When people tell you that a dream is just a dream and that’s all they can ever be… think of me, for my dream was more real than any dream could be. My name is Jade Winter and this is my unbelievable story.
I was never the most popular girl in school, or had many friends. That part did not bother me; I was happy on my own but that was about to change.
So, where to start?
I know.
It all started with the first dream I could ever remember. Because the world I dream about is the world I feel I belong, as along with this one.
Let me take you back to when I had the dream that I can never forget. I was six years old at the time and was getting ready to go to bed; but when I got in, I immediately felt strange. I felt cold in the middle of a heat wave. But it did not take long for me to fall asleep.
The dream was of me as a baby. Two women were crying; they were dressed in clothes like what you would see in old movies, with kings, queens, and knights. I wanted to know why they were crying. One of them picked me up and said, “Oh, my daughter, why did this have to happen to you? What are we going to do?”
She was my mother and the other woman was, I think, her lady in waiting; but more than that, her friend. I did not understand any of this. What did my mother mean, what was going to happen to me?
“My queen, we have to get her away. You know the king will kill her for having the same powers he has,” the lady in waiting said, as she kept watch at the window.
“I know, Eve, but can we be sure that she even has the same powers?” my mother asked.
“Serena, my queen, look at her face; the only other person with that birthmark is the king, and he has the powers,” Eve said, rushing to her side.
My mother brushed the tears from her eyes. “I know you are right,” she said, looking into my eyes.
“Warwick does not know that she is born yet. He has taken his army away to destroy everything and everyone that stands in his power-hungry way. We can just tell him you lost the baby,” Eve added. “We came out here where no one could find us because you were so weak from the pregnancy you needed to rest. But it did not matter, you lost the baby. We told only the people who needed to know where we were going so that you were not disturbed,” she said, placing me back into my cot.
How could this feel so real? I thought as I looked up at Eve and my mother.
“I have an idea. I have to leave, Serena, but when I come back I will have someone who can help us,” said Eve, and with that, left me with my mother.
“I love you so much; whatever Eve’s plan is, know that I will always love you and you will always be the best part of me,” said Serena. It felt like hours had gone by with my mother holding me so tight in her arms. There was a loud knock at the door. My mother put me back into the cot. “Who’s there?” she asked. Her voice was shaking with fear.
“It’s me, Serena. Let me in; I have brought someone who can help us,”
Serena went to the door to see who Eve had with her. It was raining so hard on them that she could hardly see.
“Have no fear, my queen; it is your faithful servant and friend, Linus,”
“I’m so glad to see you!” Serena cried out.
“You need my help, but what is it you need of me?” He asked, as he came in from the rain.
“Come, Linus, see for yourself,” said Eve as she closed the door behind her. “Just look at my child’s face—she bears the same birthmark as the king. If he finds out, you know what he will do to her. Please help her. There has to be something you can do to help us—I’m begging; you are our only hope.”
“Wait, I need to think,” he said, as he picked me up and looked at me. “Do you know how long I have waited for this day to arrive?” he said. “All the pain of this land and the suffering the people have undergone at the hands of your father… Look at you; it is as your mother said, you have the same mark, which means you have his powers. We can only hope that you have all the powers he has,” said Linus.
He smiled at me one last time and then placed me back into my cot. As he placed me down all I could see was a man with scruffy black shoulder-length hair and black stubble on his face. “God bless you, my girl,” he said in soft a voice. It made me feel so safe.
Linus, Eve and Serena left the room. They went down the corridor of what was an old-looking castle. I could not hear them anymore; I just lay in the cot waiting to see if they were going to come back to me.
What was going to happen to me? When was I going to wake and know this was all a dream? I thought to myself. Who was this man called Linus and why did my mother and Eve think he could help me? All I could see was a man with long black hair and a kind smile, I thought to myself again.
What I did not know at that time was that Linus was the greatest sorcerer of Akizma.
The people who lived with him in the castle thought he was a crackpot, a man who had lost his powers long ago, and the king thought the same; but Eve never believed what they were saying. As long as you believe in him, he would come through for whoever needed him.
