The Destiny Heirs: Chapter 1.

Chapter one:

There the stone was, sitting perfectly on its bed, the purple velvet cushion.  It was sapphire blue, beautiful and looked very precious. Livanna Recren sighed. She wasn’t even going to try and steal it. Arax Filate was the proud owner of ‘Jem’s magical objects and repair shop.’ Arax was a man of caution and took pride in his lifetime business.  Livanna was a thief. A magical one, only she didn’t know that part. Livanna didn’t know about her magic, she had run away from home at the age of seven. In order to survive, she had become a thief.  She was known throughout the world as the best and only as the best. But, ‘Jem’s’ was way too heavily guarded to even attempt a job on. She entered anyway.

               Arax jumped up from behind the solid oak counter and smiled cheerily, “How may I be of service?” He spoke with an ancient kind of ancient air to him.  His features scared Livanna. His face was burned and he had three scars running parallel to each other, straight down his face.

           Livanna fixed her dark, scarlet red hat with a feather protruding out of the top of it.  She wore a plain white blouse with lacy, brown leather pants. She brushed herself down as if dusting herself off.  She smiled back and asked, “How much is that stone on the window?”

  He answered. “Livanna Recren?” She was busted, “You can have it!” Arax reached across the counter and grabbed the stone from the window, hastily, as if he was in danger and had to hurry. He looked at her and thrust it into hands before she could react.

  Livanna was stunned. She couldn’t move, she was frozen with fear. Thieves were usually hanged when caught. The part she didn’t understand was why he was just giving it to her.  Livanna finally decided to run. So with a messy roundabout turn, she made a break for the shop door. A rough hand grabbed hers.  Livanna spun to see Arax’s un- delightful features glaring at her coldly. He asked her to go into the back of the shop with him. Livanna protested and tried to run again, resulting in a failure.  She couldn’t break his grip and fell, her hat falling off.  Luckily, there was no one in the shop. Arax half pulled, half dragged her into the back of the shop- making the coloured beads hanging from the doorway dangle.

     Livanna was dumbfounded by the man’s strength, and tried once more, resulting in the same, to pull away. Arax shook his head and muttered something. “What?” Livanna shouted.

    Arax shook his head once more. “Livanna Recren, Daughter of Elise Evelyn and Darveckle Claw?” Livanna gasped with surprise and nodded and opened her mouth to reply. Arax cut in.  ‘How did he know this?’  The sentence ran through Livanna’s mind repeatedly.  “You look like you’ve seen a ghost,” Arax chuckled, “Sit.” He said beckoning to a chair. Livanna slumped into the ornate wooden chair Arax had told her too.

      “I know you ran away when you were younger, Livanna,” Arax continued, “And you probably don’t know this, but, I was a friend of you parents.” The front door to the shop opened, causing the wind chimes hanging from the ceiling to chime softly and melodically. It was beautiful.  Livanna made to speak, but Arax cut in again. “Hold that thought.” He walked back into the front door of the shop. Livanna looked around. The back room was full of not only magnificently crafted swords and daggers and other weapons, but also of ancient looking artefacts and objects like vases and chairs. She got up and walked to a small katana sword, in a black sheath with a gold dragon coiled around the handle. It hung on the wall by two gold hooks. She grasped it in one hand and held it up, examining it closely. It was magnificent, really. Then there was a loud bang from the front of the shop. It was like something big had fallen. Livanna yelped and hung the sword back on its hooks carefully, trying not to make it look out of its place. She quickly sat back down on the ornate chair and listened, not making a sound. The stone inside her pocket glowed, and then burned her. Livanna pulled it out and saw it shining, luminously blue. There was a thin silver chain dangling from a hole in the top of the stone, which Livanna threw around her neck. The stone stopped glowing. She wondered why it was glowing in the first place.  It was a mystery to her.  Livanna sat still listening to a conversation.

      “Where is it?” A loud, strange voice bellowed.

       “I don’t know, it was sold this morning, a man in a suit bought it.” Arax sounded frail compared to the stranger.

      “I think you are lying,” the stranger remarked, “I think you are. Now, tell me where the stone is!”

            Livanna gasped and held the stone Arax had given her tightly, holding into her chest. The argument outside continued, but she wasn’t listening anymore. She was too busy trying not to make noise. Livanna could feel her heart pounding, beat after beat; it was like it was trying to get out of her chest. She took deep breaths and then the shop door slammed. Arax ran into the back room, looking ever so slightly older and concerned.

       “So,” Livanna said trying to get a conversation started, and maybe some answers, answered, “How did you know my parents?”

     Arax waved the question away and he became more serious. It all showed in his tone, he was anxious. “They’re coming, all of them, I need to leave. And so do you, get out of here. Run, and take the stone with you. Grab a weapon, and remember. Trust no one.  They’re coming….” He repeated.

     Livanna made to ask him who, but Arax ran through the doorway with the beads hanging from it and dashed madly to the door.  Livanna shrugged and got up. She walked out to the front room. It contained vials of every shape and size and vases and other items. There were weapons hanging on the wall, all looked heavy.  She kept looking around until she got to the centre of the shop.  It was a disaster. Livanna took the banging noise as the wardrobe that was smashed on the ground in smithereens. She gasped.  A blinding white light soared from within Livanna’s head and she nearly fell over. Then she suddenly remembered something.  ‘Run’.

         The word was clear in her mind, and it surged inside her, she wanted to run, but didn’t.  The voice was strong and dubious. It certainly wasn’t hers. It spoke again.’ Run, get out, and run. ‘Go, quickly. Remember, trust no one. Get a weapon, you’ll need it.’ Livanna rushed back into the store room and grabbed the sword with the dragon handle. She stuck it through her belt and returned to the front of the shop. She looked for her hat which had fallen off her. She saw it lying, folded in half beside the counter. She frowned and went and picked it up, straightened it out, put it on and fixed herself.  Livanna ran and vaulted over the smashed wardrobe and opening the shop door, and dashed through it quickly.