Chapter 9
When Jess was tucked away in her room with a servant at her side, Trevor, Sean, and Lucy all sat around a table to enjoy dinner.
"She's come, Mala's come!" Ferra suddenly burst through the kitchen door, blurting out her statement noisily. Hyacinth glanced around and pointed them out the back door. Silently, he said some words over Jess and she disappeared from sight. Lucy and Trevor dragged Sean out. They stayed by the back door and listened.
"Ah, Mala," the man's voice boomed.
But the husky voice that followed sent shivers down the spines' of the teens. They instantly understood why this orderly woman was labeled as Queen Mala. "I need it now," she demanded.
"Yes, I know," the man said. They could hear potions being pushed aside and the whip of cloth. All was suddenly, eerily silent. "No..," Hyacinth breathed in sharply.
"What is it?" Mala asked urgently.
Silence, once more, as they heard the clicking of heels against wood. The Queen gasped as well. "It's gone," the old man breathed, "The potions gone, Mala. They've found it."
After Mala left, in quite a disturbing huff, the teens entered curiously. "Where is it?" Hyacinth asked immediately.
"What?" Ferra asked, tilting her head to the side questioningly.
Hyacinth sighed and sat down, preparing himself, "My potion. I must warn you about the side effects," he looked each teen in the eyes, but of course, no one could tell who had consumed it. "My potion about the Evel secret. Only one can consume it, and in doing so, it reveals the way to escape Evel. However, you are unable to communicate it with anybody. No matter hard you try, it's impossible. It's a worthless potion, yet my most powerful. If given to the wrong person, the frustration may kill them." Hyacinth explained, although it was useless to the person who had already drank it.
"Well," he sighed, "off to bed with you."
Much later that night, Sean tiptoed to the magician's office where he worked and knocked on the door. "Enter," came the response, "Sean my boy! You've came to inquire about the potion, am I correct? Yes? Well, it was dark blue, right?" Sean knew that Hyacinth was talking about the potion he had given to Jess at the cabin, the one he had found stashed among a pile of blankets. But it had in fact not been blue at all, so Sean shook his head. "No? Pink? Oh dear. It did in fact save her life, but with ghastly side effects. They're different for everyone. She'll eventually learn to live with them." Sean could barely soak in this news, so he retired for his room for the night.
The next day, Hyacinth bid them each farewell. Ferra, now, took the lead. After a long trek over barren ground, Jess began to get renewed energy and could walk. Soon, though, the ice underneath them began to tremble and shake. "What the-" Lucy disappeared down one of the cracks and into the water. Her head appeared after a short time. She looked confused.
"What's wrong?" Ferra asked.
Lucy bit her lip and spoke, "First, the waters' definitely not freezing." Her expression changed to a scared frown. She ducked back under the water she had fallen into and when she arose, she was desperately grasping for the edge of the ice. Sean and Trevor grabbed her arms and carefully dragged her out. Two other head popped out of the water, and they spun around, flicking hot water at them with their sleek tails. Ferra gasped and attempted to hide behind Trevor's large body.
"Is that Mala we see?" A melodious harmony erupted from one of the beautiful mermaids as she continued to flick her scaly tail.
"So?" Ferra stood tall in front of the girls.
One of the girls spoke next, her voice almost identical to the others, "Mala would be delighted to know you're alive, but not so happy to learn of the humans." Her eyes flicked maliciously to the teens surrounding the Princess.
"You two best keep your mouths shut," Ferra shouted angrily. The mermaids giggled and returned into the water, swimming in the direction of the castle.
"We must hurry!" Ferra told the others. Everyone darted off towards the big cliff ahead, only Trevor knew what lay ahead.