by John Victor
* * *
He was just a guy. But not any guy. She still didn’t know what he wanted and why he came visiting. "Hey." Evalle said to him. "What do you want? What are you doing here?"
The boy replied. He was certainly no longer scared of her. Maybe he saw that she was vulnerable. "Hello. I saw you coming. And then, you entered this house. No one had been able to enter for the past three years that we arrived here. The magic was too strong. How did you do it?" he wondered if he arranged his words well.
Evalle smiled. So, people finally moved here. We can form our own city and fight against evil. "I own this place. I blocked it with my powers." The man eyes went wide. Different thoughts flooded his mind.
He didn’t know how he could feel. He thought he was the strongest, yet there were people much more stronger than him. "Wow, you did? That means you arrived here before we came."
Evalle stared at him again. We? He said it again. That means there are others. I'm really lucky. "You said we. How many of you are here?"
"About two hundred of us. We came here together, when we were running away from the crazy law. The normal people will shout 'kill all the sorcerers' and they will destroy with heavy machines. We don't still know how we got here. All of us appeared here at the same time. Our houses are on the other side. Only yours is located here. I am the strongest of all the people here." Oh my God, I'm talking too much.
"Wow, you must be a really strong man" Evalle said. She was happy. She wanted to jump. Now she found someone she could trust. He could not still replace Justin. There was a void in her heart.
"I'm strong. But not as strong as you. They took me as their leader. I am willing to give that post to you. You are definitely stronger than I am."
Evalle felt her heart almost jump out of her mouth. Everything she wanted. What she was going to use to defeat the evil people. It lay in front of her. She wouldn’t let them down, and she wouldn’t let anyone destroy her people. She was excited. Could she just collect it without seeking the consent of the other people? What if they didn’t like her? " I think you should tell the others about me first. Maybe they will agree."
The man smiled, and then laughed. "They will definitely agree. I will inform them. We really need help around here. The crazy lawmakers are on their way here. They have almost reached this place. We will need help in defending and protecting ourselves."
Evalle was shocked. That was why her family protected themselves. She was sure her powers would be able to help her. She just needed more. She would join her powers with that of the others and create their own barrier. Maybe these people didn’t know about barriers. "I think that won’t be a problem. I have a solution to that. It will only take us tome and magic." Evalle said.
* * *
He looked pleased. He nodded his head several times before standing up from the chair and thanking Evalle. He walked towards the door. Evalle was not too happy that he was leaving. But she was happy that she had found a place. A place she could stay and be happy. The war was going to be a tough one and they will have lots and lots of training. Evalle got up and walked behind him after dropping her cup. As he stepped outside. He stretched out his arm again towards Evalle. She took it. "I'm Jasper." "I'm Evalle." they both smiled and Evalle closed the door.
She jumped up and hugged herself. Where were the creatures that occupied the space between her arms and breasts? Evalle ran to her bag and brought out her pets. They were staring at her, and rubbed their bodies against hers. She scooped them up and hugged them. She had thought of giving them powers. She was going to do it.
Evalle laid her pets on the table. She placed her hands on Germane and closed her eyes. Her mind was focused on her powers and on the cat. She felt the magic flow through her fingers. It was going smoothly. She raised her hands up. Evalle looked at Germane. She knew that what she did was risky, but she had to try it.
Germane was staring at her. Disappearing and appearing at will. She was glad that it worked. Douglas snarled behind her. He was nervous and he wanted his share. Evalle walked to Douglas and placed her hands on it. She did she same thing again. This time, she put more effort. The magic continued moving into its body. She stopped. Douglas lay on the table. He was unconscious. Evalle was scared. She had just killed one of her pets. She looked at it again. Its chest was still heaving upwards and downwards. Evalle was glad. She saw something different. The furs on his body were falling off.
It was an irritating sight but Evalle had to watch. Her magic skinned the dog. Silver substance started to show on its body. They were rising. Like scales. Iron scales. Germane was terrified. The scales stood up on its body. They looked like thorns. As sharp as new needles. Evalle laughed. She had turned her dog into something else. She already missed the old skin. Douglas opened its eyes. They shone red. Bright red. Evalle was too engrossed in her dog's transformation that she didn't notice her cat.
Germane was there, laid on the other table. She was going through the same thing Germane was going through. Hers was at a slower rate. Her eyes were opened and she was conscious of her own transformation. She watched as her skin changed into thorns. Silver thorns. She was staring at Douglas. It was awake. It was also disappearing and appearing at will. Evalle looked at Germane. She shrieked. She didn’t notice earlier. She was delighted. She now had two powerful creatures in her house. No one was going to be stronger than her.
* * *
Her pets jumped down from the table. She didn’t scoop them up again. She heard a knock on the door. Her pets disappeared. Could it be Jasper or someone else? She walked briskly to the door and opened it. She was shocked with what she saw. Hundreds of people were standing in front of her door. Jasper was in front of them. "These are your people." Jasper said as he directed his hands towards the people.
