Chapter 3

At The Isadora Inn…

Mad Jack sighed impatiently while waiting for Anacaona to arrive at the Isadora Inn. The fact that he had to make Anacaona get The Book for him since Joe refused to hand it over. He checked his pocket watch again; 6:15 PM. She was already fifteen minutes late.

"First Joe doesn't have The Book and now you're fifteen minutes late to discuss business!" Mad Jack grumbled under his breath. "If you weren't so competent, I would've blasted you into the 16th century!"

"Blast me to what century now?" Anacaona said from behind Mad Jack.

Mad Jack jumped in surprise and faced the green-haired illusionist. "Anacaona, you finally arrived… fifteen minutes later than expected!"

"I'm here, isn't that better than not coming at all?" Anacaona chuckled and put her hands on her hips. "You act like I stood you up…"

"Shut up!" Mad Jack slammed his fist on the table. A bunch of people turned around to see what was going on and Mad Jack smiled in embarrassment. He cleared his throat and calmed himself down.

"Come Anacaona, please sit down." Mad Jack pulled out the seat across from him and Anacaona rolled her eyes.

"Change of attitude? Nice…" said Anacaona. "You're loopier than I thought." She twirled her index finger to the side of her head. "Now, let's not waste time; what do you want now?"

"Last night - after you were dismissed by me - I went to see Joseph and demanded he hand over The Book, like you said he had," Mad Jack's monocle gave off a malevolent gleam. "But it turns out that he doesn't have it!"

"So?"

"You said he would have The Book!" He pointed his index finger at her. "And you lied to me about it!"

"You're mad because you didn't get The Book?"

"Duh!" Mad Jack rolled his eyes at her. "And that's why I invited you here to discuss business."

"I understand," Anacaona leaned forward, her milky green eyes void of any emotion. "But I'm afraid we won't be discussing business any further..."

"Huh?" Mad Jack's lips turned into a scowl. "You're not implying what I think you are, Anacaona…"

Yes, I am." Anacaona grabbed some peanuts in a small bowl and started munching on them. "I'm not working for you anymore."

"That's absurd!" said Mad Jack. "You said you would help me!"

"And I did help you! You said you wanted me to get Joe for you and I did. Anything that could throw a wrench in our plans, I put in end to." Anacaona spit the peanut shells at him. "I got Joe, Sam and Fred for you in some remote, abandoned fortress. There was a sorceress with them; I made sure to lock her up with chains that nullify her magic. In addition, I got rid of the army by using my illusions. I practically set everything up so you can finally get your nephew."

"Then why won't you help me again?"

"You paid me half of the 'handsome reward' you offered," Anacaona tossed another peanut into her mouth (with skins and shell included, mind you). "That sealed the deal for me."

"I have something that might change your mind," Mad Jack's staff dimly glowed with power. "You didn't forget who released you from the psych ward right?"

Anacaona's pulse hissed in her ears and she dropped the peanuts.

"I paid the warden all the money he wanted to smuggle you out, and I'm pretty sure that you might be on the run from the Ryn authorities." Mad Jack grabbed his drink with a smug expression on his face. "Remember those days? When 'doctors' would perform all kinds of experiments to see how would someone of your background react? What was the word they described people like you? Oh yeah… half-breeds!"

"You wanna say that again, old man?" Anacaona slapped the drink out of his hand; her nails gleamed with her magic. "Because I can kill you and forget about the debt!"

"Do it…" Mad Jack motioned his hand to the people around them. "Let everyone in the tavern see the true nature of a half-breed…"

Anacaona felt countless pairs of eyes looking at her, and she was right. After Anacaona knocked the drink out of Mad Jack's hands, everyone turned around to see her poised position, ready to attack him. Anacaona lowered her hand in defeat and it took every fiber in her body to remain steady.

"Fine!" Anacaona said after a long pause. "But remember, I'm only working for you because of the debt."

"I always knew you'd turn around!" Mad Jack chuckled. "Shall we begin?"

She shrugged her shoulders in response. Mad Jack took it as a yes and pulled out a small dark purple bag.

"Put out your wrists, please."

Anacaona did. Mad Jack pulled out the two bracelets with the bright red gems. They flashed malevolently at her. Before he could attach the bracelets on, someone came running inside the tavern screaming in an incoherent language. His eyes were wide with fear and he wildly flailed his arms.

"It can't be…" Anacaona whispered in fear.

"What?" asked Mad Jack. "What's going on?"

"Xiuhcoatl is coming…" said Anacaona. "I can feel her aura… so heartless, so vicious…"

As on cue, the doors slammed open and the wind whipped violently. The windows exploded, showering shards of glass everywhere. The patrons in the bar screamed and started to exit using the back door. Mad Jack took cover behind an overturned table and peeked from behind it. Black mist started to leak inside the tavern from the broken windows, transforming into large black snakes with dark red scales. They accumulated in the center of the tavern, growing in quantity and size until the morphed into a large blob. Then, it started to change shape again. Two arms, two legs, a tall, willowy silhouette and chartreuse-colored snake-like eyes blinked back at the surprised patrons at the tavern.

