As Jay followed Stace through the arch, he had to pull on her shirt. Since she was looking back she almost stepped off the edge of a cliff. When she looked down she could not see the ground. All she saw was clouds surrounding the whole area.
"Sorry about that, I meant to warn you beforehand. To my knowledge, there is no route from the ground as it's usually only those that use flight that can get to the sacred oasis, which is way up high. There's not a lot of ground, as you may have noticed. Seeing that you haven't been blessed with wings, I can show you the way, guide you through," Jay told her.
"So what, I'm supposed to climb on you to get to this 'sacred oasis', will you even be able to?" Stace asked sarcastically, doing finger quotations when she said the words 'scared oasis'.
"Without wings it's damn near impossible. After this path, there is a large cliff face but it is steep. Unless, you do what you did when you jumped the gorge. The only problem is that you wouldn't have the luxury of a long runway. You would have to use what little space there is and leap from your hind legs," Jay explained. "As for me carrying you, if I were the size of a pterodactyl then that would be possible," Jay joked.
Stace laughed out loud before saying "I'm not sure if I can just jump from one space to another" Stace was feeling a little worried now.
"I bet you said that before you jumped the gorge, but what happened? What changed your mind to attempt such a risky jump?" Jay encouraged her.
"Well, to be honest,I thought about a friend and what he would do," Stace explained. "He was the one that inspired me to do the impossible.
"Well, think about him again and let's see what happens. As soon as you set your sight on it, prepare your stance and leap," Jay suggested. "Oh by the way, who was this 'friend' you were thinking of?" Jay asked.
Stace felt flustered a little, but she tried to hide it. After a beat, she managed to mutter a few words, "It was you." Jay silently stared at her for a time, with a knowing smile on his face. Instead of bringing it up, as he could imagine how embarrassed she probably felt right now, he decided to leave it.. He turned and prepared to take flight.
Jay set off and began to scout the surrounding area to see if there could be an easier route for Stace. As Jay flew closer to the cliff side he noticed a series of small ledges heading upwards, big enough for a full grown wolf to jump on with ease. Jay flew back to her just in time. She looked at him startled by his quick return.
"Stop! There's an easier route for you that looks like it will lead to the top. It looks safe enough, follow me and I will perch on each of them to make sure it doesn't collapse" Jay suggested.
Jay began calling out words of encouragement as she leapt for the first ledge with ease. Slowly, Stace started to pick up the pace. When they were virtually at the top she could see the final ledge, but before she could take her final jump Jay called out unexpectedly.
"Go back down, now!" he shouted. Jay stared at the darkening clouds ahead of him as it slowly started to take a fearsome shape.
"What! Why? What's wrong?"
"Stace, go back to the arch!" he called out again. She refused at first, but Jay hurled down to her, missing her head by an inch to make her go. He followed her descent and made sure she returned to the arch safely.
"Stace go through I will be alright, just make sure Tate and Jaymie are safe," Jay ordered. Stace reluctantly nodded, turned herself around and began to run through the arch. Just before she stepped through, she turned around just in time to witness Jay do something she was sure he would not come back from. She almost ran back to the ledge but quickly stopped herself. 'That's not what Jay wanted,' she thought.
As she walked through, she noticed Jaymie was standing just outside the house with a smile.
"Father?" Jaymie asked, his smile to a frown when he realised Stace was alone. He must have noticed her concern as he soon started crying and ran to his other father.
"Jaymie? What's wrong?" Tate asked as he comforted Jaymie whilst looking at Stace then at the arch then back again. "Where is Jay? What happened?" Tate asked Stace.
"I… He… There was something… I didn't see what it was. Jay told me to come back and to make sure that both of you were safe," Stace stuttered, trying to explain.
"Did you see anything happen to Jay? Did he say when he will return?" Tate asked, feeling lost, clutching on to Jaymie. "I sense he might be still with us".
"He didn't say anything else, but before I left I turned back to see Jay do something extraordinary. He exploded into flames. Have you seen him do anything like that before?" Stace questioned.
"Turned into flames? Are you sure that's what you saw?" Tate asked.
Stace nodded "I'm pretty sure."
"I have heard stories about a legend, most people say it's just a myth, but I have heard stories about a legend, most people say it's a myth, but after what you said I think it could be real," Tate spoke in a hopeful tone.
"What does it mean?" Stace asked.
"It says that there is a spirit within everyone, a spirit that when confronted with a fearsome enemy will ignite deep within and give them extraordinary strength and power beyond what they imagine. It will help them to defeat their enemies and return," Tate explained, looking down sadly at Jaymie.
"Did… Has he inherited Jay's ability to shift?" Stace asked.
"I'm not sure if it can be inherited, but we will have to keep a close eye on him," Tate said in a whisper.
"I had every intention to stay only a few days, but with everything that's going on, I will do as Jay wants. I will stay to make sure the both of you are safe and wait for his return," Stace said.
A week later, and still no sign of Jay, Stace had decided that she would go back through the arch to find him. They had to know what had become of him, whether he had died or not, they all needed to know. Jaymie began screaming just as she was about to head for the back garden. Both Tate and Stace quickly ran to him. At first, he was reluctant to show them, but Tate caught a glimpse in the mirror that stood behind his son and he couldn't believe what he saw.
"Jaymie? What happened? Are you alright?" Tate asked worriedly. "Jaymie tell us or if you can't then show us, please" Tate suggested.
"I can't, I don't understand what's happening?" cried Jaymie.
Tate placed his hands on his son's shoulders and knelt down.
"Please, show us," he encouraged.
Jaymie tearily nodded and took a step back, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Tate and Stace stared on in amazement as Jaymie shifted into a small Red Kite hatchling before shifting back.
"Well, I can't say I'm not jealous, because that would be a lie," Stace chuckled as Tate looked on with pride.