Fate's Pawn: Five Jewels

Lured

Holly:

My Angel stared down at me with an impassive gaze. There was no recognition in his eyes. My arms wrap around my chest in a desperate attempt to warm myself as a chill worked through my body. How cruel was it to keep showing me those I loved only to tear them away?

Angel ignored me and continued to use his arsenal to give me a thorough check-up. The cold metal of the stethoscope was the only thing that jolted me out of my dark thoughts. "Angel," I whispered. Maybe he hadn't heard me before.

He snorted. "I'm no angel, fish woman, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with you." His eyes darted to Max's. "Is this the only reason I was summoned? To deal with this?" he motioned at me with a scoff.

Another hard pill to swallow. Angel was gone, and just like Quix there was no getting him back. The thought was like a thorn twisting through my heart.

Max's eyes inspected me, his presence comforting, but almost like a smothering blanket type of way. He hovered at my side. "You're sure there's nothing wrong with her? She's been acting strange lately."

The doctor sighed, running a hand through his black hair. "I'm not a fish doctor, you are aware of this, right?

"All I care about is if Coral is okay," Max replied without any hesitation.

Angel rolled his eyes. "If you weren't paying me so well, I swear I wouldn't put up with this." He motioned with a hand toward me. "Take her for a walk or something, she's physically fine, I've got real work to do."

Max brightened at his words. "A walk?" He turned to me and his eyes shone. "Did you hear that, Coral? We should go to the exhibit."

Even if I wanted to go with this stranger I didn't have the first idea of how to turn into a human like he insisted I could do. "How?"

In answer, Max put his arms around my shoulder and one around my fins and lifted me completely out of the water. He took a step out of it and I clung to him. Before my eyes, my fins glittered like blue sapphires before turning into two normal feet. I kicked them to test them out.

"Your hour starts now," Max reminded me with a gentle smile.

"And what happens if I don't make it back in time?" I asked with a nervous giggle. I was well aware this was a dangerous question, it was something that I as Coral should know, but the answer was too important.

Max gave me a strange look and leaned down. His forehead pressed against mine and he stared into my eyes, his questioning. "I'm worried about you, Coral."

My cheeks burned as I stared at him. My voice had faded away and I was lost in his eyes.

I cleared my throat, desperate to speak.

"If you feel anything strange at all, tell me." He paused. "As for your question? When the hour is up, you change back. Nothing bad has happened so far, but then again, you're always in the water by that time."

That didn't sound ominous at all.

"Let's go," Max offered, setting me down. I wobbled on my feet but his firm grip lingered on my forearm until I was set right. "I've got you," he whispered.

"Yeah, well, that's enough for me. You fodder go have fun. I'm going back to bed." Angel huffed and stalked off leaving us alone.

Max kept his hand in mine, gently pulling me through his luxurious house.

He took me to heavy steel doors and easily opened them, holding them for me until I was safely through.

It was like stepping through the door to another world.

Each wall was filled with priceless wonders and my eyes flickered from one to the other until something caught my attention.

On the left wall there was a small pedestal, and sitting on top of it was something that didn't seem to fit the theme of priceless jewels and artwork around it. It was a simple wooden lantern with carved moons and stars in the worn wood. And although all those things were strange, what really caught my attention was the flame burning inside of it.

It was coal black.

What in the world?

I looked away and a splash of vibrant green caught my eyes. What had looked like a haphazard mess of pain at first was more intricate the closer I looked. It wasn't just one shade of green, but multiple, and it twisted and twined like a rope of vines forming a strange maze for the eyes.

"You enjoying yourself?" Max questioned at my side. A smile tugged at his lips.

I nodded. How could he possess so many things? There had to be hundreds of priceless items in this place.

"They all pale in comparison to you, Coral," he whispered.

I glanced away from the intenseness in his blue eyes. Reds, oranges, and bits of black caught my attention. What was that? It was thin as a wafer and stood tall, almost the same height as me. The closer I moved, the more the colors inside it danced like the flames of a fire.

"Over here, this is my most valued piece," Max said.

I followed where he was pointing and froze in place. It was a massive black statue that didn't reflect any of the lights in the room. It was like staring into pitch black. I craned my neck to see if I could figure out just what this monster was. It had large wings and a large crimson eye I felt I was being drawn to.

Maybe some sort of bird creature? But quite unlike anything I'd ever seen before.

I paused, tilting my head. There was a soft melody coming from down another hall. I could just barely make it out.

Max was talking to one of the security guards so his attention was diverted, but it wasn't like I was trying to get away from him. Not until I understood more about this strange world.

But I couldn't stop myself.

The farther down the hall I traveled, the stronger the pull of the melody became. Strangely enough, it didn't get louder but that made me determined to hear it even more.

I paused at another set of double doors. Whatever was calling to me was just beyond.

Glancing at Max, I made my decision. He would be able to track me down with ease, whatever this was, I wanted to see it for myself. And I wanted to have a moment alone with it.

It's what it wanted.

I pushed the doors open just enough for me to slip through and into a darkened almost black room. In the middle a gem glittered with a rainbow of sparkles drawing me closer.

I didn't hesitate. Whatever control I'd had before I opened the doors had long vanished.

Whatever this was, had me in its hold. I opened my mouth and I sang the haunting melody, and the jewel sang back.