Prologue

I have always been different, the same silver hair and golden eyes, but I never knew why, until now. Not everyone is like me, apart from Dane. Yes, he has his secrets, and I have mine, but I know his, I know everyone's, just by looking at them. I told you I was different, but now I have found others like me, and they understand what it is like to be a seeker, of course, I didn't know that until I met them, I just thought I was different, but no, I was someone else. Something else.

You probably don't understand what I am going on about, so I am going to explain it. A seeker is a bit like a witch, but with no pointy hats and warts on the end of our noses, maybe you call us warlocks, yes, that's a better way to describe it. We are descended from the faeries, and, yes, they are real, but not the happy cheerful ones that you read in books, they are beautiful creatures, but they have a vicious temper. Luckily for us, we just get their looks, and not their personality, although some of the unlucky ones do, and we call them Omniforms, they look like us, so they are almost impossible to pick out, but they are vicious and bloodthirsty, and part of our job is to find them, and kill them. It's not their faults, of course, but it is for the safety of the humans, and we have to go by the rules of the Primicerius. or our lives could be at threat.

The Primicerius is another word for the govournment, some of the workers for the govournment are one of us, so when they give out orders, secret codes and separate messages are hidden in them, so that we can do our job properly. You probably still don't get the part about me knowing everyone's secrets, well, I don't really get it either, they just sort of jump out at me when I see them, like loads of pop up advertisements on a website. I know their deepest fears, every child hood memory to every bruise and cut, I know their life inside out, as if I had lived it myself, but that's how we find the Omniforms, with me. How others find them, we don't know, but it's best not to be curious, because it can get you killed, or even worse. 

You might think that I am done explaining, but the truth is, I haven't explained half of it. I don't have alot of time left, but I'll try my best to tell you enough. I met Dane a few years ago, and ever since, we have been best friends, fighting along side each other. I used to go to school with him, but when I found out what my true purpose is in life, I just left one day, and never went back.

Now, me, Dane and Sophie live in an abandoned warehouse in central London, not the perfect location, but it's good enough. I never told you who Sophie is, well, for a start, she's not one of us, and her silky brown hair gives that away. She joined me and Dane a year ago, we met when we were sent to find a missing girl who had been taken by an Omniform, her name was Anna. Sophie is Anna's sister, and she somehow knew about us, and who we really are, and because she knew that, she wasn't safe, so we brought her with us. Sophie is like a sister to me, and has been ever since we met, we share alot of the same interests, and even share clothes and shoes!

Overall, I have a pretty good life, apart from the murders. crazed werewolves (I forgot to mention that) and other non - human stuff... 

Chapter one

Me and Dane walked back into the warehouse with ten shopping bags full of food. When we got in, I saw Sophie sat on the hood of the truck, reading her favorite book - Twilight. She looked up and smiled as she came to help us with the bags.

"You're back later than expected" she said

"Yes, the queue was very long, and we were stuck behind 89 year old Mrs. Raggins, and you know how she is" I glanced at the clock, we are late, an hour late.

"So what did you get?"

"The usual" Dane was smiling, as always.

"Did you bump into any Omni's?"

"No"

"Lucky you" she handed me a cutting from a newspaper

"What's this?" I asked

"Just read it"

Downtown London there have been over ten murders over the past few days, and by the looks of it, the same person, or people, are to blame. As well as the murders. three girls have been missing since last Tuesday, we have no record of them, and have no leads of there whereabouts...

I handed the piece of paper to Dane, he read it and his face was panicked.

"We need to do something" he said

"There's nothing we can do until we get given orders" I argued

"But-"

"No" I turned to look at Sophia, who was dishing up roast potatoes, "Listen to Nadia, she knows what to do"

"Fine" they both looked at me

"We wait"

We went over to the chairs and started eating, the food was burning hot in my mouth.

"When do you think they'll give us an order?" asked Dane with a mouth full of potato

"Not any time soon, I'd give it a couple of days before we check the news"

I went to go and put my plate in the 'Kitchen', but then I heard a shatter, and then a deafening scream. I ran back to where we were sat, Sophia was lying on the floor.

 

I ran over to where she lay, with Dane by my side.

"What happened?" I asked as I checked her pulse.

"I don't know, I just came to help you, but then i heard the scream"

"Lift her up onto the chair" we lifted her onto three chairs in a row and I ran to go and get a wet paper towel

.

"Place this on her forehead" I said, he did as I asked, I could faintly hear the sound of her breathing. Good. She's not dead. Yet. Suddenly I was terrified, she couldn't die!

Without warning, her eyes flung open, revealing bright red eyes.

Dane sucked in a breath, "She's a Tracker"

Chapter two

So now you're probably wondering what a Tracker is. Tracker's are descended from Elves, and have a great sense of hearing, no wonder Sophia could always hear so well. They normally work along side Seekers to help find any Omniforms, but we didn't need them, because we had me.  Tracker's have been around ever since the middle ages, but us seekers have only been here since the 1800's.

 

"Nadia, what happened?" asked Sophia drowsily

"Soph, you're a Tracker" I passer her the mirror, she glared at her piercing red eyes.

"What?"

"I know, but it explains alot"

She sighed and flicked her hair over her shoulder

"So now what?" asked Dane

"We contact the Primicerius, it's the only thing we can do"

"How do we do that?" Sophia asked, she has never witnessed anyone contact them. It's not an easy thing to do though, we have to travel great miles to get there.

"We go to Agatha"

"No, it's too dangerous-" Dane argued

"Lot's of people's lives are at stake here, so we kind of have no choice"

"We always have a choice"

"Not this time"

We discussed it a bit more, and then decided that we would book a flight to Lankawi tomorrow and then go ahead from there. Even so, who knows what they are going to tell us, for all we know they might tell us to abandon Sophia, but I wouldn't have the strength in me to do that, not after what we have been through. I should know them better than that, but there is still that slight chance that they wouldn't let us anywhere near her. I don't want to have to do this, it is too risky, if we get spotted by any other person our lives could be at threat, and not only our lives, but the rest of humanity.

