Nox Inferno

Chapter 35: One Hell of a Performance

I began to ring my hand with anticipation as I paced backstage. It was time for the big presentation. I wasn’t the only one who was nervous, surrounding me where thousands of beautiful men and woman in decorative clothing all doing their best to stay calm. There is nothing like the rush of excitement that enters the body right before a show or performance.

Clementine ran over, “I know you don’t know what really happening. But when Zephyr comes out, I want you to do what you practiced with Kai.”

I nodded as I watched her fix an invisible strand back into her gelled back bun. She wore a light pink blouse that fell off her shoulders and hugged her arms with a black skirt that hung to her ankles.

“What exactly are we doing?” I asked as she begun flexing her feet.

“Well I’m going to go ribbon dance with my magic and transform into a wolf. I don’t know what happens next. No except Mama Fra and Peter knows how the whole dance will look like.” She shifted her weight to her right leg and flexed her left foot.

“Why?” I began to fiddle with the helm of my black dress.

“It may look like a pretty dance to everyone. But this dance requires us to think on our feet. It’s an exercise to test how well we can adapt.” She smiled.

I guess that makes sense. I was wondering why a bunch of knights had to perform a dance when they should be protecting Satan.

A woman in red jarred us from our conversation with a clap, “Okay. Nox Knights get ready. The Order of the Reapers are next.”

“Order of the Reapers?” I mouthed to Clementine.

“You don’t think the Nox Knights are the only guards that protect the Inferno Royal Family. Do you?” Nyra laughed in my head.

“I did before you said that.” I sent back to her.

“Come on!” Clementine whispered as she grabbed my arm and lead me closer to the curtains. My heart was pounding. I can do this! I inhaled as we approached the others.

Alvina was stretching her arms behind her back. She wore a sequence white and green leotard. Zephyr wore a light blue turtleneck with a white trench coat, top hat, and pants. Kai wore a simple white shirt and dark blue pants with the same fabric as Zephyr’s.

Kai glanced up at me and I blushed. I don’t think I’m ready to talk about the kissing thing yet. So I forced myself to look away to study the red curtains that divided me and the audience.

A voice boomed silenced the small chatter of the audience and people backstage, “Ladies and gentlemen. Boys and girls of all races, I present to you the Royal Families.”

Thunderous applause ripped through the audience and I peeked my head slightly out of the curtains. I was just in time to see Lord Lir and King Leviathan crossing and heading up to the red booth in the center of it all. Two women walked by both sported lighting blue hair. I couldn’t see their faces, but they looked like the receptionist from Tunshaw Mountain. More people walked out, each wearing clothes that looked like a lifetime worth of allowances put together.

I was yanked back as the announcer said, “Now welcoming the Inferno Royal Family.”

I turned to Zephyr, “What was that for?”

“Do you want to get caught?” He shot back before stalking away. He was definitely nervous.

“First up tonight. We bring you the Nox Knight and their newest member, Twyla Chantelle!” Hollers and clapping echoed in my ears, but the beating of my own heart echoed louder.

The curtain parted a little and I scampered back to safety away from public eye. Clementine walked gracefully forward with two metal rods in each of her hand. The music began to play a soft song. Clementine raised on rod into the air and pink magic stemmed down and did the same with the other. She began to wave them in the air as she kicked her feet out and did flips. I wasn’t really watching her but rather the graceful movement of the ribbons as the move with her. Suddenly the song began to pick up and she began moving faster and faster. Her feet kicking up the dirt from the floor. The sun was setting and slowly lights began to trickle in, following Clementine’s dance. I surveyed the audience, no one was moving or talking. They watched her in hypnotic trances.

Suddenly the music hits a beat. Clementine threw up the metal rods into the air and she transformed into a wolf. All while giant snake emerged from a gaping hole in the ground that wasn’t there before. The snake then proceeds to land on Clementine’s back and throws itself into the air.

The music quickened as the snake transformed into Alvina mid-air. She flips backwards and sticks a perfect landing. Except the earth was no longer on the ground but rather hovering above by couple of feet. I glanced back at Clementine, but it was to dark to see what she was doing.

Audience begins to clap as nothing happened. But then a fox run out towards the earth. It transformed into a giant tidal wave. I gasped as the water rushed towards the earth in which Alivina was standing on. I wanted to look away, but I couldn’t.

Zephyr pats me on the back then shifts into a raven. He nods his head in the direction of the audience and I inhaled. Here goes nothing.

Zephyr flies overhead as I walk out calmly even though I was close to having a meltdown.

“Act like you know what you are doing!” Nyra instructed.

Zephyr begins to circle me from above. What was I suppose to do now?

“Shift!” Nyra yelled.

So I jumped into the air and shifted into an owl. Zephyr cawed and the air around me began to pull me up.

Where was the ring? I began to look around. I spotted a small ring, but it wasn’t wood like I practiced on. I was the earth from which Alivina was standing on moment ago. Where was she? I began to look around. I saw Zephyr land on the ground as a human. He twisted his body, but he was no longer human but rather a giant tornado.

“Focus!” Nyra yelled and I turned my attention towards the ring despite the tornado lurking below.

I lit myself on fire just as I went through the ring. As I fell to the ground as a human the ring on fire began to fall to. So I caught it but instead of absorbing it. The fire spread up my arms and my whole body.

“Absorb!” Nyra yelled.

“I’m trying!” I called back to her in a panic.

The tornado behind me dispersed as I curled up into a ball and begun rushing down closer to the ground.

I began to shift, “Stop!” Nyra yelled as she forced me to shift back human.

She’s trying to kill me! I was only a few feet away from the bottom. I closed my eyes and embraced for impact.

Instead I felt nothing but heard a loud hissing sound. When I opened my eyes again, I was in the arms of a giant water version of Kai. How do I always end up in his arm? My flames where quenched by his water. Slowly he put me down and turned back into a human.

I was panting, trying to get my breath back to normal. He never dropped my gaze and I didn’t have the strength to look away.

Applause broke out. People where whistling and clapping which reminded me, what I was doing in the first place. I turned to the audience grabbing Kai’s hand and Clementine’s hand. We looked at one another before we took a collective bow.

“Wow!” Nyra laughed excitedly, “That was one hell of a performance!”

“Yes it was!” I whispered as I felt the adrenaline coursing through my body. I wondered what everybody else saw?