A/N: So, how are y'all doin'?...Really? That's good….And I'm doing fine, too, thanks! But it's time to update! And as you can see from the title of this chapter, things are going to get bumpy real soon. And I'm very excited with this chapter, because I finally get to tell you the names of the ghost animals! Well, enough blather, here is Chapter 9. IDNOAC, and, of course, enjoy!
TrueHeart Chapter 9—The Set-up
The lynx slowly opened his eyes, his blurry vision gradually coming into focus after being unconscious from the fight with Bertrand and Spectra. The first thing to greet him was a set of small green eyes looking both worried and relieved.
"Sarah?" he muttered, before slowly rising up. He groaned as the pain in his side suddenly shot through him, and fell back down.
The dove gasped as he fell, "Derek! Are you all right?"
She inched closer to him, and he tried to smile confidently to her. "I think I will be all right. I am just a little sore from the fight with that wolf. And dizzy from being hit by those rays. Are you all right?"
"I am fine," she said with a little more relief in her voice. "My wing was merely strained a little. I think I will be able to fly again in no time. Still, are you sure you are all right?"
"Yes, my love, I think I will be," he assuredly replied, shaking his head to try to help clear it. "But, where are we and how did….."
"Aww, the happy couple, together again! What was that? Sarah and Derek?" Spectra sweetly interrupted them. Bertrand was right behind her and both of them were in human form.
Her comment startled the young black lynx to full alert and, ignoring his pain, he jumped up to a defensive position once more. He immediately snarled and bared his fangs and claws, especially when he saw the scowl on Bertrand's face.
Spectra merely smirked, just before the dove intervened. "It is all right, Husband! She knows of us and has understood!"
He looked at the dove and then shifted his gaze back at Spectra, blinking in disbelief. He still felt a little dizzy and wasn't sure if he heard his enchanted wife correctly. "What do you mean that she knows and understands?" he repeated, wanting Sarah to explain what she just said. He did not, however, lower his guard.
"Yes, beloved! She understands our sorrowful situation, and she wants to help us! She and her servant did not mean us any harm, as she understands that we did not, either. She says she knows of the way to break the spell!"
Bertrand frowned in irritation at the ghost animal's comment about him but remained quiet.
Derek pulled his eyes from his wife and glanced at Spectra again. The human shadow ghost smiled knowingly and nodded, confirming what the dove had said.
The lynx then narrowed his eyes in distrust when he saw Bertrand's glower. He was not convinced. He had grown to be suspicious of any and all ghosts that they had encountered in their endless wanderings.
Sarah frowned with worry when she could tell that her husband did not believe what she had said. But before she could say anything more, the lynx growled. He then turned to Spectra and Bertrand and uttered with a wary tone, "Might we have a moment alone, please?"
"Oh, yes, of course, you may. Even though from what Sarah has told me, you've had more than your share of 'moments alone'," Spectra replied with a sweet smile that definitely bordered on sarcasm.
The wildcat glared at her slightly, but said nothing. But as he started to walk out of the area, he stumbled, still weak from the ghosts' attack.
Spectra quickly offered, "Oooh, that's right. How can we forget how helpless you both are right now. We don't mind leaving you two 'love birds', uhm, I mean, 'love animals' to discuss this, do we, Bertrand?" But she didn't wait for Bertrand's reply, and immediately continued, "Take as much time as you need. Come, Bertrand!" And before he could do anything or object, she grabbed his arm and pulled her assistant out of the room.
But the two evil ghosts quickly doubled-back to eavesdrop. Making sure that they would not be noticed, they listened in carefully.
Derek waited a few more moments, pricking his ears up to make sure that they were alone. Finally satisfied that they were indeed just that, he gently but firmly said, "Sarah, what did you tell that ghost? And why did you even speak to them?"
Sarah's eyes immediately began to tear up. She was upset not only with the painful memory of their attack, but also when she could plainly see that her husband was chiding her. Still, she tried to put on a brave front and answered his second question. "I am very sorry. I did not mean to speak to them! It is just that I thought that you were severely wounded when they attacked you and feared for your life! I begged them for mercy, praying that they would not harm you any more! I did not realize until it was too late that I had uttered anything. Forgive me, Husband!"
