Newborough - Book Three

The Oracle

Miss Lisbeth brought a storm along with her as I see her stomp her way into the school hallway. Mind you, it has only been 10 minutes since my phone call to her. 

Elise the Vampire looks stumped at the sight of her girlfriend's mother who looks like she's about to commit a murder for taking away her child.

"Melinda, where is she?" Miss Lisbeth says when she spots me. I notice that she's carrying a sword and a shield with Greek words on it. Valerie once told me about her mother being a trained warrior and was one of Athena's Huntresses. 

The Principal is going to have to take care of his back.

"Elise says that the HQ Agents took her to Gurney City. The Principal's office is just there," I respond, pointing at a huge fancy door. Miss Lisbeth's eyes flickered to the vampire next to me for a moment before she makes her way to the office.

Elise stares at her and then at me in question. No doubt she's perplexed at the presence of weapons with Miss Lisbeth.

"Meet your girlfriend's mum," I joke and then disappear before the vampire have a chance to interrogate me further. I ain't gonna reveal anything Val doesn't want to. Besides, it's Val who dug her own grave.

I head towards a nearby cafe at the east side of town since the west side was heavily damaged by the mysterious fire. I leave a text to dad to pick me up from the cafe in an hour's time. 

There are not many people on the streets after the fire event. Some shops are close until further notice. Students head straight back home after school. A few HQ Agents are lingering around, keeping an eye for any suspicious activity.

Suddenly, someone bumped into me. The force is strong enough that I fall on my butt.

"Watch where you're going, kid," the man snaps at me. 

"You're the one who pushed me over, Mister!" I shoot back, getting back on my feet.

At the sound of my voice, the man stops and turn around to face me. That's when I see that the man has sunglasses on and a white cane in his hands. 

"You're Augustus's niece," he says in surprise.

I stare at him in shock. How could a stranger possibly know dad's name and my true relation to him?

"Who are you?" I ask in warning, grabbing his hand to ensure he doesn't escape. If he's causing me any trouble, I have to bring him to dad. 

"It's a long story," the blind man says frustratingly. "What am I going to do? It's too early! I shouldn't be here. What was I thinking? Gah!"

"What are you talking about?" I demand, tightening my grip on him. 

The blind man snaps his head up. "You sound just like her..."

"What...?"

"Melanie Meridian."

That's the second time I've heard of the name Melanie. It is clear that whoever this Melanie is, she's connected to dad's past. 

"I shouldn't have said anything," the man mumbles and then tries to free himself from me. His words only made me more curious about this woman. 

"Who are you?" I ask, shaking him.

The man drops his white cane. "Jeez, kid, easy on the grip. I'm blind; not deaf."

"Answer me or I'll take you to Augustus," I threaten. 

It seems to work because he starts to pale. "I'm the Oracle. I have the power to see visions of the past, present and future. Before you can ask, I have no control over it. I met Melanie years ago to warn her of the Great Battle, to save what's left of this world."

Now I'm confused why he's telling me all this. "Who is Melanie?"

The blind man gaps like a fish, unsure how to answer me. I'm starting to realise that we're gaining attention from passerbys.

"I can't tell you. It's not the time yet. You'll have a long journey ahead of you, so please survive. The lives of millions of innocent lives are in your hands," the man says cryptically. Then, he twists his arm free, grab his cane, whack the back of my knee which causes me to buckle over, and then disappear into the crowd.

"What the heck."

I start to try and follow the blind man, intending to get more answers out of him. Five minutes of walking around, I spot a familiar face with overflowing red hair that's headed into an alley. 

It's Polly Morrison. 

I want to so badly call out her name, but the thought that there could be an HQ Agent around refrain me from doing so. I debate on whether or not to alert the authorities as I stalk her.

The girl is terrified; it shows because her head is lowered and hands shaking by her side. Dirt cover her hands and clothes. 

"Polly," I call out when we are deep in the alley, away from prying ears. 

She stiffens and then starts to run away from me. 

"Wait, Polly!" I scream, running after her. 

The girl looks back to see me following her. I can hear an audible huff from her as enters random alleys and pushing garbage to obstruct me. It slows me down a bit, but my persistence make sure that I don't lose sight of her. 

She finally reaches a dead end. I stop a few meters away. 

"Polly? Are you okay? Why didn't you go for the Identification Test? You're on the wanted list," I tell her calmly, taking a step towards her.

"Stay back, Melinda!" she screams, her back against the brick wall. "You can't help me anymore!"

"Please, let me try to help you," I try again.

"You can't," she sobs, putting both her hands in front of her. Her face ashen as madness starts to sink in. "Nobody can't. I'm not strong enough. The effects are not there anymore."

"What do you mean?" I ask softly, slowly making my way towards her as I distract her with questions. 

"I'm not human anymore," Polly cries. "She's getting stronger. I'm losing."

"Polly... who is this she?"

Out of the blue, Polly stops crying and drops her hands. Her bright red hair darkens to jet black. The aura she's emitting is powerful, angry and hot. 

"She... meant me," Polly says with a smirk. Her head tilts to one side, enjoying the situation she has me in. Her eyes catches mine. My breath hitches at the familiar emerald green eyes. 

Polly is the one responsible for the Florence fire and the fire at town a few days ago.