For the past few days, Solomon had been sending telepathic threats to Robert, making him nervous and on edge at all times. The fear of the ice monster had become so pervasive that Robert couldn't escape it, even in his own mind. Every time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by the image of the ice monster, looming over him and threatening to harm him. He found himself constantly thinking of the ways Solomon could hurt him, and the fear was starting to take over his life.
But Dora's presence had been a welcome relief from the stress of Solomon's threats. And to his surprise, Dora was an incredible kisser. Her lips were soft and her touch gentle, yet there was an urgency to her kisses that made his heart race. He often found himself looking forward to their moments alone together, when they could steal a few moments of peace from the troubles of their lives.
On a bright Sunday morning, as the other students filed out of the chapel and headed back to their dorms, Oliver approached Robert and asked if he'd like to play a game of chess. The invitation was unexpected, and Robert wasn't sure what to make of it. He narrowed his eyes and agreed, but only with some hesitation. Despite his reservations, he hoped that the game might be a way to resolve any tension between them - or their ancestor souls - and move on.
With a knot in his stomach, he returned to his hostel, changed into the school's casual wear - a dark blue shirt and trousers, and headed to his classroom to meet Oliver.
"I wonder who y'all think would answer your prayers," Oliver mused, glancing out the window at the chapel as Robert walked into the empty classroom and took a seat across from him. A desk separated them with a chess board placed on top.
"Lord Vlamnar, of course," Robert replied, "The creator of Kreete and the entire universe." He watched as Oliver moved a knight, setting the game in motion.
"Such ignorance and superstition," Oliver scoffed with disdain as he watched Robert contemplate his next move.
"To you," Robert retorted as he moved a pawn.
"My turn," Oliver said, sliding a pawn forward and looking at Robert smugly. "You're up."
They played quietly for a while, but Robert's unease grew as Oliver remained silent. Desiring to break the silence, he glanced up from the board and with a smile and asked, "Have you ever wondered why Sundays seem to always be sunny?" His eyes feigning curiosity. He moved a knight to replace a bishop, and flicked the bishop off the board with a grin.
"Well... no. But I do love Sundays, it's the only day I can truly rest," Oliver said without looking up, still focused on the board.
"Look, I gotta be honest with you Oliver," Robert began, finally growing tired of the suspense. "I'm not sure why you invited me here to play a board game with you. Are you up to something? Maybe this is part of some plot to kill me," He shifted uneasily in his chair, his eyes darting from Oliver to the empty classroom, "You know I don't trust you one bit," he moved his rook out of the queen's reach.
Being invited by Oliver to play a game of chess in their empty classroom made him feel very uneasy. Nearly all of the students were at the hostel and the classroom block was empty. It felt strange to be sitting there alone with Oliver with no one else around. It felt a little dangerous to be honest. What if he suddenly transforms into Solomon and shatters his skull with a ferocious punch?
"Why don't you trust me?" Oliver asked, his voice dripping with faux innocence. His eyes glinted with a smug, mocking glimmer, and Robert glared at him in response.
Their gazes locked in a battle of wills, until finally Robert's eyes turned into a mass of sand particles, and then back to their usual form. As he did so, Oliver's eyes froze, and for a moment they were as cold and hard as ice. Then they melted back to their usual color, as if nothing had happened.
"That's why!" Robert said, pointing accusingly at Oliver's eyes.
Oliver let out a laugh as he refocused his attention on the chess board, "I'd be honest with you Robert, I don't have anything against you. But that thing inside of you had done some pretty bad things, and consequentially, the thing inside of me has you in its sights now, there's no going back from that. I hope you understand that it's not my fault that all this is happening," He gently moved a pawn before continuing, "Anyway, ever since I enrolled into this school last week I noticed that you're really close with Dora, like, closer than anyone else, and I'm guessing she's very important to you?"
Robert shrugged in response.
"You know," Oliver continued, "Most chess players know that the king is the most important piece in the game, but they value the queen more than any other piece because of her seemingly unlimited moves, am I right?" Robert nodded pretending to be interested in what he was saying.
"Which is your most valued piece?" Oliver asked.
As Robert answered, "the queen," Oliver reached for the piece that represented his queen on the board. He picked it up and watched it for a second, then his hand became frosty and the piece froze into solid ice. He then close his fingers around it. His hand clenched and crushed the chess piece into ice dust. Then, his body began to blur, until he was nothing but a swirling cloud of white mist. He blew past Robert, sending a chill through him. As the mist dissipated, Robert heard a voice whisper, "She's next."
"Who's the she?" Robert asked rhetorically looking puzzled but Poison yelled in his head, "who else but Dora?!"
"What!" Robert hurried out of the classroom and made straight for the hostel. He rushed into the girls hostel and was relieved to find her safe and sound, reading a book (titled: A Christmas Miracle) on her neatly made bed. "Phew," he sighed, "At least the ice freak doesn't plan to make a move in broad daylight."
He sat down next to her, his mind swimming in thoughts. He couldn't help but wonder what Poison had done to Solomon to make him so determined to ruin his life.
"Are you okay?" he asked, stroking her stunning vermillion-coloured hair.
"I'm fine, why do you ask?" she replied with a smile, closing the book and looking him directly in the eye. "You seem concerned, is something the matter?" Her voice was soft and gentle, full of concern. She wanted to make sure he was okay, whatever was on his mind.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Robert replied, putting on a brave face.
