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Circle of Time: An urban fantasy (The Kazi Chronicles Book 1)

Page 34

by Riverr Ravenswood

I flick one violet bomb to his mind, as I exit.

  Chapter 49

  Ada

  What the hell happened?

  One moment his mind is a clusterfuck of epic shits and the next, it is dark. Burnt. Dead.

  Did the others do something?

  ‘Ada, come out. You cannot stay like this any longer. Destroy all evidence and leave,’ Kali pleads.

  I nod. I retreat carefully. Once I reach the outer vestiges of my consciousness, I take a deep breath and let out the black fire.

  Yeah. It came as a surprise to me too. When I had accessed his mind earlier, my black fire had come out on its own and burned any paths that were made to his mind.

  I let it out and let it burn away the path again. Nobody who checks his mind will be able to find any trace of me, or another magic. Even if they find a trace, they won’t be able to trace it back to me.

  How do I know this?

  I don’t know. I just do. Maybe when I have slept forty eight hours I will think of this.

  ‘Babe, hurry.’

  What’s the hurry? But I don’t ask. I pay attention to burning away every trace of my team and I having been here. Once done, I close all open doors or pathways, and come back to myself.

  I spend some time with my magic, coiled and waiting for me to come back to them. The earth caresses me as well. Once everything is done, I take a deep breath, and open my eyes.

  Whoaaaaaa

  I never fall on the ground because four sets of hands are already holding me. Ash’s face comes in front of my eyes, and I give him a smile.

  “You’re free,” I tell him. But my voice comes out super soft. Like lower than low.

  Ash, surprisingly, has tears running down his face. “Thank you.” He tries to give me a smile. I think he does.

  I start trembling. Shivering hard.

  Dad throws a blanket over me. I look around and see Lexie has tears running down her face and her hands are red with a rash. Ian is holding her tightly.

  “What’s going on?” I ask everyone.

  “You need to sleep baby girl,” Dad says.

  Why is he not freaking out that the guys are holding me?

  “Kali says let her be on the ground. Earth will help her,” Enzo says.

  Kali? My Kali?

  Right then I feel her coming back to me. And euphoria hits me at her embrace. She is holding me tight.

  I feel better already.

  ‘I am right here babe. Now sleep.’

  ====

  Vince

  “What happened?” Pa asks with a controlled fury. He is sitting on the ground next to Ada, holding her right hand. Enzo has not let go of her left hand, and Pa must have been worried sick because he didn’t chastise him for it.

  “We killed him. Brain dead,” Enzo replies.

  Pa and Sensei inhale sharply.

  “What do you mean? How did that happen? Why didn’t you check with us?” Pa asks.

  We look at each other, unsure how to communicate to Pa the things that the bastard thought about Ada. But it has to be done. I clear my throat and get the ball rolling.

  “The things he had done, he thought,” I trail off, shaking my head trying to dislodge the much I had witnessed. “He was into child trafficking, pornography, killing. Think of anything murky and dirty, and he had done that, thought that, lived that, and reveled in that.”

  “That is why Lexie couldn’t stand to be inside?” Sensei asks.

  “Yes.”

  “So why is Ada feeling so weak?”

  “We don’t know Sensei. I think it has something to do with her using her magic the first time without any training. I think Kali kept saying that she isn’t trained and until she is, she will be exhausted every time she exerts herself like this.”

  “We have dealt with hundreds of pathetic people in our career. Why him? What are you guys hiding?” Pa asks, looking intently at us.

  That question takes us back to what we each had felt or heard or seen. As if triggered, all of our magic coils around us, ready to strike. Neutralise the threat. It takes me by surprise. My blue mist spheres don’t always come to the fore like this. What does th-

  “What is it? What are you hiding from us?” Sensei asks, while Ian shuffles Lexie a few steps back.

  “He was making plans to kill Ash,” I start.

  The change in Pa and Sensei is unmistakable. They stiffen, their eyes change colours, as if they will kill him all over again.

  “He …. He…..,” Ash trails off, not trusting his voice to say anything about Ada.

