A man walked in.

I'd never seen him before but he was very tall, with square shoulders that only emphasised the ominous nature of the black coat he was wearing. In his hand was a long gold cane. It looked like something out of Wizards Incorporated. There was something familiar about him... but I couldn't quite place it. Basically I didn't know what evil villain movie this guy had stepped out of, but my general consensus was that he was definitely not here to help.

"Have you seen what's going on outside, Alluna?" His voice was deep with an annoying twang to it. "This girl has caused a considerable amount of trouble for someone who isn't a threat."

He flicked his hand and a screen appeared.

The familiar face of the ugly news reporter returned to screen and in the background I saw my faithful trainee, Danielle.

She was in the centre of town where I'd been before immersed in the remains of my paint tainted streets touch by magic. She was surrounded by several plant vines and they were spinning around in the air, interacting with their spectators.

I couldn't help but feel an ounce of self-satisfaction. It was working.

"There are hundreds of them out there, doing their own thing. The people are eating it up. Most of them aren't even retaliating. Your job is to prevent this, Alluna."

"So we're just supposed to suppress our abilities because you think of us as a threat?" I chimed in.

The man looked at me for the first time and began to laugh.

"You obviously don't know who I am."

"You're right." I folded my arms trying not to react as Jake clawed up me while my back faced him. "So who the hell are you?"

I had moved the attention back to me.

Big mistake.

He walked over to me and, although I held my ground, I got more nervous with every step. He was definitely an intimidating man. His cane thudded and with each step I felt the anticipation of danger. Besides, I wasn't the only one who found him threatening. Malvin's face had practically gone green when he walked in the room.

At last, he reached me and he lifted my chin to look in my eyes. This happened so much lately, that I'd gotten used to it. What I hadn't been expecting, was for his eyes to flash red in return.

"I'm the one you have to beat."

I gasped slightly without intending it, not because I was scared, but rather surprised.

"Your eyes-"

"Did you think you were one of a kind, sweetheart?" He chuckled. "That must be disappointing."

"Oh for goodness sake, Victor." Alluna gracefully swayed her hips, stepping forward and pulling out a remote out of her jacket pocket. She fiddled with the buttons like an old lady trying to change the channel to watch the horse races. It almost seemed innocent. But I'd learnt at our first encounter that Alluna and mysterious machinery was never a good sign.

"If you're so worried, let's give them something to talk about."

And before either of us could say a word, Jake was on the loose.

He didn't hesitate. He had already pinpointed his target, the moment that I stepped into the room. He just been waiting for someone to let him go and now was his chance.

There's nothing scarier than being afraid of someone-or thing- you love. The sudden shift from complete trust to utter fear, cuts deeper than a knife on flesh.

I pushed through my friends being held at the doorway by Alluna's thugs. They must have delayed Jake for a second because I managed to make it through the entrance and past the guard at the gate.

Once I was out on the road, I could feel him edging closer to me. He growled, with the sole intention of scaring the shit out of me and it definitely worked. I thought I might just wet my pants.

Terror rushed through me. Every part of me quaked in fear as I thrust my body forward, praying that he wouldn't reach me. I ran faster than I knew I was capable but I sure he would catch up eventually.

A part of me actually wanted him to. If he did, the fear that had been bottled up since the day I'd found myself in this strange future, would finally end.

But then I heard voices.

It must have been my Karnoi. Dante's house was so close to the centre of town that it was probably Danielle's group that I was hearing. If I could just get to a crowd, maybe they could help me.

He reached out in efforts to grab me and I felt him touch the fabric of my shirt before losing grip. I was so close.

The buzz of people grew louder and louder with every step and at the end of the dark alley was the faces of the masses that I'd been waiting for.

Suddenly, I was surrounded by a field of green, hugging the dull houses that hid beneath. Danielle's plants had grown exponentially since I'd seen on the screen moments ago and they were now extending into the air, forming a cocoon around her as she stood in the centre.

Several more people had joined her to watch as she stood on her pedestal of plants. The rest were now watching on their porches from all heights, too curious to ignore the majestic scene.

The split second that I had taken to admire the image had resulted in a hard knock to the ground. My head smashed into the dirt. I took a moment to move through the disorientation, whilst Jake climbed up my legs to position himself on top of me, ready to strangle.

I scratched at his hands whilst he placed them around my neck. Eventually I had no other option but to spit. I didn't think it would do any damage.
Why would a monster care?
But to my surprised he paused for a moment, letting go of his grasp and allowing me to catch my breath.

His moment of lucidity soon vanished when my lion attacked him from the side. Jake flung off of me, forming clouds of dust in the air around us as he tumbled around like a toy. Shir was on top of him by the time he stopped, pinning him down as he struggled.

"Don't hurt him." I stated the obvious.

But something told me, that I should be worrying more about Shir. I'd seen what Jake could do as a boy. Perhaps that boy, years later, could even take on a lion when angry enough.

I got up onto my feet as Jake kicked Shir backwards, regaining composure in the fight. I was about to intervene when I noticed that Danielle's plant vines were no longer dancing in the air but rather flopped on the ground. Somebody else had taken my friends place on her pedestal of plants.

The man from before- the one Alluna had called Victor- was now in the centre of the action and he was holding Malvin by the arm as he stood by his side.

"You all know who I am." He began, addressing the somewhat larger crowd that had formed. Some more of my Karnoi were now here; the general protesters that weren't placed into proper groups. I rushed towards him, since nobody seemed to be taking any noticed of me. "I am here today to take back what's mine."

I hopped up onto the step of plant vines that elevated the pompous man giving his speech.

"Something tells me, it's wasn't yours in the first place." I lifted myself into standing and folded my arms.

He simply smiled at me, before turning back to the crowd. Apparently he didn't see me as much of a threat.

"This little girl is right about one thing, we need to take action but keeping the peace will do nothing."

The crowd was both mesmerised and terrified. The humans that were close enough had already retreated into their homes and closed the doors. The only sound was the occasional growl, from either Jake or my lion (I couldn't tell at this point).

"I, Victor Verona, started this rebellion centuries ago before they shoved me in that machine to keep me quiet. But now I am back and we will no longer be treated like animals! The humans will bow down to us!"

A Karnoi started the war?

I mean, I knew it had to have started somewhere but from the way everyone went on about it, it seemed like the Karnoi had always been victims.

One thing was for sure, Victor was not a target; he was a weapon. Maybe history had been twisted a little. It was interesting how people left out the details that seemed convenient to them. The humans retaliated for a reason. They were scared.

"And I will lead my fellow Karnoi into battle with my son by my side." He patted Malvin on the back and my jaw dropped.

Before I could react accordingly, Victor pushed me down with his cane, violently. I was left looking up at my best friend, flabbergasted, as he stood beside this twisted man he called a father.

Malvin was giving me an apologetic glance before bowing his head down in solemn embarrassment. Had he known this whole time that his father was a Karnoi tyrant? He hadn't looked as surprised at the information that I had been. But on the bright side, he also hadn't looked terribly delighted.

Victor bent down and grabbed me by the hair. He hunched close enough to growl in my ear, "Beneath our eyes lies a talent, girl. Yours is to paint people to death. Let me show you what mine can do."

And that was the moment that everything was shot to hell.

OMG the Karnoi started the war?!

And if Victor is Malvin's father: who is his mother???

We're nearing the end...

What do you think of where the
story is headed so far????