by Safari,B. C
Ma Joelle turned to the window once more; her thoughts were miles away, ‘evil parlers,’ she muttered.
‘Evil?’ said Charlotte, ‘surely, parlers aren’t all evil.’
‘Not all,’ the old woman spewed.
Glancing at both Junior and Charlotte, Ma Joelle whispered, ‘somting is wrong.’
‘What?’ shot Sasha.
The old woman gazed at her dim blue charm worriedly and croaked, ‘when parlers are nearby, de charm glistens a bright blue. It has never failed…unless nobody here is a tru parler.’
‘What if we’re not parlers yet?’ blurted Junior, ‘down in the chamber, Willow said that we had not transitioned. What if we need to somehow undergo a change to assume these powers?’
‘De transition!’ exclaimed Ma Joelle, ‘de book…look in de book!’
Charlotte opened the heavy, bronze hardcover automatically and flicked to the contents page. ‘The transition – Chapter 6, page 101.’
She glanced about the room once more, before beginning a new narration.
‘The transition is the period in which a juvenile parler assumes a power and becomes a mature parler. In the transition, a parler’s power may manifest in many different forms, but usually the form which they will specialise. Every parler’s power is unique, though there may be variations of the same skill, no two parlers will possess the same ability. The age of transition is different for each parler, however, parlers of the same bloodline usually transition at the same age. The transition age is the age that most parlers retain for the first 100 years.’
‘Repeat that last sentence!’ mouthed Sasha.
‘The transition age is the age that most parlers retain for the first 100 years.’
‘That’s it!’ shot Junior, ‘that’s how Mr. Williamson hasn’t aged a day since 1920.’
‘If parlers can live longer than 100 years without ageing, then they are virtually immortal!’ cried Sasha.
‘Nat exactly, Dear,’ croaked Ma Joelle, ‘dere is a way dat they can be killed … but I don’t know it.’
Gulping hesitantly, the old woman whispered, ‘it involves very powerful enchantments.’
Junior exhaled a despondent sigh; though Ma Joelle’s book had given an insight into the origins of parlery, there was little more he could do with the information. It certainly could not help track down the Shorebridge Ripper. If Cato was, truly, one of the first parlers to ever exist, he must have been several hundreds of years old by now. Moreover, if the aging principal applied to him, he would look merely a few years older than the young man he’d been in the tale. Down in the chamber, Dr. Willow spoke of Cato’s death, but Mr. Brown staunchly believed that Cato was alive. If Mr. Brown was right, and Cato was alive – what was driving his intense craving to kill? Either he was a raving, ageless sociopath who had an insalubrious appetite for murder - or, his killings had some deeper purpose.
‘Notorious parlers,’ said Charlotte’s, back in reading mode.
Pointing at a freakishly life-like illustration, she whispered, ‘here he is again.’ The sketch was of a tall, dark haired man with the name, Cato, etched beneath it.
‘Cato, known better amongst parlers as ‘the originator,’ is the oldest parler to walk the earth. He has seen 3000 years. When Cato was banished from the far off kingdom, with others whom the dark ashes had touched, he travelled to a new land. After Cato had transitioned, the people of the new land discovered his unique ability - scorching inanimate objects. Over time, his popularity grew, and his skill was put to use in the military. After 50 years, other sorceresses of the new land saw that Cato and the ‘cursed ones’ were well preserved for their ages. They became jealous of Cato and encouraged the people to turn against him. Cato, with many other parlers, went into hiding (in fear that the humans might kill them). After that time, parlers began to keep their abilities secret from humans. Following many years of hiding, Cato resurfaced under a new identity…Gaius Julius Caesar. His unparalleled abilities, alongside his enchanting charisma, spurred his to rise to power again. He soon became the unrivalled leader of an entire empire.’
‘Cato – was – Julius – Caesar!’ cried Sasha, spilling each word with tenor.
‘This just can’t be true!’
‘If it is, I’m never going to another one of Mr. McGlean’s history lessons again,’ muttered Charlotte.