Just then, the three of them came back into my room. “Serena, your husband thinks the same as so many of the people of this land; that I have lost my powers… which is good for me. I’m no threat to him,” said Linus. “Warwick likes to be the only one to show off his powers and hates anyone who dares use whatever powers against him,” Linus added, looking from Serena to Eve and then back to me. “But I have my books of spells hidden out of the way of everyone, and I think there is something in one of the books that can help us,” said Linus. “I must go now, but I will be back with what we need. Please don’t worry, Serena; it will be okay,” Linus added, as he left us and went into the dark of night, the rain hitting our faces.
We went back inside to get warm. Eve closed the door behind us.
“Look at her, Eve, such a small mark on her left cheek and such a lot of fear that it brings to us.”
The mark on my face was in the shape of a tear: a blood-red tear on my left cheek. How could this mark be so bad? I thought to myself.
“You should get some sleep, Serena. I will wait for Linus to come back,” said Eve. “You and the baby need your rest,” she added as she left us alone.
Back at King Warwick’s castle, Linus had just gotten back, and his friend and apprentice Thorn—a boy of about ten years old—was stood at the castle gates waiting for him.
“Linus, where have you been?” he asked.
“Thorn, we have much to do—and I will tell you on the way to my chambers. Now come on,” said Linus, grabbing Thorn by the arm.
I don’t know how it was possible, but I was seeing everything as it was happening even if I was not there.
“Serena has had her child, and she bares the same mark as the king. Now come, we don’t have much time,” said Linus.
They ran up the stairs down the corridor to get to Linus’s chamber. “We need to find the book about how to send someone to a world so far away that Warwick cannot find her. Not until she is ready to understand what her life will be like here,” explained Linus.
They walked up to a bookcase and pulled down the third book from the right and the bookcase pushed back. A secret room now stood in front of them. Thorn looked so shocked by what he was seeing.
“What… how… why did you not tell me about this room, Linus?” said Thorn, his voice shaking.
“What I have told you so far, Thorn, is no threat to Warwick,” Linus replied. “But if he knew about these books, he would kill us,” Linus said. “Now until Serena’s daughter comes of age and into her powers, we need to send her somewhere she will be safe. Help me find the right book…”
“Is this it?” asked Thorn, pushing an old-looking book into Linus’ hands.
“I think this is the one we’ve been looking for, yes; this is the one,” he said. “Thorn, I know you are young but I need you to stay in here and read all the books that you can,” said Linus. “The day that we need the old magic is coming back to this land,” he announced as he left the room and the bookcase went back in to its place against the wall. Linus put the book back where he pulled it from and the secret room was gone with Thorn inside.
Knowing that Thorn was safely out of the way, he ran out to his horse and headed back to us. Then I was back in my cot; the sun was just starting to rise when I heard Linus knocking at the door. “My queen, it’s me; let me in,” he said.
Eve opened the door. “Have you found what you need?” she asked.
“Yes. Where is the queen?” asked Linus.
“Sleeping. They both needed some rest,” said Eve. “Serena, wake up. Linus has something that can help us.”
"I have a spell in this book that can send your child to a world through space and time where she will be safe from Warwick. She will live her life thinking that this is a dream.
I know this is hard for you, to let her go, so the spell will let her spirit come to our world as if she is living in both worlds. When it is day there, it will be night here. As she sleeps in the world we are sending her to, it will only be her spirit that comes to our world. You will not be able to hold her, but you will able to see and talk to her," said Linus.
They all agreed to the terms of the spell. My mother picked me up for the last time so that she could feel my skin against hers. She kissed my face, then wrapped me in a blanket placed me on the floor.
“Ready,” said Linus, looking around at Serena and Eve, and then started to say some strange words that I could not hear. It started to get darker. My mother, Eve and Linus were fading away as they looked down at me.
When I opened my eyes, I was in my own bed. I sat up in a cold sweat, thinking about everything I had seen and heard in my dream. All I could think about was how real it felt—and what if it was not all just a dream.
All I knew was that my parents were my mum, Kelly, and dad, Harry Winter, but I couldn’t help thinking why I had this dream now and not before.
I cried out for my mum.
