Chapter 1

A harmonizing whistle could be heard in the cave. It was a familiar lullaby. It went on for minutes and then it was quiet. It was dead silent it almost was scary. "Shoosh! Do you hear that?" A silent but deep voice was heard in the cave. It was dark and it felt as if there were shadows looming in it. The silence went on again but you could hear foot steps outside the cave. Khari quickly stood up from his seat and he walked towards the entry. The two pythons slithered following him but he rose his hand to silence them and they stopped. "Shoosh now we might just have a guest. Do you not crave human meat Pea and Path?" He asked the two pythons with a grin on his face. He was wearing a red robe with no shirt on but just another red pair or trousers. His nails were painted red and he wore red and blue eye shadow. He peeped to look and see who dared to come close to his cave. It was in the human world and no human had ever came close to this cave in the five hundred and forty five years he had lived there. He heard faint footsteps coming closer to the cage. The figure came out and a boy who looked like he was about nineteen came out of the woods. "Hmm not so bad for a human boy." Khari said to himself as he saw the young boy walking. He was not very tall but just of an average height. He had brown skin and dread in his head, his eyes were huge when he opened them wide Khari almost laughed at how big they were. He was handsome but he looked like someone who needed a new makeover. "Maybe a little red blood would clean you up a little." Khari said as he continued to watch the boy gathering wood. The boy didn't stop walking towards the cave and Khari didn't think he could pass through the spell. The boy walked past the spell and straight into the cave. "Oh my! Did he just walk right through?" Khari asked himself confused. No human , demon or guardian had ever walked past that boundary. The boy carried on picking up wood in the cave with his head bend down. He walked straight up to Khari's feet and he stopped. Khari who was still in shock about the boy crossing the threshold didn't even realize the boy was just close to his feet until the boy stood up and stared right into his face. "Hello!" The boy said to Khari who just froze and looked at the boy unfazed. "What are you doing in this dark cave all alone? You know a beautiful uhm ah boy like you shouldn't be deep in these woods." He went on to say to Khari. Khari continued staring at the boy in shock. He didn't move or say a word. The boy waved his hand in front of Khari's eyes but he still didn't move. The boy took his hand a placed it on Khari's bare chest. It was so warm that he almost screamed but he couldn't. The boy put his head on his chest tiptoeing to listen to his heartbeat and he heard Khari's heart beating. "You are not dead , thank God." The boy said to Khari. No human or supernatural had ever touched him. He only knew the cold touch from the two pythons this warmth was something new. "You are not afraid!" he finally said to the boy who laughed out so loud that Khari looked at him with his eyes rolling. "Afraid of what? You? You just a, uhm a weird beautiful boy." The boy said to Khari who repeated what the boy had said quietly. "Yes you are weird looking, I mean you are wearing make up and you are a man." He teased him. Khari took a deep breath and pushed the boy away from him ready to scold him for looking down on his makeup when the boy saw the two pythons. He pointed at the two snakes screaming and Khari's jaw dropped because he couldn't even say anything now. He was about to explain about the snakes when the boy grabbed his hand and ran out of the cave with him. He passed through the boundary and the boy fell on the ground with him. The boy was still trying to wrap his head around the snakes in the cave whilst Khari was still trying to figure out how on earth this boy had managed to get him out of that shitty cave. He slowly got up from the ground and looked around. He didn't even notice his palm had been hurt and was bleeding. The boy rushed and grabbed his palm. "Oh my, your hand is hurt!" The boy said to Khari as he held his palm. Khari pulled it away and began walking back to the cave to touch the boundary. He stretched his arm and put his palm on the boundary and it was broken. He couldn't believe a mere human being had broken this spell he had tried to break all his life but failed. As he put his injured palm where the boundary used to be blood dripped and fell on the ground. The two pythons slithered their way to him and saw the human boy. They slithered past Khari towards the human boy who screamed as he fell on the ground fearing he was going to be eaten by these two snakes. His scream got to Khari. "Stop right! Pea, Path, the boy is not your food. He is your savior." He commanded the two snakes who quickly slithered back to him and coiled right round his legs. The boy's mouth opened wide open but he didn't say anything. Khari listened to his heartbeat and he seemed not to be really afraid of him.

