I wiped off sweat from my hands before it made trails on the screen. Several questions flew around my mind. What were these stones? Why did Kaede have one? Would they still go after her again for it? And the rings... the way she'd counted them sounded like they were in limited supply. So a witch wasn't involved to make more.
'Tahro, are you done yet?' whispered Yuuhei. 'I think my belly is hungry enough to eat me.'
His words made me snicker despite my unease. 'Almost, give me five more minutes.'
I flicked to the next page. At this point, it would be wonder if I had any appetite left myself.
Several patrons crowded around tables in a dingy inn. Some gambled cards, throwing coins at the winners and groaning at their loses. Others gossiped with old friends, chortling even at their worst jokes. The noise of many clinking bottles mixed in with chattering voices.
At one end of the bar, sat a lone woman. A hood hid most of her face, and her long hair obscured the rest, as she gazed down at the table. Her dress of dark green had seen better days, with fraying seams and patches. The bartender walked up to her for her order, but she turned him away with a wave of her hand.
Two men made leeway to her table and sat across her. One was tall and broadset. He nodded at the woman, as if she were an old accomplice.The shorter one fidgeted around, not altogether comfortable.
As she looked up at their arrival, her features were revealed. She was in her late thirties, with beauty that hadn't yet faded. But most peculiar were her eyes. They held an uncanny glow like molten gold.
'We have two stones for you,' said the tall man. He lugged out a bag from his pocket and pushed it toward the woman.
With long spindly fingers, she took out its contents. The two stones, no bigger than a bottle cork, glinted in the light of the setting sun. One was as white as falling snow and the other green like a forest foliage.
'Only two? You disappoint me.' she said.
The shorter man huffed. 'It was a miracle to find so many in four months. Especially with the kidnappings. Not that you didn't kn--'
The woman turned to him, as the other man elbowed his side. He squirmed in his seat and glanced at the floor.
'I didn't know, what exactly?'
The tall man sighed. 'There's been a few kidnappings. All of them were children with these stones on heirlooms.' He paused for a moment, second guessing the wisdom of what he was about to ask. 'You wouldn't happen to know anything about them, would you?'
The woman chuckled, a rusty sort of laugh from disuse. 'You think I kidnapped those children? No, tracking down the stones is your job.'
The tall man nodded, a tightness around his eyes fading away. 'And how many more do you need for your end of the bargain?'
For a few seconds, the woman played with the stones on her palm. 'Twenty one perhaps. Or twenty-two?'
After sharing a look, the two men pulled out a silver ring each from their pockets.
'We meet again in four months, yes? Same place and same time?' asked the tall man.
'Yes,' she replied and took the rings. With a glance around at the other patrons, she moved her fingers over the jewelry in a practiced twirl. Moments later, the runes on their surface glowed blue. The lights dimmed away as soon as they appeared.
'If you find the twenty-two before then, use the other rings and come to me directly.' She handed the two in her hand back to the men. 'And step up your game. Those stones should be mine, not some low life thief's.'
'Of course,' the two men murmured before they stood and made their way out of the inn. The woman stayed behind and purchased a slice of bread before she left too.
My sweaty fingers smudged all over Yuuhei's screen. A witch. She wanted the stones too, whatever they were. My stomach turned, but not from hunger.
I needed to get to the bottom of this.
The witch stepped into a children's park by the inn. Most of the playthings were abandoned, for with night soon coming, several parents had ushered their offsprings home. Yet some children still remained, on swings and seesaws. One of them, a girl of nine or ten, sat on bench further away from the rest. Her nose was smudged with dirt and tear streaks ran down her cheeks.
The witch strode toward her and sat by her side. The little girl's shoulders tensed up, as if she were waiting to be reprimanded.
But the woman brought out the slice of bread. 'Hungry?'
With wide grey eyes, the child nodded and started on her meal. Crumbs flew everywhere with the frenzied way she bit. Within seconds, the bread was gone.
'Why aren't you with the others?' asked the woman.
Fresh tears formed in the child's eyes. 'They...they said I was ungrateful.'
'Oh? Why is that?'
The girl sniffed and wiped her nose on her arm. 'I ran away today,' she said in a quiet voice. 'I just wanted to give Mama and Papa a good scare. They gave me too many chores, see? But the cart I jumped into brought me all the way here.' The tears flowed down to her chin. 'I wanna go home.'
'Didn't you ask for help? From a swordsman maybe?'
The child blinked. 'I met these kids when I got here, and they promised they'd help. Till they found out I wasn't an orphan, that is.' She gazed up at the witch, a smile forming. 'But I haven't gone to the swordsmen. D'you think they'd help me?'
The woman smiled.'I know they will. But you look like you haven't had a decent meal the whole day. How would you like to come with me and get something to eat?'
The girl nodded with a smile, her tears now dried up and forgotten. 'I'm Hana, what's your name?'
'Ameko.'
The two stood, but before Hana took a step, Ameko placed an arm around her shoulders. In the blink of an eye, the park around them morphed into a clearing within craggy mountains dotted with caves, some man-made. Faint indentations of ancient runes marked the rocks from place to place. The stink of death hung in the air.
'What just happened?' asked Hana, eyes wide.
'I'm very fast.' Ameko smirked and, with her arm still around Hana's shoulders, led her into one of the deeper caves.
Inside were several ancient tomes, amulets hanging from walls and more runes. She motioned Hana to sit at a table, then took a seat facing her. On one end of the desk was a crystal orb. Wisps of blue light swirled around inside it.
Hana frowned, eyeing everything as though it might eat her alive. 'Where are we?'
'My home.'
For a while, Hana stayed silent, looking at everything but the woman in front of her. 'Are you...you're not a witch are you?'
Smiling, Ameko leaned forward. 'You're not afraid of witches are you?'
'But you can't be! Mama and Papa said they're all dead.'
Ameko moved her hand in a circle around the child's face. 'They're wrong.'
As Hana's face grew pale, the witch flicked her second finger.
The child flopped back on her seat. Her last breath stayed trapped in her chest and her muscles relaxed to erase her frown.
Ameko waved her hands in a flurry of motion. Several ancient letters on the walls glowed blue, leading from the child to the orb. With each minute, the wall around the girl grew dimmer and the part around the crystal ball brighter. Before long, all the lights faded away.
Hana's body remained the same, her eyes wide in a parody of life.
'You shouldn't have run away.'