Chapter six
Wolaypo iqhpelha ap lkqrken ranepwxha [Multiple Aspects and True Power]
...
I was walking ahead of the others, stopping occasionally to sniff the air. Since we left our camp, we didn't cross a single trap.
Five days after we left our camp, we still hadn't encounter any trap. Everyone was beginning to be tense, as the road had been far too easy.
"Why can't I shake the freaking feeling something's wrong?!" Nathan almost yelled.
"I agree with Nathan, something is definitely wrong." Shining added.
Suddenly, instead of the open field we were walking on for the last five days, we were in a forest. Shining and Apkeha drew their swords, Jalor prepared his bow and Kalia drew one of her daggers. Then, a soft feminine voice called.
"W h'weza. [Help.]"
The voice sounded afraid. I ran towards the voice, eventually reaching a girl cowering in fear. I went to her and nuzzled her back to comfort her.
She had long, black hair with a silver stripe in it. Her skin was slightly tanned. She was wearing a brown dress and was barefoot. The others soon joined us.
"Mqah aop pkj jki, faqja behha? [What is your name, young girl?]" Luna asked.
"Wehha. O'ehrkqolhwep, wezavike. [Wehha. Please, help me.]" The girl apparently named Wehha said, fear still present in her voice. "Lnkpacaike zq cwjykj. [Protect me from the boy.]"
"Mqah cwjykj? [What boy?]" Apkeha asked the girl.
Suddenly, the girl no longer showed signs of fear. She looked at all of us, her pale green eyes filled with madness.
"Ike. [Me.]" The girl said before turning into a boy.
The boy had the same hair colour, eye colour and skin colour as the girl. The only differences were that the boy had short hair and was wearing a white linen shirt with brown three-quarter pants.
"Ikj jki aop Iaz. [My name is Iaz.]" The boy said before touching my muzzle.
As soon as his hand touched me, I felt a strange sensation, like I was being torn apart in two. Suddenly, the sensation subsided, and the boy turned back into a girl.
"We need to help this girl!" Shining said as he took the girl's unconscious body in his arms, causing a golden medallion to hang from her neck.
"Iaz ap Wehha... Iaz ap Wehha... Jkj! Wnnapav! [Iaz and Wehha... Iaz and Wehha... No! Stop!]" Sylva yelled.
"Mq'u wpeh, Sylva? [What is it, Sylva?]" Apkeha asked.
"Hao zaqt wolaypo. Ha iazwehhkj... Hw hacajza... [The two aspects. The medallion... The legend...]" Sylva answered.
Then, a wave of energy emanated from the medallion around Wehha's neck. Once the wave was gone, we were back in the open field, but in front of us was... Us, but darker, as if shade was made to prevent light to reach them, and the girl's 'reflection' was the boy that touched my muzzle.
"What is this?!" Jacob asked, almost yelling.
"I dunno!" Nathan answered.
"Why do you even give a crap?" The other Nathan said. "You'll all die!"
Dark Nathan then jumped in the air, a sword appearing from thin air in his hands. I looked at my darker self, and she was growling at me. I looked at Wehha, and I saw that she was awake. Her hands were grasping the medallion so hard that her knuckles were white.
Dark Shining then moved in to attack Shining Armor. He put Wehha on the ground to take his sword, blocking Dark Shining's attack in the nick of time. I quickly went to Wehha, and while I did that, all of our dark selves attacked their brighter counterpart. As I reached Wehha, she had let go of the medallion, giving me a good look at both of its faces as it was spinning.
It was a medallion made of gold. On one side was a depiction of a moon crescent and on the other side was a depiction of the sun.
"Zaqt wolaypo z'qj iaia lkqrken. Ha okhaeh ap hw hqra. Ha xeaj ap ha iwh. [Two aspects of a single power. The sun and the moon. Good and evil.]" Wehha said.
Then, out of nowhere, a boy jumped in front of me. He had short chestnut hair, and his skin was pale. On his right forearm was what looked like a black tattoo of vines covered with thorns. He was wearing clothing from Corantha and Earth. He wore a dark orange linen shirt, a dark blue torn denim jeans with black boots. He then turned his head towards me, and I saw his eyes. They were blue, but the blue seemed to vary constantly from steel blue to a vivid blue.
