The Council

by Phoenix Willow

  “It’s okay, Girlie. Let them up.” Ambrosia said.

  “Yeah, Spitfire. No need to sparkle on just yet, although I will say that in this light, your eyes are glowing a couple different colors of green. Really cool.” Rain said happily, and as though Jewel wasn’t busy torturing two Pixies right in front of her.

  “Let them go, Gem. I think they’ve learned their lesson.” Frost urged, and after allowing a few more pulses of pain to radiate through the Pixie guards’ bodies, she stood and allowed her pain power to slowly recede until the guards were no longer feeling it.

  Both guards gasped for air and struggled to stand, but when they were finally on their feet, they looked at Jewel warily.

  “Wh-what are you, that you are able to wield such dark magic?” Puck asked tentatively.

  “Oh, for element’s sake.” Winter shouted, throwing her hands up in the air. “She’s not using dark magic, you twit. She’s just a very powerful being with a low tolerance for bull. As are the rest of us, so, in the interest of saving time, just take us to your leaders so that we can attempt to forge an alliance and we don’t have to endure any more of this unpleasantness.” She finished, raising an eyebrow as though daring the two guards to argue, which they didn’t.

  “Wait here.” Eldon stated, as he disappeared into the villa, leaving a very nervous Puck outside with Jewel and the rest of the group.

  “You know, Girlie, I could have handled the big oaf myself. You didn’t have to use your pain power.” Ambrosia stated with a smirk. “Unless of course, you were just needing to test it out and make sure it still worked.”

  “That was just a perk.” Jewel winked. “And I know you can handle yourself, but there was no reason for him to have raised his hand against you. He’s lucky I’ve gained a bit more self-control.”

  Ambrosia snorted. “That was showing self-control?” She laughed. “Huh. Well, I’m glad I’m on your good side then.” She said, half-jokingly, half-serious.

  Just then the villa door opened, and Eldon held it there. “The Monarch will see you now.”

  Jewel nodded. “Now, see, Eldon. That wasn’t so hard now was it?” She said as she passed him and followed Puck into the villa.

  Eldon’s lips thinned and Jewel could tell he was having to restrain himself from saying anything further. It probably wasn’t the smartest thing to do to take jabs at his expense, but Jewel was tired of dealing with prejudiced beings and their feelings of superiority.

  “Right this way.” Puck announced and Jewel and the rest of the group followed close behind.

  The inside of the villa was beautifully decorated with plants and flowers covering most of the interior. It was as though Jewel was back in the Pixie forest again.

  Puck stopped right outside a stone wall and pressed his hand upon it while muttering something under his breath. Jewel watched in wide-eyed wonder as a door quickly appeared within the stone, and she was immediately glad that she hadn’t knocked the guards out completely. They never would have found the Monarch on their own. Yay for her newfound self-control.

  Frost grabbed Jewel’s arm before she entered the hidden room. “Let me and Ambrosia go in first and make sure that it’s safe.” And that’s exactly what he did, not giving Jewel any time to argue, which of course she had been about to do.

  Frost and Ambrosia entered the room and once they nodded in Jewel’s direction, the rest of the group entered as well. Winter and Foster lingered in the back by the door, however, and Jewel was glad they were because there was no telling whether this meeting would be good or bad.

  The Monarch was a pudgy Pixie, sitting atop a tall wooden chair. His sharp features showed his annoyance and the female Pixie on his left looked downright scared.

  “You were not invited here, so why are you disturbing me and attacking my guards?” The Monarch asked in a nasally voice.

  Jewel stepped forward. “We did not mean any disrespect to you, Your, err, Monarchiness.” She said, grimacing at how ridiculous that had sounded, and getting a few ‘did you really just say monarchiness’ looks from her counterparts, but continuing, nonetheless. “We have come to try and form an alliance between our world and yours-”

  “I see. Well unfortunately for you, we have already made an alliance, with the promise of riches and power in return for your capture.” The Monarch said with a sinister expression crossing his features, his front row of sharp teeth exposed for all to see.

