Chapter Thirteen - The Search For Spencer
1579 Words
WHEN I awoke, I found myself lying on a soft bed. My head felt a bit heavy, as if I’d had one too many the previous night. Gently rubbing my temples to try easing my discomfort, I reminded myself to control my drinking the next time. I lay a little longer looking at shreds of sunlight on the wall. Then I thought I heard the sound of cascading waters. Was I at a waterfall? That was strange; my room was never near to one.
“Where am I?” I asked myself, stretching and drawing a deep breath. “And what a terrible dream I’ve had. I’m so relieved to be awake.”
“Good morning, Alison,” said a female voice. “How are you feeling today?” With that, Kyra walked into the room and sat beside me, robed in white, her hair gleaming like soft snow from the sunlight streaming in.
I sat up and for several moments, between great joy and befuddlement, I could not respond. Finally I gasped: “Kyra! Then it was no dream! What happened? I thought I was dead.”
“We’ve seen the last of Drakev,” replied the witch, breaking into a broad smile for the first time since our acquaintance. Or was it really a smile? Though her two rows of white teeth were showing, there was no crease beside the eyes, no movement of the cheeks. Her face didn’t show any signs of bliss. But I shrugged it off, blaming my wild imagination. “With his demise, the energy field surrounding the mansion disintegrated and I was able to bring you back here to my hut in Dead Man’s Waterfall. You were dangerously close to death but you managed to pull through. That was two days ago. You are one tough lady, Alison.”
“Drakev is really dead?” I asked, gawking at Kyra.
She nodded and hugged me. “Yes, the nightmare is over. You and I are finally free of him.”
The words of the witch fell upon my ears like a gathering of all the joyful music that I had ever heard. Bursting into tears of gladness, I hugged Kyra back.
“Was Drakev my father, Krya?” I asked when I finally regained my faculties.
She looked at me; she didn’t seem at all surprised with my question. “He told you?”
I nodded.
“Yes,” she finally replied.
“Hell, if Drakev was my father, he certainly didn’t act like one,” I growled. “Now that he is no longer here – good riddance! Was he the part I wanted you to erase from my memory?”
She said yes again.
“Fine,” I said approvingly. “But do you mind telling me more about myself before Drakev came into my life? The thought of being a freaking amnesiac doesn’t actually appeal to me, you know what I mean?”
“All in good time,” Kyra answered, smiling – a genuine one at last. “Right now, why don’t you go wash up? Breakfast is ready.”
A few minutes later, after donning a new set of clothes from Kyra’s wardrobe (my old ones were badly burnt by the thunderbolts), I made my way to the small dining hall. Sirius, wearing a big grin on his face, was already at the table. I guessed he was happy to see me finally up and about again; I was happy to see him too. We gave each other a high-five before I took my seat. Behind him was Madeline, hanging gloriously on the wall. Kyra was also there. But the one person whom I dearly wanted to meet was not present.
I looked at Kyra then asked, “Where’s your husband?”
“Spencer has gone missing,” replied the witch, anxiety in her tone.
“What?” I cried, surprised. “When did this happen?”
“Strangely, Spencer disappeared on the day of Drakev’s demise. Madeline told me he went hiking in the mountains – it has been his habit every weekend – but failed to return home after that.”
I leaned back on the chair, stumped for words.
“I’ve got to find him,” Kyra went on. “I didn’t come this far only to come this far.”
“Of course not,” I said, my vocal chords on working mode again. “And I’ll help you. As far as I’m concerned, my mission is not complete until your husband is safely back in your arms.”
“No, Alison, not mission but a pledge,” Kyra corrected me. “You are fulfilling your pledge to Spencer.”
Her statement left me thoroughly perplexed. All I could utter was: “Huh?”
The witch sighed. “You were Spencer’s god-sister in your previous life, okay? Anyway, long story short, you were kidnapped by a syndicate involved in the skin trade. The young girls were r***d before they were exported to the United States. Spencer got wind of it, and together with the police, managed to bust up the operation. All the girls were rescued except you – during the cross-fire, you sustained serious injuries and died two days later. It was with your last breath that you pledged to repay his kindness in your next life.”
An expression of utter astonishment appeared on my face. “Unbelievable!” I exclaimed.
“Yes, but it’s true nonetheless,” Kyra said, drinking a glass of orange juice through a straw. “And on your 24th birthday, when you discovered that your eyes had turned green and your inhuman powers which had been dormant all this while were finally set free, Spencer entered your dream to awaken your memories of your past life and your pledge to him. I know this because he came into mine too and told me all about it.”
I grew quiet after that, thinking about my genetic mutation – fate had certainly dealt me a cruel blow when I was reborn as the illegitimate daughter of a rogue angel.
“My mother,” I said at last, “what happened to my mother, Kyra?”
“Despondent over Drakev’s abandonment of her, your mother died while giving birth to you,” the witch replied sadly.
Sirius who was sitting beside me, patted me on the back gently.
“I am all right, Sirius,” I said with a smile. Then I turned my attention back to Kyra. “So, when are you intending to start the search?”
“Right after breakfast, if you are up to it.”
“You are on!”
“Hey, don’t forget about me,” Sirius broke in on the conversation, taking a bite out of his cheese sandwich. “I wanna come too. I just love adventures!”
I was delighted to hear him say that. To be honest, I wanted him to tag along with us as I didn’t want our friendship to end here – I just couldn’t bear it. Oh God, what is this? Have I fallen in love with this boy?
“It’s settled then,” Kyra said, getting up. She appeared pleased with our enthusiastic response. “By the way, your Kawasaki is parked outside, Alison.”
“You brought back my bike? Oh, wow!” I cried, delirious with joy. “Thank you! Thank you! Hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”
“My pleasure; there’s nothing to it when one has the power of teleportation,” she replied as she headed for her room.
I ran over to my two-wheeler and lovingly stroked the fuel tank like it were a kitten. “Hello handsome, I’ve missed you!” I purred.
The morning was wearing away when we took leave of Kyra’s dwelling, all excited in our own way about the journey ahead.
“Where are we going, Kyra?” I asked, as the three of us stood alongside each other in front of the hut, with Sirius and me shouldering our packs containing snacks, a bottle of water, a torchlight and some clothes.
“A place called Shi-Hou,” the witch replied, holding the mirror. “And it is a totally different world, so prepare yourselves for the unexpected.”
“Wow, the final frontier,” Sirius quipped. “These are the voyages of the three visitors from Earth: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man has gone before –”
“Oh, be silent, Captain Kirk you’re not!” Kyra cut him off, frowning. She then held up Madeline and began reciting a … a … a spell, I think.
Sirius couldn’t resist one last dig at the witch. He turned to me and with a mischievous wink, he whispered, “Beam us up, Scotty.”
I returned his wink. The next moment, however, it struck me that my poor tummy did not agree to this form of travel. I tried to stop Kyra.
Too late. We went poof!
Damn.
- Writer
