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Can you keep a secret

Author: Angel JoRay
last update Last Updated: 2025-04-10 03:46:56

Charlene could finally call herself a princess.

Not the fairytale kind—but a warrior born of legacy. A direct descendant of the Queen, the First Spear. The bloodline flowed in her now. Her skin still tingled from the mark. Her heart thundered in her chest like war drums. She couldn’t wait to tell her father everything. The dream. The gift. The blade.

And yet—when she had the chance, her voice cracked, and the truth clung to the back of her throat.

"The First Spear came to me in a dream state," she said cautiously, "She told me to tell you about Ottaba... Buddha... Audivon."

Seth furrowed his brow. “Do you mean Audubon, Princess?”

"Yes! Audivon!" she insisted, a little too loudly. Her fingers curled at her sides.

Seth shook his head slowly. “What about it?”

“She said... ‘Gather the Sec and go there. Everything you need will be waiting.’”

A beat passed.

That place—Audivon.

When Seth was young, he and Idris had roamed the desert. They’d crawl through the crumbling underground caverns, weaving between cracked stone pillars and broken tunnels. It had been their secret fortress. A make-believe world. Inspired by old Earth stories—like Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves. A treasure hidden behind a sealed stone mouth only opened with the words: open sesame. It became their sacred place, where childhood adventure had lived in echoes.

Seth’s eyes widened. “That place. No one would think to look there…”

He turned sharply. “I have to find Idris and Professor E.”

The bracelet on his wrist buzzed—a low, pulsing tap against his skin. He glanced down, eyes narrowing.

“Is that all she said?” he asked.

Charlene hesitated. Her lips parted—then closed.

“Yes, Dad,” she said, the lie burning her tongue.

In her mind, ReNew hissed: Why are you holding back? Tell him!

Not now, she whispered.

Then when?!

Later.

Seth stood to leave, jaw tight. The bracelet tapped again. He raised his wrist. "Get ready. We’re going to find them." He spun and rushed out of the room, his voice ringing in the halls. “Idris! Are you there?! Talk to me, buddy! Where are you, bro?!”

---

University Grounds – Aftermath

The school was dark. Silent. Glass crunched beneath boots—crack, snap, crunch.

Professor E and Idris moved like shadows. Everyone else had fled hours ago. Only broken windows, flickering sparks, and eerie silence remained.

“Search every corridor!” a voice barked from the darkness. “They’re here somewhere!”

Marks flared to life in the guards’ palms, lighting up the halls in eerie red.

Professor E lowered his voice. “This is the worst game of hide and seek I’ve ever played.”

“More like ‘hide and don’t die,’” Idris whispered, forcing a smirk.

“Shush. Twelve o’clock.”

“Earth time? Really?” Professor E rolled his eyes, then pointed with urgency. “Twelve o’clock. There.”

“Oh. Right. Got it.” Idris grinned.

They had spent years watching Earth movies with Seth. Professor E claimed it was educational. Idris just loved the explosions.

“You distract them,” the professor muttered.

“Why me?!”

Idris leaped from cover. Zap!—a beam of light streaked down the hall.

“Over here!” he shouted, feet pounding as he bolted. Thud-thud-thud.

The guards gave chase.

Once Idris cleared the path, Professor E whispered, “Laser beam!” He raised his hands. BOOM!—a beam of energy shot upward. Glass shattered. The ceiling above exploded in a shower of shards—crash, tinkle, CRACK!—burying the guards.

They ran.

Another wave would be on them soon.

---

Seth’s voice broke through.

“Idris! Where are you, bro?!”

“We’re at the university!” Idris yelled, panting. “Bro—I’ve got a story to tell you!”

“You out of breath?!”

“We’re almost at the entrance now!”

BOOM!

A cluster of guards appeared, blocking the exit. Idris and the professor skidded to a halt, diving behind marble pillars. Thunk! Clang!

Trapped.

“Time to fight,” Professor E muttered, teeth gritted.

Then—

WOOOOOSH!

A portal tore through the air, its edges sparking. Seth charged through like a bullet, knocking guards down the steps. THUD-THUD-THUD! Bodies tumbled like dominos on concrete.

Seth summoned speed—then wind. Whoooosh! The breeze blasted the left flank.

Still, they advanced. Too many.

Another portal flared.

Charlene ran out, hair whipping, boots scraping the ground.

“ReNew!” she shouted.

A streak of lightning cracked behind her—KRAK-A-THOOM!—every guard she touched convulsed in place, then collapsed. Smoke curled from their armor.

But Seth was pinned. A guard stood over him, a swirling orb of energy building in his fist—fzzzzzz...

Seth couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe. Blood on his lip. Arms restrained.

“MARROW BLADE!” Charlene roared.

Flash! The blade appeared—sleek, glowing, alive in her hands.

“BOOMERANG!”

She flung it.

FWWWWSSH! The blade spun through the air like death incarnate. THUNK! A head flew. SHNK! A guard fell in half. WHAM!—a leg here, an arm there.

The blade carved carnage into the steps. Blood splattered, mixing with ash. Thud. Splat. Crack.

She called the blade back. Whiiiiing—CLAP! It landed in her grip, humming.

Idris and Professor E peeked out from the pillars—stunned.

Seth blinked in disbelief. His little girl?

He stepped forward, dazed, and then noticed her arm.

The mark had changed.

It glowed with power. Ancestral. Divine.

He knew then.

“Everyone—portal! Now!” he barked.

The ground rumbled. More guards thundered in from around the bend. The team rushed down blood-slicked stairs. Slip, grunt, pant. One by one, they vanished into the portal.

Back to safety.

---

Home Base – Aftermath

They collapsed in heaps—bloody, tired, but alive.

Charlene stood, barely able to breathe.

“We are one,” she said softly.

ReNew hovered beside her, crackling with quiet pride.

Professor E turned to Seth. “Your daughter’s skill is... extraordinary. You should be proud.”

Charlene stared at the ground, avoiding her father’s eyes.

Seth’s voice dropped to that tone. The one that twisted in Charlene’s gut.

“Charlene. I need to speak with you.”

I could run, she thought. Go back to Earth. Disappear. Lie. Anything but face that look.

She glanced at him.

Furious. Betrayed. Afraid.

She turned to run.

“Don’t you even THINK about running!” Seth shouted.

He slammed his hand to his mark—THUMP!

The world shifted.

They were no longer in the room.

They were in his mind’s eye—a memory plane where nothing could be hidden.

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