《The Awakening》 Chapter-1 Michael liked the night. He especially liked the canvas of stars that would twinkle upon him from outer space. Here at night everything was so much sharper. The night had a quality to it which attracted him like nothing else ever had. Sometimes he would just lie down on the roof on clear full moon nights and go to sleep under the light of the stars and the moon. The eighteen year old had graduated from high school, and this midnight walk in the forest surrounding his family property was his own way of celebrating. So when the attack came he was completely unprepared. Something heavy struck him on the stomach, propelling him nearly 10ft backwards onto a tree. Acting on instinct he rolled himself sideways. As a fighter Michael had very good instincts. He listened to it now and pushing himself back on his feet, took off from the trail into the tree line. He caught a low overhanging branch, and using the strength of his arms alone swung himself upwards. Before he could jump into another one, the branch was sliced off with something sharp and invisible and he fell back on the ground. ¡®Fucking finally¡­¡­¡¯ thought Michael. He turned the fall into a roll and grabbed the sliced off branch. In the process of getting upright onto his knees, he whipped the branch to his right in a smooth sideways motion which was nearly instinctive and demonstrated his years of kendo training. It struck something obviously soft and alive. He was able to look at his attacker properly for the first time. What he saw surprised him and nearly cost his life for the moment of surprised hesitation. His attacker was a girl and clearly not human. She had prominent pointed ears, piecing scarlet pupils and full cherry red lips. Her features were exquisite, her beauty otherworldly. She was wearing a red tank top and blue jeans which showed off her curves in all the right places. A pair of boots hid her feet and protected them from the harshness of the ground. She took advantage of Michael¡¯s surprised immobility and nearly gutted him with her scimitar. Her preternatural speed whipped her midnight black hair, tied in a neat ponytail wildly about her as Michael found himself scrambling to avoid being gutted like a fish, his usual grace forgotten. He found himself unable to contend with her speed, her movements a blur even to his trained eyes. Michael fell back on his instincts. She lunged forward once more, her scimitar blurring into a web of steel. Michael avoided the weapon by smoothly moving backwards and sideways. Now that the surprise of the fight and his attacker was gone he fell back to his training. He dodged the attacks by a whisker and retaliated with sharp blows, which were accurate despite being placed in the dark. The first blow on her inner right wrist disarmed her, forcing her to drop the sword. The second was a jab at her stomach. Michael nearly stopped at her pained grunt which somehow seemed to pierce him almost physically as he felt a sharp pang of regret. But he forced himself to continue, to push forward his hard earned advantage. He whipped the branch upwards and sideways catching her on the right cheek. He couldn¡¯t help but feel remorse at the bruise that resulted.Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. She glared almost hatefully at him and as Michael opened his mouth to ask her who she was, she yelled out suddenly at him. Her voice seemed to resonate with the light breeze which had been blowing among the trees. ¡°Never! Never! Never! Never! I shall never submit to you.¡± A sudden strong wind formed up all of a sudden at her words, whipping up the earth and dried leaves. They settled down as the wind eased back down to a gentle breeze. In the meantime the girl had disappeared. Michael suddenly collapsed unconscious to the ground as a bone deep exhaustion came upon him. ..................... Chapter-2 The next morning dawned just like it usually did in the small town of Ravenville, sunny and bright. A patch of sunlight found its way through the window of Michael¡¯s room, illuminating his face. He turned over lazily with a pained grunt so that the light warmed his back and brought his birthmark into stark relief against his skin. It looked remarkably like a raven, albeit highly indistinct and blurry. Michael was distinctly average for teen in almost every sense of the word. He had black eyes and hair along with ordinary facial features. His face wouldn¡¯t stand out within a crowd due to how ordinary it was. It was surprising to say the least as his family was anything but ordinary. In fact Michael¡¯s sister would often tease him for his looks, though it was all in good fun. Still no one would ever doubt that Michael was anything but a Craven. He was too much alike in personality, had so much in common with the rest of his family. The only exception was his body. Years of Parkour and other martial arts such as Kendo and Karate had given him a remarkably fit body. Still his lean martial artist¡¯s physique was usually hidden by his choice of baggy clothes, adding to his ordinariness. At that time, Michael was dreaming about the usual things which teenaged boys his age usually did. Just as his dream self was about take a large bite out of a human sized cake, the dream abruptly changed. Michael suddenly found himself standing on a desolate landscape .It was dark around him to the point that he could barely see a thing around him. However as a full moon peeked out of the clouds the landscape lit up enough for