“What is it, Jade?” she said, rushing into my room. I told her everything but I don’t think she believed me, because she said it was just a dream. “Now get up, Jade, it’s time for school,” she added… but there was something in her voice, a tone I had never heard before. When I had told her my dream, she had looked scared; I could hear it in her voice but before I could say anything, she left the room.
With all I saw in my dream, school did not matter to me. I wanted to stay home and think about all that Serena had told me in the other world. I went downstairs to see what my dad would say about my dream, but when I came in to the living room, he was shouting something angrily.
“We can’t tell her. She is too young! Now drop it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said.
It went quiet when he saw me come in to the room. I hated seeing them fighting, so I did not say anything about my dream and neither did my mum and dad. I just got ready for school.
“Jade, the bus is here,” said Mum.
“See you later,” said my dad as I closed the front door behind me.
The day went by like all the others. The other kids tormented me but today I did not let them get to me. All I could think about was Serena, Eve and why my mum and dad were fighting. The other kids were getting angry that nothing they could do or say could upset me. The day ultimately came to an end, and it was time to go home.
Mum and Dad tried to act normal, as if nothing had happened this morning, but they would not talk about my dream. We went through all of the evening not saying much to each other. Bedtime soon came around and I could not wait to go to sleep. I kissed my mum and dad goodnight, and got into bed and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I woke up in my own bed.
I must have gone through the whole night not dreaming at all.
In fact, I am now 18 years old and I cannot remember ever having a dream since I was 6 years old, until now. I have just turned 18, and the dream is back.
Last week on my birthday, I had that strange feeling, when I went to bed. The cold sweat came over me as I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was back in this other world, but not as a baby. I am the same age as I am now. I am back in the castle with Serena looking at me.
“Finally, you are here. You look shocked to see me. Let me help you come to terms with everything in this world and understand what is happening to you,” she said in a soft voice. “It’s hard to explain. You saw the day you were born, and you recall what you heard too?” she asked.
“Yes,” I replied.
“Then you know most of what happened that night. One of the powers you have is that you can see what your father has done in the past, what he is doing now—and what he is yet to do. He can’t stand anyone knowing his plans of destroying any village that stands in the way of his hunger for power,” Serena said, holding my hand. “And because you have one of his powers, you will get his other powers that will make you as powerful as him,” she added. “Now… I don’t want to talk about your father anymore. Tell me about your life, the world you grew up in,” said Serena, looking into my eyes.
“There is not much to tell you… my mum and dad are great, but I have no friends. I am a bit of a loner, but I am happy… but please tell me more about this world,” I said. “I understand that this is only my spirit that is here now and my father cannot hurt me, and I bet we can get around this world without him knowing that I am here. Please, I want to see more of this world,” I asked her.
“Next time, we can,” she said.
There was a loud knock at the door.
“Stay quiet until I know it is safe,” she added as she opened the door.
I heard a man’s voice. “Is she here?”
“Yes, Linus, but how did you know she was here?” asked Serena. “I felt her spirit is here. It’s the spell I cast on her. We are connected to each other, Serena,” he said. Linus ran into the room. “Look at her, my queen. She is beautiful,” he said, looking at me. “We need to hide her. King Warwick, he is coming to talk to you. Somehow I think he has found out that we lied to him about your child’s death.” Linus’ voice was shaking. I don’t know if it was the fear of seeing this power-hungry man that made me wake up suddenly, as a man in armour broke through the door, sword in his hand. It had blood on it. I don’t know if he saw me; once again I was sat up in my bed, still in a cold sweat. It was still dark outside.
I need to go back to sleep. I need to know that Serena and Linus are safe. Come on, Jade, you can do this. I thought to myself. I closed my eyes again and fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the same room but it was all smashed up. Broken chairs all over the place, broken glass under my feet. Where are Serena, and Linus? What has Warwick done to them? I thought to myself.
I heard voices outside. “Burn it to the ground,” a man yelled out. I got down low to the glass-covered floor and went over to the window, looking out to see a man on a black horse. It was Warwick; I saw the mark on his face, the same as mine. All around him was his army. They all had their bows and arrows of fire pointing at the castle. Every single arrow was fired into the castle through the broken windows and doors, while some landed on the roof. Smoke and flames built up around me and Warwick rode away with his army behind him.
