Fallen One (Book three of Alfireán age)

- Olivia's Past -

Alf cradled an unconscious Olivia in his arms while the fantastical world of green sped past them. More than anything, he wished he could use Ra'avah to see what was wrong with his childhood friend.

"What... happened to her?" Drake panted as he used every bit of his strength to push the grand champion's sphere ever faster.

"We don't know," Alf said, quietly praying underneath his breath. "We were looking for you with Zaphaniea's visions, and instead, we came across a group of blood oaths with a weird man talking to Vackzilian. The moment the man with the swords turned around and we got a good look at his face, Livy let out a scream. Then her body lit up in some sort of lightwave and she collapsed."

"So... that's... what that magical tremor was," Drake muttered as he continued his rhythmic palm thrusts. "What do you.. mean... by that, you all... looked for me?" the prince panted while they weaved through the gigantic redwoods at a breakneck speed.

Browns, greens and blues hurtled past them while pine needles and sap pelted everyone in the face. Angry shouts, drowned out by the sound of breaking timber and crunching wood, echoed in the forest far behind.

Someone was chasing after them.

Zaphaniea twisted around on her sphere and looked back at the prince. "When you took so long to come back, I started to search for you by looking into the future, but it was quite hard, especially with you being invisible, and..."

"She lost control of her telepathy," Silver explained for her. "And she began to project her visions to the rest of us like she did in the past. I told her not to worry about it since finding you was our top priority."

"I see," Drake said, his face red with exertion.

The wind howled in their ears, and random leaves whisked about as Drake broke free from the Redwood forest and dived into the surrounding jungle. Alf's heart constricted within him. All this time, he had been working on becoming stronger so he could protect those he loved, but now Olivia lay in his arms, unconscious, and there was nothing he could do. Please wake up Livy, he pleaded with her silently as if his thoughts could somehow miraculously awaken her.

"I assume... that means...," the prince started to say through gasps of air as his slender frame heaved from the effort of pushing Zaphaniea and her sphere.

"Yes," Silver answered Drake's half muttered question. "We heard more of their conversation than you did. Vackzilian plans to attack the kingdom of Merinia on the continent of Madagascar in several days."

"Yeah, but the sword man wants to do it now," Pony declared.

"Bloodthirsty shark," Scarlet spat as she clung to Silver as if her eldest sister was the only thing keeping her from tumbling to her death below.

"His name is The Fallen One," Olivia said, her eyes finally fluttering open. "He is an ancient predator from the time of the dragons."

"You're awake," Alf exclaimed, pulling her closer to himself as relief flooded him. "How do you feel? What happened?"

"I'm fine," she said, her honey-gold eyes full of a deep anger he had never seen in them before. Olivia swallowed hard and pushed against his chest with her hand. "Put me down," she commanded, her tone edged with sorrow and fury.

Alf carefully let her go. He hadn't seen Livy this angry since one of their trips to the Imperial city, and he couldn't, for the life of him, figure out why.

"How do you... know.. who he is?" Drake asked, glancing back at them.

"Because he killed my parents and stole my kingdom from me," Olivia answered, her words tinged with fire and great wrath as her hands curled into fists.