Akizma: The Hidden World

  Akizma: The Hidden World

  Emma Jane Grafton

  Austin Macauley Publishers

  Akizma: The Hidden World

  About the Author

  About the Book

  Dedication

  Copyright Information

  Chapter OneThe Dream World

  Chapter TwoThe Power Within You

  Chapter ThreeThe Search for Alissa’s Army Begins

  Chapter FourThe Battle for Akizma Has Begun

  Chapter FivePeace in Akizma at Last

  About the Author

  The author lives in Cornwall, loves the outdoors and walking along the beaches and cliffs. She likes everything medieval and is a big animal lover. She likes reading and loves spending time with her family and watching films of all kinds.

  About the Book

  A baby is born in a medieval world called Akizma. But not everyone is happy with the child’s birth. Afraid of the evil king, the father of the child, the queen knows that her baby could be killed just for having the same birthmark as him. So a decision is made to send the baby away to a new world, where she stays until she grows into her powers. She would be safe, hidden away from this world.

  She grows up as a loner and is bullied. When she grows into her powers, she must go back to the world where she was born, to free the world of Akizma, along with her new friends: a sorcerer and his apprentice, and many more friends help her through the world of darkness and magic. But will she find the strength to stop her father?

  Dedication

  To my true friend, Chance.

  And my family, love you all.

  Copyright Information

  Copyright © Emma Jane Grafton (2019)

  The right of Emma Jane Grafton to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

  Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

  A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

  ISBN 9781528906999 (Paperback)

  ISBN 9781528958455 (ePub e-book)

  www.austinmacauley.com

  First Published (2019)

  Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd

  25 Canada Square

  Canary Wharf

  London

  E14 5LQ

  Chapter One

  The Dream World

  When people tell you that a dream is just a dream and that’s all they can ever be… think of me, for my dream was more real than any dream could be. My name is Jade Winter and this is my unbelievable story.

  I was never the most popular girl in school, or had many friends. That part did not bother me; I was happy on my own but that was about to change.

  So, where to start?

  I know.

  It all started with the first dream I could ever remember. Because the world I dream about is the world I feel I belong, as along with this one.

  Let me take you back to when I had the dream that I can never forget. I was six years old at the time and was getting ready to go to bed; but when I got in, I immediately felt strange. I felt cold in the middle of a heat wave. But it did not take long for me to fall asleep.

  The dream was of me as a baby. Two women were crying; they were dressed in clothes like what you would see in old movies, with kings, queens, and knights. I wanted to know why they were crying. One of them picked me up and said, “Oh, my daughter, why did this have to happen to you? What are we going to do?”

  She was my mother and the other woman was, I think, her lady in waiting; but more than that, her friend. I did not understand any of this. What did my mother mean, what was going to happen to me?

  “My queen, we have to get her away. You know the king will kill her for having the same powers he has,” the lady in waiting said, as she kept watch at the window.

  “I know, Eve, but can we be sure that she even has the same powers?” my mother asked.

  “Serena, my queen, look at her face; the only other person with that birthmark is the king, and he has the powers,” Eve said, rushing to her side.

  My mother brushed the tears from her eyes. “I know you are right,” she said, looking into my eyes.

  “Warwick does not know that she is born yet. He has taken his army away to destroy everything and everyone that stands in his power-hungry way. We can just tell him you lost the baby,” Eve added. “We came out here where no one could find us because you were so weak from the pregnancy you needed to rest. But it did not matter, you lost the baby. We told only the people who needed to know where we were going so that you were not disturbed,” she said, placing me back into my cot.

  How could this feel so real? I thought as I looked up at Eve and my mother.

  “I have an idea. I have to leave, Serena, but when I come back I will have someone who can help us,” said Eve, and with that, left me with my mother.

  “I love you so much; whatever Eve’s plan is, know that I will always love you and you will always be the best part of me,” said Serena. It felt like hours had gone by with my mother holding me so tight in her arms. There was a loud knock at the door. My mother put me back into the cot. “Who’s there?” she asked. Her voice was shaking with fear.

  “It’s me, Serena. Let me in; I have brought someone who can help us,”

  Serena went to the door to see who Eve had with her. It was raining so hard on them that she could hardly see.

  “Have no fear, my queen; it is your faithful servant and friend, Linus,”

  “I’m so glad to see you!” Serena cried out.

  “You need my help, but what is it you need of me?” He asked, as he came in from the rain.

  “Come, Linus, see for yourself,” said Eve as she closed the door behind her. “Just look at my child’s face—she bears the same birthmark as the king. If he finds out, you know what he will do to her. Please help her. There has to be something you can do to help us—I’m begging; you are our only hope.”

  “Wait, I need to think,” he said, as he picked me up and looked at me. “Do you know how long I have waited for this day to arrive?” he said. “All the pain of this land and the suffering the people have undergone at the hands of your father… Look at you; it is as your mother said, you have the same mark, which means you have his powers. We can only hope that you have all the powers he has,” said Linus.

