Beneath Pleidus' Sky- Chapter 9

There was the pharmacy. Zephyr made the turn and parked his car just in front of the pharmacy. Lucky it was a 24-hour store; he thought before walking up to the pharmacy and browsed the items they had on the rack. He would just need a liquid antiseptic and a bandage.

                                                                          

It was not hard for him to find what he was looking for. After paying for the items, he rushed back to his car keeping in mind that he had promised Lilian that he won’t be long.

As soon as he arrived back at the motel, he took the small white box from the back seat and checked the content. It was his version of a first aid kit. There was a ready mixed herbal remedy to treat normal injury. He placed the newly bought antiseptic and bandage in there as well.

Zephyr went to his room with the white box in his hand. As the door opened, he could see Lilian sleeping soundly on the couch. He entered the room and locked back the door.

He went straight to the kitchen to find a bowl which he filled with the lukewarm water from the hot shower. He took the bowl and a clean white handkerchief to Lilian. He placed the bowl on the floor as also sat on the floor beside the couch.

Lilian moaned in her sleep. Her hair looked untidy and she pillowed her head with her hands. Zephyr took his time to gaze at Lilian’s innocent face.

“If you only you know how hard for me not to smile in front of you,” he whispered under his breath as he stroke Lilian’s straight auburn-dyed hair gently, brushing a few strands of hair from her face.

She was fair, with slim but well- built body. She must be active in sports as well, Zephyr thought. It will help her with trainings later. Her nose was narrow, her cheeks slightly pale which was very prone to blushing.

Her lips were slightly plump and tender, with a hint of pink cherry. He would love to touch that lips but he laughed quietly at his own thought. He would not want Lilian to wake up and gazed her startlingly emerald green eyes at him.

Once in a while, Lilian’s forehead wrinkled, her nicely arched eyebrows twitched, an indication that she was in pain. She shifted a bit.

Zephyr took the clean handkerchief and soaked it with the water in the bowl before squeezing the water out, leaving it damp. He used it to clean the remaining blood and dirt around Lilian’s wound.

As the lukewarm handkerchief touched Lilian’s skin, she grunted in her sleep, more wrinkles appearing on her forehead. Zephyr held her injured leg gently; his rough hand felt Lilian’s soft skin. The colours of their skin were different. Of course, he would be darker as the result of all the outdoor trainings of fighting and combats.

After cleaning the wound, he timidly applied the antiseptic to the wound before covering the cut with the herbal mixture he always bring around with him to treat normal cuts and wounds. Finally, he bandaged the injured part and secured it with a safety pin.

Zephyr went to kitchen to wash off the bowl and the blood-stained handkerchief. He came back to see Lilian sleeping at the very edge of the couch, almost falling to the floor. She must be really exhausted, he thought.

He went to Lilian and lifted her from the couch to the bed.

“You are pretty heavy, you know,” he chuckled quietly to the sleeping beauty. He gently lied her down on the bed and pulled the blanket over her. She tossed and turned in the bed for a while, wincing whenever her injured part of the leg pressured against the mattress. When she finally settled down and slept like a child, Zephyr turned away.

“Zephyr,” Lilian mumbled in her sleep. Zephyr turned to look at Lilian who was still sleeping soundly. He smiled, bent low over Lilian and planted a gentle, longing kiss on her forehead.

“Sweet dream, Rhea,” he muttered.

Zephyr went to dim the light to allow Lilian to sleep comfortably while he sat by the window, looking out to the streets, being vigilant of any threat that might came in their way.

                                                     

****

Lilian woke up to the sound of the running water from the shower. She looked at the clock on the wall. It was already 8.00 a.m. She pulled away her blanket and saw her bandaged leg and touched the bandaged part gingerly.

When she heard the shower stopped, she lied down back, pulled up her blanket and pretended to still be asleep. She heard Zephyr’s footsteps coming out from the bathroom. She was determined not to look.

Fifteen minutes passed. Lilian was still lying silently, breathing evenly in her effort to fake her sleep.

