The O.D.'s suspicion plain to view
“Simply someone I wanna protect.”
I look up as my words connect
“And you?” The O.D. glaresat Jack
“I'm with him.” Jack statestoward me
“Just along for the ride.
And for that I'd gladly give my life.”
“Huh. Fine.” The redheadreplies as the fire dies down
“Guess I'll team up with youclowns.
You better keep your word.
Your arrest will make me a part ofhistory.
Leigh Vashti. the O.D. who solved thegreatest mystery.”
“I'm afraid not.” Calls avoice from the shadows
As he opens a warp from a flowerymeadow
The man with the familiar face of thatcorpse
“Detective Jameson...”Leigh whimpers the name
As the man's tone sharp
“It must be my lucky day.”
“You again?” I say, my tonetense
“Yes, me. This time you're mine.”His fist clenched
This guy just won't leave me alone
“What is with you?!” I snap
“Why do you have the face of adead man?
Why are you after the boy?!
Answer me while you can!”
“The boy?”
He says, his eyes gleeful
“Doesn't everyone enjoy theirfavorite toy?
That Toll has an important role to play
As when he dies it will truly bea glorious day.
As for my face, who's to say?
Maybe his face also has a rolein a way.”
“His?” I ask
He smiles fast
As quick as it's there
Now it's gone
It's too unclear
As no conclusion can be drawn
“Jameson, what're you talkingabout?” Leigh asks
“It doesn't matter to you mydear.
Now be sure to die with tact...
And try real hard to show a littlefear.”
Instantly, he uses manifestation magic
Forging a mana dagger - He throws it
Reacting quick I take the blade
Lunging right in front of Leigh
The pain in my shoulder flips a switch
Throwing me into a cursing fit
Jack calls “Sorry Jameson,we can't stay!”
Jameson throws another dagger Jack'sway
As she knocks it away with an icyattack
His confident expression begins tocrack
“Wind!” Jack bellows “Dome a favor! Get rid of this man so we can play later.”
Suddenly, a gust sweeps him up
As he vanishes, his mana blade issuddenly snuffed
It disappears as my wound remains
“What the hell?!” Leighsnaps at me “I didn't need to be saved.”
“Awesome.” I groan “Nexttime I'll gladly let you take the hit.”
Jack rushes over in a panicked fit
“You idiot.” She barks
“Why can't you ever know yourlimits.”
She freezes the bleeding in under aminute
“There. That should get you by.
We need to get going.
We've wasted enough time.”
“Where to?” I ask
“We don't even know where Leocould be.”
With a sigh Jack says “Just leaveit to me.”
Trial20: Horkspheres
Another ride upon the wind
No issues this time because of myfriend
Jack takes us to a place untouched byman
A forest of trees, and a vast greenland
“Jack,” My tone curiouswith light
“Are we...”
“Shhh.” She replies with abite
Leading us to the center point of thewoods
The mana in this place denser than anyplace ever should be
So dense in fact, it's plain to see
Even for Leigh, but especially for me
“You know where we're going?”Leigh asks
“I have a hunch.” I respondback
“Care to fill me in?”
“Not until I'm sure.
What I can tell you is this is thestrongest point of nature.
No other place in this world has densermana.
And we may well be the first to see it.
At least for mortals.”
“Are you saying this is the fairyrealm?”
“No.” Jack chimes in “It'sthe entrance to the fairy realm.”
Holding out her hand, the mana beginsto swirl
Collecting to a central point
A portal to another world
“I swore I'd never go back...”She mutters
Softly her name leaves my lips“Jack...”
Shimmering and glowing – Theportal beautiful
Jack simply says “Careful not tolose your soul.”
“What?!” Leigh asks in anervous tone
Jack's the first one to step through
As I follow her to her ancestral home
Going through one end
Coming out the other side
The majesty of this place makes mewonder if I've died
Hundreds of floating crystal islandsline the horizon
As a blue sun sinks, refracting like adiamond
Beautiful trees and flowers resemblingcrowns
Peek from each Island as singing sounds
A harmonious tone, elegant and sweet
To my ears it's a treat
Suddenly, Leigh finally appears
“What took you?” Jack asks,shedding a tear
“I...” Leigh begins “Wait,what's that sound?”
“It's a fairy trap, a lure tomake you never want to leave.”
“You!” Leigh's demeanorturns to rage
“You tricked me!”
“Relax.” Jack replies“You're not in a cage.
Knowing it's a trap makes you safe.
Hence why I told you.”
Leigh growls with suspicion
“So, what now?” I ask
“What's our mission?”
“We give ourselves an audiencewith the fairy council.” Jack's tone spills
“They will know Leo's location.
And if we're lucky we won't be killed.”
I give her a look
I can't tell if she's kidding
She returns a glance
As the vibes she's giving
They let me know that being here's nojoke
The weight of the air's enough to makeanyone choke
“There.” Jack points to acrystal structure a dozen islands away
“We can't get there unless wefly.”
She gives a long calling whistle
“Wanna try?”
Suddenly appears a white wolf with alions mane and giant wings
Jack pets him and lightly sings
“What is he?” I ask
“We call them horkspheres.”She answers with a smile
“They only exist in the fairyrealm.
They're used for fairy trials.”
Instantly, I notice Leigh
She's paralyzed with fear
“Hey.” I say
“What's wrong?”
“I don't like that thing.”She says tense
“Come on. Look at him. You'rebeing dense.
This guy's not dangerous, I promise.”
“How are you so sure?” Shesnaps
“Because I can feel his intent.
So, just relax.”
“Ok, Nate.” Jack interjects“Give it a try.”
“What?” I ask
Jack looks at me like it should beobvious
“We have to fly.”
“So, you want me to ride?”My tone a little more nervous than I intended
“You two will ride this one.
There's a special one I've alreadybefriended.”
Jack gives another whistle
As another horksphere lands
Leigh lets out an “Eeek.”And grabs my hand
This one's giant
The first one wouldn't stand a chance
“Nate, Leigh – Meet Alpha.”
I instantly lock eyes with the creature
And instantly I see the bigger picture
These horkspheres aren't scary at all
They're there in case someone falls
“Well, let's get going.”Jack says to us both
As I try to convince Leigh to have somefaith and hope
“Come on.” I say, pullingher as she's fighting against me
“No!” She cries fightingand screaming
Finally I grab her and look her dead inthe eyes
“They're safe. I promise thisisn't a lie.
Trust me, please.
Give it a try.”
Her face flustered
It's kinda cute
She's actually attractive
When she's not being a brute
“Fine.” She finally agrees
Looking away, so blows the breeze
Hopping on the creatures, we takeflight
As Leigh clings to me tight
Up, up and away
Not
