Jamie and Syelina 9

Annik created a water light and held it in her palm, lighting the way. She avoided knotted roots and graves and searched for the door that Nai had told her about.

Mist was still trying to shove itself down her throat, but she was able to open up the door and get inside before she fainted again. Taking a deep breath of musty air, she took a few cautious steps into the dim hallways.

Bad memories were creeping into her head as Annik looked around at the familiar surroundings, but shook them off. “I’ve gotten this far, and I’m not letting my guard down again. It’ll be perfectly fine,” she reassured herself.

She crept into a little niche in the wall, and waited for the sound of voices. Soon enough, she could hear the two villains in what sounded like an argument.

“Humph. Sounds like they’ve made up a little bit. At least they’re not trying to kill each other,” she chuckled.

Glancing both ways, she made sure no zombies were coming. Then Annik dashed towards the half open door, and dropping to a crouch, she quietly peeked her head around the door.

The two seemed to be in some sort of den, with bookshelves lining the walls and a large desk to the left. Thankfully for Annik, they were too engrossed in the conversation to notice the spying Puppet.

“I thought you were too stubborn to accept my offer. I guess you’ve softened after all these years.”

“I have not gotten soft! It’s just spending two weeks with a delinquent and now talking to you has driven me around the bend,” Syelina retorted, giving the skeleton a wicked grin.  

“Hmph. And you weren’t always crazy?” he asked, and ducked Syelina’s attempt to hit him in the head with a book.

Annik just knelt there, trying to make sense of the strange mood around them. ‘There’s obviously irritation, and awkwardness, but there’s something more…’ she tried searching for the right word. ‘Something more intense,’ she settled on, and it seemed to suit what she was looking at perfectly.

And then Annik, being Annik, lost her balance while trying to get a better look, falling flat on her face. She scrambled to get up, blood pounding in her ears. When she heard the footsteps approaching the door she ran like all hell was at her feet, and just as she reached the exit, she heard, “Hey, you!”

Turning around she noticed the two dangerously close behind her, Jamie with his hand on the hilt of his sword and Syelina tossing around an air ball.

“Aren’t you that water Puppet?” Jamie asked, his eyes narrowing. Annik took an involuntary gulp.

“Depends which one you’re looking for,” she squeaked, and ran out into the cemetery.

-Kiki