♛
Leurf ~ lee-urf
♛
HER feet created a rhythmic thump as they pounded on the damp ground beneath her and propelled her forward. Whipping her head from side to side, she caught glimpses of red symbols zooming alongside her, leaving trails of vibrant streaks in her vision. Nausea welled within her at the sight, but she pushed against the protest of her muscles.
She had to escape the flying symbols. Nothing could stop her, or so she thought.
Her body jerked to a sudden stop. Some steps away from her, red lips smirked beneath a hood. Fear transformed from a driving force to a paralyzing grip. Someone screamed behind her, but when she turned, the forest dissolved around her, almost as if it was melted by the crimson flames that now surrounded her. her mind transported her back to the shed.
Trapped along with her was Vesper's lifeless form, sprawled on the scorched floor. Even though blood gushed out of his slit neck, mingling with the charred remnants of half of his face, his mouth stretched wide open.
"Daurus will come for you! Daurus will come for you, princess!"
His distorted voice came, accompanied by the roar of the consuming fire. The combination of heat and trepidation seized her lungs, suffocating her in a fiery embrace. Gasping for breath, she inhaled deeply, and the world transformed.
"Hey, you okay?" Zack asked.
She tried to move, but Loralai's weight kept her fixed, so she let her eyes wander. The trees around had few branches and even lesser white leaves. Despite that, they appeared much more alive than those in the forest. Loralai still sat on her thigh, fast asleep, and the sky had brightened to a dull shade of blue.
Zack gripped her hand, a little firmer. "Karyn?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She nodded but soon noticed the shadows beneath his eyes. "You?"
"Still hurts." Along with his weak voice, his face had gone pale.
"Did you sleep?"
"Couldn't."
She had to force her eyes away from him, for if she stared longer, her heart would beat faster in apprehension.
Somber houses flanked them, but Karyn couldn't spot a single difference. They all stood with a door in the center and two windows beside it. The houses had roofs that extended in front and around, providing a covered walkway. A small fence, no more than four feet high, separated each house from its neighbor.
"Is it usually such a ghost town?" Jamie asked, but he got no response.
Soon the threader sputtered, interrupting the smooth ride. The jerky movement woke Loralai, who rubbed her eyes. But the moment the vehicle stopped, Loralai jumped out and stumbled ahead, her eyes moving from house to house.
"Loralai, wait!" Karyn called as she got out.
Jamie carefully examined the different buttons before finally tapping on a meter. "The threads have finished, so we have to walk."
"What of Zack and Salome?" She glanced down at the blood-stained shirt around Zack's thigh.
"It's fine," Zack said as he sat up. He gripped the side of the threader tightly and pushed himself up with a groan. "If Loralai can just lead us to her house, so we know she's safe," he continued, standing with his weight resting on his good leg.
"You're in no condition to—"
"I'm not sitting here while you enter this strange town. We don't know how they'll receive us."
"And if they're dangerous, what are you going to do?" She argued back. "You're bleeding, you can't—"
"I'm not leaving you alone for a second, damn it!"
The intensity of his gaze left her feeling bare and vulnerable, burning through her and the words she had intended to speak. In that moment, she couldn't tear her gaze away from his, frozen by the raw emotions raging within. It was as if the world had paused around them, leaving only the two of them locked in this charged exchange with the threader standing solely between them.
Until Salome's soft voice cut through the tense atmosphere like a knife. "Don't worry, Karyn, we can manage. What's important now is getting Loralai safe."
Karyn let out a sigh of resignation. "Fine."
She cast her eyes away from Zack, yet she walked around to help him. When she took his hand, he stopped her.
"I can—"
The withering look she gave him shut him into silence and, without a word, she took his hand over her shoulder and took on some of his weight.
"How does she even know which is which?" Jamie wondered as they neared Loralai, who hadn't ventured far.
They remained on the path, following Loralai's slower lead until they heard a sound. A door to a house on their right opened and a girl holding a basket stepped out. The silence helped the tune she hummed to reach them.
When the girl saw the group, her eyes moved over all of them but did a double take on Loralai. The basket dropped before the girl's scream pierced the silence. In the next moment, the two girls ran towards each other and when they met, they greeted themselves in a flurry of hugs and kisses on the cheek.
"Oh, Lora. Mama! Lora is back! Aunt Heloisa, your daughter is back!"
Doors flung open, curtains pulled aside, and people erupted from houses as if the words were a switch that sent life sparking through the street. Soon, a crowd surrounded them, their voices blending into a cacophony of excitement and bewilderment.
From within the throng, a woman appeared, her hurried steps causing her long chestnut hair to sway. Her nose, slightly rounded, mirrored the little girl's. Bursting with emotion, she rushed forward, her lips parting in a scream of joy as she enveloped Loralai in a tight embrace.
