Chapter 3: The Master

The road to their master’s home is going smoothly. Eve and Macky are bickering like kids, Louise is surprisingly sleeping soundly beside me amidst the noise the two are making, Gab is driving, while me and Royce who is at the shotgun seat are staying silent. I’ve figured that it was a long drive from the city, and that it has many twists and turns. We’ve almost been travelling for three lengthy hours but I think we’re still far from the exact house.

After a few moments of sight-seeing, I noticed the civilians wandering around getting lesser and lesser. We’re passing by an increasing number of trees, and the path’s also starting to get bumpy. Louise had also woken up because of the bumps, but didn’t say anything.

“It’s a downhill this time. Be careful, everyone,” Gab warned us, the van getting slower and slower.

A downhill? We weren’t even climbing a hill!

Oh, well. It’s another spell. Might be an illusion or reality warp spell.

The van stopped for a while and suddenly, we went down the steep hill. Eve was screaming, while Louise is clinging to my arm for dear life. I also heard masculine screams from the boys which made me lightly chuckle.

The breathtakingly deadly hill was conquered and now we’re back on land. But I noticed that we weren’t moving forward, we were moving downward.

“Guys, it’s quicksand,” Gab announced.

“What?!” Eve shrieked. “Someone has to go out and levitate us!”

Their master really has a twisted plan of defense. I volunteered to go out and levitate the van. I carefully opened the sliding door of the van and peeked outside first. There might be more booby traps prepared outside.

I carefully went out of the sinking van and avoided the quicksand. Then, I faced to the vehicle and activated my telekinetic ability. The van slowly rose from the quicksand and I cautiously brought it back down to dry ground.

When the four tires touched the ground, I released the breath I didn’t know I was holding. I walked up to the van and attempted to reach the sliding door’s handle, but my hand just went through it.

My brows knitted.

The van suddenly disappeared and all that’s left was dust being carried by the wind.

I looked around and figured that I was somewhere deep in the forest. There was one path, the path we’re supposed to go, but with me along in this forest, I couldn’t risk going straight to the path. It was only a grass path, which was oddly pin straight.

I stared at the grass path a bit longer and noticed that the symmetry is far from reality. I looked around again, this time with sharper and more observative eyes. The placement of the trees in this forest are shockingly aligned. This can’t be real.

This is glamouring. Another ability, its purpose is to create illusions so real it could fool any on-lookers, but not keen observers.

“Let me out of this glamour!” I shouted to the sky. Their master’s probably scrying over me on his mirrors or reflective stones.

I let out a shaky breath. I need to get out of this soon, or else my mind will fall to the illusion. I closed my eyes and focused, trying to find the presence of familiar people to try and transport to their place.

Come one, anyone, please. I could feel panic rising from within me. If I don’t get out of here, my mind’s going to accept the illusion and there’s a high chance that I’ll go insane.

After a few minutes of trying to reach out to anyone nearby, I finally felt one. It was weak but my hope was stronger than anything else right now.

I tried conjurating the weak presence. Conjuration is the act of calling, commanding, or summoning an object, person, or spirit already in existence. I’m trying to call the weak presence, in order for it to notice me, so that the presence will strengthen. And when it does, it’ll be enough for me to escape this glamour.

'Listen to me.' I spiritually held onto the thin string connecting my soul and the presence’s.

'Mazikeen? Where are you?' I heard a familiar hoarse, masculine voice reply. I heard his soul’s voice. It’s working. The presence was Royce’s.

'I’m stuck in a glamour,' I told him telepathically. Our bond almost immediately strengthened that it shocked me.

'Do you need help?' he asked, worry etched in his voice. I quickly teleported near his presence, eyes closed wishing for this to work.

A few moments after, I felt a warm, rough, hand come in contact with my shoulder. I jumped and quickly opened my eyes and surveyed the surroundings.

The trees aren’t symmetrical, there’s a grass path but not pin straight. There’s also a big ancestral mansion in front of my eyes. The familiar black van was just in front of the mansion, with the familiar faces getting out individually. I escaped the glamour.

“I guess not.” He smirked.

I looked back at him.

“How did you know it was me?” I quizzically probed.

“Your voice.”

Before I was able to answer, Eve shrieked and Royce immediately removed his hand from my shoulder and approached the boys.

“Maze, there you are!” She exclaimed.