Khari looked at the boy who still had his mouth wide open. He forced a smile and he waved at the boy who slowly waved back at him. "What are you?" Khari asked the boy who still had his mouth wide open. Khari walked out of the snakes loop to the boy. He knelt close to him and closed his mouth for him using his hand. "The snakes, they are yours?" The boy asked him. Khari turned to the snakes and nodded his head to the boy thinking it would scare him. "That is such a cool thing. See I told you that you were a weird boy!" The boy said to Khari. Khari was surprised he just looked at him cold. The boy stood up and began dusting his clothes when he saw Khari's palm still bleeding. He grabbed his hand. "You are still bleeding! Let me help you!" He said to Khari. He took out a piece of clothing and began wrapping the wound with it. Khari didn't want to tell the boy he'd heal because it felt good to watch him wrap his hand. The boy finished wrapping Khari's hands and stood right next to him. "There you go, it is all wrapped up now!" He said to Khari who was still looking at him cold. The boy looked up to Khari and shrugged his shoulders. "Damn you are so cold!" He said laughing and he grabbed his few firewood and waved Khari goodbye. Khari was still standing there that he didn't even see the boy leave. He wanted to know how he broken down a barrier that no supernatural could break not even Jahzara's pythons could. He walked back towards the cave and the pythons followed him. He used his powers to put up a flame in his palm. He walked slowly towards his seat and he scoffed. It was a little bit funny to him. He sat on his seat looking around, he rolled his eyes and forced a smile. Pea slithered right besides him and coiled herself right next to him. He pat her head gently. "There you go girly. Now you are free to go wherever you want to." He said to his pet and he went into deep thought. He suddenly smiled at her. "Why don't we all pay a little visit to the Guardians realm and see the queen. Huh?" he asked his pet with an evil smile on his face. He clasped his hands together as he stood up and sighed. "C'mon it's time we meet my mother!" He walked and the to pythons followed him right into the portal he had opened.

Khari stood in the midst of the palace gardens. The white rose bushes his mother had planted when they were kids had grown so much that they had filled up the whole garden. He rolled his eyes and thought. "She is still obsessed with white, urgh." He shrugged his shoulders as if he was nauseated by white. He walked down the path he used to walk and play with his sister when they were kids with their mother. His red robe was covering most of the ground behind him and his chest was still bare as he walked out of the garden towards the palace walls. The guards that stood watch of the palace gates saw him and they tried to attack him but he clicked his hands and they stayed frozen. "Oh dear, or dear." He said as he walked past them into the palace. He could see his mother sitting on her throne and he just walked slowly towards her. She didn't even notice him enter so he began whistling the lullaby she used to sing for him as a child to put him to sleep. Zuri stopped reading her scrolls and lifted her head. She didn't move or say anything when she saw her son. She was shocked to see him because she knew nothing could break the barrier. Khari lifted only one side of his eyes and looked at his mother smiling. "Miss me mother?" He asked her sarcastically with one of his hand on his python's head. His mother stood up from the throne and she began to walk down the stairs towards her son slowly. She didn't take her eyes off her son and he too didn't take his off her. She still looked the same way she did the day they had parted ways. She was beautiful and tied her hair into a knot like he used to help do when he was a child. She wore a white garment as usual and she matched with the palace walls and flowers. Only the gold was the sparkle he thought. He shook his head in disgust as he looked at all the white around him. "Boy I hate this color." He said as continued walking towards her. "How is this possible? The barrier can't be broken." Zuri said as if she wanted to almost faint. Khari rolled his eyes and he folded his hands. "I know right? Such a shocker huh?" He replied his mother sarcastically. This was meant for both of them because the barrier that had been said to be so invincible was brought down by a mere human boy with not status or supernatural powers. Zuri got closer to her who was still standing there with his hands folded looking at her like she was a crazy woman. She stood right in front of him and stretched her hand towards his face to touch it but he moved it backwards. "I don't like