Anjiala episode 13
ANJIÁLA – Episode 13
© Bunmi B Gabriel
**Anjiála**
I looked at the football field lost in thought, I was still stunned over what I did the other time, it wasn’t just because I mentioned his name, it was me. I didn’t want to lie to myself, I knew it came from me but how?
How did I do it?
His name helped boast it but why did it happen?
Could it be I already have it in me?
It’s so confusing, the ladies said our powers would be given after every mission successful so what the hell!
I sighed and looked at the game in more deeper concentration, it was a female soccer game and Abbiana was playing. She was so good at soccer, awesome with her natural speed and reflexes, the power only enchanted it but she was naturally fast. Zino was her biggest cheerleader, like literally, she was so scared to try it so he dressed up like a cheerleader to encourage her
It was so embarrassing but he did it for her, sweetly ridiculous, yet it proves how much he loves her
Arie, she was hugging and squeezing my fragile bicep anticipatedly, if I wasn’t so lost in thought, I would have been crying my eyes out. I get to wonder how she’s so goddamn strong!
‘Come on Abbie, one more goal’ she said agitatedly, squeezing my bicep h-rder. If my bicep was alive, she’d be dead by the pressure she was adding to her fingers clawing
‘Arie, I’m going to bleed, please come off it’ I gro-ned
‘Shhhhh, I’m not listening’ she shushed me immediately, her other hærd dived into the bag of ch¡ps, potato ch¡ps and dances to her l-ips. She munched on them absent mindedly
‘Where did you get the ch¡ps? I can swear you were eating popcorns just now’ I said bewildered by her quick changing of snacks. The first time I checked, it was peanuts, the next, it was crackers, the third was grapes, and the last was popcorns.
‘Shhhhh, don’t bother me’ I looked over my shoulder at Mateo who sat behind me, he had a deep frown on his face as he glared at her back. I chuckled, already having an idea where she kept stealing her snacks from
Yet again, how did he get it?
He sighed loudly
‘Can I have two hot dogs with extra ketchup?’ He asked the scrawny boy selling hot dogs through every seats in the bleachers.
‘Okay’ the boy stretched two wrapped up hot dogs to him, within the blink of an eye, Arie had one hot dog in her hand. How she got it so fast? I still can’t fathom. Maybe quick teleportation
‘Oh come on! I’m trying to eat here!’ He exclaimed
‘Goal!!!!!!!!!’ Arie shrieked, her voice surpassed every single person watching the game because of her power. Apart from teleportation, she was gifted with a extremely high frequent shriek, like that of a banshee’s. Many had to turn and look at the loud shrieker, some covering their ears. ‘Go Abbie!!!!’
‘Stop, I’m right beside you’ I whispered into her ear. ‘And the people can’t take the squeal’. I added
‘That’s what makes it much more fun, ruin their eardrums so they’ll know that Ariana Alexandér was here’ she whispered back with a cruel excitement. I laughed and looked ahead, Abbie was being spun in the air by Zino. She had a beautiful laugh gracing her l-ips, her eyes closed and ponytail swishing.
She was happy, she won the game for the school
‘I’ll go greet and congratulate her, you coming?’.
‘Sure, just a minute’. I smiled, she smiled back, made a sharp turn and snatched Matt’s hotdog. She ran off laughing maniacally and he chased her yelling her name. I sighed and let my eyes roam around, it caught Zino’s ex, she was glaring murderously at Abbie and that wasn’t what bothered me; she was chanting a spell
‘Don’t worry, it won’t affect her’. A voice said calmly, I looked up and saw my new friend, Helena
‘Hi Helena’
‘Hi, don’t feel bad for your friend, Martina can’t do anything’. She said confidently
‘Why do you hang with those losers anyways?’ I asked annoyingly, she took in a deep breath and exhaled
‘I guess because they are the only one who truly understand how it feels like to be a witch, what it feels like too. They are my kind and we all wonder why we just woke up with such powers’. She said with a playful smirk, we laughed at her innocent lie. Yeah, we got to talk a lot that day at the greenhouse
‘But you come from a family of good witches, you told me that’ I pointed out, she shrugged and smirked
‘Those amateurs don’t have to know that, do they?’ He asked still smirking. ‘Let Siobhan and co think they are all powerful and I’m the weak one, it’s more fun to watch them try to be more powerful than a full blooded witch’
‘What do you stand to gain?’
