Barbara's Book of Fire

Chapter 5

The sun dangled free in the sky, basking everything under Thessia's embrace with its ever-glowing breath. The fresh wind blew past us as it emptied and then replaced the foul and stuffy air inside one's lungs.

Feeling the cold wind surge along my throat, I closed my eyes to enjoy the sensation. It worked wonders in flushing what we experienced on our last outing a couple of weeks back.

'Another adventure awaits us today, Fil.' Burned fresh with a new zeal, I stood up. 'Let's go with the same route, and then we'll catch those bastards this time...for sure.'

Just when we were about to go, I figured we almost missed saying goodbye to Macie, so I twirled around only to find her voice timely came in return.

[Lance will be back in two days' time, you'd do well to remember the date.] Reminded Macie nonchalantly. [Being tardy isn't an option, young girl.]

From those purplish gems-like eyes came reflected the soft hue of the sunrays.

"Of course...two days it is." I nodded back. "Don't worry, we won't be late."

Macie drew her long serpentine neck within her wings, transforming her whole body into a massive boulder beside the placid riverbank. What used to be impeccable glossy scales that swallowed the quilt of the night had lost its luster, turning it into a dull mass of grey rocks.

We bade our due goodbye and traced our steps along the river until we found the familiar lake. We were faster compared to the last time. So, we got a lot of spare time for preparation to conquer the damned lake once and for all.

I put the neatly packed bag in the same spot and hung my clothes. Rather than diving down instantly to begin our revenge bout, I set up the tool we prepared beforehand on the more rocky part of the lake, with Filtiarn following in tow.

"You're finally going to try it today, huh?" I gulped a mouthful of fresh air, dusting away the slight fatigue and anxiety that had built up. "Don't strain yourself, okay? Stop if it's too hard."

Filtiarn tossed his sight upwards, tracing the thick billow of clouds, and from there came a piercing howl that shook the soul of the world itself. It was something I was already familiar with. It was how Filtiarn would connect and communicate with it—The Dusk Tongue.

Macie said communicating with It came with a risk of its own, and we should never attempt to bite more than we could chew. For when the call of The Dusk Tongue ensued but not by the grace of Goddess Myrna, severe retribution of an unimaginable pain will befall them.

Or so what Macie said. I couldn't really figure out whether she was just scaring us out or she meant it word by word. In any case, I ain't eager to figure out the truth anytime soon.

That's why when Filtiarn hinted to me about the new ability he became aware of, I was skeptical the whole time. And although Macie really did play a vital part in giving me the cold feet, it was also her that reassured me to place my trust in Filtiarn. Heck, she even told me to just kick back and enjoy the show.

The way she described the feeling was that it would be as though the whole world was detached and dissected bare, while the hymn of life and death reinvigorated every nerve and blood on our body.

Simply put, it was nothing but a damned load of hard language with a meaning closer to bullshit than an analogy that made some genuine sense. And that was after pestering her to explain them for hours to no end.

Macie's exact words were, The separation took place only because the connection was made. While the surging life swam anew as the secret of the lifeless world was uncovered down to the very last morning dew.