by T. Z. Leigh
"My what?" Sam questioned.
"Your super strength." He then addressed everyone, "Do you recall when I told you that each of you will have to develop your powers?"
They neither moved nor answered, incensed that he had withheld such vital information from them.
"These powers do not need to be taught nor practised. They have been at your core since you were born. It was only living in the Sewasphere that stopped you from developing them. Your abilities are already rising to the surface. All you have to do is allow yourselves to attune to them."
There was a minute of silence before Sven headed to the door.
"Come outside, and we will see what Sam can do."
Chapter Thirteen
Once outside, they gathered near a group of trees. Sam had a thought of running away, anxious of what Sven was going to tell him to do. He somehow knew what Sven was about to say and began shifting his weight from one leg to the other, fidgeting as his palms started to sweat.
"Punch one of these as hard as you can," Sven told Sam.
He scoffed. "So I can break my hand?"
"Just do it!" Jamie ordered with an excited smile.
Sam stood in front of one of the trees. The trunk was three feet wide. He inwardly sighed and for the first time, regretted maintaining a fearless reputation at college.
Yep, I'm definitely gonna need a doctor after this.
He punched it with both of his hands, but shockingly, he felt no pain. They all heard a big crack, and seconds later, the tree slowly separated from the base of the trunk and fell to the floor.
"No. Fricking. Way!" Sam exclaimed, goggling at his hands.
"Yes, fricking way!" April exclaimed as she gaped at the tree that was currently lying on the ground.
"Now that your ability has been secured, tell us where the passage is, Sam. Your grandparents are our only hope. We must find them."
"It's in the house," he said.
They had gone back inside and were currently staring at the wall underneath the shelf.
"I don't understand. How could the passage be here? Houses in the Mezatica Territory are all made from a stone stronger than bedrock. It's the only material solid enough to withstand their might."
"Let's see," Sam responded.
He copied Qayto's actions, and sure enough, the wall opened for them.
"Now, finally, we have hope!" Sven said, full of anticipation.
They entered and began to head down the long passageway in front of them. It was pitch black and they had to run a hand along the wall to keep them from veering to one side, until Sven held what looked like a glowing yellow cube in his hand.
"What is that?" Zachery wondered.
"A komal stone. It's sourced from a volcanic area in the Solkateen District," Sven explained.
"And that's far away from here, right?"
"Yes, April. We're fine, don't worry," Sven assured her.
The light that shone from it wasn't so bright, but at least now they could see around them. They were walking on a slope, descending deeper and deeper into the tunnel.
Around fifteen minutes later, Jamie saw an archway, beyond which was a dim light flickering amidst the darkness. She walked through it, hesitant but eager. She was possibly about to meet a relative she'd never seen nor heard of before, yet she yearned for their approval and, perhaps, their love. Since finding out about their family roots, she felt alone in an unfamiliar world. In a sense, the stranger was the only family she had.
The archway opened into a room lit only by the moon shining through a large hole above and some candles placed in the corners. A man and two women lay asleep on three separate beds, while a second man sat on the edge of his own bed. He was staring at them as they entered, as if he was expecting them. Suddenly in a flash, he was standing in front of Jamie. A wide smile spread across his face and he embraced her.
"Grandfather?" Jamie presumed, since he had long, black hair like hers.
"My dear child," Ryor said quietly. "I've...we've been so worried about all of you."
"Grandfather, I'm so happy we found you."
A few tears surprisingly gathered in her eyes. She hadn't felt comfort like this since her father passed away. Secure and safe. The way he held her told her more than a thousand words ever could.
As she let go of Ryor, she realised that the others must have been woken up by the noise. Going by Sam's description, she saw that Teselda was hugging April, Ana held Zachery's face while she whispered to him, and Qayto, who had held Sam in an embrace, now got him in a headlock while they both laughed.
"We found you, all thanks to Sven," Sam said.
"Where is Sven?" Ana asked.
"I'm here," he said, strolling arrogantly into the room.
The elders' faces registered complete shock followed by anger, and the rest were gob-smacked to see a completely different man wearing a long, black trenchcoat crossing the room.
"I saw you under the tree before the tesrars attacked. Who are you?" April snapped.
"Voklav. You've succeeded in locating us. And you've manipulated these innocent children to do so," Ana accused.
He smirked, "Well, it wasn't difficult. They knew nothing of their heritage, and therefore believed everything I told them. The innocent are often the most fooled."
"We trusted you!" Zachery yelled.
Jamie felt an ounce of satisfaction when Sam ran towards Voklav, obviously intending to pound him. Although it shocked her when Sam was suddenly stopped by some invisible force and fell to the floor, screaming.
"Stop!" Qayto yelled and threw one of the beds at Voklav, who dived as it sailed past him.
His concentration was broken, and Sam was released from whatever hold Voklav had over him. Voklav stood up while panting with rage and held out a glowing orange cube.
"Nobody move!" he ordered.
"What is that?" April asked.
"To be direct, something that could kill us all if he drops it," Ryor answered.
