Free The Seal of Oblivion by Holly Dae Page A

something if I’m not or some invisible force will stop me from
touching it?” Laqiya asked.
    The woman shrugged and silently
watched Laqiya. Laqiya glanced at the woman one last time, and then hesitantly
took the staff out its case. She held it with her pointer finger and thumb
first. Seeing that nothing happened after a few seconds, she gripped it with
her whole hand. It felt warm. She twirled it in her hands enjoying the effect
it had on the light.
    “It’s yours.”
    Laqiya stopped playing with the
piece at the abrupt proclamation.
    “What?” she asked.
    “Take the whole chest. It’s yours,”
the woman said again. If Laqiya didn’t know any better she seemed pleased.
    “But wait. That’s it?”
    “What do you want me to make you do?
Fight me?”
    “No.”
    “Then take it,” the woman said.
“Put it back, close it, and take it.”
    Laqiya did so and locked the chest,
still dumbfounded even as the woman handed her the key.
    “Thanks…” Laqiya said making sure
there were no cracks in the floor or assassins in the shadows. It couldn’t be
so easy. “Thanks uh…”
    “Celina,” the woman replied.
    Laqiya dragged the chest off the
counter and abruptly dropped one end of it.
    “I’d like it if you came back,”
Celina said. “Not many people are bold enough to challenge me like you did and
Nightshield… She just has an attitude problem.”
    “Wait a minute,” Laqiya said. “What
did I do? How do you know?”
    “I didn’t. And I knew because you
were you, and if you hadn’t been you, you wouldn’t have been able to hold the
staff piece,” Celina said.
    “Hold on. What?”
    Celina shrugged and continued, “But
really come back anytime. Just not today. I’m busy.”
    “Yeah, the crowd’s going out the
door.”
    Celina stared at her pointedly and
then went back into the back room leaving Laqiya to drag the chest out the
shop.
    “Nightshield, Chasity help me out.
This thing is heavy,” she said as she tried to drag it over the threshold of
the door.
    Nightshield reared back her head in
surprise as Chasity Pearl asked, “How did you do it?”
    “Persistence,” Laqiya muttered. “I
told her I wasn’t leaving.”
    “And she just gave it to you?”
Sakura asked bending down to open the chest. “Well let’s see it then.”
    “Not here!” said Laqiya.
    Sakura called her driver to come
get them and demanded that Laqiya open the chest as soon as they were in the
limo. Laqiya did so and ran her hand over the gold piece in the false top.
    “Wow…” Sakura muttered and
hesitantly reached her hand out to run her hand over it also. She hissed and
snatched it back.
    “Ow! Laqiya! Did it prick you?” Sakura
asked taking a napkin and wiping the blood.
    Blood ran down from the tips of her
fingers, and Laqiya suddenly knew why Celina gave her the staff piece. It
hadn’t hurt her.
    “Laqiya,” Isis asked gently.
    Laqiya’s reply was a frustrated
whine.

 

Chapter Five
    Al-Rana
Palace

 
    Laqiya rolled her eyes at the
antics of Nightshield and Chasity Pearl. They were at it again, a normal
occurrence when the two were in the room together for more than two minutes.
    “At least I’m not a pet…”
    This was getting old quick, Laqiya
thought tapping her fingernails on her desk trying to complete her social
studies homework. It was her worst subject and when she got to it, she needed
complete concentration. When she did that, she was lucky to average a B in that
class, but on this paper, Laqiya predicted a big red D.
    “Would you two please stop it?”
Laqiya snapped.
    With a final glare at Chasity
Pearl, Nightshield went out the room, probably to sit by the sunny window in
the living room since Laqiya’s mother and sisters were gone.
    “Oh screw it.” Laqiya put the paper
in her notebook half done.
    “What’s the problem?” Chasity Pearl
asked.
    Laqiya rolled her eyes. “Life,” she
said leaving the room herself.
    When Laqiya got to the living room
she fell out on the couch and