KRIKKIT’S SHOES : D’ARRAGON PROPHECY
Chapter 19

Jara, head bent low, ran like the wind through the misty path that went on for miles through the Land of Dreams and Fables. Krikkit held on tightly to Jara’s thick mane. Light glinted all around them as they passed in and out of dreams.

Krikkit grew a bit frightened as twisted tree branches that seemed alive reached out for her. She squealed loudly when they brushed her shoulder making strange moaning sounds.

“Someone’s nightmare,” said Jara. “They cannot harm you.”

At times the sky grew dark with strange shaped faces staring at them. Sometimes it rained, accompanied by explosive bursts of lightning. Traveling through one dream, hungry wolves snarled at them viciously. Krikkit’s unstoppable, screams flowed freely.

However, Jara’s rapid pace was too fast for anything to catch them. Suddenly, the ram stopped precisely where two paths crossed one another. There were no signs to tell them of their location, only a strong mystical aura that filled the space around them. The air was damp, mist hanging from the trees as if they wore long cloaks. Patches of foggy mist swirled about Jara’s feet as she pranced a little in the cool air.

“Here it is, Krikkit. The place where dreams and other worlds meet. Here we will use the shoes to finish our journey.” In a flash Jara changed back to the young woman. Standing close together, they promptly held hands. As the shoes pinched her toes, Krikkit heard Jara call out to the misty sky, “Inside the Orb of Syntaba!”

Both of them began to rise rapidly, leaving no time for surprise. The misty sky of this dream world speedily evolved into the familiar purple cloud surrounding the two. The crackling explosions of white light seemed stronger than usual to Krikkit. When they began to descend, Krikkit felt no fear, keeping her eyes wide open.

Landing as gently as ever, Krikkit looked about in anticipation. Now inside the purple crystal orb that she had previously taken from the trunk, she heard Quinn’s surprised voice.

“Jara and Krikkit! Are we glad to see you! We were thinking we’d never get out of here.”

Krikkit whirled around to see the twins standing before her. Even after the scary ordeal the boys experienced, they appeared to be fine.

“I imagine it’s been pretty boring for you two cooped up in this orb. We are here to rescue you,” smiled Jara.

“How can you, Jara? What about your powers? Aren’t they gone?” questioned Ivan,

“Syntaba gave them back to me.”

“Syntaba? You saw Syntaba?” cried Quinn.

“It seems that we need to bring you up to date on what has taken place since you floated away.”

Jara did so with some interruptions from Krikkit who told them about the scary journey through the Land of Dreams and Fables.

“Wow!” said the princes in unison. “Sounds like fun!”

“You must hold on to that piece of shimmering cloth you have in your pocket, Quinn,” Jara declared. It is the connection between the shoes and that cloth that helped Syntaba to trace the orb. It must be returned to the trunk when the time comes.”

“The last person we saw was Hennesy. He must have hidden this orb somewhere,” said Ivan.

“Yes, he has,” answered Jara. “We are in the cupboard in his bedroom at Sareltin Castle at the moment.”

Without warning, a rumbling noise sounded and the whole orb moved. Someone picked up the orb and they were being carried away.

“Hennesy!” muttered Quinn through clenched teeth. He’s returned!”

A descending sensation came over them, then they felt the orb being set down. Abruptly, the crystal began to glow as it had inside the cave, allowing all of them to see outside it again. Krikkit shuddered as she saw Hennesy’s giant face peering in at them.

“Gross!” she exclaimed.

“Gross!” agreed the twins.

“Well, well, well! This I do not believe! Now I have Jara as well? Amazing! I have more than I need since I also hold the queen captive! This is really my lucky day!” Hennesy’s evil laugh shook the whole orb and those inside held onto each other tightly.

“If you harm our mother you will be sorry you ever heard of the D’Arragons!” Ivan warned his corrupt cousin.

“Sorry!” Quinn nodded his head fiercely.

The globe suddenly went dark again.

“The light keeps going out,” said Krikkit. “It did the same to me before!”

“Yes, I am afraid that only sorcerers are allowed lingering looks into the orb,” Jara told them.

“Let’s jump,” said Krikkit, hopefully, reaching out for her friends’ hands.

“Not this time, Krikkit. Right now you are safer in the orb.”

“We are staying here?” Krikkit squealed, in uncertainty. “We want to see your magic when you rescue everyone from Hennesy, Jara.”

“How will we get out of here? It’s too small and we must be tiny too or we wouldn’t fit,” said Quinn.

Ivan could only nod his head in silent agreement.

“You forget that the orb is magic and can make itself the right size for whatever is needed. Just as soon as we have rescued the queen, you will be freed. Until then, under the spell I now cast,” Jara’s arms were a blur to the children as she mystically cast them about while she spoke, “you are all invisible in this orb. Whoever looks into it will not see anyone at all.”

The twins nodded, agreeably, desiring only for their queen mother to be safe.

“We will wait Jara,” said Krikkit, feeling strongly that all of them would be safe.

Without another word, Jara whirled around, instantly and completely disappearing from the orb.

Outside the globe, however, Hennesy, was not finished gloating. As soon as the orb began to glow again, he glared into it for a second time. It was empty. But where had his little captives gone?

Desperate, he shook it. The orb glowed again, but there was no one inside it. “They disappeared,” he muttered, his good spirits rapidly leaving him.

He stamped his foot in anger, tossing the orb back into the cupboard. To his surprise, it did not break as he had hoped it would. “Not even a crack!” he complained, bitterly. “Wait! This will work, very nicely. Maybe our prisoners will come crawling out if it smashes to pieces on this marble floor!” Before he could lift it from the shelf, however, the floor gave way under his feet and he felt himself falling.

Screaming loudly in the darkness, He reached out to replace anything to stop his fall, but there was nothing to grasp. He kept right on falling into what seemed like an endless chasm below him.