Akizma: The Hidden World Page 2

  Smoke filled the room. I could not breathe. I started to crawl to the door but I could not see what was in front of me. The heat and smoke was blinding me. This is not like the dream I had where nothing could hurt me. I thought to myself. I used my hands to feel my way along the floor. All of a sudden, I felt someone’s feet in front of me. I was so scared that Warwick had come back.

  “Jade, come with me,” a man’s voice said. “Don’t be afraid, I’m not going to hurt you. Linus has sent me,” he added as he pulled me to my feet and helped me outside. “Are you alright, Jade?” he asked.

  “Yes, but my eyes are sore,” I said.

  “Here, take this. It’s water, it will help your eyes,” he said.

  “Thank you, but who are you?” I asked as I washed my eyes with the water.

  “A friend of Linus’, your mother’s… and yours,” he said. As I looked up to see who was there, still a little scared that this was a trick by Warwick, I saw Thorn stood looking down at me. I knew it was him as soon as I saw him, as if we had always known each other. “Jade, there is no time to talk. We need to get out of here.”

  He took me by the hand and led me away from the burning castle. We went into a dark forest. I could not see much. The trees did not let the sun in. “Keep going, and I will try to explain what has happened to your mother and Linus,” said Thorn, “but we must keep moving. I know you have seen me in your dream as a small boy, so you know I am Linus’s apprentice, and so you know you can trust me,” he said, pulling me by the hand, deeper into the forest. “Your mother has been taken back to Warwick castle, but before Warwick found them both, Serena told Linus to leave her and to get ready for you to come back. It was too risky for him to stay in the castle. He knew Warwick would come back for him, so he got word to me to look out for you. He is waiting for us in the mountains to the north of here,” Thorn said. “I should warn you, Jade, this land and the creatures are harsh and magical. You have only read about them in books and not all of them are good.”

  “Please, I need to stop. I can’t keep walking. How big is this forest anyway?” I asked

  “We are almost on the other side of the forest. Sit down, but just for a moment,” said Thorn.

  As we walked to the edge of the forest, I heard voices. It was Warwick and his men.

  “Jade, get down! Stay still. It looks like they are heading to a village close by,” said Thorn in a soft voice.

  “My lord, the queen is still not telling us anything about your daughter being alive or where she and Linus sent her for all this time,” one of his men in armour said.

  “Don’t tell me what she is not saying, just do whatever it takes until she tells us what we need to know—and I do mean whatever you need to get what I want. Do you understand me, Rydan? Do not fail me!” Warwick yelled.

  “Yes, my lord,” he said as he rode off away from Warwick’s side. Warwick and the rest of his men rode away from the forest.

  “Is it safe to go?” I asked Thorn. “We will wait for a moment, just to be sure that he is not coming back,” said Thorn. “Okay, but tell me more about this world,” I asked. “Thorn, you say there are creatures here that I have only read about. What kind are you talking about?” I asked him. He looked down at me as he sat next to me.

  “Jade, we don’t have much time for all I need to tell you. When the sun sets you will go back to your other world,” he said. “Because until we find another spell that can bring you back to this world as your full self, not just your spirit, I cannot tell you all you need to know,” Thorn added.

  “Wait, when I had my dream, Linus said that I would grow up in both worlds. Why did that not happen, Thorn?”

  “I cannot tell you what I do not know. That is a question only Linus can answer. Now let me tell you what kind of man your father is,” said Thorn, with pain now in his voice. “Your father has brought nothing but pain, bloodshed, and suffering to the people of this world for years—and has had fun doing it,” he said. “My family, my whole family, was killed just for having a different opinion than this. I was spared so that other people would learn that what happened to my family could, and will, happen to all who stand against him.” Thorn now spoke with anger in his voice and in his eyes. “Linus took me in. As a great sorcerer, he could see that I had powers of my own, and decided to teach me how to use them. One day, he said, I would have a key role to play in the downfall of King Warwick and his power-hungry ways. I was a boy of eight when he told me this and my heart was full of pain, anger and revenge; but we needed to keep it inside until the day comes when we will use all of our hate and anger to put an end to Warwick,” said Thorn. "Linus did teach me how to use my powers, and every day he told me of the day that someone would come with the same powers as the king, but with one difference—that someone would gain a power that Warwick could never have. Then two years later, Queen Serena had a child.

