Chapter 21: The Dance of the Butterfly

Ronan scrambled out of his bed and to the Hellblade.

"Where the hell did this come from?" he muttered to himself while looking at the Hellblade. Had somebody placed it in his room while he was sleeping?

Ronan slid the curved sword from its sheath and backed into the corner of the room.

He stood beside the Hellblade and asked, "Is anyone there?"

Ronan searched through the dark for any movement. In the Hellblade's faint glow and the few strips of sunlight peeking through his window, he saw that he was alone.

"I'm losing it," he muttered, and he sheathed the curved sword. The Hellblade slipped from its place on the sill and fell to the stone floor with a clank, then vanished.

"What in the—"

Then the rooster crowing above the temple's stables woke Ronan from his sleep. It was significantly brighter out, and the sky was a crisp orange. Wavy pink clouds cascaded slowly in the sky.

"Did I dream the whole thing?" Ronan asked, rubbing his eyes. Beside his bed, only the curved swo