Chapter 22

Ashley walked over to Helen.

"Mom, I just bought this for Arrian," she said holding out the book.

Helen looked at the book and at her daughter's face. She also caught a glimpse of the lecherous merchant that had sold her daughter the book; the bastard was still counting the money.

"How much did you pay?" she asked Ashley.

"One-hundred seventy-five."

"Wait here, and give me the book."

Helen walked over to the merchant with the book in her hand.

"I want my daughter's money back," Helen said as she thrust the book into the man's gut.

"All sales are final lady," he replied with glee.

"You hand me one hundred dollars back or I castrate you right here and now," Helen said in a cold voice.

The merchant would have dismissed her as a crazy woman, if he had not seen something in her eyes, something that made him suddenly afraid.

Something about her caused him to make no argument. He handed the one hundred dollar bill to her with a very shaky hand. Helen turned and smiled at Ashley slightly waving the bill in her hand and a very satisfied grin on her face.

Ashley looked at her mom with a very loving expression.

Arrian was right, mom can haggle! She got more than half my money back. She thought.

Arrian was holding up a giggling Sarah, who was enjoying feeding a merchant's camels.

"They have funny faces Daddy."

"I know sweetheart."

"Daddy, what's wrong with their back? They have boobies on their back, like mommy has on her front."

Arrian couldn't help the soft laugh that escaped his lips or the smile that remained.

"Well, they are not 'boobies' honey—that much I know. But I am not sure what they really are."

"Oh," Sarah said hugging her daddy's legs as the camel moved a bit closer.

It had been a very tiring day for the Michaels' family. Ashley and Helen had not mentioned the purchase of the book; both agreed it would be best to give it to him at home.

"Do you feel like making one more stop or do you want to go home and rest?" Arrian asked as he buckled Sarah into her child seat.

"I'm tired Arrian," Ashley said, while the others nodded their heads in agreement.

Arrian nodded his ascent and got into his seat and started their journey home.

It was still early in the afternoon, not even four o' clock when everyone was gathered in the living room just joking around— Mostly at Arrian's expense.

"You mean he actually ran out of the bathroom naked, while you were having a party!" squealed Cindy.

When Helen confirmed her statement by saying, "He was only nine at the time."

"And that is why I don't walk around naked," Arrian said trying to hide his embarrassment.

While everyone laughed at his discomfort, he noticed Ashley was still uneasy.

I bet she feels bad because she might not have memories like these, he thought.

Smiling he got a wicked idea in his head, it was time to forge new memories.

He got up and ran upstairs; moments later he flew back down carrying a pair of binoculars.

"Ashley, when Kailynn and I were younger we played with these," he said handing her a set of binoculars.

"Oh, how?" she asked.

"Well, you put them up to your eyes like glasses and then try to find something you think the other won't see."

Kailynn saw the binoculars and her mind remembered the day Arrian and she 'played' that game.

Arrian encouraged Ashley to look through them. She relented and brought them up to her eyes took a look around the room and brought them down.

Arrian gave her mischievous smile and Miranda and Sam gave a collected gasp. Sarah looked at Ashley and giggled.

Ashley looked at everyone in confusion; she couldn't understand why they were acting this way.

Helen took pity on the poor girl, and handed her a small make up mirror.

Ashley's eyes popped opened; she now understood why everyone was acting slightly funny. Arrian had pulled a prank on her and he got her.

She had black circles around both eyes.

She was about to tear him a new one, when she realized something. He gave her a memory just now. It wasn't much but coupled with the today's activities it was a good memory.

She flung the binoculars at him and he just caught them without looking at them. He smiled at her and tossed them back at her.

Ashley reached out to grab them but they weren't in the air anymore. Nor was Arrian where he was before. A hand was outstretched from behind her and was clutching the binoculars.

She felt a hand hug her from behind and the one holding the binoculars join the other hand and Arrian kissed his sister's cheek.

She turned in his arms and snuggled closer.

"I bought you something," she said into his chest.

"You didn't have to."

