Holy War: Two Worlds and an In- Between

Chapter 13: Open

"What's this?" I asked picking up a poster stuck to a tree.

Jack stepped over to me while munching on wild berries he found in a giggling bush. He pulled the paper off of the tree and examined it with great interest before his eyes began to grow with excitement. He smiled to himself as he read the words written messily on the dirtied piece of paper.

"What is it?" I asked swatting a mosquito off my arm.

"It's the Mages Fighting Festival," he informed me.

"Yeah, cause I know what that is," I scoffed continuing to pick barriers of the bush.

"It's a place where creatures with magic go to fight in exchange for gold and riches," he explained still looking at the page.

"That's great, can you collect some berries now?" I asked rolling my neck around trying to subdue the pain from sleeping outside the night before.

"What I wouldn't give to fight in one of these again," he whispered, "I won every battle. That's where I met..."

I dropped my basket onto the floor in annoyance, "Except you don't have magic," I added crossing my hands over my dirty top.

He looked disappointed at my revelation and glanced down at his hands. He twiddled his ring around his finger as I continued to pick barriers. I wondered why Allioni wanted all of those berries. Wasn't there anything else for us to eat?

Jack stared with wide eyes at the ring on his finger as it glowed black as opposed to the gold it was the day before. I made my way over to him as he clutched his wrist. His hand looked as though it were darkening and on the brink of rotting.

"Jack, go back to the cabin and find Allioni," I instructed.

"We need the berries," he said almost dazed as he focused on his hand.

I gave him a soft push while handing him his basket, "I'll get more, just go!"

He traveled back down the path we were on and I continued ahead. I thought back to the note and began to fear for the worst. The trees rustled and birds chirped loudly as I made my way down the path leading to a large opening, while I picked the berries along the sides of the path. The opening seemed to be the beginning of a forest and I had no interest in exploring the contents of a forest, especially in a world with magic.

My basket was just about full and I was anxious to make sure that Jack was safe. I turned on my heels and began to head back down the path when I heard a faint cry from behind me. I stopped in my tracks and listened for another small cry coming from the opening and heard a louder one. I shivered as I listened to the sound and couldn't help but investigate.

I crept towards the opening unsure of what I would find. The sun placed a golden light over the space and flowers opened up as I entered. The trees were thick around the space and a deer sat heaving its chest up and down as it whaled out in pain. It seemed so unfair that at the same time birds sang, the sun beamed and flowers bloomed that such a beautiful doe was suffering alone.

I made my way over to her as her chest heaved heavily, kneeling down beside her and resting the basket beside me. I looked over her body and found no reason for her to be hurt. There wasn't a single wound on her body or any sign of starvation.

"Shh, " I whispered, "it'll be alright." I listened to her rugged and heavy voice as she wheezed. She seemed so alone. Gently, I rested my right hand on her smooth fur. For a moment, she was quiet. Her breathing seemed to stop and her body went limp. As I began to accept her death, she sprung to her feet and galloped away gracefully.

"You shouldn't be here Diana," a stern voice whispered.

I sprung to my feet and looked around the only thing I saw was the leaves falling to the ground. I knew that I needed to find the source of that whisper. It may have known something about Jack.

"Who's there?" I asked spinning around in search of the owner of the voice.

Almost instantly, a person manifested before me. Their hair was slicked back and dark. He wore a black suit and stood with his hands in his pockets. He stood so still that I could have sworn he was a statue. Even though he was close enough to touch, I wouldn't dare.

"Who the hell are you?" I asked with pseudo confidence. He raised his left brow at me as though he could see through my façade.

"I'm Raphael, but you may know me more as the person who made you question your entire life," he responded in a cool and collected voice, "most just call me Whisper."

The wind rustled through the trees as I felt the letter in my pocket. I pulled it out and showed it to him, "Did you leave this for me?"

"I did, but I see that you haven't really heeded my warning," he said sucking in a breath at the end of his sentence.

"Do you know what's wrong with him? Is he okay?" I asked the boy who just looked at me like I was confusing him.

"Wow, you really are something, Diana," he said shaking his head. He began to walk towards me but disappeared as he was just about to make contact with me, reappearing behind me," you have been pulled out of the only life you've ever known, yet you don't shed a tear."

He stood tall very far from me, "Your quite courageous Diana, but I have to tell you something about your dear old Jack that I think you need to know."