ROGUE ANGEL - Book One: The Beginning

Chapter Fifteen - The Reunion

THE PASSAGE was going downhill once more. And there were many flights of steps. Kyra led the way while Sirius and I were at the rear. Actually I didn’t care where we were, I was just going through the motions. For the first time since arriving in Shi-Hou, my heart sank within me – am I really who Kyra said?The more I mulled it over the more my brain became a spinning top, one side saying yes and the other no. Clearly my confusion was a sign of self-denial.Damn it, I needed to pull myself together and accept the truth. Problem was, I didn’t know how.

It was only when I banged into Kyra that I finally snapped out of my trance-like state; I didn’t realize she had stopped walking.It appeared something had caught her attention.

“What’s wrong, Kyra?” I asked.

“There are movements inside the cleft on the left wall,” the witch whispered.

The vicinity around the wall was rather dark, taking its toll on my eyes; I couldn’t see anything. Sirius, noticing my predicament,took out his torchlight from his pack and shone at the big crack. Suddenly a human figure came out and stood before Kyra.

At once her eyes gleamed, and she broke into a very wide, happy smile. This was the first time I saw that kind of smile in her –the kind that shines like stars in the sky. The man was unshaven, his hair grey, and his eyes were bright though faintly wrinkled at the corners. He looked much older than his image on the photograph which was quite queer because Kyra told me he never aged, but he was unmistakably Spencer Wang!

Sirius switched off his torchlight, then very politely he and I moved a short distance away to give the two long-lost lovers some space and privacy. We could not see their faces which were pressed against each other, and only bits and pieces of their soft conversation – between sobs and sniffles – could be heard. Tender scenes like this never fail to tug at my heartstrings, and subconsciously, perhaps, I held Sirius’s hand. He went one step further and put his arm around me – I smiled at him, feeling the warmth of his embrace. It felt good.

Eventually Kyra and Spencer approached us.Introductions were made, and when Spencer shook my hand, he commented, “Hello Alison, or is it Hoong-hoong? That was the name of my god-sister; I’m seeing in you a mirror-image of her.”

“Doesn’t matter,” I said, smiling. “As long as you’re back with Kyra safe and sound, it doesn’t matter by what name you call me. But you know, we thought we’ve lost you again when you went missing.”

“Actually I was hiding,” he said, his voice suddenly turning grave.

I grew curious. “Hiding? From whom?”

“From that guy …” he paused. “I forgot his name.” He then turned to Kyra. “You brought me here because of that guy. What’s his name again? It has been so long.”

“Drakev?” Kyra answered. “He’s dead, dear. Alison annihilated him back at our old mansion three days ago.”

“No, he’s not,” Spencer retorted, quivering. “He appeared near my cottage that very same day; I was about to leave for my hiking trip. I recognized him straightaway – one can never forget a spiteful face like that. But he appeared disorientated, wandering around aimlessly. Fearing he was after me again, I managed to elude him and make my way to the Ninth Peak,believing the most dangerous place is the safest place to hide.”

“But that is impossible,” I protested, eyebrows raised. “I saw Drakev die before my eyes.”

“I think I understand it all now,” Kyra said, a twinkle in her eye. “When Madeline absorbed Drakev’s thunderbolts, she must have also inadvertently sucked him into this world. Drakev did not get swallowed up in flames as what Alison had witnessed; he was actually in the thick of being teleported here. And the burning cottage that we saw must be Spencer’s – I suspect Drakev had scorched it out of rage.”

We entered a phase of deathly silence after that.

“I’ve failed you all,” I finally said, sounding miserable. “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself, Alison,” replied Kyra gently. “You know that is not true.”

“Oh, stop consoling me, Kyra. Drakev still lives – I didn’t kill him.”

“You are correct, you didn’t kill him, Madeline did,” clarified the witch. “Or so we thought.That means the prophecy still stands.”

“Are you saying …?”

“Yes, Alison,” Kyra intervened; she seemed to know what I was thinking. “It is your destiny to bring the prophecy to realization.”

Her statement, however, did not make me feel any better. After having tasted Drakev’s terrible powers, I was not in the mood to confront him again. I looked Kyra over, slightly resentful – whoever came out with that stupid prophecy ought to have his brains examined,I muttered to myself.

Then Sirius, perhaps having overheard my grumbling and decided to help me out, gave his two cents’ worth: “Why don’t we just leave Drakev here to rot while we return to Earth? Without Madeline’s help, he can never get back. Save Alison the trouble.”

Kyra merely shrugged at Sirius’s suggestion. She then said, “Our top priority now is to get out of this hostile place. The way I see it, we have three choices. Either we take the tedious, not to mention dangerous path that we came from, or opt for a much shorter route: the exit in Rong’s lair. The only catch here is of course the dragon.”

“You said three choices,” Sirius reminded her. “What’s the third?”

“That’s the easiest one,” Kyra responded, smiling a rather wicked smile. “I can teleport us all to freedom.”

“No, anything but that!” I said in alarm.

“Over my dead body!” Sirius added, shaking his head.

Spencer chuckled. “I feel you, kids,” he sympathized with us, his fist on his heart.

