Secrets of the Fortress 'sorcery' (4 page)

His servant looked surprised when Kujoo
touched and whispered to him to take him out of the fortress
secretly.

Rocio immediately went to the stable after
hiding Kujoo inside a box. Kujoo had stopped the hole from bleeding
but surprisingly, he couldn’t use his powers to return his body
parts. He rode the horse out of the castle in the middle of the
night to avoid been seen.

Emily woke up in a dark room and sat up on
the bed. This time, she as surprised that no one as looking at her.
She stood up to put on the light and tried to remember how she got
back to her room and why she felt uneasy.

She immediately ran towards the door. She
opened it and stepped into the passage. She became perturbed when
everywhere was dark. “Since I got here, it had always been bright,
now all the candles have been put off? What is happening here?” She
whispered to herself.

Emily remembered the way to the room she had
seen her dad. It was a straight path from her room. She continued
walking until she got to the room here the men had been having sex.
They were all fully dressed, looking depressed. She stood there for
a little while. Something’s really wrong.

* * *

The sun struck Evalle’s skin as she rode on
her bicycle to the park. She sees other children her age wearing
uniforms and either riding a bicycle or going on foot. Where are
they going anyways? And why do they keep staring like I’m a
stranger.

She parked her bicycle under a shade by the
side of the road and wondered why most people she met don’t seem to
have a problem with the sun that seemed to be turning her skin
red.

Evalle picked up a yellow flower she found
and tucked it neatly in her hair. She left her bicycle under a
man’s supervision even though she was not so sure he’d remain there
when she returned. She imagined herself changing into a beast like
she read in one of those books. Everyone will run away before I am
finally captured and taken back to the laboratory for tests.

Her attention was brought back to the present
when she heard the wheels of a car screeching on the tarred road.
She looked towards the sound of the noise and realized what had
caused the mess.

Opposite Evalle, a building opposite her of
about twenty storeys was almost completely engulfed by fire. Evalle
could hear people screaming inside the building even though she as
far away. She just kept watching without knowing what way to
help.

She then sensed something different and most
definitely, heard it. Louder than the other things she heard. This
voice was not calling for help, it just sounded desperate.

Rather than listening to the voice of the
person calling to her, Evalle decided to help the people in the
building. With a great speed, she ran past all the people gathered
around who stared at the empty air in terror.

She got into the building and found a woman
and her child screaming for help. She made herself invisible as she
picked them up and took them to safety. Evalle went round the whole
building until it was free from humans.

Nobody believed magic ever existed. It was
thought to be a myth, and Evalle was glad no one would know how it
really happened. Even the people she rescued felt like they were
floating. She smiled mischievously.

Evalle wanted to head back to her bicycle
when she remembered. Someone was calling me a while ago.

* * *

Emily got into the room where her father was.
She saw blood stains on the floor and became very scared. She
looked around the room but couldn’t find him. She ran out of the
room and continued walking straight when she saw something that
looked familiar.

She stepped into a room and saw a pit filled
with fire. A familiar voice spoke to her. “I told you, something is
really wrong with this place and you are just few steps to finding
out.”

“Who are you anyway? And why won’t you show
yourself to me?” Emily asked, still feeling the urge to look for
her father.

“As I said before, I am the master of this
clan. I can’t show myself to you because I can’t do it to anyone.
He replied.

“Please, do you have any idea of where my
father is? I can’t find him anywhere.”

“I don’t know where he is but I know that he
is no longer in this place.”

Emily opened her eyes in terror as she began
to walk out of the room. Wait! The creature yelled at Emily who
turned back to look at him. “I think I have something to tell you.
It is about why I am locked in here.”

Emily stopped walking and turned to listen to
him.

“It all started a very long time ago. We all
belonged to different clans and I was born in the Kurikana. We were
not that popular and the clan didn’t withhold much powers.”

Emily decided to sit since it was going to
take a long time for him to finish.

“When I was born, my father was the strongest
in the entire world and they were hunted by many. With this, our
clan rocketed to the top. My parents were so nice, everyone loved
them except those from the other clans. You should know the outcome
when a powerful man sleeps with a woman of equal powers. It was
during my birth that my mum died.”

“I’m sorry about that.” Emily whispered.

“Thanks, may I proceed?” he asked

“Yes, please.”

“My father told me that my powers killed my
mum. It’s so painful that I never got to meet my mum and I still
feel guilty about it. I don’t know how, but the other clans learnt
of my powers and they began plotting against me and my father. My
father started to train me when I was just four years old. I guess
he knew something bad was going to happen.”

There was a long pause. Then, he
continued.

“One sunny afternoon, I was training on a
field when I heard my father scream. I ran immediately to the house
to find my father lying on the floor in his own blood. He had a
large hole on his chest. Only one type of clan used this type of
power. The people from the Kretos clan. Kujoo is a descendant of
that clan.”

Emily opened her mouth in surprise, she let
the tears roll freely down her cheeks as the word slipped out of
her mouth. “What?”

CHAPTER 7

Evalle turned back and stopped her search for
who had called her when she remembered she was going to eat before
she saw the house on fire. She went to a nearby stall and picked up
something to eat.

As she approached her the spot where she
parked her bicycle, she was shocked not to find both her bicycle
and the man she gave some money to watch it.

She stood on the spot and felt like stabbing
herself for not carrying the bicycle with her. She checked the spot
again to confirm if it was really the place which she was sure it
was.

Evalle began walking back towards her house
even though she knew it would take hours for her to reach there. I
will lose everything I’ve eaten because of my stupidity.

Weariness came over her as she continued
walking before she saw something that caught her eye. A familiar
bicycle was resting on a pole some meters away from her.

