Adrianna rushed to the window and looked outside towards the sky. A gigantic, brilliant green dragon against the backdrop of blue sky was flying towards the village. As he flapped those huge, leathery wings, he turned his neck to a side and roared again. In a few moments, the dragon landed on the plateau. Adrianna couldn't help watching the grace and pride with which he was standing on the ground. His scales gleamed in the morning sunlight. There were streaks of blue interspersed through the entire scales, which shone every time it moved. Powerful, lithe and graceful, the dragon walked towards the village. In a few steps, it shape-shifted into a tall man with green hair wearing brilliant green armor. His green eyes with yellow slits met Adrianna's golden yellow ones.

Shang Kui walked to the house they were staying in. When he reached inside, everyone stood from their places. Adrianna watched him intently.

​​

"We—" started Adrianna but Shang Kui stopped her by holding his hand forward.

"Let's sit," he said and walked to the only chair that was vacant. Others followed impatiently. Adrianna was fuming with anger on the inside.

Once he was settled, he asked, "Now tell me."

Adrianna took a deep breath. "I need your help. We are on the verge of a war here and I don't want it to happen. I need to contain a dangerous wizard called Ziu. He belongs to the Kingdom of Serpents."

Shang Kui frowned, "Ziu…" He looked outside the door. People had started opening the shutters of their establishments. "Last month I had gone to the West Ocean to meet my clan and they had told me about some unusual activity in the depths of the ocean. Upon investigating, I came to know that a lot of the serpent population was moving towards a lake, inlands. Now, I don't have the proof, but if this is what you are mentioning, then I think I know about your predicament."

"So, will you join us?" asked Adrianna.

"Yes, I will," he replied.

Enya, who had remained seated all this while, leaned forward and asked him, "What your deal Shang Kui?" There was a smirk on her face as if she knew the dragon wizard in front of him.

Shang Kui roared with laughter. "You know me well Enya," he said. Then he looked at Adrianna. "I am interested in the clones that you have made from your sister, Kayla."

Shock registered on Adrianna's face. How did he know about the clones? But this wasn't the time to ask questions. "Okay," she replied. She didn't want to ask his reasons to ask for Kayla's clones. "You have my word for it."

"Great," he said and got up from the chair. "I will accompany you."

A smile broke on Adrianna's face. Everyone in the room got up.

"I will go and create the portal, my Queen," said Haldir and started to walk out.

"Wait," said Adrianna. "Before we go back, I have to meet the Witch Queen of the South."

Enya shook her head. "I think we are more than enough, Adrianna."

Adrianna sighed. "I have read a lot about her. We need her," she said and motioned Haldir to create the portal by giving him the coordinates.

The team, which now consisted of two more members, walked outside on the backside of the house. Haldir created a portal and they all walked in one by one. As Adrianna stepped inside, she joked, "We had a really tough time getting your coordinates right, Shang Kui."

Shang Kui smiled. "Yes, my people had been hunted for a long time. I just want to give them a safer place to live."

Adrianna could fully understand. She nodded and stepped out of the portal into a dense forest to find Queen Inyanga.

They mounted the brooms. While Enya sat with Haldir, Shang Kui was with Mihr. The brooms traveled through the forest making its way as it passed over the fallen trees that leaned against each other like drunken men. The air was thick with moisture. It made them sweat immediately. The wind rustled through the leaves. They entered deeper into the forest and soon came near a clearing where there were small cottages built in neat rows.

"This is where Inyanga lives," said Haldir.

They all alighted their brooms and walked to the gardens that surrounded all the cottages. Small children were playing around. Adrianna grinned at them as she remembered her baby. She called one of them and asked, "I have come to meet Inyanga. Can you tell me where she is?"

The child looked at her with surprise. He kept his hands on his hips and said, "Inyanga is studying in the college. She will come back during summer vacation."

Adrianna blinked several times. "Which college?" she managed to ask.

The child snapped his fingers and the entire group found themselves in front of the college.

It was still morning and classes hadn't started. The group was looking so queer in their attires that a few passersby remarked, "Halloween is month away."

Mihr requested them all to enter an empty alley where they disguised themselves as students to blend in. They waited for an hour sitting and walking around the garden in front of the main administration block before the first student appeared. Thankfully that was someone Adrianna recognized immediately.

The young, vivacious Inyanga had parked her bicycle in the bicycle rack. She couldn't help creating her magic. She waved her hand and a lock appeared on the bike. She took her bag on her shoulders. Wearing blue denim jeans and orange shirt, her hair was tied in a pony. She tried to look simple but her beauty was something that made her stand out.

A student of law, Inyanga was in the second year. However, she was a brilliant student and Adrianna knew that Inyanga knew about all the laws of this world, whether human or any other realm. The university was just an excuse to study law.