Disclaimer!

Phoenix and Wild D claim no ownership over Keeper of the Lost Cities. All characters, events, and places mentioned in the Keeper of the Lost Cities series belong to Shannon Messenger. OCs like Anise belong to the bookhawks, and so does the plot. Story by Wild D, with support and editing from Phoenix.


Prologue

There were only a few elves in the bakery this early in the morning, all sporting breakfast and drinks. Anise's mother gave her a peck on the forehead and told her to wait on one of the stools.

"I'll go get grandpa, stay put," Anise nodded and watched her mother leave, contemplating if it would be a good idea to turn into a vanisher and follow. Her mother had never let her into the back, no matter how many times she insisted. She probably had good reason, but Anise was a big girl, ready to know stuff!

Even if I turn into a vanisher, I wouldn't be able to hold it anyway.

A person with a thick black cloak caught Anise's eye. All thoughts of Vanishers were gone. They were in a corner without any windows, and the light was dim.

"Don't talk to strangers in black cloaks."

That was the rule. But something about this person, something that made her itch to talk to them.

She sat down on the stool next to them, peering up at the person, trying to catch a glimpse of their face.

"Have you ordered yet? The cinacreme is good, so is the breakfast special" Anise pointed at the words on the menu, proud of finding a good excuse to talk to them.

The person growled, "I'm not here to eat, little girl."

"Then what are you doing?" Anise queried. Yes! Mama would be proud of the transition!

"I wanted to see this place for the last time." Their tone was wistful. The voice was low, and Anise couldn't make out if it belonged to a male or female. The cloak was in a shapeless form, and she wasn't able to tell.

"The last time? The bakery is open almost every day!" Anise didn't know what she was expecting from them, but certainly not someone crazy!

"Not for long."

Anise wasn't exactly sure where this conversation was leading, so she asked what she had been wondering all along.

"Are you a boy, girl, or other?"

"What are you, a walking questionnaire?" Anise giggled. The person seemed to consider something, then cocked their head.

"I'm a boy" Anise nodded and continued with her questions

"Why are you wearing that big cloak? It's not cold today." She looked at his warm cloak, the only one here.

"Oh, but isn't it better to be safe than sorry?"

"It is, but you should at least show your face."

"I highly doubt you would want to see my face, Anise."

Chills ran down her spine. How did he know her name? She wasn't well acquainted with many people; her mother preferred to keep her away from crowds, knowing the dangers of being a genetomorph. She rarely even mentioned Anise, and Anise had no complaints about that.

"How do you know my name?"

He laughed, an almost maniacal, villainous laugh.

"Who are you? What are you doing here?" she wanted to call for her mother, but she could also feel the pulsing hum of excitement and thrill building up inside of her, and it made her want to stay.

"I'm hiding," the person seemed so amused now, almost to the point that he was hysterical.

"From what? What's so scary?" Adrenaline pulsed through her, her heart was beating faster, and she leaned forward slightly. She had watched her mother interrogate others, and she had watched Amina ask probing questions, always getting the answers she wanted. She could be that person. She could be the one asking questions.

Another laugh. All the excitement was gone, and suddenly, the man was scary.

"Oh Anise, it's not me who's scared, it's them. They are afraid of my power, who choose to lock me away and ignore me, because they say it's for my good. Ha! They're all scared of me!" he shifted to face Anise and then drew out a shaking, pale hand, and pointed it toward her. Anise felt hot, no she felt burning sparks. And then, the hand retreated. The sparks were gone, and they were replaced by fear. Anise was scared. This wasn't for her. This wasn't a game. What had she been thinking?

"You, you are scared too." The nobles stirred, as if they only just woke up, and gave Anise concerned looks, some inching closer, wanting to hear the words. Why were they just standing there? They were supposed to come and help! It was their job! Where was her mama?

"All of you! Well, guess what? I'm done hiding from you. Now I'm going to stand while you cower. I'm going to watch you all burn!" he threw off the cloak. She could see now, with conformation, that the person was male. That was the least of her worries. Anise wanted to scream. A face that shouldn't have been. Something that used to be beautiful, destroyed. Even more, who the face belonged to. A stump for a hand, and scars. So many scars. Brant seemed to grow larger, and the room seemed to grow darker, the shadows longer, and then there was fire. And screaming, so many ear-splitting shouts and shrieks, and Anise couldn't tell who they were from. She was frozen, scared, and she felt small.

"Anise!" Mama. Mama was here.

Everything was going to be okay, Mama was here.

Mama would make everything go away.

Mama would save her.

Mama's strong arms would wrap around.

Mama's strong arms did wrap around her.

"Anise! Are you okay?" Anise could only nod as Mama clutched her, looking back to check for burns.

"Glad to see me, Cousin?" Brant was sneering, his face was haunting and scary.

"Don't you talk to me! Don't you talk to me or my daughter? You sick twisted thing. Get away from here. Run before I catch you, and when I do, I will destroy you!" Mama was angry. Anise was scared. Mama was scary. The fire was scary. Uncle Brant was scary. She wanted to cry. She wanted to cry and cry and cry and cry and cry until everything stopped.

"Dad, get the frissyn, I think it's Everblaze!" She heard her mother give orders, and her grandfather running inside what was left of the bakery. The walls to the bakery were gone now and all of Eternalia seemed to be in flames. She saw more Neverseen members, black cloaks in a sea of colors. She heard shouts and screams, people passed her. She felt moist water, there were probably hydrokinetics fighting back.

A group of children and a couple of pregnant women had gathered inside a forcefield, and Mama somehow got her there. Anise wasn't sure if she had run, or if Mama had carried her, but she got there. The psionopath inside made a small opening, and Anise ran inside. The children were all scared. One of the pregnant ladies was sobbing and Anise sat next to her because Anise felt like sobbing too. The lady hugged her, and Anise hugged her back, grateful for something to hold on to. They watched the chaos outside, and slowly, other kids joined them, wrapping their small hands, adding to the hug.

"Ismene, I got the frissyn!" She saw her grandfather hauling a bag of something, others behind him. Her mother was helping people leap away, and she turned. It felt like watching another life, another memory through a window. What were they called? Movies. Amina had explained to Anise that all important things in human movies happened in slow motion. She could never have been more wrong. Everything around her happened in a rush, and Anise wasn't sure where to look. Her mother yelled, "Look out!"

Anise saw the knife before her grandfather did. She saw cold white gloves tattered with blood. She and her mother were the only ones. Everyone else was too busy looking at other knives, other cloaks. Blood and ashes. Blood and ashes. And then Anise cried. She cried because there was nothing left to do. Everything was gone. Grandpa was gone, The bakery was gone.

"Everything going to be okay," it was a little girl, she was patting Anise's arm, where an ugly burn had formed "Boo-boo going to be okay."

Anise wanted to scream and laugh because the girl knew nothing. Her parents were probably out there getting murdered, and she thought Anise was crying over a Boo-boo?

Anise sniffled, "The boo-boo will, but nothing else." The girl looked at her blankly, and Anise did laugh, inside this bubble of hers, with other sniffling sobbing kids who were almost like her. What else was there left to do? The world as they knew it was gone.