Twilight Shadows

Chapter 28

I lay, panting, on the hard, cold ground of Russ's lair.

"Thanks... Magical orb thingy..." I panted. "For taking all my energy out on that one vision... Thank you very much..."

You can stop being sarcastic now... Russ rolled his eyes.

"Wow Russ..." I rolled my eyes at him now. "You have no idea what happened in that vision... Why did the orb choose this???" I moaned. "That was torture... Thank the orb very much..."

I think you should get back to your friend now... Russ advised. It would be for the best.

"Agreed." I said willingly, already flopping onto Russ's back. I just realized that I was still a seal, although in the vision I was myself. The eerie words that my mother recited haunted my mind. I know there was someone I couldn't trust. But who? Then there was another person that I was most unlikely to trust, but it would be the better choice to choose.

Things were so confusing.

~💖~  

"WHERE WERE YOU STEPHANIE, YOU LITTLE..." Joshua trailed off. His face was contorted with anger. "YOU COULD'VE AT LEAST TOLD ME WHERE YOU WERE OFF TO!"

I shrugged and ignored his scolding.

"At least I'm alive, okay?" I said defiantly. "It's not like I was in danger or anything..."

"WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?" Joshua yelled. I rolled my eyes. I was used to people screaming their heads off at me.

"Curiosity took the best of me." Was all I said. Joshua looked like he was about to murder me. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry that I wandered off..." I sighed. "Look, I'm actually sorry. I was thinking about how I should've at least told you or brought you along, but... I'm sorry."

I tried my innocent puppy eyes. It worked, as always.

Joshua calmed down a bit. "Okay, but you'd better not wander off again..."

I nodded. Joshua had found an ancient palace buried under the sea, and it was in good maintenance. That mainly meant that the nymph might live here...

We were still in our seal form, and so far, we hadn't fought any spies.

"C'mon Steph, we'd better explore that castle..." Joshua murmured. Without warning, he sped inside. Then I remembered that the cloaked man had told Joshua to get to the nymph first. Biting my lip, I quickly sped off after him.

The palace was ginormous, and so beautiful that words couldn't even describe it. My jaw dropped when I first caught a glimpse of the palace.

"Joshua, wait up!" I called. No answer. I thought back to the verses that my mother had said. Beware the one who acts like a friend... Somebody is acting like my friend, but they will betray me. Trust the one who has no end... I know that I can trust somebody, but the last part didn't make anymore sense. 

Somebody who will betray me... Somebody who will help me. Who?

"I'm here!" Joshua finally called back. I realized that I was standing in a huge room, and in the far end of it was a huge throne, adorned with roses and vines entwining each other. The throne itself was made of wood, and it looked cold and hard.

The room was in good condition, with decorative seashells and seaweed in designated spots around the room.

Joshua panted as he swam back from one of the hallways leading outwards to other places of the palace.

"I... need... air..." Joshua gulped. "I'm still a mammal..."

"Oh, right," I realized. "Let's go back up to the surface... immediately."

Quickly, we left the front doors of the palace and swam to the surface where we both took a few gulps of refreshing oxygen. It was twilight already, and mist swirled around the surface of the ocean. Huge waves came splashing towards us now and then, but they weren't dangerous. My mind kept wandering back to Noah.

"Stephanie, we're leaving..." Joshua said. 

We? I wondered. Who else is here?

"Um, okay..." I said. Then I noticed a little thing shining in Joshua's front paws. With a swift motion, the shining object disappeared. I could've sworn that there was a design or a symbol on it...

Without anymore thought, I dived down into the deep ocean again, and reached the palace.

~💖~  

I wandered around, searching for any clues of the nymph that could cure the Obsidian Tree, the source of all our powers.

I came to a stop in front of a huge stone door that had seaweed and moss growing on it. Cautiously, I opened it and found myself in a huge room that could've been a bedroom once. There was a bed on the far end of the room, with a full length mirror and a personal walk-in closet. 

Modern, I thought. When was this castle built?

As I started to swim in to examine the bed, the mirror began to glow. I changed my course to it, and placed a paw on the mirror. The mirror started to shimmer brightly now, and I had to close my eyes to block out the light.

Suddenly, the paw that I had placed on the mirror fell through, and I felt something that resembled parchment paper, like the scroll that Noah had received for his quest.

Noah, I thought, blinking back tears. How will we ever find him?

Quickly, I grabbed the scroll. It looked like a letter, with a green ribbon tied around it. The paper itself was yellow and old, and it looked like it had been there for quite a while. I opened my eyes.

I looked around the room, and then at the scroll. My heart hammered.

Should I open it? I wondered. A voice in the back of my head said, It might be for your greater good. Obeying the voice, I untied the ribbon first, then pausing at the scroll.

"Just do it..." I advised myself, my voice echoing around the empty room. 

To my surprise and shock, another voice in the room replied, "Yes, I would say so too."

In a swirl of bubbles and bright green aura, a new scent which smelled like fresh mint appeared. Following along with it was a nymph.