Angel looked over to Shalina’s parents, who were holding each other while crying. Her father looked back at Angel, thinking the same thing. Shalina was going to pass.
“Let’s go back inside, my boy,” Angel’s father patted his shoulder, “she’ll be back.”
Angel sighed, “Yeah,” he turned around and went into his hut where his mother was preparing dinner. She looked back and gave a gentle smile.
Angel resembled his mother more than his father, with his big green eyes, and curly brown hair that fell to his shoulders. He considered himself lucky that he was one of the few kids that looked like his parents, and not completely different.
“Don’t look so down, Angel,” mother said, “She’ll fail the test just like all the other children, and be back home in no time.”
Angel frowned, then went to lay down on his pallet on the floor. He took a deep breath and began planning on helping Shalina escape. The festival was tomorrow, and they only have one once a year. He couldn’t let her miss that.
***
Angel got up before sunrise and snuck out of his hut. He had plenty of experience with sneaking out, so he escaped without a sound.
The village was quiet, as it was every morning, and all the fires were burned out from last night. The only light he had was the little light the sun gave as it peeked over the mountains.
Angel knew just where to go to get to Shalina, because when he was being taken away for testing, he peeked through his blindfold and saw them leading him into a cave right next to a lake. He ran behind the hut and untied one of his horses, then jumped onto its back and rode into the dark forest. The cave was only a mile out, and by the time Angel got there, the sun had just risen over the mountains. He jumped off of his horse, next to the lake, and then peeked into the dark cave, seeing nothing.
Angel took a deep breath and walked inside, leaving the light far behind. He used the wall to guide him, and hoped that he didn’t fall into some deep hole. As he felt through the cave he thought back to the test, and how they used a sword to determine if he had Venra. He would have to use the sword every day for a month, hoping that one day he would awaken it. The elders decided that after a month, if the sword didn’t awaken, then there wasn’t an ounce of Venra in your veins. That made him wondered what would happen after Shalina touched the sword.
Angel stopped walking when he heard someone talking around the bend.
“She is the one, she holds the royal power,” it was one of the elders whispering to another. Or so he thought it was another elder.
“Shalina...” someone sighed, “what a coincidence,” he had a deep voice.
“What will you do my lord?”
“Never mind what I do. Just know that she will be coming back with me, and I have your full support?”
The elder sounded as if he were choking, making Angel peek around the bend. It looked as if a glowing rope were wrapped around his neck, and he fell to his knees, “Yes-yes...my lord.”
The rope broke into little pieces of light that disappeared into the air, “good. I’ll be back to get her later.”
“Yes, my lord,” the elder bowed his head.
Angel wanted to look around and see who the elder was talking to, but he didn’t want to be spotted. He rested his back against the cave wall and held his breath so not to be heard.
The mysterious man must have left because the elder gave a relieved sigh, and started walking deeper into the cave. Angel waited for him to get far enough, so not to hear him following, but not so far that he couldn’t see the light from the elder’s torch.
Angel followed the elder deep into the cave, where he suddenly lost sight of the torch light. He sighed and shook his head, wondering where the elder could have went. Now he was back to following the walls.
“Where are you?” Angel whispered to himself.
“Over here,” he heard a faint whisper.
Angel stopped walking and looked around as if he could see, “Shalina?”
There was no answer, then “over here, Angel,” the voice whispered again.
“I can’t see. Where?” Angel looked around himself again, and spotted a faint blue light further into the cave, “Shalina?”
Angel followed the light, and was soon surrounded by the blue light that lit up the cave. In front of him was a dead end leaving him wondering where the blue light was even coming from. He turned around and was faced with the darkness behind him. Where is she?
“Shalina?” Angel whispered again, feeling defeated. Had he been lead into a trap?
The blue light grew brighter, and to his left the cave wall shook. Angel backed up until he couldn’t back up anymore, and waited for what was going to happen next.
Glowing lights with no fire, and shaking walls was completely out of the ordinary, making Angel tremble. He thought about running away, but he didn’t want to leave his best friend behind. Not with the elders anxious to create soldiers, and a dangerous man seeking to take her away. He must have been from the First Kingdom, using Venra the way that he did, because no one in Varenwhile knew how to control it even if they had any to control.
The shaking wall cracked horizontally and then vertically to the floor, drawing out a door. The shaking and the cracking stopped all at once, leaving Angel standing there in fear. He slowly walked up to touch it, but jumped when the carved out door cracked open.
Angel was back against the wall looking for anything that he could use as a weapon. The door cracked open wider, and he began sidestepping towards the darkness.
“Wait...” a voice whispered. It was the same one from before.
The door pushed open one last time and after seeing what was behind the wall, Angel sighed with relief.
“Angel?” Shalina squeezed through the opening she created for herself and started dusting herself off, “what are you doing here?”
Angel looked his friend up and down and was glad to see that she was okay. She was just in need of a bath, “you’re okay,” he smiled.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Shalina noticed the blue light and wondered where it was coming from. She sighed and shook her head, “this place is weird.”
