ORIGINS: THE DARK INFERNO

CHAPTER ONE

England, in the well known city of London, a place that is well one of the most well known cities around the world and also a place that is home to all sorts of people from different corners of the world, and among those people who lived in the well known city was Richard Rhodes, a white man whose light blue eyes watched as his opponent made her move, delivering a staggering blow that he had not been able to predict.

She was one step ahead of him for sure with the way she moved, moving like a poisonous snake in the grass that had it's eyes on the prize and nothing else and such an opponent was one Zuri Munthali, a dark skinned teenage girl whose skill made it seem like she was someone who was the same age as the man who sat in the armchair opposite her who was in his late forties and would soon be hitting the age of fifty, but someone who did not know him well enough to know his age would think that he was perhaps younger with his youthful appearance.

Zuri looked at the man and frustration was something that was evident on his face as at the moment she was one who had the upper hand, the match they were having going in her favour like most of their recent matches which she had ended up basking in the bright light of victory while Rhodes had tasted the sour taste of defeat far too many times for his liking.

The teenager's eyes then turned to the battlefield-a checkerboard-that was laid between her and Rhodes, set on a coffee table, once Rhodes had made his move and unfortunately for the white man but fortunately for her the man had made a move that had created many openings which she could use to put an end to the match and defeat her opponent in the next minute but she was enjoying watching Rhodes' downfall once again and with such pleasure she wanted to have more time to play and with such villainous thoughts she thought of making a move that would prolong the match but would not be costly.

Finding an available target with such thoughts in her head, Zuri made her move getting rid of a pawn that had been lying in front of a rook, the move intentionally made so she could give Rhodes some sort of glimmer of hope.

Seeing it as an opportunity to capture Zuri's rook, Rhodes accessed his next move and with non of Zuri's pieces posing a threat to his own rook if he used it to capture the black rook, Rhodes simply moved his rook forward and got red of the opposing chess piece, thinking that Zuri had not seen such a move coming.

Just when Zuri was about to make her move, a dark skinned woman whose features had a stunning resemblance to Zuri made her way inside the living room, her high heeled sandals easily grabbing the attention of the two as she made her steps forward towards the two.

"Finally," said Rhodes, relieved to see one Zahra Munthali, the woman who he was there for and the mother of pesky little girl who was a handful each time he played chess against her.

Zahra had been on her way upstairs to take a shower the moment Rhodes had arrived in the woman's mansion, a large house that was located in the outer parts of London, located in an area of seclusion, a place Zahra considered to be more peaceful and quiet when compared to the city of London, but for Rhodes the quietness of the area was a little too quiet for his liking.

As Zahra made her way towards the two chess players, she looked down at the coffee table and by the looks of the situation on the chessboard she could tell that once again her daughter was at it, once again besting Rhodes in playing the game of chess.

Zahra felt sorry for Rhodes who had been beaten so many times by her daughter, too many she was unable to count all of those times, but there was a part of her that was also proud of her daughter's skillful execution of moves in the game of chess but the girl still had a long way to go for her to be able to beat her, the woman who had taught her the game.

"Having trouble defeating my daughter again Richard?" The dark skinned woman asked as she stopped in front of the coffee table that was between the two chess players and with a wave of her hand an armchair that had been a few feet away from her, behind her moved, levitating from the ground with the help of her telekinetic powers and flying towards her, then it set itself down on the ground behind the woman who immediately took her seat in the armchair, sighing as she did.

"A little," replied Rhodes as he leaned back against the back of the chair.

One would deny the fact that Rhodes used to defeat the dark skinned teenager a few years earlier when the girl had just learned how to play chess because of how the teen easily beat him most of the times they had been playing chess for the past six years after the tables had turned in her favour.

"So,how have you been lately, Richard?" asked Zahra as she put her right leg over the other, then clasped her hands on her lap as she eyed the white man sitting opposite her beloved daughter.

"Well," came the reply from the white man who let a slight smile spread across his face, "and you Zahra?"

"I am well as well Richard," Zahra replied as she also smiled slightly, happy to see her friend once again.

Realising that Richard could no longer play due to her mother's arrival and that the mattes that would be discussed between the two were non of her concern, Zuri decided to step out of the living room and like her mother, the girl had telekinesis-an ability were part of a wide range of magic based abilities which she had, all of which she had inherited from from her dear mother who she also considered to be one of the most skillful magicians-which she used to pick up the checkerboard and chess pieces as she made her way out but unlike most people the girl did not set her feet on the ground as she made her way out of the living room, but instead she used another ability of her's as she exited the room which was flight.

"Zuri," called Zahra as she looked up at her daughter who was making her way past her.

"Yes, mother?" Zuri replied, stopping and looking down at her mother as she tucked a few strands of her dark hair behind her ear.

"Be a dear and make us two cups of tea."

Zuri nodded and made her way out of the living room.

Turning her eyes back to Richard, Zahra asked, "So what matter has brought you here during such early hours Richard?"

"It's about our current problem, Zahra," replied Richard. "The cultists we are dealing with."

Zahra had forgotten that there was a problem that was slowly getting out of hand.

A cult that was up to no good, that had proven themselves to quite a handful in the past few months, and Zahra as one of the people who had banded together to keep order in the world of magic which was unknown to many and the responsibility of making sure that people are safe from such threats like cults and other things that were linked to the world of magic rested on her shoulders.

"Do you recall the raid that was carried out two days ago in Manchester?" Richard asked.

"I do, Richard."

"The team that was sent there has returned and the operation was a success," Richard explained. "Some cultists were captured during the raid along with some valuable information that could be useful if we are to be more successful in the future."

"Have we lost anyone, Richard?"

"Fortunately, no one was killed," replied Richard as he shook his head. There had been fear that the team sent would not return but luckily luck was on their side.

Good news was something that was well welcomed by Zahra and she thanked God for the fortune He had given them. "Anything else?"

"Yes, something of value that the team brought back from Manchester."

Zuri stepped back into the living room and made her way towards the Richard and her mother, then the two cups of tea she had been told to make down on the coffee table, and she got a chance to hear what the discussion was about with her presence in the room.

"And what would that be, Richard?"

"The Helmet of Armageddon."