Sasha snatched the heavy bronze book from Charlotte’s lap and continued, ‘Soon after, the demise of the Roman empire meant that Cato would go into hiding again, and resurface only when anyone old enough to recognize him had died. Centuries passed and Cato resurfaced as several prominent figures throughout history, including Napoleon’s most talented general and right-hand man, Jean Lannes. After many years, Cato’s silver blood slowly began to turn his heart cold. Soon, Cato developed an unquenchable thirst for power and a hatred for all meres. He committed the unspeakable crime of bauchery (killing other parlers to steal their power). At this time, Cato began to kill all meres and parlers that crossed his path. Cato amassed a collection of powers as well as devoted followers, who did his bidding. His followers included notorious parlers, such as Diana Drusus. Diana is rumoured to have been in a romantic relationship with Cato. She has up to 900 years and is almost as deadly as Cato, himself.’
There was a detailed illustration of the fiery eyed woman beneath her name. She was the devil in a dress…unsuspecting but irrefutably dangerous. Two other sets of serpentine eyes shot out of the page beneath Diana Drusus. Two men with dark features, hooded cloaks and flame-filled eyes. Underneath them was the caption, ‘The Bukhari Brothers are two of Cato’s most devoted comrades. The dynamic duo have infamously skinned meres alive. Semal (right) is able to hear the thoughts of others, whilst his brother, Damien, can draw balls of fire in his bare palms. Another of Cato’s notorious protégés-’
Her throat suddenly dry, and her eyes filling with horror, Sasha breathed, ‘Felix Corneli’
‘It can’t be!’ cried Charlotte, ‘Felix is with Cato!’
Silently confirming Charlotte’s fear, Sasha tilted the bronze book, revealing to everyone, the face of the Aryan man, Felix Corneli. The sketch was exceptionally accurate; it had even captured Felix Corneli’s freakish, uneven smile.
Burying her head in the book, Sasha gasped, ‘to think that Cato’s accomplice was down there in the chamber with us…listening to everything!’
‘Keep reading,’ urged Junior, still wallowing in shock.
‘Felix Corneli (200), has the unassuming ability of invisibility. Do not underestimate him. Like his master, he has slaughtered many meres and staunchly believes the earth should be cleansed of them.’
‘He deceived us!’
‘He’s probably long gone by now,’ grunted Junior, ‘back to report to Cato.’
Sasha lifted her head from the book and grinned at the Roterbee twins.
‘What is it?’
‘What if I knew a way we could find Felix?’
‘And how on earth would we do that?’ hissed Charlotte, ‘he’s invisible for goodness sakes!’
‘Down in the chamber, I had a feeling he would disappear,’ said Sasha, ‘so I put my iPod in his cloak pocket whilst we were hiding.’
‘And why would you…Oh!’
Suddenly realising the brilliance of Sasha’s plan, Junior cried, ‘we’ll track him!’
‘That’s right!’ shot Sasha, ‘as long as he hasn’t removed the cloak, he’ll be right where my iPod is.’
Sasha slid her phone from her back pocket, ‘this GPS app should do the job,’ she grinned.
‘You’re forgetting something,’ whispered Charlotte.
‘And what’s that?’
‘The part where Felix is a notorious serial killer!’ barked Charlotte, ‘I’m not sure whether we should be tracking him down… or running away from him.’
‘He can’t do a thing,’ gloated Junior, ‘did you see how afraid he was of my cricket bat down in the
chamber? I assure you that if he was half as deadly as this book paints him, we would not have lived to tell the story.’
‘And, he thinks that you both have magical powers so he probably doesn’t want to mess with you,’ Sasha concurred.
‘He’s a 200-year-old murderer who looks like he’s just dropped out of college!’ exclaimed Charlotte, convinced that Junior and Sasha had gone berserk.
Neither Junior nor Sasha responded, their eyes were tightly glued to Sasha’s phone.
‘It’s working!’ cried Sasha, as a pixilated map of Shorebridge loaded onto the screen.
‘Felix is still in Shorebridge!’ gasped Junior, ‘but where?’
Sasha manipulated another virtual button, making the cybernetic atlas larger. A red marker appeared at a location labelled ‘The Rocky Shore.’
‘We’ve got him!’ Sasha cried, ‘Felix is at the Rocky Shore beach right now!’
‘That’s at the opposite end of Shorebridge.’
‘How long does it take to get there?’ asked Junior, flinging his coat over his shoulders.
