The Gatekeeper: Realms Of Afterworld

04. Will Saves You Seldom

My father was a good man. As far as I can remember. But he had to often leave us to go fight petty wars for our monarch. A soldier in all the right senses, fighting for all the wrong causes.

One day, he came home with an infant in his arms. Told my mother he found her in the enemy territory. A family of foes lost their lives and she survived somehow. Miracle baby he called her. Mother smiled at his use of words fondly. That's how they were. Foolish, silly and madly in love.

They told me the Creators sent her to us as a blessing. I named her Amara. It's supposed to mean everlasting. I wanted the blessing to last forever.

Soon after, father went to another war and never returned. Missing in action they said, but they also advised us not to hope. My mother knew better than that. Every night she prayed and yearned to meet him again. I wondered if father had already been taken by the Creators. On the night we lost mother, I thought the Creators answered her prayers and took her to him.

And I blamed Amara for all of it. I began to believe she wasn't the blessing that father had claimed she was. That instead, she brought us bad luck. I believed it, until Aunt Tala looked at Amara softly that night and said, "Don't cry, little one. You have your sister with you. You'll take care of each other. You're not alone."

That's when I realised that maybe father was right. What if I had lost my parents regardless of Amara? If Amara wasn't here, I'd have been all by myself. Lost and alone. Now I'm not. I have her. My sister. Maybe she was the everlasting blessing I had after all.

From then on, I vowed to protect her with my life. Even if it meant I'd have to jump into a blazing pool of lava or in this case, right in the middle of a Belua bonfire.

"Rae!" Riven's hissing has intensified, but not too loud. He wouldn't want to alert our hostile company after all. He sure is trying to pull me back to sanity with all his might, but I'm far too gone in my head.

I crawl silently and steadily towards the palanquin. Now that I have a clearer view of her, I can make out that Reath seems disturbed and only half asleep but I think I can still get my mother's necklace back. Not that Reath is the actual challenge here. I'll have to make my way around these monsters.

What if I wake them up on accident? I now know for a fact that they're not just some incomprehensible, witless beasts. They're the mighty Beluas of Odious and Riven said earlier that they don't meddle with human business unless it concerns them, so they should be able to understand if I explain my reasons, right?

Though, that's not even the real question. The real question is if they'd even give me a chance to explain. And if they don't, will I be able to fight this battle?

All I need is that necklace. If only I can get it back, I wouldn't have to leave my hometown and flee to a place I barely know, leaving my friends behind and potentially putting them in danger of Karl finding out about their role in our little escape tour. It cannot come to that, specially when the solution to all my problems is right infront of me, wrapped around this wicked woman's neck. I can still turn this around.

Is this madness? Must be. But I will not run away without trying. I'm sure I can do this. I'm almost there.

As I pull closer to the carriage, I stretch my arm carefully and try to reach out to the necklace. My fingertips barely touch the chain, so I try to pull at it, the action folds it inwards, ergo metal against metal, it makes a feeble clink and then, "You," I feel a warm, sickening breath on my face as the unearthly growl swaddling the word 'you' comes merely inches away from my head.

I freeze. I want to gulp in horror but my throat is too dry to cooperate. Dreading my fate, I slowly turn my eyes in the direction of the sound and they're met with two bewitching golden brown irises, each with a dark brown slit right down the centre. The colours are so distinguished and mesmerising, I can't help but lie still and admire them. I know I should move, hell, spring up and run for my life even. But I'm unable to bring myself to. To the point where I almost feel safe here.