Smoke filled the room. I could not breathe. I started to crawl to the door but I could not see what was in front of me. The heat and smoke was blinding me. This is not like the dream I had where nothing could hurt me. I thought to myself. I used my hands to feel my way along the floor. All of a sudden, I felt someone’s feet in front of me. I was so scared that Warwick had come back.
“Jade, come with me,” a man’s voice said. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you. Linus has sent me,” he added as he pulled me to my feet and helped me outside. “Are you alright, Jade?” he asked.
“Yes, but my eyes are sore,” I said.
“Here, take this. It’s water, it will help your eyes,” he said.
“Thank you, but who are you?” I asked as I washed my eyes with the water.
“A friend of Linus’, your mother’s… and yours,” he said. As I looked up to see who was there, still a little scared that this was a trick by Warwick, I saw Thorn stood looking down at me. I knew it was him as soon as I saw him, as if we had always known each other. “Jade, there is no time to talk. We need to get out of here.”
He took me by the hand and led me away from the burning castle. We went into a dark forest. I could not see much. The trees did not let the sun in. “Keep going, and I will try to explain what has happened to your mother and Linus,” said Thorn, “but we must keep moving. I know you have seen me in your dream as a small boy, so you know I am Linus’s apprentice, and so you know you can trust me,” he said, pulling me by the hand, deeper into the forest. “Your mother has been taken back to Warwick castle, but before Warwick found them both, Serena told Linus to leave her and to get ready for you to come back. It was too risky for him to stay in the castle. He knew Warwick would come back for him, so he got word to me to look out for you. He is waiting for us in the mountains to the north of here,” Thorn said. “I should warn you, Jade, this land and the creatures are harsh and magical. You have only read about them in books and not all of them are good.”
“Please, I need to stop. I can’t keep walking. How big is this forest anyway?” I asked
“We are almost on the other side of the forest. Sit down, but just for a moment,” said Thorn.
As we walked to the edge of the forest, I heard voices. It was Warwick and his men.
“Jade, get down! Stay still. It looks like they are heading to a village close by,” said Thorn in a soft voice.
“My lord, the queen is still not telling us anything about your daughter being alive or where she and Linus sent her for all this time,” one of his men in armour said.
“Don’t tell me what she is not saying, just do whatever it takes until she tells us what we need to know—and I do mean whatever you need to get what I want. Do you understand me, Rydan? Do not fail me!” Warwick yelled.
“Yes, my lord,” he said as he rode off away from Warwick’s side. Warwick and the rest of his men rode away from the forest.
“Is it safe to go?” I asked Thorn. “We will wait for a moment, just to be sure that he is not coming back,” said Thorn. “Okay, but tell me more about this world,” I asked. “Thorn, you say there are creatures here that I have only read about. What kind are you talking about?” I asked him. He looked down at me as he sat next to me.
“Jade, we don’t have much time for all I need to tell you. When the sun sets you will go back to your other world,” he said. “Because until we find another spell that can bring you back to this world as your full self, not just your spirit, I cannot tell you all you need to know,” Thorn added.
“Wait, when I had my dream, Linus said that I would grow up in both worlds. Why did that not happen, Thorn?”
“I cannot tell you what I do not know. That is a question only Linus can answer. Now let me tell you what kind of man your father is,” said Thorn, with pain now in his voice. “Your father has brought nothing but pain, bloodshed, and suffering to the people of this world for years—and has had fun doing it,” he said. “My family, my whole family, was killed just for having a different opinion than this. I was spared so that other people would learn that what happened to my family could, and will, happen to all who stand against him.” Thorn now spoke with anger in his voice and in his eyes. “Linus took me in. As a great sorcerer, he could see that I had powers of my own, and decided to teach me how to use them. One day, he said, I would have a key role to play in the downfall of King Warwick and his power-hungry ways. I was a boy of eight when he told me this and my heart was full of pain, anger and revenge; but we needed to keep it inside until the day comes when we will use all of our hate and anger to put an end to Warwick,” said Thorn. "Linus did teach me how to use my powers, and every day he told me of the day that someone would come with the same powers as the king, but with one difference—that someone would gain a power that Warwick could never have. Then two years later, Queen Serena had a child.
