The Vanishing Stone (9 page)

y
ou have done. No one makes a fool of me!”

“Get off of me!” She screamed. Raphael was holding down her wrists and Karina came over and ripped the necklace off of
Nikoleta's neck. Rage was going through Nikoleta. She needed her necklace back. Karina held it up, taunting her, “Well, well, well. What's going to save you now, Nikoleta?”

   “Let go of me!” She screamed at Raphael. He stood up and let her go
and she stood up as well. “Give me my necklace back!” She said to Karina gritting her teeth. “No, I don’t think so.” Karina placed the necklace down on a rock. “What are you doing?" Nikoleta asked. “What should have been done a long time ago.” Akonni hit Nikoleta in the back of the head, rendering her unconscious. Nikoleta fell to the ground. Karina stood on the rock and stomped on the necklace shattering the stone. Then in a flash, Karina, Akonni, Raphael and Kibbie were gone.

13

T
he sun was bright in the sky, the tide low, and the wind cool. Nikoleta lay motionless in the sand as an older couple was standing over her, gawking, “Should we call an ambulance, Morty?” asked the woman. “Nah, she is probably just a passed out, drunk teenager.” “No, Morty, I dont think so. She looks like she was in a scuffle or something. I'm calling the police.” The woman started tapping on Nikoleta's shoulder. “Young lady, wake up. Are you alright? Wake up!” Nikoleta started to wake. When she opened her eyes, she closed them immediately due to the bright sun. “Are you OK sweetie?” The woman asked. Nikoleta had a migraine. “Where's Kibbie....?” She muttered. “What did you say? I can't hear you.” Nikoleta lifted her head. She tried to speak louder. “Kibbie, my dragon, where is she?”

  
              “Oh, this girl is more than just drunk, honey, let's go. She's talking about stinkin' dragons.” Morty took his wife by the arm and walked up the beach. Nikoleta sat up and looked around and shook her head trying to get rid of the lightheaded feeling. Where was Kibbie? There was no sign of anyone. Even her backpack was gone. Nikoleta was upset by this. The letter from her mother was in it. Then she remembered that Karina stepped on her necklace. She looked over at the rock where it was and surprisingly it was still there. She slowly got up and went over to it. There was nothing to save. It was completely crushed into tiny bits. How would she get back to Amarian now? How did they get to and from Amarian? She needed to find out and she needed to find out, immediately! She grabbed the necklace and placed it in her pocket. She stared at the remnants of the stone and felt a pain in her heart.

 
              Despite her migraine, she got up and headed for the boardwalk. She needed to get to her aunt's house and figure everything out. Seagull Rock Avenue. Yes, that was the road. It was on the other side of town but she needed to get there fast before she passed out. She felt a little weak, hungry and nauseous. She didn't know who hit her but she remembered being hit.

 
              She went to the boardwalk and walked up to the road. She kept thinking how she hoped everyone was OK: Bosh, Day, Kibbie, and her parents. She thought her parents may have been killed already. In the scuffle the night before, she, of course, didn't think to ask.

 
              She came to the road and went to the right. She needed to go over the bridge to get to the west side of town. After about twenty minutes she came to the bridge. Cars were whizzing past her as she looked over the river. She had no idea what time it was but by the looks of the sun, it was around ten or so.

                As she walked, a car drove by and honked. She kept walking and finally crossed over the bridge. On the other side was the library. It wasn't a very big library, but a good library none-the-less. She decided to take a detour inside. She felt like she was going to pass out and she needed air and water. Inside the automatic doors, there were two water fountains on each wall. She pressed the long button on the front and drank for about two minutes, it seemed like. She went inside the library through a second set of automatic doors. She went to the Young Adult section and sat in a chair. Her head still hurt too much to read but she needed to regain herself for a moment. There was a young girl sitting three chairs down reading a Harry Potter book. To her right, there was an aisle of books labeled “L-N”. To her surprise, she saw a familiar face. Just as she saw this familiar face, the familiar face saw her as well, “Nikoleta, hi!”

