The Dreamer

Chapter 22

We continue through the door to find another area. It's similar to the last one, only this time, there're waterfalls. "By the way, my name is Iris," the woman introduces. She turns to me and I do the same. "I'm Eira."

"It fits you. Were you born in the Winter?" I shake my head, confused why she's asking. "Why?" She smiles at me. "Eira is Welsh for snow. It's very beautiful, don't you think?"

"Yeah, Winter's my favorite season," I answered. How did I never know my name means snow? I never even asked my parents why they named me Eira. "The way it sparkles in the light and how pure it is. It really suits you." I blush and shrug. "I'm not exactly described as pure though."

"No one really is, but your heart is in the right direction. Just make sure it stays there." Then she walks ahead with a grace and elegance I wish I had.

We approach the edge of the platform but looking across, there's just a rock wall. "There's no door here." Iris clears her throat and points downwards. We all look and I see another platform below us with the same large wooden doors. "How are we supposed to get down there?" Mia complains.

I thought about it for a bit while Iris tries to calm Mia down who is just arguing back, saying that Iris almost killed us so we shouldn't trust her. "Will you shut up?!" I turn around and everyone looks at me, then they all look down. Their eyes widen and I follow their gaze down to my feet. I see ice blanketing itself over the rocky ground under my feet and it spreads. As I watch the ice reach itself towards them, an idea came to mind. I turn around and think. I could have a little fun.

I smirk and aim my hand towards my feet. I let the power flow through me and ice starts to form in front of me. It starts on the rock and I let it continue on. I step onto the ice, not even slipping. It feels just like any solid ground someone would stand on. Smooth and flat. When I sat down, however, I slid down with ease. I keep my power going, creating a large icy slide. I made a few twirls on the slide to add some fun. I made sure that no one can accidentally slip off or out either. I can hear them sliding down behind me.

I end it on the platform and I easily got off, standing. I smile to myself with pride as I stare at the crystal clear ice. It almost looks glass-like. Unfortunately, I don't get to view my work for long when I'm suddenly shoved down. I feel a sudden pressure on me and I groan. "Oh, I'm sorry," I hear Iris say. She quickly got off and I gasp. Zeke helps me up while I manage to get an "It's okay," out. "That was fun," Iris exclaims. "And I'm really sorry about this."

"What?" Then she just disappears. Confused, we all look around. "What is she sorry about?" Mia asks. "I don't know." Then to answer her question, two holes suddenly appear under Zeke and Mia. They fall down, leaving me behind. "Zeke! Mia!" I look down to see that it's too dark to see anything. I listen until I hear a sudden thud at the bottom. "What did you do?!"

"You must find them. In the room you are about to enter is a beast you must defeat. Win then search for them. You shall have your prize afterward." Then I don't hear her again. The door slowly opens with a deep creak and the holes beside me where Zeke and Mia stood close back up like trap doors. I take a deep breath and walk inside.

It's dark inside, so I use my weapon again as a light. It's just a large circular room. There are doors that decorate the room and sit at an equal distance from each other. I tread carefully in the dark. Even the light doesn't illuminate the room enough. I hear the sound of clacking hoofs circling me. I try to pinpoint where it's coming from, but it seems to come from everywhere.

I was afraid to even breathe. It smells of ash and smoke. It's intoxicating. I step back, but then the clacking gets louder and faster. I panic and I hear it fly past me. In that quick second, I see lines of white pass by me. The sound continues and a childhood memory suddenly came mind.

I was with my parents and Mia and we went to ride horses for a bit. Mia panicked and kept crying, not understanding what the creature was. I on the other enjoyed it. I even pretended to be a princess, but that was the first and only time I've ever ridden beside just recently.

The loud clacking continues, only it moves away from me. It slowed down and I was able to pinpoint it to the center of the room. Just as I was about to take a step forward. A burst of light and heat overtakes the room. I look away for a second before I look at the source. I was right, it was a horse, but its features shock and frighten me.

It's a black horse with skeletal like patterns covering its whole body like tattoos. Its body lights up in flames, reminding me of the horse from Ghost Rider. Flames shot out from its nostrils as it exhales. It taps its hooves against the rocky ground before it spun around three times and charges at me. I quickly dodge it but it ran around, trying again and again. I can't keep this up.

I look at the creature and wings of fire suddenly appear. When I look carefully, I can see that the wings are also feathers under the fire. It's like a horse version of a phoenix. It neighs and charges at me again. I once again dodge, but this time, one of its wings hit me. I fall with my back hitting the ground and a small burn mark on my sleeves where the wing collided with me. The horse jumps onto its hind legs, ready to squash me. I roll aside in just enough time and the horse stomps on the ground.

I look at it and remember that I have my powers. I have a chance of winning, but as I look at the vicious creature. I don't want to. As much as it wants to trample me, I didn't want to do the same to it. My mind kept telling me that I'd die if I didn't, but my heart fought back. I can't do it!

I sigh and start to think of a better way to do it but I came up empty. Do I even have a choice? Do I have to do it? I look at the creature and my heart sank into my stomach. I know what I have to do, but neither of us is going to like this. I aim my hand at it as it charges towards me and I fire my ice at it with all of my will. I can hear it's agonizing screams and I can't imagine what it must be feeling. I quickly stop in hopes that it only disabled it's fire and not killed it.

The sight broke my heart. The Phoenix horse is already laying on the ground, heavily breathing. "I'm so sorry," I whisper to it. I carefully approach it. As I got closer, I can feel it's panic and fear. "I'm so sorry," I said again. It looks at me wearily with beady eyes and I drop down to my knees. "Stay still. I'll heal you, but you can't attack me afterward." It just huffs, still staring at me with mistrust. I sigh and gently touch the horse, caressing it's surprisingly soft black mane as comfort. I let the last of my energy flow into the creature to help heal it, but it wasn't enough. I feel myself draining and I became lightheaded. "I'm sorry," I whisper again. Just as I was about to give up, I feel something wrap itself around me. It feels like arms. Warm, loving arms. I feel at home and I recognize this feeling. Zeke. I can feel the energy returning and it flows into the fiery animal. Where is this coming from?

It kept going until the horse stood up again. It shook its mane and the feeling of Zeke went away. The horse looks down at me as I pant. I used all of my energy to heal it and it was worth it to see it still alive and well.

My body fell over and I just wanted to sleep. I tried to stay awake and get up, but the thought of sleeping was just so welcoming. I hear soft clacking get closer then I feel something nudge me. I open my eyes and see the Phoenix horse looking at me. It's not going to hurt me. I smile and it nudges me again. "I'm just so tired." It huffs and lays down next to me. I see the flames suddenly come to life around it and I can feel the heat, but as the fire licks at me it didn't burn me. I soon found I couldn't stay awake any longer.