Jim Armstrong and the Goblet's Curse

Chapter 32: Saying Goodbye For Now

   It was a few minutes before we all came back to our senses. We couldn't just stand there all day. We had to find a way back to GreySlash. The question was how. It was too early for public transit, we weren't in possession of a vehicle we could actually use, and it was too ridiculous to walk back, much less get there before the Silver Sand's energy was drained, and it disappeared.

I was about to ask if anybody had any suggestions when James spoke up. "Noah, that's great, it's perfect!" he exclaimed. It was silent for a minute, everybody just looking at him, until Noah replied.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to you getting in my head," he said. "It's much easier if I just say what I'm thinking, other than having you read my thoughts first. James shrugged in an I can't help it way.

Shea steered us back to the conversation. "Wait, hold on, what is it that you can do?" she asked him.

"I can summon Pico to come get us," he said. Mine and Cecy's face lit up in understanding, but Shea still looked confused. Noah elaborated. "Pico's a GreySlash dragon. His speed is unimaginable; he can get here and back in little less than fifteen minutes. That'll get us back quickly, and give us time to administer the Sand before it disappears for good."

"Fine by me," Shea answered, shrugging.

As a group, we headed out through the doors of the CN Tower,into the large space just outside the Tower. Noah walked a little ways away, looked up into the sky, then whistled.

Or, at least, it looked like he whistles. He made a circle with his thumb and forefinger, put it in his mouth and blew, the same way one would call a dog. The only thing was that no sound came out. It was absolutely silent in the semi dark dawn.

We were like that for a while, nobody wanting to break the silent spell cast around us with something as insignificant as words. We were just standing there for about five minutes, looking up, when we heard something, and a small pinprick of something appeared in the distance. The noise was faint at first, but growing louder and louder every second, turning into the beating of very large wings. The pinprick grew larger and larger until it took the shape of Pico the dragon.

And just like that, the silence was broken as Noah whooped. Pico really was a magnificent creature. The early light illuminated Pico's beautiful purple scales and gold claws, making him look ethereal and unreal.

Then again, Pico wasn't supposed to be real.

But here he was.

Pico smoothly touched down in front of us and we all ran forwards, happy to see him. Noah petted him as Pico nudged Cecy and me.

"Come on, we should go," Noah said, climbing on to Pico's back, followed by Cecy, me, then Shea. We all looked around, then frowned. James was still standing five feet away, looking up at us sitting on Pico's back. It seemed like he hadn't moved at all.

"James," I started. "Come on, we gotta go."

James just shook his head. "I can't go.

"Why? You know, just come on, we have to go."

"No, I actually can't. I don't know if you've forgotten, but I'm a wanted man."

All of our elatedness disappeared. It seemed that we were all too high on our victory of getting the Sand, that we'd indeed forgotten that James was technically a wanted criminal.

I slipped off of Pico's back, closely followed by Noah, Cecy and Shea. Nobody said anything for a moment, as the news that this was goodbye sunk in. Then Shea walked forwards.

"You know," she began, "even though my mother is no longer the queen, I'm still held in high regard and I still have connections in the Union. I could try and clear your name."

James looked up, hopefully. "Are you serious?" he asked. "You'd do that for me?"

Shea smiled warmly, and enveloped James in a hug. "Of course I would. I mean," she said, stepping back. "We did used to be best friends, and I think that we still are." James smiled. I didn't think I'd ever seen James smile that widely.

"And in the meantime," Shea continued, "if you need a place to stay, my house is big enough for the both of us. It can be just like old times, and the sleepovers we used to have. If you need a friend, there's a seat here alongside me."

James didn't need to say anything to express his gratitude. For once, it was us reading his mind.

Cecy stepped forward and wrapped her arms around James' neck, hugging him tightly. "Thank you for helping us," she said. Noah came in for a goodbye hug next, and lastly, me.

"Thanks, James," I said. He ruffled my hair in an affectionate way, before I headed over to where the others were waiting by Pico. Once again, one by one, we all climbed up onto Pico's back, James watching us from the ground. I checked to make sure that the bag of Silver Sand was still tucked into my belt, then looked up as the sky was washed with the dazzling light of the sunrise.

With a great sweeping flourish, Pico stretched his wings and took off, flying higher and higher into the air. I looked down, keeping James in my sight, watching as his figure grew more and more indistinct the farther and farther we got, until the semi darkness swallowed him, and I couldn't see him at all.   

Alright, I know what you're thinking. 

It's been 3 million years since I last updated!

I know, I know!

A while ago, I fell into a TERRIBLE writing slump, and I just couldn't bring myself to write anything, or update. Everyday, I would tell myself  that I was going to write.

But then I would just end up watching GMM the entire time. 

But then today, I was just like, "enough is enough!" and I plopped myself down in front of my laptop and I juts WROTE, and I give you, finally chapter 32. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and if you did, make sure to comment and vote. Hopefully this is the end of my writing slump, and hopefully, I can give you more chapters :)

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