Chronicles of Slyfar Blaze (Series Book One: Origins) Page 4
“Can I accompany you to the event, please!?”
“Sure you can,” Nat allowed, happy for the change of subject “You're royalty. Now it's time to go back to sleep.”
After Loretta had returned to her bed Natareh changed from her outfit and put on one of her silk night dresses. Lying back on her bed, staring at the well-decorated ceiling above her, she began to think back to the events that had brought her back home in such a hurry. Who was this spy her father had tasked to watch her every move and how was he able to track her spark?
Chapter 9
Four Powerful Sparks
Two nights later, Natareh decided to go pay Aunt Jay a visit.
Jayti had served the House of Sev faithfully for over sixteen years. When Natareh was still a little girl she would sneak her way into the barracks, close to her home, in other to watch the guards practice with their short, weird shaped blades and pulse rifles. Often at times, she would get caught and then she would order the guards to take her back to meet the colonel in charge. When asked why she was snooping around, she would state that she had come to talk to Jayti concerning the security at Sev's Manor. The colonel - usually with a perplexed look on his face - would call for sergeant Jayti and tell him to keep a close eye on The Crown Heir.
Outside the colonel's tent, she would begin to persuade the sergeant into teaching her some cool moves she could use to beat up bullies much older than herself. He would laugh and tell her when she was old enough he would teach her all she had to know. Later, when she became his student, one morning he took her to see his family in Low-Land.
Ever since then, she had become an activist against the level of segregation in Seva and would often visit the various towns in Low-Land. She would travel incognito and share certain items she had ‘borrowed' from High-Land with them. Once when Loretta was eight, she took her sister to go visit Jayti's family. Loretta and Kozmi, Jayti's first daughter who was ten years old at the time, became best friends instantly.
In general, the citizens of Seva are well mannered and prefer to stay out of trouble, however, in some areas in Low-Land, like where Jayti and his family lived, countless records of manslaughter and drug trafficking had been recorded.
Aunt Jay lived with her husband on floor 23, house number 454. A two bedroom apartment located on one of numerous fifty floored, dome-shaped, condominiums spread all across Low-Land.
On getting to the door, Natareh began to sense the presence of three very powerful sparks and instead of heading straight in like she used to, she decided to go round and peep through the living room window to see what was happening.
From what she could see, three young men were present in the living room talking to Aunt jay, who was constantly using a little cloth she held in her hand to clean her tears. The guy who was kneeling close to the kitchen entrance and playing with Jayti's second child had golden brown hair, with a spiky quiff and short side haircut. The second guy, whose face she couldn't really see due to the angle she was looking from, was wearing a blue denim jacket, with orange-brown hair, styled into a man bun like that of her favourite gladiator. He was seated next to a guy wearing a fitted, duffle jacket. Looking closely at the guy in the duffle jacket, she discovered it was the spy her father had hired to track her every move.
Were the men he had brought along with him part of his unit or were they, criminals, trying to get information out of Aunt Jay so they could carry out their sinister plot? She decided to focus and listen to the conversation they were having before going all berserker on the gents.
Aunt Jay was crying “...but how, how did it happen? I know Jay was very good at his job.”
“To be honest we really don't know how it happened. One moment we were walking into the dark regions together, next thing you know, he and Orix were gone!” Max admitted.
“Wait, Orix is dead too? I knew it! I told him not to follow that psycho, but he wouldn't listen. You see, before he set out to join you on your quest, he kept rambling about how he and Orix had finally solved a mystery that led to a long lost treasure. He said it was going to be the discovery of a lifetime. If only I had known!” She revealed before breaking down in tears.
“I am truly sorry for the loss your family now bears. No child,” Slyfar said as he drew closer Kozmi's younger brother, whom Jimmy had been playing with, “should have to bear the pain that comes with losing a father. I know I could never repay you for what you have lost but please, do accept this little token of my sincerest apologies.” He handed her an envelope containing three thousand Hyfas stacked in three mint bundles of twenty Hyfa notes.
Aunt Jay stopped crying for a moment, her eyes wide in excitement, “My prince! This …this is too much!"
Now Jimmy spoke up, “My brother and I would also like to sponsor your two children throughout their academic years.”
“My Resurrection Gala will be taking place two days from now. I'll be honoured if you'll be able to attend.” Slyfar added.
Young Kozmi’s eyes were beaming with fresh excitement, “I've always wanted to attend a Resurrection Gala! Mum can we go …pleeease!?”
Aunt Jay let out a chortle, “(Chortling) We'll be there.”
Outside Aunt Jay's apartment, Jimmy suggested they find a place to celebrate Slyfar's triumph over the Bane of Syt.
Outvoted, Slyfar soon found himself stopping a Hover Taxi along with his friends.
“I hate these things!” Jimmy complained; climbing into the taxi.
“No one asked you to forget your bag, buff!” Was all the pity Max shared for him.
“Yeah, you guys can laugh all you want, but the next time we play Decks, we'll see who gets to laugh the hardest.”
“Where you headed?” Asked the taxi driver.