That child is you, Jade, and you have the same mark as your father and he knew this day was coming. He knew of this legend and now he will not let you live knowing that you have the same powers as him," said Thorn.
“This is all so strange. This still feels like a dream… how can I be certain that I’m not just dreaming?” I said.
“Linus said you might think like this, so he told me to give you this pendant. It can go with you back to the other world,” said Thorn as he put the pendant around my neck. As I looked at the pendant I saw it was a dragon with its wings stretched out. “When you wake up, it will still be around your neck,” Thorn said. The sun was starting to go down. “Jade, we are running out of time. Next time when you go to sleep in the other world, think of this place and of me, and you will come back to this place and not the burnt-out castle,” said Thorn, holding my hand. As I looked at Thorn and the forest, everything started going dark, just like it did when I was sent away for the first time. I heard Thorn’s voice. “Jade, think of me, and the forest. Please, think of me,” he called out to me and then I woke up back in my own bed once again.
I sat up, more confused about what I had just seen. I felt something around my neck. I pulled it over my head so I could see what it was. It was the pendant Thorn had given to me. I took it down to show my mum. I told her what had happened to me. “Come with me,” she said, looking more scared than the first time I had told her about my dream. “Wait in here. I need to talk to your dad,” she said as she left me in the living room. I could still hear everything Mum was saying to my dad in the kitchen. “The dreams have come back. We can’t keep this from her anymore, Harry; we have to tell her the truth.”
“Tell me the truth about what, Mum?” I asked as I walk into the room. My mum and dad just looked at each other. “Tell me what?” I asked again. There was a moment of silence in the room.
“Jade, we need to talk… but not now. We will tell you all you need to know when you come back from college. And that is all I have to say about the matter,” my dad said in an annoyed voice. I had never heard my dad sound so angry before. I left the house crying from how Dad had spoken to me.
As I sat on the bus, I felt strange, just like before I go to sleep. As I looked out of the window, I saw strange images from the other world coming into this world. Storm clouds rolled in behind a man dressed in armour, covered in blood.
“Nooooo!”
I screamed so loud that the bus almost ran off of the road.
“What the hell is going on back there?” yelled the bus driver. “Someone stop her,” he added. People were stopping me from getting up. They all held me down.
“Nooooo…! Let me go! He’s seen me. He’s going to kill me. Don’t you see him?” I cried out.
“Who’s going to kill you?” I heard a woman say to me.
“Don’t talk to her, she is nuts,” I heard a man say. “Just hold her down,” he added as he held my head toward the window.
The man in armour was still there, looking at me. It was Warwick.
“You live!” he yelled at me, holding his sword, covered in blood. “You will soon be dead!” he said with an evil smile on his face and then he disappeared, leaving me with all these strangers holding me in my seat.
As we got to the college I saw an ambulance waiting for me. The bus driver had radioed ahead to tell them what had happened on his bus. Two paramedics boarded the bus and grabbed my arm. “Stop, let go of me!” I screamed at them. I kicked them away from me and started to run, but the bus driver grabbed me. As I looked back, I saw one of the paramedics had a needle in his hand.
“It’s okay; this is just something to calm you down. Don’t fight it,” the paramedic said. And before I knew it they had injected me with something. Things were starting to go fuzzy. My arms and legs were getting heavy.
“I can’t move, why can’t I move?” I asked him.
“We couldn’t let you hurt yourself, or us, with all your kicking out at everything,” said the paramedic. “We have called your mum and dad. They are on their way, just stay calm,” he added.
“Kelly, I was wrong. I should have listened to you when you wanted to tell Jade everything,” Harry said to Kelly as they pulled up into the car park.
“What are they doing to her?” asked Kelly as she looked at the bus then back to Harry.
“Let’s just get her home,” said Harry, looking at Kelly.
“Yes, but which home are you talking about; our home or hers?” said Kelly.
As the paramedic got me into the ambulance, I saw my mum and dad running up to the ambulance.
“Stop!” my dad cried out. “We are her parents, we will look after her at home,” he added.
