Chapter Twenty Two
“It’s true!” Aura exclaimed frantically. Niyol glared at her intensely. He looked as if he was going to punch her in the face.
“Shut up!” He screamed again, “you’re just jealous, Aura! You can’t handle the fact that Valeska is more beautiful than you! She’s smarter, and better and nicer, and you’re just being mean, like you always are!”
Aura stepped back, clearly hurt. The small mess hall suddenly filled with silence. The empty rows of chairs and tables watched us eerily, as we stood in the centre of the dark room. The kitchen shutters were closed, and the dustbin was full of scraps of food left over from the evening meal. The dirty plates and cutlery had been speedily cleared away, as we had sat here quietly, waiting to be left alone. It was odd that everyone in this small facility seemed to do whatever we asked of them, as if we were their masters. I didn’t like it.
Aura tried her hardest to regain her composure, but I could tell that she was about to explode at any moment. She raised her right index finger and pointed it in Niyol’s face.
“Listen to me,” she grimaced through gritted teeth, “you need to shut up and think about what I’m saying…”
“You can’t tell me what to do anymore, Aura!” Niyol shouted aggressively.
“I’m not trying to tell you what to do!!” Aura collapsed in defeat onto one of the rickety wooden chairs. She threw her face into her hands and roared in fury. I knew that she was trying her best to keep her cool, but Niyol wasn’t.
“What are you going on about?” I interrogated him, calmly. My voice was quiet and soothing. We had to convince him one way or another, and usually he behaved reasonably with me.
“I’m the Primus!” He bellowed, pounding his clenched fist into his flared chest. “I tell you what to do! I’m the most powerful of the three, and I’m the leader! And no one can take that away from me!”
My mouth gaped open in shock, and I looked to Aura in horror. This wasn’t my brother! This wasn’t Niyol! I had never seen him act like this before! He wasn’t arrogant or conceited, and he had never before cared about being ‘the boss’!
My lower lip quivered, and I failed to hold back the tears. I burst out crying, and rubbed my hands against my eyes as I sobbed bitterly. Aura got up to comfort me but I didn’t want her to. Niyol shrugged in embarrassment, and pretended to ignore me.
“This isn’t you, Niyol! Why are you saying such horrible things? Aura loves you! I love you! We don’t care about being in charge! We know you’re the Primus, and that doesn’t bother us! We’re telling you this because we thought you deserved to know the truth! You’re sixteen years old! You need to start behaving like it!”
I continued to weep. The entire ordeal was getting to me, and I was finding it harder and harder to cope. I didn’t want to be a Ventus anymore; I didn’t want to have to deal with all of these issues. I loved my powers because they were second nature to me. They were an integral part of who I was, and I was proud of them. But all the drama and the fighting and the lies and the deceit… it was too much of a burden to bear. And the worst thing about it all was that we hadn’t even begun doing what we were supposed to be doing yet!
Niyol reached out and pulled me towards him. He hugged me robotically. His back was stiff and tight, and his arms barely touched me. Even though it was a pathetic excuse for a hug, I appreciated it and soaked it up. Niyol never hugged me.
“I’m sorry, Sefarina. You’re right. I’m being an idiot. But Valeska said…” I immediately pulled away from his loose grip and stared up at him.
“Valeska said what?”
“She said that you’re both jealous of my power, and that it was normal for you to be. She said that I had to assert myself, to prove to you that I’m in charge.”
Aura gave me ‘the look’, which I shot back to her. Aura pushed past me and walked closer to Niyol.
“Just think for a moment why she would be saying that. And don’t say it’s because she is romantically interested in you, because that is not the answer.”
Niyol scowled, and then pondered. He didn’t know what to say, and shrugged in defeat.
“She’s trying to turn you against us. She’s trying to separate us, so that we never become the most powerful that we can be! She’s trying to get you to work for yourself, or for the Inimicus! She’s using you, Niyol. Can’t you see that?”
Niyol paused, and stared off into the distance, deep in thought. He shook his head.
“No!” He replied, “I can’t believe that! Valeska has been nothing but nice to me! She’s been helping me to harness and develop my powers! If she was the mole, surely she would be stopping all of us from becoming better?”
Aura sighed loudly. “In a way, you’re right. But in a way, you’re wrong. What you say makes sense, but Sigwald found out that the Inimicus have been desperate to know our powers. She wanted you to get better so she could see what you could do! The attack on the Ventus base was a set up to prove what we were capable of!”
“What’s going on in here?” Valeska’s voice was distant, and filled with anxiety. She had stepped through the thick and heavy metal door to the dining hall without us even realising it. I stiffened, wondering what she had heard us say. We didn’t want her to know that we were on to her. If she did, then anything could happen.
