Part 2
### Chapter 1: Chapter 1
Elijah Hawk embarks on a quest to find his family's killer when he stumbles upon the hidden world of the Magi. While there, he discovers one of the world's most powerful and most deadly secrets.
Complete Chapters 22
Rating 4.9 ( 47 reviews ) Age Rating 13+
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Prologue
Inside a wooded cottage, miles from his home, a young
assassin named Roland approached his master.
This was not the first time Roland had been summoned here, but it was
the only time he was told to come alone.
“You wished to speak with me, sir?” he asked, not daring to
make eye contact.
“Sit, Roland. Have a drink.” Casual, but firm.
Roland sat. He
cautiously reached for a tall crystal chalice poured for him. His master never offered a drink unless there
was important business to attend to. The
drink was an appetizer. A symbolic
gesture. It meant blood would be spilled
tonight.
“Thank you,” Roland said, wiping his mouth on his silver and
black sleeve.
“We found them,” his master said. His voice was so low and rich, it echoed
throughout the room like a prison chamber.
“Ten years we’ve searched, and we’ve finally found them.”
“Are you sure?”
Roland instantly knew this was no menial task. He was about to be given the honor of his
life!
“Certain,” his master answered with rising intensity. “And it’s important you leave tonight. Before they suspect anything.”
“Why else would I summon you ?”
Roland took another drink.
“Even the child?” he whispered.
His master leaned in so close the smell of his foul breath burned
inside Roland’s nose.
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### Chapter 2: Chapter 2
Elijah Hawk mindlessly separated his mashed potatoes into
four even piles on his plate. He twirled
each pile into a creamy whip. Dinner was
the last thing on his mind. Usually, he
was ready for seconds by the time his mother finished setting the table, but at
the moment, it was as appetizing as fish bait.
Elijah picked at it as he listened to his sister, Kyria, talk about her
day.
“I’ve heard Mr. Walker is the hardest of the advanced
teachers, but my friend Wendy says I shouldn’t have any trouble in his class as
long as—”
Elijah chortled. His
sister could sure ramble! Ever since the
schedule for her first year of high school came in the mail, she talked about
it incessantly. The new classes. Books.
Teachers. Even lab partners. Elijah wished he shared Kyria’s enthusiasm, but
the mere thought of starting school made his stomach tie into a constrictor
knot.
“Are you okay?” his mother asked him, dissolving his
thoughts.
“I’m fine, Mom,” he answered, sharper than he meant to.
School started in one week.
A year ago, that would have meant nothing, but this was his last year in
middle school. He needed to make an
impression. So far, he was a
nobody. An outcast. Just a nice kid who liked science class. Elijah dreamed of returning to school with an
extra thick layer of muscle on him. That
would sure change the conversation.
He had worked out all summer. Push-ups.
Sit-ups. Lunches. Squats.
Pull-ups. He even tried
butt-crunches. But despite his efforts,
he remained as skinny as fishing line.
“Do you want me to make you something else?” his mother
asked, noticing his full plate.
“Well that’s a first,” she said. “By the way, your father and I need to talk
with you when he gets home. It will be a
little late, but it’s important.”
Great. Elijah took
his dishes to the sink. He set his phone
on the counter as he washed his plate of mostly uneaten food and then excused
himself. He thought a hot shower and a
few hours listening to music would be the perfect therapy for his mood.
Later that evening, Elijah lounged on his bed with his
headphones blasting away when his sister marched in.
“Move over,” Kyria commanded. She flopped down next to him and held her
chin in her palms. Elijah took out his
headphones.
“What?” he asked, trying to sound annoyed.
“Just want to know what’s got you all twisted,” she said.
Kyria rolled her eyes.
“Well, whatever it is, it’s probably lame. Snap out of your funk! You’re no fun like this.”
“And I suppose my entire purpose in life is to entertain
you?” Elijah retorted.
“If it is, you’re doing a horrible job!” she said.
Kyria was as beautiful as she was feisty. Her dark brown hair was long and straight,
usually tied in a careless ponytail. She
never wore braces, but her teeth were perfectly aligned. She had big green eyes and her skin was
golden tan. Her cheeks were lightly
sprinkled with freckles which stood out more during the Californian
summer. She was tall and thin and had
she not been so consumed with school, she would have had the boys lining up at
the front door to go out with her.
Elijah was also tall, even for thirteen. He had light brown hair—some would call it
blonde—and deep-blue eyes that in the right light would rival the color of the
ocean. His parents had dark hair like
Kyria’s, which made Elijah stand out when they traveled together.
“Okay then, we’ll bargain,” Kyria said. “If you tell me what you’re so upset about,
I’ll tell you what I’ve been writing in my diaries. I know you’re curious.”