“It’s the dragon’s lair then,” said Kyra, deciding for us all.

Further down the winding stairs we went. All seemed quiet and still, but I was getting goose bumps just thinking about our inevitable face-to-face encounter with the dragon. As far as I was concerned,this kind of creature only exists in fantasy tales. Yet here I was, about to meet a real one – unbelievable! I looked at Sirius; he seemed to be in a world of his own with his faraway look. Kyra’s face was, as usual, unreadable. Only Spencer appeared fairly cheerful, chomping on a bar of chocolate that I gave him; he told us he hadn’t eaten since this morning.

Soon the light grew before us. It was also getting warm. I sniffed – there was a foul odor, like rotten eggs, in the air.

“Yuck!” Sirius cried out, pinching his nose. “What’s that horrible smell?”

“That’s sulfur dioxide,” Kyra replied. “The lava flow is emitting it. We are near Rong’s lair. Let’s pray she is in a good mood today.”

“Rong is a female?”

“Yes.”

The path continued to descend. Not long after, it bent westward. But as soon as we turned, the course suddenly disappeared. Now only the chasm, the fires blazing in anger below, stood between us and the exit – a black gaping mouth at the far right.

The witch glanced about. “See that stone bridge over there?” she finally said, pointing to her left. “We use that to get over to the other side. But it’s narrow – we can only cross the bridge in single file. Got that?”

We nodded.

“Where is Rong?” I asked.

“Somewhere in the shadows watching us.”

“You sense her?”

“Yes.”

“Aren’t you afraid?”

“I am, but we cross over anyway.”

Kyra led the way, running across the un-railed bridge that spanned at least a hundred meters long, with me at the rear. It didn’t look solid too, but I kept my observation to myself; I saw no advantage in alarming the others. Halfway across, I felt the bridge sway – oh no, my fears have come true!

“Run faster! Run faster!” I hollered. “The bridge cannot stand our combined weight! It’s going to crack!”

Before I knew it, a rumble came that rose to a deafening roar. Seconds later, the bridge broke in two and crashed into the pit, lava spouting up and licking the roof.

We thanked our lucky stars that we managed to reach the other side before the bridge gave way. And there we stood and stared, between shivers and assuagement, at the cavern, now filled with great glare and heat.

No sooner had we pulled ourselves together than the ground below our feet groaned and quaked. We looked wildly about the big hall which was much bigger and far longer than the one we were in earlier. Something colossal was coming up behind us. We could not see it clearly at first, but knew it was serpentine-shaped judging from its shadow. It came to the edge of the brink. The flames roared up to greet then entwined it, making its golden scales gleam. With teeth as sharp as stalactites they could rip through armor, and intense vertical-slit eyes, the reptile then stepped slowly towards us, fire coming from its nostrils.

“That’s Rong!” Kyra wailed. “And she doesn’t look at all happy.”

“Run!” Sirius cried. “Run for your lives!”

Spencer and I were about to do just that when Kyra stopped us. “No! The exit is too far away. We cannot outrun her.”

“But we can’t stay here either!” Sirius countered. “We will get fried like KFC!”

“Do as I say!” Kyra commanded. “Stay where you are, do not move a muscle! And Alison, put down your sword. I will handle Rong.”

“Are you kidding me?” I asked.

“Just do it, Alison. Trust me.”

With much reluctance, we did as we were told. Then,Kyra began muttering some foreign words as she slowly walked towards Rong. Much to our surprise, the dragon stood still and seemed to be listening to her.

Spencer who was standing next to Sirius, then whispered, “Hey Sirius, what is KFC?”

Sirius looked at the middle-aged man in disbelief.“You are asking me a question at a time like this?” he whispered back.

“Well, yeah, since we are not going anywhere.”

Sirius sighed. “It stands for Kentucky Fried Chicken,a very popular American fast-food chain. Can’t really blame your ignorance; you are not from my era.”

“Oh I see.”

“Can I ask you back a question?”

“Fair enough.”

“How is it that you are so old when you’re supposed to remain thirty forever?”

“Oh, I require a regular dose of Kyra’s magick to stay young,” Spencer began with an explanation then ended with a tease. “Can’t really blame your ignorance; you are not into witchcraft.”

“Hey guys, look up,” I said excitedly, interrupting their conversation. “Rong is leaving. But how is that possible?”

“You forget that I can communicate with animals and birds,” replied the witch, turning her attention back to us. “Rong and I had a nice woman-to-woman talk. Her mood changed for the better after that and she decided to let us go.”

“Phew, what a relief!” Sirius made a whistling exclamation.

“Always knew you could do it, honey,” praised Spencer,smiling in a way that melted Kyra’s heart every time. “I was never worried fora second back there.”

A blush spread over the witch’s cheeks. She reciprocated her husband’s smile with a flying kiss.

“Does this mean we are finally home free?” I asked, waves of happiness washing all over me.

Kyra nodded with a wide grin.

“Then why are we still hanging around here?” said Sirius, wrinkling his nose in disdain. “Let’s go, people! If the heat doesn’t kill us, the foul odor surely will!”

And with that, we triumphantly trooped off.

The End of Book One