“W-w-who are you?” Olivia stammered, trying to hide her fear.
The man only laughed.
“Who are you?” she firmly repeated.
The man stopped laughing, but kept his sadistic smile. “Who am I? I believe the better question is, who are you? You stand here and act like someone fearless, but we both know that’s not true. You are afraid, Olivia Lee, hiding it won’t do you any good.”
“Why do you care so much if I’m afraid?” Olivia fearfully demanded, not satisfied with the man’s answered.
What made the man so spine-chilling was that he wasn’t screaming or shouting, he was speaking elegantly, with a sinister tone. He had the ability to terrify Olivia, just by smiling.
“Your fear is like a glass of wine to me. It’s refreshing and delicious.” The man cackled.
“Were you the one that let the Dark League into the agency?”
“I feel hurt,” the man said pretentiously. “Hasn’t anyone told you that it’s rude to judge someone by the way they look? Just because I seem like some malicious person with devious schemes, doesn’t mean that I’m your villain. At least not now anyways.”
“Even if you didn’t let them in, are you somehow affiliated with them?” Olivia asked, hoping that her questions would create a façade which made her look braver then she actually was.
The man laughed. “Why would I associate myself with three ignorant idiots? Honestly, they are such an embarrassment. They are just fools if you ask me, but still, they do seem to frighten you which I find amusing.”
“Are you after the Black Crown?”
The misty man continued to laugh. “I thought you were a smart girl, but now I see that some of your foolishness is also shining through. Why would I possibly have any reason to bother myself and go looking for some tiara? It intrigues me how much your agency depends on it to save their world. However, it is rather entertaining to see what those excuses for threats would do to find that crown.”
Finally, Olivia had gotten tired of this man and repeated one of her previous questions, “Who are you?”
“Picture this, a woman screaming in her hospital bed, only to find out that she has a miscarriage.”
“W-w-what has that got to do with a-a-anything?” Olivia asked, horrified deep down at what the man said.
“N-n-n-nothing, it’s just fun to imagine,” the man mocked.
“A-a-answer my question,” Olivia demanded. “Who…are…you?”
“Imagine this, a little boy crying when he saw his puppy run over by a car in front of his eyes.”
“S-s-stop it,” Olivia shuddered, starting to lose her emotional disguise.
Her fear was starting to become more and more apparent. The man smiled, knowing that what he was doing was working.
“I have a better one. Imagine this, parents shouting as they see their house burst into flames, with their daughter still inside.”
Olivia couldn’t hide her fear anymore and screamed, “S-s-stop!”
The man continued to laugh sadistically. “You are afraid, Olivia Lee. I will enjoy your next visit.”
Olivia closed her eyes, terrified. When she opened them, she saw that she was back in the Dream Room. Her friends were in front of her and the three men were staring at her. She was in the exact moment before she was taken. It was like nothing happened, but Olivia knew that everything she had just experienced was very real. Then reality came back to her, the terrorists were in headquarters.
“We should thank you. If it weren’t for Eric’s dream, we wouldn’t know where the crown pieces are,” Sylvester Esoterik spoke. “However, what’s the fun in thanking you? Amos, Terrence, attack!”
The other two men followed their instructions. Amos started a large fire, and Terrence sent purple blasts flying around the room. Benjamin, Wanda, Skylar, and Mr. Hale all got to work and put the flames out. However, the terrorists weren’t done with just one room. The three men laughed and ran out. Amos continued to spread the fire all along headquarters. The group ran out of the dream room and followed the three men.
“You stay here,” Mr. Hale ordered as he safely dropped the four off on one area.
“No, I want to help,” Vanessa said stubbornly.
“I said stay.”
Amos kept spreading fire as he laughed. Terrence and Sylvester continued to send magical blasts around the place. Sylvester even sent blasts to workers, knocking them out cold. The men were causing so much mayhem. Unlike in The Enchanted Dish, however, the fire wasn’t going to destroy the entire place. A.S.H.’s agents saw the fire and immediately reacted. It wasn’t long before all the flames were put out. The three men, however, still weren’t done with their attack. They all created many purple blasts and the other agents weren’t ready for them. The terrorists skillfully knocked all of them out. All three of them created magical swords and started to attack the remaining adults. A fierce clash had begun.
Mr. Hale, Skylar, Benjamin, and Wanda all fought valiantly against the terrorists and were starting to overpower them, until Sylvester knocked Benjamin over with a sword blast.
“We can’t just stand here,” Vanessa hollered. “We need to help them!”
“What can we do?” Olivia asked, scared. “How can we help them?”
“All four of us can create swords and use what we learned to stop the Dark League,” Vanessa responded.
“But we’re just kids,” Olivia disputed fearfully.
“Look, if we just stay here, then Mr. Hale might get hurt. We can’t just do nothing,” Vanessa explained.
