Chapter 11 #4
It makes me wonder what else my little human would enjoy, and I decide that when we know what the future holds for us, I'll spend a bit of time finding out exactly what other games my little human might find pleasurable, both in my bed and outside it.
Just before we leave Kitore, we go up to the mezzanine to say goodbye to the First Scholar. We find the witch there, perusing the book that Jak gave to her. It's full of sketches of Dark Realms beasts, I see as I look over her shoulder, and she glances back at me.
‘They didn’t come,’ she says, looking perturbed.
‘Perhaps our information was wrong,’ Jak replies with a sigh. ‘Apologies for all this, Vie.’
She says nothing for a moment, but then stands. ‘We will remain vigilant, nonetheless. Are you leaving the city already?’
He nods. ‘But have you thought on what we spoke about yesterday? Is there a place in the Light where we might be hidden?’
‘There are places,’ she answers vaguely. ‘Come to me if you have need, and I will aid you. All of you.’
Jak bows his head. ‘Our thanks, First Scholar.’
‘You’re my friend, Jak, I’ll always help you if I can. Thank you for bringing Bryn to meet me.’ She grins. ‘And for this.’ She taps the book lightly. ‘There’s a wealth of knowledge here, and you know that always softens me.’
I look down at the ageing parchment under her finger that she speaks of with such reverence, great shadowy beasts etched with care upon the page.
I frown as I notice the other pictures, clearly showing the best ways of slaying them, mostly with fire, which I already knew. She sees where my eye strays.
‘Have you seen any of these before?' she asks me with interest.
'One or two,' I say vaguely.
I point at one. 'That one. Tenth circle.'
'Did you kill it?' she asks.
'Wasn't there to kill it. I was just passing through. Fire would have done it for that one,’ I point at the tentacled breast at the top of the page, ‘but it doesn’t always work.'
Vie nods. 'For beasts like these, it’s says it’s very difficult. Fire. A dagger to the heart. Even cutting off the head wouldn't do it alone. The pieces need to be seared with fire, or, if they're ever put together again, they'll reattach. Reanimate. Fascinating, creatures in the Dark Realms.'
'If you say so,' I say sardonically.
She glances up at me. 'I haven't met a half fae, half orc before. Would you mind taking off your medallion so that I could see you properly?'
I glance round over the mezzanine and see that there's no one watching besides my friends, so I indulge her, slipping it off over my head and putting it on the table. Her eyes widen and her mouth opens.
'Gods,' she says. 'You do look different. Apologies. I don't mean that to sound rude.'
I chuckle. 'I do look different. But pairings between fae and orcs are quite uncommon.'
She tilts her head at me. 'Not as uncommon as you might think. Fae like to believe their lineages are pure, but my research has led me to find that there is Dark Realm in many of them. Human as well.’
'Interesting. I didn't know that.'
'That's the fae for you,' she murmurs. 'Never quite what they appear.'
'Not unless you get to know one very well,' I snort as I slip the medallion back around my neck.
I resist the urge to look at Locke. ‘Sometimes not even then.’
‘Come,’ Jak says. ‘Let’s find out where our future lies.’
We say our last goodbyes, and leave the mezzanine, going out the side door to a private yard beyond, and I take out the amulet we used to come here.
'Don’t we need to leave the city?' I ask.
Jak shakes his head. 'No. The wards are like guards at the gates. They don't give a shit if you're leaving. They only care if you're coming in.'
I rub the purple stone, thinking of Halsford, and the Breach opens a moment later, almost directly in front of us.
We hold Bryn, keeping her between us, but when we exit the other side and I look at her questioningly, she shakes her head.
'There was nothing. Not even a whisper,' she says. ‘He wasn’t there.’
She looks disappointed.
'I'm sorry about your father,' I say.
'It's not your fault,' she murmurs. 'And after all, I don't remember him really. All of it happened long ago. I just wish there was something I could have done for him.'
‘I know,’ I say, taking her hand. ‘But he must have loved you to try so hard to speak with you, to tell you everything he could to help you. He is likely at peace now that he has. Perhaps he is with your mother.’
She nods, giving me a wan smile.
We walk up the trail toward Halsford, as we've come out more or less in the same location as where Jak and I went through when we went to Merediea in search of Bryn. We take the main road toward the village, but as we move closer and closer, I begin to suspect that something is very wrong.
'I can't hear the smithy,' I mutter.
Jak and Locke slow their pace.
'No,' Locke says with a frown. 'Neither can I.'
'It's very quiet,' Jak says. 'Too quiet.'
I draw my sword, and Jak and Locke do the same. Bryn hikes up her dress, and I'm happy to see that she's kept my little gift close as she takes a knife in each hand.
We move through the village slowly, but it's clear that something has happened. There’s not one person to be seen. It's completely deserted.
'Where the fuck is everyone?' I mutter, going into the Hall and then into Lia’s house, but there’s no one there. The Trading Post is abandoned, the ledger still open and with a cold cup of tea beside it.
'What happened here?' Bryn asks.
'Is the ward still up?' I ask Locke, who nods.
'Aye. It's exactly the same as it was before. Nothing has changed. Yet every member of Halsford has fucking disappeared.'
I snarl.
We enter every house methodically, but we find no one. Not even a babe. We go into our cottage and divest ourselves of our supplies and bags before we begin to inspect the surrounding area. We look everywhere we can think of, even at the baths, but the village is abandoned.
I see Bryn out of the corner of my eye go around to check the back of a cottage alone, and I begin to follow her, a sense of dread coming over me. But before I reach her, I hear her sharp scream that's cut off abruptly.
As I come around the corner, moving as quickly as I can, I catch sight of a familiar fae in black.
Blood trickles down his face, likely from Fate’s punishment as Bryn lies limp over his shoulder.
I can’t place him until he turns fully toward me and grins nastily just as the Breach opens not two paces from where he stands.
‘Repayment for what you did to me in Dead City, Mountain!’
‘No!’ I yell, lurching toward them, but Warrior is too quick.
With a final, haunting laugh, he steps into the Breach, taking our female with him.