Before the lynx could respond, however, the dove pressed on, "And forgive me once more, my dearest, but I told her everything about us. I am sorry, but I could not help myself! She listened with such sympathy, and she has understood…"
"'Understood'?" he repeated, his voice becoming tense. He was still not mollified. "How could she possibly understand our plight, Sarah? In all this time, no one has ever even given us so much as the time, and still, you gave your—our--trust without hesitation to the one who attacked us?"
Sarah's eyes widened. It was once rare to see her husband like this, but now it was becoming more common, more unbearable than their sorry state. She knew he had not been like this before the beginning of their tragedy. But now, he burned with suspicion of others. "Please, my love," she began soothingly.
But he interrupted her, not only with his wariness, but underneath, with fear for their safety. "You cannot so easily trust others, Sarah! That was our undoing in the past and continues to be so now. What do these ghosts want with us, then? Why did they attack us so readily, and now just as readily wish to help us? It does not make any sense, Sarah! Trust or no trust, it does not make any sense! How can you be certain that they are not merely waiting to harm us more?"
"This is not going well," Bertrand whispered to Spectra after hearing this last comment from the lynx. "We cannot depend on the male."
"Shhh," Spectra quietly hissed back. "Give the girl more time."
The two continued to listen.
The dove clenched her beak. He was right. Yes, her trust in one person in particular had been responsible for the curse that befell upon them. And she did easily trust others, but she could not apologize for her nature. Even through all these terrible years, she had not hardened about others as her husband had understandably had. She still had some hope, she still wanted to have hope. She did not want to believe that everyone could have evil intentions. Still, she had not thought that telling that female ghost about them would put them into more danger. She finally answered her husband, but the more she spoke, the more her voice quivered. "I do not know. But it sounded so wonderful, so hopeful! She seemed so sure that she could unbind the spell upon us." She dropped her head in sorrow.
The black lynx noticed the change in her, and it pained him to see her so. Nevertheless, he tried to remain firm. "I am sorry as well, Wife. But I cannot help but feel that all of this is not right. What do they want of us in return for this favor they claim they can grant us? Not that I do not desire to be free from this curse. You know that I have just as much a fervent desire as you to be rid of it. But I do not want to give them this, this power over us. I feel that we will regret this as much as you cannot help but trust them."
Sarah answered him, but it was getting harder for her not to cry. "I understand, Husband. And you are right! I should not have trusted them. And we do not know what they want of us. She did say that we had to do whatever she said or else she would not be able to lift the spell from us. But what else can we do? You are still too weak for us to flee. But what if she speaks the truth? What if she can break our curse? She may do this only because it is right. After all, she did say she was a sorceress!"
"A sorceress?!" he gasped, even more concerned. "Sarah, I am even more worried about this."
"I understand. And forgive me, but you have nearly lost all hope, Derek. I have not. Please, my love, have a little more hope. Even if you cannot, I still have enough hope for the both of us! We have waited for far too long."
She could not longer control herself. Her eyes melted into large pools of water. And he felt when he saw them that he would drown in the sorrow they held.
Perhaps, she was right. He had little hope any more. And no trust save in her. But he loved her too much to extinguish either from her heart with his own doubts. Just for her, he would relent. "If it pleases you, Sarah, we will do as she says if that is her price for the curse to be unbound. Let us only pray that no more evil comes from it."
And Sarah choked out a weak 'thank you' before imbedding her face into his fur and sobbing, both in sorrow and in hope.
Spectra gagged her laugh at the news. She quickly and quietly floated to the other side of the lair and Bertrand was right on her heels. Once she was finally out of earshot of the two enchanted animals, she cackled, "This has been too easy! Still, I think you're right about the wildcat, Bertrand. We can't be sure that he will fully cooperate. I was hoping it would not come to this. I'd rather have kept this much simpler. But, oh well, you can't get everything you plan, can you? Anyhow, do you still have some of that potion left? You know, the one that you concocted that's supposed to put whoever we want under our complete control?"