  He smiled at me one last time and then placed me back into my cot. As he placed me down all I could see was a man with scruffy black shoulder-length hair and black stubble on his face. “God bless you, my girl,” he said in soft a voice. It made me feel so safe.

  Linus, Eve and Serena left the room. They went down the corridor of what was an old-looking castle. I could not hear them anymore; I just lay in the cot waiting to see if they were going to come back to me.

  What was going to happen to me? When was I going to wake and know this was all a dream? I thought to myself. Who was this man called Linus and why did my mother and Eve think he could help me? All I could see was a man with long black hair and a kind smile, I thought to myself again.

  What I did not know at that time was that Linus was the greatest sorcerer of Akizma.

  The people who lived with him in the castle thought he was a crackpot, a man who had lost his powers long ago, and the king thought the same; but Eve never believed what they were saying. As long as you
believe in him, he would come through for whoever needed him.

  Just then, the three of them came back into my room. “Serena, your husband thinks the same as so many of the people of this land; that I have lost my powers… which is good for me. I’m no threat to him,” said Linus. “Warwick likes to be the only one to show off his powers and hates anyone who dares use whatever powers against him,” Linus added, looking from Serena to Eve and then back to me. “But I have my books of spells hidden out of the way of everyone, and I think there is something in one of the books that can help us,” said Linus. “I must go now, but I will be back with what we need. Please don’t worry, Serena; it will be okay,” Linus added, as he left us and went into the dark of night, the rain hitting our faces.

  We went back inside to get warm. Eve closed the door behind us.

  “Look at her, Eve, such a small mark on her left cheek and such a lot of fear that it brings to us.”

  The mark on my face was in the shape of a tear: a blood-red tear on my left cheek. How could this mark be so bad? I thought to myself.

  “You should get some sleep, Serena. I will wait for Linus to come back,” said Eve. “You and the baby need your rest,” she added as she left us alone.

  Back at King Warwick’s castle, Linus had just gotten back, and his friend and apprentice Thorn—a boy of about ten years old—was stood at the castle gates waiting for him.

  “Linus, where have you been?” he asked.

  “Thorn, we have much to do—and I will tell you on the way to my chambers. Now come on,” said Linus, grabbing Thorn by the arm.

  I don’t know how it was possible, but I was seeing everything as it was happening even if I was not there.

  “Serena has had her child, and she bares the same mark as the king. Now come, we don’t have much time,” said Linus.

  They ran up the stairs down the corridor to get to Linus’s chamber. “We need to find the book about how to send someone to a world so far away that Warwick cannot find her. Not until she is ready to understand what her life will be like here,” explained Linus.

  They walked up to a bookcase and pulled down the third book from the right and the bookcase pushed back. A secret room now stood in front of them. Thorn looked so shocked by what he was seeing.

  “What… how… why did you not tell me about this room, Linus?” said Thorn, his voice shaking.

  “What I have told you so far, Thorn, is no threat to Warwick,” Linus replied. “But if he knew about these books, he would kill us,” Linus said. “Now until Serena’s daughter comes of age and into her powers, we need to send her somewhere she will be safe. Help me find the right book…”

  “Is this it?” asked Thorn, pushing an old-looking book into Linus’ hands.

  “I think this is the one we’ve been looking for, yes; this is the one,” he said. “Thorn, I know you are young but I need you to stay in here and read all the books that you can,” said Linus. “The day that we need the old magic is coming back to this land,” he announced as he left the room and the bookcase went back in to its place against the wall. Linus put the book back where he pulled it from and the secret room was gone with Thorn inside.

  Knowing that Thorn was safely out of the way, he ran out to his horse and headed back to us. Then I was back in my cot; the sun was just starting to rise when I heard Linus knocking at the door. “My queen, it’s me; let me in,” he said.

  Eve opened the door. “Have you found what you need?” she asked.

  “Yes. Where is the queen?” asked Linus.

  “Sleeping. They both needed some rest,” said Eve. “Serena, wake up. Linus has something that can help us.”

  "I have a spell in this book that can send your child to a world through space and time where she will be safe from Warwick. She will live her life thinking that this is a dream.

  I know this is hard for you, to let her go, so the spell will let her spirit come to our world as if she is living in both worlds. When it is day there, it will be night here. As she sleeps in the world we are sending her to, it will only be her spirit that comes to our world. You will not be able to hold her, but you will able to see and talk to her," said Linus.

  They all agreed to the terms of the spell. My mother picked me up for the last time so that she could feel my skin against hers. She kissed my face, then wrapped me in a blanket placed me on the floor.

  “Ready,” said Linus, looking around at Serena and Eve, and then started to say some strange words that I could not hear. It started to get darker. My mother, Eve and Linus were fading away as they looked down at me.

