Kayden laughed. After a moment he said, "Bolt says that he likes rolley thingys," he informed Lucia. "Okay...let's go, man!" Kayden yelled wildly, and took off down the sidewalk, balancing perfectly. The wheels of his board sprayed water everywhere, including onto him, but he didn't care. "Man, I needed a shower anyway," he laughed, knowing the wind would carry his voice back to Lucia.
Lucia laughed, speeding up after him, making sure Bolt followed behind. He kept up, and Lucia sped up to catch up to Kayden. The winds helped her, and she made sure that they helped the young puppy too. "Wait for me!" She called, skimming behind him, getting splashed by the water he kicked up. She jumped, spinning the board sideways underneath her, throwing a torrent of water at Kayden's back. "Gotcha!"
__________________
"If he dies, then it will be God's will."
"If that was meant to be comforting, it was not."
"Everyone dies eventually. Once you are born, you begin to die."
"That was not comforting either!"
"It is the way of the Creed. Usually our deaths are violent but quick."
Kayden cracked up laughing. "Wow, thanks," he called. "I'll get you for-" He stopped. Something was gnawing at his mind, as if he had forgotten something important...he skidded to a stop, spraying water everywhere. He screwed up his eyes tight in an attempt to concentrate - a voice, a voice was penetrating his mind, but he wasn't the one causing it, he wasn't trying to hear anyone's thoughts, this wasn't him...but he didn't resist... We have failed, my Lord, an oily voice was lamenting. It is our fault they escaped, I know, my Lord, but we will try harder next time- NEXT TIME?! Kayden flinched inwardly at the fatal anger in the deep voice. How can you be sure there will BE a next time, you have just shown me your incompetence! You will not lead the Shades again! But my Lord-! SILENCE! Kayden began to fear for his life, though in the back of his mind he knew the voice was not speaking to him. I will never have to see your groveling face again- A scream of pain drowned out the world. Now that the messy work is overwith...I will have to find myself a new Lieutenant...one who is worthy enough to be second in command to the Darkness... A chilling laugh echoed in Kayden's mind. He let out a pained yell as it faded, and collapsed to the ground, kneeling on the sidewalk, barely aware of the raindrops pounding on his back.
"Kayden!" Lucia cried, leaping off her skateboard and running to where Kayden was kneeling on the ground. She put an arm on his shoulder and one on his chest, trying to comfort him, calm him."Kayden, are you alright?" When he didn't answer, she turned his face to hers. "Kayden!" She looked straight into his blue eyes, eyes that were filled with horror, a fear of something. He must have heard someone's thoughts. "Kayden..."
__________________
"If he dies, then it will be God's will."
"If that was meant to be comforting, it was not."
"Everyone dies eventually. Once you are born, you begin to die."
"That was not comforting either!"
"It is the way of the Creed. Usually our deaths are violent but quick."
Kayden was breathing hard, his whole body shaking as Lucia turned his face toward hers. "Lucia..." Kayden whispered in complete fear. "No...Lucia, he can't-..." He couldn't form a complete sentence. He put his hands on her shoulders - he needed to touch her, to know she was real, that she was there, that he wasn't alone, that he was in his own mind again... "No...no..." Kayden repeated, his voice cracking over and over. "It can't happen..."
What happened? She didn't dare speak the words aloud, but instead hugged him close to her, letting him know she was there, letting him know she was there to comfort him. "I'm here Kayden, it's alright, we're fine. Nothing's happened to us." Her cheek rested on his shoulder, and the two were oblivious to the pouring rain.
__________________
"If he dies, then it will be God's will."
"If that was meant to be comforting, it was not."
"Everyone dies eventually. Once you are born, you begin to die."
"That was not comforting either!"
"It is the way of the Creed. Usually our deaths are violent but quick."
Kayden put one hand on her back and one on top of her soaking wet hair, pulling her to him, as close as they could possibly. "Lucia...the Darkness is rising to power," he barely whispered. "He's angry that we got away, he killed...he killed his Lieutenant, he's...searching for a better one, more powerful...." he trailed off again; explaining it out loud had drained the last of his self control. Silent tears crept down his cheeks; he didn't try to stop them. What hope did they have? How could they possibly beat the Darkness and his new second-in-command? He was probably expanding his army, too, it would be impossible...
"Kayden..." she murmured, raising one hand to wipe his tears away. "Kayden, as long as we hope, as long as we believe, we can win. That's the one thing they can't stand, and the one thing they can't fight. The stand no chance against our hopes. Our dreams. As long as we don't succumb to their despair, we can win. We can fight. There's six of us. We each have different powers, a variety that we can use to our advantage. Shades only have one power: despair. That's it. We can beat that, easily. We just have to believe." She didn't pull away from the embrace, it felt good to her, and she knew it was helping him. "I'm here for you Kayden. We all are."
__________________
"If he dies, then it will be God's will."
"If that was meant to be comforting, it was not."
"Everyone dies eventually. Once you are born, you begin to die."
"That was not comforting either!"
"It is the way of the Creed. Usually our deaths are violent but quick."
Kayden held her still, not wanting to ever let go. He didn't say a word, but her voice comforted him; he would remember what she said word-for-word, he would use it against the Shades in battle, it would encourage him, keep him going. "Thank you," was all he said; his tears slowly stopped as they stayed like that, not even standing, just kneeling on the ground, pulled close together...He gently stroked her hair as they stayed, oblivious to the storm raging around them. He had no idea how long they were like that, but finally, Kayden reluctantly pulled away halfway. "Sorry for breaking down," he muttered, looking away.
"Don't worry. Your power might be a weapon, but it can also be a weakness. It's fine. And it's what I'm here for." Her soft blue eyes gazed into his deep eyes, and concern radiated from them. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" By 'they,' she had meant the Shades, or the Darkness. She sent a wandering breeze to scout the streets around them. Only one other person was out, and he was hiding in an alleyway, a place where Lucia's breeze couldn't see him properly. All it saw was a hunched shape. Highly suspicious. "It's going to get dangerous walking around the city. There's probably a bounty on our heads now."
__________________
"If he dies, then it will be God's will."
"If that was meant to be comforting, it was not."
"Everyone dies eventually. Once you are born, you begin to die."
"That was not comforting either!"
"It is the way of the Creed. Usually our deaths are violent but quick."