The moments after Keelia broke the connection between herself and Cligan were chaotic. Cligan stalked out of the room after some harsh words to both Keelia and Alvis, and to the King and Queen. King Fredrick firmly ordered Keelia and Alvis to go to Counselor Alie’s house, which was the last place the both of them wanted to visit.  

                While walking to Counselor Alie’s house. Alvis and Keelia got into talking about what exactly they were going to do next. Going and trying to comfort Cligan was out of the question. That might just make things worse. Plus, they certainly didn’t want to be around when Brinely found out… that would have been quite a sight to behold…  Counselor Alie met them right as they came to the door. “Did you find anything? Cligan just stormed past, and he isn’t usually that terrible. Did he say something to you? Was he offensive?” Counselor Alie was being very nice. Since when is he that nice? When did he start to worry about why we were offended? Keelia questioned herself.

                “Yes. We were correct, well, Keelia was correct in that the girl was Fern. But… we ended up bumping into Cligan, who was in the archives. He saw us and told the King and Queen we were there,” Alvis said.

                “Mmhmm,” Keelia murmured, “ and then we got in trouble because we broke into the palace.”

                “You broke into the PALACE?” Counselor Alie smacked his forehead with his hand. He looked up to the ceiling with his hands out and said, “Why me?”

                “Yes… that wasn’t so smart because Cligan was there. The King and Queen made us tell both them and Cligan what had happened. And then you can probably guess what happened after that,” Alvis finished. Counselor Alie had gotten up and was pouring himself a very large cup of caffeinated tea.

                “Did you enter the vault for eight years ago?” he asked.

                “No, but I thought that you said it nine?” Alvis asked. Keelia agreed with Alvis.

                “It doesn’t matter! Did you look in either?!” He asked again.

                “No,” Keelia said.

                “Good,” he sighed with relief.  I’m totally going to look in that archive! Keelia thought. “Laurelin will be home from her work in around ten minutes. I will talk to you all after school tomorrow.” He shuffled them out and closed the door.

                “Well… I should probably go home,” Alvis said. It began to rain steadily.

                “Ya, um… I’m probably not going to go back to the Mickinson’s tonight. I’ll talk to Cligan in Color. Maybe I’ll find where Master Brinald is, or spend the night with Hadassah,” Keelia said. Alvis thought for a moment.

                “You shouldn’t go to Hadassah’s. Ms. Elowyn has been really stressed with the Gray Girl that I don’t think she’ll be wanting visitors,” Alvis responded. Keelia agreed with Alvis and he continued. “You won’t be able to go to Master Brinald. He lives on the other side of the Nivara.”

                “Nivara?” Keelia asked. She wasn’t sure if that was a city or not, it sounded too fancy for the city that they lived in. Crecklington was the name of the town\city. 

                “Hasn’t anybody been telling you anything about Crecklington or the island in general?” Alvis asked. Keelia shook her head. “Nivara is what this island is called. Ara, means rivers running, and Nivt (silent t) means smooth in the ancient Sustaining language,” he explained.

                “I knew you had a language. I kind of know it, but I can’t speak it very well. Will you teach it to me?” She asked.

                “You’ll learn it, silly. Besides, I’m a horrible teacher. And I’m a horrible explainer. Keelia, you’re free to come home and spend the night at my house. I’m sure that my parents won’t mind,”

                “Thanks,” Keelia said. They began to walk down the road. The rain was heavy coming and the way toward the Howell house was cold and dull. Keelia was soaked in moments, and she was freezing! Rain is one thing that Keelia could handle. But Keelia couldn’t stand being cold and wet at the same time.  They walked for a while in silence, pondering all that had happened that day.

                When they finally reached the block where Alvis lived, their clothes were stuck to them, and their backpacks were heavy with water. “What do you think that Counselor Alie wants to keep from us in Archives?” Keelia asked Alvis. They were a few houses from Alvis’s house when he responded.

                “I’m not quite sure. I would definitely want to find out though. But I don’t want to go with just you and me. I think that we should bring Delisa and maybe Everie and Jililian,” Alvis said this, but Keelia could tell that all he wanted was to get out of trouble.

                “Maybe someday we’ll find out. Right now, let’s go to bed!” Keelia said. They opened the door and snuck silently in. The water dripped from them onto the dark wooden floor. Alvis shut the door quietly and took off his shoes. Keelia did the same and they both took off their backpacks and put them on the floor by the door.

                “It looks like my parents are sleeping. I wonder if they were worried at all,” Alvis said.

                “I’m sure they were, Alvis. You go up to your room, I’ll just stay on the couch. I don’t want to get anything more wet than I have to,” Keelia said.  Keelia turned around and nearly screamed.

