My Best Friend Assigns Me Chores

I wasn't sure what happened next but suddenly I was back in the past. Somehow I must've blacked out during the fight from blood loss, which wasn't good. It actually might even mean that I was dead, but something about this vision was different.

I recognized the Golden Equonix where I had once lived. I was talking to Zilpha while walking away from my mother upset. The scenario was that I had brought an animal back from the forest that was all burned up inside. I used its blood as fuel and killed it by setting its insides on fire. I showed it to my mother and she got very angry at me. She threw the creature away and told me never to do it again. I stomped away from her and Zilpha accompanied me. "Your mother did that for a reason Ember," she tried to say. "I know, but I just thought it was cool, and then she just has to start getting all mad like that," I responded hotly. "Ember, you don't understand. That sort of power is dangerous." I just groaned and stomped louder. "Please Ember, don't do it," she begged. "I can do whatever I want," I shouted. A silent awkward moment paused the both of us. "That's what you mother once said," she whispered. I stopped stomping and quieted down out of curiosity. "What do you mean?"

"The time she did it nearly drove her insane. Please Ember, if you value your ethics, don't do it. It was something Dark Heart had suggested. Don't fall into that trap."

I turned away from her without saying anything.

That's when I knew what to do.

I snapped back to the present, and the wolf was still on top of me. It seemed at if no time has passed. I stared hard at the wolf's chest and concentrated very hard. I felt my energy draining as the alpha jumped off of me and started to cough. He tumbled onto the ground and began retching. Smoke was coming out of his nostrils and his mouth.

He continued to wither on the floor until he finally remained still. His motionless body was still smoking and a bad smell filled the air. I got up in a sitting position because my side was aching. I pulled out the shard, then I flinched because Laura had just screamed again. The beta wolf had let go but was almost over her now. "Hey," I yelled and threw my blood stained shard at its abdomen The wolf howled in pain and came at me with it's bloody snout, which I grabbed and flipped the wolf over with the last of my physical strength. I held her down so she could only kick at the empty air. By now she was whimpering and I had a strong urge to bring down my last dagger onto her her stomach, but something inside me reminded me what Zilpha said to me back in my past. I had done enough, the wolf looked helpless so I let her go and she bounded into the darkness where she belonged. Minutes later I heard her howl in despair.

I scooted over toward where Laura lied. Her leg was bleeding a lot. "Don't worry, we'll find this healer," I said gently. "Yeah, probably should."

I began to form a portal. I grabbed Laura's hand and dragged her through with me.

When I finally got the portal to close, a whiplash of fatigue filled me. I tried to stand but quickly realized that wasn't possible. The new place we were in looked like a luxurious, pearl castle. There were sea lanterns on the walls of the big empty room. The ceiling extended so high, I almost couldn't see the roof. On one wall of the room, there was a massive glass window that showed a dark empty void of blue. "Where are we," Laura asked. "Well, we're probably on the Magick Realm, underwater, but I'm not sure exactly where." I cupped my hands over my mouth and yelled, "Anyone here?" I was expecting someone to answer, after all, I was trying to teleport someone. I looked back at Laura. She wasn't doing very well. She was very pale, and that means a lot since she is already naturally pale. Her face was chalky white, which worried me. Suddenly, a look of surprise came across her face. She was looking at something behind me. "Ember," she screamed. I turned halfway before being encircled by water. It closed down on me and lifted me in the air. It strangled me as I struggled for air. I looked down through the clear water and saw a little girl holding out her hands. "Lilory it's me, Ember," I shouted. "Ember?"

"It's me," I yelled again. The water bubble lowered to the ground and let me go. "Oh my gods, I am so sorry," she apologized. "Are you okay," she asked. I was focused on Laura's bubble. "Lily, let Laura down!" She gave me a confused look. "Let her down now," I said more urgently. She made a motion with her hands and the bubble popped. Laura fall to the floor and I rushed over to her. She was unconscious and she didn't look any better that she did earlier. "Help her," I begged. Lilory came over to me and sat next to Laura. She held out her hand and a small blue vial appeared in her hands. She popped open the cork and started flowing water out of the bottle and onto Laura's wounds. I watched as they faded slowly. Then Lilory brought the water over to me. I backed away, "No give her the rest," I protested. Lilory rolled her eyes. "I can't give her anymore, her body can't handle that much water, and besides, have you even seen yourself? You look awful."

I let her heal me with her liquid. It flowed over my wounds lessening the pain I didn't even know I had. I didn't realize how much agony I was in up until this moment. By the time she was done, I could barely feel any of my wounds. I still felt really tired, and I realized that the only thing keeping me awake right now was that I was really worried for my sister. I didn't know where these feelings came from since I just met Laura but she has been helping me out a lot lately, I felt that I should be doing the same.

Lilory guided us over to some couches that were sitting against a wall. I helped her set Laura in since she was still out cold, and then I sat down on the one next to her.

