Chapter 6- The Amulet of Sanet

Chapter 6- The Amulet of Senet

 

Luna sat against the stiff rocks. Her back ached from Chanoue’s relentless attack. She curled herself against the floor then stretched. She was in no state to fly or use her magic. She could only hope Shadow and his friends had gotten away safely. She had no idea though. They were gone before she could look back. Her wing crumpled against her side weekly. Someone was standing nearby. She looked up and to her horror it was Chanoue. His glass golden eyes sneered down at her. His mouth slowly curved into a devilish smile. “You got what you wanted Chanoue, get away from me”. Luna grunted pulling herself back. “On the contrary, I think you’ll find I need more from you”. Luna kept crawling away. The soft dirt could barley support her and she found herself slipping. Chanoue advanced on her chuckling to himself as he watched her. “You’re going to tell me everything you know, where the amulet is located, where I can find the tomb, all of it”. Chanoue’s smile was now so large his eyes nearly sucked into his head. “You really believe I know anything else? I told all I had”. Luna lied. She was still backing away. Chanoue flipped over his paw revealing the red glowing Shadow Stone. It flared up and the red light reflected in Chanoue’s eyes. “We shall see”. Chanoue said. Luna stared at the stone for a moment. She knew what Chanoue could do with the stone. The pain would be unbearable; to the point of death. “Chanoue please”. Luna begged staring at the stone. “You can’t possibly…”

 

 

