Dark Amulet

As the light began to envelop the inside of the wagon again. Lionel could see an amulet rising out of the now open chest. He reached his hand toward it as it hung steadily in the air. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end and the air vibrated around him. The amulet moved on its own into Lionel's grasp. As soon as the cool amulet touched his fingertips Lionel yelped in pain. he closed his eyes and a pair of red irises appeared in the darkness of his eyelids.

"What the hell are you doing?!!"

Lionel jerked his eyes open immediately to see a stunned Drindle, staring at him from the driver's bench. He took one look at Drindle's reaction and realized something was wrong. He looked at his hand still grasping the amulet. right before his eyes the black amulet started to melt and be absorbed by the skin of his palm. he only made out a few details of the amulet before it disappeared entirely. The amulet was small only about 5 centimeters and circular. In the center was stamped a tree with four thick branches rising out of the trunk. He could make out no more of the image before he felt a cool sensation washing over him. It started at his palm and moved its way up his arm and into his chest. When the cool sensation reached his heart there was a sharp ache that made him fold forward in pain. That pain was then followed by a slow beat in sync with his own heart. badump badump ... badump badump...

Drindle stood dumbfounded watching an amulet be absorbed into Lionel. He had found the gardgan that Lionel had mentioned and had just removed its head when a strange feeling prickled the back of his neck. He felt a cool sensation wash over him from the direction of the wagon. He called the wagon to him while quickly flying toward it. It had only taken him minutes to reach the carriage. When he arrived at the wagon, it was to a sight he had never witnessed before. Drindle didn't even realize he had spoken when he said "What the Hell are you doing?!!" As he watched the scene unfold before him he became mesmerized. He had owned the chest for a little less than a century but was never able to even open it, let alone see what it contained. As he watched, his mind wandered at the potential of the child in front of him.

Lionel held his chest while feeling the strangeness of his heart beating. He looked up from the floor to see Drindle's expressionless face.

"I'm sorry.." he spoke weakly

Drindle smiled awkwardly as he replied. "Child what are you?"

Lionel stood as he looked Drindle in his pale blue eyes, "I am just me."

"Do you know what a Velthum is?"

"No" Lionel replied truthfully.

"How would you like for me to teach you about being an Enthraller?"

'What is an Enthraller?' Lionel thought while staring at the crooked old man in front of him.

"Let's go back to my domain on the Lonely Peaks and we will talk there" Drindle said while turning back to the driver's bench and sitting down.

Lionel's strength in his legs seemed to fade as he sat down in the storage space in the wagon.

*

*

*

Back at the top of the mountain, a round hut appeared on the horizon. Drindle deftly moved the wagon to land just to the left of the hut. Drindle slowly floated to the door of the hut and removed the hood of his robe. Lionel could see a thin wisp of white hair on the otherwise bald spherical head. Lionel hopped down and walked toward the doorway while feeling the cool air fill his lungs. it wasn't as cold as it had been on his first ascent to the peak.

As Drindle moved inside of the hut a fire lit in the center. The fire illuminated the inside in a warm orange glow. As Lionel moved into the hut, he could smell the pungent fumes from plants hanging near the door. The hut had a counter that ran all the way around the outside wall with various herbs tied and hanging above it. Books lined all of the shelves that were under the counter, Lionel could scarcely count them. There were at least a thousand books of varying colors and sizes. There were windows in each of the cardinal directions and provided clear light near them. The hut appeared to be 30 meters in diameter with an opening in the roof just above the fire. In the very center near the fire were 3 large chairs but the space was otherwise barren.

Drindle moved toward one of the chairs and sat while eyeing Lionel.

"Ank, are you going to come in and sit or just stand there and gawk? Wait a bit and I will change my robe to give you something to look at. Heh Heh Hee." Drindle said with a crooked grin while watching the embarrassment spread on Lionel's face.

Lionel closed the door behind him as he moved quickly to sit in the chair situated to the right of Drindle.

As he sat he looked at Drindle and asked "Why do you keep calling me Ank?"

the old man arched his eyebrows and asked is a soft manner, "You don't like the name your senior picked out for you?"

"Well.. no... that's.. not what I meant."

"Then it's settled, you are Ank." The decrepit man said while brimming with a mischievous smile.

"Let's get a few things straight." a serious expression formed on the bald man's face as he spoke. "We have established that you don't know what a Velthum is. Have you ever heard of a spirit?"

Lionel nodded his head yes as Drindle continued on.

"Well a Velthum is similar to what commoners call a spirit, except that a Velthum comes from one of the other three realms of existence. You have heard of the different realms, right?"

Lionel shook his head as disappointment showed on the elder's face.

"Goodness what do they teach these days?!" the old man exclaimed with clear disgust on his face "Looks like this is going to be a long conversation." Drindle spoke while lifting his arm towards a shelf; a large book quickly floated toward his outstretched hand.