  Jewel’s blood ran cold and without a moment’s notice, guards appeared out of nowhere, stepping out from the walls where they had been camouflaged and overpowering everyone in her group, three to one. Jewel began to glow, her power rising, but it was cut short as she was hit in the back of the head by some unknown object. Stars exploded behind her eye lids, and darkness overtook her senses.

  *******

  The smell of must and decay met Jewel’s senses as she began to come to, her brain feeling like mush and her body shivering uncontrollably. Her first thought was that the effects of the polarrier were the cause, and her hand flew to the spot around her neck where the gem necklace should be. She sighed in relief as she was met with the familiar gemstones, and she mentally thanked Galadriel whose spell on the necklace was undoubtedly the reason it was still there.

  She sat up slowly, so she wouldn’t pass out and took a few moments to allow her eyes time to adjust to the darkness surrounding her. She was shackled which wouldn’t have been as alarming had it not been for the fact that she could feel several spots on her arms where she had obviously been injected with something. Probably why she couldn’t quit shaking.

  “Hello?” Jewel whispered, her voice still a bit gravelly. “Raindrop? Troll? Trickster? Snowman? Anyone?”

  “We’re here Spitfire, but you’ve got to be quiet until the guards go back up.” Rain whispered back, a little tremor in her voice as she spoke.

  Jewel stayed as still as possible, which wasn’t easy as she was still shivering, and closed her eyes as she heard the guard’s footsteps coming closer.

  “I really don’t see what all the fuss was about with that one.” Jewel heard a masculine voice state. “She was easy to overpower.”

  Jewel heard a chuckle in response. “Yeah. Puck and Eldon have lost their edge, and maybe their minds. There is no way that this thing was able to overpower them so easily with magic.”

  Jewel tensed and realized they were talking about her. Well little did they know that when she got out of there, she fully intended on allowing her power to punish any and all involved in her capture. A few moments went by and Jewel could hear receding footsteps, but she stayed quiet even then.

  “Okay, Girlie. They’re gone.” Ambrosia said.

  Sage and Zeke muttered the same spell, luzversep, and at least a dozen lights began floating about, illuminating the disgusting space they were now all stuck in. The only relief Jewel had was that it appeared that everyone else was physically okay and unharmed.

  “You okay, Gem?” Frost asked as he sat next to her.

  “Uh, no.” Jewel shook her head. “Not in the slightest. What happened and does anyone know where we are?”

  “Unfortunately, we don’t know anything more than you do, and I don’t know for sure, but I can only assume that we are in the Pixie’s version of a dungeon.” Sage answered.

  “Great.” Jewel muttered.

  “They shot you full of that power suppression stuff though, Spitfire.” Rain said, guilt written all over her face. “Forced us all to watch through the bars, but of course our powers don’t work within this cell, so we couldn’t help you.”

  “That’s okay, Raindrop. I know you would have if you were able to.” Jewel said honestly. “But since they used the power suppression potion, I guess we don’t have to guess who the Monarch made the alliance with, which means we need to get out of here, like now.”

  “Agreed. The Monarch has probably already sent Shade and Gertrude a message stating that they have you here, and we are just not in a good position to fight against
them.” Winter said, standing up and brushing the dirt off her clothes which didn’t really do much more than smear it.

  Jewel tried to use her powers, but of course, the power suppression potion was still muting them. “It’s a no go on my end right now. Too much potion. Is there a lock on the door that we can try and pick?”

  “Nope. Only magic appears to able to open the door.” Galadriel answered. “We seem to be in these predicaments quite a lot with each other, huh, Green?” He smirked.

  Jewel chuckled. “So, it would seem.”

  “We can help you.” Jewel heard a squeaky voice say, startling her in the process because she knew it wasn’t someone in her group.

  “Uh, did anyone else hear that?” Jewel asked the group, getting a lot of confused glances back.

