THAT ILLUSION || ONC 2021

~•{Chapter #07}•~

"Did she get injured due to the regional quake, Mrs Kayte?" Galene enquired her with a guilt pricked glance. The girls were following her and the boys latched the mansion in disguise cottage. The woman quickly nodded and held Galene's palm with a fear struck face.

'Regional quake? What does that mean? Don't calamity often occur covering a massive portion of the land?' Mordana tried to reason it while Galene answered, 'You still have to know this Aramaur a lot well. This place isn't usual. For now, concentrate on what's ahead of us. Save the rest for tomorrow.' With a heavy fight to lock her triggered mind, Mordana called off the provoking thoughts.

"Don't worry dear. We would rescue her. Let's be quick," Galene assured the woman who was way too lost in the hands of catastrophe. When she glanced behind Galene, her wrinkles increased on her forehead and the new faces chased some reasons to assert.

"Oh! This is a bit awkward to introduce my sister's kids. These are Serephina, Eir and their friend Mordana. They are here for this summer," Galene prevaricated it in a trained tone.

"I'm so sorry to bother the family time. Please consider my apologies," she repented gripping her palm. A moment of odd silence flashed between them.

"Glad we are here to help. Let's not delay it. Your daughter needs urgent care," Mordana consoled her. With that, they rushed ahead to Kayte's place.

They were walking faster towards the eastern muddy tar terrain. The warm and clear summer nights with humid thick winds tried to slow their pace. Keeping up the strength of the elegant, cool moon; with sacred creeds and reliance filling four chambers, they moved ahead past the herbal shrubs and dandelion filled lanes for near ten minutes of Earth's horologe, they stood in front of a very small timber hut that was too mere to call it anyone's home.

The parallel assembly of wood rescued with nooses held the dry pleated palm leaves to form the roof that was barely in place after the quake. The open spaced kitchen and the scattered utensils along with a timber shed of oxen, bulls and cows mooing in anxiety, revealed their lifestyle; hence, the redolence of milk, dung and urine that was stuffed in the air.

Taking few couples of steps, everyone flocked into the house and what they saw had seized their unflustered state. A girl in ten years was breathing rapid and shallow as she laid on the pool of blood oozing from the wood which had pierced her chest. Her delicate limbs were kept static and her chest was arched, battling to live. Her pale skin spoke of the lack of blood while her damp cold skin and tightened eyes begged for life.

"Hey Arva, can you hear me?" Galene asked as she inspected the girls state, but she couldn't respond.

"Stay outside Kayte, we will rescue her and you know well that I would keep my promise at any cost." Trusting Galene's words Kayte stood outside and kept her sobs as low as she could.

Looking around the sides, Galene spelt,

'Enshroudip tryft Ingressese.'
(Enshroud the Ingresses.)

An inky shroud of magic veiled the openings to cloak everything on her command. Ensuring that others couldn't see what they were about to do, Galene urged Hugh to get the bundled purple plain robes laid and shifted the girl to it.

Lighting the gold and purple candles of musk and lavender linearly over the verges of the cloth, she took a syringe and gently rubbed between her palms thrice. Once she stopped rubbing, the syringe was filled with a rhodonite liquid. Fitting a needle on the knob, she poked it on her chest right below her wound.

When the girl inhaled and exhale a bit better, she took a cotton pad and wiped the oozing blood and asked Hugh to get her a scalpel. When she incised her wound region a bit, she couldn't see the wooden tips, marking that it was struck a bit deep. She then asked Serephina to hold the girl's arms and signalled Mordana to catch her foot.