I went to bed early, the hard mattress hurting my side, but it felt good to have some time to think, not all the time do I get time to do that. I thought about the positives about going to Lankawi, lovely beaches, amazing resturaunts, I felt a sudden joy, a sudden excitement about it, but as quickly as it came, it went away, and the fear made me feel hollow inside again. I had gotten used to this type of fear over the years, but it had never been like this before, the aching feeling that someone you love could be executed for something that couldn't possibly be their fault. Having said that though, it's not the Primicerius' fault either, but if they think that Sophia has been hiding this from them, then not only would it be a threat to them, but a threat to the humans aswel. I shoved the thought out of my head, and closed my eyes.

The pieces of rubble scattered the land in front of me, making it impossible to tell where I was. There was no world, there was no luscious green grass or soft white sand, but only the ridged edges of fatal stone and brick that was once the world with a population and happiness  but now it was a living hell. Far away I could hear the screams of a crowd of people, they came running past me, I tried to get a glimpse of what they were running from, but I couldn't move my head, so instead I listened, and I could hear faint rumble of a thousand running feet...

Chapter three

I woke up with a jolt, covered in sweat, panting. It was only a dream, I reassured myself, but even I knew that it wasn't, it was the near future. I should tell someone, I looked at the clock by my bed. Only 12:13, I will have to wait until morning, but if it was the near future, then it could happen any moment now. I stood up on my shaky legs and made my way down to Dane's room. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, and that made me feel guilty about having to wake him up, but inside, I knew that I had no choice. I gently shook him awake, until his eyelids flung open.

"Nadia, what are you doing?" he asked in a harsh whisper

"I had another one of those dreams" he sat up in his bed and flicked the light on

"Again?"

"Yeah, I nearly saw what it was"

"I hate to point this out, but they are becoming more and more frequent, and that can't be a good thing"

"I know I know, but the only thing I can do is wait"

"I feel so bad, knowing that there is nothing I can do to help" he pulled me into a hug, my head resting on his shoulder.

"I know"

"Are out going to tell Sophia?"

"I don't know, I don't want to be more worried than she already is"

"You do what you think is best"

I pulled away and stood up.

"I should get back to sleep"

"Are your sure you're going to be okay?"

I shrugged and then went back to my room,  a cool breeze blew through the open window. I walked over to the window and looked out, even though it was London, I could still make out the distant trees and flowers in the overlapping fields, not such an unusual sight where I live, but it still makes me wonder about our worlds, and how everything works, it makes me come up with the strangest of questions, like, why do the flowers grow? Or, why do flowers have petals? Alot of things make me wonder, they shouldn't, but they do.  I don't want to go back to sleep now, not to see the endless suffering of those lives that I cannot save without a reason, so instead, I dug through my drawer, until I found my sketch pad and a pencil. I started to draw  my dream. 

I added every little detail I could remember, even the correct faces of those I managed to see, and every rigid edge of fallen stone and rock, and then I drew me. I couldn't remember me at all, apart from the long white silk dress that floated on me like a cloud. I didn't add any colour, it looked better black and white. When morning comes, I'll show Dane, not Sophia though, she doesn't need to know. I curled up on my chair and pulled my pink blanket over me, and fell into a dreamless sleep.

 

 

Light came raining in through the window, how I dread the mornings, not knowing what has happened over night, not knowing if my nightmares have come true or not. I'd have to face the truth about it, they were going to come true at some point. I made myself get up and then into the shower, letting the ice cold water run down my face, much as I hate the cold, I couldn't ask for anything better. When I got out, the heat hit me like a brick wall, how could the temperature change that quickly in the space of two maybe three minutes? Well, I thought, maybe it is short's weather. I put on my denim shorts and my black vest top and then went into the kitchen to see if anyone else was awake. Sophia and Dane were sat on the armchair laughing.

"What are you two laughing about?" I smiled as I asked

"Only how messed up her hair is" he pointed to Sophia's hair, I had to admit, it was pretty messed up. so I joined in the laughter as I went to get three bowls of cereal, and carefully carried it in to them. We ate in silence, all of us too hungry to talk, I was the first to finish/

"Have you booked a flight yet?" I asked

"Yeah, we're going in a week" said Sophia

"It could have been worse"

"mmhhmm"

"Doing anything today?" questioned Dane

"Not really" I lied, I am doing something today, I'm going to my favorite place on Earth, the only place that is quiet, the only place that lets me be me.

"I'm going to the shop" I said

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sophia followed me as I made my way to the door

"It's fine"

I grabbed my rucksack and then started jogging, it was only a mile there, the first half was quite boring, only cars and even more pedestrians, but the second half was all field and grass. When I got there, I searched for my tree, it wasn't necessarily a forest, more like a few trees in a field, but still, it was a beautiful place. My tree was in the middle, under the white blossom I could see the green and red leaves. I sat in my usual spot, right under it, leaning up against the trunk, and got the picture I drew last night out of my bag. I studdied it for a long while, trying to memorise every last detail. Suddelny, I heard movement, my head snapped up, alert, but then I relaxed again when I saw Sophia come and sit next to me.

"How did you know I was here?" I asked, hiding the picture

"This is where you always come when you're upset or lonely"

"How do you know that I'm upset, or lonely?"

"You keep fiddling with that necklace" she pointed to my vintage watch locket that I wore around my neck. I could feel the gentle tick of the hand across my chest.

"Why do you wear that?" 

"I just do" she sighed and then turned to face me

"What haven't you been telling me?"

"Sophia, I-"

"Nadia, please tell me, I have every right to know"

I saw the worried look on her face, and then drew out the piece of paper that I drew on, and gave it to her.

"What is this?"

"My nightmare"

"Since when?"

