The Adventures of Tarin and Zeke: The Dark Book - Part Four

      They looked around at saw many other mountains in the area, but none quite as high as the one they stood on. Tarin was wondering what they were doing in the mountains, when Zeke whispered, "Look! Over there!" He gestured toward a guard tower, where a Darigan Uni and Mynci could be seen quite clearly at the top. They turned around and saw large, black double doors in front of them.

      "I think I know exactly where we are," said Tarin.

      "Yeah," whispered Zeke. He looked a bit nervous. "Well, we'll have to go on. There's no turning back. The recorder's vanished, and we'd have a pretty hard time trying to get out of these mountains with all those guards around. I don't even know this place."

      "Should we, then?" asked Tarin. "Should we go in?"

      Before Zeke could answer, the doors swung open. A Darigan Lupe walked out. He was armed with a short sword, a bow, and a quiver of arrows. He looked surprised to see a little Kacheek and a blue Eyrie standing there.

      "What are you doing here?" he asked, quickly fitting an arrow in his bow and pointing it at Tarin. "Speak!"

      "We, uh...." muttered Tarin.

      "Who are you?" asked Zeke.

      "A knight, that's who," said the Lupe. "I asked you what you're doing here."

      "Who do you work for?" persisted Zeke.

      The Lupe glared at him and aimed the arrow between Zeke's eyes. "The Faerie Narcissa, and I'm only asking you once more-!"

      "Her?" asked Tarin. "So, we were right?"

      "Ah, that explains everything," said the guard, beckoning at someone inside a hall. A Darigan Eyrie walked out and drew a short sword. "You're Tarin and Zeke, those little pests that Lady Narcissa took that book from, aren't you?"

      Tarin looked at Zeke. By this point, they were almost able to communicate silently. Zeke nodded after looking into his friend's eyes.

      "Alright, you have us," said Tarin, raising his hands above his head.

      Zeke followed suit. "We surrender," he said.

      The Darigan Lupe and Eyrie looked at each other, then they lowered their weapons.

      "You're coming with us," said the Eyrie, after he sheathed his sword.

      Tarin and Zeke looked at each other, then smirked.

      "I don't think so!" said Tarin. He leapt at the Lupe, taking him by surprise, and punched him under the chin.

      "YEOUCH!" cried the Lupe. When his bottom jaw was hit, he had bitten into his tongue. "Why, you...."

      He grabbed at Tarin, who dodged him easily. Behind them, Zeke was wrestling his Darigan counterpart. He socked him over the wing. The Darigan Lupe whipped out his sword.

      "I have orders to bring you in alive, or destroy you, whichever one you prefer," said the Lupe, grinning.

      Tarin wasn't armed. He backed away quickly and ran down a narrow path on the side of the mountain. He heard the Lupe shouting behind him. He stumbled and rolled sideways down the path. Then, he slipped and fell seven feet. He landed on his side, and the Darigan Lupe flew down next to him.

      "I suggest you look up there," said the Lupe, pointing at the cliff behind Tarin.

      Tarin couldn't help himself. He looked, and he saw the Darigan Eyrie, sword drawn, standing over Zeke, who lay on the ground, his paws bound behind his back.

      "You!" breathed Tarin. He glared up at the Lupe, who smirked.

      "You can continue trying to fight and lose your friend, or you can come quietly and his life will be spared, for now," said the Darigan Lupe. "It's your choice."

      Tarin wasn't about to lose his best friend. He looked at his feet. "I-I give up," he said.

      The Darigan Lupe laughed cruelly. He picked up Tarin by the scruff of his neck and pinned him to the cliff. Tarin felt his paws being tied tightly behind his own back, and he knew it was over.

      "Let's go," said the Darigan Eyrie. He began dragging Zeke up the path and to the doors. The Lupe flew up next to him. In minutes they were dragged through the double doors and into a castle.

      It was nothing like Meridell Castle or Fyora's castle. There were purple tapestries hanging on the walls and a dark red rug ran down the center of the floors. Portraits on the walls depicted the same Dark Faerie that had stolen the evil book from them. Narcissa.

      The red rug ran all the way to another set of double doors. They were deep purple and had a black gem set in the center of each one. A guard, a miserable-looking Darigan Krawk, stood outside the doors,

      "We're here to see Narcissa," said the Darigan Lupe. "We've captured those kids she mentioned."