Niyol pushed past both of us and headed towards Valeska, who snaked slowly towards us. She was wearing a black leather-looking cat suit, one I had seen her wearing for several days now. It clung firmly to her body, showing off her voluptuous figure. She looked like a Bond Girl.
“Valeska, you’ll never guess what they’re saying…” Niyol began.
“Shut up!” Aura began, as she started to rush towards him. I caught her arm with the air and pulled her backward. She glowered at me furiously, wondering why I was preventing her from doing anything. I knew what Niyol was like. Once he had decided something, he was going to go through with it. There was nothing we could say to make him keep our suspicions a secret. Even though I was secretly terrified, I knew that the only thing we could do was to let this whole thing play out. Then deal with the consequences.
Valeska looked from Aura, to me, and back to Niyol. Valeska stopped in front of him.
“What’s going on?” Valeska wondered, her large saucer shaped eyes filling up with crocodile tears. She was good: a master of manipulation. Her beauty had probably gotten her everything she had ever dreamed about.
“Aura and Sefarina are convinced that you’re the mole, and you set Sigwald up!” Niyol began; stupidly unaware of the dangerous game he was now playing. “They also seem to think that you planned the attack on the base so that you could see our powers in action.”
Niyol laughed, as if it were a joke. Valeska said nothing, only shooting a terrifying scowl over to us. Niyol stopped chuckling, and he shifted in his spot awkwardly.
“Valeska?” He questioned, “Please tell me that it isn’t true!”
Valeska clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth, and then exhaled obnoxiously. She stared up at Niyol, pushing her body against his, and grabbing him tightly. Her breasts were pushed up higher, and Niyol stared down at them pleasurably.
“Niyol, listen to me. You know the truth. You know who I am. They don’t. They’re just jealous of you and your power. They don’t want you to succeed!”
Niyol began to squirm against her. “Valeska, just say that you aren’t the mole! Just tell me that you don’t work for the Inimicus!”
Valeska let go of him, and stepped back. He stared at her in disgust. Her head leant to the side slightly, and she looked over to Aura, coldly. Her eyelids squeezed together slowly, leaving a small gap in between so that she could shoot us an evil glare.
“Women always know these things, Niyol, remember that. Your sister Aura never trusted me, and in a way, she was right not to.”
Niyol gasped, and stepped back, away from the infidel. She looked back at him, pleadingly.
“I would never lie to you Niy
ol. I care about you. Just because I work for the Inimicus, doesn’t mean…”
“You bitch!” He blurted out. It was a pretty immature reaction, but I still tried my best to fight back the snigger that lodged itself in my throat.
“You don’t mean that,” she implored, “you don’t.”
“You could have killed us! You could have killed Malik, and Sigwald, and everyone else who worked at the Ventus base!”
“No one was ever going to get hurt, Niyol, because you protected them. You saved yourself and your sisters. The attack made you better: greater. Without it you never would have known how powerful you could be!”
Valeska walked back over to him and grabbed his hands, but he tugged away from her in revulsion.
“Don’t make excuses!” Niyol demanded, “Just tell us what you’re really doing here!”
“I’m here for you,” she begged, fraught with tension. “I’m here for you and your sisters. I’m here to let you know that you don’t have to be controlled by the Elementus Populas. There is another way: a better way.”
“A way that lies and manipulates,” I added proudly. Valeska scowled at me hatefully, her head twisting more to one side.
Niyol walked backwards towards us, slowly. Valeska followed him desperately. She was beginning to look pathetic, like a wounded puppy dog in desperate need of some affection. Her plump lips squashed together tightly, and she let out another sigh.
“The Inimicus cares about all of you. We aren’t the enemy; we just don’t see why you should help people who won’t help themselves. Humankind has almost completely ruined the Earth, and won’t do anything to prevent its destruction. Why should you help them, when they aren’t willing to help you? You need to rise up, take the power from everyone, and rule the world the right way. The way that sees both Mother Nature and Humanity live together in harmony.”
Niyol garbled something, and then stopped. He leapt toward Valeska, and for a split second I thought that he was going to attack her. He didn’t. He clutched her shoulders gently, and tried his best to appeal to her.
“Valeska, it isn’t too late. You don’t have to do this. You don’t have to work for them anymore. We can help you. We can protect you. I know that you’re a nice person, deep down.” Niyol’s eyes were watery, and I thought that he was going to cry.
Valeska smiled cruelly. Her expression quickly turned into a snarl as she grabbed Niyol’s hands and threw them away from her.
“I love the ocean, Niyol. All I ever wanted to do was to explore its hidden treasures. And when I finally got to dive down and see it, it was filthy. Plastic bags, coke cans and litter everywhere. Oil spills, dead animals, toxic waste. I couldn’t believe that people could be so damaging to the world they live in.” She turned her back on us and began walking away. “The Inimicus understand that Niyol. They hate pollution as much as I do, and they want to make all those who damage our world, suffer. They deserve to be wiped out; just like the wildlife they helped kill.”