"A few months ago, the same one over and over again"

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because you really didn't need to know"

"Does it have something to do with me?"

"I don't know, but I want to find out as much as you do"

"I still don't get exactly what it is"

"Me and Dane think that it could be something to do with the future, but we're not sure"

"What! Even Dane knew!"

"Soph, I really am sorry, but I didn't know what to say"

"Can I have a look at your necklace?" she asked

I took it off and handed it to her, and that's when it clicked open.

 

I nearly jumped with shock, I have had that necklace for my whole life, and not once has it ever done that.

"What just happened?" I asked in a whisper

Sophia gave it back to me, it was open, almost like a locket, and inside of it, was a piece of paper folded up. I looked at her, and she nodded, as if to say that I can take it out. I unraveled it, and read the words out loud.

"As the river flows, yesterdays love turns into today's tears"

There was no name written underneath the writing, or on the back of the paper, just that little phrase.

"What does that mean?" Sophia asked, as stunned as I was

She examined it and looked at me with wide red eyes.

"Do you think-"

"No. It can't be"

I knew exactly what she was thinking, that it was one of the seven lost Orsa's  but it couldn't be, they had been lost for eternities, it was merely impossible just to stumble upon one. The Seven lost Orsa's are the missing parts to one sentence, one sentence that will open up a gateway to the barrier, a thin line between humanity and un-human creatures. Prophecies say that if one were to piece together all seven parts, the war of the Mortui would start all over again.

The war of the Mortui was the war between the Seekers and the Omniforms, it lasted at least ten years, and when it ended, only one man survived. Christopher Bortmiere. When he saw his dead wife, Grace Bortmiere, he swore that he would one day get revenge, and so he created the Seven lost Orsa's, he spread them across the world until he couldn't stand it anymore, so he went to one of the most famous seekers of all times. Elizabeth Crinstine, and asked for a spell that would kill him quickly. So he died without anyone knowing where he hid the Orsa's. Ever since, nearly every seeker has been looking for them, why they do that, I have no idea, because they are more likely to get themselves killed than actually finding one piece.

If this is one of the seven pieces, then the news is going to spread quickly, but we can't do anything with it until we speak to the Primicerius, but if someone comes after it...

"Nadia?"

I jumped out of my daydream and focused on Sophia.

"Did you hear a word I said?"

"No, sorry, I was just thinking what would happen"

"Whatever, I said that we should go and tell Dane, and see what he thinks"

"Okay"

We walked all the way back to the warehouse in silence, both of us too scared that someone will over hear us talking and follow us back. Dane was sat writing at the table, he looked up and smiled, but when he saw our shocked faces, his smile faded and he came over to us.

"What is it?" his voice was firm, but it always is when he senses danger 

I gave him the piece of paper, he read it and almost dropped it.

"It's not-" 

"We don't know" Sophia said for me

"Want to get some books out?" I suggested hopefully

"Yeah, I'll go and get them" Sophia left, leaving Dane and me alone

"Where did you find it?" he asked

"My necklace" he looked at my necklace like it was a ghost and tilted his head

"Who gave you that necklace"

"Well, I got it at this market-"

"That's all I need to know" he went away as Sophia came back in with an armful of books.

"What's wrong with him?" she asked

I shrugged and went to help her put the books down on the table

"I hate research" I said

"Yep, but it has to be done" I smiled as I went for the first book on the pile, they basically all have the same thing in them, about the history of the Seekers, the only thing that irritated me was that they had no index, and some of them were a meter thick.

 

After what felt like hours of searching, we finally gave up on the books and decided that we both needed a nice dinner, I called Dane and told him where we were going and he said that he would meet us there. I put on my best dress, it was black and short sleeved, I wore it with my silver ballet pumps. Sophia walked in, she was wearing her strawberry dress with her red little ballerina shoes.

"Ooooh, I love that dress!" she squealed 

"Thank you"

"Come on, we're going to be late"

She tugged at my arm, pulling me out of the front door. The cold prickled my bare arms, I wish I had worn a jumper or something warmer. We walked down the high street, past Primark until we reached PREZZO. When we pushed the door open, the little bell rang, and a waitress came to great us.

"Hello how can I help you today?"

"Um, our friend is supposed to be here, under the name Dane"

She flicked through her book and then gave us a wide smile

"I'm sorry, he's not here yet, how many of you will be dining?"

"Just three" Sophia said

She took us to a booth and gave us each a menu.

"What drinks would you like?"

"One lemonade and two coca colas please"

She took our glasses away, and we sat in silence.

"Where do you think Dane is?" I asked Sophia, she shrugged, and that's when I spotted him.    

Chapter four

He was tall and handsome, with stunning golden hair and piercing blue eyes. He looked so familiar  but I can't remember where I have seen him before. Before I had the chance to question Sophia about it, Dane walked in. His hair was scruffy, and his t-shirt was covered in blood. Luckily, nobody seemed to notice, except us.

"Dane! What happened!?" I almost yelled across the room. He came to sit with us.

"Just something I had to take care of" he said, as if it was none of my business.

"Like what?" Sophia asked

"Why does it matter?"

"Look at your shirt, who's blood it that?"

"Not mine, and that's all you need to know"

I leaned over to whisper in his ear

"See that guy over there?" I whispered, changing the subject. I pointed to the man that was sat across the table from us, the one that I recognized.

"Yeah"

"I know him from somewhere"

"Where?"

"I don't know, that's why I am asking you. Do you know him?"

"I don't think I have ever seen him, yet I do recognize him"

"What are you keeping from me now?" I looked up, Sophia's cheeks were flushed with anger

I whispered to her what I told Dane, and she said exactly the same thing. Before we got the chance to discuss it any further, the waitress came over with our drinks.

