Pendant^

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Twirling in a foxtrot of fervency, words of old slipped into new life, dancing into the air and taking on a new form. Mikyla watched Sam intently as he exchanged his life-force as he contracted himself with the elements, a bead of sweat clinging to them both Nobles as magic unfolded before them. Sam chanted his voice monotone, face devoid of expression but as the words gently floated off his tongue, Mikyla felt the wisdom in the brushing air.

Spiral by spiral, gust by gust, Sam concluded his end of the bargain and the spell fully materialized. With a brief nod of satisfaction, the spell took off and within seconds the Nobles were hurtling straight towards the portal's peak.

Billowing through the air, Sam's plan was nearing competition when suddenly with a roar of deterrence, the chimera challenged the airspace above the portal with wingbeats of fury. Sam and Mikyla gulped in unison but there was nothing they could do. They didn't expect the chimera to arrive so soon and they could only hope that it's attacks would be evaded to bargain for enough time to reach the portal. The chimera, however, as if sensing their intentions, left no room for error and dove against its threat, fangs bared, venom poised and claws at the ready. The Nobles could only watch in horror but then they sky was bleached with scarlet.

A cacophonous screech that drowned out the rolling of thunder was imminent before a howl of pain accompanied a rain of spattering blood. Sam and Mikyla stood mouths agape at the unexpectancy but with another bolt of lightning, the second part of the riddle lit up in Mikyla's memories;

'With plans to and fro, wits till the tow, the prey of a nurtured shrike.'

With wings larger than the chimera, the shrike was truly a shard of a midnight nightmare. It's feathers the color of ink, it's silhouette and golden beak the only flaw to its masterful camouflage. Mikyla gulped but couldn't distinguish whether it was due to fear of an even greater danger or in thanks to the luck Sam had for stumbling across an illusion spell instead of one for flight. If they had then the blood that torpedoed to the earth just now wouldn't have been the chimera's but rather their own, if they were lucky that was. For now, Mikyla could only count on Sam's lucky stars that the shrike was keeping the chimera busy instead of them and as long as Sam could hold up the illusion spell, they should be safe.

"I know what it looks like..." Mikyla started trying to keep her voice calm. "But whatever you do, you have to keep the spell up- just keep walking towards the portal an-"

Too late. Sam's fear integrated with spell causing a slight disruption and the illusion of the duo flickered for an instant. The shrike with its birdbrain didn't appear to notice the change but the chimera did and with a wing beat that cracked the sound barrier, it left the illusionary prey to the the shrike.

Mikyla felt her legs tremble as this time the chimera did truly dive towards them. With the shrike preoccupied with Sam's faulty spell, there were no more back ups, no more 'plan Z's' and no other way our. This time it truly was a race for their lives and as the chimera dropped onto them like a bomb, Mikyla could only urge her legs forwards, hoping that her body wouldn't betray her now.

Returning the favor, Mikyla latched onto Sam's wrist as she pushed her muscles to the extreme, hopping between puddles of chimera blood, the clots providing enough friction to prevent sliding back down the mountain. The portal got larger and larger as Mikyla felt her sides explode in agony, an encore to the snakes of lightning that valeted the path before them. It seemed ever so near and just as the gravitational pull of the portal began aiding Sam and Mikyla towards it, the Nobles dug their heels into the ground in a twist of karma.

In a cloud of crimson dust, the chimera plunged itself between the Nobles and the portal. Mikyla grimaced as a quick glance upward revealed Sam's mana to have run out alongside his good luck

The chimera prowled forwards, its maw twisted into a victorious sneer. It's wings now sheathed back to its side added to its slender slasher aura and as its tail whipped in a hypnotic circle, Mikyla couldn't do anything except stare at the beast, its bloodied fur only giving it a more terrifying cloak of horror.

There was nothing they could do.

The line seemed so normal now and Mikyla couldn't quite remember how many times he had been saved by coincidence or pure luck. She should have burned alive in the first Trial. She should have fallen to her death in the second. And now the grim reaper had finally caught up to her. She needed help but even with the knowledge of an army of spells at her side, she'd probably only find out how to turn egg whites into egg yolks before the chimera turned her into a snack. Unless...

Mikyla unlatched the magic tome from her belt and prepared to throw it as hard as she could at the chimera but as if sending her thoughts, the book glowed and without even the need of a chant, a bolt of lightning struck down in front of the chimera giving Mikyla just the inspiration she needed.

"Who's to say, bought plan breeds dismay."

"What?" Sam quivered as the smell of singed fur infiltrated their nostrils.

"It's nothing." Mikyla yelled over the chimera's bellow of pain. "Think of nothing and just run. Trust me!"

"Are you crazy?" Sam screamed but Mikyla was already dashing towards the chimera.

As if the sky was taunting them, illuminating the moments before death in a glory of sparks, the whole world sprang to life in a coating of neon yellow before plunging itself into complete darkness. Sam could only run forward based upon the pounding of Mikyla's footsteps and just as he heard a hiss swerve past his neck barely missing the skin, rocks crumbled beneath him and he felt his hair brush the underbelly of the chimera as he skidded underneath. The chimera roared in confusion but with the howling storm and no light to speak of, for once it was at a disadvantage.

