Clifford's POV
The sound of a distant scream woke me up and I quickly lifted my head off the pile of hay I was on.
My eyes darted around. Where the heck are we? I scrambled up.
It was a old shack that looked a lot like an abandoned stable, and instead of the wooden doors, they'd swapped them for metal bars. An old rusted keyhole sat on the right and I frowned. Getting onto my feet, I grabbed the metal bars and gave it a hard shake. Even though the structure was old, it wouldn't even budge. Shit.
The sound of unintelligible mumbling touched my ear drums and I turned to find Richard strewn across the floor. Looking at the red bump forming on his head, I could tell that he had woken up at some point, but the filthy old lady who brought us here must've knocked him
Clifford's POV The next dayDespite the sun's full presence in the sky, a chilly breeze wafted round the trees, making me tug my sleeves lower. Pulling on Hero's reins, he brought us to a careful stop in a serene area coupled with a few jasmine trees. Their fresh pink petals littered the ground, along with some dead ones.My companions came to a halt behind me, taking a look at our new environment."Ooo a hot spring!" Richard yelled, pointing at the small pool of steamy water sitting at a close distance from us. "Can we take a dip?""Yeah," I replied, the same time Rakia said, "No."She shot me a glare. "Really Clifford?""What?" I jumped off Hero
Rakia's POV"A few years back, Granark used to live and work in the village as a maize farmer," Hammond started. "But one day, a group of men discovered that he was an imposter; a powerful wizard who had escaped from Hartland during the Quietus war. Once the news got out, the King sent guards to arrest Granark, but he fled into the Forbidden Forest. He was never seen or heard from again.""That doesn't mean he's dead!" I snapped, inadvertently startling Hammond. I gave out a sigh, "I'm-I'm sorry, ok. It's just...he...he could still be alive."Hammond slowly shook her head. "I highly doubt that. The forest is literally a representation of death, nothing grows in there. Some people even say that the area is swarmed with demons."I pushed my fingers through my dark hair, trying not to thin
Rakia's POV"Sit, sit," the elderly woman urged. "You must be absolutely famished from your long journey." Mother Arielle eagerly went round the table, dishing hearty laddels of thick gumbo into everyone's bowls. The hungry children cheered after receiving their share."You're going to love Mother Arielle's gumbo," Hammond piped up, all traces of sorrow gone from her eyes. "She makes the best gumbo in the entire Midlands.""Oh stop, Hammond," the elderly nun chuckled, finally dishing my bowl with soup. I sat next to Clifford at the table, whilst Richard and Hammond sat across from us. The rest of the seats were occupied by the many children.Mother Arielle settled down at the head of the table and requested that we say the grace. Once we all rattled out the prayer, spoons found their wa
Rakia's POVMy hairs stood on end.Darkness loomed all around us, despite the fact that it was a bright morning. With the torch that served as our only source of light, we carefully moved past dark hollowed trees. Occasional flutters and 'hoots' filled the air, probably from owls or bats. The thought of bats sent a second jolt of fear up my spine. Those creatures were evil.Richard held up the blazing torch, a few feet ahead whilst Clifford trodded behind me with the horses. Spotting a large tree root in the way, I quickly hoped over it, only to trip over something else. "Whoa!" Before I could make contact with the ground, a strong arm wrapped round my waist and yanked me back up."Hey!" Clifford's hot breath hit the side of my face. "Are you ok?"
Rakia's POV"Mmm! This, without a single shred of doubt, is one of the best swiss rolls I've ever had in my life!" Richard stuffed two more of the puffy pastry in his mouth, prompting Lula to bring out a second tray of baked treats.The boys and I occupied the sofa in Granark's small but cozy living room. I picked up a pastry from the tray in front of us and took a hearty bite. The vanilla cream filling gently oozed onto my tongue. "Wow, this is really good, Lula."Her pointy ears perked up at the compliment. "I told you you'd love them," she beamed.Taking a bite of my second roll, my eyes suddenly flickered up to meet Granark's intense stare. I swallowed the pastry in my mouth. "Is something wrong?"He hesitated a bit. "No. It's just... you loo
Adrian's POV"Don't tell me you still haven't found a way to kill the girl!" I tightened my water tentacle around Lohan's neck. His face had turned red and his eyes looked like they were ready to pop out of their sockets."I'm sorry, King Adrian," he managed to squeak. "We've tried everything in our power and we're still doing so.""It's not enough!" My voice boomed in the temple. "Your power is not enough!" I flung the man across the room, startling the few council members with us.The water tentacle pooled onto the floor. My anguish at everything happening in my life was beginning to eat into my heart. "Find a way," I spoke in threatening tone. "I don't care how you do it, but find or create a spell that can let me kill Araknee! Because if you don't..." my eyes locked on Lohan's face.
A week laterClifford's POVWater splashed ferociously against the rock I sat on, watching one of Rakia's intense training sessions. It was all she and Granark have doing these past days.At her command, water swarmed past Rakia, slashing down five of Granark's magical wooden puppets in one swing."She's getting pretty good at this," I said to the wizard who sat a few feet away from me."Eeh," Granark scoffed, setting his scrolls aside to fold his arms. "She's still not fast enough.""You're joking right?" I gaped at the old man. "She has destroyed half of your entire fleet." I pointed at the numerous wooden contraptions floating on the water. "An
Rakia's POV "I don't know about this, Rakia." Clifford looked down at the water with an eerie look on his face. "It looks dangerous.""No, it's not." I pulled off my dress."What if something bad happens?" He turned around, eyes widening at the sight of me in just my underwear, then he turned back to the water with a red face."Nothing bad will happen," I giggled at his reaction. "Besides I control water, remember?" Stuffing my clothes into a bag, I tossed it at Clifford and he let out a tiny shriek, which made me laugh some more."If I die," he spoke in a threatening tone. "It'll be on you.""You're not going to die, dummy." I swatted his arm. "Now go change."He shuffled away, cradling