Dusty Blood:

Chapter Five:

CHAPTER FIVE:

The sun disappeared behind the hills as Evelynn and Sebastian stayed in the village for the night. By morning, Sebastian’s temper was so foul that she didn’t dare try and stay for breakfast; instead she waved her new friends’ good bye and took with her some supplies that they offered.

They walked for another four hours before they reached the gates of Landor, or what was left of it.

Evelynn and Sebastian quickly took refuge underneath the lush overgrowth, but the many guards and soldiers seemed oblivious to them.

Amongst the rubble were dead bodies, tangled in their twisted deaths and blood dirtied from the ground spilt over them. The guards were hauling the bodies onto a cart which was getting full.

It was just a giant heap of flesh and torn clothes, no one could pick the victims apart from each other. Just limbs tossed on top of more limbs.  

And working among the guards were children and young teenagers, moving like mindless animals just lifting the carcasses over their shoulders and dumping them on the cart.

Sebastian tapped her on the shoulder as he motioned to them, “They are Cross.”

The Children were marked with the handprint of demons, and much like Evelynn, they had eyes that burned of unnatural colours. All over their bodies were bruises and purple veins protruding out from their shallow red cheeks. At one moment, one of halfling children sneezed from all the dust and received a lash at his calves. Irritated the child snarled over its shoulder, bearing sharp canine teeth and hissed with monstrous growl. Another hit, this time on the blade of his shoulder and the child fell exhausted.

The other halflings walked over the top of him as if he were just a stone.

“See how they are treated – even by their own kind.” Sebastian whispered before he stood to approach them. Evelynn quickly snatched at his sleeve.

“What are you doing? There are guards everywhere.”

“As long as they don see my face, they will no’ stop me. Evelynn-” He paused with a deliberate look.

“Yes yes I know, put on my shawl” Obediently she did.

Sebastian walked straight up to one of the working men, someone who wasn’t dressed in the heavy chained armour.

“What happened?” He asked under his stern growling voice.

The worker had dried tear stained cheeks and sweat bedded along his brow, running streaks through the dirt on his forehead.

“There was an attack last night – I… I don’t know who but they slaughtered nearly everyone. I think they were here, targeting the mages I think.”

“You think?” Sebastian growled and the man shook his head, his concentration knocked about by the rotting stench fuming off the bodies.

“I am only a merchant – I don’t know.”

Sebastian continued to talk to the confused merchant, whose large dilated eyes and white washed face made him look like he was going into shock as Evelynn approached one of the Cross Children.

Among the shovelling and grunting the Cross Children work in absolute silence. There was perhaps three of them, each of them set in a uniform of rags. She was cautious, and despite everything that she believed, she actually feared them.

There was a girl who stopped for a moment, able to sense Evelynn’s curiosity and shot her a nasty look over her shoulder. Evelynn had tipped the hem of her shawl back so she could see properly, just enough for the girl to catch direct eye contact.