                “Well, brother. What were you and Keelia up to?” Delisa whispered, clearly annoyed that her brother was leaving her out on something.  Alvis sat down at the kitchen table, dripping, and started to explain a small, simple portion of what had happened. Delisa thankfully forgave Alvis and Keelia, but still vowed to tell their parents about what Alvis had done. Delisa let Keelia sleep in her room, and Keelia wished she could have stayed there forever. 

                Keelia’s eye’s protested when she tried to open them. School would start soon, according to Delisa’s clock. She cracked one of her eyelids and snapped it back shut because of the blinding light. Keelia groaned and lifted herself off of the floor where she had been sleeping. She looked outside at the still rising sun and sighed. Delisa’s window lay low enough down so that it captured the first rays of sunshine. The sunrise was peach-colored, with reds throughout. The sun was a perfect ball, and Keelia wanted to watch it, but knew that her eyes wouldn’t like that. The blinding light of the sun was burning Keelia’s eyes. Delisa was up getting ready. Keelia entered the bathroom and began using a borrowed toothbrush Delisa had opened from the cabinet under the sink.  When she was finished, she exited and dressed. She wore the same periwinkle dress she had the previous day, which was still a bit damp, and she didn’t bother to put her hair up. She went to the closed door that led out into the hallway. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Why highlights?  Keelia had been thinking about ways to help Fern. But her mind wandered to why she was even in Crecklington. Why couldn’t she just have stayed in Tennessee? Keelia knew she was selfish, and she was going to try her hardest to think about others, and not about herself. She had complained about a boy, even if he was her ‘brother’, when Alvis had watched his parents suffer and die. Then, when she had asked why, he told her that they had been wiped out of his mind. Why was she complaining? She then decided to put her hair up into a tight bun. Today is going to be a long one, I don’t want to have my hair in my face the whole time.  

                She walked confidently down the stairs, thankful to find that Mr. and Mrs. Howell weren’t up yet. She sat down at the other end of the table and faced Alvis and Delisa. They were all eating their cereal. “I know what we’re going to do, if you’re willing to, of course,” Keelia said.

                “What’s that?” both of her friends asked.

                “First, we’re going to go to school,” her friends nodded in agreement, “then, after school we are going to figure out why the girl faded and what Brinely and his gang are planning and stop them,” Alvis nodded.

                “How?” Delisa asked.

                “No clue. After that, we’re going to try and fix Fern,” Keelia finished.

                “How?” Alvis and Delisa asked.

                “No clue,” she answered. So far, all that she had that she knew how to do was go to school. Other than that, she had no idea how she was going to stop Brinely, or how to fix Fern.  Alvis nodded.

                “We could ask Everie and Jililian to help,” Alvis said.

                “I guess you could, but you have to make them keep it a secret. If Kation, Jonathan or Isaac, Jezebel, or ANY of them find out, we’re through. And PLEASE don’t let your parents find out,” Keelia asked.

                “Speaking of parents, we should probably stop talking about this, because mom and dad will be down soon,” They began to talk about the different classes they had. When Trilly and Dedrick came down, they stared at the three of them.

                “Keelia! I didn’t think that you’d be here! When did you arrive?” Trilly asked.

                “I stayed the night. I’m so sorry I didn’t ask, yesterday was just… bad. I couldn’t go back to the Mickinson’s house, it wouldn’t have helped,” Keelia answered guiltily. They should’ve woken them up instead of assuming she could stay.

                “I hope that you told them, they’re probably worried sick about you,” Trilly said.

                “No, I don’t think that they want to see me until tonight at the least,” Keelia said.

                “She’s right, dear, I don’t think that you should tell the Mickinsons she stayed here. It would cause unnecessary conflict. I’ll go by later, after I explain everything to you, and guide them through a few things. Please don’t ask any questions right now Trilly. Alvis woke me last night and told me about yesterday” Dedrick explained.

                “Do I have to go back tonight? Can’t I just stay here a few more nights??” Keelia asked.

                “I’m sorry, but you need to work through this with them. It’s even harder for them than for you,” Dedrick replied sternly.  Keelia agreed, even though it really wasn’t her decision to make.

Four Hours Later:

                Dedrick Howell rang the doorbell of the Mickinson’s home and waited for a reply. He looked uncertainly at his watch and put his arm down again. The door opened, and a very stressed looking Helbry appeared. “Helbry! We need to talk,” Dedrick said. Helbry sighed and let him in. Eliza and Brinely were sitting at the table and looked startled when they saw him.

                “Oh Dedrick! Where is Keelia? She didn’t show up last night!” Dedrick stood glaring at Brinely.

                “Give me a moment, Eliza, I need to speak shortly with your son about a few school issues that have occurred.” Dedrick grabbed Brinely by his ear, causing a grimace from Brinely, and pulled him into the living room and shut the door behind him. The moment Dedrick released Brinely, Brinely ran for the kitchen door. Dedrick sighed and whistled sharply. Brinely came floating out of the kitchen door looking quite startled, and he was bound in iridescent blue light around his arms and waist.

