Ash saw the Scottish Highlands and a breezy spring day. A young girl stood in the heart of a meadow filled with blue and yellow flowers. Surrounding her were mountains.
The girl looked around ten years old. She had long, blonde hair and blue eyes. She was dressed in a medieval-style, gold-trimmed, pink dress with shoulder pads and boots. A pair of gorgeous, silvery-white wings stood behind her. The girl was a fairy! Who was she, though? Why did she look so familiar?
Leaning down, she picked a flower and sniffed it. Her wings sparkled silver as she lifted into the air. Her long, pointy ears were well exposed behind the two tufts of hair that danced in the breeze.
The girl flew to a little boy farther down the meadow, playing with some Highland cattle. He had to be no more than four, but he looked exactly like her. His blonde hair danced, and his small sideburns before his own long, pointy ears joined in on the fun. Just like the girl, he, too, had a pair of fairy wings. His were translucent and light green.
When she reached him, the girl pulled him away from the cow he was trying to milk and flew in circles around him. Laughing, he and she embraced and rolled down a flower-covered hill. They sat in a cluster of blue flowers and tall grass, and the girl waved her hand. A pair of bagpipes appeared, and she grabbed them.
The girl faced the boy and closed her eyes. She rested her fingers on the bagpipe's keys and shared a soothing lullaby.
Cows continued to graze, but every once in a while, they looked up and focused on the fairies. Petals blew off the flowers and engulfed them. They merged into a new image: another memory.
Yells were heard as forces from two clans collided. One was human, but the other were fairies. The fairies attacked from the sky, but the humans slashed them to the ground with their swords. The non-magical beings even had guns, and they used them, too. The battle took place before an old, broken-down castle perched on a hill.
Within the crowd of warriors flew two small figures: the girl fairy and her little brother. The boy wore a child-sized shield and a sword on his back. He was a little older in that memory.
"Breena!" he shouted as he and his sister flew.
She tightened her grip on his hand and soared toward the castle on the hill, but humans and fairies collided. Nowhere was safe. There was no peace. Behind the castle and down a little way was a huge, sparkling loch.
As soon as the boy and his sister reached the castle, they were caught up in a violent battle and separated.
"Ash!" screamed the girl, but she disappeared in a crowd of humans and fairies. Wait, did she say "Ash"? Was that him? Was Ash himself the boy he saw?
He noticed the boy had hurt his wings a little after numerous fairies and people tossed him around. He couldn't fly. The castle grew smaller as he fell toward the loch.
Just before he hit it, a roar came from the water. A shadowy head with a long neck stretched into the air and caught the falling fairy.
"Nova!" he shouted in his tiny voice. Wait, Nova? That sounded familiar, too. Ash's memory was coming back as fast as a bullet. Nova was, Nova was… Hold on! She was the only friend Ash had when he lived in the Highlands!
As soon as she caught the little boy, a wave of water washed away her image, replacing it with a new one.
Ash was seven in that memory, but was no longer in the Highlands. Instead, he was on a bare beach. The day was dreary. Only he and his sister sat on the beach, but his sister was critically ill.
Her brother helped her onto the sand and held her in his small arms. He took her hand and begged her to hang on. He told her he was going to get help, but it was already too late. His wings dropped, and he watched his sister turn paler. Everything lost its color, including her clothes, hair, and wings.
Ash hugged her cold hand to his cheek, and tears splashed onto her knuckles. "Stay with me, Breena, please," he begged. "I can't lose you, too."
"Ash, it's okay," his sister weakly told him. "I'll be all right. You have a mission to find Coutarine Island. Remember what Mom and Dad said. 'No matter what happens, we'll always be here, even if you can't see us.'"
"Don't talk like that. Please." Ash's voice turned more choked with every passing second.
"Ash." Breena slowly lifted her shaky hand and rubbed the tears from her brother's cheeks. "I never realized how much we look alike. Please, I'm begging you. Take this." She dropped her hand and picked up her other one, where she held a slingshot.
Breena offered it to Ash, who asked, "Your slingshot? No, Breena, please. I can't accept it. This is telling me you're giving up."
"Take my slingshot like it's a lesson," she choked out. "It will remind you that no matter how tough things get, you will never be alone. One day, when you are ready, we will be together again. I promise."
"But, Breena." More tears ran down Ash's cheeks.
His sister set the slingshot in his hand and took his chin. She pulled her hot forehead to his, and they gently bumped heads.
