When It Breaks

| NINE |

We travelled in silence till we reached the end of the town. We took a different route to ensure the townspeople wouldn't see Helen since she was exiled and all. She refused to tell us why she was exiled in the first place.

Currently, we were seated by a tree taking turns to be on the lookout for the Fledglings. It was Ray's turn to stand and watch.

"Why won't you tell me everything?" I asked all of a sudden. "I need to know why the witch wants to kill me so I can defend myself."

Helen didn't reply. Realizing I would not get anything else from her, I scowled and went back to trying to analyse everything.

"She doesn't want you dead," Helen said, breaking the silence and I turned to her.

"What do you mean? It's obvious. She tried to kill me in the fire then sent her minions to ensure the job is done."

"Trust me, if Luciana wanted you dead, you'd be dead. The Fledglings outside my house was just a warning. Luciana is cunning, she wants you to know she knows where you are and can get you anytime.

Luciana lives for the chase, she loves keeping her prey on their toes. Just when you think you are safe, she strikes. That's how tricky she is," Helen told us, scaring me even more.

"You are very familiar with Luciana aren't you?" Ray asked, coming to stand next to us. "Tell us how you know her."

Her dark eyes met ours. "I would know the child I gave birth to."

I stared at her unblinking. That was unexpected but not far fetched. The similarities were there.

"You are Luciana's mother? But you are so…" I struggled to find the right word to use.

"Good?" She suggested and I nodded. That worked fine. "Believe it or not, Luciana wasn't always evil. She was good at some point in her life."

Unable to help myself, I snorted. I hadn't really met the woman but I already knew she was anything but good.

"Yeah, right." Ray grunted.

"If she doesn't want to kill me, then what?"

"I am sorry but I can't tell you. The promise that binds me to silence is different. I wouldn't betray Lilian that way. Which is why I am begging you now, leave all this and hide," she pleaded.

The desperation in her hazel eyes only made me want to know more. I wanted, no, I needed to find out what she was keeping from me. I also needed to know of her relationship with my birth mother.

"I know that won't stop you from digging deeper so at least let me come with you. I can protect you better if I am with you. I owe Lillian that much," she implored in a defeated tone.

I couldn't help but ask. "Luciana is your daughter isn't she?"

She nodded so I continued. "Why then would you want to go against her?"

A pained look appeared on her face. "Luciana let her heart turn evil. She took the dark part and I am afraid there is no turning back for her."

My heart went out to her. It was obvious how much it hurt her that her daughter was like that.

I recognized the pain of a mother who's only wish was to be with her daughter but fate seemed to have other plans.

Placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder, I said in a low voice, "I am sure you have tried your best to reach out to her but parents can't control all their children do. It's not your fault."

She chuckled dryly but there was no humour in it. "Why do you think Lilian came to me in the first place? I made Luciana turn evil."

(•)

"I don't understand," I said simply, not bothering to try and stress my mind.

"Ever heard of the book of creation?" She asked just as the sun came out. Just then, realised that we had been walking since dawn.

"It's not common but we hear rumours in the hunter's camp. Although we believe it doesn't exist any longer. Nothing that powerful can exist without the bearer trying to take over the world," Ray replied with a disturbed frown.

Not having the slightest idea what they were going on about, I watched in absolute them confusion. Ray took one glance at my face and chuckled.

"I guess you don't know about it."

I nodded, not bothering to deny it.

Helen smiled softly. "The book has been in the possession of my family for centuries. It is written in the first language and only an original can look at it.

"If an ordinary person manages to decode and read it, it can possess them with the greatest evil in the world. With the book, a single person can take over the word."

I blinked.

"How can a single book be that powerful?"

"It has in its pages some powerful spells that can create new creatures and turn the whole population of the world into something of command," she answered with a far off look on her face as if she was relieving a tragic memory.

"I assume Luciana wants the book," I stated more than asked.

"She has spent her whole life looking for the rest of the pages."

My eyes widened in horror. "The rest of the pages? You mean she has some of it?"

"How do you think she is able to control an army of a thousand Fledglings? She tore some out of the book during a fight with the original mage and took some of the pages.

"I made her believe that it was long lost and now, she is still looking for the rest of It. It is also the only way to fully defeat her."

"Do you have any idea where it is now?" Ray asked after a while of digesting the information.

"It is in the possession of the last original mage."

"And where can we find her?" I asked, leaning towards her in excitement at the thought of a way to stop Luciana.

"You are looking at her." Was her simple reply.

I wondered what more surprises she had in store for me. Original creatures are almost all gone. They are from the bloodline of the first of their kinds.The last original fairy was killed in a war between the fairies and griffins. The original nymph family was assassinated in their sleep. The original humans or purebloods have not been heard from in centuries. They almost never appear more than once in the history books except when they are explained. I didn't know much about them. Due to the amount of undiluted power originals held, it was no surprise that they were hunted.

"Wow, where is the book now?" Ray asked.

"In my satchel," she told us and my eyes glanced at the brown bag which at the moment held the most powerful book in the world.

(•)

Thank you for reading.