Tracey's voice took Makenna deep into the jungle—to a section not lit by the sun. That wasn't suspicious at all.
Makenna flew slowly, calling for Tracey.
"Follow my voice," he kept replying. "It will guide you to me. Hurry."
"I'm coming," Makenna spoke. "Hold on, Trace." The further she traveled, the darker the surroundings. It was like she had entered a haunted forest. "Hello?" Makenna whispered.
"Over here," Tracey returned. "Just a little further."
Makenna stepped into a shady tropical swamp, where it was almost dead silent, and stopped beside an algae-covered pond. The voice came from there, but where was Tracey? Makenna knew she heard him.
Looking down, she noticed her necklace pendants shaking and glowing a little. Reaching for them, she asked, "Do what? You want me to slip into this pond? Is that where I'll find Tracey? I know he's here somewhere."
The necklaces told her to do what she thought was right, but warned her that once she slipped underwater, something would happen.
"I know," Makenna spoke. "I'll witness the return of Tracey." Her excitement bubbled inside her. She couldn't wait to see him!
Makenna's blue eyes scanned the pond, and she took a deep breath. Without another word, she flapped her wings and dove.
Makenna swam in a whale-like fashion toward the pond's bottom, her powerful wings beating behind her. It turned out the pond was much deeper than the other ponds she was used to. It took a while to reach the bottom. Makenna knew she was getting close, though, when light vanished and saltwater weeds brushed by her. She clutched her wand as she continued to swim.
A bit further down, her eyes caught a green light, and she smiled. "Tracey."
Within a minute or two, the light flashed. Fish swam away in a hurry, and Makenna gasped. All around her came a screech, and an extensive, green outline of the Bermuda Triangle appeared before her. From the Triangle emerged a face that resembled a cross between a human, an alien, and the Kraken. Four large eyes rested high on its brown head, and its mouth was huge, oval-shaped, and filled with rows of sword-like teeth. If it had a nose, it wasn't visible.
At the sight of the creature, Makenna's eyes widened, and she screamed, attacking it. She slammed it with a spell, but it took no damage. Why, though? There had to be some way to destroy the nightmare.
For her safety, Makenna hurried away from it, but stopped when she heard Tracey again. "Makenna! Don't leave me!"
"Tracey!" Whirling around, Makenna looked beyond the creature and into the depths of the pond.
There he was! Tracey floated behind the alien in a magic coma-like state. His eyes were closed, and a blue blob surrounded him. It looked like a prison. He did not move, even at the sound of Makenna's call.
For a moment, the creature vanished, giving Makenna an open path to him.
"What did you do to him?" she shouted, eyes narrowing. "Stop!" She hurried toward Tracey, but was forced to stop and retreat when the creature reappeared. That time, Makenna saw features of it that she hadn't noticed before.
The creature had eight Kraken-like arms, each with four long, sharp claws, hovering before and behind it.
Fear and anger smacked Makenna like a bowling ball. Clenching her teeth, she picked up a stick covered in algae and held it in both hands like a sword on her right side. To the creature, she yelled, "For God's sake, let him go! He doesn't deserve this! I'm the one who should be punished!" She swiped at the creature, but it grabbed the stick and snapped it in two.
Makenna swam back but refused to leave, not without Tracey. Every time she got close to him, though, the creature would appear and roar in her face, and the outline of the Bermuda Triangle would spin. She tried whatever spell she had to get it to move, but none prevailed.
With every failed attempt to rescue Tracey, Makenna grew angrier until finally, her eyes glowed. A vast blue light with black splatters appeared, and Makenna yelled as it slammed into the monster and threw it back. The Octopus Man's trident appeared on her upper left arm, just like Tracey.
Makenna used the magic to aim a spell toward the prison, where Tracey floated.
The creature hurried back to Makenna and lifted one of its massive arms. It sliced the water with its claws, and its arms waved in a figure eight style.
The necklaces glowed wildly, and Makenna heard a familiar voice from the one with the shell pendant. "Help! Mommy! Daddy!" It was back! It almost felt like she and the girl yelling were related in some way.
At the creature's command, a whirlpool appeared and sucked Makenna inside.
She snapped out of her trance, and her eyes stopped glowing. Closing her eyes, she yelled as she started to spin. "Tracey! Tracey, no!"
The whirlpool shoved her back to the surface. It spat Makenna out of the pond and threw her to the ground. As soon as she hit it, the necklaces calmed down, but she rolled down a steep hill covered in ferns and dirt. Her entire body felt cold and numb.
The creature followed her from the pond, so it could continue tormenting her. It splashed out of the water and chased her.
When Makenna reached the bottom of the hill, she slammed face-first into a mud puddle. She stayed there for about a minute, suffering from a state of shock and numbness.
Before long, a pair of boots stopped before her. With his hood back on his head, Ash grabbed Makenna's arms and pulled her out of the puddle. Turning her over, he gently slapped her cheek and begged, "Makenna! Makenna! Wake up! It's Ash!"
The creature's screech grew closer.
At Ash's touch, Makenna opened her eyes and stared into his face. "Ash? What happened?" Lifting her shaking hands, she examined them. "I-I feel so cold," she whimpered.
Ash nodded. "I know. Don't worry. We're leaving. You're just up to high doh." Then just like that, he let Makenna take his shoulder and slung her over it. Ash carried her toward the lighter section of the jungle, where Silvey and Harmony waited. Selene had disappeared.
The creature soon plopped down from the treetops and blocked the fairies' path, roaring.
Ash's eyes widened, but he remained calm. He escorted Makenna to a tree and gently set her down. He then returned to the creature.
Surrounding himself with his magic, Ash stood straight and moved his hands toward his head, crossing them before each other three times. He lowered them and held his arms out. Ash brought them together and pointed his hands at the creature.
Over the creature's head appeared an enormous raincloud, and Ash punched at it. As soon as he did, a lightning bolt escaped the cloud and shocked the beast.
It screeched, and the jungle shook. Then, in a blast of green and blue sparkles, it disappeared. Even after that, Ash wasted no time getting him and Makenna out of the shady section of the island.
Inhaling breaths of air and ignoring the pain in his head, he hurried to Makenna and slung her over his shoulder again. Ash sprinted toward the light and finally met up with Silvey and Harmony. He pushed Makenna onto Harmony's back and climbed aboard, grasping his horse's reins. "Makenna, hold on!"
With her eyes still closed, Makenna wrapped her arms around Ash's waist and waited for him to give the orders.
Ash flicked Harmony's reins. "Hyah! Hyah! Let's get out of here, Harmony!"
Nodding, Harmony took off and escaped the shady part of Coutarine Island. Silvey followed close behind, but out of the way of the horse's hooves. Harmony jumped a log, and the fairy dog mimicked.
While the four escaped, Ash mumbled under his breath, "I have to teach Makenna well. That was only the beginning."