The Adventures of Trina: The Glass Key: Part Ten

      I dived to the left as Evrilin sliced his cutlass through the air. So fast, the engraved symbols on the blade were just one big blur. His laughter was muffled by the crackling fire ripping through the cardboard boxes and setting the wooden pillars ablaze. In succession, giant saucers of magic whizzed past my head. With every cut and every slice, I hid behind display cases until they were splintered to pieces, the wood raining on my arms as I ducked.

      With the flames licking at my pelt, I retreated to my wand again. Luckily, Evrilin missed me and the glass exploded. I grabbed my wand and immediately fired a stream of blue light at him, but its path was obstructed by his flames, hitting the ceiling and sending metal beams falling at my feet. A fiery wave crashed inches shy of my tail. His strength was so unreal compared to the last time we fought. Back on the island, he couldn’t even scratch me. Now, not an inch of the warehouse was spared from the glow of his menacing green flames.

      Suddenly, the Yellow Skeith from the dungeon dashed in front of me. “Quick, you gotta get out of here!” she screamed, her short arms flailing. “She’s coming!”

      Evrilin noticed her and took another swing. At once I leapt in front of her and redirected the flames.

      “Hurry!” she continued, pulling me aside by my sleeve. “Go down the hall and take three lefts. Then turn—“

      A flash of yellow light appeared, and when it cleared the Light Faerie was standing between me and Evrilin.

      “Oh my!” she gasped at the sight of the green flames. “What a mess you made here!”

      A snap of her fingers, and the flames dispersed. Only smoke and ash remained.

      Evrilin roared and sent a massive wave hurling toward the faerie, but it dispersed midair.

      “My, that’s some impressive magic, boy,” she said with a smile, unfazed by his aggressive demeanor. “But that’s no license to torch my home.”

      With one turn of her wrist the Mynci was thrown at a shelf and left unconscious.

      “Now, Trina,” she began, the Skeith now at her side. “Sorry we got off on the wrong foot. I’m not usually like this. I’m usually very patient. But not today.”

      “Why are you doing this?” I asked.

      “You left me Heartless. Now I’m returning the favor.”

      “I’m sorry I didn’t get you the Heart,” I said, annoyed. “What more do you want me to say?”

      “Plenty more, dear. Plenty more. It’s not about the Heart. It’s about your father.”

      “My father? I don’t have a father. Not anymore…”

      “I don’t have all day to stand around. Where is your dear father? What’s he been up to?”

      “I told you. He’s—“

      “Forget your loyalty to the Keys.“

      I was lost for words. Keys? The only key I knew of was the one in my pocket. My ears twitched in my befuddlement.

      She started pacing the area, brushing ashes from her shimmering yellow gown. “I see you’ve browsed my collection. It’s impressive, yes? I’ve spent decades acquiring these treasures. Some of these have been lost for centuries, and some of these only exist in myth.”

      Her fingers excavated a rose Scepter from a rump of ashes. It was unharmed. Every inch of it was beautiful.

      “Look it this. Eight-hundred years old and not a single scratch. The craftsmanship is legendary. It could be yours, if you behave. Any troubles making ends meet, or any threats made against you, will just fade away.”

      “You want information, then fine,” I bargained. I was entering a dangerous game. “First of all, tell me about Alhasutek’s Staff. Why is it here? I thought you destroyed it.”

      “It is destroyed. Completely harmless. It’s merely a collector’s item now.”

      I noticed a yellow hand waving at me through the door.

      “I see. It is a bit too…ugly to belong here—I see why you covered it. There was something that caught my eye, though I can’t remember exactly where it was. It was blue and green—my favorite colors. Way over there somewhere.”

      While Brightstar was distracted, I caught up with the Skeith in the hallway.

      “If you could prevent something terrible from happening, would you?” Rorren asked. “What if the entire Neopia was in danger, and you were one of the few people that could stop it?”

      “In danger how?” I asked, though I immediately regret asking.

      “The entire Neopia faces destruction,” the Wocky said after a long pause.

      “There’s no way one faerie could destroy Neopia,” Pat said. “That’s crazy talk.”

      “No, but one faerie with the power of the stars at their disposal?”

      “Oh, please!” Pat exclaimed. “There are billions of stars in the universe! There’s no way anyone could use them—that’s crazy talk!”

