CHAPTER FOUR178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUp35mEYq8I
Kim178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA7gvkoYieJ
The sky is bruised purple, I keep telling myself I’m not scared, but my hands are cold and I can’t stop glancing over my shoulder.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqRyHgt2yBX
I lean against the wall, trying to look casual, but I’m sure anyone watching could see the tension in my shoulders. The chipped stone is right where the letter said it would be. I touch it, half-hoping for a secret passage, half-expecting nothing at all.
Then I hear footsteps-soft, deliberate. I straighten, pulse thudding in my ears. Out of the shadows, a figure appears. School sweater, hood up, face hidden. For a second, I wonder if it’s all just a prank, but then I see the blue thread tied around their wrist and the folded paper in their hand.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtF430AoM30
We stand there, just looking at each other. I want to ask a hundred questions, but my mouth is dry. The figure holds out the note, not saying a word. I take it, our fingers barely brushing. The silence is thick, heavy with things unsaid.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuOKUCHgUzM
They finally speak, voice low and careful. “Curiosity is a dangerous habit here.” There’s a warning in their tone, but also something like respect. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ54r1GPnf7O
“But you’re clever. Not everyone gets this far.”178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhEBtp4g6Sf
I want to ask who they are, how many there are, if Juma’s involved, but the words stick in my throat. The messenger steps back, melting into the dusk before I can say anything else.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPHKm4c2CP5
I stand there for a moment, the new note warm in my hand, my mind spinning. I came looking for answers, but all I’ve found are more questions. Still, I know one thing for sure now: the Order is real, and I’m in deeper than I ever imagined.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImSxRdcsBr
*************178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0YsQhp6VLq
The note Kim receives from the Order of Hermes is written in careful, coded language, blending mystery with clear instructions. It offers her a way to contact the Order, but also lays out a set of instructions-and a price she must pay for further involvement, in keeping with the traditions of secret societies where access and knowledge come with a cost and a ritual of commitment178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMPaYOB1U3a
The Note:178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNSR8ahRrPh
You have found the path, but every step forward requires something left behind.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMwAaTEenw
If you seek answers, return to the library at the hour when the bell tolls for evening prep. Place a slip of paper with your question inside the third copy of The River and the Source on the bottom shelf.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡREI1D7jNq2
To prove your intent, you must leave behind a secret of your own-something true, something only you know. Write it on the same paper.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrIZw5sjhbX
Know this: every answer comes at a price. Your secret will become the Order’s to keep.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡllyXgdFb1F
If you break our trust, the path will close to you forever.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡucG7Q6WGFu
-The Order
**********178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoSEeFSz5R4
In the abandoned swimming pool on the boys’ side-its cracked tiles and faded mosaics echoing with the secrets of years past-a group of students from both Kisumu Boys and Kisumu Girls meets in the shadows. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgzZM9juhPn
This is the true Order of Hermes: not some ancient, mystical society, but a clever, clandestine club of students who use the forgotten pool as their headquarters, away from teachers and prefects.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡU0gbeAGzrZ
Tonight, the air is tense. The circle is tighter than usual, and a battered envelope sits at the center on a broken tile: Kim’s blackmail letter. For the first time, her name is spoken aloud, the threat she poses no longer just a rumor but an urgent reality.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7y4I1gP0VM
A senior member reads the letter to the group, voice echoing off the empty walls. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDgCeu9kDaU
“She threatens to expose us if we don’t answer her demands. She knows about the blue thread. She’s getting too close.” There’s a ripple of unease-some students shift nervously; others exchange worried glances.178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4gxtxmaYNj
Juma is there, sitting with the rest, his face hidden by the dim light. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm7VERuKVTu
The Order weighs their options: warn her, scare her off, or cut her out completely. Some want to retaliate, others urge caution. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO6gs64uA1F
The group votes, and the decision is clear-Kim must be dealt with, her curiosity curbed before the Order’s secrets are truly at risk. The meeting ends with a plan: a warning will be sent, and Kim will be watched. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtynWdMBlSt
Juma votes with the others, never suspecting that the target of their decision is the very girl who’s been on his mind. 178Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOqNbTrEtSB
As the students disperse, the pool returns to silence, holding tight to the secrets of the Order-and to the fate of Kim, now marked by the society she dared to challenge.
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