Chapter Four
They remained stationary for about a minute as the princess tried to get her breath back. It appeared even her superior Nekross strength was no match for the Fijian Archipelago!
Tom tried to wriggle free but this made her grasp him even more firmly.
"You are foolish to think you can escape, wizard half-form!" Tom thrashed harder, pulling Lexi along with him. "The Nekross shall feast on your delicious magic!" Lexi was struggling to hold onto him. Tom fought aggressively to free himself, and accidentally whacked her in the face with one of his flippers. "OH!" She abruptly let go of him.
Tom propelled himself away from her as fast as he could. He had made it over several beds of coral before he suddenly visualized her clutching her face in agony.
What?! He couldn't go back to see whether she was OK! She would beam him back to the Zarantulus! He had to keep swimming…
Tom paused. Who was he kidding?
He swam back to where he had left Lexi. She was seated on a sandy bed, her hand pressed to the right side of her jaw and her face stricken with pain.
"Are you all right, Lexi?" he asked.
The princess didn't reply. Tom noticed a faint hue of red dissolving around her fingers. He swam up toward her, and eased away her hand. He winced as he saw a terrible gash on her chin.
"Whoa!"
How had that happened?
He eyed his flippers disconcertedly, wondering what could have turned them into lethal weapons, and lifted his leg up to inspect the blade…which was a more than accurate description of it. How the manufacturers had got away with making it so sharp he had no idea!
The flippers were the cheap variety that could be bought in a seaside shop, which possibly explained the flaw in design. Tom had only wanted them for messing about on the beach. He hadn't intended for them to be involved in mortal combat!
"Now you discover that Nekross skin is not always tough enough to withstand any blow," said the princess, "How does it feel to draw my blood for the first time, Tom Clarke?"
"Look, I'm sorry, Lexi! I didn't exactly mean to hit you in the face!"
"There is no need to apologise. It is only a wound – a wound that will heal with time, as with all other injuries." Without warning, she grabbed Tom's arm. "It is almost a shame that I will not repay your kindness. Say goodbye to earth, Tom Clarke."
"You are making a big mistake, Lexi."
"My actions are not negotiable. My people are hungry, and I must bring them food."
It was then Tom became aware of small voices whispering in the back of his mind.
"Lexi…can you hear that?"
"I am not in the mood to play games-" Suddenly, her tentacles started squirming. She could hear it too. "What…is this noise?"
"The thoughts of other divers. They must be coming toward us. Hide yourself, Lexi!"
The princess held her head. "How can I hear them?" She swam behind a boulder.
"I don't know," hissed Thomas, "Angelica said that underwater we communicate by thoughts…I suppose that makes sense if you're a mermaid."
That didn't answer his question. It seemed Lexi, and also Varg if he remembered correctly, also could read his mind. Was this something to do with the fact they ate magic?
Never mind that! The diving squad was approaching fast. What was he going to do if they caught sight of the snake-headed alien sat at his feet?
"What I would like to know is how a human can possibly breathe underwater. As far as I can remember, you are not amphibious creatures."
Tom smiled. "It's magic, Lexi. Gran gave me a potion." Abruptly, he caught sight of the form filter. "Wait a minute, Lexi! You disguised yourself as a dolphin earlier. If you switched your necklace on again, the divers wouldn't give you a second thought."
The word "necklace" painfully brought his earlier mistakes back to mind.
"And what of you, Tom Clarke? A human breathing underwater will not go unnoticed for long." The princess pressed the knob on her choker.
"Angelica cast a glamour over me. There's no need to worry."
Lexi transformed back into her dolphin guise and tilted herself forward so she was swimming the right way up.
Tom couldn't resist giving her head a stroke. The princess grinned as she felt his soothing hand rubbing the back of her skull, knowing that he couldn't see.
The diving team were not far away now. One of the divers was watching Tom intently, fascinated that he had got so friendly with the dolphin. Tom gave them a quick wave, patted Lexi one last time and swam away from her at top speed, whilst the diver approached the secretly infuriated dolphin.
