(CHAPTER 18 CONTINUED)
\"Home...\" Leilani whispered to herself again. She couldn\'t believe she was back in the village. So much had happened outside, yet here, as she stood at the gates of Oja\'Renin, it seemed like a whole other world, secluded from the evils that ravaged the land beyond its borders; nothing had changed. It looked just as she remembered; old Mrs Margey made her way towards the town market to buy food as peaceful birds twittered and hopped across the roofs of scattered houses. Children joyfully played games of Hags, chasing eachother through the village, squatting behind barrels and stacks of hay, while Hernon and her brother Sam loaded sacks of grain onto a merchant\'s cart waiting outside the town hall.
The girl took in the scene, her eyes wandering through her home in disbelief. The detail took several moments to hit her. Her jaw dropped in shock as she recognised him, working with a carefree smile, not a scratch on his body.
He was alive.
\"SAM!?\" Leilani yelled, but he didn\'t notice her cry. She stood for a moment in disbelief. Her mixed emotions of relief and suprise laid bare across her face.
He was alive.
\"SAM!!\" she called again. She couldn\'t believe it. Tears of joy streaked down her face, as her feet carried her forward, a sprint fuelled by raw emotion. She kept running.
Oh god, he\'s alive... my brother... Sam\'s alive!Her mind raced with questions. Not least of all was how far away he seemed to be. Infact, she felt no closer than when she\'d first seen him. Her expression dropped slightly. Worry flashed across her eyes. The questions momentarily ceased in her mind.
No...Her brow knit with determination as she doubled her efforts, tiring legs powering her across the gravel track as hard as they could. Her mind locked away the growing fear and closed its ears to the painful dawning of realisation.
No. This is real. Sam is alive... My brother is alive...!The image of her brother and everything infront of her stood still; she was not moving. Her head felt heavy, pain throbbed in her temples. She would not accept this.
\"No..!\"
An exhausted sob escaped between laboured breaths as she squeezed her eyes closed and ran as fast as she could. Her feet threw themselves at the floor, every ounce of energy draining from her limbs in a final effort of breaking this horrible nightmare. Gasping for breath, the girl looked up, hope sparkling in her eyes.
And then was lost. She still hadn\'t moved.
Leilani slowed to a pitiful walk, from which she dropped to her knees, unable to contain her emotions any longer. Defeated. The blurry image of her brother taunted her from across the way. He turned to her, a warm smile fixed on his face. Did he see her there at all? The girl held her hand out weakly to him, her voice no longer strong enough to make a sound. Broken. She slumped to the floor, shivering uncontrollably. Lost. Sam turned away, seemingly unaware of her. The village continued to live and move, ignoring the little girl that lay clutching her head in its midst. This was a world that couldn\'t welcome her. It didn\'t exist. It wasn\'t real. But it wouldn\'t go away. Leilani lay there, alone, for a long time.
******
Moogie was getting tired of waking up in unusal places. What had just happened? Looking down, she noticed that the blood on her dress had dried to a dark brown stain. The material was neatly ripped in the center, right where the blade had pierced her body without warning. Her face ran cold; she had been hoping it was just a dream. She gulped.
Am I... dead? The question provoked an irresistable urge to find out. With one hand, she gently poked her fingers through the hole in her dress and touched her skin. Queazy, she expecting to feel a festering wound, a gaping hole torn through her skin, oozing precious lifeblood... but it was smooth. Soft fur covered the area where she had felt the sword had passed through her. There was no sticky, matted bloodstain, no throbbing sensation of the pain of a mortal wound. The memory was crisp in her mind, yet there was nothing on her but unbroken, heathly hair. Feeling slightly braver, she peered underneath her dress. Her fingers hadn\'t lied; there was no injury at all. Had it been an illusion? If that was the case, then why was there blood on her dress?
\"WELCOME.\" A voice boomed through the air, startling her so much that she leapt to her feet and spun around. Only then did her surroundings become apparent; her wide, fearful eyes momentarily overwhelmed by the scenery. Looming timelessly above her, a dark and stormy sky rolled with thunder somewhere far in the distance. It\'s ancient groan rumbled through the rock platform that was ground for Moogie\'s feet. A chilling wind whistled past as she stood wearily in this unfamiliar enviroment. The rocky perch was no more than a circle of stone, surrounded by an endless expanse of space. It was empty and featurless, save for the Enkidukai herself, and a small pool of red liquid a few feet away. From an unseen height above, a constant drip disturbed the puddle, it\'s lonely echo fading into the still air. Her eyes lingered on its reflective surface; it looked oddly familiar.
This can\'t be real...A strange ripple in the air caught Moogie\'s attention. As she turned to its source, she was shocked to witness a large form appearing in the air before her. She glanced around the platform again; there was no escape, and nothing she could use to defend herself. Moogie sent a hurried prayer to Aliathi that she would be needing neither.
The outline shimmered, as a throne with a tall back faded into view. Blurred at first, the form sharpened untill it was crisp and solid. The throne seemed to be almost entirely carved from bone, and every edge of the dark object was studded with large animal teeth; canines near the base, but growing into large fangs as they drew near the top corners, giving the appearance of two viciously armed jaws. An inhuman figure sat between them, with boney fingers clenched around the bulbous ends of the thone\'s arms. Moogie took an involuntary step back from this ghostly visage, her breath caught in her chest.
