The Nefaliem's Duty (Ordinal Novella, 1) (4 page)

The day swings
by quickly, the only thing that I can recall ever really happening
is when I left my physics class to fill up my water bottle only to
walk pass that same man who had given Bernadette something earlier
this morning. He glances at me for a moment than continues in
stride to the front office. The place where the school reception is
and the where the principle sits. “Weird.” I mumble than return
back to physics.

It isn’t until
after school, I notice things become a little strange. I take note
of Andrew and his consistent complaining as we dump our bags in the
locker room before entering the library. “What are you complaining
about?” I hoarsely whisper. I glare at Andrew waiting for an
answer.

“Look.” he says
and I do as the locker room is lined in glass windows. I see in the
library there’s a bunch of tables to study on and further away are
shelves and shelves almost eight feet tall of books and more books.
On the left there are a bunch of computers for students who don’t
have a computer at home or didn’t bring their own laptops. My eyes
rest on Mike with his arm strung around his girl—Natalie.

“Try not to
think about it.” I attempt.

“Easy for you
to say.” Andrew is quick to grab his books and head inside the
library. I notice my bag vibrates. I take one last glance at Andrew
and search inside my bag, my phone is ringing and it’s not my
personal one. It’s the phone that Andrew doesn’t realise exists.
I’ve received a new message:

IN

…
Urgent Withdrawal,

Portal Route
2B…

OUT

I glance at
Andrew through the glass and turn my phone off, taking out the sim.
I tuck it back into my bag and head over to Andrew, he glances up
on my approach. “What’s up?”

“I need to
leave.” I say. He scans the library.

“Are you going
to tell the teacher?” he asks.

“Yeah. Of
course. Why wouldn’t I?” I ask and he raises both brows quickly and
pulls a face. “What?”

“Most of the
time you disappear.” he says, “What are you living a double life?”
he mocks and I force a laugh, trying to not make it sound
suspicious at all.

“Anyway, I’m
going to tell the teacher and I’ll see you tomorrow.” I manage as I
slink away. Andrew waves and begins to read. I head over to my math
teacher Ms. Smith. Her long blond hair is pulled up on her head and
her blue eyes grace mine the moment I stop before her. “Excuse me,
miss. I need to leave.”

“Do your
parents know about this?” she asks. I’m lost for a moment, of
course they don’t but it doesn’t really matter and the question
remains which parents.

“Yes.” I
lie.

“Do you have a
letter of leave?” she questions and I’m once again lost until I
realise what she’s talking about. I nod.

“It’s in my
bag.”

I stand there
awkwardly and she shoos with her hands. “Go get it.” I’m quick to
get my letter I had folded away in my bag for emergencies. I show
it to her and regard her features scrunched in concentration. She
flips it over before handing it back to me. “You’re free to
leave.”

“Thank you.” I
say before quickly quitting the library with my bag stationed over
my shoulder. I descend down the stairs and head for the girl’s
bathroom not too far away. Once inside, I’m quick to place my bag
on the ground, after I ensure the bathroom is empty and feel my
idol skin heat. I feel my energy tingle along my skin before I feel
it gathering at my feet than running along my legs towards my head.
It’s the same notion where my scales begin to conceal my body from
my toes to my head—transforming my Idol form (human form) into my
Nefaliem form. I pick up my bag and pull out a cube from my utility
belt and watch as it scans my bag before shrinking it down to size
where I place it in my utility belt.

I’m taller than
what I am in my Nefaliem form than in my idol form because of my
heels, a biological representation—a biological reminder of what I
really am. I regard the ceiling and float towards it before I begin
to phase through it. Passing through the ceiling, the ventilation
shaft and onto the roof. I see the clear blue sky and I feel my
energy surround me as I work to conceal my existence. Once I’m
certain I’m in my camouflage mode—I shoot into the sky. A portal
opens and I fly into it, leaving planet earth behind.

The portal
opens in on a planet I’m not all too familiar with. I fly into a
world of red, orange and darkness. I regard the sight of soldiers
marching towards a line of soldiers in the distance. Their uniforms
are different but similar. Their weapons and shields are also
designed similarly but with different crests. I hear my earpiece
buzz to life and the sound of Cornel Izrick’s voice enters my ear.
“I see you’ve responded.”