‘Pets, indirect pets. When the time comes, I’ll take all their powers and use it to avenge my parents, to hunt down the evil witch coven that killed them and took my family pride away’ she said with a far away look. According to her, she was from another world, her family was the greatest witch and wizard family in the land before some other coven attacked and killed her parents. She escaped and came here, gave Siobhan, Martina and Marielle the witch powers of her sisters so they will increase it and then she’ll take it and rescue her coven and remaining family
‘Wish you luck then’
‘Remember your promise, if I help you out with your mission, you’ll help me retrieve the amulet I need from the ancient temple in….’
‘I know Lena, chill, I’ve got this’ she inhaled with relief
‘Good, because I figured out the next clue’ I grinned, I didn’t exactly tell the girls I told her but whatever. She tilted her head staring at Martina. ‘May all curse be returned, and may your powers be put to stiff’ she murmured and snapped her fingers
I watched Martina struggle to use her powers woefully
‘Now, where were we?’
‘The clue?’
‘Oh yes! You see, the clue is a location and I got it. According to what you showed me from the pix you took from Ria’s arm….’ She calls Ariana, Ria. ‘What you seek is right “before” you. Quotation marks were placed at the before so I wondered why? I mean why put it there? I dug deep and figured out that since the school was part of the clue arena then it had to be here…’
‘Your point?’
‘I’m getting to that. Look ahead Anji and think, what you seek is right “before” you’ she said with a proud smile. I looked ahead, all I saw were people surrounding and cheering for Abbie.
‘Not really getting it’
‘Look deeper’ I looked well and noticed a big number 4 statue in the field, a metres or so away from the other players’ goalpost. I peered and then tiled my head
‘Right before you’ I repeated lowly. ‘Wait!’ I gasped. ‘Right “before” you!’ I exclaimed in realization. ‘The riddle meant right be “4” you! How brilliant!’.
‘Mm hm’ she said smugly with head high. ‘And I checked to make sure it was it, cast a spell on it and almost died, you can thank me later’
‘Thank you so much Lena’.
‘Anytime, now I’ll advice you and your friends to come here right after school’
‘No need’, I smiled and stood up. ‘Cover us with a distraction spell or something’.
‘Or I could do this’. she clapped her hands twice and everyone froze, she winked at me and pretended to freeze too to avoid Arie and Abbie’s suspicion
‘Thanks Lena’. I jogged over to them in the field
‘What’s up? How did you freeze them?’
‘I didn’t, the next gem did. I figured it out’. I lied
‘Cool!’ Arie chirped
‘Come on,’ I ran to the number 4 statue and stopped three feet away. ‘Now this is brilliant!’ Arie exclaimed, she had connected the dots. ‘So what are we doing?’
‘I think that’s up for you to decide’. I said smiling at her
‘Me? How come again? You figured it out this time’.
‘I just know it’s you’ she shrugged and walked closer to it, she touched the statue and closed her eyes. I looked back at the bleacher and noticed Lena was gone, I looked around and saw her sneaking away to make a phone call.
That was odd
I looked back just as the space in the four glimmed up with a bright silver colour, she took our hands and jumped into the h0le. I soon found myself in the same field only that this time, there were no people around.
