Volume 1.6 Night of Unease (2)

Magic, gods and demons, and everything else that was just a myth on Earth existed in the new world Myrene lived in. Magic, on the other hand, worked almost identically for everyone. Their magic will only awaken at the age of six. Apart from that fact, there were unique situations that led some people to awaken earlier and others to awaken later than the suitable age. But cases of early awakening only happened once or twice in a hundred years, or even a millennium, and this usually caused quite an uproar to every people.

***

In the midst of the night's thunderstorm, another frightening storm was forming within the West Witch's darkened mansion.

Frayah's eyes opened. Her purple orb eyes blazed with a cold and ominous glare. She stood up and sat on her bed. Her head rotated a complete ninety degrees towards her window, where lightning continued to burst, followed by the crashing sound of thunder.

"Rebecca has finally lost her right; the time has come."

She bore no resemblance to the previously modest and respectable maid. Her long dark hair was tangled, and her eyes were filled with frenzy; she reached out and clutched her left palm towards the window. Her long nails scraped it, making screeching noises.

"The one thing that has been rightfully mine since the beginning, I will finally have!"

A evil chuckle rang around the dismal manor, giving everybody who heard it shivers.

'Our darling children.'

***

Half an hour ago...

Myrene found herself and her brother rushing to a long dark hallway.

"Mom, why are we leaving?" Myrene's eldest brother said, clutching his mother's right hand tightly. Myrene could feel her mother's quivering hands.

Rebecca tightened her hold to Myrene and her son's hands.

"I will explain everything to both of you once we get out of here, but listen, we will live now in a lot more beautiful place than this," their mother stated with a comforting smile that contradicted the dread in her eyes.

'Get out of this place?'

The bad feeling that Myrene felt since earlier in the garden rose to greater heights. They turned to another hallway. And they could finally see the end of the long tunnel.

Myrene's mother let go of her brother's hands and raised it towards the locked metal door. A burst of wind came out from her hands and smashed the door outside. A strong gust of wind and rain came flooding inside. But their mother raised her hand and a small wind barrier surrounded them, shielding them from the raging storm outside. Then she held Myrene's brother's hands once again.

"No matter what happens, never let go of my hands." Their mother said.

The two children nodded their heads at their mother's words. Their fears were slowly and silently creeping inside them with these events transpiring. However none of them asked anything and only followed their mother's words.

Myrene observed her surroundings, with her childlike body, there was little she could do if she got caught from the strong wind of the raging storm.

'Is this finally happening? The reason why mom has a worse life than dad. But I don't understand. Everything was alright for these past three years. What did I fail to see?'

Myrene held her mother's hands tightened as the heavy feeling inside her increased.

Myrene glanced ahead, the storm outside the barrier that her mother created was devastating. However they kept running and running until they stopped. In their front lies a huge and dark forest.

'I hate this feeling.'

"My daughter, my son." All of them halted their running when they reached the entrance of the forest. Amidst the darkness, lightning flashed followed by the roaring thunder. Myrene's eyes widened when she saw her mother's face.

On her nose, there was blood dripping.

"Mother! What's happening?!" Myrene tried to wipe the blood on her mother's nose.

Their mother simply caught her two tiny hands. "No matter what happens, only listen to your mother from now on." She held both Myrene and her brother's hands. Then she pulled both of them as they ran towards the dark forest.

***

A lot of time passed and they kept running and running, many twigs had already caught on to Myrene's blue night gown dress and cloak but her mother showed no signs of stopping.

*Snapped.* Myrene, who was only guided with the hands of her mother, didn't see a protruding branch in front of her.

*Boogsh,* Myrene fell down. And along with her, her mother and brother got entangled with her as well. The first one to recover was their mother who immediately checked to see if they had gotten hurt.

A loud piercing sound echoed all of a sudden. Rebecca hugged her two children as the two covered their ears. It was followed by loud sounds of falling trees and the trembling of the ground. As time went by, the sounds were getting nearer to their location.

"Wind," Rebecca muttered, which Myrene heard.

'He is not answering,' Rebecca put her worry at the back of her thoughts. 'We need to get out of here, now.'' Then without wasting more time, this time she carried Myrene. Then she tightened her grasp on her son.

They ran once again and sounds of trees breaking behind were following them.

'How can they find us this easily already? Wind, what happened to you?' More worries and dread filled Rebecca's mind. The growing fear surged inside her. 'Don't tell me that we can't really escape from them? I can't let that happen. At least my children, I needed to get them out of here.'

Myrene could only tighten her hold to her mother. 'What is happening? What are we running away from? What are those sounds chasing us?' But in all those questions, there was one question that stood out repeatedly in her mind as she could completely feel the trembling of her mother's body.

'What makes mother so afraid?!'

Soon Rebecca reached a massive stone wall. She let go of her son's hands. She immediately pressed her hand on the wall. And the wind started to surge all around it. Soon the rock wall started to form an entrance of a cave.

"Stay here, both of you." Rebecca said as she placed down both Myrene and pulled her brother inside the cave.

"Mother, what's happening?" Myrene's brother's voice was obviously shaking from all the tension.

"No matter what happened, never come out of this cave until I came back here." Rebecca said as she touched her children's faces. Both her children had fears in their eyes. Especially to Myrene who was afraid of the unknown that was transpiring in front of her.

With her child's body, she couldn't do anything right now. And nothing from the gifts she had could be of help to this unknown.

The Space Ring, the Soul Bind Skill, Appraisal Skill, Life Pill.

'Wait... the Life pill,' Myrene held the silver space ring in her thumb.

The sound of destruction that was following them was getting much louder now. Along with the loud beating of their hearts.

"My children, always remember that your mother will come back to you." Rebecca gently caressed both her children's faces then locked them both in her embrace. "I love you."

Rebecca let go of her children. "Stay here and don't ever get out no matter what happens. Protect each other always." She turned away from the two, heading to the entrance of the cave.

Seeing her mother departing back...

'No this can't be right.' The familiar feeling when the doctors tried to revive her parents back on Earth resurfaced inside Myrene's heart.

She ran to her and locked her embrace. "Please don't die again!" Myrene said as tears started to stream down her eyes. Rebecca was frozen in shock hearing her youngest child's words. When Rebecca thought that Myrene was going to stop her from leaving, Myrene reached out to her right hand and put something on it.

"Please when you are in great danger. Drink this pill no matter what and don't die. Come back mother!"

Myrene didn't try to stop Rebecca, even if she wanted to. But as a child and to whatever was happening, she knew too well that she would not be able to stop her mother. At least, with this pill, at least to whatever was happening, this was the only thing she could do right now as a child in order to make sure that her mother would be alive.

Myrene for the first time since she arrived here felt helplessness.

Not because of the unknown. But again, she felt helpless watching things unfold without being able to do anything. And Myrene didn't know that this helplessness would soon continue until the time she would be able to awaken her magic.