Darkus - The Rise of the Sapphire

Chapter 2

Ashley Nixon

After the creepy encounter, I found myself in front of a huge building. This was the Province Minister of Negova's Office. I had never seen this building up so close before. Neither had I ever realized that this was the busiest place in the city. I saw so many people entering and exiting the building. I couldn't help but wonder what went on inside.

"How does staring at the office door help you?" A voice next to me asked. I nearly jumped with fright but simply stepped aside and turned back. A guy, a few years older than me with auburn messy hair and golden eyes was smiling at me. He was tall, with a chiseled face and a physique most celebrities would be jealous of. He wore office casuals and was carrying files in his hand.

"Mr. Locks!" I blurted. I was standing in front of Negova's minister and I knew this because I had seen his picture before. Of all the ministers of Darkus, Mr. Skye Locks was the youngest and the most talented. I always thought he looked handsome on print but now that I was standing so close to him, I could barely breathe.

"No need to apologize. Did you need any assistance?"

"No no...I was...um...just passing by and...er...happened to see the office and was...was...admiring it!" I replied lamely.

"Glad you like it. I had the whole building renovated a few months ago. Before, the back portion was almost-"

"Mr. Locks, I just received an update on that-" a girl announced, suddenly appearing by his side and pausing when she saw me. She had golden curls and her eyes were light brown. Her hair was tied back into a ponytail and she too was wearing office casuals holding more files and papers in her hands than Mr. Locks.

"Ms. Blaze," I greeted. She turned to me and smiled.

"And you are?"

"Ashley Nixon."

She smiled again.

"What a beautiful name...for a beautiful young lady..." said Mr. Locks and I blushed like a little girl in love.

"T...Thank You..."

"Ms Nixon, did you need any help? You can come to Mr. Locks' office right now if you want. I'm sure the meeting can wait..." replied Ms. Blaze.

"No, no...I was just passing by-"

"And I couldn't resist talking to her. So I tried to initiate a conversation that's all Evelyn..." Mr. Locks chimed in.

"If you say so," replied Evelyn Blaze, smiling slyly.

"You go ahead Evelyn. I'll join you in a couple of minutes,"

"Of course," saying so Evelyn headed to the office, grinning now. I looked questioningly at Mr. Locks.

"Ashley, are you returning from that street by any chance?" he asked pointing to the alley to my right.

"Yes..." In fact I was just cheated of my money a few minutes ago. But I decided not to mention that. He was the minister of Negova, why should I trouble him with silly problems of mine. He eyed my bag for a second and then looked back at me. Those golden eyes of his were really intimidating.

"Best to steer clear of swindlers. Hope to see you again soon Ashley," saying so, he disappeared into the huge building.

I returned to my apartment, thinking about the crazy events of the day. First, an old lady sells me a necklace and disappears into thin air not before saying weird things like "It's your destiny" and blah. Next I unexpectedly met Skye, Minister of Negova. The talented, famous Skye called me 'beautiful'. Also, I met the famous Evelyn Blaze, daughter of former King, Darkus and now assistant to Skye and a Delta. If my memory serves me right, she was the Witch of Water and Skye, the Wizard of Mind.

I was still dazed but reminded myself to keep the necklace locked somewhere safe before heading out to work. I wondered if I should charm the thing to prevent it from falling into the hands of people I don't like (Chris). Back on Earth, when the guide was taking us to Darkus, he explained that the magic powers given to chosen ones weren't random. A magician always received the power of what he or she liked the most. It also had something to do with Planet's moon. Chris loved sci-fi and action, so I guess he ended up being the Wizard of Shadows. As for me, well, I liked surprises and miracles so maybe that's why I received this power.

The guide had also informed us that all magicians, though possessing different powers, are still capable of performing common elementary magic. I had read about a camouflaging trick that could be done by anyone. Wondering if I could do the same, I took out the necklace and began designing an alarm system on it. First, I camouflaged it so that when the box was opened, the person couldn't see the necklace until they used re-bounce magic. Then I decided to set an alarm so that when opened by someone who wasn't me, a loud sound would go off and hopefully scare off the person. I tried all this with guidelines from a book and surprisingly, I actually managed to accomplish all this. This was improvement on my part. It meant that I wasn't completely useless and could use some amount of magic. And only later did I find out how useful this achievement of mine was.

I was still enjoying my small victory when a scary thought crossed my mind. What if this necklace was sold to me illegally? I hadn't thought of it that way at all! If I was caught with a necklace of high value then no doubt that I would end up in Diplocus, prison planet. I had read about it. It was a very brutal place for the most evil criminals, murderers of all kinds, crazy bombers, and mad scientists planning on the destruction of the Universe. The place was the ultimate hell. Impossible to escape. Absolute darkness overwhelmed anyone who ended up there.

Lost in thoughts, I failed to pay attention to the time. So when I reached 'Leone Hospital', for my shift, I was an hour late. Healer Samantha was waiting to tutor me. I was a trainee working under her. I would've been more qualified if it wasn't for the compulsory use of magic everywhere. So she taught me to do basic stuff like healing minor wounds with minimal usage of magic. She was a very sweet witch and was patient enough to bear me. When I first told her that I was the witch of Miracles, she smiled and replied, "Well, you're at the right place. We really need miracles here."

In Leone, healing by magic was preferred over medicines since magic barely had any side effects. And believe me; the patients here too didn't have ordinary disease or problems that could be treated with antibiotics or vaccines. On the first day of my work, I froze like a rock when I saw the type of patients that got admitted on a daily basis. One man was being carried on a stretcher and he had two extra hands on his back. He told me that it was an accident when he was trying to perform a spell. Another lady complained that she suddenly started coughing cat fur. In another case, a teenage boy had a bat attached to his head. He was trying to turn himself into a vampire but since he had no idea how to do it, the bat simply stuck to his head and he looked like a mutant. Another old man complained that he had swallowed jumping beans and was having a bad stomach ache. When scanned, we found the beans partying inside his stomach and well, now you have an idea of what I'm talking about. But magic cured them all. From tiny headaches to incurable diseases magic worked its....magic! This was what made me stay and continue learning.

Today, I was making more progress because of my impromptu practice session at the apartment. I thought I could study for a longer time. But like always, I was proven wrong.

An hour later, I had an urgent orb message from Chris. There was no message from him, the orb just glowed a bright red in my hand. It was an emergency distress signal. And I could think of only one thing. The necklace!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"I'm off now," Evelyn announced before leaving. Skye was reading a report but looked up at her. "Thank you for your work today, see you tomorrow," He gave her an acknowledging smile.

She smiled back and hurried to the restroom. She quickly changed into her Delta uniform. This has been her routine for more than a year now, juggling her life between being Skye's assistant and a Delta. She knew her job was a hectic one but she was determined to do her best. She would live up to the name of her parents. And her brother...Last year, he had visited her on her birthday. He had completely changed. His attire, attitude, everything. His eyes were unfriendly and all that warmth from before was gone. From prince to pauper, his transformation was unexpected.