Hundreds of years ago;

A collection of people gathered within a barren clearing circled by large, standing stones. The weather was gloomy, with grey clouds gathered above them, signing the impending rain. Winds billowed against the plain robes of the seven people who were standing silently in a circle, circling one person who stood in the middle, on a slightly raised pedestal. It was hard to discern who these collections of people were for their identities were shrouded by the hoods they all had on.

But it was evident that a ritual was about to be held.

"So it has come to this, finally," said one of the robed people, a male with aged, yet commanding, voice, drawing the attention of the other people around him and the lone person in the middle of the circle. He stood tall, holding a long and uneven wooden stick with its lower, thinner end planted firmly on the stone ground, and the thicker upper end reaching the man's nose.

He lowered his hood, revealing a weathered face with wrinkles and dark spots, and long white hair pulled back in a ponytail, askew due to the sharp winds. With a glance, one would think of an old, frail man, but upon observing his sharp, sky-blue eyes - eyes reflecting power and wisdom – one would be inclined to think otherwise. He fixed his gaze towards the hooded lone figure at the center, whose face was shrouded within the shadows cast by the hood and the looming clouds.

"You do know, your Majesty…. that if we were to proceed, there will be a price. All magic comes with a price. It is something that we magical practitioners have to live with, but to ask the same from you, who are not one…"

"We shall proceed."

The person, a woman, cut the elder wizard's words. She lowered her hood, revealing a woman with unruly dark hair which was crudely cut to shoulder-length, so unlike the title she was addressed upon. Thin and malnourished, her clothes hung like loose rags underneath the hooded cape she wore. Her eyes had dark circles around them. There were traces of bruises around the eyes, suggesting history of blunt trauma inflicted on the eyes. But those eyes – grey as the stormy clouds above – glinted with determination. Despite having to stand with the aid of a walking stick – her left leg looked crippled from a recent trauma, her forehead wrinkled as if she was suppressing a deep pain – there still was an aura of dignity in the way she carried herself.

This woman had evidently been beautiful some time ago, although now her gaunt face had the defeated expression of lost, pained and sorrow.

"I have lost everything, Matthias," the woman said in a harsh whisper. "This price you are talking about…it can never be worse than the fates I have endured for the past five years of captivity before you came to save me."

"I understand, my dear Queen Alana," Matthias said grimly. He recalled an event that just happened less than a week's ago, where he and his comrades had invaded a fort belonging to the legions of the dark to rescue this woman.

Nearly a decade before that day, Mistranos was thrown into chaos when the Legion of Darkness – a group of renegade soldiers led by evil sorcerers and sorceresses, called the Dark Mages, rose into power in the West. They began usurping powers of the rulers of multiple kingdoms, and in the end the peaceful West was the first to fall.

The Northern Mountains and the Southern Deserts were both too harsh for anybody to conquer, thus the flourishing Central Plains and the Eastlands were targeted by the Legion of Darkness after they had conquered the west. Many good people, magical and non-magical, had fallen to the Legion's wrath. The Legion especially targeted the magical people, fearing their power, and Matthias had to watch many of his comrades becoming victims to the Legion. The Legion's magic was of the unknown; dark, and much too powerful, and the good practitioners were vastly unfamiliar with the darker tone the Legion's magic had taken. Many had gone into hiding to save themselves and their families. Kings and princes were slain, while the queens and princesses captured by the Legion for unholy purposes.

Matthias had conjured a specific kind of spell to locate a candidate for the magic he and his comrades were going to evoke, and this candidate had to be a benevolent leader, for he or she would become the ruler of all rulers. This candidate would then lead the remaining forces of good to battle.

Queen Alana, of the kingdom of Westhaven located at the borders between the West Regions and the Central Plains, had been imprisoned for five years, and over the course of those years she had been forced to witness the execution of her husband the King, and her two young princes. She had endured all kinds of tortures, physical and emotional, and survived various humiliations inflicted to her by the soldiers of the Legions of Darkness – some of which could force any woman to commit suicide.

When they had found her, she was at the brink of death. She had suffered too much, but good magic was able to partially heal her physical wounds. With time they would heal, but the good magical practitioners did not have the luxury of time on their side. She was distrustful and tormented by misery, but unlike many others who had suffered as her, she had the will to live. And that was why she was chosen.

"This power you are giving me," Queen Alana said, a doubtful look crossing her face, "requires me to continue the legacy through my children." She looked troubled, watching the magical clan suspiciously. "Why? Can you not just replicate it to another person, similar to what you are going to do to me?"

Matthias looked at his comrades before he tensed, as a loud explosion was heard from afar. Everyone's attentions fell on the smokes which appeared from a hill several miles from here.

"They're approaching," a stocky wizard alerted. "Make it fast, Matthias!"

Matthias estimated the time they had; the Queen had the right to know everything about the spell they were about to undertake. Yet there were facts that he needed to exclude, lest the Queen would refuse to proceed.

"This magic is not transferable, nor can it be taught or be infused in artifact. It cannot be stolen. It can only be inherited in order for it to flourish for next generations to come." Matthias paused after another explosion was heard from afar. He looked at the Queen intently. "Many good kings have been killed, and many of the captured queens were broken due to the deaths and the tortures they had endured, some had committed suicide to spare themselves from further tortures. All… but you, your Majesty. Our magic led us to you – a ruler strong enough to be bestowed upon this magic, and someone who can carry authority to unite all kingdoms under your rule. Your future children will have the same power as you are going to be, and you can guide them to use it for the forces of good, as will they to their children."

Queen Alana's face darkened. "Do not tell me all of you will die after conjuring this magic. Our realm needs all of you to face the Legions."

"Rest assured, there will be no death," Matthias said.

The Queen frowned, unconvinced. "Will it make you powerless?"

"No, our powers shall remain intact."

"Then what is the price for this magic? You told me all magic comes with a price."

Matthias shook his head slowly. "This magic has never been evoked before. And things tend to happen in the most unexpected ways when it comes to using magic. I cannot tell you of what is the price of calling upon this magic, because I am in the dark just as you are." He cleared his throat, forcing his eyes to meet Queen Alana's. "The price may very well be on us instead of you, so please, don't be too worried, your Majesty."

Queen Alana stared at him. "You are hiding something," she said finally.

"Some things are not meant to be said," Matthias said grimly. Another explosion ensued, followed by soft rumblings of the grounds. The wise wizard was partially thankful of the distraction, enabling him to evade Queen Alana's questions. "And time is something we don't have right now. The Legions are approaching fast. We don't want you to fall into their hands again."

"But…"

The Queen's voice trailed off as she looked around at the seven people around her. Despite their varying ages and features, all of them shared the same grim, defeated look on their faces. Their eyes all reflected grief of seeing great tragedies, no different than hers. Her opened mouth was snapped shut, and Matthias glanced away to hide his relief.

Suddenly a deafening sound thundered across the lands. From the hillside they could see hundreds of people in dark armors, running towards the standing stones. Battle cries were heard and magical fireballs streaked across the lands, but they dissipated into wisps of smokes upon hitting an invisible wall. Inside, they could feel a vibration as the result of the collision between the fireballs and the invisible wall.

"Legions scum!" the stocky wizard from earlier, snarled. "Let's see if they like the taste of their own spells." He flicked a hand, and suddenly everybody saw that they were inside a dome-shaped force-field which had protected them from the fireballs earlier.

The force-field glowed red, and instantly spewed out fireballs back towards the approaching soldiers, causing a pandemonium amongst the approaching soldiers. Several of them were burned alive by their own fireballs. But the unharmed ones continued running towards them, unfazed by their fallen comrades.

Faint piercing sounds that were becoming clearer came from the sky. Everybody looked up, and saw arrows raining towards them.

"Poison arrows," a witch scoffed, and raised her arm. The magical dome glowed blue, and upon contact with the barrier all arrows dissolved into dusts. "We have to cast it now, Matthias!" she said urgently, seeing the soldiers approaching fast towards them. "Aaron's force-field won't hold them for long!" The witch glanced towards the stocky wizard she was referring too. "Will it?"

"Not for long," Aaron, the wizard who had created the dome force-field, said with a curt nod.

"Then it's time." Matthias cast a look towards Queen Alana, who merely nodded with determination. He returned the nod, giving the Queen a thin smile.

Matthias's wooden staff emitted a dark green glow. He projected green beams of lights towards the standing stones around them, and the stones began pulsing with the same eerie green lights.

"Everyone," he beckoned, "the ancient devices, now."

All seven magical practitioners flicked their left hands, their palms facing upwards. Green light orbs materialized on top of their hands, with identical devices that looked like very thin daggers in it.

With their right hands, they seized the daggers and began chanting the spell. The pulsing sound from the standing stones became faster. Then, they quickly, silently, ran the sharp blades across their left palms, drawing bloods from the area grazed by the blades. The wizards and witches coated the blades of the daggers with their bloods.

Thunders rumbled in the sky as blood-coated daggers pulsed with lights in similar rhythms to the pulsing lights from the standing stones, emanating sounds akin to heartbeats.

Thick, black smokes with green flashes erupted from the daggers and the standing stones, rapidly approaching Queen Alana. The queen's eyes widened as the smokes swirled around her feet, making way upwards around her body and finally her head. around remained silent as the smokes fully consumed her. No doubt she was fearful, but the Queen remained silent.

The wizards and witches watched with intense anticipation, hoping that their last resort plan would work. They cast looks of dread amongst each other, not knowing what this would cost them. They steeled their spirits, for they knew what they were getting into. There was no other way.

The dome crackled with lightning and the ground shook, causing them to slightly lose their footings. Matthias and his comrades saw people in robes similar to them, but crimson in color, had their magic staffs blasting power pellets one after another towards the dome.

"The Dark Mages!" a witch exclaimed in panic.

"No matter, they're too late!" Aaron said gruffly, looking sideways towards Matthias.

The wizened wizard nodded grimly. "It is not them we're supposed to worry about now..." His attention remained affixed to the smokes that had engulfed the Queen. "Look, the smoke is clearing!"

The Queen stood there after the magic smokes dissipated, her eyes shut. She appeared no different than how she had been - none of her injuries had improved, she remained dressed in rags, and she still stood in an odd posture due to her crippled limb.

The standing stones had stopped pulsing. For a moment, there was a deafening silent, only marred by the strong winds from the clouds and the sounds of assaults from outside the dome. Some of the attacks had stopped, for even their enemies outside were intrigued by the event inside the dome.

"Did it work?" Aaron asked.

Matthias frowned. "Your Majesty...?"

After several heartbeats of silence, Queen Alana inhaled a long, sharp breath, as if she was recovering from suffocation. Lightning bolt streaked across the sky as her eyes flashed open with a hiss. Everybody balked, for her grey eyes had turned black – as black as the darkest, moonless nights. A primal growl was heard escaping her mouth; her expression raised the feeling of dread.

She raised her right arm towards them. A strong pulse of invisible energy thundered from her hand, radiating to all her sides.

The last thing the seven good wizards and witches saw was the magical dome shattered into magical dusts, followed by roars coming from their approaching enemies, before the Queen's energy pulse passed through them.

In a flash, everyone felt their worries, their sorrows, and their pains – all gone in a split second after being hit by the energy pulse.

And everything faded into black.

2: A Curious Thing

Present Day

In a small village by the sea-side, a little before sunrise, a motorbike was piercing through the darkness of the village's small road. The sun was not up yet; the rider only had the motorbike's lights as aid to his sight aside from the hints of sunlight from the sky. Occasionally it passed several street lamps which were still lit, and some of the lamps were dimmed as the sky slowly became brighter. Roosters' crows were heard from afar.

A teen was on the motorbike, with a younger boy sitting behind him, both of them had their helmets on. The younger boy had a schoolbag on his back, and was clutching the teen. The teen carefully maneuvered the bike passed through several people walking along the roadside, and honked at some of them. Some of them returned his gesture with a wave, acknowledging that they knew each other.

"Be careful, boys," an elderly lady carrying an empty basket, admonished with a tone all-too-familiar for the teen rider. She stopped walking, one hand on her waist, and called out, "Azad!"

The bike slowed to a stop beside the woman, who halted too. "Going to the market, Mak Jemah?" asked the teen, Azad. He pushed the helmet visor up, and smiled upon seeing the woman. It was obvious the two knew each other.

"Yes. Do come over this afternoon for lunch after your brother finishes school," offered Mak Jemah kindly to the two boys. She cast a look towards the younger boy sitting behind the teen, and gave a kind smile. "It's nice to see you going to school again, Adam."

The boy sitting behind the teen nodded, his face hidden by the helmet he was wearing. He however, didn't say a word. Mak Jemah smiled again, before shifting her gaze back towards Azad.

"Are you making anything special for lunch?" Azad asked, his tone hopeful.

"That depends. What would you like to have?"

"Anything by you is special to us both!"

Mak Jemah snorted good-naturedly. "If that's true why don't I see you two boys every day? Muhammad has been asking for you both lately."

"Business has been good!" Azad grinned.

"So I've heard. Praise to the Lord. I'm happy for both of you," Mak Jemah smiled back. "Now go. I don't want Adam to be late for school."

Azad nodded and reignited his motorbike again. "We'll see you this afternoon."

And off the pair of brothers went on the motorbike. The sky was brighter now, and all the streetlamps were lit off. Birds flew out of their nests, searching for the day's foods. Cars and a couple of school-buses dominated the village's two-lane main roads, heading out from the village. More motorbikes appeared; all with children wearing nearly the same-toned outfits like Adam was wearing, holding on to the ones controlling the bikes.

"So…" Azad said tentatively to his brother. "You're up to lunch at our aunt's house?"

"Why not?" Adam replied, "One can't have too many burgers without getting nauseous thinking about it..." He paused for a breath before continuing, "no matter how good those burgers are."

"The burgers you had a hand in helping to make, you mean?" Azad teased back.

The two brothers were referring to Azad's burger stall business, which he operated everyday in front of their house, from 6 PM to 12 midnight every day for the past six weeks. It was an investment of their family's money which was well paid off, for the business was a big hit in their small village. It was basically a mouth-to-mouth promotion by their extended family members – like Mak Jemah's sons and daughters, as well as other well-meaning villagers who knew their family.

In all honesty, Azad didn't think that his burgers were so special compared to the other two stalls operating in their village. But he had tried improvising, making his burgers a healthier choice – despite knowing that there was nothing too healthy when it came to burgers. He and his brother had been eating burgers everyday for the first two weeks when they had begun operating the stall, but soon found themselves nauseated from even thinking about burgers.

"Of course, my idea of replacing cucumbers with apples, give those burgers an extra kick in taste, don't you think?" Adam asked. "Bet they didn't teach you that in the course you attended."

"No they didn't, and yes those apples have drawn in curious people. If only apples are as cheap as cucumbers."

"Some people won't mind paying a bit extra for something different," Adam pointed out. "It's healthier too, with tomatoes, onions, and if combined with those fried pineapple slices which I once again, had contributed. The villagers love our gourmet burgers."

And that was how their burgers became famous. When Azad had decided to use some of their late parents' money which they inherited, to invest in a burger business, Adam was the one who had improvised the simple ingredients in typical street burgers to give it a more personal touch. Right now, they could afford using apples and pineapples in their burgers, adding to the taste, while still maintaining a cheaper choice of using the usual basic ingredients. However, their patrons didn't mind the extra charge for them to have the fruits added; they had the option to not have the extra ingredients if they preferred as such.

Azad turned the motorbike at the bigger road, where the cars and buses were moving at a slower pace. He was thankful that he had decided to use his motorbike. Carefully maneuvering the bike along the side of the street, he could see Adam's school not too far ahead, with streams of school-goers and their guardians going into the school. It was a new semester opening after a three-week break, and many of the children had that excited look on their faces to begin the new term.

Azad could feel a tug on his shirt. "You can drop me off here, Abang Zad. I can walk to school, it's not too far ahead," Adam requested.

"Someone's eager to go back to school," Azad grinned, stopping the motorbike at the nearby bus stop. Adam got down, removed his helmet and gave it to his brother. He took his brother's hand, kissed it, before Azad realized why his brother was in a hurry to walk to school as Adam greeted several boys around his age. Amused, he waved just as Adam glanced back towards him.

Azad watched his brother until he had entered the school gate, before making his journey back home. Time to help out at the morning stalls, he thought to himself.

* * *

* * *

Two hours later, Azad grinned at the last customer of the nasi lemak stall. "Enjoy your breakfast, Pak Sabu," he said, handing over a plastic bag containing three packed nasi lemak to a bearded man looking to be in his fifties. "Come again tomorrow!"

"Thank you, Azad. My, aren't you a hardworking young man," Pak Sabu commented, his tone impressed, "helping out at Pak Amin and Mak Reha's nasi lemak stalls in the mornings, and operating your own burger stall in the evening. If only some of our village's boys are as hardworking as you."

Azad smiled. "I want to learn business skills, Pak Sabu. What better ways to help me operate my own stall than learn from the seasoned ones?" He took a glance towards the elderly couple whom he was helping out that morning. Pak Amin and Mak Reha were his neighbors, and as their nasi lemak was a big hit in their village, they often found themselves shorthanded in attending to the customers. With Azad helping out, the business was smoother for the elderly couple.

"How old are you again?" Pak Sabu gave the young man a quick appraisal. "Twenty-one?"

"Nineteen, actually," answered Mak Reha, a plump woman in her fifties, as she was cleaning up the empty containers on the table of her makeshift stall. "It's just too bad I don't have single daughters anymore; he's quite a catch around here. Why do you ask, Pak Sabu?"

"Just curious," Pak Sabu gave Azad another long look. "Young, handsome, and with a skill of business; you don't get any better combination than that around here. I can't believe you're just nineteen, though... I thought you'd be older. That means you finished school just last year."

"I did," Azad nodded.

"No plans in continuing your studies, boy?"

Azad shook his head. "My results weren't so good so I didn't get anything that I'm interested in, and the offers I did get were those I couldn't imagine myself doing. So I decided to take a break from studying for now, to see if I could work first and save up some money. That was the plan… before the accident. Now, I want to take care of my brother until he finishes school. And that's probably another seven years down the road. Maybe I'll take up a part time course in another year or two, but I wouldn't count on that just yet. Adam is my priority now."

Pak Sabu nodded. "I thought as much. But… seriously, I am impressed. Not many would put off their own goals in favor of another."

Azad shrugged. "Well…my brother and I only have each other after our parents' death. It's my duty to take care of Adam." He then smiled ever so slightly. "Besides, Adam is the one interested in school; I intend to work hard to make sure he attends university."

Pak Sabu and Mak Reha exchanged glances and gave the teen similar looks of sympathy. The tragic fatal accident that befell the parents of Azad and Adam were still recent, just three months prior. After a month of grieving, Azad had immediately taken charge of his family-of-two's situation. He refused to let Adam be taken cared by his relatives, despite their relative's willingness. The teen's determination was the talks of the town, when he had chosen to raise his brother himself. However, as his paternal aunt Zuraimah, or Mak Jemah as Azad had called her, and her family were staying not too far from their house, they had the support they needed when it came to occasional home-cooked meals and adults for guidance.

He had immediately enrolled himself in a short entrepreneurship program organized by a famous burger franchise, and used some money left by his family to set up his burger stall. Pak Amin - Mak Reha's husband - had been the one who assisted Azad in getting everything ready for him to start the business, from getting the immunization compulsory to all food operators, to acquiring all the documents needed to make his business a legal one. Financially, Azad and Adam were left with some legacy from their late, well-minded father; thus they did not require a business loan. It was not much, Azad knew that, but enough for him to start up his business to make a living for the two of them.

And what was more intriguing was how Azad was handling the tragedy; it would be the second time he had lost a mother. He and his brother shared the same father, but Azad's birth mother had passed away due to a complication following Azad's birth. Azad's father had remarried when Azad was seven, and his new mother had been a loving one to him and his brother who came along two years after the marriage.

"Well, I'd hate to see a young talent go to waste, so once you have everything sorted out for you and your brother… if you ever need any help, do come to me," Pak Sabu said. "Who knows, your brother might get a fully-sponsored boarding school offer two years later and you can then focus on continuing your studies, or develop more business skills."

Azad smiled. "Thank you, Pak Sabu. That's very generous of you. For now…I'm okay with our current arrangement. But if Adam gets to boarding school, I'll think about it."

Pak Sabu nodded. "I best be on my way now before these become cold." He gestured towards the three packets of nasi lemak he had bought. "Will you be operating your burger stall tonight?"

"Yes. We're open every day, from six to midnight."

"Look forward for my kids to come by tonight."

Azad grinned. "Definitely, Pak Sabu. They have been coming quite regularly; I see them almost every week."

"What can I say? They love your burgers. And I have eaten them; they are good. Different, but good. Better than the fast food chains', definitely," Pak Sabu said and took one last long look at the young man before him. "You definitely have a lot of potential, my boy. Keep this up and you'll definitely make a decent earning for yourself and your brother."

"I thank you for your support," Azad said, grateful of the testimonial.

Pak Sabu smiled and excused himself. Azad watched the elderly man went in his old Volvo car, driving off slowly away from the stall. He then helped his neighbors cleaning up the stall until Mak Reha chased him off to take some rest.

* * *

* * *

On his way back home, Azad saw that he still had ample time before he had to go pick his brother up from school. He still had all the necessary ingredients for his burger business at home so there was no urgent need for him to go to the market. It was still too early for him to start preparing the ingredients; usually he and his brother would do it together a couple of hours before they open the stall to ensure everything would be fresh.

As he crossed by his own house, a traditional wooden house standing on several wooden pillars, with a verandah preceding the entrance and a kitchen with concrete walls built at the back of the house, a sense of longing passed through him. Images appeared from memory, of his father rushing to work, and of his stepmother swiping the dry leaves off the lawn and tending to the flowers growing from pots. Memories of he and his brother reciting the Quran on the verandah, with their father as guide, and him occasionally checking on his brother's recitals, came to him.

I miss you, Ayah, Mama, Azad thought silently, thinking about his deceased father and stepmother. He had no memories of his own birth mother other than the pictures of her he had seen in the photo albums, labeling her as Ibu whenever she had crossed his minds.

Casting a look towards the beach not too far from their house, he shook off the forlorn feelings that were threatening to overcome his mood, and decided to go for a run by the beach like he used to. The morning sun was not too hot for running, and it was not a warm morning to begin with. Plus he needed the work-out. And the endorphins, he thought with a smile; Adam was the one who had highlighted it to him, when he'd wondered why he would feel good after a work-out.

He began walking in fast pace towards the beach, which was just several yards away from his house. Even from his house lawn, he could see the light-colored sands and the sea, and the coconut trees that grew along the beach. His house was built just a bit farther away from where the coconut trees were, to avoid any unfortunate accident during storms.

Maybe I can go for a swim too, he thought with a small smile, noting that in a loose T-shirt and a pair of shorts, he was outfitted well-enough for both running and swimming. The weather was good enough for him to enjoy running and swimming. It wasn't a completely sunny day with the thin white clouds hovering on the sky, but it didn't look like it was going to rain anytime soon.

Or the whole day, for that matter, he thought with a grin, eyeing the fishing boats at the horizon. If it was going to rain, the boats coming back to the beach would be a good indicator.

Satisfied with his assessment, Azad took off his shirt, not really keen on having the newly-washed shirt soiled with sweat and seawater. He folded it and placed it in a shallow depression he had created with his feet against the sandy surface, far enough from the sea water and quite hidden from prying eyes. Looking around him, this side of the beach was void of people. From afar, he could see kids playing with kites and making sand castles, although he couldn't really make out their features. It was unlikely those kids were going to come there. He grinned; as far as he was concerned, this part of beach was his and his alone.

He began with some stretching movements, loosening the tight muscles to avoid sudden onset of cramps. He had been a school athlete, excelling in running, and the beach was his usual practice area. After the tragedy he hadn't been running, at first because of grieving and then he was busy setting up his business. He also gave a lot of attention in making sure that his brother was well-cared upon.

For the next fifteen minutes, he sprinted along the beach, keeping himself on the dry sands most of the time but occasionally found himself deviating to the wetter lands. He enjoyed feeling the sweat dripping from his face and body, and the cool sea breeze slapping against his body. He could also feel his worries and concerns slipping away from his mind as he concentrated on running.

He turned around and returned to his original spot in a slower jog, waiting for his energy to pick up again before sprinting again. After twice alternating between sprints and jogs he returned to his starting point again, panting in exhaustion. His whole body and limbs were sore, but he felt so good!

I should have done this earlier! Why did I ever forget about running can relieve stress? Ok... now it's time for a swim!

He didn't bother with sunscreen as that meant he had to walk back to his house. Besides he seldom bothered with it anyhow, hence the reason why he was so tanned. He could get sunburned, but from what he had read, the morning sun was good for the skin, so he began heading into the sea. The warm waters felt so good against his sore muscles.

He initially had wanted to swim, but settled for just soaking himself in the waters. There were no strong tides and he managed to float himself to a sleeping position, his body facing the skies, his thought adrift as he passed the time marveling the skies. He took several dips into the waters on occasions, but most of the time he jutted his head out of the water's surface, and gazed into his surroundings with appreciation.

The sunlight and the waters gradually became too warm for his liking, as morning gradually shifted into afternoon, and he was forced to return. He swam lightly until at the area where it was shallow enough for him to stand, and thrust both legs downwards onto the surface.

"OWWW!"

He looked down and saw the clear waters turning red around where his left foot was. Something sharp had grazed the sole. He was lucky he hadn't fully planted his left foot on the sands. He jumped sideways, causing splashes, and accidentally toppled into the waters again.

"Owww… what the hell?!" He sputtered out, wincing as the pain from the sole became more prominent.

He raised his left leg upwards and saw blood trickling out from a thin, deep gash at the middle part of the sole. Somebody must have thrown broken glass bottles into the sea, he thought angrily. He made his way to his shirt, and used it to compress the wound. This looks bad… I need to see the doctor to get this stitched before it gets infected.

He grimaced; he hated the thought of seeing the doctor. Not that the doctor was bad, he had no issues seeing the doctor. It just brought back sad memories of the night of the tragedy, when the attending doctor in the hospital's emergency department told him that their parents could not be saved.

After wrapping his wounded sole securely with his shirt, and saw that the bleeding had stopped for the time being, he decided to look for the cause of injury. His blood had not been completely carried away by the waves; he would look around there first. He had to get rid of the sharp object; somebody else could accidentally hurt themselves.