"Thank you" said Dane

"Are you ready to order?" the waitress had a slight Finish accent

"Yes. Can we have three classic margarita's please"

"Certainly"

She took away our menus. I was about to open my locket, when I remembered that alot of people would be after it, so instead I tucked it inside my dress, keeping it hidden from the outside world. When our food came, we all ate in silence, not daring to say anything with that man just across the room, who probably had super sonic hearing. Once we paid the bill we walked back to the warehouse, I immediately went to my room. I drew out the piece of paper from my locket and read it over and over again until the words didn't make sense - not that they did anyway. Just as I was putting it away, Dane walked into my room, carrying a photo album.

"Why have you got that?" I asked

"You know the man we saw in the resturant?" 

"Yes"

"Well..." he flicked through the album to find the right page. He layed it down in front of me and took out a picture. In the picture, there was me (I could have seen myself from a mile away) and that man stood next to me. Still, I couldn't remember him. I opened my mouth to speak, but then closed it again when Dane turned it over. Words were written on the back, in my handwriting. He passed it to me, and I read it.

Me and my brother 2010

 

 

 

I layed in my bed, moonlight shining through my window, trying hard to remember Chris. I was told that Chris was my brother, but if he was my brother, then how come I couldn't remember him? I have no recolection of him, but I remember my childhood. Another strange thing, is that when I saw him, I didn't see any memories of me, so maybe this is a mistake, or so I hope. Now I really wanted to go and find him, obviously with the help of Sophia, after all, she is a Tracker. Or maybe I could just do a quick tracking spell, yeah, that's what I'll do.

I went over to my drawer and took out a blue candle and an old book, and sat on the floor with crossed legs. I found the right page and read the instructions. First I had to do a chant, out loud. Great. If they find me doing this, I will not be alowed to even find him with the help of Sophia. 

"cum candela in manu teneo, et quos proximos carnem, et perierat donec inveniat illam cantus in animam viventem" I chanted, well, whispered. Suddenly, I dropped the candle, and a massive flame shot up from it. I quickly backed away and watched it work it's magic. It blew out, so I went over to see what it had done. A large map was engraved on my carpet, so much for making this secret. 

I crawled over to it, it looked very old, and had lots of words that I didn’t understand on it, in five minutes Sophia and Dane would wake up, so I would have to hide this. I grabbed my pink blanket from my chair and covered it up.

Us Seekers are not alowed to perform any acts of magiks outside of the boundery, and the maximum fine for this crime could be a life in prison. Luckily for me, I know the Primicerius quite well, and I’m sure that they’ll let it slip just this once, if I’m lucky. After all, they need me, as I am one of a kind. About every one in a thousand years a seeker like me is born, so they wouldn’t risk loosing me just yet, not when I could be helpful. We have no real name for Seekers like me, but our talents always vary, and mine just happened to be knowing everyones lives inside out. Not such a bad gift. Our gifts come directly from the Gods, well, it goes along the time line. So if my great great great great (so on) grandma had this particular talent, it would be passed down the line, until it got to me, which it did.

That made me wonder if my brother had a talent, he is related to me, so that means he must. Maybe his gift is erasing memories, because when I saw him, I saw now memories of him, and I certinaly can’t remember him, but I remember that night at Anna’s welcome home party. Just not him. I really need to find him, but I’ll wait until tonight. I’ll pack a bag, leave a note, and then follow the map to where he is supposed to be. Or, I could just wait and ask Agatha, that is only a two day wait. That’s what I am going to do, I’ll ask Agatha.

Agatha was related to Elizabeth Crinstine, only by a small fraction, but that gave her a huge amount of oppertunities, which she denied. Even though she is very old, she still lives in her families old country house, it is so big, that I have never actually seen all of it. Once she has told us what to do, we will go to the Primicerius in Lankawi and talk them into helping us. As far as plans go, it’s not bad.

I heard footsteps down the corridor, and then my door knob turn. Dane walked in, with a suspicious look on his face.

“What have you been doing?” he asked

“N-n-nothing” I stammered, trying not to sound too guilty

“Seriously Nadia, I think we’re past the point of keeping secrets”

I took a deep breath, ready for a long life in prison

“I did a spell”

“You what?”

“I wanted to find out more about my brother, so I did a tracking spell, and-“

“And what?”

“It drew me a map”

“Show me”

I picked up the pink blanket off of the floor, and looked up at Dane.

“So?” I questioned

“Do you know how much trouble you’re going to be in!?” I was worried that with his loud voice he would wake Sophia.

“Yes, but. Dane, he’s my only family left, and if you expect me to just-“

“You don’t understand Nadia! Do you know the punishment for this!?”

“Yes” I whimpered

“I just. Why?”

“You know how it feels to loose every one that you love” I looked up at him, and his face softened.

“Yes”

“At least I have someone left”

“It’s too-“

“Dangerous?”

“Exactly”

“I’m past that. We could have discovered the thing that nearly every Seeker in the history of Seekers have been looking for. Then, just after that, we discovered that I have a brother, yet I have no recolection of him. Do you think that all of this is just a coinsidence!? Obviously not! It is too darn linked together!” I was screaming at the top of my lungs

“I-“

“NO! Just, don’t say anything”

He stormed out of my room, slamming the door behind him. I fell to my knees and started crying. Useless, that’s all I am, useless, useless, useless. I would have lived a better life not knowing about any of this, I would have been happier not knowing about any of this, but instead it was brought upon me. Maybe this is my gift, hurting the people that are closest to me, until they despise you.

 

I couldn’t bare to do this anymore. I stood up, wiping the tears from my eyes, put on my jacket, got my rucksack (and in it put the picture I drew) and my purse, and ran to the door, not stopping to tell Sophia where I was going. Instead I walked along the pavenment, trying to think happy thoughts, imagining that it had never happened, until I reached the train station. I went up to the front desk.

“Excuse me” I said. The man looked about seventy, and had very large glasses.

“Yes”

“Can I please have a ticket for the next train to Yorkshire”

“That would be in twenty five minutes”

“Perfect”. He typed into his till and then gave me a ticket.

