[Trevor]

"Hold still," Chang advised.

I held as still as possible.

David lowered his poised hand slowly and I braced myself for the pain.

"AAAAH!" I screamed as his hands finally landed on my leg.

It took all my strength not to reach out and grab my thigh and I tell you, I had very little strength left.

In a second, my leg was healed. There was no searing pain coursing through the veins there and it felt numb and as light as a feather.

A calming sensation like the pulsing of water currents washed over me and I breathed out a sigh of relief.

"Thank you," I said to the silent diviner.

He nodded and I saw a hint of a smile on his face before his brows furrowed and he turned to look at Chang with a worried expression.

Chang nodded. "Healing magic shouldn't hurt. I dunno why it did."

"Maybe, the damage was from Shu?" I suggested.

David shook his head.

"Yes. David has healed many people that were injured by some sort of magic from Shu. It was never a painful process...but anyway, situations are different. Now that's cleared and everybody's fairly okay..." Chang said.

It's time to yell, I thought and hey! I was right.

"Let's talk about Shu," he started.

We were all in the garden in Horei, sitting on the perfectly manicured turf.

It was mid afternoon and the sun glinted harshly down on any open space it could reach.

Horei's birds chirped and pretty flowers bloomed everywhere.

I forgot to ask before but now I didn't need to. I knew we were in the rise season.

I could see the dissolved particles of the leaves dancing in the air as the occasional light breeze flew past.

We were probably gone from home too long and I wondered if our clones were doing a good job of being us.

Please, cause trouble or something, I prayed. If I acted nice to Tanya, my parents would know something was wrong with their child.

Anyway, Chang stared at each and every one of us, the glint of the sun making his irises to change form grey to amber causing him to appear menacing.

I glanced at the others.
Maddie and Tanya plucked the grass that was in the centre of their crossed legs.

Lucy stared ahead, her gaze even beyond Bru's palace.

Alexa picked at her nails.

Alexis wouldn't meet Chang's eyes.

I sat there, my mind more focused on the fact that my leg was healed so I could still play basketball.

"Why would you even think of going there?!" he exploded finally.

"I indirectly warned you twice. First, it was in the forest when we all went there the first time. I told you diviners of Shu can detect a spirit of Reina anywhere in their kingdom, except in the forests. The second time was when Alexis and Alexa appeared in Shu's river by accident and their bodies began to burn but I healed them thankfully..."

He paused to take in a breath of air.
Then he went on.

"Look, I know this spirit of Reina thing is fun and exciting but guys, it's not just magic and kingdoms. This stuff deadly and dangerous. It can and will kill you...I dunno how else I could say this bluntly," he sighed.

"You guys were not even supposed to be dragged into this whole spirits situation in the first place but the spirits chose you so we have no other choice but to go along with it, teach you and help you to understand everything so we can collaborate and achieve our goal. Please don't go to any kingdom without our consent. It's safer just to stay in ankor and come to Horei when it's time for training. Please..."

I stared at Chang for a while and noticed something.
He looked different. Like he aged a few years in the past few days.

His eyes held fury, fear and worry at the same time. It was like he was here but he wasn't.

His plea sounded desperate, like it was something beyond our safety.

Not that he didn't care about us but I sensed it was something deeper.

At a point, he looked like he wanted to say something to us but at the last minute, he changed his mind and told us that we should leave.

By now, Horei's aura had given us much of our strength back and we could teleport back.
So we did without hesitation.

***

We resumed training normally and we spent like two hours each day at the garden in Horei.

I personally got better at using my powers. I could summon fire without emotion and control the intensity as well, ranging from a faint smoke to a conflagration.

Sometimes when I created such an intense flame, the others shifted from me, saying I looked really frightening and that the red sparks in my eyes were not helping alleviate the malevolent look.

For the next few days, we didn't dare step foot into any kingdom other than Horei and ankor.

Things were normal in school and at home. I guess our clones did a great job posing as us. They were clones after all.

Basketball practice went smoothly and our first game was coming up in a few months. I was really excited and hoped to perform well in front of the scouts that might be there watching.

It would be a dream come true if I got recruited to some college on scholarship.

Tanya was still annoying as usual and used any chance she got to tease me. Though,the annoyance was mutual and every time she acted like a pain in the ass, I reminded her of the time in Shu when she actually acted like a nice person to me.

But trust Tanya. Every time I did, she stuck out het tongue at me and walked away. I just chuckled at the girl.

Henry went back to college to continue studying psychology.

He'd probably come home soon with more ways to mess with my mind.

I just wish I could use my powers on him without him noticing. Hmm...

Anyway, we-spirits of Reina-all hung out often, learning to know each other better.

Buuuut, I hung out with Maddie more, (wink, wink) and we got closer each day.

We talked about what we liked and disliked and found out we and very little in common.
I was still drawn to her anyway.

I usually acted cool and hilarious when I was with her, but I was actually very cautious of her every move, checking to see if she liked me back.

She was usually nice to me and she'd blush occasionally at my compliments and gestures but I wasnt really sure.

