I thoroughly enjoyed reading about your character choices and why you would like to interview them! With this chapter, we are back to Zaynah's story. As always, thanks so much for reading and for your feedback.

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This was Zaynah's next test. 

It had been two years since she'd been here last. She had been weak then. No, worse than weak. Pathetic.

So much had happened since then, but the most important of them had been her ability to understand the voice. The voice had instructed her since, and now she knew precisely what to do.

Her hand rested on the whip beneath her robes. She stroked it, the memories bubbling to the surface as she did of another time, at this place.    

Her father had told her never to return. She refused to obey.

She walked to the front door and rang the doorbell. A new housekeeper answered. 

"I am here to see Ola Gamil," Zaynah said, smiling brightly. "We are raising money to buy school supplies for the Atfal Amal Orphanage." 

"Please wait a moment."

Zaynah paused, fairly certain her ruse would work. She had done her research. Her father's new wife had a soft spot for orphans. But even if she didn't let her in, she had other, shall we say, persuasive, ways of getting what she wanted. 

"She will see you," the housekeeper said. She led Zaynah through the entryway and into a beautifully furnished drawing room. Zaynah gritted her teeth. It still irked her that her father had left his family to fall apart while living in such luxury. It wasn't fair. 

She sat on a plush couch with carved armrests. Within a minute, Ola joined her. She was wearing an expensive looking deep blue tunic and pant set. She sat on the couch opposite, looking at Zaynah expectantly.  

"I'm not actually here to talk about orphans," Zaynah said. The woman looked startled. Her eyes darted nervously toward the other room. "But I am aware of something that you have a right to know."

"What's that?" the woman asked.

Zaynah pulled out a cigarette, lit it and breathed in a deep drag. She looked at the woman through the hazy smoke. Her father's second wife had gained a little weight since she had last seen her, but she was still lovely. She looked uncannily like her mother, back when she was young and beautiful, before life, disappointment, and disease wasted her away. She was just as timid too, but then, her father had always felt the need to dominate. He would only have selected wives who were suitably submissive. 

She blew the smoke in the woman's direction. Zaynah was upsetting Ola, and she found she enjoyed it.

"The man you married has another family. I am his daughter. I have a brother."

The woman's face reflected surprise, and she instinctively shook her head. Clearly, she still didn't know. Zaynah took a long drag from the cigarette. For years she'd avoided these things because she'd been told they were bad for her. With her new body, it didn't matter.

The woman coughed.

"Will you please put that dirty thing out?"

Zaynah grinned. She liked that please. So polite.

"No," she answered. "I would rather not."

"You are wrong with these accusations. Elias would not do that. He loves me."

Zaynah snorted.

"He loves himself. He is a survivor, at whatever cost to those around him."

"Don't talk about him that way. You are mistaken. Elias is not like that."

"If I were you, I would divorce him for lying to you," Zaynah said.

"I could never divorce him. We have—"

"Ola?" she heard her father's voice. There were footsteps in the hall. He was coming. She licked her lips in anticipation. She'd looked forward to this moment for some time now. 

"Who's here?" he said as he stepped into the room, holding a baby girl. Zaynah felt something twist inside her.

"Zaynah?" he said, dumbfounded. Then he looked nervously from his daughter to his second wife.

Zaynah laughed. 

"I see you wasted no time in making a new daughter to replace me."

"You know this girl? Is it true then?" the second wife said, staring at her husband with tears gathering in her eyes.

Zaynah's father's eyes blazed.

"Here, take the baby to the bedroom," he said, handing her to his wife. "Zaynah, you will come outside with me."

"No, I don't think so," Zaynah said coolly. "I'd rather stay. Why don't you show your new wife the way you discipline your daughters?" 

He stepped toward her in a rage.

"Don't touch me," she said coldly, tossing the cigarette to the tile and grinding it with her toe. "You will not live to regret it."

Her father stormed toward her and grabbed her wrist. Something cracked. Green light streaked up his right arm. She grabbed his other hand and held tight. Green light streaked up his other arm.  

He screamed and fell to his knees. She focused on him now, chanting quietly as she used her power. It continued to increase in intensity. She could feel him shaking beneath her fingertips.

Something yanked her head back, breaking her concentration. 

Annoying woman. Zaynah slammed her head back hard. She heard someone fall to the ground with a thump. She gathered both of her father's limp hands in her right, then turned to face Ola. The woman moaned and glared at Zaynah defiantly. 

"You don't have to die. I only came for him. Leave while you can." 

The woman lunged at Zaynah. The girl caught her by the throat and held her up so that her feet dangled in the empty air. Green light shot from every fingertip sending green veins into her face and down her neck and arms. Zaynah closed her eyes and resumed her chants amidst the screaming. The baby joined the screaming. 

A few minutes later and it was over. The screaming ceased and the bodies stopped convulsing. She let go of the bodies and they fell to the ground with a thump. She had killed before, but it was still a little unnerving to see their clear bodies frozen in struggle. She could see into their heads, into their abdomens. Hearts no longer beating, brains no longer functioning. 

She crouched down and looked at her father's corpse curiously, then at his second wife's body and felt a twinge. Ola's death had been unnecessary. It was a pity the woman had insisted on attacking. With time, the voice whispered, she would no longer feel anything. Already it was getting easier. The voice should be pleased. She slipped the Rolex off her father's wrist and stuffed it in her pocket.

A wail brought her mind back to the present and she looked over at the couch where the baby lay kicking and screaming. Zaynah rose to her feet and stood over her. The baby's face was blotchy and red, and her hands were balled into fists.

"Hush," Zaynah said, running a long, dirty, and cracked nail up the baby's cheek. "You're better off without them anyway." 

She stared down at the red-faced child, now left alone in the world. She could take this child and raise her as her own. She mulled the thought over for a minute, then discarded it. A squalling child would be too much of a burden for what she had planned. 

Zaynah smiled as an ironic thought crossed her mind. She had come pretending to discuss orphans, and now she and this baby had both become one.   

She turned on her heel and left the crying baby behind her, feeling a deep sense of satisfaction. She had completed the task given by the voice. Even more important, the voice had finally revealed his name. She now knew who she followed. 

Alexander the Great.

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So what are your predictions for what Alexander the Great's disembodied voice has in store for Zaynah? 

So I wanted to do a shout out for a few good reads I've been enjoying lately: Children of May by @SJMoore4 - a fascinating story based on the King Arthur legend and Beautiful Beast by @SabrinaFairchild53, who has channeled her obsession with animals into an interesting story.

This chapter's dedication goes out to a funny and awesome Wattpad buddy - the fabulous @DarienneHazel. We "met" over comments in BoS. Imagine my delight to discover that her father worked in an embassy in Africa just like Liam's (although an American embassy instead of British). She has been wonderful in helping me make Liam's backstory more believable and accurate based on her personal experiences. I am thoroughly enjoying her "Living in a Dream" and will add a link below.