The Pages of Destiny (The Four Elementals Book 3) by Yajat Sharma (best authors to read TXT) 📕

The Scavenger turned just in time to block an attack to his head. He twisted his attacker’s hand. Immediately, he jumped and gripped the edge of the Library’s roof, clambering to the top. Several warriors were darting out towards him from a door on the other side of the roof.

The Scavenger glanced towards the left and spotted a tree. He leapt off the roof, held on to a branch and skidded down the bark of the tree.

His pursuers were right behind him as the Scavenger ran into the forest. While running, he waved his hands and created a portal. Before anyone could reach him, he jumped into the portal and disappeared.

The Scavenger shook his mind away from the memories as he recalled the incident. He sat in the ‘control room’ of the cave. The feed from the surveillance cameras was displayed on a large monitor.

Just about ten minutes later, on the control room screen, the Scavenger saw four silhouettes entering the cave. The Scavenger frowned. Enemy warriors?

He unsheathed his swords and rushed towards the entrance to take on the intruders but was pleasantly surprised to see Pyros, Daniel, Archer and James.

“You managed to escape?!” The Scavenger heaved a sigh of relief.

Everyone was excited to see that the Scavenger was safe. James sighed, sitting down on a sofa. “It’s a long story. But first, you tell us – how did you manage to escape?”

The Scavenger narrated the incident at the Library. Then James and Pyros updated him about their story. Archer and Daniel filled in the gaps.

When they were almost through with their briefings, James summarized, “Our captor offered us a deal. He told us that he had the Second Page and needed the First. He proposed that together we combine the two Pages and open the dimension where Matt and the Skull Warrior are trapped. We take Matt with us and directly proceed to Earth, and he takes the Skull Warrior. He has given us three days. He also threatened to banish us from the Dark World if we do something tricky.”

The Scavenger said, “It’s a no-brainer. We can’t give him the First Page. It took the Slayer’s help to defeat the Skull Warrior, and that too came at a hefty cost of losing Matt. No, it’s foolish to give away the First Page. We should only think of getting the Second Page.”

Pyros spoke up in an agitated voice, “To hell with all the knowledge that I possess. I know nothing about this evil man. Who is he? From where did he come and why does he want to free the Skull Warrior? Why can’t we be one step ahead of him and counter his evil power?”

There was silence.

James snapped his fingers. “Wait a minute. What did you say?”

“You heard that, James. I mean, with all the knowledge at our disposal, we should have been able to know the identity of this evil person at least!”

“No, no, no. At the end of your sentence, what were you saying...?” James trailed off.

“That instead of him, rather, we should be one step ahead of him,” Pyros said, frowning at James. “I don’t under -”

“That rings a bell inside my head. A loud bell,” James was intently thinking of something.

“What? I don’t understand.” Pyros was confused.

James spoke. “Do you remember that this evil person said that I will always be one step ahead of you? And not just once, but multiple times. Don’t these words sound familiar?”

Everyone thought.

“No.” The Scavenger shook his head. “I don’t think so.”

“What is it, James?” Daniel was getting irritated.

“Anyway,” the Scavenger tried to intervene, “coming back to the topic, what do you think should be our next move? Giving the First Page is not an option, and -”

Suddenly, James stood up with a gasp. “One step ahead of you!”

“What?” Archer asked.

“Look at the initials!” James exclaimed. “One step ahead of you! OSAY!!!”

Everyone gasped, except a confused looking Pyros.

“OSAY!” the Scavenger said. “The word mentioned by the Skull Warrior when Matt dragged him into the dimension. I remember it clearly! He had said, ‘Live for me, Osay.’ At that time, we didn’t bother about it, but now the picture is clear.”

“Exactly!” James was excited. “Osay is that hidden person!”

The Scavenger turned to Pyros, who was sitting, resting his chin on his cheek, deep thought. “I am sure you can describe Osay in detail.”

“I am concerned,” Pyros said. “I have mentally browsed through thousands of scrolls and books present in my Library, but I don’t find the name ‘Osay’ mentioned anywhere. How is that possible?”

Pyros looked around grimly. “This powerful entity has covered his tracks so well that no one knows about him. It seems we are up against a formidable enemy who is not only powerful but also extremely cunning.”

“Exactly,” James continued. “This explains why Osay wants to free the Skull Warrior. It seems he is some loyal creature that the Skull Warrior nurtured in utmost secrecy.”

Everyone paused for a while to let the shocking reality sink in.

The Scavenger sighed. “Osay at the seat of the Dark World means that his threat to banish the children is not empty.”

Pyros clicked his fingers. “Absolutely. Osay controls the Dark World now, and he can banish the children from the Dark World.”

There was silence. Too many revelations had happened within a short time and they were taking time to digest everything.

Daniel spoke after a while. “It means we all are no more welcome in the Dark World, and we would have been declared as fugitives by now.”

“Yes,” Pyros said. “I have no doubt about this. Osay must have issued orders declaring you all as fugitives.”

“But, will the people of the Dark World believe such orders?” Daniel asked.

“Why not?” Pyros said. “The Castle of Fate is revered in the Dark World. Any order from the seat of the Dark World has a lot of sanctity. It’s almost like a blind belief.”

The Scavenger intervened. “Anyway, this fact is not important anymore. What’s important is Matt. We