Evalle moved towards the bicycle and
recognized it as her own only that it was chained to the pole. She
looked around just to see a man approaching her. She knew
immediately that it was the man she gave the money to.

Realizing her mistake, Evalle sat on the
floor. Exhausted. She thanked the man and headed home in haste. She
acknowledged that she still had a lot to do as she opened the door
to the library to find her bag open.

She ran to her bag and searched but found
everything complete. She zipped her bag after bringing out the
paper in which she was writing the places where she could find the
animals when she noticed some ink markings on the sheet of
paper.

Evalle stood up from her seat and began to
search for the librarian but couldn’t find him. Maybe he went to
his family again. He has been behaving really strange lately.
Evalle went back to her seat to continue her search when she found
something at the bottom of the map.

Follow the path and you’ll find the
light.

“This stuff gets more and more confusing
every time I find something.” Evalle said as she slapped her head
hard.

Evalle finished ticking the places on the map
where the doves can be found. She found a pattern. She immediately
traced it and found it to be a straight path. Evalle jumped with
joy on her new discovery.

She immediately started ticking on the map,
the places where the ostriches were and found it to be another
straight path. She traced the line and it touched the other
one.

When Evalle was through, she observed the map
and noticed that the lines formed a cross. She looked at it again
and was now sure she had solved the problem.

Evalle looked at the map again and noticed
that it started few miles from where she was. She stood up and left
the house.

* * *

Emily stood up and stamped her feet
vigorously as she paced around before sitting at a corner of the
room. “He deceived me, I fell for it. I am such a fool.”

“You don’t need to kill yourself over this
matter. There is no much time. That’s why I want to quickly explain
this to you. If Kujoo goes back to his people, it won’t take time
for them to come and hunt you down and maybe annihilate you.”

She shrieked as she heard that she could be
killed soon. “I think I better start going.”

“Wait, I still have something to tell you. I
think we are related. By the time I’m out of here, we should be age
mates. I have not aged since I was locked in here. I need you to
help me get out of here.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Emily
asked, looking impatient.

“By killing Kujoo. The power to release me
lies in his hands alone. It was passed to him by his father.
Immediately he dies, I will be released from my curse.”

“Okay, I think I have to go now. Just hope
everything goes well. Bye.” Emily yelled as she dashed out of the
room.

As Emily got out of the room, everything
looked strange. She walked past several rooms and noticed how
everything had changed in few minutes. The path seemed to be going
towards the roof and not downwards.

“Is there a tunnel in this place? This is
really weird. I really need to get out of. . .” As she turned
around, she saw a dark room without a door. Emily stepped in to see
a long staircase going downwards. “Yes! At last, I found it. I knew
this place can’t only have a way up.”

Emily pondered on what the strange man told
her as she moved down the stairs that didn’t seem to end. It was
still very dark and she couldn’t see anything as she suddenly hit
her head against something hard.

“Ouch, that hurts. I thought this was
supposed to lead me to the main door.” She rubbed her hand against
a smooth surface. “A wall? What is a wall doing here?” She
continued rubbing her hand again. Her hand struck on a small
substance.

Emily pushed the button and she noticed, the
ground came open and she fell right. “Is there no proper way of
leaving this stupid . . . whatever they call it. Maybe I just
didn’t get enough time to survey.”

Something passed by Emily and she became
frightened. “Are there other people passing through this crazy
tunnel too? This is really creeping me out. So, this is really
going to get me somewhere. Maybe I’m just seeing things.

She heard a loud thud beneath her and
prepared herself to land. As she hit the floor. She was surprised
to find a huge door in front of her. “I made it.”

* * *

“I can’t believe I’m really doing this thing.
I’m not even sure about what I’m doing. Let me just follow the
map.” Evalle said as she stumped her feet on the tarred road. “I
forgot to pick my bicycle. This is horrible.”

Evalle continued walking when she saw an
eatery. “I’m really famished. I could do with a really good meal
right now.” She stepped into the place and sat down on a chair in a
very cozy corner. As she picked up the menu pamphlet, she caught
something.

He is really cute. Why is he looking at me
anyway? I don’t think I am that attractive. I think I have to focus
on what I’m reading.

Evalle let her eyes settle on the pamphlet as
she felt a tap on her shoulder. “I have been calling you for a
while now but you didn’t reply. I hope everything is alright.”

“Oh, everything is perfect. I’m just stressed
out. Emily replied.

“Okay miss. Can I take your order
please?”

“I just need a cup of coffee. I’ll be
fine.”

“I’ll get two cups. I’m sure you will still
want to eat something else.” The waiter said with eagerness in his
voice as he walked back to the counter.

Oh my God, this guy is so cute. I’m not
really good with guys. I just hope this one will be better. I
really like him.

She was immediately jolted back to reality as
she felt a tap on her shoulder.

“Hey, I’ve been calling you for a while now.
The coffee is getting cold, you have to drink it now.” The waiter
said, sitting down opposite her with his cup of coffee in one hand
and a small spoon in the other.

“Thanks, I’m really stressed out. I’ve not
been having enough sleep. I think I’ll also need a nice meal.
Evalle said with weariness on her face.

“I knew you will still have to change your
mind. Don’t worry. I’ll get you your meal. Anyway, my name is Kevin
Kramsen. What’s yours?”

Evalle already had a wide grin. “You are very
funny. Well, I am Evalle Grustacia.”

“Okay miss.” Kevin said as he stood up and
left the table.

Wow, this guy is really something. I am
supposed to leave here very soon. I still have to find what I don’t
know.

Kevin came back to the table with a plate of
spaghetti and sat down opposite Evalle. What is the problem? You
seem to be thinking, every second. And looks like you also need
rest.”