The Glade and Its Glitch: Book 2 Allies or Enemies

Chapter 26

"Nadakhan is a djinn, a genie-like being." Nya had decided that it might be best if she started off the storytelling. "He wanted ultimate power, and to do that he needed to marry someone. That someone ended up being me."

At this, Kai made a disgusted and concerned face. "He wanted to do what?!"

"When a djinn marries and becomes a djinn king he gets unlimited wishes for himself. I looked uncannily like the first woman he tried this with, Delara." Nya continued, "But before he got to me, he first went through all the rest of you. He sucked your souls into this sword he had. Kai went first, then Zane, then Lloyd and Cole went in together."

As each ninja heard about the next death, their smiles faded. When they realized the only people left were Jay and Nya their concern grew.

Jay stared at the ground, obviously distant and not focused on the conversation. But Nya didn't care, she knew it was hard for him to hear, and she also knew there were parts only he'd be able to explain.

"Jay saved you all with a team he put together. In the end, I got hit with a poison that we used to stall Nadakhan. Jay then wished for the whole ordeal to have never happened. We ended up back on the hospital roof, and that's the story you all know."

Cole was the first to speak, although he had been told multiple times he needed to rest and stop talking. "I'm glad you two finally told us." He rested his hand on Jay's to comfort his brother.

"I can't believe it." Kai said in disbelief, "Why didn't you tell us?" he asked, more at Nya than at Jay.

"It was a lot to process. Plus immediately after that, the Time Twins showed up. You and I were distracted and Master Wu was somewhat out of commission. There wasn't ever a really good time."

Jay looked up from staring at the floor, "It was horrible. I still have nightmares."

"Of what?" Zane interjected, "You've never told us of any nightmares. Of course, we knew you had them, who doesn't, but you never wanted to talk about it."

"I was kidnapped by Nadakhan and kept by him for two months. After that, I had to save all of you by myself. There wasn't that much I wanted to talk about."

Master Wu raised an eyebrow, it was unlike Jay to be so sullen. Jay and Nya had told him about what happened. And like it was now, it had been more Nya talking than Jay.

"What did they do?" Now that Kai was sure Nya was ok and had been ok, his concern shifted to Jay.

"Well, first of all, I had vengestone on. The whole time." Jay stared off into the distance with a haunted look in his eyes.

~~~

"He's ready, Babe." Cassandra walked over to her husband, "The bounty hunter has arrived."

"Send him out. I'm sure he'll be able to find someone to grab." Devin didn't look up from his work.

"Whatcha got there, hun?"

Devin looked back and held up a tray of vials. "The next test. It should be finalized soon. Besides that, I've been working on these."

He set the vials down, causing the grayish liquid to slosh around inside. As it moved, golden orange streaks shone through the glass. In turn, Devin picked up a chain with colors that matched that of the liquid.

Cassandra took part of the chain in her hands, "Beautiful. I wonder what it feels like..."

"Most likely a burning sensation at first. After that," Devin shrugged, "Who knows."

'Think of the scars it'll make..." The orange and gray reflected in Cassandra's eyes. She had a devilish twinkle in her eye, one that would send a shiver down the strongest man's spine. But to her husband, it just enchanted him all the more.

~~~

"It burns," Jay said, still staring at the floor. "When it first gets put on you can really feel it suppress your power. Vengestone restraints are horrible, they hold you back in more ways than normal chains do."

Nya moved her hand to rub small circles on Jay's back, "We're sorry it took so long to tell you all. It was a lot of hard memories we'd need to unpack. So we just kept putting it off. We should have told you sooner, and for that, we are truly sorry."

"It's ok," Cole touched his hand to Jay's, "You've told us now. That takes a lot of courage."

Jay kept staring blankly. "Sometimes I can still feel the chain on my ankle."

"You had it on for months, it makes sense that there would be a little phantom pain afterwards." Zane threw in, in hopes to make the blue ninja feel a little better.

"But it's still there. Why is it still there?"

~~~

"Give the hunter some chains," Devin looked up at his wife. "We're specifically trying to find elemental masters. And I highly doubt they're going down without a fight."

Cassandra grinned, "Of course. Plus once they wake here, the vengestone will already have taken hold and they'll be weak. It will make our jobs much easier."

"QUAKE!" Devin yelled, "Come take these chains out to the bounty hunter before he leaves."

The small girl ran in at the mention of her name. As she took the chains out of Cassandra's hands she made a small noise of pain.

"Something wrong?" Cassandra arched an eyebrow, yet didn't seem to have the slightest bit of genuine concern.

"No ma'am." Quake shook her head. The vengestone was stronger than it typically was. Her guess was that Devin had done something to it to make it stronger.

As the girl walked out the door, she attempted to pull on her power. The waves of power usually created were absent, and something about that felt very off the Quake. Telling herself that she wouldn't have to hold them much longer, she kept walking toward the bounty hunter.

"It's like my elemental power just... disappeared."

~~~

Jay pulled lightning into his palms, causing the lighting in the med-bay to flicker. "When I wear it, it's like my elemental power vanishes."