CHAPTER TWO.

CHAPTER TWO

The next morning I went to school early to avoid the forced company of Roger. Dad always wanted us to walk to school together,-something I hated with immense hate.

When I walked in class, there was only one person in. She was seated at the far right corner of the class, her eyes glued to her books and her moon black long hair which occasionally blocked her view of the book she had focused herself on.

On realizing that someone was watching her, she looked up.Then I recognized her. Her lemon yellow eyes fluttered and glittered under the reflection of the rising sun. It was Brynlee.

' Hey Adelard. how you doing?' She asked and I nervously rubbed the back of my head before giving a reply that I considered foolish afterwards, ' Am good, aren't I? '

She smiled again sweetly.

' C'mon, ' She said, ' Are you just going to stand there. '

It was then that I realized that I was still standing at the door way.

Nervously, I went to my seat, a column away from hers at the back.

I wondered what made me nervous before this girl but there was something about her that was strange, something more than what we saw.

' Are you always that afraid? '

' Me? Afraid? Of what? ' I tried to defend myself of the allegation she had insinuated.

' Of girls?'

' Ofcourse not. '

' But it looks like you are. '

' It does? '

' More than you can imagine.'

' Just not too social with strangers, ' I later considered this to be harsh afterwards but Brynlee did not seem hurt in any way, instead she smiled and said, ' I may be to you, but you are not new to me. '

These words seemed to have a deep meaning that ought to be pondered on but I didn't have that time as Illyra arrived in class clutching onto a bundle of books on her arms.

She smiled upon seeing us together.

' Hi Guys, ' She said, secretly winking at me. I scoffed at her. What was she even thinking.

Soon, many other students entered the class.

Thale came and sat beside me seldomly sparing me a look.

I watched him as he opened his locker, probably searching for a book.

Momentarily, he stopped searching with his head immersed into the locker and sighed.

' You okay, Thale? ' I decided to ask him. He removed his head from the locker and rubbed his hair in visible frustration.

' She's at it again, ' He said.

He and Brady often had disagreements leading to them being angry at each other.

However, they always made up in no time and so I didn't have to sympathize for too long. I simply muttered a ' sorry ' and focused on my books.

Lunch at the cafeteria was quite a busy activity at Horizon Institute with hundreds of kids lining up for food.

Normally, it was very rowdy with each kid struggling to be at the front of the line.

Here, only the strongest survived and the weak ones such as I disadvantaged. But I was lucky I had Osric by my side as we always served first, much to the dismay of Roger and his duo.

We finally settled at a large empty table at the far end of the hall.

' Thale, What's between you and Brady? ' Illyra decided to ask.

Thale paused and looked at his food, probably thinking the best way to reply.

' Claims you're not too romantic? ' Osric joked and chuckled.

' Shut up, Ric, ' Illyra scolded him and he just shrugged, ' Just saying.'

' She is mad that I talked to Amantha for too long, ' Thale finally said.

Osric scoffed and said, ' I knew it, another stupid reason. '

I chuckled silently but stopped as soon as Illyra cast me a long look.

Then suddenly, I felt a strong and powerful aura behind me.

It had grown pretty familiar but I still could not trace who it was.I turned my head and there she was. Standing beside Brady was Brynlee her arms clutching onto her plate which she placed onto the table and sat beside me. Brady sat beside Thale. I knew they always made up so easily.

' Have you guys welcomed Brynlee to our group? ' Brady asked.

' Oh my bad, ' Osric said , ' Welcome so much, Brynlee.'

' Welcome, ' said the others but me.

' Yeah, welcome to our group,dear,' I said. I gasped.

The word dear had slipped out accidentally.

She reciprocated with a sweet stellar smile

' Awwwww, that's so sweet, ' Thale said smirking at me. I rolled my eyes at him..

' So, Brynlee,' Illyra started, 'Tell us about yourself.'

' You sure?' Brynlee asked and we nodded filled with glimmer of interest.

However she shook her head and said, ' It's quite complicated.'

' Make it simple,' Osric said .

' It can't.'She said with a tone of finality .

But we still persisted , hoping to get a piece of information. However,she did not bulge.

' You may not understand it all now, ' She said, ' But I will tell you in due time.'

I started to wonder what she was hiding. Whatever she was hiding, it seemed quite serious.

It was then that Thale changed the subject.

' Yesternight I had a really bad dream, ' He said

' What about?' I asked.

' Thanks for asking, ' He said, ' it's all about you.'

' Me? What do you mean?'

' Please tell us, Thale , ' Brynlee said.

Thale sighed and started, ' Well, I saw myself standing by a dark beach and then I saw Adelard at a distance Infront of me looking into the waters. He looked engrossed in his thoughts until a terrifying creature appeared and started charging towards him. '

I gasped silently. That sounded pretty familiar.

' What was the color of the creature? ' Brynlee asked suddenly.

Thale shrugged, ' I can't remember exactly but it was like reddish brown with red fiery eyes. I could see Brynlee gasp silently as well. Could she have had the same dream too?

' Then? ' Osric urged Thale on.

' It attacked him by the leg and wanted to bite him but suddenly stopped as it was hit by a telekinetic woman whose face I could not see clearly. '

Telekinetic woman? What did that even mean? How was I connected to her? Why did she save me?

' The color of her eyes?' Brynlee asked suddenly interested in the woman. ' Something yellowish.'

Why was she asking all these questions? Could she have some connections with the woman?

