Holy War: Two Worlds and an In- Between

Chapter 18: I'll Go

"It started with our son, Leo," the man grumbled sniffling a bit, "we were always poor, but we made due. We were happy here. Well, Mariam and I were, Leo always wanted more. When the first phase of the war took place, they offered any man a hefty pay to fight at the front lines... my boy, he went to fight."

The dim candles flickered as the wind blew through the open windows. Mariam shivered in the bed, and I lifted the itchy cover up to her chin. I could still see a glimmer of doubt in the eyes of the man who sat at the edge of the bed with his wife's hand in his. Jack and Allioni looked on from the doorway. Jack was standing protectively while Allioni was just observing.

"We tried to convince him not to go, but the boy wouldn't listen," the man explained sniffling as a small teardrop fell from his eyes, "when he was there, at the camp, they treated the men terribly. They were beaten and experimented on. He tried to leave, but they wouldn't let him. They imprisoned him."

"Who's they?" Jack interrupted from the doorway. I shot him an all telling look. The kind of look that said not to interrupt the emotional old man.

"The king's men," he choked looking at his wife, "they locked him away under the castle."

Jack and I looked at Allioni, both expecting some sort of wisdom, but instead, he stared at the man. I stared down at the woman as she began to turn pale. I felt her forehead, and she was ice cold to the touch.

"How'd she get this way?" I asked as the woman began to shiver.

The man looked sorrowfully at his hands, "We went to the king's castle to ask for our son. We begged, but they just laughed at us. They laughed. I couldn't take it, so we went to a sorceress. I don't remember her name. Cal- Cal?"

"Calypso?" Jack choked. The man confirmed, "Where is she?" Jack asked a bit more harshly.

"She's gone, but I know where she went. Not to say I'd ever try to find the witch after what she's done to my dear Meriam," the man explained.

"Calypso did this?" Allioni asked moving over to the woman, "I sense a frigid curse. It's not exactly her style."

"Oh, it was definitely her. She said that if we took an elixir, and found a way to give it to the king, he would free our son. Instead, Meriam is sick," he explained.

Silence fell over the room. I could see Jack staring at the floor with his lips pursed closely together. That was the second time Calypso was mentioned, and it was the second time he reacted that way. I began to wonder what was going on there. Who was Calypso?

I began to wonder how we could help the ailing woman lying in bed. Her eyes were dark and peeled wide open as she looked up at me. She gave me a helpless look as the light seemed to slowly leave her eyes. I couldn't just stay there and take it. I had to do something.

"Allioni, is there anything we could do?" I asked.

"It seems as though Calypso was either working with the king, or the king was covered in a dark protection spell, making all attempts on his life futile. In that case, we just need some of the king's blood in a vile to reverse the curse," Allioni explained.

Jack interrupted, "How can we do that? If we try to drain his blood, then wouldn't our's drain too?"

"Not exactly, I have reason to believe that Diana could be the only one to break that rule. Either way, you and I can't go. It's not safe," Allioni explained.

"Not safe how?" Jack cried.

"We do look exactly the way we did the last time we were here. We may be recognized," Allioni said.

"Forget it! I'm not sending Diana out there alone! Are you crazy? We might as well be giving her to a wild pack of wolves!" Jack bellowed with a small laugh at the end.

"No, I'm quite sane," Allioni argued raising his finger. Jack sighed.

"Please save my wife," the man begged with a fresh wave of tears trickling down his cheek. I couldn't look at a man begging for his wife's life and just walk away.

"I'll do it," I volunteered. Jack gave me a death glare. I gave him one myself.

"Diana ..." Jack said knowing that he couldn't possibly change my mind. He gave me that look he gets when he doesn't want to tell me what to do but definitely wants to tell me what to do.

The man looked at Jack with his eyes beginning to tear up, "Please, that witch cant help us."

Jack jerked him to look at the man, "She is not a witch," he said through gritted teeth. I even flinched a little.

"Well, what do you call someone who casts spells on the innocent then runs off?" The man asked obviously unwilling to back down from the fight for his wife.

"You have no idea what you're talking about old man," Jack said keeping his teeth clenched as well as his fists. The ring on his finger began to glow, and his hand began to darken. This time, the black spread to his arm.

The man began to breathe heavily, "You're a witch too! Your working with the witches! The first one is coming to kill us now! Oh my heavens!" The man screamed as he hugged his wife.

"Why would Calypso kill you?" Allioni interjected completely unphased by the screaming that left me unsettled.

The man held on even more tightly than before," I can't say," he cried.

I reached out for his arm, and held it gently," Please, we need to know," I said.

The man nodded and sat up, looking back at his wife, "She said that if we told her where she was going, she would kill us."

"You know where she went?" Jack asked in a choked whisper. The man nodded.

Jack walked over to the bed with his arms crossed over his chest. He bent over, and stared the man down, "Tell us where Calypso is, and we'll let her go."

Thoughts on the old man?

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