The Vanishing Stone (10 page)

15

A
fter a moment, Nikoleta opened her eyes and saw that she was standing in Raphael's den area. "Oh, no, not here! Why did you bring me here, you stupid stone?" She whispered, frustratingly to herself. She looked around frantically but no one was there. She knew the stone had brought her here for a reason. She looked around to see if there was anything obvious in his house but nothing caught her attention. She walked towards the dining area and saw a door that she hadn't noticed before. Opening it, she looked inside and it looked like a little girl's room. There was a white, wooden horse sitting in the middle of the room, homemade dolls on the floor and a pink dress lying on the bed.
Whose room is this? Does he have a daughter? Apparently, he has been keeping quite a few things from quite a few people.

 
              Nikoleta decided she was going to go to the castle. She couldn't stay here too much longer, especially since Raphael may be back soon. She headed towards the door and went outside. She started walking through the village and noticed that there were many guards walking about. They were sure to see her, being that she stuck out like a sore thumb. Ducking and diving behind people and objects she passed, she finally made it to Madam Piccolo's tent. She went inside and sat down in the same chair she sat in the day she had her fortune told. A sting of guilt started to hurt her stomach. What if Madam Piccolo had a family? How could she have been so blind and stupid? The woman sat here across from her and told her that someone close to her was going to betray her and what does she do? She goes outside and tells them, like an idiot.

   
              "I know you're here Madame Piccolo, I'm very sorry for what happened. I promise if it's the last thing I do, I will make it up to you." Nikoleta hoped that where ever Madam Piccolo was that she could hear her.

  
              She decided to stay there for a while until it got a little later in the day. She mostly sat there, looking at the crystal ball.
How did people see things in there, anyway
? After a few hours, she decided to leave the tent but she couldn't leave with out a disguise of some sort. Madam Piccolo's cloak was hanging over her chair. She took it and put it on. It was burgundy colored and made of velvet. She put the hood over her head and peeked through the opening of the tent. She felt like Little Red Riding Hood.

There weren't as many people out and about as before and it wasn'
t as light out, either. She went out of the tent and headed to the right, towards the castle.

Coming to the end of the village, she went to the edge of the forest and followed it until she was just across from the waterfall
on the side of the castle. Nikoleta decided she should take the tunnel to the dungeon that Raphael mentioned. It was the only idea she had to work with.

  
              There was a good sized tree next to her with plenty of low hanging branches. She started climbing the tree so she could have somewhere to hide until later that night when she would make her move. Heights and climbing were not things she was afraid of. When she found a spot where she could settle, she was about twenty feet up.

   
              Despite whatever danger was lurking underneath that waterfall, she was determined to save her family and friends. If she lost her life it would be worth it.

  
              Nikoleta sat in the tree for a couple hours and began to doze off. Suddenly, she was awakened because she heard voices below. One of them was Raphael, "Listen to me, Smithins, she will be back. She is so desperate for a family that I know she will do anything to save them and that's when we will strike. That little flea bag made me look like a fool, making everyone disappear! Any way, what did you want to talk about?"

 
              "Well, the neighboring kingdom is not happy with us. They don't like how Karina has been handling things. Maybe we should just let her friends go," Smithins said.

 
              "Are you mad? We can't just release them! Karina would kill us--literally. We can't just go making rash decisions because another kingdom doesn't like us. It's riddiculous! That girl and her family owe us a debt and it will be paid. Anyway, Smithins, I'm going home now. You do the same and I promise you that girl will show her face." The men headed in different directions.       

  
              Nikoleta assumed that Raphael was going back to his home in the village. She found it interesting that they were expecting her to come back. That night would be a perfect night to carry out her plan. They didn't know she was here yet, so she may just get away with her best friends and parents. Then back to Grundon, they would go. She also found it interesting that Raphael expects her to save everyone, which means they are all OK.
Hopefully tonight will be a success, only another hour or two.

16

W
hen hours passed, Nikoleta began climbing down from the tree. Her cloak that she borrowed kept getting caught on smaller branches on the way down but after a few minutes she jumped down from the lowest branch. She took the cloak off and hid it behind a bush. It would be too much extra weight since she was about to go swimming.

  
              She walked over to the waterfall and looked around. It was too dark to tell if something was in the water or not. She didn't have time to be in fear and wonder, so she jumped in. The water was cold and she started swimming towards the waterfall. When she got there, she decided to swim under it. It was a little difficult with the pressure from the water falling on her back but she finally managed to get through to the tunnel on the other side. She felt her jeans getting heavier underneath the water. Then suddenly, she felt something grab her foot and she let out a yelp. Whatever it was pulled Nikoleta under water. Under the water, the thing began to climb on her back to hold her under. She kept trying to punch it, hoping that it would get off of her. She gave another punch and it made a screech noise underwater and temporarily let go. She thought she hit it in a sensitive spot. Nikoleta immediately headed towards the surface of the water and took in a deep breath of air. Then she saw it, the creature also surfaced. From what she could tell, it looked like a scary, swimming monkey. It let out a scream that hurt Nikoleta's ears and it lifted a hand hand and scratched the side of her cheek. She let out another yelp. Quickly looking around she saw the ladder that Raphael mentioned and she knew she had to reach it. She charged towards the creature and punched it in the nose, then dove on top of it, holding it under water.