"YEOWW!" He winced, upon setting his bandaged foot into the waters. "Talk about rubbing salt to the wound, literally," he grumbled, wading through the waters, blindingly reaching down at the sands. After a while, his hand touched something hard, and by slowly running his hand along the object he could feel the sharpness of the object.

Feels like a knife or something… Azad located the hilt of the blade and pulled it out. "WHOA! What a find!"

A knife was an understatement; the object he had found looked more like a short sword. The steel hilt was intricately designed, and there was no trace of rust at all despite it being buried under the sea. The hilt extended upwards to a straight blade no longer than his arm. It was a weapon for close combat, he deduced, and his attention was fixed on the beautiful oval jewel embedded at the middle point that separated the hilt and the blade.

"What a beautiful sword." He clasped the hilt with one hand and took the sword towards the dryer sands to examine it closer. "What is it doing here? This should cost a fortune."

All of a sudden, the sword's clear jewel shifted into bright red, and let out an ominous sound. Perplexed, he released the sword by accident, and upon realizing the folly he jumped away instinctively before the blade of the sword could impale his feet. With its blade stuck in the sands, he saw the jewel of the sword had shifted back into its original clear coloring and the ominous sound it let out was gone.

"That's odd. If I didn't know any better I'd say the sword doesn't want me to hold it." He shook his head in wonder at the notion. "That's just ridiculous. A sword can't want anything. But I can't leave it lying around here."

He watched the sword suspiciously for a minute, before reaching down to take the sword. The sword responded once again with the same violent sound, its jewel turning red once more, as if protesting in him holding it. He ignored the sound and continued to inspect the sword again, before suddenly sensing increasing heat coming from the hilt. He saw the sword's blade was turning white, before the hilt became too warm for him to hold and he was forced to let go of the sword again; the heat was akin to holding a boiling kettle.

"Oh hot, hot, HOT!" Azad fanned his hand, which was nearly burned by the sword. The sword plopped on the sands, the blade and the jewel both shifted to their normal colors. He frowned, his heart thumped fast as he marveled at what the sword had just done to him. "What the hell, sword? God..."

He took several steps backward. He was not one who would freak out easily, but this sword was unnerving. Obviously the sword was supernatural. Extraterrestrial.

Evil black magic? He looked around him. A haunted sword? It's just a freaking sword, but it's as if this sword is …alive…

He observed the sword for another minute before the pain on his sole reminded him that he needed to get it seen by the doctor. Deciding quickly that he had to hide the sword so nobody else would get hurt, he buried the sword and evened out the surface to make it less conspicuous. He would have to come back for it later, as he had no way to hold on to the sword without getting injured.

Well, nobody's gonna steal it without getting burnt, he thought with a grimace, before making his way back to his house.

* * *

* * *

"Nathaniel, look at this!"

A young woman with dark hair and in beige robes pointed a finger towards a blinking red dot on what looked like digital projections of maps on a flat quartz surface. She flicked her hand, and the maps shifted into a rotating globe, before with another flick, the images zoomed out to show nine planets orbiting a flaring star, before zooming out again to show a universe with collections of stars.

"That's impossible!" said a man with short white hair; his beard was the same color as his hair. He, identified as Nathaniel by his companion, wore the same beige robes. He watched the projections intently, as the images zoomed back in to a map of a world, and zoomed again to show a country on its south-eastern quadrant.

"Are you thinking of what I'm thinking, about that world?" asked the woman.

Nathaniel frowned. "It's impossible. That is the realm without magic. Whatever magical traces from that world have been so far, trivial and negligible."

"Until now," the woman said, "If only I can get a better reading of what exactly the scanner is detecting. Whatever it is detecting, it's definitely of Mistranos; I had the scanners set to locating magical devices we can use to help us in our fight. The signal wasn't there before, until it suddenly appeared just now and caught my attention."

"Maybe it hasn't been activated until now, Ciara," Nathaniel deduced. He thought for awhile, staring at the projections until obviously reaching a dead end. He let out a sigh. "Well, whatever that is, you can be sure the Serpent Clan will learn about it too. Once they do, they will be able to get it."

His expression turned dark. "And unlike us, they have the resources to go to the realm without magic to get what they want."

"You mean…" Ciara's expression was fearful. "But… but… there's no way they can do it. Good can do it, but won't. And evil can't do it, but will seize any opportunity to do it if they can."

Nathaniel gave Ciara a knowing look. "They can't on their own…. but haven't you heard? They have been kidnapping children from all over the Eastlands. They are looking for those with the gift."

"The people of Eastlands aren't magical!"

"They don't need to be. Not many in Mistranos are nowadays. They just need to have that spark of the gift, like us. Not many have it, but the descendents of magical practitioners should have the gift inside of them although they don't practice magic."

"Those children are innocent…"

"And since when the Serpent Clan cares about that?"

Ciara looked ashen. "It's a matter of time then before the killings will start."

"Some of the Clerics are already out there, Ciara. They'll get to the bottom of this. Meanwhile, for both of us…" Nathaniel gestured towards the red blink. "We have to watch that, and see how it progresses."

"Isn't there anything else we can do?"

"Like you said," Nathaniel said softly, "Good won't do it even if they can."

"Then we wait?"

"That's the only thing we can do for now."

* * *

* * *

NOTES: Several Malaysian references here, some of you might be familiar with nasi lemak being a common Malaysian breakfast consisting of rice cooked with coconut milk, served with boiled eggs, fried nuts and anchovies, cucumber slices and specially-made chilli paste.

How Azad refers his elders as Pak Sabu or Mak Jemah – they mean Mr. Sabu and Mrs. Jemah, in village lingo.

Adam calls Azad "Abang Zad" which means Big Brother Zad.

Azad refers his parents as Ayah (Father), Ibu (Mother) and Mama (same meaning).

3: The Serpent Clan

Adam had trouble focusing in what his teacher was teaching. It was close to recess time, and he found himself thinking more of getting out of the class. It was Science, usually his favorite school subject, but today was more on refreshing on what they had learned the previous term. Although Adam had not attended school for two weeks prior to the three weeks break, he had spent the school break catching up with his schoolwork. He took occasional notes from what his teachers were saying today, to remind himself of what he needed to look up later when he was settled at home, but other than that he was preoccupied with the gradual onset of headache he was currently having.

He wasn't quite able to recall when exactly the headache started, but it was not long after the tragedy. He also couldn't pinpoint what would trigger the headaches, but they were less severe when he was rested at home. The doctor he'd seen had attributed the headache due to severe emotional trauma and also due to lack of sleep and water. He had been taking the medicine prescribed to him to help ease off the aching, but it was of little help, even causing some stomach discomfort that made him quite wary in consuming it again. The doctor had warned that the painkiller might do that if taken on an empty stomach.

"Are you alright, buddy?" Adam felt a soft tap on his arm from the right, his eyes meeting the concerned gaze of a boy in similar uniform and of nearly the same built as he was. The other boy however had his hair in a crew cut, a far cry from Adam's dark hair with bangs that reached halfway his forehead. This was his best friend and also the one who had been instrumental in supporting him with school works and updates everyday when Adam was recuperating from tragedy.

"Hakim…" He paused, before shaking his head, continuing in a whisper, "I'm fine."

Hakim scowled. "Nice try," he whispered, eyes darting between Adam and the whiteboard where their teacher was writing down some topics for them to read for tomorrow's lesson. "You don't look too good," he added, his eyes back on Adam. "Want me to accompany you to see the school nurse after this?"

"I have my meds in my bag," said Adam, putting his pencil aside, no longer feeling like writing down the topics. He would have to copy Hakim's later. "I'll just take it once the lesson is over."

"Still, you look like you need to lie down," said Hakim.

Adam considered the suggestion. "I think I just need to get out of the class."

Hakim smiled a little. "Me too. How about we go to our spot after this?"

Adam nodded. All he needed was somewhere away. It wasn't that he was antisocial, but after the accident he tended to appreciate lesser crowd of people. Many people had visited their house to extend their condolences, and Adam knew they were truly sympathetic, but the influx of people sometimes unnerved him.

After their lesson was over, the school bell rang signifying the recess time which would be for thirty minutes. The two friends, each had brought a packed meal from home, went to their designated favorite spot just at the edge of the school's garden. It was a rather secluded spot, shaded from the morning sunlight as it was in between two school blocks. There were several benches there, and a reflexology walkway leading to a gazebo. Several kids were occupying the gazebo, chitchatting, reading books, and – to their amusement – doing homework. Adam and Hakim settled on one of the empty benches and had their meal in companionable silence.

"So… what's up with you?" Hakim asked, after finishing the lasts of his cucur kodok, which he had also offered to Adam. "You look like you could use some sleep."

Adam blinked, staring at Hakim. "Is it that obvious?"

"You look tired."

"Sleeping isn't the issue; I slept okay."

"Busy with your brother's burger business?"

"He'd chase me up to sleep by 10PM although the stall closes at midnight." Adam made a face. "And I do only menial things there like money-duties or passing the packed burgers to the customers. No big deal. I wish he'd give me more stuffs to do."

"So what's making you so tired?"

Adam considered, before sighing softly. "I don't know. The crowd… I guess. Ever since the accident, we always have people coming in to offer their sympathies. I get it that they have good intention, but after a while I always feel uneasy when I'm around lots of people."

"I think they have a word for that," Hakim scrunched his forehead to think before shrugging, "nope, can't think of it now. I'd have to look it up later."

"I'm not scared of being in the crowd, if that's what you meant," Adam protested. "I just prefer not to be in one. I'd get headaches or my head would spin. The crowd can be as silent as our class just now and I still feel like running away to someplace isolated."

"And you have no such issue sitting here?"

"Well…" Adam considered, looking at his friend, "no, not really." It was true. His uneasiness and headaches were gone now that they were outside the class.

Hakim grinned. "Maybe it's just the post-holidays syndrome?"

Adam didn't think so, but he had no points to argue. So he shrugged.

Hakim apparently was wiser to his friend's behavior. He placed a hand on Adam's shoulder. "But I know you. You weren't like this before the accident. Maybe it's got something to do with the stress you're having after….well, after that day. My mom says it's going to take a lot of time for you to bounce back to your old self."

Hakim sounded so believable that Adam was so inclined to believe him. "She said that?"

"We talked about it… my mom lost her sister when she was younger. Lung disease that got just too nasty, can't remember the term she used it, nemo -something. It took her months before she recovered," said Hakim. "She lost her appetite, she couldn't sleep, and she wanted to cry everytime she saw 5-year-old girls walking around for a while."

Adam digested the new information his friend had just told him. "Pneumonia," he said.

Hakim blinked. "What?"

"Your mom's sister, sounds like she had succumbed to pneumonia," Adam said, matter-of-factly.

Hakim took a moment before digesting what Adam had just said, before his mouth broke into a grin. "Hey, now that sounds a lot like my old friend…" His eyes glinted with mirth as he added, "The nerdy, walking dictionary."

Adam scowled and punched his friend on the arm. Suddenly he too, felt like laughing when his action only made Hakim laughed harder. This was the friend he had always confided his problems to, and vice-versa from their Standard One days when they were seven, until now when they were going to turn eleven. Although they weren't friends at first, as Adam was rather quiet and mild-mannered while Hakim had a commanding streak in him due to his father being in the army, they got to know each other through a mutual friend, and when that friend moved to the big city Adam and Hakim became closer friends.

"I just read more than you do," Adam finally said after the laughing had stopped.

Hakim took a while longer to stop laughing. He then patted Adam on the back. "It's nice, you know?"

"What's nice?"

"Seeing you, laughing. It's nice, and it's been a while," Hakim admitted. "Truth be told, our classmates don't have a clue on how they're going to approach you today. They're scared they might hurt your feelings unintentionally."

"Oh…" Adam thought to say that he was fine, but his friend wouldn't believe him. "I'm coping," he said softly. "It was hard. It still is. I keep expecting them to walk out of their bedroom's door every morning after the accident. I go to their graves almost everyday…"

Hakim listened, not once interrupting his friend. Adam was blinking rapidly for several seconds, before regaining composure after a reassuring grasp on the shoulder by Hakim.

"Some part of me is already accepting this fate. At least, I've still got my big brother to take care of me." Adam smiled. "He's really wonderful. I don't know how he's doing it. Some of the guys his age aren't the best bunch of people in our village, loitering around smoking and playing with their guitars till sun down…" Adam rolled his eyes in disgust, "but Abang Zad now has a kid he has to take care on his own. It's a huge responsibility, I really think."

"Not just any kid," said Hakim firmly, "you're his brother. Your Abang Zad loves you very much. That fact, everybody in our village has no doubt, especially when he took up the responsibility to raise you on his own instead of leaving it to your uncle and aunt. Nobody had expected that. My brother… you remember my eldest brother, Abang Long? He's 23 and even he said he wouldn't know what to do if he's in your brother's shoes."

Adam was about to reply when suddenly he felt a throbbing headache coming from the temples of his head. He let out a soft cry, trying to suppress the pain but it was futile.

"Adam?"

Adam clutched his temples. "My head hurts…"

Hakim panicked but quickly took charge. "I'm getting you to the nurse."

Upon reaching the school's infirmary, Hakim quickly made Adam lie down on one of the beds and informed the nurse of what had happened. The nurse disappeared behind the counter, before reappearing again in less than a minute with two different tablets on her palm and a glass of water. She walked to Adam's bedside.

"I've…taken a painkiller," Adam croaked, "just before recess time." He remembered the doctor telling him not to overdose on the medication. The tablet looked nothing like the medication he was on, but he wanted to be safe.

"Thank you for informing me," the nurse said. She took one tablet away and made him consume the other. Then the school's bell rang, signaling the end of recess time. "Time for you to resume class, Hakim," said the nurse gently, "tell your teachers that Adam will be here, resting."

Hakim nodded. "Adam, do you want me to contact Abang Zad?"

Adam shook his head. "The pain is lessening now. No need to call him."

Hakim looked like he was inclined to disagree, but he didn't say it. "Just… rest, ok?"

With that, Hakim left and Adam forced himself not to think of anything as the nurse told him to try getting some sleep. The painkiller he'd taken earlier and the tablet he'd gotten from the nurse must have worked their magic, for the pain was gone. His head felt a little lighter as his eyelids became heavier. The nurse had dimmed the entire room by closing the curtains, and with that, Adam fell asleep.

* * *

* * *

Meanwhile, in a massive, dark chamber, a meeting was held between several figures shrouded in darkness. The chamber, with its dome-shaped ceiling, was only illuminated with faint green flames hovering from torches placed at the edges of the square chambers. In the middle of the chamber, there was a flight of stairs leading to a pedestal, with a throne built on top of it. Behind the throne was a large, elaborate carving of the head of a green-scaled cobra with its fang opened; the throne was placed in between the opened fangs.

On the throne sat a man, his identity shrouded by darkness. The only thing visible was the long staff he was holding, the upper-end shaped similarly as his throne – the head of a cobra, with the eyes glowing green. The man was sitting cross-legged in a slouched position, his right arm supporting his pointed chin. His left hand was holding the cobra-staff. He was looking down at his subjects standing below several steps away from the bottom of the stone staircases.

One of the man's three subjects fidgeted, when his attention was fixated on her.

"Well, Ular-Sari?" he asked with a condescending, yet impish, voice, akin to a court jester. "You're the one who called upon this meeting. Speak!"

"Yesss, massster," answered Ular-Sari, one of the three subjects. She had a breathy voice, and her pronunciation of the letter S had a dragging, hiss-like quality. From the faint lights, her identity was made apparent: a hooded, veiled woman in dark green robes held by a simple sash tied around her slim waist. Her face was not visible save for a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Unlike her peers, Ular-Sari was floating, and she glided closer to the edge of stairs, looking up at the one she addressed as master. "My vision has shown me…"

"I have no interest in your so-called clairvoyance, witch," snapped the master with a giggle, "for they are often so vague, that when the meaning becomes clear it's already too late. You, my dear," he pointed towards Ular-Sari with a skeletal finger; its long, pointed nail was as sharp as a blade's tip, " might have discovered those secret scrolls of the dark arts those extinct Dark Mages practiced centuries ago, but we both know your magic is not quite…reliable."

"This time, master, the vision is clear," said Ular-Sari, undaunted. "I saw the Empyreal Sword being used to destroy the barrier around the Eastlands!"

Silence. Ular-Sari waited for a response, but the master only gave her a silent expressionless look.

"What?!"

The master finally had broken his silence and stood up. There was a change in the tone of his impish voice into a more profound, deeper voice that reminded Ular-Sari why this master was to be feared. The flames from the corners of the chambers suddenly flared brighter, fully illuminating the chamber, revealing Ular-Sari's other companions; a brutish man in armor, and a smaller, thin man wearing ragged loose clothes and a cape.

Even the master's full form was revealed in that momentary brightness; his azure outfit clasped on his lithe frame like a second skin, looking like a serpent's scales. His boots and gloves were leathery black. He wore steel body armor in the shape of an X over his torso with an insignia of a cobra's head in the middle of the X. The armor extended upwards to form two shoulder-plates, and from beneath those plates a black cape billowed down, which started to make him blend with the darkness once again as the flames dimmed to their former state, his face not yet revealed from the brief illumination.

The master giggled, regaining his composure. "That's not possible. The Empyreal Sword is destroyed by the dark queen during the recent Great War."

"It was thought to be," Ular-Sari countered. "But I saw it, clearly in my vision."

"Well, if you know where it is now, dear, why are you holding back the details?" The master pointed his cobra staff towards the floating witch. "Maybe…some persuasion is needed?" Another impish giggle ensued. "I'm sure that would have made my day!"

Ular-Sari tensed. She considered the answer she was about to give.

"Tick tock, dear," the master warned. "Tick tock."

"The sword is not in the Eastlands…" Ular-Sari began.

The master let out a vicious, snake-like snarl as he brought the cobra staff near his face. The faint glow from the staff's eyes was enough to illuminate his eerie visage; a thin, pale pointed face, with faint snake-scales as skin. His long hair was slicked to the back and down to his shoulders, the way it was slicked back made him look like a cobra poised for a strike. He had yellow eyes and slits as nostrils. There were no lips around his mouth, which broke into a sinister, impish smile which made his underlings shudder in fear.

"So …" his voice was now a dangerous hiss, "this whole meeting has been a waste of time!" He extended one scaly hand forward from within the black leathery cape he was wearing, and the air rippled with an unseen force.

Instantly the witch gasped and struggled, as if being clutched on the throat by an invisible hand. The other two henchmen stiffened, unmoving from the spots they were standing at. They knew better than to interfere.

"Congratulations, dear… you've just made the Serpent Deity very angry," said the master in the most uncongratulatory of tones.

"Please…master," Ular-Sari choked, and her two comrades flinched, "I wasn't finished."

The Serpent Deity loosened his magical hold on the witch ever so slightly, just barely enough for the witch to speak. "Tick," his eyes flashed with subtle warning, "tock."

"I plan to use the dark curse to retrieve the sword!"

The Serpent Deity appeared disinterested still. as he returned to his throne. "The dark curse? Not going to work, unless you have the special ingredient. And I doubt you have the capacity to have it. So tick tock."

Ular-Sari shot a look towards the thin man in tattered garbs who was lurking in the shadows. "After many days of hunting, Hissaka has procured a boy…"

"Great. Now we're going to hear about your little escapades with this boy." The Serpent Deity sneered. "Oh wait… is it going to be you two and Hissaka as well?"

Hissaka grunted from the shadows. A strained chuckle was heard from the brutish man.

"This boy has traces of magic in his being," Ular-Sari pressed on, ignoring the master's lewd remarks, "So we took him… and his parents too." She suddenly felt the magical hold that was pressing around her neck loosened, and was relieved. She knew this bit of information would interest her master.

"Now we're getting somewhere," the Serpent Deity said, and leaned back to his throne. His hand was still extended forward towards Ular-Sari, as if still doubting her. "So you plan to use this boy to get to this realm without magic and retrieve the Empyreal Sword?"

Ular-Sari nodded; at the same time wondering how could one giggle and still sounded so abrasively patronizing at the same time. She drew in a sharp breath after the invisible tendrils of magic that clutched her neck were gone and shuddered upon hearing the cheerful trademark giggle coming again from the Serpent Deity.

The serpent master had his palms joined together under his chin, and was gazing at her with gleeful anticipation. "There's just one problem, dear…"

The witch tensed upon hearing the Serpent Deity's hanging statement. She waited, but apparently her master was taking his time before the reveal. She counted several heartbeats, before the serpent master's gleeful giggle was heard.

"Are you willing to pay the price for it?"

Ular-Sari could feel the burning gaze from her comrades. She still had one little detail yet to be revealed.

"A curse this dark… always comes with a price," the Serpent Deity egged on.

"It won't be me casting the curse," she revealed.

"Still, there could be…" the master gave a wicked grin, "collateral damages."

"The dark curse is quite specific. Only the caster needs to pay the price."

"But the curse must be done willingly." It was apparent to Ular-Sari that the master was not in the dark about the curse at all, but merely challenging her.

"Hence, both parents were captured. One for the ingredient…" Ular-Sari paused, "and the other, for the motivation."

"Ah…" Finally, the master sounded satisfied. Ular-Sari saw him grinning as he relaxed to the back of his throne. He nodded at her twice. "How delightfully evil."

* * *

* * *

Adam felt much better after resting in the infirmary, but it had cost him the rest of the school day. Hakim had dropped by to pass him his stuffs from the classroom, and was pleased to see that he was doing fine. The nurse had told him that he would need to take it easy this afternoon and to drink plenty of water, as according to her headaches could be a result of dehydration after ruling out fever and trauma, which Adam had none.

"I'd accompany you to the school gate, but I need to go for an interview," Hakim said apologetically, but the excited glint in his eyes betrayed his low tone.

"Oh that's alright," said Adam, as both of them stepped out from the infirmary. "Interview, huh?"

"Prefect interview," Hakim replied with a grin, "You think I'd get in?"

"An army brat and a boy scout, not accepted from becoming a prefect?" Adam asked with a mock-incredulous tone. "They're out of their minds if they decline you."

Hakim let out a laugh. "Ha ha. Thanks buddy."

Adam grinned. "Don't worry, you'll impress them. Now go!"

He had to smile seeing Hakim's excited run towards the library, where the interview would be held. He really believed that his best friend had what it would take to become a school prefect this second term, and for the rest of next year when they would be in their final year of primary school.

Making his way to the school gate, he saw his brother sitting on his parked motorbike at the opposite side of the road. He thought that his brother was sitting in a rather odd position on the bike. He was oddly-dressed too, as if in a haste, in an old T-shirt and a worn-out bermudas; usually his brother would put some more thought on how he would be seen in public. And was it just him, or his brother was looking a bit sunburned?

Looks like somebody had a good time at the beach, Adam thought with an inward smile; Azad had been doing a lot of work as of late, Adam thought he could use the break. He was glad that his brother had finally decided to loosen up and enjoy himself, breaking away from his all-responsible mode.

He approached his brother, said his customary salutation cheerfully before taking his brother's right hand with both his hands.

"Hey, how's school?" his brother greeted him easily, always with his trademark lopsided grin. He grabbed Adam's left shoulder and pressed it lightly with affection.

"Ouch!" Adam was taken aback by the sudden shooting pain he'd felt upon contact. It took him by surprise he didn't even have the time to control himself, but what was more surprising was the fact that the pain didn't come from his shoulder.

Azad quickly withdrew his hand, looking confused and also suspicious. "I thought it wasn't a hard grip."

"No…it's my foot, the left one." Adam bent down to take a look at his shoe soles. "Strange," he frowned, upon seeing nothing out of the ordinary on his shoes, "I thought I'd accidentally stepped on a sharp stone or glass…" His voice trailed off; the pain was already gone. 'Weird…'

"Huh?" Azad frowned. Adam caught his brother's eyes looking at his own feet and followed them. He saw the left foot was bandaged.

"What happened to your left foot?"

Azad looked at him with wonder. "I accidentally stepped on a…something sharp…at the beach. Had to get it stitched. Actually I was from the clinic. Five stitches in total, due for removal in a week's time."

Adam frowned; there was something that wasn't right from the way his brother was speaking. "You're hiding something." He recalled what his brother had just said, and narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "What exactly did you step on?"

Azad gave a resigned sigh before smiling slightly. "I can't hide anything from you, can I?"

"Blame my superpower," Adam said, and his brother made a face. Even from as far as he could remember, he could read his brother like the back of his hand. It drove Azad nuts at times whenever he tried fibbing and Adam easily caught on with the fib.

Azad had dubbed it as his superpower. Adam merely thought that it was his brother being bad in lying.

"Okay, if you must know… it was a sword."

"A sword?" Adam said skeptically. "As in, swords the knights use from those medieval shows on TV, that kind of sword?"

"Something like that. Weird, I know," Azad shrugged. "I'm not kidding you."

Adam searched his brother's warm dark-brown eyes like he always did. "You're not, aren't you? And that's…. cool!"

"Excuse me? Cool? Getting my foot injured is not cool!"

"But it's a sword! Can I see it? I've never seen a sword in real life before. Where is it? Did you take it back home?"

"Hello? Guy with an injured foot here?"

"Oh," Adam gave his brother a sheepish smile. "Sorry."

Azad gave him a mock-glare. "Glad to know I'm still loved. And no, I left the sword at the beach… buried it deep enough for other people not to step on it by accident. That was one freaky sword, if you ask me."

There was distaste in his brother's voice that didn't escape Adam's observation, but he attributed it to the accident. He took another look at his brother's bandaged foot. "No wonder I saw you sitting strangely when I was getting out, like you can't put both feet on the ground."

"Oh that….well, doctor's orders – no weight-bearing on left side for now."

"Oh…poor thing," Adam said with sympathy, thinking how restless it would made his brother be by having his movements limited. He wasn't one who would sit still.

"Nah, I'll live. So what was that all about?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know. I touched you and you suddenly felt pain on your foot? Exactly at the same place I got cut?" He gave Adam a pointed look, "And you know that wasn't the first time it happened."

Adam sighed. "And it's not the first time today, either," He grabbed one helmet and returned the look his brother was giving him with a pleading one, "but can we discuss about it over lunch, please? I swear I'm okay, except for the fact that I'm really, really, starving!"