‘A 35-minute walk …a 20-minute run.’
The trio glanced between themselves.
‘Run, it is,’ said Charlotte, stating their unspoken agreement out loud.
Sasha gazed back at her grandmother, who had long since resumed a vacant position at the window. The young woman wondered whether Ma Joelle would be able to remember the events of this morning tomorrow. Probably not. So, without looking back, Sasha paced after Charlotte and Junior, calling out, ‘don’t wait up for me, Ma.’
The loud clasp of the door caused Ma Joelle to jolt in her seat, she watched from the window as the three youngsters raced into the cold, empty streets.
Chapter twelve
‘Capturing Corneli’
Cold, blustery days are never the best days to visit the beach. Underneath a droning sky, a usually cerulean sea can appear grey. There will be no appreciable life, excluding the noisy squawks of squabbling seagulls. Violent waves will collide and merge in the distance, becoming gentle, rolling tides, which stroke the coasts and overhanging cliffs, throwing up pieces of dissipated junk. On cold blustery days, like today, one could span the entire Rocky Shore and not detect another living soul. There will be a sad serenity about the beach. Sad, because there is no one else to witness the beautiful rolling tide…and serene, for the very same reason. Today however, the lifelessness of the Rocky Shore would soon be disturbed by the arrival of one panting, windblown-haired teenager. Two others were not far behind.
‘Wait up!’ wheezed Sasha.
Sasha and Charlotte had fallen a considerable distance behind Junior in the race to the beach. Charlotte, who had complained of a biting stitch after the first few minutes of her sprint, was now curled over, with both hands on her knees, searching for breath. Junior bolted to the seafront, placed his hand over his eyebrows, and scanned the entire coastline.
‘The map says he’s here,’ said Junior, once the girls had caught up, ‘but he’s nowhere to be seen …what if the tracker has an error?’
Junior gaped at Sasha’s phone screen anxiously, the red marker had not moved in 20 minutes.
‘He’s here alright!’ muttered Sasha, without an inkling of hesitance. Drawing up her sleeve, Sasha revealed the weaved Roterbee neckless, which was now projecting radiant shafts of blue light.
‘We’ll use the necklace to track him,’ said Charlotte, examining her father’s sapphire-bound trinket, ‘it glows brighter the closer we get to him.’
‘What if he already knows we’re here?’ said Junior, ‘since he’s invisible, he could escape and we wouldn’t even know.’
‘If he flees, we will definitely know,’ stated Charlotte, ‘the charm will stop glowing and Sasha’s map will show that he has moved.’
Junior nodded sceptically, even with Charlotte’s sapphire necklace and Sasha’s GPS tracker, trailing an invisible man across the entire Rocky Shore was not going to be an easy job.
‘We’ll go this way,’ said Sasha, starting towards the east exit of the beach, ‘watch out for anything that moves, or any strange noises.’
The trek along the coastline was extremely tedious, every few seconds a new tide washed the shore. Sasha agreed to watch over the coast, Junior took a straight path along the rocky beach and Charlotte searched for Felix near the cliffside. Almost a mile into their search, Junior called out, ‘it’s no use, Felix is not here!’
Sasha flicked the glowing Roterbee necklace, ‘he’s just hiding,’ she replied.
The sapphire necklace dimmed with the duration of their search. It puzzled Sasha that, whilst the tracker still indicated Felix’s presence on the beach, the necklace had stopped glowing. Unwilling to quit their search, the trio trekked to the point along the coast where cliffs disappeared and hard rock became sand. Sasha perched on top of the last hard rock, scanning the entire stretch of the coast. No sign of Felix. Suddenly, the Roterbee necklace sparkled, this time, burning a brilliant blue, hotter and more luminous than usual.
‘It’s glowing!’ cried Sasha, ‘that means he must be near!’
‘Look, footprints!’ yelled Junior, spotting a fresh human footpath in the sand. There was no one around, and the tracks mysteriously ended where the wet sand met the rocks. Instinctively, the trio followed what remained of the suspicious tracks. The footprints went haywire, leading to a lattice of towering chalk stones.