Amidst the sea of faces, a man emerged, his eyes welling up with tears when they landed on the woman and Loralai. The woman released Loralai, who closed her eyes for the woman to peck both of them.
With a tender smile, Loralai disentangled herself from the woman and wrapped her small arms around the man's leg. He responded by patting her head affectionately before lifting her into his firm embrace. He did the same gesture as the woman, but also pecked Loralai's ears, eliciting a giggle from the little girl. Finally, he planted a long, lingering kiss on her forehead.
"They brought me back, father. She helped me," Loralai said, and all eyes fell on them.
"Can we get some help? Our friends—"
"Of course, of course," the man said.
Two men approached Zack, one on each side, guiding him out. A woman gently grasped Salome's hand, sharing a warm smile before joining the men who escorted Zack.
"Thank you," said the woman who Karyn assumed to be Loralai's mother. "Please let us host you all."
♛ ♛ ♛
FOR the first time since the Mansion, Karyn stood in front of a mirror. They had accepted the offer from the woman who introduced herself as Heloisa and the man whom Loralai had hugged, Kael. The couple escorted her and Jamie to their house while Salome and Zack headed to the local infirmary.
The walls and floors of the house stood strong with bricks that glinted in the light, almost as if they had a glossy coat over them. There were no light bulbs but at various points close to the roof, light shone out from the wall, directed toward the floor to illuminate the room.
Karyn's eyes met her own as she assessed the spots of blood that had dried on her face. She could still feel the sensation trailing down several inches on her face, knowing it could be nothing but Vesper's blood that had splattered onto her once Zack had seized him and slit his throat. She couldn't even shield Loralai's eyes from the gory sight.
Snapping out of her trance, she turned on the tap and splashed water on her face, before she began wiping furiously. If she washed harder, perhaps she could not only rid herself of the blood but also the horrid memory.
Later dressed in a green gown which was a little more than her size, she stepped into the living room. In the right corner, she found a radio that had an unlit bulb attached at the back. Beside it, she found a shelf on which various dolls and fluffy cats with wings sat.
She smiled at it, remembering when Loralai had gushed about her love for her toys. But dust had smothered any vibrancy of the toys as it had settled heavily on them, almost like a second layer of fur. If she had stared any longer, she would have thought the toys had their lips down-turned.
A pricking sensation forced her eyes away from the shelf and onto her arm. She found the mark where the SiatJan's blood had scorched her, now swollen and red.
"You shouldn't poke that."
She spun with her hand hovering over the wound to find Heloisa's brown eyes staring at her.
"Come, let me help."
Karyn sat on the sofa and immediately sunk into an overwhelming softness. A frown came over her face as she ran her hand across the material. It looked like leather, but it didn't feel like it.
After Heloisa set a box atop a chair beside her, Karyn asked, "What is this material?"
"Leurf." A warm smile illuminated Heloisa's face. "Loralai and her sister loved to play on it until Lurai became Lura and moved out."
Despite her frown of confusion, Karyn held back her question when the woman's smile fell. A solemn look overtook Heloisa's features as she cleaned Karyn's wound.
"Bliss was all we knew until last year when Dorai disappeared. I knew her. A quiet little thing with a lovely heart. We'd never been in such a situation, but we organized a search with some brave people choosing to go into that cursed forest."
Cursed forest?
"It didn't reach a week before the second girl went missing." Heloisa sniffed. "Every time one of them went, we'd gone to the authorities and searched too, but nothing. Three months and five missing girls later, we finally got represented at The White Castle in front of The Roveñya and The Witch. My eldest daughter pleaded the most, but they only cast us aside as a set of people from the ends of Wlerden. The Roveñya said we were nothing but child-bearers without brains. They proved us right on how cold-hearted they were."
"And then it happened to my Loralai," Heloisa said, and her voice cracked as if nothing but raw pain choked her.
"I should have known better. I should have had my eyes on her for every moment the stars kept her with me."
Heloisa had already cleaned the wound and applied some ointment. All that remained to do was to cover it with a bandaid, yet her trembling hands made it such a herculean task.
Karyn rose to her feet, some inches taller than Heloisa, and held the woman's hands. Even her imagination would never bring her close enough to what Heloisa had gone through. But if there was any piece of comfort she could offer, no matter how little it was, she would give.
"It was not your fault, Heloisa. And the man responsible has paid for his life."
Heloisa's head snapped up to meet Karyn. At that moment, not a single speck of remorse over Vesper's life bothered her. She allowed herself to revel in the immense gratitude that bled along with Heloisa's tears.
♛ ♛ ♛
PEOPLE soon came trooping into the house. Some to see the girl who came back from the forest. Some to sympathize and share in Kael and Heloisa's happiness and others to see the strangers who brought Loralai home.
