Page 69 of Monster's Melody
Come into the light.
The world is calling you back
Stand up and fight.
Come into the light!
As the magic of my song grew to almost unbearable degrees, I was only peripherally aware of the struggle that continued between Zowen and the others.
He attempted to escape again and again into the shadows, but my song continually dragged him back.
We weren’t winning, but we weren’t losing either.
The shadows that I sensed waiting in the wings just beyond our sight took a step forward, distracting me for one critical moment.
Zowen dove for the shadows once more, this time managing to disappear inside them for an instant, but by now, my song had attached itself to him and there was nowhere in any of the realms he could go to escape it.
I traveled with my song, for as long as I continued to feed it power, we would be tied together, our fates entwined.
Conversely, I was also physically tied to Vorzak and The Hissies, held safe in their embrace in the castle.
Thus, I was in two places at once, both in the cafeteria andalsoin the Shadow Realm, guiding my song as it rose and fell like the ocean waves, filling every corner of that realm with its power.
As I sang, Zowen raged through the shadows, seeking a place where my song could not be heard, somewhere he could escape the truth of all that he had done, somewhere he could not find, for that place did not exist in any of the realms.
A deafening roar shook the Shadow Realm and reverberated through the castle, then Zowen fell from from high above us, a writhing mass of shadows tangled around him.
I’d been so distracted by his escape that I’d failed to continue to weave the invitation for the shadows, and as a result, the shadow army had fallen back, undoing that single step forward they’d taken.
Don’t be scared,I sang to them.
Don’t be afraid,
This is your home
You are so brave!
As Zowen spiraled downward, the shadows revealed themselves to be Kasi, Jahrdran, Shadow and Miki-Leopard, who’d pursued him into the Shadow Realm and who were now wrapped around him, dragging him back.
Elliot launched himself upward, wrapping his wings around Miki-Leopard, propelling her free from the tangle of shadows, then whirling and plowing into Zowen, so that the two chameleon dragons, one with shadow wings and the other with wings dotted in leopard spots, tangled together and fell.
The two dragons landed in the middle of the cafeteria with a thunderous crash.
Locked together, roaring and raging, they battled on, the rest of my friends, classmates and professors joining the fight as Zowen’s shadows began to spread through the room once more.
Somehow, that short trip to the Shadow Realm had empowered his shadow-self to resist the compulsion to maintain his physical form.Either that, or his physical form was nearly lost to him entirely, as his physical wings appeared to be.
I desperately wanted to help my friends in the battle, but the best I could do for them was to focus on my song, so I continued to weave its power.
Leave the shadows behind,
Come into the light.
The world is calling you back
Stand up and fight.
Come into the light!