《Agartha - Quest for the Legacy》


 1 The King

    Nearly a few thousand years ago:


    In a huge palace, a man could be seen sitting on a throne made of wood and leather. Intricate designs could be seen on the throne. Magnificent jewels adorned the throne. The man had an aura of the ultimate ruler. His gaze seemed to look down upon all the mortals. A carpet covered the entire palace. An artisan could be seen sitting by his feet, crafting a glass case with various runes around them, and the man could be seen watching it carefully without batting an eyelid. He sat there the entire time watching the craftsman craft the case.


    There were no courtiers present in the palace. Only an old man of about 100 years of age stood beside the man on the throne. Seeing him, one could only think of a single phrase, "Age is just a number." He stood upright beside the man on the throne who was busy watching the glass case being made. The old man was reminiscing the old days when he suddenly said out loud, "My king, don''t you feel sad?"


    "No." The king answered briefly, but the old man knew that the king was sadder than him.


    "Should we do something to them?"


    "No. But keep an eye on them. The old man must be in the Black City. Inform him about the matter.", the king spoke with his eyes still on the glass case.


    "He will be sad, and would want to come here.", the old man replied.


    "It''s not safe here anymore.", the king said in a grave tone, and for the first time lifted his head after he started to watch the glass-case making. He looked at the ceiling, his gaze penetrating through everything to the skies above. He could see the stars. The omen was not good. He knew that the time was up. He would have to settle things as fast as he could. The old man looked at the king and said nothing. He knew that the king was very stubborn. Once he decided on something, that thing cannot be changed. So, he did not try to advice anymore. He said, "King, please grant me one wish before dying." Yes, the king was going to die, and he was making arrangements.


    "Ask.", the king said.


    "Let this old man accompany you till that time. Let this old man take care of you. Please don''t say no!", he pleaded to the king.


    The king gazed at him calmly, and with a smile said, "Granted."


    "Then this old man shall take my leave." The king nodded and with that the old man went away to arrange other things. He knew that the king has his considerations in doing things and so, he went to the Black City to meet his friend.


    "How are you my friend? This disguise is pretty unusual. Even I did not seem to recognize you previously. Ha ha." The other old man guffawed looking at the former, but upon seeing him serious, he scowled. He knew that something must be the matter for him to scowl, so he asked, "What''s the matter my friend?"


    "The king will die soon."


    "What?!!" He was shocked. "Take me to see the king."


    "I came to take you to the king. Come with me." The two old men journeyed together to the palace and they saw a rare sight. A glass case adorned with various runes was lit by various colors. The aura surrounding the case made them unable to approach. They saw that the king was faltering in his steps. They ran towards the king and asked, "What happened, King?"


    "Keep it safe." The king said as he died in the old man''s hands. The slight smile on the king''s face pricked his heart. They arranged for a funeral which only two of them attended. The glass case lay forgotten on the ground.


    The next day when they went to fetch the glass case, they saw that there was a seal in place, and could not approach it however they tried. So, they built a chamber around it to protect the king''s words.

 2 The genius painter

    "Wow! You got the first prize. I can''t imagine that you would defeat Sam to take the first place. Whoa bro! We need a treat from you." Stanley was constantly chattering beside Brad''s ears. Brad, the genius painter of the Bronx Community College made it to the first place of the championship defeating the three times owner of the title, Samuel Tyson. The painting championship is held every year in the Arts department. Samuel Tyson was the only person, who won constantly three years in row.


    Brad and his friends were busy chatting and did not notice that Samuel Tyson was in fact standing in front of them with a lot of lackeys. They were currently standing in the College Plaza. The plaza was situated at the center of the College. The College Cafeteria was also a part of the plaza. The plaza huge enough to accommodate the gathering of all the students and teachers. Many people were going through the plaza. Some were sitting and chatting with the others. Some were reading. Some were just standing and watching other people. So, when Samuel came along with his lackeys to block Brad''s way, numerous people stood there to watch the drama. Samuel''s lackeys were more muscular than Brad and his group of friends. Chris frowned and was going to fight with them, but Brad held him back. He asked the other party in a flat tone, "What do you want?"


    "Beat you up.", one of the muscular boys flexed his arms while saying.


    Brad lifted his eyebrows and his lips curved into a mocking smile. He taunted, "Are you sure?" The evident sarcasm in his voice angered Samuel and his lackeys. The thing that angered Samuel the most was someone looking down on him. And, Brad did it two times today. He thought to himself, ''I''ll tell my father about it and get his boy rusticated out of this college. Who does he think he is to mock me?'' Many thoughts were running through Samuel''s mind, and he didn''t even bother to mask his facial expression of ill intention. He was sure that he did not need to lift his finger to destroy the guy in front of him. How could he snatch the title that only belonged to him! He would never allow that! The twisted smile on his face grew more evident. But Brad just stood there and smiled. He did not bother to argue with Samuel. He knew Samuel''s identity, but Samuel did not know him. How funny! Samuel must have thought that, he would go to his father and complain about Brad. Even his father does not have the courage to do anything to him. Brad wanted to laugh out loud at the situation, but didn''t. It was too funny for him.


    Nobody in the whole college knew Brad''s surname was Holman. Brad''s father, Mr. Stephan Holman, was the newly appointed governor of New York. He was affiliated with the Democratic Party. Brad wanted to keep a low-profile and hence, he never mentioned his surname. The professors and the Dean were warned against leaking any information to other students. Hmph! As if they had time to do that! Samuel''s father was from the Republican Party, and Samuel uses his father''s status in bullying other students and professors. But it was Samuel''s bad luck to fall in Brad''s trap. Brad was always a cunning fox. He remains silent most of the times, and focuses on his paintings. But, Samuel just had to block his way. What happened next, shocked almost all of the bystanders. They were sighing in their minds, and praying that Brad doesn''t get beaten up by Samuel''s gang, when they heard a loud bang¡­

 3 Friendship

    They were sighing in their minds, and praying that Brad doesn''t get beaten up by Samuel''s gang, when they heard a loud bang, and what happened next astounded them. They saw Brad lifting his slender legs to kick Samuel on his stomach. Sam neither block nor dodged the kick. He was silently laughing inside his mind, ''What can this skinny guy do to me?'' But in the next moment, his eyes bulged at the sheer strength of the kick, and he flew out and landed on the ground, nearly five feet away from Brad and his group of friends.


    Chris and his other friends, cheered for him. They never knew that Brad had so much strength in him. Brad was very skinny for a nineteen-year old. He was sporting a maroon shirt over a white t-shirt paired with ash-colored jeans and a pair of white sneakers. He looked dashing as always. The girls in their college swooned over his handsome looks and his recent performance but he paid no attention to it. He was crowned as a genius painter today. But look, what happened! People couldn''t take it and came to bother him. So, he did not bother about Samuel any further and left with his group of friends.


    "Brad, that was awesome, bro!" Chris said as soon as they left the college. It was nearly midnight. They studied in the night shifts. They walked over the University Heights Bridge as they chatted among themselves. They made fun among themselves and chatted mostly about the fight earlier.


    "Bro, you are just amazing!", Aiden thought of that kick and laughed out loud as he commented. But his face, soon turned into a scowl as he lowered his voice and said in a tone that only they could hear, "Won''t you get into trouble for kicking Sam so hard? What if he goes to his father and complains about you? I heard rumors that his father is a great man, who is going to become the next mayor. If he does anything to you¡­" He did not continue, the meaning of his words apparent.


    "I will just go and apologize on your behalf then.", Zain said and was about to turn back, when someone caught his wrist. When he turned around, he saw Brad holding his hands. Brad said with a calm face, "I know my limits. I also know the consequences of beating him. But always remember that we study in a college, and his father has no courage to do anything at the College. Did you forget that our Dean is strict regarding this?"


    After a lightbulb moment, Zain thought that whatever Brad said was right, but he was concerned about his friend. He did not want him to fall in their trap. Brad sensed his friend''s concern and sighed gently. He was moved by the genuine concern of his friends. They did not choose to be friends with him due to his money, rather they were true friends. So, he thought that it was necessary to tell them his identity.


    "Um, actually guys, I have something to tell you." Brad said as he sighed again. He knew that he needed to come out clean with his friends. They deserve to know. When everyone looked at him, he said, "Not here. Let''s go to the nearby restaurant. I''ll treat you all to a meal, and we can chat there." Their gloomy faces turned bright upon hearing that Brad was going to treat them to a meal. They cheered again. They crossed the bridge and went to Taqueria Emilio, a Mexican restaurant. They ordered their favorite dishes. Brad ordered 4 Tacos Dorados (which consisted of crispy roll tortilla, chicken with beans, lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and cheese). Aiden was the next to order, and he Quesadillas (which basically is a home-made corn tortilla). Zain ordered Burrito, and Ryker ordered Tortas (which has chicken cutlet, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, cheese, mayo, jalapeno, avocado, and Oaxaca). Chris did not order anything, as he wanted to share have a share in everyone''s dish. He thought that ordering more will waste food, and he was never the one to waste food. They ordered numerous soft drinks and then Chris asked suddenly, "Brad, what did you want to tell us earlier? Tell us now."

 4 Identity and Fighting

    After the food was served, Brad took a bite, and said, "Actually it''s nothing guys. I just need to confess something."


    "Don''t keep us in anymore suspense. Tell us fast.", Zain said, taking a big bite out of his meal.


    Chris, Aiden and Ryker said nothing, but looked at him. The meaning behind their looks was clear to Brad. He sighed and said casually, "I''m Brad Holman, the son of New York City''s Mayor. Stephan Holman is my dad."


    Each one of them, choked on their food and started coughing.


    "Bro, you could''ve given us a heads up, you know.", said Chris, whose shirt became wet as Zain directly spilled his drink on him. Everyone had different reactions. Aiden was thankful that no harm would come to Brad. Zain was so shocked that he could not form a single sentence. Chris acted nonchalant. Ryker was more interested in his food than anything else. Brad looked at all of his friends and when he did not notice any malicious intentions from them, he was rather glad. He laughed out, and focused on the plate of food in front of him.


    They had their dinner while laughing and chatting among themselves. They paid the bill and left the restaurant. It was nearly 2 am in the morning. Fewer cars were racing in the streets. As a huge load have been lifted from their shoulders, they were making fun of each other. They went to take the subway. It was mostly empty. When they entered the subway, they felt that someone was watching them. They did not take the subway, but instead turned around only to find a few muscular man donned in black were blocking their way.


    Chris sarcastically commented, "Good dogs do not block other people''s way."


    The muscular man who stood in front of Chris was angered. He lifted his hand to punch Chris and said, "Did you call me a dog?" He struck out immediately, and Chris dodged the attack. He was not a foolish person. He would probably faint if that punch landed on him. The muscular man was angered even more. He said, "How dare you all beat our Young Master?" He struck out more ferociously. By now, the other muscular men also started fighting with them. Chris and the others were defending as they tried to strike them.


    Meanwhile, Chris tried to distract them. They were heavily outnumbered and they knew that they could not win by fighting them. So, the best idea was to distract them. Brad and Chris looked at each other. Understanding flashed through their eyes.


    "Did your young master never teach you about not blocking other people''s path?" Chris asked as he dodged yet another attack from the muscular man standing in front of him. His friends sniggered at this. But the burly men got angrier. How could they tolerate someone badmouthing their Young Master? Their Boss told them that these few kids did not belong to any influential families and they could beat them up as they pleased. They needed to be taught a lesson.


    The man, who was trying to punch Chris earlier suddenly turned towards Brad and intended to punch him. He cracked his knuckles, stepped forward and threw a punch at Brad while saying "You punk did not actually believe that you could get away after offending our Young Master! Did ya?" Brad caught it easily and with the same momentum pushed him back. But that man got up and then signaled his people to surround the boys. He seemed to be the team leader. Seven burly surrounding five scrawny teenagers. The outcome seemed fairly clear but none of the boys were afraid. Before they could discuss anything, they saw a rain of fists coming their way.


    They ducked together. Zain looked at the guy smirking at him. He raised his hands and blocked the punch from reaching his handsome face. He successfully broke through the other party''s defense and poked a finger inside his left eye. The guy who was smirking groaned in pain. Seeing him closing his eyes in pain, he punched him in the other eye. The huge muscular man seemed to have lost his strength as he rubbed his palm over the eyelids, but the pain seemed to increase more and more. Seeing this, Zain smirked and went to help his friends who were already trying to fight back.


    One down. Six more to go. The burly men punched and kicked, as their anger grew upon seeing the condition of their teammate. Chris ducked a kick aimed at his temple and kicked back at the groin of the guy in front of him. Immediately the burly man sprawled on the ground in pain.

 5 Fighting Contd.

    Two down. Five more to go. He turned to see his friends were getting kicked to the ground. Moving behind one of them he used both his hands to deliver a hit on his neck. The guy obviously caught unaware, staggered back a few steps. Chris took the chance to kick him on his knee cap and he fall.


    Three down. Four more to go. Brad delivered another kick to the guy in front of him. He held his wrist in one hand and delivered a free kick. It was filled with such power that the man felt his insides hurt. He was trained in martial arts. How could a skinny boy hit him! But reality was hard to digest. A teenager hit him, and he felt his strength dropping. If other people heard that he was beaten up by teenager, he would not be able to show his face. Brad did not bother to know what was going through his mind. He directly kicked him another time, and the man finally fell on the floor holding his stomach groaning in excessive pain.


    Four down. Three more to go. Aiden came forward and directly punched the guy on his nose. He did not know whether that will work or not as he never fought in his life. The power-packed punch broke the man''s nose. He got angrier and tried to fight back, but he saw Brad coming his way. Brad handed his cell phone to Aiden and said, "I got this. Do one thing. Call the police." Brad smiled at the brawny man and kicked him hard on the ribs. He said, "Do you know my specialty? I love to kick people. Just like I kicked your ''Young Master'' in the evening, I''m going to kick you too." Brad was unusually calm for his age. He did not bat an eyelid before kicking him another time. He kicked and kicked until all his ribs broke, before laying his eyes on the other two guys who were fighting his friends.


    He knew his friends could handle the other two, so he approached Aiden and asked, "Did you call the police?"


    "Yeah. They should be arriving soon." As soon as Aiden said that, they heard sirens of police vehicles which was noticeable at that time. It was nearly 3:30 am in the morning. It took some time for the police to arrive at the subway platform. They saw five young teenagers, and five men with numerous injuries, sprawled across the platform floor, and two still fighting, as if their lives depended on it. The few policemen separated and handcuffed the men before asking, "What happened, Mr. Holman?"


    "They ambushed us and we had to fight them out of self-defense." Brad said in a diplomatic manner. The chief of the police then asked, "You know our protocol. We need to inform Mr. Holman about this matter. What should we say?" The police chief waited for Brad to tell him, but Brad was silently watching the men. The chief understood his hint and escorted them out of the subway station. He said, "Mr. Holman, don''t worry. I''ll make them confess. I know what to convey to the Mayor."


    Brad said in a cool manner, "Good. We need to reach home. Otherwise, our parents will be worried."


    "Do you need a lift?"


    "No. We can take the subway." Chris said. He was embarrassed to ride someone''s coattails. Brad understood his friend and nodded. They took the next train, and when they finally arrived home, dawn was about to break.


    When Brad saw the reddish glow of the rising sun, he had a sudden inspiration, and he took his painting brushes and colors out, before standing in front of the blank canvas of his drawing room. Each brushstroke showed his passion for painting. As the time went on, the canvas was filled with more and more colors and he named his painting ''Start''. It depicted the start of a new day. It symbolized everything that had a new start. With each dawn, starts a new day. After every darkness, comes light. Being satisfied, he kept away his tools, and slept.

 6 Breakfas

    An aura surrounded a glass case resting inside a chamber. The chamber was dark, except for the illumination from the light of the aura. It casted murky shadows on the thick moisture-laden walls of the chamber. The aura was peaceful, yet it looked fierce and powerful. There seemed to be an aged angelic voice that was calling, "Come. This is your destiny. You have to come. You will come."


    Brad woke up with a start. Sweat was dripping off him. ''Strange dream!'', he thought. He had seen this dream, numerous times earlier. With every time, he seemed to notice that the dream was becoming clearer. He thought that it was really strange to have such a dream. ''That place seem so magical. How could there be magic in this world?'' Brad was deep in thoughts, and before he knew, he fell asleep again.


    "Come on Brad, get up! You''re going to be late again. Get up!"


    Brad woke up with a start as he heard his mother screaming. He patted his chest as he got up from the bed, successfully knocking down a painting littered on the bed. He remembered that he was painting something at dawn before he fell asleep. He smiled at his clumsiness and picked it up placing it somewhere else in his messy room. His mother was shouting from the kitchen for a while now.


    "Come on Brad, get up! You''re going to be late again. Get up!" Same sentence. She is now repeating it like a mantra. Brad laughed at his mother''s antics before walking down the stairs. He stood just behind his mother and said, "Mum, stop shouting. I already got up." His mother never anticipated that Brad was in fact standing behind her, so she was extremely startled, and the pan she was holding in her hands, fell onto the oven.


    "Ha, Brad you scared me!", she scolded her, but there was only fondness in her voice.


    "Mom, what are you making?" Brad asked as he stepped inside the kitchen as he sniffed the smell and almost drooled. "Mom, I love you." Brad''s mother laughed at his childish actions, but she reprimanded him saying, "Go and brush your teeth first. Otherwise, no breakfast." Seeing him so cheerful early in the morning filled her with more fondness for her only son. She laughed and pretended to scold him.


    Brad came to the breakfast table and saw his favorite pancakes. He gobbled them down, even choking once.


    "Eat slowly." His mother said.


    The Holman family was very rich as Mr. Holman was the Mayor of New York City and he was fairly paid, but Brad wanted to rely on himself to study. So, he took up a part time job as a cashier in C-Town Supermarket in Inwood, nearly 30 kilometers from his home in Lower East Side in a small borough of Manhattan. After finishing breakfast together, his mom packed his tiffin and he kissed his mom goodbye. Before he could jump over the fence onto the road, his dad came downstairs and said in a heavy tone, "What did you yesterday?"


    Brad said in a meek tone, "Umm¡­ Painting?"


    "Are you asking me or answering me?", his dad asked. Mr. Stephan Holman sat down on the breakfast table before looking at Brad again. He raised an eyebrow seeing that Brad wasn''t answering his question.


    "So?" Stephan asked again as he saw that Brad was standing there tight-lipped.


    "We fought." Brad answered only in two words.


    "Whose fault?" Mr. Holman asked.


    "Theirs." Brad said with his head lowered. As soon as Mrs. Holman heard of the term ''fighting'', she brought along her spatula as she stood by the door. She was eagerly waiting for more information from her husband and son, who seemed to be talking in codes.


    She placed one hand on her waist, the other hand still holding the spatula. A drop of oil dropped on her apron, but she did not mind. She stared at her husband and son demanding for explanation, "Is anyone going to tell me what is the ''fighting'' about?"


    Brad was the first one to deny. "It''s nothing, Mom." But when he saw the disbelief in his mom''s eyes, he added, "Seriously."


    Mrs. Amelia Holman neither believed Brad nor his dad. She fumed with anger and spat out, "Go to hell both of you." Saying that she went to the kitchen again holding the spatula. The smell of burnt pancakes was wafting out of the kitchen to reach their noses, but they did not dare to comment anything on that.


    Brad recounted the whole story without missing a single detail, to his dad in such a tone that only both of them could hear. His dad was initially surprised, but later said, "Good job. But don''t stir up trouble like this again. This could have been fatal for you. If they had sent assassins, what could you have done? Not only you, but your friends would have been in a risk. Do you understand what I mean?"


    "Yes Dad, I understand. I''ll handle matters efficiently from now on. I''ll stay as low-key as possible. They are my true friends and I don''t want any harm to befall them." Brad said and a resolute look flashed through his eyes. As their eyes met, they understood each other without the need to say anything. He tiptoed to the lawn, and jumped over the fence onto the street.


    "SCREECHHH" A loud screech was heard, and almost at the same time a loud scream could be heard.

 7 Acciden

    With a loud screech, a car came to stop at an abrupt halt, just a hairbreadth away from Brad. His brain was still buzzing from the shock. He thought that he would be hit by the speeding car. But in the next moment when he saw that he wasn''t hit, he was relieved. His brain took so long to process it. It seemed like a slow-motion movie. Everything happened so fast that he wasn''t even able to react to it. But a high pitch scream exploded from their house. It nearly caused his eardrums to vibrate hard. When he turned around, he saw his mother running towards him crazily.


    "Thank God! You are okay." She said as she ran and crashed herself onto Brad. Brad was still unable to process anything. Two scares simultaneously. One by the driver of the car, another by his mom. He was speechless. He lifted his hand, and patted his mother''s back, as he continued sobbing. He saw his father coming grim faced towards them. As he thought back to the incident, he was scared. He had so much to do in his life. He didn''t want to die. That was the thought that came to his mind when the car was about run over him. Thankfully, he did not die.


    As he saw his father approach him, tears welled up in his eyes. His father came in front of him and patted his shoulders. He did not say anything, but that silent consolation helped. He came in front of the car driver and stood in front of him with his arms crossed. There was a deep chill in his voice as he asked, "Why were you speeding through this lane? Did you notice that?" He pointed ahead. The driver noticed the movement of his fingers, and his eyesight followed to the traffic sign ahead mentioning the speed limit. He did not answer his question, but said, "You are Stephan Holman. I know you." Stephan''s eyelids twitched, as he got angrier. The chill in his voice could not be mistaken, as he said, "Since you know me, why don''t you answer my questions?"


    "Um¡­ About that¡­ Sir¡­" He paused with every word, then continued in a flow,"IwasbeingchasedbysomeonesoIdrovesofastandalmostcrashedontohim." He pointed at Brad.


    "What? Don''t speak gibberish. Speak clearly. I did not understand a single word of what you spoke." Stephan coldly looked at the man. The man was scared out of his wits. He said slowly and carefully, "I was being chased by someone so I drove so fast that I almost crashed onto him." This time he pointed at Brad with his chin. He continued nervously, "I didn''t mean to. Believe me. They were chasing me. I saw the road was empty. I did not know that someone will come so suddenly. Even I was scared. Please, I mean no harm." The driver tried to make his stand clear, as he apologized to Stephan consecutively.


    Stephan did not force the matter anymore. He could see that the driver was telling the truth. Being a politician himself, he was adept at reading people. So, he warned the driver and let him leave. He said to Brad, "Don''t go to college today. Don''t go to work, too." Brad nodded his head, and hugged his mother as he got back to his room. He was sitting in his room in a daze when he heard a very slow, drowsy call. The voice was almost drawling out in a magical voice, "Come¡­ Come to me. This is your destiny. You have to accept it. Come¡­ Come to me¡­" It was a slow, almost rhythmic voice which could calm down one''s soul. The surrounding chatter seemed to have stopped magically.

 8 The Magical Call

    The voice was almost drawling out in a magical voice, "Come¡­ Come to me. This is your destiny. You have to accept it. Come¡­ Come to me¡­" It was a slow, almost rhythmic voice which could calm down one''s soul. The surrounding chatter seemed to have stopped magically. Brad could not arrange his thoughts anymore. He felt drawn to that voice. Curiosity overtook him, and he closed his eyes.


    As soon as he opened his eyes, he saw vast area of white space. He should panic but he didn''t know why he felt so calm. He knew that he would get the answer to his question. As soon as he thought that, a voice sounded somewhere through the space. He could not pinpoint it''s exact location, but he knew it was the same voice. That same voice which was calling him. Why would that voice call him? He was so lost in his own thoughts that he failed to notice the surroundings were getting clearer. He did not even notice that something, or rather someone was floating in front of him.


    The voice called again. His stupor broke as the magnetic voice called out to him again. The vast area of space now resembled something like that of a night sky. The sky was starry with no clouds. Brad looked around him as he saw the vast stretch of sky around him. He looked amazed, as he never saw such magnificent place.


    He lifted his head and asked, "What is this place?"


    "You know it well." The calm magnetic soothing voice said again. The magnetic voice belonged to the man floating in front of him. Brad took some time to process that not only the person in front of him was floating, but he himself, was floating too. He took a deep breath and asked again, "Why did you call me?"


    "You are the person I am searching for thousands of years. Never thought that you would be born at this place. I searched and searched for you. Now that I have found you, you can''t recognize me anymore. Sigh." The man in front of Brad sighed. Pain was evident from his voice and expression.


    "What do you mean by that? Why would you find me for thousands of years?"


    "Knowing too much is not good for you. So, I can''t answer your question. But I have something to tell you, as my time is up. I can''t stay here anymore. Listen carefully, you have to find his legacy. You have to search for his legacy. It is somewhere here. In this place." He paused before he touched Brad''s head and a sliver of consciousness filled his mind. He could see something entering his brain but before he could say anything, pain exploded in his brain


    He looked at the faint figure standing in front of him with a smile on his face. He could feel a pain hidden in the deep recess of his heart, but did not know what caused the pain. The stars were twinkling in the sky and as the image faded in front of him, he fell into a dreamless sleep again. He wanted to open his eyes but the pain in his forehead was overwhelming for him. He did not know what to do. He wanted to see the man again, but couldn''t. Even he did not know from where this attachment came. But for the first time in his life, he seemed to be attached to a stranger, whom he met for the first time.


    He heard his mother calling for him. He could hear her panic-stricken voice, but couldn''t answer her. He wanted to tell her that he was fine but couldn''t. He did not know what happened to him. He could feel her touching him on his forehead, but he couldn''t open his eyes.


    He tried to lift his hands, but couldn''t move them too. He felt like crying. Why did this happen to him? He wanted an answer. He wanted to console his mom and dad, but couldn''t. His mind was clear. He could hear everything clearly, but he couldn''t move his body. ''Why God? Why me? Am I in coma? Why can''t I move? Is this some sort of punishment?'' He thought frantically, but no matter how hard he tried, he did not get an answer. He felt drowsy again, and was almost asleep, when he heard his mother scream, "Stephan, come here. Fast. Fast." He pricked his ears, and tried to hear their conversation, but couldn''t hear anything. ''Why can''t I hear now?'' He inwardly cursed himself.

 9 What is that?

    "Stephan, come here fast.", Amelia called her husband. "Hurry." She added.


    "What happened, honey?" He asked her as soon as he arrived.


    "Look." She pointed towards Brad''s forehead. Stephan looked at where Amelia was pointing, and what he saw astounded him. There was a glowing symbol of fire on Brad''s forehead. Brad seemed to be peaceful, but the symbol of fire seemed to burn more and more fiercely. They were afraid to approach him. They did not want any harm to befall him. They moved further away from Brad and looked at each other.


    "What do you think, Hun?"


    "I dunno." He replied. I''ve never seen things like this. He was puzzled by the fact that a symbol could appear on someone''s forehead. He never saw anything like this before.


    "I think, I have to go to the East Village. There are many temples there. Someone must have some answer to this." Amelia said.


    As his parents were puzzling over the fact the symbol appearing on his forehead, Brad was panicking inside. He was able to hear them at the beginning, but was unable to do so now.


    ''What is happening to me?'' He was angry with himself. ''Why did I followed the voice? Now I can''t wake up anymore.''


    Brad''s calmed his mind. ''Calm down Brad. There is no use panicking.'' He spoke to himself. He took deep breaths, and his mind became a lot calmer than it was before. He tried to search for some information in his brain. He knew that, that person must have left something inside his brain. He was unable to move because of that thing. He did not know what it was, but was determined to find it.


    He searched his consciousness and he found a little man standing there. He was tiny, probably, of the size of Brad''s pinkie finger. He was carrying an arrow on his shoulder and there were devil''s horns on his head. He had a tail which was pointed like an arrow at the end. But the figure looked so cute. Brad wanted to pick him up and hug him. He did not know that once he said that, he could feel himself floating to that place. He did not bother to think anymore as he hugged that little body in his consciousness. The little cute man seemed to have noticed Brad and jumped in fear. But before he could run away, Brad got hold of him and hugged him. He even kissed him on his cheeks. The tiny man looked aggrieved. He looked at Brad with his eyes glistening with tears.


    "What happened?" Brad asked the tiny man with smile plastered all over his face.


    "You! Can''t you act like a man? Why do you always have to hug and kiss me? You did that before. Brad was watching the tiny man''s aggrieved tone, but somehow he felt satisfied. He laughed at his own thoughts. He pinched the man''s cheeks when he wasn''t noticing.


    "Who are you?" Brad asked the most important question now.


    The tiny man looked aggrieved again. Tears threatened to fall from his eyes. He asked, "Did you really forget me?"


    Brad felt unknown emotions creep into his heart, but he calmed down and said, "I seemed to have forgotten a lot of things. Can you help me remember them?"


    The tiny man looked at him with pitiful eyes as he hugged him back with his short limbs. He looked at Brad and said, "I will help you. You will become strong. I know."


    Brad thought for a while before saying, "What should I name you? I have to think hard. Ah. Naming is so hard. Till then, I''ll call you shorty." The tiny man seemed to be emotional as he broke into sobs.


    "Bohoohuhu¡­" He hid his face in Bra''s shirt as he cried his heart out. Snot and tears ran freely and got soaked in Brad''s shirt. Although Brad felt everything unbelievable, he felt good. He knew that Shorty would never harm him. He could feel his connection to Shorty.


    He repeated the same question again. "Shorty, stop crying and tell me, who are you?"


    "Me?" Shorty pointed at himself with his tiny hands and said seriously, "I''m a mythical creature. You don''t need to know much about me now. I''ll tell you as the time comes."


    Brad was unused to Shorty''s serious demeanor, so he said, "Okay. I get it. Now tell me something else."

 10 Monster

    Brad was unused to Shorty''s serious demeanor, so he said, "Okay. I get it. Now tell me something else."


    Shorty looked askance at Brad. Brad noticed his looked and laughed as he said, "Tell me how to control my body. After I came back from that space, I can''t move my body."


    Shorty seemed to be deep in thought as he murmured, "How can it be?" Shorty looked at left, then at right as he tapped his fingers on his chin and asked Brad, "Did you feel anything?"


    "I felt extreme pain. Other than that, there was nothing I guess." Brad replied while thinking. He did not feel anything but pain. But he felt the pain originating from the place in between her eyebrows. He shared his concern with Shorty. Shorty was surprised for a while before saying, "Let me leave for a while."


    "What do you mean? How can you leave? I can''t even move my body. What if my Mom and dad see you? What if they are afraid of you? What if they throw you out?" Seeing Brad so concerned about him, made his chest swell with pride. He calmly answered, "Nothing will happen to me. I can conceal myself."


