They Called Me FIVE

LANCE

"You…what did you do to her?" I demanded. Meira looked past me and stare at Seven's uncomprehending face. 

"That's my prey." She said, flashing us her teeth that grew longer and sharper. Like a vampire. "I got her first. Her blessing, her youth is mine. Lista, Dylantino, and the others can't deny me of that right."

"But we can. She's an Eklektos. And she's one of ours." Magnus said. I nod in agreement. Her lip turned up.

"Eklektos? Are you sure you did your job right puny Seeker?" Her head started to shake, or spin, I don't know. It's just too fast my eyes can't keep up. Around her, fleshy thick white substance fell down, like a snake's skin. As if she's in the middle of hibernating.

She stops. Her face has taken a time travel downtown she aged in three hundred years in just fifty seconds. It's rude but I actually gagged seeing her true face. Magnus smirked in my direction.

"I've lived thousands of years to know who she really is." She said, her voice has lost it's sing sang innocent tone of a young woman, now it sounds so raspy I doubt her voice box can last that long. 

"She's no Eklektos. She's no deity. She's nothing to anyone. She won't find a place where she truly belongs. She's lucky enough I gave her the privilege to become my source of youth… or where will she end up now? Wandering between realms with no destination?" 

It appears Magnus is more shaken to hear this than I do. Even though the dream I had with Seven pops in my head. Efta… that was her name. That was what I called her.  I looked behind me. Staring straight to Seven's face.

She has the exact features of Efta. Same crimson eyes. Same unreadable facial expression that's been harden by both experience and intense pain. It took one whole minute to realize I'm staring straight into Seven's blinking eyes. She's awake. She's…

I took a step back. Magnus caught me startled, he looks behind him too. Got his own shock episode. Meira had it worse. 

"You! Why are –"  Seven calmly lifted her hand, visible cracks showed in the glass. Magnus and me are quick to react. We dart right to the corners when the whole glass sphere splattered like spurting blood. Spraying each broken piece to Meira's direction. 

She howled in pain. Her face, her arms, her chest, no body parts were spared. 

"Why-y did you wa-wake up?" she choked up green blood, there's a big chunk that pierce right into her throat.

Seven didn't answer. Soft quakes rumble in the ground. Meira stared at her feet in horror. Branches swirled and crawled like snake around her. Tying her legs, it shot straight into her stomach, wrapping her chest tightly and then her mouth, before she burst into dust. I blinked once and she's gone. 

"Where did she go?" I asked. Magnus is as clueless and shell shock as I am. Seven stepped outside of the room, not giving me an answer. We watch her go. We watch her raised her arms like she's doing some sort of voodoo ritual in the open clearing. The tremors from the ground is stronger this time. 

Branches sprouts out of nowhere and captured every green Faery minion she saw below ground. Magnus and I look at each other. Not knowing what to say to her, we continued watching as she crushed them to dust by her branches. 

"Um, Seven?" I called, trying not to make a fool of myself. She turned to me, her face a real life replica of that woman statue I saw in one of my school. Except she has colors, that statue is all grey. 

"Can you really travel realms?" Magnus asked before I could. 

"How?" I did not wait for her to say yes or no and finished the question. She made a squeezing gesture with her hands and the last of the Faeries evaporate. 

She scratched her head. Rub her palms together and started doing sign language. 

"Wait, wait, can't you..umm speak through our minds? Just like how you did to me on the rooftop? Sorry, I don't know how to read sign language." I stopped her. She sighed. 

She breathed deep breaths and started speaking softly, "Not used to it…Getting used to it. Tinkering nerves never easy. May damage one. Bad. Bad." 

"Huh?" 

"Sorry, not much time. Let's leave your questions later and deal with the Dark Elf waiting for us at the top. This whole thing is a trap. We fell right into it." 

I stupefied. Seven marched back to the place where we came in. Instead of taking the corner where our cell is, she climb up the spiraled stairs that bridge the circular tower. I've never seen this place. To think it's right behind the room where Seven was imprisoned.

"What do you mean trap?" 

"The Dark Elf knew that Alpha took my place, pretending to be me. He also knew you were planning to break out today. Planning to free me from Meira's cage. He's been tapping in and out of your telepath conversations. He's not really interested in me. Nor Magnus here and his Thirteen Deities bracelet. The thing he wants…is you." 

She looked straight at me and a shiver ran right down to my spine. I couldn't answer. I couldn't ask why.

"The tortures he's been asking Lista to put you through, he didn't order them just to make you miserable, he wants you to get stronger. The stronger the better. He fooled you to think that what Lista has been doing is for experiments, no. It was also a lie your Dad was able to absorb your blessing either. No Aufs can do that. No matter how much modifications they put your Dad through."

"So what really is going on here?" Magnus asked. 

"Magnus, you remember 'The Union' mana these Dark Elves knew?" 

He nods slowly, "Yes…"

"Well, unfortunately, because of their human souls mana booster project, they found out they can switch two souls from two bodies together. The Dark Elf upstairs? That's what he's been aiming for. He wants to transfer his soul into your body Five, to make your blessing his own and…" she stared straight at Magnus.

"Use it to kill all the Rank Elders and Rankers whose been fighting nonstop to defend the Gifted people borders."     

Because of shock, my hand almost slipped from the metal rails of the stairs.