7. Esther
ESTHER
Agirl giggles. And then another. I’m nowhere, yet everywhere at once.
“We told a secret,” one of the voices whispers, and I recognize it as the same voice that possessed Selena.
“We are not meant to share,” another replies. “Find us at the bottom of the sea.”
“Or maybe we can eat her now,” the other one chimes.
Air fills my lungs, startling me to wake.
My eyes are reluctant to open, offended by the harsh sunlight.
A hand reaches for me, and I involuntarily slap it away.
My breath rattles through my lungs as pieces of memories resurface.
The most immediate one being the insufferable pain of one of my bindings coming undone as Master Kain’s presence bled into death.
When my eyes and bearings adjust, I realize it’s the earth greer from last night, still wearing a twisted mask and holding out what looks like a damp cloth.
I lunge for him, grabbing for the rock beside me as a weapon.
He catches my wrist, and I’m forced to tighten my hold on the rock.
At the same time, I’m yanked back by something and topple over onto my knees before him, my wrist still awkwardly held in the air.
When I look down at my feet, I realize they’ve been chained.
“What the fuck?”
“Is that really how you, greer, thank one who’s saved your life?” He releases me with what feels like disdain, as if I dirtied him by touch alone. Then he kneels in front of me and lazily dangles his elbows over his knees.
“I don’t think it’s much in the practice of saving someone if you put them in chains,” I snap, internally wincing after my outburst, the ache of my body pulsing with a vengeance.
Everything hurts, I feel weak, and my breathing comes in shallow pants.
But as I look over myself, for the most part, I’m alive.
The clawing inside from my binding unraveling is now only a dull whisper.
Not entirely gone, but not devouring me whole.
Like it’s been frozen in place, almost completely depleted, but giving me a second chance.
My hand immediately goes to my throat, the smooth touch of my hidden marking heating slightly in Grimace’s way of saying hello, and it’s the only reason I sigh, relieved.
Much of last night comes back to me in waves as I search the jungle surrounding me. I recall being spat out on a beach, running through a jungle, and then being caught in a net. I take a brief glance back into those coppery eyes that watch me intently, more predator than man.
A lake is before us, trees circling us in an eerie silence that is deafening. When I look up, I can’t help but squint, trying to hold my hand to cover my eyes from the blistering sun. A groan escapes as I sit back on my heels, limited in movement by the thick rusty chains strapped between my legs.
I realize then that I’m wearing a scratchy hooded coat that comes to my knees. My skin looks as if it’s been cleaned, and I smell of the earth, wearing the garment of the man who has chained me.
“Don’t worry, you haven’t got anything I’m interested in,” he says hauntingly.
“What happened to my dress?”
“Lake Mahoori took it as partial payment.” He throws a water satchel in my direction. “Drink, but slowly.”
Lake Mahoori? Where have I heard that name before?
But pressingly, I’m reminded of my parched mouth, the dry desperation pleading to have my fill.
Suddenly, my decency doesn’t concern me as much as my thirst. I open the lid with shaky hands and swallow, but the moment it hits my tongue, I immediately spit it out. “This is salt water.”
The man’s jaw ticks, and he doesn’t even bother looking down at where I’ve spat water all over him.
His knuckles whiten as his hands fist, like I’m testing his patience.
“Yes, it helps with the purge. You drank much of Lake Mahoori’s water last night when I brought you here.
You need to give back as much as you can before we leave this place, thus the ending of the ceremony being the purge.
Those who are greedy for its magic do not step out of this circle with a sane mind. ”
My brows dip in confusion. It’s then that I remember where I know the name of the lake from.
I read about it in a textbook from Master Kain’s library.
It’s a lake barely known and rarely found.
And it is rumored that those who touched and did not need its help would return maddened, or not at all, lost to the Boey Jungle and unable to return home.
The Boey Jungle. That means we’re not in the land of Caldom anymore; we are in Hemmont.
Those unnerving coppery eyes still watch me carefully as if understanding my sudden realization. “Explain to me what happened.”
His expression doesn’t change with the twisted carvings of his clay mask, which I would think is real if I hadn’t uncovered the truth last night. Or maybe much of that was me going mad in the jungle already?
