Awakening: Part Three

     By now, Hiterkuna wasn't just exploring. She was searching for something, or better said, someone. It was strange that she was searching for her teen rival, Victoria. Many strange thoughts invaded her head as she thought of the royal Zafara. Why was she searching for her? Was it something to do with what Gizial had told her?

     "Hiterkuna, I don't want you to trust Victoria and her father. If they disappear, than you must too, understand?" That was just one of the many ideas that haunted her mind. Victoria had disappeared...it was just a matter of time before they struck. And Hiterkuna couldn't imagine what the royal lady would do to her if she got her paws around her throat. Hiterkuna clasped a wary paw to her throat and felt it coming out in short raspy breaths.

     Hiterkuna all of a sudden found herself exhausted and in desperate need of rest. She slumped down on one of the hall benches and fell asleep, with only her thin white cloak to protect her from the cold...and maybe something else.

     The Christmas Zafara was out on a snowy plain. Snow-capped mountains gleamed in the distance by the rays of the sun. Snow fell gently and Hiterkuna felt a strange presence surrounding her.

     "MirrorEyes..." a voice called out to her on the wind. Hiterkuna whirled around and saw a ghost Draik in the distance. Even though his species was different from that of her brother, she could see something familiar in his eyes.

     MirrorEyes turned around and looked into the distance. A silence fell upon the field as the snowflakes fell...and she sensed something in the distance.

     "The serpent..." he whispered. An enormous snake slithered into the scene and the fight commenced.

     The serpent lunged at Hiterkuna, and the Zafara screamed. She was paralyzed with terror and the ghost Draik lunged in front...and took the hit. Blood tinted with a ghostly green fell from his shoulder, and he looked sadly at Hiterkuna.

     "NO!" she screamed. "Heroes never die! Never!" MirrorEyes fell down to his knees and said, "Look at me." Though confused, Hiterkuna looked.

     At first, she saw ordinary red eyes of a ghost Draik. But, as she waited, the eyes became clearer and clearer until she was reflected back at herself. Hiterkuna gaped at herself when she realized the difference.

     An older, Christmas Zafara stared back at her. Next to her was a shadow Zafara and two younger Zafaras. One was a spotted about the age of four, while the other was a white the age of ten. Hiterkuna looked up at MirrorEyes.

     "What is this?" she asked.

     MirrorEyes replied, "It may be your future, if you choose what is right." Hiterkuna gasped. Her future?! Her thoughts were shattered when MirrorEyes blinked hard and his eyes were back to normal. They then became dull, and Hiterkuna remembered the snake.

     "Heroes never die..." she whispered, and MirrorEyes fell. Crying, she closed the Draik's eyes and bent down next to him. A hiss forced her up. The serpent.

     The creature lunged with the speed of lightning and Hiterkuna felt a sharp pain in her shoulder...

     A scream jolted Hiterkuna from her sleep. The Christmas Zafara looked wildly around and saw something on the floor...a guard. She gasped in terror and covered her mouth so as not to barf. The Draik guard lay there, lifeless on the floor.

     Hiterkuna opened her wings and flew over the lifeless body and into the armoury. There, she grabbed a dagger and left. Inside the halls was panic and chaos. Figures in black cloaks raided them, killing guards whenever approached. Hiterkuna felt a hate seize her-- a hate for these killers. She flew up behind one of them and stabbed him in the back, killing him. The cloaked figure fell and Hiterkuna stole the cloak and weapons. She would get revenge for what the murderers were doing to the castle...and possibly the city of Meridell.

     ~*~

     Hiterkuna's prediction had been correct. Out in the streets, chaos and burning took place. Houses fell down from the fire as pets fell from the sword. One pet, a mother Zafara with her baby, fell to the ground with an arrow in her back. The baby, frozen with terror, waited and stared into his mother's cold, lifeless eyes.

     Yubioke rammed the bars of the cage for about the hundredth time. The green Acara roared through the bars:

     "Let me go, you idiotic twits! LET ME OUT!" She roared with fury and smashed against the bars. On a table only feet away, Mordred the saw lay there. Yubioke grinned as a devilish plot formed in her mind.