“How long do you intend to pretend to be sleeping?” she heard Zephyr’s voice, teasing. Lilian grunted in annoyance before opening her eyes. “It was obvious,” he added as Lilian stared at him. “Your eyelashes are fluttering and you are extremely still. Do you know that you toss and turn so much in your sleep?”

“You are awfully observant,” said Lilian, annoyed. “How long do you intend to keep me here, anyway?” said Lilian sitting up in her bed. Zephyr was sitting on the couch, wearing a white fine stripe shirt and a pair of Khakis. He had a slightly spiky and wavy hairstyle which she noticed was newly done.

“What’s with the hairstyle?” asked Lilian, waving her fingers to indicate the Zephyr’s hairstyle.

“You like it?” he provoked, raising his eyebrows. Lilian shrugged and said nothing.

“You need a new hairstyle too. So, take your shower. Wear that t-shirt first,” instructed Zepyhr, pointing at a plain t-shirt he had placed over the dining table chair. There was a white towel there as well.

“You are so good at instructing people, aren’t you?” Lilian complained, rolling her eyes as she got out of her bed and took the towel and t-shirt with her into the bathroom.

Once in the bathroom, Lilian opened the bandage on her leg. She was surprised to see the wound had already closed up, leaving visible scars there. It did not hurt anymore. Not even when she run the water to the injured part when she took her shower later.

She blow-dried her hair after the shower, wore the plain t-shirt and wrapped the towel around her waist before coming out of the bathroom. Zephyr was already holding a curling iron in his hand and he was standing behind a chair.

“Quick! Sit here. You took so much time to shower,” he nagged as he indicated Lilian to sit on the chair. Lilian hid her smile because he sounded so much like a mother now. She sat on the chair and let Zephyr dealt with her hair.

“I just want to clarify some points here,” said Lilian suddenly. “The real reasons they want me,”

“There are two reasons of why the Resistant want you dead and why your people want to keep you alive,” said Zephyr without hesitation. “First, because you posses a knowledge inherited from your parents which no one else knows,”

“That I already know,” said Lilian briskly.

“Second, since you are one of the last Manipulators, they want to make sure that you will have your own descendants who might as well inherit your ability. In short, they already have a suitor waiting for you in Pleidus,”

Lilian was stunned. This one was new to her.

“What? I don’t want to be involved in an arranged marriage,” she protested seriously. “For heaven’s sake, I’m eighteen!”

“Tell that to your Council,” said Zephyr, smirking. “Besides, you never know if suddenly you will actually like your suitor,”

Lilian fell silent. That will never be! Lilian shouted in her head. This was like in the olden times when people were involved in arranged marriages.

Lilian almost dozed off when Zephyr finally done with her hair. Zephyr shoved a mirror into Lilian’s hand who took it to see her reflection.

Her once straight hair was now wavy and messy-on-purpose. The hair fell just to about the middle of her neck. In a way, the hairstyle looked sexy. Her face looked considerably different now.

“Who are you actually?” asked Lilian as she was admiring Zephyr’s work on her hair.

“I was a hairdresser,” he declared curtly.

“Really?” said Lilian, amused.

“Are you going to fall for that straightforward lie? You are too trusty,” he said. Lilian grunted in irritation. How could he keep his straight face when he intended to joke?

“I used to have a little sister before I join the Resistant. I liked to play with her long hair if that’s what you want to know,” he declared truthfully this time. Lilian felt silent. The word ‘used to’ which he used could mean many things and she was sure that she did not need him to elaborate more. Zephyr seemed to agree to that too. He busied himself with packing up his items into the backpack.

He went to the small wardrobe and took out something very familiar to Lilian and handed it to her. It was her lime green knee-length satin dress. Lilian ran her fingers on the satin. The decorative ribbon round the waist, the sequins dusted on the lower part of the dress and the white Swarovski crystals hinted along the side of the dress were all still intact. She looked up at Zephyr for explanation.

“I took it from your room yesterday. I thought you might want to wear it at least once,” he said earnestly.

“Are we going to my graduation?” Lilian asked for clarification.

