Blaze Chronicles: The Seek, a Fantasy story

An Introduction

Ravish Heights, Baxter Residence

Bree's house was huge. Perhaps that was the reason why her friends chose her residence as their meeting place without her consent. There was a secret room underneath it, after all. There was a huge round table there, and since the start of the alliance, the room has been The Decatenators' secret hideout. It was a really lame name for them, she must admit. One of their members insisted so, even if the restargued that deca means ten already, so calling themselves The Decatenators would be redundant. He wouldn't budge.

If Bree were to be asked, she’d prefer if they start on their official work as Force Folks already. It was the custom. After they graduated, they were given two years of break to try and improve their powers. Until then, each of them are given an equal amount of cash which they can spend whichever way they like, as long as they can last those two years without starving themselves. After the break, they are supposed to hunt down evil doers both in Blaze and in Citadel, which is the city closest to the magical island their school is located on. The police forces in the City is not really good, so it’s their job to act as a back-up. Their work is more sinister though, since they act specially on people who have signs of Black Blood in them. The Snipes, who are also their classmates, seemed to have started on that work already, even if the two-year break was still halfway through. However, they work in secret or per requests. Bree didn’t really understand it but it seems as though they’re having fun and profit from it.

She just arranged another one of their meetings, or what she'd like to call it, planning sessions. She was also certain someone was rummaging through her kitchen. She thought maybe it was some squirrels that got loose. Their neighbor had a nasty habit of petting the most unnecessary animals, and they almost always never cage them.

Her companions haven't arrived yet. They don't really respond through text messages, but she checked on her phone anyway, in case they are in the city proper already. She decided the best way to wait for them would be to sit on her couch, watching her favorite shows while nibbling on some popcorn.

She combed her hair before going out into the kitchen. It wasn't squirrels after all, or even hamsters. She found him squatting on their table, with his usual black attire that covered entirely his body, except for his face. He was aiming for the ninja-look but Bree wasn't quite sure if he pulled it off. It does give him a big help in his work, so Bree didn't comment about it. She wanted to throw her slippers at him for breaking and entering. But then again, this wasn't the first time this happened.

"For the… I don't know. Nth time, Dash. Don't…" She pointed her index finger at him while he just stared back at her without emotion. He wasn't even surprised when she found him eating cup noodles and squatting on somebody else's kitchen. It irked her. "Don't come into my house without telling me about it first."

Dashiell was short for his age. He's the youngest to graduate from Wadsworth Academy. His hair started to curl unnaturally in their third year of stay in the campus, and now they poke out of his head in all sides. The group agrees he should cut his hair at least once a month, it grows too fast. He is skinny, which makes him look smaller than his friends.

He slurped a long strand of noodles. "You arranged for a meeting, din't ya?"

"Yeah, and not an eating contest." Bree tried to keep her tone down.

"I-yeah…" He stopped talking and eating altogether and pursed his lips, as if he was thinking of something. "But your door is open."

Bree rolled her eyes. "As if you use the door everytime you come in here." She said. "Or the window."

"Alright, sorry sorry." He said before grinning. "Where are the others anyway?"

"Well, since you're here already," Bree started talking, but she stopped because something wasn't right. "I mean why are you here already? You always come last, or Daphne does. Either way you're never first."

"I guess I'm first now, huh?" He said. His face contorted into a pout as he turned the cup around. Nothing dripped. "Do you have more of these? Man, I'm hungry."

"That's the last one." She said. "You know I left them there for the squirrels. Yeah my neighbor's pets. It's been you who've been eating them all along." Bree smiled. "They're expired, you know."

Dash started to spit, as if he can do anything about it now. Bree laughed as she watched him.

They heard a knock.

They both looked at each other before racing on who would answer the door. Dash came first. He always does. He's fast, because he cheats. Contrary to popular belief, the answer why he's speedy is not because he was named Dash. He wasn't at all excellent in running marathons, but he can teleport. As long as there are shades cast by anything – shelves, trees, doors, he can get there in a jiffy. He was already standing in front, hands on the knob before Bree can even start to run. He smirked before opening the door and welcoming two of their friends inside.

Mallory is just as tall as Dash, but compared to Conrad, she looked like a little sister. Conrad, on the other hand is just a year older than Dash, but he's taller than almost everyone in their class. He has pointy hair, and some parts of it stuck out front as if covering his face from the sun.

They were both stunned when they found Dash instead of Bree. They both peeked behind him to check if everything's alright. They found her, waving her hand at them and gesturing at Dash with weird faces.

"Wow. You sure seem early." Mallory spoke first.

"Are you the first one to arrive?" Conrad asked Dash.

He nodded.

"Well that's… unusual." Mallory said. Dash gestured them to come inside, as if it was his own house. Mallory laughed at his awful butler act. A butler in a ninja outfit is not right. "Dash, didn't we make it quite clear that whenever we have our conference, we'd put on our sailor costumes?"

"Yeah I am!" He rebutted, then he looked at his side. "I mean, I'm going to." The others weren't convinced. "Oh, alright. Just…" He sighed. He reached his hand out under Bree's couch and he pulled out his sailor shirt.

"Wha- did you keep that there?" Bree was astounded.

"No, of course not!" Dash said. "I won't keep my stuff here, those squirrels of your neighbors might chew on this."

"Well then, how?" Mallory was as confused as Bree.

"Oh come on, guys." It was only Conrad who seemed to not freak out about it. "We've been classmates with Dash for four years. He has like, a locker room in every shadow."

"Yeah. And I keep some of my stuffs there." Dash happily said.

Mallory and Bree looked at each other. "Well," Bree started. "Should we start now? Or… should we wait for them?"

"We should wait for them." Mallory replied. "I mean, we don't get good results if we aren't complete."

The others agreed. The room suddenly turned quiet. It was Conrad who spoke first. "So… are the others on the hunt yet?"

He was talking about the other people who graduated on Wadsworth Academy the same time they did, their classmates.

"I don't think so." Bree said. "I mean, none of us is still exactly very sure of where the key is hidden."

"Agreed." Mallory commented. "It wouldn't be very wise to rush things."

"But every team's got a guess, right?" Dash quietly spoke. "In where it must be hidden?"

"Which was our guess, again?" Conrad said.

"Blue Hollow." Bree was quick to respond. "There are tons of caves there. Some are even interconnected. It's some sort of a labyrinth. Or maybe it was just hidden underneath it, buried like bones."

Bree was taking about what used to be the biggest lake in their place. However, some time in history, all the waters in it disappeared. They say very powerful force wielders were behind it. Currently, it left a big hole in the ground. A huge hole. The caves Bree was talking about were the openings on the sides of the lake, as if there was supposed to be tunnels underneath it.

"We can be wrong, too. It could be on Flatt Hills, or Pristine Coast, or even far in The Dunes." Mallory stated. "We'll just have to wait before the others are here. Hopefully Aria would have more information."

The others nodded their heads. Then there was a knock on the door. Dash quickly ran to open it, even if no one was competing with him. In came the other six, all dressed in their uniforms. Dash began his butler act again. A short girl came first. She patted Dash on the back. Her name was Daphne.

"So, what's happened to him?" She pointed at Dash.

"Nothing's wrong with him." Bree said. "As you can clearly see. Weird acts, it's all Dash." Daphne was satisfied with the response. Behind her followed the others until all ten was inside. They all looked at each other – to see if everyone was really there, or if anyone was in there with them, before heading into the secret room. The meeting won't start until all of them are seated on the round table.

King's Alley, The Snipe Tavern

Regalus hit his final bull's eye. They have been playing darts for three hours now. Their hands have gotten used to handling the darts and aiming them at the board's hotspots. He turned around to face Remy, who was brandishing his sword.

"How hard could it be, anyway?" He fished another arrow from his pocket and aimed at the 20's triple score area. "He's just like any other criminal, I guess."

"Yeah." A voice piped up from his side. It was Tate, resting his legs on the table and sitting back as if he's some sort of a king. He can only have this much of a space when the others are not around. Might as well use it for his liking. "An axe murderer. He might be a little hard, you know. Mostly, we've dealt with thieves, some killers, but it's the first time we ever got a request for an axe murderer."

"Tate is right." Remy finally spoke after getting satisfied with how shiny his sword looked. "We'll be having a big reward after this."

Caleb, the shortest of the group, walked over to the board as soon as Regalus has finished throwing and removing the darts that stuck in the same place. Regalus had 5. He can shoot 6. Not like he's a competitive guy or anything.

He walked over to the drawing line, eyes locked on the center. He was about to throw when the door to their little tavern opened up. Standing outside were the three chosen to catch the victim. "What've we missed?" A tall boy with ragged features exclaimed.

They were still wearing their killing uniforms, a black sleeveless coat with a white undershirt which made them look as if they were going to a ball. Their brown hoods were still attached to their heads with the cape flapping as they ran. The belt on their sides were hanging with guns and knives. They have powers but… they mostly prefer their prey to have it naturally.

"Nothing much." Caleb said. "I was about to beat my highscore."

Felix, Atticus, and Ronan (who just came) scooted over to where Tate was sitting, who was disappointed because his wonderful position has now been taken.

All eyes turned to Tate. Even Caleb decided not to throw the darts yet. Remy, who was just done wiping his sword, pushed the tip of the blade into his palms, and like playing accordion, he closed his hands together until all parts of the weapon was gone. They were now looking for the updates.

"Any new news, Tate?" Remy asked.

Tate took a while before he can answer. "Not much." He spoke up. "I can't find Granville's hideout anywhere. As for the Black Hats." He laughed. "I don't know if they're even preparing for anything. They were just, dancing, and making chemical stuffs. And for the mansion people. They have very tight security, but I managed to get in. It seems they have gained a lot of information about it. They have a lot of sources."

"Did you manage to get this information, too?" Caleb asked him after landing his final dart.

"Yeah. They were talking about some kind of place. They say that's where the door is located, but I'm not quite sure." He looked at everyone. "Do you think the key is where the door is too?"

No one answered, but they all shook their heads. "I don't think Sir Azarias would make it that easy for anyone who wants his extreme power." Atticus remarked.

"Yeah, maybe it's like under the sea or something." Felix suggested.

"Or inside a raging volcano." Remy joined in.

"If that's the case then Regalus would be the one who'd get it." Ronan was saying. "He does have fire power, after all."

"Well, we don't know for sure." Regalus concluded before they can say more, probably he was a little surprised at the whole volcano thing. Sir Azarias was a Light Holder, after all, not fire. "For now, we'll just have to look for more information."

"Oh yeah." Atticus remembered about Bree and her group. "How about The Decatenators? Got a spy on them?"

Tate hesitated. "Not quite sure. Aria's got real good ears, ya know." He was talking about The Ten's data girl. "Even if I'm pretty fast, she can still hear me. She says it's like a song or something. It's not wise staying with them for too long. She can hear the voices in my head. She might as well share it to her clan. And please, can we just call them The Ten, if that's possible? Decatinators is too long, and too..." He shrugged his shoulders.

He heard Remy laugh from behind. Not a harsh laugh, more like “Yeah I know, they're funny-laugh”.

"Yes, but they do work seperately." Caleb said. "They're not always with Aria, sometimes it's just those four." He counted his fingers as he spoke their names. "Dash, Conrad, Mallory, and Daphne. Even if they are a bit too immature sometimes, they do seem to be keen observers."

"Well, I'll try next time." Tate promised. "But for now, I say let me sleep."

Grandmother Cresilda's Mansion

They were having tea.

Colette suggested Chamomile. And now they are having a sweet time. "We start the journey tomorrow." She said as she set down her teacup. The others looked at her with wary and observing eyes.

"So…" Delia was eager for some questions. "Should we all go? Or should someone stay here?"

It was a rather simple question, but none of the six people who sat on that long table opened their mouths. Instead of answering, a new question piped up.

"Would it really be wise to start the seek tomorrow?" Chiara spoke softly, as she usually does. She sipped on her tea.

"How sure are you that the key is in Mt. Serpens?" Geneva asked, who has not taken any sip from her drink. Instead she twirled her spoon on her cup.

"That place is protected. And when I say protected, I say it with great assurance." Colette wiped her mouth with a napkin embroidered with her initials. "That place has not been touched by snow since the fall of Azarias, the flowers that grow in there have not been growing, nor dying, as what Chiara here says." She pointed her gaze to the girl with long hair sitting across her.

"And the power residing in that area is greater than any other place of this world." Quincy supported Colette. "It's too much. Dangerous, even."

"My sand drawings, too, are quite shaky about Mt. Serpens." Delia said.

"Well, now that it's confirmed." Lucian stated in a strong voice. "Should we all go, or should we not?"

"It's not… confirmed yet." Geneva said. "But for all means, yes, it is not harmful to try."

"I'm thinking it's safer if some of us'll stay here." Chiara spoke. "Besides, not all of us are very good at fighting. Who knows what we'll be facing in going there. We might as well be facing our colleagues at the journey."

"I agree." Geneva raised her hand. "And I prefer to stay."

"As well as I." Delia seconded.

"So three would go, and three would stay." Lucian remarked. "Pretty nice."

"Just be careful." Delia warned. "I sense something dark. My dust readings have been quite complicated these days." She looked at each one of them.

The air was quite cold, and they stayed silent like that for a few seconds. The occasional clanking of the cups and the saucers was all that could be heard. No wind was blowing, but the vase at the corner of the room fell to the ground. The loud breaking noise was enough to make them all look.

"We have an intruder." Colette said.

"No." Quincy countered. "We HAD an intruder."

Black Hat Hut

Sometimes, Amira wonders why they got their interests set in Enchantry. They were always good at Chemistry, and perhaps that was the reason why they decided to build the Black Hats. They practiced a different sort of magic, and now,a year after their graduation day, she can at least say that they are moving quite positively.

She grabs the stick and starts mixing the red liquid she's been working on for 3 whole hours. Despite being impatient at times, she does enjoy experimenting potions. She liked to see what happens if this and that were mixed. It's basic instructions from the book, but a little experimenting is fun.

Sienna, a short girl with short hair peeks behind her. She tells her that they are about to start their discussion. This had been going on since the day they left the academy. They go on schedules each week on who goes where. They need to find out, after all. Besides, that's what the others have been doing too. It would be disastrous to fall behind in this silly game of seek and conquer. But they must admit, that little key has a knack at staying hidden. Or perhaps Sir Azarias was just good at playing hide and seek.

They both come out of the room and enters something a lot bigger. It's customary they put on their hats before starting the discussion. They have a different type for each of them seven, based on each of their liking.

Willow, their group leader wasn't the type to stand out. But she has been their adviser for a long time, and everything's turned out fine. Besides, no one else wants to step up and take the lead. It's vital, however, since the real fight hasn't started yet. And it's coming.

"So whose turn is it for the expedition this week?" Willow speaks calmly, and the others listened in the same manner.

Amira raises her hand, along with two other girls, Cecily and Auriel. They couldn't count on how many times they have tried to go out and search each parts on the map. Some places seem too weak to hold such a strong power. A lot has potential, but they aren't really certain on where the key might be located. For now, their lead is Forticious Forest, a deep and secluded place, half the part still to be discovered. The trees there grow unnaturally fast, even if most of them are leafless. Perhaps there's some sort of crazy magic going in there.

"Tomorrow, you three'll start the journey." Willow speaks.

They nodded their heads, as well as the others. They speak up their plans, and to always call whenever they come across danger. Their charms and potions should always be kept in the bags, and they should remember some spells in times of need.

They knew nothing. Everyone knew nothing for now. They didn't even know how close they are to danger.

3: I

From the moment they stopped being students of Wadsworth Academy for the Chosen, Aria had been hearing bad music. And she wasn’t talking about loud metal bands from mix tapes or sloppy rap music on radios; she was talking about the music. She has been given the ability to hear certain melodies other people can’t notice. They have been calling it the Song ability for generations now. Plus, she has a good voice too. Each one in history who earned the song ability always knew how to match pitches and tune voices. However, they were considered as some sort of oracles too. The songs they’ve been hearing are more than they seem. They tell about the past, the present, or sometimes, even the future. Only force masters like her can interpret them. However, they come in riddles.

She doesn’t really like it much when all heads turn to her the moment they sit at the round table. She looks at each one of them, all hoping to hear what she would say. They might think that having her in their team was a good advantage. Well, she’s not saying it’s not, it’s just sometimes, she hopes they don’t hold up their heads that high.

“It’s… I still think it’s a bad idea.” She speaks softly. The others leaned back on their seats after hearing her, some nodded.

“I- I know I’ve been saying this a lot of times already but… but it’s becoming worse now.”

“Tell us about it.” The girl on her side tells her. Bree had been her best friend even before they went to school. She feels reassured. “Let’s all talk this through.”

“It’s louder, and there’s more pain… and I don’t know... regret in it.” Aria tells them, combing her long black hair and trying not to be freaked out about it. If only they could hear it, then they’ll know how wrong it feels.

“Regret? How does regret sound like?” A boy piped up. He was short, and the youngest in their team too. In fact, he was the youngest in their class. His curly hair seemed to stick everywhere in his small head, as if he’d just gotten out of bed. Aria isn’t used to seeing Dash serious with him looking like that. “I mean, really, how does that work?”

“Dash.” Bree’s voice tells him to stop. The others nodded their heads silently.

“Like screaming, more like wailing of a thousand people.” Aria tries to explain it. “I’m not even sure if it’s people.”

“Look, Aria.” A girl with a small face and thick hair commented. “You don’t have to describe it.”

“Like screaming, more like wailing of a thousand people.” Aria tries to explain it. “I’m not even sure if it’s people.”

“Look, Aria.” A girl with a small face and thick hair commented. “You don’t have to describe it.”

Aria nodded. “I don’t want to see it that way but…” She looked at the others, thinking they might end the meeting earlier than usual when they’d hear what she was about to say. However, she musn’t keep this in any longer. “I think someone might even get hurt. And hurt pretty bad.”

Nine heads turned and looked at each other, all mirroring the same discomfort in their faces. “Are you saying someone might… die?” Maisie says with her high pitched voice. Her hair would’ve been messier than Violet’s, the girl who spoke before, but she always kept them under a tight scrunchie.

Aria nodded. “From what I hear, they’re saying death isn’t impossible.”

There was a short silence after that. Conrad was the one who broke it with his sharp voice. He was tall, and it didn’t help when he stood up from his chair. “So what are we going to do? I mean we can’t just convince the others to stop looking for it.”

“I know.” Daphne agreed. Contrary to Conrad,

Daphne was little, but she was not to be underestimated. “The only way we can do is stop them.”

“We don’t even know where to look.” Dash piped up. “We have been sneaking up on everyone, and the more we do, the more confusing it gets. The Black Hats are as confused as us, but they have their checklist. The Snipes, they’re tailing for the Black Hats too, and Tate has been sneaking off to other places, I guess.”

“Yeah I think we need better security.” Maisie comments. “Just to make sure. He was always sneaky, after all.”

“Exactly.” Dash resumes his talking. “And the Mansion People-“

“Wait, the Mansion People?” Conrad wasn’t exactly sure what he’s talking about now.

“Chiara and the others, you know? Mansion People.” Dash answers, his eyes getting bigger. The others nod. “Yeah them. They were talking about the Blue Hollow, right? But they change their minds easily. I wouldn’t even be surprised if they say the Basement of Wadsworth. And Granville…” His voice suddenly lowered. Everyone in the room can feel the tension.

“Yes.” Bree talks. “No one knows where they are.”

“But we have to move forward.” Daphne speaks up. “We can’t just sit around here while they’re already on their way for great power and who knows what they’ll do with it once they find it.”

“I agree.” Another girl speaks up. She always had a habit of keeping quiet at meetings. “I say for now let’s go out and start this game officially.”

“This is not a game, Rhiannon.” A girl with wild curly hair and strong features said. “It’s not a game when somebody dies.”

“Or will die.” Another new voice says. “Let’s not think about that.”

“Mallory’s right.” Bree says. “I don’t wanna think this would involve death. Besides, it’s our classmates were talking about here. I don’t want to see ourselves having to do…I don’t know, bad things to each other just for that stupid key.”

“We’ve known them for four years. The last time we saw everyone was the graduation ceremony, and after that…” Violet says. “Do we really have to be enemies the next time we meet?”

“That’s why we have to talk them through.” Mallory tells them, in a soothing voice. She had that power, as if she can command you and make you believe everything she says. However, not even she can convince the others into taking a time out and having some tea.

“I’ll keep listening.” Aria finally speaks up. She has stayed quiet for the whole argument. “Even if I don’t want to, I can’t just ignore them.”

“Hey, Aria.” Dash speaks up, who suddenly becomes serious at their meetings. “Can you… like tell who it is, or who’ll be in danger just by listening at the songs?”

“Not really sure.” Aria answers. “But sometimes I hear names, in a loop. I don’t exactly know if they’re the ones in danger but…”

“Do you hear some of our names in there?” Mallory asks.

“Yeah… Some of you.” Aria answers, and she can see the fear on their eyes as she said so. “But… don’t think much about it. I always hear names way back before… And it wasn’t exactly a bad thing.”

“Whoever is in that music track, don’t tell us.” Rhiannon says. “It would be a distraction, will make us paranoid, even.”

The others agreed, and for the second time, the room was enveloped in silence. The air was cold enough, but with all of their minds thinking and worrying in that same room, it feels like they should be wearing a jacket the next time they come around.

“So… to Blue Hollow?” Violet spoke up.

“Yes. Us five.” Conrad spoke up. “Me, Dash, Mallory, Daphne, and Bree.” The others mentioned wasn’t surprised when they heard their names. They have been planning on this way before after all.

“Just you be careful.” Aria warns them. “Some names resound.” She looks down and plays with her nails. She doesn’t want to look at them all worried and terrified again.

“Resound?” Dash wasn’t quite sure what she was talking about.

“Some names, they echo. And they’re louder.”

“Are… any of our names included?” Daphne asks, pointing her fingers at the five of them.

Aria looks up and faces them. “No, but we wouldn’t be certain if you will not be facing them once you leave.”

*-*-*

Aria wasn’t really the one to go on strolling alone on cold nights and sneaking in to other people’s territories. The others had believed that she went straight home, and now she wished she did have. The path to where the Black Hats was staying isn’t very friendly. The sides were lined with trees that all looked eerily alike. They remind her of the ones she usually sees in Halloween movies. The last time she came to their place was when they were hoping to have negotiations. The Black Hats always took an interest in Spells and Enchantments, and they did complain why they don’t teach it in the academy. They believe if they’d get the key, they can try and rebuild the system. It’s not a pretty long shot if you’re certain about it, and they sure are.

“It’s because there’s no healing masters.” That’s what they always said. “Enchantry might find a way.” They had a point. The force folks had gone down to a mere thirty-three population. It seems they are hoping to find a way to bring back the other types of magic, and how to deal with black blood too.

She finally reached their house, a huge circular hut that always surprised her. It was always bigger once you went inside. She doesn’t want a lot of trouble, so she tiptoed and snuck around the place. She considers she has nothing to defend herself if they’d get the wrong idea. Her powers aren’t meant for combat, after all. That’s why she stayed as the group’s database. She peeks inside one window. No one was there, only a bunch of old books and lamplights giving off a faint glow. She turned to the next and finds two girls with long straight hair, mixing colored liquids and heating them in big pots. She was glad their potions gave off smoke; she would’ve been caught easily. On the next room, she found a girl with hair that was beautifully braided. Her glasses reflected the faint light she was holding in her hands. Her eyes were closed, as if she was memorizing something. Aria poked her head closer to the window; Jessamine was facing away after all. She realized the light she was holding in her hands was a little candle. It was floating.

So you can have spells for levitation too, Aria thought.

On the next peek, she finally found her, sleeping like a little child. She looked pretty for someone who seems so asleep. She knocked on the glass window, and she awoke instantly. Sienna sat up from her bed, rubbing her eyes. She headed to the door when she heard someone calling her from behind.

“Aria?” She says, unsure. Aria can hear the sleepiness in her voice. “What brings you here?”

“Shhh.” Aria gestured her fingers into her mouth. “I have to tell you something.”

Sienna wasn’t sure if this was a bad or a good thing. She knew all about Aria’s hearing. “Does your team know you’re here?”

“No.” Aria replied. “I don’t want to freak them out more. But I’ve to warn you.” Aria looked around and shielded her mouth with her hands. She gestured Sienna to come closer and she did. She whispered in her ears. “I think you might be in danger.”

Sienna’s eyes went wide. Of course, all of their lives were in danger, but this is directly coming from Aria, who was almost always never wrong. “Listen. Have you known anything you shouldn’t have?”

“What do you mean?” Sienna asked.

“Something only you know about. Accidentally, or perhaps were you seeking some answers or having suspicions about anyone?” Aria was talking a little too low, but the panic in her voice was still evident.

“Suspicions?” Sienna though about it. “If you say it like that… No, I don’t know.” She hesitated, then she looked at Aria again. “Can I tell you something?”

“Of course you can.”

“See, last week, we went to the academy, and… I think something’s going on over there.” Sienna was trying her hard not to flinch from the memory. “We were hoping we could borrow books from the library, you know. See if we could find anything about the key. And a little bonus on Enchantry, but… the place was quiet. The whole school.”

“The teachers, everyone? Where were they?”

“We don’t know. But Willow guesses they went over to the council.”

“All of them?”

“I guess so.”

“But the school wasn’t locked?”

“It wasn’t!” Sienna was beginning to feel the sense of discomfort she had when she saw it. “That’s why I think something’s wrong. But see I wanted to pee really bad. I was on the second floor, and the only restroom close is near the principal’s office.” Sienna paused. “When I passed by the door, I heard someone.”

“Do you know who they are?”

“I’m not quite sure. It sounded… raspy.” Sienna stated. “Either way someone was definitely in there, and I was definitely not opening that door. I heard another voice though. And this time, it’s familiar.”

“Whose was it?” Aria was curious.

Sienna looked around before answering her. “I guess it was really the Principal’s, that second voice. I guess he was making agreements with that weird someone. I don’t really know.”

“For a moment, I thought you were going to say Granville.”

“Those guys are another case. I don’t know much about them. But see, I leaned in the door quite too much, it creaked open and... What’s weird is that nobody was there. Only the principal’s portrait, some books, his mirror hanging in the wall, some cookies in his table. Nothing was out of the usual. And that’s what makes it unusual. I couldn’t have been imagining those voices, right?”

“I wouldn’t think so.” Aria said. “But I guess that someone you heard has got to do with this. You said you went there last week right?” She paused and thought about it, remembering when Sienna’s name started echoing in the air. She wasn’t surprised to discover it was around that time too. “Look, I came here to warn you, Sienna.”

“About what?”

“I don’t exactly know. But… just be careful.” Aria hesitated to say it. “I think someone might be tailing on your back.”

*-*-*

She didn’t like to be the messenger, especially when all she had to deliver is bad news. She had just brought fear into Sienna, and now she was on her way to the Mansion to visit the Mansion People, as what Dash liked to say. She didn’t want to take a step inside there. The people seemed to be too formal and quiet. The songs are quite louder that way.

She wouldn’t want to sneak in and look through people’s windows again, so Aria was very thankful when she found Quincy sitting in their front porch. Besides, she just came to deliver a request.

“Quincy.” She speaks his name softly. He turned his back and found her standing not quite far from him. But she was still keeping a distance.

“Aria Allison.” Quincy says, Aria wonders why she can hear a bit of excitement in his voice, though his face didn’t look amused a bit. “Come to tell us something?”

“Not really to all of you.” Aria replied. “Only to you, particularly.” She can feel him tense even from where she was standing, but he still kept his composure.

“What about it?” He says. Aria can feel a hint of curiosity and alarm in his words.

“I just want to remind you about it.” Aria says. “If you still remembered them, that is.”

“What are you talking about, exactly?” Quincy says, though he has a nagging feeling about it.

“You’re the only one I can count on.” Aria says. “And you’re the only one who knew about them.”

“Are you somehow talking about the Trigger Marks?”

Aria smiled. Quincy almost forgot how it looked like. He always liked to see her smile. The only problem about it is that he doesn’t see it very often.

“Once they are set, you can alert the others, particularly Isadora and Mallory.” Aria explained.

“Why me?”

“Because they hold strong power, and you’re the one who can feel the balance of forces and energy in this world better than any other.”

“Too glad about that.” He says sarcastically.

”You’ll know it when you feel it.” Aria ignored her. “They are quite heavy.”

He didn’t reply.

“Quincy.” She spoke his name again. “They are a little… complicated. So please bear with them. You guys might need each other’s help to figure it out.”

“Well that would be hard work, then. Keeping us all together again and giving each other’s help, fantastic!” Quincy says, breaking into a smile. “Why are you telling me about this all of a sudden?”

“Something’s stirring, and I feel I won’t be around when it finally comes to happen.”

His eyebrows creased.

“I think… I think everyone of us is in danger, Quincy.” She walks towards him, but not enough that he can reach her. “That includes me… and you too. It’s best to be sure. It’s best to talk while we’re here.”She paused. “Because people tend to say an awful lot of things when they aren’t heard of anymore, than when they were still able to.”

“Well, I guess I should be ready then.” Quincy declared, putting every inch of energy he can get into his tone. He knows she can hear the enthusiasm, after all. Not maybe enough to cheer her up, but at least.

Aria nods at him and turns away. “I’ll be going back now. See you soon, Quincy.” He watches as she walks into the night.

*picture of Aria Allison here*

4: II

They were already preparing for Forticious Forest. Their bags were filled with defense tools in case they run into some wild beasts and, in some rare instances, wild people. Jessamine wanted to go with them, since she thinks staying in the hut while worrying is harder than actually going on the quest. But then again, they are talking about the dark forest no one in their right minds dared to venture in, as what their teachers always said. She remembered at class, one of their professors told them a story about how a force folk once got lost inside as she tried to navigate its grounds. She had been gone for four days. When she came back, in a hurry and out of breath, she reported having fund a part in where piles of human and animal bones were being left under the sun to dry. Most of them believed it was true, but Jessamine is a little hasty.

“I hope we don’t run into some of the Snipes this time.” Amira, a girl with fair skin and chestnut eyes spoke. Her voice usually is low when she speaks, but she had that kind of tone as if she was either reluctant or just careful. She ran her hands through her hair, which were straight and quite hard to manage under her hat.

“I know.” Her companion, Auriel, agreed. “They almost killed us the last time we saw them.” Jessamine isn’t sure with Auriel sometimes. Even back then, she had that kind of look in her face that makes you think whether she’s listening to you or not. She always had a bright smile, too. But right now, her face was unreadable at the thought of the Snipes. Jessamine wasn’t exactly sure if she was happy about it or not.

The Snipes were the complete opposite of the Black Hats. Whilst the Hats’ members are all girls, the Snipes are all males. They all agreed that gender doesn’t have anything to do with their current dilemma with the boys, however. Maybe they are just unlucky that they always run into them whenever they are having their own expedition. Or maybe someone from the Snipes is secretly listening to their plans, which is why they always appear where the Hats are wandering into.

“It was accidental.” Felina defended the boys. Though not exactly. She remembered when Remy’s sword was inches away from her throat. Not that she’d worry about that anyway. Felina is that kind of girl who you’d think of the words “snob” but “pretty” to be a first impression. Her hair was short, which looked good on her, and all the more made her look like someone you shouldn’t mess with. She is very nice once you know her though. She was reading on the table, a book about rare herbs they can use in their potions.

