Messenger: The Trouble With Selkets - Part Nine

      “So that’s why you set the Selkets loose in my house!” I blurted. “You wanted me and my family busy so that you could steal my Trident of Peace!”

      “Exactly, Emma. I sent several thieves to Neopia Central to attempt to steal it, but it was too precious to you and your family to lose. So I went to Plan B, and set Cheops Plant-injected Selkets loose all over your house. If your Gallion hadn’t knocked me over, I would have still found a way to inconspicuously set the Selkets loose, but what he did was very convenient. I hadn’t counted on being knocked out, but I managed to escape without any questions from you or your family. The key was on the receptionist's desk, lucky for me. I didn't have to have an excuse to search the house. I found the key among everything that fell to the floor.”

      Amira and I opened our mouths to retaliate, but she put up her hand to silence us and strode over to the door. Leaning her head out, she called to the guards. “I want Ramses and Akhenaten at the palace to steal the necklace,” she told them. They nodded and she handed them the Trident. Feeling a sudden surge of anger, I lunged for the guards. They knocked me easily out of the way and slammed the door in my face. Hatshepsut helped me up, but I ripped my arm loose and fled to the corner of the room, glaring at her.

      “And now we come to the matter of you two,” said Hatshepsut, smiling at us in a friendly way. I didn’t like her at all; she acted too friendly for a villain. She reminded me of Ana, a kind Hissi who had betrayed me in Maraqua.

      “What about us?” Amira spat, backing away from the other Aisha.

      “Ah, you don’t need to be afraid. Once I have the necklace and unlock the safe, no one will need to fear.” Hatshepsut smiled again and strode over to the stone safe.

      “But we know the way to Thieves’ City,” I retorted. “I mean, I don’t think you’d mind much if I do, but aren’t you a little afraid that the Princess does?”

      “As soon as you set me free, I’ll send my guards here at once,” Amira agreed.

      “Dear friend, surely you know that the thieves are too clever to realize that. They’ll move, of course, and I’ll set you free, both of you.”

      “Why?” I asked, curious in spite of myself. “And I’m not your friend.”

      “Ah, I see that I have forgotten to tell you exactly what is hidden in this stone safe. Forgive me.” Hatshepsut reached her hand into her robes and pulled out a small empty jar. She tossed it in the air and caught it neatly. “This bottle once held a bottled Faerie, an Earth Faerie, to be exact. This Faerie was one of countless others that I bought and set free. My powers are enormous now from the blessings I have received from countless Faeries. I have the strength of Fire, the speed of Wind. The blessings of Earth lie within me, and the powers of Darkness and Light rest in my hands. The magic of Water is mine to control.” She snapped her fingers and a flickering flame sprung out of midair beside her, throwing light on the mysterious stone safe. “I have spent weeks, months, YEARS honing my powers and attempting to open the safe. I had no luck. The powers of the Faeries' gifts are weak against the sorcerers’ spells. My powers as a Neopet are not strong enough.”

      “So?” I pressed. “What’s inside the safe?”

      “And now we come to the book,” said Hatshepsut. “Razul’s book, a sorcerers’ book. Countless centuries old, and certainly quite valuable, more valuable than the necklace, perhaps. And lined with more magic than you can imagine.”

      “So that’s where Razul got his powers?” Amira asked.

      “Yes. Reading the whole book will supposedly make you undefeatable. Razul did not read the entire book. . .he skipped one word. A single word. Strange how only one word can make all the difference.”

      “BOSS!” The door banged open and a short green Shoyru burst in, the necklace in one hand, the Trident of Peace in the other. Hatshepsut smiled and thanked him, taking the Trident and handing it to me, and shaking the diamond into her palm. She passed the now unadorned necklace to Amira and walked toward the safe.

      What now? I thought desperately. Amira was looking at my confusedly. All we could do was stand there and watch helplessly as Hatshepsut reached toward the safe. . .

      “YYYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!”

      Amira gasped and fell back onto the floor. I leaped forward, to see Bluecloud jump in the doorway, yelling her head off. Hatshepsut turned around and studied the Acara carefully.

      “Bluecloud, is it?” she asked. Bluecloud nodded and fell to the floor, winded. I pulled her up quickly, only to be knocked down again as guards stormed inside after Bluecloud, swords and spears raised. From the passageway behind them came the sounds of yelling as the thieves and more guards met. Amira scooted backward to avoid being trampled, but Hatshepsut stood her ground, looking up at the guards with mild interest, as if watching to see what they would do next.

      “So you’re out of the dungeon?” I muttered to Bluecloud. She nodded, showing me the paper with Hotep’s signature. “I know Hotep,” she whispered back. “I helped him escape a few guards once. So, where’s the necklace now?” I pointed to Amira.