“Eight pounds thirty please”

I handed him the cash and told him to keep the change. I went to platform two, and sat down on a wooden bench. I reached up to touch my necklace. I traced the pattern on the back with my fingers, they were roses and vines. I always found it comforting to touch the necklace, it had grown on me, literally, I never took it off.

 

Twenty minutes later, my train arrived. I chose a window seat in the quiet area, and as the train started moving, the lady came around and stamped our tickets. As I was about to go to sleep, a man (I would guess he was in his middle ages) walked up to me.

“Can I sit here please?”

“Sure”

He sat down opposite me, and from his pocket, drew out a small brass pot and placed it in front of me. Just as I was about to speak, he explained.

“I know who you are, I know what you’re doing here, I know why you left” he had an English accent

“Wait, what, do I-“

“No you don’t know me, well you do, look, it’s complicated. Let me make this very quick before they see us, open this pot when the time is right”

“W-H how do I know...who are you?”

“No time for that my love, but I can ensure you that we will meet again very soon”

Abruptly, he was gone. Just like that. He vanished into thin air as a group of people came wondering past me looking for spare seats. I took the pot in my hands, it was only tiny, no smaller than my locket. There were words engraved around it, they were hard to read, but I managed to read most of them.

Numquid melior es amica mea esto velox

You better be quick my love.

 

Chapter five

 

 

I jumped off of the train and onto the platform, the heat was almost unbearable, even though I was wearing my skirt. I would have to walk the short way to Agatha’s, but it wouldn't kill me to walk every once and a while. Plus, I would spot her house from a mile away, and seeing as I only had about one hundred meters to walk, I was sure that I wouldn't get lost.

As soon as I turned the corner, I could see her house. It was a magnificent view, it used to belong to a victorian family, and it was all made out of marble and lyme stone. Agatha wasn’t the richest lady, but she inherited the house from her parents.

I ran the rest of the way, until I reached the large green door. I knocked twice so that – hopefully – she would know that it was me. The door swung open, revealing a man with hardly any hair and a cheerful smile.

“Nadia! So great to see you! I suppose you are here to see Agatha?” he asked with a smile

“Yes please, if it’s no trouble”

“Not at all”

He gestured me into the house. In front of me was a grand marble staircase, with carpet running up the middle of it. To my left I could see the many paintings of Agatha’s relatives on the wall, running all the way down to the garden.

“Agatha is in her usual room” said the man.

I walked up the stair case, to the top floor, and along the corridor. My feet echoed as I walked to the balcony, the same plants that have been here for over a thousand years, were still in there usual pots along the floor next to a fold up chair. The woman sat in the chair turned around at the sound of my feet and gave me a warm smile. She was very old, her grey hair was in a neat bun, but her eyes still shimmered at the sight of me.

“Nadia” she said happily

“Hello Agatha”

“Please, come in” she took me into her bedroom, and sat down at the little table at the oposite end of the grey bed, I sat down next to her.

“So, what brings you here?” asked Agatha

“Many things”

“Go on, I’m listening”

“My first reason, is my dreams of reality” I took of my rucksack and handed her the piece of paper.

“Oh my. How long has this been going on?”

“Over a month”

“My dear, that is not good, you do realise what is at stake?”

“Yes”

“And what would be your other reasons?”

Should I tell her about the Orsa? No. Instead, I reached into my pocket and took out the pot that the man had given me and slid it accross the table for her to look at.

“What is this?”

“I do not know, a man gave it to me when I was on the train”

“Did he say anything to you?”

“Yes, he said that I must open it when the time is right”

“And when might that be?”

I shrugged as she tried to open it with all of her strength.

“I know just the thing” Agatha stood up and went over to her big wooden box. She lifted the lid and took out a red candle. Then, she came to sit back down, and placed the candle next to the pot.

“Quisque tempus, quo iure aperiam, nisi ut reveletur? Ut in posterum, praeteritum est, discooperi” she chanted, over and over again, and then, with one delicate touch, the candle lit.

“Done” she said in a firm voice. She passed it back to me.

“Open it”

I did as she asked, but nothing happened, I tried with all of my strength, yet it did not open. Agatha’s mouth widened with shock.

“This black magik has not been around here for centuries, you must not show anyone, you understand me, not anyone”

“I-. Dane and I think that this isn’t a coinsidence, that-“

“Of course it is not a coinsidence dear! This is fate! It is meant to be!” she yelled in joy

“Agatha, are you feelingo oka-“

“Oh, I have never been better!”

I stood up and backed away slowly, but she noticed, and with a swift movenment of her hand, the door behind me slammed shut.

“And where do you think you’re going?” her voice was now scaring me

. Maybe it was the pot, but it never had this inflict on me.

“I actually need to get back to Sophia”

“NONSENSE!” she shrieked. I needed help, but how would I manage that? She is one of the most famous Seekers still alive, and I have barely done more than three spells. I closed my eyes and started chanting

“aufer haec tempora molestae”

“What do you think you’re doing?” she asked in a high pitched tone

I opened my eyes again and then with a firm voice,  I shouted.

“BE GONE!” she fell to the floor with a thump. I ran over to her, she was alive, just unconsiouss. I ran down the stairs, the echoing hurting my ears, and to the man that greeted me at the door.

“She’s dead!” I yelled

That got everyone running up, so I took the chance and fled. I didn’t know where I was headed, but I did know that it would be as far away from here as possible. Now that guilt was starting to get to me, shouting at Dane, leaving Sophia. Why would they even want to see me again? My phone vibrated in my pocket, I dug it out and read the text message.

Dane: Where are you Nadia?

Great, now everybody is after me, just what I need. I quickly typed back.

Me: I am so sorry. I left to see Agatha, something happened, talk to u l8r if u please come pick me up?

A few seconds later, he replied

Dane: Sure. Don’t blame urself, my fault, where am I collecting u from??

