by T. Z. Leigh
"Let me guess, it's locked?" Sam whispered, still out of breath.
"Yeah," Zachery responded, "are the tesrars still after you?"
"We came across a couple more, so they're not far behind," April said.
"Let's just go to the bunker," Jamie said. "It seems like their eyesight isn't that great, since they didn't even spot us behind that thin tree. If they're far enough away and we get in there quickly and we're quiet, they'll lose sight of us. At least it'll give us more time to think."
A growl close by told them to go with her plan. The tesrars had now entered the car park, staggering towards them, not showing even the slightest sign of tiring out or giving up.
"Follow me!" ordered Sam, running to one side.
Instead of heading towards the footpath, which was the only exit, Sam surprised everyone by heading for the parking bays. He climbed on top of Dr Proyss' car bonnet, walked across the roof of the car, then jumped over the six-foot-high fence that separated the car park from the rest of the school grounds. The tesrars were making their way towards the car now, coming quickly for their prey. Zachery and April got onto the car one after another. Jamie put her foot on the bumper, but her foot slipped off, and she banged her shin on it instead.
"Ow!" she couldn't help but shout.
Zachery saw a tesrar approaching. He stomped over the length of the car, pulled Jamie up, and held her hand while they rushed back across. She jumped over the fence and he followed, just missing the swipe of the hand that tried to grab him. They ran faster than they ever had before in a straight line all the way to the bunker. As they all rushed down the steps into the dark, Zachery went in last, locking and bolting the door behind him. Once inside, the only sound they could hear was each other's heavy breathing. Not daring to even move, each of them prayed the tesrars wouldn't discover their hiding place.
It was about half an hour later when Jamie turned the lights on. The place was spotless. Whoever's turn it had been to clear up after their last party had done an excellent job. All the tables and chairs were neatly stacked in the corner and there wasn't even a tiny piece of rubbish left on the floor.
"It should be safe now," she said hopefully.
Sam was sitting in a corner, hugging Eva's bag. Jamie sighed sympathetically. She knew what it felt like to grieve a loved one. It was as if a piece of your heart had been ripped out, never to be replaced again. She walked up to him and felt awkward, but put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry. I know what it's like to lose someone. It will get better as time passes."
Such empty words they were, but so true.
Sam looked at Jamie with shiny eyes. He was picturing the one thing he had been saving so hard for; a thin, white gold and diamond engagement ring to give to Eva when he proposed to her. He kicked at a stack of chairs nearby to vent his anger. Jamie decided that it was better to leave him alone. She went and sat back down with the others. Sam remained alone, listening to the others talking among themselves.
"I don't see how we're going to escape. And we have limited food and water. How are we even going to survive in here?" Zachery asked.
"It seems hopeless," April said. "We're gonna die in here, aren't we?"
A question that's always better left unanswered, Sam thought.
They stayed there for a long time. Very early Tuesday morning when it was still dark outside, Sam started looking in Eva's bag, hoping to find a source of comfort. There weren't much, just some books from her lessons the previous Friday, a make-up bag and a case full of stationery.
His hand brushed against an object in a small inner pocket, so he checked to see what was in there. It was a necklace he had given her some months before, one that his father had given to him prior to his passing. The pendant was a diamond-shaped piece of silver with an oval, orange stone in the centre and a symbol engraved on the back, which hung on a silver chain. It wasn't the ideal gift, but special to him, so he had given it to her. She must have put it in her bag so it didn't get lost, otherwise she usually wore it around her neck. He was gazing at the orange stone, admiring how it caught the light and how it produced a beautiful glow. It sure was mesmerising.
But then something odd happened. He noticed it glowing even more; a pulsing light, like a little heartbeat. A spark shot out from it, which spooked but amazed him. A sudden bright white light the size of a golf ball appeared in front of him, slowly getting bigger and bigger. When it was a basketball's size, it caught the others' attention; now, they too were staring in awe.
It carried on expanding until it was larger than them. Everyone was speechless as they gaped at this wondrous sight, its light filling the room. Unexpectedly, something appeared in the middle of it and after thirty seconds they realised what it was. A figure walking towards them. Sam didn't know who this figure could be as he or she was too far away, so he reached for his bag and took out the knife, holding it out in front of him. The others did the same. Sam's anxiousness turned into incredulity when he realised who it was.
Their headteacher.
"The knives are not necessary, kids," he said with a warm smile.
"Mr Gordon?" April squeaked.
"Yes. Or in all honesty…my name is Sven Kuratoro," he said, as he stepped out of the tunnel.
The bright light disappeared, leaving them in dim silence.
"I thought you probably died since we saw that weird guy come out of your office on the security cameras," Jamie admitted, her voice soft with disbelief.
He smiled. "You kids don't miss a beat, do you? No, I luckily evaded him using the trophy on my desk and my handy portal."
"So, you're like a secret agent or something?" Zachery guessed.
Sven grinned. "Very clever of you, Zachery, but no, I don't think even secret agents have discovered how to make portals yet. I am what we call a skryt, a race that dwells on Earth among humans. My world we call the Skrytosphere, yours we call the Sewasphere. They are in different dimensions and never cross; unless one knows how, as you've just witnessed."
