Barnania and the Twisted Tales

Chapter 20 The Awakening of the Crimson Witch

John Peter

Closer, nearer.

John was annoyed by the way Maricar holds him casually. She seemed to choke him by holding him closer and firmer as if she's hugging a very soft stuff toy. He can't concentrate flying, and their destination was about several kilometers away. He wanted to fly faster but his baggage was heavier than he thought and one more thing, his bones have been broken and are not yet fully healed. He was lucky that he had managed to evade that lightning hit at the last moments and was thrown away instead, the price was just some minor bruises and broken bones. He was lucky to have such a wonderful healing ability, all thanks to his parents' genes.

The night was beautiful, the moon glows like an ominous huge orb hanging in the night sky. Beneath them, the forest was thick with haze and it made them difficult to soar over the canopies of the trees instead, they are forced to fly higher, luckily there weren't much of many clouds that slow them down and they can easily slip into the horizon smoothly.

Flying ahead them were Walter and Fatima who looked like having a hard time flying together. They fly swiftly over trees. Some clearings are seen below amidst the haze that covers the forest. Meters away, Arthur's mansion can now be seen, its golden rooftop shone in unison with the breaking of dawn.

"We're close," Fatima informed, she clutched Walter's arm hard that it made his grumpy expressive face shifts into wincing.

"Could you be a little nicer in handling me?" Fatima just gawked at him and hovered above the mansion, she glides down but they were bounced back by some sort of invisible defensive barrier.

"What on hell!" She cursed as they staggered in midair.

"Let me through," John moved forward, casts a faint purple-colored swirling orb and held it still in his hands, Maricar's eyes lit in admiration. He looks at her but she automatically moved her gaze away from him. He glides slowly mooring over the invisible barrier, moved his ignited hand forward, there was a muffled screeching sound and the barrier was dispelled. A blob of sweat trickled down from his forehead as his Adam's apple moves up and down.

Fatima moved forward and glides slowly on the golden pathway. She automatically put away Walter's arm around her neck after they landed. Walter just winced in amalgamation with a grouchy expression. She then walked gracefully over the golden facade toward the entrance of the mansion. Maricar followed her as soon as they landed on the golden tiled ground. Both men who were left behind sighed and followed warily. The main doors were guarded with two fierce-looking minotaurs whose sides have hanging sheaths of swords. They moved away and let them pass, their noses flared simultaneously.

"Where's Arthur?" Fatima asked as she soon realizes that the inside of the mansion was pretty vast. There were two sets of identical golden staircases from the opposite sides that both lead to unknown somewhere. The setting reminded John of the castle of Regality. The bulls shook their heads in unison. She sighed and twisted her head.

"Let's move by twos," she ordered and together with Maricar, they climbed the nearest staircase near them. Walter looked at him and muttered, "Well," John moved his gaze away from him and sashayed towards the adjacent staircase, Walter followed and scratched the back of his head. The stair was made in gold and composed of a hundred steps that spiraled up to the next floor. John wandered his eyes and saw the dangling chandelier from the ceiling that shimmered in the incandescent light. He noticed that the ceiling was painted with some sort of a sketchy map of a certain place, probably the map of Barnania. They've reached the second floor, there were several rooms ahead and there were bronzed armored knights on the walkway, their backs were slumped on the reddish-brown wooden wall. John led and they walk past the closed rooms, several meters away they saw a passage, they hurriedly turned left and entered the dark corridor. John lighted his hands with purple-colored mists that revolved around restlessly.