  That child is you, Jade, and you have the same mark as your father and he knew this day was coming. He knew of this legend and now he will not let you live knowing that you have the same powers as him," said Thorn.

  “This is all so strange. This still feels like a dream… how can I be certain that I’m not just dreaming?” I said.

  “Linus said you might think like this, so he told me to give you this pendant. It can go with you back to the other world,” said Thorn as he put the pendant around my neck. As I looked at the pendant I saw it was a dragon with its wings stretched out. “When you wake up, it will still be around your neck,” Thorn said. The sun was starting to go down. “Jade, we are running out of time. Next time when you go to sleep in the other world, think of this place and of me, and you will come back to this place and not the burnt-out castle,” said Thorn, holding my hand. As I looked at Thorn and the forest, everything started going dark, just like it did when I was sent away for the first time. I heard Thorn’s voice. “Jade, think of me, and the forest. Please, think of me,” he called out to me and then I woke up back in my own bed once again.

  I sat up, more confused about what I had just seen. I felt something around my neck. I pulled it over my head so I could see what it was. It was the pendant Thorn had given to me. I took it down to show my mum. I told her what had happened to me. “Come with me,” she said, looking more scared than the first time I had told her about my dream. “Wait in here. I need to talk to your dad,” she said as she left me in the living room. I could still hear everything Mum was saying to my dad in the kitchen. “The dreams have come back. We can’t keep this from her anymore, Harry; we have to tell her the truth.”

  “Tell me the truth about what, Mum?” I asked as I walk into the room. My mum and dad just looked at each other. “Tell me what?” I asked again. There was a moment of silence in the room.

  “Jade, we need to talk… but not now. We will tell you all you need to know when you come back from college. And that is all I have to say about the matter,” my dad said in an annoyed voice. I had never heard my dad sound so angry before. I left the house crying from how Dad had spoken to me.

  As I sat on the bus, I felt strange, just like before I go to sleep. As I looked out of the window, I saw strange images from the other world coming into this world. Storm clouds rolled in behind a man dressed in armour, covered in blood.

  “Nooooo!”

  I screamed so loud that the bus almost ran off of the road.

  “What the hell is going on back there?” yelled the bus driver. “Someone stop her,” he added. People were stopping me from getting up. They all held me down.

  “Nooooo…! Let me go! He’s seen me. He’s going to kill me. Don’t you see him?” I cried out.

  “Who’s going to kill you?” I heard a woman say to me.

  “Don’t talk to her, she is nuts,” I heard a man say. “Just hold her down,” he added as he held my head toward the window.

  The man in armour was still there, looking at me. It was Warwick.

  “You live!” he yelled at me, holding his sword, covered in blood. “You will soon be dead!” he said with an evil smile on his face and then he disappeared, leaving me with all these strangers holding me in my seat.

  As we got to the college I saw an ambulance waiting for me. The bus driver had radioed ahead to tell them what had happened on his bus. Two paramedics boarded the bus and grabbed my arm. “Stop, let go of me!” I screamed at them. I kicked them away from me and started to run, but the bus driver grabbed me. As I looked back, I saw one of the paramedics had a needle in his hand.

  “It’s okay; this is just something to calm you down. Don’t fight it,” the paramedic said. And before I knew it they had injected me with something. Things were starting to go fuzzy. My arms and legs were getting heavy.

  “I can’t move, why can’t I move?” I asked him.

  “We couldn’t let you hurt yourself, or us, with all your kicking out at everything,” said the paramedic. “We have called your mum and dad. They are on their way, just stay calm,” he added.

