| The gulls swooped and dove at the even, calm ocean. The
cries of the birds penetrated my dull thoughts, and the ocean's steady breathing
soothed my red-hot nerves. Thinking about this afternoon's 'adventure' set me
to shuddering.
Before I knew it, the ocean calmly drew the
mind's poison out in the form of tears. Steady tears coursed through my disheveled
fur and dripped off my chin. Shuddering sobs ripped through my soul, and I subconsciously
rocked myself back and forth. Shard's distant comfort flooded my mind, calming
me.
Why? I thought despairingly. Why was
the amulet born to hurt? Why was I born to hurt? Everybody I encountered… was
anyone for the better? I had indirectly killed my mentor; I almost killed
Sohra and Wahre…
I nearly screamed at the thought of them feeling
the amulet at their age. Their world was made up of love and joy, they had not
yet felt terror and pain. And, of course, it was their 'older brother figure',
as Elder had put it, that forced this upon them.
They had to learn it somewhere… Isn't it better
that they were eased on it with someone there they knew? Shard asked.
This wasn't "eased". This was forced - painful
and unnatural. They did not deserve this.
The conversation continued on in this vein before
the creaking of the cabin door opening pierced through our thoughts, and we
both turned, startled.
Firne eased herself in slowly, fear written in
her eyes and the way she moved her limbs. I stood, unmoving, waiting for her
to speak.
"Amita, I…" she steeled herself. "I can't have
you around Sohra and Wahre anymore. You're too much of a danger to them."
She was surprised by my instant agreement. "I
will be leaving before sunset," I said.
She nodded, obviously relieved that I hadn't
put up a fight. I turned back to the window, the ocean nodding its approval.
I took comfort in that. When I turned wordlessly back, she was gone.
* * *
"Of course you need to go, as sad as it makes me to say it," the Elder agreed
after I relieved my story to him. He stood, and I studied him, my friend and
mentor for the past several months. His fierce green eyes held wisdom, yet a
certain passion for life I had not detected during my first visit.
His voice cut through my thoughts, and he enveloped
me in a tight embrace. "All I can say now is good luck," he murmured in my ear.
"Good luck my lad. Do not lose hope, there is always a way, even if you cannot
see it. Do not let your fears conquer you."
Wiping away the tears in my eyes, I thanked him
for his advice, and exited his shed before I broke down completely.
Half running, half walking, I set off on the
path to the docks of Mystery Island, nearly 50 miles. I had packed food for
many nights, and my meager belongings.
"Amita! Please wait!" came a voice echoing from
behind me, crying. I turned to see the twins running toward me. A sharp intake
of my breath told Shard my thoughts.
No Amita! he commanded sharply. Do not run. They
will not judge you.
Wahre and Sohra bowled into me, sobbing with
grief. "Why are you leaving us?" Sohra wept. "Mother only told us a few minutes
ago."
"Shhh, shhh," I soothed, tears running from
my emerald eyes now too. "Don't cry. I have to go now, but I know you two can
go on. Don't forget me now."
"Never," said Wahre, almost angrily, though
the anger was quickly dissolved in another bout of tears.
"Be happy, keep smiling," I whispered to them
before turning away.
Don't look back, Shard echoed sadly through my
mind.
I didn't. I never do.
* * *
After several days of hard traveling, which I was very used to, I arrived
at the docking port of Mystery Island. People bustled around, and clatter and
noise could be heard everywhere. Neopets and humans alike boarded the "pleasure
ships", while workers tossed and lugged boxes onto "cargo ships". The ships
themselves rocked gently, and the "clink" of the metal bridge racketed across
the harbor.
It was a very hot day, and the sun was in its
zenith, blazing its fury in full force at us beneath it. The village where I
had lived was mercifully shaded by the trees and cooled by the ocean. My paw
pads were scorched on the sizzling pavement.
Gingerly, I made my way across the dock and boarded
the boat, only briefly stopping to show a guard my ticket. Once on the boat,
keeping my pack close by, I stopped my wincing at the blessed shade.
Thank god. I was beginning to think we'd actually
fry out there. Shard said dryly.
I chuckled, and ignored people's confused glances.
Unbidden, images of Wahre and Sohra sprung in my mind and I pushed them away.
Sighing and fighting back grief, I bought a hot chocolate at the counter, and
walked out to the deck, noting that the sun's heat was swept away by the wind.