' The woman saved Adelard from the creature and also treated his wound then she vanished.' Thale finished narrating.

But then I was caught up in a trance. How could Thale have the same dream as I?

Was there something it signified? The woman had yellow eyes just like Brynlee. Could she be the one? Not possible, she was also asking about the same woman. So who was the mysterious woman?

But I was sure that Brynlee already had a hint of who it was. Maybe that's why she never revealed her background to us. She was hiding something, I concluded, something I would surely uncover.

That evening I arrived home pretty late from school and found Roger and dad sitting quietly in the living room.

Father seemed to be engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice my presence but Roger who was doing nothing in particular noticed me quickly and smirked, already rolling up a plan under his sleeves.

' Look who's back, father, ' He said, sneering at me devilishly.

Father turned his head to look at me. He observed me for a while quietly before asking in a Deep voice that sent shivers down my spine, ' Where from, Delard.'

' School,' I muttered and Roger snickered .

' He's lying, father, ' He said, ' I told you he already has a girlfriend, that new girl.'

Shocked beyond words , I dilated my eyes at him.

Me? Girlfriend?I knew Luteam would tell Roger of Brynlee

' Is this true, Adelard?' Father asked, looking at me me sternly.

I shook my head vigorously, ' Not true, father. Roger is surely lying. '

Roger sneered at me, ' If I am lying, then let him explain where he is from at this hour. '

I kept quiet and this way, He won.

With a wave of hand, father told me to go away to my room.

As I climbed the stairs to my room, I looked down and saw Roger's grimace. He loved it.

Once I lay on the bed, I was so tired that I instantly fell asleep

Soon, I found myself standing along the same seashore as the first dream but this time the weather was a bit harsh.

It was a perpetual, murky evening and the rays of the sun had almost vanished. Behind me was the deep forest but this time, I could see that a large part of it had been destroyed, burnt down by fire.

I had this murky feeling that the destruction had something to do with the creature.

With a feeling of dread, I scanned the entire shoreline for any sign of the creature, or maybe Thale. I found none. There was no sign of life but I had this feeling that something was watching me .

Oh, yes there was something. From afar, I saw something moving swiftly towards me with speed as fast as lightning emanating blue energy.

In no time, it stood before me, two yards away and I was able to see that it was human although I the face was blurred.

But then I didn't have the time to observe him further as he disappeared into thin air or rather became invisible. I tried to locate him in the entire shoreline and the forest behind me but I could not catch a glimpse of him.

Suddenly, I heard a mighty grown behind me. I quickly turned, petrified to see the same demonic creature before me. But , this time, it had grown much bigger as if from the destruction it had done to the forest.

I gulped hard as it revealed its sharp canines it so much wanted to immerse into me. Its pearly and demonic rogue eyes shone with perceptible rage that echoed its invulnerability and unstoppableness . It was unbeatable!

With its mouth which was wide open and dripping sticky saliva which smelt of sludge and rotting fresh stale feet, it lurched.

But then behind him, there was someone else.

She quite looked like the girl from the previous dream, or rather she looked exactly like her, this time she had grown much bigger and looked more of a woman than a girl.This time I could see her face. It was bloody, like someone from battle. She looked deadbeat as she stared helplessly with her yellow eyes at me.

The creature was just a few steps from me when it noticed that my attention was behind its back. Grunting, it stopped and looked back but shrieked loudly as it saw the woman. Without a second thought, it charged at her. However, she showed no signs of escaping or using her powers on it.

She just stood there, staring hopelessly like a soldier betrayed by his companions at battle.

' Run!' I found myself screaming at her. She didn't move nor blink but she did say something, ' Fight him yourself, son,' Her voice was like a whisper, but loud enough for me to hear.

Confused, I glanced at her, terrified at the horrific scene that was about to unfold before my eyes.

Son? I began to contemplate. The creature, however, did not give me time to ponder her words as it was threateningly approaching my previous savior. Right,I had to save her, just like she did to me. But how? The demon was undoubtedly stronger than me.

But suddenly, I felt a new surge of energy in my veins. It was like something I never felt before.

Slowly I found myself stretching my palms towards the creature and surprisingly, out of them came a huge blue flame of fire that grew much bigger as I stretched my palms wider. I directed the huge fire at the creature as it was about to jump on the woman.

It was engulfed in blue flames making it stop on its tracks shrieking in extreme pain.

Then it painfully turned its attention back to me and with pure rage, it started to run towards me with only one aim, to kill me.

Again, I found myself conjuring another flame of fire and without any second thought, I threw it at it .

It shrieked wildly in pain and in an instant it vanished.

I quickly turned my attention back to the woman and caught her looking at me with a smile on her face, it was a sad smile. I observed her tattered clothes she had on and her bloody face and gasped.

' What happened, ' I found myself asking but she simply smiled and said, ' Nice one, son, '

Son? Again?

' Please, explain more.....why do you call me son?'

But she seemed to fade away each second and the last words I caught from her was, ' Beware of Lucia,'

Then I woke up .

It was thirty minutes past midnight when I woke up, sweating profusely,my mind boggled up by what I just saw in the dream.

Who was that woman? Why did she call me son?

But she had the same eyes as Brynlee,so could they know each other?

I had a feeling that she had a hand in this. If not, why did they happen when she came into the school? Well, I always knew there was something about her, something mysterious.

I needed to ask her about this, I concluded.