IGNITE (The Heir Chronicles Book 1) Read online

  They both look at me in confusion.

  "Okay, snap out of it and listen to me. I want you both to create a distraction while I rescue Aviva from the camp. I think that the beis-wasp nest down there would be helpful and as soon as you hear me whistle, you both will run, no matter what, understand, now, if you both want to back out, tell me right now so that I can come up with an alternative plan," I glare at them and once again, they both just nod their heads in unison.

  "Good, now as soon as I reach that tree," I motion towards a tree which is approximately about 30 feet away from our position. "When I get there, you both will shoot your arrows and you know the rest of the plan."

  I turn around and start towards the direction of the tree. As soon as I reach it, I hear a commotion, no doubt the result of the distraction created by the boys.

  I pick up my pace and reach Aviva.

  "Oh my god Fena, you-"

  "I want you to keep quiet." I whisper, trying to untie her hands. As soon as her hands are free, she unties her legs and we get moving. I whistle to signal the boys to move ahead.

  I turn around and shove Aviva in front of me when I feel a sting on my ankle. An arrow. Oh no.

  My hand instinctively reaches for my arrow. I ignore the seeping pain in my ankle and shoot arrows simultaneously.

  I manage to hobble a few steps when another arrow comes flying in my direction. I quickly roll over, expecting the arrow to arrive beside me, but it never does. Someone grabs me by my shoulders. The pain is becoming unbearable and the corners of my vision are blackening. I am trying hard to keep myself conscious but soon, I am overcome by darkness.

  CHAPTER-4

  I flutter open my eyes and find myself in a dark room. I look around but find no one. My hands and legs are tied to a wooden chair.

  Okay, first, I have to free my hands and legs. I writhe and try to break free of the restraints the easy way but they just won't budge.

  "Oh Atras, this is gonna hurt," I mumble before getting up with my tied legs, still tied to the chair. I swear it's easier said than done.

  When I finally manage to stand steadily, I jump and crash down on the floor with as much force as I can. The chair crashes beneath me and breaks into a thousand pieces and boom, I am free of the restraints. I twist my wrist and ankle when I remember about the arrow wound. It's almost healed. Strange.

  "Hello!" I shout but there is silence except for the echo of my voice.

  "Is anybody there?" I shout. Nothing. Not a single voice.

  I look around and try to find a way out of here. Nothing. Nada.

  I scan the whole room hoping to catch a glimpse of a door or a window, but see nothing of that sort.

  I tip my head back in frustration and it is then that I notice it. A door. Now, the only problem is that it is located about thirty feet above the ground and is connected to another door on the wall opposite to it by a metal bridge kind of thing but nothing to help me climb up.

  I start running different ideas through my head. Till now, none of it has proved itself useful.

  I try to calm myself. Calm down. Think. Listen. I notice the sound of water flowing behind me. A metal pipe system. Perfect.

  I get up and examine the water pipe which runs all of the way up to the metal bridge.

  I run and jump and grip the metal band on the pipe and balance myself and start climbing up and try to minimize the sounds that my feet make on coming in contact with the metal. I finally reach the bridge and run towards the door on my right.

  It opens to a garden. It's the most beautiful I have ever seen. I don't have time to admire it's beauty, I have to run. Suddenly, I hear voices behind me. I turn around and see the Hinaks gathering around me and prepare myself for a fight. They all pounce at the same time. I don't know how it happens, flames shoot right out of my hands as I put them in front of my face defensively and a ring of fire forms around me. They all back up and surprisingly, kneel in front of me. They say something in Hinak but I can understand each and every word that they say.

  Forgive us, our saviour, bless us with your powers so that we may help you on your mission.

  What?! Saviour? Mission? Okay they literally have lost it. I turn around to leave but have absolutely no idea where to go. Well, let's test the waters, I try to speak Hinak, and surprisingly, I am fluent in Hinak and it doesn't even feels as if I am speaking a different language.

  “I know what you are thinking right now. It will all become clear as time passes. Your destiny is written in gold.”

