Mysterious Chime (Book #1)

C H I M E 18

¹⁸| EPHIPHANY III

"What?" My heart thudded wildly. A mob boss appointing a mobster to assassinate me in order to gain what exactly?

"In order to pertain the balance of nature, love," Axel cleared the thought I had let out loud.

"The what?" I repeated again, confusion as clear as crystal written on my face reflected through my tone. Simply, Axel shook his head at my reaction.

"It's not my story to tell. You could clear all your doubts when I make sure you join your parents on the other side." The moment those string of words registered in my head, a ball of fury produced in my heart. The scroll. The threats. I sprung to life when Axel rehearsed it well. "It was you wasn't it? The scroll was your foolish idea," I jabbed my index finger in his direction, accusingly.

The evil smirk displayed on his face affirmed it. "My boss didn't appreciate the approach saying I've 'overdone' my task but hey at-least I scared the bejesus out of you."

If I could use one word on how I felt about Axel it would be, horrified. The more he kept unravelling, the uglier he turned out to be as his mask kept wrinkling and wrinkling, revealing his true face.

Trust no one, my mother's warning. She was trying to warn me since the start and I had dumped it aside like an imbecile, regardless. Shame crawled within when I realised I've let my parent's down. I didn't bring peace to their death but added burden and disappointment. What have I done?

No! Get a grip, Nora. You still have more to learn.

If the scroll was his idea, the whole twists and turns, plots and plans—he was the brains behind it all not his boss.  "How did I get to the beach?"

"After erasing your memories we sorta left you there." Axel shruggred like it was normal to kidnap a random teenager off the sidewalk and abandon them elsewhere.

My lips curled with disdain, eyes widening with repulsion. "What do you mean by erasing my memories? How?" I pressed harshly.

"See that thing over there," my eyes averted from his dark pupils to a much rather sparkling cube-the Horus, Axel's piece of antic obsession. My chance of questioning the Horus' relevance to the current situation was dusted off by Axel since he, himself cut to the chase. "Can you imagine an object as such-so small yet powerful enough to swipe off a person's memory? This has gone hand in hand from decades to centuries to millenia, civilisation to civilisation and look whose hand it finally ended up in." The urge to kick off the proud smirk Axel was sporting on while blabbering nonsense, began heightening. I believed naught.

Why would an object so dangerous be out of hands, in the shelf of an old person's store?

"Lies, I don't prefer hearing," I stated shaking my head in disbelief.

"As you quote, the 'ear screeching sound' you experienced at the mall, was the Horus calling out to you. One disadvantage of this ancient beauty is that it tempts it's victim to gain back what they lost. Thanks to your breakdown was I able to track it down."

"So my memories..." I trailed off. The key to my past had been there, right infront of me the whole time trying to reach out for me in disagreeable, evil ways.

"Also, Elenora Foreman," I glanced at Axel's semi raised hand that occupied a paper. Squinting my eyes, I became aware that it was the same paper I briefed down my memories on. How did he come to hold possession of it?

Raising a questioning brow at his direction, I asked. "Not only do you invite yourself in but you also ransacked my room?"

"Like every other day, it's another thing I'm tasked with. Unfortunately its only today I find a fine piece of information which is soon to be disposed of along with your dead body. Oh also your therapist."