Secrets of the Fortress 'sorcery'

by John Victor

  She jumped as she heard the sound from the back of the room. “What are you searching for?” She looked back to see the librarian staring at her as she slumped back on the chair and replied. “I don’t really know what I’m looking for but I believe I have to search for places where there are doves and ostriches on this map.”

  Evalle waved the map at him and watched his eyes grow wide as he stared at the map. “Where did you get that from?” he asked.

  “Why are you so concerned?” Emily asked looking confused.

  “I have searched for that map for years and it just happens to be with you?”

  “Why were you searching for it? If it is useless to me, I can still give it to you.” Emily replied.

  There’s no way that stuff should stay with her but there’s nothing much I can do now. “That map has been passed down from generation to generation and it is supposed to remain in our lineage. He replied.

  “Something tells me you are lying to me. How did you lose the map?”

  “This thing is all about magic. “ How does she expect me to tell her that it is the key to reaching the source of all magic? I should find another way to make her give me that map.

  “I know it’s about magic but you still haven’t answered my question.” Emily screamed at him.

  The librarian sensed that Emily was getting angry and decided not to request further for the map. “Don’t worry ma’am, you can keep the novel.

  Emily hissed and whispered as he left for his table. “I thought he would volunteer to help, instead he is saying rubbish.”

  The librarian went to a secret room, only he knew about. He sat on a chair and rammed his fists into the table. “I thought that map as going to be in this room. I was tricked. Now, I have little time to think of something else to do. ”

  Evalle started searching for doves in the encyclopedia but found none relating to ostriches. She took a pen and started to write down all the places here doves can be found in the world. She knew the map as not the world map, but she was certain that the places on the map are on earth.

  After writing all about the doves, she began searching for those of ostriches. She finished writing it all and decided to go out of the library to eat.

  As Evalle left the library, the librarian came out of his hiding place and walked to her bag.

  * * *

  Emily ran into the room and screamed as she fell into the floor immediately her eyes confirmed that she was not dreaming. She tried to keep her heart beating but just felt her heart beating slowly and then she didn’t feel anything.

  Kujoo screamed for people to help him lift her up and take her to her room as he quickly wore his robe without any underwear. “She caught me, we have to do something to that lady. She’s always loitering.”

  People rushed inside to raise her up and Kujoo signaled for them to leave immediately. Kujoo found a chair and sat on it. He blamed himself for not closing the door properly. He continued thinking before falling asleep.

  A girl picked his robe by the hem and raised it up, revealing his male organs. He tried to stop her but she didn’t stop. She began touching it roughly and attempting to cut it. He almost came when he suddenly gasped for breath and woke up. He realized that he was still in the same room but someone else was standing there and staring at him.

  Kujoo wanted to stand up when he noticed that he left his legs wide open and his personal servant, Rocio was staring at his junk. He then felt pain in his cock but decided not to look at it.

  Rocio walked to his master and pointed under his robe. “Sir, look!” Kujoo looked down and saw the unbelievable.

  He fell to the floor immediately he noticed that his penis and balls were missing and had been replaced by a hole that blood was gushing out from. His servant immediately raised him up and carried him out of the room.

  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.”

&
nbsp; “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.”

  “Oh, it’s nothing. As I said earlier, I really need rest. You seem to be friendly.” Evalle said, still focused on her plate of spaghetti.

  “Could we chat for a while? I’m really bored. Nobody really talks to me here. They say I’m a jerk.” Kevin said, gritting on his seat nervously.

  “Are you really a jerk?”

  * * *

  Emily stepped out of the castle and looked back at it, before finally walking away. She stopped abruptly to ponder on the direction in which she would go. ”How do I get out of here? It is filled with trees.