"Oh alright!" Azad said resignedly. "But… you're okay now?"

"Chirpy." Adam smirked, and gave a purposely-dubious look at his brother's bandaged foot. "Can you ride with that?"

"It's fine, no worries."

"Maybe it's time you teach me how to ride?"

"You're barely eleven! It's against the law! Forget it." Azad sighed and glanced behind as Adam climbed on the motorbike. "Besides, the last thing I need is to be portrayed as an unfit guardian if anything happened to you… you know that."

Adam was silent. His brother looked somewhat fearful at the prospect. He decided to let the matter drop. "I'm sorry."

"Safety's first. End of discussion." Azad ignited the motorbike. "Remember we're going to Mak Jemah's for lunch today? I called her just now before you came out. Meals all ready for us."

"Great, but then discussion is postponed till we get home," Adam said, grateful of the change of topic. "I'm not talking about this at our aunt's house. She'll be worried sick."

"Ok. Fair enough."

"Let her worry about your injured foot."

Azad rolled his eyes. "Yay," he said unenthusiastically.

Adam held close to his brother, as the motorbike began to move. "You smell like sea-water…" He crunched his nose, "and sweat. Yuck."

"Ha ha!"

"And I still want to see that sword."

* * *

* * *

After their meeting, Ular-Sari had excused herself from her peers, and now was making her way through a dingy, dark tunnel which would lead to her private chamber, replaying in her mind the meeting that had occurred earlier.

'The Empyreal Sword will pave a way for me to obtain him.'

Upon reaching at the end of the tunnel, Ular-Sari waved a hand to lower the magical protection she had placed at the entrance. She doubted that it could stop her master should he decided to raid her private chamber, but it would alert her if the protection was being breached, and that would give her time to prepare for the master's arrival. Not that she had any plans to betray him; she had reverence for the snake-like overlord and her magic was an extension of his.

However, everybody has their secrets, and Ular-Sari's was something she was not prepared to reveal to anybody. Yet.

She opened the door to her chamber, which was a spacious circular chamber located at the bottom of the north tower of the Snake Mountain, where they all resided. She was greeted with total darkness, but with a flick of her right hand, the chamber was instantly illuminated by torches on each corner of the walls and candles at random places.

It was a library, more or less, with many thick volumes of books and old scrolls arranged neatly in the bookracks that surrounded the circular chamber, or stacked carelessly along the walls. A spiraling metallic staircase was located at the farther side of the chamber from the entrance, leading to her personal bedchamber. A large oak table stood in the middle of the room, with vials and concoctions in multicolored bottles on top of it.

At the edge of the table was a crystal ball placed over a velvety cushion. Ular-Sari glided towards the crystal ball and focused her power to activate it.

"Show me him," she commanded, focusing her thoughts on what she wanted the crystal ball to show.

It let out a soft violet glow, and Ular-Sari peered into it. She couldn't see anything but clouds of purple and black at first, but as she grew more focused, the clouds within the crystal ball began to thin.

While awaiting a clearer vision, her mind reeled back to the situation which had led her to the discovery.

For months, she had been looking for ways to destroy the magical wall that had been erected around the Eastlands hundreds of years ago during the First War, as instructed by the Serpent Deity. The barrier was raised by wizards of old, confining the Eastlands from the rest of Mistranos as a safe haven for the non-magical people. Thus, the Eastlanders were ignorant and unaffected by the Great War, a far more recent war that had taken place just thirteen years prior, due to them being under the protection of the barrier, having lived there magic-free for generations.

However, unaware to them, several magical artifacts had been sneaked into this side of the land before the barrier was cast. One of the artifacts had fallen into the hands of a man with an evil heart, and it had mutated him into assuming snake-like qualities – that was how the Serpent Deity rose to power and how he was able to use magic.

With the power, the Serpent Deity had assembled fighters who would be loyal to his cause, transforming them into snake-men; the Serpent Clan was born. For years, he had terrorized the Eastlands before growing increasingly disenchanted due to the lack of resistance; he was peerless, for there were no other magical practitioners to contend with him. Several years ago, he had claimed residence on the mountainous region of the land, dubbing it his Snake Mountain where he built his fortress and resided there.

Ular-Sari's own rise to power had begun from a tragedy she didn't wish to remember. She was betrayed by the ones she had previously served, and it was the Serpent Deity who had used his magic to save her at the brink of death, transforming her into what she was now. She had been human once, but now she lived in a shadowy existence as Ular-Sari, the ghost-witch of the Serpent Clan, floating in the hooded long robe that gave her a human visage. She however had no regrets aligning herself with the Serpent Deity, for she had been a regular human once. As Ular-Sari, she now possessed magic, and a limited power to look into the future in the form of premonitions.

Several weeks ago, during a regular meditation, she was struck with a powerful premonition regarding someone who would shift the balance between good and evil. When it came, Ular-Sari suddenly found her body possessed by an unknown force, and heard the prophecy being told with her voice. The vision was brief, but its effect so profound that it left her breathless and shivering when it ended.

Ular-Sari then spent two weeks waiting for the vision to recur, but it didn't, and the details were becoming hazier as days passed. Not willing to forget such a profound vision, she used her magic to extract her memory of the vision and placed it in the crystal ball, where she could replay the vision whenever she needed.

She however, had no inkling whether this person in her vision was someone from the present or the future. She'd know when she saw the one; the man's face was etched in her memory. If this prophesized person could really change the status quo between evil and good, then Ular-Sari had every reason to be uneasy. Evil was the dominant force while good was doing all they could to stop evil from expanding. Ular-Sari had aligned herself to evil; she had no intention to see evil lose.

But then again, the prophecy didn't say that this man will be the bane of evil. Only that he has the power to shift the scale between good and evil, she had thought, reevaluating the wordings of the prophecy. Who's to say it is not the other way around, if good prevails one day?

Thus began her crazed notion to search for the man in her prophecy, but her vision would only show her him and nothing more. She knew that he was not in the Eastlands; she had used her power to search for him high and low without results. Her magic did not extend beyond the barriers. With such incomplete details regarding to it, she dared not mention it to the Serpent Deity. He would only dismiss her if he was feeling charitable; he'd do worse than what he had done earlier that day on his bad days.

Then it came to her; she'd received the vision regarding the man when she was looking for ways to destroy the barrier. Visions and prophecies could come at the most random of times. The prophecy's wordings had distracted her – but what if this man was also the answer to their barrier predicament?

"What did he use to destroy the barrier?" she had thought out loud, before another unexpected vision struck her.

It was one of her most straightforward visions, lasting merely seconds before she was snapped back into reality. She only saw a sword, wielded by a man shrouded in shadows. She had no doubt who was the man in the shadows, and there was no mistaking the sword. Everybody in Mistranos would recognize the sword; even the people of Eastlands knew about it from the fantastic stories told by their ancestors who had seen it being used. It was a sword that could empower its wielder, and a sword that could repel any magic. Even the barriers.

I'll just have to retrieve the sword to make sure it will never be united with this man in the prophecy, Ular-Sari finally decided. And then we can use it to destroy the barrier.

Knock, knock.

Ular-Sari froze upon hearing the knocks at her door. They were soft knocks, as if requesting entrance instead of demanding it. It also was not urgent, for there were just two knocks; her visitor did not see the need to knock repeatedly.

She went to the door and opened it, pleased to see that it was an expected company.

"Greetings, Ular-Sari," Hissaka said, his voice silky, almost gentlemanly if not for his ragged outfits. He was holding ropes in his hand, tied to three people who were blindfolded and their mouths gagged with clothes. The mercenary gave the ropes a slight tug, eliciting surprised grunts from the captives. "One magical boy and his parents, as you requested."

Behind the hooded veil she was wearing, Ular-Sari smiled, allowing entrance to Hissaka and his three captives.

Now, it was time to enact the dark curse.

 

4: Taken

Lunch at their aunt's was fairly uneventful for Azad and Adam, save for the fact that Azad had to endure a well-meaning lecture from Mak Jemah to be more careful, and to always watch where he was stepping his foot on. Then it became a tirade of her being annoyed of people not taking care of the beach's cleanliness and progressed to the fact that dirty beaches could lead to the extinction of endangered marine lives such as turtles. Otherwise, they had an enjoyable lunch and spent another hour resting and catching up with their aunt's family before deciding to head back home.

Adam had related about him being held up in the school's infirmary, but had immediately assured that it probably was due to lack of water. And his brother also had told him that he was merely toying with him back at school, claiming that he'd seen his bandaged feet from afar and merely wanted to elicit a response from his brother to get the story.

Somehow, Azad was not inclined to believe Adam's hasty explanation, but he didn't want to press on it either. Adam had been having headaches quite frequently as of late, he noted, but even the doctors had said it was most likely post-traumatic stress. And the last thing he wanted for his brother was stress.

A couple of hours later, both brothers were strolling down the beach, admiring the late afternoon's weather by the beach. Azad saw that the fishing boats he had seen earlier that day were now making their way back – they seemed bigger now than they were this morning. The sun was now closer to the horizon and the winds were soft and comfortable, carrying the salty air about them.

They made their way towards a spot Azad knew only too well.

"Is this the spot?" Adam asked eagerly.

"Yup. This is where I buried the sword."

Azad unearthed the sword, where it lay untouched just as he had remembered it. He saw Adam's eyes sparked with curiosity and quickly grabbed the boy's wrist before he could reach down to touch it. "Whoa there, careful. This sword doesn't seem to like being held. Watch."

He grabbed the sword, and just like before, the sword let out a warning sound that vibrated in the air and its jewel flared red.

Adam frowned. "Odd."

Azad placed the sword on the sands quickly, not wanting to wait until it let out heat. "If I hold it long enough it'll burn my hands for sure. Freaky, isn't it? I don't think there's anything like it that can be made with our technology."

Adam watched the sword intently. He had his hand extended halfway, eagerness reflected from his eyes, but then he hesitated. The boy looked up, a pair of doubtful eyes fixed on him, as if he was asking permission to do so.

Azad knew that he could prevent his brother from doing so with just a word, but that wouldn't quench his brother's curiosity, and he hated the thought of his brother looking for the sword later behind his back and inadvertently getting himself hurt. Might as well allow him to do it under his watch, he thought.

"If you have to hold it, then I guess… go ahead. Not that I can stop you."

"I'll be careful, promise!" the younger boy said in earnest, Azad had to smile.

Azad anticipated that the sword would react the same way when Adam finally worked up the courage to grasp the hilt wholly by his right hand. His heart thumped faster, awaiting the response, but to his surprise Adam held it with ease and began examining it closely. He watched Adam ran a finger carefully along the sword's intricate hilt and the dull side of the blade before the finger was on the jewel, then gave him a bemused look.

"It's not doing the freaky thing to me," he said, his tone almost sounding disappointed.

"That's not a bad thing, you know. It was as hot as a boiling kettle when I touched it."

"Maybe it doesn't like you."

"You're talking about it as if it is alive…"

"Well," Adam scrunched his eyebrows, "maybe it's like a cat; it may allow one person to hold it and scratch another person who wants to do the same, without any particular reason."

Azad scratched his forehead upon hearing his brother's child-like logic before remembering that the younger boy was still ten. "A cat, you say?"

"Why? Do you have any better idea?" Adam asked, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Not really."

Adam examined the sword again. "It doesn't look like anything we would see in this village. I wonder who left it here. It looks valuable enough not to be left around randomly."

"Not to mention, dangerous," added Azad, thinking about the five stitches he had received.

"Something like this isn't supposed to be left at the bottom of the sea…" Adam cast a gaze at the beach. "It's not broken, it's nicely designed, and I think it should be expensive… just look at the jewel here. I don't think I've ever seen Mama having anything as grand-looking as this one."

Azad nodded. They weren't rich, but they had more than enough to go by. And most importantly, before the accident, they were happy.

Adam took several steps back and began waving the sword about him; there was a child-like ease in the way the boy was handling the sword. Azad knew his brother was mimicking the movements of his favorite kung-fu serials of people having elaborate swordsmanship skills. The two of them used to have mock-swordfight together, but using safer blunt objects as swords.

"Be careful not to cut yourself…" Azad didn't manage to finish his statement, because the sword's jewel began to emit a vibrating glow as Adam continued to be engrossed in his play. He froze, recognizing it as a warning. "Put the sword down now!"

"But it's not hurting me, Abang Zad," Adam protested, staring at the sword. An expression of wonder crossed the boy's face. "It's strange, though."

"What's strange?" Azad went closer to his brother, but the lights from the sword had died down.

"It feels... as if it was made," Adam looked up at him with a smile, "just for me."

Perplexed, Azad decided to entertain his brother. "You think so?"

"I don't know. It just felt so right. I was playing with it, and suddenly I had this notion that it was meant for me all along. Kind of hard to explain it in words…" Adam frowned again, obviously thinking of the right way to explain himself. "You remember my favorite pillow?"

"You mean your stinky pillow?"

Adam stuck a tongue out, looking annoyed. "It's never stinky! Anyway… I have that pillow since the day I was born, right? Nenek made it for me. I grew up with it and eventually I always know, without a doubt, that the pillow is no one else's but mine." He paused, seemingly satisfied of his explanation. "That's how I feel about this sword, despite just seeing it for the first time today."

Azad didn't know what to say, but understood what his brother was trying to explain. He merely nodded.

Adam studied him, in a way that made him feel uncomfortable. "You don't think I'm making sense now do you?"

"Not really. I'm just… trying to digest everything. That sword hates me and wants to burn my hands, but it likes you… allowing you to hold and play with it." Azad didn't like it one bit, and he just wanted to be careful. "There's something fishy about this. It has some sort of magic in it, that's for sure. And you really don't want to be seen having things of magic by other people in our village, especially the superstitious ones."

"Really?" Adam crunched his eyebrows in wonder. "Mama used to tell bedtime stories of knights and wizards when I was younger… I thought magic is kind of cool."

Azad smiled. Adam was still very young to understand the implication of magic for the people. It was frowned upon in their belief; only people with bad intentions dwell with magic. It didn't happen here in their village, but Azad had heard stories of people in business resorting to black magic to bring down their competitors or women using spelled foods to keep their husbands loyal. Not that he believed those stories, but they were known to happen and were famous urban legends too. Even when he was starting up his business, some people had warned him about it.

"Wait… Mama did say, if I was not mistaken… that all magic comes with a price," Adam said wistfully. "I wonder what that means. She never elaborated, but she said it wasn't important because there is no magic here, only in cartoons and fairy-tales, so I shouldn't worry."

Azad then realized that this was probably the first time Adam was able to talk about their deceased parents normally after the tragedy. The younger boy did have the same forlorn expression he always had whenever the subject was brought up, but it appeared that his control over his feelings had improved.

"Maybe … this sword is created to kidnap little children. That's why it allows you to touch it and warns me to stay off it," said Azad deviously, trying to make Adam give up the sword. "Then when you're least expecting it, something will come out of the blue and catch any naughty kid playing with it."

Adam stared at his brother, his pale cheeks reddened. "I'm going to be eleven you know, not five," he said indignantly.

Azad grinned. "OK…"

He didn't have the chance to finish his words when suddenly the clear sky darkened. The calm sea breeze progressively became winds, the earth rumbled, and the calm blue sea turned grey along with the sky and the currents began to pick up. Something screamed supernatural about all this and all Azad could do was to keep one hand close to his brother protectively as they retreated to a safer distance, eyes transfixed on the unnatural phenomenon that was about to occur.

Green lightning struck the sands from out of nowhere, and from the burnt surface of the ground dark smokes erupted. Thunder growled from within the smokes in green flashes, and the two brothers saw human shadows materializing.

"Who are those people?" his brother whispered, tugging on the back of his shirt.

Azad observed the newcomers with growing trepidation. "Bad news."

Three people had emerged from the smokes. One was a thin, lanky man in rags; just looking at him screamed bad news for Azad. His companion was even more frightening – a specter-like woman hovering from the grounds in green robe, hood and veil, and her face's upper-half was obscured by darkness save for a pair of eerie yellow eyes. Her pale hands were skeletal thin with long pointed nails. The third person was a rather ordinary-looking teenage boy looking slightly younger than Azad, with red hair and there was something odd about the way he dressed himself, marking him as not somebody from around the area – but compared to the other two, the redhead looked the most normal. What alarmed him was that this redhead had stains of blood on his outfit and hands.

To Azad's surprise, when the smokes subsided and the weather reverted to normal, the boy with red hair dropped to his knees, crying hysterically, "Mother…" It was a familiar anguished cry, one he knew only too well. Azad had a feeling this boy did not come with the other two voluntarily, and something bad had happened to him in the process.

"Abang Zad… I don't like the looks of them," Adam's alarmed voice alerted him instantly.

Ignoring the boy's cry, the man and the ghostlike woman advanced towards them. The woman pointed towards the sword Adam was holding with her skeletal-thin hand, hissing, "The Empyreal Sword! Get it, Hissaka!"

"Adam, run!" Azad warned and gave his brother a push as he readied himself to block the strangers.

The thin man made a huge leap, bypassing Azad and was heading towards Adam. Adam, his expression in terror, took a few steps back, pointing the sword towards the incoming man. He landed on his feet several meters away from Adam, crossing his arms in a lazy posture. He didn't seem to think both of them as threat. Azad gave a pointed look towards Adam, who caught it with a fleeting gaze.

"Well, well, well…. What do we have here?" the man, Hissaka, said. "Don't make this difficult and just give me the sword."

Adam backed away as Azad tackled the man from behind; Hissaka hadn't bothered to watch his back and Azad would prove that it was a big mistake. They were both about the same size and there was a brief struggle with punches and kicks parried between the two, before Azad was kicked away by the man, but not after a sound punch was laid on the man's stomach.

Hissaka crouched, clenching his belly, but looked otherwise unhurt. He looked up and sneered towards Azad, who fell on his back. "I'm going to enjoy this," he sneered.

"Stay away from my brother!" Azad roared, immediately leaping up and went into a fighting stance. He didn't earn the highest ranking recognition in Silat and a black belt in Tae-Kwan-Do to not use it when danger loomed against someone dear to him. Despite the searing pain from the stitched cut on his left sole, Azad ignored it, determined not to show any sign of weakness.

"As the big brother, it is your duty to protect your little brother, always." His deceased father's words echoed in his mind, fueling him with strength.

"Feisty." Hissaka waved a loose sleeve and immediately something long flew out. "Say hello to a friend of mine. He's feisty too."

It landed in front of Azad, and he involuntarily recoiled in disgust upon seeing that it was a black, poisonous, cobra. The cobra, upon seeing him, immediately had its front-half of the body stood erect ready to strike. A terrible hiss came from the snake.

Azad panicked. He didn't know anything about fighting a snake! A terrified scream distracted him, and he saw that the specter woman was gliding towards Adam!

"Pay attention to your own life, boy," Hissaka sneered, "and let Ular-Sari deal with the kid."

The cobra advanced towards him in rapid slither. Knowing that he would stand a better chance trying to run from it, he made a back-flip and sprang towards Adam. In retaliation, the cobra gave a vicious hiss and struck out, not intent on missing its target, but it narrowly missed his feet. Azad kicked some sands backwards, hoping to delay his reptilian foe, doubting that it would actually work.

"Give me the sword, boy!" the ghastly woman, Ular-Sari, demanded; her breathy voice having the same slithering quality as a snake's hiss.

Adam held up the sword to protect himself. Unexpectedly, the sword vibrated and the jewel embedded on it turned into sapphire blue. Two cross-bars formed from each of the hilt's side and curved upwards, as the blade lengthened to twice its original size and twice as broad. Formerly appearing like a dagger, it was now a full-fledged sword, and Adam was struggling to hold it due to its increased weight.

Ular-Sari froze momentarily upon witnessing the sword's transformation, before letting out a satisfied cry as she flew down towards Adam, hand extended to make a grab for it. However, upon contact with the blade, a warning sound was heard vibrating from the sword as an invisible pulse of energy erupted from it. The witch-woman was sent flying back and toppling over the sands due to the impact with the invisible force.

The impact also had thrown Adam to the sandy grounds and he had accidentally dropped the sword in the process, but Azad who had retreated close to his brother immediately jumped down to seize the sword by the hilt. The sword reverted instantly into its dagger form and grew hot in his touch, but he didn't care. He swiftly rolled away from his brother, sprang up with a loud roar as he made a blind slash forward, guided only by the mad-like hiss that came his way.

"NOOOO!" He heard a scream from Hissaka before a sound akin to a sliced flesh, coupled with a short dying snarl, followed.

Struggling to calm his nerves, Azad saw that he had sliced the cobra sliced into half; its two halves lay dead on the ground. The sword became too hot that he was forced to let go, watching the sword fell on top of the remnants of the dead snake. Upon contact with the snake's bodies, the blade became white and burned the serpent's two halves, setting about a foul smell in the air before the remnants burst into smoke and dust. The sword remained unaffected.

"You'll pay for that!" Hissaka snarled, advancing towards Azad.

Still couldn't believe that he had just killed a dangerous cobra, Azad stole a glance to make sure Adam was safe. Somehow Adam had elicited a response from the sword and it had thrown the ghost woman back. He looked at the sword and the incoming Hissaka, who had leaped towards him.

"Abang Zad, take the sword!" Adam screamed in fear.

Without thinking, he seized the sword in response to Adam's cry, and to his astonishment this time around the sword didn't burn him. Instead, when he had his hand grasping the hilt, the sword responded and morphed into its full-form, and for the first time Azad saw the jewel turned blue instead of red when he touched it. There was reassuring warmness radiating from the sword into his body and in that fleeting moment he remembered how Adam had described the sense of belonging when he touched the sword, as he too was experiencing a similar feeling. Even the pain from his sole had lessened. The sword felt heavy in his grasp, but nothing he couldn't handle.

Hissaka, who had leaped towards him, saw him wielding the sword and quickly halted his advance. He landed on the ground and watched the sword warily.

Remembering his brother shouting for him, Azad glanced to his back and saw Adam standing up at a safe distance away from the battlefield. He also noted the redhead was staring at them with wonder, as the ghost woman identified as Ular-Sari stood up, pointing her gnarly finger towards Adam before turning towards Hissaka.

"Seize the sword!" she demanded. "I shall deal with the little one."

"Not a chance, witch!" Azad retorted. "Adam, get to safety!"

"You don't have a say in this, unfortunately," Ular-Sari said with a hiss. She raised her right arm skyward and from her sleeve, a long ribbon shot out and soared towards the sky, with auras of snake specters glowing about it before it went downward towards Adam. The boy, seeing the incoming danger, began to run, but controlled by the witch's power the ribbon moved in a way similar to a serpent descending for a strike. It swirled around Adam's leg, causing the boy to topple onto the sands. Without wasting any time, Ular-Sari manipulated the ribbon into tying itself around Adam's body, and retracted the ribbon, taking the boy along with it. She let the boy crash-landed on the sands, causing the boy to be momentarily disoriented.

"You're coming with me, little one. I must know how you, a mere boy, are able to active the Empyreal Sword!" said the witch, holding her magic ribbon tight.

"Abang Zad!" Adam screamed, struggling to break free from the ribbon. The ribbon, despite looking fragile, was rather strong and it held to Adam tighter as the boy struggled even more.

"Let him go!"

Azad leaped towards Ular-Sari in anger, with the sword charged for a strike, but in his moment of distraction in seeing Adam in danger, he didn't see Hissaka leaping towards his back until the sword's reflective blade revealed his impending assaulter. He turned, readying himself in haste to receive the strike, but Hissaka was quicker and more nimble; his evil foe shot downwards before delivering a powerful uppercut on his abdomen, knocking the winds out of him. Azad was thrown off his feet, and Hissaka doubled-back before launching a powerful palm strike on his chest, sending him flying towards the waters. The sword slipped from his grasp and he saw Ular-Sari using her ribbon to seize it before his entire senses was obscured by the sea-waters he crashed into.

"Abang Zad! Abang Zad! HELP!"

Fueled by raw spirit of determination to save his brother, Azad jumped out of the waters and saw his brother frantically trashing about and screaming as Ular-Sari dragged him along the sands. He ignored the stinging pain from his feet, stomach and chest, wiped the blood off his mouth, and struggled to push through the currents. The witch-woman had also seized the magic sword with her ribbon; the sword had reverted into its dagger form.

"Open the portal now!" He could hear Ular-Sari demanding the redhead, with Hissaka holding him around the neck.

"No! Please, no! Let me go!"

His heart broke upon hearing Adam's protest. He saw his brother and the redhead both glancing towards him, realizing instantly that the redhead was buying him time. As his vision started to blur and the pain in his chest intensified, Azad took a deep breath and began running as fast as he could towards the kidnappers, his father's advice ringing in his ears.

I'll save you, brother…

He saw the redhead – with much coaxing from Ular-Sari – tore a rolled paper and instantly the weather began to shift like it was prior to their arrival. Clouds of black and green materialized around Ular-Sari, Hissaka, the redhead and his captive brother. His heart thumped wildly against his chest as he made a bolt towards the clouds, upon seeing his brother and the kidnappers vanishing in flashes of lightning. When he was close enough to the diminishing clouds, without thinking he made a leap into the clouds, before another lightning flared and the dark clouds vanished.

* * *

* * *

Inside the building where the Clerics resided, Nathaniel and Ciara started upon feeling the ground shook. They raced outside to the headquarters balcony and saw dark clouds with eerie green glow offsetting the redness of the sunset sky, behind the mountains that lined the horizons. Thunders erupted from within those smokes, but it was too far ahead from the two Clerics, who watched with wonder as the smokes retreated to the back of the mountains.

"What is that?" Ciara wondered, looking at her older comrade.

Nathaniel shivered. "She's done it! The dark curse…"

Ciara's eyes shot wide. "But you said no evil has the capacity to do it. How could she have done it?"

"Let's go inside," said Nathaniel uneasily, beckoning for the younger woman to follow him. "The Leighton family who have gone missing last night… some of the villagers said the bounty hunter Hissaka was behind it. Leighton and his boy Liam have the magical sparks within them due to their ancestors being magical, similar to you and me. So would the infant girl Leighton and Milah just had three months ago. Milah is the only one without any spark of magic."

"Do they practice magic?" Ciara asked, as she opened the door leading to the main center.

