Skia Kristal

Skia Kristal

1,930 words

         Riane (RHEE-an) still couldn’t believe that she had been foolish enough to recite an ancient spell she found in that old book without knowing what the words meant or what would happen if the spell actually worked. Now she was lost in a strange realm of magic, a place called Riga in the Kingdom of Jacarel in the realm of Kri Kivi. I deserve being trapped on Pandora. I always have to be by myself. Perhaps if someone had been with me when I found that dusty old tome, that person would have talked me out of using the spell.

         Riane felt her skin tingle the moment she entered the market. She hated when the wee hairs at the nape of her neck stood on end like a warning sign. BEWARE! Her inner voice screamed. Her tummy growled and she began looking for something sweet. Her body always craved sugar when she was nervous or upset.

         The gypsy, fortuneteller stepped from the shadows. Big gold rings hung from her tiny ears. She wore flame red lipstick and vivid purple eye shadow.

         She glanced a second time at the gypsy and shook her head. The wee woman’s purple, red and gold ankle length skirt swished as she moved, and she wore only a shawl as a coat and sandals despite the rain and chill. The wee female had a brand on her left wrist. The BEWARE! grew even louder. Riane started to go the other way. Yet the woman’s silver and gold bangle bracelets tinkled when she crossed the road.

         Riane knew she should walk the other way, yet something prevented her from doing so. She gasped when the seer’s eyes met her silvery blue ones. Instead of an old hag Riane saw a lovely woman with waits length black hair and large mink colored eyes. She felt like a giant towering over the small female, who barely stood five feet and weighed next to nothing.

         “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost, Riane.”

         “How do you know my name?”

         “Tis not important. Ye must seek the Skia Kristal (Sphere of Illusion). Or die.”

         “I don’t believe in this hocus pocus,” Riane said. “Go on your way and leave me alone.”

         “Magic rules Pandora in more ways than you can imagine.”

         “Do you have a name?” Riane asked.

         “Kalila (kah-LEE-lah).”

         “Kalila, why would I die if I don’t get the Skia Kristal?”

         “I spoke out of turn. The Skia Kristal can send you home.”

         Riane knew to sneak into Leila’s Mythical Garden was an offense punishable by death yet… Don’t listen to the fortuneteller. Going into the garden would be committing suicide. Riane’s inner voice whispered.

         “Givon (jee-VON) protects the Skia Kristal. I’m not fighting a griffin for an orb that I can’t use. Only those with magic can use the Sphere of Illusion,” Riane said. “Only a few folks know the located of the Crystal Cavern Library.”

         “Under the fountain at the center of Leila’s Mythical Garden. I can give you a sleeping spell to use on Givon.”

         “How does a gypsy possess such information?”

         “Tis not important.”

         What is this woman hiding? Why can‘t she go get this sphere herself? “Why should I do this for you? I don’t even know you.”

         “The Skia Kristal grants wishes. It can send you back to your own world.”

         A pang of homesickness shot through Riane. She knew the fortuneteller spoke falsely, yet… What if Kalila speaks the truth?

         NO! Riane’s, inner voice screamed. The fortuneteller lies.

         “How do I get pass Chaitra (SHAY-truh)? She’s the guardian to the Crystal Cavern Library,” Riane said.

         Kalila handed Riane an amulet. “This shall guide you straight to the Skia Kristal once you get under the fountain. Hold it in your left hand and just follow the light.”