“Yes, but only as a guest. Maybe you want to see your friends but you can’t talk to them. They won’t call up your name to receive your diploma because you didn’t attend the rehearsal but-,” Zephyr stopped talking abruptly as Lilian flung her arms around his neck with the dress still in her right hand.

“Thank you,” whispered Lilian gratefully. She really meant it. Zephyr stood there like a statue. He was speechless for a few seconds before he patted her head awkwardly.

“You’ll ruin your dress. I already had it ironed when you were sleeping,” he said ineptly.

Lilian chuckled lightly as she pulled away from Zephyr. She wiped her grateful tears with the back of her left hand.

“I already got you a hat, sunglasses, coloured contact lenses and make-ups to make you less recognizable,” he said, taking out the said items from the wardrobe and put them onto the dining table. Lilian stared at Zephyr who was purposely busying himself to avoid more awkward moments.

Who really are you, Zephyr? Lilian asked silently. However, she did not say it out loud because somehow, she knew that he would never answer that question.


-End of Chapter 9-

Beneath Pleidus' Sky- Chapter 8

Lilian sprinted as fast as he could away from the house with a backpack on her back. She was unsure where she should head to but she did not care. She just wanted to break free from Zephyr. She just could not take it anymore. She had doubted him and the doubts grew greater every minute that she decided to run away. She was not a hostage and would never be.

She ran towards the town and only stopped when she arrived at a hidden alley between two blocks of buildings. She could not simply ask anyone for help because she did not know who she could trust. Going to the police meant she would have to tell them everything which they would probably think was absurd and insane. Would she end up being diagnosed as having mental disorder because of the trauma of her parents’ death?

                                                        

Then, Ryan and Melissa came into her mind. Yes, she needed her friends. She could confide in them. And they would think of what to do next.

Lilian rummaged her pocket of her pants. A part from the crystal key, she had a few change in her pocket. Just enough to make one phone call. She went to find a public phone and spotted one in front of a closed shop.

She quickly went to the public phone and lifted the receiver to her ear. The sound in the receiver gave her a breath of life. She inserted a few coins into the phone box and dialled Melissa’s home number.

“Hello,” it was Melissa’s voice. Lilian trembled. It seemed ages since she heard that voice when it was actually just yesterday they spoke to each other at school.

“Melissa,” breathed Lilian.

“Lily?” said Melissa, making sure that she was hearing right.

“I need your help,” said Lilian urgently.

“It is you,” Melissa was half- screaming. Her voice was frantic. “Oh my God. What happened to you, Lily? Are you hurt? Where have you been? Do you know that we are worried sick?”

“I’m fine, Melissa. I’m not hurt. Not a scratch but I don’t have time to explain. I’m going to your house but can you make sure that your parents won’t see me?”

“Why?” Melissa asked. “Look, I’m more than ready to help you out but won’t it be better if you go to the police? They can provide you better protection.”

“I know but I need to talk to you first,” said Lilian. Just as when she wanted to continue talking, something swift flew in front us her, severing the telephone cord. She stood there, extremely shocked and panicked, still holding the receiver.

She turned. It was one of the Resistants. He was holding a sword, grinning down nastily at her. Lilian dropped the receiver onto the pavement.

“Running away?” he said dastardly. “Captain must have been very soft towards you,” he added swinging the sword which gleamed when it caught the moon’s reflection. Lilian did not give it another thought. She spun around and darted away from the person, running in between the buildings as she was pursued by the Resistant who seemed very keen to finish her off.

The town was already quite deserted. Most of the shops was already closed or was closing. She did not know where to get help. She hysterically looked around for any police patrol car. If she tried to get the police’s help this time as she was chased by this psychopath, then the situation would explain itself and she would be spared from the trauma assumptions.

But the police patrol car was nowhere to be seen.

She turned into an alley and tripped. She stumbled on the rough ground. A fresh wound formed just above her ankle on her right leg. She cut herself on the shards of glass and sharp stones which littered the ground.  Lilian tried to ignore the sudden searing pain and stood up to continue to run but she stopped dead.

