As the three of them made their way slowly back through the tunnel to the exit Keena yawned loudly, the complete lack of sleep having finally caught up to her. Valdir laughed, but his laughter was cut off suddenly as a yawn escaped. Keena grinned at Valdir while Jabez simply shook his head, stifling a yawn as he did. The walk back to the exit seemed long, but the exit was reached soon enough and they stood looking up at the hole through which blue sky could be seen; Valdir pocketed the guide, no longer needing the assistance of the beam of light to see.
"I'll go first," Valdir offered quickly, glancing knowingly his brother's way. "The sooner I get up there and on my way home the better." He turned to Keena with a nod of his head and a small grin. "I'll see you when you return the pendant." And with those words of departure Valdir scaled the wall with ease, disappearing through the hole. Jabez smiled slightly as his brother vanished; he never had been one for welcoming any excitement that put him at risk of injury and it seemed that he hadn't changed much in the time Jabez had been away.
Keena shook her head at Valdir's brisk exit and then turned to Jabez. "After you," she said with a sweeping gesture. She knew that Jabez would be able to climb the wall much quicker than she could and so was determined to be the last one to make the climb.
Jabez accepted the direction without complaint and began the easy climb, figuring arguing would get him nowhere anyway; besides, this way he could be sure there were no unpleasant surprises waiting for them up above...surprises that may have allowed the unimportant Valdir to run right by; Jabez knew that his brother would undoubtedly already be gone by the time they surfaced--it was obvious that Valdir had no desire to meet up with the Soul Stealer. Admittedly Jabez was growing more nervous with each minute that passed without Chenzai making an appearance. In hardly any time Jabez was back above ground, glancing cautiously around and awaiting Keena's appearance through the hole in the earth. It wasn't long before Keena began to clamber through the hole; she was halfway through before she stopped suddenly, a strange expression on her face.
"What is it?" Jabez asked with concern when he noticed she had paused and saw the expression on her face.
"My leg-" Keena started, but she stopped as she was suddenly yanked backwards, back through the hole. She grasped for anything solid to grip to stop herself from being pulled fully back down into the cave. Jabez, seeing that she was in trouble, moved quickly, grabbing her wrists and holding on tightly, stopping her descent. Keena was still partially through the hole but had nearly disappeared back into the earth. "Something's got my leg," Keena said, now sure of the fact. She clenched her teeth suddenly and Jabez could see easily enough the pain etched on her face.
"Hold on," Jabez told her. "I'm going to try to pull you up."
Keena nodded her consent, afraid that if she opened her mouth the only sound that would escape would be a cry of pain. Jabez dug his heels in and pulled, gaining no ground in the first few moments of the struggle. Keena, trying to grit her teeth and bear it, felt the grip on her leg disappear an instant before she found herself rather quickly flying forward out of the hole. Unprepared for the sudden lack of resistance Jabez found himself stumbling backwards and then on his back on the ground with Keena partially on top on him. Surprised, neither of them moved until the sound of familiar laughter filled the air. Suddenly on guard Keena tried to scramble to her feet but her leg gave out on her and she fell back to the ground; it was then that she looked down at the leg that had been held in the cave. Blood soaked her pant-leg from knee to foot; with a silent curse she looked around desperately for the source of the laughter, noticing that Jabez was on his feet doing the same.
They weren't really surprised when the small, familiar figure of Chenzai appeared from out of the hole that led to the cave; they were even less surprised to see one of Chenzai's hands covered in blood that they knew wasn't the creatures own. "Did you honestly think," Chenzai said, amusement in her voice as she stood before them at the cave's entrance, "that you could hide from me below ground?"
Keena looked to Jabez at Chenzai's words, and Jabez returned her meaningful glance. If Chenzai only thought that they were trying to hide from her in the cave, then that meant she didn't know about their finding the Dragon's Heart Pendant--that would be a fortunate coincidence, and they could definitely use as much good fortune as they could get. If that were the case, it would seem, then, that Chenzai had probably caught up to them only moments ago, though how she ended up behind them in the cramped tunnel was something that made Keena wonder just what Chenzai's abilities were. Keena looked then to her clenched fist that still held the pendant and wondered suddenly if it really was all that it was said to be. Could such a small thing--something that looked so innocent--really be capable of all that they had hoped it would be?
Chenzai folded her hands in front of her. "Hmm, which one of you should I kill first? The elf, maybe?" Her gaze shifted from Jabez, to Keena. "Or the girl..." A cruel smile found it's way onto Chenzai's lips as she looked at Keena who still sat on the ground, her leg unable to support her weight. "May as well finish what I've already started, huh?" As Chenzai took a step towards Keena, Jabez stepped in her way. "Ooh, what's this? You'd rather be the first to die? Well so be it; I'm not incredibly picky about the order." With a shrug she added, "It doesn't bother me, either way you're both going to die."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Jabez replied, hoping to keep Chenzai occupied and give Keena enough time to try to figure out the pendant.
"Oh?" Chenzai hardly seemed surprised or disappointed by the reply; it seemed she was enjoying the parley. She enjoyed playing with them, like a child with a favorite toy--or perhaps, and just as likely, a predator toying with it's prey before putting it out of it's misery.