Sometimes, I thought of that incident in Shu. I dunno whether she did it cuz she was mad I was hurt or she was just mad at everything.

We were sitting in smoothie shop one day, chatting, mostly me making her almost pass out with my jokes.

"Trev! We have a test tomorrow morning and you don't even know what subject?" she cried.

I rolled my eyes and smiled slightly.

"Maddie, we have tests everyday and we don't always know the name or subject," I responded.

She raised a brow and shook her head in confusion.
"Like," I went on. "The test we're having today and right now."

I cleared my throat and began to mimick our Chemistry teachers deep, hoarse voice.

"Today, Maddie you're being tested on HOW LONG YOU CAN HOLD YOURSELF FROM LAUGHING AT TREVOR'S JOKES," I announced.

And she just failed that test.
Maddie let out a chortle so loud that people from nearby tables glanced at us.

She clamped a hand over her mouth and narrowed her eyes at me.

"But seriously," she giggled. "We have a math test tomorrow."

"You have a math test tomorrow." I shrugged, pulling at my bottom lip.

She sighed in defeat and shook her head disapprovingly.
"You're lucky you're good at sports, Trev. You can easily get to college from a basketball scholarship," she admitted.

I tried to hide the fact that I was touched by her statement. She really thought I was that good.

I put my hands on my waist and puffed my chest out in a superman pose.
"I am lucky," I declared.

Maddie giggled and stared down at the table.

She was sitting by my right and she was so close to me that our legs touched.

I looked at her and my eyes softened.

She turned to me, her face instantly serious.
"You really think I'm good at basketball?" I asked, my eyes roaming her pretty face and finally settling on her lips.

"Yeah. I don't really watch basketball players much but you're the best I've seen, honestly. I bet you could get into a nice college from a scholarship. I know that's what you want. You're a nice guy and...you deserve what you want."

Warmth coursed through my body as she smiled at me.

I couldn't keep my gaze off her lips and I leaned in.

I had no idea what she would do. Would she pull away?

My heart pounded against my chest as she also leaned in slowly.

Our lips were an inch apart when the bands on my arms buzzed, bringing me back to reality.
Maddie blushed and leaned backwards, fiddling with her hair as I answered the call from my arm band.

I couldn't see see Chang's face but I heard his voice.

He sounded tense and he spoke like something was after him.

"Trevor, tell everyone to come to Bru's palace now!" he commanded and the call went off.

I looked at Maddie and she looked back at me as we stood up quickly.
"What's going on?" she asked.

"No idea. Let's call the others."

***

We all arrived in Horei in minutes and found Chang pacing the hallway.

When he saw us he stopped and walked towards us.

He looked so scared and worried.

"What's going on?" Alexis asked.
Chang was restless.

He dragged his hand through his hair and sighed before looking back at us.

"I...I've been trying to keep the thought to myself for a while because I wasn't sure. But...it's been a long time and I think my suspicions might be true," he muttered.

"What're you talking about?" Lucy asked.
He stared at her and gestured to the end of the hallway.

"Follow me."

We all did, our brains wandering to different directions and ideas of what might be going on.

We stepped into the throne room and Chang stopped just at the entrance, raising his hands in the air to signal us to stop as well.

"Prince Bruno left for something urgent a few days ago and he hasn't returned since. I've tried calling him but I can't get to him. I sent people to look for him but they returned with nothing to show or say of his whereabouts."

He looked at us gravely.
"I..I think-"

We were distracted by a red swirling mist floating in front of us. It finally settled at the top of Bru's throne and hovered there.
It expanded into the size of a large ceramic plate and a demon's face appeared in the middle.

It had black horns at either side of its crimson head. A single blank white eye stared at us menacingly from the centre of its face.

I recognized the black lofty prisms in the background and the appalling scarlet red sky.

"Hello Chang!" The demon smiled exaggeratedly, revealing repugnant rows of stained jagged teeth.

"Spirits of Reina. What an honour," he continued, smiling like an idiot.

He cleared his throat aggressively and it sounded like a faulty chainsaw by the way.

We all stood there stunned and speechless staring at the demon expectantly.

"Let's get straight to the point. We have your beloved prince. If you want him come get him. Simple as that."

The image shifted and we saw Bru sitting on the ground in a dark dungeon bound with a glistening black material on his hands and legs.

He was also gagged and the look in his eyes told that he wasn't being treated well.

His skin looked sallow and his hair was dirty and ruffled in a bad way.

His clothes were torn and soiled and he looked thinner.

Tanya gasped and clamped her hand over her mouth as we stared in horror at the beloved prince of Horei.

Bru looked at us pleadingly with tears in his eyes before the image vanished and the red mist dissolved into the air.

Chang stared down at the floor, solemnly for a moment before looked back at us.

His eyes were glassed over and his jaw was tightened.

"We would meet tomorrow spirits," he whispered in a husky voice and waved his hands subtly in the air.

The last thing I saw before we vanished was the tear rolling down the side of Chang's lean face.

-------
Thanks for sticking to the end.
Don't forget to leave one final vote before you go and you can tell me what you think about the story:)

~Ash.