"If you didn't walk through a tunnel of light just now, I would say you're crazy..." Sam said.
Sam had questions leaping into his mind by the dozen. He was lost for words. This couldn't be true, it couldn't be.
"...but how...I mean...so you're saying...that there are other beings on this Earth... it's just that we can't see them?"
"Correct."
"How come we can see you?" April questioned, shocked and dubious.
"Because I have crossed into the Sewasphere and am now bound by its physical laws." He gazed at them sympathetically, smiling. "The Skrytosphere is divided into four main lands. The inhabitants of each land possess a certain ability, or power as you kids say, which are unfortunately ineffective in this world. The power to create illusions; heal; use immense strength; or run at the speed of light..."
"Like superheroes?"
"Yes, Zachery, exactly like superheroes."
"That's so sick," he replied with a grin.
"Compared to this world, yes. Each land is ruled by a king or queen, who are the most honourable of skryts. Teselda Doro, Ana Poresa, Qayto Hashim, and Ryor Blixt. I am the Royal Guardian charged with protecting each land's royal family, hence why I am here. You four are in fact, of royal skryt heritage...the names I mentioned are those of your grandparents."
Chapter Ten
FORTY-NINE SEWIAN YEARS EARLIER
Teselda Doro, Queen of the Solkateen District, stared at the wall in front of her. She lay on the floor, bound in chains. She wasn't sure how she ended up in this circular stone room, cold and feeling nauseous. However, she did have flashbacks of events that had transpired earlier. How much earlier she wasn't sure, but her heart wept for her soldiers who had fought most bravely in battle.
As always.
Teselda sent the chief of the enemy into the worst illusion possible; the Illusion of Torture. Then suddenly, an explosion not far behind broke her concentration. She turned around to see two of her men injured, lying on
the ground. Filled with fury, she ran to them, hoping Ana or one of the other healers weren't far away. A soldier was running to his injured comrades as he also saw what had resulted from the explosion.
"Check their wounds," she ordered him.
"One is gone, Your Highness," he replied, tears escaping his eyes.
"And the other?" she asked, dreading the answer.
"He's still breathing, but in bad shape."
The man had blood oozing from his leg and shoulder. A deep cut ran across his head, blood pouring onto his eyes.
"Send a message. Any healers in the vicinity are to attend to this man. Give them our location."
"Yes, Your Highness."
Teselda watched him sprint away. She was full of regret as she wrapped herself in the Illusion of Evanescence to become invisible. She couldn't get killed or captured, not when she had a critical mission to complete. She started towards the castle where their enemy, Irisena, was based. She suddenly heard an ear-splitting sound, then she saw a small hill spring up from the ground followed by a man flying up in the air - also, a welcome face.
"Qayto," she whispered, smiling to herself. "He always has to make an entrance."
Qayto Hashim, King of the Mezatica Territory, was crouching with his tightly closed fists in the ground. His muscles were tense, displaying his brute strength, and his deep green eyes stared like a tiger that had caught sight of its prey. With his glossy brown skin and black hair falling loose to his shoulders, she would have unquestionably chosen him as a suitor in other circumstances. In the Skrytosphere, however, races did not mix; it was the one thing that was strictly forbidden.
He stood straight in fast motion and slammed his fists down behind him, causing another mound to protrude from the ground. After seeing another man thrown upwards by the hill, she walked briskly to carry out her mission. She knew that Qayto and the healer with him were more than capable of continuing without her in the fight against Irisena.
Voklav entered the stone prison where Teselda lay on the floor, squirming. She was trying to wriggle free since the chains around her wrists and ankles prevented her from using the power of illusion. As he watched her, something stirred inside him. He wanted her. She was a curvy woman who had golden-brown skin and striking blue eyes. The long, wavy chestnut brown hair that normally fell to the base of her spine was spread out on the floor, revealing her swan-like neck. As he was a Solkateen himself, he wanted to have her right there and then, but one of his partners, Jedsen, walked in behind him, so he put that thought aside. Maybe later, Voklav thought.
"Don't get any ideas, Voklav. That's not what she's here for."
"Nothing wrong with having some fun, Jedsen, is there?" he replied.
"There is when it involves this prisoner. Don't make me repeat myself," he told Voklav strictly, then walked over to Teselda. "Well, isn't it an honour? So glad you could join us, Your Highness."
Both men burst out in laughter.
"Just kill me and get it over with," she said impatiently.
Jedsen crouched beside her and slapped her hard across the face.
"You don't give orders to me, understand?"
She lay still and quiet because she knew very well that they would definitely cause her pain, yet she was helpless to retaliate.
"Now," Jedsen said, "tell me how you knew the location of this castle and how you entered it."
"We've known the location for a long time. And we've had skryts following and watching your men for a while."
"Don't take me for a fool! That would be impossible, so tell me who your little spy is. Someone is leaking information, and I will find out who."
"You're wrong!"
There was a moment of silence.
"Voklav, it seems she does need to be taught a lesson. You see how much information you can get out of her," Jedsen muttered, walking out of the room and closing the door behind him.
