2. The Cleric #2
The woman maintained her warm smile, but her dark eyes were beaming with excitement. For what, Flora did not know. Her left under-eye, as well as much of the rest of her, was lined with lacy black tattoos.
“Sleepwalker.” She shut the book and set the stand off to the side. “There you are.”
Flora scrunched her brow and asked, “Do I know you?”
“No, love, I don’t suppose you do.” The woman breathed an airy chuckle. “My name is Sona. I am more or less the town doctor here.”
“Best cleric in all of Emyre,” Heron added proudly.
Sona scoffed in feigned embarrassment. She looked Flora up and down and said, “It is quite a blessing that Noec was there to find you.”
Heron cleared his throat, and Noec folded his hands nervously.
The woman then commented to Noec, “You’re quite right, Noec, she does look odd.”
Flora huffed with crossed arms, scrunching her face at Noec.
He turned his blushing glance away and explained, “Not in a bad way. It’s just… you’re dressed different. And your eyes are a weird... they’re blue, I think. And really light, which made it hard to… hard to tell, back in the woods.”
“Oh,” Flora said, tugging at her mother’s oversized white shirt, her pink pants peeking out just past her knees. “Well I’m in my pj’s... and I like my eyes.”
Heron patted her head and chuckled, “We quite like them too. Noec just doesn’t see pale blue eyes a lot around here. All the more beauty in something unusual, don’t you think?” Noec rolled his eyes and sputtered his lips, but when he met Heron’s glare, he cleared his throat and nodded sharply.
Sona grinned and waved her hand. “Sit,” she encouraged, and everyone began to circle around.
Noec eagerly folded himself onto a faded pillow on the ground, and Heron offered a nod of encouragement to Flora before crouching onto a cushion far too small for his size.
Stiffly, Flora knelt on the bare wooden floor, forgetting the blankets and pillows strewn nearby.
She looked up to find Noec’s bright eyes still fixed upon her. The boy offered her a cushion, but Flora merely looked away and huffed. He sighed, letting the cushion plop back to the floor.
“Well then, Florabelle.” Sona’s charcoal lashes fanned as she folded her delicate fingers under her chin. “You are what’s known as a Sleepwalker. What that means for you is that whenever you fall asleep on… um…”
“Earth,” Heron said.
“Right.” Sona cleared her throat. “Whenever you fall asleep on Earth for the night, you will appear here in Emyre for the morning.
You won't technically sleep anymore, but you won't need to. You will get to live your normal life on Earth as you have, but now you will get to live another life here as well. And then each evening, you can return to Earth through Lunara’s water. Exactly like you did yesterday.”
“And,” Heron said, “because you will be visiting every day, we invite you to make yourself at home in our village.”
“With the exception of Night Sky Forest,” Sona added. She tilted her head thoughtfully. “It is a miracle that you and Noec emerged unscathed, despite the shifters lurking in those dark woods. Even I don’t dare venture out these days.”
Flora’s head swam, and she felt the room growing hot. “What… shifters?”
“The screech in the trees,” Noec responded.
“You were hearing them?” Heron asked with a startled look. “Exactly how far into Night Sky Forest did you…” He inhaled deeply, then rubbed Noec on the back. “Oh goodness, Noec.” Forcing him into a half-hug, Heron mumbled, “Please, don’t do that to us again.”
“I won’t,” Noec replied meekly.
“Yes, I’m certain this won’t be happening again,” Sona assured Heron. She offered Noec a sisterly smile, laced with both affection and a clear threat. “Especially since there are others he needs to be looking out for.”
Noec furrowed his brow and nodded. Flora shifted uncomfortably on her legs.
Sona sighed, a light and airy sound. “Florabelle,” she began.
“I should explain. The screech you heard in the forest was likely what is known as a Night Sky Scytherax—a scythe, if you please. They nest well within the walls of Night Sky Forest.” Sona cast her gaze upon the flag on the wall, accented by the strange winged form.
“And of all the tools at their disposal, their most powerful weapon is deception.”
Flora leaned in, whispering nervously, “Do they… eat people?”