"I come for Anacaona…" said the figure. "Is she here?"

"Yup," Anacaona stepped forward. "What do you want, Xiuhcoatl?"

"Excellent," Xiuhcoatl hissed, her mouth taking the form of a Cheshire cat grin. "If you must know… I've been sent by Aztlan's sovereign ruler to find you and reward you handsomely for your victory."

"Victory?"

"Yes, victory." Xiuhcoatl's tone sounded envious while addressing the blind girl. "As a thank you for single-handedly defeating Prophetess Necahual's army, she wants to give you this…"

With a snap of her fingers, two burly guards stepped forward with an ornate chest, and opened it. Inside was filled with gold and priceless jewels.

"You see? Well, if you weren't blind that is, but you understand…" Xiuhcoatl chuckled at her bad pun. "So much wealth that you could buy half a kingdom. I understand that you're in the potion business now, but sadly, it's only enough to give you the bare minimums."

Anacaona didn't say a word; she remained frigid and silent. "You didn't come here to just reward me; you have something else in that twisted mind of yours."

"No. Because I could care less about you. Half-breeds like you have no place in civilized society no matter how hard they try to be one or the other." spat Xiuhcoatl. "However, my superior has a different plan for you and that's why I'm here. You've been selected to serve as one of her highest-ranking soldiers; she's quite impressed at your 'powers'."

"Forget it." said Anacaona. "I'd rather work myself to death then touch your blood money. I won't be a pawn in any game, yours or the Dictator who claims to rule Aztlan!"

"What?!"

In a flash, black magic flared from Xiuhcoatl's palms and swirled around her in aggressive waves. Her nails, once regular size, extended into long black claws. Her fangs also grew in length.

"How dare you defy my demands?" Xiuhcoatl's voice rose to a demonic howl.

"That's it, she's a gonner…" Someone whispered.

"Anyone who goes against Xiuhcoatl's demands would surely get killed on the spot!" said another next to Mad Jack's hiding place.

"Her power is so great that it rivals that of Prophetess Necahual, the creator of the legendary Book!"

"Really?" Mad Jack turned to Xiuhcoatl with a crafty smirk on his face. "You don't say…?"

After what seemed like an eternity of suspense, the black mist faded and Xiuhcoatl brought her hands down without trouble. Although she brought herself back to normal, she kept a permanent scowl on her face.

"Alright." Xiuhcoatl said calmly. "You don't want any of these treasures and you don't want to work for us. Normally, when peasants defy my orders, I kill them on the spot. But I've been ordered not to lay a finger on you. Consider yourself lucky…"

"Oh, and one more thing…" said Xiuhcoatl as she closed the top part of the chest. "Are you sure you don't want anything inside this chest? Even this beautiful pair of gold rose stud earrings?"

Anacaona's jaw dropped. She tried to lunge towards Xiuhcoatl, but her two soldiers held her back.. "Those earrings… where did you get them? Answer me!"

"I'm sorry, but since you didn't want to work for us, I'm afraid I can't answer that question." Xiuhcoatl's body started to dematerialize into a large black snake. "But if you're still interested, you know where to find me."

"Good luck, you'll need it!" it was the last thing Xiuhcoatl said before she completely shape-shifted into a snake. She flicked her tongue out at Anacaona in a mocking tone before slithering out the tavern's window. Her soldiers also disappeared after she did teleported as soon as everyone was distracted with Xiuhcoatl's metamorphosis.

"Mad Jack!" Anacaona screamed at the top of her lungs. "Where are you?'

"I'm right here! Can't you see me?"

Anacaona grabbed Mad Jack by his collar and dragged him up on his feet. "No, but I can sense your cowardly aura a mile away. The bracelets!"

"Before I give you the bracelets, can you tell me a bit more about Xiuhcoatl?"

"Stop bullshitting and hand them over!" Anacaona cursed and snatched them out of his hands. The red gemstone hummed softly with magic before attaching themselves to her wrists. Anacaona grunted in pain and made her way towards the door.

"Mad Jack, are you coming or what?"

"Right ahead of you!" Mad Jack took out his staff and rushed after the green-haired girl. "Now, where was I before your friend arrived?"

"You were going to tell me what were your new plans for the warp runt…"

"I need you to make Joseph give me The Book, because I know you'd never lie to me, right Anacaona?"

"Right."

"Okay then. Start planning on how to make Joe gives you what I want and then I'll reward you."

Mad Jack tapped his staff on the ground and a flash of yellow light, they vanished together.

A/N: Wow, sorry about the really long wait for the next chapter! I'm just busy with college stuff and it's a little stressful for me! Anyway, thanks for reading and please leave a review!