him to see more clearly. Bones, he was standing in a sea of bones. As he took a step forward in shock, the bones beneath him crunched at his steps freezing him in shock temporarily. He got over his shock enough to walk forward with careful steps in the macabre sea of white. There seemed to be no end to the hellish landscape but somehow, his instincts seemed to know where to go. His steps led him to an area covered by fog, but he didn¡¯t stop. Michael¡¯s journey came to an abrupt stop as he saw a large ornate throne made up of bones sitting amidst the sea of terrifying white. His dream came to an abrupt stop as he woke up suddenly with a gasp and a pained groan. His whole body hurt and along with the god awful headache that had sprung up from out of nowhere¡­¡­¡­¡­.made for a really bad morning in his opinion. As the events of last night returned unbidden to his memories, he couldn¡¯t help but question the veracity of his own memories. All in all it was a weird night and morning if he counted his dream. But still his memories of last night was true. There was no other explanation for the countless bruises he felt forming on his body. It still didn¡¯t explain his headache or what he was doing in bed. His last memory of the fight was falling unconscious due to sheer exhaustion which had come out of nowhere and the beginning of this morning¡¯s headache. But lying around on the bed was certainly not going to help him find answers to his unanswered questions. Just as he was about to get up he heard his mother¡¯s voice calling him downstairs. With another pained groan he rolled himself off the bed and put on an old t-shirt to hide his bruises. His crumpled jeans from last night taken off and exchanged for a pair of loose shorts which fell below his knees. He made his way downstairs to the drawing room and then the kitchen. Michael couldn¡¯t help but chuckle as he saw his parents bustling about in a hurry and generally getting in each other¡¯s way as they tried to complete their own tasks. ¡°¡­¡­¡­¡­.and remember to call Betty and tell her to come over every once in a while!¡± said Carla finally taking a breath. ¡°He is an adult now remember, Michael can take care of himself. But I will call Betty, if it makes you feel better¡± replied Robert. Carla was about to say something more when she turned around at the sound of her son¡¯s chuckle. The worried look on her face turned to relief as she hurried to embrace her son. ¡°I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re finally up. I was worried your awakening would take longer but it seems like everything was as it should be.¡± ¡°Mom, I have absolutely no idea what you are talking but ¡­¡­.¡± Michael was interrupted mid-speech by his mother as she placed her hand over his mouth to stop him speaking ¡°Mikey honey listen to me ok.¡± At his nod she continued ¡°What happened last night shouldn¡¯t have happened. But it did and there is nothing about it that can be changed. Now on the plus side you¡¯ll have a powerful servant at your side at all times.¡± She noticed the question in his eyes and nodded at the half-formed question. ¡°Yes I know what happened last night in the forest. Someone will be along shortly to answer your questions. I left you a letter along with your birthday gift, which will answer at least some of your questions. It¡¯s in the master bedroom on my dressing table. Now darling I have to leave or your father and I will miss our flight.¡± With that she turned around and bustled out of the kitchen. Leaving behind an open mouthed Michael with even more questions. Robert stepped forward and placed a hand on son¡¯s shoulder. He spoke quietly but the pride in his voice was unmistakable ¡°I¡¯m proud of you and especially after what happened yesterday¡­¡­.¡± His voice trailed off for a bit as a faraway look entered his eyes ¡°Remember believe in yourself and in us no matter what.¡± Robert clapped his son¡¯s shoulder once and then walked out with a firm nod, leaving Michael more confused than ever. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Robert and Carla Craven, 44 and 48 respectively were the parents of Michael and Julia Craven. Michael had turned 18 about a week ago while his sister Julia was 24.Their entire family were quite the health freaks or at least Robert was. He was an ex-marine and had been firm in his decision to teach self-defence to his son and daughter. The decision was a good one. It was that martial arts training which had saved his sons life last night.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Robert turned to look at his wife on the shotgun seat of his car as they drove out of the driveway. Their smiling countenances changed abruptly to grim looks as they exchanged glances. ¡°About what happened¡­..¡± Carla cut off her husband rather abruptly. ¡°Don¡¯t worry dear, I sent a message to them last night. They promised us reparations, and besides a Djinn servant will keep our son safe until we can get back from this trip.¡± Robert grunted his assent as they left for the airport. His wife was right. And besides nothing was likely to happen, they would be back in about a month or so anyway. After which they could answer any questions their son had left. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. Michael stood still in the kitchen more confused than ever. Instead of answers all he had was questions. Just what did his mother mean when she mentioned that he had awakened? His father too seemed to know more than they were talking about. And more importantly his parents knew that he had been attacked last night, but he had also read the underlying meaning in their words. ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry about it any longer. Everything has been taken care of.¡± That however left more questions as to the distinctly non-human nature of his attacker and what his parents knew on that particular topic. It was then he remembered the letter his mother had mentioned and the birthday gift. He frowned thinking about the gift. His birthday was last week, and he had already received gifts from his family and friends. Grumbling to himself about everything that was happening, he was about to make his way back upstairs when a voice came out of nowhere making him jump out of his skin in shock and dismay. ¡°Very careless young one. Has I been an assassin, you would have been dead¡­.. several times over.¡± The words came from the mouth of a woman who had literally appeared out of nowhere. She had an ageless quality about her, especially if someone looked her in the eyes. It made it nearly impossible to discern her true age from appearance alone. She had pure white hair along with golden slit pupils. Her features were distinctly Middle Eastern. She was dressed in a slinky evening dress which left her left shoulder bare. Her assets made it hard for Michael to focus elsewhere. The dress itself was purple and reached down to the floor, while emphasizing all her curves in the right places. She was all woman. But she also held herself like a proud warrior- relaxed but ready to fight at any time. Michael gulped several times to try and wet his mouth. On one hand there was a clearly drop dead gorgeous woman in front him. While his hormones clearly wanted him to try and seduce her, the more primitive portion of his brain was gibbering in terror and wanted him to either run away screaming like a little girl, or hide in a deep dark hole somewhere. The woman standing in front of him laughed and this time the primitive part of his brain nearly won. It was his willpower and to some extent his pride which prevented Michael from running. Her voice was both enthralling and terrible at the same time. ¡°With you like this, there is no fun playing around. So listen carefully and listen well.¡± She waited till Michael had nodded his assent. Michael noticed that the menacing atmosphere she was exuding was gone like it was never there to begin with. Something long and thin appeared in her hand. Michaels barely stopped himself from flinching as she threw it at him casually. He caught it out of reflex and identified it as a katana. The tsuba was shaped like a raven¡¯s beak. The saego wrapped on the saya a few inches above the guard was blood red in colour. The menuki was shaped like miniature skull shaped lanterns on the tsuka. The seppa was a thin golden ring. The fuchi was decorated with green flame like patterns and highly detailed. The kashira was made of a black material and had a flowing red ribbon hanging from it. The saya itself was made of some unknown wood and was decorated with etchings of bones and skulls along its entire length. The blade itself was completely black and made of some unknown metal. It seemed to be exuding cold air along its length which for some reason made him really comfortable. More importantly he felt a sense of familiarity with the blade, which confused him greatly. He had certainly never seen the sword before in his entire life or even held it, but his instincts were telling him otherwise. A slight cough from the dangerous woman interrupted his admiration of the new weapon at hand. ¡°Play with your toy some other time, I¡¯m merely returning it to its rightful owner. Your enemies will be here soon enough. So fight or run the choice is yours.¡± With those final words she left just as abruptly as she had appeared. Michael sheathed the blade and sighed in relief. It was only then he became aware of the cold sweat which had appeared on his brows. This time it was an old man who appeared out of thin air, on the same spot the lady had just vacated. He was even shorter than the girl from last night. His appearance resembled one of those old Chinese wise men commonly depicted in movies. Tiny, bald with a heavily wrinkled face, wispy white moustache and beard. The man was dressed in an oversized karate GI and a bowler hat. He spoke in heavily accented English. ¡°Greetings! Young Lord. My master The Caliph of the North apologies on behalf of the entire Djinn race for the misconduct of his daughter Eriyenes. As a token of his sincerity he has sent this gift. If you would kindly accept it, we would be extremely grateful of young lord¡¯s benevolence and kindness.¡± Michael took a deep breath and tried to keep himself from cursing aloud. Just what was it with strangers popping in and out of his home like some fantasy thriller? The gift which was being offered was a spherical black jewel of some kind. ¡°So, what exactly am I supposed to do with this? Use it as a paperweight?¡± The strange old man seemed highly offended at the suggestion. In fact he looked like he would have a heart attack as his face turned red and swelled comically. But then he controlled himself and seemed to struggle to keep his demeanour even as he spoke. ¡°Young lord is supposed to pour a few drops of his blood on it. It will activate the enchantment on the stone.