Me: Yorkshire. Soz for long drive. Behind old sweet shop.

Dane: Okay. See you soon J

Me: Yeah

At least he’s not mad at me. Well, it didn’t seem like it any way, but I still braced myself for an argument.

 

Dane: Just parked up. Give me five mins

Me: Okay. Thnx

Five minutes later Dane arrived around the corner. I waved to him so that he knew it was me. As soon as he spotted me, he ran over to me, I threw myself into his arms.

“Don’t you ever do that again, you understand me?” he said

I nodded, so glad that he didn’t hate me for running off.

“Where’s Sophia?” I asked

“At home, I told her that you went to see Anna and I came to collect you”

“Fair enough”

“So what happened?”

“Not here, come with me” I tugged on his arm, and he gladly followed me. We were walking for half an hour, and I was starting to get irritated that there were no fields or trees. But then up ahead I spotted a single tree in a single field of corn. We started running until we reached it, and then slid underneath it, hiding under it’s thick branches.

“So, now are you going to tell me?” Dane asked, panting

“Yeah. So, I came to see Agatha. I got the train down, but when I was on the train, this man came and sat opposite me. He gave me this” I gave him the pot and he looked at it suspiciously

“How old was he? Did he say anything?”

“He looked about your age. He said that I had to open it when the time was right. Don’t try to open it”

“Why?”

“I’m just coming on to that part. I came to see Agatha about my dreams and that pot. It was all fine and stuff, until she cast a spell on the pot, trying to open it. It didn’t work, it was as if it backfired, she started acting really creepy, and saying really weird stuff”

“Like what?”

“Well, first she was just acting crazy, so I asked her if she was feeling okay, but then she started yelling stuff like ‘It is your fate!’, it was as if the pot had some kind of inflict on her, so I ran down the stairs, shouted that she was dead, and then I ran”

“Wow, you’ve had one full on day”

“Yep”

“Anything else that I need to know?”

“Not really”

I took my locket off and opened it, taking out the piece of paper.

“How long is it until we go to the Primicerius?” I asked

“We leave tomorrow”

I sighed and took his hand in mine

“Is Sophia coming?”

“Well, she has every right to come, and we did book three seats”

“I hope they take it well, they should know that Sophia would never do a thing like that”

“But how do they know that she wouldn’t?”

That got me thinking. Dane was right, how would they know? Even if we did run from them, eventualy they would find us. The only thing that might possibly work, is if we tell them about those girls that went missing, that way, they would send us after them, and hopefully forget about this problem.

“What are you thinking?” Dane asked

“I was thinking of a way for them to let Sophia go”

“Like they would ever do that”

“You never know. I have known Caleb for enough years that he wouldn’t even think that we would betray him”

“Maybe. You work your magic”

“Ironic. I could if you want me to”

"No. You might just get slightly told off"

He put his hand over the patch of grass in front of us, and started chanting, well, more like humming. A little stalk shot up, revealing a purple flower. As he moved his hand, the flower moved with it, swaying back and forth in the daylight.

"How beautiful" I said

"The wonders of nature"

"Shouldn't we get going?" I asked

"Yes" he stood up and started walking away without me. I had to run to keep up with him.

"Where did you park?" he ignored me, still taking long strides.

"Dane" I grabbed onto his arm and made him face me "what is going on? First, you just walk out on me when I am trying to talk to you. Then, you show up with a bloodstained shirt telling me that nothing is wrong. Just, please, you can tell me" he looked me in the eye, his own eyes darkening, that can't be good.

"Your brother is dying"

 

Chapter six

"Chris is dying Nadia. The reason I walked away from you is because I needed to find him before you. The blood on my shirt wasn't mine, it was his. The reason he was at the resturaunt was because he needed to see you, but I said not to, so we had a fight!" he yelled. It scared me, because he hardly ever yells at me, and if he does, he doesn't mean it, but the tears in his eyes showed me that he did mean it. I opened my mouth to speak, but then when I saw the look on his face, closed it immediately. 

"I-" I began

"What is is? What were you going to say!?"

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!? HOW COULD YOU NOT TELL ME THIS!?" it felt better to shout, but I instantly regretted it.

"I didn't want you going around out there with that thing" he pointed to my necklace "trying to find your long lost brother, who you can't even remember! Someone could easily kill you!"

"Whatever, I can take myself back" I stormed off, not looking back at him. I don't care if he hates me, because it can't feel anything like the hate I am feeling right now. There was a whole in my heart, a missing piece, a piece that has floated away, like a flower petal. Maybe that missing piece would find me, if I gave it some time to fix itself. I didn't know where I was going, I was just walking across a long row of fields. Behind me I could hear Dane shouting distantly for me to come back, as always, I have always been the one to storm off, but it felt good to get the anger out of your system, other wise I would short circuit. In other words, I'd loose it. 

Things in my life are always more complicated than they need to be, with my dreams, my friends, my enemies. I have alot of enemies, not something I want to go into, my dreams are getting worse every night. Every time I try too hard to figure it out, it slips away, like tug of war, the other end is winning. Other end. The word echoed in my head. Could that be the answer? Is someone giving me these dreams? Trying to tell me something? My mind was racing to find an answer, I needed to know, who? Why? Who would give me these dreams? Who would have the power to give me these dreams? Whoever it was, they must be pretty powerful to deliver such a dream. I was still walking through the fields, my feet were grazed and cut by the thorns. I looked behind me, Dane was running after me. I'm not going to bother running away, he is faster than me, and if I run, he will just run faster. I stopped in the middle of the field, waiting for him to catch up. 

"Where do you suppose you would go?" he asked me as he came up to me

"Somewhere away from here"

"Look, just because-"

"No time for that. I think I have figured it out, what if somebody is sending me these dreams? Trying to tell me something?"

"You could be onto something"

"I know" I smiled

He took my hand and starting pulling me back the way we came

"Where are we going?" I asked

"Home"

"It's not really home, is it?"