“Either way, let’s just hope this would be a fine expedition this time.” Cecily, the third one to complete the hike team concluded. Cecily was a girl who always looked like she was having a wonderful time. And everyone knows that kind of look fits her personality. She wears her serious face at times, too. Times like these.

The three of them were all in their outfits. Amira wears her beret, and her bow and arrow was ready at her back. Jessamine always thought it was cool how Amira was a sharp shooter. The Arrow is one of the cores Jessamine would’ve liked to have. Cecily’s hat was a little more round and was embroidered with a ribbon in the side. It matched perfectly with her face. Auriel’s was fancy, with a flat top and some leaf designs. She looked uncomfortable in it, but she says it actually is nice. Jessamine wouldn’t know. None of them have tried using others’ hats for their own. It became some sort of an unspoken tradition, a sort of thing like privacy and personal identity. Their headwears were all black. That’s where they get their name, after all.

Before they get out of the room, they say the usual spell. It is for protection, one of the oldest spells they learned after finally graduating out of Wadsworth. Here’s the beauty of Enchantry, words have much more power. The thought of how these random letters put up together create an effect to the physical world is astonishing. So far, this protection encantation has not failed them in their quests.

Amira lead the first line.

“Tu rep metutriv erun.”

Then they say in chorus:

“Eauk

ni engilac

te de noce creant quecelant

te sullun de nobis”

The words seem weird, but somehow they work their magic. It always amazes Jessamine how they cast a soft blue light when they say their spells. To her, it seems like it was their way of saying “your request is now granted”.

They wait for a while, as if the slightest time delay would cause mishap on their adventure. Without saying anything, the three nodded their heads. Within seconds, they were out of the door. Jessamine watched as they walked off into the distance, their figures getting swallowed by the trees, and into the darkness of the forest.

“You think we’d finally find the key now?” Jessamine spoke to Willow, who was standing by the doorway, looking off the same direction. Willow had wavy hair, and she had a look of determination in her face. Jessamine wonders if she had the same expression mirrored in her face.

“Hopefully.” Willow answered. “It gets tiring every once in a while.”

“I know.” Jessamine agreed. “It’s as if Sir Azarias is playing a trick on us.”

“Or Mr. Bartholomew is.” Willow said and meant it as a joke, but Jessamine looked at her as if she ate a cat.

Mr. Griffith Bartholomew was their main instructor when they were still staying at Wadsworth. He is a kind man, and he always knew how to turn the day around whenever it began to be boring. They all remember him quite well. He looked to be in his thirties though no one can actually tell. His black hair was always slicked back and remained shiny even after a whole day of training. He looked the most formal and well-dressed teacher in Wadsworth, but he wasn’t strict. In fact, he was the opposite.

In all four years of their generation’s stay in the training grounds, they acquired the most fun and knowledge from him. He was also the one who told them about Sir Azarias’ key, the very reason why they are spending their two years of training as a game of find and conquer. It’s not like he was lying though. The key was always in the books, but they were always in the legends section.

Nobody really gave thought about it until Mr. Bartholomew told them it was true. They knew there was a key, but they didn’t exactly know what it opened and what lay hidden beyond it. Perhaps some answers are in the books in the prohibited section of their library. The books there aren’t given much thought, since almost all of them talk about Dark Forces, The Black Zodiac, histories of Force Folks who got into the bad side, creation of Black Blood, and of course, some pointless legends.

And it didn’t help that their class was a curious bunch. Mr. Bartholomew told them about the power it held. It was a key that can open Sir Azarias’ secret treasure trove. Sir Azarias, on the other hand, is a man who lived way, way back. Until now, he was considered as the most powerful Force Folk. Mainly a light wielder, who had a knack for mastering other types as well. His secret was said to be in there, of how he managed to hold all types of force without it destroying his body.

But like all great figures though, he died, along with eighteen other Force Folks during the Day of the Dozen. It was a part of history no student ever want to tackle about. It was the most tragic day ever recorded in time, and the most victorious day, too. Though some say they didn’t completely emerge victorious.

That’s how some it is, so now Jessamine wonders why Colette and the others in their big mansion decided their guess on Mt. Serpens. It was the very location on which nineteen protectors died and lost their ethereal core forever. She didn’t know what they are planning to. Perhaps they thought the opposite. Perhaps they think Sir Azarias had other things to protect during the battle at the D-Day. His secret, maybe?

Jessamine looked at Willow and she read she was thinking about the same thing. She sighed and walked inside where she saw Sienna squatting on the floor and reading one of their few “non-echantry-related” books. Jessamine sat with her, and for a moment they did what they always did. Sit and wait until overthinking could actually have a chance of pulling their sanity down.

“Hey, Jessamine?” Sienna said, now lying on her back. She looked peaceful when she did that, and her voice was always soothing. It made Jessamine want to curl up in a ball and just sleep until the race is done.

“Yeah?” Jessamine replied.

“How far do you think this’ll go?” There was a hint of anxiousness in her tone. As what Jessamine can remember, Sienna was the type who liked to get into arguments. Despite her size, she always had a fight with the oldest person in their class. Honestly, she dismissed Sienna as one of the people she’d hate to have a fight with. She was careful not to tell her this, though.

She can’t quite remember the last time Sienna sounded anxious. She thinks for a while, that last Performance Exam, maybe? She wasn’t sure. She also wondered if she should worry about it as well.

“What do you mean?” She asked instead.

“This whole thing. This sort of… race. What do you think will happen when one of us gets a hold of the key?” Now, Sienna was looking straight into Jessamine’s eyes. The feeling of pulling a blanket over her body returns. Sienna doesn’t really mean it, as she always says. Or perhaps Jessamine was just tired. Tired of the race she was talking about. Tired of talking about it again. Tired of thinking about finding the key.

“To be honest, I don’t really know.” Jessamine answers. “Let’s just hope that we’ll get it first.” She adds so that it wouldn’t be too evident that she didn’t like the topic they are talking about.

“Well, do you think everyone of us will still be there, looking at the victor, when this is finally over?” Sienna continues on her talk. Jessamine wanted to stop listening, but she thought again when Sienna said that single word.

“What do you mean ‘still’?” Jessamine asks.

“Well…. I’ve been thinking.” She sats up now and starts fiddling with her fingers, keeping her eye on it. “What if some of us will die in this thing we are doing?”

“What are you talking about?” Jessamine states., rather perplexed. Though she should not do so, because she has been thinking about the same thing, too. She just didn’t want to talk about it. “This will be just like you said… a race. Once the other team gets it, there’s nothing much we can do about it, can we?” She adds, hoping it would somehow puch the conversation on a slightly positive direction. But even she herself wasn’t convinced.

“Well yeah.” Sienna says. “I’m just scared. What if some of us would do anything it takes… everything… just to get the key?”

Jessamine was silent after that. She remembered her classmates. She must admit that hough she can never really say every one have good relations with each other, she can’t see one of them going out of their way and do things without thinking about consequences first. But what if they could? And at the point she got scared because she remembered how the split happened. Didn’t the separation of their class into five groups of different goals happen because of them going out of their way and telling their honest opinions out? It occurred to her that having unfriendly interactions whenever they come across each other in the field could be indeed possible. Sienna might be right.

“Did something happen?” She asked instead.

It took a while before Sienna answers. “Well, Aria. She came here last night.”

“Aria?” Jessamine says, remembering the quiet girl in their class. They were friends, but not that close. The girl always liked being alone, somehow. So Jessamine wasn’t really sure how to react when Sienna said she came for a little visit. “Aria Allison? Did she tell you something?”

Sienna opened her mouth, but she closed it after some thought. “Nothing. Just forget it.” She said.

“Well, whatever it is, you have to tell me.” Jessamine says. She stands up and heads to the door.

“Where are you going?” Sienna asks.

“Practice.” Jessamine says. “After what you said, I thought might need to be prepared. You comin’?”

Sienna thought about it, but she declined. For now, she needs to be around the greater number of accomplices. She doesn’t know what would happen, especially after Aria’s warning. She watched as Jessamine went outside.

*-*-*

The air felt great against her skin. She always liked going into the clearing when she needs some time alone. It’s a good place to go to when she wants to read a book, or think about something. The grass feels great on her skin, and she wouldn’t have to bother with itches if she sits on it.

She pulled something from her chest, a round object, like a compass, but smaller. It hang from a golden chain, the cover carved with intricate designs. It was the representation of her power. A representation of her core. Sometimes, she’d wish she had another ability instead. Although it is an interesting power, it is rather difficult to work with time. At times, it can be dangerous.

She concentrated on the hand moving from behind the clock’s glass. She stared at it until its circular movement seemed to move slower. She can feel her surroundings move differently. The trees swayed too slowly that she can no longer feel the wind. She continued to stare on the moving mechanics, holding it securely in her hands until it stopped moving.

She doesn’t like the feeling when time stops. The birds, the trees, the people – everything is there but it feels as if they’re not. It makes you feel alone. It’s quiet, and you can’t feel the air. No breeze, no life. It’s like you suck it out from them.

She reminds herself whenever she does this,everyone is affected. But when she finally lets the hand move again, they wouldn’t know anything about it. And they’d continue to move as if nothing happened at all.

She stopped concentrating, and at once, the world around her started moving again. She thought about how this would help her and everyone else when a battle would really commence.

Her power isn’t meant for fighting, so she must admit, she got a little shaky when Sienna told her about the involvement of huge danger in this situation they are all in. It’s useful for emergencies – for dodging a death blow, or for escape, or for saving a life.

Humans have a share of time they have in their stay in this world. Taking it away from them is seriously prohibited, but adding it up…

She wasn’t supposed to be here right now. If not for him, her ethereal core would’ve been watching over everyone else.

That’s a thing she still owed to him. It was a very special thing, a vital one.

*picture of Jessamine Jordan here*

5: III

III

Ronan didn’t like being lost. Especially when he had three people accompanying him. It makes him feel more stupid by any passing minute. How could they excitedly go off in an adventure without having fully known the directions they were going to, anyway?

The sun was starting to be annoying. His throat felt dry. They had been walking for hours now and they still haven’t any idea how far they are from Mt. Serpens yet.

They’ve had multiple leads on where they are to be going, but they decided to finally choose Mt. Serpens. At some point, Ronan doesn’t like to think about the key being in that mountain, but given the determination of the others, who he thinks isn’t very sure as well, he thought he should give it a try. Besides, Tate had been pretty confident that the people in the mansion are putting their bets in the same location. He even broke their vase. Oh Tate.

Now the only thing he have to worry about is the possibility that they will be meeting them on their hike. He thought for a while. He doesn’t want to have a fight

“How long is this gonna take?” One of his companions complained.

“We’re lost, okay.” Another one answered. Regalus had been sitting on the huge rock for a while. He stood on top of it and tried to get an overhead view of the field. There was nothing but trees. “Bad luck.”

There was a static sound, as if one of them brought a radio and started switching stations by itself. It was their T/L device (Talking/Listening). Cellphones aren’t much help in Blaze, the signal is rotten. The Snipes decided to use Walkie Talkies as substitute instead. The thought of using a battery-operated toy as their main source of intercommunication for serious informations is ridiculous, but Ronan had to admit he thinks it is pretty cool. Because of this being the only thing they can rely on, they’ve had a shelf in their tavern filled with nothing but batteries.

Tate’s voice came up. “Ahh. Guys,”

The others weren’t completely happy about it. They were 90% sure that Tate and the others would be asking them about how they were doing – how far they are into the mountain or if there’s anything suspicions they already found. Nobody was enthusiastic to share. They continued to listen, anyway.

“The Black Hats are in Forticious Forest. Thought I should just inform you.” He said through the device. Then there was a click and the thing stopped humming.

“Oh yeah.” Caleb said in response. “Like that would help us.” He pursed his lips and took a deep breath. Despite being the littlest Snipe, Caleb was tough, and nobody can fail to see it in his eyes. “Wait. Regalus, what do you see from there?”

Regalus, who was still standing on top of the huge rock, took another look at the view before answering, somehow hoping the scene would change into a mountain where the key they were looking for might be hidden. “Trees. Weird trees.”

“How weird?” Caleb was curious, as if that little piece of information might just help them.

“Weird as in most trees have no leaves.” Regalus answered. “What’s with it, anyway?”

“Well, looks like that call from Tate isn’t so bad after all.” Caleb ignored his question. He looked at Ronan, who was standing behind him. “This place seems pretty much your league, what do you say about shaking up this place from below, huh?”

*-*-*

“How are we going to find them?” Regalus remarked, looking ahead at the cluster of trees which seemed to go on forever.

“We can’t afford spending another time just searching for them.” Caleb said.

“I have a plan.” Ronan announced. The others looked at him hopefully.

The plan was to control the tangle of roots that’s under every tree in the forest. Okay, maybe not all at once. The area is too huge, which means it requires great power. Ronan wouldn’t want to use all his energy just to figure out where the girls are.

“Ready?” Atticus said. He had been very quiet lately. It seems he was pissed off about the whole being lost thing.

Ronan nodded. He crouched on the ground and felt his palms on the soil. He concentrated, feeling the power of a thousand roots, coiling under them like a snake. His eyes looked straight ahead. The others waited. He must’ve looked ridiculous at what he was doing, but that’s okay. There are no girls around with them, right?

After a few seconds of looking and crouching, the trees in front of them moved. It was a sort of thing you can only see in movies. The trees twist their branches, or they grow out without a leaf, or in some trees with not so thick trunks, they shake, or their roots uplift, or whatever. The four of them listened intently. There seemed to be no sign of screaming.

“Try that side.” Regalus pointed at his left.

The trees on that side did the same. It’s like part of the forest was dancing, but there were still no sign of a stunned scream. Ronan turned to his right, he put extra force on this one. The bond of trees seemed to be thick. He concentrated until he made the posts of brown move, too. What’s better though, is that they heard a familiar scream. Cecily’s.

*-*-*

Now that they know which direction they were headed too. It wouldn’t be very hard, right?

“How did you know that we were on Forticious Forest, anyway?” Atticus was asking Caleb, who was more determined in making his way through the narrow path of the leafless forest than to answer his question.

“Look around.” He says. “What’s unique about this place is that most of trees don’t even have leaves. They don’t even look like trees. More like a scrap of sharp wood just jutted out of the ground in random places, right?”

“Yeah.” Regalus comments. “That explains how this isn’t very easy to move through.”

“This wasn’t even supposed to be a forest.” Ronan was the one who continued to explain.

“Here comes the master. He knows a lot more about this than any of us does.” Caleb remarks. “Trust me.”

Ronan ignored him. “It was a Wood Folk, like I am, who actually relandscaped like half of this forest. An old folk, whose name is too hard to pronounce, so I’ll just leave him nameless. He still wasn’t very good at handling his powers yet, so it went out of control. Maybe he thought going to a place with a lot of roots could help him. At first he fell down, and suddenly trees started growing behind him. He was terrified, of course. Oh yeah, another thing is that he liked to run if he’s scared, and so he did. He probably got lost while doing so too, so he ventured into the deeper parts. What kept him running is that whichever way he went, trees would sprout on his tracks.” Ronan looked at them, half expecting them to laugh at it. But they just stared at him. “I still can’t believe he made a new landmark.”

“Yeah and if I recall,” Caleb added. “This is why they called it the Forticious Forst. From the word Fortuitous.” He stopped talking, expecting the others would get it. But they seemed clueless when he looked at them. They were more confused at what he said than knowing on the best course to go through that brown forest without getting splinters. “You know, fortuitous, big word means accidental. Because this wasn’t supposed to be a forest at all.”

“Oh. Okay.” They all had that look on their faces.

Atticus said broke off some branches that could easily slap someone’s face. “You know stuff, man. And words too. You still got things left from her, huh?”

Caleb just smiled, thinking how he’d learned things he doesn’t want too whenever Chiara started talking about it. They had been together at school. Like, together together. They broke up after graduation though. Now Caleb regrets doing so. Ronan thought about it. He wasn’t really jealous of Caleb and Chiara’s relationship, he wasn’t like most of their classmates who think their relationship is the best. Though he must admit the news of them breaking up was a little surprising. If he’d have the nerve, he could tell Caleb that it was a stupid move calling their relationship over. He didn’t though, because he knows a thing or two about break ups as well, and he was afraid that if he’d mention something like Caleb being the one really at fault, there’d be some kind of a backfire.

The sun was still unforgiving, so the four of them pulled on their hoods. Ronan can’t really remember who first suggested having hoods on their attire. The only thing he can remember is that he wasn’t really in to it. He probably haven’t thought about situations like this back then. At those times, the only reason he can think of having a hood is for mystery and excitement, both two things he liked, yet unconvincing when it’s being represented to as a hood. And yes, it turned out to do more work than he’d thought. It helps in protecting their identities whenever they try to catch someone, because working with normal people is a lot of hassle when it comes to face recognition.

After a few minutes of walking, they finally found Cecily and the others. The three of them were walking ahead. It was a little funny that they were all standing too close to each other. Perhaps Ronan did frighten them a lot.

The boys followed them, trying to catch up when an arrow flew past the four of them. It was really quick, and they didn’t even notice it until they felt their arms sting. The arrow grazed the four of them. A very little cut on each of their arms. Was Amira always this good? Ronan thought. It made him think about his progress with his powers. He’s gotten pretty used to working with human tools – the knives and such, but he doesn’t really feel like his special ability haven’t improved.

They looked up to see The Arrow, her bow ready with another pointed end ready to be fired.

“No, no Amira. It’s us.” Ronan quickly tried to reason, but instead of listening, Amira took another shot and aimed it at his legs. Ronan was quite terrified. If she’d fire it, he’d no longer be able to walk, he can tell.

It was then he realized that he isn’t quite different from his ancestor who created this place they were standing on now. Perhaps Force Folks with wood ability are pretty shaky when they’re nervous. Of course, Ronan didn’t mean it, but his nervousness was getting on him. It seems as if he’d uplifted one root of the tree just behind the girls, which hit one of them on the back.

Amira shot her arrow and missed Ronan’s leg. It would’ve hit him pretty hard if he didn’t dodge. Bad luck, he slipped when he did and fell to the ground. Another cluster of wood sprouted from the ground, making the boys look eviler, and the girls more ready to attack.

Amira, Cecily, and Auriel jumped just before they could get impaled by the sharp threads of wood growinglike Wildthorns. They did a good kick at the boys as they landed. This was surely turning out to be the worst day. First, getting lost. And now, getting beat up with girls.

Before Atticus and Caleb can move, they found themselves enclosed in a transparent barrier. They were lifted up in the air, and their arms couldn’t help them get out, despite having already banging furiously on the enclosure. They were inside a giant floating bubble.

Regalus, who was getting up from the ground, tried to summon his own powers. In a moment, a blazing fire grew from his hand. He threw it at one of the bubbles, but it didn’t do anything much to it.

Meanwhile, Ronan was pinned to the ground with an arrow inches away from his neck. He wanted to get up, but Amira made it sure that if he’d tried to move as just to lift as inch of his body, he’d pay with a punctured throat.

“Who are you and why are you here?” She asked, her voice scary.

“Guys, it’s us.” It was Atticus who answered instead, slamming his knuckles into the bubble. Regalus, who was free and on the ground pulled back his hood. He would’ve done it a while ago but everything was going too fast. In actuality, they were all wasn’t completely aware of the fact that putting their hoods on would promise great danger to them when faced with people they actually know.

“Regalus?” Auriel said. “What-why did you try to attack us?”

“Attack you? We were trying to approach you because we were lost.”

Cecily motioned her hands and the bobbles popped, dropping the two trapped boys on the ground.

“Ronan.” Cecily looked at him. He looked beaten when he’s still sitting on the ground like that. Thankfully Amira kept the arrow back. “Did you… the trees?”

It would’ve been easy to answer yes, but the look they had on their faces made it hard to. His nod turned out sloppy.

“To scare us?” Cecily added.

“No. That wasn’t supposed to scare you. Well, maybe yes. To make you scream.” Ronan tried to reason, but it seemed unconvincing. “Okay sorry. We were just lost and Tate told us you guys were here, but we don’t know where exactly you were, so…. Yeah. That’s pretty much it. Cecily’s scream lead us here.”

The girls looked at each other.

“Why were you lost, anyways?” Auriel asked them. “Where were you supposed to be going?”

“Mt. Serpens.” Caleb answered, getting up.

“You guys are idiots. How could you end up here when Mt. Serpens is way over there.” Cecily pointed her fingers far east.

They looked at where she was pointing. They were just called idiots. They didn’t argue. Suddenly appearing with their hoods on was an idiotic move. They know now.

“Anyways.” Regalus said. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. And thank you for not killing us, and for helping us. We best be on our ways now.”

Ronan was thankful and at the same time not while he listened to Regalus talk. He is right, that they should waste no more time in having further conversation with the girls. For one, it gets really tiring having always only the Snipes’ company for a while. A little cooperation doesn’t sound so bad for once in a while, right?

The girls didn’t answer, but they nodded their heads.

“Before we go, how certain are you that the key is somewhere in this forest?” Caleb asked before they walk the opposite track.

“Pretty sure.” Cecily said.

“She’s lying.” Atticus rebutted.

Cecily made a face at him.

“Okay okay. Before this turns out to be another war,” Regalus said. “It’s best we separate now.”

*picture of Ronan Lancaster here*

6: IV

Someone was definitely following them, or at least that’s what Amira thinks. They have been walking through the forest for an hour now, and they still haven’t got any lead whether the key might actually be. They have, however, noticed that the birds on the far west are flying out of their branches in harmony. They can also hear weird sounds, like a group of cheerleaders were following them, shaking their pompoms in the air. She noticed something, or some people (she can’t be too sure), moving a great distance away from them. It made her feel uncomfortable. If it were trailing the three of them, they’d be in trouble. She couldn’t count how many of them moved through the woods.

That’s only one of her worries. The place has been going on and on now. The trees look the same everywhere they go. The path is uncertain despite having studied the map for the forest, which is of not much use. It is also dangerous. Most of the time they have to squeeze their selves into tight spaces and carefully maneuver their bodies to avoid getting punctured. It has been taking a lot of time, so they have to make some detours and go all around. Everything has been frustrating and normal until the commotion of the unknown creature just far ahead.

And it is definitely getting closer.

At first, they only noticed the slight shaking of the ground beneath them. When they looked up, they witnessed the trees shook. Some grew leafless branches, while others grew their roots. Either way, the three of them were scared out of their wits. Amira knew this place is weird, but not the-trees-are-alive weird. Cecily, who almost got hit with a slapping branch was quick to move. It snapped in two however, before it can hit her. Guess the spell worked, after all. Still, he didn’t fail to scream. Her voice seemed to resonate throughout the whole forest, which is saying something because the place is huge. Or maybe her mouth was just close to Amira’s.

She happened to take a look at the distance where the commotion was before; everything seems fine. She concluded those weren’t people or beasts moving through the trees after all, but rather the trees itself. She didn’t like frolicking through Forticious Forest when she was still staying at Wadsworth, so it made her wonder whether the phenomenon was normal.

She doubted it, but they continued to travel anyway. Having known of their live foliage, they they were sure to keep their eyes wider and minds more open to any more possible events.

As far as their journey has progressed, they had run into two wild cats already. Thankfully, they managed to use their skills. Though it wasn’t really difficult keeping them out, Amira hoped they don’t run into more of them.

They ran into something worse.

She heard a twig snap from behind them. She was walking last in line, so she was more wary and curious as to what’s following them. She ignored it at first, but more snapping sounds followed after that. It was louder over time and she can tell that whoever, or whatever it was, is gaining speed on them.

She turned around to see four people dressed in brown hoods. They were all males, which made Amira’s defense level go higher. She had no idea who they are, but she sensed they were trouble. She couldn’t see their face clearly because it was casted by their hoods. She had no idea who those people might be and why they are running into the forest as well. Only two things ran on her head that time. (1) is that they might be stalking them. (2) is that they might be looking for the key, too. And follow up (3) is that they might be the ones who choreographed the trees, which is ridiculous.

She aimed her arrow at them and fired it. It didn’t exactly hit them, just a quick shot that grazed each one of their arms. They were terrified, she can tell, but one of them stepped forward and tried to talk to her. He even knew her name. That was quite a surprise.

She aimed another arrow at his legs, holding it still. A little muscle loose and it’ll make him a cripple for sure. It made him stop moving forward and Amira can tell he was more nervous than ever. Nevertheless, that didn’t make her put her arrow down. She had to be cautious. She have lived her life in high school knowing people liked to sneak up on her and touch the back of her neck. She admits she’s the most ticklish student at Wadsworth. She can even feel it when the tip of her hair is gets tapped. She knows everyone knows about it, but still some guys can be annoying.

Another branch moved from behind them, or was it a root? Either way, it hit Auriel in the back. That did it. She released the arrow from her grip and missed his leg by an inch. If he didn’t dodge, he would’ve been bleeding by now. But he did dodge, and doing so made him slip and lose his balance. He fell on his back. Coincidentally, threads of sharp wood emerged from the ground. The spell probably gave them a boost. They had never jumped that high before. They gave the boys a good kick in their chests as they landed. They were outnumbered, so they decided to leave out the one who just fell on his butt. One of them tried to get up. Cecily held up her fists, then she opened them afterwards, as if she was a clown about to do a magic trick. In an instant, two of them were trapped inside a huge bubble. They were trying to knock their way out, but they were unsuccessful. One of the boys managed to grow flames on his hands. He threw it at one of the bubbles, but it was unharmed. By then, Amira wondered why that boy can summon flames on his hands. She thought of the list of the people she knew who can do that.

She went to the boy who was still sitting on the ground. It must’ve been a really nasty fall. She grabbed an arrow and pointed it at him, barely touching his neck.

“Who are you and why are you here?” She asked them.

It was one of the boys who got trapped in the bubbles who answered her question. “Guys, it’s us.”

The boy who can summon fire in his hands pulled up his hood. The three of them lowered their guards when they realized they knew them. It was Regalus and others in his team.

“Regalus?” Auriel said. “What-why did you try to attack us?”

“Attack you? We were trying to approach you because we were lost.” That didn’t mean they should appear out of nowhere dressed as hunters, Amira thought.

Cecily motioned her hands and the bubbles popped, dropping Caleb and Atticus on the ground. “Ronan.” She said, looking at him, who still had his butt down. Thankfully Amira kept the arrow back. “Did you... the trees?”

He nodded slightly.

“To scare us?”

“No. That wasn’t supposed to scare you. Well, maybe yes. To make you scream.” Ronan tried to reason, but it was unconvincing. Scaring some girls to figure out where they are is a clever move, but they wouldn’t recommend it on them. “Okay sorry. We were just lost and Tate told us you guys were here, but we don’t know exactly where you were guys, so…. Yeah. That’s pretty much it. Cecily’s scream lead us here.”

The girls looked at each other. They wanted to say that they shouldn’t have done that, but that won’t change everything that just happened now, so they decided to ask them instead.

“Why were you lost, anyways?” Auriel asked them. “Where were you supposed to be going?”

“Mt. Serpens.” Caleb answered.

“You guys are idiots. How could you end up here when Mt. Serpens is way over there.” Cecily pointed her fingers far east. They might’ve looked offended, but they made her scream.

The boys looked at where she was pointing. “Anyways.” Regalus said, looking ashamed for the four of them. “Sorry for the misunderstanding. And thank you for not killing us, and for helping us.”

Amira was about to say they shouldn’t do that again, but Caleb spoke.

“Before we go, how certain are you that the key is somewhere in this forest?” Caleb asked before they walk the opposite track.

“Pretty sure.” Cecily said.

“She’s lying.” Atticus rebutted.

Cecily made a face at him.

“Okay okay. Before this turns out to be another war,” Regalus said. “It’s best we separate now.”

*-*-*

Amira was thinking maybe she was paranoid. After the boys have left, she still can’t help but feel that someone was following them. She was occasionally looking behind, trying to find something that might prove it. Amira wasn’t very close to the boys. They made her feel uncomfortable. She wouldn’t say she’d dislike the whole male student body though, but it’s just back then, they always goofed off. Looking at them now, all serious and into work, it seems off.

They were deeper in the forest now. The trees are getting more hunched up together, making it harder to navigate through. Amira thought about getting lost. None of them would like to get stuck in the middle of that place. She turned to Auriel, who stopped walking to drink from her pouch.

“You certain you dropped Trail Dust on our path? I wouldn’t like getting stuck here.” Amira asked. Auriel was still drinking, so Cecily answered for her instead.

“She did, don’t worry. I saw her.”

“I put them on our shoes too.” Auriel answered, wiping her mouth. “It’ll be just like Hansel and Gretel.”

That reassured her. They looked around and noticed the sun was beginning to set. It cast fiery rays through the leafless trees, creating an eerie effect on the ground. It made them feel like they were standing on some giant monster, the gnarled shadows of the trees giving the impression of veins. It made them feel like it was breathing, and that it wouldn’t be a long time before it wakes up and finds them standing on its skin.

That didn’t stop them from moving forward, however. They can see somewhere ahead that something is glinting. It was inviting them to come and see it. Through the land they walked, the air getting colder with each step, the trees getting thicker, making light harder to come through.

Every sound they heard made them tense, even if it was as feeble as branch flapping in the wind. Something made Amira think that the spell wouldn’t be enough to protect them if ever they come across trouble at this point.

They were getting close to the glinting light, the setting sun making their shadows longer and creepier. It was a familiar object. A long thin metal cylinder with an angled tail. Amira ran towards it and pulled it out of the tree.

It was her arrow. One she fired before the boys arrived. She was supposed to aim it at one of the wildcats. Apparently, she missed, but she thought again after finding something on the tip. There was something liquid on it, but it was thick and rather sticky. Her first thought was that it was blood, however, the color was off.

She put it close to her nose instead. She was surprised that it did smell like blood. But it was definitely darker then black. She shivered at the thoughts going on her head. They might in fact be in trouble.

Cecily also noticed the color of the liquid. “We need to get out of here. That’s…. I think that’s Black Blood, Amira.” She was shaking and she was looking frantically around. “If we encounter any black blood right now… We’d be in so much danger.”

“Wait…” Auriel said. “Then did…”

Auriel didn’t need to finish her sentence. They all looked at each other, their eyes and mouths open. If this blood came from the beast Amira just hit, then they’d bet the chances that thing was a creature of dark force.

Amira began to think. She never liked to listen to Beastology back in the days, so she can’t quite remember the names of the possible enemy they are currently having trouble with. It was Cecily who first recognized it, then Auriel and Amira’s eyes went wide after realizing it too.

“Nightlynx.” They all said at the same time. They stopped talking. All of them knew about Nightlynxes, or at least came across it in their textbooks. They are wild beasts that are products of forcing black blood into any wild animals. They are usually weaker during daylight, which explains why they didn’t put up a great fight when the girls encountered them while they were hiking through the woods. The sun was going down faster than they’d anticipated. But that’s not what made them unable to move. Nightlynxes don’t just appear alone. They always have a Tamer with them, and these aren’t just ordinary force folks. They are force folks with black blood running in their system.

They didn’t need to say more. They still got a chance of escape. It seems no one has noticed them yet, or at least they hoped. They tried to walk out, making very little noise as possible. They were not so far from it yet when they heard something from behind them.

It was a dangerous sound, so distinct and unusual that they didn’t need to turn around to know what it was. They have heard that sound for quite some time today now, but it still wasn’t friendly. The Nightlynx purred behind them, slowly making its way forward.