“Like I care about all the hot boys with dreamy skin you’ve
got a crush on!” Elijah answered. Kyria
punched him in the arm. “Ow!”
“Serves you right. I
wasn’t going to tell you anyway.” She
stood up to leave.
“Okay,
I’ll tell you,” said Elijah. “Promise
you won’t make fun of me?”
“No,”
said Kyria. She winked at him. “And the deal’s off about the diaries.”
Elijah
snorted. “Whatever. I just—I don’t know. Have you ever felt like you were
invisible? Like no one would care if you
weren’t there?”
“If
this is your way of telling me you’re running away, I want your room.”
Kyria’s
fiery green eyes softened. “You’re going
to have to give me more information.”
“I
just feel like nobody knows who I am. I
feel like I don’t fit in anywhere. Like
everyone’s got a place but me. Do you
ever feel like that?”
Elijah
was shocked when his sister said, “Yes.”
Kyria always had a friend over or was going to a study group at
someone’s house. The thought of her not
fitting in was unimaginable.
Kyria
laid back down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. “There’s a lot of things in my life I don’t
feel like I can share with people at school.
A lot of times, I feel like I’m being fake. I don’t let my true feelings show. I know a lot of people, but I don’t really
talk to them, even like the way I’m talking to you right now. People don’t want to hear heavy topics. They’d rather keep the conversation
simple. Empty of any real thinking.”
“Have
you ever tried to talk to your friends about those things?” Elijah asked.
“I
can’t,” she said. “Or maybe I just don’t
want to.”
“But
maybe everyone else is thinking the same thing,” said Elijah.
“Perhaps,”
Kyria stated. She waited for the clock
to stop chiming ten before she said, “Anyway, you’re the one with the problem,
not me.”
“So,
what do you mean you feel invisible?”
“I
dunno. I just feel like I’ve been going
to school for eight years and I do the same thing and no one notices.”
Elijah
thought. “I guess not. But—well, yes it is. What if I go through my whole life like
that? What if all I ever am is… ordinary ?”
“There’s
nothing wrong with ordinary,” said Kyria.
“Most people are. Otherwise there
wouldn’t be such a thing.”
Elijah
shook his head. “But who wants
that? Who’d you ever meet that said they
wanted to spend their life doing something completely average? Doing nothing amazing. I don’t want that! I want something that makes me stand out.”
“What
about your weird instinct thing?” Kyria
asked. “That’s definitely not normal.”
“But
no one knows about that,” said Elijah.
“And besides, what good is it?”
“Well,
then find something else that makes you stand out,” Kyria suggested.
“If
I tell you, doofus, then you’re still ordinary.
That’s something you need to
figure out.”
“I
guess,” said Elijah. Maybe…I should just
tattoo a giant ladybug across my face.”
Kyria
snickered. “You have issues.”
“Sounds
like we both have issues,” said
Elijah.
“You
don’t know the half of it,” said Kyria.
“Nevermind.” She stood back up. “Promise you’ll tell me what Mom and
Dad talk to you about?”
“G’night,” said Kyria, and she skipped away.
Elijah grinned. Kyria
could always make him feel better, even when she wasn’t trying. He felt lucky to have her as a sister. He collapsed on his bed. What a pair they were. Elijah had no trouble talking to people and Kyria
was definitely not ordinary.
Elijah fell asleep listening to music. Had he known this was the last night his
family would spend together, he would have talked to his sister all night. Or at least stayed awake long enough to
welcome his father home.
Elijah stared at his bedroom ceiling. A disturbing feeling from the depths of his
gut began to surge through his body. The
hairs on his neck prickled.
Over the years, Elijah discovered he had a rather odd sense
of instinct. He felt things before they
happened. He sensed things he couldn’t
see. He knew things before others
did. And right now, he knew his life was
in danger.
Elijah darted to the darkest corner of his room. He felt foolish hiding from something he
couldn’t see or hear, but he knew it was right.
Something was in the house.
He froze, covering his mouth to muffle the sound of his
breathing. He tried to calm himself down.
But warn them of what?
What would he even say?
Elijah decided to worry about that later. His parents and sister were still in their
beds, sleeping unalarmed. They hadn’t
been startled awake by this strange sensation—this instinct. They had no idea they were in danger. And he knew he couldn’t just walk into their
room and tell them. He had to remain
hidden.
Maybe he could call
them. That would be silent—at least from
his end of the line. But he remembered
leaving his phone on the kitchen counter earlier when he washed his plate. He would have to sneak downstairs to call. Suddenly, the hairs on his neck began to
stand up again. It was time to move!
Elijah crawled out his door to the top of the
staircase. He felt exposed and
vulnerable, but he continued trusting his instincts. He kept moving.
Each step downstairs was more terrifying than the last. Elijah was tempted to bolt for his parents’
room and wake them up, but that was wrong.