“Hi, Eve.”

“Where were you? You turned into dust when you were about to go back! We even thought you died,” she blabbered.

“I didn’t die, I just got trapped in a glamour.” I chuckled at her silliness.

“A glamour?!” she shrieked, once again.

When we first met today, I thought she was the silent, wise, and calm one of the group. Looks like it was the complete opposite.

“She got stuck in a what, again?” Louise interrupted; her eyes filled with worry.

“A glamour, Lou. Can you believe it? And she actually escaped!” answered Eve.

Louise’s eyes widened in disbelief and looked at me. “How did you escape it?”

“I searched for a presence and teleported towards it.”

The two girls looked at each other and inhaled sharply.

“And whose presence did you find?” Eve queried.

“Royce’s.” The two giggled. Why? What’s wrong?

“Why?” I confusedly asked.

“I won’t doubt how you found his presence first. Royce’s presence is too powerful to be concealed.” Eve giggled again.

I kept looking quizzically at the giggling girls. Too powerful to be concealed? Why?

“Girls, let’s go!” Macky called, then he looked over at me and smiled. “Good to know you’re still alive, Maze!”

I replied with a subtle smile while trying to stop my eyeballs from rolling heavenwards.

We walked over to the front porch and let Gab knock

“Master Zorylle, it’s us,” Gab formally spoke.

So, the Master’s name is Zorylle? Huh. Of course, he knows who’s here. He even tried trapping one of them in a glamour.

The oak door slowly creaked open and inside was a tall, bald old man in a maroon cloak. He had wrinkles, and a long white beard, and his stoic face is giving me slight chills. He examined each of us until his gaze lingered on me.

“Mizani,” he whispered, I could barely hear it but I read his lip movement.

My brows furrowed instantly and my defenses went

.

“Why do you know my mother?” I asked, my chest puffing out as I’m starting to get agitated. People rarely mutter my deceased mother’s name; she was known to be one of the best witches on her days. But people surprisingly forgot about her, only a few remembered. As to why, it still remains a mystery —even for me.

He switched his body weight onto his other foot. A body movement that speaks of uneasiness. I raised my left eyebrow to inform him that I noticed his movement.

“She was an old friend. Come in.” He opened the door wider.

I’m going to need to ask him a few questions about my mother later.

He led us to his receiving area. A few antique sofas with a center table decorated by a vase of luminous lily of the valley flowers. He didn’t have a television anywhere, only a radio. The mansion’s second floor could be seen from the center of the base floor. It had railings with a luxurious chandelier in the middle of the high ceiling.

The mansion was ancestral, but elegant.

We sat down on the sofas when numerous floating trays with two teacups each showed up from a doorway and went near each pair. I checked what kind of tea it was and saw that it was green tea.

“Have a sip first,” Master Zorylle motioned to the teacups. He was sitting on a single couch.

I took a sip and the flavor was heavenly! But I didn’t dare say it aloud.

“So, what made my students come back with a guest?” the Master smiled at me.

“Sha had important news,” Royce answered. I took that as the initiative to reiterate my story to the Master.

“And that, is why I’ll be needing companions in search of the golden trinket. I’d like to invite them but they say they’d consult you first,” I concluded. He now had furrowed brows and a serious face.

After a few moments of silence, he leaned back on his seat.

“I can’t believe what that coven had been transformed into,” he mumbled in disbelief.

I nodded in agreement. It seems like he’s connected with the coven, given the fact that he also knew my mother.

“Can you help me locate the trinket?” I asked.

He stared at me, a hint of longing on his eyes. “Of course, child. For the safety of humanity.”

I sighed. Finally.

“But I’m of no use when in combat. I only strategize. I will be giving you my students as your companions,” he smiled. I feel at ease already with him, he looked like a perfect fatherly figure for me.

“Also,” he fixed his seating position. “Who was trapped in my glamour?”

Oh, right. He owes me that.

“I was.”

He looked at me and chuckled lightly.

“So, it was you who escaped.”

Yeah, it was me. That glamour had such a small opening to escape from. It almost killed me.

“Now, before you all go into an adventure, you must all be physically and magically present. Train for now, while I research about the trinket,” he declared and stood up.

“Maze, do you have somewhere to stay?” he probed.

“I currently stay in a hotel.”

Master Zorylle tilted his head. “You are welcome to stay in my household.”