Witch Doctors Inc: SEASON ONE (Completed!)

Part 2.6

I was the one who needed the luck. When I heard the word "Phaedra" I had a very disconcerting experience. My energy lurched. It lurched right out of my body. For a while I was weightless. I felt like nothing, and I felt nothing. I think I might have actually been nothing..

When I came to a stop, I was seeing through Maya's eyes. I had Maya's hands and legs and face. I've been other people before, in a way. But that was different. Those were all versions of me, no matter how unfamiliar they were. I had a right to be there. I had a right to be them. Being in Maya's body felt invasive and wrong.

I'm in a dark room, and it's hot. I immediately feel queasy. I don't know where the heat is coming from, but it's weakening me.

All around me are shadows, but I'm not alone. In the corner, one of the shadows moves. A wisp of energy charges out of the dark, green and burning. Out of it come horns, leathery skin, and sulky emerald eyes.

"Why do you take so long to wake? I have done this many times now." His voice is a high growl, grating to my ears.

I try out my new vocal chords. "Who are you?" I croak. "What do you want from me?"

The Ariadni grunts. "I have already told you this. I am a warrior of Ariadne. I am here for the orb."

I pick my words carefully. "Should I take you at your word? I'm not a fool. Why should you be telling the truth? So you can be caught and have your plan ruined?"

"Why shouldn't I?" His eyes blink in the mist. "No one is going to believe you. Your people are primitive. They know nothing of us."

I take a deep breath. I'll need to manage this heat. "Well, I've told you I don't know anything about any orb."

The Ariadni smirks, showing pointed white teeth. "Oh, but you do," he croons. "You have more than the orb. I lost track of the Phaedrean suddenly - it was like he had simply blinked out. Then today his energy flared so bright that I could finally pinpoint it. And where do you think it was?"

Our plan worked. Onyx can mask my energy. He's doing it now, so the Ariadni doesn't realize who I am.

"I don't know what you're talking about." I stick my chin out.

The mist sizzles. "I have had enough of your lies," the Ariadni spits out. "You will tell me the Phaedrean's plans or I will burn you to a crisp."

I pretend to be scared. "I have a few orbs, but I don't know which one you want. The red one is the most valuable..."

The Ariadni barks out a laugh. "I don't care what your people value. The orb I seek is beyond value. It is sacred."

I roll my eyes. "It's powerful then, is it? What are you going to do with it - conquer the planet? Are you going to be our new emperor?" I snigger.

He snorts. "I don't care about your pathetic planet. There would be no glory in conquering such an insignificant place."

"So why do you want the orb then? Your great grandfather isn't trapped in there, is he?"

"The being in the orb is grandfather to us all."

I sit up.

The Ariadni growls. "You remember what happened the last time you tried to escape."

"I'm not escaping," I insist. "I've just remembered something. There is one orb that always looked like it had something moving inside it. The black one."

A smile stretches the Ariadni's leathery mouth. "And where did you find that orb?"

"The Sarsarus glacier. Under the ice."

"That orb belongs to me."

"It can't belong to you. That crash site is hundreds of years old."

The mist sags slightly, with a sound like a sigh. "My ship crashed there. My form was shattered by the impact. I was dispersed throughout this world, formless, for...too long."

"You seem pretty solid to me."

"A year ago there was a change on this planet. A surge of energy attracted my particles to this city. I reformed, ready to complete my mission. But my ship was destroyed and someone had taken my cargo."

I feel cold. A year ago. A surge of energy brought his particles together. A surge, like that caused by the awakening of a witch.

I force myself to speak again. "I can bring you the orb, if you'll leave me alone. But if your ship is destroyed you'll never get off this planet. We don't have space travel yet."

The Ariadni doesn't smile this time. "When I release the demon in the orb, it will emit energy so strong my people will be able to detect it from light years away. They will come for me."

Ah. The game plan.

"So you can complete your mission," I say. "To take the orb and conquer the world you were headed to."

He hesitates.

I raise an eyebrow. "Unless...you're not the orb wielder..." My face breaks out into a grin. "That's it, isn't it? You're just the orb carrier, aren't you? You're the transport."

The mist bubbles. "I am a warrior," the Ariadni hisses. "I killed the High Councillor of Prometheus when I was just a boy!"

A memory flashes before me. Lazarus, dead. His energy...sick.

"It was you," I whisper.

"It was me," he boasts. "I am known to all my people as a great assassin. And if you don't do as you're told..." He brings his face close to mine. "You'll have the privilege of experiencing my skills for yourself."

My heart is beating against my ribcage. "I'll show you the orb," I tell him. "I'll tell you anything you need to know."

"Good." He smiles thinly. "I want to know who the Phaedrean is and how much he knows."

"I'll get you any information you need."

He's still grinning when my energy lurches back out of Maya's body. I collapse at Onyx's feet, exhausted. I can feel cold sweat on my forehead.

Lily! Onyx leaps to my side.

I brush him aside. "Onyx, it's him," I say. "It's Scion"

*