¡± Michael couldn¡¯t help but stare at the old man strangely for a while. But then he shrugged his shoulders in resignation and reached for a kitchen knife from the counter. Ordinarily he would have suggested a psychiatrist for anyone who made such a suggestion. But with all the weirdness that was his life lately, he decided to go with the proffered suggestion. As soon as the drops of blood fell on the stone, it lit up like a Christmas ornament and floated up in mid-air in front him. Michael gaped at the phenomenon quiet openly as the stone floated in the air without any support. The object suddenly turned translucent, shot towards his heart and seemingly entered his body. He doubled over at the momentary pain, but straightened up as the pain left as suddenly as it had come. As Michael turned to glare at the strange Chinese dwarf, it was to only to look at empty space. He was about to curse violently at the empty air, where the old man had stood moments before. However something made him stop. There was a flicker of motion just outside the French kitchen windows, as the glass shattered by itself without any external interference. A circular glass sphere came rolling in and came to rest just in front of him. The sphere shattered into pieces and all hell broke loose. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Chapter-3 The sphere was tossed in through the shattered window rather gently. For a single instant time appeared frozen, as Michael scrambled to get up and away from the sphere. The object in question was a transparent sphere made of glass. A black misty gas was roiling around inside the confined space, trying to break free. The sphere rolled lazily under the dining table, and came to a stop as Michael tried to put some distance between him and the object. His instincts were back full throttle, as he tried to put distance between the object and himself just in case. ¡®Just in case¡¯ turned out to be a good idea. The swirling black mist inside the sphere suddenly sped up its movement, just as the glass sphere shattered and chaos prevailed as all hell broke loose. A strong unnatural wind suddenly kicked up inside the dining room actually buffeting him backwards. The black mist from the now broken object, coalesced into a single mass and hung still in mid-air. The dining room and the kitchen actually occupied an entire lower wing of the house, which was really a mansion. There was an L- shaped marble island with stoves installed on one arm. The other arm had a dryer and dishwasher. Cabinets with various kitchen implements were above and behind the island. All that occupied the entire west wall. The wall perpendicular to it had the door which led to the drawing room and main entrance. The remaining sides held the sliding glass doors, which led into the backyard. They had shutters which could be lowered by remote. The wind shattered the remaining glass on both sides. The cabinets flew open and spilled dishes and other sharp kitchen objects. Michael, katana still in hand dove to one side to avoid the knives, forks and broken glass which suddenly flew at him. Plates shattered and knives quivered stuck to the wall behind his former position. The dark mist which had so far remained motionless in air, flew towards him without any warning, forcing him to roll sideways once more. Michael got on his feet once more as the black mist came at him again, incredibly fast. This time, he had no more space to dodge. Michael knew with absolute certainty that the mist was bad news, especially if it touched him. Time seemed to slow down once more as what was almost certain doom, came for him. His vision grew sharper as his perception of the world around him increased. He was suddenly aware of the spirits around him, and he knew that the black mist was a wraith. A tormented soul who had died in suffering and grief. The insubstantial mist started to look more solid in his new vision. He could fell the torment and pain the wraith was under. The fear and revulsion he felt for the thing was gone, replaced by pity and a desire to free the soul from its suffering. He acted half on instinct and half with knowledge that had suddenly appeared in his brain. He moved towards the wraith, rather than try to avoid it and was somehow able to snatch the thing out of mid-air. Michael could feel the torment, the soul was under. Images of its life when alive flashed through his brain trying to break him with self-inflicted torment, to shatter him into a mindless husk. Just a vessel for the wraith to possess and cause more suffering to the world which had caused it so much pain. Stopping the flow of images with his will, he took away the pain and all the negative emotions from the wraith inside himself. Before the darkness could overwhelm him, Michael locked it away in a ¡®glass box¡¯ and hid it away inside a dark corner of his mind. His job done, Michael released the soul from his grasp. He couldn¡¯t help but gasp in surprise. The black insubstantial mass, which had so filled him with dread had turned a pure glowing white sphere. The soul pulsed once in thanks and then disappeared. Michael could feel that somehow the world itself was thankful for what he had done. The soul had moved on to wherever it was that souls went in the afterlife. Even the wind had died down. Before Michael could process whatever it was that had happened to him, before he could take a breath in relief several figures dressed in black materialised outside the broken sliding door to his front. There were six of them, each person dressed in body fitting black ballistic armour. They had black cloth masks to cover their faces, and SWAT style goggles for their eyes. Apart from the silenced MP-5¡¯s they held pointed at him, each figure also had swords strapped either to their back or the side. Two of them were wearing short swords, while the remaining four had long swords.