Evalle nodded her head. She was dumbfounded. They were so many. Their head count could be approaching a thousand. "Do you people agree that I stand as your leader?" Evalle said. She was still standing in the front porch of her house. The people nodded their heads in unison. Evalle was glad. They were cooperative. She didn’t know how to lead. She knew her gut will teach her. She looked at Jasper. Germane and Douglas appeared beside her. The people's mouths gaped in terror.
Evalle stared at her pets. She loved the attention they were getting. They could now blend with the others in a land of magic. They may even be able to fight. Evalle looked back at the people. She then turned her head back to Jasper. "Did you say they are very close to us?”
"Yes. The lawmakers. We checked for them again after I left your place. They are almost her. They are bent on destroying us all, they are too ignorant to know that we could even help them." The crowd nodded again.
"We have to build a barrier. A barrier that will be able to protect us from the law and from the evil sorcerers."
"There are evil sorcerers?" One man in the crowd shouted.
Another one talked after. "I cannot believe it." Jasper signaled to them to keep quiet. Evalle saw it but she didn’t talk about it.
"We are going to build that barrier together. We will make use of all the powers that we have. It's got our own security. I will move to the other side and begin to live with you people." The people cheered. Evalle continue talking. "When the law makers come, they will meet an empty house in the middle of nowhere. Maybe by them, they'll learn that they will never get us. They all cheered again as Evalle instructed them to help her pack her things and move them to their city.
She was delighted. She went to She went to the place they said they lived. She was not surprised when she saw it. It was a city. A big city. Unlike the one her family lived in. The packing was completed.
CHAPTER 5
Emily stepped Into the house. She searched for Evalle. Evalle was nowhere to be found. Emily was mad. She called Justin. He said she went inside when he was with her. And that was the last he saw of her. When the others heard about it, they were mad. The whole town. They weren't happy. They wanted her to join them. To fight against the
law. It seemed she knew better. Maybe they were already acting suspicious. Emily couldn't believe it. They already had her. Now, their plan had been destroyed. They would not be able to have her by their side. Emily screamed. Their bargain with the Jepthars will be cancelled. They couldn't fulfill their part. If Evalle were to come back, it would have been over. Where did she go and how did she leave the town? Everyone was worried.
* * *
Evalle jumped up. It was time to build the barrier. The thing that would forever protect them. Evalle instructed them to line up around the city.
Everyone was arranged in a line around the city. Evalle joined the line. They joined their hands together and closed their eyes. The wind started blowing fiercely. Evalle began to murmur the spell she found on the floor of her room. Something began to push them from behind. Evalle knew the spell was working. They moved forward a little and the wall got thicker. They stopped holding hands and looked at each other. They smiled and jumped happily. Now, those people couldn’t see them again, but they could see the people. Evalle was glad. She was the ruler of a magic land.
Jasper walked towards her. “Hey lady, it worked. Thanks.”
“No problem, it’s for our good.” Evalle said as she smiled. She didn’t want to get too close to him.
Jasper moved closer to her. “You are a very powerful lady. How did you get your powers?”
“I will tell you when we get to my house. It’s almost raining. Let’s go.” Evalle said as she watched the other people scurry off to their houses. Jasper was following her from behind. He was happy that she was speaking to him. He was growing a liking for her. Wasn’t it too early? He just met her few hours ago.
He entered Evalle’s house and sat in the living room. The isolated house outside the barrier couldn’t be compared to it. It was far smaller and uglier. Evalle went to the kitchen. Her pets p[referred to remain invincible. She knew they would reveal themselves when they get hungry. She dropped a cup of green tea in front of Jasper. He appreciated it and repeated his question.
“How did you get your powers?”
Evalle was already tired of him. He was never going to stop. She didn’t want to reveal to anyone yet the mystery about her powers, even though she knew that if she mentioned it, they’ll treat her like something else. She also knew she had no other choice, or else he would keep bugging her. She turned her head towards his direction. He still gave her an inquisitive eye. She hated it. “Does my name ring a bell?”
Jasper looked around. Evalle, Evalle. Does it ring a bell? He suddenly jumped up from his seat and gawked at her in terror. “You are that Evalle?” He was still staring at her. “The legendary Evalle, the sister of Emily. The ladies that single-handedly changed history. It is a priviledge to meet you.” His face was filled with surprise but his heart was filled with desire. He never expected her to be that beautiful nor young.
“That’s not the full story. We didn’t single handedly change history. We had help.” Evalle looked at herself. She knew she ought not to have said that. But no matter what she said, she would still remain the strongest.
Josh was staring. The stories said they were the only ones. If there were others, they definitely didn’t write it in the books. “Who are they?”
“Our husbands. They met us during the quests. They are very powerful too.”
Your husbands? You are married. Thank God I didn’t try anything to a married woman. “Wow, I never knew you had a husband.”
“Oh. Got married some years ago.” He’s shocked. I thought I look old. Seems I was wrong.
“Oh. Why are you not with your family?” Jasper asked, settling back into his seat.