She had made a wrong turn.

She thought she could get away here but there was suddenly a high zinc barrier being put up at the end of the alley, making it as good as a dead end. She never remembered the barrier being there before.

Lilian inhaled sharply and turned to face her assailant. His eyes were wide with determination. He held his sword high, ready to strike anytime. Lilian edged backward until she leant against the cold zinc surface. She closed her eyes tightly, praying that her life would be spared.

Suddenly, she heard a thud and the shifting steps of more than one people. Her eyes snapped opened. Her assailant was facing Zephyr who had possibly jumped in front of him from one of the buildings between them. Zephyr was also holding a sword.

“You defied the order, Ness,” said Zephyr to the assailant whose glinting eyes were full of fury. “You are already a threat to the team. The Legion will get to you,”

“I don’t care. Just let me kill the girl!” he shouted back at Zephyr. Ness broke his eye contact with Zephyr and charged towards Lilian. Lilian was stunned, unable to move her feet but as Ness was just inches from her, the pointed edge of a sword hacked through his chest. Zephyr had driven his sword right through Ness’ heart before pulling the sword out, staining it with deep red blood.

Ness slumped to the earth; his flailing hand touched Lilian feet. Lilian covered her mouth in shock. He died instantly, eyes wide opened out of shock and blood oozed out from his mouth. The blood from the wound on his left chest gushed out, flooding the ground with more blood. Lilian was totally perplexed, unable to utter a word.

Zephyr pulled her away from the dead body. He wiped his sword clean from blood using Ness’ jacket.

“Now you know why I forbid you from going away from me?” said Zephyr, his eyes boring into her eyes. Lilian swallowed. Zephyr’s eyes were wide and red. He was extremely infuriated. He grabbed Lilian’s arm tightly.

“I thought you said they want me alive!” said Lilian, still frantic. “Why did he want to kill me?”

“He was overdosed with drug. The drug is used by the Resistant to ensure that their soldier could withstand tough condition and will show no mercy when facing their foes but once you overdosed on the drug, the lust for blood and death will become uncontrollable,”

“Are you on drug as well?” Lilian did not know why she would ask him such question.

“I don’t have time to answer to your stupid question,” he said harshly and pulled Lilian to follow him. Lilian obliged but she winced in pain when she felt the searing pain on her ankle. Zephyr noticed it.

“You hurt yourself,” he said as a mere statement. He placed one Lilian’s am around her neck while he wrapped one of his arms which were not holding his sword around Lilian’s waist, helping her to stand straight. “I parked the car a few metres away from here, so I need your help,” he added. Lilian was puzzled. What help he could possibly need from an injured girl like her?

“I know you never intentionally use your power before, so just concentrate,” he instructed. “Open up your mind and tell the people around this area that they are not seeing us,”

“I don’t understand what you are saying,” said Lilian earnestly. It was completely ridiculous to her.

“Just do as I say,” he said more sternly this time. “Just think about it. It should be easy for you. It’s something natural. You might have done it without realising before. Or else, we won’t make it. You won’t make it,”

Lilian gulped. She concentrated, feeling silly that she even thought she could do as Zephyr had said. She tried to open up her mind, whatever that mean.

She talked to the surrounding. “You are not seeing us,” she chanted in her mind.

Zephyr steered her out of the alley. They could see the car a few metres away. There were a couple of teenagers walking towards them. Incredibly, they remained oblivious to Lilian who was injured and Zephyr who was holding a sword even until they walked passed them. A police patrol car passed by the street, also unaware of their existence there.

Finally, they arrived at the car. Zephyr unlocked the passenger seat first and helped Lilian into the car before he got into the driver’s seat and put the sword on the backseat.

He started the engine, slammed the accelerator and sped off, leaving the town behind. Lilian bit her lips as he watched the sight of the town shrinking in the side mirror. Will this be the last time?

“I’m sorry,” whispered Lilian loud enough for Zephyr to hear.

“I won’t forgive you if you run from my side again before the time comes,” said Zephyr heatedly.

“What do you mean ‘when the time comes’?”