The three of them stopped moving. Sweat trickled down on their faces. They managed to look at each other, wearing the same mask of horror. Amira mouthed some words into Cecily, who nodded and in turn mouthed it to Auriel. The Nightlynx was still purring behind them. Then they nodded at each other. Very silently, they said the word: Ocsenave

It was a simple spell, one that could make you invisible for a short time. They used that little amount of time to run. They may make their appearance vanish, but it couldn’t make their fear disappear. They passed through the maze of trees and away from the beast.

Amira can feel her heart beating so fast. She’d never been this scared before. She never ran this fast before. She doesn’t know where Auriel and Cecily might be, but she hopes they were somewhere near her. She was thinking of the possibility of running into them, since they didn’t have time to plan an effective route plan. But she trusts them, and she knows they knows the only good way to navigate through a forest while a beast is following you is to move straight. Going sideways could be effective, of course, but turning your body would always be a disadvantage in speed and balance, especially when they aren’t used to sprinting. She can feel her body slowly materializing. Somewhere near her, someone was slowly appearing too.

She noticed it was Auriel. Cecily must be somewhere beside them. They turned their heads around and they couldn’t see the Nightlynx anymore. They slowed their running and had a little break. Panting.

“That was close.” Amira said, breathing hard.

Auriel didn’t answer, but she agreed.

Cecily still hasn’t appeared. Auriel noticed this, so she called her name. There wasn’t any answer.

“Cecily!” Amira called her too, but she still didn’t respond.

What they got instead was a loud scream. It was familiar, and they wished it wasn’t. It was emanating from behind them.

Cecily was caught.

*picture of Amira MacCorkle here*

7: V

It feels good to be out of that huge mansion sometimes, Colette wants to think. They have decided to head out to one of Blaze’s most dangerous and avoided spot, and they thought are determined to walk straight to the heart of it. Until they had their stop. They knew Mt. Serpens has a long winding road that leads to it, but none of them had the idea that there would be a huge river blocking their way. If only they’d take their time reading their maps, they wouldn’t be too surprised, would they? But Colette had been sure there were no rivers when she traced the path they’d be using last night. They didn’t walk that far for a bath, no thank you, and Colette was sure she wasn’t the only one who didn’t entertain the idea of getting wet. The three of them stared on the expanse of water, wondering how they are going to cross it. There was no sign of a boat anywhere or anything that could probably take the trio to the other side. It wasn’t just a small river too, it was one of those rivers Colette once seen on televisions, where people on cameras try to capture crocodiles or piranhas live on tape. Despite the size, she sure hoped there weren’t any crocodiles or piranhas on that unmapped portion of their island.

“Well then.” A boy on her side spoke. “Should I go, first?” His name is Luke and he is the oldest in their class. He liked to believe there is always a way for everything. Colette wouldn’t exactly say he’s an optimist though. Maybe just parts of him, which is ridiculous because he could have different parts for his body if he chooses to. This time, Colette was pretty sure he was on his “I-can-handle-this” side. Colette wants to think she is convinced.

“You should.” She answered instead. “But how would you cross that thing anyway?”

“Watch me.” He spoke as he smiled. He bent his knees and jumped into the air. For a moment, Colette and Quincy thought that he was out of his mind. When he was in mid-air, his body became unnaturally small and he was beginning to lose his shape. It would have been an astonishing and strange sight for the two of them if only this wasn’t the first time they witnessed it. All the transformation of person to fish was happening while he was gliding. When he finally landed on the water, he disappeared, making a giant splash. Colette was sure she’d smack him for drenching her in cold water.

A few seconds passed and they had no idea where Luke was. For a moment Colette was worried if he knew how to swim, but then she remembered he was a fish, so she felt stupid instead of being concerned. A few seconds in, and a giant fish jumped out of the water. The whole thing seemed to start over again, but in reverse. As the animal flipped in the air, it became bigger and more human. It landed on the other side of the river as Luke, both feet on the ground.

“Really?” Colette said, half-astonished, half-annoyed. Seems like she’s going to use effort if she wanted to cross that thing.

“Come on, Colette.” Quincy said, who was standing beside her. “It seems the only way to do this is to use your powers.” Colette sometimes wonders how she survived for years in Wadsworth with Quincy. He was number one bully when it came down to the list of people Colette interacted with. He liked to make fun of people, but he wasn’t exactly the type who would lead or make commands. Colette was more used to seeing Quincy doing what he’s supposed to do than being the one in charge. It’s not only Quincy, though, Colette must admit. After their graduation, a lot of their classmates seemed different then they were before. They seemed more mature and composed, in a way.

“Fine.” Colette said. She moved her hands and flaunted it in the air. She basically looked like a hand model, twisting her wrist all around while her fingers moved synchronically. Little by little, the waters in the river hardened like glass. She continued to wave her hands until a vast expanse of water turned into ice. Though she like seeing her powers come into action, she doesn’t really feel like it fits her. She had been called Snow Queen quite a few times, yes, by Quincy, and of course by association, by everyone else.

“Are you certain this is safe enough to walk through?” Quincy said. If Colette wasn’t used to it, she might’ve felt offended by what he just said.

“Certain.” Colette answered. To make her point, she went in first. She can feel the coldness even when she was wearing shoes. The thing felt hard enough, but she didn’t think it could hold two people at once. She looked behind her. “Stay there, Quincy. It’s best to go on one at a time.” Quincy didn’t argue.

She stepped steadily, as if she was following a certain dance step. She wouldn’t want to run. Getting splashed was bad enough, getting fully soaked while trying not to sink is certainly not an option. She was moving a little too slow, and it didn’t help that Luke is pressuring him on the other side. In actuality, he was cheering for her, calling her name in loud volumes. It was basic pressure. In one point, she was certain the ice cracked. She wasn’t thankful about it at all. But she is glad that Quincy or anyone else wasn’t near to hear the ice have a slight breakdown or they’ll have to start making fun about her weight again, even if she wasn’t entirely fat.

After what seemed like hours or slow waltzing and concentration, she was stepping on hard ground. She turned around to yell at Quincy. “Come on now.”

Quincy didn’t answer. He was already stepping on the cold ice before she was even done talking to him, so he was ignoring her. Colette scoffed, but Quincy couldn’t hear or see, his attention was focused on his legs.

“I thought you were only good at making snow and yetis. Who knew you could make ice, too.” Luke teased her from her side. She could’ve punched him or something if only she wasn’t still feeling the after effects of being on imminent danger.

“It’s not yetis, it’s snowmen.” Colette answered. “And I can only make ice when there’s water. It’s different. I can’t shoot ice crystals from my hands, that’s for Freeze ability of force folks, which Is no more right now.” Colette always highlighted the difference between her abilities from the Freeze Folks, so they wouldn’t have to pressure her later on about having to attack her enemies later on, Sub-Zero style.

“Oh yeah.” Luke remembered that Freeze was one of the unfortunate and heroic abilities that was lost during the Day of the Dozen battle. He was about to say something when they heard a cracking sound. He and Colette both looked at where Quincy was standing. The guy had stopped moving because the ground he was standing on seemed to be breaking.

“Quincy!” Colette wanted to call his name calmly, but it came off as a yell. “Stay calm. How heavy are you, anyway? Did you cast your powers on you for some reason?” She had a slight feeling of victory for having used his insult against him. She quickly diminished the thought. It was inappropriate enough to make fun f someone who was in the danger of drowning.

“No.” Quincy answered, he sounded annoyed. “Your ice is just weakening. And stop talking to me, I’m concentrating on getting there without you yelling at me.”

So Colette stopped talking. They both watched Quincy as he carefully made his way towards them. It was like watching someone avoid landmines. There seemed to be something wrong. She noticed something was moving underneath the ice. It was definitely melting. She could see from beneath the thin surface that something huge is lurking about. She wanted to believe it was just a normal fish, but judging from the size, she wasn’t sure. She kept this a secret. Telling this to Quincy would be a bad idea.

“What was that?” Quincy said. Too late, it seemed like he noticed it himself. “Is there supposed to be a monster in this river?”

“Luke.” Colette ignored Quincy’s question and turned to the guy beside her. “Did you see something that big while you were swimming in the waters?”

“Not really. Don’t think so. No.” He answered.

“That probably wouldn’t hurt you.” Colette said, turning to Quincy again, though she wasn’t sure herself. “As long as you move steadily, everything’ll be fine.” She pursed her lips. “Hopefully.”

Quincy nodded. When he was about to step on his left feet, a chunk of ice broke. The pressure came from underneath, so he was certain that giant whatever has noticed him. He took a slow step, moving his left and right feet as carefully as possible. Then from behind him, the huge whatever jumped out of the water. The crack of ice followed his feet rapidly as if he were being chased by an invisible flash. The ice broke into a thousand pieces as the monster maneuvered in mid air. Quincy was not really that close on the other side, but he bet his chances on hopping for his life. Thankfully, he was able to reach solid ground.

“What the hell is that?” Luke said in astonishment.

“I don’t know but it’s definitely trouble.” Quincy answered. The giant fish started spouting gooey slime from its mouth. The green stuff landed near the three of them. It probably burned the ground; smoke was coming out of it. The giant fish returned back into the depths.

“I think we should-“ Before Colette can finish her sentence, the fish came back out of the water. “Oh, bother.”

It spat out more acid, and the three of them were dodging this way and that. They can’t run to safety without their paths being blocked by the substance. Luke got pissed off, so he ran and jumped on the fish as he turned into King Kong. He leapt on the monster with huge force. He pounded his fist into it, and the monster seemed to get more confused than hurt at what just happened. Either way it got angrier. It opened its mouth and Luke saw the green stuff forming inside of its horrid fish mouth. Before the thing could spit it out, he leaped back, kicking it’s fins for leverage and final blow. He managed get a good hit while not getting hit by the acid.

The thing went back into the waters. They didn’t know how much time would pass. All they know is that the giant fish would jump back again and they’d be stuck in this loop if they wouldn’t hurry or make a good, working, plan. They couldn’t concentrate as three of them were looking intently at which spot it might appear from time to time.

“We need a plan.” Quincy stated.

“Do you have any idea?” Colette asked.

Quincy didn’t answer.

“This would’ve been easier if we had more offense types of powers on our side.” Luke said.

The monster emerged from the water. This time it was surprisingly near to them. It almost hit Quincy if only they weren’t careful. They backed up as soon as its giant tail whipped at them.

“We know his pattern, at least.” Quincy said. “He can’t stay in the air for too long, can’t he? There must be something we can gain from that.” He pursed his lips and thought for a moment. Then he looked at Colette. “Could you freeze the surface again?”

“Yeah I can.” Colette answered. “But he’ll just break it.”

“Maybe. But it’ll hurt if the ice is thick.” Quincy explained.

“In the meantime,” Luke said. “I’ll keep hitting it whenever it’s on air. You guys continue to talk.” He transformed into an elephant and slammed his head on the nearest tree. It was a big elephant, and for a moment Colette and Quincy got distracted about it. How could a thing that big basically be Luke?

The tree broke off at the impact. Meanwhile, the fish kept on spitting acid, and Elephant Luke was making sure it wouldn’t hit his two companions, who were now crouching down behind a log and sketching on the ground. Luke was also getting really tired of the thought of dodging. He turned into King Kong again and threw the tree at the fish.

It made a loud noise when he hit it. Hopefully, it was in pain. It dove back into the waters, which was starting to turn into ice. Colette and Quincy had been done talking by the time Luke was throwing the broken tree. She positioned her hands on the waters, carefully freezing it over again. The fish still broke the layers though, but they were all satisfied to hear the giant thud it made as it landed and broke through.

“That’s gotta hurt.” Quincy said. “Form that hole into ice again!”

“What?” Colette said, but she did it anyway. The fish reappeared on a different area, creating another hole. This was surely getting exhausting. Luke grabbed a giant boulder and threw it at the monster. Another critical hit. As it went back down, it seemed to having a hard time breaking the ice.

A few moments of silence after it broke through and disappeared.

“One, two…”, Colette counted on her head. They were anticipating when and where it would appear next. Colette was also focused on freezing the surface.

“Okay this time.” Quincy said. “I’ll do my part. As soon as it jumps off again, don’t stop hitting him with large things, Luke. Colette, you get ready. I’ll push him down.” Quincy stopped. “When I say ‘go’, Colette, you turn the temperature down fast. And I mean fast. Understand?”

Colette and Luke wasn’t really sure what he’s going to do, but they nodded, anyway. Colette got past nine when the fish finally resurfaced. As soon as the it came out of the water, Luke broke another tree and hurled it at the monster before it can spit out its juice.

Quincy raised his right hand. After the tree hit the fish, he dropped his arms down with strong force. The fish went along with it, diving down against its will. They watched as it slammed down and broke the ice, the bottom half of its body submerged in water, the top half exposed.

“GO!” Quincy yelled.

Colette concentrated hard. She worked on dropping the temperature too much; she can feel her own going down too. Quincy was still having his palms facing the ground, keeping the weight of the monster down. It would’ve been funny, the way his face contorted and his hands shaking like that, but none of them was in the condition to even smile. Slowly, the water surrounding the lower half of the fish hardened into ice. They watched as it got trapped in its own home, its tail can’t even wiggle.

“Wow!” Colette exclaimed.

“That’ll keep him busy for a while.” Luke said.

“Hopefully.” Quincy said. “Come on.”

They watched as the top half, the head of the fish, jerked from side to side, trying to escape. It’ll run out of air if it can’t submerge its head back in the water. It’ll die trying.

*-*-*

“When did you start making good strategies?” Colette commented, talking to Quincy.

He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know, adrenaline rush?”

“Does adrenaline rush give you good ideas, too?” Luke said.

“But why didn’t you lighten it in the first place?” Colette asked him.

“Excuse me?” Quincy answered.

“Light. I mean why didn’t you just make it UNheavy. It couldn’t break through the ice in that case would it?”

“I tried.” Quincy answered. “But its weight is tremendous. It’s basically like me playing tug of war against that gorilla and elephant Luke transformed into, combined.”

It made a lot of sense. Maybe.

They were now hiking, and they could see the fence that’s been guarding up Mt. Serpens.

“Guess we’re here.” Luke announced.

The place was too quiet. More accurately, it seemed too old. It looked like everything was stuck in time. As what Chiara said, no flowers bloomed. Perhaps the soil was too poisoned after the fight that happened there. There were craters all over. There were very little trees, and they were all still, like the wind couldn’t touch their leaves. They didn’t sway and no birds flew above. The place wasn’t too dry nor too wet. It seemed untouched, looking the same way it did after the battle.

As they approached the fence, Quincy got a heavy feeling, literally. It almost brought him to his knees. The amount of power there was surely too much. He was expecting it, but he didn’t think it would make his legs wobble, unlike that time when he hovered his hand over the location in their map.

“Are you alright?” Colette asked.

“Fine.” He answered. “Just… I think there’s something more than the force that’s protecting this place. Some kind of power, somewhere.” He began looking around, but there’s nothing to be seen, except wooden fences and nature.

Luke approached the enclosure. He wanted to go inside, but as soon as he walked to it, he bumped into some kind of invisible force field. He flew back into where Colette and Quincy was standing. His butt landed on the ground hard.

“What is that thing?” He grumbled.

Colette and Quincy took a step forward, careful not to end up like Luke. Colette pushed her hand, and she felt electricity run through her fingers to her shoulders. She pulled back her hand. She knew Mt. Serpens was protected, but she didn’t know it was locked it this manner.

“A force field.” She confirmed. “This place is definitely inaccesible.”

Quincy did the same, and he felt the jutting feeling, too. “We can’t move any closer. Unless we look around for a weak spot.”

“I doubt there’s a weak spot.” Luke said, catching up behind them. “That thing’s nasty. If they want to protect something, they wouldn’t put on a secret entrance in their shield.”

“Probably.” Quincy said. “For now, we can’t do something about it, unless we scoot around the whole perimeter.”

“We’d be like that fish.” Colette said. “We’ll die trying.”

The two agreed.

Quincy sighed. “All that trouble for this?”

“At least we know something. We know that there’s definitely something strange in this place.” Colette announced. As she spoke, she noticed Quincy was leaning his head to his side. His eyes were also narrowed, as if he was trying to look at something behind Colette. It made her turn around, but there was nothing strange behind her but the invisible barrier.

“Do you guys hear that?” He asked

Colette and Luke looked at each other. “What?”

“That weird sound.” Quincy said.

“That’s probably just part of this giant shield.” Luke said. “You are more affected most about it than us, after all.”

It took a while before Quincy nodded his head. Though Colette was sure Quincy knows it’s not from the force field at all.

*picture of Colette Darlington here*

8: VI

While the others are busy going on a hiking trip, Dash and three others found themselves drinking at a café. Compared to the other groups, they are the only ones who lived in the Village. The Village was a multitude of houses created by the past Force Folks, some sort of a subdivision where everybody can stay and live for their durations as force folks. It was supposed to be the place where they can all stay until their generation would be over, but apparently, the others didn’t accept that option. They have their meetings on Bree’s, which is in the city, and so members of The Decatenators frequents going into malls and cafes.

“Hmm. This is good.” Daphne says. She was leaning back on her chair and keeping her eye out in the distance. The others couldn’t agree more. Daphne is usually quiet when she’s not wit Dash and the others. Dash thinks she might be shy when it comes to other people. Or maybe it was that kind of emotional thing she has. Daphne was a good friend, but Dash admits she doesn’t want to get in her nerve, and maybe the whole class feels the same way. He just doesn’t know why it ends up her not being the first one to start a conversation.

“It would be whole lot better if they forgot about this whole searching for the key which holds ultimate power thing and just, you know, come here together. All of us. A reunion, and a good one.” Dash piped up, playing with his straw. He’d always wanted to have a good reunion. He’d never actually tried eating with all of them together. Back then, it seemed like a wonderful thing to do, but now, after all the ruckus about the seek for the key, it’s getting harder and harder to keep them together. Everybody wants different things, and Dash sometimes wished they’d stop.

“That sounds perfectly good.” Mallory says beside him. “If only it was possible.” To be honest, that quite surprised Dash, coming from Mallory. It’s not that she hated seeing their faces again, but as Dash had noticed back then, she wasn’t really fond of talking to particular people in the class. When they had class meetings, she always listened but she never always talked. She just doodles on her paper and maybe wait until the meeting is over.

“Yeah.” Conrad said. “They seem too busy looking for it.” Conrad was another case. Dash and Conrad had been friends since first year. He was the quietest and perhaps the calmest in the group. Unlike Mallory, who talked but never really seemed to like talking to anyone she wasn’t that close with, Conrad never liked talking itself. He does, but Dash had titles him the Laconic one in the group, since he rarely does speak long sentences. Conrad liked to sit on his chair and not leave as if his butt is glued on it. But there is that thing he has which keeps most of them (The Decatenators) crowding around his chair. They are a somewhat lazy group, and Dash admits most of the games they played to kill time doesn’t even require a lot of standing. It’s only games they’d invented, like how they’d grab a scratch paper and drew random things in the – cracks on the wall, a button on their teacher’s uniform, a hairstyle of their classmate, a writing on the board, or whatever. The others would then be reviewing the paper and craning their heads at all sides to find where that particular sketch was found in their room. This particular game has been unnamed and it mostly ended up with them not listening to their teachers at all. Fortunately, they have never been caught.

If Dash were to think about it, most of his friends are usually quiet. He might even be the loudest in their group. But then again, there was Maisie, and Maisie is a different kind of loud. But even so, when faced with the multitude of their classmates, they were always the ones who end up nodding and disagreeing without having them say their opinions at all. It must have been one of the reasons why they are the only ones who were against this whole search thing in the first place. That final gathering they had was nerve wrecking. Come to think of it, it was also the first time, Dash only realized now, that they actually stood up and openly opposed to the proposition. And look what had happened now. It’s basically them against the whole class’ ideals.

“We’ll, we can’t do anything about it now.” Dash said, taking a gulp form his coffee. “What’s the update, though? Has anyone started going for it? Like, officially?” Officialy is what he calls it, because he couldn’t count the number of times they had been fooled in the past when the others we’re just actually checking for parameters. A year has passed, yet all they’d ever done is check and check and check for clues. It gets tiring when your job is to be the one stopping them from accomplishment when it hasn’t started yet until now.

“We don’t know.” Daphne says. “All we’re supposed to do is stop the others, as well as spying on them, and acquiring information from Aria on their locations.”

“Everything seems so peaceful.” Mallory said. “In this town.” They all looked at the people around them. They are all enjoying their coffees, or taking their pets on a walk, or choosing which outfit fits them most. They had no idea that they weren’t just normal kids, and that they are the ones who’ll look out with all these people when danger comes. They have all been blinded by the greater darkness because Force Folks stand between them.

“Yes. And if we go to Blaze, everything is too tense.” Conrad says.

Blaze is the location of their school and the village they are currently staying in. It is a huge island, and it is magical one. It is not down in any maps, nor can it easily be infiltrated by non-magical people. Dash can’t even imagine the shape of the whole island, despite having given a map. On the map, it showed that the shape resembled that of a crescent moon, but Dash wasn’t sure if that was true. But he wouldn’t circumnavigate the whole place just to find out if it actually curved like a C though. If you wander deep enough, you’d still get lost. The thing is, the map doesn’t really seem to help. Or perhaps they were just bad at cartography. But Dash liked to blame the drawings more.

“Yeah I think I might go into the Mansion People’s lair to sneak on them.” Dash announced.

The others didn’t say anything. For a moment there was silence. Another thing they liked to do to waste time is observing. The four of them are weirdly proud about good at people-watchers. It’s a kind of thing they always do back at the school. They’d listen to other people’s conversations, though they hardly think about it that much. If what they say isn’t interesting, they’d just ignore them. It’s a thing they enjoy. Thankfully, there seemed to be no one who complained about it, nor did anyone get hurt. The others know they don’t mean it when they say that one of their classmates have worn that shirt thrice in the same week, after all.

“Should we make battle plans?” Mallory asked.

“Surely, we’d come across them.” Conrad answered. “For them, we are the enemies.” The others looked at him weirdly. “I mean not enemies like as in enemies. You know what I mean. We’re the only one’s… you know who doesn’t agree with this whole key thing. We’re basically stopping their goals. Who wants that?”

“Apparently, no one.” Dash said. “But you know who I’m most afraid about?”

“Who?” The others all said at the same time. He found it funny that they were curious when it isn’t that great to be excited about. He managed a little laugh before answering. “Everyone.”

The others leaned back on their seats. They wanted to argue, perhaps share about what they think, but he wasn’t entirely wrong.

“Hey, guys.” A voice piped up from behind where Conrad and Daphne was sitting, so it was Mallory and Dash who first saw who it was.

“Bree!” Dash exclaimed. For a moment he was excited, but then he frowned. “Why are you here?”

“Okay, first of all, rude.” She answered. “Am I not allowed here?” She sounded like she was angry, but her face turned into a grin afterwards. “Secondly, I needed a rest. This whole… thing is weird enough. But after what Aria told me…”

“What did she tell you?” Daphne asked, offering her a seat. She sat down and took a doughnut before answering.

“Well, you guys don’t know about it, but she went into the Black Hats.”

They were all surprised. They know Aria, and she doesn’t like going out except when she needed to buy shampoo or to go to Bree’s for a meeting.

“Why would she go there?” Conrad asked.

“To give someone a warning.” Bree answered.

“A warning?” Mallory asked. “And to whom?”

“Sienna.” Bree answered.

“Sienna Drummond.” Dash spoke her name as if it’s the first time he knew about it.

“Not only that, she went into Cresilda’s too.”

“Wait where is that?” Dash asked. “Is that a location in the map we haven’t found out yet?”

“It’s what you call the Mansion People’s Lair.” Bree answered. She would’ve laughed at Dash’s reaction as he said a little Oh. But the situation isn’t called to.

“Wait, it’s weird enough that she went to the Black Hats.” Mallory spoke. “But to the mansion?”

Daphne nodded her head. “I know. The people there are the least she’s close to, compared to the rest of us.”

“That just proves that the situation is as serious.” Dash said.

“As what?” Bree said.

“As your face.” Dash joked. He laughed, the others did too. Well, except for Bree of course.

“Still funny as always.” Bree said sarcastically. She turned to the others, so she wouldn’t be tempted to smack Dash’s face with her purse.

“Did she give someone a warning in the mansion, too?” Mallory asked.

“Not exactly.” Bree answered. “Sort of like a request. Oh that reminds me.” She turned to Mallory. “It seems like it’ll be needing you and Isadora too.”

“What exactly is she talking about?” Conrad asked.

“Something about Trigger Marks. I don’t know what that is, but I’m guessing we’ll find out about it. That’s what she told Quincy.”

Daphne almost spat out her drink when she heard his name. “Quincy?” She looked at the others, who were just as shocked as her. “I thought she went there for Colette, or Delia, or Chiara. But Quincy?”

“Yeah, when were they buddy-buddy?” Dash added.

“I don’t know when but if the situation needs it, she shouldn’t be thinking about that, would she?” Bree answered. It makes more sense when she explains things. She would’ve been a good teacher, or a counselor.

“Well that puts us at ease.” Conrad says. He looked at his wrist. “Well I guess we should be going home.”

The others agreed. “We shouldn’t have wasted our time here.” Mallory said.

“But it’s good time.” Dash said. “It’s better than any times we’ll ever have.” He noticed the others were looking at him weirdly. “And for that, I hope I’m wrong.”

They stood up from their chairs and drank from their cups before finally leaving.

*-*-*

Dash wasn’t very fond of the color black, but it’s sort of his code. It helps him in a lot of ways, like masking. He slipped on his ninja costume, his sailor suit under it. He could’ve sworn having that much clothing is uncomfortable, but weirdly enough, it’s breezy. He looks skinnier wearing tight outfits, but it’s all good.

He thought about where the mansion was located. He’s pretty bad at directions and remembering locations, so he had to make sure he looked at his map before going on. The Cresilda Mansion wasn’t too far from the village, but he still thinks shadow transport is easier. He concentrated hard until he felt himself sink. His shadow was like liquid, swallowing his entire body up from the foot up to his head until he’s no longer there. When he’s completely vanished, the shadow disappears as well, following its caster, wherever he is. It was black all around him. It’s faster this way, though not as easy. If he gets this wrong, he can end up under Bree’s couch, or in an alleyway the Snipes are chasing someone on.

It was dark in Shadow Den, but with great concentration, he can still see. With a little practice, he can pull it off. He’s been doing this since first year, after all. He just have to think about it, and picture it the way he remembered it. If he could manage to do that, then he’ll see an exit. He already went into the mansion before via shadow transport, and it wasn’t good. He ended up falling in their fireplace and looker blacker than ever. It was supposed to be a secret infiltration plan but it turned out to be him asking for the residents to use their bathroom. After that, he made sure to remember the points which were always casted by shadows. He chose one alleyway which was always dark. He thought about that location – the color of the wall, the painting that hang, the potted plant near the corner. He emerged from the shadow, like how a person does when he gets out of the water. Only it’s not wet, thankfully.

He looked around, trying not to make a single noise. The area was too quiet. It was as if no one was even in there. He went to a corner and heard a noise. Peeking in an opening, he saw Delia, who was looking at her sand bowl. She was always looking at her sandbowl. It was a huge plate filled with nothing but sand. She’d stare at it for minutes and until now, Dash had no idea how she interprets little grains of earth moving on top or a ceramic plate into “You’ll get bitten by a dog” or “You win a coupon”.

She was talking to someone, and Dash thought for a moment she might have gone crazy. That is until he noticed she was holding a device on her hand. It wasn’t a phone, he assured. Those don’t work here. It looked more like a stone, a very shiny stone, almost transparent. It might have been a crystal, and Dash wondered where they might have gotten it. If he remembers well, those types of rocks can only be found in the caves of Blue Hollow. Blue Hollow is pretty far from the Mansion. It’s almost near Mt. Serpens, where nobody wants to get close to. So Dash wondered for a while until Delia spoke again. He couldn’t exactly hear who wason the other side was, but he was certain it was someone from her team. Colette, maybe?

“So you can’t get in?” Delia spoke.

A pause. He waited before the person on the other side stopped talking and finished answering Delia’s question. Dash didn’t like it, but he’ll have to figure out they are talking about with a one-sided conversation. And it isn’t good, because he didn’t feel comfortable. He feels someone is looking at him from behind.

“Can you see something unusual inside?”

He waited for another pause. There’s something on his back, Dash can feel it. Moving on his skin. He thought about ghosts, but then again he wasn’t sure if there are any ghosts in Blaze. He tried to ignore it and continued to listen. He focused his attention on reminding himself what’s more important right now.

“What about the key? Does Quincy feel something?”

Pause. There was definitely something creeping on his foot. He wasn’t that all freaked out about insects, but he’d definitely scream silently if the thing is a snake. And it definitely feels like a snake.

“It’s that strong? Well, something definitely is in there. We’ll check it out soon.”

What exactly are they talking about? Where was it they said they were going? Dash couldn’t concentrate. The thing is coiling up on his legs, tightening. He wanted to leave now.

“My sand readings are shaky. I feel something big is happening.”

Pause. A long one.

“Okay. We’ll talk about it soon. Be careful.” He heard Delia speak through her crystal, then she put it down. She waited until Delia wpuld leave so he can examine that speaking device.

“Sneaky, huh.” Someone whispered into Dash’s ear. He was about to scream when that someone held her hand against his mouth. She was standing behind Dash, as if she was some sort of kidnapper.

Dash’s eyes were wide as he tried to pull the hand off. He struggled to escape and he sees that it was only Chiara. That girl’s got to be real creepy at times. He looked down and found out that the thing coiling up on his foot are vines. Oh yeah. Vines. How wonderful.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that.” Dash said as soon as she took off her hands.

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that to you?” Chiara spoke.

She was more right.

“Don’t you dare do that again.” Dash said.

“Then don’t sneak in here again, if you don’t want trouble.” Chiara replied. “Claude.”

“Shut up!” Dash was almost screaming, but he held his hand up to his mouth. He always hated it when she’d call him by his second name. He preferred they call him Dash, he’ll even accept the full one, Dashiell. But not Claude. Clause seems way off. She was the first to find out about it because she sat next to him on their first year. On their first exam, he dropped his paper and she was the one who picked it up. She read it before giving it back to him though.

“You have a second name?” She had said. “Claude?”

Since then she’d been calling him that just to annoy him.

“I told you stop calling me that.” Dash said. “I’ll leave right now.” He was about to run, but the vine thing is still holding him unable to. “Wait, a question. Who was it Delia was talking to on the phone? Was it Colette?”

“Yes, it was.” Dashiell was surprised she answered him.

“Where are they now?” Dash tried to ask. He was certain she’d never answer. She looked at him for a while before curving her lips. She held out a finger. She gave him an option.

“I can let you off the hook this time, or I’ll tell you about it.” Chiara said. “Choose.”

Dash thought about it. “Fine, I’ll figure it out.”

“Works for me.” Chiara answered. For a girl who rarely talks and is so soft spoken, she definitely knows how to make a deal. “I’ll let you go for now, Claude. I won’t tell them you came here.”

“Thanks?” He said.

Chiara smiled. She untangled the vine from his foot and watched him go. He looked at her for a little while before molding back into the shadows.

*-*-*

He tried to shake certain thoughts away. For now, he needs to tell Bree about it. He had a lot of questions in his mind as he made his way to Bree’s. He always convinces her to move away from the city and live in the village. It gets tiring having to move from Blaze to Citadel, even with his powers. He should’ve thought about it before suggesting they make her house their meeting ground. Fortunately, he already saw her before he can even enter the mansion. He called her name out loud, even if that wasn’t necessary.