      “Well the stars a million miles closest to us, anyway,” Rorren continued. “Outer space is rich in raw energy, but it’s out of reach of our enemies. But that will soon change. We, the Glass Key, are the only people entrusted with stopping the Star Prophecy. We cannot fail.”

      Rule of thumb about prophecies: they either foretold something great, or something horrible. Harnessing the power of the stars for evil purposes, my small brain couldn’t even wrap around the concept. No living soul had ever attempted something so ambitious, something rendered so impossible.

      “The prophecy?” Pat asked. “This seems like something out of a story, some twisted, convoluted faerie tale.”

      “Only the brightest star will shine. That is the prophecy.”

      “That doesn’t say anything about the end of the world,” I said matter-o-factly. “That could mean anything. It could just mean there’s a really shiny star in the sky.”

      “No, you couldn’t be more wrong,” he said, throwing his head in his palms. “You see, the ‘brightest star’ isn’t referring to a star at all.”

      There was a pause.

      “The ‘star’ is Neopia.”

      “Hey, I may be rusty on astronomy, but I’m pretty sure that Neopia is indeed a planet,” I said, watching Pat nod along with me.

      It took him a while to form his thoughts. “With all that raw power in one’s hands, it’s simply impossible to control it. There’s no telling what can happen. As we see it, if anyone tries to harness such energy, it will consume everything.”

      “And Brightstar knows this?” Linny asked. “She’s the one who will shine, right?”

      “At this time, we have no confirmation that’s the case,” he continued. “But we have no reason to believe she is aware of the prophecy to begin with, which makes her name all the more alarming.”

      “How do you know this?” I asked.

      “Believe me—the prophecy has only revealed itself to very few people. You kids are a lucky bunch—no, a burdened bunch now, I suppose.”

      “Why?” Cassie began. “Why would anyone do this?”

      “Power. Fame. They’re what most of us want, one way or another. Because anyone who manages to wield the power of the stars would make history books for the rest of time. You will become a legend.”

      “And the evilest soul alive,” I added.

      “Why Brightstar, of all people? Because of her hatred of us.”

      “The Glass Key?” Cassie asked. “That’s ridiculous. She’d destroy the world because of fifty-something individuals united against her?”

      “Because of her hatred of Neopians. Neopia was, and always should be, ruled by the faeries.”

      This was worse than I thought. This was not just personal, this was war.

      “Thanks for saving me,” I breathed.

      I opened my mouth, but the Skeith shot me a fierce glare.

      “No time for chit-chat,” she warned. “Brightstar’s looking for you. She’s been after you since the beginning.”

      “The beginning?” I asked, confused.

      “Nevermind,” she turned away. “Just go. Take the staircase out of here.”

      “I’m not leaving until you hear me out!” I said, planting my feet where I stood. “I’m so glad you got me out of there. I owe you one. What can I do for you?”

      “You can get out of my sight,” she muttered.

      At that moment, I remembered. I took her hand. At first she retracted it, but I insisted. I slid my bracelet, an intricate braiding of threads and beads, off of my wrist and placed it around hers. It barely fit around her thick arm, but it fit nonetheless.

      “It’s a friendship bracelet,” I said after noticing her baffled expression. “It looks good on you. These little beads match your eyes. See?”

      She looked at it for a second, unmoving, as if pondering to remove it or not. “Really? What made you think we were friends? I may work for Brightstar, but here, have a little advice: don’t be so trusting of people. Look where it got you.”

      Honestly, I was out of options over who to trust. I just wanted this day to end. But first, I needed answers.

      “You’re not an enemy in my eyes,” I said. “Not anyone concerned about me. Hey, why don’t you come with me? Be free of Brightstar for a change. We can talk it over then.”

      “What did I just say about trusting people?” the Skeith said.

      “If there’s one think I know about this Brightstar, she’s seriously unforgiving. So if Brightstar found out what you did for me, I’d never forgive myself.”

      “Brightstar is…not exactly understanding, but alright, I’ll go with you. But I have something to accomplish first, give me some time. You go on ahead. I’ll catch up to you at some point.”

      I nodded and made my way down a staircase, in which the Skeith was holding the door open for me.

      “See you then,” I whispered.

      As the door slowly squeaked to a close, I watched as the Skeith shed a tear with a smile across her face.

      The Skeith was summoned to the third floor of the castle. She recognized it as one of the forbidden floors of the castle, one that Brightstar sealed off from her servants. Unlike the lavish décor she was used to, this basement floor was made of plain grey stones and the halls were dead silent, save her slow footsteps. She met up with the Faerie in the center of a stone room, sparsely decorated with gold statues and nothing else.