…
Tom knew he was hopeless.
If Benny had been nearby, he would have stated that the probability of Tom running into Angelica again was pretty remote, considering the fact he was in the middle of an exotic coral reef that he'd obviously never been to before in his life.
He'd escaped from an alien spaceship multiple times. He'd fought a house full of monsters with razor-sharp teeth. He'd frustrated the plans of a scheming millionaire, stopped a cloning facility, managed to protect one hundred wizards from a giant extractor and outwitted a naughty hobbledehoy. How was he going to get out of his latest challenge?
In each and every adventure he had experienced before, there had always been someone nearby to help him – Benny, his dad, his gran, Randal Moon, other wizards, even Princess Lexi at one point. There was no such luxury this time. He was all on his own now.
Or was he?
As Tom was contemplating his fate, he hadn't noticed several strange golden patterns appearing in the sand, there and again. It wasn't until the squiggles started glowing, gradually becoming brighter and brighter, that his attention was abruptly grabbed.
In fact, they weren't just meaningless scribbles – they were sentences in Stonescript. For the first time in his life, Tom felt grateful he had persevered with all the tedious lessons in the agonizingly incomprehensible language. He could see clearly that it was the same phrase repeated over and over – "Behold the amulet."
Behold the amulet? A ray of hope sprang into Tom's mind. Did that mean the amulet was near…?
The sentence was cropping up on everything now – the rocks, the corals, the fish even. It dawned on Tom that the water seemed darker than it was when he landed in it. Maybe this was due to the fact it was getting later in the day (What is the time in Fiji, anyway? he wondered), or perhaps he was going deeper underwater. He looked toward the surface. The light shining through the top of the water seemed much further away now.
So sooner had he turned his head downward again did he notice that all the scribbles had vanished.
That was just strange. Why had they appeared in the first place?
Tom swam a bit further. He could see another glow coming from a nearby rock. As he drew closer, he saw on it too was an inscription, only this time it read, "Enter the cavern."
"Enter the cavern?" mused Tom, looking to see if there was another seaweedy tuft anywhere masking a cave entrance.
Then, the ground started rumbling. He settled his foot down briefly to steady himself, only to be thrown back upward.
Where was the shockwave coming from? Did Fiji happen to be near a fault line? If so, did that mean that the tremors he could feel were the result of an earthquake?!
Before he could deliberate this further, a glowing line split across the sand beneath him. He shielded his eyes from the intense light. It grew stronger and stronger until all of a sudden there was a blinding flash.
Tom moved his hand away from his face slowly.
There before him had appeared a large chasm, akin to the one he had swum through earlier, but he could feel the tingle of magic coming from somewhere deep inside.
The writing had said that the amulet was nearby. Did that mean it was somewhere in here?
Tom braved his way into the cavity, afraid to move forward in case he bashed into a rock like he did earlier. It was even gloomier in this cave than the other – he couldn't see where the floor was! How was he ever going to locate the amulet at this rate?
No, wait! He could see the floor – just about. His eyes must have adjusted to the darkness. However, why exactly was it starting to glow blue?
It was then Tom realised that his eyes weren't alone responsible for the fact he could see the sandy carpet beneath him. A patch of the floor had turned luminous.
Snakes of electric blue light drifted from the beacon, gradually forming a shape. Tom could sense the magic radiating from the materializing object. Before long, the light had fashioned itself into a polished white podium, and placed on the top was a larger, more intricately detailed fish akin to the charm on the necklace.
The amulet! This must be the Wasa Mana amulet!
"It's beautiful," he whispered, fishing around in his pocket for the vial of Gran's potion. With it clasped between his fingers, he drifted toward the amulet, marvelling at its mysterious beauty. On the other hand, how was he going to fuse the potion into it? The moment he opened the capsule, it would dissolve into the surrounding water. Was there an opening anywhere he could feed it through?
"Thomas Robert Clarke," said a voice identical to the mysterious one he'd heard earlier, "Beware the princess!"
"Not again," groaned the wizard.
