Illusion: Destiny Awaits (In Editing)

7 - Sabrina

"Wow," I say simply. Lupo and Skifter had just told us all about Zaroho and themselves. Basically Soul Animals are them. They are Soul Animals. They connect with certain people through the person's soul. And Zaraho. He is an evil person, who is trying to get all magic. And for some reason, he wants us.

Christi nods in agreement.

"But how does this involve us?" I ask in sudden confusion. They had told us everything as far as I know, except for why us. Why are we the ones Zaroho wants?

"Well, you see..." Skifter begins.

"You know your necklaces?" Lupo asks in excitement. Christi and I slowly nod. "Well, they hold power. Lots of it."

"Oh! So Zaroho wants to have that power?" Christi exclaims, connecting the dots. The Soul Animals nod, looking almost sad.

"But we have our necklaces. They're still safe," I say. Lupo and Skifter exchange a worrying glance.

"What?" Christi questions. Lupo clears his throat.

"That's the thing we didn't tell you. When you two were on Christi's trampoline, Zaroho switched your necklaces with those fake ones," he explains, looking apologetic. He nods to the amulets around our necks.

"Wait, WHAT??" Christi and I shout in unison. "All this time, I thought I had it, but Zaroho really did!" I muse, anger building up in me. I can tell Christi is feeling the same. The necklaces had always symbolized our friendship. Now Zaroho has taken that too.

"Is there any way to get them back?" Christi asks, hope sparkling in her blue-grey orbs.

"Quite possibly. There's no guarantee, though. I'm afraid," Skifter tells us sadly. I sigh remorsefully. How could I have been so stupid? I even saw the necklaces in a different spot and thought nothing of it!

"Can we try to get them back though?" Christi questions. Lupo and Skifter exchange a glance and nod.

"We can, but it may be easier said than done."

I don't care! A wave of relief floods through me. I can tell that Christi feels the same. We can still get them back!

My entire body hurts all over from that shock from the stupid water bubble. If the bubble wasn't electrified, I would definitely punch it. My whole life has just fallen apart. I was taken from my family, my home, into a dangerous prison where people wanted to take my power.

"Aggh!" I shout in frustration. Christi glances at me worriedly, but I just plop myself on the floor, the one thing that isn't electrified, and mull over everything. How can we fix it? How can everything just go back to normal? But I know the answer. It can't. Nothing can go back to the way it was before.

"Okay, what's our game plan?" I inquire. Lupo pads up to me softly and I place my hand on his soft, grey fur. His bright eyes pierce mine and he answers,

"We get you out of here, we get your necklaces back." I nod happily, maybe we can really get out of this treacherous place soon!!

"One more thing, how are we going to get out exactly?" I ask, the thought striking me.

"That is a fair question," Skifter acknowledges, "Igbo will be helping us. Or Escur, whichever name he prefers." After he finishes, he glances pointedly at the shadows.

A pitch black jaguar steps out of the dark. I gaze in awe at the beast. The only part of him that isn't black is a faded pink scar, just above his left shoulder. I can tell that Christi too, is staring. I can't help it though, his dark eyes seem to capture me in an invisible trap.

"You can call me Igbo," he tells us in a deep, gravelly voice. I nod, still drinking in the image.

"How come you have two names, Igbo?" Christi blurts.

"That's a fair question." Igbo mocks Skifter. Skifter glares. "I am Zaroho's Soul Animal. My original name is Igbo, but he re-named me Escur." I take a few steps back.

"You're Zaroho's Soul Animal??" I exclaim in disbelief. Lupo sighs.

"We didn't want to tell you, otherwise you might not have accepted his help."

"He's going to help us," Christi says incredulously. Igbo clears his throat.

"I am right here you know. Yes, I was going to help you, but if you don't want it..." He trails off, making to leave, however he might do that. I turn to Christi.

"Can we trust him?" Christi whispers. I shrug, how am I supposed to know?

"Do you think he's deleterious? Do you think that he'll hurt us?" she continues.

"I'm not sure. He seems to be okay... maybe he just wants to help?" I ask desirously. I'm eager to find out about this mysterious Igbo. I have found a liking to that name: Igbo. It's adorable! So CUTE! I mean, who doesn't like the name Igbo? Igbo's temper and darkness don't seem to match his adorable name. They in fact are the absolute complete opposite. A jaguar named Igbo surely can't be boorish and ravaging!

"I think we should give it a go," Christi offers.

"So do I. Just be careful, he could be working for Zaroho," I warn, but don't even take my own heed very seriously. I can't when a ferocious beast standing in front of me, is named Igbo. I'm sorry, but it's just SO cute!!

I attempt to compose myself before I face the jaguar.

"We have decided to trust you, for now," Christi announces. Lupo grins a wolf grin, and swishes his tail.

"Excellent. Now, Igbo, how did you get in here?" Skifter asks. Then, a thought strikes me like a hammer.

"Lupo, Skifter, how did you get in here?" I repeat the hawk's question.

"I honestly have no idea," Lupo admits. "I was just thinking about you, and where you might have been, and BAM! I came here." Skifter nods in agreement. I sigh in frustration. That might work just swell for the Soul Animals, but Christi and I can't exactly do that.

Igbo clears his throat.

"I came here differently," he starts, "I chose to come here. I can basically go anywhere in the royal kingdom, so I went to the guard station. I was able to sneak into the control panel and find your location. Once I got here, I momentarily disabled the electricity around the bubble. Then I came in," he finishes.

"So we can escape now, the shield is disabled!" Christi cheers.

"Not so fast," Skifter warns his master. "Igbo said momentarily disabled. That means it probably came back on while we were talking." Christi looks crestfallen. I scoot over to her and put a comforting arm around her shoulders.

"Hey, we'll get out of here, I promise," I reassure her. She nods, tears threatening to spill over her eyes. Roughly, she shakes her head and composes herself. Then I realize how tired I am. Physically, but also mentally. I have been stuck underwater for over three days, away from most people I know. I have been fed very little, and haven't gotten much sleep. Not to mention that one of the world's most powerful people is after me and Christi. Oh, and if that isn't enough, we are nowhere closer to escaping than before.

And just like that, I start to sob. I collapse onto the squishy ground, and break down. Lupo pads over and curls up beside me. That just makes me cry harder, reminding me of Kai. Soon, I have run out of tears, and drift off to a dreamless sleep.