"Leighton is a simple man, a wood-carver, and Liam is only fourteen. They are aware of their magical line, but none of them practices magic. They live a normal life in the village of Springvale," explained Nathaniel as he took a seat around the quartz surface that was projecting maps, motioning for Ciara to sit as well. "But like I've said earlier today, one only needs to have that magical spark in order to perform any magic."

"But the dark curse is not just any magic," Ciara pointed out. "It is dark magic, as dark there is."

"The thing about this dark curse is," Nathaniel's face fell as he recalled facts from memory, "anybody could have done it. Ular-Sari or the Serpent Deity could have performed the more complicated initial rituals and provide the ingredients. The final deed though, can be done by anyone, even Leighton or young Liam… and whoever performs the final deed is named as the caster. The final deed is, as you know, absolutely terrible, but a relatively simple one too."

"I hate to think someone as young as this Liam boy is forced into casting it," said Ciara with a shudder, "it will scar him for life."

"Nobody deserves to be forced into casting this curse," said Nathaniel darkly.

"Leighton, Milah and Liam were reported to be abducted yesterday," said Ciara, "Their infant girl Leah is the only one that remains."

Ciara glanced towards the projections of maps, as Nathaniel keyed in details through a remote device near the seat. The initial blink they had seen was no longer in the realm without magic as they had noted earlier, but somewhere much nearer. The map showed a small peninsular on the eastern side of the world map, and zoomed in to show the peninsular in closer detail.

"The magical thing we saw earlier is now already here," noted Ciara.

"Not just here, but also in the Eastlands," added Nathaniel.

Ciara sighed. "Then Ular-Sari or the Serpent Deity now has possession of it. I wonder what is it actually, that Ular-Sari took the trouble to retrieve it all the way from the realm without magic?"

"Something that could tip the scales between good and evil..." Nathaniel said with a foreboding tone.

* * *

* * *

The clouds had swept them back into the north tower of the Snake Mountain, inside Ular-Sari's chamber. Books and scrolls were strewn about haphazardly due to the strong winds and the curtains caught fire from the nearby torches. When the clouds died down, Ular-Sari quickly used her magic to extinguish the flames, but ignored the other messes the curse has brought into her private chamber.

"Let me go!" Adam screamed, still trying to wiggle free from the ribbons. He was already crying, knowing that he had been abducted, but still persistent in getting himself free. The ribbons however snaked around him tighter whenever he tried to breakaway. He looked around him, unable to fathom the sudden change of scenery, but that was the least of his concern. Panic grew in his mind when he didn't see Azad anywhere. He saw his brother giving chase when the evil people had summoned the weird clouds, and saw him jumping after them before everything became hazy. But his brother was not here.

"Mother…" the redheaded boy who traveled with them whimpered, his eyes widened upon seeing a gruesome scene in the chamber. His knees buckled and he slumped onto the floor, crying hysterically again.

Adam followed the redhead's eyes and gasped. A woman sprawled still in a pool of blood, eyes widened in terror, with a knife stuck in the chest. The woman was dead. A sense of dread filled his being as he realized the extent of evil his captors were capable of doing. His headaches returned, but he ignored them.

"Heh. Finally. Something that can silence you," Hissaka sneered.

"You killed her!" Adam accused.

"Oh, I didn't do that…" Hissaka gave a cruel smile as he beckoned with his head towards the crying redhead. "Even I wasn't that evil to kill my own mother."

At this, the redhead's sobs grew louder.

"No!" Adam observed the crying redheaded teen was slightly older than he was. He realized what Hissaka was implying, but couldn't see the logic in it. He couldn't accept it. "I refuse to believe that."

Hissaka knelt before Adam, and held him by his chin. Instantly Adam froze as the fine hairs on his nape stood and he felt a sudden chill coming from the man.

"Such big words from a small fry," the evil man said softly. He stared down at Adam with his pair of glinting blue eyes which made him shiver. A dark sensation crept into him when he saw the man opened his mouth slightly and ran a forked tongue – akin to a snake's – across his lips. Hissaka wiped the tears off Adam's eyes and cheeks with his rough thumb, and to Adam's disgust, he licked the thumb. "I love the taste of fear in little boys…" he said in a foreboding tone.

Adam felt that he should be very afraid of this man. But he refused to give in, trying to remember how brave his brother was. "Whatever you're planning to do, you'll fail. My brother will be coming after you for taking me away from him," he declared.

"Your brother is a very lucky man if he's not dead from the palm strike I blasted him with before we left," said Hissaka with a jeer, "because that strike is laced with poison."

"No!"

"ENOUGH!"

Adam froze upon hearing the witch's snarl. The redhead's whimpers also died down into a frightened sobs. Adam steeled himself into turning to his left, where the shadows from that witch-woman known as Ular-Sari fell above him. He then saw the cause of her fury, and realized that perhaps for the time being, he was safe. But he didn't dare to say anything to provoke the witch-woman, whose gnarly hand trembled in contained fury as she raised her ribbon. He saw that the end of the ribbon was burnt.

The Empyreal Sword was missing.

* * *

* * *

The Whispering Forest was a place avoided during nightfall due to its close proximity with the mountain ranges, and everybody in Eastlands knew the mountain ranges were the place where the evil Serpent Clan dwell. The canopies were too thick, causing the forests to turn dark quicker than the skies. The forest was also located on the higher grounds as they joined with the mountains, giving it a misty air and colder climate even during daytime. True to its name, one who walked within the forest would hear sounds akin to whispers, although there was no living being in plain sight.

Such was true for one woman, who was venturing alone, with a leather bag slung on her shoulder and a cylindrical container with arrows slung on her back. Armed with a bow, she moved fluidly within the shadows; her dark hair and equally dark outfit gave her the perfect camouflage. Occasionally she would glance back upon hearing the whispers, but took comfort that those were the result of winds passing through the leaves, nothing more. Hence, she persisted, with a torch in one hand to provide her a clearer path and to avoid her tripping over the roots and rocks that could creep at the most unexpected of places.

"Sunset," she muttered, eyeing the darkening sky amidst the thick canopies high above. She wiped her sweaty forehead carelessly with the sleeve of her leather outfit, knowing too well it was futile. "I better set camp."

Rumors of the Snakemen running around at night kidnapping children didn't foil her spirit. After all, it was what she had set out to investigate. The Serpent Clan had been kidnapping people, especially children with sparks of magic in them, and the cases reported to them had intensified these past two months. The Clerics, as the figures of authority in the Eastlands, were doing their best to investigate, but she knew that even they were not a match for the Snakemen – mutated soldiers who served their ruler, the Serpent Deity.

She hadn't been actively involved in the investigation at first, for her role in the Clerics was a different one and she was only carrying the title loosely. But things were not getting any better, and she had completed her training, and Nathaniel was confident that she would be able to contribute.

A strong draft of winds made her pause from her tracks. Thunders echoed and she could make out flashes of green in-between the trees, somewhere uphill north-east from her current spot. The phenomenon looked unnatural and it roused her curiosity enough to investigate. She made her way towards the green lights, bow and arrow at ready, as she climbed uphill, feeling that the winds had dropped and the lights gone when she had arrived at the estimated location. However, it was a good guess that she was at the right place.

Before her was a circular clearing, with the smaller trees looked as if they had been uprooted by an unnatural force. The barks of the sturdier trees were ripped off, and the grasses were burnt to the point where the grounds were left barren with blackened spots, where the grasses used to grow. With what little aid of light she had from the torch, she saw something in the middle of the clearing.

Someone, she amended. Her guards up, she approached the unmoving person and held the torch forward to get a good look at him – the stranger's profiles identified it as a male. She knelt beside the man and saw that he was unconscious. He was in a rather peculiar set of outfit which was badly torn and burnt, it would be difficult to salvage and he would need a new set of clothing. He appeared to be around her age, but obviously had been through a great ordeal, judging from the wounds he had sustained. Her training with the Clerics made it a natural for her to check for any sign of life whenever needed, and she laid a hand on the person's chest.

"There's a beating heart," she said, relieved, and bent herself to the person's nose, "there's breathing too. I don't know who you are… but you'll live."

From the corner of her eyes, she caught something glinting upon contact with the lights from her torch. She swung it closer to the man's hand, and saw that in his hands was a dagger. She was about to inspect it, before the man stirred and let out a soft, pained whimper. Quickly she bent closer to the man, finally making out what he was saying.

"Adam…"

Her heart was touched by a profound sense of loss that was coming from the stranger's single whimper. What looked like tears began to form from his closed eyes. She waited for more, but even saying that one phrase… one name… had taken the toll out of the stranger. He let out a choked cough and blood sputtered out his mouth, before falling unconscious again. Resisting panic, she saw the rises and falls of his chest and realized that he was still breathing, despite being badly injured. She wondered what could have caused this stranger to sustain such horrible injuries before her nose caught a whiff of something foul from his chest. She brought her torch closer to his chest to inspect, and gasped.

"Hissaka!"

She recognized the horrible burnt mark on this man's chest well; she had seen it numerous times before, on many people, usually those who attempted to stop Hissaka from abducting a loved one. Hissaka was known for his deadly palm strikes, due to the sharp needles embedded in the rings he wore on majority of his fingers. Those needles had been laced with poisons from the poisonous snakes. With that realization, her heart sank – if she did not hurry, this man would die!

Knowing that she couldn't move him around, she began to set about to look for natural herbs in the forests to start making the cure for the man's injury. This man, whoever he was, just had a loved one taken from him right before his very eyes, and had fought valiantly against the Serpent Clan to the point of being inflicted with Hissaka's deadly blow. Even at this state, he was thinking of his loved one more than himself... this Adam.

It was up to her now to save him. She would have to come up with the antidote, fast.

5: Folsom Prison Blues

It's dark, cold, wet, and frightening . . .

Adam leaned against the wall of this prison he was in, trying to reign in the onslaught of fear that was corroding his spirit.

How he ended up in such a predicament in one day, he wondered. The day had begun normally enough; with him going to school after a long school break. There were those headaches, which were nothing new, but enough to land him in the infirmary half the time he was in school. He and his brother had lunch at their aunt's. Things took a different spin when they found the strange sword at the beach, and suddenly even stranger people came from out of nowhere and abducted him.

I'm in prison, he thought bitterly. He wasn't even a criminal to begin with.

Adam looked around the dark prison he was in. It was a crude square chamber with low ceiling, made from blocks of uneven stones. The entrance was a heavy brown door with no window; there was no way for them to know if anybody was outside. There wasn't even a door knob from the inside. The only source of light available was the opening at the wall lined with metal poles, providing ventilation. The night air was cold, way colder than how it was at home, he remembered. He could see dark forests outside, some mountains, the night sky and the moon. It was ordinary enough, but was so far away from home.

His only comfort that he was not alone; the red-headed boy, appearing slightly older than he was, was at the end corner of the prison. He had his face buried in his thighs, and sobs still escaped him every now and then. They had been louder when both of them were thrown in the cell by Hissaka, but gradually became more distinct and muffled. It had been almost two hours since both of them were put inside the cell, and Adam had waited for the older boy to stop crying.

However, if that evil man, Hissaka, were to be trusted, then this boy had killed his own mother. Adam shook his head, having trouble to believe it. The boy didn't look evil at all, and if he did do it then there he wouldn't be here, and he wouldn't feel so sad and remorseful. Yet, the boy had done nothing but crying for the whole time both of them were there.

Adam moved closer to the boy, relieved that at least their captor didn't chain them over the walls. Perhaps they didn't see the need; there was no possible escape from the cell.

"Hey," Adam said softly, kneeling in front of the boy.

"I'm sorry." A muffled reply came from the boy, choked between sobs. The boy looked up, and Adam saw a pair of anguished green eyes looking at him, red-rimmed and tear-stained. Suddenly his heart went to the boy. He recognized the expression; although the traits were different it was like looking at himself in the mirror, several weeks back, when his parents' death was still recent.

"Why? You didn't do anything to me," said Adam, wondering why the boy apologized to him.

"They used me to get to you, to take you away from your home and your family." The redhead wiped his eyes with his soiled sleeve. "They forced me . . ."

Adam didn't understand it. But there were so many things he didn't understand that took place today, and it was hurting his head thinking about them. He decided to just carry on the conversation and try to fit the puzzle pieces together.

"Don't worry about it right now," assured Adam, seeing that it pained the other boy to say that. "My name is Adam."

"Liam, son of Leighton." The older boy, realizing that he was in the company of a younger one, began to steel himself, refraining from crying. "You . . . must think of me as a horrible person."

"I'm sorry; I didn't get what you mean."

"You heard him," Liam said, "and it's true."

"Hissaka? That evil man?" Adam shook his head. "I refuse to believe him."

"He speaks the truth. What I did, to my mother . . ." Liam wiped off a stray tear escaping his right eye, "I'm no better than he is."

Adam blinked back the tears that suddenly formed in his eyes. He wasn't sure what was happening, but deaths of family members seemed to reopen the wound in his spirit that had never properly healed. He was just getting back on his two feet and trying his best to move on. Hearing about somebody who had tragically lost his mother was too much for him to bear. He could see how remorseful Liam was and it was obvious that it wasn't his choice, but Adam wasn't sure that he wanted to know the details.

The image of the woman in the pool of blood back in Ular-Sari's chamber was unforgettably gruesome, and asking Liam about how it actually happened would be the most inconsiderate thing to do. Even he himself hated having to remember about that fateful night that took the lives of their parents. He was also, at the moment, very scared, confused, and a whole lot mixture of other mixtures of emotions that he couldn't decipher. His headache was ever-present, but dulled by the empathy he had for Liam. Here was a boy who had just lost his mother tragically, and he of all people knew how crushing it was. Liam needed his help to recover from that day's ordeal.

So, Adam settled to sit beside Liam, offering the boy a shoulder to cry on. This is what Abang Zad would have done . . . what he had done for me that day. This is the least I can do for Liam. He found that by focusing his thought on helping others helped to alleviate his mind of his worries.

Staring at the moon outside through the small wall opening, as his right shoulder grew heavy and damp with tears, Adam thought of his brother and silently prayed for his safety and for their own safety and eventual rescue from this place.

As Liam's sniffs turned to choked sobs, Adam felt tears running down his own eyes as well.

* * *

* * *

At first, there was total darkness, void of any sound.

As his senses returned, he began to feel sharp pain from his chest and his left sole. He dared not move, as his mind was still a blur. He moved a little and the surface below him rustled; it felt like he was on a pile of leaves. He could hear flickering sound and a welcoming heat coming from the right side, as well as bright light that was slowly replacing the darkness as he opened his eyes.

Fire. . . He saw that somebody had built a fire, which was the source of light and heat. His eyes were still blurry but he could make out a shadow behind the flames.

"Oh, good, you're awake!" A female voice came from behind the fire and a young woman roughly his age emerged. He could make out her slim features, her long dark hair and her outfit being as dark as her hair.

"You're . . . a girl . . ." Azad sputtered.

"Woman," she chided, but something about the way her lips curled, suggesting a hint of amusement. "My name is Prudence."

"I'm Azad . . ." He tried to get up, while registering his new acquaintance's unique name. A sharp sting from his chest made him wince. "Ouch!" Clutching his chest, he saw the bloodied wrapping compressing against his body which was done in haste.

"Not so fast," Prudence warned, and helped him lie down again. "You shouldn't move too much."

"But . . . my brother, I have to save him!"

"But nothing. You're badly injured. The wound on your chest is due to Hissaka's poison, but I took care of it for now so you'll live. I had to re-stitch the wound under your left foot though."

"He's in danger," Azad insisted, ignoring Prudence's words. "Please. I have to . . ."

Prudence's ice-blue eyes were arresting enough to silence him. "If you move, you're only delaying your recovery, and by that, delaying your brother's rescue. You're not strong enough to go look for your brother, and heavens forbid that you'd meet Hissaka again . . ." She gave him a pointed look. "A similar second blow from him will kill you, and what good is that for your brother?"

That silenced him. He considered Prudence's words.

The woman's expression softened several considerable degrees. "His name is Adam, right?"

"How did you know . . .?"

"You were calling out his name in your sleep earlier. I'm sure he must mean a lot to you."

"He's the only family I have."

Her stern eyes reflected sympathy. "All the more reason you need to let your wounds heal."

Upon Prudence's insistence, Azad forced himself to lay still. He was still too weak to move about, no matter how much he wanted to. There was a momentary blur before slowly the recent events played in his mind caught up to him, until the point where he entered the smokes and blacked out.

He rubbed his pulsating temple. "How long was I out?"

Prudence gave it a thought. "When I found you, it was twilight. It took me some time to gather the ingredients and prepare the medicinal ointment, and two hours for me to use my energy to expel most of the toxins. So I'm guessing . . . six hours."

"That long . . ." Azad sighed. "Who knows what that creepy witch is doing now to him."

"If your brother is that important for Ular-Sari to have come herself to get him, I'm sure he won't be harmed," Prudence assured. "Usually it would have been Hissaka or Viproxus and the Snakemen who are doing the kidnappings." She laid a gentle hand on the bandaged area on Azad's chest. "I did what I could to treat it and I think I managed to get most of venom out, but I'm not too sure. I'll have to do it again tomorrow. But our best bet is to get back to the Order of the Clerics to get it looked into."

Azad let out a long, glum breath as he silently processed what Prudence was telling him. He didn't understand the latter parts of it, but nodded all the same.

"I'm so sorry the Serpent Clan has taken your brother hostage."

The way she had said it, Azad thought that she wasn't unfamiliar with his predicament. And there was a grim tone in her voice, with her expression equally as foreboding.

Serpent Clan . . . Clerics . . . Hissaka and Ular-Sari . . . Those didn't sound like anything remotely from his home or village. There was so much that he didn't know still. Why was Adam targeted and who were the people who had taken him?

"There are others kidnapped?" he asked.

Prudence nodded grimly. "Those believed to have magic."

Magic? Man . . . this is a strange day.

"Do you . . . know why they took my brother?"

"Probably for the same reason I've mentioned."

"But . . . my brother has no magic! Magic . . . isn't real . . ." His words were drowned in his recollections of Ular-Sari's magic and how Hissaka was able to generate a living snake literally out of his sleeve, and how the dark clouds appeared and disappeared. He was also reminded of that sword he had found . . . the Empyreal Sword, as Ular-Sari had called it. How his brother was able to tame the mysterious sword when it nearly burned him when he attempted to touch it, except that one last time when it finally allowed him to use it.

"Magic is very real here, I'm afraid," said Prudence, "although not everyone has the gift." She poked his chest lightly with a finger. "Wherever you are from, magic brought you here, to the Eastlands . . . to Mistranos."

His eyes took in his surroundings. Aided by the light from the campfire, he could only see trees with high canopies around him, and the cold atmosphere and heavy mists suggested that they were nowhere near the beach anymore. He was familiar with mountains, having been on various camping and jungle-trekking expeditions when he was in school, and he recognized the cool air of the deeper part of a jungle. Despite having the blanket Prudence gave him and the warmth from the campfire, he still felt cold and realized that he was severely underdressed to be in the jungle, with only a pair of shorts and his chest wrapped by crude bandages. He tugged his blanket to wrap around his body tighter.

"I don't recall ever hearing about the Eastlands or Mistranos during world geography classes when I was in school," remarked Azad.

Prudence gave him a blank look and two blinks. "What realm are you from?"

"Uhh . . . Earth?" Azad wondered if Prudence ever heard of Earth.

The woman merely cast a look towards the grounds, before looking at him with a bemused expression.

"Not that earth. My planet . . . realm . . . is called Earth. I'm from one of the country on its south eastern region, Malaysia."

A dawn of realization crossed Prudence's face. "This home world of yours, this Earth . . . does it have magic?"

"Nothing like I've seen today."

"Could it be that you are from the realm without magic?"

"Oh . . . we have tricks done by magicians, or sorcery done by witch-doctors . . . nothing as flashy as I saw Ular-Sari or Hissaka have done, but they can be deadly too."

"We have those too . . . mere tricks or dark sorcery," said Prudence with disgust, "even in the Eastlands, but they are nothing too significant. But assuming that you indeed are from the realm without magic . . . oh no . . ."

"What's wrong?"

"The kidnappings of the magical children," she told him. "The Clerics suspect that the reason behind it is to force them to cast dark magic. Or steal their magic . . . if they can do that. I wouldn't put it past Ular-Sari to have that kind of heinous ability. And . . . oh no . . ."

Azad sighed; he was given so much information yet he could barely make sense of any of it.

Prudence shivered. "With the magical children, the Serpent Clan can invoke the dark curse."

Azad saw Prudence's face fell. "What's a dark curse?"

"An evil form of magic, capable of achieving feats normally not achieved by regular magic . . . for example, teleportation between realms," explained Prudence, "but it comes with a terrible sacrifice in order for it to be invoked: the life of the person you love most."

"I don't think those freaks can love anybody."

"Exactly. They can't . . . but they can force the magical children to do it."

Azad swallowed, and remembered the redheaded boy who was with Ular-Sari and Hissaka. The stricken look on his face, the anguished tone when he called for his mother, combined with what Prudence had just told him, they all fit like missing pieces of a puzzle. It made him sick thinking about it.

"The only way for you to be here, in Mistranos, from the realm without magic, is by using the dark curse," said Prudence. "I was looking for a place to set camp for the night when I saw those clouds with thunders appearing from out of nowhere. When I went to investigate, the clouds were gone and there you were, unconscious. Those clouds were a portal between your world and ours. "

"They used the . . . clouds . . . to take my brother away."

"I think they are after something else. Your brother Adam isn't magical, like you've said. So he probably was not the intended target. Not at first. Something changed their mind."

Azad gave it a thought, recollecting the events leading to the kidnapping again. "Now that I think of it . . . at first, they were after a sword that we found. That sword definitely has magic. And Adam was able to tame the sword . . . only then I was able to use it. Before Adam touched it, the sword would burn me if I ever so much as hold it."

Prudence blinked. "You mean . . ." She leaned over Azad, reaching over to the area where he saw there was a bow and a large cylindrical canister of arrows. His cheeks burned again upon having her body and long hair grazing his face ever so slightly, leaning over him to reach over her stuffs. He caught a faint scent of lavender from her.

She pulled something out from her pile of stuffs, and stumbled with it as Azad heard a familiar warning sound. ". . . This sword?" she asked with a triumphant expression.

"The Empyreal Sword! How . . . oww!" He yelped just as Prudence also let out a gasp. She had accidentally dropped the vibrating Empyreal Sword on top of his bandaged body. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "The blade became too hot for me to hold."

Azad nodded understandably and lifted the sword up from his chest, holding it by the hilt. The sword remained in its dagger form, but the warning sound had stopped and the jewel was no longer glowing. "How did it get here? I thought that witch . . . Ular-Sari . . . I thought she had it with her."

"When I found you, you were holding it." Prudence admired the sword without touching it. "It seems to have a degree of sentience in it," she deduced, now settling back beside Azad.

"What does that mean?"

"It means . . . in some ways, this sword has a mind of its own. Since it's not harming you, my guess is that it chooses you as its master and refuses anyone else."

Abang Zad, take the sword!

Adam's panicked scream echoed in his mind. "My brother told me to take the sword to protect myself from Hissaka," he said with a heavy sigh, "only then it didn't try to burn my hand off it."

"I don't understand how this thing got to our home . . . on Earth. And why did it choose Adam." Azad looked at the sword with distrust, thinking of what had happened to him and his brother after he had found the sword at the beach just earlier that day. "My brother is captured because of this sword. What is so important about it . . . and it seems to belong here in your world rather than mine. How did it get to our home world?"

"All the more reason for us to rest now, and head to my home," said Prudence. "My mentor and friend, Nathaniel, and the other Clerics will be able to explain this better than I do."

"These friends of yours . . . they can help me look for my brother?"

"I have a good idea where your brother is held up at right now, but it will be unwise for us to barge there without a plan. Your brother needs you alive," explained Prudence. "And as for my friends . . . we will give our best shot. None of us can match the Serpent Deity or Ular-Sari, those of us who have magic can't match the one the Serpent Deity has."

"Do you have magic?" Azad asked interestedly.

Prudence gave him a contemplating smile. "A little. Nothing too flashy."

"Can you show me?"

"Not tonight," she said, stifling a yawn. "It took a lot out of me when I was healing you. But you are feeling better now, right?"

"I sure am. Thank you, Pru - - Prue." Azad watched the woman's expression changed. "You don't mind me calling you Prue, right? Since we're friends now, and Prue sounds friendlier."

Prudence's mouth broke into a smile as she shook her head. "I don't mind," she said as she began closing her eyes, still lying down beside him. "But we better get some sleep. It's been a long day for the both of us."

Azad's face reddened as he watched his beautiful rescuer's breathings slowly becoming regular. She was obviously exhausted; he had to tear away his gaze from observing the rise and fall of her upper chest. He turned to face another side in a bid to calm his fast-beating heart. Pain shot up from his chest due to the sudden turn, but it faded as his train of thoughts shifted to Adam. Fear and despair welled up in his heart as he realized he had to recover quickly.

Stay safe, dear brother. Abang Zad is coming to save you . . . He sent a silent prayer for his brother's safety before he too drifted into sleep. 

* * *

* * *

He felt a strong tug as his captor pulled him and his parents along a dimly-lit tunnel. He tried resisting but the villainous man's strength far exceeded his. His eyes locked contact with his parents' and both of them gave him hopeless looks.

It had happened so fast. His father had come home for dinner that evening as usual, but instead of the joyful expression he would always see on his father's face, that day his expression was of intense worry. He saw his parents talking in urgent, yet hushed voices. His mother's eyes had shot up upon hearing what his father had told her. She had trembled before crying and running towards their bedchamber. His father had seen him watching and had beckoned him to come over.

"Liam, my son," his father said, hands both firmly gripping his shoulder. He saw his mother shuffled out of their chamber with a bundle on her hands. His mother, eyes tear-stricken, looked down inside the bundle and for a brief moment, her expression was full of love as she trailed the linings of the bundle. "Take Leah to safety now."

He took the bundle, cradling it securely with both arms. "Father, mother, what's going on?"

"There's no time to explain," his father said urgently. He gave the baby a look of longing, before bending down to kiss her cheek. Then he pulled both his children in a quick embrace. "Go. The Snakemen are on their way here! Remember what I've told you?"

Liam's heart thumped fast as he nodded.

