In this darkness it was different than what he had been used to. Whenever going into that space in his dreams it had always been cold and aggressive. Dragged through his sleep and into whatever place this could be called. He’d never thought to ask Key. Key wasn’t the talkative type regardless and neither Hawk or Vixen seemed to care.
But this place was welcoming despite the darkness. The fog that swirled around his feet made way almost like it was leading his path forward. He didn’t walk far, or at least he didn’t know how for how long he walked. But eventually the path brought him to a circle in the ground. The moment he crossed over the line he found himself unable to go further forward.
The circle glowed to life and extended into the sky bathing him in an orange glow that reminded him of home. Being wrapped up in the scent of his own room and surrounded by his things. Taking a step back his back brushed against the light wall of the cylinder. Turning around slowly he watched as more pillars of light flared to life and one by one he saw people appear.
He met Seth and Cal from the car as well as Kathryn. The two men in the red and green pillars he didn’t know but he remembered them from the fight. And then he paused staring at the pillar that was almost dark. A muted yellow but there was a stone floating within it that made his chest tighten. He knew it belonged to the that Hawk had stolen and trapped.
“You have arrived. For this I am glad,” Owen turned around and watched as the light materialized in front of him. The shape that stepped forward wasn’t anything like Key. Where Key had jagged edges to their shape this one was smooth. Their eyes were bright like stars while he remembered the dark pits that were Keys eyes.
“You’re not like how I imagined,” he said slowly.
“My sibling and I have different preferences to our forms,” they said floating forward. “My name is Ley.”
“I’m Owen,” he replied. He looked toward Kathryn and he couldn’t read her face. Or any of theirs for that matter. They were all pretty blank. For not the first time he wondered if this was dangerous, if this was a trap.
“Hello Owen,” Ley lowered their head and looked past him to Sarah’s pillar. “This place is one you may be familiar with. It acts like a space between Space.”
“A pocket dimension,” When Ley looked at him he blushed slightly. “We talked about it in school a bit.”
“An apt name yes,” Ley replied. “Within here myself and my sibling can interact with our chosen. I assume that Kathryn has informed you to your reason for being here and that you are willing to help.”
He nodded hurriedly. “I want to help undo what I helped make happen.”
Ley nodded and raised their hands in front of their body. An orb of light manifested in and then turned to become a ring that wrapped around Ley’s wrist. They floated toward Owen and he had to fight his urge to recoil on instinct. Squaring his shoulders he watched as Ley stood in front of him.
Ley swept their hand in front of his face, standing just outside of the pillar of light. Though their hand never touched him, Owen felt like he had been physically touched by the celestial. He couldn’t explain it but the sensation was there. When Ley looked at their hand they closed their eyes and nodded.
“My sibling has put their stone within your body. Unlike my chosen who wear them you harbor it.”
Ley pointed, a thin beam of light shooting from their finger to Owen’s shoulder. Owen looked at it and saw the large orange glow within himself. Flicking their fingers, they swept away the barrier of light in front of them. Leys hand rested upon his shoulder and it was warm like a freshly washed and dried blanket.
He had expected to feel pain when their fingers slipped into his shoulder but it was just pressure. Like it was being squeezed hard. He turned and his eyes widened, seeing the glowing hand slide through his body. But it was over almost as fast as it had begun.
Ley brought their hand free of his body and balanced delicately between their fingers was his stone. The orange stone hummed with light that Owen almost reached out to take. But he fought the urge and took a step back. In doing so he pressed his back to light and stumbled. Looking over his shoulder he saw that the light had disappeared and instead it was just a barrier.
Floating backwards with the stone they moved to Sarah’s podium. They floated up to it and pushed their hand at through the muted yellow. On contact life breathed into it for the barest of a moment.
Floating to Ley’s other hand was Sarah’s stone. Ley raised it to their face and stared into the darkness within it. They floated the two stones next to one another and pressed their fingers against them, joining the two. The black energy that hovered within it crackled and flash with a light that violently cut through the dimension.
Resting between the stones was a small black hole. Ley peered into it calmly but in it was a dark mirror of this location. They turned slowly, staring through the hole when their eyes a lit upon their target. Staring at Sarah they flexed their other hand and pulled on the air. Their light surged through the hole and wrapped around Sarah’s body. But they weren’t unnoticed.
A pair of black eyes found Ley’s and Ley made a noise of pain. The pale light within their eyes turned entirely black and they tilted their head back. Their body writhed for a moment and a noise echoed through the dimension like a siren. But the black was cut away by a golden light and then they were in silence.
When the light faded the podium was gone entirely. No more light radiated from it and most importantly Sara’s stone was gone from within it. Everyone stared at it silent when both Jack and Marco staring at Ley. “What happened?!” Jack shouted. “Where’d it go?!”
“Where’s Sarah?” Marco asked. “Shouldn’t she be here?”
Ley looked at them wereily, the light from their own glow muted. They looked at the pair of knights calmly and motioned beyond. “She is gone. Returned back to your world. You will know where she is when you return. Go find her. And Jack.”
Jack stared at the alien irritation flashing on his face because he had a priority now. “What is it Ley?”
“You have more power resting within you than you realize. It will make itself known very soon when you need it most. In your coming battle you will need it.
With that cryptic farewell their lights winked out all at once plunging the pocket dimension into darkness.
The Harlequin Library 