  Ry looks as white as a sheet, staring at the ground.

  “You should have seen what he thought when he saw Ada,” Enzo starts, teeth gritted, and with every word, purple current cackles stronger around him. “For him she was the ultimate prize. He had this sense of ownership on her that he felt justified in doing everything unthinkable to her. Her? He wanted to defile our angel in every way for his sick perverted pleasure and games. And record it. For his fucking entertainment.” Enzo spits on the ground. “Bloody fucking bastard. If I could bring him back to life, I would. Only to kill him again and again.”

  By the end, Enzo is trembling with barely controlled rage. His violent magic slides off Ada’s body, not harming her. I raise my eyes to see how Pa and Sensei are taking this.

  I lose my balance even though I am sitting firmly on my ass.

  Pa’s body is glowing lava red. Eyes spitting fire, literally.

  Sensei… It’s the first time I am witnessing Sensei like this. Pure white waves ooze from every pore of his body. His eyes are aquamarine colour. And there is a faint outline of lightening and thunderstorms in the background. I mean in the sky. Night has fallen, but Sensei stands out. Bright and furious.

  “He thought what?” Sensei’s voice echoes in the silence of the cemetery.

  His feet seem to be floating on a wave of silver water. When I look closely I find it isn’t silver water. It is the magic coming out of his feet.

  “He is dead now. Trust me, he suffered. He suffered a lot,” Enzo states in a calm voice. His eyes have never once left Ada’s face.

  I look at Sensei again. This seems to placate him. His magic goes within his body, so does Pa’s. A soft moaning sound snaps my attention back to Ada.

  Enzo’s grip on her hand tightens.

  Ada’s face contorts, tears start leaking from her eyes. Sensei kneels beside her, looking at her with worried eyes. And I? My heart is about to be splintered to pieces. What is going on? Why is she crying?

  Ada starts thrashing then. I think my face reflects the horror back to all the faces around me. Even Ian looks worried. Lexie is trying to reach Ada, but Ian holds on to her.

  On cue, fat raindrops start spattering. Small critters and animals hurry to their bills.

  Suddenly, Ada wails.

  A gut-wrenching-brain-piercing wail. Lightening attacks the land around us.

  “What is going on?” Lexie screams.

  “Ada!” Pa screams. We don’t know if we should pick her up or not.

  As soon as this thought crosses my mind, Ada bolts upright, screaming!

  Chapter 50

  Ada

  Raindrops assault my face. But I don’t feel anything more as Dad lifts me up and wraps his arms around me. I hold onto him.

  “I know, I know, I know where to go. Kali is remembering things. We need to go. Now. We are out of time,” I whisper.

  I cannot force the images out of my mind. It is an assault. The land was nursing me, that much I remember. I kept thinking how we would get to Vyhdir, and the land showed me a path. It told me that all I need to know is close my eyes and I would be guided.

  And then it showed me the animals. So many animals. Killed by lightening. I start sobbing all over again.

  “What is it?” Dad tightens his arms around me. “Why are you crying?”

  I squeeze his shoulders tight once, and then let go of him. I turn to Baba and he hugs me next. His eyes are aquamarine. As I hold onto hi
m, he breathes me in deeply. When I step back, his eyes have gone back to normal.

  “We don’t have time. I know where to go. We need to go now,” I tell them all.

  As my eyes reach Enzo, he looks like he has been to a battlefield and back. Lexie’s rashes have healed, but she is sobbing hard.

  “Meet everyone first. Then we will leave,” Dad says.

  As soon as his words are uttered, I am wrapped in a group hug. None of us care that we are getting pelted by the rain. I feel everyone’s anxiety.

  “We need to move, let’s move. Kali is beginning to remember things and we need to move,” I say breaking away from the hug.

  “What is she remembering? She didn’t remember things till now?” Baba asks me.

