The Hidden Room
The hike through the hazard-riddled corridors
of Hemminghyde Manor was long and laborious, and the two found nothing. Nothing
but the odd bout of psychopathic laughter occurring randomly through the halls,
taunting them. The house looked smaller from the outside, which was a pretty
daring thing to say, recalling that even the exterior subtly indicated that
Hemminghyde Manor was a beast of a house.
The two pets stuck close together. Angel led
the way, illuminating the path with the huge gothic candlestick to compensate
for the lack of light. Safyre shuddered as she felt icy cold terror run through
her veins in a matter of seconds. Hemminghyde Manor had become progressively
colder, more silent, until very soon the only sounds that could be heard were
the steady footprints echoing in the darkness, and the stifling sound of her
own roaring breath.
Angel, however, seemed unperturbed by the whole
incident. If anything she had spun a cocoon of confidence and valour around
herself. Saf gazed up - the Eyriess' expression was cold and determined. Determined
to get her brother back. Determined to exorcise yet another ghost from this
house. If you could call it a ghost...
Saf's pet Ambron circled every inch of the place,
tracking down the source of the manic laughter through the house, becoming increasingly
more wired and alert, until... he just stopped. Hackles raised, Ambron glared
at a small corner of the corridor and growled ominously. Dead end.
Saf blew at a piece of fur that dangled in front
of her face. "Well, that was productive. Come on, Angel. Ambron was just having
another one of his little jokes." She yanked his collar, but he didn't move
- rather he kept his claws digging into the floorboards, refusing to move, staying
rooted to the spot and staring at the bookcase.
"We're not leaving," Angel muttered sternly.
"Not yet. Igasho might be in trouble!"
"And how? We've searched the entire house. Maybe
they went outside..."
"No. That monster's still here. I can smell
him. There's probably more to this house than it seems... maybe there's some
kind of tunnel or passageway..."
The devilish Aisha laughed out loud. "Pur-lease,
Angel. That's way too cliché, I'm afraid. All we need is Frankenstein to come
hammerin' the door down and we're in the 80s."
Angel shrugged and resumed searching the books
for clues. "Help me find some kind of a switch, Saf."
"I'm tellin' ya, it's too cliche," muttered
Saf, leaning on a discarded encyclopedia.
"Well, I'm telling you, it's got to be something
around here. It could be anything. A candlestick, a plant pot..."
Safyre suddenly tumbled over. The encyclopedia
finally gave way, and fell ever so slowly to the ground. There was a sudden
whirr of cogs and mechanics, followed by a protracted creak as a panel on the
bookshelf swung open, revealing a room bathed in total darkness.
"… or the Neopian Almanac: Garoo to Maraqua,"
finished Angel, before following Ambron into the room.
***
Angel's first instincts were correct. The house was much bigger than it seemed.
In fact, beyond the bookshelf it was IMMENSE. Row upon row, corridor upon corridor
of stacked shelves and collection of lore, all adorned with garlands of cobwebs
and with the air perfumed with the musty scent of age, that seemed to linger
over every inch of the place. Safyre's eyes widened, half in terror, half in
awe. "It's a library..."
"No duh," muttered Angel sarcastically. It was
a library. But an impressive one at that. "But why live in a library, Saf? What's
the purpose in that?"
"Security, I suppose," she answered with a shrug,
gazing up at the cliff faces of books that surrounded - almost suppressed -
the two. Soon they came across a small sign that hung on the corner of one of
the bookshelves. "What's this?"
"Dewey Decimal Classification," said Angel absently.
"It's an easier war of determining what section a book fits in. Hmmm... most
of these seem fictional. Let's see... Crime Stories, Biographies, Hor --" She
stopped short. Her pupils constricted as she rained all thought on those few
words.
"What? Ho - what?" Saf yelped as the smallest
sound of a scuttling spider in the shadows made her paranoid.
Angel gulped and took in a deep breath, her
face turning a pastel blue. "Horror Section."
"So?"
"SO?!" she snapped back. "Whatever monster wrote
that message on the floorboards wrote 'The Horror s _._', right? But it trailed
off at the end. What if Igasho was here, trying to send a message to us, until
something overpowered him and dragged him away? What if he was trying to tell
us where he is? He wasn't writing 'The Horror s _._' - he was trying to write
'The Horror - Section'! he's in this library right now!"
For half a moment no one moved. The spiders
went silent. Saf's eyes bulged. The only movement in that whole vast room was
the gentle flicker of candlelight. Then the Aisha's eyes dropped to the floor
and she crouched into herself like someone with a bellyache.
"You can go now if you want," Angel forced herself
to say. "It's not fair for me to keep you here."
"No way. We've come this far - I'm not abandoning
you now. For Igasho's sake."
Angel smiled. "Aye. For Igasho's sake. In that
case, you can help. When I give you the signal, give me this bottle." She produced
a small green vial that gave off a warming effect and pressed it into the Aisha's
paw.
"Why?"
"You'll see. I have a hunch... now let's get
going. There's no time to waste."