                “Oh, come now Brinely. Do you really think that you can prevent me with a knife from your mother’s cabinet?” he asked, “No, I’m sure you couldn’t.”

                “Let me go!” Brinely snarled. 

                “You know that won’t be happening, Brinely. I’m here to ask you two questions. Why is a little girl gray in the hospital right now?” Dedrick increased his grip on Brinely’s binds. They grew tighter, and Brinely winced.

                “He wanted me to start the project, it was an honor!” Brinely said.

                “Who?”

                “The Shen Drar! Now let me go!” Brinely shouted.

                “Whoops, sorry, the second question that I asked didn’t count. My actual second question has multiple questions that also go into it, so I would advise speaking the truth,” Dedrick said.

                “Well, go on then. I can handle anything that you throw at me!” Brinely said with determination.

                “Did you love Fern?” Dedrick asked. Brinely’s face fell.

                “Of course I did, she was my sister, and my twin,” he said quietly.

                “Brinely, do you think that if she could see you right now, that she would be happy about what your grief has caused you?” Dedrick asked.

                “Yes,”

                “Speak what you really think, not just what your master wants you to speak,” Dedrick thundered.

                “No. But that doesn’t matter anymore, she can’t see me. She’s dead,” Brinely said, a tear dropping onto the deep brown hardwood floor.

                “I take it Cligan hasn’t told anything of what took place yesterday?” Dedrick asked softly. Brinely looked confused and shook his head. “A recent discovery, found out by your beloved sister, Keelia, shows that Fern Faith Mickinson isn’t dead at all,” Brinely was speechless. His eyes widened.

                “What?” Brinely said, “where is she? Why hasn’t she come and found us?”

                “Because, she has been trapped inside a mind and body not quite herself, with only short intervals of being in her right mind. You have seen her SO many times in the past. In fact, you saw her yesterday,” Dedrick said.

                “Who trapped her? They deserve punishment!” Brinely said.

                “See, that’s where it gets difficult for you. The people who trapped her in the form she is now, are none other than your master and his colleagues,” Dedrick said.

                Dedrick left Brinely weeping on the floor and went out to speak with Helbry and Eliza. “What happened?” Eliza asked, “We heard a lot of shouts,” Dedrick didn’t really wish to talk about what had been going on, but he had no other choice.

                “Has Cligan told you about his adventure last night? Has Brinely told you about his job? Has Keelia told you about everything?” Dedrick asked. Eliza looked and Helbry and Helbry appeared just as confused as she.

                “No.” Helbry said, “what happened?”

                “Well, I think that it is best to start with Cligan and Brinely, save the episode about Keelia for last (because it’ll be a blow). Cligan spoke last night in the presence of King and Queen Vesperus and Keelia. Brinely has been working with an organization that stands for cruelty and the destruction of the world as we currently know it.” The moment Dedrick finished, he knew that he had said that far too fast.

                “Cligan spoke?”

                “Brinely did what?” were the two things said first.

                “And now, I must tell you the episode about Keelia, because that will tie in all of the above. First, Keelia and Brinely (as you know very well) have never gotten along very well. It appears that two days ago, Brinely falsely asked Keelia for her forgiveness and they left on ‘good’ terms. Keelia soon found out that Brinely simply wanted her to be upset and run away so that things could be how they once were. As Ezra Brinald probably explained, Keelia was sucked into somebody else’s memories. Those memories were none other than Fern’s memories,” Dedrick decided to stop here and see what the reaction would be. Eliza burst into tears and Helbry put his arm around her but didn’t say anything.

                “Who had Fern’s memories?” Eliza said between sniffles.

                “Nobody had them, Eliza. Fern is alive. The fires did indeed kill her, but the organization that Brinely works for brought her back. But she’s different now. She has a monster inside of her made of flames, and half of her body is technology,” Dedrick stopped again.

                “Fern’s alive?” Helbry and Eliza said together.

                “Yes, and when Cligan heard, he shouted at Keelia, and that’s why she didn’t come back last night, because she assumed that Cligan told you,” Dedrick said.

                “All these years! Where is she?” Eliza asked, holding her breath.

                “She is not in her right mind right now, but I am working on an antidote for whatever the organization gave her. That’s not all,” Dedrick said.

                “What is it, Dedrick?” Helbry asked.

                “Fern wasn’t the only one they took and changed in this way. All of those two hundred graves in Pasture Rock Graveyard are empty, without a single body inside, not a bone.” Dedrick began, “All the two hundred children who died in that fire, are now under the control of the Shen Drar, or, more commonly known as, the Ashen Clad.”