Through Tyaelaem's eyes and ears, Simon would see and hear it all:

[color=gray][quote]She threw her frustration out towards the forest and the darkness. Anise felt confident that the whole place was listening. "I am Princess Anise Sinclair!" She declared out towards the darkness. "I have made friends with Tyaelaem the Rabbit! I have been accepted by Reus the Great Wolf! The Spirit of the Lantern has chosen me! I will protect those that have been forced into the darkness, through life and death! I will find a way to free those that wish to be free of this forest and help them find their way out! Those in life and in death!"

She took a deep breath in and let it out in a show of her determination and stared at the old pirate's spirit to wait for its response. She prepared herself mentally for the worst and readied herself against any attacks that might come from him. "Sir, what is your name? Join me and I will do everything I can to find a way to free you from this darkness." She extended her hand to the old man's spirit in a display of friendship.[/quote][/color]

Simon felt a tightness in his chest, like a hot string attached to his beating heart -- the other end was tied to Tyaelaem's heart, giving him light and life as long as the fire burned, as long as Simon's concentration remained intact. Simon could see and hear everything that Tyaelaem saw and heard. Now, he saw Reus towering above him and he saw Anise's back as she faced the shadow army alone.

The blue lantern grew brighter and brighter, like a small sun, as Anise's will and desire filled it. The gray shadows all stepped back, shimmering weakly in the strength of the light.

The greater dark -- the shadow of the man whose blood coated Anise's hands -- did not change. He stood tall and dark and empty as a bottomless chasm, and he stared at Anise's outstretched hand, and he chuckled.

Deep laughter echoed among the trees. Shadows sprinted among the branches above and slithered in the grass below.

FOOLISH CHILD

The voice rumbled in Anise's and Simon's heads.

Tendrils of dark wound out of the man's dark form, and he grew slowly taller, larger, darker, swallowing the light.

DARKNESS IS THE ONLY FREEDOM

Tyaelaem tried to shout, but no sound came. His form flickered. He jumped and sprinted to Anise's side in a mute panic, blinking in and out of existence.

In Simon's head, the Lady of the Pond whispered: [i]I serve the Lord of Shadow -- and so do you, my love![/i] Her power controlled Simon's body; of its own accord, his hand destroyed the ghost flower in the fire. In doing so, the Lord of Shadow was allowed to feed upon the string of power that connected Simon to Tyaelaem. Simon quickly grew weaker, his energy draining as the Lord of Shadow sucked it dry.

Simon would soon realize that every ounce of life was about to be drunk from him. The Lord of Shadow intended to allow Simon to die in order to destroy Anise and claim the Lantern. The Lady of the Pond rendered Simon's body paralyzed and helpless as sacrifice; she controlled the flow of his blood as she controlled the water. Simon felt his energy and his consciousness being pulled forcefully out of him. His body grew colder.

Tyaelaem had dimmed to little more than a shadow.

The boy looked between Anise and the tendriled Lord of Shadow -- and in a last desperate act, Tyaelaem leaped forward and laid his hands on the blue Lantern.

An explosion of force and blinding brightness flung Anise back, crashing and sprawling into Reus.

The string of power surged and snapped, and Simon was hit all at once with a sledgehammer of bright energy that knocked him on his back. He was again conscious in his own mind, and warmth returned to his body. The Lady of the Pond had gone quiet, and the stone around his neck was no longer glowing.

When the light dimmed again to the Lantern's usual blue glow, Tyaelaem and the shadows were gone and the clearing was empty and quiet -- except for a boy in strange clothes, sprawled in the grass at Anise's feet.