  “Kelly, I was wrong. I should have listened to you when you wanted to tell Jade everything,” Harry said to Kelly as they pulled up into the car park.

  “What are they doing to her?” asked Kelly as she looked at the bus then back to Harry.

  “Let’s just get her home,” said Harry, looking at Kelly.

  “Yes, but which home are you talking about; our home or hers?” said Kelly.

  As the paramedic got me into the ambulance, I saw my mum and dad running up to the ambulance.

  “Stop!” my dad cried out. “We are her parents, we will look after her at home,” he added.

  “We need you to sign some forms if you are sure you can look after her at home, sir,” said the paramedic as he handed my dad the forms. “The drug we have given her will wear off in an hour or tw
o. She won’t sleep, but she will not be able to move,” he added as he took back the completed forms.

  “Thank you so much,” said my mum as my dad put me into our car. As we headed back home, Mum looked back at me and smiled. “I know that you can’t move but you can listen to what we have to say to you,” she said. “Jade, we know what is happening to you. Do you remember when you had that dream when you were six, and you told us about it but we did not want to talk about it? I know you do,” she said, looking into my eyes. “It was because we knew it was true. Everything you said you saw in that world; it is real,” she added.

  I don’t know if the tears in my eyes were from sadness or anger from being lied to all my life. Not able to brush away the tears I just kept listening to what my mum was telling me.

  “Jade, 18 years ago, Harry and I were sitting in the living room watching the TV when we heard a baby crying in the back garden. We went outside to see what was happening. We could not believe our eyes. A new-born baby lay on the ground wrapped in an old looking blanket—it was you, Jade. We picked you up, still in shock finding you like that; as we turned around to get you into the house there was a strange looking man stood in our way. ‘Do not be afraid. I need to talk to you both about that baby you are holding in your arms,’ he said.”

  “Kelly let’s get her in the house, you can tell her more about that in the warm,” said Harry, as he opened the car door and carried me into the living room.

  “Jade, the strange man told us his name was Linus and he told us all about the world you came from and what would happen to you if you stay there. It was hard to believe, but there was something in his voice that made us know all he was telling us was the truth,” said my mum as she sat next to me.

  “He told us that you would come into your powers one day. Now that the dreams about that world are back it means you are about to gain your powers,” said Dad, holding my hand. “We thought if we could make you think that they were just dreams then this would not happen. We were so naïve, Jade. We are so sorry,” said Mum, looking at Dad, then to me.

  “Jade, think of everything we have told you until the drug gets out of your body,” said Mum. Like I could think of anything else, I thought to myself as the last hour dragged on. Soon I got the feeling back into my body.

  “How could you make me feel like I was going mad? How did you know the strange man was telling you the truth?” I yelled at them still feeling so angry with them.

  “Because when we took our eyes off of him for one second, he had disappeared in front of us. But we heard his voice calling to us, he said, ‘Please keep her safe.’ And we were left alone holding you,” said Dad. “I’m sorry for making you feel like this Jade,” he added.

  “I’ve seen Linus, he is a great sorcerer. He is my birthmother’s good friend. He sent me away to you and I’m glad he sent me to you both. I love you. I’m sorry I shouted at you,” I said, looking at them both. I think Harry and Kelly could hear the anger in my voice had gone.

  “Jade we are not your birthparents but for the last 18 years we have loved you as if we were your mum and dad, you know that,” said Harry, holding my hand.

  “I love you too,” I said, looking at both of them.

  “Now it is almost night time and again your spirit will go to your home world,” said Kelly, as she got up.

  “Mum, I’m scared of that place, of Warwick the king, of that land. From what Linus and Thorn have told me, I’m their last hope. What if I’m not up to this?” I said, as I walked to the door.

  “Jade we believe in you like Linus and Thorn do. I wish this was not your life, but it is and all we ask is please be careful. We know you and your people will come through this together. We love you so much,” said Harry.