"You should really get some rest," Lilory advised. I layed down for a moment. "I know," I finally replied. "What even happened to you," she asked me. "Wolves from Darkaurus attacked us in a cave somewhere."

Lilory laughed lightly. "What's so funny," I asked. "Ember, you haven't changed a bit," she said. I was too tired to even react. I glanced over to Laura who was sleeping peacefully. I wondered if she ever had nightmares like me.

"You really should get some sleep," she said again with sympathy. I was about to respond to her that I didn't need to and I was just going to watch Laura for a little bit but my body betrayed me and my eyes closed on their own. Next thing I knew was that I was having another awful dream.

The good news is that it wasn't another bitter memory from my past. This time I was in the Golden Equonix, inside the palace dining room. The long table now had people in their seats. Usually the table was mostly empty with only three gods to sit in it, but now the room was crowded. Some other people were even standing up because there were no seats for them. Tabetha, Zach, Zilpha, and my mom sat at one end of the table while the rest of the people took up the other seats. I didn't recognize any of them though. They had powerful auras that I could feel, even in my dream. It wasn't as strong as the Golden Elders, but still strong enough to mean something.

At the other end of the table, a man with sharp brown and a brown beard wore a tuxedo, which are the kind of clothes humans wore when they attended formal occasions. He had a very modern outfit on, and a serious look in his eyes.

Next to him, sat a lady with a long white gown. The straps and the top part of the dress was weaved with gold thread. She had long black hair and color shifting eyes that seem to always change. She already looked gorgeous enough, what astounded me even more as the white feathery wings on her back. They appeared to be tucked in at the moment hidden behind the chair, so I couldn't see the whole thing.

Tabetha stood up from her chair and raised her glass. "Welcome guests, it is a pleasure to have you here. We are here to discuss the differences between us and uncover a mystery on how we have found each other. Now let us begin the meeting, I'd like to start by introducing ourselves in a formal fashion. I am Tabetha, Leader of the Golden Elders, goddess of nature," she announced. She motioned for Zach to go next. He stood up and cleared his throat. "I am Zacherous, second born, God of the winds." He sat down and Zilpha stood. "I am Zilpha, third born, Goddess of the oceans." Finally my mother, Phoenix pushed back her chair. "I am Phoenix, fifth...last born of the golden elders and I am the Goddess of fire," she said tightly. She looked over to Tabetha who gave her a stern but approving look. Then she sat back down. A moment of silence crossed over to the hall. The man on the other end stood up and announced his identity. "I am Zeus God of the sky," he said. The lady next to him stood at the same time he sat down. "I am Iris, goddess of light." Everyone drank from their chalice and looked at each other.

"We are here to discuss meeting each other, I see we are not alone," Tabetha said. "I realize that too which means there are other enemies out there. We are in a crisis, a primordial creator is wishing to rise and we don't know how to stop it quite yet," Iris said. Phoenix turned to Tabetha. "A primordial god?" Tabetha motioned her to be quiet. "We also have a small problem ourselves. Our old enemy Dark Heart is trying to seize our most important realm. He is more powerful, perhaps he is storing up energy to take revenge on us. Our Magick Realm is being overrun by his monsters from Darkaurus and the Nature Realm has already been taken over by a type of people Dark Heart has made. Maybe now is the time to deal with it by combining out powers. We were never able to stop Dark Heart alone."

Iris and Zeus had a thoughtful look on their faces. "We maybe able to help but we don't want to risk the lives of our brethren," Zeus spoke. "We shall discuss this amongst ourselves. For now let us focus on our own problems."

Tabetha got up from her chair calmly. "Then let us announce this Introduction Meeting adjourned." She formed a staff in her hands made of vines and hit the floor with it. The image dissolved and I found myself well rested. I didn't know why I dreamed of that meeting but it surprised me because it told me that there were more gods out there, which also meant that there could be more demigods like me. I wouldn't be alone.

Speaking of that, I gazed around trying to locate my sister. "Laura?"

"Over here," she responded. She sat on a couch, in front of a pit that glowed with blue fire. I assumed she had lit it up. I got out of my cot at stumbled over to her. I sat do and stared into the flames. "Sleep well," she asked. "Yeah… you?" Laura nodded her head. "I'm almost fully healed." She held her hand out. The scar was still there but it looked like the burn happened a long time ago. I still felt a pang of guilt when I saw it. "That's a great healer you found," Laura said. "She's just a friend," I replied. I told Laura about my dream to see if she knew anything about the other gods but she seemed just as puzzled as I was. "I didn't know there were any other gods," she said. "Me neither."

"How did you dream about that, I thought that your dream connection was cut off from the gods after you were...banished," she asked me. "I'm not sure, they started a couple of days ago, maybe Tabetha forgot to cut me off...wait did you say banished?" Laura tried to hide her guilt. "I wasn't banished, I just needed a getaway. I will go back soon, once I finish this quest, I should be allowed to go back." Laura crossed her arms. "Well whatever you say. We need to get out of here and continue our job."

