Escape From Antoria

Escape From Antoria Part 7

Next part hope you enjoy :) xx

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Chapter 6

All of the people in the market place who had heard my impromptu screeching turned to fix us with a curious stare before continuing on their way shaking their heads. Nate slapped a hand over my mouth and pulled me against him so that he could whisper in my ear.

"Be quiet Ari, I don't want anyone to know I'm still alive." His whispers tickled as his breath swept across the skin of my neck causing goose bumps to form and a shiver to pulse through my body. Whoa, two guys in two minutes. Not good. I gave a small nod to show that I understood and he removed his hand and I reluctantly stepped away from his warm body.

Blake stepped forward grabbed my arm possessively and began to drag me towards a small building that was some sort of B&B. Nate followed behind glancing round to make sure we weren't being followed. Once inside Blake dragged us up to the second floor and unlocked the door of a room before ushering us all inside. He then pulled out his Iphone and began pacing round the room pointing his phone at random areas of the room. A loud beeping sound emanated as he got closer to the bookcase and he squinted to look closer at the spine before stopping and pulling a copy of the History of Antoria off the shelf.

He flipped open the book and pulled out a small camera and some other device. He disconnected the wires then held up it up so Nate and I could take a closer look. "These are the basic recording devices that have been placed in every household and public place in Antoria. This is how the TV show manages to capture everything because they are always watching."His tone was so grave that it sent shivers down my spine.

"I feel like Winston in 1984, this all feels a little bit like Big Brother." I shivered and began glancing round the room cautiously.

"You're not far wrong but I've disabled the devices in the room so we're safe to talk." He said looking directly at me which gave me a sense of reassurance.

"Ok" I sighed then dropped onto the bed. "so are you going to tell me what's going on? Why are you even here? You drugged me and dropped me in the middle of a bloody forest where if I had stayed there long enough I probably would have been caught. And you - " I spun to face Nate "Why are you hiding?"

Blake looked at Nate and then spoke first. "I know you have the markings of the mystics...both of you... I knew you would be marked before the marks appeared on your skin. I'm marked too but not in the same way." He sighed then pulled off his shirt to show a tattoo as beautiful as the ones Nate and I possessed but much smaller. "I'm not a full mystic like you two; I'm the oracle of the ancients, well, a reincarnation of him." Reincarnation?? This is getting seriously weird.

"Okay whatever, but still why did you bring me here? Next you're gonna tell me it was your destiny to bring me here blah, blah, blah." I looked at him whilst tapping my foot.

"Well, yeah it kind of is my destiny. I put you in that part of the forest because I saw that you'd find Nate and then all that was left would be to find the last mystic. By the way, still have no idea who that is or even how old they are, could be waiting years for them to show up. It took me 5 years to find you Ari and now I have, we need to set about finding the third so that you and Nate can have the future that I have foreseen." Whoa, talk about too much information.

I cleared my throat and looked at Nate. "So what about you?"

He sighed then looked at me, he seemed just as overwhelmed with me and a little bit afraid as his eyes kept glancing at the recording device in Blake's hand. "You know my dad is the king." I nodded to show I understood. "Well then you also know he hates magic, he's terrified of it and has sought to remove it from the world forever. So when I was first marked I stayed at home thinking nothing about it. But when I started to do things, things that couldn't be explained, I left." He looked down defeated. "I had to give up my family, my friends, everything because if I stayed there any longer my dad would have noticed and I would have been killed no questions asked."

I walked up to him and hugged him, putting everything I felt into that hug. "Do you think you will be able to do it Nate?" It came out barely as a whisper.

He looked down at me confused. "Do you think you can defeat your father?" He gulped then cleared his throat, indecision flickering briefly across his features before it turned into a mask of hard resolve.

"Yes, it's time magic returned to Antoria. It's time people got to live free of fear, my father has ruled to long with hate in heart."

I kept my eyes on Nate's face for a few seconds more before looking at Blake. "So what do we do next?"

© Katherine Pocock 2009