"It's the only home I've ever had"

I almost forgot, Dane never had a real home, with family and friends. He has been alone ever since the age of ten, unlike me. I lived with my dad, he knew what I was, but he never told me, so I had to find out the hard way, and when I did, I wasn't happy. Dane offered me a life where I could be with my own kind, to I took the opportunity. I don't know where my Dad is now, if he thinks of me, if he even remembers me. I vaguely remember him, he had the same silver hair as Dane, and, like all Seekers, golden eyes. 

"Was is hard?" I asked

"What?"

"Being on your own, having no one to turn to?"

"Yes. Until I met you, the first time I saw you, I instantly knew that you were a Seeker, but there was something else, something else about you that was, different"

"So?"

"I don't know, like there was this light shining out of you, making it so clear"

"Hmm"

To my surprise, he laughed. I loved it when he laughed, it was a very rare thing, but it was so angelic, like a siren. I always wondered that about him, if he really was a siren, it was impossible for a male to be one, but in this case, I think it would work.

"I've always thought you have been a siren" the words spilled out of my mouth

"What? That's impossible"

"I know, but your voice is so.."

"So what?"

"I don't know the word"

"I'm sure you'll come up with something"        

"I can guarantee it"         

 

 

A few hours later, we arrived back at the warehouse. Outside of the front door, was Sophia, with a worried look masking her happy face. When she saw us, her face grew even more worried.

"Nadia, where, wh-?"

"I know, really long story, but we have to figure this out" 

"Figure what out?"

"Nadia thinks that someone is giving her these dreams, trying to tell her something" said Dane

"Sounds real enough to me" me and Sophia ran around the corner, to the bookshelf where we kept all of our books. In the middle, was a massive grey book. The words on the spine were in Latin, but it was so dusty that I couldn't read what it said. Just as Sophia took it out, I heard a loud creak, and what stood in front of me was a sight that almost hurt my eyes.                                                              

 

In front of me was a long dark corridor. Never before had I seen this, and I never even knew about it.

"Wh-" I started

"I don't know"

 Dane came up behind me and gasped. I could feel his muscles tensing behind me, I could guess what his reaction would be.

"We are not going in there" just as I thought he would say

"Yes we are" I said, "how do you know that it doesn't lead to those missing girls?" I was getting angry at him again. As if to answer my question, he walked into the corridor, dissapearing. 

"What is going on between you two?" asked Sophia

"Doesn't matter" I mumbled as I followed him through. I ran my finger against the wall, it was moist. I glanced over my shoulder to check if the door way was still clear, apart from Sophia, it was. The only thing that enabled me to see was the light coming from where we came from, but as we got further and further away from it, the light faded, leaving us in complete darkness.

"Dane?" I whispered. No answer.

"Dane?" I asked again, louder

"I am still here" he said

The path we were walking along was getting steeper by the meter, and wetter. Suddenly, a bright light shone into my eyes, I fell to the ground, covering my eyes with my hands. 

"Sorry" Sophia said, "but I found a torch" she gave me and hand up. We were standing in a large room, I could hear the drips of water, and I could smell blood. In front of me I could see metal bars, I walked over to them. They were covered in some liquid that I swear was not human. 

"Do you think-" Sophia said

"Shhhhhhhh" Dane hushed her. I heard a dragging footstep, looking around, I could see that none of us were moving. Before I had the chance to say behind you, something came running out of nowhere, and lunged forward onto Dane. Even from that far away I could tell that it was an Omniform. 

"DANE!" I screamed. It looked up at me with a grey face, blood dripping from it's lips, and smirked as it jumped upwards. I looked up, but I couldn't see it. I ran over to Dane, there were two teeth marks on his cheek, which were bleeding ferociously. I found out a tissue from my pocket and placed it on his cheek.

"No, no, I'm fine" he complained

"No you're not, now hold still" he did as I said, Sophia hadn't had time to take it all in, so instead of questioning, she ran over to us.

"What just happened?" she asked

"Omniform. There are probably more, they like being in large groups"

"Right"

"Come on, we have to get going" I said. We helped Dane up, but then I was totally lost.

"Which way did we come from?" I asked, now worried.

"I don't know, maybe that way?" Sophia pointed in the direction where the Omniform came from.

"I'm pretty sure it was that way" Dane said, pointing the opposite way to Sophia.

"Okay, we'll just keep heading that way" I pointed with Sophia, "until we get to the end of a path"

"Are you sure that's a good idea? If that one Omniform came from that direction, wouldn't there be more that way?" asked Dane

"Not necessarily" 

We walked aimlessly for what felt like more than two hours, coming across nothing apart from the odd Omniform. How they got in there, we don't know, but if they were in our home, then we couldn't stay there any longer, but we had no where else to go. We could always contact the Primicerius, but for now, we would have to wonder down the never ending walk way.  

 

Chapter seven

This reminded me alot of my dream, although it couldn't be, because the landscape wasn't right, but the atmosphere was perfect. Not that that is a good thing, it just means that we are getting closer and closer to my dream becoming true. That's not a good thing either. My head was pounding with the effort of trying to figure all of this out, how my dreams are connected with all of this, why we just found a hidden path way. There was only one thing that I really really really needed to do, go to Caleb. He has never really been a friend to me, but he thinks of me as his sister, not that I think of him as my brother. The flight is tomorrow, and by then, I need money, clothes, food, toothbrush and so on, but if we just found an Omniform nest in one of the safest places we could be, then there are bound to be more back where we came from.

We only had about twenty four hours until our flight leaves, but we have to be there two hours before, so that leaves us with twenty two hours to get out of here, find some decent clothes and get to the airport, but the airport is an hour away, so that only leaves us twenty one hours. It seems like a long time, but if you were going at snail pace like us, then it could take alot more than one day.