“I have sir.” I
reply.

“Hold your
position until Lieutenant Morgret arrives.” Volvomich? “Down below
is a mercenary group against the royal army of planet Sparta. Due
to our allegiance with planet Sparta we are to defend the royal
heir who is amongst the royal army.”

“Did they call
for our help?” I question.

“Yes.” The even
bigger question is should we even be involved in wars on other
worlds—I mean it’s not ours to deal with we didn’t even start it.
“Your mission here private is to secure his highness’s safety in
place of his knight. Nothing more. Understood?”

“Understood.”
The line severs and I’m left alone to stare upon the sight of pure
darkness. My silver hair and cloak sways in the wind as they are
tinted a blood red colour. The colour of the sky above. No one
seems to notice me and because of that I begin to descend and hide
amongst the trees. I stand at the edge of the forest hidden in the
shrubs for a while and notice that a sibyl floats around my head,
recording everything that plays out. I regard it than ignore it. A
sibyl is an AI in a sense but is nothing like Mizreth. Instead, it
records, distributes and catalogues recorded videos of wars where
the Nefaliem are. It’s a pre-caution should anyone abuse their
power. It also allows our superiors to ensure we are doing what
were supposed to be doing. The sibyl floats away and I hear
stomping from behind me.

I’m quick to
stand and turn around only to be tackled through the shrubs and
into the open grassland. I’m slammed into the ground and feel the
weight of a heavy monster pinning me down. “Lookie what I have. I
rotten Nefaliem Knight.” it gargles and the first thing I notice is
its golden eyes glowing through the shadows surrounding it’s
features.

I feel the
monster’s forearm press over my collarbone keeping pinned down. I
glare at the beast above me and realise that there’s one thing that
I can do in this position. With my arm free, I unsheathe my forearm
blade that sits above my forearm in my armour and hear the zing as
it stabs into the abdomen of my attacker. I regard the shock and
pain concealing his features and I wait for him to pull himself
from me and when he does. I roll over my shoulder and pull myself
to my feet. “Nefaliem.” he grumbles before falling to his knees and
dying.

I notice the
mercenary army moves to surround me and I glance at the sight. They
all point sharp swords or spears at me. I push one away and raise
my hands. “I surrender.” I say and watch as two men in front of me
turn to glance at each other for a brief moment before turning
their attention back to me. I couldn’t help but shrug with a small
smile. “Can I talk to your Captain?” I ask.

“A woman has no
right to ask such a thing.” One of the members declares and I
glare.

“Yeah, I get
that but if you don’t I’m going to start taking down all of you one
by one.” I warn. I gesture to the large troll that pinned me down
earlier and regard the men surrounding me, “Unless you want to end
up like him you’ll let me speak to your Captain and trust me . . .
I wasn’t even trying.” I feel fear simmer through the group and I
smile. I don’t enjoy violence but in some situations sometimes
that’s all you can do in order to ensure your survival and that’s
what I need to do—survive.

“You’re a
witch.” one remarks.

I move my
fingers as if I’m casting a spell and watch as they shuffle back.
“If I’m so deadly why do you take the chance? I could always turn
you into a chicken.” I remark and watch as their eyes widen.

“Enough.” a
male voice booms. On a high horse, trots a man in gleaming silver
armour—his armour isn’t like ours. Instead, it’s more primitive, it
reminds me of the armour the humans had in their early wars.

“There’s no
such thing as sorcery.”

“Really?” I
voice out-loud. Energy—
majic
runs through my veins. My
people are dragons for heaven’s sake.

“Yes. It’s
fake. It doesn’t exist. You’re a liar.” he annunciates slowly. I
couldn’t help but scrunch my face a little in annoyance.

“How so?” I
question. I’m certain by my physical appearance I don’t look
Spartan. He assesses me and dismounts his steed. Pulling off his
gloves his men move out of his way and I notice he’s quick to walk
around me like a lioness cornering its prey.

“You are not
Spartan. Are you?” he questions.

“What gave you
that idea?” I retort and hear his men grumble in distain. I hold
their sneering gazes. The Captain calms down his men and gestures
to where the royal army is in the distance.