Ash closed his eyes and tightened his grip on his sister's slingshot. It wasn't long until he felt her head leave his. Opening his eyes, little Ash gasped when he saw Breena fall limp on the sand. Her eyes were open, but she no longer blinked. Her body was motionless.
Ash put his palms to his mouth and shook his head. "No. Breena, please! Please don't leave me!" He tried to wake her. Ash shook her shoulder and attempted to perform CPR, but received no response. His sister was gone. "No! No, please!" he choked out. The child burst out sobbing. He stood beside motionless Breena and used his thumb and forefinger to close her eyelids. That was after he looked into her bright, blue eyes one last time. Once he did, he pulled her to a sitting position and sobbed into her shoulder. "I just want you back," he begged.
A blast of wind soon picked up dead leaves. They blew over to the little boy and his sister, circling Breena.
Her brother still hugged her. He refused to let her go.
It wasn't long until Breena's body turned into ash. Her legs were first, and then her hips, waist, and upper body.
Ash rocked her until her entire body had vanished.
Along with the dead leaves, Breena's ashes wafted into the dreary sky.
Ash was left alone on the beach: orphaned and scared. How could he find Coutarine Island without his sister's help?
Another group of leaves soon appeared and engulfed him like he was in an inferno. The image of the beach faded, and the memories passed quickly.
The Folly Beach pier was the next image Ash saw, where he first met Makenna. "Do ya know a girl named Makenna Delling?" He saw the rocks where Makenna transformed into a Crystal Metamorphic Fairy.
Ash saw Tracey. He remembered the time on Merlin's Island when he placed a spell on him to ease the effects of the Octopus Man's curse. "Ah, so you're Merlin's apprentice. I've heard so many wonderful things about ya. Now listen, Tracey..."
Image after image sprouted in all parts of Ash's brain. He remembered his concussion, the time when he helped Makenna fight the Kraken's mirage on Coutarine Island, and even when he and she discovered the Wizard Fairy's note on Celt Tip.
Next, the image changed to when Ash saw Breena's ghost on the other side of the Tip's bay. He then remembered his and Makenna's fight. After that came the Devil's Heir, but Ash remembered no more after it knocked him out.
The final memory also took place on Coutarine Island. It was late afternoon. Ash stood in the area of the jungle where Makenna, Raeven, and Silvey went to seek out the Crusha Fruit. The berry-covered bushes and waterfall sparkled in the rays of the setting sun. Selene and Merlin were there. They faced Ash, who was now eighteen, and stared into his bright blue eyes. He was dressed in a battle uniform: chainmail armor and a new tunic.
Merlin approached him and said in his wise, elderly voice, "I'm assuming you know why we've come to you, young Ash? It is time. You need to start your training."
"Why me, though?" Ash asked, fear in his voice. "What if I can't do it? What if I fail, like I did with my sister and my parents? It'll be my fault that the Human and Magic Worlds fall into the hands of Poseidon! Yer aff yer heid!"
It was Selene's turn to speak. "We know you're scared, but don't you see, dear? You have to do this. You're the only one who can. Unlike Merlin and me, you know what it's like to face a catastrophe. You experienced that in the Highlands. It grabbed you and dragged you into a world of fear and sadness, but you found a way to escape. Breena helped you, sure, but remember it was you who found Coutarine Island in the end. You did not give up. You relied not only on your fairy instincts, but also on a firm belief that everything would turn out all right. Your experience in the Highlands is what helped you become the amazing wizard you are now. If you think about it, Poseidon is pretty much just the history of your childhood repeating itself."
Ash tried to take everything in. When he finally spoke again, his voice sounded a bit braver. "So what you're saying, Master, is that ya want me to teach the two fairies how to overcome a catastrophe, with very few negative thoughts and the fear they're going to fail?"
Selene nodded. "Yes. That's exactly it. The Octopus Man is powerful, but he's not invincible. He can be defeated, but not just by Special Spells. In fact, Special Spells are only an inkling. The true weapon here is something you and your sister share, even to this very day. It's what you felt the second you laid eyes on each other when you were born. The two fairies felt this, too, when they first met each other last year."
Understanding her, Ash gasped. He tried to speak, but couldn't find his words.
Selene continued in a low voice. "You must help them understand what this weapon is. Remember, my young apprentice, Special Spells are called 'Special Spells' for a reason. Magical beings that feel the same way you do about your sister are the only ones who can perform them. The Bermuda Triangle is home to people and magical beings who are just like you and the two fairies."
