Chapter 10
"How much longer do we have left to travel?" Joe called out to Phoebus.
"Not much. We're really close!"
Richard folded his arms over his chest and grumbled. He was pretty upset about helping Joe and Phoebus save the same girl who stole and injured him. Phoebus told Richard that he didn't need to go with Joe to rescue Femi; he could stay in the carriage with him.
"Your dream doesn't explain WHY she stole from me." Richard said with a slight edge to his voice.
Joe didn't say anything; he was too busy looking through a satchel Richard gave to him. "I already told you. She was trying to free herself from her master, but she needed my book as some payment." Joe searched around a satchel filled with small bottles, and pieces of paper.
"I thought you said you met her near the marketplace." said Richard. "… and she was dressed like a beggar!"
Joe ignored what Richard had to say and held out a small bottle of grayish liquid. "What's this?"
"Immobilization potion; dump some on the creature and his body will turn to stone. But it only lasts for less than a minute." Richard shot him a nasty look. "Her explanations don't add up!"
"Maybe Femi was forced to search around for The Book, that's why she was wandering around for a while." Joe held up a small piece of yellow parchment with a few words scrawled in an unknown language.
"A gravity-defying spell." Richard explained. "You can jump amazing heights and glide in the air with ease. Burn the piece of paper, but be quick. They only last for so long."
"Is everything in this bag on a time limit?" Joe complained.
"These are spells that anyone can use; but magicians have an issue letting people of non-magic heritage use spells. So they passed certain laws to make sure more advanced levels of magic were out of reach for everyone else." Richard muttered under his breath. "Snobby elitists jerks…"
"So these are the only spells non-magic people can use?" Joe asked.
"Magicians put limits on things like spells and potions; they can be limits on magic difficulty or time limits, those two are the most common. In this case, I could only find you magic on a time limit…" Richard handed Joe a small pamphlet. "Latin and Greek is the language most spells are written and recited in. Use this as a guide of some sort."
"So putting time and difficulty limits on magic wasn't enough? I can't even read Latin or Greek, let alone speak it!"
Richard shrugged his shoulders and started back at Joe. "What can I say? They are snobs." Richard handed Joe a bundle of clothes. "This is for you. The clothes are made of a material designed for battle. They won't be able to hinder you like your Brooklyn outfit."
"We're here!" Phoebus cried out.
Joe had finished tying the laces on his boots when the carriage stopped. Joe stuck his head out and felt the ocean spray hit him on the face. The Calypsian Coast was not as beautiful as Phoebus described. The ocean was a cloudy dark blue and grey, the waves roared as they crashed on the sandy coast, and the wind whipped around them. Joe got out clutching the pamphlet in his hands. Phoebus took out his sword and so did Richard. Richard jabbed Phoebus and handed him a dagger at least ten inches in length.
"You're going to need this more than we do." Phoebus gave the dagger to Joe.
Joe silently took the dagger and tied it between his belts. The clothes were made of some weird material that felt so light; it was almost as if he wasn't wearing anything. There was no time to waste, he straightened himself and made his way into the mouth of the pitch blackness of the cave before him.
"Please, someone help me!" That voice belonged to Femi!
"Femi!" Joe cried out. "Where are you?"
"Help!" She cried; her voice came from the deeper depths of the caves.
"Don't worry, I'll get you outta here before the Sludge Man comes back and finds you missing!" Joe felt a sharp pain on his right side. He doubled over and winced.
Deep laughter within the cave enveloped Joe as his sight started to blur. Black sludge started to run down the walls while a silhouette of a person peered over him; Joe was able to fight the pain back and forced himself to get up and get ready to fight. He quickly dug into his satchel and tossed out some smoke bombs to hide.
"Before I come back? I think you're mistaken Joseph Arthur…" The baritone mocked him.
He lifted his hand; a flashing green light blinded Joe completely and held him in place.
"Rigéscunt!"
The dark green mist surrounding Joe evaporated, leaving him stuck in time and space. Femi lowered both of her hands and shut The Book with her magic. A curl of green mist grabbed Femi's forearm and shocked her with thousands of volts of electricity. She screamed in pain; The Book was growing more and more hostile towards her. Every time she happened to be in its presence, it didn't hesitate to harm her physically. Its favorite method way electric shocks; that or it would warp people from different time periods and places and order them to kill her. At first the warriors would look around confused to their new surroundings, but when their eyes settled on Femi, their eyes would grow a bright green and they were slaves to The Book's bidding. Femi was able to freeze the first three in time and space. She tossed their bodies into the ocean. By now, the spell should be wearing off… hopefully Joe was still where she left him.
Joe was still there; now, Femi could see that Joe had changed his clothes. He wore brown pants with knee high black boots and green shirtsleeves tucked into his pants and a black belt. He wore a short blue cape with gold designs. He looked more mature and he was obviously quite handsome.
"I can see that his shirtsleeves show some of his chest…" Giggling and wrapped my arms around Joe. Finally, I had him in my arms, besides me. "Oh Joe, I've waited for this day for so long. I finally found someone who loves me!"
"Hurry up and wipe his memory clean!" I barked.
Femi gazed into Joe's eyes, and found her unable to do the dirty deed. She led Joe here to the caves with the intent of wiping his memory clean, but the guilt was eating her alive. Yes, she really liked Joe but…
"No, I can't…" Femi said.
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
"I-I-I have my reasons not to!" Femi stuttered. She fought the urge to hold her body close to Joe's.
"Last time I remember, you were practically shivering in anticipation on having Joe for yourself! What changed your mind?" I let go of Joe and stalked up to her.
"It's wrong… I look into his eyes and I just can't go through with it."
"Liar!" I said and crossed my arms over my chest. "It's more than that."
Femi kept her eyes to the ground and refused to look up.
"I see…" My voice tightened. "You don't want to wipe his mind because you're 'not that type of girl…'!" I struck a cutesy pose and batted my eyes innocently. "I had to get The Book, I was the one who knocked the guy out for it and I not only gave you the idea for the dream catcher but also executed it!I'm tired of doing all of the dirty work!"
"Stop it!" Femi screamed and gripped her head. "I'm nothing like you!"
"Nothing like me? Femi, YOU are ME! How many times do I have to keep telling you? I'm not just a figment of your imagination… I'm YOU!" I grabbed her by the neck and forced her to look into my eyes.
"Denial isn't going to get you anywhere. You're just buying yourself time and I'm running out of patience…" I examined my fingernails before facing her back with a look of disgust on my face. "What else do I have to do so you can stop pushing me away?"
"Just… please…" Femi said weakly. "Let me speak to him one last time, then you and I can settle our issues once and for all…"
"Fine," I said and let go of her. "But hurry up, that spell won't last forever!"
Femi slowly walked up to Joe with her head hung low. She looked back into those green eyes of his and sighed softly.
"Joe… it's me, Femi…"
A/N: Mardi Gras was a ton of fun, I had a great time with all of my friends. After a week of inactivity, I was able to get this chapter finalized. I'm ready to get started on The Time Warp Divide; I want it to be a piece of work I'm proud of. Remember, a review and fave are much loved! :)