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. There was no warning of any sort, the men opened fire at him in short bursts. His senses sharpened enormously and increased as time seemed to slow down for him. They stepped towards him and spread out in a semi- circle. The intention to catch him in a slight cross- fire was obvious. But to Michael¡¯s increased perception their movements appeared incredibly slow. He could see the expended shells pouring out of the sub-guns, the movement of the slide as shells were ejected and count every individual bullet as they shot towards him. The rounds reached Michael and bounced off an invisible shield. The shield would flicker green every time a round would impact of off it. The guns ran out of rounds at about the same time. For a single moment, the world was quiet and seemed to be completely devoid of any sound. As the slides locked on empty, Michael made his move before his attackers could reload. He sprinted towards them drawing the katana from its sheath. Time sped up slightly, as his perception reduced somewhat and cold anger burned in his gut. These people had dared to attack his home, his domain. Which was why, they would pay. He would make them pay! He struck out sideways with the sheath, the power of the strike instantly shattering a neck vertebra. At the same instant, he used the katana in his right hand to slice upwards diagonally, cutting through the armour and flesh of another attacker like butter. Both of his victims collapsed boneless to the floor, as Michael felt himself automatically absorbing ¡®something¡¯ from the fallen men. However there was no time to ruminate over it. There were still four intruders left to take care of. Michael was starting to sweat by now, all the exertion starting to eat at his stamina. But his movements were still as fast and crisp. He turned his sideways to avoid a bullet, from a 1911 colt. The bullet whizzed past his left cheek, leaving a slight burn from the superheated gases trailing in its wake and a slight ringing in his ears. Luckily for him, but unlucky for his attackers the dodged bullet killed another attacker coming up on his right. Skull, brains and blood splattered in a circle, as blood got on Michaels t-shirt and face. Having no time to wipe it off, Michael moved towards the attacker with the sidearm and knocked it off his hand with the sheath in his left hand. Before the man could draw another weapon, he was run through with the katana. Time sped up to normal, as Michael¡¯s boosted perception and senses returned to normal human levels. By now, he was beginning to pant as sweat was streaming down his body. His muscles were screaming in protest at the abuse they had been put through, but there was no time to rest. Michael had to turn around to block and deflect the sword strikes of the last two intruders. They attacked with their short swords in perfect tandem and co-ordination making things difficult for Michael. His brief burst of superhuman strength, reflexes and senses had allowed him to deal with four of the attackers at once. But now the boost had worn off leaving him tired and worn out. He was beginning to slow down, while the attackers were relatively fresh. If he kept on the defensive he would lose. The killers would alternate sword strikes with kicks and elbow strikes occasionally catching him by surprise, leaving bruises and small cuts on his body. Deciding to take the offensive, he used a very minute gap between his attacker¡¯s movements to strike out with the wooden saya. The wooden material which it was made out of was hard enough to shatter bones, given enough power. It forced the attacker to his left to back off minutely giving Michael the opening he needed. A quick snap kick to the left knee of the attacker on the right misbalanced him. A quick sideways slash severed his jugular. The last attacker on his own was outmatched. The mysterious power, which Michael seemed to be able to absorb when killing someone rejunavated him briefly and was able to give him enough of a boost to deal with the last attacker. The last to-be killer was quickly dealt with via a stab through his heart. Michael took a deep breath to try and stave off the nausea. The coppery smell of blood permeated all around him. The only thing going through his mind was that he had clean the mess before his parents returned home. With shaking hands, he sheathed the katana. Surprisingly there was no blood on the sword. But he was too shaken to care about it. Around him the bodies of his foes littered the ground. The floor was completely soaked with blood, along with pieces of brain matter and bits of skull. Without any warning he collapsed unconscious to the floor, amidst the blood and bodies. The katana was firmly clutched in his right hand, even as consciousness departed from Michael. