Omi tapped Dojo on the back and called to him to change direction. The pink colour pulsed in the little stone, shining brightly and then getting dimmer. The brighter it became, the closer they were to the right path. Clay was asleep, lying out on Dojo’s back. Omi never really understood how he managed to stay on without slipping off.

Dojo was flying fast. He hadn’t had this much freedom in a long time and was relishing in the cool air. They were flying in the direction of Europe. This was worrying; it was Chase Young’s territory they were heading into. Omi didn’t seem too bothered by this though. He wasn’t about to let Chase Young get in the way of what they needed to do.

Kimiko was running around insanely trying to cover the other dragon’s duties. She had had stern words with Yuuji that he was to leave her alone unless the world was about to come to an end and he had got the message. He too was running around trying to cover all the jobs she couldn’t get to in time. Ashley was busily drawing up plans to where she thought Jack would be weakest. Jermaine was distributing the new recruits according to skill. All in all, everyone was working at their hardest.

Katsuya was running through the camp trying to get Kimiko’s attention.

‘Nihon!’ He shouted as loudly as he could.

‘Katsuya?’ Asked Kimiko, irritably.

‘We’ve got a problem.’ Said Katsuya, looking around the crowded area.

Kimiko nodded and took him to one side.

‘What is it?’

‘Jack Spicer’s been spotted above ground.’

Kimiko swore and looked around to make sure no one was listening.

‘Where?’

‘Where he collapsed the ground and the camp was swallowed.’

‘He hasn’t moved?’ Asked Kimiko, ‘Why isn’t he chasing us?’

‘I wouldn’t complain personally.’ Said Katsuya, ‘However, he ... he’s chanting.’

‘Chanting?’ Asked Kimiko, raising an eyebrow.

‘It’s in a dialect that none of us are familiar with. We don’t know what he’s doing, but ... Nihon he looked right at us.’ Katsuya said.

‘He saw you? And he didn’t do anything?’

‘No he just ... looked. Then he carried on.’ Katsuya bit his lip.

‘He knows we can’t stop him.’ Kimiko said, ‘At least not yet. He’s planning something against us and there is nothing we can do.’

‘How do we plan against him when we don’t even know what his plans are?’ Asked Katsuya.

‘We’re already working on it.’ She explained, but she wouldn’t say anymore.

‘Don’t the rest of us need to know what to do?’ Asked Katsuya, ‘How do we help if we don’t know the plan.’

‘Hopefully, if Omi finds what we need, we won’t have to get any one involved.’ Kimiko frowned and then continued walking. Katsuya followed closely behind her.

‘Is this one of the “we’re the original dragons and we don’t need your help” type things?’ Katsuya asked.

Kimiko nodded and continued walking, deep in thought and still frowning. She really wasn’t sure what to do. If the whole ‘Vampire Scales’ plan fell through, they wouldn’t have a back up plan to defeat him. Plus, they weren’t even sure if the ‘Vampire Scales’ would leave Jack alive. Such a strong power drain would probably pull on his life force. They hadn’t mentioned this to Ashley yet.

Omi and Clay jumped down off Dojo’s back. Omi held up the pendant and the stone shone with a light so bright it was almost painful to look at. It was directing them in the way of a cave, set into a cliff side.

‘This looks like it could be unpleasant.’ Said Clay.

‘True. However, if we intend to stop Jack, we must go forward.’ Omi pocketed the stone and looked at Clay.

‘Guess we have no choice.’ He said, letting Dojo climb up his arm and settled around his shoulders.

‘Shall we?’ Asked Omi.

They entered the cave and were engulfed in the blackness inside.

Kimiko was on her way to speak with Jermaine when it happened. The ground shook violently as black sparks shot through it, ripping it apart. Kimiko was knocked off her feet.

‘Get down!’ She shouted to others who were trying to maintain their balance.

As the quakes subsided, Kimiko got up and quickly checked the people around her for injuries.

‘Kimiko!’ Shouted Yuuji, running across.

‘I’m fine,’ She said, ‘But check on the rest of the people.’

‘We’ve got bigger problems.’ Said Yuuji.

‘What?’ Asked Kimiko.

‘It’s Jack, Kim,’ He said, ‘We got a message through from our teams keeping an eye on him. He’s ... he’s raised the dead.’

Kimiko stared at him in disbelief.

‘Don’t be ridiculous, that’s impossible.’ She said.

‘You don’t need to tell me that, but that’s what they’re saying. The people who fell in when he collapsed the ground, they’re all climbing back out and they’re heading this way!’ He said.

Kimiko couldn’t speak. This was disgusting. He was using the bodies of their friends and families to form an army to destroy them.

‘Kimiko, we have to prepare for the possibility of battle.’ Said Yuuji.

‘We can’t tell these people that they’re going to have to kill their own families.’ She said.

‘They aren’t their families anymore. They’re puppets.’

‘Do you honestly think that’s how they’re going to see it?’ Kimiko sighed, ‘Gather all the soldiers, even the ones on guard.’

Yuuji nodded and headed off. Kimiko looked to the sky. It had been blue, but clouds were quickly forming. They had a war on their hands and if she didn’t have the loyalty of the soldiers, there was no way they were going to win. They would either have victory or a massacre and Kimiko really didn’t know which one it was going to be, but she could guess. How would she react to being told that she had to sentence the people she loved to death?

But haven’t I already done that? The thought hissed in her mind. Raimundo. Hadn’t she practically sentenced him to death? She could really use him here right now.

No! Now wasn’t the time to be regretting these stupid mistakes. Yuuji was right; the people needed her mind to be in the now. She needed to get them prepared. If she didn’t look like she was willing to fight, why should they follow her? The only way to get to the future was to survive the present and that was exactly what she intended to do.

(A/N) told you I was planning on getting this one finished. lol. Two updates in a week. Havent managed that since I was back in school. lol. Hope you enjoyed this chapter. This book should be coming to an end soon and then it'll be on to book 4, which shuld see the return of a certain character I know a few people have been missing. lol.

lots of luv,

Becky.

XxX