      “Do my eyes deceive me,” Brightstar began while staring down the Skeith, “or did you allow Trinandra to escape?”

      “You are correct. She didn’t belong here.”

      “That’s not your decision to make! This is my castle! And after all the strings I pulled to let one of your kind live in it!”

      “When you consider all I’ve done for you, yes, it is my decision too! Here me out.”

      “You better have a good reason.”

      “You were wrong, plain and simple. The girl doesn’t know anything—the Glass key, the Staff, zilch. Just an innocent, very stupid girl. Yet you’ve underestimated Rorren and his Keys. They’re coming here, and they won’t hold back. You will start a war. Is that what you want?”

      “It’s been a long time coming. I’ll say the time is ripe for a new world.”

      “You’re mistaken if you think I’ll stand here and watch you ruin everything I’ve done for you—all over some useless girl. Don’t make it all in vain. Let it go. Her time is coming, yes…but it’s not yet. Patience is what we need. You’ve picked the wrong battle to fight.”

      “Rorren is powerless so long as she’s in my clutches, but you went and ruined everything.”

      “It’s bad enough I can’t even look in the mirror again at what you made me. Please, don’t let it all be in vain.”

      The faerie’s eyes flashed at the bracelet on her wrist.

      “Why do I get the feeling that’s not the real reason you’ve opposed me?”

      The Skeiths eyes widened and she frowned, struck with fear. “What do you mean?”

      “Spit it out,” she said coldly. “You get one chance. Why throw all of this away for a stupid Wocky?”

      “The Wocky is only the tip of the iceberg,” she began, turning her body away from the towering faerie. “I had a feeling. That Glass Key member, that Kyrii, I know I must have seen him before. He had been watching Trina at Neoschool…but that wasn’t it. He seemed more familiar than just that. So I looked at the documents you had on the greatest ally to your mortal enemy, Frank Aardo. Apparently he had a daughter, too…”

      “Had…” Brightstar repeated, devoid of emotion.

      “He’s my father…isn’t he? I can feel it…yet I can’t remember anything. You…you’ve taken my memories haven’t you? All this time…”

      “I gave you a greater purpose!” the faerie growled with range. “You should be thanking me!”

      “I don’t take orders from you anymore, you fraud!”

      “I taught you real magic, too! Knowledge of greatest faerie magic in the world!”

      “Yeah, well your magic isn’t as powerful as you think – plus, you don’t know everything. And that’s not the only thing I dug up while you were away. If Rorren Wilicks has his way and you’re defeated, all of that memory manipulation you’ve done will instantly wear off. Everyone will know the truth then and so will I.”

      “And you expect to defeat me?” she said, her spidery fingers twisting into fists at her sides. Surprisingly, Brightstar had maintained most of her composure. Her calm façade was not yet shattered…yet.

      “Just wait and see. A few minutes or a few hours and it’ll all be undone right before your eyes. They will be here soon. Then, once I finally know who I am, I will tear this place apart until not a single golden brick built on your lies remains.”

      For once, the Skeith, or Kyrii or whatever she was on the inside, felt confident, fearless. The tables had turned. The witch’s reign is finally coming to the end. Once Trina returns, she will finally have the life she truly longed for all along, but never knew she wanted.

      “But what will you do until they arrive?” the faerie smirked.

      “You honestly believe that I haven’t accounted for this, Lady Brightstar? You can comb this castle with the finest tooth comb known to your kind a thousand times and I guarantee you won’t find a master of the morphing potion arts. All those forms you gave me will now lead to your downfall, and it will be glorious.”

      “Well then, since you insisted, it’s about time I award you with your best form yet.”

      A blinding flash of yellow filled the room and when it faded her true form shone in golden light, where its ugliness would forever be recognized.

      Brightstar smiled.

      We all gathered around a long table. There must’ve been at least forty people crammed in the room. The brown Wocky sat at the far end, cleared his throat, and stood up. All eyes flung in his direction.

      “The plans are being finalized. If all goes well, we’ll achieve our greatest victory yet.”

      “First of all, we can safely assume Brightstar wants to draw us toward her. Already, we’ve been able to locate her general location, and her hideout should become obvious to us in the next hour or so. Rest assured that is being taken care of.”

      “What about Trina?” I asked eagerly.

      “Don’t interrupt!” Kail hissed from beside me, giving me an elbow.

