Inexorable: Part Three

     His brother smiled and they hugged one another with all the affection two often-parted siblings could hold. "I'm so glad to see you again, Ryddle," said Phantom warmly. "How are you doing? Learned any new game tricks?"

     "No, but our owner mentioned something about sending me to Neoschool!"

     Phantom smiled. "That's wonderful. Actually, he told me that he was planning to send you next month."

     Ryddle was surprised beyond measure to feel annoyance stirring under the delight he felt at seeing his brother again. Phantom always knew everything about him. He had no news to give, and in a way that was almost subconscious he knew he resented this. Why did his owner always tell Phantom everything, and leave the eldest pet to relate all information to his brother and sisters? Why did he always take him everywhere?

     Immediately Ryddle was ashamed of his ungrateful thoughts. His owner gave him everything he could want. Phantom was just older than he was. It was his right to do a few things the others did not.

     He swept away his dark feelings, making up for them by happily telling Phantom everything that had happened lately. They stood in the drive for nearly fifteen minutes, talking. Finally the Lupe lifted his paw toward the house. "Why don't we talk more inside? It'll be warmer, and no doubt Sylver will be wanting to know what's become of you."

     This was true. Sylver was undeniably nosy. Ryddle sighed a little and led the way inside, but even the thought of his nuisance of a sister couldn't keep his spirits down for long. He danced into the kitchen, sliding on the parquet. "Sylver! Sylver!" He caught sight of what looked like a grey rag on one of the corner chairs and edited his cry. "Sylver! Flytta! Look who's here!"

     Both his sisters turned to obey his demand, first in confusion and then with delight. Sylver fluttered over with a speed not usually demonstrated by a plump Faerie Poogle. "Phantom! How dare you come so early? You said in the letter -"

     "I know." He cut her off grimly, tracing an engraved flower on the tile with one foot. "I know what I said in the letter, and you should probably ignore everything in it. Things are going badly. Our owner has fallen out of Kass's favor and he's leaving Meridell, probably for good. When he sells the house - which I'm sure he will, it's certainly worth a fair amount - the new owners will surely kick you out."

     Shocked silence greeted his words. In an attempt to regain her composure, Sylver walked over to the counter. "Would you…like something to eat, Phantom? You must be tired and hungry."

     He shook his head. "No, Sylver. This is serious. More so than you might know. In fact, I'm risking my neck coming to see you."

     Ryddle felt his beak fall open, unable to say anything, and his feathery hackles rise. It was uncannily like some nightmare birthday surprise; nothing seemed real. When he managed to speak, the words sounded distant, as unfamiliar as though they were coming from somebody else. "Wha - what are you saying, Phantom? You can't be for real. What do you mean, risking your neck?"

     Phantom shook his head impatiently, and for the first time Ryddle noticed the lines of worry etched on his face, and the hunted look in his eyes. "You don't understand, Ryddle," he said sadly. "I'm afraid everything is going to change for you. I'm sure you saw the signs, even if you didn't read them. My letter was intercepted. Kass has turned against us, and he's having everything I send checked. He might even have spies following me now!" He took a deep breath, as if bracing himself for some terrible deed. "Sylver. Ryddle. Flytta. You have to leave."

     The house was enveloped in tense, frightened silence. To Ryddle it felt like hours, but perhaps it was only seconds - he should know, shouldn't he? The clock ticking was the one miniscule sound to penetrate the cloud of tension, making it seem all the more potent - because Sylver spoke. "I really hope this is all some wild prank of yours. And I don't think it's very funny at all."

     Phantom shook his head again, this time urgently. He paused to look over his shoulder before saying, "No, Sylver. It's not a joke. Quite on the contrary, your lives are in danger as well as mine. Now I can probably worm my way out of it, considering all my connections. You, on the other hand, have to go. Fast. I mean now."

     Sylver opened her mouth to say something, then shut it abruptly.

     For once, she could think of nothing to say.

     To Ryddle's surprise, Flytta was the one to voice the more practical side of the matter. "Now, as in this instant? Where will we be safe? What should we take?"

