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❤️ A Man Called Storm (Part 34) ❤️
"I am not yet done talki-" Dean started to say but got interrupted by the mysterious dark man.
"But I am done talking Dean. We will talk again when I need you. For now I have no job, so bye," the mysterious man said to him and began to wave his left hand at him.
Dean felt his eyes closing and he felt himself floating in the air. When he opened his eyes. He saw himself on his bed, sweating profusely. He held his head with his two hands as he felt the strange painful headache once again. He tried to think if he had a dream or something had happened in his sleep but couldn't come up with anything. He tried again and this time around the image of someone flashes through his head. And strangely enough, his splitting headache was gone.
Sitting straighter in his bed, the mysterious man images flashes in his head and he tries to think of the place he must have met him but all to no avail. He hasn't come across someone like him. He is the type of person who nevers forgets something so how come he can't remember meeting the mysterious man whose image couldn't leave his head.
If he gets to find the mysterious man maybe this strange headache of his will disappear. Somehow, he knows his headache and his sudden sleepiness has to do with the mysterious man.
And why does he feel threatened by him?
He left his bed and went to take his bath. Kando hasn't contacted him yet and he hopes they are okay and their plan hasn't been exposed.
He was going to see Adaoh after his bath. Maybe she might know who the mysterious man is and why his image is stuck in his head.
***********
Ashland Kingdom:
Ashland Palace: Palace Premises.
Storm and Gwen were seen standing close to each other and facing the guards who had gone to carry out his orders.
Storm stares at the sorry state Juno's father is in. In fact he couldn't believe his eyes. The man's face was as if they had practiced punching on him. Emera looked so horrible and his clothes stained with his blood dripping out of his cut on his face. A guard out of four was carrying the man groaning in pain on his back . He looked at the guards that had gone to bring Emera and then finally at a tear eyed Rumi whose forehead was bleeding.
"What did you say had happened to him?" Storm asked again.
He still couldn't believe this disheveled man he was staring at is Warlord Emera.
"We went to pick him up like you ordered my King and when we got there, we saw him like this inside his compound," the guard carrying Emera on his back said, bringing Storm out from his thoughts.
Storm returned his gaze back to Rumi. "How did this happen?" he asked Rumi.
Cleaning off the tears from her cheeks and careful not to touch her wound on her forehead, "I don't know Storm. After I left for my house, I went to my room to rest and all of a sudden I heard him singing in his drunken state, which means he was home. Then I heard some running feet and then his screaming and before I could leave my room and come outside they had dealt with him already." Rumi lied smoothly.
"They? Which means you saw them," Gwen said.
"I can't really remember how they look because I didn't know one was behind me and hit me when I came out of my room. Then they all ran away. I only saw their backs but not their faces, they are young men I could tell from their body build. That's all I can recall." Rumi lied once again. The lies rolling off her lips smoothly.
"So you didn't see who hit you?" Storm asked.
"No, he hit me from behind. I didn't know one was inside the house already. I am thankful that I wasn't raped," Rumi said and covered the space between her and Storm and tried to hug him as her fake tears rolled out of her cheeks the more but Storm shifted out of her way and went over to inspect Emera once again.
"Don't worry, you can lean on my shoulder and cry out to your heart content," Gwen offered to Rumi with a grin. "I am here for you." she added.
Rumi ignored her and turned around to look at Storm who was still inspecting.
She did this to Emera. She was the one who had beaten Emera.
Hearing the annoying song that Emera was singing plus the fact that Juno is indeed alive made her fury.
But not for long, Juno will die again.
Huffing out in anger as the singing from Emera continues. The fool always remembers his way home.
She was out of her room with lightning speed and had waited until he walked through the gate before she pounce on him. All her frustration, all her anger for not doing her job well was in every of her single punch she aimed on Emera face. She knew he wouldn't remember it was her who did this to him, in fact he would think he was attacked on his way home. That's one perk of her powers and spell she had cast on him.
She stopped when she heard the sounds of horses heading towards the house. She dimmed her eyes and saw the Palace guards.
Maybe Storm had sent them to call her. Rumi thought and glanced at Emera, a plan quickly formed in her head. Picking a large stone from the ground, she hit her forehead hard, hard enough to cut it open and blood began to hush out from it. She quickly dissolved the stone in her hand and knelt beside Emera. Quickly, she made multiple footprints showing on the ground around them and one leading to the corridor of their house. Having done that she then threw herself on him and began to wail loudly. The guards entered Emera compound.
"Take him to one of the empty rooms around and call the kingdom healer to come to the Palace immediately. He will be staying here from now on." Storm announced and watched the guard doing as told. No way could he allow Emera back to his house. What if the young men who had attacked him return to finish what they started? He couldn't take such a risk. Emera is the only hope he has now but he can't allow Juno to see her father in this critical condition.
"What about me, Storm?" Rumi's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"And what about you?"
"You haven't told me where I could stay," Rumi said.
"Oh, when the healer comes, you will have your wound heal and you will be going back home." Storm told her.
"What? You don't want me to stay here with my father? You can see how hurt he is," Rumi said.
