Devoid Chronicles : Book 1 Blood Secrets

Returned

I had to stay calm.

I knew I was dreaming, but that did not help the case. I stood in a windowless room; the weight of the darkness slowly draining my strength. I was not alone that much I was sure of, but I could not see the being that shared this space with me. I've had this dream every night for the past month, and it had never appeared before, but today was different. The creature that this space belonged to was close; the hair on my arm spiked suddenly. It was getting closer. Stretching my hands out in front of me, I pulled deep within for my powers with no avail.

I needed to wake up.

"Remain calm," I whispered to myself. Then I heard it move. The rhythmic taps of someone walking towards me grew louder and louder. I could barely hear the sound of the footsteps as my heart attempted to beat out of my chest. The steps became louder as the being's figure came into shape. A cloak hung loosely from its body, scrubbing the floor as it walked.

The sound of footsteps stopped short of me. I tried hard to make sense of what stood before me, but my mind grew haze the more I tried. The room around me slowly began to lighten; I could see the cloak was a perfect replica of the sky clouds drifting Rising to my feet I attempted to put space between me and the mysterious being with no luck, for every step I took he had one to match.

"What do you want?" I asked. The words bounced off the walls all around us. The being pulled the hood of his cloak from his head revealing a crystal blue eye and a scarlet red one.

"It has been a pleasure watching you grow." The creature's voice sounded musical, causing the hairs on my arms to calm down. Before I could respond, she was speaking again. "The bird must first learn to fly before it can soar. I can no longer hide you and your family."

"Hide us from who, who are?" I asked the being.

"In due time, be prepared, the war is coming."

"War? What wa-"The world before me was snuffed out and replaced by one I was far too familiar with. My younger brother, Jamel, stood over me. His chestnut brown hair hung sheepishly in his face. He was smiling at me even though the sun was barely up outside our window.

"Yes, Mel?" I asked, trying to hide my agitation.

"Zae said, get up," Jamel responded.

"Tell Zae I said get me up," I responded before covering my face with my pillow. I heard Jamel turn from the room and yell for Zae. It wouldn't be long before my large framed brother stormed into my room, giving me a lesson on respect. As if I spoke him into existence Zae appeared in my doorway.

"Azari-"

"I'm not feeling it today okay," I said, not turning to look at him.

"Are you sick?" Zae asked as he stepped into my room. He had to fold his wings to his back to fit through the door frame.

"No, I just-"

"Missing a body part?"

"No Zae bu-"

"Then I will be seeing outside in 15 minutes," Zae said, standing over me in my bed.

"I'm not going Zae."

My words finally seemed to piecer the thick skull of my older brother because he took a seat on my bed.

"What's wrong?" Zae asked.

"You know how I've been having the dream where I'm stuck in the darkroom?

"Yeah?"

"It changed, the creature finally showed itself to me and said something about war-"The sound of broken glass and footsteps echoed through the house cutting me off.

Zae rose from the bed and sighed. "Well, finish this talk later. Also, I will see you t 12 O Clock to make up for today's training. You'll be there too, won't you Shadow?"

My second eldest brother stirred in the darkness, he was the ideal roommate, and I don't think I would make it this long sharing a space with Jamel. "You knew the answer to that question before you asked me," Shadow responded before he turned over to face the wall.

"Umm, don't make a habit of this. What type of example are both of you setting for your younger siblings?" I could hear Zae's smile in his voice.

Grabbing my pillow, I slung it where I could only assume Zae was. Zae hurried out of the room the pillow hitting the door frame. I let the idea of going back to sleep roll around him my mind. Shadow had other plans. Even though our room was dark for the most part, I could feel Shadow's eyes on me.

"Dreams are today's answers to tomorrow's questions Azari," Shadow said before he teleported out of the room. Where he went every morning, I had the slightest clue. Finally allowing myself to fall back asleep, an uneasy feeling began to squirm through my stomach. Something told me we were just getting started.

Today was the worst day of the week for me. Not because of my dream or the fact I would be working out in the middle of the heat. All those things were bearable; it was the fact that it was Monday, which spelled trouble for me. When Zae first took over raising us at 10, his adolescent mind came up with all these cool days of the week in the hope it would ease the pain of losing our mother. Monday being No Power Mondays I've never been a fan. I will never understand the use since there's never been a time where I've been without my powers. As I walked towards the training grounds, I pulled my hair into a ponytail. I was actually in the market for a trim, but I hadn't gotten around to letting Scarlet cut it yet. Shadow was already there. Typical for my brother he was positioned under a tree reading with a disinterested look on his face. He rose when he saw me coming. I stood a head taller than him, something that pissed him off but he'd never admit. Before I could read the title of the book, Shadow already teleported it away.

"Rereading Romance novels?" I asked, winking at him.

Shadow rolled his eyes "You were almost late Sparky." Raising a hand towards me, I could feel the hair tie holding my mane in place disappear. I looked at Shadow confused when Zae fell from the sky, bringing massive gushes of winds in his wake. My hair was now all over the place before I could turn to Shadow to get him back, Zae cut in.

"Azari tie your hair up, you know what today is right?"

"Today is Monday isn't it?" Zae, Shadow and I all froze in our tracks. That voice, no it couldn't be. Turning around to find the source of the voice, Jamal and Scarlet broke the clearing confirming what I already knew.

"We have intruders, a group of four and I believe one of them is-"

"Alex?" I said starting at my twin brother.