He turned around to come face to face with none other than Lexi, who gave a triumphant cackle at the sight of the amulet.
"Father will be pleased! Not only do I have in my possession an amulet filled to the brim with exquisite magic but the wizard half-form, who has unknowingly directed me right into its location."
Tom cringed. "I knew this would happen."
"I congratulate you, Tom Clarke. In consequence of your negligence, the Nekross shall feast upon the magic of the Wasa Mana amulet."
Tom knew he had to act fast…or at least he would have to act fast when he figured out what the heck he was supposed to do in this situation. If he tried to empty the potion into the amulet, he still wouldn't be able to stop Lexi taking it back to the ship, alongside himself…unless, of course, he stopped her.
By what means? He didn't want to hurt her. He caught sight of the wound on her chin which he had given her earlier and knew that he could never fight her again.
"Listen to me, Lexi," reasoned Tom, "Angelica's people are going to die if you don't let me do this."
The princess laughed cruelly.
"We all die eventually, Tom Clarke – including you. When I have transported you onto to the Zarantulus, the king has…" She trailed off.
For a moment Tom wondered just what had happened.
Lexi shut her eyes and opened them again firmly.
"Back on Nekron, the king…"
Her eyelids drooped and eventually closed.
"Lexi?"
Tom swam over to see what was the matter.
"Do not worry, Tom," said a familiar voice, "I turned some of the air in her tank into sleeping gas."
About ten metres away from him was Angelica.
"How did you find me?!" exclaimed Tom.
"How did you find the amulet?"
Before Tom could explain, Angelica's necklace started glowing.
"Make haste. Use the potion."
This time, they could both hear the voice.
"Was that the necklace?" asked Tom.
"Certainly. We must do as it says."
Tom took hold of Lexi's arm and settled her on the sandy bed, before floating over to the podium. Angelica was marvelling at the sight of the amulet.
"It's amazing…" she breathed, "This statue holds such mighty power – I never would have believed that one day I would live to see it with my own eyes."
"That still doesn't explain how we're going to put the potion inside it!"
Angelica opened her palm. Thomas planted the bottle in her awaiting hand. The mermaid surveyed the amulet, looking for somewhere to insert it. She reached out to touch it, hoping to find a secret compartment. The eye of the fish started glowing ruby red. Angelica withdrew her hand, unsure what had just happened.
The jewel in the statue's eye-socket slowly disappeared, leaving a hole big enough for Angelica to pour the liquid inside. She placed the container as near to the opening as possible, before speedily popping off the lid and shoving its contents inside.
Tom could feel intense, overwhelming magic emanating from the statue. Even Lexi's tentacles twitched slightly as the glamour fused itself into the heart of the amulet.
As soon as the potion had run out, Angelica removed the vial. All of a sudden, there was a tremendous flash. Both onlookers covered their eyes.
When the glare had died down, Tom moved his hand away from his face to see the statue and the platform had vanished as mystifyingly as they had arrived, leaving only a luminous blue circle upon the floor.
"I am so glad that's over," he said in relief.
It was then he caught ear of a horribly familiar chuckle coming from behind him.
"Varg!" he cried, swivelling round to see a shark hovering several metres away from him, who promptly morphed into the Prince of Nekron.
"We meet again, Tom Clarke," sneered the Nekross, "This time there is no escape. The Nekross shall feast on you and your delicious magic!" It was then he caught sight of his unconscious sister lying on the sand. "What have you done with her?!"
"I haven't done anything, I swear!"
Varg lunged for him. Tom dived out of the way, but he couldn't stop the prince from grappling one of his legs.
"Do not attempt to defy me! I will not rest until I see every last drop of your magic sucked from your very bones."
"Varg!" yelled Angelica, "If there is one thing I have learned today, it is that there is always a way out."
"What…is this noise!?" Varg clutched his head. It appeared he'd finally realised his opponents weren't communicating in their usual manner.
Angelica winked at Tom. She whispered a series of magical words deep inside her mind.
SNAP!