Taking the opportunity, Mikyla and Sam sped forward as time was swallowed by gray. Gravel and stony debris further splashed the duo in red as the portal welcomed them and just as the sky returned to its morbid colors, the Nobles' vision flared turquoise and Sam and Mikyla felt themselves hurtling towards a scorching sea of xanthus.

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The Nobles stood up spluttering, spitting out thousands upon thousands of grains of sand that blistered their mouths. Their hands burnt with the heat of a million suns as they scrambled to gain proper footing on a loose seabed of what felt to be granules of lava and as all moisture appeared to be whisked out of their pores, they realized the worst had yet to be seen. They were blind.

Clamping both palms against her eyelids, Mikyla groaned as she tried to blink the glowing blankness away from her eyes. She was not used to the light but here everything was covered- there were no shadows- purely the existence of light and the sweltering heat. It was impossible to know where the horizon was, no clear signs of where the desert met the vermillion sky. The only thing in the sight was the portal, slowly shrinking, trapping them in a world where the only darkness was the one living inside their hearts.

"My pendant!" Sam screeched our of character and through shaded fingers, Mikyla watched in horror as Sam left her in a cloud of sand in favor of the shrinking portal that spat them out.

Mikyla choked as the sand settled but another cloud soon joined it as Mikyla chased after Sam. She couldn't loose him over a piece of jewelry. She refused to be marooned in a desert by herself.

The ground was unforgiving as the Nobles kicked up sand in venture of the diminishing portal. Each step proved harder than the last and with no traction or support, they were like tortoises in a marathon. The faster they seemed to thrash, the slower progress they made until eventually the dune they were on gave way and the two Nobles found themselves sandsurfing towards the portal back to the nightmare of the chimera's lightning realm.

From one extreme to another, the Nobles sped down the sand dune, tobogganing through shards of heat as they accelerated towards the portal. It seemed to stabilize in size and Mikyla gulped as she was once again powerless to do anything, the common theme ever present in the Trials thus far. The speed didn't last long, however. As the Nobles continues on their downward trajectory, Sand began to pile within and surrounding their clothing, cushioning their descent.

The more they slid, the more sand opposed them and just as they reached the portal from whence they came, they stopped. The opposing sand has formed a miniature dune at their feet and as if ridiculing Sam himself, the portal quivered for a second directly in front of him before imploding with the sound of passing gas.

Even from behind Sam, the tension in his shoulders gave way more information than he could possibly offer and despite having no obligation, Mikyla couldn't help but attempt to console him. Shaking the sand out of the most difficult places, Mikyla shifted herself to where Sam was trying to put on a brave face. She'd never seen him like this before and whatever the pendant meant to him, it must have been important.

"I'm sorry." Sam sniffed as Mikyla crouched down beside him. "I lost the pendant you gave to me."

Dumbstruck, Mikyla just stared at Sam as she tried to comprehend the words he just spoke but before she could offer any misinterpretations, the sand vibrated with a booming voice.

"Talent strangled by power, imbalance to tower, over the ghost stranded to writing,
Existence mere hell, bridges burnt to the shell, of life, the struggle of fighting.
To ream, to ponder, a blank page thats no fonder, upon the lonesome desk,
More fish or less, the self be ones blessed, yet alone, it is no less than grotesque."

Shakily clambering over the next sand dune, the two Nobles forgot the recent dilemma in pursuit of what sounded like the next riddle. Both seemed excited which worked in Mikyla's favour, however, she couldn't quite figure out Sam's sudden apostasy nor the ambiguous figure laying at the bottom of the dune.

Having the head and breast of a woman, the body of a lion, and the wings of an eagle, Mikyla feared for a second that yet another chimera roamed their current realm, however, as the sun caught the intrinsic grooves of the sculpture, it was clear that it was a trickster of old, the Sphinx.

"Answer it or die!" The Sphinx boomed once more.

"Emmm..." Mikyla said with unease. "Is there a time limit? I mean, I don't want to offend you but this is all a bit sudde-"

Suddenly, the Sphinx crumbled and grains of sand crystallized into a rather embarrassed fairy who flew to the top of the dune to meet the two Nobles. "How much did you hear?"

"Just until the riddle and the answer or die part. Do we have to answer straight away or can you give us five minutes to think abou-"

"Oh, no, no." The fairy waved her hands in a giant X shape. "Just forget about that. How about I let you live in exchange for keeping what you just saw as secret?"

Sam and Mikyla nodded slowly. "Sure..."

"Anyways!" The fairy was quick to change the subject. "How-"

"Now hold on just a second." Sam started with more bravery than even he anticipated. "You asked one question so I'm sure it's our turn to ask one too."

The fairy stared at Sam for a second and for a moment Mikyla believed she would turn him into a toad but with a shrug she happily agreed. "Sure. Seems fair. Let's have it."

"Wow." Mikyla grinned. "Sam, you're a geni-"

"How do I get my pendant back?"

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Word Count for Chapter 22: 2084
Total Word Count: 36994

Authors Note:

Hope you liked the UNEDITED chapter 22! Don't forget to press on those magical stars to light up Mikyla's future path and leave a comment telling me what you like so far or what you don't like. Thanks for reading so far.

Happy reading
~ Dracollavenore