 
              It was Katie, the girl who dropped off her homework assignments at her house a few days ago. She was also the blonde that Mandy was fighting a few days ago, too. Or was it yesterday? She didn’t know what day it was anymore. “Hi, Katie, how are you? Aren't you supposed to be at school?”

 
              “Yes, but shhh. I actually took the day off because I needed to work on my really long History paper. I just needed some extra hours to do it, so here I am. How is your suspension going?”

  
              What an odd question. “It's interesting, to say the least. I have never heard of anyone skipping school to do school work.” They both giggled. “So what brings you here, Nikoleta?”

  
              “Actually, I just came here to rest for a minute. I am on my way to my aunt's.”

 
              Katie paused for a moment with a baffled look on her face, “Wait a minute, did you say, aunt?”

 
              “Yes.” Nikoleta answered.

 
              “OK, don’t be offended by this question but, why do you live in the orphanage if you have an aunt?” Katie tried to be careful of her words.

 
              “Well, I actually just found out I have one,” she explained. “Katie, can I tell you something? It's going to sound crazy and you probably won’t believe me but...” Nikoleta stopped. “Never mind, it's delusional. Anyway, I have to go. See you later.”

                Nikoleta started to rush out of the library. She couldn’t explain to a complete stranger what was going on. But who else could she talk to? Still, there was no way she could talk to Katie. She would think she was insane at the mentioning of a dragon sister. Let alone a necklace with a small piece of rock that could transport her to Amarian and protect her and basically do whatever it wanted. Nope. She couldn't do it. Katie was a nice girl but she just wouldn't get it.

              Nikoleta was at the front door of the library when she heard footsteps behind her, “Nikki, wait!” Nikoleta turned around. “Listen, I know we don’t know each other well but if you ever need to talk to someone about something you can always talk to me. No matter what it is," Katie said with reassurance in her eyes. Nikoleta thought for a moment.

                “OK, well, I will make this fast but then I seriously have to go. The other night I got into a fight with Mandy on the beach. I ran onto this trail that took me by a house and a big tree and I found a necklace. The next night I put the necklace on and I ended up in this house with these odd people. There was a girl with purple eyes, and a guy with green hair and a dragon. The three of them told me that they knew my parents and the dragon, Kibbie, is like my sister because my parents raised her and she talks. Then in Amarian I met this guy Raphael, who is a really, really big jerk and he works for the evil princess who's dead father had my parents locked away because my father wouldn’t kill me or dragons.” Nikoleta stopped to take a breath and put her arms down. “Any of that make sense?”

 
              Katie looked at Nikoleta a little puzzled. “I know, I'm sorry none of it makes sense and I probably sound like I'm on dr--” “Can I go with you to your aunt's?” Katie asked.

“Huh? Why?”

                “Because I believe you.”

14

“
Y
ou do?” Nikoleta asked, still in shock. “How could you believe something so off-the-wall?”

“I don’t know, I just do. I just don’t think you would take the time to make something like that up.”

They left the library and the
girls headed in the direction towards Seagull Rock Avenue. Nikoleta stopped in her tracks, “Wait a minute. Don’t you have a history paper to write?” “Yes, but it's only 10am. I have time.”

   
              They kept walking. To Nikoleta, the situation was just getting stranger and stranger by the minute. Now a complete stranger wanted to go with her to meet her aunt and she actually believed the asinine events that she had been through the last few days. “OK, so if you went to Amarian by a necklace, how did you get back?” Katie asked, genuinely interested. “Well, the Raphael guy I told you about, he killed Madam Piccolo, she was woman in the village that did tarot readings and such. She told me someone would betray me. Well he had Kibbie and Madam Piccolo tied to posts. He killed Madam Piccolo but Kibbie and I both got transported back here. Then last night on the beach, Raphael, Karina and Akonni appeared out of nowhere and attacked us and I'm assuming taking Kibbie with them.”

“Nikki, have you ever heard of 'vanishing stones'?”

“No.”

