Chapter 61
Griffith and I walked out of the darkness of the alleyways and into the light of the streets near where I lived.
I looked around when I entered the sun again and frowned when I noticed Ilas sitting on one of the stoops near my house.
Oh, Gods... I thought and pressed my lips into a thin line, and the urge to check on him was strong.
"Marini?" Griffith asked, his voice barely above a whisper while he moved closer to my side when he saw Ilas sitting there. His whole body grew tense while he stared at him with a small frown on his face. "Who is he?"
"A friend," I said, my voice also barely above a whisper while I looked at Ilas with a small frown on my face, and worry filled my voice while I looked at him.
"You can trust him, but do not say a lot to him.
Is that understood?" I looked at my brother again, pressing my lips into a thin line.
Griffith frowned and cocked his head while he looked at Ilas before he looked at me. "Why not?" he asked. "I thought you said that he was a friend."
Ilas turned toward us as if he heard us and smiled just a tad before he nodded in greeting. His brown eyes were filled with pain, and he toppled over just as we were about to get close to him.
"Oh, for the love of th-" I grunted and stopped saying what I wanted to while I rolled my eyes and scowled.
"You should have told me when we were near each other the first time that you needed some.
" I started to make my way toward him with my brother following me, but Ilas waved me away from him and toward the house, still lying down but curling into a small ball.
"Marini?" Griffith asked when I paused and stared at Ilas. He looked between the two of us with wide eyes before he looked at me. "What's wrong with him?"
I bit back an annoyed sigh and pressed my lips into a thin line. I took another step toward Ilas, but he again waved me away from him, silently telling me to leave him alone and that he was fine, wanting me to go back into the house.
"Marini?" Griffith asked again while he looked between the two of us.
I bit back an annoyed sigh but relented while I slowly nodded, pursing my lips in annoyance. "Let's go inside the house and make sure that the other kids are alive and well, ok?"
"But what about..?" He gestured toward Ilas, and I bit back another annoyed sigh and shook my head. "Are we going to just let him be like this?"
"Yes," I said and nodded in confirmation, walking toward the house with Griffith following me. "He wants us to go inside and check in with everything before we have to do something with him," I said. "I do not appreciate it, at all, but I know that he will not let me go toward him."
Griffith frowned and narrowed his eyes. He didn't say a word while he continued to follow me toward the house and stopped when we reached the door.
He looked toward Ilas again before he looked at me, cocking his head to the side. "Are you s-"
"Yes," I said, interrupting him while I nodded in confirmation. I opened the door to my house and walked into it, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief when I heard the sound of laughter coming from the kitchen/dining room area.
Oh, thank the Great... I thought when I noticed that everything seemed to be fine as it should be. "Hello?" I asked, and the sound of laughter stopped as soon as it began. "Where is everyone?"
"Kitchen!" I heard a few of my siblings yelled, and I breathed a small sigh of relief while my whole body grew relaxed because it sounded like they were safe.
Thank the Great...
I walked toward the kitchen and was followed by Griffith. "Is everyone besides Griffith there?" I asked.
"Yes, Marini," the "third" oldest child, Rayana, said. "We do not know where Griffith is. He had left us for a bit and didn't collect anyone kike he was supposed to."
"I know," I said and shot him an annoyed look before I entered the kitchen with Griffith following me. "I found him in the alleyways."
Rayana frowned and slowly nodded. Worry and excitement filled her eyes while she looked at me, and I knew that she wanted to go in there, too, not saying a word.
I bit back an annoyed sigh and shook my head, pursing my lips in annoyance. "In due time, Ray," I said before I cleared my throat and walked over to the table. "Have you all eaten?" I asked and raised an eyebrow in question.
"Yes," my brothers and sisters besides Griffith said while he said, "no."
"Hmph." I pursed my lips in annoyance and looked around to see that there was still food on the counter. "Go ahead and get some of that, Griffith," I said and gestured to it. "Do not forget about the rituals."
"I won't," Griffith said with a shake of his head. He started to make his way to the pot of food. "I remember most of the teachings that you and Papa taught us," he said. He grabbed a bowl before he walked over to the pot of food.
"Good," I said and nodded, biting back a small sigh. I set my basket on the table before I started to rummage through it. "Can you get me a cup?" I asked, and one of my siblings did what I asked and went to get me one.
"What are you needing the cup for, Marini?" Rayana asked, watching me rummage for something. "Also, did you see the man sitting on the doorstep near our house?"