“I agree with Vanessa,” David said.
“That’s good, but we can’t just keep talking! We have to help now,” Vanessa yelled. “Olivia, are you in?”
Olivia was so tempted to stay back. She was terrified. However, she thought of the wispy man. He knew that Olivia was afraid of him and because of this he continued to terrorize her. Olivia now understood that she couldn’t be afraid for the rest of her life.
“I’m in,” Olivia uttered, now confident.
Vanessa smiled, and the other three nodded. They all created magical swords and charged at the Dark League.
“Let’s go,” Vanessa yelled.
Once the terrorists saw that four were in on the attack, they smiled.
“Child’s play.” Sylvester attempted to knock down Vanessa.
Vanessa, however, saw this coming and blocked Sylvester’s blade with her own sword. All of them kept fencing and for some time, it seemed impossible to determine who would win.
Suddenly, BANG! Eric was knocked over by Amos.
Olivia saw this and yelled, “No!”
She quickly ran over to Amos and angrily started dueling him.
Amos laughed. “You can’t defeat me, little girl. You’re too small, and afraid.”
Olivia was even more furious when she heard the word afraid.
“Trust me, I’ve been told that many times, but I can assure you that I’m not,” Olivia said angrily.
Her teeth clenched and she quickly created a sword blast. She hit Amos with it and he fell over.
“Oh get up you fool,” Sylvester said once he saw Amos knocked over. “Are you really going to let a child beat you?”
“S-s-sorry boss, I d-d-didn’t e-e-expect that.” Amos stumbled.
He quickly got up and continued to fight Olivia.
He balanced his sword with one hand and with the other he created a large magical chain. He sent the chain and tried to snare Olivia with it. However, she quickly noticed this and evaded it. Olivia smiled.
“Blasted girl,” Amos said, now frustrated.
Vanessa was helping Hale fight Terrence.
“You’re pathetic, Preston,” Terrence spoke. “Relying on children to protect you now? You were always so weak.”
“Don’t call him weak,” Vanessa
said angrily and tried to thrust her sword at him, but he avoided it in the last second.
“Thank you, Vanessa, and I’ll have you know, Terrence, that she is one of the most powerful magians I have ever met,” Hale said as he spun his sword, barely missing Terrence.
The frustrated Terrence joined forces with Amos and the two of them attempted to take on Olivia, Hale, and Vanessa at the same time.
The terrorists however were no match for the three of them together and all three of their swords created a large SWISH!
Eric and David were also helping Wanda and Benjamin take on Sylvester. The four were very good, but they realized that Sylvester was just as powerful.
In one hand, Sylvester used his sword and tried to wound any of the four attacking him. With the other hand, he created a magical shield to protect himself.
It took some effort before Sylvester was finally knocked over by a large sword blast that Wanda, Eric, Benjamin, and David created.
“This is the last time I get knocked by agency filth!” Sylvester screamed, frustrated.
He then walked over to join the rest of the Dark League. Suddenly, the other agents who were knocked out regained their consciousness. They all got up and tried to help the group defeat the Dark League. However, Sylvester noticed this.
“Honestly, I would think that you agency scum would at least have the decency to play fairly. You were always cheaters,” Sylvester uttered.
“Don’t speak to us about decency, you miscreants,” Wanda said angrily.
Sylvester spun his free hand in a circle and created a purple light. The light became giant and surround the fighting group. The light spun faster and faster. It kept on spinning and as more time passed, it became thicker and brighter. The agents still tried to pass the light and help the group, but they couldn’t. It was like the light was preventing anyone else from walking in.
“Now that it’s a fair match, shall we resume?” Sylvester said and laughed.
The Dark League continued to attack the group. At first, the group could protect themselves, but Sylvester had a nasty trick up his sleeve. He once again held his sword with only one hand and created a large purple blast. He twisted his fingers and the blast turned into the shape of a horrendous beast. The beast was dark purple and fiery. It looked like it was made completely out of flames. The creature had two oval eyes and a crooked, sinister smile. It crawled over to the adults. They were all terrified, especially Olivia. Before, she was proud of herself for being brave and beating Amos. However, that still didn’t change her. She was still very fearful. The four kids and adults lost their focus. Their swords immediately disappeared.
The Dark League smiled. This was the moment they had been waiting for. They thrust their swords at the four and overpowered them. The terrorists quickly knocked them down and laughed.
“Come along boys, we had our fun. We know where the crown pieces are, let’s go,” Sylvester said.
“Aww, are you sure, boss? Can’t we just stay and fight them for a little longer?” Amos asked.
“No Amos, come along,” uttered Sylvester.
Amos reluctantly nodded and all three of them used their stolen mirorvators to leave. In a flash they were gone and both the spinning purple light and the monster disappeared.