“I agree. We need to go,” Angel said taking her hand.
Shalina nodded and followed Angel through the cave. He knew how to get out from following the walls, and they both escaped the darkness of the cave without being noticed. The elders must have been having a meeting, as they did so many times with Angel, making him sit alone in a small room by himself.
Shalina ran over to the lake where Angel’s horse waited, and drank from it. She then, washed off some of the dirt along her arms and legs, then stood up with a big smile on her face, “it’s so warm out here.”
Angel stared at Shalina while blushing. She was his best friend, but also a long time crush. It was her long blond hair that took his attention first, and then her dark blue eyes that stole his heart. She had flawless fair skin, unlike Angels, who’s was slightly tanned, and was just about the same height as him at 4 feet and 3 inches. She was the perfect girl, only she didn’t know that yet, because Angel wanted to wait until he was considered a man before telling her.
Shalina looked from the horse to Angel, “we should get going before the elders realize that I’m missing.”
“Yeah,” Angel untied the horse and pulled himself on top, then he reached down and helped Shalina up, “let’s go boy,” they turned around and ran off into the green forest. Halfway there, they slowed down to a walk to give the horse a break.
“Can you hear it? The festival is starting,” Shalina said softly.
“Y-yeah,” he looked down at her hands around his waist, “the festival,” Angel was glad that he was faced away from her, or else she’d see how red it was.
“So, I have a question,” Shalina said.
“Go for it.”
“How’d you know where I would be? I was surprised to see you standing there when I came out.”
Angel thought back to how Shalina pushed thro
ugh the cave wall, and forgot to answer her question, “How did you manage to create a doorway in the cave? You learned how to control your Venra overnight?”
Shalina laughed, “no way. That wasn’t even me,” she sighed, “I don’t know what it was. I was just sitting in my room when the wall suddenly opened, and it formed a pathway for me to crawl through. It was scary really, but I didn’t want to stay locked away...there was a voice-”
“You heard it too?” Angel tried to look around to see her, but then snapped back after realizing that he was still blushing.
“Sound like a ladies voice right?”
“Yeah, she led me to you- sort of,” Angel sighed, “I thought I was going insane.”
“You and me both,” Shalina laughed. They were both quiet for a moment, hearing the festival music get louder and louder as they neared the village.
“So, what do we do now?” Shalina sounded sad, “eventually the elders will notice that I’m gone.”
Angel watched how the flowers around them began to grow as they passed. He loved how her many emotions would cause something beautiful to happen. Shalina had no idea how to control her Venra, but sometimes she was able to use it by chance. That’s why they always had to stay away from other villagers just in case she accidentally used her power. Angel and her parents hoped to keep her secret until the elders took her for testing, and now she’s a prized possession that can no longer make decisions on her own. With the elders around she would always be controlled.
“Did the elders test you yet?” Angel asked.
“Yes, the sword had disappeared right after I awakened it.”
“You awakened it already?!”
“Yeah. It was amazing. They sat the sword in front of me, and right when I grabbed the handle it lit up. The light was so bright that the elders had to turn away, but I was the only person that could see. I thought I saw a face looking back at me, but then it turned out to just be my reflection,” she giggled, “the elders kept that sword very clean.”
“I know what you mean,” Angel sighed, “so what happened next?”
“Nothing, the light went away, and when I reached for it again, it disappeared. That’s when the elders locked me away and started a meeting. They are probably losing it as we speak,” Shalina laughed again.
“Probably. Well, we will just have to keep you hidden. Maybe we’ll skip the festival.”
“We can’t do that! Darrengiy will be there!”
“Darrengiy...” Angel had a bad feeling about him.
“Yeah, the only Venra user, besides me, that’s still alive.”
“He’s the immortal prince isn’t he?”
“Yeah, the only one left from the kingdom after the revolution. He’s like thousands of years old, and very experienced with Venra.”
“Shalina, I heard stories about him. He’s not as powerful as he used to be. Not like he was a thousand years ago at least.”
“And how do you know?”
“Because he’s alone. I heard the stories from the old lady next door. Darrengiy was the only royal blood, besides his son, that escaped death. The rest of them were killed, which makes him weak. I guess they were stronger all together. After the revolution the kingdom lost its power over the worlds, and could only rule over the people that still lived there, but eventually they left too.”
“But if he’s so weak, how do you think he managed to stay looking young for a thousand years?”
“The lady didn’t tell me that. I wondered the same thing though, but what I do know is that he’s not a good person.”
“And your neighbor told you that?”
“Yeah, and-”
“How do you know what she says is true?”
Angel didn’t answer, because he didn’t know. All he had was a gut feeling that Darrengiy was a bad guy, and the word of an old woman that likes to tell stories.
“Angel, I don’t want to miss my chance to meet someone like me. He can help me, and he might even give me a way to stay out of the war.”
“How do you think he would be able to do that?”
“I don’t know,” she said sounding irritated, “I just have to find out. I’m sure he’d be happy to meet someone else like him.”