"They mustn't get hold on to you or your sister. Go!"

Liam ran as fast as he could, taking his sister with him, and not once looking back. His baby sister, oblivious to their trouble, remained silent throughout the run. For two hours, he ran without stopping, only slowing down occasionally to catch his breath and to wet his drying throat by the rivers. As the day dwindled to sundown he'd reached the neighboring village, several miles away from his home. His sister began to fuss, and he recalled quickly that it had been past three hours since she had been fed, and they hadn't had the time to bring along provisions. He ran towards a secluded house at the edge of the woods bordering the entrance, where a woman was sitting outside gazing at the setting sun.

To his relief, the woman was nursing her own baby. His sister's cries made her look up from her own baby. At first she was surprised to see him gazing at her, before her expression softened upon looking at the crying girl. Their eyes locked, and Liam braved himself to approach the woman.

"I'm sorry to bother you at this time, madam . . ."

"Where are her parents?" She inquired gently. "She needs feeding."

"She's my sister. Please take her . . . I have to go back to help my parents. The Serpent Clan . . ."

The woman's expression became understanding. "Oh, poor baby. Give me her. My child has finished feeding and there is still some supply of milk left, it will be a shame to waste it." She put aside her sleeping baby and took the fussy Leah, bringing her close to her bosom. Upon the sight and smell of what her infant mind had familiarly perceived as food, the baby stopped fussing and immediately latched on the woman like a lifeline, and began feeding voraciously. The woman smiled before looking up curiously to gaze at him.

"Thank you so much . . ." Liam couldn't be any more grateful. He didn't know anything about caring for a baby.

The woman gave him an appraising look before her face warmed again. "You two may stay here as long as you want. I have heard about the Serpent Clan. You two are on the run, but the nights are not suitable for babies to be outdoors."

At this, Liam knelt before the kindly woman. "I ask for nothing more, kind madam, than for you to care for my sister. I don't know if our mother and father will survive this night. Can I leave her here and go back to my home to see what happened to them."

The woman was speechless. "Surely, you are not going back there? It is not safe. Stay with us."

"I have to." He took one last look towards his feeding sister, before taking off back towards his village.

It had taken him till midnight with his expiring energy to reach his home village. To his surprise, many houses had collapsed, burnt to ashes, what remained of the houses were blackened with soot. Lifeless bodies sprawled on the grounds haphazardly, soaked in pools of bloods. He let out a choked sob, seeing familiar faces, some of them he grew up with, some of them taught him at the Hall of Learning, some of them cooked him meals whenever he had dropped by for visits, and some of them were barely old enough to even know the meaning of living before that was ripped away from them. There was nobody alive in his line of sight.

He rushed past the chaos with trepidation before reaching his relatively untouched home. No candles were lit inside his house. The darkness from the house's interior blended with the outside as he opened the door. The chairs were around the table. The foods his mother had prepared had gone cold, untouched. Everything was in order except for the fact that his parents were not around. There were no sign of struggle, meaning that his parents had surrendered voluntarily.

A creaking sound on the floor followed by footsteps noises made him froze on his tracks. Before he could response, a sharp blow on his back pushed him by force onto the floor. There was a sneering voice talking at him, but he couldn't make out what was being said as his vision dimmed into nothingness.

When he woke up, he was already in a dark dungeon with his parents. According to them, he had passed out for almost a day. Their reunion however had been brief when their captor, Hissaka, appeared at the door and forced them to follow him. Their mouths were gagged with clothes and their arms were tied. The three of them were pulled along by Hissaka like mules, and whenever any of them lost their footing Hissaka would kick them without hesitation.

He saw Hissaka took out a pouch from the insides of his loose dirty robe. The thin, murderous man opened the pouch and took something from within it. He saw a pinch of sparkling green sands, and with a grunt Hissaka threw the green sands forward. From the thin air they saw glows of yellow and brown appeared, flaring bright for a moment before they dimmed down. With a dark chuckle, Hissaka resumed walking until the door, tugging at his prisoners, and lightly tapped the door twice.

"Greetings, Ular-Sari," Hissaka said, when the door was opened, revealing a frightening specter-like woman in dark green robes. "One magical boy and his parents, as you requested."

"You have done well, Hissaka." Ular-Sari floated back into her chamber, and Hissaka pulled the rope harshly.

Liam's heart was beating fast as he took in the sight of the witch's chamber. With a sneer, Hissaka tugged against the rope that was holding him and he flew forward, landed on his belly. The pain he felt at the back of his head now doubled as he had the wind knocked out of him from the fall. He scrambled to get up upon seeing Ular-Sari lurching towards him, her yellow eyes glinted with mirth. She hovered close enough, and held up a gnarly, pale hand against his face. "Oh yes . . . this one will do quite nicely."

"I'm pleased to find the boy is to your liking," said Hissaka.

"Let him go!" his father pleaded to the witch. "He's still young. Just let him go. I'll do whatever you want. It's me you want."

"No. I want both of you and your son," said Ular-Sari, "for my dark curse."

Liam saw his father staring at the witch in confusion, before a dawning horror crossed his father's weather-worn face. Immediately he knew something was wrong when his father, for the first time he could ever remember, had tears streaming down his face as he exchanged glances with his mother. The looks they had etched on their faces were of grief, but their eyes reflected the love they had with each other.

He was startled when Ular-Sari floated towards him instead. With one flick of her hand, her palm facing upward, the crystal ball Liam saw on the table hovered and landed on the witch's palm. It glowed by Ular-Sari's command.

"Boy," she hissed, and Liam was seized by an unseen force that beckoned him to come near her, "look inside the crystal ball."

Fearing her power, he had no choice but to look. He paled upon seeing images of him running from the house, with his baby sister. He saw the two of them meet the kindly woman who had taken his sister in.

"Is she the one you love most?" Ular-Sari asked.

The alarmed looks his parents shot him had told him enough. "No, she's not."

In truth, he loved all his family members. There was no way he could decide whom he loved the most.

"Really? You seem to have gone through a lot of trouble taking her away to safety," prodded the witch-woman. "If not out of love, then why would you do it?"

"Doesn't mean I love her the most," he insisted, seeing his father's eyes bore into his. He was reminded of his father's words to him earlier, before he took Leah to safety. His eyes then shifted to his mother's and his heart raced.

"How about this," said Ular-Sari, "if you kill one of your parents and cast the curse, I'll spare your baby sister." With a flick of her hand, a dagger materialized on Liam's hand.

Liam was horrified upon seeing the dagger in his right hand. "No. I . . . I can't choose."

"I can't force you, because this must be done willingly," said Ular-Sari, calmly. "But I'll have Hissaka hunt your baby sister and feed her to the wolves."

Liam was transfixed. He couldn't believe that there existed a person so evil.

"And, to add a twist in it," she laughed, and with a flick of her hand green energy beams swirled around his parents, causing them to writhe in pain. They bent down and screamed as their clothes torn and burst into pieces as their bodies bulked twice their sizes. Coarse black hair sprouted on their skin as both of them stood on all fours, the legs and arms transformed into bestial legs with claws. Their human faces elongated, the ears pointed upwards as snouts replaced their noses. Their mouths opened wide and fangs grew out, dripping wet with saliva. Their eyes glowed green as the green swirls that transformed them into beasts were absorbed by the dagger in his hand. ". . . Your parents will be those wolves!"

The two wolves growled maniacally and barked; their postures readied for a pounce. Their crazed expressions were obvious proof that they no longer were in control of their minds.

"Change them back!" Liam demanded.

"That's entirely up to you," replied Ular-Sari. "That dagger is now infused with the power to break the spell I have put on your parents. It is now kill or be killed for you, and should you be killed these wolves will hunt down and devour your infant sister." She laughed and glanced towards Hissaka. "Can you imagine the wolves ripping apart their own flesh and blood, Hissaka?"

Hissaka's smiling reply was unsympathetic. "I would kill to witness it."

Ular-Sari then surrounded herself and Hissaka with protective energy barrier, leaving Liam to deal with the wolves. "Remember, you have to be willing to kill. That's the key. Otherwise it will be your and your infant sister's lives."

Liam backed away as the two wolves advanced towards him, their eyes fixated on him.

"Mother . . . father . . . please. It's me, Liam."

The wolves barked wildly. One let out a howl and pounced towards Liam. He evaded by rolling to his side, and the first wolf landed on its all-fours. He quickly got up and out of reflex, hoisted up the dagger as retaliation as the wolf turned around to face him. It didn't take it kindly into seeing what it deemed as threat, and jumped at him, mouth opened to reveal its fangs. Liam jumped out of its path, but found himself facing the second wolf whom with a low growl, fixed its eye on him. The second wolf was the quieter one compared to the first, but not any less deadly. Then it sprang towards him and as he attempted to evade, it made a turn mid-air and its front paw clawed Liam's shoulder, drawing blood. The wolf landed and upon the sight of his blood in its paw sent it into frenzy as it rushed towards him.

The first wolf also became more agitated upon the sight of blood and jumped at him. Liam was now in a path of both wolves coming from opposite directions. He dropped himself on the floor to evade the contact, but the wolves were smart. They evaded one another; one sprang up before making a dive towards him, while the other swooped at floor-level, aiming for his legs. Desperation filled Liam and he swung the dagger, drawing blood from the one swooping towards him. It let out a yelp and barked loudly, its face had been grazed with the dagger's sharp tip. The one that came from up made a swipe at his head and knocked Liam sharply, sending him crashing on the floor.

Liam suffered many injuries from the wolves' assaults. He began seeing double and he could feel blood rushing into his head. He wouldn't last long and at that moment he saw those wolves as wolves, and with one of them made a huge pounce with both its front paws extended, claws ready for a strike, Liam bent his knees in a mid-kneeling posture so that the wolf flew past him. Its belly was left open and Liam sprang upward, stabbed it with the dagger before letting it go, as he was too weakened from the battle.

The stabbed wolf let out a weak yelp and crashed onto the floor. The dagger glimmered green and let out a flash of blinding light that Liam was forced to cover his eyes with his arm. When the light died down, he saw the two wolves reverted into their original forms.

To his horror, the wolf he had stabbed was his mother. She was struck on a vital area at the center between the breasts and the abdomen. She coughed loudly; blood spurted out from her mouth and nose with every cough. She let out rapid breaths that were short and labored.

"Mother! NO!" Liam rushed to his mother's side, crying upon the realization of what he had done. He supported his mother's head on his thighs. "Mother, I'm sorry!"

His mother gave him a pained look as she deteriorated even farther. More blood flowed out from the area where the dagger struck. She had stopped coughing and her whole body convulsed. Unable to speak due to the blood rushing out of her mouth, she grabbed Liam's hand.

"I …. love …. you …. my son . . ." she whispered with great difficulty, before her eyes rolled back. Her head declined sideways as blood oozed out of her opened mouth. The unfortunate woman had turned very still, lifelessly pale and cold, but in some way she could be seen as sleeping, except for one factor: the dagger – the cause of her death – was stuck on her abdomen.

"NOOOO! MOTHER!"

* * *

* * *

Adam was speechless, as Liam finished recounting the story that led him to be the caster of the dark curse, which in the end, had transported Adam to this realm. He was shivering too, out of horror, and before he could control it, his eyes let out streams of tears as he too sobbed, partly because of the horrifying ordeal Liam had to encounter and partly because it reminded him of his deceased mother. Adam had great difficulty in accepting his parents' death, and now he saw that Liam had to face his mother's death at his own unsuspecting hand.

"I betrayed her," Liam said softly. "She raised me all these years . . . she loved me with all her heart. And I killed her."

"No . . ." Adam insisted, blinking back tears as he pulled his knees close to his face. "No. You didn't mean to do it. It was an accident."

"The dark curse worked," Liam replied slowly, shaking his head. "When she leaped at me, I forgot that she was my mother. I just wanted to end it quickly. I wanted to live . . . I don't want her going after my sister." He quivered, but there were no tears. "I actually wanted to kill her when she jumped at me."

Liam had the most despondent expression that Adam had ever seen on anyone's face. There was no life in his green eyes. Adam wondered how would one live knowing that they had ended the life of someone they love.

"What happened to your father?"

Liam shook his head weakly. "I don't know," he confessed. "He was captured after turning back to human. I did hear him scream in the background when my mother died . . . but I hadn't been looking. He was taken away when the curse was cast. Right after I did it . . . the curse took the three of us to that beach where you and your brother were."

Adam acknowledged it with only a nod. Liam was staring at him.

"Your parents must be very worried right now."

Adam swallowed. This was going to be hard. "My parents . . . have passed on. They got involved in a fatal accident several weeks back."

Liam had the most unreadable expression on his face. Adam thought for a brief moment, there was pity reflected from his otherwise desolate eyes; otherwise the older boy remained stoic. Then he shook his head, shoulders slumped as he leaned back to the cold wall.

"Look at it as mercy," he finally murmured. "You won't have to go through the nightmare I'm facing. You won't have the bloods of your parents in your hand."

Adam blinked. If he ever had thought that he had lost all hope, then Liam had surpassed it. Out of all the responses he had received in regards to his parents' passing, this was the most chilling.

It was a kind of response from someone who had already been broken.

6: Awakening

"So, where's the Empyreal Sword?"

Not caring with pleasantries, the Serpent Deity immediately shot that question towards her upon her entrance in the dimly-lit throne room. There was a tone of impatience in his question that Ular-Sari was sure to be attributed to her delay in informing her recent progress to him. There was also a barely-concealed excitement in his tone.

"Don't keep me waiting. Tick, tock."

"There's been a momentary setback, master," replied Ular-Sari carefully. "Indeed we have gotten to the sword, and I assure you, I have personally retrieved it myself. But . . ."

"But what?" the Serpent Deity's voice was dangerously low as he fixed his yellow-eyed gaze on her.

"It was . . . taken from us."

"Taken from you?" The Serpent Deity giggled. "How does one take away anything from a powerful sorceress such as you? Did you meet powerful adversaries at this place the dark curse took you?"

Ular-Sari began relaying the events that had taken place with the two boys by the beach in what she had perceived as a strange land, leading to how the boys were able to use the sword in its true form. The Serpent Deity listened to her with interest without interrupting her as he usually would have done.

"So the sword is lost due to mere incompetence on your part," the Serpent Deity deduced after she was finished. At this, Ular-Sari hung her head low, but the master waved a hand dismissively. "But that sounds like the Empyreal Sword alright. It is said to be a sword with a degree of sentience in it. It allows some people to hold it and burn the others whom it doesn't see fit in using it. It's unfortunate however that you have let the sword . . . slipped past your grasp."

"We have however, captured the boy who was able to activate the sword."

"Activate the sword, you say?"

"Yes, master. He . . ."

"That's impossible!" the Serpent Deity boomed, shaking his head. "Just . . . impossible!"

"How about you take a look at the boy first, Master? He's here."

She flicked her hand and the tall doors of the throne room's entrance sprang open. There stood Hissaka, with the boy they had captured in tow, his hands tied in front of him with a rope. The boy was not resisting when Hissaka led him inside, walking slowly and his eyes taking in all around him. Hissaka brought him to stand by her, and Ular-Sari noted the repulsed look reflected from the boy's doe-like eyes when they met with hers. She had to admire the boy's spirit; despite being kidnapped he hadn't made his capture easy for them. Initially the boy had given them quite a struggle, but one night in the dungeon had made the boy attain a degree of grudging obedience; no doubt, she thought, from the experience told to him by his inmate.

"This is the boy who has activated the Empyreal Sword?" the Serpent Deity asked, peering down to have a closer look.

"Yes, Master."

"And from where exactly have you obtained him?"

"I am not certain. It's a strange land where the dark curse took us to the sword, but I have failed in ascertaining the exact location . . ."

The Serpent Deity raised a hand to stop her from talking, appearing bored. He fixed his yellow eyes towards the boy, a grin formed on his leathery pale face as he placed both his palms together.

"Well, as you can see I have useless servants. So tell me, boy, where are you from?"

"Adam."

"Excuse me?"

"I have a name, and it's Adam."

The Serpent Deity let out a maniacal cackle. "That you are, of course." He pointed a thin finger towards Adam, and a ray of green beam shot towards the floor in front of the boy. The beam then took form of a coiling viper, gradually shifting from energy into corporeal state. He cackled again with amusement when Adam jumped two steps back in fright to distance himself from the snake. "Now . . . as I was asking, my dear Adam, where are you from?"

Adam looked up at him and the serpent, brows knitted together. Ular-Sari now saw nervousness reflected on his face as he carefully distanced himself from the serpent formed from the Serpent Deity's magic. The viper remained on its place, occasionally opening its mouth, displaying its fangs and forked tongue.

"Earth," he answered with a quivering voice.

The Serpent Deity tilted his head ever so slightly. "Excuse me?"

"Earth," Adam repeated in earnest. "My world is called Earth. Now take that thing away!"

The Serpent Deity thought for a moment before giggling. "Not quite, dear. I still have more questions for you. Now . . . is there magic in your world?"

"No."

"So you're saying that you're from the realm without magic . . . What an utter lie!" the serpent overlord hissed. "According to your kidnapper here, you are the one who activated the Empyreal Sword. So that means you have magic. The sword responds to a very specific set of people."

"I don't know how I did it! It just responded to me!"

"Hmm . . ." The Serpent Deity made a gesture towards the viper with a hiss. Ular-Sari recognized it as the language of the snakes, which she and Hissaka never understood. The viper replied with a hiss and mouth opened wide as it uncoiled itself, advancing towards Adam with rapid slither.

"No! I'm telling you the truth!"

"Not all people can control that sword, my dear boy. Tell me the truth or this hungry viper will sink its deadly fangs on you! The venom is definitely to-die-for, if you get what I mean . . ." he giggled cruelly.

"It's the truth! My brother found the sword and it rejected him. He showed the sword to me and I took it without problem. Please . . ." Adam insisted, tear-stricken, as the viper slithered close to him.

Ular-Sari held her breath. She knew this was the Master's way of getting what he wanted. She had been on the receiving end of it often enough. Beside her, Hissaka was sneering, enjoying the show.

The Serpent Deity was unsatisfied. "You have been a naughty, naughty boy, my dear Adam . . ." He flicked his hand dismissively. "Perhaps after being poisoned you will know there's no place in the Snake Mountain for naughty little boys. Perhaps only then will you tell me the truth, as it is only I who have the antidote to this viper's venom."

"No! Stop!"

Adam screamed as the viper launched itself onto his outstretched hands, both raised together as they were bound by thick rope. However there was a sudden standstill and the viper froze in midair, its fangs just a mere inch away from Adam's hand. Within a blink of the eye, an invisible pulse of energy blasted out of his hands and the viper, a creation of the Serpent Deity's magic, disintegrated into magical dusts.

The sudden turn of event drew collective gasps from Ular-Sari, Hissaka and the Serpent Deity, and even Adam was wide-eyed with shock at what had just transpired. The Serpent Deity rose from his throne and walked down the stairs in rapid descent, an expression of one being unpleasantly surprised etched on his horrifying face.

"How did you do that?" he demanded, once he stepped down onto the same level as the rest of them.

"I . . . I don't know! Honest!"

The Serpent Deity shook his head. "Not the answer I was looking for." He pointed his cobra staff towards Adam. The inanimate cobra head's eyes glowed red. "Try again."

Adam backed away, a genuine expression of fear on his face. "I'm telling the truth!"

"Don't toy with me, boy! There's nobody but me and my Poisons Three who have magic in this side of Mistranos. Now tell me, what kind of magic do you have? What kind of magic did you use to destroy my viper?"

Adam scrambled to the wall as the Serpent Deity advanced towards him. Ular-Sari too was recovering from her shock; the Serpent Deity's ability to magically generate a snake was even more advanced than Hissaka's, and it was destroyed by the boy. It was really unheard of; nobody could ever nullify the Serpent Deity's magic in this part of lands, and she could see the Serpent Deity was also shaken by this new discovery.

Could he be the one in her vision? The one who used the Empyreal Sword to destroy the barriers?

"I don't have magic!" Adam pleaded once he realized he was cornered. "In my world magic isn't supposed to be real . . . it's only in a fairytale." The boy was crying and shaking.

"Again, not the answer I was looking for," said the Serpent Deity with a foreboding tone. He glanced towards Ular-Sari. "I'm sorry, dear. My interest in finding out how he's able to activate the Empyreal Sword has waned. He has dangerous magic of unknown nature and I don't like it." His brows knitted together, his eyes thinned. "I shall kill him myself."

"But . . ." Ular-Sari stopped short when the master raised his cobra staff.

The Serpent Deity gave a challenging look from the corner of his slit eye. "Do you have any objection, Ular-Sari?"

Ular-Sari's head hung down. She dared not oppose her master, and remained silent.

At the Serpent Deity's will, two jets of red beam shot out of the inanimate cobra's eyes, creating a ripping sound in the air as they zapped towards their intended target. Adam screamed in fright and once again he instinctively raised both hands forward in a motion to protect himself. The two beams barely made contact with his palms and created a ripple in the air, before to everyone's surprise, rebounded in two separate directions. One beam shot towards Ular-Sari who had barely avoided contact, burning her left sleeve instead, while the other blasted straight onto Hissaka's chest, throwing him off his feet. The mercenary let out a pained howl as he trashed about on the floor, forcing Ular-Sari to tend to her comrade quickly.

The Serpent Deity froze in his steps while Adam slumped on the floor, whimpering in fear. There was a deafening stillness in the air before with a voice barely concealed of his anger, the master spoke.

"On second thought, let's not kill him just yet. Take him back to the dungeons. Until we know for certain what nature is the boy's magic, do not use magic on him." He glared towards Ular-Sari, as if pointing the blame towards her. "Since it is you who has brought this wretched boy here, it will be your responsibility to determine the nature of his magic."

The Serpent Deity pointed a finger just at the tip of the rope that bounded Adam's hand, and with a crooked gesture the rope flew into the air, taking Adam along before he crashed just beside Hissaka. Ular-Sari used her magic to dampen the pain Hissaka was feeling, beckoning for the mercenary to follow her to her private chamber to be healed. She seized the end of the rope which was bounding Adam's hands.

"On your feet, boy," she commanded. Adam shot up to his feet, looking fearful and relieved at the same time. Hissaka gave the boy a hateful glare, and Ular-Sari began wondering what the evil mercenary had in store for the boy. The mercenary was notorious with his unfathomable designs with children; Ular-Sari knew this would mark the boy as one of Hissaka's targets.

"Oh, and dear?"

Ular-Sari froze, and turned to face her master. The Serpent Deity gestured towards the high windows, where the night sky was shifting into daybreak.

"You have until sunset."

Just as Ular-Sari and Hissaka retreated with Adam from the audience with the Serpent Deity, not too far from the Snake Mountain where the Whispering Forest grew in lush abundance, the morning found Azad and Prudence sitting in lotus positions by their campsite. The fire was still lit, and by the fire they sat. Prue was behind him, eyes closed as she concentrated hard, both palms planted firm on his bare back, while he sat on the front, with both hands on his knees, confused but obliging all the same.

Azad had woken up feeling slightly burning up, and he could feel pulsating pain coming from both his chest and the wound under his left foot. Upon inspecting the wound under the foot, he saw murky yellowish discharges coming from it and remembered the doctor who had originally stitched it mentioning about prescribing him some medication – antibiotics, as he recalled – helping prevent any impending infections. Judging from the redness around the stitches and the discharges, he guessed that it was already infected. Luckily, he had been wearing the same pair of shorts that he was wearing from the clinic, and in his left pocket, somehow surviving the whole ordeal that happened the day before, were three sets of medications which had been dispensed to him upon prescription. He quickly took each medicine simultaneously, although having missed two doses the previous day, hoping that the medication would still work. They didn't; and his fever persisted until Prue returned from her morning hunt.

"This is Hissaka's poison. Your realm's medications might not work," Prue had said, laying a hand on his forehead and then his neck. "You're burning up. It's the poison spreading. We need to get it out."

They had been in the same position for almost an hour. From behind, where Prue's hands were placed, Azad could feel comfortable warmth flowing into his body. The warmth didn't add up to the feverish temperature he was having, but rather helped regulate it. Prue hadn't bothered to explain what she was doing to him, but he trusted her judgment, seeing as how he was in a foreign land where very little things made sense. He focused on getting well as soon as possible to expedite his brother's rescue.

Despite the cool misty jungle morning air, he noticed faint warm steam emanating from both of them, and he felt dehydration creeping on him gradually. Occasionally he felt nauseated but suppressed the feeling to puke, and at times he got lightheaded but was able to maintain sitting, sensing that Prue would have told him when this thing she was doing to him was going to be over.

"I'm almost done," assured Prue, as if sensing his thoughts. The nausea intensified and Azad was about to warn her, before she let out a cry and gave his back a firm push. There was force in the push but it wasn't painful, and he felt the sudden urge to puke, as if he had the winds knocked out of him. "Don't resist it," she advised, and he relented. Thick blood clots sprayed out from his mouth and instantly he felt weak. Prue supported him from completely falling and gently lay him down again.

"Whoa . . ." Azad inhaled deeply. He actually felt better.

Prue moved to his right side. "I take it the pain is lesser now?"

"It's almost gone!"

"That's comforting. Lay back and let's get the wound on your chest looked at now, shall we?"

Azad obliged, allowing Prue to undo the soiled bandages on his chest. When the wound was exposed, he saw her expression turned critical as she bent closer to analyze the wound.

"Is it bad?"

To his relief, she shook her head. "Actually, it looks like it is improving. But it still needs cleaning."

"Can I look?"

"Don't overstrain yourself. When I said it's improving I didn't say it's not bad."

"Just a brief look?"

Prue sighed. "If you must. Don't say I didn't warn you."

Azad raised his body up slightly and bent his head down, chin on chest, finally managed to have a look at how the wound was and it almost made him sick. There were four puncture wounds grouped into two, as if two snakes had bore their fangs on him. The area around those marks had splotchy, peeling burns and those burn wounds were sickly yellow in color.

"These punctures," Prue gestured, "are from the needles embedded to Hissaka's rings. Next time when you see him, avoid any of his palm strike at any cost. The poison in them is deadly, but I was able to get rid of the poison with my chi."

"Your chi?" Azad asked interestedly. "You mean your magic?"

"Life force," Prue clarified as she used a clean piece of cloth to dab on the wound. It contained a mixture of water and the concoction she had prepared from the herbs she found in the forest.