"Shut up!" Voklav shouted. "For so many years, I've been searching, waiting for the day my plans come into fruition."
"Are you still going on about you and I after all this time? You're more pathetic than I thought," Teselda said with disdain.
"You're filth, choosing someone else over me after everything we went through."
Teselda snorted. "You didn't leave me much of a choice, did you? And my husband was ten times the man you ever were."
Voklav's face contorted though his eyes were unreadable before he let a smile spread across his face.
"How touching…now before I waste my breath any longer…I need your keys. All four of you. Hand them over!"
"What keys is he talking about?" Zachery enquired.
"The keys that open the gates between worlds," Qayto explained. "If they are all open, creatures called zeragmas will be unleashed..." He turned to Voklav, "...are you insane? If we were out in the open, I would have killed you already!"
Voklav smirked, "The zeragmas won't be a problem, I assure you. We have found a way to control them. So, with them under our command and the gates open to the Sewasphere, we will rule both worlds."
"Impossible!" Ana declared. "The information in our historical texts is comprehensive. Zeragmas cannot be tamed."
Voklav's smirk turned into a wide smile. "Unless we have found the amulet of Arokshas."
The elders were dumbstruck.
"Yes, I thought you would react like that. Excellent, now hand over the keys."
"You'll have to kill us first," Ryor snarled.
"Even better," Voklav replied, stepping forward to attack.
He was distracted by a deafening screech coming from the roof. A skryt with wings dived from above, knocking him to the floor. The komal stone flew out of his hands and rolled down the entrance tunnel.
"Get the kids out of here!" Teselda ordered. "We only have thirty seconds until that explodes!"
The winged skryt huddled April, Jamie, Zachery, and Sam together, and with amaz
ing strength and ease, flew upwards.
"No!" they shouted, not wanting to leave their grandparents in a dangerous situation.
"Grandfather!" Jamie screamed.
"Don't worry!" he called out to her. "We'll be fine!"
They fell silent as the skryt carried them out into the open, though April soon screamed.
"Oh my God, I think I'm gonna be sick!"
"Then turn around. You're not puking on me," Sam told her.
"I will, just because you said that."
"Quit it, April. You're making me feel sick now," Jamie said, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Forget about puking, do you think we can trust this guy?" Sam asked the others.
"Our grandparents do, so we can," Jamie replied.
April wasn't sure, not after finding out about Voklav's deception, but decided not to say anything until she found out more. For now, all she was focused on was not vomiting. If she did, that would just be plain embarrassing, but at least she wasn't the only one complaining this time.
Once the skryt had reached a certain altitude and they were mostly flying straight, her nausea began to subside and she sighed in relief.
"You feel better now?" Sam asked April.
She didn't know why, as he was only showing concern, but annoyance gathered in her torso.
"Are you watching me or something?"
His tone was defensive. "I'm just making sure I don't end up covered in puke. There's no need to get excited."
"Ha! As if, Mr Thinks-He's-So-Slick."
"Do you two really wanna be arguing? I think we should be worrying about more important things right now," Jamie chided.
"You're one to talk. That's all you wanted to do while we were running from monsters," April retorted.
"Well, I realised that I was wrong."
Jamie's intent and apologetic stare into April's eyes made April gaze back in mild shock. She hadn't expected it, so in the end, she just looked away.
"Fine," April said.
Zachery cleared his throat loudly. "Any arguing is pointless right now. We should be trying to find out what's going on."
"How? You wanna ask the skryt-bird?" Sam replied, a little sarcastic.
"Good idea," he agreed, then yelled. "Who are you?" trying to be heard over the gusts of wind and loud flapping of wings.
"All will be explained upon our arrival, Your Highness!" the skryt shouted back.
"Your Highness?" Zachery repeated, only loud enough for the others to hear.
"Makes sense…in a way," April replied. "We're the royal heirs, remember?"
"That's sick! I could get used to this."
"I dunno, Zachery. It sounds strange to me. I hope we don't have everyone calling us that," Jamie said.
"Why not?" he asked her. "We're like the princes and princesses of kingdoms. You only ever hear of that kind of stuff in stories."
Sam grinned. "That does sound sick, actually."
"I don't really care, to be honest. Like, so what if everyone calls us that?" April directed at Jamie.
"I just don't like it. It sounds like we're gonna be in the spotlight all the time."
"So?"
"I don't think you would understand, April."
"Well, we're here, Jamie, so I suggest you get over it," she returned candidly.
"How long is this gonna take? The guy said we'll be there soon. That felt like an hour ago," Sam complained.
It feels more like ten hours... "All I know is, we better get to where we're going quickly," April responded. "We've been stuck like sardines in a can for hours now, and I gotta use the bathroom."
"I think we all do by now. At one point, I was tempted to try turning around and making it rain," Zachery chuckled.
"Great, thanks for the imagery," Jamie commented sarcastically.
"I thought about doing that too," Sam agreed, smiling.
"Men are so gross!" April uttered with contempt, while the guys just grinned.