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­ Chapter-4 Michael¡¯s return to consciousness was gradual. The first thing he felt was the terrible headache pounding away at his head. It felt like, several banshees shrieking inside his head at the same time. His body if possible, felt even worse. His muscles felt like they were on fire. Everything else felt incredibly sore. He lay still for a long time with his eyes closed. Eventually he got up. There were a lot of questions that needed answering, including a very important one. Who had put him in his bedroom and changed him out of his clothes besides. His first attempt at getting up, made his head spin. The roof above his head belonged in his room while his hands were still unbound. So whoever had found and helped him wasn¡¯t the cops. Unfortunately without further information, that was the extent of his deduction. ¡°At ease Mr Craven, you are in safe hands now.¡± Said a voice from his left. The voice despite being male, had a musical lilt to it. Unfortunately it made him want to get up even faster, against the owner¡¯s intention. However Michael¡¯s body was in no condition to hurry even now. So reluctantly, he took his time sitting up. He was still alive, and in his bedroom recovering. At the very least, the people helping him shouldn¡¯t be enemies, seeing that he was both alive and free. He sat up slowly, so as not to make his head spin and then turned sideways carefully to not agitate his sore muscles further. ¡°That¡¯s it Mr Craven, slow and easy. You have pushed your body and magic beyond their current limits.¡± Michael finally turned his head to observe the owner of the voice. The most noticeable feature (in Michael¡¯s opinion) were the ears. The ears were sharply pointed tips and tapered away backwards from the head. Apart from that, the man¡¯s other features were a perfect match to every elven stereotype from books and movies. Tall, slender, graceful and slightly androgynous with golden white hair. The only point of incongruity were the circular frameless spectacles, which sat low on the stranger¡¯s nose. Bright green eyes peered out from behind it and held a great deal of curiosity towards him. Perhaps more importantly, was the feeling of timelessness and wisdom which the eyes gave off. They were eyes which had seen a lot. His clothes on the other hand was another matter entirely. The only words that could be used to describe them was flamboyant and elegant. He was wearing a purple tailcoat and suit, along with a top hat of the same colour. The clothes along with the spectacles gave the elf a unique look, which seemed to somehow suit him. Michael stared at the man for a full minute, completely speechless. The man¡¯s eyes suddenly narrowed as he spoke. His manner of speaking was serious, unlike his looks. ¡°You can see past my glamour, I take it?¡± ¡°What do you mean by glamour?¡± asked Michael confused. The man seemed to nod at his confusion as he spoke seemingly ignoring Michael¡¯s question. ¡°Hmm... it¡¯s not completely surprising, after all it is hard to fool the eyes that can see death.¡± The man sighed out in exasperation as he sat down on a chair by the bed. ¡°My name is Elaides, a healer of the People. Though ignorant beings often refer to us as Elves.¡± ¡°I¡¯m Michael, Michael Craven.¡± ¡°I know who you are Mr Craven, but your name is not what interests me currently. What I would like to know is how you ended up in your current state?¡± Michael had to suddenly swallow back the bile that rose up from his throat. He could suddenly remember the fight with startling clarity. The sensation of cutting through flesh, the scent of fresh blood as it spilled on the floor. But more importantly was the fear. He distinctly remembered the fear in the eyes of the men he had killed, the realisation that they were about to die. The thing which affected him the most was their souls. He remembered with great clarity the emotions from the souls of his attackers as they passed on. There was some fear towards the unknown, but mostly it was hatred for him and satisfaction. ¡°Are you all right Mr Craven?¡± As Michael tried to nod his head yes, he suddenly realised that his hands were shaking. It was not much, but enough to be noticeable. Elaides noticed it but he kept his mouth shut. The people abhorred murder and were usually peaceful. But that didn¡¯t make them helpless sheep to be slaughtered at leisure. The anger of his people was terrible to behold. Being immortal made them more appreciative of life and death. He could easily understand the ordeal, his young patient was going through. After all, he had gone through the same, a long time ago when he had been both na?ve and foolish. Elaides took a deep breath and cleared his throat to gain Michael¡¯s attention. It took a few seconds for him to gather his thoughts. Michael took the opportunity to observe the man. However he was unable to infer anything from the healer¡¯s face. ¡°I can understand what you are going through young one. Unfortunately there is little time for you to mourn the loss of your innocence. Your enemy won¡¯t wait for you to gather yourself and come to terms with what you have done. They are powerful and have resources which you can barely fathom. They will no doubt send more people after you, which is why it is imperative that you tell me what you did to fight off your would-be killers.¡± Michael took a deep breath, as he gathered himself and forcibly stopped himself from shaking. Elaides¡¯s words had put things in perspective. He would have time to come to terms with what he had done. But not now. Right now survival was more important, especially if Elaides was right. He took a few seconds to recall the events that had befallen him before he had lost consciousness. The elf only asked a few questions, but mostly he listened. Elaides nodded to himself at the end of his patient¡¯s narration. ¡°That explains a lot. I¡¯m certain you are curious as to what you did.