“I read about them once. Of course when I read what I read I assumed it was fictional but apparently they have the power to transport people. But not always by the person's will. Even if a person has a piece of one, it's still powerful.”

“Yes, I only had a piece. My mother had the necklace for a long time and I guess it came here to find me,” Nikoleta explained. “Are your parents alright? Did you see them?”

“No. Raphael helped us plan a mission but obviously it never happened. Before
Kibbie and I came back here, he told me he was going to kill them too. I don’t know if they are alive now or not, but I have to get back.”

 
              They arrived at Seagull Rock Avenue. The house was in a very suburban neighborhood. It was made of tan bricks and had a white door. It was a very cozy looking house with a lot of flowers out front. There was a black SUV in the driveway in front of the garage. Nikoleta's aunt was home.

Nikoleta stopped at the end of the driveway and stared at the house. “Are you nervous?” Katie asked, putting a hand on
Nikoleta's shoulder. “I've never been more scared of anything in my entire life.”

“It'll be OK, Nikoleta. Just go knock on the door.” Katie gave Nikoleta a slight shove. As Nikoleta was walking up the drive way, she could feel her heart pounding in
her chest. She had obviously never met her family members before. Except Kibbie but this is no dragon. This is another person. A human being. A blood related human. She came up to the white door. Katie came behind her. Nikoleta looked at the door bell. She really was going to pass out now. Shaking, she pressed the button.
Ding-Dong
. A woman opened the door. She was in a robe and her curly, honey-brown hair was in a ponytail. “Can I help you?” Nikoleta stood staring. She had no clue what to say. She didn’t even know the woman's name. “Nikki,” Katie whispered in her ear. She snapped out of her stare. “Oh! Right! Hi, Um. I....think you're my aunt.” The woman looked at Nikoleta examining her. “Is....is your name Nikoleta?” “Yes.” “Oh, wow. Come in! Please, come in.” The woman opened the white door further to let the girls in. They entered the living room. “Have a seat. Make yourselves at home. Do you want anything to eat or drink?” “Well, not to be rude, but I am starving and a little dehydrated," Nikoleta told her. “No, no, it's fine. I'll be right back.” The woman went to the kitchen and the girls could hear rustling and glasses clanging. Nikoleta looked around and tried to look for anything that involved family. She only saw paintings on the wall and books on the large shelf on the wall to her right. There were also a couple of pictures in those frames. She recognized one of them she had seen this picture before. It was a man, a woman with shoulder length, curly hair, a young Kibbie and an infant Nikki. These were her parents. Her family. Nikoleta picked up the picture frame and caressed the picture. Her mother was so pretty and friendly looking. Her father looked like a strong, confident man. Katie watched her for a moment from the couch. She decided to let Nikoleta have a moment so she went to the kitchen to help Nikoleta's aunt. Nikoleta didn't know what to think. These two people saw her as their whole world and in a single moment lost her. She always heard kids at school complaining about their parents. Frankly, she thought people took their parents for granted. And at least they had parents.

 
              A few minutes later, her aunt's house smelled of a hearty breakfast. Nikoleta could smell the bacon. “C'mon Nikki, we made breakfast,” Katie said. Nikoleta's aunt set the table and the girls sat down and they began to eat. “Well, girls, I suppose I should introduce myself. My name is Kasey. Kasey Conrad. Conrad is our family name. You can call me Aunt Kay, if you want.” Nikoleta listened intently. She assumed Katie told her about the necklace.

 
              “Your mom found the vanishing stone many years ago when we were in our early teens. It took her to Amarian quite often. One day, she accidentally dropped it and a piece chipped off and she decided to make a necklace with it. Katie says you had the necklace?” “Yes, I was wearing it up until last night. Princess Karina stepped on it,” Nikoleta explained. “Oh, no! Well don’t worry. I have the rest of the stone. Problem is, as we all know, the stone does what it wants. It's like it knows what to do and when to do it.” “Yeah, I just hope it's not too late,” Nikoleta told her.

