Jordan stared at the dagger for a moment longer, his thoughts whirling and racing – coming up with extravagant and impossible scenarios in his head. The scenarios ranged from Caitlin suddenly grabbing the knife and digging it into the nearest person's back, to the knife being possessed and cutting his friend's throats in the knife. Needless to say, fear and fury were the main emotions controlling Jordan at that point – driving him to stride across the field, brandishing the knife in his hand. He spat out what he needed to say, his face tight with rage.

"What is this? Do you own this twisted creation? What are your intentions with it?"

Ianita and Caitlin looked up from where they were standing next to the still shocked Martha, confusion flitting across Ianita's face whilst understanding dawned in Caitlin's eyes. They both watched Jordan carefully, wary that his rage may cause him to lash out and hurt someone by accident. Caitlin moved in front of Ianita, not completely blocking the girl from his line of sight but hidden enough that if he acted in violence, he would hit Caitlin first.

"That's my dagger. I've had it since I was six. I personally hope to stab The Shadows with it but you know, defending you guys is kind of my main objective here."

"I saw this dagger. It was part of a memory that I saw when I was falling in the void – the one that I almost died for. It was locked away by the shadows and it took the combined power of Mianite and Martha to pull it back to me. I faced a line of objects – a pair of wings, a purple cloth, a pair of goggles and a dagger as dark as the void. I know what three of them mean now but I don't know what the dagger foretells. Tell me. Ianite had to have seen this."

Ianita and Caitlin tilted their heads in unison, an act that was slightly unnerving considering the fact that the two of them were such different people. Caitlin had brought out the fighter in Ianita and Ianita had brought out the protector in Caitlin. They would be down two capable warriors if they hadn't started fighting together. Looking over at Ianita, as if seeking permission to speak – Caitlin slid her dagger back into its sheath and spoke quietly, not wanting the others to overhear.

"The wings were a warning of what would happen to Andor. The purple cloth was another warning, this time for Ianite. The goggles represent that creature you saw in the damaged library, the one that warned you that someone was going to die. The dagger, however, was something that Ianite saw little of."

Jordan frowned, the phrasing of Caitlin's words leading him to believe that she knew more than she was letting on. Then again, she always seemed to. Jordan whistled, a familiar whistle that Tom responded to by wandering over to where they were standing – giving Jordan a look of confusion of why he had been summoned. He gestured for Caitlin to continue talking, signing subtly for Tom to listen to what she was saying. Tom was a great liar, which meant that he nearly always knew when someone was lying. It was a handy ability to have around.

"Each object that you saw in the void links to the next one in the sequence. Andor's devotion to Ianite was, in the end, the exact excuse that the king was looking for to punish him. Ianite grieved over her grandson that she never got to meet, weakening her and allowing The Shadows to poison her and cause her to crumble away. As The Shadows had possessed a goddess, they had the ability to create creatures to do its bidding – draining power from Ianite but also making those monstrosities that you met in the library. They couldn't do much at that point, they merely existed and spoke riddles but I guarantee that The Shadows probably has an army of them by now, just as highly trained as we are."

Tom frowned, making the same logical leap that I did. Somehow the creatures were linked to the dagger that Caitlin carried. Each item in the list came with a cost, whether it was Andor and Ianite's lives or the terror and violence that the creatures would rain down upon us very soon.

"So how does the dagger fit into all this?"

Caitlin and Ianita shared a look of sadness, both of them in on some sad secret that nobody else knew. Ianita stepped forward and took my hand, rubbing circles on it in an attempt to soften the blow.

"The dagger is made up of the same substances that the creatures are made from. It can cut us to shreds in an instant is we are not careful. It is the blade that will be used to fulfil the riddle that you were told."

Tom's eyes went wide and his body began to shake as he realised what Ianita was saying – Tom was the one person who had been told the exact truth of what had happened in that library. Mianite, Dianite, Ianita and Caitlin all seemed to know without being told and Martha was just very good at reading people. Sonja, Wag and Tucker were too busy yelling at each other half the time to realise the importance of the events that had led us all to this point. By the fear in Tom's eyes, it was clear that neither Caitlin nor Ianita had been lying. Someone was going to die.

"Get over here you lot! A training exercise in five minutes, get your gear and stop lazing about!"

Mianite yelled across the field to gain our attention, gesturing to the large pile of weapons that were set out – forcing everyone into action. This training exercise was what all the intensive drills had been building up to, in order to give Mianite and Dianite an idea of what everyone needed to improve on. Once everyone was all kitted out, Mianite lead everyone to the middle of the open field and told them to close their eyes. Tucker, being the incredibly mature person that he was decided that it would be a good idea to shove Wag as he closed his eyes – causing him to land awkwardly on the ground with a painful thud. He didn't get time to respond, though because the exercise had begun.

"Open your eyes."

Almost immediately, everyone's eyes sprung open – desperate to see what had changed in the short time that their vision had been impaired. They were shocked to see that the calm, green field had been changed into a wasteland. Fires ravaged the forests on the edges of the battlefield, the crackling of burning wood and the stench of smoke only overwhelmed by the screams and the stench of the creatures that stood in front of them. It was a group of about fifty shadow entities, created by Mianite himself – who had taken the blueprint for them from the hero's memories. In each of their hands, were daggers similar to the one that Caitlin carried.