    "Okay. But how should I let you out?" Brad questioned Shorty.


    "It''s all in your mind. With a thought you can let me out." Shorty replied seriously.


    Although Shorty assured him, Brad was still concerned about Shorty. But he gave a thought, and Shorty went out of his body. Shorty examined Brad''s body carefully, but found nothing. When he wanted to return, he saw a glowing mark of fire on Brad''s forehead. Shorty was in distress as he thought frantically, ''Why is that idiot here too? He will bully me again!''


    Shorty lifted his short limbs and circled Brad numerous times to make sure that what he was seeing is right. He heaved a huge sigh, before vanishing into the thin air. Moments later, he appeared in front of Brad and questioned him, "Why didn''t you tell me earlier that he is here?"


    "Huh? Who is here?" Brad couldn''t make head or tail out of the question.


    "You dare to ask me? Ask yourself. Why is that monster here?" Shorty cried as he waved his short limbs in the air and looked at Brad with teary eyes as he complained with a red face.


    Brad was clueless about the monster, Shorty was speaking of. He caught Shorty in his palms, and rubbed his cheeks before saying, "Tell me who is the monster you are speaking of, else, I would pinch your cheeks till they turn red." Brad found out that it was great to tease Shorty. ''I should tease him often. Hehe.'' He made up his mind.


    Seeing Shorty looking at him with such disgruntlement, made him laugh out loud. Then he said seriously, "I really don''t know who you are speaking of."


    "It''s him. I c-can''t t-tell y-you his n-n-name. He beats me up every time I call him. You should summon him yourself." Shorty was so afraid that he shivered non-stop.


    "If I don''t know his name, how will I summon him? Shorty, you are such an idiot." Shorty seemed to have thought the same too, as he said in the next moment, "If I call him and he tries to beat me up, will you save me?" Shorty blinked his cute red eyes as he asked Brad.


    "Sure." Brad nodded his head seriously. Shorty was still wavering when he heard Brad say, "Pinky Promise." Shorty''s face broke into a smile as he said, "Okay then, I''m calling him but you have to keep your promise. Okay?"


    Shorty shivered while he went in front of Brad and asked him to bend down. Brad bent down, but Shorty still couldn''t reach his forehead. Brad laughed at Shorty''s pitiful look, as he placed his hand in front of Shorty to climb on it. Brad placed his palm near his forehead when he felt a poke, and then, in the next second, he heard a cry.

 11 Awakening

    With a loud cry, Shorty burrowed deep inside Brad''s shirt and peeked outside with his pitiful eyes. Suddenly, Brad felt the surroundings temperature rise, and before he could make out of the situation, he saw a huge shadow above him. He tried to look at it. He saw a huge bird flying over him. ''Is it a bird? But it can''t be! It doesn''t look like one.''


    The huge bird-like creature swirled above his head numerous times before it flew down and stood in front of Brad with its huge body. Brad craned his neck to look at it. Brad asked the creature politely, "Can you shorten in size? I can''t see you properly." The enormous creature shivered slightly before shrinking down. Now, it was on eye-level with Brad. It opened its beak and said in a mocking tone, "So, you are the brat who became my Master?"


    "What do you mean?" Brad asked as he carefully scrutinized the beast in front of him. The beast had a body of a fire-phoenix, but had the claws and tail of an ice-dragon. It had red feathers covered in bluish-green scales. But he assumed the wings to be very light as it flapped fast with almost little effort. It had heterochromatic eyes. The left eye was blue in color and the right eye was reddish. Brad had never seen something so beautiful in his whole life. He went a little forward and caressed its head gently. It had a short beak unlike that of a regular phoenix. It looked magnificent. Brad caressed for a while more. Shorty noticed that, and was dumbfounded to see ''that monster'' getting caressed by Brad. What was most unimaginable was that ''the monster'' did not seem to mind the caress. It almost seemed that it was enjoying the caress. The little one was sighing in this mind, as he did not dare to make a sound. He peeked his small head out of Brad''s shirt''s pocket as he took in the exchange. It made him emotional too. ''That monster'' was too alone. It had no one except for him and his previous Master. He heaved another sigh.


    After a round of caressing the creature in front of him, Brad asked, "What''s your name?"


    "Olympia." It answered.


    "You are a female!" Brad exclaimed out loud.


    "Yes." It opened it beak to reply again. The voice seemed so desolate. Brad caressed it again and said, "You are not alone. We are with you."


    Olympia zoned out as she thought back to her days. She heaved a sigh, and a droplet of tear fell from her left eye. It froze and fell down as a chunk of ice. Brad did not know why it could understand her feeling of desolation so well. It was as if his own pain. He slowly patted her on the back, and reassured, "Don''t worry. We are here. Nothing will happen to you."


    Olympia nodded her head at Brad''s word and said, "Is Deablo here?"


    "Deablo? What is that?" Brad was puzzled, but he did not notice that Shorty was trying to lessen his presence. Shorty went deep inside Brad''s pocket as was even afraid to peek out.


    "I can sense him. He is somewhere here. Deablo, are you going to come out on your own or do you prefer a thrashing?" When Brad heard Olympia, he had an inkling who she was referring to. He looked at his shirt''s pocket and sighed. So, Shorty is trying to hide. Hehe. Let me see till when he continues to hide. Brad had an urge to laugh out loud, but he controlled himself. Rather, he tried to distract Olympia by saying, "Can you tell me what is wrong with my body? I cannot move."

 12 Appearance

    "I can sense him. He is somewhere here. Deablo, are you going to come out on your own or do you prefer a thrashing?" When Brad heard Olympia, he had an inkling who she was referring to. He looked at his shirt''s pocket and sighed. So, Shorty is trying to hide. Hehe. Let me see till when he continues to hide. Brad had an urge to laugh out loud, but he controlled himself. Rather, he tried to distract Olympia by saying, "Can you tell me what is wrong with my body? I cannot move."


    "Uh. Well, actually it is because of me." Olympia replied with embarrassment.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I can''t manifest and control ice properly. The imbalance caused your blood to freeze, but due to my fire, you are alive and have a clearer mind. You won''t be able to move your body for half a month. I will be able to control my powers by then."


    "What will happen if you can''t control that properly?"


    She hesitated for a while before telling him the truth, "I might die and you shall be permanently disabled."


    Those words scared the hell out of Brad. "Will¡­ Will you be able to?"


    "I will. Keep faith in me. But there is something nearby which is pulling me towards it. You need to find out." Olympia said.


    "How will I do that? I can''t move. Have you forgotten that?"


    "You can still move in your soul form. I''ll give you a bit of my fire powers, you''ll be able to leave your body and move in the soul form."


    "Have you gone mad? No one can see me in the soul form. My parents are worried."


    Olympia lowered her head and became silent. She knew that it was very hard to be separated from parents. She knew that a lot of things were going to happen. But she could not do anything. She was sad. She lost her parents during childhood, and she did not want others to have that same experience. Seeing her sad, Deablo peeked out of Brad''s pocket and jumped. He immediately rushed towards Olympia and tried to hug her with his two short hands. Olympia felt something rushing towards her, and instantly swatted her huge wings to throw ''that thing'' away.


    ''Eh? Why does it look familiar?'', she thought to herself.


    "Deablo?" She called out, quite unsure herself. Although she smelt him before, she did not think that Deablo would appear here, as she could not detect his presence.


    Deablo came running towards her with the intention to hug her, but stopped three steps away from her before looking pitifully at her, "Bohohohoho, you horrible woman, you dared to throw me away when I was coming to console you. Bad woman. I am not going to talk to you." Maybe Olympia was sad, so she pulled Deablo towards her before hugging him tightly with her pair of light yet strong wings.


    "Woman, can you turn into the other form?" Shorty asked Olympia. Olympia looked at her and then said, "Okay." Saying that, she closed her eyes. Brad was looking at her without batting his eyelids. What he saw left him dumbfounded. Standing in front of him was a woman in her thirties. She had red hair, which billowed in the wind. Half of her outfit was red, and half of it was royal blue. She was dressed like a man but she stood there like a queen. The aura of fire and ice surrounded her entirely, but the power radiating from the fire was more than that of the ice. Olympia retracted her aura and smiled at Shorty before calling him, "Come here. Let me give you a proper hug."


    Deablo ran towards her with a wide grin on his face, and his tail was swinging from side to side. When he came in front of her, he stopped. Olympia picked him up, hugged him and kissed him on his cheeks. Deablo blushed scarlet. He glared at Olympia and said, "Woman, don''t molest me." He rubbed his cheeks with his cute, short hands while telling, "I''m big now."


    "Hehe. Are you now?" She eyed his entire body which was not even the size of half of her feather.

 13 Deablo - The Shortie

    Shortie glared at Olympia and said in a sad tone, "I lost lot of my powers and few of my memories are sealed." Hearing his sad tone, her heart panged with hurt. Deablo did not have anyone else other than Master and her, too. But Deablo never complained. He was always mischievous. He had the darkest past compared to all of them. But he never complained. Olympia patted Deablo''s head gently and said, "You will recover them soon. You have Master and me." She looked at Brad to notice a fond smile playing on his face. On the other hand, Deablo was trying very hard to stop his tears from falling.


    Olympia smiled and patted his back again before saying, "Now, don''t be a crybaby, otherwise I''ll throw you out." She couldn''t mask the mischievous grin from spreading on her face. Deablo looked at her with a pitiful face, but soon his face broke into a huge smile. He waved his short limbs in the air and swung his pointy tail and said, "Can we get back to the main point?" Seeing Deablo serious again, made them laugh. They tried hard to hold their laughter and nodded their heads together.


    Brad asked, "So, do you have any solution, Deablo?"


    "I have. But it''s hard. Olympia''s way is the best way, but if you miss your parents, you can leave a letter for them."


    "Deablo, I think you have forgotten that in the soul''s form I won''t be able to hold pen and paper. How will I write?" He yelled the last part. Okay, he knew he was frustrated too much. He couldn''t help it. He wanted to speak to his dad and mom more than ever. He decided never to speak rudely to them anymore.


    Deablo looked at him in a way, as if he was looking at an idiot. "Can you let me finish my sentence before you decide to yell at me?" Shortie asked in a pitiful manner. Seeing that Brad looked at him with absolute attention, he couldn''t help but smile.


    "Actually, when we exit this place, I can lend you some powers and you would be able to write a letter, but you can''t meet anyone. I will set up a barrier for you. When you finish the letter, we will return to this place again. Remember, you will have only 15 minutes."


    Deablo took a deep breath in and exhaled it. Olympia released the breath she never knew she was holding in. No one knew better than her what Deablo was trying to do. She knew the consequences better than anyone. ''Poor boy. I should love him more.'', she thought inwardly.


    Olympia looked at Deablo and Brad as she sighed in her heart. One loves his Master more than anything else, the other doesn''t know the consequences. She did not want to warn Brad about it either. She knew the pain of missing parents, the pain of not being able to see them again. Tears pooled into her eyes again at the thought of her parents, but she did not want to cry, so she suppressed the feeling in her heart and tried to smile. Imagine yourself standing in front of the mirror and crying. After that you desperately suppress your emotions and try to smile. That was how Olympia looked. That was how she felt. It was fake, but she had no other choice than keep those emotions in check. Now, she has her Master and Deablo. She has to accompany them. She wanted to become stronger. She knew her master''s potential as soon as she entered his body. She did not want to think anymore and looked at Deablo and Brad, only to find Deablo shouting at Brad, "You bad man! How dare you?"


    "What happened Deablo?" Olympia asked.


    "He dared to pull my tail." Shortie answered, while Brad laughed his heart out. After a long time did he laugh in such a carefree manner.


    Olympia and Deablo were satisfied with the result. Deablo put on an angry face and howled, "You dare to laugh, huh? I''m not gonna help you anytime soon now. You dared to laugh at me!"


    Brad laughed for a while more and patted his head saying, "Okay, send me out now."

 14 Sacrifice

    Deablo asked Brad to close his eyes. Brad closed his eyes and felt something warm trickling down his spine. The tickling sensation was overwhelming for him. He wanted to scratch his back, but he heard Olympia''s voice just beside his ears, "Don''t move."


    Brad was stunned at first, but he understood, so he let them do whatever they were doing. Olympia looked at Deablo and nodded. Deablo bit his finger and drew something around Brad with his blood, which was astonishingly black in color. But once he completed circling Brad, he came in front of Brad and touched Brad''s forehead. Dark wisps of smoke could be seen entering Brad''s soul through his forehead. Beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. Olympia inched closer to Deablo and stroked his head. She circulated the element of ice within her. Although, she could not manifest it now, she could provide some comfort to Deablo for some time. She was worried about the little fella. As she circulated the ice within her, she saw that the stability of Brad''s sould increased in the consciousness. As if understanding something important, she sat there cross legged behind Deablo and tried to circulate ice within her. Ice is not like water, and it cannot flow, so, it was hard for her to circulate it.


    Nevertheless, Deablo could feel the cooling sensation. He wanted to stop Olympia, but he couldn''t talk now. If he did, all the efforts will be wasted. So, he simply shut his mouth and focused on Brad. He transferred some of his powers to Brad. Brad would be able to enter and leave his body for a month, but there will be a price. And Deablo would have to pay that price. Deablo sighed. He knew that losing his powers now can create lots of problems. But he had faith in Olympia. Maybe this was not a bad choice at all. Deablo sighed again. He knew that it was important for Brad to do this. And he sympathized with him because Olympia and he never had parents. So they knew the importance of parents. He closed his eyes and a tear dropped from the corner of his left eye. It fell on the rune drawn around Brad, and the rune lit so brightly that it blinded all three of them.


    "What happened?" Deablo was the first one to come to his senses.


    "Deablo, did you cry?" Olympia asked in a fearful voice.


    "Umm. About that. I did cry. Only a drop. But what has this got to do with me crying, woman? Tell me fast." Deablo howled near Olympia''s ears seeing her in a daze.


    "Don''t you know the effects of your tears?" Olympia asked.


    "How would I know? I never cried in my life." Deablo replied smugly, but soon the smugness disappeared seeing Olympia''s worried face.


    Olympia said nothing more as she sighed. She could not meet their eyes. She knew the effect of his tears.


    "Deablo, come here." She called Deablo gently. When Deablo came near her, she patted his head. Brad watched from the sidelines. He could not step out of the rune. His whole body was on fire. He did not know what to do. He was terrified.


    Olympia patted Deablo constantly which made Deablo sleepy. He yawned and soon fell asleep. Olympia opened her mouth and told Brad, "Danger is approaching." She looked at her surroundings which resembled the night sky. Suddenly, she pointed at a star and said, "See, that one is moving. Danger is approaching."


    "What do you mean?" Brad asked with great difficulty.


    "I need to do what Deablo started. Dark and black smokes emitted from her body, which was absorbed by Brad''s forehead. Suddenly, there was a noise, "BOOM¡­"

 15 Strikingly Similar

    Brad was surrounded by a dark aura. He widened his eyes but could see nothing outside. He could only watch Olympia''s faint silhouette. But he was confused. They were in his consciousness earlier, but where is this place? Brad looked around and noticed that lots of things has changed. His surroundings were no longer similar. The space was also a lot darker than the previous one.


    While scanning the surrounding, he saw a woman clad in fiery red. She had a fiery red hair and eyeballs matching her clothes. She was strikingly familiar and her beauty was ethereal. Beside her was a blue-clad man. His hair and eyeballs were deep blue in color. He was carrying a light blue crystal sword in his hand. The sword was also emitting an aura. The lady was smiling at Brad and was carrying a spear in her hand which glowed. Fire gushed out of it, but did not harm the surroundings. Brad was unable to take off his eyes from them. ''Such a lovely pair!'' He thought. The man held the woman by her waist as they moved on till they came in front of Brad. Brad did not know for how long did they walk before reaching him, but he could guess that the pair had strikingly similar features with Olympia.


    They reached Brad and bent down on one knee before paying their respects.


    "Greetings, Sovereign King. We pay our respects to the Great Sovereign King." They said in unison.


    "Please get up." Brad told them.


    "May I know who are you?"


    "I am Demetria, and he is my husband Aiden." She answered with a bowed head.


    "Hehe. Ice and fire." Brad laughed out loud. "Don''t you think your names are sarcastic?"


    "Yeah. They are." Demi answered in her melodic voice which could melt everyone''s heart.


    "Can I ask, why are you calling me Sovereign King?" Brad asked curiously.


    The pair eyed each other and said, "Forgive us, Sovereign King. We were asked to protect you."


    "Protect me? Why? Also, both of you did not tell me your identities." Brad asked again.


    They looked at each other and smiled. Then, with a voice laced with sorrow, Aiden said, "Um. Olympia is our child."


    "And?" Brad asked again.


    "And nothing. Sovereign King, it is time to leave."


    "No, you can''t leave yet. Give me some answers." Brad was on the verge of crying as he demanded.


    Demetria and Aiden sighed and closed their eyes. They could not meet Brad''s expectant eyes. If they told him about their identities, Brad would be in a huge danger. Worst of all, Olympia would be affected too.


    They sighed in their hearts and knew that Brad was waiting for an answer, but they couldn''t answer it themselves. Demetria got up from the ground and patted Brad on his shoulders before pulling him into a hug. She pulled out the pendant she was wearing on her neck, and placed it on his palm.


    "Please give it to Olympia on our behalf. She will understand. This has its own uses. Keep it safe."


    Brad looked at the pendant. It had a tiny crystal container, in which something hot could be seen bubbling. The crystal container was embedded on another crystal which was of the shape of a teardrop. The entire pendant was so beautiful that he could not takes his eyes off it. When he finally looked at them, what he saw terrified him.


    Suddenly, they pulled out their weapons and stabbed them into his abdomen and he fell and fell into darkness before losing consciousness.

 16 How is this possible?

    Suddenly, they pulled out their weapons and stabbed them into his abdomen and he fell and fell into darkness before losing consciousness.


    Brad felt a stabbing pain on his abdomen and lost consciousness after that. He clutched the pendant in his right hand as he fell through the space. He could feel his body get heavier and heavier as he landed on a hard surface.


    "Are you okay?" He heard someone ask. The melodious voice belonged to a woman. It must be Olympia. He tried hard to open his eyes, but his eyelids were like lead. It refused to cooperate. He could only hope that she doesn''t worry about him much.


    But Brad was very confused. He clearly saw them stabbing their weapons into his abdomen. They pierced through his skin and it went straight through him. Why didn''t he die? Those weapons were so powerful. Except being not able to open his eyes, everything was so normal. He suddenly remembered the pendant. Was that the reason he did not die?


    He was supposed to pass it on to Olympia. They said that they were here to protect him from danger. Why did they stab him together? Everything was so confusing for him. He knew something wasn''t right, when he couldn''t lift his right arm. ''I''m still in the soul state, or did I return back to my body?'' He sighed and tried to connect himself to his consciousness. Everything was so blank and dark. He tried to call Shortie. But Shortie did not respond to his calls. Suddenly ominous feelings rose in his heart. But, he calmed himself down. He knew that it was Olympia who was crying for his safety. He tried to call Olympia using his consciousness stream. Luckily, Olympia responded to him.


    "Master, are you okay?" This was the first sentence Olympia asked as soon as she could hear Brad''s call. She knew that her Master could hear her. But why couldn''t he come to her? She asked Brad again, "Master, please tell me what exactly happened after you went to the chaos world."


    "So, it was the chaos world I went to." Brad was puzzled. ''Why would I meet Aiden and Demetria in the chaos world?'' He thought to himself not realizing that he had spoken his thoughts out aloud.


    "What? You met my parents!" Olympia was so shocked that her eyes popped open like saucers.


    "Yes, I did meet them. They sent a souvenir for you. You must treasure it well."


    "Did they now?" Olympia laughed to herself. "Which parents abandon their child and sent souvenir through her Master''s hands? If they knew that you are my master, why didn''t they come to meet me? Whyyyyyyyy?" Olympia shouted the last part. An icy fire and a fiery ice surrounded her. It was so chilly and at the same time, so hot. Brad could feel the fluctuations in his heart, but he did not console her. Maybe, he never knew how to console her.


    Olympia cried for a long time before she rose to her feet and said through her consciousness stream. "Master, I have transferred some powers to you. Please utter this incantation, and you will be released from the bind. Master, also remember to pay total attention. Your mind must be very calm. No other thoughts should enter your brain, otherwise, the incantation won''t work. "


    Hearing Olympia Brad counted backwards. He was always of a calm mind. He meditated every day, so, he could easily focus. He uttered slowly and calmly, "Spirit-Bind Break."


    He felt his limbs being released from some sort of binding. He felt free. He tried to open his eyes, as they were not as heavy as before. He opened his eyes to a blinding flash of red and blue lights. When his eyes slowly adjusted to the lights, and when he reopened them, he saw the most beautiful scene in his whole life. It was the most amazing thing he ever saw. He couldn''t describe it in mere words.


    He saw a lady sitting cross-legged inside a halo which consisted of two different colors. The left side consisted of icy blue color and the right side was of fiery red shade. The most amazing thing about the halo was, the two sides blended so perfectly in the middle. There was a young woman sitting inside the halo cross-legged and in deep meditation. She donned clothes of red and blue, equally blending into each other. Everything seemed so peaceful that he stared for a long time at the beautiful woman, who was none other than Olympia.


    Olympia could feel someone''s burning gaze on her, but she had no time to care. It would be her stupid Master only. Thinking about Deablo, she was sad for a while, and the surrounding halo started fluctuating. She tried to stabilize her mind again. The halo stabilized with it. He concentrated again on her meditation, and paid no attention to anything else.


    Meanwhile, Brad suddenly remembered Shortie''s words. He said something about going out. But none of them said anything. He couldn''t blame them. With so many ups and downs, there was no time for them to be able to tell him anything. He sighed in his heart and then tried to recall any information he must have missed. Suddenly he remembered. ''Didn''t they say that before?''

 17 Letter

    Brad remembered that Deablo said that once they gave him their powers he would be able to leave his mortal shell and venture outside. The only restriction was, he could not be seen by others and that he had only fifteen minutes of his time left. He thought for a while, but did not find anything else from his memories, so, he closed his eyes and gave a thought. He opened his eyes to find himself in his room.


    "Wow!" He exclaimed and thought to himself, ''It''s so cool.''


    He picked up his brush and tried to create a stroke on the blank canvas which stood in front of his bedroom window. He tried to blow away a feather of some bird lying on the window sill. He tried to sit on the chair in front of his desk, and he was able to do that. He rejoiced in his heart and then, opened a piece of paper, and took the pen from the drawer where he always kept them, and then started writing:


    Dear Mum,


    Don''t worry about me. I know that you and dad have been worrying about me for the past few days, but believe me, I''m fine. I have some problems with my body and will be unable to wake up for half a month.


    I know, that you think this is unbelievable and that this is fraud, but no, magic exists in this real world. Mum, I really miss you and Dad. So, I fought for a few moments of time to write a letter to you. I know that you are still confused and I can''t show you anything right now. But believe me Mum, you should wait for at least half a month. Please don''t do anything that you''ll regret later.


    Mum, do you know that I have got two new companions. They don''t fight with me. They are much like my other friends at college. They don''t befriend me for their advantage. Mum, I''m so happy. But I miss you and dad a lot. I also, miss all my friends. Could you just tell them not to worry about me? They won''t be able to contact me, and they will be very concerned. Please Mum, pass on a message to them.


    Mum, I feel that you have gotten thinner. Mum, you need to eat and rest more. Don''t torture yourself. Nothing is your fault. Mum, please listen to me. I''m okay. I''ll get up soon. My new friends promised to me that they will help me. Mum, we are all together. Take care of yourself and dad. I don''t have much time to write. Mum, I love you. Wait for me, okay?


    Your loving son,


    Brad.


    He wrote the letter as fast as he could and immediately stroked out few other lines in the blank canvas. Nobody would notice that beneath that was a code. A code which his mum only knew, and would eventually understand. He knew that the letter wasn''t enough to reassure his mum, so, he left that code for her to understand that it was really him who wrote it.


    He went towards the window sill and looked outside. Clouds covered the sun, and in a gloomy atmosphere, the whole city was bustling. He did not know which day it was. He looked outside for a few more minutes and then, closed his eyes again. He was back to his consciousness. He took a deep breath to calm down his aching heart. He knew that he was missing his mum terribly, but, he did not know that writing that letter would be more emotional for him.


    From the childhood till now, he never stayed out of his mother''s sights. He really missed his mother. His father was always busy with politics, but it was his mother who always gave him time. Two drops of tear fell from his eyes, and got soaked in his trousers.

 18 Grandma this! Grandma that!

    The next morning:


    Mr. and Mrs. Holman woke up and went straight to Brad''s bedroom to take a look at Brad. They were pessimistic about the situation as all of the best doctors in New York refused to believe that Brad will ever wake up. They told them that only a miracle can pull Brad out of his coma. All his metabolism was working fine. It was as if Brad was in a deep sleep. Amelia was very sad. She could not digest the fact that Brad might never wake up. She looked at Brad and gave a sorrowful smile, which did not reach her eyes. Her blonde hair was tied into a knot above her head, and few loose strands were falling on her face. Her red-rimmed eyes were evidence of the fact that she spent the previous night crying. Mr. Holman was no better than his beautiful wife. The corner of his eyes were still moist, and his glasses could not cover the dead look in his eyes. He was tremendously heartbroken. How would a father feel when his only son is in coma? He was the Mayor of the City, but what happened to his own child? He cannot save his own son. Grief filled him and he sat down on the same chair in which Brad sat down last night. He absentmindedly knocked down the table lamp which came crashing down on the floor.


    Amelia looked at her husband and said nothing. She picked up the table lamp and placed it on the desk. Luckily, it didn''t break. It was Brad''s favorite lamp. It was imported from Norfolk. When he kept the lamp on the table casually, her hand brushed something. She turned to take a look at that and found a piece of paper. She thought hard. ''Was this thing here yesterday? Maybe, this is of something importance to Brad.'' Having thought of that possibility, she placed the letter inside the drawer. She went towards Brad''s bed and sat down on it. She caressed his hair slightly and said, "Brad, I hope that you wake up soon. You know right, that your Mum is waiting for you, my boy. Please wake up soon. It is hard for your Mum to spend her days. Without you, there is no light in mum''s life. Wake up soon, my boy." She slowly touched the corner of her eyes and stopped the tears from falling. She strongly believed that if she cries, Brad will be hurt.


    She took Brad''s hand into her own and rubbed it gently. "Brad let me tell you a story which I have never told you. Your father never knew about this story too. I hope that you will like this and understand this. You might even get some answers you might be finding. This will also answer the mark you have on your forehead. I think it''s related to them. Only they will be able to tell. But, I know that I can''t move you. Your body can''t handle movements now. Sigh, my poor boy." Amelia sighed and caressed Brad''s forehead.


    She kissed on his forehead and started narrating a story. "I already told you all about my grandmother, right?"


    Stephan nodded his head. She spoke about her grandmother almost all the times of the day. Grandmother this! Grandmother that! He was tired of listening to it. Again she was going to tell stories of her Grandma? He sighed in his heart but said nothing. He already knew that it was hard to convince her. He also wanted her to be happy. If narrating her grandma''s stories makes her happy, so be it. Stephan made up his heart not to interrupt his wife. But he didn''t want to pay attention to it. So, he went to the balcony and looked at the outside world. He thought, ''Everything is so volatile. Maybe, only relationships and memories last, similar to how his wife''s grandma is in their memories.'' He smiled sarcastically at his own thought.


    He took a deep breath. The outside air was moist. It rained yesterday. The murky smell of earth wafted to his nose. He took another deep breath. Suddenly, he had an urge to smoke. He didn''t smoke for a long time. But, he was sad. It was a taboo in this society ¨C Men cannot cry. He sometimes thought, ''Why can''t men cry? They can cry too. They are human beings and have feelings. Why can''t they cry?'' He smiled at his own thoughts again. He went to fetch the cigarette from his own room. When he returned, he caught sight of something and stood at the doorway in disbelief.

 19 Astonishmen

    What Stephan saw, left him dumbfounded. From the time he came inside the room, he did not notice the canvas. Now that he saw it, he felt strange.


    "Amelia"


    "Huh?" Amelia answered absentmindedly as she was still telling stories about her Grandma to Brad.


    "Amelia!!" This time Stephan called her in a high pitched voice.


    "Yeah. What happened?"


    "Look at this!" Stephan pointed at the canvas which stood by the window.


    "How is this possible?"


    "I dunno."


    They looked at each other, disbelief lacing their face. But Amelia''s eyes widened suddenly. She inched closer to the canvas and raced her hands through it. She felt it clearly. There were three letters underneath those colorful strokes, and it was, "M U M." Amelia was astonished at the discovery. She immediately ran her fingers through the other part of the canvas to find any other leads, but found none. She looked at her husband staring at her with his eyes wide open. He asked, "You know this art?" It sounded more like a statement than a question.


    "I do. And I taught him." She pointed at Brad who was lying peacefully on his bed.


    "What is written?"


    "Only one word."


    "What is that?"


    "MUM"


    "He wanted to pass on a message to you. Don''t you find this unbelievable?"


    "For God''s sake, Stephan! Don''t you think what you are saying is ridiculous? He has a fucking symbol on his forehead! Try to understand. Nothing is unbelievable anymore."


    Stephan was once again dumbfounded at his wife''s outburst. He was wondering whether it was those times of the month when women have mood swings. His wife''s mood changed faster than the speed of light. He felt sorry for his son in advance.


    He tried to calm himself down and questioned, "What did you deduce from this?"


    "I guess, he is trying to communicate with us, but he might not be able to come forward for the time being so he passed on this message." Amelia deduced quite correctly without having read the letter. While she was sharing her deduction with her husband, she suddenly remembered something and immediately realization hit her. She eyed her husband who was still standing at the doorway with batted breath. She called him. "Honey, can you pass that to me?"


    "What is that?"


    "I don''t know, but we will know soon." Stephan passed the letter which Amelia kept inside the drawer. Amelia opened it and read the whole content. She was sure this was written by Brad. It couldn''t be imitated by someone else. Brad missed her. Droplets of tears fell from her beautiful doe-shaped eyes.


    "Oh Brad! My boy! Mum loves you a lot too. If you can hear me, please wake up fast. Mum misses you too. Mum will always be there for you, my child. Get well soon." As she was saying these things, she clearly felt that her left hand which was resting just beside Brad''s head were moist. She confusedly looked at Brad''s face and saw that there were tears at the corner of Brad''s eyes. The moisture was yet to evaporate and it formed a straight water line. She was touched. She understood that Brad could hear her and missed her too. She stroked Brad''s head and said, "Rest well my son. I''ll come back soon." She then gestured her husband to follow her.


