"Hold it! Hold it!" Adunni's father encouraged, his voice echoing through the training ground. He peered intently at his stopwatch, his brow furrowed in concentration.
Suspended in mid-air, frozen in time around Adunni, were several dry leaves, their delicate forms encased within a shimmering blue sphere. Adunni, her face strained with effort, struggled to maintain the time-stopping field, her eyes glowing with intense concentration.
Her father stood a safe distance away from the sphere, careful to avoid being caught in its temporal stasis. He glanced repeatedly at the stopwatch, his fingers drumming nervously against its surface.
The blue sphere surrounding Adunni flickered, its intensity wavering, the light dimming as her control faltered. The dry leaves within the sphere trembled, their frozen stillness beginning to thaw.
Finally, with a sigh of exhaustion, Adunni released the time-stopping field, the blue sphere dissolving into nothingness, the leaves fluttering to the ground.
"You almost did it," Adunni's father said, patting her on the back with a proud smile. "You held it for a minute and five seconds. That's a new personal best."
Adunni looked up at her father, her eyes filled with a mixture of pride and frustration. "What about Mom's friend, Amon?" she asked, her voice laced with concern. "Why do you think he stopped visiting?"
Before her father could respond, a deafening thunderclap shook the sky, sending a chill down their spines. The bright afternoon sun was suddenly obscured by dark, ominous clouds, the sky turning an unsettling shade of grey.
The scene shifted abruptly, transitioning to Ehogsa's room .Esse stormed into the room, her face contorted with anger, her eyes blazing with impatience.
Ehogsa was sitting on her bed, gently petting a monkey, a small, playful creature.
"I need you to locate the maid now," Esse demanded, her voice sharp and commanding.
Ehogsa hesitated, her brow furrowing with concern. "I already caused a storm," she protested, her voice soft but firm. "Isn't that enough?"
Esse scoffed, her expression hardening. She sat down on the bed next to Ehogsa , stroking her hair with a deceptively gentle touch. "She came to our house and hexed our sister," she said, her voice laced with a chilling sweetness. "Killing her would just be mercy."
Seeing the manipulative glint in Esse's eyes, Ehogsa 's own eyes flickered with a faint green light, a brief spark of her darker nature. But just as quickly, the green faded away, replaced by a warm, comforting pink.
Ehogsa stood up, her eyes glowing with an intense, radiant pink light. Immediately, a wave of energy emanated from her, reaching out to connect with the animals of the village, both big and small, wild and domesticated.
You could see different animals eyes all suddenly glowed and she whispered the word, "Find her," and immediately, the animals scattered, dispersing throughout the village, their senses heightened, their mission clear: to locate Mirabel.
As the first drops of rain began to fall, Adunni and her father exchanged a worried glance. The sudden shift in weather was unnatural, unexpected, the once-sunny sky now obscured by a thick layer of dark, ominous clouds.
This wasn't just a passing shower, they both knew. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.
They quickened their pace, their footsteps echoing , their senses on high alert. They felt as if they were being watched, as if unseen eyes were following their every move. A prickling sensation ran down their spines, a warning that danger was close.
They constantly looked back, their eyes scanning the shadows, searching for any sign of pursuit. The wind howled around them, whipping their hair and clothes, making it difficult to see, to hear, to breathe. It felt as if the very elements were conspiring against them.
"Try to use your powers," Adunni's father urged, his voice strained against the wind. "Just for a little while. Hold the wind, give us some time to reach the house."
Adunni nodded, closing her eyes, focusing her mind, reaching out for the power that lay dormant within her. She channeled her energy, visualizing the wind, trying to slow its relentless force, to create a brief respite from the storm.
She concentrated with all her might, her body trembling with exertion. The air around them shimmered, the wind momentarily subsiding, its force diminishing, but it was a fragile, fleeting reprieve.
Her recent record, the minute and five seconds that had earned her such praise, seemed a distant memory. This power was no stronger than a few seconds, something had broken her power, and now it was a ticking time bomb waiting to go off.
The blue sphere surrounding them flickered, its intensity wavering, the wind resuming its relentless assault.
The effort was too much, her body strained, her mind exhausted. The temporal field collapsed, the wind resuming its full force, buffeting them with renewed intensity.
"It's no use," Adunni said, her voice filled with frustration. "I can't hold it. Something's wrong."
Her father's face hardened, his eyes narrowing with concern. He knew then that they were dealing with something far more powerful than they had anticipated. This wasn't just a random storm. This was a deliberate attack.
"Quicken your pace," he said, his voice low and urgent. "We need to get home, now."
As Adunni and her father hurried along the rain-slicked streets, the downpour intensified, transforming into a torrential deluge that lashed at their faces and soaked them to the bone. The wind howled around them, carrying with it the scent of ozone and the chilling premonition of impending danger.
Suddenly, a screech pierced the air, a high-pitched, ear-splitting sound that sent shivers down their spines. It was a sound that anyone in that village would recognize, a sound that struck fear into the hearts of all who heard it.
Raptor.
They knew, without a doubt, that it was one of the witches sisters. The Igbinedion line.
