Found Part Thirty-Nine
Read parts One through Thirty-Eight here.
The air was cold and thin. Shades of gray and red swathed me in guilt. Cyrus and Dasha watched me. They waited for a reaction, any reaction. I waited for one too. The memorable onslaught of pain that came with my emotions, the loss of control. I waited for it. But it never came.
“Why can’t I feel my staff’s presence?” I asked. My voice was foreign to me. It was strained and hollow.
Dasha placed a hand on my shoulder.
“Nox—”
I shrugged her away.
“Why can’t I feel it? Why won’t it respond to me?” I repeated. Panic rattled in my chest. I was empty. Something inside me was missing. I looked at the now plain walking stick on the ground. Something between us had broken. Its ocher glow was my heartbeat. And I felt certain both would be gone.
“After the explo… After it happened, you collapsed. It was Magic I’d never seen before,” Cyrus said. His eyes were glazed with awe, fear, and concern. “It was a terrifying and amazing display of mastery.
Fear and anger propelled my body to stand. The world became an obscure mist of blurred images, and I swayed on the spot. Dasha caught me and sat me against her. Whatever numbness that held me melted away.
“Tell me what happened,” I wept.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Dasha said from behind me.
“Please. I have to know,” I whispered through my weakened sobs. I was so tired of this cycle. When would this end? “Please.”
Cyrus sighed, and his shoulders slumped over with a great weight. At that moment, I saw Linnea and Calum. I saw what my presence in someone’s life did to them. I was tired. I was so tired.
“When the King gave the order to massacre the village, Arion’s Tree erupted in an uncontrollable blaze. The flames spread over everything and created a wall between the guards and us. You called for us to run. But your voice wasn’t yours. It spoke to me in a way deeper than I understood. Everyone scattered; it was pandemonium. The fire lashed out with abandon. Before we knew it, Haven’s End was burning. People tried to run back into The Willow to get their things. Before they could reach it, flames burst from within. The King was left with no choice but to retreat.”
Cyrus looked away.
“He looked at you as he left. There was a sick glee in his expression. It chilled my blood. I saw the face that you see in your nightmares.”
“Did I harm anyone?” I sniffled.
“We’re… not sure. The chaos was too great. As I said, everyone just ran. I did my best to ensure that as many people as possible could get out. And I believe everyone escaped.”
“When we came back for you,” Dasha continued. “No one was there. In any fashion. So, we don’t think anyone was hurt.” She said as she stroked my hair. The tender gesture was almost enough to soothe my shattered soul. Almost.
“What do you think happened to my Magic? Is it gone?” Desperation dripped from my every pore.
“My theory is that such an explosive Magical outburst may have… depleted you. Perhaps after some time, it will come back. Although, I can’t say for sure. I’d need to assess you to know. But we need to press forward. It’s not safe to stay here.”
Dasha helped me up and gave me my staff. We were disconnected. It was an unfamiliar piece of wood in my hands, and I was a wooden puppet animated by mere blood and air. The abysmal void gnawed away at everything inside of me. All of my senses were deadened. I was a specter wandering through the living world. Cursed to roam with something vital ripped away from me. I was a shell, with no volition of my own. I followed them because it was the only thing I knew to do.
We moved through the dense woods in search of any shelter. No one from Haven’s End crossed our path. When I mentioned it, Dasha commented that they were all further away from us because she and Cyrus had come back for me.
Darkness crept in around us and the unsettling sounds of night were making Dasha restless.
“I think I hear something,” she whimpered. Her eyes darted around. Leaves and twigs crunched under our feet and rustled in the breeze. Other than that, no other sounds were clear to me.
“I had hoped I imagined that,” Cyrus whispered. “But if it were the King’s guards, they would have attacked us by now.”
“Perhaps we should stop?” Dasha murmured. Cyrus began to answer her, but their attention was diverted to somewhere beyond us. The last light of day fell beneath the earth, and night encased us. Dasha jumped in front of me and shielded me with her body. “Someone is out there.”
Cyrus dashed in front of her.
“Both of you stay behind me.”
“Please,” a voice called from the shadow. “I mean you no harm. Are you from the village that was attacked? Some of the villagers have reached us and thought there may be more of you out here.”
A person emerged from the trees. I could see the silhouette of a person, but I couldn’t make out any features.
None of us moved.
“Please allow me to lead you to safety. Our town is not far. Is anyone wounded?”
Wounded. That’s the one feeling I understood. My Magic was wounded.
“Are you Magical?” I asked.
“We have some Magical beings in town. Please come with me.”
“How can we be sure that you won’t hurt us?” Dasha asked.
The figure lifted a small lantern to their face and I saw impossible blue eyes. It was a shade that I knew couldn’t exist in nature. I was transfixed. Those eyes locked onto Dasha and studied her. I felt a pang of jealously that scared me.
“Are you Dasha? An elder described someone of your appearance. He called her Dew Drop.”
“Papa! Papa is with you!” Dasha leapt away and hugged the stranger who yelped in surprise.
“Please come with me,” the stranger urged. “We’ll be safer in town.”
“I’m going. I have to get to Papa.”
“Dasha! We don’t know if we can trust this person!”
“I don’t care. I have to get to him,” she cried. “I need to know he’s all right.”
Cyrus looked at me. I have to go where she goes, his eyes said to me. I nodded, and we followed the stranger into the night.