The second he reached the bottom of the stairs, an
unexpected panic set in. The kitchen was
only a few steps away, but his legs refused to move. Elijah bent down next to the staircase and
cowered. He gasped for air.
“Pull yourself together, Elijah,” he demanded silently. “You’re safe so far. Whatever it is doesn’t know you’re here, or
it would have gotten you already.”
Elijah gathered
himself and snuck into the kitchen. He grabbed
his phone from the counter. It was dead.
He crept to the other side of the room and quietly picked up
the land line. His hands shook violently
as he dialed his parents’ phone. Hopefully
theirs weren’t dead too. In just seconds
he could warn them and everything would be okay.
“C’mon, c’mon, ring.”
He knew it sometimes took a second before the phone registered the call,
but this seemed like an unusually long time.
His heart was about to explode out of his chest!
Looking around, Elijah noticed the phone wasn’t the only
thing cut. All power to the house was
out, leaving the room in almost complete darkness. The only light, which peeked through the
front window, came from the moon.
As Elijah’s eyes adjusted to the darkness, he noticed
something flicker past the moonlight. It
happened so fast that he wondered if it was actually in the house or just a
shadow from outside, made by a bird or an insect. Nothing human could move that quickly! Just as he was
about to dismiss it, a figure of a man appeared. It stopped right in front of the kitchen
doorway.
Elijah did everything he could to keep from screaming out in
horror. He was tempted to close his eyes
and curl up in a ball, but he resisted.
He needed to be alert enough to react.
The figure didn’t seem to notice him.
Then, just like that, the figure disappeared.
Elijah had to focus on breathing. There was a dangerous man in his house. This man was able to move very quickly—almost
animal-like. And now, Elijah couldn’t
see him.
Running for the front door became increasingly tempting. Once he was outside, he could yell and scream
and make all kinds of noise to wake up anyone in the neighborhood to call the
police. But he couldn’t seem to move.
“Let’s go Elijah,” he thought to himself. “Just a few steps and then explode toward the
door.” He fought his desire to stay
still as he crept through the kitchen, inching closer and closer to the
door.
He looked behind him to see if he was safe.
He turned back to the front door.
His body tensed to run, but suddenly, the figure reappeared
directly between Elijah and the door.
Elijah felt his heart in his throat.
He held his breath. If the figure
turned around, he would see Elijah. If
Elijah moved, the figure would see the movement. His only option was to stand still, just feet
away, and hope to remain invisible.
His mind raced. Why
was this figure here in the first place?
He didn’t seem to be stealing things.
He had to be searching for something, or—Elijah gulped—some one .
The figure’s head began to scan the room.
For a split second their eyes met. Two bright, yellow eyes glared back at
him. The rest of the figure’s face was
hidden in the shadows and his body was covered by dark material. Elijah’s focus blurred and he briefly thought
he would pass out from fright, but his survival instincts kicked in. He quickly scampered toward the back door
just as the figure lunged at him.
Elijah turned the corner yanking his mother’s china cabinet
down. It fell with a deafening
crash! He didn’t look back. He bolted toward the back bedroom door,
throwing behind him anything he could grab.
Just before he reached the door, the hairs on his neck stood up. He trusted his instincts. He immediately turned to the window. His attacker’s momentum carried him past
Elijah, and the figure slammed into the back door, sounding like a giant
gunshot.
Elijah yanked the window open. He dove out into the side yard and turned
toward the front yard, away from the figure.
Suddenly, in mid-step, he felt strong arms grab him tightly. A hand clapped over his mouth.
An immediate sense of relief covered him. It was his dad. Elijah began to sink into the strong arms for
comfort, but his dad quickly thrust him back to look into his face. “Listen to me, Elijah. There’s no time to explain, there’s no time
to think. You have to do exactly what I
say, and you have to do it immediately, understand?”
Elijah nodded, choking back a sudden stream of tears. He wanted nothing more than to stay with his
dad who would make everything better.
“You need to run somewhere and call for help. Stay there!
Do not come back tonight under
any circumstances. And this is the most
important thing to remember, and you have
to remember it. There is a plan and we
love you very much. GO!”
Elijah wasted no time.
He ran as fast as he could out the front yard, sobbing. He knew he shouldn’t have turned around to
look, but he did. The figure stood
calmly, watching Elijah with those fierce yellow eyes like a cat stalking his
prey. But this time, his dad was in the
way, protecting him. Elijah quickly
turned and ran down the street toward the neighbors’ house.
Authors can write and upload their manuscripts on Inkit for free and writers retain 100% of their copyrights while writing on Inkitt
Readers can read all books for free, without any ads and give the authors feedback.
Books that perform well based on their reader engagement are published on our Galatea app.
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