Ash listened carefully. He watched as Merlin stopped before him and finished for Selene.
"For the next month, Ash, I am going to teach you the mysteries and answers behind the Triangle. I will share strategies to help the two fairies understand they don't need to resort to violence to overcome The Mincing. Violence isn't the answer to everything. Honestly, it isn't the answer to anything."
Bobbing his head, Ash seriously spoke, "I won't let ya down, sir—Master. I promise."
"We know you will succeed," Merlin said. "We never doubt you, Ash. You, indeed, are Coutarine's Greatest Warrior. The two fairies can defeat Poseidon. They merely need some help getting there. You understand, right?"
Ash stared at him and his master for just a little longer. He then reached back and released Crusader from her scabbard. Ash held her blade to the rays of the setting sun, and they caught her. Right when they did, the blade glowed, and sparks of light hopped around Ash, Selene, and Merlin's surroundings.
Just when Crusader's blade stopped glowing, the image faded behind another group of flower petals, and Ash felt Makenna's hand still on his shoulder.
"Makenna!" he gasped. "Whe-Where am I? How-How did I get here?" He leaped to his feet so fast that he knocked her down. The bridge of his glasses tilted on his nose. "Wha-What's happened to Coutarine Island?" Strangely, when he looked toward the ghost, he could see him that time. "Wha-What's a ghost do-doing here?" Ash stuttered.
"Calm down!" Evelyn shouted. Poking Ash's cheek, she hovered before him. "You're at Seabrook Island, kid. This is where Makenna lives. Dr. Snugglekins gave you the task to find her today."
"Dr. Snugglekins? But he couldn't have. Yesterday, I remember seeing a huge, scary face. It looked like the Devil. Then everything went black."
"It was the Devil's Heir you saw, dear," Evelyn gently told him.
"The Devil's Heir?"
"Why is he so confused?" Makenna frightfully inquired. She watched as Silvey shuffled to Ash and sat beside him. Crusader escaped his hand and touched the grass. Her blade no longer glowed.
Evelyn gulped and slowly shifted her body toward Makenna. Her voice quivered with her next words: "Miss Delling, I know you're not going to like this, but you have to know the truth. Ash couldn't remember you, Tracey, or anything related to his childhood and Coutarine Island before the attack because…" She gulped. "Because he died."
A thousand knives stabbed Makenna's heart. She fell quietly onto the grass beside Ash and stared at the marsh. Makenna closed her eyes and buried her face in her hands, running her fingers through her long, brown hair. Sky settled beside her and peered gloomily at her hidden face.
From the shadows of Creek Watch Villas emerged a figure. It split into two as it drew closer.
To Makenna's surprise, she heard a familiar voice. "Makenna! What's wrong?"
Then another voice. "Don't tell me you're dying! Oh, this is horrible, horrible, horrible! Makenna Delling can't die!" Caleb and Raeven had returned.
They hurried toward Evelyn, Ash, Silvey, and Makenna.
Makenna's head shot up from her knees, and she glanced at Evelyn with her tear-stricken, rosy face. "Are you meaning to tell me," she shouted, "that Ash is a ghost?"
Evelyn inhaled and admitted, "He's not. Not yet, but he is trapped: trapped between two worlds, between life and death. This isn't because he was resurrected, though. It's his brain injury."
When Makenna finally spoke again, her voice sounded even more choked than it already was. "We can't just sit here then, Evelyn! We've got to help him! Let's take him to a hospital!" Evelyn lifted her hand and tried to cut her off, but Makenna babbled on. "Are you saying his brain injury is fatal? Please! We can't let him die! I had enough trouble with Tracey last year!"
In a gentle voice, Evelyn explained, "I'm afraid it's not up to me to make that decision."
"What do you mean?"
Just before Evelyn answered, Caleb and Raeven jogged up from behind and yelled together, "Makenna!"
As if he didn't notice them, Ash remained on the ground and fidgeted with his fingers. It was like he was holding an invisible fidget spinner. Now that Evelyn had mentioned it, he did look as if he were trapped between life and death. His body was a bit faded and, in a way, ghostlike. His skin, clothes, and hair were paler than usual, and he constantly looked into space. It was like he saw the land of the dead and the land of the living simultaneously. His brain cried out in pain, and Ash reached for it.
Breena's words echoed in his mind: "'One day, when you are ready, we will be together again.'"