¡± Michael nodded in agreement. He had had a lot of questions since last night, but no answers. ¡°Very well then, let us start with your headache. The headache is merely a symptom of magic exhaustion. It is common among magicians who uses magic for the first time. It is nothing to worry about as long as you don¡¯t overdo it.¡± Elaides made sure that he had Michael¡¯s full attention before continuing. ¡°What you did to your body was much more dangerous. Your magic was used to temporarily boost your muscles and senses, to output more power than normal. Unfortunately your body is currently, paying the price for that temporary boost. When I examined, you for the first time there were micro-fractures on your bones throughout your body and not to mention the tears on your muscles.¡± Elaides took a moment to breath before continuing. ¡°Fortunately, the fight didn¡¯t go on for long, which is the only reason your injuries aren¡¯t worse than they were. On the other hand, once your body heals up completely you will be much stronger than you were both physically and magically.¡± Michael nodded thoughtfully, at Elaides¡¯s explanation. ¡°How long will it take for me to heal? Also how long was I unconscious for anyway?¡± ¡°You should be completely recovered by sunrise tomorrow. You were unconscious for about eight hours, give or take, your own magic played a big part in your recovery or you would have been unconscious for longer.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. ¡°Also how come the cops aren¡¯t here?¡± ¡°Well, your closest neighbour is at least half an hour away by car. Besides your enemy is powerful and not just physically or magically.¡± Replier Elaides ¡°Does that mean you know who they are? And why are you helping me?¡± asked Michael Elaides suddenly smirked mysteriously as he pushed his spectacles upwards. ¡°Actually I¡¯m afraid our time is at an end. Besides there is someone waiting downstairs who is much more suited to answering those questions. I suggest getting yourself something to eat.¡± And with that Elaides abruptly, got up and left. He moved with a grace that Michael was certain he would never achieve, no matter how long he practiced martial arts for. Michael got up slowly, as his stomach started to growl for food. He didn¡¯t have time to lie around. There was an unknown guest downstairs, and besides he needed food and a hot shower. ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­. His strength returned gradually. By the time he had made his way downstairs, the headache was gone. The aches in his muscles were still there but was low enough to be ignored. Michael¡¯s house was actually a mansion. His parents were businessmen, and owned their own company. Michael suddenly stopped at the thought of his parent¡¯s company. He had actually no idea what the company did. His parents never talked about their business dealings at home, and he wasn¡¯t curious enough to ask. After the events of last night, and their reactions he was suddenly curious. Unfortunately his parents weren¡¯t home, and right now he had other things to worry about. The Craven mansion had a total of three floors. The second floor had the master bedroom, a library, and his parent¡¯s personal offices. The first floor had his and Julie¡¯s bedrooms, a home theatre and three more guestrooms. The entire ground floor consisted of the dining room, kitchen and drawing room. When Michael alighted from the stairs, he sincerely regretted not bringing his katana downstairs. But then he relaxed thinking ¡®fuck it¡­¡¯ He had guests, not a single one as had been assumed at first. One of them was his attacker from last night. He had only gotten glimpses of her, during their fight earlier. But here and now, as he saw her under the light of the dining room his breath was taken away involuntarily. She was beautiful. Her hair was a bright red, but looked completely natural. Her jeans and tank-top ensemble suited her perfectly (in Michael¡¯s opinion). Her red eyes and almost cat-like angular features added to the perfection that was her. For some reason, he felt a connection with her that hadn¡¯t been there on their first meeting. He was pretty sure she felt the bond as well, but unlike him she looked distinctly unhappy. That took all the wind out of his sails. He was finally able to take his attention, away from her and at her companions. They were probably bodyguards and muscle. The muscle looked like red skinned versions of generic storybook genies with legs. Bald with pointed goatees, and huge. They were at least eight feet tall and had the muscles to match. Dresses in cargos and t-shirts, under long overcoats which fell down to their knees, and armed with a single oversize scimitar. The beings were highly intimidating and Michael sincerely prayed that they were on his side. Fortunately for Michael, they were and their next action proved it without any doubt. The girl went down on her right knee. The muscle¡¯s emulated her and Michael relaxed inwardly. She was dusky, with an alabaster smooth complexion. ¡°I¡¯m at your service, my master.¡± She said For a full minute Michael was once again rendered speechless at the sound of her voice. (In his opinion) The sound of her voice was more musical then any instrument or song he had heard in his short lifetime. He had to swallow twice, before his mouth was wet enough to speak. ¡°I have literally no idea what¡¯s going on, but why don¡¯t you guys stand up and we can talk.