by Bryan Davis
Billy slid a fingernail under a loose sliver on the picnic table’s surface. “Well, the ceremony was great—seeing all the people from Heaven, getting crowned, hearing Prof’s words and Joan’s, but it was kind of anticlimactic.”
“How so?”
“Think about it. The party’s over. The guests are gone. So what’s next? We’ve been in battles for more than twenty years. And I’m talking hair-raising, sword-clashing, blood-letting, run-like-crazy-till-you-crash battles.” Billy pried the sliver loose and tossed it away. “Now they’re suddenly over.”
“Hey, I’m all for the blood-letting part to be over. I think I’ve donated at least ten gallons over the years.”
“I suppose so.” Billy searched for another sliver to peel. “But normal life will feel kind of boring.”
“Boring?” Walter laughed under his breath. “Are you kidding me? The adventure’s just beginning.”
Bonnie tilted her head. “What adventure?”
Ashley reached across the table and took Bonnie’s hand. “While you two were recovering, Matt, Listener, Lauren, Eagle, and Sir Barlow explored new territory in Second Eden. The landscape has changed. The natural barriers to travel and expansion have been removed. Challenges await. Frontiers lay before us. It will be far from boring.”
“You got that right.” Walter set his hands two feet apart. “I saw paw prints this big. It’ll be a blast exploring this place and finding what kind of beast planted that print. Not only that, Grackle and I plan to search for his place of birth before he gets too old. The ice-breathing dragons had to come from somewhere, so we hope to find his relatives.”
Ashley gathered Walter’s hands into her clasp with Bonnie’s. “We have a new start in a new world, a world where there is no corruption—no liars, thieves, or murderers. We’re surrounded by people we love, people who love us in return. And we have exciting frontiers waiting for us to explore. I can’t imagine a better adventure.”
Billy joined his hands with the others. “And I can’t imagine better friends to share it with.”
“Yep.” Walter nodded. “It was the four of us way back then, and it’s the four of us now. We’re still together, no matter how many times you two died.”
Billy kicked Walter under the table.
“Hey!” Walter grinned. “I guess I shouldn’t have worked your legs out so much. They’re pretty strong.”
“Boys …” Ashley stretched out the word, her own grin wide. “Friends. Remember?”
“Got it.” Walter winked. “Friends.”
Bonnie leaned close and gestured for the others to join her. When the four heads drew together, she whispered, her voice sounding like a song. “The adventures we have lived through are in the past, phantoms that will live in the memories of those who hear the stories. We hope that what we have done will spark faith, hope, courage, and love in their hearts. But now we have to move on. We have reached the end of a long and harrowing tale. Do new adventures await us? New dangers? New discoveries? Or will we die tomorrow and meet at Heaven’s gates?”
She took in a deep breath and tightened their clasp. “I say it doesn’t matter. We’re friends forever. Nothing will be able to separate us. Not even death. Regardless of what tomorrow brings, our love will last until the end of time.”
All four whispered in unison, “Amen.”
Other Books by Bryan Davis
http://www.daviscrossing.com
To purchase autographed copies - http://www.theauthorschair.com/shopping/
Dragons in our Midst:
Raising Dragons
The Candlestone
Circles of Seven
Tears of a Dragon
Oracles of Fire:
Eye of the Oracle
Enoch’s Ghost
Last of the Nephilim
The Bones of Makaidos
Children of the Bard:
Song of the Ovulum
From the Mouth of Elijah
The Seventh Door
Omega Dragon
The Reapers Trilogy:
Reapers
Beyond the Gateway
Reaper Reborn
The Time Echoes Trilogy:
Time Echoes
Interfinity
Fatal Convergence
Tales of Starlight:
Masters & Slayers
Third Starlighter
Exodus Rising
Dragons of Starlight:
Starlighter
Warrior
Liberator
Diviner
I Know Why the Angels Dance