“Baxter!” He said as he ran towards her, picking apples from her yard.

“Oh, it’s you.” She said unenthusiastically.

“Urgent meeting. Now.” Dash said. “Call them. We need to move now, or we’ll be missing out a lot.”

*picture of Dashiell Claude Thayer here*

9: Note

VII

Violet was just about to open her door when she received a text from Bree. She had just been from Citadel with Maisie, and now they are going to have an emergency meeting back in Bree’s house. Violet wasn’t really one who’d ramble on by herself, but this time was an exception. She had planned to take a rest for that day, and now her schedule is ruined. If she could, she would decline the invitation and tell them that she was sick. But she disliked lying and nobody misses our emergency meetings anyway. If she thinks about it though, Bree rarely asks for an emergency gathering. Something must’ve happened. She gritted her teeth before putting her keys back in her purse. If something did happen, she wants to believe that that something is good news. But then again, hoping for good news updates is like wishing everyone suddenly changed their minds and stopped looking for great power.

It was already late in the afternoon. The twilight sky was wonderful to look at, with its orange hue blazing through the horizon. She wondered how something bad could come up with a beautiful view like this. It made her want to sit down and stay and not go at all. Almost, at least. She walked alone through the crowd of trees, past Wadsworth, until she reached Gavin Street. She hailed a taxi cab.

*-*-*

When she got to the conference room, everyone was already there. She should’ve said hi, but it seemed as though no one was in the mood for a good greeting. She eyed everyone instead and made her way to her seat. As she sat down, still no one let out a word. The way all of them was so quiet was making her uneasy. She decided to speak first.

“Did something happen?” She asked, directly addressing to Bree, who looked at Dash before answering. It made her look at Dash, too. As what she knew, Dash had been their group’s Tate. He must’ve snuck in to other people’s place. Dash had never looked liked that before. He seemed disappointed and worried at the same time.

“Now that you’re here, we can start.” She spoke. With those words of introduction, she felt ashamed. It made her feel like she is not taking their job seriously. But Bree never means it that way. Violet looked over to Maisie, who looked at her back and was the first one to smile at her since she came in the room. “To answer your question, yes, something happened.”

“Is it bad?” Isadora said from beside Violet. Isadora’s curly hair looked curlier than usual. She looked like she had just taken a bath.

“Not entirely.” Bree answered. “Dash had found out a little something.”

Everyone turned to guy sitting cross legged beside Bree. They all wanted answers, after all. He raised his brows before answering, as if he forgot all about what he’d share. “Okay, okay.” He said. “But don’t look at me like that.” The others didn’t seem to care, so he continued to speak. “I went into Cresilda’s Mansion, yes, not Mansion People this time, and I found out that Colette, Quincy, and Luke were already starting the hunt, or at least the three of them? I didn’t run into Geneva, but I don’t think she joined the trio.”

“When did they start going off?” Mallory asked.

“Not really sure, but when I got there, Delia was talking to someone. It was Colette.” Isadora started.

“I thought Colette went off-“

“Yes. Do you guys know that those crystal things in Blue Hollow can be used as phones?” He talked as if he was joking, but no one laughed. Instead, they all thought about what he was talking about. Violet traced back all kinds of stones found in Blaze. She recalled the image of the crystals Dash was talking about. If she were to judge, those looked like normal crystals with no special function whatsoever. She looked at the others and noticed they all wore an expression of confusion or disbelief. “Really! I’m not joking. She used it to call Colette!” The tone in his voice was making him look like he was excited. He cleared his throat.

“Okay, Communication Crystals then, as you say. But did you get something from their conversation?” Violet asked.

“Not much. I couldn’t hear what Colette was talking about on the other side. My only lead was to figure out what was going on with only the responses and questions Delia are speaking.” Dash said. “It’s actually quite hard.”

“How much did you get?” Bree asked.

“I would’ve gotten more, alright. But I was caught.” Dash said shyly.

“Well, you should be thankful you still got out safely.” Conrad spoke before Violet can.

“That was the case. See, Chiara caught me sneaking in. I asked her for confirmation if it was really Colette Delia was talking to on the… thing. She said yes, and that’s the only information I got from her. She made me choose: for her to tell me where Colette and the others are OR for me to make it out of the mansion safely without any of their trouble.”

“Fortunately, you didn’t give yourself off for information.” Aria said, speaking for the first time. She looked pale like usual. Maybe it’s just the color of her skin. “I can try to find out where they are.”

“What’s with it, anyway?” Violet spoke. “What did you get from your one-sided-conversation-analysis, Dash?”

“As I told you, I didn’t get much. But it was enough to say that Colette and the others can’t get IN that place. I guess that place they are talking about is protected. Perhaps that’s what they were talking about when Delia asked them how strong it was.”

“How strong the index is keeping them out.” Rhiannon said. Rhiannon looked tired, if Violet were to be asked. Or maybe she was just hungry. She was always hungry after all. Yet the intake of more food than the normal requirement isn’t enough to give her additional weight. “Makes sense.”

“So if you’re saying that the place is protected, there is definitely something in there, alright.” Maisie says. He voice always gives the room life, even back then. Maisie is the type who possesses a voice that can make your ear experience fatigue. It’s not that she was talkative, it’s just the volume of her voice and the pitch is enough to make a sleeping person awaken from his nightmare. Out of all the people in the same room, Maisie is the one closest to Violet. Back then, they didn’t exactly have a group where they permanently belong. Both of them had always been with whoever they can be with. Both of them can talk to everyone in class just fine. During the decision about the hunt though, they came up with the same decision as The Ten’s.

“Delia asked them about the key, if Quincy felt something. But I couldn’t hear Colette’s answer.” Dash says.

“How about Delia, did she pass information from them to Colette?” Violet asked. Colette and Quincy had been one of those closest to Violet, too. She hoped they were fine.

“Only that her sand readings are unstable.” Dash says and she looked at Aria. “She thinks there’s something bad happening, too. The same trouble Aria is talking about, maybe. I don’t know what she sees in the plate, but it’s not good.”

Aria nodded slightly. She started closing her eyes. Violet cannot count how many times they had seen her do that. She always does it whenever she uses her powers. They are left looking at her and waiting for something to happen. They keep quiet to help her concentrate. Violet doesn’t really say it, but it’s really awkward whenever they wait for her to finish. And not only that, it’s also nerve-wrecking. They’re basically waiting for the arrival of something they wouldn’t like. As what Aria has been always repeating, her songs only tells bad news for the time being. When she’s finally heard all of it, she’ll speak with her eyes still shut. More accurately, she sings them.

“The darkness is here to stay.

Those lives lost remain.”

They waited before she’d continue. The words sounded ominous enough. Violet didn’t want to hear more. Aria’s voice was still Aria’s. But somehow, Violet can hear some sort of an echo in it, as if someone is remixing a record and adding low-pitched voices in the tracks.

“He is called the snake.

They made that his name.”

After saying those verses, she opened her eyes. She took a deep breath. Everybody in the room did. Even without singing what may be a prophecy, they can feel the air stall in their lungs just by hearing it being told.

“’He is called the snake. They made that his name.’” Daphne says, repeating the words they just heard.

“What does that mean?” Maisie asked. “Is that a person?”

“Not like.” Aria answers. “It might speak like one, but mostly the songs always talk in the point of view of an object, or a location, or an event.”

“Do we know some place with the same words as snake?” Dash asks.

Conrad stood up and walked over to the cabinets in the room. He opened and closed one drawer and moved on to another. Violet worried Conrad must have gone crazy, but then he pulled out a large piece of brown paper. The map, of course. Did Conrad hide his map in Bree’s or did he just find it by instincts? Conrad is certainly impressive. The corners were still good as new, though through the surface ran creases of long-time being hidden in a drawer in the basement. Bree looked at it as if she remembered something. It was certainly never used. Now, for its first service, Violet hopes it would help them well. Conrad spread it out on the round table, and ten heads leaned in closer.

Bree ran her fingers on the locations on the map. There were a lot of named and unnamed spots, but she was certain their wasn’t one with “Snake” in their names. Until she came across one which has quite a history: Mt. Ophis.

“Mt. Ophis.” Violet announced before Bree can. “Ophis, that sounds ominous to me.”

“It is.” Bree agrees. “Ophis is Greek for Snake.”

There was an uneasy aura that filled the room after that. The air seemed to gain weight in their lungs. It all makes sense now. Mt. Ophis was only named that because of the legend of Ophiuchus, which is the thirteenth constellation, the serpent-bearer.

“The darkness is here to stay.

Those lives lost remain.”

That’s right. Even if it happened many years before, the darkness didn’t seem to recede in there. The Keepers who lost their lives, it’s like they still cling on that place. Violet shivered even if it wasn’t cold. She always hated topics like these.

“No one ever wants to go to that place.” Dash says.

“Why would Sir Azarias hide his key in there?” Daphne asks.

“The question would be why shouldn’t he?” Rhiannon says. “If he knows many people fear that place, then it seems as a good location to keep something you don’t want others to get.”

“Let’s not look that far here.” Bree suggests. “We know that place is protected. But we can’t know for sure that the key is really in there. It might be a trap.”

“But even so, someone has to go there, if we were to prevent Colette and the others.” Conrad suggests.

“So we’re not going to Blue Hollow?” Dash asked. He looked at Bree but she didn’t answer.

“I guess we’ll have to delay Blue Hollow for now.” Isadora said instead.

“I don’t think this is safe.” Bree said.

“Nothing has been safe the moment we decided to start this hunt.” Mallory said,

“What if something goes wrong in there? Dash?” Bree says, looking at the guy who kept quiet in between exchanges of suggestions.

“If something is wrong… Then someone has to help Quincy and Colette and Luke, right?” He looked at Conrad, Mallory, and Daphne. “Are any of you guys up to it?” Dash says, looking at Conrad, Mallory, and Daphne.

They all looked at each other before nodding their heads.

“Don’t worry, Bree. We won’t mess things up, and we’ll be careful.” Dash said.

There was a pause, and in the moment Violet wasn’t quite sure what exactly is the right thing to do. She wanted to help Colette if ever something goes wrong, but at the same time, Mt. Ophis seemed like a place they could all dig their graves on.

“Should we go now?” Conrad says.

“It’s getting late.” Isadora says. “Are you sure you can still manage?”

“We have to.” Dash says. “Besides, we can’t waste another time. If the key is really in there, then Quincy and his team is way ahead of us. We have to stop them, it’s the reason why we’re all gathered here right now after all.”

No one seemed to argue, but they noticed that Aria was terrified. Violet can feel the girl shivering next to her, and it wasn’t that cold already. The place was heating up with fear and determination. Her skin was now paler than usual, like she was preparing to turn into a vampire.

“What’s the problem, Aria?” Bree asks her.

“There’s something more that I hear.” She says slowly. She looks at everyone. “It’s confusing because I don’t want you guys to get hurt. If I could, I’d convince Dash and the others to stay here. But if that were to happen, something worse will happen, I can feel it.”

“What is it? What do you hear?” Violet asked. Now she is terrified. They never had a meeting this tense before. They never saw Aria look so terrified like this. The others were quiet around her. She can feel they want to say soothing words, or comfort her, or whatever, but no one seemed to know what to say.

Aria swallowed a lump before answering.

“Here, have some tea. It’ll calm you down.” Maisie says. When Violet arrived earlier, she had seen Maisie making tea at the mini-kitchen. There was a spot in their room for serving drinks in case the meeting would take too long and overwrought. Cases like these. She walked towards them, the tray in her hands. Conrad helped her. He poured the liquid to the cup and held it in front of Aria. Violet can see Conrad hesitation to give the cup in her hands. He must’ve worried she’d shake too much and spill some. She took it, anyway.

She sipped. Sure enough, it did help her calm down a bit. But she was still sweating. “The Tragedy of Thirty-three. It says.“ She spoke. Violet creased her eyebrows as soon as she said it. “I don’t know what that is. But it talks about someone. The songs call him a traitor.”

“A traitor?” Bree asked. “Who?” They were all looking at each other, mouthing words of who and what and shaking their heads on their own.

Dash and the others, who were already getting ready stopped on their spots to listen what Aria has to say. If somehow she’d be able to tell them about who to avoid, then that would be helpful.

The girl looked at them before she opened her mouth. But something weird is happening. Violet was first to notice it because she was sitting next to her on their table. Aria was gripping on to Violets arm so tight, her nails were almost clawing at her skin. She was also coughing a lot, like the words were poison in her mouth. She’s choking now, and she was shaking on her seat. Bree and Violet her quickly held her and they were all anxious. Not any amount of tea could calm the anxiety that surfaced in that single room. Aria let go of Maisie and moved her hands to her neck. She looked like she wanted to choke herself some more, but her eyes are stinging. The others are too stunned to even move.

“Aria! Aria!” They said. But she couldn’t respond. She was still coughing. Her eyes were watering and she can’t feel her hands, which were now lying on her side. Conrad quickly came over and carried her on his back. Hopefully they can get her to a hospital or something. Thankfully, Aria was short. That makes it easier for the tallest one in the team to carry her. She was still coughing as they laid her on Conrad’s back. They all made way as Conrad ran up. Violet and the others shortly followed behind.

Violet was looking at Aria the whole time. She tried to think, but she couldn’t find any clear reason why she suddenly had an attack like that. The only thing she can think about is that the songs had to do about it. That deep voice Violet heard in her song, maybe he had to do something with it. Violet felt terrified. Has their world become so unsafe that even their powers can become so strong that it could give their meisters a fatal attack like that? She thought about her own index, and she was terrified of the thought of it trapping her in a giant maze. She shook her head. She looked at Aria once again and her heart almost dropped.

Has she actually stopped struggling? Why is she not moving?

“Guys?” Violet says, tears were forming in her eyes. She held two fingers and placed on the bottom of Aria’s jaw. She desperately searched for it, but there was no beating. She sat down on her knees, sobbing.

“She’s…” Violet tried to speak, but it was like the tears were clouding even in her mouth.

Dash sat down and hugged her. The others were already teary-eyed. Conrad held Aria and laid her on the couch. They all couldn’t believe what just happened. No, they didn’t understand what really happened. Why did she suddenly choke anyway?

It was Rhiannon who spoke first. “No… It’s… Why did she…”

“I’ve been holding this since I first saw her shake and… I don’t want to say more bad news but… I- I think it’s poison.” Daphne says. For a moment, everyone looked at Maisie. When it’s poison, it’s definitely coming from something the victim had just taken into her system right? And yes, it really did happen after she sipped on her tea. She was the only one served, too. But no, it couldn’t be Maisie. It couldn’t have been the tea she was serving. She was already crying. They can’t possibly accuse her right now, can they?

It was Bree who spoke first. “It’s not you.” She wiped he eyes hard with her hand and was sobbing. She walked towards Masie to comfort her, still hiding her eyes behind her fingers. “I examined Aria’s cup. There wasn’t any sign of poison in it… I even took a little sip, just to make sure…”

Upon saying that, Dash and Daphne looked at her in an instant.

“Why? I am more than confident that it’s not Maisie who did it. But someone surely did. What if there was someone else with us in the room and tinkering with the cups while we were having a discussion? Why’d you try it?!” Dash said, sounding a little angry while he was in the verge of tears.

“Because… because… I wanted to make sure-”

“Don’t risk it again, Bree.” Daphne says from her side, hugging her.

They were silent, and they can do nothing but look at the unfortunate situation they are in. Violet had never seen one before and once, she actually wanted to experience how it would feel to watch a fellow index folk leave their meister. She’ll see an uplifting for the first time, and she is not happy about it.

And this whole thing. It has to be stopped.

*picture of Violet Qualls here*

11: VIII

VIII

Tate was the always the fastest. He can basically get to anywhere he wants, as long as his sense of direction doesn’t fail him. But he does not think that is a reason why he should be given the job of sneaking and gathering information. Well, it does help in times of escape if he’s caught, but being someone who can run two laps in less than three seconds, the word caught doesn’t really make much sense. Until he went to the Village.

He had done quite a lot of additional things whenever he’s doing his job, and it almost always gets him in trouble. One time, Aria Allison noticed his presence before he can even set foot in Baxter’s Mansion. She had looked in his direction and didn’t resume talking until he got so tired of waiting and eventually just left. His hand almost got chopped off when he was hiding under the Black Hat’s potion room (he had no idea they worked their potions with knives) and another time, he broke the luxurious vase in Cresilda’s Mansio because why were the plants in their house so itchy anyway?

On that particular morning, he was on his way to the The Hut. Despite having run to the same destination multiple times, he still wished he wouldn’t run into any trouble. The image of that sharp blade almost severing his fingers still plays in his mind whenever he is told to eavesdrop on The Black Hats. He noticed he had been extra careful now, not trying to get inside the premise of their unusual residence, but rather pushing himself in the walls outside and leaning his head closely to any nearby open window. As he looked through one, the first thing he noticed was smoke and bubbles and lots more smoke. Now that they are practicing Enchantry, Tate has known lesser of what the girls are capable of. He prepared himself for the worst case scenario, and that includes him turning into something unpleasant.

The Black Hat girls are very hardworking girls, as what Tate can remember. They were serious and they only ever talk too much with the people within their circle. Even when they were still at school, they’d always carry their books everywhere they go. If they have a free time, they’d have a little chat, but mostly they’d use it for studying for the next exam.

This time, he was lucky no one was in the potions room, or that no one was practicing spells and reading in their little library. Everyone was huddled up in the center of their hut, which is pretty much the only room where you can freely roam around without breaking or destroying anything. It is a circular room with about a dozen doors placed on the walls around them. So basically, it was like standing in the middle of a huge clock, the numbers as the entrances. He learned not to navigate on each of the rooms because it was a hassle.

He heard Amira say something weird. It wasn’t English, or any other language he knew, so he had no idea what it meant. He concluded that was one of their spells. He heard the others say it in a chorus, as if they’ve rehearsed it a thousand times before. How could they memorize that many unfamiliar words, anyway?

When they were done, the others gave them their reassurances. He leaned in closer to the window in case Willow had something important to tell. But there was none. He didn’t fail to hear where they were headed to, thankfully. He wondered why they set their course into Forticious Forest. He had come into that forest a couple of times. It was a great training ground for him. The maze of sharp branches and leafless trees work as some kind of obstacle course as he ran around with great speed. If he wasn’t careful, he’d find himself impaled, or with a leg broken. Either way, he can die, since it’s a very deep place and no one ever ventures in there. So of anyone came for help, they’d get lost before they can even find him. He must admit, however, there are spots in the forest in which he never got into. There were dark points there where the trees are gathered so close to each other that even without leaves, they manage to block out a huge percent of sunlight.

Blaze is a magical place, and in turn there are magical creatures too. Good and bad. The books always tell there are beasts and monsters in various places in the island. They were all traces of Black Blood and the Muddlers, dangerous pets left behind by the creation of evil.

He decided to tell Ronan and the others with him about it. He grabbed his walkie talkie and told them about where the Black Hats are going. He had a feeling they’d be needing it. Besides, they aren’t too sure about Mt. Ophis. If somehow they found nothing in there, they can spy on where the Black Hats are going. Lately, it’s what’s they’re good at.

He noticed Auriel was already on her way out, so Tate rushed off. He hid behind a tree and watched as the three off them went away. When he couldn’t see them anymore, he went off to his next place.

*-*-*

Tate hated why The Ten located their base in Citadel. Then again, his group have an abandoned tavern in the city too. It’s easier to get requests when you are closer to people who need them. The costumers are usually, no, they are all normal humans. They always had problems that are either too serious or silly. Lately, the Snipes had noticed that the number of requests they are getting are increasing.

People knew about them because they posted an unimpressive poster on one of the corners in King’s Alley. Apparently, one person was either impressed or too desperate and decided to give them notice. She had left a note on the door, a piece of paper torn from her notebook where two words were written in sloppy handwriting: Stalker. Help! Turned out, she was a student, and she actually did have some serious problems regarding a certain stalker.

They had caught this mysterious stalker and threatened to kill him. But they weren’t going to do that. Though Keepers are still humans, they don’t actually pride on having Indices and take priorities and lives of normal people. No keeper has ever tried to kill a human before, good or bad. It’s become some sort of an unwritten rule because honestly no one wants to be the first one to break the norm. And killing is such a heavy act, anyway. It is too unhuman. Either way, the stalker had been so terrified, Tate was certain he peed in his pants. Now that he thinks about it, it was funny how a guy probably on his 40’s was running for his life by a bunch of guys who were not even considered to be adults yet. Thankfully, they never heard of the girl again, and the girls has never heard of the stalker again, they’d known after they found yet another ripped page and sloppy handwriting of “Thanks” at their door with an extra bunch of cheap chocolates.

The next days, they found themselves with more requests, which made their door more like a bulletin board than a passageway for entrance. Apparently, the girl spread their existence in an online forum, in which case Tate found people in Citadel are scary. Sometimes, he thinks they are faster than him. Much faster. Rumors have a habit of being interesting, even though some are utter nonsense. The people, however, have a habit of manipulating these rumors so that everyone in the corners of the world would have a taste of passed-on stories.

In their case, however, the rumor wasn’t nonsense. The requests were about thieves, or known rapers, some are even murderers. Muddles are taking over even the people. They register bad thoughts and emotions, and they drive someone to go crazy and do bad things.

Going back to his work, he was disappointed to find out that the Baxter Mansion was empty. He should’ve thought about knowing their meeting schedules before rushing in. He did, however, find someone walking towards the front door of the house. It was the first time Tate had actually seen someone outside Bree’s house, since no one almost always visits that place except when they hold meetings.

It was Maisie Sencenbaugh, who was holding something in her hands. She knocked on the door at least twice and no one answered. She knocked again and called on Bree’s name, which didn’t make the door move one bit. Tate looked at his watch. He noticed he still has a lot of time yet. So he decided to follow Maisie.

It probably wasn’t a good idea. All she did was went into shopping malls and bought dolls and chose over a thousand dresses and went into a fastfood chain alone. He cursed himself for bringing no money and he cursed himself for following her. His stomach was rumbling as he watched her eat. Besides, he wanted some time with her. He had liked Maisie after all, when they were still at school. However, the cheerful girl didn’t feel the same. That was okay, though. He knew it was coming, anyway.

When she was finally done and out of the place, she rode a taxi. He barely heard what she said to the driver, despite her voice. Which means, he was necessarily as far away as where she was standing. For normal people, they would’ve ignored it. But for Keepers like him, Gavin Drive is a very important place. It was located on the borders of town, where the trees begin to be dark and creepy. Somewhere in the middle of those trees, there is a path. Only Keepers can locate that narrow lining of road which directly lead to the island of Blaze.

He figured she might be going home, so he decided to leave first. He didn’t know what was with him that time, perhaps he didn’t like to sneak eavesdrop about updates for the key yet, but he went into her house. It was ridiculous since what he just did was still sneaking off into other people’s territory, but as soon as he got in, there was something he remembered. He had always thought about sneaking into Maisie’s house before, but he always forgets. The thing that sparked his curiosity was the way there seemed to be more than one person inside. Moreover, it was like she was having a party. He saw the silhouettes of those unknown people once by the window.

He snuck inside, bracing himself for whatever horror he might find. He saw, however, that it was just a normal house. He looked around and nothing was out of the usual. Her place is unsurprisingly clean, since Masie must have a loving at neatness on all things she has a relation to. He was about to leave through the front door when he heard it click.

Maisie had just arrived and she was going in. Tate had no choice but to hide somewhere. The good hiding spots he can only find was either near some huge fancy fragile figurine or unable to contain his size. The door was opening so he decided to hide behind some alley, hoping for the dark shadows to conceal him. He walked backwards to free himself from any slanting rays of exposure until he bumped on a door which he hoped didn’t creak too loud. He noticed this room was the one where he saw the strange silhouettes from. He pushed it inside, enough for him to peek on what’s in there.

He saw that there were statues. Statues of people, of animals, and any other things in there. He wasn’t so sure at what it was about, but it was totally creepy. They seemed to look at him when he peeked through that door. They were still, doing awkward poses like those in mannequins in the malls. For a moment Tate thought Maisie was stealing mannequins, but it was ridiculous.

Until one of them moved, its head tilted on its side with a crackling sound and in an instant it was looking straight into Tate’s eyes. He couldn’t help but scream. He crawled backwards until he bumped into the wall.

He looked up to see that it was no wall, but Maisies legs. She was smiling at him.

“See this is why you should be tied every once in a while.”

*-*-*

Thankfully, Maisie let him out. Of course, not without a warning. He didn’t ask Maisie what was going on in that room, or what she was up to, nor did he intend to know about it. He promised not to sneak in into any houses in the village anymore. Maisie’s or not. He was both too relieved and scared that he didn’t even run towards his next location.

Cresilda’s mansion wasn’t too far from the village. Walking was probably a good thing. He worried that if he’d put up too much speed, he might end up to a secret room in the mansion and will not be lucky anymore. Cresilada’s was huge, after all, and Tate was sure there were rooms there no one, not even Luke or Colette or any other resident have even discovered. The size would probably be a good thing for him, though. There are only six people inside and they can’t probably fill up the whole place at once, can they? He figured it wouldn’t be that risky if he went through the front door, but it was locked. He went around to find if there are any open windows.

He heard someone talking while he passed one. He peeked inside to see who it was. A curtain was blocking his view, so he can’t see who was talking inside. Four years of being together with the same people is enough for voice recognition though, and so Tate had another episode of pushing his body to the wall and leaning in to get hear clearer.

It was Chiara, the girl who was too kind and too calm in school. The only times Tate heard her talk is when she was asked to read something for the class or when someone asks her questions. She might have been talking to herself, but Tate could’ve sworn there were silhouettes of two people on the curtain. He heard the other person speak and the voice made made him jerk to his side. It wasn’t at all surprising that Chiara is talking to him, since they were really close back then. The mere presence of Granville Polliver was a the main shock. As what Tate have known, the entire class had no idea where he had been or what he’s been up to for the past year. And now, through a surprise eavesdrop session, Tate has found him?

Could he have been hiding in the mansion all this time?

Tate doubted it. Whenever he snuck in, he didn’t find him anywhere. Ever. Besides, from the things he got from the resident’s conversations, they don’t seem to know where Granville is, too. This lead him to the thought that Chiara might be on to something. And Granville is involved in it, too.

“They’ve been pretty curious as to where you’re hiding, Granville.” Chiara spoke.

“It’s best they don’t know.” Granville answered. “Besides, if they were to know, they’d only sneak inside for information from me. Believe me, that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

Tate swallowed a lump. Granville was a high rank. Meaning, he was one of the best students in Wadsworth, in terms of academics and using his skills. He had been very good at controlling his powers, which nobody should mess with.

“I’ve got a pretty good lead.” Granville continued. There was something in his tone that Tate can only assume to be excitement.

“You mean the key?” Chiara asked.

Granville nodded. “I’m guessing it’s somewhere underground. We have circumnavigated most of Blaze, but still there seemed to be no sign of its presence in the surface.”

We? Is he talking about Napoleon and Maxim?

“Underground.” Chiara repeated. “That would make much sense.”

“We’re still not a hundred percent sure, though. But it’s not impossible.” Granville says.

Chiara nodded. “But how are you going to find it? Are you gonna dig holes in… Where exactly would you start?”

Granville smiled. “Don’t worry, there’s a pretty good reason why we think it’s underground. We didn’t just think of it out of the blue.”

Chiara didn’t ask any more questions. It was Granville who did so, instead.

“I’m guessing your team is still at Mt. Ophis?”

“Yes.” Chiara answered. “They’re still distracted over there. But Granville, there’s a chance they might be right. They’re saying they can’t get inside near Mt. Ophis. There was a monster fish too, which I think is guarding the place.”

“If ever they do find something in there, tell me about it.” Granville says.

Chiara didn’t argue. The sun was beginning to set. It was getting darker by the moment. What Tate heard from the conversation made it seem like the dark is excited to take over the sky.

Underground? And why is Chiara working with Granville? Where were the others?

“Hey, Chiara.” Granville asked in a different tone. It sounded less forcing, and more worried. “I’m afraid of my powers, see.”

“What do you mean?” Chiara asked.

“Sometimes I… I don’t know. I’m not myself sometimes. And I forget certain things too. Like a chunk of memory is taken away from me. I’m afraid this is taking control over me.”

Chiara looked like she wanted to say something, but she didn’t. Perhaps she didn’t know what to reply, or that she was too creeped out by what Granville said, or perhaps she noticed this thing about him too but she just didn’t want to point it out.

“Sometimes, I’m afraid I’d do bad things.” Granville continued.

“Granville.” Chiara said. “If ever that would happen… No.. I won’t let that happen. We won’t let that happen. All of us. Look, everyone might be on in this competition. Everyone is having different thoughts which made us turn against each other. But whatever happens, we’re still a class.

Tate can tell Granville felt a little relieved. But it didn’t last long.

“I hear things sometimes.” Granville said. “I don’t know, I’m the only one who does. I… I don’t know if they are good or bad but… it’s like they want me to win.”

“Win?” Chiara was curious

“Yes. Like… I think it wants me to find the key, but if they want me to do just that…”

“We should get some help from the teachers, if you think that helps-“

“No.” Granville disagreed. “It would be disastrous if anybody finds out about what we’ve been up to.”

Chiara wanted to argue more, but Granville wasn’t interested.

“Look. I’ll find that key. And to do that, it would be best to have no one interrupt me. Going somewhere public could attract a lot of attention. I’d find that key, and I’d know all about Sir Azarias’ secret. We’ll know about it, and we’ll banish all the Muddlers in this world. We’ll take revenge for your foster parents. Yours and Geneva’s, we’ll make them pay.”

Geneva? So Geneva is with this too? Tate thought.

“So for now, the best you can do is help me.” Granville said.

They stopped talking. Tate have no idea what was going on. What he just heard… It’s something he shouldn’t have. If Tate were to judge, it looks like something bigger is behind all this. His heart was beating. It’s all he can hear after the silence enveloped in that room.

He had to tell someone about this. He had to tell the Snapes that Granville is working his plan underground. But something else bothered Tate at that instant. The moment Granville mentioned about hearing voices scared him. The teachers never told them something about that. Yes. Perhaps that’s where he should go first. Wadsworth. He had to tell the higher ups about it. He wasn’t sure if someone ever suffered with their own powers to the point that they’d hear voices in their heads. He was terrified of the thought of his legs carrying him somewhere he isn’t supposed to. If ever that happens, he was certain he’d be in deep trouble. He had to ask someone knowledgeable about this.

He tread fast with each skip of his heartbeat falling behind. Wadsworth wasn’t really a bad place, but once he got out of their watch, Tate found no good reason why he should try to visit it once more. Not until now. The place still looked like how he last seen it. The walks still looked unnaturally thick and the huge clock face was still ticking on, going round and round with their huge arms circling behind the glass surface as he felt each second grow long. He pushed the giant doors of entrance aside and was surprised to find it easily opened. There was no use in locking it up, after all. There couldn’t be someone who’d try and still something from inside could they? Normal humans can’t come in there, and Keepers are probably too sick to be enclosed within those walls again, so there wasn’t any one suitable enough who would try to rob the building. Unless there were Muddlers. But Tate didn’t like to think about it.