All faces held nothing but smiles as they congratulated Heloisa, sharing and wiping their tears as they did. Most came with sweets, food, and drinks, and some even offered Karyn wrapped gifts. Anything to express their gratitude.
It was only when Salome got back, walking with a slight limp, that Karyn left. After getting directions from a friendly stranger, she made her way to the local infirmary.
It was easy to find since it was the only building that wasn't a bungalow. Instead of a rod entwined by two serpents and a pair of wings, the logo was a star with a glowing circle around it.
She was some steps away from the infirmary when the doors opened and out stepped an old lady, walking with her trembling hands gripping onto her worn-out cane. When the woman's eyes met hers, they widened.
"Oh, what a beautiful young miss. You're one of them, right? The people from... from... That brought back dear young Loralai." The woman's words came out slowly and measured, and the skin beneath her eyes appeared dry, cracked, and ridden with shadows.
"Yes, I am."
"How wonderful! But where did you find her and... and did you find... the others?"
Loralai's words came like a piercing arrow to the heart when she saw the hope shining in the old lady's eyes.
When he brought me, there were five in this room, but he kept taking them one by one and they never came back.
Her next words tasted like sand in her mouth. "We found her in the forest when a man had claimed she was his sister. It was only when he took us to his house that we realized he was lying."
"And the other girls?" The woman asked before she quickly added. "You see, my granddaughter Veramai had disappeared months ago and—Yes! She has blue eyes and black hair."
Karyn swallowed. "Loralai was the only one there."
She watched the light in the woman's eyes dim, leaving behind only a faint glimmer of tears. The woman sniffed and her free hand came up to her heart.
"She was the only one I had left. And I was the only one she had left."
Karyn couldn't even stutter as the sight of the old lady stole her words.
"But thank you for bringing Loralai back. We would find solace in dear Lora. Thank you." The woman gave a watery smile before she left.
Karyn stood rooted in her spot and even the cool breeze didn't take away the ache scratching at her. With a heavy heart, she stepped in and found a lady who seemed to be her age at the front desk with her head buried in a newspaper.
The Roveñya's quest for total power. Are we ready for a nation without royalty?
"You must be one of them!"
Karyn had no choice but to look away from the newspaper as the girl slammed it onto the table.
"Oh, thank you for bringing Loralai back. Fear has been our companion for months. At least now, we can have some life again. You're here for your friend?"
Karyn nodded.
"He's in the second room on your right, down this hall." Karyn's eyes followed the girl's hand, leading her gaze to the hall on her left. "He's all set to leave later in the day, but you can see him now, too."
"Thanks."
She found Zack lying on one of the two beds in the ward. When she closed the door, his gaze left the roof and landed on her. She let out a breath of relief as she took in the color that had returned to his face and the absence of lines of discomfort.
"Hey." His smile came after his words and unleashed a ball of warmth and butterflies within her. She recalled when his hand held hers as they made their way away from the burning shed. How could his eyes have held so much pain and peace at the same time?
She didn't know what they were going to face going forward, and she knew doubts, questions, and the secrets of his past remained between them. But having him here looking at her the way he did stirred feelings deep inside, feelings she was sure weren't going away soon.
"You seem better," she said, striding toward him as he sat up.
"They have some strong herbs here. Come sit," he said, tapping the space beside him on the bed.
"Won't that be uncomfortable?"
"I'm asking you too, so it won't."
Once she settled beside him, she asked, "How's the leg?"
"Better, way better. Even they can't let go of magic, but they try so hard to believe it's gone. They shun it in public, but they lock it in bottles and call it various names."
Karyn couldn't help but smile. "That reminds me of Marcela and her charms." But her smile soon faltered. "I wonder if Jamie had gotten information from them."
"I'm sure they'll work on something."
His eyes fell to her hand, and she saw the contemplation within them, almost as if he was wondering about reaching out. But their hands remained only centimeters apart.
"Did you have a nightmare in the threader?"
"What? Oh, yeah, I did. Quite different from the usual one, but still a nightmare."
Zack frowned. "The usual one?"
"Ever since I can remember, I've had nightmares in a forest where I'm running away from something horrifying, only to wake up and forget what it was. And there's always a Faceless."
Zack's brows furrowed further.
"Kara was the one who told me that's the name and until the fight at Emerfield, I never knew they were more," she said, with her heart feeling heavy at the mention of her sister.
"What happens after you see The Faceless?"
"It's the same warning every night. Until the event happens. It warned me about you guys for a month, only saying, 'Prepare yourself for their arrival and your return'. That dream only stopped when you guys came. Then Kara and I figured..."
"Was that why you suddenly became curious about them?"
"I was trying to figure out if their arrival had anything to do with me. Turns out it did and here I am."
She cast her gaze out the window, her mind bringing back the painful image of Veramai's grandmother.
