�Do not run,� the creature said in a voice that was low and quiet, yet the ground seemed to tremble slightly. �I mean no harm to you. I came to give you something, for this is a time of great darkness and despair, though you may not yet now it.�
�Oh, crap. This cannot be good,� Jorden said under his breath. The creature turned his head and its brow furrowed in confusion.
�I have excellent hearing, so please watch what you say,� it said, though in a slightly amused fashion. Jorden quickly shut his mouth. �Now listen. I do not have much time here, so this must be quick.
�You have been chosen. Chosen to lead selected partners of my kind, the dragons, through the final battles of evil. Once this war is won, humans will never see the reason of fighting evilly ever again. Even beings on other worlds will lift their heads for they know that the time is near. The time that could end in a new beginning�or could end in the destruction of everything, including us.� The dragon took a deep breath. Jess realized that her mouth was hanging open and quickly closed it. The dragon looked at them and continued.
�Our fate rests in your hands. You will be the leaders of the team,� he said. Jorden looked up and stared at the dragon.
�Us? Why us?� Jorden gasped.
The dragon glared at him. �I do not choose who are the leaders and who isn�t!� he said loudly, but his expression quickly softened when he saw the two flinch. �Forgive me. This whole issue is making all of us in our world restless. Now, what I mean to say is, I do not know who the leaders are until the Catalyst Stones tell me.�
�Wait a second, it sounds like this has happened before. Like history is repeating itself. If these stones are so powerful, why didn�t you guys wipe out evil altogether before?� Jess asked sardonically.
�They were never used to eliminate the ultimate evil before. Also, we would not be able to use them without the help of another species beside the dragons. The Great Riko created the Stones for two purposes. To destroy the forces of evil is the first reason, but he also made them to break down boundaries and to create ties between all species. Alas, Riko was murdered and all the secrets of the Stones remained unsolved. He hardly left us any instructions about the stones, except for three. He wrote them down minutes before he died. First is, �Let the Stones choose who will wield them and their partners.� Secondly, he wrote, �Take the Stones to the ones who were chosen by using them to guide you.� And finally, the last instruction was-�
All of a sudden, the dragon let out an earsplitting cry, and the puddle from which its neck was protruding from gradually became red in color. Ugly, gray hands began to grope and scratch its neck, leaving cuts that began to bleed. Jess and Jorden stepped back, unsure of what to do, as the dragon�s head hit the ground. The hands began to drag it back into the pool. It struggled and managed to get its hand out of the puddle.
�Gaze into them and wait. Take...them now�.� He said barely above a whisper, and threw two pendants at them and they landed on the curb. Then the dragon disappeared into the water. Jess ran forward and put her hand in the puddle, but her hand only touched the hard asphalt.
�What do we do now?� she asked quietly. Jorden looked down at the pendants and picked them up. One of them shot out of his hand and flew in the air, landing in Jess�s hand. She arched an eyebrow and examined the pendant. It was octagonal in shape, and about half an inch thick. On one side, a picture of a dragon with what appeared to be a mix between fins and spikes on each side of its head. On the other side was some sort of symbol, though Jess couldn�t guess what it meant.
Jorden looked at his pendant too. It was the same, except the picture of the dragon had a line of spikes from the top of its head to in between its eyes, and on the back was another symbol, but it was different.
�Are these the Catalyst Stones? These are the ones that are supposed to destroy evil? He has got to be kidding me,� Jess said. As she started toward the door to go back into the mall, she accidentally dropped the pendant. As it fell, a dim blue light emitted from it and stopped in midair just as it was about to hit the sidewalk. After a few seconds, it flew over to Jess and landed in her hand. Jess stared in awe. �I guess they are,� she said quietly.
�I don�t get it. If we�re supposed to do something, why didn�t these stupid necklaces come with instructions?�
Jess and Jorden were walking along the road. It was a beautiful Saturday, but nobody seemed to be outside. Everyone had an excuse these days. Work, errands, being too tired. Not Jess, Jorden thought, never Jess. She�d be outside on any day like this, listening to the sounds.
However, it wasn�t a normal Saturday. It was the day after the two had received the Catalyst Stones and they still had no idea what to do with them. Jess kept tapping at the pendant, trying to make it do something. Suddenly, Jorden stopped and turned Jess around.
�The dragon! The dragon that gave us the pendants! He said something before he was pulled into the puddle! What was it�what was it? I can�t remember�� Jorden said as he tried to remember what the dragon said. �He was talking about some other�person�thing�said the three instructions, didn�t he? What was the last one?�
�I don�t know, it was so hard to hear him�wait. I think it was something like, �gaze into them� or something, but I�m not-� Jess said, but was quickly cut off by Jorden.
�That�s it! �Gaze into them!� That�s what he said! Now what we have to do is gaze into them!�
�Um, Jorden? What exactly does he mean by �gaze� at them? I�ve been looking at this piece of rock for about a day now and nothing has happened!�
�But did you gaze at it or look at it? See, we probably have to really look at it. Look at it like there�s something inside of it, like there�s more to it than meets the eye�� he trailed off as he looked intensely at the Stone. Jess sighed and did the same. All of a sudden, Jorden yelped and Jess quickly turned at looked at him. Jorden was floating a foot or so off the ground, his arm raised and the Stone emitted a bright yellow light.
�Jess! I was right! Hurry! Do exactly as I told-� and there was a sudden flash of golden light and he was gone.
�Jorden? Jorden!� Jess was getting a bit nervous. Her friend had just disappeared and he wanted her to do the same? Jess trusted Jorden, but she didn�t know what to think of this. She looked reluctantly at the Stone and gazed at it. She gazed and gazed, as if looking inside of it. Soon enough, she found herself floating off the ground and the Stone became hot and a blue light appeared. All of a sudden, she landed softly on a patch of grass that covered the ground of a place she knew couldn�t be matched by any other in the real world.