Azad winced upon feeling the sting, but surprisingly after a short while there was a coolness sensation from his wound.

"We all have it, even you. It's what driving us to do what we do. You, for example, use your chi walking, talking, sleeping, thinking, healing . . . these are several things that use your chi. When you are injured, for example, your chi is what facilitate the process of healing."

Azad briefly recalled his science class in school. "But from what I've learned, it's the blood contents that cause healing. There's this thing called platelets that help to close the wounds by forming scabs."

Prue seemed somewhat bemused by his explanation. "I'm sorry, I'm not a scholar so I can't really say what's in the blood that can cause healing, but I get what you mean, and you're not wrong too. Our chi is what facilitates these . . . blood contents to help with the healing."

She applied a little force in rubbing the wound, which made him flinch. "Ouch!" he accidentally yelped.

"Sorry about that, but there's a bit of slough that needs removing so your wound can heal properly."

He gritted his teeth to suppress the pain. "It's alright. Please carry on."

She took a moment to consider his words before proceeding to tend to his wounds. "You certainly surprise me, Azad. I didn't know that you are a scholar."

"Scholar? Me? Oh no, no, I'm far from being a scholar," denied Azad, amused. "It's just what I learned from school . . . back home."

"Your place of learning . . . this school . . . is very detailed in its teachings." Prue gave a satisfied nod and reapplied the bandage around his chest. "I would certainly love to attend it." She had a faraway gaze towards the distance behind Azad, before snapping herself back to reality.

Azad watched Prue with interest. "You were saying about chi aiding the healing process?" he reminded.

"Oh, yes. A simple insect bite for example, while having a mild degree of poison, any untrained person's chi is able to purge it from harming the body. However, in your case, the wound you've sustained from Hissaka is far too poisonous; your own chi isn't enough to expel it out. So I used my chi to help yours in the process of expelling the poison. The poison is very strong, but our combined chi has so far worked in preventing you from being killed by it."

"Yay," said Azad dryly. "I still feel a bit woozy."

"That's because even I am not strong enough to help you purge it," she said regrettably. "I have learned the arts of using my chi to achieve more than just simply living. As part of the Clerics, we are thought on how to harness our chi to speed up our healing process and help heal others. Our senses are sharper and our durability increased thanks to our chi, but because I don't have the gift of magic in me . . . my talents are still unfortunately quite limited."

"You're doing fine as it is," assured Azad, which successfully drew another small thoughtful smile from Prue. "What about the people with magic? How does chi make a difference for them?"

"Some with only the gift of magic may not possess any remarkable magical talent if left untrained in both chi and their dormant magic. Should they be trained in the ways of chi, their magic can and will advance, and they can be quite proficient in it. Although not quite on par with wizards or witches whose talents are more natural and refined, they can be formidable enough in a magical duel. But . . ." Prue's arresting gaze was fixed on him before she continued, "not many are willing to dabble in magic."

"Why not?"

Prue gave him a pointed look. "Because magic can be unpredictable, and using it may come with a price."

Azad frowned. "What kind of price?"

"That's something even I am in the dark at. I guess it serves to deter people from misusing magic for their own personal gain, but I'm not sure," explained Prue. "Here in the Eastlands we don't practice magic due to our ancestors' past experiences with it. I'm guessing it was bad . . . bad enough to drive them to this part of Mistranos and had the wizards erect a magical barrier to separate the Eastlands from the rest of the world. As no one practices magic here, not until the Serpent Clan appeared, no one knows about the nature of this warning. The ancestors set this rule, and we inherited the rule . . . they just mentioned of it as something we don't have to worry about as long as we are here. The Eastlands is supposed to be a safe haven for people without magic."

"But the Serpent Clan certainly has magic," Azad pointed out. "I saw Hissaka generating living snakes from out of his sleeve, and Ular-Sari . . . she is definitely a witch!"

"Oh no, not a witch," said Prue knowingly, "She's more like a sorceress. Remember, I have mentioned the people with only the gift of magic can become formidable if they learn to utilize their chi? Ular-Sari . . . she's one of those. She only had a spark of the gift."

"You know her?"

Prue shook her head. "Only by reputation. She . . . was a former Cleric before she defected. It was a long time ago."

"She was formerly good?" Azad had a hard time believing Adam's kidnapper was not inherently evil.

"I don't know for sure. Nathaniel, my mentor, he always told me that evil isn't born, it's made," answered Prue with conviction. "That's what we all believe. Ular-Sari used to be good, but her thirst for magic overwhelmed her. She defected and joined the Serpent Deity when he rose to power. She became who she is now after being touched by the Serpent Deity's power. She chose to be evil."

"Who is this Serpent Deity? Is he the big boss?"

Prue nodded. "He's the one who formed the Serpent Clan which came to power when I was very young. His real identity is still a mystery and he's yet to make any appearance. Nobody has fought him before . . . nobody wanted to, when his Poisons Three are formidable enough."

"Poisons Three?"

"Ular-Sari and Hissaka are two of them. The other one is a bull-headed viper, Viproxus."

Azad sighed. "That's just great. How are we going to save my brother when the enemy is magic-using and we're . . . not?"

Prue gave him a long look. "I don't know . . . but I believe you are the key."

"Me?" Azad was skeptical. "A regular guy with no magic whatsoever?"

"That's not entirely true." Prue gestured towards the Empyreal Sword which lay beside Azad in its dagger form as she moved to inspect the wound under his left foot. "That sword is magical and with a degree of sentience in it. And you are wielding it. You are far from a normal, regular person. I believe . . . you will save your brother."

"This sword?" Azad looked at the Empyreal Sword with disgust. "All it did was gave me that horrible wound you're looking at."

Prue elevated his left foot closer for inspection, and Azad saw her frowning. "Well, the bad news is you're right, the wound is horrible . . ."

"What? Oh no . . ."

". . . but not life-threatening," she quickly assured him. "That's good news. This cut is not poisonous, but it does look infected. Don't worry. A couple of days of rest and you'll walk again."

"That's bad news. I don't think I can wait around while my brother is there with those . . . those reptiles!"

"You can't limp your way to the Snake Mountain either," Prue pointed out while redressing the wound at his foot, and he was relieved that the process wasn't as painful as redressing his chest wound. "The wait won't be in vain, I promise. Your brother needs you alive and healthy."

Azad didn't reply, but thinking of his chances to fight the Serpent Clan after hearing the details from Prue earlier. He watched Prue bandaging his foot when an idea came to him.

"Can you teach me?"

Prue gave him a quizzical look. "Teach what?"

"Harnessing my chi. I should be able to do it too, right?" Azad replied impatiently. "Or is it something just exclusive to people of this realm?"

"Actually, the Clerics are the masters of the chi. Like I said, it can be learned by both magical and non-magical people, but nothing has been said about it being exclusive." Prue gave him a calculating look, first at him in overall, and then at his injuries. She nodded with the same small contemplative smile he saw the previous night. "Maybe it will be beneficial for you to learn how to harness your chi. In fact, let's do it now."

Prue began teaching Azad of the basic fundamentals of regulating his chi. He immediately encountered a glaring setback, as the basic first step of chi mastering was to free himself of all worries in his mind, and at present he was too deeply concerned about his brother. Gradually though with Prue's guidance, he was able to relax as his thoughts focused on the fond moments he and his brother shared together, and the prospect of being reunited with him again. He found it to be not quite as difficult as he'd thought it would be, especially after their earlier session of purging the poison in his body. Despite the cool misty jungle morning air, and despite being underdressed in just his pair of shorts and bandages around his chest, he was at ease as warm vapor emanated from his body. Finally, he closed his eyes and concentrated in his meditation and in discovering his chi, while Prue set out to the nearby village to obtain some provisions and a set of clothes for him to wear.

Minutes passed into hours undisturbed, until a screech pierced the silence of the jungle. Azad's eyes snapped open and he carefully observed his surroundings, wary of any impending danger. The jungle was no longer cold, or was it the heat from his meditation, he was not sure. The sun, he noticed via the thick canopies, were halfway up. He took a deep breath to calm his adrenaline as well as his flowing chi and grabbed the dormant Empyreal Sword in its dagger form. Slowly he got up and waited.

The screech came again, and this time Azad was sure of the exact nature of the sound. Not too far from him, perched on the branch was a russet-brown eagle with a curved yellow beak and equally foreboding talons, watching him keenly with a pair of yellow eyes. It let out a screech again as their eyes made contact and its hunter eyes followed his every movement.

"I didn't know eagles can be seen in jungles this thick," he wondered out loud.

Then, the eagle spread its mighty wings and took off, gracefully flying within the jungle.

"Hey!" Azad called out for it. The eagle flew but landed on a branch just a few trees farther from its original spot. It cocked its head again over its shoulders and this time, it waited, as if inviting.

"You want me to follow you?" The eagle let out a soft sound and repositioned itself on the branch, but did not take off. He shrugged. "Prue won't like this, but far be it from me to annoy a bird of prey . . . so if it wants me to follow it, then follow it I will. I don't want to be its prey."

Azad hated to think of what the eagle would do to him if he chose to ignore it; eagles were powerful and he was in a vulnerable state. His search for anything that could be used as footwear failed, and he was forced to follow the eagle barefooted.

At the sign of his movement, the eagle took off again. Azad followed it carefully, making sure that he was only tipping on his left toes to avoid soiling the bandage covering the wound under the said foot, but eventually resigned to the fact that it was a losing battle due to the jungle's fertile soil. He could only hope the bandage Prue had applied would offer enough barrier for the wound. The eagle would occasionally land on a branch if Azad was too slow, and would fly again once it was sure that he was close enough to follow it.

After another half of hour of walking Azad noted the jungle was becoming sparser and there was light coming from the faraway front. The earth gradually turned rocky, and as the trees opened up he saw the hills and mountains with the higher peaks shrouded by clouds. The sun shone bright amidst the white clouds and he saw that he was standing near the edge of the cliff. Looking down and ahead, he saw a deep ravine leading to the lower ground with more forests, the lush greeneries turned darker and sparser as they ended with a patch of barren land blanketed by darkness around it. Set inside a stone mountain that looked like it was crushed halfway, was a black fortress, and by narrowing his eyes closer he could see the tallest and widest tower of all rose high, designed to look like a cobra.

"That's the Snake Mountain, where Adam is at," he realized. He observed the fortress wistfully, wondering about his brother's wellbeing. His heart ached for him, but he also knew that rushing there straight-on would be foolhardy. Prue was right; it wouldn't do Adam any good if he got himself killed.

The eagle screeched again but this time there was a different kind of urgency in it. Azad thought that it looked and sounded agitated from the way it was flying in circles, but he had no way of knowing for sure. However, his suspicion was proved to be correct when the eagle suddenly plummeted towards the jungle, where a hulking man appeared. He was bald, save for a short green Mohawk, and his eyes yellow and serpent-like. His skin was brown with a sickly shade of green. He wore armor around his torso. When the man brandished a broad jagged curved sword, the eagle halted its descend and watched him warily from a safe distance.

"Ah, the mama eagle's back!" the man thundered. "I've been looking all over for you!"

Azad groaned. Judging from the man's appearance, this had to be another of those snake people. Momentarily he thought of the eagle luring him to this formidable-looking man, but the eagle was equally agitated. It must have wanted Azad's help. His eyes darted away from the gruesome sword the man was holding, towards his other hand. Then, everything clicked; he knew then why the eagle was so upset and why it went looking for him.

On the heavyset man's left hand were two large eggs.

The eagle shrieked and plummeted towards the man again as it tried to seize the eggs, but it was forced to halt from its descend when the man swung his saber again. It flapped its wings in mid-air, readying itself for another chance to strike.

"One fancy roasted eagle and two hard-boiled eggs are a fine lunch for me today!"

"Hey, snake-head!" Azad barked, raising the Empyreal Sword. The sword, as if sensing danger, morphed into its full-fledged sword mode.

This response elicited a snicker from the approaching large man. "Fancy thing you got there, you little whippersnapper," the man said in a rumbling voice before letting out an evil grin, revealing his forked snake tongue. "I'm taking that sword now."

The eagle screeched wildly. Azad braved a stance. "The sword's not going anywhere and I'm in no mood for a fried Snakeman."

The man thundered with laughter. "I'm insulted. I'm no mere Snakeman, you half-naked scallywag! Ever heard of the Poisons Three?"

Azad's heart raced as he realized who his foe was. Suddenly he regretted egging on the man who obviously had more power than he was, and he hadn't yet recovered from Hissaka's poisonous blow. Even with the Empyreal Sword and some basic chi knowledge, he doubted he was able to beat this man.

"Met a couple of your friends yesterday," he said, recalling his foe's name from Prue's explanation earlier. "Viproxus," he identified.

The brute grinned. "Ah . . . so you've heard of me. I'm flattered . . ." He was interrupted when the eagle lunged to seize the egg again, taking advantage of Azad's conversation with him. However this time around, with a swift swing of his saber, Viproxus was able to injure it. "Gotcha, you overgrown chicken!"

The unfortunate eagle slammed onto the rocky grounds with a thud and Azad saw its right wing bleeding at the mid-phalanx area where it was slashed. It was a deep cut and the wing was bent at an odd shape, suspiciously appearing fractured. Some of its feathers were torn out due to the slash. It tried to move but was unsuccessful, weakened due to its fractured wing. For a moment, its eyes locked with him and his heart suddenly ached; he of all people knew how it was like to have something dear snatched right in front of his eye. It let out a defeated, pleading, peep at him as Viproxus advanced at it.

"Not so fast!" Azad darted in front of the eagle and raised the Empyreal Sword. "If you want it you have to go through me!"

"Stay away from my lunch, punk!" Viproxus hauled a heavy blow with his saber towards Azad.

Azad hoped that the Empyreal Sword would display its magical power again as he countered the saber attack with the sword. However to his surprise, he was thrown back due to the fearsome might of his foe's strength, landing on his back with a loud thud. The sword was thrown out of his grip and had reverted into its dagger form. His brutish foe immediately seized the sword, but let out a loud yelp before throwing the sword towards the jungle.

"What kind of a devil's works is that?" Viproxus growled, flapping his burnt hand to cool it off. "That thing is of no use to me."

Azad gritted his teeth as pain threatened to overwhelm him as he got up back on his feet, the wounds on his chest and left foot now throbbing wildly. He was backed against the edge of the cliff as the enemy advanced to him. There was no other way to go; he was trapped. If he took another step back, he would fall into the deep ravine below. If he advanced forward he could be finished under the vicious saber. Fear crept up within him as he took a sorrowful look at the Snake Mountain, regretting that he wouldn't be able to save Adam.

"You're cornered, punk! Sing your swan song now."

7: Where Eagles Dare

Viproxus pointed his saber towards Azad, grinning cruelly as he slowly advanced at him. "You're cornered, punk! Sing your swan song now."

Azad couldn't back away anymore. His heel was at the edge of the cliff. Behind Viproxus, the eagle looked at him helplessly; its right wing injured rendering it unable to fly. The Empyreal Sword was thrown into the jungle, out of his reach. Looking down at the dizzying depth of the ravine, Azad gulped; there was no way he could survive a fall that deep.

What he needed was a miracle.

There was a piercing whistle in the air, followed by a loud clang. The brute halted as the intended attack had bounced off his armor, looking very annoyed as he turned around to look at the source of the sneak attack. Azad saw an arrow fell onto the ground, and looked past Viproxus. He felt a wave of relief when he saw Prue standing at the edge of the forest, bow at ready. She deftly retrieved another arrow from the canister slung on her back and took an aim.

"Stand back, Viproxus!" she warned.

"You didn't even make a dent on my armor, honey," snorted Viproxus.

Prue's response was another shot of her arrow aimed at the unarmored part of Viproxus' thigh, but the brute easily deflected it with his saber. He seized the arrow and broke it into half.

"Such pretty lady shouldn't play with sharp object." He waved a pointing finger at Prue, grinning. "How about you stand there and watch, little lady, while I finish off this runt. After that, we can have a little fun, just you and me."

"I think I'll pass." Prue put away her bow before reaching at the sides of her long leather boots.

"You're together with this scrawny punk?"

"Hey!"

With a yell, as soon as Viproxus turned to face him, Azad lunged and threw a fistful of sands on his face. That gave him time to roll away as the brute howled and took a few steps back to clear his eyes. His path cleared from Viproxus, Azad quickly made a jolt towards the forest to look for the Empyreal Sword, but a forceful punch on his back sent him crashing face-first on the grounds. The blow was so hard it took him a while to regain his breathing.

"Azad!"

He heard Prue calling out for him and saw her charging at Viproxus, now armed with a trident-like dagger on each hand. She stopped just in time to avoid a swipe of Viproxus's saber, before retaliating by throwing one of the daggers straight towards the brute's unprotected forehead. The brute, despite his hulking size and his armor, unexpectedly bent his upper body nimbly backward and the dagger flew across his head harmlessly. He then roared and lunged at his smaller opponent, his large fist aimed at her. Unflinchingly Prue parried the blow with her remaining dagger, but the force from Viproxus's punch was too great, it sent her flying backward. She landed harmlessly on the ground before using the momentum to push herself towards the brute, one arm pulled back and then thrust forward, her fingers spread-open wide.

"Look out for my poisoned needles!"

At her warning, Viproxus immediately stopped and made a swipe forward with his saber. The saber merely slashed the empty air as Prue retreated with a haughty smile. There was confusion etched on his face when he realized that nothing was coming his way.

"You tricked me!"

"Not so difficult to do, apparently!" Prue ran towards Azad and helped him up. She pulled something from her back and pushed it into his hand as she helped him up.

"The Empyreal Sword!"

"I'll get you for that, wench!" Viproxus charged his right fist with flaring red aura.

Azad quickly willed for the Empyreal Sword to transform into its full sword mode. As Viproxus roared and unleashed a torrent of green energy beam from his right fist, Azad pushed Prue to his back and held the sword in front of him. The sword vibrated as it received the energy attack, deflecting the attack to the sides as Viproxus persisted. At first, there was a standstill, but the torrent grew stronger and soon Azad and Prue were pushed back to the edge of the cliff.

"We have to do something!" Prue cried.

"I'm trying, but I don't know how!" Azad replied in panic.

Prue gasped as her boot's heel touched the very end of the cliff. "We're going to fall if this keeps up!"

Viproxus laughed and stopped his attack. He advanced, grabbed the crossbar of the fully-transformed Empyreal sword, ignoring the sword's attempt to burn him as he pulled the sword and Azad to him.

"See you, wouldn't want to be you!"

With that, he landed a powerful kick on Azad, seized his sword and throwing him against Prue, sending both of them tumbling over the edge and down. Azad was able to grab hold of the ledge with both hands and he felt Prue's slipping grip on his right leg. Panic overwhelmed both of them as they swayed at the edge, hanging for their dear lives. Azad found it to be impossible for him to hoist both of them up; he needed to find a depression on the rocky cliff for Prue to grab on, but there were none.

"What's this? You're still here?" Viproxus snarled as he appeared at the ledge, looking down on them with an evil grin. He held one leg up. "I'll fix that!"

Viproxus stomped hard on Azad's hands, causing Azad to yell in pain until tears formed at the edge of his eyes, but he gripped the ledge hard. "YAARRGGGHHH!"

"Don't let go!" Prue pleaded desperately.

"I'm . . . trying!"

Viproxus stomped again and he could feel the bones in his fingers cracking due to the extreme force behind those stomps. Blood trickled down from the ledge and dropped onto his face. Below him, Prue gasped in panic as she struggled to hold on.

"Azad, I'm slipping!"

"NOOO! Prue . . . YAAARRGGHHHHH!"

The third stomp peeled Azad's grasps on the ledge, and the two of them plummeted into the depth below. Desperately clawing into the air, Azad knew it was futile as Viproxus' echoing laughter became dimmer. He heard Prue screaming as she too was pulled down by the unforgiving gravity.

It can't end like this!

All of a sudden, the clear afternoon sky darkened into a universe-like backdrop as an eagle's screech echoed the skies. A formation of five stars glimmered over the darkened sky, briefly showing lines connecting four of the stars, forming two congruent triangles sharing the same base. The line that became the base of the two triangles lengthened to connect with the lone fifth star, before the formation blazed into a visage of a raptor in red aura. The raptor then swopped down from the sky as the darkness cleared, zooming towards him in rapid descent. It swirled around him twice, halting his fall before merging with him, all happening to quick for him to process. His whole body glimmered with a red raptor aura as he realized that he was fully suspended in the air.

He heard Prue's scream and instinctively thrust out an arm towards the direction of her scream, breaking her fall with an invisible force. Feeling a strain in his body and his right arm, but also a comforting assurance from within, he took a deep breath and brought the hovering Prue towards his level. Once she was close enough, he released his invisible hold and quickly grabbed her close to him.

"What's going on?" she wondered in awe. "You're . . . glowing!"

"I don't know. Hold on tight."

Azad concentrated on getting both of them back up at the ledge, and slowly they ascended towards the ledge where Viproxus observed them with mouth-opened bewilderment. They hovered past the brute towards the injured eagle, who raised its head and screeched as Azad and Prue landed before it.

Viproxus pointed his saber towards them. "How did you do that?" he demanded. Despite that, Azad saw the panicked look on his face.

Azad felt strangely invigorated by the aura glowing over him. The pain from the wounds on his chest and under his left foot was gone. His fingers were no longer aching and bleeding. He kicked off the bandage around his foot, and to his surprise the wound was healed and the thread used to stitch up his wound had disentangled itself. Similarly, his chest no longer bore the wound or the poisonous marks and appeared as if there was no injury in the first place. He discarded the bandages and grinned at Prue, and then at Viproxus.

"I guess this is what you call magic!" he declared with confidence. Inwardly though, he still had no idea what he was doing and he still felt somewhat vulnerable in just his Bermuda shorts while his opponent was fully-armored. But with all his wounds healed and the new power aiding him, he felt that he could hold himself against Viproxus. He readied himself in a fighting stance and stole a glance at Prue.

"Be careful," she said, catching his eyes before making a dash towards her discarded bow and daggers.

"Oh no you don't!" Viproxus snarled and launched himself towards Prue instead of Azad.

Alarmed, Azad lunged forward to stop the brute, and he felt a rush of air coming from behind him and underneath his feet, propelling him up as he ran until he reached his foe's face level. Without thinking, acting purely on instinct and fight experience, he landed multiple kicks on the brute's face, head and armored chest, each kick more forceful than the one before it before using the brute's chest as a stepping stone for him to launch himself up across his head. Prior to his descend on the ground he turned in mid-air and delivered a roundhouse kick on the brute's exposed nape. The brute swayed slightly before turning around, swinging his saber in retaliation. Azad quickly made a backflip to avoid the saber, noting that it was much easier and higher now than it was back home as his body felt lighter.

"Azad, catch!"

Prue threw her twin daggers at him, which he caught one but missed the other as it spun past him. However, with his hand thrust towards the dagger he had missed, he could feel the air between his hand and the weapon connected, very similar to how he had stopped Prue's fall earlier. The dagger was suspended in mid-air, and with a pull, it flew at his waiting hand.

"I could get used to this," he grinned, now brandishing the twin daggers.

Viproxus snorted. "Those toy blades can't protect you from my mighty saber!"

"Bring it!" Azad challenged.

Viproxus slammed his saber against Azad, who deftly raised both daggers in a crisscross to stop the saber from being pushed down farther. He then twisted the crisscrossed daggers upwards and that loosened the saber from the brute's grip, drawing a shocked yelp from him. Before Viproxus could make a move to seize his saber, Azad kicked the saber by its hilt away and seized the opportunity of his foe being so close by landing an upward punch on his chin. The punch was forceful enough on its own, but with his added power it had caused the larger man to stagger back.

Prue rushed over to grab the saber and threw it down the ravine, drawing an infuriated growl from the brute who hadn't fully regained his balance. As Azad rolled away out of harm's way, Prue fired an arrow aimed for his thigh, this time around not missing the target. Viproxus howled in pain as the arrow pierced the sides of his thigh, ripping part of the flesh away. Blood coated his trousers around the injury and he tumbled on the ground. She positioned another arrow at ready by the bow, and waited for her next opportunity.

"You're defeated, Viproxus, and you know it. Your mighty saber is gone."

"Says you!" Viproxus spat, flipping himself up into standing position, recklessly wiping the sweat on his forehead with the leathery part of his armored sleeve. "I'm not done yet!"

The brute crouched forward and let out a deafening howl. Green aura burst forth out of his body before taking form of a semi-corporeal viper with wisps of smoke emanating from it. Azad froze, having seen this technique from his fight with Hissaka the other day. Viproxus' roar grew louder as he straightened up and thrust both hands forward. The green viper blasted out of his hands, piercing the air releasing wisps of purple vapor as it streaked towards Azad and Prue.

"The attack is poisonous!" Prue cried, and pushed Azad aside with her weight. Both of them narrowly missed the assault, as it tore into the air over the ravine and dissipated.

Viproxus heaved loudly. "Cursed cretins."

Azad scrambled back to his feet and pulled Prue up. "Thanks," he said, "that was a close one." He turned and glared towards the brute, anger building up inside of him. "That's the second time you almost killed me. What the hell have I done to you?!"

"You're in my way," Viproxus snarled.

"I didn't do anything to you," Azad shot back angrily. "We lived in peace back in our land, until you guys showed up and took my brother. He's ten, he's still a child, and he's the only family I have! If you're so tough then pick on someone your own size rather than bullying a helpless child. I won't have it!"

Red aura burst forth from Azad's body, glowing about him before taking form of the raptor from earlier. Energy tingled in his hands, which shone with the same red aura. As his anger amplified so was the intensity of the aura. The raptor screeched and guided by instinct alone, he brought both hands and partially turned his body to his right side as he widened his footings for stability. The aura around his body began to concentrate on both his hands, glimmering brighter and brighter until it was difficult to look at them without his vision becoming bleary.

Viproxus imitated the move, calling forth the viper aura once again.

Azad roared and thrust both hands forward , releasing the shrieking raptor made of pure-energy coupled with hot pressurized air towards Viproxus.

The brute countered with his viper, but having been weakened from his previous attack the intensity of his attack was lesser. They watched the viper and the raptor slammed against each other, hisses and shrieks echoed in the air as the two semi-corporeal beings coiled and clawed, bit and slapped, before the two beings vanished within the energy beams released by their masters. The two fighters were in a stalemate, each pushing the other with all their might, until a ripping sound of a flesh was heard.

