Chapter 4

The bell blared out and I rapidly dragged Loriei from the school building. I was so relieved that today was over. I knew in a couple of hours Loriei would be back home and I could finally be free from her nagging. I pulled her behind the school wall and checked if anyone was hanging around.

“Ok… I give up. I’ll help you find Lyla but do you promise to leave me alone after that?” I cried.

“Of course” she grinned, proud of what she had just done.

I didn’t find it funny. Maybe I was taking things too seriously but as far as I know what she had done was part blackmail and part peer pressure.

“Hey! Wait up!” we heard a voice call from behind us and watched in horror as Jamie staggered over, struggling to shove his history book back into his bag.

“Jamie, we’re a bit busy actually. Maybe some other time” I answered.

I didn’t want him to have anything to do with this. I saw what happened to the last boy who tried to save me and I was certain if I was in any danger, Jamie would defiantly try and do just that.

“Oh, I thought we were going to hang out and do our Art project together.”

“We can’t, sorry, we’re a little caught up in something” I told him, which actually wasn’t lying because we were caught up in something.

“Well, is there anything you want me to do?” he asked hopefully, putting his hands deep into his trousers pocket.

In school, the teachers always told you off for putting your hands in your pockets. It wasn’t a problem for me but Jamie had a little habit of putting his hands in his pockets. I was just about to tell him no when I remembered there was something he could do for me. He could pick Abi up from school for me and look after her for a while.

“But I don’t know your cousin” he protested, not keen that he had to baby sit the one kid I’ve been moaning about all summer.

“Please” I whined “I’ll do your homework for a whole month!”

“You’ll do it all wrong” he joked but then finally agreed.

“Thank you!” I cried, wrapping my arms around him and hugged him to death.

“She’s the shortest kid there with short brown hair in a small pony tail. Tell her I sent you and if she doesn’t believe you, tell her favourite teddy bear’s called Mr Snuggles!” I informed him, this time being dragged away myself by Loriei.

“I’ll explain later!” I managed to call before I was cut off and left him there bewildered and confused.

“Am I the only one that the smell bothers” Lyla moaned, sitting up from her bed.

Bloodbeam let out a frustrated growl and tried to ignore her.

“Where’s Loriei?” she asked.

“I’m beginning to regret not putting you in the tower” he spat not taking his eyes off his book.

Lyla kept quiet. She ran her fingers down the side of her cell and looked at the oily dust she collected.

“Ever heard of spring cleaning?” she cried, wiping the gunk on the end of the bed.

“Listen, little girl, I am the great Blood Beam, the sorcerer who has 47 murders on his hands. The evil genius who created all these torture instruments, the lord of the dwellers and as my hostage you will treat me with respect!” he yelled slamming the book down, pushing back the chair and storming over to Lyla’s cell.

“Why should I make it easy for you? You can’t hurt me” she argued, inspecting her long slender nails

His eyes bulged with rage.

“No, I can’t hurt you. But when I get hold of Riley Marsh and your magic you’ll wish you’ve never been born” he threatened, his thin lips curling into an evil smile.

“Well, until then you better be a little nicer to me” she yawned and sat back on her bed again.

No matter how strong she was acting though she was still praying that Riley wasn’t going to come. She was going crazy in her mind wondering what Loriei was going through. She kept seeing the look on her face when she read the note Blood Beam had wrote from her. She was locked away in the wardrobe under a freeze spell. Of course it was all a trick.

“Perhaps I should throw you to the dwellers, or use one of my inventions to finish you off. Which would you prefer?”

“Is old age an option?” she answered sarcastically.

Dwellers were big wolf- like creatures in their true form but much like Bloomies they could change shape only to a more advanced level. They can clone any kind of creature in the whole world. Dwellers were used as hunters and they live for nothing in the world but disembowelling people. You can always tell when there’s a dweller about; the moon turns a deep dangerous orange, the air turns foul and their grey eerie eyes hypnotize you. They’re the masters of disguise and trickery. They’re also experienced hunters and not one person who ever met a dweller has lived, except two, Bloodbeam and the famous Lester. However, some say Lester is as mad as the mad hatter nowadays and I guess Bloodbeam is slightly crazy as well.