“You’re here
for them, aren’t you?” he inquires.

I’m silent for
a moment, holding the glare of this annoying man, “I don’t have to
answer that.” His lips pull into a snarl and the next thing I feel
is pain radiating from the back of my skull. Its pinch at first but
when I turn around to face it. I see a large fist racing towards me
before I feel excruciating pain radiating from my nose. Not before
long I begin to collapse and black out.

I wake in fear
of my life; startled by the possibility of my death. My eyes
register to the room I’m in and It’s a holding cell. My mind is
ruffled. I have no recollection at first as to why I’m here but
then in a blink of a moment, it all comes flooding back and I
groan. I move to sit up only to feel the force of my aching skull
pounding against the front of my forehead. “Ow.” I mumble and
slowly push myself up.

“Look who’s
awake.” a male voice sounds. I glance at the source and see through
the metal bars, there is a man who he continues to sit and watch me
from the shadows. I suddenly feel the need to shiver.

“Who are you?”
I ask.

“I’m none of
your concern. However, it’s the Captain who will be of your
concern.”

“What do you
mean by that?” I ask as I regard the guard a little more closely.
He stands and disappears around the corner declaring: “You’ll find
out soon enough.” Than out of the blue . . . bang! Bang!
Bang!
Three consecutive explosions reign throughout the
prison. Debris, dust and metal flies everywhere and I’m quick to
cover my eyes. There at the opposite end of my cell is Volvomich.
He ducks into the cell and immediately his eyes lock onto my guard.
I see the look cloaking Volvomich’s features and I’m terrified. He
zooms through the bars with his Nefaliem super speed, breaking them
down and tearing through them. Immediately, he’s before the guard
who freezes in fear. I turn away as I know what is going to happen
next. I hear the sound of a snapped neck and turn back to see the
body fall to the floor lifeless. Volvomich steps over the deceased
Spartan man and I stumble to my feet with the wall for support.
“You should know better than to turn a blind eye. Death is the
impending truth.”

“I know.” I
mutter. He’s silent before he turns his heel.

“Let’s go.” As
I follow Volvomich out I notice that there is dust, dirt and blood
everywhere. “Try not to look if you can’t handle it.” I nod and
follow after him through the base of dead bodies.

It isn’t the
first time I’ve seen Volvomich angry but it is the first time I’ve
seen this many bodies. The wounds the men received were done by a
sword. I regard the blade sheathed on Volvomich’s back and notice
that blood is coagulated around the edges of his metal sheath. The
sight of it makes my stomach turn but also it makes my heart yearn
for the amount of lives lost. We saunter through the grounds and
not before long a man runs out. But he surprisingly isn’t facing
us. Instead, his back is turned and he knocks into Volovmich who I
hear grunt in annoyance. The man falls on his rear and glances up
at the towering Nefaliem. I can sense this man’s fear but I can
also sense his desire to live. He picks up his sword and charges at
Volvomich who catches the blade. With his scales, the blade
wouldn’t even tickle let alone cut.

The sword
shatters under Volvomich’s fingers and not before long the man
stumbles back and stares at the pummel in his hand. I see the man’s
eyes grow wide with fear and Volvomich glares. His eyes drift to me
than to Volvomich before he turns his heel and flees. It isn’t long
after that before we leave the enemy camp behind. We settle in the
forest. “Are you in pain?” Volvomich asks.

I shake my
head, “No just a headache.” I see he regards me a moment longer.
His eyes seem to carefully assess me. “What about the prince?”

“He’s fine.”
Volvomich declares. “There settled a few days north of here in the
mountains where we’re headed.” I feel relief wash over me and not
before long we were on the road again but this time. We don’t
exactly walk or use a portal. Instead, we use our power to fly. And
fly we did. High into the sky and towards the enemy camp. As we
fly, I sense Volvomich’s mind link with mine and his warning to
keep my pace. The sound of our movements in the air would cause
heads to turn. So, flying at top speed is definitely a no go.
Eventually we arrive at the camp, later that evening. Torches are
lit and when we descend the guards are the first to block our path.
“We’re here for an audience with his highness.” Volvomich declares.
The guards look us over before one of them regards me. “She’s
female.” one announces.