 
              Scrambling, they both ended up under the water again. Nikoleta grabbed the creature and pushed it down further. She quickly started swimming towards the ladder and the creature grabbed her foot again. With her free foot, she kicked it in the face. She began swimming again, hurrying towards the ladder. She grabbed a hold of it and began to climb. The creature was beneath her in the water trying to jump up. It couldn't climb the ladder because it had webbed hands and feet. Once Nikoleta got high enough it couldn't reach her and it was screaming harshly, filling the tunnel with its anger.

  
              Nikoleta reached the top of the ladder and began to push the loose block up like Raphael said. After struggling a few moments, she got it through. She climbed up through the hole and she couldn't see anything but darkness. Hesitant to move, she stayed at the top of the ladder with only hear head poking through. She moved the block over a little and then she heard a voice whisper, "What's that?" It was Day's voice.

                "Day?"

 
              "Nikki?!" Two voiced chimed. She heard their footsteps and then Bosh and Day helped her up. "So it's true? The tunnel behind the waterfall is actually true?" Day asked. "Yes it is, although, I think Raphael wanted me to come this way to have me killed. There's a scary thing down there, looks like a monkey. It tried to drown me and unfortunately, it's the only way out," Nikoleta explained.

 
              "Well, let's go then," said Bosh. As they began to climb down, they could hear the creature still screaming. "How will we get past it? Day shouted up to Bosh. Suddenly, Bosh reached out his arm from high on the ladder and vines came from his hands and wrapped around the creature below and it sank under the water, destined to drown.

                "It's a sea monkey. They are very violent and nasty creatures. No need to worry now, though," Bosh said as they all climbed down the ladder and jumped in the water.

                The roar of the waterfall was so loud they decided to wait to talk until they got out of the tunnel. They swam down the tunnel, under the waterfall and back to the surface. Bosh helped the girls out onto the grass. "OK, so where is Kibbie? Did you see my parents? And Bosh, since when do you have magical powers?" Nikoleta asked, a little annoyed. Bosh gave a little laugh, "I've always had them I just never use them. I'd rather rely on my natural abilities," he paused, "by the way, we didn't see your parents and we have no idea where Kibble is."

  
                Nikoleta sighed. "Nikki, where's your necklace?" Day asked in a worried tone. "It's gone. The stone took Kibbie and I back to where I live and somehow, Raphael, Akonni and Karina got there, too and attacked us on the beach. Karina smashed the necklace and the stone. What happened to you guys? They said you vanished too."

 
              "That's terrible, Nikki. Anyway, we were found earlier today. Hate to say it but we stand out," Day said.

 
                "So how did you get back with no necklace?" Bosh asked. "I found my aunt Kay and she had the rest of the vanishing stone."

 
              "Wonderful! I'm so glad you found her. So, what do we do now?" Day asked.

Just then, they heard r
ustling from the nearby woods, then appeared Raphael, Smithins and Akonni.

17

“
Y
ou certainly won't be going anywhere, that's for sure!" Raphael said raising his staff and aiming it at Bosh and Day. "Run!" Nikoleta yelled as she was already running. Bosh and Day were close behind but Raphael froze them with his staff. The others came after Nikoleta.

 
              She ran as far and as fast as she could, zig-zagging around trees and bushes. After a while, she couldn't hear the others behind her so she assumed they lost her. She found refuge by a large tree and sat down to catch her breath. She heard footsteps at a distance and peeked around the trunk of the tree. She saw them running in the wrong direction, still looking for her. She hoped that between the large tree and the darkness that she was completely concealed.

 
              After what felt like hours, she drifted off to sleep.

                The next morning, Nikoleta was awakened by someone tapping her belly. She jumped, suddenly remembering where she was. It was a little girl tapping on her. "Wake up, sleepy head," the little girl laughed. She had shoulder length brown curls two teeth missing the front and she was wearing a long, green dress. "C'mon, c'mon! We have to go." The little girl was pulling Nikoleta's hand now. She stood up and looked around in suspicion. Why was this girl wondering through the woods alone and where was she taking her?

 
              "Where are we going?" Nikoleta asked. "We have to go see your mommy and daddy." Nikoleta snatched her hand away, "What'd you say? How do you know me and my parents?" She suddenly felt that this was a trap. "Your mommy and daddy are in the little house, waiting for you."

 
              "What little house?" Nikoleta asked. "The house down there," the girl pointed down the slope. She could make out a shack by the stream below.

  
              "C'mon, they really want to see you." The girl grabbed Nikoleta's hand again guided her down into the dip in the woods. When they arrived, the little house turned out to be more of a shack. The girl opened the door and they both went inside. Nikoleta, suddenly, wished she had a weapon. She realized that she forgot the knife that Day had given her at Raphael’s house, although she didn’t have a chance to grab being taken prisoner and all.              

Inside the shack, it smelled musty and there were cob webs everywhere. In th
e middle of the room, Kibbie was sitting in a chair and she was tied to it. She was upset and crying.

              "Kibbie! Thank God, you're alright," Nikoleta said. Then she turned around to ask the girl where her parents were but she was gone. She would deal with her later. Then she went over to Kibbie to untie her and Kibbie started talking, "Oh, Nikki, I'm so sorry. Just don't worry about us, OK? Everything will be alright."

   "It's alright,
Kibbie, I'm here now. I'm going to get you out of here." When Nikoleta tried to untie her she wasn't touching anything. It was an illusion. She waved her hand and it was going through Kibbie as if she were a ghost. Then, suddenly, she was gone. She heard the door shut behind her. This was indeed a trap.