Chapter 8
"What happened in there?" Neshae asked as they flew to the mountain.
D explained how they found the amulet and defeated the knaaren with her soul power. Then Tempistus had come in and taken Rayman hostage.
"I recognize that mountain." Neshae said as they approached it. "This is where our pod crashed. The vampire attacked me right outside it. I was able to lure her away from Rayman and Mom, but I wasn't fast enough to escape."
"What are you talking about" D asked.
"We--" Neshae was cut off by a fire ball flying right by his head.
"Woah!"
A dark figure stood on the top of the mountain. Somehow, D knew that this was Dark, the villain Rayman had told her about.
"That's Dark." She said. "He must be trying to get the amulet so we can't save Rayman."
"Ass hole!" Neshae screamed at the dark figure.
"Are you insane?" D asked.
"A little." he answered. A shower of fire flew from Dark's direction. "Hang on, we're going down!"
They flew downward, dodging shards of inferno and narrowly missing being barbecued. Neshae landed on his feet at the base of the mountain and let go of D. He turned around and seemed to be looking for something. Then he found it: a ditch in the ground, looking as if something had crashed there years ago.
"There." He pointed at it. "That's where we landed."
In the corner of her eye, D saw a fire ball come straight for Neshae. She grabbed his hand and spun around, throwing him to the side. The fire ball landed where he had been standing.
"Thanks." Neshae stood up. They ran as more fire balls came at them. Dark was no longer on top of the mountain. There was no telling where he was by now. "Hey, look at this."
He stuck his head into a cave. It seemed pretty small. They would have to crawl to get into it. "It gets bigger inside. Come on." He got on all fours and crawled in.
A fire ball caused a rock to explode next to D. She got down on all fours and crawled in after him. The cave did get bigger inside. Immediately after the entrance they were able to stand up.
The entrance of the cave glowed orange. Both D and Neshae looked at it, realized what was happening, and jumped backward just in time as a blast of fire roared through the entrance and seared the back wall.
When it finally ended, D spotted a tunnel going through the left wall. "In there!" She said, pointing to it.
They ran through it just as another blast lit up the cave. This one was shorter and D swore she heard Dark swear as they escaped.
Their victory did not last long, for Dark crawled through and sent a blast of fire at them. It was a race against the fire now.
"Get down." Neshae dropped to the ground and pulled D with him. She felt the inferno blaze by just over her. The ends of her hair were burned off.
The blast ended. D was grateful to feel cooler air over her at last. They heard footsteps stop just behind them and they rolled over. Dark stood over them.
"As you probably know, I have come for the amulet. Hand it over and your death will be quick and almost painless." He said.
"I remember you." Neshae stood up. "I saw you when we were attacked. You're the one who caused all this!" The vampire pounced at Dark. A wall of fire separated them, forcing him back. "Thanks to you all that's left of my past is painful memories!"
"I guess I should put you out of your misery then." Dark said.
"Where's my father's sword? If you wanted it so bad, why don't you have it?" Neshae demanded.
"You will never get the chance to see it again, so why should I tell you?" Dark shot a fire ball at Neshae. He ducked.
"My father told me about how much of a coward you are." Neshae said. "The instant your opponent gains an advantage over you, you back away. And without your fire, you'd be nothing."
"Is that so?" Dark reached out an arm towards Neshae. Neshae lifted off the ground. Even though he did not have a neck, Dark appeared to be magically strangling him.
"Let him go!" D said and shot her soul arm at Dark. He was sent back a few feet, letting go of Neshae. Neshae dropped to the ground and gasped for air.
D was no longer sure what she was sending at Dark. It just seemed to be a blast of force. "I have had enough," another blast sent him rolling a few more feet. She walked toward him "of bad guys" she sent another blast "kidnapping my friends" another blast "hurting my friends" another blast "and trying to kill my friends" another blast "over a freakin amulet!" a final blast sent him flying through the air.
"You're going to wish you hadn't done that." Dark said as he stood up. He said a word in a language that D didn't understand. The rock that made up the walls, ceiling, and floor of the tunnel rippled like waves from Dark toward D and Neshae.
Neshae stood up and grabbed D's hand. "We've gotta go." He pulled her away and in the next moment, they were running down the tunnel once again.
A soft light came from an exit at the end of the tunnel.
"That's our way out." Neshae said. They jumped out of the hole and fell six feet into a large cavern. "Freedom!"
"Not so loud!" D said when they landed. "Want something else to come after us?"
"Shh..." Neshae put a hand up to quiet her.
D listened. She could faintly hear the echo of Tempistus' voice in the next room. She couldn't make out what he was saying, but she could tell it was his voice.
The two waited until the echo had stopped, then followed where it had come from. They found themselves in a massive chamber with designs carved up and down every wall. To the left was a cage bolted to the wall. Inside the cage was Rayman.
"Rayman!" D exclaimed and ran to the cage. Neshae followed.
Rayman looked up at them. "D! Neshae! What did I miss?"
"Not a lot." D answered him. "Tempistus held you hostage for the amulet and Dark tried to steal it from us. He's still back there somewhere. Don't know why he hasn't caught up yet."
"Maybe he came another way to warn me that you were coming." Said the voice of Tempistus.
"Distract him." Neshae told D. "I'll get Rayman out."
D nodded and stepped toward Tempistus. With lightning speed, she formed a fire ball in her hand and threw it at the sorcerer. He merely blocked it by forming a green, transparent shield in front of him. The fire ball hit it and faded away harmlessly.
Neshae grabbed two of the bars of the cage. He pushed on them with all his strength. Slowly, they began to bend apart.
D tried using her soul power. She reached out and punched at Tempistus. He ducked as if he could actually see where the invisible arm was.
"Did you really think that would work again?" He asked. "Yes, I know who you are. I recognize your powers. You cannot surprise me with them again."
"Almost got it." Neshae grunted from the strain. Rayman added his own strength to the force, helping Neshae bend the bars.
Tempistus reached his arm out towards D. To her surprise, it reached across the entire distance and grabbed her, lifting her off the ground. "You have no power over me." He said, squeezing the life out of her. "I can change into any form I wish. All you can do is knock me down."
"She was about to black out when she saw Rayman's fist slam into the side of Tempistus' head. He let go of her and she fell to the ground, her insides trembling from the shock.
"You okay?" Rayman said, helping her up.
"Let's get going." Neshae said, pushing them toward the way they had come from. "Before we left the witch's house, she told me Tempistus an only shape shift inside his lair. If we can lure him out we can beat him easier.
Rayman nodded. They ran out of the room and into the room where D and Neshae had jumped out of the hole. Only now, the hole was caved in. Their way out was gone. Behind them, Tempistus transformed into a giant, white spider and came after them.
D looked around for another way out. "Over there!" she heard Rayman say. He ran past her to a small passage way in one wall.
They had to hunch over a little to get through it, but it was the only way out. Rayman was in the lead, seeming to know his way around, then D was behind him, and Neshae was in the rear.