‘We’ve lost him!’ sighed Sasha, when the confusing foot track finally dissolved. Suddenly, another running chain of footprints emerged, one after the other, in the sand. The sound of feet splattering against the wet sand, and the breathy wheeze of exasperation confirmed Felix’s presence. The Roterbee necklace burned in Sasha’s hand.
‘He’s running away!’ yelled Junior, bolting after the rapidly materializing footprints. ‘Stop Felix, stop now!’
When Junior could just about smell the invisible man, he lunged for the air in front of him, hitting something hard. Junior summersaulted in the air, catapulting the invisible Felix with him. The two boys fell to the ground with a deafening ‘THUD!’ To untrained eyes, it may’ve seemed that Junior was manically wrestling a ball of air, and losing. But after a while, Felix, whose spindly invisible arms were locked inside Junior’s unyielding grip, was forced to materialize from thin air.
‘Get off of me!’ the blonde boy cried, pressing Junior’s face away from his own.
‘Do not move an inch,’ muttered Charlotte.
She had already foreseen that Felix, being the conniving creature he was, would have bolted for it at any given opportunity. Knowing this, Charlotte had positioned herself behind him, brandishing a dangerous can of pepper spray (which she was sure that even parlers were not immune to). Charlotte wasted no time. As soon as Felix Corneli turned on his heels, the young woman detonated her weapon, sending fiery fluid into Felix’s brilliant blue eyes.
‘AHHHHHHHHHH!’ howled Felix, plummeting to his knees once more.
He crawled to the seafront pathetically and the trio slow-walked behind him. Sasha, who could not perceive the whole spectacle, fixed the hot necklace around her wrist again. She was suddenly enlightened. Junior and Charlotte surrounded the whimpering blonde man, who was rinsing his entire face in the icy seawater. His eyes were red; it was as if they had been set alight. Sasha was able to deduce, from the mysterious bottle in Charlotte’s grip, that Felix’s red eyes were probably Charlotte’s doing. Dipping his head underneath the seawater, Felix Corneli probably felt a little foolish now. He had underestimated Junior’s speed and brute strength, Charlotte’s strategic positioning and Sasha’s notable tracking skills. How embarrassing. In his 200-and-something-years, he had never before been cornered and brutally attacked by a group of teenagers.
‘That’s enough!’ scowled Charlotte, dragging Felix’s hard-gelled spikes from the water.
His eyes were so red that even Charlotte wondered whether she’d been too generous with the peppe
r spray. Regardless, if the action had struck any sort of fear into Felix, her mission was complete. The bouncy persona he had performed in the chamber was no more.
‘What do you want from me?’ spat Felix, irately.
‘Answers!’ snapped Sasha, ‘we know that you’re with Cato.’
His usually bright eyes appeared small in their swollen red sockets. Somehow, today, Felix did not look anything like the book’s illustration.
‘Well if that’s what you KNOW,’ Felix mocked, ‘I don’t want to hear what you think.’
‘You’re a killer…that’s what I think!’ cried Charlotte, ‘and you’ve been working with Cato, working as a spy.’
Glowering at the blonde man in disgust, Junior muttered, ‘why else would you be snooping around Williamson’s chamber at night and disappear as soon as Willow and Brown revealed the vault, and who’s to say that you didn’t kill Williamson yourself.’
Felix shrugged to his feet, levelling himself with his interrogators, ‘you’ve read the book, haven’t you?’ he cackled, ‘that darned book.’
‘The Secrets of a Fallen Parler?’
‘Uh huh,’ huffed Felix, ‘till this day, I do not know the author. He paints me in an awful light. It’s simply not fair!’
‘But is it true?’ shot Sasha.
‘Half and half,’ Felix cackled, ‘that’s why I don’t read much at all these days – books never seem to tell the villain’s side of the story.’
‘But you are Felix Corneli?’ muttered Junior, ‘a protégé of Cato’s, responsible for hundreds of murders, one day wishes to exterminate all meres from the earth… the list goes on.’
Rolling his eyes dramatically, Felix cried, ‘it’s all true…but for heaven’s sakes, I was only 50 years old and going through a rebellious stage.’
‘Rebellious stage!’ exclaimed Charlotte, ‘a rebellious stage is sneaking out to rock concerts and getting grounded, not slaughtering innocent people!’