¡± There was an awkward pause as they stood back up. It was only then that he noticed her cheek. At the spot where he had struck her last night was a miniature version of his raven shaped birthmark. She noticed his gaze but didn¡¯t give any other reaction except for clenching her right palm into a fist. Her scimitar was nowhere to be seen. She spoke in a colourless tone, devoid of any feelings ¡°May we talk alone master? We have a lot to talk about and very little in the way of time.¡± Michael nodded and walked to the dining room. He was hungry enough to eat a bear and despite the imminent danger to his life, food couldn¡¯t wait. He was surprised to find a plate of sandwiches in the microwave and turned to look at the girl following silently behind him. ¡°I hope you don¡¯t mind master, but we were all hungry. So I made some food for everyone.¡± She said with a slight red tint on her cheeks. ¡°Sure, it¡¯s cool. I¡¯m just glad that you made some for me too.¡± Michael replied while averting his face from hers. The bodyguards split up. Two of them stayed behind in the dining room while the remaining six left. She answered the unasked question in Michael¡¯s eyes. ¡°They are going to patrol the perimeter.¡± There was a pregnant pause as Michael retrieved the sandwiches. He sat down on a chair by the dining table and the girl followed suit. There was another awkward pause as Michael started to eat. By unspoken consent both kept silent, as Michael finished his meal. He was clearly ravenous and finished the entire plate within minutes. Finally, he pushed the plate away and shivered slightly, as a cold wind blew in through the broken glass doors. It reminded him of the events that took place earlier in the morning and he had to supress a slight bout of nausea. He looked up at her and finally opened his mouth to speak. ¡°Let¡¯s start with introductions and then we can move on to this master thing and then to the people who want me dead.¡± Michael decided his tone was remarkably calm for someone who had had two fights to the death within a short span of time. ¡°My name is Eriyenes, youngest child of The Caliph of the North. I¡¯m a High Djinn, while the others with me are warrior Djinns. It is their duty and responsibility to serve us High Djinns.¡± She paused for a moment and then started to speak again. ¡°The reason I call you master is because you are. I¡¯m your slave to do with as you please.¡± ¡°What are you talking about?¡± asked Michael perplexed. ¡°Does master remember the visit from my father¡¯s servant, and the gift that he gave you?¡± Eriyenes asked, her tone completely unemotional. It didn¡¯t take long for him to put two and two together. ¡°The black stone?¡± He said quietly. Eriyenes nodded her head in confirmation. There was silence for a while. Neither of them knew what to say. Michael opened his mouth to say something a few times, but stopped. After all there was nothing left to say. He was pretty certain that an apology would only make things worse. After a few minutes of awkward pause, Eriyenes started to speak again. By mutual consent neither spoke on the topic of her slavery. ¡°The men that attacked you were Templars. They are an organisation that has existed since time immemorial. They believe themselves to be the guardians and protectors of the non-magical population that exists in Caelantor.¡± Michael stood up and paced restlessly, around the kitchen. It was some time before he spoke up once more. ¡°I already know that magic is real and so are the beings described in myth like elves and Djinns. But that doesn¡¯t explain why I was attacked. It¡¯s not like I¡¯m going around on a rampage killing people left and right.¡± Unfortunately Eriyenes didn¡¯t know either as she shook her head in frustration. ¡°I don¡¯t know either master. Besides what they did was incredibly dangerous. It goes against the treaty they have with the Council of Magic.¡± ¡°What treaty? And what do you mean by council of magic?¡± asked Michael in frustration. ¡°The Council of Magic is the government that represents and rules over ¡®The Others¡¯ all over the world. The term itself is used to represent mages and beings of magic.¡± Replied Eriyenes. ¡°The treaty is one that has existed for a long time, between the Templars and the Council. I don¡¯t know the exact details, but I do know that they are not allowed to hunt ¡®Others¡¯ like us without cause.¡± ¡°By the way, were you the one who called Elaides?¡± asked Michael. ¡°No master, he was already here when I arrived.¡± Michael couldn¡¯t help but sigh in frustration. There were already so many questions, and the few answers that he had gotten gave rise to more questions in turn. He sat down once more as his body was still sore. ¡°I take it that the general population is not aware of the existence of magic.¡± It was a statement rather than a question. ¡°Mostly yes, however some people in high positions in the government and law enforcement are aware.¡± ¡°How do we keep ourselves hidden?¡± ¡°Caelantor is a vast world. There are enclaves and hidden cities throughout the world. After all magic is a wondrous thing.¡± Michael let out a slow breath. There were a lot of questions left, but right now only one was important. ¡°What am I?¡± Eriyenes made sure to look into his eyes as she spoke rather carefully. ¡°Your kind has many names, but only one which most people know and understand. You Master are a Necromancer, one of the few that currently exists or are known.¡± ¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­¡­.