The main hall was bare and accumulating dust. It was like the school was abandoned after their graduation ceremony. Ridiculously, he felt sad for their school. It used to be bustling with life and troublemakers when they were still walking on its floors. His footsteps echoed. It felt so wrong with every step he took. He called names.

“Mr. Bartholomew? Mrs. Spock? Principal Prezlock?” No one answered. He can feel something is wrong. Schools shouldn’t be this bare, should day? As what he can recall, even in their holidays, there was always someone reading a book or sleeping on the couch on the Main Hall. The aura felt wrong too. The air seemed to be stalled, and he can’t exactly tell which direction the wind comes from when a breeze settles in. It made him shiver, which was ridiculous since Wadsworth was rarely cold except on occasions when Colette is in a bad mood. He was about to step on the stairs when a strong force pushed him backward. The act was so sudden that he had no time to dodge the huge amount of invisible gravity that threw him off the steps. He flew backward and hit his back on the brick wall which looked unnaturally thick. Hard.

He fell to the ground after the impact. He felt something break on his body. Was it a bone? That can’t be good. He staggered and tried to get up. It was hard. It seems like he sprained his ankle. Tate pursed his legs as he felt pain go through his only chance of successful escape. His vision was blurry, but he can hear clearly that someone was walking towards him. Each footstep he made was loud, like he was wearing steel frames for shoes.

He looked up and his eyes went wide.

*picture of Tate Armstrong here*

12: IX

Sienna had been worried countless times before: whenever there was an upcoming test, or their performance exams, or when she accidentally set the entire class dozing off. She, however, had never been more worried after being told by Aria to be extra careful. She admits she gets scared easily, despite acting a little too mature compared to others who are in the same page as her in the unwritten “youngster” category. She always did have a fight with Luke, though. There’s just something about him that irritates Sienna, though she can’t exactly pinpoint what. She knows the others find it quite alarming or ridiculous that she puts up the most verbal arguments with him, despite their size difference.

But even so, she gets terrified. After Aria had come into her room, she hasn’t been going out too much, except for meetings and for food. She didn’t even give much effort into continuing the book she’s been studying about healing, which is supposedly one of their top priorities at the moment, besides the seek. She just can’t put her mind into thinking about it when she always remembers how she put her life on the line by eavesdropping on the principal’s door. If she hadn’t been too curious, she wouldn’t be sulking in her bed now.

She recalled the conversation. Something about it wasn’t right. She admits she likes knowing rumors in their class back then, and there might have been times when she was faking sleeping or studying when her ears were actually listening intently to the conversations around her, but the one she heard behind that door was nothing like any rumor she had heard before. She wasn’t even exactly sure who those people are. Well, there was the principal, she’s slightly sure about that, but it didn’t come to her mind at all that someone could be threatening him. There was danger in that discussion, she can even feel the tension even when she wasn’t exactly seeing it live in front of her eyes back then.

“What do you say?” The raspy voice had said. It took a moment before the person he talked to replied. There was something about the way he spoke, pronouncing the words clearly and effectively, as if he’d been studying about deception since he was a kid.

“What do I say? I say you leave right this instant!” The principal sounded angry, but Sienna can feel the hint of terror in his voice. The principal wasn’t exactly one who Sienna could say as a brave and collected man, but still, it felt strange hearing quivers as he talked. He was always confident when his voice boomed through the loud speakers throughout their campus.

“That would be pretty bad. You know, they started it already.” The mysterious man continued to say, and there was still that thing in his way of speaking Sienna had quickly found to be irritating. But who could he be talking about when he said ‘they’? And what are they starting? Could it be possible he was talking about their class and their search for the key? Sienna waited for a reply, but the principal was probably too stunned to say something. “Exciting, isn’t it?” He continued after what seemed like five seconds of silence from Mr. Prezlock.

“How did they even know about it?” The principal asked, his voice loud and shaky. At that point Sienna had tried peeking into the keyhole, but it was of no use. The principal must’ve been seated in his chair, but the mystery guy probably is walking around. The rhythmic steps made by his shoes were audible enough, even behind that thick door.

“Oh don’t you know, Mr. Principal. They love quite an adventure.” His voice seemed proud, but in can never mask the old cunning and tad mockery in it.

“That thing is really powerful! I’m more concerned about them getting into all sorts of trouble just by getting it, than when they finally have it.” The principal sounded a little more calm right now compared before, despite the sense of worry and anxiety that flew out of his mouth.

“Oh, are you?” The voice laughed. It was a discomforting laugh. “You might look at one of your accomplices. You do get easily fooled.”

“You leave right now!” The principal exclaimed again, pushing what possibly is mortification into something more forcing.

“Oh but is the deal sealed?” The voice ignored his request. “My, my, that’s quite a responsibility for you. Holding others lives in your hands, now, isn’t that exciting?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Oh the Faculty. You didn’t notice this school got so quiet now, did you?”

There was gasping. Sienna could’ve sworn she heard her own, too. So this guy is responsible as to the emptiness of Wadsworth at the current moment? What exactly is going on around them that they have little or no clue about?

“You see, if you just keep your mouth shut, then everything will be alright.” The voice continued to threaten.”Would you do it now? For your beloved-“

At that moment, the whole conversation stopped. Sienna had been leaning on the door the whole time, not noticing the door wasn’t exactly locked on the hinge. It was that most ridiculous and unfortunate act that probably caused the tremor in her life right now. Her weight did the opening and she fell sideways on the floor. She didn’t have time to brush off and wince about the pain. She stood up immediately to see the room was bare. Everything was normal. She thought about telling it to the others, but she’s worried they wouldn’t believe her. Heck, she can’t be spreading weird rumors now. It’ll probably affect their actions in their current situations, since they already had a lot to worry about.

But now, she wondered if the best thing she did might have been telling her team about it. She just sighed. She sat on her room. She looked out the window and thought about Cecily and Amira and Auriel and she hoped they were alright. It’s getting pretty late now. The sky outside was starting to lose its orange. She considered lying down to get some rest when the door to her room opened.

Willow came in, looking concerned. “We need to go after them.” Willow rarely entered her room, unless she had something really important to tell or get from Sienna.

“In the forest?” Sienna questioned.

“It’s getting pretty late. They should have been back by now.” She looked at the clock, next to a bunch of paper scribbled with diagrams and spells pinned on the wall. “Either they found something, or they are in trouble.”

“The forest is wide.” Sienna reasoned, cursing herself inwardly for being such a coward at times when her friends might really need serious help. What’s more is that she was hiding the fact that she doesn’t want to g out this late at night. How bad can she be?

“Another reason why we should look for them. They might be lost, for all we know.” Willow didn’t seem to notice her doubt.

“They didn’t forget their Trail Dust, did they?”

Willow shook her head, but she was still concerned. Willow had really grown much, as what Sienna can notice. Sure, she tops most of their subjects back in class, but she had never been that confident. She even argued about making her their leader, pushing it all for Jessamine. Though in the end, she still took the part. Now, she might not be that confident into talking to other people besides their team, but she has surely gotten better. It made Sienna think about how much she’s changed, or how much she hasn’t. Honestly, she didn’t feel changed one bit. “They didn’t throw a signal or something, but…”

“They might be in trouble, yes.” Sienna continued for her. “Are all of us coming?”

“Would you like to come?” Willow asked her.

Sienna felt slightly relieved after hearing her question. For a moment, she thought Willow would force them all into coming. “I don’t know. I… look, Willow, I think it’s not best for me to go out now.”

“What are you talking about?” Willow was confused.

“I got a warning from Aria. She said… she said I might be in trouble.” Sienna admitted.

“The Song Sorter.” Willow said, who didn’t seem too astonished about it. “Did she tell you more about it?”

“No. It’s not clear, she said.” Sienna explained. “I shouldn’t be fretting over it at this time, and I’m so sorry about that but… I may have heard something I shouldn’t have.”

“What is this about now?” Willow sat on the bed with her.

“Remember that time when we came into school?” Sienna started her story with a question.

Willow nodded.

Sienna told her about it. The memory had been so clear she can recall the conversation. It’s been bugging her in her dreams for a while. As much as she hates it, she can’t put it off her mind. Willow didn’t say anything after she heard Sienna tell her story. It was a bit unusual, but Sienna was confident Willow wouldn’t think she was joking about just for an excuse so that she can’t go out for a search, or at least she hoped. Instead, Willow’s eyebrows creased some more, the way it always did when she encountered a difficult problem in math. She must’ve been thinking about the people she knew, and come to the conclusion that none of those people seemed like the guy Sienna was talking about.

“We’ll figure that out soon.” Willow reassured. “But for now, we need to help Amira and the others.”

Sienna nodded, but she was not looking at Willow.

“It’s okay.” Willow said it for her. “You can stay here if you want. Besides, someone needs to look out for this place.”

“I don’t think I’d be good alone.”

“Don’t worry.” Willow said, and Sienna wondered if there was a hint of annoyance in her tone. “Jessamine stays too. Besides, her powers are not for combat.”

Sienna nodded again. She watched as Willow went out for her room, not taking her eyes off the door until she was finally out. Things are surely starting to get troublesome.

And she have to do something.

For starters, she put an essence of her powers inside her room. It’s something her kind can do. It’s some sort of a perfume, the way it mixes up and diffuses in the air. It doesn’t have any scent though, but the effects are surely a knockout. Literally. It’s a sleeping gas, to be exact. She’ll be spending most her time in this room alone, so she needs extra measures. A single sniff, or a single step into her lair would make even the most ADHD person snore.

She got out when she was finished working about it.

*-*-*

“It’s getting troublesome, huh.” Jessamine said, sitting across Sienna on the floor. They’ve been playing cards to take their minds off at certain things. She had been keeping her eyes on the clock every time she withdrew a card. The sun had long set outside, and as Sienna leans her head to see outside, there still has been no sign of their companions returning.

“This game or THIS game?” Sienna said, spreading his arms wide while saying the second “this”. Jessamine gets it in an instant.

“THIS thing.” Jessamine said, mimicking Sienna’s expressions. “Sometimes, I’d like to think about giving up. Don’t you?” She looked up from her cards. Sienna was holding hers, and she hoped she wasn’t trembling.

“I am, now.” Sienna agreed. “I mean this whole thing would’ve been awesome. I’ve always like us all to be a part of something big. Conrad and Dash and Mallory, you know we’ve always talked about our whole class being trapped in a huge mansion or anything and something really big and exciting comes along but… I don’t think this is the right kind of thing I was hoping for.”

“If we didn’t dwell in this search, we wouldn’t be worrying about a lot of things right now.” Jessamine said, throwing a card on the table. Her discarded cards are getting sloppier by the moment because both of them weren’t really focused on it. They just had to do something that will keep them sane as they wait for everyone else to arrive. Sienna knows about how troublesome Jessamine gets when she’s worried after all. She is the most pessimistic person Sienna had ever known when it comes to times like these, to be perfectly honest.

The younger girl took a sip from her coffee. It was a warm drink, and it made her feel less troubled than she really was. Jessamine isn’t really a fan of the taste, and she says it doesn’t help her get a good sleep. She drank tea instead.

“I’m getting a bit tired.” Sienna said after winning another round.

“How could you even get tired after drinking caffeine, anyway?” Jessamine asked, who also put hercards down on the table.

“I can sleep whenever I want.” Sienna said, sticking her tongue out at Jessamine.

She rolled her eyes. “Fine, I need to finish something too.”

They both stood up from their positions. Jessamine cleaned up the cards as a punishment for losing. Sienna held her cup and went inside her room. She remembered the essence of Drowse she put around her room, and she thought it better to warn Jessamine about it, in case she gets in.

“Hey Jessamine!” She yelled from inside. “If you want to come into my room, tell me first okay? Unless you want to end up snoring on the floor.”

“Okay okay.” Jessamine agreed after going to her own room too.

The atmosphere seemed different the last time Sienna was inside her room, and that was an hour ago. It was probably because of the powers she put. It’s not like she can be affected about it, however. She put her cup down on her desk, thinking about where Willow and Felina might be now. She hoped they’ve met up with Amira and the others already.

She sat in her chair, leaning her head on her table where the Curative Herbs for Concoction lay opened. She can sense there was definitely something in her room other than the essence though. And she most certainly feels the discomforting feeling of being watched. She looked at the window, where the chilly breeze blew in to make the setting a little more disquieting. Everything would have been still of not for the curtains swaying back and forth as the wind gets in. She noticed there was something black moving. It was a shadow, perhaps.

Then it meowed.

She went to the door to close it. It creaked, some other sound went with it, like a bell. The clothes she hung behind fell down as the locks clicked. She must’ve pushed the door too hard. It’s enough to be scared, but she couldn’t afford to be such a klutz. She grabbed the heaps of clothes and put it back up.

She sighed.

She walked back to her desk and looked at herself in the mirror. She imagined she’d look different. In fact, she looked just the same she did a year ago. She wondered if that was a good thing. The cup was resting, and the coffee was starting to cool down. Perhaps she’s overthinking about it. Maybe she really needed some rest. She drank from it and lied down on her bed. She noticed the cat was lying next to her. It must’ve come in through the window while she was closing the door.

It was coiled up on her bed, sleeping. Even animals get affected.

“Aww.” Sienna said. “Sorry I made you sleep little kitty.” She cuddled the cat and got some shut eye.

The air was still chilly.

The cat opened its eyes.

*picture of Sienna Drummond here*

13: X

Felix had no idea where the others are. The sun had long set, and his butt had already felt all kinds of surfaces from moving around, doing nothing since morning. He had no way of knowing where Ronan and the others are or what they are currently up against. It was Tate’s fault. If only he had stayed on his schedule, they’d have some updates now. But it’s now late, and his butt is probably somewhere else while Felix’s is on the same couch. “To spy on the others”, he had said. Just how far are their places with that speed, anyway?

He looked at the boards where hundreds of requests are posted up. Normally, they wouldn’t do one while they are on the process of hunting for the key. But hey, they’re left all alone and there’s not much fun in this tavern other than the Darts, which was usually the best they can have but now looked repetitive and unappealing. His only other companion in that old, shabby room was Remy, whose hands are filled with cards and eyes were filled with boredom.

“Hey, Remy.” Felix called him from the counter. He had moved from the couch to the table, lying his back on the cold surface. He didn’t bother about the cups lying untouched beneath him. The shelf on his side was filled with old bottles. Some of them still had wine arranged neatly, but The Snipes didn’t bother to open them because they aren’t allowed to drink yet. The place they’d been staying up was an abandoned tavern called Randy’s. Felix found the idea of having their base on a place where old people used to hang out and get drunk ridiculous. Randy’s name was written in fancy gothic letters on its sign hanging outside, which Felix could tell would fall off eventually. One of the chains holding its heavy frame was already broken, and the other one was struggling. He thought about why Randy decided to shut off this place. Despite being small, the inside isn’t really that bad. Perhaps he served bad wine.

“Would you like to take up some requests?” Felix asked.

Remy hesitated. He kept his eyes on his game, which really wasn’t as amusing as he hoped it is. He didn’t seem like he was listening. Felix was tempted to throw a rag at his direction, but he spoke as transferred a whole set to an empty column. “Should we?”

“We should.” Felix said, sitting up from his position. “Besides, you haven’t won a single round in that?”

Remy didn’t answer, but he smirked. “We should leave a note for Tate, then.”

“Why isn’t he back yet, anyway?” Felix said. He walked over to their bulletin board. “He even brought the walkie talkie with him.”

Remy had begun bundling up the cards after a silent scream of frustration. Apparently, that round was hopeless too. Felix eyed him as he shuffled the cards. Remy is much better against others, where he can just cheat his way to victory, with Felix’s aid of course. He watched as the guy kept the cards on the shelves.

“So, what request are we coming for?” Remy said as soon as he was beside Felix. He leaned his head to get a closer look. It wasn’t much clear after one paper is stapled over another. Their bulletin board was once bare, but now only a few spots are left for new pieces of criminal profiles. Felix had his interests on for one of the bad guys for a while, the one called Shiny Eye. He poked his fingers on the picture, which showed a man who obviously didn’t possess a shiny eye. He was only given the silly nickname because all the things he robs are either jewels or gemstones. He doesn’t even matter what the object is, as long as it glistens. Other than thieves, they also deal with a bunch of escapees. They take up more space in the board more than any other. Either the police are getting really bad at keeping them up, or the inmates are getting really good at escaping.

“Shiny Eye, called that because he has an eye for shiny things. Jewelries, gems, the whatnots,” Remy said, reading up his description. “Seems like an easy and a very clichéd guy.”

“You have a good eye, too.” Felix complimented Remy, ignoring the fact that Shiny Eye’s was the only profile who was printed full color. The two removed the poster among the hundreds that are posted up. It’s sort of a requirement so they won’t have to worry about doing the same request the next time they look up for some catch. They put on their work clothes: their sleeveless coat and their pants, a special belt hang around their waste which could hold apparently any small weapon they can bring. There was also a cape too, with a hood which made them look more sinister. There was supposed to be a glove as well, but they always forget to wear them. Besides, they find it was easier handling off weapons with their bare hands.

The door opened and off they went, leaving Randy’s wines and his store sign barely hanging above. Felix doesn’t really show it – he doesn’t really show a lot of things, but he actually finds it really awesome how Keepers have this sort of thing in which they can sense that a random person is the certain someone they are looking for, especially criminals. Bad guys are stained with muddles, and Muddlers often show easily to Force Folks. People who got possessed by muddles emit some kind of black smoke which, to Felix, is more sinister than their hoods.

Despite that though, the bad guy search doesn’t really come fast. If they’re lucky, they can spot the criminal as he’s on his way for his sinister job. They don’t really like attention, so they spend their time looking for their victims walking through dark alleyways. Sometimes, they’d go over to people’s roofs. It has become quite easy after countless times. Besides, they had climbing lessons back in Wadsworth. This is what they were doing this time, craning their necks to see if their target is on the move.

A lot of people emit this black smoke, so sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint the bad guy. But criminals, though, they always have a habit of being different than anyone else. Physically and mentally. Besides that, Citadel is a city that acts not like any city. At night time, the place sleeps with the people. It’s not always crowded, and it doesn’t burst with life when the sun goes down, unless there are festivals. So when it’s already late at night, it starts to go quiet. Only few cars run through the roads and few people walk through the sidewalks.

As they jumped on one roof, they noticed a familiar sight. The black smoke is like tentacles of darkness. They surround the body as if they were moths to a light. The guy with black gas emitting from his system is crawling and hiding behind the walls of one of Citadel’s most attractive houses. He was dressed the same way Felix and Remy saw him in the picture, a ragged coat which seemed too big for him and some wild hair.

The people living in that house must’ve belonged to a strict family whose parents tell their children to sleep at eight, no exceptions. For some reasons, Felix felt sad for them. Or perhaps they were on vacation, somewhere far and wonderful. The sense of pity quickly subsided. One thing he’s sure though, is that the place was quiet and not a single light was turned on.

Shiny Eye should have been called Sneaky Feet, too. He stepped his way through the grass in swift motion, his legs moving in a rhythmic manner as if he was once a dance instructor. Felix and Remy were looking at him from the roof of the same house. The guy was now on the back door. He pulled something from his back pocket which looked like a nail cutter. He plucked sharp knives and tweezers and other tools from the center. He used one of those and pushed it inside the keyhole. He really is clichéd, Felix thought.

And they are wasting time. Both boys jumped from the roof and landed behind the man with a soft thud. Thankfully, the family owning the house is good with their yard, too. It was clean and green and the grass was soft, a little itchy though. The guy who had his tool halfway through the keyhole had noticed them immediately.

For a moment he looked back at the two boys, and Felix noticed the bit of glint in his eyes. Felix saw it at that moment, and made a note not to trust pictures printed on paper again, even if they were full color. They didn’t just call him Shiny Eye because of his interest after all. In the moonlight, it looked like perfect circles of gems. Perhaps the flash didn’t catch it when they took a photo of him, or maybe it was taken by a crappy phone because who plans to have a sneak photo capture of a thief with a flash, anyway? Or maybe they used a bad printer for the picture.

He moved promptly before any of them can attack. He was incredibly fast. One second he was there and the next, his fist was already pushed hard on Felix’s stomach. The action was so sudden and the pain so abrupt that he had no time to think clearly but had plenty for staggering backward.

“Oh no, you don’t.” Remy ran towards him and tried to combat him hand by hand. Remy actually do have a bigger body compared to Felix, who was as thin as a stick.

Shiny Eye must’ve been not just a dance instructor, but a karate master too, before he realized stealing earned more quick cash. Man, this guy is getting interesting.

On the other hand, Felix was now standing and fixed up. He pulled something from his belt, a rough ball of metal which was lighter than it looks. Protruding from it is a long chain, about two lengths of Felix’s height, and Felix was a tall guy. He was the tallest in his class. The other end of the chain was a curved metal with a pointy tip, a hook.

While he watched Remy and Shiny Man fight each other, he spun the chain on the air, his hand rotating the end of the chain with a metal ball, as if he was a cowboy on his way to catch a restless bull. After waiting of getting the perfect shot, which seemed too long because Remy’s body was blocking up the target, he motioned his hands forward and Shiny Eye’s sneaky foot got tangled up. In one strong grip, Felix pulled the chain and the man fell face forward.

That would’ve been enough to catch him, except he jerked his leg in the air, a sort of legwork he usually does which involved continuous fluttering and awkward upper body trembling (because Felix wasn’t giving up on his “Dance Instructor Theory”), and for some unknown reason the chain got undone. He managed to get up, and Remy managed to say “Woah” before sliding his legs on the ground to give the man another slip and fall. Shiny Eye, now looking very obvious on his annoyance to the duo, sat up and pulled something from his coat. It glinted and Felix had no time to register what it was before it was thrown at his direction. He was about to give another blow on his chain, but the speed of the knife coming at him threw him of guard. He only managed to move back and jerk to his side for the sharp edge not to cut through his leg. It sliced on his cape though and pinned it on the wooden fence behind Felix. Overhead, his cape would’ve looked like a black bridal gown.

At that quick moment when the tip of the knife made a penetrating sound on the wood, Remy side kicked Shiny Eye in the face. The man wasn’t given time to compliment his own self, but rather his cheek got bruised. After tilting his head with his hands, he pulled another set of knives from his coat, each of the blades in between his fingers. He threw three of them simultaneously and Remy barely dodged them.

He stood up and pulled his fourth, moving his way towards Remy. Shiny Eye’s hand was arched back, ready to slice at Remy, when he suddenly jerked. His arms were stuck in position, blade pointed downward. His whole body became stiff. They didn’t really like using their powers against criminals, but this one surely is unexpected. Felix can sense it the moment the chains got undone. Whenever the guy fought, the black smoke around him was thicker, and they curled up faster as if Shiny Eye was standing over boiled tar. It’s almost as if it was reading the guy’s emotions, boosting up his strength and senses or whatever. Felix continued to focus his gaze at the man, not daring to let him go from his current state.

Even if he stood like a statue, it didn’t make him any less scary. One of the knives Shiny Eye meant to throw at Remy hit a garbage can instead, making a loud noise of metal against metal, and creating a dirty mess.

The lights on the second floor turned on, and the two of them were quick to move. Before any more complications could turn up, Remy tied Shiny Eye’s arms and legs up. They managed to get out of the vicinity before getting caught.

They made a stop to the police station before going off.

When police officers opened the door after three knocks, they found a man sitting on the ground, arms and legs tied up and a cheek seriously bruised. Taped on his body was a paper with his face on it.

The officer looked around, but there was no one around.

-----oOo-----

They were now jumping on roofs again, on their way back to their tavern. Felix’s mind was still on their previous catch. Usually, they can finish the job without worrying about being sliced up. He wondered how the thief even had that much weapon and skill in him in the first place. And the muddle, it has almost eaten the guy up. If more and more criminals are getting deeply influenced by those dark forces, then they would have to use up their powers.

“Man, that guy is crazy.” Remy said from beside him, as if he can read his mind.

“Bad guys are getting harder to catch.” Felix agreed . “We get forced to keeping them unnaturally.”

Remy smirked, then he suddenly stopped moving. Felix wondered why and he looked over to where Remy was staring at. Their eyes were on a big house just a few blocks away. That house, if Felix isn’t mistaken, is Bree’s. Felix wondered if Remy’s liking to Bree made him attracted to their house, too. Felix noticed though, that there were people coming out through the door. They couldn’t see clearly, but they know for sure that they are their classmates.

“What happened?” Remy said.

“I think they’re just going out.” Felix said, then he noticed that one of them was carrying a girl on his back. He wasn’t sure who it was, but the hair was long. He recalled The Ten’s members. The only one who possessed such hair was a quiet girl named Aria. “Wait, Aria?”

Remy nodded from beside him. “Let’s go.” He jumped off before Felix could say anything.

-----oOo-----

“What happened?” Remy spoke up before the others could see him. He and Felix were walking towards them from the gate, and they could see clearly that something was definitely going on. Something bad. The look on their faces showed that they were not happy about that something.

“Aria.” It was Dash who spoke, and he didn’t sound all happy and excited like he usually does. It was weird to see all of Ten depressed and quiet. Back then, when Felix got bored, he enjoyed killing his time together with those certain people. They had those weird games they made up that Felix found strangely amusing.

Felix and Remy looked at the girl being carried. None of The Ten said it, but they can see that Aria is unmoving. Violet and Masie and Bree had their eyes watering. Under the pale light of the moon, theirs were shinier than the guy they just captured.

Felix felt her skin on his hands. It was cold, and it was lifeless. They wanted to ask how it happened, but this was probably not the time. They are on their way to Blaze, and there will be an uplifting. Felix had never seen one before, and he felt bad for feeling excitement course through him.

Dash spoke up. “It will be a long way to Blaze. It will be difficult to bring her on Conrad’s back, I’ll meet you guys there. I hope I can take all of you, but… My powers aren’t that strong yet.” He looked at Maisie and nodded.

She closed her eyes and a huge box slowly materialized in front of them. It was beautifully made, simple and elegant, the way Aria would have liked it. It was a coffin, but Maisie tried her hardest not to make it look and feel like that. Remy took Aria carefully from Conrad’s back and layed her inside. She was sleeping calmly, or that’s what they all liked to think.

Unlike how normal people do it, Force Folks don’t usually need coffins. In this case though, the girls insisted for humane purposes. They wanted to do one last good thing to Aria, watch her lie on that bed before she’s gone forever.

Dash touched the bed and looked at each one of them. The sadness in the little guy’s eye... “I’m off.” He said before he and Aria and her bed sank into their shadows until they were completely gone. It was quiet. None of them liked to talk.

People often accompany sadness with silence, and it always works.

“So, shall we go now?” Bree said.

-----oOo-----

The ride to Citadel was silent. None of The Ten didn’t like to talk, or perhaps they were all thinking. Felix didn’t feel like talking, too. The whole thing of Aria repassing was a mystery, as what they have said. They walked through Medium, the place between Blaze and Citadel. It was a forest with tall trees which seemed to go on forever. None of them ever got lost, however. Unless you are a normal person, then it’s not really that hard.

“How did it happen?” Remy started to talk. It took a moment before any of them answered, but Violet spoke.

“We don’t actually know too.” Her voice was still affected after crying. “We were having our meeting, Conrad and the others are supposed to be on their way to Mt. Ophis, but then she…”

“She immediately fell down.” Rhiannon finished for her. Felix had never seen Rhiannon since graduation. She looked fiercer now, though Felix wondered if it’s the same on the inside. He also wondered if her diet was controlled, but today’s not the time to ask. “We didn’t know why, it looked as though she was poisoned. The only thing she drank was tea... but there were no traces in it.”

Maisie flinched after Rhiannon mentioned the tea. Violet shook her head at Maisie, trying to smile. Now, Felix wasn’t exactly unused to seeing Maisie cry, but he at least concluded she had something to do with the tea.

“She was warning us about something.” Bree spoke. “It’s almost looks like someone is preventing her from doing that… Now that I think about it, I think someone is watching every move we are making.”

Bree was shivering, but it wasn’t cold. Remy walked closer to her and looked at her. Felix managed to tilt his head and smirk. The girl was sniffing and she didn’t seem to notice Remy until a few seconds later.

“What?” she said. Remy didn’t answer, but he was still looking at her. “It’s okay, Remy, really.” She spoke again, trying to laugh and giving him a smile.

Finally, they reached Citadel. The first thing you’ll see once you get there is Wadsworth, a building that seemed too huge to be meant for only a little number of students. For Felix, it seemed like it was built to be made more like a fortress than a school. The walls were thick, and it seemed like it was always guarded. The front of the building had a huge clock face on it, which was made entirely of glass, carefully done so that it reflects just the amount of light needed inside, and the windows were adorned with gothic style stained glasses. Each panel is decked with different images. All in all, there were fifty two of them, arranged neatly and symmetrically around the clock. The windows were arranged in four categories based on their indices, and bearing a significant color in the shards of glass embedded in them. The shards were designed to look as images of people representing the index they possess. A huge wooden door is just below the clock, and there was an image of a girl wonderfully carved on the surface so that her heart would be where the keyhole is. The corners of the structure were circular, and atop of those columns was an open space which served as an aerial gazebo. It had become a beautiful spot to head into for studying, for people who aren’t frightened of heights that is. There is a big field just behind the main walls, bordered up with other classrooms; the dormitory located just above. The left wing was for the boys, the right for the girls. On the end of the structure for the dormitories and classrooms was another round tower with the same aerial gazebo. An overhead view of their school would look like a building in the shape of the letter U.

They moved to the field, where they saw Dash sitting by Aria’s coffin. Mallory and Conrad went inside the school to call on the school nurse, but she was nowhere to be found.

“Nobody’s there. It is weirdly creepy.” Mallory said.

“Guess we’ll have to do it ourselves.” Bree said. “Did you get her vial?”

Conrad nodded. Conrad was holding a little piece of glass in his hands. Inside was a blue liquid, which will be mainly used for a successful Uplifting. An Uplifting Ceremony is done when one of the Keepers in an active generation dies. It is sort of a funeral for normal people, without the burying. When a Keeper dies, it’s kind of different. A human can be considered a Keeper when his or her body is capable of being hosted. If so, they serve as a vessel for the Crux, much like the soul. It possesses the powers held by the Keeper – their index, and it takes form how on their vessel looks. The Crux can’t be seen, so the force folks have no way to interact with them. They leave once their vessel becomes killed and they remain in Blaze, keeping their powers intact but unable to be used. They watch over the remaining Keepers until all of them leaves the remaining bodies, and their generation is officially called over.

They circled around Aria’s body. It was awfully quiet; one Felix isn’t quite used to. They keep their eyes on her body and they keep their mouths closed. At this part of the ceremony, they say their prayers for Aria. Felix never really had the chance to know Aria that well, and he admits he doesn’t really have much to say during that long period of silence. He looked at his fellows, and he saw tears running on Bree’s face. Dash was keeping his eyes closed so tight and his face scrunched up as if he was trying hard not to tear up. Maisie was quietly sobbing, and the others wiping their eyes and the others were standing patiently on their places. Their messages are only inside their minds, but it is heard by the body and the core. Felix always wondered how they say in textbooks that even if the body is dead, they are still listening to the grief or relief of the people standing around them. Those messages will be the last memory Aria will have with them. After that, one of them chants the words. In this case, it’s her best friend, Bree.

The time has come for

this girl to end

Her life as a protector

and relive her life as a human

May your core watch over us,

and remain with us till the end.