  “How can I get out of here?” I ask. One of them, an elderly woman, comes and gives me a ring and tells me that it will help me reach exactly where I need to go.

  I thank her and put the ring on my finger.

  Immediately, I can feel my feet leave the ground. I close my eyes to prevent the nausea I would get from all this twirling if I keep my eyes open. When everything comes to a halt and my feet are on solid ground once more, I open my eyes and boom! I am behind the bushes where I was explaining my plan to the boys. I look around and everything is the same as it was before. I glance down at my right hand and see the ring. I'll deal with it afterwards. I make a mental note to myself.

  "Ready?" I ask.

  "Ready."

  I crouch down and reach the tree I had referred to and soon there is chaos. Now, I shout mentally and sprint towards Aviva and immediately reach down and retrieve a dagger from my boots and cut the ropes binding her and help her up. I whistle as we both break into a run and reach out of the Hinaks' territory. I stop and catch my breath while the boys catch up with us.

  "Do you always carry a dagger in your boots?" Adrian asks disbelievingly.

  "Uh, not exactly always, but yeah, most of the time."

  We all laugh and continue on the path leading out of the woods.

  As soon as we get out of the woods, the sky turns black and the rain starts pouring.

  "Oh no," I mutter and all of us start running and I suggest going to my house, as it is the nearest and we all start walking toward my house.

  Once we all get inside, I bring some towels and offer them to Aviva and the boys. I offer Aviva some of my clothes while I give some of the spare clothes of Leo. Leo is like my brother from another mother and, he spends all of his holidays from don't know where, here and so, we decided, instead of him bringing his bags every time he came here, we could keep some of his clothes here itself. I think that they will fit Adrian and Drake, so I offer them the clothes and the guest room.

  "Mom!" I call out when I spot a letter on the dining table.

  Fena,

  Dad and I have to go out of town for some time. Don't worry, we'll be back soon. The food is in the refrigerator. I made some extra so that if you would want to have Aviva come over, you can call her too.

  -Mom.

  Great, No one's home. "Hey!" Aviva comes in and jerks the note out of my hand.

  "Great! Can I sleep over?" She looks at me with a mischievous grin. "Yeah, sure and plus, these royals are here too, how will I survive them without you?" I reply and we both chuckle.

  "Oh, that reminds me, tell both of them to come down for dinner."

  She nods and heads towards the guest room and I begin to arrange the food on the table.

  There is a knock at the door.

  "Aviva, could you get that, I am in the middle of something." No reply. She never listens when it's meant for her to listen.

  I huff and open the door.

  "Hey!" The visitor greets me.

  CHAPTER-5

  "Hey Leo, what are you doing here?" I ask, grinning in an idiotic way.

  "Well, I was just passing by when your parents called me and told me that they were out of town, so I decided to check on you; see that you are alright and if you need anything," he says, entering the house and sitting on his usual spot by the fireplace.

  "Uh, yeah, I am having a . . . nice time." I reply. Suddenly his attention is diverted towards something on my hand. The ring. I totally forgot about the ring.<
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  "Um, Leo, is it okay if I say something weird?" I ask, hesitantly.

  "Yeah sure," his expression turns serious and I can tell by his posture that he is paying all his attention.

  "Okay, so, today, in the woods, something happened. I was practicing and somehow," I really wasn't in the mood to explain the whole meeting with the Prince, so I omitted it. Yeah, I will tell him, but this was more important.

  "Aviva was captured by the Hinaks." His mouth falls open but he does not say anything. "So, I went to rescue her and then, when we were coming out, an arrow hit my ankle," I showed him the place where the arrow had hit me. There was only a small mark in place of a wound, which is kind of strange. "And I went unconscious. When I opened my eyes, I was tied to a chair in a room. I managed to escape it and when I found a door, I went out but the Hinaks surrounded me and were attacking me when something like a shield of fire formed around me and they all kneeled in front of me; I also understood every word they said. It's strange isn't it. I mean, I have never even heard someone speak Hinak before and then, I could understand each and every word that they said, and I could also speak it. And then there was this old woman who have me this ring and said something about my destiny," I showed him the ring the woman had given me. It is kind of ancient with a Phoenix engraved on it. "And as soon as I put it on, I was back where I was preparing to rescue Aviva." I end my tale and see him examining the ring very closely. "If you want, I can take it off." I offer but he declines. He leans forward and whispers to me in a secretive way, "Okay, so what I am about to tell you, you can't tell anyone, not even Aviva, Okay? I nod. So, here goes-"

  Before he could say anything else, Adrian and Drake appear in the room and Leo gets up from his chair and mumbles, "later, Okay." I nod and get up.

