"Rinette, no!" Leaf shouted, I already opened it. I screamed when I saw a snow-filled cave with a snow phoenix and her babies. She stood up, alerted by the intruder and got ready to blow her cold breath on me. I was suddenly pulled back and the door shut. "Are you that dumb," Elle, who closed the door, snapped. Ace was the one holding me. "I'm sorry," I apologised, still in shock. Elle sighed and walked back to Leaf. Ace's thumbs came up to my temples and slowly rubbed against them. "Calm down," he whispered. I exhaled, relaxing and getting out of the shock. "We are looking for an autumn-like or hazel-brown door with something related to books, pens or ladders," Leaf called out. "Spread out, guys. Ace, you and Leaf head North, and Gomez and I will head East. Ann, you handle South, and Rinette, West." Elle instructed. "Leave Rinette on her own?" Ace asked disapprovingly. "She's not a baby, leave her alone," Elle said harshly and dashed off to the East doors. Ann walked off to che
We stared at each other in complete silence, fear lingering in the air, the tension so sharp it could cut through anyone. Elle clicked her tongue and cocked her hips. "What are we going to do now? We can't let this happen, we'll become slaves too," "I can't think of anything," I admitted. I was more worried about my boyfriend taking part. I knew something was missing, but I didn't expect this. Sybil doesn't use Ace because she has a crush on him, she uses Ace because he's the only face she knows. "Any clue where she hid her body? Maybe we can kill her body and destroy the sceptre," Leaf suggested uncertainly. "Hmm, let me see if she left a clue," Elle said, reopening the book. She flipped through pages, her eyes swiftly reading the words. "Found something that might be useful…" She left her words hanging, unsure of what she was saying. "Okay, what is it?" "None can pass the watery gate None can escape the beast within Through scales and flying swords Let the banshee wail. Over
My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open. He tilted my head up to look into my eyes. I blinked in shock, his expression reflected his words. My throat went dry, and my voice was completely lost. He blinked slowly, steering his lips into a smirk. "Ace," I called breathlessly. "I don't…" "Let's talk about this another time, we should focus on what is going on," I exhaled with relief. Dealing with his confession wasn't that important, for now. I was glad he was kind enough to understand that. I felt something snake around my leg before I was suddenly yanked into the pool with a scream. I held my breath as the ice-block water enfolded me. Bubbles spread from my mouth, my eyes blurring. I shook my head and looked at what was holding me, a long tentacle. The tentacle was spiky, it felt like thousands of tiny pins were wrapped around my leg. The tentacle pulled me towards a coral cage. Ann must have trapped it in there. The coral reef would have been beautiful if I hadn't been dragged to my
Finally across the pool which had been returned to its formal position and the fish back to jumping in and out of the water, we set off to pass the next obstacle. Ace fingers laced delicately with mine, with such fragility I felt that any slight wrong movement would cut off either of our fingers. Elle was generous enough to carry Ann on her back since she was tired. Leaf was also exhausted, they had both used their powers more. "The next line says let the banshee wail," Elle informed, looking at me questionably. I shrugged. "Well, you and Ace have been playing the role of a leader so far, especially you, Elle. I'm sure you can figure something out." Ann said weakly. "Hmm, maybe someone would hurt himself or herself," Gomez said unsurely. "And so far, Gomez has shown no sign of wisdom," Leaf sniggered. I laughed and shook my head, the others chuckled. "Banshee," Ace said thoughtfully. "Could be a banshee. Gomez, what do you hear?" "That's the confusing thing, I hear nothing but us
"Ace, any ideas?" Elle asked calmly. "I can't think of anything except Ann should heal him first." "Okay," Ann whispered. Ace watched them as he stroked his chin. "I have one!" I exclaimed with a snap of my fingers and a wink. "What if Elle and I or—just I—make a spell to block out sounds? Make us deaf? Temporarily deaf?" "Bad idea, what if something big is coming and we need to hear it?" Ann asked with all her focus on Gomez. "Any other brilliant ideas, people?" Elle asked loudly. I rolled my eyes. That was my only one. "Elle, remember the time we were sent by the councils to eliminate the screeching boiled meat…" "Screeching phoenix," Elle corrected. "And yes," "What happened?" I asked curiously. "We work in a secret supernatural agency made for keeping rogue or wild myths in check. Some mythical creatures are cruel and tend to extend their madness to humans, we keep them all in check by either eliminating or imprisoning them. Elle and I are the best among the young vampires,
With my back pressed against the wall in fright, I clung to my own arm, trembling as I watched Ace easily block the lava. It wasn't a pretty sight; the monster, that is. Was I worried about my boyfriend? Yes, damn worried. I was confident that Ace could kill it, but I doubted the time and I was worried he'd get hurt. "I can't kill it, I don't have the strength and time for that. The moment I say go, run, Rinette, okay?" "Okay," I had seen Ace's body burnt with fire, his skin flame up, but I had never seen his entire body turn into liquid flesh; lava flesh. His hair burnt up completely, the ash of his clothes falling to the ground. I looked at the back of his head, avoiding looking at his behind which might be naked. Ace stepped into the lava, looking up at the monster that was looking back at him with awe. My jaw dropped as he started growing, gaining more height by extracting the lava into his body. He grew and grew until he was a bit taller than the monster himself. I stood there
"If you don't want to be a slave, yes." "But what about the unjust act carried out on her? What about that?" I questioned, stretching on my toes and giving him an intense look. "Are we really going to let Dermot and his father keep walking the earth in peace?" "To protect others, some changes must be made. I know it's unfair but there's nothing we can do," "Ace, her sister was killed, her birthright and lover taken away from her. There was no one to help them. They didn't have enough power to save themselves. I know how it feels to be helpless, how it feels to want to avenge the wrongs committed on you. Do you think I haven't contemplated going back to hurt every single soul that hurt me in the past? To satisfy me with their helpless cries? To make them feel as worthless as I felt? I have, I do every single day. But I fight that thought because I know it isn't right." "What they did to Ivy is different, worse. I understand her, she saw a chance to get revenge and she took it. Ivy n
"Congratulations, you just established a death wish for everyone," Ace said emotionlessly. "May I know how you intend to achieve what you just promised a ghost?" He asked sceptically, folding his arms. "I don't know, that's something we'll discuss," "You and who?" "Ace," I whined. He raised his hands. "Sorry, I'm being sceptical but don't you find her acceptance suspicious?" "I do, and I will be ready for her, just trust me." I looked down at Ivy's body. Even in death, she still looked absolutely beautiful, and graceful. Her skin had turned pale blue after I summoned her, her lips darker than before. Breathing in deeply, I leaned on the edge of the coffin and reached down. I took a handful of her hair and snapped it off. I put the hair into my shadow bag, reached down again and carefully took the sceptre she held to her chest. I threw the sceptre into the bag with a smile. I closed the coffin and carried the censer, putting it into my bag as well. I floated around the coffin, snu