Chapter nine:

Zhalia's pov:

Zhalia had stayed at the Foundation's basis for about two months now. She liked it there. To her it felt like a home now. She had never thought about the Organization in that way. It had always been more work, than home although she had lived there for so many years. Even if she didn't want it to be, she was sometimes reminded of her family. She didn't like that, because she knew that if anyone would fill the black hole in her heart, she would be vulnerable. Vulnerable, like she had been years ago as Klaus found her.

Because of that she was trying to deflect herself. She was sometimes training with Lok and sometimes with Dante. While she was fighting she wasn't able to see her combatant as a friend. While she was fighting she thought tactically. Although fighting with Lok couldn't be called `training´. Not for Lok and definitely not for her. Lok was lying half of the time on the ground and she was getting boring. It was just so easy to annoy him. He always got angry after losing the 15th training battle. Although he was very motivated.

Training with Dante was much more exiting, but it never ended. It looked like they were both on the same level. The rest of the time she was trying to avoid the others. Sometimes she was talking to Dante and it just felt good to talk with someone who really listened. She thought about Dante's offer to join the Foundation and to work for the Foundation. She thought about working as a profiler and fighter. She had always been good in estimating people and the Foundation needed everyone who was able to help. The Organization was making the Foundation hard times. Lok had received a letter from his mother. She and her sister would stay at another of the Foundation's outposts. Lok wasn't very happy about it. He was trying to convince Dante to go there. He missed his sister and he wanted to protect his family. Everyone knew that it wouldn't take long until the Foundation had to act. The Organization was terrorizing the country.

In this moment Zhalia was training with Lok. She had decided to make it easier for Lok so she had put on a blindfold. Everything was quiet. She closed her eyes and concentrated. Lok was a right hander so he would attack from the right side. He was small so he would try to avoid her moves. Suddenly she heard him breathing. He was starting to run. His footsteps were getting louder so he was about 15 metre away. He would need some seconds until he was near. She waited. After some seconds she felt an air draught. She ducked and kicked him. She heard him falling on the ground. She sighed annoyed and took of the blindfold.

`You'll never make it´, she said. He was lying on the ground, slowly he sat up.

`Oh man, my back hurts like hell´, he said.

`I know you should stop. You better train with Dante, he's nicer than me. Why do you even want to train with me, you should know by now that you can't win, it's getting boring´, she answered

Lok suddenly looked sad. `I want to be as good as my dad. He was a Foundation member too. You know, everyone always tells me: One day you'll be just as good as Eathon. But sometimes I just think I can't make it, he answered. Zhalia stood still.

She turned around and looked at him stunned. It couldn't be.

`What's your surname Lok´, she asked shortly.

`Lambert, why´, he answered a bit puzzled.

`No´, Zhalia said.

She left Lok without a word. She couldn't believe it. She had lived about months in the same house with Lok and she didn't realize that she killed his father. She went through the empty corridors. Suddenly she felt dizzy again. Breathing started to get heavy. She didn't have such an attack of remorse since her first day here. She tried to go on but it was difficult for her to go straight to her room. She felt weak again and it felt like she would collapse. She remembered the scene clearly.

She had waited for him in that night. He was on his way home from a mission. He had been weak. First he was fighting but soon he hadn't been strong enough anymore. He had tried to talk with her about the whole thing. She had never understood what he had asked in that night. `Who did this to you´, he had asked. And suddenly she understood. He had been the only one who had seen that she was just a weapon. He just saw a little girl that was acting strange and that was working for the Organization. He had understood that there had to be someone who was controlling her. And she had killed the one person who knew that this assassin wasn't her. The assassin was now a part of her but that part was no more controlling her.

Zhalia felt ill by now. She knew she wouldn't make it to her room. She opened the door to the habitable room. The room was empty. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. She tried to not think about it and leaned against the wall. She couldn't forget about it. About what she had done to Lok and his family. Eathon Labert's picture, she couldn't get it out of her brain. She closed her eyes, she didn't want to see it anymore. Zhalia didn't realize that she was sinking on the ground. Tears had started to escape her eyes. She felt like she was suffocating… After some minutes she was able to breath calm again. She stood up and realized that she was still weak. She didn't know why but those attacks were hurting her more than a real fight ever did. She sat down on an armchair.

Suddenly the door opened. Zhalia jumped in her armchair.

`But how can that be. It would seal the world's destiny. Are you sure about that Metz´, Dante was asking while he entered the room with Metz, right behind them little Miss Casterwill and Lok.

`Dante, I'm sure about that. Guggenheim received those news from a talented and trustworthy seeker´, Metz answered calm. `We have to do something, you have to do something Dante´, Metz said.

`I can't do anything against mortally magic. If the Organization has confederate with the Blood Spiral, I'm useless´, Dante said.

Zhalia closed her eyes. She let her hair fall into her face. It couldn't be. Now everything was hopeless. The Organization had used their most dangerous weapon. The Blood Spiral, a group of Nekromants that were using black magic to stay alive. They were soul collectors. Everyone who died became part of another world. Finally the Organization must have convinced them to follow them. She sighed. It couldn't be much worse.

`But who is the Blood Spiral´, Lok asked.

`The Blood Spiral are…´, Dante answered but he was cut off by Zhalia.

`Black Magicians´, Zhalia said coldly. `They are collecting the souls of everyone who dies on earth. They use black magic as their weapon that makes it nearly impossible to kill them. If you die you go to another world and that's a long and difficult journey. The Blood Spiral haunts those souls that haven't found the other world yet. They use them to stay alive and have control over them´.

`How did you get those information´, Metz asked. `Normally the Foundation and the Organization are the only ones who know about them´.

`That's not important. The one thing that is important is that the whole world will be destroyed if they are helping the Organization. If the Organization has control about the dead than we will soon be history´, she said shortly. Zhalia felt that everyone in the room was looking at her.

`Our time is running out´, she said.

On the same day the arrangements for a long journey were made. Dante had decided to choose a team. He would try to fight the worst off although they didn't really have a chance. The Foundation was out of people. There weren't many good seekers left. Because of the Organization many Seekers had been killed in the last years. And now a group of black magicians would help the Organization.

Zhalia had always known about the Blood Spiral. Klaus had once told her that Rasimov was one of them and that he was trying to convince the others to join him. She had always thought that Rasimov was kind of creepy. No one in the Huntik Foundation was really sure what would await them, Zhalia was sure about that. They didn't have the Information she had. She knew what would await them. The Blood Spiral was able to manipulate people, to use their memories and powers against them. She had heard about people that had lost their soul to them, their identity. They could use dead bodies to turn into their attendants, into their guards. The only chance to defeat them was to kill them: Rasimov the master of curses, Shauna the mistress of blood magic and Wind the master of death magic. Zhalia knew that the Foundation would have to make sacrifices.

Hey guys…

It's been a long time since I uploaded my last chapters. I needed some time to find new ideas for the plot. I hope that I made clear what I want the Blood Spiral to be… If you have any questions just ask me… Please review and tell me what you think about my idea… I hope you like it…

Yours MissLaboe…