The large skeletal figure, which she guessed was male (despite looking more demonic than human), leant forward slowly in his seat. His icy blue eyes pierced the darkness that shrouded his features, sending shivers down the girl\'s spine. She couldn\'t imagine what horrific appearance lay hidden behind those shadows, and was somewhat thankful that her eyes were saved from such an image. His attire was crumbled and rotted with age, but their style and faded colours suggested that, a very long time ago, the clothes would have been in pristine condition- and look kingly enough to suit a throne of gold. However, they still managed to suit the throne on which their king sat now, surrounded by the ancient, blackened remains of long-forgotten monsters.
The dark throne floated in the air some feet away from Moogie\'s platform, glowing with dark, whispy flames. The figure spoke slowly, the voice as dark and forboding as his appearance.
\"
Long have I awaited this day. You...\" he pointed a sharp, fleshless digit at Moogie, \"
...you will forfill the prophecy yet. Yes... you are still useful.\" He rested back against his throne again and chuckled. The girl stood motionless, her eyes fixed forward. After a moment of deliberation, she somehow managed to find the strength to respond.
\"Prophecy...\" Her brow knit in confusion, but a faint sparkle of hope appeared in her eyes. \"You\'re... you\'re on my side?\"
The question was met with an amused laugh. Moogie\'s expression dropped, and fear crept ever further into her senses, danger screaming in her ears as she listened to his hoarse voice. She glanced around again, but knew nothing had changed. There was still no escape. She was completely at his mercy.
\"
That Xacha... haha, what a fool. He always did love himself too much to realise how stupid he really is.\"
Moogie frowned.
He knows Camazotz...?\"
It was he who first gave the idea of a prophecy to the cultists, many years ago when they first uncovered his soul. And now to you, at the advent of my awakening. But they, and you, AND him... had no idea... hahaha. It was I who planted the seeds of this false prophecy in his mind. It was never true.\" His eyes flashed brightly. \"
Heh, no... the REAL prophecy... is why you are here, Mogura.\"
Moogie\'s heart jumped at hearing her true name. Nobody had called her Mogura since her first arrival in Yliakum, and few now even remembered she was ever known by it.
\"Who are you...?\" she asked, as defiantly as her voice could manage. If he knew her and held the answers to all of this, she needed to know. The figure chuckled to himself again, falling quiet after a few seconds. After a long pause, he replied, his voice darkening as he growled.
\"
I am Krenshul... Once Master of the Academy of Arcane Arts. I was murdered, and then bound back into service by the Academy council\'s most powerful sorcerers. I was angered by this... I did not ask to be brought back. They left me there to rot for eternity once the Academy fell in the war... but I broke free of my chains...\"
Three more figures suddenly faded into view beside him, floating effortlessly over the bottomless edge of the rock platform. Moogie recognised the first two as Camazotz and Camarenzis, but the third she had never seen before. Thinking back to the things she had heard in the Strangers\' lair, she remembered there had been talk of a third Callicantzaros.
Could this be him...?The throned man continued slowly. \"
In life, I had three main enemies. You see them before you now. Camarenzis, a beautiful Demorian girl who managed to seduce me, and then disappear with half of my wealth. This little whore caused me much grief and shame... and cost me my family. As you can see, I punished her... fairly.\" Moogie saw clearly. The ugly, winged gargoyle she saw before her now had once been young and beautiful. In a dark and twisted way, the punishment certainly fit the crime.
\"
Camazotz, my murderer. Infact he had been after my position for most of his teenage life. Foolish child... he has no complaints now. He is mine to command.\" He paused, glancing over to his bound demons. \"
The last is Camayev... once my closest advisor and friend. He commanded the Academy mages to bound me to their little shrine and put me to work as their slave. Hah. And now who is the slave? Hahaha.\"
Moogie watched the Callicantzaros from the corner of her eyes. They remained motionless, side by side, without expression or emotion. Each was completely bound to Krenshul\'s will now. He had taken them back under his control. The empty look in their eyes, even in Camazotz\', proved this beyond any doubt. She suddenly feared their presence more than anything else in this strange place.
\"
Now, I have my Callicantzaros back under my control. The prophecy of my revenge is at hand. And soon, all will pay for the injustices done to me... ALL WILL PAY. And you... you are one half of the key to unlock the destiny. My final retribution will soon be forfilled.\"
\"One half..?\" Moogie whispered. As suddenly as they had appeared, the figures, including the throne, shimmered and disappeared before her. Her eyes widened.
\"No... no, wait! Don\'t leave me here?!\" she cried. The echo of her voice was all the reply she received. Turning back towards the center of the rock circle, the very air seemed to change colour, becoming darker and drawing inwards, so close that she squeezed her eyes shut in terror.
...
...
Drip.
Drip...?Drip.
Cautiously, she reopened her eyes. She was back inside the blue cavern. The pool of liquid nearby was no longer blood, but clear blue water again. She sat down on her haunches, rubbing her eyes with one hand. She could hardly understand what had just happened, but one question now repeated louder than anything else in her mind... a question she feared to discover the answer to. She was one half of the key... Who, or what, was the other half? Did he already possess it?
Was the true prophecy already becoming forfilled?
Phew, finally, chapter done. I don\'t like it. I don\'t like iiiiiiiiit! *whines* I don\'t like it!! *cries* oh well, it reveals alot of the plot, but really horribly. This could have been so much better... 