“You’ll know but definitely not now,” said Zephyr sternly. “So be a good girl and don’t just go off like that. The situation now is not the same like your good old days,”

Lilian nodded obediently. Somehow, she felt very sad being scolded by Zephyr like that. She was stupid thinking that she could escape with the little knowledge she had about her assailants. Tears rolled down her cheek. “I’m really, really sorry,” she whispered again.

                                                          

Zephyr turned to Lilian for a moment before focusing back on the road. He sighed.

“Don’t cry. You promised your guardian that,” he said briskly. To Lilian’s surprise, he reached out his hand and patted Lilian’s head awkwardly. Lilian was utterly speechless.

“We have to get the debris out of your wound,” he said as he pulled back his hand to the steering wheel. “I’ll pull over once it’s safe enough to stop and we deal with the injury first,”

Half an hour later, Zephyr slowed the car down and stopped on the roadside. He switched on the car’s overhead interior light and fetched a small white box from the backseat and took out a forceps.

“Show me your wound,” he said curtly. Lilian lifted her right leg and showed him the wound. He held her heel and scrutinized the wound before he pulled out the shards of glass which were stuck in the dermis.

Lilian bit her lips as she felt the prickling pain.

“Is it possible to use my power to make me not feeling the pain?” said Lilian, as she saw blood trickled from her wound.

“That’s why it’s dangerous to use your power without the supervision of the Council from the early stage. You’ll miss out the essential rules and ethics,” said Zephyr seriously. When Lilian showed her puzzled expression, he continued. “You should never use your power to manipulate yourself. You’ll lose the touch of it and it will backfired,”

“Oh,” said Lilian, comprehending the concept.

“So, never use your power again unless I instructed you. You are not capable of controlling it yet,” said Zephyr sounding final. Lilian gave a slight nod, having no intention to use the power herself.

After making sure that he had got all the debris out from Lilian’s wound, Zephyr gave a clean piece of clothes to Lilian for her to put pressure on the wound before they could have the chance to treat it properly.

****

They already checked into a motel room about an hour from their last stop. Lilian sat on the couch after running the water over her wound once and put the pressure back on the wound using another piece of clean cloth. The wound was still bleeding.

“I’m going out for a while,” said Zephyr, collecting the bunch of keys from the bedside table.

All of a sudden, Lilian reached out her hand and grabbed Zephyr’s arm.

“Please don’t leave me alone here,” Lilian found herself pleading, looking up at Zephyr with her glassy eyes. Zephyr was quite expressionless.

“Don’t worry. They won’t find you here. I’ll be away for just a couple of minutes. I need something to treat your injury,” said Zephyr quietly. Lilian let go of Zephyr’s arm hesitantly.

Zephyr walked towards the door. Lilian followed closely behind him.

“Lock the door. I’ll bring the key,” said Zephyr before going out, leaving Lilian alone, feeling miserable and scared. She quickly locked the door as had been instructed by Zephyr. She went to the couch and lied there, carefully not to brush her wound against the fabric of the couch.

She felt her head became very heavy caused by the senseless thoughts and worries. She wanted to wait for Zephyr to come back. He said h would be away for a couple of minutes, so he must not be gone long. She would wait...

But Lilian felt her eyelids became heavier. She closed her eyes to relax for a bit.


-End of Chapter 8-

Beneath Pleidus' Sky- Chapter 7

“You haven’t answered my question yet. Why do they want me? Just because I’m one of the last Manipulators?” asked Lilian as she and Zephyr were on their way to her house. Zephyr was driving the car.

“Our Leaders believe that you have information so valuable which should not fall into the hands of the Council. That information will determine the future of Pleidus,”

“But I can’t remember anything can I?”

“The plan is to capture you first, find the Keeper of your memory, released the memory back to you and extract the information from you,” he explained brusquely.

“I heard you said about ‘The Keeper’ that night. Who are the Keepers?” Lilian asked curiously, ignoring the other part of Zephyr’s explanation.