people touching me. It gives me the creeps." He said to his mother and she put back her hand. He stood up straight and looked at her, she looked like she wanted to cry and this made him roll his eye more. "Oh please don't tell me you sad coz your little barrier failed you. Urgh!" He was annoyed by her. He walked a few paces away from her and began circling around her. Zuri looked at the two pythons that coiled up right behind them. "You tamed them? I never thought I'd see the day these two demons would be tamed. Not even my sister could." She sounded as if she was complimenting him. "Sister? You have a sister?.." he paused after asking his mother but he carried on. "Oh not that I care of but yes I did tame them. They fed on my blood and I fed on theirs. It's not like you left me with a field of harvests in that cave Zuri." He was blunt when he replied her and she felt a sharp pain in her chest. She didn't even get to reply his question about his sister. The Guardians had never mentioned Jahzara after she had been locked up by the heart curse. Only a few elders and the heir to the throne who happened in the past. "You have grown up and you look just like your father." She said to him and he scoffed. "How did you break out? I didn't even feel a power surge from here. It is as if the barrier is there." She asked him and he looked at her face closely and realized she really had no idea the barrier had been down. He wondered too but h just smiled. "I didn't come here for chit chat. I came here to see how you were doing….." He paused and took a deep breath in and looked right around him to all the white color in the throne room. "And from the look of things you still haven't changed at all" He mocked his mother.

Zuri just stood there with her hands behind her. Khari kept staring at his mother coldly. He knew she was upto something, this woman had locked him up for hundreds of years and never looked back she wasn't about to just let him waltz like that. He kept looking at her face and Zuri could tell there was no emotion on his face, even though it broke her heart as a mother she still couldn't show it because she had a duty to carry on. Zuri slowly moved her hand from behind as she held on to her sword. She moved without distracting either the two serpents or her son but she was about to strike him he dug his hand into her chest and got hold of her heart. She dropped the sword in pain and opened her mouth wide open in pain letting out a groaning sound. Khari's face was still emotionless. "Oh Zuri, did you think you'd fool me again? Hmm I am the master of this sneaky game you want to play." He said to his mother as he kept on grabbing her heart inside her chest. He put his face closer to hers and smelled her hair. "Oh my dear Zuri, hmmm, I am here to see you die and I take your precious powers. Oh don't you worry I do not want to seat on Imani's stupid throne but I intend to have a little fun with your human and your guardians." He said to his mother as he mocked her. She was still groaning in pain. She wanted to say something but it couldn't come out so he put his ears closer to her. "How… how did…. You.. break….?" She stammered as she tried to ask him how he had gotten out. Khari let out a sarcastic laugh. "Oh that, I honestly didn't do anything. A young boy just walked in and he grabbed my hand and boom! I was out here!" He explained to his mother laughing. "The irony of it all, you sacrificed me to guard Pea and Path, oh and yes I named them, for those humans and it was one of them who let me out. Hmm." He mocked her efforts. Zuri's eyes were filled with tears and she forced her hand to touch his face. He looked annoyed and she let her tears stream down her cheeks as she held her son's face. Khari pulled his mother's heart out and pushed her lifeless body to the ground. He absorbed all her power in her heart and it turned to dust with the rest of her body on the ground. As this was happening there was a scream at the door. "Mother No!" Imani screamed in pain as she saw her mother's body disappear. Khari saw his twin sister at the door wearing white armor and he scoffed. "Not you too!" He said to himself. Imani threw her spear at her brother in rage and it hit him right through the right side of his chest, he wasn't suspecting she would do that. He staggered a few steps backwards and slowly removed the spear and dropped it on the ground. He couldn't move so his two serpents quickly slithered around him and they disappeared with him. Imani rushed to where her mother's body was meant to be and picked up her sword. She began to sob uncontrollably as she held on to the sword. The whole palace began to rush towards the throne room only to bow as they mourned the loss of their queen and chief guardian.