Stella lay on her bed, her hands pressed against her temples, trying to digest all the things she had just heard. She thought that having superpowers was already overwhelming, but that was nothing compared to what Helene told them a few hours earlier. Her grandmother died at the hands of a non-human. Her friend's uncle, despite being trained, met a similar fate. Now that same murderer was out to get them. What if history repeats itself? She rolled over to one side of the bed, her eyes blankly wandering around. She spotted a bookshelf. Maybe a little reading would relieve her of her stress. Stella gradually got up, leisurely walked towards it, and picked up a book at random. The titleless book. She opened it and mindlessly flipped through its blank pages.

The book jumped out of her hands and began to levitate in front of her, its pages glowing faintly. A magical book? How many more surprises would she encounter? She gawked at the book, not knowing what to do. Ink started to materialize on its pages.

"Hello there," it wrote on itself. Stella immediately walked towards her desk and searched for a writing tool. There were a few old pens that were kept there. She picked up one of them. She then held the book with her left hand and wrote on one of its pages.

"Hello, what do you want to tell me?" she wrote. The ink from her pen swirled to form new words.

"I want to show you something that can help you. But don't tell Celestine."

"Why not?"

"She wants to reveal me to you personally, but I think I cannot wait any longer. Pick me up again later."

It flew out of her hand and landed on the bookcase, just a second before Celestine opened the door. No words were uttered for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Celestine asked her.

"I'm fine, grazie," Stella replied.

"Oh, okay. I was just checking."

She closed the door behind her. Stella instantly walked towards the bookcase and pulled the book from the rack. She opened it and attempted to write a message. Before her pen could even touch the page, the book flew away from her. A flare of light radiated from its pages and engulfed her.

The light faded after a split second. Stella glimpsed her surroundings. She gasped—she was no longer in her bedroom! As she turned around to discern her environment, she nearly tripped. She glanced downwards. Instead of the hardwood floor that she was standing on earlier, a set of stone stairs were laid beneath her feet. At the base of the stairs was a circular bridge, connecting more than four different lanes. She looked to her sides. The buildings next to her were familiar: off-white paint coated most of the walls, with a few crevices revealing the dark bricks underneath; square windows, which could not be opened from the outside, had dust and dirt piling up on their surfaces; the walls that faced the staircase had no doors. She lifted her gaze. A gradient of creme and tangerine was painted above her. Was she in Otrâlmondé? The book floated to her side.

"This is a flashback. You are viewing the past," it told her. Stella jotted down a question.

"Am I time traveling?"

"No, you are not. I am showing you something. It is like watching a movie."

Stella scanned the area around her. She spotted three familiar faces crossing the circular bridge. Even from afar, they were easily distinguishable: Celestine was the only woman of the group, her dark hair brushing her shoulders and her knee-length dress flattering her physique; José was the only one who wore spectacles, its rectangular frame matching his oblong face; the last person was Brandon, the only person with blue eyes and rather fair hair. Stella climbed up a few steps and observed them from a distance as the three ascended the ladder street. Each of them was carrying a bag of some sort. Were they on vacation?

"There it is." Celestine pointed to her right. "That's where we're staying."

"This place? It looks abandoned to me," Brandon commented.

"It doesn't look abandoned, just old. I've seen worse houses," José said. The trio strolled towards the right. José turned his head around as he searched the wall for any doors. There were none. "How do we get in?"

"I think the door's on the roof," said Brandon.

He adjusted the straps of his backpack and then clenched his fists. José and Celestine walked a few steps away from him. Brandon thrust his arms down as he leaped. Blinding white fire blazed from his fists and feet, propelling him towards the rooftop. He landed on the edge, took a single glance, and then beckoned. Celestine and José spread their arms apart, disk-shaped force fields materializing between their hands. They stepped onto the disks and carried themselves to the rooftop.

"Hold onto me," the book told her.

It closed itself. Stella gripped it tightly with both hands. Suddenly, the book soared upwards, dragging her towards where the trio was standing. A dozen metal hatches lined the roof. So that's how they get in.

"Which one do we enter?" José asked.

Brandon knelt on one knee and pressed both hands onto the surface of the roof. "I sense no lobby or check-in area," he told them. "We go directly into the suites. What does our room look like again?"

"Helene gave me this." Celestine retrieved a piece of paper from her bag and passed it to him. Brandon squinted at the sheet while pressing his hand into the roof, searching for their suite.

"There, third one on the left column," he said, pointing at one of the hatches.