What happened? Azad wondered as he saw Viproxus howled and withdrew the attack, causing his energy-beam to slam against his armored body. He saw Prue with her dagger dripping blood, and a severe gash on Viproxus' thigh.

"You vicious little trollop!" Viproxus screamed in rage and attempted to slap Prue.

"That's for calling me a wench!"

Prue rolled back before Viproxus could hit her in retaliation. She had seized her chance when the two were locked in battle by rolling close enough to Viproxus and stabbed his left thigh with her dagger, twisting and dragging it down which had created the ripping sound.

His enemy distracted, Azad pushed forward and his attack knocked Viproxus off his balance, causing the brute to crash on his back. For a moment the brute was unmoving, before he growled and got back on his feet.

"This isn't over," Viproxus muttered, pointing a thick finger at them. "You attacked me when I was distracted. So much for the good guys playing fair."

"You're not guilt-tripping me," Prue replied. "You deserved it."

Their large enemy growled but made no move to attack. Azad readied himself in a fighting stance, glowering at their hulking foe.

"You've lost your weapon, Viproxus! Best if you retreat back to your master now!"

"You're not so tough despite your new power!" Viproxus shot back. "If it wasn't for this blasted injury, I'd pulverize you to smithereens!"

"Not today," Azad said. "Tell your master I'll be coming for my brother."

Viproxus snickered derisively. "You barely held your own against me, and I'm just his minion. You have the gall to challenge his authority." With one last look that could have pierced through solid rock, the brute retreated, blood dripping from the large gash Prue had created on his thigh. Both of them didn't budge from their spot, not trusting the enemy to take an advantage when they lower their guard down. Fortunately, Viproxus had no such intent, and only when he was completely gone from their line of sight, they relaxed their guard.

Azad glanced at Prue. "That was one brutal wound you gave him."

Prue snorted. "I had to be sure it was enough to incapacitate him. These sai blades did the job." She placed each sai at the holder belt wrapped around her long black boot and wiped the dusts off the dark leather outfit she was wearing.

"I thought it's because of his name-callings. They're really uncalled for."

"Oh, I'll get back to him on that one eventually. Just you watch."

There was a chill in her voice that made Azad raised both hands, shrugging. "Remind me not to get on your bad side."

At this, Prue smiled, her expression lightened, but didn't say anything.

The injured eagle screeched weakly, calling out for Azad. Prue went to collect its two eggs while Azad knelt beside the bird of prey. He inspected the wound, which revealed a fracture of the bone that was holding the right wing. It was horribly mangled. He doubted the bird could ever fly again after this. His heart ached for the bird's unfortunate fate, all in the name of protecting its un-hatched chicks. In some way, he could relate to the bird's plight and empathized with it. He ran a finger at the wound as the eagle looking at him with hope.

"You poor girl," Azad soothed the injured bird. "I've suffered broken bones before, but I don't know how to treat a bird's broken bone."

The bird nipped softly at his arm as a response. Azad felt bad for the eagle and wondered if he could do something about the injury with his new power. His wounds were all healed after he was given the power. He closed his eyes and focused on the power that he hadn't even managed to register in his head, the power that had saved him from the vicious Viproxus. Please, let me help this eagle.

"Azad, your hand . . ." Prue's surprised voice made him open his eyes. "Look! They're glowing!"

He looked down at his hands and saw tendrils of crimson energy streaked from his hand and towards the wound. He tried to straighten the oddly-angled wing and the energy tendril coated the broken bones, joining them together. The wound then closed up and the eagle let out a screech as it struggled to stand back on its two feet. It spread its healed wing, as if testing if it would work. Their eyes locked and for several seconds it remained as such, until the eagle broke the gaze and nuzzled its white bald head fondly against Azad before shifting its eyes to the two eggs Prue had set forth beside it.

"Looks like you have a new best friend," Prue remarked as she handed the two eggs to the mother eagle.

The eagle cawed in delight as it wrapped its great wing around the two eggs. In a way, Azad felt touched witnessing the scene. The care and love this mother eagle had for its unborn chicks was obvious. The eagle peered at him before inclining its head down twice.

"I think she's trying to say thank you," Prue said and looked at him with wonder.

Azad grinned at the eagle. "You are most welcomed! Anytime."

"How did you do it, Azad? You pulled out magic from out of nowhere!"

He shrugged. "Beats me. I'm just as surprised as you are. My heart is still racing as it is." He then saw a cut on Prue's hand. "You want me to heal that for you?"

"It's just a small cut. I accidentally nicked myself when I was reaching for my arrow. It's not a big deal." She gave her hand to Azad anyway when he persisted.

Azad focused again, waiting for the energy tendrils to come. However, this time around, nothing happened. The cut on Prue's hand did not heal.

"What gives? I was able to do it on myself and the eagle."

"Maybe you're exhausted?"

"Don't think so. I could've carried on fighting if Viproxus chooses not to retreat."

Prue didn't look disappointed, but understanding. "Well, maybe it's something that works only on you. You have that aura which takes the form of an eagle, so maybe that's the reason you can heal the eagle . . . some sort of elemental sympathy . . ."

"I think I need to write that down." Azad scratched his head. "I still can't get through how I get this awesome power. It was as if the universe heard my silent prayer during the fall." At this, his expression turned wistful. "It doesn't always work the same way back home . . ."

"I don't know," Prue admitted. "But I know who we can ask about it. Nathaniel."

Azad stared at the Snake Mountain far ahead. "I feel that I can actually go straight to that Snake Mountain and rescue my brother right now."

"Not yet, I'm afraid," Prue cautioned, which made him sigh in exasperation. She held up a hand. "We still don't know anything about this new power you've just received. From where it came from, why you're picked, and what it can do . . . ignorance can be dangerous when it comes to magic. And like I've said earlier, all magic comes with a price."

"I'll do whatever it takes to save my brother."

"I understand, but it will be better if we are armed with the knowledge about this power. I'm worried that using it immaturely, without understanding about its nature . . . it could consume you and you might change. It was what happened to Ular-Sari."

"I'm different," Azad insisted. "My only interest is to save Adam and then figure out a way to go back home."

"If you go now without knowing exactly who you're up against it's not heroism . . . it's foolishness. Your brother needs a hero, not a corpse," Prue said pointedly. Azad flinched at her darkened tone, and Prue offered a small smile, as if to remove the sting in her remark. Her ice blue eyes however remained stern. "I'm serious. We should find out everything we can about your power. I know there is still a lot of untapped potential in there. Things could go either way during your earlier fight with Viproxus . . . he evidently is still the more experienced and that was his advantage. Had he not retreated, he could have still won the fight earlier. And you've fought Hissaka before. You've seen how Ular-Sari's magic was."

"Terrifying," he admitted glumly.

Prue pressed on. "Imagine how the Serpent Deity will be? He's their master. He has both power and experience as his advantage against you. If you take a time to have your power explored and mastered, you probably going to have a fighting chance against the Serpent Deity and the entire Serpent Clan. If you go barging there right now . . . you might not get as lucky as you did earlier."

"Probably?" Azad asked, after considering Prue's advice in great lengths. "That's not very assuring."

"I'm not going to sugar-coat anything when it comes to the danger we're facing."

Both of them then became quiet for quite some time as he processed what Prue had said. He hated to admit it, but his companion was right. As much as he didn't like delaying the rescue, it wouldn't do Adam any good if he screwed up and ended up dead instead. He had to do what Prue had said.

"I understand," he said finally. "I may not like the delay . . . but for Adam, I'll do as you say."

"Good," she said, relieved, her eyes glimmered as she gazed at him. "I'm not keen to hold you from rescuing your brother longer than you should . . . it's just that you have that fighting chance now against the Serpent Clan, something that none of us have all these years. We have to stand and watch those evil reptiles kidnap the children, and those who fight back either got maimed or killed outright. You, Azad, you . . . you're the only one who had stood up against one of them, and survived!" She looked away and stared at the bastion of darkness. 

Azad mulled over what Prue just told him while observing his companion, who was deep in thought. When their eyes met again unexpectedly, he could see her cheeks turning color. She pulled out from her gaze, looking slightly flustered before she composed herself.

"I haven't thanked you for saving me," she said softly. "Thank you."

"You came to my rescue. You'd have done the same thing for me."

She nodded. "In a heartbeat."

"And I think I haven't thanked you enough for taking care of me."

"You'd do the same for me."

Azad cast another look at the forbidding fortress far ahead. Prue followed his gaze, and took his hand, grasping it tight. He felt a blush warming over his cheeks.

"We'll save him," she assured. "You need to believe that. I'll help you all the way. Your brother will be saved." There was conviction in her voice which made Azad want to believe her. Then he saw her assuring smile twisted slightly, suggesting a hint of playfulness as she let go of his hand. "But I have to say Viproxus was right on one thing . . ." She looked at him up and down.

"What?"

"You are kind of scrawny!"

The faint warm blushes he had suddenly became furious. "Hey, I resent that! I work out almost every other day to get these muscles with zero ounce of fat!" His wistfulness was forgotten momentarily as he flexed his arms at her. For the first time since he had met her, he finally heard her laugh.

"I'll take your words for it," she said, "but let's get you something to wear. Your new power might have healed you but we still don't want you to catch a cold or anything if we want to save your brother. I have bought something that I think would complement you."

They bid the mother eagle farewell and headed back into the forest. Azad saw that Prue had gotten him a pair of collared, crimson shirt loosely open around the neck, with the sleeves ending at his elbow, and a pair of dark brown pants that fit him just nicely. For accessories, he saw that she had gotten him a belt, a leather vest, and a pair of matching leather wrist-guards and boots.

Prue had left him for privacy to clean up by the river, and when she returned, he saw that she had traded her dark leather outfit for something more feminine. Her choice of outfit was still black leather corset under a form-fitting black jacket with green accents. The corset was cut low enough to reveal a hint of her bosom and extended downward to form a skirt that was cut at the sides up till her mid-thighs for easier movement. She still wore the same long boots and her twin sai blades were placed at the belt like compartment wrapped around the thigh. Slung behind her was her arrow canister. She was holding her bow and a sack containing her previous outfit. Prue also had cleaned up and looking refreshed; her long dark hair still notably damp. Azad never thought someone who looked so formidable could also look so feminine. And beautiful, he added.

Prue smiled as she gave him an assessing look after setting down a sack she was holding. "The outfit looks good on you."

"Thanks," he grinned. "Now I don't feel so exposed and vulnerable."

"Oh, come of it. You now have your superpower to protect you."

Superpower . . . He suddenly was reminded of Adam mentioning about his superpower. His heart ached but he shook it off, as now he had the means to rescue him. He now had a full-fledged superpower. Magic.

"It looks like it's missing something still . . . Ah ha!"

She rummaged into the sack and took out a scabbard. "For you to put your sword."

At this, he frowned. "Where is the sword?"

Prue's expression darkened. "I thought it was with you?"

He looked around the forest, trying to recall where he'd had the Empyreal Sword last. "The last time I recalled having the sword with me was before Viproxus pushed us down the cliff. When he kicked me, I lost my grip of the sword . . . oh no!"

As the two teens scrambled back to the cliff to look for the missing sword, far away and inside the forests below the cliff, riding a steed, Viproxus halted his journey to look up at the cliff where he had battled the two teenagers. A snide grin formed on his face as he saw the faraway small forms of the teens looking around the battle area. Tied around his belt was a leather pouch, and inside it was something vibrating and letting out an ominous warning sound. The defeated warrior from the Snake Clan chuckled, tapped the pouch, and knocked the side of the steed lightly with his boot, beckoning for it to resume their journey back to Snake Mountain.

It took him the better part of the day to reach the Serpent Clan's bastion, and when he did Viproxus immediately headed for Ular-Sari's quarters to get his wound tended. His vision gradually adjusted from the brightness of the day outside to the dim hallways of the fortress. Once he had arrived at the corridor leading to the sorceress' personal chamber, he was dismayed to find himself stopped by the enchantment she had placed before her chamber's entrance.

"Ular-Sari!" he bellowed, and waited.

The door sprang open and the sorceress of the clan peered out. "What do you want?" she snapped. "I am preoccupied at the moment."

He pointed at his bleeding thigh. "I need this healed."

Ular-Sari let out a soft laugh. "Well I am afraid you are going to have to wait," she said, but waved a gnarly hand before her. He saw the force-field receding and was finally able to walk towards the entrance. The sorceress moved aside to let him in. Inside, he saw Hissaka on the floor, with a nasty wound on his chest. "As you can see, Hissaka is in a worse shape than you."

"Something happened when I was gone?"

"Indeed." Viproxus thought Ular-Sari sounded somewhat delighted. "Hissaka unfortunately has got himself into a magical crossfire between the master and one of the child detainees."

"A child did this to him?" Suddenly his defeat didn't sound so bad. Hissaka groaned in annoyance.

"A magical child," Ular-Sari corrected, "with strong unknown magic in him."

At this, Viproxus let out a loud growl. "That makes the two of us. I just got out of a fight with a boy and a girl. Not children . . . late teenagers, from the looks of them. Blasted youngsters."

"What do you mean?" Ular-Sari turned to look at him, curiosity evident from her eerie yellow eyes amidst the shroud of darkness that formed the upper part of her face.

Viproxus grabbed a chair to sit before he related the earlier skirmish in detail to the sorceress, who listened intently. When he described the man wielding a dagger that could morph into a full-fledged sword, she gasped and halted him.

"Wait," Ular-Sari said. "You mentioned a dagger that transformed into a sword when wielded by this young man. That fits the description of the Empyreal Sword, the sword I had set out to retrieve by using the Dark Curse! I had seized it prior to our return but somehow it was missing when we arrived."

"I see." Viproxus then became fully aware that the item he had stolen from the two youngsters was of higher value than he had expected. He decided not to reveal the sword to her just yet. "Stupid sword burns if you try to touch it anyway," he snorted, pretending not to care. "Burned my hand when I grabbed it. Had to throw it away."

"Fool," Ular-Sari sighed in anger and disappointment. "That sword can be our means to get rid of that wretched barrier surrounding the Eastlands."

"Well, a lost cause," he shrugged, "That's not the issue I wanted to highlight." He saw Ular-Sari trembled with silent fury at his flippant remark, but he decided to ignore it. "This boy whom I fought with, when I threw him off the cliff, the sky suddenly became dark and this eagle-like power came from the sky and bonded with him. That punk was powerless when I first fought him, but after receiving the power he suddenly had this power to manipulate air. He could levitate to save himself and the girl he was with, and his fighting ability enhanced. He fought like a raging eagle!"

"Hmm . . ." Ular-Sari floated towards her large table, to her crystal ball which rested on a velvet cushion. "I wonder . . ."

Viproxus saw her peering at the crystal ball, but couldn't make out what she was seeing in it from where he was sitting. He saw her shifted uneasily and muttering to herself, before the sphere stopped glowing and she looked up at him. It was hard to discern what the sorceress was thinking when she didn't have any facial expression, or a face for that matter, to reflect it. He could only see the widening or narrowing of her yellow snake-like eyes.

"The master needs to hear about this," she finally said.

"Whatever." He gestured at his injury. "Can you heal this first before you go?"

"What caused it?"

"The wench who was with the boy stabbed me with her sai."

"Purely physical attack? Not magical?"

"Not that I know of. Why? Can't you just wave your hand and do that thing you do? Aren't you a sorceress?"

"I don't have that kind of power!" she snapped impatiently, floating towards a rack where there were bottles of different shapes and sizes. She picked one, and handed it to him. "Take this."

"What's this?"

"A potion. Use half on the wound, and drink half. It should work if it's purely a physical attack."

He shrugged and took the bottle. "Better than nothing."

"If there's nothing else, I'm going to see the master now."

"Want me to come?"

"No." Viproxus thought Ular-Sari had declined his offer a little too quickly and that roused his suspicion, before she continued, "It's not necessary, but if you must . . ."

"Nah. I'm beat. I'll be at my private chamber if you need me. Need to get this wound tended to." He decided not to risk the Serpent Deity noticing that he had the Empyreal Sword in his possession. Not until he was able to take a closer look at it and decide what to do with it. Maybe settle a score with that punk and his wench, he thought darkly.

"You'll do that," Ular-Sari agreed. She pointed at him and Hissaka. "Now, both of you, leave!"

With a growl, the injured Hissaka immediately scrambled up and dragged his feet to the table, and grabbed a fistful of bottles before leaving without a word. Viproxus winced on seeing the burnt flesh on the other man's chest, with blisters and greenish discharges around it.

"You should consider getting armors like me instead of the rags you love so much," he pointed snidely.

Hissaka snorted, bumped into him, and left without reply. Ular-Sari then beckoned for him to exit as well. Deciding that he'd best be heading to his chamber to start tending to his wound, he watched as Hissaka turned at one corridor, heading for his private chamber at the west, and he took the opposite direction where his was at the east. His hand patted the pouch where the sword began to let out its ominous warning sound again, as he thought about the two upset youngsters who had lost it.

"Heal now," he said, grinning, "vengeance later. They haven't seen the last of Viproxus."

8: And the Snakes Start to Sing

"So you can actually do magic?"

"I think so, yes."

"I thought you said you're not magical?"

"I thought so, too. After I end up here however, I can feel some . . . changes."

Liam frowned. The older boy had somewhat bypassed his initial grief on being manipulated to kill his mother, and was now looking at him with what Adam could see as hope mixed with confusion as the two of them sat side by side inside the cold, dark dungeon.

"What kind of changes?" the redhead prodded.

Adam considered the question and thought it was best to start from the beginning. Earlier, he had recounted what had happened to him in the throne room, after much coaxing from his inmate and after getting through the initial shock at what had transpired there. Since Liam had some magic in him – enough for him to cast the curse that had brought him here in the first place – Adam thought he probably had some answers.

"I've been getting these bad headaches a lot when I was around people," Adam began. "They were severe enough to knock me out unconscious at times. Those headaches never really gone away even after I've taken the medicine from our doctors . . ."

"Wait," Liam interrupted; bemusement evident in his expression. "What are doctors?"

"Umm . . . healers?"

Liam nodded; his expression shifted to show that he understood. Adam continued, "Not even those medicines could cure the headaches. They kept coming back. I've been having them when I'm here, too. But strangely, the headaches were gone after I accidentally . . . well, used my power to destroy that snake guy's snake . . ." Adam made a face at the expression before resuming, "and when I somehow deflected the snake guy's attack to Hissaka."

"You injured Hissaka?" Liam's eyes widened in surprise before a small smile escaped his somber expression. Adam nodded, and he whispered out, "Good."

"Maybe so," Adam admitted, thinking about how vicious Hissaka was to him and his brother during the kidnapping. He then recalled the hateful look Hissaka threw him that morning, and dread began to nest in his heart. "He's not going to let this slide," he whispered. "He's going to come after me."

"But you have magic!" Liam said. "You can use it against him. You mentioned even the Serpent Deity decided that your power is scary enough for him not to use any magic against you."

Adam's eyebrows twitched. "Didn't I also mention that he was going to kill me because he couldn't understand my power?"

"But then he changed his mind, or else you wouldn't even be here."

"That was only because he wanted Ular-Sari to find out about my power. After that he'll finish me off."

"That means we still have time," Liam said. "If even Ular-Sari, the sorceress of the Serpent Clan, still doesn't know about the nature of your power, it means that it is beyond her. It's something unknown to this part of land."

"If they don't know about my power, I suppose you don't as well?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't be of help," the redhead said apologetically. "I wasn't raised to know magic. I mean, I've always known I have a spark of the gift inside of me, through my father's lineage, but it's a subject so taboo nobody in the village is willing to discuss about it. They only said that nothing good can come in using magic." Liam's expression turned somber. "Just look at what happened to me."

"But I didn't call for it," Adam insisted. "It just sort of happened."

"Is there . . . magic, in your realm?"

Adam shook his head. "No," he replied, but then thought about what his brother had told him before, so he amended, "not really . . . it's uncommon, actually. There's no good magic. Those who use it usually have bad intentions, my brother told me."

"Sounds like your home world and the Eastlands aren't so different," Liam pointed out, "but outside the barrier . . . it's a totally different thing altogether."

Adam blinked. "There's a barrier surrounding this land? How huge is those walls?" He imagined tall walls surrounding the said land, keeping the people in like a large open prison.

Liam shook his head. "There's no wall. It's a magical barrier of pure energy, preventing anyone from crossing over in or out of the Eastlands. It protects us from the world outside."

"Protect from what?"

"Magic."

"But . . . there's magic here anyhow?"

Liam nodded darkly. "It's not supposed to be. Our ancestors escaped to this part of land hundreds of years ago, claiming the Eastlands as a safe haven for people without magic, to avoid them from being oppressed by magic, or just to avoid contact altogether. I guess some magic was brought in here before the barrier was raised."

"Maybe somebody was able to pass through the barrier?"

"Air . . . water . . . light . . . those things can pass through without a hitch. The barrier is said to be designed to be impenetrable by living beings, and is created by someone so powerful back then, no magic can take it down."

Adam let all the new information sank in his mind. It was too surreal for him, but after seeing the evidence of magic these past two days, he was willing to believe it to be real.

"Not even the dark curse can be used to penetrate this barrier?" he asked carefully.

Liam's expression changed to somber once again. "I suppose not," he answered with a low voice. "But I'm not sure. The curse took us to your world because Ular-Sari was specifically looking for the sword you and your brother had with you, and when I undid the curse it took us back to the place where it was cast. It's how the curse works."

Adam considered the information carefully. "Is this curse used only for traveling between worlds?"

"I don't know. What are you thinking about?"

"It was the curse that brought me here. I'm thinking if I want to return to my world, what if that is my only way back? I can't possibly do it."

Liam looked at him, his expression ashen. "I really hope there's another way for you," he said earnestly. He buried his face in his palms, before raising it up again. "I don't know how I'm going to live with myself knowing what I did."

"It's Ular-Sari's fault, not yours," Adam reminded. "You have to know that. You must know that."

Liam took a long, deep breath. Adam could see his inmate was still grieved due to the terrible tragedy that had befallen him. He waited silently for his friend to say something.

"I know," the redhead said finally.

Adam smiled. "Good," he said, pressing his older friend's arm to assure him that he was right. He glanced upward; despite it was daytime, only little light passed through the cell's high window, barely enough for them to see each other. The thick, heavy door was without a window, and even the space under the door was dark.

Liam trailed his gaze. "Dark clouds are always present above the Snake Mountain. We won't be getting much light even in the afternoon." The teen's voice was steady again.

"All this darkness is depressing."

"Tell me about it."

Adam leaned back against the cold wall. His thought went to his brother. "I wonder how he is . . ." he said thoughtfully, out loud.

"Your older brother?" Liam asked. Adam gave a node of affirmation, and he continued, "The last thing I saw before the dark curse took us all back was your brother chasing after you. He managed to get into the curse's clouds."

"But he wasn't with us when we arrived here."

"The sword was missing too," the older boy pointed out. "And we both saw Ular-Sari seizing the sword with her magic ribbon. It looked like someone had ripped the ribbon along with the sword." The theory had raised his spirit somewhat, Adam saw from the glint in his eyes. "It's possible that your brother is here in the Eastlands. The curse probably had dropped him off somewhere else away from the Snake Mountain."

"But he was hurt badly," Adam recalled, his heart ached after recalling how his brother had suffered under Hissaka's poisonous blows. "Hissaka said . . . his attacks were poisonous. He said Abang Zad would be very lucky if he's not dead . . ."

Liam slung an arm across Adam's shoulder, grasping it in assurance. "If he's here and he's outside, he stands a better chance to save you rather than being imprisoned along with us. Probably he'd gotten someone tending to his wound, and he's getting help now even as we speak."

Adam looked at his fellow inmate glumly. He felt a lot better but still skeptical. "You don't know that."

"I don't," Liam agreed sadly, "but I would rather be like you, for I can still hope. Instead, my father is here, somewhere and my mother . . ." His voice quivered as he was mentioning about his mother but he didn't break down. "There's . . . nothing left for me to hope for. But you, you have all the reasons in the world to hope. Please."

Adam thought the request was slightly odd, and as he glanced up towards Liam he felt a wave of sadness washing over him. Liam was right; he had to believe that his brother was out there, looking for him. It was the only thing he could do now.

Dub. Dub. Dub.

Heavy footstep sounds came from afar and outside the room, causing the two boys to quickly fall into silence. The heavy door sprang open, letting in faint light coming from the lit candles on the walls outside, and they could see somebody stepped into the prison. Adam saw it was a broad, heavyset man who walked with a limp. He was relieved at first that it wasn't Ular-Sari or Hissaka, but one look at the man's face and he knew that he was not out of danger yet. The man was looking at them, his eyes shifting back and forth between them with an uncertain frown etched on his face.

"Great, they didn't tell me there are two of them," the brute grumbled as he loomed over them. He pointed a thick finger at them back and forth. "Which one of you little twerps come from another world?"

The two of them didn't promptly reply, and the brute lost what was left of his patience.

"ANSWER ME, CRETINS!" he barked.

Adam was about to speak up when Liam grasped his wrist so hard that he had to stop himself from yelping. A fleeting sense of warning was felt.

"I've met one punk out there in the woods earlier. Jabbering about his brother being kidnapped," the large man continued to bait, when he saw that he was not intimidating anybody.

"You've met my brother?" Liam suddenly spoke up. Adam glanced incredulously at the older boy, before seeing Liam's fleeting warning gaze. He wondered what Liam was up to but decided to play along with it for the time being.

The large man grinned before setting his eyes on Liam. "So you're the punk's little brother." He frowned. "You don't look alike, that's for sure . . ."

"Where did you meet him?" Liam demanded.

At this, the man guffawed. "Hah, hah . . . you think ol' Viproxus is going to tell you that?" He leaned down and grabbed Liam's shirt, peeling him off the floor before raising the redhead to his eyelevel. Liam met his gaze defiantly, before suddenly Viproxus slammed a fist hard on the side of his head.

Adam gasped in shock as Liam coughed out blood and swaying in slight disorientation.

"Just a little payback for what your brother and his wench did to me earlier, you little runt," Viproxus laughed as he let go of Liam, sending him tumbling down on the floor. "Oh, this will kill him for sure, knowing his precious baby brother is at Viproxus' mercy."