"I thought you needed help." He said in a cocky tone before looking back at our darker selves. "Eh aop pailo mqa mqahmq'qj naypebea ha pknp z'qja zaaooa wixepeaqoa. [It is time that someone rectified the wrong of an ambitious goddess.]"
The boy then placed his right hand on the ground. With his left foot, he gave himself a push, causing his body to rotate around his hand. While he rotated around his hand, he kicked Iaz on the medallion, causing all of our dark copies to vanish. Wehha also vanished, and Iaz turned back into Wehha.
"Ianye, Iaoowcan. [Thank you, Messenger.]" Wehha said before vanishing into thin air.
"Keep an eye out. I don't want to always come and save the asses of Lnkpaypekj's chosen. By the way, I'm Owcan, Messenger of the gods." The boy said before jumping in the air and disappearing.
"That was strange." Nathan said as we all gathered together. "Hey... Weren't we on an open field with no forest in sight?"
"Yes. Why?" Twilight said.
"'Cause that makes no sense." Nathan said as he pointed ahead of us.
In that direction was a forest. It was not very dense, but it was still dense enough to be called a forest. Apkeha, Jalor and Kalia let out a gasp.
"Eilkooexha. [Impossible.]" Apkeha muttered.
"What's going on?!" I asked.
"We are almost within Corantha's border." Jalor explained.
"What are we waiting for, then? Let's go!" Franklin said before running away in the forest.
"Weeeee!" Lucy said before following her brother.
Jacob then went after his siblings. Apkeha, Jalor and Kalia had an horrified expression, and they seemed to be frozen.
"Awright! Let's go!" Nathan said before going into the forest.
Twilight, Luna and Shining Armor looked at each other, and on a nod, they all went into the forest.
"Saktel! [Bastard!]" Kalia yelled.
"They can't know about the danger of this forest, okay? I'll go get 'em." Jalor said before making his way towards the forest,but he was stopped by Apkeha.
"We are all going."
With that, Jalor, Kalia, Sylva, Apkeha and I went after the others in the forest, but as soon as we entered the forest, Sylva vanished. We walked for about ten minutes before we heard a scream coming from straight ahead. It sounded like...
"SYLVA! I'M COMING!" I said before I ran towards the scream.
"Jennifer, stop!" Apkeha said to no avail.
In a matter of minutes, I reached a black stone building. It was falling apart. I went in, sure that Sylva and the others were there. But as soon as I stepped in, the door closed behind me, and a cage fell from the ceiling, covering me. I then black out.
When I came back to myself, I was in a cage hanging high, and I was naked. 'I must have turned back into a human... But I still have a tail... Funny.' I thought. I looked through the bars of the cage down towards the floor.
Strapped to a Frankenstein-style table was the unconscious form of Sylva. Some distance away from her and the man verifying the straps were the unconscious forms of the others. I let out a primal scream, and I lost awareness of everything around me, no longer in control of myself.
...
3rd person POV, present day.
...
Jenny's primal scream made Nathan stir. He looked up, a small smile crossing his features.
"Atta girl." He said faintly before his head fell back down on the ground.
The man stopped checking the straps and looked up as well.
"Kj zenwep xeaj mq'ahha o'aop naraehhaa. [Looks like she woke up.]" The man said.
He then walked to a nearby wall and lowered a lever, causing Jenny's cage to lower to the ground. Jenny's body seemed to be on fire, but the flames seemed white, not red and orange.
"Pq ao pnao lqeoowjpa. [You are really powerful.]" The man said.
He then took a key and a odd-looking gauntlet. He put the gauntlet on his right hand, and it seemed to catch on fire. He unlocked the cage, letting Jenny out. She slowly walked out, her teeth clenched together.
"Rkukjo za mqke pq ao ywlwxha. [Let's see what you are able of.]" The man said.
He then pointed the palm of his right hand at Jenny, and a sphere of blue light shot out of it, hitting Jenny where her heart was. She was projected a few feet back. She fell on her back, but she got up. She growled, then she ran at the man, both of her hands clenched in fists.