  "Okay, so, Leo, they are Adrian and Drake," I gesture towards the duo, "And this is Leo." I say and they shake hands. "Nice to meet you, your majesty." Leo says curtly. "Uh, are they, wearing my clothes Fena?" He asks and I explain him the whole incident in the forest.

  "Oh well, now I think that all those years of practice paid off." He says, slapping my back.

  We all sit down at the dining table and start having the dinner. Adrian, Drake and Leo are talking as if they have known each other their whole Lives while Aviva is telling me about a new movie which is premiering this Friday but as always, I am not paying attention.

  We all finish the dinner and Leo and I are cleaning up when I ask him what he was about to tell me before everyone arrived. "I'll tell you later, Okay." He says. It's kind of infuriating that he is being so secretive, but then maybe it is so important that no one can know about it. After all, I'm the only person who knows all his secrets, so what other reason would he have?

  "Leo, would you like to sleep over tonight. I mean, the weather has gone from bad to worse, and plus, I really need someone who is mentally normal" I say, taking another jab at Aviva. She scowls but says nothing. I just love teasing her.

  "Yeah, I was also going to ask the same question." He says and I turn my attention back towards the football game that is being telecasted live from Barcelona.

  “How the hell is he not able to make a stupid pass!" I exclaim, making Aviva jump.

  "Can you tone it down a little? Others are watching too." She says while I give her a fake pout.

  After about an hour we close the television and we go to our rooms. The boys in Leo's room and Aviva and I in my room.

  At about midnight, I wake up to eat something to satisfy my growling stomach. When I approach the kitchen, I hear some footsteps in the kitchen.

  I pick up the closest thing that can be used as a weapon-a saucepan. I move a little closer and see the person's silhouette moving towards the refrigerator. His back is turned towards me. I take this chance to attack him. I swing the saucepan over my head and haul it towards the intruder. He somehow dodges it but grabs my wrist and throws me to the ground. That hurt.

  "Fena?" A bewildered voice asks.

  "Adrian?"

  "What are you doing here?" He asks.

  "What are you doing here?" I ask.

  "And ow! That hurt." I wince.

  "Yeah, don't sneak up on me. I am trained to sense when someone is sneaking up on me," he says.

  "Show-off" I mumble under my breath, but loud enough that he can hear. "So, what are you actually doing here?" I ask.

  "Um, searching peanuts actually," he says as I burst laughing.

  "Peanuts, really?" I manage to speak.

  "Yeah, yeah, laugh all you want on your future sovereign" and he rolls his eyes. "Oh, yeah, sorry," I try to keep my face straight but fail miserably. "Okay, so tell me why are you down here?" He asks, wiggling his eyebrows. "Well, I came to have some peanuts too." Now it was his time to burst in a fit of laughter and I too join him.

  CHAPTER-6

  "Get up tiger!" Sings Leo. "Noooo," I whine into my pillow.

  "Oh come on, get up baby" a female voice says. My eyes immediately flutter open and I immediately get up and hug my mom.

  "When did you guys get back?" I ask.

  "About an hour ago." She says. "Where's dad?" I ask. She purses her lips as if debating whether or not to tell me . "Sweetie, he will arrive soon." I can tell that she is hiding something from me but I don't push her.

  __

  I reach down and see that Adrian and Drake are fully dressed and prepared to leave.

  "You guys are leaving so soon?" Aviva says, pouting.