***
The further the two Neopets wandered through the gnarled and eerie corridors,
the creepier it seemed to become. The ground was a blanket of torn pages. Chunks
had been ripped out of the solid wooden structures, by both tooth and claw.
More and more of those gargoyle-like statues appeared, strategically placed
round corners and looming above them - and the frightening appearance of their
faces glinting in the flickering candlelight made Angel and Safyre's hearts
jolt. It was almost as if they were moving.
Safyre screwed up her nose and looked around.
"It smells different round here."
"Sure does," answered Angel, whose eyes were
swivelling from side to side as if expecting something at any second. "I think
we're getting clos--"
"You're more clever than I thought."
"Aaaaiiiiieeeee!" Saf yelped and sprinted behind
the Eyriess who regarded the familiar voice with an air of stubborn determination
and disgust.
"All right, I've figured it out Igasho," she
snarled, focusing her eyes on the end of the corridor, where no light would
penetrate. "Now show yourself."
"Angel, I don't think that's such a good idea..."
"NOW!"
"All right..."
The icy wind shifted slightly. A yellowing page
on the floor rustled as an enormous form hauled itself to its feet. Though they
couldn't see it, they could feel its presence, and sense its struggle to lift
its head above the bulk of muscle. Slowly the monster's pointed countenance
reached the point-of-no-return - accentuated by a thin shard of light - and
Angel and Saf gazed on in horror as the light spilled over its muzzle. The monster,
it seemed, had a canine appearance... if canines had been created by R L Stine.
It's mouth was arched and disfigured, stretched into an ominous half-smile of
inch-long fangs, dripping with saliva. Its fur, though rough and black as the
night sky, was tinted with a deep lilac gloss, giving its wearer an air of importance
and power. In one broad step it was in the dim light, and the two could see
its entire wolfish body. A Werelupe? The thought raced through both of their
heads, but it couldn't be a Werelupe. If it were a Werelupe, it wouldn't be
sporting a long, reptilian tail, smooth and pitch-black, which was tipped with
the head of a snake like the ancient chimera monster of age-old legend. But
those eyes... those bright white eyes were the things that struck the very fear
cords of their souls. They were pupil-less and cold, icy, unforgiving; conveying
absolutely no hint of emotion or kindness.
Angel stepped forward to face the grinning mouth
of teeth. Her face, too, was moulded into an expression of icy coldness and
fear. She mirrored each action the monster made as it narrowed its eyes, lowered
its head, and - without saying a word - lunged for her.
The Eyriess' reaction was lightning fast. In
a split second she leapt from her position, hear bowed, and locked her head
with the monster so they were engaged in a brutal combat with each other. One
eight-foot tall monster against a medium-verging-on-tall Eyriess, desperately
trying to push each other in opposite directions. So far the monster was winning,
and Angel was being forced backwards, ripping the floorboards to shreds with
her talons in the process. Straight towards the quivering Safyre, who was frozen
to the spot. Without warning Angel spun on her heel and shimmied to one side,
causing the monster to lunge forward towards the tiny Aisha who immediately
curled into a cocoon-like state. And just in the nick of time too. She could
feel it's pungent breath singing her fur and - opening her eyes into slits -
saw enormous teeth lying just millimetres away from her tail. She gave a kind
of asphyxiated scream in her throat and covered her head.
But for some reason the monster just wasn't
interested in the Halloween Aisha. Instead of whipping its head round and swallowing
her in one gulp, he got to his feet, shook his rough fur clear of sawdust and
lunged again for the Eyriess, who was waiting expectantly a few feet away.
Saf watched the rest of the battle through half-closed
eyes. Angel's muscles coiled as the wolfish beast sprang forward with tremendous
force, it's mouth jutted forward displaying a row of razor-sharp teeth. With
split-second timing she pounced onto the bookcase and ran along it sideways,
dragging books from their places on the shelves in the process. The monster
ground to a halt and looked over his shoulder at Angel, whose face was plastered
with a deliberate mocking grin. He snarled threateningly and took a step forward,
but before he could move another muscle she whipped her paw round and threw
something at his feet, which exploded in a cloud of mist. A smokescreen! Pretty
basic spy gear, but very effective in this situation. And it seemed to have
an effect on the monster immediately, judging by the hysteric spluttering noises
that came from beyond the smoke. Seizing the moment, Angel took a step back,
rocked back on her heels and took to the air, swooping over the veil of smoke
until Safyre could see no more of her or the assailant. Seconds later there
was a hideous yelp that shook Saf's own rattling teeth in her mouth until they
ached. Who from? Angel, or the monster? The dreadful scuffling sound continued
as the mist began to thin out, and their silhouettes solidified and became more
defined. The Aisha prepared herself for the worst, and squinted at the scene
that befell her...
She was all right! More than all right. In fact,
she had the monster in a full headlock to keep it in place as she motioned for
Saf to hand over the potion! She blinked absently. Of course, the potion! She'd
forgotten all about it. Frantically she sprinted up the bookcase and handed
Angel the humming green vial, then watched as she shoved the bottle between
its parted teeth and massaged its throat until she was sure it had completely
swallowed the potion.
