Collecting the Pieces of the Shandhi Sword (Book 2 of Mark Series)

Chapter 7

"So, how are we going to see what I can do?" I asked. I pointed to one of the men that had "helped" with my capture. "Will I face one of them?"

Adele smirked and glanced at the male, Carter. "Do you want to have a go at her?" she asked, arching an eyebrow. She ignored my amused snort and kept a glance at him.

Carter glanced at me and then at Adele. Amusement and fire shined in his eyes, and I could tell that he wanted to fight with me. "I'll have a crack at her," he said. "I want to see if I can't beat her." He shrugged. "Highly unlikely, but I am going to keep my hopes up."

"First, hold your necklace over the map," Samuel said. He took ahold of his glasses and cleaned them before making his way back to the map in the middle of the room. "Your pendant can find the missing pieces of the sword if it is time for them to be called."

I raised an eyebrow. I was shocked because there hadn't been many facts on my necklace that I could find. "It can do that?"

"How did you find your first one," Samuel asked, raising an eyebrow. He cleared his throat and looked away, pushing his glasses up his nose. He was nervous about what I would do because he had shown a bit of attitude towards me. "Sorry. Sorry."

I scrunched my brow together and thought about it. It had been a while since I had found the first bit of sword, and I couldn't tell how long ago it had been. I still did not know the exact date nor how long I had left my pack. "I... don't think so..." I replied, honestly. "I was running from Carter and his bu-"

"They aren't my "buds," Princess," Carter said, interrupting me. He held his hands up and smirked when I glared at him. "Just putting it out there."

"As I was saying..." I said, sending him an annoyed look before looking over at Samuel. "I was running from them, and then it felt as if something pushed me, or took control of my body, into an abandoned building."

"And?"

"And, then I had to face this weird snake creature with a razor sharp tail."

Samuel's eyes widened in shock. He ran off and scampered up a ladder, fast for a short guy. "I think I know what you are talking about," he said.

"Adele," Carter groaned, and his "pal" snickered. "Can you tell him to get back here? He is going to go off on another rant again."

"Am not," Samuel said. "But, if she can describe th-"

"I can always just try whatever you are suggesting without you," I said, interrupting him. I shrugged my shoulder and took the pendant from around my neck. I was curious about what I had fought, but I would rather find the piece of the sword quickly. "I mean, if you want to find out what I had fought, then go ahead. I want to fight Carter and maybe his laughing buddy, too."

Samuel stopped in his search. His eyes were wide, and he shoved whatever book back in its place. "Wait!" he exclaimed. "Don't do anything yet." He "fell" off the ladder and started to run over to us, tripping over a book that had fallen.

"That boy is pretty clumsy," I mumbled loud enough just for Cameron to hear. I nudged him when he snorted a bit louder than I liked, which caused some of the others to look at us weirdly. "What do I have to do?" I asked when Samuel came closer to us.

"Put your pendant over the map," he said, gesturing to the map.

"And then?"

"No idea. That is why this is so exciting," he said. He looked like a little kid on Christmas. His eyes were bright beneath his glasses, and I could tell that he was trying to control his excitement.

And this is the guy that is trying to help us out? I thought, furrowing my brows at the way that he was acting. I shook my head and huffed before putting it over the map of the world. I wasn't expecting anything, so I was a bit surprised when I saw that it started to glow.

The pendant, surprisingly, moved my arm and it over to the map of the United States. It circled, and I could tell that it was trying to get closer.

"Got a better map of the US?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Samuel.

Samuel nodded his head and moved the map to one of the United States. When it started to circle around Georgia, he ran to another side of the way and gabbed a large Georgia map. "We have a lot of maps," he said, laying it out on the table.

The pendant spun around before it lowered itself onto Stone Mountain, Georgia. It flashed, and I could see an image of where it was at and how to get there before dimming and becoming "normal."

"It's on the mountain?" Carter asked, looking at the map. He leaned over the map, and I could tell that the gears in his head were turning. "How come no one had ever seen it?"

I took the pendant away from the map and placed it around my neck before tucking it back underneath my shirt. "Not on the mountain," I said. "In."

"Guess we better pack lunch and get our hiking boots, then," Carter said, standing. "It's going to be a long ass journey."