And the memories you’ll forget

will be remembered by your friends

Grant this Keeper, Aria Allison,

Who was given the power

possessed by the Song

Who now uplifts and no longer takes over.

While Bree was saying the words, they all hold their hands up together. Their Cruces then give off their color, so their bodies glow as if they were night lights. The effect is almost the same as how the muddle surrounds an infected, however it’s a much better sight. The colors then make an arch up above the Keepers’ bodies, like they are making an Aurora Borealis close to the ground. This creates a dome of colored gases that covers up the ones included in the ceremony. Then they all say in chorus as they put their palms down in front of them:

A long and happy life

Devoid of all darkness.

They watched as Aria breathed one last time, the air escaping from her mouth with all her memories, powers, and her core. Bree walks towards her, holding the small vial in her hands. The cork was printed with a note – the thing you see on music sheets. The liquid contained all of her other memories – the ones she should have created if she lived to be human. Felix wasn’t really sure how it worked, how the vial can record the events of the outside world where they coexisted with normality. Bree uncapped the drink and she poured it on her mouth, which was slightly open. It’s not really shown how their throats move as they swallow the drink, but rest assured it’s now inside her, soaking up in her brain.

Bree took a step back, and they all watched in silence as her body started to disappear. Felix hoped the Uplifting would be successfully done. Once the Repassing Recitation had been started, then the body would start to disappear after a few minutes. If they’d take too long, the body might already disappear before they can pour the memories in. That’s the purpose of the dome their Cruces created. It serves as a barrier to ward off any outside force that may interrupt the rite. They all watched as she slowly faded, soaking up her new life in gentle transparency.

Her body would show up somewhere in Citadel, or in any other cities, where she should’ve been if she didn’t come to Wadsworth when she was twelve. They all hoped it was somewhere peaceful, perhaps she was sleeping on her bed right now, thinking about them and they hope she’s dismissing it into a memory rather than a dream. But that’s not gonna happen.

*picture of Felix Sylvester here*

14: XI

After Aria’s body was completely gone, they all spent a moment sitting around her empty bed. Mallory can’t quite seem to capture how things went way too fast. No one wanted this to happen. In fact, no one expected an Uplifting at all. Mallory recalled the times when Aria was sitting with them around Bree’s table. She always had that doubt in her face, and every so often Mallory would glance at her direction and notice she’d stop herself from almost saying anything. Maybe she knew this was coming. Maybe that was why she warned Sienna and went over at Cresilda’s without telling everyone about it. Everything had been so wrong. The moment the entire class split up. But repassing had no part in it, right? The thing was supposed to be The Decatenators preventing any other teams from capturing the key as they race over who catches it first.

What’s worse is that someone might be keeping an eye on them. The best thing to do, of course is to stop the seek now, but they have no way of telling this to everyone. Even Mallory, who had the best chance of talking everyone else into agreement wasn’t certain it would work. They are all too caught up in their goals. But maybe the news about Aria could change their mind. Maybe it could open their eyes, which have been blinded by a power they don’t even entirely know about; make them see that this race of seek and conquer is pointless.

“She warned us.” Bree spoke, pulling out grass from her side and releasing it into the air. She had been doing that for quite a while now. Out of all the people in that circle, Bree must’ve been affected most. Aria and Bree had been friends from the first day of their lives at Wadsworth. Having to watch her disappear from the place they first met must be painful. “We shouldn’t have let it even start.”

“There’s no point in stopping it this time, is there?” Felix said. He and Remy remained with The Ten even after the Uplifting. Felix is the type of guy who makes Mallory question whether they are serious or not. He always wore a blank face, even when he tells a joke. It is only at times like this when he spoke with conviction that Mallory wasn’t confused.

“We might prevent another casualty.” Rhiannon spoke, staring at the center. If this has been four years ago, Rhiannon would’ve said something different. She wouldn’t have said anything at all. She was one of Mallory’s first friends, and Mallory had noticed the part in her that changed. Mallory never asked the girl, but she was sure she had that kind of fear of being left alone. She must’ve realized she should put on a brave front, just like everyone else had done for the past year.

“We can try to tell the others, but I doubt it will work.” Conrad said. The boy kept a straight face. If anything were to happen, Mallory thinks Conrad would be the only one who can keep his cool.

“We don’t even know where the others are right now.” Mallory spoke, thinking about how the others are already scattered throughout Blaze. If there was any way of contacting the others, this entire thing would’ve been easier. She looked at Remy, who had she thought was too quiet for her liking. “How about Regalus and the others, where are they?”

Remy eyed her before answering, the curve evident on the corners of his mouth. “Don’t worry, he’s safe.” He said. “Or I think he’s safe. We don’t exactly know where they are right now, but hopefully he and the others are not feeling as tragic as we currently are. They might be at Ophis now already.”

“You guys are headed there too?” Dash piped. He almost stood up. Dash seemed to be one of the few who didn’t change at all. He was still quirky and still annoying sometimes. He is mostly behaved when there are a lot of people in the same room with him, but he’s entirely different around his closest friends. He and Mallory had been very close since the first year, but it was Conrad who was his very first companion. The two are entirely opposite, only converging up when it comes to making up ridiculous plans and theories, yet there’s that kind of unspoken understanding between the two of them.

“Yeah.” Felix said. “Well specifically, Regalus, Caleb, Atticus, and Ronan.” Maisie, who’s eyes were still red and staring blankly, had her fingers counting up their numbers. This has been the quietest Maisie had become since Mallory saw her enthusiastically introducing herself to everyone in front of the entire class on their first day.

“Four of them there, and two of you here.” She said. “Who’s the missing one?”

“Tate is… Well, he’s a different story.” Remy spoke, slightly shaking his head. “It would’ve been easy to contact Regalus and the others right now if he hadn’t gone somewhere else.” Not to be rude, but Mallory wasn’t really sure what to think of Tate. Back then, he seemed like he had a world of his own. Well, he has always been part of Regalus’ group, but even with his pals, he’d seemed kind of off.

“I saw him today, you know.” Maisie said, who looked depressed to suspicious in an instant. “He was in my house. You guys should really put a tracker on that guy.”

“What was he doing in your house?” Violet said from beside her. She and Maisie had been close. The two had only joined The Ten after the decision was brought up. Despite that, they had good relations to the members. Well, they had good relations with the entire class. Violet had that sense of kindness in her, and Mallory is sometimes worried whenever she begins to join in at their schemes.

“Doesn’t matter.” Maisie answered.

“You didn’t tie him up, did you?” Felix said. The look on his face which mkaed Mallory question is now back.

“No! Of course not.” Maisie said. “Why would I? He may have… found something but I wouldn’t make someone a prisoner.”

Remy and Felix looked at each other as if they couldn’t trust her. Everyone trusted Maisie. She was the noisy girl who had many friends. She was the perfect tease target for Quincy and Caleb. She was the good girl who was easiest when it comes to crying. She was trustworthy. At least the one of the most trustworthy ones in their class.

“Well, what are we going to do now?” Dash said, finally standing up, brushing grass from his pants.

“I don’t like to go home.” Violet said.

“Me, too.” Maisie seconded.

“Me, three.” Daphne agreed, who had been quiet throughout the whole conversation. Mallory would’ve never been that close to Daphe if it wasn’t for Dash and Conrad. Mallory’s first impression of Daphne is that she was snobbish and irritable. She wasn’t entirely right, nor was she entirely wrong. Mallory found her quite not different from them on the other aspects, though.

Mallory took a glance on Bree, expecting her to say “Me four”. They were the ones who were easily scared, after all. But she didn’t, and Mallory thought it would sound ridiculous if she did so.

“We can feel like students again.” Mallory suggested and everyone looked at her, trying to figure out what she meant. “You know, sleep in our dormitories again. You guys still have your keys right?” A smile formed on her lips.

“Yes , I have.” Felix spoke. “Yeah for some reason I don’t leave anywhere without it. Man, I feel I’m still going to Wadsworth. Sometimes I wake up early and realize I have no class to attend to.”

Remy put his hand on his shoulder, smiling. “Don’t worry. We all feel that way.” The others nodded

“Why didn’t they even take this from us?” Conrad spoke, raising his key and letting it dangle in the air.

“Maybe they still want us to look after it.” Dash guessed. Conrad shrugged his shoulders. They all went quiet after that, thinking whether Mallory’s suggestion was wonderful or not. They stared at the center, as if they were expecting something to magically appear: Aria, hopefully, or maybe a campfire. If there really was a campfire though, Maisie would not hesitate to start singing Kumbaya, then they’d join in and Dash and Conrad and Remy and Felix would look at each other in confusion, and they’d laugh. But that didn’t happen, sadly. What actually happened is they all stood up from their positions and followed Felix, who was first to decide to come in through the door.

When they came in, they realized what Mallory meant as “weirdly creepy”. The place looked untouched. The seats and the tables and the paintings were placed on the same spot when they were still rummaging through the main hall. Dust was clothing the table tops and the leather sheets and the flower vases, which was filled with wilted flowers. Mallory noticed they were the same flowers she had last put on with Regalus. The moonlight lit through the color-stained windows, making it more dramatic than it already is. It was the only wonderful thing to look at, other than the shadowed hands of the clock which read quarter to twelve. Mallory thinks that if they took another step, it would break the silence the room has maintained for who knows how long.

“Hasn’t the principal and the teachers been here?” She asked no one in particular.

“Are they on a vacation or something?” Violet said.

“If they are, then they might be going to a very far land or having a very great time. This place looks like it hasn’t been cleaned for an awful lot of time.” Bree commented, wiping her finger on top of the table.

“Guys, I don’t think this is a good idea.” Daphne said, who didn’t move from where she was standing since they came in.

“We can all stay in the same room.” Remy suggested.

“Yeah they don’t lock the classrooms, do they?” Rhiannon asked, raising her hand. Though she had no reason to do so.

“I don’t think so.” Conrad spoke.

“The Aptitude Hall is huge. And it’s available.” Mallory said. “And it’s close to the comfort rooms too.”

“They keep some sheets in there, too.” Maisie said.

“Why would there be sheets there?” Dash asked.

“I don’t know. This school is weird. Let’s just be thankful and leave it like that.” Maisie answered.

“Why do I feel like we are camping while I don’t know… the others might be fighting off monsters right now.” Rhiannon said.

No one answered. No one can find a sensible answer, honestly. It seemed ridiculous that they are having a field trip in their school at a time like this. But it would be just the same if they all went to their homes right now. No one wants to go out in the woods at this time anyway. It would be best to wait for the sun to rise before going off into a journey.

They headed their way towards the Aptitude Hall, which was the room directly above the main hall. They walked through the steps, careful not to touch the dusty railings. It would’ve been good to pass by some of their classrooms, but the Aptitude Hall greets them as soon as they arrive at the top.

“Seriously, where are the teachers?” Conrad said. The room was too big for all of them, but it was a wonderful thing to be getting inside this place again. Together, like nothing’s changed. Well, it is a little dark and creepy, but still. This has been the room where they showcase their abilities before entering their life as a student in Wadsworth, and before ending their life as one. A lot of things has happened here, and now they wished they were back at those days, even if some things they had here may be a little embarrassing.

Maisie told them about where the sheets are hidden. Surprisingly, she wasn’t joking. This is becoming more like a camping than they thought.

“Remy.” Bree spoke as she laid a blanket on the floor. “Not to sound rude, but why are you and Felix still here? Shouldn’t you be back for your pals?”

Remy smiled before answering. “Are we not welcome here? Besides, we have nothing better to do.”

“What if the others get back?” Bree asked.

“We left a note.” Felix answered.

Bree nodded.

Violet and Maisie were already asleep. Either they were too tired or they felt scared if ever they’d be the last one to sleep out. The others had lain down already, trying to sleep.

“Good night, Remy.” Bree spoke, then she lied down and closed her eyes. Remy glanced at Mallory after Bree spoke. Remy had after all, told Mallory about some things. She’d known about his liking to the girl at their Promenade on their fourth year. He was talking about confessing to her, but Mallory isn’t quite sure about Bree’s reply.

“Good night, Mallory.” Dash spoke near her. Mallory almost laughe. She found it funny when she recalled Dash stressing over why Remy never told him about the things he’d been telling her. He and Conrad was never sure on who Remy really liked. They had been too curious that they even had some candidates: Bree and Jessamine an Amira on the list.

“Good night, Dash.”

*-*-*

Mallory didn’t know what time it was already. Despite their school having a huge clock in front of its face, they seem to have lacked it on some points. Perhaps they did it that way to save energy on hanging up wall clocks on every room in school. She tossed and turned on her bed, which wasn’t to be called one. It was a thin cloth, and she can feel the coldness of the floor on her skin whichever position she tried. Not only that, the moon was still shining bright, its white light passing through the windows and illuminating every figure sleeping on the floor. They forgot to pull in the curtains, or perhaps they were just too tired, too. Either way, she couldn’t sleep, and she didn’t like it.

“Still awake, too?” She heard someone say. “Glad I’m not the only one.” It was Dash. His head was aligned with Mallory’s, but the rest of his body is on the other side. Lying on his left is Conrad.

“Dash, thank goodness!” Mallory spoke.

“I can’t sleep. I haven’t been getting too much sleep lately.” He said.

“Me too.” Someone spoke, and it wasn’t Mallory. Conrad was listening to them this whole time. He was now opening his eyes. Mallory figured he was just pretending to sleep, or maybe trying to. They kept their voice down. They wouldn’t want to wake up the others. It would be rude. They tried to close their eyes and count to a hundred, but they can’t just keep them closed. Mallory sat up.

“Wanna have some fun like we always do?” She said, a smile curving on her lips. Dash and Conrad sat up and they looked at each other before nodding their heads. They got up as quietly as possible and tiptoed towards the door. Mallory counted from one to three before opening the huge door as gently as possible. Before they can get out, someone spoke.

“Can I come with you guys?”

They all looked at the sea of sleeping people and saw one squatting on the floor. It was Remy. They all smiled and ushered him to come.

The halls were a lot creepier when they walked through them. They were afraid that someone or something was staying with them and that if they make some noise, they’d be in serious trouble. They passed by one of the rooms where they were taught History. They passed by one of the bathrooms which was rumored to be haunted. They didn’t know when or where that rumor started, but if Mallory were to be asked, she wasn’t sure if there are ghosts in Blaze. They passed by the library, where surprisingly, the four of them who are now sneaking into nowhere, got in trouble after laughing a lot louder than they should have. They were looking through old yearbooks at that time and some of the photos were too funny to be ignored. They passed by some faculty rooms and they were reminded about the teachers again.

They ended up at the main hall, where the four of them sat at the dusted sofa. They couldn’t find food somewhere. Well, it’s not like they expected to. Mallory wasn’t hungry anyway.

“You know, I miss you guys.” Remy said.

“Ditto.” Dash said. “I mean, it’s been a year and when we see each other, it’s like something’s changed.”

“I swear when this whole thing is over, I’d convince the others to have some sort of a reunion or something.” Conrad said.

“Yes. With the whole awards thing, like what we did in the fourth year.” Mallory said.

“We’ll crown who won this race first.” Remy said.

“Not unless we could stop you.” Dash said.

“You try.” Remy said.

“How is the others going, anyway?” Mallory said, talking to Remy.

“Oh they’re still the same.” Remy answered. “Nothing’s really changed to them.”

“That’s good, then.” Conrad said. “I see no change from our little group too.”

“Ten is not little, Rad.” Remy said.

“Oh please don’t call me that again.” Conrad said. Remy liked to annoy Conrad with that.

“Ten is not little. Yeah. Wow. Why are we even the biggest group here? It would be a shame if we were to lose this thing.” Dash said. “You were part of us too, Remy. You and Regalus. Well, Felix turned down the offer, sad for him.”

“Well, yeah.” Remy said. “I guess we’ll always be. But for now, I’ll give my help for my other pals. It would be rudely unfair to have you guys twelve, and us, five right?” Remy said.

“Yeah. I guess ten is alright.” Mallory spoke.

“We’re only nine now though.” Conrad spoke. They all went quiet after that. They still can’t believe that one of their classmates isn’t a Keeper anymore. She’s living a normal life right now, and Mallory at least thinks that’s a good thing.

“We’ll always have her.” Mallory said. No one disagreed.

No one spoke after that either, but none of them had the intention of going into the Aptitude Hall yet. They just sat and stayed there, thinking about things that should’ve happened. Mallory then set her eyes on something on the corner. It was a black device which was popular back in the days. She didn’t expect she’d see something like that in Blaze. The only reasons as to why it’s lying there is that a human child had come to Wadsworth and dropped there, or someone from his classmates kept that kind of toy and finally decided to think they’re too old to play with it. The second reason is much fitting in a lot of reasons. She walked over and picked it up.

“This works here?” She held it up for the others to see. Dash and Conrad were trying to figure it out at first, but Remy already got up from his seat. He went towards Mallory and grabbed the Walkie Talkie from her hands. He didn’t have any doubts, and Mallory was about to ask if the thing is his. But his face was scrunched up with disbelief. Mallory wasn’t really sure what it meant to him, but she figured it would be best to wait for him to explain.

“This is bad.” He’d said, after running his hands on the device and chacking if it still works. “This thing. It’s what we use to give updates to each other when we are away. For it to be found here, then... It’s Either Ronan and the others were here, or Tate was.”

“Tate then?” Dash suggested.

“Yes. I guess Tate coming here is more sensible. But why he did, I have no idea.” Mallory had no idea why Tate would come here either. But they couldn’t just leave it lying around here ignored. They’d be too blind to dismiss it at something normal. That’s why Tate still hasn’t come back into the tavern, as what Remy and Felix had said. And for that, there’s a really high chance that he might be in trouble. He might be caught.

“Let’s tell the others.” Remy said. “And let’s get out of here now.”

*-*-*

They all rushed back to the hall, where everyone was woken up by the slam of the door. They all watched in confusion as Remy rushed towards them.

“What’s the big idea?” Felix said, who looked annoyed.

“Here.” Remy answered. He tossed the walkie talkie into the air for Felix to catch. He held it in his hands while his mouth hang open.

“Tate is here?” Felix exclaimed.

“Or was.” Mallory answered. “We don’t know for sure. But Remy here got all nervous and stuff.”

“We found that in the corner of the main hall.” Conrad said.

“What were you doing in the main hall?” Violet questioned, clearly confused as to why they weren’t in bed in the first place.

“Never mind about that.” Remy said. “We have to get out of here now. I think we’re in trouble.”

They were all moved by the panic in Remy’s voice. Though still sleepy, they forced themselves to get up. Maisie grabbed her blankets to fold it, but Remy convinced her getting out now is more important.

“Tate wouldn’t just leave the walkie talkie here. There’s got to be something going on.” Remy explained as he led them out. They passed through hallways, past the same rooms and offices. Past the same room and offices… Didn’t the outside of the hall directly leads them out into the stairs? Mallory was sure about it, but Dash spoke before she could.

“Okay, tell me I’m not the only one who noticed we passed by the Chemistry Laboratory already.” Dash said, stopping on his tracks.

“No, you’re not.” Violet said. “Someone is definitely in here. This place is enchanted.”

“What? Did we enter some kind of a-“

“Maze.” Violet finished. She’s the one who’s most knowledgeable about this, after all. “Yes.”

They all stopped talking as they tried to sink in the idea that their whole school has become a maze. The thought seemed ridiculous. But then again, a lot of ridiculous things happen in Blaze.

“What do we do now? Do you Maze folks have a map or something to lead you out?” Dash asked.

“No, we don’t.” Violet admitted. “We can create one, yes, but I can’t undo it if I’ve been teleported inside, or if someone’s doing it other than me. I can’t just crack their code also, the whole maze is a design in their head. No two brains think exactly same. But there is a way we can try.”

“So some other Keepers are here with us?” Daphne said, walking behind Bree, who was also not a bit confident about her courage.

“I don’t get it, isn’t their generation over yet?” Felix asked. Supposedly, when a generation is over, the powers of the Keepers on that time leaves their body too, and they don’t get to stay in Blaze for a really long time as well. However, there are exceptions, like when thhey are assigned as a teacher, or a part of the council.

“I don’t recall any teachers having powers like you.” Conrad said, addressing to Violet. She didn’t answer.

“Look, guys.” Bree said. “For now, I think it’s best to stay quiet. We don’t know, they might be listening to us right now.”

No one disagreed, so they continued to walk through the endless loop of twists and turns. Violet gave them warnings. They must always walk side by side, and never leave anyone’s reach unless they want to be separated. So far nothing’s wrong about that. Except some of them liked to squeeze. Violet asked them if they could find anything unusual about the walls, or the ceilings, or the floors. Basically, everything around them.

“Everything’s unusual. I mean, right? This whole thing.” Dash said.

“I mean, do you remember how these things looked like when it still wasn’t a maze before? Like can you see some photographs hanging on the wall where they’re not supposed to? Unusual things like that.”

“Great.” Felix said. “Now that’s easy.”

So they tried to find that unusual thing. Honestly, everything looked the same for them. The walls were still painted with the same shade of white. The floors were still dirty and the windows were still glass. Something unusual happened though, when they turned at one corner. They found a man wearing a paper bag on his head. He had put up holes in certain points on his mask so he can see and breathe. He was alone, and he looked normal despite the paper bag and his heavy-looking shoes. Mallory can tell though that he was holding some great Index. They had never seen anyone like that in their whole stay in Blaze before, but they were too afraid to say some introductions.

They just stared at him for a minute. Not one of them daring to step any closer. They tried to turn back so they can turn the other corner, but before their legs could move, the guy moved his hands the same way a magician does. When he pushed his hand forward, a gush of air blew the gang away. Some flew back too hard and fell on their backs. Mallory tried to get up, but the mysterious guy was already gone. So was the other girls.

*-*-*

The whole group got split up into two and now things would get much worse. It would be harder to escape with less heads to think of a way. That guy has got some serious accuracy. He managed to divide the group by gender.

The girls were pissed off. It’s bad enough they can’t get out of the school, but they made them fly too, and they even got separated. Every turn they make, they wished they’d meet up with the guys. They were lost before, but it seems as though they were helpless when their numbers dwindled. Violet urged them to keep looking. They could get lucky. Perhaps they can break a vase that shouldn’t be there.

They were now walking on the hallway for their dormitory. Mallory found her room and opened it. She was on the lead, since the others were afraid of going first. She entered her room and the others followed. However, when they all were inside, they found themselves back at the Aptitude Hall again, the pillows and blankets still scattered on the floor.

“Seriously?” Mallory said, annoyed.

The others were as stunned and irritated as she was. They looked outside the window. The sky wasn’t as dark as when they first entered this room, though the moonlight was still streaming through the glass. They didn’t know what time it was already, but the morning will be out soon. They liked to think that by the time the sun rises, they can escape the maze already.

Daphne walked towards the window. Outside, the field was huge. Aria’s bed was still on the grass. Mallory looked in the hallways, trying to see if anything has changed, but the structure was still the same.

“What if we break this?” She suggested.

“What do you mean?” Maisie said.

“Look outside, it’s pretty normal.” Daphne said. “What if we try escaping not through the doors, but through the window.”

The others thought about it. It wasn’t a really bad plan. None of them have been inside a real maze before. Only when the whole class played one time to race on who’ll find the red flag first did Violet use her powers for everyone. Now that Mallory thinks about it, the situation isn’t entirely different from now. They all got into this mess because they were looking for something.

“How do we break it?” Isadora asks. She had never talked since they got out of the room. She rarely talked. Despite being in the same group, Mallory isn’t really that close to Isadora. She always seemed to enjoy being alone, but Mallory knows that’s not really the case. For some reasons, very few people in the class talked to Isadora, so she always stayed quiet, unless when she’s in Conrad and Dash and a few of the Snipes’ company. She was, after all, not really girly as the other female population in their class. Mallory couldn’t really relate to the conversations the Black Hats would we having, too. That’s a point she found similar to Isadora. Yet she couldn’t quite find what topics to open up when she’s left alone with the girl.

“We don’t have to break it. There’s a latch on top, we could just open it up.” Mallory said. “I could jump out, but don’t follow me yet.” Mallory wasn’t used to lead out a plan, but in theis case, the others are probably either too scared or too tired to think of one. “If you see me land on the grass below, then you can assume it is safe. But if not, then the outside is probably part of the maze, too.”

“What if you get teleported somewhere else?” Maisie said. “You’d be entirely alone.”

Mallory pursed her lips. See this is why she wasn’t one to think of plans. She wasn’t entirely good of thinking ahead. But she is brave. Well, stupidly brave when needed. “That’s okay. I’ll try to find my way back to you or maybe even to the boys. If I don’t, then I’ll just wait until this maze gets broken. I’ll try to keep an eye out for something unsusual, too.”

“What is you meet the Paper Bag Guy again?” Bree said.

“I’ll be careful not to.” Mallory sighed. She smiled at everyone of them, at least to give them assurance that she is sure on what she was doing. They nodded their heads slightly. Mallory then positioned herself as soon as the window was opened. The chilly night air blew in, and they all shivered as Mallory jumped out into their chance of exit.

They all leaned out to see no sign of her on the grass below.

*-*-*

Mallory prepared herself for it. She was even thinking for the worst case possible, landing on concrete or somewhere equally hard. She was thankful though to find herself landing on a soft bed. At first she thought she might be in G-7, but the place was too large to be one of the rooms in their dormitory. The only other place in Wadsworth that had comfortable beds like that is the clinic. She sighed. At least she landed without breaking a bone. She looked around the place and recalled how it looked like before the Maze took in. It was extra difficult, since she rarely entered the clinic. She removed paintings from the walls and hang them up again, She looked under the beds and checked on each medicine to see if there was any hint of unwanted chemicals mixed up from their Chemistry Laboratory. She had no luck.

She finally decided to go out, guessing which location she might end up with. She came into a hallway, which went only straight for what Mallory though as a solid five minutes before she reached the end. She turned left at one junction and found herself in another hallway, which was thankfully better lit than the previous one she just walked into. She passed by a huge door, which was the principal’s office, and she thought whether it would be a good thing to open it or not. She decided to do the former, pushing the brass handles slowly and peeking in. Sure enough, the inside wasn’t the principal’s office, but rather a huge room Mallory was sure she’d never got into in the four years they had stayed in that same school.

Inside, the shelves were filled with books that were be arranged in an orderly fashion, there was a round table in the center, like what they had on their meetings. The walls were painted gold, and the room shined with spirit. There were desks on the side which were loaded with rolls of paper, like blueprints. There were also bottles and liquids lining up the long tables near the walls, the same thing The Black Hats worked on for their Enchantry. Having their school turned into an endless loop of redundancy, Mallory was sure she had prepared herself for anything weirder. But she couldn’t help but still be speechless. She wasn’t sure if going in is a good idea. She doesn’t entirely know the basics of Maze-making, and she was afraid this could be a trap. Or maybe, it’s their way out. She had never seen this place before, maybe it’s because it’s never been in there in the first place. So what now?

“Hey Mallory!” She heard someone speak.

“Conrad!” She says. “Come over here, you guys. Something’s weird-“ Mallory stopped what she was about to say. She took of her vision of the room to see who was calling her, and the next time her head snaps back in position, the brightly lit room has become the Room of Recollection, the stacks of shelves stacked up with the bottles of their memories. For some reason, Mallory got pissed off. If the inside of the principal’s office still wasn’t the principal’s office, then they are still inside the maze. “Never mind.”

Felix, Remy, Dash, and Conrad were now behind her, leaning in their heads to see what was inside. Mallory looked at the empty space on one of the shelves. Aria’s bottle had once been there. “Come on.” She said, closing the door.

Mallory explained how she got separated with the others. The boys didn’t interrupt her one bit. Now they are back to navigating nowhere. They weren’t sure if they should find the others or find an exit. None of them know how this whole thing works. What if they got out and the girls didn’t? Or What if it’s the other way around?

“I think we should find that unusual thing Violet was talking about.” Conrad said. “I’m not sure, but I’m hoping if we find that, this whole maze would end and everyone inside it can escape.”

“I hope you’re right.” Felix said, making his way towards another hallway.

“I hope we don’t run into another weird guy.” Dash said. “He’s powers are like Maxim’s. Man, Wind Folks are hard to deal with.”

“I should’ve locked his powers before he could use it.” Felix said.

“We didn’t even know he would attack so soon.” Remy said.

They continued to walk, and each time they didn’t come close to finding anything that can help them. They passed the library a bunch of times already, the faculty room, their freshman room, the Aptitude Hall (again), and the girls weren’t inside anymore. Basically, they had just experienced a full tour for their school, which was more ridiculous than it sounded.

They went up the stairs, but they found themselves back at the first floor again. They opened the door to the cafeteria but went into the main hall instead. It was getting pretty tiring and pretty annoying. They decided they’d do less turning and going more into the straight path. When they reached the end of the hallway where a vending machine was located, they turned to their right and they found a place they were pretty sure wasn’t in their school.

It was a room with very bad lighting. A single bulb hangs on the ceiling, and it flickered occasionally. A thing as annoying as a flickering bulb should be stopped immediately, but they couldn’t find the switch. The room looked like a little library, with the shelves on the sides but minus the books. There are tables unaligned in the center, and the chairs are stacked carelessly. After a few flickers, the light thankfully died out. The air felt wrong. It was everywhere, but it doesn’t feel safe to inhale it.

“I don’t think we should come in here.” Dash said. “This could be a trap.”

“Another weird room.” Mallory said, trying to look inside clearly. “There was one in the principal’s office that I’ve never seen before, too. A thousand times better than this one th-“

They heard something. Somewhere inside. It was like chains grinding on the floor.

“What was that?” Conrad said, backing up. The others were doing the same. The thought of some monster being chained up in that dark room immediately came to Mallory. She got frightened in an instant. It continued to rattle. The sound occasionally stops and then starts again.

They were slowly backing up, trying not to step on each others’ legs until Remy screamed. That was their cue. Mallory wasn’t quite sure what happened, but Remy was wiggling his legs, struggling to break free at whoever or whatever was trying to get a hold of him. The others didn’t leave without helping him. They pulled him with all his weight until he could get away. Once all their legs could run, they all rushed back into the hallway, thinking they should never go straight again.

“Aaaaahhhhhh. What was that?” Remy said, who managed to catch up and was now first on the line.

“Seriously, this is getting annoying.” Dash was saying, who seemed to have not heard Remy. He was way behind them since he had fallen down when they were pulling Remy up. “I keep seeing that picture I hate.”

“That one that had a goat in it?” Felix suggested, ignoring Remy as well. “Yeah, I hate that, too.”

“Aaaahhh what was that thing that grabbed my foot?!” Remy said. “I’d be more happy if we don’t run into that room again.”

“Was there even a room like that in this building?” Conrad said, who still seemed to have kept his usual tone, despite running for his life.

“You don’t think this kind of maze takes us to another places too, don’t you?” Felix said.

“I doubt that.” Dash said. “If it does, then we should have at least come into our homes in the village, or maybe saw Chiara and the others in Cresilda’s, or maybe ran into somebody else’s toilet for that matter.”

“Speaking of toilet, I seriously need to pee.” Remy said. “Man, that thing seriously got me.”

“Don’t think about it, dude. I don’t think we’ll be leaving this stinkhole soon enough.” Dash said

“You don’t say stinkhole while I’m holding it in.” Remy sneered.

“Why haven’t we come into any comfort rooms, anyway?” Conrad said. “That’s unusual.”

The word unusual have been mentioned quite a lot for today, but it wasn’t until Conrad spoke it that they thought about being right about it.

