Jackie stared at the space where Drea used to be. Her blood stained the ground in front of the two of them, acting as a permanent reminder of her. Jackie barely understood what happened, but she did know one thing: Drea had been taken. Those monsters took her through some portal and she was gone. That was after some deadly weapons just magically appeared in her hands and she set herself on fire.
“That must’ve been her secret…” said Karen quietly. She sounded dumbfounded, as if she was in some sort of trance. Jackie looked over to her. She was on her hands and knees, looking over to where Drea had been. It was dark now, and the streetlights were beginning to flicker on.
“But why wouldn’t she tell us?” wondered Jackie aloud, sounding just as surprised as Karen. She thought her and her sister shared everything.
“Based on what just happened,” Karen paused and looked around. “She didn’t want to put us in danger. And she was probably scared of what we’d think.”
Karen made perfect sense. If those monsters were after her, it was plausible that they would come after anyone Drea knew. And with those powers, it was easy to assume she didn’t want anyone to know about them. Jackie only wished she could’ve protected Drea like Drea tried to protect her.
“We have to do something,” said Jackie, more tears threatening to pour down her cheeks. Karen didn’t respond, but only looked at Jackie sadly. She pulled her in close as they sobbed silently.
“Have faith,” she said. “Drea will find her way back. I know she will.” The two of them sat there, each feeling like they’d lost a piece of themselves.
“I won’t lose her too,” whispered Jackie. The pain in her heart was spreading like poison. She only hoped Karen was right.
* * * * *
The darkness swirled around her, pushing her and stabbing her with pain. Drea tried to open her eyes, but it felt like they were glued closed. Her whole body felt weak and unnaturally heavy. She tried to remember where she was supposed to be, but nothing came to mind. Everything felt empty, even her heart.
A voice came to her from somewhere far away. “Wake up,” it growled. She felt herself being shaken, but she didn’t wake until a shock of aura was sent through her body. She opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times to get rid of the blurriness. She was still in her Kaienshi uniform, but it had been torn in a few places. Two Lori were on either side of her holding her up by her arms and her hands were still bound.
Wait, she thought, still bound. Drea looked around her for the first time, trying to discern her surroundings. She was in a small white room with a type of pedestal in the middle. Six golden objects sat atop it at different levels, shining beautifully under a few dim lights in the ceiling. They sparkled with otherworldly light, but there was something familiar about them, Drea just couldn’t remember.
“Where am I?” she squeaked out.
The Lori only looked at her, pulled her face close to its own, and put her back sharply. Her memory slammed back into her. She was the Weaponsmaster, and they had taken her for her blood. She had gotten hurt in front of Jackie and Karen, and they had seen who she was. Hopefully they’ll understand when I get back… if I get back. No, I can’t think like that. I can’t give up hope.
Her shoulder was burning, and she looked over to see that the blood had crusted over, but it hadn’t been bandaged or anything. They wanted her alive to resurrect Alka, but that didn’t mean they cared if she was hurt. At least she’d be alive for a least a little longer. Once they had all seven artifacts though, she’d be nothing more than bait.
She looked over at the six shiny, golden objects sitting on the pedestal. They all sparkled with otherworldly brilliance. As she looked, she noted all the objects: a little vest, a small sword, a set of shoulder pads, some golden chain link pants, a set of gloves, and some boots. She’d never seen them before, but there was something about each little object that was familiar. A few of them appeared in the previous Weaponsmasters’ memories even.
That’s when it came to her. There were six objects. The Lori had six out of the seven artifacts and all six were the objects Danny had listed for her. Only one was missing: the shuriken. And with a start, she realized why they looked so familiar. They all looked like they were made of the same brilliant gold her shuriken was made out of. It couldn’t be possible, but there was no other explanation: she possessed the last artifact.
