Chapter 4

Mira, Zara and Xander rode away from the city. The queen had told them to ride to Hatali to meet a friend of hers who would assist them. They rode into the forest as they headed towards the valleys of Mirabu. The valleys had the biggest river which supplied most of the water in Nanata kingdom. The siblings stopped to rest in the forest before they approached the valley. Mira looked ahead the valley where the sun was setting and she looked at her hands. Her hair had grown more golden strands and she hadn't said anything since they had left the city. "Mira come closer to the fire and keep warm." Zara said to her sister. Mira went and sat by the fire. Xande took out a piece of bread and broke it. He gave one to Mira and the other to Zara. They took the pieces of bread and they ate it quietly. Zara's eyes swelled up with tears and she put her head down. This was the first time they had eaten without their sister. Mira looked at her sister and held her hand tight. Zara broke down with the bread in her mouth and Xander tried to hold his tears back. He held her hand and they let her cry her heart out. "I am really sorry. If only I knew how to control my powers she'd be still alive." Mira apologized but Zara shook her head. "It is not your fault Mira, it is that damn human king's fault!" Zara said to her sister in anger. Xander held her hand tighter and they sat there quietly. They slept around the fire that night. They neither could sleep nor could they speak. They all missed their sister and felt their hearts break all over again. Zara feared they couldn't go anywhere without them being chased because of Mira's powers. They were growing too strong by the day and she couldn't control them. Even the bracelet couldn't help her. They were never going to be safe as long as she wasn't in control. Mira slept with her hand holding Xander's she looked peaceful and tired. Xander woke up and sat still holding his sister's hand. Zara saw him sitting up and she too woke up. "You are thinking of what I am thinking of right? How are we going to protect her? We are never safe Xander, her powers are just too strong." Zara said to her brother in tears. Xander just looked at his younger sister sleep. "She is the strongest witch I have ever seen and we are stronger together. We will keep moving for the rest of our lives as long as she is safe and away from them." He told his sister. They sat there all night watching over her.

At the break of dawn Mira was sitting at the edge of the forest looking at the valley. Her siblings woke up from their sleep and saw her sitting by the edge of the forest. She was looking at eh valley like there was something down there. "Mira are you alright?" Zara asked her sister. Mira nodded her head and smiled. "Did you know that the Mirabu valley is where Adara created the witches? She left the pond with her blood and let the descendant drink from it before dying and letting her blood flow in that river." Mira said to her siblings. Xander sat next to Mira confused. "Adara is just a legend Mira. Stories we were told to keep believing in." He tried to explain to his sister. Mira looked at her brother and smiled. "Of course. I know but I just wish they were true. I feel drawn to the valley maybe it wasn't just a story." She said to her brother. She put her head on his shoulder to rest when they heard a noise coming from the forest. It was the king's men. Thay all hurriedly picked up their stuff and got on their horses. They rode out of the forest into the valley and as they escaped the king's men drew closer. They rode after the three siblings shooting arrows at them and the siblings rode as fast as they could. "Mira hurry! Xander let's go!" Zara shouted at her siblings. They rode in the dusty valley and as they got closer to the river an arrow hit Xander on his right shoulder. He screamed in pain and Zara saw her brother bend over. "Xander hold on!" She shouted to him as she rode closer to help him hold on. She helped him up. They raced down the river as they tried to get away from the king's men. "Mira, Mira. Listen to my voice Mira." Mira heard a voice whispering her name. She looked everywhere but could not tell where the voice was coming from. The voice kept calling she couldn't concentrate. She fell off her horse into the river. Zara saw her sister fall and she let Xander go as she rode back to her sister. The men were drawing closer and mira kneeling in the river heard the voice again. "Mira use the river. Use the earth." It whispered to her. She looked at the shallow waters flowing between her knees. She saw her sister returning for her, her brother still bent over and the men draw closer. She closed her eyes, put her hands in the water and touched the wet ground. She began to listen to the sound of the river and she began to chant in a language she didn't even know. She slowly stood up and the water followed her. Xander had stopped and he watched his sister from afar. Zara stopped riding back as she saw her sister make the water rise. Mira motioned her hands from behind to the front as she screamed and the water formed arrows that went and hit the king's men straight in their hearts. A few of those men watched in awe as they rode back to the forest. She screamed and the water lifted her up in the sky. The bracelet on her arm fell on the ground so did the collar on her neck. Her sister watched this in awe. Her hair turned gold and the king's men fled back to the city. She bowed her head down and the water put hr back on the ground. Zara got off her horse and ran to her sister. She caught her before she fell to the ground and hugged her. Mira opened her eyes and she saw her sister. They saw Xander fall to the ground and they ran to him. He was hit by an arrow with poison and it was spreading. Mira took her hand and placed it on Xander's collar. She chanted and the collar fell off. She took the water and poured it on the wound. It began to heal. And Zara looked at her sister surprised. Mira took her hand and did and enchantment to remove the collar on her sister's neck too and it fell. Zara could feel her magic in her body and she couldn't hold back her tears.