  "Oh, stop it." I say and Adrian and Drake laugh and Aviva returns her face to a normal expression. I never like it when she pouts. She looks like a fish with pneumonia.

  "Looks like we would be leaving now." Adrian says, turning away.

  "Uh, wait,” I say. “Did you guys have breakfast?" I ask.

  "No, we'll have it at the palace." Adrian says sheepishly.

  "Oh. Oh. So, I guess you guys have found your 'Special candidate' " I use my finger to mention the double quotes.

  "Er, yeah." Adrian says and Drake shoves him forward. I reach the end of the stairs and still am staring at both of them.

  "Uh, so . . . Fena, we--" Drake hits him on the back.

  "--I think that the candidate should be you," He kind of whispers the last word so it is very difficult for me to understand and plus, I doubt that what I think he is saying is true.

  "Uh, sorry, Can you repeat the last word?" I say.

  "He thinks that you'd be the perfect candidate for his court." Drake says very loudly. I blink my eyes and turn around to see if he's talking to someone else.

  "Who are you talking to?" I ask, turning around once again. "Oh I knew this was a bad idea," Adrian says, covering his now red face with his hand.

  "No, no, no, this isn't a bad idea at all," intervenes Leo, earning a glare from my mother, but he gives her a slight nod and she seems to understand whatever Leo was trying to tell her. "In fact, I would like it very much if our little tiger would be in your court." He says, now earning a glare from me.

  "Uh, so, we'll leave you all to decide finally and, until then, we will be at the airport. We have to leave at ten and it's eight, so if you would like to join us, you can come to the airport and show the security this," he hands me a piece of parchment. It's nothing like normal paper. It's thick and slightly textured and perfumed. I read it. It's like a permission letter to enter their jet. I nod and keep it on the side table.

  "So, we'll uh, leave now." Adrian says awkwardly and goes out the door.

  I walk towards the table and pick up the paper and compare the pros and cons of joining the court. Truth be told, I think it would be nice to have a change of place.

  "What the hell are you thinking? Just take the paper and go to the airport and join his court!" Aviva shouts in my ear while shaking me by my collar at such speed that I think It's a miracle my head is still attached to my neck.

  "I think I'll have a vote. Mom?" I ask, looking towards her. "I say . . . She looks at Leo and he nods."You can go."

  "Leo?"<
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  "You should go."

  "Of course, you idiot Fena!" Aviva says before I even say her name.

  I look at the form in my hand.

  "Okay, so you’re saying that I am allowed to go to a country I learned existed only a few hours ago and participate in the royal court. See the problem in that? Plus, let's first get me something to eat. I can't think on an empty stomach." I say, and my stomach also growls, solidifying my statement. Aviva frowns while the others smile and we head to the dining table.

  I dig into my food. Literally. After about twenty times of suggestions on how to improve my eating habits by Aviva and ten sarcastic comments by Leo and three refills of juice by my mom, I look at the clock.

  9:30.

  It's now or never. What do I do? I ask myself. I decide my answer.

  "Leo, how fast can your bike go?" I ask. "Um, about 178 miles per hour. But you can drive it till 100 miles only," he says.

  "Good," I say and get up, pick up my jacket and the keys to Leo's bike with Leo just on my heels.

  I get on the bike and turn on the engine as Leo sits at the back seat.

  "Goodbye, my dear bike," He says in fake sympathy. I roll my eyes and take the shortcut to the airport. It's through the jungle so most people never use it.

  After about what seems like twenty minutes, I see the giant building of the airport.

  "How much time left?" I ask. "Ten minutes." I smile and continue on my way.

  I get down when I have parked the bike with five minutes left.

  When we reach the security check, I tell the officer that I have to go to the Prince's jet.

  "I need the permission form," he says in a no-nonsense tone. "Yeah, I have it right . . . " I search my pockets, nothing.

  Shoot.

  I left it at the table at my house.

  "Um, you know, I have maybe forgotten it. Is there any other way that I can prove to you that I am requested by the Prince to join him on his plane?" I ask.

  "Sorry ma'am if you don't have the permission, we can't let you in," She says and moves on to the next passenger.