26. Kolla
26
KOLLA
C old wind whipped against Kolla’s face.
Jason cooed next to her, appearing to appreciate the fresh air.
The Anterra mountains weren’t quite as harsh during the summer as they were in the winter.
Even still, Kolla was having trouble scaling the steep mountains. It had taken her well over a week to reach a midway point. Luckily, she was resourceful and able to forage food for herself. She kept Jason content with the Milk Suckle flower, which grew plentiful on the mountains. Part of her wondered how feasible it would be to remain in the mountains forever.
Without Lea there, the family home was too quiet.
There were so many beautiful memories, but the painful ones sullied it.
Not to mention, having the house owned by Diesel was unsettling and distasteful.
But what could she do? Her family home was either going to be owned by a murderer or taken out from under her. Neither were desirable prospects, but at the time, Kolla thought Lea would be home.
“My Lea. I do hope you’re staying strong for me. I haven’t given up on you.”
Jason began pumping his tiny fists in the air before letting out a screeching cry.
“Oh, my dear boy. Whatever is the matter?” Kolla collected the baby in her arms and hugged him. “You must be hungry again.”
She dragged her bag closer to her, riffling through it for the spare Milk Suckle she picked earlier.
The velvet petals tickled the ends of Kolla’s fingertips, letting her know she had found it. The lily-white flower glistened against the relentless summer Solare as Kolla removed it from the back and placed its stigma on his lips.
He wasted no time drinking down the sweet nectar. His puffed-out cheeks glowed soft pink, telling Kolla that he was content.
“Eat up, dear boy. We still have a ways to go.”
A nother week passed before Kolla returned home with Jason, and after days of traveling, she was never happier to see the shabby cottage. She sat down in her favorite rocking chair with Jason in her arms as she unraveled the potion recipe that Lea had written out for Jason.
“I know Lea is a very talented aspiring potionist, but this is pretty lofty even for her.” Kolla hoped she didn’t hike up and down a mountain for an ingredient to a potion that didn’t work.
“Alright, Jason. It’s time for Great-Grandma to get to work.” She kissed the top of his head before laying him down in a tiny hammock she had constructed to help rock him to sleep.
He didn’t fuss for her at all. After a few swings, he was out cold.
Kolla took this moment to admire the features that reminded her of Lea.
Jason’s vanilla hair was slowly darkening to honey, like his mother’s.
Soft freckles lightly dusted his face.
He looked just like how Lea looked as a baby.
Kolla’s heart suffered the halfway point between delight and devastation. She tried to remain positive, but the likelihood of them letting her out after a life sentence was slim.
The hope she had been cushioning herself with this whole time was beginning to crumble.
They wouldn’t even allow Kolla to see her granddaughter.
Deep down, she knew Lea suffered from mistreatment in that prison.
“If I could see her again, I could also give her this protection potion. That would give me some peace of mind.” With that, she gathered the motivation to get into the kitchen and begin drying and grinding the ingredients.
There were only seven ingredients altogether, but they were very potent.
Kolla was used to preparing ingredients, but her potion mixing was nowhere near Lea’s ability.
“I just hope I can do this potion justice,” she thought while squinting at the paper.
Kolla worked well into the night, making sure each ingredient was at its most potent. Then, by the time the sun came up, she could prepare the potion. Her hands moved as if Lea was guiding her from afar.
Kolla then leaned over the concoction. It was as perfect as she was going to get it. Now, she had to breathe life into it with her magical essence. She began humming a lullaby she sang to her son and granddaughter when they were babies. It was her own special way of expelling her essence.
The potion glowed blue at the top like it was on fire before the glow sunk into the liquid.
“I’d say we were successful, Jason,” she whispered since he was already asleep. She grabbed a handful of Milk Suckles and squeezed each out into a baby bottle before pouring in the potion.
An ominous knock on the front door overshadowed Kolla’s feeling of accomplishment. She wasn’t expecting any visitors. Something inside of her told her not to open the door. So she stood there in the kitchen and stared at it. She held her breath as if the person on the other side of the door could hear her breathing.
Then she watched in horror as she heard a key slide into the lock.
The door knob turned slowly, and the door creaked open.
Her blood ran ice cold as a six-foot-tall silhouette stood in her doorway.
“There you are. I was beginning to think no one was home.” Diesel flashed a toothy grin, and a whole-body shiver ran through Kolla.
“Diesel, what are you doing here?” With no one around, there were no pretenses between them.
She knew what he was and he knew that.
He shut the door behind him slowly before approaching her. “Don’t mind me. I’m just here to meet my nephew.”