“Yeah, I guess. But you won’t go alone, I don’t trust him,” he thought back to the choking elder, “and if he can’t help you then we will have to hide you. I’m sure your parents would want to get you far from the village.”
“Okay, Angel,” she hugged around his waist tighter, making him blush once again.
Chapter 2
Darrengiy
Angel and Shalina walked through the crowd, headed for the center of the village, where Darrengiy would be speaking. Shalina and Angel blended in just fine, and they both doubted that the elders would spot them with so many people around. There were only about seven elders, and a handful of enforcers, which wasn’t enough to spot two villagers out of hundreds. Still, they were cautious, and had switched Shalina’s dress with a pair of Angel’s wool cream pants and t-shirt. She also put her hair up in a ponytail like most of the men did in the village once it got too long.
Angel and Shalina were a pretty far distance away from the stage that Darrengiy would be speaking on, and it was taking too long for them to get though the crowd, “let’s go around,” Angel said. He took her hand and led her outside of the crowd where it was easier for them to walk towards the front.
Angel scanned his surroundings as they headed for the stage, but stopped when he saw a familiar face. Shalina slammed into the back of Angel, not realizing that he stopped walking so suddenly.
“What’s wrong?” Shalina peeked around him, then ducked back, “and elder.”
“Yeah, an elder,” the elder stood there in a long red cloak with his hood covering his bald head. He wasn’t paying Angel and Shalina any attention until he noticed how Angel was staring right at him. Angel quickly looked away and turned around to Shalina, “we can’t be here.”
“What do you mean? All we have to do is-”
“No, someone here wants you. Someone bad.”
“Who?”
Angel sighed, then looked back at the elder who was watching the crowd again, “I don’t know. I think it might be-”
The crowd booed when Darrengiy suddenly appeared on the stage. Angel turned around to see if the elder was still watching them, but he was gone, then he scanned his eyes to the stage to see a young looking man in his early twenties wearing a black cloak, similar to the elders red ones.
He removed his hood while looking, what seemed to be, directly at Angel, and revealed his long black hair that he kept pulled back. Darrengiy could easily pass for a villager if he didn’t have such dark orange eyes.
Angel frowned at Darrengiy, and was about to grab Shalina and leave, but she had already ran off into the crowd to get closer to the stage.
“No,” Angel snapped back at Darrengiy, who was now smiling.
Darrengiy raised his hand out to the crowd, “people! People of Varenwhile! Please, calm down,” he put his hand down.
“Stop her,” The voice from earlier said.
Right when Darrengiy began to speak, Angel began bumping through the crowd of people to try and reach Shalina before she got too close to the stage.
Darrengiy began talking about the war, and how he has agreed with the elders to help them fight. He still had a significant amount of power compared to the other worlds, and was considered to be extremely strong.
“You can’t let him take her,” The voice spoke again.
Angel watched how Darrengiy smiled down at Shalina as she approached him. He had to be the one from the cave. The only other person, besides Shalina, that could use Venra.
“We will win this war, and restore all that is needed for this world!” Darrengiy said.
The villagers clapped and cheered. One large man in front of Angel bumped into him so hard that he knocked him to the ground.
“He lies!” someone yelled, “he lies!”
<
br /> The villagers quieted down to a whisper.
Angel got to his feet, but could barely see the man who spoke against Darrengiy, so he pushed through the crowd again to get a better look. It was another elder, who had fallen up the steps to the stage.
“He...lies!” The elder slowly got to his feet, revealing the dark blood stain soaking his red cloak. He had been stabbed in his stomach, “Darrengiy just wants power! He has deceived us all! He won’t help-”
“Villagers, this is not true,” Darrengiy said walking towards the wounded elder while shaking his head, “apparently your fellow elder does not want victory for you all.”
The elder stepped back to the edge of the stage in fear, “Don’t let him trick you. He’s as evil as the rest of the royals were. This man only wants power, our power!”
Darrengiy laughed, “What power? You all have no Venra, that is why you came to me in the first place.”
Angel continued to push through the crowd to get to Shalina, who he spotted standing right in the front. He was almost there.
“That was true, until we did find someone with it. I’m sure you already know about that, Darrengiy,” The elder held his hand over his wound, “but the girl ran away, and he killed the other elders out of rage! He was going to take her, and use the power that she has because he wants to restore his-”
“Stop this!” the sky above began to fill with dark clouds. Angel had a bad feeling and rudely pushed through the people to get to Shalina.
“Shalina!” Angel called out.
Darrengiy’s eyes looked black now, even from far away you could see the darkness in his eyes. The villagers began to look afraid, and Darrengiy knew that he wouldn’t be able to convince them that he’s there to help. He was given away by the elder that he didn’t finish off, and now his cover was blown.
“Shalina,” Angel grabbed Shalina’s arm, making Darrengiy turn to them. Angel and Shalina were frozen with fear, along with the rest of the villagers.
Angel's Blade: Power (Angel Series Book 1) Page 2
