"What!?"
I know I'm quite certainly not heaven's most favourite child, but merciful Creators, all the things I've been through in the past twelve hours alone have got to be the most ridiculous way of conveying that simple message.
"Quiet!" Aegis commands me. Although, he now seems calmer than before. I cannot tell how much of this assumption comes from a part of me that's lost all sanity.
"Sir, please," I beg again, "Aegis, is it? Please Sir Aegis, spare us and we'll leave. I just want my necklace back. That's all I need, I truly don't want any trouble, I mean it," and all my requests fall on deaf ears as Aegis continues to walk towards the cave with me in his grasp.
Oh, this is way worse than I had imagined. Why does he want to take me along? Are they going to eventually snack on me mid journey? That's it, isn't it? I will be reduced to food. And what of Amara and Riven? I turn back and see two Beluas tying up a still unconscious Riven and a revolting Amara.
"No, please!" she implores. "Please, let us go. We're really sorry. We won't do something so stupid ever again! Mirae!"
"Amara, no, wait!" I grab Aegis' hand in a desperate attempt to loosen his grip on my collar. I'm running out of both time and lifeline. "What are your men doing? Let us go!"
"Your little friends are coming with us." Aegis responds, his tone growing restless. This is not good. What if we all get killed and never get to see home again? And Jade, poor Jade is all alone back there. This was not the plan I had in mind.
"Wait!" I scream and atlast, Aegis halts. Here goes nothing.
"Why?" I try to ask the question a bit more firmly, "Why are you taking us? Please, just tell me this." Aegis takes a deep breath, evidently impatient, then looks me in the eye, "There's something I must confirm."
This statement brings in a dozen more questions to my mind, but none urgent. I scan his face for any hints of deception. There aren't any, atleast, to my knowledge. That should suffice for now.
"Are you going to kill us?" I blurt out. It all boils down to this, afterall. He flicks his eyes in the direction of the Linkage. It won't be open for long if I'm correct. Then he looks back at me, "Your life has been of no concern to me thus far, so I wouldn't bother with your death either." What is that supposed to mean? Can't he simply answer with a yes or no?
The confusion must've been too obvious on my face because he then clarifies, "No, I don't plan to kill you." That's it. That's good enough then. "Alright, I'll shut it now." I say, inorder to convey my cooperation and as an attempt to assure him that I won't annoy him further. "Creators bless us," he grumbles.
I don't know where exactly we're headed, but I do know it's far from here. That's where the Linkage is said to take you-- somewhere in the Afterworld. And if this Belua has no interest in killing us, it's good enough for me. It has to be. It means we can still come back.
He signals his subordinate by tipping his head to get Amara and Riven. The other Belua pulls Amara up to her feet and throws a look to Riven. My poor friend's still out cold. So the Belua, now visibly annoyed, plucks Riven off the ground like he weighs nothing and throws him over his shoulder. With his other hand, he grabs Amara's elbow and pushes her to walk.
Aegis puts me down as well. "Since you've agreed to come. Move. We don't have much time," just what I was thinking as well.
And with that, we make our way towards the Linkage.
***
"Clever little wench, eh, that one," Karl snickers from behind the bushes.
***
YOU ARE READING
The Gatekeeper: Realms Of Afterworld
FantasyOrphaned at a young age, all Mirae ever wanted was for her and her adopted sister Amara, to live an untroubled life. And she'd hoped to be able to do so soon as she'd pay up her dues to Karl, the village's diabolical money lender. But as fate would...