Bertrand unconsciously licked his lips in delight and uttered, "OOhhh! That's even more delicious! Yes, I do have more of that, but not much. I never really made too much of it, as the ingredients I need for it are very rare. And really, I haven't really tested it on any animals yet. Still, that's a much smarter way to deal with these two! I wasn't looking forward to having to physically force the young whelp to go along with us. I'm still smarting from my last try to do just that!" He emphasized his point by rubbing the back of his still sore neck.
Spectra yawned, clearly a little disinterested with what he had just said, but she then replied, "That's nice. But I'm glad there is still enough of the stuff to do the job! We cannot let them fully be aware of what they will do. Still, it'll be just as delicious when they finally do realize what they have done; then we can siphon off their despair as well! Double the trouble, double the fun, right, Bertrand?"
He smiled wickedly in agreement just before he left to retrieve the potion. He returned in no time with the small, round, glass bottle with a very long and slender neck, topped by a tight cork.
"Now, I think our plans have been worked out, right, Bertrand?"
"Yes, all would just as well be ripe for the picking at the school!" he replied, momentarily lowering the bottle to his side as he did. "There are two new kids in school who make all the geeks there seem ultra-cool. They are definitely in a very vulnerable position, having had no chance to make friends or gain a reputation yet. But it is just our good luck that they have already been introduced to our target couple in, I should say, a rather unique way."
He quickly filled Spectra in with all the details of Alice's encounter with Danny, and Sam's with Armen.
He then concluded, "And that same new couple seem to already like each other. Not that their relationship is any way near to being a relationship, yet! But I think we can use them to hammer a wedge between the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend. That foreign boy seemed to like the goth girl, as well as the blonde one; and the blonde girl is just pretty enough to make the Ghost Kid's squeeze jealous!"
"Gee, did you figure all that stuff out by yourself, Bertrand?" Spectra uttered, both in awe and doubt that he would be this observant.
He frowned a little when he caught her drift. His remark was just as irritated. "Of course I did! I told you how much you have rubbed off on me, remember? Besides, I paid particular attention to all of this while watching them all."
She didn't notice his tone and a smile broke out of her at his reply. "How perfect is that, then?" she beamed. "Now, let's get to the final stages of preparation. I can't wait to do the deed. Or I should say, have them do the deed. Even though I'll reap all the benefits from the demise of the Ghost Kid's relationship with his girlfriend, it will be a bonus just to see him a basket case because of it! After all, I'll be able to suck in all of his misery and weaken him even more! Then, he won't be able to interfere with my just scooping up pheromones right and left for as long as I want! Now, where's that formula?"
Bertrand pulled his hand that held the bottle back up and handed it to the shadow ghost.
Spectra hungrily grabbed it and looked at its contents. The bottle's normally clear shell revealed the actual color of the potion. It was as black as night and swirled as the dark clouds do on a windy, moonless night. And as the unseen wind stirred the black liquid, it moved as a dancer expertly twirling a long black scarf… Only that this dark dancer twisted to the beat of a melancholic song, one so sad that it could reach one's very soul. The elixir inside was not inviting to the eye or heart.
"OK," Spectra finally said. "You said that this is enough?"
"Barely, but yes," Bertrand confirmed. "And remember, the mixture will take immediate effect, but it must be in their system for twelve hours before they will be fully under our control. So, we'll have to give it to them tonight if we're going to have them go to those dumb kids' school tomorrow. And I hope that once they have the brew fully taking effect, it will last as long as it should."
"Which is?" Spectra asked.
"At least another twelve hours," he replied.
She nodded that she understood. "Good! Then, let's get the happy couple ready to have their curse 'unbound'!" she ironically laughed as she floated toward the room that held the young ghost animals.
Spectra made sure that she made a lot of noise as she and Bertrand headed to their 'guests'.
As she entered the room, with Bertrand on her heels again, of course, she noticed that they both still startled at her abrupt entrance. Immediately, she sweetly cooed, "Oh, I am sorry! Didn't we give you enough time? Have you made a decision?" But before either of the ghost animals could answer, she added, "And I have the potion that will help you!" She lifted the bottle for the young couple to see.
Sarah cringed at the sight of it, and she began to regret her decision. Derek merely sat silently, not aware that his jaw had tightly clenched.
