“Well, good luck with that.”
“That is not the correct answer. It seems you could use some help to spit out what I need to listen to. Beams!”
Beams of lights fell on my head and smoke emerged as some strands of my hair got scorched.
“Are you crazy?” I am sure I shouted like a madwoman, but I was scared to death. “I will tell you anything you want to know.”
“I am glad we understand each other.” The man wielded his button again and this time the beams vanished. However, I could feel that the invisible wall was still standing between us. “Now, tell me what you know about your family background.”
“Nothing. I know nothing at all.”
Beams again, and another strand of my hair got scorched.
“Stop that! I am telling you the truth. I have no idea where I come from.”
“Tell me everything you know.”
“I had been in the Vulgate orphanage since I was an infant. I was never told how I ended up there and who my parents were despite all my efforts. No one ever visited me there, and no one was willing to find me a new family. I had never had a person to call family. I never managed to attract the interest of any of the families who were looking to adopt; I hadn’t even been asked for an interview. It was always some other girl, or boy, who was adopted. I was always the kid who was left behind.”
Suddenly, the blurry block of air evaporated and I could see the man clearly again. The darkness in his eyes gave me the chills.
“The girl who was left behind. Very convenient.”
“It’s the truth.” Sweat dripped down my face.
“Who taught you how to control time?”
“No one! I learned it myself. I mean, I do not know how I learned how to control time. It just happened one time, and then it happened again, and then again ... It’s like breathing. No one teaches you how to breathe. Right?”
A loud noise interrupted the interrogation as the cell door opened again and a tall white-haired man in a fine grey suit entered the room. His face was adorned by a sleek, sculpted mustache and the black umbrella with the silver handle he was holding gave away that he was suffering from Rheumatoid arthritis. The white-haired man slowly approached them at the center of the cell.
“What are you doing here?” My captor did not seem excited by the newcomer’s presence.
“Glad to see you too, Mordred.”
“Everything is under control, Merlin. We do not need your help,” said the man whose name was Mordred.
“Hello, there,” I intervened. “I am sure we have met before, but I am sorry, my brain is not kicking into gear.” I could not resist adding a pinch of sarcasm in the conversation.
“I am Merlin Wyllt,” the man as he slightly bowed his head. “My face probably struck a chord with you because I was your pediatrician when you were a child.”
“My pediatrician? Have you visited me at Vulgate?” I did not even try to hide my confusion.
“Several times. I had been working for Vulgate for quite a few years.”
“Merlin Wyllt is our Grand Wizard and his occupation as a pediatrician was just a cover-up,” Mordred explained.
“But enough about me. Let’s talk about you,” Merlin addressed me.
“Before we talk about me, why don’t you release me from this handcuff?” I moved my hand to show him the shackle around my wrist.
“Mordred, would you mind?” Merlin said with an authoritative tone in his voice.
Mordred muttered some incomprehensible words as he wielded his golden button and the shackle dismantled and resolved in the air.
“Now, what would you like to know?” I said as I rubbed my aching wrist.
“Miss Gwen Smith, would you like to join Avallon Academy?”
“You cannot be serious,” Mordred objected.
“I could not be more serious.” Merlin glowered at him.
“Why would I do that?” I could not care less for their feud; all I wanted was to get out of there and Merlin’s offer sounded quite tempting to me.
“The heck I want,” I hurried to say before he changed his mind; or before Mordred came up with any more reasons why I should not join the what-in-earth-was-called Academy.
“Okay, young lady, brace yourself, it’s going to be windy.” Merlin started spinning his umbrella by its silver handle until a whirlwind of green and lime lights was created in the middle of the cell. As the whirlwind grew bigger, white lightning strikes appeared inside the swirl and a gentle wind breezed across the room.
“After you,” Merlin told me and pointed with his umbrella the emerald whirlwind.
Doubt conquered as I took one step forward. “What’s on the other side?”
“Your new home,” Merlin said calmly.
“I’d really love some more information.” I gulped.
“Sure, what would you like to know?”
“Well,” I stepped closer to him, “for starters, what is this windy thing that spreads lightings across the room?”
“Oh, you mean this thing?” Merlin asked politely before he shoved me into the whirlwind.
CHAPTER 5
*
After a couple of seconds flight through a bright tunnel, surrounded by lightning strikes and swirling blue and white lights, I landed on a comfortable yellow-cream couch in a what-looked-like an office with red painted walls and red velvet furniture.
I had always been dreaming of traveling the world on a private jet or luxury yacht, but I had to admit that hopping from one place to another in seconds by passing through virtual doors and colorful tunnels was more fun.
Once I landed on the couch, the portal shut down and the whirlwind vanished in a puff. I was sitting alone in the large dark room, wondering where on earth Merlin was.
My gaze focused on the portrait of a middle-aged wizard that hung over the mantel at the north end of the office. The voices of people talking tentatively outside the room echoed like buzzing bees in my head. The heavy wooden door opened with a noise and Merlin rushed into the room.
“Where did you come from?” I asked confused.