"Yes," I said and nodded. "I did." I pulled a wineskin out of my basket and cleared my throat while I shifted on my feet. "I saw him."
The kids beside Griffith looked at each other. They didn't say a word before they looked at me, and I couldn't help but pause in opening the wineskin when they grew tense and were looking at me.
'What?" I asked, my voice cold and dark while I narrowed my eyes and scowled. "What happened?" I looked between the nine of them. "What's going on?"
"Well... someone tried to come over to us and tried to talk to us," Rayana said, her voice barely above a whisper while she looked at me again. "You called him the "Witch-Master?"" She frowned and cocked her head while she studied me. "Or is it Silan?"
The hair on the back of my neck stood up at attention, and I couldn't help but frown and narrow my eyes.
"What do you mean?" I asked, my voice turning a little darker than it should while I became protective of my siblings, and they looked at each other before they looked at me with equally worried looks on their faces.
"Why did the Witch-Master come talk to you, and what happened? "
"Nothing happened," Rayana said with a shake of her head. She cleared her throat and shifted on her feet, growing serious. "Well, nothing bad happened."
"He tried to talk to us but panicked for some reason," the youngest sister, Yeely, said. She walked over to me with a cup in her hands. "It was as if there was a spell or something that had been put on him."
Yeely shrugged and grimaced. "He ran away and then that man came over to us, looking very worried and nervous. However, when he saw that we were safe, he grew relaxed and sat down there just so that he could keep an eye on us."
I bit back a small sigh and slowly nodded, and my whole body started to grow relaxed. "Good," I said before I took the cup from her and set it on the table, tucking my head closer to my chest in thanks. "His name is Ilas. You can trust him, but try not to say a lot to him."
"But you trust him," Rayana said. She frowned and cocked her head while she studied me. "So why do you not want us to say a lot to him?"
I shrugged and grimaced. "We will talk about that later," I said. I opened the wineskin that held Ilas's drink and poured half a glass of it. "However, we will not talk about that right now. I have to get ready to leave again here soon."
"Why?" Yeely asked. She furrowed her brows and cocked her head further. "Where are you going? Do you have to leave and go back to work, or is it something else?"
"It's something else," I said, and Yeely nodded. "Here," I said and handed her the cup. "Can you give this to the man on the doorstep?" I asked, and she took it from me. "Tell him to drink the whole thing."
Yeely nodded. "Are you going to watch me through the window?"
"Yes," I said and nodded in confirmation, biting back a small chuckle. "I will be watching you through the window or at the front door because I want to make sure that you stay safe."
She nodded. "Do you think that he will do anything to me?" she asked while she cocked her head and studied me. "Like mean?"
I shook my head no, not saying a word.
"What if he doesn't want to drink it?" Yeely asked, furrowing her brows and frowned. "What then?"
"Then act all innocent, sad, and that you are about to cry," I said. "That's all that I want you to do. If he still refuses, then let me know, and I will go over there and tell him to drink it. Ok?" I raised an eyebrow in question.
"Ok," Yeely said with a small grin. She started to walk to the front door while I looked at Griffith, who had food in his hands but didn't seem to want to eat it, yet, but I knew that he was wanting to see where there was a fire so that he could do the ritual.
"There is a fire outside," I said while I tucked my head closer to my chest, "behind the house. Go ahead and use that fire and then eat. Is that understood?"
Griffith pressed his lips into a thin line and nodded. He didn't say a word and walked over to the back door where I knew that a smokeless fire would be waiting.
I bit back a small sigh of relief, grateful that he was going to do what I needed him to do before I followed Yeely.
Yeely waited for me at the front door and smiled at me when she noticed me there. She didn't say a word while she opened the door and walked out of the house, and I walked over to the door and stopped before I leaned against the door and folded my arms across my chest, waiting for her to finish.
Ilas was still on the ground while Yeely made her way to him. He didn't turn to look at her when she said something to him, and I couldn't help but take a small step out of the door with furrowed brows and a small frown on my face.
Oh, for the love of the Great, please don't let him be dead...
Yeely said something else, and Ilas hesitated before he turned to look at her with brown eyes. She grinned and tucked her head closer to her chest while she held the cup out to him.
Ilas looked at me before he looked at her. He hesitated before he sat up and took the cup from her without saying a word, and I couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief, grateful that he wasn't going to fight.
He looked towards me again and held it out to me in thanks before he took a sip, and I again sighed with relief.
Oh, thank the Great for everything but especially this...