Chapter Thirty-One
The Contract
So much had happened that day. Not only had they found out where the crown parts were, they also allowed their enemies to know where the crown was. Once all the damage was fixed, the adults took the four to an empty room where there was a table. On that table was a large piece of parchment paper.
“We can’t wait anymore,” Mr. Hale explained. “Now that the Dark League knows where the crown is, we’ll have to act fast and find the crown first. We weren’t planning on starting the missions this early, but now we have no choice. Vanessa, Eric, Olivia, and David, I cannot lie to you. These missions will be precarious. Now that we know where the crown is, I can assure you that these places are nothing like Magia. They have been barely explored and we don’t know much about them. Yet still, we must venture there and find the crown. While the missions will be dangerous, I promise you that you will receive the most protection the agency can provide. You will be given the most advanced technology and will be accompanied by some of the finest agents. You will also be accompanied by none other than Wanda, Skylar, and myself.”
Suddenly, Agents Carter, Parker, Willow, and Ross walked into the room.
“Don’t forget us,” Agent Ross said.
“How could I?” Mr. Hale answered with a smile
“And me.” A woman with brown hair and blue eyes walked in.
“Wait a minute, aren’t you Lauren? You were the tour guide at the Corvo Power Factory and at the front desk of almost every place we visit?” Vanessa uttered.
“Yes, and my name is actually Laurel. I am in an identity crisis right now.” Laurel sighed.
“What are you doing here?” Olivia asked.
Mr. Hale answered, “Oh, I understand now. You are the new recruit joining us on the missions.”
“Indeed I am,” Laurel responded. “I had to go undercover to look out for the children and report if I saw the three men. Benjamin sent me. Actually, many people in Crow City are undercover agents.”
Benjamin nodded. “I took extra precautions. The four agents who escorted the children along with Laurel will also be accompanying you on the missions. You four children will be very protected.”
The four nodded.
“What’s that piece of paper?” Olivia asked and pointed at the parchment.
“That’s a mission contract,” Benjamin replied. “It’s something which every agent is required to sign before they go on a mission. The contract will hold you four close to the mission and won’t let you back out of it. However, it will also give you luck and try to give you good fortune on your missions. Sometimes, when all else fails, all you need is luck.”
The four peered at the parchment, and read the contract, which looked very different from a normal contract on Earth.
Dear Vanessa Irvine, Olivia Lee, David Gonzales, and Eric Andrews,
Once you sign this contract, you will go forth on a series of pivotal missions. These missions will be treacherous, convoluted, and sometimes despairing. However, you will be liable to complete them. During these missions, you will be kept obscure for your own safety. Only you, and a few trusted personnel, will know about them. The purpose of these missions is to collect all but one of the fragments of the Black Crown. The first piece is hidden in the Soulscape where Death himself will help you obtain it. The second is in the Aquadeaux where only the allies you bring with you can help you acquire it. The third piece is in the crimson realm where like before, only you and your acquaintances can help you find the crown piece. The final location which we know of is the Glacial World where the Yule King will help you find the fragment. The last piece still isn’t located, but hopefully will be in time. By signing below, you understand the dangers which you will undertake in these missions, but will receive luck to help you.
Sign here:_____________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
______________________________________________________
“So what do you say?” Mr. Hale asked. “Are you ready for these missions?”
The four were very anxious. They knew what they were going to get themselves into if they signed the contract. They most certainly were not ready for any mission, especially after the attack which just happened. However, they knew that it must be done and something was pulling them to sign. Something was pulling them into the adventure.
Each of the four picked up a pen and signed it.
End of Book 1
Author’s Note
&nb
sp; The idea for the four’s story first came to me a couple of years before I had even started writing. Something which I established in my novel is that every event has a story behind it. This includes how I thought of the premise of the novel. The story starts in the real world, in my life. Something which I’m not sheepish about admitting is that I’m a daydreamer. In my opinion, daydreaming is when you can best use your imagination and receive your greatest ideas.
One day, I pondered, “What if?” What if there was a similar planet far away from Earth? What if there were magical humans in it? What if it looked perfect, but had a very dark past that could have been brought back with a lost artifact?
Now, of course, the entire plot of the book didn’t come to me in one day, or even one year. It took me many months of daydreaming until I finally decided to write my ideas into a novel.
The writing process was nothing short of extraordinary. Every time I finished a chapter, it was like I experienced the events just like my characters. I laughed, I marveled, and I smiled. I hope that you as a reader experienced the same magic I did while I was writing Crow: The Four.
About The Author
Vishnu Pinnaka, 2021
Vishnu Pinnaka is not only an author but a reader as well. During his free time, the main thing he does is read (his go-to books are fantasy and mystery). Don’t ask him where he is from though, because he will say he was born in Magia and came to Earth using a mirorvator! He advises you to always be creative, let your imagination prevail, and never take a glowing zucchini from smiling figies.
Crow Page 19