“That’s it!” Mallory said, stopping in her heels and Dash bumping into her.

“What?” Remy said. “You found a toilet?”

“That’s the thing. There are no toilets everywhere. Why would that be?” Mallory said, his lips starting to curve.

The others’ eyes went wide. They looked around them. Sure enough, there weren’t any restrooms they could find.

“This is the hallway for the rooms in the second floor right? If I recall…” Conrad skipped straight ahead while the others followed him. “Aha!” He pointed on a bare wall, where a door should be leading to a restroom. “There should be one in here, shouldn’t it?”

The others nodded, but apparently they had no idea what to do next.

“So what now?” Dash said.

“I don’t know.” Conrad said. He ran his hands on the wall, perhaps looking for some switch or something. The others did the same, but after awhile they felt ridiculous.

“The knob should be here.” Conrad said, reaching into a spot in the wall. He positioned his hands so that he looked like he was gripping a handle when he was actually holding air. The others looked at him as if he just lost his mind. He ignored them, and turned his hand. Unexpectedly, the wall opened. An outline for a door was slowly appearing, and the details were picking up. They waited until the door was completely in there before closing it up again.

“Is it done?” Dash said. “Clearly that did something right?”

“Hopefully.” Felix nudged Remy. “Are you gonna go in or what?”

Remy looked at him blankly, then at the door, and then at Felix, and then at the others. Then he went inside. Mallory rolled her eyes, but she was holding back a laugh.

After waiting for Remy to finish, they tried to walk back into the alleyway, hoping hard before they turned into a corner. When they finally did, their heart did a jump. They weren’t transported to a new place. They slowly made their way downstairs, and when they reached the base, they found themselves looking into the hallway for the first floor rooms. They continued ahead until they reached the main hall, hopefully. They all looked at each other before turning the handles for the door that leads to the field.

“They should really put down that picture of the smiling goat-“ They heard someone speak behind them. “You guys!” Maisie screamed as she ran towards them. “Did you crack the maze? We were getting really tired of coming back to the faculty room and-“

“Yes, Maisie. There were no toilets. Good thing Remy got too frightened, he almost peed his pants.” Felix said,

“Did not!” Remy chided, but his face was red.

The sun was getting up, and they are tired and annoyed, and they spent the whole time getting trapped inside their school, but they were laughing.

*picture of Mallory Adele Belinson here*

15: XII

XII

It was dark. Cecily didn’t know how long he’d keep her. He even tied her hands too tight, or perhaps there something in the cloth he used which seemed to burn through her skin. She had ran into bad luck. Literally. They were planning on an escape using their invisibility spells. The overwhelming sense of being alone came to her fast as soon as she saw Auriel and Amira disappear from beside her. She had no other choice but to trust on her courage and her legs. She’d decided to run forward. That was the best course for escape, at least. If she’d turn other ways she’d either be going back to the Nightlynx or getting lost in the forest. But then she bumped into him. Cecily still wasn’t sure how he was suddenly blocking her way. She was certain the path was clear. He had been larger than Cecily, so most of the force rebounded on her. She had lost her concentration, and when she landed on the ground, her powers had worn off. The man saw her clearly then, and Cecily took a long hard look at him back.

The man had a dark beard on his light, almost pale face. He was wearing a rather odd robe which looked similar to the one the snipes use. There were holes on random parts of the clothing, as if the sewing machine was afraid of it too. Its color was a little darker though, black. But even so, she can feel that is was not the usual black. It radiated darkness the same way a lightbulb gives off light. It shone darker as the sun was already looming behind the distant hills. Cecily wasn’t sure if he was wearing something underneath the robe. She had thought about his pale skin bare underneath it, and she shuddered.

She didn’t know who the man was. Before she can say anything, he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up, snatching her arms and taking her with him. Cecily jerked this way and that, but the man’s grip was too tight, and he looked like someone who could outrun her even if she did escape. He had brought her to the field where Cecily and the others saw the trace of Black Blood. Up close, the trees were spookier and thicker. Crossing them would guarantee a splinter or something much worse. He had ripped off a piece from his robe using his mouth, as if it wasn’t torn enough already. He then used it to tie her hands behind one of the trees. Then he left her. He didn’t even say anything.

She didn’t know what time it was. She kept her eyes up ahead, where she was betting would be east. She didn’t sleep, she can’t. She was hoping each second that the sun would rise already, but it seemed to get darker instead. She was trying to use her powers for escape all night. She couldn’t do magic well without her hands. She can’t reach for potions from her bag too, which was lying on the ground, quite far from her. Some of the contents were scattered on the ground. She tried to rub her hands again. No luck.

The black beast growled. If it didn’t make any sound, Cecily would have had no idea it was sleeping not quite far from her. The nightlynx’s eyes were closed. Cecily was getting paranoid by each minute. A single reckless shake and her head suddenly darts to the direction of the monster. If she manages to wake it up, she’d be a hopeless case. She wiggled her hand again, but the cloth didn’t even come close to being loose. It gets really painful.

“Don’t even try to escape, missy.” His voice was even worse than his robe. “Unless you want to be in trouble.”

Cecily she gave him a scowl. “Who are you?”

“Woah-woah,” The man held his hands up as if he was being arrested. Cecily wished he really was. “The introductions always comes first, huh, missy? Let’s not get hasty. You wouldn’t like it if I told you who… or what am I, even.”

“Let me go!” Cecily sounded annoyed and angry. “They’ll come here, my companions. You shouldn’t me-“

“Oh, shouldn’t I?” He said, almost breaking into a grin. “Enchantry, huh?” He said the word while he looked like he was about to spit his saliva out. “You girls know nothing about it.”

Cecily didn’t answer, but she continued to give him the look.

“Really. It should be you who shouldn’t mess with us.” The man continued to say. “See where it gets you.” He looked at Cecily from head to toe, then chuckled so loudly Cecily got even more disturbed. The trees swayed overhead. The birds must’ve been caught off guard, too. This guy is getting into Cecily’s nerves.

“In what way did we exactly mess with you? Your nightlynx attacked us first.” Cecily replied, looking at the giant cat who was still growling as it breathed out.

“Oh easy, missy.” He replied, walking closer towards Cecily. When he was face to face with her, he grinned and leaned close to her. Cecily can feel his breath on her ear. Cecily felt a mixed sensation of warmth and coolness, as if he emitted death and sunshine. She didn’t like it. “You kids try’na get the key.”

He leaned back, enough so he can see Cecily’s eyes widen.

He knows about it. He knows about what we are up to.

“Oh you mustn’t get in our way.” The man said, touching his chest dramatically. “In fact, you shouldn’t have come here. To this forest.”

Cecily just looked at him. She stopped wiggling her hands. This man was creepier than she thought. She remembered the arrow and the dark blood that was stained on it. This guy in front of him, he possesses black blood. He’s a Muddler. For so long, Blaze had been kept off of Muddlers. How did this guy get inside? Or have they always been inside? He even said “our way”. He’s not alone, then. She wanted to think it was him rather than the nightlynx that Amira hit.

“You’ve hurt her, my poor little kitty.” The man went towards the nightlynx and petted its head. It wasn’t little at all. “You made her angry. She doesn’t like arrows.”

“What is in there?” Cecily ignored his sympathy for the beast and turned her head towards the expanse of trees beside her. Its branches curved as they reached for the sky, creating some sort of ceiling. There was nothing but black in the middle and little spots of brown. It formed some kind of cave. Cecily looked at the man again, and then at the nightlynx. She guessed they might be protecting whatever it is beyond the trees. She thought about it, and no matter how hard she tried not to, she feels the key might be in there. The man knew about it and he talked about them getting in their way too. But if it’s already there, why are they protecting it? Why aren’t they using it already? Is it hidden deeper? Or is there some sort of magical force that keeps them from getting a hold of it?

“Oh nothing you should concern about, though I think you’ll find out soon enough.” The man said and looked at Cecily wickedly. “If they tell me to, I’d push you in there. No more curious little girls.” He laughed loudly again. Cecily didn’t like it, and she was afraid the cat might wake up. Her eyes fixed a steady gaze on the feline. “You know you amuse me, little miss. It’s quite late. I should get inside now, I’ll see you in the morning.” He laughed again as he walked towards the dark cave of trees. Cecily waited until she can no longer see him, though somehow she thinks he can still hear his laugh.

She wiggled again, as if she forgotten that it was no use.

She heard another noise. She looked up and saw that some branches were moving, shaking. Cecily grew even more frightened. Just how many monsters are lurking in this deep forest? She’d had enough terrors for one day. Someone or something was definitely moving through the leaves, and it was getting closer. She looked everywhere, feeling more scared than ever. Her hands are tied and she can’t run. If this turns out to be another enemy, she’d be done for sure.

It was closer than she thought. She felt the tree she’d been tied to shake. It wasn’t really a thick tree, but it was tall. By the movement, she can tell that someone, or something, had landed on one of its branches. She was almost panicking. If it comes down, no… She felt something cold on her hands. She didn’t like to think it was trying to touch her. She tried to pinch it, but it felt more familiar than what she thought. It was another hand.

“Cecily, don’t.” It was someone she thankfully knew. She turned her head to her side and she saw, even in the darkness, the figure of someone untying her hands.

“Caleb!” She almost yelled. “Why are you still here?”

“I’ll tell you later. But for now, I think we both know it’s best to make very little noise as possible.” Caleb whispered. Cecily nodded. The knot must’ve been a very hard one. It took longer than Cecily thought, untying her hands. With every passing minute, she imagined the nightlynx would spring up at her.

After a few seconds, which honestly felt like a few minutes, she can finally feel blood rush on her fingers. It felt nice to feel her hands again. Caleb put his finger in front of his mouth. He really didn’t have to. Cecily had no intention of making an awful noise. She was looking at her palms, and when she looked behind her fingers, she saw a pair of dark red eyes staring back at her. The nightlynx was still lying down, but its eyes were already open and looking straight into them. It looked angry or sleepy. It bared its teeth. Caleb and Cecily were afraid to move. It’s as if they’re playing a game. Whoever moves first loses, or in this case gets attacked. But they couldn’t stay that way for too long.

“Now, don’t freak out.” Caleb whispered beside Cecily, still looking at the cat, who was thankfully still not getting up. “It’ll be really weird, but hopefully we can get out of here.”

Cecily wanted to turn her head to look at him and give him a confused look. Get out of here? How? The only possible way would be running. Their speed compared to the giant cat would be nothing.

“Steady, now.” Caleb said. He had to make contact with Cecily. He counted on his head.

One. The nightlynx was walking towards them.

Two. It was now purring.

Three. He grabbed Cecily’s wrist. In that movement, the beast sprang into them. Cecily screamed, turning her head away from its mouth, it’s teeth very eager to sink on their skin. Caleb held on tighter on Cecily’s wrist. His other hand grabbed something from his belt. In that instant, the belly of the beast, literally, was an easy target for his knife. He managed to swing it across and make a slight cut on the monster. It howled in pain and landed on the ground with a painful thud.

Caleb put back the knife on his belt. Cecily saw him do a hand gesture. She was tempted to ask him if why he was snapping his fingers, or if he’d lost his mind, but her attention was easily stolen by the nightlynx now starting to get up. It crept close towards them.

“Celeb…” She was tugging on him now, and he’s still snapping his fingers. The nightlynx raising its paw into Cecily’s arm. “Caleb!” She screamed. In that instant, she witnessed the sharp claws swaying towards her. She’d screamed, and she felt for a moment being scratched, then it was suddenly gone. The claw, the loud growl, and the nightlynx was gone.

*-*-*

Cecily had no idea what happened. It was right there. She can feel it scratch at her skin, then it suddenly vanished. The cat vanished, though the sting was still very existent though. The next thing she knew, Caleb was lying on the ground beside her. She looked up to see other familiar faces looking back at them in confusion and awe. Atticus, who looked surprised the most, spoke first.

“Cecily?” He suddenly noticed her arm, which was bleeding badly. The cut was neither large nor small. Either way, it was nasty.

“Wha? What happened to you?” Regalus said, checking on it. Ronan and Atticus shook Caleb. Before Cecily can answer, Caleb opened his eyes, breathing hard. He sat up and looked at his companions, panting. After a few while, he sighed. “Glad that went well.”

“What exactly did you do?” Cecily turned to him. She was more interested on knowing how she magically got transported somewhere else than fixing her bleeding arm. “Your powers aren’t teleportation right?”

“Twin.” Caleb said, standing up. He noticed the gash on her arm. “You got bitten?”

“No.” Cecily said. “Scratched. But tell me about how I got here first.”

“My twin did that. My double, or whatever. My power. You know about him.”

“Yeah but he does possessions to copy other people. He doesn’t teleport.” Cecily said. The others were quiet. From the looks of their faces, Cecily read they had no idea too how Caleb can do teleportation.

“I spied on you girls.” Caleb explained. “My twin went after you. I was afraid Amira might notice-“

“So that’s why she kept looking behind her.” Cecily noticed. “Continue.”

He was about to speak, but then his body pulsed. Literally. Cecily can see a blurry image of someone trying to move out of him. His other self materialized from him. It was like watching the old cartoons, when the characters get hit by a bus or something and die and then their souls fly away to heaven. But that wasn’t his soul, and it stayed on the ground. He was a perfect copy of Caleb. He is an actual Crux with a form without even having a body.

He did the talking for Caleb. Cecily wasn’t used to it, so she ignored how weird it was watching two of him.

“I followed you until you reached that creepy place. I wanted to scream at you guys when you were checking on that arrow, but I guess you’d be more surprised with me sitting on a branch above you than that Nightlynx.”

“Nightlynx?” Ronan exclaimed. Had Ronan been this jumpy? Cecily never really spent much time with the company of boys, specifically the ones from the Snipes. Specifically Ronan. Cecily, and the others from the Black Hats had known about his attachment, or rather, relationship with Felina, and she doesn’t really approve of how he’d never been serious. “You encountered a nightlynx?”

“Yes.” Cecily answered.

“I was about to jump down, even though I knew I couldn’t take all of you.” Caleb said. “You guys suddenly disappeared. I didn’t know what was going on. I stayed there because I can’t go down. Someone was there coming out from the passage way between that cluster of trees. She was looking for something, perhaps where the Nightlynx has gone to. I waited until she went back inside. Then when I was about to jump, you were back, caught by that hooded guy.”

“You were caught?” Atticus said, looking worriedly at Cecily. She nodded at him. Atticus might have been the closest Cecily had with the members of their group. He bore a surprising resemblance with Ronan, and the two have always been thought of as twins. She remembered at their first day once, at the introduction of names, the whole class had been so surprised to find out they had different last names. After a few while though, she’d began to notice their differences. Atticus is more gentle with his words, and he looked more serious at his school requirements.

“I waited until he was done. He was tying you up. I… I couldn’t do much without my main body somewhere, so I didn’t come down.” Twin Caleb said.

“And when he was gone?” Cecily said. “Why didn’t you?”

“He was gone. But she was looking at you. From the trees.” Twin Caleb said.

“Who?” Cecily questioned.

“The one I saw before. The woman who was looking out to where the nightlynx has gone. Then when he got out again, I heard the conversation.” He looked not only at Cecily at this one, but at everyone. “They knew about the key, and that we’re after it.”

“I know.” Cecily said.

“Wait who exactly are we talking about here?” Regalus said. Regalus is someone who Cecily never really had a chance to talk a lot to, so she doesn’t really know much about him. What she knows though, or maybe everyone in the class knows about it, is how he had his eyes set on for Mallory, and Mallory, for him too. Other than that, he can be very competitive at times. He was one of the few of her classmates who had come from a wealthy family, and fittingly Cecily saw him as the typical cool guy in a group. Cecily doubted they considered one, though.

“The guys who captured her. We don’t know the names, but they’re Muddlers.” Twin said.

They leaned back a little when they heard him say that.

“When he was off to sleep, there I got my chance.” He continued to say.

“You still haven’t explained why I’m here.” Cecily said.

“I’m getting to that part.” Twin Caleb said. “I can get away from my main body from a great distance, as what I just did. And I can go back to him instantly if I wanted to.”

Original Caleb then spoke. “We’re like magnets, the way they come back to each other. We’re one in the same after all, he’s just my Crux.”

Twin Caleb nodded. “Wherever the main is, I can get there in an instant. If he went west and I went east, I can get to where he is without running, so it’s not actually teleporting. Teleporting can get you anywhere you want. I can only get to where the main is. It’s more like an act of recall, instead of teleport.” He paused. “I can bring somebody with me. Only one, though. I tried it with Chiara. It’s hard stuff, but I’m glad I pulled it off.”

Cecily nodded, as well as the others. She didn’t know an Index can be this complicated. It made her think about hers. So far, the only thing she’d been able to do on her powers is levitation, and only at a given height, too. She’d learned it was fire-proof when Regalus striked on it, so it’s durable, at least. It has been good at protecting certain objects, too. She found it really hard to control two bubbles as once, though. Once she’s inside, and she tries to trap others, the old one pops after a few seconds.

“We have to get that nasty cut bandaged.” Atticus said, sitting down next to Cecily. He pulled something white from his belt. “It’s not only weapons we should bring.” He said and cleaned her wound. Then he bandaged it, nice and smooth.

“Oh no.” Cecily said. “I left my pouch there.”

“Your hat, too.” Atticus said. She touched her head and she felt her head, instead of some kind of headwear. She frowned.

“Where are we, anyway?” She said instead.

“Close to Mt. Ophis.” Regalus said. They all looked ahead, witnessing a strange sight. A river has turned to ice and in the middle was a very large fish, stuck and not moving.

*-*-*

“I don’t know who I’d be more afraid with, this fish or whoever did this.” Ronan said, peeking at the monster. It looked weird. Its fins were of different colors, as if it was spray-painted with a rainbow. Its scales were kind of yellowy and brown with little black spots all over. It has whiskers, like a catfish, but longer. Its eyes were open. He looked like he was begging for mercy but died in the middle of it, if that was possible for a fish. Its teeth were nasty sharp and jutting out from anywhere in its mouth. They can’t be happier to see it stuck and unable to attack them.

“Colette.” Regalus guessed. “They must’ve come here. She’s the only one who can freeze this water.”

“Let us thank her then.” Atticus said. “We couldn’t cross this wide river if she didn’t freeze it over, could we?” He stepped on the ice, careful not to do anything that might make it break. The others followed behind. It was a little difficult, since their only source of light was from the moon above, beaming at them proudly. It felt as though they were ice skating. It was slippery and every step they took they thought they might fall through. They took their time.

Cecily could feel a little sting on her hand now where the Nightlynx had scratched her. It wasn’t a good thing. Black Blood is like poison. It can scatter throughout the body. She remembered her pouch again, lying on the grass somewhere in the forest in the possession of whoever those bad guys are. There was supposed to be a potion there that can help in preventing Black Blood to seep through their veins. She felt angry and stupid at the same time, she almost stomped on the ground. She noticed Atticus was watching her with a shake of his head. If she continued to let her rage on, they might be on the water now, swimming for their life. Even though that fish has not been moving, she was afraid it might regain its life if it gets submerged in the water again. She focused instead on walking. They were almost on the other side. That is a good thought, at least. The thing about the Black Blood creeps up on her, though. If she wouldn’t get help soon, it’d be dangerous. She couldn’t control her powers. She’d go crazy. She might even die. They all knew the worst thing to die would be to have black blood the main perpetrator. It stops the regeneration of the Crux, and that would sever its cycle.

“Do you guys have any way of communicating to the others?” Cecily said, her face worried.

“Here.” Ronan tossed a black object to her. It was a walkie talkie.

“Who’s on the other side?” Cecily asked.

“Tate.” Ronan answered.

“Where is he now?” Cecily asked again. They were now safely on solid ground, which is reassuring. She looked back on the fish, still unmoving on the ice.

“Somewhere in Citadel, I guess.” Ronan answered.

She pushed buttons on the device, wondering if it was on. She heard a static, and that was her cue. She spoke into the machine, her voice shrill and demanding.

“Hello?” She said. “Tate, Tate? Are you there?”

There was no reply. Perhaps he was sleeping. Cecily hoped not. Fortunately, someone talked on the other side. It didn’t sound like Tate though.

“Who is this?” Remy said. “Ronan? Why do you sound like a girl?”

“It’s me, Remy.” Cecily answered. “Cecily. I came across your team. Look, where are you right now?” Cecily asked.

“At Wadsworth, on the way to Mt. Ophis.” Remy answered. Cecily can hear other voices on the background too. It was faint, but Cecily was certain there was even a girl. She wondered why Remy was in Wadsworth. What was he doing there anyway?

“Hey. Look. Please, please, a favor.” Cecily pleaded. “You have someone with you there, right? Please… could you go to my place instead? Regalus and the others are closing to the valley now, so you don’t have to worry. But please, could you go to Black Hat Hut and tell them to come here, too? I need some serious potion.”

“Woah woah, what happened?” Remy said, his voice was curious.

“Something happened, I’ll explain later. But please go to Jessamine, or Willow, or anyone there. Tell them to bring a Balking Potion and a Cleansing Potion too. Please tell me if Amira and Auriel got back safely too.”

“Alright, alright.” Remy replied. “But… I need to tell Ronan and the others something.”

“Speak it out.” Ronan said. “We can hear you.”

It took a while before Remy can answer. They can even hear him something swallow a lump.

“Tate… Tate’s in trouble. He might be caught.”

*-*-*

Cecily and her companions were now resting on a shade. They decided to stop for a while. Cecily asked them to wait for Remy, anyway. They didn’t want to decline, her hand looked bad, even with the cloth covering the wound. It was morning now, Cecily realized she didn’t have the time to sleep. She didn’t feel sleepy, either. She looked at Caleb, who was leaning back into a tree, plucking leaves from the tall grass growing near him. Caleb hadn’t slept too, or at least his twin didn’t.

“So it’s going to be real boring if we just sit and stare around here.” Regalus said. He turned to Caleb. “Tell us all about that spot in the forest.”

Caleb looked at Cecily before answering. “I guess it’s some sort of a hideout for those Black Bloods.”

Cecily shook her head. “I think it’s more than that. I… I think the key is somewhere in there.”

“The key? The same key?” Atticus said. “Is it still a long way inside that tree cave? Why are they protecting that place? I mean if the key is in there, and they haven’t left yet, then they haven’t got a hold if It yet, have they? Perhaps they haven’t even found it yet.”

“That’s what I thought so too.” Cecily said. “The guy who tied me, he said something about us getting in their way.” Cecily looked down, remembering his awful robe and beard and his awful breath against her ear.

“What else?” Regalus asked.

“He said something about using me too… I don’t know… Someone orders him.” Cecily answered.

“Use you?” Ronan was perplexed. “How?”

“That… we don’t know.” Caleb answered. The memories of his twin come into him as soon as he goes back inside him. “But my guess is that there is a relation for that key.”

They all went quiet and serious. They still hadn’t eaten anything since last night. But they weren’t worrying about that. They worried about something far worse. They have delved into something perilous. They noticed someone walking up towards them. Three people. They decided to hide behind trees, peeping on the side to see if they are trouble. As they got closer, they realized it was just Colette and Quincy and Luke. They came out of their hiding spots. Colette almost jumped when they were suddenly in front of them. Luke looked like he was about to turn into something awfully big. Quincy stepped back a little.

“It’s just us.” Cecily spoke first.

“Cecily!” Colette said, then her face contorted into confusion. “Cecily? Why are you with these guys?” She eyed the boys.

“Long story.” Cecily said. “How about you?”

“It’s protected.” Quincy answered. “No one can get in.”

“What?” Caleb said.

“Mt. Ophis.” Luke answered Caleb’s question. “We just came from there.”

The Snipe boys looked at each other. They all liked they didn’t believe Quincy one bit, or perhaps they just want to check it out for themselves. It would be crucial information, after all. They might find out something Quincy and the others didn’t. Perhaps they didn’t look properly. They might even be lying about the protection. What if they found something there and they are just leading them back so no one else can see it. Cecily was almost tempted to go along with them, but her hand was still looking bad. Regalus and the others began to move.

“We won’t stop you.” Colette said. “But I tell you, you won’t get much.”

“You’d be hurt if you’re now careful. Don’t move too hastily.” Luke added. They didn’t know what they were talking about. It sounded like a warning, but they have to find out.

“Are you guys leaving me here?” Cecily said.

“We’ll be right back.” Ronan said.

“Promise.” Atticus added. “Before Remy can get here.” Ronan handed the walkie talkie to Cecily. It looked like an object of trust, an exchange. If they leave her there, she’d keep the walkie talkie for herself.

“Remy and the others would be here too?” Quincy said. “There isn’t really much to fuss about in there.”

“We’ll see it for ourselves.” Regalus said.

“You did see that fish in the frozen river right?” Colette said. The boys thought she was gonna say something sinister. They knew she did it. They were thinking she was going to say there is something far worse than that monster in the mountain. Then she smiled. “Good thing, huh? Quincy is a good strategist.”

16: XIII

XIII

After getting out of the maze, Conrad was pretty sure nothing else would pop in and interrupt their mission which supposedly have started last night. Aria’s repassing was still hard to take into, and the experience of being pulled into a maze that took them the entire night to escape from was not something he expected. As the first rays of morning glinted on the open field, it had took them perhaps more than five minutes to finally decide to go back in their school. They were afraid they wouldn’t get out again for another day, but good enough, the magic has worn off. They all packed themselves in the cafeteria, which was lonely and unappetizing. They went into the kitchen and found some good enough pasta and cooked up a nice, simple breakfast, since all the navigating had drawn in their hunger. The fridge was surprisingly, still plugged in, and so they luckily had some cartons of milk for each one.

Then a voice came out on the device Remy had kept tightly in his pocket. The person on the other side sounded very eager and very familiar. Conrad cracked a smile at Remy’s comment about Ronan’s voice sounding like a girl. He knew the voice immediately though, and the first thing that came to his mind was how Cecily got a hold of the other end of the walkie talkie. Is she with the snipes? Conrad continued to chew as he listened to the girl speak. Her voice was loud enough that Remy didn’t have to repeat it out again for everyone else to know. Here’s the thing, Conrad didn’t like the fact that there was still danger on the other side of who knows where. Cecily had been hurt bad and she needs a cleansing potion or whatever. She asks them to bring a Black Hat on their way to Mt. Ophis. Sounds pretty simple, except they had to take on the longer route before they can arrive at the mountain. The Hut is located not very far from the forest, and the forest and Mt. Ophis are distanced like two ends. Wadsworth lies somewhere in the center. Not that easy and not that short.

So it’s a detour, then. After the call, they’d hurried on their breakfasts and sipped on their milks in one gulp. They had a brief discussion to see if someone wants to stay or go back to the village. Conrad didn’t like to enter, so he waited until the others agreed that only he, Dash, Remy, Felix, and Mallory would go, the same five people who first notice there was no toilet in their school. Isadora came too, per Bree’s request. Back at the café, Bree mentioned something about Isadora and Mallory working together for the Trigger Marks. If he puts his thought into it, it does make sense. Their powers are kind of related after all. Mallory can use her voice to have anything she wants and Isadora can mute or unmute any possible sound. Basically, Isadora can be immune to Mallory’s power. What Conrad didn’t understand was how Quincy fit in the picture. It was the three of them, supposed to be, as what Aria had told Bree.

Now, they are on their way East, on their way to whoever is in the hut. They were walking and Conrad wondered how the sun could be so hot in the morning. He also remembered the last time they went into the Black Hats. It was for negotiation, whic didn’t work out well. If it did, they’d have one less group to worry about. Since then, Conrad thinks The Hats should not be messed with. He had seen the boiling liquids on their pots and the complicated symbols on their books. Who knows what those means? He might already grow hair all over his body before he’d be done thinking of all the possibilities. He hoped they haven’t thought of doing anything like that, though.

They were silent on their way. Nobody spoke. In fact, nobody knew what to talk about. Cecily’s voice had been panicky, as what they’ve heard through the speakers. They had no clue on what exactly happened, though. The girl didn’t make it quite clear. And as the sun continuesd to rise and they continued to walk, it makes sense how they had more than enough things to think about to even pick which one would be good to start a conversation.

They reached the hut without even noticing it. The area was quiet, which made Conrad unsure whether that’s a bad thing or not. Normally, there would be smoke puffing out from the top of their ceiling. The white clouds of gas can clearly be seen all the way from the village. It usually happens during mornings or evenings, when they cook their food, or when they make potions. For now, they guessed those activities have been skipped. They all stood in front of the door, which was closed and still as everything else around them.

“Hello?” Dash spoke, knocking his hands on the wooden door.

They waited and there was no answer. They all looked at each other before hearing something. It sounded like someone running on wooden floors, getting louder and louder until they heard a click. The door opened and they all saw a bespectacled girl. Her eyes were watering, Conrad noticed from behind the glasses. They didn’t know why Jessamine looked like that. She may have been disappointed to open the door just to find out that the people waiting outside weren’t her companions. She sniffed. Nobody moved. They must’ve all thought it was rude to come into somebody else’s house without being invited first. Conrad didn’t think that would happen, so he spoke instead.

“Hi, Jessamine. Are you alone?”

She didn’t answer, and she continued to look sad. Conrad remembers the times he’d seen Jessamine sad. She’ always been somewhat pessimistic, a trait Conrad didn’t really hate but didn’t particularly like either. What vexes him is how Jessamine shouldn’t be the type who thinks of all negative thoughts. She had been good at her studies, never ranked lower than third in their class activities. She’d always overthink every after exam, and she’d either spend the duration being wuiet and worrying how bad her exam scores would be. And when the results finally come, it is a somewhat annoying part to know that theirs were even lower compared to hers. Other than that, she had been a cheerful person. She was an easy target for their bully-a-classmate-but-not-the-serious-bullying-type sessions, too. She is a good person and a good friend, overall. She had looked behind her back as she adjusted her glasses, and the others were persuaded to look too, but then she noticed this and answered instead. “Something’s… happened.” She spoke so quietly, Conrad had to lean in to hear clearly. “Look.”

She ushered them inside. The living room, or as Conrad thinks it was the living room, was bare and surprisingly had a bigger space than he’d expected. Conrad didn’t ask, but he was thinking the others might be out. They’d always gather around once they’d had visitors, but the doors on their rooms stayed locked and quiet. Felix and Remy decided to roam around the circular room.

“Where are the others?” Mallory spoke, as if she was using her powers.

“Out.” Jessamine said. She sounded more miserable than ever. “They left since last night, and they still haven’t come back yet.”

“Are you alone here, then?” Isadora asked.

Jessamine shook her head. “Sienna.”

“Where is she?” Dash said, poking his head into what must’ve been their library… or not. Conrad can see the stacks of shelves lined up with old, dusted books. But there were transparent bottles too. He noticed Jessamine didn’t answer, so he looked at her instead. She led them into one of the doors. They followed her and found Sienna sleeping soundly on her bed.

“She’s still asleep?” Dash said in awe. But Jessamine wasn’t smiling.

“No.”

“What do you mean?” Mallory said, going inside the room. Looking at Sienna, Conrad felt a sudden feeling of dread. The same kind of thing he felt the moment Aria had stopped breathing when he carried her on his back. He looked at her face closely and tried not to focus his attention on how still she was. He sets his eyes on Jessamine and how he realized he’d never seen Jessamine that kind of sad before. Something seemed to fit into place, but Conrad tried to ignore it. Mallory checked on Sienna and noticed that she wasn’t breathing. She checked on her pulse. The look of surprise and fright on her face indicated there wasn’t any. She stood frozen there, and Conrad didn’t blame her. How could they be able to accept the fact that someone else lost their life as a Index Folk again?