    "What do you think?"


    "I think we should visit the East Village."


    "Why should we visit the East Village?"


    "Don''t be silly Stephan. You know very well that there are some secrets in our family, and only Grandma knows about it."


    "But.. but¡­"


    "No buts. We are going and that''s final."


    "At least tell me what is written in that letter. At least I have the right to see it, right?"


    Amelia passed the letter to Stephan, who in turn read it very carefully. He noticed something and his eyebrows furrowed with worry. When Amelia saw her husband looking carefully at the letter with a face full of worry, she couldn''t help but ask, "What happened, Honey?"


    "Did you notice this line?"


    "What is it?" Amelia asked.


    "See this part ¨C ''But believe me Mum, you should wait for at least half a month. Please don''t do anything that you''ll regret later.''" Stephan showed the letter to Amelia and pointed at the last line of the second paragraph.


    Stephan pointed at another line again. "See this one too ¨C ''Mum, I feel that you have gotten thinner. Mum, you need to eat and rest more. Don''t torture yourself."


    "How the hell did he know that you have gotten thinner?" Stephan looked at his wife and asked.


    "Maybe¡­ Maybe he can see us." Amelia stuttered a bit. How would she know? But she was touched at Brad''s thoughtfulness.


    "But he can''t move!" Stephan refuted.


    "Then, he must have thought that I will worry about him, so, he said those lines." Amelia guessed.


    "That might be the case. Then, what about the first one?" Stephan asked holding a cigar in his right hand, and the letter in his left.

 20 Argumen

    "That might be the case. Then, what about the first one?" Stephan asked holding a cigar in his right hand, and the letter in his left.


    "He wouldn''t be able to know whether we are planning to do something. Probably, he guessed that we would be concerned about him, and he said such things."


    "So, you are saying that it is a coincidence."


    "It is definitely a coincidence."


    "And?"


    "Let''s make a trip to the East Village today."


    "Are you sure? We can''t just leave him alone in this house."


    "Can''t we take him with us?"


    "Did you notice how heavy he is?"


    "Umm¡­ Let''s call the caretaker. She can stay in this house and take care of him."


    "Amelia, I don''t get it. You were never like this! How can you live our son here alone and go there? If you want to go, then go, I''m not going. You were never selfish to begin with, but now¡­" He did not complete the sentence, but his face was shrouded with sadness. ''What has happened to Amelia? She was never like this before.'' He was completely puzzled.


    Amelia looked at her husband and sighed. With one look, she understood what her husband was thinking. She softly called him. "Hubby, listen to me. This is important. Most importantly, Brad would be okay. His friends will protect him. Ah!! On the mention of friends, I remember that Brad asked me to inform his friends." She immediately ran to the living room and picked up the telephone, and dialed Chris''s number immediately. After two rings, a lazy male voice answered, "Hello, who is this?"


    "Amelia Holman speaking. Can I speak to Mr. Chris please?"


    "Chris speaking. Mam, do I know you?"


    "You don''t know me, but you definitely know my son."


    "Huh?" Chris''s confused tone came from the other end of the line.


    "I''m Brad Holman''s mother. I hope this will help." Amelia chuckled and Chris was stunned for a while before he managed to stutter, "What happened Auntie?"


    "Such a sweet boy. Nothing happened to Brad. Actually he is a bit ill, and is resting. So, he wanted me to inform you all about this."


    "Auntie, is anything the matter?"


    "No. Everything is okay." Amelia answered, trying very hard to mask the sadness in her voice.


    "Um... Chris, I have a favor to ask. Can I?"


    "Sure Auntie. Tell me. If there is anything that I can do, I will do it definitely." Chris knew that something was up, but couldn''t pinpoint it.


    "Can you take a leave for his absence?"


    "Sure. May I know for how many days?"


    "20."


    "Uh.." Chris was a loss for words, but he did not want to put her into trouble by asking her more. So, he immediately said, "Sure. I''ll speak to the Dean tomorrow. But I''m afraid, that the Dean won''t allow it. There is an upcoming Arts Exhibition at the New York Museum and Brad was supposed to participate in it."


    "Okay."


    Chris didn''t know what else to say. He couldn''t hang up on her, so he waited her to continue. After a full minute of complete silence, Amelia said, "Thanks Chris. Please inform all his friends."


    "Sure, Auntie. I will definitely tell them."


    "Thank you." Amelia hung up the phone without saying goodbye. She knew that the young boy was curious, but she couldn''t tell him the truth.

 21 Portrai

    Amelia calmed her heart down and looked at her husband who was standing at the doorway. She spoke with full seriousness in her face, "Honey, we need to visit the East Village. We might find some answers there. Please honey."


    "What about Brad? What will happen to our son? For God''s sake Amelia, Brad is more important than some puny answers to satisfy our curiosity."


    Amelia knew that it was futile to convince her husband, so she said, "Honey, you stay with Brad and I''ll go find out the answers then."


    Stephan looked at Amelia and said nothing. Amelia was unsure whether he agreed or not. Nevertheless, she went to their bedroom and immediately started packing her luggage. Stephan stood at the doorway and closely watched his wife. Suspicion arose in his heart, but he did not say anything.


    -------------


    The East Village, Firenice Mansion:


    An old woman was sitting on a chair, quite similar to the throne. She was chewing betel leaves, and her lips were stained red. A worker was sitting in the hallway in front of her and was fixing a portrait which looked centuries old. Wooden crumbs were strewn on the floor and he was polishing the new frame he made. ''What a nitpicker!'' He thought in his heart, but was very afraid to say it aloud.


    The old woman looked at the man and said, "What are you dillydallying for? Come on, work faster. Do you have rust in your joints? Faster. This portrait needs to be fixed by today itself. First of all, whenever I call your agency they say that they will send people soon, and they never sends one. Secondly, they send people like you. Lastly, will you move your hands a bit faster?"


    The old woman was looking at the worker who was constantly polishing the same place in the portrait umpteenth times now. She wanted to bang his head on the wall. But, she would be charged by criminal laws, so, she couldn''t do anything. She was sighing in her heart, when she saw that the young worker was eyeing an antique vase, which was kept at a corner of the hallway. She got up from her throne, and slowly walked towards the young worker, sarcastically smiled and questioned, "So, you want that vase, huh?" She was speaking softly at the beginning, but at the end, her voice became chilly, and she shouted, scaring off some crows in the courtyard. "So, you are eyeing that vase, right? Should I pluck off your eyes and feed them to crows?" Her high pitched and chilly tone made the young worker shiver in fright. He shook his head and said, "Please Mam, forgive me. I was just admiring that. I wouldn''t dare to covet it, even if you gave me hundred guts."


    The old woman nodded her head at the satisfactory answer. She circled the young worker and asked, "What''s your name?"


    "Mark."


    "Mark what?"


    "Mark Paluso, Mam."


    "Hmm, Mark, what should I do with you?" She smiled gently and in the next moment, her mood turned 180-degrees as she hollered, "Why are you rubbing the same spot time and again? How many times do I have to tell you to work properly and faster? Do you think that I have enough time to spare on you?"


    ''You have.'' Mark thought in his heart but did not have the courage to utter. Who knows what the crazy woman would do? It was better to work faster. With that thought in mind, Mark rubbed the portrait faster with another clean set of clothes. The lady went to the garden after shouting at him. She was carefully observing a butterfly fluttering over a pair of daisies.


    Suddenly, Mark heard the sound of a pair of heels, which was clicking on the gravel passageway. He heard the lady exclaim, "Mum!"


    The old lady turned her head and said, "My daughter, you came." The old lady hugged her daughter and said, "Did you miss your mother?"


    "I missed you a lot, Mum. Is she not here yet?"


    "No. But she is on her way. Let''s go to the hallway and wait for her." The old lady adjusted her shawl and locked her arms with her daughter''s and pulled her towards the open hallway.


    "Take a seat, and let me bring something for you." Saying that the old lady went towards the kitchen leaving her daughter behind.


    She sat on another chair placed adjacent to the throne and looked at Mark with an interesting expression on her face. Mark could not identify her thoughts. He was more intimidated by her gaze than her mother''s. With one look, he understood that the lady in front of him was dangerous. Extremely dangerous. He lowered his head to polish the portrait more and more without looking at it. A sudden scream attracted his attention. He raised his head to see that person staring at him like that person was ready to bury him alive. Maybe more. He didn''t know.

 22 Funny scene

    Mark lowered his head to polish the portrait more and more without looking at it. A sudden scream attracted his attention. He raised his head to see that person staring at him like that person was ready to bury him alive.


    He was suddenly stunned. That woman was now standing in front of him, horror etched all over her face. She was looking at the portrait, and her face was completely red from anger. She pointed at Mark and said, "You! You! Just you wait. Mom, come here fast." She screamed on top of her lungs. With her scream, few other birds got scared and ran away. He still did not understand why she would be pointing at him and screaming for her mother (That crazy old lady! ¨C Mark muttered under his breath) to come. Meanwhile, he kept on polishing the portrait while looking towards the door.


    The "crazy old lady" came to the hallway and once she glanced at the portrait, was filled with extreme anger. The veins on her forehead was stretched taut, and she felt that she could kill that man instantly. She screamed, "Why the hell did you do that?"


    "Did what?" Mark asked innocently, even without looking at the portrait. He never saw a dumb family. They asked him to polish the portrait, right? And he was doing his job. Why the hell are they shouting for?


    "Did what? You ask me ''did what''! I shall show you what you did!" The old lady was fuming mad as she poked him on the forehead, her spit falling onto Mark. Mark didn''t have time to react before the old lady decided to pull his collar and force him to look at the portrait. What he saw, froze him on spot. The elegant face of the person in the portrait was now blackened. He immediately threw the cloth in his hand and gave an innocent smile saying, "Who did this? I never did!" He showed rows of white sparking teeth which stood out the most. The fuming old lady took a look at him, and then suddenly kicked him hard on his knees. "Get out! Get out now! How dare you ruin this portrait? I will kill you, if you don''t get out of my sight right now."


    "Anger is not good for heath, you know?" Mark made the last remark before madly dashing towards the gate. He rushed outside the gate and collided with another lady who looked almost like the crazy old lady. He did not have time to think before he saw a huge cane flying towards him in a trajectory. He swiftly ran away. The old lady was still shouting on top of her voice, "You dare to run away! I will kill you if I ever get to see you." Mark smiled. He would be mad to ever face her. He decided that it would be best for him to leave the Village immediately.


    The lady stood outside the gate and looked on dumbfoundedly at the scene in front of her. On one hand, he mother was cursing someone while throwing away her cane. She never thought that she would see her mother this angry at someone. On the other hand, that strange person ran away after angering her mother. It was really strange. This is the first time someone got away after angering her. She thought that it was really funny. Of course, she wouldn''t say that out loud.


    She picked up the cane and walked through the black iron-gate. She caught sight of her mother who was still screaming, scaring away another fleet of birds perched on the tree. Her hair was in disarray, and her shawl was hanging on her left hand, and the end of it was getting dirty by falling on the ground. She found the scene very funny. Her mother did not notice her. She slowly tiptoed to her mother and closed her mother''s eyes from the back with her hands, and then tried to whisper in a hoarse voice, "Tell me, who am I?"


    "You punk! You came back!! I''m gonna teach a lesson today, otherwise my name is not¡­" She was going to continue, when the lady suddenly said, "Mom, that''s not fair. First, you don''t notice me, and now, you are mistaking me for someone else." She pouted her lips and whined. She released her grip and her mother turned towards her.


    "Amelia, my daughter. How have you been?


    "Not good! You didn''t recognize your daughter. Hmph!!" Amelia pouted again as she complained. Her voice was angelic, and it reminded her mother of someone.

 23 Ancestor

    "Sis, you came?" A lady came running towards Amelia. She pounced towards her and hugged her with so intensity that Amelia had to move a few steps back.


    "Darcy, you are still the same." Amelia messed her sister''s hair as said with profound fondness in her voice. She beaconed her mother towards her and said, "Mom, let''s hug." They hugged each other for a while standing over the gravel pathway in the garden.


    "Sis, what brings you here?" Darcy asked linking her hands into her sister''s hands. Amelia hit her sister''s head playfully with her hands, and pretended to be angry as she said, "Why? Can''t I come to see my mother?"


    "But, Mom said you came here for some reason." Darcy replied innocently while stroking her own head.


    "Yes, let''s go inside before we chat." Amelia stroked her sister Darcy''s hair as they went inside hand-in-hand. The old woman gathered her shawl around her as she followed her after adjusting her spectacles on her nose. She looked a lot more serious than before.


    As soon as they entered the hallway, the old lady sat on the main throne, and her daughters sat down opposite her. She looked at the portrait still lying in the hallway and said, "Actually, I wanted to get it polished to show you today. Well, the rest is, History!" She finished her sentence and sighed.


    Amelia looked at her mother and said, "Mom, can you tell me from the beginning?"


    "Yes, my child."


    "Mom, what is all of this about? Is this the reason you called me urgently?" Darcy asked.


    "Hmm."


    "Thousands of years ago, the ancestor of the ice-dragon clan was saved by our family''s ancestor and he stayed here for a while with his wife, the queen of the phoenix clan and their three-months old daughter." She was going to continue, when Darcy cut her off, "Mom, how do you know of all these stories? And what has this got to do with the urgent thing you called me for?"


    "Darcy, you need to be a bit more patient. Patience is a great virtue." The old lady laughed, despite the serious atmosphere of the room.


    "Bella, why are you sitting in the hallway today?"


    "Mom, you are here too. That''s great. I was telling my daughters about our ancestors." Isabella answered her mother-in-law.


    "Is that so?" Chelsea asked, as she sat beside her daughter-in-law. She looked at her granddaughters and said, "They lived here for a few years when he was injured, and then they went southwest. But before leaving, he left something, which his daughter will be able to obtain or her contracted master. Sigh¡­" She sighed and continued, "Where will we find that eternal being? But we are tasked to guard that thing forever. We are doing that generations after generations. Now, that both of you are the daughters of this family. You will have to continue taking care of it. You have to pledge that you will take proper care of it."


    "But, Grandma, what has this got to do with Brad?" Amelia asked confusedly.


    "It has everything to do with Brad." She said and then went towards the attic. Everything was deathly silent. Only the pitter-patter of the drops of water falling from the tap in the kitchen sink onto the plates could be heard. Amelia was dazed, Darcy was confused and Isabella sat there as if nothing happened, until she heard a loud scream.

 24 Trap Door

    "It has everything to do with Brad." She said and then went towards the attic. Everything was deathly silent. Only the pitter-patter of the drops of water falling from the tap in the kitchen sink onto the plates could be heard. Amelia was dazed, Darcy was confused and Isabella sat there as if nothing happened, until she heard a loud scream.


    Darcy and Amelia immediately dashed to the attic, where the scream came from. Isabella followed her daughters gathering her shawl and spectacles. She could only helplessly climb the stairs, with her walking stick. She sighed in her heart. Who told that old woman to go upstairs? She must have slipped! She cursed her a thousand times in her heart.


    When she went upstairs, she saw her daughters standing like a statue at the doorway. She scooted forward only to find her mother-in-law gaping wide-eyed at something. She slowly turned her head and what she saw next, left her dumbfounded, too.


    There was a circular trap-door on the ceiling of the attic and a staircase spiraled in the middle of the attic. She was never allowed inside the room before. She even heard from her mother-in-law that she herself hasn''t gone inside the room before. No one knows what''s inside it. But the spectacular sight was, that door was glowing in brilliant shades of yellow and blue.


    The yellow and blue light was spiraling all around the door and it mixed in the middle. The two lights never rippled, and seemed as if those two light were playing with each other. Isabella was dumbfounded at her own ideas. She shook her head to get rid of such ideas and concentrated on the wide-eyed Chelsea.


    She went inside, pushing her daughters out of the way and patted her mother-in-law on her back. "There there, are you okay Mom?"


    "Huh?" Isabella was still not in her senses. She looked at her daughter-in-law confusedly. She slowly regained her senses and said, "Yeah, I''m¡­ I''m okay. Bring me some water, please."


    Isabella looked at Darcy, indicating her to fetch a water bottle from the kitchen. Darcy nodded her head in understanding, and darted towards the kitchen downstairs. She grabbed a bottle of water as fast as she could and ran upstairs.


    When she reached upstairs, she saw the same scene when she left. Her mother patting her grandma on her back and her sister standing there like a rock. She handed the bottle to her mother and nudged her sister. "Sis, what do you think is going on?"


    "I¡­" Amelia cleared her throat and tried again, "I don''t know."


    "Hmm. These seem so interesting. I love magic and everything. Have you watched that movie? It was so wonderful." Darcy kept on rambling.


    "What movie?"


    "Ah?"


    "You said something about a movie, right? So, what movie?"


    "It''s Harry Potter. The magic and spells. My son is in love with that series. I used to watch with him. And his bedtime stories are also related to Harry Potter." She laughed with glee as she continued rambling about Harry Potter and her son.


    Amelia thought in her heart, ''Why Brad? What is going on? How will I find out about everything?'' Amelia did not know what to do anymore. She clutched her forehead as she thought.


    When Chelsea calmed down enough, Isabella asked her, "Mom, what are these lights?"


    Chelsea took a deep breath and said, "Someone is going through an awakening."


    "Awakening?"


    "Yes, awakening."


    "What is that?" Darcy asked curiously and Amelia lifted her head to listen attentively, as she understood that this was the key-point. She knew exactly who was going through the awakening. She did not believe at first, but now, she was sure. She asked herself, ''Why Brad of all people? Why?''


    "It is like this¡­ That person, left something inside this place, and only when awakening occurs, something will change. He did not mention clearly what will change, but I guess, this is the thing he was talking about."


    "But, Grandma, you said earlier that we are only supposed to guard it, and some eternal being can only claim it with his/her contracted beast." Darcy interrupted her grandma.


    "Yes, that was what I believed, but before leaving this place, the king and the queen blessed us that someone from our family will have the fortune to be a part of this. I don''t know all the details, but there must be something left behind by our ancestors, and it might be in this room. I was going to find that when I saw this door glowing." She patted her chest as she said these things.


    Darcy was very interested in magic and ancient times. On the other hand, Amelia was looking at the trap door with interest. There were few lines on her forehead. She looked at the attic and she thought to herself, ''Did I do the right thing by coming here? But, then again, I understood that it has definitely got something to do with this household. But Brad never stepped in here. Will he come? What if he doesn''t come? What will happen to the thing? Is that really related to Brad?''


    Lots of questions were running through her mind, and she did not know what to do. She stared at everything and felt a headache coming. She looked at her younger sister who was very interested in these thing, and shook her head. She could not reveal this to her. Actually, she can''t reveal these to anyone. She sighed and shook her thoughts off.


    She tried to bring a genuine smile on her face. Being a Mayor''s wife had its own perks. She became good at pretending. She smiled at her thoughts, and then tried a few more times before a genuine smile blossomed on her face. Then she said, "Mom, Grandma, I think I should go home now. You all know how Stephan is. He will be worried if I stay too long here."


    The smile did not falter as she lied with a straight face. She bid adieu to everyone as she gathered her belongings and left. Darcy stood there with a glowing face, not knowing what was going on, but Isabella and Chelsea looked at each other, worry etched on their old faces.

 25 Overwhelming Emotions

    The smile did not falter as she lied with a straight face. She bid adieu to everyone as she gathered her belongings and left. Darcy stood there with a glowing face, not knowing what was going on, but Isabella and Chelsea looked at each other, worry etched on their old faces.


    Amelia boarded the car and went towards their home in Lower East side. She was thinking about various things throughout the whole journey. She alighted from the car with her eyebrows crinkled. She tried to smoothen the space between the eyebrows and entered their villa. She went straight to the living room, only to find her husband sitting on their couch reading a book without his spectacles on.


    She smiled at the sight and then went ahead and knocked his forehead. "Why aren''t you wearing your glasses?"


    He smiled but did not answer her question immediately. Instead he stated, "You returned."


    "Yeah." Amelia removed her heels and propped her legs up on the small table lying in front of her and slowly massaged her feet. She sighed and said, "Wearing heels is hard. You know that, right?"


    Stephan chuckled at his wife''s antics and then said, "Uh huh. I do. Why do you wear them anyway? You can throw them out and wear sneakers. You used to look hot in those sportswear and sneakers." Stephan''s eyes glinted as he spoke. But after that he sighed. He was questioning his lifestyle nowadays. He did not spend time with the mother-and-son pair. Was everything worth it? He had no time to ponder as he heard a loud crash from the room upstairs.


    Amelia and Stephan looked at each other and ran towards the bedroom barefooted. When they arrived, they were astonished. Brad''s body was glowing. Half of it was red and the other half was blue. They were dumbstruck. They stared at him afraid that something might happen if they approach him. They stood there like a statue, even afraid to breathe out loud.


    Slowly, they saw that the lights started spiraling around his body, rose to the ceiling and entered the space between his brows. Everything happened in a moment, that Amelia and Stephan was stunned. Soon relief washed upon them, as they saw that there was nothing out of ordinary.


    Amelia slowly approached Brad, who was still lying on the bed unconscious. She poked his arm, hoping that it would move. Hoping that Brad would wake up soon. A drop of tear fell from her eyes, and suddenly Brad opened his eyes. His eyes had the shadow of heterochromatic eyes of Olympia, but it was barely noticeable.


    The glaring lights of the bulb assaulted Brad''s eyesight. He closed them hurriedly. He blinked a number of times before opening them again. To Stephan, it was like a slow-motion movie, where he saw everything but was still unable to respond. He looked at Brad, who was still trying to adjust his eyes to the light, and then looked at Amelia, who was busy crying. His lips twitched and overwhelming emotions filled his mind.


    He went ahead and called out, "Brad, my son, are you okay? Can you hear me?" Even he was stunned at the gentleness of his own voice. Nevertheless, he called out again, "Brad, can you hear your father?" He had a hopeful smile on his face, when he noticed Brad turned his head, looked at him and croaked, "Father, w-a-t-e-r."


    Stephan leaped to his feet and hurried towards the kitchen to fetch a glass of water. He brought it to the room and saw his wife looking at her son with a dumbfounded expression on his face. If the situation was not serious, he would have laughed out loud at her. She looked so hilarious.


    He took the glass of water and lifted Brad''s head a little to make him drink. He was reminded of Brad''s childhood. When he was small, he used to cry a lot at midnight, and he would have to wake up at the middle of the night just to feed him. Tears glistened in his eyes but he forced them down. He slowly patted Brad''s head and went downstairs.


    Soon, Amelia followed him. As soon as she came near her, she asked, "Why were you crying?"


    "I wasn''t crying."


    "You were crying. Don''t lie to me Stephan." Amelia said as she looked at her husband in the eye. Stephan couldn''t avert the gaze and confessed, "I was thinking about Brad''s childhood. I couldn''t give time to both of you." Drops of tears fell from his eyes one after the other.

 26 Doctor

    "You were crying. Don''t lie to me Stephan." Amelia said as she looked at her husband in the eye. Stephan couldn''t avert the gaze and confessed, "I was thinking about Brad''s childhood. I couldn''t give time to both of you." Drops of tears fell from his eyes one after the other.


    When Amelia and Stephan were busy in their conversation, they did not notice a faint shadow standing on the interior balcony of the first floor. The shadow slowly crept to Brad''s bedroom and closed the door. No one could imagine that the shadow had such force to shut the door. The shadow came near Brad and slowly touched his forehead.


    His eyelids shivered from the touch and he slowly regained his consciousness. As soon as he did so, the shadow disappeared and Brad was pulled into his consciousness.


    "Olympia?" Brad eyed the young woman in front of him. Those pair of mismatched eyes mesmerized him to no end.


    "Master. I''m glad that you have returned." Olympia answered with teary eyes.


    "Where is Deablo?" Brad questioned.


    Olympia pointed at a lump of black mass floating inside a bubble, with her eyes. Brad followed her vision and it looked nothing like Deablo. He stood there glued on spot. He eyed the bubble and then looked at Olympia again as he asked, "What happened to Shortie?"


    "Do you remember that when transferring his powers, he couldn''t and I had to step forward?"


    "Hmm. But he was not like this at that time." Brad was still confused, or rather he was forcing himself to be confused. He did not want to believe that Deablo''s conversion was related to him. He hoped that it was not the truth. But life had different plans for him, and Olympia''s next sentence shattered all his doubts and hope. "Master, he sacrificed his power for you."


    Drops of tears fell from his eyes. Who said that boys can''t be emotional? Who said that they can''t cry? "AAAAHHHHHHHHH", Brad screamed so hard that the consciousness stream vibrated for a while. Olympia was touched. She knew the gravity of the matter. A consciousness stream can only vibrate due to the pain in heart. She was sure now that Brad cared a lot about Deablo from the depth of his heart.


    Brad cried and screamed for a long time before he could gain his emotions under control. He looked at Olympia with his slightly-swollen red-rimmed eyes and asked with a cracked voice, "When will he be okay?"


    Olympia lowered her head and answered with profound sadness in her voice, "Master, I don''t know. It can be months. It can be years." She looked away from Brad. She did not want to look at his hopeful eyes.


    "Can you cure him?" He knew that Olympia knew something. He probed further. "Can anyone cure him?"


    "No."


    "I''ll take him to the doctor then."


    "Master, Noooo." Olympia screamed as soon as she heard Brad. She scolded him furiously, "Are you out of your mind? Do you know what will happen if you expose him to the outside world? Do you know the consequence of taking him to the doctor? Your whole family will be in danger. Master, how could you be so stupid?"


    "I am not. If you can''t cure him, and if there is no cure, I have to take him to the doctor. I''ll bear the other consequences."


    "Master, I have a way. But it is too dangerous. I don''t know whether it exists or not."


    "What is it?" Brad probed further.


    "Derman Mountains."


    "Where is that?"


    "I can''t tell you now. Anyway, let''s return. I''ll tell you when the time comes."


    "Return? Where?"


    "Downstairs, you stupid!"


    "Oh, yeah. Let''s go." He left his consciousness stream and went to the inner balcony and heard his mother and father discussing something in hushed tone. What they didn''t know was that Brad''s hearing power had increased hundred-folds in these few days. He could listen to the silent whisper. So, their conversation entered his ears.


    "... and there was a trap door. Various colors of light were spiraling, and it seemed to be in perfect harmony, as if they were just teasing each other." Amelia recounted what she saw.


    "And?" Stephan asked, seeing his wife in deep thought.


    "Grandma said that the occurrence is due to someone''s awakening."


    "Awakening?"


    "Yes. And I''m afraid that the awakening is related to Brad."


    "What?"


    "Stephan, don''t be silly. You saw the mark between his eyebrows, right? Although it has faded now. You already know that something supernatural is going on, right?" Amelia fired one after the other seeing her husband''s widened eyes.


    "I know. But that doesn''t mean it is our Brad." Stephan countered and Amelia sighed. Both of them knew the truth but were not sure what to believe and what not to.


    Meanwhile, no one noticed that the transparent red-haired lady standing beside Brad stiffened with their description. Tears gushed out from her eyes, but she forced them down. ''Mother¡­ Father¡­ When will we meet?'' She stroked the pendant on her neck as she thought.

 27 Nothing can be hidden from Detective Brads eyes

    ''Mother¡­ Father¡­ When will we meet?'' She stroked the pendant on her neck as she thought.


    Somewhere far away, two persons were sitting on two thrones side by side and their looks commanded attention. They clutched their hearts at the same time and looked at each other and whispered together. "Olympia."


    Sadness thoroughly laced their voice and tears glistened in their eyes. The lady with the red hair said, "Aiden, we should do something." The man named Aiden looked towards a corner and said slowly, "Let''s wait for a while. I hope that he goes to that place. Only then would he be able to unleash his full potential."


    "But¡­" The lady was starting to counter his words when Aiden cut him off saying, "Listen to me Demi. It is about their safety. You know very well that showing ourselves in this world is not good. It might bring harm upon everyone."


    Unwillingness flashed in Demi''s eyes but she said, "I understand." She did not want to risk the lives of everyone. Neither Olympia nor Brad would be able to do anything if those old monsters strike. She sighed and the surrounding temperature of the hall increased a bit. The ministers were at a loss. They did not know what happened to their queen but they knew better than to open their mouth.


    Demetria looked at the ministers and slowly retracted her heat. She looked faraway at the sky and suddenly changed her form to that of a fiery red phoenix and flapped her wings to fly into the wide sky. All the ministers were dumbfounded at the sight of the majestic phoenix flying into the sky suddenly. Aiden smiled. He knew that his wife needed to vent out her emotions and it was easier in her original form. Humans have complex range of emotions, but being in a beast form helps her sort out her emotions. He wasn''t worried for her as he knew that nobody could hurt the queen of the phoenix clan.


    -----------------


    Brad was listening to his mother and father silently, but couldn''t make much out of the situation. He knew that they were talking about him. He turned to Olympia to ask her about the situation when he saw that she was standing rooted on spot and the temperature surrounding her was fluctuating.


    Brad panicked a bit and then slowly stretched his hand and placed on Olympia''s shoulder and slowly called her, "Olympia¡­ Olympia¡­ Are you okay?"


    "Huh? Yeah. Everything is okay. Do you remember that I told you about something is calling me, and you need to retrieve it?" Olympia questioned Brad.


    "I do. But how to find it?" Brad inquired.


    Olympia closed her eyes and then pointed towards the northern direction. "That thing is towards the north. We need to journey there."


    "Okay." He agreed without any hesitation. He added, "But I need to return to my college. My friends will be worried."


    Olympia nodded her head. Her heart felt unsettled. She wanted to go there as soon as she can. But she knew that Brad has his own life, so she said nothing before returning to the space between Brad''s brows.


    Brad went down to the living room and called out, "Mum. Dad."


    "Brad, why are you downstairs?"


    "I wanted to stretch my body. It feels so stiff." He replied casually.


    "Do you want to eat something? Let me prepare your favorite pancakes for you." Amelia did not wait for Brad''s reply as she darted towards the kitchen. Brad smiled at his mother''s antics, but said nothing otherwise.


    "Son, how are you feeling?"


    "I''m good. Dad, you have stubbles. Why didn''t you shave? This look doesn''t suit you, Mr. Mayor." Brad laughed as he shifted to the side of the couch to sit comfortably.


    Stephan stared at his son and suddenly didn''t know what to say. Suddenly he laughed out loud and patted his son''s head. "You have grown up." Brad burst into laughter and both of them shared a hearty laugh together. This was the scene Amelia witnessed as she came into the living room.