‘Okay, this is odd’ Abbie muttered. The coloring of the place was dim, very pale. ‘Be prepared for anything girls’
I looked around listening carefully. Abbie knelt on one knee and placed her hand on the ground, feeling every beat in the earth. I tried hærd to use my hearing ability, I figured out I had after the last fight. Arie stood prepared for anything
‘Something’s under the earth and they don’t feel friendly at all. They are creatures with no skin or flesh and they mean business, bad business’ Abbie whispered with eyes closed. ‘Anji get us off the the soil of the earth and put us on thick ice’ I nodded and inhaled, I stomped my foot on the ground and a hærd pillar lifted us high, twenty feet tall.
‘Anything else?’ It was obvious this was her zone, earth. She raised her hands like she was being forced to, blue vines sprouted out of the ground and encircled the ice pillar tight like supporters
‘Ariana!!! scre-m to your left and Anji shoot right!!!’ She shouted, we didn’t ask any question, just did as told. Arie’s scre-m almost made me fall off the pillar
‘What are we shooting at?’ I gro-ned
‘I can’t see them but I do can feel them’
‘Invisible huh? Two can play at that game’ Arie said intensely and she was gone.
‘Okay, she’s gone, what do we do now?’
‘I don’t….aaaaaaaaah!!!’ She could barely finish her sentence when she was pushed to the ground and swallowed up
‘Abbiana!!!!’ I shouted helplessly. My heart was beating fast, how could I fight something I couldn’t see
‘Sometimes, even shadows can’t escape light, light is white Anji, make use of that’ his voice whispered in my head. My cheeks reddened, I was certain he was close, whoever he was. My senses sharpened up, I instinctively ducked and I could feel something fly past my head. I kept dodging by instinct
The ground burst open, Abbie jumped out like she was vomited and ran up the branch she created to me. Arie came back and teleported us to somewhere we didn’t know, like a mountain
‘What are those?’
‘I don’t know but they are invisible, we need something to show them out. I figured out my scre-m can kill them but I need them in one s₱0t’.
‘Remember how laser beams are invisible but when you blow powder on them, they become visible?’ I asked thoughtfully. ‘I have an idea!’
‘What?’
‘I’ll use my snow to color them, white you see. Abbie can try to make them chase her to one s₱0t and bind them together and then you can do your thing’.
‘Worth a shot’. Arie shrugged
‘Let’s test their speed’ Abbie said excitedly, she was all dirty from the ground she entered. Arie teleported us back to the pillar, I inhaled and commanded the sky to rain snow heavily, soon I could see them somehow. ‘My turn….hey losers, I have the same powers you have and you can’t catch me!!!!’ She shouted. That clearly got them on the glimflashy side, she ran off and they chased her. Some jumped out of nowhere but she dodged them until they were all behind her. She drifted to a abrupt stop and immediately bind them together
‘Cover your ears, this won’t be pretty’ Arie shouted, what use will that make anyways.
She inhale deeply with her mouth and scre-med, the wh0le place quaked along with my brain and heart. My ice covered my ears fortunately, enough to stop me from dying and Abbie ran off somewhere. The invisible things covered in snow scre-med in exquisite pain, I could almost feel their agony. They crinkled up like paper and turned to ash, I think they did though.
‘That was loud’ Abbie cried coming out of her hiding. Arie teleported to her and then teleported them to me. ‘So where’s the gem?’
‘Right here’ Arie said with a smirk. ‘I got it when they were attacking you two’
‘That was nice’ I said sarcastically. She giggled and clapped the orange gem between her palms. The gem entered her but there was no writing. ‘Uh?’
‘My back feels weird’ she said uncomfortably. Abbie sighed and lift up her shirt
‘The royal castle
The griffins flies
Beware of their cries
And don’t fall for the lies
True test is laid
Trust yourself to scale
Pay no sign to the illusion
And you’ll be fine’ she read out
‘This one is an instruction on how to pass the next test’ Arie said calmly pulling her shirt down. I sighed and looked at the sky
‘Let’s get out of here’ I knew that the next one was the test he told me I would face. I just hoped I pass it without failing
To be continued