The Trials

The Lake

She slowly opened her eyes, grasping the view and attempting to remember where she was, more importantly what she was doing. Chains held her legs together and her body down. She couldn't swim, but luckily she still had the gills. Luna has no idea of what this underground structure was. Pillars were noticeable, surrounding each platform. From the side of her eyes she caught movement, which instilled panic. Casting was difficult with bound hands, but Luna believed the faster she was free, the more unlikely the odds were of encountering whatever creature that was. She pointed her index finger towards the chains and shot a red bolt of magic that disintegrated the chain on contact. With her legs free, she could now at least move, although slowly. The most inhumane shriek shattered the peaceful water. Luna covered her ears, but even then the sound penetrated her hands. She was left temporarily deaf and her vision blurred. A long figure was made out in the blur, one that was beginning to move towards Luna. The witch raised her hand and released the red orb that was generated at her fingertips. The orb shot out like a rocket and, after reaching the middle distance of the figure and Luna, it exploded. A rush of water and bubbles propelled Luna up to the surface. The exposure to oxygen made her gills burn like holy fire; she couldn't breathe. She quickly went underwater and looked at the explosion site. There were still bubbles floating away from the centre. This "wonderful" view was disturb by hands grabbing her shoulders and being pulled down. The creature had razor sharp teeth, green skin, and full on black eyes that covered her entire eyeballs. It wrapped its tail around Luna and slammed her on the sandy lake ground, dragging her through the swim. "Enough!" A bright beam shot the mermaid in the back of the head, making it fall forwards and catapult Luna forwards. She collided with a pillar and sunk down. The pain in her back was unbearable but the amulet had to be found. The mermaid got up again and charged at Luna. It stopped half way staring at Luna's magically lit light blue eyes. Her hands were shaking; this was the first time using dark magic since the last trial. "Tell me where it is," Luna said with a gargled voice. The water made talking extremely difficult. The mermaid began swimming with Luna in tow. Where the hell is she leading me to, thought Luna. The mermaid brought her to an stony platform that had a gaping hole in it. It lead deep down like a makeshift tunnel. The sides were rocky and only allowed space for one. The creature went in first and Luna cautiously followed making sure not to become unfocused and break the mind control spell. Luna felt a pull at her neck. Her lungs felt as if they were on fire and the slits in her neck began to burn. She started swimming faster. The end of the tunnel was revealed as the she reached a part where the tunnel faced upwards to a room with oxygen. "Ahh!" The oxygen entered her human lungs once again like a cold glass of water on a hot summer's day. She lifted herself up, but was grabbed by the ankle. Damn I forgot about the spell, she thought as the mermaid pulled her into the water. Luna kept a grip on the rocky shelf that was the end of the tunnel and pulled. The mermaid released her ear shattering shriek but it backfired. The sound waves vibrated the tunnel, making it collapse on the creature like and avalanche of sand and rock. With the mermaid no longer pulling her, Luna pushed off the ledge and shot out to the floor of the room, coughing. She threw up some water and got up. The amulet laid on a table covered with pearl necklaces, rings made of metamorphic rocks. But the amulet was different from all other objects. The shark tooth in its centre had markings on it and the gold wire it hung on had an alluring shine. She grabbed it and put it on. Nothing.

"I was expecting some thing, at least a feeling of magic, but nothing," Luna said to herself.

"It's an amulet not the holy grail," said a voice behind her.

Luna stared at the woman's beauty. She had beautiful brown skin with straight jet black hair. Her eyes were a light brown and her complexion flawless.

"I'm guessing you're it's owner," Luna deducted.

Tituba walked towards Luna and stood right in front of her, staring at her silver eyes.