Crystal looked slightly surprised. Shadow stared at Trabon for a long moment. “What is the matter with you two”? He asked annoyed folding the map. “We both know Luna”. Crystal said. Trabon’s long fuzzy ears flicked. “You do? Small world”. Trabon said casually. “You don’t know what happened to her after you left”. Trabon was opening the map but stopped at this. “What do you mean I don’t know what happened”? Crystal began to tell the tale of how Luna and her parents were both captured by humans and killed but Luna managed to escape. Trabon had fallen down on his short knees. He was on the verge of tears. His small paws trembled. A feeling of everlasting guilt washed him like a cold waterfall. “I…I had no idea…” Crystal felt herself break slightly to the pain. She knew what it was like loosing parents but to find out after years of thinking they were alive. “I never turned back after I left. I could have stopped this from happening. I could have saved them”. Tabon kept muttering to himself. His head had fallen to his chest. Crystal looked up at him and felt her eyes twinge with tears. The stubborn stuck up bat which originally sat before them now was falling apart like a newborn. Trabon seemed to sob for hours. Neither Shadow nor Crystal could speak. Trabon lifted his head slightly after a long silenced moment. “But if Luna managed to escape then… then she’s still alive”? Crystal looked back at Shadow. “We don’t know the last we saw of her was in an old temple”. Trabon stood up opening his wings wide. “Then I have to go! I have to find her”! Trabon hunched down ready to take off but Crystal called out. “No! We still need your help. If you leave now we won’t be able to find the amulet”. Trabon’s tear stained face shot at her like a bullet. “Your only concern is that bloody amulet? What about my sister, she could be in trouble”. Crystal felt a twinge of guilt. “We can find Luna later but we need to find the Amulet of Sanet first”. Shadow said. Crystal nodded her head. “He’s right, trust us. This is part of something really big”. Trabon glared at the two and lowered his wings with a sigh. “Fine, we’ll find the amulet”. He rolled up the map and jumped down onto the floor. “From what it looks like on the map, the amulet is buried under the town hall”. Crystal looked down at him as he moved past their feet. “Where is that”? Shadow asked. “The middle of town”. Trabon said bluntly. Trabon flew out the open door and up into the air. The vultures had taken off to elsewhere. The sky was clear savoir a few clouds. The wind howled around outside. All was quiet. “Follow me”. Trabon called flying high overhead. Shadow and Crystal walked along the sandy streets passing by old wooden buildings which were falling apart from age. The rusty metal bindings on their sides also were snapped or bent. Dust kicked up from the wind and blew into Shadow’s eyes. He waves at his face and looked up ahead. A large towering wooden building was ahead of them. “This treasure map looks like it was written by some old fortune teller of sorts. Believed in the supernatural and other things”. “How do you know”? Crystal called up to him. “He wrote a few notes on the back talking about people thought he was crazy but he seemed to know the amulet was under here”. Trabon flew in through a broken window. The door to the large building slowly pushed open. Trabon stood on the other side holding the rolled up map tight in his paw. Crystal and Shadow stepped inside. The place had sunlight casting in through the ceiling. Old boards had fallen from the top down onto the old carpet floor. The main room had several windows along its side. In the middle was a pair of stairs leading to the second floor. Two doors were on either side of it. “Search around for anything out of place”. Trabon flew over to a hole caused by a beam crash. The floor felt unsteady and creaked loudly. “This place is a mess; I doubt it will be able to hold us”. “It’s a two story building, no basement”. Trabon said reassuringly. Crystal shifted around pushing another door open by the main stairs. It creaked and old wood fell in front of it. “Not going in there”. She muttered looking around the old rotting corners. Shadow pushed open the other door. “Mabye in here”? He called out to her. Shadow shuffled inside coming into a stone wall cellar full of dusty old whine bottles. “No basement”? Crystal said looking around. “I can be wrong”. Trabon snorted fluttering in through the door. The room smelled of stair old sand. The walls were cracker revealing sunlight barley seeping through the sand piles. The sound of the wind outside broke the eerie silence. Shadow sniffed around the shelves looking for a clue or maybe an out of place object. “I guess the map doesn’t tell us anything from here”. Trabon growled tossing it aside. It waved down onto the floor and onto its front revealing the back side. Crystal glanced over at it. She stared at it then looked back at Trabon who was moving a whine glass from the shelf. “Trabon read this”. She called. Trabon turned and flew over. “Behind the barrels, the treasure lays in wait”. Crystal looked around. Shadow noticed three large wooden barrels sitting against the wall. “Move those barrels Shadow”. Shadow pushed up against one of them. Crystal moved in along side him and pushed as well. The barrels finally moved rolling out of the way and crashing into the adjacent wall. A dark tunnel had been reveled twisting under the buildings structure. “After you”. Trabon said pushing Shadow along. He moved inside; the dry air was suddenly met with damp humid air. The tunnel was warm and soggy from water dripping from the ceiling. “How far does this go”? Shadow asked out. No one answered. He looked back. Crystal and Trabon were busy staring around at the walls. Shadow continued onward moving downward into a deep slope. He finally came to a large open cave room. Several different tunnels met him. “Great a fork in the road”. Shadow said annoyed. He scratched at his ear. “Alright, I guess Crystal and I will go down the path on the left”. Shadow pointed off to the damp path on the left. No one answered him. “Guys? Come on, stop sight seeing and- Shadow looked back only to find that Crystal and Trabon were both gone. “Guys”? Shadow spun on his heals. No one was there, not a living thing but him. The dripping of water splashed nearby but there was no other sound. “Where could they have gone? They were right behind me”. Shadow said to himself. He walked forward and a strange ringing filled the chamber. He clasped his paws over his ears. It was painful, aggravating. The noise stopped as fast as it had started. Shadow turned around. At the far end of the room was Sarina. She stood calmly looking at Shadow and smiling. For a brief moment Shadow felt he may have just gone crazy. “But how”. Shadow said slowly watching his father stare. “How did you get here? Mom, what happened to”… Shadow was amazed by the sight. Then things changed. Sarina’s smile slowly faded from her face and she began to glare. Her mouth curled into that of a devilish grin full of satisfaction. It was menacing. Shadow took a step back. Sarina then started to fade and what replaced her was the tall bulky form of Chanoue. “We are much of the same Shadow, we honor our family, but your goals are misguided”. Shadow curled his teeth. “You speak lies, where are Crystal and Trabon”. Chanoue smiled and lifted his head looking at the ceiling. He didn’t answer or speak but just looked around. “If you hurt them too, I’ll kill you”. Shadow growled. Chanoue looked back at him and laughed. Shadow charged him. He rushed forward without taking a moment’s thought. But Shadow passed right through Chanoue as though Chanoue was merely a foggy image of the real thing. “What the”… Shadow sputtered as he looked back at the faded form of Chanoue. “Care to try again”? Chanoue chuckled. Shadow was filled with fury. He rushed again but this time Chanoue raised the stone to his chest height. Shadow was struck with a painful blow. He fell to the ground completely shot back. And again with more force and pain he was hit again. He felt as though a thousand knives were piercing him. “You feel the pain? I can make it worse, I will make it worse”. Chanoue said tauntingly. Shadow would not beg. “First you then your mother, she serves no real use anyway”. “NO”! Shadow screamed and he launched forward again. Something snagged his arms from behind. Shadow found himself face to face with Chanoue. Two of his men had grabbed Shadow around the shoulders and were holding him back. “How- Shadow said but Chanoue raised a paw for silence. “I used the stone to trick you into hallucinating; I captured your friends as well. Trabon and Crystal were both bounded by red glowing ropes. No doubt the stones work. “You rat, let them go”! Shadow shouted pulling forward. Chanoue smiled with devilish pleasure and wrenched the stone against Shadow’s chest. The piercing feeling returned worse then ever. Shadow screamed in agony and bent down under the stones power. “I can do whatever I want, I could control your mind, I can make you believe anything and I can make you suffer”. Shadow looked up wanting more than ever to kill, wanting to rip the ugly satisfied face before him. “But I think you should be given the sporting chance”. Chanoue raised him up by the neck. Shadow looked down gasping for air. Around Chanoue’s neck was the Amulet of Sanet. He already had beaten them. Chanoue tossed Shadow aside landing him next to Trabon and Crystal. “Just as Arnoue said, I like a game of sport; foolish old idiot”. Chanoue laughed. His three lackeys accompanying him shuffled amusingly. Shadow couldn’t move due to the pain. Chanoue took a long stare down at Shadow’s crumpled form. He then finally filed away heading out of the cave up the tunnel and out. “He followed us here”. Shadow mumbled sitting up. “Untie us, hurry”! Trabon yelped. Shadow pulled the ropes away and the two shook free. “Nasty piece of work that scruffy smack-head is”. Trabon said snidely. Crystal embraced Shadow. “Are you alright”? She asked quickly. “Yeah, I think I’m alright”. “He got the amulet”. Crystal said worriedly. “I know”. Shadow said with bitter memory of seeing the golden amulet strung across the brute’s neck. “All the more reason we should get out of here”. Trabon said hurriedly.