"I wanted to."

Ashley untangled herself from Arrian's arms and went to Helen who reached behind the couch, produced the book and handed it to Ashley.

"I saw this and thought it was meant for you, I don't know why I just did."

Arrian looked at the book and something in him was drawn to the book. He slowly reached out for the book. The moment his hand touched the book, he saw things that made no sense.

He was high above a mountain and was moving at an incredible speed. Flames erupted from below Arrian's line of vision, and raced toward the mountain only to be stopped by some invisible force.

As the flames kept pouring over the invisible field, it slowly became visible. Deep within the force field a dark shroud was present. Arrian's vision changed then, it became more penetrating and focused. Inside, at the very heart of the force field, stood a lone figure, covered in a cloak.

A voice echoed loudly around Arrian's surroundings. "Don't do it brother!"

Suddenly Arrian was at the force field, he reached out with his right hand and... what the hell? It wasn't his hand reaching out it was a claw, a giant claw. It was at least four feet wide and had three, finger like protrusions with some of the deadliest looking claws he had ever seen.

A roar echoed from within the field, and just as quickly as it came it died out. A faint noise came now, like the wings of a bird, only much, much louder.

Suddenly, a large black thing crashed through the shield from inside and slammed into Arrian.

As he was pushed back, he looked at the thing with his now more perceptive eyes; what he saw sent a shiver down his spine. He stared at the most hideous creature he had ever seen. He would like to have called it a mangled dragon, but even that description didn't fit this creature.

It was horribly disfigured; on its face where its mouth should have been there was only a skeletal frame with sparse sections covered in flesh and that was only the first head.

This thing had three heads each one equal in appearance. Arrian felt something that he had felt before in this vision, he felt it when he saw the flames erupt around him and slam into the force field.

He knew more flames were going to erupt and this time he knew where they were coming from; they were coming from him!

Arrian realized he was the dragon that the black creature was battling.

Arrian moved himself backward and flames erupted from his mouth.

Arrian sat up and spat fire from his mouth, all of the girls backed away in horror as they watched fire erupt from Arrian's mouth. It was not a small flame, but a wild torrent of what seems to be a sea of fire.

They screamed and ran away, their screaming brought Arrian out of his slight dream state, and he became aware that he was spitting fire out of his mouth. What was more important was that he had set part of the living room on fire.

Grabbing a TV remote control, he threw it at the living room window and it cracked open. He pulled in air with such force that the window gave way and finished breaking.

Using his sense, he moved the wind to open the water key in his back yard and used air to carry the water inside.

Once inside he generated a small hurricane and infused it with the water before sending it at the flames.

In a hissing sound the flames ceased to burn and left quite a bit of the living room scorched.

Arrian slowly walked out of the living room and out to the front door where everyone was gathered in a small huddle.

"Are you all alright?" He asked in a slightly strained voice.

He couldn't help it; he was tired. Whatever it was he had seen and done, had worn him out, and he fell to his knees— dead tired.

"Daddy!" Sarah called as she ran to Arrian.

She flung herself at Arrian and hugged him as tightly as a five year old <five-year-old> girl can hug her Daddy.

Arrian hugged her back; he was scared too. It was one thing to mess with air but spitting fire was not something to be taken lightly. It scared him to think that he had accidentally set the house on fire and could have hurt the ones he loved.

"Arrian, are you alright?" Helen asked.

"I don't know. When I held that book I saw something, a battle. I was a dragon... I was fighting this creature and then I felt fire boiling inside me and I knew I could spit fire. Next thing I know I'm spitting fire in the real world."

"If it hadn't been so scary, it would have been really cool!" Ashley said, as she got closer to him.

Arrian slowly got to his feet, "I'm glad you all ran out, there is no real need to worry about me, I don't think I'm really human anymore."

"I still love you, big brother." Ashley said as she hugged him.

All the others agreed in her sentiments; Helen moved to his side and held him tightly.

"I can't afford to lose you right now," she said putting his hand on her stomach, "we can't afford to lose you now."