"How's Loralai?"
"She was with her father when I left. Many people came to visit, and they all came with smiles and gifts. Even those who had their daughters kidnapped as well."
"There are others?"
"Loralai said that when he kidnapped here, there were five girls, but he always took them one by one and never brought them back."
Zack clenched his hand into a fist. "I knew we couldn't trust him."
"What could he have been doing with them and all those symbols on the wall?" She wondered.
"Symbols?"
"When I woke up, there were some markings on the wall, all drawn in red and around us."
Silence came with the gentle breeze as they both sunk into their thoughts.
"Did you ever feel anything while we were there?"
Her eyes came back to find him focused on her. "What do you mean?"
"Did your Sense ever give you a sign?"
She tried to think, but a wave of dizziness flushed over her.
"I felt something before we got to the shed. But nothing after. Even when I woke up down there, my powers were all messed up. I couldn't craft anything."
She didn't let the silence linger as Heloisa's grateful eyes flashed before her. "But I'm glad we found her and brought her back. Everyone seems so happy and grateful."
Her eyes fell back to the space between their hands. Would they ever close it? Or will the questions forever remain? Will he ever trust her to let her in?
Deciding not to worry about the question, she looked at him to find his eyes on her and knew he would think the same.
"Will you be alright here?"
He gave a weak nod, but the look in his eyes remained the same. "Will you be fine?"
She nodded, but the action made her feel dizzy, so she stopped.
"Heloisa said I should get back for lunch so I probably should go," she said and stood, even though all she wanted to do was just sleep.
"Okay," he said and pursed his lips. Just as she turned, he held her hand. "Actually Karyn."
His eyes widened a fraction, and she caught the slight increase in the rise and fall of his chest. She allowed him to guide her back to the bed.
"I, uh, I need to tell you something. About my gran—"
Just as the warmth of their connected hands seeped in, the door swung open and they both looked to see Jamie and Salome walk in.
"How are you doing buddy," Jamie said dryly as Salome closed the door behind her and Karyn's brows rose at his unfamiliar choice of words.
"If I had known that all it took was a stab to my thigh to get you to be all chummy, I would have done that a long time ago," Zack replied with the same tone while Salome sat on the chair on the other side of Zack.
"I say one friendly word."
"Coming from you, that's a billion. I'm better."
"That's good to hear," Salome chipped in.
Her eyes moved to Jamie. "And you? How are your... symptoms?"
"It seems I'm in a period of remission, but I know better. This is just the calm before the storm."
"That sucks."
"What sucks is this whole situation," Salome said.
The basement flashed through her mind. "What could he have been doing with them?"
Definitely has to do with magic."
All eyes fell on Jamie, but it was Zack who asked the question. "Why do you think so?"
"Kael said the kidnapping started just after all the girls had turned ten around at the same time. They didn't all have a particular look or size, so what else could have attracted him to them?"
"Perhaps there's something else that they have in common," Zack said.
"He also kept them in a basement that had symbols on the wall. He tied them and just left them there. Taking them one by one but never bringing them back."
"It's confusing, but Karyn, this is not a mystery we can or should solve right now."
Her eyes shot up to meet Jamie's hard gaze. "What do you mean? This can't be the end. Would he have been working alone? What if someone else takes his place and continues where he left off?"
"Karyn, we can't worry about this now!" Jamie said sternly. "We need to be making our way to Yhulja."
"Yhulja?" Salome asked.
"That's where we would meet up with Gema and Marcela."
At the mention of the female wielders, Karyn momentarily forgot her reluctance to leave. "You talked to them!"
Relief flooded her, as it proved that his nap in the forest wasn't just that, a nap. But when she looked at him, his expression seemed guarded and she knew there was more than he was letting on.
He only nodded in response.
"So, what else did they say?" she prodded further.
"Let's just work on getting there first and also work on teaching you mind communication. If you had been on the network, things wouldn't have gone this way."
"So have you figured out how we'll get to Yhulja, or do you need my help now?" Zack asked.
"Still save that help. Kael says he'll arrange that for us."
"That's so nice of him," Salome commended.
Jamie scoffed. "It's the least he can do for us. We brought his daughter back."
"Well, don't be smug about it. We did him a favor, but it's not like we did it to expect something from it," Karyn reprimanded.
"What matters is getting out of here and onto the next town till we get to Yhulja."
♛
*A/N*
Kael's name was that before I changed it to Evan when another character came up bearing a longer form of the Kael. I later changed it back to Kael when I got another name for that character.
♛
ITNC: Haunted by memories of the burning shed, Karyn asks about a name, but the strange reaction she receives sparks fresh questions. ♛
♛
Vote, Comment, and Follow for notifications.
~
The Sparkling Authoress,
Mis-A
❤️