GRAVICTA

CHAPTER 21.

"What?" I stare at Mrs Purplestorm with wide eyes. "What do you mean by that? He can't possibly just leave the City."

"I was about eating the pie you two brought me when I heard a knock on the door but when I opened it, there was nobody there," she says, looking as serious as ever.

"Okay?" I say impatiently.

"I looked down to see a piece of paper on the ground, just in front of my door. A stone was kept on it probably to prevent the wind from blowing it away." She holds out a piece of paper and hands it over to me.

Taking the paper and unfolding it, my hands tremble as I read out the words. "Hey Purplestorm, thank you so much for everything. I am leaving this city for good so don't bother waiting for me. Help me tell Eva that I'm sorry about the way things ended the last time we talked. This is goodbye."

Tears start rolling down my cheeks as I keep staring at the piece of paper. "This can't be Zed. Tell me this isn't him."

"I'm sorry Eve," Buttertooth says and my body becomes weak.

I fall down to the floor, crying my heart out. My chest aches badly and I can feel my heart beat as I hug myself, lying down completely.

"Why does it hurt so much?"

I close my eyes and shut everyone else out. I do not want to hear them telling me how sorry they are and I definitely don't want to see the pity on their faces. Zed is gone and that's all I can think about right now. I'm sure it was Decklan that put him up to this. I shouldn't have trusted that Fallen.

"Eva are you okay?" I hear Zed's voice in my head and I immediately sit up.

"Zed!" I scream and everyone looks at me like I'm going crazy.

"Eva, I know this is hard on-" Buttertooth starts but I interrupt her with a wave of my hand.

"Zed just talked to me right now," I say and Mrs Purplestorm squats down.

"Oh, the mind link. I hadn't thought of that yet," she says and sits down on the floor, facing me.

"Mind link?" Buttertooth asks and I look up to see that she's confused.

"Yes. It's something the Chosen one can only do with his ordained Priestess," Filn explains. "They can communicate with their minds."

"That's so cool." Buttertooth sits down on the floor too and Filn joins her.

"What did he say?" Mrs Purplestorm asks me.

"He asked if I'm okay," I reply and she nods.

"He felt it when you cried just now. Now answer him. Tell him you're fine," she says and I stare at her blankly for a moment. "What?"

"I don't know how to," I say and she raises a brow.

"You don't know how to reply him?" She asks as if trying to confirm what I said.

"Oh, it's true. You can't reply me. I just hope you're okay," Zed says in my head again.

"He just said he knows I can't reply him but he hopes I'm okay," I say and Mrs Purplestorm and Filn shakes their heads, smiling to themselves.

"Look at your palms Eve. What do you see?" Mrs Purplestorm asks and I look at my palms.

"These two weird symbols that just won't come off," I groan, showing them both of my palms.

"Those symbols are what makes you the Priestess. Now join your palms together like you're praying and say something to Zed in your mind," Mrs Purplestorm says and I do exactly what she just told me.

"I am fine Zed. Where are you?" I close my eyes, avoiding the expectant stares everyone is giving me.

"Thank goodness. I felt so sad all of a sudden and then I didn't know if you were- wait! You can mind link too?" Zed says and I chuckle.

"Did it work?" Buttertooth asks and I open my eyes and nod.

"Good. Now ask him the necessary questions. We need to know his whereabouts," Mrs Purplestorm says and I nod once more before closing my eyes.

"Yes, I can mind link too. Where are you Zed?" I ask and wait for his reply.

"I am not in the city of the Frees anymore. I'm sure Purplestorm already told you. But just know that I won't leave you on purpose, I just have a lot I need to do," he replies and I get confused.

"I don't know what you're talking about but please just come home. I miss you Zed," I say and I can feel the tears threatening to stroll down my cheeks once again.

"I miss you too but I can't. I need to protect everyone I love and that includes you Eve. Remember I told you my life can't go like my father's. I was only saying that I will have to finish what his death caused," he says, making me even more confused.

"Zed I am begging you. Your father's death didn't do anything please just come back to me," I plead, taking in a very shaky breath.

"You don't understand. If I don't finish this, you and everyone I love will die just like before. I can't handle that nightmare anymore. Goodbye Eve," Zed says and I feel my heart drop.

"Zed?" I say but he doesn't reply. "Zed please talk to me."

After trying to talk to him for a minute or so, I give up and open my eyes. "He stopped talking to me. He isn't coming back."

"Why? What did he say?" Mrs Purplestorm asks and I rub the back of my neck as I lay down back on the floor.

"He said he's only doing this to protect the people he loves. Something about what his father's death caused. I really didn't understand anything," I say.

"He was talking about the night of the zero moon," Filn says and Mrs Purplestorm sighs.

"Can this day get any more confusing than it already is?" Buttertooth sighs.

"Sorry. Like the name implies, it's the night that the skies will be empty. There will be no moon and darkness will fill the whole of Gravicta," Filn explains and I sit up.

"So, what does this have to do with Zed?" I ask and Buttertooth nods to my question.

"Well I'm guessing Zed is the Chosen one and if I'm right, he is Gravicta's only hope to survive that night," Filn says.

"I still don't understand. It's just a moonless night. I don't see why Zed is Gravicta's only hope to survive the terrifying darkness," I say, irritated.

"That's the night that demons from hell will roam free. Normally the late King Lucifer would have been able to stop this but with no king ruling Hell, that's impossible now," Filn says and I stare at her in realization.

"Zed wants to try stopping this, doesn't he?" I ask and she nods.

"Well can he?" Buttertooth chips in and I anticipate the answer to that question.

"Basically, he just needs to scream. It's something his father did in the past. It's called the devil's cry," Filn says.

"It shows the demons who's in charge but there's a little problem though," Mrs Purplestorm explains further.

"And that is?" I ask, feeling scared of what might happen to Zed.

"You need to help him. You're the Priestess so only you can unlock his true form. Well not his true form yet but his true scream," she explains.

"I don't know how to do that," I say and she smiles at me.

"Don't worry, I'll teach you once we find Zed but I'll first need my book of spells," she says.

"Your book of spells?" Buttertooth asks and she nods.

"I'm guessing Filn already explained a lot about us. She's a chatterbox." She smiles and gets up.

"Wait. You're not a Forgotten, right?" I choke on my own words.

"I am. The very first one."