"You're going to lose this battle Chenzai," Jabez said, his tone barely showing a hint of the uncertainty he felt at what was obviously a dire situation; if Keena couldn't figure out the pendant, then their chances of survival would diminish, likely to the point of not existing at all. "It doesn't matter how many battles you win," he continued, hoping that he sounded more confident than he felt, "you only have to lose one, and this is it."
Chenzai seemed amused by the threats; there was no sign of worry in her expression. "Oh I don't know about that. The world would be so much better off without me...but I simply cannot allow that to happen." And at that she seemed to grow tired of the conversation and began to advance on Jabez, who firmly held his ground between Chenzai and Keena.
Jabez glanced back and noticed Keena looking into her opened hand where the Dragon's Heart Pendant lay glowing ominously. Turning back to Chenzai he prepared to stall for more time--something they badly needed. "Why?" he blurted out, the first question that came to mind.
"Why?" Chenzai paused in her approach, halted by the simple seeming question. "Why? you ask. I, my friend, am a weapon capable of nothing less than mass destruction. What more reason is needed? I was created for the one simple task of destroying lives, and I'm rather good at it I fear." Her evil grin belied her friendly tone. "As you're about to find out," she added. "But I wouldn't worry too much. If you don't make it difficult on yourself, you'll hardly feel a thing."
With a frown Jabez stood his ground; he had no intentions of making things easy for the Soul Stealer.
Keena hardly heard the conversation that was coming to a quick end; she was instead concentrating on the pendant that lay glowing warmly in her hand. It may look small and innocent, but so did Chenzai. Little doubt remained in her mind any longer that the pendant was as powerful as it was made out to be--the pendant's ominous glowing seemed to put out more than just light; there was a definite feeling of power and energy, and she could almost feel the pendant searching for it's reason for being pulled out of it's peaceful rest. Even so, Keena still had her doubts as to whether or not she would be able to make the pendant work--or even how it worked. If it was true that it used it's holder's emotions and thoughts as a guide to what had to be done, then Keena realized that she had better get her confusing array of thoughts and feelings as to Chenzai straightened out and quickly.
She hated the idea of Chenzai, that much was sure, and she despised the mass destruction and death that Chenzai left in her wake. Keena resented the thieving of innocent souls to twist them beyond recognition and the use of the soulless shells for amusement's sake. She detested beyond a doubt the results that Chenzai worked towards, but for the life of her she could not work up any significant amount of hatred towards the being that was Chenzai. She couldn't help but feel that Chenzai had little to do with the way she was, like a child raised from birth to become a certain thing with no choice of her own in the matter. Also, Keena found herself at a loss as to how to get past the exterior appearance of the Soul Stealer; a child...herself as a child...How could she rationalize condoning the death of her childhood self?
Keena flinched as she noticed Jabez suddenly staggering back after an attack from Chenzai. She looked up and noticed the evil grin on the face of the Soul Stealer. She was looking arrogantly at Jabez who was clutching his injured upper right arm; a dropped dagger lay at his feet. "You think something so simple as that can stop me?" Chenzai was saying. "How utterly naive."
Jabez growled, making an attempt to get at another dagger, but with his throwing arm injured as it was he knew his chances of actually getting off a decent throw were slim.
"Don't even bother," Chenzai said, noticing Jabez's attempt. "You already tried it, and it didn't work. What makes you think it'll work this time?"
Jabez backed slowly away from Chenzai's steady approach, attempting to draw Chenzai away from Keena.
"Keena," Id spoke up, "you have to use the pendant."
But... Keena's gaze came to rest on Chenzai. She's just a child...I can't kill a child any more that Jabez was able to all those years ago. I can't-
Id interrupted Keena's thoughts. "She's no child Keena!" Id said sternly. "She's evil, no better than a demon and possibly even worse. Would you shy away from killing a demon?"
Keena shook her head, but the motion had two different meanings behind it. No, she wouldn't shy away from killing a demon, but no she still couldn't kill Chenzai. Chenzai was no simple demon--she had been created for one simple purpose, and it was perhaps that creator that was more at fault than the creation. Keena could see a horrible similarity between Chenzai and the soulless puppets she created--it seemed that neither truly had a choice in their actions. More horrible still, when Keena looked upon Chenzai all she could still see was a child.
"If you don't get your act together," Id said desperately, "you will die, but not before you watch Jabez's death."
"Jabez..." Keena uttered as she realized the truth of Id's words. Chenzai definitely had the upper hand at the moment; Jabez was laying prostrate on the ground falling subject to attack after attack from Chenzai while he could hardly defend himself, let alone return the Soul Stealer's attacks. Keena realized that if she didn't do something she would be forced to watch the death of the only person she had truly cared for since her parents had died. She couldn't let that happen.
It was suddenly that Keena came to an important realization. Jabez had refused to let the soulless puppets created by Chenzai kill them, and Keena realized now that there was more behind it than self-preservation. This went far beyond that. The whole world was in danger and if something wasn't done it was the whole world that would suffer the consequences--all races of all ages...and everything she--and everyone else in the world-- held dear...
