Chapter 4

Rolling in like a fog, came dark clouds with a forewarning. The waters moved in ripples with the strong wind, trees swayed and waved with the inability to fight against greater forces.

Thunder and lightning flashed through the night sky with explosive claps, three loud claps repeated in sequence and at intervals.

Standing bare and covered in nothing but a silk robe wrapped around her hypnotizing shape, the Speaker of Truth, Whispers of Prophecies, and Great Oracle of Oren, stood submerged from the waist down in the middle of the misty lake.

Her head is thrown back, and her cerulean blue eyes are coated onyx black as she read the clouds, her wide eyes taking in the message from the deities of Lïætan.

One clap warned of an ominous threat, consisting of great evil befalling all creatures cloaked by the veil and beyond.

Two claps warn of a battle, the tipping of the Scale of Balance which centres both good and evil.

And the last three claps tells of an immortal guardian, born to fulfil a prophecy that could either be the downfall of all supernatural race or the only saviour they could ever hope for.

~*~*~*~

  When darkness shall rise, the world shall descend into an abyss of chaos and blood. Only one possesses the power to tip the balance of the six realms of Oren.

    A formidable beast, neither man, neither dragon, but a guardian and an immortal of Lïætan risen from the ashes to be a protector or an assailant.

     One choice, one side, the Scæl El blañçë (Scale of Balance) will have to choose between good and evil.

~*~*~*~

I woke up the next morning feeling like a train wreck, it's Saturday and my heart weighed heavily at the sight of the sun high up in the sky. Sitting up slowly, I run a hand through my tangled bed hair and recalled the discussion I had with Katrina before sunrise.

My eyes fly to my bedroom door automatically and an astonished gasp leaves my lips, my eyes moving frantically in search of the gaping, melted hole which can no longer be seen.

For a nanosecond I let myself think everything could have been a dream and scrambled out of bed, hurrying to the bathroom I pull my shirt over my head and gaze at the mirror sideways in hope. I didn't see much, but a portion of the tattoo was visible to my vision so I let out an I sigh in disappointment.

This must mean Katrina had something to do with the hole disappearing, and if so, what else could she do?

Taking a quick shower I get dressed in jean shorts, a yellow fitted tee, and a pair of white sneakers. Without bothering to look in the mirror I combed the tangles from my wet hair and fixed it into a ponytail. Striding out of my room I head downstairs where laughter can be heard coming from the open kitchen.

Seeing my mother and Katrina giggling like mischievous little girls in the kitchen, I roll my eyes and join my father and little brother, Brian, on the couch. "Good morning."

"Hey, cupcake." My father responds, his eyes not straying from the show he's watching as he pulls me into his arms and places a light kiss on my forehead.

"What's with the two of them?" I ask when another giggle floats from the kitchen. "They look like they're plotting something."

"Mum is just asking about Katrina's school in England, she's positively excited you want to go." The brain responds, his own eyes also not straying from his phone.

I look between father and son and shake my head at the similarity in behaviour. "Seriously?" I turn to stare over my shoulder and notice how my mother almost looks like a teenager on the day of her prom. I'm hurt she's so happy to send me away.

"She's quite excited you want to attend that prestigious academy, she never brought up the suggestion of a transfer because she thought you'd be irritated by the subject of attending Katrina's school. It's been her dream ever since your aunt, Patrice-" He sneered her name with an uncomfortable grimace, rolling his eyes.

For reasons unbeknownst to our family, my father has an unnatural dislike for Katrina's mother. But ironically, Aunt Patty completely adores him. "-won't shut up about what an improvement the school is making on Katrina. There was also something about the school being a major help on your credentials if you want to make it into an ivy league university."

I shake my head, finally getting down to the bottom of it all. My successful lawyer of a mother has always dreamed of her children studying in an Ivy League college. It's a dream she never got to fulfil in her time because she chooses to attend a second-tier university with her high school sweetheart, who she ironically dumped a couple of months later before meeting my father.

"Frankly, am surprised you even talked to Katrina about it. Why the sudden change sis?" Brian inquires, taking his eyes off his phone long enough to stare at me with suspicion in his eyes.

I shrug and turn my gaze to the TV to avoid his piercing stare. I suck at lying just as bad as Katrina does. "I just think that right now, the school is what's best for me," He gives a snort at my statement, obviously not believing me one bit, but I ignore him and gaze at my father. "When do I get enrolled in?"

"They were able to get everything done with a few calls weirdly enough, you only have this weekend with us until you leave on Monday." Leaning his head closer to mine, he places another kiss on my forehead. "In my opinion, that's too early to have my only daughter move to a different country, and I would have liked it if you stayed a little longer, but your mother will have none of it." He sighs in dejection.

Brian rolls his eyes exaggeratedly, but I ignore him and smile, tightening my arms around our father with a pout. In case it wasn't obvious, I'm a big daddy's girl. "Sorry, everything is moving so quickly dad."

"What about Josh?" Brian asks out of the blue, glancing at me with a raised brow when I let out a gasp. Chuckling, he turns his attention back to his phone."I see you didn't discuss your sudden decision with him."

"Oh shit, I haven't even told the dance or archery team yet. I need to call my coaches."

  I made sure to spend breakfast and a bit of my afternoon with my family, before they went off to do their own thing, and then the rest of the day -while Katrina relaxed in front of the TV- I was in my room making calls. It was a little surprising how at ease I felt to discard everything I once held important in my life, well everything except for archery. I loved the sport.

But everything else was a breeze, especially my close friends who barely cared when I told them I'm changing schools and moving to England. After listening to some of their indifferent response, I questioned why I had put so much effort in hanging out with them in the first place. They were part of the things I worked hard to achieve in other to fit in, but if I had to work hard to achieve things like friendship from people who barely give a shit about me, then I feel so disappointed in myself for wasting all that precious time.

I put off calling my boyfriend as the last thing on my to-do list, and of course, he didn't take the news of our break-up/my departure very well.

There was a lot of obscene language and shouting that made the call painfully unbearable, but, somehow I manage to get myself out of it in one piece.

And though I feel guilty for spurring my decision on him at the last minute, I also realize I felt nothing but relief that I had an excuse to end things.