He stood up. The Realm Seekers walked towards the hatch and halted in front of it. Brandon gripped its handle and heaved it open. Creak. It made a screeching noise as he opened it, prompting José and Celestine to cover their ears. Stella slowly neared the hatch, careful as to not disturb them, trying to sneak a peek of what was below. A narrow passage, which could only accommodate one person at a time, was revealed. The Realm Seekers exchanged looks.

"Looks pretty dark," said Celestine. She placed her open palm over the hole. Bright, white light shone from her hand and lit the shaft. A set of rusty rungs was revealed.

"We all got vaccinated for tetanus, right?" José asked.

"We don't need to touch the rungs. The floor's only two meters below," Brandon said. He dropped his bag down the shaft before he jumped after it. Thud. Thud.

"Are you okay?" Celestine asked loudly.

"I'm fine! Just drop your bags. I'll bring you down using telekinesis."

José and Celestine tossed their bags down the shaft. José glanced at her.

"Ladies first," he smiled. Celestine rolled her eyes. She leaned over the opening and took a brief peek before jumping downwards. José followed her a few seconds later. The hatch then seemingly shut itself.

Silence. Stella observed her surroundings as she waited for something to happen. The only noises she could hear besides her own breathing were the whispers of the wind as it blew past her. Orange-tinged yellow rays fell from the sky and illuminated the world. Dark drapes and wooden window blinds blocked light from entering the interiors of buildings. Not a single soul was seen roaming the streets. Mondéum seemed to be a ghost town, but she knew it was not. The Mondénes were simply nocturnal.

A figure loomed into her vision, making its way from where the circular bridge was. It was a strange sight—the figure resembled a silhouette, but the fact that it wore clothes suggested otherwise. Stella's heart started pounding the moment she recognized him: the murderer. Stella tightened her grip and held the book closer to her heart as she braced for the scene that she was about to witness.

The book loosened itself from her grip. "Don't worry," it told her, "this is just a flashback. Even if something hits you, you won't feel it."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You're safe."

Stella nodded her head and resumed watching the scene unfolding before her. Creak. Brandon pushed the hatch open and crawled out of it. He stood on the roof as he waited for his friends to surface. He furrowed his brows once he noticed the clothed silhouette approaching him from a distance.

"Hey guys, you gotta see this!" he said, leaning towards the hatch. "There's this man with no face."

"What are you talking about?" Celestine asked.

"He's got no facial features at all, like a walking shadow. And it looks like he's coming—"

"Did you say shadow?"

She poked her head through the hatch. Celestine's hazel eyes caught sight of the figure, who was now just a step from the ladder street. Her eyes widened. She leaped out of the hatch and sprung into her fighting stance.

"Wha—"

"He killed my mother!" she cut him off. "The book showed me."

Without another word, she thrust her index finger forward and shot a lightning bolt at him. The shadow stepped back. Raised one hand. Flicked his wrist at the bolt.

Boom! The lightning bolt transformed into a shockwave that swept Brandon and Celestine off their feet. They flew over three rooftops before landing on their backs.

José quickly climbed out of the hatch. "What happen—"

Boom. Dark magic shot from the shadow's palm and slithered towards José. He swung one forearm and summoned a shield, blocking the curse from hitting his face. He spread his arms apart. Stella gawked at him—the shield expanded to the size of a court! He swung his arms inward. The once-flat force field warped into a sphere and trapped the shadow.

José turned his back on the shadow to face his friends. Brandon and Celestine were laying spreadeagled a few rooftops away from him. He raised both arms and opened his hands, bowing his head as though he were about to pray.

"What's he doing?" Stella asked.

"He's healing both of them at once," the book replied. "Master healers can heal without touch."

That's so cool, Stella thought. She continued to observe the scene. Beams of whitish-blue light shone from José's hands and enveloped the two. Stella saw their bodies twitch as he healed them.

"What happened?" he asked them.

"I struck him with lightning, but he turned it into a shockwave," Celestine said. "Where's he?"

"I trapped him in a sphere, don't worry. There's no way he's getting out."

Stella stared at the shadow. Dark magic streamed from his fingertips and lashed the shield, but not a curse managed to penetrate it. If he's stuck there, then how did Brandon die?

"Brandon, get your inter-com out and call Helene," he ordered him.

Brandon only nodded his head. An object wiggled out of his pocket before levitating next to his ear. It looked just like the device that Helene used a few hours earlier.

"He's using telekinesis," the book explained before Stella could ask.

She nodded her head and continued to pay attention to the scene. The inter-com's buttons were being pressed. After a few seconds, Brandon spoke, "Helene, someone's trying to kill us. The rooftop above our suite." He paused briefly. "Okay."

By the time the call had ended, the two had regained enough strength to get up on their feet and jog back towards José.

