Mega Dragon: Harbinger of Death

A Ghost From The Past

“There’s someone dangerous in that crowd,” Aroha cried.

Instantly, Ara and Zenon were on the alert. Their eyes scanned through the entire crowd in mere seconds. Aroha’s sentence was one thing, but if she was right, that would mean she was capable of sensing someone who could go under their noses. That normally shouldn’t be possible hence their worry. Well, mostly curiosity. Whoever it was, they could handle it in seconds. Their eye caught a glimpse of someone whom otherwise they would never have noticed – the man in the cloak! The same one who had no presence. The one who approached Kiro. And he was still wearing the same cloak. Before anyone else could react, Zenon was pointing his sword at the man’s neck while Ara stood behind him. No one saw them move!

“Take off that cloak slowly,” Zenon commanded. The man’s face was well hidden beneath the hood of his cloak even though the day was bright. Zenon could not make out any of his facial features but he seemed pretty aged. At this time, the guards realized what was happening and quickly dispelled the rest of the crowd. Aroha and Zhiyi watched from where they stood. They would only be getting in their way if they attempted to join them. Besides, it was not like they needed any help. One of them was more than enough and they were together.

But something felt off. She was staring at the man but she couldn’t sense his presence. Ara didn’t need to let out his aura. One; there were too many people around. Two; he was afraid of a repeat of the last time. They would apprehend him if they couldn’t get him to talk there. So far, however, the man was very uncooperative. He had made no attempt to lower his hood. Zenon’s sword pressed tighter against his neck but he didn’t budge.

“Who is that creepy man?” Zhiyi asked. She felt the same lack of presence that everyone perceived. It was the first time she had heard of someone like that much less an encounter. She understood why the princes reacted that way. Someone like that could infiltrate any part of the capital without ever getting detected. But it was Aroha that sensed him. She wondered if she could feel his presence? If those two could feel his presence as well.

“His presence has disappeared,” Aroha said, answering Zhiyi’s questions before she had the chance to ask them.

“But you sensed his presence before. How?” Zhiyi asked. She began to wonder if she was aware of what her sister was truly capable of. If she was aware of what she was capable of herself. More and more, Aroha was doing this that she could never have guessed she was capable of. And yet, she tagged her as a rival. Did she say that to make soothe her ego or did she really mean it?

“I don’t know. For a moment he felt like a creature that I saw in my dream. Now I can’t feel anything. And I doubt that they can either. That’s why they are wary of him.”

“I’ll say this one last time before I strike you down. Take off that hood,” Zenon reiterated.

“What terrifying beings you both are. How were you able to perceive my scent?” he asked.

“You made a mistake of crossing paths with us once. You won’t be able to hide from us ever again,” Ara lied. He didn’t want to drag Aroha into that mess. Besides, he had no obligation to answer.

“If that was the case, you would have noticed me all the other times. Why would you lie? Pride? Or are you protecting someone?” the man goaded as he stared in the direction of Aroha and Zhiyi.

With quick precise swings, Zenon slashed his cloak into many bits to reveal the man beneath them. But to everyone’s surprise, it revealed nothing. There was no one beneath the cloak!

The entire crowd was astounded. There was no doubt that there was someone beneath the cloak. Whenever there was an unexplainable situation such as this one, there was always only one answer – magic! But that was not the only astounding feat. The fact that he was able to pull off such a trick under the noses of Ara Croft and Zenon Lo was an even bigger feat. It was preposterous even.

Zenon and Ara scanned the surroundings for any signs of the man but came up with nothing. Before Aroha could utter a word, a large gust of wind blew her hair apart as Ara and Zenon moved to her side in an instant.

“Can you sense him?” they asked. It was strange that someone could sense something that was beyond them. It was also the first time they needed help tracking someone down. If the both of them couldn’t then no one could. That was how it had been until that moment. And to make it worst, it was a druid-human. It was never stated anywhere that druids had good senses, but it was rumored that they did. As beings that blended with nature, they had their ways of connecting with their surroundings. Perhaps that perk was capable of picking up scents that would have been otherwise impossible. However, till that time no druid-human had ever possessed sensory abilities that surpassed that of a beast-human, and certainly not the strongest beast-human of all.

Aroha was startled. So much so, that she didn’t have enough time to collect her thoughts.

“No, she can’t,” Zhiyi said on her behalf.

“Sorry to startle you like that. It was an emergency,” Zenon said.

It was too late to try anything else. The man would have been long gone. And if his words meant anything, he had been trailing them for quite some time. Were they targets or was it just out of caution? Whatever it was they needed to find him quick.

“Should we call for help from an allying kingdom perhaps?” Zenon suggested.

Ara truly hated the idea but his ego meant nothing when the kingdom was at risk. “I’ll talk to my father. For now, I think you should return to Lo kingdom as well. We might not be the only target,” Ara replied.

