CHAPTER FOUR27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCf0T41Dn1R
Kim27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJc8RuEk9Lf
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeuzDUFCRJa
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJZXo1JgQbP
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2e5BwAMyy
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. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJWSky39Fd7
“But you’re clever. Not everyone gets this far.”27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXKi1tRZJoA
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡg3oQQpwWT3
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOpuKtnp9C7
*************27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUcED1sFLM3
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 commitment27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡImrX47hIXv
The Note:27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt5faj1qrkB
You have found the path, but every step forward requires something left behind.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFZJ2GRHW65
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW3oyCQEBI0
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQXMb9XtDlX
Know this: every answer comes at a price. Your secret will become the Order’s to keep.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7GxrFKfM7
If you break our trust, the path will close to you forever.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPoyUwo1Hx1
-The Order
**********27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjhCwzSzNMS
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. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8OcM4pZl0L
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfQA2fbAmDw
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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE8QZ14l5ks
A senior member reads the letter to the group, voice echoing off the empty walls. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8XJrVkkV9T
“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.27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeCeUGzQcO9
Juma is there, sitting with the rest, his face hidden by the dim light. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡM1WeMVqUYK
The Order weighs their options: warn her, scare her off, or cut her out completely. Some want to retaliate, others urge caution. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡspsYqnkuU7
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. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8P1V36hZxT
Juma votes with the others, never suspecting that the target of their decision is the very girl who’s been on his mind. 27Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdYhBOexd9c
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.
and then Add to home screen.