, and then moved inwards.

Nya climbed onto the far right of the bed.

His eyes met in the middle.

Nya took Jay's hand.

Cole growled.

But then smiled evilly.

Kai shuddered at the creepy sight.

What was going on?

Jay's P.O.V.

I lay awake in the silent darkness, wanting to fill the room with sound. I would talk about anything to break the feeling that Nya and I are being watched. But my stupid throat won't let me talk, so I guess there's nothing I can do about the quiet. I just want to say what's going through my head! At least Nya is here. If she wasn't, I would be in the corner of the room, holding a baseball bat and watching for suspicious movements. I know Nya can fight back at Cole and win.

I'm not sure I can.

Sighing, I begin to drift off...

It's a beautiful day. The birds are chirping, the flowers blooming, the sun shining, but there's a slight drizzling of refreshing rain, my favorite weather. I'm in a meadow. It's practically perfect.

I am sitting in a pretty blue chair, with red curlicues decorating the back. Surveying the meadow, I see Kai, Zane, Lloyd, Skylor, Pixal, Sensei, my parents, and many other friends sitting in chairs similar to mine, in some sort of rows. They're all wearing fancy clothes. I look down at myself. I'm wearing a tuxedo.

Then I see Nya.

She's wearing a beautiful light blue gown and a necklace of iridescent pearls. Upon closer inspection, they're actually tiny droplets of water. Her hair is swept up with roses, her favorite flower, and she looks absolutely radiant. Glowing. Overjoyed. In my head I see a scene of us with three-no- three and a half kids. Whatever that means. I've had this dream many times. It's my and Nya's wedding.

But if it's my wedding, why am I in the audience?

Suddenly, a deep laugh fills the air. The drizzling rain abruptly stops and I can feel us sinking. Sharp stalagmites seem to grow out of the ground. The pressure changes and we're underground. The chair I'm sitting in turns to stone, as does everything else not living, except for the gigantic, magnificent cake. Nya's airy blue dress transforms to black, the water necklace melts away, the roses in her hair wilt and die, but she still stands with an ecstatic expression on her face. She doesn't even react. "Guys, are you seeing what I'm seeing?" I say, standing up. But when I turn around, I see the awful truth.

They're all dead.

Their hearts torn out of their chests and bleeding on the floor.

I don't know what to think. Looking frantically around, I try to find something to defend myself with, but there's nothing. Not even a baseball bat.

"Glad you could make it." I hear a raspy voice say. Turning my back to the horrible sight, I spot- Cole. But not normal Cole. This one has bone-white skin. His hair looks sharp, like it could cut me. His hands have long claws. His normally brown eyes are deep black pools, empty of anything.

Nya just stands there, happy as ever. Apparently her wedding day just keeps getting better.

"We thought about not putting you on the guest list. After all, because of you this almost didn't happen." Cole continues. "But Nya insisted."

Nya turns her hazel eyes on me. "Yes, I didn't want you to feel left out!" She says, completely oblivious to the evil being beside her. The one that she's marrying. She's not aware of the destruction around her.

"But then I realized," says Cole, "that Nya still has a certain-fondness for you. If she and I are going to be the only two people on Earth, well, we can't have a third, can we?"

I can only move my mouth in protest and shock. "Nya!" I squeak. "Don't do this!"

"I'm sorry, Jay. This is for the best." Nya says, a sad smile on her face.

In a heartbeat, Cole is standing in front of me.

"You will NEVER be in the way again." He hisses, malice in his black eyes. "Nya is MINE, my perfect match. You are nothing." I can smell the blood on him as he leans in. "She loves me now." And then, his talons shoot out. There's only pain as he plunges his hand into my chest and grabs hold of my heart. Slowly, agonizingly, he draws it out and I feel myself collapse to the ground. Cole squeezes my blood out onto me, then drops my heart. Nya looks at it with the same sad smile. '

The last thing I see through the white hot hurt is Cole handing Nya a stone ring. She takes it, puts it on her finger, and then leans in for a kiss.

Then everything goes black.

Whoa! Nya's dream coming tomorrow!