"You don't have to tell me who it is right now. We have all night."
"Don't touch me, or you will pay!"
"That's what they all say," he said, as he knelt over her.
He wasn't sure which pain he would cause first. All he knew is that he'd waited for this a long, long time.
He suddenly grunted and fell on her, motionless. She struggled to get him off, but a force seemed to lift him and he slumped to the floor. Ryor Blixt, King of the Shadateen Nation, stood in front of her and smiled before quickly unlocking the chains around her.
"You should have just killed the filthy pig," she told him.
"Killed him? It's too risky, running with a sharp weapon in a small room. I might have hit you instead. That wasn't a risk I was willing to take. Now I know you hate this, but hang on."
Ryor picked her up, put her over his shoulder, and ran at the speed of light out of there.
◆◆◆
Ryor was slim, but muscular and deceivingly strong. He had long black hair reaching the middle of his spine which he wore in a ponytail, and dark brown eyes that made his white skin look paler than it was. He was a noble and calm man, always clear-headed even in the direst of circumstances. He was quite the opposite of his friend, Qayto, who paced back and forth in front of him like a caged animal. Ryor sat on a big log outside his home and listened.
"We shouldn't have sent her there!" Qayto ranted. "What were we thinking, Ryor?"
"Teselda was the obvious choice since she's the only one of us who can become invisible, you know that. None of us knew how many enchantments were protecting that castle."
"Our informant should have told us that, no? I'm questioning which side he's truly on."
A female voice startled them.
"Our informant has gone through the most stringent of tests to verify he is trustworthy. He is undoubtedly on our side."
Ana Poresa, Queen of the Dolatica Province, stood in the doorway of Ryor's home. She was a very slim woman with ivory-coloured skin. She had grey eyes and long, blonde hair that sat in two buns, one above each of her ears, with plaits falling from the middle of both. She was an earnest and regal woman who always spoke in a dignified manner.
"Teselda knows the risks of her missions. As we do with ours," Ana said.
"How can both of you be so calm after this?" Qayto raged. "She could have been killed! Do neither of you care about that?"
Ana's scolding that followed was powerful, though quiet.
"Calm yourself, Qayto! She is dear to us all. Now take heed of my words…words uttered by Teselda before she slumbered…and know my friends, that things are worse than we ever imagined."
Chapter Eleven
Four men sat around a stone table. Voklav Cor, a tall and slim Solkateen with dark brown skin, light brown eyes, and a bald head. Jedsen Venero, a tall and broad-shouldered Dolat with white skin, dark brown hair, and blue eyes. Fulgar Lovit, a short and round Shadateen with white skin, blonde hair, and green eyes. And Humzal Pawor, a muscular Mezat of average height with light brown skin, brown eyes, and brown hair. They looked like they came from worlds apart, but they had the same goal in mind.
Power. They all craved it. Each of them was more ruthless than the other, stopping at nothing to obtain it. For years they all had despised the peaceful world they lived in, forever at the feet of the royalty that ruled over them. Sick of law and order, the four men strayed away and over time their allegiance was formed. Irisena. The army that would take over the Skrytosphere and be placed above all others so that all worlds would finally bow at their feet and cower from their judgement. The way it should be.
"The Queen escaping doesn't change anything. Our goal is within reach, as long as everything goes according to plan," Fulgar said.
"Are your men still in place?" Humzal asked the other three. They all nodded in unison and he added, "Then send word. Irisena attacks at twilight."
They stood up and started to leave the room, except Voklav.
"Jedsen!" he called from his chair, "Can I have a word?"
Jedsen closed the door after the others had l
eft. "Yes?"
"Were you able to find out who freed the Queen?" Voklav questioned.
"I don't know why you're so obsessed with this, but yes. It was Ryor Blixt. A Shadateen guard spotted him as he escaped through the front gate."
"Good. Now I know who it was, I'm going to have my revenge. Not only will I kill him. I'll make him suffer first."
"Fine. Just don't let your obsession get in the way of our mission. Now get some rest. You'll need it."
Jedsen turned away and left the room, leaving Voklav seething in his own rage.
I will have her...and this time, Ryor Blixt can watch while she suffers...then both will die...slowly.
◆◆◆
Ryor sat on his balcony at the table where his wife had laid out his food. The view from there was majestic and the scenery was unparalleled. When he looked down, it was almost as if he could see the entire Shadateen Nation below him. Hills, valleys, lakes, rivers, villages, and big towns; all of them encircled by seven mountains, which were equally covered in beautiful forestry. His castle was situated high atop the tallest mountain. When he looked to the horizon, clouds drifted past dancing in the wind that carried them. At sunrise and sunset, the sky was a frenzy of colours that surrounded him as he stood at the edge of his balcony. It was only here he felt truly at peace.
He heard his wife's voice, but didn't grasp what she had said; his mind was often occupied after finding out what Irisena had planned. It was one of the worst types of news a father could receive.
"Ryor, are you even listening?" his wife asked, finally bringing him back to reality.
"I'm sorry, Mila. I've had a lot on my mind."
"I can see that. Do you want to talk about it?"
"I was delaying it, but yes. I do need to speak to you about something very important."