Max quickly blurted out his response “Madam Ming's Bar.” Then, staring at the hilarious expression on the faces of the two people he was seated in between, “What! They make really good fries!”
They were all laughing when the taxi let off a mechanical chime, rose up to two feet above the ground, and took off. Carried away by the fun they were having, they all failed to notice that a lady in blue was now tracking their every move.
Chapter 10
Gentlemen in the Wild
Still fascinated by the group of nobles who had just alighted from the taxi she had been following, Natareh decided to also grab a drink at Madam Ming's Bar. She sat at the counter and ordered for a tropical smoothie. The counter was distant enough from the booth where the nobles had decided to peg their tents, for someone to sit down and not to get noticed. But was also close enough for a lady with her skills to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Alas, Natareh was a lady of stunning beauty and this often made her the centre of unwanted attention. Not a long time later, a huge, brown bearded guy wearing a black biker jacket, who was seated at the booth next to that of the nobles, began to call out to the sylph he had spotted at the counter. “Heh! Lady with the fancy coat, why don't you come over here and show daddy a good time!?
“Heh! Am talking to you! Don't you want me to buy you a drink?
“Lady this is Low-Land and all you've got to do to get a drink around here is to give a gentleman, like me,” he pointed to himself and looked at the biker boys seated at the same booth with him, who were obviously enjoying the show, “a lap dance. So, why don't you run up into Daddy's lap right here and let me cleanse you from your ignorance!”
“Heh! Leave the girl alone” Jimmy interjected.
“What did you say, boy?”
Slyfar was seated with his back still facing the counter, “He said, leave, the girl, alone!”
“Why you little bastard.” The biker snarled stood and walked slowly to where the nobles sat. “You think you can take me punk?”
“Oh, you don't wanna go there! Trust me.” Max cautioned, but it was already too late.
Jimmy looked at Max, “Watch this!”
Jimmy
twirled a finger in the air then folded his hand. This made the air around the biker's left foot to become constricted.
As the biker was about to fall to the ground, Slyfar swiftly caught him. "Easy pal!"
While Jimmy and Max chuckled to themselves Slyfar helped the biker up. Trying to avoid anything that would lead to the identity of his crew being exposed he offered to buy the guy and his friends a drink. "How about I buy you all another round and we call it even!
"Make it a double!" Slyfar gestured to the bar lady and ordered for two drinks to be delivered to each of the biker's friends; six huge men in total.
After the guy settled back in his booth Slyfar noticed a lady seated at the counter wearing a familiar blue coat. Different thoughts began to go through his mind concerning this lady he had now spotted, who had generated all this fuss and was still seated at the counter, gently sipping on a tropical drink. She had been listening to everything the biker was saying but had chosen not to react.
Slyfar walked over to the counter, right next to where the lady in blue was sitting and ordered for the same thing she was having.
“Took you long enough!”
“Wait; have you been stalking me ever since that night at the arena?” Slyfar asked.
“No silly! I meant this drink. It's so good! Besides, you were the one staring, not me.” Natareh took another sip from her drink.
Slyfar noticed the silky black-blue hair which had hindered him from seeing her true beauty that night at the arena. It was styled in a careless, long top, low mid-side and braided low side fashion.“Well, I am sorry if I made you miss the final moments of the match, which turned out to be the best actually!"
“Well, you had better be. I paid forty Hyfas for that ticket and I didn't even get to see the match end!”
“Isn't there a way I could, you know, make it up to you?” Slyfar offered.
Natareh though for a moment, “Well, I'm sure you can think of something!”
One of the biker boys spotted the flirting couple at the counter and pointed it out to his leader. "Why that little punk!" their leader snarled. "He thinks he can buy me a drink then head back home with my girl?
“You know what boys? I think it's time we showed his friends whose territory they just crossed."
Each member of the biker gang pulled out a gun and started towards the booth were Jimmy and Max were seated. Customers at the bar, knowing what was about to happen, began to move quickly towards the exit. Noticing the commotion, Natareh thought back to the deal she had made with her father, about not doing something crazy and decided to excuse herself from the bar along with the others.
Slyfar gently grabbed a hold of her hand, “Heh! You haven't even finished your drink! What if I never get another chance to make it up to you?”
“You'll get another one, soon, I promise!” Natareh said as she let go of his hand and slipped into the small crowd of people that had decided to leave the bar while they still could.
The biker guy approached Jimmy and Max’s table, “Y'all might not be from around here so I’m gonna let you in on a well-known secret. My Boys and I, we run this side of town. And right now, from the way we see it, you've overstayed your welcome. So I suggest you leave. Now!”
Jimmy, still looking at the sauce on his table, put on his most insulting tone, “But we haven't finished our fries yet!”
The biker boys cracked the guns in their hands in an attempt to scare the lot.
Max’s turn. “Oh Oh! Well, boys, I reckon you should have just stayed back at Cynax, ‘cause, well, you're about to lose the only territory you've got around here!”
“Yeah! And who's gonna take it from us?” The biker responded incredulously.
“That guy!” Max said, pointing towards a furious prince standing a few meters behind the thugs.