Newfound determination helped her as she staggered to her feet, keeping her weight on her uninjured leg. Even so the act brought a hiss of pain to her lips as a burning pain shot throughout her leg, reaching all the way up to her hip. With a growl she straightened her posture as much as she could before calling to the Soul Stealer. When Chenzai turned she saw Keena, standing straight and proud, holding her fist out before her. Dangling from her fist, at the end of a fine black chain, was a gem as black as Chenzai's heart. The Dragon's Heart Pendant was glowing brightly and Chenzai had no difficulty in understanding the omen for what it really was-a herald of her end, for a creature that was never born could never rightfully die.
The Dragon's Heart Pendant knew what had to be done; the emotions and thoughts of it's holder left no room for misunderstanding. The glow of the pendant began to shift, it's color changing to a blood red. Just as the color finished it's transition a wide, blood red beam of light descended rapidly from the sky, engulfing Chenzai where she stood, forcibly dropping her to her knees on the ground. As Keena watched her resolution faltered slightly, seeing the child so obviously in torment within the blood red light. As her thoughts became uncertain likewise the light beam flickered, seemingly unsure whether it wanted to continue upon the path chosen. Seeing the light flicker and knowing the meaning behind it Keena doubled her resolve, sternly reminding herself the price of letting Chenzai walk the planet. Unsure of exactly what was supposed to happen yet, Keena waited patiently and before long her patience was rewarded when her attention was suddenly drawn skyward. The beam of light, the upper end of which had been lost in the heavens, was visibly shortening, the skyward end moving rapidly towards the ground where Chenzai unwillingly awaited her fate. It was obvious that Chenzai was struggling with the prison she was finding herself in, but the force of the beam of light produced from the Dragon's Heart Pendant was not easily fought off. As the upper end of the light neared the imprisoned Chenzai, the Soul Stealer looked up, finding Keena's gaze. The pitiful look on the child's face nearly broke Keena's resolve, but ultimately Chenzai would find no pity for her fate, and the only pity that Keena felt was for the way of life Chenzai had been fate driven to lead.
When the light disappeared into the earth it took the life of Chenzai with it, leaving behind only the empty shell of a child. Keena stood still for many moments, simply looking at the lifeless body; then she sunk to her knees, the loss of blood and the lack of sleep finally catching up to her. Though she hadn't the strength to stand, Keena crawled to the body, every shuffling movement forward bringing excruciating pain to her leg. Finally she knelt before the empty shell, the childhood version of herself; she lifted the child then, holding the lifeless body in her arms, and she cried, tears that she hadn't let fall for years, tears that had been building up since the murder of her parents.
Jabez was kneeling beside her then, a comforting arm lain across her shaking shoulders.

Keena waited just beyond the borders of the elven city, sitting on a grassy knoll beneath an ancient oak, her hands folded behind her head as a cushion and her eyes closed in rest. Her bandaged leg was stretched out before her in as comfortable and painless a position as she could find, and she briefly though that maybe she'd just stay right where she was on the knoll until her leg was well on it's way to recovery--she rather liked it there. Even though her glove and Id were both safely tucked away in her magical pouch, she felt safe enough with the elven guards that she knew were not far away. Yuki was perched on a low branch above her head and Keena smiled slightly as she heard the deep breaths of peaceful sleep from the imp; it had been a long year for both of them and she knew that Yuki was as relieved as she was that the hunt for Chenzai--and the subsequent battle--was over. Only when she heard the sound of voices approaching did Keena open her eyes to see Jabez and Valdir drawing near.
"How did it go?" she asked Jabez when the two elves had drawn near enough.
"The Dragon's Heart Pendant is safely tucked away, lost to Lord Amadeus in the fall of his manor, the resulting destination of the pendant unknown to the world," Jabez replied, relaying to Keena the decision that had been made by the elven council as to the destination of the pendant.
"Good." Keena paused before posing her next question. "And where are you going from here?"
"I'm not going anywhere," Jabez answered. "Not yet anyway. I've been gone for so long from my family that it only seems right to remain and visit for a time."
Keena nodded, making no verbal reply and not needing to. On her mind was the question of where she was going from here.
"And do you have any plans?" Valdir spoke up, the ever present grin on his face. Jabez tossed him a look over his shoulder, one that Keena couldn't see.
"Not particularly," Keena answered slowly. Really she had no where to go and she knew it. She was, after all, practically a fugitive.
"Well are you in a rush to go anywhere?" Jabez queried, taking the questioning role back from his brother. "I mean, if you're in no hurry to get anywhere, you could stay here for a time. There's plenty of room at the house..." He trailed off, not knowing exactly what to say.
"He really wants you to stay," Valdir piped up, earning himself a swat from Jabez.
Keena allowed a full smile to cross her lips for the first time in years. "I've no where to be," she said. "I'm still on vacation."

End

AN: Well, that's it for this one! Next in the series is Demon Star--it's a bit of a deviation from the norm and was written for the sole purpose of getting this little saga to the point where I wanted it to be before I could write the final installment. Yes, that did make sense....Right?