They felt a slow ascent, heading towards a mountain, which was only visible by moonlight as it was still dark. As they came closer, they saw that the mountain was covered by trees. A sound between a howl and a growl was heard, and they all became wary. Expecting a half tiger, half wolf to jump out at them, April recoiled her legs. After all, this world was apparently 'magnified' compared to theirs. Who knew what kind of abilities the creatures would have? She suddenly forgot about the creature and was distracted by an imposing sight. The silhouette of a giant castle at the top of the mountain.
"I take it that that's where we're going?" April shouted.
"Correct, Your Highness!"
They landed and couldn't help but gape at the castle. It seemed to be made of a half steel, half brick material except the doors, which were made from solid wood.
Zachery ran his hand along the structure's outside wall, built from porous and shiny silver bricks.
"Amazing," he murmured.
The skryt stood with his wings outstretched, looking up at the sky. April was about to ask what he was doing, but she was too stunned, watching him decrease in size. While flying, he was at least three feet taller than her, so he must have shrunk about two feet in ten seconds.
His wings vanished, and he turned to address them. "Follow me, please."
In the dark, the castle appeared to be like those seen in vampire movies; stately yet gothic and dead silent. The gargoyles with strange faces near the top of the building sealed the deal, and April half expected Dracula to open the tall, arched wooden door. However, the skryt pushed the door open himself and led them inside. She was perplexed by the grand yet sinister décor, but she had more important things to deal with first.
"Excuse me, do you know what a bathroom is? Because we all desperately need one," April asked.
"Yes, I do. Female's room to the right, male's room to the left," he informed them, pointing to a short passage behind them.
They all rushed in the appropriate directions and disappeared into the bathrooms, too desperate to complain or enquire. The skryt took them down a long hallway and showed them to rooms where they would sleep that night and could freshen up. April didn't care for the fashion, which looked like it was influenced by the Victorian era. Still, clean clothes were hanging in the cupboards and she gladly wore them, having spent what seemed like an eternity in one set of clothing.
Once they had all gathered together again in the hallway, the skryt led them to a kitchen and served them various meats and a bread that tasted a bit more like cake, but she didn't complain. She was starving.
Chapter Fourteen
Having eaten until their stomachs couldn't fit any more food in, the skryt knew they should have been ready to sleep, but they were alert as ever.
They deserve to hear the truth...at last.
"I am the real Sven Kuratoro," he told them assertively, trying to assure them that they weren't being lied to yet again.
They were sitting at the dining table, waiting to hear his explanation. It was easier to pay attention now that he looked like a normal skryt. If he looked like he did when they had landed, they would have found it difficult to refrain from gaping. He had an oversized head, an elongated spine and limbs, along with leathery wings that would make anyone stop and stare. The skryt who sat across from them now looked gentle; his golden, wavy hair framed his soft features, and his unusual but striking purple eyes were big and kind.
"As you all know by now, you are of royal blood. Your grandparents are probably the greatest rulers this world has ever seen. They have had an innate sense of justice from a young age, and even now, they would give everything to protect and maintain balance in the world. They would have continued steadfastly in their effort if it wasn't for a group of us. We had to persuade them to hide. It took quite a bit of convincing until they even considered going underground. In the end, they had no choice. Still, conflict in all the other lands had previously eased and most of us fled Mezatica, living in areas protected with enchantments."
"E
nchantments? You mean like magic?" Jamie questioned.
"In a way. In the Skrytosphere, we had a lengthy era in which our world was filled with peace. However, the uprising of an enemy was inevitable; power is irresistible to most, as I'm sure you have witnessed in the Sewasphere. At a certain point in time, Teselda was captured and luckily discovered their plot before she was saved by Ryor. She learned that Irisena...the enemy..." he added when he saw their blank faces, "...were planning to kill your parents."
"So, they went into hiding?" Sam asked.
"No. It's difficult to go into hiding in the Skrytosphere. Each of us leaves a scent or trail for a certain amount of time wherever we go. Royal trails are the most difficult to track as their powers are the strongest. Pinpointing their locations is not possible for the majority who know the method, but it can be done if one goes to the right skryt. If they did hide, it would have been a short-term arrangement. Teselda learned that Irisena had spies in all four lands close to the royals; they didn't know whom to trust or when they would strike. Additionally, they found out that Irisena was waiting for the Year of Xaybor."
"The what?" April asked impatiently.
"It is an event that takes place every four hundred skrytian years, or every one hundred sewian years."
"Wait, time moves faster here?" Zachery, who had been quiet since they entered the castle, asked.
"In a sense, but they inevitably equal out. Put it this way, don't be surprised if you hear that someone is hundreds of years old."
"Can they track you? Or us?" April worried.
"Not straight away. It would take a couple of days. Carrying on...every four hundred years, the gates can stay open or remain closed, depending on what the key holders desire. Naturally, the keys have stayed in royal possession for an immense amount of time. Most skryts do not even know what the keys look like, which is better and safer for everyone. I'm sure you will agree."
"They sent our parents to the Sewasphere to keep them safe," Sam said.