  I shake my head, as we start moving towards the cars. “Apparently, the shock of what had happened - the animals dying and Ida-Samara’s death, sort of blacked out a part of her memories. All she remembered was an instinct to save herself, so that in time she could find me. She had felt me when I was born, but before she could figure out how to reach me, I am assuming Ma blocked my magical essence and she couldn’t sense me anymore. I will fill you all in on everything. Once we get to where we have to go. For now, we need to hurry. This rain and storm is for us. So that we can be camouflaged and find answers.” I raise my hand to stop the questions about to come my way. “Please. We need to get going. This land is giving us a gift. And we need to make most of it. Come on.”

  They nod, and we get in our cars. Our car is in the lead, and I am sitting in the passenger seat, with Enzo driving.

  I start giving him directions. The land helps me. We drive for another fifty minutes, delayed by the storm. We reach a point where I ask Enzo to turn left, off the road. We are surrounded by thick vegetation on both our sides.

  “What place are we?” Lexie asks from the backseat.

  I look at the navigation screen attached on the dashboard and tell, “Gros Piton. Hmmm. Makes sense.”

  I don’t like it one bit that Kali has been quiet since I woke up. I can feel her heartache and anxiety deep within me. My magic is agitated too. It wants to calm her. To make her laugh. To soothe her. I only hope that whatever we find, it is for the good. That it gives us answers, but not at the cost of Kali’s suffering.

  ‘I’ll be fine. I am just flabbergasted that there are things I don’t remember. But whatever it is, I am sure I’ll be fine with you Ada. I need to know what I am missing. That’s all,’ Kali tells me. Her voice lacks the usual chirpiness.

  Soon love, soon. We will find everything.

  “Here. Stop here,” I tell Enzo.

  The navigation screen tells us that we are at the foot of the lava lump. “We will have to walk a bit, I think.”

  We get down, and Baba and others join us a minute later.

  “What now?” Enzo asks me.

  I am looking around as visibility is difficult.

  “I follow the land. You follow me,” I tell them.

  “Hold my hand and do not let go,” Enzo says.

  I do just that.

  I look around at everyone’s faces. All of us are drenched. And the storm is not letting up. I give them a nod and close my eyes.

  ====

  The land has lit up the path for me in bright neon colours in my mind’s eye. I follow that path, diligently. Enzo’s hold on me doesn’t waver even when I slip and slide, as my eyes are closed. Over the last fifteen minutes he has asked me several times if I am sure of the route. And each time, I had nodded. We had a mini trek going on, but with the storm, it feels like we are climbing Everest.

  We reach a point where the directions vanish. In my mind’s eye I see lumps, various weird shapes and sizes. But no neon signs.

  Suddenly the storm stops. Completely.

  I hear multiple gasps. Unthinkable grief grips me as Kali starts wailing. I snap my eyes open and the sight in front of me weakens my knees. I would have fallen had Enzo not been maintaining a death grip on my arms.

  All around me are huge skeletons. Half submerged in land, half visible. As if the storm eroded years of dirt from over them. As far as my eyes can reach, all I see are skeletons. Small, medium, large, and huge sized animals. Everywhere.

  Tears start flowing from my eyes and I start walking around the skeletons. Taking it in.

  What is this place? What the hell happened here?

  ‘This is where they were killed.’ Kali wails.

  Kali, what do you mean? Who were killed?

  ‘All of them!’

  What?!

  This is where she lived?

  Oh my God. My hands flow to my mouth as things make sense. Poor kids. They sacrificed their lives when Ida-Samara died? Oh God.

  ‘No. Not just the animals. All of them. Ida-Samara too. She was killed!’

  ‘What are you talking about?’

  ‘Nobody knew. Her body was shifted to China. The magical essence cloaked. She was at forty percent of her Godly power. They killed her! They killed all of them!’

  ‘Who? Kali, do you remember?’

  ‘Yes. I remember everything.’

  ‘Show me.’

  Chapter 51

  Ada

  I am a visitor here. An audience.

  I look around and this is not the place that I was just in. There is a beautiful home made of natural bricks. And all around that house are lots and lots of animals. Some are playing, some grazing, sleeping. I want to go out there and play with them too.

  Then I see her.

  Ida-Samara.