Niyol reeled back in repulsion. My ears pricked up, and Aura jumped forward.
“M…m…murder?” Niyol spluttered.
“Y…y…yes!” Valeska mocked wickedly. “With your help, we can stop all pollution. And if people continue to do it, then they will suffer the consequences!”
I felt sick. The Inimicus wanted us to kill for them. Even though I didn’t agree with pollution, I didn’t think that killing people was the answer. It was evil, immoral, and wrong.
“But what about the activists, Valeska? The ones you joined at University? You said what they did was wrong, you said it was bad to destroy things!”
“Yes I did, Niyol. I guess that was the only time I lied to you. Especially since I was the one who orchestrated the attacks to begin with. And I didn’t feel sorry for the people I killed then, because it is my mission, Niyol, to stop pollution. And you promised me that you would make it yours.”
Although I didn’t know what they were talking about, it sounded like Valeska had managed to manipulate Niyol into helping her. This explained his odd behaviour: she had been convincing him that he was in charge. She wanted to control him, so that he could control us. Niyol looked as though he had been kicked in the gut. His mouth fell open, and I thought for an instant he might be sick.
“Hurting people is definitely not my mission.” He stated defiantly.
“You hurt all those people the other day when you were protecting yourself and your sisters. Don’t you see that stopping pollution is stopping people from harming your family? If pollution continues, the world will end, and everyone you care about will die.”
“That’s warped reasoning!” I shouted, but Valeska continued to ignore me. She stared pleadingly into Niyol eyes, still trying to manipulate him. He walked backwards, away from her.
“There’s something wrong with you, Valeska,” he added tensely, “I’m not going to hurt innocent...”
“Innocent!” She blurted out humorously. “They aren’t innocent if they destroy the environment. They are murderers: murderers of animals, plants, eco systems and one day, human kind. They must be stopped, at any cost! This is your last chance,” Valeska warned, “You can join us now, willingly, or else.”
“Or else what?” Aura spat.
“I don’t want to have to hurt you…” Valeska began, “but I can…”
“That’s it!” Aura exclaimed triumphantly, “That’s why you wanted to see our powers in action!”
Valeska nodded slowly. “You’re very clever, Aura. Much cleverer than your brother makes out. But then, I knew that all along…”
Valeska lunged, punching Niyol in the nose. He fell backwards, crashing into a metal table as he clutched at his face.
“LAST CHANCE!” Valeska shrieked.
Niyol jumped to his feet, electrical sparks glimmering out of his fingers.
“Don’t!” I cried out, “This whole place is made of steel! You’ll electrocute us all!”
Niyol stared at me angrily, and the lightning dissipated.
“You’re also very intelligent,” Valeska taunted me, “But now it is time for me to leave. It’s a shame that you didn’t take our very generous offer.”
Valeska turned and rushed towards the door, Aura and Niyol chasing her. I thrust my arm out and tried to create a shield around Valeska to stop her, but she ran straight through it. I tried again, but nothing happened. When I gathered the air molecules around her arms and legs, to pull her backwards, still nothing happened. That’s when I realised. It was her suit.
Valeska heaved the door open and sprinted through it. Niyol and Aura followed after her. I ran as fast as I could through the room, and in almost no time at all I was in the corridor. Further down, towards the exit, I saw a group of soldiers being attacked by Valeska. She was punching and kicking her way through them. Aura and Niyol were with them, and they too were being severely beaten by our traitor. I rushed down the metal corridor, my feet clanging against the floor.
In the distance, I saw a door being pulled open. The bright light glared harshly, but I could make out the shadow of Valeska. She waltzed through the opening, and then turned and smiled at me. The corner of her right lip flew up, and she cackled as she slammed the door shut. I heard groaning from the guards who had been beaten by the beautiful assassin. I immediately headed straight for Aura and Niyol, who were both bleeding, but seemed to be alright.
“Are you okay?” I asked them as I knelt down beside them.
“What a BITCH!” Niyo howled, clutching his bloody nose.
“I couldn’t do anything!” Aura screaming as she rocked back and forth in shock. “I couldn’t stop her! The blocks didn’t work!”
I grabbed her forearms and rubbed my thumbs against them consolingly.
“It was the suit, Aura. The suit must be specially made.”
“What are you on about?” Niyol wondered, still furious.
“The black cat suit she was wearing. She’s never worn it before, and now suddenly she’s we
aring it every day?”
“You’re right!” Aura understood. “She’s been monitoring our powers so that we can’t fight against her. What she said just now, about being able to fight against us…”
I swallowed hard, my heart racing, as I listened to Aura confirm my own conclusions. “They wanted to know our powers so that they could be invulnerable to us. They want to make sure that if we don’t work for them, we can’t do anything to stop them.”
Ventus Page 22