Queen of Darkness WATTPAD VERSION [Inter-Universal Protectors: Book 3]

51

Apep was dark, dreery, and downright boring. No, dead. That was the only was Ema could describe it. The planet was dead. The dirt was black, the few plants had shriveled, and the air smelt wrong. There were no stars in the sky, only the light of a half-moon. They had to be a far way from anywhere to be unable to see stars. It was rather off-putting. She glanced at her partner. Xix didn't seem at all bothered by the dark, nor the death, nor the strange feeling which surrounded them. Ema made a mental note to ask her how she did it later. 

"So," Ema said in a lame attempt to break the negative feeling in the air. "Any idea where this Castle of the Chaos Serpent is?"

"No idea," Xix answered.

"Oh. So, why are we walked this way in particular?"

"Because the further this way we go, the worse that negative energy gets."

Ema clapped her hands together in surprise. "Oh! You can feel it, too?"

Xix sighed. "I'm Terpolite, Em. Of course I can feel negative energy."

"Right," she said. "Dumb question. Ignore me."

"Gladly."

"Rude."

When she didn't reply, Ema huffed, crossing her arms. She didn't like the silence. It made her jumpy. The feel of negativity in the air only served to make her more jumpy. To distract herself, Ema started humming. She was shortly told to be quiet. Ema pouted at her friend. This only earnt her a pointed glare. With nothing better to do, Ema started taking in their surroundings. She didn't know what she was looking for, only that it had to be more interesting than the dirt stretching toward the horizon. 

Xix grabbed her hand. Ema fell to the ground. "What was that -"

"Shut up!" Xix hissed, taking her hand from Ema's mouth. "They might hear you."

They? Ema crawled forward and peaked out from behind the boulder Xix had pulled her behind. 

A massive castle loomed over them. From the design, but mostly the giant statue of a snake resting in the centre of the roof, Ema figured this was the castle they were looking for. It certainly looked inhabited. Lights flickered in windows. The occasional guard would walk around the perimeter of the building. There were more on the roof as well. 

Xix tapped her shoulder. Ema turned back. Her friend raised a finger to her lips and pointed ahead. A ship was coming closer. The pair pressed themselves against the boulder, watching closely as the old and, if Ema was being honest, totally wrecked ship all but crash landed on a makeshift runway. The thing looked like it had been partially torn. 

"That's an ancient Terpolite ship," Xix whispered. The amazement in her voice was clear. "I've never seen one in person before. Supposedly they had the ability to travel between universes, as well as go back to Terpola. They were one of the greatest asset of the Frozen Ones."

Ema was less impressed. "Certainly looks like a relic." From her bag, she pulled a set of binoculars. 

"The door is opening," Xix said. "Do you think it will be who we are after?"

Ema zoomed in using a cog on the side to get a closer look at the faces of those emerging. "Woman with auburn hair. Woman with gold hair. Yeah, I'd say that's who - oh, hello. Who's that?" She spun the cog again, focusing on the figure draped over Nephthys shoulder. Ema lowered the binoculars. "That's bad."

Xix snatched them from her hand. "Is that Amneris?" she asked, surprised.

"Worse," Ema said. "It's her daughter."

"Amneris has a daughter?" Xix handed back the binoculars. "I need to keep better track of these things."

"You just don't keep up with the local gossip." The binoculars were swapped for a phone. Ema texted a certain contact. You didn't happen to lose a member of the Topanga household, did you?

Seconds later, Jay's reply came: YOU FOUND HATHOR??? WHERE IS SHE???

Ema whistled. "That really can't be good." To Jay: Yeah, she's here w/ Nephthys and Aurelia. 

Jay: WHERE THE CRAP ARE YOU?

Ema: Planet called Apep. Want location?

Jay: YES. NEED LOCATION. QUEENIE HAS GONE NUTS. 

Ema laughed. "I think I've found us some backup, should it come to that." She turned to Xix. "Cool if I give them our location? She is the Queen's daughter, after all."

Xix waved a hand. "Go ahead."

She did so before chucking the phone back into her bag and zipping it up. "Right, so we should have a few members of the Lyriumian Court on their way. Possibly Amneris herself as well. What do we do now?" No answer. "Xix?"

Xix was frozen. She didn't move an inch.

"Xix? What is it?"

Her head tilted ever so slightly. "I do believe there is something watching us. Something very big."

In answer, something crashed behind them. Ema shivered as the same something breathed down the back of her neck. "Yes. Yes, I have to agree with that."

"There are stories," Xix said, not daring to turn around, "which speak of a dragon who watched over the Serpent when he ruled here ages ago."

"A dragon, huh?" It took all of Ema's self control to not look behind her. "What kind?"

"If the stories are anything to go off, the dragon had the power of lightning."

The hair on the back of Ema's neck stood straight. "So, what you're saying is that there is a dragon with the power of lightning standing right behind us."

"That is indeed what I'm saying."

"Are you also thinking 'gulp'?"

"It's possible."

The pair shared a look then, as one, turned . . . Where they were met with the biggest mouth and sharpest teeth that Ema had ever seen.