They sat on the ground waiting for Xander to gain his strength. Zara looked at Mira with questions. She couldn't stop staring at her hair. Mira could feel her sister's gaze upon her. "I hear things. A voice whispering. It is like she is directing me. Fragments of memories of this woman appear." She told her sister. Zara put her hands on her lap. "Do you think it is Adara? Do you think she is real?" Zara asked Mira. Mira just smiled and replied. "I don't know. Maybe it is our mother. She has the exact hair as mine." Zara laughed. "Mum had brown hair Mira. She didn't have golden hair like you. Whoever it is we will figure out who it is when we get to Hatali." Zara told her sister. Mira held Zara's hand. "We stay here Zara. This is our home. We build here in the valley." Mira told Zara. Zara could not believe what her sister was telling her. "We can't stay here Mira. We are not safe! The king will send more men then what?" She asked her sister. Mira stood up and stretched her hadn towards Zara. Zara took hold of Mira's hand and they walked a few meters away from Xander. Mira put her one hand one the ground and also asked her sister to put one hand on her ground as they held hands. "Follow my lead. Witches are pro creators and we have since forgotten that." Mira told her sister. She began chanting and Zara followed her sister's lead. Xander woke up and found his sister chanting he slowly walked to them and he held Zara's hand and they all began chanting. As they were chanting the ground began to lift and form a huge wall around them. They continued chanting and the wall spread forming a protection wall around them and most of the valley. Zara began laughing with relief and joy. She had never used her powers and this felt so real and good to use. She ran following the wall crying with joy. She played with her hands as she wrote designs with her hands on the walls. She ran back to her siblings and they stood there laughing together. Tears of joy filled their eyes and they all hugged. "This is our home. Mirabu valley is our home Nara." She quietly said to herself as she looked in the sky.

The few of the king's men returned to the city on their horses. One of the commanding officers went to the throne room where the king, the queen, Manol, the two vampires and the werewolves had been waiting for the news. He walked in and knelt on the floor before the king. "Speak soldier." Manol ordered the officer to speak. He looked quite shaken. "You majesty. The witch is too powerful. She conjured arrows from the river and killed most of my men alone. The collar she wore fell off and her hair turned into a golden color." The officer explained to the king. Reeva looked at him in shock and Varsui rose one of his eyebrows. He walked right around the table and the wolves caught up with his anxiety. "What is the matter Varsui? You look anxious." Hansu questioned the old vampire. Reeva looked at his brother and he chipped in. "There was a pure breed of witches with golden hair but from what I know that bloodline was extinct." Reeva lied to them and Varsui just looked at his brother. "The covenant went extinct? I have never heard of them. How did they go extinct?" Kitoli asked Reeva listening to his heartbeat. Reeva knew what Kitoli was doing so he had his heartbeat steady. "It was a longtime ago. They were the oldest covenant and with time there bloodline mixed with humans they went extinct." He calmly told her and she looked at him convinced he wasn't telling them the whole story. She didn't say anything but she just put her hands on the table. There was a long moment of silence in the room and the king couldn't stop pacing up and down. "We need to warn the others. This could mean a revolution from the witches. If they found out someone with that kind of power is out there, they will fight back." Hansu warned the others. They all looked nervous but they didn't want to show. "We knew this day would come and we prepared for it." Varsui told the others. He pat the werewolf Hansu on his shoulder and he walked out of the room. Reeva followed his brother out of the room and the werewolves left the king and Manol alone.