  I turned around and Harry and Kelly held me so tightly in their arms. “I love you too. You will always be my mum and dad,” I said as I went to my bedroom.

  That strange feeling came over me again and I knew I was going back to my world. Think of Thorn on the edge of the forest, I kept telling myself as I fell asleep with Mum and Dad holding my hand. When I opened my eyes, I found myself sat in front of Thorn, with his hand pressed over my mouth. “Ssshhhhhh look through the trees,” he said, still with his hand over my mouth. So I did as he said and as I looked I could see Warwick’s men coming into the forest, searching for any survivors from the last village they had destroyed.

  “Keep low, keep quiet. This way,” said Thorn. We managed to get out of the forest.

  “Over there! Stop!” one of the Warwick’s men yelled out loud.

  “Run Jade!” said Thorn. As I looked back to see if he was behind me, “Don’t look back. I’m right behind you, just keep going!” he said.

  “We will never make it to Linus. I can’t keep running,” I said as we ran across a field of ash and smoke that covered the ground. Then we heard the loudest roar.

  “What is that? Where is it coming from?” I screamed, as I covered my ears with my hands and tried to keep running from Warwick’s men.

  “Look up, Jade,” said Thorn. As I looked up to the sky, I couldn’t believe what I saw—it was a dragon.

  “Jade meet one of the creatures that live in your world,” said Thorn.

  “It looked like the dragon on my pendant, the one you gave to me Thorn,” I said, as I stopped to watch it.

  Warwick’s men were gaining on us. The dragon’s wings folded back by it side, as it got closer to us. Then it stretched out it wings again, as it slammed on to the ground, putting itself between us and Warwick’s men. The men kept running toward us. The dragon looked at me then back to Warwick’s men and took a big breath in and let out its fire, making a wall of fire and blocking Warwick’s men behind it. The dragon came toward me. “Do not be afraid. I will not hurt you,” it said, looking down at me.

  “You can talk,” I said nervously, as I looked from Thorn then up at him.

  “Yes I can talk for all to hear,” he said, now looking at Thorn. “But I can talk to you with my mind. It is one of the powers you and the king share,” he said looking into my eyes, his mouth did not move. “Warwick uses this power against us but your heart, as Linus said, is good. We have longed for you to come home,” he added, now talking, for Thorn to hear him.

  “Linus is waiting for you. He sent me to bring you to him. He will tell you about your other powers. Now climb on my back and I will take you both to him,” he said, as he looked from me to his back. As the fire grew higher and higher the dragon pushed away from the ground. I took one more look at Warwick’s men behind the fire as we flew away.

  “My name is Talon,” the dragon said. “You can hear my thoughts because I want you to. I can see you do have a good heart. Your father’s heart is dark and cold. He hears our thoughts because he takes them from us. We try to stop him but he is too strong,” again he said, using this mind to speak to me.

  “Talon, is Linus safe, is he okay?” asked Thorn.

  “Yes, he is still in the mountains. He will tell you all about your powers better than Thorn or I ever could, Jade,” said Talon.

  I was trying to take in as much of the landscape as I could, as we flew over it and headed to the mountains.

  “These are the northern mountains and somewhere down there is Linus waiting for you, Jade,” said Thorn, pointing down at the mountains.

  “Yes, so many people have been waiting for you for a long time,” Talon added, as he landed in front of a cave.

  “Linus is in there, go to him,” said Thorn, as he helped me down off of Talon’s back and looked toward the cave.

  “Go in, Jade you are safe here,” said Talon.

  Just as I went in to the cave, I heard a familiar voice coming out of the darkness. It was Linus. He looked the same just as I remembered him the night he sent me away.

  “Jade, come to me let me look at you,” he said, as he stepped out of the darkness. “I have so much to tell you but again, we don’t have much time to talk. I have managed to get my spell books out of Warwick’s castle and I have found the spell that can bring you back to your home world, all of you, not just your spirit,” said Linus.