  Oh God. Beautiful is an understatement. She glows. She literally glows. Gentle face, angelic golden eyes, long flowy black hair. Half braided on her crown. She is wearing a simple grey dress. It is beautiful in its simplicity.

  She starts talking to her animals. I am close to her, but far enough that I cannot hear what is being said. Next to her are a few people who seem to be her friends. She is laughing and I can feel her laughter deep within my core. One of the birds flies over to her.

  Wait. That is not a bird. It is a bird-like thing. Huge ass wings. It has a beak too. But the rest of its face is surprisingly human looking. And it is huge. With a capital H. It is easily the size of a whole mansion. It reminds me of the mythical bird we call Garuda.

  I watch on, transfixed.

  Ida-Samara talks to the bird and then she gestures to the people around her. Everyone comes and hugs her tightly. They laugh some more, and two more of the same birds appear. The people, except Ida-Samara, climb the birds and the birds take off.

  Whoaa…. A transporting bird? Maybe that is where the idea of using birds as messengers came in.

  Suddenly there is a rumbling sound, the earth starts shaking and Ida-Samara is on full alert. She closes her eyes and holds out her palms, facing upwards. Bright green light flashes in her palms and there are two dangerous looking swords in her hands.

  There is a small tornado, all her animals whine in their respective species’ way. The tornado dissipates and a person appears.

  Ida-Samara dissolves the swords and a smile breaks her face. She runs to him and he hugs her back. I make a move to walk in closer to them, but my feet, whole body is fixed to the ground.

  Then she frowns and steps back.

  They get into an argument. And another flash of tornado appears, and this time another person walks out.

  Both the men look Godly. Maybe they are Gods?

  Huge, broad, beautiful.

  But they are arguing with her. She shakes her head, and starts screaming at them.

  What the hell is happening? Where is Kali?

  ‘I am here,’ she replies softly.

  ‘You doing okay babe?’ I ask her.

  ‘No. But I will be fine.’

  ‘Can you talk? Or do you want to watch on in silence?’

  I think she shakes her head, then says, ‘I can talk, love.’

  ‘Who are they?’

  ‘They are Gods. They are fighting with Ida-Samara. I remember it now.’
r />   Just as I am about to ask her more, the first God raises his hand and a mean looking spear appears. He points it at her animals.

  Ida-Samra’s eyes widen. She starts running towards her animals just as the man throws the spear directed at them.

  My hand flies to my mouth and my throat clogs. The spear disintegrates mid air into hundreds of smaller arrow-bolts, flying in all directions. I watch in utter horror as Ida-Samra jumps in front of the first few animals and takes the brunt of the weapon. But she couldn’t reach them all.

  The mini light spear bolts find their way to the animals and their skins burn in contact, leaving their skeletons behind. The animals are going berserk. Most of them are running towards her as if she can save them all. So much innocence and fear in their eyes. Sobs wrack my body. All of this, snuffed because of a maniac. Who the fuck is he!?

  ‘Noooooooooooo’. And this time I hear her screams.

  She runs to every animal she could, taking the spears meant for them on her body, trying to save them with her magic, but neither she nor her magic could save everyone. I realise I am wailing.

  But what happens next sends me to a screaming spiral. The animals, upon seeing that she is in danger, put themselves between her and the weapons. All of them. Even the animals she had managed to save, succumb to the onslaught of the weapon. The entire sky is alight with the blaze from the weapons and the burning bodies. The only body not burning is Ida-Samara’s. I am thrashing my legs and arms to get to them. But the land isn’t allowing me to get to them.

  At last, Ida-Samara’s cries cease. I watch in horror as her body starts burning too.

  No no no, no…

  I look at the two men. They don’t deserve to be called Gods. They look horrified. They run towards Ida-Samara’s burning body. But even I could tell that nothing could be done.

  They start screaming at each other and shouting. Probably blaming one another. Then, the first one says something to the second man who despite his fury, nods. He collects Ida-Samra’s remains in his arms, and leaves in a tornado. The first one raises his head and looks around. He rubs his hands over his face. For a moment he looks upset, as if this wasn’t his plan.

 

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