If you haven't already, be sure to read the previous Sakirina and Linkidu
stories starting with "Sakirina's
Change of Heart".
Sakirina and Linkidu sat at the mouth of their cave
eating cereal for breakfast. Lately they had talked a lot about Madam Ashiria's
prediction, though Hubrid Nox had not tried to steal the Gem of Truth since
the last incident in Faerieland. Suddenly Linkidu had an idea. "What would happen
if we destroyed the Gem?" he prompted.
"I suppose Hubrid Nox would stop trying to steal
it from us because there'd be nothing to steal," Sakirina replied. "Why?"
"I just wondered - that's all," Linkidu answered.
"It would be nice to get him off our backs."
"That's certainly true," said Sakirina. "But
are we sure we want to get rid of the Gem?"
Linkidu thought about that for a minute. "No,
I don't think we are. Maybe we should wait," he said after a minute of thinking.
"I think you're right," Sakirina decided, setting
down her cereal bowl and washing off her paws in the stream that ran past the
cave.
"What do you want to do today?" Linkidu asked,
also setting down his cereal bowl.
"Ummm... I dun know," Sakirina replied, washing
the bowls in the stream. Suddenly a small black blob came flying off of a small
ledge that overlooked the cave. It landed by Linkidu and if a spyder--for that
was what it was--could look pitiful that was exactly what it was doing. Linkidu
grinned and picked the Spyder up.
"Isn't it cute?" he asked. Sakirina raised an
eyebrow at him.
"Are you felling all right, Linkidu? I thought
you hated Spyders!" she asked suspiciously.
"I don't hate Spyders! They're cute!" he told
her angrily.
"Whatever you say," Sakirina muttered, going
inside the cave and putting the bowls on a shelf. Linkidu followed her in carefully
holding the Spyder. Sakirina shook her head at him but didn't say anything.
Suddenly a much larger than usual Spyder came over a small hill near the cave.
Many more Spyders soon followed it, all as big as the first. Sakirina gasped
and dropped the bowl she was holding. It shattered on the floor. "Come on!"
she yelled to Linkidu. He just stood there, dazed. "Linkidu!" she shouted, shaking
him to his senses. He carefully set down the Spyder he was holding and followed
her outside.
"Uh oh," Linkidu muttered, looking at the herd
of giant Spyders. "What are we going to do?"
"Use the Gem's power? I suppose we could..."
Sakirina replied, running back into the cave and retrieving the Gem of Truth
from a small box. "What spell should we use?"
"Ummm...you use the Gem more than I do," he
whispered. "I wouldn't know."
"Well... we could use the Destroy All spell
but that would cause a bit of a...erm...problem somewhere else," Sakirina whispered
back.
"What do you mean 'problem'?" asked Linkidu.
Sakirina looked uncomfortable. "Well, there
would be a bit of an earthquake somewhere else."
"I think we'll have to chance it to get rid
of these Spyders," Linkidu replied uneasily. Suddenly a sound of music, sounding
like a flute, began to play. The Lupe and Chia looked around but didn't see
where the music was coming from. Suddenly they looked up to see a red Usul jump
down from the tree and circled around the Spyders. He continued his music. They
were slowing down now. The lead Spyder stopped and most of the Spyders behind
it also slowed to a halt. Sakirina and Linkidu gazed at the Usul in awe.
"Stop staring at me," he snapped, taking the
flute from his lips.
"How did you do that?" Sakirina asked, brushing
a paw over one of the Spyders. It felt like stone.
"Magic," he said sharply, prowling through the
herd of giant stone Spyders. "Why are these Spyders here?"
"How should we know?" Linkidu asked, equally
sharp. "How did you know they were here?"
"I didn't know they were here. I was on rounds
and I heard them smashing all the trees in their path," the red Usul answered.
"What do you mean 'rounds'?" Sakirina asked.
"Every day I go on rounds of the Haunted Woods.
I patrol it for anything suspicious. Especially those herds of giant petpets.
We've been seeing a lot of them lately. By the way, I'm Kairensri," replied
Kairensri.
"Giant petpets? This is a strange world we live
in. Oh and I'm Linkidu, this is Sakirina," Linkidu said thoughtfully, motioning
towards Sakirina. "Would you like to stay and tell us about these giant petpet
herds?"
"Sure, I don't see why not," Kairensri replied.
"I'm a bit tired." Sakirina walked into the cave and pulled some chairs out
from around a small table. Linkidu and Kairensri followed, talking about the
overgrown petpets. They sat down at the table.
"So, what's with these giant petpets?" Sakirina
asked, filling three cups with water from the stream.
"Well, about a week ago the first giant petpet
was sighted. The Wocky who saw it well...wasn't very lucky. Since then we've
been seeing herds of them, mostly Spyders and a few other spooky petpets," Kairensri
told them. Sakirina sat down, passing the cups of water around.
"Does anyone know why there are herds of huge
petpets lurking around the Haunted Woods all of a sudden?" Linkidu wondered
aloud.
"No, no one knows anything about it," the red
Usul told them ruefully.
"Wait - Linkidu, what about...him?" Sakirina
questioned. "Could this have something to do with him?"
"Hubrid Nox? That's entirely possible--he's tried
worse things than this," Linkidu replied thoughtfully.
"Hubrid Nox? What about him?" Kairensri interrupted.
"Well, see we have something that originally
belonged to him and he wants it back. He's tried kidnapping us, AND stealing
it so far. He hasn't succeeded," Sakirina said dryly.
"Wow," Kairensri said. "So you think he sent
the Spyders and other petpets?"
"Exactly," Linkidu replied, taking a sip of
water. He set the cup down, watching Kairensri's face as he did so.
"I'll help you," Kairensri offered, after thinking
for a minute. "I've had a run-in with Hubrid Nox myself, and believe me--it wasn't
fun."
"Really?" Sakirina wanted to know, amazed that
he wanted to help them.
"Yeah, why not?" he replied.
"Well...I don't know. It'll be dangerous," Sakirina
told him.
"I know. I can handle it easy enough," Kairensri
replied, setting his cup of water down.
"Well, Kairensri, I think we've made a new friend,"
Linkidu said gratefully.
"Thanks Linkidu! And by the way, you can Kairen
or just Kai--everyone does," he replied.
"All right, Kairen!" Sakirina took the now empty
cups and rinsed them out in the stream. Suddenly she noticed the first Spyder,
that Linkidu had thought was so cute, sulking against a wall. She picked him
up and looked him over. Linkidu shuddered.
"Ugly things," he said. Sakirina giggled. Not
long ago he had been saying it was cute. She took the Spyder outside and sat
him on the branch of a tree. Coming back inside, she looked at the stone Spyders
and shivered. They would have to move them somewhere else, she thought. She
walked into the cave and sat down at the table.
"You know, Kairen, we haven't yet thanked you
for saving our lives, so thank you!" she said.
"You are very welcome," Kairen told them warmly.
It's always nice to meet another friend!"
"It certainly is!" Linkidu announced.
The End
Author's Note: Thus ends the fourth of the adventures of Sakirina and
Linkidu. I will be writing more about this Lupe and Chia soon. One thing you
might want to know: the fifth story will most likely be the last. You'll know
more about that later. Feel free to send
me any ideas or feedback on the story! | 