Jenny punched the man on the jaw with her right fist. He spat some blood on the ground before shooting another sphere at Jenny. She dodged it, and punched the man in the gut with her left fist. He shot yet again. Jenny dodged again, putting both of her hands on the ground.
She pushed herself with her right foot, causing herself to spin. She stretched her left foot out and kicked the man on the jaw again. The man was projected a few feet away, but he quickly got up, spitting some more blood and one or two teeth.
"Grekal. Fa rweo pa bwena nacnappan pw jweoowjya! [Bitch. I will make you regret your birth!]" The man said.
As Jenny ran towards the man again,he charged power in the gauntlet. He then pointed at Jenny and shot a huge sphere of energy. It hit, sending Jenny straight into the wall and knocking her out. Sylva, who had regained consciousness, saw that and screamed.
"JENNY!"
Slowly, Sylva's body was covered with black flames. The straps caught on fire, and were reduced to ashes in one second. She dropped to her feet, leaving footprints of black fire behind her. She reached the man, and she extended her right arm out, her hand in a fist.
The man let out a chuckle. he then raised his hand, and shot a sphere at Sylva. Sylva caught the sphere and dismissed it. She then opened her hand, showing a black flame dancing in her open palm. With a single motion,she sent the flame at the man. He dodged, and began to shoot at Sylva continuously.
Sylva moved her hand quickly, causing each sphere to exploded before it touched her. When the man stopped shooting, Sylva let out a scream and sent a black fireball at the man, but a sword intercepted it. The sword was wielded by a woman wearing the robes of a high priestess.
She had long, black braided hair. Her eyes were big and the colour of gold. She put two fingers on Sylva's forehead, and she fell to the ground asleep. The high priestess then turned around to face the man. In the hand in which she held her sword, she also held a prayer necklace. She placed the hilt of the sword in front of her eyes, putting the necklace in front of her face. She closed her eyes and she began to chant.
"Lnkpaypekj, zkjjaike ha lkqrken za lnkpacan hao ejjkyajpo. Cwjjeo ya zaikj ap lqnebeo ya heaq. Wiaj. [Lnkpaypekj, give me the power to protect the innocents. Ban this demon and purify this place. Amen.]"
The man then vanished. The woman sheathed her sword, and touched everyone's forehead with the same two fingers she touched Sylva with. Then, the doors of the building were blown open on Jalor, Kalia and Apkeha. Kalia recognized the woman and ran to her.
"Okaqni! Fa oqeo za pa rken! [Little sister! I am glad to see you!]" Kalia said as she hugged the high priestess.
"Kalia. Pq i'wo iwjmqa. [Kalia. I missed you.]" The high priestess said as she hugged Kalia back.
"Dwqpa lnapnaooa Karuna. [High Priestess Karuna.]" Apkeha said as she bowed slightly.
Karuna nodded at Apkeha, and she stopped bowing. Then, Nathan, Luna, Twilight, Shining Armor and Franklin woke up.
"You need to hurry and get them outside. I do not know how long the purification will last." Karuna said as she went to Jenny's body. She took her and put her on her shoulder.
Jennifer's POV, present day.
...
"She's coming back." I heard Nathan say.
I slowly opened my eyes, only to close them because of the sun. Being more careful, I opened them. I saw that I was in a forest in front of the black stone building. And I was wearing my dress.
"Thank you, Nathan. You can leave us now." A woman with weird clothes said.
I sat down.
"Who are you." I asked.
"I am High Priestess Karuna Nakonar. I am Kalia's younger sister."
I nodded.
"I witnessed your battle with Olen the mad genius. I must say that I am impressed by your powers. Lnkpaypekj told me that you were not able to use your powers, but she must certainly be mistaken."
"I... I didn't." I said.
"I am not sure I understand."
"I didn't use any power. In fact, I don't even remember fighting anyone."
"I see. That would explain the seal I saw on your body. It is located on your belly."
"I don't have anything there."
"The seal is invisible. Made of pure energy. It is supposed to block and control your powers. Let me help you break it."
Karuna then applied two fingers on my belly, and a fiery pain shot through my entire body, causing me to let out a scream of pain. I black out and entered a weird dream.