“They are those who are able to keep a person’s memory in quartz crystals,” he explained. “So, after they manage to obtain the information, they will be probably kill you,”

“How could you utter such word with such ease? Are you trained to be so cold-hearted?”

Zephyr did not answer. He pretended to focus hard on the road. Lilian decided to change the subject.

“Where do you get this car?” asked Lilian. She had been wondering about it since Zephyr told her that they were going to her house by car.

“Let just say that we are quite organised,” he answered simply, refusing to reveal more.

“Where are your partners, anyway?”

“You mean my subordinates? They are guarding the portal and making sure that the legion would not reach us,”

“So, they are around us?” Lilian automatically scanned the surrounding.

"No. They don’t even know where we are,” said Zephyr. “It’s a procedure of the operation to ensure that the Readers would not easily read their mind to get to me. The Council’s Legion is her since yesterday, ready to retrieve you,”

“So, the Legion is here to save me?” said Lilian with a hidden eagerness.

“In a way, yes,”

“So, I should run to them,” said Lilian bluntly.

“I won’t let you go for now,” said Zephyr determinedly, shaking his head.

Lilian was exhausted by the flood of information and the arguments so she decided to keep silent. She rested her head on the headrest of her seat. They had been on the road for an hour now, managing to pass two police roadblocks without much problem. Zephyr had their forged identity documents ready before the journey. She did not realise how far she had been brought away from her house last night.

She recalled the afternoon news she had seen on the television in her room a few hours ago. It was on the tragedy which had befallen her last night. There were conspiracy theories and assumptions on the incident which none were near the truth.

Now only she understood why her parents were so scared when they heard news of anyone being murdered caused specifically by poison. According to Zephyr, those murdered people were The Gifted Ones who had run away to seek security in this dimension but managed to be found by the Resistant who would not let those people ‘taint’ this world with their freak powers.

Lilian let her mind mused on the insanity of her fate. What was actually happening to her? What would happen to her?

“Those subordinates of yours don’t really like you, right?” the question suddenly blurted out from Lilian’s mouth. Zephyr snorted but did not really laugh.

“You can see it too?” said Zephyr without looking at her. “It’s a question of seniority. The commander who almost kills you is ten years older than me. What would you feel being under order of someone who is far younger than you?”

Somehow, Lillian understood him but did not realise that thought into words.

The sun was already setting on the west horizon, ebbing by the minutes. The east side of the sky was already sprinkled with twinkling stars against the dark blue backdrop. Streaks of white clouds hung above, drifting idly across the twilight sky.

                                         

As Zephyr drove on along the deserted road, Lilian felt like they were chasing the setting sun. They went passed the small town and Lilian saw the familiar cafe she had always go for sundaes.

When finally the starry black sky draped over the town, Zephyr came to a halt. They stopped just across Lilian’s house. There were not many people out on the street at that time, probably because they were still scared about the murder of Jeremy and Maria that they decided to lock themselves in at the hour.

“Come on,” urged Zephyr as he got out from the car. Lilian obeyed without much thought. She could see that the house had been surrounded with long yellow tape which read ‘Police Line Do Not Cross’ over and over again along the tape.

They crossed the street and entered the house through the back door after making sure that no one was looking. Lilian was not surprised when Zephyr had the key of the back door.

As Lilian stepped into the dark kitchen, she was instantly reminded of the fateful night. She shuddered.

“Pack whatever you want to bring in a backpack,” Zephyr instructed. “I’ll search other rooms,” he added, placing a flashlight in her hand.

“What do you want to search for?”

“Anything useful. Besides, your Guardian told you to find something, right? So, go find it,” said Zephyr before he ascended the staircase. As Lilian followed him up the staircase, she glimpsed the dark spot on the carpet in the living room which was actually the bloodstain from Jeremy and Maria’s blood. Two white outlines of where Jeremy and Maria’s bodies had been were visible.

Zephyr went into the master bedroom while Lilian went into her own room. She went straight to her wardrobe but stopped dead when she saw her satin lime green dress hanging outside the wardrobe.

She touched it.