 

 

Chanoue stepped out over the wooden porch and turned back. He surveyed the building then snarled. “Light it up”. He murmured. Aiming the stone, a jet of fire shot out against one of the boards. Flames erupted over the entire building. Chanoue laughed quietly to himself. “Let them burn”. Chanoue said even more savagely. The running of nearby footsteps alerted Chanoue’s attention. “What’s all the noise”? A voice called out. Chanoue listened and his eyes widened. A human. A tall and thin human wearing a white shirt and blue jeans came running around a building corner. His eyes immediately shot up at the burning building. “Holy crap”! He shouted. Pulling out his phone he scrambled for the numbers but then he saw something below the building. Four wolves of different color were standing staring at him, one holding a bright red stone shard. He stopped fidgeting for the bottoms and stared back. “What the heck? Wolves”? He said confused. Chanoue moved forward clasping the stone shard. Chanoue had never even considered if humans could understand wolves but his sadistic need drove him from logic. “Greetings, wretched human”. Chanoue said coolly. The human jolted back. “What? Are… are you talking- “Shut up fool”. Chanoue snarled. “What a weak pathetic species you are. You’re afraid and shaking in your miserable form”. The human blinked in shock. “You don’t know that I grow ever closer to eliminating you and the rest of the human race”. The human stepped back more. “I must be dreaming, this isn’t happening”. Chanoue’s face curved its sinister smile. “Oh but this is real, no simple night terrors here”. The human looked down at the stone shard. It was pulsing like a pausing heartbeat.  “Now, you will be given the glory of dying before the rest of your kind”. Chanoue pointed out the stone. “What? No”! The human screamed but before he could shout any louder than a peep, Chanoue launched a large force of energy into him shooting him backwards into the ground. He pushed across the sand and fell instantly dead.

 

“All this for that amulet, really”? Trabon grumbled climbing out of the tunnel. “And Chanoue has it”. Crystal added annoyed. “No no no, your not dragging me along, we are going after my sister next. You promised”. Shadow nodded. “He’s right”. The crackling of fire rose overhead. “What’s that”? Shadow asked looking up. Crystal sniffed. “Oh no, the buildings on fire”! Crystal bashed the door open. Boards crashed down onto the lobby floor while the windows blew ablaze. Trabon flew upward to the second floor. “Where the heck are you going”?! Crystal called to him. “We need to find a window or some other exit”. He was right. The door was in a wall flames. Crystal shot up the stairs followed by Shadow. “Watch out”! She called. A flaming board flew down the stairs. “Where are you Trabon”? Crystal called. “He better not have left us or so help me”. Crystal shouted. “Over here”. He called around the corner. Crystal moved quickly around the corner. Shadow began to follow but suddenly the ceiling crashed infront of him. “No”! He heard Crystal shout behind the rubble. “Just go, I’ll find a way around. “Get going darling”. Trabon said. There was a thump outside. “You alright”? Shadow called out. “She’s alright”. Trabon said flying back over the rubble. “Come on, we got to get you out of here”. Shadow watched him hover all over. The ceiling collapsed over several other parts of the room. Anxiety was crawling up his nerves. “Trabon, it’s no use, I’ll have to jump it”. Trabon came flying back. “You’re crazy, you’ll never scale that”. “I ain’t about to die sitting here”. Trabon flew over to the wreckage. “Go outside, make sure Crystal is ok”. Trabon looked at him for a moment then flew over. The whole building quaked. Shadow stepped back measuring the towering rubble. If I miss then I’m dead. His mind raced but he had to jump, it was his only chance. Shadow ran forward and leapt high. The fire under him burned, but just singed him as he crashed onto the other side. The floor began to crumble shaking. The open window in front of him shined. Shadow jumped through the damaged glass window. The ground came under him fast. He looked up into the blue eyes of Crystal. “Thank goodness you’re alright”. Shadow stood up brushing away the sand. The fall had hurt but only bruised him slightly. Trabon was standing in the sand watching him too. “I was afraid I had left you to die in there”. Shadow smiled at him. “We best get back to the sanctuary”. Trabon said. Shadow and Crystal both agreed.