“We need you to sign some forms if you are sure you can look after her at home, sir,” said the paramedic as he handed my dad the forms. “The drug we have given her will wear off in an hour or two. She won’t sleep, but she will not be able to move,” he added as he took back the completed forms.
“Thank you so much,” said my mum as my dad put me into our car. As we headed back home, Mum looked back at me and smiled. “I know that you can’t move but you can listen to what we have to say to you,” she said. “Jade, we know what is happening to you. Do you remember when you had that dream when you were six, and you told us about it but we did not want to talk about it? I know you do,” she said, looking into my eyes. “It was because we knew it was true. Everything you said you saw in that world; it is real,” she added.
I don’t know if the tears in my eyes were from sadness or anger from being lied to all my life. Not able to brush away the tears I just kept listening to what my mum was telling me.
“Jade, 18 years ago, Harry and I were sitting in the living room watching the TV when we heard a baby crying in the back garden. We went outside to see what was happening. We could not believe our eyes. A new-born baby lay on the ground wrapped in an old looking blanket—it was you, Jade. We picked you up, still in shock finding you like that; as we turned around to get you into the house there was a strange looking man stood in our way. ‘Do not be afraid. I need to talk to you both about that baby you are holding in your arms,’ he said.”
“Kelly let’s get her in the house, you can tell her more about that in the warm,” said Harry, as he opened the car door and carried me into the living room.
“Jade, the strange man told us his name was Linus and he told us all about the world you came from and what would happen to you if you stay there. It was hard to believe, but there was something in his voice that made us know all he was telling us was the truth,” said my mum as she sat next to me.
“He told us that you would come into your powers one day. Now that the dreams about that world are back it means you are about to gain your powers,” said Dad, holding my hand. “We thought if we could make you think that they were just dreams then this would not happen. We were so naïve, Jade. We are so sorry,” said Mum, looking at Dad, then to me.
“Jade, think of everything we have told you until the drug gets out of your body,” said Mum. Like I could think of anything else, I thought to myself as the last hour dragged on. Soon I got the feeling back into my body.
“How could you make me feel like I was going mad? How did you know the strange man was telling you the truth?” I yelled at them still feeling so angry with them.
“Because when we took our eyes off of him for one second, he had disappeared in front of us. But we heard his voice calling to us, he said, ‘Please keep her safe.’ And we were left alone holding you,” said Dad. “I’m sorry for making you feel like this Jade,” he added.
“I’ve seen Linus, he is a great sorcerer. He is my birthmother’s good friend. He sent me away to you and I’m glad he sent me to you both. I love you. I’m sorry I shouted at you,” I said, looking at them both. I think Harry and Kelly could hear the anger in my voice had gone.
“Jade we are not your birthparents but for the last 18 years we have loved you as if we were your mum and dad, you know that,” said Harry, holding my hand.
“I love you too,” I said, looking at both of them.
“Now it is almost night time and again your spirit will go to your home world,” said Kelly, as she got up.
“Mum, I’m scared of that place, of Warwick the king, of that land. From what Linus and Thorn have told me, I’m their last hope. What if I’m not up to this?” I said, as I walked to the door.
“Jade we believe in you like Linus and Thorn do. I wish this was not your life, but it is and all we ask is please be careful. We know you and your people will come through this together. We love you so much,” said Harry.
I turned around and Harry and Kelly held me so tightly in their arms. “I love you too. You will always be my mum and dad,” I said as I went to my bedroom.
That strange feeling came over me again and I knew I was going back to my world. Think of Thorn on the edge of the forest, I kept telling myself as I fell asleep with Mum and Dad holding my hand. When I opened my eyes, I found myself sat in front of Thorn, with his hand pressed over my mouth. “Ssshhhhhh look through the trees,” he said, still with his hand over my mouth. So I did as he said and as I looked I could see Warwick’s men coming into the forest, searching for any survivors from the last village they had destroyed.
“Keep low, keep quiet. This way,” said Thorn. We managed to get out of the forest.
“Over there! Stop!” one of the Warwick’s men yelled out loud.
“Run Jade!” said Thorn. As I looked back to see if he was behind me, “Don’t look back. I’m right behind you, just keep going!” he said.
