60

NIRVANA

“You’re not okay, Axell.” I finally saw the blank look in his eyes, as if he wasn’t there— as if he had lost himself in deep sorrow. “You should get yourself checked.”

“I said I’m fine!” he yelled, startling me.

“Okay.” I raised my hand. “I have to go. Go home, but I’m not coming with you.”

“You will gonna regret this, Vana. You should have not left.”

“Please, leave—”

A high-pitched scream erupted from my throat, echoing around me. My hand flew to my mouth as I watched Axell fly, thrown away like a dead animal.

With my heart in my throat and my feet rooted to the ground, I stared at someone who just appeared a few feet away from me. I wanted to run as fast as I could, but my knees wobbled, my chin trembled, and my body shivered.

“He’s useless now. Nirvana, the daughter of Sophie, the descendant of Katzius. Do you know me?” His voice was echoey, as if we were in a theater. The man stopped just a yard away from where I stood. He was a black man, tall, in his fifties, bu