    "Mom, did you go somewhere?" Brad asked suddenly.


    "Huh? How did you know?" Amelia asked.


    "Nothing can be hidden from the eyes of Detective Brad." Brad smirked at his mother.

 28 Stealing Pancakes

    "Nothing can be hidden from the eyes of Detective Brad." Brad smirked at his mother.


    Amelia laughed at her son''s comments. She said that, "Ha ha. Yes, I went to the East Village to your Grandma''s."


    "To Grandma''s, why?"


    "It''s nothing. Here is your pancakes. Come on, eat it, while it is hot." Amelia gently stroked her son''s head and sat down beside him on the couch and took a comic magazine to read.


    "Mum, do you still read these?" Brad asked his mother.


    "Why? What''s wrong with these?"


    "These are for kids." Brad made a funny face as he answered his mom.


    "So what? I love reading them. Hmph!" She snorted before focusing on it again.


    Brad shook his head before focusing on his pancakes. Stephan tried to steal one or two when Brad wasn''t looking and acted as if nothing happened. Amelia clearly noticed it and raised an eyebrow, but Stephan mouthed, "Delicious. Couldn''t help."


    After finishing all the pancakes, Brad said, "Mom, Dad, I wanna join college from tomorrow. You know that the art exhibition will start soon. I need to go there."


    Stephan and Amelia looked at each other, worry etching their fair faces. Stephan cleared his throat and said, "Okay."


    Amelia looked at her husband, not understanding the situation. But she couldn''t disagree. Art was Brad''s passion, and she couldn''t cut off his wings. Brad looked at her waiting for her to say something. She slowly opened her mouth to place a condition for her agreement. "I want to accompany you. You are ill. I won''t be happy sitting here all alone in the house worrying about you."


    "But Mom, that will be dangerous. People might recognize you. Anything can happen to you. Dad has lots of enemies. No, Mom. I can''t agree to this."


    "Believe your Mom, son. I know how to disguise myself. Why else do you think your dad is quiet?" Brad was astonished as he looked at his father and saw that he was smiling fondly looking at his wife.


    Brad had no other choice than to agree. "Yayy." He said and hugged his mom and dad before sprinting upstairs towards his bedroom.


    "Oi, go slow. You''ll hurt yourself." He could hear his mother shouting, but he was too happy to pay any heed to her words. He heard her cursing him. He laughed and then called Olympia.


    "Olympia¡­ Olympia¡­ Come out. I need to talk to you."


    "Master?"


    "Ah, calling me Master makes me feel so old. Can''t you just call me Brad, please?"


    "Okay Master. Oh, sorry, Brad"


    "So, what do you want to ask, Ma¡­ Brad?" Olympia smiled. Calling him Master was ingrained in her brain. She couldn''t help.


    "Olympia, I will be able to return to college from tomorrow. Can you check out the exact location of the thing as we travel tomorrow?"


    "Sure, Mas¡­ Brad." When Brad raised an eyebrow at her, she smiled sheepishly before answering, "It will take some time to get accustomed to."


    "So, we are going to the college tomorrow. But how will you find out, do you need to be outside, or stay here?" Brad pointed at his heart as he said.


    "Outside." Olympia briefly answered.


    "I don''t think that is a good idea."


    "Brad, listen to me. I can disguise myself well. No one will be able to notice me. Also, now that I have awakened, your life might be in danger. I need to stay outside to protect you." Olympia''s eyes glazed at the last sentence. She can''t make the same mistake twice. If she hadn''t left that time, Master would have been alive. She left him for her own selfish reasons.


    Brad didn''t understand why her mood would change suddenly. His friends used to say that it is hard to understand the mood of the girls, and that they have mood swings. He sighed in his heart as he did not know how to console her. He would have to ask his friends. They seem to have girlfriends. Nevertheless, he patted her head in the same way his father and mother did to him whenever he was sad.


    Olympia looked up to see a pair of concerned eyes looking back at her. She wiped her tears, and said, "So, when will we go there?"


    "Look, Olympia it''s so sweet of you, but you don''t have to protect me. I''ll protect you. Also, Mum will be accompanying me."


    "No problem. I''ll stay hidden. She won''t be able to see me."


    Brad did not argue anymore and let her be.

 29 Stealing Again

    The next morning:


    Brad got ready early in the morning and went downstairs and saw his parents busy discussing something. He didn''t disturb them as he made way to the dining table and sat down. No one noticed Olympia sitting beside him. Olympia flicked her red hair and sat there with a bored expression on her face. When no one was watching, she stole an omelet and gulped it down before anyone could notice.


    Brad looked at his plate and felt something amiss, but couldn''t exactly pinpoint on it. What Brad didn''t know was that food was being stolen from his father as well as Olympia. Olympia acted as if nothing happened and looked out of the window.


    Brad ate his breakfast to his fill and then said, "Mum, I''ll go get ready. You should do as well."


    "Okay." Amelia answered shortly.


    Brad went upstairs to his bedroom and shut the door before Olympia could enter and started changing his clothes. When he finally finished changing, he turned around only to find Olympia sitting on his bed with a wicked smile on her face.


    "How¡­ how did you get in?" Brad questioned.


    "Oh, you mean that? Those are easy to handle. Ha ha." Olympia guffawed seeing Brad speechless.


    Brad said nothing, but silently approached her with a serious expression on his face. Olympia got scared before she finally succumbed to the pressure and blurted out, "Master, I haven''t seen anything. Besides, I came in just now as you finished dressing." Olympia hurriedly explained. Brad said nothing but still approached her. He bent his body and came near Olympia, looked into her eyes and stretched his hand to take the comb lying on the bed just beside Olympia.


    Olympia stared at the smug smile on Brad''s face and knew that she had been thoroughly played with. She lowered her head and pouted. Suddenly. Brad laughed and his voice spread warmth within Olympia. He said, "You were playing with me, and when I did the same to you, you are sulking." He flicked her forehead as he said that. But he was suddenly reminded of Deablo. His face became gloomy. He asked Olympia, "When can we go to the Derman Mountains?"


    "Not before you can successfully train in magic." Olympia replied flatly.


    "What?!!" Brad was shocked. He did not know that he had to train in magic. He asked, "Why do I have to learn magic? How do I learn magic? Is it like Harry Potter? Is there an academy?" Brad questioned Olympia non-stop, not even letting her answer.


    "Master¡­ Master..wait¡­" Olympia took a deep breath and answered, "I don''t know what Harry Potter is, but you have to learn magic. There used to be a great academy created by my previous Master. You can train there."


    "Olympia, I think, you are forgetting something."


    "Huh?"


    "This is New York. How will I get there?" Brad asked frustrated. He wanted Deablo to be cured as soon as possible. But he knew what Olympia said was also correct. But where will he find a magical academy here in New York? It was impossible.


    Olympia was going to say something else when she heard a knock at the door.

 30 Change the driver

    Brad got up from his bed and pulled the door handle to reveal a blonde woman who had big framed glares on. Her hair was tied into a ponytail. She had a clutch secured in her left hand and was wearing a huge ring on her right hand. She was wearing a dark-ash colored pencil skirt topped with a bottle-green full-sleeved shirt. She wore dark-green nail polish, which was so unlike her. Her black pencil heels increased her height. Brad''s jaws fell open as he stared agape. At last he exclaimed, "Wow, Mom. That''s brilliant. I couldn''t even recognize you."


    His mother gave him a smile and said in a strong Polish accent, "So, boy, are you ready?" Brad was stunned again as he never knew that his mom could pull off that accent. He shook his head and said sluggishly, "Ah, yes. Yeah¡­ Let''s go." He went out of the door without even taking his bag. After a few steps, he returned back to take those things. He went downstairs.


    Olympia saw this scene and smiled. Suddenly, she felt a gaze. Stunned, she looked ahead and saw Brad''s mom staring at the place she was standing at with a penetrative gaze. ''I am fully capable of disguising myself. She won''t be able to see me. Why is it that I feel that she can see me somehow.'' Various thoughts ran through her mind, and when she looked at her again, she saw that she was staring straight at the painting hanging on the wall. Something about her gaze unsettled Olympia. As she was mulling over it, she saw Amelia going downstairs. She brushed off the thoughts and chased after the duo.


    She saw Stephan still sitting in the living room reading newspapers. Being in this house for only a day, she understood a lot about the workings in this world. She knew that Stephan was the Mayor of this city. It was like his Master, a king of that place. She was curious about this new world. Since, Brad is attached to this world, she needs to know the ins and outs of everything here. She was accompanying Brad for another reason, i.e. to know everything related to this world. It is near impossible to know by staying in her allocated space. Also, that place is too boring for her without Deablo.


    The thought of Deablo made her scrunch her beautiful brows. She felt helpless. Seeing Brad and Amelia boarding the car, she fastened her pace and immediately reached there and entered the car at the same moment the car door closed.


    "Whoa! That was a close call." Olympia muttered under her breath. She looked straight at the rear view mirror. She couldn''t see herself. She titled from side to side, but still couldn''t see herself. She raised herself a bit and shifted a little towards Amelia to look at the mirror from that angle. Suddenly, she stiffened as she was very close to Amelia and she seemed to have felt it too. She looked at the place she was sitting in puzzlement.


    "What happened mom?"


    "Nothing. I seemed to have felt something against my legs, that''s all."


    Brad looked straight at Olympia and then said, "Oh! That must be because, I was thinking of sleeping on your lap. So, you felt my thoughts. Hehe." Brad was sure that his excuse was completely unbelievable. So, he smiled at his mom.


    "You and your nonsense. Anyway, come here." Brad face palmed himself. He dug his own grave. He glared at Olympia, but couldn''t do anything, so shifted a little towards her and Olympia got up from her position and went to sit beside the driver. Her agile body allowed her to sit there comfortably, her legs crossed. But it did not last long and gave her a heart attack.


    So many cars were coming their way, will they crash? She couldn''t sit comfortably there. She wanted to poke the driver to drive slower, but couldn''t. She saw the cars zooming past them. She breathed a sigh of relief, when she saw another car coming their way. The driver was stoic-faced as usual. She couldn''t understand, why he showed no signs of fear. Her heart came to her hands. She forcefully stopped the urge to smack the driver at the back of his head.


    It was nearly November, but the passengers felt warm. Brad knew the reason, so he looked towards Olympia and saw her sitting on the front seat hugging her knees. He closed her eyes and asked in his mind, "What happened?"


    "Master, you better change the driver tomorrow."


    "What happened?"


    "He doesn''t know how to drive. What if he causes all of us to die?"


    Brad laughed at her and said, "He is a reliable driver, and won''t cause accident. Don''t worry. It has always been like this. Nothing will happen. Okay? I''m here." He consoled her through their consciousness.

 31 Bad Premonition

    As Brad was consoling Olympia, they reached his college. He felt a different sort of excitement within him. He did not know why, for this is the first time his mother was accompanying him to his college.


    He turned towards her only to see her looking at his college. Olympia on the other hand had her hand over her face to force herself not to vomit. Brad looked at her and suppressed his laughter.


    He stepped down from the car along with Amelia and Olympia. Olympia hurriedly got out in case they intend to lock her inside the car with that ''stupid'' driver. She brushed past Brad as she stayed away from Amelia, in case she notices her.


    It was hilarious to see the forbidden princess to behave like this in the human world. She, who could keep her calm everywhere, was now behaving weirdly. Brad looked at her and shook his head, and then turned to his mother and said, "Mom, shall we?"


    "Yeah." Amelia was reminded of her college days. She shrugged off her thoughts before entering the college along with Brad. She saw the Dean having his breakfast at the College Cafeteria. She was a lecturer in this college, and gave many speeches here. This college brought back her memories. She was reminiscing about them when someone bumped into her.


    "Hey, woman can''t you see I''m walking? How dare you stand in my way?" Amelia heard an annoyed tone. She turned around and apologized. "Sorry, I didn''t notice. I''m really sorry."


    "Do you think your sorry is enough? Do you know who my father is?"


    "Young Man, I already said sorry."


    "So? I''m the only son of Mr. Tyson. Do you know who he is, you stupid lady?"


    Meanwhile, Brad was having a staring competition with Olympia, and the commotion broke his concentration. He scowled, displeasure evident on his fair face.


    "What happened?"


    "You¡­ you¡­ Why are you here?"


    "What? Cat got your tongue, Mr. Son of the Mayorship candidate? Oh, I forgot, there are many more, like, Mr. Loser, and what about that one, the most recent one, Mr. Punched and Kicked. Do you like them, Mr. Idiot?" Brad opened his mouth and continued abusing in a sarcastic tone.


    "You are alive." That was a statement more than a question. And Brad immediately replied, "It''s good to see that you are fine." Provocation was laced in his tone.


    Samuel Tyson was now afraid. Who was this boy? How come those thugs couldn''t beat him? He was thinking that he was lying in his bed in poor condition, but it didn''t seem like it. What is going on? He opened and closed his mouth several times but couldn''t make a single sound.


    Brad turned to his mother and said, "Let''s go." He intentionally bumped against Sam, and shot him a provocative glance.


    Olympia followed them, but she could sense a faint aura within the guy Brad abused. That aura terrified her. If it is that person, she is doomed. Even Deablo isn''t here. She did not know what to do. She calmed herself down and followed Brad. She noticed something from the corner of her eyes.


    She informed Brad, "Master, someone seems to be following us."


    "Okay." Brad replied back.


    "Can you see who they are?"


    "Yes, and they are holding some strange looking weapon in their hands."


    "What, weapon?" Brad stopped walking as he exclaimed in his mind while conversing with Olympia. Amelia looked at her son as she noticed the abnormality.


    "What happened, Brad?" She questioned.


    "Umm¡­ Nothing Mum."


    They were beside the cafeteria and decided to enjoy the food there. They sat down at the table and ordered a pizza.


    "Mum, you won''t believe that they make the best pizza here" Brad said and looked hopefully at Amelia, who smiled in response.


    Amelia ate in silence while Brad narrated various stories about his college. It was interesting to hear them from his point of view. Suddenly, she seemed to notice something, and poked Brad in his arms, "Do you know them?"


    "Who?" Brad looked puzzled. Amelia pointed at a bunch of guys standing at one corner and staring at them. "No Mum. They aren''t from this college. Wait a second, though. Let me call Chris over. He knows everyone in this college." Amelia nodded in response. She had a bad premonition about this matter.

 32 Small and Big Monster

    "Ah, Chris, you are here?" Brad asked as he saw Chris approaching them.


    "Yes." Chris saw them and came near their table as he replied.


    "Come and sit." Brad gestured him to seat near him.


    "And this is?" Chris pointed at Amelia and asked.


    "That''s our new teacher. I met her just outside the college and guess what?" Brad said pointing at Amelia who was munching on the pizza.


    "What?" Chris was curious.


    "She is from our locality." Brad had a smug smile on his face as he answered.


    "What''s your name, Mam? If you don''t mind." Chris asked humbly.


    "I don''t. I''m Lisa Hadon, Professor of the Department of History. I am a guest lecturer here. So, attend those classes." She uttered the last part strictly.


    "What? Oh, yeah, I will. I am from the Department of History, but unfortunately Brad isn''t. He is from the Arts Department. Mam, do you know, he successfully won the championship this year. His paintings are awesome." Chris rambled on and on, while Amelia and Brad eyed each other.


    "Congrats Brad. You never told me that." She threw an accusatory glance at him.


    "Mu¡­ Mam, we met just a while ago and it''s not good to boast, you know." He told Amelia and elbowed Chris on his arm.


    "Bro, do you have classes in the morning?" Chris asked.


    "Ah, yes and I need to visit the Dean. I need to talk to him about the upcoming Arts Exhibition. By the way, did you notice that there are few people who are following us?"


    "Huh? No, I haven''t noticed." Chris replied.


    "Look there." Brad said.


    Chris looked at that direction and saw few people recording them. "What the hell!" Chris cursed out loud.


    "I don''t know. I just find them fishy. Why would they record us all of a sudden?" Brad asked.


    "Who knows? Let''s go to the classes." Chris shrugged it off and said.


    "Okay."


    Brad and Olympia separated from the rest as they went towards the Dean''s office.


    "Master, don''t you think something is fishy?"


    "It is fishy, but we can''t do anything now. Let''s meet the Dean and speak to him."


    "Sure."


    Both of them chatted all along the way and then Brad knocked on the door of the Dean''s oval office.


    "Come in." A hoarse voice could be heard coming from inside the room.


    "Good morning Sir."


    "Good morning, Mr. Holman. To what do I owe the pleasure of having you here?"


    "It''s about the upcoming exhibition, Sir."


    "Ah, I see. Please take a seat." He parted his lips and uttered. The room was filled with the smell of books. Rows of books filled various shelves throughout the entire room.


    "Ah, those are some wonderful books, Sir. Can I take a look?" Brad was fascinated by the book on sculptures.


    "Sure Mr. Holman. But before that, please tell me whether you are fine or not. I heard that you were unwell for a while." He adjusted his spectacles over the bridge of his nose and said.


    "Ah yes, Sir. I''m fine now.?? Brad looked at the fat middle-aged man sitting behind the desk. He paused a while before he asked again, "Sir, can we speak about the exhibition then?"


    "About the exhibition, Mr. Holman, I''m afraid, they are putting pressure on us to let Mr. Tyson enter. I don''t know how they got intimidated, and why. I heard some rumors, and they were nasty." Dean shook his head and said.


    "Like?" Brad''s voice was a bit chilly to hear.


    "Like you were beaten up by someone for doing some nasty deeds. Now now, Mr. Holman, please don''t ask me to repeat them." He swiped the beads of sweat forming on his forehead.


    "So, Dean, can I just enter the exhibition?" Brad asked again, a chilly glint passing through his eyes so quickly that it wasn''t noticed by anyone except Olympia, who was standing beside the bookshelf staring at Brad all this while.


    "You have to. After all this is the prestige of our college." The dean confidently answered.


    "Okay."


    "Mr. Holman, if you don''t mind, I have a request for you." The dean asked in a gentle manner. No one could believe that the Dean who intimidated everyone with his presence could be this gentle.


    "Yeah?"


    "Umm¡­ Could you join the History Department too? For a while, I mean. Umm, it might help you in the upcoming exhibition too. I mean, look, the topic is somewhat historical too, right? So, could you please join?" The Dean constantly fiddled with his fingers as he asked. It was a huge pressure of him to ask the son of a Mayor to do him a favor. The new teacher who came to the College was also from an influential background and she specifically asked for people from the Arts Department to attend her classes. Although he could have rejected her, he could not bring himself to. It was hard to bring her as the guest lecturer in this college. He was extremely nervous.


    Brad smiled and thought, ''So, this is what she is up to now!'' But he did not let those emotions show on his face, as he replied, "Sure, No problem Dean. I''ll attend the classes. After all, you arranged for it for my welfare."


    The Dean was dumbfounded. He thought that Brad might go against it. He was prepared to convince him till his last breath, but he easily got convinced. ''Ah! This isn''t following the script.'' He though furiously.


    "Do you mind if I take this with me? I''ll return it, I promise." Brad shook the book he took in front of the Dean''s eyes as he asked.


    "No problem, Mr. Holman." The Dean eyed the Book in Brad''s hands.


    "Okay then."


    "Sure." The Dean replied politely and thought, ''At least that monster is taking a book, unlike the first time he did.'' The thought of their first confrontation gave him goosebumps. ''Who said that the devil is good? Hmph! He''ll teach them a lesson. He is a monster in the guise of a human.'' Obviously he won''t say that out loud, lest that monster hears it and decides to give him trouble. He wiped the non-existent perspiration from his forehead and took the glass of water lying on the table and gulped it in a go.


    As soon as Brad left, he heard another knock at his door. "Come in." He answered praying that the monster isn''t back.


    A blonde lady entered the cubicle and said, "So, Mr. Collen, did you manage to persuade him?"


    "Ms. Hadon, he didn''t need persuading. I just requested him and he agreed to it." The Dean started sweating again. ''Small monster went away and a big monster came.'' He thought.


    "No fun." She commented. She left the Dean''s office, her high heels clicking against the floor and echoing through the empty halls.


    The Dean sat there dumbfounded mulling over her statement.


    "What isn''t fun?" He asked himself but got no answer.

 33 Press

    "What isn''t fun?" He asked himself but got no answer.


    He just stared at the door in horror and said, "She went away just like that." He shook his head and bore his head into the pile of documents lying on his desk. He heard another knock at the door. Thinking that it might be those monsters who are back, he held his forehead in one hand and said in a deep voice, "Come in."


    A man in voilet shirt and black trousers ran towards him and almost crashed on his desk and said hurriedly, "Dean, we have a huge problem."


    "What is it that made you run so fast that you almost crashed on to me?" Mr. Collen asked rubbing his belly with one hand and his forehead with another.


    "Press." The teacher-in-charge slightly ran his fingers through the parted hair said in a barely audible whisper.


    "Press? Here? How is it possible?" He was shocked and almost jumped in his seat. ''Why is everyone giving him a headache today?''


    "I don''t know. But they are making a huge ruckus in front of the gate."


    "Why would they create a ruckus?"


    "I don''t know, Mr. Collen."


    "Okay, lead the way." He got up from his comfortable recliner chair and slowly came in front of the teacher-in-charge.


    The teacher-in-charge, Mr. Vale took a deep breath in and led the way. The Dean followed him.


    Mr. Collen wiped the huge beads of perspiration on his forehead and said, "What the hell? The press aren''t allowed inside the University Campus. Why are they here? They know it very well."


    Mr. Vale decided not to hide the truth and said, "I heard some rumors that Mr. Samuel Tyson called them."


    "What?" Mr. Collen dropped the book he was holding. He pushed the spectacles over his nose almost to the bridge of his eyebrows and picked the book up before saying, "Isn''t there any rules stating that a student can''t bring media here?"


    "There is one rule, I guess."


    "What do you mean by that?"


    "Sir, there is an exception to that rule too."


    "What is that?"


    "Sir, the President of the Student Council can call the Press during some emergency or some occasions."


    "Damn it." Mr. Collen cursed and muttered to himself, ''That guy won''t spare me.''


    "Sir, did you say something?"


    "No. Why don''t you walk faster? Come on take me there fast."


    Mr. Vale was stunned. ''Why did I get scolded all of a sudden?'' He thought, but was smart enough not to ask it.


    Mr. Vale and Mr. Collen came downstairs to the staff room and saw all the Professors and Assistant Professors gathered around the table. He took his seat in the middle and Mr. Vale sat beside him.


    "Does any of you have any idea about this?"


    "No Sir." Everyone answered in unison. He noticed that only Ms. Lisa Hudon was quiet.


    "Ms. Lisa, do you want to say something?"


    "May I Sir?" She pointed at herself and asked.


    "Please." Dean Collen gestured with his hand asking her to speak.


    "It''s just that, it could be a coincidence too. I don''t know. I feel something is really fishy. I saw some people were taking photos in the morning too. I was sitting with Mr. Brad and having a chat with him over breakfast and saw some people were recording us. It could be something else too. But, my hunch says that it is not."


    "I see."


    "Anyone else noticed anything unusual?" Dean Collen asked.


    "No." They replied again.


    "Ah, I see. Come with me Mr. Hudon." Mr. Collen said and looked at her knitting his thick eyebrows together.


    "Mr. Vale, you know what to do. I''ll be in my office then."


    "Wha.. No.. I mean.." He didn''t know what to say. Why would the Dean push all the responsibilities on him? He cursed his luck and that Tyson brat in his mind a thousand times.


    "Let''s go, Ms. Lisa."


    "Sure Sir." Amelia aka Lisa answered demurely, but her voice carried power and was enough to gain immediate attention.


    "So, tell me everything in detail." Mr. Collen asked as soon as he entered his office with Lisa on tow.


    "There is nothing much I can say. I heard Mr. Holman mention that those weren''t from the college. So, I don''t know much about it."


    "What is your relation with Mr. Holman?"


    "What has that got to do with you, Mr. Collen?" Amelia turned defensive upon hearing the question.


    "It''s nothing, Ms. Lisa. I just wanted to know. That''s all."


    "It''s not good to go around asking people these sort of questions, do you know?"


    "I¡­" Under Lisa''s intense stare Mr. Collen couldn''t utter a single word. At last he said, "Look, I''m not trying to probe, but this is related to the College. We need to place security if you have relation with Mr. Holman."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Mr. Stephan Holman asked us to protect him. We are already doing that in a way that it doesn''t affect his peace. I''m a teacher, and I''m good at reading people. I know that you have some relation with that boy, don''t you?"


    "Yes." Amelia decided to tell him the truth. She knew that it was not the time to hide things. So she said, "I''m his mother, Mrs. Amelia Holman."


    "What the ¡­." He couldn''t curse in front of the Mayor''s wife.


    "Mrs. Holman, as far as I know, you have been a guest lecturer for almost 20 years now. I mean, it''s unbelievable."


    "I know."


    "Does Mr. Holman know about this? What about your security?"


    "Mr. Collen, you are forgetting something. I am Lisa Hudon. I''m neither Amelia nor a Holman. I am Lisa, a guest lecturer of every University in New York. You know very well about my fame. Am I right?"


    "Ah yes, I forgot." He replied and after that he opened his mouth a few times and closed it again.


    "Spill it out, Mr. Collen."


    "Brad, umm¡­ Does he know?"


    "What? Is it about me being the guest lecturer?"


    "Yes."


    "He knows. But Mr. Collen, don''t you think you are wasting time instead of taking any measures?" Amelia found something fishy. Mr. Collen was fiddling with his phone from the moment they entered his office. He was behaving unlike his usual self.


    "What?"


    "Nothing, Mr. Collen. Have a nice day, It''s time for me to leave."


    "No, you can''t." Mr. Collen madly dashed at the door and closed it with a bang. Beads of perspiration could be seen on his chubby face and he rubbed his hands together and said, "Please forgive me, but you can''t leave."


    "And what is that supposed to mean?"


    "Um¡­ Nothing. Let''s have a chat slowly. Mr. Vale has already gone there. He''ll be able to handle the situation." It was difficult to talk to this lady. She was extremely cunning. Even until now, she kept her calm. He did not know what to do.


    "Okay. Let''s have a chat, then."


    "Yeah yeah. We should have a chat. Definitely." Even Mr. Collen did not realise that he was repeating every sentence. His nervousness was visible on his face.

 34 Come out. I know you are there

    "Ha ha." Amelia''s laughter was chilly and echoed through the room as she sat in front of the desk and looked at the Dean, her eyes penetrating his soul. He felt that she could understand all the underlying deception. He did not dare to breathe out loud. Her intimidating presence was enough to scare him. He never thought that a gentle and demure lady like Amelia could do anything to him. He was wrong for the second time in his life. The first time was when he underestimated Brad. He held his breath for her to utter the next sentence, but it never came.


    Deathly silence permeated the room before he saw her look at a distance and utter, "Come out. I know you are there."


    "Wha.." He was going to ask her when he saw a shadow from the corner of his eye. He was so frightened that he almost fell off his reclined chair. He cursed his luck. "Why did everything happen today?"


    He saw Brad was holding something in his hand and from the window he asked, "May I come in, Sir?" His voice was extremely sarcastic to the point of giving him chills.


    "Yes, Mr. Holman, but I''m afraid it isn''t the best place to come through."


    Brad jumped from the window sill, perfectly landing on the solid marble floor and said, "Never mind Sir. I just came in to return your book."


    "Ah, that. You can keep it."


    "No Sir, how can I do that? After all it is your precious treasure." Brad''s voice was laced with extreme sarcasm as he eyed the middle-aged man on the other end of the desk and said, "Mind if I take a seat Sir?"


    Mr. Collen looked at Brad, his mouth agape. Brad answered his own question, "I guess you don''t. No problem then." Brad pulled the chair beside Amelia and sat down. He gave her a reassuring smile. Olympia stood behind him and released her aura to sense all the happenings nearby. She knew something was up from the moment she saw those idiots going around this place with those ''weapons''. She heard those bunch of puny humans mentioning her Master. She knew that they had evil intentions. She glanced at the lowly human sitting in front of them and saw him holding another device in his hand. ''Master said it was ''mo..'' What was it again?'' Olympia thought to herself. Anyway, let''s not bother with it. She cheered herself for being intelligent. She slowly enhanced her hearing, and heard the commotion from downstairs.


    "Why were we not informed that someone had some illicit relation with a teacher and they are just riding on that teacher''s coattails and entering some championship?"


    "The Nation wants to know why the education system has degraded so much."


    "Why was that person given free pass to attend any event on behalf of this University?"


    There were barrage of questions which puzzled Olympia. ''Those puny humans shout too much. My ears are deafened because of it.'' She thought in her mind before deciding to relay them to Brad.


    "Master, we have a problem here. Those puny humans are saying something probably bad."


    "What?" Brad asked and Olympia relayed the content of her information she heard.


    "Interesting." He muttered to himself and then cleared his throat before he stared at the Dean and said, "Mr. Collen, I have an interesting story. Do you want to listen?"


    "Sure, Mr. Holman." Mr. Collen wiped his hands on the paper napkin and pressed his on his forehead before he said.


    "The story is that, there was a teacher and a student. A person came and threatened a teacher to smear the name of a student. The teacher wasn''t sure how to do it. But soon he found an opportunity as a new teacher joined the school. He shifted his target a bit and he tried to kill two birds with a stone. The teacher was famous, and he didn''t want that teacher to gain so much attention. He was jealous of that teacher and he smeared their names together. Isn''t that an interesting story, Mr. Collen?"


    "Ah! Mr. Holman, those are wrong accusations. You can''t accuse me like that."


    "Did I now, Mr. Collen? I was just telling my story about a teacher and a student. What made you think that it was about you? Now now, Mr. Collen, I think it''s the best time you can help me complete the other parts of the story I missed." Brad said with a smirk plastered across his face.


    "Mr. Holman, listen to me. I didn''t know what to do. I was forced." The Dean tried to explain himself. He gave Lisa a pleading stare. Lisa smiled. Her son wanted to deal with this on his own, so she would let him do that. But that doesn''t mean she would let him fight alone. She was Lisa Hudon. She had enough connections to make people afraid.


    She picked up her cell and said, "Send two. No, two is enough. Yeah, sure. Ha ha. I''ll see you soon. Yeah, please make it fast. Oh, okay. I''ll send you the location." Amelia placed her phone down after typing something on it. And then¡­.

