Novels by Ifemade Nifemi

Branches whipped across Chris’s arms as he and Elliora sprinted through the pitch-dark forest. Every tree looked the same, tall shadows with twisted limbs, clawing at them as if trying to slow their escape.The ground was uneven, root-choked, unforgiving. Behind them, the echo of that cold, resonant laugh clung to the air like poison. “Chris, left, NOW!” Elliora shouted.He swerved wildly just as a slicing arc of compressed air tore through the trunk behind him. The tree, ancient, thick, solid, exploded into splinters.Chris gasped, “He’s not even trying to hide where he is anymore!”“He doesn’t have to!” Elliora yelled, grabbing his hand and pulling him forward. “His range is insane, he can hit us from anywhere!”Another shockwave hit the ground where they stood moments before. The earth cracked open, soil erupting upward in violent plumes. Chris stumbled, nearly falling. “Elliora, how do we stop him?!”“We DON’T stop him!” she snapped. “We survive him!”Chris swallowed panic. “He sa

The tunnel ahead was narrow, the air thick with dust and the lingering echo of the chamber’s collapse. Chris forced himself forward, one shaky step after another, his mind racing far faster than his footsteps.Elliora kept glancing back at him. “Chris… are you sure you’re okay?”“No,” he said bluntly. “But stopping isn’t going to help.”She exhaled sharply. “You just learned someone’s been trying to kill you since before your powers awakened. It’s allowed to… rattle you.”Chris slowed, jaw tightening. “I’m past rattled. I’m angry.”Elliora nodded once. “Good. Anger can keep you alive, just don’t let it blind you.”Before Chris could answer, the corridor lights flickered. Once. Twice. Then died for a full second. Elliora froze. “That wasn’t structural. That was magic interference.”Chris whispered, “From the collapse?”“No. Something else.”A faint sound drifted through the dark, a soft tapping, rhythmic, deliberate. Tap… tap… tap.Chris turned, heart pounding. “Is someone following us

The corridor trembled as Chris pressed his back against the cold stone wall, trying to steady his breathing. The torches flickered violently, shadows breaking apart and reforming like hungry creatures.“Elliora,” he whispered, “whatever’s inside that chamber… it knows my name.”Elliora stepped closer, staff raised, her eyes narrowing at the sealed door ahead. “You heard it too, didn’t you? That whisper. Like it was… expecting you.”Chris swallowed hard. “Yeah. And that’s the part that terrifies me.”A deep pulse rippled through the air, slow, rhythmic, like the heartbeat of something enormous. The ancient symbols carved across the door glowed faintly, lighting the cracks around it.“Chris,” Elliora said carefully, “are you sure you want to open this? We still don’t know why that crystal reacted to you. Or why your veins lit up.”“Running won’t change whatever’s happening to me.” Chris forced a weak grin. “And besides, that thing already knows I’m here.”Elliora stared at him for a lon

Wind screamed past Chris’s ears as the three of them plummeted from the shattered academy window. The stone courtyard rushed up so fast it blurred. Chris flailed. “THIS WAS A TERRIBLE IDEA!”Kael roared back, “WE DIDN’T HAVE MANY OPTIONS!”Lyra’s braids whipped wildly in the air as she thrust her staff downward. “Wind, Cushion!”A blast of air erupted beneath them. Their fall slowed, barely, before all three crashed into a soft, dirt-filled garden bed. Chris bounced once. Then twice. Then face-planted.Lyra groaned. “Kael… remind me never to do that again.”Kael spat dirt. “You jumped before I did!”Chris lifted his head weakly. “Guys… my soul just left my body and came back wearing a ‘What the hell?’ T-shirt.”Lyra laughed breathlessly. “You’re alive. That’s good enough.”Sirens blared across the academy grounds, arcane alarms with the pitch of wailing banshees.Kael cursed. “They triggered lockdown!”Shouting erupted in the distance. Shadows of wardens sprinted across the courtyard

The dust from the vanished Shardwraith still hung in the air like ash. Chris coughed, waving it away as he struggled to stand. His legs felt like wet rope, shaky, unreliable, and far too aware of nearly dying twice today.Lyra put a hand on his arm. “Chris… slow down.”“I’m fine,” he said automatically.“You’re not fine,” she replied, softer.“And you don’t have to pretend you are.”Chris hated how that made his chest tighten. Kael scanned the chamber with his flame-blade still drawn. “Focus. If that thing said ‘others,’ then we need to move.”Chris looked up sharply. “Move where? There is nowhere safer than the school, right?”Kael didn’t answer. That silence hit harder than any monster. Lyra’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Chris… Shardwraiths don’t retreat. Ever. Their whole existence is to reclaim broken power.”Chris exhaled shakily. “Okay. Follow-up question: what happens when they succeed?”Lyra looked away. Kael answered instead. “You disappear.”Chris blinked. “Disappear as in

Chris blinked into the dim torchlight as Kael guided him deeper through the hidden tunnels beneath the academy. The stones felt old, older than the academy itself, etched with faint runes that pulsed whenever he walked past.Lyra kept glancing back at him. “Chris… are you sure you’re okay walking? Your body just awakened from a near-death event. You should be resting.”“I’m walking because every time I lie down something tries to kill me,” Chris said. “So no, standing is safer.”Kael snorted. “You’ve got a point.”Lyra sighed. “You two are impossible.”The corridor widened, opening into an underground chamber lined with tomes, shattered relics, and suspended crystals vibrating with faint hums.A long stone table sat in the center, buried under scrolls. Chris eyed the mess. “Wow. What is this place? A library? A cave? A fire hazard?”Kael grinned. “Welcome to the Archive of the Unsaid.”Chris paused. “That’s a horrible name.”“It’s meant to be ominous,” Lyra said.“Well, it’s working.