     Phantom smiled wearily. "Thank you, Flytta. I don't know how I'd have gotten the other two to see how bad your situation really is. Well…" He paused, visibly wondering how to put his words. "I think it might actually be best if you headed due south. There's always a chance Illusen might offer you refuge, at least for a time. She certainly wouldn't just turn you out to die, and it's quite likely that her kind influence spreads over that entire area. As to what you should take…take only what you need. The bare necessities. A bit of food, maybe.

     "And right now. Yes. As in this instant."

     Ryddle shook his head in total disbelief. It wasn't a signal of negativity; merely a gesture of hopelessness, helplessness. The trouble was, this nightmare was beginning to turn real. The word refuge brought it all home to him. That's what we are, he realized. Refugees. "I - guess I'll go up and see if there's anything I should take. Oh, and I have to get Tyger."

     "No," said Phantom sharply. "You can't bring Tyger. There's no way he can make the trip. Better to leave him."

     Ryddle opened his beak in protest. "I can't leave him! What will happen to him? If Meridell's army doesn't kill him, Kass's probably will."

     Phantom shrugged. "I'm very sorry, Ryddle. Honestly I am. But you can't endanger your lives for the sake of a petpet."

     Ryddle whipped around and ran up the stairs, biting back a million harsh retorts and trying to ignore the lost feeling that was welling up inside of him. Looking around his room, he suddenly realized, with a slight jolt, that there was nothing he particularly needed or even wanted to take with him. Was it right that he should have all these things - and not even want them? When there were Neopets starving for their owners' lack of care or money?

     He sighed. Either way, there wasn't much he could do about it. Besides, if he didn't care about losing any of it, at least he wouldn't have to carry it around with him. He flopped down on his bed, lay there for a minute, and got up again with a bounce. Suddenly restless, he felt like pacing his room; instead he made his way back down the staircase. If he had to leave Tyger behind, at least he could take some food.

     Sylver was sitting rigid and unmoving in the kitchen. It unsettled Ryddle to see her like this. Usually she was always on the go, up and bustling, encouraging anyone else in the vicinity to follow her angelic example. From as early a time as he could remember, Sylver had been the practical one, reacting well to crisis and everything roughly in that category. But maybe under that competent façade, her very nature depended on her house, her family, her security.

     "Sylver?" he hazarded. "Is there any kind of food we should take besides bread and all that?"

     She looked over at him, eyes glazed with shock. She certainly seemed to be taking this worse than Flytta. "Bread…yes, definitely, it's in that cupboard over there. You might as well take some biscuits or something while you're at it."

     Ryddle nodded. It was fortunate to at least have her help on that matter; she was the only one, as a general rule, who used the kitchen, and she didn't take kindly to anyone else rummaging around. Ryddle had no idea where anything was kept.

     When he had gathered a few basics, Ryddle tied them into a bundle, just as he had seen people doing in the pictures out of the Neopian Times. Flytta appeared in the doorway, along with Phantom. "I think we've got all the food we need," said Ryddle bleakly. Everything seemed to be going very fast, and time seemed to be sliced into little precincts of alternating industry and emptiness.

     "Then go," Phantom advised. "Out the back. Head south, travel quickly, and don't look back."

     The Lupe saw them out of the door, and Ryddle wondered how they could ever repay them for what he had done. Risking his life to come warn them, defying Kass… Just how far would he have gone to save them, Ryddle speculated? And now, instead of running with them, he was going back to face the wrath of Kass and further protect them. That took a very special spirit.

     "Goodbye," said Ryddle blankly. "Will we ever see you again?"

     Phantom shrugged. "I don't know, Ryddle. I just don't know. In any case, keep yourselves safe." And then, with a flick of his ghost tail, he was gone.

     There was nothing more to be said, but as they trudged off into the now-dark forest, Ryddle couldn't truly credit that this was the end of their life as it had been. At the same time he knew that it was. Whatever happened, that carefree life they had enjoyed for so long would never be theirs again.

To be continued...