The Unlucky One: Part Three

      Dayna and her four pets were gathered next to the bridge that spanned Sirenia's favorite river.

      Racon smiled triumphantly and pulled a book out from behind his back.

      Kanuah read the title out loud, “Aisha Encyclopedia?”

      Racon opened the book and began to flip pages. “I found my answer in the least of places, listen to this.” He stopped on a page he had marked and began to read.

      “There is a little-known legend about Aishas born in the month of Sleeping. Long ago, an Aisha was playing in a meadow of Meridell. He slipped on a patch of wet grass and went tumbling. He landed on top of a dark faerie who had been sleeping. The angry faerie was so mad about being awakened she put a curse on this Aisha before he could apologize. She told him since she had the bad luck to be awakened by him, he would have back luck the rest of his life! There is no evidence that this tale is true, but there have been rumors that throughout time, some Aishas, all of whom were born in the month of Sleeping, have had a curse of bad luck.”

      Ashalyia hugged her brother. “And you were born in the month of Sleeping! I knew you could find it!”

      “Wait a second.” Sirenia, who was still in the river, crossed her hooves on the bank and placed her head on them. “It says that you actually do have a curse, but does it say how to cure it?”

      Racon turned the page and continued to read.

      “There is a story that one Aisha managed to figure out how to break the faerie's curse. See Neopian Lakes.”

      “What did that book say?” Dayna asked.

      Racon closed the book carefully, he didn't want it to disappear quite yet. “We don't have it. Can we go to the Marketplace and find it?”

      Dayna looked up at the setting sun. “Now?”

      Racon followed her gaze and sighed. “I guess not.”

      Dayna ruffed her pet's ears. “We'll go early and find your book tomorrow, promise.”

      ***

      “So, Neopian Lakes.”

      Racon waited impatiently. The Shop Wizard was taking his sweet time coming up with a list.

      The yellow JubJub flipped through a large spell book with one wide foot and twirled a star-topped wand with the other. “Ah, here we are!” His dark blue eyes flashed as he muttered a few chosen words and waved the wand over a piece of paper. Racon covered his eyes as sparks and smoke flew from the wand.

      “Here you are! A list of all the shops that have the book you seek.”

      “Thank you!” Racon snatched up the list and ran outside into the early morning.

      Dayna and Kanuah were sitting on a bench in the Neopian Plaza waiting for Racon. Ashalyia was going with Sirenia to Moltara for the day to hunt for glowing worms.

      Dayna triumphantly slapped a card down on the bench between herself and Kanuah. “Ylana Skyfire's courage beats Captain Scarblade! That means you're out of points and I win!”

      “No fair! How did you draw your favorite card on just the right turn?” Kanuah asked crossly. Captain Scarblade happened to be his favorite card.

      Dayna shuffled her cards expertly. She was an avid Duel Deck player. “She always seems to save me, doesn't she?”

      “Dayna!”

      Dayna turned to see her Aisha running helter-skelter towards her. “Racon, did you get your list?”

      Racon jumped up into her lap and waved the list joyfully in her face. “Right here, right here! Can we go?”

      Dayna stored her cards in her backpack and stood up. “That's what we came for; who's first up?”

      Racon consulted his list. “Some guy named 'Lastwave'.”

      Dayna pulled a map of the marketplace out of her backpack and searched down a list of names. “He's in the west quadrant, third shop on the fifth row.”

      Racon took off in a dead run.

      Dayna was about to tell him to slow down when she spied something lurking in the shadows of one of the shops. “Racon! Watch out!”

      Racon, heeding his owner's warning, looked around wildly. “Ahhh!”

      He skidded to a halt, stopping just short of a tough looking lava ghoul.

      The ghoul glared menacingly at him then floated off without a sound.

      Dayna and Kanuah ran up. “What did he take?” they asked breathlessly.

      Racon looked confused. “Nothing.”

      Kanuah's pierced ears perked up. “Did you just get lucky?”