 35 Tattoo

    She picked up her cell and said, "Send two. No, two is enough. Yeah, sure. Ha ha. I''ll see you soon. Yeah, please make it fast. Oh, okay. I''ll send you the location." Amelia placed her phone down after typing something on it. And then, Amelia turned to face Mr. Collen and said, "Let''s wait and watch, shall we?" She reclined her chair lazily and sat there.


    After a while, a series of footsteps could be heard coming from the corridors and those footsteps stopped in front of the door. Amelia smiled, and that was enough to give Mr. Collen goosebumps. A series of knocks could be heard at the same moment. With a trembling voice, he squeaked, "Come in."


    "Even if you didn''t want us to, we will come in." A deep masculine voice answered him before entering the room. Mr. Collen wanted to see who Mrs. Holman managed to invite. And his eyes widened with shock. ''Isn''t that the Retired General? Why is he here? No one knew better than him how the Retired General was, and he never wished to cross paths with this man.''


    With a stuttering voice, he answered, "Y¡­ Yes." He nodded his head to show that he agreed with his own statement. Brad''s lips curved up into a smile watching the Dean make a fool out of himself.


    The Retired General slowly closed the door before he came and sat down in the only empty chair in front of the Dean''s desk. "So, Mr. Collen, I presume?"


    "Yeah."


    "So, Mr. Collen, what did you do?"


    "No¡­ Nothing." It was very hard for Mr. Collen to speak. His throat was parched and in the end his voice sounded squeaky. The Retired General looked at him and said nothing. He knew how to break someone''s psychological defense without having to resort to force.


    He stared at him constantly without saying a single word. Amelia and Brad did the same. Under their combined intimidating stare, he did not dare to breathe loudly. "Mr. Jackson, believe me, I did not mean to."


    "So, this was not your doing, and you were very much innocent in this matter, am I right?"


    "Yes yes. I didn''t. I never meant to."


    "Meant to? What do you mean by ''meant to''? You could kill a person and say that ''I never meant to'', do you think that the judge will agree with those? Do you think you are justified saying that? Tell me the whole truth, and I might be able to do something. One word false, and you know me very well." His threatening tone sent shivers down his spine. He never cowered in front of influential persons, but these three persons sitting in front of him managed to evoke fear within him.


    "I¡­ I¡­ Believe me, I was threatened. I didn''t want to, but I was forced."


    "Who are they?"


    "I don''t know them, I know that they have a black penguin tattoo on their left wrists."


    "Penguin tattoo. Hmm¡­ Aren''t they the men of Tyson family?" The Retired General looked at Amelia and questioned.


    "Yeah, they apparently are. But why would they target us?" Saying so, she looked at Brad. She remembered the previous encounter with the youngest son of the Tyson family. Brad seemed to have some enmity with that guy.


    "Brad." She called out, paused for a while before saying, "Please tell us the whole story. We need to know."


    "It''s nothing, Ms. Hudon." Brad replied stiffly.


    "Like seriously? You aren''t even going to tell me!" She exclaimed with growing frustration.


    "Ah?" Brad could immediately understand his mother''s mood as he heaved a sigh before saying, "Look, I became the winner of the championship of the Painting Competition. After that Sam wanted to beat me, but I kicked him hard in the guts, and later that night, he sent a few assassins, but my friends and I beat them too. Later the Police Chief came and sorted that out."


    "Anything else?" The Retired General asked scrutinizing his face to check for any signs of lying, but found none.


    "I don''t remember." Brad replied after some thought.


    "Hmm. Interesting." The Retired General muttered under his breath and called one of his trusted aides stationed just outside the door and said, "Investigate this person." He handed him a piece of paper in which a name was written.


    The Retired General turned towards Mr. Collen and said, "We will know soon. Let''s just wait." Mr. Collen thought that it will take a long time, so, he leaned back on his chair and said, "Ah, Mr. General, why not drink this coffee?"


    Soon a person came in bringing four sets of coffee cups with various snacks. The Retired General eyed the man and noticed an anomaly. But he didn''t say anything and let him pour the coffee. What he saw next amazed him.

 36 Poison

    Soon a person came in bringing four sets of coffee cups with various snacks. The Retired General eyed the man and noticed an anomaly. But he didn''t say anything and let him pour the coffee. What he saw next amazed him.


    The man poured the coffee and from his peripheral vision he saw that the man took out a silver needle from his sleeve and inserted something into the coffee. He smiled in spite of himself. ''Did they take him as a joke? So, this old man has some enmities with Lady Hudon. But why?'' He thought that the man in front of him looked like this to gain sympathy while stabbing at the back.


    Years ago, that person did the same. He gained his trust before stabbing him at the back. He gently massaged his chest as the numb feeling grew more and more. He absentmindedly brought the coffee cup to his lips before placing it down on the desk.


    "What happened General?"


    "Huh? Nothing. I was just curious about something." The Retired General absentmindedly added.


    The Dean, Mr. Collen looked the Retired General before he took his phone and clicked on it. Amelia and Brad were the ones who noticed the behavior of the Dean. They felt that something was amiss. They looked at the Retired General, who was writing something on the palm of his hand with a pen. On it was written, "DON''T DRINK THE COFFEE."


    Amelia and Brad eyed each other. On the other hand, Olympia sniffed around and the strong sense of poison invaded her nostrils, and she knew that this came from those people. Those were the strongest in the mainland, because they used to use this lethal poison, but why will they appear in the mainland. She eyed the ''Dean'', or that''s what Brad calls him. She would love to call him an idiot.


    Brad felt the anxiousness of Olympia and closed his eyes before he asked, "What happened?"


    "Brad, there is something strange with this man."


    "Strange as in?"


    "There is a poison in that brown water. I¡­" Brad cut her off saying, "That''s called coffee."


    "Whatever. So, in that ''copy'' or whatever it is, there is a poison which comes from one of the bird clan. It is found in frogs too, but I think that those ugly creatures love their lives the most, so they won''t have the courage to provide that poison. But those ''chickens'' can''t come here. How did this poison come here in this land?" Olympia was constantly muttering to herself. She didn''t know why that poison would come here in this mainland.


    "Brad, I think something is going on, and we need to go to that place as soon as possible."


    "Okay Olympia, let''s settle this and then we can go there." Brad replied immediately. He did not want to take risk. If what Olympia said was true, then they are doomed, and he would never let anyone trample over them. Never. What he did not know was, someone already trampled over them, hard. When he would reach home, he would find something that would change his life upside down. But that''s a story for later.


    Brad and Amelia did not touch their coffee and sat there stiffly. The Retired General got up and called his subordinates inside and closed the door. The Dean smirked seeing that. Nobody knew better than him that this room was also under surveillance. But he was dumbfounded the next moment, as the Retired General plucked the cameras from the book shelves one by one and placed them in front of him.


    "How¡­" He did not manage to complete the sentence as cold sweat trickled down his forehead.


    "Let''s not play games now, Mr. Trevor Collen. As you see, it''s not very easy to fool us. I might be retired, but my senses are still intact. I didn''t want to alert the enemy before I took action. Now that I have found out the identity of the persons, let''s play the game in my style. Wouldn''t that be fun?"


    "¡­" The dean was speechless. ''How did he manage to locate all the cameras?'' Alas, he would never be able to know that. Fear engulfed him. He calculated wrong. He never thought that this woman''s reach would be so far that she was able to invite the Retired General with one phone call.


    "Please forgive me." That was the dean''s last plea of mercy before he lost his vision and succumbed on to the floor. "Take him." The General ordered his aides.


    "Have a good day, Lisa. Hope to meet you soon at the base."


    "Sure." They shook hands with each other and left the dean''s office before heading downstairs. Everything was calm. Too calm. Brad had a bad premonition inside his heart.


    "Mom, let''s go home." The thumping of his heart was erratic. There was an unknown sort of emotions flowing through him. He couldn''t recognize it.

 37 Save Him

    Amelia and Brad went to their car with Olympia on tow, who was completely immersed in some thought.


    "What happened, Olympia?"


    "Master, something is wrong. I can feel something strange here." Olympia replied, shaking her head. She continued, "Master, that poison came from Pito, the grand elder of the Pitohui bird clan."


    "What is special about them?" Brad asked.


    "They make lethal poison, and fear only the phoenixes from our clan."


    "I see. Why would they appear here in New York?" Brad mumbled.


    "I am worried about that only, Master. I''m sure that something very bad is happening here." Olympia looked at the sky and muttered.


    Brad followed her eyesight and saw the sky completely covered with black clouds and it was growing darker. "Let''s go, Mum."


    Amelia looked at her son and nodded her head. She boarded the car and they went towards their home.


    The gray clouds loomed over the entire sky, creating a gloomy atmosphere throughout. It was as if the sky was empathizing with them.


    As soon as they opened the front door they were shocked. They saw Stephan lying on the sofa with his eyes open, and he was foaming from his mouth.


    "Master, it is the same poison." Olympia said, but soon she heard a loud scream, "Noooooooo¡­" She turned her head only to find Amelia standing at the doorway, and screaming. Horror was written all over her face.


    She ran towards Stephan, and patted his cheeks saying, "Stephan, honey, wake up. Please don''t make me afraid." She constantly patted his cheeks, his chest, before she rested her head on his body. "Honey, I know you are trying to prank me. I know that." There was no signs of tears in her eyes, but there was a satisfied smile hanging on her face. It was almost as if she was happy that he pranked her.


    Olympia''s eyes opened wide. She looked at Brad unsure of what to say. Brad stood there silently. Words failed him. He did not know whether to console his mom or call for help. He was unsure what happened earlier. He picked up his phone and dialed a number, "Hello, Brad Holman speaking here. Um¡­ Yes. I would request you to come as early as possible. Yes, please come fast." Brad kept his phone down, before he went to his mother and rubbed her back. "Mom, please."


    "Don''t you dare say anything! Look, he is breathing. There is a heartbeat too." Amelia mouthed. Brad furrowed his brows before concentrating on Stephan''s body. He called Olympia through consciousness stream, "Olympia, what''s going on? He is clearly alive but he seems dead."


    "Master, he¡­ he can be saved. There must be something or someone who preserved his life. But he will be in terrible pain."


    "Can you help?"


    "I can."


    Suddenly, they were interrupted by a low whisper, "Please save him. You saved my son. You can save my husband too."


    "Eh?" Brad was confused as he looked at his mother. She was looking straight at the place Olympia was kneeling.


    "Although I can''t see her, I can feel her."


    "Can you listen to me?" This time Olympia tried to transmit her voice inside Amelia''s mind.


    "Yes."


    "I can save him. But I need to get my powers back to do so, and I need to go to that place where the powers are located. I can feel the general direction, but I need to go there as soon as possible. You need to preserve his body for a day before I can do anything." She spoke in one breath.


    Amelia nodded her head to indicate that she understood. Olympia eyed Brad, and each one of them was ready to fight this battle.


    *************


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 38 Pain

    Amelia nodded her head to indicate that she understood. Olympia eyed Brad, and each one of them was ready to fight this battle.


    Amelia reached for her cell phone before calling her mother, "Hello Mom, yes, it''s me. Um¡­ I wanted to tell you that Brad will be visiting, and he needs to know the whole story. Ah? Yes, the complete story. It is necessary for him. Yeah, he will be travelling in a day or two¡­ Oh, okay¡­ Sure." She nodded her head as she reassured the person on the other end of the line before looking at Brad and Olympia.


    Brad was the first one to ask, "What did she say?"


    "She said that she will explain everything to you when you visit her."


    "Mum, are you sure that everything is going to be fine?"


    "Definitely."


    "Olympia, follow me." Brad uttered before rushing towards the staircase. He made a mad dash to the bedroom. He held his forehead in pain. He felt extreme pain at the space in between his brows.


    "What happened to you, Master?"


    "I don''t know." He gritted his teeth as he uttered.


    "Master, tell me. I might be able to help you." Olympia said anxiously.


    "Pain." Brad uttered with great difficulty.


    "Let me have a look." Olympia removed the hand that he was holding his forehead with. She saw there was black matter merging with the original red-blue symbol on Brad''s forehead. It seemed as if the black matter was fighting with the red and blue matters. Olympia was stunned, "What''s the meaning of this? This is not good." She murmured before saying, "Master, I need to get back to the space."


    She did not wait for Brad to answer before she turned into a ray of light before she entered the space between his brows. Brad was too concentrated on his pain to notice any anomaly.


    "Deablo, Deablo, what happened to you?" When Olympia entered the space she saw Deablo writhing in pain.


    "What happened to you? Answer me."


    Deablo slowly opened his eyes. His eyes were bloodshot. Black fog surrounded him.


    "Deablo, how did you materialize? You turned like that. How did you get your body back?"


    "I don''t know, Olympia. I am in terrible pain. Lend me some of your powers." Olympia was too focused to notice anything abnormal.


    "What will that do?"


    "Don''t ask too many questions." Deablo chided.


    Suddenly it was a lightbulb moment for her. She realized that Deablo never called her by her name. She got up from the ground and cold light flashed through her eyes. She did not want to alarm the ''Deablo'' standing in front of her. Whoever it was, was extremely dangerous to be able to enter Brad''s consciousness, and disguise as Deablo.


    If she didn''t know Deablo enough, she would have fallen for his act. She looked warily at ''Deablo'' and demanded to know, "Who are you?"


    Suddenly, a deep laughter rang through the entire space and a deep voice could be heard coming from ''Deablo''s mouth''. "You are a smart woman. Take good care of him. He will eventually need your help. And, you need to increase your powers. Take this." ''Deablo'' handed her a stone with strange-looking runes carved on it.


    "Who are you?" Olympia did not take the stone, and she repeated her initial question.


    "I am an insignificant nobody." Pain and hurt laced his aged voice.


    Olympia''s heart moved at his sentence. She was going to say something, when she heard him say, "Don''t pity me. I got what I deserve. I deserve to be deserted."


    ''Deablo'' put on a smiling face and said, "I won''t harm you. Take it."


    Olympia accepted it and turned it over and over in her hand before examining it curiously. After a long time, she asked, "How does this work?"


    "You will feel it when the time comes. You are supposed to go somewhere, right? When you reach there and increase your powers, keep this stone with you. It will guide you."


    "Okay." Olympia nodded her head. She felt no malicious intentions from this person, whoever he was.


    "Can I ask you something?"


    "Sure."


    "Can you cure Deablo?"


    "No. I can lend him some powers, but you need to take him to that place to cure him completely."


    Olympia nodded her head but worry laced her face again. "What happened to Master?"

 39 With Great Power Comes Great Responsibility

    "That happened because I woke up, and possessed Deablo''s body forcefully. That brat was very stubborn and didn''t want me to take his form. But I took his form. So, he forcefully used his energy and Brad happened to have felt something."


    "What should I do now?"


    "You only have to circulate your energy, and he will be fine." ''Deablo'' answered.


    "Are you sure? Master''s condition is pretty bad."


    "He will survive. He needs to face difficulties."


    "What do you mean?"


    "Girl, you worry too much. You need to have faith in your master. He is the master of the only child of the Dragon King and the Phoenix Queen. He must fight his battles to prove himself. You can''t help him all the time. Let him fight." The aged voice said with certainty.


    "Master needs us. Deablo and me. Master won''t be able to handle. He is weak. He never fought battles. What will happen to him if he goes there? I can''t take the risk. I won''t."


    "Olympia, you have an admirable personality, but you need to understand one thing, and that is, it is his battle. Neither yours, nor Deablo''s. You can stand by his side, provide him support, but can never fight his battle. He needs to be strong."


    "Can I ask you something?"


    "Where did the poison come from?"


    "Don''t you know it yourself?"


    "But this is the modern society, unlike the ancient society. Why would that poison appear here?"


    "You need to find the source to know. The deeper you go, the more will you gain." He said, shaking his head.


    "I understand." Olympia nodded her head.


    Olympia stood there for a while, thinking about the events thoroughly. She had seen enough of these things in her childhood, but her parents kept her safe. Thinking about her parents, a teardrop escaped her eyes.


    "They are fine wherever they are." She heard him continue. "They are worried about you too. They miss you too. You will reunite with them one day."


    The ''Deablo'' flew and hovered in front of her. He slowly reached for her forehead and then placed a finger on the space between her eyebrows. She felt enormous power surging in her eyebrows and few memories rushed inside her brain. The power clashed with her own before successfully settling down inside her mind.


    "What was that?" Olympia asked.


    "Girl, I have to go now, I can''t answer your question yet. Just remember to use it well. Just remember that with great power comes great responsibility." The voice faded away and Olympia stood there all alone. The echo of the voice could still be heard. "Just remember that with great power comes great responsibilities¡­" She shook her head to clear her thoughts. Few unwanted memories came with the power he gave, and she didn''t want to go through them again.


    "I have no strength to remember those again. Why did he give me the power I sealed in the back mountain? Why?" She clutched her forehead as she shouted in the void.


    She slowly turned into her original form due to her fluctuating mood. She placed a seal on those memories and slumped onto the ground. The deathly pallor of her face was noticeable against her glowy skin. She was slowly turning. Scales covered her body before the beak protruded in place of her lips. Her thick mane of red hair turned and formed spikes on her back.


    In place of her hands were her wings covered with dragon scales. Her long wings spread across the entire void. Halos of red and white danced across her. Her eyelashes elongated along with the eyes. In place of a beautiful woman stood a bird-like dragon, or a dragon-like bird. She was so beautiful and flawless that one would want to take another look at her.


    She spread her wings and flew into the void, which looked boundless vast space in front of her. She flew in circles and circles. Her mood became less complicated. She felt elated after flying in circles for a long time. She calmed down, swooped below and landed on the ground.


    She changed into the human form again, and went outside to the real world. "Master, are you okay?" She asked, worried.


    "No. My forehead is bursting with pain." Brad answered, gritting his teeth. Olympia said, "Let me have a look." She gently caressed the space between his brows and slowly circulated her energy before pressing her thumb to his forehead. She chanted, "Spread" and the energy rushed inside Brad''s forehead, making him go numb from extreme pain.


    He couldn''t understand what''s going on. He could only feel a surge of energy within his body. The energy constantly coursed through his entire body forcing away the impurities, gaining control of his organs. Brad was afraid. He wanted Olympia to stop, but something within him told him that it was necessary.

 40 Myriad of thoughts and Action

    He couldn''t understand what''s going on. He could only feel a surge of energy within his body. The energy constantly coursed through his entire body forcing away the impurities, gaining control of his organs. Brad was afraid. He wanted Olympia to stop, but something within him told him that it was necessary.


    Brad tried to calm himself down as he focussed on the energy coursing through all his veins. The surrounding atmosphere felt too tranquil, and he felt everything become so clear.


    ''So, Olympia''s power is so vast! Wow!'' He felt thrilled. ''Will I become powerful, too?'' Brad mulled over the question in his mind. He wanted to become strong, but he knew nothing about magic. Olympia promised him that she would lead him down the path of becoming a magician. He was thrilled to test himself out, to learn new things in that world. He wanted to save Deablo too.


    Ah, the priorities! He completely forgot about the priorities. First of all, he needed to let Olympia visit the East Village, and he needed to accompany her. Secondly, he has to save his father, and, third and the most important of all, he needs to interrogate Mr. Collen. That damn bastard tried to poison them. He was apparently connected to someone sinister. Olympia said that she smelt something. Brad''s eyes furrowed with concentration.


    He decided that he would think about the rest later. His body underwent a few changes which was too fast for him to notice. He went downstairs to where his mom was sitting beside his dad, before he picked up the telephone and dialled the previous number. The person on the other end of the line picked up at the end of the third ring.


    "Mr. Holman, we are on our way." The Chief of the Police stuttered. Brad felt something amiss. ''Why is he sounding that way? Is he being threatened?'' A bad premonition rose in his heart. ''Now is not the time to think. Calm down, Brad.'' He told himself.


    After calming himself down, he mulled over the abnormalities in the situation. The Chief should have arrived by now. He didn''t. Instead, he said with a stuttering voice that ''they'' are on their way. He used the word ''we''. What does that mean? Clearly, the chief was trying to point something out. Who is more powerful than his father, who could command and instil fear within the Chief?


    Surely, it wasn''t what he was thinking. No. How could that be? His father was the best. Why would that person do such a thing to his father? Brad felt his head exploding with these thoughts. He looked at his mother and made a quick decision. He said, "Mum, give me your cell."


    "Why?" Amelia asked with her cracked voice.


    "Mum, there is no time to answer your question. I need to talk to someone." Brad asked brusquely.


    Amelia handed her cell to Brad, who in turn typed something, and handed it back to her.


    Amelia looked at Brad''s serious face before looking at her unlocked phone screen. On the screen was written, "MUM, THERE IS SOMETHING VERY WRONG. WE NEED TO LEAVE THIS PLACE. PLEASE CALL FOR THE MOST TRUSTED BACKUP YOU CAN GATHER. I AM SPEAKING TO OLYMPIA. DELETE THESE AFTER READING."


    Amelia looked at Brad''s side profile before she took a deep breath and got to work. She thought for a while before calling the Retired General and saying, "Tues li nama. Tues li nama. Tues li namae."


    "El albeto lama?" An aged voice could be heard from the other end of the line.


    "Le albeto gior lama. Les tues meor nama. Mues nena trimore liana. Giane zues fieli de mazo? " Amelia said over the phone. Brad could understand nothing of their conversation.


    "Tues zune moko." The aged old voice replied with a sigh.


    "El albeto lama nena meor siara?" Amelia asked again with alarm apparent in her voice.


    "Gior¡­ Gior¡­" The aged voice replied.


    "Dues kina meori la?" Amelia asked.


    "Suezinomoricha zubelo." The Retired General answered in a grave tone.


    "Dues?" Amelia asked, her voice slightly raised in alarm.


    "Zubleo le tat, Stephanieo lyf le suegro." He said, waiting for Amelia to say something.


    "Tues yuiona." She said calmly and added after a pause, " Nama el mazo."


    "Zaim zaim." He hurriedly cut off the call. He was already halfway through the route as he instructed his driver to drive faster.


    As they drove nearer, they could feel something amiss. The sharp senses of the General detected something, as he squinted in one direction, and dialled Amelia''s number before saying urgently, " Lues mazo. Queno morta nueno temaro."


    "Tues grimmynalo." Amelia answered as she signalled something to Brad. Brad nodded his head before asking his mother, "Mum, what was that?"


    "No time to explain, Brad. We need to act fast." Amelia whispered. She concentrated on her mind and with her full strength shouted in her mind, "I NEED YOUR HELP."


    Olympia could hear Amelia''s shout and said, "What is it?"


    "We need a distraction. Stephan isn''t safe here. We need to run from here." Amelia said as fast as she could. "The Retired General is nearby and we need to reach him as soon as possible." Amelia said in one breath.


    "What about this house?"


    "We have no time. Try to understand." Amelia said with hurry apparent in her tone.


    "Okay." As soon as Amelia heard that in her mind, she could feel the surrounding temperature rise by a few degrees. She started sweating profusely, when she felt herself cool down. The surrounding weather was hot as earlier, but somehow she didn''t feel uncomfortable. She didn''t have time to think, before she saw the fire alarm ringing in the house. She grabbed Stephan by his arm, and went to the backyard.


    "Dest el meori?" She hurriedly asked, placing her cellphone on her ear.


    "Fueto SMS. Geonanru." Amelia put the phone down before checking the SMS. A location was given there. She could easily understand that. She pulled Brad by his hand and they pulled Stephan''s body towards that location. Suddenly, they heard a scream, and what they saw next left them rooted on spot.

 41 Black and White

    They turned their head and noticed that their whole house was completely engulfed in blazing red flames. Brad and Amelia were thoroughly dumbfounded.


    "Nooooooo¡­. Olympia is still inside. I have to go." Brad said before he madly dashed towards the flames, even before Amelia could actually say something. He suddenly felt something tug his shirt. He turned his head only to find Olympia standing there safe and sound in front of his eyes. Her eyes were blazing with gratitude.


    "Master, I''m fine. Did you forget that I have the element of ''fire'' within me?" Olympia asked with a gentle smile on her face.


    The flames of fire produced enormous smoke which, Brad noticed, was different from normal smoke. ''Why is it so strange?'' Brad thought to himself. As if she sensed his question, Olympia said, "It is strange because there is some dark energy lingering in it. What I am curious about most is that, how did the dark energy come here, in this world."


    "What do you mean?" Brad couldn''t understand what Olympia said. ''Why is everything happening to me?'' These two days stresses Brad out the most. Brad did not have time to think anymore as he heard his mother calling him, "Brad, hurry."


    Brad hurried to the place where his mother was standing. With the help of his mother and Olympia, he lifted his father''s body from off the ground and pulled him towards the military vehicle stationed near the bridge. His father''s body felt as heavy as lead. He wiped away the beads of sweat glistening on his forehead, before entering the vehicle himself.


    Their minds were reeling from the shock. All the events that transpired were enough to keep them on tenterhooks. Each of them were lost in their own thoughts. Brad''s mind was circling over the fact that Olympia was yet to receive her powers. Amelia was thinking of the various events that transpired. What was the connection between them? The Retired General was thinking of interrogating the Dean. He knew that the Dean would be able to answer everything they needed to know.


    ****************************


    In another realm:


    A man was sitting on a soft, bouncy leather throne and was listening to the reports of an eunuch with a bored face. He gave off a feeling that nothing in this world was worthwhile to catch his attention. He had an exquisite face, and seemed that God took enough time and patience to carve him. He gave off a very holy feeling, but his smile said otherwise. His outer robe was snowy white without a speck of dust or creases. It flowed till his ankle and stopped there to show his golden-white mojari* which were folded on top.


    His left hand rested on his knee and the right hand was folded on the armrest of the throne and held his titled head, as he continued listening to the eunuch. His bored expression changed when he heard something. He titled his head to the other side before ordering, "Read the last part once more."


    "Yes, Your Majesty." The eunuch bowed his head before proceeding to read the last sentence. It read: "In the modern city of New York, a young sprout has awakened and will overcome the barriers to return to this world. He would return to avenge them. He will return stronger than ever before. He will return to settle every score. But before that he has to pass many trials."


    "Heh. Interesting." The man on the throne curled his lips and spat out those words. The menacing aura surrounding him suggested that he was ready to kill someone. Suddenly, he heard someone clear his throat. He retracted his aura before he smiled gently, and the holy aura he gave off filled the entire hall again.


    "Minister Eric, you are ordered to go and investigate the situation. Don''t return unless I ask you to." The man lazily lifted his left hand and stroked his white hair.


    "Pardon me, Your Majesty, but, I don''t understand what I have to investigate." Minister Eric answered with his head bowed. He was afraid to look at the man who was sitting on the throne, now running his hands on the deep scar on his forehead, just above his left eyebrow.


    He could have removed the scar with the medicine available, but he didn''t. He was proud of this scar. Minister Eric sneaked a peek at His Majesty, and happened to notice the scene. His Majesty was stroking the scar on his forehead with a proud grin plastered over his face. For some reason, he felt that His Majesty''s smile was evil. If someone could kill with a smile, it was His Majesty.


    Minister Eric was secretly worried as to what brought that smile on His Majesty''s face. But he lacked the guts to ask. There was only one person in the whole court who could face his Majesty and he was absent today. He cursed his bad luck for it, and was going to say something when he heard the door of the hall opened and announced the appearance of the same person Minister Eric was thinking of. ''Speak of the Devil, and he appears.''


    A look of happiness streaked across his face and he cleared his throat to gain the Devil''s attention. The person who entered the hall was a young boy, of not more than 10 years. He loved to donn black clothes, and was the complete opposite of the person sitting on the throne. His black clothes, combined with black hair and black mojaris gave off an evil feeling, which was completely opposite to the gentle and warm smile on his face.


    He entered the hall in long strides before coming face to face with the person sitting on the throne and said "Missed me?" to the man sitting on the throne. Flicking his outer robe, he took the seat next to the man on the throne. He pulled out his black handkerchief, rubbed the armrest, before throwing it away, where an eunuch caught it.


    With another flick of his jet-black hair, he asked casually, "So, what''s going on here?" Although he was only ten years old, he was respected by everyone in the court. An attendant narrated the whole course of events to him respectfully. Everyone knew that this boy was moodier than His Majesty.

 42 Eun

    With another flick of his jet-black hair, he asked casually, "So, what''s going on here?" Although he was only ten years old, he was respected by everyone in the court. An attendant narrated the whole course of events to him respectfully. Everyone knew that this boy was moodier than His Majesty.


    His Majesty always said things on their face, but this person would seek revenge for the tiniest details, and was extremely sarcastic.


    "Your Majesty, why didn''t you explain anything to Minister Eric?" the boy said sarcastically.


    "Allen, don''t meddle in this matter. I told him what he needs to do. If he can''t do that, he is not competent enough to stay in this court."


    "Why not, Father?" He asked, holding his chin and rubbing his index finger across it. He further commented, "Father, why don''t you give him the details? What if he messes up all the plans? What if he¡­" He was going to continue further when the man on the throne interrupted him.


    "I know what to do! Did you complete that task?" He asked lazily.


    Allen scratched his head as he turned his head towards his father before meekly saying, "Old Man, I tried to search for him, but there are no signs of him. Could you be mistaken?"


    "You dare to ask me that! Hmph! You are becoming incompetent day by day. Go reflect yourself in Xeruba."


    "Xe... Xeruba? Why that place again, Father?"


    "You are lacking in control over your temperament." The man on the throne shortly answered.


    "The last time it took me two months to enter that place itself. Father, I don''t want to go there." The young boy whined, which his father easily turned an deaf ear to.


    "Either you go to Xeruba or Devil''s Lair. You decide." The man''s languid posture on his majestic throne was the same as he said lazily.


    The young boy gave him a distressed look and said, "Okay fine. I''ll go. You better not regret that."


    The man on the throne smiled gently, but behind his smile was profound cunningness.


    The little boy did not say anything else, he merely humphed, swished his cloak and left the hall followed by a few protectors. They followed him everywhere. They never allowed him out of their sight.


    The languid posture of the man changed as soon as his son left the hall. He sat up straight and ordered, "Investigate this place, Minister Cedrick." He handed a scroll to Minister Cedrick, who opened it to find a place with a trap door with some ancient markings on it. On the back of the scroll was a map. He bowed gently and retreated without a single word.


    "Master." A small elf-like creature uttered and bowed so deep that it''s long nose almost touched the carpet. The lights from the chandelier reflected on its back as it bowed in front of the man sitting on the throne throwing brilliant gleams of light across the entire hall, which reflected off some surface to reach them. It casted various speckles of light across the wall, which left all the courtiers mesmerized.


    They searched for the source of sudden reflection, but nothing caught their eye till they saw a tiny creature bowing in front of His Majesty, as it carried an oval mirror on its back, which was almost twice its size.