Wag scrambled off of the floor, moving to his position near the back of the group – to act more as the healer than a fighter. Ianita stood next to him, with Martha little ways forward. Jordan, Tom, Tucker and Sonja stood in a square formation, each of them facing a different direction in order to cover each other's backs. Mianite had decided to stay out of this exercise, seeing as keeping the exercise running was draining enough energy as it is. Plus, he really couldn't be bothered fighting that day. Caitlin stood in between the four heroes and the others, acting as a middle ground – hopefully clearing up anything that managed to slip past the main four fighters. It was seemingly a fool proof formation that could handle anything that was thrown at it.

However, things didn't quite turn out the way they wanted.

The creatures lunged towards our heroes, holding their blades high and screaming an ear-piercing wail that would haunt all those who heard it for the rest of their lives. Jordan and Tom ran towards the creatures, sliding underneath them at the last minute and raking their swords across the creature's underside. The first few fell almost instantly, screeching in agony and dissolving into shadows. This was a technique that the creatures learnt to avoid quite quickly, jumping out of reach of Tom and Jordan's blades every time they attempted to do the same manoeuvre.

Sonja and Tucker stood back to back as this happened, allowing the creatures to get closer and closer before clutching one another close and spinning. In their hands were their swords and as they spun, they cut through the creatures like they were made of butter. It was slightly scary to watch the couple slaughter countless creatures with such ease. Soon the bodies began to pile up, with Caitlin and Martha cleaning up a few stragglers as they went along – whilst Wag cast various healing spells and throwing strength potions towards those who needed it. It was an efficient system that was cutting through the waves of enemies like nobody's business.

As time ticked by, more and more enemies appeared over the horizon – swarming the heroes from all sides, forcing everyone to grab their weapon and help. Even Ianita was swinging her blade, cutting down any creature that dared to get too close to her. There was nowhere our heroes could turn without being faced with another creature to strike down. They were being overwhelmed and they all knew it.

"Wag we need more health over here!"

Tucker bellowed from across the battlefield, his hands occupied with trying to keep the creature in front of him from slitting his throat with its blade. Wag, however, was just as occupied – having to constantly switch between his sword to keep himself alive and casting spells. It was sapping all of his energy and the creatures around him could sense that, giving him no opportunity to help the others. Tucker, Sonja and Jordan were fighting back to back, struggling against the onslaught and having to ignore the pain in their tired muscles. Caitlin and Ianita were surrounded by at least fifty creatures, the pair of them struggling to stay standing and shouting something that the others could barely hear, whilst Martha was battling her way towards Wag.

Suddenly, the swarm surrounding Ianita and Caitlin broke through their defences, engulfing them in a sea of black. Nobody could see what was happening in there, not even Mianite who was flying above them all. All the other creatures left their battles against the other heroes to join the fray, causing everyone else to just have to wait for the dust to settle. There was no way in, forcing them to just stand there in fear and anticipation. When the smoke cleared, they were faced with a shocking sight.

Caitlin lay on the floor, unconscious and covered in deep wounds that she would surely die from if not given medical care. This left Ianita, standing and shaking in fear as Tom stood behind her, holding a knife to her throat. The creatures surrounded them all, staring at the heroes with an expression of triumph – as Mianite flew down from above and spoke.

"You lost heroes. I asked Tom to be a traitor for this activity, wondering whether any of you would notice the fact that none of the creatures was actually attacking him. Ianita is our weakest link and our enemies know this. Since Caitlin won't leave her side during the actual battle, it was obvious that they would attempt to overwhelm her and slay Ianita themselves. Clearly, our tactics training didn't penetrate those thick skulls of yours."

Mianite clicked his fingers, causing the world to go back to normal – they were standing in the field once more, the creatures vanishing into thin air. They watched in awe as the wounds on their bodies closed up, the pain they were feeling fading. It was over.

"It will end at where it started."

Tom's words were quiet and pain filled. Jordan looked into his eyes, seeing fear and anger – along with a terrifying detail. One of Tom's eyes was its usual brown but the other was soulless black. He still held the knife to Ianita's throat, his expression switching between contempt and fear – as if he was struggling to keep control.

"You can let go of Ianita now Tom."

Tom shook his head violently, his hands shaking and his head twitching nervously every few seconds.

"How could it all be a part of the exercise if Caitlin is still unconscious?"

Jordan's gaze dragged slowly onto Caitlin's still unconscious form, the limp body that was still full of deep wounds and oozing crimson blood onto the once crisp green grass. The horrible truth dawned quickly upon Jordan at that moment, his hand reaching for his sword and pulling it from its sheath.

"Let her go, Tom. You don't have to do this."

Tears began to fall from Tom's eyes, his whole body violently shaking in fear and grief as he fought for the control of his own mind. He was losing, everyone watching knew that and he knew it – he just didn't want to believe it.

"It will end at where it started."

Tom repeated his words from earlier, whispering them in choked sobs over and over again as Ianita stood there – surprisingly calm now she knew what was happening. She looked Martha and Jordan in the eyes, giving them a small smile of comfort before she vanished into thin air – along with Tom.

"IANITA!"

Jordan and Martha screamed the little girl's name at the same time, the same raw emotion choking them. The little girl they had all tried to protect was gone, along with one of their best friends. They only had one sentence to go on in order to end this hellish nightmare that had become their lives. Someone was going to die before this all ended. In that moment, Jordan wished it would be him.

A/N

Not looking good for our heroes is it? It never does...

Leave a vote and a comment to let me know what you think, it really helps me out! And share this with anyone you think might like it.

Hope you've all had a great summer and those that are back at school already are doing good! I go back on Tuesday (Terrified face)

Much love,

Caitlin <3