Adunni and her father exchanged a look of grim determination. They quickened their pace, their footsteps pounding against the wet ground , their eyes scanning the sky for any sign of the impending attack.
A moment later, they saw it - a streak of emerald green hurtling towards them, a deadly projectile of acid-laced poison, the signature weapon of Raptor and his vile mistress.
Without hesitation, Adunni unleashed a wave of energy, reaching out with her powers to slow the approaching projectile. The green stream faltered, its speed diminishing, giving them a precious few seconds to escape its deadly path.
But Adunni's powers were weak, her control diminished by whatever force was working against them. The slowed poison acid was not slowing enough for her control, they had to evade.
"The forest!" her father shouted, grabbing her hand and pulling her towards a dense thicket of trees that bordered the road. "If they're targeting us, it will be harder for them to find us in there. Whoever is chasing us is in disguise!"
They plunged into the forest, the trees offering some protection from the relentless rain and the watchful eyes of their pursuers. But there was no escaping the sound of Raptor's screech, no escaping the knowledge that they were being hunted, that their lives were hanging by a thread.
Esse, astride Riptor, ignored the treacherous terrain, her eyes burning with determination. She wasn't about to let Adunni who she thought was Mirabel escape.
She urged Riptor onward, heedless of the destruction they were leaving in their wake. The acid poison streamed from Raptor's mouth, scorching the trees, setting the forest ablaze, turning their escape route into a burning inferno.
Adunni and her father stumbled through the undergrowth, dodging the falling debris, their lungs filling with smoke, their bodies aching with exhaustion. They kept running, despite the pain, despite the fear, driven by the instinct to survive.
Suddenly, a blast of green acid poison erupted nearby, showering them with burning droplets. Adunni's father, reacting instinctively, pushed her out of way saving her .
the impact sent her sprawling away from his body, tumbling down a steep embankment.
She lost her footing, her body tumbling head over heels, her vision blurring, her head striking against a jagged rock. For a moment, she lost consciousness, her world fading into darkness.
When she came to, she was disoriented, her head throbbing, her surroundings spinning. She struggled to sit up, her body aching, her limbs trembling. She called out for her father, but her voice was lost in the roar of the storm.
She was alone, lost and vulnerable, in the heart of the burning forest.
As she stumbled to her feet, she saw a flicker of movement in the shadows, something shifting, something watching her. Her heart pounded in her chest, her blood running cold.
Screaming her father's name.
She ran to the edge of a cliff overlooking the river, looked at all of that turbulence in the world, and prepared to jump. "If she had to survive she needs to jump!"
Without thinking, she jumped into the river! It tossed her and turned her, she tried to grab onto something, but she could not. Then, next thing she knows, she blacked out.
As Adunni drifted back to consciousness, she felt a strange sensation, as if she were awakening from a long, troubled sleep. Her body ached, her head throbbed, and her mind struggled to grasp her surroundings.
She heard muffled voices, distant and indistinct, calling out a name she didn't recognize. "Emeka… Mirabel… Emeka… Mirabel…"
Then, a new sound emerged from the swirling cacophony - a soft, hesitant voice speaking directly to her. She felt a gentle poke, a light touch against her cheek, as if someone were trying to rouse her from her slumber.
"Mirabel?" the voice inquired, tentative and uncertain.
She opened her eyes, her vision blurry, her surroundings swimming in and out of focus. She squinted, trying to make out the face of the person speaking to her, but her sight was still clouded by fatigue and confusion.
She could barely make out a young boy kneeling beside her, his features obscured by the shadows. He poked her again, gently this time, his brow furrowed with concern.
"Can you hear me?" he asked, his voice growing slightly louder. He pulled out a small, silver dagger from his pocket, a flash of metal that caught her attention despite her blurred vision.
With a monumental effort, Aduni managed to focus her attention, to push past the fog in her mind, to make sense of what was happening. The boy, the dagger, the unfamiliar surroundings – it all felt so surreal, so disconnected from her own reality.
She drew a ragged breath, her chest aching with each inhalation. Her throat was dry, her voice raspy, but she forced herself to speak, to correct the boy's misidentification.
"My name…" she whispered, her voice barely audible, "My name is not Mirabel… My name is Adunni."
The boy paused, his hand still resting on the hilt of the dagger, his eyes narrowing with suspicion. He seemed to consider her words, weighing them carefully in his mind.
Then, with a swift, fluid motion, he slid the dagger back into his pocket, his expression shifting from cautious curiosity to a determined resolve.
Then, with a sudden movement, the boy picked her up, carrying her over his shoulder, his footsteps leading her away from the river.
" Guys! I found her , I found mirabel." Eamon called out . Drawing the attention of some students and teachers." But I think something is wrong."
Sunmi immediately came running and hugged Mirabel." Oh my God! What happened to your clothes and why are you wet ?" Sunmi asked . Taking Mirabel off Eamon's hands.
" Who are you ? And why do you keep calling me Mirabel?" she asked . Sunmi looked at Mirabel confused. "What do you mean ? Your name is Mirabel. Don't you remember?".
"Yeah , that's what is wrong " Eamon added as he walked behind the two girls ." She said she can't remember how she got here or anything at all. all she said was, her name is Adunni and not Mirabel."