Chapter 7
The white figure stood alone in the dark room. A dark figure entered from the doorway at the side.
Tempistus looked at the stranger. It was Dark, a villain he had met a few years ago.
"You have something I want." Dark said. "A hostage you picked up. He's limbless."
"What about him?" Tempistus asked.
"Our paths have crossed before. I want revenge."
"All you want is to make sure that prophesy does not come true." Tempistus said. "It isn't revenge. It's fear. I can smell it on you. But if you do something for me, I can get rid of him for you. Our paths have crossed as well. And you can get rid of the other two of his species in the process."
"There are more of them?" Dark asked. "How? The rest of them were killed years ago."
"I don't know. One of them claims to be his brother. The other is a girl. She has the Snake Cross Amulet. Bring that to me and your problem will be solved." Tempistus said.
Dark nodded, then left the room.
---
The four made it to the other side of the portal. They had fallen into what was called the Fairy Counsel and met small creatures called Teensies. The fourth had used the last of his energy to create a vortex under them as they fell through the sky so their landing would be softer. He fell asleep the instant they landed.
He opened his eyes. Alaesia had been here. He knew it. He grabbed one of the teensies and held it against the wall.
"A girl was here. She fell through the ceiling like I did. Where is she?" He demanded.
"Calm down." the elf said, putting a hand on his arm. "They told us where she went already. She is going after the amulet in the Desert of the Knaaren. Now put the teensie down."
He put down the teensie, who ran off to the side to avoid being attacked again.
The elf continued. "They said she doesn't remember who she is, but because of the necklace you gave her, she is calling herself 'D'. When she fell through that energy in the room, she changed. She has no limbs."
"Are you saying she is a worm now?" He asked, his anger growing.
"He is not well." The blind man said. "Too little rest and infection of the heart, caused by fear of loosing the one he--"
"Enough." the fourth man said. He needed more rest. But that would have to wait. He had to find her. "How do we get to the desert?"
"Our portal is fully repaired by now. There's isn't much of a chance she'll be there so soon without it." Another teensie said.
"I don't care." the fourth man said. "Just get me over there."
The teensie pointed to the far wall. A green light shone through a hole in the floor. The fourth man staggered to it and jumped in. The other three followed behind him.
---
Rayman opened his eyes. His head felt like his brain had just exploded inside it. The last thing he remembered was D fighting the knaaren.
D! He thought. He looked around. She was nowhere. He was in a dark, almost dungeon-like room. It was massive. Designs were carved into the stone that must have taken centuries to create. Three walls of bars separated Rayman from the rest of the room. He was in a cage bolted to the wall.
"You have proven to be quite valuable." Said a voice from the left.
Rayman looked in that direction. A man walked into the room. It was the man he had seen just before the rock hit him. Tempistus.
The man continued. "Your friends are going to trade the Snake Cross Amulet for you and so is Mister Dark. Now the race begins. I must admit, I did not think you'd accomplish so much value when I first met you."
"You know me?" Rayman asked.
"You don't remember?" Tempistus asked. "Maybe this will help." He transformed into a giant, white spider, then back. "Familiar?"
"No."
"Maybe that ocean you crossed erased your memory. What is the farthest thing you can remember?"
Hoping to find a clue to his missing past, Rayman told him about the day he woke up after the rainy night under the palm tree.
"That makes sense. Someone erased your memories to protect you from the pain of your past." Tempistus said. "But stories are meant to be told. You and your mother crashed in my forest in an escape pod. You came into my house for shelter from a gathering storm. She seemed troubled, though she did not tell me what the problem was.
"Dark and I had met years before. He made it clear that he wanted all of your kind dead. He was afraid of a prophesy. So when you two came in, I decided to help him out a little.
"I chased you down outside. Well, it wasn't really outside the mountain, I just like to make it magically look like outside. You were doing pretty well, keeping ahead of me and not getting yourselves killed in the process. But at one point, you decided to turn around and fight.
"I almost had you a that moment. But your mother flung herself between us and I caught her instead." He shrugged. "Just an easier catch."
Rayman's heart pounded with a rage he had never known before. Had this man really killed his mother all those years ago?
"I chased you further down. You managed to find my back door. You made it through and I reached through and caught you. You hung onto the door and a woman appeared on the other side. She shot something at me and there was a bright light. You slipped out of my grasp and the door closed. As I was reopening it, I saw you grab a piece of my wood and floated off into the ocean."
Rayman wound up his fist. Now he knew why he could not remember anything. If he had remembered something like that back then, he would not have been mentally able to handle saving the world right afterwards as good.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I am only supposed to keep you alive until they bring the amulet. There was never a part of the deal that said you couldn't be missing a hand." Tempistus warned.
He let it wind down. Deep inside him, Rayman somehow knew that the man would be able to merely catch his fist.
Tempistus got up and walked out of the room. "To make things more interesting," his voice rang through the doorway and echoed around the massive room, "your friends only have until sunset to bring it."