“I didn’t know how or… wha- what happened. She didn’t scream… or anything last night. When morning came, I called her. She didn’t answer. Than when I came to her room and… and that.”

Conrad noticed there were bits of fur on her bed. Dash picks up the traces and held it between his fingers before Conrad can even do so. The boy looked at Mallory, who seemed to have noticed it too and shrugged her shoulders. Did Sienna ever own a cat? Conrad thought about it. He looked around the room. Nothing else looked unusual. The clothes Sienna was wearing wasn’t damaged. It’s like she just slept into her death. It was ironic and hurtful at the same time, since she was always good at putting people to sleep. That was her powers. A cup lay on the desk beside her bad. Isadora came in and was the first to examine it. The curly-haired girl picked the glass up, sniffing it. There seemed to be nothing wrong with it, but it helps to be cautious. Isadora must’ve been thinking about how Aria may have died because of poison, too.

“Do you have any pets?” Mallory said, brushing the fur off from Sienna’s bed.

“No, we don’t. But there is a cat that frequents here, yes. It came into Sienna’s room last night. She slept with it.” Jessamine said. “I… tried using my powers. I can look at a recent event, yes, by returning time. I wish I could change it but… it isn’t possible. It didn’t help, I didn’t see who tried to kill her. There wasn’t any attack, so I don’t really know what happened and why she’s lying there now.”

“This is depressing. Really really depressing.” Isadora said. She sat on the bed and looked at Jessamine. “This isn’t really a good thing to say right now but…” She looked at her companions before turning back to Jessamine. “We were just from an Uplifting.”

Jessamine’s eyes went wide. For a moment she looked like she was going to die herself, except she took in a mouthful of air. “Wh-who?”

“Aria.” Dash answered. The room wasn’t really quite big, but Conrad had learned that size didn’t really matter match inside the hut. “She repassed of poison.”

It’s not wrong to say die or died when they’re referring to a fallen folk, but repassed is a more accurate term. That’s because they don’t really die at all. They just become normal human beings with a new memory. Dying makes it sound worse. A whole lot worse. They say repass instead, because they had passed their life as a Chosen into an Index Folk before, and they pass back once again as a Folk into a normal human when they fall.

At the sound of poison, Jessamine quickly turned her gaze into the cup on the desk, but Isadora was shaking her head.

On the corner of the room, Felix groaned. “There’s so much happening at once. Aria, Tate, now Sienna too? And there’s this thing about Cecily, too.”

“Tate? Cecily? What happened to them?” Jessamine asked.

“Well, Tate might have been caught. We don’t know where he is now, so that’s a something we’re still worrying about.” Remy answered. “Then Cecily… well she’s the reason why we came here. She said to bring someone with us. We’re supposed to be on our way to Mt. Ophis. She said to take a Baking and a Purifying Potion too.”

“She must’ve been bitten. And it’s Balking, not Baking.” Jessamine said, looking away from Remy, not being able to take it funny. She sounded more like she was talking to herself.

“But, we can’t just leave-“

At that moment, someone burst in through the door. They all jumped from their positions and looked at the doorway. It was the rest of the Black Hats, except Cecily, of course. They looked like they had a bad night. Their clothes didn’t look too clean and the bags on their eyes mirrored Conrad’s and the other’s expressions. So they weren’t the only ones who had a restless night, after all. Despite that, they were bursting with energy of surprise to see more than three people on their lair.

“What are you all doing here?” Felina questioned. She had looked at each one of them carefully, as if recalling what their names are. Felina had always been a rather cautious girl, the Conrad must admit she falls way back when it comes to romantic relationships, specifically to Ronan’s. She was a tough girl and she wasn’t afraid to speak her mind out. Conrad doesn’t really feel her presence much though, since she’d always stay on her seat, without turning her heads in all sorts of direction. The way she looks carefully at them made Conrad noticed how she must be wondering why they were all inside Sienna’s room, while the owner herself was still sleeping on her bed. It didn’t take much before she busted in and joined them surround the lifeless girl.

Conrad and the others explained everything to Amira, Felina, Willow, and Auriel, who though were listening very intently, kept butting in from time to time. Too much news has been told to them. The fact that Sienna and Aria are no longer with them were the worst. The others were bad on a different level, the kind where it makes you worry which problem you should worry about first. It wasn’t a unique feeling for them, since they’d had homeworks. But this is was more serious and way more important than just schoolwork.

Felina grabbed the walkie talkie from Felix. She turned it on and put it close to her mouth.

“Hello? Hello?” She spoke. The reply came in almost immediately. Felina was surprised that it was Cecily who spoke on the other side.

“Felina?”

“Amira!” Felina said. “Listen, something’s happened. Were you bitten?”

“Thankfully, not.” Cecily answered. “A scratch. Atticus fixed it for me, but I still need to wash it with the potion. There might be poison, I can’t be too relaxed.”

“Who’s with you there?” Felina said.

“Delia and Quincy and Luke.” Cecily answered.

Felina’s eyebrows creased. Everyone’s eyebrows creased. Their belief was that Cecily was with the snipes, but how is she with Delia and gang now? Conrad prepares himself for whatever surprise from now on. It seems like every time they talk to someone, a shocker comes out.

“Could you- I mean I don’t think anyone can come there.”

“If only Tate was here.” Felix said. “He can run and carry Cecily back here in less than a minute.”

Felina and everyone hoped so too.

The reply took a while. When Cecily answered, she sounded quite unsure. “Luke is here. He- he can help.”

Felina wondered how.

“But I’m waiting for Att and the others.”

“No. We’ll tell them about it, don’t worry.” It was Delia, Conrad ssumed.

“What happened, Felina?” Cecily sounded worried.

“Sienna. We’ll perform an uplifting.”

There was a gasp on the other side. And not only one.

*-*-*

After a few minutes, Cecily arrived, riding on a horse. She went down onto the ground before Luke transformed himself back into his original self. He arched his back, feeling the sensation of joints snapping into place. They both went inside the hut. When Willow saw them, she quickly led Cecily into the potions room. Cecily had never looked this bad before. Back at school, they had a chant they mass agreed upon. It went something like: Even if Cecily is sleeping, she’s still beautiful. The part where they tell her she’s beautiful turns into a somewhat teasing tone. It changes everytime: Even if Cecily frowns, or Even if Cecily gets thrown in the trash, or simple just Cecily?, the catchphrase She’s still beautiful always follows. Now, everybody considered it isn’t the right time. Cecily was smart, Conrad can tell. He might even admit he’d had a slight, yeah slight fondness to the girl. But she’s too, how do you say this… believing at times. She’d sing a song and then they’d laugh. They’d tell her to sing again (she’s bad at singing), and she’d do it. And they’d laugh again. Those are few of the things they all done as their pastimes. She doesn’t see it as offending though.

Sienna was now in the middle of the circular room. They carried her there. She lied very still, which would’ve been better is she didn’t. It seemed alien watching how Luke looks at Sienna right now. They had always fought when they were still at school. She always looked like she was about to hurl at him, despite her size. Now, looking at his eyes, Conrad couldn’t feel a sense of arrogance on it, just sadness. Conrad talked about Aria’s uplifting too, a topic they doesn’t want to return back to everytime.

“Aria came here.” Jessamine said. “Sienna told me. She gave Sienna a warning. Since then, Sienna had been afraid to come out. She never leaves without someone accompanying her.”

“She had been doing that.” Isadora said. “Bree told us. Though we didn’t know about it. She went into Cresilda’s too.”

“She did?” Luke said, wondering how he didn’t know about it when he lived in that mansion.

“She met up with Quincy.” Dash said. “He didn’t tell you guys about it?”

Luke shook his head. “He didn’t.”

Willow and Cecily went out of the potions room. Cecily looked better than when she first came in. She was cleaner, for some reason. Perhaps that’s what the purifying potion was. Her hand hasn’t healed yet. The girls hadn’t completely perfected a healing potion or a healing spell, but they said they’re working on it.

“I’ll get her memory now.” Dash spoke.

They nodded and watch Dash disappear into his shadow. They waited.

*-*-*

They all stood in a circle, Sienna lying in the middle. Conrad and the gang didn’t like the feeling of having to attend two Uplifting ceremonies in a very short span of time. It was Jessamine who spoke the lines.

The time has come for

this girl to end

Her life as a protector

and relive her life as a human

May your Crux watch over us,

and remain with us till the end.

And the memories you’ll forget

will be remembered by your friends

Grant this girl, Sienna Drummond,

Who was given the power

possessed by the Slumber

now uplifts and no longer takes over.

Then they all say in chorus:

A long and happy life

Devoid of all darkness.

The wonderful dome of colors were surrounding them. For some reason, Conrad feels like it’s an entirely different world once they’re inside. The noise from outside is blocked out, it doesn’t even feel like there’s an outside anymore. It’s like the world has caved in to a single spot where mourning is the initial state of emotion. He did feel cold air surround him, though. Sienna’s chest bulged and then recoiled back one last time, like Aria did, letting her Crux, her memories, and her life as a Index Folk float away from her.

Then something weird happened. The air around became thick to take in. It doesn’t smell weird; it smelled nothing at all. But everytime time Conrad breathes in, he can feel his chest tighten. He recalled the time when Remy accidentally sprayed pepper spray in their class. The way they were all coughing up and the tears welling up their eyes, it’s not entirely different from now. Conrad saw Jessamine, who was reaching the vial out for Sienna.

No, this can’t be.

Her body was starting to lose. They can’t let this happen. They can’t let Sienna have a life like this. There’ll be nothing to guide her in the normal world. She’ll be medicated as someone who lost their memory. She’d be called as someone who suffered amnesia. She’d have a lost time, having no idea where she’d been or what she’d been doing during the last five years. They fought their eyes from closing down. But their eyelids were getting heavy. They forced it open for at least two seconds, but then they eventually gave in. Conrad tried his hardest to stay awake, but it seemed like he had no control over his body. The nest time their eyes have opened, Sienna’s body has fully vanished, and the vial is still in Jessamine’s hand.

*picture of Conrad Massenburg here*

17: XIV

XIV

It’s been pretty silent in the mansion since Quincy, Colette, and Luke left. There’s nothing to do much after all. Though the place was huge, Delia can do no more than sit and wander around trying to get herself lost. Signals are rotten in blaze, so a TV or a radio wouldn’t do much. They have their phones, but they mostly use it for other purposes like playing music. They’ve only stayed in this place for a year and given even that much time, she must admit she still hasn’t been to all of its parts. Usually she just goes into her room, eat with the others in the kitchen, or tell stories with them in whichever comfortable place in the house, usually the living room. But now, only three of them are there and there wasn’t much to talk to.

Her room was big and painted with a dirty shade of white. She’d much prefer it if there were more colors in her room, but the people who built this must’ve been a simpleton. The room was almost bare, except for some pictures she put up. They weren’t really bright pictures as well, just a bunch of photos of her and her classmates. She must say, it makes the room a little bit happier. The only thing that seemed to glow was her bed. She made sure to pick a colorful bed sheet, one that diverts a visitor’s attention into it. It’s bright orange with prints of little flowers all over. It looked too cheerful, and Delia wasn’t. On the tables placed neatly on her room, objects of different shapes and sizes were placed atop. There were hourglasses, flasks that looked like chemical equipments except that they were filled with fine brown grains, pendulums with pointed tips that draws images on the sand, and a few other things unrelated to her powers.

She looked at her Sand Plate, a pedestal with a wide basin filled with nothing but sand. Lately, she didn’t have the enthusiasm to check on it. The sand twists and moves in odd ways and they change instantly, as if the grains were as confused as them. She looked on the object beside it. A rack of glass tubes, like a test tube but longer, placed horizontally on top of each other. There were six of them, representing each body that stayed in the mansion. These sands are special and they have a different color. But despite that, it doesn’t do much but glow. Each one of them had a different color, for easier identification. She noticed something odd though because one of them isn’t bright. It was the third one from the top, one that used to glow bright green, like a poisonous serum. Right now, it’s as pale as the walls in her room. It was Lucian’s glass, and it made Delia panic. When the sand stops glowing, it can only mean two things: Either the person it represented is unconscious, or, a worse possibility, they have repassed. The first option is certainly better, even if it’s not great on its own stand at all. An awful thing compared death becomes a whole lot better, even if its awfulness doesn’t falter one bit, Delia believes.

She rushed outside where Geneva and Chiara were sitting on the sofa, talking about who knows who. Jusding from their faces, which were happy and excited, Delia can conclude as much that they’re talking about something unrelated to their situations. Upon seeing Delia’s face though, they both frowned. She grabbed the thing that didn’t look much like a phone, but they use it for purposes a phone should have even so. When they came here, they found two of it lying on the bench. They found out eventually that it generated a long distance conversation, and it was much convenient because it didsn’t need batteries to be powered. In fact, it doesn’t seem to go out. Whoever made it was a genius. But who?

It was another mystery Delia wanted to be answered. All the residents didn’t really know who built the mansion. Maybe it was Cresilda, because the place was called Cresilda’s Mansion, whoever that woman is. They only knew about this place because of Colette’s grandmother. Colette’s grandmother was once a index folk like them, an Arrow holder, active in the previous generation. Here’s how it works: A generation ends when more than half of the folks becomes incapable of handling their powers. In other words, become too sick or too old. If it ends, their Cruces leave their body and they become normal human beings, though their memories of being Keepers are still intact. They return to Citadel to continue the life they should have had, though even with their normal bodies, they are given the priorities to still visit Blaze if they wanted to. When Colette got her letter informing her that she was one of the Chosen, her grandmother told her about Cresilda’s. She says it’s huge and it’s better than the village. It was better than living alone. With that, they came to the place first before others can claim it. Even so, this whole building is still a mystery.

She talks into it and she can hear Colette’s voice on the other side clearly.

“Is Luke with you?” Delia went straight into the point.

“No. He went with Cecily to the Black Hats. Why?”

“Cecily? Why are you with Cecily? And why is he going into their place?”

“Luke took her there… as a horse. Her hand was hurt. They said it was scratched by a Nightlynx. They went to clean the wound with some sort of potion the hats are working on.”

“Nightlynx? How about you two, where are you?”

“On our way back to the mansion. Why? What’s happened?”

“Luke’s glass. It’s not glowing. You guys should check him out.”

*-*-*

Delia told Geneva and Chiara about the glass. They were good listeners, so she didn’t have to worry about being asked by so many questions while she explained. She told them about Cecily too, which unlike the glass, brought up a question or two. They wondered why Cecily was with them in the first place anyway. They concluded they must’ve met with her somewhere along the way. What really shook them up was about the Nightlynx. Having a Nightlynx means a black blood is lurking among them. They suddenly became wary about their surroundings; as if a giant black cat would suddenly spring on them if they weren’t careful. Something else bothers Delia more than that, and that is why she always looked so confused and worried that she didn’t like talking too much. It started yesterday late afternoon when her Sand Plate started to act all crazy. The sand was shaking and some of it was spilling on the ground. The surface wasn’t flat. It looked similar as when you drag a stick on the sand on the beach and draw nasty squiggles on it. Looking at it, Delia guessed someone has repassed. The question was who. She didn’t like to think about it. The Sand Plate wasn’t really good at pinpointing people. She panicked for a while, calling on Colette and the others. She was relieved to find out that the three of them were fine. Then she got worried again because it can be anyone from the class. Later that night, the same thing happened to the sand plate again. It was a different set of scribbles on the surface, but still as strange. It made her anxious all over again. That’s why she was so jumpy when she found out Luke’s glass wasn’t glowing.

Delia’s head wasn’t very focused at that time, so she didn’t think much about figuring out the lines. She drew it, though. She wasn’t really good at sketching, but it was just squiggles, so she managed. Now, sitting on the couch, she told the other two about it as well. She grabbed the sketches from her room, which she pinned on the wall. She showed it to Geneva and Chiara, whose foreheads wrinkled upon seeing it.

The first sketch was wavy. The lines went this way and that in smooth curves. It looked more like a series of letter Cs arranged in an unknown pattern. It curved inside and out and through other lines, creating some closed spaces on the image. The second one was less detailed. Some dots and lumpy circles, as if a kindergartner were asked to draw a cloud. It was hard to figure, but it was less messy compared to the first one.

“There’s something about this first sketch.” Chiara said, drawing her hands on the paper, tracing the curves that were drawn in it, as if it would help her read and understand it. Geneva nodded, but she just stared at it. Geneva and Chiara had always been together, even before they were admitted as students in Wadsworth. Delia can’t really see them as similar though, so the term “birds with the same whatnot” didn’t apply on them. Chiara was a composed and calm girl who liked to stay quiet and think about many things without speaking it out. She had that pretty face and attitude which creates respect and kindness to anyone she comes across. Geneva is much tougher, in a way, and there’s a sense in the way she talked which made Delia think she was dangerous. She had been frank in most situations and she’s only ever close with a few people in the class. The two of them didn’t really like to engage on most of their past time activities, which Delia considered since she rarely joined her classmates’ shenanigan ideas as well.

“Gaps and spaces.” Delia said. “Like there’s some specific shape to be drawn but the pen used to draw it is sloppy.”

Chiara nodded. Something about how closed and open the curves are drawn, and their position, placed not too close yet not too far from each other, and rather thin than large. It was all too familiar. It seems like they all even knew it before they got into Wadsworth. She grabbed a pencil from the table. It surprised them how abundant the supplies in that mansion was, despite the fact that the first time they came there, no one greeted them with a big welcome. Not like they expected too, anyway.

Geneva copied the image into a new, clean sheet of paper. She wasn’t very good at drawing too, but that’s not the point. When she was done, she held it out from her eyes then held it closer to her face again, back and forth. She then connected the curves together, the ends of one C to another. She wasn’t sure if that was right, but she extended one curve to the end to of the closest C. It felt ridiculous as she looked at the prints the pencil left behind. When she was finally done, the image looked weirder, but more compact. What’s good though, is that now they can all see that familiar pattern. It didn’t exactly form into one, but the image was understandable, at least.

“A G-Clef.” Chiara said. There was silence as they all thought how that would mean anything right now. But Geneva was quick.

“Aria.” She was certain. “The Song Sorter. It’s her.”

*-*-*

They all went into their rooms after that. They didn’t figure out much from the second sketch. Delia lied on her bed, wondering how strange things have become. One second they were playing race with one another, the next they were getting Repassing Messages. It’s all too fast. There’s that involvement of a Muddler too. She doesn’t know much about Nightlynxes. It was tackled once by Mr. Cavanaugh on Creature Identification class. She didn’t like that class. She didn’t like thinking about the lessons being taught in there. She knew one thing about nightlynxes, though. It’s that they have Tamers, which sort of acts like a master for them. Those Tamers have Black Blood. That alone makes them dangerous.

Black Blood was the very Crux of evil. It runs in them, the bad ones, specifically talking, the Muddlers that had appeared before but gained popularity on Sir Azarias’ generation. They were a league of folks who got too caught up in themselves. That’s how people usually turn evil. They let their own self be their enemies. They lose, and by then they have a big determination of inflicting the same demise for others. Greed and envy and things of the like rise when one lets his guard down, and they stick on us. Once they do, they hardly get off. Some are even attached till death.

Black Blood is not just evil, it’s dangerous. If a pure Keeper is inflicted with it, it can spread on the body. They take control on the actions, like how a kid manipulates a remote controlled car. Also, like a kid, it’s reckless. What’s worse is that if a repassing is caused by the blood, the Crux dies itself. The Fallen. It’s what they’re called. They are the Cruces which are unable to regenerate. Therefore they stay in Blaze, disoriented and messed up. They have lost their form, making them look more like irregular shapes, given they don’t even exactly have one. They also emit some kind of dark smoke, though they are rarely seen.

Delia made her way into the library. It was huge and was located at the center of the mansion. Shelves filled with old books of all kinds slept in that one room. Poetry books, story books, biography books, encyclopedias, dictionaries, science books, all kinds of books there is. It was often Quincy and Chiara who comes there, so Delia is always amazed when she sees the magnitude it possesses. The room fills with the smell of old paper. Delia wonders about whoever owned this mansion again, or why they left their things there. Perhaps they knew someone might be looking after that house after they left. Delia gave a silent thank you inside her head to whoever that person is.

She headed into the far shelf, where books about the bad stuff are kept. She gave another silent thank you, this time for Chiara, for telling her all about which books were kept where. She gave a thank you to herself too because she remembered about all of it. She pulled out one book with a rather different spine engraved with a pattern. It was quite thick, but surprisingly it wasn’t that heavy. Delia headed over to one of the tables, where a lamp was ready for use. She was going to look up for Nightlynx or Black Blood, but there was no table of contents. It irritated her, but she kept reading anyway.

The good thing about the book is that there are a lot of illustrations, so she doesn’t have to worry about being bombarded with multiple difficult words at once. She flipped to a random page on the book, which explained something about Forticious Forest. She didn’t have even a spark of interest about that awful mass of trees, so she flipped again. This time, she found two pages filled whole with an illustration. There were no words, just a full page black and white picture of what looked like a round ball. On the left page, she figured, was Earth, and there was a thin circle drawn around it, making it look like the planet has magically grown a ring. There were figures drawn on the circle, placed in various intervals. They all surrounded the planet as if they were questioning it for a crime scene. They were signs, familiar signs one can see on horoscope readings. However, something about it felt wrong. On the right side of the page, the signs were shown again, larger and arranged in columns. She headed on her own symbol first, which is Capricorn. She looked at it intently. It seemed right, but at the same time, it seemed wrong too. She tried to recall the symbol next to the word “Capricorn” whenever she tried to read them on newspapers while she was still living in Citadel. She almost memorized the symbol, because it’s what she looked for first whenever she wanted to know her supposed to be future. Apparently, that was wrong, as they really are. It didn’t tell her she’d be spending her life in a magical island anywhere. She stared at it for about a minute until it finally hit her. The signs were inverted vertically, so it was like a mirror image of the original symbol.

So these are the signs for the Black Zodiac. She thought.

The creation of the Black Zodiac must have been the worst time in history. It was the main act in The Day of The Dozen. It killed Sir Azarias and a great number of Keepers, staining them with Black Blood in the process, as it were created by their kind, and therefore turning Sir Azarias’ and the others’ Cruces into a Descended. The Black Zodiac is a set of twelve creatures based on each symbol. They were named after it too, so back then there was a monster called Capricorn and Taurus and Scorpio and the rest. Astrological! Astrologically wicked. It wasn’t exactly what Delia was looking for, but it was closely associated with black blood. She read on a passage on the next page.

Generations after the First Fifty-two were chosen, the term Muddlers was coined. How and why they were created is still a question since very minimal information was gathered about them. They started appearing a period after Wadsworth Academy was built. It was an institute that was made for humans who are chosen to be vessels for Cruces, a powerful index that is compacted with a special function. These Chosens, when enrolled in the Academy of Wadsworth, created by the great Light Holder, Charles Wadsworth, would soon be called as Keepers. They are trained at the institute for the better use and control for their powers. At a certain time after the school was built, there came upon a problem. Normal human beings that aren’t chosen are not able to cross the Medium, which lies between Blaze and the corresponding city next to it. The humans, however, got a little curious as to why they noticed some of their kind walk through the woods, only to come back out a week after. Reports say that the humans tried multiple times in attempting to do the same, but they always fail to reach Blaze. Apparently, it aggravated them and it brought up numerous questions with no clear answers.

One Keeper was then held kidnapped, being questioned about the seemingly questioning phenomena. Julienne Crosswood, who was the woman held captive, tried to explain the situation regarding the mysterious hikes through the woods. It brought up more questions and even disbelief. Despite the entire ruckus, it stirred up curiosity. They forced the woman into showing them any potential for her powers, if she did possess any. Unfortunately, her powers are not awfully ostentatious. She was a Heart Holder, and her powers only come to show when the people’s hearts around her are stable. Reports from her companions tell she still has not mastered her powers to the extent. Apparently, it didn’t seem to work on the humans, accusing her of fraud and calling the whole thing as a scam. They threatened her, one human even decided to aim a gun on her head.

After a few hours, Julienne’s companions arrived at the scene. It was then the humans believed that she what she spoke of was the truth. They saw in their own eyes how the earth shook, a person pass through solid objects, the objects around them levitate, and some other wonders unexplained by their science. People can be dangerous creatures as well, for they developed not just fear and astonishment in that occasion, but they also showed interest. This was the very root of the dark movement. While the people thrashed around and the Keepers tried to save Julienne, one human, whose name was unknown, pulled the trigger and shot Julienne Crosswood in the chest. It was then, when her life ended, that everything changed.

Her Crux, which was supposed to be filled with love and all things positive, was stained with something menacing. It has been affected by the threats and accusations the humans inflicted on her. Her Crux turned black, for all of them to see, as it rose from her body. Accounts say that the Crux shook feverishly until it exploded in a black light. The parts scattered and dwelled into the hearts of men, who all fell down after being imposed with something rather strong and dark.

The remaining Keepers mourned over Julienne’s death, for she did not repass. They were not even given the chance to present her a proper uplifting, for her Crux was no longer there. It was the years after that, the records noted, that Muddlers started springing up. At first, the Muddlers reside outside Blaze and they were kept outside the boundary, though, mysteriously, they were able to gain access to Blaze in the later generations, specifically recorded to be Azarias Stockwell’s generation.

Stackwell generation is recorded to contain the most number of outstanding students to have ever set foot in Wadsworth. However, it contained the most tragic event in history as well. Records are not very clear about the exact event that happened during The Day of The Dozen. The Black Zodiac, which was considered a long time project prepared by The Muddlers had finally come undone. This monstrosity was unknown to the Keepers and were only discovered when all twelve monsters came loose. A few of the Muddlers were caught after the incident and was imprisoned at a cell in the basement of Wadsworth Academy. It was revealed where they hid and what they have been doing. Their base was located at Flatt Hills, where various experimental studies and equipments have been found. It was given that the Muddlers practiced Enchantry as their main weapon, so it was banned from the academic prospectus. Reports state that a number of experiments may have been performed already, so Folks are on the lookout for these terrible creations. The records were kept but the equipments were discarded.

Some events are yet unknown such as: why the Muddlers were able to enter Blaze and how they acquired similar abilities to Keepers.

The information she just acquired was just too many and it seemed unreal. First of all, she never knew there was a 53rd index. None of them knew about it. They all believed that Black Blood was created by a league of folks who lost their way, the people who wanted to strengthen their powers and expand their knowledge about their abilities. They believed they were banished from Blaze because they were doing immoral things. Delia and the others thought that they have the same powers as the Keepers because they were originally one.

The creation of Blaze books had its peak on the later years, so they have little information about the events and discoveries before the Muddlers were assembled. Julienne Crosswood. That girl existed. She was the catalyst. Yet they didn’t know about her. She reread the passage, and each time she encounters the next word, she s torn whether she’d believe it or not. She wasn’t sure if she should. This book was just kept in a random library in a mysterious mansion in Blaze. There’s nothing special about it, it’s the same as any other books.

But she couldn’t find any reason why someone would lie and put it in one. The pages she’s holding in her hands, the illustrations shown, the words used, it was all too serious to be dismissed as nonsense. In fact, she was scared. This Julienne girl, she was killed by a human. That sparked the beginning of evil. She never really thought about what would happen if ever a human kills a folk. She thought she knew all about the ends of their lives.

She flipped the book again. She reached a part where it explained about the ends of the folks. She read:

There are different fates based on how a folk ends his life:

Death with agreement – a death with agreement simply means that the one who does the killing and the one who is killed both agreed on the situation. â€‹ Whether the victim asks the suspect to, or whether they are forced to do it in dire circumstances (see examples on next page).

â€‹The victim- repasses, returns to the human world, given an Uplifting Ceremony, and their memories are replaced.

The doer – remains in Blaze with their Crux intact.

Death without agreement – a death without agreement means that the activity is done with one’s sole and selfish purpose. Simply put, this case is of â€‹ murder.

â€‹The victim - repasses, returns to the human world, given an Uplifting Ceremony, and their memories are replaced.

The doer – banished to the human world, Crux leaves the body, memories disappear and not replaced (therefore they will have certain number of â€‹years lost in their memories once they reside in the human world).

Death by Dark Matters – a death by dark matters means that a Dark Index has interference in the situation. Whether the folk is directly attacked by the â€‹ Dark Index, or when Black Blood is the main cause of death.

â€‹ â€‹The victim - repasses, returns to the human world, given an Uplifting Ceremony, and their memories are replaced. However, their Cruces â€‹ â€‹ become Fallen, which means they are unable to regenerate and find a vessel in the next generation and the later years. Where the Cruces reside is yet unknown. However, there are guesses that they remain at Blaze and their figures dismantled, their mouths scream for agony.

The doer – unknown since they are of the Muddlers.

That’s what they all knew, so Delia was surprised to see that there was another example given below.

Death by Suicide – death that is caused by oneself’s actions and decisions.

The Keeper – repasses and returns to the human world, Crux leaves the body, memories disappear and are not replaced, even if given a proper Uplifting (therefore they will have certain number of years lost in their memories once they reside in the human world).

Death by Human Interference – it is unknown whether a death that involves a human ends up the same way as in Julienne Crosswood’s case. Some speculations state that the event only happened because of Julienne’s power, which means that the effects may be based on one’s index. Since there were never similar cases again, little or no information is acquired.

It surprised her. She just realized that she never did wonder what would happen if a Keeper kills himself. It seemed too dire a situation. She can’t see a reason how one would end his life. But then again, she heard a lot of cases back in the human world when she still stayed there. In Blaze, however, the situations seemed different. The number of population remaining makes you think twice if suicide would really be a wise choice. Some folk really did commit it, though, since there were records in the book.

On a darker note, the case of Julienne Crosswood was different. It was unique, and it was the first and last event in the history of Keepers. Something about her name was quite familiar to Delia and she thinks the others in the mansion would feel the same way too if ever they were with her in the current situation. Crosswood. She can’t quite put it, but it’s like she came across it once. She was thinking, thinking. Looking at her side, on the book without reading the words, looking up – it’s what she does when she thinks. Her eyes came across a sign in the far wall in front of her. It was a very familiar sign, one that is very essential to Mathematics. Two thick lines, perpendicular to each other, was carved on the wall. She walked closer towards it and found out that it wasn’t just carved at all. The shape was made of something smooth and brown, faint lines running across its surface.

Wood. She thought.

The wall was carved with its shape and a plus-shaped wood sculpture was put in its place. She touched the surface of the wood, soft and old. She scanned the whole wall as well, and she noticed that it didn’t look anything different on the cross. The wall was old, and it’s been made to look exactly like the wood. She pushed the cross and it slid back. It was so smooth and easy it felt like the action had been done a couple of times before. She heard a sound like stones sliding on each other. She witnessed how the concrete in front of her slid back, the same way the cross did when she pushed it. It was a rectangular column that ran from the floor to the ceiling, revealing two open ways on each side. Left or right, she wasn’t sure, but she found out the two ways lead to the same room. She didn’t like it, but something inside her made her think she needs to look into it. She went in and felt the walls move again, moving away from her and closing the gap that lead Delia inside. She should be afraid, but for some reason she felt like this is something she needed to discover, and she was now standing inside a mysterious room, alone.

*picture of Delia Jeanette Blanchard here

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