Spectra didn't miss the dove's reaction, however, and immediately assured her, "Do not worry, my dear. This potion will weaken the curse sufficiently enough that when your task is done, I will be able to break it completely."
"O-Our task?" the dove inadvertently stammered.
"Oh, yes, remember that I said you must do whatever I say," Spectra said, effectively hiding her irritation at the dove's hesitation. But she continued, "Have you changed your mind?"
Sarah searched her husband's eyes before replying, "No, we have not. I just thought…but it is not important. We are ready!"
"Oh, and the potion is tasteless, even if it doesn't 'please the eye' as you may say," the shadow ghost said with a giggle. She hurriedly poured some of the elixir into a small bowl. But she unconsciously growled when she had poured more quickly than she had thought she had, and some of the liquid spilled out. She motioned for Bertrand to draw near and he picked up the bowl and laid it near the wildcat.
Then, Spectra poured the last of the concoction a little more carefully into a tiny cup. Spectra looked into the cup and saw that there was very little of the brew in it after all. She dismissed the thought and smiled assuredly at the dove. This time, Bertrand placed it near Sarah. She hopped up right on the rim of the cup.
All four ghosts looked at each other in silent anticipation at first.
Frowning at the young lovers, Spectra finally uttered in a tone that didn't hide her irritation too well, "Well?"
"A-Are you not supposed to say some kind of….incantation?" Sarah bravely asked.
Spectra laughed in relief. Was that all they were waiting for? But she quickly lied, "Oh, that won't be necessary until after you have drunken it! But if you wish, I do have one chant that would make the potion more powerful!"
She cleared her throat and closed her eyes. She concentrated, searching for the words that would appease the ghost animals. She bit her lower lip to keep herself from smiling at her emerging idea. She knew that what she would say next would both confound and awe the young couple. She began to chant a simple thought, but did so in her native Spectre language:
"Foolish you are
To drink so free
But how ironically bizarre
Slaves both will be!"
Sarah and Derek looked at the shadow ghost, their eyes widening more as Spectra uttered the incantation in that strange language. Maybe she was a sorceress after all!
Spectra then opened her eyes after speaking and looked at the couple in anticipation once more. "Hurry, drink it all before the echo of the incantation ceases!" she cried.
Sarah and Derek, in turn, glanced at each other, smiling weakly, silently encouraging the other to drink. No sooner had they done this, and then each of them began to imbibe the black liquid. But both scrunched up their faces at the moment they did. The concoction was not tasteless as the sorceress had said it would be. It was incredibly bitter. But they continued to drink it all up as she had said.
Once they were through, however, Sarah commented, "I am sorry! Is there something wrong? The potion was bitter in taste and….." But she didn't finish her thought. Her and her husband's eyes suddenly clouded over and became solid and bright red.
Spectra frowned in irritation, but knew by the changes in their eyes that it was safe to talk. "Why could she say anything, Bertrand?" she objected. "You said that its effects are supposed to be instantaneous!"
Bertrand grabbed his chin in thought. He then frowned in worry. "You're right, of course, Penelope." He went over to the empty bottle that had contained the mixture and looked down into the neck. He pulled out a little liquid still clinging to the rim and rubbed it between his fingers. It was gummy. "This may put a monkey-wrench into our plans, Penelope! This batch was too old. That is why there was so little of it in the bottle. If the potion is mixed with air too long, its properties change."
"And what precisely does that mean?" Spectra demanded, glancing over at the spellbound couple. "And why didn't you think of this before?"
Ignoring her last question and crossing his arms in front of him in a huff, he tersely answered her first question, "It means that the effects of the potion may not last as long as it should."
Spectra sneered, but then replied, "As long as it lasts enough for those two lovers over there to break up the Ghost Kid and his girlfriend, who cares?" She floated over to the stunned ghost animals. She smiled as they sat like puppets before her. And puppets, indeed, they were. She immediately commanded, "Now, my dear drones, it is time for you to retire. Tomorrow, our little plan will play out!"
And they lay down right where they were, obeying her without hesitation. Spectra motioned to Bertrand.
With an irritated grumble, he picked up the two animals and laid them next to each other on Spectra's couch.