She closed her eyes and felt the shuriken still resting on her chest. Drea breathed out a sigh of relief. It was possible they didn’t know she had it, but if they did, she was done for. She’d have to fight Alka. She didn’t want it to be taken away for other reasons though. It was her last reminder of Kevin. Yet she had a sinking feeling that they knew what it was. Judging from the way the Lori who had taken her had pulled it out of her shirt, they knew.
Drea looked around the room; a doorway was on the opposite side, but she had no strength to fight her way out. More Lori were probably guarding the door anyway. She couldn’t even contact Zen or feel her own aura. She narrowed her eyes, feeling angry. Helplessness was probably the worst feeling in the world.
The door across from her opened suddenly, and a slender, tall Lori stepped through. It had eyes that were all black, and it was looking at her with such contempt she felt as though she could melt under its gaze. Then it smiled, displaying long rows of incisors, teeth that could rip through her in a second.
“It seems we’ve found the final pieces to our puzzle.” It walked around the room as if contemplating something, its deep voice reverberating across the walls. “Your kind has prevented us for centuries from giving our true leader new life. But now that we have you,” it lifted her head with one long, shiny black claw, “we can finally take power once again.”
“Not happening,” Drea spoke loudly.
It turned quick as lightning and slashed her cheek. It was a few seconds after that she even felt the sting. The crimson blood dripped down her face and chin, landing like little raindrops on the white tile floor. It smeared the blood on her cheek, and looked at the dark liquid staining its hand. “Your fate is sealed.”
Talk about having an air of finality. “How did you find me?” asserted Drea, a scowl on her face.
“Do you remember that night when you summoned the golden shuriken?” Drea remembered that like it was yesterday. That Lori was the one who tricked her with the little girl and stabbed her in the thigh. She had used a golden shuriken to get rid of it. She hadn’t known then where the shuriken had come from.
“We tracked the feel of an incredibly powerful weapon, a weapon like that of Alka’s, to your location. Only the Weaponsmaster can make them materialize, so when we found our weapon, we found you.” It smiled terribly, rejoicing at her ignorant mistake. If she hadn’t used that shuriken, they wouldn’t have found her.
Her necklace started burning against her chest, like it was scared. It hadn’t been burning before, despite the huge amounts of Lori aura surrounding them. The other artifacts began to glow a little brighter then, making Drea wonder if all the artifacts reacted to the dark aura like her shuriken did. The Lori spoke quietly, “Now you can feel the consequences of your foolishness.”
The slender one came up to her and put its hand around her neck. It reached into her shirt and pulled out her golden chain and charm. “Such a powerful weapon that you wear like jewelry,” It lamented. It smiled and yanked her charm off her neck. The shuriken was placed with the other artifacts, the chain still attached to it.
Drea’s tried desperately to break free, but couldn’t. They two of them were too strong. It tore her heart in two to lose that familiar weight around her neck.
“Now we will find our way to your body, Alka, and it will be the Lori who have the power.” It was looking at the sky, as if there long-dead leader was in some demented version of heaven. It looked behind itself after a few moments to see Drea still there with her two guards. “Take her away. We’ll need her later when we discern the location of the body.” They dragged her out of the room as she struggled. She tried to shoot aura out of her hands, but the restraints must’ve prevented it.
As they dragged her down the hallway, she had to stop struggling. Drea hadn’t eaten in she didn’t know how long and it felt like those ropes were draining her energy. Their grips weren’t exactly loosening either.
They went down many winding hallways, dotted with countless doors. After a few minutes, they threw her into a pitch black room like she was some piece of trash. She felt around to find that there were no windows, and the door was made to blend into the wall. She was completely locked in.
Drea just lay on the floor on her side. Her hands were still behind her back and it was getting increasingly uncomfortable. The floor was hard and cold and her shoulder was still wet with blood. The wound was deep and she was in a lot of pain.
Drea could barely sleep that night with everything on her mind, but what bothered her the most was the loss of her precious shuriken. That shuriken was all she had left of her brother, and now she didn’t even have that. The hole in her heart reopened, and it hurt just as much as the day Kevin died. She almost wished it had been her back then instead of him.