  
              “What do you mean?” Aunt Kay said, nervously. “If I do go back, I dont know what I will be going back to. Raphael said he would kill my parents and last night he and the others took Kibbie,” Nikoleta paused as her eyes began to fill with tears. “I dont even know what's true anymore. Raphael said they were alive but then he betrayed all of us. He told us about a secret passage way into the castle and I dont know if anything he ever said was true. I have no plan, whatsoever, if I do go back.” “Maybe I can go with you, Nikki. So you won’t be alone.” “I'm sorry Katie, I dont know if that will help anything. But you are welcome to come if you want,” Nikoleta told Katie. “Hmmm, I dont think he was lying about the passage way in the castle. I remember your mom showing me a map. It would be worth a try,” Aunt Kay said with hope in her voice.

***

                Later on in the day, Katie left because she had to be back home after several phone calls from her mother and Nikoleta and Aunt Kay were catching up. “Amelia and I used to play outside a lot when we were little girls. I think that's why she loved Amarian so much. Life is simple there. There is no technology or online social networks in the way of every day life. She always said it would have been a nice place to raise children. When her and your dad were engaged she took him in there. They went there not too long before they got married and then moved there. I was so happy for them.”

  
              “I like it there too. I can’t say much about the Princess though," Nikoleta said, sighing. “Well, if she is anything like her father, she is horrid," Aunt Kay said, with a laugh. “What am I going to do Aunt Kay? How am I going to save everyone? They are in trouble and definitely not in a good place.” “Well, I have the stone. Maybe that will help. Why dont you come up stairs? I'll show you some pictures while I look for the stone in my closet," Aunt Kay offered.

They went up the wooden, polished stairs and Nikoleta noticed all the pictures on the wall. There
were pictures of Aunt Kay and some of her friends and Nikoleta's grandparents. Nikoleta was finally starting to feel at home. She had obviously never met Aunt Kay until now and she had never seen the people in the pictures before but she felt close to them. Nikoleta continued going up the stairs until she found Aunt Kay in her bedroom. Aunt Kay was taking shoe boxes out of her closet and setting them on the bed. “These are all filled with pictures. This orange one here is all family pictures. You should look in that one first.”

 
              Nikoleta sat down on the bed and opened the box; meanwhile, Aunt Kay was still rummaging through her closet mumbling to herself. The bed was made and had a plain red comforter on it with two white pillows. It was a queen size but it was the biggest bed Nikoleta ever been on. She opened the the orange shoe box and started sifting through pictures. There was a photo of her parents at their wedding
. That dress is so beautiful
, Nikoleta thought. They looked so happy in the photo. There was another picture of Aunt Kay and her mother when they were teenagers. They looked happy as well. “Do I have any grandparents?” Nikoleta asked. Aunt Kay was stumbling over things in her closet still but paused for a moment to turn around. “Unfortunately, no. My parents passed away about ten years ago in an accident and your father's parents passed away before he was eighteen. His mom died of cancer and his father of a heart attack. I'm sorry.” Aunt Kay gave Nikoleta a look of sympathy as if she knew Nikoleta had already had enough missing in her life.

  
              Nikoleta kept shifting through the pictures and loved everything she saw. She wished she could keep them all but she knew they were safer with her aunt and she was sure she could come and look at them any time she wanted. “Do you have a copy of the picture in the living room?” Nikoleta asked. “Yes! I do actually; it's in that box there. You should come across it eventually.” After a few minutes, Nikoleta did come across it and asked if she could have it. “Yes, yes, of course, sweetheart!” Nikoleta placed the picture in her back pocket. Just then, “I found it!” Aunt Kay announced. Aunt Kay held out a small red box and handed it to Nikoleta. She opened it. There was the stone. It has clearly been chipped and Nikoleta assumed that the missing piece is what made the pendant for her necklace. She took it out of the box and held it for a moment. Suddenly, it started glowing. “Nikki! It's working!” Aunt Kay said with a gasp. “What's it doing?” Nikoleta asked in desperation. “Bye, Nikki!” She heard Aunt Kay say. In a flash she was gone.