"Yes we can see that. But who will look after your house if it is empty. Don't worry I will make some guards escort you to your home and they will be there until I have caught the culprit that did this to him and you, they might decide to attack you again so we must use you to lure them out." Storm reminded her with a small smile.
Trying not to show her disappointment on her face, she returned his smile back with one of her own.
"Okay, whatever you want, Storm," Rumi said, earning a short nod from Storm. "But why do you need my father?"
"Juno, maybe if she sees her father her memory will return." Storm replied to her.
"Oh, I see and if she doesn't remember?"
"Well, let's just hope she does."
Rumi nodded her head. Soon or later they will hear the screaming of Juno and before they would rush into her cell, her fire would have roasted her and turned her into fried crispy chicken.
"I hope so too Storm," she said with a tiny voice. "Let me follow my father." She quickly added and ran after the guards that were carrying her father.
"Did you see the wound on her head? I think she was the one who hit herself," Gwen said, going to stand beside Storm and placing one of her arms on his shoulder, bending his head and bringing his face closer to hers. "She did a wreck job on that."
"And how did you know that she did it herself?"
"Duh, because I have inflicted myself with multiple wounds to deceive my late father. So I can differentiate when someone uses her own hand to inflict wounds on herself and when others do that for you. If it were someone else that did that to her, believe me, the wound on her forehead would be messy." Gwen stated the obvious.
"Gwen, that is enough. And even if she did that to herself, what about Emera? Did you think she did that to him too?" Gwen opened her mouth to speak but got hushed by Storm. "No, haven't you noticed how fragile she is, a girl like that wouldn't think of hurting a fly."
"So I am not fragile as she is?"
Removing her hand slowly from his shoulder. "You are not fragile Gwen. I have tasted your punch. Looks don't easily deceive me."
"Says the boy who just got deceived. There is something about Rumi that I don't trust and now, I feel like she was lying."
Storm nodded his head to that. He had felt it too but didn't want Gwen to know. Even when she voices out his suspicions he didn't want her to know he was suspecting Rumi so he played along as someone who is obvious. There is no evidence against Rumi and Emera is not in the right position to tell him who did that to him. So for now he was running in a circle.
"What about Emera's condition?" Gwen asked, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"I will have to treat him first and let him heal before presenting Juno to him. I don't want Juno to see her father in such a critical condition." Storm explained.
"That is very thoughtful of you Storm, and what about Rumi?"
"Secretly keep an eye on her and Emera. I feel there is something going on between those two."
"That would be no problem."
"Well since Emera is wounded, I will have to bring the prisoners for questioning."
"Well I am going to stay with you when you interrogate them. I want to see that hot male prisoner."
"Every male is handsome to you," Storm teased her.
"Not every male well except you and Morgan, the rest are hot to me."
"It's still the same thing."
"No, they have different meanings. You won't understand because there is no point explaining to you. You are not a woman and I can't close my eyes on hot guys."
"And you will always be you," Storm said, his lips twitching a bit.
"Are you interrogating them now or later?" Gwen asked
"Now, but first let me inform Rose and her son's. They will meet us in the Palace meeting room."
**************
Kando was lying on the cold hardened floor, sleeping and snoring.
Kira, just like Kando, was sleeping and was resting her back on the wall of the cell. She didn't notice the fire which came out from the ground near her foot and tried to enter one of her legs. Rumi's plan was for the fire to enter Kira and burn everything inside Kira's body resulting in her death. No one will know what caused her death.
As the fire tried to enter through one of her legs, a shield protected her from the fire. It tried again but couldn't penetrate her body.
The mysterious dark man made himself visible and grab the fire with his left hand, he blew at it and set it back on the floor. "Return back to your owner," he whispered quietly and smiled when the fire entered the floor, obeying his command. He moved closer to Kira and slowly use one of his fingers to trace her cheek and lips. Her lips look so inviting and he couldn't hold himself so lean forward to steal a kiss from her.
Kira's eyes flew open and stare around at the empty cell. She had felt the touch of someone on her face and had felt a lip on hers. Was there a ghost dwelling in her cells?
Her first thought was Kando who was playing some stupid tricks with her but when she glance at his cell and saw him sleeping, well that thought die.
Deciding not to sleep, her thoughts wander back to Storm.
*************
Rumi was in the room Emera was in and was staring at the three male servants who were cleaning up the wounds of Emera as best as they could. The healer is on his way here.
Rumi felt the sudden intrusion in her body and felt her inside burning. She recognized her spell and tried to hold into the scream threatening to come out from her mouth.
"Where is your bathroom?" She quickly asked and one of the servants pointed at the conjoined bathroom door in the room.
Running as fast as she can to the bathroom, she closed the door behind her and locked it. Her body has become red like fire. Then she opened her mouth and started blowing out smoke. She will breathe in and then bring out more smoke out of her mouth. She was surprised she could suppress her scream even when she was in pain.
This she continued doing until there was no smoke and her body wasn't red anymore.
She went and splash cold water on her face and then sat down on the floor.
What the hell just happened?