Tell Me A Story

Chapter 33: The Culprit

The cold hard surface on which I was lying felt like a bed of needles as my senses finally returned. I opened my eyes slowly. My vision was blurred. I blinked several times. No improvement. Those who had hit me had done a nice job of it.

All I could make out was the flood of golden light in the room and the sound of a girl talking. Of course I must be inside In Cubiculo Magicas. And the girl doing the talking was Anna or rather, George.

I scanned the room. Even though my vision hadn't returned to normal, I could see that another girl lied on the ground. Irene. A few feet away from her, two figures stood close to each other. I couldn't understand who they were.

"He's woken up!" said a raspy voice.

"Oh, has he?" replied the girl. I clenched my fists.

I tried to get up but something weighed me down. Or at least that's what it felt like. After several attempts, I stood up.

"There's no time to waste anymore," she said. "Bring the sword. This young little beauty here needs a little treat."

"You won't touch her!" I screamed.

"Is that so?" she asked teasingly. "Is that so, Edward?"

I let out breaths of fire.

"How dare you?!" I cried.

"You better watch your mouth, Chris. I'd highly appreciate it if you didn't use the words you did before. I don't think your mom and Nana would find it amusing!" she chuckled.

"Mom and Nana?" I asked, my eyes once again landing on the two figures who stood near Irene.

"I thought they'd like to see the ending. Although they won't live to tell the tale, I owe them an explanation."

"You stay away from them!"

She sighed. "You can't see properly. You can't even hear our voices properly. And yet, you think you have enough courage to dominate me?" she growled.

"Chris..." Irene sobbed. For a fleeting second, I looked at her, lying helplessly on the ground. And then I turned to Anna.

"George!" I said, "If you're someone who's better than me, if you're someone who fights with equals rather than inferiors, why don't you return my vision?"

"Oh, I will," she said in a boy's voice, "Just a little longer..."

Someone entered the chamber with something gleaming in their hands. The sword. The sword that took the life of countless people. They handed it to her, who took it in both her hands. She seemed like examining it.

"It's time," she said.

"Don't you harm Irene!" I cried in agony.

She raised her head and looked at me. "Who said anything about harming Irene?"

There was a pause. Of course! Her plan was to kill me as the sixth victim.

"The sixth victim is me, isn't it?" I asked.

She let out an evil laughter. "No you're not. But I won't spare you either. Maybe it's time I return your vision and hearing."

She tapped the sword on the ground. At first my vision blurred again but slowly, everything came into focus and the crackling of fire filled my ears.

There was mom and Nana, both of them looking like they'd seen a ghost. All the victims were standing around. And then Irene on the ground. But something was wrong. The color of Irene's hair wasn't brown.

The girl lying on the ground raised her head to face me. It was Anna. With a gasp escaping my mouth, I turned my gaze to the girl with the sword. I couldn't believe it.

No way!

It was Irene.

"I'm the reincarnation of George, Chris!"