The first hour that they didn't come back, Joe was only mildly annoyed. The second hour, he was downright pissed. But when the sun started to set and they still hadn't come back, he was starting to get worried. And now it was night and there was still no word from them.
Jodie paced back and forth behind Joe as he stared out into the jungle in the direction that Fred and Fina went. He closed his eyes and tried calling out for Fina again, but he still got some kind of weird interference.
"Natai's back." Jodie said quietly.
Joe opened his eyes and saw Natai with two other warriors coming out of the jungle towards them.
"Well?" Joe said anxiously. "Did you find any sign of them?"
"We may have found the Tenebrosi's camp, but it is heavily guarded by powerful monsters." He said. "We didn't see any sign of your friends."
"Well, where else could they be?" Jodie said impatiently. "They wouldn't just wonder off and not come back!"
"Indeed they wouldn't."
A figure slowly walked out of the jungle and Joe stared in shock as she came up to them. Antonia was flanked on both sides by black, shadowy monsters. The monsters changed shaped and became panthers with glowing red eyes.
Natai and his warriors got into a fighting stance, but with one wave of her hand, Antonia's dark purple magic knocked them down. She came to a stop in front of Joe and looked him up and down slowly.
"It's nice to see you again Warp Wizard Joe." Antonia glanced at Jodie and raised an eyebrow. "And this must be your great grand daughter Jodie. A pleasant change from your old whore Joleena."
"Excuse me?" Jodie said sharply with a slight flush.
"What the hell are you doing here Antonia?" Joe felt his fists heat up with magic. "And what did you do with Fred and Fina?"
Antonia's eyes narrowed and she snapped her fingers. The two shadow panthers lunged at Jodie, knocking her back with a scream of fear.
"Jodie!"
The panthers snarled at Joe and circled Jodie slowly, refusing to let Joe anywhere near her.
"If it's one thing I hate Joe," Antonia said darkly, her voice rising in pitch, "it's being interrupted by a rude man! Now do you want to know where your friends are or would you rather me have your great grand daughter's throat ripped out!?"
Joe cast another worried glance at Jodie and then slowly lowered his fists.
"That's better." Antonia snapped her fingers again and dark purple smoke starting swirling in the air in front of him. In the middle of the smoke an image appeared of Fred and Fina unconscious and tied to a tree. She waved the image away.
"I think you know by now that we want Joe." Antonia said. "Our camp is just upriver and in three nights if you don't deliver the Yacumama's conch, your two friends will die. Oh, and no you can't plan on rescuing them before then. Our camp is cloaked with shadow magic that will only disappear on the night of the Yacumama."
Joe took a deep breath and tried to reason with her. "Antonia please, if you and the Tenebrosi's unleash the Yacumama it will be the end of the world. Jodie saw it destroy everything!"
Antonia chuckled darkly and she and the panthers started to disappear in a billowing cloud of smoke. "The only ones who will be destroyed will be those who do not bow to the Tenebrosi Sanction."
Antonia held them captive at a camp up river for nearly three days. She tied them together to a tree and the ropes had some sort of dark magic coated on them that wasn't as brutal as the inhibitor, but it still kept Fina from transforming or calling out to Joe. The camp was filled with shadowy monsters and people wearing dark masks and matching insignias on the upper arm of their clothing.
Fred and Fina were left alone for the most part, but every now again one of the men could come to leer at Fina. It disgusted her to be sure, but Fred was the one with the strongest reaction. More than once he almost broke the rope, yelling at the men to stay away from her. And every time he did that they would hit him and jeer at him instead.
"Fred, it's okay." She said soothingly after the fifth time it happened. "They won't do anything to me."
"I don't want them even looking at you." Fred said in a low growl. His cheek was bruised and swollen from the last hit he got.
"And I don't want them hurting you." Fina smiled and laid her hand on top of his.
Fred chuckled and laced their fingers together. "You know, I've been dying to kiss you for weeks now. It's sucks that I'm going to have to wait to get home to do it."
Fina felt her face heat up with a heavy blush and quickly pulled her hand away. "Who's says that's going to happen? I never said that we would start dating."
Fred merely laughed and shook his head. "You know, I'm pretty sure that's what Joleena used to say to Joe and look at them now."
"Well Joleena didn't have any previous obligations." Fina mumbled.
"Have you always been this stubborn?" Fred laughed. "Because you used to be a lot sweeter."
"I am sweet!"
Suddenly there was the sound of dark laughter and smoke began to billow up from the ground in front of them. Antonia stepped out the smoke and smiled at them.
"You know, you two remind me of my dear husband and I when we first married." She leaned close to Fina and brushed some hair out of her face. "Tell me, does he flirt with other women like my husband does?"
"What do you want with us, Antonia?" Fred said impatiently. "We've told you like a hundred times that we don't have your sea shell and we don't know where it is."
"I've never said that you did." Antonia smiled. "But that stupid chief does and I just know that the so called future Warp Wizard will do anything get you two back. And thanks to you two, in a few hours I will fulfill the mission the Tenebrosi Sanction has given me."
She walked away with a small laugh and began to order a few of her people to start setting something up on the banks of the river. Day light was quickly fading, making everything feel eerie with lengthening shadows and a darkening sky.
"What do you think they're doing?" Fred asked a bit nervously.
Fina was silent for a minute. She watched as some figures consulted books and scrolls while others drew symbols in the ground with fire that instantly turned black.
She felt a chill go down her spine and her voice quaked. "They're preparing to summon the Yacumama."