CHAPTER 12:

SETHYLOS

Justin and the three sergeants ran out of the temple and into the daylight. The others could be seen sitting against the side of a building.

"Hey, guys!" Justin greeted them, as if nothing had even happened.

"Justin!" Feena exclaimed. "What happened? I turned away, and you were gone!"

"We fell through a trapdoor."

"Really? What did you find down there?"

"Nothing much. Just a tomb full of dead, rotting corpses." Feena's eyes widened. But not because of what Justin had just told her.

"Justin," she squeaked. "L-look behind you."

Justin turned to look over his shoulder. The manticore was still stalking them, and had followed them out.

"Geez, this thing just doesn't know when to quit, does it?"

Then, the manticore did something it had never done before. It raised its spiked tail high over its head, and the darts shot out at everyone like arrows.

"Whoa!!" they exclaimed as the darts shot past their ears.

"Look out!!" Feena screamed at Justin as a dart came flying straight at him.

Unfortunately, it was far too late for Justin, who soon felt a sharp prick in his neck. To his horror, he then felt the dart pump its poison into his artery. Almost immediately, he felt light-headed, and began to sway back and forth. It didn't take long for him to collapse to the ground as his vision quickly became fuzzier. Before he knew it, he was completely succumbed by the fast-acting venom. Before passing out, he caught a glimpse of the manticore slowly approaching him.

When Justin awoke, a few hours later, he found himself lying in a bed. Feena was looking down at him.

"F...Feena? Wh...what happened?"

"You're very lucky. This man saved your life." She pointed behind her. A tall man was standing in the corner of the room. He wore a headdress, indicating that he was the chief of a tribe. "That manticore would have killed you if he hadn't run it off in time."

Justin looked up at the man. "Uh, thanks."

"You're quite welcome, young man," he replied, smiling warmly.

"What's his name?" he asked Feena.

"Sethylos," she answered. "He's the chief of the Uolegna Tribe."

So, this city isn't really deserted, Justin thought to himself.

"You and your friends have my permission to stay in my palace as long as you want," Sethylos informed them invitingly.

Sethylos seemed kind enough to Justin, but he had to admit that there seemed to be something odd about him. Sethylos would often lock himself in his bedroom, and this struck suspicion in Justin. He knew that he would be invading Sethylos' privacy, but he had to see what he was so secretive about in that room. But, before he had gotten to the door, Sethylos showed up and, suddenly turning angry, told him to stay out of his room.

The next day, Justin had almost forgotten about his curiosity for Sethylos' mysterious bedroom. However, it came back to him one day when he was walking past it. The door was shut, and he knew to stay out.

"Hmm...." Justin said to himself. "Sethylos said that I wasn't allowed to see what's in his room." He then smiled slyly. "He didn't say anything about listening!" He pressed his ear against the door. Inside, he could hear Sethylos talking to someone with a familiar-sounding voice.

"Master," Justin heard Sethylos begin. "You will not believe who the boy and girl are. I have just found out that these two are the adventurers Justin and Feena!"

"What?! The Hero and the Icarian?!!" the other man in the room exclaimed.

"Wow!" Justin said quietly to himself. "Even here, they know about our defeating Gaia!"

"What should we do with them, Master?" Sethylos asked.

The stranger paused as if thinking of an answer. "Kill them!" he finally replied. "I don't care how, just kill them!!"

Justin's eyes widened when he heard these final words.

"Excuse me, Master," Sethylos said. "But, I believe that the boy is too strong for me. However, the girl shouldn't be a problem."

"Very well," the voice replied. "Listen to me, I don't care what you do. At least do away with one of them. That's all I ask!"

"Yes, Master."

Justin ran back to warn Feena, but when he had gotten to her room, she was gone! All of the furniture was toppled over, as if a brawl had taken place in the room.

"What the.... I could have sworn she was still in here!" Justin said to himself. Mullen ran in.

"Mullen! Feena's missing!!"

"I know, Justin. Leen is too!"

"What's going on here?" Rapp exclaimed, walking into the room. Everyone else was with him.

"Guys, both Feena and Leen are missing. Where could they have gone?!" Justin told them.

"I've already searched the entire palace, and couldn't find them anywhere," Mullen informed them.

"Well, they couldn't have just vanished into thin air," Sue put in. She looked down, and spotted a small piece of paper lying on the floor. "Hey, what's this?" she wondered, picking the parcel up off the ground.

Mullen looked at the paper. A single word was scrawled onto the paper, as if it had been written in a hurry. "This is Leen's handwriting," he said. He read the word out loud. "Sphingein?" They all jumped as the wall behind them opened to reveal a stone staircase leading down into darkness. The word that Mullen had read on the parchment was the password for that secret passageway.

"You think Feena and Leen are down there?" Justin asked, nodding towards the staircase.

"No doubt," Mullen answered. He looked around at the trashed bedroom and down at the paper in his palm. "And, judging from the looks of things, someone has taken them down there by force."

TO BE CONTINUED