I was in a playground. Kids were playing and running around, except for a few who were surrounding a young girl. She was identical in appearance to my mother when she was seven. However, that girl had jet black feathered wings.
"Hey, Freak Girl! Aren't ya gonna cry in your momma's arms?" A young boy said, causing the kids around the girl to laugh.
"Leave me alone." The little girl said quietly and weakly, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Hey, monster. The circus left town yesterday, so why didn't ya go with it?" A young girl said, causing the kids to laugh even more.
"Leave my sister alone!" A girl from outside the circle of kids called.
The kids all looked at the newcomer. She was also identical to my mother at seven.
"Natalie!" The winged girl called, clearly happy.
A tear rolled down my cheeks. I was watching my mother when she was seven. She was dressed tomboyish-ly, wearing a denim jacket with torn-away sleeves over a red t-shirt with torn denim jeans, white sneakers and black finger-less gloves. Her hands were clenched in fists.
The boy who said 'Freak Girl' walked to my mother, his fists ready to punch. However, my mother was faster than him, and he was on the ground in three seconds, my mother having punched him on the left cheek. The boy's friends began to swarm my mother, but one after the other, they were sent to the ground with a single punch from my mother.
Once all the bullies, girls included, had been punched to the ground, my mother went to the winged girl and offered her hand to the winged girl. The winged girl took it, and my mother helped the winged girl to her feet.
"Thank you, Natalie. But you know what Dad will say if he learns you fought again." The winged girl said.
"I know, Natalia. But I just couldn't do nothing for my sis, right?" My mother said.
Natalia then hugged my mother. Suddenly, Natalia was covered with black flames and my mother was covered with white flames, and she had snowy white feathered wings.
I woke up trying to catch my breath.
"Are you okay?" Karuna asked.
"Yeah... But I think I saw the past... My mom was fighting bullies that were bullying her twin sister... And they both had wings. My mom's were snowy white and her sister's were jet black." I answered.
"I didn't want you to see that..." My mother's voice said from nowhere in particular.
"Her vision means that the seal has indeed been broken, but not by me." Karuna said to the air.
"This is bad. Karuna, accompany her and her friends to Coratas." My mom said to Karuna.
"Wait a sec! What's going on?" I asked.
"My sister, known here as Iwhaxa, is trying to corrupt you, Jennifer. The seal that kept your powers hidden away was broken by your anger, causing you powers to take control of you. Here I am known as Lnkpaypekj, guardian goddess of Love and Protection. Natalie is my Earth name, and my sister abandoned hers long ago."
"It is a bad thing that Iwhaxa was able to gain so much power, and you and Sylva are the key to putting an end to her quest for power. I shall protect her with my life, Lnkpaypekj." Karuna said as she bowed.
"Thank you. I will see you soon, sweetie..." My mom said.
Sylva then came running to me. She fell to her knees and she hugged me, preventing me from breathing.
"Sylva... Can't... Breath..." I struggled to say.
She loosened her hug while Karuna chuckled. I chuckled nervously, feeling embarrassed.
"I'm okay, Sylva." I said, but Sylva kept hugging me.
"Let me go!" I said, trying to free myself from the hug, only to hear more chuckling from the bushes.
All of the group walked out of the bushes, most of them chuckling stealthily, but some, mainly Nathan, were laughing out loud.
"Ha. Ha. Real funny." I said, only causing every one, including Karuna and Sylva, to burst out laughing.
I let out a sigh and let it pass on its own.
3rd person POV, present day.
...
In Coratas' cathedral, in the orphanage, Iwhaxa, her wings white to hide her true identity, was overseeing a little girl's preparations to be adopted. The little girl was extremely happy, but Iwhaxa didn't care. She had a plan, and despite the failure of Najwenza, Iaz and Olen, she still had Zak and Selenia as backup. She knew they would not fail so easily, and the little girl in front of her was only a pawn to get her niece to join her.
"Eh aop pailo. Reajo. [It is time. Come.]" Iwhaxa said to the little girl, offering her hand.
The little girl gladly took the hand, and they both vanished, a few jet black feathers where they used to stand..