Adam shivered as he sensed anger building up from the vicious man. He quickly went to Liam, but before he could speak up Liam grabbed hold of his forearm with both hands, sending him that wave of warning he had felt earlier. The sides of his head began to throb; his headache had returned and began to intensify as Viproxus approached them.

"You, little mouse, scurry off or you'll suffer the same fate as your friend!"

Chokingly, Liam got up and grasped Adam's wrist, shaking his head as he spat out blood. Adam shivered as he felt a jumble of emotions coming from the touch.

"My brother got you bad, didn't he?" Liam asked.

That made Viproxus snarl, and the brute lifted a foot up, intending to kick. Adam seized Liam and both of them rolled away before the swung foot made contact with them, but it had hit his back. Pain overwhelmed him as he slammed onto Liam and both of them rolled against the wall. He rose up, feeling the room spinning around him and his vision blurring. He had never been at the end of such a heavy assault.

Liam grabbed him. "I got you into this," he hissed softly. "Let me handle it."

Adam was too much in pain to argue. Liam pushed him to his back and glared at the incoming brute.

"Your brother and his wench fought dirty! That bloody wench took a cheap-shot on me while I was preoccupied with that no-good punk brother of yours!" Viproxus shouted, and advanced towards them again, intending to attack again.

"So you're taking it out on me?" Liam challenged, wiping the blood from his mouth as he pushed Adam to his back. "You're just a big bully! No wonder you lost the battle with my brother! Just you wait . . . he will come here to rescue me, and when he does you will pay for doing this!"

Viproxus let out a heavy breath and stared down at the both of them. He glared at Liam mainly but occasionally his eyes flitted towards Adam and they narrowed down suspiciously before returning to Liam. The two boys backed away to the wall, returning the looks but didn't say anything to not spite the bigger man.

Then without saying a word, he turned and slammed the door shut. The boys let out a relieved breath as they listened to Viproxus' footsteps fading away.

"Why did you pretend to be me?" Adam demanded.

Liam sighed. "It's my fault that you're here, and I know he was up to no good. See what he did when he thought I was you?"

"You're hurt because of me!"

"I can take it, I'm older and bigger." Liam coughed again, but this time there was no blood. "Not a problem." His green eyes narrowed with concern as he helped Adam to sit by leaning against the crude masonry wall. "He kicked you too. Are you hurt?"

Adam's vision had cleared and he realized his headache had subsided. "It feels as if I was hit by a truck."

Liam frowned. "What's a truck?"

"Uhh . . . a massive vehicle. You don't have it here?"

Obviously confused, the older boy shook his head. Adam decided to drop the matter; he wasn't in the mood to explain and his companion was not pressing more an explanation.

"Well, at least we have information," Liam finally pointed out. "We know your big brother is safe. And from the looks of it, he has a friend with him, and together they have done a number on that brute." He smiled, for the first time since Adam had met him. "Don't you see? Your brother knows where you are now, and he's working out a way to get you out of here."

Adam felt elation coming from his heart, before suddenly a fleeting thought dampened his excitement.

"What's wrong?" Liam asked, noticing the change of mood.

"It's . . . the magic I did," Adam said, looking at the redhead with a new fear. "In our world, magic isn't a common thing, if not real at all. Some used it for bad reasons, to sabotage, to make harm, to control other people . . . nothing good ever come from magic. What if . . ."

"You're worried your brother might not accept you because of your magic?"

Adam nodded. Liam crunched his forehead to think before he grasped Adam's shoulders firmly. "Look . . . I don't know your big brother, but I am a big brother myself. I have a sister, a baby sister . . . and I know whatever happens to her, whatever she'll end up doing, good or bad, I'll always love my sister. That comes without saying."

Liam cast a look of longing over the high window before looking back at Adam, hands still on his shoulder. His voice lowered as his eyes reflected a resurfacing intensity. Adam felt a strong wave of sadness interlaced with determination flowing into him, and it was as if these emotions steeled him to be strong.

"When Ular-Sari turned my parents into wolves, and told me she'd have them hunt for my sister and kill her after they kill me, I did whatever I could to stop them. I knew I had to stay alive to make sure my sister is alive. Even though I . . . ended up killing my mother . . . this will haunt me forever, but in a rather twisted way I told myself my mother would rather die than being forced to kill us both . . . and that thought keeps me alive."

Tears trickled down Adam's eyes, for the emotional onslaught that came from Liam's explanation was intense, but Liam did not cry at all. He quickly blinked back his tears, and as Liam removed his hands from his shoulders Adam sensed the strong emotions diminishing. It was confusing to him, but he could live with it for the time being. His hope was renewed as well, from the discovery that his brother was alive, and from the hope that was also present in Liam.

"Can you tell me more about your mother?" Adam asked gently.

Liam was perplexed, but soon a small smile formed from the corner of his mouth. "What do you want to know about?"

"Anything you can tell me."

As Adam listened to Liam's fond memories of his mother, at that moment Azad and Prue were making their way out of the Whispering Forest. They were at a large uneven meadow which was going downhill, and Azad paused to see the sprawling greenery that stretched to a far distance where they could see hills over the horizon. The sky was clear blue with minimal clouds and the air was warm, but breezy at the same time.

"How long are we going to walk again?" Azad asked.

"Behind those hills is a village, we should be able to reach there by sundown," Prue estimated, looking at the sun which was no longer above their heads, but roughly in a forty-five degree position at present. "It's where I have gotten our clothes earlier; we can spend the night there. A full-day journey tomorrow and we will reach the Order of the Clerics' headquarters by nightfall."

"If you say so," Azad replied. "Man, it's time like this that makes me miss my motorbike!"

Prue frowned. "Your what?"

"My vehicle."

The frown was still stuck on the woman's expression. "What kind of vehicle is it?"

"What kind of vehicle do you have here?" Azad asked back, wanting to know how was the civilization like in the Eastlands, something that he had neglected to ask in detail.

"We have carriages pulled by horses or mules or whatever animal that is available, sometimes bulls and cows in farms, steeds for traveling between towns," Prue said. "Usually I travel by horse, but horses are expensive and too conspicuous, not quite a good way for a mission."

So the civilization here is backward, Azad thought. "I . . . see. I've never been on a horse before."

Prue's expression lightened. "I can teach you. We probably will need horses soon, and with any luck we can get them once we're in town." She then had an expression of curious wonder. "You mentioned about your . . . bike?"

"Well, it's a machine with a seat that usually sits two, front and back wheels and with the clutch and controllers, windscreen and front-lights over the front and at the back. . ."

Azad soon realized that his explanation was lost on Prue, evident from the blank expression she sent him, and he was running out of vocabulary to explain it. So he took a stick and sketched the motorbike on the ground, with Prue observing intently. Once it was finished, he looked at it with dismay, for it was rather crude and didn't quite resemble the motorbike he had, but Prue was nodding with admiration.

"What a fascinating-looking chariot," she remarked with awe, "and you are saying that it does not require an animal to pull it?"

"No, we use machines and oil as fuel to get it going."

Prue nodded, looking as if she was merely absorbing the information without really comprehending. "So, can you build it here?"

Azad's mouth hung open in surprise. "Build one? I don't know how. My father bought it for me when I turned 16. We have factories that construct those bikes back home; there has never been a need to build one."

"Oh . . . so I guess we'll just have to walk."

"Lead the way."

The two teens were about to cross the meadow when Prue suddenly signed for a halt as she knelt on the grounds. There were faint vibrations, followed by faint galloping sounds coming from a distance.

"Wait," Prue cautioned, pointing a finger towards a direction. "There."

Azad looked to his left and saw smokes from the earth surface, from a distance away. Several horses with men riding them emerged from the smokes, heading their way. Cries were heard coming from the men as their profiles became clearer in each passing second. There were eight horses, and the riders were all hooded. He took one look at their choices of garbs – green robes and red capes with hoods, each wielding a saber, and groaned.

"They don't look friendly!"

Prue grabbed his wrist and took several steps back. However, it was apparent that they were in an open space, and it was difficult for them to hide.

"Snakemen," she said, quickly reaching for her bow and arrow. "Foot soldiers for the Serpent Clan. They're created by Ular-Sari's dark powers. Someone must have sent them to look for us."

"I bet I know the sourpuss who sent those men to us."

"Not men. Monsters, created from magic," Prue reminded. "Don't feel bad destroying them."

They watched as the horses stopped in a distance. One steered his steed to advance, peering at their direction. He raised his saber up and then forward, before charging towards them with a yell.

"ATTACK!"

"We're outnumbered!" Azad exclaimed.

"But not outclassed," Prue said grimly, and took an aim before firing an arrow straight towards the advancing Snakeman. The soldier parried the shot by slashing his saber forward, deflecting the arrow with relative ease. It didn't dampen his move but then the horse neighed, stumbled onto the ground and sent the Snakeman flying – Prue had aimed another arrow and this time it had slashed one of the horse's front legs, causing it to lose its balance and fall.

"That's one down, seven to go!"

The other Snakemen halted their steeds as the one that took the lead got up and charged at them. Azad braced himself, trying to call upon the power he had received earlier. He then realized that he didn't know how to summon it this time around. The last time he did it was by pure instinct alone. His attempt to consciously summon the power failed.

"What are you waiting for?" Prue demanded, her eyes never leaving the advancing Snakeman.

"We've got a problem," Azad replied. "I can't summon my power!"

"What? How did you do it the first time?"

"By falling into a ravine!" he yelped, finding himself being surrounded by three armed Snakemen.

"What?! Oh that's just great!" Sighing as three Snakemen circled around her, separating herself from Azad, Prue drew out her sai blades from both sides of her boots. "Do you know how to use this?"

"To cut meat? Sure. To fight? Well . . ."

"You'll learn now! Catch!" Prue tossed the blade up high. "These creatures are made, Azad! They're not human. If you have the chance to kill it, then do it!"

Azad used his chi knowledge to make a quick jump and instantly he received a boost in the form of hot pressurized air propelling him up. He made a somersault in mid-air and caught the sai by its hilt. He found himself levitating in midair, and looked down at Prue who already had tackled the Snakemen surrounding her. The Snakemen who surrounded him looked up, but Azad couldn't see their faces for they were shrouded by darkness save for their green slit eyes.

"These guys reminded me of Ular-Sari," he muttered, trying to figure out a way to proceed, as his power merely kept himself afloat. He thrust one hand towards the Snakemen, intending to send an energy blast, but failed.

"Azad, think of what had triggered your powers earlier," Prue suggested as she blocked a saber from one Snakeman with her sai and kicked away the second one who was ambushing her from the back. With the same leg swung forward she kicked the first Snakeman, sending it crashing on the floor. In a fraction of a second, she then twirled her body with swiftness and grace akin to a seasoned warrior and stabbed her sai towards the third Snakeman squarely on the chest. The Snakeman hissed sharply and exploded in a wave of purple vapor, with only a remnant of a mutilated snake remained behind. Prue rushed to retrieve her sai as the other two Snakemen rose up from the ground, now joined by another one – the one who she had sent crashing earlier when she fired an arrow to its steed.

She's amazing . . . Azad thought with admiration as he recalled fear and determination to stay safe when they were falling to their doom. Suddenly he swung around uncontrollably in mid-air before the levitation effect vanished, plummeting him to the ground. He yelled and suddenly his body burst with a familiar red raptor aura, keeping him afloat once again.

"Finally, woo-hoo! The eagle hero is back!"

The Snakemen charged at him simultaneously. Instead of defending, Azad decided to go into offense and propelled himself forward towards the Snakemen, blade at ready. Once he was close enough to the nearest Snakeman, he soared and slashed the Snakeman over the chest and the shoulder, sending the soldier tumbling onto the ground. However one Snakeman seized his ankle, preventing him to soar as it pulled him down.

"Ugh, LET GO!"

"Not a chance!" the Snakeman said gleefully, its voice was shrill and hiss-like as it resisted his attempt to escape. "There's a bounty for your head from the Masters Viproxus and Hissaka, and we intend to take it!" The Snakeman twisted his leg, sending a jolt of pain that made him lose his control of his power.

Another Snakeman tackled him as he was about to get up and he lost his grip over Prue's sai. The two of them rolled over the ground, parrying blows and punching each other. Azad attempted to escape the scuffle but his enemy kept delivering flurries of punches that forced him to defend himself.

"This is getting old," he muttered, feeling a wave of anger and irritation towards the enemy soldier. With a roar, he slammed his fist towards the Snakeman's chest and a burst of hot pressurized air burned the Snakeman, sending it flying with a shrill scream. It was knocked out cold upon crashing onto the grounds. He quickly got up back to his feet, realizing that panic and anger could trigger his power.

"Don't think you're so tough, boy!" One of the two Snakemen trapping him in a circle cried out as it lunged in for an attack with his saber, followed by another from the opposite direction.

"Seriously?" Azad rolled his eyes and raised his head heavenward in irritation. He prepared to jump out of the way as the two Snakemen approaching him closer and closer, before one was struck by a blast of water from the back, and a loud, severe crack knocked the other one out cold.

"HUH?"

The two Snakemen dropped face-first on the ground, out cold from the sneak attacks. Azad looked around warily but there was nobody in sight. He saw Prue kneeling on the ground, both sai were now with her as two Snakemen slumped face-first onto the ground. The soldiers whimpered and Prue struck them both on their back of necks with her sai, one after another, turning them into dead snakes. She hoisted herself up and held her weapon at ready for any incoming attacker.

"I think that's the last of them," she said, relieved. She brought her blades down.

"Did you see who attacked these two?" Azad asked, pointing towards the two unconscious Snakemen.

Prue shook her head, adjusting stray hair from blocking her line of sight. "I was a bit preoccupied myself, so no, I didn't."

"Somebody knocked them both out cold."

He looked around again, carefully, and this time, he thought he saw a large ripple of the air retreating from the battle site. He couldn't make out exactly what was the nature of the ripple, but it was as if seeing something had blended in with the colors of the environment, not completely invisible but hidden from plain sight. It was hard to catch it with the naked eye and only with a meticulously careful observation could one note there was a ripple, and that was when the ripple was moving; he didn't notice it at first when the it stayed in one place. The large ripple became smaller and more obscure before it disappeared completely from his line of sight.

"I thought I saw something retreating," he said, scratching his head.

"I didn't see anything," Prue admitted. "What exactly did you see or hear?"

"I saw a blast of water, coming out from nowhere, knocking down one Snakeman. Another was a sound like someone got whipped; I heard the slicing crack sound but I couldn't see the source."

Prue thought about it before walking towards the two Snakemen that Azad claimed attacked by the unknown invisible assailant. She knelt beside one and placed her palm on one.

"This Snakeman is drenched to the bone! If this water-attack can knock it out cold, it has to be extremely high-pressurized, like your air blast," she said, before moving to the other. "And this one . . . the clothes are ripped apart at the back . . ."

"A whip causes this?" Azad bent closer to see the tears on the unconscious Snakeman's clothes before glancing towards Prue questioningly. "These looks more like blade slashes."

"A normal whip won't, but the whip is probably infused with energy for it to leave these kinds of marking. If you didn't mention about the whipping sound, I'd have thought this Snakeman was slashed by a blade."

Azad shivered. "Do you know anyone with such powers?"

Prue shook her head as she stood up. "Like I've said, magic isn't common in this part of the world. Waters and whips appearing in mid-air . . . sounds like another form of magic. The question is, friend or foe?"

"Well, they did save me from the Snakemen."

"If they're friendly there's no need to hide from us," Prue pointed out.

"The enemy of my enemy is my friend?"

The woman snorted. "Not a kind of policy we have here, unfortunately."

Azad shrugged. "Doesn't always apply in my world too." He looked at the remaining unconscious Snakemen, all lying haphazardly around the meadow and the steeds they had left behind. A couple of steeds had run off from the battlefield, but some remained. "What do we do with them?" he asked, beckoning towards the unmoving Snakemen.

"I won't want to risk them attacking us again, so . . ."

Prue stabbed the two Snakemen who were attacked by their mysterious savior, and Azad watched the two burst into smokes and dead snakes were left in their places. He borrowed Prue's sai and both of them made quick work of disposing the rest of the soldiers.

"What about the horses?" Azad asked when they were done.

Prue retrieved two steeds, one red steed and the other black. "I did ask our friends if we could borrow their horses." She cast a look around at the dead snakes, before turning to Azad with a shrug. "They didn't object."

Azad had to grin at his friend's unexpected humor. "What about the rest of the horses? And the one you killed?"

Prue made a face. "I didn't kill it. I struck one of its legs. The fall however must have broken its neck. As for the others we'll just let them loose."

"The dead one, should we bury it?"

"No, there's no time. The predators will be out during the night. They'll take care of it." Prue gave him a scrutinizing gaze with her sharp ice-blue eyes. "Do you know how to ride a horse? I recalled you said you've never even been on one?"

Azad shook his head. "Can you teach me? I'll learn fast," he assured.

"It's not as easy as it looks, but we'll save a lot of journey time if you know how to ride. So come on."

As they were engrossed in the horse riding lesson, unaware to them that not too far away, under the shadows cast by the trees at the edge of the Whispering Forest, the ripple Azad saw retreating from the battlefield settled. The ripple began to distort the colors in the air until the profiles of two people emerged.

One was a dark-skinned young woman with her brown hair pulled back into a French braid, brought down to the left side of her face. She wore earth-colored outfit consisting of a hooded overcoat extending to a knee-length skirt cut at the sides all the way to her mid thighs. Underneath the coat she wore leather pants and boots. In her grasp was a golden whip, which she rolled and secured on her belt before looking at her companion.

"Do you think it's him?"

The man beside her was taller by a foot in comparison, lean, with straight jet-black hair swept down reaching under his chin contrasting his fair complexion. He had on a pair of blue collared shirt and black leather pants and boots, and a grey vest on his shirt. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against a tree.

"You have the means to determine the answer," he answered cryptically.

The woman snorted, and took out a metallic device from the pouch clipped at her belt. It was flat and circular, curving outwards in two sides, bronze with runes engraved on it.

"If I didn't know any better, I'd think you are reapplying your make-up," the man said with a snicker.

"You know better," said the woman without looking at her companion. Her round eyes were fixed on the device, as she beckoned at it, "Show us the Aquila."

The runes on the device shimmered and the device clicked open, revealing two plates attached by a hinge. Inside the device was a glowing sphere, held secure by a metal-holder shaped like an upward claw. The sphere let out a whirring sound as it was pointed the device towards the hill, barely letting out glitters, but shifted into a radiant blue glow when she aligned it exactly towards where Azad and Prue were at. "There. It looks like we've found our eagle."

"At just day one of life, I'd say he fared quite admirably against those freaks," the man said.

"We still had to step in to save his butt," the woman replied.

"Now, now . . . let's not forget how you fared on your first day."

"And how is it that you're still keeping secrets about your first day?"

"I'm the most senior, I get that privilege."

The woman's eyebrows twitched in irritation as she glanced towards her tall companion. The man shrugged easily in wordless response. The woman shook her head. Both of them observed as Azad took the horse galloping around the meadow in one circle before returning towards Prue. The two then secured their belongings on the two horses before taking off towards the hills.

"They're heading towards the town behind those hills," the man noted.

"And they've left us the other horses too. Six of them . . . no, five. One of them was shot dead by that girl he hangs out with." The woman crunched her nose in disgust. "Let's take all of them. Two for travel, the rest we can sell for money or trade for provisions."

The man grinned. "Sounds like a plan. Come on."

The mysterious duo retrieved the remaining steeds Azad and Prue had left behind, and set about to trail them from a distance, the reason behind it was still relatively unknown. As the sun began to set, the prison inside the Snake Mountain turned darker and colder. Adam and Liam had been trading stories these past few hours, about their family, friends, and about their different worlds. The subject of their conversation began to steer back towards Adam's mysterious power that had surfaced that morning.

"I wish I knew why I have this power," Adam sighed. "My parents weren't magical. My brother isn't. There's no reason why I have powers."

"Like I've said, I'm no expert," Liam shrugged, "but maybe you can start by recalling when exactly things became abnormal and we'll go from there."

Adam thought carefully. "The deflecting and the destroying part, those two started when I'm here. But I've been having these awful headaches way back since . . . my parents' accidents. The headaches became worse when I was around a lot of people and resolved when I was alone. Here, the headaches were bad when that man came . . . but . . ."

At his loss of words, Liam prompted. "But what?"

"When Viproxus was in here, the headache returned when I felt a lot anger coming from him. I'm pretty sure the anger was not mine, it was weird . . . so foreign, so evil . . ." Adam shuddered upon recalling how he had felt, before shaking off the thought. "However, when you helped me to lean on this wall," he gestured towards the wall he was leaning at with a slight flick of the head, "the headache was gone. Just like that."

"Really? I didn't do anything. I wouldn't know how, anyways."

Adam nodded. "I know, and now that I think of it . . . whenever I have these headaches, I'd come home and cry when it got too bad, or when I had terrible nightmares and woke up with a cry, my brother would embrace me. He didn't know what else to do to calm me down. The meds didn't work. But when he hugged me, I'd feel very calm and safe when I was with him. And those headaches would just vanish, just like that."

Liam considered his explanation and raised an eyebrow. "Maybe your brother has some healing power he didn't tell you, or probably didn't know about?"

"I doubt that; he's as normal as it comes."

"You thought you're normal, and look at you."

"This is so confusing," Adam sighed.

Liam shook his head. "You're ten. It's understandable. I'm fourteen and I still struggle to understand what's happening with you and your powers. But, when I was telling you about my story, I saw you crying."

"You had just gone through a tragedy," Adam pointed out, "and I'm no stranger to tragedies."

"No, really, just think for a moment. Was it because you could relate, or you just felt what I was feeling? I saw your expression and they were very genuine."

Adam thought hard about it. He recalled sensing waves of sadness and other unbridled emotions coming from Liam especially when he wasn't so far apart from the redhead. He had made peace with his past; that much was clear when he had announced to his brother that he was ready to go to school again. There was lingering sadness in his heart, but no more as terrible as it was when the tragedy was still new. The sorrow was not his.

"I think I actually felt your sadness," Adam answered.

Liam took his hand and pressed it on his chest, where his heart was. Adam could feel, despite the fabric of his shirt, the steady beating heart. He thought he was imagining things but after some seconds, he could even hear the heartbeats emanating in his mind. He locked eyes with the older boy and suddenly waves of emotions flowed into his mind. They were scattered, jumbled, and it was hard for him to discern each emotion, and he could feel the headache returning.

"Adam, are you alright?" Liam asked, concerned. He loosened his grip, but Adam didn't remove his hand.

"I think . . . we're getting somewhere."

Adam closed his eyes and inhaled a deep breath, focusing on the heartbeats echoing in his mind. After repeating the exercise three times he could feel the headache subsiding, and to his elation, he began sensing curiosity, followed by anxiety . . . kinship . . . grief . . .

The heavy door suddenly sprang open and slammed against the wall with a loud crash. Adam was ripped out from his trance and breathed sharply as a strong wave of anger burst into his mind, causing searing headache from the back of his head spreading to all sides. He spun around and saw Viproxus stampeded into the prison with his expression twisted in rage.

"You lying, half-pint, punks!" Viproxus shouted, waving something in his hand. "Got me confused now, did you? Well, get a load on this, redhead!"

Viproxus threw the thing he was holding towards the wall near them. It bounced hard but landed on the floor with a fleshy, wet sound. As their visions adjusted to the faint lights that radiated from outside the prison, Adam gasped as a crushing wave of distress and horror overwhelmed his mind when Liam howled in agony. The light revealed a severed head of a man stared at them with eyes widened in terror, the damp hair plastered over the forehead and the tongue jutted out from the mouth.

"FATHER!" Liam lunged towards the severed head on all fours, crying in despair. "Father . . ."

Adam was shocked and crushed at the same time. He trembled when his eyes met Viproxus'. A terrible anger bubbled in his mind, and this time around, he was certain that it was his anger he was feeling.

"You . . . you monster!"

Viproxus nodded curtly. "Now you know what happens when you make a fool out of me. I'll deal with you later."

"They didn't deserve this!"

The large man ignored Adam. Pointing a stubby finger towards Liam, he bellowed, "You, punk . . . bear in mind that this is your doing! As if it wasn't enough to have your momma's death by your own hand, your poppa's life was snuffed out because of your little trick. How do you feel about that, huh, punk?"

"You murdered him!"

With an anguished cry, Liam jumped and rushed towards Viproxus. He slammed a fist on Viproxus' armored body in blind rage, but the armor deflected his blow and he screamed in frustration. Before he could attack again, Viproxus seized both his wrists with his large hand and pulled the boy close to his face, so close that Liam winced in horror as the brute taunted him.

"Poor little orphan. No momma, no poppa to go running to when you get bullied. Poor little orphan, whose momma's and poppa's blood is on his hand."

"Let go!" the tear-stricken boy demanded, struggling.

"Let him go!" Adam rushed to help his friend, but with a clean swipe with his other hand, Viproxus sent him tumbling on the cold floor. He quickly got up, blinking back tears of frustration of how helpless he was feeling now. He desperately wanted to help Liam; it was the older boy's trick that earned them information about Adam's brother, and now he had paid a heavy price for it. Adam so desperately wanted justice for his friend, but he was helpless against the evil man. "Haven't you done enough?"

"Oh . . . but I'm just getting started," the brute replied darkly. "I might not be into child brutality, but Hissaka is, and he sure could use some cheering up after what you have done to him."

Something in Viproxus' tone of voice made him shiver as he watched the brute dragging the teen as he exited the prison. Realizing that his new friend was in greater danger, Adam rushed towards the entrance. However, Viproxus spun and landed a heavy kick on his chest, knocking the air out of him as he was sent flying back. The door slammed shut as he rolled on the floor, and he had barely stopped the momentum by planting one hand firm on the floor just an inch before colliding with the severed head of Liam's father. Quickly he scrambled up and cried in frustration as he heard Liam's agonizing cry fading.

Struggling to avert his eyes from looking at the dismembered head and resisting the stench of stale blood that began to invade his nostrils, Adam retreated to the farthest corner of the prison before burying his head in his thighs, crying for all the evil he had seen and the sufferings Liam had to endure.

"Abang Zad, hurry . . . save us . . ."