"Right." Laura stood up and tried to form a portal, her hands started glowing but then the light died. She fell back down onto the couch. "I don't have enough energy," she panted. I stood up trying to make my own portal but I only managed to get a few sparks, before getting winded. "I can't either," I said. "So how do we get out of here," Laura asked. "We ask the castle keeper."

We roamed through the pristine palace. Everything here seemed to be made of pearl and marble. It wasn't very big, we came to an oval opening that lead to two other hallways. Next to them was a smaller door way. I was about to walk through it when Laura gasped. "Wow." I turned back to her but she was looking up. I followed her gaze toward a breathtaking view of the ocean above us. A swarm of glowing fish swam above us. "We are completely underwater," Laura murmured. The water was dim, so it probably meant we were deep beneath the surface. "Yeah." I didn't have much to say. I was too in shock, but when you're in the magick realm, anything is possible. After a few moments, we left the room, and continued on through the palace halls. Eventually we came to another room, like the oval one we were in but smaller. I spotted who I was looking for. She was standing on a step right in front of a fountain.

"Lilory!" She gasped and turned around. I ducked as a glowing ball flew past my head. It smashed into the wall and shattered. When I got up again, Lilory was on the other side of the room gathering up her pieces mournfully. "Oops…"

"No no no no!" She picked up the glass shards and held them in her hand. "Sorry," I squeaked.

A piece slid toward Laura's foot. She bent down to pick it up but Lilory stopped her. "Don't touch that," she warned. She picked it up herself and it dissolved in her hands. "What was that," I asked.

"Nothing, just a very important project!"

"I told you I'm sorry!"

"It's okay, I'm fine. Sorry, I didn't mean to get that upset."

I rested my hand on her shoulder. She flinched but relaxed a little after that. Then she took my hand off. "I need to go get another one."

"Wait Lily, can you show us where the exit is," I asked. "I can help you after I'm done," she said quickly. "No, we need to leave now, we have a quest to do."

Lilory spun around and met my eyes. At first I thought she was angry again but there was tears in her eyes. "I can't Ember… I can't help you," she quavered. "What do you mean?"

Lilory covered her face with one of her hands. "Can't you just teleport out of here?"

"Too weak," Laura and I unionized. She sighed and sat back down clearly stressed. "Just show us the exit and we'll be on our way," I said as gently as possible. Lilory looked back up to me. Her eyes were rimmed red. "I told you already, I can't help you." Laura pushed me out of the way. "What do you mean 'you can't help'," she asked. I heard annoyance and anger in her voice. "Laura, leave her alone," I snapped. I pulled her away from Lilory. "No, it's okay. I'll tell you what happened." She wiped her eyes clean from her growing tears and began to speak.

"This isn't my underwater palace."

"You have an underwater palace," Laura demmaded. Lilory gave her a look and Laura shrunk back. "Sorry," she muttered.

"This isn't my palace, it's my prison. Ember, remember when I helped you escape the Magi?"

"I--yeah, yeah I do. The Ru'an Tide."

"After that stunt, the rest of the Magi accused me of a traitor, well Scorio did anyways. They trapped me in here an now it's my prison."

"Wait, who's Scorio. He doesn't sound like a Magi," Laura asked. "He is, He's the new Shadow Magi," Lilory answered. "Wasn't Murdock the Shadow Magi?"

"He's gone now," I said sadly. "Yes, he was a great hero, and now he had to be replaced with that scoundrel, Scorio" Lilory replied bitterly. "What were the gods even thinking?"

"I don't know, I'm their trash bag remember," I grumbled. We all sat in depressing silence. "Didn't your brother help you," Laura asked. I elbowed her as hard as I could, because I knew she hit a sore subject. "Ow."

Several tears fell from her face as she nodded. "It should've been me," she croaked. I pulled Laura away and slapped her on the arm. "Ow again, stop that," she complained. "Don't ever bring her brother up," I scolded. "Why?"

"Because he died protecting her. He sacrificed himself for her during the fight and now she's alone!"

Laura's face fell in guilt. We walked back to Lilory who seemed to have recover from her sad moment. I bent down and took her arm. "It's okay Lilory, we'll get you out of here. We'll all escape together," I said looking at Laura, who nodded.

"In that case, I have an important job for you," she said to me.

She sent Laura to find some helpful spell books which I thought was totally unfair because the job I had to do was way harder. Lilory sent me to this aquarium room, like you need more fish in your sight.

"They can't survive in high-pressure areas or they'll get crushed, and I need them to be near me if I ever need them." Whatever the heck that means. Not only that but the aquarium was huge. Probably the size of three swimming pools. I took off my outer clothing which left me with my khakis' and button-up shirt. Dipped my foot in and the water seemed reasonably cool. I gazed through the surface to see if I could spot the fish and I did. It wasn't that hard to either. It was bright neon with all the colors of the rainbow on its fins and body.

"Huh, some magical fish."

I got up from the edge and jumped in.