“it’s a long story.”
“I have all day.” Jasper said, adjusting himself in his seat.
“Okay. After the quest, we began to live together. With my father. It was not easy. Not long after, the law came. We lived in the more exposed part of the land so they were able to get to us in time. We escaped. We were on the run for years, till my father died. We dug up a grave and threw him in. After we mourned, we left again to search for greener pastures. It was then that they kidnapped Emily.” Evalle paused to look at Jasper and confirm if he was listening. She hated telling the tale over and over.
Jasper nodded his head to confirm that he was listening to her as he sipped his tea.
Evalle continued. “After she was kidnapped, I was taken away. By what or whom, I can’t really say. That’s how I lost contact with them. I was brought to this place. That’s how I got that house on the outside. I found a compass. Everything is just mysterious. The compass took me to the major city. That’s how the law makers caught me. I remained on the run, till some days ago.”
* * *
“I can’t believe you went through all that. You’ve really been through a lot.” Jasper said. “I’m sorry for bringing back bad memories.”
“Oh. It’s nothing. I’m not through with what I was saying.”
“Sorry for the interruption. I didn’t know.”
“No problem. In the last place I found myself, I met a lady called Camilla. She deceived me. She told me she had powers. I believed her. I didn’t know she had been watching me, I saw nothing suspicious in anything she was doing. I never knew she was a police officer. I think she is their leader. They chased me till I had to use my compass for another space travel. It was a long journey. Very tiring. I met myself in a small town where I found my sister and the other members of my family. That was yesterday.”
“You found them?” jasper wanted to ask for the reason she was there with him but he knew best to shut his mouth.
“Yes, I found them. They looked very glad to see me. I was as surprised as they were. Some hours after, I suspected they were hiding something from me. Something vital.”
“And what is that?”
“I don’t know. I called my husband, that’s if he still is. I asked him for an explanation. He couldn’t give me a reasonable one. I could not trust them, neither could I be sure if it was really them or just another plot to get rid of my life. I left him and went to my room. I found my compass and left. If they really need me, they’ll look for me. They won’t even find me. I think they have changed.”
Jasper’s head jerked and his gaze me hers. “Did you just say changed? They are three in number. Live in a small town. Why didn’t it occur to me at first? Those are your family? That can’t be.”
“What’s wrong?” Evalle said, looking concerned.
"The three leaders. The leaders of the other town. The other magic town. They are your family?"
"Yes they are. Is there a problem?" Evalle asked, still looking confused. What did he know about them? What had they done that made them popular. Something bad happened. Evalle could feel it.
"There are problems. Many problems. Something happened to them when you were away. You should thank your stars that you are now far from them. It would have happened to you too."
"What happened to them? Please tell me. I want to know. Maybe that will explain why they were acting strange.
"It definitely explains it. Some evil sorcerers came to their land. That was before they built their strong barrier. They couldn't fight them. The evil people were so many and your sister's people were outnumbered. All your sister's people were either killed or possessed. That's how they all became evil."
Evalle jumped. She was almost crying. That was what happened. So, what did they want with me? Why was I left out and why do I always narrowly escape. Why am I always so lucky? Evalle couldn't stop looking at the man who just told her what had happened when she was away.
What if it is not true? He looked sincere. Evalle knew she was lost. How could she get her family back? The evil people live with the powerless. How could they go unnoticed? "How did you know about all these?" For the first time in years, she was glad she told someone about her past. He had answers to the mysterious behavior of her family.
"I once lived with them. Our town was very nice, and peaceful. It
was filled with good people. There was no war for years. On the day that it happened, I was sleeping in my house. I don't know why I had not woken up, their presence wakes everyone up. Even the dead. I looked outside and saw no one. I had to be cautious. To avoid danger. I used my magic to search for where they were. I felt black magic, lingering around mine. I withdrew. They should have started searching for me. They were so powerful that no one could stop them. I wanted to see what was going on. I had to use a power that I rarely used. Nimoto Linsae. The ability to see things at a far distance. I saw them, at the center of the town. Some were scattered all over the floor. The others were being tortured. It was not an exciting sight. I cried as I withdrew my eyes, I ran. I escaped from the other part of the town. That was when I met the people you saw here. They were obviously running from something. I knew what it was. We moved far away and found you house. There was a glint of hope. We couldn't open your house. We moved to the other side and considered it far enough. We started living there. We made boundaries for ourselves and never stepped out. That way, we were safe."
"How can we get my family back?" Lame question. I don't have to involve them. This is my fight.
CHAPTER 6
"I have no idea on how to release them. I believe we will only be able to do that if we defeat the evil people. I saw their faces but I can't remember their name. They are the powerful evil sorcerers that ever existed."
"If we call for a fight, we may be outnumbered. We are not even ready. The powerless will also be affected. Many things will be destroyed. It will fuel the fire of hatred that is between us.
"What do you think we should do?" Jasper asked, unsure if they should get into the battle. He was scared. He remembered how his family was murdered.
