“Us?!” Kenneth, Nella and Theo shouted at the same time.
Tony nodded.
“All these things going on are part of a bigger picture,” he said, “take a look at this.”
Tony waved his left hand and a group of letters started forming. They looked like flames that took on the shape of letters.
“Can any of your read Aghi?” He asked them.
“Isn’t that the forgotten language of magic?” Nella asked.
“Who uses Aghi anymore?” Theo asked.
“You really don’t know anything,” Tony said again, shaking his head, “anyways it reads: ‘Silen nio staue majo vamoira et aetu naois.’
“What does it mean?” Kenneth asked.
“It says that when the time is fulfilled, the vampire will rise and take the night in her hands.” Tony replied.
“Shouldn’t that be about Upir?” Nella asked.
Tony shook his head.
“Upir cannot be the one to fulfill this prophecy,” he said, “this prophecy is one of the hints we have as to where the sword is.”
“The warrior made this prophecy?” asked Theo.
“Yes, he devoted his dying days to writing about the sword.” Tony replied.
“But he was a warrior, not a seer or prophet.” Kenneth contradicted.
“The abyssal realm is beyond your understanding, it’s power can change anyone who is open to it into a prophet,” Tony said, “just like our mortality seems like immortality to you because you cannot understand the way our time works, so also you cannot understand how our powers work.”
“So this warrior made the prophecy.” Theo said, trying not to digress.
“Yes.” Tony replied.
“And how do you know Upir is not the one to fulfill prophecy?” Nella asked.
“Because if she was, she wouldn’t have ended up trapped in the abyss as a prisoner,” Tony said, rolling his eyes, “why does everyone keep saying that it had to be Upir?”
“Well she’s powerful enough.” Theo suggested.
“Power is nothing when it comes to things like prophecies,” Tony replied.
“So who’s the ‘her’ in the prophecy?” Asked Nella.
Tony looked at Nella, the others followed his gaze. Everyone in the room was now looking at a befuddled Nella.
“What do you mean ‘make them forget they had an elder sister?!” Rose thundered.
“I’m … I’m sorry,” Lehi apologized in a low, repentant voice, “I didn’t realize you held your family in such high esteem, both dead and alive.”
“Well we do!” Rose yelled, ” for heaven’s sake everyone does, don’t you value your family you beast?”
Lehi had been looking at the floor all this time, but when Rose mentioned Lehi’s family, he looked up at her, stung.
Something must have changed in Lehi’s eyes at that moment, because when Rose met his gaze, she staggered backwards, afraid.
They stood that way for a while, Lehi’s terrifying gaze boring into Rose and the latter standing rooted to a spot, fear in her eyes.
Lehi tried to calm himself, then he said with the calmness of a simmering volcano:
“I said I was sorry.”
Rose did not fail to notice the poison in his voice.
“I … I’m sorry.” She stuttered.
Lehi turned to leave, he cast a glance at the children and walked out.
Rose found her voice and tried to stop him.
“No don’t go!” She shouted, running after him. As she tried to cross the door step, the spell that Upir had cast on the house to keep them trapped in the house took effect.
It threw Rose back to the house with such force that her body broke into pieces the table that she slammed into.
Lehi ran back inside the house. He knelt by Rose. Tira rushed down the stairs, shouting Rose’s name.
“I didn’t do that,” Lehi said to Tira, “I didn’t, I swear, I…”
“I know,” Tira said, feeling for Rose’s pulse, thankfully she still had a pulse.
Lehi held her face in his hands and closed his eyes. When he opened them again, they glowed, and Tira watched him, amazed.
Rose’s cuts began to close up and her fingers twitched.
She opened her eyes slowly.
“What happened?” She asked. The twins had come to her side.
Tira was amazed. She knew how to cast healing spells, but none of those spells could heal wounds and make a person regain consciousness as fast as the one that Lehi had just done.
“She’s okay now.” Lehi said to reassure Tira.
“Thank you.” Tira said, helping her daughter up.
“I’ll be leaving now.” Lehi announced, convinced that both he and Rose had done enough damage for one day.
“Why is everyone looking at me like that?” Nella asked.
“Here’s a wild guess,” Kenneth offered, “you’re the one the prophecy was talking about.”
“He’s right.” Tony said.
“But, but I’m not powerful enough.” Nella said,”it can’t be me.”
“That’s one misguided thing about prophecies, curses and the like,” Tony said, “it’s like a gap in the future, it’s really not meant for anyone in particular, but if you tell yourself it’s yours, then it will be yours.”
“I still don’t understand,” Nella said, “what does my being the vampire in the prophecy have to do with Kenneth and Theo, and the sword of Ailan?”
“First things first,” Tony said, “the prophecy was not made for you in particular, but I’d rather you be the one to fulfill it than any other power crazed vampire.”
“What if she can’t?” Theo asked, worried, “you know she’s my only surviving family.”
“She can, she has more power than even she knows.” Tony reassured Theo.
“You still haven’t answered my question.” Nella said.
“We have to go to the abyssal realm to get the answer to that question,” Tony replied, “all of us.”
Theo, Kenneth and Nella cast glances at each other, could things really get any worse?
As Lehi went back home, he noticed someone following him in the shadows.
He (or she) was lurking in the shadows.
Lehi wondered if it was a vampire. But the steps didn’t sound like that of a vampire. They were heavier and slower. At first Lehi wanted to face whoever was following him but he thought against it. Let whoever it was attack him first .
Lehi intentionally took a lonely route through an alley. He wanted to use some of the abyssal magic that was burning in him. So if some foolish stalker wanted to be the scape goat, then it was very fine by him.
Lehi walked slowly, intentionally slowing his pace so he could have a fight with his attacker before he got into the busier side of the road.
He heard the steps quicken, and he swung round just in time to see his stalker.
It was a man, but if it had been a mere man then Lehi would not have been as shocked as he now was.
The man was running towards Lehi while his back was turned. Once Lehi had turned around, the man had broken into a jump, and his features changed immediately he was in the air.
He grew two great white wings and two long fangs portruded from his mouth and stopped just at his jaw.
The man’s shirt ripped as the man became twice his original size. His skin became silver -coloured and his eyes were a bright forest green shade. His thick black hair fell back luxuriantly.
Lehi stood transfixed to a spot, gazing at this strange creature.
It attacked him, and that was when Lehi knew that it also had claws.
Lehi snapped out of his paralysis and rolled over to his side. The creature dug it’s claws into the spot from which Lehi had rolled away from.
It snarled at Lehi and flew towards him.
Lehi used his abyssal magic to cast a major fire spell at the creature.
The fire passed the creature quite harmlessly.
Lehi stood with his mouth open in surprise.
He heard another snarl behind him. He stood up sharply and saw that another strange creature identical to the one fighting him had joined the fight.
Now he had two strange, fire resistant monsters to fight.
Lovely, he thought, just lovely.