Lemuria: The City of Mysts

Chapter 28: A Swirl of Feathers

A/N: Hi everyone, am here again with a new chapter. Yippee! By the way, I made a header banner in my wordpress account a week ago (similar to what I have in my profile page). The output was a bit rushed but I hope you like it. Still, am open for ideas on how you want the characters for City of Mysts to look like.

This is a rough draft. I hadn't had time to edit it since am currently doing a few more projects on the side. Here is the next chapter:

Chapter 28: A Swirl of Feathers

The strangely dressed man levelled his gaze at Louis for a full minute. Fred returned to his seat and sensed the stranger's attention had shifted. He felt the man's eyes bore holes on his back and, strangely, his raging headache receded to a tolerable pain level. When he looked up, the dark-haired visitor's face was unreadable. Fred wondered if he was imagining things. Did the man heal him? The foreigner's gaze left him, appearing to have lost interest.

"We lost the guardian of the Mysts a decade ago", the man said. "She had left a successor in a...unorthodox manner," he glanced at Louis, "though it is not clear whether she intended for him to take her place. But the fact remains that she had given him a key which the guardians use to command the sentinels under their care.

"The key had been modified to fulfil a certain purpose she had in mind. Its original function can only be made dormant as long as the restrictions set in place were met. The key was activated today and the new guardian accepted his duties."

"I-am-not-a-guardian", Louis said, pausing after every word. The scowl and the averted gaze made Fred suspect that he was not as confident as he wished to appear. Louis caught him staring and deliberately made eye contact with the man in the feathered coat. "I can't be a guardian when my sister is alive."

The man looked bemused, the silence between them was heavy with promise; this discussion was far from over and would be brought up at a later time. "Most of you know that a number of the tunnels function as portals to different parts of your world. These are guarded by a native of each country. The guardians are selected through a series of tests: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual strengths.

"The post in Libya was given to one named Zafeera. Despite the cruelties she had to face at a tender age, her heart remained pure. That and her altruism and courage in the face of adversity are some of the virtues that make a true guardian.

"Only immediate family members are notified when their child is chosen. Hers was a special case. Her father did not garner the trust of the Council that chooses the guardians; but her mother and siblings and the man called Shadow knew. The repercussions of exposing Zafeera's identity was what kept those who were aware silent."

"Why couldn't father be trusted?" Mohy asked.

"The Council did not say." Fred, however, had an inkling why their father was kept in the dark. Hadn't he been almost forced to assassinate the President-General when his ability was discovered?

"I mean no offence", Tony said, "but why go into detail? What's the point of letting us know about her history?"

Louis looked heavenwards and said, "It means you can't just talk to anyone about the guardians."

"I understand that part, thank you", Tony's voice was laced with sarcasm. "I want to know why we should know about the Council's distrust-" Fred and Louis glared at him, so he clamped his mouth shut. Tony blew a breath and changed tact: "If Zafeera's a guardian, why didn't she call for help?" This was all new to him. Half of what he heard was hard to believe, yet the rest of them were taking it seriously. Heck, he thought the tunnels were eerie and used to dare his friends into entering one, but this was beyond him.