"Don't kill him!" Brandon said.

Celestine raised her eyebrows at him. "Why?"

"Helene told me." He stopped jogging and stood next to José. "People here don't believe in the death penalty; we can get in trouble if we kill him."

"We can't let him live!" she protested, standing opposite him. She glanced at José, hoping that he would side with her.

José sighed. "I think we shouldn't kill him," he said, "at least not yet. I don't want to get in trouble."

Celestine parted her mouth only to shut them. The Realm Seekers watched the silhouette struggle against the force field. None of his spells worked against it.

"As long as he stays in there, we'll be fine," Brandon said. "Helene will come here to do the rest."

"I need to go to the toilet," José announced. "Celestine, take over please."

"Sure."

She waved one arm. The shield's initial blue hue was replaced by a light shade of magenta. José then walked towards the hatch and entered it, climbing back into the suite.

Nothing happened. Brandon seemed to be right; their attacker had not made any progress in freeing himself. After a minute of struggle, he stopped striking the shield and surrendered. Brandon folded his arms across his chest and laughed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"This seems too easy," he said. "When you said he killed your mom, I thought we'd be fighting all day. But all it took is one shield and he lost."

Flicker. The two glanced at the shield. It had grown thinner.

"What was that?"

"I don't know," she said. She raised her arms and bent them as though she were holding a basketball. Her eyes narrowed as she concentrated.

Flicker. The force field paled.

"Uh, Sky," Brandon said, "it's fading."

"I know. I'm trying to stop it."

Flicker. The shadow became more alert—he had a chance to escape! Dark mist engulfed his fists as he summoned a spell. He struck the shield. It shook.

"Brandon, paralyze him!"

Brandon held his arms in front of himself. He widened his eyes. "I can't, he's immune!"

A smirk was indented on the shadow's featureless face as he continued to lash the shield. He was going to escape! The two of them trembled.

"José!" they cried out. "JOSÉ!"

Flicker. The shield was near transparent. The shadow raised both arms, sorcery dancing around his fingertips, and struck the shield once more. Smash! Cracks formed on the force field's surface. One more blow would shatter it.

Brandon ignited flames in his hands as he curled them into fists. "He won't be getting away," he said. "I'll burn him before he does."

Fwmm. The shield vanished into thin air. The shadow was freed!

At once, Brandon recoiled both arms before thrusting them forward.

Poof. A small puff of heat left his hands instead. Brandon gasped. Punched again. Nothing.

He lost all power.

"RUN!" he shouted.

The two turned their backs and dashed across the rooftops. A hoarse cackle came from the shadow's invisible mouth. Black smoke emerged from his being, billowing before it surged towards the two. Celestine glanced behind herself. The dark cloud was inches away from reaching her.

"Sky!"

Brandon shoved Celestine out of the way. The smoke grabbed him by the ankle before swallowing him whole.

"BRANDON!"

She cried out to him, desperate to help, but that was all she could do. She could only watch as he struggled, squirmed, and screamed until he no longer did. Stella gasped. Did he just die? The dark fog lifted off Brandon's body and crept towards Celestine, ready to consume its next victim.

Fwshh!

The fog dissipated in an instant as something shot through it. What happened? Stella turned her head in the other direction.

A shield. The shadow scowled as José's shield encased him once more. José's body was halfway out of the hatch as one arm outstretched towards the shadow, controlling the shield that trapped him.

Celestine ran to Brandon's body. She placed two fingers against Brandon's neck. Tears trickled from her eyes.

"How's Brandon?" José hollered.

Celestine shook her head. "He's dead."

That was all the book wanted to show to her. It swooped in front of Stella before flashing a bright light, which faded a split second later. Stella surveyed her surroundings. She was no longer standing on a cement surface, sitting on a soft bed instead. She had returned to her bedroom. She picked up the book and held it just above her lap.

"Why did you show me that?" she asked.

"To prepare you for what may happen," it answered her. Color was flushed out of her face.

"Are you saying that he will kill us?"

"No. I was showing you how to defeat him."

The words that were written on its parchment morphed into a detailed sketch. On one page, the shadow was depicted, trapped in a spherical shield. On the other page, José was portrayed with his arms extended, trying to contain the enemy. Stella understood. The book flew to the shelf and nestled itself between novels. Stella slumped onto her bed, her arms spread apart, and sighed. She spent the next few hours trying to shake off the image of a body suffocating to its death.

✧ ✧ ✧

Fun Fact: I find fight scenes to be one of the hardest things to write. Even though it's a challenge, it's a challenge I'm willing to tackle.

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Thanks!