“And do what exactly? I can’t sense him and neither can you. But he’s the only one like that so far. Hopefully, it doesn’t get any worse than that. What we need to do is understand how Aroha was able to sense him and work along that line. If it has to do with the level of threat that those other intruders posed, the Lo kingdom will be fine without me,” Zenon replied.

Ara nodded in agreement. Zenon made a fair point. “Should we call in the Renoffs then? Maybe they could help?” Ara asked in the direction of the girls.

They knew what their parents’ answer would be. As long as it was not an emergency, they would rather stay away from the capital. It was a difficult situation surely but certainly not an emergency. At least by Gero and Miya’s standards, it was not. Their eyes revealed that much. Ara and Zenon quickly got the message.

“Any idea when the Grand healer will return?” Zenon asked.

The Grand Healer! It had been years since the girls had seen her. If it was still the same person. But they were certain it would be. They had forgotten to ask why she was nowhere to be found. Or what prompted the change as well in personnel back at the Healers Nest. They had been so occupied by different things that it skipped their mind.

“In a week maybe. Jerome said something like that,” Ara replied. “She might be able to help.”

“So you think we should hold off seeking help till then?”

“We have our truth-seeking angry bird here, don’t we?” Ara said as he wrapped his arm around Aroha’s shoulder. Reflexively she took off his hand and twisted it. Ara groaned as she pushed him to the ground. Zenon’s chuckle snapped her back to her senses and she released him.

“Boy are you strong,” Ara teased but Aroha said nothing. She didn’t need to be told he was acting. She felt bad for attacking him, but what the hell was he thinking holding her like that. Her face was as red as a tomato, but everyone read it as anger. Her expression said that much. But Zhiyi could tell she was more embarrassed than she was angry.

“Let’s just hope the rest of the journey to the Renoff Manor is without incident,” Zenon teased. “But honestly, it’s almost like there’s always an incident whenever you two are around. How did Juza village survive?” he goaded.

“We were never in the same space I guess,” Zhiyi played along. “Even back at Juza, there was always a disaster in waiting whenever we went out together. Mostly self-inflicted,” she teased.

“Well, we just might have to separate you two then. What do you think, Ara?” Zenon teased.

“I think it’s a fine idea. So we pick one of them and never walk in the same area?”

“Certainly.”

“Then I pick Aroha,” they blurted out at the same time. And the awkward air settled around them once more. At least Kiro wasn’t unfortunate enough to be forced to suffer alongside them.

“It’s a joke of course. Why would be trying to break you two up? You two are adorable together,” Ara said in a failed attempt to salvage the situation. The rest of the journey was silent. It was as awkward as walking in n***d to your surprise party. No one uttered a word. No one dared to for the fear of making things worse. A day’s rest should sort it all out, they thought.

“I guess we’ll see you around tomorrow then,” Ara said as they got to the Renoff Manor. Zenon said nothing. He simply smiled at the both of them. And that marked an awkward to what was an eventful day for the girls.

***

Kiro wasn’t sure whether he had received an upgrade to his status already. He received a lot more stares than was usually spared towards him. Everyone in the market stared at him and they didn’t have the courtesy to look aware whenever he locked eyes with them. There was a mix of fear and disdain in their eyes. Something that reassured Kiro that he wasn’t going to be stoned to death just yet. But his shack couldn’t say the same. He had forgotten the mess that he left it in – the mess that he created.

He would have preferred if it was vandalized by someone else. At least he would have some to blame. Ara probably forgot about it since he wanted him to leave the place altogether. The place would be fixed eventually. There was no way they would leave the market in such a mess. It had only been three days. Things like this take time especially if they were not an emergency.

He moved over as many things as he could. It didn’t look like anyone had ransacked his shop, which would have been a surprise because of the state it was in. Even with the strict laws stealing was still a menace, especially in the markets. But the circumstances that surrounded the destruction of his shack probably made everyone stay clear of it. It was one thing to attack the prince. Not just because of how strong he was but because he was the prince! That was an immediate death sentence for something that would prove futile in the end. Ara simply couldn’t be hurt. It was another thing to cause that much destruction from a single punch. Of course, they would be terrified of him.

But there Kiro was. He was back with absolutely no charges. Even more so, Prince Ara was the one who ordered that he be taken to the Healers Nest. Which begged the bigger question – what were prince Ara and prince Zenon doing there in the first place? Just who was the blacksmith named Kiro Ner? Thoughts filled the air rather quickly as no one dared to say a word to him. All thoughts about Kiro. It wouldn’t be long before rumors started to spread as well.

“Hello Kiro, it’s been quite sometime now,” a familiar voice said to Kiro.

A cold chill ran down his spine as he heard that voice. He didn’t need to turn to know who that was. But it shouldn’t have been possible. How are you still alive? Where’s the rest of the group? Did you find your sister? All these questions fly through Kiro’s mind. In his head, he asked them all and he didn’t like the answers he received. He knew very well what the answers to those questions were. After all, he watched them all die, including the man who spoke to him in his shack – a ghost from the past.