“You’re awfully demanding for a prisoner. Most would say thank you, but I don’t care for pleasantries. What you will offer me is an explanation as to who you are and why those men were chasing you. Man hasn’t set foot in this jungle for…” He seems to fade off. “A very long time.”
Prisoner? I don’t owe this man anything, and I purposefully raise my chin, indignant to offer him any answers if he’s unwilling to answer mine. A creature’s shrill scream comes from the distance, and my head immediately whips in the direction it came from, goosebumps lighting against my skin.
I look back at the lake that has a dark edge to it, beckoning from below.
The longer I stare, the more it feels like small whispers try to pull me in, inviting me into the depths of the water.
The voices I heard, and that woke me, play uncomfortably on my mind, that the Fates may supposedly be playing a hand once again.
I’m no closer to finding any answers. All I know is Master Kain is dead, and my binding has started to unravel. The first fracture out of six. I thought it was going to kill me, but somehow, it’s stopped. For now.
“And why should I offer an explanation to a coward who won’t even reveal his true face?”
For the most part, he hasn’t hurt me. It means very little, but surely there’s a reason he saved me last night.
I’m also aware that Lake Mahoori is a place that those on death’s door often seek.
When I inquire with my magic within, my chains lie limp, tired but still intact.
Whatever this lake is, it depleted my magic and most likely saved my life.
“Does my wearing a pretty face make you feel more comfortable in this situation, little greer? I suggest you don’t presume any security around me, but a thank you doesn’t feel so out of reach.”
“I didn’t ask for your help,” I grit through my teeth, trying my best to keep my temper in check. If he’s calling me a greer, I can assume he doesn’t know what I actually am. He most likely thinks of me as some earth greer.
“Had I not intervened, you would have died or been dragged away by those men.”
“Still, I don’t see merit in thanking someone who caught me in a stupid fucking net.”
“For such a stupid trap, you seemed to have fallen into it rather splendidly, wouldn’t you say?” he muses, crossing his arms over his chest, glower unflinching.
A frustrated sigh escapes me. “Unshackle me. I don’t have time for games with the likes of you. I need to return to my people at once.”
That’s when his face shifts, the clay falling away to reveal his sharp jawline and rough facial hair. Those coppery eyes remain the same, and the corner of his mouth kicks up into a feral smirk. “Hate to tell you, Princess, but you’re not going anywhere.”
My eyes narrow. “Excuse me?”
“I don’t know what trouble you’ve gotten yourself into.
The calluses on your hands might suggest a working commoner, but your beauty and fine silken dress imply otherwise.
Perhaps a lord’s concubine? Either way, I really don’t care.
All I know is that I was led to you by the Fates, and let’s just say I don’t agree with their command. ”
The Fates.
I swallow, my mind reeling as I grow uncomfortable, and for all that fire in my belly, it quickly recedes as the reality of my situation sinks in.
Master Kain is dead.
One portion of my binding has come undone.
I’m in a foreign land with no way of returning.
What happened to Blaze? Selena? Barbados?
What is going to happen to me?
Master Kain is dead. I shove down the immediate pain and tears as I take a sip of the water, the urge to puke instant.
I wipe at my mouth, a subtle pounding starting at my temples. “Well, turns out we have something we can agree on. I also say, fuck the Fates.”
He watches me carefully as I take another large swig of the water. The moment it hits my stomach, I keel over the side and vomit. I can hear giggling dancing on the leaves, or maybe that’s coming from the lake. Or maybe I have begun to go mad.
“Find us at the bottom of the sea.” What the fuck is that supposed to mean?
“If most who enter this jungle go mad, then why are you here?” I ask. “And what happened to those who were chasing me? What’s your price? I’ll give you whatever you need in order to return to my land.”
He shuffles forward so he’s crouching into my space, his hands coming to hang loosely over his knees again. I lean back as he unnervingly stares at me.
“Those men were taken care of by the jungle. But it seems like they really wanted you. Are you sure they’re the only ones in pursuit?”
I don’t let anything show on my face, but my heart beats so loudly, I can hear it in my ears.
Dahlia has betrayed and killed Master Kain.
Most likely for his throne. Will she still pursue me?
Maybe not if she thinks I’m dead. However, the fact that she knows what I really am, and as power hungry as she is, it puts a target on my back.
That and I’m a witness to her treachery.
I know she’ll come for me. I just have to make sure that I find her first.