by Brian Nyaude
34
Like the saying goes, “time flies when you are deep behind enemy lines.” I mean seriously deep behind enemy lines. It had been at least 3 hours since I had infiltrated the castle. Looking up, I saw the sun burning brightly, almost in the middle of the sky. Everywhere around me, soldiers marched quickly and loudly, still looking for the intruder. Me of course!
I had kept myself out of harm’s way by blending in as one of them. It had fooled most of them, but it wasn’t going to last. Eventually, I was going to be found out and well you know the rest. I stopped for a second trying to get my bearings straight. I was in the eastern section, close to underground secret tunnel. Two lefts behind this alley and I would be there. For a slight second, I felt a chilling presence around me. There was a very dark presence stalking me, or so I thought. And just like that, it vanished again, only leaving me anxious.
“Keep moving,” I said to myself, beginning to run towards the secret passage. While running, I took a quick glance behind me and saw a faint shadow behind me. It disappeared instantly as I blinked. Okay I was right, someone or something was definitely following me. Did they know who I was? So close, only one more building stood between me and the secret passage. Whoever was behind was not someone to take lightly. But as long as they stayed hidden, I had nothing to worry about for now. Thinking two hours back, I was thankful for running into that prisoner citizen. From his thoughts, I had come to learn more about the castle and Katarina Fox. Her battle with the Okaya King had been a difficult one, she barely won that fight with the king of Okaya because of the sun. I don’t how it happened, the man’s memories of it ended there. Another scary thing I learned, she had many allies who were as powerful as her all over the world. Why did I do it? Why couldn’t I have picked something else? If only I had left those three objects in the caravan. Deep inside, I blamed myself for letting them get captured and perhaps that was the reason why I was trying so hard to free them. Just in front of me, I saw the entrance to the secret passage. It was hidden beneath two small houses a few yards away from me. Oh no, I felt it strongly again, the presence of the person or thing following me. A loud thump ringed in the air causing me to leap back a little.
“Why are you so jumpy soldier?” a voice from behind whispered. “Did I scare you?”
Jumping away even further, I turned around to see who was behind me. Nothing angered me more than being crept on from behind; it was just disturbing and rude in my opinion. Unexpectedly, I felt a hand reach out and grabbed my shoulder slightly. It was cold and downright unpleasant. I shrugged and moved out of reach, still looking for this new enemy.
“Your fear is exhilarating,” the voice continued as a shadowed figure came into view up above me. It circled me slowly, making the hair on my neck stand firmly. Never had I felt such a dark presence from anyone aside from Katarina Fox of course. The shadowed figure stopped, looking at me with piercing glowing eyes. Completely covered in a dark hooded cloak, I couldn’t exactly tell if it was a man or woman. Although, I think it was a woman because of the voice. Then it suddenly came to me. Among the castle soldiers, a circle of hooded figures also protected the castle. My knowledge about all this came from the prisoner’s memories. Despite their appearances, these hooded figures were not people to be trifled with. They were terribly strong and ruthless as I feared. But wasn’t everyone in this castle?
“I’m on a mission man to recover the intruder,” I stuttered trying not to look intimidated. “My superior Jolias can vouch for me.”
From my west, a strong wind blew past me, removing the hood off her head in the process. Should I say angel? She was truly a sight for sore eyes. Who was she? I couldn’t think straight for a couple of crucial seconds. I was lost in her beauty and radiance, nothing mattered. What am I thinking? I shook off her charm on me and looked away, trying not to gaze at her again. For someone like Ebi, it was now understandable how he could lose. The three things every man could not overcome easily, “power, revenge, and lust.” If I wasn’t careful, I was going to meet the same demise as him.
I thought back to what he told me when I was stuck in the yellowish world. Ebi boasted that he had Rainku on the ropes, about finish them off for good. It was then two of them removed their hoods revealing their faces and figures to him. Knowing Ebi, I don’t have to tell you how that scenario played out. I bet that lecherous old fool couldn’t keep his mind from thinking impure thoughts which resulted in his defeat. The two who removed their hoods had been Katarina and another female Rainku of great power, and the rest was history. He never explained how it happened out of shame, but I could tell that it was something truly embarrassing.
“Are you sure you don’t want to stay?” she spoke suddenly bringing me back to reality. “Let the other guards find the intruder.”
As tempting as it sounded, I just couldn’t do it all. Like a simple minded fool, I looked up into her eyes. Captivated by her completely that I lost sight of what I was supposed to be doing. The color of her eyes were a shady brown color which reminded me of an Ocuno tree and her black hair shined like so brightly I could’ve have sworn it was made of glass. The green dress she wore was absolutely perfect in any occasion of the day, truly magnificent on her. I fought hard against the temptation in my heart, unable to truly break the bind she had on me.
“Remember Rid,” I said to myself. “She is an evil person who works for Katarina Fox. Do not get lured into her snare.”
How would I get myself out of this one? She scrunched her nose lightly placing her arms around her waist. Oh no, I think I was starting to like her or so I thought. She levitated down to the ground, standing in front of me with eyes filled with awe.
“Why do you resist me?” she asked with such innocent eyes that for once actually fooled me. “No one can resist me. Not this close.”
Too true, I was mesmerized by her beyond a doubt. Even my strong will was crumbling in front of her. I moved in closer to her and smiled, raising my hand towards her extended right hand.