  When I opened my eyes, I was in my own bed. I sat up in a cold sweat, thinking about everything I had seen and heard in my dream. All I could think about was how real it felt—and what if it was not all just a dream.

  All I knew was that my parents were my mum, Kelly, and dad, Harry Winter, but I couldn’t help thinking why I had this dream now and not before.

  I cried out for my mum.

  “What is it, Jade?” she said, rushing into my room. I told her everything but I don’t think she believed me, because she said it was just a dream. “Now get up, Jade, it’s time for school,” she added… but there was something in her voice, a tone I had never heard before. When I had told her my dream, she had looked scared; I could hear it in her voice but before I could say anything, she left the room.

  With all I saw in my dream, school did not matter to me. I wanted to stay home and think about all that Serena had told me in the other world. I went downstairs to see what my dad would say about my dream, but when I came in to the living room, he was shouting something angrily.

  “We can’t tell her. She is too young! Now drop it. I don’t want to talk about this anymore,” he said.

  It went quiet when he saw me come in to the room. I hated seeing them fighting, so I did not say anything about my dream and neither did my mum and dad. I just got ready for school.

  “Jade, the bus is here,” said Mum.

  “See you later,” said my dad as I closed the front door behind me.

  The day went by like all the others. The other kids tormented me but today I did not let them get to me. All I could think about was Serena, Eve and why my mum and dad were fighting. The other kids were getting angry that nothing they could do or say could upset me. The day ultimately came to an end, and it was time to go home.

  Mum and Dad tried to act normal, as if nothing had happened this morning, but they would not talk about my dream. We went through all of the evening not saying much to each other. Bedtime soon came around and I could not wait to go to sleep. I kissed my mum and dad goodnight, and got into bed and closed my eyes. When I opened my eyes, I woke up in my own bed.

  I must have gone through the whole night not dreaming at all.

  In fact, I am now 18 years old and I cannot remember ever having a dream since I was 6 years old, until now. I have just turned 18, and the dream is back.

  Last week on my birthday, I had that strange feeling, when I went to bed. The cold sweat came over me as I fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was back in this other world, but not as a baby. I am the same age as I am now. I am back in the castle with Serena looking at me.

  “Finally, you are here. You look shocked to see me. Let me help you come to terms with everything in this world and understand what is happening to you,” she said in a soft voice. “It’s hard to explain. You saw the day you were born, and you recall what you heard too?” she asked.

  “Yes,” I replied.

  “Then you know most of what happened that night. One of the powers you have is that you can see what your father has done in the past, what he is doing now—and what he is yet to do. He can’t stand anyone knowing his plans of destroying any village that stands in the way of his hunger for power,” Serena said, holding my hand. “And because you have one of his powers, you will get his other powers that will make you as powerful as him,” she added. “Now… I don’t want to talk about your father anymore. Tell me abo
ut your life, the world you grew up in,” said Serena, looking into my eyes.

  “There is not much to tell you… my mum and dad are great, but I have no friends. I am a bit of a loner, but I am happy… but please tell me more about this world,” I said. “I understand that this is only my spirit that is here now and my father cannot hurt me, and I bet we can get around this world without him knowing that I am here. Please, I want to see more of this world,” I asked her.

  “Next time, we can,” she said.

  There was a loud knock at the door.

  “Stay quiet until I know it is safe,” she added as she opened the door.

  I heard a man’s voice. “Is she here?”

  “Yes, Linus, but how did you know she was here?” asked Serena. “I felt her spirit is here. It’s the spell I cast on her. We are connected to each other, Serena,” he said. Linus ran into the room. “Look at her, my queen. She is beautiful,” he said, looking at me. “We need to hide her. King Warwick, he is coming to talk to you. Somehow I think he has found out that we lied to him about your child’s death.” Linus’ voice was shaking. I don’t know if it was the fear of seeing this power-hungry man that made me wake up suddenly, as a man in armour broke through the door, sword in his hand. It had blood on it. I don’t know if he saw me; once again I was sat up in my bed, still in a cold sweat. It was still dark outside.

  I need to go back to sleep. I need to know that Serena and Linus are safe. Come on, Jade, you can do this. I thought to myself. I closed my eyes again and fell asleep. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the same room but it was all smashed up. Broken chairs all over the place, broken glass under my feet. Where are Serena, and Linus? What has Warwick done to them? I thought to myself.

  I heard voices outside. “Burn it to the ground,” a man yelled out. I got down low to the glass-covered floor and went over to the window, looking out to see a man on a black horse. It was Warwick; I saw the mark on his face, the same as mine. All around him was his army. They all had their bows and arrows of fire pointing at the castle. Every single arrow was fired into the castle through the broken windows and doors, while some landed on the roof. Smoke and flames built up around me and Warwick rode away with his army behind him.