      Dayna picked up Racon and dusted him off. “Maybe not lucky but at least he wasn't unlucky; it's a start.”

      ***

      “Reading makes your pet smarter!” An orange Kougra greeted the trio as they entered the shop The Deranged Dragon owned by Lastwave. The shop walls were covered in bookshelves which held a large assortment of books. There was a small shelf for non-book items. The Kougra jumped off of his stool, adjusting his bow tie and speckles. “Is there something I can help you with?” His name tag said Bounder.

      Racon showed him the list that the Shop Wizard had given him. “I'm looking for Neopian Lakes. You're the first on this list.”

      Bounder took the list and looked at it. “Yes, well, I'm sorry to inform you that I sold that book not two minutes ago to someone else.”

      Racon's antennae drooped. “You're kidding me.”

      The Kougra handed back the list. “I don't kid when it comes to sales.”

      Dayna held the door open for her pets. “Thank you, Bounder.”

      The Kougra gave a stiff nod and jumped back up on his stool. “Come back if you need any books.”

      “Well, that tanked,” Kanuah observed.

      “Christmas Mix owned by opholly; that's the next one,” Racon read off the next name on his list.

      “East section, sixth row, second shop. Let's go,” Dayna read off of her map as she began to walk.

      “Sold it not three minuets ago to a rainbow Kau,” the Christmas Blumaroo told them.

      “This cannot be happening!” Racon groaned.

      “Thank you!” Dayna yelled over her shoulder as she pulled Racon out.

      Kanuah was already looking for the next name on the list. “Let's keep looking.”

      Racon looked up at the bright blue Neopian sky. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

      ***

      “I told you I had a bad feeling about this.” Racon collapsed in a pile under the shade of the oak that leaned over the arch that formed the entrance to the Marketplace.

      Kanuah sat down next to him as he looked at the now much-rumpled list. “Who would have thought that Neopian Lakes would be such a popular book? Fifty stores and all of them sold the book three minutes before we got there.”

      “It's my bad luck; it's making up for the lava ghoul not doing anything bad to me.” Racon rolled over on the cool grass.

      Dayna set her backpack on the ground and began to rummage through it. “Super sub for me, gingerbread Lupe treat for Kanuah, and crumpets with jam for Racon.” She doled out the food she had picked up on their frenzied run through the marketplace.

      Racon didn't touch his food.

      “Come on, Racon. It's your favorite,” Dayna encouraged her pet.

      “I give up. I'll be cursed my whole life.” Racon didn't move towards his food.

      Kanuah finished his treat in two bites. “If you have a mindset like that, you're right.” He licked crumbs off of his muzzle. “If you want to be cured, you have to look on the positive side or else you'll never get anywhere.”

      “You're right; you always are.” Racon rolled over and munched on his crumpet. “But we're never going to find that book. Bad luck is one step ahead of us.”

      Dayna finished off her lunch as stood up. “We're going to have to try a different angle, then. Let's go try the Trading Post.”

      ***

      “How much for it?” Dayna asked.

      The rainbow Cybunny who ran a booth at the Trading Post looked over her lot. “2000 neopoints and an Orn Codestone.”

      “Done!” Dayna handed over the neopoints and codestone then took the book from the Cybunny's paws.

      She carefully put the book into her backpack and checked to make sure her gold handled katana was at her side. Any bandit or ghost who wanted the book was going to have to go through her.

      Racon was pacing nervously next to a bench that Kanuah lay on. He stopped as he saw Dayna approach. “Did you get it?”

      Dayna looked around, made sure there were no clouds, bandits, or traps in the area before cautiously pulling the book, Neopian Lakes, out of her back pack. “You should read it now. The longer you have it, the more chance there is of something happening to it."

      Racon nodded as he opened the long sought-for book and began to read.

      Dayna pulled out her Dueling Deck cards from her back pack and began to shuffle them. “Rematch?” she asked Kanuah.

      Kanuah took half of the cards. “Bring it on.”

To be continued...