“We will never make it to Linus. I can’t keep running,” I said as we ran across a field of ash and smoke that covered the ground. Then we heard the loudest roar.
“What is that? Where is it coming from?” I screamed, as I covered my ears with my hands and tried to keep running from Warwick’s men.
“Look up, Jade,” said Thorn. As I looked up to the sky, I couldn’t believe what I saw—it was a dragon.
“Jade meet one of the creatures that live in your world,” said Thorn.
“It looked like the dragon on my pendant, the one you gave to me Thorn,” I said, as I stopped to watch it.
Warwick’s men were gaining on us. The dragon’s wings folded back by it side, as it got closer to us. Then it stretched out it wings again, as it slammed on to the ground, putting itself between us and Warwick’s men. The men kept running toward us. The dragon looked at me then back to Warwick’s men and took a big breath in and let out its fire, making a wall of fire and blocking Warwick’s men behind it. The dragon came toward me. “Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you,” it said, looking down at me.
“You can talk,” I said nervously, as I looked from Thorn then up at him.
“Yes I can talk for all to hear,” he said, now looking at Thorn. “But I can talk to you with my mind. It is one of the powers you and the king share,” he said looking into my eyes, his mouth did not move. “Warwick uses this power against us but your heart, as Linus said, is good. We have longed for you to come home,” he added, now talking, for Thorn to hear him.
“Linus is waiting for you. He sent me to bring you to him. He will tell you about your other powers. Now climb on my back and I will take you both to him,” he said, as he looked from me to his back. As the fire grew higher and higher the dragon pushed away from the ground. I took one more look at Warwick’s men behind the fire as we flew away.
“My name is Talon,” the dragon said. “You can hear my thoughts because I want you to. I can see you do have a good heart. Your father’s heart is dark and cold. He hears our thoughts because he takes them from us. We try to stop him but he is too strong,” again he said, using this mind to speak to me.
“Talon, is Linus safe, is he okay?” asked Thorn.
“Yes, he is still in the mountains. He will tell you all about your powers better than Thorn or I ever could, Jade,” said Talon.
I was trying to take in as much of the landscape as I could, as we flew over it and headed to the mountains.
“These are the northern mountains and somewhere down there is Linus waiting for you, Jade,” said Thorn, pointing down at the mountains.
“Yes, so many people have been waiting for you for a long time,” Talon added, as he landed in front of a cave.
“Linus is in there, go to him,” said Thorn, as he helped me down off of Talon’s back and looked toward the cave.
“Go in, Jade you are safe here,” said Talon.
Just as I went in to the cave, I heard a familiar voice coming out of the darkness. It was Linus. He looked the same just as I remembered him the night he sent me away.
“Jade, come to me let me look at you,” he said, as he stepped out of the darkness. “I have so much to tell you but again, we don’t have much time to talk. I have managed to get my spell books out of Warwick’s castle and I have found the spell that can bring you back to your home world, all of you, not just your spirit,” said Linus.
“Look, the sun is setting,” Thorn called out, as he ran into the cave.
“Jade, I will help you understand all of this when we get you back here, all of you, body and spirit,” Linus said, so fast I could not get a word in. As I looked at Linus, Thorn and Talon, they were fading away in front of me. Again, I opened my eyes and sat up in my bed, with my mum and dad still holding my hands.
“Jade, I’m here,” I heard Linus’ voice say out loud.
“It can’t be. How can you be here?” I asked him, as he walked to my bedside.
“I don’t have time to explain this to you in full, but to take you home to your world, I had to come to this world to take you back, body and spirit,” he said. Then he started speaking some strange words and things started to go dark.
“Mum, Dad, wait,” I said as, they faded away again. As I looked around, I saw that we were back in the cave but for the first time I was in my home world at night-time. Linus was standing in front of me.
“Welcome home, Jade. Now it is time to learn about your powers,” he said.
“Why… why didn’t you let me say goodbye to my mum and dad?” I asked him, with tears falling down my face.
“I am sorry, but there was little time for goodbyes and your mum and dad have always understood that this was going to happen,” he said. “Now come with me. We have a lot to talk about and I know that you have a lot of questions about your life here and about your mother,” he added, as he held out his hand toward me.