    The ornamental mirror was unique. It had ornate gems carved intricately along the periphery of the mirror. Each gemstone had been carved with such precision that each octagonal stone was of the same size. Golden leaves and twigs weaved into each other. The knots were tied around each gem, and the magnificent design of the mirror was enough to make any person look at it and admire it.


    The ministers were looking at the mirror, their mouth agape. How can such a small mirror give off such a beautiful reflection which danced through the entire hall, and shone on the walls. It was a mesmerizing sight to behold.


    ???You may rise, Eun." The man said, mirth apparent in his deep voice. He glanced at his courtiers, and his lips curled up. Then he asked, "So, what news did you bring?"


    "Master, I missed you." The elf-like creature named Eun, stood up straight, and said in a high-pitched, almost bat-like voice.


    "Is that the news?" The mirth dancing in his eyes was revealed through his voice.


    "No, Master." He screeched, and jumped towards his master''s feet, almost crashing onto the foot of the throne, as his Master moved sideways. His lips quivered as he let out a cry of protest, "Master, how could you do this to me? The news is that I found them. But there is another suspicious activity. Some magical activities were there, which I couldn''t establish. Someone suspicious is there in that land. But before I could pick up on the scent, it disappeared." It wailed in its high pitched voice, blasting off the eardrums of some ministers.

 43 Interrogation

    "Master, how could you do this to me? The news is that I found them. But there is another suspicious activity. Some magical activities were there, which I couldn''t establish. Someone suspicious is there in that land. But before I could pick up on the scent, it disappeared." It wailed in its high pitched voice, blasting off the eardrums of some ministers.


    "Stop screeching, Eun." The man shook his head and ordered. Eun''s expression showed that he was extremely wronged. His puckered lips quivered under its Master''s gaze.


    "You may return." He ordered. Eun put up another wronged expression on his face before he disappeared with a poof.


    After Eun''s disappearance, he stood up and said shortly, "Dismissed." He got up from his throne and went in a certain direction. All the courtiers started whispering among themselves.


    **********************


    In present day New York:


    A man was tied to a chair in a shabby basement. The musty stench of damp walls, whose plaster was falling off, invaded the nostrils of the people entering the basement. Although a dim bulb kept the darkness away, it casted long shadows on the walls, which made it a bit eerie. Somewhere, the drip-drop of water could be heard falling against something concrete.


    They made their way to the dimly lit room, and pulled two chairs to face the man sitting all alone in the middle of the room. The switched on another bulb, which no one knew was present. It added enough brightness to the gloomy room.


    The man''s eyelids flickered, but he did not open his eyes.


    "Still want to pretend?" A dry laughter echoed through the entire basement, before the man felt something sharp against his neck. A cold sensation of something metallic and the sharp edge against his soft skin proved his thoughts. It was definitely a knife.


    He did not try to pretend anymore as he slowly opened his eyes. As his eyes were not adjusted to such brightness, he immediately closed his eyes as soon as he opened them.


    They took a jug of water and poured it completely on his face and said, "So, did you think that we won''t do anything to you? Ha ha ha ha ha." A mirthless laughter echoed through the entire basement before stopping abruptly. "Who is the true Mastermind? The faster you tell us, the lesser will be your pain. It is your call now."


    "I don''t know." The man who was tied up spat out through gritted teeth. "Open these damn ropes." He screamed.


    "Are they too tight?"


    "Yes. Open them." The man said, thinking that they will unbound the shackles. But to his disappointment, he felt no movement around him. Curious, he opened his eyes only to find two men and a woman glaring at his direction. They were none other than the Retired General, Brad and Lisa.


    "Why do you think we will open them?" Lisa asked, her arms crossed over her chest, which heaved with her long steady breaths.


    "..." He was speechless. The man tied on the chair was none other than the Dean of Bronx Community College.


    "You have 5 minutes to decide whether you will shield the enemy or come off clean to us. And the time starts now." Saying that, the General, Mr. Cori Lambert placed a timer in front of the Dean, Mr. Collen.


    He did not say anything else. Instead he took his cigar out and placed it in between his teeth before lighting it. He leaned lazily on the chair and rested his right hand at the back of the chair before taking a long drag from the cigar. He puffed out the smoke which rose in circles towards the ceiling before vanishing into nothingness. He continued the process till the cigar reached the bottom.


    "So, what''s your decision?" He put out the cigar, before throwing it away in the corner of the room.


    "I¡­ I¡­" His voice sounded so raspy and different.


    Mr. Lambert poured some water into a glass before he said, "Open your mouth." He placed the glass directly above his mouth before pouring water constantly, even before Mr. Collen could gulp it down.


    His jaw was pressed into a hard line before he questioned again, "Decision?"


    "Kill me if you want to. But I would never tell you anything." Franklin Collen said stubbornly.


    "Do you think that I brought you here to let you die? No one died if I didn''t want them to. And, you had to be on my black book." Saying that he fished out a black notebook and a pen from his coat''s pocket. He placed the cap of the pen in between his lids to open it before scribbling something on the notebook.


    Franklin watched him dumbfoundedly. ''How can someone''s mood change so fast?'' He thought.

 44 Kidnapping

    Franklin watched him dumbfoundedly. ''How can someone''s mood change so fast?'' He thought.


    "Tell me how are you related to that person?" Lisa interrogated.


    "Which person?" He tried to act dumb, but none of them bought the act.


    Brad and his mother crossed their hands over their chest and looked at Franklin imploringly.


    "Tell us something. What is your relation to Raymond Westerfield?" Amelia asked him directly.


    "Heh." Franklin smirked saying, "Why should I tell you?"


    "Haha. If you don''t tell me, then¡­" She trailed off, before giving him a chilly smile, and passing a cell phone to him. On it was playing a video. A man and a woman tied to chairs and were blindfolded and gagged. Two guns were pointed at their forehead.


    He shivered. It was his wife and son. How did they know? That was his first thought as his eyes widened. Another possibility crossed his mind as he shivered.


    "If you don''t choose to cooperate, they will be the next." Amelia answered the question he had in his mind.


    "Don''t do anything to them."


    "Then, speak."


    "I will. I will. Please don''t do anything to them. Please." He kept on pleading, snot running free from his nose. He lowered his head and wiped them on his shirt before he continued, "He approached me a month ago, and asked me to do a few things, and that involved harming him." He pointed at Brad with his chin.


    "Who else is involved?" Brad asked. The matter did not look as simple as the way he mentioned. On asking this question, he saw Franklin shivering.


    "No¡­ No one." He stuttered while looking everywhere other than them.


    "Don''t lie!" They yelled together, scaring Franklin out of his wits.


    "I.. I¡­ I am not lying." Franklin said, clearly afraid of the trio now. Cori, who was silent all this while, got up from the chair, went near Franklin. He pulled his chin with one hand and said, "Enough of the games now. If you don''t spill the beans, forget about them being spared. You are thinking that your grandchildren are safe, aren''t you? Hahahahaha." Franklin heard Cori''s insane laughter and felt frightened.


    "What? What did you do to them? Don''t you dare harm them. "Franklin shouted, but Cori slapped him on the face and said, "Stop yelling. You don''t know of my reputation. Tsk tsk. You won''t have the chance too. Not anymore."


    Cori opened his cell this time, before passing it on to Franklin. He saw a boy and a girl of the same age playing with two burly men. They looked quite happy. They were none other than his grandchildren.


    Franklin gulped as he saw the video. It had no sound, but he could see that they were happy with the men. What if they kill him? What if they destroy everything? Many what ifs were running through his mind as he pondered whether to sell Raymond out or not. Raymond was no one, but they are his family.


    "I¡­ Raymond is somehow associated with Mr. Tyson. It was Mr. Tyson who asked him to harm Brad and everyone related to him." He told everyone what he knew, and pleaded, "I told you what I knew. Please spare them."


    "Why would he want to harm Brad?" Amelia was completely puzzled now. She looked at Brad and asked, "What enmity do you have with them to try taking your life?"


    "I don''t know, Mum." He knew that his mother''s identity was a secret, so he kept as quiet as possible through the entire process. What he failed to understand was, why would they try to harm anyone related to him.


    He called Olympia through their soul connection and asked, "Do you know the reason?"


    "No Master, I don''t." Olympia was puzzled too. Merely beating someone in the competition should not make someone go as far to kill their family members. Something extremely fishy was going on, and they failed to lay hands on it.


    "Master, let''s go to the East Village right now." Olympia suddenly said.


    Brad nodded before tugging on Amelia''s clothes. "Mum, can I leave?" He asked as softly as possible.


    "Where do you want to go?"


    ??EV" He said the short form, hoping that his mother would understand, and she surely did. He called out again, "Mum?"


    "Yes, my child?"


    "Mum, Father? Can he be saved?"


    "Brad, believe in Olympia. She can do it."


    Brad nodded, and Amelia patted him on his head. Both of them nodded at each other again before Brad silently left the place.


    As he walked through the streets, he felt someone following him. His sharp senses helped him. Olympia said, "Master, we have company."


    "Mmm." Brad hummed in response, as he closed his eyes and tried to sense the surroundings. Having no education in magic, he couldn''t do anything. But he could easily sense his surroundings.


    He found everything so still. There was no sound except for his footsteps against the concrete pavement. He couldn''t even detect their breaths. As he was mulling over these thoughts, someone came up from behind him and said, "Hands up."


    He could feel a cold metal against his head. Obediently, he raised his arms over his head.


    "Come with us." The voice belonged to a middle aged man. Brad did not protest and let them pull him away.


    Olympia nearly lost her patience. She yelled from her space, "Master, let me out. NOW."


    Brad calmly answered her, "No."

 45 Kidnapping - II

    "Hehe, Kid, what do you think you were doing?" Brad heard an evil laughter, as they took him near a truck, before pushing him in. Brad obediently went inside, as he wanted to get to the bottom of the matter.


    The kidnappers chatted among themselves about how their boss would be happy for the fact that they finished their tasks.


    Olympia was fuming inside the space. "Why are you stopping me Master? Let me out. I will definitely kill them." She walked in circles and shouted.


    "You are making me dizzy. Stop it Olympia, and let me focus." Brad chided her in his mind before focussing on the matter at hand.


    Olympia''s already gloomy face became darker as she humphed, and turned around to sit in one corner of her allocated space.


    "Aww, come on. Don''t sulk." Brad tried to pacify her anger but Olympia harrumphed, so Brad let her be. Brad was going to say something, when he heard a movement. He noticed something which increased his vigilance. The truck was going at its full speed, there was no motion inside the truck. Everything was still.


    "How could this be?" Brad thought to himself, his brows furrowed in concentration.


    "What happened? Why are you frowning?" One of the kidnappers asked.


    Brad signalled them that he needed water.


    One of them removed the gag from his mouth, and forced a bottle to his lips, and said in an irritated tone, "Drink fast."


    Brad nodded his head before drinking it. He slowly fell into a slumber, and dreamt of his parents, his friends, his companions, Olympia, and Deablo being slaughtered. Soon, the scene changed into a person standing with a longsword in his hand over a pile of dead bodies.


    He looked carefully at the person, only to realize that it was him all along. He was so shocked that he shivered. He felt cold. Too cold. Was it the AC? But he remembered that he was sitting in a truck. How can there be an AC inside a truck? He realized that he was sweating too much. His shirt was now fully wet from his sweat.


    ??Where is this place?" Brad wondered.


    The vehicle didn''t seem to stop, and he felt it was the longest time. Brad was never the one who could take things slow. He was always on the move. Sitting in the vehicle bored him a lot. He wanted to do something, but the lack of sights did not allow him.


    Suddenly, Brad thought. We are in New York City, and travelling by truck means it won''t take much longer to move from one place to another. Suddenly, Brad had this lightbulb moment where he understood that the kidnappers must be roaming in circles, in order not to leave any trails.


    Brad wished that they would make it faster. He was losing his patience. He sighed in his heart. He had to go to the East Village too. He was tempted to call Olympia and let her end these people, but resisted the temptation.


    "Why do you think Boss asked us to kidnap this kid?" What they didn''t know was Brad hated being called a kid.


    Brad was now fuming with extreme anger. "They dared to call me a kid. Just you wait, Imma show you what a kid can do."


    After what it seemed another hour or two, the truck stopped. Brad thought to himself, "At long last it stopped. Any more and I would have been too frustrated and called Olympia. Thank God they didn''t test my patience limit."


    As Brad was thinking these, he was forcefully pulled out of the truck before being dragged to somewhere else.


    Brad extended his senses to feel the surrounding vastness. He couldn''t feel anything other than the wind brushing past him. There was a faint sound of the same wind blowing against a metallic structure.


    ''It is definitely a warehouse. But why did they bring me here?'' Brad''s blindfold was removed, but it didn''t affect his vision as it was nighttime, and there was no light in the vast field. When he looked ahead, he saw a warehouse.


    He turned to look at the kidnappers, who were unlike the jovial self, were now walking straight and stiff. He was amused at their change, but his smile froze as he saw something from the corner of his eye.

 46 Fear

    He turned to look at the kidnappers, who were unlike the jovial self, were now walking straight and stiff. He was amused at their change, but his smile froze as he saw something from the corner of his eye.


    From one corner of the eye, he saw a person approaching him. The person was slowly walking towards them with his head held high. He was almost 6''6'''' tall. A big moustache covered his upper lip. He took a drag from his cigar and released the smoke, which swirled and twirled as it rose up into the sky. He looked at the vanishing smoke with a contemplative look on his handsome yet scarred face.


    It exudes so much grace and elegance. Brad stared at the man, whom he was familiar with. He was none other than Luke Tyson, the father of Samuel Tyson, as well as his father''s nemesis.


    But what was he doing here? Brad has this question in his mind. His mind reeled with various thoughts. Why would Mr. Tyson be here of all places? Especially when he was kidnapped. Something was terribly wrong here. Brad knew it all in his heart, but was rather reluctant to believe them.


    "All of you did a good job." A deep magnetic voice sounded from the back, and Brad''s heart jumped. An absolute dread filled his heart, which he never felt before.


    He tried to calm himself down, but something within him warned him that the voice that he heard was someone not to be messed with. It was as if he knew that the man was dangerous. But how could he? He never saw the man ever before. He craned his neck to the side to have a better look.


    A man with a huge white beard donning white cloak came into his view. He had an emblem of a half moon drawn between his brows. It glowed in the moonlight. ''Phosphorus?'' Brad thought to himself.


    "My lord." Luke deeply bowed in front of him.


    "You may rise." The saintly man with an evil aura said with a swish of his cloak.


    "Yes, my lord." Luke kept his head bowed, and Brad snickered. It felt too funny. But why would they kidnap him of all people? He was getting really irritated at their slo-mo melodrama. ''Is this ancient time? My lord and all.'' Brad cursed them in his mind for wasting his time.


    "So, this is the sprout which decided to poke his nose into your business." He said before he turned towards Brad and said, "You have quite the guts, Boy."


    Brad stared at him blankly. Actually, it was not his fault. He did not understand what he did. But out of the corner of the eye, when he saw Luke smirking, he understood. He raised an eyebrow at them and said confidently, "Are you sure that you are blaming the right person?"


    "What do you mean?"


    "Hehe. If I tell you everything, what is the need for verification? Find it out yourself." Brad smirked. The fear he felt earlier was long gone. He whispered to Olympia, "Who is this man?"


    "Master, it is not good for you to know about him." Olympia replied shakily.

 47 The dangerous man

    "What do you mean?" Brad asked Olympia through their consciousness.


    "Master, ask no more." Brad could feel something was wrong with Olympia. He closed his eyes and probed his consciousness, only to find Olympia standing in one corner, clutching her head with her hands.


    "What happened to you? Brad asked as he wanted to rush into the space, but Olympia stopped him. "Master, stay where you are." Olympia''s voice faded away as she fell into deep slumber.


    "Olympia, noooooooooooo." Brad shouted, as he wanted to rush in, but he heard a deep magnetic voice in his mind, "Stay where you are. Do not step into the fantasy space now.


    "Who are you?" Brad asked cautiously.


    "Hahahahaha." Brad heard a magnetic laughter which could calm everyone''s soul. Before Brad could open his mouth to question again, he heard him say in a slow voice, ensnaring all his senses, "I am you, and you are me. We are the same, yet we are so different. One day you will know. Now is not the right time."


    Brad was transfixed in astonishment. He couldn''t make head or tail out of the voice. ''What did he mean by that?'' Brad wondered, but seeing him in a daze, the man in front called out, "You tiny sapling dare to spout nonsense!"


    Brad was completely stunned. He wondered what he did this time. The next sentence that came out of the mouth of the man clad in white completely stunned him. "Why did you kill Samuel?"


    Out of everything, Brad never had this expectation. His mouth hung open as he stared at the man who looked askance at him. He really wanted to punch him hard, but resisted the temptation. Brad composed himself before asking back, "Are you sure that I killed him?"


    Before that man could open his mouth to retort, Brad fired another question at him, "Are you completely sure that someone else didn''t kill him, and blaming it upon me?" As he said this, he smirked and slightly tilted his neck to stare straight at Luke. Giving him a provocative smile, he turned away and focused on the person in front.


    Feigning innocence, he provoked, "So, you nothing, and yet came to charge me. Tsk Tsk."


    "Luke, come here."


    "Yes, my Lord." Luke Tyson came forward and stood with his head bowed.


    "What the boy said, is that true?" The man who was referred to as ''Lord'' asked in a commanding voice.


    "My lord. Maaaaiiii Lorrrrd." He stuttered and shivered, but did not answer the question.


    "Answer me." He said again. His magnetic voice reached Brad''s ears and he shivered too for some reason.


    "My Lord, I didn''t do anything." As he blurted it out, he bit his tongue.


    "So, you killed him. Didn''t I ask you not to do anything to him? You tried to fool me, huh?" The Lord was terribly angry at being fooled. He looked like he would explode soon, but he didn''t. He calmly turned to face Brad and enunciated slowly, "I am sorry. You can go."


    Brad wasn''t sure but he too felt that the man was really dangerous. He felt that what he said was not what he thought. Brad was sure that he couldn''t read the man well. When Brad was thinking about these, he heard a noise and¡­

 48 They found him

    Brad wasn''t sure but he too felt that the man was really dangerous. He felt that what he said was not what he thought. Brad was sure that he couldn''t read the man well. When Brad was thinking about these, he heard a noise and a loud groan.


    He broke out of reverie and saw that Luke was writing on the ground holding his broken arm. But the funny thing was, he wasn''t screaming at all. He kept his mouth shut and was rolling from side to side.


    The man titled "Lord" had a smile on his face as he watched Luke writhe in pain. He looked at Brad out of the corner of his eyes and gave a mysterious smile.


    Brad knew that the smile was meant to be intimidating for him. But why? That was the question Brad couldn''t find an answer to.


    Brad shook off all the thoughts from his mind, as he focussed on the journey to the East Village. He needed to reach the East Village as early as possible. He knew that Olympia''s condition was getting worse by every passing minute.


    Since the man did not harm him, he gave him a polite nod before he slowly backed away. The man smiled and looked at him with a twinkle in his eyes.


    "At last I found you." He whispered when Brad was quite a distance away from him.


    ****************


    "Master, I have great news." A squeaky voice said with great excitement.


    "Shoot, and I will decide whether it is great or not." The man replied without lifting his eyes from the stack of papers sitting on his ancient desk, as he was squinting at them in the dim light from an old oil lamp. Holding a quill in between his teeth, he shook his head before dipping it into the inkpot and scribbling something on the paper.


    "Erm¡­"


    "Why aren''t you speaking, Eun?"


    "Master, they found him."


    "What?" The man sitting behind the desk was so shocked that he dropped his quill on the parchment, and upturned the whole ink bottle.


    "Yes, Master. They found him." Eun bowed his head before continuing, "Master, I failed you."


    "Go and bring this news to that brat. He would know what to do."


    "But Master, he is in ''that place''." Eun reminded his master.


    "Release all the mechanisms at once." He ordered.


    "But Master, he can die there!" Eun jumped in shock at his master''s statement and fell, hurting his backside. He looked at his master dumbly for a while. Then he got up, massaged his backside and said, "Isn''t that too cruel?"


    "Eun, you don''t understand." The man shook his head and got up from his chair. He walked slowly towards the window, and looked at the setting sun. It colored the entire sky red, the shade of red, one would see in the battlefield. A shade of red he saw through his entire life. A shade of red that still stings his heart. How much he wished that he was there. Those bastards were lucky to have escaped his clutches, but not anymore.


    Eun felt the changes of his master''s fluctuating mood. From melancholy to bitterness to malice. Underneath them, he could feel the subtle feeling of regret. But Eun didn''t know why his master felt regret. What was it that hurt his master so much?


    "Master." He slowly called out afraid to disturb him, but he wasn''t sure about releasing all the mechanisms. ''If Little Master dies due to that, Master will surely blame me. No, I can''t let that happen. How will I find my Euness? I still haven''t married. No one will take me as their husband if I have a bad reputation.'' He frowned at his thought and cleared his throat again. This time, he called loudly, "MASTER!"


    "Huh? What are you doing here?" Eun''s master answered him.


    Hearing his master''s question, he slapped his forehead and then slowly but carefully replied, "Master¡­ Lil Master¡­ He¡­ I don''t think¡­"


    "Just do what I asked you to. He will be fine. He is my child. And after you finish the task, gather some information on them. It is time for me to visit that place." The last part of the sentence, he murmured to himself.


    "As you wish, Master." Eun deeply bowed, his long nose automatically touching the ground before retreating to finish his tasks.

 49 Laurie

    As soon as Eun left the room, the man turned towards the desk and whispered, "I wish that you reach that place soon."


    He shook his head and gathered all the parchments and cleared the ink that had already spilled on it. "Clear." A rapid hand movement is what it took for him to clear the ink.


    "Tsk Tsk. That fool scared me so much. He will be fine. He has that person by his side."


    "I dunno what he is doing. This is truly frustrating." He murmured to He looked out of the window and saw a black cat walking along the banks of the pond and stirring the water with its short stubby paws.


    "Misha." He called out, and the cat looked at him with its purple orbs. It seemed to be saying, "Why are you bothering me now?"


    He shook his head before saying softly, "Come ''ere."


    The cat, Misha, slowly walked towards him gracefully, and purred.


    "I know. I know." He replied to the purr.


    As the cat lazily entered the room, she spun around, and in a blink of eyes she turned into a beautiful woman with raven black hair which reached her waist. Her fair skin was so smooth that if a water drop was placed on her skin, then it would smoothly glide across her skin. Her face was cat-like, which she was.


    Her wavy raven-black hair was similar to the waves of an ocean. It continued to billow even when there was no wind. There was a black obsidian ring on her left hand ring-finger. As she stood here she continued twisting that ring. Then, she placed her hands inside the pocket of the figure-hugging skinny tight black pants.


    She was donning a tight black shirt matching with her pants, which was also hugging her slim figure accentuating the curves well. She gave the man a disgruntled look and purred lazily, "Why didn''t you let me play with those sweethearts?"


    "Misha, stop scaring them."


    "As if they are scared!" She rolled her eyes before she leapt onto the desk and stretched there lazily.


    "Tell me the real reason why you called me." Her purple eyes twinkled with mischief. Her thin red lips parted as she inhaled a deep breath and suddenly broke into laughter. She continued, "What bad thing are you going to do?"


    The white-clad man said, "Misha, why are you so naughty?"


    "What naughty? I am not naughty. I am the most innocent soul one can find on this planet earth. I am an angel."


    "Yeah, and all angels are devils then." He answered, shaking his head slowly from side to side.


    "What? You don''t believe this fairy. How could you do that? How? I thought you knew me well, Laurie. Now, it seems that''s not the case anymore. "


    "Stop using that nickname. Eew. It is so cringey." He shivered, as he said.


    "What? It is so cuteeee!!!" Misha answered, her cat-like ears bouncing as she broke into peals of laughter.


    "Stop it." Laurie''s ears turned red as he continued to say, "I called you for some important reason. Listen to that and later, you will have lots of fun later. You can call me with any nickname you like." He said cautiously, as he knew that convincing Misha was the hardest thing to do.


    "What?" She said dramatically placing her hands on both sides of her chubby face. "Laurie, that''s not a worthy reason for me to work. COme on Laurie, offer me something better." She crossed one of her legs over the other before she swung them.


    Seeing her put up an innocent look, he goosebumps all over his body. The crooked smile on her face gave away all the evil thoughts she had on her mind.


    "Why are you looking at me like that, Laurie? You want to gobble me up? You can. I am free." She slowly stretched on the table completely and gave a provocative smile to Laurie.


    "Stop it."


    "Aww, come on, Laurie. For how many years will you remain a virgin?"


    "What the hell! I am not a virgin. I have a son for God''s sake. So, stop it Misha." All of a sudden, Laurie became serious. Then, he continued, "I need your help with something. I need you to go to that place. He might need protection."


    "And why would I do that?" She still had a lazy smile on her face, but something about her purple orbs said that she was paying attention.


    "Because he might be in danger. They found him." That was Laurie''s words before he turned around. He added, "And you vowed to protect him." He left immediately after saying that.


    Misha sat there all alone in the room as she remembered the old times. He was the handsome man she decided to protect with her life. In the end, he died. All because of her. Slowly, drops of tears fell from her eyes, soaking her dress wet.

 51 Misha

    Misha sat there all alone in the room as she remembered the old times. He was the handsome man she decided to protect with her life. In the end, he died. All because of her. Slowly, drops of tears fell from her eyes, soaking her dress wet.


    Misha stared outside, and saw that the whole sky was gloomy. She smiled through her tears. She always seemed to think that the whole sky is always so much in sync with her mood.


    Her sadness seeped through the air and reached the clouds to come down on the Earth as rain. The water droplets seeps through the pores of the ground and laces the soil particles lovingly. It is almost the same love as the mother who returns back home to her kids and showers them with lots of love.


    Misha saw the fishes jumping in the pond, overjoyed with the rain. She smiled helplessly. Those tiny creatures are so innocent. They love her so much, even while knowing that she might eat them up. She somehow formed a bond with them unknowingly. She cared for them. With the thought of ''care'', a teardrop escaped her eyes and she wiped it off with her sleeve.


    Suddenly, Misha remembered why she was here. She dusted off her pants and moved her palm in the air drawing certain symbols and a sky blue shimmering light appeared at the same place she drew something. She looked at the portal and whispered, "Hah! My magic is not the same anymore. It used to be so bright previously." She shook her head and stepped through the portal.


    The light flickered for once, but didn''t harm her. As soon as she entered it, she muttered, "East Village."


    As if understanding her command, the portal vanished from the room, leaving the room the same way it was before. The candlelight was flickering and the pitter-patter of rain drops proved that it wasn''t a dream.


    Eun poked his long nose inside the room and saw that there was no one. He ran hurriedly with his short stubbly legs and when he finally reached his destination, he stood there panting out of breath.


    "Master, she is gone.??


    "I know. Tell them to stay alert. Keep an eye on them."


    "As you command, Master."


    "You may take your leave now." He commanded Eun. Eun deeply bowed in the similar way as before, his long nose touching the carpet on the floor.


    As Eun excused himself, Laurie went to the inner chambers of his bedroom and sat cross legged there and closed his eyes, slowly relaxing his senses. His room was magically protected, so he could stay there without any disturbance. Relaxing his senses and calming them down, he tried to focus on something on his mind.


    He calmed his mind down, and let his consciousness wander to a mysterious place. It was completely dark there. Tiny specs of light gleamed like fireflies floating in the dark, giving off an impression of profound mystery.


    Laurie stood there with his eyes closed and then slowly enunciated, "My Lord, I need your help."


    He kept chanting it like a mantra. He knew that if the Lord did not come then there would be a lot of problems. Misha would not be able to handle it. He knew that Misha might have a panic attack seeing that person again. Who knows what might happen. He did not want to take any risk. He did not like to take risks whose outcomes, he was unsure of.


    A tiny silhouette was visible at the farthest end of the place. The rustle of his long cloak could be heard against the ground, which felt mossy beneath his feet, in the timeless and hypnotic silence.


    The tiny silhouette grew larger and larger as it came nearer, and a woman stepped out of the shadows to join the man who was blessing him with his majestic presence.


    Laurie slowly bowed down, unable to bear the extreme oppression from the person in front of him.


    "Why have you summoned this Lord? This Lord was having an amazing time with his wife." The lady standing beside the man did not even blush at his words, but the surrounding temperatures rose a few degrees.


    Her features were so exquisite that even Gods envied her. But she was always loyal to her husband, to whom no woman dared to get close to.


    "My love, are you hungry?" He asked his wife gently.


    "No." Answering stiffly, she turned to face the man bowing in front of them and asked, "What happened? What help do you want?" Her face was too serious, and stern.


    "Umm¡­ I need help with the situation at the East Village. I sent Misha, but I am sure she still blames herself for his death. So¡­" He trailed off.


    Each of them stood there in deep contemplation. They knew that Misha was being too hard on herself. She might break down seeing him. They weren''t sure anymore.


    "What sort of help do you want from us? You know that we are bound by magic. We have our rules. Unless something terrible happens, we are not supposed to go there."


    "Yes, my Lord, I know that. It is just that, I have had this ominous feeling for a long time since I entrusted this task to Misha. I think something could go so wrong. Something, which I am not able to turn into words." He stopped, and a profound and dreadful silence followed his words.


    "What do you think of this, my Love?" The Lord turned to his Lady and asked.


    "I think we should not meddle."


    Laurie raised his head and wanted to argue but a hand stopped him.


    "Enough! What my lady says goes. We can''t meddle in this and he needs to face those hurdles on his own. And, I suggest that you ask Misha not to meddle too. She needs to keep an eye on him, and keep him safe if any danger arises."

 50 Misha

    Misha sat there all alone in the room as she remembered the old times. He was the handsome man she decided to protect with her life. In the end, he died. All because of her. Slowly, drops of tears fell from her eyes, soaking her dress wet.


    Misha stared outside, and saw that the whole sky was gloomy. She smiled through her tears. She always seemed to think that the whole sky is always so much in sync with her mood.


    Her sadness seeped through the air and reached the clouds to come down on the Earth as rain. The water droplets seeps through the pores of the ground and laces the soil particles lovingly. It is almost the same love as the mother who returns back home to her kids and showers them with lots of love.


    Misha saw the fishes jumping in the pond, overjoyed with the rain. She smiled helplessly. Those tiny creatures are so innocent. They love her so much, even while knowing that she might eat them up. She somehow formed a bond with them unknowingly. She cared for them. With the thought of ''care'', a teardrop escaped her eyes and she wiped it off with her sleeve.