      “I’m getting there,” he added. “Our primary objectives are to retrieve Alhasutek’s staff and rescue Trinandra Willicks. Once both are secured you are to flee to the checkpoint. As for me, I have other plans.”

      He held up his staff. For a second there, I thought he was thinking of revenge.

      “I’ve been waiting for this day in a long time. Finally, I’ve collected a fair amount of energy that should, at minimum, neutralize Brightstar’s powers.”

      “Neutralize?” I asked.

      “Remove her powers. Most likely, my magic won’t be strong enough for the removal to be permanent, but it will buy us some time, several months at least. That’s why it’s essential we succeed today. All I need to do is zap her with this, and she’ll be completely powerless.”

      I felt eerie senses rising from the orb on his staff. Dark magic!

      “But that’s dark magic! You can’t use that!”

      All heads turned in my direction.

      “We have no choice. Indeed, it is dark magic. Have you ever heard of the tale of the Grey Faerie, Baelia? It’s extremely difficult to render a faerie powerless. And in that case, it was another faerie who removed the Grey Faerie’s powers. But, if we want to save my daughter and retrieve the Staff, we can’t hold back. Brightstar is waiting for us to make a move.”

      I suppose if it would save Trina, I shouldn’t oppose to it further. But still, it made me feel uneasy.

      “Once we find our way into her hideout, we will divide into teams. I will seek out Brightstar, and we need teams to hunt for the Staff and Trinandra. I don’t want any of you to confront her, not alone, not together. She can turn objects into gold, after all. In addition, we’ll need a distraction to draw her away from the search teams.”

      “Oh me! Me! Me!” I waved my hands in the air. “I’ve always been the best at distractions!”

      “Why am I not surprised?” Kail grinned.

      “I see we have a volunteer,” he continued. “Once I’ve disabled Brightstar’s powers, we begin phase two: our offensive. But it is crucial we get Trinandra and the Staff out of there as soon as possible—and safely. More than likely, Brightstar is not alone. We need to ensure her cronies stay out of our way.”

      “Leave that to us,” Pat said, nodding.

      “They may be heavily armed,” Aardo pointed out from across the table. “Sure you’re up for it?”

      “Totally,” Cassie answered. “That’s why we’re here.”

      Finally, Rorren was smiling. “I have to say, I appreciate that you guys decided to help Trina. I know this all must be hard on you—and scary. But thank you for keeping her happy for all these years I couldn’t. I promise I won’t let you down.”

      After the meeting, I was in my room when someone knocked. When I opened the door, a green Hissi slid through the doorway. We met eye-to-eye.

      “Nice meeting,” he began, yet I detected falseness in his voice. “The calm before the storm is often the hardest part.”

      “Well, I have been planning this day in my head for a while.”

      “But don’t you think you might be, well, over prepared? Deploying over 3/4 of the organization in one place—that’s quite a risk. Let’s not get reckless here. I haven’t known you to be a risk taker.”

      “Sometimes calculated risks as necessary. This is one of those times.”

      “Yet I’m concerned, Rorren. I haven’t seen any numbers. Of all people, it was your daughter who encountered the staff after it was thought to be lost forever. We can’t rule out the possibly of who’s side she’s really on—”

      “Preposterous! You very well know how closely I’ve followed Brightstar’s movements.”

      “But that was years ago. If you ask me, it’s time for a more delicate approach.”

      “I didn’t ask you.”

      “My point is nonetheless valid, Rorren, and some of the seniors agree. Regardless of your assumption that Trinandra hasn’t become an agent of Brightstar, she’s sure being used as one. Therefore, we need to treat her as such, and tread carefully. Whatever the case, Brightstar’s stench is all over that girl. I suggest we prepare for the inevitable: that we’re walking right into a trap.”

      I was angry at the notion. She was taken from me. No daughter of mine would ever agree to work alongside that witch! She was completely innocent. It was not up for debate.

      “Once I siphon away her powers it’ll be a non-issue. After all, she’s expecting a face-off. I might as well give her a taste of what’s coming and show her the true force of the Glass Key.”

      “And what would we gain by making her cranky? A word of advice, don’t let your emotions cloud your judgment. That’s exactly what she wants. I expect better of you, Rorren, so does the Keys.”

      “It’s time we took the offensive,” I said. “I’m tired of hiding.”

      “Then let’s hope for the best,” he finished, and shut the door quietly behind him.

      To be continued…