  “Hear what Draconis?” Lyric asked, her violet eyes narrowing and darting back and forth.

  “The squeaky voice.” Jewel answered.

  “We do not have a squeaky voice, thank you very much.” The squeaky voice said in offense.

  “There! There it is again.” Jewel pointed out a little louder than intended.

  “Draconis has finally lost her melon.” Lyric stated to Dream.

  “I knew it was only a matter of time.” Dream said back.

  “I haven’t lost my melon, you two. There is a voice, and its offering help.” Jewel said, realizing that it did sound a little insane, but she knew what she heard.

  “No, no. I heard it too.” Foster walked over to Jewel. “We are listening. Can you tell us where you are and how you can help?” He said, staring at Jewel’s arms and legs and the area of dirt around them.

  “We’re right here. Oh, hold on.” The squeaky voice said. “Okay, now. You should be able to see us now. No, not on the ground. Up here you big winged creature.”

  Foster began to stare wide-eyed at Jewel’s shoulder, his jaw dropping just slightly, before a smile formed upon his face. “Well, hello there.” He said, opening his hand and scooping whatever had been on Jewel’s shoulder into his palm.

  Jewel gasped as she saw that there were four little jeweled bugs sitting in Foster’s hand. How long they had been on her was up for debate, but Jewel would have bet money that they were responsible for the weird crawling sensation she had felt earlier in the day. They had a purple oval shaped body with a green head and silver wings. Their eyes were a beautiful night sky black and they had little antenna and six legs. They were beautiful, but Jewel was still a little creeped out by the fact that they had been hanging out on her body, unbeknownst to her, for quite a while. At least they hadn’t bitten her.

  “Well, are you going to say something or just stare at us all day?” The bigger of the four insects asked.

  “Oh, um……I’m sorry, I’ve just never spoken to a creature like you before.” Jewel stated.

  “You can understand them?” Foster said in a way that could have been either a statement or a question.

  “Yeah, I can.” Jewel nodded. “Maybe they’re a type of creature that only Immune’s can communicate with?”

  Foster quickly shook his head. “These aren’t just any creatures. These are renuviants.” He said reverently.

  “Are they really?” Sage inquired excitedly, coming closer to get a better look.

  “They bloody are indeed.” Foster answered, as the four jeweled bugs flew back to Jewel.

  “Well, not to sound dense, but can someone please explain what they are?” Jewel asked, her patience running thin.

  “They-” Foster started. “-are our way out.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Foster-Ing an Alliance

  Foster and Sage went on to explain, with an exuberance that Jewel had never seen either of them have before, just how the renuviants could be of help. The only unfortunate thing was that they were both so excited and spouting off so many facts about the little jewel bugs that everyone was having trouble processing the information- Jewel included. But there was one fact that stuck out for Jewel and that might just explain Foster’s comment about how the renuviants were the groups way out.

  “So, let me get this straight.” Jewel began. “These renuviants are able to restore someone to their original state, before their magic was ever tampered with, sort of like a potion antidote.”

  “Exactly.” Foster answered with a twinkle in his chocolate brown eyes and his English accent shining through. “And before everyone starts thinking that Jewel has another power, please remember that these renuviants chose Jewel. They chose to become her partners, so to speak, and that is why she is can communicate with them while no one else, aside from me, can. They are living creatures, so I would have been able to communicate with them regardless once they dropped their shield, but for me- they wouldn’t have.”

  “It’s remarkable.” Zephyr stated. He looked at Jewel with an expression that Jewel couldn’t quite read and with her powers being suppressed by the potion she wasn’t able to gauge his emotions or aura either, but nevertheless, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that for whatever reason, he wasn’t exactly happy. “Yep. Remarkable.” He muttered, gaining a suspicious look from Foster in the process. Foster didn’t peer at Zephyr long, but it was enough for Jewel to notice.

  “It really is. These little guys are so powerful and so rare.” Sage said, looking at the four little gemstone bugs as though they were the cutest babies on earth. “I read that some never drop their shield or show themselves to the world through the entirety of their life- which can span thousands of years, mind you.”