    Suddenly, Misha remembered why she was here. She dusted off her pants and moved her palm in the air drawing certain symbols and a sky blue shimmering light appeared at the same place she drew something. She looked at the portal and whispered, "Hah! My magic is not the same anymore. It used to be so bright previously." She shook her head and stepped through the portal.


    The light flickered for once, but didn''t harm her. As soon as she entered it, she muttered, "East Village."


    As if understanding her command, the portal vanished from the room, leaving the room the same way it was before. The candlelight was flickering and the pitter-patter of rain drops proved that it wasn''t a dream.


    Eun poked his long nose inside the room and saw that there was no one. He ran hurriedly with his short stubbly legs and when he finally reached his destination, he stood there panting out of breath.


    "Master, she is gone.??


    "I know. Tell them to stay alert. Keep an eye on them."


    "As you command, Master."


    "You may take your leave now." He commanded Eun. Eun deeply bowed in the similar way as before, his long nose touching the carpet on the floor.


    As Eun excused himself, Laurie went to the inner chambers of his bedroom and sat cross legged there and closed his eyes, slowly relaxing his senses. His room was magically protected, so he could stay there without any disturbance. Relaxing his senses and calming them down, he tried to focus on something on his mind.


    He calmed his mind down, and let his consciousness wander to a mysterious place. It was completely dark there. Tiny specs of light gleamed like fireflies floating in the dark, giving off an impression of profound mystery.


    Laurie stood there with his eyes closed and then slowly enunciated, "My Lord, I need your help."


    He kept chanting it like a mantra. He knew that if the Lord did not come then there would be a lot of problems. Misha would not be able to handle it. He knew that Misha might have a panic attack seeing that person again. Who knows what might happen. He did not want to take any risk. He did not like to take risks whose outcomes, he was unsure of.


    A tiny silhouette was visible at the farthest end of the place. The rustle of his long cloak could be heard against the ground, which felt mossy beneath his feet, in the timeless and hypnotic silence.


    The tiny silhouette grew larger and larger as it came nearer, and a woman stepped out of the shadows to join the man who was blessing him with his majestic presence.


    Laurie slowly bowed down, unable to bear the extreme oppression from the person in front of him.


    "Why have you summoned this Lord? This Lord was having an amazing time with his wife." The lady standing beside the man did not even blush at his words, but the surrounding temperatures rose a few degrees.


    Her features were so exquisite that even Gods envied her. But she was always loyal to her husband, to whom no woman dared to get close to.


    "My love, are you hungry?" He asked his wife gently.


    "No." Answering stiffly, she turned to face the man bowing in front of them and asked, "What happened? What help do you want?" Her face was too serious, and stern.


    "Umm¡­ I need help with the situation at the East Village. I sent Misha, but I am sure she still blames herself for his death. So¡­" He trailed off.


    Each of them stood there in deep contemplation. They knew that Misha was being too hard on herself. She might break down seeing him. They weren''t sure anymore.


    "What sort of help do you want from us? You know that we are bound by magic. We have our rules. Unless something terrible happens, we are not supposed to go there."


    "Yes, my Lord, I know that. It is just that, I have had this ominous feeling for a long time since I entrusted this task to Misha. I think something could go so wrong. Something, which I am not able to turn into words." He stopped, and a profound and dreadful silence followed his words.


    "What do you think of this, my Love?" The Lord turned to his Lady and asked.


    "I think we should not meddle."


    Laurie raised his head and wanted to argue but a hand stopped him.


    "Enough! What my lady says goes. We can''t meddle in this and he needs to face those hurdles on his own. And, I suggest that you ask Misha not to meddle too. She needs to keep an eye on him, and keep him safe if any danger arises."

 51 The Dog, the moon and the wind

    Misha walked on as her heels clicked against the cobbled path of the greenway. Few people were jogging at this hour. Few of them were accompanied by their pet dogs. She heard one bark at her. ''Stupid dog'', she muttered under her breath, careful not to let the lady hear.


    She knew it could see for who she was or rather, what she was. She landed beside some riverside park in the Atmosphere City, when she exited the portal. She wondered why they called the city, ''Atmosphere City''. The park seemed deserted at such late hours, so she could turn into her cat self and jump over the fence. She sighed in relief seeing no one around, as she transformed back to a human and started lazily strolling when this dog had to bark at her.


    She scrunched her eyebrows as she thought of her plan. She just came to keep an eye on him. But she was excited. After so many years, she is going to meet him. Would he recognize her? A part of her wanted him to remember her and another part wanted him not to remember her. Her face changed faster than the weather in Autumn. From initial glee to final despair, she looked forlorn. As if the world conspired against her at the same time, the cobbled street in front was just as desolate as the inner recess of her mind.


    The beautiful moon casted its pale white light on the lonely streets leaving the shadows of the tall willow trees to accompany the lone people walking at this hour, basking them in the cool, almost peaceful glow. The breeze decided to accompany the lonely moon in its journey for the entire night.


    With an unhurried rhythm, the always-so-gentle breeze drifted through the branches of the trees making the leaves flutter and dance in its rhythm. The sweet melody seemed to enchant any soul passing by. It accompanied the fallen, broken, aged, frail leaves rustling and dancing tango, matching their rhythm with its own.


    Misha took everything in and thought to herself, ''These two can never be a pair, yet one never stops pursuing the other.'' A gentle smile blossomed on her cat-like face. Her long, enchanting, dark hair seemed to dance in its own rhythm following the wind. Her purple orbs searched for someone in those empty streets.


    Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw a skinny young man walking along the riverside leisurely. There was nothing special about the boy, but if one looks at him closely, one would notice that there are traces of magic on him.


    Misha shrugged off the thoughts and looked at the river again. ''He is supposed to be here. Why isn''t he here yet?'' Misha thought to herself.


    As she enjoyed the beautiful view of New York City at night, she almost forgot about her purpose of coming there, when she heard a bang nearby. She paid no heed to that, but numerous bangs were heard. She thought that it was best to check.

 52 Attic

    Suddenly, a bad premonition rose within Misha''s heart as she slowly made her way towards the place she heard the bangs. Her powers could take her faster there, but she forgot about them in her nervousness.


    As she reached a narrow alley, she saw the person she was finding all this while standing surrounded by people with guns. Time seemed to have stopped for Misha. A bullet seemed to be moving towards the person she waited for so long to meet. A single teardrop escaped her eyes and slid down her cheeks landing on the ground, mixing with the ground. A small beautiful flower grew out of the place where the tear fell.


    No one realised, but time actually froze at that moment. Misha ran towards Brad as he stood there surrounded by uniformed men and a bullet was moving in slow motion almost close to his heart.


    Misha madly dashed towards Brad and forced him out of the way and stood in his place, and faced the strange looking instruments and the bullet, which seemed heavily lethal to her.


    She spun around, grabbed Brad''s hand and madly dashed towards the riverside. She jumped over the fence and pulled Brad inside the fence. Without looking back, she ran straight towards the direction of East Village.


    She knew that his destination was East Village, but she did not know who those attackers were. She looked back to see Brad''s face all scrunched up and his eyebrows were knitted closely together. She stopped and asked in a most gentle voice she could muster, "Are you alright?"


    "Yeah, we are short on time. Let''s go!" Brad answered. She could tell that he was not okay, but she had to move forward, and as he said, they were short on time. Climbing over the fences, jumping over the benches, she did what she could do to bring him to the East Village at the fastest speed possible.


    *************


    East Village, Firenice Mansion:


    In the courtyard, a lovely lady was sitting with her daughter and her mother in law on a throne specifically made for her. She glanced at the attic and said, "I wonder when he would arrive."


    "How do you know who will arrive?" Asked her daughter.


    "The thing that is upstairs can only be taken by a girl, but she needs someone to accompany her, and without him, she would never be able to retrieve the item."


    "Wow, there is such a thing too. I am amazed at these things. Mom, please allow me to see what the thing is, please."


    "No. No one can open the attic door."


    "So we have to wait?"


    "Yes."


    "Alright then, I shall wait. I would request that person to show it to me."


    The old and the young said nothing as they sat in silence together. A slight piano melody was playing on the gramophone.


    They waited for a certain person''s arrival.


    ********


    Outside the residence:


    "Master, I advise you not to go through the front door. I can sense some ill intentions coming from the people sitting in the hallway." Olympia told Brad from the consciousness space.


    "Alright, we will do as you say." He replied to her before turning towards Misha and saying, "Dear Lady, I don''t know your name. What should I call you? Many thanks for saving my life again."


    "You don''t need to be thankful to me. It is my duty. And my name is Misha. You can call me Mish, if you want."


    "Wait. Hold on! What do you mean by ''duty''?"


    "I am born to serve you, Brad."


    "How do you know my name? Just who are you?"


    "As I said, I am Misha, and I am meant to protect you from any harm."


    "How do I believe you?"


    "Can I not be believed even after saving you from those people?"


    "You can be a spy too."


    "Haha. Ok, what would you like me to do to get your confidence?"


    "Prove it."


    "Alright."


    Misha closed her eyes and then opened them, her purple orbs shining in the pale moonlight. With a deep voice so unlike her usual self, she said in a flat tone, "May the heavens be the witness to the oath I take today, that I, Misha, would never in life or in death will harm Brad Holman or his soul."


    A single bolt of lightning entered Misha''s body holding her in place. Brad looked at her and said, "What is that?"


    "An oath to never harm you. Now do you believe me?"


    Brad nodded his head to show that he believed her.


    "Good. But my oath comes at a price, so allow me to follow you." She looked pleadingly at him.


    "What do you mean?"


    "There is no time to explain. Quickly go and do what you are supposed to do, then we can talk about it. Meanwhile, I will stand guard here."


    "Alright then." Brad said before leaving reluctantly. He moved towards the back of the mansion and called Olympia out.


    Olympia came out and transformed into a lady and pulled Brad into her embrace as she jumped towards the attic. With one foot on the ground, she propelled her body to bolt towards the sky. As she neared the attic, she slowed down and caught the window handle, spun around and entered the window.


    She saw a spiral staircase and accompanying it was a trap door. She climbed the staircase and then released Brad.


    She went towards the trapdoor which had an aura completely similar to her. She knew that this was her inheritance, and hence, she closed her eyes, circulated her aura and then concentrated them on each of her hands before placing both of the palms on each side of the trapdoor. It was as if someone was guiding her. She knew exactly what to do when she reached there.


    The auras spiralled on the door, but the door still did not open. Brad watched her with his mouth wide opened.

 53 Door and Clues

    Olympia was confused as to why there was no response from the trapdoor. She looked at Brad and asked, "What''s wrong, Master?"


    "I can sense something, but can''t point it out what it is." His eyebrows scrunched in concentration again. He tried to sense his surroundings with his consciousness, but was unable to do so.


    "Master, this is important for us. How do we know what to do?"


    "Aren''t all legacy(1) accompanied with some ancient texts?"


    "Should be."


    "Let''s search for it together since we don''t have much time left.."


    Olympia nodded and walked towards the eastern corner of the room, while Brad moved towards the North.


    They searched through various items as their eyes searched for some ancient battered text. There were many items in the room - mostly junk. Searching through them was hard. Broken items were scattered across the floor and they rummaged through all the nooks and crooks of the room, but nothing caught their attention.


    "Master, how can this be?"


    "Is there no way to enter it?"


    "There must be a way. Let''s do this together." Brad suggested.


    "How?"


    "Even I don''t know, but something inside me says that if we do it together, we will achieve success."


    "Where to start?"


    "Let''s do one thing."


    "Wait, what is that?"


    "I''m sorry. What is what?" Brad asked.


    "That thing over there. Look!" Olympia pointed at a brand new book at the corner of the room. As they were looking at all the dilapidated things, they overlooked this book.


    "Hmm? Let''s go and see what that is."


    Olympia and Brad went to the farthest corner of the attic, and picked up the brand new book, and tried to open it, but no matter how much they tried, it didn''t open. Olympia went as far as to insert her fingernails(claws) to pry it open, but to no avail. It did not open.


    They looked at each other and a fleeting thought crossed their mind together. They looked at each other and then placed their hands onto the other and then focussed their energies onto their palms and placed it onto the book.


    Under the element of Ice, Fire and Darkness and Light, the book opened. A blinding flash of multicolored light illuminated the entire attic. It was so mesmerizing that instead of covering their eyes, they opened them wide.


    Among the myriad of colors and auras, there was a saintly semi-translucent figure floating inside a halo.


    "So you found me?" The saintly figure asked.


    "What do you mean?"


    "I am Boyd, the protector of Demiden Legacy. No one other than the rightful owner of the legacy can spot this book." Boyd pointed at the book lying in Olympia''s hand.


    "What is this Legacy?"


    "Ha ha ha ha ha. I won''t tell you that. Rather, I can''t. You got to find it out yourself, and there is a time limit of 6 hours only. You need to find the legacy before the sunrise, otherwise, it will vanish for another 1000 years."


    "But¡­"


    "Aha, boy, there are no ifs and buts. You have to make sure to find the legacy, else, you have to find the backlash of knowing about the legacy."


    "What''s with so many rules?"


    "Hahahahaha. There are more. Would you like to hear them? Hahaha." Boyd gave them a creepy smile.


    "Give us some clues, at least."


    "Ah, clues. Let me think. It has been thousands of years. Hmm¡­"


    "See yourself in the medieval times and return with the only thing you are afraid of. Choosing light or darkness will the bearer decide. Choices lead to glory, and choices lead to doom. Think before you make choices."


    "So, we just have to make choices?"


    "Who knows? But remember, you have to return before the sunrise. Otherwise, you will be trapped there forever."


    "Okay, Boyd. But, we can''t seem to be able to enter this place either. How do we enter?"


    "That is why I am here. I shall help you pass through this door only if you correctly answer three of my riddles."


    "What are those?"


    "My first question is: The man who built me doesn''t want me. The man who bought me doesn''t need me. The man who needs me doesn''t know it. What am I?"


    "My second question is: I am greater than the gods, more evil than the devils. The rich need me, the poor have me. What am I?"


    "And my last question is: I bring back the lost as though never gone. I shine laughter and tears with light long since shone; I am a moment to make, a lifetime to shed; I am valued then but lost when you''re dead. What am I?"


    "Answer them and I will let you pass. If you can''t answer them, there is a way and that is to find the way on your own. Hahahahahaha."


    "But, that is not an option at all. We need to get there as soon as we can. But the questions that you asked are pretty hard to answer. How can you do that? Is there really no other way????


    "No, this is the only way. Either this or that."


    "Master, we can choose to answer his questions. Who knows, we might be able to answer them?"


    "Okay. Let''s do that."


    "But what is the thing that is not needed by the one that builds it or buys it? And, the person who needs it doesn''t know. This is hard. "


    "Master, I think I know. Wait a moment. It is Coffin. The person who builds it wouldn''t want to die, neither would the one who buys it will use it for himself. The one who will actually use it is already dead. So, the answer is ''Coffin''."


    "Greater than the gods, more evil than the devils. The rich need it, the poor have it. What is it?" Brad repeated the question so that they could think of it.


    "Isn''t that nothing. Nothing is greater than Gods, nor is it more evil than Devils. Rich needs nothing and the poor have nothing. So the answer is ''Nothing''." Brad answered himself before Olympia could think of anything.


    "All left now is the last one. I can''t think of anything Master." Olympia told Brad. It seems too hard. Can''t you give us another one instead of this one?" She directed the latter part of her question to Boyd.


    "No. Answer that, and the door opens. Don''t answer and face the consequences."


    "Wait wait. It is a ''memory''."


    "Aha, so you managed to answer them. There you go. Now you have to face them all alone. Go on." Boyd waved his hands and the trap door opened.


    *******************************************************


    (1) The legacy mentioned here is the legacy left behind for Olympia, not the one for which Brad has to go for a quest.

 54 The trap door opens

    Boyd waved his hands and the trap door opened. Inside it was endless white space. Everywhere they looked was white. Brad and Olympia held hands as they climbed the spiral staircase and stepped through the trap door.


    They couldn''t understand any direction at all. They roamed around, but could see nothing other than boundless white space. Neither could they understand whether it was day or night, nor could they understand where the legacy was.


    They thought that Boyd fooled them, and was about to curse them, when they saw ripples in the space, and in burning letters, was written, "Thou shalt get what thou deserve to get."


    Olympia thought, ''What should I do now?''


    The words of Boyd echoed through her mind, and she opened her eyes wide to see a mirror in front of her.


    A child was standing in her place, who had the same identical pair of eyes and looked at her curiously. She looked back in puzzlement, but other than staring at each other, they did nothing. Olympia tilted her head and thought, "Is this some sort of test?"


    As soon as she thought that, she heard the child in front of her open her mouth to say, "You have two choices. Embrace the past, or flee from it. The outcome of everything will depend upon your choices. Be it easy or hard, it will be your choices, and you have to be responsible for them. Do you understand?"


    Although the child spoke from the mirror, Olympia could hear her voice inside her mind. Olympia was very puzzled, but she knew that this was not the time to ask questions. They were on a quest and they had to complete it before sunrise. And, they had no way to measure day and night. As she was in deep thoughts, she saw that the moon was hanging low in the sky.


    The entire space was basked in cool pale moonlight, the same that was outside. The serenity of the moon calmed her mind. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. The girl in the mirror calmly asked her again, "Do you understand?"


    "Yes, I do. But what are the choices? How do I know them? What do I need to do?"


    "Take deep breaths, Olympia. With this state of mind, you wouldn''t be able to make any decisions. Even if you do, you will make wrong decisions. Always remember - Decisions must be made with a calm mind."


    "But, you are a child. How do you know so much?" Olympia looked at her in awe. She was almost identical to herself, yet there were some differences with her. In contrast to the cute girl in the mirror, she was bubblier, and hyperactive. On the other hand, the girl in front of her was so calm, as if no chaos in the world can break her peace. She admired these sorts of people.


    Olympia sat down in a quite unladylike manner and asked her, "Little girl, what is your name?"


    "Olympia." She said straightforwardly.


    Olympia''s jaws dropped open as she heard that. ''Is this my past self?'' She shook her head at the weird thought that crossed her mind. ''This can''t be!'' She scolded herself for thinking rubbish.


    The little Olympia looked at the adult Olympia with a graceful smile hanging on her thin lips. She said, "Give me your hand."


    Absentmindedly, Olympia stretched forward her hand to take hers. As soon as she did so, a sharp pain shot across her entire body. She felt as if a huge mountain pressed on her. Her insides were in extreme pain. Her senses were intact, but she wasn''t in a state to do anything. She couldn''t feel her extreme powers anymore. It was like a tiny portion of her power in her body was alive, the rest was sealed.


    Her limbs felt shorter than usual, and she couldn''t understand what was going on. After a long time did the pain reduce and she tried to open her heavy eyelids. She expected a blinding light to assault her eyes, but nothing of that sort happened. She saw the same pale moon hanging in the sky. She didn''t know how much time had passed when she was unconscious.


    She tried looking at the sky and then surveyed her surroundings. Brad was nowhere to be seen. She grew concerned. The younger Olympia was nowhere to be seen either. As she thought of the young Olympia, she heard a voice in her mind, "I am you and you are me. Remember what I said, "Your choices will lead to certain situations and you have to take full responsibility for them."


    Olympia nodded her head as she heard the voice fade away. She sat there all alone, on the small garden bridge. The koi fishes were swimming happily in the pond. She bent down and caressed the water slowly. The fishes felt her warmth and flocked towards her fingers. Some even slightly pecked her fingers.


    ''The fishes are so cute and intelligent.'' She smiled and caressed the head of a few fishes. They pouted at her. Seeing their pouts, she threw her head back and laughed hard.


    A young man with icy blue eyes and a young woman with fiery red hair were standing at the farthest corner of the garden and watching the little one playing with the fishes.


    "Say Aiden, will she grow up to be this cheerful? I am worried sick for her."


    "She will surely be the best person she can be. You should be proud of her, Demi."


    "What should we do about the excess powers sealed within her?"


    "Let''s watch for a while and decide what to do. Everything will depend on her choices. The choices she makes will lead to her own fate. Fate is nothing but the result of one''s own choices. It will depend on her. Whether she chooses to fight or to flee will determine who she is."


    "I see." Demi replied to her husband, Aiden. They crossed their hands over their chests and continued to watch their lovely daughter together.


    Aiden caressed his wife''s hair lovingly as he was in deep thoughts. He wasn''t sure whether Olympia could take tough decisions or not. She was so soft-hearted that she wasn''t able to understand the cruelty of the world. It was partially their fault. They never allowed her to face the harsh reality of the dog-eat-dog world.


    They were still reluctant to do so, but she has to do that in order to gain her powers. Without her powers, she wouldn''t be able to do anything in the future. Although she was born to them, her life belonged to one person, whom all of them swore to protect.


    In deep thoughts, Aiden unconsciously walked forward and bumped into a tree, startling the kid having fun. The young Olympia looked at her dad and tears glistened in her eyes.


    "Dad!" She whispered.


    Aiden didn''t know what brought on the change in her that made her cry seeing him. He realised that he had bumped into a huge oak tree and that startled the little kid.


    With huge steps, he moved towards Olympia, bent down to her level, sat beside her and then pulled her into a hug and said, "Don''t be afraid, Child. I am here."


    He could feel the undulations of her shoulders as she sobbed in his embrace. He patted her back slowly and gently to calm her, but no matter what, she continued sobbing.


    "Olympia, don''t cry. It pains our heart to see you cry in this manner. Please don''t cry anymore. Be a good girl for Mom." Demi tried to console her.


    Olympia left Aiden''s embrace and latched onto her mother''s neck as she cried harder. The memories of all these years came down as tears, gushing through her eyes and getting soaked in her mother''s clothes.


    They were queen and king to the world, but were just a simple parent to their kid. They were dumbfounded and didn''t know what to do. No matter what they tried, she cried even more.


    After sobbing for a long time, she relaxed her body and fell asleep in her mother''s arms. Demi carried Olympia in her arms and laid her down in her soft bed. She sat beside her and stroked her long hair. Aiden stood there looking at the mother and daughter pair and decided not to disturb them.


    He left and ordered his trusted aides to gather in the main hall. As soon as he sat down on the throne, a freshly made tea was served.


    "Master, what are your orders?"


    "I want you all to keep the young princess safe. I know they are coming. I want everyone to be ready for the battle, but I want you all to keep her safe, and you will be her follower from now on. You shall obey her every command. Is that clear?"


    "Yes Master." They answered in unison. They were his trusted aides and he knew what he was doing.

 55 Choice

    "Yes Master." They answered in unison. They were his trusted aides and he knew what he was doing.


    Using the power of his consciousness he tried to call, "Demi, I need your help."


    "Help? What happened Aiden? Is everything alright?" She asked him back spontaneously. Demi covered Olympia with a red-feather quilt and then tried to


    "No. This will be a test for Olympia as well as us." Aiden muttered so slowly that it didn''t reach Olympia''s ears, but it did.


    "Are they going to leave me again? The last time it happened, I was asleep. Now, I won''t let them go away from me. After all this time, I got them. Is it only for them to leave again? No¡­ Absolutely not." Olympia made a vow in her heart, not to lose them at all. Not this time, not ever. Never.


    "Demi, they are coming!" Aiden whispered to his wife and held her hands tightly, as she slowly made her way to the doorway.


    "How did they get to know about her, Aiden? How? She can??t be exposed to the world, unless her power awakens. They want to kill her for God''s sake. Aiden, for the first time in my life, I am afraid - afraid that something terrible will happen to my child. I won''t be able to bear that." Demi silently sobbed in her husband''s arms.


    Aiden stroked her back trying to console her but he, himself, was nervous. It was a gamble ¡ª to lose her forever or to awaken her powers to the full potential. Not that he didn''t have a choice, but he would rather let her fully awaken her powers than hiding in the dark.


    "Life brings us in the same situation twice, and each time we make a different choice." Aiden thought and sighed. The previous time he chose to hide her but this time, his heart told him that he wouldn''t need to hide her even though he already made arrangements. In his heart, he knew that this time, Olympia would fight for herself, for her powers, for her dignity, for them, and above all for her own satisfaction of making a choice.


    Taking a deep breath, Aiden gripped Demetria''s hand tightly trying to ease all his nervousness in that grip as they stood at the huge doorway.


    Aiden was thinking of all these things when he heard the thudding of hooves. Millions of Einhorns were galloping past the pastures and climbing the mountains speedily.


    Although those were some puny creatures, along with them were all the dragons and phoenixes. He wasn''t sure whether all those ancient people were coming or not. Aiden hoped that they wouldn''t come at all. But he couldn''t be too sure. If those monsters came, then that would be absolutely bad news.


    On one side was his clan members, on the other side was his own child. He could harm neither of them, but if worst comes to the worst, he would always choose his child over his clan. This was his choice and will always be.


    Olympia buried her head into the pillow and listened to his father silently. Being half-dragon-half-phoenix, her hearing senses were more heightened than that of her parents.


    She could clearly feel that millions of tiny creatures were coming their way. She wasn''t sure who they were and what they wanted, but she knew that they weren''t good, since her parents were so worried.


    After a long time passed, the thudding came to a stop and an eerie silence followed. She had her senses maxed out, which was nowhere near what she used to have before. She found out that everyone was standing in some sort of a formation. She had a bad premonition.


    Before she could get up from the bed, four blinding flashes of green blue, red and white lights covered the entire mountains. It flashed brilliantly and then exploded like fireworks.


    Olympia tightly shut her eyes and something flashed in her brain and before she could grasp anything, she felt a sharp pain and she clutched her forehead with her palms, but the pain went away as fast as it came.


    She tried to expand her senses to the max again and found that the situation was a stalemate. Both the parties were staring at each other and no one wanted to back off.


    Olympia slowly got up from the bed and wanted to sneak outside when out of nowhere came a person and stood in her way, "You can''t go anywhere, Princess."


    "Why can''t I?"


    "Because we are ordered to protect you. We can''t let you go there." He said without any ripple of emotions in his voice.


    "Why do I need to be protected?" Olympia asked him.


    "Because they are here for you~~" As soon as he said that, he bit his tongue in regret for letting that slip. He scolded himself for being so loose-lipped.


    He looked at Olympia hoping to see a scared face of a little girl, but was faced with the tranquil face of the same little girl. He did not know why, he felt that he could see the shadow of her parents within her.


    Olympia lifted her head and a pair of calm decisive eyes met his. He said, "Your father tasked me to protect you, and I can''t let you do anything while I am alive."


    "Didn''t my father ask you to follow me and heed all my commands?" She asked back.


    "How do you know?" He looked at her in disbelief.


    "So he did." A smug smile appeared on her face.


    "Since he kindly allowed you to follow me and heed my commands, I hereby order you to stay here and make sure that no one enters this room until I say so." The man was entirely sure that she would leave and join the fight, but never did he think that she would task him with this. He wasn''t sure what she was gonna attempt, but whatever it was, it was surely dangerous.


    He stood guard by the door and watched the situation outside. Aiden and Demi were still standing there alone, and it was not known for whom they were waiting. An old voice got transmitted through the entire mountains and reverberated in everyone''s ears.


    "Hand her over and we shall leave you untouched, else, we massacre everything."


    Demetria was going to say something when Aiden held her hands and stopped her. He turned towards the source of voice and said, "We don''t understand what you are trying to say."


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 56 Values

    Demetria was going to say something when Aiden held her hands and stopped her. He turned towards the source of voice and said, "We don''t understand what you are trying to say."


    "It is very simple, you see. Give me the child of you and that wrench, and everyone lives."


    "You have no authority to badmouth my wife." Aiden was extremely angry and soon the temperature of the entire mountain went down. It was so bone chilling cold that the ice-dragons felt themselves shivering in the sheer coldness of the mountains.


    Olympia, on the other hand, felt comfortable. A cocoon of mist surrounded her as she sat all alone in the room. She felt something inside her wanting to come out. A faint silhouette appeared in front of her eyes and said, "Do you wish to defeat them?"


    "Yes." She looked at the silhouette meekly. She knew that it won''t hurt her. She felt a connection with the silhouette. With her beautiful heterochromatic eyes, she looked at the silhouette of a woman in front of her.


    "Answer me three question, and I shall show you the path. Do you agree to that?"


    "What, according to you, is the most difficult thing in the whole world?"


    "Making choices."


    "Hahaha, good answer, young girl. Then, tell me what would you do if you were in their place?"


    "Protect that person."


    "What is the most idealistic value according to you?"


    "Kinship and loyalty."


    "What if others plotted against you?"


    "That''s more than three questions, but I will answer it. I would definitely punish or kill them."


    "Last question. Would you do the same to your kin?"


    "If they break loyalty and trust, then they would no longer be my kin."


    "You are indeed wise, as they said. Now it is my turn to help you." The silhouette said, looking meaningfully at Olympia. "The powers are inside you. Here¡­" The silhouette pointed at her heart as she said that. Olympia looked at her heart and looked back at the silhouette confusedly.


    "I don''t understand." Olympia said.


    "Under the most dire situation, you will receive the power to fight against what you want to fight, and protect what you want to protect."


    "What does that mean?" Olympia asked, looking at her unblinkingly.


    "You will know when the time comes. Since you have answered two more questions of mine, I shall give you two more blessings. Tell me little girl, what do you want?"


    "To protect Master." She said subconsciously. Something or rather someone inside her forced those words through her mouth. She looked up to see the smiling face of the silhouette. The silhouette placed a spectral hand on her head and muttered something. The silhouette became fainter and she felt her body and soul gain some powers.


    She looked at the unobtrusive silhouette in front of her and said, "What happened to your body? It is incorporeal now."


    "No need to worry about me. I am fine. I am just a bit exhausted. As for the last one, I shall remain in your body and protect you at times when you need to be protected." As soon as the silhouette said that and before Olympia could ask any questions, it turned into a ray of light and entered the body of Olympia.


    Olympia wondered whether the silhouette was also trying to hide something from her or not, but she had no way of finding out. She could feel its presence in her sea of consciousness.


    The pressure outside was growing exponentially. She could sense the change in temperature, but the surrounding cocoon of mist around her kept her warm. She got up from her place and stretched her limbs and then made up her mind to join the inevitable battle. If this was the test for her, then so be it. This time, she was ready.


    She closed her eyes and tried to bring forth her magic, but unfortunately, she couldn''t. A faint halo of red and blue surrounded her, but she remained hidden from her eyes.


    A determined look flashed across her childish face as she slowly made way towards the doorway and said, "Open the door now."


