Adrianna laughed at Zephyr's way of telling her about his plans. She knew that she couldn't go and speak about it to anyone, because then they would think that she had become insane or was imagining things. All this interaction was taking place in their minds. She had to admit that he was indeed clever.
"Right now I cannot decide whether I will go first or you. You have to give me time to think about it," she replied as she walked further in that nothingness.
"Okay, but when?"
"Maybe after the third stage of the competition is over," she said.
Zephyr exhaled audibly and said, "Look Adrianna, we are cousins. Intelligence runs in our blood. Our great grandfather was Gregory and you would be surprised to know one hidden fact. A fact that defines the wizards and what they can become if they fall into greed. That fact is a secret that only Isidorus knows and he has been using you."
"Using me? In what way?" Adrianna was surprised.
"Our family has a history of people who have ruled the wizard kingdom from over a thousand years now. We are blessed with that gene somehow. Always remember that the only people who can destroy us are those of our own bloodline.." Zephyr looked very serious as though he was about to spill a secret.
"Why are you speaking in such cryptic manner? Speak clearly!" she demanded.
"It is not the time," said Zephyr. "Just remember that I am not on your side or anyone else's. I am only bothered about one thing and that is that the crown should fall in the right hands." Having said that, he exited the cell.
Adrianna flinched. "What did mean by saying this is not the right time?" She felt like staying there to think more, but she had to go back now. She pressed the middle of her palm and opened her eyes to see that the entire class was staring at her. Adrianna smiled at them, then at Zephyr, who was staring at her with a glint in his eyes.
"Do you think you can cast that spell, Adrianna?" he asked in a mocking tone.
"Yes, I can cast it and come out of it. Also, I think I can easily drag people with me inside my cell," she replied. Her answer instigated a sense of fear amongst students. The more they spent time with her, the more they realized how sinister and distant she seemed.
Zephyr smiled and nodded. "Good," he said and then turned to look at the rest of the class. "Does anyone else want to try?"
Adrianna left the chair to return to her seat.
Nefasky wanted to try it out. She thought that if Adrianna could manage it, why couldn't she? After all it was just a spell, which was explained very nicely by Zephyr. She got up and said, "I want to try."
Zephyr became concerned, but he let her seat on the chair in front of him.
"Remember Nefasky," he warned. "If you feel that you cannot handle the spell and it becomes too much for you, just press the middle of your palm and say, 'De'."
"Yes Professor," she replied with a nervous undertone.
As soon as she sat on the chair, Zephyr pointed his wand at her and chanted, "Aanimi Arcaa."
Nefasky closed her eyes and appeared to go in a deep trance in front of the class. Her eyes had rolled up and mouth opened, while her head rested on the chair.
Last time when Adrianna had got into her cell, even Zephyr seemed to have gone inside because they both appeared to be in deep trance. The students thought that Zephyr had gone to help her. However, this time, he was standing and staring at Nefasky.
Suddenly, Nefasky's body broke into a cold sweat and she shrieked. It was as though she was seeing a nightmare and died inside it.
Zephyr shouted, "Nefasky, if you can hear me, press the palm now!" But she hadn't heard him and she continued to shriek.
Immediately Adrianna stood up, took out her wand and pointed at Nefasky. In a minute, she slumped on her chair as she had entered Nefasky's cell. Students around her got extremely scared.
When Adrianna entered Nefasky's cell, she saw a figure that had clutched Nefasky's neck in his long bony hand. He didn't have a face, but Adrianna could tell that he was trying to suck on her ear.
Everywhere around them was painted in red, as there were numerous blood vessels surrounding them. She found herself standing on a soft surface.
"Leave her!" shouted Adrianna.
The figure looked at her. Instead of a face, all he had was a skull. "Ahhh… Adrianna…" he whispered. "You interfere my meal…"
"Leave her or I will kill you!" She snarled as she pointed her wand towards the abomination.
The figure pondered for a moment as it looked at her. In the end, he let go of Nefasky, who didn't hesitate to run towards Adrianna's side.
"How come you entered with your wand, Adrianna?" he asked.
"Now that you know that I can enter anyone's cell with my wand, you should scram, Vikra, else I won't hesitate in using this wand!" Adrianna warned him again.
Nefasky took another glance at the figure, her limbs had become cold. "So this is Vikra," she thought as goose bumps lined her skin.
Vikra started laughing. In fact, he began to dance. "I am proud of you Adrianna. You are the epitome of finest genes in your family."
Suddenly, he started floating towards the two girls as his bony fingers softly brushed the red veins around them.
Once again, the students heard Nefasky screaming loudly as though she was in immense pain. This time, Zephyr pointed his wand and entered Nefasky's cell, right where the two girls were standing. He was stunned when he saw Adrianna with her wand, but quickly recovered as he noticed that Vikra was approaching from ahead. Immediately, he moved in front of them.
"Go away!" Zephyr threatened.
Vikra stopped in his tracks. He laughed loudly and started dancing again, all the more with joy. "So, the cousin is here too. Do you know how powerful the two of you are?"
Vikra pointed at them and whispered, "The two of you can rule the world together."