"Ladies & Gentlemen, now we're approaching Christchurch International Airport in New Zealand where the local time is 09:00 in the morning. At this stage, you should be in your seat with your seatbelt firmly, fastened. Personal television screens, footrests, and seat tables must be stowed away and all hand luggage stored either in the overhead lockers or under the seat in front. Please ensure all electronic devices including laptop computers and computer games are turned off. "
The sound of the lady stewardess stirred Cassandra awake.
Her eyes flew open when she felt the plane slowly descended. Realizing that she had fallen asleep, Cassandra let out a sigh and looked at the time from her wristwatch.
It was nine in the morning. She had actually slept for six full hours. She let out a few curses. She had been too used to living peacefully in London that she could now sleep for at least six hours.
It seemed that not meeting any demons and assassins had actually made her lazy?
After a few minutes, she heard the stewardess announced that they could leave the plane in a few seconds. She stood and grabbed her suitcase together with her handbag and left the plane.
"Young miss."
Cassandra nodded to the man wearing a black suit. She side-eyed his familiar hair that was neatly tucked in a ponytail.
Two years ago, it was as black as the night. The presence of the white strands didn't lessen the imposing appearance of the man who had trained her.
"Steve… I wasn't expecting to see you here." He was his grandfather's right hand man. Steve would always accompany the old man wherever he went.
As usual, the man gave her a tight-lipped smile. "The Patriarch sent me." He took her suitcase and led her toward the parking lot without saying anything else.
Cassandra followed him. She roamed her eyes at the familiar airport. She wanted to relax and enjoy the familiarity. Yet, she couldn't. Soon, her eyes turned alert for potential enemies around.
"I heard someone attacked you?" Steve asked just as he started the car. "And it imitated the young master, this time?"
She nodded. If that man didn't make the mistake of smiling at her like they had no terrible past whatsoever, she wouldn't have noticed that he wasn't her real brother. Moreover, he also acted concern about her ability. The fact that Cassandra could see the future had been kept a secret by her grandfather. Not even her father or her twin brother knew about it.
Plus, she knew that Carmichael wouldn't be too kind to bring her a coffee. The real Carmichael hated her. He would probably attack Cassandra the first time he would see her. After all, she was the reason why his fiancé got killed two years ago.
She sighed and thought about the dead body of the person who imitated her brother. Right after she killed it, the body slowly disintegrated into nothing.
"Demons can now walk past the barrier?" The barrier that she was talking about was the thing that separated Zealandia from the other continent.
In the normal people's eyes, Zealandia was underwater. All they could see was beautiful New Zealand. This was all thanks to the barrier.
"The empire has been having problems lately." Steve dodged the topic.
She instantly understood that he was not in the position to tell her.
"The king's birthday is coming," he reminded her. "It is a big event."
She nodded. The fact that she came home had nothing to do with the birthday. It had something to do with the things that she saw when she held the demon's head just before it died.
Aside from having the ability to see the future, Cassandra could also read the past of dying people.
The second ability was something that only she knew of. Even her grandfather didn't know about it.
From the memory of the man possessed with a demon, they were planning to attack on the king's birthday and create chaos inside the empire.
She didn't know how they would create chaos but she guessed it would be by making the four great families of Zealandia fight against each other.
Sadly for Cassandra, the La Roche Family was one of the four great families that had been fighting against the demons for centuries now. She knew the demons would come and target her little family.
And that is something she needed to stop.
After driving for a few minutes, the car stopped in front of a market.
"The entrance changed?" To enter the barrier, they needed to go to the doors that were located in the parks of New Zealand.
"Yes. Security."
She lifted an eyebrow but still followed him out. She didn't ask who would take care of his car as she knew that humans who called themselves guardians would park it somewhere safe.
She eyed the stalls of vegetables and fruits. Soon, they walked into an empty bar. The slow jazz filled the air as the thick smell of liquor assaulted her senses. She frowned and looked at the sleeping bartender at the counter.
Seeing that Steve didn't bother waking him up, she shrugged and examined the place. It was neither big nor clean. She could smell someone's puke somewhere and … urine. She focused on Steve who walked toward the toilet and gestured to her to follow him.
After reaching the last cubicle, Steve uttered some series of letters and numbers she never heard of.
Passwords.
To enter the barrier, one needed a set of letters and numbers that was only known to the warriors of Zealandia.
Just as he finished the last letter, the door of the last cubicle opened, revealing a dark portal like the way that should lead them to Zealandia.
Steve looked at her before he walked toward the pathway. Just as he took a step, his foot disappeared followed by his whole body. It was as if the pathway swallowed him.
Seeing this, Cassandra braced herself. It had been two years since she last used the portal. She hoped she would not embarrass herself by puking just as she reached the other side.
The overwhelming feeling of dizziness immediately overtook her senses the moment she took a step inside the portal. She closed her eyes. She could feel her face losing its color as sweat trickled down her spine.
She let out a curse. She didn't know when she would get used to it.
"Cassandra La Roche, when you left Zealandia, you didn't know how to curse." Her grandfather's voice echoed inside her head.
She steadied her footing. She couldn't help but wonder if she actually fainted or not. Was that voice in her head? Or... she was already hallucinating?
"Open your eyes, young lady."
She complied. Meeting the wrinkled face of her grandfather, Cassandra smiled.
"Welcome back, young lady." The old man smiled back as he opened his arm, waiting for her to give him a hug. Just as she used to.