  “Well, all that’s great, and we can discuss more on the topic later, but what we need to do right now is get out of here before Shade and Gertrude arrive or send their minions to come get us.” Ambrosia said, nervously pacing and biting her nails.

  “Don’t forget the slay, slay, slay, or we will have to come back another day, day, day.” Zekiel mentioned. “I for one do not want to stay.” He finished with an awkwardly timed guffaw.

  Jewel didn’t catch on to Zekiel’s meaning at first, but when the realization hit, it hit hard. She jumped to her feet, careful not to drop the renuviants, and reached for her belt. There was nothing there.

  With a groan, Jewel looked at the ceiling of the cell. “They took Slayer. They freaking took it. Great. Just great. Now we have one more thing to do and there’s no telling where it might be at this point, and it’s not like we can leave it behind.”

  “Simmer down Spitfire. S.D.S.” Rain started. “The guard threw everyone’s weapons into a room at the bottom of the stairs. All we have to do is get out of here and then break into that room to get Slayer and the rest of the weapons on our way out.”

  Jewel wasted no more time. Looking at the renuviants, she asked, “How can you help me?”

  “We can absorb the potion into our bodies, and then release it onto the ground. Your body is already trying to fight off the effects which is why you’re shivering, but we can make it go much quicker. It might feel a bit strange though.” The largest of the renuviants stated.

  “That’s okay.” Jewel nodded. “Let’s do it.”

  “You heard her. Spread out and absorb like you’ve never absorbed before.” The largest renuviant ordered.

  All at once, the four renuviants went to different spots on Jewel’s body. The largest stayed on her palm and the other three went to her head, opposite shoulder, and leg, where they then proceeded to make their bodies vibrate. Jewel felt as though her blood was rushing to the four spots where the vibrating renuviants were located and then they began to spin in a circle. Faster and faster they spun, and the more they did this, the stronger Jewel’s powers felt. Well, strong might have been too simple a term to use in describing the feeling. Invincible might have been more like it, although Jewel knew she wasn’t, but boy did she feel a rush of power like never before. It was as though her eyes had been truly opened to the world around her. She could see everyone’s auras clear as day. Could actually feel their feelings without even meaning to, and their thoughts we
re rushing to her mind without her even trying to use her telepathy. What was even more amazing, however, was the fact that she no longer felt like her power was out of her control. It was a part of her, a mere extension, much like a limb and she knew that if she needed to use any or all of them, she could.

  “Wow.” Jewel breathed out as the renuviants stopped spinning. She felt legs scurrying and once the renuviants were back in her palm, she spoke to them. “Thank you so much. I’ve never felt this good before. It’s amazing.”

  “Eh, it’s no problem. Now, don’t be surprised if a new power shows up at some point. If you had any dormant or hidden one’s, they probably won’t be on lockdown much longer, but either way, all the potion is gone now so you should be good to go. Now, if you’ll excuse us, we have to purge all the yucky potion. Be right back.” The largest renuviant said as it and the other three flew from Jewel’s palm down to the ground and proceeded to vomit about four times their body mass onto the cell’s floor. It was disgusting and amazing all at the same time. Jewel had no idea how they had been able to take in as much of the potion as they had into their tiny bodies, but Jewel was more than grateful that they had been able to do it.

  “How you feeling, Green?” Galadriel asked tentatively.

  “I’m great.” Jewel said energetically. “Time to go.” She announced with a smile as she looked towards the cell door and with a mere thought, blew it off the hinges. She did the same with the shackles she had been placed into, and they shattered immediately. The four renuviants flew to her shoulder quickly, and Jewel felt a strong comradery with the creatures, so strong in fact that she couldn’t imagine not having them with her anymore.

  Rain let out a low whistle as she looked upon the open hole where the door once was. “Chocolate sauce, Spitfire. When you do something, you go all out don’t you?”