    "Princess, it is not wise to go out at this time. The situation outside is not good and they are looking for you. Please heed my words and stay inside. Let us protect you." Aiden''s trusted aide tried one last time to make her understand the gravity of the situation.


    "This Princess orders you to open the door." A never known bravery made her utter those words, and as soon as she said them, he opened the door and faced her. An unknown emotion flashed past his face and he stepped aside to let her pass.


    As Olympia walked past the man, she whispered, "When I give you the signal, run towards the enchanted mirror with my parents without any questions asked."


    "But~~"


    "No questions asked."


    "As you order, Princess." He said and bowed. Olympia saw her parents still standing at the doorway. Her mother was trying very hard to hold her father back from massacring. She was pretty sure he was capable of doing that, but this was her battle, and she knew that no one can help her other than her own self.


    Making up her mind, she bypassed the front door and walked towards the garden at the back. Reaching there, she tried to turn into her form, but couldn''t. Seeing the wall nearby, she climbed up the wall and jumped.


    As soon as she jumped, she fell onto a cart, and the cart zigzagged through the narrow road and reached the battlefield.


    Everyone including her parents were stumped to see her. An eerie silence followed.


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 57 Heart Soul Core Binding

    As soon as she jumped, she fell onto a cart, and the cart zigzagged through the narrow road and reached the battlefield.


    Everyone including her parents were stumped to see her. An eerie silence followed.


    As soon as the cart reached the battlefield, it stopped in the middle and an invisible force threw Olympia onto the ground.


    Olympia sat there with a dumbfounded look on her face too. Although she wanted to enter the battlefield, she never thought that she would make such a ''heroic'' entry.


    She looked at her parents and the dragon and phoenix clan members, and then sat upright, rubbed her backside and got up slowly from the ground, and then looked at everyone and immediately ran to her parents'' side.


    As soon as she ran, everyone came to their senses, and immediately wanted to pounce towards them, but an invisible barrier was protecting them.


    "King?" The clan elders looked at Aiden and said through gritted teeth, "How could you?"


    Aiden only smiled and said nothing. Demetria looked at her clan, the clan once she loved and swore to protect and said, "Do you really wish to take her?"


    Aiden looked at his wife wondering whether she had lost her mind or not, but he knew better than uttering that, so, he stood there in silence. Demetria knew what her husband was thinking. She turned and glared at him but maintained her composure. She looked at the others with a haughty smile with traces of evilness, like a true queen does.


    Her smile gave chills to her clan members. The elders were afraid seeing her not-so-gentle smile. They knew this smile so well. She smiled like this back then and it was a complete massacre. No one survived that ordeal.


    But before the clan elder could utter something, a hot-blooded young chick went up to her bravely and said, "Yes, she belongs to us." He looked provocatively at the dragon clan and further uttered, "Once we take her heart out, we can use the ancient art of Inima Suflet Miez Binding. Kekekeke." His evil laughter echoed through the entire Bukid mountain.


    The clan elder looked at the boy in utter horror, after he spoke the words that weren''t supposed to be spoken.


    "Forgive us, Queen. He is just a boy!" The clan elder bowed in front of him, but before he could say anything else, the youngling was completely burnt into ash, but before the ash could rise into the air, Demetria engulfed the ash with her flames and swallowed them.


    The Phoenix Clan Elder stood there with his head bowed in silence. He sneaked a peek at the Dragon Clan members and saw that they did not take a look at them. Since the situation came to this, the Phoenix Clan Elder thought that it was the best time to expose the Ice-Dragon Clan. After all they have done, they ought to suffer the wrath of the queen.


    With these thoughts in mind, he looked at the Queen, hoping to see her expectant eyes, but instead all he saw was the blank look directed towards him.


    "Queen, please listen to me¡­" Before he could utter another word, a shard of ice pierced his chest, and he fell down on his knees and breathed his last. A clan Elder was killed just like that. The Phoenix clan saw who did it, and was in uproar. They wanted to get revenge, but revenge was easier said than done. Seeing their clan elder killed with one single shard of ice, no one dared to step forward. They looked at the culprit and then towards their Queen hoping that she would punish those responsible for the death of their clan elder.


    All the saw was the calm eyes of their Queen. Not a single ripple of emotions could be seen.


    "Tsk, such a weak bird." A deep male voice said, and then rose to the sky. Flapping his wings, he looked towards Olympia and said, "Come with me, Sweet Girl. I can give you what others can''t. I can give you this world. I can make you the ruler of the entire universe. You will rule heaven, earth and hell. You will be unstoppable. Once you come with me, no one can beat you. You will receive Eternal Glory. Come." In the end, his voice sounded almost like a lullaby.


    Olympia felt someone beckoning her soul, and she couldn''t resist it, but she knew that once her soul separates from her body, she would never be able to receive her power. Feeling the resistance from her, the voice said, "It is useless to resist. You will be captured and you will be mine." An evil laughter echoed in her mind, and she tried very hard to resist it from ringing in her ears and mind, but couldn''t.


    Seeing her persistence, a force welled up inside her and burst forth. After reaching the sky, it went aflame and burst into smithereens. It took the form of a majestic flame bird and screeched so loudly that everyone had to cover their ears. The dazzling sight almost blinded them. Their jaws dropped in awe. Never in their life did they see such a phoenix. Even their ancestors weren''t so beautiful as the one flying in the sky.


    As it opened its mouth to breathe fire, an ice dragon emerged and wrapped the phoenix in its wings. It let out a huge roar, and the entire mountain shook with it. The blue and red eyes were completely identical to the ones that Olympia had.


    There were doubts in Olympia''s mind regarding the identities of the pair, but before she could articulate them, she found someone whispering, "That is the ancient dragon king and phoenix queen. How could they be inside her?"


    She wanted to know the answer to the question herself but as she looked at those two figures, she found them oddly familiar. Their breaths were almost similar to her parents. She looked at them inquiringly.


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 58 Powers

    "Are they your powers?" She asked them.


    "No." They answered in unison. As if they read her mind, they said, "This is your true power and only you can control it. Show them that you are not a person who is afraid of anything. Show them that you can rule the world without the help of cruel beings. Show them that they must not look down upon their princess." They couldn''t control their enthusiasm upon seeing the legendary power emerge from her body.


    "But how?" The biggest challenge for her was how to defeat them, and she was not the one who liked to battle people on whim. She stood there looking at the sky, seeing the mesmerizing sight of a dragon and phoenix entwined in each other''s arms. She wondered whether she would have someone who would embrace her in their arms.


    She kept on diving more and more into her pool of thoughts and almost lowered her guard, she felt an ice shard coming her way. She was extremely angry at the person who dared to ruin her daydream. She turned slowly and raised her head, glaring at the person. Then, she smiled. Everyone was mesmerized by her smile that they didn''t want to blink. Before they could make out of the situation, Olympia commanded the dragon and the phoenix in the sky to take action.


    "Dragon Ancestor, Phoenix Ancestor, I don''t want to disturb you, but please help me. I need your power to show them that I am not someone they can bully." Olympia pleaded.


    "Why should we help you?" Before the Dragon Ancestor could say anything, the Phoenix Ancestor asked, looking proudly at her.


    "I know it is not an obligation for you to do so, but please believe me. I need your power to beat them."


    "No. We can''t help you." She flatly refused. Neither of them opened their mouths to speak. Instead they used spiritual transmittance.


    The Dragon Ancestor suddenly said, "Remember, the power only lies within you. It will only help you and you alone." Seeing his wife pout at him, he smiled at her before caressing her hair.


    "Darling, she is just a little girl. Have patience, and don''t forget why we are here. We are here to protect her."


    The Phoenix Ancestor slowly nodded her head and said nothing else, watching the battlefield below with her proud, reddish eyes.


    Olympia looked at the people standing in front of her. That person who tried to beckon her soul was still standing there looking warily and the ancestors. Seeing that the Ancestors took no action, he slowly came forward, and tried the same technique again, but saw that his magic didn''t work on her. He tried numerous times, but every time he tried, he saw that his magic backfired.


    He didn''t believe that she would know that art. No one other than the clan ancestor knew that art. He looked warily at Aiden, but couldn''t find anything from his expressionless face. But he saw a slight smirk on the lips of Demetria.


    A sudden anger overtook his senses as he charged towards Demetria, "You wrench!!" He shouted.


    He formed a shard of ice and threw it towards her. But who was Demetria? She was the Queen who had lived for a long time to be scared from the shout of a tiny little animal. He had the power to manipulate souls, but he can never win against the three of them, aka, Olympia, Aiden, and herself.


    She took a sidelong glance at the charging dragon and slowly raised her hand and swatted it across the air and soon, the shard of ice was engulfed in flames. No one has ever seen ice catching fire, but the fire burnt brilliantly around the ice and soon, the dragon who was charging towards her fell to the ground and twitched on the ground in extreme agony.


    Each and every member of the Dragon Clan was intimidated by her. But they refused to admit defeat. After all, it should be their victory. After getting her heart they planned to make arrangements for it and then slowly burn it in the furnace of the Gods and the essence should be absorbed by their Clan Elders and soon they would reach immortality. The Phoenixes were too gullible to fall in their trap.


    The Dragon Clan Elder had scorn written all over his face. Demetria noticed that, but didn''t see anything. Since they didn''t take action yet, there must be something they are waiting for, and it couldn''t be anything good.


    Demetria and Aiden looked at each other, the same thoughts clear in their mind. But they wouldn''t show the nervousness. He saw everyone looking towards the valley. He hoped it wasn''t what he was thinking.


    Demetria, too, had the same thoughts as him. The specialty of the Dragon Clan was the home dragon array, some sort of formation exclusive to the Ice-Dragon Clan members only. Neither one can enter the array, nor can they exit it. As soon as they saw the formation in which all the clan members shifted slowly, their bloods chilled.


    Neither Aiden nor Demetria imagined that their clan members would use themselves as the center of the array.


    "Olympia, listen baby, you gotta run. If what we are thinking is seriously going to happen, then you will die, and your master will be injured."


    "Master?" Olympia blinked. She didn''t understand what this had got to do with her Master. Neither did she understand why they were asking her to run.


    "Yes baby, you need to run. On my count, run from the battlefield, immediately. Here, take this. This will help you pass the magical barrier. Go baby, all the best. We will try some different method to make your power return to you." Aiden patted her head and there was a never-heard urgency in his voice.


    "No Father, this time I can''t run. This time I shall fight."


    "Baby listen to your father. No one can break this formation. Not even me. If they are forming that array, which I am thinking of, I am pretty sure that they decided to take you from here and to leave no one alive."


    "But Father, how is this possible? Would they sacrifice their own clan members? Why?"


    "Unfortunately, your father doesn''t have an answer to this one." Aiden shook his head, deep in thoughts.


    In this world, he couldn''t force Olympia. He can''t change her heart unless someone...


    "With the power of the great deities, I hereby¡­" Before he could summon the person, Demetria held his hands and said, "Have faith in her. This is her battle. We can only provide her ammunition. We can guide her, but never can we fight her battle."


    "But¡ª"


    "No buts, Aiden. Listen to me." Demetria placed her hand on his chest and continued, "Since you know the formation and you''re from the same clan, there must be some way to break this. Think hard. Come on. We don''t have much time in our hands." Demetria urged him, seeing him looking blankly towards a distance.


    As her eyes followed his vision, she stiffened.


    At a distance, two old men were climbing the mountains, happily chatting with each other. They were none other than both of their fathers.


    She looked at Aiden and nudged him saying, "Aren''t they dead?"


    A guilty look flashed by his face, but he remained silent, lest she understands that he didn''t inform her about it. But never in his wildest dreams did he imagine that his father would come here along with that old geezer. Things were a lot clearer now, but he still couldn''t figure out why they would do this to him.


    He gave away his blood essence to save him. This was really hard for him to digest. He looked at his wife and wanted to say something, when he saw her clear cold eyes. Never did he see her looking at him like that. He knew that there was no chance of providing any explanation to her anymore.


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 59 Array

    He gave away his blood essence to save him. This was really hard for him to digest. He looked at his wife and wanted to say something, when he saw her clear cold eyes. Never did he see her looking at him like that. He knew that there was no chance of providing any explanation to her anymore.


    Those cold eyes pierced his heart. How could she lose faith in him? He couldn''t comprehend. He did nothing other than hiding the truth of her father. He was forced to do so. After all, no one in this whole world could threaten him. They blackmailed him with Demetria. But he would never reveal the reason to her.


    But before he got the chance to say something, he heard the cold voice of Demetria, "Oh, so you''re alive."


    "Demi, my child, Father is happy to see you after a long time." The old man smiled at her. The young man by his side stood silently looking at them. There was indifference in his eyes which he didn''t bother to conceal.


    Instead of flaring up, Demetria gave them a smile which didn''t reach her eyes and greeted, "Father, long time no see."


    The old man was stumped for words. He thought that he could easily make Demetria lose control, but everything seemed in vain.


    But he didn''t panic. He looked at Olympia and said, "Such a fresh meat, but seems to come from a gutter. Tsk tsk! She doesn''t have a single ounce of power within her. Guards, capture her and burn her in the stake we prepared for traitors of the sects."


    Aiden was too stumped for words seeing his wife''s behaviour, but was intelligent enough to know that the way she was behaving was unnatural. He just stood there emotionlessly.


    Olympia was seething from anger as soon as she heard them speak about her that way, but what infuriated her more was the fact that they even tried to speak to her mother with such maliciousness. No one knew how she knew that they had malicious thoughts towards but the surrounding temperature started increasing, but there was a chilliness in it.


    Aiden looked at his daughter in awe. He understood what that meant. She was utilising her power to protect. Very few people desired power to protect. Everyone wants power to rule and to become immortal, but she wanted power so that she could protect her loved ones.


    He felt proud of her, but didn''t want to draw attention to themselves. He silently used spiritual transmittance to say, "Not now."


    Olympia glanced at him and slightly nodded. But her act was caught by the old man who was talking to Demetria. He shouted, "Take her away, What are you waiting for?"


    The flame phoenix and the ice dragon was almost invisible to all. But they saw the scenario below and looked at each other. "Will anything happen to her?" The Phoenix Ancestor asked.


    "I don''t think so. I believe that she isn''t a person who can be defeated easily. Let''s wait till the end." The Dragon Ancestor said calmly.


    The Dragon Ancestor calmly patted her back and tried to calm her down, without answering her question. He calmly looked below and saw that some people already tied Olympia up and was dragging her towards the centre of all the people standing there.


    He stiffened as he recognized the formation. It was the speciality of their clan. It was meant to be for protection, but this doesn''t seem to be the case anymore. That array can take her life.


    He wanted to swoop down, but an invisible force stopped him from entering the formation. As soon as he saw that, he turned back to his wife and said, "My love, I can''t enter the array. This is not the array it used to be. One move and everyone will die including them." He pointed at Aiden and Demetria.


    "Not as it used to be ¡ª what does that mean?" The Phoenix Ancestor asked, her proud eyes glancing at the people below with contempt. As she turned towards her husband, her eyes turned gentle. Although they were in soul form, their powers were immense.


    Soon, they turned into two rays of light, and the two beams circled around each other. Tiny specs of light were falling on Olympia which no one realized. It was their powers which made way to her.


    She stood there, clutching the hem of her dress, as she looked at the transparent barrier. Nothing can escape her eyes. She has been brought into the array. She has no powers. She wanted to escape but she doesn''t understand a thing about arrays. Half of her memory was sealed, and no matter how much she tried, she couldn''t remember it.


    She looked at the two ancestors above who are a part of her. Seeing them merging their powers, she felt that something was wrong. They didn''t show any signs of urgency before and she didn''t know why they were trying to merge their powers so urgently.


    As she was thinking of it, she felt extreme cold. Frost started covering her body. Although she was immune to her father''s frost, she couldn''t bear the sudden chill. She looked around and saw that the whole area was covered with frost. She looked at her mother, who was still chatting with her father.


    It seemed that her mother didn''t notice her plight. Her father, on the other hand, was chanting something. She knew why her father asked her to wait. He wanted to buy some more time to know the thoughts of the enemy.

 60 Figuring out their plan

    It seemed that her mother didn''t notice her plight. Her father, on the other hand, was chanting something. She knew why her father asked her to wait. He wanted to buy some more time to know the thoughts of the enemy.


    She was trying to bear the chill, which seemed to be chilling her heart and related arteries. It was just too hard for her to bear the chill. Her whole body was getting covered with frost. As soon as she saw that, she wanted to turn into her original form, but she couldn''t. She gritted her teeth, trying to bear the chill. She turned towards her parents. Two drops of pearly tears fell from her eyes.


    Before it could fall from her eyes, it turned into frost. She touched her cheeks which were colder than her hands. The frost was getting to her. Slowly her limbs started turning blue. It became numb. Slowly the numbness started reaching her heart. Her heart started beating erratically.


    She closed her eyes and muttered, "Master, I don''t think I will be able to escape this. Forgive me, Master. I know you can hear me. Remember to take Deablo to the Derman Mountains. Only he can help you in the future, I won''t be able to help you anymore. Good bye, Master."


    Tears welled up in her eyes, and she slowly turned her head sideways and focused on the people in front. As her eyes focused on the eyes of her mother, she could see the golden rims around her iris. She muttered to herself, "Is she being hypnotized?"


    She looked at her dad, and saw him doing nothing other than chanting something under his breath. Everything seemed so off to her for some reason.


    She tried to cast a few spells on her, but everything seemed useless. As she was reaching its limit, she saw her mother coming towards her with a dagger in her hand.


    She looked totally abnormal. She refused to believe that it was her mother. Although she was terrified, she knew that her mother would die rather than killing her. As she thought of that, the belief increased more and more and thus, she found herself feeling less cold than she was feeling earlier. The frost started thawing around her. She wondered whether it was because of her faith in her mother.


    Later she realized that she was wrong. It was her father who was acting abnormally now. She couldn''t understand the head or tail of the situation. The icy coldness wasn''t helping either.


    As soon as she saw that, she realized that her mother was never the target. Their target was originally her father. They stalled for some time ¡ª placing her in the array and talking to her mother was just a perfect guise for them, and it was also to make him lower his guard. It was him who was in real danger.


    She looked at the sky and muttered again, "Master, Deablo, I will miss you."


    "Little girl, never lose hope. As long as you are determined to fight, you will never lose. The true power lies within you."


    "It doesn''t matter who I am. What matters most is, who you are. What is your identity?"


    "I am Olympia."


    "Good answer, little girl. I almost thought that you will say that you are a princess or a pet of your Master, but you didn''t. I am impressed. You are you, and no one else. No worldly title matters if you are powerful and you will reach there one day. This is just the start. I hope that when you grow old, you remember me." The male voice told her without revealing himself.


    Olympia nodded her head. She understood very well that she had to leave this place. His master was waiting for her and there was a time limit for getting out, else she would be stuck forever in this goddamn place. Brad, her master, was also waiting for her. His father, who is critically ill, was also waiting for her. There was no time to lose.


    She quickly made up her mind and then asked, "Do I attack them first?"


    "No. Although you don''t have to wait longer, just look into your surroundings carefully. What do you see?" The male voice tried to guide her towards something, or someone in particular.


    She heeded his advice and looked at a faraway distance. There, she saw her master. He was looking at the mountains with his brows creased in confusion.


    Slowly and steadily, he climbed the mountains, and soon he reached near the mountain top, where they were standing. He casted a glance towards Olympia, but there was a distance in his glance. He didn''t seem to recognize her. She was totally confused, but decided to put her curiosity in check for a while. There were many things to complete; the first thing being, saving her father. She was totally determined to save him.


    "What should I do now?" She asked the voice in her mind. She didn''t know who he was, and now was not the time to think. Since that person didn''t have any malicious intent towards her, he could be considered a friend rather than an enemy.


    "Have patience." He said just towards and didn''t care to explain anymore.


    ??But, there is not much time anymore. What is going to happen? I am too scared. I can''t let him die."


    "Why? Weren''t you blaming them for abandoning you all these years?"


    "No, I never blamed them." Olympia averted her eyes. Although she couldn''t see him, she didn''t want to meet his eyes. She knew that she blamed them all these years, and something told her that this was the thing that made them leave her. If this was what happened, she needed to know the complete truth. She needed to search for them.


    "Heh!" The man mocked her, but a smile surfaced on his face seeing her face changing colors. He knew that she must have figured it out.

 61 Chained

    "No, I never blamed them." Olympia averted her eyes. Although she couldn''t see him, she didn''t want to meet his eyes. She knew that she blamed them all these years, and something told her that this was the thing that made them leave her. If this was what happened, she needed to know the complete truth. She needed to search for them.


    "Heh." The man mocked her, but a smile surfaced on his face seeing her face changing colors. He knew that she must have figured it out.


    Olympia looked at him and shook her head. She wondered how he knew the truth about her. Olympia blinked her eyes and stated, "I hated them because I missed them. I blamed them for leaving me all alone. I wanted to live the life a normal girl usually does, with my parents. Instead, I was left all alone in that place. I had to rise up on my own and if my Master hadn''t found me at that time, I wouldn''t have lived for long."


    She took a deep breath and continued, "I knew they were being chased, but why did they need to seal me in that place? I haven''t recovered from that yet."


    "I know that you haven''t. I sent your master to that place. He didn''t know why he saved you at that time, but there was something that pulled him towards that place. I knew that you were almost dying. He was the only hope left. I know you took revenge from those people too. But believe me, your parents were never in the wrong. They tried very hard to fight."


    "Yes, I understand." The frost surrounding her almost thawed. Her mother became normal as soon as she entered the array.


    Demetria looked at her daughter and said, "What''s wrong, my child?"


    "Mother, your eyes!" She said pointing at them.


    Demetria looked puzzled, "What happened to my eyes?"


    "It has golden rims around your iris."


    Demetria tried to channel her aura, but soon found out that she couldn''t do anything. Neither could she use her fire power nor her spiritual energy.


    She looked terrified. She looked at her father who was standing there at a distance, with his hands on his waist.


    Once again, she was betrayed by her loved ones. Once again, her trust was broken. Once again¡­ She didn''t want to think anymore. What they did to her was unacceptable, but she didn''t know that the worst was yet to come.


    She saw her father approaching her husband. He formed a ball of fire with spiralling golden threads. The ball grew more and more and she could feel herself losing her own strength. She murmured, "What''s happening? That''s my power. I can feel it. But how can he take my power like that?"


    "But¡­" Olympia was going to say something when the Dragon Ancestor cut her off.


    "When I tell you to attack, attack without hesitation. I shall lend you our powers for the time being."


    "But¡­" The Phoenix Ancestor glared at her, but soon her proud eyes turned gentle as she reached for her head and patted it.


    "Kiddo, listen to him. He means no harm." As soon as her calming voice fell on her, she found herself calming down.


    Both the Dragon Elder and the Phoenix Elder stood behind her and raised their arms together, clasped each other''s palms and slowly tried to divert their energy towards Olmpia. When she got hit by the first beam of energy inside her, she felt her veins calming down.


    A warm feeling started enveloping her, and soon, a reddish aura surrounded her, fluctuating and then stabilising, and the procedure kept continuing till it ended and a faint halo could be seen around her. The halo glowed brighter and grew smaller and entered her heart.


    A bone-piercing pain assaulted Olympia as she stood there gritting her teeth. Her heart had a solid encasing, and no power could reach her heart. Her heart can''t be destroyed by normal means, but she knew that they were trying to lend her their powers, so she had to accept them.


    As her mindset changed, the powers easily made way to her heart and soon there was a warm sensation which made her giddy inside her. She had an urge to laugh, but she controlled the desire. This power seemed to create an internal battle within her.


    Before she could do anything, she saw that they reached her father who was still chanting something under his breath, and was dragging him by his hair. They took him to another formation, solely made up of the Phoenix clan members.


    Realization dawned upon her. But it was too late to do anything. Now that she had assistance, she wasn''t afraid. She saw them kicking him on the back of his knees and making him kneel in between them. A mad echo of laughter followed. His hands and feet were shackled with thick iron chains and they went a step ahead and bound a rope to his long hair.


    It was heartbreaking for Olympia to watch her Majestic father being chained like that, but she couldn''t leave the array, no matter how much she tried.


    Overwhelmed with terrifying rage, Olympia let out a cry towards the sky which shook the mountains, "Let''s see which array stops me from killing you puny little animals. How dare you try to enslave my father? How dare you conspire against my parents? Do you want my heart? Come here, let me give you my heart." A twisted smile rested on her lips towards the end.

 62 The figh

    Overwhelmed with terrifying rage, Olympia let out a cry towards the sky which shook the mountains, "Let''s see which array stops me from killing you puny little animals. How dare you try to enslave my father? How dare you conspire against my parents? Do you want my heart? Come here, let me give you my heart." A twisted smile rested on her lips towards the end.


    No one ever saw Olympia''s crazed look before. Demetria''s mouth hung open as she saw her daughter laughing and taunting the opponents. This was not her daughter. Her gentle daughter now had such a crazed look, as if she crawled out of hell.


    Demetria closed her eyes and was going to chant something with her mental powers, when she heard a voice which said, "It''s futile. You can''t get her back. There is only one option now, and it will depend on fate. Whether she can control her or not, you will know when the time comes."


    "But she is just a child." Demetria whispered back.


    "If you keep her under your wings, she will forever be under your wings. Let her fly. Let her fall. Let her face the highs and lows." The voice replied without haste.


    Demetria opened and closed her mouth, unable to say anything. She was too lost in the crazed look of Olympia to say anything.


    With a blank look in her eyes, she asked them, "What are you waiting there for? If you have the guts, let me see what you can do to him." She uttered the last part with gritted teeth.


    The Phoenix Clan members looked at one another. They were worried that once her powers awakened, her heart couldn''t be taken out. They were wondering whether their decision to threaten her with her father was right or not.


    But things were already at this position. They couldn''t go back. Making up their mind, they pulled Aiden''s hair hard, who was still chanting something under his breath. He seemed not to notice the poor condition he was in.


    The rage Olympia felt was beyond comprehension. She stood up, focussed on the array, closed her eyes and slowly uttered, "Break". The array shivered, as if it was afraid of her demonic voice.


    She repeated again, "Break. Don''t test my patience." As if the world responded to her, the array shattered.


    Everyone was stunned as the array broke. They never thought that the array could be broken at her command. Their greed for her heart increased more. They were almost drooling at the thought of her heart.


    Her heart, encased in something solid, once taken out, has to be purified in the fire of the Phoenix for three days and three nights before it can be taken out. That was the main reason they decided to form an alliance. Without the Phoenix fire, her heart can''t melt. There is another way to melt her heart, but that is not too easy. Her mate can get her heart, but to find her mate is not easy.


    No one could ever melt her heart until one day it vanished. No one knew where it went and how it got stolen from that place. They thought that Olympia herself stole her own heart back. But the thief left no traces whatsoever. Neither did they harm anyone nor did they break into anything.


    They couldn''t figure it out so they searched far and wide for her heart. One day, a man came and informed them about the revival of her heart. Both the Dragon and Phoenix clan formed an alliance. The Dragon Clan would fetch the heart, while the Phoenix clan would purify her heart with their fire to melt the casing outside.


    After that, the Dragon Clan would preserve her heart and with those special herbs exclusive to the Dragon Clan, and would use the special technique called Inima Suflet Miaz ¡ª Heart Soul Core Binding ¡ª ancient ritual to make use of her heart to achieve immortality. The one who gets her heart shall rule the entire heaven and earth.


    As the aray broke, Olympia let out a cry towards the heavens, and as she closed her eyes, frosty fire began to spread around the Phoenix clan members. The entire valley glowed purple from her fire. It had a golden tinge to it.


    The Dragon Ancestor and the Phoenix Ancestor were scared. Olympia''s powers far outweighed their own. They knew that her powers had awakened due to her rage. The craziness after seeing her father shackled made her lose control of her powers and it went berserk. There is no way that anyone can control her powers right now unless that person arrives to save her, but will that person save her? They weren''t sure.


    At a faraway distance, Brad stood all alone and saw a Phoenix-Dragon hybrid fighting for her father and mother. Her powers increased all of a sudden and he could feel the power emanating from her.


    The entire land glowed purple under her fiery rage, and he felt a tug towards her. It felt as if he found something he lost for years ¡ª something too precious to him. He felt that he saw something like this before ¡ª the same fiery rage, the same burning down of entire mountains ages ago.


    It felt so close yet so foreign. A smile of triumph surfaced on his face. He was confused with his emotions. He didn''t know why he smiled. He understood that the person who was fighting needed him.


    Olympia, on the other hand, burned down the shackles binding her father. She slowly got up and attacked her mother. Demetria was too shocked to even say anything. Everyone looked at her oddly. Demetria fell with a thud and Olympia ordered the person who was supposed to follow her unconditionally to pick her up and lay her on the bed of her own room.


    He obeyed and held the body of Demetria and flew towards their mansion. He laid her on the bed and went to see Aiden. Olympia carried Aiden and injected her consciousness into his brain and slowly called him out of his trance.


    Aiden woke up before passing out again. Olympia let him rest and went outside. Her whole body started burning from the intense pain of the power. As she stepped out, she used a bit of her powers to send the Dragon Clan to hell too. She stood there looking at the whole mountain range bathed in purple and a desolate feeling arose inside her heart. She felt too uncomfortable to even stand. Lightheadedness hit her and soon she found herself falling. She had no power whatsoever to make herself stand.


    As she almost reached the ground, a pair of hands embraced her. As soon as he embraced her, the scenery changed and Brad found himself standing in the same attic. He felt as if everything was just a dream, but the unconscious Olympia was enough to prove that it had all been real.


    He sat there waiting for Boyd, when Boyd said, "You have managed to obtain the legacy. But there is another test that you alone must give. Off I go now."


    "Wait!" Brad shouted in panic.


    "What happened?" Boyd turned around and asked.


    "I wonder what happened to her. Why is she not awake yet?" Brad asked him anxiously.


    "She will awake soon enough. Let her rest though. She must not partake or use her powers immediately."


    "For how long?" Brad asked, worried. His father is already in grave danger. Deablo wasn''t awake yet. He didn''t want anything to happen to Olympia too.


    "She will know when she completely wakes up." Boyd answered mysteriously.


    Boyd vanished into nothingness as soon as his words fell. Brad sat there with Olympia. He noticed an additional eye on her forehead. He sat there for a while before Olympia opened her eyes groggily. She rubbed her eyes twice as she blinked at Brad in a cute and sweet way. Brad had an urge to laugh at her.


    Remembering that she needed rest, he asked, "Can you return to that space?"


    "Sure, Master."