Artifacts and Affairs

I had been sitting in this cell for hours. I was beginning to worry I was going to be trapped here for a long time. The moon and stars were already out.

A few hours ago, when we arrived at this abandoned preserve in the desert, we were greeted by two men who escorted me to this cell. I hadn't done anything since. As for Navarog and Nafia, the blue dragon that carried me out of Wrymroost, I had no idea where they went. I shifted my position so that I was lying down. I tried to drift off into the world of dreams when I heard voices coming down the hall. I jumped up off of my bed and ran to the slot in the door to peek outside.

"So I wonder what artifacts they have for her to recharge?" a voice said, probably a guard.

"I don't know," another said, "but I bet one of them is the Chronometer since this is the Lost Mesa."

"And they probably have the Sands of Sanctity too," the first guard added.

I heard their footsteps stop at my door. A tinkling sound rang through the halls, and a few seconds later, the lock clicked, and the door opened. Two guards stood there.

"Come with us," one of them said as he and the other guard hold my hands behind my back.

They walked me through a labyrinth of hallways, and after a few minutes, we reached stairwell. We walked hurriedly up the stairs and into a room with one long granite table. At the far end of the table, sat a man with dreadlocks. He was wearing a Hawaiian shirt and Bermuda shorts. He was not the ideal villain I had in mind. Standing to his right side was Navarog and Nafia to his left. Why was Navarog listening to that man? The guards released me and walked over to the dungeon door. I heard the lock click, and the guards stood by the door. I was locked in. I turned my attention back to the man with dreadlocks.

"Come here, girl," he beckoned to me with a curl of his forefinger.

I warily walked over to him.

"Have a seat," he ordered as he motioned to a chair next to him.

I sat down and looked him in the eyes. He had a calm look on his face. I shifted in my seat uncomfortably.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked.

"No," I answered trying to stay calm.

"I am the Sphinx, the leader of this organization," he said, "Do you know what organization that is?"

"Yes. The Evening Star."

"Very good."

"Now, do you know why you're here?" the Sphinx asked.

He shot a glance at Navarog.

"No."

"Well, you're here to recharge some magical artifacts. You are fairykind, am I right?" he informed.

I nodded. What did he mean by activate? He smiled at me and snapped his fingers. Navarog and Nafia picked up two objects from the floor and placed them on the table. A golden ball and a kettle that looked like a cat sat on the table. The Sphinx pushed them towards me.

"These are two out of five very important magical artifacts that I need you to activate. This one is called the Chronometer," he said picking up the golden ball, "and it enables you to send yourself into the future for three days when someone presses a certain button. You can also go back in time. I want you to transfer energy to the ball by merely touching it."

I reached for the artifact nervously. I laid a finger on it, and I felt a strange sucking sensation. I looked to the Sphinx for approval. He smiled.

"Good, you did it. Now, one more to recharge for now," he said, the words dancing off of his tongue, "this one is called the Sands of Sanctity. It can heal any wound by just pouring its sand on it."

He placed the artifact in front of me. I was about to touch it until something entered my mind. Why was I helping this man? I didn't want them to win! I jerked my hand away and stood up. The guards began to move towards me, but the Sphinx motioned for them to go back to their posts by the door.

"Is there something wrong?" he asked with a calm expression.

"Yes, there is. Why am I doing this for you? If I activate them all, something bad will happen! I can't let my carelessness destroy Fablehaven and maybe the world!" I said raising my voice slightly.

The Sphinx stood up and grabbed my hand. He squeezed on it until my skin turned white. I grimaced in pain. He was so strong!

"You will do as I say or face the consequences!" he snarled.

I tried to punch him with my free hand, which Navarog grabbed.

"Let me go!" I shouted.

The Sphinx didn't give any sign of giving up. I looked down at my hand. It was turning a very faint purple. I had no choice. I bent down and bit his hand as hard as I could. He bellowed in pain. His face turned pure red and his yell of pain transformed into a yell of anger. He pulled out a knife from his shirt pocket and aimed a cut at my face. I jumped back, but he managed to get a small cut right under my right eye. Blood seeped out of the cut, and I wiped it away. He suddenly caught my right arm as I tried to throw another punch. He drew his knife back and tried to plunge it into my arm. I struggled to pull my arm away. But, he stopped just a centimeter away. I breathed a sigh of relief and saw Navarog pulling the Sphinx's arms back.

"Calm yourself! She's just a little unsettled from all the strange things happening to her at the same time!" he yelled.

The Sphinx lowered his knife as Navarog let go of his arms. Tucking the knife in his shirt pocket, he rubbed his bleeding hand. He walked up to me and glared at me.

"You will recharge those artifacts," he ordered.

And with that, he walked into another room, leaving me with Navarog and Nafia. The two guards by the dungeon door followed hurriedly behind him.

"What in the world are you doing?" Nafia cried, "You shouldn't have opposed him! You know what would've happened!"

Navarog glared at her. "I am the Demon Prince! Soon, he'll realize his place and bow to me!"

"But for now, keep your head low! And what are you going to do about her? She knows our plan now!"

"Don't worry, I'll take care of her," Navarog said, "Come on, Hazel."

He grabbed my arm and the artifacts and led me into the dungeon and to my cell. He threw me in and closed himself inside. He stormed over to me and grabbed my shoulders.

"Why would you do that? You're such an idiot! He was probably going to stab you're arm!" Navarog yelled.

"I didn't want to help him, that's all!" I defended myself.

He glared at me. "Listen, don't do that again. I don't want to have to go through the trouble of saving you again."

I nodded. I felt a sudden pain in my eye, and I felt for the cause. I winced as I touched the cut that the Sphinx made when he was trying to stab me. I rub it in pain. I felt a hand on mine, and I looked up to see Navarog pulling my hand away. He wiped the blood away with is thumb. Bending down, he picked up the Sands of Sanctity and poured it on my cut. It bubbled and foamed and soon melted away to reveal flawless skin. I marveled at the power of the sands and touched my face where my cut had been. No pain. I looked over at Navarog who was already walking away.

"Wait!" I called after him.

He turned around to look at me.

"Thank you, Navarog," I murmured.

He smiled and walked back.

"So you do have a kinder side," he teased, "You're different from other prisoners. You seem to fight back a lot. But you're still an idiot."

He rested his thumb on my chin and leaned forward. What was he doing? His nose touched mine and realized. He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me in. Closing his eyes, he pulled me closer until his lips were less than an inch away. Before he could continue, I pushed him away.

"What are you doing? You may have just saved me twice today, but that doesn't mean you can kiss me!" I snapped at him.

His cheeks reddened and he took a step back. "I…I have no idea what I was doing," he said embarrassed.

"Just get out," I pushed him away.

He picked up the artifacts as he made his way to the door. Under the threshold, he stopped.

"Why would I fall in love with a weak human girl?" he said menacingly.

He slammed the door shut and locked it. I heard footsteps pounding away quickly down the hallway. I punched the door as hard as I could. Hot, sticky blood seeped out of my knuckles, but I didn't care. I was too angry to care. No, I was confused. I dropped to my knees and sat there for a while. Why did Navarog try to kiss me? Why was he and Nafia planning to overthrow the Sphinx? And why are those artifacts so important? I fell over onto my side. Too many questions bounced around in my head that I thought I might explode.

"Don't think about it, Hazel. You'll be fine," I reassured myself quietly.

Before I could get up to my bed, the world of dreams swallowed me whole.