Chapter Eleven
"Cornelia! Cornelia!" The screams echoed throughout the condominium.
"Cornelia! Cornelia!" The sound of tiny footsteps could be heard as the screaming child ran back and forth, from room to room.
This can only be one person, Cornelia thought. She was laying on her bed.
"Cornelia! Come quick!" Lillian was standing outside of Cornelia's room. "There's this weird guy at the door that says he's your friend," she panted, "I didn't let him in yet. He says his name is Dark. Do you know--"
At the name "Dark," Cornelia shot out of her bed. She pushed her sister out of her room, told her to let him in, and slammed the door shut.
All right, Cornelia thought, I've got to stay calm. Oh my god! What am I going to wear? Cornelia ran to her closet and flung the doors open. She sighed. Nothing to wear. Nothing to impress Dark, at least.
She pulled out a pink blouse, then threw it back in the closet. Too flirty. Dark doesn't seem like the kind of guy who likes that. She pulled out a blue blouse, but tossed it back. I hate this blouse! He'll probably hate it too. She sighed as she walked out her room. I guess that this will have to do. She was wearing a black jacket with blue jeans. She had big, gold hoop earrings on.
"Hi Dark!" she said as she walked down the stairs. "Ignore my little sister. She's such a pest."
"I know," a voice said, though Cornelia could have sworn Dark didn't move his lips. He was sitting on her parents' sofa, wearing a black dress hat that covered his eyes, a black dress suit, and a long, black cape. To complete the look, Dark was wearing black tap shoes and was holding a black brief case.
"Did you just say something?" Cornelia asked him.
"Yes." His response seemed to echo through the condo. "And, yes, I didn't move my lips. You see I'm a ventriloquist. I do puppet shows for children." He paused and looked around. Cornelia saw him wave at Lillian.
"I'm also a contortionist," he continued, "a juggler, an artist, a martial artist, an illusionist, and an actor. I used to be rich and famous, but I gave most of my wealth to charity. Well I give most of it to charity. I'm still rich, and the way things are going, I'll be rich even when I die." He smiled, and turned towards Cornelia.
"This is a gift for you," he said, placing the case in her hands. "I hope you like it."
Before she could say anything, Dark turned to Lillian. "You look like a handful," he said, smiling even wider. "Here." He reached in his pocket. "I knew you had a sister, Corny," he said, "so I brought her something too." He pulled out a small, red rose and gave it to Lillian. "Try to be good, okay?" he said sweetly. He turned back to Cornelia.
"The reason I came here," he said, using his ventriloquist ability, "is because North wanted to talk to us: you, me, Will, Irma, Taranee, East and Hay Lin. She said something about a portal and some place called-"
"Metamoor?" Cornelia blurted out.
"No," he replied, "She called it Nreyda. I don't know how I know this, but it mean 'the world of the Elements.'"
"The world of the Elements?"
"Yeah. We have to go now. Everyone's waiting on us. Come on! Let's go find out what this 'Nreyda' place is!"