“What fun can be made being the only being in the whole universe that has magic?”

“Watching the rest of you suffer” he snapped and continued reading his book.

“That’s not nice” she muttered.

The streets of Caprica were crowded with Pixies and Brownies alike. Everyone rushed out in the yellow streets to greet the melon sun and start their day on the stalls. A new market was in town and the place was littered with stalls of pure silk and velvet. Lebandee found it hard to resist a coconut elixir to whiten his teeth but the price convicted him other wise. Lebandee wasn’t a vain boy but he did like to look his best at all times. He loved his long black hair and Costa Rican tanned skin. His eyes were strangely a gorgeous purple colour and his teeth were white and in line. Being a pixie he always wore rainbow colours in a genie fashion. He loved the crowded streets and excited cries and Caprica was the town for him. He managed to pick up a slice of sherbet cake and ate it greedily as he made his way down the street to is pet shop around the corner. Lebandee was only 15 but he was taking on the family business while his dad was on holiday. He jangled the keys out of his pockets and pushed the door as hard as he could. He fell through the door with a crash and sat there, dazed on the marble floor. Pulling himself up he chanted a spell to turn the lights on and placed his deep purple jacket on the coat hanger beside him. Behind the pet shop till a small grunting sound yelped as the lights came on and Lebandee lunged over the top. Hiding in the almost lit shadows, a baby snoggle whimpered in the corner. Snoggle’s are terribly sensitive to bright lights and to a baby the pressure was overwhelming. They look very much like a mole only they had a tiny tapir trunk and can grow the size of a people carrier. He smothered it with his dark jacket and cradled it in his arms. Snoggle’s are really rare now and need complete care to survive. His dad would kill him if anything happened to him.

“How did you get out?” he asked taking him back to his usual cage in the pets kennels, behind the till. The front of the shop was mostly a place to buy pet food and essentials like a basket and toys, shampoo and medicine. At the back he kept the animals for people to look at. There had been a big sale last week so most of the animals were gone. All that was left was a baby Snoggle, an enchanted phoenix and a blue dragon pup.

“You need to sale before long. Don’t’ want to be left behind” he whispered to them.

The phoenix flicked her bright red flame feather in a stubborn manner. The dragon pup was just like a puppy; happy to see its owner and playful.

“Hey Marty!” he laughed and tickled him on his scaly stomach.

Suddenly a crash was heard from the front of the shop and then the shatter of glass. Lebandee shut the dragon’s gate and sprinted to the shop. He stopped to find a brick laid on his marble floor and thousands of shards of glass on the floor. His front window was smashed in but looking out, the streets were deserted. Gutted that this had happened on his watch, he grabbed the sweeping brush and pushed the glass put the way to inspect the strange brick. This wasn’t like any brick made in Caprica. The bricks in Caprica were always sunshine yellow and made of smooth stone. This one was long sharp and black like flint from the mountainside. He’d never seen a rock like this but he’s read about them once. They were only found in the north and were used for making new wands. If you were fancy that is. Only the important people used a wand because it was so expensive. This was because no one dared to go into the North. It was full of dwellers and the weather was harsh and violent. Also, a story tell of how the escaped evil sorcerer Bloodbeam, who had murdered a great number of people, had escaped his death sentence by killing every single guard in Jubilan Prison and fled into the North where he joined allegiance to the dreaded dwellers. Wands were far more accurate, faster and powerful than using your magic raw and that was probably why Bloodbeam has as much magic as he is said to have. Lebandee picked up the flint and carefully placed it in his jacket pocket, watched to see if anyone was watching and then began sweeping up the all the glass before a customer came in. The window could be repaired with the correct incarnation but if his dad caught sight of even the smallest scratch on the marble, he would be for it.

To be continued...