Unfortunately for these thugs, as they were talking, Max had caught sight of a fuming Slyfar Blaze standing alone at the counter. Slyfar had not turned back since he watched Natareh leave in such a hurry. He began to turn, slowly, just to have a look at the morons that had ruined his first date with a lady that had been haunting his dreams ever since he laid eyes on her at The Arena.
All the biker boys now turned towards the direction Max had pointed.
“Jim, what do you say we just lie back, and enjoy the show!” Max asked of Jimmy.
Slyfar was staring furiously at the biker boys and thinking to himself, you didn't even get to know her name!
…
The gang leader and his crew got discharged from Triple MC (Madam Ming's Medical Center) three months later.
Chapter 11
Resurrection Gala
"Dance like the stars,
Move your body along like the waters,
Come on stand up and hold me close,
We'll dance forever don't let me go.
Oh! Oh! Oh! Never let me go,
Oh! Oh! Oh! Never let me go,
Oh! Oh! Oh! Never let me go,
Oh! Oh! Oh! Never let me go..."
The sight of nobles from every kingdom, all dressed to the nines, gliding their legs across the highly reflective golden floors of the well-lit ballroom in Prime Castle was truly an amazing sight.
Now while others were dancing beautifully to the rhythm of the energetic pop song being played by the Vliando Brothers - who had won the award for Best Eroglin, combination of a multi-instrumentalist Band and a DJ, of the year on several occasions - some stood around the edges talking. They spoke on topics ranging from military statistics and politics, to whether or not Slyfar was going to be able to walk himself to bed after the trail. It was not uncommon to see a Prime's son lose consciousness after exiting the state of Phoenix for the first time.
The pilot assigned to pick up Aunt Jay and her kids, who had never before been to Low-Land, lost his way moments after landing at the small airport a few miles from the particular dome where Aunt Jay lived. Instead of the waiting hall where he had expected to find his passengers waiting for him, he discovered the hall had been turned into a sales ground for merchants. When he eventually found Aunt Jay's apartment he escorted the family back to where he had landed his Turboprop aeroplane. Only then did he discover that both the plane and the guards he had paid just to help him look after the plane where nowhere to be found.
When word eventually got to Slyfar that Roland was not yet back with Jayti's family he teleported he and his friends from his chambers to the last position where the pilot had transmitted a distress signal. Roland, upon seeing The Prime Heir and his friends had started making plans on getting another job. But when Slyfar heard the confused pilot's side of the story he and his friends burst into laughter.
Slyfar then teleported the entire crew back to Aunt Lima's Quarters. Leaving Aunt Jay and her children's fashion needs in the very capable hands of Lima, Slyfar advised the pilot to be more careful next time he ventured into Low-Land and told him to make sure he arrived early for work the next day.
The giant doors leading to the ballroom flung open to reveal Slyfar, Max, and Jimmy still laughing and cracking jokes about what had just happened to Roland. Getting into the act, the late nobles began making their way through the crowd which had paused for a brief moment to see who was at the door.
At the far left end of the room stood Blaze and his wife. Greeting and conversing with the wave of nobles who kept coming over to greet them. Slyfar excused his friends for a moment and walked over to Milo.
“Ah! There you are! … My fine young prince. I was beginning to wonder if you were going to show up at all.” His mother said as he approached.
“It's unlike you to be late. Are you scared?” His father inquired.
Slyfar quickly responded, “No.”
“Good. The son of a Prime should be impervious to fear. Now, for your final lesson. When you wield the twin blades you're going to feel pain unlike what you've ever felt before. This pain will take y
ou into a realm called Haress; a realm eternal for all Primes. There, you'll meet with Aiden, the first Guardian to ever walk the Circle. He will then take you to a version of yourself within the realm that you must battle.
“Now while this might take a while, from the perspective of those outside the realm, all they'll be seeing is a boy groaning in agony for about a minute while holding two powerful blades in his hands. If and when you defeat your pain in Haress, your eyes will burn blue and your rune will come alive. Aiden's Triumph will begin to burn and your spirit will be united with your body once again.
“This is where it gets tricky. The moment your spirit returns, all you're going to see is a blue cloud filled with sparkles of light. Just like what you see when you wish to track someone, however, the difference is that when you're in Phoenix you'll feel this insane appetite to snuff out the lights you see. Don't! Instead, focus on that which makes the world worth saving: your family, your friends, your subjects, the beauty of nature that surrounds us, and, if you've found her already, the love of your life.” Blaze paused to stare at Milo, who beamed with a smile. “Once you can see us clapping our hands, it's an indication that you're safely back to level 5.
“Now go have a good time while you can. Because after you return, well, you just might find yourself waking up on your bed the next day. At least that was my experience.”
The moment Slyfar turned to leave his father Max and Jimmy got a hold of him and dragged him to a certain area of the ballroom.
"Slyfar. Check out that lady with the blue dress,” Jimmy said pointing to a distant lady standing next to Aunt Lima and Aunt Jay. She was also holding the hands of an eight-year-old. When Slyfar saw the lady Jimmy was talking about his eyes went wide with amazement.