“You are absolutely right!” I drooled. “I guess I will stay here with you and let the others find me. No I mean the intruder.”
She smiled back in menacing grin that would have scared me before, but at that moment it looked perfect on her. I didn’t care anymore about anything as long as I could stay here with her. Forever standing by her side till the world ended. Just as was about to take off my helmet, I heard a loud bang to the east of our location. The ground rattled as if an earthquake had stirred. At the time, my senses came back to me. It felt like I had been free from a powerful mind enchantment. I shook my head and retracted my hand away from her. This lady in front of me was no ordinary opponent. She had ensnared my mind to a point that I had lost all thoughts and focus. Had it not been for that terrible explosion, I would have been done for.
“Stay here,” she commanded me as she flew up towards the origin of the huge tremor. “I will be back to continue from where we left of okay?”
Yeah right! By the time she came back, I would be long gone from this place. I didn’t want to stick around to fall for the same ruse twice. The hooded lady disappeared to the east and didn’t come back. As soon as I could no longer feel her presence, I walked away quickly to the small houses in front of me. But seriously, what had she done to me? It felt like I had lost my individuality and sense of reason. Was she some sort of succubus or siren? Something told me she was going to eat me or worse. Well whatever the case maybe, I was glad I didn’t stay long enough to get my answer solved. Another question came into mind. What was that explosion? It was powerful enough to make the ground vibrate for a couple of seconds loudly. Turning back, I glanced towards the direction of the explosion and saw nothing, but smoke rising heavily into the sky. Surrounding it, there were battalions among battalions of soldiers, all trying to put the fire out. One of the soldiers amongst them was the tall man beast I had lied to on my way here. I think this time it was safe to say I had fallen into very deep waters. My demise was certain if I was caug
ht for sure. Up in front, I stopped at the door of the abandoned house, looking cautiously around for another enemy. It was all clear, every soldier was at the location of the explosion. I opened the door quickly and got in without making too much noise. The small house echoed with a faint wind. I smelled dew in the air, meaning this house had been vacant for a while. According to the man’s memory, there was a hidden staircase beneath the floor that led that to the dungeon floor. Looking down slightly, I found it secretly hidden beneath a wooden kitchen table. It was so well hidden in plain sight under a dusty old rug, making it almost impossible to notice to the visible eye. I took a few steps and stopped in front of a old moldy shelf with picture of a man and his wife and children. They looked happy and cheerful, just looking at it reminded me of home. Was I ever going to see my family or Rogue again? I was certainly banned for life and if I ever somehow returned it would spell trouble for me. Nevertheless, I would do anything to see them all again except James, I hated him. Getting on one knee, I proceeded to remove the table and the rug gently and cautiously. After that, I saw a wooden door carved into the ground. To my surprise, there was no handle on it which made it rather difficult to open without knowing the secret technique. Now what?
I was certainly stuck and clueless as to my next action. Perhaps, I should have brought that prisoner with me and he would have shown me how to open it. It was too late now, there was no way I could go back now without rousing too much suspicion.
“Think,” I whispered to myself, trying to remember anything helpful from the prisoner’s memories.
Thanks to my mind slipper, all of his memories had also become a part of my own. Well not exactly all of them, I had only taken a full memory from a week ago and bits and pieces from years back. Trust me, it is not as easy as it sounds. Taking the full life memory of another person can have dramatic consequences to your personality and thinking. You could end up thinking you are that person or you could end up doing something you will regret for the rest of your life. Wait, something from his memory came to me. I finally knew how to open the door. From memory alone, it was rather tricky and not easy to do without practicing first. But time was not my ally. All the soldiers from before were starting to come back along with the green dress lady towards my location. Without further delay, I dug my hands into the wooden door and surprisingly it wasn’t painful. I felt some control knobs inside the door with the palm of my hands and quickly turned them in different directions. Clicking slowly, I heard the locks start to unbolt the latches that kept the door close. The sound of marching footsteps made it very hard and distracting to fully focus.
“Search that way,” the lady in the green growled, commanding a large battalion of soldiers behind her. “He can’t have gone far, I can’t believe I got fooled by such an insolent dupe. Katarina is not going to be happy about this.”
“Phew!” I sighed a breath of relief.
It seemed, they didn’t know where I was at the moment. Not that it gave me much time to relax and take a nap of course. Finally, the wooded door opened up slowly, but wide enough for me to get in quickly. I pried my hands away from it and looked down. It was too dark to see anything. Certainly, not the first thing you expect to see when you are about to embark into a secret passage. Where were the stairs I saw in his memories? And a moment later, I saw the wooden door just disappear without any warning. My eyes widened to a point that I never thought possible. I wasn’t sure to freak out or freak out even more. Where had the door gone? Certainly I had not destroyed it by chance had I? Was this supposed to happen? More steps rattle a few yards away from me as the soldiers began to search building by building.
“Oh well,” I sighed jumping feet first into the dark passage of the door.
I looked up one last time and saw the entrance seal up involuntarily, causing me to seriously lose my mind. This was not how I envisioned my demise at all. Latching onto my beliefs, I descended down into this abyss without any regrets or turmoil. The passage down was almost a resemblance of the darkness in my heart.
“I am coming for you guys,” I whispered and clenched both my fists in anger.
