CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

                                               

 The moment Bellona stepped out from the vehicle, she quickly ran till she was out of sight. She stopped behind a building and breathed hard.

"What was that about?" She asked nobody in particular. Zephyr was behaving weirdly and he needed to stop it because it was making her feel....somehow.

She took another deep breath and straightened herself. She walked to the road and hailed a taxi which took her to Nimue's place.

On arriving, she knocked on the door and moments later, Nimue opened up the door.

"What are you doing here by this time of the night?" Nimue asked, feigning surprise.

"Something's bothering me" Bellona said.

"Come in. Have a sit" Nimue shifted from the entrance and Bellona entered and after which, she closed the door.

"What is the matter, dear?" Nimue asked, impatiently.

"I saw something. It felt like a memory but I can't remember if anything of that kind happened." Bellona opened up.

"What did you see? What was it?" Nimue anxiously urged her to speak.

"I saw two little children. A boy and a girl. The girl was me but I couldn't recognize the boy." She divulged.

"After that?" Nimue asked. Her voice clearly showing her impatience.

"The boy told me he'd get married to me. I think we're fated to be together." Bellona said, confused by her own thoughts.

"That's nonsense." Nimue laughed " you're probably stressed from work."

"That's not it." Bellona tried to argue. It was definitely not stress. The memory looked so real and it came with a splitting headache.

She wanted to tell Nimue what triggered it but for some reason, she kept it to herself.

"I'm sure it's the stress." Nimue said and suddenly gasped dramatically. "Or..."

"Or what?" Bellona asked.

"I think Zephyr is trying to manipulate your memory. He wants to shift the attention from him" Nimue tried to convince her.

"You think so?" Bellona's brow scrunched in anger.

"I know so." Nimue sounded sincere and Bellona once again believe her.

"Why don't you sleep here for the night." Nimue suggested.

"Sure" Bellona agreed without hesitation and then Nimue smiled and left to prepare a room for Bellona.

Nimue walked into the empty room and her smile immediately turned to a frown.

"It seems like she's beginning to regain bits and pieces of her memory" Nimue said. "...But not when I'm still the greatest witch alive. Bellona is my puppet and she'll forever be. Nothing's going to change that" She chuckled evilly. 

"Did you say something?" She heard Bellona's voice which startled her.

"I was wondering what spelt I would cast to relieve your stress" Nimue lied.

"That's nice of you. I'll sleep now. I need to be at work early." Bellona said and sat on the bed.

"I'll leave you to rest. Goodnight" Nimue said and left the room, not forgetting to close the door.

*************

Footsteps resounded through out the house and a hand opened the door to the room where Bellona laid peacefully sleeping.  

A figure slowly opened the door to Bellona's room and stood in front of her sleeping figure. 

Nimue smiled to herself. The perfect time to tamper with Bellona's memory was when she was asleep, vulnerable to all.

Nimue vowed to do anything in her power to keep Bellona locked in the cage where she belonged. She was the girl's controller.

She stared at Bellona's sleeping figure one last time before raising an incense diffuser to Bellona's once. The smoke from the incense clouded Bellona's face and her brows furrowed slightly.

The girl was fighting her off even in her unconscious state.

Nimue quickly muttered some incantations and Bellona's features relaxed. She smiled, happy with her work and then quietly walked out.

That night, Bellona's nightmares of her parents murder repeated. Their screams were calling on her, telling her to avenge them. 

Bellona woke up with a gasp. She was covered in sweat and her throat parched. But that was the least of her worries. She wanted, more than anything else to get her hands on Zephyr and kill him right now.

She quickly rose from the bed, ready to accomplish her mission. Today was the day that she got rid of Zephyr for good.

"Are you up?" She heard Nimue's croaked voice suddenly say. "Freshen up and come down for breakfast."

Bellona did her morning routine and then walked out to meet Nimue who was setting up the table for breakfast. She sat down and took a glass of orange juice which she slowly sipped.

"Did you sleep well?" Nimue asked as the began eating.

"I never sleep well" Bellona spoke, her voice low. "...But the nightmares last night was more realistic than the others I've had. I heard my parents voice. They were calling on me to avenge them." She divulged, gaining a chuckle from Nimue.

"What's funny?" Bellona asked, wanting to know the joke Nimue heard that made her laugh.

"Your parents also felt that you're loosing focus. That's why you heard their voices. You need to concentrate on your mission ahead." Nimue's face turned stern and Bellona just nodded, not able to utter any word.

She didn't want to disappoint her parents. Infact, that was her worst fear. Having spent all her years on earth training so she could eventually avenge her parents and now that the time had come, she was slacking? That pained her deeply but it also motivated her to begin her mission properly.

"Have you been able to find out what he's hiding in the shelf?" Nimue asked, breaking her line of thoughts.

"Not yet. But I hope to do so today." Bellona said. She felt this new found zeal which made her feel she could do anything.

"Eat quickly so you don't be late for work." Bellona quickly ate and when she was done, she got dressed and left for work.

Nimue smiled to herself. "Just a little while before we'll rule the world. Hang in there!"

***************

In the office, Bellona was occupied with so much work but it still didn't prevent her observant eyes from wondering, looking for the right moment to strike.

As if the heavens were in her favour, Zephyr called her to his office through the intercom.

"I and Lucian will be going to visit one of our sites in the far end of the city. We will probably be back before closing time. You stay here and look after the office." Zephyr instructed.

Bellona bit down a smile. So the man already trusted her so much so that he was willing to leave his company in her hands even if it was just for a few hours. Heck, she could do a lot in those few hours and she would! She resolved in her heart that this was the perfect day to cause havoc in his life.

"Do you understand?" Zephyr repeated. His loud voice awakened her from her train of thoughts.

"Ah...yes, I understand" She said and laughed awkwardly.

"If you face any challenges while I'm away, feel free to call me." Zephyr said and at that moment, Lucian walked in.

"The car is ready, boss" Lucian informed him.

"Alright, let's go" Zephyr said and proceeded to walk out the door to while Lucian delayed a little. 

He walked up to Bellona and held her by the chin. "You just have realized that I do not like you. Do any nonsense and I'll split your throat." He released her and straightened his clothes before walking out.

Bellona laughed like a maniac. So because she chose to disguise herself, this little rat had the guts to threaten her. She could just crush him under her feet. She laughed again and a then a frown formed on her face almost immediately. "Once I'm done with your Alpha, I'll deal with you."

Knowing that Lucian was now suspicious of her, she stepped out of Zephyr's office and made up her mind to carry out her plans during the lunch break.

Soon, it was time for lunch and Bellona came out of her office and looked around. Seeing that no one was in sight, she quietly walked to Zephyr's office. On getting there, she opened the door and walked in, not forgetting to close the door behind her to avoid suspicions.

Her heart raced with excitement when she thought of getting to know Zephyr's deepest secrets.

But thinking about it, Zephyr was indeed very stupid. How would he hide his dirty linen in his office. Did he not have a house? Anyway, his stupidity was to her favour. She was going to find out what he was hiding and use it to her advantage.

When she reached the shelf, she searched around but she didn't find anything. She proceeded to search on the shelf and look at the books. She searched each book but still didn't find anything suspicious.

It was then that her eyes caught sight of a particular book. It was the same book that she touched the other day and Zephyr snapped at her. 

"It must be the one" She muttered and the raised her hands to pull at the book and suddenly, the shelf separated, revealing an empty room. Bellona drew in a breath of air in surprise. She was about to step in when she heard his voice.

"What are you doing here?" Bellona gasped in fear.