There was a sickening bleak silence, and the
monster's white eyes grew shockingly wide and bloodshot. Angel let go and stood
back, watching as the eight-foot tall creature lurched forward in a coughing
fit, clutching its throat. The changes came so sudden. It's bent, swollen nose
shrank to become a long and smooth muzzle. The purplish glitter across its black
fur dulled and became green, as did the fur, and its enormous, jagged paws shrank
rapidly. In a matter of seconds all that was left of that fearsome, eight-foot
beast was a relatively small, mossy-green Lupe, lying on his side and breathing
heavily.
"lgasho!" gasped Saf, recognising him immediately.
"But... how did you... ?"
Angel smiled smugly, wiping the dust from her
paw. "Just an inkling. That Green Lupe Morphing Potion was just the trick. lgasho's
one of the most cowardly Lupes I know, so it'd be a real challenge to keep him
in any one place all the time. I figured he must have been kept hostage by himself."
"But how?"
"Let's find out." She walked up to the Lupe,
who was groaning and coughing lazily. "What happened, lgasho?"
He coughed again and peered up, bleary-eyed.
"Angel? Wh-wh-what happened here? H-how did I get here?"
"I was hoping you could answer that."
lgasho's eyes widened as a night of bleak memories
came flooding back to him. As the dust settled on his dirty green fur, Angel
and Saf gasped in horror. His face... his entire body... though he was of the
normal Lupe size and stature, and the right hand side of his body was as normal
as they could remember, the left hand side was a completely different story.
Half of his snout was still crooked and gnarled. Half of his fur was black as
the dead of night with a deep purple gloss. One of his eyes was icy-white, and
his tail was still stuck in the monster form, twisted with alternating green
and black hues and tipped with the same snake's head. Angel and Safyre swallowed
and decided mutually, without saying anything, that they would tell him later.
"That guy... the one in the tavern..."
"Yes?"
"The last thing I can remember is visiting a
local tavern. There was a guy there. He played a game of GoGoGo with me. I know
I'm pretty good at the game, but it just seemed way too easy for me to beat
the guy. Like he was losing on purpose... yes, yes he was losing on purpose.
I'm sure of it. Anyway, he played me at GoGoGo, and I beat him. In return he
gave me this liquid. A home-made broth, he said, to warm me up before the storm.
"Admittedly, the storm had died down a little
by the time I left the inn, but it was still going strong. I had been running
for hours and was about half way there, just East of Neopia Central. I stopped
by a small copse on the outskirts of the city suburbs, drenched through. The
anorak was useless; I sighed and fumbled about in my pockets. My hands wandered
and drifted onto... a bottle? Yes, the bottle. The mixture that the stranger
in the pub had given to me. He said it was warming. Perfect - I would have given
anything for a blazing fire and cup of tea right about then, and this was the
closest I could get.
"Holding my nose, I took a swig of the serum.
Immediately, I felt a great warmth spread throughout my body. I tried to take
a step forward. It felt weird. It was... dirt. I could feel dirt between my
feet. That was weird. He was wearing shoes - he didn't have feeling in his feet,
or anywhere else for that matter. I looked down, and stifled a scream. My feet!
My beautiful green feet! They had mutated into a mass of dull grey, mossy fur
and shredding claws." lgasho spluttered again. "I felt something take over me;
wrench me out of my own true being. My muzzle tightened. Claws sharpened. A
prickly sensation grew across my back and fur as bristly spine-like hairs protruded
from my skin. I tried to fight it, but something had taken control. Herding
me towards madness. Oppressing me.
"I emerged from the grassy grove, alive, awake.
I felt the rainwater spattering across my back, trickling down my face, forming
pools of muddy globs at my paws. There was no time to go home now! I had to
follow his feral instinct.
"I held my head high and defiantly against the
midnight sky and howled, long and yowling. A signal to Neopia that I was alive
again. And coming to get them. In a flurry of wild fur and spinning claws, I
was gone, leaving a mass trail of mud and destruction through the forest leading
to the busy Neopia Central... that's as much as I can remember. What did I do?"
Safyre sighed and took his paw, leading him
from the house. "I'll tell you later. Come on Angel."
"I'll be there in a minute," sighed the Eyriess,
turning something over and over in her paws. It was a pendant. A black tooth,
threaded onto a yellow chain, identical to the one that Angle had plucked from
the Mutant Techo. She clenched it tightly in her fist. Something was up. She
had felt it deep down in her heart for a few days now. This wasn't a random
attack. This was planned. Whoever it was that lgasho had met in the tavern had
deliberately set out to do this to him. He had given him a potion that had not
only transformed his body but also had taken him over. Cursed him. And his current
appearance was the result of being touched by the horrid curse. But why? To
divert people's attention from something more sinister? To attack lgasho directly?
To attack... her?
And with that, she sighed deeply, following
lgasho and Safyre out of the 'haunted' Hemminghyde Manor, lost in the paranoid
assumption that someone had a grudge against her, and was willing to go to shocking
lengths to carry it out...
The End | 