Sona’s dry red smile became weak. “I... um…” she began, then shook her head. “They certainly don’t like people, though they rarely venture beyond the maewyn trees of Night Sky Forest. They can be quite prickly, and they have wonderfully complex masks, so it has been very difficult to study them.”
Flora’s eyes were wide with fear.
Sona paused and grinned at Heron. Gesturing toward him and leaning in, she explained, “A scythe could fool you into thinking it was him.” The smoky timbre of her voice was laced with enthrallment as she added, “Just to get you to come close enough.”
Flora looked at Heron and scooted further away. Heron appeared unamused.
“And then..."
“Sona.”
With a light cackle, she gripped her clawed hand against her chest before she could get carried away. “No worries, dear. From this close, you could tell. They all have egg-white eyes and are entirely blind.”
“Sona studies them, so she’s sort of an expert,” Noec added.
“Expert? Perhaps one day. But I do find their presence a curiosity,” she said, leaning on her hand.
“One worthy of study.” Sona kept her shadowy eyes on the shaken girl before her, looking at her as if she, too, was but a charming specimen to study.
“While the scythes may be frightening hunters like nothing else in the world, I’m sure their recent emergence comes with its usefulness,” she said, cross-legged on her blanket.
“And hopefully, so will yours.” She flashed her grin at Flora and added, “Sleepwalker.”
“She’s a child, Sona.” Heron said, a low warning in his tone. “She doesn’t need to be useful.”
“Of course, of course,” the whimsical woman said, her hand grazing the surface of a leather-bound book before her. She reeled in her excitement and sighed. With a nod to Heron, she added, “Make sure everyone is... aware.”
“The others will be welcoming,” Heron assured her. “I’ve already made certain of that.”
“Good.” Sona’s gaze shifted to Flora, an inquisitive thrill flickering in her dark eyes. With a glimmer of her teeth, she leaned in and said, “I wonder if you’ll be like the others before you.” Her sharp grin softened into a playful smirk as she added, “I do quite love a mystery to be solved.”
“Well,” Heron started abruptly, “we need to introduce Florabelle to the rest of our village.” He rose to his feet with a grumble, pulling Noec along with him as he added, “Plenty of the kids wish to meet our little water sprite.”
Though she shared a confused look with Noec, Flora followed.
“Bup-bup!” Sona stopped them. “Noec?”
The boy swallowed and looked back. “Uh... yeah?”
“Things might not be easy for Florabelle around here,” she said. “Will you protect her for me?”
“Yes ma’am,” Noec replied with a nod. “Promise.”
Heron cleared his throat loudly. “Okay, Sona. Thank you.”
The witch-doctor-priestess grinned, a sight both warming and terrifying to Flora. They waved goodbye, and, with sharpened nails, the cleric waved back. Heron huffed, muttering under his breath as he held back bundles of beads for the children.
Flora’s head was spinning. It was like a whole month of math class had just happened in five minutes. Hopefully, there wasn't going to be a test.
A second life? She wasn’t even all that impressed with the first one.
And no SLEEP?
“Phew,” Noec exhaled roughly. “That was a lot.”
“Yes,” Heron grumbled. “Much more than was warranted.”
“That’s Sona,” Noec said with a shrug.
Flora swallowed. “I’m scared.”
Noec’s smile sank, and Heron hesitated. The man breathed a shallow sigh, then crouched to the girl’s level.
“Little pixie,” he began, “there is nothing for you to be afraid of. Not here, not in my village.” He forced a cautious smile, adding, “Especially not under my nephew’s protection.”
Noec crossed his arms and grinned.
As they set off on their tour around the village, Noec told her a few things about the kingdom he called home.
“Oh, and our king is Velo and our queen is Levora,” Noec informed her as they trotted along, walking backwards like a tour guide. “Levora is scary, and Velo is bald. Do you uh… know what kings and queens do?”
“They tell people what to do.”
“Oh,” Noec said thoughtfully. “I guess you do. So… who does that where you’re from?”
“Mom.”
Heron boomed with laughter, his face wiped clean of any real seriousness. Noec glanced between him and Flora, confused.
“Wise beyond her years,” Heron remarked with a chuckle. Flora beamed proudly.