 

"Guys, we need to hurry" I complained

"We're going as fast as we can, but we don't want to fall and break a leg" said Dane, his voice was flat, was he still angry with me?

"I know, but we have to be at the airport for six tomorrow evening"

"We have ages, don't worry" Sophia reassured me

"Whatever" I tried not to say it too loud, but obviously one of them heard me. I started walking quicker, because if I did, then they would aswel. It was hard to see with only one torch that was running out of battery, but I could vaguely make out the moss on the walls. If the walls were damp, wouldn't that mean that there was water nearby? And if there was water, then there would be land.

"I think we're close to something" I said, although I didn't know what that something was

"How do you-" Sophia started asking, but I cut her off

"Water on the walls, water, land, so on" 

"It doesn't mean that there is definitely water"

"I know, but there is a good chance that-"

I stopped dead in my tracks as I heard the trickling of water, but not the little tiny drips of water, this was a rushing water, like a river, or a waterfall.

"Do you hear that?" I asked in a whisper.

"Yes" Sophia replied

I started walking faster, almost running towards the sound, it was getting louder and louder the closer we got to it, until I could see an oval shaped light, like an entrance to a tunnel. I didn't want to run, but I did anyway, until I got to the end. I breathed in the fresh outdoor air, I could smell freshly cut grass and lavender, but that makes sense as all I could see was grass and lots of woodland, and I could still hear the rushing of the water. I could sense the smiles behind me.

"We're out!" Sophia and I cried in joy, Dane was smiling with us, I tried to catch his eye, but he was avoiding it.

"Where are we?" he asked

"I don't know"

"I don't care" I spun around on my heel and faced Sophia, she obviously didn't care, and by the look on her face, was too happy to notice me looking at her.

Suddenly I just remembered something, my phone was in my back pocket from when I was texting Dane.

"Guys" I said

"Yeah?"

"I have my phone in my pocket"

"And you couldn't have mentioned that when we were in that dark tunnel with only one light!?" Sophia tried to sound serious, but her laughing took over.

"Okay okay" she said, calming herself down, "why don't you text Anna, she'll come and collect us"

"Yeah, but we don't know where we are"

"But if you think logically, that tunnel must have been at least three miles, and there has got to be a road near here, and if there is, then that road would lead to the warehouse"

"True"

I got out my phone and started to text Anna.

Me: Hi Anna, it's Nadia. We kinda got stuck, if you are not busy could you please come and pick us up about three miles away from our house in the woodland?

"I sent the message" I said

A few minutes later, she replied

Anna: Well, I don't know how you managed to end up there, but I'll be there soon :-)

"She'll be here soon" 

"Good" said Dane

I looked at him with a shocked face, surprised to see him talk directly to me, but he just looked at me with sad eyes. I tried to ignore it, but I could feel the weight of his glare. 

"She's here" said Sophia, I forgot she had her super sonic hearing, so she probably heard Anna's car. As if on queue, I saw Anna flash her headlights ahead of us. We followed the light until we reached her car. Anna was stood outside of it, her brown hair blowing in the wind.

"Anna!" shouted Sophia as she ran up to her and hugged her

We followed behind her

"Well, I don't know how you managed this, but I really do not want to know, and. Good God!" she pulled Sophia away from the hug and stared at her red eyes "What the hell happened to your eyes!?"

"Um, well-" Sophia stuttered

"You know it's Halloween soon, well she got red contact lenses so she could be a vampire, she was just testing them out" I filled in for her

"Oh, well, hop in"

We climbed into her little blue mini, and drove off. The road was bumpy, and ahead I could clearly see Anna's little cottage. It was such a tiny little cottage, and still had the old wattle and daub from the Tutor times, and that's what made it so beautiful. When she parked, we sat in the car in silence for a few minutes. 

"So, you wanna come inside?" asked Anna

"Sure"

We followed her inside to the small cosy living room. There were two fabric sofas and a coffee table on top of a rug that I always thought was the flying carpet, and part of me still does. It wouldn't be entirely impossible, everything else exists, so why not a flying carpet...

"Would you like something to eat?" asked Anna

"I don't really mind" I said, but the others disagreed. Just as Dane was about to walk off to go and help Anna in the kitchen, I grabbed his arm.

"Can I have a word please?" I asked. His smile faded and he let me drag him down the corridor and into a small room.

"Why are you ignoring me?" I really wanted to shout at him again, but that would just made a ton of other problems

"I needed time"

"Time for what?"

"Time to figure things out"

"You could have just talked to me, rather than ignoring me"

"I couldn't"

"Why not?"

"Because Chris has been in touch"

"What!? You could have at least told me that my long lost brother contacted you!" I really didn't mean to shout at him again, but the words just spilled out of my mouth

"I couldn't tell you because he didn't want me to!"

The anger in his voice startled me, and he knew it.

"Look, I'm sorry, I was under strict orders"

"What did he say?"

"He knows about the Orsa"

I sighed and looked him in the eye

"Why doesn't he just come to me himself" I asked, trying to keep a steady voice

"He is too afraid, and it would be too dangerous, if the Primicerius found out about him, they would have him killed"

"Well then we would run"

"Until they find you"

"I just don't see the point in all of this. I mean, for all we know I could have no brother, he could be making it all up for the sake of it"

"He's not"

"And how would you know that?"

"He cast a spell on you"

 

 

 

Chapter eight

"He what!?"

"I didn't want to tell you this, but-"

"No, answer my question, why? When?"

"When you were living with your Dad back in Australia, he was living with you aswel. Both of them knew about you, and when you found out, he knew that your first instinct would be to run away, so he cast a spell on you, to make you forget him"

I was too shocked to reply, so instead I sat down on the small single bed in the far corner of the room and closed my eyes, trying to remember him. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't remember him, he had erased himself completely from my memory.

Impressum

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 27.05.2013

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Widmung:
I am dedicating this book to my Nana for her 70th birthday in August :-)