The Fire Immortal-Book 5

Chapter 35

Hey, everyone, I am sorry for the major delay in my updating. I had a crazy schedule, including my IB Theatre Showcase, ISTA TaPS which is a 3-day theatre workshop and IASAS Dance Auditions (which I got in, by the way, haha). So I finally have a chance to update again. Thanks for being so patient and I really hope you guys like this chapter. I will try to update again as soon as possible. Picture of Troy, Sapphire and Tamarak on the side. :) 

Chapter 35

                        The second they arrived at Varmer's castle, Helen could practically feel the evil atmosphere of the place. Malevolent, dark emotions practically radiated around them, making Helen feel like it was oozing into her pores. She shivered involuntarily, looking around and releasing Sapphire's hand.

                        They were standing in the armoury, the same place where Kayla had sacrificed her life for Helen's when they had previously been there. Bile rose in Helen's throat as she thought about it. Troy caught her gaze and gave her a sympathetic look, guessing what she was thinking.

                        Sapphire tugged on Troy's sleeve and mouthed the words 'what now?'. Troy glanced at Romulus, who had unslung his bow and nocked three arrows in the string, the muscles standing out on his arms due to the tension in his arms. Then he glanced at Jenna who looked pale and stoic from nerves, but was nonetheless coping well with the pressure of the situation.

                         Troy did not dare to say a word; he could remember very well that the traps in the House of Glamours had been triggered by them speaking. However, he was the only one who had gone through that place full of illusions for his companions – Dahlia, Kayla and Tamarak – were all absent at the moment and had been replaced with Helen, Jenna, Romulus and Sapphire. How ironic that instead of Kayla, he had her daughter and instead of Tamarak, he had his rival, Romulus.

                         Helen unsheathed her knife, gripping the hilt as tightly as she could to hide the fact that her hands were shaking. Troy followed suit with his sword and Sapphire mimicked their actions with her dagger. Jenna glanced at their array of weapons and then down at her own empty hands; she was practically weaponless apart from her armour.

                        She opened her mouth and muttered, "Uh... what about me? I don't have any weapons."

                       Sapphire gasped involuntarily, fear flaring up in her eyes as she whipped around right and left, looking wildly around for any traps. Troy mouthed obscenities and pushed Jenna into the centre of the circle, standing back-to-back with the others, Helen on his right and Sapphire on his left. Romulus completed the chain, with his bow poised, ready to shoot.

                        However, much to their surprise, nothing happened. No one jumped out at them, no traps were triggered and no monsters appeared. They remained locked in position for at least two minutes, getting more edgy and nervous with each passing second. When the third minute started, Troy whispered in a low voice, "Do you think nothing is going to happen?"

                        "I don't know," Sapphire murmured through clenched teeth, the tension and anxiety obvious in her voice.

                        "I think we should move before anything does happen," Romulus muttered, nudging Helen to move with his elbow.

                        Helen moved towards the door, but Troy stopped Jenna from following her, reaching into his pocket for something.

                        "Jenna, your mum wanted you to have this," he said, holding out his hand.

                        In it was Kayla's silver bangle bracelet that she had gotten at her wedding with Benjamin. Jenna stared at it, probably thinking it was just a piece of silver jewellery.