     The green Aisha desperately grabbed through the bars until she reached the nearest object: a rusty sword. She didn't bother two wits about the sword when she reached from the cage and grabbed Mordred by the handle, than slowly picked it up with the clumsy blade. Inching the sword to an angle and being careful not to hit Mordred's handle and turn him on, Yubioke finally managed to make the saw slide over to her. Yubioke grinned evilly and pressed the "on" button as the machine fired up.

     "You guys are gonna regret that..." she whispered to herself. "Ooh, you're gonna regret it." When the machine petpet was completely on, she pressed it to the bars and watched sparks fly.

     After only a few minutes, Yubioke had cut the bars easily. She grinned and kept the chainsaw on; she would need for the fight. She ran out of the cage and into the storm of fire and chaos.

     Yubioke roared with mad rage and cut down the nearest cloaked figure. It fell to the ground and a baby Zafara tumbled out of its arms. Yubioke, stunned, picked up the infant and muttered, "I guess your mum is dead."

     The baby looked up at her with wide, innocent eyes. Even though the Aisha found herself incapable of...love, that didn't mean she couldn't find this infant a new home.

     "C'mon, whelp," she said, hefting the baby on her shoulder, "we're going to the palace." The baby sneezed, and Yubioke managed a laugh.

     ~*~

     Mesbeto and I ran through the halls as if fire had been lit on our feet. The archer Acara could shoot arrows and run at the same time, and I was impressed. Even though Mesbeto loved surfing and "chicks" I couldn't bring myself to deny his archery skills.

     I simply fought with a dagger, slashing down the cloaked figures that threatened the castle and the royal family...including my sister, Hiterkuna. They were assassins and ruthless killers, and my job was to destroy them. Strange...this had never been assigned to me, but I felt it my duty to save the lives of others. For Fyora's sake, I had never felt like this! I had never considered it my responsibility to do this.

     Mesbeto turned to me and said, "Dude, they're at the top floor!" I rose an eyebrow. "How do you know?"

     He cocked his head, "We killed about five of them, right?" I nodded. "The prisoners of the dungeon told me that, like, there were about forty of them when the raided the cells." I gasped in horror. "Now the prisoners have joined up with them!"

     Mesbeto nodded and said, "Those prisoners hold grudges, dude. If we try to protect these pampered prissies, then they'll stuff with so many swords you won't be able to see. Let's just beat it."

     "Do you forget..." I growled through clenched teeth, "that Hiterkuna's here, too?!"

     "Kyradose..." Mesbeto began slowly, "don't you think Hiterkuna has grown at all since she was a sniveling whelp in a cradle?! She can handle herself, y'know!" I wanted to smack my brother across the face when he said that.

     "Hiterkuna is my responsibility!" I snapped. "And if you think she can take care of herself at a time like this, you can leave! Don't lie to my saying your not a coward!" By the look Mesbeto gave me, I knew he was hurt.

     "Fine," he muttered, "I'll go." With that, he calmly turned and walked down the hall. I didn't bother to follow him; I was angry enough. I flew down the hall faster than ever and toward the stairs.

     Mesbeto stomped off, hurt by what Kyradose had said. He hadn't gotten them into the castle. He hadn't figured out that the assassins were headed towards the roof...

     But...he had saved them from the dungeon...

     Mesbeto wiped any comforting thoughts from his mind as he trudged down the hall. Another figure emerged from the shadows...that of a mutant Draik. Mesbeto drew his bow and arrow, but the Draik held up a scaly paw.

     "Hold it, young one," he said. "It's really rude to kill one who is searching for an apprentice...maybe a young and spry one, such as yourself."

     The mutant held out a dark cloak and said, "If you refuse, I have no choice but to kill you." Mesbeto thought of the hurt his brother had forced upon him, and he reached out a paw.

     "I'll do it," he said, grabbing the cloak. The Draik assassin sneered.

     "You're first job," he said, grinning, "is to find MirrorEyes and kill him."

To be continued...