Keelia continued to watch as the snow drifted higher up on her window. She was very stressed. The school had just sent out an announcement that the final exams for school would be arriving in a month. Plus, the Shen Drar! How would she ever study for exams and defeat the Shen Drar at the same time? It had been four days since the snowstorm began. The week was almost over and she and Brinely hadn’t made any progress on figuring out an antidote for Fern. People were getting sick all around Crecklington. Thankfully, it was only the common flu and not a new virus. However, some of the very old, or the young infants of Crecklington were affected more than others. Keelia could tell that something was wrong, and she couldn’t help thinking that it was the Shen Drar’s doing. She didn’t know exactly how her enemy could spread diseases, or if it was even them. Her cold was nearly better, and she was grateful that none of the Mickinsons had caught it from her.

                The next morning the snow had diminished to a faint fall, and the day after that, it had stopped altogether. Keelia tip-toed down the stairs silently, Brinely close behind. Her friends had decided to meet that day, and both Keelia and Brinely didn’t want Cligan finding out. Cligan hadn’t spoken, which wasn’t a surprise, but he wasn’t even communicating to Keelia anymore. Keelia feared that their relationship would never be the same again. She glanced at his door in passing, and they slipped out the door into the snow. Keelia didn’t have a winter jacket, so she was definitely cold, but she could handle it. They struggled to run through the thick snow, trying not to make a racket, but the loud crunch of the snow was unavoidable. “You should stay over there, behind those snow banks until I clarify with the others, OK?” Keelia said, and Brinely agreed.

                “Keelia! Over here!” Keelia turned around to see Jililian and Everie running swiftly through the woods to greet her.

                “This snow is insane!” Everie gasped for breath, “we got here as fast as we could. I’m so excited to see the cave again!” He grinned and Jililian and Keelia and they grinned back. Alvis and Delisa weren’t there yet, so Keelia explained about Brinely.

                “How on earth can you trust him?!” Everie shouted, “he’s lied to us so many times!”

 Keelia sighed and said. “Because, Everie, I just know. Please trust me,” she looked in his eyes and he shook his head, but didn’t make any further objections. Jililian hadn’t said anything so Keelia called for Brinely. Brinely came out and offered his hand to Everie.

                “If you do anything to Keelia, then I’ll make a flame develop around you and you alone. Understood?” Everie said darkly. Brinely nodded and they shook hands. Keelia knew what Everie’s Sustaining Power was, but it still shocked her that he actually had one. He never used it or talked about it since he found out that it was his power. Everie talked to Brinely for a while, and Jililian questioned Keelia about what she knew of the Shen Drar. About fifteen minutes later, Alvis and Delisa walked through into the clearing and froze when they saw Brinely. Keelia knew what was about to happen and stepped in front of her brother before Alvis could hurt him.

                “Dude! Chill out!” Everie pulled Alvis farther away and explained to him while Keelia explained to Delisa. Rachel still wasn’t there, but they couldn’t wait any longer. The snow and ice had frozen the enchantment around the cave entrance and Everie found a large piece of timber which had fallen during the blizzard. He put his hand across the surface of the gleaming spell and plunged the wood into it. Cracks appeared on the glass like enchantment and it began to glow.

                “Get out of the way!” Brinely shouted before the spell exploded. Shards of the spell clattered into the trees causing the snow to fall on top of Keelia and her friends. The shock of cold stunned Keelia’s brain for a moment before she pulled herself out of the inches of snow piled on top of her. She was freezing! Her friends all struggled up out of the snow. She ran over to Brinely to make sure that he wasn’t harmed, and then to Delisa and Jililian. Everie struggled up out of the snow looking dazed.

                “I did not think that would happen!” Everie said. Alvis went over to him and laughed.

                “You’re a Flareon, can you even get cold?” Alvis meant it as a joke, but Everie turned pale when he mentioned Flareon.

                “Just because I’m a Flareon, doesn’t mean I can’t get cold,” Everie said this darkly and Alvis backed off. Jililian ran over and took Everie by the hand. She shook her head at him and his paleness slowly went away. Jililian froze when she looked down at his hand. A shard of the spell had sliced the back of his hand deeply. “Huh. I didn’t even feel that. Don’t worry about it, Jililian. I’ll be fine!” Everie said reassuringly, but she didn’t look convinced.

                “At least go and clean it off,” she begged, and he obliged. He came back, but the wound still looked horrible, and Keelia couldn’t look at it. People keep paying the price for being friends with me. The sooner we can stop the Shen Drar, the sooner people can stop getting hurt. Keelia was determined to make discoveries today. Discoveries that would enable her friends to go back to their normal lives again. Alvis ran up and walked with her.

                “Are you OK?” he asked. She shook her head.

                “I just feel that whatever I do causes somebody else to get hurt. I just wish that never would have come here,” she answered. They entered the frozen cave and Keelia’s heart felt like it stopped as they went deeper and deeper.

                “You don’t mean that, Keelia. You’ve helped people realize what is actually good, and see the difference between good things and bad things,” Alvis replied.

                “I can light a fire, if that helps,” Jililian offered.

                “Jililian!” Everie said, but she pushed away from him and held out her palm. Sparks erupted and a small flame flickered.

                “I didn’t know that you were a Flareon! I thought that you were a Growther!” Delisa said. Alvis and Keelia nodded.

                “I’m both. Flareon comes more easily than the Growther does. I have to concentrate very hard to produce any plant life. Please don’t tell Master Brinald!” Jililian explained. They reluctantly agreed and walked on.

                Alvis hung at the back and looked at a symbol on the wall. He stared at it, his eyes opening wide, but said nothing. The image on the wall showed a picture of a dragon. Red eyes gleamed out of the stone.  The image of Plydis, dragon of death, but a myth in Nivaran history. He said nothing to Keelia as he caught up with her, but a strange voice haunted his memories. Memories of a woman screaming when she opened the door in a peaceful house. Memories of two red eyes cracking open to reveal black slits, and a gaping mouth spewing fire through the door. Another memory flickered into his mind as he looked at Keelia. A memory of a man running to protect the woman from the flames. The man’s back was engulfed in flames and Alvis could recall the shouts of the two people as they ran out the door. A memory of a man with ice blue eyes with white spiky hair running back to get Alvis. His gaze in the memory shifted to a small girl beside him, with caramel-colored hair and ice blue eyes. The vision around him blurred as he looked at her in the memory. In the memory, he bent down before her as a sound blasted. His younger self turned around to come face to face with Plydis, the killer. Plydis searched his eyes and launched forward. Alvis shielded the girl with himself and felt talons rip his back and his arm.

                Alvis jolted out of the memory and focused on the real world. Keelia was there, her worried eyes searching his face. His hand shook as he went to pull up his sleeve. Along his arm a long scar appeared after eight years of being hidden. His back tingled as he collapsed and realization spread to him. Realization that the girl shouting his name and kneeling beside him was not just a friend, but his sister. And what was more shocking was the realization of who his parents were.