      The guards dashed toward Hatshepsut, who was only an inch away from the safe. A spear shot from one of the guards’ hands, and Hatshepsut flicked her wrist and caught the spear neatly before tossing it to the ground. "So Hotep turned traitor and told you where I was?" she mused as she dodged another spear. "He must have thought there'd be some reward in it." Three burly guards stepped toward her, daggers in their outstretched hands. She was ridiculously outnumbered, yet she still kept looking at the guards with a half-smile on her face. One of the guards swiped his hand at her, and she snapped her fingers. A small shock of lightning came out of her pointer finger, zapping the guard.

      “Oh, so you’re on of them magic types, eh?” the guard huffed, nursing his injured hand. Ten guards behind him leaped toward Hatshepsut, but this time she didn’t bother using her powers against them. She stepped backward against he wall and pressed her hand against a stone in the corner. She immediately fell through the floor, out of sight.

      “A trapdoor!” one of the guards growled. He motioned to four other guards and they followed Hatshepsut into the hidden passageway.

      “I’ll take you to the palace,” Amira said loftily, gesturing to Bluecloud and me. “The guards will find her—and they’ll catch most of these thieves, if I’m not mistaken.” But she was mistaken, at least partially. Many of the thieves had seen the guards coming and had fled, from the sounds of confused and annoyed guards coming from the Thieves' City. I was pleased to see that Pecan was safe, still brooding in his cage in a corner.

      The three of us quickly left the underground city and reentered the bright, sandy streets of Sakhmet. The sun was setting as we hurried toward the palace.

      “Emma!” I turned my head quickly to see Midnight, Star, and Clark, who were sitting on a few chairs in the hallway leading to the throne room. Bluecloud ran toward her mother and I followed suit, as Amira ascended the steps leading up to her throne.

      “Well,” the Aisha said, after a while. “That was a hassle. And we still don’t have the diamond.” We all nodded glumly. Amira sighed and drummed her fingers impatiently on the arms of the throne. A few moments later, a guard arrived, the same guard who had been shocked by Hatshepsut.

      “My lady,” he said to Amira, bowing, “We have caught several thieves, and we were able to recover the Wocky’s three-pronged spear.” He nodded to me and handed me the miniature Trident. A few of the miniscule jewels had fallen off, and the chain was missing. I pocketed it and waited for the guard to speak again.

      “Did you capture Hatshepsut?” Amira asked excitedly, leaning forward. The guard nodded. “She was knocked out with one of our guard’s arrows. A ten-man guard is currently transporting her to the dungeons.”

      “Good work,” Amira complimented the guard. “I want her in the bottom level, with two guards watching over her every second. I also want that tunnel she built collapsed, and I want the diamond and necklace restored to the palace treasury.”

      “Yes, milady,” the guard answered, bowing. He nodded to me and Bluecloud and marched off toward the door.

      “Thank you for your help,” the princess said, nodding to Bluecloud and me.

      “About the stealing, Bluecloud,” said Midnight, putting her hand on her older daughter’s shoulder, “I want this stealing to stop. I was wrong to allow it before, even if we. . .well. . .even if we needed the stolen goods. But I want you two girls to grow up and be good, honest people, and to work hard for your food and money. And hopefully we’ll have enough money to get by and not have to worry about stealing or things like that. Okay?”

      “Sure, Mom,” Bluecloud said brightly. Midnight looked slightly taken aback. “Well. . .okay. . .you can just give me your grappling hook and lock picks later, I guess,” Midnight said.

      "What d'you mean, Mom?" Bluecloud asked.

      "I'm heading to Faerieland to look for a job," Midnight answered. "They have an excellent employment agency. Bluecloud, you and Star can stay with Wosret; I already checked with her."

      "No!" I broke in. "Can't they stay with us?"

      "Emma," Midnight said, "we've quite overstayed our welcome, don't you think? As soon as I've gotten a job and enough neopoints to rent a place to stay I'll swing by Neopia Central and maybe rent a house there."

      "We can go to school together!" Bluecloud crowed, turning to me.

      "Yes," Midnight said.

      "I'll book us a ship to Neopia Central, Emma. . ." Clark started, but just then one of the palace guards walked in.

      "Your Eyrie cab is ready, for whoever will be leaving," the guard said.

      The four of us--Midnight, Bluecloud, Clark, and me--flashed a look at each other. And when Clark spoke, we all agreed with him.

      "No, I don't think we'll be taking an Eyrie cab," Clark said. "I think we've had enough adventures for a while."

The End