      "Huh? Oh. Alright...." the Krawk said. He opened a door, and Tarin and Zeke were dragged inside, and down towards a throne, where Narcissa sat. They were thrown forward and landed on their chests. They got up slowly, but only rose to their knees.

      "We've captured the Kacheek and Eyrie you told us to find, milady," said the Darigan Lupe, bowing.

      "They were right outside the front doors," said the Eyrie, also bowing.

      "So, you came to stop me from using this book, did you?" asked Narcissa, looking down upon her captives triumphantly.

      "Well, yeah," said Tarin. "Of course we did. You're evil, so, naturally, being good guys, we wanted to thwart you."

      "And you failed," said Narcissa. "I would have you executed, but having you locked up for the rest of your miserable lives would be more fun."

      'Keep her talking,' Tarin thought nervously. 'Distract her long enough to come up with a plan.' Then, he asked, "Since there's no way we'll ever escape from this well-guarded castle, why exactly did you take that book, your evilness?"

      Narcissa stared at him for a minute. "Well," she said. "You're actually right. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to tell you. You won't be able to run off and get Fyora, anyway. I simply wanted the book, because with the dark magic in the book, I could do many things, like hypnotizing weak-minded fools."

      "And you sent those guards after us when we were in Meridell, too didn't you?" asked Zeke angrily.

      "Yes, I did," replied Narcissa. "And I've obviously failed. If it weren't for Illusen, you'd be hanging from the dungeon ceiling by your ankles right now. Not that you won't be soon. Of course, there would indeed be many other things I could do. I could create a vast army, unlike one Neopia has ever seen before. I could turn forests into volcanic regions and kill crops. I could turn Jeran Borodere against his king. Hmmm! Sounds like fun! I could even imprison or destroy Fyora herself."

      "It'll never work," said Tarin. "You're no match for the Faerie Queen!"

      "Oh, I will be the Faerie Queen soon, you little pest," said Narcissa. "There's nothing you can do about that. You've lost."

      "Not yet, we haven't!" said Zeke.

      "Really?" asked Narcissa, in mock surprise. "You're both pathetic. Guards, take them away. They can rot in the dungeons."

      The Darigan Lupe and Eyrie bowed again, then they seized Tarin and Zeke and dragged them backwards out of the throne room and down a flight of stairs, through a door, and down another hall. They stopped at a door and unlocked it. A scary sight met Tarin's eyes.

      They had entered the dungeons. They were cold, smelly, and only lit by a few torches sitting in brackets along the walls. There were a few cells. Tarin and Zeke chained to a wall across from a table by their wrists. A Darigan Grarrl sat at that table. The Lupe and Eyrie left.

      Looking around, Tarin and Zeke saw another Darigan Lupe in a cell. His head was on his paws, but he was not asleep, he was depressed.

      "We rarely use these dungeons, kids," said the Grarrl. He had seen them looking at the imprisoned Lupe. "There are times when Narcissa orders us to lock up traitors or enemies. You're very young, though. Dull Fangs over there," he said, lowering his voice to a whisper and indicating the Lupe, "wasn't very happy with one of Narcissa's decisions. He'll be gone in a few weeks, if you get my drift."

      Tarin shivered. "And are you happy working for that old bat?" he asked.

      The Grarrl raised his eyes. "Are you kidding?" he asked. "NO. I hate life here. Narcissa's the worst. She's possibly more evil than Kass, as far as evil dictators go. She was banished from Faerieland, and those loyal to her were banished as well. I'm here because I'm strong and I have sharp teeth, and I don't want anything to happen to my kids...." He blinked away a tear.

      "You were blackmailed?" asked Tarin. "I'm sorry. I wish there was something I could do to stop all of this, but I'm stuck now. I've failed. I should have told Fyora I couldn't do this. I should have gone home to Katie."

      The Grarrl looked up at him again. "You came on a mission for Fyora?"

      "Yeah."

      The guard stood up and took a set of keys from the wall. Then, he peeked out into the hall. He came back in and quickly unlocked Tarin and Zeke.

      "What are you doing this for?" asked Zeke, suspiciously.

      "I'm letting you go to stop Narcissa," said the Grarrl. "I know I'm risking my life doing this, but if you can at least get away or do something, it'll be worth it." He looked at the imprisoned Lupe. "But if you breathe a word of this to anyone-!"

      "I'm taking the secret to my grave, old friend," replied the Lupe in a deep voice.

      Tarin looked at Zeke. They had one more chance.

To be continued...