Chapter Six
The Garden and the Amulet
Rontu was suddenly awakened by a strange sound in the night. He stood and went to check it out. It was still very dark, but he could see clearly with his night vision. Creatures of the night were out and about. Rontu's ears lifted at the slightest sound. A rat had scurried past him a couple of times. About a hundred feet from the camp, Rontu found the source of the sound. He had found a strange garden-like place where the most beautiful pink flowers grew. Rontu, ignoring the sense of danger in the back of his mind, headed down to sniff at the flowers. They smelled lovely! The pedals were a bright pink and the stems were purple. Something clicked in Rontu's head. Normal flowers don't have purple stems, even on Vandaxa! Rontu thought. He pulled his nose away, but he leaned in for one last sniff. Suddenly, the flower sprang to life and attached itself to his nose! He yelped and pawed at it until it released. Rontu had felt some of his energy being drained by the flower. He started back for the camp, when he bumped into something. He looked up. Standing in his path was a beautiful woman. She was wearing a long, flowing black gown. Her hair was the color of the flower's pedals and her skin was a light pink. She was very beautiful, but something about her made Rontu feel uneasy.
"What's this, now?" the woman asked. She bent down and looked at Rontu. "A wolf in my garden?"
She stroked the fur on his head. "What a handsome creature," she said. The woman looked into his eyes. Rontu looked at her nails. They were black and pointed. Rontu whined and backed away from her. "What's wrong, wolf?" the woman asked. Rontu noticed the very beautiful necklace she was wearing. Quickly, without thinking first, he snapped the chain and ran toward the woods with the necklace between his teeth.
"COME BACK HERE!!!" the woman shouted in rage behind him. He looked back and saw a fireball hurling toward him. Rontu yipped and ran faster. Finally, the fireball hit the ground, singing the tip of his tail. He whined and continued running until he reached the camp.
Once there, he woke Bianca and showed her his prize. She barked, waking Fiore, Rhoda, and Zoë. Zoë hissed, unhappy about being awakened. "What is it, Bianca?" Fiore asked. His eyes fell on the necklace Rontu held between his teeth. Rontu strutted over to Rhoda and dropped the necklace in her lap. She picked it up and looked at it. It was a ruby necklace with a golden chain. "It sure is a pretty trinket," she said. Rhoda put it on. Instantly, the necklace began to glow. The misty ghost-like image of a phoenix rose from the necklace. It screeched and seemed to enter Rhoda's body. Her eyes began to glow red.
Finally, the glowing stopped. Rhoda sighed and put her hand on her forehead. "Are you okay?" Fiore asked. "Yeah, I think so," replied Rhoda. Zoë sang happily. "Why are you so happy?" Rhoda asked her. Zoë flew down from the branches of a tree and began to scratch words in the dirt.
The Amulet of the Phoenix
Rhoda read. "The Amulet of the Phoenix?" Fiore said. "I think I remember reading something about it," Rhoda said, "Supposedly, according to legend, it's supposed to give its possessor fire powers."
"Rontu, can you show us where you found this?" she asked. The wolf nodded.