Hope Rising

Chapter Eight

[NOTE: Now from Zeya's P.O.V.]

I raced down the nearest alleyway, trying to lose the city guards that were chasing me. When I reached the end, I jumped, landing safely on the roof of one of the buildings lining the alleyway, only to land on top of another guard, this one wielding a crossbow.

"Uh, any chance that I can just hand over the book and go home?" I asked, inching my hand to the pocket where I kept a dagger.

"None at all." the guard replied, raising the crossbow.

I backed away, towards the edge of the roof, mentally preparing myself to jump.

The guard fired.

I jumped, spreading my wings as I fell, trying to slow the fall.

The bolt from the crossbow whizzed past my head, hitting a bag of flour and exploding. I used the cloud of dust as a cover, sneaking out of the square amidst the chaos.

Once I was free of the square, I ran towards my home, clutching the book to my chest.

When I reached my home, I tossed my bag to the side, curled up on my couch, and started to read the book I had stolen

The first paragraph was enough to put anyone off reading the book.

It said:

Hello to those who dare

Enter through the jaws

Lay your life aside

Lest you fall

Onto the last page

Zirron shall decide

Evil shall not live

You must not fail

Always until the end of your days

This was my mum's idea of a joke. This book was a family heirloom, and she wrote her page inside the front cover, as a warning. But, to be fair, this book is an ancient spellbook that contained the way to make the Well of the Evils come to you, so it was probably a good idea. To the untrained eye, this book would look like an old recipe book. To me, the book is an account of how the Twelve Wings came to be, along with the spells used in the Battle of the Light Shadows. I haven't really used any of the big spells, just a few Wing spells and a Shadow spell or two.

Just then, my door imploded, sending chunks of wood flying everywhere.

I looked up, nocking an arrow as I did so, only to realise that it was Astrea. I settled back onto the couch, placing my bow to the side one more.

"Did you forget your key again?" I asked, looking at her dust-covered face.

"No, I had it... somewhere. I doubt it's there now, but meh. It'll be fine. It always is." Astrea replied, looking a little like a lost puppy as she tilted her head to one side in confusion.

"I honestly have no idea how you manage to lose a key that's literally tied to your pocket!" I laughed, patting the seat next to me.

She sat down with a poof of dust, and rested her head on my shoulder.

"Whaddya reading?" she asked, grabbing a slice of cake.

"Remember the book we were trying to get?" I asked in return. She nodded.

"Well, I found it!"

"Yay!!!" she exclaimed, and hugged me.

Then, another person ran through the door, almost tripping in her haste to get to me.

"ZEYA!!! GET OUT OF HERE!!! THE GIRL NEXT TO YOU IS NOT ASTREA, ITS LADY ALLEA!!!"

Dun, dun, duuuuun!!! 

Thankyou to those who stayed with me after the last authors note, I really appreciate it. The next chapter is probably going to be out in the next few days, a week at most.

See ya!!!

~SCK