The boat was moving.
Sipping my sweet hot chocolate, I leaned over
the side of the ship, noting how the waves skived off the side. The hot chocolate
was excellent, and tasted more exotic than it's Neopian counterpart, as the
cocoa beans were grown on this island.
With amusement, after tossing my windblown hair
out of my eyes, I noted that Shard was cowering at my feet.
A little frightened, are we? I asked, amusement
tingeing my thought.
I'm… scared… of hi… heights, he replied fearfully.
Oh, it's nothing... see, look at this, I proclaimed
while climbing onto the rail, teetering for balance.
AHHHHH Don't DO that! He cried, while I laughed.
My laughter was abruptly cut short however, when
a sword came out of nowhere, its hilt and blade rusted. Dodging it, I forgot
where I was, and almost fell into the ocean. Rolling onto the deck however,
I looked up to see my attackers.
A nameless man, clothed in, not surprisingly,
jade, looked fiercely down at me, though his eyes were clouded by fear at the
obvious rumors he had heard of my power. Snarling in fury, I realized that they
had surrounded me, Hyacinth at the front, a smirk curling at his face.
Turning frantically, I saw they had me boxed
in. My fur rose involuntarily, and I crouched in a fighting stance.
How dare he?, I thought angrily. How
dare he try to find me here. Did normal people mean nothing to him? How could
he be so caught up in his own ego to not notice that he was hurting innocent
people? Rage filled me, and it was like a match had struck a pile of dry
kindling, a pile I had started building long past. Fury rang through my head
and I shook with barely suppressed, white-hot anger. Dimly, I realized that
Shard was fighting my anger, trying to water down the inferno inside me. But
I didn't care; I was too far-gone. Flames swept up his puny attempts to calm
me and raced through our bond. I noted that scotch marks had spread from my
paws on the ship's floor, and was still spreading.
As I saw through a veil of red, I realized vaguely
what I had done. I had stopped fighting the amulet, and instead was fighting
with it. Healer with Harmer. Good with Bad. This was the result.
I took a hold on my mind, and the fire cooled
with instant efficiency. However, my mind was not healed like that. It would
take more. I was still shuddering with anger and everything in my vision tinged
by red rage. I even noted with vague surprise that my fur had turned a rich,
silky silver.
"Now," my voice came, thick and unfamiliar,
shadowed by the hate I had bound myself to. "I want you to go. I want you to
go, and I don't want you ever to return. Do not try to find me. If you do, I
will kill you. This is not a threat, it is a promise."
Without further ado, I shoved Hyacinth and his
men viciously out of the first dimension, sealing the gate forever behind them.
Hyacinth's eyes were bright with terror as he disappeared.
I turned roughly at the rest of the people, eyes
frozen in horror. Some people were screaming and running, some just stood, unmoving.
"What are you looking at?" I snarled at them, my voice still filled with hate.
Anger started to build viciously inside me again. The amulet, freed of its restraints,
unleashed itself. It was now visible, and wrecking havoc with people's minds.
Several fainted.
I started toward them, not sure what I was going
to do. Vaguely, I realized that I had gone too far, if I didn't stop now I could
never go back.
Stop it Amita, this is enough! Shard snapped
at me, his voice coming as though from a distance. My brow furrowed in confusion.
Was he talking to me? Who is Amita? Or perhaps, more correctly, who was Amita?
I looked at the tiny creature, tail wound on
a post, his eyes lined with will and confidence. His ice blue body shimmered
in the afternoon sun.
However, he was changing as fast as I could think.
His body morphed and swept into new features: tail lengthening, legs growing,
lizard-like head morphing…
Before I knew it, the little creature had changed
into an ice dragon half as big as the ship itself, still glaring at me with
sapphire blue eyes. Ice dragons were extinct; they had all been killed fighting
for Neopia during a war.
Amita… he whispered distantly. Our bond re-strengthened,
and I felt the inferno of hate lift and… was it pain now I felt? Sadness?
His murmuring voice whispered like rain. Now
torrents of water droplets drizzled down in my mind, showering the stubborn
fires. Distantly, I realized tears were sliding off my cheeks.
When the last of the fires died beneath the showers
of hope and courage, I felt myself slip and fall into black oblivion.
To be continued...
| 