Then, out of nowhere, a telepathic message popped into his head. "I hope you stay by her side forever," it read. He recognized it as Solomon's voice, and it instantly made him furious.
"I will!" he shot back, knowing how petty his reply sounded. He felt his anger building, boiling over, threatening to spill out of him. He was starting to feel frustrated.
"What was that?" Dora asked, looking at him awkwardly. He had said that out loud.
"It's nothing, just a silly daydream, you know, pet dog stuff," Robert replied with a forced smile. He leaned in and kissed her forehead, then hurried out the door.
Robert stormed into the boys' hostel, nearly seething with anger. He couldn't take it anymore. He was fed up with having to watch out for Solomon every single second, fed up with how hard life had been for him these past few days. It was time to take back control of his life!
He marched over to Oliver's bed, where the boy was lying, and shook him roughly until he sat up, a smug grin plastered on his face. Robert's face was red with anger, and he looked like he was about to explode. He stared at Oliver, his eyes burning with rage.
"Look, Oliver - if that's even your real name," Robert began, his voice shaking with fury, "This is out of the joke part and I seriously mean everything I'm about to say; don't you dare lay a finger on anyone I care about otherwise I would make sure you never see the next sunrise. And if you dare to do as much as attempt to attack me, I'll destroy you, I'll ensure to shred you down to your last atom even if it costs me everything! You should be wise enough to heed my words," Robert shoved him back onto the bed, stood up and stormed out of the hostel, making his way to Mr William's lodge. A junior student had notified him that Mr Williams was looking for him.
"I dug up his grave and burned his body after he was buried," Poison began, his voice cold and calm. "I couldn't let him escape with his dignity after the way he treated me as a child. My father thought it was a good way to toughen me up, but it only made me hate him more. What I did was childish, I know, but I hated him more than you could possibly imagine. That's why he's been trying to hurt me - or rather, you," Poison ended with a sigh as Robert pushed open the gate to the teacher's lodge.
"Just another made up story," Robert said with a sigh.
"No, this one's true. Although it's a lot more complicated than that," Poison replied.
"How long has it been?" Robert asked.
"Thousands of years," Poison answered.
"That ice maniac sure is stuck in the past, but I don't think we'll be hearing from him soon," he scoffed.
Robert walked up to Mr. Williams' apartment, but as he knocked on the door, he felt a wave of dizziness wash over him causing him to lean wearily on the door while clutching his head. Mr. Williams opened the door, and as he did, Robert collapsed on the floor. In Mr. Williams' hand was a glowing green orb.
Mr Williams looked down at him with an air of triumph, "Robert, it's of no use hiding it from me. Just tell me the name of the ancestor soul and I will let you go!" He demanded without prevarication.
Robert tried to regain control of his senses but he felt a sharp pain in his head, as if his brain was vibrating within his skull. Tears ran down his cheeks, and he could feel the effects of the green orb's power growing stronger and stronger. With all his strength, he tried to turn himself into sand, but nothing happened, and Poison couldn't take over. Infact he could feel his connection to Poison severing!
"You won't last long Robert, just tell me the damn name!" Mr Williams shouted, slowing loosing his patience.
But, just as suddenly as the pain and dizziness had begun, it stopped. Robert came back to his senses and he felt a strange sense of relief, like jumping into a cool bathtub after a hot day. He looked up at the hostel master and smiled. A part of his face gradually became sandy and within seconds turned into Poison's half and he said in a new voice that was both his and not his, "Poison, the name is Poison." He stood up, his body now fully transformed into that of Poison - a brown monstrous and hulking sand giant.
"Poi.. what? I've never heard of an ancestor soul with the name Poison!" Mr Williams glared at the horrific sand monster in front of him in awe and horror even though he knew Robert could morph into a giant sand monster. He pulled out a gun and two bullets struck Poison's body.
Poison gazed at the place where the bullet had struck him and a broad grin appeared on his face. He was made up of sand, completely of sand! It was nearly impossible to truly hurt him, unless attacked with advanced magic. The hole simply filled up with more sand.
"Your knowledge of ancestor souls is awfully limited," Poison said, grabbing Mr. Williams by the neck and lifting him up off the ground.
"Let me teach you more about them.'' He landed a powerful blow on Mr. Williams' face, and the man crumpled to the floor. The green orb slipped from his fingers and rolled across the floor, coming to a stop in a corner of the room.
"The first lesson," Poison said, his voice filled with menace, "is never to ask for their names," And then, suddenly sensing something, he transformed into a cloud of sand and dispersed into the wind. At that moment, the door burst open, and Miss Patricia rushed in, her eyes wide with horror as she saw Mr Williams staggering to his feet.
"Excuse me Williams, but I heard gun shots here, is everything ok?" She asked with concern, her eyes darting around the room which had grains of sand scattered everywhere.
"Nothing to worry about Patricia, everything is fine," Mr Williams replied.
"If you say so," she said, sounding unconvinced as she left.
After the door closed behind her, Mr Williams turned back to the empty space where Poison had been. "You'll pay for this, Robert, I assure you." He growled with resentment, "You'll pay!"
As he finally struggled to his feet, Mr Williams could feel his face throbbing in pain. He was furious, his anger simmering just below the surface. He made his way to the principal's apartment, muttering curses under his breath with each step. When he reached the door, he took a deep breath, trying to quell the rage that was bubbling up inside him before knocking gently.