Heart Asunder (Dear Dahlia Season 2)

Chapter 16

Dahlia ignored the memory that threatened to resurface on feeling Saida's hand in hers. She glanced at her sister. Saida wasn't thinking straight - she could tell. Terror was written all over her face. Dahlia stepped in front of her and began to pull her along.

Think. She took in her surroundings. There were broken down houses and a small hall a little way away, no doubt where council meetings were held. Dahlia moved in that direction. Behind her, the monster was hot on her heels.

"This way." Dahlia pulled Saida behind a box. The monster roamed the hall, making inhuman noises. Dahlia watched it a moment more, then turned to Saida. "Are you alright?" she asked quietly.
"It's called a nichevo'ya. Nothing." She looked at Dahlia. "My power is useless against it."
"No veins? Heart?" Dahlia saw Saida shake her head. She paused. "...that's not it, is it?"
"DUCK!"

Saida grabbed Dahlia's waist and landed on the floor to avoid an attack. Then, Dahlia found herself being pulled up.
"The woods," Dahlia gasped.
"On it."

The otkazat'sya stumbled. Saida pulled her upright and continued moving. Dahlia tried to make sense of her surroundings, but everything was moving too fast. She shut her eyes, then opened them when she felt the wind on her face.

Saida pulled Dahlia into a clearing. The nichevo'ya hurtled towards them. Dahlia yanked Saida to the side. The monster threw itself onto the ground.

"Light the lantern!" Saida exclaimed.

Dahlia struck a match and lit it. It was small, but she hoped it would be enough to ward off the monster. She held it out in front of her. 'Stay away', she wanted to say, but that would be incredibly stupid right now, so Dahlia kept her mouth shut.

The monster snarled at the lantern and suddenly grabbed it. Dahlia stared wide-eyed as it used its fingers to snuff the candle inside the lantern.

"What the hell," she whispered. Then, she pushed Saida away and ran after her, but stumbled. The nichevo'ya leapt towards her.

"Dahlia!" Saida screamed.

For a moment, time slowed. Out of the corner of her eye, Dahlia saw Saida running towards her. The nichevo'ya reached out to swipe her...

...and then something attacked it.

In the blink of an eye, the nichevo'ya had vanished. Time went back to normal. The brown-skinned creature had been lightning fast, almost imperceptible. Dahlia stumbled back in shock.

"What-what hap-"
"We have to go." Saida was already pulling her away.
"What-"
"Come on, Dahlia!" Saida snapped. They sprinted off.

"Did you see it?" Dahlia asked.
"See what?"
"That thing, it attacked the nichevo'ya," she said breathlessly.
"I didn't see it," Saida admitted. "Looked like it darted back to Kirigan."
Maybe I'm just seeing things, the otkazat'sya thought.

Dahlia followed Saida, hand gripped tightly in hers. She pushed back the memory that threatened to overwhelm her and continued to run, one step in front of the other.

That night, when the sisters camped again, this time in an abandoned building, Dahlia took first watch. She dug around in her bag and pulled out her misbaha, running her fingers over the beads. She remembered the nichevo'ya reaching out to her with its claws, and squeezed her eyes shut to get rid of the memory. She remembered the three drüskelle she'd killed. This memory she couldn't get rid of as easily; they hadn't been monsters, but monstrous humans, which was worse.

Dahlia opened her eyes again and began to whisper "la ilaha illalah, la ilaha illalah, la ilaha illalah, la ilaha illalah Muhammadar rasullah,'' whilst holding one bead, then moved onto the next before repeating it. She began to relax, and her heartbeat steadied.

The moon shone down on her. Dahlia stared into space. If she hadn't, she would've noticed her sister gazing longingly at the misbaha she held in her hands.