At the moment, the satin felt so unreal under her fingers. She blinked mindlessly, staring at the dress before finally jerking opened the wardrobe and searched for comfortable attire to wear. She only packed two pieces of t-shirts and a pair of jeans.

As she turned to the rest of her bedroom, she noticed her favourite novel on the bedside. She packed ‘The Historian’ by Elizabeth Kostova into her backpack which instantly became heavier because of the book.

She zipped the backpack and carried it into Jeremy’s study. The dim moonlight provided a dull glow to the study room.

The study was still neat and arranged. Apart from the missing laptop which might have been taken away by the police for investigation purpose, everything else was still quite intact. There a few racks of Jeremy’s precious books which mostly were on anthropology. Now, everything seemed to make sense on why Jeremy loved to study anthropology so much. Was he curious about the difference of the people’s culture here?

                                                   

Lilian pulled opened the drawers under the study desk one by one. All drawers had been emptied. She was left puzzled. The chest Jeremy had mentioned about must be here, she mused.

Lilian had switched on her flashlight to see things clearly but there was none. She had pulled out the drawer completely from its place and let them on the floor.

She randomly flashed the light from her flashlight around the study room. She slumped to the floor behind the study desk feeling frustrated. But then, she saw it. In the darkness of the drawer’s case, there was something gleaming when the light from her flashlight touched it.

She reached out her hand to feel it. It was made of wood and she felt the irregular shape of something like a stone, maybe a crystal attached to it. There were duct tapes which made it stick to the back of the drawer case. Lilian yanked the object out.

It was a medium-sized wooden chest, with an irregular shaped emerald attached to its cover. There was a hole in the middle of the emerald. Lilan ran her fingers over the crystal before finally realising that the hole was actually a small keyhole. She had to find the key.

Lilian placed the chest on the desk and gazed intently at Jeremy’s book collection. Sure enough, she found that there was one book which had been arranged not according to its category. Amidst a collection of Jeremy’s anthropology encyclopaedia on the tenth row of the book rack, there it was, a thin, innocent book of one of her favourite bedtime stories.  

She quickly fetched a stool from the corner of the room and climbed on it to reach the tenth row of the book rack. She pulled out the ‘Hansel and Gretal’ book and flipped through its pages.

There, on the picture of the evil witch, Jeremy had taped a small key carved from emerald on the picture. Lilian carefully took the fragile-looking key out and tried it on the keyhole of the chest. It clicked opened.

Lilian switched on the desk lamp and the light poured onto the content of the chest. The inner part of the chest itself was lined with a piece of metal.

The contents looked messy. As told by Jeremy, there was a pouch in there, secured by a rope tied around it near the opening. Lilian did not check the content because she knew it was not hers. There was also a piece of small parchment, a letter from Jeremy, but Lilian did not want to read it now. There was also a journal which she flipped through quickly, revealing loads of Jeremy’s writing and pictures which she did not pay attention to. She placed it back in the chest.

Finally, there was a small wooden box. She opened it. There were two necklaces there, both were probably handmade. The first one had a thick black fabric chain attached with a carved locket made from wood, stones and shells while the other have thin gold chain attached with a single cloudy green moss agate.

She closed the box back and placed it gently into the chest, uninterested of any accessories for the moment.

Lilian closed the chest back. She slipped the emerald key into her pocket and switched off the desk lamp. She sighed and sat down on the chair. Her ear caught the sound made by Zephyr who was probably busy rummaging Maria’s wardrobe.

Lilian turned to look at the window. She could see the crescent moon, struggling to keep shining behind the clouds which drifted passed it now and then. Lilian got up and touched the window pane as if touching the moon.

*****

Zephyr pocketed a few objects he had found in the master bedroom. As he moved to the guest room, he felt something was amiss. The house was incredibly silent except for the sound of his own breaths.

He quickly checked Jeremy’s study where he last heard noises made by Lilian who had been searching the room. It was empty except for the empty drawers lied around the floor. Cold breeze caressed his face. He turned. The window was wide opened; the thin black curtains billowed by the night breeze.

“Damn it!” he cursed under his breath.


-End of Chapter 7-