He stepped toward Jason, but Kolla intercepted him.
“He’s sleeping right now, and I prefer not to disturb him.” She narrowed her eyes at him. There was only one way this was going to end. She accepted it as soon as he walked in through that door.
“I bet he’s exhausted, considering how long you’ve been gone. I hope you weren’t running away from me.” He approached her, encroaching on her space.
The dark aura around him was choking.
“My wife tells me you haven’t been by in a while—not even to congratulate us on our wedding. That’s not very neighborly of you.”
“You finally convinced her to marry you, huh? Aren’t you ashamed to be marrying your late brother’s wife? Or perhaps that’s the way you always planned it.” Kolla raised her eyebrows at him, unafraid to confront him.
Diesel didn’t say a word. He simply went tight-lipped and tilted his head.
“It’s convenient how everyone who seems to get in your way disappears. I wouldn’t be surprised if you had something to do with your own brother’s death. Omara might not want to think about it, but I’ve had plenty of time to. You made sure of that.”
Staring into his eyes was like staring into the eyes of a demon. There wasn’t an ounce of humanity behind them. He might look human, but that was it. Even his eyes had become beast-like.
“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Diesel’s voice was quiet now. He was reaching his boiling point.
“I think it’s time for you to leave.” Kolla turned her back to Diesel as she grabbed the baby bottle and shook it up.
He didn’t say a word but didn’t budge either.
She wasn’t sure what would happen next, but she at least wanted to make sure Jason drank the protection potion.
Jason wailed the moment Kolla picked him up from his hammock.
“Shh, child. It’s alright.” She held him tightly, fearing this would be the last time.
“You and your family have disrespected me for the last time. I’ll sleep better knowing no more of you Nadirs are left.” His footfalls were heavy as he approached her.
“Are you going to kill an innocent child too?” At this point, Kolla was stalling. She glanced down to see that Jason had only drunk a quarter of the bottle.
“Will the potion still be effective if you only drink a portion of it? No… It’s best I get him to drink as much as possible.”
“He is part of your bloodline, but then again, he’s also part of mine.” He tapped his chin and thought. “I haven’t decided yet what I will do with him. I’m the only other person that knows of his existence. Even his father doesn’t know he exists. No one would really miss him if he disappeared.”
“You are a monster.” She couldn’t help but scoff at him.
“We become what we have to in order to survive. You, of all people, should know that.” He took another damning step toward her.
Adrenaline flooded into her veins.
She looked around for an escape route.
“Lea, forgive me if I fail.” She dashed away from Diesel.
Her sudden movement stunned him.
He reached out to grab her and barely missed her hair by a few strands. He let out an angry howl, and she knew she only had a few seconds before he shifted completely.
She ran into her room and slammed the door behind her, locking it tight. It was at that moment she realized she dropped Jason’s bottle.
He hadn’t finished drinking the potion.
Diesel slammed his whole body into the wood, but luckily, the doorframe held up.
“Damn!” she cursed, looking back at the way the bedroom door bowed with his force. She shuffled to the bedroom door and pried it open. “Come on!”
Before she could get out, the wooden door gave way, and wooden splinters flew all over the room. She turned, covering Jason so that he didn’t get injured. When she turned back to face Diesel, she felt a sharp pain in her side. When she looked, she saw a large piece of wood sticking out of her.
The feeling of her failure outweighed the pain. “No…”
Diesel grabbed the back of Kolla’s head and threw her to the ground.
Blood dribbled out of her mouth as her head hit the floor, and she appeared to be knocked unconscious.
Diesel shifted back into his human form and knelt beside Kolla, who clutched Jason. “If you and your family had just been compliant to me, none of this would have happened.”
Jason started screaming his head off, and Diesel sneered at the sound. “It would be shameful to carry on their bloodline, but you are my nephew’s son. That makes it very difficult for me to kill you.”
Kolla, who was fighting to remain conscious, watched helplessly as Diesel took the baby and walked out of the room.
Then Diesel produced a red potion bottle from his coat and threw it to the floor, shattering the glass.
Red flames rose from the floorboards and spread uncontrollably from the liquid.
“So long, Kolla.” His voice sounded faint now.
Kolla couldn’t move. She could hardly breathe as smoke rose from the flames that licked at her feet. “Help…”
She tried to call out, but her voice was weak.
“Somebody, help!”
No one could hear her. No one was coming.
This was her fate, the same as her son and daughter-in-law.
“I’m so sorry.” Her body went limp, and her mind went dark as the flames consumed her.