• Like a shadow a man moved swiftly through the trees, ignoring both the fatigue and the cold. The sun had gone down hours before, yet that did not stop this man from stalking his prey. He wound his ways through ancient oaks and gorgeous mahogany trees, eyes searching for the slightest of movements.

    Out of the corner of his eye, the man saw a flicker of movement and in one swift movement pulled the sword from his belt and blocked the attack, the clang of steel against steel ringing through the forest. As the two continued attacking one another, they made their way to a clearing where moonlight filtered through the branches overhead. The moonlight revealed the features of the man and his attacker.

    His attacker was a woman. Her black hair trailing behind her as she attacked with such ferocity that would put many warriors to shame. Almond colored eyes flashed as her blade clashed with the blade of the man, and her body flowed like water as she parried and deflected blow after blow.

    The man was similar to the woman. His own black hair, though not as long as the woman’s, trailed behind him in a low ponytail. His ice blue eyes, fierce and calculating, dashed around, looking for an opening in the woman’s defenses. His body, much more muscular than the woman, seemed to flow with a grace few men could attain as he attacked and blocked against the onslaught.

    Suddenly, the man pushed into the woman’s defenses and locked swords; now it was a battle of strength. He dug his heels into the ground and started to push the woman back, but the woman had plans of her own. She pushed against him and held her own against his strength, her eyes locking with his during their struggle for power.

    As they continued to pit their might against each other, the man spoke. “I’m impressed, you have improved more than I thought possible. Behind your beauty lies an enormous amount of strength.”

    “I’ll take that as a compliment,” the woman said as she continued her struggle for dominance, yet for all their talking, they had not stopped trying to overpower the other.

    “As well you should,” he said with finality. He sighed, then in a massive heave he pushed the woman back long enough to unlock his sword from hers and in one swift movement had the tip of the blade at her throat. “You are strong, but you should know you’re no match for me, Jessica.”

    Jessica sighed, “That’s a given, you are my older brother, Jaden,” she said as he took the blade away from her throat.

    “True,” Jaden said as he looked at the moon. “It’s late, we should head home before Michael starts worrying about us. That was by far the best training session we’ve had so far.”

    “I’d say so,” Jessica replied as she fell in step beside her brother as they walked through the forest toward their home, “Our training is paying off, in more ways than one.”

    “What do you mean ‘more ways than one?’ Jessica?” Jaden asked as he scanned the surrounding areas for tracks, noticing a set of deer tracks veering off the left side of the path. He made a mental note to track down the deer in the morning.

    “You know…physically and mentally. Physically because we are fighting and pushing each other to the limit, keeping ourselves in top condition; mentally because we are fighting our own flesh and blood.” Jessica explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

    Jaden sighed, continuing his survey of the forest when a brief flash of light caught his attention. Without a word to Jessica he bolted into the trees, toward the flash he had seen.

    “Jaden! Wait!” Jessica yelled after she begun to run after him. Not acknowledging her, he continued to run, although he knew nothing about what he was running after. He felt in his heart that it was something important and he could not leave it alone.
    “Didn’t you see the light too, Jessica?” Jaden yelled back to her, his voice carrying on the wind he was making with his body.

    “No! I have no idea what you are talking about!” she shouted back. He grunted in acknowledgment and he slowed to a stop outside of some ruins.

    Jaden looked around the grayed walls of the ruins for any tracks that anyone might have left, but all he found were countless tracks of forest animals. Puzzled, he waited for Jessica; who was not that far behind.

    “What were you thinking!” Jessica practically screamed at Jaden, the sound echoing off the walls of the ancient ruins. “Where are we?” she asked as she finally noticed her surroundings.

    “I have no idea where we are. We have never been here before…” Jaden replied, as he continued his search for anything that could have caused the flash of light. “There is a staircase here that goes underground, I think we should investigate.”

    “Are you crazy!” Jessica asked her brother as she grabbed his hand to keep him from going down the stairs. “The walls might not hold up, and then what would we do if we were trapped underground?” she continued questioning her brother.

    “I don’t know Jessica, but whatever is below these ruins… it feels as if I am being pulled toward it.” Jaden replied with his hand over his chest as if he were trying to keep his soul from leaving his body.

    “Strange…” Jessica whispered as she watched his actions, noticing his hand was shaking, in anticipation or fear, she did not know. “I have never seen you this shaken about anything, Jaden.”

    It was then that she noticed a symbol engraved into the stone in front of the staircase. The symbol was that of five stars circling a larger star in the middle. The star in the center was the only identifiable piece in this insignia, as a ball of fire had been engraved in the center of it.

    Jaden stepped forward and started descending the staircase. He was so drawn into the ruins that he did not hear that Jessica had started following him, even though she did not want to be there. Jaden and Jessica did not speak during the descent into darkness, only because Jessica did not want to break the silence. As they walked, the staircase had twisted, cutting off all light around them; yet they kept walking down the stairs.

    It was pitch black when a torch suddenly lit, blinding the twins for a split second. As they regained their sight, Jaden had continued the descent. Torching blazed to life as they walked down the rest of the stairs toward the unknown. After what seemed like hours, a light shined at the bottom of the stairs. Jessica sighed in relief at the soft glow of light coming from the bottom of the stairs.

    Jessica gasped as the staircase led to a pathway that had a stream of molten lava flowing beside it. Without missing a beat, Jaden continued walking, following the path of the lava as if he had been there before. The path ended at a large stone doorway that had the same insignia as the floor before the staircase.

    “Jaden, we shouldn’t be here, please lets go back,” Jessica pleaded with her brother as she put a hand on his shoulder.

    “I can’t go back, sister. This door is blocking the way to what is here, I want it…no…I need it…” Jaden replied to his sister as he studied the door, trying to find a way to open it.

    Jessica silently watched her brother. He had never needed anything like this before. ‘What is happening to you, Jaden, I’ve never seen you act this way before, what is going on here?’ she thought as he pulled a lever that had been hidden in the doorway.

    To Be Continued…